Become Famous Another Day

 Hurrying quickly, "Love Letter" was filmed and completed three days before the Chinese New Year.

The entire crew cheered excitedly the moment Lu Yanhe announced the completion of filming.

Of course, the reason why they are so excited is because they can go home for the New Year.

It was the time for the Chinese New Year. Although the New Year's Eve dinner that Zhao Yuheng had prepared at the beginning was no longer needed, Lu Yanhe still asked Zhao Yuheng to give out the red envelopes that he planned to give out to everyone on New Year's Eve, one by one as usual.

Lu Yanhe was particularly emotional.

"This is my first time as a director. Now that the movie is finished, I'm still dreaming. I feel like I just finished shooting the movie." He said with a smile, "It's different from being an actor. I found that I Being a director sometimes doesn't feel like a practical operation, because every specific job has to be done by everyone. I am only responsible for making requests, and everyone should have complained about me in their hearts. "

 Everyone at the scene laughed.

"However, it seems that being a director is like this, at least this is how I feel. I have to make demands, I have to be picky, and I have to demand everything that appears in the camera according to the standards I want, from the actors' performances to Changes in light, otherwise, once you feel you can make do with it, it won’t matter anymore.”

Lu Yanhe took a deep breath.

"I am very grateful to meet you all in the first movie I directed. Because of your help, we were able to complete this movie together. I know many people say that movies are the art of directors, but only those who have been directors can You know, the film cannot be completed by the director alone," Lu Yanhe said firmly, "We have finished filming, and we will do post-production and then release it. Then, we may have to go to film festivals and participate in many award ceremonies. Here. This is not the end of our reunion, let’s meet again in the future!”

Chen Bige put a hand on Zhang Ruozhi's shoulder and said, "Tsk, tsk, Ruozhi, look at how much you can talk with this mouth."

 Zhang Ruozhi smiled shyly.

She said: "The director seems to be very interested in everything he does."

"You're right, he is really a monster." Chen Bige smiled, "After finishing filming, you went back to school?"

 “Yes.” Zhang Ruozhi nodded, “I’m a sophomore in high school.”

 Chen Bige thought about it and said, "Maybe when this movie is released, you will be in your senior year of high school? Or have you finished the college entrance examination?"

 “Maybe.” Zhang Ruozhi nodded.

“Will you go to acting school?” Chen Bige asked.

 Zhang Ruozhi starred in "Love Letter", and it is natural for her to become an actress in the future.

She shook her head and said, "I don't have this idea now."

Chen Bige: "It's good. Go to school well. Like Lu Yanhe, if you can get into a good university, you will have many more choices in the future. Don't worry about missing out on some opportunities. If you really want to be an actor in the future, you can come to me. , or contact Yan He, we will help you find opportunities.”

 Zhang Ruozhi hummed shyly and flattered, "Thank you, sister."

 Chen Bige looked at Zhang Ruozhi's shy appearance and couldn't help but touch her face.

“Also, you must be careful not to be deceived by some boys early.” Chen Bige said, “You will meet many outstanding boys in the future, you know?”

 Zhang Ruozhi's cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

-

  Finish work, pack your things, pack your luggage, and go home.

During the Spring Festival travel rush, it is difficult to buy all kinds of tickets.

By the time Lu Yanhe returned to Yuming after a long journey, it was already the 29th of the New Year.

 Yan Liang has returned to his hometown.

Li Zhibai also returned home.

Lu Yanhe will still go to her grandparents’ house with Chen Siqi to celebrate the New Year this year.

  There is no need to go to the Spring Festival Gala this year, so they will sleep there one night.

Since there are no strangers or unknown relatives coming to visit, it is actually quite comfortable to spend the New Year at Chen Siqi’s grandma’s house. There is no discomfort like having to chat with strangers.

Chen Siqi's cousin Jiang Huadong was also very funny. He secretly gave him a stack of his photos and said, "Brother Yan He, please sign each photo for me. My parents are usually too picky. You are very stingy about my pocket money. I will sell your signed photo to my classmates to supplement my pocket money."



 After the New Year, Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi returned to Yuming together on the second day of the new year.

Chen Siqi is still staying in the hotel and refuses to stay there again.

This year, they did not choose to travel abroad for vacation. Instead, they took a good rest in the hotel for a few days together.

 Both of them are really tired and need a good rest.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Lu Yanhe took Chen Siqi to attend their high school class reunion.

More than thirty classmates came in large numbers.

 Many people I haven’t seen in three or four years.

 This was organized by Li Pengfei and others. When he was in high school, Lu Yanhe was not very familiar with many of his classmates. Those who were really familiar with him never lost contact. When meeting everyone this time, Lu Yanhe felt a deeper sense of intimacy than when he was in school.

Maybe people are like this. When we meet again after separation, we will feel a little more like "reunion after a long separation".

They went back to No. 13 Middle School together again and took a group photo in front of the school.

 The school is empty except for one janitor.

 The uncle saw them taking a group photo at the school gate and asked them who they were.

 They said they were students who graduated four years ago.

The uncle immediately laughed, but when asked if he could go into the school for a walk, the uncle still waved his hand and said firmly: "That's not okay."

 This is a very principled man.

The classmate pushed Lu Yanhe out and said, "We are really graduates of No. 13 Middle School. Look, where is Lu Yanhe, an outstanding graduate of our school and a big star? You always know him, right? I didn't lie to you!"

When the uncle saw Lu Yanhe, he exclaimed, "It's true."

Everyone thought they would be let out, but the uncle's next words were: "Not even Lu Yanhe! There is no one else in the school now, and no one can go in!"

 Everyone can just forget it.

 It is rare for Yuming to be so sparsely populated.

 Many people went back to their hometowns to celebrate the New Year but have not come back yet.

We finally went to KTV and sang until early in the morning before going home.

-

 The Spring Festival has passed like this.

 Another year.

 Senior year has also come to its last semester.

 Because there are no classes, they don’t have to go back to school so quickly. Lu Yanhe first looked at the house with Chen Siqi and planned to rent another house in Ziyuanqiao.

The houses in Ziyuanqiao are all of the same type, but the rent has increased a lot—Lu Yanhe suspected that someone was taking advantage of them.

 After all, people across the country now know that they are definitely not short of money.

 In fact, given their income, it is quite incredible to the agent that they still want to live here.

Although the houses here are expensive, they are only for ordinary people after all. In the eyes of the agent, with Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi's current worth, they should have lived in a top-notch community that could only be glimpsed in TV dramas.

This place can only be called a high-end community.

Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi were very picky and in the end they were dissatisfied not with the house but with the price.

 When the agent knew this, he couldn't believe it.

“The houses here are very popular. If you put them on the market, they can be rented out quickly.”

"We can pay it off in two years, and the rent here is not cheap. You said it can be rented out soon, but I don't believe it." Lu Yanhe said, "I have lived here for almost four years, and I know that this community is always There are some houses that have been vacant all year round and cannot be rented out.”

intermediary:"…"

I forgot that this person is also a regular resident of this community.

“The rent price is indeed a bit higher than when you rented it back then, but the entire market is rising, not just our area.”

 The intermediary's tone was also a bit aggrieved.

 He thought to himself, it was just a little more than the market price.

After some final deliberation, the price was reduced a lot, and both parties signed the contract with satisfaction.

When leaving, Lu Yanhe muttered to Chen Siqi: "Why do I feel like we are still being ripped off? When signing the contract, he didn't feel any physical pain at all."

Chen Siqi smiled and said: "If he really didn't make much money, he wouldn't sign with us. That's pretty much it."

 Lu Yanhe nodded.

As soon as the house was rented, Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi started another thing, decoration.

 The rented house only has hard furnishings and no soft furnishings.

 So, they also need to buy a lot of things.

Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi spent three days visiting the furniture market and buying pots and pans before finishing the house.

You can't live in it directly after it's done, as the furniture will have to smell. Of course, Chen Siqi is also going back to school.

The house they rented is right next door to the houses of Lu Yanhe, Li Zhibai, and Yan Liang. There are seventeen houses here and eighteen houses there, right next to each other.

Li Zhibai and Yan Liang were surprised to know that Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi rented a house next door.

“Damn it, we thought you were going to move away soon and we would be separated from each other from now on.” Li Zhibai said.

"Then you are exaggerating. Even if I did not rent in Ziyuanqiao but rented somewhere else, it would still be in Yuming. How could it be that we are two places apart?" Lu Yanhe said, "We can still make appointments frequently. ”

"Given the nature of our work, even if we live in the same house, it's hard to meet more than once a month, let alone live together." Li Zhibai said, "Especially when we play games, it would be difficult if we didn't live together. , it’s hard to make an appointment just to play a game together. Then of course it’s fine if you live next door. If you open the window and call you, you can hear me.”

 Li Zhibai's face showed visible happiness.

Lu Yanhe then realized that Li Zhibai and Yan Liang had been secretly worried about the fact that he might move out soon.

 But these two people have never spoken to him.

 Although it is said that friends do not need to live together and get along day and night to be friends. However, for the three of them, it has been almost seven years since they were fifteen years old. After such a long time, it is not easy to separate. No one would say something like "I can't let you go" in a sticky manner. For boys, this kind of straightforward emotional expression is almost impossible, but it goes without saying that these words are understood tacitly. .

"This needs to be celebrated." Li Zhibai said immediately, "I think we should go out and have a good time."

Yan Liang: “Let’s talk about it. It’s rare that the three of us are here now and have not joined the group.”

“When will you join the group later? Do you have any arrangements?” Lu Yanhe asked.

Yan Liang shook his head and said: "Not yet this year. I filmed several movies last year. I won't join the cast in the first half of this year. I should record a variety show and be a regular guest."

“I’m still reading the script, and I have a lot of inventory now, so I’m not in a hurry to join the cast,” Li Zhibai said.

Lu Yanhe: "So I'm the only one who's so busy this year?" "You get busy first." Li Zhi smiled.

“Who told you to have so many sequels to make?” Yan Liang also said.

 In fact, there are not many sequels that Lu Yanhe will make, just "Seventeen Floors".

 Mainly the two films "Fire" and "The Mist" occupy his schedule this year. Especially for "Fire", a movie takes nearly three months to shoot.

Of course, this is related to the fact that this movie is set in a blockbuster and has many big scenes, so it is really difficult to shoot.

Furthermore, in the past nearly three months, Lu Yanhe has not been filming every day. However, after filming so many films, Lu Yanhe can finally film at a normal rhythm.

-

Lu Yanhe has action scenes in "Burning Fire", but not many.

 This is mainly an oriental fantasy movie, which constructs a magical world.

Lu Yanhe is the only main actor who has not yet decided on a look. Because he was filming "Love Letter" earlier, he didn't take time to participate in the crew's makeup setting.

 On this day, the Lu Yan River passed.

What Lu Yanhe didn't expect was that it would take him almost more than an hour just to do the styling. From hairstyle to makeup—this is the role that Lu Yanhe took the longest to create. People in Lu Yanhe were almost numb and wanted to take a nap.

Lu Yanhe’s identity in the movie is that of a student at the Academy of Art.

 They told him that his look was already relatively simple, without any special effects makeup.

 For some actors who have special effects makeup, the makeup time starts at three hours.

This is what magic blockbusters are like, there are many "non-human" beings in them.

 Lu Yanhe looked at some makeup photos of other actors and had a general understanding of the styles of these characters in the movie. This is a costume fantasy film with very oriental elements. Indeed, it feels like a Chinese blockbuster at first glance.

However, from the styling to the texture of the costumes, the crew's care can be seen at a glance. Costumes are the type of drama where it is easiest for the audience to see whether they are high-quality or not. How much investment has been made and what standards have been achieved can all be seen at a glance.

 Fortunately, the movie "Fire" did not become that kind of shoddy industrial movie.

Ten thousand people came from behind.

Since Lu Yanhe decided to take over the filming of the movie "Fire", Lu Yanhe has chatted with Wan Hai many times. They met in person and also chatted online. They chatted a lot and became relatively familiar with each other.

　　A director with a somewhat "creepy" name is actually a very kind and funny person.

Wan Hai looked at Lu Yanhe's style for a long time, raised several questions, and asked the styling team to redesign it for Lu Yanhe.

 They are all very detailed places.

In "Burning Fire", the character Li Wushang played by Lu Yanhe is like a character in every epic or legendary story. He is a "growing" young character.

 In many stories, such a character is often the first-person protagonist.

But in "Burning", the protagonist from the first perspective is a vengeful man, that is, the character played by Shang Yongzhou.

 But Lu Yanhe still has a lot of roles. In "Fire", it is almost the same as in "Path of Glory". The two of them can almost be said to be the double male protagonists of this movie.

Furthermore, if "Path of Glory" is about two people appearing in parallel in a main line, in "Burning", the first half is basically the two of them on their own lines, sometimes intersecting, sometimes separated, each playing half the role.

However, just because Lu Yanhe has never made a commercial blockbuster, and the box office results of his past starring movies have always been in the hundreds of millions, so his salary is much less than that of Shang Yongzhou, and he does not get a share of the box office. . Just Shang Yongzhou.

This is why Chen Ziyan told Lu Yanhe at that time that he must make a commercial blockbuster.

 As an actor, if you don’t want to join the top-paid actor club, you can of course keep making your own movies without having to think about the positioning of your identity and image as an actor in the market. Like Lu Yanhe, he can definitely continue to make movies like "Late Spring" and "Path of Glory" and earn hundreds of millions at the box office. Compared to their production costs, it would be a huge explosion and a miracle. The aura above Lu Yanhe's head will be It goes on and on.

However, if Lu Yanhe wants to join the top-paid actor club, he must star in a movie with a box office of over one billion or two billion, or even one of the top 20 films in film history. Box office performance is always an actor's biggest asset when negotiating salary, not the shock and surprise of the industry, not how many awards he has won.

 The film project "Fire" is one of the top projects in China. There is actually nothing good to say about Lu Yanhe choosing it. The director is good, the script is good, the production company spends real money to improve the production quality, and Shang Yongzhou acts with him, so he does not need to shoulder the box office pressure alone -

Even if such a blockbuster project fails, the blame won’t be pointed directly at him.

Although it's not too kind or too cool to say this, it is the reality.

 Chen Ziyan also has to consider that if a blockbuster fails, for an actor, not to say fatal, it is definitely not a trivial matter, even for an actor of Lu Yanhe's level. It was Lu Yanhe's first time starring in such a blockbuster. It was not a good idea to take too much risk. If he used Shang Yongzhou to do it, the film was a success. With Lu Yanhe's role and setting, he could reap big dividends. If it had failed, it would have been a success. Not to bear the brunt of the blame.

If these twists and turns in her heart were to be spoken out, of course it would appear that she did not trust Lu Yanhe so much, and was not so aboveboard, and her interests were so clear. To put it bluntly, she wanted to take advantage of the advantages and not bear the disadvantages - but in reality, a person This is the standard for managers to accept projects for their artists.

 Shang Yongzhou took the lead role himself, and it was not someone who tricked him and forced him to take it.

 All subsequent actors must bear its responsibilities.

Chen Ziyan is just weighing the pros and cons.

-

 “I’m actually quite surprised that you’re willing to play “Fire”.”

 In the evening, Wan Hai and Lu Yanhe had dinner together, and Wan Hai told Lu Yanhe so.

“I was worried before that you might not like this kind of blockbusters.” Wan Hai laughed, “You have acted in so many art films before.”

"That's because no blockbuster script as good as "Burning" has come to me before." Lu Yanhe also gave a small commercial compliment, "I am willing to act in any type of movie, but sometimes the scripts sent are really not good enough." It’s beautiful, but the script is so perfunctory that even if you were to film it, I would feel helpless. I don’t know why many commercial films come to me with this kind of script.”

Ten thousand people smiled.

"Although everyone is using the word blockbuster to describe "Burning", I actually want to play "Burning" for a very important reason. Director, I have always been very impressed by this kind of fantasy story with the background of traditional Chinese culture. Interest. Just like martial arts works, it creates a world that may not exist in reality. I am referring to qinggong and martial arts. "Lu Yanhe laughed, "Creating such a world based on reality is similar to what I saw when I was a child. Like the world's top ten unsolved mysteries, I naturally have a feeling of curiosity and yearning for a new world that cannot be found in the real world. Moreover, I have always felt that our domestic Chinese movies have never had a representative fantasy. It’s a movie like this, so after seeing “Fire”, I felt the excitement I had been waiting for for a long time.”

 This is indeed an exaggerated modification of his true mood.

 But the essence is not lying. This is how Lu Yanhe views "Burning Fire".

If he didn’t think the movie could be made well, he wouldn’t have accepted it.

Wanhai said: "This kind of movie, especially with the current production budget. In the past, the technology was immature, and I didn't think it could be made. Now that the technology has finally matured, our domestic market has also grown, and it may be able to sustain it." I only dare to make such a big investment.”

 Even directors are afraid of failure.

Lu Yanhe smiled.

 He can also understand Wanrenhai very well.

It was only after I became a director that I realized how much pressure a director feels when a film fails.

 When he was an actor before, he had never faced this matter so directly. As for the movie "Love Letter", the investment was so small. Lu Yanhe often had to face the need for additional budget for some specific shootings, or a scene was not shot smoothly, which may cause problems with the arrangements for the next few days. Wait for the question. These are still some specific problems. The most terrifying thing is the pressure of "if the movie fails, it won't sell at the box office."

Forget the losses - that's what Lu Yanhe really thought at the time. At worst, he would lose money himself, or at worst, he would pay out his own pocket to pay back the money to every friend who invested (this idea was also very naive, but that's what he thought at the time) to soothe your anxious state). What was Lu Yanhe more afraid of? He was afraid that he would fail and live up to everyone's trust in him.

 This drama stars Chen Bige. If a starring drama fails, it will also affect Chen Bige's reputation. Not to mention, there are so many people coming to help. He who can calculate it clearly with money can return it even if he sells it, but these favors and the trust others have in him cannot be returned.

This is true for "Love Letter", let alone ten thousand people.

It’s true that everything he did was good, but if he failed, no film company would dare to film with him in the next four to five years.

 That’s how serious it is.

-

Before Lu Yanhe joined the crew to shoot "Fire", Zhong Benshuo came to Lu Yanhe with great joy.

 "Squid Game" has been popular on Maxine for more than two months, and its popularity remains the same.

 Maxine’s stock price soared as a result.

 The popularity of "Squid Game" on a global scale has exceeded everyone's expectations for the show, including Jong Ben-suk himself.

Zhong Benshuo couldn't help but sigh in his heart, how prescient he was to attach great importance to and befriend Lu Yanhe. He had long forgotten that there were actually some unpleasant things between him and Lu Yanhe.

Zhong Benshuo came here this time to inquire with Lu Yanhe about the progress of the second season of "Squid Game".

  The overseas streaming copyright of the first season of "Squid Game" was not authorized by Lu Yanhe, but by Northern Lights Video. The copyright for the first season is not owned by Lu Yanhe, but by Northern Lights. But according to the news that Zhong Benshuo knows, Lu Yanhe will share the copyright for the second season of "Squid Game" with Northern Lights Video. This means that Lu Yanhe can also affect the outcome of which streamer is authorized for the second season.

Zhong Benshuo knows very well how good the relationship between Lu Yanhe and HP is. The previous short film "Night Run" was snatched away by HP. Several of Lu Yanhe's subsequent dramas were also booked in advance by HP and had nothing to do with Maxine.

If the second season of a drama like "Squid Game" is picked up by someone else first, then Ben-Suk Chung can directly send his resignation to the boss's mailbox.

Lu Yanhe quickly figured out Zhong Benshuo’s purpose.

 Actually, Zhong Benzhuo still doesn’t understand Lu Yanhe well enough. If he hadn't had Maxine to get into trouble, Lu Yanhe wouldn't have rashly changed the platform for the second season, given the success of the first season.

 Changing a platform means abandoning the foundation of early success. After all, although there are many people who have membership accounts on two platforms at the same time, there are also many people who only watch dramas on one platform.

Just like after JK Rowling collaborated with Warner Bros. on the first movie of "Harry Potter", there must be other companies with high contracts who want to poach the sequel - the development rights for the sequel of "Harry Potter" have always been with JK Rowling's hands, not Warner's. However, in this case, JK Rowling did not choose to cooperate with another film company. Instead, she cooperated with Warner for eight movies and launched another "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" series.

  Why many people who have bad relationships can still continue to cooperate—because they have common interests.

 The same is true between Lu Yanhe and Zhong Benzhuo.

 But Lu Yanhe did not intend to reassure Zhong Benzhuo so soon.

He was hesitant anyway, and he didn't say that the second season would definitely be given to Maxine. He only said that he hadn't written the script yet and hadn't thought about it.

 What Lu Yanhe didn’t expect was that Zhong Benzhuo came up with a very exaggerated number.

"This is not for "Squid Game", but for you, Lu Yanhe." Zhong Benzhuo said, "As long as you agree to give Maxine all the subsequent broadcast rights of the "Squid Game" series, Maxine will pay you 50 million US dollars for your creativity. Service fee.”

 50 million U.S. dollars, which is about 300 million yuan.

Even Lu Yanhe was shocked by this number.

 Is this...the dizzy feeling of being hit with money?

"Yan He, you have always known our sincerity in cooperating with you at Maxine." Zhong Benshuo said, "This creative service fee is actually not just paid to you to win the subsequent broadcast rights of "Squid Game" What's more, we want to express to you that we value you. I still say that, if you are willing to customize a drama for Maxine, you will get a unique treatment in this world, and there will be no other place. Unaffordable treatment.”

 Lu Yanhe: “…”

He looked at Zhong Benzhuo and hesitated for a long time. He wanted to ask, is their Maxine so rich?

Of course, Lu Yanhe knows that the money provided by these streaming media platforms is very exaggerated.

ˆ In the two worlds before and after time travel, streaming media seems to play the role of "rich people" - it's not that they are rich, but they really give money as if the money is not money.

Amazon has offered "Fleabag" star and screenwriter Phoebe Waller-Bridge a three-year deal worth $20 million per year. The most exaggerated thing is that Amazon renewed her contract even though she didn't produce any series for Amazon in the past three years.

Not to mention, the two sequel movies of "Knives Out" directly brought "007" Daniel Craig a salary of up to 100 million US dollars.

  Sometimes, Lu Yanhe also thought about when he would be able to sign such a contract.

Unexpectedly, without any warning, Zhong Benshuo came with such an agreement.

  It's simply an agreement to send money.

This fifty million US dollars does not include the normal purchase cost of the sequel to "Squid Game". It is called "creative service fee". To put it bluntly, it is a check written by Maxine to Lu Yanhe to express goodwill.

Lu Yanhe took a deep breath silently to prevent himself from appearing too "unexperienced in the world". He remained calm, unmoved, and as steady as a mountain.

“Mr. Zhong, I admit that the attitude between you and Maxine is indeed very sincere.”

Lu Yanhe looked at Zhong Benzhuo and said word by word: "But before formal preparations, we are not in a hurry to make a decision on who will give the sequel to "Squid Game"."

 Zhong Benshuo finally asked this question.

"Yan He, what do you want?" Zhong Benzhuo said, "We can't let "Squid Game" fall into the hands of others."

Lu Yanhe blinked his eyes. No attitude or emotion could be seen on his face, only a social and polite smile: "Let me think about it carefully, and you should continue to think about it carefully. We will discuss this issue later." Let’s talk.” (End of chapter)