Chapter 779 Nothing More Needed, Just Do a Good Job (10,000-Word Update!)

Lu Yanhe said this because he genuinely thought so too.

Hollywood is a place where there is no shortage of talented people.

You wouldn't say that almost anyone who stands out has bad acting skills.

In fact, whether it's the Twilight series, the Hunger Games series, or The Amazing Spider-Man, or other blockbuster movies starring so-called young idols, their lead actors are all very good actors, basically either already winners of an Oscar or nominated for one.

Is Liu Teli a good actor?

very good.

But does Hollywood lack mature actors with such good acting skills as him?

Not a single bit is missing.

Now that he's in Hollywood, of course he'll have roles to play.

However, all the roles he can get now are either villains or supporting roles.

Is it necessary for a top actor like Liu Teli to "start from scratch" at this time in order to break into Hollywood?

Lu Yanhe felt it was unnecessary.

Liu Teli is already a famous performing artist in China, and he can clearly get very high-quality, substantial, and characterful roles in China now, so why does he come to Hollywood to play small roles?

This is different from Jiang Yuqian and her friends who came to Hollywood to make their way.

Lu Yanhe strongly agrees with Jiang Yuqian's decision to try her luck in Hollywood because it's difficult for her to get such a high-quality role in the Chinese film industry. Of course, the most important thing is that Jiang Yuqian has the potential to play leading roles in Hollywood in the future.

However, Liu Teli—

Lu Yanhe felt that unless Liu Teli won an Oscar one day, it would be extremely difficult for him to get a leading role in a mainstream project.

Age discrimination in the entertainment industry is not limited to women.

If Liu Teli can act in more art films like "On the Xunyang River," and make more appearances at top international film festivals in the coming years, his international reputation will gradually grow, especially with the added boost from the film "Home Alone."

By then, his status and value in the eyes of various film companies will be different as an internationally recognized acting talent versus as a supporting actor in the "Home Alone" series.

Conversely, Malaysian actress Qin Shulan, who co-starred with him in "Tropical Rainy Season," was a bit older than Liu Teli, yet Shi Huo, after taking charge of her management contract, specifically found her an agent in North America to handle her Hollywood affairs.

Because Qin Shulan has already been nominated for an Oscar.

With this resume, although Qin Shulan may not be able to land leading roles yet, she can secure suitable and significant roles in various mainstream Hollywood projects. In short, Hollywood film companies won't "disregard" Qin Shulan, and won't cast her as a villain just because Liu Teli starred in the blockbuster film "Home Alone."

If one day Liu Teli wins the Best Actor award at a top international film festival, or even if he doesn't, but begins to receive widespread praise from international media and critics, then he will be different.

Lu Yanhe didn't know if Wei Yutang could understand this.

-

Li Zhibai and Jiang Yuqian not only came over tonight, but also brought the director of the movie they starred in, who is also of Chinese descent.

“Yan He, let me introduce you.” Li Zhibai led him over. The latter was a slightly overweight man wearing black-rimmed glasses. He looked to be in his early thirties. “Song Hai is also of Chinese descent. His parents are both Chinese. They brought him to the United States when he was in elementary school.”

"President Lu." Song Hai extended his hand respectfully.

His attitude was more like that of people from domestic film companies.

Lu Yanhe smiled, reached out and shook his hand, saying, "Director, hello, just call me Yanhe."

Jiang Yuqian stood on the other side of Song Hai and said, "He's a big fan of yours."

"Really?" Lu Yanhe quickly said thank you.

Song Hai pursed his lips and smiled slightly.

Lu Yanhe could tell that he was a little reserved.

He asked with a smile, "When will your movie premiere?"

"Three days from now," Song Hai said, "I hope you can attend and support us."

"Of course, I will definitely attend." Lu Yanhe nodded. "Your two lead actors are my best friends, so I can't miss it. I wish you great success."

Song Hai nodded.

After exchanging pleasantries, Li Zhibai pulled Lu Yanhe aside and whispered, "It seems he wants to cast you in his next movie."

"I see," Lu Yanhe said. "How's your collaboration with him going?"

“It was quite enjoyable.” Li Zhibai nodded and said, “I guess he wasn’t very happy in America. Anyway, when I was filming this movie, I felt that the whole film was filled with a kind of self-competition and a cramped sense of oppression.”

Lu Yanhe: "Have you seen the finished film?"

“No.” Li Zhibai shook his head. “I’ll wait until the premiere to watch it.”

"How are the sales for this movie going?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Li Zhibai said, "I heard that some film companies have already made contact, especially many Chinese film companies. I don't know the specifics, but this movie will definitely make a lot of money. The production cost is less than 500,000 US dollars."

Lu Yanhe quipped, "It's a low-budget art film, but it ended up with two big stars for free. If I were the production company of this movie, I would be overjoyed."

"Speaking of which, do you have any movies you want me to direct next year? I've received a few scripts. If you have one, I'll definitely prioritize yours. If not, I'll direct someone else's."

Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "Not for now. After 'Buried,' you should receive a lot of Hollywood scripts. I suggest you take on one or two Hollywood scripts first. As long as the role and script are good, you can put the salary aside for now. Hollywood is very strict about the salaries of Asian actors, which may make you a little unhappy. But at this stage, as long as the script and role are good and the team is good, you should focus on establishing yourself first."

Li Zhibai nodded: "I understand."

Lu Yanhe: "Actually, the salary you received for 'Buried Alive' was too low."

“What a load of rubbish! It’s one thing for the media to say that, but you’re saying it like that too. $500,000, which was almost four million RMB at the exchange rate at the time,” Li Zhibai said. “Back then, if I was starring in a movie in China and it wasn’t a big commercial blockbuster, that was about the amount of money I would get.”

Lu Yanhe: "I don't feel sorry for you, I feel it's a pity. If we had offered you a higher salary back then, you would have had a better chance of getting offers in Hollywood later."

Li Zhibai: "My salary will go up sooner or later, just wait and see."

When it comes to self-confidence, Li Zhibai has never lost to anyone.

Lu Yanhe smiled.

"Fine, I'll wait until your pay surpasses mine."

“I’ll try my best,” Li Zhibai said, raising his eyebrows.

-

"Raise the Red Lantern is still very strong in its Oscar bid this year. I hope this film can also get an Oscar nomination this year," Wang Shuai, the director of "Hesitation on Life," told Lu Yanhe.

“I also hope to get a nomination.” Lu Yanhe said to Wang Shuai, “Congratulations to the director, you’ve already been nominated for one of the four major international film festivals so quickly.”

Wang Shuai: "Thank you, I hope I can win an award this time."

“It’s definitely possible,” Lu Yanhe said with a smile.

Wang Shuai's last film, "In the Waves," was shortlisted for the main competition at the Citour, but unfortunately it didn't win an award.

In this new drama, "Hesitation on Life," the female lead is Yu Mengling, and the supporting actress is Jiang Yue. Both of them have worked with Lu Yanhe before and have close relationships with him.

Jiang Yue, in particular, gained a lot of attention and received a lot of praise for her performance in the movie "The Sea, My Pour It Out" this summer, which helped her get rid of her "invisible" status.

She had just finished filming another movie about Linghe.

The male lead in "Hesitation on Life" is still Cheng Ben from "The Waves".

This isn't the first time we've met.

-

Anna White waited until Lu Yanhe was alone before bringing her wine glass to his side.

"Anna, I'm sorry, I haven't had time to talk to you."

“No need,” Anna White immediately shook her head and said, “In times like these, I prefer to be an observer rather than an intervener.”

Lu Yanhe asked, "Do you know any of the people here?"

Anna White said, "I've watched a lot of Chinese movies, and I know who most of the people in them are."

Lu Yanhe looked surprised.

"Really?"

“Yes,” Anna White nodded. “To be honest, I didn’t expect so many Chinese filmmakers to come.”

Lu Yanhe: "Many Chinese films were shortlisted for this year's Picardo Film Festival."

“Oh yes, there were indeed several films nominated this year,” Anna White said. “I originally thought your film, ‘Windbreaker No. 1,’ directed by Liu Bige, would be nominated over Carlo.”

"The post-production of that movie isn't finished yet, so we can't catch up," Lu Yanhe said.

Anna White: "Your film has already won awards at Situ, Venice and José, only Picardo hasn't won one yet. Why not consider a grand slam?"

“I…” Lu Yanhe shook his head, “I haven’t thought about this yet. Does this count as a Grand Slam?”

Anna White: "Although it's not your personal award, it's a remarkable achievement that the films you starred in or wrote have won awards at the other three major international film festivals."

“I’ve benefited a lot,” Lu Yanhe laughed. “I’ve won all these awards by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Anna White: "After you directed 'Love Letter,' there hasn't been any news about a second film you're going to direct. Is there still no plan for that?"

Lu Yanhe shook his head, "I don't think I'm suited to be a director."

"Love Letter achieved such great success and has now become a classic in the hearts of many movie fans. Do you still think you are not suitable to be a director?"

Lu Yanhe nodded, "This cannot be judged by the result. The one who truly experienced the process is myself. When acting or writing a script, I have a continuous stream of creative passion. But when directing, I don't have that kind of high-energy state. In the middle of the night, if I think of a good scene, I wish I could just get out of bed and act out a scene or write a scene, no matter what time it is or what the situation is."

Anna White: "But film is, after all, the art of directing. If you were just an actor, I wouldn't say that, but you're also a very great screenwriter. Have you ever thought that without directing, you can't actually present the world you initially envisioned in the film 100%?"

Lu Yanhe shook his head.

“I never thought so.”

"Um?"

“Even directors often rely on different people to build this world together. The director’s intention is of course the main one. However, the biggest difference between the director’s artistic thinking and my thinking as an actor and screenwriter is that it must be systematic, decomposable, and clear,” Lu Yanhe said. “But for me, there are many things that I don’t have the ability to clearly decompose. I can give a look, but I can’t explain what kind of look I’m giving. I can write a hundred different “I love you”s in different stories, but I can’t categorize and place those hundred “I love you”s in every appropriate scene.”

Anna White exclaimed in surprise.

“I understand,” she said. “Are you really only twenty-three years old?”

"No, I'm already twenty-five," Lu Yanhe explained with a smile.

“Oh, twenty-five,” Anna White nodded. “Still a very young age.”

Lu Yanhe knew what she wanted to say.

He could only smile and remain silent.

“But you were also writing the sitcom Friends at the same time,” Anna White suddenly said, in a somewhat incredulous tone. “You know, you’re the first writer in sitcom history to independently create so many episodes of a sitcom.”

Lu Yanhe thought to himself that it was because he wasn't "creating alone."

Anna White: "You are a really creative person."

"Thanks."

-

It's quite a coincidence that so many people have gathered here tonight.

These films are all scheduled for release in the first week.

In addition, since they all star big stars, each film crew has a relatively large budget. These stars also have brands that pay for their food, clothing, accommodation, and transportation here, so they all arrived before the opening ceremony.

Tomorrow is the opening ceremony, and everyone will be there.

Therefore, we shouldn't chat too late today; we need to conserve our energy for tomorrow.

The party ended around 11 p.m.

Lu Yanhe and Anna White got into the car together and headed back.

Anna White said, "The atmosphere at this gathering tonight is even better than I expected. There is a deep bond among you Chinese filmmakers."

Lu Yanhe: "Because most of them are acquaintances, and those who are not very familiar with each other are connected with their friends. Even if they are not familiar with each other, they will be much more enthusiastic because of their connection with the person they are close to. Furthermore, to be honest, Chinese films are not very strong in the international film scene. When people gather in a foreign country, it is always easier for them to get together."

Anna White said, "Chinese films have performed exceptionally well on the international stage in recent years. Isn't that a strong showing?"

“Anna, Chinese films have indeed made some achievements in recent years, but to be honest, it’s just that they’ve finally gone from disappearing to making some noise. China is a very large country, and the Chinese film industry is also a very large industry. Compared with such a large industry, are our achievements really that outstanding?” Lu Yanhe shook his head. “But why is everyone so happy tonight? Because everyone is holding onto hope, including myself. To have so many Chinese films shortlisted for a film festival at once is so rare, hasn’t it been seen in the last twenty years?”

Anna White nodded.

“It is indeed rare,” Anna White said. “But I still have to say that in the film industry, whether a country’s films are recognized often starts with which representative filmmakers you have. Before you, Wang Zhong, Liu Bige and this generation of Chinese filmmakers emerged, there was a long period of time when no filmmakers with influence at international film festivals appeared. Often, one or two works would occasionally emerge, last for a year or two, and then there would be a gap, and nothing could be sustained. To have a stable influence internationally, you need the ability to continuously create and produce.”

Lu Yanhe nodded.

"I see."

Anna White added, “I went to see ‘Pour Out the Sea’ when it was released in Picardo. It was a film your film company was supporting a new director to make. I was quite surprised by the film. Later, I learned that you had him make another film, with a script you wrote and Lee Chi-pak starring. I had high expectations, but I was a little disappointed after watching it.”

Lu Yanhe knew that Anna White was referring to "You Are the Apple of My Eye".

Lu Yanhe smiled slightly and said, "It is indeed not a movie that some people will like, because it is too emotionally saturated and too cathartic. To some extent, it is too eager to please the audience."

Anna White looked at Lu Yanhe with some surprise.

"You—it seems you already know? Then why did you still write such a script?"

Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "Anna, sometimes I feel that everyone has forgotten one thing. In fact, I have only been out of school for two or three years. I know what it means to be sophisticated, but I don't want to live in the concept of sophistication all the time. I like different realities in different states, even if sometimes they are melodramatic, vulgar, sentimental, or even embarrassing to the point of making people dig their toes into the ground."

Anna White looked at Lu Yanhe thoughtfully.

-

Meanwhile, Tucker was also in the car with Wang Biao and Zou Dong.

He was in a very excited mood all night.

His excitement didn't subside even after the private party ended.

He kept asking Wang Biao and Zou Dong questions out of curiosity.

Fortunately, Wang Biao's English is now quite good, and he can communicate with people in daily life. Otherwise, Tucker would just be staring blankly at them, unable to understand each other.

To Wang Biao's surprise, Tucker knew a lot about the Chinese entertainment industry—or more accurately, Chinese films—which exceeded Wang Biao's expectations.

Wang Biao has traveled abroad with Lu Yanhe so many times and has interacted with so many people.

No matter how much the domestic media hypes it up, when foreigners talk about Chinese films, they basically only mention a few titles, and that's only with people they meet at film festivals.

Wang Biao had no idea that if he hadn't been at a film festival, but had just bumped into an ordinary person on the street, they might not even know if they had ever seen a Chinese film in their entire life.

However, when Tucker talked about Chinese films, he wasn't referring to "Home Alone" and "Buried," nor was he talking about art films like "Three Mountains" and "Late Spring," which had won awards at top international film festivals and were somewhat well-known. He was quite clear about the development of Chinese films in recent years, which genres were popular, and which genres had representative works.

He even knew about movies like "My Home I Haven't Been Back For a Long Time" and "Nine Yin," which achieved high box office returns in China but were virtually unknown overseas.

Wang Biao asked him in surprise if he was a "China expert" or a "Chinese cultural enigma".

There is indeed such a group of people overseas.

Tucker shook his head and said that his mother had been showing Chinese movies at home frequently in recent years and had also been studying the works of Chinese film scholars.

He often followed his mother around and learned quite a bit, but only superficially.

Wang Biao thought to himself, no wonder Anna White suddenly asked to invite Lu Yanhe to stay at her house for a while.

Anna White's decision was not a spur-of-the-moment thing, but rather "long-planned".

Wang Biao knew that a major reason why Lu Yanhe accepted the invitation on the spur of the moment was that Lin Yu said Anna White was a very prestigious critic in the international film industry, but she had paid almost no attention to Chinese films (on the surface). Therefore, he felt that this was an opportunity for Anna White to learn more about Chinese films.

It now appears that Anna White recognized the development of Chinese cinema in recent years, especially the achievements of Chinese filmmakers like Lu Yanhe, and after several years of observation and research, she began to take action.

After realizing this, Wang Biao's first reaction to Anna White was one of profound respect.

To be honest, given her reputation and status in the film criticism world, she could easily use all of this to provide herself and her family with a much wealthier and more comfortable life.

Of course, the apartment isn't bad now; it's a very warm and welcoming family home. It's just—

What Wang Biao wanted to express was that the pursuit of fame and fortune is human nature, while Anna White was able to do the opposite.

Moreover, she has been interested in Chinese films for several years and has done a lot of research and study in this area, but she hasn't shown any interest in it, which is a bit like "sitting on the sidelines".

No one knows what she is giving up, nor how much she is giving up.

Because of her love for movies, she expresses many things silently, without revealing them until she is certain of them.

Having been in the ever-changing, fame- and fortune-driven entertainment industry, and having seen too many people chasing trends, Wang Biao has come to respect people like Anna White more and more.

Tucker had no idea how much his casual remark had affected Wang Biao.

He was still enthusiastically and animatedly telling them about his trip to China with his parents a year ago, sharing his feelings about China.

Wang Biao said, "Contact us next time you come to China."

Tucker: "Is that okay? Aren't you guys too busy with work to have time?"

“If you don’t have time, we can make some arrangements that will be more convenient for you,” Wang Biao said with a smile. “We’re unfamiliar with the place, just like when we arrived in Bicarlo and met locals like you. There are many things we don’t understand, so we can ask you.”

“Of course,” Tucker said. “It’s a pity you came during the film festival. There are too many people now. Locals don’t go out much at this time except to watch movies. After the film festival, when there are fewer people, Vicarlo is actually a very beautiful city and well worth a visit.”

Wang Biao nodded.

"If there's a chance in the future, we'll try to make a trip outside of the film festival."

Tucker said, "Then it's best to come when I'm on vacation. Otherwise, when I'm in school, I'm in the US, not in BiCarlo. Without me showing you around, you'll miss half the beauty of BiCarlo."

Wang Biao smiled and said okay.

-

Strangely enough, Lu Yanhe discovered that he didn't have any problem with being unable to sleep in a particular bed.

He slept exceptionally well on his first night at Anna White's house. If he hadn't forgotten to close the curtains and been woken up by the golden sunlight the next day, he thought he might have slept until someone knocked on the door.

When Lu Yanhe came out of the room, Anna White was sitting on the balcony, holding a large book in her hands and a cigarette in her other hand, reading with an elegant and languid posture.

The sunlight shone on her, warm and peaceful.

Lu Yanhe couldn't help but raise his phone and take a picture of the scene from the living room.

He didn't disturb Anna, but went straight to the bathroom to wash up. When he checked the time, it was only seven in the morning, very early. He put on his running shoes and prepared to go downstairs for a run.

Lu Yanhe sent a message in the small group.

About five minutes later, the accompanying bodyguards were in place.

Lu Yanhe then went to greet Anna and said he was going for a run.

Anna nodded. "Will you come back for breakfast later?"

“Of course.” Lu Yanhe nodded.

-

At this moment, Lu Yanhe suddenly felt a different kind of emotion.

Staying in a hotel, and then running away from it, is a state of mind.

Living in a residential apartment building, but running out of the building brings a different feeling.

These two feelings are different.

No one knows he lives here yet.

When he started running down the street, there weren't many people around.

The bodyguard followed behind him, about two meters away, not very close.

After running about four kilometers, Lu Yanhe felt a little tired.

It has to be admitted that he is indeed physically weak.

If you stop exercising and training regularly, your physical fitness will gradually decline.

I don't want to move. I really don't want to move at all normally.

People are lazy, there's nothing they can do about it.

Lu Yanhe was sweating profusely and panting heavily.

They stopped running for the second half and headed back.

Taking a walk is fine, it's nice.

But at that moment, the first person to recognize him appeared.

"Lu Yanhe!" was a foreigner.

They want to take a photo together.

Lu Yanhe had initially thought that his current appearance probably didn't look good, so he decided to just let it go.

But seeing the expectation on other people's faces, I thought, it doesn't matter if I'm not good-looking, that's just how I look. After running, being out of breath and with a flushed face is normal.

So, Lu Yanhe took a photo with her.

As a result, the photo was posted on social media, sparking polarized comments.

Overseas, this photo is used to praise Lu Yanhe's good looks.

In China, many people said that Lu Yanhe shouldn't have taken photos with people at this time. First, his hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to his scalp, which looked disgusting. Second, his face was flushed, and because he was uncomfortable from running, he was grimacing in the photos, not managing his facial expressions well, and not as handsome as usual. Third, he was wearing a vest, and when he put his hands on his hips, his armpit hair was showing, which people said was that he hadn't managed his body hair well.

This is just someone deliberately trying to smear him.

Many people genuinely believe that Lu Yanhe's appearance in this group photo is quite unseemly.

-

Seeing the heated discussion online, Chen Siqi shook her head speechlessly.

"So you can't blame celebrities for having to be fully disguised whenever they go out these days," she complained to Xu Zijun. "When will we be able to let non-idol actors be themselves? Do they have to put on makeup on the spot if they run into fans on the street and want to take a picture?"

Xu Zijun smiled.

"There is a group of people online who judge everything and find fault with everything."

"ill."

“They weren’t doing it on purpose; they genuinely felt that they were offering a good suggestion from the bottom of their hearts, not trying to bash people.”

"He's still sick."

"This 'I'm doing this for your own good' mentality is no longer unique to parents towards their children."

"Get your illness treated first." Chen Siqi complained again. "I'm not really this emotional because Yan He is my boyfriend. I posted a photo a couple of days ago, and someone commented that I shouldn't have worn a skirt."

"ah?"

"They said my style and makeup were too gentle and beautiful, not like a female CEO at all, but more like a pampered wife, pampered my ass."

Xu Zijun teased, "President Chen, watch your words. Don't let your emotions control you. You should be the one controlling your emotions. You are, after all, a public figure."

“People build their own chastity arches step by step like this,” Chen Siqi said to Xu Zijun. “Of course, since we’re against feudalism, we can’t call them chastity arches anymore; we should call them morality arches.”

Xu Zijun burst into laughter.

"A living person, why do you have to grandly castrate yourself and turn into a clay sculpture to save all living beings?" Chen Siqi rolled her eyes. "I am indeed not a very moral person, so please don't try to make me into a golden statue. I don't curse people, I don't break the law, and I have ideals and ambitions. I have all the proper manners and courtesy. If you insist on nitpicking and putting shackles on me, then don't blame me for smashing them in a fit of rage."

Xu Zijun: "I support you and I agree with you."

Chen Siqi asked, "Leaving me aside, how's the documentary about Li Pengfei coming along?"

“He’s filming right now, and he’s really happy,” Xu Zijun said. “He’s doing what he loves, he has brand sponsorships, he has an income, and he’s actually building a real career. Before the shoot, he had all sorts of concerns, but now he’s having so much fun with the photographers that he doesn’t want to leave.”

Chen Siqi: "That's great. You're so lucky to have found something you love to do to make a living."

Xu Zijun nodded and said, "Siqi, we are receiving more and more manuscripts now, and the backlog of manuscripts is also increasing. Our magazine is already a bit overwhelmed. Should we consider a supplement?"

Chen Siqi said, "We already have twelve regular issues, two special issues, and four quarterly supplements every year. Adding more would be too much and would affect readers' willingness to buy."

Xu Zijun: "Then what should we do?"

Chen Siqi said, "There are two approaches: one is to create another magazine that is different from 'Jump Up' and make a division; the other is to make it an e-reader."

Xu Zijun said, "It sounds like either of these is difficult to do."

“Yes.” Chen Siqi nodded. “Fictional and literary content is very unsuitable for e-reading, a fact that has been proven by many similar e-reading apps. However, there is no doubt that it can indeed allow more authors to be seen.”

Xu Zijun said, "It's hard to make a profit, isn't it?"

“Yes,” Chen Siqi said. “Of course, I’m not saying that we have to make a profit, but after making ‘Jump Up’ for so many years and developing many brands, including self-media, we have come to understand that even if we are willing to continuously invest money to maintain a product, if it cannot be self-sufficient and generate a normal balance of income and expenditure, the people who make it will eventually be disappointed and leave, and it will not be able to be sustained normally.”

Xu Zijun: "If we were to produce another magazine, I wonder what the market would be like."

Chen Siqi said, "If I make another magazine, it will definitely not be the same as 'Jump Up'. 'Jump Up' takes a high-end literary route, so the new magazine can only be ordinary and popular. However, this type of magazine has no memorable points or positioning. It is easy to make a lot of noise in the first few issues and then lose people's interest."

“What if we made this magazine’s theme specifically “Jump Up Theater”?” Xu Zijun suggested. “We could make this magazine the home base for Jump Up Theater, and then use the stars from Jump Up Theater to shoot the cover. The cover star would be chosen by a vote, with a ballot attached to each issue. The actor with the most votes in each issue would be the one to shoot our cover.”

“This has turned into a complete fan economy,” Chen Siqi said.

Xu Zijun said, "However, if a new magazine can survive and thrive without a reader base, why can't we use the fan economy? It doesn't require fans to pour milk or do data analysis. We had already developed a very mature solution for this when we did our year-end review for 'Jump Up'."

"So what if you become a cover star?" Chen Siqi asked.

Xu Zijun said, "The Jump Up Theater tailored a play specifically for him."

Chen Siqi stared wide-eyed in shock.

Xu Zijun: "No one has ever dared to do this before."

“Have you ever thought about why doing this… could easily backfire?” Chen Siqi said. “What if the person’s acting is particularly bad, really bad? That would completely damage the reputation of Jumping Theater.”

Xu Zijun said, "Not every celebrity who gets the most votes would be willing to shoot this cover and film a scene where they jump around in the theater, right?"

Chen Siqi shook her head, "No, this is too... too contrary to our original intention of the Jumping Theater."

“What if we did something like the Morning Star Project on our own at Jumping Theatre?” Xu Zijun said. “It would make it clear to everyone that Jumping Theatre will put out one or two plays every year to be tailor-made for the cover of the new magazine. This will not affect Jumping Theatre’s normal projects.”

“If we say it won’t have any impact, will people believe us?” Chen Siqi shook her head. “I would rather say that each issue of this new magazine will feature an actor who has performed in the Jumping Theater, and that we’ll reduce the sales generated by voting. We can’t ruin the reputation we’ve worked so hard to build. This is a matter of principle, and we can’t take any risks.”

Chen Siqi was very insistent on this point.

Seeing this, Xu Zijun had no choice but to give up.

"If we don't take this approach, no matter what we do, we can't say that the sales of the new magazine will remain consistently high."

Chen Siqi said, "Now, if a magazine is priced at around 20 yuan, it needs to sell about 6,000 to 8,000 copies to break even. However, because we have strong self-media and online platforms, the magazine content can generate secondary sales, so the pressure will be much less. If we can get brands to pay for the cover model, our pressure will be even less. What do you think?"

"Should we try to do it the traditional way?" Xu Zijun asked.

Chen Siqi nodded, "The worst that can happen is failure. If we really fail, we'll just stop publishing after a year."

Xu Zijun pondered for a moment and said, "Then that's the only way."

Chen Siqi said, "Zijun, we are the media that can most easily generate celebrity fan economy, but the more so, the less we can use this method. Once we become dependent on it, we will lose our core creativity. We have to constantly find our own attraction and sales points. This is the key to why we have not declined to this day."

“I understand,” Xu Zijun said. “My initial idea was to use the fan economy to maintain the initial fan base of the new magazine.”

“I understand, but it’s too easy for a magazine to start strong and then decline. It’s hard for people who haven’t climbed up from the bottom to truly share the joys and sorrows of a magazine,” Chen Siqi said. “In this day and age, making a magazine is not just about creating content, but also about building a stable, passionate, and dedicated magazine team that is willing to share both the good times and the bad.”

An editor who can do a good job with a magazine in this era will naturally have a greater chance of achieving greater success if they move to a platform that is more in line with the trends of the times and have access to more abundant resources and a wider environment.

This is why Chen Siqi said these things to Xu Zijun.

“At our magazine ‘Jump Up,’ editors with more than three years of experience already earn a very high salary, averaging 25,000 yuan a month. However, this is still a significant difference compared to positions such as editors at film and television companies, self-media operators, and short drama editors,” Chen Siqi said. “What we need are people who truly love working in magazines. This love doesn’t happen overnight; it’s cultivated. Just like our feelings for ‘Jump Up’ magazine, without this process of carrying the burden forward, there would be no sunny destination after the rain, and we wouldn’t have imprinted it on our lives.”

Xu Zijun nodded.

She looked at Chen Siqi thoughtfully.

She wanted to say something at that moment, but hesitated and stopped herself.

There's really no need to say anything.

The further I went, the more I felt the inadequacy of language.

There's nothing more to say, just do your job well.

(End of this chapter)