Chapter 648 Linghe Award, Drama Award
Of course, Lu Yanhe didn't expect that the movie "Picnic on the Balcony" would make him cry.
Just as Chen Yin said, this movie was like a sharp blade that pierced his heart.
This film tells the story of a man whose wife and son both died in a car accident. He lives alone in what used to be his family of three, constantly immersing himself in memories of the past, and in the loneliness and sorrow of reality, he reads poetry and stares into a daze.
This is a film made by one person.
Lu Yanhe had never met this actor before. In one scene of the movie, he was sitting alone in a room, watching the light outside the window gradually dim, his eyes were vacant and lifeless, and he sat there like a clay statue.
The sight made Lu Yanhe's arm hairs stand on end.
In that instant, Lu Yanhe felt that this was a state he couldn't act out.
It is a true sorrow and silence that can only be seen in documentaries.
Lu Yanhe suddenly realized why Chen Yin had brought this up with him specifically for the sake of this movie.
This is a movie that obviously won't make much at the box office, but it can definitely be called a movie.
It doesn't use a tragic experience to evoke empathy from the audience; instead, it uses light and shadow, color contrast, music, and performance to create a journey back and forth between the past and present within the confines of a house.
Of course, it's not sophisticated enough, and the theme is too straightforward; all these shortcomings exist. But it portrays a character who wanders between the past and present, between sadness and self-reflection, silently hypnotizing and healing himself so well that Lu Yanhe felt like he was slowly drowning, unknowingly sinking deeper and deeper into the film.
Compared to a mediocre film that scores 90 points, Lu Yanhe prefers a movie that seems to only score 60 points in every aspect, but achieves 99 points in one particular area.
Chen Yin said, "I have already met with the director of this film. He made this film with a sum of money invested by the Youth Innovation Fund plus his own savings of 300,000 yuan, which cost a total of more than 800,000 yuan. However, no company is willing to distribute this film. If we become the agent for this film, there may still be related problems with domestic distribution, but we can send it to film festivals to try and see if we can sell the distribution rights overseas."
Lu Yanhe understood perfectly why, despite the film's excellence, no company was willing to distribute it, and no one wanted to take it on. A new director, a film without any well-known actors, no awards, and no selling points—for any commercial distribution company, this meant it was virtually impossible to make money.
He said, "Buy it, or sign an agency agreement, and we will exclusively manage the copyright of this movie, while the copyright will still remain in his own hands."
Chen Yin nodded.
"By the way, is he still making movies?"
“He’s having trouble even getting three meals a day now. All his money has gone into this movie. When I saw him before, he was working part-time as an internet cafe manager,” Chen Yin said.
Lu Yanhe said, "Then you can ask him if he's willing to sign with our company. If he is, we'll pay him a basic salary. Even if he doesn't write a script or shoot a second project, at least he won't have to worry about food and clothing."
Chen Yin showed a look of surprise.
“Great, I’ll go talk to him right away.”
Lu Yanhe: "President Chen, if you think a film or director like this is good, feel free to contact me anytime. I'm willing to let our Linghe do this kind of thing."
Chen Yin hesitated for a moment and said, "But wouldn't it be bad if this happened too often?"
“If there are movies of this quality, I wouldn’t mind having more, in fact, there can’t be more,” Lu Yanhe said. “You’ve struck gold. I’m very curious how you discovered this movie.”
“A friend who works in a distribution company recommended it to me. He said he saw a very well-made low-budget film, but his company refused to take it on because it didn’t have box office potential. He asked if I was interested. He was also looking out for talent, so he recommended it to me.”
“That’s great.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “This film is already quite mature. Why don’t you try submitting it to the Citium Film Festival and see if they are willing to accept it?”
Chen Yin was somewhat surprised and asked, "Can this film be submitted to the Sittor Film Festival?"
“I can send any movie,” Lu Yanhe said. “It’s just that they have very high standards for selecting movies. When you send it, you should include a sentence saying that you really like this movie and are willing to recommend it to everyone.”
"Okay." Chen Yin became somewhat excited.
Lu Yanhe was actually willing to use his reputation to recommend this movie.
This will certainly make the Sitour Film Festival pay more attention to it.
-
While Lu Yanhe was talking to Chen Yin, Chen Ziyan listened from the side without saying a word.
After they finished talking, Chen Ziyan showed her phone and said, "The Lingyun Awards just contacted me; they want to speak with you on the phone."
Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised.
"Why are they looking for me?"
"They probably want to invite you to be a judge for the Lingyun Award," Chen Ziyan said. "The nomination list for the Lingyun Award will be released soon, and after that, the final award selection will begin."
Lu Yanhe: "You want me to be a judge? Do you think I have the time to be a judge?"
“There should be,” Chen Ziyan said. “You just need to join the cast of Friends Season 2 in December, which will coincide with the Lingyun Award selection period. Actually, it makes sense, you haven’t been a judge before, have you?”
"Yeah, I've never really done it properly," Lu Yanhe said.
“Being a judge can be helpful to your career,” Chen Ziyan said. “Especially now that Linghe needs a lot of help.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"So, are you suggesting I go next?"
“Yes,” Chen Ziyan said.
“But if I become a judge for the Lingyun Award, will ‘Love Letter’ be unable to participate in the selection?” Lu Yanhe asked.
Chen Ziyan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Love Letter...that's indeed the case. Yes, Love Letter will definitely get nominated, but I don't know how many awards it will receive. They certainly can't ask you to be a judge, which is a bit strange. They hinted to me that they wanted to invite you to be a judge..."
Regardless, the Lingyun Awards are one of the three major film awards in China.
It's impossible for someone to make such a basic mistake.
Lu Yanhe said, "I'll call them first to see if there's anything wrong."
After the call connected, Lu Yanhe chatted with them and learned that the Lingyun Awards did not want to invite him to be a judge for this year's awards. Instead, the Lingyun Awards were preparing for reform and would also conduct selections for TV dramas, web dramas, and other series. Registration would begin at the end of December this year, and the awards ceremony would be held in February next year.
The Lingyun Awards invited Lu Yanhe to serve as the chairman of the first Lingyun Awards (Drama Category) jury.
Lu Yanhe was shocked.
Generally speaking, the hierarchy between movies and TV series means that movie awards are often more prestigious than TV series awards.
But that's not the point. The point is that, globally, the only award that spans both television series and film and has achieved significant influence and recognition is the Golden Globe Awards in the United States.
The other awards are either only for TV series or only for movies.
The Lingyun Award is taking a rather big step.
Lu Yanhe hesitated for a moment before saying, "Thank you for the invitation. You trust me too much. However, this job is too much of a responsibility and requires a lot of time and energy. I will be filming at the beginning of next year, so I may not be able to spare that much time for this job."
The other party, however, expressed a desire to discuss the matter in person.
-
Chen Hengyi, the chairman of the executive committee of the Lingyun Awards, is a true bigwig in the industry and the real mastermind behind many major projects. He is also behind the film "Burning Fire" as one of the producers.
Those who can serve as producers in such top-tier blockbuster films may not necessarily play a significant role in the production itself, but they must be the ones who can handle certain crucial moments.
The so-called "big shots" are those who possess such abilities, which is why they are called "big shots."
Lu Yanhe was surprised that Chen Hengyi would come to meet him in person, sit down for a meal, drink, and talk about the matter.
Instead of trying to persuade him right away, Chen Hengyi said happily, "The special effects in the movie 'Burning Fire' are really good. Finally, they're not those cheap game effects anymore. Have you seen it?"
Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "Not yet. After filming, I haven't looked at any materials related to 'Burning Fire'."
Chen Hengyi: "Longyan spent a lot of money this time and put in a lot of effort to make a real blockbuster. The results are remarkable and worthy of your and Yongzhou's performances in it."
Lu Yanhe laughed.
"That's good."
"Actually, we'd like to ask you to make some connections later, especially with Europe and America and streaming media. There aren't many successful cases we can refer to for the overseas distribution of big-budget films like this," Chen Hengyi said. "You and Linghe have dealt with international film companies a lot in recent years, and you are most familiar with the latest cooperation models and practices."
“Sure, no problem.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “If there’s anything I can do, just let me know.”
Chen Hengyi: "That's straightforward enough."
Chen Hengyi added, "Now, because of the emergence of streaming media, the influence of TV series on a global scale is gradually surpassing that of movies, even though those streaming media have not entered our mainland market."
“Yes.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “To some extent, I think streaming media might be more suitable for Chinese-language films and television dramas to gain influence overseas than movies. Look at the dramas produced in South Korea; they often appear in the top ten lists of global viewership, and every year several of their works are quite popular. We have to admit that we can learn a lot from them in terms of drama production.”
“Yes, that’s why we at the Lingyun Awards wanted to create a TV series awards section,” Chen Hengyi said. “We’ll have film awards at the end of the year and TV series awards at the beginning of the year, and we’ll create truly tasteful awards.”
Lu Yanhe: "This is a very good thing. The Lingyun Award is one of the three major awards in the film industry. Now it is being used to create a TV series award. It is different from other awards that started from scratch. Its reputation, honor and credibility are all there."
“That’s right.” Chen Hengyi nodded. “However, if the results of the first and second selections cannot stand the test of time and the market, and cannot convince everyone, they are likely to become worthless.”
Lu Yanhe: "Fairness is always a protective charm."
"Yes, so, in the area of drama awards, our Lingyun Awards are preparing to break an industry rule."
"What rules?"
“We don’t need production companies or drama production teams to apply,” Chen Hengyi said. “We make the nomination list based on multiple dimensions, including market feedback over the past year, drama quality, audience reviews, and industry recognition.”
"So, is this nomination list also decided by a primary selection committee?"
“We don’t plan to have a preliminary selection committee,” Chen Hengyi said. “Instead, we plan to adopt the Academy system of the Oscars—the biggest difference between TV series and movies is that the former requires much more viewing time. In fact, it’s difficult for either the preliminary or final selection committee to watch all the works from beginning to end. So, if we can recruit thousands of industry professionals and bloggers and influential figures who are deeply involved in film and television as members to vote every year, the resulting nomination list will be more credible.”
Lu Yanhe never expected the Lingyun Awards for drama series to do this.
"What about the final selection? Will the final selection continue to use this method?" Lu Yanhe asked. "Actually, we have never really had a proper industry award in China. Almost all of our awards are judged by a jury system, with a maximum of a dozen or so judges and a minimum of just a few people."
"We still hope to use a jury system for the final selection," Chen Hengyi said. "The purpose of the preliminary selection is to make a wide range of nominations so that fewer outstanding works are overlooked and that the works on the nomination list are at least those that have received attention from the entire industry. However, in the final selection stage, especially for people in the entertainment industry, it is impossible for 90% of them to watch all the works on the nomination list from beginning to end. We still need a jury to carefully evaluate these works. If it is on the nomination list and you have not seen it, as a judge in the final selection, you must watch it."
Lu Yanhe understood Chen Hengyi's meaning.
Even so, this is already a very significant reform.
Lu Yanhe didn't know what the effect of this design would be.
Because any system is designed with good intentions, but in actual operation, all sorts of problems will always arise.
At least the Lingyun Award is willing to make such an attempt.
Lu Yanhe: "This is quite a bold design."
“Hmm.” Chen Hengyi nodded. “We don’t know what the final nomination list will look like if we really invite thousands of people in the film and television industry to become our members. We can only learn as we go and improve it gradually. Our original intention is to launch an award that can best recognize good dramas during this period of rapid improvement in the quality of Chinese-language dramas, and to promote the further development of this industry.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"Therefore, the first one is of paramount importance," Chen Hengyi said. "The selection of the chairperson of the first final judging panel is of paramount importance."
He looked intently into Lu Yanhe's eyes.
At this moment, Chen Hengyi's eyes were very sincere.
“It must be someone who is recognized and influential throughout the industry,” Chen Hengyi said. “At the same time, it must be someone who doesn’t have such a deep historical connection with the traditional three major awards, so that everyone can believe that this is a new award, an award with a different positioning from the traditional three major awards.”
Lu Yanhe's heart skipped a beat.
"In terms of reputation, achievements, and industry influence, only you, Yan He, meet these standards," Chen Hengyi said. "Therefore, this is different from a regular invitation. I know that many places are inviting you to be a judge, to serve as the chairman of the judging panel or jury—"
Chen Ziyan smiled slightly and seized the opportunity to interject, saying, "Actually, Ms. Chen, Yan He recently declined to be a judge for the main competition section of next year's Citium International Film Festival."
Chen Hengyi was slightly taken aback.
Lu Yanhe said, "I did it because of what you just said—to read every nomination, to have enough time to discuss each one with everyone, and then to decide on the winners. As you know, every January and February is when I'm filming Friends, and I'm afraid I won't have time to do this job well. If I have the time, I'm very willing to contribute my efforts to this."
Chen Hengyi: "Of course, we know. However, if you take over as the chairman of the jury, you can start watching this year's popular dramas right now. You don't have to wait until the nomination list is released, right?"
Lu Yanhe was taken aback.
"I'm sorry, I might be going a bit too far, but I really hope to have you as the chairman of the Lingyun Award jury. Only with you, only with you in charge, can we set a high standard for this award."
Lu Yanhe waved his hand, "How could that be? We have so many excellent directors and actors. Sister Bige has also returned to the drama circle in recent years and filmed the drama 'Seventeen Floors,' which was very well received. She is also very suitable."
Chen Hengyi shook his head without further ado, saying, "No one is as suitable as you."
The other person was much older than him, a senior figure, and had extended such a sincere invitation; Lu Yanhe really couldn't bring himself to refuse.
In situations where there is no direct scheduling conflict.
Lu Yanhe looked at Chen Ziyan with some difficulty.
Chen Ziyan gestured with her eyes, implying that it was up to her to make the decision.
Lu Yanhe took a deep breath.
"However, wouldn't it be troublesome for me to be the chairman?" Lu Yanhe asked. "Wouldn't I have to avoid any appearance of impropriety for some of the projects I'm involved in?"
Chen Hengyi said, "Yes, if that's the case, the works you participated in and the awards related to you will be automatically removed from the final list. Of course, if it could have been included in the nomination list, we will issue an announcement to explain."
Chen Ziyan: "This sacrifice is too great."
Chen Hengyi: "Yan He is definitely not lacking in screenwriting, directing, or acting awards. Ziyan, the Lingyun Award for drama series aims for the highest award, and its influence will certainly complement that of the first jury chairman. In fact, if we think about it from another perspective, if Yan He can become a key figure in laying the foundation for a major award in the future, I believe that this will definitely be a milestone for Yan He's acting career."
Lu Yanhe: "...Have they all been given the words 'Monument'?"
Chen Hengyi: "I'm serious. Just like for film actors, on the one hand, world-class performance awards are an honor, and on the other hand, being the jury president of a top film festival is an honor that is no less than many major awards."
Chen Ziyan: "President Chen, I completely agree with your plans for the Lingyun Award, but let's not make empty promises. The reason Yan He is so busy today but still insists on meeting with you in person is because, regardless of whether he ultimately decides to take on this job, he greatly respects your innovative and reform-oriented ideas, and he genuinely hopes that this industry will become better."
Chen Hengyi nodded.
“I can feel it, so Yan He, I solemnly implore you to overcome all difficulties and take on this job,” Chen Hengyi said. “We will work with you to solve all the difficulties. If there are any conflicts during filming, we will move all the jury’s discussions to a location next to your filming location. We will book a hotel and rent a meeting room nearby.”
Chen Hengyi's persistence truly lives up to his name.
Lu Yanhe took a deep breath.
Now that things have come to this point...
"Mr. Chen, I am indeed moved by what you said, but please forgive me. I must consider the actual situation. I don't want to try to please both sides and end up with neither side achieving its goal. I can't agree to your request now. I need to go back and think about this matter carefully."
Chen Ziyan glanced at Lu Yanhe with some surprise, but remained silent.
Chen Hengyi nodded.
"good."
He said, "I believe you, and I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."
Lu Yanhe shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly.
-
"I thought you were really convinced and would agree on the spot."
“I was indeed moved by him, but—” Lu Yanhe said, “At the very moment I was about to agree to his request, I thought, I absolutely cannot make a decision when emotions are running high, so I just said it.”
“Yes, you’ve grown.” Chen Ziyan smiled, then sighed, “Sigh, these big shots, they never give up until they achieve their goals.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"If they didn't possess these qualities, it would be difficult for them to become great figures, wouldn't it?"
“That’s true,” Chen Ziyan nodded. “But don’t you feel like you’re being morally blackmailed by them?”
“I don’t accept being coerced. Who can morally coerce me? Besides, I understand everything he said,” Lu Yanhe said. “If he wants to accomplish this, do you expect him to follow the rules and reason things out slowly? If he weren’t so assertive, persistent, and determined to achieve his goal, how could such a large-scale reform have been completed?”
Lu Yanhe smiled and looked at Chen Ziyan.
"My tolerance has increased, hasn't it?"
-
I recommend the older entertainment-themed book, "I Became the Leading Lady of a Scandal Overnight."
recommend! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
(End of this chapter)
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