Chapter 864 Overnight (7000 words updated!)
"I heard that there were problems with the filming of Friends."
Zhang Yuezhen looked up in surprise.
"What's the problem?"
"Yan Liang left the crew, and Lu Yanhe revised the script overnight."
Zhang Yuezhen looked puzzled.
Why did Yan Liang leave the film crew?
"They said something happened at home and they can't film anymore."
Zhang Yuezhen frowned slightly.
"This—" She paused for a moment, then said, "So, all of Yan Liang's scenes will have to be changed?"
"I think so. I heard it from a friend on the Friends set. Didn't you tell me to keep an eye on it?"
Zhang Yuezhen nodded and said, "Keep an eye on this for me."
“Okay, but I heard that Yan Liang’s departure didn’t throw the Friends crew into chaos.” The other person seemed worried that Zhang Yuezhen might do something, reminding her, “They’re still filming in an orderly manner.”
Zhang Yuezhen said, "If a lead actor suddenly leaves and the crew can continue filming in an orderly manner, it means either that the lead actor is not important to the 'Friends' crew, or that others have made a lot of sacrifices to cover for the crew."
-
Yuehu TV also received the news that the script needed to be revised immediately.
In fact, the production company, investor, and production company of the TV series "Friends" are now all Yuehu TV.
Lu Yanhe could not bypass them and act on his own initiative.
However, Yuehu TV is also very clear that the core character of the show "Friends" is Lu Yanhe.
Since Lu Yanhe has shown that he is willing to back up "Friends", as long as it does not involve matters of principle and does not cause "Friends" to collapse, Yuehu TV will definitely respect Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe personally called the leaders of Yuehu TV to explain the matter and promised that there would be no problems with this season of "Friends".
With Lu Yanhe's assurance, the leaders of Yuehutai, regardless of their true feelings, outwardly expressed their "support."
On the second and third days of filming, Lu Yanhe made impromptu revisions on the spot, based on the original script.
On the third night, Li Zhibai sent a message to Lu Yanhe: Good news, Yan Liang's mother's breast cancer condition is not too bad, we are going to take her to Yuming for surgery.
Lu Yanhe let out a long sigh of relief.
Li Zhibai added: Yan Liang just said that he plans to return to the film crew tomorrow.
Lu Yanhe: Can he come back?
Li Zhibai: He was anxious, but the situation was relatively okay, not that urgent. His parents also advised him not to stay here and delay filming. He himself did not want to cause more trouble for the crew.
Lu Yanhe: When will his family come over?
Li Zhibai: I've made arrangements for three days from now, so don't worry about this. How's the crew doing?
Lu Yanhe: It's alright. We're rushing to finish the pages every day, and everyone is very cooperative. You can tell Yan Liang that everything is really fine on the "Friends" side. I've communicated with Yuehu TV, Maxine, and the crew.
Li Zhibai: You don't know his parents, especially his mother. After he woke up, she kept saying that he should come back, saying that she was fine. After the test results came out, she urged him to come back even more. Indeed, judging from the current situation, the problem is not serious. It was discovered relatively early. It's fortunate that he fainted for a while, otherwise it might not have been discovered so early. If the surgery goes smoothly and the recovery is good, it's not a big deal.
Lu Yanhe: Okay, then you'll stay there for the next few days, is that okay?
Li Zhibai: It's alright. Anyway, if I can't handle something, I just call my family and ask them to find someone to take care of it.
Lu Yanhe: "..."
That works too. For Li Zhibai, this is the most efficient solution.
-
Late at night, the production coordinator suddenly came to find Lu Yanhe.
"Yan He, Yan Liang just messaged me saying he'll be at the film set tomorrow afternoon, he's already on his way back."
Yan Liang didn't go to Lu Yanhe, but went directly to the coordinator.
Lu Yanhe understood that Yan Liang was probably worried that he would advise him not to rush back.
"Okay, let's shoot normally then. We'll do the final cut tomorrow morning. You can rest now. I'll send you the revised scene schedule before 6 a.m. tomorrow. I'll connect it directly with the following scenes, so you don't need to make any extra arrangements. Don't worry."
The coordinator nodded and said, "My phone isn't on silent. Call me after you send it to me. I need to confirm beforehand to feel at ease, otherwise I won't be able to sleep soundly."
"Okay," Lu Yanhe said, "You should go and get some rest."
He closed the door, yawned, ordered himself a late-night coffee delivery, opened his laptop, and began revising the script—
This involves revising the script back to its previous state, so that Yan Liang's character can return to the later parts of the story.
Therefore, many production teams, especially large ones, often have multiple screenwriters.
A good screenwriter might produce a complete first draft, but they don't have time to go through countless revisions. So, the multiple revisions are often done by another screenwriter. The most exhausting part is the screenwriter on set.
Depending on the actual filming situation, the script often needs to be adjusted a lot. At this time, it is very necessary for the on-set screenwriter to make adjustments.
However, Lu Yanhe was the sole producer of "Friends".
On the one hand, it's because sitcoms are small-scale, which Lu Yanhe can handle. On the other hand, Lu Yanhe is most familiar with the entire Friends series, having written it season by season. He knows how to adjust it appropriately and how to modify it without affecting the characters and the main plot. What might take others several days to do, Lu Yanhe only needs an hour.
Lu Yanhe revised the script until 3 a.m., and read it over again to make sure there were no plot holes before sending it to Bai Jingnian's email address, while also sending a copy to the coordinator.
The coffee is finished.
Lu Yanhe yawned several times, got up, stretched his limbs, and went to the balcony of his hotel room.
Since Yan Liang went back, Lu Yanhe has not gone back to live there. Instead, he has stayed in the film crew, eating and living with everyone, just in case.
At this time, the whole world is very quiet.
Occasionally, a car would drive by in the distance, and some noise could be heard.
Lu Yanhe hadn't stayed up this late at night in a long time.
However, after getting to this point, I wasn't so sleepy anymore.
The wind was actually quite cool, even cold.
But inexplicably, Lu Yanhe just wanted to get some fresh air at that moment.
-
"Why aren't you asleep yet?" Chen Pinhe came out of his room and saw a floor lamp on in the living room. He walked over and saw Zhang Yuezhen still sitting on the sofa, looking at her phone.
Zhang Yuezhen had already heard footsteps and knew that Chen Pinhe was coming.
She looked up, smiled, and said, "Why are you awake? I still have some work to do."
Chen Pinhe said, "I got up to use the restroom, but I didn't expect you to be gone."
Zhang Yuezhen closed her phone, stretched happily, yawned, and said, "I'm tired too, let's go to sleep."
Chen Pinhe nodded.
After they returned to their room, Chen Pinhe suddenly realized that Zhang Yuezhen's phone had been lying face down on the sofa in the living room, neither brought inside nor charged outside.
"What were you busy with just now?" After getting into bed, Chen Pinhe asked casually, "It's so late and you still haven't finished."
“It’s a sudden incident, public relations doesn’t care about day or night.” After Zhang Yuezhen finished speaking, she hugged Chen Pinhe. “I’m so sleepy. You have to catch a flight early tomorrow morning. Go to sleep.”
"Um."
-
A violent jolt followed, the sound of the plane landing.
Yan Liang opened his eyes.
He took the earliest flight back to Yuming, arriving at 7:30 in the morning.
The morning light had not yet fully broken.
He yawned, almost habitually, then put on his mask and hat, preparing to leave.
After he came out through the VIP channel, Ning Luo waited for him outside.
His new assistant, who had been with him for less than a month, did not come back with him.
He was kept on the cast of Friends.
"Brother Liang," Ning Luo called out in a low voice, sounding somewhat worried.
Yan Liang nodded to him and asked, "Does the production crew already know I'm coming back?"
Ning Luo nodded and said, "The latest call sheet was released half an hour ago. You have scenes to film this afternoon. Teacher Lu gave me a copy of the latest script and told me to give it to you when I come to pick you up."
Yan Liang: "...The latest script? Did he stay up all night revising the script?"
"It should be so," Ning Luo said. "You weren't originally in the scenes we were filming this afternoon, but after the script was revised, your character is back."
After getting on the bus, Yan Liang put down his bag and began reading the script.
The theme of this episode hasn't changed, and many of the jokes and gags are still the same as before.
However, because a scene was added where his character was away for a few days, many details in the script for this episode, including the part about his return, especially the dialogue, were adjusted accordingly to make the episode of him leaving and then returning seem abrupt.
To achieve this in such a short time, Yan Liang is no novice who doesn't understand the industry. He is well aware of the workload behind it and knows that even for a genius like Lu Yanhe, it still takes time and cannot be done in just a few hours.
Yan Liang sighed inwardly.
In any case, he has really caused a lot of trouble for Lu Yanhe and Friends this time.
“Hey—” Ning Luo, who was sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly spoke up, “Brother Liang, there are some reports online about you leaving the Friends crew.”
Yan Liang raised his head.
"Um?"
Ning Luo said, "But... why are they saying such strange things?"
Yan Liang: "Let me see."
Ning Luo turned around and handed over the phone.
Yan Liang looked down and what came into view was a post from a marketing account:
— Yan Liang's sudden departure from the "Friends" crew seems to have left the production team without a trace!
Yan Liang's brows furrowed instantly.
-
"This news may not have come from our crew."
The production crew also received the news immediately, and Hu Siwei immediately investigated whether there was a "mole".
The person below said, "Although we are shooting in a studio, there are a lot of media and fans waiting outside the studio every day. It's normal for people to be suspicious of Yan Liang since he hasn't appeared for several days."
Hu Siwei, however, did not believe it at all.
He still had his assistant secretly investigate, and on the surface, he looked serious, as if he was busy filming and didn't have time to investigate the matter in detail.
When Lu Yanhe approached him, he said directly, "Leave this matter to me."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"We must not let this matter be investigated to the point that something happened to Yan Liang's family," Lu Yanhe said. "We can arrange for someone from the crew to respond privately, saying that there were no arrangements made for Yan Liang during the filming these past two days."
"OK."
Lu Yanhe sent a message to Yan Liang: The production team will handle the online issues. Tell your team not to respond to anything for now and come to the production team first.
Yan Liang replied: Okay.
-
An hour later, news of Yan Liang's sudden departure from the team spread online.
Various conspiracy theories.
Yan Liang's fans were worried that he might have been injured during filming and was currently recovering.
Some troublemakers fabricated various rumors, such as Yan Liang being dissatisfied with his role and having a big argument with Lu Yanhe, which led Lu Yanhe to cut more of Yan Liang's scenes, and the two parted on bad terms.
Of course, very few people believe rumors like this.
The relationship between Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang has withstood the test of time for many years. Such rumors are like someone suddenly spreading a rumor that Hu Ge and Yuan Hong had a falling out over the roles in a drama; others simply find it ridiculous.
Just then, another so-called "insider" revealed that Yan Liang was indeed no longer on set, Lu Yanhe was revising the script overnight, and the actors had been filming on set with flyers every day for the past two days.
Most importantly, this "insider" even took a photo, a comparison of two photos put together. The top one is the original script, which has a line from the character Yan Liang, and the bottom one is the revised script, with both the characters and the lines changed.
Once this photo comes out, even those who didn't believe the leak will have to believe it.
Immediately, fans of "Friends" and Yan Liang's fans flooded the comment section of the official "Friends" Weibo account, as well as the comment sections of Bai Jingnian, Lu Yanhe, and other main cast members, asking if this was true.
-
"This person has access to the latest revised script."
"However, this person doesn't seem to know that Yan Liang will be back soon. He confidently asserted that Yan Liang had left the crew, speaking in a tone that completely disregarded the possibility of Yan Liang's return. This indicates that he did not receive the latest script that Lu Yanhe revised overnight yesterday."
Hu Siwei, however, seized this opportunity to keenly grasp a chance to expose the "mole".
"Go and check immediately to find out who should have received the revised script but didn't receive it this morning." After giving the instructions, Hu Siwei breathed a sigh of relief. During a break in filming, he came to Lu Yanhe's side. "Fortunately, they're not key figures who couldn't get your latest revised script right away. Otherwise, we would have faced a really bad situation."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"Brother Siwei, after you find this person, don't alert him, okay?" Lu Yanhe said.
"Huh? Why?" Hu Siwei asked.
"I want to see if there are other people behind him who are also involved." Lu Yanhe was actually referring to Zhang Yuezhen and Chen Pinhe.
The reason Lu Yanhe suspected the two of them immediately was not because of personal grudges.
The focus of this incident has unexpectedly shifted to the argument between Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang.
What appeared to be a rumor spread by anti-fans took on a more credible meaning after an "insider" emerged, and was subsequently widely touted.
However, everyone in the crew actually knew why Yan Liang left the crew; they just didn't know the specific reason was that his mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
However, none of the topics circulating online are pointing to this point; instead, they are fabricating rumors about him and Yan Liang out of thin air.
That's very targeted.
At least now, the fans of Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang have already started arguing.
Using someone's strength against them, or sowing discord?
Lu Yanhe sent Yan Liang another message, telling him not to appear on set for the time being, as the crew was looking for a mole.
Yan Liang quickly replied with a "good".
He didn't ask Lu Yanhe why, nor did he ask Lu Yanhe how the production team was going to respond to the public about this matter.
He believed that Lu Yanhe and the Friends crew would not do anything to harm him.
-
"If someone in the crew really tipped off Zhang Yuezhen and Chen Pinhe, and Zhang Yuezhen and Chen Pinhe were behind it all, what do you plan to do?"
Chen Ziyan asked.
Lu Yanhe: "I haven't thought about it yet, but since our informants can send back things we don't want them to know, shouldn't they also be able to send back things we want them to know?"
Chen Ziyan: "Well, it's not a new trick, but it really works when used correctly."
Lu Yanhe: "I was thinking that this might be the kind of thing that requires your help."
"Um?"
“Once we find out who that person is, if you don’t come to the set, people might not believe me no matter what I act in. Zhang Yuezhen and Chen Pinhe will be even more suspicious,” Lu Yanhe said. “We still need your cooperation.”
Chen Ziyan: "Okay, then I'll wait for your summons."
Lu Yanhe agreed.
-
This person is actually not difficult to identify.
The number of people who can get the script fly pages is neither small nor large. Friends is a sitcom, and it's not a very big production team. All departments combined have only a few people.
Since the "insider" had not received Lu Yanhe's latest revised script from yesterday, a comparison of the two groups revealed that the suspects were among several people.
Once Hu Siwei checked their backgrounds and connections, he had a pretty good idea of what was going on, and all he needed to do was bluff them.
"This is the latest script from this afternoon. Yan Liang can make it back in time, so take the latest script and get XXXX done quickly."
Tell everyone this message, letting them know that Yan Liang will be back this afternoon.
At this moment, their reaction is like a mirror that reveals the truth.
Of course, to be on the safe side, it is also necessary to arrange for someone to secretly keep an eye on them and see who makes the first phone call or sends a message.
-
Before lunchtime, Hu Siwei told Lu Yanhe who was the most suspicious person.
Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "Brother Siwei, keep an eye on this person for me. Let's pretend we don't know anything for now."
"Okay." Hu Siwei nodded.
"Oh, by the way, could you send me a copy of this person's information?" Lu Yanhe said.
“Why not?” Hu Siwei had already guessed that what Lu Yanhe wanted to do was not as simple as he had said before, but he didn’t ask anything. He raised his hand and patted Lu Yanhe on the shoulder.
-
After receiving this person's information, Lu Yanhe sent it to Chen Ziyan.
Chen Ziyan has her own channels to investigate whether this person has any private relationship with Zhang Yuezhen and Chen Pinhe.
Yan Liang finally returned to the film crew after waiting outside the studio for two hours.
At 12:48 PM, the Friends crew released a behind-the-scenes photo in the lower right corner, taken at 12:42 PM today.
It's a photo of the crew members sitting together eating boxed lunches.
There are about twenty people in the photo.
Yan Liang is sitting on an iron ladder on the left side of the photo, holding a boxed lunch, while Lu Yanhe is sitting on a small stool next to him. The two seem to be chatting about something. The overall atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable, without a trace of what is said online—
It means to fall apart or break up.
-
"Why is he back so soon? Didn't you tell me he wouldn't be returning to the film set?"
Zhang Yuezhen questioned him angrily.
"I don't know either. Lu Yanhe's script had already been revised to a shooting scene three days later. Who knew that he would suddenly say that Yan Liang is back? Maybe his family matters have been resolved."
Zhang Yue was furious.
She was genuinely annoyed.
It's important to understand that organizing such a large-scale online public opinion marketing campaign is quite expensive.
As it turned out, they solved it easily in less than half a day.
For a fleeting moment, Zhang Yuezhen suspected that Lu Yanhe had conspired with this person to deliberately disgust her.
But I quickly put that thought aside.
Yan Liang left for two days, and he really left. The impact on the crew was real. No one would do something like killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of their own.
"ah--"
Zhang Yuezhen was so angry that she slammed her fist on the sofa.
How come Lu Yanhe always manages to resolve things so easily?!
-
To Lu Yanhe's complete surprise, Yan Liang's acting was almost unaffected after returning to the film crew.
Keep in mind, this is a sitcom.
It should be relaxed, joyful, and make everyone feel comfortable.
During breaks from filming, Yan Liang spent most of his time on his phone texting and making calls, and he didn't seem particularly relaxed. But as soon as he turned on his phone, he could drop everything and get completely into character.
Lu Yanhe was truly shocked.
Chen Siqi said, "While you have unwavering faith in your friends' talent, hard work, and dedication, you've also been overlooking their changes. Not to mention them, you've changed a lot. Yan Liang has been acting for so many years, and he values 'Friends' so much. He's so responsible. How could he not push himself to become a truly professional actor? He's no longer that new actor who just transitioned from idol to actor."
Chen Siqi asked, "Would you ask the crew for leave to attend an awards ceremony before? At least in your mind, you didn't want to, right?"
Lu Yanhe immediately knew what she was going to say.
“But now, for example, you’ll go to the Lingyun Awards and the Golden Globe Awards, right?” Chen Siqi said. “Before, you thought professionalism meant wholeheartedly devoting yourself to filming and performing without distraction. But after so many years, your understanding of professionalism has changed. Now you know that professionalism doesn’t affect the final presentation of the film. You are confident that you won’t delay the filming of the crew because of your leave, and thus delay the quality of the film. Your concept of professionalism has changed.”
“You used to say that every time you left the crew and came back, you needed to get back into character, and it took a long time. But now you rarely worry about that, because you don’t need to spend a long time getting back into character. Your grasp and understanding of acting has improved, and your professional skills have become stronger.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
You're right.
Chen Siqi asked, "Is Yan Liang's mother coming tomorrow?"
"Yes," Lu Yanhe said.
“When are you planning to visit? I’ll go with you,” Chen Siqi said.
"I'm planning to go there the day after tomorrow evening, is that convenient for you?"
“Okay, then let’s meet right at the hospital entrance.” Chen Siqi suddenly changed the subject, “Also, you really are a fool.”
"Huh?" Lu Yanhe was stunned.
Why did he suddenly become an idiot again?
Chen Siqi: "Why do you think Yan Liang was able to perform like this on set? After he left, you were revising the script every day, covering everything for him. He only left for three days before rushing back. How could he allow himself to mess up on set? He forced himself to do it."
"Didn't you just say that this was his professional competence—"
“Professionalism is professionalism, character is character, and professional ethics are professional ethics. It’s possible to fail even after friends have stepped in to support you, you fool,” Chen Siqi said. “You really are something else, getting smarter and smarter at the same time, and getting more and more foolish at the same time.”
Lu Yanhe remained silent.
-
"Yan Liang rejected our framework cooperation," Huang Zhongjing told Huang Tai.
Mrs. Wong: "It's not surprising. He has Lu Yanhe backing him, so there's no reason for him to cooperate with us."
Huang Zhongjing: "So do you think we should continue to stick to our home base and not try overseas markets?"
Huang Tai: "Lu Yanhe's path is difficult to replicate. In fact, even if Yan Liang agrees to cooperate, I am not optimistic about the prospects. You know that it is very difficult to succeed. It is just an attempt."
“That’s right.” Huang Zhongjing nodded. “But if we don’t try, there will always be times when we become complacent and other companies overtake us.”
"Did you know? Yu Qin's next film project is very likely not to be produced independently, but will instead be invested in by Aurora Films." Huang Tai smiled slightly. "She's not going to Linghe, but collaborating with Aurora Films—the person in charge of Aurora Films now is Wang Xiao, Lu Yanhe's senior from Zhenhua. Old Huang, Lu Yanhe's vision for the entire film industry is very, very big. You previously hoped that Longyan could become his partner, but you see, after collaborating with him on a few films, Liu Bige is no longer under our control, and he doesn't seem to want to continue to cooperate with us in depth. He has his own power and doesn't need us."
Huang Zhongjing: "This is because of some things that happened before, so it's pointless for you to talk about these things now. What I want to hear is, do you have any constructive suggestions?"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
