Chapter 484: Progress (8,000-word update!)

When October ended, the daily box office of "Road to Glory" still maintained at about 30,000 yuan per day.

The super-long screening of this art film has used two months to break out a new path of screening for art films.

On the last day of October, the official announcement of "Road to Glory" stated that to celebrate the film's nomination for the Feihong Award, it would increase film screenings from November 3 to November 5, adding 2,000 screenings per day, and at the same time opened the pre-sale channel.

This time, every film company in the industry watched this film seriously, wanting to see the box office performance of this film in these three days.

If the box office of "Road to Glory" can still achieve good box office performance after two months of screening (during which there were also two large-scale point screenings during the holidays), then it can really be sealed as a god in film distribution, becoming a milestone scene—although even in many people's hearts, just the first two months are enough to be sealed as a god.

On November 2, the film of Peng Zhixing interviewing Shang Yongzhou and Lu Yan He was broadcast.

The interview content of the two is not the same.

However, a hot search entry called "Why do they both have a temperament of viewing awards as dung" rushed to the list, making many netizens who didn't know the situation curiously click in, and then saw a screenshot made by a netizen.

The screenshot content is the interview content of Lu Yan He and Shang Yongzhou.

Peng Zhixing asked them about their views on whether they could win the award in this Feihong Award.

And the two of them actually answered this question quite sincerely.

Lu Yan He's doesn't need to be repeated. What Shang Yongzhou said was: "It's been a long time since I was nominated for the Feihong Award. In fact, I have won the Feihong Award twice. The possibility of winning the award this time is very low, right? Is there anyone who has won three times?"

After Shang Yongzhou finished these words, the expression on Peng Zhixing's face had a smile of "Why did I ask this question."

The reason why the hot search entry "Why do they both have a temperament of viewing awards as dung" rushed to the list is because they were too relaxed when answering this question, which was very different from the feeling when other nominees answered this question.

A netizen joked and said such a sentence.

Who knows, this sentence became popular for no reason.

Of course, maybe in many people's eyes, this is not called for no reason. In the current Internet, a phenomenon has slowly appeared. Everyone admires a kind of "casual" feeling, especially the "casual" feeling of "not caring so much" about things others care about very much.

In this era, utilitarianism has been justified as never before. It no longer appears as a negative vocabulary. Everyone can also generously admit their utilitarianism, and even take some not-so-bright means to get what they want.

Support for the dark side of human nature has reached its highest point on the Internet today.

This is because everyone has discovered that they, who come from the grassroots, have no way to live as upright and bright as the protagonists in novels.

At the same time, another phenomenon is that people who live very hard also envy those who "live not so hard." Now everyone has a vocabulary to describe it, called relaxation.

Because I don't have it, I envy and yearn for it.

Lu Yan He saw the interpretation of him under this hot search entry, and did not silently claim this statement, but posted a Weibo: Don't spread rumors, I don't view awards as dung, I really want to win awards. I have acted in so many plays, there are really many nominations, but I haven't won many awards. You can't expect me to look down on fame and wealth at a young age and live a life of idle clouds and wild cranes, right?

Netizens saw this Weibo of Lu Yan He, surprised for a while, and then laughed and sprayed unbelievably.

A netizen left a message in Lu Yan He's comment area: Lu God, can you maintain your godhood, don't come down to flutter, so grounded, I'm not used to it.

Lu Yan He replied: You call me Lu God, I'm not used to it either 【ghost face】.

On November 3, "Road to Glory" had large-scale point screenings in 2,000 cinemas.

Pre-sales broke 2 million, and the estimated daily box office was 6.2 million.

Whether it can reach this number, the industry is watching.

However, obviously, including box office forecasting agencies, everyone underestimated the market's enthusiasm for "Road to Glory."

Even if it has been point-screened for two months, even if November 3 is Friday, a working day, as of 4 pm, the daily box office broke 6.2 million, far exceeding the forecast.

At this moment, the industry was shocked again.

Because "Road to Glory" really did it.

Using awards to stimulate the box office—is this a new idea for art films?

The Feihong Award also quickly came to claim this achievement.

Why?

These three words floated in the minds of everyone in the industry.

Why can "Road to Glory" create such a box office miracle?

No matter how you analyze it, it is talking on paper.

There is no precedent to refer to.

Everyone can only ask the viewers who walked into the cinema today, asking them why they chose to watch this film.

The box office statistics agency arranged for people to do this.

They counted nearly 3,000 samples, and the feedback results were that they had long heard that "Road to Glory" was filmed very well, and it was an award-winning film starring Lu Yan He and Shang Yongzhou. They had wanted to watch it long ago, but the cinemas for point screenings were either too far or they couldn't grab tickets. Today, they finally had the opportunity to buy tickets at nearby cinemas, so they came to watch it.

The analysis result of the box office statistics agency is that 67% of the viewers did not like to watch art films in cinemas before.

They don't pay attention to art films normally. This time they will watch "Road to Glory," some because they will see some discussions and viewing feelings about this film in their circle of friends from time to time, making them interested in this film. Some know that this film has won many awards, so they want to see where this film is good.

Such an analysis result, summarized by the industry, is nothing but that the front line is long enough, so this film slowly opened up, letting many people know about this film, and then slowly buried the seed of "have the opportunity to watch this film" in some people's hearts.

A film, released for two months, even if most of the time it is just large-scale point screenings, its fan effect has already been reduced to the lowest.

The viewers who are still willing to walk into the cinema at this time must have been attracted by other factors.

At this time, the publicity of "Road to Glory" basically did not focus on Lu Yan He and Shang Yongzhou anymore.

Because basically everyone who knows about this film knows that they both starred in it.

The focus of publicity at this time was placed on the achievements the film has already achieved, and the discussion of "Do you think 'Road to Glory' can gain something at this Feihong Award?"

This kind of discussion will lead the discussants to walk into the cinema.

If you want to discuss, you have to watch what this film is like first, right?

Among the films nominated this year, almost all of them are box office explosion works, and they have also been put on video platforms one after another after being taken off the screen. The number of viewers is not at the same magnitude as "Road to Glory."

However, the number of nominations for "Road to Glory" is almost the same as them.

In short, watching "Road to Glory" has become an "electronic social" move. If you want to participate in online interaction, you have to go and see what this film is like.

Probably because of such reasons, on November 3, "Road to Glory" got a box office of 10.97 million, and the daily box office broke 10 million again.

How big is the impact of this number on the industry?

The art film "Happy Hour," which was also nominated for the Feihong Award, announced late at night that it would be re-released nationwide on November 5.

And "Nine Yin" and "You Who Go Against the Current," which were released in the summer, also announced that they would be re-released in November.

Everyone wants to borrow the momentum of the Feihong Award to see if they can replicate the miracle of "Road to Glory."

The next day, Saturday, the box office of "Road to Glory" did not increase or fall, continuing to maintain at the level of 10.9 million.

On Sunday, the nationwide re-release of "Happy Hour" was urgently opened, and the number of screenings was more than "Road to Glory."

"Road to Glory" limited the film screenings, only doing 2,000 screenings.

"Happy Hour" is as long as the cinema is willing to arrange, it can be arranged.

Ning Xiulian and Yu Qin air-dropped to six cinemas to meet everyone and conduct roadshows.

"Happy Hour" received a box office of 4.2 million yuan on Sunday, while "Road to Glory" fell, only harvesting a daily box office of just over 8 million, still pressing "Happy Hour" on top.

Coming to Monday, "Road to Glory" reduced film screenings again and returned to normal levels.

"Happy Hour" did not reduce, and the Monday box office fell directly to just over 1 million.

For an art film with a cost of only hundreds of thousands, the box office results previously obtained by "Happy Hour" have already made it a big profit.

This temporary re-release, in two days, got a box office of 5.2 million, which also surprised the industry and felt astonished.

This route of combining awards with screenings, is it really possible?

November itself is also the off-season of the film market.

General blockbusters will not choose to be released in this month.

It is also because of this reason, although the daily box office of "Happy Hour

Obviously, in the eyes of theater managers, as the Feihong Awards approached, discussions about the nominated films grew increasingly frequent, and "Happy Time" could still harvest decent box office returns.

While the film market was being stirred up by all sorts of buzz surrounding the Feihong Awards nominees, the film that Li Zhibai and Liu Bige had been shooting finally wrapped.

Liu Bige said, "It's a wrap. Congratulations."

Li Zhibai was holding a bouquet of flowers in his arms; it was a gift from the crew.

"Director, we're finally done. What do you plan to do next?" Li Zhibai's face was radiant, lacking the exhaustion most actors feel when finishing a production.

Liu Bige said, "First, I'll get a good night's sleep. Once I've rested enough, I'll consider what comes next."

Li Zhibai said, "I'm planning to go to Southeast Asia for a bit. Do you want to come with me? Relax a little."

Liu Bige looked at Li Zhibai in surprise.

Li Zhibai, completely unaware of anything unusual, asked, "Don't you have the time?"

Liu Bige said, "It's not about having the time, it's just... how are you so energetic? We just wrapped, and you already have the energy to go out and play?"

"I'm not going out to play, I'm going on vacation," Li Zhibai said. "It's too cold here. Let's find somewhere warm to stay for a while."

Liu Bige said, "I still have to prepare for my third film, edit the footage, and help Lu Yan He keep an eye on the filming of his 'Love Letter'—"

"Those are things for a month or two from now. Taking advantage of the time we have now to get some proper rest is the right way to go. Look at how much you have to do later; how can you manage if you don't rest well?" Li Zhibai said. "I've been listening to you for a while and haven't heard you mention any plans, so just come with me. I'll make the plans, and you just follow me when the time comes."

Liu Bige stared, wanting to say something, but looking at Li Zhibai's matter-of-fact expression, he held back.

Filming this movie with Li Zhibai, the entire process had been filled with an inexplicable sense of ease.

Because as long as Li Zhibai was on set, there was never a shortage of "activity."

It wasn't that wherever Li Zhibai was, things were necessarily chaotic, but it was definitely never peaceful.

Li Zhibai was simply not the type of person who could sit quietly by himself.

However, such a rowdy person didn't actually annoy anyone.

After all, the character he was playing in the film wasn't exactly a cold, quiet type.

So, everyone tacitly tolerated and accommodated his bit of rowdiness—in many people's eyes, this was just Li Zhibai's way of getting into character.

Even Liu Bige had thought so at the beginning.

The reality, of course, was not like that.

Liu Bige soon discovered that this was simply Li Zhibai's personality.

One evening, they finished work early, so they went together to watch "Happy Time," which was playing at the time.

As it turned out, less than twenty minutes in, Li Zhibai had tilted his head back and fallen asleep.

He didn't even bother to pretend.

After it finished, as they left the theater, Liu Bige asked him, "Do you not like watching these kinds of films?"

Li Zhibai yawned honestly and said, "I don't like them. They make me sleepy."

Liu Bige had met many actors who expressed their yearning for art films in front of him; Li Zhibai was the first to say "I don't like them" so frankly.

Liu Bige didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"You should have said so earlier. If you had, we could have just switched to a different movie."

"I wanted to give it a try. What if this film happened to be my cup of tea and I could actually watch it?" Li Zhibai said. "But so far, I really haven't encountered many that are my cup of tea."

Liu Bige nodded.

At that moment, he thought that it was a good thing he wasn't shooting an art film this time, but a romantic comedy; otherwise, Li Zhibai might not have been able to understand the script.

Although Liu Bige's first film was something like "Late Spring," he wasn't the type of director who prioritized art films above all else.

He never wanted to be an art-house director; he wanted to be an auteur director with his own style.

Whether it was an art film or a commercial film, others would know at a glance, "Hmm, this is a film directed by Liu Bige."

In fact, encountering an actor like Li Zhibai to shoot a romantic comedy like "Even Faking Death Won't Work" could be considered meeting an exceptionally suitable, stroke-of-genius actor.

The only pity was that Ji Miao, who played the neurotic girl, was a bit lacking.

She had tried hard and was earnest, but when it came to acting, if it wasn't a good fit, it just wasn't a good fit.

After finally finishing the arduous shoot, Liu Bige decided that this film would be edited from Li Zhibai's perspective.

After wrapping, Li Zhibai said goodbye to everyone on the crew and returned to Huiziyuanqiao.

He asked in the group chat: Who is at home?

Lu Yan He replied instantly: Me.

Li Zhibai: I wrapped today, arriving tonight. Want to grab some skewers?

Lu Yan He: Sure. Eat at the shop, or get takeout?

Li Zhibai: Let's eat at the shop.

Lu Yan He: Okay.

Yan Liang: Sigh, I'm still filming...

Lu Yan He: When do you wrap?

Yan Liang: In about another month.

Lu Yan He: Is there that much to film for "The Summit"?

Yan Liang: It's very difficult to shoot. This time, Director Shen Tailin isn't even going to the Feihong Awards ceremony; the pressure on the filming schedule is huge.

Lu Yan He: Good luck.

Li Zhibai: Can you rest for a while after you finish "The Summit"?

Yan Liang: Pretty much. I haven't taken on any other roles, and Zhou Ping'an hasn't brought me any new scripts either.

Li Zhibai: Don't just sit at home waiting for him to send you scripts. His mind is all on that Ma Zhiyuan. You need to go find suitable scripts yourself.

Yan Liang: Let me finish "The Summit" first. Right now, all my energy is on this film. It's too hard to act. Every night when I lie in bed, I feel empty.

Li Zhibai: Why is "The Summit" so hard to act? Is the daily workload huge?

Yan Liang: No, it's just difficult. Director Shen has high standards. For basically every scene, I have to do three or four takes even for the official shoot. My scalp feels tight. Maybe it's because I've never acted in a film that demands so much of my acting skills before. Filming "The Gold Rush" was just about the harsh and difficult environment, but "The Summit" really demands high-level acting. Anyway, I can basically only think about acting every day; I have no energy to think about anything else.

Lu Yan He: Good luck.

Li Zhibai: Hang in there until the wrap, then get some good rest.

Yan Liang: Yeah.

Lu Yan He put down his phone and pondered for a while.

In all fairness, Yan Liang's talent for acting was indeed not that outstanding.

When he played conventional characters his age, or slice-of-life dramas like "Friends," Yan Liang had no problems. But for a film like "The Summit," which focused on fraud, with mutual deception, offense and defense, plays within plays, and scams within scams... the requirements might be a bit high for Yan Liang.

Was Yan Liang going to follow the path of a drama actor?

If he were to take that path, he might not know when he would reach a higher position.

Those who weren't naturally gifted actors weren't incapable of delivering, but that only came after a long, long time of accumulation, usually when they were in their forties.

Of course, Yan Liang was very lucky; "Friends" made him an overnight sensation, and this series had visibly become his safety net over these years.

However, Lu Yan He didn't want Yan Liang to end up like the leads of the original "Friends," having almost no other representative works besides "Friends." Except for Jennifer Aniston, the other actors were almost trapped in that show, unable to ever walk out.

Actually, Yan Liang's image and style were very different from theirs. Because he was the only one among them who insisted on working out, he had a very robust physique—the kind where you couldn't really tell when he was wearing clothes, but the moment he took them off, people would go, "Holy crap."

A bit like an actor Lu Yan He knew, Eddie Peng.

Lu Yan He thought about it seriously.

Besides the "Chinese Paladin" series they were shooting the year after next, he had to write a script for Yan Liang too.

Let him be seen for his potential in action roles as soon as possible.

"You want to write an action script for Yan Liang?"

At the barbecue stall, Li Zhibai looked at Lu Yan He in surprise, the grilled fish in his hand barely having been tasted.

Lu Yan He nodded and said, "Don't you think Yan Liang's image is actually quite suitable for action films?"

Li Zhibai said, "Suitable, sure, but he doesn't actually know kung fu."

"Shooting action films doesn't require real kung fu; it just needs to look good on screen," Lu Yan He said. "I've even acted in action scenes myself."

Although it was only a brief, superficial attempt in "Phoenix Terrace."

Li Zhibai said, "That works, I suppose. But why did you suddenly think of writing an action script for Yan Liang?"

"I've actually thought of many such stories for a long time, but I can't play them, and you can't play them either, so I have to find Yan Liang to act in them."

"Why can't I play them?"

"Go look in a mirror."

Li Zhibai cursed, "Crap."

Lu Yan He laughed.

Li Zhibai said, "I actually have one more thing to ask you. My film is done, and things have come to a temporary pause. I'm preparing to start on 'Nineteen Years of Crime Records,' but the moment I think about starting, my heart starts pounding."

Lu Yan He asked, "You're ready to launch it?!"

He was pleasantly surprised.

Li Zhibai nodded.

"Do you think I can do it well?" Li Zhibai asked, full of worry.

Lu Yan He: "To be honest, you have no experience in producing a film or television project yourself, so it would be perfectly normal if you didn't do it well. However, you have the innate conditions to do it well; your advantages are too great. If you produce a project yourself, you won't have to worry about finding investment or a platform to broadcast it. Plus, you have Teacher Liu Zhibai to help you vet the script. Furthermore, you are Li Zhibai; no matter what type of talent you need, you can find people. Everyone will be willing to believe that your project can succeed."

Li Zhibai's greatest advantage was that he was a popular star.

In the entertainment industry, when a popular star wants to produce a film, everyone will help him.

That was the current situation.

Li Zhibai took a deep breath.

"Fine, since you've said so, I won't whine about it anymore," Li Zhibai said. "Then you and Yan Liang come help me be producers too."

Lu Yan He said, "I can do it, but I'm going to shoot 'Love Letter' next month, so I might not have the time to help you."

Li Zhibai said, "I don't really need you to do the crew work. Building a crew requires people from all sorts of trades; I need you to help me vet and make judgments."

"That's no problem at all."

Li Zhibai said, "Sigh, I still feel very insecure, starting to mess around with things when I don't understand anything."

"The one thing you need to do most right now is find a reliable producer you can trust to help you do this," Lu Yan He reminded him.

November 9th, Feihong Awards ceremony.

Lu Yan He arrived at the venue wearing a black formal suit.

Chen Ziyan accompanied him personally.

For such critical occasions, Chen Ziyan would generally be by his side.

Everyone Lu Yan He met along the way was praising him—not for his nomination for Best Actor, but for the distribution strategy of "Road to Glory."

Now, the most legendary event surrounding Lu Yan He was the box office miracle of "Road to Glory."

This was not just the box office result of the combined appeal of Lu Yan He and Shang Yongzhou, but also the path paved by the brand-new distribution strategy proposed by Lu Yan He.

Because of the success of "Road to Glory," seven Feihong Awards-nominated films would be re-released in theaters tomorrow.

At this moment, some people who had attended the "Road to Glory" seminar suddenly remembered a sentence Lu Yan He had mentioned at that meeting:

Awards and box office should not be separated; awards can stimulate box office returns.

Besides this, there was another thing everyone was very concerned about: what kind of Hollywood film Lu Yan He had taken on.

Even Chen Bige was curious, asking him as soon as they met.

Lu Yan He briefly explained the situation of the film "The Mist."

After listening, Chen Bige was somewhat surprised, "It's actually a horror film? You really shocked me. How did you suddenly take on a horror film?"

"Because you can't shoot them in China," Lu Yan He said with a smile. "The director took the initiative to find me, showed me the script, and invited me to star. He was very sincere, and he had already directed two successful horror films. I felt it was an opportunity worth trying."

Chen Bige asked, "Who is the director?"

"Muken Zorge."

"Oh? Him?" Chen Bige's expression turned to one of realization. "His wife is Chinese."

Lu Yan He looked surprised, "Oh? Really?"

"You didn't know?" Chen Bige was surprised too.

"I didn't," Lu Yan He shook his head. "I only met him once."

Chen Bige: "Alright. There is quite a lot of discrimination against Chinese people among Hollywood directors. You know that in the United States, there has been a narrative promoting the 'China Threat Theory.' He is one of the rare Hollywood directors who openly shows affinity toward Chinese people."

Lu Yan He realized.

"I haven't paid attention to that aspect before."

Chen Bige said, "Anyway, if you go to Hollywood to film, be careful. There are really quite a few people who discriminate against Chinese people and will deliberately try to trip you up."

Lu Yan He nodded, "I will be prepared. If anyone really dares to bully me, I won't just stand there and let them."

Chen Bige smiled gently.

"Although I guessed you would definitely go abroad to film, I didn't expect you to go so soon."

Lu Yan He: "If there's a suitable opportunity, I'll take it."

Chen Bige nodded.

"By the way, there's one more thing to tell you. You gave me two scripts before, 'Rouge' and 'Raise the Red Lantern.' I plan to start 'Raise the Red Lantern' after I finish 'Love Letter,'" she said.

Lu Yan He nodded and said, "Good."

Chen Bige asked, "If you want to take this script back and do it yourself, that's fine too, as long as you let me act in it."

"You do it, Sister Bige. I don't have the energy myself, and you did a great job with 'Rouge'."

Although the copyright for the film "Rouge" remained in Lu Yan He's hands, and Lu Yan He was credited as a producer, in reality, it was Chen Bige who had pushed the project from its inception to its release from the very beginning.

With the experience from "Rouge," Lu Yan He believed she could do an even better job with "Raise the Red Lantern."

Moreover, to be honest, the filming difficulty of "Raise the Red Lantern" was not as great as "Rouge."

It was a film that tested a director's inner skill, so the requirements for filming difficulty were actually lower.

When Lu Yan He first watched "Raise the Red Lantern," he had a very intuitive feeling: this film was like a neat Chinese painting; the structure and visuals were extremely orderly, and the actors' performances were as well.

Of course, the most notable feature of this film was its use of extremely intense structural visuals to provide a profound depiction of a person's "alienation" based on a solid text.

Chen Bige acting in this film was at the perfect time. Her image and acting skills matched the play perfectly.

If she waited a few more years to play a graduating college student, it might not be convincing.

And what made this film most different from "Rouge" was that it was a purely female-centric drama.

In "Rouge," there was still the Twelve Young Master played by Huang Kai; in "Raise the Red Lantern," this Master was reduced to nothing but a silhouette, with no face shown.

Lu Yan He felt that although he had replicated the script, when it came to making a female-centric drama, it was more suitable for a woman to do it.

He wasn't Zhang Yimou, after all.

"Yan He, let me introduce you to the director of 'Nine Yin,' Ning Zhiyuan, and the lead actor, Zhou Yuning."

Huang Tai from Long Yan Films brought the two over, greeting Lu Yan He.

Lu Yan He looked at the two in front of him with some surprise.

"Hello, Director Ning. Hello, Teacher Zhou." Lu Yan He immediately reached out with enthusiasm, shaking hands with them one by one, and said, "I'm Lu Yan He. I finally have the chance to meet you. I really like the film 'Nine Yin.' It's been a long time since I've seen a Wu Xia film that made my blood boil like that."

Ning Zhiyuan: "Then I hope we have the chance to collaborate on a Wu Xia film in the future."

Lu Yan He nodded immediately, "Sure! I'd love to try that too; I've never filmed a Wu Xia movie."

He looked at Zhou Yuning and asked, "Teacher Zhou, this was your first time acting in a Wu Xia film too, right?"

Zhou Yuning was thirty-five this year, having become famous with the film "Nine Yin," a case of slow and steady growth.

He waved his hand with a smile and said, "I've filmed them before, a long time ago."

Lu Yan He realized, "Actually, I really want to know, did you ever go down to Jiangnan to find Liu Suyin in the end? The ending of the film was too open-ended."

Zhou Yuning looked at Ning Zhiyuan with a smile and said, "You'll have to ask the director that."

Ning Zhiyuan said, "That's the story for the second part."

Lu Yan He opened his eyes wide in surprise and asked, "Will there be a second part to 'Nine Yin'?"

"Yes, I'm writing the script now," Ning Zhiyuan said. "I wrote that ending back then specifically to leave a door open for the second part."

Lu Yan He: "Can you give me an invitation for the premiere of the second part? I want to see this film as soon as it comes out."

"You are more than welcome."

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