Chapter 518 Hua Ruzhen (6,000-word update!)
Director Murken Sorge's wife is named Hua Ruzhen.
Lu Yanhe took a bottle of red wine to the place where director Murken Sorge and his team were staying—a detached two-story house.
Lu Yanhe received the invitation at the last minute.
After Hua Ruzhen realized that the person on the other end of Muken Sorge's phone was Lu Yanhe, she immediately snatched Muken Sorge's phone, told Lu Yanhe, and asked him to come over for dinner that evening.
“Muken told me before that you live alone now, and there’s not much to see around here. It’s a sparsely populated area. So, it’s settled that you’re coming to our place for dinner tonight,” Hua Ruzhen said without any room for argument, giving Lu Yanhe no chance to refuse.
After the call ended, the address was sent over.
Lu Yanhe had no choice but to quickly find a bottle of red wine.
After all, you can't go empty-handed.
Unlike many directors' wives that Lu Yanhe had met, Hua Ruzhen looked like a very ordinary housewife. She wore almost no jewelry, and her hair was simply tied back.
When Hua Ruzhen came out to meet Lu Yanhe, she was still wearing an apron.
She took off her apron and gave Lu Yanhe a warm hug.
“Although I don’t go back to China very often, my friends and I have always been very concerned about you,” Hua Ruzhen said. “When I was in the United States, I would even drive for hours to another city to watch your movies. You are truly our pride.”
Lu Yanhe was somewhat flattered and said thank you.
Hua Ruzhen spoke to him in Chinese. Muken Sorge stood beside him, unable to understand what they were saying, and was somewhat frustrated.
Lu Yanhe: "Thank you."
"Don't be so formal. I'm two generations older than you, just call me 'sister'," Hua Ruzhen said. "It's a real honor for the Chinese film industry to have a young person like you. You know, because this guy is a director, I often deal with people in the film industry. As soon as they hear I'm Chinese, they'll ask me how I know him, and they'll always mention that there aren't any good movies in China these days. It really annoys me."
She pointed at Muken and said, "The most important thing is that this guy also has the same opinion, thinking that our Chinese films are not good enough."
Finally, Murken Sorge couldn't take it anymore and said in English, "Hey, stop speaking Chinese all the time, I can't understand it!"
Hua Ruzhen immediately turned her head, kissed Murken Sorge on the cheek, and said, "Darling, I was telling Yan He that I'm so glad you two can work together. I feel especially proud that the best director and actor in my mind can work together."
After Hua Ruzhen finished speaking, Muken Sorge smiled.
Lu Yanhe stared at Hua Ruzhen in awe, concealing his surprise.
Hua Ruzhen winked at Lu Yanhe, signaling him to "keep it a secret," and said to them, "Then I'll go prepare dinner first. You two chat, finish your work-related matters as soon as possible. I hope that later at the dinner table, we can talk about something unrelated to the movie, such as the celebrity gossip you know."
Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble, sister."
Hua Ruzhen put her apron back on and went into the kitchen.
Muken Sorge led Lu Yanhe to his study on the second floor.
Although it was only a temporary residence, it was clear that he did not lower his standard of living at all, and even prepared a study for himself.
Murken Sorge picked up a stack of design drawings from his desk and handed them to Lu Yanhe, saying, "Lu, take a look. These are some ideas I've drawn up myself over the past two days. I wasn't very satisfied with the look of your character in the movie either."
Lu Yanhe took it and said to Muken Sorge, "I'm glad that we agree."
Mücken Sorge: "Wendy is a talented guy, but he's also a very stubborn guy. Not just you, I've argued with him twice too."
Many people believe that in front of big-name directors and celebrities, others dare not express their own thoughts or insist on their own opinions. This is certainly a common situation, but there are also some people who, regardless of who you are, only believe that their own opinion is correct and that their own ideas are better.
There are countless examples of technical department heads, especially those like Wendy who have successful works, awards, and recognition in the industry, clashing with directors.
Lu Yanhe was not surprised that Wendy had her own opinions and insistence on things; what surprised him was Wendy's temper and her impulsive decision to leave.
“Muken, you must know that the art director is very important to a film. If you’ve had two disagreements with him, why don’t you replace him?” Lu Yanhe said. “This is your film. If the art director can’t follow your instructions and build a film world that matches your vision, then I think he is an unqualified art director.”
Moken Sorge said, "Wendy and Sinnalin are a couple. The fact that this film was able to get investment from D19 is because Sinnalin did a lot of work on it. She is also the producer of our film."
Muken Sorge's words shocked Lu Yanhe.
What the heck?
Are producer Shin Na-lin and Wendy a couple?
Lu Yanhe suddenly realized how unreliable his previous actions had been.
No wonder he refused to communicate with Wendy, which is why Sinnalin didn't reply to his messages.
Lu Yanhe suddenly wondered if he and Wendy really clashed and could no longer work together, would Xin Nalin replace him?
Lu Yanhe didn't think he had a particularly important position in the film crew of "The Mist".
"Sinna Lin is a very good woman, but unfortunately, she has a bad eye for men. I don't think Wendy really cares about Sinna Lin; he's just using her to climb the social ladder," said Murken Sorge.
Mücken Sorge's words... could be considered rather sharp and sarcastic.
Lu Yanhe was relieved.
Putting everything else aside, Mulken Sorge certainly disliked Wendy very much.
"Muken, if we don't accept Wendy's opinion and insist on changing and adjusting my image in our hearts, will Xin Nalin accept it?" Lu Yanhe asked doubtfully.
“I am the director of this film,” Murken Sorge said at this point.
-
"So what if he was the director of that show? What does the success of 'My Own Swordsman' have to do with Bai Jingnian? Everyone knows that the most crucial creator of this show was Lu Yanhe, right? His script was the most important one."
Back in China, when Hu Siwei was discussing investment intentions for his next film with an investor he knew from the past, he mentioned that the director of the film was Bai Jingnian. Before the investor could say anything, his girlfriend, who had brought him to dinner, suddenly said the above.
This surprised Hu Siwei.
The investor glanced at his girlfriend beside him and gestured with his eyes, signaling her not to interrupt.
Hu Siwei smiled and offered an explanation.
"Director Bai Jingnian's style does make it easy for people to overlook his talent. Back when he was at Beijing TV, some leaders at the station also thought so, that he didn't have any talent and just benefited from Lu Yanhe's good script and made it. But you can see the difference between the second and third seasons of Friends. Both seasons didn't have Lu Yanhe's script, and the other two seasons were similar except for the director, but the difference in the reputation of the two seasons is huge."
Hu Siwei told investors, "Even though this show wasn't written by Lu Yanhe, and it's not a big IP in the conventional sense, it's the first show I've independently worked on since joining Lu Yanhe's production company. It's also a sitcom. Right now, in China, the only director who has truly made a hit sitcom is Bai Jingnian."
"Indeed, he doesn't have any flashy techniques. The style of his films is as if he just set up a camera and filmed it. There seems to be no visible artistic style. But he was able to use such a straightforward and seemingly unskilled style to create two hugely popular sitcoms that audiences loved. That takes skill."
The project Hu Siwei is talking about is the same couple living together story he found on YeMai.com.
Chen Ziyan bought the IP to attract him to join Linghe.
After Hu Siwei joined Linghe, besides the reboot of Friends, this project was the other thing he was working on.
“Siwei, I believe in your vision and ability.” The investor nodded, indicating that Hu Siwei didn’t need to say anything more. He said, “However, as you said, this drama was directed by Bai Jingnian, but not by any established actors. To be honest, you know without me saying it that without stars, this drama will have a hard time gaining market recognition.”
Hu Siwei nodded.
“I’m willing to invest, but I hope you can reserve the lead role for her.”
The investor looked at his girlfriend beside him.
His girlfriend pouted and said, "I don't want to act in these low-budget dramas that hardly anyone watches. You promised to help me act in big-budget fantasy dramas."
Hu Siwei looked at the woman in front of him, who was indeed beautiful but not very bright, and fell silent.
-
Bai Jingnian smiled and clinked glasses with Hu Siwei, saying, "It's normal, stay calm. Think about it, even Yan He encountered arguments about character design when he went to make a movie. It's not surprising that we encounter all sorts of oddballs when we want to make a film."
"He wasn't like that before. How come he's become stupid after finding such a stupid girlfriend?" Hu Siwei was speechless.
“It’s not that he’s become stupid, it’s that people don’t care about our small production without any stars,” Bai Jingnian said with a smile. “That’s how things are in China now. If you don’t have any stars, even if you find the biggest TV drama director, it won’t sell. He’s not stupid, of course he knows that, so he’s not very interested in investing.”
Hu Siwei: "You're still making sarcastic remarks here. If this drama can't find investment, it will be difficult to move forward."
"Why are you in such a hurry? Didn't Chen Ziyan say before that if you really can't find investment, the company will take care of it?" Bai Jingnian said. "Anyway, someone will back you up, so what are you afraid of?"
"I'm afraid this drama really won't sell and we'll lose a lot of money," Hu Siwei sighed. "I just came to Linghe, and if my first drama flops, how am I supposed to do anything else? I don't want the company to bear all the pressure for my first drama. I've been in this industry for so long, do you think I can't get investment if I leave Beijing TV?"
Bai Jingnian: "Then I'll go ask Aurora Borealis? See if they're willing to invest some?"
“You’re currently their contracted director, but it’s not even certain whether you’ll actually direct this film,” Hu Siwei asked. “Have you discussed this with them?”
Bai Jingnian: "I mentioned to President Lin that although I signed a director contract with Aurora Studios, it's not exclusive. I can still take on other projects, so you don't need to worry about that."
Hu Siwei nodded upon hearing this, "That's good."
Bai Jingnian smiled.
"What are your plans for the script? Are you going to ask Lu Yanhe to write it?"
Hu Siwei: "If I could get him to write the script, this show wouldn't have needed all this trouble. Besides, don't you want to see what kind of results a show can achieve if it's made according to your own ideas, and it's not even based on Lu Yanhe's script?"
Bai Jingnian was silent for a moment, then nodded.
really.
They all had a good relationship with Lu Yanhe, and they had been through a lot together.
Even so, everyone hopes to truly prove themselves to the world, instead of being constantly questioned with prejudice: "Isn't your success dependent on others?"
“I know your talent, and I also greatly admire your aesthetic sense in film art direction.”
Xin Nalin looked helplessly at Wendy, who was still angry, and said, "But we can't just give up and walk away every time we have a disagreement. Lu is the lead actor in this movie, not a minor role. What you're doing is putting me in a difficult position."
Wendy glanced at Cinna Lin and said sarcastically, "What's bothering you? You're a producer, after all. If you really approve of me, you should support me."
“I can’t support you,” Sinnalin said after a moment of silence.
"Why?" Wendy looked incredulous.
Xin Nalin said, "It's not just Lu; Muken also told me the day before yesterday that he was not satisfied with Lu's image in the movie."
"Why are you only telling me now?!" Wendy looked at Sinnalin in disbelief, her voice rising and sharp.
“I was thinking that if Lu Yanhe approves of this look today, I can communicate with Muken based on Lu Yanhe’s opinion.” Xin Nalin took a deep breath, her eyes becoming deep and unfathomable. “I have always supported you with all my might, Wendy. You have no idea how much I have done for you.”
Wendy suddenly became irritable.
"Stop talking about how much you've done for me! You know what I want. What I've always wanted is to make a film that truly belongs to me, instead of doing art direction for other people's films over and over again! You promised me before that there would be this opportunity! Where is it? Why haven't I seen it yet?"
Xin Nalin opened her mouth, as if to say something.
But Wendy suddenly picked up her phone and walked towards the door.
"where you go?"
"Leave me alone!" Wendy shouted angrily.
-
“I’m also watching ‘My Own Swordsman’,” Hua Ruzhen said to Lu Yanhe. “I’m very surprised that you could write such a drama. It doesn’t feel like a subject or story that a young person would write.”
Lu Yanhe hadn't expected that he would run into Hua Ruzhen at the supermarket here again the very next day, after having just met her the day before.
Hua Ruzhen's face lit up with joy as soon as she saw him.
Lu Yanhe explained, "People often tell me that the scripts I write don't seem like something someone my age would write."
He looked somewhat amused and exasperated.
It's all acting.
“I really like the character of Tong Xiangyu in the movie. I don’t know how you came up with the idea of creating such a female character. After all—to be honest, if a female character like that appeared in a movie directed by Mu Ken one day, I would think that he must have asked someone else to direct it for him,” Hua Ruzhen said. “Many men can write female characters like Guo Furong, but it is difficult for them to write female characters like Tong Xiangyu.”
Lu Yanhe thought to himself, "The original author, Ning Caishen, is a man."
"Why?"
“To be honest, in the Chinese cultural context, it’s rare to see a widow character like Tong Xiangyu who is so normal and vivid. I’ve seen many Chinese-language films and television dramas, and the widows in them are either portrayed as widows who have been widowed for many years and have driven themselves to the point of being inhuman, or they are portrayed as the other extreme, as promiscuous and shameless. The word ‘widow’ has already acquired a certain symbolic meaning, and the word has already acquired a certain connotation. Don’t you think so?” Hua Ruzhen asked.
Lu Yanhe: "I don't actually have much of a feeling about this. In my life from childhood to adulthood, I have rarely heard anyone use the word 'widow'."
Hua Ruzhen revealed a look of envy.
“Your upbringing was much better than mine.” Hua Ruzhen smiled and shook her head. “That’s good. No wonder you were able to write such a character.”
"Sister, did you grow up in China?" Lu Yanhe asked.
“Yes, but I’ve never been a Chinese citizen, if you’re asking about that,” Hua Ruzhen said. “My mom divorced my dad when I was three and took me back to China. They were both students studying abroad and got married in the US, so even though neither of them had US citizenship, I became an American. I was only three when I returned to China, so I don’t remember much. I basically don’t remember anything before I was three. Later, my mom remarried in China, and they were quite happy. Actually, I was quite happy too. They were very good to me. But when I was ten, that man had an accident and died.”
Lu Yanhe's heart skipped a beat when he heard this.
He immediately realized why Hua Ruzhen had been so concerned about the widow.
You can probably guess it.
“My mother never changed my nationality back. Actually, I could have changed it after I returned to China when I was a child,” Hua Ruzhen said. “Later, when I was studying in Germany, my mother passed away. I went home to hold the funeral and heard a lot of gossip from relatives, all about my mother. I was young at the time and couldn’t control my temper. I grabbed a knife and was about to attack someone. The person who went back with me was Muken, who was my boyfriend at the time. He desperately stopped me, and I didn’t do anything irreversible. Otherwise, I might still be in prison now.”
Lu Yanhe listened with a serious expression.
"Later, I married Muken and lived in Germany and the United States for many years, rarely returning to China." Hua Ruzhen smiled gently at Lu Yanhe. "After a while, I still wanted to talk and chat with Chinese people. I don't know if it's in my genes or because I really grew up in China, but what I truly accept and agree with is still the Chinese way of life. I could never really connect with the people around Muken. So I started watching Chinese TV dramas. I watched a lot of them, trying to find familiarity and a sense of belonging in them. Isn't that ridiculous?"
Lu Yanhe shook his head, "Sister, this is not funny at all, I understand."
At that moment, he suddenly felt very fortunate about something.
Although he traveled through time, he still ended up in China, and inhabited the body of a Chinese person.
Otherwise, that sense of self-identity and acceptance will become even more fragmented.
“I really love the TV series ‘My Own Swordsman’,” Hua Ruzhen said. “Compared to ‘Friends,’ I still prefer ‘My Own Swordsman’.”
Lu Yanhe: "Unfortunately, this drama is not very easy for foreigners to understand."
“It’s true, Muken didn’t understand much of it.” Hua Ruzhen laughed. “I made him watch two episodes with me, and he had a million questions to ask me. I got tired of making him watch with me after that, otherwise I would have to explain some parts he didn’t understand. The subtitles in the international version of Aurora Borealis were also translated terribly.”
Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated, and said, "Then I'll go and report this to the Northern Lights."
-
Lu Yanhe's main character design was finally finalized just before filming began for "The Mist".
The final design was personally designed and finalized by Muken.
Because he always appears as a ghost, he basically doesn't have a second set of clothes, and his appearance doesn't change much.
Once the design was finalized, the costume team started working overtime to make the clothes.
Lu Yanhe's scenes were therefore postponed and will have to wait.
Lu Yanhe thought this was fine too.
He had never filmed a foreign movie before and didn't know what foreign film crews were like.
Since I don't have to act myself during these few days of filming, I can observe how the crew is operating.
The day before filming began, Murken Sorge gathered all the main actors together, introduced them to each other, and read the script together again.
Although *The Mist* was a low-budget film, its cast was surprisingly good. The three actors who played the arsonists who killed an Asian family were all well-known actors who had already starred in famous films and were considered to have some fame in Europe and America.
As it is not the work of an unknown newcomer director, Murken Sorge's new film is still able to attract some well-known actors to participate.
Lu Yanhe didn't know if they knew each other, but anyway, it was the first time he had met everyone.
During breaks from reading the script, everyone chatted.
Wendy has arrived.
(End of this chapter)
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