Chapter 651 Opportunity
In this industry, there are so many unknown actors who desperately need an opportunity.
The moment Lu Yanhe saw so many people, his subconscious reaction was to turn around, avoid them, and leave through another opening.
Of course, he didn't do that.
He can't do that either.
This is so hurtful.
Zou Dong and Wang Biao moved forward skillfully, one on the left and one on the right, to block Lu Yanhe's path.
Lu Yanhe took a deep breath, revealed a big smile, and spoke first before they could speak.
"Has everyone stayed yet?"
The actors waiting in the lobby seemed to have no idea that Lu Yanhe would take the initiative to speak to them.
"President Lu, we...we want to..." The person standing at the front stammered, but couldn't get a clear sentence out for a long time.
“We want to ask, do actors like us… have a chance?” asked a young woman with an ordinary appearance who wasn’t particularly attractive.
Lu Yanhe remembered this actress; she was recommended by Liu Bige.
She has been acting for many years and has excellent acting skills. She is very good at playing the role of a shrewish woman from the streets and has played a lot of such roles in the past.
Everyone else was also looking at Lu Yanhe with longing eyes.
Lu Yanhe smiled and nodded, saying, "I don't remember the specific results of today's auditions for everyone. They will contact everyone later. However, even if this show doesn't work out, there are other shows. Today at the audition, I saw many actors who, in my opinion, are not suitable for '2 Broke Girls,' but are very suitable for my other projects."
“We’ve been going to auditions and meeting with production teams all the time,” someone said. “But everyone says that only your auditions are real auditions.”
“We don’t know about the situation in other places, but Linghe and Tiaoqilai Theater do have many projects that need auditions and actors every year,” Lu Yanhe said. “Moreover, as long as someone auditions, we collect their information into a database, and if there are suitable roles, we will contact them to audition.”
"So, for the show '2 Broke Girls,' are all the main characters really chosen from auditions? Won't they use big stars?" someone asked.
Lu Yanhe nodded: "This drama needs some actors who are not familiar to the audience, so we held a large-scale audition to find actors. This drama has a great demand for both regular roles and guest roles. The fact that you were invited to audition means that the casting team must have thought that you fit the characteristics of a certain role in some way."
"Very good."
Lu Yanhe smiled and encouraged them.
"Keep it up, everyone!"
"President Lu, please, you must persevere."
“If even you guys stop using us little actors, then we might really have no chance.”
"We are all very cheap."
Lu Yanhe nodded very seriously.
"We will work hard, and we hope you will continue to support us."
Lu Yanhe chatted with them for a while before finally being able to leave.
After getting in the car, Chen Siqi was a little surprised and asked, "Why are you so late? Didn't you message me half an hour ago to say you were coming down?"
“There were many actors waiting for me in the lobby after auditions,” Lu Yanhe said. “I chatted with them for a while.”
"I see," Chen Siqi asked. "How did the audition go today?"
“I saw a few good actors,” Lu Yanhe said, “but we still need to use a more detailed script to test them out and see how well they fit the role.”
"However, I didn't expect you to invite more than a hundred people to audition."
"This is just the first batch; there will be another batch tomorrow," Lu Yanhe said. "I'm also taking the opportunity to see the cast of 'Home Alone,' which will start filming next January."
Chen Siqi said, "There aren't actually that many characters in this movie, are there?"
“Yes, very few.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “So we’re going to choose them all at once.”
"So, is there anything you've got your eye on?"
“Not today.” Lu Yanhe shook his head. “We have already sent audition invitations to actors in the comedy circle who are physically suitable. The roles of two thieves require a lot of acting skills. Actors who do not have enough acting experience may not be able to handle them.”
"Mm." Chen Siqi nodded.
"By the way, have you decided on the position of chairperson of the jury for the Lingyun Awards (TV series category)? Will you accept the job?"
"There hasn't been a formal reply yet, but I'll probably accept it if Chen Hengyi insists," Lu Yanhe said. "I've already done my part in self-cultivation, and now I'm trying to help others... Don't laugh at me for thinking too much or too grandly. Within my capabilities, I hope to do more to promote the progress of this industry. The Lingyun Awards (TV series category) is willing to make such an attempt and needs me..."
Lu Yanhe couldn't quite explain what he was thinking.
However, Chen Siqi nodded.
She knew exactly what Lu Yanhe was thinking.
"I understand."
Lu Yanhe was taken aback.
Chen Siqi: "I support what you want to do."
-
What are your thoughts on Lu Yanhe's company's new production, "2 Broke Girls"?
During an internal meeting at Icefield Video, several executives sat together and discussed the show "2 Broke Girls".
Although the drama is still in the preparation stage, it has already attracted the attention of major platforms because the script idea was provided by Lu Yanhe.
With the sitcoms "Friends" and "My Own Swordsman" achieving great success, "2 Broke Girls" is coming soon.
Moreover, it remains a sitcom geared towards a young audience.
This led many people to immediately associate it with "Friends," feeling that "2 Broke Girls" might be another show that could create a "Friends" myth.
"However, Lu Yanhe didn't personally write the script for this drama. Although he provided the script idea, there's still a difference between that and him writing it himself," someone said.
"Although he didn't write it himself, I heard that he had to read and approve every episode's script before it was approved. Lu Yanhe's eye for scripts goes without saying, right?"
"The production cost of this drama is very low, and it uses all unknown actors, just like the previous drama Linghe made, 'Roommates.' Whether it will be a hit or not is still uncertain."
"Do you know when the drama 'Roommates' is scheduled to air, since the ending featured the Northern Lights?"
"It seems they're planning to release it next March or April. The second season of 'My Own Swordsman' will air during the Spring Festival. They can't let a show from the same company compete with each other. They're both sitcoms, so they can't beat each other."
"The sitcoms we've made in recent years haven't met our expectations, which is a pity. So far, only these two sitcoms have achieved the same level of popularity as 'Friends' and 'My Own Swordsman'."
"But none of the sitcoms we've made have lost money; they've all made a profit, just not as much as we expected. The core audience for sitcoms is much larger than other genres, and the demand for comedy is still very strong."
"2 Broke Girls, how much do you think we should offer per episode to beat Aurora Borealis? Right now, the shows that Linghe is airing on our ice field are basically broadcast together with Aurora Borealis. We haven't managed to get exclusive broadcasting rights."
"It can't be lower than the purchase price of an A-level production."
"A-level? This sitcom has no famous directors, a bunch of new screenwriters, and a group of unknown actors. The investment is also very low. Why should we give it an A-level production price? Just because the script idea came from Lu Yanhe?"
“That’s right, just because Lu Yanhe’s name is on the show.” Someone immediately said, “Isn’t that enough? Isn’t that enough? Let alone the purchase price of an A-level project, even at this price, Linghe might not be willing to pay.”
"Are you planning to offer the procurement price for an S-level project? Are you crazy?!"
"Given the recent situation of Linghe's projects, they will definitely want a low-price + profit-sharing model."
"If we do this for a production with no production value, no funding, and no quality, the risk is too great. How do we attract investment? Will any brands be willing to invest?"
“We’ve spoken with some brands because ‘2 Broke Girls’ is a sitcom set in modern life. Even without well-known actors, many FMCG brands are willing to advertise on it,” said the person in charge of advertising sales. “As long as the show has Lu Yanhe’s name on it, advertisers don’t even look at the script and trust Lu Yanhe unconditionally.”
For a moment, no one spoke.
"Actually, it would be great if '2 Broke Girls' was a show produced by our Icefield Investment."
"'2 Broke Girls' is a series produced solely by Linghe and does not accept outside investment. They are not short of money at all. It is a project that is obviously profitable and has a small production cost. Why would they give up their investment share to you?"
"Linghe is too domineering. I still have to say that even if this drama becomes a hit and becomes very popular in the end, it is still under the copyright bureau. The copyright is not in the hands of Bingyuan, and it does not belong to us."
"Even if '2 Broke Girls' only achieves half the success of 'Friends,' it's still enough to be the king of our Bingyuan Video. So what if it doesn't have our name?"
“I think we should talk to Lu Yanhe and his team, like we did with Aurora Borealis, and discuss a cooperation framework with them.”
"How could they possibly have a framework agreement with a second video platform now? Every project they release is snapped up by all the platforms. Only projects like 'The Legend of Sword and Fairy,' which involve investments of hundreds of millions of yuan, are beyond the capacity of Linghe alone, and that would qualify us to participate."
"If you ask me, instead of buying their projects one by one, we should just throw money at it and buy Linghe Company in one go."
"Too many people think that way. I heard that last month a private equity firm went to talk to Linghe and offered 800 million to buy Linghe, but they didn't even get to meet Lu Yanhe."
"Eight hundred million is too little. The copyright IPs of Linghe alone are worth more than eight hundred million, and the derivative value of just one game, 'Squid Game,' is more than eight hundred million."
“I meant eight hundred million dollars.”
(This data is adapted from the Hollywood actress's sale of her film production company for $900 million in 2021.)
For a moment, the room fell silent.
"Lu Yanhe has made it public that Linghe is a company he established out of personal interest and hobby, mainly serving him personally. At this stage, he is not considering any financing, equity investment, or selling it to others."
At that moment, no one said anything more.
Lu Yanhe refused the offer of eight hundred million US dollars without batting an eye.
Who among those present has such courage?
-
"Are you really not considering selling the company to someone else at all?"
Hua Ruzhen sat down in front of Lu Yanhe and asked.
Lu Yanhe nodded.
“Yes, I… I quite enjoy this situation, at least everything is in my own hands,” Lu Yanhe said. “For me now, selling the company and making more money is just a number; it can only stay in my account.”
"You should know that with this money, you could easily build several more Spirit Rivers."
"Why would I need so many Spirit Rivers? One is enough," Lu Yanhe said with a smile.
“Okay,” Hua Ruzhen said. “If you have this idea, feel free to contact me. The fund behind me is also interested in Linghe Company, and our offer will definitely not be lower than the others.”
Lu Yanhe smiled.
"What has Director Muken been up to lately? How's the script for 'The Mist 2' coming along?"
Hua Ruzhen said, "He and D19 have revised the script for 'Mist 2' several times, but neither of them is very satisfied."
"Will this be enough to start filming next year?"
“I’ll definitely catch up, unless there’s a major problem with the script,” Hua Ruzhen said. “After you filmed ‘Hurricane 2,’ you haven’t taken on any Hollywood films. Have you considered doing that?”
"I'm not considering commercial films for now, but I'll consider them if there are other good projects," Lu Yanhe said. "I've made quite a few commercial films in the past two years, and I want to make something different."
"Mm." Hua Ruzhen nodded.
She added, "By the way, if your company's projects need investment in the future, feel free to contact me anytime. Your projects will definitely be given priority by me."
“Great, that’s wonderful.” Lu Yanhe said with a smile, “Linghe has been working on low-cost projects for the past few years. In fact, besides ‘The Legend of Sword and Fairy,’ we also have some other projects that we want to do with slightly larger investments, but the company’s cash flow is only so big, and sometimes we really need to raise some money from outside.”
Hua Ruzhen nodded.
"There's something I need to tell you," she suddenly said to Lu Yanhe. "Hollywood had a script they wanted for you, but someone else snatched it away. I bet you don't even know about it. I only heard about it from gossip."
"ah?"
"Lune Rhys is developing a new movie called 'Doomsday,' a science fiction film with two male leads. One of the male leads is Asian. Lune Rhys' first choice was you, but before he could even contact your agent, someone heard about it and managed to change his mind. Now the role has gone to someone else."
"Who? Do I know them?" Lu Yanhe asked curiously.
“He’s a very famous actor in China, two cycles older than you. They even rewrote the script for him and adjusted the character’s age,” Hua Ruzhen said. “Chen Pinhe, have you ever had any dealings with him?”
(End of this chapter)
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