Chapter 703: Film Festival (8,200-word update!)

"I don't know how to describe this feeling; at first, I was very resistant to playing a character like this."

Lu Yan He said to Chen Ziyan.

"Then, the moment I thought about how I could play this character like Chen Pinhe, I suddenly felt like I'd had an epiphany. All the resistance vanished, like a sluice gate opening, and the desire to perform poured out just like a flood release."

Chen Ziyan: "The fact that you could find an entry point from this angle only goes to show that you're something else."

Lu Yan He: "What I didn't expect even more was that I would one day encounter a character that I felt was written very well, but that I couldn't play."

"Because your underlying nature is kind, you cannot empathize with hypocrisy. And your acting, in my eyes, is one hundred percent method acting. All the techniques you've accumulated later on are prepared for the sake of experiencing. If you cannot empathize with your character, you won't be able to find a fulcrum to play the role well," Chen Ziyan said. "This is your shortcoming."

"That's true." Lu Yan He nodded. "I've played many flawed people, but I can basically understand them. I can understand their selfishness, anger, and lack of self-control at certain stages or moments. I can even step into their shoes. But for this kind of essential selfishness and arrogance, as well as this self-righteous smugness, no matter how good I am, I can only stop at rational understanding."

"That's fine. If you can nail this role, your acting range will be even broader," Chen Ziyan said. "I'm quite curious how you're going to play a character like this."

Lu Yan He shook his head: "There's really nothing to be curious about; even I don't know."

Chen Ziyan: "One *Storm Calmer No. 1*, one new film by Wang Zhong—these two films will definitely follow the film festival route later on."

"Mm." Lu Yan He nodded. "That should be the case. Based on what I know, these two films are typical art-house films, only suitable for the film festival circuit."

"Then I hope neither of these films is submitted to the Xitu'er International Film Festival," Chen Ziyan said with a smile. "That way, you might be able to win another top international film festival trophy."

Lu Yan He said: "But, their films are actually more suited for the Xitu'er International Film Festival, aren't they?"

"Yes." Chen Ziyan nodded. "I was just saying. If they can go to Xitu'er, they certainly should. Its influence is the greatest. Look at the Academy Awards two months ago, and the highest film awards in several European countries; the ones with the most nominations and the biggest momentum were all films selected for Xitu'er."

The reason why Green Valley said that *Raise the Red Lantern* and *Tropical Rainy Season* could both challenge next year's Academy Awards is also because they are the films with the highest buzz at the Xitu'er International Film Festival.

The attention paid by European and American countries to the Xitu'er International Film Festival is the highest among the four major international film festivals.

For Lu Yan He's personal career, because he just won Best Actor at Xitu'er, the possibility of him winning a second one within ten years is extremely low, close to zero. In the history of the Xitu'er International Film Festival, there has never been a case where the same award was received by the same person within ten years.

Even top international film festivals care about these things.

Now, Lu Yan He is already deeply tied to Xitu'er. His first film was at the Xitu'er International Film Festival, his first Best Actor trophy was at the Xitu'er International Film Festival, and his first top international film festival grand prize was also at Xitu'er. It can be said that Lu Yan He's entire acting career, up to this stage, is deeply tied to Xitu'er.

Xitu'er will certainly not give him a major individual award again in the short term. This is not conducive to the development of the film festival, nor is it conducive to Xitu'er discovering other film talent.

Lu Yan He was tired of reading scripts and wanted to find something new to do.

He didn't want his life to only consist of Linghe and film and television dramas.

So, he went to ask Chen Siqi what he could do now.

As soon as Chen Siqi heard that Lu Yan He was actually taking the initiative to do something, she immediately said: "Us."

Lu Yan He said: "I can't devote myself to this work all the time. What would I do? If I go off to film later, won't others have to clean up my mess?"

"Who says?" Chen Ziyan said. "There is actually one job you can be responsible for all the way through."

"What job?"

"Film selection." Chen Ziyan said. "In the first year, we decided on the theme for the Jump Up International Film Critics Film Festival, which is for everyone to sit together and discuss films. Last year, the films we picked balanced popularity and artistry. Only when the films are chosen correctly can everyone's discussions have the possibility of being spread. It's the same this year; Linyu is worrying about what films to choose for this year."

Lu Yan He felt a bit moved upon hearing this.

"And for every film screened, we have to write a thematic blurb. Why don't we hand this job over to you?" Chen Siqi said.

Lu Yan He: "... Wouldn't it be more appropriate to leave this to Linyu? Linyu wrote them last year. If you suddenly ask me to write them, Linyu definitely won't be happy."

"If you saw how miserable Linyu is right now, you wouldn't think that," Chen Siqi said. "She came to complain to me yesterday about why this job is still left to her alone this year. I said, because film selection—especially selecting films for a group of famous film critics—is something people who don't understand film history really don't know how to do."

Lu Yan He nodded.

"How to make this group of already professional film critics feel the professionalism of our film festival is a very important matter," Chen Siqi sighed. "Film selection is the most basic work among them. If the theme isn't set well and the films aren't chosen well, then no matter how good we do in terms of form, in the eyes of real filmmakers, we are just nouveau riche."

"Does this edition of the film festival have a theme?" Lu Yan He asked.

Chen Siqi shook her head. "We haven't set a theme."

"I think we could have a theme for each edition," Lu Yan He said. "That way, whether it's film selection or everyone's post-screening exchanges, there can be something more specific."

Chen Siqi: "At first we also thought about doing thematic discussions, but we were worried that such an approach would limit what everyone really wants to discuss."

"We are just setting a theme, not limiting the discussion to only those things," Lu Yan He said. "Of course, this also means your theme must be chosen well, and you must choose concepts that are truly meaningful to the film industry. For example, to give a simple example, 'debut works.' For the film industry, this is a very broad concept that is always being discussed. Of course, for a film festival, using this as a theme is relatively mediocre, because it would turn the discussion into a summary, a retrospective."

Chen Siqi smiled and nodded. "Look, you speak so articulately; you are the most suitable person to do this job."

Later, Linyu came over.

When she heard Chen Siqi say that Lu Yan He could come to help, Linyu said directly: "Don't just help, let me off the hook entirely. This work really requires someone to think quietly for a long time to be able to do it, but right now I not only have to record the regular programs for Yuehu Station, but also have to invite various film critics. There is simply no way to calm down and do this. Siqi, I strongly suggest that starting from this edition, we specifically invite an influential filmmaker to do the film list and the introduction for each screened film."

Chen Siqi turned to look at Lu Yan He.

"What do you think?"

Lu Yan He took a deep breath and scratched his head.

"Why do I feel like I've dug a big hole for myself?"

Despite this, Lu Yan He still took on the job.

The first International Film Critics Film Festival was considered very successful. Especially in the end, it summarized the speeches of the film critics at the film festival in the form of a book and published it around the world.

Compared to ordinary film critic forums, this film festival undoubtedly pushed the status of film critics to a certain height.

Especially the publication of this book meant that every article by the film critics in it, as well as the record of the entire process of the film festival, was preserved in a concrete form. Whether in bookstores or libraries, it had the possibility of being read by film lovers over a longer span of time.

Therefore, the holding of the second edition was both logical and highly anticipated.

How to choose the film list for the second edition?

Lu Yan He looked at a list that Linyu had already made.

Linyu was actually still trying her best to balance film history classics and niche gems.

Lu Yan He could see that Linyu wanted to use this film festival to dig out some gems in film history that were unknown to most people, even holding the ambition of letting their value be seen.

To tell the truth, if the International Film Critics Film Festival could achieve this, it would be its unique value.

Lu Yan He believed that this point should be preserved.

His eyes suddenly lit up.

Why not write to those filmmakers he respects and ask them to recommend a work that they think has not received its corresponding status in film history?

First, this way, Lu Yan He could have many choices to decide this year's film list. Second, this recommendation list could also serve as an Easter egg for this year's film festival, allowing some niche, small-audience films to be noticed by more people through this film festival.

So, Lu Yan He acted as soon as he thought of it, specifically sending emails to people he had worked with, knew, and admired.

In the body of the email, he very seriously interpreted the intention of this move and asked the other party to recommend only one film, no more. If possible, it would be best to attach a reason for the recommendation.

Lu Yan He even sent such an email to the artistic directors of the four major international film festivals.

As a result, the first person to call was Li Zhibai.

"What are you doing? You could have just called me directly; why did you specifically send me an email?" Li Zhibai complained.

Lu Yan He: "This naturally has to be a bit more formal. If I just called you to talk about it casually, you probably wouldn't think about it seriously and might just give me one at random."

Li Zhibai: "Then you underestimate me too much. Just give me one at random? I wouldn't give you any."

Lu Yan He laughed.

"How is things over at *Buried*?"

"Sigh, don't mention it, it's damn hard." Li Zhibai sighed. "I thought this film would be hard to act, but I didn't expect it to be this hard."

Lu Yan He was not worried that Li Zhibai wouldn't be able to act well.

Li Zhibai is very good at acting—

This point, not only Lu Yan He and Yan Liang knew, but Luo Yuzhong had also praised him.

When filming *Chinese Paladin*, Luo Yuzhong said that it was rare to see a handsome guy play a handsome guy so relaxed and without image baggage, while being handsome with a sense of life.

Although, this point doesn't have much meaning for *Buried*. In *Buried*, one needs to be miserable, fearful, and panicked.

But with Li Zhibai's expressive power, as long as he finds the psychological support for the performance, it is absolutely no problem.

To be honest, the difficulty of the performance in *Buried* only looks great because it is a one-man show from beginning to end—in fact, whether it is the difficulty of the character or the complexity of the emotions, it is actually relatively easy to grasp and complete.

Lu Yan He asked: "Have you met with Zebby?"

"Met once." Li Zhibai said. "The whole time was spent talking about you. This guy feels like he's become your big fan."

"Cut it out, he's just a businessman." Lu Yan He laughed. "Who did they find to be the director?"

"Don't you know? A guy who used to shoot independent films, named Bob Xavier. I chatted with him and it was okay." Li Zhibai said. "I thought this director was someone you knew."

"This film is controlled by Parameter. I have already requested that it must be you playing the lead; it's impossible for the director choice to listen to me." Lu Yan He said. "Otherwise, this film wouldn't be under their control."

"But the relationship between Bob and Zebby isn't very good either." Li Zhibai said. "In front of me, the two of them have already had conflicts."

"What kind of conflict?"

"Probably over the final cut of this film. Anyway, that's what it sounded like to me." Li Zhibai explained. "Bob wants the final cut, but Zebby doesn't agree, and doesn't even want Bob to participate in the final cut."

Lu Yan He was a little surprised when he heard this, but there was nothing strange about it.

"Basically, for films from big Hollywood studios, the final cut is not given to the director unless they are a first-tier director." Lu Yan He said. "Like the film *Buried*, although the investment is small, its positioning is a genre film, a genre film that can win big with small, so Parameter will definitely not give up the final cut."

"I don't really care, it has nothing to do with me anyway. It's just that seeing them argue like this, especially Bob cursing Zebby behind his back because of this, made me think of Liu Manbo. Although I promised to shoot his second film and help him find investment, I also said that if the version he edits makes me dissatisfied, I will find someone else to re-edit and do the post-production. Although he agreed very understandingly, is he also very angry behind my back?"

"Definitely, there is no need to doubt that." Lu Yan He said bluntly. "Any director who has the final cut taken away must be dissatisfied."

Li Zhibai: "Then do you think my decision to continue shooting his second film is wrong? It's possible that I'll put in the effort but get no thanks, the film will be shot poorly, and I'll be hated by Liu Manbo because of the final cut."

"These are two different things. From Liu Manbo's perspective, even if he is dissatisfied that his final cut was taken away, he also knows why. If he's a decent person, even if he's dissatisfied, he should know how many opportunities you gave him, and he wouldn't just think about hating you because of such a thing."

"But I still have something to say. This situation is unavoidable. If you have resources in your hands and you don't act as a producer or do your own projects, just being an actor is fine. But if you want to grasp some initiative, then don't think about being someone who doesn't attract hatred. You will definitely offend some people. Being a pushover will only make others satisfied while you suffer the losses yourself."

Li Zhibai: "So you don't think my decision is wrong?"

"I don't know if your decision is right or wrong in the end, but I think the act of you making this decision itself is right. Any decision has the possibility of failure. You saw Liu Manbo's talent, you saw the good parts of the second film, and you believe it has the potential to succeed, that's why you made this decision, right?"

"That's for sure." "So, others standing from an outsider's perspective might question it, might think you made a foolish decision, but as long as you know why you made this decision and are willing to accept the result of failure, then other people's opinions are just for reference." Lu Yan He said. "A person who never makes a decision will never make a mistake, but they will also always be just like that."

Li Zhibai breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hearing you say that, I'm relieved." He said. "To be honest, during this time, I've been tossing and turning because of this, worried if I was thinking too well and was too naive."

"In my experience, anyone who isn't a little naive in the entertainment industry will only ever play it safe, which means they will always be mediocre." Lu Yan He said. "And you are not a mediocre person."

"Yo, am I a genius in your eyes?"

"Of course."

"Forget it, I guess I'm only a genius in your eyes. If I really were a genius, why haven't those directors I like come to find me to film?"

"Isn't that normal?" Lu Yan He said. "Am I a genius in your eyes?"

"Does that even need to be said?"

"Then how many big directors have you seen come to find me to film?" Lu Yan He said. "Except for Wang Zhong, but actually, when I first acted in Wang Zhong's film, it was just a supporting role. The same goes for the dramas by my teacher Luo Yuzhong and Director Chen Lingling; they were all supporting roles."

Li Zhibai was stunned.

!

"Now that you mention it, that's true."

"We both face a problem, Li Zhibai. We are very popular, have high traffic, and have fan support, but the more this is the case, the harder it is to cooperate with big directors because, to them, we are also uncontrollable." Lu Yan He said. "Especially when our acting skills haven't been recognized yet and we haven't established a firm foothold in the film circle."

Li Zhibai: "Now that you put it this way, it really makes me very surprised. Why is it that even at your level now, those big directors in the country haven't come to find you to act?"

"Basically, there are no particularly good roles and scripts right now, and they won't easily come to find me." Lu Yan He said. "This is what Sister Ziyan told me. And there's another point: I haven't really mingled in their circle. They won't tailor-make roles for me, and in their films, there basically isn't a role for my age as the first lead."

Li Zhibai: "Most of them are supporting roles."

"Yes." Lu Yan He said. "Or dual male leads. Anyway, for one reason or another, I'm actually not that hot in the domestic film circle. I'm very popular with film companies, but with directors, not necessarily. You're the same. After you filmed *Can't Even Fake Death* with Liu Bige, the situation might be slightly better because you have a representative film work. However, if you want to continue playing the male lead in films, you can only act in some commercial films, or let film companies tailor-make them for you."

Li Zhibai: "I understand what you mean."

"It's quite a pity. The films made by big directors in the country now basically have men over thirty-five as the first lead. If we want to make good films, we can only find scripts ourselves and do projects. That's why I told you before that the act of you being willing to make decisions is right regardless of anything else. If you can't do projects yourself, a large part of the time, no matter how popular you are, you are being chosen, and the room for choice is not large."

Li Zhibai: "I hope to be able to act in some different films. It doesn't have to be very deep or win awards; just don't always ask me to go and fall in love with different girls."

This is Li Zhibai's biggest annoyance.

Lu Yan He couldn't help but laugh or cry when he heard this.

He thought of a very famous male actor in Hollywood named Matthew McConaughey.

This notoriously "playboy" type male actor had high pay as long as he played this type of role, and various film companies were fighting for him.

However, famous to his level, he was still limited by the genre. The more money romantic love films made, the less Hollywood wanted him to film other types of films. In the end, except for this genre, there were no other films looking for him.

After he refused to appear in romantic love films, no film company looked for him to film, and he even reached the point of deciding to "leave Hollywood for two years."

Fortunately, he later succeeded in transforming and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for *Dallas Buyers Club*.

The predicament Li Zhibai is facing is quite similar to his.

Of course, Li Zhibai is relatively better off. In the Chinese market, it's not serious to the point where you have no films to act in if you don't act in a certain genre.

Lu Yan He is very supportive of Li Zhibai trying his best to break through his limitations.

Li Zhibai decided to support Liu Manbo so quickly and cooperate with him for the second time, and Lu Yan He didn't suggest he give up, which is also for this reason.

When Li Zhibai can toss and turn now, he should toss and turn as much as possible.

When you are highly popular and currently trending, if you don't toss and turn and don't try and make mistakes, when will you go to try and make mistakes?

At the end of April, Lu Yan He handed over the film list he had organized, including the "niche gems" list recommended by various filmmakers, to Chen Siqi and Linyu.

The two of them were pleasantly surprised.

Handed over to them along with this list was the preliminary authorization from these companies to screen at the International Film Critics Film Festival.

Lu Yan He went out himself to handle the authorization issues.

Everyone was still very willing to buy it.

Chen Siqi said: "Look, you doing this saved us so much effort."

Lu Yan He: "It's too hard. I won't do it next year. I think Linyu's suggestion is very right. Next year we can invite other filmmakers to do this film list."

Chen Siqi said: "We can consider it."

If the feedback on this film list is good this year, the filmmakers who receive this invitation next year might not be unwilling.

This is also a manifestation of industry influence.

The more such invitations there are, the more they contain a kind of implicit influence value.

At this time, the Hexi Film Festival also announced the list of films selected for this year.

The Chinese film *Walking This Road* was selected for the main competition unit. This film stars Meng Li and Ji Miao and is an art-house film.

*Burning Fire* was selected for the screening unit.

Long Yan Pictures is preparing to have *Burning Fire* hold its global premiere at the Hexi Film Festival and look for overseas buyers at the Hexi Film Festival.

Huang Zong contacted Lu Yan He immediately, inviting him and the cast to attend the premiere of *Burning Fire* at the Hexi Film Festival.

At that time, Lu Yan He had indeed not yet joined the cast of the *Mist* sequel, so the time allowed it.

It just so happened that "Math," which Lu Yan He endorses, is also one of the sponsoring brands of this Hexi Film Festival, and they also hope that Lu Yan He can attend.

Lu Yan He communicated with Chen Ziyan and decided to go.

Besides these, last year *Love Letter* won two major awards at the Hexi Film Festival, so Lu Yan He should go to support them if he has the time.

And after knowing that Lu Yan He would attend, the artistic director of the Hexi Film Festival, Wu Yang, immediately sent Lu Yan He an email, asking if he would be willing to serve as a presenter for the closing ceremony of this year's film festival.

Lu Yan He also agreed.

"Diary Column?"

In early May, Lu Yan He welcomed a rare guest he hadn't seen for a long time.

Xin Zixing.

"Yes." Xin Zixing nodded. "The redesign of the Ye Mai Network has already gone online, and the entertainment section is a content we are focusing on building. We certainly won't miss the Hexi Film Festival, and I also solemnly invite you to return to the Ye Mai Network."

Lu Yan He couldn't help but laugh or cry.

Previously, Lu Yan He did have an account on the Ye Mai Network.

At that time, he was deeply tied to the Ye Mai Network, and he would publish his reading notes, viewing feelings, and even some recorded fragments on the Ye Mai Network.

So, although many people have forgotten it now, Lu Yan He's rise to fame at the beginning had a very strong "literary" attribute, which made him different from many popular young stars in the circle and gave him his own style.

"What about those high-ranking officials at the Ye Mai Network before?" Lu Yan He asked curiously. "Including your former colleagues."

"Those who can obey my arrangements and accept the redesign of the Ye Mai Network, I know their abilities, and those who could stay have stayed. Those who deliberately went against me and sang a different tune, I have already driven some away, and there are others whose contracts will be terminated within three months."

Xin Zixing's posture when talking about these things now is light and breezy.

Lu Yan He was thoughtful, nodded, and said: "Sister Zixing, I can return to the Ye Mai Network, but I want to sign a cooperation agreement with the Ye Mai Network that has a few more requirements."

Xin Zixing smiled slightly and said: "As long as you are willing to continue the cooperation, any agreement is fine. Don't worry, as long as I am at the Ye Mai Network for one day, this place will be one of your important positions. Of course, if one day I am driven away, then I also hope you will leave without mercy."

Lu Yan He laughed.

"You are actually very suitable for the Ye Mai Network." He said. "It's a pity that your talent is only used to make variety shows."

Xin Zixing nodded.

"By the way, I came here this time to tell you something more important. My personal judgment is that the Shijin Group will further layout the entertainment industry. They will likely acquire a video platform or establish one themselves. You, Sister Ziyan, and Siqi now basically occupy several important links in the entertainment industry, but you lack the channel part. I don't know if you have any room for cooperation with them in this regard, so I'll tell you first, and you can judge for yourself. If needed, I can help you bridge the gap and probe the wind."

Lu Yan He understood Xin Zixing's meaning.

He nodded.

"I'll go discuss it with Sister Ziyan and Siqi."

How important is the channel?

In short, the biggest problem for Chinese films going overseas now is not the lack of funds or content on the production side, but the lack of distribution channels overseas, especially their own distribution channels.

Now Linghe is doing film and television dramas itself, and Chen Siqi is also doing the Jump Up Theater. On the content side, they are all okay. However, these contents all have to be exported to Yuehu Station, Northern Lights Video, Ice Plains Video, and overseas streaming media.

If these platforms don't pay for them, these contents cannot generate profit returns.

Although Lu Yan He has cooperated with them quite smoothly, it's the same principle as Lu Yan He wanting to use a Linghe himself. If they could have a platform in their own hands, it would definitely be better.

It's just that wanting to own a platform of one's own is basically very difficult to achieve. The several big video platforms in the country, including cinema chains, are actually supported by big capital behind them.

For individual businesses like Lu Yan He and the others, unless they choose to cooperate with the capital camp, it is difficult to master a video platform. Being able to buy shares and become a shareholder with a little say is already an extremely remarkable thing.

The news Xin Zixing mentioned is actually telling Lu Yan He that perhaps this is an opportunity for Lu Yan He and Linghe to intervene in the management and control level of a video platform.

Lu Yan He immediately went to tell Chen Ziyan about this.

Chen Ziyan said: "I'll go probe the wind with Yang Zhouli in my personal capacity first. For the sake of stability, they want to enter the entertainment industry, so they will definitely be interested in you. If you can enter their camp, it will definitely be a huge gain for them, but it may not be a good thing for us."

Whether it is Lu Yan He, Linghe, or "Jump Up," being so successful in the industry has a very important reason: they do not belong to any faction or any capital camp, so all parties can cooperate with them and are willing to maintain such a cooperative relationship.

Once Lu Yan He becomes a member of a certain capital camp, then for other camps, they become enemies.

And an enemy that must be hit and eliminated as soon as possible.

Because this enemy looks invincible and cannot be defeated by normal tactics.

"In any case, you personally must not have a deep-level interest alliance with them on the surface." Chen Ziyan reminded.

Lu Yan He nodded in agreement.

At this time, another piece of news came. The Shijin Group acquired Lan Tianqi's "Small Eyes," and Yang Zhouli will go to the Hexi Film Festival in May to buy films.

Yang Zhouli personally called Lu Yan He, inviting Lu Yan He to attend the "Shijin Night" they will hold at the Hexi Film Festival. (End of chapter)