Chapter 980 Hundred-Yuan Coffee Shop
The production of "100 Yen Coffee Shop" was very large.
Although it is an idol drama.
First, Li Zhibai built a real coffee shop on a piece of land purchased by his own company, and the entire shoot was done on location. After filming, the coffee shop will be put into operation and a dedicated coffee brand will be launched. The coffee business is not starting from scratch. Li Zhibai's group already had a coffee brand, but it was not well-known, so it will be moved here in the future.
Besides this, the studio established by Lin Suyang and Li Zhibai has also signed several actors. Some are veteran actors who have acted in many dramas but have no fame, while others are unknown newcomers who have just graduated from school. Most of these were discovered by Lin Suyang in the industry or at schools.
In "100 Yen Coffee Shop", many small roles were given to these actors.
After signing with Lin Suyang, at least one thing was guaranteed—they no longer had to worry about spending months at home doing nothing and having no roles to play.
Li Zhibai's Ruishi Production Company had no say in this drama.
His brother, Li Shenyuan, arranged for a new manager to run the company.
This time, the manager was merely acting as an assistant, observing and learning.
For the production of this drama, Li Zhibai specially invited a very familiar old friend to take on the role.
Wei Hong.
Producer of "Moonlight Symphony".
It was also a stroke of luck that we were able to invite Wei Hong.
Wei Hong happened to leave Aining Film and Television, where he had worked for many years, and decided to start his own film and television production company.
He approached Li Zhibai and invited him to invest and become a celebrity shareholder.
Li Zhibai knew his abilities and was willing to invest a little, but on the condition that he would help him supervise the production of the drama "100 Yen Coffee Shop".
When Wei Hong first started his business, he was initially overwhelmed with work, but it was also precisely when he had the most free time. All the overwhelming tasks could actually be postponed.
And Li Zhibai's project—
For a producer, this is definitely a very worthwhile project.
In the play "Grass on the Grass," everyone sits at the table.
The case is right here.
Wei Hong left his original company, losing the platform's resources and connections. His true character is now being observed by the industry.
If I were to become the producer of Li Zhibai's new drama at this time, it would at least prove one thing, if not something else.
Li Zhibai trusted him.
And Wei Hong was able to get along well with Li Zhi—
This in itself is a reason why many people would want to work with him.
-
The day Lu Yanhe came to the set of "100 Yuan Cafe".
It's raining.
Autumn has arrived.
The autumn rain drizzled down, and when the wind blew, it brought a bone-chilling cold.
Wei Hong personally opened the car door for him.
He held up a large umbrella that could easily accommodate two people, and said with a warm smile, "Teacher Lu, welcome to '100 Yuan Cafe' for a guest appearance as an advisor."
His tone carried a theatrical flair, which instead diminished the overt enthusiasm in his words and added a touch of intimacy.
Lu Yanhe had met Wei Hong before and knew who he was.
He laughed and said, "I wouldn't dare say I'm giving guidance; you're such a big producer, and you're personally overseeing things on set."
Wei Hong: "Anyone who dares to say there's nothing they need your guidance on is definitely a complete idiot."
Lu Yanhe: "Li Zhibai."
Wei Hong was stunned and dumbfounded.
He never expected that a name would actually come out of Lu Yanhe's mouth.
Lu Yanhe laughed, "Just kidding."
Wei Hong reacted quickly, immediately saying, "A friend like Zhi Bai is naturally a different story."
Lu Yanhe: "It must have taken him a lot of effort to get you here."
"To say that I didn't put in much effort would make me seem cheap, but to be honest, it really didn't take much effort. I agreed in about two or three days," Wei Hong said with a smile. "Teacher Lu, if you have any good projects in the future and can't find anyone to do them, just come to me, and I'll make sure you do them perfectly."
"How's your company doing these days?" Lu Yanhe asked. "Will you be producing dramas for those platforms from now on?"
"I want to produce licensed dramas, but the platforms won't buy it," Wei Hong said helplessly. "I can only work for the platforms for now."
“Sure,” Lu Yanhe said. “Once we’ve established a firm foothold, we can talk about other developments later. Linghe also got to where it is step by step in the same way.”
“We’re just a small company, nowhere near as good as Linghe. If my company had a big shot like you, the first thing I would do every day is burn incense for him.” Wei Hong sighed. “Good screenwriters are hard to find, we don’t have actors to carry the show, it’s hard to find investors, and we can’t get approved by platforms. We’re just missing a big shot to back us up.”
Lu Yanhe smiled.
That's how Wei Hong talks.
It's dramatic—or rather, it has a strong sense of performance.
Lu Yanhe said, "A producer like you, who has produced so many great and popular works, how could you lack actors for your projects? As long as there is a good script, I don't believe many people would not come. Producers are too important."
"So you think the producer is important, but everyone says the director and screenwriter are important, and if the actors aren't famous enough, the film will be critically acclaimed but not commercially successful, right?"
"The reason these people can come together on a project is because of a good producer," Lu Yanhe said directly. "The script determines the core of the work, the director determines the aesthetics of the work, and the producer is the one who ensures how much of these core and aesthetics can be presented."
Wei Hong: "Oh dear, I think you need to give a lecture to all practitioners across the country as soon as possible to talk about this matter, really."
“What’s there to say? The position of producer isn’t exactly open to the public,” Lu Yanhe said. “Look, Li Zhibai wanted to make ‘100 Yuan Cafe,’ so he asked you to take the helm.”
Wei Hong smiled.
“I hope Professor Lu will ask me to take the helm for a project sometime,” he said. “I’m always steering on the rivers of our motherland, I’ve never seen the world, I need to venture out to sea.”
Lu Yanhe: "There will be opportunities, definitely. It's just that I've been working on movies a lot these past few years, but I'll definitely focus on streaming media in the future."
Wei Hong: "Then I'll wait and see, I'm serious."
-
Li Zhibai and Zhang Ruozhi were both old acquaintances of Lu Yanhe.
Apart from the two of them, the second male and female leads are all newcomers with little fame.
The main problem is that Li Zhibai's salary is too high. If other well-known actors are used, the cost of actor salaries will exceed the budget.
Li Zhibai can handle the investment promotion and platform management on his own, so there is no need for him to put together a seemingly impressive lineup.
In addition, Li Zhibai used his connections to get a bunch of big-name friends like Lu Yanhe, Yan Liang, and Jiang Yuqian to make cameo appearances, so there was no shortage of topics to discuss.
That's enough.
"How did the filming go?" Lu Yanhe asked with a smile after seeing Zhang Ruozhi.
The girl in front of me seems to have hardly changed compared to a few years ago, except that she has a slightly more mature demeanor and is no longer as student-like.
Zhang Ruozhi said, "Brother Bai takes good care of me, but I always mess up."
Zhang Ruozhi looked a little embarrassed.
She is not formally trained in art, and she did not attend an art college.
Furthermore, her experience in film and television acting is insufficient.
Lu Yanhe was not surprised that this situation would occur.
He asked, "Do you have a performance coach with you?"
“Yes.” Zhang Ruozhi nodded. “The company hired a teacher to work with the group and rehearse with me every day.”
“That’s good. There’s always a time when you’re green in acting. Take it slow,” Lu Yanhe said. “Besides, don’t put too much pressure on yourself for this role. You’re a very talented and nuanced actress. If you’re unsure how to act, just imagine what it would be like if you said those words normally. Put yourself in your usual state, and you might just get the feeling right.”
Zhang Ruozhi nodded.
Just then, Wang Biao suddenly came over and said, "The Gotham Awards have announced their nominations."
The Gotham Independent Film Awards are usually one of the first awards to announce nominations during the North American awards season.
It's also a significant preliminary award.
Lu Yanhe immediately asked, "How is it? What's going on?"
"The film 'The Boat' has been nominated for Best Film and Best Foreign Language Film. Wen Shengming has been nominated for Best Actor, and you have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor. In addition, Qin Shulan has also been nominated for Best Actor for her role in 'Grandma's Inheritance'."
Lu Yanhe looked surprised.
"I've been shortlisted too?"
“Yes,” Wang Biao said. “I’ve confirmed it; I didn’t see it wrong.”
Zhang Ruozhi smiled with delight.
"Ah! Congratulations!" She jumped up like a rabbit. "I have to hurry and send Teacher Qin a congratulatory message. I'm going to get my phone!"
She immediately turned around to look for her phone.
"Grandma's Legacy" is a film she co-starred in with Qin Shulan.
Reminded by her, Lu Yanhe immediately sent his congratulations in the group chat of the "Boat" crew.
After sending the message, Lu Yanhe remembered to ask Wang Biao, "Didn't Sister Yuqian get a nomination for 'The Window Sill'?"
Wang Biao shook his head.
"Johnny Heinz was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but Yu Qian was not nominated."
Lu Yanhe sighed regretfully.
pity.
In fact, Jiang Yuqian's performance in "The Window Sill" was really good, a great breakthrough, and very brilliant.
-
"It's okay. Not getting a nomination is within my expectations. This year is a big year for Best Actress. I'm mentally prepared for not making it into the nomination list, and I accept it."
Jiang Yuqian received Li Zhibai's call almost immediately.
After learning about the Gotham Awards nominations, Li Zhibai immediately called Jiang Yuqian.
Comfort her.
Jiang Yuqian has a very good attitude.
"Although it didn't receive a Gotham Award nomination, this film still garnered me a lot of positive reviews from critics," Jiang Yuqian said. "Now Hollywood isn't just offering me commercial genre films anymore; I've already achieved some success, so I'm not greedy."
Li Zhibai: "Okay, I'm about to start filming, so I'll stop here for now. Anyway, if it doesn't work out this time, there will be another chance next time. You're about to film a new movie with Xia Wei, right?"
Sia Wee is the director of "The Window".
“Yes, filming will start next April,” Jiang Yuqian said. “I also took on a limited HP series, which will start filming next January and will last for two months. So, I will basically be abroad for the first half of next year.”
Li Zhi opened his mouth a hundred times, wanting to say something but then stopped himself.
Finally, he only said one sentence: "Okay, I'll come find you after I finish filming '100 Yen Coffee Shop' and 'Friends'."
"Hmm," Jiang Yuqian said, "But do you have time to come see me? Isn't 'The Gold Rush: An Ancient Legend' going to be released during the Spring Festival? You must have a lot of promotional work to do, right?"
"Not so fast, we'll come back when it's time to do it."
-
After finishing his call with Jiang Yuqian, Li Zhibai sighed.
Lu Yanhe happened to arrive at that moment and heard him sigh.
Why did you suddenly sigh?
"Sigh." Li Zhibai shook his head. "We're all too busy. It's so hard to find time to get together."
Lu Yanhe: "Both of you have been on the rise these past few years, and being busy is an objective reality. Especially for Sister Yuqian, her career has reached an unprecedented peak. If she can take another step forward at this time, it will be a new height."
"Of course I understand everything you're saying."
"But when do you plan to propose to Sister Yuqian? Have you two discussed marriage?"
“We’ve talked about it, but to be honest, it’s not realistic for the two of us to get a marriage certificate right now,” Li Zhibai said frankly. “Even if we got a certificate and got married, it wouldn’t change our current situation at all.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"That's true." He looked at Li Zhibai with some concern. "Then you two—"
Li Zhibai: "It's just a small problem, nothing to worry about. Everyone in our line of work is like this, including you and Siqi."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"We can only try to find ways to overcome these difficulties."
Lu Yanhe's phone rang at that moment.
He took it in his hand, and when he saw the caller's name, he was startled.
What the hell?!
It was Ma Zhiyuan?!
Lu Yanhe was extremely surprised and immediately showed the screen to Li Zhibai.
Li Zhibai also showed an incredulous expression.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know," Lu Yanhe said.
"What I mean is, why do you still have his number saved?"
“We’ve been in contact before.” Lu Yanhe hadn’t expected Li Zhibai to focus on this. “Didn’t you save my contact information?”
"Of course I didn't save it. I don't even have his WeChat."
"All right."
"You don't have his WeChat either, do you?"
“No, I deleted it,” Lu Yanhe said, “but I saved the phone number.”
Are you going to answer?
The phone has been ringing for almost twenty seconds.
"If we don't answer soon, he'll stop," Lu Yanhe said. "Let's answer and see what he's up to."
Li Zhibai: "I knew you would answer."
Lu Yanhe answered the phone.
"Hello."
"I am Ma Zhiyuan."
"I know."
"Where are you? Are you free right now? I'll come find you," Ma Zhiyuan said.
Lu Yanhe was stunned. "Huh?"
(End of this chapter)
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