Chapter 608 He Will Make You Famous
"Things didn't go as you expected, but that's not my fault. I've done what I was supposed to do."
After seeing Chen Siqi off, An Jian sat alone in the room for a long time.
It was his wife who knocked on the door and asked him if he wanted to eat dinner, and only then did he come out and have dinner with his family.
After dinner, his youngest daughter kept asking him to tell her a story.
His wife could tell he was preoccupied and knew he had recently encountered some troubles.
Since returning from the set of "The Silent Staircase" due to illness, An Jian has basically locked himself in his room, rarely leaving, and has never stepped out of his house.
He didn't receive the call until 9 p.m.
"Lu Yanhe did not take over the director's position as you expected, and that was not something I could control."
"Of course, but you can still stand up and accuse Lu Yanhe that the reason you left the 'Silent Staircase' crew was because he disagreed with you and kicked you out of the crew."
“That’s not what we said before, and besides, I wouldn’t do such a thing!”
“We didn’t expect Lu Yanhe wouldn’t take over.” The other person smiled. “An Jian, you know in your heart what you did back then. You’ve done things even more disgusting than this. What are you pretending to be ‘pure and innocent’ for?”
An Jian angrily retorted, "I only used Xin Siyang's script idea. Wasn't that a common occurrence in the industry back then?"
"Such things happen quite often in the industry, but Xin Siyang committed suicide."
“His suicide had nothing to do with me; he had depression for a long time.”
"How do you know it has nothing to do with you?" The other person's tone was threatening. "Maybe it was because you stole his screenwriting idea that you became the last straw that broke the camel's back?"
An Jian glared angrily.
"We already agreed that if I resigned as director of 'The Silent Staircase,' you would stop threatening me with this!"
"Director An, how can you be so naive?"
An Jian smiled.
"If we hadn't been providing you with jobs all these years, how would you have supported your family?" the person on the other end of the phone said. "With those two TV dramas that nobody's seen and that plagiarized other people's scripts?"
An Jian's face darkened completely.
"Indeed, you are right about one thing."
"Um?"
"How could you think I'm so naive?" An Jian put away his anger. "Chairman Huang, if you're going to continue threatening me with the past, then let's see who has the tougher bait."
There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.
An Jian stood in front of the window, looking at the deep night outside.
A ray of cold light shone in from the window and fell on his face.
Cold and resolute.
“I have fulfilled my promise. If you want others to see how you handle your promises, let’s give it a try.”
After saying this, An Jian hung up the phone decisively.
He stood there for several seconds before he came to his senses and let out a long sigh.
My back was covered in cold sweat.
"Knock knock," his wife knocked on the door again.
An Jian walked over and opened the door.
"Are you alright?" his wife asked, looking at him with concern. "I made some soy milk."
An Jian took the cup and smiled at his wife.
"Things are all settled now, let's watch some TV together."
His wife's eyes, which had initially been somewhat worried, immediately lit up.
"Okay, what are you looking at?"
"Isn't today Sunday? Shouldn't it be showing at the Jumping Theater? Do you want to watch it?"
"OK."
There was a hint of excitement in their voices.
-
It was pouring rain the day Lu Yanhe set off for Malaysia.
He had thought the flight would be delayed, but to his surprise, the rain stopped when he arrived at the airport, and the plane was able to take off on time.
He just finished filming a TV series that only had a week of shooting time, and now he's going to film a movie that also only has a week of shooting time.
Lu Yanhe had always known that the film and television projects he was involved in had relatively short shooting times, but he never expected them to get shorter and shorter.
Wang Biao joked, "This time joining the crew feels like attending an event for the same amount of time."
When Lu Yanhe joins the crew, he usually brings four or five suitcases filled with all sorts of things he needs for food, clothing, accommodation, and transportation.
This time, however, Lu Yanhe brought a large suitcase containing his daily changes of clothes and toiletries.
However, Huang Tianlin originally hoped that Lu Yanhe could provide more filming time.
However, Wang Biao disagreed during his communication with them.
Because Lu Yanhe only has a few scenes in the script, there isn't that much filming involved.
If filming really isn't finished, then we can postpone it again.
If they had given more time for filming, Huang Tianlin might have filmed other scenes in between, making Lu Yanhe wait.
Wang Biao did this to ensure that Lu Yanhe's work was not neglected.
It seems hard to imagine that anyone would still neglect Lu Yanhe in the field of film and television.
-
In fact, Huang Tianlin's feelings towards Lu Yanhe were also quite complicated.
It would be a lie to say that he didn't want to cooperate with Lu Yanhe.
Which director in the world wouldn't want to work with an actor like Lu Yanhe?
However, ever since it was confirmed that Lu Yanhe would be starring in the movie, his producers and investors have all shown a fanatical attitude of "will agree to whatever Lu Yanhe wants".
This made Huang Tianlin very uncomfortable.
He not only felt that his authority as a director had been diminished, but more importantly, he felt a sense of unease.
It's as if, with Lu Yanhe's involvement, the focus of this work suddenly shifted to Lu Yanhe.
The director and the film itself are no longer important.
-
Filming for "Tropical Rainy Season" has been underway for some time now.
The filming of this movie was quite difficult.
Huang Tianlin is someone who has very high standards for film visuals.
For a single shot, he could make the entire crew wait four or five hours for daylight, just to get that light in the shot and achieve the "humid" feeling he wanted.
Because his previous film was nominated for the Toronto International Film Festival, and Lu Yanhe also starred in this film, his production budget for this movie was quite sufficient.
If he wanted, he could even take his time filming for four or five months.
Huang Tianlin himself is not a director who likes to film in a very industrial, formulaic way. He doesn't believe in things like "this scene or that scene must be filmed today"—
He's not very good at planning. Often, the shooting plan just helps him figure out which scenes he needs to film.
Often, once on set, he would even change the original script.
Therefore, he originally hoped that Lu Yanhe could give him more time.
Although Lu Yanhe's character didn't have many scenes, every scene he played was quite exciting, driving the story to its climax.
The more emotionally charged and intense the scene, the more he wants to perfect every detail.
However, Lu Yanhe's team insisted on signing a one-week performance contract.
Huang Tianlin was furious.
Even though his producer said, "No established actor can give you a long time to do whatever you want. An actor like Lu Yanhe, you only have a few scenes in your script, he'd be lucky to give you a week. Don't forget, we don't pay him much either."
Huang Tianlin lost his temper again and said, "Then he shouldn't act in it!"
Producer: "If he doesn't act in it, where are you going to send this movie? Don't you want your movie to be in one of the Big Four international film festivals? Are you going to send it to Toronto again? Or somewhere else? Tokyo, Busan?"
Huang Tianlin fell silent.
"Tianlin, don't let your arrogance cause you to miss an invaluable opportunity."
“Your attitude toward him makes me feel like this movie no longer belongs to me; I am just his servant.”
“No, you are not his servant, but his benefactor. I’m not saying you should be grateful, but don’t be resistant, don’t reject him because of your pride, okay?” the producer said. “You are a director with unparalleled talent, you deserve to step onto a bigger stage, but you need the opportunity to be seen, and Lu Yanhe is your opportunity.”
Huang Tianlin's face darkened.
The producer patted him on the shoulder.
"Lu Yanhe will be arriving at the film set soon, so think it over carefully."
"Brother Hai, why did you help me make my first movie?" Huang Tianlin suddenly asked.
Yuan Hai smiled and said, "I told you, you have the talent to make movies, so I'm willing to help you make movies."
-
Yuan Hai still remembers the day he discovered Huang Tianlin; looking back, it really feels like something out of a comic book or movie.
That was at a venture capital conference.
Attending venture capital meetings is a job for all producers, especially independent producers like Yuan Hai.
He didn't work for a major film company, but instead relied on his connections and resources in the industry to work on projects one by one.
Once a good project is found, one can start contacting various film companies to secure funding, find a director, and assemble a production crew.
There are actually many producers like Yuan Hai all over the world.
The first thing Yuan Hai heard Huang Tianlin say was an angry remark to another person: "You didn't understand what my script was about at all!"
Because Huang Tianlin was speaking Chinese, Yuan Hai took another look.
He saw a young, inexperienced face filled with anger and discontent.
Such faces are not uncommon at venture capital conferences.
Yuan Hai prepared to leave.
Suddenly, he heard the person standing opposite Huang Tianlin say in a condescending and mocking tone, with utmost contempt: "Who do you think you are? Your script is garbage. I can't even understand it. What makes you think others can? I see countless young people like you every year who are arrogant and think they are talented. They are conceited and narcissistic. They don't realize that what they have is not talent, but cynicism."
Huang Tianlin's face turned bright red, and many people around them were watching them.
At that moment, Yuan Hai looked at Huang Tianlin and sighed softly in his heart.
Because he had also been through that stage of youth, he had also experienced being ridiculed, mocked, and laughed at to his face. At that moment, Yuan Hai walked over.
"You have a script, right? Why don't you let me see it?"
Originally, Yuan Hai only wanted to help Huang Tianlin out of a predicament.
Upon hearing his words, Huang Tianlin turned around in disbelief.
His eyes shone as if a flame had suddenly ignited within them.
Yuan Hai thought to himself that this young man was a bit different from the talented but unappreciated people he usually met.
Some people, you only need one glance, a chance glance, and you know that they may not be particularly eye-catching, but they are an artist who is out of place with their surroundings.
Only those who are out of step with the world can have those burning, lion-like eyes.
Looking at his scripts, they are crude, filled with expressions like "walking flames" and "silent boulders" that cannot actually be translated into images.
However, Yuan Hai sensed something raw, fresh, and ready to burst forth from his script.
So, he began his first collaboration with Huang Tianlin.
-
"Yan He, hello, we finally meet. Last time you came to Malaysia, I wasn't there, I was in Paris."
Yuan Hai personally went to the airport to pick up Lu Yanhe.
He was enthusiastic and very polite to Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe smiled and shook hands with Yuan Hai, saying, "Hello, Mr. Yuan."
Yuan Hai was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, unlike producers from major film studios who were dressed in suits and ties.
"Director Huang is filming on set, so he can't come with me to pick you up," Yuan Hai said with a smile. "We've been waiting for you to come."
Lu Yanhe smiled.
Based on the previous interaction with Huang Tianlin, he might not be so eager to see him come over.
“I’ve wanted to come for a while now. I originally wanted to come a few days earlier to familiarize myself with the crew, but I recently took on another project and just finished filming that one. Plus, there are other unfinished tasks, so I only finished yesterday.” Lu Yanhe asked, “President Yuan, how long do you plan to film ‘Tropical Rainy Season’ in total?”
Yuan Hai said, "It is expected to take about 120 days to film, but at the current pace, it may take a few more days."
Lu Yanhe was quite surprised to hear this.
The main reason is that, apart from "Burning Fire," Lu Yanhe has basically never made a film that took more than two months to shoot.
"Tropical Rainy Season" doesn't seem like the kind of movie with many scenes and complex staging, so why does it take so long?
Previously, Lu Yanhe only looked at how long he was supposed to film, and didn't pay much attention to the overall filming time of the movie.
Yuan Hai: "Because Director Huang has very high requirements for polishing every shot, he often spends five or six hours shooting for a single shot."
Lu Yanhe was even more surprised upon hearing this.
Yuan Hai accompanied Lu Yanhe into the car and sat with him in the back.
He took out a tablet computer and handed it to Lu Yanhe.
"These are some of the footage we've already shot; you can take a look."
Lu Yanhe took the tablet and put on the headphones.
Upon seeing this, he realized why it took Huang Tianlin so long to make such a film.
The quality of a film's cinematography and visuals is explained in every frame.
In the footage already shot for "Tropical Rainy Season," every shot and every person presents a very high-end and delicate texture.
The visual quality reminded Lu Yanhe of Wong Kar-wai. Wong Kar-wai was also a director whose personal style was clearly recognizable just by looking at his shots. Of course, the visuals of "Tropical Rainy Season" are not the same as his style. In fact, it is more like a combination of the softness of Japanese films and Wes Anderson's artistic and refreshing style, presenting a delicate feeling like a still life oil painting.
The child in the footage is captured in numerous shots from various angles: from a top-down view of the stair railing, from a side view from another person's perspective, from a close-up of the reflection in the glass... These different shots combine to create a child with different facets, a child full of secrets and stories.
And what makes a child exhibit this feeling—
Lu Yanhe found it very amazing.
After all, children are often the most innocent and easily understood people on screen.
After watching the video, Lu Yanhe took off his headphones, smiled at Yuan Hai, and said, "No wonder it took so long to film. These lights... they all look like natural light?"
The light and shadow effects produced by natural light and artificial light are very different.
Lu Yanhe will always remember watching Leonardo DiCaprio's "The Revenant." He doesn't really remember how good the movie was or how amazing DiCaprio's acting was, but he does remember the real feeling that the movie gave him. The scenery was like a documentary under a high magnifying glass, and even the breath of people seemed to be coming right at you. The tranquility, the deep blue, the leaden gray and the flames in that truly natural state.
“It seems that Director Huang didn’t employ such demanding cinematic language in his last film,” Lu Yanhe said.
Yuan Hai: "For our last film, we only raised $200,000 to make it. For this film, we got more production funding."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
Just as a chef's skill depends on the quality of the ingredients, a director's talent and technique also depend on whether there is money to realize them.
Yuan Hai asked, "Yan He, do you have any other work plans after you finish filming this movie?"
Lu Yanhe said, "There are some projects that are currently being coordinated; you'll have to ask them for details."
He gestured to Wang Biao, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
"They handle all the coordination for me; I'm not even entirely clear on the details myself."
Yuan Hai: "Okay, if you have time after filming, please give me a chance to show you around Malaysia."
Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "President Yuan, there's no need to be so polite. After I finish filming, the crew should still have a lot of scenes to shoot, right?"
"Yes." Yuan Hai nodded, "But it's still possible to take two or three days out of the time."
"I wouldn't dare. If you have time then, Mr. Yuan, just recommend a few places worth visiting. Filming is the priority."
The two of them were very polite to each other.
-
The script for "Tropical Rainforest" was initially sent to Lu Yanhe, and Chen Ziyan took a liking to it; it was written by Yuan Hai.
Chen Ziyan wanted a script for an art film, and when Yuan Hai heard this, he actively helped her make the connection through someone he knew.
That's how this collaboration came about.
Yuan Hai was very enthusiastic about cooperating with Lu Yanhe.
Although Huang Tianlin was somewhat hampered by his pride and remained indifferent to Lu Yanhe, Yuan Hai consistently showed great enthusiasm and welcome towards Lu Yanhe.
We arrived near the filming location.
Yuan Haixian led them to their accommodation.
The filming location was a remote village.
“There aren’t any good hotels nearby.” Yuan Hai led Lu Yanhe and the others out of the car. In front of them was a very beautiful building with a courtyard. “This is my friend’s house. It has been cleaned. You can stay here for the time being.”
Lu Yanhe walked in with some surprise.
He hadn't expected that in such a remote filming location, far from the city center, there would be a log-style building that looked like it had just been built.
"Thank you," he said to Yuan Hai. "May we use any of the rooms here?"
“Yes,” Yuan Hai nodded, “but only on the first floor. The rooms on the second and third floors are locked.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"The environment here is really nice, thank you."
Yuan Hai: "I hope you enjoy filming here."
Yuan Hai led Lu Yanhe on a tour of the house.
"Your friend must be very rich, to have built such a building, but it seems he has hardly ever lived there."
There were few signs of life in the house. It had all kinds of equipment and was very complete, but there were not many signs of use.
Yuan Hai chuckled, “He flies all over the world and rarely has time to stop in one place. This house was built on a whim of his one year when he thought he could retire here, so he started building it.”
"Would he mind if I moved in?"
“He doesn’t mind at all; on the contrary, he’s very welcoming,” Yuan Hai said. “He’s seen your movie, so he immediately agreed to my request. If you stay here, it will only take us about thirty minutes to get to the filming location each day. If you stay in the city, it will take an hour and a half each way.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"It's much more convenient to live here."
“I don’t know what you need, but if you need anything in your life, feel free to contact me anytime, or have your agent contact me, it’s fine.” Yuan Hai emphasized again, “I hope that your filming of ‘Tropical Rainforest’ is a very pleasant and comfortable experience.”
-
Lu Yanhe took several photos of the house and sent them to Chen Siqi.
Chen Siqi replied: You want to buy it? Where is this house located?
Lu Yanhe: ...This is where the film crew in Malaysia arranged for me to stay.
Chen Siqi: Oh, I thought you'd found a house you liked and wanted to buy it.
Lu Yanhe: Aren't you coming to Malaysia soon? I'll send it to you so you can stay here if you come.
Chen Siqi: I'll be coming over the day after tomorrow. Send me the address then, and I'll go over after I've finished my business here.
Lu Yanhe: Okay.
Lu Yanhe added: However, I think we can indeed plan what kind of house we will live in in the future.
Chen Siqi: What are you doing? You're not thinking of hiring someone to design and build a house yourself, are you?
Lu Yanhe: Only in this way can the house fully meet your expectations.
Chen Siqi: I don't have that many ideas; I'm a pragmatist.
Lu Yanhe: Don't you have any ideas about our future home? Don't you love me?
Chen Siqi: ...That's enough.
Lu Yanhe laughed, his lips curving upwards.
After putting his things away, Wang Biao noticed Lu Yanhe's upturned lips on the sofa and winked at Zou Dong, signaling him to go look.
Zou Dong glanced at it, a smile appearing in his eyes.
-
How thorough and meticulous was Yuan Hai's work?
He also specially arranged for someone to cook and clean for Lu Yanhe and his group during this period.
Wang Biao said, "Although this is a small film crew, the producer has been very considerate in every aspect. All the bedding and sheets have been replaced with new ones, and local phone cards have been prepared for us."
This is because the area is remote, and the network may not be good everywhere.
"But, Brother Lu, can I ask you a question?" Wang Biao suddenly asked.
Lu Yanhe nodded: "Just ask if you want to. Why are you being so secretive and hesitant with me?"
Wang Biao laughed and said, "Actually, it's not just others who don't understand why you acted in 'Tropical Rainy Season,' I don't understand either. But what I don't understand is a little different. I think it's okay to have a small crew and a low budget. Many good movies aren't made with high budgets. But Huang Tianlin was clearly not very enthusiastic towards you. Why would you put up with a director who wasn't very enthusiastic towards you and make a movie like this?"
Lu Yanhe smiled.
"You feel that he's not warm or enthusiastic towards me, as if I'm particularly...unconcerned about my reputation and have lowered myself, is that right?"
Wang Biao said, "Yes, of course, I know that you always say that we don't need to put on a high posture, Brother Lu."
“Well, but you can’t be too humble,” Lu Yanhe said. “However, I don’t think I’ve humbled myself.”
Wang Biao was taken aback.
“He didn’t really look down on me, nor did he really not want me to appear in his movies. All his rejection and resistance to me stemmed from the fact that he was a new director who was just starting out, while I was already a big-name actor with a great reputation. He felt inferior and even anxious.”
Lu Yanhe looked at Wang Biao intently.
"If he belittled my acting skills and was hostile to me personally, I would not hesitate to give up the film. But for a sensitive director who is just flawed in personality, I don't actually feel that I am not being respected."
Wang Biao seemed to be deep in thought.
-
"Lu Yanhe has already arrived?"
When Yuan Hai returned to the film set, Huang Tianlin saw him and the first thing he asked was about Lu Yanhe.
"Yes, they've arrived and just settled in," Yuan Hai said to Huang Tianlin. "After you finish filming, remember to say hello to them."
Huang Tianlin sighed sullenly.
"Alright."
Yuan Hai looked at him and said, "He had a very high opinion of the footage you shot before and really liked it."
Huang Tianlin was taken aback and looked at Yuan Hai with some surprise.
"Didn't expect that, did you?"
Huang Tianlin pursed his lips, "He was just being polite with you."
"You'll find out later whether he's just being polite or not."
“Even if he liked it, he only gave us a week to film,” Huang Tianlin told Yuan Hai.
Yuan Hai seemed to know why Huang Tianlin had always maintained this attitude.
He didn't take it to heart.
He only said, "Tianlin, focus on filming. 'Tropical Rainy Season' is a good movie. Even if he only gives you a week to film, if you do well, he can take you to one of the Big Four international film companies."
"Then what?"
“Then you’ll have the chance to become famous in the world film industry,” Yuan Hai said decisively. “At that time, you can tell me what you really think of Lu Yanhe.”
-
The game "Demon-Slaying Sword" is about to be signed; those who want to make an investment can consider investing.
(End of this chapter)
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