Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 725 has been submitted; the list is available.

The media in Beijing are never short of headlines.

The next morning, news of Wu Chen, Liu Yifei, Zhang Yimou, and Bell having a private dinner together made it to the front pages of major entertainment sections.

The photo is somewhat blurry, clearly taken secretly, but the outlines of the four people are clearly discernible.

The press release was fairly standard, stating only that Christian Bale, the lead actor of "The Flowers of War," arrived in Beijing and had dinner with director Zhang Yimou and industry friend Wu Chen, among others.

But for industry insiders, this photo conveys a wealth of information.

With the premiere of "The Flowers of War" just around the corner, producer Zhang Weiping surprisingly did not appear at the event.

Instead, as soon as he arrived, he had dinner with Wu Chen, Liu Yifei, and others, and Zhang Yi was also there.
This further confirms what has been circulating in the industry.

The two are about to go their separate ways completely.

Within the industry, there are quite a few people who want to see Zhang Weiping make a fool of himself.

"Haha! What a slap in the face! Zhang Weiping must be green with envy."

"With his arrogant and domineering attitude a few years ago, who wouldn't want to see him suffer? He deserved it!"

Many people are watching this as a joke, but Huayi isn't, because they're about to become a joke themselves.

Huayi Brothers, CEO's Office.

"sure?"

Wang Zhongjun's expression was more serious than ever before as he stared at his younger brother, Wang Zhonglei.

"It's true." Wang Zhonglei gritted his teeth, almost squeezing out the words. "Yinghuang's methods are disgusting! They contacted us secretly, and only informed us when things were almost done!"
And this Ge You! We at Huayi have never treated him badly!

It's important to know that Ge You and Feng Xiaogang are Huayi's two trump cards.

His departure was nothing short of an "earthquake" for Huayi.

Sure enough, the next day, Yinghuang Entertainment Group struck while the iron was hot, holding a grand press conference on Hong Kong Island and announcing in a high-profile manner:

"Mr. Ge You has reached a deep strategic cooperation with Hong Kong Yinghuang Entertainment Group. In the next five years, he will produce three films for Yinghuang."

As soon as the news came out, the industry was in an uproar.

"Hehe, Director Wu, do you think Huayi knew in advance?"

In Wanda Pictures' office, General Manager Zhang Lin brewed a pot of fine tea for Wu Chen, his face beaming with an undisguised smile that seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold.

To be honest, Huayi's misfortune is not a bad thing for other film and television companies; most of them are just watching with amusement.

"It's hard to say." Wu Chen shook his head, picked up his teacup, and gently blew on it. "However, I tend to think that Huayi will be kept in the dark until things are finalized."

In his view, confidentiality is the top priority in contract negotiations at this level.

Yinghuang and Geyou's teams will definitely operate in secrecy to prevent Huayi from getting wind of the situation and trying to "stir things up" or play the "emotional card" to retain them, thus increasing the difficulty of negotiations.

"Then Huayi's stock price is going to fall! I wonder what terms Yinghuang offered."

Zhang Lin could already imagine the shock, anger, and helplessness that Huayi was experiencing.

This sudden event probably caught Huayi off guard.

“There’s a high probability that Ge You won’t be able to refuse.” Wu Chen put down his teacup and then got down to business. “By the way, Mr. Zhang, are you talking about ‘Love Story in Beijing’?”

"Oh, I almost forgot, this matter has been settled. It will premiere in Jiangsu and Zhejiang in early next year, tentatively scheduled for January. The price is acceptable, but it's still far inferior to Xingchen's 'Scarlet Heart'."

"Haha, Mr. Zhang, you're still being greedy," Wu Chen teased.

However, Zhang Lin changed the subject.

"Oh, right, Director Wu, there's something else."

Chen Sicheng plans to adapt "Love Story in Beijing" into a movie. He talked to me about his ideas a few days ago, and he will further refine the script after the TV series airs.

Zhang Lin naturally had reservations about Chen Sicheng making movies, after all, the other party was still a complete newcomer in the film industry.

Fortunately, there's Wu Chen to consult, since he also has the right to invest in Chen Sicheng's films, as agreed back then.

"What about others?"

Wu Chen pondered for a moment and then asked.

“He’s at the company. Should I call him over?” Seeing Wu Chen nod, Zhang Lin immediately called his secretary. Shortly after, Chen Sicheng pushed open the door and entered.

Upon seeing Wu Chen, he immediately greeted him respectfully, "Director Wu, President Zhang."

"Sit down." Wu Chen gestured to the sofa opposite him. "I heard from President Zhang that you want to make 'Love Story in Beijing' into a movie?"

"Yes, Director Wu."

"The TV series hasn't even aired yet, how can you be so confident? Tell me," Wu Chen asked directly.

"Director Wu, I think that TV series and movies are two different mediums." Chen Sicheng had clearly done his homework.

"The TV series is an ensemble piece. But for the movie, I want to focus more on the characters of Cheng Feng and Shen Bing..."

He talked on and on for more than ten minutes.

Wu Chen and Zhang Lin listened quietly without interrupting him.

After he finished speaking, Wu Chen nodded and turned to Zhang Lin.

"Mr. Zhang, I don't think it's a bad idea. Let's polish the script. Xingchen can invest 30% of the budget in this film."

In a single sentence, Wu Chen defined the nature of this project.

An uncontrollable surge of joy instantly welled up on Chen Sicheng's face.

He was so excited that his lips were trembling.

"Thank you, Director Wu! Thank you, Director Wu!"

Zhang Lin was also invigorated.

Could it be that Wanda's first director is really going to succeed?

He immediately started dangling a carrot in front of Chen Sicheng: "Sicheng, you heard what Director Wu said. Polish the script well, and if it's good, Wanda and Xingchen will invest directly!"

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang! Thank you, Director Wu!"

Chen Sicheng stood up and bowed deeply to the two men, especially Wu Chenshi.

At this very moment, "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" and "The Flowers of War" both launched their premieres on December 12th.

The two films were locked in a fierce and aggressive battle, neither willing to yield.

Even in press releases and news reports, it's a zero-sum game where if you publish one, I'll publish one too.

An interesting phenomenon has been observed both inside and outside the industry;

If you see news about one of the two movies, then the other movie will inevitably appear in the related recommendations.

Film critics after the premiere quickly split into two camps, each praising the film they watched and belittling the other.

"Damn it, you can't find a single genuine film review anymore."

"Well, that's how it is. But I still trust Zhang Yi a little more."

"Yes, Zhang Yimou's films, no matter how bad they are, can't be that bad."

In terms of reputation, Zhang Yimou still holds the absolute upper hand.

Meanwhile, Wu Chen and Liu Yifei quietly appeared at Beijing Airport.

The two of them needed to return to Buddha City ahead of schedule.
"Have your aunts and the others already gone?" Wu Chen asked.

"Yes, my mom also brought a few relatives from Jiangcheng." Liu Yifei smiled, took Wu Chen's arm, and whispered to him as they walked, counting the relatives who would be coming.

Not many.

As the two boarded the plane to Guangzhou, a sudden piece of news shattered the tranquility of movie fans around the world.

The nominations for the 69th Golden Globe Awards have been announced.

In the past, this would have been just a Hollywood party.

But this year, thanks to the phenomenal success of "Interstellar," countless movie fans around the world are keeping a close eye on this list.

When the list was announced, everyone was stunned.

Immediately, movie fans around the world were abuzz with excitement upon seeing the list of names.
(End of this chapter)