Chapter 371 Venice International Film Festival Main Competition!
Many people in the crew of "The Silent River" are also fans of "The Seventeenth Floor".
The main reason is that "The Seventeenth Floor" is a weekly show, so even if they are filming another drama, they can still watch it in their spare time.
As the plot unfolds, the genius played by Lu Yanhe and the female hoodlum played by Chen Bige gradually develop a tacit understanding and cooperate with each other to lead everyone through dangerous challenges time and time again.
Although there is no romantic description between the two of them, the number of fans shipping them as a couple online is gradually increasing.
This applies to any film or television drama.
Any pair of characters may have some strange sparks that viewers might perceive as having "CP chemistry".
Often, even when directors and screenwriters are shaping the relationship between these characters, they never think in this direction, but when the show airs, it receives a response far exceeding their expectations.
Of course not, "The Seventeenth Floor" is.
As the male and female leads, Lu Yanhe and Chen Bige form the most crucial relationship in the drama. Even if they weren't a couple, they would still have a significant number of scenes together.
In this process, many chemical reactions will naturally occur.
This is what viewers refer to as "CP chemistry" (couple pairing).
At the beginning of the drama, Lu Yanhe, due to his genius illness, is somewhat unsociable and unable to integrate into their group. It's during this time that Chen Bige takes good care of him. Later, when Chen Bige is in danger and everyone else is ready to abandon her, he stubbornly insists on rescuing her. In the drama, the two have a significant age difference, and their interactions are never portrayed as romantic. To some extent, Feng Qiyue (the author) is writing about their relationship as one of "mutual redemption."
This point is also revealed in the ninth episode, where the two's past is flashed back in their memories, reaching an emotional climax.
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Most of the staff on "The Silent River" are veterans who have worked with Chen Lingling on several films.
They know very well how a play is made.
Even so, they were still easily moved by the plot while watching "The Seventeenth Floor".
What they found most incredible was Lu Yanhe's performance in "The Seventeenth Floor".
Unlike many other characters in the drama, Lu Yanhe's character doesn't have any major, so-called "highlight" scenes.
His emotions were completely restrained, almost never revealed. At first glance, his role didn't seem difficult to play—and indeed, he left a deep impression on the audience. However, without understanding the context, viewers might easily assume this was because the character was the protagonist, rather than because of Lu Yanhe's acting skills. But those who truly understand drama know that Lu Yanhe's memorable character stemmed from the immense effort he put into portraying such an extraordinary genius, not from simply playing a character with fluctuating emotions, multifaceted personalities, or complexities.
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“It is often said that actors should seek out rich and complex characters to play, as if only in this way can they show how superb an actor’s acting skills are. In fact, this time, ‘The Seventeenth Floor’ also tells everyone that playing a character, a stereotypical character, to the extreme can be just as successful and just as memorable.”
In a review article about "The Seventeenth Floor," Television Review once again praised Lu Yanhe's performance.
"We shouldn't create drama for the sake of drama, nor should we create characters for the sake of characters. We have to accept that sometimes, a person doesn't have that many facets. Whether a character can resonate with people depends on whether the actor is acting as the character or just acting out a state."
"It is said that Lu Yanhe had difficulty finding a starting point when he first started acting in this drama, because this type of role is not uncommon, and he was worried that his performance would not be different from others. It can be said that if Lu Yanhe had continued to struggle with this point, he would have fallen into self-doubt and self-criticism, just like many other actors with similar aspirations, and at least in this drama and this role, he would have given a poor performance. However, such a talented actor, after encountering the problem, chose to give up his own pursuit at the first opportunity and instead chose to imitate, in order to ensure the effect of the character's portrayal first."
“We have all seen many ambitious and talented actors who delve into a role, never giving up until they achieve their goal, and living life to the fullest without going to extremes. However, it seems rare to see an actor who, because they haven’t found a good way yet, simply chooses to imitate and openly admits it.”
"Of course, as we have all seen now, Lu Yanhe's performance in 'The Seventeenth Floor' is still very good. He has found a way of acting that belongs to him through imitation, which once again proves his talent in acting."
...
The praise for Lu Yanhe in this TV review article takes up a quarter of the article.
However, this article also directly points out that Lu Yanhe's chances of winning an award for the drama "The Seventeenth Floor" are not high.
"The most promising award for Lu Yanhe in 'The Seventeenth Floor' is the Golden Tripod Award. As we all know, the Golden Tripod Award values audience reviews more, while the Blue Ribbon Award leans towards artistry and the Red River Award towards the mainstream ideology. 'The Seventeenth Floor' is basically distinct from the latter two awards in terms of its subject matter. Unfortunately, the Golden Tripod Award was already given out in July, and 'The Seventeenth Floor,' which had just started airing at that time, did not meet the eligibility requirements. If 'The Seventeenth Floor' wants to compete for the Golden Tripod Award, it will have to wait until next July. After a year, the current popularity of 'The Seventeenth Floor' will not be able to help the show. Moreover, 'The Seventeenth Floor' is an ensemble drama. Although Lu Yanhe's performance is good, compared with the other male leads, his screen time and room for development are still a bit less, and the space for his character's performance is also limited."
"Compared to 'The Seventeen Floors,' I am more optimistic that 'The Silent River' will bring Lu Yanhe his first Best Actor award."
...
No actor can avoid the topic of "winning awards".
Which actor doesn't want to win an award?
Lu Yanhe was very frank; he really wanted to take it.
Since he started acting, the only award he has ever won is the Golden Tripod Award for Best Supporting Actor.
In fact, the importance of this award to Lu Yanhe has become very apparent in the past year.
Because of this award, Lu Yanhe can be called a "genius" without being ridiculed for "bragging." Also because of this award, Lu Yanhe is now a representative of young actors who are highly favored by the mainstream of the film and television industry. Even mainstream magazines such as "Television Review" will protect him as if he were one of their own.
For actors, awards simply mean "high level" or "high achievement".
This represents the industry's recognition of you.
Lu Yanhe has always said that he is not in a hurry to win awards because he won the Golden Tripod Award at a young age, which is enough for him to rest for several years, even until he is thirty. With this confidence, he can be in no hurry.
However, if there is a real chance of winning an award, he certainly would like to.
No one would complain about winning an award too early.
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On this day, on the set of "The Silent River", Lu Yanhe finished filming a scene and went to eat a boxed lunch under the director's tent.
Chen Lingling was eating her lunch with him when the topic of winning an award suddenly came up.
"Xiao Lu, I've seen a lot of people online discussing which film you could win Best Actor for," Chen Lingling said. "Many people are saying that 'The Silent River' might win you your first Best Actor award. What are your thoughts on that?"
Lu Yanhe readily admitted, "Of course it would be great if I could win an award."
When Chen Lingling saw that Lu Yanhe had admitted it so readily, she smiled and said, "But I have to tell you in advance that 'The Silent River' may not meet the application requirements for those major domestic awards."
"Huh?" Lu Yanhe was taken aback, not understanding why.
Chen Lingling said, "The production company for our show is Maxine, and the main production company is an overseas company. Although it will probably be broadcast in China later, it does not meet the application requirements for the current major awards in China."
Lu Yanhe realized what was happening.
The crew of "The Silent River" was basically Chen Lingling's own team. There were very few Maxine people on set. Lu Yanhe had even forgotten that the investor and producer of this series was this American streaming company. Chen Lingling's team was just the one who produced the film.
Therefore, "The Silent River" does not meet the eligibility requirements for domestic awards.
"It's alright." Lu Yanhe smiled and shook his head. "It's certainly a good thing to have a chance to win an award, but it's not a big deal if I don't. I didn't take this role just to win an award."
Chen Lingling nodded.
"As long as you know it in your heart, that's enough."
She smiled again and said, "Of course, if our show does well on Maxine, maybe you can try your luck at international awards."
Chen Lingling's words made Lu Yanhe unconsciously shake his head and laugh.
This is difficult.
This isn't for any other reason than that, although *The Silent River* is a series produced by Maxine, it's still a Chinese-language drama, not an English-language one. Furthermore, the entire cast is Chinese. It's incredibly difficult for this kind of show to appeal to a global audience.
Without sufficient influence, it is virtually impossible to gain the attention of mainstream awards.
Lu Yanhe: "Director, I'm really not that obsessed with awards."
Chen Lingling, however, was somewhat concerned.
At the recently concluded Golden Tripod Awards, Phoenix Terrace did not win any awards, but it received quite a few nominations, except for Lu Yanhe, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
In everyone's mind, this was a done deal.
Chen Lingling inquired privately and learned that Lu Yanhe's performance in "Phoenix Terrace" was commendable, but because the character he played lacked personality and leaned more towards the melodramatic style of ancient costume dramas, the judges felt that such a character did not deserve another nomination for Lu Yanhe, which is why he was not nominated.
Lu Yanhe previously won the Golden Tripod Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "The Golden Era," which has become an obstacle for him to continue winning awards in the past two years.
This is certainly understandable, but Chen Lingling herself feels it's a bit of a pity.
Due to issues with the investors and producers, the drama "The Silent River" is unlikely to compete for mainstream domestic awards.
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This matter, of course, could not be kept secret from the internet gurus who could dig up anything.
Just when many people were hoping that the drama "The Silent River" could help Lu Yanhe win the Best Actor award, someone immediately pointed this out.
"The Silent River" does not meet the eligibility requirements for domestic awards.
For a time, many people felt regretful about this.
That means Lu Yanhe will have a very difficult time competing for mainstream awards for the next one to two years.
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"It's a bit of a pity that 'The Silent River' couldn't win an award for Yan He," even Lu Qingzhen couldn't help but lament to Chen Ziyan.
Chen Ziyan: "Qingzhen, do you also think it's a pity?"
"Yes." Lu Qingzhen nodded.
“That’s much better,” Chen Ziyan said with a smile.
"good?"
"Do you think Yan He's performance in 'The Silent River' is really good enough to win an award? What are his chances of winning?" Chen Ziyan asked directly.
Lu Qingzhen was slightly taken aback.
"Or to put it another way, in the last twenty years, have there been any male actors under the age of thirty who have won the Best Actor award at the three major TV drama awards?" Chen Ziyan asked.
Lu Qingzhen thought for a moment, then shook her head, "No."
“So even if Yan He’s performance in ‘The Silent River’ is excellent, he will most likely not receive the award because of his age. Domestic awards in China still consider seniority and age to some extent, especially for actors with extremely high popularity; the harder it is for them to win. After all, most mainstream awards in China are based on a jury system, with only seven or eight people deciding who gets the award. The more this is the case, the harder it is to break the mold and create a miracle. Now, with ‘The Seventeenth Floor’ and ‘The Silent River,’ both have created a public opinion atmosphere that it would be a pity if Yan He didn’t win an award. This accumulated public opinion atmosphere can become a boost for Yan He to compete for awards later,” Chen Ziyan said. “For Yan He at this stage, his acting skills are far from being superb, far from being at the level of being considered a god. To have this kind of expectation and evaluation, just this kind of trend, is already a great honor.”
Lu Qingzhen nodded.
"Now that you put it that way, I understand."
Chen Ziyan: "Mainly, I didn't expect that everyone's expectations for Yan He had reached the point where he would definitely win an award as long as he acted in a suitable play. Yan He's audience appeal and popularity with the general public always seem to exceed my expectations. Every time I raise my expectations a little higher, the results tell me that I still underestimated him."
Lu Qingzhen wore an expression that was both funny and exasperated.
"After 'The Seventeen Floors' aired, Yan He's 'thick-skinned' reputation was comparable to some of the thickest in the country," Lu Qingzhen said directly. "To be honest, actors rely on their roles for a living. Some can live off one role for a lifetime. Whether Yan He can live off these roles for a lifetime is unknown, but these few years are definitely enough. The filter of these roles is enough for Lu Yan He to live off for several years. Just his role in 'The Golden Era' is still quite popular online. Many marketing accounts still use Yan He's role in 'The Golden Era' as an example when talking about youthful, ideal boyfriend characters, which shows how much of a filter people have for this role."
Chen Ziyan: "After 'The Silent River' airs, Yan He will be given a character filter again. The character he plays is so tragic, so tragic that it makes people feel sorry for him."
Just then, Chen Ziyan's phone rang.
"Sister Ziyan, Liu Bige just called me and said that 'Late Spring' has been shortlisted for the main competition at the Venice International Film Festival."
"Ah—" Chen Ziyan, who had just been saying, "Every time I improve by one point, the result tells me that I still underestimated it," exclaimed, startling Lu Qingzhen, who was sitting opposite her.
Has the news been released?
"We'll announce it immediately," Lu Yanhe said. "Liu Bige just received the news; he wasn't sure before if it was in the main competition."
At that moment, Chen Ziyan felt as if happiness had struck her heart.
When Lu Yanhe was cast in "Late Spring," Chen Ziyan really didn't dare to imagine what such a low-budget art film could bring to Lu Yanhe.
After hanging up the phone, Chen Ziyan's radiant smile surprised even Lu Qingzhen.
"What good news has you so excited?"
Chen Ziyan said, "Yan He's 'Late Spring' has been shortlisted for the main competition at the Venice International Film Festival."
Lu Qingzhen's face lit up with surprise.
"Really? That's amazing! I... wow, Yan He is so lucky." Lu Qingzhen was speechless for a moment. "This news is going to cause a huge uproar. I remember when the news about this movie first came out, so many people were laughing at Lu Yan He for taking on such a low-budget film just to get a lead role. There were a lot of voices predicting its failure."
“I never expected that ‘Late Spring’ would be shortlisted for the Venice Film Festival’s main competition,” Chen Ziyan said. “When Yan He said he was going to act in this movie, I told him not to have too high hopes for it, because dark horses don’t come out so easily. Now I realize that I’m being proven wrong.”
Lu Qingzhen: "Is this Liu Bige's first film?"
“Yes,” Chen Ziyan said. “Generally speaking, a newcomer’s first feature film will not go directly into the main competition. They will start from the Horizons section or other sections. This is the case with the four major film festivals.”
“Liu Bige has connections in the French film industry, so maybe someone is pulling strings behind the scenes,” Lu Qingzhen said. “The selection of films for the main competition isn’t just about whichever film is of higher quality. Many people who don’t know much about film festivals think that, but that’s not how it works. Don’t you know the situation?”
“I know that the selection of films for the main competition takes into account factors such as the director’s reputation, the influence of the main creative team, and the continent and country where the film is located. It’s not that films selected for the main competition are better than those selected for other sections. However, we must admit that under the current system, the main competition is the face and foundation of a film festival. Being selected for the main competition and not being selected are ultimately two different things.”
Lu Qingzhen: "I know, what I mean is, although Liu Bige is a new director, he has a background in the French film industry, so it's not too far-fetched that his first film was shortlisted for the Venice International Film Festival. The most important thing is that Lu Yanhe is really lucky. Putting aside his strength and talent, who can compare to his luck? He picks a project and it's all successful. He never makes a wasted film. This March, 'Three Mountains' made him shine at the Citou Film Festival, and now he's in Venice. I think he's going to become a regular at international film festivals in the future."
Chen Ziyan: "Thank you for your kind words. I also hope that can be the case."
She suddenly thought of something and smiled, "My original plan for him during his four years of college was to have him do some cameo roles in big-budget movies by famous directors, to build up his resume and make it look better, so that he could go all out after graduation. But I didn't expect that plans would change."
"It's because your actor is too amazing, a chosen one," Lu Qingzhen said with a smile.
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Just as Lu Qingzhen said, when the news came out that Lu Yanhe's film "Late Spring" was shortlisted for the main competition of this year's Venice International Film Festival, it was like a bomb that shook the entire entertainment industry.
Do you all still remember the movie starring Lu Yanhe?
He joined the crew in March. At that time, many people used this opportunity to ridicule Lu Yanhe, not understanding why he would act in such a low-budget art film when "Friends" was a huge hit. Some even directly mocked Lu Yanhe, saying that he lowered his status to act in such a new work as a newcomer in order to enter the film industry and play the lead role in a movie.
Some of Lu Yanhe's fans were also confused and went to Chen Ziyan and Lu Yanhe's Weibo accounts to express their dissatisfaction, hoping that they would abandon the filming plan.
These incidents caused quite a stir in the city at the time.
As a result, just a few months later, news broke that the film had been shortlisted for the main competition at the Venice International Film Festival.
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The moment the news broke, Lu Yanhe received congratulations from everyone in the "Silent River" crew.
Lu Yanhe said thank you countless times.
Huang Cheng even specially ordered a large bouquet of flowers for him and presented it to him in front of the entire crew, with a small congratulatory card written on it.
Lu Yanhe was flattered and embarrassed, saying, "President Huang, I'm just a nominee, why are you giving me such a big bouquet of flowers!"
“Being nominated is already a great achievement. This year, we only have two Chinese-language films nominated for the main competition, and your film ‘Late Spring’ is one of them. This is something we should all be proud of,” Huang Cheng said. “When you bring back an award for us, we’ll celebrate with you.”
Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated, saying, "Given my current inconvenience, I might not even be able to make it."
Huang Cheng asked in surprise, "Won't your condition improve by September?"
"It's hard to say. I still find it a bit difficult to walk. I can manage a few steps, but if I walk more, it aches on my wound and hurts a lot," Lu Yanhe said helplessly.
He also told Liu Bige about this situation.
Logically speaking, as the lead actor in "Late Spring," and especially the only big star, he should naturally accompany the crew to attend the event.
However, Lu Yanhe's current situation is rather special.
Liu Bige said, "If you have difficulty moving around, I'll find someone to carry you there."
This can only be a joke, of course.
Huang Cheng said, "Our filming will definitely be postponed; we won't be able to finish filming for the time being."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe looked regretful and asked, "Then what should we do? I... I'm starting school in September, and I have a lot of classes this month."
Huang Cheng said, "We've already started looking for locations in Yuming. We'll prioritize filming your scenes here during this time. If we can film scenes in Yuming, we'll move them there and film them when you're not in class. If we can't finish filming them all, we'll just have to reshoot them later."
"Doesn't this put a lot of burden on you?" Lu Yanhe asked.
Huang Cheng: "With such an accident, we can only try our best to make amends. We have communicated with Maxine about the situation, and they sent people over to conduct a special assessment of the matter. They are satisfied with the footage we shot and edited in the early stages. In addition, thanks to the popularity of 'The Silent River' in China during this period, many platforms are vying for the copyright, which has made them pay more attention to this drama. Therefore, they will provide additional funding for reshoots. It is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune."
"That's good." Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief.
He genuinely didn't want to disrupt the filming of this movie.
Huang Cheng: "Maxine was very surprised by your strong appeal in China. They only found out when they did a special investigation and evaluation that your appeal in China was even stronger than they had previously heard. When they asked me why, I said it was because your momentum has been very strong in the past two years. Every few months, your appeal and influence will increase significantly. They were stunned and extremely surprised by the speed of your rise. They even said that they had never seen an actor like you who had several hit dramas in a row, even in the United States."
“They are very interested in you and may contact you in a while,” Huang Cheng said. “Although they cannot officially enter our mainland market, they have always been very interested in the development of Chinese-language dramas and in working with top-tier Chinese actors.”
Lu Yanhe said, "I met with their people once before, and the feeling of that meeting was not good."
(End of this chapter)
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