Chapter 752 Private Party
Li Zhibai suddenly chuckled and said, "I've realized that before, I never wanted to ask others for help with anything, especially those big shots. I always felt that if I asked them for help, I wouldn't be able to show off my own abilities. Now, I wish I had more powerful connections."
Lu Yanhe smiled when he heard Li Zhibai say that.
“Because it’s inherently difficult to accomplish many things on your own,” Lu Yanhe said. “But it’s normal to want to prove yourself; who wouldn’t want to prove themselves?”
Li Zhibai: "Me."
"ah?"
“I just feel good about clinging to someone powerful now. I didn’t work hard before, and I have to admit that,” Li Zhibai said. “I’m about the same as Li Pengfei, maybe a little better off. At least I can still pursue the things I like. When I first met him, he told me that he didn’t even have anything he liked.”
“He’s not the same as before, he’s tanned dark,” Lu Yanhe said. “He spends every few days in the wild, sometimes in the mountains, sometimes in the desert. He even thought about going to the rainforest, the tropical rainforest, but his family forbade him to give up.”
Li Zhibai: "I saw some of his posts and I was very envious, but I can't do it myself."
Lu Yanhe laughed loudly, "Me too."
Li Zhibai: "I'm lazy and I avoid making trouble whenever possible. You're lazy but you can still make trouble for yourself. Yan Liang is uncomfortable if he doesn't make trouble. In essence, you're more like me."
"It doesn't sound like a compliment."
"Accept the truth."
Lu Yanhe: "No, I'm going to struggle. I'm essentially the same as Yan Liang, but not like you."
Li Zhibai: "I can only say that your struggle is self-deception."
"Shut up."
-
Subsequently, the Jose Film Festival officially announced its list of nominated films for this year's festival.
This time, two films related to Lu Yanhe, "Dragon Inn" and "The Sea, My Pfft", are both shortlisted for the screening section.
This is a perfectly normal thing in itself, but it has sparked a lot of discussion in China.
Lu Yanhe's films have mostly been nominated for the main competition sections of the four major international film festivals.
Why did they all go to the screening section this time?
The difference between the main competition section and the screening section is just like the difference between the Spring Festival Gala and its accompanying programs.
If you ask whether it's still lively, yes, the level of attention on this platform remains very high.
However, their importance certainly differs.
As for "The Sea, My Pshaw," Lu Yanhe was just one of the producers and executive producers; he had little to do with the actual creative process.
But Dragon Inn... are you kidding me? With director Liu Bige, screenwriter Lu Yanhe, and an all-star cast including Shang Yongzhou, Chen Bige, Liu Zi, Zhou Yuning, Yan Liang, and others, you're telling me that this film only made it into the screening section?
At the press conference following the announcement of the film lineup at the Jose Film Festival, artistic director Wu Yang was asked this question by the media.
He couldn't help but smile wryly and said, "Dragon Inn is indeed a very high-profile film. In the early stages, we had extensive communication with Longyan, the film company behind Dragon Inn, and finally placed Dragon Inn in the screening section."
"Director Wu, do you mean that placing 'Dragon Inn' in the screening section was discussed with Director Liu Bige and Lu Yanhe?"
"This involves some specific communication details, so please allow me not to answer," Wu Yang said. "However, what I can say is that I maintain a lot of communication with outstanding Chinese filmmakers like Liu Bige and Lu Yanhe. We are all looking forward to the premiere of 'Dragon Inn' in the screening section. Director Liu Bige and Lu Yanhe will both attend this year's Jose Film Festival and participate in the related activities of 'Dragon Inn'."
-
Why did you accept "Dragon Inn" being included in the screening section?
One day in late April, Lu Yanhe went to Yemai.com.
YeMai.com plans to hold special events for Children's Day, graduation season, and summer vacation, and has invited Lu Yanhe to be the event ambassador.
Of course, this ambassador doesn't need to actually appear in person; it's just a title. He just needs to film some promotional materials, such as posters and videos, and make a brief appearance.
Moreover, he wasn't the only ambassador.
Xin Zixing also brought her husband, Huang Kairen, to the scene.
Lu Yanhe went to film on the same day as Huang Kairen.
Having not seen each other for a while, Huang Kairen asked about "Dragon Inn" as soon as they met.
Lu Yanhe said, "We did some research and found that placing this film in the main competition section would make it easy for the José International Film Festival, which is not very professional, to overlook the value of 'Dragon Inn' due to its cultural background and its commercially oriented pace. As you know, the José International Film Festival often prefers dramas like 'Love Letter,' which seem different from commercial films but are actually more entertaining than true art films."
Huang Kairen nodded.
"For viewers who are not familiar with the concept and setting of Chinese martial arts, 'Dragon Inn' is actually just a crime story, right?" Lu Yanhe asked with a smile.
Huang Kairen thought for a moment and nodded, "That's true."
Lu Yanhe said, "So we think it would be better to put it in the screening section. If it doesn't participate in the competition, people who watch the film will have less of a utilitarian judgment. Of course, the most important thing is that it makes it easier for Longyan to sell the film. Entering the main competition section but not winning an award is different from not submitting the film to the main competition section."
Huang Kai-yan: "But now everyone seems to think that 'Dragon Inn' was not selected for the main competition."
“Let’s discuss it for now. It’s a good thing to discuss it. The reason why ‘Dragon Inn’ was screened at the Jose Film Festival was for publicity,” Lu Yanhe said. “When we participate in the Jose Film Festival for publicity later, we will naturally have the opportunity to explain further.”
Huang Kairen nodded.
Are you busy lately?
"I'm promoting 'A Shot in the Dark'," Huang Kairen said. "The film is scheduled for release during the May Day holiday."
"Ah, this movie." Lu Yanhe had helped read the script for this movie back then.
Huang Kairen brought over two scripts, one of which was called "Yesterday Once More." He asked Lu Yanhe which script he thought was better and which one should be chosen. At the time, Lu Yanhe recommended "A Needle to the Heart." Although it was an ensemble piece and Huang Kairen's role was not as large as in "Yesterday Once More," Lu Yanhe felt that the script for "A Needle to the Heart" was better.
Later, after some deliberation, Huang Kairen also chose the script "A Needle to the Heart".
Now that "A Shot in the Dark" is about to be released, "Yesterday Once More" has not only failed to start filming as scheduled due to various reasons, but has not even started filming yet.
It seems the main reason was that they couldn't find a male lead that satisfied the investors, which ultimately delayed filming, led to the withdrawal of funding, and caused all sorts of problems.
How are the pre-sales for "A Shot in the Dark" going?
“Not bad, it shouldn’t be too difficult to break even.” Huang Kairen said, then suddenly laughed. “It’s really funny. People in the film industry used to say that their movies would break 1 billion or 2 billion, but now the film crews I meet rarely talk about how high their movies will be at the box office. They are all talking about how difficult it will be to break even.”
"For actors, the biggest fear is probably losing everything on a movie they make, rather than risking a one-in-a-hundred chance at a billion or two-billion-yuan box office. The former might not necessarily boost their career, but the latter could directly drag down their status in the film and television industry," said Lu Yanhe. "I've seen this happen several times already, especially for actors who rely heavily on popularity. They really shouldn't touch movies easily; once they do, if the movie's box office flops, their true colors will be revealed."
Huang Kairen nodded.
"So the publicity strategy for 'A Shot in the Dark' is the same. In the past, everyone only wanted practical benefits, and it didn't matter if there were nominal losses. But now it's different. For film companies, directors and actors, nominal losses will also lead to actual losses." Huang Kairen said, "When the director was promoting the film, he said that as long as the film can make 200 million yuan, it will break even and make money. He emphasized this point very much."
Lu Yanhe: "If a film like 'A Needle to the Heart' raises the audience's expectations too much, and its genre elements are too strong, it will easily give people the feeling that the box office performance is not up to expectations."
Speaking of this, Lu Yanhe thought of Bai Baihe.
After this actress's scandal, she made a comeback with a movie called "Door Lock." It wasn't a big-budget film, nor did it have a star-studded cast, yet it grossed 240 million yuan, which is quite a good performance by all accounts. However, a group of people started to criticize Bai Baihe, saying that she couldn't carry the box office after her scandal.
Then a collective impression formed, as if Bai Baihe really couldn't carry the box office.
Then, Bai Baihe's resources really did gradually shift from the film market to the television drama market.
"..." This is also why Lu Yanhe always emphasizes the need to control costs.
The film industry is indeed a highly profitable one, and it is indeed possible to make a fortune from just one film.
For example, "Home Alone" and "Love Letter" were both huge box office miracles.
However, Lu Yanhe has also encountered the crisis of the concept of "box office miracle" being shattered several times.
One example is "Road to Glory." Although the long preview screenings eventually brought the film's box office to 200 million, if it hadn't repeatedly emphasized the concept of a "low-budget art film," it would have been easy for online trolls and haters to smear it as a "box office failure" with its initial daily box office of only a few million or hundreds of thousands.
Another time was with "Love Letter".
Even now, people online keep saying that Midoriya spent six million dollars to buy the North American distribution rights to "Love Letter," but the North American box office was only a little over eight million, resulting in a huge loss for Midoriya.
Some people are stirring up trouble, while many others are completely unaware of the facts and genuinely believe that "Love Letter" was a complete flop in North America.
They not only failed to realize how remarkable it was for "Love Letter" to gross over eight million dollars in North American theaters, but they also didn't understand that for Midoriya, the six million dollar deal for "Love Letter" was purely based on the high price he paid for the streaming and home entertainment rights.
Box office returns were a pleasant surprise.
Putting everything else aside, Love Letter alone earned Midoriya seven figures from paid, free TV channels, and preview screenings.
The domestic film industry has long been plagued by the issue of box office revenue.
In fact, if the film industry really relied solely on box office revenue for profit, then every film company would be doing a business with a very low success rate.
Of course, Chinese films are currently engaged in this risky business with a slim chance of survival—the industry chain has not been developed, and even streaming media rights cannot fetch a good price.
Actors like Lu Yanhe and Huang Kairen should not be allowed to have their box office expectations inflated or undermined by film companies.
If the film fails to meet expectations, the film company may make a lot of money by luring audiences to the theater, but for the actors, it means they are truly "unable to carry the show" and have "weak appeal".
"A Shot in the Dark, were you the one who was mainly responsible for the box office of 'A Shot in the Dark'?" Lu Yanhe asked Huang Kairen.
"As it stands, yes." Huang Kairen smiled helplessly, "because I'm the lead actor."
"Then you must not get scammed. Many film companies are really rip-offs these days," Lu Yanhe said. "They talk about how many billions the box office needs to reach to break even, or how much you've sacrificed for this movie. Their goal is just to get your fans to go see the movie and boost the box office."
Huang Kairen smiled.
"No, the production cost of 'A Shot in the Dark' has already been disclosed; it's 62 million," he said. "It was mentioned in Wanhua World's previous financial report."
"That's fine then." Lu Yanhe nodded.
They spent about half a day finishing the filming and then went to have dinner with Xin Zixing.
It's already 3 p.m.
"I'm sorry to have troubled you both," Xin Zixing said with a smile. "I'll treat you to a good meal later to make up for it."
Lu Yanhe is not accepting payment for this filming trip.
Such ambassadors are generally honorary in nature.
Huang Kairen was the same.
It all depends on the network of contacts of the event organizer.
-
Xin Zixing booked a restaurant on the top floor of a 100-story building.
A very famous "cloud restaurant".
There weren't many people in the restaurant when we arrived at this time.
The restaurant's waiters were probably all professionally trained, as they didn't show any particular excitement or agitation at the presence of a big star.
It must be said that Lu Yanhe would feel very comfortable in such an environment.
Although it's not nice to say it like this, excessive attention can indeed make him uncomfortable, especially during private trips or gatherings with friends.
Xin Zixing and Huang Kairen got married last August. After their marriage, Lu Yanhe thought that their work pace would slow down a bit, but unexpectedly, their work pace accelerated.
Lu Yanhe asked curiously, "Sister Zixing, when are you and Brother Huang planning to have a child?"
"Let nature take its course." Xin Zixing didn't hesitate and said, "If I still haven't gotten pregnant in the next year or two, then we can try high-tech methods."
Lu Yanhe stared at the two of them in shock.
"High-tech? Surrogacy?"
“It’s not that bad,” Xin Zixing said. “Oh, why am I telling you all this now? You don’t need to understand.”
Lu Yanhe: "...When you suddenly mentioned the word 'high technology,' that was my first thought."
“You saw some news, so that was your first reaction, right?” Xin Zixing said with a smile.
Lu Yanhe said to Huang Kairen, "Brother Huang, you have to work hard."
Huang Kairen: "You don't need to tell me."
Lu Yanhe: "Haha."
Lu Yanhe then asked, "However, Yemai.com has just restarted, so the workload must be immense."
“If you can’t lead a team, you’ll just have to work yourself to death,” Xin Zixing said. “But if I have to keep working, it’s not worth sacrificing my life for. However, I don’t plan to delay having a child for too long. I love children, and I love this job. Fortunately, after working hard for so many years, I can afford to hire a team to share my work, and I also have parents and can afford a nanny to support me at home.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
That's the truth.
Xin Zixing asked Lu Yanhe, "What about you? What are your plans with Siqi?"
"There's no specific timeframe yet, but it should be within the next year or two," Lu Yanhe said.
Xin Zixing asked in shock, "Are you planning to have a baby in the next year or two?"
Lu Yanhe: "...I meant marriage."
“I said you’re only twenty-five and you’re already having a baby…” Xin Zixing shook her head with a smile, “Fine.”
Huang Kairen: "They're so young, it's normal for them to get married in a few more years. In fact, they'll get married in a few more years, which is considered very early in our industry."
Xin Zixing: "They've known each other since high school and dated for so long, which is quite different from other people's situations."
Lu Yanhe inexplicably felt somewhat detached from his current situation.
Unbeknownst to him, such topics began to appear more and more frequently in his life.
I'm really getting older.
Thinking of this, Lu Yanhe couldn't help but smile and lower his head.
"What are you laughing at?" Xin Zixing asked immediately.
Lu Yanhe shook his head, didn't say anything, and asked, "Sister Zixing, are you going to make a big splash on Yemai.com next?"
“Of course, otherwise what would I go back for?” Xin Zixing said. “I want to make Yemai.com the best arts and culture platform.”
"An arts and culture platform?" Lu Yanhe asked, somewhat surprised. "It's not just a social media platform?"
“It’s comprehensive,” Xin Zixing said. “Actually, YeMai.com’s biggest characteristic before was that it was a gathering place for literary and artistic youths. I want to explore and build more sections on that basis. YeMai.com’s current main representative content includes: video content, such as the humanistic documentary series ‘City Travelogue’; original literary and artistic content, such as ‘Star!’; and community interaction content, such as reviews of works. These three combined are unique in China.”
(End of this chapter)
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