Chapter 479 Remake
The opening ceremony doesn't award prizes; it's just a simple opening ceremony where various celebrities take turns going on stage to perform, tell jokes, and do things that the public enjoys—it's like setting up a stage for a theatrical performance.
Lu Yanhe didn't know many foreign celebrities. Mainly because he didn't watch many foreign films and TV series; he couldn't even finish watching all the domestic ones.
When he and Zeng Qiao went on stage, the cheers from the audience exceeded their expectations.
Everyone says "The Silent River" is doing well overseas, but Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao don't really feel it. Firstly, neither of them actively participates in overseas social media; their staff manages it for them, so they can't directly experience the enthusiasm from the audience. Secondly, they're both the type of people who don't focus much on popularity and buzz; they're already quite famous domestically, and more overseas attention won't make a difference. Even when they went overseas a few times for promotional work, it was just a matter of showing up as scheduled.
During their visit to the Asian Television Festival, Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao encountered many foreigners. The first thing they said to each other was, "I'm watching your drama 'The Silent River'." It was only then that Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao realized, "Oh, so this show really has a lot of viewers abroad."
There were two hosts for this opening ceremony, one of whom was South Korean actor Gong Lingfan.
He is one of the most popular male actors in South Korea in recent years, and his leading role in two hit Korean dramas that swept across Asia has earned him a large fan base.
When Zeng Qiao and Lu Yanhe came on stage, Kong Lingfan was in charge of hosting their segment.
Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao talked about some behind-the-scenes stories from the filming of "The Silent River" and explained why they took on the role.
Because this show is so popular, many people want to hear about these kinds of things.
Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao have actually talked about this topic many times. When the organizers were communicating with them about this segment before, Lu Yanhe also raised this issue. They have answered these questions many times. Doesn't it seem a bit boring and lacking in novelty?
They said that although they had addressed these issues many times, there were still many viewers who hadn't seen them before.
Therefore, Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao had no choice but to continue answering these questions for who knows how many times.
This is also a basic skill for an artist.
Repeat and repeat, trying to offer something fresh as much as possible.
With the repetitive discussions concluded, Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao prepared to step down.
Kong Lingfan suddenly said, "Yan He, please wait."
Lu Yanhe turned back to look at Kong Lingfan with some confusion.
The original plan did not include having him stay behind alone.
He didn't know what had suddenly happened to Kong Lingfan.
Kong Lingfan said in English: "Besides 'The Silent River,' we all know that you also starred in a very popular film called 'Friends.'"
Lu Yanhe looked at Kong Lingfan with surprise.
This is completely unrelated to the original communication.
Zeng Qiao was about to leave the stage when he heard Lu Yanhe ask him to stay, but Lu Yanhe gently grabbed his arm, and when he saw the expression on Lu Yanhe's face, he realized that this might not be the arrangement communicated by the organizers, so he stayed as well.
"Just now, I heard some news: our TVN television station has acquired the remake rights to 'Friends' and will be remaking it into a Korean drama," Kong Lingfan said in front of everyone.
A gasp of surprise rippled through the audience.
Lu Yanhe was also somewhat surprised.
"Oh." Lu Yanhe nodded, giving a rather polite response, not letting Kong Lingfan perform a solo comedy routine on stage.
Kong Lingfan said with a smile, "I have been commissioned by TVN to ask if you would be willing to make a cameo appearance in our Korean version of Friends? We sincerely extend this invitation to you."
The audience below the stage screamed excitedly.
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Chen Ziyan's face was dark with anger.
She went directly to the staff member they were in contact with and asked, "What's going on on stage right now? Weren't these issues discussed with us?"
The staff member also looked dejected, saying, "This wasn't arranged by us. I just confirmed with the on-site directing team, and this wasn't a segment we designed."
Upon hearing his words, Chen Ziyan realized what he meant. "Was it Kong Lingfan's own decision?"
“Yes.” The staff member nodded. “Our production team is talking to him through an earpiece, but he’s not responding.”
Chen Ziyan: "Then you go and tell Yan He to come down as soon as possible! If that doesn't work, take me there directly, and I'll talk to him!"
The staff took Chen Ziyan to the director's team.
At this moment, Lu Yanhe on stage was already responding with a smile.
"A cameo role? Hahaha." He asked Kong Lingfan with a laugh, "What kind of role would you like me to play?"
Let's throw the question back at them first.
Kong Lingfan immediately said, "They didn't tell me either, but if you're willing to do a cameo role, I think any role is fine."
Lu Yanhe said, "I was an actor in the first season of Friends, and I have a special feeling for this show. Whether I make a guest appearance in other versions of Friends is different from a regular guest appearance; I will consider more factors."
In the time he had just gained, Lu Yanhe managed to come up with an explanation.
He felt that with his answer, Kong Lingfan shouldn't ask any more questions.
But Kong Lingfan seemed determined to press on, saying, "Eom Ha, you have many fans in South Korea, and everyone would love to see you in the Korean version of Friends."
Lu Yanhe: "I am especially grateful to the viewers who like me. Thank you for your support!"
This is definitely a stress response.
First, quickly express your stance to avoid being morally disadvantaged by the perception that you "don't care about the Korean audience."
He was really annoyed by these kinds of things recently.
Kong Lingfan immediately said, "So you'd be willing to make a cameo appearance for your fans?"
Lu Yanhe took a deep breath.
With so many people in front of him, Lu Yanhe couldn't just walk away and lose face.
Otherwise, it's just him throwing a tantrum.
"Don't you have any fans in South Korea? Why did you only ask Lu Yanhe to make a cameo appearance and not me?"
Zeng Qiao suddenly appeared at this moment, forcibly interrupting Kong Lingfan's questioning of Lu Yanhe.
He shook his head with a mocking expression and a hint of jealousy.
"I thought 'The Silent River' had a lot of viewers in South Korea? Sigh, it turns out it doesn't." Zeng Qiao sighed.
The next second, the entire audience erupted in enthusiastic screams.
Many people are expressing how much they like and support him.
There weren't that many South Korean audience members, but there were many from other countries. With so many fans, how could Zeng Qiao possibly be put in the awkward position of "having no audience" on stage?
Everyone expressed their affection for them through their actions.
The crowd screamed like madmen.
Kong Lingfan's series of questions were thus interrupted.
Just as Lu Yanhe couldn't ignore Kong Lingfan and leave the stage in front of everyone, Kong Lingfan, as the host tonight, couldn't ignore the situation and continue to question Lu Yanhe.
Kong Lingfan could only immediately, as if he had just realized something, smile broadly and say, "How could that be! Zeng Qiao, you're just as popular in Korea! Of course, we'd love to have you here too!"
Zeng Qiao nodded: "Then it's settled. You'll have to send me the script later."
He put one hand on Lu Yanhe's shoulder and said, "We're waiting for your script."
After he finished speaking, he exchanged a knowing glance with Lu Yanhe and then stepped down from the stage.
Kong Lingfan was about to say something more when he suddenly realized that the microphone in his hand was not working.
He looked down at his microphone with some surprise.
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Chen Ziyan watched expressionlessly as Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao walked to the edge of the stage before turning Kong Lingfan's microphone back on.
The staff members standing nearby all looked at Chen Ziyan with shock and disbelief.
What they found even more unbelievable was that Chen Ziyan's actions had actually received the approval of the production team.
After Chen Ziyan turned and left, the others looked at each other in bewilderment.
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After Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao stepped down, they thanked him.
"Brother Qiao, I'm so grateful to you for getting me out of that predicament."
Zeng Qiao said, "I'm still a little confused, but I can't ask you. Didn't they communicate these things with you beforehand?"
“Absolutely not,” Lu Yanhe said. “I don’t even know this person named Kong Lingfan.”
"They're being interesting, asking you so directly on stage without any prior notice. Is it to create buzz by using you?" Zeng Qiao asked.
"Maybe," Lu Yanhe said. "I don't know why they're doing this."
At that moment, Chen Ziyan arrived.
When Lu Yanhe saw her, he immediately asked, "Sister Ziyan, what happened just now?"
He knew that Chen Ziyan must have already figured it out.
Chen Ziyan said, "It wasn't arranged by the organizers; it was Kong Lingfan's own behavior."
Lu Yanhe: "As expected."
Chen Ziyan then looked at Zeng Qiao: "Thank you for your help earlier, Zeng Qiao."
"No need to be polite, Yan He and I don't talk about these things."
After going through some things, Zeng Qiao's relationship with Lu Yanhe has now gone beyond a typical working relationship.
Often, relationships between people require going through challenges and making choices before moving to the next stage—a deeper stage.
Lu Yanhe is like many others.
Chen Ziyan: "As Yan He's agent, I must thank you. At this time, it's all thanks to you for helping him out of this predicament. Otherwise, dealing with someone like Kong Lingfan would be really difficult."
Lu Yanhe did not return to his seat.
He and Chen Ziyan left early.
There were no further segments requiring him to go on stage.
Lu Yanhe and his entourage returned to the hotel.
When they arrived at the hotel, there were several people waiting in the lobby.
As soon as Lu Yanhe and his group appeared, they came up to them and immediately apologized.
Zou Dong, along with the bodyguards temporarily assigned to them, stood in front of Lu Yanhe and his group, preventing them from getting close.
The other party consisted of several people dressed in formal attire; some spoke Korean, and others spoke English.
Lu Yanhe listened for a while before realizing that they had come to apologize for what Kong Lingfan had said on stage.
They are from Kong Lingfan's agency.
Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan looked at each other in bewilderment.
This whole situation left them completely bewildered, unsure of what was going on.
In any case, it's not suitable for Lu Yanhe to stay in the hotel lobby for an extended period of time.
Chen Ziyan had Zou Dong take them upstairs first, while Wang Biao stayed by her side to continue negotiating with the other party.
Chen Ziyan came up about half an hour later.
Lu Yanhe had changed his clothes and removed his makeup, and was sitting in a chair looking at his phone.
Chen Ziyan said, "They came to apologize for Kong Lingfan's behavior. Even the people in his agency didn't know about Kong Lingfan's actions beforehand; it was his own decision. According to them, Kong Lingfan wanted to secure the male lead role in the Korean version of 'Friends,' so he came up with this plan to get you a cameo role on TVN and increase his chances."
Lu Yanhe looked at him with disbelief and asked, "What the hell?"
“I know it’s ridiculous, but Kong Lingfan probably really thinks that doing this will give him more leverage. If he had discussed it with his agency, he probably wouldn’t have done it,” Chen Ziyan said. “But he’s so arrogant that he didn’t even communicate with his agency.”
Lu Yanhe held up his phone and said, "There are already quite a few people online criticizing him."
“Oh, that was my arrangement,” Chen Ziyan said. “I arranged it while we were still there. I didn’t know what was going on at the time, but no matter what, we had to take the initiative. I arranged for some people to spread the word so that others would know that Kong Lingfan’s words on stage were not communicated to you beforehand, but were deliberately designed to force you to back down.”
Lu Yanhe realized what was happening.
No wonder.
Online, everyone is overwhelmingly speaking up for him.
Kong Lingfan is a very popular actor. If you don't know the inside story, just based on his interaction with him on stage, you can only say that Kong Lingfan is a very enthusiastic person.
Chen Ziyan said, "However, the Korean version of Friends is actually going to be made? I really hadn't heard of this before."
“I was shocked too,” Lu Yanhe said.
Chen Ziyan said, "I never expected that after Maxine was going to make an English version, South Korea would also remake it. I never expected that so many people would remake Friends."
Lu Yanhe said, "This kind of modern-themed comedy works in any cultural context, so it's normal that many people remake it. Actually, I think 'The Seventeen Floors' is also quite suitable for a remake."
Just then, Chen Ziyan's phone rang.
"Hmm?" Chen Ziyan picked up her phone, glanced at it, and was somewhat surprised. "Someone from TVN wants to meet with us."
"Huh?" Lu Yanhe asked in surprise, "They're not here to apologize either, are they?"
"How could that be?" Chen Ziyan denied it outright. Looking at the message on her phone, she smiled as if she had just thought of something. "What a coincidence. They want to talk to us about remaking some of the dramas you have."
Lu Yanhe looked surprised.
(End of this chapter)
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