This lesson left Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi amazed.
The two of them pride themselves on being good at speaking, but compared to Chen Ziyan, their skills are just like children playing house.
Chen Ziyan easily and effortlessly kept the girl, started a conversation with her, and persuaded her to come back.
Chen Ziyan said to the two stunned people, "You should leave first. I don't think she can relax if you stay here."
"Ah?" Lu Yanhe asked, "Why can't she relax when we are here?"
He thought to himself, they are both so young.
Why is Zhang's mother not relaxing?
"Zhang Ruozhi's family situation is a bit special. She may not dare to let down her guard in front of you. After all, you are celebrities and public figures. Few ordinary people can relax when meeting public figures." Chen Ziyan said, "You may not know that Zhang Ruozhi's father died when she was a child. Zhang Ruozhi was raised by her mother alone. You cannot understand how much sadness a woman has to raise a child independently. When you are around, she must be tense and not let herself show any emotions other than strength."
Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi both opened their mouths at the same time, wanting to say something but stopping themselves.
This is something they really didn't know before.
However, they definitely believed in Chen Ziyan's judgment.
So, they left.
Chen Ziyan stayed alone in the cafe waiting for Zhang's mother to come back.
-
Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi left the cafe and walked outside. In order to avoid running into Zhang's mother, they walked in opposite directions.
"Zhang Ruozhi's mother suddenly appeared just now and scared me." Chen Siqi said.
Lu Yanhe nodded, "I was also shocked."
Chen Siqi: "Do you think Sister Zi Yan can convince her mother?"
"I don't know, but if Sister Zi Yan can't convince her, we will be even more helpless." Lu Yanhe sighed.
"You deserve this. Who made you fall in love with a high school girl?"
"Why does this sound so weird?"
"You're thinking the wrong way, aren't you? What are you thinking of?" Chen Siqi glared at him.
Lu Yanhe complained: "Didn't you say that?"
"What I said was right, but weren't you the one who thought wrongly?" Chen Siqi said righteously.
Lu Yanhe decided to give up arguing with Chen Siqi and honestly admit his mistake and apologize.
"I misinterpreted it."
Chen Siqi snorted.
They had no destination in mind, so they wandered around aimlessly.
Chen Siqi asked: "For the movie Love Letter, you invited so many friends to help. Did you ask them to help in vain?"
"Of course not. We have all been paid." Lu Yanhe said, "The contract has been signed and the down payment has been made."
Even though it is a favor, you still have to give what you owe to others.
It's not like he's so poor that he can't afford to pay. Lu Yanhe couldn't do such a wicked thing as taking advantage of someone for free when he could pay them.
"How much box office revenue do you expect for the movie Love Letter to earn?"
"I dare not predict." Lu Yanhe said, "There is no pattern to the box office of movies in our country. I can only set a bottom line for myself. The minimum cannot be lower than a certain amount. Then I will use this to see how much money I will spend to make the movie. I can't risk losing money."
"So what's the bottom line you set for Love Letter?"
"Since Sister Bi Ge and I are the main stars, the budget can't be less than 50 million, right? That's what I think, and I don't have any basis for it, it's just a feeling." Lu Yanhe said, "So, my psychological expectation is that the maximum budget I give to this film's production should not exceed 20 million."
“How much is it expected to cost now?”
"I am the lead actor and screenwriter, so I get one million in salary, and the rest is a share of the profits. Sister Bi Ge gets two million, and then we get a share of the box office profits." Lu Yanhe said, "The two of us lowered our salaries, so the production budget is a little more sufficient. Counting the entire production team including Director Luo, Liu Bige, and Sister Zi Xing, the labor cost is about eight million, and then add in the location, set design, transportation, accommodation and other logistical things, all in all, Sister Zi Xing has calculated a number and said that making this movie will cost at least fifteen million."
"That's quite a lot," said Chen Siqi.
"Well, it's mainly photography, lighting, costumes and props. I didn't want to save money on these aspects, so I used the connections of Director Luo and Liu Bige to invite a top-notch team in the industry, which cost a lot of money." Lu Yanhe sighed, "It's really expensive to make a movie."
"But think about it, given your and Chen Bige's status, even if Love Letter is not a commercial film and you can't get the market price, you can at least get a few million in pay, not just like now. You have already saved a lot." Chen Siqi said, "According to this production cost, including the subsequent publicity and promotion costs, the pressure to make a profit for Love Letter is not that great."
"Well, because the investment in this movie was basically from myself and a few people around me, I didn't want to take any risks." Lu Yanhe said, "Sister Bi Ge was the same. She didn't even get a penny of the 2 million yuan salary, but she gave it all to me to make this movie."
"In fact, I think if the movie 'Love Letter' can resonate with people, the box office should not be low."
"is it?"
"Yes." Chen Siqi nodded, "You have to know, especially for female audiences, almost every girl has had or fantasized about such a boy in her heart during her youth."
Lu Yanhe laughed.
He is someone who has truly experienced how much resonance the movie "Love Letter" has caused. Twenty or thirty years after its release, it is still a classic in the minds of the audience. One can imagine how powerful it is as a movie about secret love and regret.
"I hope so, that's why we are in a hurry to start shooting so that it can be released in time for Valentine's Day next year."
"Are you going to send this movie to a film festival?"
"Send it to a film festival? I don't know how to do it." Lu Yanhe said.
A drawback immediately emerged.
The production team of this movie is entirely Lu Yanhe and the people around him. There is no formal company doing it. How it will be released in theaters and how it will be promoted and marketed are still unknown.
Chen Siqi thought about it and said, "Since Sister Zi Yan is the producer, she must have thought it through a long time ago."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
Chen Siqi said: "Maybe when your film is almost finished, she will start looking for a distributor."
Film production and distribution are often not the same thing. Of course, in China, they are basically one and the same. In fact, many films are made by small companies. After they are finished, big companies will come to watch the films. If they like the films, they will buy the distribution rights. Many films participate in the film festivals and exhibitions, and finding buyers is actually one of the important purposes.
Many times, a movie does not start making money from the time it is released. Some movies have product placement during filming, and advertisers have to pay them up front. Some movies sell the distribution rights halfway through filming, which can also make money. For some movies, the stock prices of related companies even rise as soon as they are released. The highly anticipated market situation can even allow the film company to make more money in the stock market than the movie will eventually make.
In addition to these basic and broad ones, there are more capital games to play.
Of course, Lu Yanhe's "Love Letter" did not play these games. He just made a movie honestly.
"Actually, I'm telling you the truth." Lu Yanhe suddenly felt a little embarrassed. "Although I told you that my minimum box office is 50 million, the number I really hope it can reach is 200 to 300 million. I also think it has the ability to get this box office."
You know, he came up with the movie "Love Letter" just to make a movie with good box office.
One is "Love Letter" and the other is "You Are the Apple of My Eye". The quality of the movies is one aspect, but the box office was also what Lu Yanhe paid most attention to when he chose these two dramas.
Chen Siqi: "Yes, I will also help you design a promotional plan and strive to achieve this goal in the first weekend of release."
Chen Siqi really wasn't bragging.
But the current film market is really like this.
Well-selling movies can earn hundreds of millions or even more at the box office in their first weekend.
It didn't sell well and it took a month for the box office to break the 100 million mark, but this shows that people watched this movie.
The market box office is not at all in the shape of a pyramid.
Either get a very good box office number, or fail miserably.
There are very few movies with box office revenue in the range of 200 to 400 million.
-
Chen Siqi said: "We are about to start the short film project you proposed earlier."
"Short film project?"
"We hold a competition and invite people who aspire to be directors to choose a story from our 'Jump Up' IP library, shoot a ten-minute clip, and compete. The winner can get the production funds from us and make a complete feature film." Chen Siqi said.
Lu Yanhe thought about it.
Chen Siqi: "We have already discussed with Northern Lights Video and Icefield Video to do this competition together."
Lu Yanhe asked in surprise: "Are they willing to join in?"
“Yes, and they will sponsor it.” Chen Siqi said, “They believe that this competition and the short videos shot by these contestants can also bring attention and traffic to their platform.”
"That's for sure." Lu Yanhe nodded.
Chen Siqi said: "Moreover, the key is that in the end, aren't we going to provide production funds for the top three to help them shoot feature films? The sponsorship funds of Northern Lights Video and Icefield Video are for these three people, but the condition is that these three feature films must be launched on their two video platforms in the end, and the settlement will be made with us and the producers according to the revenue-sharing model."
Lu Yanhe said: "This is good."
"Yeah, that's good." Chen Siqi said, "Are you going to sign these directors?"
"Sign these directors?" Lu Yanhe was a little surprised.
Chen Siqi said: "When we were preparing for this, we suddenly realized that if we could discover some very talented directors, it would be a pity if we didn't sign them."
"But if you want to sign them, you also need to have the resources to help them shoot the film they want to shoot, right?" Lu Yanhe said, "How can I have such strength now?"
Chen Siqi said: "It's not like they have to pay for all the money to make a movie. We go and help them find investors, which is more reliable than them finding investors themselves, and they also have channels."
Lu Yanhe didn't know whether to laugh or cry, as if no matter what the problem was, it could definitely be solved in Chen Siqi's eyes.
"This matter is a bit big, and I really don't have the confidence. I think I need to discuss it with Sister Zi Yan." Lu Yanhe said.
"If you don't sign, I will." Chen Siqi said, as if she had made up her mind to do so. "If we have a few directors who can steadily adapt some of our novels from "Jump Up" into film and television dramas and continuously launch them, our "Jump Up" theater can be directly established."
Lu Yanhe had forgotten that his girlfriend was a person who was even more career-oriented than he was.
Just do it and never be afraid.
Lu Yanhe had no reason to say no.
-
At four o'clock in the afternoon, Chen Ziyan contacted them and said that she had convinced Zhang's mother that Zhang Ruozhi would join the crew to shoot the movie during both summer and winter vacations this year.
Lu Yanhe let out a long sigh and said to Chen Siqi, "Look, I told you that for things like this, we still have to ask professionals to help."
They met at a river fish shop by the river.
Chen Siqi curiously asked Chen Ziyan how she dealt with Zhang's mother.
Chen Ziyan said: "Just figure out why she doesn't want Zhang Ruozhi to act in the movie, and then resolve the matter."
It sounds like it's very simple.
Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi looked at each other and smiled at each other.
Chen Ziyan said: "It's very simple actually. Zhang Ruozhi's mother wanted her to concentrate on the college entrance examination so that her daughter could have a stable future. She always felt that she suffered from not having an education and didn't want her daughter to be like her. I made it very clear that I was willing to sign Zhang Ruozhi. Before the college entrance examination, Zhang Ruozhi would only shoot this one movie. I would help her reject any other offers. If Zhang Ruozhi's grades decline after shooting the movie and she doesn't perform well in the college entrance examination, we will help Zhang Ruozhi contact Jiang Guang's high school so that she can repeat her studies there and get better educational resources."
"Is that it?" Chen Siqi was a little puzzled, thinking that this was a little too simple and plain.
Chen Ziyan smiled and said, "You guys don't know what's in a mother's mind. You don't even think about it. An opportunity to act in a movie with Lu Yanhe and play the leading role. Unless you are the kind of parent who hates the entertainment industry, no parent would say no to such an opportunity. Especially since Zhang Ruozhi's mother really wants her daughter to have a good life. She is not afraid that her daughter will become an actress, but she is afraid that her daughter will not act well, and that this path of acting will not work out, and she will lose the chance to get into a good university."
Lu Yanhe suddenly understood and nodded.
Chen Ziyan actually gave Zhang's mother a backup option.
If Zhang Ruozhi could both act and get into a good university, Zhang's mother would definitely agree.
Chen Ziyan is giving Zhang's mother such a choice.
-
Chen Ziyan rushed over, exhausted, and settled the matter.
She did not leave in a hurry, but waited for her assistant to fly over with the contract tomorrow and finalize the matter in black and white with Zhang Ruozhi's mother.
So, that night, Chen Ziyan had the rare opportunity to relax and go boating on the Jiangzhi River with Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi.
"This place is really beautiful, but it's too hard to come here." Chen Ziyan lay in the canopy of the boat, with only her upper body exposed under the starry sky, and the sound of water in her ears. "It's rare to feel the feeling of a rowing boat instead of an engine-powered antique boat here."
Lu Yanhe said: "If this place was easy to get to, it wouldn't be so beautiful like a paradise."
"Too."
Chen Siqi and Lu Yanhe leaned against each other and sat at the bow of the boat.
The bustling streets on both sides of the river are sometimes far away and shaded by trees, quiet and deep, and sometimes bustling with voices and dazzling lights and shadows.
No matter what the situation was on the shore, they always snuggled together quietly on the boat.
Chen Ziyan looked at the two of them sitting together, a gentle light appeared in her eyes, merging with the shattered moonlight on the water.
Of course, in this leisurely night, the mist covered my face, no one knew, and no one needed to know. (End of this chapter)
