Chapter 946: Prison Break

"Yes, I will be joining Seventeen Layers: Reboot."

At the press conference for the first derivative film of Seventeen Layers, produced by Linghe, Meng Li appeared as the cast member—and the only cast member—of Seventeen Layers: Reboot.

Meng Li smiled, her face blooming like a flower.

"To have the opportunity to collaborate with Teacher Jiang Jun, and moreover, to do so as the connecting character between the different storylines of Seventeen Layers, is an honor for me."

"I have already read Teacher Feng Qiyue's script, and it moved me greatly," Meng Li said. "No wonder Lu Yanhe has always emphasized that Teacher Feng Qiyue must be the one to write the script."

At the scene, a reporter asked, "Does this mean that in the future, actors from Seventeen Layers: Reboot like Chen Pinhe will one day appear in the same frame as the actors from Seventeen Layers, merging the two storylines together?"

Jiang Jun silently looked at others.

Others looked at others.

Finally, the speechless Feng Qiyue, serving as the Screenwriter, picked up the microphone.

"Let us focus on the matters at hand first," he said. "With Linghe producing three derivative films alone, no one knows what direction this story will take in the future; that will depend on market feedback."

"As the supervisor and Producer of Seventeen Layers: Reboot, will Lu Yanhe appear in the film in his role?"

"Perhaps he will, perhaps he won't; for now, of course, we must keep you in suspense," Director Lian Bei said with a smile. "In fact, we were just discussing this possibility yesterday. Yan He was supposed to come today as well, but he messaged me this morning saying something urgent came up, which is why he couldn't make it. He attaches great importance to these derivative films and has been involved in basically every stage, including Dashan—"

Also present at the scene was Wang Dashan, who made his debut with Lost on Journey.

"Yan He also called to help invite him," Lian Bei said. "Seventeen Layers: Reboot will be an all-star cast film; the lineup we have announced so far is merely half of it."

Immediately, media at the scene asked, "With an all-star cast, will the production budget for this film increase significantly?"

"It will not." Lian Bei shook his head directly and said, "The core selling point of this film lies in the level design, meaning props, art direction, and special effects; the bulk of our production funds will be invested in these areas. The reason we can adopt an all-star cast is that Mr. Chen of Linghe led the production team in creating a specific filming plan, using the most efficient methods to control personnel costs. This also benefits from the theme of Seventeen Layers itself, allowing us to maximize the reduction of everyone's remuneration while utilizing an all-star cast."

"Are you asking everyone to make a friendly appearance?"

"How could that be? For small-budget art films, we might ask famous actors for a friendly rate, but for a commercial production like Seventeen Layers: Reboot, we would absolutely never let our friends lose money just to help us drum up publicity." Chen Yin had not spoken until this moment, when he finally picked up the microphone. "Take Dashan's role as an example; we will concentrate filming within two to three days. Since we only need Dashan's schedule for two to three days, the remuneration naturally goes down. If it were those kinds of ensemble scenes where many people must be present simultaneously, achieving this would be very difficult. But as you all know, Seventeen Layers does not follow that model."

Everyone understood.

With Wang Dashan's schedule limited to two or three days, the market price could even be controlled within one million.

And with actors of this caliber, even if ten of them came, the total remuneration could still be kept within ten million.

It was indeed a case of spending the least money to assemble the most dazzling all-star cast.

Linghe was not the first film company to operate this way.

It was just that many film companies would not be so frank in stating that these stars' remuneration would not occupy a large portion of the costs.

On the contrary, they would use such an all-star cast to promote how big-budget the film itself was, how high the costs were, and how much it needed everyone's support—

Even though the current market environment is already very unwilling to see actor remuneration occupying the bulk of film costs, the tail has become too big to wag. The inertia of film companies' thinking cannot be changed; or rather, this inertia is based on their reliance on fan economics, knowing that even if it provokes resistance from the general public, they can still harvest profits from the fan base.

Chen Yin, however, was different.

He frankly promoted a "cheap" all-star cast; on one hand, he wanted to drum up publicity, but on the other, he decisively abandoned using certain promotional orientations to curry favor with the fans of famous actors like Wang Dashan, insisting they must buy tickets to support the film.

There was no need for fan support—if this film was truly going to be a box office hit, it needed the general market, not the fan base.

"Only six episodes for the first season?"

Lu Yanhe, who should have appeared at the Seventeen Layers: Reboot press conference, was at this moment at Aurora, holding a meeting with them to discuss the affairs of Linghe Theater.

What Lu Yanhe presented was the script for Prison Break.

Unlike the original version which had 22 episodes per season, the first season Lu Yanhe presented had only six episodes.

Lu Yanhe nodded.

"The mission is urgent and time is tight; rather than trying to compress the production schedule, I would prefer to accelerate it directly through the content," Lu Yanhe said. "Six episodes are enough to make a good start; of course, it won't be one season per year, but one season every half year."

Twelve productions.

After serious contemplation and consideration, Lu Yanhe decided to still adhere to the standard of quality first, but to work harder on the scale.

He said, "A subject matter like Prison Break cannot be filmed in our mainland, so the setting must be in Southeast Asia, with the characters established as Chinese living overseas. I have already written the entire script; later, I will need to revise it further in combination with the Southeast Asian background. What needs to be done now is to finalize the production team as soon as possible and begin preparations."

The people from Aurora all wore expressions of hesitation.

Could a six-episode drama work?

Even if the person writing this drama was Lu Yanhe.

Lin Desheng nodded directly and made the decision. "Alright, Yanhe, for this drama, whether you want to use Linghe's production team or form a team from the production companies under our Aurora umbrella, either is fine; just state your requirements, and we will find the people."

Lu Yanhe said okay.

He added, "Besides the drama Prison Break, I have also finalized several films; the scripts have already been sent to D19, and they are all in preparation. I have retained the streaming rights for all of them, so we can start scheduling on this end."

During the break, Lu Yanhe and Lin Desheng went aside to drink tea.

Inside the conference room, the people from Aurora Video looked at the Linghe team in disbelief.

Everyone wore a look of utter incredulity, asking, "Did you really not arrange a ghostwriting team for Lu Yanhe? Where did he get so many stories?"

The Linghe team replied, "Ghostwriters? Which ghostwriter could write so many successful scripts both quickly and well? Say no more; you don't understand the world of geniuses. We mere mortals should just follow the genius properly."

"He announced over a dozen film projects on Weibo a few days ago; at first, I thought these were scripts your company had received and projects you were preparing to make, but it turns out they were all scripts he wrote himself. I'm just speechless."

"Don't say 'you guys'; even we were shocked. Mr. Chen was completely bewildered; before Mr. Lu posted on Weibo, the only project Mr. Chen knew about was The Fault in Our Stars."

"He alone is worth more than twenty screenwriters."

"Terrifying."

"Can you leave the streaming playback rights for those film projects you announced on Weibo earlier to us?" Lin Desheng asked.

Lu Yanhe shook his head; at this moment, he no longer called him President Lin, but instead called him Uncle Lin.

"Uncle Lin, there are too many projects; Aurora Video cannot digest them all," Lu Yanhe said. "Moreover, I still need to maintain relationships with various overseas channels and film distributors; I cannot, for the sake of supporting Aurora Video, let the channel relationships I worked so hard to build disappear."

Lu Yanhe spoke very directly.

Lin Desheng was merely testing the waters; of course, he also understood the meaning behind Lu Yanhe's words.

He nodded.

"Is Miao Miao staying on at the school to teach now?" Lu Yanhe said. "I saw her post on Moments earlier; she said she's become a lecturer."

"Mm." Lin Desheng nodded. "She truly has a gift for mathematics; upon completing her doctorate, she stayed on to teach at Zhenhua immediately."

"Impressive. To graduate with a doctorate and stay on as faculty immediately happens less than once a year," Lu Yanhe said.

Lin Desheng laughed.

Lu Yanhe was indeed quite surprised as well.

Lin Miaomiao had not entered Aurora, nor taken over Aurora, but had truly embarked on the path of academic research.

"For the male lead of 'Prison Break,' I want to use Yang Shiyi, who previously starred in the drama version of 'Rouge Box'," Lu Yanhe proposed immediately after the meeting resumed, sharing his thoughts on 'Prison Break.' "The male lead of this series must be handsome yet possess an elite aura; otherwise, the audience will find it hard to believe he could orchestrate such an unimaginable prison break."

After collaborating with Lu Yanhe on the drama version of 'Rouge Box,' Yang Shiyi went on to star as the other male lead in 'If Love Has Destiny.'

He is currently one of the most famous 'god-tier faces' among male actors in the entertainment industry; coupled with his well-honed acting skills refined on stage, his popularity remains sky-high, making him one of the hottest male stars of the moment.

However, his fame differs somewhat from the traffic-star route; he does not follow the 'data-flow' path.

Nevertheless, Yang Shiyi's shortcoming is that he has almost no recognition overseas.

Yet 'Prison Break' is meant to fire the opening shot for the international version of Aurora Video.

Aurora Video asked, "Shouldn't we invite Li Zhibai or Yan Liang to star in this series?"

Lu Yanhe asked in return, "Can they clear their schedules for the next few years to dedicate themselves to filming 'Prison Break' for you?"

The reality simply would not allow it.

'Prison Break' is not a series that concludes in six episodes; it is a seasonal drama of massive scale.

Although Yang Shiyi's schedule might not be easier to coordinate than those of Li Zhibai and Yan Liang, the latter two have now shifted part of their focus to Hollywood.

At this rising stage of their careers, it is impossible for them to accept a seasonal drama that requires their commitment for the next several years.

Especially since 'Prison Break' is not like 'Friends.'

'Friends' could be filmed within a month; 'Prison Break' cannot achieve that—they are simply not held to the same production standards.

Aurora fell silent at this.

When Yang Shiyi received Lu Yanhe's phone call, he was quite surprised.

Usually, Lu Yanhe hardly ever called him.

After becoming famous, Yang Shiyi could be said to be one of the hottest male actors of the moment.

Especially regarding his resources in the fashion world, due to his image, he could be described as top-tier domestically.

To use the words of many brand representatives, Yang Shiyi's appearance fits the aesthetic standards of high society perfectly; he carries an air of nobility about him.

What Yang Shiyi expected even less was that Lu Yanhe was actually approaching him with a script.

'Prison Break.'

As things stand now, almost every actor dreams of landing a script written by Lu Yanhe.

Although Yang Shiyi was at Shihuo, he did not dare to actively presume he would soon obtain another script penned by Lu Yanhe.

He knew he was not among those in Lu Yanhe's core circle.

That he had gained Lu Yanhe's favor to star in the drama version of 'Rouge Box' had already changed his life; afterward, another role in 'If Love Has Destiny' directly propelled him to the top tier, ushering in his moment of stardom.

Nowadays, Yang Shiyi absolutely lacks no roles to play.

It is just that Yang Shiyi's success lies in his image, and his shortcoming also lies in his image. He is simply too good-looking; when a male actor is too good-looking, his range of roles becomes limited. Especially in China, top-tier dramas are still predominantly realistic in theme.

Shihuo, moreover, did not want him, after such a high starting point, to go act in some seemingly refined idol dramas.

Fortunately, although he acts in few dramas, his popularity has not diminished in the slightest, remaining consistently sky-high.

Yang Shiyi was somewhat curious, wondering what kind of drama Lu Yanhe had come to offer him.

Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "It's a role that requires your image to become slightly more rugged."

If described in two words, it would be 'handsome and stalwart.'

Lu Yanhe sent the script over to Yang Shiyi.

Yang Shiyi read the script immediately.

The genre of the script surprised him excessively.

This was a script genre he had never received before.

Prison break?!

Moreover, the pacing of this script is extremely fast; both its appeal and its conflicts are very—

The first reaction that sprang to Yang Shiyi's mind was that it felt very much like an American drama.

This is basically a male-lead-centric drama for him; the storyline of every episode unfolds around his perspective.

Yang Shiyi was thoroughly tempted.

"There is nothing to criticize about this script and character design; furthermore, this series is Aurora Video International's flagship production for breaking into the overseas market, so resources and promotion across the board will be top-tier. There is only one drawback," Lu Yanhe said. "Although this series releases one season every half-year, filming two seasons annually, in my preliminary plan, this series will have at least eight or nine seasons, meaning that for the next three to five years, you will basically have to dedicate yourself entirely to this project."

Yang Shiyi's first reaction was: "That's fine; nowadays it's also very difficult for me to find a suitable script; I might not even film a single drama in a whole year."

The most crucial point is, apart from Lu Yanhe, who else would offer him a role that is neither a wealthy young master, nor a rich man, nor a member of the elite class?

Yang Shiyi had never expected that Lu Yanhe would actually take this script and come directly to him.

Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "For an actor, being too good-looking is not necessarily a good thing."

Mainly, Yang Shiyi's looks and his market positioning do not quite match.

If he were sent to the Korean drama market, he could probably dominate completely, sweeping all before him for another ten years without issue.