Chapter 550 Variety Show
D19 spared no expense on the marketing and distribution of "The Mist".
In this era of the internet, a movie that generates a lot of discussion online may not necessarily be a box office success, but a movie that has no buzz online generally has a hard time selling well.
The film "The Mist" made a strong impression from the start, attracting a lot of attention. With director Murken Sorge, who has already achieved success in horror films, D19 had a lot of confidence in "The Mist".
The small-scale internal screenings received very positive feedback.
The only drawback is that some people have commented that this horror movie isn't scary enough.
This led D19 to change its propaganda strategy when it officially began large-scale promotion. Instead of focusing on horror elements, it played the cards of "revenge, thrill, and excitement," while also paying great attention to the Asian market.
D19 discovered that Lu Yanhe's appeal in the Asian market far exceeded their initial expectations when they signed him.
Especially recently, the popularity of "Friends" on Maxine has gradually increased Lu Yanhe's popularity in the United States, attracting the attention of many ordinary viewers - before this, Lu Yanhe was mainly known to film media and film critics.
However, the main selling point of this film is still the theme itself, rather than the actors.
After all, for such a large film market, the main actors in this film, whether they are local American actors or Lu Yanhe, are not enough to carry the box office.
As Lu Yanhe knew, they specifically placed advertisements in several large Asian communities and invited several influential celebrities in the Asian community to promote the film.
The promotional tactics of any film company are essentially aimed at generating more box office revenue.
Their approach clearly indicates that they believe the Asian community will be the main force behind this film.
When Chen Ziyan heard the news, her first reaction was: "They asked for less pay back then."
Lu Yanhe was paid $1 million for filming "The Mist," with no bonuses or profit sharing.
Of course, for his first film shot in Hollywood, this salary was enough to make other Asian actors who had previously tried their luck in Hollywood envious.
It's rare for foreign actors to receive seven-figure salaries as soon as they arrive in Hollywood.
Lu Yanhe: "The next English film will definitely be even better."
"The goal for your next English film isn't just higher," Chen Ziyan said frankly. "If 'The Mist' can gross over 60 million in North America and over 100 million worldwide, I'll negotiate your salary for your next film to be at least 2 million. Anything below 2 million is out of the question."
Lu Yanhe: "Then let's hope so."
They went to the brand's fitting room, tried on the clothes they had prepared for him, and the tailor made minor adjustments based on how they looked on him.
At this time, Lu Yanhe can return to the hotel first and give an interview.
Once the clothes are altered, they will be delivered directly to the hotel.
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Variety magazine arranged for a reporter to interview Lu Yanhe.
It could be said that, probably because of Tom Wayne, Variety, a globally influential American entertainment magazine, was one of the first American media outlets to report on and pay attention to Lu Yanhe.
To some extent, Lu Yanhe's so-called international influence is partly based on Variety.
Therefore, I can refuse interviews from other media outlets, but I absolutely must accept interviews from Variety.
Of course, there is another very important point.
Many media outlets in the United States have political stances and factions.
This is actually not a good thing for Lu Yanhe.
In particular, many of their media outlets can openly express their political attitudes and stances.
Lu Yanhe is a celebrity who clearly does not want to get involved in any political factors, which makes it quite difficult for him to gain popularity and start his career in Europe and America.
After all, these days, if you don't express your opinion, others will have doubts about you and won't consider you one of their own.
Don't assume that the entertainment industry is just purely entertainment.
Variety is a rare exception... how should I put it? It has all camps, all factions' attitudes and inclinations; it's a media outlet with a "hundred flowers blooming" of political leanings. But frankly, behind this lies one thing: their stance is "We're in the entertainment business, entertainment is king." It doesn't matter which faction a celebrity belongs to, whether they support Depp or Samuel L. Bush, if you're popular, if you're hot, then you'll be featured in our reports—and precisely because of this, they absolutely avoid more principled, politically sensitive, and ideological issues.
They operate as a serious variety show magazine, and they position themselves as a global variety show magazine.
(Note: The above is fictional and serves only as a setting for a parallel world. I have not researched the actual situation of "Variety" in reality, so please consider it as just a magazine with the same name.)
In this respect, their position is consistent with Lu Yanhe's needs.
Lu Yanhe's attitude towards foreign media is: You can make fun of me or exploit me if you want, but don't sway me on things I can't accept, and don't cause me any trouble.
Fortunately, he had "Jump Up" and Lin Yu by his side. Their large team was quite knowledgeable about major media outlets around the world. Whenever there was work involving foreign media, Chen Ziyan would ask the "Jump Up" team to help with the review.
This also ensured that Lu Yanhe's resume remained clean after participating in so many overseas jobs, without being scammed or deceived.
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Does filming "The Mist" mean you've decided to make movies in Hollywood in the future?
The reporter interviewed by Variety was a very fit and sexy Black woman named Haider Matthews.
It is said that she was once a professional athlete and even participated in the Olympics. After retiring, she became a journalist based on her university major.
Lu Yanhe shook his head: "My future filming will definitely focus on Chinese-language films and television dramas. After 'The Mist,' I am also in contact with other Hollywood films. I will continue to film if there are good scripts, but I will not directly plan to develop my career in Hollywood."
"Why? Hollywood is the most developed place in the film industry, and it gathers the best talents from all over the world." Haider Matthews paused for a moment and said, "Please don't mind me saying this, but at least that's what I've observed. I know that many actors in Asia, after achieving a certain level of success, want to come to Hollywood to get further opportunities. As an actor, you must also want to be recognized by a global audience, right?"
“Of course.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “But this doesn’t necessarily have to be achieved by making a movie in Hollywood, at least for me right now.”
“That’s true. You’ve not only won many awards at international film festivals, but you’ve also gained a large audience worldwide on streaming services like Maxine and HP.” Haider Matthews nodded. “That’s what surprises me a bit. Although several non-English films and TV shows become popular or even hits globally every year on streaming services, you seem to appear much more frequently than others. What do you think is the reason for your success?”
Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised and asked, "Are you asking me what I believe is the reason for my achievements?"
“Yes.” Haider Matthews laughed, a very bright smile. “After all, it’s rare for someone your age to achieve such success globally, even in Hollywood. By the way, is this the source of your confidence that you can be recognized by a global audience even without coming to Hollywood?”
Lu Yanhe laughed.
“Okay, let me think about it. These two questions are a bit difficult to answer. I feel like I might start bragging about myself if I’m not careful.” Lu Yanhe joked with a smile. “I just want everyone to see my confidence, but I don’t want to appear too arrogant.”
I was so tired that I went to sleep as soon as I got back and didn't wake up until 11:30. I wrote for a while and that's all I wrote so far. I'll continue later; you can read it tomorrow morning.
(End of this chapter)
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