Chapter 597

Regarding whether Lu Yanhe should take on independent films in the future, his overseas agent, Darren Wilson, earnestly advised him to avoid them as much as possible.

Unless it is a script good enough to contend for awards, do not act in it.

"Acting in films is not charity. It's not that just because they bring you a decent script and ask for your help, you should feel that acting in it and doing them a favor is enough," Darren Wilson said. "There are many independent film actors in this world, but the achievements you have attained so far are irreplicable. Protect your current achievements and do not let obvious failures appear on your resume."

Chen Ziyan's attitude was the same as Darren Wilson's.

"As I said before, for famous directors and good scripts, we can consider it. It's not that you can't act in low-budget independent films, but the requirements must be strict," Chen Ziyan said. "If you feel these independent film scripts are decent and want to give them a hand, there are many other ways to help."

Lu Yanhe quickly raised both hands to stop them.

"Wait a second, I'm confused. I never said I wanted to help these independent films in this way, right? Why do you and Darren both assume I would act in these films? My standards for accepting roles are naturally very high; I don't just accept any project, nor does it mean I will definitely act in a script just because it's slightly better."

"There's no helping it. Once you reach a certain level, wanting to act in artistic films with depth and profound connotations is a common trait among all actors," Chen Ziyan said. "Actors like you who can understand commercial value and the logic of success so clearly are few and far between. The hardest thing for a person to balance is their actual pursuit of profit and their spiritual pursuits."

Lu Yanhe: "Alright, I won't act in that many independent films. You've already made that very clear to me. Look at me these past few years; I've already won several major film awards. Just as you said, the box office success of *The Mist* has actually helped my career much more than *Road to Glory*, which helped me win Best Actor."

"That is also mainly because when you won Best Actor domestically, you had already reached the pinnacle of the domestic entertainment industry, leaving little room for you to continue rising," Chen Ziyan said. "If you had won Best Actor at the Xitu'er International Film Festival, that would be different."

"Hmm, but especially over this past year, doing *The Birth of an Actor*, doing *Love Letter*, and including the Jump Up Theater, I am very clear that I need success in a realistic sense to make everyone willing to believe in me and work together to do these things," Lu Yanhe said. "They didn't come to try these fresh things with me because I won Best Actor or Best Screenwriter."

The box office success of *The Mist* actually meant something very important in the eyes of those overseas filmmakers: Lu Yanhe is not only successful in China and Asia, but he can also achieve success in Europe, America, and the whole world.

Believing that a person can achieve such success and that person having already achieved such success at a factual level are two different concepts.

Especially—

Although Lu Yanhe was not the main lead of the *The Mist* project from the start—in fact, the main cast consisted of three other people—in the subsequent promotion and the focus of the audience after the film's release, Lu Yanhe became the biggest star of the film *The Mist*.

This concept is probably similar to Daniel Radcliffe in *Harry Potter* or Meryl Streep in *The Devil Wears Prada*; the true big star of a film, the person who in the past would be called the "pillar."

Therefore, Lu Yanhe was able to become a film star who truly grasps both awards and box office.

This allows Lu Yanhe to become the intersection of the lists of actors that all parties want to cooperate with in the greatest sense.

Whatever is needed, he has it; there won't be situations where the director wants someone the film company is dissatisfied with, or the film company wants someone the director looks down upon.

Also because of Lu Yanhe's current situation, many people do not quite understand his subsequent choices.

Among them is Zhong Benshuo.

"I heard you are going to shoot a Malaysian film and a Chinese TV series later, and neither is the first lead," Zhong Benshuo expressed great confusion on the phone. "*The Mist* just premiered and achieved great box office results. Shouldn't you strike while the iron is hot and either accept an art film that can contend for awards or accept the lead in a blockbuster?"

Lu Yanhe laughed and explained to Zhong Benshuo.

"These two projects were contacted and negotiated long ago. Besides, aren't I waiting to shoot the second part of *The Mist*?" Lu Yanhe said. "With the results of the first part, the box office performance of the second part shouldn't be bad, right? I have great faith in you."

Zhong Benshuo: "I've heard here in Hollywood that you've rejected many scripts recently. Some people have even asked me if you are willing to come to Hollywood to act in films. Some people are already wondering if you agreed to act in *The Mist* only because my wife is Chinese—many awesome actors are indeed unwilling to come to Hollywood to act in films, and people are starting to suspect if you are one of those types."

"Of course I'm willing to come and act, but I have to get a good script and role," Lu Yanhe said. "The roles and scripts coming to me now are too ordinary. They are either roles similar to the one in *The Mist* or those typical Asian roles with stereotypes. I have no interest in playing a labeled Asian in a Hollywood film. For such roles, they can find any Asian face to act in them; why would they need me?"

Zhong Benshuo: "I will help you tell those people in Hollywood your attitude. No matter what, you must let everyone know that you are not opposed to acting in films in Hollywood. Don't let them form the wrong impression."

"Okay, I understand. Actually, that won't happen. I already have an agent specifically handling my overseas agency affairs, Darren Wilson from the Williams Company. He is helping me connect with various companies and directors. If I had no interest in acting in Hollywood, why would I find myself an overseas agent?"

"That's fine then." Zhong Benshuo nodded.

"Zhong Benshuo, how is the script for the sequel to *The Mist* coming along?"

"Still thinking," Zhong Benshuo said. "I've found two other screenwriters in Hollywood to think about the direction of the sequel with me. Do you have any ideas?"

"I don't have any ideas for the sequel to *The Mist*, but I have a script in my hand, an English script that was already written, called *Buried*. I wanted to cooperate with D19 before, but we didn't reach an agreement," Lu Yanhe said. "I think maybe you can help me recommend whether there are suitable producers and directors who can operate this project."

"Oh, you wrote a script and are looking for a director? Why didn't you consider me?" Zhong Benshuo asked directly.

"This script is quite special. The whole story takes place in a narrow coffin, and there is only one actor on screen throughout," Lu Yanhe said. "The cost is very small. I wrote this before I even shot *The Mist*. At the time, I wanted to use this script to knock on the door of Hollywood. It's experimental in nature and not very suitable for you to direct now."

As soon as Lu Yanhe finished speaking, Zhong Benshuo understood.

For a film that uses one person and one coffin to shoot the entire movie, no matter how divine the script is, it is destined to be a small film.

For a director who has already shot a film with a box office of over 100 million US dollars, he is not suitable to come and shoot this kind of low-budget film.

Just his own remuneration alone is not something that this low-budget budget can cover.

Now, Zhong Benshuo's director fee for shooting a film, not counting the later dividends and bonuses, is at least 5 million to start.

Zhong Benshuo said: "Send the script to me, and I'll take a look for you."

Lu Yanhe said okay.

He added: "I talked to D19 at the time, and they wanted to keep the film rights in their hands. I wasn't willing, so we didn't reach an agreement. I've thought about it now, and I want to do this film myself and then go find a distribution company."

"Good," Zhong Benshuo said. "It seems the production cost of this film is really low?"

"Hmm, it's expected to be between 2 and 3 million US dollars," Lu Yanhe said. "If I use an actor with absolutely no fame, the cost will be even lower, but I still hope to find an actor with a certain level of fame to star in it, and the acting must be good."

"That's for sure. One person acting from beginning to end, this puts too high a demand on an actor," Zhong Benshuo said. "You have to hold auditions, right?"

"Hmm," Lu Yanhe said. "But before that, I have to register a film company in Hollywood first."

After chatting with Zhong Benshuo, Lu Yanhe hung up the phone.

Regarding the script *Buried*, the original intention of writing this script was because it was easy to shoot, the cost was low, and it could serve as a stepping stone to break into Hollywood.

Unexpectedly, the box office explosion of *The Mist* helped him skip this step.

But Lu Yanhe felt that since it was already written, it would be a pity not to shoot it.

It's just that this script is indeed no longer suitable to be done as a key project.

Therefore, it might as well be used as a practice project for Linghe.

After Chen Ziyan heard about Lu Yanhe's plan, she nodded and said: "This is quite good. However, if you want to register a film production company in the United States, then Wan Qingqing alone will definitely not be enough. She has a small office there and has hired a few people, but the contracts are not signed with our Linghe, so they don't count as our Linghe people. Moreover, the staff for a registered film production company must definitely be more professional; it can't just be that kind of small office."

Lu Yanhe said: "Sister Ziyan, currently we are just using *Buried* to practice. There's no need to get the company's staff all lined up so quickly. In case *Buried* is finished and there are no follow-up projects, the burden will be quite heavy."

Chen Ziyan: "Then what do you mean?"

"See if Director Zhong Benshuo can recommend a reliable producer or director for me. If we can have such a person, after we register a film company, it will mainly be convenient for handling the copyright of *Buried* and signing cooperation agreements with them," Lu Yanhe said. "The specific shooting can be left to them to watch. Wan Qingqing or Song Jiang can just keep an eye on the financial matters. If they don't have enough experience, we might have to find someone from the country to go over and keep an eye on it together. Hollywood has much more experience in shooting films than we do. Too many crews take the money, and in the end, maybe only one-third is used for shooting the film, and the rest is swallowed by others."

Chen Ziyan nodded: "Yes, in this regard, we are indeed unfamiliar with the place in the United States, and it is very easy to be cheated."

"Hmm, so using this small project to practice is, first, to give Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the operation of a film crew, and second, it can also give us an opportunity to familiarize ourselves with Hollywood. If we suffer losses or take detours on this project, we can bear the risks and costs ourselves, which is better than taking a bigger fall later," Lu Yanhe said.

Chen Ziyan nodded.

Lu Yanhe: "In addition, I will also ask around in the alumni circle of Yuming to see if there is anyone engaged in the film and television industry in Hollywood. At times like this, we should still huddle together for warmth. There are more or less some places where we can get guidance to help us take fewer detours."

Chen Ziyan: "You should indeed make good use of this resource. Your alumni circle is basically composed of elite talents from all walks of life. If you can make use of it, it is indeed a great help."

In the evening, Lu Yanhe held a live stream for the first time in a long time, live-streaming his reaction to watching the second play of the Jump Up Theater, *The Vortex*.

This is also to promote the Jump Up Theater.

*The Vortex* is adapted from Liu Jiazhen's short story and stars Huai Qian, who has excellent acting skills but has never been very famous.

He and Lu Yanhe had previously met because of the deliberate trouble caused by Yong Shanhe San.

As an actor in the younger generation who has very good acting skills but is not known to the public because he has always acted in low-budget art films, that incident was the first time Huai Qian was recognized on a large scale. Also because of that incident, he got to know Lu Yanhe, and thus had this cooperation.

Of the two plays adapted from Liu Jiazhen's short stories, one is *The Silent Staircase*, which Lu Yanhe acts in. The other, *The Vortex*, was discussed at the time. The male lead of this story needed to be young and have very good acting skills, and the remuneration could not be too high, so as not to exceed the budget. After calculating, they pulled out a list of actors. Among the few people, everyone saw Huai Qian and felt the name was familiar. After checking, they sent him an invitation.

Huai Qian also replied that he was willing to act in it less than a day after receiving the invitation.

Suspense and crime stories have always been popular themes in film and television.

However, there are actually not many good stories. Such stories are often in the hands of a very small number of top suspense and mystery novelists. Like Liu Jiazhen, who is currently a hot writer, his novels are objects that major film and television companies scramble for. It is difficult for Huai Qian to come into contact with them—

He is neither a male actor waiting to explode with chips pressed by a big company, nor does he follow his own agent. Without a powerful company to help him fight for resources, he basically circles around in art films. He is very famous in small circles but not known to the public.

In this situation, it is equivalent to him not being able to fight for the lead roles in mainstream projects, and there is no need to act in supporting roles—after all, for any mainstream project, the important roles within the top six are basically things for various companies to exchange resources.

Huai Qian's agency is not at the table and cannot help him exchange resources. Even if he bears the title of the designated male lead for art films, he can only act in a small supporting role outside the top six.

For such a role, even if he wants to act, his agent will not accept it for him.

Moreover, once he really acts in it, the little reputation he has made in the art film circle will be lost.

This opportunity to star in *The Vortex* can be considered the best resource Huai Qian has received in all aspects in recent years.

And under the current attention of the Jump Up Theater, Huai Qian has also entered everyone's field of vision at once.

Just like the two girls who acted in *Girl's Adventure* last week, he was immediately included in the backup actor list by major film and television companies.

During the two hours Lu Yanhe watched *The Vortex*, except for going to the restroom and checking his phone during the commercial breaks in the middle, he was fully focused on watching the TV the rest of the time.

In the middle, he exclaimed no less than three times that "Huai Qian acted this part too well."

The Jump Up Theater naturally would not let this point go and immediately bought a hot search for the relevant keywords of this play.

In fact, it was not an exaggeration by Lu Yanhe; Huai Qian indeed showed good acting skills in *The Vortex*.

The two emotional outburst scenes in it were very gripping.

One of the segments where he changed his face in five seconds also became popular on the Internet.

The viewership rating of *The Vortex* was 0.78%.

Compared with *Girl's Adventure*, it rose by as much as 0.1%.

Huai Qian's Weibo gained 110,000 followers overnight.

Someone @ the official Weibo of *The Birth of an Actor*, saying that Huai Qian deserves to be on the next season of the show.

The official Weibo of *The Birth of an Actor* also replied immediately: Huai Qian is already a very famous young actor in our domestic art film circle. If he is willing to come to our show to play, we are of course also very welcome.

The next day, Huai Qian's agent told him that since *The Vortex* aired, he had received two scripts, both of which were major roles within the top six, and both were projects rated A by the platform.

The agent was very excited.

Having managed Huai Qian for so long, he had never encountered such a time.

Huai Qian also breathed a sigh of relief.

As an actor whose acting skills have always been highly praised, Huai Qian is actually a bit conceited.

Clearly having such good acting skills and not a bad image, he was always lacking a bit of climate, and his fame was very small.

Is it that he really doesn't have the fate to become popular?

Sometimes, he has had such thoughts.

Fortunately, at such a time, a work like *The Vortex* appeared.

The agent said again: "The Jump Up Theater has sent us another script."

"Hmm?"

"But this time it's not a suspense crime script, it's a romance theme," the agent said. "Do you want to take a look?"

Huai Qian nodded and said: "Of course."

"But compared to the remuneration offered by the previous two plays, the remuneration offered by the Jump Up Theater has hardly increased at all, and the difference is a bit much," the agent said.

Huai Qian said: "I've become a little popular now because of *The Vortex*. No matter what, I have to repay them."

"That's true," the agent nodded.

Recommend the old book *I Became the Scandalous Heroine Overnight*