Unboxing, Director!

Chapter 153

This version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" received excellent reviews and achieved good results in many Asian countries, but Lu Jiang still refused.

The role of Duan Yu didn't add much value to him.

The bearded man didn't offer enough bargaining chips either.

They couldn't even calculate their investment share, and they still had to lower their acting fees to appear in the film.

It's really not very appealing.

If it were a matter of a treasure chest popping up on the bearded man's head, Lu Jiang might reconsider.

But there was no treasure chest either.

So instead of wasting time on "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", it's better to focus on preparing for "Dae Jang Geum".

The bearded man was not discouraged by Lu Jiang's rejection.

Anyway, there's still plenty of time, and we've already won over Qiao Zhenyu, so we can take our time to discuss the rest.

After the bearded man left, Lu Jiang put the matter out of his mind and turned back to the preparations for "Dae Jang Geum".

The preparation for "Dae Jang Geum" was divided into two parts.

First, there are various related matters on the production side.

Second, the industrial sector.

The former requires determining the script and conducting various researches in the initial stage.

In terms of the script, the overall framework does not require many changes.

The original work is the story of the female protagonist's struggle, so the growth trajectory should remain unchanged.

The remaining task is to adjust the historical context and plot.

The amount of work involved in this research is enormous.

The projects cover a wide range of topics, including architecture, clothing, etiquette, history, food, and traditional Chinese medicine.

Therefore, Lu Jiang directly divided the project team into multiple groups.

Each group is responsible for a specific area and carefully collects information.

The process will take about three months. After three months, the results will be compiled and a preliminary production plan will be created.

After the production plan is finalized, the next step is the formal production stage, but the initial phase still involves things like set design and costume restoration.

Lu Jiang anticipates that the entire project will be completed after he finishes filming "The Story of a Noble Family".

The production side is merely a matter of skill on the chessboard.

For the "Dae Jang Geum" project, the greatest benefit lies not within the game itself, but outside of it.

This is what I referred to as the "industry side" issue.

This is also the condition for triggering the Golden Insurance in "Dae Jang Geum".

There was only one condition for triggering a battle in "Meteor Garden": a TV station had to broadcast it.

The broadcasting platform and time slot don't matter, as long as it's available.

In "You Are Beautiful", there are two conditions for triggering achievements: the distribution platform and the network.

These are all related to the actual conditions under which the original work became a phenomenon.

In "Dae Jang Geum," the conditions for triggering achievements took on a new form.

In addition to television broadcasting platforms, supporting industries such as tourism and catering are also needed.

The reason for doing this is quite simple.

That is, the original "Dae Jang Geum" achieved such great success not entirely due to the drama itself!
Rather, it was the result of the South Korean government's full support, the collaboration of various South Korean companies, and the combined efforts of a high-quality drama series that led to this success.

The government made advance arrangements, and when "Dae Jang Geum" became a hit, South Korea's tourism, catering, and other industries saw a surge in business.

Korean medicine, Korean cuisine, and the entertainment industry have directly embarked on internationalization.

South Korea has undergone a complete transformation in the perception of people around the world.
In other words, the success of "Dae Jang Geum" is actually a victory of a systematic national project under South Korea's "culture-based nation" strategy, and a win-win situation for South Korea's cultural exports and the export of its physical industries.

Now Lu Jiang has secured the rights to "Dae Jang Geum" and also has a gold insurance policy.

The country naturally cannot provide him with the same level of support as South Korea.

But he clicked on industry cooperation first.

It could be a partnership or an acquisition.

How big will the benefits be once the project is successful?

The impact spread and affected competitors.

How great was the honor it brought to Lu Jiang?
Just thinking about it makes me excited!
Of course, this is on the premise that the series meets the standard of fidelity to the source material.

This requires a lot of time and effort.

Therefore, Lu Jiang will definitely not take on the role in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" unless the actor with the big beard can offer him an irresistible offer.

"Okay, click, perfect!"

The thirteenth day of the first lunar month.

Two days before Lu Jiang went to the United States to attend the Grammys, he finally completed the last thing he did in China.

That was the initial collaboration with Mr. Zhou.

The two completed the music video recording for the song "Killer".

This version of the "Killer" music video doesn't use JJ Lin's original version; it uses a different story.

The male protagonist (the assassin) has set his sights on a new target, Zhou Gongzi.

After several days of tracking and observation, they finally decided to take action.

However, the day before the plan was finalized, the female protagonist struck back and killed him.

It turns out the female lead is also an assassin, and a more sophisticated one at that.

Highlighting one theme: the best killers often appear in the form of prey!
The music video's storyline is very simple, and filming it wasn't difficult either.

Zhou Gongzi's main task is to act in a simple and harmless manner.

The shots are mostly taken from a candid perspective.

Lu Jiang's role is also small, consisting of various acts of stalking and looking at the wall full of information about the female lead at home.

The two don't officially meet until the very last scene; one is filled with doubt, fear, and relief, while the other is cold-blooded and triumphant.
The overall preparation work took a week, but the actual shooting only took one day, which was extremely efficient.

Regarding their first collaboration, Zhou Xun smiled and said, "Your eyes are very special."

"What's so special about it?"

"It can bewitch souls."

"do not do that."

"What are you thinking? I mean, your eye acting is excellent. I've never seen anyone like you."

"Oh? How exactly is it good?"

"It's an indescribable feeling, but it's very comfortable. It's easy to get into character when acting opposite you."

Lu Jiang was very satisfied after hearing this.

It's not easy to get Zhou Xun to praise your eye acting.

Thank you, GameSpot!
"I hope we can work together on a bigger role next time; I didn't get enough of the role just now."

At this moment, Young Master Zhou sighed.

Sure, let's keep in touch.

"Am I really going to take this seriously?"

"of course."

Mr. Zhou was satisfied, and then asked, "When are we going to America?"

"The flight is the day after tomorrow morning."

"Then I wish you every success."

"No way, winning an award is basically impossible. I'm just treating this trip as a vacation."

"What if a miracle happens?"

"Then I'll lend you some good words."

As Lu Jiang spoke, he added, "If we're really going to create a miracle, I'll definitely include you in my acceptance speech!"

"Really? Then it's a deal!"

"necessary!"

Considering you gave me "Hall of Fame," this is my way of repaying you.

Of course, Lu Jiang didn't think he could win the award.
After filming wrapped, the two gave an interview to Entertainment Live.

After exchanging compliments, the collaboration came to a successful conclusion.

The next morning, Lu Jiang packed his bags at home.

Fan Binbin hung a good luck charm around Lu Jiang's neck: "Wear it properly, and don't take it off, understand?"

"Good~"

Lu Jiang placed the peace charm against his chest, patted it, and said, "Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"No foreign horses allowed, they're dirty!" "You think too highly of me. I'm only going for five days, I don't have time."

"I don't care, you have to promise me!"

"Okay, okay, I absolutely won't ride it!"

Seeing that Lu Jiang agreed, Fan Binbin put away his stern face and hugged Lu Jiang: "Be careful on the way, don't eat anything indiscriminately, and don't cause trouble. I'll wait for you to come back."

"Don't worry, I'm leaving now. You stay hidden."

As he spoke, Lu Jiang went out, but not through the main gate; instead, he left his room.

The CCTV crew was already waiting outside. When they saw Lu Jiang come out, the cameras followed.
With two days to go until the Grammys, Lu Jiang's entire journey from leaving his room at home was recorded.

Lu Jiang himself felt that it was a bit too much of a fuss, since the odds of winning the award were extremely small.

Since it didn't win an award, this documentary is basically useless.

Making such a big fuss is really going too far.

But they couldn't resist CCTV's strong demands.

What if I actually win?

Even if you don't win, you can still keep it as a memento.

Lu Jiang then went with them.

In addition to people from CCTV, the Musicians Association, and the Central Conservatory of Music, Lao Lu also accompanied the group on this trip to North America.

He wasn't entirely there to witness Lu Jiang's potential moment of glory, but rather to check out movie theaters in the US.

Now that Qidian has started to expand into cinemas, it's time to check out the most advanced markets.

After leaving the house, I got into the car and drove all the way to the airport.

At this time, there were already many reporters waiting at the airport.

When Lu Jiang appeared, reporters surrounded him.

The main issues almost all revolve around "whether or not one has confidence".

Lu Jiang's attitude remained the same:

"The main purpose is to broaden my horizons. It would be great if I actually won an award, but it's okay if I don't. I'll treat it as a trip."

Domestic public opinion regarding this year's Grammys has generally been quite rational.

Most people don't think Lu Jiang can win the award on his first try.

Upon closer examination, the main reason is that the Grammys are relatively unfamiliar to Chinese people, and Chinese people have not had many achievements in the Grammys in the past.

In addition, Lu Jiang himself took the initiative to control public opinion.

That's why public opinion in mainland China is now at the point that "being nominated is already a historic achievement."

Lu Jiang's proactive control of public opinion played a significant role in this.

Otherwise, if public opinion is allowed to develop unchecked, it could very well develop into the same kind of public opinion that the national football team is currently facing.

There are still three months until this year's World Cup.

The group stage schedule was announced on December 1st last year.

Their group stage opponents are Brazil, Costa Rica, and Türkiye.

Because the Chinese national football team had already qualified for the next round two rounds early, their performance far exceeded expectations.

Therefore, the domestic outlook for the group stage is quite optimistic.

The front page headline of Sports Weekly read: "Auspicious Draw! The Round of 16 is Beckoning!"

People in this era can hardly resist such incitement.

As a result, almost everyone believed the prediction of "scoring a goal, getting a point, and winning a game".

He was incredibly arrogant.

The final result is self-evident.

Shame!

When Lu Jiang was first nominated for a Grammy, he was in a similar situation.

In this day and age, everything in China desperately needs recognition from authoritative international organizations!
In other words, Lu Jiang himself consistently demanded a low profile, rationality, and objectivity, and systematically de-escalated the situation through all channels. CCTV listened to his advice, which prevented him from having a front-page headline, and the overall public opinion returned to normal.
More than ten hours later, Lu Jiang landed in New York at 10 p.m. New York time.

This year's Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

So logically, you should fly directly to Los Angeles, which is also cheaper.

However, due to scheduling issues, Lu Jiang's first three engagements in the US were all in New York, so he went directly to New York.

Upon arrival, Zhou Jianhui and his entourage met them at the airport.

After some introductions and pleasantries, Lu Jiang headed straight to his first announcement location: ADS radio station, where "Midnight Love" was being broadcast.

The song "You" first became popular on this radio station, so Lu Jiang chose this station as his first broadcast location to attract listeners' attention.

The radio station had been announcing it for several days, and it's said that listeners and fans have high expectations.

Upon arriving at the destination, Lu Jiang met Allen, the director who had made a mistake with the song, and Arthur, the DJ at the time.

The two were quite excited to see Lu Jiang.

Because of the popularity of "You" and its nomination, the radio mishap also became well-known in the North American music industry, resulting in a significant increase in radio listenership.

Currently, "You" has sold over 210 million copies worldwide, with over 150 million sold in North America alone.

The song became incredibly popular.

Despite the song's immense popularity, singer Lu Jiang is currently in a situation where the song is famous but he himself is not.

Just like those wildly popular songs during the era of ringtones in mainland China, the singers' fame was far less than that of the songs.

But no matter what, Lu Jiang is the author of "You," and now he has a Grammy nomination. He is also Chinese and has Warner Bros. backing.

As a result, Lu Jiang has become one of the most watched singers at this year's Grammys in the current North American music scene.

This is Lu Jiang's first time in North America, and also his first time facing the North American public.

As a radio station that had long been at the bottom of the New York rankings, Midnight Love was naturally quite flattered.

That's all traffic!
For director Allen, there was an even more exciting reason for this.

That's because of the huge success of "You" that Allen kept his job and even received a bonus!

So when they first met, Allen greeted him excitedly: "Hello (in Chinese), I am (in Chinese) Allen."

"Hello Allen, your Chinese is excellent."

"Thank you (in Chinese)! I've been studying Chinese for a long time, it's so hard to learn, but it seems pretty good now, right?"

"It's really good, the best I've ever seen or heard of."

"Really? Wow, then I need to keep studying!"

Allen's expression became increasingly animated.

This simple first meeting scene was captured entirely by CCTV cameras.

For Lu Jiang, it was just a pleasant surprise.

But for the CCTV and Music Association personnel accompanying them, their spirits were practically soaring to the heavens!

The Americans were so excited to see Lu Jiang!
And she even went to learn Chinese!

This is the influence of Lu Jiang!
pride!

proud!

Lu Jiang is a genius!

This section must be kept.
Now let's get down to business.

Before recording the program, Lu Jiang also met with John, the owner of the radio station.

John's attitude was similar to the other two's; he was also very enthusiastic towards Lu Jiang.

The main reason, besides the need to appear enthusiastic due to the CCTV interview, is what's indicated in the green treasure chest on his head:
John is currently facing a financial crisis due to the poor box office performance of his new movie. He hopes that his host's program will achieve the expected high listenership in order to better fulfill the advertising contract.

[Exceed the requirements and upgrade the treasure chest]

No wonder he is so enthusiastic.

They're all after money.

But this guy actually makes movies?

I don't know if he's just an investor or something else.

Lu Jiang thought about it and decided it would be better to ask.

He currently has zero connections in North America except for Warner Bros. headquarters.

The relationship with Warner headquarters is also currently unstable.

Therefore, if you have the opportunity, you should try to build your own network of contacts.

After some initial pleasantries, it was learned that he was a major shareholder of the radio station, a Jewish man, and most importantly, he also owned an independent film company in Hollywood.

Although the radio station's performance was mediocre, the film company's performance was also mediocre.

But that was enough to pique Lu Jiang's interest!

(End of this chapter)