Chapter 949: A Stalled Comedy

"..." Lu Yan He was momentarily at a loss for words.

Li Zhibai asked, "But are you sure you really want to build an entire film series around me?"

Lu Yan He nodded. "I've been writing this script for a long time. I just hadn't brought it out before because I was hesitating over whether to make the character Chinese-American or simply American."

Li Zhibai understood Lu Yan He's concerns.

Nowadays, virtually every project Lu Yan He undertook generated such concerns.

This was the inevitable dilemma faced by someone who possessed resources and influence yet was not native to the local film production hub.

On one hand, he wanted to tell more stories rooted in his own cultural background using local filmmakers; on the other, he had to consider the producers, investors, and distributors—especially the market, primarily the market's acceptance of these individual projects.

Lu Yan He had to ensure the films were box-office hits and profitable, ensure audiences wouldn't grow tired of so many Asian leads, and ensure far too many other things.

The higher one's position, the more factors required balancing.

Li Zhibai said, "If you've made up your mind, then let's do it. How could I possibly refuse you?"

Lu Yan He: "OK."

As September entered its final third, the National Day holiday box office battle erupted with tremendous force.

Lu Yan He had no films starring him or written by him scheduled for release during the National Day period.

However, Linghe did.

Linghe's production, "Corpse Phase 2," was set to premiere domestically first, followed by an overseas release.

The horror sequel, starring Li Yuefeng, had long been a subject of intense anticipation.

Moreover, the sequel featured not only Li Yuefeng but also Jiang Jun.

This sequel was jointly financed by HP; from its inception, it had been intended for global release—which was precisely why Jiang Jun had been brought on board as a co-lead.

Besides this film, "Scumbag, Stay Away from Me!," a collaboration between Ma Zhiyuan and Yu Jiang, was also scheduled for the National Day slot.

In fact, filming on this movie had wrapped only two months prior.

Completing post-production in just two months didn't necessarily mean the film was hastily or poorly made; given its genre, it required no elaborate visual effects, only editing, so rushing to meet a favorable release window was entirely feasible.

In addition to these two films, Jia Long, who had been absent from the screen for some time, teamed up with Wang Dashan to shoot a comedy titled "A Little More Carefree," a road-trip comedy.

Yet the most favored entry for the National Day period remained a war-themed film called "Mighty Lion."

This film also boasted the strongest pre-sale figures.

Linghe's domestic box-office expectations for "Corpse Phase 2" were actually quite conservative.

The first "Corpse Phase" film had grossed 212 million yuan.

Linghe's expectation for "Corpse Phase 2" was simply that it should not fall short of the first installment.

After all, horror films were indeed not a mainstream choice in the domestic market.

They were simply following the genre-film route.

Their primary focus remained on the overseas market.

"Corpse Phase 2" was aiming squarely at overseas box-office performance—

The first "Corpse Phase" film had earned approximately 15 million USD overseas, performing particularly well in four regions: the United States, Malaysia, Japan, and Thailand.

Especially after its launch on HP, its streaming data had been very impressive.

Therefore, Linghe wanted to see whether, building on the decent reception of the first film, "Corpse Phase 2" could attract new audiences to theaters overseas.

Even if overseas earnings merely doubled from 15 million USD to 30 million USD, that would still be an outstanding result.

"Hmm, the script for 'Corpse Phase 3' is already complete, and filming will commence soon."

Li Yuefeng stated this cheerfully at the media screening for "Corpse Phase 2."

"Not only that, D19 is also remaking the first 'Corpse Phase.' They've already hired a Hollywood Screenwriter to adapt the script, and I will still be the lead in the adapted version."

Li Yuefeng wore an expression brimming with pride and satisfaction.

"When I initially accepted the role in the first 'Corpse Phase,' even my Agent was skeptical about the project. All I can say is: doubt anyone you like, but never doubt Lu Yan He's judgment."

He smiled brilliantly.

"It seems none of Shihuo's signed actors have collaborated with you and Lu Yan He and Linghe as frequently as you have. Have you ever considered signing with Shihuo?"

Li Yuefeng shook his head.

"Not at present. Although I often argue with my current Agent, we have supported each other all the way through; that matters more than anything else. I trust him." Li Yuefeng continued, "Yan He doesn't need me to sign with Shihuo either. Don't always underestimate his magnanimity, and don't underestimate me. I know what you're implying—are you suggesting I ought to repay Yan He?"

"Well, put it this way: I am deeply grateful to Yan He, but on the other hand, I don't believe I obtained all this undeservedly. To be honest, in 'Corpse Phase,' Yan He was neither the lead actor nor the Screenwriter. How many people, upon merely hearing that Yan He thought the script was good, immediately agreed to star in it? I am, after all, a top-tier, hugely popular actor, right?"

"Deep down, I dislike reducing everything to worldly calculations and profit motives, yet I'm constantly entangled by such questions. All I can say is that, having received considerable help from Yan He, I have likewise given everything within my power. Why have I been able to collaborate so extensively with Linghe? Because I don't care about billing order—I played the second male lead in 'Those Years.' I don't mind production budgets—I starred in the low-budget 'Corpse Phase.' I can devote all my resources wholeheartedly to promoting these projects. I'm not saying Linghe needs to thank me; I must emphasize this point, otherwise some marketing accounts will write nonsense again. What I mean to say is: how many people can cherish, value, and even go all out to perfect every single collaboration with Yan He the way I do?"

Lu Yan He reposted Li Yuefeng's video statement, commenting: "Yes, I understand everything you've done, my friend."

"I quite enjoy collaborating with Li Yuefeng; why wouldn't I?" Even while dining and chatting with Wang Xiao, Lu Yan He proactively recommended Li Yuefeng to him. "Although the media claim he likes to stir things up during promotional periods to highlight himself—and they aren't wrong about that; he is indeed a competitive and ambitious actor in every aspect—on the other hand, his level of cooperation is genuinely high. Moreover, as long as your project can offer him what he desires, such as a great role, a compelling performance, or promising commercial prospects, he will definitely strive to make that project even better."

Wang Xiao was currently overseeing Aurora Films, nurturing and supporting a batch of new directors, starting with small-to-medium budget genre films and art-house pictures.

He also had numerous projects requiring casting.

Films differ from television dramas; for TV dramas, securing just one actor capable of driving commercial success is enough to get the green light, so most of the time, top-tier stars like Li Yuefeng are in the position of choosing rather than being chosen.

However, the film industry has never worked that way. Apart from top stars like Lu Yan He and Li Zhibai, whose solo box-office draw has been thoroughly proven by the market, even someone like Li Yuefeng cannot simply sit at home picking and choosing from various film scripts.

For instance, Li Yuefeng might not necessarily be interested in Aurora Films' projects, but conversely, those projects certainly couldn't receive an immediate green light and enter production merely because Li Yuefeng was willing to star in them.

The risks associated with films are simply too high.

Every aspect must align perfectly, and suitable selling points must be identified. When Lu Yan He recommended Li Yuefeng to Wang Xiao, he was helping not only Li Yuefeng but also Wang Xiao.

"Over the past few years, he has accumulated considerable reputation and a dedicated fanbase in the film market; he has a group of fans and supporters who will go to the cinema specifically to support his new works," Lu Yan He told Wang Xiao. "For your genre films, if there's a leading role suitable for him, you should seriously consider him."

Wang Xiao nodded. "Understood, I'll keep that in mind."

Lu Yan He asked, "Which film for the National Day period has Aurora invested in?"

Wang Xiao replied, "We invested in Jia Long and Wang Dashan's 'A Little More Carefree,' though our investment wasn't substantial."

"Have you seen this film? How is it?"

"It's just average. With the two of them starring, the humor lands well enough, and overall it's passable, so the box office should be secure," Wang Xiao said. "However, Jia Long's box office performance in the films he has starred in over the past couple of years isn't as strong as it was four or five years ago. His earlier films easily started at 1 billion, but his recent works have only managed to stay around 400 to 500 million."

"Why is that?"

"The audience is probably experiencing aesthetic fatigue; it's always that same style and tone," Wang Xiao said. "Of course, Jia Long's national popularity remains solid, so films starring him are still eagerly embraced by everyone."

"Mm." Lu Yan He nodded. "When I previously collaborated with him on 'Lost on Journey,' it was during his peak."

"I heard he seems to have been pondering how to continue developing the 'Lost on Journey' series."

"Ah?" Lu Yan He was greatly surprised.

"You didn't know?"

"I heard about it before, but I truly haven't heard anything recently," Lu Yan He said. "Because after I wrote the script for 'Lost in Thailand' for them, I no longer participated in this series. However, I did grant authorization for them to continue filming the series."

Wang Xiao nodded.

"The 'Lost on Journey' series has always enjoyed a good reputation. I heard they previously hired screenwriters to write several versions of the script; there was even one version ready to start filming, but for some unknown reason, production never commenced."

"Then I don't know," Lu Yan He said.

Come to think of it, he hadn't been in contact with Jia Long for quite some time.

"Jia Laoshi has indeed always been quite dissatisfied with the script issues, feeling that the scripts he received weren't good enough, but the investors kept pressing to start filming. So, twice, under pressure regarding production funding, they nearly started filming."

Wang Dashan explained to Lu Yan He over the phone.

Jia Long had never mentioned these matters to Lu Yan He before.

Lu Yan He couldn't help but wonder: Could it be that because he had previously refused so firmly to participate in the subsequent production of 'Lost on Journey,' Jia Long, upon encountering these problems, simply never contacted him?

That possibility certainly existed.

"Then why didn't filming start afterward?"

"Once, the actress favored by the investors temporarily stood us up because she landed a leading role in another director's film. The investors themselves began to have second thoughts, and since Jia Laoshi didn't want to start filming anyway, they didn't shoot. Another time, the day before filming was set to begin, the director was involved in a car accident and had to recuperate in the hospital for three months... After that, their schedules could never be coordinated."

Both Jia Long and Wang Dashan had extremely tight schedules.

It wasn't easy to get them together.

Lu Yan He asked, "So what is the current situation?"

"Jia Laoshi has found another screenwriter and is rewriting the script," Wang Dashan said. "Because everyone still very much wants to make the third installment."

'Lost in Hong Kong,' serving as the third installment of the 'Lost on Journey' series, actually achieved quite good box office results, but its reputation collapsed completely.

Even the fourth installment encountered the pandemic and went straight to online streaming.

As a result, this comedy series, which could have been continuously developed, has still not managed to catch its breath to this day.

Lu Yan He fully understood Jia Long, as a master of comedy, maintaining high standards and strict requirements for a good script.

Actually, if it weren't for the fact that Lu Yan He himself didn't think much of 'Lost in Hong Kong,' he wouldn't have been so unwilling to write the script for the third installment.

Lu Yan He still had some self-awareness regarding his own capabilities.

His only talent point had been allocated to acting; all his other so-called talents came solely from the golden finger brought by his transmigration.

Lu Yan He dared not arrogantly take on the heavy responsibility of 're-creating' the script for the third installment.

Lu Yan He thought for a moment and made a phone call to Jia Long.

Since he now knew, he couldn't pretend to know nothing and turn a deaf ear.

"Jia Laoshi."

"Hi, Yan He, how have you been lately? Are you especially busy?"

"Lately has been fine; lately I've mainly been busy answering phone calls," Lu Yan He laughed. "I heard the third installment of 'Lost on Journey' is looking for someone to write the script again?"

"Yes," Jia Long said. "Sigh, with such a masterpiece preceding it, the script for the third installment has consistently failed to satisfy anyone."

Lu Yan He said, "I've heard about it, but I'm sorry, I can't help. If I had any new, good ideas for this series, I wouldn't have insisted on withdrawing."

Jia Long: "If only every screenwriter could be as responsible as you. I previously approached several screenwriters; during our discussions, each one was extremely confident they could produce a good script, but what they ultimately delivered was truly unbearable—all just awkward, forced gags."

Lu Yan He: "As you said, with such a masterpiece preceding it, creating a third installment is like dancing in shackles; one cannot move freely. However, masters exist among the common people. For this kind of road comedy, perhaps we could openly solicit good ideas and material from the general public? Whatever proves usable, we buy it and hand it over to professional screenwriters to write the script."

Hearing this, Jia Long said, "Wouldn't that be problematic? Comedy itself easily falls into accusations of so-called plagiarism and imitation."

Comedy is indeed like that.

"Moreover, crediting the screenwriters would be very difficult to manage."

"But right now, we can't find a usable script, can we?" Lu Yan He said. "Let's try every method. Even if someone contributes just one gag that can be used in the film, we can give them screenwriting credit."