Chapter 557 Trip to South Korea (8,000 words update!)
Jiang Jun won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, reshaping the landscape of male stars in their forties in the Chinese entertainment industry.
Jiang Yuqian received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress, and in the past six months, she has maintained her top-tier status on the international stage, rising and solidifying her position.
Liu Zefan was not nominated for a Golden Globe, but he gained immense popularity for his role as a young policeman bursting with hormones, especially among female viewers. A group of wealthy women openly expressed their desire for his physique, which sparked a lot of discussion.
Although Wang Jing's portrayal of the madwoman didn't make her a breakout star like the previous lead actresses, it still garnered her significant attention and rapidly increased her fame in China.
This battle royale series, which didn't have the same staying power as "My Own Swordsman," has returned to the audience's attention thanks to Jiang Jun's Golden Globe Award win.
Jiang Jun's acceptance speech also garnered significant attention online.
A story about perseverance that finally leads to reaching the top after many years of dedication.
"Squid Game" has also seen a surge in popularity on Maxine, regaining its number one spot in daily viewership.
This is the influence of a major award.
Winning a major award is not only an artistic achievement and honor, but also means a high potential commercial return.
This is why so many films and filmmakers compete for the major awards at the four major international film festivals, including the Oscars, Emmys, and Golden Globes, every year.
Because they also have extremely high commercial value.
So far, three actors who have starred in scripts written by Lu Yanhe have won major awards.
In this celebratory moment, some extreme fans angrily criticized Lu Yanhe: "The scripts you wrote for others, one won you a domestic Best Actor award, and another won you a foreign Best Actor award. What about yourself? If you had acted in all those scripts yourself, you wouldn't only have one Best Actor award now! Can't you be a little more ambitious and career-minded? If you like writing scripts for others so much, you might as well become a screenwriter. Why be an actor?!"
Lu Yanhe saw this comment and silently crossed it out.
He has been working on improving his skills in this area recently.
No explanation, no rebuttal, say whatever you want.
Zeng Qiao, however, suddenly sent a message with only two words: "Where am I?"
Lu Yanhe: Huh?
Zeng Qiao: Didn't they write a script for me?
Lu Yanhe: Brother, I'm currently writing the script for the second season of "The Silent River".
Zeng Qiao: Can you give me a Best Actor award?
Lu Yanhe: I'm under so much pressure.
Zeng Qiao: Pressure is the source of motivation.
-
Jiang Jun wins award, Lu Yanhe is targeted —
The main issue is that the odds of winning are just too high.
Or rather, Lu Yanhe's script is just too good at promoting the actors.
Not to mention these two films, "Lost in Thailand" made newcomer actor Wang Dashan an overnight sensation and a household name across the country, not to mention "Friends" and "My Own Swordsman".
The latter also made Liu Zi, who had never acted in film or television dramas before, famous overnight with the role of Tong Xiangyu.
Someone summarized the actors who came out of the film and television dramas adapted from Lu Yanhe's scripts. Only after this summary did everyone realize that the actors who played roles in the film and television dramas adapted from Lu Yanhe's scripts were never ineffective actors.
Almost every role brought attention and benefits to the actor who played it.
Lu Yanhe, who was already being eyed by major agencies, agents and actors because of the popularity of his drama, is now even more sought after.
Moreover, this time, the actors who were moved by Lu Yanhe's script were those who were already big stars.
Even the big shots want to win big awards.
In the past two or three decades, how many Chinese actors have won major awards abroad?
In just two years, Chen Bige won the Best Actress award at the Jose International Film Festival, and Jiang Jun won the Best Actor award at the Golden Globe Awards.
Such a high success rate, such high value!
Ning Xiulian, who had recently won an award at the Venice International Film Festival, called Lu Yanhe to congratulate him and subtly inquire about suitable roles for her. Not to mention the many talented actors in China. Who wouldn't want to take this step forward and achieve international fame at this stage?
Filming Lu Yanhe's dramas guarantees a hit show, fame for the actors, and a high success rate in winning awards.
At a time like this, we need to get in touch with Lu Yanhe first.
How did I meet him?
Who can act as the introducer?
-
By this point, no one in the industry was asking anymore: What was Lu Yanhe thinking that made him resolutely choose to attend the Blue Ribbon Awards ceremony under such circumstances?
Whether it's his overseas influence at the premiere of "The Mist," the phenomenal success of "Friends" with an average viewership rating of over 3%, or his recent Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, all of these have clearly demonstrated to everyone in the industry that Lu Yanhe doesn't need to care about those miscellaneous things.
As long as Lu Yanhe does everything well and follows his own path, no one can shake his position.
On the day of the Blue Ribbon Awards ceremony, Lu Yanhe was the last to walk the red carpet.
He and Chen Siqi walked hand in hand, and Wen Yang personally greeted them, giving them a great deal of face.
Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi are a very famous couple. Although they are often discussed, they rarely appear together in formal settings.
They weren't the kind of couple who were inseparable wherever they went.
Therefore, being able to attend the Blue Ribbon Awards together is a great honor for the Blue Ribbon Awards.
This time, both sides were under tremendous pressure to keep the show going tonight.
That evening, Li Zhibai delivered the opening show, performing five consecutive hit songs from film and television, igniting the first wave of excitement.
The awards were presented in turn.
The gala still looked star-studded, but Lu Yanhe noticed that many nominees were indeed absent.
As a top-tier domestic award, it is indeed somewhat unusual that so many nominees did not attend the awards ceremony.
No matter how many guests there are, the main focus is still on the nominees.
The technical department had several awards, but none of the winners came to the event; they were all accepted by others on their behalf.
But thankfully, at least on the surface, things have passed.
The gala reached its climax when Lu Yanhe took the stage.
This is a specially designed segment.
The Golden Age, The Seventeen Floors, The Silent River, The Squid Game, My Own Swordsman, Friends, Friends...
For every drama starring or written by Lu Yanhe, the singer of the theme song came to the scene.
Lu Yanhe stood in a corner of the stage, and before each song began, he recited the most famous line from the drama, based on his character in that drama.
The entire program was ingeniously arranged, sometimes lighthearted, sometimes contemporary, sometimes tense and exciting, and sometimes lively.
The live broadcast screen at the scene frequently switched to images of Huang Kairen, Jiang Yuqian, Wang Jing, Liu Zi, He Jiang, Yan Liang, Li Zhibai, Zhan Yun, and others, all of whom are actors in these dramas.
Most of the time, Lu Yanhe simply stood in the darkness, listening to the singers' voices and watching the dancers move on stage.
Those songs and dances actually tell the story of that drama and his memories of it.
Lu Yanhe didn't really feel anything during the rehearsal, but at this moment, he felt inexplicably moved.
They've actually made so many films and TV series.
His eyes welled up with tears, but he quickly held them back.
When the last performance ended, Lu Yanhe thought the segment was over and he could leave the stage, but a video suddenly appeared on the big screen in the venue.
"Hey, Xiao Lu, it's been a while." Director Luo Yuzhong appeared in the video.
Lu Yanhe turned around to look at the big screen with a look of surprise on his face, and opened his mouth.
“It’s an honor to be the director of your first film. Although you always say that I am your mentor, I know that even without me, with your talent, you would still be shining just as brightly as you are now,” Luo Yuzhong said. “It’s a pity that I can’t come to the Blue Ribbon Awards with you this time, because you have done such a remarkable thing. As your teacher, I should stand by your side. After I finish filming this movie, we can have dinner together. I hope that next time we come to the Blue Ribbon Awards together, I will be the one presenting the award to you.”
Lu Yanhe nodded with a smile.
It was as if Luo Yuzhong was really standing opposite him.
The next second, Chen Bige reappeared.
"Hey, junior brother, Yan He." After she finished speaking, Wang Zhong suddenly poked his head in as well. "Recording a VCR for Yan He?"
Chen Bige pushed Wang Zhong away, "Director, don't join in the fun, we've officially started recording."
She smiled again.
“The director and I were discussing your script, ‘Raise the Red Lantern,’ and he just spent ten minutes praising it to me.” Chen Bige sighed. “Every time this happens, I really want to know how you, at your age, have accomplished so many things that we can’t do?”
“I’ve never actually said this to you, but you should know that I’m very grateful that you gave me such a good script and such a good role.” Chen Bige laughed. “From ‘The Seventeen Floors’ to ‘Rouge’ and then to ‘Raise the Red Lantern’, we’ve already collaborated four times in just a few years, and we’re about to collaborate for the fifth time.”
When Chen Bige announced the number, everyone was astonished and in an uproar.
Five collaborations... For someone in the entertainment industry, it's probably rare to collaborate with the same person so many times in a lifetime.
"I'm so glad that I met a creator like you after I was no longer a young girl in my twenties."
Lu Yanhe never expected that the Blue Ribbon Awards ceremony would give him such a video.
The host walked onto the stage.
"Lu Yanhe is only twenty-two years old this year. Such a young creator has already become a heavyweight creator in Chinese film and television. Yanhe, let's have an interview. After completing so many high-quality and popular works, what are your plans to share with us next? I just heard that you have collaborated with Director Wang Zhong and Ms. Chen Bige on a new project, is that right?"
“Yes.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “Actually, it was written together with ‘Rouge’. We gave it to Sister Bige at the same time, and we filmed ‘Rouge’ first.”
How do you manage to be so creative?
“Well—” Lu Yanhe couldn’t very well say that he was a great writer, so he could only say, “I don’t know either. Maybe it’s because I have an advantage over other screenwriters. Because of my identity as an actor, I never have to consider other people’s opinions when I write a script or a subject matter, so I can create very quickly.”
That's one reason.
For professional screenwriters, the actual time they spend writing the script is not that much. What consumes the most time and energy is the creative ideas, suggestions for revision, and too many inexplicable changes that need to be made from all sides.
Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "You just asked the right question. I would also like to appeal to everyone to trust creators more and leave the criticism and scrutiny to before deciding to work with them. Once you decide, give the creators the autonomy to create. Otherwise, it will be really hard to produce good works."
"Yan He's explanation is excellent," the host chimed in.
Many people in the audience were applauding wildly.
"So, Yan He, one last question? You've actually worked with all sorts of directors and actors, from established stars with countless accolades to newcomers. Could you share with us how you've managed to work so well with so many people without ever having any disputes or conflicts?"
Lu Yanhe pondered for a moment and said, "I really can't give a general reason. Let me talk about a few common characteristics of the film crews I've been involved in. First, basically every film crew I've been involved in has held several script reading sessions before the official start of filming or preparation. Many of our doubts, discussions and disputes about the characters, lines and understanding are actually resolved at this stage, and don't appear on the filming set."
"Secondly, it seems that our production team has never spent too much energy on things other than creation," Lu Yanhe laughed. "What about who has more or less screen time, who is listed first or last in the credits?"
Many people at the scene laughed.
"Finally, just say what you mean and don't keep it to yourself. Whether you're dissatisfied or have different opinions, you must speak up." Lu Yanhe smiled. "Actually, I want to say that we had some friction with many of our co-stars at the beginning. We weren't on good terms from the start, but because we all speak our minds and we were all acting seriously no matter what, we gradually came to understand each other."
When talking about this place, Lu Yanhe felt that he was being rather hypocritical.
However, in this situation, he couldn't say that he disliked Li Yuefeng because he initially thought Li Yuefeng was too opportunistic, or that Zeng Qiao had a rift with him because he initially looked down on his idol status.
-
But for the others present, Lu Yanhe's ability to say these words in such a setting actually had a profound effect.
Especially script readings.
To Lu Yanhe's surprise, after he said that, several award winners mentioned script readings when they went on stage to accept their awards and give their acceptance speeches.
"Script readings are very important for a film crew. Spending a few extra days beforehand, having everyone sit together to review the script and discuss the filming process, can double the efficiency and quality during filming later on," said the winner of the Best Cinematography award.
Then, inexplicably, everyone's speeches gradually shifted towards "how to make a good film, how to do your job well," and an awards ceremony slowly began to turn into an year-end performance review meeting and industry discussion conference...
When Liu Yu was announced as the winner of Best Actor, many people's first reaction was to come and see Lu Yanhe.
After all, everyone knows that he and Yan Liang are practically inseparable, but Yan Liang didn't win an award.
Lu Yanhe had expected this, and his expression was perfectly controlled as he sincerely applauded.
Yan Liang was also applauding.
Knowing from the outset that his chances of winning the award were slim, he didn't have high expectations.
The Best Actress award went to Lan Lin, an actress in her early thirties.
Both of these actors are familiar to audiences, but not particularly popular or trending. They're familiar faces, but don't have many fans. The works that won awards this time are all realistic dramas that they've consistently worked on, and the viewership numbers weren't bad, with a large audience and generally positive feedback on their performances—it just hasn't translated into many fans.
In this situation, Chen Lingling giving them two major awards is actually a very strong signal.
It has to be a good performance, and it has to be a performance that the audience approves of.
Tonight's grand prize winners were almost all winners who were considered strong contenders from the start.
Fortunately, all of these award winners attended tonight's awards ceremony.
There were no embarrassing situations where the most prestigious awards went unclaimed.
On the contrary, those who did not attend the awards ceremony were actually the ones who had little chance of winning from the beginning.
After the awards ceremony, Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi attended a celebratory dinner hosted by Boya, the sponsor of this year's awards ceremony.
As soon as the two of them appeared, people came over to greet them.
Almost everyone was asking him what kind of movie he was preparing for, and whether there were any suitable roles for them.
Lu Yanhe only said that he does have several dramas in preparation, but none of them have entered the casting stage yet. Once the casting stage begins, he will definitely send out audition invitations to everyone.
At this point, there were far fewer actors who found it hard to believe that Lu Yanhe would ask for an audition.
Having gotten used to getting roles in other productions without auditions, they had all heard about Lu Yanhe's habits and knew his requirements.
In fact, many actors are unwilling to audition not because their acting skills are bad or they are afraid to audition, but because by the time they reach their thirties or forties, they are no longer young people who have just started out. They have gained a certain degree of fame and status in the industry. When others do not need to audition to get roles, if they need to audition, they will feel particularly inferior. Therefore, they all regard "not auditioning" as a symbol of their status.
The reason why people don't object to Lu Yanhe's audition requirements is that it's common knowledge in the industry that Lu Yanhe's dramas require auditions, so auditioning for them no longer seems special.
To put it bluntly, many things are portrayed by the media as problems only involving celebrities and actors, but in reality, many of the issues are actually problems stemming from the broader environment.
The environment is the real melting pot.
-
The day after the Blue Ribbon Awards concluded, "The Mist" officially began its theatrical run in the United States, with a simultaneous release in Europe.
Other countries and regions will follow suit one after another.
South Korea, three days later.
Horror films like these are released as quickly as possible in other places, except in Japan where special release policies may cause delays, because time is of the essence.
Lu Yanhe set off for South Korea to participate in a screening event with everyone.
So, when the opening day box office figures for "The Mist" were released, they were all together.
"The Mist" grossed $12.5 million on Friday in the US, matching the forecasts from prediction agencies. Previously, these agencies had revised their total US box office estimates to between $80 million and $100 million.
The better news is that The Mist has received very positive reviews from audiences, scoring 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a very good score for a horror film.
However, as everyone knows, given the nature of horror films, they are unlikely to have a long run in terms of box office or Rotten Tomatoes scores.
The results of the first and second weeks are the most important.
The box office performance during the opening weekend will basically determine the fate of this film—whether it will be a success or a failure.
If the film grosses over 40 million in its opening weekend, it can be described as a "great success," as it recouped its costs in North America on its opening weekend. However, if the opening weekend box office does not reach 40 million, even if the final total box office exceeds 60 million, breaking even and making a profit, it cannot be described as a "great success."
Of course, in reality, Lu Yanhe had already "recouped his investment" even before the movie was released.
The film's pre-release promotional strategy greatly increased his fame in Europe and America, making him more famous than many actors who had starred in four or five films there.
Moreover, Lu Yanhe's performance in this film has already garnered high praise from American media and film critics.
This has brought Lu Yanhe into the sights of many film companies, producers, and directors.
Not to mention those film companies that care a great deal about the Chinese box office market.
Several scripts had already been sent over before this.
Given the number of Asian characters in Hollywood scripts and the fact that the films haven't been released yet, this is already quite unusual.
This shows that Hollywood also has high hopes for him.
However, none of the scripts that have been offered to Chen Ziyan so far have met her standards.
They are all very stereotypical Asian characters, full of stereotypes, and not as rich as the Asian ghost character in "The Mist".
She is completely unworthy of playing the role of Lu Yanhe.
Chen Ziyan politely declined all the offers. Of course, she didn't decline them in vain; for each script she declined, she recommended several Chinese actors who were a good fit for the roles.
After all, while these scripts might not be suitable for Lu Yanhe, they could be an opportunity for other actors.
This is especially true for actors who don't have many film offers or who want to expand into overseas markets.
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In South Korea, almost no one knew Lily Williams and her group; on the contrary, Lu Yanhe was a big star in their group.
The media and the people at the scene were almost all there for him.
Lily Williams was surprised. She said, "I thought you were only popular in China. Don't Koreans always dislike Chinese people?"
“Well, we don’t really like them much either, but that doesn’t affect the dissemination of our literary and film works,” Lu Yanhe said. “I have a few dramas that are quite popular in South Korea, and their TV stations have even taken them to adapt and remake.”
Lu Yanhe also did not expect that Lily Williams would say something like, "Don't Koreans have always disliked you Chinese?"
Lu Yanhe thought for a moment and then added, "Lily, to be precise, it's that South Korea has done a lot of things that make us Chinese people very angry. We have never stolen their culture and festivals."
Lily Williams: "...Okay."
Lily Williams then asked, "But Lu, I'm wondering, if you dislike Korea so much, how do you feel when you face so many Koreans who like you?"
“These are two different things. To be precise, it’s not that I dislike South Korea, but that I dislike South Korea as it is now,” Lu Yanhe said. “I have always hoped that the world can truly seek common ground while reserving differences and respect each other. Although I know that this is almost impossible, competition is inevitable, and conflicts will never disappear. But at least on the issue of right and wrong, we should still have a scale. When I tell you that I don’t like South Korea, at least I can explain why I don’t like it. I’m not deliberately picking a fight, nor am I arrogantly discriminating against any country.”
Lily Williams looked thoughtful and asked, "So, do you like America?"
Lu Yanhe was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "Between the two of us, because we are friends, if you like China, I will like America."
Lily Williams thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, let's not dwell on these issues."
“There’s really no need to overthink it. Aside from matters of principle, our friendship is just between the two of us. As I always say: let’s seek common ground while reserving differences,” Lu Yanhe said. “I know you, and you know me; neither of us wants to gain anything by hurting others. We both hope for world peace, and that’s enough, right?”
Lily Williams nodded thoughtfully.
“I’m quite surprised that you can tell me these things,” Lily Williams said. “I’ve also met several Chinese directors and actors, and they always avoid these kinds of topics, which I don’t understand. Why can’t you discuss these issues?”
“Because it’s too sensitive, easily misunderstood, and even more likely to be maliciously interpreted, it’s better not to say it,” Lu Yanhe explained. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been so specific. I’ve known you for so long, and I know you’re my friend and wouldn’t distort or spread my words, which is why I told you.”
Lily Williams sighed and said, "Well, there are definitely a lot of people in Hollywood who like to distort and spread other people's words."
Lu Yanhe wasn't actually talking about Hollywood, but since Lily Williams had said so, he just smiled and remained silent.
After the screening in South Korea, they were interviewed together by South Korean television station TVN.
Meanwhile, Saturday's box office figures were also released.
The Mist rose slightly at the U.S. box office on Saturday, taking in $14.3 million from Friday.
This makes it highly likely that The Mist will gross over $40 million in its opening weekend.
If this goal is achieved, the total box office of "The Mist" will most likely exceed 100 million.
When the entire crew learned of this achievement, they cheered and decided to go to a bar to celebrate.
Lu Yanhe was originally going to go with them, but TVN's Kim Eon-sook suddenly contacted him, saying that Korean director Kim Ji-yeon had learned that he was in Korea and wanted to meet him.
Lu Yanhe paused for a moment when he heard the familiar name.
This is a famous South Korean director. He had previously considered casting Shang Yong-ju in a film, but Shang Yong-ju withdrew because they couldn't agree on some conditions.
Director Kim Ji-yeon is considered a prominent director in South Korea who has successfully blended commercial appeal with artistic merit. Her works have won awards at international film festivals and have achieved high box office returns in South Korea, with several films surpassing 10 million viewers—South Korean film box office statistics are based on viewership, which is quite different from other regions.
Lu Yanhe thought for a moment, then told Chen Ziyan that he had decided to meet with director Kim Ji-yeon.
According to Chen Ziyan, his next goal is to become an international director and collaborate with directors from different countries—he has not yet worked with a South Korean director.
However, after receiving his message, Chen Ziyan sent a message back: It's no problem to meet him, but be careful and don't agree to anything. This person has a strong local mentality and may not give you a good role. He had previously considered cooperating with Shang Yongzhou, but the contact did not go very smoothly.
Lu Yanhe replied: Okay, I understand.
Chen Ziyan: But he's a big director. No matter what, you should still show him some respect, especially since you have a lot of international fame and influence now. He might deliberately act like he doesn't care about your fame because of that. I haven't met this person, so I can't make any comments. But based on what I've learned from various sources, this director is both arrogant and insecure at heart. If he says something barbed to you, you should try to tolerate it. This is South Korea, and you're not familiar with the place, so you might suffer a loss.
Lu Yanhe: Okay, I understand.
Chen Ziyan: No, I have to tell Zou Dong that you need to bring a few more bodyguards with you.
Lu Yanhe: ...Sister Ziyan, I'm just going to have a friendly chat with a director, not to get into a fight.
Chen Ziyan: When you're in a foreign country, it's always good to be prepared and cautious. Who knows what might happen?
Lu Yanhe: You've suddenly made me nervous.
(End of this chapter)
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