Chapter 160 The new plan is basically an itinerary checklist...
Chapter 160
Lin Yuan fell into sorrow.
His achievements as an actor are mainly concentrated in the field of television dramas. In the film industry, Lin Yuan is an actor whose acting skills are stronger than his commercial appeal.
Of course, her acting skills alone are enough to make many people envious.
When awards season arrives, Lin Yuan is more or less able to secure a nomination, and if he's lucky, he might even win an award.
As for box office performance—his only leading role in "The Ghost" grossed over 1 billion yuan, but in the context of the entire film market, such a result can only be considered average.
On the overall box office rankings, "Ghost Arts" is not ranked at all.
However, if we only consider profits, the return on investment for "Ghost Arts" is quite remarkable.
In terms of cost, "Ghost Arts" is a stable product that investors quite favor.
No one knows how well "Bloody Past" fared after its release. Perhaps the film will not even be shown in domestic theaters, but barring any unforeseen circumstances, it should earn Lin Yuan a nomination.
Given Lin Yuan's fame, it's time to start some commercial ventures.
Industry insiders believe that Lin Yuan's development in the film and television industry is quite mysterious—his dramas have high ratings and popularity, which has given him a good level of public recognition.
In the television drama industry, Lin Yuan takes a mainstream approach.
However, once he entered the film industry, Lin Yuan became a niche figure.
Generally speaking, young actors with his level of popularity in the industry would already have one of their own starring commercial blockbusters.
Since last year, Lin Yuan has received offers for nearly ten commercial blockbusters.
During the period between the creation and release of "1895", the momentum subsided for a while. However, "1895" sold extremely well, and invitations from various film and television production teams came back in droves.
It seems that after "Just You", Lin Yuan's popularity did not decline at all, but instead rose to a higher level - the huge success of "1895" is proof of this.
Objectively speaking, commercial blockbusters in the film industry are still mainly drama films.
Lin Yuan first turned down some fantasy and martial arts scripts, because the scripts he was given all had one thing in common—they were too weak.
Because the script was too weak, the plot was disjointed, and the character settings and dialogues all felt somewhat incoherent.
Lin Yuan didn't understand what the story was trying to express.
Comparatively speaking, he would rather act in something like "The Art of Ghosts," even though "The Art of Ghosts" is also described as having a stream-of-consciousness feel. However, the scripts he was offered were too baffling for him.
These scripts do feature some characters from classical legends, and in fact, it was precisely because of the screenwriters' creation of these characters that Lin Yuan simply declined the invitation.
It's too far off; it's completely different from the public's perception of the character.
Lin Yuan felt that he needed to have the firmest belief in order to loudly pronounce the lines corresponding to the character.
He can't do it.
Over the years of acting, Lin Yuan has gradually come to realize that the pay he receives from film crews is usually inversely proportional to the quality of the script.
These fantasy drama production teams offered Lin Yuan a whopping 60 million yuan in remuneration.
Lin Yuan only needs to nod to receive 60 million.
Lin Yuan: "Wow, they're really rich."
"Then you answer it," the agent said detachedly from the side.
"It's fine if I accept it," Lin Yuan said. "I'll just say that my agent signed the contract while I was away, and I was sold without knowing anything about it."
Lin Yuan dared not accept it.
The main reason he dared not accept the roles was that, in his eyes, these production crews wouldn't earn him 600 million yuan in salaries.
He had a strong premonition about this.
In addition to the salary, the production team also set various conditions. For example, if the film was nominated for three major awards, Lin Yuan could receive several million yuan in bonuses. If the film's box office exceeded 1 billion yuan, the bonus would double. If it exceeded 2 billion yuan, it would double again.
Lin Yuan: "...How dare they have such high expectations?"
Lin Yuan didn't even dare to think about it.
A few years ago, when the film market was in chaos, even terrible scripts could easily earn 1 billion or 2 billion yuan. No matter the subject matter, as long as the marketing was done well and a few big-name stars were hired, the box office would definitely be good.
The key issue is that the market has cooled down in recent years, and audiences have become more rational. On the first day of a film's release, ordinary viewers generally won't go to see it. It's only when the film's reputation spreads that audiences are willing to go to the cinema to appreciate it.
Those days when a single movie could easily rake in 1 billion are long gone.
Lin Yuan felt that if he accepted this script, it would be no different from participating in fraud.
Lin Yuan still cherishes his reputation.
The trust he built with the audience was created through each of his dramas, and once lost, it's not easy to make up for it.
"The pay was indeed high," Feng Zeng remarked.
Even after taxes are deducted, a large sum still ends up in Lin Yuan's pocket.
This only shows that the production team has complete confidence in Lin Yuan.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have that for myself,” Lin Yuan said. “In some films, where the script is not perfect, the actors can make up for it with their performances. But these films are different.”
After reading them, he could only conclude that these scripts were not imperfect at all, but rather riddled with flaws.
As someone in the industry, Lin Yuan didn't really understand why various companies were working so hard to create fantasy blockbusters. These kinds of films are made every year, with investments reaching new highs, but audiences don't really like them.
A quick look at the box office rankings over the years reveals that only a small percentage of these types of films actually make a lot of money.
He and his agent whispered among themselves, wondering if this was some kind of tactic used by Wash.
The agent winked, signaling him to keep quiet.
Moreover, these kinds of movies often use Eastern fantasy as a selling point, but after watching them, Lin Yuan always felt that, whether it was the style of the special effects or the core of the story, it had a bit of a Western fantasy flavor.
However, this is related to the level of technology, and Lin Yuan believes that it will be improved one day.
After eliminating these types of scripts, Lin Yuan only had a handful left to choose from.
He basically doesn't consider period dramas anymore, nor does he consider revenge themes, and he rejects all dark, grievous, and cruel themes.
He currently has a romance film in his possession.
Lin Yuan: "..."
Apart from "Just Right," he has never actually made a serious romance film.
Romance films are essentially not related to blockbusters. The reason this script was recognized as a blockbuster is because the production team brought in a top-tier actress to act alongside Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan was deeply moved, but still declined.
The problem still lies with the production crew.
Because a top-tier actress was brought in, and the fact that she was cast first meant that the actress was satisfied with the script. In terms of character development, the female lead was also better, leaving less room for Lin Yuan to perform.
Of course, Lin Yuan was not just an extra.
However... the production team promised that if Lin Yuan agreed to take the role, the script would definitely be modified to favor him.
From Lin Yuan's perspective, the current script is quite harmonious, except that he has fewer scenes. If it is revised, there will inevitably be conflicts between him and the actress. It's a minor issue if they fight, but the key question is whether the revision can make the script better.
Lin Yuan could not get a definite answer.
He might as well prevent the conflict from arising in the first place.
Sure enough, not long after Lin Yuan turned down the invitation, news broke that this top-tier actress had apparently refused a new film, and all of Lin Yuan's worries had come true.
Objectively speaking, it was indeed a good script; otherwise, given the other party's qualifications, they wouldn't have been interested.
But even the best script can't withstand the crew's constant changes. Building a project is not easy in itself, and constant changes will only disrupt the original plan.
However, as the film and television industry enters a downturn, such incidents occur frequently.
The other party even contacted Yu Ying and Lin Yuan, expressing their willingness to cooperate again in the future.
Actually, Lin Yuan had a script he really liked.
A disaster film with science fiction elements, similar to the apocalypse theme. Lin Yuan was actually quite interested in zombie themes, but this type of theme doesn't suit the tastes of domestic audiences. No director has ever made one, so there are no successful precedents.
Lin Yuan was mainly drawn to its good script and tight plot, which wasn't the kind of empty film. Moreover, disaster is a very common theme in science fiction.
Previously, such works were rarely brought to the big screen because the special effects were not good enough, and it would be a waste to make them. However, in recent years, the production of special effects blockbusters has been steadily increasing.
Lin Yuan is considering taking on this role.
There is another film with a theme somewhat similar to "Major Crimes". The male lead is a detective who solves one difficult problem after another. Since it is going to be made into a movie, the cases involved in the script must be mysterious and bizarre.
In this script, a single case is enough to fill more than two hours of screen time.
Lin Yuan focused more on the first film. He hasn't made a special effects film yet, but the male lead in the second film is quite handsome. He's the kind of character who makes a grand entrance with a loud bang, and he's even more flamboyant than Qiu Heng in "Major Case".
In terms of enjoyment, the latter is superior to the former.
The latter wins with its plot; as long as the audience has the patience to watch it, the box office will definitely be good.
After studying this stack of scripts, Lin Yuan finally began to believe that he had made a name for himself.
When he first started filming "Thousand Mountains", he could only get supporting roles and male leads in very low-budget films. Because of Gu Yilou's characteristics, all the production teams invited Lin Yuan to play roles with deep suffering and hatred.
Characters with good and interesting personalities and maximum charm are usually not available to Lin Yuan.
Now, he has been handed several scripts that he is quite satisfied with.
Lin Yuan had no doubt that this was already the most top-tier resource in the film industry.
But now they've opened their arms to him.
To some extent, Lin Yuan doesn't have access to the top-tier resources that lead to awards. He runs his own studio and doesn't have much contact with big names in the industry.
Unless it's a big-name director like Qin Panyun or Ren Maoxing, with whom you've worked before.
In other words, if the big directors have their own people they want to promote, Lin Yuan is naturally not a consideration.
But commercial films are different. Even if directors want to promote their own people, they have to get past the investors first, and then the audience.
Therefore, audiences will find that commercial films occasionally feature a few new faces, while award-winning films... often feature familiar faces.
"I'm torn." Lin Yuan sighed heavily.
He found that for a period of time, he either couldn't get any good roles, or he was given several roles at once, leaving him no choice.
If you're firm in your decision from the start, that's fine, but once you start to struggle, you'll find it hard to make a decision.
"Why don't we just take on both projects at the same time?" Feng Zeng suggested to Lin Yuan.
"Wouldn't that be a death sentence?" Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment. "Even if I had that idea, are you sure the production team would agree?"
The reason Lin Yuan had the thought that he "would die" was because he realized that he seemed to equate making movies with making "Bloody Past".
Feng Zeng: "...Just how much psychological trauma did 'Bloody Past' inflict on you?"
“Super huge,” Lin Yuan summarized. “I’m even a little scared when I see Director Ren now.”
broker:"……"
Lin Yuan felt that even if he had ambitions, the production team might not be willing to wait for him.
Feng Zeng, however, believed that anything was possible with human effort, and that everything was uncertain, so who could say it wouldn't work?
However, Lin Yuan needs to prioritize between the two films.
Lin Yuan first chose the science fiction disaster movie.
Besides the good script, Lin Yuan also thinks the production team is good. The director is a well-known, down-to-earth, and steady up-and-coming director in the industry, who is both groundbreaking and not particularly unrealistic.
Moreover, such scripts are rare and hard to come by.
Although the script had been handed to Lin Yuan, he was confident that if it were another actor, they might not have dared to accept the role.
This type of script either makes a fortune or flops; there is no middle ground.
The amount of investment is there.
Besides, neither science fiction nor disaster elements have been explored in the industry for a long time.
Taking on this kind of script means taking a risk.
Lin Yuan felt that if he missed this opportunity, he didn't know when he would have another chance.
Lin Yuan was not worried about taking risks.
If he can't make it in the film industry, he'll go into television; if he can't make it in television, he'll go into singing.
Wherever he dares to dream, there is a stage.
It can't get any worse than it did at the beginning.
...
Lin Yuan and the production team have confirmed their intention to cooperate, and the contract is under negotiation—the production team expressed their delight at Lin Yuan's approval.
Although this sci-fi disaster film had a huge budget, the actors' salaries were not generous. Lin Yuan's salary was 10 million, but only a portion was paid before filming began, and the remaining balance was paid after filming was completed.
Even... the production team cannot guarantee that they will pay the final payment on time.
Because these kinds of movies always seem to get poorer the more they're made.
In short—as long as the movie is successfully released, the first box office revenue will be used to pay the actors' salaries first.
The up-and-coming director even met with Lin Yuan to express his fervent love for the album "1895," and hummed a tune. When talking about Lin Yuan's "Killing" and "Ghostly Arts," his words were full of admiration.
Then—Lin Yuan received several million in advance payment, that's right, he quietly invested tens of millions in the production team.
Feng Zeng: "...Weren't you going there to make money?"
"I made money!" Lin Yuan held up the contract.
There is no law that says he can't earn money and spend it at the same time.
Lin Yuan could only say that it was a very strange moment. As the other party kept praising him, he suddenly realized that the album "1895" had really made a lot of money. Even if Lin Yuan wanted to build a recording studio, he would never be able to spend all of it.
Moreover, once the recording studio was built, Lin Yuan could rent it out, and Tian Yi expressed this intention.
Lin Yuan also has acquaintances from the time of "Tomorrow's Star". Everyone is struggling in the entertainment industry now, and they can save as much as they can. They can get a discount from Lin Yuan.
Why can't he contribute to the development of the film industry?
The most amazing thing is that he didn't know whether the production crew was short of money or not, and... he was the one who asked first.
It was his initiative.
In that instant, he was as if he had been tempted by something that didn't exist. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late to back down.
Moreover, Lin Yuan didn't feel much regret.
Feng Zeng: "…………"
The agent had nothing to say.
Lin Yuan is not a big spender in his daily life and doesn't have much extravagant spending, but when he does spend money... he can be quite arrogant.
Of course, in terms of income, Lin Yuan is considered one of the top young actors in the eyes of his agent.
First of all, Lin Yuan has multiple sources of income and does not rely solely on his acting fees.
Secondly, Lin Yuan is not a major spender on online trolls, so his expenses are relatively low.
In addition, Lin Yuan's commercial value is also quite high. It has not declined in recent years and his net worth is still rising, making him one of the more stable figures in the industry.
Male actors typically experience a period of explosive popularity, after which their popularity gradually declines. Only a few can maintain a stable level of popularity, which means they need to consistently produce excellent works.
Lin Yuan clearly belongs to this category; his masterpieces can definitely be classified as blockbuster dramas.
"In short, be prepared to be ridiculed." The agent patted Lin Yuan on the shoulder and went to negotiate another movie for him.
Lin Yuan previously accepted roles in "Mandala" and "Just Right You," and asked the "Just Right You" production team to wait for him.
“However, movies may not be easy to discuss,” Feng Zeng said.
Lin Yuan nodded: "I understand."
He was eager to take on two films, but anything can happen in the entertainment industry.
Although Lin Yuan has accumulated enough popularity, there are still many things he is powerless to change.
Sure enough, not long after, Lin Yuan received a call from his agent, who said the production team was considering inviting other actors.
Lin Yuan could only express his regret.
"Is this the only movie you're planning to make this year?" Lin Yuan reviewed his schedule. "Don't you think I have too few projects in the pipeline right now?"
The agent glanced at him silently: "So you knew it yourself."
"What can I do?" Lin Yuan's eyes darted around. "I can't film a new show every day and have a show airing every single day."
Lin Yuan doesn't have many plans to write songs this year. He has only just confirmed one movie role. After thinking about it seriously, he realized that he seems to have a lot of free time.
Compared to those celebrities with packed schedules, he could be described as having nothing to do.
Lin Yuan has several business presentation jobs this month, but since his business deals are all long-term collaborations, these presentation activities won't happen often.
I'll probably have to go abroad again this year to promote "Bloody Memories," which will probably take at most half a month.
“Let’s look at some other scripts,” the agent said.
Lin Yuan nodded: "That's the only way."
Lin Yuan only wanted to make these two films; he set his sights on television dramas.
In fact, he received many more scripts from television drama producers, some led by the platform, some by film and television companies, and some through connections made by directors he had worked with before... The quality of the scripts varied greatly.
Among them, Xingyao Video was the most enthusiastic.
The main reason is that Xingyao Video recently held a five-year summary conference. After the summary, it was found that in the TV drama department, two of the top five most popular dramas in the past five years were starring Lin Yuan.
The key point is that Lin Yuan only collaborated with Xingyao Video on two projects.
But in the past five years, the platform has collaborated with countless actors, and only Lin Yuan has achieved this level of success.
The platform reviewed the financial reports again and was even more shocked to discover that among the dramas featuring a group of co-stars, "Major Cases" and "Just Right You" were dramas with relatively low investment.
Although the broadcasting rights for "Just Right" were expensive, the show itself was very profitable.
The platform also collaborated with the production team on merchandise production, which generated tens of millions in sales.
Every graduation season, the number of views for "Just Right You" increases.
Even now, viewers still occasionally revisit "Just Right You".
Xingyao Video is eager for another collaboration with Lin Yuan and strongly urges Lin Yuan to participate in Xingyao Video's original productions.
Xingyao Video did not participate in the production of either "Major Case" or "Just You". Although the two dramas brought huge profits to the platform, the platform's self-produced dramas obviously generate higher profits.
Unfortunately, Lin Yuan did not choose this time either.
"Won't you reconsider?"
"We've assembled a really great team to handle this project."
Xingyao Video gave the script to Lin Yuan early on and also presented the cast. They not only worked on Lin Yuan himself, but also tried to persuade Feng Zeng to have his agent speak on their behalf.
Unfortunately, both Lin Yuan and Feng Zeng remained unmoved and showed no interest whatsoever.
Xingyao Video: "..."
This doesn't seem to be the first time this has happened.
The platform couldn't help but wonder, were the scripts they provided really that bad? Lin Yuan had rejected them so many times.
In the eyes of the platform's top management, these are all S-level productions that are destined to make money.
Lin Yuan's rejection was as cold as his song.
Okay, speaking of Lin Yuan's songs, at least there's the variety show "Hey!" this year. In terms of popularity, the platform's investment in the show was absolutely correct.
Initially, Xingyao Video did not invest much, but as the popularity of "Hey!" grew, Xingyao Video began to allocate more resources to it.
There are more and more trending topics related to "Hey!"
"Hey!" also brought a lot of new VIPs to Xingyao Video, and the show launched several new groups of people. Some of them signed contracts with Xingyao Video, and some were even signed artists with Xingyao Video.
Once the talent is promoted, Xingyao Video can earn an extra brokerage fee.
At least Lin Yuan has already generated profits for Xingyao Video this year.
Lin Yuan refused Xingyao Video because he didn't want to repeat "Just Right You" again.
Xingyao Video has too much of a preference for idol dramas.
The platform probably knew about Lin Yuan and knew that "Just Right You" was a campus idol drama, which Lin Yuan might not be willing to accept, so they arranged several domineering CEO idol dramas for him.
Lin Yuan: "...Do I look like a domineering CEO?"
Nobody thought he looked like a domineering CEO.
Only Xingyao Video holds this view.
Therefore, Lin Yuan believes that it is only natural for Xingyao Video to lose money. With its unchanging aesthetics and obsessive love for idol dramas over the past decades, he is speechless.
The popularity of idol dramas has clearly faded.
Lin Yuan still has two dramas in front of him, both period dramas: one is "The Years of War" and the other is "The Chapter of Struggle," both of which are relatively positive themes and quite different from the roles Lin Yuan has played before.
In recent years, audiences have shown a greater preference for this type of subject matter.
Lin Yuan himself prefers workplace dramas, especially those about personal struggle, particularly niche workplace dramas. He is quite interested in genres like cultural relic restoration and ancient book restoration.
But no screenwriter has written one yet.
Moreover, even if there is such a thing, it's rather superficial, with romance taking up the majority of the story. It's fair to say that the screenwriter created this profession simply so the character could show off; he had no interest in understanding the profession and knew nothing about its characteristics.
Which one to choose?
The agent was speechless: "Why is it always a choice between two options?"
"This means I have a lot of good dramas in my hands right now."
Both scripts are quite good. The plots are exciting, but the character designs... objectively speaking, are not as outstanding as the movie scripts Lin Yuan had seen before.
However, both scriptwriters are very good at stirring up the audience's emotions.
Period dramas value audience empathy most. The characters' hard work and struggles are combined with the development of the times. Although it is about personal struggle, we can see the changes of the years and the warm hearts of people.
Lin Yuan was inclined to support the second part.
Some screenwriters of this type of drama like to write about everyday family life, but this one doesn't. It's all about struggle, and objectively speaking, the field the protagonist is involved in also reflects the rapid development of a certain industry, so it can also be considered a career drama.
It's just that it doesn't fit with the current mainstream of TV dramas, which often feature professions related to fashion, finance, and securities.
Lin Yuan had watched many old dramas, about Shanxi merchants, about textiles... but for some reason, these types of dramas have disappeared completely in recent years.
He could summarize the characteristics of current TV dramas—no matter what difficulties the female lead encounters in the workplace, there will always be a young, talented, and wealthy second-generation heir to help her.
But in reality, which viewer has such a pleasant workplace experience?
There may not be any rich kids, but there are one colleague after another who drags you down.
In the eyes of the audience, those dramas do not belong to the category of workplace dramas, but are still romance dramas.
From Lin Yuan's perspective, he felt that this kind of drama was even inferior to idol dramas.
Idol dramas focus on romance in a straightforward and honest way, without fear of being criticized by viewers for being low-brow.
Some workplace dramas portray characters who are practically mentally challenged; if ordinary people tried to emulate the protagonists' actions, they simply couldn't survive.
Lin Yuan had seen some of the audience's comments before.
Viewers said that they enjoyed watching these dramas when they were students, but they couldn't stand them anymore after they became corporate slaves.
Because whenever he sees a stupid protagonist in a show, he can't help but think that this person is his idiot colleague.
His job was just part of a game played by his colleagues and superiors. The other party could easily evade everything, but he was the unlucky guy left to clean up their messes.
He wouldn't even dare to think about it if he were to take that role.
This kind of workplace drama makes it difficult for the audience to empathize with the protagonist. However, if the screenwriter can write a protagonist who suffers injustice and turns the tables through his own efforts and professional knowledge, he might be able to gain the audience's empathy.
"Did you accept it?" Feng Zeng and Lin Yuan confirmed.
"Receive!" Lin Yuan nodded seriously.
The agent wasn't worried about any mishaps. Given Lin Yuan's current status, once a collaboration was confirmed, even without a signed contract, no one would steal his opportunity halfway through.
No one can take Lin Yuan's opportunity away.
At this point, Lin Yuan's schedule for the year is basically set: one movie, one TV series, and some other events in between, and it will be almost full.
As it turned out, that detective movie actually came back to Lin Yuan.
Unexpected situations kept arising on the film crew, something no one had anticipated.
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Author's Note: It's here!!! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]
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