"It's my second time on the Spring Festival Gala, and I'm still very nervous. This stage has a very different meaning for us Chinese. The stage performance we brought this time is also a very Chinese performance."Ten days before the live broadcast of the Spring Festival Gala on New Year's Eve, Lu Yanhe and the other two began to cooperate with CCTV to carry out publicity activities for the Spring Festival Gala.
Now CCTV is also trying its best to make itself the choice of young audiences.
There are both online video platforms and self-media, and each channel is played very well. Of course, this also means that CCTV's demand for various content has increased.
After Lu Yanhe and the other two were interviewed for a Spring Festival Gala spin-off program, they went to another spin-off program together to participate in some small games.
Of course, they could have refused these jobs. There was no pay for doing these jobs. But the three of them had good time and it was rare for them to work together, so they didn't care about the pay.
Few artists would argue with CCTV about their remuneration. At least no one would argue about these small remunerations.
CCTV had limited dressing rooms, so they were given the same one.
As evening approached, they ate boxed lunches together in the lounge.
Halfway through the meal, Li Qingbing, the director of their performance, came over.
This director was also the director of their last film "Green Apple Paradise".
"You guys are eating." After Li Qingbing came in, he saw the food on the coffee table and said with a smile, "Then I'll come over later."
Li Zhibai: "No, Director, stop it. If you don't mind, we can eat while you talk. Are there any changes?"
Li Qingbing nodded and said, "After the performance of the song 'Chinese Language', the director team wants to invite three foreign friends who work or live in China for a long time to tell their stories in China. We originally planned to ask the host to interview them, but after our discussion, we think it will be better if each of you is responsible for one interview."
After Li Qingbing said this, he explained it in detail again.
"We hope that this segment will look more realistic," rather than looking like it was staged.
In fact, anything that happens on the Spring Festival Gala stage and any words that appear are basically written in the script in advance, and no impromptu jokes are allowed.
Lu Yanhe and the other three looked at each other.
"Okay." Lu Yanhe nodded, "I have no problem."
Li Zhibai and Yan Liang also nodded and said there was no problem.
For them, it actually just means staying on the stage for a few more minutes and performing the interview questions that need to be asked according to the script.
No wonder it had to be handed over to the three of them.
The song "Chinese" is very suitable for this segment.
If the last "Green Apple Paradise" was a recollection and commemoration of the youth of the previous generation of their parents by the current generation, expressing inheritance and commemoration, this time "Chinese" is a gesture of the younger generation's confidence in Chinese culture and to demonstrate cultural strength in such a globalized and international context.
What Li Qingbing didn’t tell the three of them was how much the director team valued the performance of “Chinese Language” this year.
Any artistic creation is bound to encounter a terrible situation: the more mainstream the theme and the more political the creation is, the less artistic it is and the less attractive the content is.
But this song "Chinese" has a stance and an intention, and it's also lively and nice to listen to.
Li Qingbing said with a smile: "At the beginning, we had to choose between the two songs, "Chinese" and "Love". We hesitated for a long time and chose "Chinese" because we had already decided to have a segment with international friends."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
Li Qingbing said: "Can we keep the song "Love" for a while? This song is also very suitable for the CCTV stage."
Lu Yanhe said, "Okay."
Li Qingbing: "Then I won't disturb you from eating. See you later."
"it is good."
-
A day later, the final two episodes of this season of Friends aired.
The peak ratings broke 4% for the first time, but it was just a peak. The average rating per episode remained at . Unfortunately, the average rating per episode did not break 4.
But no matter what, for the resurrected "Friends", this resurrection game was played exceptionally beautifully.
It not only gave a loud slap in the face to Beijing and Taiwan, but also dealt a heavy blow to traditional TV stations that have gradually entered an era of "living a life of idleness and waiting to die".
Yes, you can still get 3% — the question is, do you have the content that can get you 3%?
"Television Review" uses the ratings of "Friends" as an example, focusing on analyzing why the audience is willing to return to the TV. Putting aside the content and the appeal of the actors, the article emphasizes: because "Friends" has established a viewing habit for the audience.
There isn't any fancy scheduling involved, it just goes back to basics and airs on Friday and Saturday nights between December and February every year.
So, when this time comes, the audience will remember that they can watch "Friends".
Similarly, why do people like to sit in front of the TV and watch "Friends"? Because both Beijing TV and Yuehu TV firmly grasp this exclusive window period and hold the priority of broadcasting in their own hands.
If you want to watch this drama first, you can only watch it on TV.
At the end of the article, it was mentioned that Yuehutai and "Jump Up" are already working on a new major collaboration, and when it is announced, it will shock the entire entertainment industry.
……
Li Zhibai and Yan Liang both curiously asked Lu Yanhe if there was any big move.
Lu Yanhe told Li Zhibai and Yan Liang about the "Jumping Theater".
Li Zhibai said in amazement: "Oh my god, that's amazing."
Yan Liang was also surprised.
“This is a really big move.”
Lu Yanhe said: "We may invite you to star in one or two of the dramas at that time, so please give us your support."
"Of course." Yan Liang said, "Besides, the filming period for this theater play is only one week. In fact, for many actors, schedules are not a problem."
No matter how popular an actor is, it is certainly easier to free up a week's schedule than two or three months' schedule.
Moreover, a one-week schedule is easier to coordinate.
Li Zhibai suddenly remembered and said, "Someone bought the short story I wrote before and wanted to adapt it. But it hasn't been adapted in so many years. Is the authorization about to expire?"
"Not yet." Lu Yanhe said, "Our copyright department is keeping an eye on it. Don't worry, if they haven't started filming by the deadline, the authorization will be revoked. Yuehutai has also taken a fancy to your novel."
Li Zhibai raised the corner of his mouth.
"Or I'll do the math myself."
"It's not impossible." Lu Yanhe said, "You can even take the photos yourself."
Li Zhibai: "No, I am not considering being a producer for the time being."
When talking about this matter, Li Zhibai's face turned dark.
Obviously, "Nineteen Years" has already given him enough trouble.
Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang smiled at each other.
-
When The Mist was released for a month, its box office in North America exceeded million, and the global box office reached million, with overseas box office exceeding million. Among them, South Korea and Japan each contributed more than million US dollars in box office results.
For a horror movie, this result is considered "explosively good".
So, when Lu Yanhe was busy with the work for the Spring Festival Gala, Chen Ziyan was finally urged by D19 company to start negotiations for the sequel to "The Mist".
Chen Ziyan was determined to get a share of the box office profits, and D19 Company finally compromised and gave in, saying that it would allow Lu Yanhe to get a share of the box office profits outside of North America.
Chen Ziyan suggested that if this was the case, Lu Yanhe's pay would have to be increased. Not only that, he would also need to sign terms regarding box office rewards - for example, when the sequel's North American box office exceeded $1 million, Lu Yanhe would need to receive an additional bonus.
The two sides went back and forth on this issue and negotiated for several rounds.
Fortunately, at this time, Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang had already accumulated some resources in Europe and the United States.
Before the crucial negotiations, Wan Qingqing had already figured out the basic rules of the situation in Hollywood, and through her personal connections, she found out the contract terms that D19 had given to some actors in the past.
Therefore, while Chen Ziyan insisted on not giving in to the base salary of 650 million, she also demanded that, based on the box office share outside North America, if the North American box office exceeded 1 million US dollars, Lu Yanhe would receive another 200 million US dollars in reward.
D19 still felt that Chen Ziyan was asking for too much.
However, at this time, Maxine announced the list of global TV drama viewership in the past month, and "Friends" actually made it into the top three of the global list.
At the same time, Chen Ziyan also received a very unexpected invitation.
The Academy Awards invited Lu Yanhe to be the award presenter this year.
At this critical moment, Chen Ziyan spoke to Lu Yanhe and immediately agreed.
So, when the Oscars officially announced the third batch of award presenters, the name of Chinese actor Lu Yanhe was on the list.
D19 was very surprised.
They have never been an Oscar-winning film company, and the films they have produced in the past have never been in the Oscar-worthy vein.
Although this time it was announced that they would strive for an Oscar for "The Mist", especially for Lu Yanhe's performance, in reality, it was just a lot of noise with little results, and the main purpose was to build momentum for the release of the movie.
However, the Oscars actually invited Lu Yanhe to be the award presenter?
This certainly doesn't mean that the appearance of Lu Yanhe's name on the nomination list is shocking.
However, this is enough to show that Lu Yanhe has indeed entered the Oscar's vision.
In the end, D19 proposed that if the North American box office of the sequel could exceed million US dollars, which is not lower than this one, they would agree to pay Lu Yanhe a reward of 200 million US dollars.
Chen Ziyan was quite satisfied with the conditions, so she told Lu Yanhe and started to discuss the contract.
On the 29th day of the lunar year, Chinese people have gradually switched from work to holiday mode, but there is no such atmosphere overseas.
"Variety" magazine once again exclusively revealed: Lu Yanhe returned to the sequel of "The Mist" with an extremely high salary of basic salary + bonus + box office dividends!
Regardless of time, place, or culture, how much a person earns is always a topic of concern to everyone.
Lu Yanhe is a Chinese actor. His first work in Hollywood was a success, and his second work was a sequel to this successful work. In this case, he was able to get a salary far higher than his market price, which is understandable in the Hollywood system.
Hollywood, or Europe and America, is a place that values individual talent. Their cultural tradition worships "a person with a mission" and "a hero". Therefore, if he is the one who plays a decisive role, even if he takes half of the profit of the work, everyone thinks it is natural.
With the current box office results of "The Mist", D19 can only pay for its previous promotional route.
Since they focused the promotion of The Mist on Lu Yanhe's Asian identity, their move not only achieved box office success, but also made Lu Yanhe famous in Europe and America and important to The Mist. If they now say that the box office success has little to do with Lu Yanhe, let alone Lu Yanhe's attitude, the American Screen Actors Guild will not agree.
Why can many famous actors in Hollywood hold their ground when negotiating with film and television giants? Because when they fight for their own interests, they are not alone, there is a powerful force behind them supporting them. Everyone has a "collective consciousness" in this regard. If this person can get a higher salary and break a certain limit in the industry, it actually benefits everyone.
When Variety revealed shortly afterwards that Lu Yanhe's base salary was at least $600 million, media in Europe and the United States reported it one after another.
Domestic media also followed up and reported on this incident.
This time, Lu Yanhe's high pay once again attracted everyone's attention.
Lu Yanhe also felt strange. He remembered that the last time he received a lot of attention and discussion because of his high pay was when he was on the Spring Festival Gala. How could such a thing happen when he was on the Spring Festival Gala? However, this time, it seemed that no one attacked him for this matter.
On the contrary, many people are excited and excited about this matter.
Chen Ziyan: "Because this time you received such a salary from abroad, not from China. If the media now says that you received 50 or 60 million yuan for making a movie in China, what will others say?"
Lu Yanhe: "I can't get such a salary in China."
"Indeed, you spent a lot of effort to negotiate a salary of 1200 million for the film "Burning Fire." Chen Ziyan smiled, "After this news came out, people from many domestic film companies came to me to confirm the authenticity of the news. They were all worried that your salary in Hollywood would increase your salary in China as well."
"The box office of domestic films is a mystery now. Apart from Mr. Jia Long and his colleagues who have very stable performances and can get super high pay and dividends, who else dares to bid too high? Not to mention raising pay, isn't pay generally decreasing now?"
The overall environment is not good, and the pay of many actors is decreasing.
In the past, film pay could easily reach tens of millions, but now, except for a few top dramas, it is basically impossible to give such exaggerated figures.
Among young actors, only Lu Yanhe can get this figure by relying on stable performance. For example, Li Zhibai and Yan Liang, their current pay is similar, and their average pay per episode is also at the level of 50-80. Three or five years ago, their average pay per episode must have been 100 million or more.
The era of spending money to grab actors' hot money is over.
Even popular actors like Li Zhibai and Yan Liang, who have hit works, are in this situation, not to mention others.
This is even more true when making movies.
Movie pay is now much lower than TV pay.
Chen Ziyan said: "Actually, come to think of it, apart from "Burning Fire", you haven't taken on any more domestic commercial films."
If it is not a commercial film, the pay cannot be justified.
Not every movie should care about the pay number.
Lu Yanhe said: "Now that I have "The Mist", can I slow down my commercial film route and not be so anxious?"
Chen Ziyan: "Of course, the next step depends on the box office performance of "Burning Fire". I hope it can make over 1 billion yuan at the domestic box office. Otherwise, it will be lower than the initial expectations of this movie."
For "Burning Fire", if the box office does not exceed 1 billion, it will be a failure.
With such a star lineup and such high special effects production costs, it is obvious that the film is aiming for the annual box office championship.
Lu Yanhe asked: "When will "Burning Fire" be released?"
"The post-production has not been completed yet. If it is completed quickly, it will be released during the summer vacation. If it cannot be released in time, it will probably have to wait until next year's Spring Festival. For a movie of the size of "Burning Fire", only these two periods are suitable to get the expected box office."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
-
"Oh, no wonder they all want to be stars. They can earn tens of millions from just one movie."
Helan's heart sank when she heard her father say this while being a little drunk.
She knew that her father had always disliked celebrity artists, especially their income.
Helan didn't actually think that Lu Yanhe should make so much money.
Even though she is a fan of Lu Yanhe.
Indeed, this is an era with a huge gap between the rich and the poor, and the income disparity between them is so great that a star may earn more in a month than an ordinary person may earn in his entire life.
This is not normal.
Helan has read so many books. When he was at Zhenhua, he read many introductions, reports and analyses of human progress and social evolution throughout history, both in China and abroad.
She also thought that it shouldn't be like this.
But what Helan wanted to say was that this was not Lu Yanhe's problem. This was not a problem he caused.
Of course, Helan didn't tell her father anything.
Because she also knew that her father was not really targeting Lu Yanhe.
It was just that Lu Yanhe appeared at this time.
-
Helan has been working as Chen Siqi's assistant for some time.
During the time she was with Chen Siqi, she had a very deep feeling.
Although she is one year older than Chen Siqi, Chen Siqi is much more mature than her.
Helan had such a feeling because she realized one thing.
Chen Siqi never questions or dwells on why a certain situation occurs.
She will get angry and point her finger at people and curse, but after she has quickly vented her emotions, she will not sink into the emotional swamp. Instead, she will use all her strength to resolve the situation.
Moreover, she never thought that there was anything that could not be solved.
Although there is a consensus that "we can't solve all problems", Chen Siqi faces everything with this attitude, and it must be admitted that she has accomplished far more than others.
Helan felt that because she was with Chen Siqi and watched her attitude towards people and things, her first reaction to many things was also changing.
In the past, she always spent a lot of time asking “Why did such an outrageous thing happen?” and “Why did I encounter such an outrageous thing?” It was all a drain on her emotions.
Now, the first question she often asks is “Should I solve this problem?” Should I face it or just ignore it? If she is sure she wants to face it, then the next question is “How should I solve this problem?”
-
Faced with the high, apparently abnormally high, incomes of celebrity artists, Helan's reaction was not "Why can they get such high pay?" but "Are you questioning why they can get such high pay, or are you frustrated why you can't get it?"
Helan quickly realized that she was the latter.
She also hopes to earn more income.
So, for Helan, her question on this issue becomes "how can she get a higher income".
Of course, people can constantly question fairness, disparity and gaps. This is a right given to everyone. But Helan increasingly recognizes one truth: if your questioning and doubting do not cause any change to reality, your questioning and doubting are no different from complaining.
-
Helan had no intention of preaching, so she used to refute her father with a sentence or two, but now she no longer responds to the conversation.
It is always more important to think clearly about what you want than to convince others what they should want.
He Lan picked up his phone and checked the time, then said, "Let's go check the refrigerator later this afternoon. My year-end bonus has been paid. Haven't you been saying that our refrigerator doesn't cool well? Let's get a new one."
"Why change the refrigerator now? Wait until there are sales and discounts." Mom said, "Refrigerators are quite expensive now. A good one costs tens of thousands. It can be cheaper by one or two thousand during sales."
He Lan said: "It's okay, I worked harder this year and the year-end bonus is very generous."
She smiled brightly, "Let's change to a better refrigerator for the New Year. New Year, new atmosphere."
After she said that, her parents no longer objected.
"By the way, Dad, just tell me what you just said, don't tell anyone else." He Lan said, "I work at Jump Up. If you say something like that with your identity, it's easy for someone to take advantage of you and amplify it online, which will affect my work."
Her father waved his hand and said, "Don't you know this truth? I have no worries."
That's enough.
"How much did you get as a year-end bonus?" her father suddenly asked.
Helan smiled and said, "One hundred and twenty thousand."
"How much?!" Her father sat up straight.
He Lan said: "Because I just started working, I get less, but I will get more in the future. Moreover, according to the company's arrangement and positioning for me, after I have accumulated two years of work experience, I will be responsible for some business. By then, my annual income will be able to reach seven figures. Don't tell others that I make money too easily."
Her father's expression suddenly became interesting, and after a while he said, "Your company is quite generous."
"Well, our company is not only generous, but also very open and transparent. The more you work, the more you get. The more irreplaceable your value is, the more you can get." He Lan said, "Don't always blame me for not coming back to see you more often. I'm really busy at work and I hardly have time to rest."
"I know, I know. Just work hard."
-
In the evening, the family had their New Year’s Eve dinner and sat together to watch the Spring Festival Gala.
Helan kept looking at her phone. There was really nothing to watch. The program was almost entirely surrounded by various slogans, which made it boring to watch.
But the sense of ceremony must still be there, no matter how ugly it is, you still have to watch it.
What's more, there will be Lu Yanhe's new song tonight.
Although the song is called "Chinese", it sounds a bit mainstream and doesn't seem very nice.
It was nine o'clock in the evening when the show finally started to air.
When Helan saw the program information, he was stunned. The lyrics and music were also written by Lu Yanhe?
This was actually written and composed by Lu Yanhe?
Helan was surprised.
She had seen the name of this song before and thought it was a song written by the Spring Festival Gala director team for Lu Yanhe and the other three to sing.
When a group of children recited in babbling voices "The carrying pole is wide and the bench is long, and the carrying pole is tied to the bench", Helan opened his mouth in surprise.
On the screen, a group of little kids were reciting this tongue twister with their heads shaking. It was a very cute scene.
Then, Lu Yanhe and the other three appeared.
It’s actually a tongue twister rap?
The melody and style of this song are completely different from what Helan expected when he saw the title of the song.
And... it sounds pretty nice.
When the three of them sang in unison the line "The whole world is speaking Chinese, Confucius' words are becoming more and more international", Helan's father was surprised and said, "This lyric is well written."
It sounds good.
-
——It has to be Lu Yanhe, “Chinese” is awesome.
——I thought it was a song with a main melody, but it turned out to be a tongue twister rap.
——It feels like tongue twisters have disappeared for a long time. They were only played in elementary school.
——This song is so cool. Can those who are engaged in mainstream propaganda learn from it?
——Lu Yanhe has written a new song again! He really should write more songs. His acting talent is not enough to cover up his talent for songwriting.
——I really hope that the three of them will become a regular feature of the annual Spring Festival Gala. This song will definitely be a hit.
——They have fulfilled their promise. They said they would give us a stage every year, and this year’s stage is here.
……
On the Internet, discussions about this performance suddenly flooded the Internet.
The three people quickly became hot searches, along with three Chinese characters.
After the three of them finished performing the song and interviewing three international friends according to the script, when they returned to the backstage, Li Qingbing came over and spoke to them very excitedly.
"Your performance was praised by the leader!" (End of this chapter)
