Chapter 560 New Cooperation
Before D19 could respond, Variety had already obtained and released the news.
"D19 has already begun negotiations with Lu Yanhe's team regarding a sequel to 'The Mist'."
As soon as the news broke, it became a trending topic on many social media platforms.
The Mist has now grossed nearly $200 million worldwide.
For a horror film, this is a very good box office result.
In addition to his immense popularity, Lu Yanhe also gained a real global following thanks to this film, with many expressing their love for him in a significant way.
Friends has become a regular in the top three of Maxine's global TV show viewership rankings recently.
A TV series and a movie have propelled Lu Yanhe's popularity to its peak recently.
Lansen convenience stores, which have branches all over the world, have uniformly displayed Lu Yanhe's endorsement advertisement on their storefront windows.
During the week of filming the final two episodes of Friends, everyone gathered together, and whether reading the script or filming, there was a sense of reluctance to part ways.
This feeling of reluctance to part is actually quite strange—it's not the first time they've met and parted, nor is it that they've stopped filming later, but everyone still feels reluctant to leave.
Even Lu Yanhe was like that.
He thought about it and realized that the reason he felt so reluctant to leave was because the creative atmosphere of the Friends crew was the most special and best creative atmosphere he had ever encountered.
Everyone read the script and rehearsed, working together for a few days to polish a script that was only forty minutes long. Then they filmed it over two days, Thursday and Friday, and so on for several weeks.
No film crew in China does this.
It's impossible, and unrealistic.
Only a 20-minute episode of a sitcom dares to do this, and is capable of doing this.
But the advantages of shooting this way are obvious.
In the words of the viewers, the characters in this drama are like real, close friends who spend every day together. The subtle sense of familiarity between them is completely different from the feel of many other dramas. It's as if they are living their lives in front of the camera.
A sitcom about friendship gives viewers this feeling, much like many variety shows. As you watch season after season, you become familiar with the characters, as if they were close friends. At a certain point, seeing them makes you feel close, makes you want to laugh, and you instantly understand the meaning behind their words, or the intention behind a glance or a micro-expression.
In this series, everyone made ample preparations before filming, and then completely immersed themselves in their roles during the actual shooting. Or rather, in this series, everyone actually integrated a part of their true selves into the character they were playing. If serious dramas require actors to completely abandon themselves, then in sitcoms, actors largely use their own personalities to shape the character's personality.
Of course, this is also why many actors who came from sitcoms don't get accepted by audiences when they go on to act in other shows.
However, in China's film and television environment, actors who come from sitcoms actually have a pretty broad career path ahead.
Because China's film and television environment is still large and tolerant enough, once an actor has gained fame and fans, they can continue to try and fail frequently, even ten or twenty years later. Even if they can no longer act in mainstream dramas, they can still act in online movies and low-budget dramas.
Actors who come from Chinese sitcoms actually have far more career options than those from Hollywood.
But this is also the present.
As the domestic film and television environment becomes more orderly and the barriers between different sectors become higher, it may be difficult for actors who come from sitcoms to achieve a qualitative leap in their careers.
Unless she becomes as popular as Jennifer Aniston—but essentially she hasn't shaken off the sweet, goofy type, and still hasn't broken into the circle of "acting powerhouses," or "Oscars."
-
On Friday, the day filming wrapped up, Lu Yanhe was filled with emotion.
He said, "It's probably rare for us to encounter another production crew besides 'Friends' where we can spend three days rehearsing, refining, and getting familiar with the work, and then spend two days filming. The past two months of filming have made me feel very fulfilled, and I have performed every scene with a sense of solidity. I can say that this is the most comfortable show I've ever acted in."
After he finished speaking, everyone applauded and cheered.
With the reunion of Friends, regardless of what each member of the cast is thinking, no one will deny Lu Yanhe's authoritative position in Friends.
It was also because of Lu Yanhe that everyone was given a secure job that they could live off for many years.
It's not just the main cast of "Friends" who are making money; the other cast members are also earning several times their market salaries for their respective jobs.
Friends now has a stable average viewership rating of over 3 per episode, and there will be generous bonuses to be awarded later.
Who wouldn't be happy?
Everyone had a great time at the wrap party.
Lu Yanhe also drank a little with everyone, but not too much.
He had to rush back to Ziyuan Bridge that night.
Bai Jingnian and his colleagues mentioned their upcoming project, "Roommates."
Upon hearing this, Yin Xincheng immediately asked, "Can I act in it?"
“Our budget for this drama is relatively small, and we can’t afford your salary. We’re planning to find a newcomer,” Hu Siwei said with a smile. “We can’t even afford the salaries of well-known actors.”
At this point, Yin Xincheng couldn't possibly suggest lowering his fee—that wasn't up to him; the management company had the final say. If he lowered his fee to act in this film, the company would suffer a loss. Which management company would be willing to do that?
Actors who are truly capable of accepting discounted rates for filming are those who have a certain degree of influence and can generate enough revenue for the company in other ways to silence them.
"I'll make a cameo appearance then," Bai Jingnian said.
Everyone nodded and said it was no problem.
Amidst the laughter and chatter, Yin Xincheng suddenly picked up the small pot in front of him and said sincerely, "Everyone, during the filming of this drama, I caused you trouble because of a personal matter. I am very sorry, and I would like to sincerely apologize to you all again here."
After he finished speaking, he drank the whole pot.
"Don't drink so fast!" Hu Siwei almost jumped up and snatched the wine flask from Yin Xincheng's hand. "Alright, take a break, stop drinking, sit down and rest for a while. Everyone understands your situation back then, so don't keep it to yourself. Just don't suddenly disappear again in the future, and if there's anything, just say it."
Yin Xincheng burst into tears, startling everyone.
Bai Jin stood up, walked over, put her hand on his shoulder, and said gently, "It's alright now."
Yan Liang also got up to comfort Yin Xincheng.
Seeing that Yin Xincheng was surrounded by several people, Lu Yanhe did not get up to go and comfort him.
Lu Yanhe had actually let go of his resentment about Yin Xincheng's matter—there was certainly dissatisfaction at the time, but after that period of time, because the matter did not lead to serious consequences, the dissatisfaction had passed.
Most importantly, it was Yin Xincheng's own performance afterward. After that, he never caused any more trouble. His behavior on set showed that he deeply regretted the negative impact he had caused that time, and he became extremely dedicated afterward. Whether it was rehearsals or filming, there wasn't a single time Lu Yanhe arrived before Yin Xincheng was present.
After the wrap party, Lu Yanhe said goodbye to everyone and prepared to go back.
Zhan Yun suddenly came to find him.
"Yan He, is now a convenient time? There's something I want to tell you."
Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised and nodded.
Zhan Yun: "I was busy filming and didn't want this to affect our filming, so I was thinking of telling you after we finished filming. I didn't expect you to be in such a hurry and leave tonight."
Lu Yanhe said with a smile, "I have something to do early tomorrow morning, so I have to rush back tonight."
Zhan Yun nodded.
“My contract with my current agency is about to expire,” Zhan Yun said, glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, and lowering her voice. “Neither my agent nor I plan to renew our contracts with this company. We want to leave and are currently in contact with several agencies. Your agent, Chen Ziyan, runs a high-end agency, and I would like to ask you to help me make a connection.”
Lu Yanhe suddenly realized that this was what it was about.
“Okay.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “Then let me know when you get back to Yuming, and I’ll make the arrangements.”
"Thank you." Zhan Yun nodded with a smile. "But the fact that I don't plan to renew my contract hasn't been made public yet, so please keep it a secret for me."
"I understand," Lu Yanhe replied.
At this moment, Zhan Yun looked at Lu Yanhe with some surprise and curiosity, and asked, "Aren't you curious why I terminated my contract with my current agency?"
Lu Yanhe said, "If you don't bring it up, I won't ask. Based on my own experience, every artist has some messy issues with their management company. It's like marriage; some can manage to stay together through thick and thin, while others can't be mended and have to separate."
Zhan Yun's eyes widened in surprise. "Your analogy is so apt! No wonder you write scripts so quickly. You really can come up with something so easily!"
"After you finished filming 'Friends,' do you have any filming plans?" Lu Yanhe asked.
Zhan Yun said, "I need to take a break before filming starts on 'Thirty Days,' I've been so tired lately. And after filming wraps up, I still have a lot of work to finish, so I probably can't rest right away. I still need to catch up on what I owe. 'Friends' is so popular—actually, that's why I have an irreconcilable conflict with my current company. Can you believe it? They almost made me go to a live stream to promote a problematic product. Luckily, they found out in advance, otherwise I would have been completely ruined."
Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised.
"ah?"
“Yes.” Zhan Yun nodded. “I’m not exaggerating at all. You can find that product online. A lot of people are criticizing it. It’s a skincare product, and many people say that it ruined their skin. They even attached photos.”
"Why are they doing this?" Lu Yanhe asked, puzzled and surprised. "Given your current situation, you could easily take on legitimate business deals instead of making that kind of dirty money, right? I'm not saying you can make that dirty money just because you don't have the means. What I mean is, since you can make money normally and safely, why would they settle for something less?"
"Who knows? Maybe someone behind that product made some underhanded deal with a high-ranking executive in the company," Zhan Yun complained angrily. "In short, I will definitely not renew my contract with this company, otherwise who knows when they will ruin me."
Lu Yanhe nodded, "It's really unethical for your company to do something like this."
“Okay, that’s it,” Zhan Yun said. “I’m done.”
Lu Yanhe: "Then I'll be going now."
"Um."
-
After Lu Yanhe told Chen Ziyan about Zhan Yun's situation, Chen Ziyan was quite surprised.
"Zhan Yun is interested in our company? She's incredibly popular right now, and there must be quite a few agencies vying for her talent. Why would she be interested in us? We're not a big company, and we mainly provide services; we hardly have any artists with full management contracts."
Chen Ziyan's agency is more like a value-added service agency.
They don't provide basic services, only value-added services—such as creating a plan to help you regain popularity, which is what they do most now.
The reason for this positioning is that when Chen Ziyan first started this agency, she was limited by the resources she had and the situation of the entire industry. If she were to work with artists like a traditional agency, she would basically only be able to sign newcomers, not big stars.
In the talent agency industry, you can earn less money signing one big star than signing a hundred newcomers.
Currently, the only artist with a full management contract with Shi Huo is He Jiang, who played Lü Xiucai in "My Own Swordsman".
That was a recent graduate whom Lu Yanhe discovered from a performing arts school.
A popular actress like Zhan Yun would almost never consider an agency like Shi Huo. For a top-tier actress like Zhan Yun, a company would need a complete team to manage her affairs; a few people wouldn't be enough. This would include support staff like assistants and drivers, a technical team for makeup and costumes, and dedicated legal, public relations, and publicity departments, among others…
A top-tier celebrity, just by supporting their own team, can easily earn tens of millions a year, to exaggerate a bit.
The team is not just the few people who follow them around all year round.
Shihuo, with its current corporate strength, cannot actually provide such a comprehensive service for an artist. It's more like an intermediary, helping artists connect with resource providers they can't reach on their own, or providing a chance for has-been artists to revive their careers.
Just like with "The Birth of an Actor," Shihuo Company was deeply involved.
Several of the actors participating in this acting competition were found and recommended by Shi Huo.
Zhan Yun's initiative to contact them made Chen Ziyan ponder.
Should Shi Huo adjust its business scope based on its current situation?
In just a few seconds, Chen Ziyan had figured it out.
want.
Zhan Yun's current popularity and buzz have made her one of the most popular actresses in China. While she may not be on par with top actresses or A-list stars in terms of star power, she's a regular guest at any event. Her popularity and buzz are second to none in China.
Even Wen Minglan, whom Chen Ziyan personally mentored, couldn't compare to her.
Furthermore, Zhan Yun has a long-term agent, and they will come together. It's conceivable that Zhan Yun already has her own team coming; at most, there might be a few gaps that need to be filled by their team.
Zhan Yun doesn't need Shi Huo to provide her with many basic services; she only needs Shi Huo to provide resources in a few key areas, such as scripts, business opportunities, and public relations and publicity.
Coincidentally, these are exactly what Shi Huo excels at right now.
-
Lu Yanhe's contract with Xingyu is about to expire.
So, during a break between rehearsals for the Spring Festival Gala after filming "Friends" was finished, he and Chen Ziyan went to Star Entertainment's company.
Having not been here for a long time, Lu Yanhe stepped through the gate again, immediately attracting a lot of attention.
Back when Lu Yanhe was still in the Fengzhi group, he often came to the company to practice singing and dancing. Later, after Lu Yanhe became an actor, especially after he started working with Chen Ziyan, he rarely appeared at the company anymore.
The news of Lu Yanhe's arrival at the company quickly spread throughout all the company's group chats.
As a result, the company's public areas were now several times more crowded than usual, with people carrying documents and moving about. They all hoped to have a chance to see Lu Yanhe in person. This was especially true for many newcomers to Xingyu who had never met Lu Yanhe before.
This time, Lu Yanhe was not met by Vice President Ma Zhongquan, but by CEO Hong Qi.
Not long after Lu Yanhe joined the company, someone told him that although Hong Qi was the president, he wasn't actually the controlling shareholder. Xingyu was backed by a second-generation rich kid who had established the company to please his girlfriend. But after all these years, no one knew who this second-generation rich kid was, or who this girlfriend was.
Lu Yanhe had very little experience dealing with Hong Qi; the few times he did, it was always just a fleeting encounter.
Hong Qi was quite enthusiastic towards him, even though Lu Yanhe wouldn't be renewing his contract with Xingyu later.
Based on Lu Yanhe's limited understanding of Hong Qi, he felt that Hong Qi was actually quite a peculiar figure. Despite being the CEO of Xingyu Entertainment, he seemed indifferent to the company's specific affairs, delegating almost all the power to a few vice presidents—a power he could easily reclaim if he wanted.
However, it's not accurate to say that he has lost control of Xingyu. Both the signs from Chen Ziyan and the attitude implied in Vice President Ma's words clearly point to one thing: Xingyu has never escaped Hong Qi's control.
“Although the contract has ended, we can still continue to cooperate in the future,” Hong Qi said.
Lu Yanhe knew that Hong Qi was also a shareholder of Shi Huo Company.
He nodded.
Hong Qi: "When you were working under Ma Zhongquan and Zhou Ping'an, you suffered a lot of grievances. Ziyan told me all of this. Fortunately, you met Ziyan later. I have been watching you get to where you are today step by step all these years. I think Ma Zhongquan and Zhou Ping'an must be regretting it to the core."
As he spoke, he smiled, a slight smirk playing on his lips.
That's what I meant...
Lu Yanhe always felt that Hong Qi was also watching the drama with a sense of schadenfreude.
“However, the two of them have indeed made a lot of contributions to Star Entertainment,” Hong Qi said. “Moreover, because Star Entertainment’s future development focus is on becoming an idol artist company, actors and singers will have their own studios and will no longer be managed by the company. Each studio will have a long-term partnership with Shi Huo.”
Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised.
"So... Shi Huo is going to become a partner of Xing Yu in the future?"
Chen Ziyan: "When I was about to start Shi Huo, Hong Qi told me about his plan. In the future, Xingyu will set up a brokerage company specifically for actors and singers. Xingyu will gradually transform and build an idol artist brokerage industry chain, from artist packaging to involvement in related industries, all centered around idol artists."
Lu Yanhe suddenly realized.
So that's how it is.
Star Entertainment has always claimed to be building the top idol artist management company in China, but now it seems that it no longer just wants to be a "management" company.
It aims to create an industry chain for idol artists.
This is a huge undertaking; no wonder Star Entertainment is dismantling itself, separating the agents of actors and singers.
Hong Qi said to Lu Yanhe, "Yanhe, I don't know if you're interested."
"What?" Lu Yanhe was taken aback.
Hong Qi said, "If our Star Entertainment were to establish a separate agency that doesn't include idol artists, would you be interested in becoming a partner in that company?"
"A talent agency... can have partners?"
Lu Yanhe's understanding of the term "partner" came from legal dramas.
Only law firms have partners.
Because of the unique nature of the legal profession, each lawyer has their own clients. Law firms must use a partnership system to retain these lawyers with client resources within their firms.
But do talent agencies need partners? At least in China, Lu Yanhe rarely saw such a thing. Lu Yanhe looked at Chen Ziyan with some doubt, only to see that Chen Ziyan was also looking at Hong Qi with a puzzled expression.
Chen Ziyan said, "Hong Qi, you didn't tell me about this before."
“I just saw Yan He and it was a spur-of-the-moment thing,” Hong Qi said. “Yan He has his own film and television production company and such a big influence in the industry. Do you mind?”
Chen Ziyan: "This isn't a question of whether I mind or not. You should have told me beforehand instead of doing this out of the blue."
Hong Qi: "As I said, it was also a spur-of-the-moment decision."
He wore a confident smile.
Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "President Hong, this was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I also need to consider this matter. I will discuss it with Sister Ziyan when I get back. Since this is not the focus of our discussion today, let's get back to business."
Hong Qi glanced at Lu Yanhe with some surprise, seemingly not expecting Lu Yanhe to "back up" Chen Ziyan like this; it was obvious—
He certainly wouldn't refute Chen Ziyan's attitude on the spot.
Since Chen Ziyan has expressed "dissatisfaction," he will not respond, even if it is a very tempting benefit.
-
Lu Yanhe came to Xingyu today to conduct "breakup negotiations" before terminating his contract.
During the contract period, Lu Yanhe needs to clarify many of his work and income distribution details with Xingyu Entertainment to avoid any unexpected problems at the last minute before the breakup.
Both parties had legal and financial personnel on site to compare various agreements, calculate accounts, and communicate.
They didn't need to be involved in the specific matters; they just sat aside and chatted.
When Lu Yanhe said during the chat, "Let's get back to the important matter," he really meant one thing: this topic is over, we won't talk about it today.
-
Chen Ziyan also looked at Lu Yanhe with some surprise.
Unbeknownst to her, Lu Yanhe had also begun to have the ability and the sensitivity to stand in front of her at crucial moments and help her turn the tide.
Hong Qi picked up his cup and took a sip of tea.
"President Hong, the company has recently signed Liu Zhiyin. Are you going to groom her to be the top female star?" Lu Yanhe asked.
He still cares about Yoo Ji-eun.
“She’s past her prime.” Hong Qi shook his head. “She wasted too much time in South Korea, and even after returning to China, she hasn’t achieved a breakthrough in the next few years. Although she’s very popular now, she’s almost thirty years old. If she hasn’t reached her peak at this age, she can only go downhill in the future.”
Lu Yanhe's heart sank when he heard Hong Qi's assessment.
“You should actually change the career path of Fuli, whom Zhou Pingan signed, and make her an idol artist,” Chen Ziyan said. “Her basic conditions are the best I’ve seen in recent years. She wants to be an actress, but with Jiang Yuqian and Zhang Lan in the company, they have always seen her as a threat and have been suppressing her so that she can’t rise to prominence. Now that Minglan has risen to prominence, and you have signed Mengli, it will be even more difficult for Fuli to stand out.”
Hong Qi: "This is Zhou Ping'an's business. Why should I care so much? Let them do what they want."
Lu Yanhe felt even more puzzled.
What is Hong Qi's true attitude towards Xingyu Entertainment, Ma Zhongquan, and Zhou Ping'an?
"Lu Yanhe came to the company today."
Zhou Pingan heard the news as soon as he arrived at the company.
His brows furrowed unconsciously.
Today, Lu Yanhe has become the worst stain on his resume—because everyone knows that he was blind to Lu Yanhe's talent and buried him for several years.
Zhou Ping'an nodded, went into his office, and asked, "Is Fuli at the company today?"
"Yes, she has an acting class today."
"Tell her to come to my place after her class."
"OK."
Twenty minutes later, Furi arrived.
"Brother Ping An." Fu Li still had her usual pure and innocent smile.
Ever since Zhou Ping'an learned that this woman had indeed bullied her classmates at school, he has been unable to look directly at her seemingly innocent smile.
“You auditioned for ‘The Birth of an Actor’ before but didn’t pass. Lu Yanhe came to the company today.”
"Ah." Fuli had actually heard about it before, but she still subconsciously put on a surprised expression as if she had just heard about it.
Zhou Pingan said, "He is a soft-hearted person. You can see if you can find an opportunity to try and get him on the show."
Tomori was taken aback.
"The best way to handle this would have been for you to build a good relationship with Yan Liang and have him recommend you, but since you haven't managed to get Yan Liang to help you, you'll have to try your luck on your own."
Furi gently bit her lip and said, "Okay."
After saying that, he remembered and added, "Thank you, Brother Ping An."
"Also, I've got you a role in a movie," Zhou Ping'an said. "It's a web movie, but you'll be the female lead."
Fuli was taken aback upon hearing this.
Online movies...
Online movies have been around for many years, and some have even grossed 40 to 50 million yuan at the online box office. However, for an actor, online movies are indeed too low-class. Anyone who wants to develop a better career will not choose to make online movies.
Fu Li never expected that Zhou Ping'an would actually get her a role in an online movie.
"Brother Ping An, is it a web series?"
“After that incident, basically no production team was willing to hire you,” Zhou Ping’an said. “We can’t just keep not filming.”
Furi's eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"Am I destined to only be able to make online movies from now on?"
"Let's test the waters with a web series first. As long as your performance in the web series is good and the feedback is positive, you can still go back to acting in long-running dramas." Zhou Ping'an reassured him, "Right now, we're just using this drama as a transition."
Fuli reluctantly accepted the script that Zhou Pingan handed her.
(End of this chapter)
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