Chapter 972 Highlighting Me
To Lu Yanhe's surprise, Huang Fenglian didn't call again; instead, Huang Tianlin called.
"Yan He, I'm sorry," Huang Tianlin said, feeling guilty. "I've troubled you with Huang Feng's matter."
Lu Yanhe asked, somewhat puzzled, "Did Huang Fenglian come to you to confront you?"
“She was terrified of being poor before. I was just an unknown director back then.” Huang Tianlin avoided Lu Yanhe’s question. “So, she wants to seize this opportunity to make Xiaofeng who she is today. You never know when an actor will be no longer popular or will fade into obscurity. I also emphasized to her that you are doing this for Xiaofeng’s own good. I’m quite glad that Xiaofeng signed with your company, otherwise, given her current mindset, I might not have been able to persuade her otherwise.”
"Can she accept it?"
“She can’t accept it, but she has to. I told her very clearly that the contract is right there, in black and white, and she has no other choice.”
"Sigh," Lu Yanhe said, "How is Xiaofeng doing now?"
“Xiaofeng doesn’t know about these things, but his mother at least understands this and hasn’t told Xiaofeng about them.”
"That's good," Lu Yanhe said. "This really shouldn't be what Xiaofeng is facing right now."
“He’s in junior high now,” Huang Tianlin said with a smile. “He’s probably going through puberty. He’s always arguing with his mother. Whenever they argue, he calls me and asks me to take him back to Malaysia.”
"ah?"
“I told him that even if he goes back to Malaysia, his guardian is his mother, and his mother will go back to Malaysia with him. He then said that he wanted to live at school.”
Lu Yanhe hadn't expected these things to happen.
Huang Feng usually doesn't contact him.
Huang Tianlin said, "This kid, he's always the center of attention, but he has a terrible temper."
How are his relationships with his classmates at school?
"It's alright, not good, not bad either," Huang Tianlin said. "We were all worried that he would be treated differently by his classmates because of his identity as an actor. No matter what kind of discrimination he received, it would be bad. But after we found out privately, we realized that he attends an international school. His classmates are all from wealthy and powerful families. They just glance at him a few more times, but no one particularly likes him or wants to bully him."
Lu Yanhe: "School is like a small world, so you have to be careful. When I debuted, there were other artists around me who debuted at the age of fifteen or sixteen and were ostracized at school."
Huang Tianlin: "Yes, his mother is also very careful about this."
"Actually, with the Home Alone tetralogy, Huang Feng could live comfortably off the royalties for the rest of his life. His mother has absolutely no need to worry about Huang Feng's fame fading in the future." Lu Yanhe said somewhat helplessly, "Let's not talk about that. How's the editing of 'The Original Father' coming along?"
"The cut has been finalized, and Situ has already reviewed it," Huang Tianlin said. "There shouldn't be any problem getting it into the main competition."
“Okay, then I look forward to the screening of ‘The Original Father’ in Situ,” Lu Yanhe said.
Huang Tianlin: "I watched 'The Boat' in the United States a couple of days ago. It's a really good movie, even better than 'The Original Father'."
"You're being modest."
“It’s true. The cinematography, dialogue, and overall structure of ‘The Boat’ are the kind of films I admire the most,” Huang Tianlin told Lu Yanhe. “But fewer and fewer people are making films like this anymore. I heard that its box office performance in China wasn’t very high.”
“It’s alright. The so-called low rating is just because they compare it to my other works. But the genre of this film was destined to be low from the beginning,” Lu Yanhe said. “But you’re right, fewer and fewer people are making films like ‘The Boat’ now. Many talented filmmakers, even if they have the investment, are not necessarily willing to spend their time and energy making such a film. Not to mention, most of the time, investment is a huge problem.”
"The original father" is more commercially viable.
"Actually, it has a stronger storyline and is more audience-friendly," Lu Yanhe said with a smile. "My agent watched the first cut of the film and told me that the film really highlights my performance, with a strong sense of atmosphere and emotional impact."
"The Boat" is too stable and peaceful, which can easily make people feel sleepy while watching it.
Huang Tianlin said, "But I'm really surprised that you're willing to let this movie not highlight you at all."
“They say I’m not making myself stand out, but everyone says that, so I’m actually standing out quite a bit,” Lu Yanhe laughed. “The media always asks me this question in interviews.”
Huang Tianlin: "Anyone who watches this movie will wonder why an actor like you would be willing to play a supporting role in a film under normal circumstances."
Lu Yanhe said, "Well, actually I don't think I'm a supporting actor. It's just that my performance isn't the focus of this movie. But if another actor had played the role, I don't think the movie would be the same as it is now. My status as a famous actor and the mediocre appearance of this character are inherently deconstructive relationships."
Huang Tianlin: "That's what they say, but how many famous actors are willing to star in this movie just for this deconstruction relationship?"
“I don’t think I’ve lost out by starring in this movie. In my opinion, the movie ‘The Boat’ will definitely become a classic, and I am the lead actor in this classic. I am an important part of its classic status, and that is my greatest gain.”
"Have you starred in enough classic films already?"
"There are very few classic films that can be praised to this extent by an artist like you."
Huang Tianlin was speechless for a moment.
Lu Yanhe smiled.
"You know what, I've found that the art films I starred in have all achieved pretty good results," Lu Yanhe said.
“Of course. As long as you don’t make any mistakes, the fact that you are the lead actor is enough to make the whole world look at the film with higher regard and give it the best support in every aspect. It would be hard for the film not to turn out well,” Huang Tianlin said. “Moreover, you yourself have a very discerning and unique aesthetic eye. If there are any problems with the film, you also have the ability to make up for them.”
Lu Yanhe: "Your praise is so much I don't know what to say. After filming 'The Original Father,' are you currently working on any new scripts?"
"I've written several scripts, but I haven't decided which one to film," Huang Tianlin said. "I'm also thinking about whether to continue casting you as the lead in the next project, or to cast someone else and let you breathe some fresh air."
Lu Yanhe smiled.
"Isn't it up to you?"
Huang Tianlin: "If you don't star in the lead role, it will be difficult to find investors."
“I’ll invest in it,” Lu Yanhe said generously. “If your movie can’t find investment, come to me.”
Huang Tianlin: "Aren't you afraid of losing money?"
“For a typical company, it might be easy to lose money. But for Linghe, if even a new film by a director who won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film can't be made profitable, then all these years of hard work have been for nothing.” Lu Yanhe laughed, “My company is very strong, so don’t worry.”
Huang Tianlin said, "Then I'll take it seriously."
"You really believe me? Would I lie to you?" Lu Yanhe said. "I personally invest in dozens of films every year. Some I invest a little bit of, some I invest more of when I'm short of funds, not to mention Linghe."
"Dozens of copies?" Huang Tianlin was shocked. "You're spending so much?"
“Hmm,” Lu Yanhe said, “I usually make a lot of money but don’t know where to spend it, so I might as well use it to support the industry I like.”
"No wonder China has produced so many excellent art films in recent years, winning so many awards at international film festivals."
"That has nothing to do with me. I haven't invested in many movies," Lu Yanhe laughed. "My judgment isn't that good either."
-
With the arrival of October, the National Day film season officially kicks off.
No one expected that the dark horse of this National Day film season would be "Scumbag, Stay Away From Me!" starring Ma Zhiyuan and written by Yu Jiang.
The war epic "Lion," which reportedly cost hundreds of millions of yuan to produce, secured the top spot with over 80 million yuan in box office revenue on its opening day.
"Scumbag, Stay Away From Me!" jumped to second place on the daily box office chart with 45 million yuan in box office revenue.
This shocked the industry.
This is also the film with the best opening day box office performance by Yu Jiang.
"The Corpse 2" performed moderately well, earning 37.5 million on its first day, ranking third.
"A Little Bit More Style," starring Jia Long and Wang Dashan, did not meet expectations on its opening day, earning just over 32 million yuan and ranking fourth.
Among them, the movie that generated the most buzz was "Scumbag, Stay Away From Me!"
Ma Zhiyuan has been featured in reports by various media outlets and marketing accounts, who have reviewed his experiences over the years.
The story of his past life is what the media loves most.
He was once a sensation, experienced a career slump, and has now made a triumphant return to the top.
The box office figures are clearly etched on his image.
Yu Jiang announced that a celebration banquet would be held for the film that very day.
To some extent, the film's opening day box office already met their internal expectations for the total box office.
The box office revenue started to turn a profit on the first day.
-
"This is truly catching the right trend; even pigs can fly. By choosing the right subject matter, even Ma Zhiyuan can make a comeback."
Chen Ziyan was very unhappy about the success of the movie "Scumbag, Stay Away From Me!"
But there's nothing we can do about it.
Lu Yanhe said helplessly, "This subject matter hits the market demand, so it's normal that everyone wants to see it."
Chen Ziyan said, "Did you see that movie? It was so bad, so bad! It made no sense at all, it was complete nonsense."
“This type of movie is driven by emotion; whether it’s logical or not isn’t the focus of attention,” Lu Yanhe said. “When you go to eat mala tang (a type of spicy hot pot), you don’t care whether it’s clean or hygienic.”
Chen Ziyan: Which side are you on?
Lu Yanhe: "...Terrible movie!"
Chen Ziyan: That's more like it.
Lu Yanhe said, "However, I thought you had already predicted that this movie would be a success."
"You sensed it all along?"
"Ma Zhiyuan plays the scumbag, and Yu Jiang wrote the script. She's best at these kinds of melodramatic teenage love stories, which always work. So the box office was bound to be good, but I didn't expect it to be this good," Lu Yanhe said. "It's a topical movie, after all."
“This movie might get a sequel,” Chen Ziyan said. “Although Yu Jiang’s movies rarely get sequels.”
"It's hard to make a sequel to this kind of love story, right?" Lu Yanhe said. "The sequel usually just has to be more melodramatic, and then it flops."
"As long as the box office is good, that's all that matters."
"Box office is king."
Chen Ziyan suddenly thought of something and asked, "Isn't Li Yuefeng going to be furious? His 'Corpse 2' has been surpassed by Ma Zhiyuan's movie."
Lu Yanhe said, "Li Yuefeng has been releasing press releases like crazy lately. He has learned Chen Yin's approach very well. Now his team is starting to package him as a dark horse leading man in a 'small but beautiful' genre. In the press releases, he has been portrayed as an actor who is willing to star in low-budget genre films, and he is also the only one among the top male actors who is rooted in this field."
"You know that?"
“He told me that himself.”
"So honest?"
"Yes." Lu Yanhe nodded. "He's also planning to take action against Ma Zhiyuan. A lot of smear articles have already been arranged."
"He told you all of this?"
“Hmm,” Lu Yanhe said. “To be precise, he contacted the publicity team of ‘The Corpse 2’ to let them prepare, and then casually mentioned to me that he was going to attack Ma Zhiyuan.”
“This—” Chen Ziyan said, “Okay, he must know about your conflict with Ma Zhiyuan.”
"Um."
"I know you won't stop him."
"Perhaps so," Lu Yanhe said. "To be honest, I'm very happy that Li Yuefeng is willing to help."
"Happy?" Chen Ziyan was genuinely surprised by Lu Yanhe's statement. "You don't have any moral fastidiousness anymore?"
Li Yuefeng's actions were not simply a case of Ma Zhiyuan attacking him first and him retaliating.
It was entirely because Ma Zhiyuan's movies performed better than Li Yuefeng's that Li Yuefeng took the initiative to strike in order to consolidate his position and prevent Ma Zhiyuan from taking the opportunity to attack and drag him down.
Would Lu Yanhe have been able to accept this kind of thing in the past?
It should be unacceptable.
At least he wouldn't use "happy" to describe his feelings.
Lu Yanhe said, "I've changed."
Chen Ziyan: "I'm very happy."
Lu Yanhe smiled.
Chen Ziyan said, "Never be lenient with former enemies. An actor who lacks a competitive spirit will only be eliminated."
Lu Yanhe: "Alright, alright, stop lecturing me."
Chen Ziyan: "Li Yuefeng is a friend worth having. He can do things that you can't."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated.
“We can’t let Ma Zhiyuan really make a comeback,” Chen Ziyan said. “He has a very strong fan base and the capital to start over. He made a web movie called ‘Caught in Scandal’ which became a hit, and then he made a theatrical film which became the dark horse of this year’s National Day holiday. If we don’t take precautions, he might really make a comeback.”
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
