Chapter 542 Cheer up and start filming! (7,000-word update!)
"Sister Ziyan, this is not right."
Lu Yanhe ultimately did not tell Li Yuefeng what he had originally planned to say.
“Li Yuefeng participated in the audition normally. Neither of us had seen his audition, nor had we seen anyone else’s audition. It’s unfair to say that he is not suitable for the role just because of our understanding of him.”
Lu Yanhe shook his head. "No, it's not just unfair, it's that we're too arrogant. Sister Ziyan, if we really think he's not suitable, we should go to the audition, sit down and seriously discuss his performance and the performances of the other auditionees with the production team, and then discuss the matter objectively."
"We shouldn't dismiss him based solely on our own feelings."
Chen Ziyan remained silent for a long time on the other end of the phone before saying, "You're right."
Hearing Chen Ziyan say that, Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, before he called Chen Ziyan, he was a little worried that she wouldn't agree with his ideas.
Chen Ziyan said, "So... have you decided to participate in the auditions for the later episodes of the TV series adaptation of 'Rouge'?"
"I don't know if I'll have time later, after all, there's the filming and promotion of 'Friends,' the release and promotion of 'The Mist,' and the performance at the Spring Festival Gala. Oh, by the way, what song did the directors choose for the Spring Festival Gala? Why haven't we heard anything yet?"
Lu Yanhe paused for a moment, then continued, "After all, I'll be very busy in the coming days, and I don't know if I'll be able to participate in the audition process for the TV series adaptation of 'Rouge.' Of course, Bingyuan Video might not want me to participate either. In short, if we want to give our opinions on Li Yuefeng playing the Twelfth Young Master, we have to get involved. Sister Ziyan, could you help me communicate with them and see if I have the opportunity to participate? If not, I'll just consider it fate and won't comment on it."
Chen Ziyan smiled.
"So, does that mean if you're unable to participate in their auditions, you won't comment on it?"
Am I being a little selfish?
“From a business perspective, it may not be selfish. As I said, if Bingyuan Video still chose Li Yuefeng when it was obvious that he was not suitable for Twelve Young Master, then it means that he is definitely the best solution in terms of the market.”
Chen Ziyan said, "Moreover, as you said, Li Yuefeng is very keen on this role and determined to get it. To be honest, after hearing this from you, my attitude has softened. To put it bluntly, our industry is one where the future is always unpredictable; unexpected things happen every day. Projects that everyone is pessimistic about become overnight sensations, and big projects with a star-studded cast and all the bets on them can flop spectacularly. These things happen. Just like you said, we were all judging whether Li Yuefeng was suitable for the role of Twelfth Master based on our past prejudices against him. Maybe he will surprise us all and bring us a huge surprise."
Lu Yanhe: "...We don't need to start deceiving ourselves from this point on. I just feel ashamed because I thought I didn't want Li Yuefeng to play the role in order to ensure that the most suitable actor was found. However, I didn't know how much effort Li Yuefeng had put into this play, and how much homework he had done to get the role. I didn't even watch his audition before deciding that he wasn't good enough. I think I was arrogant. His attitude towards this play shouldn't have been met with such arrogant rejection from me."
“OK, I understand, Yan He, what you said actually makes a lot of sense, you've convinced me,” Chen Ziyan said. “We all need to avoid falling into the trap of empiricism.”
-
“I didn’t expect you to still have time to have dinner with me.”
On Wednesday evening, Lu Yanhe and Huang Kairen had dinner together.
This dinner was arranged by Lu Yanhe and Huang Kairen.
After finishing filming "A Shot in the Dark," Huang Kairen is currently filming the later parts of "My Own Swordsman." Because of a pre-arranged job, Huang Kairen had to take leave for the next couple of days, which is why Lu Yanhe had the opportunity to sit here and have dinner with Huang Kairen tonight.
Lu Yanhe said with a smile, "Actually, Monday to Thursday are the most relaxed days for me. During filming, there is no need for any interpersonal communication."
Huang Kai-ren: "Once 'Friends' finishes airing and this craze subsides, the situation will be relatively better."
That's how popularity works in the entertainment industry.
Whenever a show like "Friends" becomes a massive hit and a phenomenon, not only do people in the industry flock to it, but capital from outside the industry also follows suit.
The emergence of a show like "Friends" is a cause for celebration for the entire film and television industry—because it will definitely attract more people to invest in them.
Lu Yanhe said, "I must say, I have never met so many people with checks in hand, willing to invest in whatever I want to film, as long as I am willing."
Huang Kairen laughed and said, "If you said that to people from other film and television companies, it would cause a public outcry. Every time I meet people from those film and television companies, they always complain that it is too difficult to find investors these days. Things are not as good as they were twenty years ago when the coal bosses were around."
"Haha." Lu Yanhe looked at Huang Kairen. "Brother Huang, there's something that's been bothering me lately, and I need to hear your thoughts."
"Hmm?" Huang Kairen put down his chopsticks with some surprise. "That's strange. Is there anything else you want me to say?"
“I’m not that arrogant, thinking I can blindly trust my own judgment.” Lu Yanhe smiled and told Huang Kairen about his affair with Li Yuefeng.
"Brother Huang, you played the role of Twelfth Young Master, so you are one of the people who understands the character of Twelfth Young Master the most. I would like to ask for your opinion."
Huang Kairen clearly did not expect that Lu Yanhe came to him for this matter.
"Oh, Li Yuefeng?"
Huang Kairen took a deep breath.
"I'll have to think about this carefully."
"You don't have anything else planned for tonight, right?" Lu Yanhe asked with a smile. "I was thinking of asking you to come with me to see a movie that's currently showing after dinner."
“OK, I don’t have any other plans tonight.” Huang Kairen nodded. “I understand your first reaction. When you told me about this, my first reaction was exactly the same as yours.”
Huang Kairen took a deep breath and said, "But I think you're definitely not regretting your decision not to interfere with Icefield Video's decision on who to choose to play Twelfth Young Master."
“Yes, I don’t regret it. In fact, I think it was right of me not to interfere.” Lu Yanhe waved his hand. “I have never questioned this matter.”
Huang Kairen: "Let me guess, you are... unsure to what extent to trust your intuition?"
Lu Yanhe stared at Huang Kairen in shock.
"Brother Huang, I have to say, what you just said made me feel for a moment that you were possessed by Sister Zixing. Only she could be so sharp as to see problems that I myself am not even aware of."
Huang Kairen laughed.
Do you know why I said that?
Huang Kairen's gaze made Lu Yanhe show an incredulous expression.
"It can't be... Brother Huang, don't tell me that Sister Zixing discussed this with you." Lu Yanhe asked, "Did Sister Zixing say that?"
“She said that you will face this problem sooner or later, and that it is a problem that all talented creators will inevitably face.” Huang Kairen shrugged. “Of course, luckily, she thought I would never face such a problem.”
Lu Yanhe: "This is incredible! How did you two happen to be talking about this?"
"Because we were discussing how to judge the quality of a project from its early stages," Huang Kairen said. "We discussed it many times, and we argued about it every time. In fact, we even tried to summarize some patterns and find some replicable and repeatable paths, just like those big data experts. This is nonsense. You don't need to point out my problem; I know it's nonsense myself."
"Then we talked about you. After all, you are the only legend who has never made a mistake. Moreover, you are not a low-output person. The number of film and television projects you participate in each year is equivalent to two or three years of mine." Huang Kairen said, "Why can you find successful projects so accurately every time? You create them yourself and lead them yourself, that's one thing, but you also cooperate with different people on so many different projects."
Lu Yanhe didn't know what to say.
As Huang Kairen said, this is probably the most incredible thing about him.
If the works he brought were already proven in another dimension and still achieved success in this world, that's perfectly understandable. But the fact that every other work he participated in in this world also achieved success is truly incredible.
Is there a pattern to be found?
He has worked with established directors like Luo Yuzhong and Chen Lingling, as well as newcomers like Liu Bige. He also collaborated with Fu Kai, who had directed many commercial films but was directing an art film for the first time.
There is no pattern.
He wouldn't dare say he had exceptional insight, as all the projects he selected succeeded.
It was pure luck.
"I can only say it was luck."
“Yes, and luck… in a sense, for us in the entertainment industry, is intuition. It’s the intuition we develop based on our aesthetics and values after watching and acting in many works.” Huang Kairen shrugged. “I’m obviously not good at that, which is why I rejected ‘Rouge’ so many times.”
He made a joke about himself.
“But you insisted that I could do it.” Huang Kairen shrugged. “In fact, many projects and many actors were decided by your intuition. You thought Wang Dashan was suitable for the role in ‘Lost in Thailand’, and you believed that Liu Bige’s ‘Late Spring’ was worth making even if everyone except you was a complete newcomer.”
"But I must say that I also benefited from the success of many people. My first drama was thanks to you all. Because you made 'The Golden Era' a success, I was able to be recognized by everyone in my first drama." Lu Yanhe said sincerely, "Actually, many of my projects are not as legendary as others say. They are all based on what the market does, with big stars like you as the lead actors and big directors in charge. It's just that because all of them were added to me, it seems like I became the 100% successful person."
Lu Yanhe is not hypocritical. Apart from Liu Bige and Bai Jingnian, who among the directors he has worked with is a well-established and successful director? And the actors he has worked with are even more outstanding. Apart from "Friends" and "Late Spring", every other film he has worked with has big names ahead of him, including "Three Mountains", which was also directed by Wang Zhong.
Lu Yanhe knew that, in a sense, he had actually gained a lot of advantages.
“I don’t deny that, but no matter what, the market’s current perception of you is an incredible miracle,” Huang Kairen said. “Right now, everyone thinks you’ll succeed no matter what project you do, regardless of the subject matter, format, or actors. But the more this is the case, the easier it is for you to feel lost, right?”
Lu Yanhe remained silent.
"When the whole world opposes you, you can figure out what you really want and what you insist on. But when the whole world is holding money and believing in your judgment, you hesitate, and even become a little afraid and retreat."
Huang Kairen's eyes were exceptionally serious, and in them, he also revealed his tolerance towards Lu Yanhe, the junior who always called him Brother Huang.
Is your idea necessarily correct?
Is your judgment always accurate?
"Is your attitude necessarily the most worthy of recognition?"
Huang Kairen said with a smile, "Zixing has always paid close attention to you. She said that she has known you since you were just starting out and has watched you get to where you are today. Especially now, you are like a raging fire, the fire is burning too brightly. But you are someone who is very good at reflection and self-examination since you were eighteen years old. The fire burning too brightly is actually a burden for you."
Lu Yanhe sighed: "Sometimes I think, if only I had a personality like Li Zhibai's."
“Believe me, if you had Li Zhibai’s personality, you wouldn’t have achieved what you have today. How can an actor, a creator, understand another person’s complexity and capture the most subtle and delicate parts of life if they are not sensitive, not emotional, not indecisive, and hesitant?” Huang Kairen said. “You said you envy Li Zhibai’s personality, but I would also like to say that I envy your personality. I am not like that, so I may always only be a second-rate actor.”
Lu Yanhe quickly waved his hand.
"How could that be?"
"After finishing filming 'Rouge,' I've accepted this," Huang Kairen said. "Actually, this is a good thing. Knowing the gap between myself and the top actors means I won't have too high demands or expectations of myself."
He smiled slightly.
“Once I ran into Jiang Yuqian backstage at an event and we chatted for a bit. Surprisingly, we were in very similar situations. But after we recognized our limitations as actors in terms of acting talent, we weren’t as disappointed as we had imagined. On the contrary, I think I’ve worked harder in some ways because I know more clearly which direction I should strive for and where I need to focus my efforts.”
Lu Yanhe never expected to have such a conversation with Huang Kairen tonight.
"So, to get back to the point, you said Li Yuefeng was determined to get the role of Twelfth Master. Whether he gets the role or not, I believe the process itself is more valuable to him than whether he gets the role or not. Our generation of actors didn't experience the growth process that actors went through ten or twenty years ago. We were created by the star-making system. Auditions? I can say something unpleasant, but our generation of actors probably hasn't auditioned more than ten times since our debut, because the environment we're in doesn't have that concept; it's unsustainable."
"It's quite sad to think that Li Yuefeng has been able to find a role that energized him to prepare for the audition and fight for it, like a real actor, instead of the old days when his agency and agent would handle the public relations and negotiations, and he would just come back with the contract and script and be sent to the set on the day filming started," Huang Kairen said. "At least in my opinion, this is the most precious thing that Li Yuefeng has gained as an actor."
Lu Yanhe took a deep breath.
“OK, I really learned a good lesson,” he said.
Huang Kairen waved his hand.
That concludes this topic.
Huang Kairen asked, "Which movie are you planning to take me to see later?"
"Is there anything you'd like to see? Actually, I haven't seen any of the movies that have been released recently."
“Me too,” Huang Kairen said. “Then let’s talk about it after we finish eating.”
“Okay.” Lu Yanhe nodded.
-
In the film and television industry, there has always been a saying that actors' emotions must be protected.
Because expressing emotions is an actor's job.
And if an actor's emotional state is not right, it is almost impossible to fool the camera.
On Thursday's filming set, almost everyone could tell that Yin Xincheng was not in a good mood.
The filming for the first few weeks went very smoothly.
However, during the morning's filming, Yin Xincheng frequently encountered problems, such as getting stuck, forgetting his lines, and being unable to get into character.
Of course, actors are human too, and it's impossible for them to maintain a perfect state of mind all the time.
It's rare to see someone in such a terrible state as Yin Xincheng.
Most importantly, this filming-while-broadcasting model doesn't give Yin Xincheng time to adjust.
"Hey, Xincheng, cheer up." After another NG, Bai Jingnian walked up to Yin Xincheng and gently patted his face.
Yin Xincheng knew that something was wrong with him. He lowered his head in self-reproach and disappointment and apologized to everyone.
The other actors looked at each other in bewilderment.
But if an actor isn't in the right state of mind, no one can force him to change immediately.
Bai Jingnian could only let the crew rest for ten minutes before continuing filming.
Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang returned to their own rest room.
"Yin Xincheng is acting a bit strange today."
“When I ran into him this morning, he seemed distracted, and I don’t know what was wrong with him,” Yan Liang said.
Yan Liang then speculated, "Could it be because of the recent exposure of their relationship?"
"It shouldn't be that bad, right?" Lu Yanhe said. "This incident hasn't caused much of a negative impact. Could it be that the exposure of his relationship really caused a lot of his fans to unfollow him?"
"I haven't heard of him." Yan Liang shook his head. "Should we go look for him? Ask him?"
Lu Yanhe nodded.
So, the two of them, who originally planned to go back to the lounge to rest, went to Yin Xincheng's lounge instead.
When they arrived, Zhan Yun and Bai Jin were also there.
"What are you doing here?" Yan Liang looked at them with some surprise.
“I think the same way you do,” Zhan Yun said.
"Then... what about Yin Xincheng?"
“He went out to answer a phone call just now,” Zhan Yun asked. “Didn’t you run into him outside?”
Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang shook their heads.
They waited in the room for ten minutes when someone suddenly knocked on the door.
It's to remind them that the set is ready and the actors can go back to prepare to continue filming.
"Isn't Yin Xincheng with you?"
They shook their heads.
Lu Yanhe and the others returned to the scene full of doubt, only to find that Yin Xincheng was nowhere to be found.
"Where did he go? Doesn't anyone know?" Bai Jingnian was getting agitated, and his tone rose considerably.
The morning's filming had already gone poorly, and now the actors were nowhere to be seen. The pressure was immense, making it a very difficult time.
However, this is the worst part of sitcoms: many shots require a large number of actors to be in the same frame, and if even one actor is missing, the film cannot be shot.
Lu Yanhe and the others could only wait at the scene.
He tried calling Yin Xincheng, but there was no answer.
"Could something have happened to him?" After another ten minutes, and still no one from the crew had found Yin Xincheng, Bai Jin asked with some concern, "Zhan Yun and I went to his room to look for him. He was on the phone and didn't look very relaxed."
"He was acting a bit strange today."
Just then, someone came over and said that the security guard at the gate had seen Yin Xincheng drive away more than ten minutes earlier.
Upon hearing this, Bai Jingnian immediately threw down the script in his hand.
Lu Yanhe was also somewhat bewildered.
What happened?
Yan Liang said in a low voice, "I have a feeling that something happened, but I just searched online and there was no news about him."
Lu Yanhe: "Something must have happened, otherwise he wouldn't have left without saying goodbye. The question now is, can we still film today?"
Everyone had no choice but to stay put and wait.
Lu Yanhe waited in the lounge for about half an hour before Hu Siwei and Bai Jingnian came over and knocked on the door.
Lu Yanhe opened the door for them.
Have you managed to contact him?
Hu Siwei shook his head. "His agent went to look for him."
Lu Yanhe sighed.
"So what should we do now?"
"We'll either find him or adjust the script," Hu Siwei said. "We'll change his scenes to someone else."
Lu Yanhe realized what was going on, "Oh, so you came here to ask me if I can revise the script?"
Bai Jingnian nodded and said, "We can't keep waiting indefinitely with this filming and broadcasting model."
“Yes.” Lu Yanhe took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and said, “I’ll try to revise it. It would be best to find him as soon as possible.”
Bai Jingnian sneered: "Even if we find him, given his condition this morning, we don't even know if he'll be able to film."
Revising a script on short notice is no easy task.
Lu Yanhe opened his laptop, took out the scripts for the two episodes to be filmed this week, read them through from beginning to end, and pondered for a long time.
Wang Biao brought lunch directly to the room for us to eat.
At 1:30 p.m., Lu Yanhe revised the draft and sent it to Bai Jingnian and Hu Siwei.
At 2 PM, Yin Xincheng was taken back to the film set by his agent.
His eyes were red and swollen, and he looked completely lost and disoriented.
Lu Yanhe looked at Yin Xincheng with surprise, wondering what was wrong with him.
Zhan Yun came up behind him, sighed, and whispered, "His girlfriend broke up with him."
"Huh?" Lu Yanhe was stunned and shocked.
They broke up right after their relationship was revealed?
"Why?"
Zhan Yun: "I don't know. I heard that he broke up with her last night. Yin Xincheng suddenly disappeared this morning because he went to find his girlfriend."
Lu Yanhe remained silent.
"Can you take the picture?" Bai Jingnian suppressed his temper and asked Yin Xincheng in a deep voice.
Yin Xincheng shook his head, his eyes lifeless. "Director, I'm sorry, I can't film right now."
"Okay." Bai Jingnian nodded. "Then you can go."
He turned to Hu Siwei and said, "Print out the revised script and have all the actors familiarize themselves with it. We'll start filming in an hour."
Yin Xincheng's manager turned green with rage.
"Director, director, Xincheng is very emotionally unstable right now. I'll talk to him. Please give me a little more time, just one hour. I promise he'll be back on set!"
"We've been waiting for him all morning, we don't have time to wait any longer!" Bai Jingnian roared.
These words were actually shouted at Yin Xincheng.
However, Yin Xincheng remained unmoved, like a walking corpse.
Lu Yanhe stared at Yin Xincheng in disbelief; this scene was utterly unbelievable to him.
Not long ago, Yin Xincheng got drunk and became so excited about being able to reunite and film together that he lost his composure.
Why is he suddenly indifferent to all of this now?
He could understand that Yin Xincheng was in a bad state because of the breakup, but he couldn't understand why she would abandon everyone in the crew and suddenly disappear because of this.
Why?
Just then, Bai Jin suddenly walked up to Yin Xincheng and said excitedly, "Hey, Yin Xincheng, it's just a breakup, it's not like the end of the world, is it?"
Yin Xincheng's eyes were red, and he shook his head, "I'm sorry."
"What's the use of saying sorry? You need to pull yourself together and get back to filming!"
(End of this chapter)
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