Chapter 480 The First Stop of the Awards Season

Remakes are not uncommon at all.

Many globally popular films and TV series are remakes of each other.

Some of the most successful remakes include the well-known "Infernal Affairs" and the adapted "The Departed" starring Leonardo DiCaprio, the latter being the only film by director Martin Skarsez to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

For example, "Sheep Without a Shepherd," a remake of an Indian film, grossed over a billion yuan at the box office, becoming a dark horse and a classic Chinese film.

Therefore, given the success of Friends in Asia, it's not surprising that South Korea wants to remake it.

However, of the works for which Lu Yanhe holds the copyright, the TV series are "My Own Swordsman" and "Squid Game", and the movies are "Lost in Thailand", "Rouge" and "Love Letter". Of these, only "Lost in Thailand" and "Rouge" have been released.

TVN is a television station; would they be interested in films like "Lost in Thailand" and "Rouge"?

Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan discussed it, but couldn't figure out which drama TVN would be interested in.

None of these sound very plausible.

But getting to know each other isn't a bad thing.

When it comes to doing business, if it doesn't work out this time, it might work out next time.

The next day, they met with TVN representatives in Singapore.

Koreans really have a knack for making it easy for people to recognize them as Koreans at a glance.

Lu Yanhe and his group arrived a little later.

Two people came to TVN, one named Kim Eon-sook and the other named Lee Yeon-min.

The leader was Kim Yeon-sook.

Li Yanmin is her subordinate and also serves as her translator.

Kim Yeon-sook doesn't speak English, so she has to rely on a translator to communicate.

Neither of them mentioned Kong Lingfan's behavior on stage last night. After exchanging pleasantries, Jin Yanshu mentioned that she really liked the movie "Rouge".

"Rouge" has not yet been released in South Korea; she said she saw it at the Jose Film Festival.

She was originally a TV drama screenwriter, and later rose to a management position at a television station.

Kim Yeon-sook hopes to collaborate with Lu Yanhe on a television remake of "Rouge".

Lu Yanhe was astonished upon hearing this.

Including Icefield Video, this is the second person to propose remaking "Rouge" into a TV series.

Is this movie really that suitable for a TV series adaptation?

Lu Yanhe was somewhat puzzled.

Perhaps because he had a preconceived notion that "Rouge" was a movie with a relatively simple plot, he never thought that the movie could be adapted into a TV series.

Jin Yanshu, however, said, "This story is very much in line with the current trend of women's consciousness awakening."

Lu Yanhe suddenly realized.

"Furthermore, I hope that this story can help girls understand one thing: men cannot be trusted."

Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated.

Jin Yanshu appears to be a kind and gentle woman, but after getting to know her, you'll find that she's actually quite strong-willed and has a bit of a career woman vibe.

Sitting next to Kim Yeon-sook was Lee Yeon-min, who was also a man. At this moment, he also showed a helpless expression.

Even though there were two men there, Kim Yeon-sook didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with what she was saying.

Kim Yeon-sook's toughness is evident.

Lu Yanhe didn't know why Jin Yanshu felt that he, as a man, wouldn't be angry about what she said.

But he wasn't really angry because he knew he wasn't that kind of person, so he didn't feel like he was being alluded to.

Lu Yanhe thought for a moment and said to Jin Yanshu, "Ms. Jin, actually, there are also companies in China that are preparing to adapt 'Rouge' into a TV series."

Kim Yeon-sook nodded and said, "It's normal for others to want to remake this story. The audiences of Chinese TV dramas and Korean dramas don't overlap, so I don't think that will affect our ability to make a Korean version."

Lu Yanhe asked, "Ms. Jin, I would like to ask how you plan to adapt the story of 'Rouge'? The film is adapted from the Republican era of the last century."

Kim Yeon-sook said, "Our country, South Korea, has a historical period similar to that of the Republic of China. In our adaptation, we will not change the main plot and characters, and will still retain the storyline of Twelve Young Masters and Ru Hua from the movie version. However, we will increase the scenes of the second male and female leads in the modern setting to enhance the contrast between the past and present, especially the contrast in the status and consciousness of women."

Lu Yanhe suddenly realized why Jin Yanshu had taken a liking to this story.

He did not object to Jin Yanshu's idea of ​​adapting the story, but Lu Yanhe was somewhat hesitant about her main intention.

“Ms. Jin, I’m worried that if a work takes on too many themes and expresses too much consciousness, it will lose its artistry.” Lu Yanhe expressed his hesitation in a tactful way.

Jin Yanshu glanced at Lu Yanhe with some surprise.

"You don't want this show to focus on the theme of female consciousness?"

Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "No, on the contrary, I am very surprised that you can find such a perspective in the film story. I must admit that when I wrote the story of 'Rouge', I did not take the expression of female consciousness as the theme. I just wanted to talk about a person's letting go, about the disillusionment and ephemeral nature of love."

Jin Yanshu nodded.

“But from your description just now, this story seems to be completely overshadowed by feminist consciousness,” Lu Yanhe said. “It makes me worry that it weakens the story’s critical nature. This critical nature is not only directed at the male character, Twelve Young Master, who betrayed Ru Hua, but also at the old-fashioned ideas and the various discriminations and prejudices that Ru Hua suffered. The richness of Ru Hua’s character is only partly due to her finally letting go of her obsession with Twelve Young Master and waiting for him. Her belief in and persistence in love, her infatuation in waiting, and her kindness are not just feminist consciousness.”

Kim Yeon-sook said, "This is indeed the feeling that the movie version gave us, but if the TV series is made exactly the same as the movie, and the things it expresses are exactly the same as the movie, then what is the need for us to make any adaptations? Every creator has their own perspective. You are a screenwriter and an actor, so you must understand this as well."

Jin Yanshu's words do make sense.

She made no attempt to hide her intention to adapt the story of "Rouge"—in fact, she could have first offered Lu Yanhe some insincere praise, showing respect for the original story, and coaxed him into granting her the rights to remake it. Then she could have made drastic changes without him being able to say anything.

But she was open and honest, without any pretense, which made Lu Yanhe have a very good impression of her.

Lu Yanhe said, "I understand, but I don't want 'Rouge' to become a tool for expressing consciousness."

“I can assure you of that. We definitely prioritize the story and the characters, and we don’t intend to make it a promotional tool,” Kim Yeon-sook said. “You can look at the works I’ve worked on in the past.”

Her subordinate, Li Yanmin, took out a document and handed it to Lu Yanhe.

Lu Yanhe took it and carefully flipped through it.

They were quite reliable; instead of sending a Korean version, they made an English version.

Lu Yanhe looked at Jin Yanshu's recent works and her representative works in her career.

Although he hadn't seen any of them, he recognized a few of the names; they must be quite popular, he'd heard about them from others or seen them online.

Before they arrived, Chen Ziyan had told him that Kim Yeon-sook was a very capable professional who started as a screenwriter in the television industry, gradually worked her way up to producer, and then seized an opportunity to become a high-ranking executive at TVN. She had made a solid foundation in the Korean drama industry and was a very capable woman.

The film and television projects she was in charge of did indeed achieve good results. However, the biggest weakness in her career was the lack of a blockbuster hit. In Lu Yanhe's understanding, a blockbuster hit is something like "Autumn in My Heart" or "My Love from the Star," which many Chinese people may not have seen but have heard of.

Lu Yanhe said to Jin Yanshu, "Ms. Jin, I need to go back and think about it carefully."

Jin Yanshu nodded.

Of course, this kind of thing can't be settled in just one meeting.

They didn't know each other before; this was their first meeting. They'll get to know each other first, have an initial exchange, and then talk more later.

Finally, Kim Yeon-sook said to Lu Yanhe, "I'm not in charge of 'Friends,' but last night Kong Lingfan invited you to make a cameo appearance in 'Friends' at the opening ceremony without communicating with us beforehand. It was his personal decision, and TVN asked me to apologize to you on his behalf. Of course, we really wanted to invite you to make a cameo appearance, and we planned to extend the invitation after the script was officially completed. We didn't expect him to do what he did last night without our consent. We're sorry."

Jin Yanshu's attitude satisfied both Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan.

Regardless, what happened with Kong Lingfan last night was unpleasant. And the Korean version of "Friends" is being produced by tvN. If tvN doesn't offer an explanation and take this stance, Lu Yanhe will definitely be upset about it.

-

After Lu Yanhe, Chen Ziyan, and the others finished talking with Jin Yanshu, they returned to the hotel.

Chen Ziyan said, "Would you like to license 'Rouge' to them for a Korean remake?"

The copyright to "Rouge" belongs to Linghe Film and Television Company. Authorization can only be granted with Lu Yanhe's approval.

Lu Yanhe said, "I don't really like how they adapt works into this kind of concept-driven works, but I think what she said makes a lot of sense. If I were to be so controlling about every adaptation, I would not only be exhausted, but it would also be detrimental to other creators' ability to unleash their creativity."

“In the future, you’ll likely be getting more and more offers for adaptations, and that’s something you really need to think about. Do you only focus on the fundamental principles, or do you carefully consider the direction each adaptation will take?” Chen Ziyan said. “Actually, the latter is also very difficult to achieve. You have to understand that the censorship standards and market conditions are different in each country, and we can’t possibly explain every specific situation every time we grant an adaptation license. All we can say is to choose a reliable partner.”

Lu Yanhe nodded.

"I think we should just maintain control over the principles," Lu Yanhe said. "We don't allow content that defames China or has political implications. As for other aspects of content creation, we won't make any demands. How people want to adapt it is their own business."

Chen Ziyan breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's the right way to think."

-

Although the Asian Television Awards do present awards, their role goes beyond mere honors.

More often than not, it's more like a large supermarket.

Every year, many projects are promoted here and sold to other countries.

The Asian region has a relatively similar cultural and historical background, unlike the differences with Europe and America, so film and television dramas are relatively more widely distributed.

Of course, in the drama market, Korean dramas have always been the most popular in Asia, and the whole of Asia loves them.

Previously, love was king, but now all kinds of tracks are flourishing, with all kinds of themes and representative works of all kinds.

Lu Yanhe felt it very clearly: Chinese-language dramas were not as popular as Korean dramas here.

Only two types of idol dramas, historical and contemporary, are very popular in Southeast Asian countries.

Many projects are frequently reported to have "sold at high prices." Whether those prices are genuine or not is unknown; everyone's become quite adept at marketing these days. The actual selling price is one thing, the advertising is another.

Lu Yanhe stayed here for two days and met with Jin Yanshu again to talk about the adaptation of "Rouge" into a Korean drama.

In response to Lu Yanhe's concerns, Jin Yanshu specially commissioned someone to create an adaptation outline and communicated their specific adaptation ideas with Lu Yanhe. This was to prove to Lu Yanhe that their adaptation would absolutely not turn it into a "feminist propaganda drama".

In fact, Lu Yanhe was becoming more and more convinced.

Finally, both sides reached a preliminary agreement and prepared to begin further negotiations.

-

Upon returning to China, Lu Yanhe's first action was to meet with Li Quansen, the owner of Bingyuan Video.

He once said that he wanted to remake "Rouge" into a TV series.

At the time, Lu Yanhe wanted to see their adaptation ideas before making a decision. Bingyuan Video also approached Miao Yue, wanting her to be the screenwriter.

Lu Yanhe first told Li Quansen about TVN's desire to film a Korean version and mentioned that he had initially decided to grant the rights. After that, he proposed that if Bingyuan Video wanted to continue adapting "Rouge," they should be granted the rights.

Lee Quansen had no problem with South Korea adapting the Korean version at the same time.

For reasons that cannot be discussed, Korean dramas are currently unable to enter the domestic market legally, thus failing to generate competition.

Therefore, Lu Yanhe first signed TV series adaptation agreements with Bingyuan Video for "Rouge" and "Lost in Thailand".

Among them, "Rouge" was authorized to be adapted into a TV series, and "Lost in Thailand" was authorized to be adapted into two web series.

The adaptation rights for the three dramas were sold as a package, with a total licensing fee of 21 million yuan, which also included some subsequent revenue sharing.

This licensing fee did not go into Lu Yanhe's personal account, but rather into the company's profits. This is because the copyrights to these two dramas belong to Linghe, not Lu Yanhe himself.

Of course, a large portion of Linghe's profits belonged to Lu Yanhe.

Chen Ziyan said with a smile, "I really benefited from your investment in Linghe back then."

Linghe has only three shareholders: Lu Yanhe, Chen Ziyan, and Chen Siqi. Initially, Lu Yanhe held 80% of the shares, and Chen Ziyan held 20%. Later, Lu Yanhe gave Chen Siqi an additional 5% of his shares.

Linghe's operating costs are currently low. It has no fixed business location and no staff; it's essentially a shell company. This also means that almost all of the company's revenue is pure profit.

Lu Yanhe hadn't expected the copyright revenue to be so lucrative... Of course, this was mainly because the two films themselves were very popular, which allowed them to command such a high price for the remake rights. In fact, the licensing price of 21 million was not high compared to the success of the two films themselves; it could even be considered a bargain. The reason they granted the adaptation rights at such a price was primarily because they would also enjoy a share of the profits from subsequent revenue sharing.

The main focus is on long-term revenue.

Just like the copyright revenue from these two films, it will also be a steady stream of income.

Lu Yanhe could almost foresee that one day in the future, his income as an actor would be far less than the copyright income he would receive as an IP creator.

Not long after Lu Yanhe had this idea, another established drama theater approached him to discuss a collaboration to adapt "Rouge" into a stage play.

The story of "Rouge" performed much worse at the box office than "Lost in Thailand," but it seems to have more room for adaptation licensing.

When TVN finally bought the South Korean adaptation rights to "Rouge" for $1.2 million, Lu Yanhe realized once again how lucrative adaptation revenue could be.

Linghe Film and Television released this message, focusing on the promotional point of "cultural export," which aligns with the main direction of official propaganda while also solidifying Lu Yanhe's "international" image.

On this road, Lu Yanhe was far ahead of everyone else, and no one could catch up with him.

-

At this time, news also arrived from Liujia Town and Chen Lingling's side.

Liu Jiazhen agreed to provide story ideas for the second season of "The Silent River," but will not serve as the lead screenwriter.

In fact, the story idea for Liujia Town had already been provided when the news was announced.

In the first season of "The Silent River", Lu Yanhe played a criminal suspect and Zeng Qiao played a police officer. In the end, Lu Yanhe was cleared of suspicion and his innocence was restored.

Liu Jiazhen did not make Lu Yanhe a criminal suspect again on this basis—this was also what Chen Lingling had been dissatisfied with before; she did not want the show to look like a mere copy of the first season's format.

In this season's story, Liu Jiazhen transforms Zeng Qiao's character from a police officer into a suspect, while Lu Yanhe's character becomes a key eyewitness. Lu Yanhe witnessed Zeng Qiao appear at the crime scene within an hour of the victim's death. Having interacted with Zeng Qiao in the first season, Lu Yanhe believes he is not the murderer. Therefore, upon learning that his testimony has implicated Zeng Qiao, he decides to conduct his own investigation to uncover evidence that clears Zeng Qiao's name.

Lu Yanhe's eyes lit up instantly when he heard about the setup in Liujia Town.

Chen Lingling was also very satisfied with the design.

So, Liujia Town used this idea to enrich the characters and storyline.

He promised to provide a detailed story outline within three months.

The actual writing was then handled by a professional screenwriter.

The second season of "The Silent River" has been officially announced and launched.

Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao both signed letters of intent, agreeing to return.

The news quickly became a trending topic not only in China but also on several overseas social media platforms.

As the creative provider for this season's story, Liujia Town has also attracted the attention of viewers of the first season of "The Silent River".

He is a well-known suspense novelist, but compared to the audience of film and television dramas, many people still do not know him.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the original author of "19 Years of Crime". Some viewers who had seen this terrible film were unaware of the situation and immediately started complaining, wondering why the second season of "The Silent River" would choose the original author of such a terrible film to provide story ideas.

Readers and fans from Liujia Town immediately left similar comments, saying that the book and the movie were completely different, and that the original novel of "Nineteen Years of Crime Records" was a highly acclaimed novel, but the movie was a terrible film, so they shouldn't blame the original author.

Lu Yanhe also posted a Weibo post, saying: "Nineteen Years of Crime Records" is one of my favorite novels, and it was also the first novel I recommended in my live broadcast. I am very happy to be able to invite Mr. Liu Jiazhen to provide story ideas for the second season of "The Silent River". As an actor who already knows some of the content, I can say that I can't wait to get involved in the filming of the second part of "The Silent River".

"Nineteen Years of Crime Records" has once again become a bestseller on major e-commerce platforms, directly topping the charts.

This sales figure is mainly attributed to viewers of the TV series "The Silent River".

Many people are eager to see how well the author who provided the story ideas for the second season of "The Silent River" and was so highly praised by Lu Yanhe actually writes his work.

Liu Jiazhen's other novel, "Silent Spiral," also saw high sales.

-

October was a busy month for Lu Yanhe, even though he wasn't filming.

On the one hand, there are many applications for various derivative adaptations of "Rouge". Domestic theaters have licensed it in the form of drama and dance drama. There is also a top comic book company in the industry that wants to obtain the comic book license to adapt it into a comic book, and so on.

On the other hand, Lu Yanhe was invited to watch the initial cuts of the first two episodes of "The Squid Game" and offered some suggestions. Outside of this project, Lu Yanhe also spoke with a film company about "You Are the Apple of My Eye." They were quite interested in the script, but after discussing it, they discovered that the company wanted to turn the film into an idol drama. Lu Yanhe quietly crossed out the idea, even though they agreed to keep the rights for him.

There's no need to force a partnership if the underlying concepts are incompatible.

Many scripts were sent to Lu Yanhe. More than twenty had arrived this month alone, and these were only those that had passed the initial screening. Lu Yanhe read quite a few scripts, and they were generally of acceptable quality. Some of them even brought tears to his eyes; they were very moving. However, in the end, Lu Yanhe did not choose any of them.

It's all because he felt it wasn't good enough. He did recommend a few of the scripts to his friends, thinking there were suitable roles in them.

Just then, Jiang Yuqian suddenly came to find him.

“Yan He, I want to make the movie ‘Telephone’ myself.” Jiang Yuqian’s words shocked Lu Yan He.

Jiang Yuqian wanted to be the producer herself and personally drive the project forward. Originally, the project was supposed to start much earlier, but Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan decided that they would keep the copyright of all future scripts, which led to the shelving of the "Telephone" and "Those Years" projects.

"I've secured an investment, and if the rest isn't enough, I'll cover it myself." Jiang Yuqian seemed determined to make this movie a success.

Lu Yanhe cautioned, "Sister Yuqian, making movies is quite risky. Are you sure you want to invest in it yourself?"

Jiang Yuqian nodded and said, "Because I want to finish making this movie as soon as possible. I don't want to keep waiting. I like this story. You said before that no other company was willing to make a drama whose copyrights didn't belong to them, so I decided to raise investment and build the team myself."

Lu Yanhe was truly shocked by Jiang Yuqian's attitude. Jiang Yuqian had only recently finished filming "Squid Game," and shouldn't be in such a hurry to move on to the next project. Besides, she was already cast in the film "The Telephone," so why was she in such a rush?

Chen Ziyan said, "If I were Jiang Yuqian, I would be anxious too."

"Huh?" Lu Yanhe was even more surprised.

Chen Ziyan: "Think about it, what's your market value right now? 'Lost in Thailand' was a hit, and 'Rouge' was a hit too. Both were huge box office and critical successes. So how many people are eyeing 'The Telephone'? If it doesn't start filming soon, from her perspective, even if you have a good relationship with her, there's still the possibility of being replaced. Of course, she wants to push 'The Telephone' to start filming as soon as possible, so that this movie will definitely become hers."

Lu Yanhe suddenly realized.

Lu Yanhe felt there was no rush, since the movie was hers anyway.

But Jiang Yuqian didn't think so. In the entertainment industry, actors can be replaced even after filming begins, and given how popular his show was, it was normal for her to worry about someone else taking it away.

Furthermore, the reason filming is not currently being delayed is not due to a lack of investment or any other major obstacles. It's simply that Lu Yanhe's own company is working on "Love Letter" and simply cannot spare the resources for "Telephone," while other production companies are unwilling to merely provide filming support for Lu Yanhe's team; they want the film rights. Jiang Yuqian doesn't want the film rights; what she needs is the career boost this film will bring her.

“The advantage of having Jiang Yuqian direct this film is that it saves us time and effort. We have a project manager, and she has high hopes for it. She also has deep connections and resources in the industry. With us, it's like adding value. But there are also problems. She has never been a producer or a filmmaker before. She has no experience. You know how risky and difficult it is to make a film. After directing ‘Love Letter,’ you should understand this even better,” Chen Ziyan said. “Therefore, the possibility of failure is also very high if she takes the lead.”

Of course, Lu Yanhe couldn't possibly say that he gave Jiang Yuqian a script like "The Telephone" to try out because he had a good relationship with her.

Even a good relationship isn't this kind of good.

Moreover, Jiang Yuqian said she wanted to film it herself, so he just handed it over to her without asking any questions or worrying about anything. This is also an irresponsible act.

Therefore, after thinking about it for a long time, Lu Yanhe felt that he should talk to Jiang Yuqian about it openly.

Jiang Yuqian showed no dissatisfaction or anger regarding Lu Yanhe's concerns.

“Of course,” Jiang Yuqian said. “Even if you didn’t say anything, I would still want to hear your opinion. I know that making movies is difficult, and it’s not something I can do on a whim. However, I want to learn, and I won’t mess around. I will find a good production team and director to make this movie together.”

Lu Yanhe asked, "Sister Yuqian, do you have any thoughts about directing?"

Jiang Yuqian said, "Before I came to you about this, I had thought about it a lot, and I had a list in my mind."

Jiang Yuqian's list of potential invitees includes Chen Mofan, the director of "My Home That I Haven't Been Back For a Long Time," and Huang Beng, the director of "Upstairs," both of whom have had blockbuster films in recent years.

Have you spoken with these directors?

“I haven’t even gotten your permission yet, how could I possibly go and talk to them first?” Jiang Yuqian shook her head.

Lu Yanhe said, "If one of these directors is willing to direct, I would be very happy to entrust this film to you."

Jiang Yuqian's eyes lit up.

"Okay, then it's settled."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

-

In North America's awards season, "Paths of Glory" won two more awards, receiving nominations for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor at the Uritter Critics Association Awards and the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards.

Both are awards that aren't considered top-tier, but as soon as the nominations were announced, Road to Glory released the news, promoting itself and adding fuel to the fire for Road to Glory's North American awards season journey.

Lu Yanhe's consecutive nominations for Best Supporting Actor have puzzled some people. Why has Lu Yanhe received three nominations while the lead actor Shang Yongzhou has remained silent?

Laymen watch the spectacle, experts watch the details.

Lu Yanhe and the others knew that it was because they had spent their own money on public relations, while Shang Yongzhou hadn't.

Basically, you have to play according to their rules before they'll allow you to enter.

If you don't play by their rules, they'll assume you're not interested in winning and won't consider you when you're nominated.

It's not necessarily whether the actor wants to participate or not; sometimes it's the wish of their team or the film company involved.

But no matter who it is, there always has to be someone to help you figure out the rules of the game.

Of course, there's another crucial reason. The competition for Best Supporting Actor is much less intense than that for Best Actor. With the same PR budget, it would be virtually impossible for Shang Yongzhou to get a Best Actor nomination. For this award, it's a collaborative effort from actors, their agencies, and the production company. Unlike the Best Supporting Actor category, the competition is much less intense.

Meanwhile, Green Valley Films in the United States also secured an invitation for Lu Yanhe to a grand event in Hollywood at the end of October.

This is an important part of the public relations process every year during awards season.

If Lu Yanhe didn't participate in these kinds of events and get to know people in Hollywood, it would be the same; he wouldn't even be considered for many awards. There are too many good movies in the world; it's not that they have an obligation to discover every good movie. As long as the movies they discover are good movies with good performances, that's enough.

It's often said that China is a society where personal connections matter, and Hollywood is no exception. If you don't get into their circle, they won't even bother with you.

However, Lu Yanhe, being Chinese, had never been involved in Western entertainment circles before. Aside from a few limited appearances at film festivals, he had virtually no contact with people from those circles. If he didn't act assertively at such events, he would only feel awkward. But to do so, he'd rather not.

Fortunately, Schmidt Lowry, the owner of Green Valley Films, introduced him to all sorts of people.

After going through this superficial way of getting to know people, Lu Yanhe couldn't remember any of them at all.

Nevertheless, Lu Yanhe still had to pretend to be something like, "Oh, I've known you for a long time!" or "We really hit it off; we must find another opportunity to have a proper chat next time."

At such events, getting to know and exchanging pleasantries with Hollywood producers, directors, and actors is secondary. At this stage, Lu Yanhe needs to get to know film critics and media professionals, so that they know about him and the film "Road to Glory".

Lu Yanhe's own image and demeanor played a very important role at this time.

Being a top student at a prestigious university is a universally recognized status in any country around the world.

The public relations strategy devised by Green Valley Films for Lu Yanhe was based on two labels: first, a young genius in the Chinese film industry; second, a top student who defied the odds to get into a prestigious university.

These two points aren't exactly exaggerated promotional claims for Hollywood. After all, there are countless far more outrageous claims in Hollywood. However, for Lu Yanhe, these two labels are currently the easiest way for Hollywood to get a first impression of him.

Lu Yanhe prepared to return to China the day after participating in the event in the United States.

Unexpectedly, after he had packed his things and was preparing to leave the hotel for the airport, Schmidt Lowry contacted him and said, "Lu, director Murken Sorge wants to meet with you."

Lu Yanhe met director Murken Sorge last night.

He is German and has directed two films in Hollywood, both horror films, which were both successful at the box office. Both were classic examples of high-grossing films with budgets of a few million that turned into tens of millions of dollars.

Lu Yanhe said, "Mr. Laurie, my flight back to China is in four hours."

Schmidt Lowry said, "Oh, I'll ask him if we can meet via video if we can't make it. But can you reschedule? He has a movie in pre-production, and he has a role for you."

Lu Yanhe said, "I'm sorry, I already have work arranged in China, so I have to go back."

A little while later, Schmidt Lowry called and said, "Lu, Muken says he's coming to your hotel to see you and take you to the airport."

Lu Yanhe was extremely surprised.

Thirty minutes later, Lu Yanhe met the German director at the hotel entrance.

As a director, he was not very old, only about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, and he had a little beard.

When Muken Sorge saw him, he immediately came over to shake his hand warmly, saying, "Luckily I made it in time."

Lu Yanhe greeted Muken Sorge politely, saying, "Hello, Director."

Muken Sorge glanced at Lu Yanhe's suitcase and Zou Dong, Wang Biao, and the others, and asked, "Are you going to the airport now?"

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Muken Sorge said, "Then I'll drive you there. I drove here, and we can chat on the way, okay?"

Lu Yanhe was both surprised and amused.

However, given how proactive and sincere Muken Sorge was in seeking him out, Lu Yanhe had no choice but to agree.

Moreover, putting all that aside, Lu Yanhe also wanted to hear why Muken Sorge insisted on meeting him before he returned home.

"good."

So, Zou Dong and Wang Biao got into their rented car with their luggage, while Lu Yanhe got into Muken Sorge's car.

"There's a script on the chair," said Murken Sorge, "it's the script for my next film."

Lu Yanhe opened the passenger door and saw the loose-leaf script.

He took it, sat down, fastened his seatbelt, and glanced at the cover.

The cover reads "Mist".

Director/Screenwriter: Moken Sorge.

(End of this chapter)