Chapter 530 A Coincidence? No, It's a Resonance (6,000-word update!)

Lu Yanhe seemed to be deep in thought.

Wang Biao has a really big heart. I've followed him to so many places and so many occasions, and I've never seen him get stage fright.

Chen Ziyan smiled.

“This is very important, especially in the entertainment industry,” Chen Ziyan said. “Sometimes, you could even say that it’s not that we’re afraid of being too proud, but that we’re afraid of being timid and hesitant to do anything. Song Jiang and Wan Qingqing actually had this problem before. When they come out of school, their first reaction to any event or opportunity is always ‘Can I do it?’ rather than ‘Why can’t I do it?’ Wang Biao has this quality. Only then can his studiousness and diligence be put to good use. Otherwise, just the internal friction on this matter will consume a third of your life.”

After hearing what Chen Ziyan said, Lu Yanhe was completely convinced.

Because he immediately thought of Xiao Yun and Su Xiao. The difference between the two was exactly what Chen Ziyan had said. Xiao Yun never questioned "Am I good enough?"; her constant struggle was why she wasn't as good as others, and then she desperately tried to improve herself. Su Xiao, on the other hand, had the mentality of "Everyone else is better than me, can I really do it?" Even on the show "The Days of Youth," she always placed herself in a secondary position—

Everyone has noticed this, but from their own perspectives, it's not easy for them to say, "Don't put yourself on the sidelines like that."

We can only push her to the forefront more often in practice.

The process of pushing forward actually reveals a lot.

Indeed, for someone who needs to push forward, a "strong heart" is more important than hard work, diligence, a love of learning, or even talent and intelligence.

Lu Yanhe felt deeply moved.

Neither of them are like Wang Po selling melons or praising their own wares—

Lu Yanhe laughed: "Sister Ziyan, I don't remember telling you that I didn't. Back then, Zhou Ping'an wanted to sabotage my role in 'The Golden Era' by deliberately offering a price that the production team couldn't accept. Director Luo was very angry. I think I was quite socially awkward at the time, but I took the initiative to message Director Luo to clarify what had happened and tried to get 'The Golden Era' back. Actually, I had given up hope, but I didn't expect Director Luo to actually give me another chance."

Chen Ziyan smiled too.

"The first film is always the hardest."

“Hmm,” Lu Yanhe said, “Actually, it seems that none of my subsequent roles have been that difficult. Even my first role, including ‘Phoenix Terrace,’ wasn’t too difficult to land. It was even easier after that. The role that truly took me from auditioning and almost not getting the part to finally getting it was ‘The Golden Era.’”

Chen Ziyan said, "We have to admit that you've actually been very lucky when it comes to acting."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

He himself admits this, indeed.

Chen Ziyan said, "After you finish filming the second season of 'The Seventeen Floors,' I'm going to get you a movie role."

"What movie?" Lu Yanhe asked curiously.

"A new film by Malaysian Chinese director Huang Tianlin," Chen Ziyan asked. "Do you know him?"

Lu Yanhe shook his head. "I don't know him."

Chen Ziyan: "He has only made one film, which was nominated for the Toronto International Film Festival that year. Although it is not one of the four major international film festivals, it has a great influence in Europe and America. At that time, the film received very good audience reviews in Toronto, but it did not win any awards. His second film is about the story of Malaysian Chinese. I contacted his producer to see if there was a suitable role for me. He saw that I was interested and talked to me about the script very enthusiastically. However, the protagonist of his script is a twelve-year-old boy. The only role that is suitable for me is his very rascal brother. He doesn't have many scenes, only five or six scenes. Every time he appears, he is very shrewish. There is no plot twist. He is shrewish from beginning to end. The good thing is that he is not bad. He is just reckless and carefree."

"Sister Ziyan, do you think I'm suitable for this role?"

“To be honest, I’m not interested in the role itself, I’m interested in Huang Tianlin,” Chen Ziyan said. “This is also something I wanted to tell you, Yan He. I’ve been seriously thinking about your future career plans for a long time and have made many comparisons. Now I have some ideas and I want to discuss them with you.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe also sat up straight.

"Sister Ziyan, what is it?"

Chen Ziyan: "I hope you can collaborate with renowned directors from various countries and regions around the world. However, I hope your collaborations will be on projects that only require one to two months of shooting, so as not to affect your core film projects. This idea is very pragmatic, and I won't hide it from you. I want to build your image on the world film stage so that when you have many commercial and genre films coming out in the next three to five years, people won't feel that you don't want to make more artistic and serious films anymore. I also hope that you won't limit yourself to collaborating with domestic directors. I want you to expand your reach as much as possible on the world stage. If one day, the projects you participate in cover more than a dozen countries and regions, your influence on the international film scene will definitely reach a special level."

Lu Yanhe fell into deep thought after listening to Chen Ziyan's words.

A special altitude?

"What do you mean by 'special altitude'?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Chen Ziyan said, "No one has participated in a wider range and more numerous international collaborations than you. I have carefully counted them, and there are very few actors in the world who have participated in projects in more than ten different countries. I must admit that it is very pragmatic, but I think it is feasible."

Lu Yanhe suddenly realized.

He carefully considered it.

"Sister Ziyan, do you have any goals you want to achieve?" he asked.

“No.” Chen Ziyan shook her head. “The premise is that the quality must be high enough. Huang Tianlin has a successful work, which is why I took the initiative to contact him. As for whether you are willing to play this script and role, I will not give you a judgment. You can decide for yourself.”

Lu Yanhe said, "Actually, I'm willing to play a minor role with a less-than-positive image, but my premise is that the film itself is a good film. I'm willing to play such a role for a good film and to work with a director I like. But if that premise is gone, I don't think it's necessary."

"So you accept my idea?" Chen Ziyan asked.

“Hmm.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “That’s good. Actually, you said your thinking is very utilitarian, but to me, I’m actually very willing to cooperate because I really want to work with directors from different countries, regions, and cultural backgrounds. You see, I made a horror film with director Mu Ken, and I had a lot of new experiences. I need some fresh stimulation—Sister Ziyan, although I still love acting very much, I must say that it was actually from the movie ‘Burning Fire’ that I started to become complacent about some scenes. I didn’t do it on purpose; I only realized later that scenes like this were no longer difficult for me. Don’t say that having confidence is a good thing; it’s not the same thing.”

Chen Ziyan: "So we've reached the same conclusion?"

She was smiling happily.

Lu Yanhe: "It's resonance at the same frequency."

-

Over the next two weeks, Lu Yanhe had two meals with director Chen Lingling to discuss the show "The Birth of an Actor" and the script for the second season of "The Silent River".

Director Chen Lingling implied that she disliked him for hiring outside help as a lobbyist.

Lu Yanhe, thick-skinned, pretended not to understand.

Anyway, that's just Chen Lingling's temper; she's always grumbling and doesn't like anyone.

All her professionalism, composure, and restraint (of course, once she lost control, she became even more explosive) were left on set.

Lu Yanhe really liked this director. Among all these directors, she was one of the few who showed her emotions so openly; her likes and dislikes were written all over her face.

During the meal, Chen Lingling also received a call from He Yingzi, who seemed to have her eye on the second season of "The Silent River" and wanted to find a role for Lang Xia in the second season.

Chen Lingling said bluntly, "The script hasn't even been written yet. I've told you three times already. We'll talk about it after the script is finished."

Lu Yanhe didn't know what He Yingzi had said, but he immediately saw Chen Lingling raise her eyebrows and say sarcastically, "Do you expect me to tailor-make a role for him? Sure, I can tailor-make one for him. I'll give him a corpse role, and you can play it!"

Chen Lingling hung up the phone in a flash.

"Damn it, this is so annoying!" The director, who had a strong temper and personality, rolled his eyes and then looked at Lu Yanhe. "If you can come up with a script for the second season that doesn't include a suitable role for Lang Xia, I'll treat you to dinner."

Lu Yanhe: "...Don't try to trick me. I don't want to be bothered by He Yingzi. You're just trying to shift the blame."

Chen Lingling rolled her eyes again.

This time it was Lu Yanhe who was overthrown.

Besides Chen Lingling, Lu Yanhe also met with Jia Long, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

Lu Yanhe has already submitted the script for "Lost in Thailand". This time, he emphasized again: "Teacher Jia, if you want to make a third or fourth installment of the 'Lost in Thailand' series, I really will not participate in the script. I have already written down all my ideas for this series. I can't think of anything new. I need to find another director to see if we can come up with any good ideas."

The main issue is that Lu Yanhe has absolutely no interest in remaking the third film.

Although "Lost in Hong Kong" grossed over a billion yuan at the box office, Lu Yanhe thought it was really bad. He didn't want to ruin his own reputation.

Jia Long said to Lu Yanhe, "When are you going to make a comedy movie with me? Not 'Lost in Thailand'."

Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised and said, "Sure, but Brother Long, do you have a suitable script?"

Jia Long shook his head. "No, I just suddenly thought that you haven't done a comedy yourself, unless you count Friends."

Lu Yanhe said, "I don't think I've ever acted in a comedy film."

“At first, I thought you were too serious and not suitable for comedy, but after watching your performance in ‘The Days of Youth,’ I realized that you actually have comedic talent in front of the camera. The rhythm of your reactions and your breathing were so accurate. You are self-taught. Comedians without this talent need to spend more than ten years on stage to develop such reactions,” Jia Long said.

"Huh? You think I can do comedy because of 'The Days of Youth'?" Lu Yanhe immediately said, "That's terrible."

"Oh no? What's wrong?"

“The reason I was able to perform like that in ‘The Days of Youth’ is because I’m so familiar with those people that I know exactly what they’re going to say. Basically, my words are already in my mouth before they even open their mouths, which is why you think my breathing and rhythm are good.” Lu Yanhe waved his hand with a smile. “If it were acting, it would definitely be a different rhythm.”

Upon hearing this, Jia Long was somewhat surprised. "Is that so?"

"Mm." Lu Yanhe nodded.

Jia Long: "It's okay. If I really come across a role that suits you, I'll show it to you first. We can do a rehearsal and see how it goes. If it really doesn't work, then forget it."

“Okay.” Lu Yanhe nodded.

Jia Long is truly a leading figure in comedy performance.

The so-called top comedic performer is someone who doesn't need to say anything or make any expressions; just by standing there, you can't help but laugh.

Such skill is rare, and only a handful of people can produce it in an era.

Even someone as skilled as Daniel Day-Lewis, who has won three Academy Awards for Best Actor, can't portray that feeling without that level of expertise.

Comedy isn't something you can just do if you have good acting skills.

It relies too much on the actor's own feelings.

For this reason, Lu Yanhe hasn't really tried this type of work much.

Otherwise, comedy itself is one of the easiest genres to replicate, so why wouldn't he replicate it?

"Goodbye Mr. Loser" is such a classic film, but let those who didn't travel through time think about it: who could replace Shen Teng and Ma Li? Their irreplaceable qualities far surpass those of many award-winning actors and actresses. If you cast two different people in the same script with the same lines, who could deliver a performance as brilliantly as they did?

Lu Yanhe was self-aware.

Some plays can be replicated, while others cannot.

He actually knows what he can and cannot act, what challenges he can and cannot take on.

But it's still worth a try.

Maybe it will work.

-

After a two-month break, Lu Yanhe joined the cast of the second season of "The Seventeenth Floor" and began filming the series.

Like the first season, this season is still a closed challenge location, but this time it has changed from a building to a cruise ship.

It's still a script written by Feng Qiyue, and it's still a challenge mode.

Of course, there are a few more main characters this season.

Because this season has changed to a two-team competition format.

The two teams compete, and only the winner can survive and leave the cruise ship.

“This is a good angle,” Lu Yanhe said directly during the script reading. “At first, I was worried that the second season's story would simply become about rebelling against the organizers behind this life-or-death game, losing the sense of overcoming challenges that the first season had. But if it were exactly the same as the first season, just constantly going through challenges, it would be repetitive, and the audience would get tired of it. Adding the two-team confrontation mode retains the challenge mode while making the second season more exciting, especially the final twist that leads to a counterattack against the organizers behind it all—”

Lu Yanhe clicked his tongue in amazement, “In this way, the third season can follow this plot line and naturally become a counterattack against the organizers behind it. The main plot is very clear and smooth. I have really learned a lot from this script.”

Feng Qiyue smiled and said, "You, who won the Lingyun Award for Best Screenplay, have said that you've learned a lot from me, who has never won the Lingyun Award for Best Screenplay. I'm quite flattered."

Lu Yanhe: "Teacher Feng, I've only won one Best Screenplay Award. If I remember correctly, you've won about fifteen or sixteen Best Screenplay and Best Screenplay awards combined, right? I remember reading an interview with you where you mentioned it."

Everyone else exclaimed in surprise.

Chen Bige nodded and said, "I also really like Teacher Feng's script. Once I opened the first page, I couldn't stop reading. I kept looking forward to see how it would end. Just like Yan He said, the final twist was amazing. When this drama airs, it will definitely be a hit."

The final twist was that they actually knew all along that there would be a life-or-death competition between two teams on the cruise ship. The reason their team, which had escaped in the first season, was caught again on the cruise ship in the second season and forced to play the life-or-death game was because they deliberately allowed themselves to be caught.

The team that competed against them was also their ally with the same goal—to find out the organizers behind the game and bring them all to justice.

During the initial stages of the challenge, every person who died was actually faking their death to deceive the live broadcast cameras. This allowed them to ambush the organizers when they secretly sent people to retrieve their "corpses," then impersonate them and infiltrate their ranks.

In the final episode, all the organizers behind the scenes on the cruise ship were killed by them, and they successfully found clues about the organizers, thus bringing out the theme of the third season.

A very smooth main storyline design.

Only Jiang Lan raised a slight objection, worrying that the counterattack scene was too exaggerated and not suitable for broadcast on television.

Lian Bei said directly, "Just delete all the bloody and terrifying scenes. It won't affect the plot anyway. It will just reduce the thrill of the counterattack. Just stream the full version on Maxine."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lan no longer objected.

Maxine was also very satisfied with this story.

Zhong Benshuo was very excited. After reading the story outline, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Many sequels are disappointing, but the original cast and crew of "The Seventeenth Floor" returned, both in front of and behind the camera, preserving the original flavor of the first season as much as possible. In retrospect, it was all worthwhile.

It's a pity that "The Seventeenth Floor" didn't become a global hit like "The Squid Game".

Zhong Benshuo was also thinking that perhaps the second season's results would be even better?

When the first season of "The Seventeen Floors" aired, Lu Yanhe did not have the international influence he has now, and "The Squid Game" had not yet made Jiang Jun famous.

Now, the cast for the second season of "The Seventeenth Floor" is completely different.

Zhong Benshuo was calculating how much publicity budget would be appropriate for this drama.

After the huge success of "The Squid Game", Jong Bon-seok is even more looking forward to the second season of "The 17th Floor", which has the same theme. After all, the first season was also very successful and received excellent reviews from the audience.

-

After the opening ceremony, everyone filmed the first scene of the season, which was the scene on the cruise ship.

How lavish was the production of the second season?

The Beijing-Taiwan authorities actually found them a real cruise ship, allowing them to film exterior shots of it.

Of course, the indoor scenes were still filmed in a studio.

Two years later, they returned to the world and characters of "The Seventeenth Floor" without feeling out of place at all.

Lu Yanhe originally thought he needed to find the right feeling, but he didn't expect that as soon as the character design was done, the feeling came right away.

The first scene is a large-scale ensemble piece.

Three cameras filmed simultaneously, and two takes were completed in one go.

Everyone was in incredibly good shape.

Even Bei was shocked.

"Were you prepared this thoroughly?"

Lu Yanhe laughed and said, "Director, we can't wait to return to 'The Seventeen Floors.' As soon as filming started, everyone was full of energy."

Despite his laughter, Lu Yanhe was inwardly utterly shocked. It was truly unbelievable—

This was the first time he had played the same role after two years. Surprisingly, while it felt familiar, it also brought a strange sense of excitement. In front of the camera, he was at ease, confident, and knew exactly what he was doing.

Is it really that fun to make a sequel?

Lu Yanhe was extremely surprised.

The first scene went so smoothly that the crew gave everyone a meal early.

The actors' meals were prepared separately. In this production, everyone's condition couldn't appear "too well-nourished," so their meals were low in oil, salt, and fat. They weren't bad, but they certainly weren't delicious.

There's no way around it.

If a group of people who are constantly on the verge of life and death look too comfortable, it will distract the audience from the story.

Unable to bear seeing the director and the others eating so heartily, they all went to eat on the other side, huddling together for warmth and not allowing anyone eating a normal lunch to approach them.

The temptation was too great.

Li Yuefeng said, "I can already foresee how thin I'll be after filming this movie."

Filming every day involves strenuous exercise, and with such a small diet, it's no wonder she's so thin.

Lu Yanhe laughed and said, "Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? Today is only the first day of filming."

Li Yuefeng: "But I've been eating chicken breast for a month now. I started working out for this role a month ago."

"Oh, right, you're playing a sports student, haha." Lu Yanhe realized that Li Yuefeng's physical requirements were different from theirs, even higher.

“Both brothers are athletes, tsk tsk.” Chen Bige said, “Your unconventional way of returning is so lacking in sincerity. At least make sure there’s some difference in appearance between you and your character from the first season.”

“That won’t do.” Lu Yanhe laughed. “Look at us in this drama. I’m a high-IQ, aloof academic genius. Teacher Jiang is a middle-aged man. Although Yan Zhimeng is handsome, his character in the drama is also an oddball. Li Yuefeng has to take on the role of a normal, mainstream, handsome man.”

Li Yuefeng smiled and said, "I love hearing that."

-

I recommend older books.

(End of this chapter)