Chapter 747

Icefield Video's remakes of Lu Yanhe's works are not limited to "Rouge". They also hold the rights to remake the Chinese-language drama "Lost in Thailand". However, it seems difficult to adapt this subject matter into a script that satisfies them. To this day, the script has not even been completed.

In fact, the relationship between Icefield Video and Lu Yanhe is very similar to that of HP.

Lu Yanhe's collaboration with Bingyuan Video was quite pleasant, but because the collaboration between Beijiguang Video and Lu Yanhe started first, Beijiguang Video had a share in Lu Yanhe's most popular dramas, both exclusive and non-exclusive.

Icefield Video wanted to obtain some exclusive content, so at the time, the only way to do it was through remakes.

Of course, the Icefield video also got it right.

Although Linghe only provided the remake rights, because the original work was by Lu Yanhe, Lu Yanhe's college classmate Miao Yuelai became the screenwriter for "Rouge," and Yu Mengling also starred in the film at Lu Yanhe's invitation. Furthermore, the male lead, Yang Shiyi, was a newcomer discovered by Lu Yanhe from the theater.

Icefield Video wants to make a TV series version of "Rouge," and they don't just want a TV series; they want to truly collaborate with Lu Yanhe.

Even though Aurora Video got ahead of the curve, beating series like "My Own Swordsman" and "Squid Game" to the punch, at least now "Chinese Paladin" and "2 Broke Girls" have their own slots and can be co-broadcast with Aurora.

Moreover, Icefield Video has essentially secured the remake rights to all Chinese-language TV series based on Lu Yanhe's films, giving them a significant head start. Aurora Video, if it wants to follow suit, will have to fall behind.

Bingyuan Video's current goal is to start with "Rouge" and establish a stable cooperative relationship with Lu Yanhe and Linghe through remakes.

Bingyuan has also acquired the Chinese remake rights to "Tropical Rainy Season," the film that just helped Lu Yanhe win an Oscar, and plans to make it into a Chinese-language TV series.

Lu Yanhe felt that as long as the Icefield video could be made well, then of course it was acceptable.

Remakes are actually not a problem at all.

Viewers don't care whether your show is an original script, adapted from an IP, or a remake of a film or television series. For viewers, there is only one criterion: whether they want to watch it, find it good, and will continue watching.

However, after listening to Linghe's list of TV series, Lu Yanhe also noticed a problem.

"Therefore, the third season of 'Roommates,' 'Chinese Paladin,' '2 Broke Girls,' and the final season of 'My Own Swordsman' will all finish airing this year and early next year," Lu Yanhe said. "In reality, at most only the fourth season of 'Roommates' and the second season of '2 Broke Girls' will be able to air next year, and that's only if the sequels to these two series can be successfully produced."

Chen Yin nodded.

“Indeed, of course, we also took on the production of three more 'Jump Up' theatrical series,” Chen Yin said. “However, these three series are unlikely to bring the company any substantial revenue in terms of sales. They are more of a training opportunity for some of the technical talents we have signed with us.”

Lu Yanhe said, "Should we develop two more TV series this year? Otherwise, we will face a gap in TV series production next year and the year after."

Chen Yin said, "We have a reserve of scripts. The company used to hold pitches every month, and now we have several scripts that have received an S-level rating from our internal staff. Various platforms are evaluating the bids, and we will decide which one to work on after we get their feedback."

When Lu Yanhe heard that Chen Yin had a plan, he nodded and said, "That's fine."

Compared to a company that earns a billion a year while others only earn ten million, a company that consistently earns a hundred million a year is more likely to optimize and upgrade itself. The resilience to risk and the frequency of stable output not only affect the company's financial statements but also the employees' confidence in their career prospects.

We cannot be careless about this at all.

Lu Yanhe was a little nervous just now because the two sequels, "Roommates" and "2 Broke Girls," are currently works for which he cannot ask the platform for a high price.

If "2 Broke Girls" performs only moderately well, or even if it's a hit but doesn't become as popular as "My Own Swordsman" or "Friends," then with the end of the "My Own Swordsman" series, Linghe will essentially have no "pillar" left.

Next year, the copyright revenue figures will definitely look terrible.

"By the way, Mr. Lu, do you think we'd be suitable to develop the movie 'Dragon Inn' into a TV series?" Chen Yin suddenly asked.

Lu Yanhe was somewhat puzzled.

"Dragon Inn?" Lu Yanhe thought about it seriously. "It's not impossible, but the movie hasn't even been released yet, so there's no need to rush, right?"

“Bingyuan wants to buy the TV adaptation rights to this story. However, since Linghe has never made a martial arts drama before, I actually want to use this to build a team that can make martial arts dramas,” Chen Yin said. “The martial arts genre is timeless. I heard that you have several martial arts movies planned for you. I want to plan ahead.”

Lu Yanhe: "Martial arts dramas are definitely a possibility; they won't go out of style. However, I don't know if adapting 'Dragon Inn' into a TV series would be good; I can't imagine it. If you think it's feasible, you can stay and do it yourself. If you're not confident, then see how Bingyuan plans to film it. Perhaps you can also offer to co-produce it with us, allowing us to join the production team and observe how Bingyuan will develop this series."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yin nodded and said, "That will work."

"Speaking of which, what's the current status of the movie 'Dragon Inn'?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Chen Yin said, "We are waiting for the results from the Jose Film Festival. Longyan wants to submit this film to the Jose Film Festival for screening."

Lu Yanhe thought for a moment and nodded, "That's a good idea."

The film "Dragon Inn" is directed by Liu Bige. The characters and story of this film are quite artistic. It is not the kind of film that is superficial and full of fighting and killing. With its all-star cast, the Jose Film Festival should welcome it.

Sure enough, a few days later, Liu Bige asked Lu Yanhe if he had time to go to the Jose Film Festival this year with the crew of "Dragon Inn".

Lu Yanhe asked, "Has 'Dragon Inn' been shortlisted for the main competition?"

“It didn’t make it into the main competition, but it was included in the screening section,” Liu Bige said. “Longyan still wants to hold a large-scale world premiere in Jose.”

Lu Yanhe said, "Okay, the timing should be about right. After we finish going to Jose, we'll come back and film 'Burning Fire 2'."

“I didn’t expect you to act in ‘Burning Fire 2’. I really thought you had a bad falling out with Longyan.”

"It was unpleasant, but at least we can put some issues aside for now and continue working together," Lu Yanhe said. "They let Zhang Yang leave the 'Burning Fire' series, but offered me a generous performance deal. I also wanted to continue participating in the 'Burning Fire' series, so..."

Liu Bige: "After filming 'Dingfeng No. 1', Mrs. Huang asked me about my plans for the next movie. I said I didn't have any ideas for the time being and wanted to take a break. Since my first movie, 'Late Spring,' I've basically been making one movie every year and a half. I'm really tired and don't have any new inspiration for the time being. Then she said that she hoped I could leave the lead role in my next movie to a contracted actor from Longyan. I refused, and she was very unhappy. She brought up you again and asked if I wanted to work with you again in my next movie. I said I don't even know what my next movie will be about. How would I know who I should work with?"

Lu Yanhe laughed.

“You are now the most famous director in Longyan. Although you are still so young, any actor who stars in your movie will instantly become a star in the film industry. It is normal for her to want the lead role in your movie to be given to an actor from Longyan.”

“They are going to help me set up a studio,” Liu Bige said. “They also said that if I want to start my own film production company, they will support me and are willing to invest in my company. However, they also hope that this will allow me to continue working with them.”

"Is your contract with them about to expire?"

"Two more years."

“That’s pretty much it. Once the contract expires, you’ll have more control, and many film companies will offer you very good terms,” Lu Yanhe said. “In any case, it’s a good thing to have your own production company. In the future, other film companies can bid for your films, and whoever offers the best terms will get the production.”

Liu Bige laughed and asked, "Will Linghe come to bid in the future?"

“If it’s suitable, why not?” Lu Yanhe said with a smile. “Although the films we at Linghe are currently making are all low- to medium-budget films, as we gradually grow and expand, we will definitely make films with larger investments. I’ve always wanted to make science fiction films. Of course, we are very interested in new works by renowned directors like you.”

"Don't make fun of me. In front of you, I'm not even a famous director." Liu Bige shook his head and laughed.

Lu Yanhe: "Of course."

Liu Bige: "If I were to start my own company to make movies, wouldn't the pressure be immense?"

“It depends on how you look at it. If you don’t plan to be like Linghe and take responsibility for the main production costs yourself, it’s fine,” Lu Yanhe said. “You can write a script and then contact various film companies to find buyers. The highest bidder wins, or the one offering the best terms. Then your company will only need a few basic staff to maintain operations, unlike Linghe who has to invest a lot in daily operations.”

Liu Bige nodded.

“Actually, many big-name directors do this. Independent film companies like Linghe are very rare,” Lu Yanhe said. “I know many people want to get involved with Linghe, or even take it away. I’m also afraid of some pitfalls and traps in capital, so I’d rather be more cautious in the early stages.”

"Linghe can hardly be considered a small company now, right?" Liu Bige asked. "In the past few years, every project you've had has been a huge success. You must have made a lot of money, right?"

"We have indeed made a lot of money, but compared with large companies like Longyan that have accumulated over many years, we are still far behind. For example, a significant portion of the box office revenue from 'Home Alone' has not yet been received. We also have several new projects to invest in. Linghe has a certain priority share of investment in those Hollywood projects, which are clearly profitable projects in my opinion, so I can't refuse to invest. However, 'Chinese Paladin,' which cost more than 200 million yuan to produce last year, is still waiting to be broadcast before we can get our money back. The same goes for 'You Are the Apple of My Eye,' '2 Broke Girls,' and 'Flypaper.' Anyway, Linghe is not under much operational pressure right now, but we don't have a huge cash flow either."

Liu Bige: "If we can just get through these few years, things will be fine. If Linghe didn't have to open so many projects every year and participate in the investment of many projects, the cash flow should be more abundant."

“Yes,” Lu Yanhe said. “However, Linghe was originally established to facilitate the filming of some of my own projects. When we can film, why not film more? If we want to shorten the accumulation phase of the company’s development, we can only be more efficient. Others only do three projects a year, but we do six.”

"Only you can handle this, it's too exaggerated." Liu Bige said, "The number of works produced by your company and the market share you occupy are at least equivalent to the output value of three top-tier companies. I saw that Lingguo Company released four dramas last year, and the four dramas sold a total of 1.2 billion. You should have sold even more, right?"

Lu Yanhe thought for a moment and said, "I'm not too sure, I don't remember, but the most profitable TV series, 'My Own Swordsman,' was mainly invested in by Aurora Video, and Linghe only had a small share. In the end, our profits weren't actually that big. The same was true for 'Friends.' If you don't count the revenue from the movies 'Love Letter' and 'Home Alone,' last year, in terms of TV series, the second season of 'Roommates' barely broke even and made a small profit, but not much. Then there was the follow-up revenue from the older series."

Liu Bige: "Why does it sound different from the Spirit River I imagined?"

“Sigh, because in the TV series sector, excluding the low-budget, experimental 'Roommates,' the only projects that Linghe truly started to control and invest in were 'Chinese Paladin' and '2 Broke Girls,' but neither of them have aired yet.” Lu Yanhe shrugged. “For those other big-name projects that everyone knows are very profitable, Linghe’s investment ratio is not large. We did make some money, but far less than you imagine.”

Liu Bige: "You're talking about the Spirit River, not yourself, right?"

"Myself? Well, I earn quite a lot on my own." Lu Yanhe readily admitted, "My salary and profit sharing combined last year should have been higher than Linghe's income from TV series."

Liu Bige: "I'm so envious."

"What do you have to envy about me? Those two movies, 'Late Spring' and 'Even Faking Death', should have made you financially independent for life, right?"

Liu Bige is also a lucky guy.

Generally, an unknown director doesn't receive a share of the profits from their debut film. However, "Late Spring" was a low-budget film with an investment of only one or two million yuan. To show their enthusiasm and respect for Liu Bige, and also because they didn't believe "Late Spring" would make much money, Longyan generously included a 25% share of the film's profits (not box office revenue, but the film's earnings) in the cooperation agreement.

As a result, the film became a huge box office hit in China, and its global distribution rights sold off rapidly, making Liu Bige an overnight sensation.

For the second film, Longyan naturally couldn't lower its cooperation terms with Liu Bige.

Therefore, for "Even Faking Death Is Not an Option", not only did Liu Bige's director's salary increase by two zeros, but his share of the profits also increased by 1 percentage point.

The profits from these two films are enough for Liu Bige to no longer need to make movies to make a living.

Liu Bige said, "I'm just frustrated. Look, even a director like me, working on a project, takes a year and a half to produce one work. Look at you actors, as long as you work hard, you can easily film four or five movies a year."

Lu Yanhe: "Let's be reasonable. If we're just talking about acting, compared to directors of the same caliber, an actor's income from four or five films is less than a director's income from just one film."

Actors generally don't receive a share of the profits, but many directors do, as long as they aren't inexperienced newcomers.

This is industry practice.

In fact, among the current group of actors in China, those who can earn a share of the box office revenue as actors can be counted on one hand.

As of now, no one else has achieved an income like Lu Yanhe's.

He is an extremely special individual.

-

In mid-March, Lu Yanhe visited the set of the TV series "Jiang Yan".

This drama has just started filming.

Lu Yanhe, as a producer in name only, had every right to visit the set.

Almost all of the main actors in this drama were created by Lu Yanhe.

Yan Liang plays the lead role, with Liu Zi, Wan Xin, Liu Zefan, Wang Jing and more than a dozen other well-known actors co-starring.

Another major drama unfolding between Beijing and Taiwan—

At the time, in order to prevent Lian Bei from directing a spin-off of "The Seventeenth Floor," Lu Yanhe became the producer of the series and helped Lian Bei assemble such a cast.

By a twist of fate, Lu Yanhe was once again inexplicably linked to Beijing and Taiwan.

Fortunately, the person in charge of this drama is Jiang Lan, not someone else.

No one expected Lu Yanhe to come to the "Jiang Yan" production team, but the team and he were not strangers at all.

The majority of the crew for this production came from the previous three seasons of "The Seventeenth Floor," and had worked with Lu Yanhe.

As usual, Lu Yanhe brought a truckload of food and drinks to the set, a must-have for visiting the set.

Everyone congratulated him on winning the Oscar, and then jokingly asked when he would win another Best Actor award.

Lu Yanhe kept saying thank you and waving his hand, humbly saying he would try harder, until he reached Lian Bei.

Five years ago, when Lu Yanhe first worked with Lian Bei, Lian Bei was a new director who had just made a name for himself with his first directorial work. Now, Lian Bei has established himself in the industry and become one of the most sought-after directors.

Upon seeing him, Lian Bei immediately smiled and asked, "How about I play a cameo role later?"

Lu Yanhe waved his hand and said, "I haven't had any enthusiasm for acting lately. Let me take a break for a while."

Upon hearing this, Lian Bei nodded, gave up, and did not insist.

Are you very tired?

"I'm exhausted," Lu Yanhe answered honestly. "After this awards season, I'm really hesitant to go for an Oscar again. For three whole months, I woke up every day to countless people to meet and countless things to say. I've been resting for almost two weeks since I came back, but I still feel tired and find it hard to muster any real creative enthusiasm. I used to write scripts when I had free time, but these days I can't write a single word."

Lian Bei burst into laughter.

"Looks like he's really hurt."

"Anyway, I should take a good rest," Lu Yanhe said. "I haven't had a break in a while. Actually, when I was filming on set, working non-stop, shooting five films a year, I never felt this drained of energy. So, now I'm basically just wandering around here and there."

“Actors need time to live a good life and recharge,” Lian Bei said. “Especially, they can’t be in a working state all the time.”

"Yes." Lu Yanhe asked, "It's been almost ten days since filming started for 'Jiang Yan,' right? How's the filming going? Have you encountered any problems?"

"Everything is going smoothly," Lian Bei said. "We have ample funding, reliable lead actors, and some of the people we brought in through connections didn't perform very well, but I'm too lazy to care. Anyway, we'll just remove the bad actors later with technical editing. Don't blame me if they don't get much screen time."

Lu Yanhe: "..."

Lian Bei's handling of the situation was truly unexpected.

"Did they send some people from Beijing and Taiwan in?"

"Yes." Lian Bei nodded. "Several others are contracted actors from the company owned by Chen Pinhe's wife."

Lu Yanhe was stunned when he heard this.

"The acting of those guys was so bad it made me want to black my head. I don't know why. Since they were signed by the Best Actor Company, why didn't they train them properly before sending them over?" Lian Bei shook his head speechlessly. "But we can't send them back."

Lu Yanhe asked, "Which ones? Were they at the scene?"

Lian Bei: "There's one here today, look, the one sitting in the chair, wearing green clothes."

Lu Yanhe followed Lian Bei's gaze and saw a very beautiful girl.

"She's very good-looking, but unfortunately, she's a wooden beauty." Lian Bei said with great disdain.

Lu Yanhe smiled.

-

In any case, "Jiang Yan" is a drama produced by Beijing TV, so it's perfectly normal for Beijing TV to put a few actors in it.

Even Lu Yanhe couldn't say much about it.

However, Lu Yanhe knew very well that these people who were sent over by Zhang Yuezhen would actually become members of their camp in the future.

Lu Yanhe lowered his eyes and said to Lian Bei, "Jiang Yan is such a good script and such a good cast. It really shouldn't be ruined by a few bad apples."

Lian Bei, unaware of anything amiss, nodded, "Yes."

(End of this chapter)