"Our show today ends here. Thank you to the crew of "Friends". See you in the next show. Goodbye—"After the host announced the end of the recording of this episode in an excited tone, everyone on the stage danced to the music.
By this time, it was already eleven o'clock in the evening.
Of course, for a program whose official recording time starts at 6 o'clock in the evening, completing the recording in five hours is already a very fast speed.
Wang Biao walked up to Lu Yanhe with his phone and whispered, "Little Brother Lu, Zhong Benshuo called me twice just now."
Lu Yanhe was a little surprised. He took the phone and saw that the first call was at 8:20 and the second call was at 9:00.
But apart from these two calls, Zhong Benshuo did not send him any message.
Lu Yanhe replied to Zhong Benshuo: I just finished recording the show and got my phone back. It’s already very late. If it’s not urgent, we can contact each other tomorrow.
Almost within a minute, Zhong Benshuo called.
Lu Yanhe hasn't even walked out of the studio yet.
He regretted that he should have replied later.
"Hey, are you still recording the show over there? It sounds quite lively."
Zhong Benshuo's voice sounded like a deliberately aroused passion, as if it was a morning that should be full of energy - but in fact, it was just a morning after staying up all night and could only use the golden sunlight to cover up the fact that the dark circles under the eyes.
"Yes, you are in a hurry to find me so late, is there something urgent?"
Lu Yanhe admitted that at this moment he even hoped that something really happened, which made Zhong Benshuo insist on calling him so late at night.
Zhong Benshuo said, "Yam Ha, do you know how many people watched the first episode of "Friends" on Maxine?"
His tone was filled with an excitement that was difficult to contain and suppress.
It was almost as if I was just saying it out loud—I was guessing! I was guessing!
Lu Yanhe slapped himself on the forehead.
"I don't know. Don't keep me in suspense. Just tell me directly."
Zhong Benshuo: "Within one hour of going online, the number of viewers exceeded 200 million! Now it has reached 319 million!"
Don’t underestimate this number of only two or three million. Compared with the tens of millions in China, it seems very low. On the one hand, China has a large population and is the home market. To exaggerate, the market can almost support half of the world. On the other hand, this is also related to the different statistical methods.
On streaming media like Maxine, the number of viewers is calculated based on the number of IDs. Even if you watch the same ID five or six times, it will only be counted as one person. The number of people is another statistical data that is also counted, but it is not as meaningful as the number of viewers - because what overseas streaming media cares most about is the number of members and how much the members like the show.
What level is this data at?
At Maxine, when the annual list is released, unless there is a global phenomenon-level hit, the number of viewers for a hit is between 50 million and 80 million. If we look at the statistics for the first hour of the show, the number of viewers for a top drama starring a global superstar may be around 10 million.
For a TV series like "Friends", the number of viewers exceeded 200 million within one hour of its launch, which means that it took only one hour to achieve the same result as "The Gold Rush" did in a month.
No wonder Zhong Benshuo insisted on calling him as soon as possible.
"Then should I congratulate you on getting another outstanding drama for Maxine?" Lu Yanhe asked with a smile.
"Of course, but Yan He, I must tell you that although many unpleasant things have happened between us, please believe me, my trust in you will not be affected by anything, and you have also seen that as long as it is you, I will never hesitate to show my sincerity."
Zhong Benshuo said: "This time, we paid nearly 20 million US dollars in copyright fees for "Friends", and it can only be broadcast for three years."
"Believe me, the number won't be this next season. If you don't double it, you'll be doing a disservice to the performance of this show." Lu Yanhe smiled.
"I know, I know, of course." Zhong Benshuo took a deep breath, "Hey, Yanhe, why don't you just cooperate with us and develop another drama together? You know, as long as you agree, I will provide you with a very generous contract."
Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "Oh my God, haven't I cooperated with you guys enough now?"
"That's not directly cooperating with you. What I mean is that there is no Jingtai, no Yuehutai, no Northern Lights Video between us... just us." Zhong Benshuo said, "The price is very easy to negotiate, Yanhe, as long as you are willing, I will come to you with a contract early tomorrow morning."
"No, I've been too busy lately. You know, while filming Friends, I also had to coordinate the promotion, and I didn't have enough time to rest." Lu Yanhe said, "Mr. Zhong, of course I'm willing to work with Maxine, but there's no suitable project. You know the projects I'm working on."
"I heard you've started writing an English script?"
“That’s a movie.”
"Why not movies? We at Maxine make a lot of movies every year."
"I hope the movie can be released in theaters, rather than being online on video platforms for a week and then disappearing."
"The movies produced by Maxine are also released around the world." Zhong Benshuo said, "For creators like you, you only need to put forward your requirements and we will cooperate."
"You are really being too exaggerated now." Lu Yanhe had to point this out.
Zhong Benshuo's tone was full of lively laughter.
"I can be more flamboyant if you like."
"You'd better let me go, really. I'm too tired. Now is not the time to discuss this. I need to go back and rest."
"Okay, go to bed early, but when you wake up tomorrow morning, please seriously consider what I told you."
Lu Yanhe hung up the phone.
He yawned with a sense of loss.
Wang Biao hesitated for a moment and asked, "Brother Lu, how about you drink two more sips of coffee?"
"Ah? Now? Go back and sleep."
Wang Biao sighed, "I'm sorry, you have another schedule later."
"What the hell?" Lu Yanhe was stunned and looked at Wang Biao in disbelief.
Wang Biao said, "We are going to record the blog show of the wild girl. We have already communicated about this before. Have you forgotten?"
"Ah... yes, I forgot." Lu Yanhe sighed as if resigned to his fate, "Okay."
Xiao Ye Girl is a very popular book blogger. She met Lu Yanhe at a book fair and later collaborated with him twice with the help of Jiangyin Publishing House. She is also one of the few podcast bloggers on the Internet with millions of listeners.
When Lu Yanhe received the invitation, he agreed to be on her show.
This is also a promotion for "Friends".
Wang Biao added: "Today's second episode's ratings have exceeded 2 per episode."
Lu Yanhe: "No surrender?"
"No, not at all." Wang Biao said with a smile, "However, the plot of Wen Fanxi becoming a father still caused a lot of discussion, and the topic became popular."
Lu Yanhe nodded, "I can think of it."
"Yan He, we're going to have a midnight snack together later. Would you like to join us?" Zhan Yun asked when she ran into him in the corridor. "It's organized by the host of Saturday Night Live. They'll probably come ask you soon."
"I have to record a blog program later." Lu Yanhe shook his head, "You guys go ahead."
"Do you have any more announcements?" Zhan Yun looked at Lu Yanhe in surprise, as if she had never expected that Lu Yanhe's schedule would be so busy.
"Yes."
"Okay," Zhan Yun said, "this makes me feel a little guilty."
"No, there's no need." Lu Yanhe said, "You don't know how much I want to go back and rest now. If it weren't for the fact that the recording time of this podcast program is always late at night, this announcement would definitely not be scheduled at this time."
"Oh? Only record late at night? Are you going to record the podcast of Little Wild Girl?" asked Zhan Yun.
"Yes, you know?"
"I am a loyal listener of this program," said Zhan Yun. "I like listening to her program very much. I have read a lot of books following her program. To be honest, I didn't love reading so much before. It was her who rekindled my interest in reading."
"I'll tell her what you said." Lu Yanhe said with a smile.
Zhan Yun smiled and nodded.
-
This kind of days lasted for almost a month.
The extremely high ratings of "Friends" and the audience's love for the show swept through December like a tornado.
Everyone guessed that "Friends" would be a good hit, but no one expected that the show would be so good.
So much so that by the third week, many articles appeared criticizing the show for having problematic values.
Basically, if a drama is not popular enough, there will be no articles criticizing the drama for having problematic values.
Some of them were even written by famous people.
Lu Yanhe read some of the articles and had nothing much to say except pouting.
It's all nonsense.
In this world, the easiest things to attack others are ideology and values. Because no one is perfect, people will always take things out of context and find something to make a fuss about.
In fact, anyone who has actually watched this drama knows what this is all about.
Such popularity has also made the weekends of the main creators of "Friends" a time slot that major events are competing for.
In order to compete for their schedule, you even have to pay a lot of extra conditions.
For example, in order to get Yan Liang to attend their annual gala, a fashion media promised to help him connect with a first-tier brand as the Asia-Pacific spokesperson. This was a real benefit for Yan Liang.
Not to mention Lu Yanhe.
He and Chen Siqi have always been invited to various major events as a couple.
There are many celebrity couples, but Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi are the only ones who can achieve such a level.
In the past, some people would say that Chen Siqi was able to obtain everything she had with the help of Lu Yanhe.
There is almost no such sound now.
For Lu Yanhe's fans, Chen Siqi has helped Lu Yanhe and his works achieve miraculous results through her powerful media connections and several textbook legendary marketing campaigns, leaving Lu Yanhe's fans speechless - whether it's the art film "Late Spring" that reaped 500 million box office, or the desperate publicity method of "Friends", the ability demonstrated by Chen Siqi proves that not only does she need Lu Yanhe, but Lu Yanhe also needs her.
For the general public, especially young women, Chen Siqi is like an ICON, a true life idol. At a young age, she started a magazine and then expanded it into a media group. In just four and a half years, she and her team have established a firm foothold and have never stopped, and are still actively expanding.
From the overseas version of "Jump Up" to the International Critics Film Festival that is currently being prepared, her attitude of never stopping perfectly fits the modern woman's yearning for control over her own life.
To a certain extent, the mental outlook displayed by Chen Siqi even made her have more female fans than Lu Yanhe.
Most of Lu Yanhe's female fans still have a relationship that is that of a fan and an idol artist.
Chen Siqi’s fans have almost reached the mentality of “followers”.
In this era, such a couple can almost be said to be the most mainstream and popular combination.
-
"Maxine got a 15-minute interview with the morning news program of CBN TV in the United States." Chen Ziyan said, "That program is watched by about 8 million households in the United States. It has a great influence."
Lu Yanhe was a little surprised and asked, "Do I have time to participate in the interview of that program?"
"Yes." Chen Ziyan smiled at him. "Their program is live broadcast. Your interview will be conducted between 7:45 and 8 in the morning. Well, you can finish your work here at 8 o'clock."
Lu Yanhe took a deep breath, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Okay, then it seems I have to get up early."
"Yes." Chen Ziyan smiled, "I'm glad that I have prepared a lot of words to convince you, so I don't need to say them anymore."
"It has a great influence, and I have time to participate. Have I ever refused a job that meets these two conditions?" Lu Yanhe shook his head, "Sister Zi Yan, you don't trust me enough."
"I don't know if you can still handle such a high-intensity work pace after a month."
"Well, I'm really a little tired recently." Lu Yanhe said, "I really need a day off without having to meet anyone or answer any phone calls."
"Just hold on a little longer, and once the filming of Friends is finished, you'll have a day off like this." Chen Ziyan said with a smile.
-
At this time, the news of Yin Xincheng's love affair was photographed by a paparazzi and exposed.
"Oh, it's okay to be photographed. If you are photographed, it doesn't matter." Lu Yanhe said to Yin Xincheng, "There are advantages to not being exposed, but there are also advantages to being exposed. From now on, you don't have to hide anymore and avoid paparazzi when you go out."
Yin Xincheng was very nervous.
"It may sound a bit cowardly to me to say this, but I am afraid that this matter will be exposed and affect my work."
Lu Yanhe: "Believe me, it won't happen. Don't worry about these things."
Yin Xincheng said: "My previous agent told me that most of my fans are girlfriends, and once my relationship is exposed, many people will stop following me."
"Isn't this just nonsense?" Lu Yanhe asked, "If the majority of your fans are girlfriend fans, then why did they let you appear on a dating show before? Isn't this a contradiction?"
Yin Xincheng was stunned.
"You were just fooled by them."
"Oh my god!" Yin Xincheng reacted with an expression of disbelief.
The exposure of actors' love affairs does not have much impact.
At least it has little impact on Yin Xincheng.
He is not an idol-type actor, although he is also a handsome guy.
Lu Yanhe said to him, "Is there anyone accompanying your girlfriend now?"
Yin Xincheng shook his head. "I just talked to her on the phone. She is still at work."
Lu Yanhe: "She must really need you now."
Yin Xincheng was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses, uttered an "oh", picked up his phone and said, "I, I have to go first."
Lu Yanhe nodded, "Don't forget, we still have to continue rehearsing at three o'clock in the afternoon."
"I know, I'll be back in time!"
Yin Xincheng took his cell phone and walked away in a hurry.
Lu Yanhe smiled and turned around to find Wang Biao.
"Brother Lu, your phone is still ringing non-stop. I have to keep charging your phone. Otherwise, the battery level of the phone you got now must be less than 20%."
"Thank you." Lu Yanhe smiled at Wang Biao, "Is there anyone who needs to call me right away?"
"We're lucky today, no." Wang Biao smiled.
Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief when he took the phone.
Wang Biao asked: "Brother Xiao Lu, will the exposure of Yin Xincheng's relationship affect "Friends"? "
"Of course not, why would you think that?"
"Because I just heard some people talking about it." Wang Biao said.
Lu Yanhe asked in surprise: "Is it here?"
"Yes." Wang Biao nodded, "Here."
Lu Yanhe: "I thought the performance of this drama was enough to convince everyone that we don't need to worry about this kind of thing."
Wang Biao: "Perhaps it is because the show is so good now, beyond everyone's expectations, so everyone actually feels it is a bit unrealistic, and is even more afraid that the performance will suddenly decline."
Lu Yanhe: "That doesn't seem to be a problem."
Of course, Lu Yanhe just thought that it was nothing wrong for the people in the crew to think so.
He is still certain that the exposure of Yin Xincheng's relationship will not have any impact on "Friends".
This is no longer the era it used to be.
Similarly, for a drama with such a high national popularity, this little bit of news about an actor may seem like a big deal, but in fact, it is insignificant to the impact on the drama.
-
With the news of Yin Xincheng's love affair being exposed, the welcome event held by Star Entertainment Agency for Meng Li's signing seemed a little deserted and did not attract much attention.
However, one piece of news was announced at the event. Star Entertainment Agency will give Meng Li a welcome gift. Mo Ru, a top-tier director who directed the hit fantasy drama "Qian Gu" that made Liu Zefan famous, will develop a new S-level drama, and Meng Li will star as the heroine.
After seeing the news, Lu Yanhe became curious and took a screenshot to ask Chen Ziyan what drama this was.
Chen Ziyan replied: A romantic comedy with a modern fantasy background.
Lu Yanhe: Huh? Why are there so many romantic comedies starting filming recently?
Chen Ziyan: Because all major platforms are reducing costs and increasing efficiency, with limited budgets, they can only develop dramas with low production costs. You can't feel that your dramas are all top-notch, with no shortage of money or investors, but other people's projects are not so smooth. Even now, many investors have specifically asked to invest in your dramas, while other people's dramas have very tight investment.
Lu Yanhe: I always thought that our TV series was in better shape than the movies.
He knows that it is really difficult to find investment in the film market because the film market is too distorted. Out of ten films, only one can make a profit, and the other nine basically lose money. Capital has less and less confidence in the film market.
But the drama market has always been very prosperous.
Chen Ziyan said: There is no way. Short videos have taken up a large market share of long videos, and advertisers have moved a large part of their budgets there. Now long videos have to revise their profit strategies and focus more and more on attracting new members. This makes them dare not make a fuss like they did in the previous crazy money-burning period and let those confused capital parties pay for it. Now they need to pay for it themselves.
Lu Yanhe: How ironic.
Chen Ziyan: Yes, but the advertising revenue of "Friends" still broke the record of video websites under such circumstances, and this news made all video websites jealous. They are trying their best to find out about your next project through various channels and ask if there is any possibility of participating.
Lu Yanhe: There are so many excellent creators in the entertainment industry, and I am not the only one whose projects can make money. Even if I shoot movies 24 hours a day, it is impossible to meet the needs of all of them.
Chen Ziyan: That’s why they want to snatch it.
Lu Yanhe: By the way, Sister Ziyan, how is the script of "Rouge Button" going on at Bingyuan Video? I heard that they have already started organizing auditions?
Chen Ziyan: Yes, they sent audition invitations to many actors, but not many agreed to audition... You said that this drama would be better played by mature and famous actors, and they obviously believed in your suggestion, so they looked for actors in this range. But you know, actors in this range are not very receptive to the requirement of being auditioned.
Lu Yanhe: Well, okay, what about Li Yuefeng?
Chen Ziyan said: He went for the audition. In fact, the film company was quite keen on having him play the role. Among the actors who auditioned, he was the best in the market. So, if there was no better choice, it was very likely that he would be the Twelve Young Master in the end.
Lu Yanhe: Uh, okay.
Chen Ziyan: Do you need me to convey your opinions to Bingyuan Video?
Lu Yanhe: Well, if they really do that, wouldn’t it be clear that they don’t want Li Yuefeng to play the role? Besides, my judgment may not be correct. Maybe Li Yuefeng will have his own style when he really plays this role.
Chen Ziyan: Forget it, Li Yuefeng plays the role of Twelve Young Master? I don’t think it’s credible.
Lu Yanhe: Are we interfering too much? Will this be a problem?
Chen Ziyan: If we clearly find that someone is not suitable but don’t point it out, this is the biggest problem.
Lu Yanhe: Oh, if I had known I wouldn’t have gotten so close to Li Yuefeng. Now I feel uneasy when I think about rejecting him.
Chen Ziyan: Think about it, if it was Li Zhibai, would you be uneasy? Would you refuse?
Lu Yanhe: Li Zhibai, of course I would tell him directly that it is not possible, but the relationship between Li Yuefeng and I is not that close to mutual trust.
Chen Ziyan: You don't have to think too much, Yan He. Since both of us can see that he is not suitable for the Twelve Young Master, both the people in Bingyuan and the team around him can definitely see it. Besides, Li Yuefeng is not unaware of your attitude, Yan He, don't be soft-hearted when you should be firm.
Lu Yanhe took a deep breath: Okay, Sister Zi Yan, then you can tell Bingyuan about our opinions.
He thought about it and sighed: I have to call Li Yuefeng again.
Chen Ziyan: I believe you can handle it, Yan He. Don’t be afraid to tell the truth. Tell the truth. The truth will only make people feel uncomfortable for a short time, but from a long-term perspective, it must be better for a person than hypocritical lies or silence.
Lu Yanhe: I will follow your instructions. I understand.
Sometimes, Lu Yanhe really feels that being a human being is difficult.
Being a human being is a great art.
And he is only a beginner in this subject.
However, his position in the entertainment industry and his current situation make him face the hellish difficulty of this subject.
Lu Yanhe took a deep breath and could only encourage himself.
"Q."
"Why did you suddenly call me, you famous person?" Li Yuefeng asked with a smile, "Congratulations, I heard that the number of viewers of "Friends" on Maxine also broke the record of Chinese dramas."
"Thank you." Lu Yanhe smiled, "You are welcome to come and make a guest appearance later if you have time."
"Okay, you guys are filming this drama while it's being broadcast, right? If you have a suitable role for me to guest star in later, give me a call. I'm not in the crew recently, so it should be fine."
Li Yuefeng agreed so readily that it made it even more difficult for Lu Yanhe to speak about what he was going to say next.
He took a deep breath.
"Hey, you're not calling me to chat, are you?" Li Yuefeng said, "Hurry up and tell me what you want to tell me."
Lu Yanhe groaned, "It's like this, it's about your audition for Rouge. I know you really want to get this role and this show."
"Of course, I really want to." Li Yuefeng said, "I have never played a role with such high artistic value. In fact, I really want to try a more difficult role, just like the ones you play. Of course, you think I am not suitable for this role. In fact, I also felt it during the audition. I am not so comfortable with the role. This will be a big challenge."
Lu Yanhe took a deep breath.
"Yes."
"Now I am a little worried that I will mess up your play." Li Yuefeng said, "But I still don't want to give up. You have no idea that I am full of expectations for this play. I really hope to get the role of Twelve Young Master."
Lu Yanhe took a deep breath. At this moment, he really couldn't say what he wanted to say.
"Don't worry, Yan He. If I really don't pass the final audition, I won't bother you anymore." Li Yuefeng said with a smile, "I know what you mean when you say that actors must audition more often. Just from one audition, I saw the gap between me and this role, really. But I believe I can make up for it."
Li Yuefeng's tone and attitude made Lu Yanhe suddenly realize that what he did was really wrong. (End of this chapter)
