Chapter 789: Calculations

"Senior Brother, will you accompany me to attend this screening exchange event?"

Lu Yanhe called Shang Yongzhou, inviting him to go to the United States together.

Upon hearing this, Shang Yongzhou did not hesitate and immediately nodded in agreement.

"Will you still participate in the roadshow for 'Burning Fire 2' afterward?" Shang Yongzhou asked.

"According to the contract with Long Yan, I will attend two more sessions," Lu Yanhe said. "Long Yan has not yet confirmed which two sessions they want me to attend."

Shang Yongzhou said, "The current box office trend is very good; are they perhaps waiting until the box office is about to reach a turning point before having you participate in the roadshow to stimulate it?"

"I don't know what they are thinking; let them do as they please," Lu Yanhe said. "Actually, whether I participate in the roadshow or not makes little difference. Anyway, those who should be promoted to, those who should know about this film, and those who will watch it have already done so. As for the sinking markets that general film promotion methods cannot reach, no matter how many roadshows I attend, the promotional content still cannot reach them."

Shang Yongzhou nodded.

"Yes, now that I am participating in the roadshow, I actually feel that running ten or twenty sessions yields roughly the same effect as running just a few," Shang Yongzhou said. "Especially for 'Burning Fire 2'; many of the topics fermenting and spreading at the roadshow scenes are actually scripted. The audience members asking questions are arranged in advance by the production and distribution parties; it is quite helpless."

"The roadshow is also for dissemination on social media."

"That is true."

"But this is simply how film promotion works nowadays," Lu Yanhe said. "We can only accept it and cooperate."

Shang Yongzhou nodded.

"It doesn't matter; as long as the film's final results are good, running a few extra roadshows is fine."

"Yes."

Indeed, even for an actor like Shang Yongzhou, who is already considered relatively laid-back, the film's results still matter.

A film shot with earnestness and hardship is always hoped to bear good fruit.

The outcome of a film cares nothing for the process.

Good or bad, only this result remains attached to you.

Lu Yanhe took a deep breath.

"Senior Brother, I want to give 'Burning Fire 2' a push," Lu Yanhe said. "Even if Long Yan has no confidence in this film's global box office, I still want to push it. This is a film that can represent the level of China's film industry, and I hope it becomes our representative work."

Shang Yongzhou said, "Good. Just tell me what you need me to do, and I will cooperate with all my strength."

"Fortunately, you acted in 'Burning Fire' with me," Lu Yanhe said with a smile.

Lu Yanhe specifically sent a message to Huang Zhongjing, telling him that he would hold a screening exchange event for 'Burning Fire 2' in the United States to promote the film.

Huang Zhongjing immediately

called to express his gratitude to Lu Yanhe.

At this point in time, holding a screening exchange event in the United States would also radiate back to the domestic market.

This was not a promotional activity arranged by Long Yan; it was equivalent to Lu Yanhe using his own resources to do it.

Naturally, Huang Zhongjing had to express his thanks.

Huang Zhongjing then said, "Yan He, this time our overseas distribution for 'Burning Fire 2' was negotiated one by one, but Green Valley is still keeping the distribution terms for 'Burning Fire 2' in North America very low—"

"This is due to the simultaneous release of 'Home Alone 3'; I spoke with him on the phone earlier, and he told me the same," Lu Yanhe said. "This situation arose only because we rushed to achieve the global simultaneous release of 'Burning Fire 2'."

Huang Zhongjing said, "Yes."

"I still want to make an effort," Lu Yanhe said. "Including releases in other overseas regions; if there are relevant arrangements requiring my presence, have the person in charge coordinate with my team. If the timing works, I will participate."

Huang Zhongjing agreed.

He then said, "I thought you didn't want to participate in the promotion of 'Burning Fire 2'."

"I just don't want to act out scripts at your roadshow events," Lu Yanhe said somewhat helplessly. "Of course, I admit it's also because I'm lazy; running session after session is exhausting."

Huang Zhongjing laughed.

Lu Yanhe said, "Furthermore, it is because 'Burning Fire 2' has performed very well at the domestic box office, so whether I participate in the roadshow or not seems to make little difference."

"How could it make little difference? Your very existence is the significance."

"Oh my, Huang Zong, your words are giving me goosebumps," Lu Yanhe complained.

Huang Zhongjing laughed even louder.

During the second weekend of 'Burning Fire 2's release in North America, Lu Yanhe and Shang Yongzhou held a screening exchange event in New York.

At the event, Lu Yanhe invited Muken Zorge and Anna White onto the stage for a dialogue.

Lily Williams and Ivan Paterson, the male lead of 'Godless,' also attended this special screening event.

After this screening exchange event, Lu Yanhe also dragged Will Holanchi, the male lead currently busy with publicity activities for 'Get Out,' to conduct an online exchange event regarding the filming of fantasy movies—an event hosted by Tom Wine, a film critic with whom Lu Yanhe shares a considerable friendship.

These two promotional activities at least helped 'Burning Fire 2' gain some exposure and attention.

Subsequently, Lu Yanhe and Shang Yongzhou traveled to France to participate in a live broadcast program on French television to promote the film.

As a condition of the exchange, Lu Yanhe would also answer three questions about 'Get Out' on this program.

It was precisely through such methods that 'Burning Fire 2' was

gradually attracting more viewers to watch the film.

They had made efforts; the results were not negligible, but they were not much better either.

Lu Yanhe was indeed a major star now, yet even a major star within this vast film distribution system could not swim against the tide and easily change the situation.

However, just as Chen Ziyan had said, for the sake of this film, at least he had worked hard and done his best.

Two weeks after its release, 'Home Alone 3' surpassed 400 million USD in global box office; seemingly not far from the second installment's 700 million, there was still hope of achieving 700 million USD again in the end.

However, 'Burning Fire 2' was not faring well. Two weeks after its release, although its box office in China exceeded 300 million USD, its overseas box office was a mere twenty-something million USD, and in North America, it had barely surpassed ten million USD.

This box office performance was actually considered satisfactory by all the various distributors and channel operators.

Even Long Yan felt that achieving over twenty million USD in box office across six overseas markets was already quite good.

South Korea and Japan, the two overseas markets where the first installment earned several million USD, had not yet released the film.

Lu Yanhe, however, was dissatisfied.

Only he himself was dissatisfied.

This even left him somewhat deflated.

When everyone around him felt this result was already pretty good, why did he have to be dissatisfied at this moment?

Why couldn't he just be someone who celebrated the good result together with everyone else?

Lu Yanhe sighed.

And right at this moment, this year's Academy Awards ceremony was also about to begin.

"Get Out" was the hot favorite.

Lu Yanhe, in the Best Original Screenplay category, was even more the clear frontrunner.

Over the past two weeks, every winner in this category had been "Get Out."

Basically, it could be said that Lu Yanhe taking this award was a foregone conclusion.

D19 had already started warming up the audience for Lu Yanhe in advance.

Come to think of it, this was the second Academy Awards nomination D19 had PR'd for Lu Yanhe.

If he won, it would be the first Academy Awards trophy D19 had PR'd for Lu Yanhe.

"You're definitely going to win." Even Murken Zolger had told Lu Yanhe, "Your screenplay—everyone I run into is praising it."

They had already walked the red carpet and were chatting backstage.

The crowded backstage was completely different from the orderly front-of-house seen on TV.

Almost every person who passed them would say, "Good luck."

Today, both of them had individual nominations. One was for Best Original Screenplay, and the

other was for Best Director. Judging from "Get Out"'s momentum this year, what the final outcome would be was really hard to say. The social discussion this film had sparked was too big, too heated—under such a wave, any kind of result was possible.

Lu Yanhe said to Murken Zolger with a smile: "I also hope to win an award—let's see if winning tonight can give 'Burn Fire 2''s box office another push forward."

Murken Zolger said: "Actually, 'Burn Fire 2' could have been entered for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects."

"Nobody thought of that at all." Lu Yanhe shook his head. "Forget it, there's no point talking about it now."

"But Yanhe, for my next film, I'm quite keen to ask that friend of yours to act in it."

"Friend? Which friend?"

"Li Zhibai," Murken Zolger said. "He resembles a character I've written very closely—the vibe is very similar."

"Of course that's fine. Do you have his contact info?"

"I'm planning to make a trip back to China later—hook me up."

"No problem. Actually, Sister Ruzhen knows him too," Lu Yanhe said. "He's a very good actor."

"Yes, I watched the two episodes of 'Friends' where he had a cameo. In the screenplay I'm writing, I need a very handsome, passionate male actor with that kind of rich-young-master air about him—someone with the quality of making girls fall the moment he smiles. Previously, through the agency, I looked at a lot of male actors' profiles, but none of them were satisfactory. The moment he appeared in 'Friends,' I felt I'd found him," Murken Zolger said. "Although my next film still has a bit of a thriller element, it's no longer a horror film. I want to make a monster movie with a bit of a Cthulhu vibe."

Lu Yanhe suddenly understood.

"Then why aren't you asking me?"

"Because this film is told from the perspective of a twelve-year-old girl. The other roles are all supporting parts, with screen time basically not exceeding twenty minutes," Murken Zolger said. "Besides, I've already collaborated with you on so many films—I also want to find some fresh faces."

"Tch, falling out of love with the old that fast?" Lu Yanhe joked. In fact, Murken had also said the main reason was that the role didn't have enough screen time—it wasn't a "big male lead" film. Given Lu Yanhe's current standing, it was impossible for him to appear in a non-blockbuster genre film in a supporting role.

Although, Lu Yanhe himself was quite willing.

Lu Yanhe still said: "If you asked me, I'd definitely still take the role."

"Forget it," Murken Zolger said. "Even if you were willing to act in it, your agent would make outrageous demands—the salary would be unaffordable."

Lu Yanhe shrugged his shoulders. "Then it's up to you, but not asking me and asking Li Zhibai is completely fine too—he's no worse than me at all. In fact, by your description, he's even more suitable

than me."

Murken Zolger nodded.

And this edition of the Academy Awards ceremony was a small year.

A small year meant that, at least at this point, the nominated films were merely popular among Academy members, but on the public level, apart from "Get Out," which had a massive box office, the other films' box office results were all just so-so.

For the public, most of the nominated films hadn't been seen, so naturally they weren't paying much attention to the awards ceremony.

Therefore, this year's Academy Awards ceremony put a lot of effort into the presenters.

They invited a bunch of big stars.

Among them were Jiang Jun and Jiang Yuqian.

The two of them would jointly present the Best Sound Editing award at the Academy Awards ceremony.

Lu Yanhe was also invited to present the Best Adapted Screenplay award.

It was quite interesting—he himself was a nominee for Best Original Screenplay, yet he was going to present the Best Adapted Screenplay award.

Of course, with Lu Yanhe serving as the presenter for this award, no one would say he wasn't qualified.

When the Best Original Screenplay was read out without any surprise as "'Get Out,' Lu Yanhe," applause broke out in the hall.

Lu Yanhe happily hugged Murken Zolger and Will Hollanchy, who were sitting next to him, and after reaching the aisle, hugged Lily Williams, who had been arranged in the row behind.

"Congratulations, you won! I knew it had to be you taking this award."

Lu Yanhe smiled and said thank you to Lily Williams, then added: "In the future, you'll definitely win an Academy Award too."

Lu Yanhe walked toward the stage.

This result, truly, could be said, was not unexpected.

Whether it was that this film had won the same award in its original spacetime, or that in this spacetime, "Get Out" could be said to be the only one among this year's nominated films to have a massive box-office explosion and spark enormous social discussion, both had sealed this outcome—basically no possibility of an upset.

Unless those Academy people decided they shouldn't vote for Lu Yanhe.

He went up on stage to accept the award, proudly showing the trophy in his hand to the audience below, and said: "Won an award. Well, another little gold man—it's only been a year, I came back a bit fast, didn't I?"

Laughter immediately erupted from the audience.

"But, thankfully, it's not the same award," Lu Yanhe continued jokingly. "To be honest, when I was writing this screenplay, I did think that maybe I'd rely on this film to stand on this stage and accept this award. Well, the view here is still just as good, and I've had my dream come true once again."

Murken Zolger let out a cheer for him from the audience.

"This

past two days, I have been promoting another film I starred in, 'Fire 2'. This film is not one where I served as the screenwriter, but one where I starred." Lu Yanhe smiled and brought up this film. "Mucken said I am biased. Actually, it is not that I am biased, but I... how to say it? Saying this seems a bit... arrogant. If I say I am very confident about taking home this trophy, will you think I am too proud and arrogant? Alright, I admit it, I am indeed proud and arrogant."

"Writing a good, exciting script is not difficult. Writing a script with thought and critique is also not difficult. But to possess both qualities simultaneously in one script has become extremely difficult. So after I wrote it, I was proud and arrogant, and this trophy you gave me proves that I was not wrong to be proud and arrogant." Lu Yanhe smiled and lifted his chin. "A script is one person's creation; it is my own flights of fancy. I will not say unnecessary thanks, but finally, I must thank Mucken. You and the team you lead turned a good script into a good film, making good even better, becoming outstanding. I know how difficult that is. You performed even better than I imagined. Although your next film does not cast me, but casts my friend, I do not blame you, because we will surely have other collaborations. I firmly believe this."

"Thank you!"

Lu Yanhe raised the trophy high, ending his acceptance speech.

Just as he was preparing to leave the stage, he suddenly seemed to remember something and returned to the microphone.

"I forgot to run an advertisement. This is the Academy Awards, the awards ceremony with the most global viewers. 'Fire 2', which I starred in, is a very good movie. You must go see it!"

Lu Yanhe smiled brightly, quickly finished this advertisement, and hurriedly ran off the stage.

After this, 'Get Out' replicated the experience of that Golden Globe Awards night and never won any other award.

Compared to the social topics it sparked, the Academy members seemed to believe that giving it so many nominations was already a form of recognition.

Indeed, even though it did not win in the end, Mucken, Will Holland, and others were very happy.

Thanks to this film, Mucken finally entered the Academy's sights, moving from a horror film director.

Will Holland also became famous overnight thanks to this film.

Although Lily Williams did not receive a nomination, the nearly 400 million US dollars in global box office is a solid achievement. With so many Academy Award nominations, it is undoubtedly a very impressive entry on her resume.

With 'Get Out' winning awards, the subsequent box office for this film may still have some room.

But what surprised everyone most was the box office for 'Fire 2' the next day. In North America, it actually saw a reverse decline. In fact, it wasn't even a reverse decline; the single-day box office skyrocketed from a result of over one hundred thousand US dollars to 8

40,000 US dollars—

This was under the condition that the number of theaters showing it had been reduced to only 300.

In fact, Lu Yanhe's acceptance speech has now become a major "attraction" on various social media platforms.

Whenever there is an update, it will surely attract massive attention.

Last night alone, Lu Yanhe's acceptance speech was viewed over five million times on Twitter.

Schmidt Lardy sent a message to Lu Yanhe, saying: I didn't expect you to promote 'Fire 2' on the Academy Awards stage.

Lu Yanhe replied: I do not want to let down any good film.

Schmidt Lardy said: Lu, I am preparing to negotiate with theaters to re-expand the release of 'Fire 2'. Not only 'Fire 2', but I am also preparing to have 'Fire 1' re-released.

Lu Yanhe: Really?

Schmidt Lardy said: The theater protection period for 'Home Alone 3' has passed; it has been two weeks. We can allocate some distribution resources to support 'Fire'. However, I need your entire film crew to come and cooperate with the promotion. You trust 'Fire' so much, and I am willing to take a gamble. But without your cooperation, I might throw in millions and lose terribly.

Lu Yanhe: Forget it. The film 'Fire' alone has earned you tens of millions of US dollars through copyright cooperation or transfers for streaming media, DVDs, television stations, etc. But since you are willing to support 'Fire', believe me, I will cooperate.

Schmidt Lardy: Good.

After Green Valley was willing to exert effort, things immediately became different.

Lu Yanhe and Shang Yongzhou were arranged to appear on one of the most-watched live television programs in the United States again to promote the 'Fire' series.

In addition, Ignatz Bell, the director of 'Godless', also watched 'Fire 2' under Green Valley's communication and invitation, and recorded a video praising the visual effects and story of 'Fire' for Green Valley to promote these two films on social media.

Green Valley even secured a stage performance opportunity at an anime convention that only had a two-day opening.

Lu Yanhe and Shang Yongzhou appeared on stage in the costumes of the film characters, singing the English version of the 'Fire' theme song.

After the third week of 'Fire 2's release, 'Fire 2' expanded its release. From being cut down to only 300 theaters, it was re-expanded to 850 theaters. Green Valley also held the North American distribution rights for 'Fire 1'. This time, Green Valley similarly arranged for 'Fire 1' to be re-released in 500 theaters.

After several heavy promotional resources were thrown in, on the first day of 'Fire 2's re-expansion, the daily box office shot straight up to 2.1 million US dollars. On the first day of 'Fire 1's re-release, the daily box office was also 1.34 million US dollars.

The performance was extremely outstanding.

Green Valley saw that the box office for the 'Fire' film series really had potential and immediately started

the second round of promotional resources.

They edited a trailer for 'Fire' 1 and 2, spent 2 million US dollars, and bought a prime-time advertising slot during the halftime of a major sporting event.

The total playback time was only 25 seconds.

Specifically edited for this.

However, expensive has its reasons.

The next day, the box office for 'Fire' skyrocketed again. 1 took in 1.1 million US dollars, and 2 took in 1.34 million US dollars.

This was a very rare operation.

When Schmidt Lardy was interviewed by the media, he stated bluntly: "For other films, we basically cannot replicate such a practice. Our re-expansion and re-release of 'Fire' 1 and 2 were entirely due to the persistence of the film's lead actor, Lu Yanhe, regarding this film series. He believed that with appropriate promotion, this film would achieve box office results exceeding our expectations. Facts have proven that he is right again."

The popularity of the Chinese-language film 'Fire' slowly expanded.

The North American box office for 'Fire 2' broke through 30 million US dollars. The box office for this re-release of 'Fire 1' also broke through 17 million US dollars. Adding the box office from the first release of 'Fire 1' in North America, this series has now broken through 50 million US dollars in North American box office. As a Chinese-language film, this is a miraculous box office recovery.

Long Yan was completely stunned. He never expected that these two films would achieve a "returning horseback strike" in terms of box office at this time.

This is not the end point.

The trajectory of the two films was very steady. Although they did not skyrocket particularly high, they still earned hundreds of thousands of US dollars in box office every day. Whether it was media reviews or audience feedback on social media platforms, it was bringing in new box office continuously in the form of word-of-mouth.

Lu Yanhe's persistence and support for 'Fire' made actors who had collaborated with him, such as Caina and Arne Bogut, post promotions related to 'Fire' on their own social media more than once.

Yan Liang and Li Zhibai, these two people, were even posting information about "watching it three times" and "watching it four times" on their own social media.

Bit by bit, the box office numbers slowly went up.

Lu Yanhe let out a long sigh.

When March arrived, the box office for 'Fire' 1 and 2 finally reached a turning point. The total box office for both in North America also exceeded 60 million US dollars. With 'Fire 2' successively released in markets such as Japan, South Korea, and Thailand, the box office for the two films of the 'Fire' series in overseas markets broke through the 100 million US dollars mark.

Huang Zhongjing was speechless at this moment.

This was entirely relying on Lu Yanhe to "bring the dead back to life."

On the day Lu Yanhe returned to the country, Huang Zhongjing specially arranged a dinner banquet, saying he wanted to welcome him and wash away the dust of his journey.

This time, Huang Tai was unusually "quiet" and "silent" at the table.

His gaze towards Lu Yanhe also became "honest."

"I truly regret it now," Huang Zhongjing said. "We really should have listened to you back then and not let Green Valley buy out 'Burning Fire 1'."

Fortunately, they had listened to Lu Yanhe, so Huang Zhongjing did not sell "Burning Fire 2" to Green Valley as a buyout.

Therefore, Long Yan can still benefit from the box office recovery of "Burning Fire 2".

Lu Yanhe said, "Huang Zong, since 'Burning Fire' has performed so well domestically, and we previously hoped to open new ground for it in the Asian international market, we should consider this more comprehensively. This time, we put in a lot of effort, catching up while pushing forward, and have recovered a bit. We still have 'Burning Fire 3' ahead. Let's work together to achieve even better results for 'Burning Fire 3' in the international market."

Huang Zhongjing nodded and said, "Definitely."

After finishing this meal, Lu Yanhe returned to Ziyuan Bridge.

Chen Siqi was waiting for him at home.

"Returning victorious!" Chen Siqi came straight to the entryway and hugged him.

Lu Yanhe let go of the suitcase handle, embraced Chen Siqi, rested his head in the crook of her neck and shoulder, and said in a muffled voice, "So tired."

"Rest well for these few days."

"Mm."

Lu Yanhe nodded his head.

Chen Siqi patted his shoulder, smiling reassuringly. "Why are you like a big dog?"

Lu Yanhe: "I am a big dog right now."

"Fine, then go wash up quickly, and then sleep." Chen Siqi stroked his back.

As a result, Lu Yanhe reached back and grabbed her hand.

"Wash together."

"What are you doing?" Chen Siqi was somewhat surprised, then smiled.

Lu Yanhe still leaned into the hollow of Chen Siqi's neck.

He also chuckled dully.

A deep sleep, as if sunk to the bottom of the sea.

No dreams.

Waking up, there was a familiar, faint fragrance in his ears.

Through the door, there seemed to be a rustling sound, like tenderness in the distance.

Turning over, rolling on the warm bed.

Stretching a lazy yawn, it seemed he could already open his eyes.

So, another long yawn.

Floating up from the bottom of the sea.

Alright, out of the water.

Lu Yanhe opened his eyes, sat up, turned his head, and scratched his head.

Scratching his head, he got out of bed and walked out slowly.

Chen Siqi was frying dumplings.

That rustling sound had been the sound of oil splattering.

Hearing his footsteps, she turned to look.

There was a smile on her lips.

Her voice carried the clear sweetness of spring.

"Why did you wake up so early?"

Lu Yanhe grinned and said, "Slept very soundly."

He walked behind Chen Siqi and leaned against her again.

"Hurry up and brush your teeth and wash your face; breakfast will be ready soon."

Lu Yanhe: "I'll go in a moment, first—hug."