Chapter 815 Making a Fortune
The box office success of "Flypaper" made Linghe a fortune.
In fact, it's not just this movie; as the year draws to a close, many media outlets have started doing reviews.
This includes a review of major film companies.
As a result, to the surprise of many, Linghe, with the combined global box office of its two films, "Home Alone 2" and "Flypaper," which totaled nearly $900 million, directly ranked among the top ten film companies in the world.
Lu Yanhe's personal income also jumped to the top of the Forbes list, surpassing a host of Hollywood stars.
Lu Yanhe's income over the past year reached an astonishing $250 million.
Forbes also specifically stated that Lu Yanhe's income includes film remuneration and profit sharing from several blockbuster movies such as "Home Alone 2", "Mist 2", "Red Eye", and "Flypaper", as well as commercial endorsement income. In particular, the $120 million cooperation agreement reached between Soren and Lu Yanhe directly broke the historical price.
In addition, Lu Yanhe also received considerable sums in bonuses from sitcoms such as "My Own Swordsman," "The Squid Game," "Friends," and "2 Broke Girls."
Forbes also clarified that their revenue statistics do not include Lu Yanhe's income from Linghe and "Jump Up Media".
Suddenly, attention to Lu Yanhe's income surged to unprecedented levels.
In Europe and America, this event elevated him to a godlike status.
At a young age, he earns a fortune daily. This is the kind of genius most admired in Western capitalist societies.
Lu Yanhe wanted to curse Forbes a thousand times over regarding this action.
He was Chinese, and his mindset was entirely based on the principle of "keeping wealth hidden." He was also very aware that in this era of widening wealth inequality, sometimes your wealth is your original sin. Earning a million or even ten million from nothing is inspiring, something everyone considers "worth it all," but when the money you earn exceeds worldly expectations, you inevitably enter another class of society in their eyes.
Chen Ziyan's advice is to not respond or speak out, and to wait for the hype surrounding this matter to die down.
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However, Chen Ziyan's instruction to Lu Yanhe not to respond or speak out personally does not mean that she has taken no action.
She knew very well that she had to be extremely careful in handling this matter, and that she couldn't let Lu Yanhe's excellent public image be ruined because of this income issue.
Therefore, Chen Ziyan made phone calls to many people, asking them to stand up and speak out at this crucial moment.
The core issue is that while Lu Yanhe's income is indeed very high, he has consistently used his income to do many beneficial things.
For example, Lu Yanhe donates to Zhenhua University every year; he also spends a lot of money every year to support children in impoverished mountainous areas to study and receive medical treatment for serious illnesses; and he invests specifically in art films that cannot sell at the box office but have high artistic value.
etc.
“Almost every few years, Yan He will trend on social media because of his high income, and then some people will criticize him for making money so easily. Sigh,” Chen Ziyan said. “Sometimes, I really want to tell everyone that it is easier for celebrities to make money than for ordinary people, but to earn the same amount as Yan He is not something that any celebrity can do. But I can’t say that, I can only think about it, because the more I talk about it, the more trouble I will cause.”
“This is a problem that Yan He will have to keep facing,” Lu Qingzhen said. “Moreover, Ziyan, I think you are being a little too sensitive about this issue. High income does attract envy, but we should keep our wealth hidden and not flaunt it. To be honest, given Yan He’s achievements over the years and the things he has done, I don’t think the public will be so impressed by his high income that they will be 'resentful of the rich'.”
Chen Ziyan shook her head: "You don't understand. People who resent the rich are never the majority, but one or two troublemakers can stir up the emotions of many uninformed people. This world, especially in this era, likes to create gods and also likes to pull gods down from their pedestals. Public figures usually have to go through this process. Yan He is a rare public figure who has never had any large-scale scandals since he became famous. His specialness lies in his poor background and lack of connections. Everyone knows that he can only rely on himself. Moreover, he was admitted to Zhenhua University through the college entrance examination, which is his biggest foundation of public goodwill. But it is precisely this point that prevents him from being truly elevated to a pedestal. People know that your background is not glamorous. They can sympathize with you and admire you, but they will never worship you. Under such circumstances, he may seem to have a solid foundation, but in reality, he can also be easily overthrown."
The question is, what should we push for? And on what grounds should we push for it?
"Does it need a reason?" Chen Ziyan asked. "If it were anything else, it would be fine. The film and television industry is an industry that greatly needs public support. He's not running a real business, nor is he using a technology that only he possesses. He's a celebrity, even if he's a very talented screenwriter. Ultimately, regardless of his status, he needs a good social image and widespread social recognition. Other celebrities can have more flaws, even flaunting wealth; people will just think that celebrity is brainless. But Yan He can't. He never sold his looks from the beginning, nor has he simply sold his talent."
Lu Qingzhen: "But according to you, everything could be ruined because of his high income?"
“Yes.” Chen Ziyan nodded without hesitation. “Let me ask you, how many public figures who expose their wealth and are active in the public eye can have a good end? Unless Yan He stops being a celebrity from now on, lives a low-key life, and shifts the attention away from him.”
Lu Qingzhen came to her senses, thought for a moment, and realized that she really couldn't find one—
None of the truly wealthy people who were high-profile and lived in China for a long time had a good end.
It wasn't until this moment that Lu Qingzhen realized that Chen Ziyan's worries were not based on Lu Yanhe and the current situation.
Chen Ziyan said, "Many people think that those who care about money are powerless. The so-called 'money moves people' is just a sign of a lack of social standing. In fact, in the end, it's all about money and interests. Everyone knowing that Lu Yanhe's project can make money and everyone knowing how much money Lu Yanhe has made are two different concepts. A target hidden among the crowd and a target singled out are also two different concepts."
Lu Qingzhen asked, "Then what should we do?"
Chen Ziyan said, "Let's not put it on the fire to roast yet."
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The donations, charitable acts, and public welfare investments that Lu Yanhe has made over the past few years have all been publicized by various platforms and individuals.
First, Lu Yanhe cares deeply about children in impoverished mountainous areas, especially regarding their healthcare and education.
Secondly, Lu Yanhe is very passionate about his industry. In the past five years, he has invested in no fewer than 20 art films in his own name, most of which have lost money, but he continues to invest even though he has lost money.
Third, Lu Yanhe has always given back to Zhenhua University as an alumnus, whether by donating money to the university or by providing targeted support to some teachers in the School of Humanities who are researching niche and esoteric subjects.
...
First, use these news reports to bring Lu Yanhe back from the enviable image of a "money-printing machine" to a normal state. Then, Linghe voluntarily discloses the company's and Lu Yanhe's tax payment records.
Subsequently, Chen Ziyan consulted some professional economic bloggers with a large following, pointing out that "Lu Yanhe did not choose to legally avoid taxes when he could have avoided higher personal income tax rates by paying taxes through his company, but instead paid all his taxes."
This is to highlight that Lu Yanhe knows and abides by the law, and is willing to pay more taxes.
Only after all these steps are completed can an in-depth analysis be produced to explain to the public why Lu Yanhe can earn such a high income.
This is for the most fundamental reason—
Make high incomes legitimate.
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While no one was treating this as a public relations crisis, Chen Ziyan's actions actually puzzled some members of Linghe and even Lu Yanhe's team, who felt that Chen Ziyan was overreacting.
But Lu Yanhe had no doubt about Chen Ziyan's judgment.
The same goes for Chen Siqi.
Especially after a week, when people on the internet started talking about Lu Yanhe's income again, the main sentiment had shifted to the fact that it was something Lu Yanhe could earn on his own, and there was nothing to be jealous of. If anyone was jealous, his way of making money was already out in the open, and anyone could do it.
If you can write a screenplay that's a global box office hit, you can star in a global box office hit.
Chen Ziyan's public relations tactics, one after another, made such a high-income justifiable outcome emotionally acceptable to people.
-
In Zhang Yuezhen's office, she looked at the three people sitting in front of her with disbelief.
They were all economic advisors who had worked with her for many years. This time, when Linghe released the tax payment lists for the company and Lu Yanhe personally, Zhang Yuezhen immediately asked them to check and verify the data, especially Lu Yanhe's personal tax payment. They went through it all, trying to find some problems.
As long as Lu Yanhe has tax problems, no matter how outstanding or successful he is now, he will inevitably be unable to become an actor.
However, Zhang Yuezhen never expected that anything Linghe dared to release could have any problems.
Needless to say, Lu Yanhe's tax record has always been spotless.
He basically did not avoid taxes by setting up companies or other means.
All personal income tax collected in his own name has been paid in full.
Many celebrities of his caliber sign contracts with partners under the guise of personal studios or similar names to avoid personal income tax rates as high as 45%.
Lu Yanhe, however, seemed completely unconcerned and did not do so.
After confirming the result, Zhang Yuezhen couldn't help but ask loudly, "Is he crazy? Paying hundreds of millions more in taxes every year for no reason?!"
The others looked at each other in bewilderment.
Actually, they didn't expect this outcome either.
They deal with so many wealthy people every year, helping them with their tax issues. It's truly rare to find someone like Lu Yanhe who could legally avoid taxes but chooses not to.
It is especially rare to find something so large in terms of money involved.
Zhang Yuezhen suddenly realized something and asked, "Is there a problem with my finances? Will people find fault with me?"
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Chen Ziyan said, "We have no access to Chen Pinhe and Zhang Yue's financial situation. Otherwise, I would really like to find someone to investigate them thoroughly to see if they have evaded taxes. If so, we would take them down in one fell swoop."
Lu Yanhe laughed and said, "Even if there are any, it's not a big problem. They've been able to stand firm for so long, so they must be very cautious on many matters of principle. They shouldn't have these problems."
Chen Ziyan: "That's not necessarily true. You know, many things that are eventually exposed are unbelievable. You can't understand why they would have such problems. Really, they might get into trouble because of some unexpected and absurd little thing."
Lu Yanhe nodded, "That's true, I was just assuming that."
Chen Ziyan said, "Alright, this matter is temporarily settled now, and it hasn't escalated into the situation we didn't want to see. However, regarding the Forbes list—"
She frowned slightly: "See if we can get them to stop collecting and publishing your information in the future. Otherwise, coming once a year is too much to handle."
Lu Yanhe said, "Actually, the income they calculated is not accurate either."
"They were just making an estimate, but as long as it's roughly correct, any discrepancies won't matter. Haven't you heard of that meme?"
"What's the joke?" Lu Yanhe asked, puzzled.
Chen Ziyan said, "Some people say to rich people, 'You have a net worth of 1 billion, why are you still so stingy?' The rich people don't refute the fact that they are stingy, but instead say that they don't have a net worth of 1 billion, and everyone has misunderstood. Many people believed it, until one day when the rich people's assets were liquidated, and they found out that they did not have a net worth of 1 billion, but a net worth of 2 billion. No, not that they didn't have one."
Lu Yanhe: "..."
Chen Ziyan said, "Because of your relationship with the screenwriter and investors, you enjoy a lot of profit sharing in addition to your fixed salary. In fact, Forbes is also very clear about this. However, you can't expect these kinds of lists to differentiate every type of income. In the future, when you get roles, try not to expose your salary, especially the profit sharing clause. The salary is still fixed. If you do ten projects a year, the total salary is only one hundred million US dollars. But with the profit sharing, it will skyrocket. My god, I can now add the words 'only' before one hundred million US dollars."
Lu Yanhe: "..."
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"See? What did I tell you?" Li Xia said to Liu Zefan. "You get millions in pay for acting in one of his movies, but look how much he takes for himself."
Liu Zefan: "Is it because others can pay me tens of millions in film fees, but Lu Yanhe only pays me a few million? Or is this the market's standard for my price?"
Li Xia: "...Let me tell you, I guarantee that whether it's Li Zhibai or Yan Liang, they will definitely get a share of the profits when they star in Lu Yanhe's movies. Did he give you a share of the profits?"
Liu Zefan: "Fine, then just turn down all the collaborations he asked me for because of this. Who do you think will benefit? Why are you saying such things now? Sister Xia, do you know how many people are willing to bring tens of millions of yuan to Lu Yanhe's film crew? Do you know why Yanhe can earn so much money in a year? If you knew, would you still be saying these things to me?"
Li Xia: "I just feel sorry for you. You've been supporting him since 'The Squid Game.' Even if the resources he gave you later weren't as good as Li Zhibai and Yan Liang's, he shouldn't have let Li Yuefeng surpass you. Why did he give Li Yuefeng the roles in 'My Sassy Girl' and 'The Corpse' instead of you?"
"Why so many of them—" Liu Zefan laughed speechlessly, "Sister Xia, let me ask you, why would they choose me? If I had signed with Shi Huo, then I might have the right to ask this question. Yes, we are both quite famous, but in front of Ling He, what makes us so-called first-tier male actors, who number roughly a dozen or so, irreplaceable?"
Li Xia was shocked. "So you really want to sign in and collect the torches."
Liu Zefan took a deep breath, speechless, and really didn't want to continue talking to Li Xia.
Never mind, let's leave it at that.
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"The drama you turned down has been taken by Meng Li," the agent told Wang Jing.
"If I get the role, I get it," Wang Jing said. "Anyway, I've already decided not to act anymore."
"Aren't you going to talk to Lu Yanhe about this?"
"say what?"
"They said you turned down the role in the drama starring Chen Pinhe because of him."
"What's there to say?" Wang Jing laughed in surprise. "Are you trying to take credit?"
"It's not really about taking credit; we don't need to be so utilitarian."
Wang Jing shook her head. "No matter what the explanation is, I don't want to do that."
"Why?"
"Those roles that Yan He approached me for before, did I beg him for them? If a role suits me, he will naturally approach me. I have worked with Ling He so many times, they know my abilities very well."
Agent: "You know, so many people are working with Linghe, it's not like you're the only one."
Wang Jing: "No matter how many people come to me, I've never stopped getting offers for roles. Which year hasn't I been offered one?"
The agent originally wanted to say that it was because you were very capable.
However, the words stuck in my throat.
Wang Jing has a strong personality.
Once she's made up her mind, you can't reason with her about it.
The agent is already very clear about this.
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"Yes, The Fault in Our Stars will have an all-Asian cast, but we don't know when filming will start yet. I'm still waiting for Soren to find a director."
"Because I was involved in the selection of actors, I will not interfere with the selection of directors."
“Currently, I hope to cast Liu Zefan as the male lead. The male lead in this movie needs to be someone with a warm and gentle personality. Among the male actors I know, he is the most suitable,” Lu Yanhe said. “If his schedule is not suitable, there are a few other actors to choose from.”
The person on the phone with Lu Yanhe is Luo Yuzhong.
Luo Yuzhong said, "Okay, I'm contacting you because I've recently heard some things in the industry. It seems that some people want to cause trouble for you while you're making this movie and spread some rumors. A couple of days ago, I heard people say that many agents are complaining that you're offering very low salaries to your co-stars, and that you're taking advantage of your big business. And there's more than one person saying that."
“I’ve heard about it too.” Lu Yanhe said helplessly, “It’s all because of the trouble caused by the Forbes rich list. Sigh, I’m also very troubled.”
Luo Yuzhong said, "The fees you pay your co-stars must be quite high, right?"
“What do you mean by ‘low’?” Lu Yanhe said. “It’s all market price, everyone knows that. These rumors are probably just fabricated by jealous people.”
“That’s fine,” Luo Yuzhong said. “This industry is particularly averse to the idea of exploiting others and making money all by yourself. If that’s not true, then try to clarify the rumors.”
"Okay, thank you, teacher."
“However, as long as you do things honestly and uprightly, you shouldn’t be afraid to do anything just because your income is high. This is all legitimate income.” Luo Yuzhong laughed and said, “After your tax records were released, the State Administration of Radio and Television was very satisfied with your attitude. Anyone with eyes can see how remarkable you are. I never expected that you would donate so much money every year.”
Lu Yanhe said, "I never thought I could earn so much money."
Luo Yuzhong laughed loudly.
"Looks like if I can't find any more investments in the future, I'll come to you."
"Of course, but teacher, is your project asking me to invest because you think I haven't earned enough? So you're giving me a chance to make another big profit?"
Luo Yuzhong laughed heartily.
"You're good at saying nice things to make me happy."
“I’m serious,” Lu Yanhe said. “Very serious. Just tell me, which of your films didn’t make money?”
How could Luo Yuzhong's dramas lack investment?
He is one of the most favored directors by film and television investors.
When investing, it's important to consider not only the rate of return but also the risk level.
Investing in Luo Yuzhong's plays always results in a loss.
Many times, it's not enough to just have money to invest.
You won't get the investment amount unless you reach that level of connection.
It's the same as Lu Yanhe's drama.
In everyone's eyes, iron is a money-making machine, and there is no shortage of investment.
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In November, Lu Yanhe basically did two things.
One is filming a new season of "Friends".
Another option is to attend domestic award ceremonies and annual events.
That's what makes Friends so good.
Because all the filming is done in a studio in Yuming, it's even possible to schedule filming during the day and attending events at night.
For this season of Friends, the production team made another innovative move.
For each episode, people who wrote highly influential film reviews or watched content in the past year are invited to the filming location to observe the filming process.
This was proposed by Yuehutai.
Yuehutai said this was to "solidify the powder".
A long-running sitcom series can have a large audience, but it can also become "boring" and lose its freshness in the social media sphere after a long period of time.
This is done so that people who are usually good at expressing themselves on social media can create a new direction for discussion regarding the promotion of this drama.
On-site performance.
The production team signs an agreement with everyone, stipulating that no details of the filming can be revealed online before the episode airs, but they can share them after watching the recorded episode.
When Lu Yanhe learned of their actions, he thought it was a great idea.
Whether it's publicity or marketing, innovation is essential. We must constantly find new angles. Content that is always the same becomes boring, and publicity methods that are always the same also fail to arouse people's interest.
Especially now that Friends is no longer discriminated against by domestic awards and has begun to truly enter the mainstream awards scene, this is the perfect time to take it to the next level.
Friends did not participate in the Golden Tripod Awards this July—this was a decision made by everyone after Friends was tricked by the Golden Tripod Awards. No matter how the Golden Tripod Awards tries to make amends, Friends will no longer participate.
But since last year’s Blue Ribbon Awards and Red River Awards, Friends has become a major nominee.
Of course, only a few people actually win the prize in the end.
The fact that it has become a major nominee shows that it has finally been noticed.
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"Starting next year, the Friends cast will begin holding fan meet-and-greets all over the world."
Chen Yin said to Lu Yanhe.
“Maxine has been communicating with Yuehu TV about this matter in order to obtain the authorization,” Chen Yin said. “The broadcast data of the American version of Friends is good, but in terms of loyal fans, our version still has more viewers, especially those who watch it two or three times. Now Friends has become the show with the highest rewatch rate on Maxine’s screen, not just one of them. Therefore, Maxine has also shifted the promotional resources that were transferred to the American version in the past two years back to it.”
Lu Yanhe smiled.
"Are you trying to use Friends to open up new markets for them?"
“Yes,” Chen Yin said. “Friends is becoming more and more popular. The first season has already been watched by over 100 million people on the Maxine platform. This is a terrifying number, excluding China, worldwide.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"I've said it before, the power of sitcoms becomes apparent with each season."
“Maxine has also bought the exclusive overseas streaming rights for ‘My Own Swordsman’,” Chen Yin suddenly said. “Previously, neither they nor HP were willing to buy it at a price that satisfied us, and it was always put on hold. Now Maxine is finally willing to buy it.”
"Finally." Lu Yanhe smiled.
Chen Yin: "The main reason is that the number of viewers of Chinese-language dramas on the Maxine platform has increased by 427% compared to three years ago."
"That's really exaggerated?"
"It's also because the base number was too small before," Chen Yin said. "But in recent years, because the production quality and number of episodes of Chinese-language dramas have been in line with international standards, coupled with a series of Chinese-language dramas being launched, from our own 'Friends,' 'The Squid Game,' and 'Chinese Paladin,' to Yan Liang's 'The Gold Rush' and 'The Summit,' now, basically every year, about 2 to 3 Chinese-language dramas enter the top ten of Maxine's annual list."
Lu Yanhe: "They are indeed quite impressive."
"It's the same on HP," Chen Yin said with a smile. "The drama 'Rouge,' starring Yu Mengling, has received very high praise on HP. Although its viewership numbers are not particularly outstanding, it has entered the top ten lists of the year's most acclaimed dramas by many overseas media outlets. HP is very satisfied."
"HP is great in every way, except it's a little stingy."
Although her relationship with Linghe was better than that with Maxine, in the end, Maxine spent far more money than HP.
Lu Yanhe asked, "How are '2 Broke Girls' doing?"
(End of this chapter)
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