Chapter 831 Let them fight each other from within.

The popularity of "If Love Has a Destiny" is so great that even the middle-aged women dancing in the park are talking about it—

Someone filmed a short video showing elderly women doing square dancing discussing movies and actors.

"That young girl is so pretty, she's just like me when I was young."

"You're still comparable to when you were young? How dare you say that? You were half as pretty as a young girl when you were young. Now you can dance in the square with us?"

Another middle-aged woman immediately retorted, "What's wrong with square dancing? Does that mean you can't be pretty when you're young? I was the most beautiful girl in the factory when I was young, okay? Go look at the photos, how can you talk like that?"

“My old man is just as good as that young man named Yang Shiyi, okay?”

...

A group of middle-aged women who were doing square dancing started arguing.

This video went viral online.

Within 48 hours of its release, it garnered over 10 million likes across the entire internet.

What kind of movie were they arguing about?

A romantic movie can spark an internal struggle among middle-aged women—

Too many people are happy to see this.

Five days after its release, "The Classic" broke 100 million yuan in box office revenue again on Tuesday.

Despite it being the summer movie season and a weekday, the fact that it managed to break 100 million yuan in a single day again is an incredible feat.

So-called "topical movies".

No one expected that "The Classic" would become such a "topical film".

Lu Yanhe thought to himself, "Have you forgotten the fear you felt when you were dominated by 'Green Apple Paradise' back then?"

A sense of age.

A wave of nostalgia.

Nostalgia is a timeless theme that never goes out of style.

How many years has it been since we've seen a pure love movie like "The Classic"?

Nowadays, romance movies are either about youthful love or have comedic elements added; there are very few genuine love stories.

-

The movie "If Love Has a Destiny" is about to reach 1 billion yuan at the box office.

It was also released in South Korea at this time.

Both "You Are the Apple of My Eye" and "Chinese Paladin" were very popular in South Korea.

Yan Lingyu is also very well-known in South Korea.

Needless to say, Yang Shiyi was even more so.

Although he wasn't a top-tier celebrity, the TV series "Rouge" made him incredibly popular among his fans, with an astonishingly high level of fan loyalty.

The film sold over 100,000 tickets in South Korea alone.

In South Korea, a blockbuster movie generally needs to have over ten million viewers.

Popular movies typically earn around several million dollars.

Like Lu Yanhe's previous film "Late Spring," which performed very well in South Korea, with a total audience of only 2.3 million—this is already considered a very good result for this type of film, including South Korean domestic films.

Despite being a film starring Tang Yan and directed by her husband, featuring an all-star cast of A-list celebrities, "Dreamland" only attracted a million viewers.

The reason why "The Classic" performed so well was because Lu Yanhe made a phone call to Kim Eon-sook of TVN.

So, on the one hand, Jin Yanshu arranged for singer Wang Han to perform on a popular music variety show, singing "If Love Has a Destiny". On the other hand, Yan Lingyu, Yang Shiyi and Zhang Chun also appeared on two TVN programs, one being the popular variety show "Running" and the other being a talk show.

This is the kind of treatment only top-tier films receive.

In addition, Lu Yanhe also specifically asked several familiar media outlets to take care of the film and its lead actors.

Lu Yanhe thought to himself that even if the number of viewers reached 10 million, it might not be enough to break through, but at least it could get a box office of tens of millions of US dollars in the South Korean market.

After all, it's the hometown of "The Classic".

Generally speaking, a romance film that performs well at the box office in China and South Korea will also do well in other East Asian countries such as Japan.

Word-of-mouth and trending topics can be spread through the internet.

Whether it's "First Love," "The Classic," or "Love Letter," they're all the same.

How did these movies become so popular in China back then?

Did the film company do any remarkable publicity for the re-release of "Love Letter"? No, but it still managed to rake in tens of millions of RMB at the box office as soon as it hit theaters.

Although Lu Yanhe did not attend the premiere of "The Classic" in South Korea, a number of Chinese artists with some fame and influence in South Korea, such as Cai Na and Liu Zhiyin, flew over to support the film if they had the time.

The travel expenses were sponsored by the Korean publisher and brand.

They asked Linghe to pay for it, but Linghe refused. They felt it wasn't cost-effective and wouldn't translate into much box office revenue.

Despite such a strong lineup, "The Classic" immediately topped the box office charts upon its release in South Korea.

-

When "The Classic" was raking in box office success in South Korea, Chen Yin told Lu Yanhe, "Every September, we arrange for some films to be re-released in theaters, and we plan to do the same this year."

"Sure."

September is traditionally a slow season for the market.

With the summer movie season just over and the National Day holiday approaching, major films generally don't choose to be released in September.

After all, it's only a short period of time, the Mid-Autumn Festival.

However, Linghe values ​​this release window quite a bit, as many art films choose to be released during this period.

For example, the movie "Rouge" from back then.

If a film has a limited box office potential and is not intended for the general public, then choosing a smaller release window might not be a bad option.

Didn't "Good Stuff" also choose to be released in November? In the end, it grossed more than 700 million yuan at the box office, which was better than many blockbusters.

In this day and age, release dates are secondary; the key is whether you can attract a core target audience to watch the movie and get good word-of-mouth, so that they are willing to recommend the movie on social media.

Lu Yanhe glanced at the list of re-releases compiled by Chen Yin, nodded, and asked, "We've removed 'You Are the Apple of My Eye' for now. It was only released last year, and it's being re-released this year. That's a bit too close together."

Chen Yin nodded.

He added, "In September, we also plan to release our French film 'Good Friends' and our Japanese film 'If the Cat Disappears'."

Lu Yanhe said, "Both of these movies are quite refreshing, and releasing them in September is quite appropriate. That's fine."

Chen Yin said, "We have released quite a few imported films this year, but we haven't achieved significant box office success, which is a bit of a pity."

"The imported films we produce are all the kind that other film companies don't want to make, because they think they have small box office potential. They're not exactly big-budget films to begin with," Lu Yanhe said. "There's no need to deliberately pursue high box office numbers. It's already quite remarkable to have two or three blockbuster films like 'The Classic' every year. When making movies, having two or three that achieve high box office numbers, and as long as the others don't lose money and make a profit, that's good enough."

Chen Yin nodded.

"Yes, that's true. But every time I see a movie like 'The Classic,' which can earn the revenue of twenty or thirty 'The Red Shoes,' I often feel complacent and think there's no need to make a movie like 'The Red Shoes.'"

“How could that be? Without making so many movies like ‘The Red Shoes’ before, how could ‘If Love Has a Destiny’ have been able to get so many resources first when we needed to distribute it across all channels?” Lu Yanhe said. “To the outside world, it’s all Linghe’s movie. People recognize Linghe, and they recognize you, Chen Yin.”

"Haha, you're right."

"Moreover, whether it's 'The Corpse' or 'Summer Night Villa Horror,' although their box office performance wasn't as good as 'The Classic,' they still had excellent returns. These are all films that you spearheaded. The facts prove that the production-distribution-promotion model you've established in the company is effective, aren't they? Some made more money, some made less, and some even just broke even, but that's all okay. Overall, we're on an upward trend, which is remarkable. The industry is so cold, yet you've still managed to make Linghe so successful."

Chen Yin's lips were curled up, but he still said, "This is mainly because of you, who are supporting us."

“Now you are the one who is truly supporting us,” Lu Yanhe said. “If Linghe only made a few movies a year, such as ‘Home Alone’ and ‘If Love Has a Destiny,’ of course it would make a lot of money and be very profitable, but it would never have become a company that is operating normally like it is now. If a project is particularly profitable, it can only survive for a short time. Only when every project can make a little money will people be willing to stay in this company.”

Chen Yin: "It's true. Our company's turnover rate is very low compared to other companies of the same type."

"However, we still need to be careful not to let some people work for too long and start to rely on inertia, becoming complacent and preventing those who are willing and eager to work from moving up," Lu Yanhe said. "In the early stages of a company, it is always full of vitality. After conquering new territories, what kind of 'city' it can become is what we need to carefully consider how to achieve long-term success."

-

Lu Yanhe is very satisfied with the current development of Linghe.

Both Chen Yin and Xu Tianming now hold shares in their hands.

Lu Yanhe was very satisfied with these two people, and he never hesitated to express his satisfaction with them in person.

Lu Yanhe had no management training or experience in managing others. However, like the founding emperors of ancient times who rose up in rebellion and eventually succeeded in establishing a dynasty, he possessed such great personal charisma that many insightful and capable individuals were willing to serve as his second or third-in-command, fighting for him.

Humans are driven by self-interest.

Humans are also emotional beings.

People are indeed willing to make many sacrifices for some vague ideals, achievements, and honors.

Chen Yin and Xu Tianming each have their own abilities and skills.

The most important reason why they were able to be impressed by Lu Yanhe was that Lu Yanhe never spoke or gave unsolicited advice on things they didn't understand or weren't good at.

Whenever Lu Yanhe speaks, they simply do it, because past experience has taught them that listening to Lu Yanhe is always the right thing to do.

For things Lu Yanhe didn't understand, he would directly ask them for solutions and analyze the pros and cons. He had the brains of someone who went to Zhenhua University, was surrounded by highly educated and capable people, and dealt with the world's top talents. Even if he didn't understand the specifics, he understood logic.

It was precisely these differences of understanding and ignorance that prevented Chen Yin and Xu Tianming from ever considering giving up everything in Linghe and going elsewhere.

People like them can certainly make money anywhere, but not every place has a boss like Lu Yanhe.

To be precise, you couldn't find a boss like Lu Yanhe in a hundred companies.

-

At the end of August, Lu Yanhe accepted an invitation from CCTV to record a speech for "The First Lesson of the New Semester".

Afterwards, Lu Yanhe met with Yu Mengling to discuss some filming matters related to the movie "The Boat".

The Venice International Film Festival has opened this year.

Lu Yanhe did not attend.

The reason is self-evident.

Chen Pinhe attended the opening ceremony and walked the red carpet with the cast and crew of "The Pianist".

The cheers from the crowd were incredibly enthusiastic.

Chen Ziyan complained that Zhang Yuezhen must have paid people to create hype.

However, they were all well aware that Death Stranding was a hit show, and Chen Pinhe's popularity and fame overseas had greatly increased as a result.

It's normal for so many people to cheer for him at the Venice International Film Festival.

-

Chen Pinhe certainly didn't waste his time abroad.

In his early years, he was also a well-known figure in China's international image.

Unfortunately, it lacked follow-up momentum and its development returned entirely to China, where, due to the so-called "protection of its reputation," production was extremely low.

He could have gone much further.

He had that kind of momentum and foundation at the time, good acting skills, and could speak English well.

Of course, from an outsider's perspective, there was really no need for him to go any further.

Since he's already reached the top domestically, he can comfortably enjoy the wonderful life of an international film star.

Now, spurred on by Lu Yanhe, he has started to work hard on his career again.

It must be said that with professional skills, one always has the opportunity to make a comeback.

-

Chen Ziyan said, "Yan He, if Chen Pinhe wins the Best Actor award at the Venice International Film Festival this time, he will have two of the four major international film awards in his hands."

Lu Yanhe said, "I also have two."

“I’m not asking you to compare numbers.” Chen Ziyan said, both amused and exasperated. “He’s a long way from catching up with your numbers. You’ve won all the major awards in the film and television industry worldwide. But he’s returned to the peak of his career. You know, in the entertainment industry, no matter how famous someone is, they can’t have it all. So, we can’t stop him from copying your path, forming a new force in the entertainment industry through Zhang Yuezhen’s company, and directly competing with you.”

Lu Yanhe: "Then let's fight. Who's afraid of who?"

Chen Ziyan: "Yes, that's exactly what I'm worried about. We're not afraid to fight him, but if we really start fighting, even if we have the upper hand, we'll still be affected and lose a lot. Most importantly, can we maintain our current upward momentum?"

"Then what can we do?" Lu Yanhe said. "They've made it clear they're coming to start a war."

“My idea is that their company is currently mainly focused on artist management,” Chen Ziyan said. “They don’t yet have the capability to get involved in film and television production. My idea is that in the battle against them, Shi Huo should be on the front line, while you and Ling He should retreat to the back and not be affected.”

"ah?"

Lu Yanhe was taken aback.

He hadn't expected Chen Ziyan to do this.

Lu Yanhe said, "Shi Huo is fighting him on the front line, which means I'm also on the front line, right?"

“No, what I mean is, this is the battle between Shi Huo and them,” Chen Ziyan said. “Actually, they’ve already started poaching talent from my side. They’re competing for Shi Huo’s artists, and several projects that were already secured for Shi Huo were snatched away by them through underhanded means. I can roughly guess what they’re trying to do. They want to deliberately stir up conflict and drag you into this mess, making it impossible for you to stay out of it. But you have to understand, Chen Pinhe doesn’t get involved in the day-to-day operations of Zhang Yuezhen’s company. All the dirty work and hard work is done by Zhang Yuezhen. Once you’re dragged into it, you’ll be plagued with trouble. Too many flies are annoying, that’s the gist of it.”

Lu Yanhe suddenly realized.

"And Chen Pinhe remains the same calm and collected movie star."

Lu Yanhe: "How disgusting."

“Yes,” Chen Ziyan said, “They’re deliberately trying to ruin your reputation.”

"What a dirty heart."

Chen Ziyan: "So, no matter what, neither you nor Linghe should get involved."

Lu Yanhe: "So, if you fight them, can you win? I remember that Zhang Yuezhen's company is backed by Yang Zhoujin."

“Yes,” Chen Ziyan said, “but I’m not afraid. That’s why I told you not to get involved. I’m planning to cooperate with Yang Zhouli.”

Lu Yanhe looked surprised.

"ah?"

-

Yang Zhouli had always wanted to cooperate with Lu Yanhe.

The Shih-Chin Group's layout and development in the cultural and entertainment industry over the past two years has begun to take shape.

Although a lot of money was wasted in the process, large corporations have ample capital to experiment and make mistakes.

Having achieved this, Yang Zhouli was even more eager to cooperate with Lu Yanhe.

To be honest, in the current environment, it always feels a bit lacking for film and television productions not to collaborate with Linghe.

Longyan and other established companies, compared to Linghe, have their performance so poor that it's an insult to them on the board of directors.

Lu Yanhe has not responded to Yang Zhouli's repeated attempts to curry favor.

Especially in the last year or two, he has mainly focused his efforts on Hollywood, and his activities in China have decreased significantly.

Yang Zhouli's fame gradually faded.

Now Chen Ziyan is planning to collaborate with Yang Zhouli again—

“But didn’t you say before that we should be cautious about cooperating with a large group like Shijin? It’s easy to invite a god in but hard to send him away.” Lu Yanhe was a little worried. “Besides, judging from our dealings with Yang Zhouli, he’s not a kind person.”

“If we don’t cooperate with Yang Zhouli, Zhang Yuezhen will use all the power behind Yang Zhoujin to attack us,” Chen Ziyan said. “Rather than making the entire Shijin our enemy, it’s better to cooperate with Yang Zhouli directly and let them fight each other internally, which will also reduce our own resource losses.”

(End of this chapter)