Chapter 472

Every year, there are actually several movies or TV series that become global hits.

This trend has become even more pronounced, especially with the development of streaming media. It's not necessarily the award-winning films and television series from the top tiers that become classics.

Korean dramas have become the leading series in Asia in this regard.

Almost every year it produces one or two shows that become global hits and top the charts worldwide.

However, Chinese-language dramas fall short in this regard. It's not that their production quality is inferior, but rather that China's market is large enough that it doesn't lack production funds and doesn't need streaming services like Maxine or HP to provide funding. Even if they did, they might not offer better prices than domestic ones, as domestic prices are already quite high. Korean dramas, on the other hand, are completely different. Their market is smaller, and with foreign capital entering the scene, the domestic market is invaded. The disparity in creators' salaries alone is enough to attract a large number of talented creators to streaming services.

Therefore, a situation has arisen where Korean dramas often customize many series based on the viewing habits and themes of streaming media.

Chinese-language dramas, however, are produced based on the themes and preferences of domestic video platforms and audiences. A work that doesn't consider the viewing preferences and habits of international audiences from the outset, even if it receives excellent reviews domestically, may not be valued by streaming services. Without this consideration, the conditions for broadcasting are inherently inferior. Those that truly achieve a turnaround through word-of-mouth are extremely rare, practically miracles.

The popularity of the shows "Friends" and "The 17th Floor" on Maxine did not happen overnight.

The former relied on word-of-mouth from the audience to accumulate its popularity. In particular, Beijing and Taiwan, in order to protect their own ratings, prevented the show from being released on domestic video platforms. Many domestic viewers had to bypass the Great Firewall to watch the online version on Maxine. In addition, many people watched the show three or four times, making it a perfect show to watch while eating, which gave it a very strong long-tail effect.

The latter, besides its subject matter and Lu Yanhe, also has Chen Bige, a well-known actress in Asia. After all, she is a big star who has won the Best Actress award at a top international film festival. Maxine pays more attention to her. All these factors combined have given "The Seventeen Floors" the opportunity to be seen by the audience.

This drama has a fixed audience base for this type of subject matter, a fan base for several actors, and a good reputation due to its quality, which led to its popularity.

With the success of these two dramas, "The Silent River," as a custom-made drama by Maxine, has received preferential treatment. Lu Yanhe's popularity and fame in Asia have also risen rapidly in the past two years. Especially now, he has become a "world-class star" in the eyes of media in many countries.

Under these circumstances, the broadcast treatment of "The Silent River" was completely different. It wasn't like the situation with "The Seventeenth Floor" and "Friends".

Therefore, Chen Ziyan said that for an event like the Asian Television Awards, Lu Yanhe's previous dramas, such as "The Golden Era" and "Phoenix Channel," did not have much influence overseas, especially in Asia. However, this year, three Chinese-language dramas, "Friends," "The Seventeen Floors," and "The Silent River," have all sparked a viewing frenzy on Maxine, so Chen Ziyan believes they have a chance for a nomination.

When the third episode of "The Silent River" aired in the second week, Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao came to South Korea to attend promotional activities.

Ryu Eom-ha's popularity in South Korea is soaring. This is mainly due to the success of the film "Late Spring" in South Korea. This film, which won the Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival, was itself one of the films strongly recommended by mainstream film magazines. Furthermore, because of its theme of cruel youth, it has been constantly recommended on social media by South Korean audiences who are always enthusiastic about this kind of subject matter.

If "Friends" and "The Seventeenth Floor" helped Lu Yanhe gain a certain audience and fans abroad and increase his popularity, then the movie "Late Spring" was the opportunity for Lu Yanhe to become a "star actor" in these countries.

It must be acknowledged that sometimes, an actor's fame and popularity are not directly proportional.

In terms of fame and status, Lu Yanhe is definitely not as well-known as Shang Yongzhou in Japan and South Korea.

However, judging from the current situation, Lu Yanhe has far more active fans in these two countries than Shang Yongzhou.

After completing a series of promotional trips in South Korea and Japan, Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao returned to China at the end of September.

Two weeks after the broadcast, the two of them finally began their promotional tour in China.

-

In the latest episode of "The Days of Youth," a promotional video for "The Silent River" was played in the middle of the program.

On the one hand, both of them are being streamed on Icefield Video, so it's perfectly normal for Icefield Video to promote "The Silent River".

On the other hand, Li Zhenzhen, as the director of "The Days of Youth", has always maintained a tradition that she would promote and publicize the works of each of the regular guests in "The Days of Youth" on the show.

The biggest problem with "The Silent River" as a weekly drama is that the habit of weekly dramas has not yet been formed in China.

Viewers are used to seeing updates every day.

If there are no updates for five days at a time, many people will definitely lose interest and stop reading.

This is a problem that the crew of "The Silent River" must face.

With such a top-tier creative team, it's no surprise that the show has high popularity upon its premiere. Maintaining a stable reputation is the most crucial foundation for its weekly broadcasts. The challenge in promotion is how to keep viewers interested and wanting them to continue watching even a week later.

In this respect, no one acted independently.

"We must promote the show in a rhythmic and planned manner, so that the show can have a large-scale publicity effect every one or two days, keeping it in everyone's sight."

So, after the first and second weeks, two big names, Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao, made their appearance.

Interviews are one of the most traditional and basic forms of publicity, yet they are also the easiest way to generate viral topics.

—Why didn't you participate in the promotion in China during the first two weeks after the premiere of "The Silent River"?

"Given the circumstances at the time, if we had appeared and participated in the promotional activities, the effect might have been counterproductive."

— Haven't you worried that your "unwillingness to bow down to fans" attitude might hurt your fans?

"I need to correct you. This isn't about whether or not you're willing to bow down to your fans; it's about whether or not you're willing to stick to your principles."

—Were you ever worried that the broadcast results of "The Silent River" would not be as good as expected?

"I don't have high expectations for any of my projects. I always approach my work with the mindset that the project might be a flop. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment."

—Since you started acting, every film you've starred in has been a great success. Does this continuous success give you more confidence to make art films like "Late Spring," "Three Mountains," and "The Road to Glory"?

"Shooting art films doesn't require confidence. As an actor, my only criterion for choosing a project is whether it moves me."

—I heard that "Burning Fire" is about to start filming. Is this your first leading role in a commercial film? What are your goals for this film?

"I hope the audience likes it. That has always been my goal. As for the rest, I'll say it again: if it works, I'll be happy; if it doesn't, I'll accept it."

—Has your relationship with Zeng Qiao been affected by public opinion?

"Do we look like we've been affected? Haha, actually, Brother Qiao became famous much earlier than me and has been famous for much longer. He gave me a lot of advice on how to regulate my emotions when facing public opinion, controversy and dilemmas."

—If you continue to work with Zeng Qiao in your next project, do you think you or he will be the lead actor?

"It depends on whether the role I play is the lead or the role he plays is the lead. Lead isn't important; what's important is whether the role we play is truly suitable for us. I'm particularly curious, in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, who is the lead—Cao Cao, Liu Bei, or Zhuge Liang? It doesn't matter; none of that matters. What matters is what we can leave behind?"

...

Many of the things Lu Yanhe said in the interview were turned into "golden quotes" by Chen Ziyan and appeared on various platforms.

Previously, Chen Ziyan had been very careful not to let Lu Yanhe promote himself too intensively, especially since he was already very popular and had a lot of buzz.

The reasons for doing this now are twofold: first, to replace the impressions left by previous fan incidents with a large number of new memorable moments; and second, most people accept such intensive publicity during the promotional period.

This is actually a very interesting phenomenon in China.

If you have substantial work to show for it, people will understand if you promote it more frequently. But if you don't have any work to show for it, and every little thing you do makes you a trending topic, people will be annoyed. Even though it's all entertainment news, something for everyone to gossip about, people still hope that such news is based on facts and not just baseless hype.

Chen Ziyan carefully controlled these topics about Lu Yanhe and tried to connect them with the drama "The Silent River". Once there were any signs of being offensive, she immediately suppressed the heat.

It can only be said that in the internet age, doing publicity, marketing, and public relations is like walking a tightrope, unless you only care about popularity and not reputation.

-

Icefield video.

Li Quansen was chatting with Lan Rulin from Ruyi Pictures.

Lan Rulin, as a powerful executive at Ruyi Pictures, is a big shot in the film and television production industry.

Every year she has several major productions in hand.

This makes her a VIP guest, just like the owner of Icefield Video.

Lan Rulin said to Li Quansen, "Mr. Li, look, 'The Silent River' has been very popular recently, and the data should be very good. It is enough to prove that an actor's reputation has a great impact on a drama, but it is not so great as to determine its life or death. When we make a drama, it is not that the better the actor's audience appeal, the more we will give him priority. We must still consider the suitability of the role."

Li Quansen asked, "Why did you arrange for Chen Ziliang to star in the second season of 'Friends'? I watched the show, and he really didn't fit in."

"To be honest with you, I was just hoping the sequel would be a hit, without considering whether it was suitable or not," Lan Rulin said. "So I recommended him to the Beijing-Taiwan TV station. As a singer transitioning to acting, he naturally wanted to learn from the best production team. Actually, although his performance wasn't highly rated, it didn't affect the reviews of the second season, let alone its broadcast results. In fact, he contributed a third of the second season's popularity, which shows how popular he is in this social media age."

Li Quansen said, "It's not impossible for you to use him as the male lead in the drama 'The Morning Star'. The theme and story of the drama are indeed suitable for him. It sounds like a script tailor-made for a has-been singer trying to make himself popular again."

Lan Rulin: "God knows how many times I've explained it, this really isn't a script tailor-made for him."

"President Lan, is Chen Ziliang going to sign with you or what? You seem to care about him a lot."

Lan Rulin said with a smile, "There's no way around it. His father was my teacher. I owe my teacher a lot of kindness back then, and I have to repay him."

Li Quansen raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“I know there are a lot of unpleasant rumors circulating outside, but those are just people making things up.” Lan Rulin’s face showed a hint of helplessness. “Anyway, these things have always been unavoidable throughout history. Chen Ziliang is a talented young man, and that’s why I’ve repeatedly introduced him to opportunities. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother doing so much for him. Mr. Li, an artist who became an overnight sensation like him must have something to offer. Believe me, he will definitely exceed your expectations.”

Li Quansen nodded. "Since you've said so, whether I believe him or not is secondary; I definitely believe you. In that case, let him play the role in 'The Morning Star.' However, since you've decided on the male lead, we'll choose the female lead."

"Of course." Lan Rulin smiled slightly.

Li Quansen suddenly remembered something and asked, "Have you worked with Lu Yanhe before?"

Lan Rulin paused for a moment, hesitated, and said, "Actually, we've talked to him too. However, a big star like him can be very powerful once he gets involved in a project, and we can't completely control it. Ruyi Pictures still hopes to keep the project completely under our control."

Upon hearing this, Li Quansen smiled but remained silent.

He certainly remembered the tragedy depicted in the film "19 Years of Crime".

"I heard that Lu Yanhe bought back the TV series rights to 'Nineteen Years of Crime Records'?" Li Quansen asked.

Lan Rulin pursed her lips and said, "He wanted to support his friend Liu Jiazhen and have the novel remade into a TV series, so we sold it. To be honest, I've never seen a movie adaptation fail but a TV series adaptation succeed. He's too idealistic."

Li Quansen glanced at Lan Rulin with some surprise.

He hadn't expected that Lan Rulin would use the word "idealist" to describe Lu Yanhe.

“If Lu Yanhe is an idealist, does that mean that we realists are actually the losers?” Li Quansen said with a smile. Before Lan Rulin could react, he nodded and said, “I have another meeting. Since we have reached a consensus on the drama ‘Morning Star,’ let the people below handle the follow-up matters.”

Lan Rulin clearly sensed the change in Li Quansen's attitude towards her.

What's going on?

Lan Rulin pondered for a while and realized that Li Quansen's change in attitude started when they began talking about Lu Yanhe.

Lan Rulin was taken aback.

Could Lu Yanhe be one of Li Quansen's men?

No, that's impossible. Lu Yanhe has a close working relationship with Aurora Video, and his connection with Icefield Video only began with "The Days of Youth" and "The Silent River." Neither of these projects were primarily controlled by Icefield, so they don't really qualify as Icefield projects. Judging from the surface, Li Quansen and Lu Yanhe shouldn't have any vested interests.

Why did Li Quansen's attitude suddenly change?

After much thought, Lan Rulin concluded that the problem lay with Lu Yanhe.

(End of this chapter)