Chapter 797 Planning
If two Chinese actors were cast to star in this love story about a couple battling cancer, could it still replicate the box office success of the original?
Lu Yanhe was unsure of himself.
Lu Yanhe wasn't worried about casting Li Zhibai in "Buried Alive." The selling point of this film wasn't the actors, but rather its subject matter and creativity.
Lu Yanhe wasn't worried about casting Jiang Yuqian in "Red Eye Flight" because the male lead was Uber Clark, an actor well-known in Europe and America.
With Yan Liang in "Flypaper," Lu Yanhe wasn't worried. Aside from the fact that this film is an ensemble piece with a star-studded cast, its selling point, like "Buried," isn't the actors, but rather the high-energy script with its constant plot twists and characters all having issues.
Even when Yan Liang was cast in the later film "Speed," Lu Yanhe remained unconcerned.
However, *The Fault in Our Stars* is different from all of them. It's a romance film, and moreover, a teen romance film. This type of film relies heavily on the actors' looks and the audience's ability to connect with the characters.
So many Hollywood blockbusters are box office hits in China, but are there any Hollywood romance movies that are particularly successful in China?
Therefore, under normal circumstances, both "The Notebook" and "The Fault in Our Stars" should have used actors from Europe and America.
However, Lu Yanhe wanted to take the risk.
He wanted to give it a try.
He was able to follow Hollywood rules and use the most mainstream cast for "The Notebook," and he also wanted to try to see if he could further open up the market for Chinese actors in Europe and America.
He chose "The Fault in Our Stars" because it wasn't as purely romantic as "The Notebook." It involved facing life-or-death challenges and was relatively more sentimental and melodramatic.
Lu Yanhe's first thought was Li Zhibai.
However, Li Zhibai has said several times that he is tired of acting in these kinds of youth romance movies.
He didn't know if Li Zhibai would be willing to act. Because he didn't know, he was embarrassed to ask. He was sure Li Zhibai would agree if he did.
Lu Yanhe hesitated for a moment, then decided to forget about it.
However, even if "The Fault in Our Stars" uses Chinese actors, it still needs to use actors with global fame.
If we don't use Li Zhibai, are we supposed to use Yan Liang?
Yan Liang's image is not very suitable for this type of subject matter.
His roles in "Flypaper" and "Speed" both exude youthful hormones.
Could it be that he'll play the role himself?
Isn't that a bit too risky?
If the box office is a flop, then it will really be a loss.
But besides them, who else is there?
"Yin Xincheng and Li Lili," Chen Siqi suggested without hesitation. "The unfortunate couple from 'Friends,' do you know how many viewers wish for them to be together every year?"
On the phone, Chen Siqi gave her advice almost without hesitation.
“Friends is so popular all over the world right now. If they were to star in it, the box office wouldn’t be guaranteed, but it would definitely get a lot of attention,” Chen Siqi said. “Of course, their relationships with their characters in Friends would affect how people relate to The Fault in Our Stars.”
Lu Yanhe said, "It's really not suitable. Everyone has too deep an impression of the two of them as a couple."
Chen Siqi: "There are only a few young male actors who are relatively well-known internationally right now, but if you stand out, only you and Li Zhibai can carry a show on your own. Yan Liang is not good enough yet."
Lu Yanhe said, "My head hurts."
What are your box office expectations for "The Fault in Our Stars"?
Lu Yanhe certainly had high expectations for this teen romance film, which originally had a production cost of only $12 million but ultimately grossed $300 million worldwide.
Lu Yanhe said, "Conservatively speaking, I still hope to achieve a box office of over $100 million worldwide."
"Is the main voter base in China?" Chen Siqi asked.
“No, the $100 million I’m talking about doesn’t include box office revenue in China,” Lu Yanhe said. “These kinds of films are relatively easy to make money in China as long as they are marketed properly and are of decent quality. However, I wrote the script in English, and I want to distribute it globally.”
Chen Siqi: "I think if it's not you and Li Zhibai starring, you don't need to consider the male actors' popularity and box office ability, unless you use a combination like Yin Xincheng and Li Lili who have a fixed fan base around the world. You can't use either of them alone. You might as well look at who is suitable from the perspective of the script and the role, because no matter how famous they are in China, they are nobody abroad."
Chen Siqi's words actually make a lot of sense.
"Actually, if it were Sister Yuqian from five or six years ago, she would be quite suitable to play this role."
Now that I'm over thirty, it's really not suitable anymore.
Lu Yanhe nodded.
He suddenly paused, stunned.
Actress?
Lu Yanhe pondered for a moment.
Which actress should be cast in "The Fault in Our Stars"?
The original male and female actors were both very young when they starred in this movie.
Lu Yanhe hesitated for a moment, and then the words Chen Siqi had just said echoed in his mind.
As long as it's not him or Li Zhibai starring, then whoever stars in this movie won't have a significant impact on its global box office.
If that's the case, why not just use all newcomers?
A large-scale audition?
Lu Yanhe was still a little unsure whether to take the risk of making this film and try to replace the original setting with a Chinese family, and whether it could continue to achieve box office success.
Or, to be more conservative, let's go back to the setup of one European/American and one Chinese?
It's like the pairing of "Speed" and "Red Eye".
This combination is relatively safer.
In this way, both families can have either a European or American family on one side and a Chinese family on the other.
Lu Yanhe's original intention was simple: to create as many opportunities as possible for Chinese filmmakers, especially actors, in his projects.
However, sometimes, Lu Yanhe gets bored of always using this kind of "fusion technique." Because this kind of configuration clearly targets multiple markets.
It's too obvious.
Lu Yanhe wasn't bothered by the casting method itself, but rather by the blatantly obvious utilitarian purpose it revealed. This would negatively impact the film's image in the industry and among audiences; the more this happened, the less pure the film seemed to Lu Yanhe.
Once creators have this feeling in their hearts, their aesthetic judgments will go astray.
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Lu Yanhe pondered and pondered, but his plan was futile.
At worst, we'll just have to flop.
Let's give it a try. Let's use Hollywood production teams and standards to write a teen romance movie with an all-Chinese cast. What's the big deal?
He called Wan Qingqing and told her his thoughts.
Because Linghe was preparing to make this movie himself.
After Wan Qingqing created "Flypaper" from scratch, Linghe's business in North America was basically handed over entirely to Wan Qingqing.
Wan Qingqing was astonished by Lu Yanhe's idea.
"Isn't this... a bit too risky?" Wan Qingqing asked.
Lu Yanhe said, "It's very risky."
Since Lu Yanhe admitted it so directly, Wan Qingqing felt embarrassed to say anything.
In fact, the longer people stay by Lu Yanhe's side, the more they tend to develop a kind of blind trust in him that is hard to explain.
Wan Qingqing was one of them.
However, even someone who blindly trusts Lu Yanhe subconsciously feels that Lu Yanhe's idea is risky and doesn't quite agree with it.
Actually, there was no need to ask; Lu Yanhe was well aware of Wan Qingqing's thoughts.
Lu Yanhe said, "This is one of the three films I've collaborated on with Soren. According to our cooperation agreement, this film will be released globally. I will make 'The Notebook' first, and then 'The Fault in Our Stars'. 'The Notebook' will be made in the style of a typical Western romantic film. Even if 'The Fault in Our Stars' fails, 'The Notebook' will be a backup."
"A safety net?" Wan Qingqing suddenly understood. "So, 'The Fault in Our Stars' will be a low-budget film, right?"
“Yes.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “I want to use newcomers to act in these two movies.”
Wan Qingqing suddenly felt a darkness engulf her vision.
"Of course, there are also roles for their parents and family members in this film, and I will invite established and well-known actors to play those roles," Lu Yanhe said. "With experienced actors mentoring newcomers, it won't be a film without any star power."
Wan Qingqing said, "President Lu, you want to try making a commercial film with an Asian protagonist using Hollywood resources entirely—although it's a romance, I think I understand correctly? It's a film that aims for commercial success."
“Yes,” Lu Yanhe said. “Soren paid $120 million for my salary for three movies. I chose to work with them on three scripts, not as directors or actors. Normally, these three movies should have brought them at least $400 million in global box office revenue. From a numerical point of view, they wouldn’t have lost out. As for ‘The Fault in Our Stars,’ I expect the production cost of this movie to be no more than $15 million.”
“It’s possible,” Wan Qingqing said. “Your screenwriting fees have already been covered by the $120 million, and since the two lead actors are newcomers, we can actually cut a lot of their salaries.”
“However, this film requires a very high marketing and distribution budget,” Lu Yanhe said. “This type of film always requires a high marketing and distribution budget.”
Wan Qingqing said, "Although Soren is a newly established film company, it has strong publicity resources and network. But if we hope that they can use the highest-level publicity resources to promote this film—frankly speaking, a film starring Asian faces may not be enough to win them over."
Lu Yanhe sighed.
Wan Qingqing said, "However, Mr. Lu, if you firmly believe that this movie will be successful even with an Asian lead actor, I believe that Soren will definitely trust you based on your past successes and take a gamble."
“The problem is, I don’t believe it myself,” Lu Yanhe said. “But I don’t want to miss this opportunity. Without the opportunity to work with Soren, a youth romance film with such a cast and crew would never get the treatment of large-scale global distribution from top Hollywood film companies.”
Wan Qingqing immediately understood why Lu Yanhe insisted on making such an attempt in "The Mistake in Our Stars".
She hesitated for a moment and said, "Mr. Lu, what is the third film you and Soren are planning to collaborate on?"
"Men in Black is a big-budget film. Linghe doesn't have the resources to produce it on its own yet, so we have to rely on Soren's power," Lu Yanhe replied.
Wan Qingqing asked, "So... has anyone been chosen to play the lead role in the movie 'Men in Black'?"
Lu Yanhe: "I haven't thought about that yet."
Wan Qingqing said, "May I ask what skin color the main character in 'Men in Black' is?"
The face of Will Smith flashed into Lu Yanhe's mind.
In his preliminary script outline, there was no description or definition of the character's skin color.
"It's not decided yet."
Lu Yanhe originally thought that he could act in this movie, and Yan Liang could also act in it, given his current career path. Of course, if the original version was followed and a black actor was used, Will Hollande from Get Out would also be a good choice.
He's not making a decision yet; he wants to see how Soren feels about the film first.
Wan Qingqing said, "Given your collaboration with Soren, I don't think they would want to see two out of your three collaborative films starring Chinese actors, unless you are the lead actor, or Yan Liang after the box office success of 'Speed' or 'Flypaper'."
"Is Li Zhibai not good enough?"
"While 'Buried' did well at the box office, its success was due to its low budget and high returns. It didn't break $100 million at the North American box office. To be honest, Li Zhibai isn't considered a box office draw in Hollywood."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe nodded.
“I suggest we work on ‘The Notebook’ first, get off to a good start, and then tell Soren about the plan to cast Chinese actors in ‘The Fault in Our Stars’,” Wan Qingqing said. “Otherwise, I’m worried that if they know in advance that you might use Chinese actors in the lead roles in two films, they will definitely object and put pressure on you in advance, and it’s really uncertain whether your cooperation can proceed smoothly.”
Lu Yanhe understood Wan Qingqing's meaning.
Others aren't fools either.
His attempt with "The Fault in Our Stars" was a risky one.
Soren would never be willing to use his resources to take such a risk with Lu Yanhe for nothing.
For a film, Lu Yanhe's screenwriting fee, calculated at one-third, would be 40 million US dollars. Even with a low production cost, it would still be a little over 10 million US dollars. Adding the subsequent marketing and distribution costs, which would also start at 10 million US dollars, the total investment would be 60 million US dollars...
If the audience doesn't buy it, it could be a disastrous flop.
For Soren, a newly established company eager to gain a foothold, not to mention the tens of millions of dollars in losses, the image damage caused by this disastrous loss is something they can hardly bear at this stage.
Lu Yanhe took a deep breath.
Lu Yanhe said, "If all else fails, Linghe will cover all production costs, and Soren will be in charge of global distribution."
What he really values is Soren's global distribution of these three films—and the collaboration has already been announced, so everyone will be watching how these three films perform.
In this situation, Lu Yanhe's three films can secure the most tangible global distribution terms—because Soren desperately needs the success of these three films to establish his company's reputation.
Lu Yanhe wanted to use Linghe's involvement in funding the production to prove to Soren that he had strong faith in "The Fault in Our Stars" and was willing to take a gamble. This way, Soren wouldn't compromise on the film's global distribution.
He needed Wan Qingqing to help him judge whether this was feasible and whether it could achieve his intended purpose.
Wan Qingqing said, "We can give it a try, but Mr. Lu, I still suggest that we do 'The Notebook' first. Once we have the first success, they will truly taste the sweetness of working with you, and their trust in you will be truly solid."
Lu Yanhe agreed.
He understood.
Okay, now it's all settled. We had been wanting to make "Men in Black" first, but after what Wan Qingqing said, unless "Men in Black" still uses European and American actors as the main actors, it will have to be postponed.
(End of this chapter)
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