In the long alley at the back entrance of the Almeida Theater, the enthusiastic discussion is filled with a large group of heating, quietly dissipating the cold and bitterness of the night, and those discussions about the theater, whether professional or amateur, can always be answered, not even from the blue court, but from other audiences, and the bustling atmosphere of discussion really unites everyone.

Perhaps, this is also one of the charms of London's West End.

"Are you sure it's okay? It's a bit of a cool down today, or I'll buy you a cup of coffee." That's at least what I can do. Lan Li could catch a few trembling figures in the crowd, and their thin clothes didn't seem to be enough to shield the ubiquitous demon wind.

"No", "It's okay", "We're fine", one after another, with a shallow smile, filled the ears.

Lan Li couldn't help but relax, and joked, "Don't worry about my bank account, as far as I know, the attendance rate of the Almeida Theater in the past two weeks is still good." A cup of coffee, that's at least what I can do, but, at most, add a doughnut, that's my limit. The number of people present at the back door today seems to be a bit overwhelming. ”

Everyone burst into laughter.

London's West End has never been a place to make money.

In Hollywood, even the most modest supporting roles can be paid at $50,000, while extras are paid $150 a day, or $200 if they need to be filmed in the rain, head covering, or in hostile environments.

In London's West End, the average weekly wage for actors is £500, and the actors here are specifically those in the first cast, and even less if they are in the second or third cast, which has few performances.

The reason is not complicated, on the one hand, a play in the West End of London, with many actors, except for the absolute core protagonist, the weekly salary of other actors is the same, rather than the hierarchy of Hollywood, on the other hand, it is a cliché, the box office income and investment level of the West End of London are far less than ten years ago, and the increase in remuneration is relatively limited.

If you want to make money, going back to London's West End or Broadway is the stupidest thing to do, and most British actors stand on the stage in the West End, and making money is not the first goal. Many of the top big-name actors, who occasionally make a cameo appearance in London's West End or on Broadway, either charge a symbolic few thousand dollars or simply perform for free.

In the Almeida Theatre version of "Les Miserables", everyone knows that the commercial value of Lan Li is unique, and Lan Li alone can be worth everyone else in the crew, but in the crew, Lan Li's remuneration is the same as Michelle Dockery, Charlotte Kennedy, Daisy Ridley and others, six hundred pounds.

Although the investor of this play is Andre Hamilton, a master who is not bad for money, in business, investing in the production of a play must be professional and objective after all, rather than holding the mentality of being wronged.

As a result, Les Misérables is still produced in strict accordance with industry standards, and the market value of the show is under tremendous pressure given the length of six hours and the innovative creation. In order to save costs, the remuneration of the cast and crew is only a little above the average level in the industry.

Six hundred pounds, that's a weekly wage. It is not calculated according to the number of performances, but according to the performance cycle. In other words, "Les Miserables" will be staged at the Almeida Theatre for three months, a total of 12 weeks, and the Blue Rite will only be paid £7,200.

By the way, this is pre-tax income, which is not yet up to when the real bank is credited.

Such a salary is even lower than the number of Lan Li starring in "Love is Crazy", and even lower than Lan Li's salary for starring in an episode of "Pacific War". Not to mention making money, in a big city like London, where every inch of land is at a premium, it is extremely difficult to make ends meet.

When he took over the filming of "Edge of Tomorrow", Lan Li's personal salary had exceeded 10 million US dollars, and after the Oscars ended, it was rumored that Paramount and Twentieth Century Fox were interested in inviting Lan Li to star in the project, and the salary was 15 million.

However, Lan Li did not even negotiate, and simply returned to the West End of London, and joined the Almeida Theatre version of "Les Miserables" at a salary of 600 pounds a week.

In fact, instead of those side-by-side comparisons, just comparing the movie version of "Les Miserables", Hugh Jackman's personal salary is eight million dollars - this is not a commercial film, but an art film, and the salary is relatively narrow.

This move has effectively cleared up all the "hype rumors".

Although some media still questioned that the reason why Lan Li returned to the West End of London was because "Love Crazy" won the Oscar statuette, and the convincing power was not enough, so Lan Li chose to stand on the stage and fight it out with absolute strength;

Compared with Lan Li's remuneration in Hollywood, the salary in London's West End is really too shabby. People even joke that London's West End and Broadway are not entertainment industries at all, just ordinary office workers.

Why is London's West End and Broadway declining? and fewer actors? Everyone knows it's a vicious circle, but there's no denying that the numbers on bank accounts may be the reason – at least part of the reason.

On the other hand, this is also the reason why the old British actors have always insisted on returning to the West End of London, and continue to perform in plays at low prices or even for free, in order to maintain the West End of London, and also to maintain artistic creation. Naturally, for those actors who refuse to return to London's West End, other fellow actors also have a scale in mind.

Every viewer who loves London's West End knows well the dilemma faced by the actors. Lan Li's words just now were not a self-deprecation in the midst of bitterness, and of course, for Lan Li, he was indeed not short of the price of a cup of coffee.

"In that case, let's stop tonight's conversation. I need to go back and take a hot shower, get some rest, and prepare for tomorrow — no, for today's show. Lan Li smiled and said, "Thank you again for your support tonight, I hope you enjoyed tonight's performance." ”

Rebecca raised her right hand high, and her clear and bright voice echoed in the night, "Young Master, pay attention to your body, take good care, come on today's performance!"

The smile on the corner of Lan Li's mouth finally bloomed completely, and it was raised lightly, outlining a touch of warmth, "You all hurry back, there is no subway now, on the way home, pay attention to safety!"

"Young master, be careful of bankruptcy. Rebecca shouted again, and everyone burst into laughter in unison, and Lan Li couldn't help but laugh, waved at everyone, and then turned to leave.

Rebecca watched Lan Li leave, bypassing the alley, and walking towards the main street of London's West End, where the tall figure gradually disappeared under the faint halo of the creamy street lights, everything was so beautiful.

Retracting her gaze, Rebecca turned her head to look at the other friends around her, "There are still two and a half months left for the performance at the Almeida Theater, in the future, when we wait at the back door, let's advise each other, stay sanity, stay calm, the young master is really too hard, at least, we can maintain order......"

"Yes, yes, I think so too. Honestly, after the whole day of the show, the young master is still here to chat with us, God, he is really an angel!"

"Let's discuss and organize it in the future, don't let the young master worry about us. ”

Rebecca just raised her head, and the other voices couldn't wait to respond, and the mood of happiness and satisfaction rose slightly. She likes this kind of blue gift, she likes such fans, and she likes this West End like this even more.

Tonight's backdoor exchange was not long, it only lasted less than ten minutes, and the blue ceremony was over, but today's state is really not very good, tomorrow you can extend the stay, as compensation, anyway, after that, it will be a rest day, you can really relax.

After leaving the back alley, the cold wind on the main street became more and more fierce, Lan Li had to pull up the collar of his coat to resist the cold, and then took out his mobile phone and dialed the familiar number, "Where are you now?"

Matthew Dunlop turned on the car's lights, and the orange halo dispelled the darkness around him, like a lighthouse, guiding the way, "See me?"

Matthew didn't leave immediately after tonight's show. He knew that Paul and Meadow were there tonight, and that Ranley and them were going to make small talk for a while, and then learned that Tom, who was not yet an adult, did not return home immediately after the show, and Matthew expected that Nathan would definitely be sent out to be the driver, so he stayed and waited a little longer.

Sure enough, Lan Li's call came.

"Yes, I saw it. Lan Li waved his hand, "Did you get my text message, or did you not go back at all?" After sending Paul away, Lan Li sent a text message to Matthew, calling for help.

"I know Tom didn't catch the last train. Matthew's succinct answer was answered in a different way.

Standing at the crossroads, honestly waiting for the red light to turn green, Lan Li couldn't help but complain, "The weather forecast didn't say that the cold snap invaded today, why did the temperature drop so much at night?"

Looking at Alfonso Cuarón who appeared in front of him, Lan Li's eyes couldn't help but widen, "Matthew, I'll call you back later." After hanging up, Lan Li looked at Alfonso for some reason, and then showed a look of surprise, "Jesus Christ, are you sure you're okay? What about your companions?"

"Uh......" Alfonso was really frozen, he didn't wear a heavy coat today, obviously underestimating the weather attack in London, which caused his words to become even more unfavorable," she ...... She went back to the hotel first, and I stayed...... You, well, talk. ”