Yang Shiyi originally thought that he would only see Lu Yanhe, but he did not expect that Li Zhibai, Yu Mengling and a stranger would also be in the room.
He walked in with some surprise and a little hesitation and sat down.
Lu Yanhe came back to his senses and said with a smile: "Let me introduce you to Yang Shiyi. He was the one who played the role of the Third Young Master in the play I took you to see today. I saw him perform the day before yesterday, and the quality was completely different from the actor's performance today. It's a pity that he didn't perform today."
Yu Mengling looked at Yang Shiyi curiously and asked Lu Yanhe, "Are you good friends?"
"Oh, no, I just met him for the first time today." Lu Yanhe said, "I got in touch with him through a friend of Bingyuan Video. The TV version of Rouge is being developed by Bingyuan Video, and it was he who discovered him."
Miao Yue looked at Yang Shiyi and nodded, "Very similar, very similar."
Lu Yanhe said: "When I watched his performance in the audience the day before yesterday, I was also surprised. I didn't expect there would be such a suitable one. I watched it with Huang Kairen the day before yesterday. Huang Kairen also said that if I knew him before filming the movie, I might not have asked him to act."
Li Zhibai sighed, "It's a pity that I didn't see you on stage today."
Yang Shiyi said "I'm sorry" silently.
"Are you feeling unwell today?" Lu Yanhe asked.
Yang Shiyi: "No, it's the regiment's arrangement."
Miao Yue asked: "Have you never acted in a TV series before? I don't have any impression of you, but you are so handsome. If I had seen you, I would definitely have an impression of you."
Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "If Liu Bige were here, he would definitely be jealous."
"How come? I often comment with him on which actors are good-looking."
"You really are dancing in dangerous areas frequently." Li Zhibai said seriously.
Miao Yue: "..."
Yang Shiyi was a little confused and puzzled, wondering how this was related to Liu Bigo again.
Of course, he was too embarrassed to ask.
Lu Yanhe asked: "Do you have an agency?"
Yang Shiyi shook his head and said, "I signed a contract with the troupe."
"Can I only perform plays in the troupe?" Lu Yanhe was a little surprised.
"Not really, it's just like a normal work contract, but if you want to act outside, you need the approval of the troupe, otherwise you have to resign." Yang Shiyi said frankly, "But generally if there is an opportunity to act outside, the troupe will approve it, especially for actors like us who don't play the leading role and are not famous."
Lu Yanhe thought for a moment and said, "You are actually very good at acting in dramas, but if you are willing to act in TV dramas, I can recommend you to Shihuo, an agency run by my agent, to help you with some film and television agency agency. Are you willing to act in the drama "Rouge Button"? I know that some drama actors look down on film and television dramas."
"I didn't." Yang Shiyi shook his head and added, "I just don't want to act in a bad play."
"Well, Bingyuan Video has also contacted you. It's possible that they would also like to sign you. If that's the case, you can choose either side. They won't treat you unfairly." Lu Yanhe said, "If they finally agree to let you act in this drama."
Yang nodded in agreement.
Lu Yanhe turned and looked at Yu Mengling.
"Sister Ling, how is it? Do you want to take a look at the script and try on the makeup?" Lu Yanhe said with a smile, "Although I know that you have never acted in a TV series and usually only act in the dramas you like, I really can't think of any other actresses in the entire entertainment industry who can play a different version of Ruhua from Sister Bi Ge, but one that people can believe and like."
Yu Mengling was still a little hesitant and said, "I feel that I might not be able to play a prostitute well. Sister Bi Ge was such a great actress before me, and I myself... have never played this type of role before."
"Sister Ling, do you know why I think you can do it?" Lu Yanhe said, "Because you give me the feeling of a woman with a very scholarly temperament. To be honest, it's rare to find actors with this temperament in the entertainment industry.
"As for Ruhua, although she is a prostitute, she is a woman who would go to death with her lover, just to break free from worldly shackles and be together forever. This kind of idealism, almost like a moth flying into a flame and deceiving oneself, is played to the extreme in the version played by Sister Bi Ge.
"In my imagination, you will play an independent woman who is more inclined to pursue a free spirit and refuses to compromise with the secular world. This doesn't seem to fit the background of that era, but that's probably the idea. Compared with the movie version's extreme love and sudden awakening, the TV version of Ruhua starts with self-centeredness and belief, and then searches for the Twelve Young Master in order to confirm step by step the ultimate purity she pursues. This is also the difference reflected in Miao Yue's adapted script."
Yu Mengling showed a little surprise.
"This is exactly in line with your unique temperament that is somewhat alienated from the people around you." Lu Yanhe said, "This is my imagination and positioning of the drama version."
Yu Mengling hesitated for a moment and asked, "Will the crew shoot according to what you just said?"
"How it will be filmed in the end is not my promise. I am just an art director. But I think if I, the screenwriter Miao Yue, and you really play the leading role, and we can all reach an agreement and find a good director with the same ideals, we should be able to work towards this direction."
Yu Mengling said, "Then please let me have a look at the script first. I want to see the script first, at least let me see how the first three episodes are written."
"No problem." Miao Yue said, "We have revised the entire script several times, you can also read it through, if you have any ideas or opinions, feel free to communicate with me."
Yu Mengling was extremely surprised.
"Have you finished writing the entire script?"
"Yes." Lu Yanhe said with a smile, "She spent a whole year polishing it. She put all her time into this script."
Yu Mengling said: "This is the first time I've watched a play and was able to read the complete script directly."
Lu Yanhe was a little surprised.
Li Zhibai said: "Nowadays, TV dramas often start looking for actors with only the first ten episodes of the script. I have taken on so many scripts, but in fact, only a few of them had complete scripts when they approached me."
Lu Yanhe once again felt that his past acting experience was, to some extent, special and different from others.
Because he works with top directors or writes the screenplay himself, he always gets the complete script before joining the crew of any drama.
At most, it has not been finalized and needs further revision.
Lu Yanhe asked Yu Mengling in surprise: "Sister Ling, is this the reason why you haven't acted in TV dramas?"
"On the one hand, it's because of this reason. On the other hand, there are not many TV dramas that want me to appear in." Yu Mengling smiled and shook his head, "I'm not famous."
Yu Mengling is indeed a person whose status in the circle is far higher than her actual fame and commercial value.
A big reason why she has such a status and professional image in the circle is not only because she is a movie queen, but also because she has always insisted on acting only in art films and has never acted in a commercial film.
Because they are scarce and truly resist fame and fortune, they are respected.
Lu Yanhe suddenly thought that if "Rouge" really asked Yu Mengling and Yang Shiyi to star, Bingyuan Video might not agree.
There is no popular star among the male and female protagonists.
Do you want to persist?
-
In this regard, Bingyuan Video suddenly respected Lu Yanhe's opinion.
"If you really think that these two are suitable, and that no one is more suitable than them, then we will decide on them."
Being respected so much by Bingyuan Video, Lu Yanhe didn't know how to describe his feelings.
Of course I'm not flattered. I'm not flattered, just surprised.
Because this is not in line with the style of a first-tier video platform.
Even if he is Lu Yanhe.
Chen Ziyan said, "You're overthinking it. If you think Yang Shiyi and Yu Mengling are a good match, firstly, Rouge is a big IP now. With the movie and Korean versions, the drama doesn't need to be promoted by popular stars in the early stages. Secondly, Yang Shiyi is someone they like. They will sign him. As far as I know, they are already discussing this matter. Even if the drama doesn't meet expectations, the drama will get a lot of attention. He is the male lead of a big IP and plays the male and female lead with a queen like Yu Mengling. They have a quasi-first-line star in their arms."
"Is there a third one?"
"Third, I have shown you enough respect to facilitate further cooperation with you in the future." Chen Ziyan said, "Of course, one more thing is that I believe in your vision and believe that the cast you approve of can be successful."
Lu Yanhe: "Okay."
"Moreover, the drama version of Rouge also has a second male and female lead, and they also have a lot of roles. Although Yu Mengling's popularity cannot be compared with the current popular stars, she is a movie queen with a high status and can hold the fort. The second male and female roles can be played by relatively popular young actors, and Bingyuan Video has many of them.
"Since Rouge is aiming to be the best drama, they will definitely make it a high-quality drama. Given that it has already attracted a lot of attention, quality is above all else."
Chen Ziyan said: "I think it is the wisest choice for you to ask Yu Mengling to play this drama. Only an actress of this level can make this drama truly different from the expectations of the movie version."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"Sometimes, you have to trust a woman's intuition. Miao Yue said that she wrote the script based on Yu Mengling's unique temperament. I actually never thought that Yu Mengling was suitable for the role of Ruhua."
"I know." Chen Ziyan said, "This is what's interesting about the entertainment industry. Sometimes it's really like doing an experiment. You can only get the desired results if you find the right raw materials. However, before you succeed, you don't know what the right raw materials are."
"There are risks everywhere." Lu Yanhe laughed, "But that's what makes it interesting. Otherwise, it wouldn't feel fresh. The movie version has been so successful, and they're launching the TV series so quickly. There has to be something fresh for the audience."
"Yang Shiyi will become famous overnight. He has a handsome face that is lacking in the current film industry." Chen Ziyan said, "It is quite rare that this face has not been discovered by the film industry before. If it had not been discovered by the people of Bingyuan Video, it might have been buried."
"That's not the case. It's mainly because the themes of our current film and television dramas don't really require a handsome face like theirs, especially for male characters," said Lu Yanhe.
Just like Chow Yun-fat and John Lone when they were young, with their looks, if they were put in today's entertainment industry, would there be any movies suitable for them?
Anyway, at first glance, no role particularly requires a face like theirs. Nowadays, in TV dramas, especially movies, there are almost no protagonists who require male actors to have a handsome and noble face. Times have changed.
-
Lu Yanhe actually likes discussing these changes in the industry with Chen Ziyan.
For many things, it is really necessary to listen to both sides to gain a clear understanding.
He has his own views on this industry, and others have their own views.
A person's perspective is always limited, and only by truly seeing the real things can you combine the changes in the industry to determine what kind of work you should create in the next period of time.
Just like not many works are suitable for any period of time.
Each work is unique. For example, the current "Home Alone" does not have top stars to carry the box office, and it is a children's comedy. Apart from the Spring Festival, Lu Yanhe can't think of any other suitable time slot.
After figuring out why Bingyuan Video agreed to a lineup of Yu Mengling and Yang Shiyi that did not seem to meet the current casting standards, it was also convenient for Lu Yanhe to figure out Bingyuan Video's thinking logic and facilitate the advancement of his subsequent projects.
In order to get Yu Mengling to agree to star in this drama, the senior executives of Bingyuan Video visited him three times and continued to lobby him.
Yu Mengling took the opportunity to put forward many of his own ideas about the script and confirmed with Bingyuan Video how the filming of the show would be done and what it would look like in the end.
At this stage, Lu Yanhe withdrew.
-
At this time, news also came from Darren Wilson that a filming agreement for "Buried" had been reached with Parameter.
Parameter agreed to use Li Zhibai as the lead actor in the film.
Parameter simultaneously started negotiating a performance contract with Li Zhibaifang.
Lin Suyang had no relevant experience at all, so he had to ask Chen Ziyan for advice.
Lu Yanhe had several phone calls with Zebe Doyle to discuss the filming ideas for Buried. Zebe Doyle actually wanted to make a long shot that runs through the entire film.
Lu Yanhe was shocked.
Of course, long shots have their own effects, but in a story like "Buried Alive", it is a bit unnecessary to use so-called long shots.
This is originally a one-person movie. In such a cramped space, it uses long shots. No matter how you think about it, it seems ridiculous.
It’s true that long shots are very showy, but only if there is something to show off.
There is no movement in space, and no changes in perspective between multiple actors. The long shots in "Buried" are just a one-man show with a fixed camera position.
It might even be called a "pseudo-documentary".
He doesn't intend to make a movie like "Blair Witch" that just cuts off the leeks.
Fortunately, Zebby Doyle is a man who listens to advice.
More importantly, how the film is shot actually depends on the director.
The director for the film "Buried" has not been found yet.
Lu Yanhe doesn't have to worry about this.
With a film company like Parameter that has an extremely rich talent pool of directors, they will definitely find the right director.
Another important point about the cooperation agreement is that the movie "Buried" reserved a 35% investment share for Lu Yanhe and his film production company - this is the share that will enjoy priority dividends.
From this point, we can see the importance of Darren Wilson, the Hollywood agent. In the negotiation of the specific terms of the contract, he fiercely defended Lu Yanhe's rights and interests, and very clearly required Parameter to obtain Lu Yanhe's written consent before any form of derivative development of the film copyright.
At the same time, any form of income obtained from "Buried Alive" needs to be settled to Lu Yanhe first, etc.
Not only that, Darren Wilson also suggested that Lu Yanhe sign a contract with a reliable accounting firm in Hollywood, and let them arrange someone to represent Lu Yanhe in the financial work of the movie "Buried" from the early stages, so that he could have his own account book that "would not be concealed or fooled by Parameter" and understand the actual production costs of the movie.
Otherwise, every film company has a group of accounting experts. When you happily hold a check and think you have made a lot of money, you have no idea that you actually made even more.
At this time, Lu Yanhe could only cooperate with the most prestigious accounting firms. Because he had no acquaintances and they were all strangers, he could only choose those well-known companies first.
Chen Ziyan said, "It's time for you to use Zhenhua's connections. So many of your seniors are working in the United States, especially in finance and law. There are so many people there. Isn't it much better to have Zhenhua's connections than to go find them directly yourself?"
Lu Yanhe immediately went to find his teacher at Zhenhua.
-
Several projects have made substantial progress, and for the media, this is of course a hotly contested exclusive.
In the United States, Variety magazine has always been a leader in this regard.
They were the first to report on the Buried film, including the news that it would star popular Chinese star Li Zhibai, and also reported that the film would be a thriller that also focuses on Asian identity.
This is the first release.
For Americans, this news did not attract much attention, except that it was Lu Yanhe's first Hollywood film as a screenwriter and attracted the attention of some industry insiders and film critics.
After all, Li Zhibai is not well-known in the United States.
But when this news reached back to the country, it caused an uproar.
Written by Lu Yanhe and starring Li Zhibai, if the production company was not Parameter, wouldn't this be a pure Chinese-language film configuration?
The most important thing is that this movie is starred by Li Zhibai, not a supporting role or a co-starring role.
Even Lu Yanhe has never starred in a movie in Hollywood.
Li Zhibai did it.
His fans immediately started hyping the incident.
The entry #李志百Hollywood Movie No. 1 Male Lead# was pushed to the top of the hot searches by his fans.
While everyone was still discussing "Buried", Variety reported another piece of news:
Lu Yanhe has reached a cooperation agreement with director Lune Reese for the sci-fi film Source Code, which will be directed by the latter and is currently in pre-production by Reese's production company. It is worth noting that Reese was originally working on Doomsday, which has an uncertain future due to Tom Felton's resignation.
This news has attracted much more attention in Hollywood than "Buried".
After all, everyone is paying attention to Lune Reese's new project.
Within a short period of time, Lu Yanhe was revealed to have a second Hollywood project, which not only shocked the Chinese entertainment industry, but also made Hollywood start to pay attention to these two projects and the screenwriter Lu Yanhe.
-
"As a top actor, there is no doubt that Lu Yanhe's status as a top screenwriter has played a crucial role in opening up overseas markets for him."
While many opinions were being expressed, Guan Suchen, an entertainment critic who had always paid close attention to Lu Yanhe, recorded a short video on his own media channel to comment on the matter.
"I believe that both Buried Alive and Source Code are the kind of scripts that Lu Yanhe is best at - low production costs and low development barriers. Otherwise, Lu Yanhe would not have been able to push two films into the development stage so quickly with just one trip to Los Angeles."
"Lu Yanhe's achievements as a screenwriter are actually no less than his achievements as an actor. If an actor wants to replicate his success, it is probably impossible to replicate his success by only copying his acting part. It can be predicted that if any of the films Buried and Source Code are successful, Lu Yanhe will definitely become a hot new star in Hollywood - even though after The Mist, he is already the hottest Asian actor in Hollywood."
"I am very pleased that Lu Yanhe was able to maintain his ambition to conquer the world while focusing his work on Chinese-language TV series. He not only starred in the Malaysian film "Tropical Rains" and the American horror film "The Mist", but also used his talent as a screenwriter to write two English scripts. He brought Li Zhibai and another Chinese actress to Hollywood, creating opportunities for himself and the talented Chinese around him to be recognized by the world."
Guan Suchen's commentary video attracted quite a lot of attention and discussion.
What surprised everyone the most was what Guan Suchen said afterwards.
"It is said that just recently, Lu Yanhe has been very seriously involved in the preparation of the TV series Rouge, and has chosen a pair of actors for the TV series that we didn't expect, but are said to be very suitable. One of them is a complete newcomer who has never appeared in any film or TV series before, and the other is also a candidate that no one expected. A friend of Bingyuan Video told me that if Lu Yanhe hadn't thought they were suitable and made the final decision, this would definitely not be the starring lineup that Bingyuan Video would agree to."
"So, let's be happy for the emergence of a film and television person like Lu Yanhe. He has gathered the strength of many people on his own to improve the environment of our entire Chinese-language film and television dramas, and is taking our Chinese-language film and television dramas to the world."
-
In Hollywood, Lu Yanhe's two scripts have become the most asked questions recently.
In fact, Hollywood never lacks scripts.
A large number of scripts are circulated among us every day.
But it is rare that two scripts from the same screenwriter are announced to be made into movies one after another, and in collaboration with different film companies.
It is precisely this speed of release, coupled with Lu Yanhe’s own fame, that has attracted much attention to these two scripts.
Through such frequent reading, "Buried Alive" and "Source Code", two scripts with more creativity than literary and character-based elements, made Lu Yanhe noticed by many film companies for his talent in writing commercial film scripts.
Before that, Lu Yanhe's screenwriting talent was mainly positioned by Hollywood in the field of TV series.
Because, among the works written by Lu Yanhe in the past, the only ones that really had a big impact on a global scale were "Friends" and "Squidward", and although films like "Rouge" and "Love Letter" both won awards at international film festivals, they were mainly concentrated in the film field and did not form a relatively broad commercial effect that was familiar to ordinary audiences.
Midoriya never thought that just after he approached Lu Yanhe to discuss the performance in the "Godless" series, Lu Yanhe actually reached a script cooperation with other film companies at the same time.
Schmidt and Laurie sent an email to Lu Yanhe, complaining that Lu Yanhe did not give them priority over the script of "Source Code".
Lu Yanhe replied in an email: From the beginning, I wanted to collaborate with Lu Nei on the script of "Source Code". Although there is no "Source Code", I have another script in my hand, maybe you will be interested.
Schmidt Lawley asked in surprise: What is it?
Lu Yanhe asked Wan Qingqing to deliver the paper version of the script of "Red Eye Flight" to Schmidt Laurie's office.
-
In fact, there is one sentence in Guan Suchen’s evaluation of Lu Yanhe that is very insightful.
Why is the success rate of filming Lu Yanhe's scripts so high? And why is the development speed so fast?
There is a very crucial reason, that is, the script written by Lu Yanhe has very low shooting difficulty and production cost.
All the scripts that Lu Yanhe has come up with at this stage are based mainly on creativity and character performance, and do not require much effort in special effects or big scenes.
There is no need to talk about "Buried". "Source Code", a science fiction movie that is considered to be very expensive in everyone's impression, is actually a "soft science fiction". The main scene is on a train, and the only big scene that costs a lot of money is actually the moment of the explosion.
However, although there are many explosions in the movie, in fact, it is entirely possible to shoot one explosion from different angles, and multiple explosion shots can be completed in one shot.
As for "Red-Eye Flight", Lu Yanhe directly cut out the part of the original work where the two people got off the plane and went home.
The part of the movie that follows the person getting off the plane wasn't rated highly either.
When Lu Yanhe watched the movie himself, he felt that the part on the plane was enough.
If the confrontation between the heroine and the villain ended at the moment when she stabbed the pen into his neck, the movie would actually be more concise.
For the movie, it actually saves a lot of filming costs.
Lu Yanhe believes that no film company would reject a script like "Red Eye".
Because it is obviously a story that will make money.
Sure enough, Schmidt Laurie quickly expressed his willingness to buy the script of Red Eye and make it into a movie.
Lu Yanhe replied that his production company would participate in the production of the film, and he already had a candidate for the film's heroine. He had originally planned to use his own production company to shoot the film.
-
At this time, Jiang Yuqian was in the United States, in New York, and had just met with a producer.
Jiang Yuqian was not very satisfied with the result of the meeting.
Although the other person seemed polite on the surface, Jiang Yuqian could actually feel the "contempt" in his attitude.
In particular, for a movie with an investment of more than 20 million US dollars, they were only willing to pay her a salary of 100,000 US dollars.
It was so low that Jiang Yuqian felt like she was being insulted.
So, after coming out, Jiang Yuqian found a cafe, sat down, and slowly calmed herself down by drinking coffee.
After a while, agent He Heng finished his call, came over and sat down opposite her.
"A $100,000 paycheck is really insulting. If it's this amount, I won't act." Jiang Yuqian said, "I'm not an unknown person. This is obviously bullying us Asian actors."
He Heng sighed and said, "They are too arrogant. They know that many Asian actors are willing to act in a Hollywood movie for a low price to increase their popularity."
"That's not me. I don't need it." Jiang Yuqian was annoyed. "Rather than this, I'd rather not act."
"This is a rare movie with a female lead that we get to see," He Heng said. "We've never gotten a movie with a female lead in Hollywood before."
He Heng felt that at least he could use this method to open up the situation.
Having played the leading female role and not having played the leading female role are two completely different concepts.
"No." Jiang Yuqian shook her head. "If I hadn't acted in Squidward, I could accept a low salary because no one in Hollywood knows me and it's normal that I can't get a high salary. But if I accept such a salary now, it will make us Asian actors look too cheap."
He Heng didn't expect Jiang Yuqian to be so insistent on the issue of film remuneration.
To be honest, Jiang Yuqian doesn't need to rely on film pay to make money now.
As long as she takes this movie, even if she doesn't charge a penny for it, being the leading lady in a Hollywood movie will be enough for her to get several endorsements and increase her endorsement fee in the future.
However, on the other hand, He Heng actually supports Jiang Yuqian's decision. (End of this chapter)
