Chapter 893 Well, a play is filmed step by step, slowly.
A week later, news came that "The Boat" had won an award at the Situ International Film Festival.
It won the Jury Prize in the main competition section of this year's Situ International Film Festival, which is conventionally considered "second place".
The top prize went to an Italian film.
The chairman of this year's jury is an Italian director, and a renowned one at that.
Upon hearing the news, Lu Yanhe felt regretful but could only accept it and celebrate the award with everyone.
"The Boat" quickly secured a release date in the country, scheduled for April during the Qingming Festival.
This time, Midoriya doesn't plan to release "Arknights" simultaneously in the United States.
It plans to follow the usual pattern for award-contending films, starting with a limited screening in September and then releasing it on a large scale in November.
The Jury Prize at the Seatour International Film Festival has secured "The Boat" a ticket to the second half of the North American awards season.
If the distributor is willing to make relevant plans for this film—
And Midoriya, of course, would do it. Awards season films are already a familiar industry chain, not to mention that Midoriya has been making awards season films about Lu Yanhe for many years, and they are well aware of the commercial value of awards season for an art film. They wouldn't let go of this "gilding" opportunity.
However, there is one thing—
When Schmidt Laurie met Lu Yanhe in Situ, he asked him a question.
"Lu, if the movie 'The Original Father' were also released this year and joined the awards season battle, would you support 'The Boat' more or 'The Original Father' more?"
Midoriya is also the distributor of "The Original Father".
Lu Yanhe always remembered this incident.
Because he needed to have a serious talk with Huang Tianlin about this matter.
"Which film festival do you want to submit 'The Original Father' to?" Lu Yanhe asked.
Huang Tianlin shook his head and said, "I haven't thought about this yet. What's wrong? Have the film festival selectors come to you too?"
“No, I’m just worried that ‘The Original Father’ and ‘The Boat’ will clash at the end of the year, and they will fight each other,” Lu Yanhe said. “‘The Boat’ will participate in the North American awards season at the end of this year.”
Huang Tianlin nodded upon hearing this.
“Actually, I’ve considered this issue. Both films are Chinese-language films, and for Western audiences, they are inherently similar.” Huang Tianlin showed no surprise at this. “In fact, I prefer to go to Situ’s. Among the four major international film festivals, Situ’s is the most prestigious. Moreover, ‘Tropical Rainy Season’ also received attention there. It would be better for my next film to be sent to Situ’s, which would also give me more time to edit the film.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
“If that’s the case, then that would be perfect.” Lu Yanhe sighed. “For an actor, the worst thing is having two of their starring works released at the same time. To be honest, they’re both their own flesh and blood.”
Huang Tianlin: "With your current high output rate, haven't you ever encountered situations where your works conflict with each other?"
“It’s relatively rare.” Lu Yanhe shook his head. “Moreover, my output is high, mainly concentrated in genre films, commercial films, and works for which I served as screenwriter. I starred in relatively few art films and serious films, so my output is not that high.”
Huang Tianlin: "When you talk about output, you separate commercial films and art films."
Lu Yanhe smiled.
"Because I have to admit that there are a few films that I took on with a very pragmatic purpose, because they are blockbusters that are aimed at a large global audience. By starring in such films, I can become known to the public and move my name from the film industry to the general public."
Huang Tianlin nodded.
Even if you win an Oscar for Best Actor, you still won't be known to the entire world.
“That’s right.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “To be honest, among the people who know me, the movie with the most viewers is probably ‘Hurricane 2’.”
That's actually quite possible.
Huang Tianlin nodded.
“I understand.” He smiled too. “Actually, what you’re doing benefits everyone who works with you, including me and ‘Tropical Rainy Season.’ We all benefit. If you weren’t a superstar with real fame in the general public, perhaps these films wouldn’t have received the attention they deserve from film companies.”
Lu Yanhe: "It can give me more leverage, and of course, as you said, it can give film companies, distributors, and theater managers more confidence in me, which is beyond doubt."
“But you’re already a superstar. Even if you stop starring in those dazzling blockbusters, your movies will still have a lot of fans.” Huang Tianlin was a little puzzled. “Actually, I’ve always wanted to ask a question: Why did you still choose to star in a film like Men in Black, which is basically a commercial comedy with action elements and doesn’t even have the legendary and epic feel of Burning Fire?”
Lu Yanhe: "Because it's the first big-budget screenplay I wrote in Hollywood, I need it to succeed, and I hope it succeeds. Putting all that aside, although I told you before that there are some films I participate in with very utilitarian purposes, it doesn't mean I have no creative desire for these so-called commercial films. Actually, I have many favorite commercial films and blockbusters, including genre films with strong commercial characteristics. One of my favorite film genres is crime and thriller. My previous film, 'Flypaper,' may not be worth studying from a cinematic art perspective, but I like it. Including the upcoming film, 'Speed,' which I wrote the screenplay for and stars Yan Liang. I've already seen the rough cut, and it's also a typical crime and action film, but it's the kind of film I really like."
Huang Tianlin asked with a smile, "If that weren't your film, and you were a judge, would you vote for it in the awards?"
Lu Yanhe said, "That depends on what kind of award it is, but I understand what you mean. What I'm trying to say is that the standard for judging whether a film is a good film or whether it will become a classic in film history is definitely not just about awards. In fact, because of the concepts accumulated over the years, including our understanding of film, awards have become the exclusive domain of artistry. Even the Oscars, which are relatively outstanding in terms of popular appeal, are still based on artistry. So, the word 'award' has long been linked to artistry. If it weren't for that, I would very much be willing to vote for this film."
Huang Tianlin nodded.
"I see."
Lu Yanhe asked with a smile, "And you? Do you usually like watching movies like this?"
“I love watching all kinds of movies, but I don’t like using sound effects, special effects, or other very impersonal ways to package a movie and make it just look flashy,” Huang Tianlin said. “What I always care about is whether I am moved by a movie after watching it, I mean on a spiritual and emotional level.”
Huang Tianlin's views did not surprise Lu Yanhe.
In fact, Lu Yanhe has always believed that everyone is biased and no one can appreciate everything in this world.
Lu Yanhe accepted this calmly.
As long as Huang Tianlin isn't the kind of fanatic who thinks "I must destroy what I don't like," Lu Yanhe doesn't think it's a bad thing.
Since some people are naturally drawn to excitement and adrenaline rushes, we must allow others to enjoy the spiritual and emotional connection even more.
Lu Yanhe knew that, fortunately, as an actor, his aesthetic preferences were relatively broad and not so narrow, so he could genuinely and sincerely like different themes and different characters.
Filming with Huang Tianlin is one experience, and filming with Wan Renhai is another.
-
In China, "My Sassy Girl" has been released.
Lu Yanhe recorded a video message recommending the movie to the audience.
Li Yuefeng and Xiao Yun also went all out to promote the film, dedicating almost their entire schedule for the past week to it.
However, the film's box office performance was somewhat disappointing.
It's not that it's bad, but it's not good enough.
On its opening day, the box office was 46 million yuan. Over the following two weekend days, it grossed 51.98 million yuan on Saturday and only 32 million yuan on Sunday. It broke 100 million yuan in its opening weekend, but that was all.
This left everyone in Linghe somewhat at a loss.
Everyone has become accustomed to the fact that every film, after its release, achieves either the expected good results or the unexpected good results.
"My Sassy Girl" was somewhat lukewarm.
why is that?
The people of Linghe investigated the underlying reasons under pressure and in a terrible atmosphere.
Chen Yin also felt a rare sense of pressure, not knowing how to explain it to Lu Yanhe.
After all, this was a script written by Lu Yanhe.
There's definitely no problem with the script written by Lu Yanhe.
If the box office performance is lower than expected, it must be a production issue.
However, when Chen Yin called Lu Yanhe to explain that the film's box office performance was somewhat below expectations, Lu Yanhe replied, "But the result isn't bad either, is it?"
The film grossed over 100 million yuan in its opening weekend, breaking even immediately, which is certainly not bad.
It's far inferior to "Love is Not Blind" and "The Classic".
"The success of 'Love is Not Blind' was due to the presence of Li Zhibai and Jiang Yuqian, which attracted a large audience from the very beginning. 'The Classic' was even more successful, thanks to Yan Lingyu's explosive popularity, subsequent marketing campaigns, and its success in opening up lower-tier markets," said Lu Yanhe. "I've always been aware that a purely romantic film doesn't typically generate huge box office revenue. It's already quite remarkable that Li Yuefeng and Xiao Yun were able to achieve such high box office numbers in the opening weekend. Let's not be blinded by the impressive initial figures."
Chen Yin was taken aback when he heard Lu Yanhe's words.
Lu Yanhe said, "In fact, my box office expectations for this movie were only two or three hundred million from the beginning. Any more than that would either be due to good luck or the marketing of the topic attracting more viewers to the cinema."
Chen Yin felt a strange sense of comfort and solace.
"Actually, after I finished writing this script, I was a little worried. This pure love story, which is even purer than 'Love is Not Blind,' might be a bit outdated, and audiences might not buy it," Lu Yanhe said with a smile. "How has the film been received by audiences?"
"Everyone still likes it very much, especially the female lead played by Xiao Yun. Many people like this character."
"That's enough. Box office performance is something you can't force, and we can't expect Lady Luck to be on our side every time. Besides, this movie is going to be released in many overseas markets, right? Maybe if one market doesn't perform well, another will," Lu Yanhe said with a smile. "As long as the movie itself is good and the audience reviews are positive, we might still make a lot of money from the copyright fees."
...
In fact, the fact that "My Sassy Girl" did not become a box office hit actually relieved Lu Yanhe.
Every time it's a huge disaster, the pressure is immense.
It makes it seem like every time he tries to control costs, it's all in order to make more money; he's being stingy.
Finally, there's a movie that only got "average" or "normal" box office returns.
Based on current data trends, this film's final box office is likely to be only around 300 million.
At this point, it can be said that it was fortunate that he always strictly required the company to control the budget for each film, and that they should never loosen their belts just because other projects were big hits and made a lot of money.
Making movies is something where you can easily double your budget if you loosen your grip even a little.
The reason why the rent doubled is because people rented a better place.
The actor who can be invited to play this role will receive a salary of at least double digits, even if it's just a friendly price.
For Lu Yanhe, it must be either absolutely necessary, or it must become a highlight of the movie and help boost box office revenue. Otherwise, if spending 100 yuan and spending 50 yuan are just to replace fake flowers in a movie scene with real flowers, and they look exactly the same on the screen, he would absolutely not spend the money.
That makes sense; he really is stingy.
However, by being frugal, the company can reduce the pressure to recoup its costs, freeing up cash flow to produce another film.
The core reason why Linghe can start so many projects at the same time every year is that the production cost of almost all of its projects is controlled within 30 million yuan.
Linghe hasn't done any projects that require burning money on special effects or going to great lengths to film in seven or eight locations.
In Lu Yanhe's words, well, we are still accumulating initial capital.
Although many film companies would just spit out a "Pah!" if they heard that!
Haven't you accumulated enough over the years?
The Home Alone series alone must have made you at least a billion dollars, right?
What Lu Yanhe was thinking was, "You guys don't know anything."
If you were to suddenly switch to making blockbusters, one blockbuster could cost you a billion dollars.
Linghe has never accepted capital injections, investments, or financing, and is completely controlled by Lu Yanhe, so it is best to be cautious and prudent in everything.
He doesn't expect to become the world's richest man by relying on the Ling River.
As for money, enough is enough.
As for the film, we'll take it one step at a time and film it slowly.
(End of this chapter)
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