“Brother Huang is willing to act, which is the best news.”
Lu Yanhe told Wang Zhong on the phone, "Director, it doesn't matter from my side. After thinking about it, I still feel that I am not suitable."
Wang Zhong said: "However, in the short film you and Bi Ge still have a scene, they are very interesting."
“Really?” Lu Yanhe was a little surprised.
"Yes." Wang Zhong said, "Moreover, it gave me new inspiration and made me want to continue to expand it and make it into a feature film."
Lu Yanhe was stunned, "Huh?"
Wang Zhong: "Let me think about this first and let it go first. No matter what, we have to shoot "Rouge Button" first. It has been delayed for too long. Now that Huang Kairen is willing to act, then hurry up. "
Lu Yanhe hummed.
“So when are you going to make this movie?”
“It will be February or March next year. Huang Kairen has taken on a film before then. When he is released, he will have time to rest, recover and prepare.”
Chan Bige has been keeping a schedule for "Rouge Button".
She is also very cautious about taking on dramas now. She rarely takes on two dramas a year, and usually only takes on one drama a year.
Lu Yanhe was a little surprised, "At this time."
"What's wrong?" Wang Zhong asked, "Is there any problem with this time?"
"No, there's no problem." Lu Yanhe said immediately, "It's just that I suddenly discovered that I have a lot of weird projects this winter. I have to act in "Path of Glory" myself, and then I'll be starring in "On the Road" and "Rouge Button". Filming has started. Fortunately, the filming of "Wulin Gaiden" has been postponed because of the construction of a real-life inn, otherwise it would be even more exaggerated. "
Wang Chong said with a smile: "It seems that next year will be a good harvest year for you again."
"I don't know." Lu Yanhe smiled, "Anyway, I'm thankful that the play can be produced normally. It was only when I was working on the project that I discovered that there are so many things that go into a project before it starts shooting."
It goes on and on, but it takes a year or two for a project from the time the script is written to the start of filming. In some cases, there is even no progress for a year or two.
There is no such thing as starting preparations in the first half of the year and shooting in the second half of the year. It was just as crazy as Hong Kong did in the 1980s and 1990s.
Wang Zhong said: "The casting of other characters in "Rouge Button" is about to begin. Except for Chen Bige and Huang Kairen, we can't find stars for the second male lead and the second female lead, otherwise we will have to spend part of the salary. If there are too many copies, it will seriously increase the production cost.”
Lu Yanhe said: "Well, this is all up to you, director, your vision is one in a million."
"OK."
Because the domestic box office target of "Rouge Button" is only about 100 million, plus the copyright income from overseas and video platforms, the film's production budget is finally positioned at around 40 million.
For a literary film, it is not low. But for the starring cast such as Wang Zhong, Chen Bige and Huang Kairen, it is indeed low.
That’s why Wang Zhongcai said that other actors could not find star actors.
For an art film, an all-star cast doesn’t mean much.
The basic market is just that big.
Many art films with all-star casts are possible because the director of the art film has stable film sales channels and fans around the world. According to the calculations of the production company, this film can make money, and those The big stars who come to star in the film will automatically have their pay reduced because of the director.
Just like Chen Biyu and Huang Kairen of this movie, they all automatically reduced a lot of payments. It's just that after they lowered the salary, the salary is still quite large, which will take up part of the production funds.
-
Lu Yanhe directly gave up his salary as a screenwriter and only received the subsequent dividends.
He knew that the film had little box office prospects and did not want to make the already tight production budget even tighter.
After Northern Lights Video learned about the difficult situation of "Rouge Button", they generously expressed their willingness to increase some investment to make the production of the film more comfortable.
This surprised Wang Zhong and others.
When I inquired about it, I found out that this was to maintain a good cooperative relationship with Lu Yanhe.
Not only did "Seventeenth Floor" starring Lu Yanhe become this year's big hit, but his "Jump Up" team later produced "Confessions from a High Platform", which cost less than 50,000 yuan per issue to make every issue. The advertising fees of tens of millions in this period, not counting traffic and other income, gave Northern Lights Video a huge unexpected surprise.
Now they have worked with the "Jump Up" team to specially customize the program with "High Stage Confession" and will continue to film it.
In this case, the Northern Lights video comes to provide warmth in a timely manner.
Northern Lights Video has invested an additional 10 million yuan.
As soon as the news came to light, many people in the industry were shocked.
-
“It’s really enviable that someone has made additional investment so readily.”
Fu Kai, the director of "Path of Glory", was deeply moved when he heard the news.
"Rouge" had a production budget of 50 million, but "Path of Glory" only had a production budget of 10 million.
Comparatively, the box office performance of "Path of Glory" is even less promising, even if Fu Kai has a box office success like "Carpe Diem".
The story of "Rouge Button" is actually good-looking. You can't say that it's not good-looking just because it's a literary-artistic script.
"Path of Glory" makes people feel boring - this is the evaluation of many film companies.
If it weren’t for Shang Yongzhou’s final decision to star, this 10 million investment would not have been obtained.
Fu Kai also knew that this was not a good-looking movie—he already had this understanding and made such plans before filming.
So, he himself never thought that such a story would eventually be starred by Shang Yongzhou and Lu Yanhe.
It is almost unimaginable to have such a cast with such a production budget.
-
“But, why did Yan He take on such a low-budget movie? He is not the leading actor, but the supporting actor for Shang Yongzhou.”
“What kind of supporting actor? It’s obviously a double male lead.” Someone immediately retorted.
"Both male protagonists are lies. Shang Yongzhou is the first one, and Yan He is only the second one. Although Shang Yongzhou is the senior, debuted earlier than Yan He, and won some awards, but from the last two Looking at it year by year, Shang Yongzhou can’t compare to Yan He, right?”
“Be careful, we, Yan He, don’t need to drag our seniors down.”
“Is Shang Yongzhou not as good as Lu Yanhe? How can a person with so many brains be so arrogant?”
…
Before Lu Yanhe went to bed, he logged into his Weibo and found that his comment area was very noisy. He took another look at the situation, huh?
what's the situation?
He didn’t even have time to investigate why such a quarrel occurred. The most urgent matter was—
Lu Yanhe immediately replied to the fan who said that Shang Yongzhou was not as good as him: Are you sure you are my fan? Are you sure you didn't make a typo? Don't blame me.
Chen Ziyan’s message came over not long after: You are so fast that you replied to the fan before I even had time to contact you.
Lu Yanhe said: Well, I have seen it all, and I can’t pretend not to have seen it. Sister Ziyan, you also saw what they said.
Chen Ziyan: Your reply only adds fuel to the fire and will make more people pay attention to this matter and even participate in the discussion.
Lu Yanhe: Uh-huh.
Chen Ziyan: Don’t reply casually now. We will handle the rest. I have contacted Shang Yongzhou’s management team and are investigating whether there is someone behind this matter. While you two are working together, To sow discord and make you step on each other.
Lu Yanhe: Huh?
Chen Ziyan: You and Shang Yongzhou star in a movie together, which will make some people feel a sense of crisis and self-consciousness. You are no longer a transparent novice, and your existence itself will make people feel threatened.
Lu Yanhe: And because I was going to star in a movie with Shang Yongzhou, some people felt threatened and wanted to destroy the relationship between me and Shang Yongzhou. They deliberately found these several accounts to stir up topics and sow discord?
Chen Ziyan: Do you think this is a bit unbelievable and a bit exaggerated?
Lu Yanhe: A little bit.
Chen Ziyan sent a screenshot the next second and said: This is the ID I received three seconds ago. After searching and comparing, it was confirmed that this ID is not your fan at all. It was a previous one. He was a fan of the band Heavy Rain Pear Blossom and was quite influential. Later, his account was sold and his ID name was changed. This is a typical tool account.
Lu Yanhe was stunned and a little at a loss.
Chen Ziyan: Now you know that things are not that exaggerated, right? You are in an industry where no matter what happens, it will not be seen as exaggerated, so stay vigilant.
The matter of Lu Yanhe and Shang Yongzhou was on the hot search for a while, lingered at the end, and was removed soon. Chen Ziyan and people from Shang Yongzhou’s team took action together to remove this hot search and reduce the popularity of this topic.
Lu Yanhe suddenly remembered the incident of "eating one bite and spitting one bite" not long ago.
Although Helan obtained the video afterwards, which proved to be secretly taken by Ji Qianxing, Ji Qianxing also sent it out through the media after taking it.
Lu Yanhe has always had a free and easy attitude that is not afraid of slanting shadows. He always feels that no matter what he says or does, he is not afraid of other people's comments.
But it turns out that without a little more vigilance, troubles will increase.
-
"So what you are saying is that in "Rouge" it was because of the big character problems with the male protagonist that Lu Yanhe gave up on the script that he wrote himself and acted in a movie that cost less than "Rouge". Movie?"
Art News reporter Zhou Shuchun asked in surprise.
"That's right." Lian Xun nodded and said to Zhou Shuchun, "You signed a confidentiality agreement regarding this matter. Don't forget, no matter what, you cannot reveal that it was me who told you this. Otherwise, I will sue you according to this confidentiality agreement."
Zhou Shuchun: "Lian Xun, you don't have to stress these things to me. I'm not a reporter for a third-rate tabloid. Even if I don't sign this confidentiality agreement, I won't say anything. I won't spread any news about you." I have been a reporter at Art News for so many years, have you ever seen any of my informants dug out?”
Lian Xun nodded.
Actually, he knew that Zhou Shuchun's mouth was more trustworthy, so he finally chose to ask Zhou Shuchun to come out and talk about it.
"Huang Kairen refused several times at the beginning, but Lu Yanhe came to lobby Huang Kairen several times in order to recruit Huang Kairen for the script he wrote. Huang Kairen was so worn out by him that he finally agreed. " Lian Xun said with a sullen face, "The more I think about it, the more angry I become. Lu Yanhe asked Huang Kairen to act in a script that he didn't want to act in. Huang Kairen, that fool, thought it was a good role. "
Zhou Shuchun frowned slightly when he heard this and said: "Lian Xun, Wang Zhong is the best director at the West Tours Film Festival, not to mention Chen Bige. It can be said that according to Huang Kairen's current situation, he generally cannot win this award. I interviewed too many actors for the production of this team. Do you know how many actors in the same position as Huang Kairen dream of such a drama? "
Lian Xun said: "As long as the character design is better, I won't say anything. Don't I understand how strong the cast of this drama is? You also said that with such a cast, if the character design is really good, Why did you find Huang Kairen to play the role? "
“I heard that Lu Yanhe is willing to act, but he has concerns because of his age.” Zhou Shuchun said.
"This is just a smoke bomb he put out." Lian Xun said immediately, "If it was a really good role, would he be willing to give it to someone else? Which actor have you ever seen who would be willing to give up a really good role to someone else?"
These words moved Zhou Shuchun.
This sentence finally gave Zhou Shuchun the idea that "what Lian Xun said may be true."
Indeed, these things are just a matter of fact - if it is really a good role, no actor would be willing to give it up.
Zhou Shuchun has talked with so many actors and knows very well the attraction of a good role to actors.
-
“I was actually quite excited about the script of “Rouge Button” before.” Shang Yongzhou mentioned this matter when he met Lu Yanhe, “But it’s such a pity that I couldn’t play it.”
At that time, Shang Yongzhou rejected the film because he wanted to prepare for the play "Path of Glory" wholeheartedly.
Lu Yanhe said with a smile: "Now that I think about it, our production budget for this film is limited, so it is impossible for us to afford you and Sister Bi Ge to act at the same time."
Shang Yongzhou said: "As long as it is a good script, I can bring money into the team."
Lu Yanhe looked at Shang Yongzhou in surprise.
"Of course, although this script is good, many people will probably murmur about the role of the Twelve Young Masters when they get the script. Huang Kairen dares to take it. He is quite courageous." Shang Yongzhou said, "In the past few years, I have It seems that he has always played it safe and is very conservative in accepting roles. It is rare to see him accept such a role. "
“Brother Kai Ren has always wanted to break through himself.”
Shang Yongzhou looked at Lu Yanhe and asked, "What about you? Why don't you act? I heard that director Wang Zhong also had an idea for you."
"My age is a big problem." Lu Yanhe said directly, "If I were not twenty but thirty, I would definitely act."
Shang Yongzhou laughed twice.
"You wrote "Rouge Button" and "Raise the Red Lantern" for Chen Bige. When will you write a script for me?" he asked.
Lu Yanhe said: "Brother, do you need my script? You have so many film appointments."
Shang Yongzhou: "Looking at the large number, 99% of them are shoddy stories, just like those produced in vending machines. Moreover, it is difficult to find truly challenging scripts in the mainstream market now. To be honest, I don’t mean you have to play very difficult roles, but you should always play roles that are not challenging. If you play too many roles, you will become numb.”
“That’s why a script like “Path of Glory” was selected by you, and it can only be filmed if you act in it.” Lu Yanhe said immediately, “That’s what Sister Ziyan told me.”
"Fu Kai has always wanted to make a serious story that he wrote by himself. He has made many commercial films before. When I got the script of "Path of Glory", I didn't even think that it was written by him." Shang Yongzhou said, "I did have concerns at the beginning. The investment was small and there was basically no need to consider theater box office profits. It was difficult. There were too many unfavorable factors in terms of objective conditions. I really didn't accept this film because of the script. Speaking of which, he mainly wanted to help Fu Kai fulfill his dream of making such a film. He told me at the time that he might only have this opportunity in his life to make such a film and talk about him in the film. My own understanding of life and the world, then I have to help him, so I just accepted it.”
When Lu Yanhe listened to Shang Yongzhou telling this story, he was thinking about Liu Bige.
Why did you take on "Late Spring" at that time?
The more I know about this industry, the more incredible I am about the decision he made at that time.
Only a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers dares to take on a film like that.
If it were him now, would he still dare to accept it?
After thinking about it...it seems...I still...dare.
While filming "Road to Glory", there were a lot of driving scenes, and Lu Yanhe also had to learn to drive. He had signed up for a driving school before and had been learning from one lesson to another. The main reason was that he was usually too busy to concentrate on taking the driving license test in one go. Now I have no time and I have to make time.
Chen Ziyan found a special coach for him to learn to drive.
Probably because of his habit before filming, Shang Yongzhou would come to Lu Yanhe basically once every two or three weeks to talk about the script and performance so that they could get familiar with each other.
Lu Yanhe became more and more relaxed in front of Shang Yongzhou, no longer as restrained as before.
When it comes to acting, the two of them quite get along and have a common language.
Shang Yongzhou is not that kind of theater fanatic, and he doesn’t have the weird temperament of an artist.
This is very close to Lu Yanhe’s style of being kind to others.
When the two of them were chatting, no one would say anything mean or condescending. They were all very polite to each other, making the atmosphere seem good.
Shang Yongzhou also talked about a lot of things that happened when he was taken by Chen Ziyan.
It can be seen that Shang Yongzhou misses the days of fighting side by side with Chen Ziyan very much.
"She just takes care of everything, she worries a lot, she takes care of your work, you take care of the details of your life, she even takes care of the clothes piled up in my house." Shang Yongzhou couldn't help laughing when he said it, "She Is it still like this?"
Lu Yanhe said: "I feel okay, maybe because I always live with others. Sister Ziyan didn't say anything in this regard."
Shang Yongzhou: "Yes, you haven't lived alone yet, and you probably won't live alone in the future. It's good. Sometimes I'm quite envious. I've basically never lived with others, never This kind of experience has always been living alone.”
Lu Yanhe said: "If you meet the right person to live with, you will indeed be happy living together."
Shang Yongzhou asked: "Don't you live with your girlfriend?"
"I...we are quite far apart, so I haven't thought about it yet."
I actually thought about it, but I just weighed it and gave up at that time. Renting a house is not cost-effective. You can only live in that house for two or three months a year.
Shang Yongzhou: "You are really enviable at your age."
“Huh?” Lu Yanhe was stunned.
Shang Yongzhou said: "Don't worry, just take it as what I said casually."
Shang Yongzhou is only in his early thirties. Isn’t it time to lament his age? Lu Yanhe felt that what Shang Yongzhou envied just now was not just his age.
Just as he was thinking about this, Lu Yanhe's cell phone suddenly rang, and it rang continuously, one after another, as if suddenly everyone was sending him messages at the same time.
Lu Yanhe looked down at his mobile phone, and his first reaction was to give Shang Yongzhou a wry smile.
“Why do I feel like I’m in trouble again?” (End of chapter)