Chapter 707 Get Out! (7000-word update)

The "Shijin Night" incident sparked heated discussions on domestic social media for about three or four days.

This time, more information about Yang Zhouli and Yang Zhoujin has been unearthed.

At this point, it must be said that in this era, if you want to keep a secret, unless only the person who wants to keep the secret knows it, the secret always seems to leak out in various ways.

While various social media platforms were buzzing about the Yang family's affairs, Chen Siqi demanded that all media outlets "jump up" and completely ignore the matter.

For the media, doing so means missing out on a surge in traffic.

That would be a huge loss for the self-media matrix owned by "Jump Up".

However, Chen Siqi's attitude toward this matter was very firm.

Sure enough, not long after, many media outlets that published related news deleted their reports, and some of the more influential ones even received lawyer's letters from Shijin Group.

It's nothing more than suing these media outlets for spreading rumors and misinformation.

This incident quickly became a trending topic.

In this internet age, perhaps because everyone has accepted that "everything can be used for entertainment," many people initially criticized Shijin Group for its direct lawsuit.

However, the public relations capabilities of such a large group as the Shijin Group are not to be underestimated.

The Shijin Group doesn't need to do anything else; they only need to focus on one point, which is also something they themselves need to clarify—

The rumors that circulated online before were all fabricated and not true.

Such rumors are not only attacks on Yang Zhoujin and Yang Zhouli, but also unfair business competition practices, as business competitors pay these marketing accounts to smear Shijin Group.

Simply releasing such information, without needing further evidence, is enough to spark a conspiracy theory, a trend currently popular online. People will naturally start to think outside the box, not to mention the subsequent PR efforts of the Shijin Group to further guide the discussion.

Many media outlets suffered in silence under the guidance of public relations efforts by companies like Shijin Group—of course, this was their own fault.

When they were making a living off online traffic, they didn't think things through. They were facing a force they couldn't afford to offend.

The online public opinion is secondary; the key point is that Shijin Group's lawsuit against them is genuine, not just a bluff or a formality. They are determined to create a legal outcome to completely silence them and clarify the truth.

-

This dispute within the Shijin Group has made many people aware of their ambition to enter the cultural and entertainment industry.

Previously, various media outlets and marketing accounts described the competition between the Yang Zhouli and Yang Zhoujin brothers as a battle for this particular business.

Photos of Lu Yanhe and Yang Zhouli having breakfast together at the hotel were even posted online.

Lu Yanhe, who had originally stayed out of it, was suddenly drawn into it again.

—Lu Yanhe seems to be about to cooperate with Shijin Group?

Before Lu Yanhe could even respond, Shijin Group suddenly held a press conference.

Yang Zhouli attended.

In contrast to the Shijin Group's previous tough stance against those media outlets and marketing accounts, Yang Zhouli presented an image of elite elegance at this press conference, smiling throughout and speaking in a gentle tone.

"Our Shijin Group will be exploring new business areas in the cultural and entertainment industry..."

“During this period, everyone has been very concerned about the true relationship between me and Zhou Jin, whether we are really fighting for power and profit, and whether there has been a so-called dramatic power struggle among the wealthy.”

After Yang Zhouli finished speaking, he laughed first.

“This is just a private matter in our family. By private matter, I mean a matter between brothers, and it has nothing to do with the company’s business,” Yang Zhouli said. “I believe that everyone who has siblings knows how troublesome it is to have a younger brother who is hot-tempered and going through a rebellious phase. I would rather he really wants to compete with me for something, rather than simply… disliking me as his older brother.”

Everyone present laughed.

Yang Zhouli shrugged. "As for the rumors circulating online that Lu Yanhe and Shijin Group will be collaborating, I certainly hope that a top creator like Lu Yanhe can work with Shijin. However, I must clarify that Shijin's relationship with Lu Yanhe is currently in the 'one-sided love' stage. If you really want us to work together, please help us spread the word and help Shijin win over Lu Yanhe."

The laughter at the scene grew even louder.

Yang Zhouli held a media conference with a relaxed, "non-official" attitude, which made everyone's goodwill towards Shi Jin soar.

This clearly aligns with the impression previously projected by the Shijin Group's public relations efforts.

Yang Zhouli and Yang Zhoujin are brothers. They do have a falling out, but it's not at all like the rumors circulating online.

-

Chen Ziyan watched the entire press conference from beginning to end, and then said to Lu Yanhe, "This Yang Zhouli is really something else. He knows how to make people like him. If he were an artist, he would definitely attract more fans than you."

Lu Yanhe: "...Don't flatter the powerful and belittle the weak."

Chen Ziyan: "I'm really curious about the relationship between the two brothers. What's going on with Yang Zhoujin? He's disappeared again."

"He's probably been locked up at home," Lu Yanhe joked.

“That might actually be the case,” Chen Ziyan said. “Since Shijin Group officially assigned Yang Zhouli to do this, and Yang Zhouli has also said these things in public, it means that Shijin Group’s official characterization of this matter is like this. Moreover, it is obvious that Yang Zhouli has won in this regard.”

Lu Yanhe nodded.

“The public doesn’t like traditional entrepreneurs these days. Yang Zhouli’s several appearances have garnered widespread support and praise. For a large family business like Shijin, he is now the most suitable spokesperson.”

Chen Ziyan's eyes darted around, "Now that you mention it, it seems that Yang Zhoujin's previous actions were also aimed at building his fame or public image, but he took a wrong path to gain attention."

After hearing what Chen Ziyan said, Lu Yanhe had some ideas.

"They—the Shijin Group—are very concerned about their influence on the internet and the public?"

“Perhaps,” Chen Ziyan nodded, “it’s just that this is the commonality that’s currently emerging.”

Lu Yanhe: "That's a bit strange. Does Shijin Group want them to debut as artists?"

"Perhaps Shijin needs a member of the Yang family to step forward, like many leading companies do now, to make the person in charge an internet celebrity, thereby boosting the brand awareness and influence of Shijin," Chen Ziyan said. "Now almost every traditional enterprise is facing the problem of transformation, one is technological transformation, and the other is the transformation of brand image and brand promotion."

Lu Yanhe nodded thoughtfully, "I have indeed read some reports before, saying that many second-generation entrepreneurs rely on developing the online market to consolidate their position in their family businesses and gain the recognition of the older generation."

“These are two different things, although they have similar meanings,” Chen Ziyan said. “I’m more interested in knowing what this has to do with Shijin Group’s sudden foray into the cultural and entertainment industry. After all, to be honest, the cultural and entertainment industry is much smaller in scale compared to the other industries Shijin has ventured into.”

“However, Sister Ziyan, almost all the major capital has made its moves in the cultural and entertainment industry. This is not just a matter of profit; it has strategic significance,” Lu Yanhe said. “Of course, it is also because the cultural and entertainment industry itself has the special characteristic of extremely high attention.”

Chen Ziyan: "Yang Zhouli's speech at the media conference about your modern version of being courteous to the virtuous and talented may not have been just to make the public like and accept him. To some extent, it also had a strategic significance."

"Hmm? What strategic significance could this possibly have?"

"On a smaller scale, he has already extended an olive branch to you in front of everyone. Whether you accept it or not, this move puts him in a proactive position," Chen Ziyan said. "On a larger scale, this attitude is for the public to see, and also for people in the entertainment industry to see. It means that Shi Jin is not some nouveau riche who throws money around and acts superior. They treat people with sincerity."

Lu Yanhe: "So many meanings!"

“Maybe I’m overthinking it,” Chen Ziyan laughed. “To be honest, I haven’t been this interested in someone in a long time. Yang Zhouli is a very interesting person, and I can’t help but want to think about him more.”

Lu Yanhe: "You're not saying it's because he's handsome and fits your aesthetic standards, are you?"

Chen Ziyan: "That's part of the reason too."

She actually admitted it quite openly.

Lu Yanhe stared at Chen Ziyan in shock.

Chen Ziyan: "However, the main reason is the effect he achieved by appearing in public several times - I do this job, and to be honest, if he didn't have a really good public relations person who handled these appearances for him, I would have to praise him as a natural talent. Even if I wanted to design such public goodwill for you every time you appear in public, it would be difficult."

Lu Yanhe: "Oh no, you're attracted to his image and his talent again. I feel like spring has come to you."

"Hahaha." Chen Ziyan laughed heartily and generously, "My spring was cut off by my own hands when I was in my twenties."

Lu Yanhe: "..."

"Don't try to play matchmaker." Chen Ziyan shook her head helplessly at Lu Yanhe. "Right now, I only glance at handsome guys who catch my eye, and I don't have any other thoughts."

Lu Yanhe hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Chen Ziyan: "Okay, let's leave this topic at that. Don't ask any more questions."

Lu Yanhe missed his chance to ask a question.

"Alright."

-

The story of Yang Zhouli and Yang Zhoujin continues to escalate online.

Although Lu Yanhe paid attention to it, he only treated it as gossip to be discussed over tea.

What he was more concerned about was Shi Jin's actions in the entertainment industry.

However, since the press conference, Yang Zhouli seems to have had no further activities.

Lu Yanhe was also due to join the crew to film the sequel to "The Mist".

-

The sequel to The Mist has been highly anticipated.

The first film unexpectedly grossed over $200 million worldwide, far exceeding expectations, and became the top-grossing horror film of the year.

Just as much talked about as the film's box office success is its marketing and promotional methods, which are considered unrepeatable and "crazy."

Because, in the later stages of D19, they basically put all the pressure on Lu Yanhe for the film's publicity and marketing, and played the "Asian revenge" card.

The result was "successful".

This meant that when developing a sequel, the focus of the series could only be on the Asian ghost character played by Lu Yanhe.

If this isn't done, it will be difficult to effectively convert viewers from the first film to the second.

D19 certainly wouldn't want to see such a thing happen.

In this sequel, apart from Lu Yanhe, none of the other actors from the first film returned. This is because the script is set ten years after the events of the first film.

However, due to the success of the first film, the actors who participated in the sequel were basically all well-known actors.

The production budget was immediately increased to fifty million US dollars.

Lu Yanhe and Mu Ken's salaries accounted for almost a quarter of this.

However, for a thriller or horror film, the production staff's salaries often make up a larger proportion, especially for sequels.

This type of film is very dependent on the director and the lead actor.

Before going, Lu Yanhe did his homework on each of the people he was going to cooperate with.

Two of the actors who participated in the film had been nominated for an Oscar, but the nominations were quite a while ago, about seven or eight years ago.

Nevertheless, it's clear how popular the sequel to The Mist is in Hollywood.

In fact, if you look closely at Hollywood, you'll realize something. Basically, if a movie does well at the box office, the mainstream opinion in Hollywood won't say that the movie is bad.

It's rare to see domestic films that gross over a billion yuan yet still be heavily criticized as blockbusters.

Simply put, Hollywood follows the principle of "box office is king." If a movie sells well at the box office, it means the audience likes it. If the audience likes it, it means the movie is good.

Even the Oscars, like many other awards, have a bias towards high-grossing films, especially those of a certain significance.

For example, the recently concluded "Wicked" would be considered a typical commercial film by Chinese standards.

As a result, it won both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress nominations, which others were fighting tooth and nail for.

Going back further, whether it was Matt Damon in "The Martian," Sandra Bullock in "Gravity," or Johnny Depp in "Pirates of the Caribbean," none of them were Oscar contenders in the conventional sense. However, because of their high box office returns and their representativeness in the industry, and of course, the fundamental reason was that the actors all delivered truly excellent performances, they all received acting award nominations that year.

The success of the first season of "The Mist" made its sequel a coveted opportunity for many top-tier actors. If it weren't for the fact that Lu Yanhe was the lead in the sequel, Lu Yanhe believes that even some top-tier actors might have been willing to take on the role.

Think about the first "It" movie, which was a huge box office hit. The second adult version had such a cast that you might even think it was an Oscar contender or a film by a top director. Otherwise, how could they have gotten so many big names to star in a commercial horror movie?

In many entertainment novels, one thing is mentioned: horror movies are a fringe genre, and A-list celebrities generally don't act in pure horror movies.

This is not wrong; such an ecosystem already exists.

But The Second It movie broke this convention.

The reason is simple: even top-tier actors need a film that grosses $500 million worldwide.

No one wants to miss such a work.

The sequel to The Mist is a case in point.

-

Fortunately, after Lu Yanhe participated in several American awards seasons, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, and attended the Oscars twice as a presenter, he also "demystified" these A-list Hollywood stars.

Perhaps he will be drawn to some of their acting skills again during future collaborations, but things like "star power" will no longer exist in his world.

Lu Yanhe brought a stylist with him this time to be in charge of his character's styling.

D19 initially disagreed. However, Lu Yanhe did have a conflict with the production team during the first season due to issues with the character's appearance, and the root of the problem lay with the stylist hired by the production team.

Given Lu Yanhe's firm stance this time, they compromised, but he still insisted that the final design be decided by D19 and could not differ too much from the first film.

Lu Yanhe said, "I didn't intend to do a major overhaul; I just didn't want to be scammed again."

This time, they weren't filming in Canada.

It was in the United States.

The main reason is that even the real-life locations are no longer usable.

In the sequel, the town has undergone ten years of desolation and decay, and has changed drastically from the real place, filled with a sense of ruin and desolation.

This meant that the sequel could only use CG to depict the town scenes.

Therefore, many scenes are filmed in a studio with a green screen.

This does have one advantage: shooting in a studio offers much better shooting conditions than shooting on location.

Mocken Sorge came to the film crew alone this time.

Hua Ruzhen was busy with her own work and could no longer accompany Mu Ken to the filming location throughout the entire process, as she did in the first film.

Therefore, when Muken invited Lu Yanhe to dinner, he changed from cooking at home to going to a restaurant.

-

It's just an ordinary restaurant.

Eating fast food.

Lu Yanhe hadn't seen Muken Sorge for a long time and noticed that he seemed to have gained a little weight.

Seeing that he glanced at his body, Muken explained with a bitter smile, "Since Ruzhen is not at home most of the time now, and no one is managing my diet, I've been indulging myself a bit."

Lu Yanhe laughed.

"Muken, you need to be more self-disciplined from now on, because Sister Ruzhen won't be able to manage your three meals a day like before."

Muken Sorge: "It's not up to me to decide. People lose their minds when they're hungry."

Lu Yanhe smiled, deeply agreeing.

The two were at a fast food restaurant. Lu Yanhe ordered fried chicken and a vegetable salad, which was not a healthy meal, but he felt it was fine to eat it occasionally.

Muken Sorge ordered a Big Mac, fries, cream of mushroom soup, and a Coke, finishing them all. He then shared half of Lu Yanhe's fried chicken.

Seeing him enjoying his meal so much, Lu Yanhe felt a pang of jealousy.

Being a director is great; I really don't have any body image anxiety.

Even when Lu Yanhe indulged himself, he wouldn't dare eat like this.

Then, he felt a longing—

Craving for food.

"Let's try to eat together less often next time," Lu Yanhe suddenly said.

Muken Sorge was taken aback. "Huh? What's wrong?"

Lu Yanhe said, "You're eating so deliciously."

Muken Sorge was taken aback.

Lu Yanhe: "I'm afraid I won't be able to hold back either."

Muken Sorge: "..."

-

"Have you met the other actors?" Muken Sorge asked.

Lu Yanhe shook his head, "Not yet, we haven't dealt with any of them before."

Muken Sorge: "Then you'd better watch out."

"Hmm?" Lu Yanhe asked, "What's wrong? Is there anything we should be careful about?"

“In my experience, once a production has more than one popular actor, it’s bound to be anything but peaceful,” said Muken Sorge.

Lu Yanhe's understanding of this sentence is that none of them are easy to deal with.

He paused, then nodded.

Whatever.

When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it.

"Actually, more than that, didn't you tell D19 before that you didn't want to make any more 'The Mist' series after this one?" Muken asked again.

Lu Yanhe: "They didn't say it directly, but when they were discussing the contract, they wanted to sign several contracts with me at once, which I refused. That's probably what they guessed."

"What are your own thoughts?" Muken asked. "I'm also making plans for the 'Mist' series myself. If you really don't plan to act in it, tell me as soon as possible so I don't waste my time."

Lu Yanhe hesitated for a moment and said, "To say that I don't want to act anymore, it's not that I don't want to act at all in the future, but I really don't want to film a third movie right away. Even though the second movie did very well and its popularity exceeded our expectations, it was already clear from the script of the second movie that if we continued to film this story just for the sake of filming, it would be a bit of a stretch. It would be better to take it a step back."

Muken nodded.

"I agree with what you said."

Lu Yanhe asked, "What about you, Muken? Do you want to continue filming?"

Muken: "I'm thinking about it. D19 really wants to develop this film into a series."

A horror film series with low budget, high box office, and a stable audience is practically a money tree that can continuously generate revenue, and D19 certainly hopes that it can continue to be developed.

In the realm of horror films, Murken Sorge is almost at the threshold of becoming a "master".

It's not easy to have three films achieve good box office results and audience reviews in a row.

Murken Sorge has his own aesthetic of horror and suspense.

Lu Yanhe said, "Actually, I wrote a script for a horror thriller movie for you. If you are interested, I can give you the script to make into a film."

Muken Sorge looked surprised.

"You wrote a horror/thriller movie script?"

“Yes,” Lu Yanhe said. “Ruzhen told me before that you have been looking for a good script to change people’s perception that horror movies are just simple and crude sensory films. You want to change the mainstream opinion.”

Murken Sorge: "But this subject matter is marginal, there's no way around it."

“Actually, the social issues raised in ‘The Mist’ should have garnered Oscar attention, but we missed the awards season and didn’t do any public relations, so nobody thought ‘The Mist’ met Oscar standards,” Lu Yanhe said. “Would you like to take a look at the script I wrote?”

Muken nodded: "Of course, did you bring it?"

Lu Yanhe took a script out of his bag.

Muken took it and glanced at the cover.

Get Out.

Below it was written a line of Chinese: Escape from Dead Town.

-

After "The Mist," Lu Yanhe does not plan to act in any more horror films in the short term because no matter how much Hollywood promotes itself, it is essentially a place full of discrimination and prejudice.

If Lu Yanhe's reputation for horror films is too strong and his box office performance is too outstanding, even if he has already taken on "Godless" and "Godless" performs well at the box office, Hollywood will definitely still see him as a horror film actor.

Because "The Mist" was made possible by his single-handedly carrying the box office.

In Hollywood history, there aren't many actors who can carry a film solely on their own merits. It's entirely a matter of perfect timing, location, and personal connections.

However, Lu Yanhe does not intend to give up his advantage in the horror and thriller genre.

Both "Buried" and "Red Eye" are films with elements of horror.

Especially after Linghe started making movies in North America, horror and thriller films became a very good subject for completing his "primitive accumulation".

Low cost, high return.

Too many cases.

They may not be able to make big money like "Avatar" or "Titanic", but they can make a steady stream of small money.

Has James Wan made less money in Hollywood over the years than James Cameron?

Based on his output and box office success rate, it's really not that certain. (This is purely the author's opinion and has no basis in fact.)

Therefore, Lu Yanhe is now using these scripts to prove to Hollywood that he has a success rate in the North American market that is no less than that in the domestic market.

While Murken Sorge was reading the script, Lu Yanhe sat alone opposite him, looking at his phone.

After reading half of it, Murken Sorge looked up and said, "This film—"

His expression was somewhat complicated.

Lu Yanhe nodded: "Just like I said, this is a horror thriller with a social issue."

The box office success of "Get Out" largely stems from its resonance with the history of Black slavery. It's not about racial discrimination; its core message is the lingering, deep-seated fear of that history within Black people in a modern context. Therefore, the film's release sparked a massive debate in American society, making it more than just a movie.

This is precisely the script that best suits Murken Sorge right now.

With its socially relevant themes, a suspenseful core of psychological horror, and Murken Sorge's aesthetic of terror, Lu Yanhe could imagine that this film would become an even more popular movie than "The Mist."

In the United States, the voices of Black people are far more powerful than those of Asian people.

-

I recommend a new book on entertainment: "I Became the Leading Lady in a Scandal Overnight".

(End of this chapter)