Chapter 356 Why think so much?
"With such a big production, if the premiere doesn't break 1%, it'll probably get booed by a lot of people."
When everyone in "The Seventeenth Floor" had a meal together, even Bei couldn't help but express how much pressure he was under.
However, that's certainly true; it's impossible not to feel pressured.
Especially the director.
The two people under the most pressure in this project are director Lian Bei and lead actress Chen Bige.
The former is a rising star director whose first film was a huge hit. Whether his second film can continue the success of his first is the question he needs to answer.
The latter is a top-tier actress at the pinnacle of the acting world. After not acting in a TV series for many years, her return to the small screen this time raises the question of whether she can carry the ratings and create a hit show. This is also a test she needs to deliver.
Lu Yanhe is under much less pressure.
He was the one who carried the show in "Friends," but not in "The Seventeenth Floor."
Of course, as long as they are the lead actors, the success of a drama series will undoubtedly affect them.
Lu Yanhe said, "Director, it's definitely possible. The main audience for 'The Seventeenth Floor' is young people. This time, our promotion is all targeting the youth market. The early buzz is very hot, and it will definitely translate into high ratings."
“This topic is also very novel,” Lin Chan said with a smile. “My friends are very interested in this topic.”
"I always felt that this kind of subject matter might be better suited for exclusive online streaming. I'm always a little uneasy about whether it can boost the TV ratings." Lian Bei sighed with a smile, "But we've already come this far, so we can only grit our teeth and move forward. I sincerely hope that our show can achieve good results so that I can realize my trilogy concept."
Lian Bei has a three-part concept for "The Seventeen Floors".
Lu Yanhe also put his hands together and said sincerely, "I also really hope that 'The Seventeenth Floor' will be a huge hit, so that my novel 'The Squid Game' can sell for a better price."
Everyone at the table burst into laughter.
Everyone knows that Lu Yanhe also has a "battle royale" themed drama coming up, but it hasn't started yet.
Thinking about this, Li Yuefeng smiled but also felt a little sad.
While he was still anxiously trying to get ahead, Lu Yanhe had already reached the point where he could manage projects on his own.
Comparing yourself to others will only make you miserable.
In comparison, it pales in comparison.
Li Yuefeng was actually a little worried. After all, he and his management team were trying to ride on Lu Yanhe's popularity, trying to portray himself as a male lead on equal footing with Lu Yanhe, rather than a supporting actor. The performance contract he signed with Beijing TV clearly stated that Lu Yanhe was the male lead of the drama, and he, Li Yuefeng, was only the third lead.
However, after testing the waters, he found that Lu Yanhe and the others didn't react at all, and Chen Ziyan didn't come to reprimand his management team either. This relieved Li Yuefeng, but also made him somewhat frustrated. It meant that Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan didn't care much about his "antics." Li Yuefeng even wondered if he had become completely out of their sight.
Anyway, people are just inherently perverse. When they do petty theft, they're afraid of being caught, but also afraid of discovering that others don't care whether they did it or not.
-
Lu Yanhe got along very well with the actors in the "Seventeen Floors" crew.
Including Li Yuefeng.
This also made him very willing to spend time with the crew of "The Seventeenth Floor".
After dinner, everyone dispersed and went home.
Just before Lu Yanhe was about to get into the car, Li Yuefeng suddenly stopped him.
"Yan River".
Lu Yanhe turned around in surprise.
Li Yuefeng smiled at him and said, "Is it convenient for us to talk some more?"
Actually, we had already chatted a lot while eating, with everyone raising their glasses.
Lu Yanhe and Li Yuefeng also had private conversations, and Lu Yanhe didn't know why Li Yuefeng suddenly came to talk to him at this time.
"Okay," he agreed. "Shall we find somewhere else to sit for a while longer, or..."
Li Yuefeng said, "There's a teahouse nearby, shall we go sit there?"
Lu Yanhe nodded.
-
The teahouse had a private atmosphere, and there were only the two of them in the private room.
Lu Yanhe cut to the chase and asked, "Is there something you want to tell me?"
“I want to apologize to you. My team did some inappropriate things in the publicity before,” Li Yuefeng said. “Actually, in ‘The Seventeenth Floor,’ I signed a contract with the production team to be the third lead, but my team wanted me to gain some advantage from this drama, so in the external publicity, they promoted me as being on equal footing with you. After I found out, I told them not to do that again. However, what’s done is done, and there’s no going back. I felt I still had to tell you.”
Lu Yanhe smiled, nodded, and said, "This matter does trouble me a bit, but I also believe that you, Brother Feng, definitely didn't do it on purpose. Actually, being the first, second, or third lead isn't that important. I'm only the second lead, and Sister Bige is the first lead. However, if a drama becomes a hit, all the actors involved will definitely benefit. Back then, in 'Friends,' none of the six main actors ever bothered to figure out who was the first lead and who was the sixth lead."
Li Yuefeng smiled and nodded, "Yes, Friends is simply a miracle, launching five A-list actors in one go."
Lu Yanhe said, "I also have the same confidence in 'The Seventeenth Floor'. It is a drama with a relatively rare subject matter and genre, and with such a strong cast, if the drama becomes a hit, no one will care who is in the lead role."
Li Yuefeng was speechless for a moment.
His meeting with Lu Yanhe tonight, supposedly to apologize about the billing order, was just a pretext; the real issue was something else entirely.
But Lu Yanhe's current tone left him unsure where to begin.
Lu Yanhe took the initiative to ask, "Brother Feng, do you have something else to tell me?"
Based on Lu Yanhe's understanding of Li Yuefeng, if Li Yuefeng had this kind of self-reflection, the industry wouldn't have become accustomed to his actions and formed a widespread perception of them.
This is probably just a starting point; the main event is yet to come.
Li Yuefeng hesitated for a moment and then nodded, saying, "There is one more thing. I heard that you are preparing a period comedy with Aurora Video, called 'My Own Swordsman,' right?"
When the news got out, Lu Yanhe wasn't surprised.
There are basically no projects in this industry that can be kept completely secret.
Lu Yanhe nodded, acknowledging it.
Li Yuefeng said, "I heard that there's a role in the show that seems perfect for me, so I thought I'd come and recommend myself to you and ask for your opinion."
Lu Yanhe asked, "Which role?"
“Bai Zhantang,” Li Yuefeng said.
Lu Yanhe pondered for two seconds and said, "It's like this, Brother Feng. First, the role has already been cast. We've already approached Brother Kai Ren. On the other hand, I also think you're not suitable for the role. While your appearance is indeed a good match, the character isn't exactly old, but there's definitely a gap between your age and your temperament."
Upon hearing this, disappointment immediately appeared on Li Yuefeng's face.
“There’s already someone chosen, that’s a real shame,” he said.
The main reason is that Huang Kairen was chosen, and Li Yuefeng was not confident enough to believe that he could match Huang Kairen.
He clearly didn't take Lu Yanhe's subsequent words to heart.
Lu Yanhe smiled at Li Yuefeng and said nothing more.
-
Should an actor and a role be considered in terms of suitability?
Regarding this issue, Lu Yanhe firmly believes that it is necessary.
Because he himself is an actor who has benefited from suitability.
Whether it's "The Golden Era" or "Phoenix Terrace," it's because he himself has extremely similarities to the characters that his performances are twice as effective with half the effort.
If he hadn't built a basic understanding of acting through these two films, he certainly wouldn't have been able to deliver such a groundbreaking performance as in "Three Mountains".
You eat one bite at a time.
A play is performed scene by scene.
Having a good start, building confidence in acting in a good production team, and laying a solid foundation makes acting in other productions much easier.
However, it seems that many people do not think so.
Li Yuefeng clearly didn't care about the words "inappropriate" he mentioned.
There's nothing inappropriate about it.
It's just a role; anyone could play it.
Many people genuinely believe this.
Including Zheng Huai-ren and Jiang Zixin.
It's not that they don't value the suitability of the actor and the role, but they care more about whether the actor is well-known and can carry the show.
After Huang Kairen was chosen, Lu Yanhe preferred Xiao Yun for the role of Guo Furong, and coincidentally, Xiao Yun also became popular, so Aurora happily accepted.
However, they were reluctant to cast He Jiang, who had just graduated from university, as the actor for the role of Lü Xiucai.
"He's a complete newcomer with absolutely no acting experience," Jiang Zixin bluntly stated. "This is what we at our platform are most concerned about regarding him."
“But he’s very suitable. At least give him a chance to audition.” Lu Yanhe argued, “If you don’t find a suitable actor to play the role of Lü Xiucai, he’ll easily be portrayed as an unlikable chatterbox and bookworm.”
Jiang Zixin said, "Yan He, to be honest, if you want He Jiang to play Lü Xiucai, there will be a lot of work to be done later."
"No matter how much work there is, at least hold an audition, okay? Ultimately, actors have to rely on their abilities."
“You have to understand, we can’t cast celebrities to play the roles of Li Dazui and Mo Xiaobei. There are no suitable well-known actors for these two roles,” Jiang Zixin said. “In this situation, if you let a recent college graduate play such a crucial role as Lü Xiucai, even if his acting skills are off the charts, it will be very difficult to convince our senior management.”
“Then tell me which of your senior executives needs to be persuaded, and I’ll do it,” Lu Yanhe said. “I’ve met He Jiang several times, and every time I see him, I feel more and more that he’s the perfect fit for the role of Lü Xiucai.”
Jiang Zixin never expected Lu Yanhe to be so stubborn.
"What about the character of Manager Tong?" Jiang Zixin asked. "You said before that Zhen Hongyu was unsuitable, but in ancient times, it was very common for a widow who had lost her father to be only in her early twenties. That's hardly a reason for her to be unsuitable, is it?"
Lu Yanhe said, "The key is not age, but the sense of age. She has a sister-in-law who is over ten years old, and she needs to have a quality that combines melancholy and humor, and the charm of a young woman who can handle people coming and going. Zhen Hongyu looks like a recent graduate. Do you think this image and temperament are appropriate?"
Jiang Zixin: "Then who do you think is suitable?"
Lu Yanhe shook his head, "I don't think anyone is suitable for the time being."
“How about this, let’s take out all these roles and hold an audition,” Jiang Zixin said. “Any role that hasn’t been decided yet can be auditioned, and we can also promote ‘My Own Swordsman’ in advance.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"There's one more thing. Officer Xing will be played by Jiang Jun, but we've all heard that his health isn't very good. What if he has a health problem halfway through filming and ends up in the hospital—"
Lu Yanhe said, "First, Teacher Jiang Jun's health has long been recovered, and the hospital said he is fine. Second, if something really happens, I will be on set and I can adjust the script at any time."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zixin nodded, "Then I'll go and communicate with the higher-ups."
-
Perhaps due to constantly communicating with different people during this period, Lu Yanhe himself realized that he had become somewhat "aggressive" or even "decisive" and "uncompromising" in his speech.
But if he didn't do it this way, it seemed difficult to stick to his ideas.
When it comes to content creation, being indecisive and hesitant means being swayed by the opinions of others.
He wouldn't want to become like this if it weren't because it would be difficult to stick to his ideas without doing so.
"Have you considered that your ideas might not all be correct?"
“I know, and of course I know my thoughts aren’t necessarily all correct,” Lu Yanhe nodded in acknowledgment. “But since I expressed my thoughts at that time and in that moment, and you couldn’t convince me, why should I not believe myself, but instead turn around and believe you?”
Li Zhibai, who was being stared at by Lu Yanhe, immediately raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
"you're right."
Lu Yanhe's expression, which was firm just a second ago, deflated as if he had lost his composure the next.
"Why do I feel like I've picked up Zhou Ping'an's arrogant bad habit?"
“That’s perfectly normal. In this world, it’s just a matter of who thinks they’re right and who thinks they’re right. Before the results are in, no one can convince anyone else. After ten or twenty years, the results will tell you who is right,” Li Zhibai said. “Didn’t Zhou Ping’an firmly believe that his way of managing artists was the only right one, and that any other agent who was different from him was wrong and a complete idiot?”
Lu Yanhe: "But by the time the results come out, won't many things be too late to be corrected?"
Li Zhi nodded a hundred times.
"We all persevere because we firmly believe that we are the ones who will win in the end."
"As for whether you can win in the end, like you said, you can only keep doing what you believe is right. You won't know until the end."
Lu Yanhe picked up his glass, took a sip of wine, and smiled to himself.
Li Zhibai stood up and patted Lu Yanhe on the head.
"Thinking about so many things at such a young age, aren't you afraid of losing your hair?"
"Oh."
"I'll take some shredded squid. Do you want anything else?"
"Broad beans, thank you."
Where can I find broad beans?
"Yan Liang bought it and put it in the second small drawer on the right side of the refrigerator."
Lu Yanhe lay down on the floor, staring at the dazzling chandelier lights, thinking and thinking, and then spat at himself.
Why think so much? Aren't you afraid of losing your hair?
There's one more chapter coming up, updated around 2 or 3 AM. If you're not a night owl, don't wait; you can read it first thing tomorrow morning.
(End of this chapter)
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