Chapter 820 The Prospects of "Burning 2"
"The most representative actors in China have all appeared on this show."
"All the Chinese actors who have won Best Actor and Best Actress awards at the four major international film festivals in the past decade have participated in this program."
"Several of the most popular Chinese actors internationally are also among them."
"This shouldn't be a lineup that the Spring Festival Gala production team could possibly assemble, right?"
"I don't know about the domestic ones, but those foreign ones were definitely invited by Lu Yanhe and his group. The Spring Festival Gala directing team doesn't have that kind of ability."
"That's so satisfying! So many foreign celebrities are saying Chinese New Year! It'll make those jealous people furious!"
"Don't you guys pay attention to this song? This song is really good. It's been more than a year since we've heard Lu Yanhe write a new song. His comeback is still extraordinary."
"I like it, I really like it."
"Me too."
...
On social media platforms, all sorts of discussions are emerging.
"Love Letters to Filmmakers" has maintained its popularity online, becoming the most popular program of this year's Spring Festival Gala, without exception.
After participating in the Spring Festival Gala, everyone went home.
As in previous years, Lu Yanhe went to Chen Siqi's maternal grandparents' house with her.
Because the show ended relatively early, and Lu Yanhe declined the final group sing-along segment, when he and Chen Siqi arrived at her grandparents' house, they were able to join everyone in waiting for the midnight fireworks.
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However, while Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi had a warm and happy Lunar New Year's Eve, Chen Pinhe and Zhang Yue did not.
Their television wasn't even turned on.
Normally, even though fewer and fewer people watch the Spring Festival Gala now, most households still leave the TV on, even if it's just to listen to the sound.
There wasn't even a sound coming from their house.
“Lu Yanhe did this on purpose,” Zhang Yuezhen said to Chen Pinhe. “Everyone went to his show except you.”
Chen Pinhe's eyes flashed with a sinister light, but he remained silent.
Zhang Yuezhen: "Now everyone online is saying that the reason you're not on this show is because it's been ten years since you won Best Actor at an international film festival. But most of the people saying this are your fans trying to save face for you. In reality, many people know that you and Lu Yanhe don't get along, which is why you're not on this show. If this continues, I'm afraid you'll be ruined by this junior, Lu Yanhe."
"You're going to kill me off?" Chen Pinhe raised his eyes with a somewhat ferocious expression, looking at Zhang Yuezhen. "What do you mean? You think I should retire from the entertainment industry and stop being an actor, is that it?"
Zhang Yuezhen: "If the current situation is not changed, the final result will inevitably be this. Now it's not just Lu Yanhe who is not cooperating with you; his people, Jiang Jun and Jiang Yuqian, are also no longer cooperating with you. Given how popular those three are in Hollywood right now, do you think something like 'The Window Sill' is an isolated case?"
Chen Pinhe fell silent.
“I’m on your side, even though you might not want to hear what I’m saying.” Zhang Yuezhen took a deep breath. “You’re in a very high position right now. Even if Lu Yanhe poses a threat to you, you can’t lower yourself to force him to give you an explanation.”
Chen Pinhe gave a cold laugh.
Zhang Yue sincerely thought, of course, you wouldn't dare to really break ties with him—
She reached out and grabbed Chen Pinhe's hand.
“But, honey, you’re a movie star. Your acting skills are no worse than anyone else’s. As long as you have a good script and a good team, you will definitely not be threatened by him,” Zhang Yuezhen said. “Lu Yanhe is doing well now because he is successful. But it’s impossible for only his works to be successful. If your works don’t succeed, look at the young people we’ve selected and nurtured since we started our company. They are all doing very well now and have a lot of fans.”
Chen Pinhe: "They are just some popular celebrities who are not recognized by the mainstream."
“What does it matter?” Zhang Yuezhen said. “As long as they have fans and commercial value, that’s enough, isn’t it? They can now bring back a lot of influence and resources for the company.”
Chen Pinhe: "Does this mean I now need to rely on them to exchange resources?"
“You…” Zhang Yuezhen sighed with a smile, “How could it be like this? What I mean is, one person can’t always succeed by going it alone. If Lu Yanhe didn’t have that group of people around him, what good would it do him to win an Oscar?”
Chen Pinhe remained silent.
“The show we filmed this time, Death Stranding, actually did quite well in terms of viewership and other aspects, otherwise the Golden Globes wouldn’t have invited you to be a presenter,” Zhang Yuezhen said. “Moreover, Death Stranding is now confirmed to be developing a second season, which will have a great positive effect on your popularity and influence overseas. Even though Jiang Yuqian ruined Window Sill, you will definitely get other scripts later. I’ve been working hard on that. You just need to focus on acting and leave the rest to me.”
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They stayed up all night to welcome the New Year, and after midnight, they set off fireworks with the children before Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi went to bed together.
"Your performance on the Spring Festival Gala tonight will probably keep Chen Pinhe angry for a while," Chen Siqi said with a smile.
Lu Yanhe casually added, "It would be best if he just died of anger."
Chen Siqi: "If he dies, will you attend his funeral?"
"Zhang Yuezhen would really invite me? How could she do something like that?"
"Who knows?" Chen Siqi said. "Suppose, suppose she invites you, would you go?"
"Funeral... well, if it's just spitting on his grave, that's not out of the question."
"Isn't it a bit unlucky for us to suddenly discuss spitting on his grave on the first day of the Lunar New Year?"
"You were the one who suggested the funeral first."
"Oh, it's alright. We are a blessed family, so there are no taboos."
Lu Yanhe couldn't help but laugh, and the corners of his mouth curved up.
Chen Siqi said, "Burning Fire 2 is released today, along with Home Alone 3. You haven't participated much in the promotion of these two movies, and Longyan has a lot of opinions about it."
"I've cooperated with all the promotional efforts stipulated in the contract," Lu Yanhe said. "If they have any objections, they shouldn't work with me again."
Chen Siqi: "Haha, tonight's program is already the best promotion for 'Burning Fire 2'. Longyan is the first to say that the cast of this program brings together the most internationally influential active actors in China. 'Burning Fire 2' also did not miss this wave of promotion, directly saying that 'Burning Fire 2' is the only movie in China that can bring together you and Shang Yongzhou as the two male leads. They are playing their cards openly."
“They have always been very good at marketing. I’m more curious about how well ‘Burning Fire 2’ will perform overseas this time with Green Valley’s global distribution.” Lu Yanhe said, “The story of the second one can be said to be complete from beginning to end, without giving the audience a bad ending. But to be honest, the story itself is not that great. It’s just a very competent movie sequel. What I’m curious about is the movie’s visual effects.”
Chen Siqi: "I've already seen part 2, and I have to say, it's definitely a top-notch blockbuster with excellent visual effects."
Lu Yanhe: "Really?"
“Hmm,” Chen Siqi said, “I don’t think Home Alone 3 will necessarily beat Burning Fire 2 at the box office.”
"Last year, Home Alone 2 grossed 1.4 billion yuan at the Chinese New Year box office."
"But it's almost reached its ceiling," Chen Siqi said. "This year's pre-sale results and data in all aspects are similar to last year. On the contrary, after the first part of 'Burning Fire' was released on TV and video websites, the index of 'Burning Fire 2' began to surge, especially in pre-sales, which led the Spring Festival season."
Lu Yanhe: "Okay."
"The audience reviews for 'Burning Fire' are very good," said Chen Siqi. "It is indeed a rare visual effects blockbuster."
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However, judging from the box office performance on the first day of the Spring Festival holiday, Chen Siqi's prediction did not come true.
On the first day, "Home Alone 3" still led the pack, firmly holding the number one spot with 600 million yuan in box office revenue.
This comedy film, after the previous two installments, has built up a very large family movie-going base.
If the whole family is going to see a movie, "Home Alone 3" is their top choice.
"Burning Fire 2" came in second with a box office of 420 million yuan.
Following these two top films is the third place, with Jia Long returning to the comedy film track with the crime comedy "The Master of the Dragon," which grossed 210 million yuan.
Fourth on the list is an animated film that is guaranteed to be released every year during the Spring Festival season.
Other films, on the other hand, were simply excluded from the top tier.
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This year's Spring Festival film season saw many media outlets use the headline "Lu Yanhe Fights Himself".
For Lu Yanhe, "Home Alone 3" is his own creation, and "Burning Fire 2" cannot be said to be adopted either; both are very precious.
Lu Yanhe posted a Weibo post saying: Although it's not a good omen to be fighting with yourself on the first day of the Lunar New Year, looking at it again, it's the first and second place in the Spring Festival film season? I hope this self-fighting continues for the rest of my life.
Jia Long immediately appeared in his comment section and said: "You can't be this kind of person!"
Lu Yanhe: Brother Long, I am the master of the dragon. Why are you telling me about being a good person?
Jia Long: Should I smile and thank you, or should I take off my shoe and throw it at you?
Lu Yanhe: Brother Long, don't be disrespectful to your master.
Jia Long: I'm going to get you! You brat, trying to take advantage of me!
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In his latest film, "The Master of the Dragon," Jia Long once again stars alongside Wang Dashan.
Of course, after he took Wang Dashan to act in "Lost in Thailand", Wang Dashan signed with his company.
Jia Long was really good to him.
Either Wang Dashan will play the lead role himself, or he will co-star with Wang Dashan as one of the two male leads.
Wang Dashan is now a leading figure among the younger generation of actors, and no one can rival him in his field.
Of course, because his appearance isn't exactly handsome, it would be difficult for him to become a mainstream actor like Lu Yanhe or Li Zhibai.
Fortunately, in this era, you can still become a big star even if you're not a mainstream actor.
Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi went to see "The Master of the Dragon" specifically.
After watching it, I was somewhat "indescribable". How should I put it, this movie is the kind of comedy that follows a very formulaic plot.
Is it good-looking? It's alright.
Was it funny? Yes, I laughed from beginning to end.
But once you've finished watching it, that's it.
A good box office performance may not necessarily translate into success for the actors.
What kind of feeling does it evoke?
Hmm, it's a bit like how the author of a certain book felt after reading "Life is Unfamiliar".
However, Jia Long now desperately needs a film like this to prove that he still has box office appeal in the film market.
In the past few years, he has starred in more genre films and auteur-driven movies, but the box office results have not been particularly outstanding, generally only reaching the level of 200 to 300 million yuan.
Even at this level, it is something that other male actors can only dream of.
But Jia Long was once among the top tier of domestic film actors who could carry the box office. His films that didn't reach 1 billion yuan in box office were considered mediocre, so 200-300 million yuan was indeed a bit lacking.
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The opening day box office figures for Home Alone 3 and Burning Fire 2 worldwide have also been released.
"Home Alone 3 performed adequately, almost on par with 2, but audience ratings and media reviews declined, as people are getting tired of the Home Alone comedy formula."
Chen Yin said, "After the release of Home Alone 4, this series will have to take a break."
Like 1 and 2, 3 and 4 are also shot together.
Lu Yanhe said, "Well, let's put this series on hold after the fourth one is released."
Home Alone 3 was released overseas without the boost of the Chinese New Year season; it relied entirely on the series' popularity and audience support.
Surprisingly, "Burning Fire 2" grossed $3.5 million in its opening weekend, despite being released simultaneously in only five markets: North America, the UK, Germany, France, and Italy, and in a relatively small number of theaters.
Putting aside the phenomenal box office success of "Home Alone," this achievement is already among the best in Chinese-language films.
As Chen Siqi said, although the first "Burning Fire" film did not have a high box office in theaters worldwide, it received very good viewership data after being released on streaming media and television, thanks to Lu Yanhe's starring role.
This has garnered a considerable number of fans for "Burning Fire 2".
Many movie fans around the world have praised the visual effects of "Burning Fire" as outstanding.
Especially those magical Eastern techniques, which dazzled foreigners.
Lu Yanhe was eager to know if "Burning Fire 2" had any hope of breaking the $30 million mark at the overseas box office.
However, although Midoriya was much more cautious about the overseas release of "Burning Flame 2" than he was with the first one, the first one's performance was so mediocre that he still did not get particularly good release terms in the negotiations for the second one.
This hampered the box office prospects of "Burning Fire 2".
Lu Yanhe promoted it on his social media, but individual efforts are indeed limited.
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Chen Siqi said, "If the film were shown in more theaters in North America and the promotion were more extensive, I think there is room for further growth in the box office."
Lu Yanhe said, "Yes, I think so too, but Midoriya doesn't think so. I don't know if it's good or bad. Right now, their recognition of my script's box office success even exceeds their recognition of my role as the lead actor."
"Who made you create a box office miracle with five consecutive hits: Home Alone, Buried, Red Eye, Flypaper, and Get Out?" Chen Siqi said. "None of these five movies starred you."
"...Could this be what they call 'lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own foot'?" Lu Yanhe gave a helpless, bitter smile.
“Even so, the box office of ‘Burning Fire 2’ in North America is about to cross the ten million mark, which still proves the appeal of your leading role,” Chen Siqi said. “Why don’t you talk to Green Valley and ask them to put more effort into distribution and promotion, and you can cooperate with them in promotion as well.”
Lu Yanhe said, "I can't just rush into doing this business myself."
“Why not?” Chen Siqi said. “You haven’t had a movie starring you released in a long time. You want to see your movies do better at the box office, is that not allowed?”
"It works."
“I think, how should I put it, we shouldn’t waste it,” Chen Siqi said. “It’s not easy for Chinese films to produce top-notch visual effects like ‘Burning Fire 2’. How many times can an actor encounter such a film? I believe the visual effects of ‘Godless’ and ‘Cloud of Clouds’ are definitely not bad, but they are ultimately two different styles from Chinese visual effects. If we can use the ‘Burning Fire’ series to make more overseas audiences interested in Chinese culture and aesthetics, and amaze them, that would be wonderful.”
Lu Yanhe fell into deep thought.
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Lu Yanhe thought about it and wondered why he was somewhat reluctant to do it.
Ultimately, it all comes down to Longyan.
He had told Long Yan several times before not to underestimate the value of "Burning Fire" or its box office potential overseas.
However, Longyan has never dared to "hoard its rare commodity".
This dampened Lu Yanhe's enthusiasm for helping "Burning Fire" achieve better box office results, leaving him disheartened.
Chen Siqi's words gave Lu Yanhe a different idea.
Indeed, regardless of who profits from the film "Burning Fire," the value it possesses and the value it achieves are closely related to him, will be incorporated into his acting career, and will stay with him for life.
Will I ever encounter a movie with such amazing visual effects again?
That's not necessarily true.
Just like movies like "The Lord of the Rings," could the actors who participated in the filming of that movie have imagined that they would follow this legendary and classic film and leave an eternal screen image as the characters in the movie?
Think about it, as an actor, Lu Yanhe could never accept missing out on a movie like "The Lord of the Rings".
Given that he was satisfied with the quality of "Burning Fire", why didn't he do his best to push it forward?
With this thought in mind, Lu Yanhe's inner conflict was resolved.
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"Yes, 'Burning Fire 2' is a film that I value very much. Although I didn't write the script, once you've seen the movie, you should understand why I value it so much."
Lu Yanhe called several celebrity friends in Europe and America with whom he had a good relationship, asking them to go to the cinema to see the movie and promote it.
Subsequently, Lu Yanhe contacted Schmidt Lowry of Green Valley, wanting to hold a special screening and exchange event.
“I want to invite some friends to come and see this movie to promote ‘Burning Fire 2’,” Lu Yanhe said. “You just need to arrange the venue; I’ll cover all the other expenses.”
Schmidt Lowry exclaimed in surprise, "You're willing to come and promote this movie, so why should you be in charge of the expenses?"
Lu Yanhe: "Why didn't you do any promotional activities for 'Burning Fire 2' in Europe and America before?"
"If you can't be there, it doesn't make much sense for someone else to do the publicity," Schmidt Lowry said.
Lu Yanhe: "Have you asked my team about this? Did you have any related plans before?"
“We’ve communicated with Longyan, but because this film is also being released during a very important period in China, they said the main creators’ publicity efforts are focused on China.”
Lu Yanhe suddenly realized.
I see.
Schmidt Lowry said, "Of course, I've heard that the film is doing very well at the Chinese box office and is expected to break $300 million. We should definitely focus our promotional efforts on China."
Lu Yanhe does not deny this point.
He said, "If you're willing to do the special screenings and discussions, I'll leave it all to you."
“Okay,” Schmidt Lowry said. “However, the movie has been showing for several days now, so holding a promotional event like this now probably won’t be as effective.”
Lu Yanhe said, "We can't just let it end its run quietly like this. Schmidt, as I said, if it's managed properly, even if it doesn't achieve the same success as 'Home Alone,' it can still make you a lot of money. It's not the kind of foreign film that can only make a few million dollars at the box office and mainly relies on other distribution methods to make a profit."
Schmidt Lowry: "Lu, we have a very mature distribution system for foreign films. Perhaps if we increase our publicity efforts, it will indeed increase the box office of this film, but it is not proportional to the time, effort and money invested. Unless you say that 'Burning Fire' can get tens of millions of dollars at the box office."
“Yes, that’s what I think. It can be.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “The story and special effects of this movie are very well integrated. You can tell from the audience’s comments that everyone likes this movie.”
Schmidt Lowry: "There are many foreign films with good reviews, but very few foreign films that can be box office hits."
Lu Yanhe: "Only this film can fully showcase the Chinese fantasy style like 'Burning Fire'."
“I know, and to be honest, I really like this movie myself. It does have a very different style, something you don’t see in big-budget Hollywood films. But to be honest, if I were to dedicate a whole distribution and marketing team to this kind of movie, I would have to delay the distribution of another movie that could potentially gross 50 million dollars. The company’s distribution team only has so many people. It’s not a matter of whether we do it or not; it’s a matter of which limited resources we use for which project.”
Lu Yanhe immediately understood.
The North American distributor for the movie "Home Alone" is also Green Valley.
Midoriya will definitely be focusing on releasing "Home Alone".
Even if "Burning Fire 2" manages to gross tens of millions of dollars, it will be far from enough compared to the revenue generated by "Home Alone 3".
Moreover, there are only so many cinemas in North America, and the screenings of two Chinese-language films will definitely be affected.
Schmidt Lowry said, "In this situation, only exceptionally high attendance rates, allowing theaters to see real box office potential, could change the current screening situation, rather than relying on word-of-mouth."
Lu Yanhe said, "I understand. In any case, we should still hold a special screening event if you're willing to do it."
“No problem, of course we’d love to,” Schmidt Lowry said. “In fact, we’re happy to host any promotional event you’re willing to attend.”
Lu Yanhe: "You speak so well."
“I’m not just saying that,” Schmidt Lowry said. “You’ll always get preferential treatment here.”
Lu Yanhe: "I hope to see this in some concrete actions, rather than always just hearing it from your mouth."
(End of this chapter)
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