Chapter 903 A Gesture
On the day Yu Mengling came to the set for a cameo role, Lu Yanhe specially prepared a small chair with her name on it so she could sit and rest on set.
Most importantly, let the crew know that he values this actress.
Therefore, we must prevent anyone from doing anything that would upset Yu Mengling.
Every staff member on the production crew had several clauses in their employment agreement that prohibited them from engaging in racial discrimination, political attitudes, and other such practices.
This is a clause that Lu Yanhe requires his colleagues to sign for every job he does in Hollywood—especially for projects like "Men in Black." Not only does the agreement between Soren and Lu Yanhe need to be signed, but every participant in the project must. Otherwise, who knows which idiot might suddenly say something ridiculous?
However, despite this, there are still people who, outside of the agreement, express their contempt for you Asians through a look or a gesture.
Lu Yanhe himself had never encountered this, but someone in his team had.
You don't have any evidence, so you can't do anything about them—that's the most disgusting thing.
Under these circumstances, Lu Yanhe certainly couldn't fire the person under any other pretext.
This will trigger an investigation by the union.
Without evidence, Lu Yanhe is at a disadvantage.
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Yu Mengling has been in New York for almost ten days.
Shoot magazines, shoot commercials, and take a break along the way.
Lu Yanhe arranged for Yu Mengling to play a cameo role with only two lines.
Therefore, Lu Yanhe told Fu Kai that the styling must be beautiful, the kind that is breathtakingly beautiful at first glance and leaves a deep impression.
I can't just make a cameo appearance for no reason.
Yu Mengling is not the kind of stunningly beautiful woman; she is more of a woman with a refined temperament and a captivating aura.
Fu Kai designed Yu Mengling as an alien disguised as an Eastern woman. This is a character not present in the original version, and she will appear in the scene where James, played by Lu Yanhe, first enters the Interstellar Immigration Bureau.
She used her character to show Lu Yanhe the real existence of aliens.
One second she smiles and greets Lu Yanhe as a highly educated and sexy woman, the next second she unveils her face, revealing the true face of an alien.
Yu Mengling looked incredulous after hearing the details of the role she was assigned.
"ah?"
The purpose of Lu Yanhe and Fu Kai's performance was to create a sense of contrast and surprise through this change in their appearances, which was the desired effect of the scene.
“Okay, although I don’t quite understand this shot… but since you think it will be a great shot, let’s shoot it like this,” Yu Mengling said.
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Lu Yanhe realized that Yu Mengling actually didn't quite understand why this scene was being filmed.
However, Yu Mengling nodded in agreement without asking any further questions.
She was taken to get her hair and makeup done.
The production team has already designed several looks for her, and she needs to try them on.
Although this shot may only last for less than a minute in the movie, and to be precise, the actual effective frontal shot is only a dozen seconds long, it is very important in terms of visual effect.
Therefore, all three of Yu Mengling's looks were filmed on location.
It took a whole day to film just this one shot of hers.
After filming, Lu Yanhe told her, "Because this shot still needs post-production special effects, we don't know what it will look like yet. If there are any problems, we may need to ask you to come and reshoot it."
Yu Mengling nodded readily.
"No problem, I don't have any acting roles coming up, so I have plenty of time," she said.
Yu Mengling made a cameo appearance this time, and he never mentioned his cameo fee.
However, Lu Yanhe himself pays actors for cameo roles in his films, let alone paying for Soren's.
At this point, an award for Best Actress at the Carlo Film Festival becomes very useful and can command a higher price.
"She is a top actress in China. Even though she only has a cameo role, just having her name in the movie can have a great promotional effect."
Therefore, Yu Mengling received $150,000 for her cameo appearance in "Men in Black," which lasted less than a minute.
For a Hollywood blockbuster with a budget of hundreds of millions of dollars, such a cameo appearance fee is almost negligible. However, Lu Yanhe's reason for securing a cameo fee for Yu Mengling on par with Hollywood stars was secondary; the key was to get media coverage. Just like the American media's reporting on his cameo appearance fee in "Hurricane 2"—
This is a conceptual question.
Chinese actors are just as valuable.
It's not just actors like Lu Yanhe, Jiang Yuqian, and Jiang Jun, who have already established themselves in Hollywood, who are valuable. Actresses like Yu Mengling, who have never made a film in Hollywood, are equally valuable. This is because she has the backing of the Chinese market and because she is a representative figure of Chinese cinema. For a cinematic muse like her to condescend to star in a commercial film is worth the investment from film distributors.
Yu Mengling only found out about her high cameo appearance fee after filming was completed.
She immediately called Lu Yanhe in surprise and told him that there was no need to do that.
She subconsciously thought that "Men in Black" was Lu Yanhe's film, and felt that she was just making a cameo appearance, so how could she get such a high salary, which was almost higher than her salary for making a low-budget art film.
Lu Yanhe explained, “Sister Meng Ling, this is a film produced by Soren. They are the ones who pay you your salary, not me. Even if it were me, according to Hollywood standards, I should pay you this much. It’s not about anything else. Our friendship is one thing, but if one day I ever make an art film, the kind that might not actually make money, I will ask you for a favor. But this is a commercial film. If you make a cameo appearance for free, that would be fraud.”
Yu Mengling was both amused and exasperated.
"Furthermore, I don't want to give Hollywood the impression that Chinese actors are cheap. The Chinese film market is not mature enough, so in terms of pay, it's true that we can't offer as high salaries as Hollywood can. But that doesn't mean we're not valuable enough," Lu Yanhe said. "A cameo fee of $150,000 is indeed not low, but for a big-budget commercial film like 'Men in Black,' it's the market rate, and it's a standard that Chinese actors like you who have achieved influence and honor can refer to when they come to Hollywood to film."
Yu Mengling then understood Lu Yanhe's intention.
"Okay, I understand what you mean, thank you."
Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "Let's not stand on ceremony between us. If you think $150,000 is too much, just go and find and support more books like 'The Boat'."
Yu Mengling said with a smile, "I'm going back to China next week to attend a domestic venture capital conference because of the movie 'The Boat.' I've never been contacted by venture capital conferences before, but suddenly they contacted me."
“That’s great,” Lu Yanhe said. “If you have a good script, Sister Meng Ling, you can recommend it to Linghe.”
"good."
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Yu Mengling's cameo appearance fee has indeed attracted considerable attention due to media reports.
This kind of thing, regardless of how many people have heard of the name Meng Ling, is bound to attract attention.
This can be considered an official announcement that Yu Mengling will have a cameo role in the movie "Men in Black".
Besides Yu Mengling, Yan Liang will also make a cameo appearance. This news has also been reported – Yan Liang, the actor who rose to international fame for his role in "Flypaper," will soon join the cast of "Men in Black." It is said that his cameo role will be quite substantial and will be a very exciting one.
These messages were naturally released by Lu Yanhe and the production team.
It's propaganda.
From the start of filming to the release of any blockbuster film, promotional materials are released continuously to keep it in the public eye.
The film builds up the audience's anticipation, leaving them eager for more. By the time they finally need to buy tickets, all hesitation has passed, and all they need to do is decisively buy a ticket, go to the cinema, and watch the film.
A South Korean media outlet published a special report detailing how many Chinese actors Lu Yanhe directly helped achieve fame in Hollywood.
They don't include directors, screenwriters, or other production talents; they only list the actors.
From Jiang Jun and Jiang Yuqian in "Destruction Day", Li Zhibai in "Buried Alive", Yan Liang in "Flypaper", to Huang Feng, Liu Teli, and Luo Weida in "Home Alone", and Wen Shengming in "Dingfeng No. 1".
Including Wen Minglan in the already filmed "Source Code," and Yu Mengling who just had a cameo in "Men in Black"...
The report concluded with a slightly ironic remark: "It feels like Lu Yanhe is trying to move the entire Chinese entertainment industry to Hollywood."
As a result, this report was criticized not only abroad, but also in South Korea—South Korean netizens said that the report was so sour that it tasted like a sour cucumber.
In fact, Lu Yanhe has never denied this.
In an interview with Variety, Lu Yanhe laughed and said, "To be honest, most of the actors mentioned in that report are very famous and very good actors in China. Now, in order to highlight its global reach, Hollywood needs actors of various skin colors and from various countries and regions in many film and television works. As one of the world's largest markets, even without my recommendation, would Hollywood companies not come to find Chinese actors? To be realistic, have Hollywood companies found fewer roles for Korean actors? It's just that projects like 'Flypaper,' 'Home Alone,' 'Buried,' and 'Doomsday' have achieved great success, so they have received special attention."
"I think they haven't filmed enough movies in Hollywood. I've been working very hard, filming one movie after another. My friends are all people who cherish their reputation and love their country's film and television art. No matter how famous or popular they are overseas, they always remember to collaborate with domestic creators. Li Zhibai and Jiang Yuqian were able to take on a romantic movie like 'Love is Not Blind,' which many people didn't think would be successful. After the huge success of 'Home Alone,' Liu Teli still went on to film a movie directed by a new director. To be honest, instead of some people writing articles to list some examples and create a seemingly sensational topic, it's better to truly understand the experiences of each actor, understand what we are doing, whether I am the only one doing this, or whether everyone is doing it."
"I do recommend actors I like, know, and respect to suitable projects, but who doesn't? I'm currently involved in many projects in Hollywood, so naturally I'll recommend them to Hollywood. In the future, when I'm filming in Europe, I might recommend them to Europe. If one day I go to Korea to film, don't forget that I'm also a very close friend of Kim Eon-sook, the director of TVN Korea. She will also recommend some scripts, projects, and creators to me. So, should I stop recommending good Chinese actors to Korean film and television projects because of this article?"
...
Jin Yanshu, who was watching the news, suddenly saw her own name and her eyes widened.
For a moment, she felt both proud and frustrated.
What's impressive is that Lu Yanhe publicly stated that she was his friend, and he did so in an interview with Variety, a media outlet with global influence.
Given Lu Yanhe's current global fame and influence, it's gratifying that he would say such a thing.
However, this interview happened to be a response to that inconsiderate provocative South Korean reporter, which made her, as a fellow South Korean, somewhat embarrassed.
After much hesitation, Kim Yeon-sook decided to have TVN broadcast the movie "The Classic," written by Yoo Eom-ha and very popular in South Korea, tonight.
It's more of a gesture.
(End of this chapter)
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