Chapter 726: The Male Lead Can Only Be Yan Liang (8600 words)

For this season of *Young Days*, Lu Yan He still cannot participate in the recording of the entire season.

It is not just him; Li Zhibai and Xiao Yun are the same.

This program is facing the problem that the resident guests are becoming increasingly popular, and their schedules are becoming harder to coordinate.

Li Zhenzhen also has to face a choice: should they change the cast?

If things go on like this, the program will sooner or later come to an end.

However, Li Zhenzhen has chatted with every resident star and can feel that everyone is very willing to continue doing this program.

The difficulty everyone faces is their schedules, the time that is hard to coordinate.

Li Zhenzhen wants to persist a little longer.

It was in this state of mind that she wrote the opening copy for this season:

——They are becoming more and more popular: filming, holding concerts, preparing to release albums.

——Can their stories continue to be told through this program?

——Is it to change the people, reorganize the cast, and film a new story of *Young Days*, or to let this program continue to be filmed in an incomplete form?

——We have had in-depth exchanges with everyone, and the difficulty each of them expressed is the irreconcilable contradiction between the rising stage of their careers and the difficulty of coordinating schedules.

——However, do they still want to continue doing this program?

——They all said, yes.

——This is no longer just a program.

——Six years ago, this program started with a group of young newcomers; over the past six years, one after another, they have become popular.

——They are becoming more and more glamorous, but behind the stage, they are still real.

——Since it is a record, completeness is a kind of record, and incompleteness is too.

——Sometimes, we have to accept an incomplete form; that is every star striving to get closer to the sun and shine brighter.

——Their trajectories are changing, but they are always in the starry sky.

——This season will be the "Visiting Season"—between mountains and seas, old friends reunite; we will be there or be square.

Li Zhenzhen set this theme and invited everyone to record a VCR, combining it with this copy to make a promotional trailer.

Lu Yan He said in the VCR: "None of us want this program to end; this is beyond doubt. It's just that, indeed, we are facing the difficulty of hard-to-match schedules and insufficient time. Everyone is shining in their respective fields, and we are all in perhaps the busiest period of our lives and careers. Therefore, I am especially grateful and moved that the program team could plan such a format and strive to keep the program going."

No one knows what this season of the program will turn out like.

Because it is not a conventional filming method.

However, the fans of the program said: "Just watching them sit at the dinner table talking and chatting, I am very satisfied."

Other fans said: "This program is the only place where I can see them in a state close to their real lives. It really achieved the 'record' mentioned in the first season. Of course, what is being recorded is no longer their cohabitation life, but their friendship. I hope their friendship can last forever."

However, a program absolutely cannot have "living off past glory" as its main content.

If the program cannot continuously attract new audiences, the audience pool will only get smaller and smaller.

For this recording where everyone came to find Lu Yan He, Li Zhibai and Xiao Yun were absent because they were filming *Those Years*, and Liu Zhiyin also had to rush over the next day because she was holding a concert.

The ones who came on the first day were Yan Liang, Qin Zhi, Song Lin Xin, Peng Zhixing, and Su Xiao.

A total of six people.

Because it is the Visiting Season, this season, Li Zhenzhen did not set up any guest appearances—in fact, it was because the program's budget for this season was not enough, and investment attraction had not been smooth so far. Various clients did not know whether the popularity of this new format of the program could be as consistent as before.

During the day, Lu Yan He was filming, so Li Zhenzhen set up outdoor games for the other five people, accumulating points based on their game results, and using the points to exchange for dinner.

The higher the points, the better the dinner.

The lower the points, the worse the dinner.

The theme of this episode is called "Treat Lu Yan He to a Good/Bad Meal."

By the time Lu Yan He finished work in the evening, it was already 7:30.

When he rushed to the restaurant rented by the program team, it was already 8:10.

Everyone was already waiting for him.

His director hurriedly put the microphone on him.

Lu Yan He smiled and said: "Sorry, kept you waiting."

"Oh my, long time no see!" Peng Zhixing came up and gave Lu Yan He a bear hug.

Lu Yan He smiled and greeted everyone.

"You all look very tired. Was there an outdoor game segment during the day today?"

Well-versed in the program production process, he asked with a smile.

"You're right." Everyone nodded.

Peng Zhixing said: "The director team is too much. Tonight's dinner is decided by our game results during the day. If the results are good, we eat well; if the results are bad, we eat poorly."

Lu Yan He immediately reacted and asked: "The director team wouldn't use me as a pretext, would they? For example, treating Lu Yan He to what kind of meal to stimulate you?"

"You guessed it." Song Lin Xin nodded, "As a result, we were worked like donkeys, exhausted to get the results."

Lu Yan He: "Thank you all!"

He smiled, put his hands together, and bowed.

"Oh my, such a big gesture." Peng Zhixing hurriedly pulled Lu Yan He over to sit down.

Although it was dinner, they still had to play games.

"Everyone is already very hungry, why don't we skip the games." Lu Yan He said, touching his stomach, "They are also very hungry."

The others nodded immediately.

Li Zhenzhen said: "Then what about the material for this part? The program needs content."

Lu Yan He said: "It's okay, after we finish eating, I will design a new game for you, I guarantee you will definitely have material. Well, you record the later segments, and I authorize you to play this game."

Lu Yan He has brought many fun little games to *Young Days*.

Hearing him say this, Li Zhenzhen immediately said: "Okay, then it's a deal; you have to design a new game for us later."

Song Lin Xin asked: "What kind of classic game are you going to bring us this time?"

Lu Yan He: "Not classic, but fun."

"Tsk." Song Lin Xin said with a smile, "You should hurry up and register a copyright. Before this program airs, look at the little games you played on the program before; they are now being copied everywhere by various variety shows."

"Let them copy." Lu Yan He shrugged his shoulders, "The originator is sitting here; the eyes of the masses are discerning."

Thus, they had a very relaxed meal.

Everyone sat around a round table.

"I heard that this movie of yours is very difficult to film." Peng Zhixing always automatically took on the responsibility of the host, opened the topic, and said to Lu Yan He, "A month ago, I interviewed Miao Yue—Miao Yue is the screenwriter of *Storm Calmer No. 1* that Yan He is currently filming, and also the screenwriter of *Late Spring*, and Yan He's college classmate. She said that the difficulty of your performance in *Storm Calmer No. 1* far exceeds *Late Spring*."

Lu Yan He pondered for a moment and said: "It's not wrong to say that, but *Late Spring* wasn't easy to film either. *Late Spring* also worked me to death at the time, and I also felt like I was shedding a layer of skin."

"Then it seems *Storm Calmer No. 1* is of epic difficulty." Peng Zhixing said with a smile.

"For me, because I have never acted in such a film or such a character, it is indeed epic difficulty." Lu Yan He said bluntly, "But fortunately, in this crew, although before a scene starts filming, you never know what it will turn out like, it was all filmed in the end."

They were really hungry. While talking and chatting, a full table of dishes was actually finished, completely wiped clean.

Li Zhenzhen was shocked.

You know, for the six of them, there were twelve dishes.

Finished them all?!

However, the atmosphere of them eating was indeed very good.

This group of people has known each other for too long, and in between, they have each experienced many things and many stories have happened. As long as they sit together and chat, almost everything they talk about is topics that the audience will be interested in.

Entertainment industry, celebrities, those private matters that have not been exposed to the public...

Including *Tropical Rainy Season*, which is scheduled for release during the National Day holiday.

This is a topic Li Zhenzhen specifically asked Peng Zhixing to bring up.

When this episode airs, it will be about the time when *Tropical Rainy Season* enters the promotional period and is about to be released.

Li Zhenzhen usually promotes everyone's works in every season of the program.

And it's not that kind of hard promotion.

Peng Zhixing asked: "It is indeed quite rare for the art film *Tropical Rainy Season* to be scheduled for release during the National Day holiday. Why make such a choice?"

Lu Yan He smiled and said: "This was decided by the distribution company, but I think it is quite meaningful for them to do so. Indeed, everyone's first choice is definitely to watch some movies that are more sensory stimulating. *Tropical Rainy Season* is not aiming for the top three at the box office during the National Day holiday. This is a very large window, and it can accommodate more movies. Perhaps out of a hundred viewers who go to the movies, only one wants to watch a film that tells a story quietly, but under the large audience traffic of the National Day holiday, that is also quite considerable."

Peng Zhixing asked: "What expectations do you have for the box office of *Tropical Rainy Season*?"

"Of course, the higher the better." Lu Yan He said, "But it doesn't matter. The film has no pressure to recoup costs. Whether it is the producer or its distributor in China, they have already recouped their costs long ago."

"Really?" Peng Zhixing was very shocked, "Why? Uh, I do know some, but how exactly is it done? Many viewers may not know either."

"In fact, movies do not simply rely on theatrical box office for profit, especially art films. Many people think that art films are highly likely to lose money, but that's not the case." Lu Yan He said, "Take *Tropical Rainy Season* as an example. Although it has not been released yet, as far as I know, it has already sold its domestic online streaming rights, television broadcast rights, as well as additional paid-on-demand, and there is also a business cooperation."

Peng Zhixing asked: "Can most art films do this?"

Lu Yan He shook his head: "Not necessarily. This depends on the distributor's distribution channels, including the degree of market attention the film itself receives. Under normal circumstances, an ordinary art film may only have theatrical box office revenue, copyright revenue from domestic video websites and television stations, plus a sum of overseas distribution revenue."

"Then according to my understanding, art films can only gain greater attention if they have big stars like you starring in them."

"Actually, that's not the case." Lu Yan He shook his head, "In our country, we are a bit overly dependent on theatrical box office and overly dependent on stars. In fact, it is because our domestic film market developed very late, only twenty or thirty years so far, so many revenue channels have not had enough time to develop and form a complete industrial chain."

"Take DVDs, for example. Although streaming media is on the rise now, in our understanding, there are actually not many people buying them. But in Europe and the United States, it has slowly transformed from home entertainment revenue into an expensive collectible for film fans. Just like vinyl records now, although the sales volume is small, after the industrial transformation, the sales price has become the price of collectibles. They have still found new ways to continue the form of discs. For the film side, of course, it is still a considerable income."

"But in China, the DVD market itself has never really been opened up on a large scale. For a period of time, it flourished, but it was piracy. So, speaking of industrial transformation, to be honest, it was never fully established from the beginning, let alone transformed."

Everyone listened to this and nodded.

"In fact, the Chinese market is very large." Lu Yan He finally said, "Many people in this industry now can only copy a successful profit model over and over again, but cannot develop new profit models, leading to very limited profit channels for movies."

"Then what has Linghe done? Does Linghe's movies have other profit models besides what you just mentioned?" Peng Zhixing asked.

This is what he is really curious about.

Lu Yan He smiled at the camera and said: "These are too professional, the program's audience may not want to hear them, you try to cut them out."

After saying this, Lu Yan He introduced them.

"We have made many attempts. For example, business cooperation. Like *Love Letter*, we have carried out business co-branding cooperation with more than a dozen brands such as coffee and retail. Like *Rouge*, in fact, after the large-scale screening ended, we have been doing special viewing activities in various places. Although a single screening only has a box office revenue of tens of thousands of yuan, we can do about more than a hundred screenings a year."

"Not only do we organize it, but Linghe's copyright operation department is also constantly authorizing some activities to play movies. Of course, this is actively negotiated. In the past, people didn't have this awareness."

"Like some cities doing Ghost Festival activities, we will take the initiative to talk about screening *Rouge* in this activity."

"You know, there are a lot of various theme activities like this. The key is whether anyone has the heart to communicate such cooperation and expand the scope of film operations."

"It's also because these movies themselves are very classic." Peng Zhixing said.

Lu Yan He nodded: "Actually, whether they are classic or not is another matter. Now, which film company doesn't have the copyright to some classic films in their hands? But the problem is that the whole industry is chasing the top, only staring at those movies that have sold billions at the box office. Everyone wants to eat a big piece in one go. Everyone may not know what I am saying, but in their eyes, these are all small profits and not worth doing."

"Actually, after listening to this, I think what you said does require a lot of manpower and material resources, and it takes a lot of time." Peng Zhixing said.

Lu Yan He nodded.

"But this is the norm, isn't it?" Lu Yan He said, "Look, *My Own Swordsman* built a Seven Heroes Town in Jiangzhi, specifically invited screenwriters to write new scripts, recruited actors to perform live, and from preparation to official opening, it took several years. They didn't make quick money, and they didn't just intend to use the popularity of this show to make quick money for a year or two. Therefore, they slowly built a reputation, and many people who have been there are praising the sincerity of Jiangzhi."

Lu Yan He smiled, "Actually, I think a very interesting point is, you know many people ask me, why are the movies Linghe makes all such low-budget movies? It seems that Linghe's movies are not incapable of selling big box office, for example, *Love Letter*. You know, many people want me to make *Love Letter 2*."

"I understand why you don't want to make *Love Letter 2*, but I am indeed very puzzled, why doesn't Linghe make big blockbusters?" Peng Zhixing said.

"Because we don't have the strength." Lu Yan He said bluntly, "I don't want Linghe to become a company influenced by others, so this company has no financing and does not accept equity transactions. In fact, this is a very small company, just by chance, it made a few works with very good results. Its essence is still a small company. Making big blockbusters, if it succeeds, of course it's good, but what if it doesn't? What if it loses money? If hundreds of millions are lost in one film, then this company can just close down directly."

The others were thoughtful.

"I don't want to become a fat man in one bite, and I also believe that you should hold as big a bowl as your ability allows, take it step by step, accumulate little by little. The most critical thing is that only if you walk every step solidly will you not fall because you walk too fast."

"This is also why I think Linghe needs to expand its copyright operation scope and income sources as much as possible. Even if it is just a small profit many times, it doesn't matter. One more path, one more precaution."

Lu Yan He's words made everyone fall into deep thought.

This has already exceeded the scope that an artist needs to understand, but it has given them all some inspiration.

Every artist is actually a small company.

They are the core product of this small company.

The industry problems Lu Yan He mentioned are not the same problems they encounter in packaging and operation as celebrity artists.

They have fallen into the same strange circle and also feel a kind of "involutionary" homogeneous marketing.

Also, their career planning and strategies are all aimed at the direction of eating a big piece in one go.

They don't accumulate steps to reach a thousand miles, and they no longer believe in the power of "one point of cultivation, one point of harvest."

Song Lin Xin suddenly sighed.

"I suddenly thought, in the past few years, I have written quite a few songs. In fact, I have fallen into a strange circle. Every time I bring out a new song, if I don't get positive feedback, or the platform data is not very good, I will question myself, become anxious, and then this mood will make me more anxious about the next creation. How many fans will like the work I bring out next time? Is this another self-indulgent creation of mine?"

Su Xiao asked in surprise: "Your songs are already very popular, do you still think so?"

Song Lin Xin nodded and turned to look at Qin Zhi.

"Do you?"

Qin Zhi shook his head, "I don't care about other people's evaluations; I only write the songs I want to write."

"You also won't be anxious because the songs you write have poor feedback?" Song Lin Xin asked.

Qin Zhi: "No, it's already more popular than I expected. I don't want to be this popular."

"..." Song Lin Xin was a bit at a loss for what to say to Qin Zhi.

Yan Liang smiled.

"Qin Zhi has never wanted to be very popular since he debuted. You are looking for resonance from him; you found the wrong person."

Song Lin Xin: "I thought he changed his mind."

Since his debut, Qin Zhi has been a singer who only wants to make music.

Except for *Young Days*, his work is basically all related to music.

Moreover, he is also very awesome. In the current era where film and television OSTs are so popular, he almost never takes OSTs.

Song Lin Xin is a singer like him, but their paths are very different.

Song Lin Xin is still on a more mainstream and popular route, while Qin Zhi takes a more niche, independent, and non-traditional celebrity route.

Mainly because Qin Zhi's family is too rich; he has no pressure to survive, and entering the entertainment industry is purely for his dreams.

Song Lin Xin immediately said: "Then when you go back to record the program *Chinese Good Songs*, can you understand the mood of those students who want to be popular, want to make money, and want to change their lives?"

Qin Zhi asked back: "Why should I understand? I just need to help them create better songs."

Song Lin Xin was speechless for a moment because she found that Qin Zhi was right.

She had nothing to say.

Every time he records *Young Days*, Lu Yan He feels that people are really too different from each other.

Even people who seem to have similar personalities have vastly different differences in the end.

However, people who are vastly different will also have commonalities.

Among this group of people in *Young Days*, the commonality Lu Yan He feels is that they all have a bit of "idealism."

Everyone still retains some non-secular things.

Moreover, the most important point is that so far, everyone is still willing to regard the connection between them—the program *Young Days*—as an important existence and strive to maintain it.

Recording to the sixth season, everyone has almost let go of their defenses to the greatest extent during the recording process of this program, not caring about the camera.

This is the trust they have slowly cultivated with the program team.

Even if they say a wrong word or two, during the editing process, Li Zhenzhen will cut out those words that might cause controversy instead of keeping them in the main feature.

The program must be very protective of them. This is also the tone of the program; even when there are quarrels, it must try its best to present multiple perspectives instead of maliciously favoring one side to create topics.

Therefore, Lu Yan He still likes to record *Young Days* so much now because everyone doesn't really pretend.

It is equivalent to a group of people who have known each other for a long time having the opportunity to sit together, chat about recent situations, and play games.

After dinner, they went back to where they lived together, washed up and rested, and changed from a variety show mode to a "reality show" mode.

After entering the house, the people from the program team would disappear from their sight.

Everything is led by themselves.

Lu Yan He and Yan Liang sat in the same car.

They made a video call to Li Zhibai in the car.

"You guys met up?" Li Zhibai asked.

"Yeah." Lu Yan He nodded, and after nodding, he couldn't help but yawn.

"Why do you all look so exhausted?" Li Zhibai asked with a smile.

He was full of energy.

"I filmed all day, and Yan Liang ran outside all day, recording the program, and it was outdoor recording." Lu Yan He explained, "Just finished dinner, full, and feeling sleepy."

"How is it over there?" Yan Liang asked with a smile.

Li Zhibai: "Filming, almost finished. When is Yan He finishing?"

"Should be around the end of September."

"Then I must have finished by then." Li Zhibai asked, "Yan Liang, when are you joining the crew for your next play?"

"Just waiting to film *Friends*." Yan Liang said, "Other plays have to start next year."

"Happy." Li Zhibai envied, "Then you can have a good rest."

Yan Liang: "I would like to have a good rest, but the problem is I can't. Recording programs, filming commercials, and there are several business trips; no rest."

"Tossing around in the middle, you can still rest from time to time." Li Zhibai said.

Yan Liang: "It's much better compared to you two."

After chatting for a while, they hung up the video call.

Yan Liang said: "Why did Li Zhibai shave his head in the movie?"

Lu Yan He suddenly reacted: "Ah, this place... Sister Zhenzhen, Li Zhibai's look cannot be exposed on the program. If it is broadcast, remember to blur Li Zhibai's hairstyle. The buzz cut Yan Liang just mentioned cannot be broadcast either."

The director in the car gave them an OK gesture, indicating that the words would be brought up.

"Is it a key plot in the movie?" Yan Liang asked.

Lu Yan He nodded.

Yan Liang: "Haha, okay."

Lu Yan He: "By the way, you just said you have been very busy lately, so are you doing your action training?"

Yan Liang directly stretched out his arm.

"You touch it."

Lu Yan He squeezed it.

Damn.

Very hard muscles.

Lu Yan He looked at Yan Liang in surprise.

A look of pride flashed in Yan Liang's eyes.

"I haven't slacked off for a single day." Yan Liang said, "The teacher who leads me even said I can go take the exam for a certificate."

Lu Yan He: "So awesome."

Yan Liang nodded.

Lu Yan He: "Okay, then I'm convinced, you are amazing."

Yan Liang: "Is there any movement on the movie you told me about before?"

"Yes, I have had preliminary contact with several companies in Hollywood. They are all quite interested in this script, but they have some concerns about letting a Chinese face star in a Hollywood action movie. Although the cost of this movie will not be very high, it is not like *Buried*, which is experimental in nature. In the current mainstream market, there is basically no precedent for a Chinese face to take on a mainstream American action movie." Lu Yan He said.

Yan Liang heard this, "Then should I continue to prepare for this film?"

"Of course." Lu Yan He nodded, "This script was written for you. If they don't agree to let you star, I will raise the investment to film it myself."

Yan Liang: "Damn, how much pressure will I have then."

"What pressure? I don't do things I'm not sure about. This movie will definitely succeed." Lu Yan He said confidently, "If they are not willing to do it, it's their loss."

Yan Liang gasped.

Lu Yan He smiled, "Besides, I have already found the heroine."

"Hmm?" Yan Liang was stunned.

The heroine Lu Yan He found for *Speed* is Lily Williams, the heroine who worked with him on *The Mist*.

As a quasi-first-tier actress in Hollywood, Lily Williams is another actor who benefited from the movie *The Mist*.

She was already well-known in the United States, and after this movie, her career also reached a new level.

Lu Yan He has always maintained a good relationship with her, so when Lu Yan He was considering the movie *Speed*, the first person he thought of was her.

He also immediately communicated this project with her and asked about her intentions.

After Lily Williams read the script, she agreed immediately.

"I thought it was another vase-like heroine."

Lily Williams said in surprise on the phone: "But you actually wrote such a charming heroine in a movie of this subject matter."

This is actually a strong feeling Lu Yan He had when reading the original work. Unlike typical male action movies like "007" and "Mission Impossible," although *Speed* is also a complete male-perspective action movie, because of the background of the story, the heroine played by Sandra Bullock got rid of the shackles of "tool person" and "sexy vase," and her presence in the movie is almost as strong as Keanu Reeves.

Lily Williams said: "Are you playing the male lead?"

The male lead in the script is written as a Chinese-American, so Lily naturally thought this was a role Lu Yan He prepared for himself.

Lu Yan He said: "No, I can't play this role with my figure. I plan to let Yan Liang play it. He has acted in *Friends* and *Gold Rush*."

"Oh, him!"

At this time, the benefits of having representative works are shown.

At least when mentioning him, others know him.

"Yes, I insist on letting Yan Liang star in this movie."

When communicating with Zebby Doyle of Parameter about the movie *Speed* again, the two had another dispute over the choice of the male lead.

Zebby Doyle said: "Lu, I don't have an opinion on choosing a Chinese actor to be the male lead, but Yan Liang is a TV actor. He has almost no fame in the United States. Letting him star will not help the movie at all."

Lu Yan He: "He is suitable. Zebby, when I was writing the script, I wrote it according to his image. Moreover, I have already found Lily Williams for the heroine of this movie. The combination of the two of them is the male and female lead most suitable for my script."

Zebby Doyle: "If you were starring in this role, I would have absolutely no opinion."

"Zebby, if you are worried that Yan Liang's popularity is not enough to star in the male lead and the risk is relatively high, I can be responsible for the main production budget of this movie." Lu Yan He said, "As long as you can be responsible for the large-scale global theatrical distribution."

What Lu Yan He values is Parameter's global distribution capability.

This movie must be released in theaters.

Back then, a movie with a production budget of 30 million US dollars swept over 300 million US dollars at the global box office, making Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock famous overnight.

It is a movie very suitable for watching in a cinema.

It is also a very rare movie that can have a good love story in an action movie.

Zebby Doyle was very helpless.

Lu Yan He's support for Yan Liang in this movie gave him a headache.

"Of course, you can wait a little longer." Lu Yan He said, "After the movie *Buried* is released, you will know why I said you can trust me."

Zebby Doyle: "Lu, I don't need *Buried* to be released to trust you."

"No, Zebby, you didn't understand what I meant. Li Zhibai has no fame in Europe and the United States, and his popularity is not even as good as Yan Liang's, but I can tell you that as long as you do *Buried* according to the distribution scale you promised me before, the box office of this movie will definitely exceed 10 million US dollars." Lu Yan He's tone was very firm.

The production cost of *Buried* does not exceed 1.5 million US dollars, even if the later promotional costs are added, it will not exceed 3 million US dollars.

If the box office of *Buried* in North America exceeds 10 million US dollars, plus overseas markets and other income, this will be a very classic case of using a small amount to win a big one.

The 10 million US dollars Lu Yan He said is even on the low side.

He said: "Zebby, the male lead of *Speed* can only be Yan Liang."