Chapter 716: Promotion Director (6400 words)

Yan He.

The other male lead of *Storm Calmer No. 1*.

The senior who requested that Lu Yanhe join the cast and have breakfast with him every morning.

One of the ceilings of living male actors in China.

Lu Yanhe replied: "Very well, Mr. Yan, when are you free?"

Yan He debuted very early, in the eighties. In that era when film had not yet been marketized, he was already a popular young actor, famous throughout the country.

While having popularity and name recognition, he had representative works and iconic roles. Entering the twenty-first century, he starred in two more television dramas that were so popular that everyone on the streets was watching them, which instantly cemented his status in the industry.

In the twenty years since, as a film association representative and an industry model, any production crew that could invite him out of retirement was considered to have "heaven-reaching connections," and having him in a work became the work's honor.

Such an actor, even in the era of traffic, capital, and hot money, had his status shaken by no one.

This was also what Lu Yanhe lacked at his current stage, no matter how many honors he received—

The witness of an era, the baptism of time.

Lu Yanhe did not know what kind of person Yan He really was.

He truly had never interacted with him.

He was already a person who disliked attending events, and Yan He was even more so.

Lu Yanhe found some of his interviews and reports online, vaguely sketching out a rough impression.

An intellectual, a person with principles and artistic integrity.

Throughout his past acting career, there were many stories about him and younger actors.

It was unavoidable that there were also scandalous rumors.

True or false, no one knew.

Fortunately, the stories that circulated were mostly positive. The younger actors he had worked with were basically all praising the tangible help he provided—

All with specific examples.

How to judge whether someone's praise for another is just for show or truly heartfelt gratitude depends on whether they use generic terms or speak with substance and purpose.

The more Lu Yanhe learned about Yan He, the more curious he became about this actor who carried a bit of legend about him.

He had no international fame, unlike Chen Pinhe, Shang Yongzhou, and Lu Yanhe, who had been on the international stage and had overseas Best Actor trophies to their names.

But whether in the former era of "worshipping foreign things" or the current era of advocating for "virtue and art," this actor, who had neither international fame nor particularly outstanding "personal virtue," had always been firmly pushed by the entire industry to the position of a "leader," and this had not changed for so many years.

Lu Yanhe working with him, in the eyes of the industry, would certainly benefit Lu Yanhe.

This had nothing to do with strength; it had to do with cultural background.

For thousands of years in China, it had always been like this.

No matter how strong a young person is, they are ultimately a young person.

The seat of the Martial Arts Alliance Leader is certainly not for those young heroes to sit in.

Lu Yanhe went to Yan He's home politely—

This was Yan He's suggestion, to have lunch at his house together.

Yan He lived in the most high-end residential area in Yuming—Yulong Villa.

A detached villa with a courtyard, surrounded by well-arranged woods, with sunlight spilling down, the scenery was picturesque.

Houses here could not be bought for eight figures.

Yan He was wearing casual clothes and welcomed him into the door with a smile.

"Little Lu."

Lu Yanhe greeted him politely, "Mr. Yan."

Yan He was in his early sixties, but he was well-maintained and his age did not show.

The media often said that he was the most suitable actor among China's older generation to play an intellectual.

A doubt had been circling in Lu Yanhe's mind: why would such an actor make the request to have breakfast with him every day?

He believed this was not Yan He trying to deliberately torment him.

Then why? To help them get into character later? That wasn't it either. He and Yan He were not in an antagonistic relationship in the play; there was no need to increase his hatred and rejection of Yan He through this method.

Yan He's wife was named Yuan Zixing, elegant, gentle, and kind.

She gave Lu Yanhe a sense of propriety typical of traditional highly educated women.

After greeting him, she left the living room to go to the kitchen to help the housekeeper prepare lunch.

This was what Yan He said, to have lunch at his house at noon.

Lu Yanhe was a bit reserved because they were not familiar, and there was no one they both knew to act as a bridge.

Actually, it would have been better if Liu Bige had come today.

Lu Yanhe thought to himself.

Yan He said, "Am I that scary?"

Lu Yanhe was stunned.

Yan He raised his hand to point at him and said, "From the first moment you saw me, you have been very reserved, making me think you were a newcomer who had just debuted and just started acting."

Lu Yanhe said, "In front of you, am I not just a newcomer who hasn't debuted for long?"

"A newcomer wouldn't be as introverted as you after winning Best Actor at the Xitu'er International Film Festival." Yan He chuckled slightly, "Back then, after Chen Pinhe won Best Actor at Xitu'er, his limelight was much greater than yours."

Lu Yanhe was a bit surprised.

First, he was surprised that he mentioned Chen Pinhe, and second, he was surprised that he would directly mention something that was not so glorious for Chen Pinhe to his face.

"I—"

"I have been observing you for a long time." Yan He said suddenly.

Lu Yanhe looked at him in surprise.

"It has been a long time since the country produced an actor like you, a 'heaven-sent purple star'." Yan He said, "Actually, you and those two friends of yours are all quite good."

"Li Zhibai and Yan Liang?"

Yan He nodded.

"I am quite curious, you are fully qualified to be more arrogant, but your personality seems to be one that cannot be arrogant." He scrutinized Lu Yanhe, "However, if you say you are a person focused on creation, you are very practical; many of your actions are entirely for the pursuit of a practical result."

Lu Yanhe curled his lips slightly.

He said, "Actually, I am quite prone to arrogance."

Yan He still scrutinized him and asked, "Do you think the arrogance you speak of is the same thing as the arrogance I speak of?"

A gust of wind seemed to pass through Lu Yanhe's heart.

His heart, which had just relaxed a little, tightened again.

In the gaze Yan He directed at him, there was a complex, investigative meaning.

There was even a hint of suggestion.

But Lu Yanhe did not know what this was.

"What is Mr. Yan talking about?" he asked.

Yan He picked up the teapot and refilled Lu Yanhe's cup.

"Drink some tea."

"Little Lu, when do you and your girlfriend plan to get married?"

At the dining table, Yuan Zixing asked with a kind smile and a concerned tone.

"It's in the planning stages." Lu Yanhe used a universal answer, "The specific time hasn't been set yet."

"You two have walked together from your childhood sweetheart student days; it is truly an enviable love." Yuan Zixing said, then glanced at Yan He, "Next time, you must bring her along."

Lu Yanhe nodded properly and said okay.

At the dining table, the person leading the conversation changed from Yan He to Yuan Zixing.

What didn't change was Lu Yanhe being the one answering the questions.

Because the other party's seniority was too high, Lu Yanhe could not truly relax no matter what.

Even though Yan He and Yuan Zixing never acted dignified, arrogant, or even high and mighty.

This feeling made Lu Yanhe very uncomfortable.

He felt very uneasy in his heart, but he couldn't say it out loud.

An extremely subtle sense of restlessness gradually emerged from his heart.

At the same time, Chen Ziyan was having lunch with Shang Yongzhou.

When mentioning that Lu Yanhe was about to cooperate with Yan He, Shang Yongzhou showed an extremely complex expression.

"You have worked with him, right?" Chen Ziyan asked.

"Yes." Shang Yongzhou nodded, "Worked with him once, a memory I will never forget."

Chen Ziyan looked at him in surprise.

"Your cooperation with him was already when you finished working with me; at that time, you had already been acting for many years and were also a Best Actor. Listening to you, how come the cooperation wasn't very pleasant?"

"Can't say unpleasant." Shang Yongzhou shook his head immediately, "But can't say pleasant either. I can only say, he is a very—let's put it this way, no matter who you are, he seems to respect who you are, but in fact, he has always been trying to guide you."

"Guide you?"

"Yes." Shang Yongzhou said, "Ordinary acting maniacs are crazy about themselves; his uniqueness lies in the fact that he is even unconsciously forcing you to shape your performance according to his expectations through a powerful mental pressure, and many people don't know it, and many even feel that acting with him allows them to get into character more easily and give better performances."

"That's because their own acting quality is not high enough; under Yan He's guidance, they are instead able to reach a height." Chen Ziyan said immediately, "But for an actor like you, it will be very painful."

"Yes." Shang Yongzhou nodded, "But you still can't say anything, because he will never explicitly tell you what he wants you to do. I said, I even feel he is unconscious. When you don't meet his expectations, many of his subconscious reactions and the mental pressure he gives make you reflect on yourself involuntarily, and instead, you want to compromise. Then, starting from the compromise, you involuntarily turn the steering wheel in his direction."

Being able to do this is, of course, because Yan He himself has very powerful strength, even strong enough that he can take his opponent actor and raise the performance by a level.

However, for actors like Shang Yongzhou and Lu Yanhe, this is not necessarily a good thing.

They need good stimulation and reactions from their opponent actors, not a repressive form of guidance.

In the story of *Storm Calmer No. 1*, Yan He plays the deputy station chief of an intelligence station, and Lu Yanhe plays someone working at the intelligence station.

One day, Lu Yanhe receives a secret mission, which is actually to monitor the deputy station chief, because there is evidence showing that the deputy station chief is suspected of being a spy.

The movie tells a story with this background.

These two characters seem to be in an antagonistic relationship. In fact, in the script, they are not in an antagonistic mode most of the time.

Lu Yanhe's monitoring is not public; only he knows. On one hand, he monitors Yan He, and on the other hand, he also bears great mental pressure. The mental pressure is dual; there is the pressure of monitoring, and also the pressure of being discovered while monitoring. No matter how anxious or uneasy he is inside, he cannot let Yan He see it.

Lu Yanhe thought to himself, this feeling is probably just like his current state.

Clearly, the feeling Yan He gave him was not very good, even making him feel uncomfortable, but he still had to cover it up completely and not let anyone see it.

Until he left Yan He's house, he let out a long sigh.

Just like a drowning person finally climbing onto the shore.

He got into the car and called Chen Ziyan immediately.

"The pressure he gave me was too strong." Lu Yanhe said, "I can't even tell you where the pressure came from."

Chen Ziyan: "I just had lunch with Shang Yongzhou; he once worked with Yan He, and he mentioned it to me too."

"What did he say?"

Chen Ziyan then told Lu Yanhe what Shang Yongzhou had said to her.

Lu Yanhe really hadn't felt pressure regarding acting for a long time.

But the current situation made him worried.

"So, it's possible that he met me today not only to pave the way for filming, but also because he already had ideas about how to act in this movie, so he was guiding me into the character?"

"It's possible." Chen Ziyan said, "Listening to what you just said, isn't it very similar to the relationship between your character and his in *Storm Calmer No. 1*?"

Lu Yanhe fell silent.

After a while, he said, "If he thinks he can guide me to act according to his ideas this way, then he thinks too simply of me."

Chen Ziyan: "Regardless, since Yan He can stimulate your real emotions, then make good use of this emotion."

Lu Yanhe responded.

"It's a bit magical; I really don't know how he did it. Why did he make me produce such a strong sense of resistance and rejection toward him in just the time of a lunch, even though he didn't actually say or do anything?"

Chen Ziyan: "Whether he is deliberately shaping such a relationship between you and him for the later filming, making you produce corresponding emotions, anyway, he has made his move; it depends on how you respond."

Lu Yanhe: "How can I respond? I can only push back quietly—"

In an instant, a thought flashed through Lu Yanhe's mind like lightning.

—Isn't this exactly his attitude toward Yan He in the movie?

Treating a traitor, having hatred, confusion, and anger in his heart, while having to restrain and endure on the surface, keeping everything as usual so as not to alert the enemy, so the base color of his performance is to be quiet.

Another question followed.

Is this a state that Yan He hopes he will present?

Lu Yanhe fell into shock and silence.

Liu Bige's worry surfaced again:

I'm worried you'll get trapped in it.

Is he worried about "you," or "you facing Yan He"?

After Lu Yanhe went back, he tossed and turned, constantly recalling the scene of meeting Yan He, pondering, pondering repeatedly.

He clearly realized that he had been "guided."

His current emotions and state must be what Yan He hoped to see.

This made him even more angry and restless.

However, the more angry and restless he was, the more successful Yan He's methods were.

So infuriating.

In the scorching July, the temperature was like it wanted to roast people.

*Burning Fire* held a very grand premiere.

Nowadays, Chinese films rarely hold premieres before being released in the country; this is the way of European and American films.

However, Long Yan did it for *Burning Fire*.

Because *Burning Fire* had an all-star cast, because *Burning Fire* needed overwhelming publicity, if they didn't hold a premiere, they would have to hold a media meeting.

The premiere had a red carpet.

Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi attended together.

This was the first commercial blockbuster he starred in, and it received much attention.

Previously at the Hexi Film Festival, this movie received many good reviews from international media, which gave Long Yan the confidence to hold such a premiere before the release.

A blockbuster should use the promotional specifications of a blockbuster, using all kinds of methods to tell everyone:

This movie is very good.

This was Long Yan's promotional strategy.

Before the release, use the all-star cast to push popularity, and use the special effects blockbuster as the basic foundation.

Lu Yanhe and everyone watched the movie *Burning Fire* together again.

The special effects scenes of the movie still made Lu Yanhe feel amazed.

The production cost of several hundred million was truly invested in it.

Long Yan directly used the promotional specifications of Spring Festival films to do *Burning Fire*.

Not only that, at the premiere, Long Yan also announced that *Burning Fire* would be released simultaneously in nine markets: North America, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Australia, stunning the media present.

*Burning Fire* went to the Hexi Film Festival to sell the film, and it was truly sold successfully.

As the biggest selling point of the film overseas, Lu Yanhe had previously cooperated with distributors in various places, recording VCRs and shooting some promotional materials.

Using a series of operations to push the attention and topic of *Burning Fire* to the peak, the day before the release of *Burning Fire*, the first-day box office pre-sale exceeded 40 million.

On the first day of release, the box office broke 100 million without surprise.

Afterwards, the special effects of *Burning Fire* sparked heated discussions on social media.

The marketing team of *Jump Up* began to push "the adaptability of the top-level acting contributed by the two Best Actors and the best special effects in the history of Chinese film."

This was the promotional purpose set by Long Yan; three days after the release, the core focus of the promotion had to be changed from stars to special effects.

Long Yan had been making commercial blockbusters for so many years and understood the market very well, especially the Chinese market.

Sure enough, stars could make a huge contribution to topic and popularity, but for the conversion rate of the box office, special effects were more effective.

Now is not an era where everyone goes to see what movies are released when they have nothing to do; now is an era where everyone will walk into the cinema to see if there is a good movie being released that is very worth watching.

Therefore, all publicity must revolve around the word "worth it."

When the box office of *Burning Fire* exceeded 500 million after three days of release, the *Jump Up* marketing team timely made the topic of "the box office performance of Lu Yanhe's first starring commercial film," using the box office performance to argue that the movie was good.

In addition, it also included topics such as "the reason why Shang Yongzhou accepted *Burning Fire*" and "why stars are willing to appear in *Burning Fire*," all of which were used to argue for the quality of the movie itself by playing the star card.

And after the first weekend ended, the box office results in the nine overseas markets also came out.

350 cinemas in North America took 1.7 million dollars at the box office (Lu Yanhe felt it was a pity; in the end, Long Yan still sold it to Green Valley at a higher distribution price for safety, so Green Valley only negotiated 350 cinemas for release).

Besides that, in other markets, the box office for the first weekend performed well; added together, the first weekend box office exceeded 10 million dollars.

Especially in the South Korean market, the first weekend box office result of 1.9 million dollars was even higher than two new local films in South Korea, ranking second.

Long Yan's promotional team was not a pushover; they keenly sensed that many people in the country had very positive feedback when mentioning this overseas box office result, and immediately, everyone began to use this overseas box office performance to promote the overseas achievements of *Burning Fire*.

By Monday, although it was a working day, with the blessing of the summer vacation, the box office of *Burning Fire* still took 95 million, and by Tuesday, it returned to 103 million, a reverse decline.

In box office forecasting agencies, the box office forecast for *Burning Fire* jumped from 1.2 billion to 2 billion.

Long Yan hoped to strike while the iron was hot, wanting to increase the number of roadshow sessions and arrange for actors to go on shows to maintain such promotional heat.

Lu Yanhe, however, did not participate in a single one after completing the promotional tasks agreed upon in his contract.

Back at the Hexi Film Festival, because of the accumulation of a few small things, a conflict and discord occurred between Lu Yanhe and Long Yan, which was not resolved at the time.

This did not mean he didn't remember.

Mrs. Huang called personally.

Lu Yanhe didn't beat around the bush with her and said, "Back in Hexi, I think I already stated it very clearly."

Mrs. Huang said, "Yanhe, the previous things were indeed done wrong by the people below, I am very sorry, but *Burning Fire* has such good momentum now, the box office might even exceed 3 billion, it is the time we need you most. If there are any problems, let's talk after the movie's promotion is finished, okay? I will definitely not treat you unfairly."

Lu Yanhe: "Even if you had called me a week earlier, I would have agreed now."

He hung up the phone directly.

During the roadshow process of *Burning Fire*, because Lu Yanhe had not appeared, at one of the middle stops, the media on the scene asked: "Why hasn't Lu Yanhe participated in the promotion since the premiere?"

The director and Shang Yongzhou and the others didn't speak.

They knew the reason, but of course, they couldn't say it.

It was Mrs. Huang who smiled and raised the microphone to explain: "Yanhe is about to join the cast to shoot another movie for our company, and he is preparing for it. The roadshow is very hard, so he will not participate for the time being."

The entire production crew's promotion refused to reveal even a little bit of the fact that there was an unresolved conflict between Lu Yanhe and Long Yan.

Mrs. Huang also issued a gag order.

During the roadshow process, the second question everyone cared about most was the sequel.

It was obvious that *Burning Fire* was going to have a sequel.

Mrs. Huang said: "As long as the results of the first one are good, our sequel will definitely be filmed."

The box office results of *Burning Fire* were indeed good.

In the first week of release, the box office exceeded 900 million.

The goal of 2 billion was looking like a sure thing.

All the participating actors were actively forwarding the movie's promotional materials and box office celebration posters, except for Lu Yanhe, who, after the premiere, had not appeared in the promotional itinerary again, except for an interview program that went online to cooperate with the promotion.

Even if Lu Yanhe was busy, did he not even have time to post on Weibo?

Gradually, some voices appeared on the internet about Lu Yanhe not cooperating with the promotion of *Burning Fire*.

*Burning Fire* now had many fans.

They all ran under Lu Yanhe's Weibo to ask him why he was unwilling to promote *Burning Fire*.

Lu Yanhe did not respond.

Another day passed, and suddenly, news appeared on the internet about Lu Yanhe being dissatisfied with Shang Yongzhou being the first lead, and Shang Yongzhou's salary being higher than his, so he did not cooperate with the promotion of *Burning Fire*.

Once this news appeared, major marketing accounts followed and brushed it overwhelmingly.

Chen Ziyan went online and posted a picture with a huge "Fake" written on it.

However, besides that, she didn't make any other explanations.

On the day the box office of *Burning Fire* exceeded 2 billion, a picture circulated on the internet.

Long Yan's promotion director Zhang Yang posted a WeChat Moments post, celebrating the box office of *Burning Fire* exceeding 2 billion, and at the same time, wrote a sentence: Many people are asking me why so-and-so didn't participate in the subsequent promotion. In fact, everyone has seen the result; whether so-and-so participates or not does not affect the box office, right?

After this screenshot circulated on the internet, it was interpreted by many: this so-and-so, it looks like Lu Yanhe.

Not long after, Zhang Yang posted another WeChat Moments post: What I clearly said was that someone in our promotional team "fled before the battle," how did it become Lu Yanhe? Can you stop putting hats on people blindly? ===== CHAPTER 717 =====