Chapter 728 Stacking Plates (10,000 words)
Lu Yanhe was able to be so assertive in front of Zebi Doyle (in a polite, rather than aggressive, way) because he had several projects in collaboration with Parameter.
They are deeply intertwined by shared interests.
Zebi Doyle was well aware of his value—otherwise, he wouldn't have started so many projects with him all at once.
For Hollywood film company executives, as long as you are a talented creator in their eyes, and a creator who can bring them revenue, OK, their circle culture gives this creator the right to be "temperamental," "unruly," or even "difficult to deal with."
Lu Yanhe discovered this through repeated communication with them.
Sometimes, you have to be so "uncompromising" and "decisive" to get them to actually back down and consider whether they can accept your demands.
Lu Yanhe believes that Zeb Doyle is not the kind of film company executive who discriminates against Asians and Chinese.
In reality, Jiang Jun is one of the two male leads in *Doomsday*, Li Zhibai is the sole protagonist in *Buried*, and Wen Minglan is one of the main characters in *Source Code*. Zeby Doyle certainly didn't recast these Chinese and Asian characters with other actors.
Lu Yanhe understood that Zebi Doyle was genuinely concerned about Yan Liang as a candidate.
Speed is not a low-budget film like Buried.
The original film cost $30 million to produce in the 1990s. Of course, $30 million could be made today, but if you want to make it of higher quality and make the big scenes more impressive, especially the final subway station scene, the production budget would definitely need to be increased.
From Zebi Doyle's perspective, the male lead is very important; he has to be an actor who can guarantee box office success.
Lu Yanhe didn't know how much confidence Zebi Doyle would gain from the success of "Buried Alive," but it was very likely that it would eventually turn into a desire to have Li Zhibai star in "Speed."
Lu Yanhe thought about it and felt it was necessary to have Yan Liang film a movie that could be a big hit with a small budget, to prove that he could also be a box office success in the North American market, and to prove that he was more than just a TV actor.
Are there any films like that?
It doesn't need to have exceptionally high box office returns, as long as the return on investment reaches a respectable figure.
Lu Yanhe racked his brains for a long time.
Rocky, Saw... these are all very famous films in film history that use small budgets to achieve big success.
However, Lu Yanhe was not confident in making it. The former was a film that was completely combined with Stallone's personal charisma, while the latter, Lu Yanhe had only heard of, but had not seen, the film, so he could not "replicate" it.
Lu Yanhe was racking his brains.
have no choice.
Then, at that moment, the script "Dumb and Dumber" popped into his mind again.
Back then, this was the script he prepared for Yan Liang and Li Zhibai.
But it wasn't filmed later.
What if we rewrite it back into an English script?
No, no, this is a pure comedy, and the characters are somewhat "ugly," which doesn't match Yan Liang's young, handsome, and brave image in "Speed."
It's so difficult.
Lu Yanhe was in great pain.
but--
He suddenly paused, stunned.
If pure comedy doesn't work, how about action comedy?
When talking about Chinese kung fu movies, you can't avoid mentioning Jet Li and Jackie Chan.
The two of them have made so many classic films—
But that won't work.
Lu Yanhe realized what was happening again.
The plot of their movies isn't their selling point at all; it's their kung fu.
They used their skills to layer other elements, which resulted in a refreshing style.
Lu Yanhe could certainly try to recreate some scenes based on his memory, but he still needed to find a real action director to choreograph the action, find a suitable director to communicate the shooting style, and then he still didn't know what the final result would be.
Lu Yanhe had seen many clumsy imitations before.
For this type of film, you either need to meet a really great person who understands the genre and can give them ideas to develop, or you should just give up. A poor imitation will only result in a hodgepodge.
Lu Yanhe wrote many names in his notebook.
Seeing this, Zhou Ruo asked curiously, "Brother, what are you writing?"
Lu Yanhe said, "I'm thinking about a suitable script."
Zhou Ruo was somewhat surprised.
Now?
Lu Yanhe came to his senses.
Yes, he's currently on the set of "Dingfeng No. 1," so he shouldn't get distracted.
He closed his notebook.
Then, he looked at Zhou Ruo and suddenly froze.
Who says we have to find an action movie for Yan Liang?
A thought suddenly flashed through Lu Yanhe's mind—
That's a fragment of memory from a very long time ago.
A classic example of achieving great results with limited resources.
Flypaper.
-
The defining characteristic of "Flypaper" is its constant reversals and twists.
It is also a genre film, starting with a "bank robbery" incident, where nine people are "cat and mouse" playing a game, making a big show of things in a small space.
This means that this is another easy movie to make.
The entire shoot was done in a studio, with only a few scenes, and nine actors performing according to the script.
This also means that as long as the script is completed and a suitable production team is found as soon as possible, the film can start shooting, and its pre-production preparation does not need to take a long time.
After making up his mind, Lu Yanhe immediately began writing the script.
He really put in a lot of effort to restrain himself from writing scripts on set, only allowing himself to write for a few hours after finishing work and returning to the hotel.
In just three days, the script for "Flypaper" was completed. Although he couldn't remember much of the plot, Lu Yanhe remembered the core element of the story: "No one is innocent," and behind the twists and turns was "double-crossing."
Following this logic, he quickly wrote the story. This type of film, as I said before, is essentially an "idea" movie. The specific plot can be written in many ways, but the core concept remains the same.
After the script was finished, it was handed over to Wang Biao, who was then tasked with registering the copyright.
After that, Lu Yanhe handed it over to a translator to translate it into English. Subsequently, the script was sent to Zeby Doyle of Parameter and Schmidt Lowry of Midoriya.
These two companies are now Lu Yanhe's preferred partners for shooting English films.
"This is an English-language film that I plan to produce myself, Linghe."
The production budget for this film doesn't need to be very high. In order to complete the film as soon as possible, Lu Yanhe decided that Linghe would direct it himself to reduce various external problems.
As a result, both Zebi Doyle and Schmidt Laurie expressed their desire to acquire the rights to the film.
Clearly, the idea for this movie appealed to them.
Lu Yanhe then told them that he would still cast Yan Liang as the male lead in this film. Of course, unlike "Speed," this is an ensemble film, and although Yan Liang is the protagonist, he doesn't have significantly more screen time than the other actors.
Lu Yanhe wanted to prove to Zebi Doyle through this film that Yan Liang could also achieve good box office results in North America if he played the male lead.
Zebi Doyle was completely dumbfounded.
What's going on with Lu Yanhe? Why does he insist on casting Yan Liang as the male lead?
Lu Yanhe didn't care what Zebi Doyle thought.
For this film, he first showed the script to Zeb Doyle and Schmidt Laurie to see if the story still appealed to these film company executives.
As it turns out, a good movie is a good movie no matter the time or place. The same goes for a good story. In the eyes of these executives, a good story idea is a goldmine.
Of course, Lu Yanhe wasn't so arrogant as to think that he could simply roll up his sleeves and start shooting an English film.
Lu Yanhe contacted Muken Sorge.
"Come and help me produce a film."
Muken Sorge: "..."
He's busy with post-production on Mist 2.
Lu Yanhe said, "I need you. After the post-production of 'The Mist 2' is finished, I need your help with how to make a movie in Hollywood."
Muken Sorge: "...What do you need me to do?"
“I need everything.” Lu Yanhe laughed, looking embarrassed. “I’ve never made a movie in Hollywood, so I don’t know what the pitfalls are.”
Murken Sorge: "I have no choice but to agree, since you wrote Get Out."
“Great! I’ll send you the script. Can you take a look and see which director would be suitable to direct this film?”
Muken Sorge: "..."
Why did you ask him to help you find a director right from the start?
-
Lu Yanhe called Wan Qingqing back again.
“You’ll be in charge of this project,” Lu Yanhe said to Wan Qingqing. “To be honest, I don’t know how to make a movie in the United States, and I don’t know what the process of making a movie in the United States is. This is the first time Linghe has tried this.”
Wan Qingqing was completely stunned.
ha?
She never imagined that she would have the opportunity to become an executive producer of a film so early in her life.
“I’ve hired Murken Sorge as the producer. You can ask him anything you don’t understand. Of course, what you need to do now is to prepare a budget,” Lu Yanhe said. “I hope to make this film with the lowest possible cost.”
All the green shoots have big heads.
It's not that she hasn't been involved in production before, but given her age, it would be at least five years before she could independently lead a production team, so she wasn't prepared at all.
However, she also knew very well that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Brother Lu, can I find some friends I know to form a production team?" Wan Qingqing asked. "I definitely can't handle it by myself."
“Of course.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “As I said, you’re in charge of this project. Do whatever you want to do. However, I hope you won’t make me sign too many checks before the budget is finalized.”
Wan Qingqing: "Okay, I will seize this opportunity!"
She snapped out of her daze, let out a soft, delighted cheer, and went off full of energy.
And so it started, in such a makeshift manner?
Are you worried?
Is that ridiculous?
Lu Yanhe's heart was filled with unease.
But it's okay, the worst that can happen is that I mess it up. He comforted himself, thinking that if he couldn't lead a team, he'd just have to work himself to death. The only way to build a good, capable team was through real-world experience.
Wan Qingqing worked as his assistant for a year, and then represented Linghe in the United States for several years, accumulating her network of contacts and industry experience.
If you ask her if she has experience making a movie, the answer is definitely no.
However, if you ask her if she has the ability to make a movie, you could say that she already has the ability to put it into practice.
Whether or not they ultimately possess this ability remains to be seen.
-
August, which should have been a quiet month of filming on set, turned into a chaotic month.
I also took some time to attend Huang Kairen and Xin Zixing's wedding.
In late August, the "Flypaper" project was first learned of and exposed by the media.
Wan Qingqing's activities in Hollywood could not escape the notice of the media.
Lu Yanhe's screenplay for a film is currently in contact with actors in Hollywood, and the news has naturally spread among agents.
The news reached back to China.
Besides continuing to marvel at Lu Yanhe's speed in writing the script for Tentacle Monster, everyone was also curious whether Lu Yanhe would participate in this English script.
Not long after, Variety in the United States broke the news that Yan Liang, who played Hu Fan in Friends, was the first confirmed lead actor for Flypaper.
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“Yes, Arne, you can totally tell that this is going to be a very popular story.”
On the phone, Lu Yanhe was talking to Arne Bogut, the male actor in the first "Mist" film, about the movie "Flypaper".
"I don't know how much this movie will gross in North America, but I hope it will do well at the global box office," Lu Yanhe said. "Yan Liang is my friend and one of the most popular male actors in China. In addition to him, another actress I plan to invite, Cai Na, is one of the most famous actresses in Thailand. Their fame in Asia can help 'Flypaper' open up the market in Asia."
Arne Bogut asked, "Have you contacted Lily?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I have another movie, and I plan to cast Yan Liang and Lili as the leads, I don't want the audience to get tired of their pairing," Lu Yanhe said frankly.
Arne Bogut: "Oh? Lily's going to be in another one of your movies?"
"Yes."
"You guys really kept the news under wraps; I didn't hear a thing."
"Haha, but I contacted you very quickly about 'Flypaper.' It's a good script, and you're a good actor. I think you'll definitely like it."
“Lu, I believe in you. I’ll read the script again carefully,” Arne Bogut said. “I’ll get back to you as soon as possible, okay?”
"No problem, I'll wait for your message."
-
As a result, while Lu Yanhe was still racking his brains over the film's cast, Darren Wilson suddenly contacted him.
He also came for the movie "Flypaper".
He blamed Lu Yanhe for starting his own project instead of prioritizing finding people from his clients.
Lu Yanhe was suddenly stunned.
A sudden enlightenment.
Yeah, why didn't he ask Darren Wilson for help?
He knows far more actors than he does.
Lu Yanhe didn't stand on ceremony and said, "Darren, this is my first film produced in Hollywood, so I don't want to take any risks. I want to find actors who don't have high salaries but can help the film."
Darren Wilson's expression changed upon hearing this.
Are you kidding me? He makes his money by taking a cut of commissions.
His pay wasn't high, so he didn't earn much.
Lu Yanhe said, "However, I think this film should be able to boost the careers of the actors involved."
Darren Wilson looked at Lu Yanhe with a puzzled expression.
“You definitely haven’t read the script yet, right?” Lu Yanhe said with a smile. “You’ll know once you read the script. The actors who can participate in this movie—of course, I know that Hollywood’s top actors definitely won’t be in it, but if someone really has a good eye and can see the excellence in this script, he will definitely get a masterpiece in his career.”
Lu Yanhe was also shocked that he was becoming increasingly shameless in praising himself.
That's just how negotiations are in Hollywood.
They often say things like, "I'm going to make a masterpiece," and "This will definitely become a classic."
Darren Wilson clearly falls for this.
Of course, most importantly, Lu Yanhe's scripts are on the Hollywood blacklist.
After several projects, including "Source Code," "Red Eye Flight," and "Buried Alive," impressed top companies like Parameter and Green Valley and were launched simultaneously, everyone had to take a second look at Lu Yanhe, a screenwriter who had already won several Best Screenplay/Screenplay awards.
After reading it, Darren Wilson was speechless.
Could this movie win an Oscar?
cannot.
Will this movie become a box office hit?
I couldn't tell that he had such potential.
However, it is special.
Dark humor, plot twists, villains everywhere, double-crossing... these elements give it a "anything is possible" quality.
Darren Wilson could naturally see that although it might not win awards or box office success, its script structure and character twists would attract critical attention and generate heated discussions among audiences.
This will be a hot topic. And if the film is of good quality, it will become a movie that audiences really like.
As Lu Yanhe said, it may not be the first choice for top-tier actors, but for many actors, it can be a turning point that changes their career destiny.
If Lu Yanhe doesn't mind using those unknown actors, that would be great.
However, it is clear that Lu Yanhe wants to use actors who can help this low-budget film gain more attention.
This "help" refers to the European and American markets.
With screenwriter Lu Yanhe and a cast including Yan Liang and Cai Na, the lineup already reaches the level of a "luxury cast" in the Asian market, so there's no need to add more actors.
When Darren Wilson asked about the budget for the film's actors, Lu Yanhe replied, "The lower the better," which made Darren Wilson want to slam the door and leave.
However, Lu Yanhe's next sentence immediately hooked Darren Wilson.
"With this experience, I will be more confident in making a film with a higher budget for the next movie," Lu Yanhe smiled. "And I will definitely give priority to my friends."
Darren Wilson cursed silently to himself: "Little fox."
However, he really couldn't resist the temptation.
Darren Wilson asked, "Would you mind using an actor with a scandal?"
“As long as the actors don’t commit crimes or violate my principles, whether they’re mistresses, divas, or even urinate in public, it doesn’t matter. There aren’t any good people in this movie anyway.” Lu Yanhe asked, “Do you have anyone in mind?”
“I have a client who was a child star. He used to be very famous, but because of his bad record—skipping school, fighting with classmates, drinking, and even getting one of his classmates pregnant—he was eventually abandoned by everyone,” Darren Wilson said. “If you’re willing to use him, you can get him for $50,000. He can play Gates and bring fame and buzz to the movie.”
Lu Yanhe asked, "Are audiences in Europe and America still willing to accept him? Is he able to act now?"
“All I can say is that he can act now, but don’t expect to hire someone who is good in every way for $50,000,” Darren Wilson said. “Many people will definitely be disgusted by his comeback. Back then, he got his classmate pregnant and refused to take responsibility, which caused a lot of anger.”
Lu Yanhe frowned: "What happened to that girl who got pregnant later?"
“She aborted the child,” Darren Wilson said. “She didn’t really want the child; she just wanted to use it to keep Pablo by her side. At the time, countless girls wanted to possess Pablo. Of course, it can’t be denied that Pablo was indeed a cold-blooded bastard.”
Lu Yanhe frowned.
Does he want to use someone like that?
Lu Yanhe fell into deep thought.
-
One cannot have it all.
There's no such thing as a free lunch.
If you're only trying to reduce costs and financial risks by partnering with people you don't like, then there's really no need for that.
Lu Yanhe's requirement for himself was that when the granaries were full, people would know proper etiquette.
It's one thing to cross the line when things get really tough, but if you abandon your principles when you can stick to them, then your usual idealism is just a hypocritical joke.
Lu Yanhe shook his head: "I don't want to cooperate with this person."
Darren Wilson sighed helplessly, as if he had expected Lu Yanhe to say this.
“Let me think about it some more,” he said. “But if it weren’t for the fact that he got someone pregnant and then refused to take responsibility, could you accept the other problems?”
“I don’t know either. This isn’t a standard question. I need to know who that person is and what their situation is before I can decide whether they are someone I’m willing to cooperate with.”
Darren Wilson: "Lu, you're making things difficult for me."
“Darren, I know it’s troublesome, but believe me, all the trouble is worth it,” Lu Yanhe said. “The more effort you put in upfront, the less mess you’ll have to clean up later.”
Darren Wilson: "Wipe your butt?"
Lu Yanhe directly used "wipe bottom," which reflects his Chinese way of thinking.
He didn't understand.
Lu Yanhe laughed and said, "When your clients cause you trouble and you have to solve it, isn't it just like they took a dump and you have to clean up their mess?"
“Oh!” Darren Wilson cursed, “Fuck!”
-
The salary Yan Liang received for "Flypaper" was $500,000, which was neither high nor low.
Zhou Ping'an was very dissatisfied.
Yan Liang said, "Then go find me another Hollywood movie that can be released on a large scale worldwide, and the lead actor."
Zhou Ping'an: "Not all Hollywood movies are worth acting in."
Yan Liang glanced at him sideways.
Zhou Ping'an said, "It was supposed to be an action movie with a budget of tens of millions of dollars, how did it suddenly turn into such a low-budget dark comedy?"
Yan Liang: "Because I wanted to act in that action movie worth tens of millions of dollars, I first had to prove that I could sell well in Europe and America. So, Yan He specially opened another project for me. Don't you understand what's going on? Oh, maybe the capital you've been in contact with wouldn't open another project for me just to help prove that I have the ability to star in a big project."
Zhou Ping'an: "..."
His lips were practically twitching at that moment.
When did Yan Liang start speaking so harshly?
The ancients were right: one who is near ink gets stained black.
-
Actually, despite Yan Liang's arrogant demeanor in front of Zhou Ping'an, he himself didn't expect that Lu Yanhe would start another drama for him while talking.
He hasn't told Zhou Pingan yet, but he knows that Lu Yanhe's movie is not just about him starring in it. He has also specially found well-known actors like Arne and Cai Na to co-star with him.
Lu Yanhe made it very clear that this movie was intended to boost word-of-mouth among moviegoers and achieve a "high-stakes, low-return" box office success, so the actors' salaries had to be kept at a normal to low level.
Influenced by Lu Yanhe and Li Zhibai, Yan Liang, who should have cared a lot about his salary, also gradually realized that as an actor on the rise, as long as he could make a living, salary was not his primary consideration.
Just as he told Zhou Ping'an.
This is not the important thing.
It is an opportunity.
-
"This actor was once a top Hollywood star and was even nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor. However, he has been washed up for many years. In the past ten years, every movie he has made has flopped, with terrible box office and critical reception."
Two days later, Darren Wilson found another actor for Lu Yanhe.
The actress's name is Skadi Taft.
After learning a little about the actor, another name popped into Lu Yanhe's mind: Nicolas Cage.
A once-dominant A-list actor, but ultimately became known as the king of bad movies.
Once a top actor in the "$20 million salary club," his salary has steadily declined. The only recorded salary he ever received was $4 million (this was after his starring role in "Pig" achieved great success, after which his salary increased). His lowest salaries are probably never revealed.
Skadi Taft's experience is remarkably similar to Nicolas Cage's. He first lost half of his assets in a divorce, then suffered a series of misfortunes including investment losses and company bankruptcy. Finally, all the films he made were unlucky, flopping so badly that they appeared on the list of box office disasters year after year.
Then, he quickly became a top-tier actor who had been rejected by mainstream film companies.
Darren Wilson said, "But he fits your requirements. If he were to star in 'Flypaper,' his fame would definitely bring some attention to the film in Europe and America."
"But it may not be good attention," Lu Yanhe said.
"Yes."
Lu Yanhe pondered.
"Darren, do you think that audiences in Europe and America will be very reluctant to watch this movie because of issues like Skadi?"
“Lu, I have to tell you the truth, nowadays, if Skadi appears in any movie, people will subconsciously think that it is definitely a bad movie.”
Lu Yanhe thought to himself that "Flypaper" was not a masterpiece in the conventional sense.
Even with Nicolas Cage's reputation as the "King of Bad Movies," a masterpiece like "Pig" was enough to revive his image. Following that, films like "Rainfield" and "Long Legs" steadily increased his salary.
Even the "king of bad movies" can make a comeback if he makes a good film.
Lu Yanhe said to Darren Wilson, "Is he your client? Could you help me make contact with him?"
Darren Wilson said, "He's not my client, but of course I can help you make contact."
"How much do you think he should be paid for this role?"
“At least $1.5 million,” Darren Wilson said.
Lu Yanhe also knew that this salary was reasonable in Hollywood.
Even converted to RMB, this is a salary close to ten million RMB.
in the country, many top-tier actors don't even earn this much for their movies.
There's no way around it; Hollywood's film industry is a prime example of "rising tide lifts all boats." Their industry chain is so developed that their films are far more profitable than those of Chinese-language films. The Screen Actors Guild wouldn't allow these companies to "exploit" actors.
This is the benefit of occupying a top position in the global industry.
Lu Yanhe plans to release the film "Flypaper" on a large scale in theaters. Therefore, he needs several well-known actors, but not just those like Yan Liang and Cai Na who are only famous in a particular region.
If $1.5 million can bring in Skadi and if he is used well, it would actually be a profitable deal.
It all depends on whether Skadi is willing to play the role.
-
At this moment, Muken Sorge suddenly recommended an actress to Lu Yanhe.
A talented German actress.
Muken was interested in the role of the bank employee originally played by the Black actress Octavia Spencer.
Originally, Lu Yanhe planned to follow the same pattern and hire a Black actress to play the role.
However, the German actress recommended by Muken, well, how should I put it, had won the Best Actress award at the Berlin International Film Festival, one of the three major film festivals in the original timeline.
Of course, in this time and space, it is not among the four major international film festivals, and its influence is much weaker.
She is quite well-known in Europe and is a highly regarded actress in the industry.
As an actress, her career was limited by her image.
She is not the kind of actress who is very beautiful; you could even say she is quite average-looking.
For example, she's a bit like that actress known as the "Nation's Daughter-in-Law"—she's not ugly, of course, but she definitely can't take the beauty route in the entertainment industry.
Murken Sorge believes that the film "Flypaper" is worth "investing" in and may help the actress take her acting career to the next level.
Her name is Tanya Bailey.
Since Muken spoke up, Lu Yanhe couldn't possibly refuse him.
In addition, the actor is highly skilled and has excellent acting skills, which meets Lu Yanhe's criteria for casting actors in "Flypaper".
If Skadi Taft brought attention to the film "Flypaper" through the mass media and public sphere, then Tania Bailey used her professional reputation to enhance the film and offset the negative impact of Skadi Taft's reputation as a "bad movie queen".
-
Tanya Bailey is the second actor to sign with Yan Liang.
With a salary of $250,000, he firmly controls the actor's salary budget.
This news was first reported by Chinese media.
This Chinese media outlet was actually Lin Yu's commentary program on Yuehu TV.
The reason for reporting this news through Lin Yu is that American media would not consider Tanya Bailey, who lacks star power, while German media might be accused of self-promotion. Therefore, after some communication, Lin Yu became the first to report the news.
"Tanya Bailey, a renowned German actress acclaimed by European film critics and a leading lady in the field, has joined the cast of the Hollywood film 'Flypaper,' written by Lu Yanhe and starring Yan Liang. It is reported that after reading the script, Bailey immediately contacted Lu Yanhe through Murken Sorge, the director of 'The Mist,' who had previously collaborated with him, to express her desire to star in the film..."
News reports always need to be traced back to their source.
Lin Yu first set this introductory phrase for Tania Bailey, and other media outlets basically "copied and pasted" it when quoting it, including foreign media when reporting the news.
This is achieved by using the influence of the media and the actors' own influence to subtly convey to the public the impression that the script is "amazing," thereby arousing their anticipation for the film.
-
Perhaps influenced by this, and also because the script was indeed very good.
Subsequently, Arne Bogut also expressed his initial willingness to participate, but his asking price of $3 million made Lu Yanhe hesitate.
Arne Bogut is definitely worth the salary.
Before starring in "The Mist," he was already a relatively well-known young actor in Hollywood. After "The Mist," he starred in two consecutive films that performed well at the box office, and his salary also increased accordingly.
To be fair, he didn't ask for an exorbitant salary.
Fortunately, he is still very young, so even though several of his works have achieved good results, his salary has not increased dramatically.
The market is still watching him closely.
Actors' salaries are actually accumulated little by little as the market proves how much an actor can contribute to box office revenue.
Even for the wildly popular "Sweet Tea," his film salary is actually quite low compared to his soaring fame.
His salary for starring in Dune 2 was actually only $3 million. Of course, this was influenced by the film's genre, as the film's budget was mainly spent on special effects.
For example, Eleven from "Stranger Things" received a salary of $7.5 million for starring in "Enchanted Sherlock Holmes 2," and Sidney Smith received roughly the same amount for "The Witches." This is because these films primarily rely on their leading actresses.
"Flypaper" happens to be a film that relies entirely on its actors. But fortunately, Lu Yanhe has always emphasized that it is an ensemble piece, and an ensemble piece eliminates the "unique" role of any single actor—which also eliminates the space for actors to further increase their fees.
Lu Yanhe instructed Wan Qingqing to continue negotiations and try to lower her salary as much as possible, while also giving Wan Qingqing a trump card—$2 million.
It's quite difficult to cut back a third of the actor's salary all at once.
Wan Qingqing couldn't help but ask, "Brother Lu, do I really have to negotiate this price to get him to agree to the deal?"
Lu Yanhe: "We'll do our best. If all else fails, then of course we'll settle for $3 million. Arne is the only actor from 'Flypaper' who has a positive, mainstream star image in the United States."
Wan Qingqing, the pressure mountain, has gone.
Just then, Darren Wilson brought good news.
Skadi Taft agreed to take the role for $1.3 million, but the studio cannot disclose the price. If a dispute arises regarding the salary, they will need to cooperate with him to announce that his salary for "Flypaper" is $4 million.
"..." Okay, the pride of a former A-list actor.
Variety then reported on the new cast of "Flypaper," with Skadi Taft joining the film.
The controversy surrounding the film "Flypaper" quickly propelled it to the forefront of various film media outlets and blogger posts.
Indeed, former A-list stars are still A-list stars. Actors who have entered the "20 million dollar salary club" are still "the afterglow of the setting sun" even if they have faded from the spotlight. Even as ruins, they still attract attention.
Lu Yanhe had to lie in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, saying, "Skadi is the most suitable actor for this role. I believe that when everyone sees this movie, they will understand what I mean. He will definitely surprise everyone."
-
As a result, once the news of Skadi Taft's signing came out, Arne Bogut's side stuck to their €3 million offer and refused to budge.
Wan Qingqing said that they even had a vague idea of wanting to withdraw.
Lu Yanhe was speechless for a moment.
If Arne Bogut can't play the role, then they have to find an actress with a similar level of influence for the female lead.
Originally, Lu Yanhe thought that for the role of the female lead, they could audition for a truly photogenic and stunningly beautiful woman who could create chemistry with Yan Liang, regardless of her fame.
At this moment, Liu Bige came to find Lu Yanhe.
"Your condition isn't as good as when you first joined the team."
Lu Yanhe was taken aback.
Liu Bige said, "I know you've been busy with 'Flypaper' lately, but Yan He, don't let your performance in the first month go to waste. Your performance was so good back then. Now I see less and less of that deep-seated complexity in your eyes. This role may take you to depths you've never reached before."
Lu Yanhe suddenly came to his senses.
The movie "Flypaper" distracted him.
He is indeed no longer focused on the movie "Calming Wind No. 1".
"I'm sorry," Lu Yanhe said. "I'll wrap this up right away, and then I'll get back on track."
Liu Bige nodded.
"good."
Lu Yanhe asked, "Can those scenes you're not satisfied with be reshot?"
Liu Bige nodded, "Of course we have to reshoot. Luckily, I went to the editing room yesterday, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to notice that your performance wasn't good enough just from watching the monitor on set."
Lu Yanhe's face burned.
He certainly wouldn't take Liu Bige's words as a compliment.
(End of this chapter)
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