Chapter 746 Linghe's Stockpile
Following his Oscar win, Lu Yanhe is suspected of starting a new collaboration with Xin Zixing!
Such a headline doesn't seem to have any sensational elements.
However, shortly after it was published by one media outlet, it was reposted by dozens of media accounts with over a million followers, and naturally rose to the top of the trending searches.
In fact, the report only included photos of Lu Yanhe, Xin Zixing, and a few other people together, as well as a video.
Aside from that, it contains no information whatsoever.
Everyone is very concerned about Lu Yanhe's whereabouts.
When Xin Zixing left Lu Yanhe's capital camp and returned to Yemai.com, she was called an "ungrateful wretch" by some of Lu Yanhe's fans, who accused her of betraying Lu Yanhe.
At the time, neither Xin Zixing nor Lu Yanhe responded, and everyone really thought that the two of them had fallen out.
However, after Xin Zixing returned, Yemai.com resumed its cooperation with Linghe, Shihuo, and "Jump Up," which made everyone realize that there was actually no problem between them.
It's just that many fans won't admit it.
Now, they're together again in the photo, chatting and laughing, showing no signs of estrangement, which says it all.
As for the new collaborative project between Lu Yanhe and Xin Zixing—
Many people have inquired about it.
For no other reason than to stuff people in.
-
Chen Ziyan and Lu Yanhe have not yet responded to inquiries from various media outlets.
The same applies to leaf vein networks.
After resting for a while, Lu Yanhe came to Linghe to watch the finished films of "Those Years" and "The Sea, My Pfft," and to discuss the follow-up plans for "2 Broke Girls" and the sitcom "Roommates."
"Both 'Pah!' and 'You Are the Apple of My Eye' are being considered for screening at the Jose Film Festival," Chen Yin explained. "However, since both films are directed by the same director and have similar themes, if they are screened at the same festival, they will inevitably be compared, resulting in one film gaining more than the other."
Lu Yanhe nodded, "I think so too. 'You Are the Apple of My Eye' is not a film suitable for film festivals either."
"You Are the Apple of My Eye" contains almost no authorial expression. Its immense popularity at the time, besides the moving story itself and the perfect casting with its strong sense of immersion, largely stemmed from the fact that the story was adapted from the real-life experiences of director/screenwriter Giddens Ko. Even the character Shen Jiayi was based on a real person—
At the time, this story caused a great stir. People who were moved and saddened by the movie left the theater and learned that this regretful story was actually true and had a real-life counterpart. At that moment, the manifestation and reality of their emotions were amplified to the extreme.
But if anyone says this film is artistic and suitable for film festivals—
How should I put it? I bet even Giddens Ko himself would say, "Don't flatter me to death."
“Let’s send ‘The Sea, My Praise’ to the screening program and see if it can be included in the screening section,” Lu Yanhe said. “Its style is very distinctive, and it has a particularly comic book feel, which is very different from other art films of the same genre. If it is screened in Jose, it should generate a lot of discussion.”
For a low-budget film like this, generating significant discussion at a top international film festival could attract the attention of foreign film distributors.
Otherwise, even if the film was produced by Linghe, it would be unlikely to be favored by foreign film companies due to its production by a new director and actors. Even if they were, the purchase price offered would certainly be very low.
Choosing which film to send to which film festival is also a business.
"Jiang Yue, the actress from 'The Sea, My Pah,' has also passed the audition for another film we're producing, and will play the lead role," Chen Yin introduced to Lu Yanhe. "It's He Songyan's 'There's a Strange Woman in the Building.'"
Lu Yanhe nodded.
He still had a good impression of Jiang Yue.
I met her on the high-speed train and we had some interaction. Later, I saw her again on the film set. She was a girl with a strong voice, even a bit of a chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur).
Lu Yanhe asked, "Where did you find the film 'There's a Strange Woman in the Building'?"
"I found this script at a venture capital event in China," Chen Yin said. "At first, I thought it was a suspense film, but later I discovered it was a hard-to-categorize youth film. It's about a teenage girl with a delusional personality who moves into a building and does strange things every day, causing suspicion and gossip among the neighbors. In reality, this girl is a secret agent who comes to catch spies hiding in the building, while also protecting the safety of others. At first glance, this story seems incredibly far-fetched, the kind of delusional, youth fantasy style that would probably be called idiotic by many people if written as a story. But the script is written with great energy and vitality, just like an adult reading a good fairy tale. Even though you know it's fake, you still finish reading it with a smile on your face."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"After hearing your explanation, I'm really looking forward to this movie," Lu Yanhe laughed. "But, can this story really be made for just one million?"
“Yes, we can.” Chen Yin nodded. “We’ve done a budget, and it only takes seventeen days to film. All the actors are unknown, and their combined salaries won’t exceed 100,000 yuan. The rest of the budget will go into production. The film quality won’t be particularly high, but it’s enough to tell the story. He Songyan is the writer, director, and cinematographer, which saves a lot of money. Our contract with He Songyan also stipulates that if he can finish filming within budget and on schedule, we will add 1 percentage point to his share of the film’s revenue.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
Chen Yin said, "In addition to 'There's a Strange Woman in the Building' this year, we are also planning to invest in a low-budget film. It's a project that Yuan Hai approached us about. It's directed by another Malaysian Chinese director, Zhang Zheyi."
Lu Yanhe nodded: "You can make the decision yourself."
Lu Yanhe granted Xu Tianming and Chen Yin a certain degree of "investment autonomy," allowing them a certain amount of funds to be used independently each year.
This was also a method devised by Lu Yanhe to "de-Lu Yanheize" the company's business segments and revenue sources.
Linghe is surnamed Lu, but it's not necessary for every project of Linghe to be surnamed Lu.
Even if a person works until they die, they can only build up to the Himalayas at most, but without the support of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Himalayas wouldn't stand.
That's all for the movies.
The TV series are Linghe's current focus.
It is also a major source of revenue for the film and television industry.
"Post-production of 'Chinese Paladin' is almost complete, and it should be able to air during this summer's season," Chen Yin said. "In addition to 'Chinese Paladin,' we will also be airing the third quarter of 'Roommates' this summer."
Lu Yanhe was surprised and asked, "Has 'Roommates' already aired its third season?"
Chen Yin nodded: "Yes, the first two seasons received good reviews, but because the popularity never really took off, the results weren't particularly good."
Lu Yanhe asked, "How do the results of the second season compare to the first season?"
"There has been an increase," Chen Yin said.
"As long as the team behind 'Roommates' is willing to continue and doesn't lose money, then we'll keep doing it well," Lu Yanhe said. "I remember the production team for this project was basically all from Linghe, right?"
“Yes.” Chen Yin nodded.
Lu Yanhe said, "Even if this project can't make money for Linghe, it can still provide food for many people in Linghe, which is good."
Chen Yin really didn't expect that, even though the second season of "Roommates" still didn't show much improvement, Lu Yanhe still didn't complain.
"In addition, if the reviews for this season of 'Roommates' remain good, we can invest more in publicity and marketing," Lu Yanhe said.
Chen Yin nodded and agreed.
Besides "Couples" there's also "2 Broke Girls".
Chen Yin said, "Because we have 'Chinese Paladin' and 'Roommates' in the summer, and 'Friends' and 'My Own Swordsman' in the winter, we plan to air '2 Broke Girls' in the fall."
"Sure, but shouldn't 'My Own Swordsman' be in its final season next year?" Lu Yanhe only wrote about sixty episodes for "My Own Swordsman" at the time, which was filmed in two parts and broadcast in four seasons. The third season just aired during the Chinese New Year this year.
Chen Yin nodded and said yes.
He added, "The Northern Lights Video team is also communicating with us, asking if we can continue writing 'My Own Swordsman'."
Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "Although 'My Own Swordsman' is an episodic series, I have already written everything I wanted to write. If they want to continue developing the story of 'My Own Swordsman,' they can do the planning. If they have any good ideas, we can authorize them to do it."
Chen Yin nodded.
At this moment, Xu Tianming suddenly interjected, saying, "I want to make a set of 'My Own Swordsman' merchandise to coincide with the final season next year."
"The surrounding area? For example?"
"For example, dolls and figurines created based on the characters, and the setting collection for 'My Own Swordsman'," Xu Tianming said.
Lu Yanhe thought about it carefully and said, "Currently, these peripheral products are quite ordinary and no different from other film and television products. Would the audience of 'My Own Swordsman' be willing to buy these character dolls?"
Lu Yanhe thought about it and felt it was a bit unrealistic.
While "My Own Swordsman" is indeed a fan-oriented series, it's not the kind of "fan-oriented" series.
Just like the stationery merchandise that "My Own Swordsman" tried with Baixing before, the market response was very lukewarm - everyone originally thought that "My Own Swordsman" had a large student audience, so the stationery merchandise should be very popular.
What should be done and what should be done regarding the merchandise for "My Own Swordsman"?
Lu Yanhe said, "President Xu, should we conduct a survey among the viewers of 'My Own Swordsman' to find out what kind of merchandise they want? Then, based on the survey results, we can see what we can do?"
Xu Tianming said, "We have actually conducted a lot of questionnaire surveys, but because the sample is not representative enough, many ideas that were popular in the questionnaire surveys turned out to be quite different from what we expected when they were actually implemented."
Lu Yanhe: "If the results of the questionnaire are not useful, then we can ask Jiangzhi what kind of things are most popular and sell best in their scenic spots."
In the Qixia Town scenic area of Jiangzhi, in addition to the real-life buildings and performances, Jiangzhi Culture and Tourism has also developed many local peripheral products, including the dolls and tools that Xu Tianming just mentioned.
That's unique. According to the cooperation agreement with Linghe, those products can only be sold in the Qixia Town scenic area. This is both to ensure the exclusivity of the local scenic area and to protect Linghe's exclusive development rights for the "Wulin Gaiden" surrounding area.
However, the sales around Qixia Town Scenic Area can certainly serve as a reference for consumers interested in products related to "My Own Swordsman".
Xu Tianming nodded, "I'll go and coordinate with them to discuss it."
After discussing the surrounding matters, Lu Yanhe suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, President Xu, did you contact President Li Luzhi about his idea to develop the surrounding market with us?"
Xu Tianming nodded and said, "We have already had one round of talks. Both creative teams are organizing potential areas for future cooperation based on the first meeting."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
After discussing the surrounding matters, we got back to the main topic.
Chen Yin continued, "Although '2 Broke Girls' hasn't aired yet, HP has already proposed to sign a contract with us for the overseas streaming rights for the second season. I'm not sure about this either, so I need to hear your opinion."
Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "Let's talk about it after the first season airs. We'll definitely prioritize signing with HP. I still hold the same view: we shouldn't let a series that could have been very popular be canceled halfway through because of a platform change. However, '2 Broke Girls' is different from shows like 'The Squid Game.' Right now, none of us know how well the first season will perform. If it's good enough, we'll be at a disadvantage if we sign a contract for the second season now; if it's not good enough, they'll be at a disadvantage, and nobody will be happy."
Chen Yin: "Okay, I understand. I will communicate with HP according to this idea. In addition, HP also proposed that they hope to acquire the exclusive overseas streaming rights for the two movies, 'You Are the Apple of My Eye' and 'Pah! The Sea.'"
Lu Yanhe said, "We have basically given HP the exclusive overseas streaming rights for our films. As long as their offer is fair and the conditions are suitable, we will give them priority."
Lu Yanhe firmly believes that one should not put all their eggs in one basket. Given that Maxine already has so many projects with him, he wants to have a more solid cooperative relationship with HP, both professionally and personally.
Only in this way will Maxine remain perpetually uneasy and continue to strive for cooperation with him.
Chen Yin added, "HP also wants to buy the English-language TV series rights to 'Home Alone,' and they want to adapt the movie into an English-language TV series."
Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised.
He hesitated for a moment and said, "Well... let them come up with a more concrete remake plan first, and then we can talk."
Chen Yin said, "I actually have an idea about this as well."
"Um?"
"I'm thinking, could we develop a spin-off film based on the bumbling thieves played by Liu Teli and Luo Weida after this series ends? It might be too early to talk about that now, but the 'Home Alone' series is only planned to have three parts, and I hope to continue the series," Chen Yin said.
Strictly speaking, Macaulay Cullinan's "Home Alone" only has two parts. The third part had a different actor, and after the actor was changed, the box office performance of the third part dropped significantly.
Originally, Lu Yanhe only intended to write two scripts, but he later felt that he didn't need to be the screenwriter for the entire series. He believed that different screenwriters would have different ideas and creative approaches.
Like the original third installment, although its box office performance declined significantly, the content itself was very good. If it weren't for the need to replace Macaulay Cullinan because he had grown up, Lu Yanhe believes the box office might not have been a failure.
So, in the end, Lu Yanhe transplanted the plot of the third part back into the plot and characters of the first and second parts and wrote the script for the third part.
Lu Yanhe himself did not want such a series to end so soon.
Chen Yin's idea is indeed a good approach.
Chen Yin said, "If this idea is feasible, I want to start looking for screenwriters to test scripts as soon as possible, so that the spin-off series can't be started even after all three 'Home Alone' movies have been released."
Lu Yanhe said, "If there are good ideas and concepts, I support the development of spin-off films. Of course, the premise is that Mr. Liu Teli is still willing to continue acting."
Chen Yin said with a smile: "The movie 'Home Alone' was a huge hit all over the world, and the bumbling thief played by Liu Teli was also very popular. I talked to Mr. Liu Teli about taking on a role in the movie, and he did not refuse."
Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "That's fine then."
Chen Yin added, "By the way, TVN from South Korea has contacted us again. They want to obtain the rights to film a second season of 'Rouge'."
"Huh?" Lu Yanhe was taken aback, somewhat surprised.
"The Korean drama version of 'Rouge' did well in its broadcast and was quite popular on streaming platforms. So, they wanted to create their own original script based on the concept of a love story between a human and a ghost to film a second season," Chen Yin said. "Because they still want to use the name 'Rouge' and the creative theme comes from 'Rouge,' they need our authorization to film it."
Lu Yanhe thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Go and evaluate it. If the project is reliable, the script is good, and the team is good, then we'll grant the license. If it might backfire, then no, we have to protect the image of the IPs we have and not let others mess them up."
Chen Yin nodded and agreed.
"How's the TV series adaptation of 'Rouge' by Bingyuan Video coming along?" Lu Yanhe asked.
"It's still in post-production. At the current pace, it probably won't air this year," Chen Yin said. "Icefield Video takes this series very seriously; they've done reshoots twice already."
Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised.
Generally speaking, production companies would rather air the show with incomplete scenes than do reshoots.
Because each reshoot requires an additional budget, which can easily amount to several million.
Judging from Icefield Video's actions, it's clear that they value this series highly.
(End of this chapter)
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