Chapter 479: First Stop of Awards Season

Remaking is not rare at all.

Many film and television dramas that are popular all over the world are you remaking mine, and I am remaking yours.

Some of the most successful remake cases, such as *Infernal Affairs* that everyone knows, and *The Departed* starring Leonardo DiCaprio after adaptation, the latter is the only work of the great director Martin Scorsese to win the Oscar for Best Film.

Or like *Sheep Without a Shepherd*, remade from an Indian movie, it won a box office of over 1 billion in one fell swoop, and when it became a dark horse at the box office, it also achieved a classic Chinese-language movie.

Therefore, with the success of *Friends* in the Asian region, it is not strange that South Korea wants to remake it.

However, among the works Lu Yanhe holds the copyright to, the dramas are *My Own Swordsman* and *Squid Game*, and the movies are *Lost on Journey*, *Rouge*, and *Love Letter*. Among these plays, only *Lost on Journey* and *Rouge* have been released.

tvn is a television station. Will they be interested in *Lost on Journey* and *Rouge*?

Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan discussed it, but didn't discuss which play tvn would be interested in.

It doesn't sound very reliable.

But getting to know each other is not a bad thing.

Doing business, this time it doesn't work, next time it might work.

The next day, they met with tvn people in Singapore.

Koreans really have a skill that makes people recognize them as Koreans at a glance.

Lu Yanhe and the others arrived a little late.

tvn came with two people, one named Jin Yanshu, and one named Li Yanmin.

The leader was Jin Yanshu.

Li Yanmin was her subordinate and also served as an interpreter.

Jin Yanshu doesn't speak English, so she can only rely on the interpreter for dialogue.

Neither side mentioned Kong Lingfan's behavior on stage last night, greeted each other, and Jin Yanshu mentioned that she liked *Rouge* very much.

*Rouge* has not been released in South Korea yet. She said she saw it at the Hexi Film Festival.

She was originally a drama screenwriter, and later reached the management level of the television station.

Jin Yanshu hopes to reach a cooperative relationship with Lu Yanhe and remake *Rouge* into a drama.

Lu Yanhe was surprised when he heard this.

Counting the Ice Field Video, this is the second person who wants to remake *Rouge* into a drama.

Is this movie really so suitable for adaptation into a drama?

Lu Yanhe was a bit puzzled.

Perhaps it was because he preconceived that *Rouge* was a movie with a relatively simple plot, so he had never felt that this movie could be adapted into a drama.

Jin Yanshu said: "This story is very consistent with the trend of women's consciousness awakening in this era."

Lu Yanhe realized.

"Another point is that I also hope that such a story can make girls recognize a truth: men cannot be trusted."

Lu Yanhe couldn't help but laugh or cry.

Jin Yanshu is a person who looks relatively kind, but after actual communication, you will find that she is actually a relatively tough woman, a bit like a strong woman.

Li Yanmin, who was sitting next to Jin Yanshu, was also a man. At this moment, a helpless look appeared on his face.

Obviously there were two men here, but Jin Yanshu didn't seem to feel that there was anything wrong with what she said.

Jin Yanshu's toughness is evident.

Lu Yanhe didn't know why Jin Yanshu would feel that what she said, he as a man wouldn't be angry.

But he really wasn't very angry, because he knew he wasn't that kind of person, so he didn't feel he was being alluded to.

Lu Yanhe thought for a while and said to Jin Yanshu: "Ms. Jin, actually we have companies in China that are preparing to remake *Rouge* into a drama."

Jin Yanshu nodded and said: "It is normal for others to want to remake this story. The audience group of Chinese dramas and our Korean dramas do not overlap. I think this does not affect our filming of the Korean version."

Lu Yanhe asked: "Ms. Jin, I want to ask, how do you plan to adapt the story of *Rouge*? The movie is adapted with the background of our Republic of China period in the last century."

Jin Yanshu said: "We in South Korea also have a historical period similar to your Republic of China period in China. In the adapted version, the main plot and characters will not be changed, still retaining the story plot of Twelve Young Master and Ruhu in the movie version, but we will increase the scenes of the male second lead and female second lead in the modern background, to increase the contrast between the past and the present, especially the contrast between women's status and consciousness."

Lu Yanhe realized and understood why Jin Yanshu liked this story.

He didn't oppose Jin Yanshu's idea of adapting this story, but for her main intention, Lu Yanhe was a bit hesitant.

"Ms. Jin, I will worry that if a work bears too much theme and consciousness expression, it will lose its artistry." Lu Yanhe used a tactful way to express his hesitation.

Jin Yanshu looked at Lu Yanhe with some surprise.

"You don't hope this drama takes women's consciousness as the theme?"

Lu Yanhe shook his head and said: "No, on the contrary, I am very surprised that you can discover such a perspective in the movie story. I must admit that when I wrote the story of *Rouge*, I didn't take women's consciousness as the theme. I just wanted to tell a person's letting go, to talk about the disillusionment and etherealness of love."

Jin Yanshu nodded.

"But I just heard your description, this story seems to be completely covered by women's consciousness," Lu Yanhe said. "It will make me worry about weakening the criticality of the story itself. This criticality points not only to a male character like Twelve Young Master who failed Ruhu, but also to the concepts of the old era, and the various discrimination and prejudice that Ruhu suffered. The richness of the character Ruhu, finally letting go of the obsession and waiting for Twelve Young Master is only a part. Her belief and persistence in love, the infatuation of waiting, and kindness are not just women's consciousness."

Jin Yanshu said: "This is indeed the feeling that the movie version brought to us, but if the drama is filmed exactly the same as the movie, and the things to be expressed are exactly the same as the movie, what is the necessity for us to adapt it? Every creator has their own perspective. You are a screenwriter and an actor, so you must understand this point."

Jin Yanshu's words indeed made sense.

She didn't hide her intention to adapt the story of *Rouge* at all—in fact, she could have first given Lu Yanhe a hypocritical praise, expressing respect for the original story, coaxing Lu Yanhe to authorize the remake rights to her, and then she would make drastic changes, and he couldn't say anything.

But she was open and didn't disguise at all, which gave Lu Yanhe a good impression of her.

Lu Yanhe said: "I understand, but I don't hope *Rouge* becomes a tool for expressing consciousness."

"I can guarantee this point. We are definitely story and character first, and we don't intend to film it as a propaganda tool," Jin Yanshu said. "You can look at the works I have been responsible for in the past."

Her subordinate Li Yanmin took out a document and handed it to Lu Yanhe.

Lu Yanhe received it and flipped through it seriously.

They were still relatively reliable, not sending a Korean version, but making it into an English version.

Lu Yanhe looked at the works Jin Yanshu had pushed out in recent years, as well as the representative works in her career.

Although he hadn't watched a single one, he was familiar with several of the names, and they must be quite popular, which he had seen from others or on the internet.

Before they came, Chen Ziyan had told him that Jin Yanshu was a very powerful practitioner, starting as a screenwriter, slowly becoming a producer, and then seizing the opportunity to become a high-level executive of tvn, steadily fighting in the Korean drama circle, and was a very capable woman.

And the film and television projects she was responsible for indeed had good results. However, the biggest shortcoming in her career was that there were no big hits. The so-called big hits, according to Lu Yanhe's understanding, are actually dramas like *Autumn in My Heart* and *My Love from the Star* that many Chinese people might not have watched but have heard of.

Lu Yanhe said to Jin Yanshu: "Ms. Jin, I need to go back and consider it seriously."

Jin Yanshu nodded.

This kind of thing, of course, cannot be negotiated in one meeting.

They didn't know each other before, and today was the first time they met. Contact first, preliminary communication, and then talk slowly later.

In the end, Jin Yanshu said to Lu Yanhe: "*Friends* is not responsible by me, but Kong Lingfan's invitation for you to guest star in *Friends* on the opening ceremony last night was not communicated with us in advance. It was his personal behavior, and tvn also entrusted me to apologize to you on their behalf. Of course, we really hope to invite you to guest star, and originally intended to send you an invitation after the script was officially out, but didn't expect him to do what happened last night on his own initiative. Sorry."

Jin Yanshu's attitude made both Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan quite satisfied.

No matter what, Kong Lingfan's incident last night was annoying. And the Korean version of *Friends* was being done by tvn. If tvn didn't explain and give such a posture, Lu Yanhe definitely couldn't get over this matter in his heart.

After Lu Yanhe, Chen Ziyan, and the others finished talking with Jin Yanshu, they returned to the hotel.

Chen Ziyan said: "Do you want to authorize *Rouge* to them to film the Korean version?"

The copyright of *Rouge* is in Linghe Film and Television Company. Lu Yanhe must nod for the authorization to be reached.

Lu Yanhe said: "I don't like them adapting it into this concept-first work, but what she said makes me feel it makes sense. If I control the adaptation of every work so broadly, I won't be tired to death, and it won't be conducive to other creators to play their creativity."

"There should be more and more partners coming to you for adaptation authorization in the future. This is indeed a point you need to consider clearly. Are you only controlling principled issues, or are you carefully considering the direction of adaptation for every adaptation party?" Chen Ziyan said. "In fact, the latter is very difficult to do. You have to know that the audit standards and market conditions of each country are different, and we can't explain many specific situations every time we authorize adaptation. We can only say to choose a reliable partner."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

"I think it's better to only control principled issues," Lu Yanhe said. "No content that slanders China is allowed, no political attribute problems are allowed, and others belong to things in content creation, so we don't make requirements. How everyone wants to adapt is their own business."

Chen Ziyan breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's right for you to think so."

Although the Asian Television Awards will also give out awards, its positioning is not just honor-based.

In more cases, it is more like a big supermarket.

Every year, many projects are sold here to other countries.

The Asian region itself has relatively similar cultural and historical backgrounds, and will not be as different as Europe and the United States, so film and television dramas are relatively circulating.

Of course, in the drama market, Asia has always been the most popular for Korean dramas, and the whole of Asia eats that set.

It used to be love as king, but now all types of tracks are blooming, and there are representative works for every subject matter.

Lu Yanhe felt particularly clearly that Chinese-language dramas are not as popular as Korean dramas here.

Only ancient idol and modern idol types are very popular in Southeast Asian countries.

Many projects frequently broke news of "selling at a high price." Those prices don't know whether they are true or false, anyway, everyone is playing marketing very smoothly now. The real selling price is one thing, and the promotion is another.

Lu Yanhe stayed here for two days and met with Jin Yanshu again to chat about the adaptation of *Rouge* into a Korean drama.

Aiming at Lu Yanhe's concerns, Jin Yanshu specifically asked someone to make a remake outline and communicated with Lu Yanhe about their specific adaptation ideas, just to prove to Lu Yanhe that their adaptation would definitely not turn it into a "feminist propaganda drama."

Lu Yanhe was actually increasingly recognizing it in his heart.

In the end, both sides reached a preliminary consensus and prepared to start negotiations later.

Lu Yanhe returned to China, and the first thing was to meet Li Quansen, the boss of Ice Field Video.

At that time, he also said that he wanted to remake *Rouge* into a drama.

At that time, Lu Yanhe also wanted to see their adaptation ideas before making a decision. Ice Field Video also looked for Miao Yue, wanting Miao Yue to be the screenwriter.

Lu Yanhe first told Li Quansen about tvn wanting to film the Korean version, and also mentioned his preliminary decision to authorize it, and after finishing, he proposed that if Ice Field Video still wanted to continue adapting *Rouge*, he would authorize it to them.

Li Quansen didn't mind at all that South Korea was remaking the Korean version at the same time.

Because of unspeakable reasons, Korean dramas cannot enter the domestic market normally now, and cannot produce competition.

Thus, Lu Yanhe first signed the adaptation agreement for *Rouge* and *Lost on Journey* with Ice Field Video.

Among them, *Rouge* was authorized to be adapted into a drama, and *Lost on Journey* was authorized to be adapted into two web dramas.

The adaptation authorization for the three dramas was sold in a package, with an authorization fee of 21 million, and also included some specific sharing later.

This authorization fee was not credited to Lu Yanhe's own account, but company revenue. Because the copyright of these two plays was in Linghe, not in Lu Yanhe's own hands.

Of course, a large part of Linghe's revenue belonged to Lu Yanhe.

Chen Ziyan said with a smile: "When you asked me to invest in Linghe, I really took advantage."

Linghe has only three shareholders: Lu Yanhe, Chen Ziyan, and Chen Siqi. At first, Lu Yanhe held 80%, Chen Ziyan held 20%, and later Lu Yanhe took out 5% of the shares to give to Chen Siqi.

Now Linghe's operating costs are not high. There is no fixed business place, and no staff, it is just an empty shell company. This also means that the company's operating income is almost all pure profit.

Lu Yanhe didn't expect copyright income to be so profitable... of course, this is mainly because these two movies themselves are very popular, so the remake rights can be authorized at such a price. In fact, an authorization price of 21 million is already not high relative to the success of these two movies themselves, and can even be said to be low-sold. The reason why it was given the adaptation rights at such a price is mainly because they also enjoy subsequent sharing in all aspects.

The main thing is long-term revenue.

Just like many copyright incomes of these two movies themselves later, they will also enter the account in a fine-flowing way.

Lu Yanhe could almost imagine that when he reaches a certain time in the future, his income as an actor might be far less than the copyright income he gets as an ip creator.

When Lu Yanhe had such a thought, not long after, another old-fashioned theater came to talk about the cooperation of adapting *Rouge* into a stage play.

The story of *Rouge*, obviously worse than *Lost on Journey* in box office performance, seems to have greater space in adaptation authorization.

When tvn finally bought the Korean version adaptation rights of *Rouge* for 1.2 million US dollars, Lu Yanhe recognized again how considerable the adaptation income is.

Linghe Film and Television released this news, focusing on the promotional point of "cultural output," while leaning towards the official main promotional direction, it was also to consolidate Lu Yanhe's "international" image.

On this road, Lu Yanhe walked alone, and no one could catch up.

At this time, the news from Liu Jiazhen and Chen Lingling also came.

Liu Jiazhen agreed to provide story ideas for the second season of *Silent River*, but did not serve as the main writer for the script.

In fact, when this news was announced, Liu Jiazhen's story ideas had already been provided.

In the first season of *Silent River*, Lu Yanhe acted as a criminal suspect, Zeng Qiao acted as a police officer, and in the end, Lu Yanhe was cleared of suspicion and gained innocence.

Liu Jiazhen did not make Lu Yanhe a criminal suspect again on this basis—before, what Chen Lingling was dissatisfied with was also this point. She didn't want this drama to look like just a replication of the first season's mode.

Liu Jiazhen turned the police character played by Zeng Qiao into the criminal suspect of this season's story, and the character played by Lu Yanhe became the key eyewitness of this season's case. Lu Yanhe saw Zeng Qiao appear at the crime scene with his own eyes, and the appearance time was no more than an hour from the victim's death time. In this case, after the first season and Zeng Qiao's contact, Lu Yanhe believed he was not the murderer, so after learning that his testimony instead made Zeng Qiao fall into suspicion, he decided to carry out an investigation himself to find evidence to clear Zeng Qiao's suspicion.

After hearing Liu Jiazhen's setting, Lu Yanhe's eyes lit up instantly.

Chen Lingling was also very satisfied with this design.

Thus, Liu Jiazhen enriched the characters and story plots on this conception.

He promised to provide a detailed story outline within three months.

The specific writing later was done by professional screenwriters.

The second season of *Silent River* was officially announced to start.

Lu Yanhe and Zeng Qiao both signed an intention contract, agreeing to return.

Once the news was spread, it was not only a hot search in China, but also climbed the relevant hot search lists of several overseas social media.

As the story idea provider for this season, Liu Jiazhen was also noticed by the audience of the first season of *Silent River*.

He is a famous suspense novelist himself, but relative to the audience of film and television dramas, there are still many people who don't know him.

Looking at it, it turned out to be the original author of *Nineteen Years of Crime Records*. Some audiences who had watched this bad film didn't know the situation and directly started complaining, wondering why the second season of *Silent River* had to find the original author of such a big bad film to provide story ideas.

Liu Jiazhen's reader fans immediately left messages under similar complaints, saying that books and films are separated, the original work of *Nineteen Years of Crime Records* is a high-reputation novel, the movie was filmed into a bad film, don't blame the original author.

Lu Yanhe also posted a Weibo, saying: *Nineteen Years of Crime Records* is one of my favorite novels, and it is also the first novel I recommended in my live broadcast room. I am very happy to be able to invite Teacher Liu Jiazhen to provide story ideas for the second season of *Silent River*. As an actor who already knows part of the content in advance, I can say that I can't wait to invest in the filming of the second part of *Silent River*.

*Nineteen Years of Crime Records* was hot-selling on major e-commerce platforms again, directly topping the first place.

This was mainly the sales contribution of the audience of the drama *Silent River*.

Many people wanted to see how the works of the author who provided story ideas for the second season of *Silent River* and was highly praised by Lu Yanhe were written.

And Liu Jiazhen's other novel *Silent Spiral* also had high sales.

October was a month for Lu Yanhe that was not filming, but very busy.

On the one hand, there were many derivative adaptation applications for *Rouge* in all aspects. Domestic theaters had stage plays and dance dramas authorized, and a top-tier comic company in the industry hoped to get comic authorization to adapt it into a comic, etc.

On the other hand, Lu Yanhe was invited to watch the first cut of the first two

If the philosophy of cooperation is not a good fit, there is no need to force it.

There were also many scripts sent to Lu Yanhe. There had been more than twenty in the last month alone, and these were just the ones that had passed the initial screening. Lu Yanhe had read quite a few scripts; most were of decent quality, and some even made his eyes well up with tears—they were very moving. However, in the end, Lu Yanhe did not choose any of them.

It was all because he felt they weren't good enough yet. He did, however, recommend a few of them to his friends, feeling that there were roles in them that suited them.

And it was right at this moment that Jiang Yuqian suddenly came to find him.

"Yanhe, I want to produce the movie *Phone* myself." As soon as Jiang Yuqian spoke, she shocked Lu Yanhe.

Jiang Yuqian wanted to be the producer herself and personally drive the project forward. Originally, this project was supposed to have started long ago, but because Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan eventually decided that all future scripts must have their copyrights kept in their own hands, the two projects, *Phone* and *Those Years*, were shelved.

"I've secured an investment, and if the rest isn't enough, I'll pay for it myself." Jiang Yuqian seemed to have made up her mind to film this movie properly.

Lu Yanhe reminded her, "Sister Yuqian, the risks of making a movie are quite high. Are you sure you want to invest in it yourself?"

Jiang Yuqian nodded and said, "Because I want to get this movie made as soon as possible. I don't want to keep waiting. I like this story. You said before that because no other company was willing to make a script where they didn't own the copyright, I decided to raise the investment and build the team myself."

Lu Yanhe was truly shocked by Jiang Yuqian's attitude. Jiang Yuqian had only just finished filming *Squid Game* not long ago; she shouldn't have been in such a rush to start her next project. Besides, *Phone* was already slated for her—why was she in such a hurry?

Chen Ziyan, however, said, "If I were Jiang Yuqian, I'd be in a hurry too."

"Huh?" Lu Yanhe was even more surprised.

Chen Ziyan: "Think about it. What's your current market value? *Lost on Journey* exploded, and *Rouge* exploded too—both were massive hits in terms of box office and word-of-mouth. How many people are eyeing *Phone* like predators? If it doesn't start filming as soon as possible, from her perspective, no matter how good her relationship is with you, doesn't she still face the possibility of being replaced? Of course she wants to push for *Phone* to start filming immediately, to make it a done deal that this movie is hers."

Lu Yanhe suddenly understood.

Lu Yanhe felt there was nothing to be anxious about, as the movie was hers anyway.

But Jiang Yuqian didn't think so. In the entertainment industry, people could be replaced even after filming started, and since his projects were so popular, it was normal for her to worry about being snatched away.

Furthermore, starting filming now wasn't a matter of lacking investment or any other fatal flaw. It was simply that Lu Yanhe's own company was busy with *Love Letter* and couldn't spare any energy to work on *Phone*, while other production companies weren't willing to just act as a filming team for Lu Yanhe and his partners—they wanted the movie's copyright, which was why it had been delayed. Jiang Yuqian didn't want the copyright; what she needed was the boost this movie would bring to her career.

"Letting Jiang Yuqian make this movie has the benefit of saving us time and effort; we get a project manager, and she has high hopes for this film. She also has deep connections in the industry; with her resources added to ours, it's a net positive. But there's also a problem: she has never been a producer, and she has never made a movie. She has no experience. You know yourself how risky and difficult making a movie is. After directing *Love Letter* yourself, you should be even clearer on this point," Chen Ziyan said. "So, if she does it, the possibility of failure is also quite high."

Lu Yanhe certainly couldn't say that just because he had a good relationship with Jiang Yuqian, he would hand over a script like *Phone* for her to use as a trial-and-error project.

A good relationship didn't work that way.

Moreover, if Jiang Yuqian said she wanted to film it herself and he just handed it over without asking anything or worrying about anything, that would also be an irresponsible act.

Therefore, Lu Yanhe thought about it seriously for a long time and felt he still needed to lay it out clearly with Jiang Yuqian.

Regarding Lu Yanhe's concerns, Jiang Yuqian did not show any dissatisfaction or anger.

"Of course," Jiang Yuqian said. "Even if you didn't say it, I would still want to hear your opinion. Making a movie is hard; I know that. This isn't something I can just pull off on a whim. However, I want to learn. I won't mess around; I will find a good production team and a director to film this movie together."

Lu Yanhe asked, "Sister Yuqian, do you have any ideas regarding the director?"

Jiang Yuqian said, "Before I came to talk to you about this, I had already thought about it a lot. I have a list in my mind."

On Jiang Yuqian's prospective list were Chen Mofan, the director of *The Home I Haven't Returned to in a Long Time*, and Huang Beng, the director of *Upstairs*—almost all of them were directors who had had box-office hits in recent years.

"Have you talked to any of these directors?"

"I haven't even gotten your consent yet; how could I possibly go talk to them first?" Jiang Yuqian shook her head.

Lu Yanhe said, "If one of these directors is willing to come and direct, I would be very willing to let you take charge of this movie."

Jiang Yuqian's eyes lit up.

"Good, then it's a deal."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Over in the North American awards season, *The Road to Glory* took two more cities, receiving nominations for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor from the Utah Film Critics Association and the Boston Society of Film Critics.

Both were not exactly top-tier awards, but as soon as the nomination list came out, *The Road to Glory* released the news, adding fuel to the fire of "The Road to Glory's North American awards season journey" while doing promotion.

Lu Yanhe's consecutive nominations for Best Supporting Actor made some people wonder: why had Lu Yanhe received three nominations, while the lead actor, Shang Yongzhou, hadn't made any waves?

Laymen watch the spectacle, while insiders watch the technique.

Lu Yanhe and his team knew it was because they had spent money on public relations, while Shang Yongzhou had not.

This is actually how it works: you play by their rules, and only then will they acknowledge your entry.

And if you don't play by their rules, they assume you aren't interested in winning, and they won't consider you when it comes to nominations.

This isn't necessarily about whether the actor himself wants to play; sometimes, it's the will of his team or the film company involved.

But regardless of who it is, someone has to help you handle the rules of the game.

Of course, there is another key reason. The competition for Best Supporting Actor is much smaller than for Best Actor. With the same PR budget, it would be almost impossible for Shang Yongzhou to get a nomination for Best Actor. For that award, others have actors, agencies, and production companies all putting in effort together. It's not like the Best Supporting Actor category, where the competitive pressure is much lower.

The American Green Valley Film Company also secured an invitation for Lu Yanhe to a grand event held in Hollywood at the end of October.

This is an important part of the awards season PR circuit every year.

If Lu Yanhe didn't attend such events himself to meet people in Hollywood, it would be the same: for many subsequent awards, people wouldn't even consider him. In this world, there are too many good movies; it's not like they have an obligation to unearth every single good one. It's enough that the movies they do unearth are good films with good performances.

They say China is a society based on human relationships, and in Hollywood, this is no less true. If you don't enter their circle, they won't even bother to pay attention to you.

However, Lu Yanhe was a Chinese person who hadn't really mixed in the Western circles before. Aside from a few limited appearances at film festivals, he hadn't really had much contact with that crowd. If he went to such occasions and wasn't a social butterfly, he would only feel awkward. But if he were forced to be a social butterfly, he'd rather not.

Fortunately, Schmidt Lawley, the boss of the American Green Valley Film Company, was there to introduce him to all sorts of people.

After a round of this superficial, whirlwind-style meeting of people, Lu Yanhe couldn't remember a single one.

Despite this, Lu Yanhe still had to put on a face of "Oh, I've known you for a long time!" or "We really hit it off; we must find another chance to have a good chat next time."

At events like this, chatting with Hollywood producers, directors, and actors was secondary. At this stage, Lu Yanhe still needed to get to know more film critics and media personnel, letting them know him and know the movie *The Road to Glory*.

Lu Yanhe's own image and way of speaking played a very important role at this time.

The identity of being a top student from a prestigious university is a universal pass in every country in the world.

The PR strategy formulated by the American Green Valley Film Company for Lu Yanhe consisted of two labels: first, a young genius in the Chinese film industry, and second, a top student who fought his way into a prestigious university.

These two points weren't exactly exaggerated promotional slogans for Hollywood. After all, in a place like Hollywood, there's no telling how many things are even more exaggerated than this. However, for Lu Yanhe, these two labels were currently the most convenient first impressions to let Hollywood get to know him.

Lu Yanhe prepared to return to China the day after attending this event in the United States.

Who would have thought that just as he had packed his things and was ready to leave the hotel for the airport, Schmidt Lawley suddenly contacted him and said, "Lu, Director Mukan Zorge wants to meet with you."

Director Mukan Zorge was someone Lu Yanhe had met the night before.

He was a German who had directed two movies in Hollywood, both horror films, and both had decent box-office results—classic cases of "small investment, big return," with budgets of a few million earning tens of millions.

Lu Yanhe said, "Mr. Lawley, my flight back to China is in four hours."

Schmidt Lawley said, "Oh, then let me ask him. If the time doesn't work out, how about just meeting over a video call? But, can you change your flight? He has a movie in preparation, and he has a role he wants to offer you."

Lu Yanhe said, "I'm very sorry, I have work already scheduled in China and have to rush back."

After a while, Schmidt Lawley called back and said, "Lu, Mukan says he's coming to your hotel now to see you and will take you to the airport."

Lu Yanhe was astonished.

Thirty minutes later, Lu Yanhe met the German director at the hotel entrance.

As a director, he wasn't very old, looking to be only about thirty-five or thirty-six, and he had a bit of a beard.

After Mukan Zorge saw him, he immediately came over to shake his hand enthusiastically, "Glad I made it."

Lu Yanhe politely greeted Mukan Zorge, saying, "Director, hello."

Mukan Zorge looked at the suitcases behind Lu Yanhe, as well as Zou Dong, Wang Biao, and the others, and asked, "Are you heading to the airport right now?"

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Mukan Zorge said, "Then let me drive you there. I drove here; we can talk on the way, okay?"

Lu Yanhe was both surprised and amused.

However, with Mukan Zorge being so proactive in coming to find him, and showing such sincerity, Lu Yanhe couldn't find a way to say no.

Besides, setting all that aside, Lu Yanhe also wanted to hear why Mukan Zorge was so insistent on seeing him before he returned to China.

"Okay."

Thus, Zou Dong and Wang Biao took the luggage and got into the car they had rented, while Lu Yanhe got into Mukan Zorge's car.

Mukan Zorge said, "There's a script on the seat; it's the next movie I'm going to film."

Lu Yanhe opened the passenger door and saw the loose-leaf script.

He picked it up, sat down, fastened his seatbelt, and glanced at the cover.

On the cover were the words "The Mist."

Director/Screenwriter: Mukan Zorge.