Chapter 967 The Ideal of Pragmatists
Lu Yanhe has always been a pragmatist.
Although others often refer to him as an idealist.
Whenever he encounters a problem, Lu Yanhe's first reaction is always how to solve it.
It's just that sometimes the solutions aren't very practical.
Sometimes, there's a situation where it's better to be a broken piece of jade than a whole piece of tile.
Many industry norms, or rather, some established rules, can be discarded by Lu Yanhe as long as they are not conducive to solving the problem.
However, Jia Long was different.
Jia Long will care about many things.
For example, due to pressure from investors, they chose to start filming even when the script was clearly not mature enough.
Lu Yanhe had no intention of criticizing anyone in this regard.
He also clearly understands that everyone's choices are related to their circumstances, the resources they have, and the range of options available to them.
Lu Yanhe simply hoped to help Jia Long resolve his current predicament through his actions.
“It’s not difficult to come up with a script; the difficulty lies in balancing the requirements of various parties,” Lu Yanhe said. “The requirements of actors, investors, and collaborators are all different. Mr. Jia, including the screenwriters you invited before, may not be willing to share the screenwriter credit with others. I understand all of this. However, we either have to abandon the project or give up the needs and interests of some people. Nothing is more important than the script itself being good enough that those who are actually creating it believe that they can create a good film.”
Lu Yanhe was extremely fortunate that his Linghe River did not accept investment or financing from outside capital. His projects were usually solely funded or controlled by them, and no capital party was allowed to interfere with the creative process.
With each successful project, not only did they have more cash flow, but their authority and influence also became unprecedented.
Now, no one dares to question his script.
Uh... apart from Li Zhibai, Yan Liang, and a few others.
Of course, they weren't actually questioning it.
Is his script so good that it's impeccable?
Of course not.
But his success endowed him with godlike authority.
If he wrote the script for the third installment of "Lost in Thailand," then apart from Jia Long, absolutely no one else would raise any objections. This includes the investors—
Because Lu Yanhe's style of doing things is very straightforward: I invest in you to give you the opportunity to make money, not to give you the opportunity to boss people around. If you are not happy, you can withdraw your investment. There are plenty of people outside waiting with bags of money.
In particular, Lu Yanhe rarely gives outsiders the opportunity to invest.
He, Linghe, Shihuo, Tiaoqilai... and Li Zhibai, Yan Liang, Luo Yuzhong, Xin Zixing, Huang Kairen, Jiang Yuqian, Hua Ruzhen... Many times, the investment share of a project would be divided up by these people around him.
Sometimes, Yuehutai, the Northern Lights, and the ice field will also be partially visible.
Every single one of Lu Yanhe's projects is profitable.
Such profit margins are never in the investor market.
“Teacher Jia, if you need me, you can call me anytime—of course, I really can’t write the script anymore, I really don’t have any good ideas. If I had good ideas, I definitely wouldn’t need you to come to me, I would definitely call you.” Lu Yanhe laughed, “I’m not afraid to play the villain for you if you need a villain to get rid of these interfering factors.”
Jia Long remained silent for a while on the other end of the phone before saying, "Okay, I understand. Yan He, thank you for calling."
"Don't be so polite with me, Teacher Jia," Lu Yanhe said with a smile. "When can we collaborate on another movie?"
In Lu Yanhe's mind, Jia Long is one of the best comedy masters in this time and space.
However, he has a terrible problem: since his debut, he has owed too many favors and has too many relationships to take care of, so he can't produce any project purely.
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Chen Lingling's attitude towards Chen Yin's idea of how to make a profit from the five-episode short drama "Wa Guang" was unclear.
After talking with Chen Lingling, Lu Yanhe learned that Chen Lingling wanted "Wa Guang" to remain "Wa Guang" and not be influenced by anything else.
Lu Yanhe said, "If that's the case, then we can only proceed with this project with the mindset of losing money."
Chen Lingling asked, "What if the drama 'Wa Guang' were sold on a video platform like a movie? Viewers would have to pay to watch the entire series. Would that be profitable?"
“Theoretically, it is possible, but in reality, so far, the highest revenue from on-demand viewing on video platforms has never reached 100 million.” Lu Yanhe was aware of these figures. “This includes on-demand viewing of popular TV series as well as movies. The ceiling is there.”
Chen Lingling sighed.
"Or, could we make it into a movie?"
"Make it into a movie?"
"Is it possible to produce a trilogy in the form of a film?" Lu Yanhe asked.
Chen Lingling asked, "Is there a market for movies with a palace theme?"
"I don't know." Lu Yanhe shook his head. "But at least if it's made into a movie, Linghe can help with the sales channels."
"You mean overseas sales?"
“Yes,” Lu Yanhe said. “100 million RMB is almost an unrecoverable cost for a five-episode TV series, but it is much less risky for a movie trilogy. Moreover, it can still be broadcast on video platforms and TV stations.”
Chen Lingling fell into deep thought.
Lu Yanhe said, "Director, no matter what, it's always better to find a way to film it than to let it remain shelved, right?"
Chen Lingling: "If it can't be filmed according to my ideas, I'd rather it remain shelved forever."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
“I understand. After all, if it’s really ruined by filming, it’s ruined,” Lu Yanhe said. “I’m not saying we should lower the production standards, that’s not what I meant.”
Chen Lingling actually knew that Lu Yanhe didn't mean it that way.
"Turning a five-episode short drama into a movie trilogy—" Chen Lingling pondered for a moment, then asked, "Do you really think that's feasible?"
“It’s feasible.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “If we make it into a movie trilogy, even if we can’t recoup the investment at the box office, the sales of other copyrights and long-term revenue will be much better than if we made it into a five-episode TV series, which is destined to lose money.”
"Is a production budget of 100 million for three movies too cheap for the film industry?"
"Director, believe me, big-budget productions have their grandeur, but that doesn't mean that non-big-budget films can't attract audiences."
Do period dramas require very high production costs?
Actually, it's not necessary.
Unless you're aiming for a one-to-one recreation like "Wa Guang," which means the buildings need to be specially constructed, the costumes and styling need to be designed and made on a one-to-one basis, and so on. The reason "Wa Guang" had such a high cost is precisely because of this—it's already a standard for film production.
Lu Yanhe said, "I read the five-part script of 'Waguang.' From the perspective of the story, I think it could be adapted into a trilogy. It presents three stages of a woman in the imperial harem: the most beautiful and cruel innocence, the most complex and turbulent struggle, and the inevitable rise and fall that even the strongest forces could not stop. At first, I thought it was a story about palace intrigue, but later I found that palace intrigue only occupied a small part. It is actually about a person's struggle with their own life and their surrounding environment. They win some parts and lose some parts. The final result seems imperfect, but they have already struggled thoroughly. I like the vitality that shines through the cruel surface of this story, the attempt to break free from the shackles of life."
Chen Lingling looked at Lu Yanhe with great emotion after hearing what he said.
"So, if it's made into a movie, it might not be the kind of movie that can sell very high box office. It's not commercially viable enough, and it's not exciting enough. But there will definitely be some fans of this genre who will go to the cinema and be moved by the story," Lu Yanhe said. "The most important thing is that, as a movie, its quality will not be reduced at all. It can be made into a film, and it can meet the audience in the way you want it to be."
Director Chen Lingling breathed a sigh of relief.
"You make a good point. I'll think about it."
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Lu Yanhe's decision to turn "Wa Guang" into a movie was not a spur-of-the-moment thing.
Palace dramas have always been a popular genre in Chinese television dramas, but they are rarely seen in the film industry.
It could even be said that in the last ten or twenty years, there have been almost none.
However, this should actually be one of the most important themes in the film.
It should have belonged to a subgenre of historical fiction.
For example, Liu Xiaoqing's "The Empress Dowager", Jiang Wen's "The Great Eunuch Li Lianying", and Zhang Ziyi's "The Banquet" also count.
Overseas, this type of film has been made quite a few times, especially when combined with biographies and other themes, resulting in many excellent works.
For example, "The Favourite," directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone and Olivia Colman.
In places where power is highly centralized, a single move can have far-reaching consequences, and all sorts of stories will inevitably unfold.
A natural source of inspiration for film and television dramas.
What Lu Yanhe doesn't quite understand is why this type of film and television drama is often made into a blockbuster in China.
Perhaps it's because its background is too central to power?
So it gives people the impression of being "big"?
The theme that Chen Lingling focused on is what Lu Yanhe believes should truly be the focus of this type of subject matter.
It's not just about conventional criticism, but about people.
Ultimately, movies are works about people or "other things" as seen through people's eyes.
When it comes to people, it must be authentic, regardless of the form of authenticity.
For a period of time, "blockbuster" films were very popular in Chinese cinema.
Are those blockbuster movies really that bad? Not entirely. If you watch them without prejudice, you can see many merits. However, they also generally suffer from flaws such as prioritizing themes and concepts, and characters serving the film's creative intent.
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The story of "Wa Guang" is about one person's life.
Therefore, Lu Yanhe said that it may not achieve good box office results as a commercial film, but it is worth making into a movie.
Because in the current landscape of Chinese cinema, especially in the last decade, there is a severe lack of such roles.
Lu Yanhe was confident that Chen Lingling would take his advice.
Two days later, Chen Lingling called Lu Yanhe. She told him that she thought the idea of making "Waguang" into three films was feasible, and she wanted to make them.
Linghe provided a production budget of 100 million RMB for Chen Lingling's film and acquired the copyright to these three films for twenty years after their initial release. After twenty years, the film copyrights will revert to Chen Lingling's own production company.
In China, the ownership of film copyrights doesn't involve the diverse arrangements found in Hollywood. Often, the investors hold the film's copyright permanently, while the director only enjoys a share of the profits according to the contract, or sometimes not even that.
Of the 100 million RMB production budget, Chen Lingling's director's fee of 7.5 million RMB was relatively low.
However, since the bulk of the budget was to be used for art direction, Chen Lingling felt she had to set an example by reducing her salary.
The actors she invited were all unable to command high salaries.
The trilogy was shot consecutively, but the actual content of the filming was not much different.
Chen Lingling did not intend to raise the bar further just because the story was going to be made into a movie.
Lu Yanhe would not agree to that either.
He didn't want the film to become an investment disaster.
The film crew was assembled very quickly.
The first payment from Linghe has also arrived.
Chen Lingling began selecting actors, talking to each one individually.
The film trilogy was shot in 105 days.
With a total production cost of 100 million RMB for the three films, the average cost per film is just over 30 million RMB. In the current film industry, this means that the films themselves are only low- to medium-budget productions.
However, Lu Yanhe's name is listed as the film producer, and Chen Lingling is the director.
Given Chen Lingling's prestige in the film and television industry, no one would underestimate this work.
Although it is a palace drama.
"How could Lu Yanhe produce such a work?"
"This isn't the first time Lu Yanhe has brought in TV drama directors he's worked with to make movies."
“TV series and movies are completely different mediums. Does he think that just because Luo Yuzhong successfully made ‘The Boat,’ all TV series directors can make movies?”
"Chen Lingling is one of the three leading directors of Chinese TV dramas. She certainly has artistic talent. What you said is too much. It's as if she's completely incompetent."
(End of this chapter)
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