Chapter 435 Learning a Lesson (8,000-word update!)
What's it like to be an assistant to a celebrity?
Wang Biao had seen similar topics online before.
Under this topic, there are all sorts of answers. Some are assistants who have encountered very good artists and are well taken care of by them, while others are assistants who have encountered some kind of weirdo and have been abandoned on the street in the middle of the night.
The differences between people, even between artists, are numerous because this field is large enough to produce a large number of specimens.
Wang Biao had high expectations for Lu Yanhe from the beginning; however, Lu Yanhe's response was even higher than he had anticipated, which was something Wang Biao himself had not expected.
Wang Biao never imagined he would be an assistant for life. When he first received the opportunity, he felt it was a great chance, a stepping stone. Working as Lu Yanhe's assistant for a few years would be a valuable learning and growth experience, allowing him to meet new people and witness new things.
However, as he spent more time with Lu Yanhe, this idea gradually disappeared.
It's not that the idea of "a great learning and growth experience" has disappeared, but rather that the idea of "a stepping stone" has disappeared.
Wang Biao gradually grew accustomed to being Lu Yanhe's assistant. Even as just an assistant, the world, the people, and the things he encountered were completely different from the world he had previously lived in. Lu Yanhe's talent and hard work gave Wang Biao a sense that everything he did was worthwhile. This worthiness was a sense of value and a sense of recognition.
He acknowledged the work of his assistant.
-
The next day, Wang Biao, along with Lu Yanhe and Liu Bige's team, a group of eight or nine people, spent the entire day touring Jiangzhi.
They are looking for suitable locations to film the movie, and when to shoot in those locations to get the best visuals.
This involves many technical and aesthetic issues.
Wang Biao listened attentively as these people talked about how to make a good movie, the technical difficulties, and the relationship between actors and camera shots. He had only slept for a few hours after arriving at the inn the night before, and he thought he would be sleepy today, but he listened very attentively.
He really enjoys listening to these things, even if he may never use them in his entire life.
Wang Biao felt that he simply enjoyed being around impressive people, listening to them talk about highly professional topics. This gave him the illusion that he was one of them. Wang Biao realized that this might be why he enjoyed being Lu Yanhe's assistant.
It was by Lu Yanhe's side that he was able to meet so many remarkable people.
-
Liu Bige said, "You need to think this through. If you're going to film this movie here, you'll definitely need to find another location to shoot it. Your script has a lot of snow scenes, and Jiang Zhi simply can't meet that requirement."
Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "I know."
Liu Bige: "You still want to make it for next year's Valentine's Day? I think that's very difficult, basically impossible. Do you only have one month to edit it?"
Lu Yanhe said, "Mainly, I think this movie is suitable to be watched in winter."
Liu Bige: "Then let's move it to the year after next for release."
Lu Yanhe: "That means this movie won't be released for another year."
Liu Bige said, "Waiting a year isn't a long time for a movie. Actually, I don't think it necessarily has to be released on Valentine's Day. Your movie isn't just about romance. Unrequited love stories have summer and winter, so releasing it during the summer vacation would be fine, right? Students are on holiday then."
Do you think students are the main audience for this movie?
“I think so,” Liu Bige said. “Only students can truly empathize with what your film is about. To be honest, after people turn thirty, the mundane realities of life dull their senses, and you can no longer expect them to feel the same excitement they had when they were teenagers.”
Lu Yanhe: "Are you talking about yourself?"
"roll."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
In fact, they all understood what Liu Bige meant by those words. Why did Lu Yanhe still feel threatened when he saw a film like "Flowers on the Stars," which clearly didn't have much artistic ambition? Because Lu Yanhe also knew very well that in this day and age, everyone is busy and exhausted. Rather than watching a film that hides its inner thoughts, people would rather follow a film with a grand scale and more direct emotional ups and downs, forgetting reality in the cinema and being emotionally moved by the film.
Lu Yanhe knew perfectly well that "Love Letter" might not be able to compete with "Flowers on the Stars" at the box office. If "Flowers on the Stars" truly lived up to the quality shown in its trailer, Lu Yanhe could foresee that the film would do very well at the box office.
Liu Bige said, "Actually, your film is quite thankless. For audiences who like art films, this film is too commercial, too entertaining, and too straightforward. For audiences who like commercial films, this film is too obscure and too artistic. If you don't go to some extreme, you might not please either side."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
Liu Bige was absolutely right.
He said, "But it's a very touching story, isn't it?"
“Hmm.” Liu Bige nodded. “It’s a good story. If they asked me to direct this project, I don’t think I would refuse.”
Lu Yanhe: "Okay, that's fine then."
Liu Bige said with a smile, "Yan He, this is your first film that you wrote, directed, and starred in. Aren't you worried that if the box office results don't meet people's expectations, it will make them lose faith in you?"
“If you’re so quick to lose faith in me, then go ahead and do it,” Lu Yanhe said. “I can’t keep playing it safe just to keep the market’s faith in me. In fact, there’s never a truly safe path in this industry, is there? Even the best directors can have their mishaps, and even the biggest actors can have bad movies.”
Liu Bige: "You haven't crashed yet."
"So everyone has a false sense of confidence in me now." Lu Yanhe was also helpless.
Liu Bige: "All emerging stars have to go through such a process. Moreover, your past resume is too brilliant, with not a single failure. It's no wonder that people have high expectations for your new films. So, if the box office of 'Love Letter' is too average, the halo of your undefeated myth will no longer exist."
Lu Yanhe said, "Do you think the box office performance of 'Love Letter' will be mediocre?"
"It depends on how you make it and what the film's target audience is," Liu Bige bluntly stated. "If you make this film into a particularly sentimental, melodramatic movie, you and Chen Bige might be able to attract hundreds of millions in box office revenue. But if you make it into an art film, you'll have to carefully define its target audience."
If the script for "Love Letter" were intended to be made into a melodramatic teen movie, it could certainly be made.
Lu Yanhe: "It's absolutely impossible to make it melodramatic. If it were melodramatic, Bige would be the first to refuse to act in it, and I wouldn't act in it either."
"Then we need to do a good job of promotion. We must not do deceptive promotion for the sake of the opening day box office, making people think that this movie is that kind of movie. If you trick those audiences into the theater, they will only come out cursing and swearing, and then make the movie's reputation very bad, causing most audiences to give up," Liu Bige said. "This movie still needs to be positioned as a niche art film for promotion, rather than a commercial film for the general public."
Lu Yanhe had actually considered what Liu Bige said before, but he hadn't been so certain that he would promote it as an art film. In fact, Lu Yanhe had written the film because he knew it would be popular and become a classic; he subconsciously felt it would appeal to a wide audience. Liu Bige's words made Lu Yanhe suddenly realize something: while *Love Letter* was a classic, it was also a classic passed down through word of mouth among film enthusiasts.
Is it a movie that is popular and well-known to the general public?
The moment this question popped into Lu Yanhe's mind, he realized he didn't have a definite answer.
-
Liu Bige also met with Zhang Ruozhi.
Zhang Ruozhi came with Liu Lingmeng.
Two girls in school uniforms met Lu Yanhe and his friends at a coffee shop near the school after school.
Upon learning that the person in front of them was the director of "Late Spring," the two girls were pleasantly surprised, as they were both fans of the film.
Films like *Late Spring* and *Love Letter* undoubtedly have a larger female audience. This is undeniable. Zhang Ruozhi and Liu Lingmeng are both devoted fans of *Late Spring*. Therefore, meeting Liu Bige, especially since the director is a young and handsome man, excited them both.
In the eyes of the audience, actors and directors are indeed different in relation to a film. Apart from the individual fans of the actors, most viewers who like a film will likely admire the director more than the actors. Their liking for the actors is often a case of "love me, love my dog."
Zhang Ruozhi and Liu Lingmeng were the same.
In front of Liu Bige, Liu Lingmeng completely ignored Lu Yanhe. She had been chattering away like a sparrow before, but with Liu Bige around, Lu Yanhe became a thing of the past, and all her questions were directed to Liu Bige. Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated.
However, Lu Yanhe quite liked Liu Lingmeng's personality. A generous, enthusiastic, and optimistic person wouldn't be disliked anywhere; at most, they'd just be annoying. Liu Lingmeng was far from that level.
Zhang Ruozhi's personality was more refined and gentle.
She listened more and spoke less, but the smile on her face still frequently reminded Lu Yanhe of Sakai Miki.
At that moment, a few boys carrying basketballs walked past the coffee shop's floor-to-ceiling windows.
One of the boys suddenly knocked on the window from the outside.
Lu Yanhe and the others turned to look.
A boy with thick eyebrows and big eyes stood outside, grinning at them.
He waved when he saw them looking over.
"Zhang Ruozhi, Liu Lingmeng, what are you doing here?!" His voice sounded very cheerful.
The other boys noticed his commotion and curiously gathered around.
Lu Yanhe found the scene unfolding before him somewhat comical.
Several high school students were peering out of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching them with curiosity.
They're like monkeys in a zoo.
Liu Lingmeng waved to them and said, "We're busy, don't bother us."
As soon as he finished speaking, the boys turned around one after another and ran in from the coffee shop entrance.
Liu Lingmeng said angrily, "These annoying kids never listen to me!"
The boys ran up to Lu Yanhe and his friends, and one by one, they all stared at Lu Yanhe with wide eyes and incredulous looks.
"It really is you!"
Lu Yanhe looked at them, smiled, waved, and said, "Yes, it's me."
The one in the lead, looking quite energetic, asked, "Can we sit down?"
"You guys are so annoying," Liu Lingmeng said to them with dissatisfaction. "I already told you we have serious business to discuss."
"You two are so unfair! You came to see Lu Yanhe secretly without telling us," the lead boy complained.
Liu Lingmeng: "..."
Liu Lingmeng: "Why should we tell you? You guys are so annoying!"
Looking at them like this, Lu Yanhe thought of his own time at No. 13 Middle School a few years ago.
Back then, everyone in the class often teased and bickered with each other like that.
Suddenly I felt a little nostalgic.
Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "Sit down, I'll treat you to coffee, or... at this hour, are you worried you won't be able to sleep tonight if you drink something? See what you'd like to drink or eat, order whatever you like, it's on me."
"Really?!" The boys' eyes lit up immediately, and they pulled up chairs and sat down without any hesitation.
-
Across from the coffee shop, seasoned hookup guy Zhou Shuchun and his assistant sat in a van, cautiously observing the situation across from the coffee shop.
"Brother Chun, do you think the female lead in Lu Yanhe's new film will be in this?"
“Of course he’s there, is there any need to ask? Otherwise, what would he be doing staying in Jiangzhi all these days?” Zhou Shuchun was still holding a pair of binoculars, observing the subtle expressions on the faces of the people opposite him. “Everyone wants to know who the female lead is in Lu Yanhe’s new movie. If we can get a picture of her first, this scoop can give us a six-month break.”
The assistant's eyes widened immediately.
"That's amazing?"
"Yes." Zhou Shuchun nodded. "So, we must make sure we find the right one, and avoid making a mistake."
The assistant asked, "Brother Chun, why do you think the female lead in Lu Yanhe's new film is attracting so much attention?"
Zhou Shuchun: "Don't you think that Lu Yanhe isn't a top-tier director, and that his new film isn't big enough to make a newcomer famous overnight?"
The assistant nodded.
"Many people, like you, only see the surface and overlook a very important fact."
"What fact?" the assistant asked, still puzzled.
Zhou Shuchun said, "From the other five people in 'Friends,' to the three main characters in 'Three Mountains,' and then to the young people in 'Late Spring,' look at how many of today's popular actors have emerged from the plays he has carried?"
The assistant looked surprised.
"Could this be attributed to him?"
"Whether it's his credit or not is another matter, but apart from the all-star cast of 'The Seventeenth Floor,' every film he's acted in has launched many new talents. It can be said that nearly half of the well-known newcomers in the entertainment industry last year came from projects starring Lu Yanhe. Now you know why everyone is so interested in the female lead of Lu Yanhe's new movie? Because it is very likely that this female lead will be a future A-list actress."
The assistant, however, seemed puzzled and said, "Isn't this a bit too much?"
“Exaggeration? No, not at all,” Zhou Shuchun said. “I’ll just say it here and you’ll see.”
-
Lu Yanhe and his group were unaware that they were being photographed by paparazzi.
Fewer and fewer paparazzi are following Lu Yanhe these days, mainly because there's nothing sensational to be found there.
Lu Yanhe's life was unremarkable. Most of the time, he was either on film set or at school, with nothing to film.
No matter how many videos they take, it only brings joy to Lu Yanhe's fans; for these media outlets, it doesn't bring much economic return.
Lu Yanhe himself is not particularly resistant to the media or paparazzi.
Whenever he encountered the media or paparazzi, he simply let them take pictures without any hesitation. Lu Yanhe never felt that he had anything to be ashamed of.
Even if he is photographed, such as kissing Chen Siqi on the roadside, it will cause a great deal of discussion, which is to say, it will make people talk about it.
Therefore, over time, Lu Yanhe lost his sensitivity in this regard.
It was Zou Dong who first noticed that something was wrong.
"It seems like we're being followed by a car," Zou Dong said.
Lu Yanhe recognized the person in the car immediately.
“Zhou Shuchun,” Lu Yanhe said.
Zou Dong asked, "Who is Zhou Shuchun?"
When Lu Yanhe was dealing with Zhou Shuchun, Zou Dong hadn't even arrived yet.
“A very annoying and persistent reporter. Although he’s called a reporter, I think he’s more like a paparazzi,” Lu Yanhe said. “After the college entrance exam, he kept bothering me and my classmates, trying to find out whether I would choose Zhenhua or Yuming. We didn’t have a good time meeting him later.”
Zou Dong: "Oh, paparazzi, that's alright."
"Did you still think he was a murderer who came to kill me?" Lu Yanhe couldn't help but laugh when he heard a hint of regret in Zou Dong's tone. "We're not filming a movie."
Zou Dong wasn't actually regretting anything else; it was just that, as a bodyguard, he always felt he hadn't been able to demonstrate much of his professional value while working alongside Lu Yanhe. If they were truly here to cause trouble, Zou Dong saw it as an opportunity to showcase his abilities.
Lu Yanhe said, "But why did he follow Jiang Zhi all the way here? What does he want to film about me?"
He asked Wang Biao, "Do I have any news about me right now?"
He thought he had somehow become a trending topic again, attracting Zhou Shuchun's attention.
Wang Biao shook his head and said, "No, Brother Lu, you're not trending right now. The most talked-about thing about you right now is your new movie 'Love Letter.' Are you trying to find out more about 'Love Letter'?"
Lu Yanhe suddenly realized.
That's actually quite possible.
Zhou Shuchun came all the way here, could it be just to get some material related to "Love Letter"?
For example, the female lead.
Lu Yanhe suddenly came to his senses.
The most talked-about topic right now about "Love Letter" is who will win the heart of the passionate female lead.
With so many people coming for interviews, agents from various agencies are all inquiring about related information.
Not only within the industry, but also online, people often ask who the female lead in "Love Letter" is.
Lu Yanhe's expression suddenly changed.
Because he realized that this was something that could have serious consequences.
He called Chen Ziyan immediately.
"What do you mean? Zhou Shuchun came to Jiangzhi to film you?"
“Yes.” Lu Yanhe explained, “Dong Ge noticed a car following us. I took a picture of the car with my phone, and when I zoomed in, I found Zhou Shuchun sitting inside.”
"What's wrong with this guy? After disappearing for a while, he's back again?" Chen Ziyan pondered for a moment. "Are you worried that he'll take a picture of Zhang Ruozhi and expose her online prematurely?"
“Hmm,” Lu Yanhe said, “Sister Ziyan, I hope that Zhang Ruozhi will remain unknown to everyone before the movie is released, so that when she appears in the movie, she will give everyone a surprise at first glance.”
Chen Ziyan: "But now you don't know what Zhou Shuchun has filmed or not?"
"Well, but I don't dare to take that risk. This afternoon, I met with Zhang Ruozhi with Liu Bige. Maybe he's already seen it, or maybe he's guessed it."
"He doesn't need to confirm whether she is the female lead in your movie. He only needs to release a suspected smokescreen, and that will be enough to send Zhang Ruozhi to the top of the trending searches."
"Um."
Chen Ziyan immediately understood what Lu Yanhe was worried about and what he was concerned about.
“First, we need to find a reason for you to stay in Jiangzhi.” Chen Ziyan quickly sorted out her thoughts and began to instruct Lu Yanhe, “I suggest you take a group photo with Liu Bige and his photography team later, preferably at dinner time. Make it seem casual and not too deliberate. Just say that you came with them to scout locations for the new movie.”
Lu Yanhe: "Yes, no problem. We'll film it when we get to the restaurant."
“It would be best to make an official announcement that Liu Bige will be the director of photography for your new film,” Chen Ziyan said. “Otherwise, someone like you who doesn’t usually share these kinds of private photos would suddenly post such a group photo without any justification. Zhou Shuchun is shrewd and might notice something fishy.”
Lu Yanhe: "Okay."
Chen Ziyan said, "The second thing is to communicate with Bige. It's not a big problem, but you will have to endure a period of criticism."
"Infamy?" Lu Yanhe asked in confusion, wondering what method Chen Ziyan had come up with.
-
That evening, Zhou Shuchun's assistant was checking the photos taken by his camera when he suddenly heard Zhou Shuchun curse.
The assistant was startled and looked at Zhou Shuchun, puzzled.
"What's wrong, Chun-ge?"
Zhou Shuchun rolled his eyes in exasperation and said, "What a wasted trip. Let's leave tomorrow."
"Leave?" The assistant looked puzzled and asked, "Why are you leaving? Aren't you going to take more pictures of the two girls who met with Lu Yanhe today?"
Zhou Shuchun said, "What a load of crap! Just open your phone and check Weibo, and you'll see what's going on. Damn it, since they've already decided on Chen Bige as the female lead, why bother with all this pretense of an audition? Wasn't there some news that they were looking for a newer actress for the female lead? And now it's Chen Bige again!"
Ten minutes ago, Lu Yanhe posted a group photo of himself having dinner with Liu Bige and others.
It was just a regular selfie, but it announced that Liu Bige would be the director of photography for the film "Love Letter".
Five minutes ago, the film "Love Letter" suddenly registered an official account and posted a message that the male and female leads of the film will be played by Lu Yanhe and Chen Bige.
The news caused an uproar online.
The internet was in an uproar, and so was the industry.
Many people had heard that this movie was going to cast newcomers, so what happened? Why did they suddenly stop casting newcomers? And now it's Chen Bige again?
Discussions arose.
The actresses who had previously received audition invitations were furious upon seeing this news, feeling that they had been tricked.
Jiang Yuqian was also taken aback when she saw the message.
Lu Yanhe had told her personally that he wanted to cast a newcomer as the female lead in this movie, so how did it suddenly become Chen Bige?
Jiang Yuqian hesitated for a moment before calling Lu Yanhe.
She worried that this change must have been caused by something going wrong behind the scenes of the film's production.
Jiang Yuqian had witnessed this situation countless times.
As soon as the call connected, Jiang Yuqian immediately asked Lu Yanhe, "Yanhe, is there a funding problem with 'Love Letter' or what? You told me before that the female lead would be a newcomer, so why was Bige suddenly announced? Do the investors require a star to be used?"
Lu Yanhe never expected that the first person to call and show concern for him would be Jiang Yuqian.
He quickly explained the whole story to Jiang Yuqian.
Jiang Yuqian then learned that the role for which she had auditioned did indeed exist, and that a candidate had already been found. Chen Bige would play the adult female lead. To be precise, the film had two female leads.
She suddenly realized.
"To keep it a secret and prevent the girl from being exposed, I had to use this kind of trick to make Zhou Shuchun think that the girl he photographed wasn't the female lead," Lu Yanhe said. "Hopefully, this will make him give up."
-
"Thinking about it now, their meeting with those two girls at the coffee shop that afternoon probably wasn't anything special. Didn't a few boys come over later?" the assistant said to Zhou Shuchun. "They probably just sat and chatted with a few students. Those boys obviously knew those two girls. Maybe they were interested in them and wanted to invite them to appear in the movie?"
Zhou Shuchun's face looked very grim.
He and his assistant traveled such a long distance, changing vehicles repeatedly, just to get some exclusive news about "Love Letter".
He thought he had witnessed the secret leading lady of the film, but now that the movie has been officially announced, it turns out he was completely wrong.
"..." Anyway, it seems that things haven't gone smoothly for Lu Yanhe.
The assistant then said, "Brother Chun, I just saw a news report online saying that Xu Yiren seems to be in contact with Longyan Film Industry. Why don't we go and film her?"
Zhou Shuchun complained: "What is there about her that's worth filming? Is she discussing a collaboration with Longyan Film Industry for their next film? How many people do you think would be interested in this kind of thing? Besides her fans, who else would be interested in this?"
The assistant said, "But, Brother Chun, Longyan Film Industry is going to launch director Liu Bige's new film in the second half of the year. It is said that Li Zhibai will star in it. Maybe Xu Yiren went to discuss this film."
Zhou Shuchun's attitude then changed somewhat.
"Is this your guess, or what?"
The assistant said, "Longyan Film Industry has only one movie scheduled to start filming in the next six months, and I feel that Xu Yiren is interested in it. The movie 'My Home That I Haven't Been Returned To' was a huge box office success, and she's riding high right now. I heard that Ruyi Films approached her to make a movie with an actual investment of over 80 million yuan, but she didn't accept it. So, the reason she's willing to contact Longyan Film Industry at this time must be for a better project than this one. It seems to be Liu Bige's project."
"You're a quick learner. Your analysis proves you've finally grasped the basics." Zhou Shuchun nodded and said, "Let's dig deeper into this next."
The assistant flashed a bright smile.
"good."
-
Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan waited a few more days, and only when no news about the female lead of "Love Letter" was exposed online did they breathe a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, it wasn't exposed.
This secret was kept.
If they fail to maintain the status quo, will the female lead still need to use Zhang Ruozhi?
This question needs to be considered.
Lu Yanhe didn't know the answer either.
Chen Ziyan said, "The only lingering effect now is that you've been criticized quite harshly. People are saying that since you ultimately chose Chen Bige as the female lead, and then went through all that trouble with the audition process, it was just fooling everyone and wasting everyone's time."
Lu Yanhe: "We can only let everyone misunderstand for now. We'll clarify things when the movie is released."
Chen Ziyan: "Well, but among the people who auditioned, didn't you find anyone you thought was good enough? Didn't you find a face that you thought was suitable for a movie role?"
"Of course there are, but none of them are as suitable as Zhang Ruozhi for Huai Jingshu during high school."
“If you think they’re good, you can select them and have them appear in one or two shots,” Chen Ziyan said. “These people come here to audition to look for opportunities. If you can help them, then help them. Don’t waste their time.”
Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "Okay."
The film *Love Letter* features many scenes set in school, and indeed, it required a large number of students. Based on the audition requirements at the time, many of the auditionees were perfectly capable of playing high school students.
Lu Yanhe and everyone else watched all the previous interview and audition videos again, and selected seven actresses to contact one by one, asking them if they would be willing to join the movie "Love Letter" and play a small role in it.
In the end, all seven actresses said they would come.
Just as Chen Ziyan said, according to the initial interview requirements, the actresses who came to audition for "Love Letter" were either newcomers or people who had only been in the industry for a few years and were not yet known to the public. They were all at the time when they needed opportunities the most.
Lu Yanhe selected seven people this time, and their appearances in "Love Letter" may become an opportunity for them to participate in the next film.
Both Zhou Shuchun's affair and the affairs of these seven actresses made Lu Yanhe realize how many shortcomings he still had in his interpersonal skills.
Lu Yanhe silently made a mental note of it, so that he could remember it better in the future when he encountered similar situations.
-
That's all for today. I'm so tired. I was already too tired to keep my eyes open after writing four thousand words, but I managed to write eight thousand.
Everyone should go to bed early and avoid staying up late.
See you tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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