Chapter 977 The Allure of Melodrama
No matter how harshly the audience criticizes the melodrama, as a creator, you should never underestimate the appeal of melodrama itself.
What creators need to do is make melodramatic stories acceptable to the audience, rather than turning them into a so-called reasonable but mediocre story.
When it comes to melodramatic plots, there's "My Fair Princess" before and "Empresses in the Palace" after. Which of them doesn't have an unpredictable and melodramatic storyline? Does that prevent them from becoming classics?
No.
Moreover, Lu Yanhe was well aware that in Europe and America, chick flicks—or more broadly, films with female themes—have always had a large market.
Whether it's "Help Me Out" starring Anna Kendrick or the more famous "Legally Blonde," both are melodramatic, yet both are successful.
In the European and American markets, "story creativity" is highly valued.
If you have just one amazing idea, you can make a lot of money from that idea alone.
For example, take *The Purge*. Anyone who has actually seen the movie knows how absurd it is and how poorly made it is. However—
In the future, there will be a day every year when murder will be legalized, allowing people to seek justice for their wrongs and settle scores with their grudges.
With such a worldview, no matter how the movie is made, it won't stop a group of viewers from trying it out.
Therefore, rationally speaking, Lu Yanhe didn't like the script that Wan Qingqing sent him. But emotionally, to be honest, he read it in one go, completely captivated and eager to know how the story would unfold.
The good thing about this melodramatic story is that it's not cliché, and there are many unexpected developments that Lu Yanhe didn't anticipate.
Chen Yin said, "The female lead... has a somewhat skewed worldview. I mean, she is very likely to be subject to such criticism in public opinion."
Indeed, if a woman were to develop a romantic relationship with an illegitimate child (even if it turns out to be not the child) right after her husband's death, wouldn't the public outcry be immense in China?
Lu Yanhe said, "This approach is very common in Europe and America."
Chen Yin really couldn't refute it.
Because that's really the case.
Lu Yanhe said, "If it were you, would you make it?"
"I don't understand the European and American markets, so I can't make any judgments," Chen Yin said cautiously.
Lu Yanhe: "Putting everything else aside, does the story itself make you want to keep reading?"
Chen Yin hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
"I won't."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"I need you to do something for me. Take this script to the company for evaluation. Oh, they should all be able to read English scripts, right?"
"Yes, most of the people in Linghe can read and write English." After all, it's a film company that's starting to target overseas markets.
“You can collect feedback, not just a general opinion, but also the opinions of those who dislike the script and those who like it, and what the specific situations are.”
Chen Yin nodded.
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Chen Siqi was somewhat surprised.
"Would you like the editors of 'Jump Up' to take a look as well?"
“Yes,” Lu Yanhe said. “What I want to know is how well such a story is received among us practitioners.”
Chen Siqi: "What if the acceptance rate is below 50%?"
“No, what I want to know is, among those who accept this story, do they really like it, like it casually, or just accept it?” Lu Yanhe explained. “In short, if a movie might be criticized by many people, but there’s a group of people who really like it and are willing to spend money to buy tickets to see it, should that movie still be made?”
"I understand what you mean."
“Hmm.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “Of course, I’m not using these opinions to judge whether this project is worth doing. I just want to see how well our country accepts this kind of story. It’s just a survey.”
Chen Siqi nodded: "So, you've already thought it through, you'll support Wan Qingqing in making this movie."
“Hmm,” Lu Yanhe said, “This is also a new area of subject matter for Linghe. In fact, the moral controversies in this script are already commonplace in Europe and America, and are nothing special.”
For European and American film and literature works, this is not a problem at all.
Chen Siqi: "But you should know that many people, although they accept it in their hearts, dare not express their true thoughts due to the pressure of social rules."
“It’s okay. Watching a movie is a private matter; it doesn’t have to be a social activity.”
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Lu Yanhe has always believed that everyone has their own preferences and strengths. Trying to cater to or copy others' strengths may seem like learning from others' strengths, but in reality, it's just a poor imitation. Moreover, since everyone is imitating others, the success rate is actually low.
This is the reason why he has consistently refused to let Wan Qingqing make another "Flypaper".
Wan Qingqing's role in the "Flypaper" project was not related to the content—that part was personally overseen by Lu Yanhe.
Wan Qingqing built a skyscraper from scratch in terms of production, distribution, and promotion.
Therefore, the worst thing she could have done was to continue copying the content of "Flypaper".
She should find a subject that truly touches her heart.
This is because it touched her heart, and only then could she understand what was truly moving and captivating about the story.
This is why you can't create good content using formulas and equations.
Human perception, even at the slightest error, can lead to vastly different results.
Many people are shocked, confused, puzzled, and find it incomprehensible when a work becomes a huge hit. But there's no need to be confused. The simplest reason is that "you are not its target audience."
If any boss decides their company's production based on their own likes and dislikes, no company can grow big and strong.
In business, aside from matters of principle, everything should be geared towards making money, not towards personal likes or dislikes.
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Wan Qingqing was quite surprised that Lu Yanhe was willing to support her in making this movie.
She even had a moment of doubt and hesitation.
Why did Lu Yanhe approve of projects she deemed worthwhile from a market perspective, while he readily agreed to this project she considered less safe from a market standpoint?
Of course, such doubts and hesitations did not last long.
Wan Qingqing is a smart girl. She is extremely lucky to have met Lu Yanhe at the beginning of her career, allowing her to ride the wave of his meteoric rise. However, if she lacked even a little in terms of ability or emotional intelligence, she wouldn't have been able to seize such an opportunity.
Like Song Jiang, who joined the company at the same time and started from the same point, she was basically "a step behind and always behind," and never received the same level of recognition as Song Jiang.
Lu Yanhe isn't the kind of boss who needs others to guess his thoughts. He'll tell you his ideas directly—
He dislikes repetition because he believes that endless repetition is destined to lead to failure.
This seemingly melodramatic script has a fresh feel and makes you want to keep reading.
Wan Qingqing's production budget for this film is $20 million. Since Lu Yanhe promised her a budget of no more than $20 million for a film, she wouldn't just spend $5 million to make it.
She's not like Lu Yanhe, who can make up for the lack of budget with his talent.
Her strengths lie in communicating and negotiating with people, and in utilizing resources.
The resources that $5 million can mobilize are far less than $20 million.
For her, a movie made for $5 million is completely different from one made for $20 million.
For this film, there's no need to hire a particularly good cinematographer, because the film's selling point lies in the actors' performances and the film's pacing.
At the same time, Wan Qingqing did not focus solely on the $20 million.
She decided to seek advertising sponsorships.
The female lead is a walking model—a stunning widow. How could such a character not make a grand entrance? In other words, she's a walking billboard.
After much deliberation, Wan Qingqing hired a director who specializes in making 7-8 minute modern urban comedy films.
He is not a famous director, nor does he have any particularly successful works. However, all of his past works have achieved good results, and audiences have enjoyed watching them and given them positive reviews.
That's what this movie needs.
It doesn't need to be a big-budget production or a film festival film. It just needs to be like those chick flicks, with a light and smooth pace, so that people can watch it in one go without any burden.
The director's salary was $1.8 million. Wan Qingqing didn't try to negotiate the price, but the director wouldn't receive a share of the film's profits, so the $1.8 million was a buyout.
The director readily accepted.
Then there's the female lead.
Wan Qingqing was very clear that the female lead in this film had to be a suitable actress who matched the role and could generate buzz.
For example, Lily Williams is not suitable. Although she is famous, there is no chemistry between her and the character, and people do not have any expectations.
After looking around, Wan Qingqing found Spanish actress Juliana Pedraza.
This actress has been famous in Hollywood for several years. She is also one of the most popular Spanish actresses in Hollywood, somewhat similar to Penelope Cruz's status in a parallel universe, but she is not as high-profile as Penelope—after all, she has never won an Oscar.
Wan Qingqing doesn't need Julieta to have won an Oscar.
Wan Qingqing's reason for persuading Julieta was very simple: "This script was chosen by Lu Yanhe."
That one sentence was enough to make Julieta read the script seriously, instead of leaving it aside.
Julieta agreed quickly, but she was very concerned about who the male actor she would be acting opposite was.
Wan Qingqing said, "Jason Porter, the British actor who worked with Lu Yanhe on 'The Mist 2'."
“That retired diver,” Julieta said, a hint of surprise in her voice.
Wan Qingqing said, "That's right."
Julieta hesitated for a moment.
Wan Qingqing said, "Our film has a limited budget, so we can't choose a particularly famous male actor to play the role. In addition, considering the age limit, Jason Porter is the most suitable choice."
Julieta said, "But after Jason Porter starred in 'The Mist 2' with Lu Yanhe, his next few projects weren't very successful, right?"
Wan Qingqing: "He has indeed never played a leading role, but if you look at his past works, you will find that his acting skills have improved very quickly. Although he was an athlete before, he is very handsome, has a sexy body, and has the hormones of youth, which is very suitable for this role. After all, he is going to play a story about a woman of a certain age who almost falls in love. There are not many choices to find such an actor whose salary meets our standards."
Julieta seemed to reluctantly accept Wan Qingqing's words.
Wan Qingqing actually understood why Julieta minded this matter.
Julieta's journey to Hollywood wasn't exactly smooth sailing. Her most successful role after arriving in Hollywood was playing a significant female character in a film series, which led to a surge in her fame following the film's global box office success, which grossed over $1 billion.
After that, Julieta certainly had other successful works, but none of them became huge hits. She simply maintained her status as a popular actress—somewhat like Jiang Yuqian, whose works are shortlisted for top international film festivals every year or two, and who frequently appear at various high-profile events.
But it just keeps hanging on by a thread, unable to reach the next level.
Her breakthrough lies either in starring in another blockbuster film or in making a splash during awards season. It doesn't matter if she doesn't get an Oscar nomination; as long as she becomes a highly anticipated "hidden gem," it can still help her career reach new heights.
In this situation, the male lead was not chosen from among popular young actors, but rather from a British actor whose circumstances were not better than hers, which disappointed Julieta a little and made her unsure about the future prospects of the film.
Although Julieta knew very well after reading the script that this was the best role she had received in recent years, one that offered the most room for performance.
In addition, this script is produced by Linghe Productions, and Lu Yanhe will serve as the producer.
Given Lu Yanhe's current status in Hollywood, it's clear that he has a very promising future.
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Starring Julieta and Jason Porter, the cast alone doesn't quite qualify it as a top-tier production.
However, $20 million is not enough for a top-tier production.
This amount of money, in Hollywood, would basically be classified as a mid-to-low budget production, or even a low-budget production.
Julieta's salary was $1.8 million—which actually shows that her "popularity" in Hollywood was somewhat fabricated.
Jason Porter's salary was even lower, at only $500,000.
With the two lead actors' salaries kept so low, plus the director's $1.8 million salary, there's plenty of money to be spent on filming.
As the producer of this film, Wan Qingqing received a salary of $500,000, and she was also entitled to a share of the film's profits.
(End of this chapter)
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