Chapter 855 The Actress
Chen Siqi smiled slightly, "We have 98 self-media accounts signed across various categories, fields, and platforms with more than one million followers, and we'll be breaking 100 soon."
Lu Yanhe looked shocked.
"This is a self-media account that we operate directly and entirely under the Jump Up brand. In addition, we also operate an MCN company to represent some internet celebrities and influencers on various platforms," Chen Siqi said. "In this regard, we started very late. When we entered the market, it was almost completely divided up. However, because of the market share of Jump Up magazine in the arts and culture market and the media influence brought by Jump Up Theater, we have gained the favor of many bloggers who want to transform to the high-end and sophisticated level."
"At the same time, we have been deeply involved in the content field, helping promising artists and established big names in various fields to hold solo exhibitions and handle media relations and artwork representation work," Chen Siqi said. "These have helped Tiaoqi open up some areas that traditional media companies in China rarely venture into, and thus opened up some new markets."
Lu Yanhe said, "I do know that, but I always thought that the profit margin in this area should not be high."
“Then you’re mistaken.” Chen Siqi shook her head. “Especially in terms of representing works, the profits are far higher than you imagine. The works of Chinese artists are receiving more and more attention internationally, and their value is rising accordingly. In addition, with our influence in the media circle, we can promote and publicize many talented and capable artists. Many people can be directly pushed to the forefront and gain the attention of critics.”
Lu Yanhe immediately understood.
Chen Siqi is leveraging her strengths in the media industry to work as a public relations agent for artists.
But this was indeed a relatively "narrow" field before.
It's not that no one in China does this, it's just that very few people do it. In most cases, Chinese artists are signed with overseas professional agencies, who then act as their promoters. Jumping up doesn't necessarily mean directly promoting someone, but that's essentially what they're doing.
The leapfrog development has indeed exceeded Lu Yanhe's initial expectations in many aspects.
Starting with a magazine, Chen Siqi has gradually built such a media business empire.
Lu Yanhe was surprised, but then he felt there was nothing to be surprised about. With Chen Siqi's abilities, plus such a group of outstanding partners around her, it was only natural that she would achieve what she has today through a series of opportunities.
Of course, it's also possible that he took it for granted.
Regardless of whether this is true or not, Lu Yanhe's trust in Chen Siqi is 100%.
Without a doubt.
Chen Siqi said, "This time, regarding 'Calm Wind No. 1,' we were actually trying to leverage our influence in overseas media circles to promote it. However, since everyone knows about our relationship with Jumping Media, we couldn't be too obvious or appear too closely tied, which could backfire on the film. Our approach was simple: we invited creators from various fields with whom we have a good working relationship to watch the film and give it a shout-out. 'Calm Wind No. 1' has never downplayed its status as a Chinese film in its public relations efforts, so I'm following that direction to create the impression that the film has received high praise in various artistic fields in China, thereby deepening this aspect of our publicity."
Lu Yanhe nodded: "If 'Dingfeng No. 1' doesn't stand out as a Chinese film in this awards season, then it won't be very meaningful, and I don't need to give up my personal acting awards just to win public relations."
Chen Siqi nodded.
"By the way, has 'The Wind Rises' been confirmed yet? Will it represent China in the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film this year?"
Lu Yanhe: "We're still waiting for news. The news I heard before was that it was a sure thing, but these kinds of things can change before the final result is confirmed."
“That’s true,” Chen Siqi said. “Alright, then we’ll just have to wait.”
“Hmm.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “But now I think it doesn’t matter if we don’t submit this movie in the end.”
Lu Yanhe thought of the South Korean film "The Handmaiden".
"As long as it really makes a splash during awards season, it will still get attention in Europe and America even if it's not nominated for an Oscar."
What truly matters is how many people in Europe and America actually saw this film, and what their feelings were towards it. That's the most crucial point.
-
Lu Yanhe first flew to Los Angeles to attend a private party hosted by Schmidt Laurie.
Many Hollywood stars came.
Lu Yanhe hadn't appeared here for a long time, and his appearance immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Lu Yanhe had to explain to almost everyone that he had just finished filming a movie and had been on set, which was why he had "disappeared" for a long time.
He then asked everyone if they had seen "Dingfeng No. 1".
“Although this film is destined not to receive mainstream attention during this year’s awards season, I still hope it can be seen, no matter when it is seen,” Lu Yanhe said. “This film is my second collaboration with director Liu Bige. You should all know that we worked together on ‘Late Spring’ before, right?”
"Yes, 'Late Spring' is the film I collaborated on with him. He is a very talented director. If you watch 'The Wind Rises' carefully, you should have noticed that it was an image and style that I had never presented before. He gave me guidance that can be said to have transformed my performance."
While chatting and laughing with others, Lu Yanhe shared some information about "Dingfeng No. 1" with them.
Every word they say could potentially prompt them to pay more attention to the film, or even vote for it in some awards.
This is the significance of public relations activities.
Everyone is a "salesperson".
“Best Actor? Me?” Lu Yanhe waved his hand with a smile and said, “I think it will be difficult for me to get a nomination this year. Of course, I really want to get a nomination, that’s for sure. My performance in ‘Dingfeng No. 1’ was, at least on my own level, a qualitative leap.”
"You all should know Wen Shengming, right? Yes, he's the actor who acted opposite me in 'Dingfeng No. 1'. His acting skills are superb, and he gave me very precise stimulation, allowing me to give a lot of immediate emotional reactions on set."
Lu Yanhe seemed to suddenly realize something.
"By the way, I heard the competition for Best Supporting Actor is fierce this year? It seems like there are quite a few people vying for it?"
...
The advantage of "The Pianist" being eliminated early is that no one will mention the film to Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe no longer needs to be asked whether China should submit "Feng Ding Hao" or "The Pianist" when recommending the film "Feng Ding Hao".
This kind of topic actually happens every year.
This is especially true when a country has more than one seeded player.
Lu Yanhe is becoming more and more accustomed to appearing at ease in such public relations events, rather than scratching his head in frustration. One important reason for this is that in these events, everyone talks mainly about movies, and the gossip is also movie-related, which is exactly what Lu Yanhe is interested in.
Moreover, after Lu Yanhe became adept at handling such occasions, he no longer needed to follow other people's topics. If the topic of conversation was not of interest to him, he also mastered the ability to subtly change the subject.
Just as Lu Yanhe was focusing his public relations efforts in North America, the official announcement finally came: "Dingfeng No. 1" would be submitted for consideration for this year's Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
On the same day, the New York Film Critics Circle Awards announced its list of nominees.
Nominations and winners are announced together.
"Dingfeng No. 1" was shortlisted for Best Foreign Language Film, Lu Yanhe was shortlisted for Best Actor, and Wen Shengming was removed from the list.
This is Lu Yanhe's first nomination of any significant importance during this year's awards season.
Lu Yanhe was quite surprised.
Shortly after, the Gotham Independent Film Awards ceremony took place.
Although Lu Yanhe did not receive a nomination, he was invited to attend along with the cast and crew of "Dingfeng No. 1".
At the scene, someone told Lu Yanhe, "If you had shown up earlier, you would definitely have been nominated tonight."
Lu Yanhe smiled and waved his hand.
That night, Dingfeng-1 caught nothing and made no catch.
Soon after, several less important film critics' association awards announced their nominees.
This time, the New York Film Critics Circle Awards did not appear again; Wen Shengming was on the nomination list, while Lu Yanhe only appeared once.
In the Best Foreign Language Film category, "Calm Wind No. 1" has been particularly strong, exceeding the initial expectations of the public relations team and firmly securing a place on the shortlist.
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"The political attributes of 'Dingfeng No. 1' have been minimized in public relations and media coverage. They are now focusing on the film's artistic merit and the actors' performances."
When her friend talked to Zhang Yuezhen on the phone about the public relations situation of the movie "Dingfeng No. 1" in North America, her tone was somewhat helpless.
"In particular, the film grossed $200 million worldwide, which is a very convincing figure in Hollywood, during awards season, and especially for an art film."
Zhang Yuezhen asked, "Didn't everyone say that 'The Wind Rises' would be met with a cold reception?"
"Things have developed in a way that has exceeded expectations."
Zhang Yuezhen: "Furthermore, why did Lu Yanhe receive several Best Actor nominations? Wasn't it said that he had no chance of being nominated since he had already applied for a major role?"
“These are Critics’ Circle Awards, which are popular among film critics. According to our information, Lu Yanhe has always been in the second tier. He recently won an Oscar and was nominated for Best Actor again. People don’t think his performance this time deserves another nomination immediately.” The other person smiled. “Lu Yanhe is very young. He’s not even thirty yet and has already won two Oscars. The Academy won’t let him set a record at such a young age.”
The other person was trying to comfort Zhang Yuezhen, but Zhang Yuezhen found these words particularly grating and unpleasant to hear.
Before he was even thirty, he had already won a Best Supporting Actor award and a Best Original Screenplay award. Such achievements are unprecedented in Hollywood.
Why has a film like "Dingfeng No. 1," which has absolutely no connection to Hollywood, achieved its current momentum? Isn't it because the person behind this film is Lu Yanhe, and many people in Hollywood are paying special attention to this film because of this?
When someone is riding high on a wave of popularity, their every move becomes the focus of everyone's attention until that momentum fades.
For example, during the years when James Bond was at the peak of his career, the remaining influence led him to produce "The Other Side of the Bridge," a low-budget streaming film without the support of a famous director, without the prestige of film festival awards, and without the support of major studios during awards season. However, it still garnered attention from the Oscars simply because it was her first film after giving birth.
The college also has its own "core" in its heart.
In the past few years, Lu Yanhe has forcefully carved himself into this "core" position with overwhelming force.
After Zhang Yuezhen understood the reasoning behind it, how could she possibly be happy?
-
"Yan He is using his connections and influence in Hollywood to promote 'Dingfeng No. 1'." Back in China, Chen Ziyan, who hadn't gone to the US with Lu Yanhe, stayed in the country. While having dinner with an executive from a film company, they discussed the current situation. Chen Ziyan spoke frankly, "To be honest, for Yan He, it's much easier for his film to perform well during awards season than for most people. He's just the lead actor in 'Dingfeng No. 1,' but because it's such a subject matter, the opportunity is hard to come by. Even if it means he'll use up a lot of favors and even incur a lot of debt, he's determined to do it. I tried to persuade him to consider his own interests more; this isn't a responsibility he can shoulder alone. But he's very stubborn in this regard; even when I tried to dissuade him, he wouldn't listen."
The executive joked, "This is a responsibility that only Yan He can shoulder."
"That's precisely why I don't want him to shoulder this responsibility. Think about it, how old is he? He has achieved everything he has today through his ability and luck. How heavy is the responsibility he has to bear? What if he doesn't? Or what if he does manage to get a nomination, but then a bunch of haters deliberately criticize him, saying he didn't do his best, which led to him not winning the award in the end?"
"Wow, nobody would believe that, right? Getting a nomination is already a remarkable breakthrough."
“The public doesn’t know, especially in today’s online society, where public emotions are so easily swayed and manipulated,” Chen Ziyan said. “Sometimes I really wish he would stop being such a scapegoat. Maybe I’m just a materialistic person, I only care about tangible benefits. As for responsibilities and honors, if I can easily shoulder them, of course I can, but there’s no need to take them on so proactively, don’t you think?”
The other party said, "What you said certainly makes sense, but I still admire Yan He for doing what he did. And, Ziyan, you should know that in many places, many people are silently supporting him. The things you're worried about might happen, but not everyone will sit idly by. Back then, wasn't 'The Pianist' competing with 'Windbreaker' for the chance to represent China in this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film? They used many tactics, but in reality, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television never considered replacing 'The Pianist.' From beginning to end, their choice was always 'Windbreaker.' You should know that, right?"
Chen Ziyan laughed.
“I know that, but you know what, we were really nervous at the time. We were really worried that ‘Dingfeng No. 1’ would be abandoned in the end.”
"How could that be? This film, in terms of its artistic achievements, its subject matter, and the characters it focuses on, cannot possibly not represent Chinese films in this year's Oscars. It's an attitude," the other party said. "Everyone has seen what Yan He is doing now. I've heard that your PR team in North America prioritizes Best Foreign Language Film first, then Wen Jiabao's Best Supporting Actor award, and only then Yan He. His approach will earn him a lot of respect, including mine."
"I feel relieved now that you say that. I was worried about this kid. He's had a smooth career as an actor, but he's too idealistic. Too much of a rigidity can lead to a broken heart. You guys need to protect him more."
"Of course. It's not easy to find someone like Yan He. You don't even need to tell me. All the top official film events will definitely invite Yan He to attend. This treatment speaks for itself."
...
After Chen Ziyan saw the person off to their car with satisfaction, she waited by the roadside for a while before Lu Qingzhen personally drove over to pick her up.
"How did the talks go?"
“That’s good. His father is a leader in the Central Propaganda Department, so he has a lot of influence over public opinion. We don’t know what dirty tricks Zhang Yuezhen and Chen Pinhe might pull next, so we need to warn them in advance to avoid being caught off guard.” Chen Ziyan nodded. “Fortunately, he admires Yan He, and his words implied that we don’t need to worry about these things. His tone was quite positive.”
"That's good." Lu Qingzhen said, "Just now a friend of mine called me. Someone asked her to speak ill of Yan He's actions during this year's awards season and to focus on his scheme to get him to report to his master and Wen's teacher."
Chen Ziyan: "It's obvious without asking that it was Zhang Yuezhen's doing. There's no doubt about it. Zhang Yuezhen has been trying to sow discord between Teacher Wen and Yan He. Even Teacher Wen's agent noticed something was wrong and came to warn us."
"So what do we do?"
"We'll use public relations strategies to get Mr. Wen to nominate the Best Supporting Actor award, and then use the current awards season results to support that point," Chen Ziyan said. "At the same time, we'll throw mud back at him. Director Zheng Ximo has already reached a cooperation agreement with Aurora Films and officially severed ties with Chen Pinhe's company. We can continue to promote Chen Pinhe's image as a domineering actor."
"Does his image as a domineering actor have any impact on him? After all, his performance is currently the only redeeming quality of 'The Pianist' according to critics."
"Because of the domineering behavior on set, the director had no say in the production process, turning the entire film into a stage for the actors' performances," Chen Ziyan said. "Highlighting the actors at the expense of the film's overall artistry—is such a domineering behavior worthy of praise?"
Chen Ziyan raised an eyebrow.
Lu Qingzhen nodded.
"This angle is good."
-
The dirt on Chen Pinhe's domineering behavior on set during the filming of "The Pianist" has been gradually revealed.
Instead of launching a massive, overnight campaign, Chen Ziyan and Lu Qingzhen first used several alternate accounts to pretend to be "insiders" and then "reveal" information.
Then, new clues were gradually revealed.
Chen Pinhe himself was in the UK with Zhang Yuezhen attending a film event when he was suddenly asked by a Chinese media outlet about the "tyrant on set" rumors and asked to respond.
He was stunned and didn't react for several seconds.
Zhang Yuezhen was the first to darken her face and ask, "Which media outlet are you from? Is it appropriate to ask such a question in a setting where there's no source for this rumor?"
The reporter was blunt, asking directly: "Did you not deny it immediately because it's true?"
Chen Pinhe said with a stern face, "I have never been a tyrant on set."
"The Pianist" received very polarized reviews, and director Zheng Ximo was largely absent from the film's public relations activities during the awards season. I wonder what your relationship with Zheng Ximo is like now?" the reporter continued to ask.
Zhang Yuezhen: "The Pianist is a film that won an award in the main competition of the Venice International Film Festival. Its achievements and artistic value should not be belittled here as a polarizing film."
"Director Zheng Ximo said in an interview that the chances of continuing to work with Teacher Chen in the future are practically nonexistent. Do you have any response to this?" The reporter finally dropped the bombshell.
Zhang Yuezhen and Chen Pinhe were both taken aback.
"Did Zheng Ximo really say that?" Zhang Yuezhen immediately sneered. "I believe Director Zheng Ximo wouldn't casually say something that could be misunderstood."
Reporter: "So what do you think was his state of mind when he said that?"
Chen Pinhe and Zhang Yuezhen frowned in annoyance. After a few seconds of silence, Zhang Yuezhen said, "We don't want to answer questions that are hostile and malicious. You are very unprofessional."
After saying that, the two refused to answer any more questions from the reporter.
-
The video of Chen Pinhe and Zhang Yuezhen being harassed quickly went viral in China.
Of course, the reporter and Zheng Ximo were the ones who received more criticism.
Since neither of them has fans or online trolls, they are naturally easy targets for attacks.
However, Chen Pinhe's domineering behavior on set has also come into the public eye.
For a top actor like him, who has been famous for a long time, to suddenly be embroiled in a "tyrant on set" scandal was initially met with little belief.
But that's okay. This is an era where no matter what you say, someone will always think, "Why can't it be true?"
Director Zheng Ximo did not come forward to respond or deny anything, which gave the public room to question Chen Pinhe.
The only thing Zhang Yue could arrange was praise from people who had worked with Chen Pinhe in the past, praising his professionalism and his good working relationships.
Zhang Yuezhen did contact Zheng Ximo, hoping that Zheng Ximo could stand up for Chen Pinhe and say a few words to deny the so-called "drama tyrant scandal".
But the last time he was contacted, Zheng Ximo coldly expressed his unwillingness to cooperate, and this time, he would be even less likely to do so.
Previously, in order to promote Chen Pinhe, Zhang Yuezhen fueled the rumors that "the director's skills were poor, and Chen Pinhe's performance saved the day." Zheng Ximo was attacked by a lot of Chen Pinhe's fans. At that time, why didn't they stand up and say a word for him?
Zheng Ximo had always wanted to speak out.
This film was produced by Zhang Yuezhen and Chen Pinhe's company. Although he was credited as the director, he had no real say in the matter. Now that the film is being questioned, he's being pushed to take the blame. Everyone has a temper, and Zheng Ximo is certainly not willing to be the one to take the fall.
At this moment, the Fei Hong Award suddenly announced the nomination list for this year's competition.
Lu Yanhe, Wen Shengming, and Chen Pinhe were all nominated for Best Actor.
"Calm Wind" and "The Pianist" were also nominated for Best Film.
However, Liu Bige was unsurprisingly nominated for Best Director, while Zheng Ximo, who won an award at Venice, was conspicuously absent.
It is obvious that the judges of the Fei Hong Award believed that Zheng Ximo's directing ability in the film "The Pianist" was insufficient, or rather, inadequate.
Not only was he absent from the Best Director category, but his screenplay, written by Zheng Ximo, was also not nominated for Best Screenplay.
Chen Pinhe's fans, who were already embroiled in a heated argument over the "tyrant on set" accusation, were overjoyed. They used the Fei Hong Award nomination to spread the word that the problems with *The Pianist* stemmed from Zheng Ximo. Now, because the film received poor reviews, they're accusing Chen Pinhe of being a tyrant on set. Zheng Ximo's comment section is a complete mess.
Zheng Ximo was so angry that he couldn't hold back and posted "What goes around comes around," which ignited a firestorm online.
This is Zheng Ximo's first public statement since the "drama tyrant" incident broke out.
If Chen Pinhe's fans could previously claim that the "drama tyrant" incident was a deliberate smear campaign without any evidence, now the "victim" has spoken out.
The speculation and discussion sparked by those six words have once again drawn everyone's attention to Chen Pinhe and the "drama tyrant".
(End of this chapter)
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