Chapter 477 Asian Television Festival
Lu Yanhe had no intention of advocating anything.
He adopted a very proper posture.
“Actually, I’m here to learn. Many teachers and seniors have asked me if I have any constructive suggestions, but I really don’t. It’s not out of modesty, but because my understanding of this industry is still one-sided; I haven’t truly and deeply understood it,” Lu Yanhe said. “I can only share my feelings based on my own experience over the past few years. The success of ‘Road to Glory’ certainly had a combination of favorable timing, location, and people. Whether it can be replicated and whether it can pave a new path for art films requires exploration by the entire industry. I will continue to work hard and explore this path together.”
“We used to have the Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas, and we thought that we could use it to secure a longer release window for arthouse films, but now we’ve seen that it’s had very little effect. If you can’t attract audiences, even if you put it in the cinema every day, no one will go in to watch it.” An elderly veteran with gray hair said emphatically, “I think what Xiao Lu just said was particularly good, and the key is that he saw it very accurately. He is a very thoughtful young man.”
"When we watch international film festivals and the Oscars, we only see the awards and the gap between us and others. But Xiao Lu can see the differences in the operating models behind these awards and their relationship with their film industries. Xiao Lu said something particularly true: art films can also make money at the box office; the key is to find an audience to watch them. Now, 'Road to Glory' has proven that as long as the approach is right, it is possible to find an audience. If we can establish a period of intensive promotion in China similar to the North American awards season, and generate attention, why should art films have to worry about not getting attention? It's hard to make hundreds of millions at the box office, but surely we can make a few million? A film with a budget of only a few hundred thousand can still make a few million at the box office—that's a success too."
The older gentleman became more and more excited as he spoke.
"The industry is currently very restless. Everyone is thinking about making movies that gross billions or billions, which is a near-certain failure. Are movies that gross only a few million or tens of millions not worth making? Art films can be profitable too. We must firmly believe in this concept. Only in this way can we attract more fresh talent to create art films, and we must also build such an environment. Let's not let art films live only on the awards stage anymore."
...
This seminar was not publicly promoted; it only garnered some attention within the industry.
However, the seminar led to two consensuses: one was to promote the long-term release of art films, and the other was to explore the establishment of a cycle similar to the "North American awards season" as a window for the concentrated release of art films, using the attention from awards to drive attention to these films, and then converting it into box office revenue.
In the end, Lu Yanhe proposed an idea.
“Perhaps we can learn from the model of ‘Idol Era’, with a competition every week, an update of idol rankings every quarter, and an annual gala. This way, the elegance of art films can be preserved solely in the creation of the content,” said Lu Yanhe. “Through this competition between films, we can attract the audience’s attention, and the audience can also vote, but if you want to vote, you have to submit information about watching the film for verification first.”
To Lu Yanhe's surprise, those who had just been saying they would do everything possible to innovate and attract audiences to art films suddenly all said in unison that they couldn't do it that way.
Lu Yanhe almost thought he had said something outrageous.
Later, after the seminar, director Fu Kai explained to him: "They just hope that art films can get rid of the curse of being box office poison, but that doesn't mean they are willing to let the art of film be like those artists in the 'Idol Era' program, shouting and performing for money."
Lu Yanhe immediately understood what Director Fu Kai was saying.
To put it bluntly, it's because we've been too reserved for formalities for so long that we're too embarrassed to ask them to come down and dance all at once.
Lu Yanhe also felt it didn't matter. He had only suggested an idea; the method was just a means, and if one didn't work, he could try another. As long as everyone could gradually change their original attitudes and mindsets, that would be enough.
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This seminar was a discussion held in an ivory tower, but the participants were all big names who had been deeply involved in the film industry for many years.
Only when everyone discusses and reaches a consensus can we possibly move things forward.
Among this group of people, Lu Yanhe was not being modest; he was truly a novice and inexperienced young man.
But he was lucky, and of course, he also proved himself, so in such a setting, he was praised and cared for.
Through several seminars, Lu Yanhe got to know many senior figures.
Everyone praised him highly.
What reasonable elder wouldn't like such an accomplished, sincere, and humble young man?
After attending this seminar, Lu Yanhe went straight to the Asian Television Festival.
This was the work that Chen Ziyan had already assigned him.
When the Asian Television Awards announced its list of attending celebrities, the domestic stars and artists were mainly from the casts of "Friends" and "The Seventeen Floors".
There are also some artists who are currently very popular and have a large following.
When two film crews attend, actors like Lu Yanhe, who have starred in two films, usually walk the red carpet twice with their respective film crews.
However, after communication, both production teams decided not to walk the red carpet as a group.
They all attended in their individual capacities and then met up inside the venue.
This year's Asian Television Festival is hosted by Singapore.
On the opening day of the Asian Television Festival, Lu Yanhe held Chen Siqi's hand and walked together onto the red carpet.
The two of them haven't appeared together in a long time, so their appearance at the Asian Television Festival naturally attracted a lot of attention.
Many foreign media outlets are unfamiliar with Chen Siqi. Especially for South Korean and Japanese media, the frequency with which Lu Yanhe, a Chinese actor, has appeared in the public eye in the past year or two has almost single-handedly overshadowed the momentum of young Asian actors, making him the undisputed star.
The shock they felt when Lu Yanhe suddenly appeared on the red carpet holding a girl's hand was unimaginable.
However, this is a scene that domestic media have seen many times before.
They were so focused on pressing the shutter button that they tried to take as many usable photos as possible.
Some foreign media outlets didn't recognize Chen Siqi and asked them, "Who is this girl? Is she an actress?"
Domestic media outlets have described him as the editor-in-chief of a very popular Chinese magazine.
The person looked shocked and incredulous, "A magazine editor-in-chief so young?"
Domestic media friends became very proud and said, "That's right, that's the magazine they founded together after graduating from high school. Now, three years later, it has become one of the most popular and influential magazines in China."
Although many foreign media outlets did not do their homework, Chen Siqi, as an officially invited guest of this year's Asian Television Festival, was well-prepared by the host.
As soon as the two of them arrived at the interview area, the host introduced Chen Siqi as "the editor-in-chief of 'Jump Up,' China's most influential literary magazine."
Tonight's host is a Singaporean of Chinese descent who speaks fluent Mandarin.
"Welcome." He first expressed his personal attitude with two simple and powerful words before switching to English, "It's a great pleasure for you two to come to the Asian Television Festival and say hello to our audience here and those watching our live broadcast online!"
Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi greeted each other with smiles.
Host: "I've been watching the drama 'The Silent River' recently. It has a large audience throughout Asia and is the first Chinese-language drama to top the real-time popularity chart on the Maxine platform. Yan He, do you have anything to share with us about everyone's love for this drama?"
Lu Yanhe took the microphone from the emcee and said, "First of all, I am very grateful for everyone's love. This is the first thing I must say. Without the audience's love and support, none of this would have happened. But I really didn't expect that 'The Silent River' would be loved by so many foreign audiences. As an actor, this is the happiest moment for me."
The host said, "Your shows 'The Seventeenth Floor' and 'Friends' have a lot of fans and viewers on the Maxine platform. Many people have even watched your shows multiple times. 'Friends' is the show with the highest rewatch rate on the Maxine platform so far this year. What do you have to say about that?"
"Really?" Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised. "The show with the highest rewatch rate?"
This was the first time he had heard this claim.
No one had told him this before.
However, Lu Yanhe wasn't particularly surprised when he heard this.
Friends is an evergreen TV series.
It has been popular for over 20 years, and its viewership remains strong.
"Many viewers of Maxine have written to your Chinese production company, hoping you can return to the series," the host said. "Although you've said several times that you won't be returning, I still want to ask, has this idea changed?"
(End of this chapter)
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