Chapter 514: The Stature of a Drama King (9,000-word update!)

*Future Life* is a very short drama, surprisingly only eight episodes, each episode only thirty minutes long.

Even though many short dramas have appeared in Chinese dramas now, except for the sitcoms imitating *Friends*, there has never been such a short one.

Lu Yan He only spent one afternoon watching this drama in one breath.

This drama does not tell stories according to the general dramatic structure. Although it took a name that looks relatively large, it is actually like a person's diary.

A woman learns that she will have an eight-year-old son ten years later, which means she will definitely be pregnant within the next year, which makes her panic, because she is still single now.

It is under such a setting that the story of this woman in half a year is told.

The number of episodes is very short, basically there is no continuous, serialized story description for her, but it starts every episode in a diary-like self-narrative tone.

The future self refuses to tell her who the father of her son is, making her wonder if it is a very bad man, so that the future self is ashamed to speak.

This also makes her curious to look at every man around her and verify the possibility.

In just eight episodes, it talks about the annoying boss in the workplace, the female colleague who can have a drink after work, the grandfather who suddenly passed away and his funeral, the intern who just joined the company, and the friendship that lasted for nearly seventeen years...

The non-coherent plot is like prose, hitting east and west, revolving around the fragments of her life, unfolding different scenes in her life.

And in the process of finding out who is the father of her future son, she also discovered many things she didn't know before.

For example, the colleague who often goes for a drink after work and complains about the leader is actually a couple with the boss she hates—they have been hiding this in the rules of prohibiting love in the office.

For example, the grandfather who was very distant when she was a child, after he passed away, she knew that this old man specially left her a pension—he was afraid that she would really not marry for a lifetime, and she could only rely on herself in the future.

For example, the intern who just joined the company, the various shows of favor to her, are actually just to ask her to guide him more in the workplace, not the liking she thought.

And for example, her best friend of seventeen years is actually with this handsome intern in her company.

Life is full of accidents everywhere, more bloody than TV dramas.

But between one accident and another, people also have simple and warm lives.

Before the last episode, Lu Yan He liked this story very much. Although there was no ups and downs in the plot, there were buttons and reversals, and the overall tone was relatively relaxed, with a unique healing feeling.

Then, the last episode, Lu Yan He was stunned.

Because the last episode revealed the mystery—that son was not born by herself, but the child of her best friend and the intern. The intern abandoned her best friend, but the best friend insisted on giving birth to the child, and as a result, she bled heavily on the day of production and died accidentally...

Lu Yan He didn't know how to describe his feelings at this moment.

It's like eating a piece of cake, every bite before feels delicious, and at the last bite, someone suddenly tells you that this piece of cake is cake-flavored shit.

"..."

Lu Yan He originally thought that Lei Shuangcheng would call him specifically to ask him to help recommend a drama, and the quality should be very good.

When watching the first seven episodes, Lu Yan He also felt that this drama was indeed good.

Although it is difficult to get wide praise and results, there must be a part of the audience who likes this style.

Now Lu Yan He believes that all audiences who like this style will spit fragrance because of the last episode.

Lu Yan He called Lei Shuangcheng.

"Lei Zong, I finished watching *Future Life*."

Lei Shuangcheng was a bit surprised, and said: "So fast?"

"Mm, it shouldn't be very long anyway," Lu Yan He paused, then said, "Actually, I think the first seven episodes are filmed very well, I like them very much, but why is it such a bloody ending?"

Lei Shuangcheng was a bit surprised, "Do you think the ending is very bloody?"

"In this play, I think it is bloody," Lu Yan He said. "If this drama has been layer by layer reversal from the beginning, your husband has an affair with me, I am actually your father's other son, then playing like this from beginning to end is also a bloody way to play, at least the style of the whole drama is unified. But *Future Life* gives me a feeling that the first seven episodes are all about the little beauty and little healing in life, and the last episode suddenly becomes the feeling that life is only bloody."

"If you say so, the story style of the last episode is indeed different from the previous one, but on the whole, this is actually a drama filmed quite well."

"If there is no last episode, I am willing to give it nine points, if the full score is ten. But in my opinion, a drama, at least your style from beginning to end should be unified, not fragmented," Lu Yan He said. "Actually, this drama, from the dialogue of the characters to the small reversals that appear in every episode, can see that the screenwriter who wrote this script has a level, but I don't know why, the last episode is like changing a person to write."

"At that time, I also felt that the last episode was strange, so I asked them, and they said it was to solve the problem of how the son came from the first episode."

"Even if it is directly arranged for her to meet a future husband in the last episode, it is better than the current bloody arrangement of the best friend's difficult labor and her adopting a child."

"They want to embody a kind of friendship between women in this script."

"Will women really feel the friendship between women from this ending?" Lu Yan He said, "After all, this drama didn't use a large space to show her friendship with her best friend before, it just made such a setting, without emotional substitution, directly throwing out the concept of the best friend dying and her child being brought by me, who will be truly moved?"

Lei Shuangcheng didn't expect Lu Yan He to have such a big opinion on this drama.

"But now the drama has been filmed, and it is not easy to change," he said.

"I think it can be changed, and it hasn't been broadcast yet," Lu Yan He said. "The first seven episodes are so good. After broadcasting, as long as the audience of this drama knows this drama, the word-of-mouth of this drama will definitely be very good. Modify the script of the last episode and reshoot an episode. It will definitely be much better. My feeling about this ending now is that it is a bad ending."

Lei Shuangcheng was silent.

Reshoot an episode?

This is not to say that you can reshoot if you want to reshoot.

You know, reshooting an episode is equivalent to rewriting the script, calling people back to shoot, at least spending hundreds of thousands, or even possibly millions.

Lu Yan He: "Lei Zong, this is just my personal suggestion. I will suggest reshooting the last episode because the first seven episodes are really good. There are very few dramas of this type in our country, at least I haven't seen anyone film the lives of people now, especially filming a person's life so well."

Lei Shuangcheng's heart was complicated for a while.

This is a feedback he never thought of before he gave *Future Life* to Lu Yan He.

Praising is beyond his imagination, and dissatisfaction is also beyond his imagination.

"This drama doesn't have any platform willing to give a good price now, and then go to reshoot..." Lei Shuangcheng pondered.

"If there is a lack of funds, I am willing to be responsible for the expenses of your last episode reshoot," Lu Yan He said. "The premise is that you also agree with my modification suggestions. If the director and screenwriter do not agree and insist on following their own ideas, then I will not say this."

Lei Shuangcheng said: "I will communicate with them first."

"Okay."

Lei Shuangcheng asked again: "Yan He, then if the director and screenwriter of this drama create a new play to find you to act, will you be willing to take it after watching *Future Life*?"

Lu Yan He thought for a moment and said: "I will look at the script first, because I don't like the ending of *Future Life* now, and I will also worry that their new play ending is the same. But if it can always maintain the level of the first seven episodes, I am willing to take it. I like working with new directors and new screenwriters very much."

Lei Shuangcheng: "OK, I understand, thank you, for giving me such a sincere suggestion."

Lu Yan He: "I watched it for four hours, of course I have to tell you the truth sincerely, otherwise wouldn't it be a waste of time."

Lei Shuangcheng laughed.

"You said it so directly, aren't you afraid of making Lei Shuangcheng unhappy?"

This drama was watched by Li Zhibai with him. When Lu Yan He called Lei Shuangcheng to express his opinion, he didn't avoid Li Zhibai.

So, as soon as Lu Yan He finished talking to Lei Shuangcheng, Li Zhibai asked directly.

Lu Yan He: "I have known him for a long time, and I know his personality relatively well. He likes direct people and won't be dissatisfied with me because I said these things."

"Okay, then he is not bad."

"And, I also really feel that if it is broadcast according to this ending, it would be a pity," Lu Yan He said. "I feel that this drama has the possibility of becoming a niche classic. This kind of drama is destined not to be done by many companies, because it is not a drama that can be big and popular in the traditional sense, and the ratings will not be very high. However, many of the dialogues in it are particularly enlightening, and, don't you think? It films our modern life, films our state and emotions, and grasps it very accurately. Even if the protagonist is a thirty-year-old woman, with a different gender and age from us, we can also have many resonances in it."

Li Zhibai: "Making drama screenshots may be spread by many people on the Internet."

"Yes."

"Will be very liked by the Internet."

"Mm," Lu Yan He nodded, "Our daily life dramas are still too few. Now life dramas are all houses, children, marriage... all family-style realism."

Li Zhibai: "Like *?"

"Mm."

Li Zhibai: "It is indeed, there seem to be many such dramas in Japanese dramas."

"Japanese dramas are many, but I think Chinese dramas should also have some, and there should be a few such dramas popping up from time to time," Lu Yan He said. "In our current film and television dramas, either gods, or workplace elites, or label characters in family relationships, oh, right, there are also police and criminals."

"Hahahaha," Li Zhibai laughed.

"If *Future Life* can set off a small trend, maybe it can make more film and television companies pay attention to this blank space," Lu Yan He said. "No matter what kind of person, there must be a story in his life worth filming into a film and television drama, making us feel very wonderful."

Li Zhibai asked: "Then actually if possible, we can collect some related stories and scripts, see if there are any suitable ones, if there are, we will promote them to film."

Lu Yan He: "You still think you are not busy enough? Is a *Nineteen Years* not enough for you to be busy?"

"It's not that I must be the producer in charge of this," Li Zhibai said. "I see that actually there are many producers, they are mostly hanging a name, making a few calls, solving a few key problems, and the real trivial matters are done by one or two people."

Li Zhibai said: "If you are willing to be a producer for a drama or be a supervisor for them, help them code the disk, find suitable directors and actors, I believe many scripts will definitely be given the green light by the production platform."

Lu Yan He: "Don't encourage me, I really have too many things, if you are interested, you can do it yourself."

"I don't have your vision recognized by the whole industry," Li Zhibai suddenly remembered something, "Speaking of which, you said so much to Lei Shuangcheng, and you didn't say whether you would help him recommend it. If he finally decides not to reshoot the last episode, are you still willing to help him recommend it?"

Lu Yan He thought silently for a while, and said: "I don't know, but, in all likelihood, I should still recommend it, but it won't be like recommending *Gold Rush* and *Wase*, with such a heartfelt reason to recommend."

Human feelings and face must be preserved, but it is impossible to say some words against one's will, only selectively say some words.

At this time, Zheng Huairen of Beijiguang Video sent a message to Lu Yan He, inviting him to attend the press conference of *My Own Swordsman*.

This ancient costume martial arts comedy is finally going to be broadcast.

Lu Yan He immediately put the matter of *Future Life* aside and went to attend the press conference of *My Own Swordsman* excitedly.

The cast of *My Own Swordsman* is very powerful. The resident protagonist group includes popular actors such as Huang Kai, Jiang Jun, Xiao Yun, and the famous actors who come to guest star in different units are in the double digits. A list of names is arranged, which is still quite bluffing.

At the press conference of *My Own Swordsman*, Bai Jingnian and Lu Yan He finally appeared on the same stage again since *Friends*.

This also made many people can't help but ask that question.

"Are you going to restart *Friends*?"

Lu Yan He for the first time in the face of *Friends*... don't be the guest to take the lead."

There are still people asking about *Friends*.

Lu Yan He joked: "Is it that this drama, this cast of *My Own Swordsman*, makes you so uninterested that there is not even a question?"

Lu Yan He's mouth was very tight, so they had to return to *My Own Swordsman*.

"Why did you create an ancient costume martial arts comedy after *Friends*? The difference between the two is still a bit big."

"Because my ability is not enough to let me write a good script in the same background, style and theme," Lu Yan He said. "So, simply change the background, characters and style completely. So those who compare the two dramas together because of the common point of sitcom, after watching *My Own Swordsman*, will definitely not look at it like this. They are completely different."

"Then do you think this drama can reach the height of *Friends*?"

"*Friends* is broadcast exclusively on TV stations, *My Own Swordsman* is broadcast exclusively on Beijiguang Video, one is broadcast on TV, one is broadcast on the Internet, comparing data is actually meaningless, because it is not on a standard, but I believe that people who like *My Own Swordsman* will not be less than the audience who like *Friends*," Lu Yan He laughed. "After all, when *Friends* started broadcasting, I hadn't won the Best Actor yet, but when *My Own Swordsman* started broadcasting, our Brother Huang is already the Best Actor."

Huang Kai grinned and laughed very happily.

The whole media also followed with a laugh.

Who doesn't like an artist like Lu Yan He who throws stalks and golden sentences frequently.

If he doesn't say something interesting, what do the media use to complete their KPI?

"Why didn't you star in this drama yourself? Just guest-starred in a role?" Someone asked.

Lu Yan He: "Because it's not suitable."

"Not suitable? No suitable role?"

"Not just this aspect," Lu Yan He said. "My acting style is also not very suitable for this drama. I used to hope that I was an actor who could act in anything. Later, I wrote the script myself and became a director, only to find that people are limited. Instead of always thinking about breaking through myself, it is better to think about finding more roles that can exert my characteristics. Actors and roles must be one plus one greater than two to be a good combination."

"Why... do you think your acting style is not suitable for *My Own Swordsman*?"

"How can this be clear, you will know when you watch it," Lu Yan He laughed.

"Then who do you think is the most suitable actor for this play in the current cast of *My Own Swordsman*?"

Lu Yan He: "You ask the director, I just wrote a script, the director is the one who filmed this drama."

Bai Jingnian: "You kick the ball to me for this kind of offensive question!"

Lu Yan He: "He asked, you blame him."

Lu Yan He pointed directly at the reporter who just asked.

Reporter: "..."

Why do you point so righteously?!

The press conference of *My Own Swordsman* was very successful.

After the press conference, it was a media reception organized by Beijiguang Video—nominally organized by Beijiguang Video.

In fact, this event came from one of the marketing parties of *My Own Swordsman*—a special customized event for *Jump Up*.

Every media, film and television V blogger can get an invitation letter to chat face-to-face with the creators of *My Own Swordsman* at the reception.

This is something that other film and television dramas basically cannot do at present.

*My Own Swordsman* can do it because Lu Yan He proposed that he hoped every creator could participate.

Put down your posture and communicate face-to-face with media friends.

"If you have always been high above and kept a distance from them, then why should they sincerely promote you?"

Now a very serious problem is that many artist teams know that their artists are big grass bags, so they dare not let them face the media directly.

Fortunately, *My Own Swordsman* does not have this problem.

On the car to the reception, Xiao Yun was with Lu Yan He.

She asked: "Yan He, why did you specifically ask each of us to go? It's not that I don't want to go, but some people may really not be good at this occasion, and not good at being liked in real communication."

Lu Yan He said: "I don't have the ability to force those who really don't want to. I just hope that those who can go will go. As for why... because people who have communicated face-to-face are no longer just a symbol on the stage, but a real person. You can scold someone you haven't contacted without any psychological burden, but once you have contacted, he is no longer just a symbol to you. I think the promotion of various film and television dramas now makes the creators too far from the media. It seems very close, but one is on the stage and the other is off the stage. In fact, it is very difficult to have a real intersection. Our *My Own Swordsman* is a very good crew, everyone has things to share with others. If you can let many media truly like our crew and like us, for them, promoting *My Own Swordsman* and these creators is not just a job."

Xiao Yun thought deeply.

"So you are not worried at all that people like me who are big-hearted and speak casually will mess this up?" Xiao Yun asked.

Lu Yan He said: "To be honest, are we too demonizing human relationships now? If you offend others, you will mess up something. However, I feel that artists are all well protected by the team, not letting them contact others directly. Is it that they haven't messed up many things? Haven't offended others?"

Xiao Yun: "... What you said makes so much sense."

In fact, the media who received the invitation letter to attend this reception were also surprised. I didn't expect *My Own Swordsman*... to be so generous and so bold.

Many people's first reaction was, is the film party afraid that tonight will become a Shura field where all artists are forced to ask about various scandals?

However, when they opened the invitation letter and saw the invitation content signed by "All creators of *My Own Swordsman*", they felt that many things really didn't need to be done so absolutely:

Producing *My Own Swordsman* is a very happy process, and the birth of a good drama is not just the achievement of the producer, but also comes from you—the attention, comments, and dissemination of media friends. Welcome you to attend the thank-you reception tonight, let us chat purely about film and television art and our lives in a more relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

How to say, people who received this invitation letter also know more or less that this is a public relations means, even if it says such a thing in such a seemingly intimate and private tone.

However, even if you know it is a public relations means, you can see its intentions—besides the *My Own Swordsman* crew, in the past two years, which crew will specifically hold a media thank-you reception after the press conference, and specifically send such a "sincere" invitation letter?

In most cases, who doesn't want to be a decent and calm person? -

"I have read a report you wrote!" Lu Yan He said immediately after hearing a man with glasses introduce himself, "You evaluated *Late Spring* at that time, even if it was very good, it didn't get rid of the pain and scars of Chinese youth films."

This man named Chen Cang showed shock.

"How do you remember?"

Lu Yan He: "Because... I think what you said is quite right, and, it is quite objective, there is no malicious attack, just put forward your own views. I like such comments very much."

Chen Cang felt a bit embarrassed after hearing Lu Yan He say this.

"Actually, this film is filmed quite well besides this," Chen Cang said.

Lu Yan He pondered for a moment, nodded, and said: "However, if there is no such thing, the goodness of other aspects of the film cannot be established. The theme of *Late Spring* cannot draw a line with scars and pain. If it is drawn, it is completely another film. This is complementary."

"Yan He, do you usually study film reviews a lot?" Another young woman in a black skirt asked.

"Will watch, but didn't study," Lu Yan He said, "You should watch a lot of movies every year, right?"

"Work needs, must watch more, if the reading volume doesn't come up, how dare you evaluate the good and bad of a film."

On the other side, Xiao Yun stood with her agent—her agent was still not at ease with her, and the surroundings were also several media people.

"This is a role I have never acted before," Xiao Yun said full of expectation: "I also really want to see what I look like in this drama. I actually wanted to act as a chivalrous woman when I was very young. Well, in *My Own Swordsman*, it can be considered as acting as a non-conventional chivalrous woman."

Someone asked curiously: "Is it the kind of chivalrous woman who is very cool inside?"

Xiao Yun immediately stuck her shell, and then said: "You will know when you watch it."

Someone noticed that her agent's face showed a teasing expression of "watching a good show".

It seems that Xiao Yun's chivalrous role in *My Own Swordsman* is not according to the routine.

"Xiao Yun, you acted in *My Own Swordsman* because you have a good relationship with Lu Yan He, and he appointed you?" Someone asked, "You seem to have collaborated with Lu Yan He on several plays, from *Phoenix Terrace* to *Burning Fire*, and now you acted in the drama he wrote."

Xiao Yun snorted and said: "Why don't you say that I am excellent enough to be able to collaborate with Yan He all the time? However, you didn't guess wrong. It was indeed Yan He who left this role for me. When he wrote the script, he told me that there is a role very suitable for me and asked me if I would act. Of course I acted."

"Yan He said it is very suitable for you?" Someone asked in surprise.

Xiao Yun was immediately a bit angry, "Is it impossible to be very suitable for me? Who do you look down on?"

"Oh, no, I want to say, if Yan He said this role is very suitable for you, it is estimated that this role is not cool anymore, it is not the kind of very heroic chivalrous woman we imagined." The other party said.

Xiao Yun: "..."

Xiao Yun said: "I want to go home, take me home, who will take me home?"

Jiang Jun smiled gently at the media friends beside him and said: "At that time, after filming *Seventeen Layers* with Yan He, he told me about *Squid Game* and *My Own Swordsman*. I acted as a catcher in it, and it is definitely different from the catcher you imagined. This time I acted... quite letting myself go. Anyway, I really didn't expect that this drama would be such a style. It is hard to describe, only to say that its style is very unified from beginning to end, and it is hard to copy."

He pointed to a snack on the dining table and said: "I just ate one, it is quite delicious, you can also taste it."

"Thank you, Teacher Jiang."

This media thank-you reception, the creators left after attending for an hour.

If the previous press conference was a ritual for the public, this reception released a powerful signal to the entire media circle—

The *My Own Swordsman* crew still attaches great importance to the power of the media.

This sincerity can be called the best among the crews in recent years.

That night, dozens of media and personal self-media operators shared about this reception on their social platforms.

So, overnight, suddenly many "I saw XXX at XXX, he is really nice in private!", or "Xiao Yun is more funny in private than in variety shows, funny girl stone hammer!", or "I met another key figure of *Friends* at the *My Own Swordsman* media thank-you reception, producer Hu Siwei, he did not attend the *My Own Swordsman* press conference, but he attended the media thank-you reception!"...

The press conference has live broadcasts and various media shooting materials.

However, there is no such thing at the media thank-you reception. At the media thank-you reception, filming is not allowed. Of course, you can take photos with artists.

So, this night, all kinds of "small news" and "private XXX" small articles appeared like bamboo shoots after rain.

The popularity is inexplicably amazing.

"Press conference, it means that the materials everyone sees are the same, and everyone is too used to those things at a film and television drama press conference. Tired, you have to let everyone have some freshness."

"There is nothing new under the sun. They all say that fashion is a cycle, and marketing is the same. Things that are unprecedented can make people shine. A reception like this, you invite dozens of media over, and it becomes a private reception, that is a big gathering of gossip heads."

"Why is gossip spread so fiercely? Because it is not actively disclosed by the parties involved."

"Everyone is too lazy to watch the Internet celebrity stars from the same mold, let alone those uniform press releases."

"Xiao Yun is a funny girl in private, what kind of news is this? Why does it attract so much attention? In fact, it is very simple. Because this sentence comes from someone who has communicated with Xiao Yun face-to-face, from her mouth, this is a witness, and why she said so, what kind of story happened, this is also curious."

"It is not to say that the bigger the news, the more incredible it is, the more it attracts attention. Who is the speaker, how is the way of speaking, and most importantly, this is not a report disclosed from the official propaganda channel—the listener's interest comes up. You may not be interested in the news broadcast, but if someone secretly tells you what happened in a certain place, you must prick up your ears and listen. Things that artists take the initiative to let you know, you may not want to know, but things that artists don't want you to know, this time it is said through others, you say you are not interested?"

"This is the psychology of ordinary people towards star artists."

"Media thank-you reception—in fact, our accurate definition of it is called the Media People Small Trumpet Mobilization Conference."

Chen Siqi smiled slightly at Zheng Huairen of Beijiguang Video and spread her hands, "In fact, my propaganda idea is so simple. Find a propaganda method that is no longer common, combine everyone's psychological needs, and justifiably let everyone get the pleasure of eating melons and listening to gossip, thereby improving the popularity and attention of *My Own Swordsman*."

"At the same time, according to Yan He's statement, as the first film and television drama in recent years to specifically hold a thank-you opportunity for the media, the media circle will also spare no effort to promote this drama in order to defend its propaganda role for film and television dramas."

Zheng Huairen looked at Chen Siqi in admiration.

"A media thank-you reception that only cost 370,000, was played by you with a propaganda effect that 3 million can't play, you are awesome."

"However, how do you determine that these invited media people will write small articles on their social platforms? I thought you hoped they could publish articles in their respective media."

"Publishing is publishing, social platform is social platform, the former is public, authoritative, and has a posture, the latter is personal, private, and carries personal emotions," Chen Siqi said. "To tell the truth, this media thank-you reception, we don't know how many media people will publish relevant content on their social platforms after going back, but we have prepared... a support."

When the last word came out of Chen Siqi's mouth, Zheng Huairen laughed.

Also, what is there to ask.

Since there is a marketing idea, naturally there is no shortage of water troops. Oh, no, it should be more retro, call them—support.

"Wonderful," Zheng Huairen looked at Chen Siqi with full appreciation. "Several propaganda marketing plans you made for Yan He's works have achieved textbook-like success. This time, I think it is another textbook-like case."

Chen Siqi: "After all, I received money, I don't want to be said to open a husband and wife shop because I didn't make new things and didn't make actual effects."

Zheng Huairen laughed and said: "How can it be, I see that in the future, in the field of film and television drama propaganda marketing, it will be ruled by your *Jump Up*."

Zheng Huairen was obviously very satisfied with the effect of this reception planned by *Jump Up*.

"The next propaganda plan, I have also sent it to your mailbox, President Zheng," Chen Siqi said. "You confirm it, if there is no problem, we will push it according to the corresponding time node."

The reason why it needs to be confirmed to Zheng Huairen is because these propaganda marketing plans still have to cooperate with the broadcast of the drama, as well as some of Beijiguang's own plan nodes.

Zheng Huairen nodded, "Okay."

Then why is Zheng Huairen so satisfied?

It is also data speaking.

In one night, the reservation number of *My Own Swordsman* on Beijiguang Video increased by 450,000.

So far, the reservation number of *My Own Swordsman* on Beijiguang Video has broken 4.2 million—

As a non-sequel work, this data can almost be ranked in the top five in history.

The stature of a drama king has begun to appear. ===== CHAPTER 515 =====