Chapter 785 was indeed well acted.
According to preliminary reports, The Mist 2 grossed $8.3 million in North America on its opening day.
This figure is slightly higher than the predicted opening day box office, but only slightly higher.
But it's alright, as long as the box office isn't lower than the predicted box office.
The film received generally positive reviews. Lu Yanhe's performance, in particular, garnered widespread praise. Media, critics, and audiences alike acknowledged that Lu Yanhe's acting was a major highlight of "The Mist 2," carrying the film despite its somewhat clichéd story.
After its opening weekend, "The Mist 2" grossed $31.5 million in North America and over $50 million worldwide, a strong performance.
Lu Yanhe was the main draw at the box office, and the box office performance was excellent.
Judging from the current results, even if the box office of "The Mist 2" cannot compare with the first film, it will not suffer a major drop.
The box office success of the first "Misty" film was a miracle of topical marketing, something that can only be achieved by chance.
Such marketing methods are difficult to replicate.
If "The Mist 2" can surpass $100 million in global box office, it will achieve profitability at the theatrical box office level, and Lu Yanhe's status as a "box office kingpin" will not be questioned. Judging from the box office performance and word-of-mouth during the opening weekend, this goal should be easily achieved.
However, Lu Yanhe never expected that because of the high praise he received for his performance in "The Mist 2," especially after a film critic from The New York Times described him as "a young man with an old soul, whose nonchalant and indifferent eyes reveal a thick, misty ghost of the past from the moment he appears. Lu Yanhe's performance gives this highly commercial film a subtle sense of time, making it have a captivating quality that transcends the scope of commercial films." D19 suddenly announced that they would do their PR for him to win this year's Oscar for Best Actor.
Lu Yanhe was on the set of "No God" and was in disbelief when he heard the news.
His first reaction was even, "Are you kidding me?"
Lu Yanhe never imagined that he could get an Oscar nomination with a film like "The Mist 2".
Even though he put in a lot of effort while acting in this play, he did his best within his capabilities at the time.
But ultimately, Lu Yanhe felt that for that kind of role, form outweighed content.
He portrayed the character entirely in a "formalized" and "symbolic" way. This approach certainly works in the context of the film, but even Lu Yanhe himself doesn't think the character deserves much praise.
D19's actions were actually intended to generate buzz for the movie "The Mist 2".
Using the Oscar buzz as a gimmick, they aimed to create the impression among the general public that "The Mist 2 has received very good reviews and is of high quality."
Of course, their PR team is truly professional.
After all, "Misty 2" received high praise for its technical aspects, such as costumes, props, and cinematography.
Even if Lu Yanhe's Best Actor award is more hype than substance, "The Mist 2" can still compete for awards in the technical category.
However, with "The Mist 2" being released in January, it missed all the early Oscar races by trying to win it at that time.
Nobody knows how high the volume of a voice can be raised in a short period of time.
In any case, Lu Yanhe simply didn't believe he could be nominated for an Oscar for "The Mist 2." If it were that easy, the Oscars wouldn't have achieved their current status. Unless "The Mist 2" achieved epic box office numbers, in which case, given the industry's obsession with box office success, a "guaranteed" nomination might occur.
As the winner of both the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor last year, Lu Yanhe also received an invitation to be a presenter this year.
This is standard practice.
The previous year's winners presented awards to this year's winners.
With so many projects underway in the US, Lu Yanhe naturally needs to be involved in this circle.
Therefore, Lu Yanhe specifically asked the "Godless" crew for a day off to attend the Golden Globe Awards.
To be fair, Lu Yanhe was as enthusiastic about the Golden Globe Awards last year as he was "cold" this year.
The blockbuster *Home Alone* and the minor hit *Buried* both "disappeared" during awards season. Of course, this is related to the films' genres; they aren't exactly award-season favorites. However, given the Golden Globes' track record, with such high box office returns and significant influence, Huang Feng should rightfully have received a Best Actor nomination in the Comedy/Musical category.
Even though they did not give a nomination, they still invited Huang Feng, Liu Teli, and Luo Weida to attend.
The three of them will be presenting an award.
-
Compared to these two films, what surprised Lu Yanhe the most was that Friends disappeared from the Golden Globe nomination list.
It's not that Friends should continue to be nominated for the Golden Globes—but the Golden Globes noticed it before it became so popular in Europe and America, and included it in their nominations, even awarding Lu Yanhe a screenplay award. So why did Friends go silent in the Golden Globes' eyes after it gained some recognition in Europe and America?
According to Chen Ziyan's speculation, she felt that it was because Maxine stopped exerting force from behind.
The American version of "Friends" has already premiered on Maxine. Although it cannot compare with the original in terms of popularity and other aspects, its reputation is actually quite good, and it has been renewed. Clearly, they still have expectations for the future performance of the American version.
Friends wasn't this popular worldwide from its first season.
At this time, the Chinese version of Friends suddenly showed a trend of "getting stronger and stronger", which probably made Maxine hesitate for a moment, wondering whether to continue promoting the Chinese version of Friends.
This is perfectly normal.
Sitcoms, for some inexplicable reason, belong to a genre that is very susceptible to the "remake curse".
Everyone only recognizes the first one.
However, this time, the promotional tour for Friends in North America can be described as a "great success".
This season of Friends has consistently topped the daily viewership charts whenever a new episode is released, achieving its best overseas viewership ratings in six seasons.
Discussions on social media have grown exponentially.
Given the immense popularity of "Friends," Lu Yanhe believes that if the show isn't nominated for a Golden Globe next year, it will likely be heavily criticized.
In any case, from Lu Yanhe's perspective, the Golden Globe Award played a huge role in propelling his journey in Europe and America.
Regardless of whether the Golden Globes' initial "favor" for him was actually due to their need for "popularity and buzz," they did indeed choose him from among young creators around the world with "popularity and buzz," allowing his films such as "Friends," "Love Letter," and "The Squid Game" to enter the global exposure and "recognition" provided by the Golden Globes.
Lu Yanhe's appearance as a presenter at the Golden Globe Awards is itself a sign that he is further consolidating his position in Hollywood.
Every year, some people become famous overnight. To determine whether someone truly belongs in a certain circle, one must look at their stability.
Lu Yanhe had several blockbuster films in Hollywood for several years in a row, which is why he was able to become a new powerful figure in Hollywood in the eyes of many media outlets in just a few years.
This is also benefiting many of Lu Yanhe's projects. At least with the release of the movie "The Mist 2," a sequel film, and a blockbuster aiming to break 200 million in global box office, unusually, this film only had one movie star to carry the box office—under these circumstances, "The Mist 2" really maintained its box office performance, preventing the success of "The Mist 1" from becoming a fleeting miracle.
Whether it's the intangible "attention" brought about by the industry and media's anticipation for Lu Yanhe's new work, or the trust placed in him by various parties who are willing to provide the best resources within their means to help support the film, it's no wonder that the film itself isn't particularly outstanding and doesn't have the same globally sensational marketing angle as his first film.
In particular, the "support" campaign launched by a group of Friends fans on social media. Many media outlets were willing to report on and continuously follow up on this matter, allowing it to generate a certain impact, which stemmed from their appreciation and recognition of Lu Yanhe himself.
These are all interconnected.
Sometimes, if you see a celebrity having a problem on social media, and some real people (not those who seem real but whose identity and appearance you don't know at all, and who are very likely a self-media account run by a team) are willing to stand up and talk about their past with the celebrity and say a few words in their defense, then you can really choose to "let things play out for a while."
For someone to speak up for another in their own name at this time, unless there is a conflict of interest, it must be because that person has moved them in some way.
At this year's Golden Globe Awards, "Raise the Red Lantern" was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, but that was its only nomination.
It's a pity that "Raise the Red Lantern" was not nominated for the Best Original Screenplay award, which Green Valley had high hopes for.
Lu Yanhe himself didn't care.
Actually, "Raise the Red Lantern" had pretty good luck with awards this year.
In the early stages, no single film achieved a dominant position.
"Raise the Red Lantern" was fiercely competing with two other foreign films.
At this point, I should mention something unrelated to the main topic.
The winner of this year's Grand Prize at the Cité International Film Festival is the Spanish film "Crowded Room," also directed by a renowned director.
It is also a strong contender for Best Foreign Language Film this year.
"Raise the Red Lantern" won the top prize at last year's Situ Film Festival, but because it was only released this year, it has led to a clash between two Situ Films this year.
The media are saying that the Situ Film Festival made a fortune.
After all, the Best Foreign Language Film award is highly prestigious on a global scale.
It can directly increase the copyright value of an art film by several zeros.
Major film studios around the world will be vying to buy your films.
This isn't a business transaction that lasts just one or two years; it's a long-term, decades-long business.
-
Lu Yanhe met Chen Bige again at the Golden Globe Awards and took a photo with her while smiling.
"You've worked hard." Chen Bige has been working with director Wang Zhong to promote "Raise the Red Lantern" during the awards season, and it has indeed been tough for her.
However, to increase the chances of winning awards, her participation in the promotional campaign, as the lead actress and a well-known Hollywood star, can play a decisive role in the film's public relations.
Therefore, after understanding this, Chen Bige persisted without hesitation.
"You've worked hard too," Chen Bige said to Lu Yanhe in the same polite manner.
The two looked at each other, and neither could hold back anymore.
"Too official," Chen Bige complained.
Lu Yanhe shrugged and smiled at Chen Bige.
"Where's Director Wang? Isn't he with you?"
“He was stopped by someone just now.” Chen Bige glanced in one direction, as if Director Wang Zhong had just been there. However, her expression told him that she had not found Wang Zhong as she had hoped. “But now I don’t know where he went.”
Lu Yanhe: "It's okay, we'll run into each other eventually."
“Yes.” Chen Bige nodded. “By the way, he has already finished writing the script, the one that you and I will star in. He wants to talk to you about it.”
Lu Yanhe said, "Let's wait until we finish what we're doing, after this year's Oscars."
They're all so busy right now, no one can concentrate on one script.
A script they had been waiting for a long time.
Chen Bige nodded.
-
The Mist 2 has grossed over $70 million in North America and over $130 million worldwide.
Lu Yanhe, as the lead actor, performed his role admirably.
Everyone congratulated him, and some even joked, "If 'The Mist 2' hadn't been released so late, you should have been on the nomination list tonight."
This comes after D19 previously announced he would lobby for him at this year's Oscars.
Lu Yanhe waved his hand with a smile and said, "The film company exaggerated for the sake of promoting the movie."
"Your performance in The Mist 2 was truly outstanding. It was entirely thanks to your role and your performance that the quality of the film was greatly enhanced. Otherwise, it would have just been a very ordinary B-movie."
That night, quite a few people said similar things to Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe realized something: it seemed that quite a few people in the industry had actually seen the movie "The Mist 2".
Many people have a misconception that people in the film industry must have watched a lot of films, including those currently showing. In fact, while they generally do watch a lot, they may not have seen many of the films currently showing or those from recent years.
Including Lu Yanhe himself, he was already the kind of person who consciously watched movies, but due to his busy work and various other reasons, he had only seen a handful of movies released in theaters in the past six months.
Of the films in this year's North American awards season, Lu Yanhe has seen no more than a handful.
The deadline for the first round of Oscar voting is fast approaching.
He's now a member of the academy and has voting rights. But he hasn't even seen many of the movies, so how can he vote?
The only option is to abstain.
Once he experienced this process firsthand, he truly understood why public relations are so prevalent during North American awards season.
If you want a film to get nominated and gain attention, you first have to get people with voting rights to see the film.
That's basically what public relations is all about: doing everything you can to get you to see the movie, to see the person, and then convincing you from every angle that this person should win the award this year.
A thought inexplicably popped into Lu Yanhe's mind: Could "Mist 2" actually bring him a Best Actor nomination in the end?
-
"Raise the Red Lantern" beat "Crowded Room" and "Spring Rhapsody" to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, making it the most exciting moment for Lu Yanhe tonight.
He stood up, faced the direction of Director Wang Zhong and Chen Bige, and clapped and cheered.
When the people around him saw how agitated he was, they realized what was happening and understood.
Many people have forgotten that Lu Yanhe was the screenwriter of this film.
Winning the Golden Globe is a good omen.
When Wang Chong went on stage to accept the award, his first words were: "Bige, Yanhe, can you come up with me and accept this trophy?"
Lu Yanhe waved his hand, indicating with both hands that he should enjoy this moment of honor himself.
The same applies to Chen Bige.
"This is my first Golden Globe Award. As a director from China, I know it's not easy to win. So, thank you to the Chinese Press Association. You have a great eye. Among so many excellent works, you gave this honor to our film, Raise the Red Lantern."
“In the past few years, I have collaborated with Lu Yanhe. First, he made a cameo appearance in my film ‘Three Mountains’, then he wrote the screenplay for ‘Rouge’ and ‘Raise the Red Lantern’, all of which I directed. I’m sorry to say that I’ve enjoyed the wonderful process of creating a film with a young man of unparalleled talent all by myself three times.”
Good-natured laughter and applause erupted from the audience.
When Wang Zhong said such a thing, the surrounding gazes towards Lu Yanhe did not seem exaggerated; on the contrary, they felt that Wang Zhong was right.
Lu Yanhe clasped his hands together and listened attentively to Wang Zhong's speech.
He was so embarrassed by the praise.
“Bi Ge, you are equally unparalleled.” Wang Chong then looked at his leading lady. “There are many beautiful moments in movies. At my age, movies have become a lifelong career. After such a long journey, it is very rare to meet a fellow traveler who can inspire my creative passion. I hope you can understand how important you are to me.”
Chen Bige, sitting in the audience, gave Wang Chongfei a kiss on stage.
"Our history, culture, and fragments of time seem to be rumbling away from us in this rapidly changing era. As filmmakers, we are the weavers of light and shadow. Sometimes, digging out old film reels from the bottom of a box and re-developing them might allow us to find some that can still reflect the brilliance of the present. 'Raise the Red Lantern' is such a film. Many people have offered various interpretations of this movie. For me, it serves as a reminder: never confine yourself to a square courtyard forever because of a red lantern that you didn't actually need in the first place. Look up at the sky; it's vast. It's always the eaves that need the lantern, not the sky. We must remember what we truly want to see when we look up."
Lu Yanhe let out a long sigh, a feeling of genuine emotion welling up from the depths of his heart.
Director Wang Zhong's acceptance speech truly resonated with him.
He truly drew his own interpretation from this script that came from a parallel universe.
This is how movies should be.
Some films are meant to be auteur-driven.
A story, when filmed by different people, can be interpreted in different ways.
-
Wang Zhong's acceptance speech at the Golden Globe Awards was undoubtedly a successful one, one that could help "Raise the Red Lantern" gain further attention and a winning edge during the awards season.
Midoriya even took a screenshot of his last speech and promoted it on social media to continue building momentum.
Lu Yanhe returned to the "Godless" film crew to continue filming this movie, which was no longer a challenge for him.
Ivan seemed to enjoy coming to chat with him more and more.
Whenever I have free time, I'll come and talk to him for a bit.
Home Alone 2 has also begun its global promotional campaign.
Markets around the world are aligning with its release date during the Chinese New Year holiday, and it will be released simultaneously on that day.
The first film grossed over $500 million worldwide, so the second one is naturally the main attraction.
Especially in the United States, this is a very unpopular time slot.
Generally, this period doesn't generate much box office revenue.
With the emergence of "Home Alone 2", there's no need to compete with any film company for theatrical releases.
Just as the Oscar nominations were about to be announced, Lu Yanhe suddenly squeezed into the top five on a reputable Oscar nomination prediction website with his film "The Mist 2".
This change was immediately reported by major media outlets.
Darren Wilson even called Lu Yanhe, saying that the winds at the academy were starting to blow in his favor.
Lu Yanhe was incredulous. Could it be?
Is it true or false?
Did The Mist 2 help him get an Oscar nomination for Best Actor?
This whole thing seems a bit ridiculous no matter how you look at it.
This movie is so out of step with the Oscars.
In the eyes of the older generation of Oscar members, this was simply a B-movie, a genre film.
Darren Wilson added, "The key reason is that the competition for Best Actor this year wasn't very fierce. You've been in the spotlight from the beginning to the end of the year, everyone's talking about you. You're a Hollywood superstar. With the release of 'The Mist 2,' a lot of people went to see the movie."
Lu Yanhe thought to himself, "It can't be that bad, can it?"
Although he knew that's how the Academy was, paying close attention to every work of the most popular movie stars.
When Jennifer Lawrence returned to acting after giving birth, she made a small art film called "The Other Side of the Bridge," which was not even released in theaters but only on streaming platforms.
Of course, her performance was still excellent. However, likely because she had already been nominated four times and won an Oscar for Best Actress once, this film didn't earn her a fifth Oscar.
However, another Black actor in the film received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role in the movie.
To be honest, if this movie hadn't been Jennifer Lawrence's first film after giving birth, and if it hadn't been an art film with high praise, it definitely wouldn't have earned this actress an Oscar.
It's not that he's not good enough, but rather that not many people will see this movie.
The only factor that garnered attention for this film was its female lead, Jennifer Lawrence, whose performance was excellent and deserved attention. As a result, he also gained attention incidentally.
Could this be the case for Mist 2?
Lu Yanhe once thought he understood the rules of the game at Oscar, but the current situation surprised him, making him realize that he didn't seem to understand them as well as he thought.
Suddenly, the topic of conversation in Hollywood became—
—Did you vote for Lu Yanhe?
Will he really be a dark horse and be nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars this year?
—He just won an Oscar last year, and he's nominated again this year? His luck can't be that good, can it?
—Was his performance in "The Mist 2" really good enough to warrant an Oscar nomination? Was it really that good?
...
Amidst the discussions, Lu Yanhe ended his filming of "No God".
This time, filming has wrapped; there's no need to come back.
Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief.
Everyone presented him with flowers and held a small farewell ceremony.
Ivan was very reluctant to part with him; the boy's eyes reddened, and he hugged him tightly, saying, "We should keep in touch."
Lu Yanhe smiled and said okay.
"I hope to see you on this year's Oscar nominations for Best Actor," Ivan added.
Lu Yanhe: "That depends on fate. I don't know either. I hope to see you on this list soon. You have a lot of talent for acting. Keep it up."
-
After filming wrapped on "No God", Lu Yanhe had three days to rest before returning to China.
The reason he left three days was because the premiere of "Home Alone 2" was to be held in New York three days later, and he was going to attend.
These three days were unusually free of work.
Lu Yanhe gave his team a day off, letting them go out and have some fun nearby. He also gave each of them a large red envelope so they could buy things.
On the first day, Zou Dong went to a nearby shopping mall and bought his son a slightly expensive leather backpack and a brand-new mobile phone. That was all.
When Lu Yanhe found out, he said, "Why don't you buy something for yourself too?"
Zou Dong laughed and said, "I don't lack anything, what's there to buy?"
Lu Yanhe said, "Then come with me for a walk, and I'll pick out some gifts for everyone."
He and Zou Dong went to the mall for a stroll.
I bought a necklace for Chen Siqi and picked out a gift for each of my other friends.
Nobody lacks these things, but a gift is a token of affection.
With bags and packages lining their arms, the two of them finally loaded the car with bags in their hands.
Lu Yanhe suddenly noticed a movie theater across the street.
Seeing this, Zou Dong asked, "Want to go see a movie?"
"I wonder if there are any screenings of 'The Mist 2'? If there are, I'd like to go see it," Lu Yanhe said.
Zou Dong said, "I'll go ask. You wait in the car for a bit."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
After a while, Zou Dong came over with two tickets.
There's a match in an hour.
Lu Yanhe said, "Let's grab something to eat nearby, and then come over."
-
The reason Lu Yanhe suddenly decided to watch "The Mist 2" again was to see how well he performed in the film and how he suddenly and inexplicably became a nominee for Best Actor at this year's Oscars.
Sitting in the dark theater, only about one-third of the seats were occupied.
Lu Yanhe and Zou Dong sat in the corner, watching the movie again.
Lu Yanhe had actually watched it twice, but at the time he didn't have any particular thoughts; he just felt that he had completed a task.
Upon watching it again, Lu Yanhe noticed that although the film's suspense and horror elements were significantly reduced compared to the first film, the eerie and unsettling atmosphere of the entire movie was still retained.
This kept the audience glued to the screen, tense and focused, without any sudden visuals or sound effects to get their adrenaline pumping and interrupt their concentration.
On screen, Lu Yanhe is pale, indifferent, elegant, and decadent.
Lu Yanhe inexplicably felt that he was playing his role very well.
At the time, he incorporated Gong Li's breathless characteristic in "The Monkey King 2" into his performance style, and adopted Ralph Fiennes's eerie and unpredictable feeling in "Harry Potter" in some key, instantaneous outbursts, which could turn around and speak "parrtoises" at any moment.
The first few times Lu Yanhe saw it, he didn't think much of it, but now, looking at it again, it really is—
The entire character has undergone a significant transformation compared to the first film, and the sensory impression left on the viewer is even more profound.
The best scene is when he is betrayed by the ghost-hunting team and imprisoned. The disappointment in humanity in his eyes is so "expected" and so "light as a trace".
Lu Yanhe clicked his tongue.
She really acted well.
(End of this chapter)
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