Chapter 929 The Artist

That day, Liu Bige came to Lu Yanhe's courtyard in Lingyang District.

"Why did you suddenly have time to come see me?" Lu Yanhe asked in surprise as he welcomed him in.

Liu Bige said, "I just had a brainstorming session with Borai in the US for 'Lunar Legion,' and I wanted to hear your opinion."

"Hmm?" Lu Yanhe asked, "What's wrong?"

“I couldn’t communicate with them. They had very strict rules about the style and character development of ‘Lunar Legion’ and wouldn’t allow me to change them. After working with them for so long, they actually gave me very little room to maneuver.”

Liu Bige shrugged.

"To be honest, compared to them, I feel that there is much more room for development when I cooperate with Longyan."

“That’s how big IPs are. They won’t allow you to freely use your imagination. You can only dance in shackles,” Lu Yanhe said. “For them, it’s better not to make a mistake than to ruin the reputation of a series with one movie.”

"But the audience and fans are tired of their old tricks," Liu Bige said. "Don't they realize that?"

Lu Yanhe nodded.

"They know that, but a large ship is too big to be controlled. A small boat can easily turn around and change course, but a large ship requires a lot of effort."

"well."

"Are you backing out?" Lu Yanhe asked curiously.

Liu Bige said, "A little bit, but the contract has already been signed, and I don't want to be a director who gives up halfway."

"So what are your current disagreements with them?" Lu Yanhe asked.

“The biggest difference lies in style,” Liu Bige said. “They still want the film to be epic and grand, while I want to change the climax of each film in this series, which has to be a particularly large-scale battle, instead of the main storyline revolving around a battle every time. That’s a very formulaic thing.”

“But as you know, this is a story about a legion,” Lu Yanhe said. “What would a legion do if it didn’t fight?”

Liu Bige said, "Actually, I provided them with two options. The first option was that the main storyline involved a spy within the legion, and they had to find the spy to prevent a crisis. This was already quite formulaic, but they felt that the main storyline involved too many storylines and characters, which did not fit the tone of the series."

"You want to make catching spies the main plot, with too much dialogue and a complicated storyline, which is not the theme of 'Lunar Legion' in the past."

"That's it. The second plan is that, in the face of a crisis, the legion can be divided into two factions with different opinions, thus starting an internal conflict. Coincidentally, the villains also noticed this conflict, so they specially arranged for a spy to further provoke the internal conflict, allowing the villains to take the initiative for a time. Of course, in the end, both sides discovered the identity of the spy and reversed the situation at the last moment, successfully resolving the crisis."

"This sounds good, and it's a typical storyline in a business narrative. Why aren't they interested?"

"Because they still believe that such a main storyline cannot further expand the universe of 'Legion of the Moon,' and the setting of the story does not need to be further explored."

"They want each 'Legion of the Moon' movie to be about going to a new place, embarking on a new adventure, and then ending with a large-scale battle," Lu Yanhe summarized. "Is that what they mean?"

“Yes.” Liu Bige shook his head speechlessly. “But if it’s set up like this, it will inevitably become formulaic. When you go to a new place, you have to spend a certain amount of time introducing the culture, history and other humanistic information of this new place. Then, you have to spend a certain amount of time creating the main conflict. This information becomes an essential element. In addition, there is almost no room to do any innovation. Your creativity can only be exerted on special effects scenes and art details.”

Lu Yanhe finally understood.

In essence, this film series has a nearly fixed framework.

"..." Lu Yanhe shook his head and smiled. "They're doing this because of the 'Lunar Legion' movie series. For the entire 'Lunar Legion' IP, the revenue from the movies themselves is nothing. Merchandise, entertainment derivatives... these are the real money-makers for this IP. If you don't develop a new worldview, you can't make money in these areas. It's like how games need to release new characters, new skins, and new dungeons from time to time. Without these new things, you can't keep reaping profits. In comparison, the revenue from the movies is negligible, and it doesn't even matter if they don't make money, as long as we can continue to expand the IP's money-making universe."

Just like the Harry Potter movies, the revenue generated from derivative products of this IP, such as theme parks, merchandise, and game development, does not come primarily from the film series itself.

Lu Yanhe asked, "So what do you plan to do?"

Liu Bige said, "I've changed my approach."

What kind of shift in thinking?

“Since they want to do it this way, and they’ve invited a Chinese director like me, OK, I’ll just follow their framework. The main characters of the Lunar Legion are attacked by traitors and end up on a planet with a Chinese cultural background. Then, they are rescued by the locals and, with their help, successfully eliminate the traitors,” Liu Bige said. “Since they won’t allow me to change the overall framework, I’ll innovate in the film’s worldview and art direction, using our Chinese history, culture, and some unique features to build a cyberpunk-style future planetary world.”

Will Borai agree?

"They wanted to hold a meeting to discuss this, and I told them directly that since the framework and main storyline couldn't be changed, they could only work on this aspect. In the past, so many 'Legion of the Moon' films have been made, and no matter how much the worldview was expanded, they couldn't escape the Western historical and cultural framework. They've become very similar. On the contrary, there's a gap in the area of ​​Eastern culture. If they can't accept this, then they can only change the main storyline and framework. Otherwise, what they make will just be the same old thing in a new guise. For the audience and movie fans, there will be no novelty. Everyone isn't stupid. They've gone to do their research."

Lu Yanhe: "Your idea is definitely interesting for 'Lunar Legion,' but it is also easy for people to nitpick about its ideological aspects."

“I didn’t intend to make it a tourist film about Chinese history and culture, not at all,” Liu Bige said. “Besides, the natives of this planet can’t be villains, and I won’t allow them to turn this place into a villainous place. The natives of this planet are helping them eliminate traitors.”

"This approach is indeed quite clever."

"And we can also showcase some of our things within this big IP, so why not?" Liu Bige shrugged. "In the past, many Hollywood movies used their own fantasies and prejudices to create a one-sided, dark, and bizarre Eastern world. I think it's great to have a film like this that can reverse that image."

Lu Yanhe thought Liu Bige was quite bold.

In some ways, he wasn't as bold as Liu Bige.

He dared to do such a thing in a film he was in charge of.

But what about Lunar Legion?

No matter what, this movie is Borai's movie.

Liu Bige is just a director.

For this series, the director may not even have the final cut.

If something is uncontrollable, then there is risk.

Lu Yanhe would definitely not take such a risk now.

Liu Bige dares.

Lu Yanhe greatly admired him.

Liu Bige: "Let's see what Borai says."

"If Borai agrees, then the film you're directing will probably need to utilize a lot of domestic production talent and actors."

Building a world is just one aspect; it involves everything from set design and costume design to makeup, hair styling, and action direction...

Liu Bige: "Bolaj has money. They keep saying that the budget is enough to burn through, and that I should do less of the dialogue design, saying that their film is different from my previous films..."

Lu Yanhe: "They actually had that kind of attitude?"

Liu Bige: "On the surface, his attitude was quite good, but that's the meaning behind his words."

Lu Yanhe: "Sigh, typical Hollywood arrogance."

Liu Bige: "What about you? After you finished filming 'Men in Black,' I haven't heard that you're going to join any other production team."

"I'm taking a break for now and won't be joining any more productions," Lu Yanhe said. "I've filmed too much these past few years and want to take a break."

“That’s good too.” Liu Bige nodded. “You really can’t keep going to different productions all the time. It’s too much of a drain on you actors. I’m already amazed that you’ve been able to keep going for so long.”

“I used to be always busy, and I always felt that I wanted to film those kinds of shows myself. In fact, I had already agreed to many of them a long time ago. One show after another, I finally have some time now,” Lu Yanhe said.

Liu Bige: "I see you haven't been idle either. You've been doing a lot of live streams lately, either reading or writing scripts."

“Those were all without pressure; before, we had to rush to meet deadlines,” Lu Yanhe said. “The situation was very different.”

"I didn't see you attend this year's Critics' International Film Festival either."

“It’s a film festival mainly for film critics, so why would I go?” Lu Yanhe said.

Liu Bige: "I've already been invited to do an exchange activity, how come you're still so free?"

“I’ve been there several times before,” Lu Yanhe said. “Why don’t you give me some support?”

"I have already agreed."

"Oh, so you just want to attack me," Lu Yanhe asked. "Do you have plans for tonight? If not, how about having dinner here?"

Liu Bige nodded, "Sure, is Siqi here too?"

"Yes." Lu Yanhe nodded. "I'll take you to the editorial department of 'Jump Up' later."

Liu Bige: "Okay, I haven't been there yet. I've subscribed to your magazine and I read every issue."

"Let's see if there are any novels that are suitable for adaptation into a screenplay?"

“We both do,” Liu Bige said. “Xiaoyue and I both like reading this magazine.”

"By the way, where's Miao Yue? Why didn't she come with you today?"

“She met with people from the publishing house today. The publishing house wants to compile and publish some of the articles she usually publishes in ‘Jump Up’ and some of the articles she writes on her WeChat official account,” Liu Bige said. “By the way, you may not know that she has taken on another role in a movie called Northern Lights and is currently writing the script for them.”

"A movie?" Lu Yanhe asked curiously.

“Yes, Wang Xiao specifically invited Xiaoyue and me to dinner, wanting to ask her to write a script, to collaborate with director Zheng Ximo.” Liu Bige said.

Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised.

Miao Yue collaborated with Zheng Ximo, the director of "The Pianist"...

Lu Yanhe did not know anything about Zheng Ximo.

However, Zheng Ximo's involvement in the Northern Lights Cinema was facilitated by him and Chen Ziyan.

At the time, Zheng Ximo had a very unpleasant conflict with Chen Pinhe over the promotional direction of "The Pianist".

Is Zheng Ximo easy to work with?

"Xiaoyue didn't say much, but I found that the Zhenhua gang really helps each other. I was preparing a new project myself, and Xiaoyue told me to prepare it myself, saying that Wang Xiao is her senior, and since it was the first time I asked her for help, I had to go and help," Liu Bige said. "Are all Zhenhua graduates this united?"

“Well, to be honest, if someone is a graduate of Zhenhua University and you’ve already interacted with them at school, they’ll generally definitely help,” Lu Yanhe said. “We heard about this tradition when we enrolled. For example, when I was working on Linghe, many senior students came to tell me that if I needed investment, I could contact them.”

Liu Bige said with no small amount of envy, "It's already the top university in the country, yet it still forms such cliques."

“It’s a circle that we worked so hard to get into, so of course we’ll help each other out as much as we can. You need me, and I need you.” Lu Yanhe laughed. “The circle itself is a kind of relationship where we can trust each other more, which reduces a lot of communication and testing costs. When you were talking to Xiaoyue about the adaptation of ‘Late Spring,’ you even asked me to come, just because I’m an actor. Wasn’t that based on your trust in me? At that time, I wasn’t very familiar with her, but I was her classmate, and she believed that under normal circumstances, I would definitely not lie to her.”

Liu Bige nodded: "That makes sense. If you're all in the same circle, the cost of betrayal increases, and the probability of being scammed decreases."

"That's not necessarily true. Putting aside small-scale scams, if it's a serious scam involving a large sum of money, it usually comes from a circle of trust. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been scammed," Lu Yanhe said. "When those senior students approached me to offer investments, it was partly because their investments were small, and partly because I'm a celebrity, a public figure, which, to some extent, represents credibility. If you were a Zhenhua graduate who wasn't a public figure, they wouldn't easily get investments either. We were just helping each other out to the best of our ability, not using real money as a litmus test for trust."

Liu Bige: "Okay, I'm just very surprised. So many people in China have asked Xiaoyue to write scripts, and she has refused them all, but as soon as Wang Xiao approached her, she immediately agreed."

Lu Yanhe shook his head speechlessly.

Why are you shaking your head?

“I shook my head because I think you really are a director, an artist,” Lu Yanhe said. “Besides being her senior, Wang Xiao is also the person in charge of Aurora Films. She immediately agreed, not only to help her senior, but also to help you and herself. Can’t you see that?”

"ha?"

“When you make movies in the future, besides Longyan and Linghe, do you currently have any other companies you know that can invest in your films? I’m not saying there aren’t any other companies willing to invest, I mean, investors you can trust, the kind you’re not afraid of being scammed,” Lu Yanhe said. “Other film companies come to Miao Yue, but they’re only considering the production aspect; she’s only thinking about the collaboration itself. But Wang Xiao personally approached her, and she’s considering the potential for future collaboration between you and Aurora Video, which Wang Xiao can lead.”

Liu Bige: "...Really? You've gone to this extent?"

Lu Yanhe: "Otherwise, I don't think her relationship with Wang Xiao would make her agree so readily. I've known Wang Xiao since college, but she and Wang Xiao don't have that kind of relationship; they're just acquaintances. Miao Yue isn't some junior screenwriter; why would she casually agree to write a script for someone?"

Liu Bige: "Didn't you just say that your Zhenhua gang is quite united?"

"What I meant was, help within my means, and build good relationships. By 'within my means,' I mean help when it's convenient, without incurring too much cost. Money is a cost, as are time and energy. Writing a movie script, well, for Miao Yue, it is indeed within her means. I used the wrong words—I should say, help when it's convenient, but things that require more cost are not in this category, okay?" Lu Yanhe shrugged.

Liu Bige: "Okay."

"What help or circle? There's nothing to envy about that. If there's a real basis for cooperation, even without a circle, you can still achieve cooperation through other means. Without a basis for cooperation, being in a circle is useless. If you, Liu Bige, want to do something today, just let people know what kind of circle you're in. If it's convenient, people will be happy to help you."

“You can’t say that. Look at yourself now, you have a circle of friends, and so many people want to get into your circle but can’t,” Liu Bige said.

"My circle? What circle?" Lu Yanhe was completely unaware that he had a circle.

“Although you probably don’t think it’s true, think about it: Li Yuefeng, Wang Jing, Jiang Yuqian, Jiang Jun, Yan Lingyu… these actors have no connection with the companies you invest in, yet they frequently get your resources. For them, that means they’ve entered your circle. The same goes for Liu Zefan and a few others,” Liu Bige said. “Actually, I know that for you, it’s because you’re very familiar with them, and they’ve been very cooperative during the collaboration. So, when you have suitable roles later, you’re willing to cast them. You think it’s a perfectly normal collaboration, but you have to admit that objectively, this is a kind of circle. Haven’t others said it? Li Zhibai’s starring role in ‘Even Faking Death Is Not Acceptable’ was all your recommendation. Before that, Li Zhibai had no film resources.”

"Forget it."

“That’s true, but I don’t think they’re particularly wrong. I didn’t find Li Zhibai because of your recommendation, but I did notice Li Zhibai because of you, and that led to our collaboration.” Liu Bige said, “Just like my collaboration with you, if it weren’t for Miao Yue’s connection with you, which allowed you to get to know me for a while, you probably wouldn’t have agreed to star in ‘Late Spring.’ There was a lot of controversy surrounding your starring role in that movie; people said you were crazy.”

Lu Yanhe: "Facts have proven that I had good judgment."

He pondered for a moment.

"Perhaps I define the concept of 'circle' in a rather worldly way, and I am unwilling to accept such worldly things."

“Yes, I understand, artist.” Liu Bige seized the opportunity and immediately retaliated.

(End of this chapter)