Chapter 279 First Glimpse of the Global Film Market

It is a consensus in the media that Chen Bige is not an actress with a "clean" past.

This actress, who has won more than a dozen Best Actress awards, is also hailed as one of the top actresses in the industry today. From the first day of her debut, she has never pretended to be someone else. Whether it is a "pure and innocent" persona or a "talented woman" persona, it has nothing to do with her.

She is a very "wild" actress, like a diamond just dug out of the mountains, uncarved, shining brightly solely by her innate brilliance.

She drinks, smokes, swears, and falls head over heels in love, disregarding everything else. In the early years of her career, if it weren't for Chen Ziyan doing everything she could to clean up her messes, and if it weren't for her exceptional acting skills and talent, which made many people cherish her talent and give her opportunities time and time again simply because of her acting skills, she wouldn't have been able to get through the most difficult period, gain a foothold, and then soar to the top, achieving her current status.

Even after achieving her current status, Chen Bige hasn't considered changing her style. She remains the same, frequently photographed by the media behaving in ways unbecoming of a public figure, even using profanity. However, perhaps because Chen Bige has been involved in such news from the beginning of her career, never cultivating a false persona, and coupled with her exceptional acting skills and the fact that she has rarely played the "pure and innocent" type, audiences don't feel a strong sense of betrayal due to the stark contrast between her on-screen image and her real-life persona. Therefore, it hasn't ultimately affected her career.

Chen Bige and Shang Yongzhou are Chen Ziyan's greatest achievements as an agent, and the two people who established her legendary "vision".

It's not just about looking at the people, but also at the projects.

The roles that propelled Chen Bige and Shang Yongzhou to stardom were mostly decided by Chen Ziyan. These included cases where they initially didn't want to act but were persuaded by Chen Ziyan. These were popular anecdotes in tabloids and stories that the industry talked about with great interest.

Therefore, the projects that Chen Ziyan chooses are often snapped up by everyone.

This is also one of the reasons why "The Seventeen Floors," which was already an S+ level drama, was able to stand firm amidst the power struggles between Beijing and Taiwan after being selected by Chen Ziyan.

With Chen Ziyan's help, Chen Bige will also star in this drama, which can basically be said to be the most anticipated drama of next year.

-

Chen Bige spoke with some helplessness about her experience filming overseas this time.

“This time I played a female villain, a female pirate,” Chen Bige told Chen Ziyan. “As a result, all the scenes were filmed in front of a green screen, and almost all of them were performed without props.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Ziyan said, "Is this the third installment of the 'Pirates of Sinchi' series?"

“Yes.” Chen Bige nodded. “I had a cameo role in the second movie, and they called me back for the third movie.”

How's your role?

“It’s not bad, not just a minor role,” Chen Bige said. “But there’s not much room for me to perform, not much room for me to improvise. It’s just acting, using my face.”

Chen Ziyan: "That's not bad either. Being featured in a blockbuster series like 'Pirates of Sinchi' can help increase your visibility."

Chen Bige: "Don't even mention it. I was acting over there and encountered several shameless bastards who thought I couldn't understand English. They insulted me in their words and actions. I almost hit them and gave them a piece of my mind. When they heard that I actually spoke fluent English, they were shocked and didn't bother me anymore."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ziyan was somewhat surprised and asked, "Are you an actor I worked with?"

“No, it’s the staff,” Chen Bige said. “Especially my makeup artist, damn it, you have no idea what I looked like at first. It was ugly and disgusting. I was so angry that I went directly to the producer and director and told them that if they just needed an image so ugly that you couldn’t even tell what I looked like, there was no need to hire me. Later, they found someone else to do my styling, but I still couldn’t accept it. After discussing it with them, we invited Xiao Ke’s team to do it for me. We revised it several times according to their opinions before we reached a consensus. Ziyan, those people are just bullying you, thinking you don’t know anything. I’ll show them who can bully me.”

Chen Ziyan smiled and gave her a thumbs up, saying, "With your temper, no one can really bully you."

"They want our Chinese box office, but they also come up with this kind of nonsensical stuff. Who's going to put up with them!" Chen Bige said. "I've lost my temper a few times, but they've stopped causing trouble. We could have cooperated properly, but they insist on doing this kind of thing. Speechless."

Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised when he heard Chen Bige say this.

How could a top actress like Chen Bige encounter something like this in Hollywood?

Why does this sound so much like the timeline he traveled to before?

Hollywood still exists in this world, and it remains the most influential commercial film center. However, there are some differences. For example, it is not without competitors. Europe also has a film production base, unlike in another time and space, where European cinema has basically only preserved art films as its own private domain.

Similarly, Asian cinema is also very successful. China, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea have built a thriving Asian film market, with annual box office revenue not far behind Hollywood.

In short, this is not a Hollywood-dominated film market, but rather a film world where everything is flourishing. In terms of box office, Hollywood films account for at most three or four of the top ten highest-grossing films worldwide each year.

Therefore, Lu Yanhe always believed that Chinese actors should not be treated like "third-class citizens" when they acted overseas, unlike before he transmigrated here.

However, Chen Bige did not seem to intend to swallow her anger.

They went at it relentlessly, making sure they didn't suffer any losses.

The Chinese film market is huge.

In this time and space, there are four major markets with an annual global box office exceeding four billion US dollars.

China and the United States are the only two independent national markets.

The other two are the Asian market excluding China, and the European market.

The box office volume of the four film markets is comparable, unlike in another timeline where, apart from China which has risen to prominence, the rest are basically being crushed by the American film market.

In this context, the global film industry is essentially engaged in a chaotic free-for-all every year.

In order to capture box office revenue in other markets, big-budget productions, like "The Pirates of Sinchi," typically recruit actors and producers from various countries to make the film more "inclusive" and attract a wider audience.

-

After drinking two glasses of wine, Chen Bige's mood became noticeably more elevated.

She instructed Lu Yanhe: "Little Lu, when you go to film overseas in the future, you must not be a coward. When those guys approach you, don't actually listen to their nonsense about how you are a god of acting, an artist, and that they are eager to work with you. It's all bullshit. Nine out of ten of them are only after you are popular in China and the domestic box office market. So, no matter what, don't embarrass yourself. It doesn't matter if you play a supporting role or a villain. It's an actor's job. But an actor must not be too cowardly. You have to stand firm and fight back when you encounter problems. You can't let people look down on you."

Lu Yanhe nodded and said okay.

foreign?

Lu Yanhe thought to himself that he probably wouldn't be able to think about it for the next few years.

He hasn't even figured out how to act in his own domestic drama yet.

“But you have a big advantage. We suffer because we are not well-educated. You got into Zhenhua High School. Some of their actors graduated from Harvard and Cambridge. You also graduated from Zhenhua High School. You are not lacking in anything!” Chen Bige said. “Let me tell you, they are all very elitist. Don’t learn their bad habits.”

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Seeing that Chen Bige seemed to be about to chat with Lu Yanhe over drinks, Chen Ziyan stopped her, saying, "Why do you always talk to Xiao Lu about these things? It's still a long way off before Xiao Lu goes abroad to film."

“Who knows? Now that Xiao Lu is so popular, maybe foreign film crews will come looking for him soon,” Chen Bige said.

Chen Ziyan: "He was filming abroad. He didn't need to consider that before he graduated from university. He doesn't even have time to film in China now."

Chen Bige glanced at Lu Yanhe in surprise.

"Why? Are there so many classes? Can't I ask for leave?"

“He’s not studying acting, and it’s not good to always take leave. On the one hand, he really wants to learn something at school, but on the other hand, his frequent leave will also have a negative impact. Now too many eyes are watching him, and we have to be careful about his every move.”

“Well, this is really a headache,” Chen Bige said. “Isn’t this a complete waste of all the popularity we have right now?”

“It’s not a waste, and we didn’t invest too much.” Chen Ziyan shook her head. “You don’t know, he recently wrote a script, a movie script, which Jia Long took a liking to and is planning to collaborate with Jia Long.”

Chen Bige was astonished. "He's starring alongside Jia Long?"

“No, he won’t be the lead actor. He might have a cameo, but he’ll mainly be involved in the film production as a screenwriter,” Chen Ziyan said. “Didn’t expect that, did you?”

Chen Bige asked, "He's only a freshman and he can already write screenplays?"

"The story was actually written in his senior year of high school. He wrote a story to persuade me to sign him." Chen Ziyan smiled as she recalled the past and looked at Lu Yanhe, who seemed a little embarrassed. Chen Ziyan continued, "So, even if Lu Yanhe has been delayed for a while in the past few years and his popularity has dropped and he's not very famous, I'm not too worried. He has the ability to become famous again on his own."

Upon hearing this, Chen Bige nodded and asked, "Ziyan, may I take a look at the script that Xiao Lu wrote?"

"What, are you going to make a cameo appearance?" Chen Ziyan asked.

Chen Bige said, "It's not impossible for me to make a cameo appearance in a script written by my junior brother."

Chen Ziyan: "You're not kidding?"

"What are you kidding?"

"You haven't done a cameo in a long time."

"That's because I'm too lazy to play a supporting role for those people. We're not related and I don't owe them anything, so why bother?"

Chen Ziyan nodded.

Chen Bige then said to Lu Yanhe, "Little Lu, since you have the talent to write scripts, how about you tailor-make a script for me? It's been so long since I've received a script that moves me and that I want to act in."

Lu Yanhe was embarrassed and said, "I've only written one script before, so I'm still quite inexperienced and not very good at writing."

“Even if something isn’t perfect at first, anyone can still tell it’s good,” Chen Bige said. “If you have that talent, even if your first draft only has one usable sentence, I can still tell it’s good.”

Chen Bige was clearly very confident in her judgment.

After hearing what Chen Bige said, Lu Yanhe thought about it and nodded in agreement.

Writing a screenplay for a female-centric movie for Chen Bige might be difficult, but writing a story is relatively easy. If all else fails, Chen Bige can find a professional screenwriter to adapt her story into a screenplay.

To be honest, he feels that his screenwriting skills are still somewhat lacking.

Especially the ability to write dialogues.

Relying solely on memory to recount movies I've seen leaves me with much to fill in myself.

-

After having a good meal with Chen Bige, Chen Ziyan saw her off to her car and instructed her assistant and driver to make sure she got home safely. As she entered the house, Chen Bige looked displeased and said, "You still treat me like a child?"

Chen Ziyan bluntly said, "You're just a child."

Chen Bige snorted and turned to look at Lu Yanhe: "Little Lu, don't forget the script you promised to write for me."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

After Chen Bige left, Chen Ziyan said to Lu Yanhe, "Don't feel pressured. If she can't write it, so be it. She just had a few drinks and was acting a bit crazy. She'll be fine once she wakes up. A script isn't that easy to write. If it were, she wouldn't have gone two years without receiving a satisfactory script."

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "It's nothing."

"Huh?" Chen Ziyan was taken aback.

Lu Yanhe said, "The script that Sister Bige wants, as soon as I saw her today, I had some ideas in my mind."

"Really?" Chen Ziyan looked at Lu Yanhe in disbelief.

Lu Yanhe said, "It's true, but I'm not very good at writing scripts. I'll write it as a story first, and I'll have to figure out how to turn it into a script."

Chen Ziyan looked at Lu Yanhe in surprise.

She truly hadn't expected that Lu Yanhe actually had such an idea.

-

Lu Yanhe was certainly not bragging.

There are indeed several movies in his viewing library that are suitable for Chen Bige.

In Chen Bige, Lu Yanhe saw the shadows of many people: Shu Qi, Tang Wei... They all had a certain aura, which gave them a unique temperament.

Lu Yanhe asked Chen Ziyan, "Sister Ziyan, does Sister Bige want a commercial film or an art film script?"

Chen Ziyan shook her head, "For her now, whether it's a commercial film or an art film, it doesn't matter. The key is a good script that can move her and ignite her desire to perform."

Lu Yanhe nodded. "Okay."

That evening, he returned to Ziyuan Bridge.

Li Zhibai was also there.

He exclaimed in surprise, not expecting Lu Yanhe to suddenly return today.

"Don't you have class tomorrow? Why did you suddenly come back tonight?"

Lu Yanhe said, "I have some things to do, so I have to go to bed later."

Li Zhibai responded with an "oh".

"What are you doing here today?" Lu Yanhe asked.

In the past six months, Li Zhi has been extremely busy, rarely having a day off to sleep, and traveling all over the country. He is a true star.

The main reason is that Li Zhibai became a sensation last year with the drama "Take You to the End of the World" and the variety show "The Days of Youth," which has benefited him so much this year that he has so many work commitments that he can't keep up with them all.

Li Zhibai said, "I'm not feeling well today. I just got back from the hospital after getting an injection."

Lu Yanhe glanced at Li Zhibai in surprise. He was about to go into his room when he heard this, so he walked over to Li Zhibai and asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Zhibai: "It's probably because I'm too busy usually, plus staying up late and eating irregularly, that caused me to have low blood sugar. Today, while I was shooting for a magazine, I squatted down for a while, and when I stood up, my vision went black and I collapsed."

He still looked as lazy as usual, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that Li Zhibai was indeed a bit tired; his eyes were weary, and he wasn't as energetic as before.

Lu Yanhe: "So how are you feeling now?"

"It's alright," Li Zhibai said. "It's not too serious, so don't worry. Go on with your work."

Lu Yanhe hesitated for a moment, then asked, "How about we go get some late-night snacks?"

Li Zhibai looked at Lu Yanhe in shock: "Eating late-night snacks?"

"Don't you think you're so thin you're practically skin and bones?"

"I didn't notice," Li Zhibai shook his head.

Lu Yanhe asked, "Is Zhou Ping'an treating you like a mule?"

Li Zhibai: "I'm happy with it myself."

Lu Yanhe: "I didn't realize you were such a career-obsessed person."

Li Zhibai snorted twice, "Otherwise, why would I come to the entertainment industry? Wouldn't it be better to be a rich second-generation heir?"

Lu Yanhe: "...What a dog."

Li Zhibai chuckled.

"Alright, stop dawdling and go about your business. Didn't you have something to do and need to stay up late?"

Lu Yanhe nodded, "Yes, okay, then I'll get back to my work."

He took two steps, then turned back to look at Li Zhibai.

Li Zhibai was lying on the sofa looking at his phone when he realized that Lu Yanhe had stopped to look at him again.

"What's wrong now?"

"It's nothing." Lu Yanhe temporarily put aside the idea that had just popped into his head and said, "How about I write a script for you?"

"What?" Li Zhibai sat up abruptly, looking at him in disbelief.

Lu Yanhe said, "I'll write a script for you and Yan Liang, and you two can act in it, how about that?"

Li Zhibai stared at Lu Yanhe in shock, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Are you serious? When did you learn to write scripts?"

Lu Yanhe chuckled and shook his head. "Forget it, let's not talk about this now. Let's talk about it after I finish writing it."

Li Zhibai: "You write it first, and we'll talk about it after you finish writing it."

Li Zhibai didn't believe Lu Yanhe could write it at all.

He was still unaware that Jia Long had taken a liking to the script for "Lost in Thailand".

Lu Yanhe was looking at Li Zhibai when he suddenly remembered a movie.

A very famous foreign film.

Chen Bige's request reminded Lu Yanhe that he had previously thought about writing a song for Li Zhibai and Yan Liang, so why not just write a script for them? After all, both of them had started acting.

Lu Yanhe returned to his room, opened his laptop, and created two new documents.

At that moment, Li Zhibai suddenly knocked on the door again.

"What's wrong?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Li Zhibai didn't open the door. Standing at the doorway, he said through the door, "If you really write it down, Yan Liang and I will still act in it. So, you'd better write it well and not write it badly."

There was a hint of sarcasm in Li Zhibai's voice.

Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "I understand."

(End of this chapter)