Chapter 525 Stealing Your Spotlight (12,000 words update!)

Sometimes, the storytelling technique is more important than the story itself.

This is a profound insight that Lu Yanhe gained after becoming a screenwriter.

Looking back at many of his favorite movies, some of which are even considered masterpieces by many, he realized that they achieved an unexpected effect through a misplaced perspective or missing pieces in a puzzle.

Liu Zhiyin's face turned pale.

"You really scared me."

"The story unfolded like a nightmare," Qin Zhibai said. "I can't even imagine such a scene."

"Indeed, it's terrifying."

“Hmm.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “From a scriptwriting perspective, I feel this is a point where the story can continue. The mother-son relationship naturally includes a father—and if the murderer were a stranger, even a neighbor, it wouldn’t really shock us based on emotional logic. I’ve always felt that for a story to have a compelling twist, it has to be both unexpected and logical. In this kind of relationship, the father’s presence is natural, and the father killing the mother is unexpected.”

"Moreover, the father-son relationship can also resolve what I just mentioned: the disparity between a stranger, an adult murderer, and a minor child. If the relationship is so disparate, even if I try my best to make all the processes logical and reasonable, people will still feel, based on their own understanding, that a child being able to fight a vicious adult for so long and finally escape is something from a movie, not reality."

Lu Yanhe said, "But if this relationship is between a father and son, it's not surprising at all. Even tigers don't eat their cubs; this is everyone's natural understanding of the father-son relationship. On one hand, the father might want to kill his son to silence him, but on the other hand, he can't bring himself to do it, which gives my character, the child, room to cause trouble—and the audience won't think it's a cheat code. Later in the film, we can explore why the father wanted to kill the mother—oh, no, actually we can add a premise to this story: the father didn't know his child was home! The child should have been at school, or somewhere else, but because of an accident, he stayed home and played hide-and-seek with his mother, and the mother didn't tell the father that the child was home."

“In this way, the film can be expanded to include a scene where the father cleans up all the traces and pretends nothing happened,” Lu Yanhe said. “I want to keep it from him and not let him find out that I saw him kill my mother.”

"Wow!" Qin Zhibai looked at Lu Yanhe in shock.

“But there’s a problem to solve: why did I choose to pretend I didn’t find anything instead of exposing the truth immediately?” Lu Yanhe said. “Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense. I could have chosen to call the police, tell the teacher, or do other things.”

He fell into deep thought.

Li Zhibai said, "What if we added a scene where he went to the police station, but the police thought he was playing a prank?"

“That’s too cliché, there are too many of those kinds of plots,” Lu Yanhe said. “How about adding a scenario where he is actually planning to call the police or ask for help, for example—I’ve got it! He sneaks out to borrow a phone from a neighbor to call his grandparents or tell them what happened. But just before he can speak, his father sees him through the window and appears just in time to take him home. In this situation, he has to pretend he knows nothing.”

"But isn't that a bit strange?" Yan Liang raised his question. "It's normal to be scared after witnessing one's mother being killed by one's father, but how did he know to pretend he didn't know anything? A child who plays hide-and-seek with his mother should be around seven or eight years old. At that age, I don't think he could think so comprehensively. His first reaction was to call the police?"

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be the police; it could be his maternal grandparents,” Lu Yanhe said. “Add another premise: his father is abusive and often beats him and his mother, so he has been afraid of and hates his father since he was a child. Every time his father beats his mother, he would secretly go to the neighbor’s house to call his maternal grandparents. You could even put this scene at the beginning of the movie, and his subsequent behavior would have a logical basis.”

"Doing so can indeed provide some explanation."

"I'm impressed, Yan He. You came up with so much in such a short time. No wonder you wrote the script so quickly."

"This is still completely immature, and we don't even know how the story will end," Lu Yanhe said with a smile, waving his hand. "But it's a very good mental exercise."

Xiao Yun was shocked throughout the entire process.

She may never have seen how a story is derived.

The process is essentially a process of demystification. Often, what people see are already polished finished products, so when they encounter something they like, they shower it with praise. However, in reality, many works weren't that good at the beginning; they could even be described as terrible. When viewers see how awful the work they consider so great was initially, their feeling is similar to discovering that even gods ascended from humans—they no longer seem so divine.

But for some people, knowing the process, especially knowing how bad it was at the beginning, will make them admire the work and the creator even more.

To be able to transform something ordinary, common, or even trash into a breathtaking creation is like witnessing a beggar ascend to godhood. This isn't just an inspirational story of a carp leaping over the dragon gate; it's an extraordinary evolution.

“I suddenly realized why Yan He is so good at picking scripts.” Xiao Yun sighed as she hugged Su Xiao. “He really understands scripts, but I don’t. I can only get a script, read it, and think it’s good or bad, but I can only have one feeling and can’t analyze it in any way.”

Peng Zhixing said, "Actually, actors should focus on feeling, not necessarily being able to analyze things very thoroughly. I know some actors who, when you listen to them analyze a character, you really think they are exceptionally talented actors, with clear layers and rigorous logic, but they give themselves away when they act. Their theoretical knowledge is very solid, but their practical skills are terrible."

"Who are you talking about?" Xiao Yun asked immediately, his eyes sparkling.

Peng Zhixing simply threw a cushion at him.

Everyone burst into laughter.

Qin Zhibai raised his hand and asked, "Are there any other turtle soups? I want to keep playing."

“I have one,” Song Linxin immediately raised her hand.

Lu Yanhe stood up. "You guys play first, I'm going to the restroom."

He smiled as he went to the bathroom, and only when he entered the only place in the house without cameras did his smile slowly fade.

Just now, without any preparation, he blurted out those words as if possessed.

He knew that someone would definitely see it, and if he did, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep well.

He took out his phone and texted Chen Ziyan: Sister Ziyan, are you free to come over tomorrow? I have something to tell you in person. I might have gotten into trouble again.

Chen Ziyan replied instantly: ……

Lu Yanhe: No rush, it's not like we'll make a mess of things right away.

Chen Ziyan: Are you sending me a heads-up?

Lu Yanhe: No, this isn't a preview. The mess has been made, but it won't be seen by anyone right away. I'll tell you tomorrow.

Chen Ziyan: How am I supposed to sleep tonight?

-

The next day, Chen Ziyan arrived early in the morning and had breakfast with Lu Yanhe at a breakfast shop near the filming location.

Lu Yanhe asked the production team to temporarily stop filming him.

Chen Ziyan's expression changed after she learned what he had said in front of the camera last night.

—I discovered that the person who killed my mother was actually my father.

To others, this is just a turtle soup game; this statement is merely Lu Yanhe's suggestion of a possible continuation of the story.

However, for some people, this is an implication, a veiled hint.

Chen Ziyan never expected that Lu Yanhe had always kept this matter hidden in his heart and had never let it go.

Once they found out who that person might be, they temporarily put everything aside.

Because none of them had figured out how to deal with this situation.

Lu Yanhe suddenly said something like this at this moment—

Moreover, he knew very well what he was doing.

“He will definitely hear what you said,” Chen Ziyan said. “He will also overthink it, and wonder if you are implying something. Maybe he will take the initiative to contact you. Yan He, this matter has actually been on hold for a long time. With your current achievements and status, I believe those people will not dare to do anything to you anymore. It is foreseeable that if you don’t bring this matter up in the future, it may become a thing of the past, a secret, and be gone forever. Have you seriously thought about whether you want to bring this matter up?”

Lu Yanhe said, "I don't know, Sister Ziyan. If I figure it out, I'll tell you what I'm going to do."

“Last night—” Lu Yanhe paused before continuing, “Last night, a thought suddenly popped into my head, and I wanted to see what he would think if he saw me say that. I thought I really didn’t care about him—”

Lu Yanhe thought that this was actually the original owner's affair, and as a transmigrator, he actually had no emotional relationship with that person.

But for some reason, perhaps he really put himself in Lu Yanhe's shoes, or rather, he had completely and fully accepted his existence as Lu Yanhe. So, without realizing it, Chen Pinhe was no longer a simple symbol to him, but also became something akin to a mental illness.

In particular, as he has experienced these past few years, he has not only forged an increasingly strong heart, but has also gradually become more willing to release his stress responses.

Before that, he had always been extremely cautious, trying to remain unchanged in the face of any change.

So, last night, when Lu Yanhe found himself suddenly feeling a vengeful urge to "why let him hide in the background so safely," he wasn't surprised at all.

Chen Ziyan said, "So, to put it bluntly, you just wanted to test his attitude?"

Lu Yanhe shook his head, "No, I didn't think that much about it. I just wanted to... provoke him a little."

Chen Ziyan remained silent for a while, then said, "Have you thought about how he will respond?"

“There probably won’t be any response,” Lu Yanhe said. “He probably doesn’t even know yet that I’ve already guessed it was him.”

Chen Ziyan: "By doing this, you're essentially making it clear."

"Sister Ziyan, do you think I can bring it up?" Lu Yanhe asked.

"You can do whatever you want now," Chen Ziyan said bluntly, "but you must think it through carefully and not act recklessly."

Lu Yanhe: "So last night...did I do something a bit reckless?"

“That’s nothing. Apart from those who know the inside story, no one will think much of it,” Chen Ziyan said. “What you’re saying is just a pretext to make up a story.”

Lu Yanhe nodded.

“But if he comes to you later, for example, I mean, for example, he wants to come to you to confess the truth and acknowledge you as his son, or he continues to play dead like a bastard and doesn’t make a move, you need to think clearly about how to deal with his possible reactions,” Chen Ziyan said. “You already have enough leverage to do whatever you want, but in any case, you must plan carefully before you act.”

Lu Yanhe nodded thoughtfully.

-

After finishing his conversation with Chen Ziyan, Lu Yanhe packed some breakfast to take back with him.

Mainly steamed dumplings and corn, which can be stored for a long time.

When he returned, only Yan Liang was up and not in the house; he had gone for a morning run.

After hearing what the photographer said, Lu Yanhe put his things down, went upstairs, and knocked on Li Zhibai's door to wake him up.

"Yan Liang went for a morning run, aren't you going?"

In the pitch-black room, Li Zhibai muttered, "I'm not going."

"You promised to keep exercising!"

Li Zhi feigned death, remaining silent.

Lu Yanhe was actually doing it on purpose.

The show needs material, and interactions between celebrities are the best material.

And the material he used to criticize Li Zhibai was definitely one of the best materials.

This is the awareness of an artist—Chen Ziyan reminded him several times that when recording variety shows, either don't record at all, or if you do, don't put on airs, especially for slow-paced variety shows like "The Days of Youth".

Don't start putting on airs in front of the camera just because you're a movie star or a big celebrity now.

Lu Yanhe understood Chen Ziyan's meaning very well and agreed with it.

Either don't record at all, or if you do record, of course you have to cooperate with the production team and provide some reactions and materials, otherwise why invite you here?

Lu Yanhe knew that if he followed his usual lifestyle, the camera might not capture much usable footage in a day, because there really wouldn't be any good program material.

He's not like Li Zhibai, where every word he says or every reaction he makes is a natural effect.

A master of creating entertaining content.

For example, he's pretending to be dead and not responding.

This is different from Lu Yanhe deliberately calling him to go for a run. Li Zhibai's reaction was instinctive and absolutely without any thought, but it was a natural and excellent material.

Lu Yanhe could already imagine how the show would edit this segment later on.

"You got up so early?"

Peng Zhixing walked over from the other end of the corridor in slippers, his hair messy and unkempt.

Well, based on Lu Yanhe's understanding of him, this was also something he deliberately didn't do, coming out in this image specifically for the camera to film.

Peng Zhixing is a very particular person. If it weren't for the TV show, he probably wouldn't have appeared in public so casually when so many people were living together.

"The Days of Youth" has been filmed for four years, and everyone has become more and more familiar with each other. They know what kind of state to present on the show and how to achieve a balance between authenticity and performance.

Lu Yanhe said, "I bought you breakfast, it's downstairs."

"So virtuous." Peng Zhixing nodded. "Then I can be lazy this morning."

"No, I didn't buy much. I only bought steamed dumplings and corn for those who want to lose weight. I want to eat scallion oil noodles." Lu Yanhe chuckled at Peng Zhixing. "Please, Zhixing-ge."

Scallion oil noodles are Peng Zhixing's specialty.

In this show, everyone loves the scallion oil noodles he makes.

Peng Zhixing usually makes breakfast for everyone, and the most popular breakfast among them is scallion oil noodles.

"Then wake everyone up. The noodles have to be eaten as soon as they're cooked."

“Okay, I’ll call them right away.” Lu Yanhe immediately accepted the task.

Lu Yanhe's way of waking everyone up was also quite unique.

He found everyone's embarrassing videos online, then opened the door, stood in the doorway, found a megaphone, turned on the video, and played it.

Screams erupted one after another.

The production team was laughing so hard they were practically rolling on the floor.

Lu Yanhe's behavior is quite witty; even screenwriters couldn't come up with something like that.

A group of people came downstairs with sleepy eyes and droopy eyelids, and slumped onto the sofa.

Basically, none of them have a good image.

"Lu Yanhe, when did you become so despicable?" Song Linxin asked weakly.

“Yeah, if it were Li Zhibai who did this, it would be one thing, but for you to do something like this, I really didn’t expect it,” Qin Zhibai said.

Li Zhibai said with dissatisfaction, "I have never been so immoral before."

Yan Liang: "I learned it all from you."

“That’s still a case of the student surpassing the teacher.” Li Zhibai chuckled. “I wonder how long he’s kept those videos on his phone.”

“You should ask me how long I will continue to preserve it,” Lu Yanhe smiled. “The answer is forever.”

Li Zhibai: "Sun."

Xiao Yun sighed, "A perfectly good Lu Yanhe has turned into Li Zhibai."

"What does this have to do with me?" Li Zhibai said, dissatisfied.

“The student surpasses the master, as you yourself said, he is due to your relationship,” Xiao Yun said.

Li Zhibai: "You son of a bitch."

The grumbling finally stopped with the aroma of scallion oil.

"Have you brushed your teeth? Have you washed your face?" Peng Zhixing's question came from the kitchen. "The scallion oil noodles will be ready soon, hurry up."

The group scattered like birds and beasts.

Lu Yanhe very proactively went to the kitchen and brought out his portion of scallion oil noodles.

“Brother Zhixing, look, they’re all a bunch of people who don’t eat well and have some kind of problem with their thinking. Only I truly love your scallion oil noodles.”

"Come on, you just love to eat, and you still have to put us down." Li Zhibai was the first to finish washing up and came downstairs, complaining, "And they actually think you learned it from me? I don't do things like putting us down."

Lu Yanhe: "That's right. After all, in your heart, you are already the most handsome, the most awesome, and the best man in the world. No one can compare to you."

Li Zhibai: "..."

Peng Zhixing smiled and handed Li Zhibai his portion, saying, "Hurry up and eat. Stop talking. Your noise is hurting my ears so early in the morning."

-

Lu Yanhe was also surprised. He originally thought that his mood would drop because he suddenly thought of Chen Pinhe and he would be stuck in a bad mood for a long time. However, he did not expect that he overestimated Chen Pinhe's influence on him and underestimated his current ability to adjust his emotions.

Or rather, the show "The Days of Youth" allowed him to adjust his emotions in a timely manner. This was something he hadn't anticipated.

The season of "The Days of Youth" is still being filmed in several stages.

Everyone is so busy. With so many popular celebrities, it's hard to find the time to spend together without doing other work in between.

That's fine too.

Because of this, they won't meet once a year; in fact, these recordings will be spread over three months, from August to October.

The first phase of recording lasted only four days.

We finally got together, but we have to part again in four days.

It's actually quite good. If you spend too much time together, you might get tired of each other. This way, having parted again so soon after reuniting at least keeps everyone looking forward to the next recording.

Lu Yanhe hadn't even returned to Ziyuan Bridge after leaving the program when he received a call from Chen Ziyan.

Chen Ziyan said that the Venice International Film Festival invited him as a guest to hold a special screening of his work in Venice.

Lu Yanhe looked bewildered. "What?"

Chen Ziyan said, "Simply put, they want you to appear at the Venice Film Festival—you are one of the most popular movie stars, and they want to get you there to add star power to the festival, but you don't have any films nominated, so they want to use this event to officially invite you there."

Lu Yanhe was shocked.

"Isn't this a bit too exaggerated?"

“It’s no exaggeration to say that in terms of the depth of your work, you’re no worse than anyone else,” Chen Ziyan said. “The only problem now is that the recording of the third stage of ‘The Days of Youth’ was originally scheduled for that time. We had already signed a contract with the production team.”

Lu Yanhe thought for a moment and said, "How about we forget about it? Although I'm quite proud that they organized this special screening of my work for me."

"This is good for your career; it's a great honor," Chen Ziyan said. "Top international film festivals rarely hold special screenings for a single filmmaker. To be honest, I think this special screening for you will cause quite a bit of controversy, given your young age and lack of experience. Usually, these special screenings or retrospectives of individual works are for world-renowned stars, and you are indeed a bit behind them. But who cares? It's not like you're deliberately trying to piggyback on their success; they genuinely want to do this for you. The more they do this, the more it highlights your uniqueness, which will greatly benefit your further expansion of international recognition."

Lu Yanhe thought for a moment, "Actually, I'm also tempted."

“Then I’ll go talk to Li Zhenzhen. This is indeed a rare opportunity for you. Let’s ask the production team for leave,” Chen Ziyan said.

Lu Yanhe sighed.

"I had previously stated unequivocally that I would definitely record every single episode of this season this year."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ziyan paused for a moment before saying, "Perhaps we can think of a way that allows you to go to Venice while also recording the show."

"Huh?" Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised.

Chen Ziyan: "It depends on whether the production team is willing to spend big and increase the budget."

-

"The artists featured in 'The Days of Youth' are basically all famous now. In previous episodes, the show only showed their ordinary side in private. If we can go to Venice together this time, we can focus on their side as popular stars in a concentrated and authentic way."

Chen Ziyan said to Li Zhenzhen with certainty, "The show has been running for so many seasons, it's time to find a new hot topic to make the show have an explosive impact, right? What could be more attractive than eight artists attending the Venice International Film Festival together, showcasing the artists' experiences both on and off stage at a top event?"

Li Zhenzhen was bewildered and taken aback.

Will the Venice International Film Festival allow us to record a program there?

“I’ll handle the negotiations,” Chen Ziyan said. “Of course, I know that making the last-minute decision to move the third phase to Venice will definitely bring a lot of difficulties and troubles, especially since the production budget will definitely need to be increased. That’s up to you. But you can make plans and proposals for communicating with the film festival, including what activities the artists will participate in, and I will help you realize them.”

Li Zhenzhen barely hesitated for long before her eyes lit up and she nodded excitedly.

"good!"

How could a show like "The Days of Youth" possibly lack production funding! Besides, with so many variety shows across the country, no other program has managed to film a show on this theme so far.

Chen Ziyan acted immediately and contacted the Venice International Film Festival right away.

"Yan He is very grateful for your idea and for your recognition of him. However, Yan He has already signed a contract with one of China's most popular programs, and he needs to cooperate with the recording of that program at that time, which creates a time conflict."

"However, I communicated with the production team, and they were willing to take the show to Venice for filming. The eight celebrities on this show are now the most popular stars in China and even Asia."

When Chen Ziyan gets exaggerated, she's capable of saying anything.

"Li Zhibai is one of China's most popular male stars. He is also the male lead in Liu Bige's next film, the director of 'Late Spring.' Yan Liang is the male lead in 'The Gold Rush,' which was recently a global hit on HP, and also the lead actor in 'Friends.' You must know him. I won't introduce the others one by one, but they are all China's most popular stars. If they all come to the Venice International Film Festival, I think it will definitely bring the Venice International Film Festival the greatest attention and popularity in China in nearly ten years."

“If you are willing to authorize the program team to film at the film festival and coordinate some things for us, Yan He will definitely be very willing to come to Venice and hold a special screening of his works here,” Chen Ziyan said. “In fact, these young stars will all become big names in Chinese cinema in the future. If they can form a connection with Venice so early, I think their feelings for Venice will definitely be different.”

...

So, before the fifth season of "The Days of Youth" even premiered, a rumor suddenly spread that the fifth season might be filmed in Venice this year, with the stars appearing on location and showcasing their real-life activities.

This news has ignited a new wave of anticipation for the show.

But for those in the film industry, the fact that no Chinese-language films were selected for this year's Venice International Film Festival has left them somewhat disappointed.

After all, Chinese-language films have won many awards at international film festivals in recent years, and everyone thinks that this momentum will continue.

The fact that none of their shortlisted entries were received was a heavy blow to them.

Unexpectedly, shortly afterward, the Venice International Film Festival officially announced that this year's festival would include screenings of works by actor/screenwriter Lu Yanhe, with the specific works to be screened to be jointly determined by Venice International Film Festival artistic director Picasso and Lu Yanhe.

As Chen Ziyan said, this news has caused some controversy worldwide.

A special screening of Lu Yanhe's works will be held.

Someone asked a question directly to Picasso at the press conference.

Picasso said, "We invited Lu Yanhe to hold this special screening because he is the most outstanding rising star in the film industry in recent years. Even on a global scale, no other young person has produced so many excellent works in just a few years. 'Late Spring,' 'Three Mountains,' 'Rouge,' and so on... His acting career is very impressive. The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest film festival, but we always hope that more fresh blood will flow into our film industry. Lu Yanhe is the most outstanding fresh blood among them. Is there any problem with us holding a screening of his works?"

Picasso's words silenced the reporters.

However, while some people's mouths were silenced, others' mouths could not be shut up.

For example, Japanese film critic Nagayama Kazuzo said that the Venice International Film Festival came up with this idea in order to maintain the festival's popularity in China, given that no Chinese-language films were nominated. He said it was too low for a top-tier film festival to do something so tasteless just for a little bit of attention.

Then, the film festival didn't tolerate him either, directly canceling Yongshan Hesan's pass to the Venice International Film Festival on the grounds that "biased film critics are not welcome." He will be unable to enter any officially organized events, including every film premiere.

Enraged, Yongshanhe San lashed out at the Venice International Film Festival on his social media platform, calling it petty.

Of course, almost no one paid him any attention.

-

When Lu Yanhe was choosing his works, he was somewhat troubled.

Because he doesn't actually have many works.

Especially the movies, there are basically only a few, and besides that, there's only one, "Lost in Thailand," which is very unsuitable for screening at film festivals.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Yanhe spoke with Picasso: "Could I add two TV series? Edit out a relatively complete segment from them and have it screened as a special episode?"

Picasso was surprised, thinking that Lu Yanhe was referring to "The Squid Game," since the show he wrote was indeed very popular.

In fact, it's not unusual to screen TV series at film festivals; anything is possible if you're a big director or a big star.

Lu Yanhe wasn't referring to "The Squid Game," but rather to "The Golden Age" and "The Silent River."

Lu Yanhe said, "The Golden Era was the first drama I acted in, and it has a different meaning for me. The character I played in this drama actually had very few scenes, but there was a very complete storyline. I hope to edit this part out separately as a special screening version, which is also a meaningful version."

Picasso hesitated for a moment, then agreed.

After all, it is a screening of Lu Yanhe's work. His debut film has special significance in many ways and is in line with the theme of this screening event.

"I don't know yet if Maxine will agree to license 'The Silent River' for screening at film festivals."

Lu Yanhe was very confident about the drama "The Golden Era," and he was certain that Director Luo Yuzhong would agree to it.

However, the copyright to "The Silent River" is held by Maxine, so they might not necessarily agree.

Picasso said, "If you think 'The Silent River' is definitely worth including in this list, I can help you communicate and negotiate with the people at Maxine."

As the artistic director of the Venice International Film Festival, he naturally had a close relationship with Maxine.

Lu Yanhe thought for a moment and said, "No need, Mr. Picasso, I communicated with them myself. If they don't agree, that's fine. Five works are enough."

"I hope you'll make more films in the future and bring more of your films to Venice," Picasso said. "I heard you're planning to take your directorial debut, *Love Letter*, to the Jose Film Festival?"

“Yes,” Lu Yanhe said. “Its style is not quite suitable for Venice, but more suitable for Jose.”

“Alright,” Picasso said, sounding somewhat disappointed. “I hope you’ll contact me for your next project.”

Lu Yanhe: "I will, Mr. Picasso."

Next movie?

Lu Yanhe smiled.

His next film is a spy thriller directed by Liu Bige.

He still doesn't know what kind of film Liu Bige wants to make. If it's commercially oriented, then even if he takes the initiative to contact Picasso, Picasso will probably only be willing to put it in the screening section.

When these film festival artistic directors ask you for films, they always adopt a very humble attitude, as if they will treat these films with the best treatment as long as you are willing to give them to them.

But if the film doesn't meet their expectations, then sorry, you'll have to make way for other films.

Lu Yanhe was well aware of this, so he didn't harbor any unrealistic fantasies—such as using his starring role to get the film into the main competition.

There's really no need for that.

If a film is of poor quality but still insists on entering the main competition, then it's just asking for trouble.

He was still condemned by thousands of people.

-

When Lu Yanhe went to Luo Yuzhong to discuss creating a special screening version of "The Golden Era," Luo Yuzhong readily agreed.

"Oh my, this is great! We'll be taking this show to the international stage," Luo Yuzhong said with a smile, teasingly.

Lu Yanhe said, "This is the first time I have held a special screening of my personal work. 'The Golden Era' is a very special work for me."

Luo Yuzhong nodded.

"Your performance in it was commendable, not bad at all," he said. "I'll also watch all the footage that wasn't aired and edit a version for you. When do you need it?"

"It has to be done by September 2nd at the latest," Lu Yanhe said.

Luo Yuzhong nodded. "Okay, that's enough. You'll have to come back later to do some additional voice-over. Oh, right, and we also need to call Jiang Yuqian back."

“I’ll talk to Sister Yuqian.” Lu Yanhe smiled. “Teacher, are you free in early September? If you are, please support me. I also want to ask Sister Yuqian. This drama, ‘The Golden Era,’ is very special to me. You are the first director who guided my acting, and Sister Yuqian is the first actress who acted opposite me. I would be very happy if you could come together.”

Luo Yuzhong said, "Why would a TV drama director like me go to a film festival?"

“Then I’ll just take a clip from the TV series to the screening,” Lu Yanhe said. “Teacher, come with me.”

Luo Yuzhong clicked his tongue. "We'll see."

Jiang Yuqian, who was extremely busy and whose career had finally taken off and was unwilling to miss any opportunity, immediately said after receiving Lu Yanhe's call: "I have to make time, even if I don't have time. I'll try my best to adjust my schedule and see if I can find the time."

There's definitely no time right now. Jiang Yuqian is too popular. After one role revived her career, her team took advantage of the situation and did a solid job in all aspects, making Jiang Yuqian the biggest beneficiary of the popularity of the drama "Squid Game".

This was her appearance at the Venice International Film Festival—

Jiang Yuqian readily agreed to this level of activity because of her personal relationship with Lu Yanhe, and her team was also happy to accept it.

Finally, Huang Kairen heard the news and called.

"Damn, you're having a special screening of 'The Golden Era,' but you're not inviting me, are you?"

Lu Yanhe laughed and said, "You weren't on screen when I appeared, and you weren't even in the shot."

Huang Kairen: "Then why don't you take 'Rouge' up for screening?"

"Of course there's 'Rouge,' but I can't possibly cast every actor from every film," Lu Yanhe said.

There's no way we have such a large budget.

It costs money for so many celebrities to go to Venice.

Lu Yanhe was prepared to pay for Luo Yuzhong and Jiang Yuqian's journey himself, since no one else would cover the cost.

Huang Kairen said, "Anyway, I was going anyway, so please include me. Otherwise, you'll be all alone in the 'Rouge' performance, which would be so lonely."

“I have the whole team from ‘The Days of Youth,’ I won’t be all alone—” Lu Yanhe retorted first, then asked, “Brother Kairen, do you have any work to do in Venice this time?”

“Yes, a brand I endorse has an event over there,” Huang Kairen said. “I was going there anyway.”

"Okay, then I have another person to support me."

Huang Kairen smiled and said, "You have to include me in 'The Golden Era' too! Even if the version shown doesn't have any scenes with me, I still have to appear."

Lu Yanhe: "You're so annoying. You don't even get any screen time, yet you still try to steal my thunder."

"I'm just trying to steal your thunder."

Lu Yanhe laughed.

-

Besides the Venice event, Lu Yanhe is also busy preparing for another project: the show "The Birth of an Actor".

Lu Yanhe was not responsible for program production or coordination. After he wrote the entire program plan, all he was responsible for was recruiting people.

Lu Yanhe immediately went to find Chen Bige and Shang Yongzhou. Chen Bige was quite surprised when she learned that he was going to make such a program, but she was quite interested in the format and theme of the program.

To be a mentor?

This is a very novel experience.

Chen Bige doesn't feel at all that she's unqualified to be a mentor.

However, Shang Yongzhou hesitated, and even resisted.

It wasn't anything else, he felt that sitting on the judges' panel and critiquing other people's acting skills—

It's so awkward.

It's not surprising that Shang Yongzhou would have such thoughts.

Lu Yanhe had long expected that Shang Yongzhou was just that kind of person.

But Lu Yanhe had already prepared his explanation.

“Senior, you’ve always acted in movies, but not every audience member likes movies. Many viewers prefer TV dramas. This program will also have some opportunities for you to perform, and many viewers can see your acting through this program,” Lu Yanhe said. “This will allow more people to see your acting.”

Movie stars do indeed have this weakness—

Even though movie stars have a higher status in the hierarchy of fame, in reality, television actors have a wider audience reach.

This is an indisputable fact.

Look at our four leading actresses. No matter how international, famous, or accomplished Ms. Zhang is, even her fans don't bother to make a fuss about her popularity among the general public.

Unfortunately, movie stars are inherently less popular with the general public—no matter how popular a movie is, people still have to pay to see it in theaters, so its reach is ultimately limited.

Unlike Xiao Yanzi, whose popularity with just one TV series, "Princess Pearl," was enough to sustain her for thirty years.

Of course, I'm not comparing them, but stating an objective fact.

Lu Yanhe said to Shang Yongzhou, "Senior brother, you are a very good actor. I think this is a good platform for everyone to hear your understanding of acting and see your acting level. Also, you are the top male actor. If you don't come to this acting program for actors in the industry, who can sit in that position? If you don't come, I will have no face to continue doing this program."

Shang Yongzhou: "..."

Why don't you become a mentor yourself?

“What kind of mentor am I?” Lu Yanhe said. “Only you can be the mentor. Only if you are the mentor will those established actors dare to come and be willing to accept evaluation. Only what you say will they be convinced.”

Lu Yanhe pestered Shang Yongzhou for three days until he finally got him to agree.

Shang Yongzhou: "You're quite annoying too."

Lu Yanhe shamelessly said, "Thank you, senior brother!"

For the last mentor, Lu Yanhe pondered for a long time whether to choose another actor or a director.

After much deliberation, Lu Yanhe decided that he still had to ask his teacher for help.

As a result, his teacher said directly, "I don't have time. After returning from Venice, I have two films in preparation, both scheduled to start filming next year. I have absolutely no time."

Since the timing wasn't right, Lu Yanhe couldn't force the issue, so he gave up on his nagging and immediately contacted Director Chen Lingling.

“Director, Maxine has gone too far.” Lu Yanhe complained right away, “I originally wanted to screen ‘The Silent River’ as one of my works in Venice, but they refused to grant permission.”

Chen Lingling: "You want me to go and talk to them?"

“No need then.” Lu Yanhe immediately shook his head. “I’m just very angry because this drama is clearly a very representative one.”

Chen Lingling: "It's not as representative as you say."

Chen Lingling is still the same Chen Lingling who speaks the truth and often leaves people speechless.

"Hey, director, why don't you help me make another representative piece?" Lu Yanhe said. "I can only feel at ease if you do it."

Chen Lingling asked, "What is it? You've written a great script and want me to direct it?"

"How could that be? I haven't even finished writing the script for the second season of 'The Silent River' yet," Lu Yanhe laughed. "I'm thinking of making a show and would like to invite you to be a mentor. How about you see when you're free? I'd like to invite you to dinner, and we can talk about it in person?"

Chen Lingling: "I'm not interested. Go find someone else."

It just died.

No matter how famous or influential you are, Lu Yanhe, in front of Chen Lingling, a director with an eccentric personality who doesn't respect others, you'll only get the treatment of having your phone hung up on.

Lu Yanhe never expected that he would be rejected by the two TV drama directors he trusted most.

I'm feeling a bit down.

Should we look for director Wang Zhong?

It's not that Lu Yanhe looks down on Wang Zhong—what a joke! He's the best director at the Xituer Film Festival, who would dare look down on him?

But he's really not the kind of director who's good at directing actors.

He's the kind of person who puts a lot of effort into finding actors, and once he finds them, you're left to figure things out yourself.

Lu Yanhe directed "Three Mountains," and later Wang Zhong directed "Rouge," both of which were in the same situation.

Lu Yanhe felt that Wang Zhong might not be suitable for a show like "The Birth of an Actor," which focuses on technical aspects.

Most importantly, since Shang Yongzhou and Chen Bi have both agreed to come, the remaining person definitely can't be weaker than them, otherwise the mentors will be unbalanced.

The disagreements between the mentors are also a major highlight of the show.

If the differences are too great, who would dare to argue? It's pointless to just keep saying "I completely agree with XXX's opinion."

Lu Yanhe thought and thought, counting all the directors and actors he had worked with, but he couldn't find anyone else who could be compared to Chen Bige and Shang Yongzhou in terms of status.

Lu Yanhe closed his eyes, thought for five minutes, and then dialed the number of Huang Cheng, the producer with whom Chen Lingling had long-term cooperation, with a big smile.

As soon as the call connected, Lu Yanhe burst into tears.

"Brother Cheng, you have to help me!"

Huang Cheng was so startled that he almost dropped his phone.

He said, "Speak properly. Are you trying to scare me into having a heart attack? How can I help you? What can I do to help you?"

Lu Yanhe said decisively, "Yes! Director Lingling rejected me! Brother Huang, only you can persuade her to change her mind."

-

I'd like to continue recommending my old book, "I Became the Scandalous Woman Overnight," which went from 7 initial subscriptions to over 1,000 average subscriptions per day.

(End of this chapter)