Chapter 344

Lu Yan He did not expect that Shang Yongzhou would spend so much time preparing for a role.

This is also something he doesn't quite understand now: does it take more than half a year to prepare for a role?

There are many newcomer actors who, because they have never acted before, will spend one to two years training after being picked by a director.

But that is because they have not received acting training, and at the same time, the role itself requires them to reach the state of the character in terms of physique, movement, demeanor, and various other aspects, so they will do such long-term training.

If it was the first time acting in a play, Lu Yan He also felt that long-term preparation was very important.

But now, maybe because he is familiar with acting, he feels that if a play doesn't require special skills or accents to learn, or if there is a prototype character that requires a lot of pondering, it basically doesn't take that much time.

Lu Yan He certainly wouldn't think that Shang Yongzhou's preparation time was too long; he wasn't arrogant to that extent.

Instead, from this phone call with Shang Yongzhou, he noticed the change in his own mentality.

A bit too confident.

Maybe it's because the people around him are praising him for acting well, and he himself has gradually gone from not understanding what acting is to having a little understanding of acting now, so he has lost the awe of acting he had at the beginning.

This is not a good phenomenon.

Lu Yan He silently warned himself in his heart that he must be careful.

This day, as soon as the Cultural Overview class was over, Lu Yan He hurried to the library.

He had to find the book he wanted to borrow within fifteen minutes and then rush to the school gate within ten minutes—the campus is huge, and even for such things, time must be calculated to arrive at the school gate at eleven o'clock.

Peng Zhixing came to pick him up.

Zou Dong asked for leave. He had to attend his son's parent-teacher meeting. Chen Ziyan arranged a new bodyguard, but there was a problem: this bodyguard couldn't drive. It was awkward, but fortunately, Peng Zhixing said he was coming over too.

So, Lu Yan He simply went by himself.

"I'll have a meal with them and then come back; I don't need a bodyguard," Lu Yan He said. "I won't go anywhere else by myself either."

"You are eating at a restaurant, you still need someone to watch," Chen Ziyan said. "I'll have him go to the restaurant to wait for you."

Lu Yan He could only say okay.

He hurried all the way and finally arrived at the school gate before the agreed time.

When he got into the car panting, Peng Zhixing asked him in surprise: "Did you... just have a PE class?"

Lu Yan He silently sighed.

Today is the *Young Days* gathering.

Except for Li Zhibai and Yan Liang who had things to do and couldn't come, everyone else could come.

This is a rule they set before: as long as someone says there is a gathering, no matter who can't come, this gathering must be held.

Peng Zhixing said at the time: "With the degree of busyness you people have, I don't know when you will be able to gather everyone. Just gather as many as you can; don't just meet during the few days of recording the program every year because you can't gather everyone."

If they weren't a group of young people, they might feel that if they can't meet, they can't meet, no need to force it. But they met in *Young Days* and became friends, so they all wanted to make more appointments and gather more.

What is a true good friend? Even if you haven't seen each other for a long time, you won't be estranged. The principle is this principle, but if you are really good friends, if there is no special reason, why haven't you seen each other for a long time? Good friends should meet more and gather more!

Lu Yan He also felt that he could take advantage of the current time to talk to Peng Zhixing about the *Jump Up* video channel.

"Brother Zhixing, we want to do a character interview column on the *Jump Up* video channel," he said. "Not limited to people in the film and television circle, including people from all walks of life. Are you interested?"

Peng Zhixing was very surprised when he heard it. "Me?"

Lu Yan He said: "Yes, I want to invite you to participate in this column."

Peng Zhixing said: "I already have an interview column at Arctic Light, and my agency contract is signed with Arctic Light. They won't agree to me taking private jobs."

Lu Yan He laughed, nodded, and said: "Brother Zhixing, it's like this. Let me introduce our column to you first. Why do I still want to invite you to do our column knowing that you already have an interview column? The main reason is that there is a big difference between the two columns. *Zhixing* is a supporting column for Arctic Light Video to cooperate with film and television drama promotion. The main crowd interviewed are all the main creators of the film and television dramas broadcast by Arctic Light. Many are your tasks, right?"

"Our interview column is upholding a purpose of the *Jump Up* magazine, which is to dig for the best things," Lu Yan He said. "All the ideas you can't realize in *Zhixing*, you can put into this column to do. You are the biggest director and host of this column, and we won't interfere much."

Peng Zhixing was taken aback.

"As for the contract problem between Arctic Light Video and you, don't worry about this. You don't need to be embarrassed; we will talk to them directly. We don't want to earn how much advertising fees from such a column, but hope to make the influence of *Jump Up* bigger and let more people know about *Jump Up*," Lu Yan He said. "Before, we all did in-depth character interviews in text form in each issue of the magazine. We hope to visualize such interviews."

Peng Zhixing was very surprised and also very tempted.

What Lu Yan He said really touched his heart. For Peng Zhixing, the work he values most is actually the interview work he does as a host. He grew up watching this kind of program, and later learned broadcasting and hosting, and became a host, also because he had such a dream, so he went on this road.

Doing the program *Zhixing* has already made him stand out among his peers. After all, it is rare for him to have an exclusive interview program named after himself at such a young age.

And in this situation, Peng Zhixing often chooses to "compromise" because he must be "content."

—You are already very lucky, why do you still make so many demands?

—You already have your own program, isn't the platform supporting you enough?

—The things you want to do are not what the platform wants. What's the use of doing them well?

All kinds of voices, from the outside, from the inside, interspersed together, affecting him.

Peng Zhixing took a deep breath. He certainly knew these principles, but no one doesn't want to realize their ideas.

"Yan He, do you hope I bring my own team to do this column?" Peng Zhixing said. "But my *Zhixing* team are all people arranged by Arctic Light Video."

"I don't think it's necessary to have such a big program team like *Zhixing* to do this," Lu Yan He said. "In my understanding, you are the interviewer, and there is an interviewee, then a cameraman, two cameras, and the most basic conditions are there. Of course, we want to make this column high-quality and stand the test of time, so we can't do this column so simply and perfunctorily. Therefore, what you need and what kind of team you want to assemble, I think this must be proposed by yourself, as long as you know what you need."

Peng Zhixing said: "Doing an interview, no matter how cheap, labor, venue, makeup, equipment... all added up, tens of thousands of yuan is needed."

"You didn't count your pay," Lu Yan He pointed out. "I'm not asking you to work for free, Brother Zhixing. Don't worry, this column will have sponsorship and won't lack money. On this point, our *Jump Up* team has accumulated rich resources through operations over the past two years."

Peng Zhixing asked: "Then what is your budget for producing a program?"

Lu Yan He said: "This depends on what kind of exclusive interview video you want to make this column into. Is it chatting together, or other forms, etc. In short, I can only say that as long as it doesn't lose money, we will definitely support your ideas."

Peng Zhixing was a bit surprised: "Do you have no profit goals?"

"The success of this column can benefit all departments of our entire *Jump Up*," Lu Yan He said. "If our first goal is to make money, we wouldn't invite a famous host like you to do this column. You are the most expensive. Even if we invite a completely unknown person to do the interview, even if it's our editor, with our existing channels and brand resources, we can make a lot of money. Inviting you might not make that much."

Lu Yan He laughed.

Peng Zhixing was a bit surprised and asked: "Am I that expensive?"

Actually, with Peng Zhixing's current market rate, just the appearance fee for one program starts at 100,000. After all, his popularity is here. Not to mention, this column requires Peng Zhixing to take on a series of important creative and thinking work such as planning and directing.

Lu Yan He said: "Cheap has cheap ways to invite, expensive has expensive ways to invite. I am here to invite you to do big things, Brother Zhixing."

Peng Zhixing couldn't laugh or cry, and reached out to give Lu Yan He a thumbs up.

"You're awesome."

Seeing Peng Zhixing's reaction, Lu Yan He knew he had succeeded.

*Young Days* rarely gathers, and when everyone gets together, the first thing is to ask when the program will be recorded this year and if there is any news.

The first two seasons of the program have accumulated many loyal fans, and the reputation is quite good.

Plus, the guests in the program now are all popular. Lu Yan He and Yan Liang, who were lukewarm at the beginning, are now popular first-tier stars. Liu Zhiyin, after more than a year of accumulation, has also stepped into the ranks of popular female idols relying on *Idol Age*, not to mention Xiao Yun, who is called "extremely lucky" by the industry and exploded through *Phoenix Terrace* and a campus idol drama, becoming a popular little flower...

The biggest problem with this program now is that everyone's pay added together is too expensive, and it's hard to invite them.

However, this group of people gathering together to record the program will definitely have many brands paying for it. As long as they don't open their mouths like a lion and take the market price, the program can still be filmed. The program team earns more.

"I heard it's still the same as last year, filming in August."

"Sister Zhenzhen talked to me about this before. I have to film in August this year, so I might not be able to participate in the full recording, only recording a few episodes," Lu Yan He said.

"I was just saying, I remember you have to enter the crew in August," Xiao Yun sighed. "What a pity, I thought we could play together again."

Lu Yan He said: "It's just missing a few episodes in the middle of the recording. I will come back after I finish filming."

Because Chen Lingling's play is an eight-episode short drama, the filming time is less than a month. Lu Yan He can basically finish filming by early September. Taking this play at the time, the short filming time was a very important factor.

But because *Young Days* coordinates everyone's time, it can't just accommodate him alone. So, Lu Yan He can only miss one recording arranged by the program in August.

Xiao Yun said: "Why can you get this kind of short drama? The plays I get are all long dramas. I really don't want to film long dramas."

There are many differences between long dramas and short dramas.

For domestic video platforms, they are definitely more willing to do long dramas. Because the more episodes, the higher the click rate, and the more advertising fees earned. But for overseas streaming media, it is another algorithm. They look at member viewing numbers, payment numbers, and "completion rate," so many dramas are made very short. Short means costs can be controlled, and no matter how expensive, it won't be expensive to the sky. And once it explodes, it can attract a large number of paying viewers to watch this drama.

This is a different profit model, and the demand for the length of episodes is different.

Chen Lingling's drama itself is a customized drama for streaming media, and it was produced according to international practice from the script stage.

Lu Yan He said: "If you want to film short dramas, you have to find opportunities overseas. If this drama wasn't a customized drama for streaming media, it wouldn't be so short."

In the mainland, there are only a handful of dramas under ten episodes that can be profitable. No matter how much advertising fees advertisers pay, they cannot cover the production costs. And in the general environment of dramas, there are still very few people willing to pay to watch dramas.

Examples like *Friends* are a miracle.

It's because the cost is low enough that they dare to play like that—Jingtai was holding the mentality of failure from the beginning to do this test product.

Peng Zhixing also said: "Moreover, the membership fees of our domestic video platforms are actually very low, much lower than the membership fees of those international streaming media, so it is very unrealistic to rely on member acquisition to achieve profitability in the short term."

"I heard that the member acquisition of *Young Days* is ranked in the top ten of the year for Bingyuan Video."

The fact that a variety show's acquisition is higher than most film and television dramas actually explains the problem. Variety shows themselves mainly rely on advertising fees to make money. They don't have the so-called "advance on-demand" income.

"Then will this drama of yours be broadcast on domestic video websites?"

"It should be, but I don't know the specific situation yet. I am just an actor in this drama. No one has told me any news about the things behind it," Lu Yan He said frankly.

"What about you?" Lu Yan He looked at everyone. "What plans do you have for the second half of the year?"

Liu Zhiyin: "A play found me recently, wanting me to play the heroine."

"Hmm? Sister Zhiyin, are you preparing to act too?" Xiao Yun asked in surprise.

Liu Zhiyin shook her head. "I refused. I finally have some improvement in *Idol Age*. I still prefer the stage. However, I also want to ask for your opinions. Do you think it is necessary for me to hone my acting skills to prepare for future transformation? I can't be an idol for a lifetime."

Everyone looked at each other.

Peng Zhixing said: "Sister Zhiyin, if you are interested in acting, you can try it."

"I mainly feel that I can't act at all," Liu Zhiyin shook her head. "I tried it at home, acting in front of the mirror, and I can describe it in four words: disastrous."

This is also the reason why Liu Zhiyin refused to act without hesitation.

She doesn't want to dedicate a disaster.

Xiao Yun nodded, holding Song Linxin's arm, and said: "If you don't have a certain degree of confidence, Sister Zhiyin, you can try from a cameo first, starting to learn from a few scenes of a cameo."

Lu Yan He agreed with Xiao Yun's concept, nodded, and said: "I also think so. I have always felt that fortunately, my first play was *Golden Age*. There were not many scenes, but because there were only those few scenes, I could concentrate on pondering those few scenes and began to master how an actor should prepare for a role. Sister Zhiyin, if you are preparing to act, I can recommend my acting instructor to you. I basically invited her to take me to read the script and practice lines for every play."

Liu Zhiyin's eyes lit up. "Okay, then give me her contact information. I think I really need a teacher to help me see if I have the ability to act. If I really don't have this ability, I don't have to struggle, just give up directly."

She seems very unconfident about her acting.

Lu Yan He suddenly thought of something.

"Sister Zhiyin, if you want to try, why don't you help me cameo in a role?"

"Ah?" Liu Zhiyin was taken aback.

Lu Yan He said: "The movie *Lost on Journey* I wrote actually has many roles, just one or two scenes. There is a role in it that is really suitable for you, if you are willing to come."

Liu Zhiyin certainly knows the movie *Lost on Journey*.

"Okay, you are willing to give me a chance, I will come!" Liu Zhiyin was overjoyed. "But I'm afraid I'll act too badly."

"Don't worry, it's really just one or two scenes, simpler than filming an MV."

Xiao Yun asked immediately: "Then do you want us to cameo?"

"You are all so popular, how can I be embarrassed to ask you to cameo?" Lu Yan He smiled.

Xiao Yun chuckled and said: "If we aren't popular, how can we be embarrassed to cameo for you? That's called rubbing the lens."

Lu Yan He: "You aren't joking with me, right? Really willing to cameo?"

"Willing, as long as you think of us brothers, younger brothers, sisters, and younger sisters more when you have plays in the future." Xiao Yun used her usual, teasing tone again.

She has a bit of a tomboy taste.

Lu Yan He was suddenly taken aback, his heart moved.

"Why be so polite? If you need us to cameo, we will definitely go," Peng Zhixing said.

Road comedy movies have a characteristic, that is, there are many characters appearing, and there are a bunch of new characters when arriving at a place.

To ensure the quality of a movie, you can't just find some actors to complete these roles that may only have one or two shots. In a sense, every second in the movie is important, not to mention one or two shots.

Lu Yan He arched his hands and said: "Okay, then I'll remember it. When I need everyone's help, I'll call you."

Before the end of the gathering, Lu Yan He said to Xiao Yun: "How about we find a time to meet? I have an idea to talk to you about."

Xiao Yun looked suspicious, suddenly thought of something, her eyes lit up, and asked: "Are you looking for me to film?"

Lu Yan He: "I don't know yet. I'm not sure if you are suitable. Just that moment, a thought flashed in my mind, and I felt it might be suitable, so I want to find you to try on makeup."

"Okay," Xiao Yun nodded, raised her chin, very confident, and said: "I don't believe there is a role I'm not suitable for."

From the first day he met Xiao Yun, she was this kind of careless and big-hearted personality, very confident, completely different from the relatively gentle and quiet Su Xiao and the competitive Liu Zhiyin.

At the end of May, after rehearsing nearly five or six times, the three of them finally performed *Green Apple Paradise* completely.

"Damn, this song is really... the more I sing it, the more addictive it is, both earthy and youthful," Li Zhibai complained.

Lu Yan He laughed uncontrollably, sweating all over, and wiped his sweat with a towel.

"This song will be popular," Lu Yan He said confidently.

"That's for sure. I knew it would be popular the first time I heard it. This melody is too brainwashing," Li Zhibai said. "However, if it wasn't for singing with you two, I definitely wouldn't sing it myself. It's earthy and foreign, affecting my outstanding temperament."

Yan Liang walked over with two bottles of ice water, stood behind Li Zhibai, grabbed his collar and pulled it back, and stuffed one of the ice waters directly into Li Zhibai's neck.

Li Zhibai, who had an outstanding temperament, was like an electric-shocked rooster for a moment, making a "Woo—" crowing sound, and his body twisted like a twist.

Yan Liang: "Truly outstanding."

Lu Yan He burst into laughter.

"Are you looking for death!" Li Zhibai took out the water and scolded Yan Liang.

Yan Liang returned the middle finger.

"Hungry, are you going to eat?"

Lu Yan He said: "I made an appointment with Jia Laoshi Long. Do you want to go with me?"

"We go, won't it disturb you?"

"It's okay, it won't disturb. We are talking about some things about *Lost on Journey*," Lu Yan He said.

Li Zhibai and Yan Liang followed Lu Yan He.

Watching the three boys walk in, Jia Long looked at the three of them and clicked his tongue.

"It's really youth. Watching you walk in together, this vigor, this handsome little face, I'm jealous."

Chen Ziyan sat next to him and smiled: "Finally someone has the same feeling as me. Every time I see them, I feel like someone is reminding me that I am slowly getting old. I am really in pain."

Jia Long: "Stop it, are you the same age as me?"

Jia Long is forty years old now.

Chen Ziyan said with a smile: "As long as you are over thirty, it's all the same. However, the best age for male actors is thirty or forty. This is the golden age. They still have a long way to go."

Jia Long: "You can't say that. Look, most film and television dramas now take young people as protagonists."

"This is just an illusion. Someone has specifically done statistics. The protagonists of our film and television dramas are mainly between thirty and fifty for men, and between twenty-five and forty for women," Chen Ziyan said.

Several people sat down.

Jia Long looked at the three of Lu Yan He and said: "Hey, seeing that your relationship is so good, when will the three of you film a play together? Let Lu Yan He write a script for you."

Lu Yan He said with a smile: "I'm writing it."

Li Zhibai said: "If Jia Laoshi needs three little brothers next time, just take the three of us."

Jia Long laughed and said: "Then ordinary plays can't invite the three of you to act as little brothers."

Lu Yan He asked: "Jia Laoshi, *Searchlight* will be released soon. You should be very busy, right? I thought you didn't have time to be busy with *Lost on Journey* recently."

During the promotion period of a movie release, actors will spin like a top.

Lu Yan He has experienced this.

Especially actors like Jia Long who serve as the core character of a movie.

Jia Long said: "It's okay. The promotion that should be done before the release has been done. Just waiting for the release this Friday to start running the roadshow."

*Searchlight* is a black comedy.

Lu Yan He felt it was quite interesting when he watched it at the film festival before, but he also felt that this movie might not be as popular as Jia Long's previous movies, because to understand this movie, you still need a threshold.

The industry's box office estimate for this movie is 700-1 billion. Compared to Jia Long's comedy movies that started at 1 billion in the past, it is less, and there are also concerns about the subject matter.

"Regarding the movie *Lost on Journey*, I went to talk to some directors. Some have works, some have only been assistant directors. I met more than a dozen, and finally took a fancy to one. He has been an assistant director for many movies before, but has no experience in independent directing. This point must be made clear first. But why did he move me? Because after he read this script, his description and imagination of the movie were basically the same as mine," Jia Long said. "The core tone of this movie is to be grounded, rather than filming a movie in a golden and brilliant way."

Lu Yan He nodded. This is also the consensus he reached with Jia Long before.

Must not film a story that looks grounded but is actually floating. Comedy movies are actually very easy to film floating—making people feel too fake, not real. Comedy is comedy, and only comedy that can really pierce into the soil of realism can make people laugh and be ironic.

"Okay," Lu Yan He nodded. "Anyway, in this regard, you know best, I have no opinion."

Jia Long asked: "Then are you really only planning to cameo in the image of the handsome guy in it?"

"I don't even want to cameo in that role anymore," Lu Yan He said. "Find someone else to cameo. I won't appear on camera."

"How can that be? You are such a big star, it's a waste if you don't appear on camera," Jia Long said.

Lu Yan He smiled helplessly.

"I have quite a few friends who said they are willing to cameo in a shot," Lu Yan He. ===== CHAPTER 345 =====