Since his debut, Lu Yanhe has hardly been criticized on a large scale or for a long time.
This audition incident is one of them.
In the comment section under Lu Yanhe’s own Weibo, countless people expressed their disappointment with him.
The general meaning is that if you finally choose to use a top actress like Chen Bige, you shouldn't organize auditions and use the banner of selecting new talents in the first place.
Faced with these insults, Lu Yanhe said nothing.
He just kept silent and let everyone scold him.
At this time, he couldn't explain anything.
The more this happened, the more Zhou Shuchun was certain that the two girls he saw that day were just ordinary high school girls.
There is nothing special about it.
Only with this attitude can Lu Yanhe keep Zhang Ruochi secret and unnoticed.
Another party involved in this incident, Chen Bige, was also involved in an unexpected disaster. Although this incident had nothing to do with her, because she was the heroine, some people had opinions about her.
Since "Seventeenth Floor", Chen Bige's career has been on the way back to its peak.
"Rouge", "Night Run"... and now there's another "Love Letter".
Someone directly asked: "Why are Chen Bige's recent dramas all related to Lu Yanhe? Either she co-stars with Lu Yanhe, or the scripts are written by Lu Yanhe. Her new works contain too much Lu Yanhe. Is it possible that an actress of Chen Bige's level can't act without Lu Yanhe?"
Chen Bige’s fans, of course, scoff at such statements.
Are you kidding me? Who are you talking about?
"It's true that Chen Bige is becoming more and more picky and her output is decreasing. But are you saying that she won't have any roles to play if she can't leave Lu Yanhe? You might as well ask the major film companies if they won't give Chen Bige scripts without Lu Yanhe. I don't know how someone could say that."
"But Chen Bige and Lu Yanhe collaborate too frequently. How can they collaborate so frequently?"
"What's wrong with frequent collaborations? The Seventeenth Floor was a huge hit, Run by Night was shortlisted for the Picasso Film Festival, Rouge is director Wang Zhong's new film, and Love Letter has received even more attention. Why don't you ask other actors, who wouldn't want to act in any of these films? Why don't you mention that director Wang Zhong has collaborated with Lu Yanhe so many times? From Three Mountains to Run by Night to Rouge, that's three times, right?"
There is constant controversy on the Internet.
And the things they were arguing about were indeed something Lu Yanhe had never expected.
There is really a feeling of "why bother".
The longer people collaborate, the smoother the collaboration. In Hollywood, many directors have their own group of actors. After working together on seven or eight films, they don’t care about any new sparks. They just want to find new people to collaborate with, and they can still make good and classic works.
Lu Yanhe was somewhat disdainful of such a statement. Lu Yanhe thought that he was actually a behind-the-scenes staff member in Rouge and did not appear on screen. And Night Run was also a short film, not a serious feature film, and it did not leave such a deep impression on everyone. All in all, Chen Bige acted with him as the heroine, and Love Letter was the second film. In fact, Lu Yanhe did not have any rival scenes with Chen Bige in the movie Love Letter because of the plot. Lu Yanhe's rival scenes were all shot with Zhang Ruozhi.
This also means that Lu Yanhe and Chen Bige do not have any shots in the same frame in "Love Letter".
However, none of this can be explained. Lu Yanhe doesn't want to explain it either. In every play, every story, the narrator has his own ideas. Some are first positive and then negative, some are first negative and then positive, some are constantly reversed, and some are subtle clues. If you have to stand up and explain every time you are questioned, then many things will lose their meaning.
Lu Yanhe believes that these controversies will disappear after the movie is released.
-
In the movie "Love Letter", in addition to these main characters, there are several other very important characters.
"To put it simply, this story is about a pair of high school students who, because they have the same name, are teased by everyone and notice each other. Many years later, the boy Huai Jingshu is together with a girl who looks like the girl Huai Jingshu. Her name is Zheng Ni. Sister Bi Ge plays two characters, Zheng Ni and the adult female Huai Jingshu. The boy Huai Jingshu died unexpectedly while climbing a mountain. Zheng Ni missed him very much, so she wrote a letter to Huai Jingshu's address when he was in high school, but it was sent to the girl Huai Jingshu's home. The two girls got to know each other and reminisced about Huai Jingshu through these letters, and unexpectedly discovered that when they were in high school, not only the girl was secretly in love with the boy, but the boy was also secretly in love with the girl. When the girls found out about this, the boy had already passed away."
Lu Yanhe sat in front of Wan Xin, the winner of the Red River Award for Best Actress, and introduced the movie "Love Letter" to her.
This actress, who is nearly fifty years old, is still well-maintained, with an elegant posture and eyes that are still as charming as spring water.
Lu Yanhe first met her at the Red River Awards ceremony, and after leaving contact information, they only exchanged greetings during festivals and holidays, and had no extra contact. This time, when Lu Yanhe was looking for actors for the film, he suddenly remembered this elegant actress.
Lu Yanhe said: "Actually, I just want you to play my mother in the movie, the mother of the boy Huai Jingshu I play."
Wan Xin showed a bit of surprise.
"Xiao Lu, you want me to play your mother?"
"Yeah." Lu Yanhe nodded, "It's mainly because I'm going to play a beautiful boy in the movie, and I have to have a very beautiful mother so that people will believe it."
Wan Xin laughed.
"Xiao Lu, when do you plan to shoot this play?"
"We'll shoot in summer and winter, and your scenes will be in winter," Lu Yanhe said. "You won't have many scenes, only two. But if you've read the script, you'll know that this role isn't for just anyone to play. It requires a lot of inner strength."
Wan Xin: "From what I heard you say about this movie, it seems quite sad."
"It's not sadness, it's regret." Lu Yanhe said, "You will know after reading the script. What I want to tell is not a sad story of missed each other, but in this regret and memories of youth, realizing that someone once secretly liked you, the existence of this thing itself is a very beautiful thing."
Wan Xin said, "Okay, let me read the script first and I will get back to you as soon as possible."
"Thank you, Sister Wan Xin." Lu Yanhe said.
Wan Xin said, "I had set a rule for myself that I must not play the role of a mother or mother-in-law unless it is absolutely necessary. I mean the kind of mother or mother-in-law roles that are there to complement the protagonists. I want to play the leading female role for a few more years. It was because you approached me that I made an exception and took a look at the script first."
Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "Sister Wan Xin, this role is not a traditional supporting role, and your acting skills will not turn her into an ordinary supporting role."
Wan Xin nodded.
-
In addition to Wan Xin, there are many other actors to be found.
Lu Yanhe always visited in person.
Thanks to Lu Yanhe's current influence, Lu Yanhe can basically make an appointment with anyone without any problems.
It's just that because everyone is so busy, we may not be able to spare the time to meet him specifically.
Some actors were still in the crew, so Lu Yanhe simply went to visit them and meet them on the set.
Generally speaking, it was a relatively smooth process for Lu Yanhe to find actors.
Some refused, but most agreed immediately.
Everyone believes that Lu Yanhe’s movies will definitely not be bad.
And because Lu Yanhe couldn't hide the fact that he was going to direct this movie during the communication process with everyone, the news that Lu Yanhe was going to write, direct and act in the movie "Love Letter" gradually spread.
-
Yu Jiang has been very active during this period because her film "Flowers on the Stars" will be screened and sold at the Jose-La-Jacques Film Festival.
She first announced that her new novel will be serialized in "Star!", and then announced that Lang Xia will star in another movie adapted from her novel, "Beloved".
In mid-April, Bingyuan Video took the lead in organizing a screenwriter forum.
Yu Jiang was invited to participate.
A total of eight screenwriters participated in this forum, including Feng Qiyue, the screenwriter of "Seventeenth Floor".
At the forum, everyone discussed one of the topics: "The difference between screenwriters and directors."
When everyone was discussing it, the host suddenly mentioned, "Actually, I saw a report before that someone invited Feng Qiyue to be the director of their own script, but Feng Qiyue refused. Teacher Feng, can you share with us how you think about this matter?"
Feng Qiyue said bluntly: "I don't like dealing with people. Otherwise, I wouldn't be a screenwriter. A big part of the reason I chose this profession is because the nature of this profession is very pure. Unlike other professions, you need to deal with too many people. In fact, many people with screenwriter thinking also have director thinking, but not everyone is suitable to be a director. This is not just a matter of thinking. Being a director almost requires you to be a generalist and know a little bit about everything."
The host mentioned: "There is news recently that Lu Yanhe will write, direct and act in the movie Love Letter, which was written by him. I wonder what you teachers think about this?"
"Lu Yanhe is very young, he is only 21 years old. It is not easy for him to achieve such results at this age. And I always think that it is a particularly good thing that he wants to try new things at this age." said a screenwriter.
"Oh, you said it too, he is only twenty-one years old." Yu Jiang shook his head.
"Teacher Yu Jiang, do you have anything to say?"
"Forget it, I won't say anything, lest I say something unpleasant and everyone accuses me of targeting him."
"Haha." Feng Qiyue suddenly laughed.
Yu Jiang looked over and asked, "Teacher Feng, is there anything funny about what I said?"
Feng Qiyue said: "Nothing."
He shrugged.
Yu Jiang: "Anyway, we are all here now. If you think what I said is funny, why not just say it directly? There is no need to hesitate like this."
"Then I'll tell you, don't be offended, I just find it very funny. You said that in case what you say is unpleasant, everyone will think you are targeting him. That's not what everyone thinks, right? Aren't you targeting him?" Feng Qiyue asked.
Yu Jiang said, "So Mr. Feng came here to defend Lu Yanhe because he worked with him on "The Seventeenth Floor"?"
"Does he need me to stand up for him?" Feng Qiyue's expression seemed to say "Are you kidding me?" He said, "Teacher Yu Jiang, except for yourself and your small group of supporters, no one would think that your comments about Lu Yanhe were rational."
Yu Jiang's face turned very ugly.
"It seems that you have a very accurate understanding of yourself, Mr. Feng. You are really not suitable for dealing with people." Yu Jiang said, "We are a forum here, and everyone is discussing the matter at hand, but you are attacking me personally."
Feng Qiyue: "You said in a contemptuous tone that Lu Yanhe is only 21 years old, isn't that right?"
Yu Jiang: "When I said he was twenty-one, wasn't that just a matter of fact?"
"Isn't what I said just a matter of fact?" Feng Qiyue said, "Teacher Yu Jiang, why don't you take a closer look at what people are saying online."
Yu Jiang said: "I never care about what is said on the Internet. Who knows if the person saying those things on the other end of the Internet is a troll, a black fan, or even a dog."
"Dear netizens, Yu Jiang made personal attacks on you, saying that you are dogs." Feng Qiyue spread his hands seriously and said.
Yu Jiang's face changed drastically.
"Feng Qiyue, don't deliberately misinterpret my meaning!"
"Didn't you say that? Isn't this just a matter of fact? Did I take it out of context or exaggerate? Fortunately, there is a live broadcast!" Feng Qiyue was too lazy to pretend and looked at Yu Jiang coldly, "Acting crazy and stupid."
Yu Jiang's face turned red with anger.
She stood up and left the table angrily.
-
After Yu Jiang left the forum in anger, the forum continued.
Another screenwriter sighed and said to Feng Qiyue, "You are such a fool. Why did you have such a big conflict with her?"
Feng Qiyue said: "She was the one who first brought up Lu Yanhe. If she could hold back from bringing it up, I would just go over with her for the sake of face."
"No one fired at you."
"But she opened fire on Lu Yanhe." Feng Qiyue said directly, "She and Lu Yanhe have no intersection, and they have never worked together. She has always been trying to get close to Lu Yanhe. Not only does she like to get close to him, but she also always speaks ill of him. I don't know what she is thinking. I thought that after Yanhe's several dramas came out last year, she would know how ridiculous her words were and would not say them again, but I didn't expect that she would start again now."
"Just treat what she said as bullshit. No one will believe her anyway."
"You spoil her, why should you treat her like she's farting and let her do whatever she wants? If she wants to fart, go back home and don't do it in public. It's up to her to make her stink however she wants, but don't make me stink."
……
Because this forum is more professional, the live broadcast was actually watched by only a few thousand people. However, the bickering between Feng Qiyue and Yu Jiang, as well as Feng Qiyue's complaints after Yu Jiang left, were viewed over 10 million times in one day.
This clip of the two of them quarreling with each other was reposted crazily by major marketing accounts.
Everyone knows that traffic is coming.
This incident also became a carnival for the onlookers.
Anyone who is familiar with Yu Jiang and Lu Yanhe knows about the grudge between them.
However, for the majority of netizens, it is not so familiar. Many people do not know the cause and effect, and some are confused and do not know how they quarreled.
Therefore, some kind-hearted netizens compiled a collection of the past grievances between Lu Yanhe and Yu Jiang for netizens who do not understand the cause and effect to read.
The popularity continues one after another.
Feng Qiyue is a very famous screenwriter. You may not have heard of his name, but you basically know the TV series and movies he has written.
He rarely makes such a heated speech.
This behavior of suddenly standing up to help Lu Yanhe to choke Yu Jiang was exciting for the audience, but it was surprising for people in the industry.
-
"Does Teacher Feng have a good relationship with Yan He?"
"We're all filming The Seventeenth Floor together, and we're going to be filming the second season later, so of course it's good."
"There are so many actors who have acted in Feng Qiyue's scripts, why haven't we seen Feng Qiyue speak up for other actors?"
"That means Feng Qiyue and Lu Yanhe have a better relationship."
"In fact, it is also possible that Teacher Feng Qiyue simply dislikes Yu Jiang."
"Yeah, Yu Jiang is also a weirdo, and many people have criticized her."
"But have you noticed that even though so many people dislike Yu Jiang, he is still doing very well?"
"Because she's popular. This is an era of traffic. Moreover, she now has her own company and is also involved in film and television production. In any case, her novels are popular. Look, her novel Flowers on the Stars is so popular. Maybe the box office will exceed 100 million yuan. If there is such a result, do you believe it? Many actors will start to praise her and say good things about her?"
"That's just... disgusting."
"You can be disgusted, and she can be happy."
"If I were Feng Qiyue, I would also support Lu Yanhe." This person said immediately, "Why do we allow people like Yu Jiang to dominate the entertainment industry? I still hope there are more people like Lu Yanhe."
"Now you know why Feng Qiyue wants to speak up for Lu Yanhe, right?"
"Those who have attained the truth will receive much help, but those who have lost the path will receive little help."
-
The attitude on the Internet towards this incident is almost one-sided in favor of Feng July.
It is said that in the Internet age, no matter how popular something is, its popularity will fade after a few days.
But people have memories.
The name Yu Jiang has been on the hot searches many times, but most of the time the news is negative. Over time, her popularity among the public has declined.
People subconsciously frown when they see her name. This time she was arguing with Feng Qiyue. Regardless of the content of the argument itself, many people would feel disgusted the moment they saw the name Yu Jiang, and would feel a sense of disgust of "Why is it her again?"
After seeing the reactions online, Yu Jiang became even more furious.
"Teacher Yu, please don't read the news online. They don't know the real situation at all. They only use some fragments and judge you out of context."
Her assistant comforted her.
"When Flowers on the Stars is released, everyone will know how wrong they are." The assistant said, "The feedback from the internal preview of this movie is so good. Feng Qiyue is just bullying you by relying on his seniority. When this movie is a big hit at the box office, he will find out who the actors want to make friends with more, you or him."
Yu Jiang's mood was somewhat comforted by his assistant's words.
She said: "I don't believe that a person can succeed in anything he does. He is just a 21-year-old boy. No matter how talented he is, can he make a classic?"
Yu Jiang didn't mention Feng July at all.
Her concern is still about Lu Yanhe.
The assistant kept silent.
If it was Feng Qiyue, the assistant felt that Yu Jiang could definitely compete with her, but Lu Yanhe? Even if she was Yu Jiang's assistant, she didn't have the face to say what she had just said.
-
"It's not that easy to be a director." He Yingzi also said to Lang Xia, "If he was really encouraged by people around him to be the director of Love Letter, then he would have really messed up."
Lang Xia asked: "But we don't know whether he has the talent to be a director. Maybe his talent to be a director is not worse than his talent to be an actor?"
He Yingzi said, "That has nothing to do with us. We will just walk our own path, and we will not be any worse than him. Are you less popular than him now? No, right? This is an Internet age, an era of traffic. Even those luxury brands that used to be so high-minded have started to look for various idols to be their spokespeople and do promotions, haven't they? Lang Xia, you don't have to belittle yourself. As long as you can continue on the path you are on now, you will become the most popular actor."
Lang Xia nodded.
He Yingzi said: "Actually, I recently took a fancy to a script, but unfortunately the script has already been cast by someone else, Yan Liang."
"What script?" Lang Xia asked.
He Yingzi said: "'The Mountain' is a fine drama, with an old man and a young man. The younger one is the second male lead, but his character is no worse than the male lead. It is about fraud, and there has never been a drama of this theme in our domestic web dramas."
Lang Xia asked: "If this role is really good and filming hasn't started yet, why not talk to the producer? We can bring in money. Aren't there several brands that are willing to invest in my drama?"
"Yan Liang is a popular actor now thanks to the Friends series. He can do anything we can bring to the team." He Yingzi sighed, "If only I had seen the script first, but unfortunately, the script was given to Zhou Pingan first. Originally, the role was for Ma Zhiyuan, but Ma Zhiyuan didn't want to play it, so Zhou Pingan gave it directly to Yan Liang."
"Yan Liang accepted the role when Ma Zhiyuan refused to act? He is so spineless." Lang Xia curled his lips.
He Yingzi said: "As long as the role is good and the team is good, there is no need for backbone at this time. An actor can do anything to get a good role."
Lang Xia shook his head: "I can't do it."
He Yingzi smiled and said, "You have me here anyway, so you don't have to do these things. After Flowers on the Stars is released, you will go to shoot Beloved. Starring in two movies in a row, you can be considered to have established a foot in the film industry. I hope both movies do well at the box office."
Lang Xia asked, "In the sequel to the movie 'Burning Fire', can my character be one of the main characters?"
He Yingzi said: "I have been communicating with them for a long time. They have only written a rough draft of the sequel script and have not officially started writing the script yet. Why are you in such a hurry?"
Lang Xia: "I don't want to just be a cameo in this movie series."
"If you perform well in the first film and get good feedback from the audience, your role in the sequel will naturally increase," said He Yingzi. "Now the movie "Burning Fire" is a complete chaos. There are so many actors who want to play. If I continue to ask for more roles in the sequel, they will be disgusted."
Lang Xia pursed his lips, but did not refute anything. He just said reluctantly: "Okay."
-
"Wan Xin's performance contract has already been reviewed by the legal department." Chen Ziyan said, "Two scenes, 600,000 yuan in remuneration, you are willing to spend it."
Lu Yanhe said: "Sister Zi Yan, Teacher Wan Xin is worth it."
Chen Ziyan said: "The current creative lineup of "Love Letter" is a bit exaggerated."
"Ok?"
"You don't even need to mention yourself. Behind the scenes there are Luo Yuzhong, Liu Bige, Xin Zixing and others. In the cast, there are Chen Bige, Wan Xin, Li Songfan and others. Only you can make this film with a production budget of around 10 million." Chen Ziyan said, "If it were someone else, it would be impossible to hire so many people with this little money."
Lu Yanhe said: "I paid according to the market price, without any discount."
"The market price is the market price, but so many companies offer you market price to act, have you gone? They choose your role because of you." Chen Ziyan said, "Otherwise, why would Wan Xin come to your movie to play a role with only two scenes? It's not like she doesn't have the lead role to play."
Lu Yanhe nodded, "That's true."
Chen Ziyan said: "With the current lineup, if we tell people that the production budget is only 10 million, no one will believe it."
Lu Yanhe said: "The main expense for this film is the production team. There is no need to produce special effects, and the cost of costumes and props is not much."
Love Letter is a modern drama, which does not require money spent on special effects like many blockbusters, nor does it require high production costs on costumes and props like ancient costume dramas. Basically, all the investment is in people.
Chen Ziyan said, "My point is that we should not promote the low production budget for this movie, because no one will believe that 10 million yuan can really make this movie. If someone else wanted to shoot Love Letter with 10 million yuan, they would definitely not be able to find a cast like yours. If we promote this point, it may backfire."
Only then did Lu Yanhe understand Chen Ziyan's intention.
He nodded and said, "I understand, Sister Zi Yan, I will pay attention."
Chen Ziyan asked: "Then 'Love Letter' is almost done, when do you plan to shoot 'The Girl We Chased Together in Those Years'?"
Lu Yanhe said: "I haven't thought about it yet."
"Do you want to continue directing this movie?" Chen Ziyan asked.
Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "Those Years has much more arrangements than Love Letter. It's already very tiring for me to shoot Love Letter now, so let's forget about Those Years."
"Being a director is like this," Chen Ziyan said. "If you don't plan to direct Those Years yourself, then I will communicate with other film companies to see who to produce with us."
Lu Yanhe said: "Sister Zi Yan, in fact, the box office of "Those Years" should be higher than that of "Love Letter". I plan to invest more in this movie myself."
Chen Ziyan said: "But if you invest too much, other companies may not be willing to take over."
If Lu Yanhe invests more, the shares of others will be smaller. If the expected income from this movie is not enough, they may not be interested in doing this project.
Lu Yanhe said: "That's not too much. What I mean is, Sister Zi Yan, if you are interested, you can also invest more. The box office of "Those Years" will be higher."
Lu Yanhe has no idea how the movie "Love Letter" performed at the box office.
Because the subject matter and content of this movie are too far away from the current film market.
Lu Yanhe was not sure how many audiences would be willing to go to the cinema for a movie about secret love with a sad ending. This movie was controlled by his and Chen Ziyan's production company. There was no cooperation with other film companies, and no other capital was invested to ensure that Lu Yanhe could shoot the movie completely according to his ideas. The funds for this movie came entirely from Lu Yanhe, Chen Ziyan, Chen Siqi, Luo Yuzhong, Liu Bige, Chen Bige and others.
Lu Yanhe believed that everyone was willing to invest, not because they believed that the film would be a big hit at the box office and help them make a fortune, but because this was Lu Yanhe's first film that he wrote, directed and starred in, so they specifically supported him.
Especially Chen Ziyan, who is the second largest investor besides Lu Yanhe himself.
Lu Yanhe was also worried that if "Love Letter" failed, he could let the movie "You Are the Apple of My Eye" help Chen Ziyan make some money back.
Chen Ziyan smiled.
She said: "I am not that professional in film production, and I don't know how much it will cost to make the movie "Those Years". I will talk to a few companies first to see if they are interested. If they are willing to give me a share to invest, I am of course willing to invest more."
For projects that are not very promising, of course, one will beg for support from investors.
But for projects like Those Years, Chen Ziyan believes that there will definitely be a large number of film companies willing to join the production. In this case, it is not certain how much investment share they are willing to give. Good projects will never lack investment, and investment shares have to be snatched up.
Chen Ziyan knew that Lu Yanhe didn't really understand these things. The film "Love Letter" was almost raised by playing house. In Chen Ziyan's opinion, it was a group of relatives and friends who saw that their child was going to start his own business, so they not only helped, but also took out a sum of money to support the child and help him realize his wish.
Why did Chen Ziyan remind Lu Yanhe not to publicize the 10 million yuan production budget?
Because apart from "Love Letter", there will never be another movie shot like this.
Of course, Chen Ziyan couldn't tell Lu Yanhe too much about these things.
Everyone is trying to protect Lu Yanhe's purity, especially Chen Ziyan, as his agent. (End of this chapter)
