Chapter 629 Big Explosion, Running Around the World! (13,000 words update!)
Originally, without Lu Yanhe's Weibo post, the "rumors" that Chen Ziyan had arranged earlier would have been hard to believe without any evidence. However, once Lu Yanhe posted his Weibo, the nature of the matter seemed to have really changed.
Lu Yanhe's Weibo post clearly shows his dissatisfaction with the Golden Tripod Awards.
Everyone is saying that he used public opinion to force the Golden Tripod Awards to set a precedent by creating a separate award for sitcoms.
He stated directly that it had nothing to do with him and that he had not applied for these awards.
This caused a huge uproar.
While neither the Golden Tripod Awards nor Huang Lian have responded yet, someone asked in Lu Yanhe's comment section: "Are you going to this year's Golden Tripod Awards ceremony?"
Lu Yanhe: The awards I applied for didn't even get nominated, so what am I supposed to do there? Be a mascot?
This response was even more ironic.
Was it Lu Yanhe using public opinion to coerce the Golden Tripod Awards into awarding the prize, or was it that the Golden Tripod Awards couldn't withstand the pressure of public opinion and thus created this award to elevate Lu Yanhe to the forefront as a mascot?
Lu Yanhe was furious and lashed out on Weibo, which suddenly reminded many people of the past.
Lu Yanhe isn't the type to take things lying down. He may be a good person, and if you insult him to his face, he might just smile and say it doesn't matter. But if you really cross his line, begging or pleading won't work.
His attitude clearly indicated that he had been tricked.
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Neither Yuehutai nor the other nominees have responded yet.
They neither responded publicly to whether they accepted the award like Lu Yanhe did, nor did they contact Lu Yanhe privately to communicate with him.
Yin Xincheng and Zhan Yun responded to his decision in the group chat with several hugs and thumbs-up emojis.
They said nothing else.
Lu Yanhe didn't want to talk to them about this either.
This matter was not decided by them alone; both Yin Xincheng and Zhan Yun have agents and teams behind them.
By 3 p.m., Lu Yanhe had been picked up and put into a car to continue his promotional tour for "Love Letter".
Lu Yanhe arrived at the cinema and met up with Chen Bige, Zhang Ruozhi, and the others.
Chen Bige hugged Lu Yanhe and patted him on the shoulder.
"How are you?"
"It's alright, I feel much better after venting my anger." Lu Yanhe laughed. "Don't worry, I won't hold it in."
Chen Bige smiled.
She nodded. "That's good. When I first saw this result, I thought the Golden Tripod Awards had discussed it with you in advance. I was wondering how Sister Ziyan could agree to such a bad thing. I didn't expect that they made the changes on their own. Huang Lian is deliberately trying to disgust you."
Lu Yanhe nodded: "Yes, he was probably just trying to annoy me on purpose. He had no choice but to give me a nomination, but he didn't want to give me a nomination either, so he came up with this tactic."
Chen Bige: "That's really shameless, that kind of person."
The two talked for a while.
Zhang Ruozhi stood to the side and listened.
She seemed to want to say something, but said nothing at all.
She is a very smart girl, and that's why she won't speak rashly or say meaningless nonsense before figuring out the situation.
Lu Yanhe, on the contrary, noticed Zhang Ruozhi's helplessness and nervousness.
"It's okay, this has nothing to do with you." Lu Yanhe said to Zhang Ruozhi with a smile, "Love Letter is doing very well now, and you've become famous overnight. If you're having any trouble adjusting, just talk to your agent or me anytime. If you feel uncomfortable, the older sisters you know are all very nice people, and they'd be happy to talk to you."
Zhang Ruozhi gave a soft "hmm".
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At the roadshow, the audience remained enthusiastic about their appearance and was not affected by the Lu Yanhe incident.
As Lu Yanhe previously stated, the audience's feedback on the film "Love Letter" has been very positive. It's a good film that audiences consider "more sophisticated than a popcorn movie," but it's not so artistically advanced that it's incomprehensible to them.
There were many young boys and girls at the scene, their eyes were red.
One girl even confessed her feelings to the boy next to her in public.
For a moment, Lu Yanhe felt a pang of fear, worried that the boy might not actually like the girl and might refuse.
Fortunately, the fact that the two of them were able to watch this movie together suggests that they were probably attracted to each other, and the boy hugged the girl.
Chen Bige cheered excitedly.
Lu Yanhe smiled.
"You're even more excited than they are."
Chen Bige: "I just love watching this kind of scene."
"Aren't you also looking forward to this kind of scene?"
"You said you're hoping someone will confess their love to me in public?" Chen Bige asked.
Lu Yanhe nodded.
“If I don’t like that person, I’ll politely decline. If I do like that person, I’ll smash their head in.” Chen Bige said without hesitation, “They don’t even know what kind of environment I like.”
Lu Yanhe: "..."
Lu Yanhe asked, "So, do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend now?"
Chen Bige: "How could I not have a boyfriend? It's just that I haven't settled down yet, so I won't introduce him to you guys for now."
Lu Yanhe nodded with a smile.
The host, who was standing nearby, overheard the two having a private conversation and his eyes widened, but he had to pretend that he hadn't heard anything.
Afraid of being exposed.
Can you two please be more careful?
This is in a public place, this is on stage!
There are so many microphones around here!
After the afternoon roadshow, they had dinner with the roadshow support team.
Lu Yanhe organized the event to express his gratitude to the roadshow team.
The main creators worked hard throughout the journey, and their companions also worked hard.
"Yu Ming's roadshow ends here. He takes the high-speed train at 8:30 pm and will arrive in Jinkou at 9:30 pm. He'll be heading to Jinkou tomorrow, and there are four stops there. Teacher Wan Xin will also be heading to Jinkou after finishing her work today and will meet up with us tomorrow. Teacher Li Songfan is still in the group and can't come out, but Maowei has arranged a video call."
Wang Biao told Lu Yanhe about tomorrow's arrangements.
Lu Yanhe nodded.
This movie is of great significance to him. He did his best to promote it throughout the entire process without complaint. However, Chen Bige was also willing to accompany him on the promotional tour, which touched Lu Yanhe deeply.
The agreement Chen Bige signed with them only required her to cooperate with two publicity campaigns.
Of course, Chen Bige received a share of the box office profits from the film "Love Letter," and the better the performance, the more she received. But this is definitely not the reason why an actress of her caliber would be willing to do the entire promotional tour. It only shows that Chen Bige, for various reasons, also wanted to make the film as good as possible, and she also loved this film.
On the high-speed train to Jinkou, Wang Biao was scrolling through his phone when he suddenly exclaimed "Wow!"
Lu Yanhe asked, "What's wrong?"
Wang Biao said, "The Blue Ribbon Awards issued an announcement saying that starting from the year after next, the awards for Best TV Series, Best Screenplay, and Best Director will be divided into two categories: Drama and Comedy."
"ha?"
"So, this year 'Friends' will still be competing for the same award as everyone else, but starting from the year after next, 'Friends' will be able to apply for the comedy category?" Wang Biao was somewhat shocked. "Wow, is the Blue Ribbon campaign directly supporting you, Brother Lu?"
“If a normal award is to undergo changes, it should be announced in advance so that everyone can distinguish between the two from the start of the registration process,” Lu Yanhe said. “I don’t know if it’s to support me, but after Wen Yang took over the Blue Ribbon Awards, he was under attack from all sides due to the changes in judges and the reform of the award mechanism. Now it seems that Huang Lian must have been behind the scenes. If Wen Yang doesn’t fight back now, he won’t be able to hold onto his position.”
The Blue Ribbon announcement has thrust the Golden Tripod Awards and Huang Lian into the spotlight.
The criticism against them grew even stronger.
Lu Yanhe paid no attention to Huang Lian and the others' reactions.
His mind is now completely focused on "Love Letter".
On Saturday, the second day of its release, "Love Letter" grossed 210 million yuan, an increase of 10 million yuan from the first day, bringing its total box office to over 400 million yuan.
In just two days, the box office exceeded everyone's initial expectations for "Love Letter".
It can be said that, thanks to its early publicity and marketing, Love Letter successfully broke out of its niche by generating social buzz and became the top choice for young people to watch movies.
It is especially the first choice for couples.
A girl was interviewed outside the movie theater and said, "A friend recommended this movie to me and suggested that I bring my boyfriend to see it. She said that we always argue, and after watching this movie, we might cherish each other more."
The reporter asked, "Do you think your friend is right?"
The girl held her boyfriend's arm, her smile slightly shy, and nodded.
The third day, Sunday.
Director Bai Jingnian of "Friends" took the five main actors, Wen Minglan, Yin Xincheng, Zhan Yun, Yan Liang, and Bai Jin, to watch "Love Letter" together. They took a group photo at the theater entrance and checked in on their social media.
When asked if they would go to receive the award, they did not respond and simply smiled and changed the subject.
"Love Letter is a very good movie, everyone should not miss it."
"Love Letter will be the movie that the people in Friends go to see together," Yin Xincheng said confidently. "It's not just a choice for couples, it's also a choice for good friends to go to the movies together."
Bai Jin said, "I hope Yan He can write a role for Zhang Ruozhi in the new season of 'Friends' so that she can make a guest appearance. She is so cute, I like her so much."
The topic has generated an explosive amount of buzz.
Daily box office revenue declined as expected, reaching 160 million.
On the fourth day, Monday, a workday began, and the daily box office dropped to only 70 million. However, online discussions about the film surged like a tidal wave. Every major film-related social media platform was discussing the movie.
Some controversy has also arisen online. For example, the film still falls into the trope of two women vying for one man—although this controversy has also drawn criticism from many.
On the fifth day, Tuesday, Cat's Tail once again launched a double ticket discount service to stimulate ticket purchases, and the box office remained at 68 million, with the decline almost negligible.
The Golden Tripod Awards seem to have decided to remain silent, refusing to respond to the online controversy surrounding the previous sitcom awards.
Xu Senjin, the director of Yuehu TV, called Lu Yanhe to congratulate him on the box office success of "Love Letter" and also asked if he had decided not to attend the Golden Tripod Awards ceremony this year.
Lu Yanhe gave him a very positive answer.
Xu Senjin said, "We probably still can't really not send someone to accept the award on behalf of the crew, after all, we are under pressure from higher authorities on both sides."
"Understood, Director. It's alright, this is my own business."
Lu Yanhe knew that in the adult world, not everyone could be willful or loyal.
In the real world of martial arts, people are never in control of their own destiny, which is why the protagonists in novels seek to settle scores and seek revenge.
However, Xu Senjin also said, "Yan He, you did a very satisfying job. We won't let you be isolated and lose face."
Lu Yanhe didn't know how Xu Senjin planned to handle this matter, but Lu Yanhe felt that it was enough that Xu Senjin could give him this attitude under the circumstances.
Day 6, Wednesday.
Zhang Ruozhi appeared on Peng Zhixing's interview program "Zhixing" on Aurora Video. As a newcomer who recently became famous overnight, this was her first exclusive interview. The program was viewed more than 15 million times and garnered three trending topics.
Zhang Ruozhi has become incredibly popular.
The daily box office continued its normal decline, grossing a total of 56 million yuan that day.
Day 7, Thursday.
Chen Bige appeared on a live interview on Yuehu TV to talk about her acting career.
Lu Yanhe and Li Songfan had an online conversation about the rarely discussed topic of "male actors and romance movies".
Daily box office revenue continued its normal decline, reaching 52 million, but managed to hold above the 50 million mark.
With this, after seven days of release, "Love Letter" has grossed over 800 million yuan, breaking the record for the highest opening week box office for a domestic art film and romance film.
Total box office revenue is aiming for 1 billion.
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"Generally speaking, films that offer room for textual discussion often face the challenge of not being well-received by the lower-tier market. This is something all filmmakers are aware of. Therefore, sometimes we see particularly straightforward emotional outbursts in some films. It's not that people don't know how to express things in a sophisticated way, but rather that they will give up more sophisticated expressions for the sake of a larger market."
"The most popular line this summer is 'How are you? I'm fine.' Such a simple and straightforward line has achieved a balance between highbrow and lowbrow appeal in this movie."
“I really like a viewer’s comment. He said that when he heard the female lead shouting that line over and over again, he didn’t know why, but he was very moved.”
"In our era, as more and more analysis, dissection, and interpretation appear in our lives, we seem to have forgotten that being moved is a natural expression. Good movies and good lines often make you feel good without knowing why."
Lin Yu smiled slightly.
“I am very proud that my high school classmate Lu Yanhe made the movie ‘Love Letter’, which allows me to openly and without reservation say on this program, ‘Go see it.’”
After recording the program on Yuehu TV, Lin Yu thanked everyone in the production team, said a few words of thanks for their hard work, and left the recording studio.
Chen Qin was waiting for her in the car.
"You don't have any other work to do later, right?" Chen Qin asked.
Lin Yu shook her head.
"That's all, let's go."
Chen Qin nodded, suddenly feeling a little nervous.
Lin Yu noticed it.
She laughed, "It's nothing, just a simple meal, why are you so serious?"
Chen Qin smiled helplessly.
“Every time I go to your house for dinner, I get nervous,” he said. “Your dad always looks at me like a policeman looking at a criminal.”
Lin Yu held Chen Qin's hand. "It's okay, he actually likes you a lot."
"Really?" Chen Qin looked completely unconvinced. He had never sensed any affection from Lin Yu's father before.
Linyu: "Really, he just doesn't say it out loud, afraid that you'll get arrogant. They used to worry that I was dating too early and it would affect my grades, but now they think, thankfully, the person I like is a high school classmate."
"Why?" Chen Qin asked, puzzled.
“They always think the entertainment industry is a mixed bag and full of danger. Although my job is in the magazine industry, I often deal with the entertainment industry, so you know how it is,” Lin Yu said helplessly. “They are also afraid that I will be too busy with work to get married.”
Chen Qin laughed.
"Then I'm relieved."
Lin Yu: "What are you doing over at the Spirit River right now?"
"We mainly work with Xu Tianming on copyright operations," Chen Qin said. "Yan He has a lot of business opportunities with these IPs. For example, with the huge box office success of 'Love Letter,' many places have come to discuss licensing."
"What kind of authorization? Development of surrounding areas?"
"These are all things to be done in the future. Right now, apart from the collaboration with Hans Coffee on a co-branded product, we haven't done any other merchandise development collaborations for 'Love Letter.' It's mainly about broadcasting licenses. The copyright environment in China is becoming more and more standardized. If any place wants to broadcast 'Love Letter' for commercial purposes, they all have to get licenses from us. For example, Qianxing City Mall is asking us for a year's worth of broadcasting rights in their mall. They want to show the movie on the big screen in the plaza outside the mall."
Lin Yu asked in confusion, "There's such a thing as a commercial license?"
“Yes, there are all sorts of projects, many of them. Although they are not large-scale incomes, they may only be small collaborations worth tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan. However, they add up,” Chen Qin said. “Now, in addition to cinemas, many private cinemas are also subject to copyright law and must obtain commercial licenses from us in order to make a profit. Xu Tianming is working on some larger projects, while I am currently working on these smaller projects.”
"This must be quite mentally taxing, right?" Lin Yu asked. "It sounds like you'll be dealing with quite a few people."
“Yes,” Chen Qin nodded. “But I’m okay because Linghe’s IPs are all very popular shows. In most cases, others come to us for cooperation, so I don’t have to do the business. Xu Tianming asked me to do it because I understand the law. There aren’t any mature cooperation cases in the industry for these small, detailed businesses, so having me do it allows me to keep track of the cooperation agreement terms. If the company’s current law firm were to handle these small collaborations, there wouldn’t be much profit.”
Lin Yu nodded.
"It sounds like you're developing a new revenue stream for movies," Lin Yu said.
"Actually, it's not so much about pioneering. Many foreign films have a mature industry and have long since systematized and industrialized this whole thing. But the commercial development of Chinese films has only been less than thirty years. Theaters and box office revenue are the main focus, and there's been a frenzy of construction, but other supporting industries aren't as mature yet. They'll eventually come up eventually. We're just able to take the initiative and be the first to try something new in China because we have a lot of good IPs."
Chen Qin is now very satisfied with his work in Linghe.
Perhaps it was because when he joined the company there were very few people, and he had to take charge of things on his own right away, which didn't give him time to experience the various stages of a novice. He had to take on the responsibilities even if he couldn't, and the practical experience accelerated his growth process.
Chen Qin is a mild-mannered, cheerful person with a relatively low level of ambition.
He's been like this since high school.
But it seems that it is precisely because of this personality trait that he thrives in this job, which doesn't require him to actively seek out business. He's not the type to look down on others, so he makes all his partners feel comfortable. He doesn't look down on people just because their project is only a few tens of thousands of dollars, nor does he disregard small companies or platforms.
Xu Tianming valued his personality, which is why he placed him in this position.
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In its second week of release, Love Letter's screenings were halved due to the entry of two major films.
Of course, even if the number of screenings is not drastically reduced, its audience will inevitably decrease significantly.
Lu Yanhe and Chen Bige are still diligently traveling all over the country for roadshows.
First, we need to increase the number of screenings in theaters. Second, we need to continue providing the publicity team with new promotional materials to maintain the film's popularity and prevent it from disappearing from everyone's sight so quickly.
Once "Love Letter" stops being discussed, there will likely be almost no viewers willing to go to the cinema to see it.
Thanks to the efforts of all parties, Love Letter's box office remained at around 360 million yuan in its second week, bringing its total box office to around 1.2 billion yuan.
However, after two weeks in theaters, the main box office potential of "Love Letter" has been largely exhausted. According to data model estimates, it can only earn a maximum of another 200 to 300 million yuan before its box office run comes to an end.
It can be said that "Love Letter" is the most profitable Chinese-language film in the past five years.
Production cost over ten million —
Although this figure is abnormal, neither Lu Yanhe nor Chen Bige received market-rate pay; they all received profit sharing. The majority of this ten million yuan was spent on production.
The advertising and marketing budget reached a staggering 72 million.
Whether it's the program "How Are You? I'm Fine" and its subsequent promotion, the streaming on short video platforms, the extensive offline advertising, the advertising fees on various media outlets, or the labor costs of the creators and the expenses of the roadshow team, "Love Letter" has delivered a classic textbook example of dynamically increasing promotional budgets.
The total cost of less than 100 million yuan, plus distribution expenses, could potentially bring in 1.4 to 1.5 billion yuan at the box office, not even including revenue from video platforms, overseas copyrights, and other sources.
In the words of one financial institution, "Love Letter" made a fortune.
The production budget for this film was basically raised by Lu Yanhe himself and the people around him.
Everyone made a fortune.
At this moment, Lu Yanhe began to have great doubts about himself.
Because he genuinely believed that the film's box office would only reach a maximum of 300 million.
"..."
Movies are also a form of marketing.
He learned this lesson deeply from this case.
As long as you can make the audience want to watch your movie, they will want to watch it no matter how small the budget.
If the audience doesn't want to watch your movie, even if you cast the Four Heavenly Kings as the lead actors and invest hundreds of millions, it won't be well-received.
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But Lu Yanhe cannot stop at this point.
Because "Love Letter" is about to be released overseas.
After Lu Yanhe and Chen Bige finished their domestic promotional tour, the entire crew, at the invitation of the overseas distributors, embarked on a promotional tour in six countries: South Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, and Australia.
They found different distributors in different countries, but it seems like they conspired to put all the release dates together.
With coordination, Lu Yanhe only visited these few places.
Filming for "Chinese Paladin" began at the end of August.
Although he has few scenes, he can't join the crew too late.
After visiting these places, if there are any other overseas promotional trips for "Love Letter," Chen Bige will have to lead the team.
This is the first time Lu Yanhe has participated in overseas publicity on such a large scale.
"The Mist" counts, but at that time Lu Yanhe only traveled to a few places, and not consecutively, since he wasn't the main character in the film before its release. His worldwide fame only began after the film's release.
Lu Yanhe is quite optimistic about the overseas box office performance of "Love Letter". After all, it won an award at the Jose Film Festival, which makes it no ordinary Chinese film. In addition, the film's lead actors, Lu Yanhe and Chen Bige, can be said to be one of the strongest casts in Chinese cinema.
On the day their entire crew arrived in South Korea, as soon as they got off the plane, the security team that Darren Wilson had arranged for them immediately connected with Lu Yanhe's team.
Lu Yanhe did not trust the services provided by the South Korean side.
This is one of the benefits of signing with an international brokerage firm; the services are comprehensive. Of course, all of this requires Lu Yanhe to sign checks and pay for it. In fact, Lu Yanhe is very willing to sign checks for these services, since it involves his safety, and reliability is key.
After Lu Yanhe arrived in South Korea, quite a few people wanted to host him. From TVN executives to Jong Bon-seok's faction in South Korea, not to mention the South Korean distributors themselves.
Lu Yanhe declined all offers, only agreeing to have a casual meal with the main cast and crew of the film and a South Korean director he admired.
In fact, the publicity campaign in South Korea went the smoothest.
While Lu Yanhe was in the UK, he was being interviewed by a TV station. The host was quite mischievous and asked him about the Golden Tripod Awards, wanting Lu Yanhe to talk about his views on the current state of Chinese film and television awards during the live broadcast.
Lu Yanhe almost turned pale.
I've never encountered this situation before when I came to the UK.
Putting aside these minor incidents, the entire promotional trip went relatively smoothly.
After the films were released in overseas markets one by one and achieved good box office results, Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief.
With awards from the Jose Film Festival and the presence of Lu Yanhe, a star actor who rose to global fame earlier this year with "The Mist," "Love Letter" has grossed over six figures in US dollars in its opening weekend in the major markets it has just finished promoting, except for the United States, which has not yet been released. The total box office is expected to exceed seven figures.
This is a very good achievement for a foreign language film like "Love Letter".
Especially in South Korea, the movie "Love Letter" became a hot topic online, with many K-pop stars watching it and recommending it on social media.
Xu Tianming said that TVN wants to buy the Korean drama adaptation rights to "Love Letter" again.
Lu Yanhe said to have them bring over the adapted version of "Rouge" to see how well it was done.
If the adaptation is good, he'll continue to authorize it; if it's bad, he doesn't want them to ruin the story of "Love Letter".
Lu Yanhe's last overseas promotional event was in the United States, with the premiere still scheduled for Los Angeles.
Here, Midoriya gave a grand premiere to "Love Letter".
Lu Yanhe only learned upon arriving that Green Valley had invited over twenty media outlets and even brought along Arne Bogut and Lily Williams, who had worked with him on "The Mist," to support him. Furthermore, at the premiere, Derian Dylan, who had just filmed "Hurricane 2" with Lu Yanhe, recorded a video message for him.
Midoriya plans to release "Love Letter" in 800 theaters first. If the screening is successful, the number of theaters will be expanded. If the performance is average, it will not cause too much loss.
This is a very impressive number of cinemas.
Lu Yanhe sensed the sincerity from Green Valley.
He felt that it was probably because the previous film, "Path of Glory," performed better than they expected during the North American awards season, which boosted the box office, allowing that film, which wasn't particularly good in terms of plot, to earn millions of dollars in North America, making them have high expectations for "Love Letter."
Although Midoriya had high hopes for Love Letter in terms of revenue from family entertainment.
When Lu Yanhe finished his promotional trip and returned to China, it was already nightfall in Yuming.
He received a message from Midoriya: on its opening day, Love Letter grossed $764,000 in 800 theaters, averaging around $1,000 per screening, which was a decent but not bad result.
For Midoriya in particular, the cost of acquiring the North American distribution rights for "Love Letter" was $6 million.
This opening weekend result gives "Love Letter" a chance to gross over $5 million at the North American box office, which is a pleasant surprise.
But as Lu Yanhe said, Love Letter did not receive very good reviews from North American media and film critics.
One of the criticisms that Lu Yanhe didn't expect was that people felt he had written, directed, and starred in the production, yet he had only played such a simple role, which was very disappointing.
Schmidt Lowry of Green Valley said, "The media and critics in North America have high expectations of you, so they are not satisfied."
Lu Yanhe was not surprised.
The themes of life and death, philosophy, and Eastern cultural background in "Love Letter" would probably be difficult for people in Europe and America to truly understand.
However, in any case, the release of "Love Letter" can be described as a "great success".
In Hollywood, while Love Letter's box office performance in North America was neither particularly good nor bad, Hollywood people generally don't use their own set of calculation methods to measure the box office of these foreign language films.
Variety magazine stated that Lu Yanhe's first self-written and self-directed film, "Love Letter," was a huge success worldwide. The film, which was made with only a few million dollars, has already grossed over $200 million worldwide and is very likely to exceed $300 million, etc.
The magazine's preference for Lu Yanhe is quite obvious.
In Hollywood, box office success is always king.
You can see many people criticizing a big-budget film that fails at the box office, but you almost never see a large-scale criticism of a box office success.
Even the Oscars.
This is different from the situation in China. In China, there's a strong sense of contempt, a kind of money-grubbing disdain, that the higher the box office, the lower the artistic merit.
According to Variety, Lu Yanhe did not experience any "box office failure" at all; on the contrary, he achieved great success once again.
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"Several film and television companies in China are inquiring about whether we have any plans to produce a TV series version. If not, they want to buy the TV series production rights for 'Love Letter' and develop a TV series version."
Xu Tianming said to Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe: "The movie has just been released, and we're already talking about making a TV series. Isn't that too fast?"
Xu Tianming: "They're not going to start production right away, they just want to get the production rights as soon as possible. From scriptwriting to casting, to filming and post-production, it won't be finished in less than a year or two."
"Have you both come to discuss the Northern Lights and the ice fields?" Lu Yanhe asked.
Xu Tianming nodded and said, "They are the two most proactive ones. Yuehutai has also come to talk. However, Yuehutai's offer is not on the same level as the Northern Lights and the Icefield. I suggest we not consider Yuehutai for the time being."
"Adapting the story of 'Love Letter' into a TV series wouldn't be suitable for broadcast on television either, so it's normal that they asked for a low price; their efforts to negotiate are just a gesture of goodwill," Lu Yanhe said. "Have Maxine and HP inquired about it?"
“They are more interested in remaking the film into other languages,” Xu Tianming said. “Especially Maxine, Jong Bon-seok’s side is very keen on remaking Love Letter into a Korean version.”
Lu Yanhe: "We will not consider licensing a remake of the film version within the next three years."
Although Xu Tianming was somewhat surprised, he nodded immediately.
“However, may I ask why?” Xu Tianming asked.
Lu Yanhe said, "I hope this film will be unique in everyone's hearts, and that will take time to settle."
Xu Tianming nodded.
"What's your opinion on Light Chaser Animation's plan to produce an animated version of 'My Own Swordsman'?" he asked again.
Lu Yanhe said, "I was actually willing to make an animated version, but after looking at the previous animated works of Light Chaser Animation, to be honest, I wasn't very satisfied. They used to make action-oriented works. Could they do a good job with this kind of slice-of-life comedy? The styles are too different."
Xu Tianming said, "However, Light Chaser Animation is already the top animation production company in China."
Lu Yanhe: "The show hasn't finished airing yet. By the way, isn't the second season of 'My Own Swordsman' about to start airing soon?"
"Yes." Xu Tianming nodded.
Lu Yanhe: "How about this, you ask them if they can make a few drafts for us first. I want to see what style they plan to make, and also what their plans are for this animation. How do they want to adapt it? The four words 'Wulin Gaiden' carry a lot of weight in the hearts of the audience. I don't want them to treat 'Wulin Gaiden' as a fast-moving consumer good based on a big IP, just to make a quick buck."
Xu Tianming said, "They are very sincere. They actually presented me with a production plan before. They hoped to first create a spin-off based on 'My Own Swordsman' to tell the story of these main characters before they came to Tongfu Inn. Of course, it will still maintain the style of a martial arts comedy."
Lu Yanhe said, "How about we schedule a time with them? I'd like to hear their thoughts in person."
Xu Tianming said, "Okay, I'll arrange a time with them."
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Lu Yanhe originally wanted to rest for two days before joining the crew.
Filming for "Chinese Paladin" has already begun, so his joining the crew a few days later won't affect the filming schedule.
Anyway, he didn't have that many scenes.
Moreover, the production team still has a few days before he is scheduled to join the crew. He can legitimately take a break.
However, Yan Liang and Li Zhibai were both on set, and Chen Siqi also went to Malaysia on a business trip to discuss the publication plan for "Jump Up" there.
After thinking for a moment, Lu Yanhe packed his things and went to the set of "Chinese Paladin".
It's quite boring to be alone.
Unexpectedly, he had just arrived at the filming location of "Chinese Paladin" and hadn't even stepped into the hotel when he received a phone call.
The name "Huang Lian" is displayed above.
Lu Yanhe couldn't even remember when he saved Huang Lian's number.
It seems they've never had any contact with each other.
Although I don't know why he's calling at this hour, but—
Lu Yanhe rejected the call immediately and blocked the number.
He told Chen Ziyan about it.
After learning of Lu Yanhe's reaction, Chen Ziyan laughed and said, "You were right not to answer. The fact that he could do something like setting up a separate award means that he has crossed the line. Who knows what kind of trap he might be setting up when he calls you?"
Lu Yanhe: "I didn't think that much about it. I just felt that I didn't care about him. I used to have a falling out with Beijing and Taiwan, but I didn't have enough strength, backing, or background, so I could only endure it. Now I'm not afraid of him. What can he do to me? Why should I tolerate him?"
Chen Ziyan: "I estimate that Huang Lian will contact you through some other people later. The Golden Tripod Awards and his public image are not in a good position right now. 'Love Letter' has topped the global box office charts for two consecutive weeks. It is currently showing in several overseas locations and is performing very well at the box office. As far as I know, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is very pleased with the global performance of 'Love Letter'. They will not let you be affected by something like the Golden Tripod Awards. To be honest, when you were interviewed by the BBC in the UK, they mentioned the Golden Tripod Awards, which made some people in China a little wary. If this matter really becomes a scandal that spreads in the international media, then many people will be affected."
Lu Yanhe: "So you mean that the higher-ups put pressure on Huang Lian, and Huang Lian couldn't withstand it anymore, so he wants to make peace with me?"
“That’s possible,” Chen Ziyan said. “On the other hand, don’t forget that you have a different status in the entertainment industry and in the hearts of many people. You represent something. How could people be willing to see you retaliated against by Huang Lian for the Blue Ribbon Award? If even you, who have achieved such success, can be so easily manipulated by Huang Lian, others will feel the pain of losing you. So, even in this industry, there are many people who are supporting you with their power without our knowledge.”
Lu Yanhe nodded; he understood.
"No matter what, keep up the good work." Chen Ziyan said with a smile, "Your 'Love Letter' has achieved such great results, not only winning awards, but also representing the large-scale release of Chinese-language films in so many places around the world. That's the biggest reason why you didn't answer Huang Lian's call."
Lu Yanhe said, "Then, 'You Are the Apple of My Eye' will be a real commercial film. Although it is completely different in style from 'Love Letter,' it will definitely be a similar subject in the eyes of many people. If 'You Are the Apple of My Eye' does not catch up with 'Love Letter' at the box office, will it be criticized?"
"This is actually something I wanted to discuss with you," Chen Ziyan said. "Do you want to continue starring in 'You Are the Apple of My Eye'?"
The reason for writing the script for "You Are the Apple of My Eye," just like with "Love Letter," was because they needed a script that could be filmed immediately. They chose "Love Letter" at the time, so "You Are the Apple of My Eye" was shelved. Lu Yanhe had initially planned to star in it, but now it seems that "You Are the Apple of My Eye" is no longer a necessary option for him.
Lu Yanhe said, "To be honest, I personally prefer to play the role."
He liked the movie.
The male protagonist in "You Are the Apple of My Eye" is a completely different type from the character Kawaii Itsuki in "Love Letter".
This is also a type of role that Lu Yanhe has never played before.
Moreover, he really wants to play a character completely different from himself.
Lu Yanhe felt that the best thing about the character Ko Ching-teng was that he truly captured the essence of a high school student on the big screen. Including in "Love Letter," no other male lead in a youth-themed film has portrayed Ko Ching-teng with the same raw realism, as if a boy had been pulled from a high school and filmed as a documentary. He's boisterous, immature, and loves simply and directly, with a straightforward personality, yet he's definitely the most popular person in the class (or perhaps the most disliked by girls because he's always teasing others).
If Shen Jiayi is the white moonlight, then Ke Jingteng is the ordinary boy in every white moonlight story, gazing up at the moonlight. Thankfully, this movie isn't the kind of youthful love story where a guy is like a simp chasing after a goddess.
“If you want to act, then act,” Chen Ziyan laughed. “I was originally thinking of saying, why don’t you not act and find someone else to play the role? I feel that the role of Ke Jingteng can be handled by any male actor with decent acting skills.”
"Yes, but it's quite difficult to make it a classic. You have to completely let go of your star status and there can't be any trace of acting," Lu Yanhe said. "Either find a complete newcomer who has never acted before, or I will act in it."
"You seem quite attached to this role," Chen Ziyan laughed. "So, do you have any thoughts on the character of Shen Jiayi?"
"Shen Jiayi?" Lu Yanhe shook his head. "Not for now."
“Do you know why I advised you not to act in it?” Chen Ziyan said, “At the end of the story, it’s about a boy liking a girl and pursuing her for a long time. Although it’s not about a simp, who do you cast to play a girl that makes Lu Yanhe keep pursuing her? Can the audience accept that? It’s about whether you’re immersed in the role or not. Even if you two have amazing acting skills, the audience will still have preconceived notions. Unless you cast Chen Siqi, then everyone will be okay with it. But in your ending, the female lead marries someone else.”
"..." Lu Yanhe felt as if he had been struck on the head with a thunderbolt.
He realized that Chen Ziyan was actually right.
One cannot talk about dreams without considering the realities of life.
Another important reason why "You Are the Apple of My Eye" became a hit is that when the movie was released, the male and female leads were basically newcomers who were "unknown to anyone," which is when an actor's immersion in the audience is strongest.
A blank sheet of paper, free from any "prejudice".
If Lu Yanhe were to play Ke Jingteng again, who would play Shen Jiayi?
Among actresses of similar age to Lu Yanhe, who can play a girl whom Lu Yanhe likes and pursues for so many years, and who is also recognized by the audience?
Looking around, there was no such person.
Perhaps if Yan Lingyu's portrayal of Ling'er in "Chinese Paladin" can reach the same level as the original character, she might be able to succeed.
However, Lu Yanhe couldn't keep holding back "Those Years" until "Chinese Paladin" premiered.
Furthermore, after playing Ling'er, Yan Lingyu may have reached a level in the audience's hearts that allowed Lu Yanhe to like her for so many years. However, while Yan Lingyu's image and temperament are suitable for playing Ling'er, they are not suitable for playing Shen Jiayi.
Shen Jiayi is a pure and innocent girl, the kind of girl who is a model student in her school days. She likes Ke Jingteng and has an appearance that can surprise the audience without raising doubts.
Just think about it, if it were someone like the fairy-like Liu Yifei, do you think she would actually like a guy like Ko Ching-teng?
At one point, I actually felt awkward.
The "fairy sister" type of appearance lacks the approachable charm of a classmate.
But Yan Lingyu just happens to have this kind of style.
She's aloof and beautiful, and with a little training, she could portray the innocent and adorable Ling'er, who seems untouched by worldly affairs. But she wouldn't be believable; she could be your classmate.
Lu Yanhe has always believed that the foundation for the success of any youth romance film is not how good the story is, but the casting.
Whether the male and female leads can convince the audience and allow them to empathize with them is of paramount importance.
It's such a pity about the actress Shen Jiayi. She was originally the best successor to actresses like Ariel Lin. Although she may not be able to reach the top, she has their unique appeal to the audience.
We've gone off on a tangent, let's get back on track.
Melancholy.
Lu Yanhe has rationally realized that he may not be suitable to film "You Are the Apple of My Eye".
-
So when Li Zhibai and Yan Liang saw Lu Yanhe, they happened to find him feeling depressed and regretful, unable to let go of "Those Years".
"What's wrong with you?" Li Zhibai tossed him a bottle of yogurt, which was still ice-cold.
Lu Yanhe shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."
Li Zhibai: "Go ahead and say it."
“What’s wrong? Tell us, and we’ll see if we can help,” Yan Liang said.
"No, it's just a script I wrote before, which I originally wanted to act in myself, but now I suddenly realize that I might not be able to act in it," Lu Yanhe sighed.
"Which script?" Li Zhi asked.
Li Zhibai and Yan Liang read Lu Yanhe's script almost immediately.
"Those Years"
“You can’t act? Then you act for me,” Li Zhibai said immediately.
"You just finished filming 'Even Faking Death Is Not Allowed,' and now you're going to star in another romance movie?"
“‘Even Faking Death Is Not an Option’ is set in an urban environment, which is different from ‘You Are the Apple of My Eye’,” Li Zhibai said. “Originally, I wouldn’t have asked you to act in it if you were going to, but since you’re not going to, I want to act in it.”
“You…” Lu Yanhe really wanted to say that you were not suitable.
But after Li Zhibai's image overlapped with Ke Jingteng's, Lu Yanhe couldn't bring himself to say "inappropriate".
Li Zhibai pointed at Yan Liang and said, "You wouldn't say he's more suitable than me, would you? He's far too unsuitable."
Neither Lu Yanhe nor Yan Liang could deny this.
Yan Liang's image is too upright; he's not suitable for playing a guy like Ke Jingteng in any way.
Lu Yanhe will leave aside the matter of "Those Years" for now.
Although Li Zhibai wanted to act, Lu Yanhe still wanted to give himself a chance.
Maybe a female actress will pop up who can act alongside him.
Anyway, it won't be able to be turned on anytime soon.
That evening, they had dinner together, and Yan Liang said, "You've just arrived, so I have to leave for a few days."
"Huh? Where are you going?"
"The drama 'The Flowing Light' is about to premiere in two days, and I have to go to help with the promotion. It will take five days," Yan Liang said. "It was all arranged before I joined the crew. Fortunately, there are many roles in this drama, so it was relatively easy to coordinate the filming dates for each of us."
Lu Yanhe: "Is 'The Flowing Light' going to premiere? The God of War is about to make his appearance."
"Don't make fun of me, I'm really nervous right now. I don't even know if the audience will accept it." Yan Liang sighed. "Your scenes with Li Zhibai were all a hit, which put a lot of pressure on me. Everyone is watching me."
Lu Yanhe: "Sure, this drama of yours isn't something that just came out of nowhere. Look at your promotion, it started at the end of June and has been going on for over a month. The results are bound to be good. And what are you nervous about? Zhang Lan is the one who carries the drama."
Yan Liang: "When it comes to grades, nobody cares if you're the lead or second lead. If you're the male lead and your grades are bad, it just means you can't carry the show."
“No way,” Li Zhibai said. “Think about it, all three of us think your character is a good one, and you’ve worked so hard and seriously to act it out. At most, the audience might not like it that much, but they certainly won’t dislike it.”
Yan Liang let out a long sigh.
"I was anxious before I became famous. I was always thinking about when I would become famous. Now that I am famous, I am still anxious. I don't know when my performance will not be as good as before and that I will start to decline."
"Don't worry, whether you're going uphill or downhill, we'll be with you." Li Zhibai patted Yan Liang on the shoulder. "Stop whining and drink!"
-
I've really worked myself to the bone, 13,000 words updated, please vote with monthly tickets.
I recommend an older book on entertainment: "I Became the Leading Lady in a Scandal Overnight".
(End of this chapter)
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