Chapter 968 Own Platform
"Of course there are barriers between TV series and movies, I have always acknowledged and agreed with that. However, for creators with creative abilities, different forms of artistic presentation are just different tools."
At a special screening of "The Corpse 2", Lu Yanhe, who was attending the promotion, was asked by an audience member about the performance of the film "The Boat" during this year's North American awards season. Lu Yanhe took the opportunity to bring up the director.
“Everyone has their own suitable and good areas, that’s for sure. But this suitability and goodness is definitely not because of the area itself, but because it resonates with the characteristics required by that area,” Lu Yanhe said. “From the moment I finished reading the script for the movie ‘The Boat,’ I never thought that there was a second director more suitable to direct this story.”
“I am very familiar with director Law Yu-chung. To be honest, in my career, I have dealt with all kinds of directors and met many talented directors, geniuses, eccentrics... all kinds of talents. However, for a film like ‘The Boat,’ neither the strange nor the eccentric is suitable. Only a director who is very traditional in his narration and understands the structure of classic dramas can bring out the original flavor of the script.”
Lu Yanhe didn't forget that this was a special screening of "The Corpse 2," and he changed the subject back to "The Corpse 2."
"If I were to have Director Luo direct 'The Corpse 2,' I would imagine it would be very difficult to capture the same sense of suspense and tension that 'The Corpse 2' had, with its constant tension and suspense," Lu Yanhe said. "To put it bluntly, it's like how everyone has their own habitual tone and pace of speech. Asking a slow-speaking person to speak quickly is just as difficult as asking a fast-speaking person to speak slowly."
The news that "Wa Guang" is going to be made into a movie has not yet spread to the public.
It's just something that's being discussed within the industry.
However, Lu Yanhe's words will certainly be discussed by people in the industry.
Lu Yanhe hoped they would actually have a discussion, rather than just staying at the level of superficial barriers between film and television dramas.
Everyone knows that the barriers exist.
How to overcome these barriers is what we should be discussing right now.
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Many classic films are not necessarily of higher production quality than today's high-quality TV dramas.
Two years ago, the Cannes award-winning film "The Anatomy of Falling" achieved a level of audiovisual language that many TV series could match.
British TV series "The Exile" and Xin Shuang's "The Long Season" are both audiovisual productions that can be considered to be of cinematic quality.
"Wa Guang" is not positioned as a big-budget period drama film.
Linghe and director Chen Lingling reached a consensus that "Wa Guang" would be produced as three ordinary films.
The production budget will not be increased further just because it is being adapted into a movie.
We'll make "Wa Guang" using the methods for making low-budget art films.
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Do you think I can act?
Jiang Yuqian took the initiative to call and inquire about Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe said, "I don't participate in casting, but from the perspective of the script, I think you are suitable."
Lu Yanhe believes that any actress with a passion for acting will be drawn to the film "Wa Guang".
Chen Bige is too old for the role; otherwise, she might have been interested in taking it.
"However, do you still take on films with such a low production budget that aren't aimed at the global market?"
The "Waguang" trilogy is not a traditional, award-winning subject matter.
Jiang Yuqian said, "I have read its script. At that time, it was a five-episode series. The script had been approached to me before, but it was later abandoned due to investment issues. However, I have always remembered it."
"So that's how it is."
“I never imagined that this script would end up with you and be produced by you,” Jiang Yuqian said, “and even become a film trilogy.”
"Because we couldn't find a way to make money from five episodes," Lu Yanhe said. "We really had no other choice."
Jiang Yuqian: "Should I contact Director Chen Lingling directly?"
“Hmm,” Lu Yanhe said, “I think it’s okay. However, Director Chen Lingling seems to have a very personal feeling about this story. I don’t know what her preference is. Don’t think about this in a conventional way. Good luck.”
Jiang Yuqian agreed.
She said, "I believe she still likes me, otherwise she wouldn't have sent the script to me before."
Too.
Lu Yanhe felt that Jiang Yuqian made sense.
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The film "The Boat" performed reasonably well in its limited screenings in North America.
In recent days, box office revenue per theater has exceeded $8,000.
At this time, many of the award season's big-budget films had not yet begun large-scale promotion.
"The Boat" was one of the projects that started very early.
There was an air of certainty that they were going to win.
Midoriya doesn't seem to have any expectations of making money from the box office. From the direction of publicity and public relations to the focus, everything is aimed at winning awards, with almost no consideration for whether the film can attract audiences to the cinema.
However, this movie itself isn't commercially viable.
Although the "Rashomon effect" of this story makes it a topic worthy of much discussion in the public sphere—
However, the value of these discussions cannot be converted into movie tickets.
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"Although 'The Wind Rises' did not ultimately receive an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, it still made it into the shortlist of nine. Coupled with 'Raise the Red Lantern' and Lu Yanhe's success during the North American awards season in recent years, to be honest, 'The Boat' will most likely still be selected as a contender for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film this year."
In discussions among Chinese media, "The Boat" is also considered a top contender for this year's North American awards season.
Under Green Valley's arrangement, Wen Shengming and Yu Mengling have attended several dialogue and interview programs to promote "The Boat".
This serves as both a promotional campaign for the film's release and a public relations initiative for the awards season.
Especially Wen Shengming, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor last year. Everyone thought that was his highlight of the North American awards season. No one expected that he would be nominated again the following year.
Yu Mengling gained attention because her presence in the film was so memorable.
To some extent, her image in the film is the image of a typical Eastern woman in the eyes of many Westerners.
For critics, she was no unknown, having previously won the Best Actress award in the main competition at the Picardo International Film Festival for her role in "Hesitation".
Therefore, even though Yu Mengling's role in the film didn't offer much room for her acting skills, the few shots that clearly captured her performance were all refreshing.
Sometimes, the requirements for supporting roles to stand out are not as high as those for leading roles—because their screen time is limited, so people often judge them not by the richness and complexity of a character, but by the brilliance of one or two scenes.
This is especially evident and prominent in the Best Supporting Actress award.
From Judi Dench winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress with just 8 minutes of screen time in "Shakespeare in Love," to Jiang Wenli becoming an indelible highlight in "Farewell My Concubine" with just one shot, to Damien Joy Randolph achieving legendary status in "The Schoolmates," delivering a nuanced, moving, and lingering performance.
This was a judgment made by Midoriya based on media reviews and mentions—originally, Yu Mengling was not considered a public relations focus for this awards season.
Schmidt Laurie said, "To be honest, if I were your agent, I would never allow the movie 'The Boat' to be edited like this, giving you almost no screen time to present your performance."
Lu Yanhe: "In this movie, my character shouldn't be the one who gets all the attention. I just didn't deliver a performance that would be seen during awards season. That doesn't mean my performance wasn't good enough. I believe that as time goes by, more and more viewers will appreciate it."
Schmidt Laurie said, "Given the current buzz surrounding the film 'The Boat,' your performance shouldn't have been overlooked."
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In fact, it's not just Schmidt Laurie who says this.
In an interview with Variety, Lu Yanhe was asked, "Why did you choose to present this film the way it is now? Your character is almost in a neglected position. In fact, many people say that your performance in this film is very difficult, but it cannot be seen because of the limitations of the camera space."
“The director has to make a choice,” Lu Yanhe said. “If the shots that highlight my performance are retained, the form and core expression of the film will be affected, and it will become a struggle between the characters in terms of performance. Well, in that case, perhaps the performance ability of each of us actors can be greatly highlighted. However, ‘The Boat’ will no longer be the ‘The Boat’ that is calm and profound. For me, the excellence of ‘The Boat’ lies in its understated nature, in the fact that everyone can have a different interpretation beneath its surface.”
A Variety reporter asked, "Do you feel it's a pity? You missed out on another acting award?"
Lu Yanhe: "There might be a little bit, but that's something I expected when I took on the role. I hope the value of this film will be recognized."
"That's true, you've already won an Oscar."
"Two." Lu Yanhe smiled. "I also won the Best Original Screenplay Award for 'Get Out'."
"Oh, right!"
“But I still want to win an Oscar,” Lu Yanhe said with a smile. “I haven’t lost my ambition for it because of this.”
"Everyone is eager to see you on the podium again."
“Yes, I will.” Lu Yanhe said with great confidence and certainty, “I believe that ‘The Boat’ will give me the opportunity to stand on the stage this awards season.”
Lu Yanhe is not only the lead actor in "The Boat", but also the producer of "The Boat".
If "The Boat" wins Best Foreign Language Film, he will still be entitled to go on stage to accept the award.
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Soon after, the Film Bureau announced that it would submit "The Boat" to compete for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Last year's "Dingfeng No. 1", this year's "Zhou", plus "Raise the Red Lantern" from a few years ago, this is the third film produced by Lu Yanhe to represent China in the Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
In Malaysia, a Chinese-language film, "Tropical Rainy Season," has already won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for the first time in Malaysian history.
Unbeknownst to many, Lu Yanhe has become a symbolic figure who best represents Chinese cinema today.
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Becoming an iconic figure is not a very enjoyable thing.
Or rather, Lu Yanhe does not enjoy being an iconic figure.
Because this means that he will have to shoulder a lot of responsibility.
These responsibilities are about "being in a position and fulfilling one's duties."
Lu Yanhe didn't like this.
He wanted to live according to his own wishes.
However, in this world, it is clear that unless you live deep in the mountains and forests, you have no way to escape what your surrounding environment brings you.
In particular, many people don't see this as a bad thing; in fact, they see it as a good thing.
Others might want to be this iconic figure but can't.
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"Chen Pinhe went to the United States to film a movie."
What are you filming?
"A romantic comedy film set against the backdrop of cultural clashes between East and West, starring Jessica Brand."
"The male lead?"
"Of course, the male lead, when has he ever played a supporting role? He has never compromised on this."
"Could it be that he still wants to pursue the international route under the current circumstances? He can't get any of Lu Yanhe's projects; he's been completely marginalized."
"That's not quite right. His overseas development has been quite good in recent years. Death Stranding and The Seventeen Floors: Reboot both did well."
"Well, you also have to look at who's been running it for him overseas. It's all Zhang Yuezhen's business. The problem is that Zhang Yuezhen doesn't care about his business anymore. Chen Pinhe's business is no longer managed by Zhang Yuezhen."
"Huh? Why is that? Did they have a fight?"
"I don't know. Some people say that the two of them did have a fight, but others say that they didn't. It's hard to tell what's true and what's false. But the fact is that Chen Pinhe has cut ties with Zhang Yuezhen. Zhang Yuezhen helped him get this movie with Jessica Brand. Now that Zhang Yuezhen is gone, can he still get leading roles in Hollywood? Maybe not."
"The main reason is that there are more and more Asian actors with a certain market appeal in Hollywood now, and Lu Yanhe is being sent there in basket after basket."
"Yes, those who didn't get on Lu Yanhe's fast track have even seen their domestic standing shaken."
"Isn't this always been the case in the entertainment industry? It's like flowers blooming outside the wall but fragrant inside. Hollywood itself is like this. Actors who have won honors in Europe are also highly regarded in their own country."
"Yes, right now, only Lu Yanhe has truly established himself overseas, which has almost given him a monopoly."
"Your description is correct, it is a monopoly. Now, it's so difficult to get a role in Linghe's projects. Even bringing your own investment won't help."
"Yes, but when did Zhou Ping'an reconcile with Lu Yanhe? From Meng Li to Cheng Hai, and some of his other actors, they have all recently gotten roles with Linghe."
(End of this chapter)
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