Chapter 976 Planning Ahead
To be fair, Lu Yanhe did realize that most of his projects in recent years had been focused overseas, and he hadn't written a good play for Linghe in a long time.
The last one was "Love is Not Blind".
The last film to achieve such great box office success was "The Classic".
Linghe's performance this year has indeed been quite good.
However, if we disregard "Home Alone 4" and Lu Yanhe's overseas projects, the film projects that Linghe himself controls actually only generate a few hundred million yuan in box office revenue, which is not "heavy" or significant enough.
Even though it always releases profit reports, for the general public, these movies' box office performance is just slightly worse.
However, getting Lu Yanhe to write a script that could be filmed within a month, and one that could be released during the Spring Festival, was a real headache and a very difficult task.
Of course, there have been such films in history.
For example, the famous "East Meets West".
But can such a movie be replicated?
I don't think so, right?
"Even the spin-off movie of 'The Seventeenth Floor' can't catch up?"
"We can't catch up."
"Then forget it, let's give up." Lu Yanhe shook his head. "Don't let the Spring Festival season disrupt our normal production rhythm. We don't have to eat every piece of fat meat."
Chen Yin sighed.
"All right."
Chen Yin added, “However, Mr. Lu, we really need to make some plans for our filming next. We can’t let this opportunity slip by again; it would be such a waste. Although I understand that you don’t want Linghe to focus on producing big-budget films and hope to discover genre films like ‘The Corpse’ and ‘Summer Night Villa Horror,’ producing big-budget films and exploring these genre films are not mutually exclusive.”
“It’s conflicting,” Lu Yanhe said directly. “Making a blockbuster requires the investment of almost all of a company’s resources. Linghe has never truly produced a blockbuster independently. The production scale of a real blockbuster is beyond the reach of our current projects. If we were to produce ‘Men in Black’ ourselves, how much do you think it would cost? Not counting my script fee, ‘Men in Black’ cost nearly $100 million to produce, not including the post-production publicity budget. Does Linghe have a production system like Soren’s? No, which means the cost would increase even further. If we were to make ‘Men in Black,’ one movie, we would have to invest 800 to 900 million yuan. That’s a conservative estimate. If we calculate publicity and production at a 1:1 ratio, that would be over a billion yuan. The company’s cash flow would be completely tied up by this project. At that point, would the company still have the resources to explore other avenues?”
Chen Yin fell silent.
Lu Yanhe said, "Linghe is now following a very stable path that is conducive to long-term development. Although this development approach cannot systematically dominate the market like those big Hollywood companies, it can truly solidify our content library. When our copyright library becomes more abundant, when our production team grows larger, when we have a continuous stream of good scripts to develop, and when we have sufficient cash flow to support our operations, it will not be too late for us to consider blockbusters. Blockbusters will always exist, but film companies that are steady, reliable, and have strong sustainability are extremely rare."
After saying all that, Lu Yanhe said, "Of course, I support you in making a plan for the company, outlining what movies can be released at each stage, so as not to waste this time slot. What you said makes a lot of sense. This is my fault; you told me this a long time ago and urged me several times, but I really don't have any good scripts to offer."
-
"Chen Yin is using the Spring Festival film season as an opportunity to develop a big-budget production." Chen Ziyan immediately understood after hearing Lu Yanhe's explanation.
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"yes."
Chen Ziyan: "However, it is normal for him to have such thoughts. After years of development, Linghe now has the foundation to develop large-scale productions."
"But we don't have the capacity to withstand the possibility of a big production failing," Lu Yanhe said. "It's easy for us to be completely demoralized."
Chen Ziyan: "Indeed, under your halo of success, it seems that everyone thinks that as long as it is your project, at most you will earn less, but you will definitely not fail."
“But that’s not right,” Lu Yanhe said. “I will fail one day.”
He'll eventually run out of scripts.
What about ten years from now, twenty years from now, or even fifty years from now?
Why is he so supportive of "The Corpse" and "Summer Night Villa Horror"?
Why did he even encourage Chen Yin to make another book called "Childhood is an Adventure in a Summer Night"?
Why did he support Wu Chi in making "The Sea, My Pfft"?
He has been preparing for the future.
One day, his cheat code will fail.
In the end, it will still have its own vitality.
Lu Yanhe had always hoped that Chen Yin would truly stand up for himself.
Since they were able to make films like "The Corpse" and "Summer Night Villa Horror," why can't they make their own films that can conquer the Spring Festival box office?
Linghe is perfectly capable of doing so.
Once he establishes his overseas network through those Hollywood projects, this approach can also be applied overseas.
If they can only rely on him, Linghe will eventually collapse.
Lu Yanhe genuinely believed this.
-
Chen Ziyan looked at Lu Yanhe with some confusion.
"Yan He, is it just my imagination? Why do I feel like you... are a little too worried about your talent—"
Chen Ziyan thought for two seconds before continuing.
"It will disappear one day."
The perceptive Chen Ziyan.
Lu Yanhe took a deep breath.
She always had a gifted intuition that allowed her to capture the truth hidden beneath all his outward appearances at times like these.
“Yes.” Lu Yanhe nodded, “because it was destined to disappear.”
He didn't offer any objective explanation, but instead chose a method that everyone would accept.
“Because without exception, no one can be a genius for a lifetime,” Lu Yanhe said. “I’m talking about this kind of genius in content creation.”
“I accept it.” Chen Ziyan nodded. “I understand, but I always feel that these are not the same thing. What you are talking about is an objective reality that must be accepted, while what I feel in you is an irresistible sense of fate with a tragic undertone.”
Lu Yanhe: "I possess both of these qualities."
“But you’re not a pessimist, Yan He, you’re not,” Chen Ziyan said firmly. “However, no matter what, you’re right, and I support you.”
This is also Chen Ziyan, whom Lu Yanhe is most familiar with.
Regardless, she stood behind him.
Support him.
-
Throughout October, Lu Yanhe spent his time either recording the final episode of the season of "The Days of Youth" or working on the script.
After all, he promised so many projects on Weibo, if he doesn't deliver on them quickly, it will seem like he's just making empty promises.
In October, in addition to "Summer Night Villa Horror 2", "Seventeen Floors: Enlightened Ones" starring Jiang Jun and "The Wrong Star" starring Li Yuefeng and Yan Lingyu also officially started filming.
The spin-off film of "The Gold Rush," starring Li Zhibai and Yan Liang, has been scheduled for release during the Spring Festival.
D19 announced the start of production on "The Mist 3," with Ryu Eom-ha confirmed to return as the lead actor. The following day, Variety reported that Ryu Eom-ha received another $20 million salary for "The Mist 2," plus 5% of the global box office revenue—not a share of profits, but a direct 5% cut of the box office.
This figure once again broke Lu Yanhe's record for film remuneration in Hollywood.
At the same time, Soren announced that Men in Black will be released on October 12 next year, making it the only major film announced for that release date so far.
As the distributor of "Men in Black" in China, Linghe quickly announced that "Men in Black" will be released on October 1st next year during the National Day holiday, 12 days earlier than its overseas release.
There are new news about Lu Yanhe almost every day.
By the end of October, Linghe had also announced information about two projects.
First, the four-episode short drama "The Sea, My Pah" will begin filming in January next year. This high-quality short drama, adapted from the film of the same name, will be directed by Li Chao, a disciple of director Wu Chi, and the male and female leads will be played by Jiang Ting and Zou Xuan, who became popular last year with "Summer Night Villa Horror".
Secondly, the script for "Prison Break," written by Lu Yanhe, has been finalized to have six episodes for its first season, which will also begin filming in Thailand next January.
Both of these works will be broadcast on the Linghe Theater.
Because of the broadcast time requirements, the production schedule is relatively tight. These two works are the easiest to complete at present.
And filming for "The Corpse 3" will begin after "The Fault in Our Stars" wraps up.
It was purely to wait for Li Yuefeng's availability.
The script for "The Corpse 4" is already being written by a screenwriter.
It appears to be thriving.
On the last day of October, Chen Yin brought three scripts to Lu Yanhe and said, "President Lu, these three scripts are projects that I have selected for production in the family-friendly film season. Please take a look when you have time."
Take a look—
One is a road comedy film similar to "Lost in Thailand," but it focuses on a group of people who have been scammed trying to find the scammer. The whole process is more frantic and also involves some thriller and crime elements.
It's really cool.
The title is "A Madman's Journey".
Another one is a campus youth comedy about a group of young students who form a study group to prove they are not losers. They try to improve their grades and face discrimination from the head teacher, ridicule from the top students, and disbelief from their parents. The story is very comic book-like, but the main plot is clearer and the pacing is more intense than "The Sea, My Pui". In short, it is more commercially viable.
The title is "The Underdog's Comeback".
While reading the script, Lu Yanhe was suddenly reminded of the movie "Flying Colors".
Although they are not the same thing at all, they have a similarity.
The last one is a script similar to "Home Alone," which is obviously tailor-made for Huang Feng.
"Young Detective" tells the story of a middle school student who gets involved in a murder case by his policeman uncle. He discovers the killer's trail and is even kidnapped by the killer. In the end, he uses his wit to become the "Kindaichi" of this timeline in a crime comedy.
There's a hint of "Detective Chinatown" in it.
Well, when Huang Feng grows up a few more years, we can cast him in "Detective Chinatown". By then, Wang Dashan will be about the right age to play Tang Ren.
"..."
Lu Yanhe read all three scripts in one go.
“I really like all three scripts,” Lu Yanhe said frankly. “Let’s film them.”
Chen Yin was extremely surprised.
In the past, Lu Yanhe was always quick to offer suggestions after reading a script, but never this quick.
Not a single question was asked.
Just say "Take the picture".
Chen Yin was extremely surprised.
"Take pictures of everything?"
"Take pictures of everything."
Chen Yin hesitated for a moment, then said, "However, the cost of these three scripts will be slightly higher, and we can no longer control it like we did with 'Summer Night' and 'The Corpse'."
Lu Yanhe said, "We can make any script with a production cost of less than 100 million yuan. I think all three of these scripts have a certain commercial market. With you in charge of the operation, I'm not worried about that."
Chen Yin let out a long sigh of relief.
"Okay, I'll give you a look at the detailed production budget after I've finished making it."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
“This is your most unique ability, Mr. Chen. There are quite a few film executives in this world who can manage big-budget productions, but very few can dig out valuable scripts from a huge pile of scripts like you do,” Lu Yanhe said. “The scripts you dig out always combine genre, commercial appeal, and a certain level of expression very well, which is what I like most.”
Chen Yin was a little embarrassed by Lu Yanhe's sudden praise.
Lu Yanhe smiled at him encouragingly.
“Wan Qingqing also brought me a script, take a look,” Lu Yanhe said.
Previously, he had promised Wan Qingqing that he would grant her the authority to produce a film with a budget of up to 20 million US dollars.
This is a reward for her single-handedly conquering the Hollywood market with "Flypaper".
To Lu Yanhe's surprise, after Wan Qingqing brought several scripts similar to "Flypaper" and Lu Yanhe rejected them, the script she brought underwent a complete 180-degree turn.
Therefore, Lu Yanhe was undecided for a moment.
"What script?" Chen Yin asked, somewhat surprised.
"An English script tells the story of a woman who unexpectedly inherits her deceased husband's property, only to discover that her husband had an illegitimate son. After this illegitimate son comes to her door demanding the property, he unexpectedly sparks a romance with her, and then a series of melodramatic plot developments occur. Just when the woman is about to fall in love with him, she unexpectedly discovers that this so-called illegitimate son is just a conman trying to swindle money. So, she turns the tables and sends the conman to jail, thus protecting her property."
"Uh—" Chen Yin's first reaction was surprise, "This plot—"
“Yeah, it’s too melodramatic,” Lu Yanhe said, “but in a way, it’s very appealing.”
(End of this chapter)
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