Chapter 641 Optimists
In October, filming began on Linghe's last film of the year, "The Sea, My Pah".
This project, directed by newly signed director Wu Chi, was initiated to allow him to gain directing experience before filming "You Are the Apple of My Eye".
The actors in this movie are mostly unknown minor actors.
Linghe only provided Wu Chi with two million yuan in production funding.
Wu Chi tried to persuade some A-list actors to lower their fees and star in the film with his script, but no one agreed.
"The Sea, My Pfft" is not the kind of art film that gives you hope of winning awards.
This script was chosen because its style was very similar to "You Are the Apple of My Eye," both possessing a texture rooted in the authors' past experiences. It was sincere, but like those "touching" articles in magazines—touching, but not sophisticated enough.
After filming began, it was shot on location in a small seaside town.
Because there were no famous directors or actors, it was just a small film crew in the eyes of others and did not attract much attention.
Only a very few marketing accounts and media outlets noticed that the production company of this movie was actually Lu Yanhe's Linghe, so they published a news article with Lu Yanhe's name on it, hoping to attract a lot of traffic.
People who clicked on the link after seeing the name Lu Yanhe were greatly disappointed to find that the so-called new film had absolutely nothing to do with Lu Yanhe.
Many people thought that Lu Yanhe had a new film in the works.
Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi took the high-speed train together to this seaside town.
Firstly, it's a chance to relax and take a short break; secondly, it's a chance to check on the production crew.
Although it was a very small production team, it was also the first film produced by Linghe that had nothing to do with Lu Yanhe.
This year, with the release of "Roommates" and "The Sea, My Dear" respectively, the first step in "de-Lu Yanhe-ization" has finally been taken.
Lu Yanhe was very pleased.
Chen Siqi said, "I've discovered that in the entire entertainment industry, you're really the only one who can do this."
"What are you doing?" Lu Yanhe was looking down at the latest episode of "Jump Up" when he suddenly heard Chen Siqi's words and looked up to ask.
Their seats were next to each other, making it easy for them to whisper in each other's ears.
Chen Siqi: "You can make low-budget films like this, where there's no established way to recoup your costs. But with your films, there are always Northern Lights and ice field videos to back you up, and you also have overseas channels. Channels are really that important."
Has there been a problem with the overseas version of "Jump Up"?
“There were no problems, but because the publishing and distribution channels were controlled by others, we were in a very passive position during the negotiations,” Chen Siqi said. “There were indeed publishers interested in the book ‘Film Festival: Yu Ming,’ but none of them were willing to offer good terms. However, in order to publish the book and sell it globally, we had no choice but to agree.”
Lu Yanhe deeply understood what Chen Siqi was saying.
His previous films were alright, probably because they performed well on streaming platforms and had decent box office returns worldwide. As a result, he had some bargaining power with film distributors around the world.
However, he also knew that many Chinese-language films, because they lack distribution channels overseas, and overseas film distributors also knew that, apart from a few films by big directors and top actors that were in high demand, most Chinese-language films had almost no market. Therefore, the distribution price was often driven very low.
Aren't you going to sell it?
If you don't sell, you won't make any money; it will just be stuck in your hands.
Different products, different industries, but the same business logic.
The price of Chinese-language dramas on overseas streaming platforms has increased slightly because several Chinese-language dramas have achieved good results and performed well overseas, which has greatly increased the room for negotiation on their prices.
In particular, the streaming rights price for "The Gold Rush" was clearly disclosed, so there was no information gap.
Lu Yanhe said, "If I have the opportunity in the future, I'll buy a publishing company with global distribution capabilities."
Chen Siqi: "It's simply unaffordable. Large publishing companies with global distribution channels are basically subsidiaries of media giants, part of their entire cultural and media matrix. They can't be sold. Two years ago, Stinger underwent a business transformation and had to cut its traditional publishing line, so it was sold to Fanden in the UK. Do you know how much it cost?"
"How many?"
$1.62 billion.
(Note: This data is cited from Paramount's sale of its top publishing house, Simon & Schuster, to private equity firm Kohlberg-Clavis-Roberts in 2023 for $1.62 billion.)
Lu Yanhe looked on with disbelief.
Chen Siqi gave a bitter smile. "Didn't expect that, did you?"
"This is too exaggerated. Who says the traditional publishing industry doesn't make money?" Lu Yanhe said.
Chen Siqi said, "So, our acquisition of a top global publishing company? It's almost unrealistic. In fact, to some extent, it's others who want to acquire our 'Jump Up' magazine."
Lu Yanhe: "If we jump up, the current market value shouldn't be low, right?"
"There's no way to compare with those traditional, established companies. Their copyright libraries are too rich. Even if they do nothing, they still have a gold mine that keeps generating money."
Lu Yanhe: "That sounds so enviable."
“Your Linghe will become a film company like this in the future,” Chen Siqi said. “Look, in just a few years, Linghe has already accumulated so many copyrights.”
Lu Yanhe: "I hope they can develop several independent business lines in the future, so they don't have to rely on me."
“Sure,” Chen Siqi said. “I’ve already seen the rough cut of ‘Roommates’.”
"Huh? When did you watch it?"
“When I went to discuss the Jumping Theater last time, I happened to be there during an internal screening, and Hu Siwei invited me to watch it with him,” Chen Siqi said. “This play is really interesting. It’s a light comedy, although… in my opinion, it’s rather simple and doesn’t have any particularly valuable content.”
“Hmm.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “That’s good. What I’m most afraid of is that every work has to pursue some kind of value content, so that light-hearted works can only be responsible for giving the audience a sense of ease. Just do one thing well and that’s enough.”
“Yes.” Chen Siqi nodded. “Hu Siwei is very worried that ‘Roommates’ will ruin the brand, but I think it’s okay. The market should like this show. Of course, it may need the right timing, location and people to become a big hit.”
Lu Yanhe said, "This show is an experiment. As long as we don't lose money, it's a victory. I quite like this revenue-sharing model. I told Hu Siwei that as long as we don't lose money, we'll continue with the second season. Sitcoms need to cultivate an audience. By accumulating an audience season by season, it will become more and more popular."
Chen Siqi nodded.
"It's that word, what's it called? Companionship," Chen Siqi said. "The reason why Friends has been so popular for so long is because many people have come to regard the characters in Friends as their own friends after watching the show for several years. As long as it's still in the same style, they will continue to watch it. The core audience is too big."
Lu Yanhe said, "By the way, how's the Jumping Theater going?"
Chen Siqi said, "It's relatively stable. When there are big stars in the lead roles, the ratings can reach over 1.2%, and the number of viewers can average around five million more. Under normal circumstances, the ratings have been stable at around 0.8%. Each drama has an average of over eight million viewers, so it can be said to be a very successful attempt."
Lu Yanhe: "That's good."
"Our magazine, 'Jump Up,' has also seen a boost in sales thanks to the Jump Up Theater. Now, the average sales of each issue can reach 400,000 copies," Chen Siqi said. "In particular, one issue sold over 450,000 copies because a short story by Mingyin was pre-ordered for adaptation by the Jump Up Theater and starring Zhang Ruozhi. 'Love Letter' made Zhang Ruozhi an overnight sensation and she has many fans."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"That's really strong."
"Actually, Jiangyin Publishing House deserves a lot of credit for this," Chen Siqi said. "Do you know what they've been doing these past few years? They've established connections with bookstores and Lansen convenience stores near schools all over the country, creating a huge distribution channel that makes our 'Jump Up' magazine easily available anywhere. Middle and high school students are a large part of our magazine's purchasing power. Their mobile phones are strictly controlled, so they can't order online like everyone else. Therefore, they can only buy it from near their schools. With this distribution channel, we haven't wasted any of the marketing opportunities for 'Jump Up'."
"Marketing point?"
“We always include a few marketing points in every issue of our magazine to attract attention,” Chen Siqi said. “I said, I never want ‘Jump Up’ to become a magazine that rests on its laurels. This issue you have here has three marketing points. First, an exclusive interview with Jiang Yuqian about her starring role in the movie ‘Telephone’; second, the annual ranking predictions for ‘Idol Era’ based on votes from 10,000 ‘Jump Up’ readers, including analysis from ten authoritative media outlets; and third, Shi Xia’s latest short story, ‘Life’.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
“I require them to have several points in each issue that will definitely drive a certain group of people to buy the issue,” Chen Siqi said. “Only in this way will ‘Jump Up’ not slowly fall into burnout. You know, a magazine that has sold 400,000 copies can still do very well even if you don’t work very hard, but over time, people will not find the magazine interesting. There must always be something new for everyone.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
He actually agreed with Chen Siqi's idea.
At this point, no matter what you create, the principle is the same: it's like rowing against the current; if you don't move forward, you fall behind. You must have something that is unique to you; otherwise, why would anyone come to see your work?
"that--"
A slightly probing voice suddenly rang in their ears.
Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi looked up at the same time. A girl with a pretty face and an artistic style was standing in the aisle, looking at them with a slight bend.
Zou Dong, who was sitting behind them, immediately stood up.
"Sorry—" Zou Dong was about to stop the girl from disturbing Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi.
The girl said to Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi, "I am Jiang Yue. You may not know me. I am here to film the movie 'The Sea'. Are you two also here to visit the set of 'The Sea'?"
Lu Yanhe didn't recognize the girl in front of him, but he remembered her name.
He had seen her in the cast list of "The Sea, My Pshaw".
"Hello." Lu Yanhe nodded to Jiang Yue, indicating that Zou Dong was no stranger to him and that they knew each other.
Zou Dong then sat back down.
"Excuse me for bothering you." Jiang Yue stuck out her tongue. "I shouldn't have bothered you, but seeing you here, I felt it would be impolite not to say hello."
She clasped her hands together and gave an apologetic look.
"Then I won't bother you any longer."
Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi smiled at her.
Jiang Yue retreated.
Her seat was two rows behind them.
Chen Siqi asked Lu Yanhe, "Have you seen her before?"
“I haven’t met her.” Lu Yanhe shook his head. “But I saw her name in the cast and crew list of ‘The Sea.’ She played a rather important role.”
Chen Siqi: "You even remember the cast and crew of the movie 'The Sea'?"
Lu Yanhe nodded with a smile.
"I'm mainly curious about how others choose actors, what angles they consider, and what the main reasons are for finally deciding on a particular actor. I really enjoy thinking about these things," Lu Yanhe said.
Chen Siqi: "So to others it's just a cast and crew list, but to you it's a puzzle game, right?"
"That's a fair way to put it," Lu Yanhe said with a smile.
Chen Siqi: "She's quite cute."
"She has a bit of baby fat; her appearance seems quite rare in the entertainment industry."
"Hmm, she doesn't look like a typical protagonist," Chen Siqi said.
The two chatted quietly for a while, then the topic changed and they didn't go back to it.
They didn't have a fixed topic to talk about; they just talked about whatever came to mind.
"This time we can finally see the sea." Chen Siqi's eyes lit up with excitement when she mentioned the sea. "It's been so long since I've been to the beach."
Lu Yanhe: "Then it seems that calling you along this time was a very wise choice."
"I've been so tired lately, it's nice to be able to take two days off, although I can't really rest because there's still a lot of work to do."
Throughout the journey, Chen Siqi was actually quite busy.
She carries her laptop with her at all times, needing to use it whenever she wants.
Lu Yanhe: "You must be under a lot of pressure right now, right? You have to do the year-end review. I saw your live broadcast of opening readers' envelopes, which was going on 24 hours a day. It's too exaggerated."
Chen Siqi said, "We specifically recruited twenty part-time students to do this. Of course, this is also a gimmick. Our vote counting is done in real time, 24 hours a day, without interruption for a single second. No other company can do what we can. Did you see the audience in our live stream? The number of viewers is much more than your live stream."
Lu Yanhe: "With you doing this, how can there be few viewers? Luckily, you said early on that you wouldn't include me in this review to avoid suspicion."
“Everyone knows you are the founding editor-in-chief of ‘Jump Up’, and the readership of ‘Jump Up’ is your core base. If you win first place, people will question the value and credibility of the award, and they will also question you, feeling that you won first place unfairly,” Chen Siqi said. “You don’t need that.”
“Sure, sure.” Lu Yanhe didn’t mind.
Anyway, as long as shows like "Friends" and "Love Letter" can still be counted normally, that's fine.
The live stream has now been running for over a month.
The rankings of each statistical unit change in real time.
But it was these reader votes displayed in front of the live broadcast camera that, in the simplest way, gained the public's trust.
Only Jump Magazine has such a large readership and can provide so many reader votes.
After all, in China, only "Jump Up" magazine currently sells 400,000 copies.
“There are still quite a few criticisms. Some people say that with the internet so developed now, why refuse to hold online voting and insist on using the traditional method of writing letters and mailing them? They think it's just a gimmick.” Chen Siqi laughed. “There have been such criticisms all along. I directly replied that we are just doing it as a gimmick, so what happened? This person stopped talking.”
Lu Yanhe also smiled.
“Some people are really interesting. When they see someone doing something, they have to prove that the person must have some ulterior motive. If they don’t have any motive, why do something that doesn’t matter if they don’t do it?” Chen Siqi said helplessly. “Yes, doing this can boost sales. If you want to vote, you have to buy the magazine. So what? We’re not denying this idea, as long as the final result is fair and there are no fake votes.”
"Are there people who buy a lot of magazines to vote in order to get votes?" Lu Yanhe asked.
“Normally, this wouldn’t be done. A magazine costs over twenty yuan. How could you rig a vote?” Chen Siqi laughed speechlessly. “What’s so great about our ranking that’s worth rigging? It’s not like you’ll be promoted just because you’re in first place. We want to create a credible ranking, and that doesn’t mean you’ll get any benefits just because you’re on it.”
Lu Yanhe: "Many fans are still quite enthusiastic."
"I know that some fans are indeed very enthusiastic. Some fans will order hundreds or thousands of copies of a magazine just because their idol is on the cover. But as I said before, our review is not that valuable. Fans are not stupid. It's not like we're the only one doing reviews. There are so many media platforms doing reviews now. Can they buy them all? Secondly, we have also implemented a series of restrictions. Each envelope can only accept one vote result. We issued an explanation beforehand to prevent vote-rigging as much as possible."
Lu Yanhe: "It takes a lot of effort to do this inventory work. Just to prevent vote-rigging as much as possible, we have to do a lot of work."
"Fortunately, our voting base is large enough that even if someone tries to circumvent our rules by manipulating votes, the amount is limited and has little impact on the overall result," Chen Siqi said. "Our results are tallied in real time, and we can see everyone's reactions in the live stream chat. So far, the majority of reactions are positive, and people generally accept the ranking results. Although the results change every day, the most popular works and actors are generally the same ones."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"Do quite a few people come to say hello to you?"
“That’s too much,” Chen Siqi said. “I’m helpless. I said that the vote counting is broadcast live 24 hours a day. Let alone that I would never agree to cheat, even if I were willing, how could I do it? Can’t they see the live broadcast format? We even opened the envelopes in front of the live camera.”
Lu Yanhe said, "Because there is already a deep-rooted consensus in China regarding these reviews and awards that there must be connections to pull strings. If you refuse them, they will never think it's because the review is really fair, but rather that they didn't take the right path."
"..." Chen Siqi nodded, "You're absolutely right, that's exactly it. They keep coming back after I've refused them, and then they come back again after I've refused them again. I'm fed up."
Lu Yanhe: "Were there any changes in sales in September?"
"So far, we've almost reached 500,000 copies sold," Chen Siqi said. "However, to prevent people from deliberately hoarding tickets, we've stopped reprinting the September issue. Genuine readers who wanted to buy it have already done so."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
“We also issued a notice that if you really couldn’t buy the September issue for some reason but want to collect the whole set, we will reprint it next year,” Chen Siqi said. “The same goes for the October, November and December issues. After one month on sale, we will not reprint them.”
"Is there still a way for those who want to collect tickets to buy a large quantity of the monthly magazine?"
“There’s no way to completely prevent this,” Chen Siqi said. “We can’t guarantee that there isn’t a single vote-rigging in these polls, but with so many people wanting to buy it within a month of its release, it’s not easy to collect votes, especially since so many genuine readers are also buying it.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
“However, we might have to think of other ways next year,” Chen Siqi said. “What I’m worried about is that if this year’s results have a big impact and can really drive a lot of real benefits, then next year there might be capital involved in vote rigging to try to influence the results. Right now, at most some fans are rigging a little for their idols, which doesn’t affect the overall situation. If there really is a force of millions or tens of millions involved in vote rigging, all our methods are useless and we can’t withstand it.”
"Then it's up to you to figure it out," Lu Yanhe said. "There's always a way."
The two chatted all the way, and when they finally arrived at their stop, they both felt parched.
The filming location for "Pah! The Sea" is a small seaside town, several hours away from the high-speed rail station.
The local authorities have already contacted the vehicle and driver.
When they exited the station, they ran into Jiang Yue again.
Beside her was a short-haired woman who looked very capable.
The moment their eyes met, the short-haired woman pulled Jiang Yue forward.
The other party took the initiative to say, "Mr. Lu, Mr. Chen, hello. I am Shen Yicheng from Coolfish, and I am also Jiang Yue's agent."
Coolfish?
Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi were both taken aback, because neither of them had ever heard of this company.
"Hello." Lu Yanhe shook hands with the other party politely.
"Are you also going to the 'The Sea' film crew?" Shen Yicheng asked. "We're reporting to the crew today."
"What a coincidence, we've run into each other here," Lu Yanhe said. "There are too many people here, it's not convenient to talk, shall we chat on set later?"
“Okay.” Shen Yicheng nodded with a smile.
After Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi left, Shen Yicheng turned around and glanced at Jiang Yue.
"Why didn't you follow me earlier?"
“I feel like they don’t want to be disturbed,” Jiang Yue said.
Shen Yicheng: "Which big shot wants to be disturbed? If everyone had the same mentality as you, how would people like us get to know them?"
Jiang Yue: "...The main problem is that they had no idea who I was. When I went up to greet them so abruptly, their bodyguards almost stopped me."
Shen Yicheng: "At least this way people will remember you. If you get to know everyone in the crew, how will they remember who you are?"
Jiang Yue sighed.
"All right."
“Miss, it was you who said you wanted to be a star, so I quit my job and started a business to help you make it in the entertainment industry.” Shen Yicheng said helplessly, “We’re not exactly well-connected people. It’s just the two of us working hard. If we still had any shame, we might as well just pack up and go home.”
Jiang Yue pouted and hugged Shen Yicheng's arm.
"Okay, okay, I was wrong. I'll try to be more thick-skinned next time," Jiang Yue said. "I know you've worked hard, and I'll try not to hold you back."
Shen Yicheng: "Sigh, let's see if things improve after this movie. If they really don't improve, we'll sign your film and television contract with a reputable film and television company. That way, at least we won't have to go around auditioning and working independently, and we'll have roles to play."
Jiang Yue: "I'll do whatever you want. You can do whatever you want."
Shen Yicheng: "I must have been out of my mind to agree to come and try my luck in the entertainment industry with you."
"Oh well, we're already here, so don't regret it," Jiang Yue said. "Look, I landed this role on my own merits."
"A supporting role in a small film with a production cost of only two million," Shen Yicheng said. "That's nothing for us to be proud of."
"Well, there's always a first step in everything, and at least we've taken that first step smoothly," Jiang Yue smiled. "That's great, we'll definitely get better and better."
“You should try your best, and I will work hard too. Let’s at least cover our expenses this year and stop doing business at a loss,” Shen Yicheng said. “Otherwise, who knows how long we can squander our little bit of money like this? If we really run out of money, you’ll have to go home and continue being a pampered young lady.”
"What young lady? My family only owns two factories, but you make it sound like my family is some kind of wealthy tycoon."
“At least when you were in school, you had a driver to pick you up and drop you off. To us ordinary people, the daughters of the two factories were still daughters.”
"Go away, don't embarrass me." Jiang Yue said, "Let's go, watch how I conquer Lu Yanhe with my acting skills! Look how lucky I am, I ran into Lu Yanhe visiting the set as soon as I joined the crew."
Shen Yicheng laughed.
Her old classmate has nothing else to offer but one truly remarkable quality—her optimism is absolutely top-notch.
-
New Year's Day, here we go again.
Please vote for me!
I recommend the older book, "I Became the Leading Lady of a Scandal Overnight".
(End of this chapter)
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