Chapter 902 Trust
Lu Yanhe has never been a qualified boss by industry standards.
He has always used his own methods to manage his company and the people working under him.
Chen Ziyan always said that once Lu Yanhe's "crown of success" is taken off, or his almost miraculous insight and judgment fail, his capable subordinates will choose to leave sooner or later.
Lu Yanhe understood what Chen Ziyan was talking about.
He felt that perhaps because he knew very clearly that his "crown of success" would not be removed in a short time, he was not really worried about these issues.
Even, just like Lu Yanhe's support and trust in Wan Qingqing, Lu Yanhe almost held a kind of idealistic belief: perhaps, Linghe really could become a utopia?
It's not exactly a utopia, but it's certainly better than those companies filled with power struggles, scheming, and backstabbing between superiors and subordinates, right?
They don't need to face the pressure of KPIs every day when they wake up, nor do they need to constantly try to figure out his thoughts and preferences.
They can fully utilize their talents to achieve success. They can also receive the rewards they deserve without being sacrificed by capital.
Lu Yanhe felt that it was probably because of the rewards brought by such trust in Xu Tianming and Chen Yin that he was even more convinced that he could do this.
Without the initial trust placed in Chen Yin, he would not have been able to bring us films like "The Corpse" and "Summer Night Villa Horror".
As for why Wan Qingqing's budget was 20 million US dollars.
This is due to environmental factors.
In Hollywood, $20 million is considered a low-budget film project.
Just like "Flypaper," the production cost was no less than 20 million US dollars due to the salaries of several actors. It makes no sense that after Wan Qingqing's independently produced "Flypaper" achieved box office success, her second project would have a lower budget. This would be very detrimental to her future projects.
Lu Yanhe felt that if he was going to give someone a chance, he should give them everything they deserved.
Moreover, even with a budget of 20 million US dollars, it's not like they won't make a single penny back.
Lu Yanhe never doubted Wan Qingqing's abilities.
-
On the set of "Men in Black," Lu Yanhe also had complete trust in Fu Kai.
This is especially true when you are on-site.
Because of his position in the Men in Black crew, Sidley never acted like a veteran actor, which shows his influence on the crew.
The more this is the case, the more Lu Yanhe needs to use his influence to help Fu Kai establish his directorial authority.
Fu Kai himself is also a very talented director.
While his talent doesn't lie in capturing human nature and interpersonal relationships, he possesses an exceptionally good sense of rhythm.
This is evident in the rhythm of an actor's performance.
Fu Kai never raised any objections to Lu Yanhe's performance, but he would often have Lu Yanhe watch the playback after filming a take, telling him that he hoped Lu Yanhe would pause at a certain point, speak faster in certain parts, or have a greater contrast in his scenes with Xi Ke...
Each such adjustment makes the entire shot smoother. This smoothness is based on the standards set by a commercial blockbuster. Both Xi Ke and Lu Yanhe are top-notch actors who understand acting. Therefore, even if they refine the details of their performances, they still cannot avoid the integrity of the "introduction, development, climax, and conclusion".
However, in good commercial films, many performances are not necessarily complete, but only a look or a fragment.
In Men in Black, the slowest-paced scene was basically the one Lu Yanhe filmed with Xike on his first day on set.
That was an essential dramatic scene.
But there can't be too many scenes like this, otherwise the pace will slow down.
This film is primarily intended for audiences who are not interested in art films.
They all knew this perfectly well.
Of course, this doesn't mean they lower their standards for their performances.
This is not the same thing.
This is something the director needs to control well.
Fu Kai undoubtedly demonstrated his extensive experience in filmmaking over the years.
-
One day, Xi Ke chatted with Lu Yanhe on set and said that he had watched "The Road to Glory," directed by Fu Kai and starring Lu Yanhe, a couple of days ago. Not only that, he had also watched "Enjoy Life While You Can," which also starred Shang Yongzhou.
Xi Ke asked Lu Yanhe curiously, "Both of these films are quite well made, and it's clear that he's a director with a lot of ideas. However, I don't really see how these two films match the style of 'Men in Black.' How did you come up with the idea of asking him to direct this film?"
Lu Yanhe laughed.
He said, "Actually, I didn't write a film like 'Men in Black' as a purely commercial film. Many people divide films into commercial films and art films, and I often make a distinction myself."
"Hmm?" Sik asked curiously, "What's the difference?"
"Some movies are made for more mature people, while others are made for more naive people. In my mind, 'Men in Black' is a movie made for more naive people. To be precise, for me, this kind of movie, this kind of story, I hope it has a consistent simplicity, clarity, and style. It won't suddenly throw in a slapstick comedy and then give you a melancholy look, nor will it try to elevate the movie to some grand philosophical or value proposition. It's a simple, fantastical story about protecting the world. In this era, the biggest challenge in making it into a movie is getting people to believe in this 'protecting the world' worldview. Director Fu's greatest strength is that he never adds anything useless."
Lu Yanhe laughed.
“You might not know that the lead actor in 'Enjoy Life While You Can,' Shang Yongzhou, is a top-tier actor in China. He only makes one film a year at most, and many directors are lining up to meet his schedule. 'Enjoy Life While You Can,' on the other hand, is a pure road comedy. Many people initially thought that since Fu Kai finally had the opportunity to work with Shang Yongzhou, wouldn't he give his role ample room to showcase his acting skills? But no, in Fu Kai's films, his original intention is always the priority. Shang Yongzhou is a film emperor, but he doesn't need to prove himself as a film emperor in this film. You won't see any scene in this film where 'Shang Yongzhou is the undisputed film emperor.' Every shot of his serves the overall style of the film, and the theme of the film never changes from beginning to end. We can enjoy watching this film very much.”
Sik nodded.
“I understand what you mean.” Sidley smiled. “You mean you need him in this movie to not treat us like performing artists at all.”
Lu Yanhe said with a smile: "More importantly, I need a director who can truly like this story, a movie made for people who are relatively naive. If the person making the movie doesn't truly like the core of the story, and doesn't truly believe in this kind of impulse to protect the world, then I think it will be difficult for the audience to feel this kind of emotion from the camera, the visuals, and the rhythm."
Like those similar movies on streaming platforms that are produced based on algorithms, they have a plastic AI feel to them.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com