Chapter 480: Hollywood Horror (8,000-word update!)

"The Mist"?

The first thing that surfaced in Lu Yan He's mind was an American movie he had watched.

A horror film adapted from Stephen King's novel of the same name.

This movie is about a thick fog that suddenly drifts into a small town, surrounding the entire place, with a terrifying and evil supernatural force hidden within the dense mist.

Lu Yan He opened the script, and after finishing the first three pages, he was somewhat shocked to discover that the opening of this film was quite similar to that American movie he had seen.

Of course, it was only the opening that was similar—a thick fog shrouding a small town. After that, whether it was the characters or the plot development, everything was completely different.

Lu Yan He felt a sense of relief in his heart.

Just a moment ago, a vague sense of tension had actually surfaced in his mind—

At that moment, he was worried that there might be another transmigrator in the United States who had brought along a script called "The Mist."

This horror script called "The Mist" told the story of a lingering soul returning to take revenge on the small town that had harmed him back in the day.

It turned out to be a supernatural horror film after all.

Lu Yan He was astonished.

The horror genre had never really taken off domestically; due to some unspeakable reasons, this genre could not form a significant presence in China.

But in Europe and America, horror films were one of the most profitable genres at the box office.

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Lu Yan He had not expected Mukan Zorge to bring him a horror script.

However, Lu Yan He himself had watched quite a few thrillers.

Especially before he transmigrated, during his middle and high school years, many Saturday nights, teachers would let everyone watch movies in the classroom.

When the teachers chose, they generally picked American animated films so that they could learn English on the side.

But sometimes, the teachers would hand the choice over to the students. At those times, everyone usually chose horror or thriller films. It was during those times that Lu Yan He watched a series of horror and thriller films like "Ringu," "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," and "The Silence of the Lambs"...

In this "The Mist" by Mukan Zorge, the ghost who returned for revenge after death came specifically for the character Lu Yan He was to play.

This character was an Asian-American who, after moving to this small town with his parents, had always been in a dire situation due to the town's discrimination against Asians.

In the end, they died due to arson intentionally set by several teenagers in the town.

The story begins five years after this incident, starting from the timeline when those teenagers who committed the arson had grown up.

The Asian ghost played by Lu Yan He initially appears as an evil villain, harming these people. As the plot slowly progresses, he intentionally causes various accidents for these individuals, using various means of intimidation to force them to recall the arson incident from years ago, making them admit their past actions in front of everyone in the town, only then does his motivation emerge.

However, the people in the town had no intention of punishing these murderers; instead, they believed that the Asian family had disrupted the peace of the town. They hired an exorcist, wanting to purify the Asian ghost.

By this point, two-thirds of the film's story had passed. The final third, which was the climax of the film, saw the Asian ghost engage in a fierce struggle with the exorcist. In the process, the Asian ghost continuously killed back, and in the end, he killed all the people who had committed the arson and caused the death of his entire family.

It took Lu Yan He almost an hour to finish reading the script.

He read it very quickly.

There was almost nothing confusing about this script, so there was no need for much thought.

Overall, this was a very satisfying horror film. Especially for Lu Yan He, one look at this script told him what kind of role Mukan Zorge wanted him to play. After putting himself into the role of the Asian ghost, Lu Yan He was watching the script entirely from the perspective of revenge.

In general, after learning why the ghost wanted to take revenge and kill these people in the story, Lu Yan He completely understood him.

The theme of revenge, regardless of country or cultural background, is a universal motif. At first, Lu Yan He was worried that this role would turn the Asian character into a villain, and the image of him intentionally doing evil made him a bit worried. By the middle of the film, Lu Yan He no longer felt that this was a villain.

The further he read, the more Lu Yan He felt that this Asian ghost was the true protagonist of the story.

After finishing, Lu Yan He looked at Mukan Zorge with surprise and said, "Mr. Zorge, are you looking for me to play the role of the vengeful ghost?"

Although he had already guessed it, Lu Yan He still wanted to confirm it with him.

Mukan Zorge nodded and said, "Yes. I have seen your performance in 'Sanshan,' and I was completely shocked by your expression. When I was writing this script, I substituted your image in my mind. I hope to be able to invite you to act in this film."

"Sanshan"—

Well, perhaps in Mukan Zorge's eyes, "Sanshan" was also a ghost movie.

After all, it was indeed full of gods and ghosts.

Moreover, Lu Yan He's performance in "Sanshan" was also not normal, like someone who was possessed.

Lu Yan He roughly guessed why Mukan Zorge would write such a character in "The Mist."

Come to think of it, the ghost in "The Mist" had a bit of the flavor of that fortune teller.

He kept appearing with eerie phenomena at the beginning of the story to intimidate others; those scenes all had shadows of "Sanshan."

Lu Yan He said, "Mr. Zorge, thank you for inviting me to play this role. However, I cannot give you an answer for the time being. I need to take it back and discuss it with my agent."

Mukan Zorge nodded and said, "No problem."

Mukan Zorge added, "However, this is still a low-budget film, and our budget for actor salaries is not high. You also know that this film definitely cannot be released in mainland China, nor can it be sold to streaming platforms in mainland China, which will significantly weaken your ability to carry the box office."

Lu Yan He knew that Mukan Zorge's words were correct. The film "The Mist" was destined not to be released in mainland China, which meant that the box office potential behind him could not be used as leverage for his salary negotiations.

"According to our current budget, we can only offer you a salary of 600,000 US dollars."

600,000 US dollars, at the current exchange rate, is approximately 4 million RMB.

If one does not consider the mainland China box office that Lu Yan He represents, this salary cannot be said to be intentionally low, but it is indeed not high.

After all, Lu Yan He still has a certain degree of popularity and influence in the Asian region, not to mention that his performance on several streaming platforms like Maxine and HP has been very good. For films starring him, they would certainly offer a relatively higher purchase price.

Lu Yan He did not express his stance immediately, but said, "I don't understand these salary matters; it will have to be negotiated by my agent with you."

As for the film "The Mist," Lu Yan He didn't even know if he wanted to act in it yet.

It was even less possible to say that he didn't care about the salary just to act in this film.

Lu Yan He smiled at Mukan Zorge and said, "Mr. Zorge, let me go back and talk to my agent first. I have just finished reading this film, and I haven't seriously studied it yet. Please give me some time to think."

Mukan Zorge nodded.

"This is a good opportunity." Chen Ziyan's reaction exceeded Lu Yan He's expectations.

"Hmm?" Lu Yan He had originally thought that Chen Ziyan would think this project was average.

Chen Ziyan said, "First, Mukan Zorge is no nobody. The two horror films he directed previously, 'Z' and 'Lost Voyage,' both broke 50 million in North American box office and 100 million US dollars in global box office. The results were excellent. If it weren't for the limitations of the horror genre itself, based on the results of these two films, he would certainly be a famous director by now. Actually, he's not bad now either. For his new film, he won't have trouble finding actors."

"Second, this is Hollywood taking the initiative to find you to act, and it's not some random trash film with an unknown background; it's a film produced by a proper film company. This role of yours, perhaps not the lead, but from the content, it is completely set up as a protagonist."

Lu Yan He flipped through the script.

"Indeed, the ghost's screen time is significant, and there is a lot of room for performance."

"You have to know, although Hollywood is said to be a multi-racial and diverse place, in reality, it is still exclusionary. Foreign actors who want to enter it basically start from playing supporting roles. You look at the foreign actors who have successfully broken in over the recent years—who hasn't been like that?"

Chen Ziyan tapped her fingers on the table twice.

"Given your current situation, this might be the only protagonist role you can access." Chen Ziyan said, "And based on the performance of Mukan Zorge's past two films, and the fact that this film continues to follow the horror-thriller route, the box office results will certainly not be bad. For your first work entering Hollywood, if the results are excellent, it will be very beneficial for you to build your reputation in North America, and it will be very beneficial for you to take on roles later."

Lu Yan He nodded and asked, "What about the salary?"

"I will negotiate the salary. 600,000 US dollars is definitely low, but it won't be raised very high either." Chen Ziyan said, "We need to be mentally prepared for this point. After all, this film cannot enter the mainland market, and our biggest bargaining chip is directly invalidated."

"Hmm."

Chen Ziyan added, "If you can enter the Hollywood market through this film, it will be of great help to your future career development."

In the world where Lu Yan He transmigrated, American films and Hollywood are still the largest film market in the world, but their influence is relatively weaker compared to the world before Lu Yan He transmigrated.

This is mainly because the disparity between the four major international film festivals and the major film markets versus the American Oscars and market is not as large as it was in the world where Lu Yan He was before.

Just this difference actually gives many places a chance to catch their breath and develop their own markets.

Including South Korean film and television dramas. In the world before Lu Yan He transmigrated, they had almost completely become producers for streaming platforms. It seemed like they were developing well, but in reality, the local South Korean film and television market was hit hard, and a large number of production talents flowed to streaming platforms.

But here, the local South Korean streaming platform X-K is doing just as well, and streaming platforms controlled by the United States like Maxine still have to value Asians like Zhong Benshuo to promote the Asian market in Asia.

Just this difference actually means the difference between retaining some local power and fire versus completely becoming a vassal of big factories.

The film market in Europe is even more so.

Their combined film market effectively resists the monopoly of Hollywood films on the market, and every year they have their own films that break out with very good box office results.

Including special effects blockbusters, this is no longer the exclusive patent of American Hollywood.

This is a world where every market is surging.

Chen Ziyan letting Lu Yan He take the international route is to follow the Hollywood star-making path to launch a truly world-class Chinese superstar.

This means that at the four major film festivals, Lu Yan He must continue the momentum of the past two years and maintain his presence at international film festivals, and in Hollywood, where he has not yet opened up the situation, Lu Yan He also needs to look for opportunities.

"The Mist" is just such an opportunity.

After Lu Yan He and Chen Ziyan discussed it, they didn't hesitate anymore and immediately had Chen Ziyan contact and negotiate with Mukan Zorge and the production company of "The Mist," D19.

Before the negotiation, Chen Ziyan specifically compiled a report on the box office and streaming performance of films starring Lu Yan He in overseas markets, especially the evaluation opinions of streaming platforms like Maxine and HP on films starring Lu Yan He.

Lu Yan He had no achievements in Hollywood before, so profit sharing was definitely impossible; he could only negotiate the most basic salary.

Chen Ziyan was not without experience in this regard.

Both Shang Yongzhou and Chen Bige had acted in Hollywood films before.

Chen Ziyan could generally estimate how much the actor budget would account for based on a film's cost, and then analyze how much she could ask for based on the film's cast and the importance of the role Lu Yan He was playing.

And when Chen Ziyan began contract negotiations with D19, something happened.

Although Mukan Zorge took the initiative to find Lu Yan He and invite him to act in this film, the production company D19 had doubts about Lu Yan He.

D19's biggest doubt lay in the fact that all of Lu Yan He's representative works were art films. Could such an actor act well in a horror film?

Such a question would basically not appear in the domestic entertainment industry because a consensus had almost been reached on the breadth of Lu Yan He's acting range.

But this was Hollywood, and D19's understanding of Lu Yan He was just that of a male actor who frequently appeared at international film festivals and had quite good box office performance in the mainland China market.

This was indeed a good advantage, but it was not enough for the people at D19 to recognize that Lu Yan He could handle the protagonist of a film.

This was, of course, D19's means of suppressing the price.

Chen Ziyan believed that the concern was real, but it was definitely not a fatal concern; otherwise, there would be nothing to talk about, and why bother looking for Lu Yan He—might as well just change to someone else.

Chen Ziyan didn't argue either.

Coincidentally, at this time, the cover of the Italian magazine that Lu Yan He shot when he attended the Venice International Film Festival came out.

Chen Ziyan sent the magazine to the contact person.

"..."

Why is it that sometimes one finds that many actors are closely linked to the fashion circle?

Because these two circles overlap to a large extent.

Most crucially, a star artist's success in the fashion circle is the most helpful thing for their further development in the entertainment industry.

Including actors, including acting.

How this phenomenon came about is already hard to explain clearly; the status quo is that people in the fashion circle recognize box office superstars and award darlings in the film circle, and people in the film circle also recognize muses and popular figures in the fashion circle.

Chen Ziyan sent this magazine over just to clarify one thing.

Don't make a big deal out of the fact that Lu Yan He hasn't mixed in Hollywood; even if Lu Yan He hasn't had achievements in Hollywood, his achievements in film are recognized even by Italian fashion magazines. This is the recognition accumulated by multiple consecutive works winning awards at international film festivals.

Lu Yan He starring in "The Mist," even if it cannot bring you box office in the mainland China market, he still has popularity and influence in the international film scene.

Both sides played their game, and on the other hand, creative matters also needed to be pushed forward.

For example, Lu Yan He provided a DVD of his audition as requested.

A five-minute DVD; Lu Yan He spent one minute introducing himself sitting in front of the camera, and then spent four minutes acting out a scene with the script.

Regarding acting, Lu Yan He was really not afraid at all now.

Even if it was just sitting in front of the camera alone, acting out a monologue.

Compared to three years ago when he first acted, he now had absolute confidence in himself.

After Mukan Zorge received Lu Yan He's audition DVD, he excitedly told D19 that the ghost in "The Mist" had to be Lu Yan He.

In the film circle, there is often a theory about horror films, which is that horror films do not require acting skills.

But anyone who knows a little bit about horror films knows that this statement is pure bullshit.

Just look at how many actors have won major awards and nominations for acting in horror films to know.

Mukan Zorge said, "This role, only Lu Yan He can play it."

Sherry Yang, who was in charge of Mukan Zorge's film at D19, said helplessly to Mukan Zorge, "Mukan, if you hadn't directly expressed your choice of Lu Yan He to him at the beginning, we would have already negotiated Lu Yan He's contract by now. Every time you express the attitude that it must be him, you are increasing the difficulty of our negotiations."

Mukan Zorge asked suspiciously, "Did his agent ask for an exorbitant price?"

"Not really." Sherry Yang said, "However, our budget is very tight. If we can save a little on him, we can hire one or two more famous actors. For 'The Mist,' there are many roles in it. If we can find a few more famous actors to act, I don't need to say much about the benefits for this film, right?"

Mukan Zorge said, "I don't understand these things; that's your business. However, don't let these things lead to a breakdown in negotiations, and Lu Yan He ends up not acting."

"Don't worry. Our film has you as the director. For Asian actors, if there is an opportunity to play a major role in a Hollywood film, the salary will definitely not be the primary consideration for them."

"Don't use the thinking of ordinary actors to consider Lu Yan He; he is not an ordinary actor." Mukan Zorge said immediately.

Sherry Yang looked at him in surprise.

"Mukan, you have only met Lu Yan He once, why is your evaluation of him so high?"

Mukan Zorge said, "Have you seen the film 'Sanshan' that he acted in?"

Sherry Yang shook her head.

Mukan Zorge said, "Go watch 'Sanshan' that he acted in, and you will know why I must have him act in 'The Mist'."

The relationship between director and actor is always very subtle.

Some directors never cooperate with the actors they have worked with a second time.

And some directors have a group of fixed actors they work with.

Even more directors have the same person as the protagonist of their films for a period of time.

But overall, the relationship between director and actor can be described by the word "intimate." To some extent, actors can stimulate the director's creative desire, and directors can also let actors discover a deeper level of themselves.

However, for many people, all this is a problem that only art films or big directors have. You, a genre film director, unless you have a preference for a certain type of image, which people can understand, otherwise, you, a horror film director, also need a muse? People will only think it's nonsense.

Mukan Zorge is just a horror film director, not an art film director.

Sherry Yang never thought of Mukan Zorge's appreciation for Lu Yan He in this direction.

She always felt that Mukan Zorge's favor for Lu Yan He must have a reason.

Is Lu Yan He's acting skill really that good?

After she went back, she seriously watched the film "Sanshan." She didn't see Lu Yan He appear for a long time, and she was a bit impatient. Because this film was really not good-looking. Then, she saw three young people break into a temple, and Lu Yan He appeared.

This scene of Lu Yan He in "Sanshan" can be said to be Lu Yan He's first "god-sealing" moment in film.

An actor, relying on a ten-minute scene, became famous internationally, stole the limelight from the protagonists, and later became the main promotional point when the film was released. To say nothing else, this is enough to explain how awesome it is.

Sherry Yang, who has been in the film circle for so many years, still has an eye for it.

Whether an actor can act, and to what extent their acting skill is, Sherry Yang can certainly see.

Sherry Yang was surprised by Lu Yan He's performance.

Sherry Yang is a Singaporean; her ancestors were Chinese, and later she immigrated to the United States and became a US citizen. Although she has Chinese ancestry, she knows nothing about Chinese culture. Unlike many people whose parents are Chinese-American, she has not lived in China for two generations, and her family is a family that has lost contact with Chinese culture. This made her never feel that she had anything to do with China. Therefore, most of her Chinese-American friends would pay attention to some situations in China, but she did not have this habit.

Regarding the Chinese entertainment industry, she also paid almost no attention.

Like young actors like Lu Yan He who emerged at international film festivals, Sherry Yang would pay attention, but not much. Hollywood itself is a big enough place; the place in this world that is least lacking in talented young people is definitely not those international film festivals, but Hollywood. Because this is the place where the world's top film creators are most gathered.

Lu Yan He's acting is very good, and he has won many awards.

The box office of films starring Lu Yan He in China is very high, and he has the title of "Box Office Miracle."

Lu Yan He can also write screenplays, and even his screenwriting works have been a great success.

However, what does this have to do with her, Sherry Yang?

As long as Lu Yan He doesn't come to Hollywood to develop, no matter how amazing he is, it has nothing to do with her, Sherry Yang.

Now, Lu Yan He has come.

"Lu Yan He's acting is indeed good; this performance of his in 'Sanshan' shocked me." Sherry Yang didn't spare her praise for Lu Yan He on the phone, "Mukan wants him to act in 'The Mist,' I don't find it strange anymore. However, his agent wants a salary of one million; this is a very high number. Lu Yan He is not worth this price in Hollywood right now."

Sherry Yang was on the phone with D19's boss, Fernando Bridge.

D19 is not a traditional big company.

It started by making low-budget films, and the capital behind it is the Bridge family where Fernando Bridge belongs.

The Bridge family comes from Italy and has a history of hundreds of years. Of course, it is not all a glorious history. Originally, the Bridge family did not get involved in the film and television industry. For such a long-standing big family, fresh things like the film and television industry were something they looked down upon at first. They lost the opportunity, and it was relatively difficult to enter later.

However, Fernando Bridge has been interested in the film industry since he was a child. He came to the United States to study in the directing department, but he didn't direct films himself; instead, he invested in two films—both low-budget films of only about 1 to 2 million US dollars. His vision was unique, and both films sold nearly 10 million in box office. Counting other income such as home entertainment, it was considered a big profit.

He used this money to establish D19 and began to focus on the low-budget track.

At first, the adults in the Bridge family felt that Fernando was just playing around. Every family has some young people who refuse to follow the rules, and they didn't care. It wasn't until a few years later that they found Fernando had made D19 quite successful, and the projects he made were basically profitable, making money every year, that they began to take it seriously.

Subsequently, the Bridge family became Fernando's lending bank.

Most of the funds for films produced by D19 come from the Bridge family's corporate group.

Nowadays, Fernando Bridge is only in his early thirties and is the target of many actresses in Hollywood who are eyeing him like tigers.

A man from a big family, wealthy, and with his own company—for the butterflies of the flashy world, this is no different from a flower emitting a deadly and alluring fragrance.

As a result, before the actresses in Hollywood could use all their skills to take him down, Fernando Bridge married Sherry Yang.

"My dear, if Mukan insists on finding that Chinese male actor to act, we should support Mukan." Fernando Bridge said to Sherry Yang.

Mukan Zorge's previous two horror films were both made at D19 and are also D19's representative director. Fernando Bridge is very supportive of Mukan Zorge. Any film company would support a director who has already proven himself twice successfully.

Sherry Yang: "Of course we will support Mukan. Sigh, Mukan really shouldn't have gone to find Lu Yan He first. This gave his agent the upper hand, knowing that Mukan's first choice in his heart is him. Otherwise, perhaps we could have signed him for only 400,000 US dollars."

Fernando Bridge said, "One million is one million. Lu Yan He is not a newcomer without fame either."

"In Hollywood, there has never been such a precedent." Sherry Yang said, "The production cost of our film is only 8 million. Giving an Asian actor who has never acted in a Hollywood film a salary of one million breaks industry convention. If this film could be released in mainland China, I would be willing to pay him 2 million US dollars, but there is no way this film can be imported into mainland China."

Fernando Bridge said, "If Mukan hadn't chosen Lu Yan He to act, I wouldn't care who acts in this role. Sherry, the key to this film is not which actor, but Mukan. Since Mukan thinks it must be Lu Yan He, as long as it's not an exorbitant condition, it doesn't matter if we agree to it. As for Hollywood convention, our D19 has never been a traditional mainstream Hollywood film company, has it?"

Sherry Yang also laughed along with Fernando Bridge's light tone, curling the corners of her mouth.

"Alright."

Chen Ziyan got out of the car with a smile on her face, holding a rectangular box in her arms, went upstairs, and rang the doorbell.

After a while, Lu Yan He came to open the door, looking at her with surprise.

"Sister Ziyan, what did you bring over?"

"The latest MH retro mechanical keyboard." Chen Ziyan said, "I felt you would like it when I saw it, so I bought it. Congratulations on successfully taking on the film 'The Mist' with a salary of one million US dollars."

Lu Yan He showed a look of surprise.

"Oh—" Lu Yan He took the rectangular box from Chen Ziyan's hand and directly dismantled the box on the spot with surprise, "I have been looking for a suitable keyboard. The keyboard I used before, the space bar always malfunctions. You sent this gift so timely."

Chen Ziyan: "Is this the point? The point is the film 'The Mist,' a salary of one million US dollars, I negotiated it for you!"

Lu Yan He stared at the keyboard in his hand, "Sister Ziyan is awesome!"

Chen Ziyan: "..."

She hadn't seen Lu Yan He be so perfunctory before.

Lu Yan He had also suddenly started paying attention to various keyboards in the last year or two.

Probably because he has to type almost every day now, Lu Yan He often goes to look at the new keyboards released. Of course, he hasn't bought a single one.

Even if the space bar was a bit malfunctioning, he didn't think about changing one.

He felt he was still frugal.

Li Zhibai and Yan Liang were both filming outside. Lu Yan He asked Chen Ziyan if she had any arrangements for lunch, and Chen Ziyan said no.

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Lu Yan He said, then they would just make something to eat at home.

Chen Ziyan asked in surprise, "You often cook for yourself now?"

6,000 words guaranteed, 8,000 words updated.

You limited my performance; I still have 4,000 words of draft in my hand.

Everyone's passion for voting for monthly tickets is not strong enough; the monthly ticket update activity continues.

Vote fiercely... Hmm, students without monthly tickets, recommend my old book "I Became a Scandal Heroine Overnight," it's also quite good, go try to read it. ===== CHAPTER 481 =====