Chapter 373 Lu Yanhe's Advice (Bonus Chapter!)
The attendance of the two film crews at the Venice International Film Festival has attracted widespread attention.
As the editor-in-chief of "Jump Up," Chen Siqi is determined not to miss out on the publicity and exposure generated by the Venice International Film Festival.
Others, of course, shared the same thought.
Within just three days, no fewer than five brands approached Chen Ziyan, offering to provide "equipment" for Lu Yanhe's appearance in Venice.
From suits to watches, from sunglasses to leather shoes.
Aside from his endorsement of the Italian leather shoe brand "Buchère," Lu Yanhe has no other brand endorsements.
This also meant that Lu Yanhe had many opportunities to conduct business cooperation during this trip.
After much deliberation, Chen Ziyan finally selected several brands that Lu Yanhe might collaborate with in the future.
In addition, we received offers for various forms of collaboration, including media interviews, local business events, and travel photography for fashion magazines.
Aside from a few media outlets with whom she had long-standing partnerships, Chen Ziyan declined all other events, citing Lu Yanhe's poor health.
Anyway, the whole country knows about Lu Yanhe's injury, and they're not lying.
Chen Ziyan did take Lu Yanhe's health into consideration, so she didn't want him to travel too much.
Just participating in the promotional activities for the film "Late Spring" alone requires a considerable amount of work.
While Chen Ziyan was busy preparing for Lu Yanhe's trip to Venice, Lu Yanhe continued filming "The Silent River" with peace of mind.
-
On this hot summer day, the sun shone brightly.
Lu Yanhe arrived at the scene on time according to the notice, only to overhear Zeng Qiao saying to Chen Lingling, "I want to add a scene to this location."
Lu Yanhe was taken aback when he heard this.
On set, many actors would request script revisions or additional scenes.
However, the film crews that Lu Yanhe worked for were relatively rare.
He hadn't expected Zeng Qiao to suddenly make such a request.
What kind of scene should we add?
Lu Yanhe was somewhat curious.
Zeng Qiao takes acting very seriously, but he is not a domineering actor; he wants to have as many scenes as possible.
Lu Yanhe worked with him on this film, "The Silent River," and knew that Zeng Qiao was an actor who put in a lot of hard work.
Zeng Qiao's suggestion to add scenes indicates that he felt it was truly necessary to add this part.
“This scene tells the story of how I discovered that when I was in school, I unknowingly helped those bad people bully Chen He and Yu Wei, which ultimately led to Yu Wei’s death, Chen He’s dropping out of school, and all the misfortunes that followed,” Zeng Qiao said. “Before this, I always thought I was a righteous person. At this moment, my self-perception was greatly impacted, and I wanted to add a scene to show this.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Lingling asked, "How would you like to add it?"
Zeng Qiao said, "Just give me a shot, no lines needed, just a shot of me in the car."
Chen Lingling didn't think much of it. After only two seconds of consideration, she nodded and said, "Okay."
-
Lu Yanhe sat behind the director's monitor, watching the scene that had been added on short notice with Chen Lingling.
There are no lines.
In the shot, Chen Lingling gave Zeng Qiao a very close-up.
There is more than one camera position.
There are three camera positions in total.
The next scene was originally supposed to be a scene between Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao, but because Zeng Qiao suddenly suggested adding this scene, Lu Yanhe had no choice but to wait for this scene to be filmed.
In this scene, Chen Lingling did not call "action".
The camera then focused directly on Zeng Qiao.
Zeng Qiao stood by the car door, head down, preparing himself emotionally.
Once he was ready, he began to perform.
Zeng Qiao got into the car and closed the door.
He suddenly slammed his fist on the steering wheel, slightly raised his eyes, and his whole face was filled with an unbelievable anger and regret.
Without a single line of dialogue, just by watching this scene, you can feel his almost collapsing emotions.
Lu Yanhe frowned slightly.
He turned to look at Chen Lingling.
Chen Lingling remained expressionless, revealing no particular attitude.
In the shot, Zeng Qiao is looking down, his hands clenched into fists on the steering wheel.
A tear of regret fell from Zeng Qiao's eye.
-
After Zeng Qiao finished his performance, many people in the audience quietly gave him a thumbs up.
Indeed, that scene was very moving.
Zeng Qiao's silent performance made everyone feel his remorse.
Zeng Qiao approached director Chen Lingling and asked, "Director, is this alright?"
Chen Lingling didn't answer, but turned to Lu Yanhe and asked, "Do you think it's okay?"
Lu Yanhe hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
He wanted to tell the truth, but he was worried that if he said it directly, it would hurt Zeng Qiao's feelings.
Actually, Zeng Qiao's performance was quite good, but based on his understanding of Zeng Qiao, he could have performed the scene even better.
“It’s very contagious,” Lu Yanhe said first, before continuing, “However, wasn’t it a bit too fast to slam the steering wheel as soon as you got in the car? That startled me just now.”
Chen Lingling looked at Zeng Qiao.
Zeng Qiao looked slightly surprised after hearing Lu Yanhe's words.
Was it sudden?
Zeng Qiao asked, "If it were you, how would you handle it?"
“Everything else is fine. I’ll add two more steps to what you’ve already suggested, Brother Qiao. The first step is that after getting in the car, I’ll subconsciously fasten my seatbelt. Just as my hand reaches for the seatbelt to fasten it, I’ll release it and then slam my hand hard on the steering wheel to briefly compress my emotions.” Lu Yanhe explained his understanding without holding back. “The second step is that when I cry, I won’t look down. Looking down seems a bit contrived. I’m alone in the car, and no one else can see me. I don’t need to subconsciously use the action of looking down to hide my tears.”
After Lu Yanhe finished speaking, he looked at Zeng Qiao.
"However, it may be because I have put myself in Chen He's shoes, so I make judgments based on Chen He's personality and habits."
Zeng Qiao shook his head. "No, you're absolutely right."
Chen Lingling nodded, "What Yan He said just now is right. You can make some adjustments, and we'll film it again later."
Zeng Qiao never expected that Chen Lingling would ask him to act it out again.
Chen Lingling said, "I want to add another shot here later. When you are crying, I want Lu Yanhe to appear in front of you. Lu Yanhe doesn't see you and walks past you, but you see him. It's the moment you see him again after you realize that your past actions were also the driving force behind Chen He's tragic life."
Upon hearing this, Zeng Qiao felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
Just imagining this scene in his mind sent shivers down his spine.
Good actors, of course, each have their own style and strengths, but one thing they definitely have in common is their ability to imagine and empathize.
After Chen Lingling finished speaking, the scene immediately appeared in Zeng Qiao's mind.
There's no need to specifically design it.
Chen Lingling turned to Lu Yanhe and said, "Help Zeng Qiao set up this scene. It's good that you're here too."
Lu Yanhe nodded without hesitation, "Okay."
-
Because of this newly added scene, Lu Yanhe didn't get to film his first proper scene until three hours later.
However, he didn't have any objections.
He always found plenty to do on set. He spent large blocks of time reading, and smaller gaps replying to emails and messages, or thinking about ideas that might be useful in later parts of the script.
Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao finished filming two scenes in the evening.
Zengqiao can be finished now.
But Lu Yanhe isn't ready yet; he still has several solo scenes to film.
So, after filming with Zeng Qiao, Lu Yanhe planned to go have dinner first.
Zeng Qiao suddenly called out to him.
"Brother Qiao, what's wrong?" Lu Yanhe looked at Zeng Qiao with some confusion and asked.
Zeng Qiao took a step forward, suddenly hugged Lu Yanhe with one arm, and patted him on the back.
"Thank you for your help with that scene before."
"Don't be so polite with me. If I need anything, Brother Qiao, you'll definitely help me."
“I’m not talking about acting together, but about the advice you gave me.” Zeng Qiao smiled, seemingly somewhat helpless. “These days, whenever I ask someone how their acting was, they just say it was good. It’s hard to hear any honest opinions anymore. It’s rare to hear some genuine advice from you today.”
Lu Yanhe smiled sheepishly and said, "Brother Qiao, I'm glad you don't mind. After you finished speaking, I was a little worried that I might have said something wrong."
"If you have any suggestions like this in the future, please give me more of them," Zeng Qiao said. "Acting requires the stimulation of fellow actors. I was greatly stimulated while filming this movie with you, which gave me a lot of creative ideas."
Lu Yanhe laughed happily when he heard Zeng Qiao say that.
-
Zeng Qiao got into his nanny van. After a day of filming, he felt exhausted and all he wanted to do after returning to the hotel was to rest as soon as possible.
His assistant said, "Brother Qiao, aren't you angry?"
"What are you angry about?" Zeng Qiao asked with his eyes closed.
Close your eyes and rest.
The assistant said, "Lu Yanhe gave you advice in front of the director, even though you are the senior."
"What's there to be angry about? He was telling the truth and even helped me. I'm more than grateful to him."
"But isn't that incredibly arrogant of him?"
"arrogant?"
"Anyway, I think that unless he's your senior, who else is qualified to instruct Brother Qiao on how to act?" the assistant said indignantly. "When outsiders praise his acting talent, he takes it for granted. I've never seen him dare to give you any advice before."
“You’re being petty. To me, regardless of whether someone is a senior or not, I’m satisfied as long as they offer some truly helpful and useful advice,” Zeng Qiao said. “Yan He didn’t have to say these things to me, but because he did, I was able to readjust and incorporate them into my performance, resulting in a better final product for the audience. If you can’t even tell what’s truly useful and helpful to you, you might as well retire.”
The assistant pursed his lips.
He thought to himself, "Go ahead and be stubborn."
Once "The Silent River" airs, it would be a miracle if your two male leads didn't fight or have any conflicts.
Why pretend to be a true friend now?
Zeng Qiao had no idea what his assistant was thinking.
He was just a little annoyed. He was already exhausted from filming today, and on the way back he had to listen to his assistant talk about this.
All he wants right now is some peace and quiet to rest.
-
When Chen Ziyan learned what Lu Yanhe had said, she once again glared at him with exasperation and said, "Anyone with a narrow mind would have already held a grudge against you by now. Not everyone is willing to listen to the truth, even if it's for their own good."
Lu Yanhe: "But the director asked me to say that I couldn't just say he acted particularly well against my conscience. I felt that his acting was a bit deliberate."
Chen Ziyan: "It's not your place to say that. The director is right there, isn't he? If the director asks you to speak, just say a few words to get it over with. How can a twenty-year-old like you give advice to an established actor? Even if you're a genius, it won't work. You have to keep these social niceties in mind. When you're acting, be an artist and give it your all, and I won't care. But outside of acting, don't try to act like an artist with me. People who can't speak properly are never well-liked anywhere."
Lu Yanhe was sweating profusely from Chen Ziyan's words.
"Okay, okay, I won't do it again next time."
Seeing that Lu Yanhe had admitted his mistake, Chen Ziyan finally got to the point of today's phone call: "We won't attend the opening ceremony of the Venice International Film Festival, otherwise we would have had to stay there for another seven or eight days."
"Okay, you can arrange this. I'll listen to you."
“Well, there’s one more thing. Director Wang Zhong will also be there this time. He plans to announce the latest progress of his new film, Rouge, at the film festival,” Chen Ziyan said. “In addition, someone from Maxine wants to meet with you there. It’s not the two people you met last time, but Zhong Benshuo, the head of Maxine’s Asia-Pacific region. He wants to talk to us about the possibility of future cooperation.”
Lu Yanhe said, "Sure, let's meet when we have time."
Chen Ziyan: "Zhong Benshuo has a lot of power in Maxine. Don't be careless. If you want your dramas to go international in the future, you will almost have to go around Maxine. There are only a few of the world's largest streaming media companies."
“Okay, I haven’t let my guard down. I just have a bad impression of Maxine because of those two last time.” Lu Yanhe sighed. “I just don’t think they’re good collaborators.”
“Zhong Benshuo is very interested in you,” Chen Ziyan said. “I spoke with his secretary on the phone for ten minutes. He knows a lot about your dramas and even specifically mentioned ‘Squid Game,’ saying that if the overseas rights are not sold, they would be very willing to buy them.”
Lu Yanhe: "Hmm?"
"Well, so you understand why I told you not to let your guard down, right?" Chen Ziyan said. "They have a huge piece of the pie in their hands, and whether we can get a slice is up to us."
Lu Yanhe became serious.
“Okay, I will prepare well for my meeting with him,” he said.
-
School starts at the end of the month.
Lu Yanhe was finally able to walk again. The injured areas no longer ached, and as long as he didn't touch them, they wouldn't hurt.
However, he still walked very slowly.
After several rounds of negotiations, it was decided that filming for "The Silent River" would be suspended immediately, and all the scenes to be filmed would be completed in one go during the seven-day National Day holiday.
This way, the additional investment required for reshoots can be minimized.
Due to his health condition, Lu Yanhe apologized and called Li Zhenzhen to tell her that he could no longer participate in the recording of the third season of "The Days of Youth".
That means he only recorded the beginning part of this season.
Li Zhenzhen also knew that Lu Yanhe was injured and unable to continue participating in those segments of the program.
But she still invited Lu Yanhe to participate in the final day of recording.
"On our last day, we'll all cook a meal together, chat, and have some heartfelt conversations," Li Zhenzhen said. "You're a regular guest on our show, and the audience really wants to see you. Could you come back for the final episode and give everyone a surprise?"
Lu Yanhe said, "I don't need to go out to do tasks or run around, so it should be fine. When is the recording day? I've already started school, and I'm going to Venice soon, so the timing might not work out."
“The last day of this month,” Li Zhenzhen said, “Friday.”
On Friday, Lu Yanhe had classes all morning and also had classes in the first two periods of the afternoon.
"I'll see if I can come over for dinner after class," Lu Yanhe said, somewhat embarrassed. "Is it really okay to freeload like this?"
Li Zhenzhen: "Everyone misses you. How can you call it freeloading when you come back?"
This one sentence warmed Lu Yanhe's heart, and he thought to himself that he would overcome all difficulties to participate.
-
The Venice International Film Festival opened on September 2.
As always, the opening ceremony red carpet was dazzling with stars, each vying for attention.
The news that Lu Yanhe would not be able to attend the opening ceremony red carpet has already been announced in advance for the film "Late Spring".
Nevertheless, many movie fans are still hoping for a surprise.
Of course, there were no surprises.
However, when the creators of the two Chinese-language films walked the red carpet, even without Lu Yanhe, many Chinese people present felt happy and honored.
Seeing Chinese-language films at the world's top film festivals makes all Chinese filmmakers proud.
Besides the two film crews, there were also celebrities like Yan Liang who attended because of brand sponsorships or other reasons.
Their appearance also attracted a lot of attention and media coverage.
When director Wang Zhong appeared with the three young people from "Three Mountains," the media were astonished.
This film has already won awards at the Sitour Film Festival, so why is it coming to Venice?
Wang Zhong explained, "I came here this time because the film festival is going to hold a special retrospective exhibition of my works, so I brought these three kids here to take a look. Yan He will come later, and we will meet then."
It was only then that everyone realized that the Venice International Film Festival had actually held a retrospective exhibition of Wang Zhong's works specifically for this year's festival.
Two hours after Wang Zhong finished his interview, the film festival's official account released the news and opened the ticket purchase channel.
Lu Yanhe felt somewhat regretful upon hearing the news.
"It's a real pity I can't attend your retrospective exhibition," Lu Yanhe told Wang Zhong over the phone. "I really want to see your classic works on the big screen."
Wang Zhong: "When I hold my exhibition in China later, I'll send you tickets."
“Okay.” Lu Yanhe smiled and added, “But this time, you should still send me two tickets.”
Wang Zhong: "Huh? You can't come again, so why do you need me to deliver the tickets?"
“I have two friends who really wanted to see it, but they couldn’t get tickets. You’re so popular, the tickets sold out instantly,” Lu Yanhe said. “One is Yan Liang, you know, and the other is my high school classmate Lin Yu, who is now studying at Yuming University and is also an editor at Jump Up magazine.”
Wang Zhong: "I only have a few tickets on hand, two are fine, but I don't have any more."
"Okay, these two are fine, thank you, Director!" Lu Yanhe said with a smile. "Can I have Yan Liang come and pick up the tickets from you? Which hotel are you staying at?"
Wang Zhong: "I have his contact information, I will contact him directly."
"Okay, thank you again."
Since winning the award at the Sitour Film Festival, Wang Zhong has gained international renown. All the fans and positive reviews he had built up before were amplified by the film *Three Mountains*. While the film was released gradually around the world, it didn't achieve box office miracles or massive commercial success, but it received critical acclaim and consistently ranked highly in various film magazine reviews.
That's why Venice invited him this time.
Wang Zhong is really getting popular.
Lu Yanhe was genuinely happy.
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(End of this chapter)
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