It's reasonable for me to be a three-time Golden Horse Award-winning director and an all-around

Chapter 113 Ning Hao: "The wind and snow have been pressing down on me for two or three years, making it a total of five years!" (Seeking monthly votes)
Although the investment in "Crazy Stone" was only 400 million yuan, Ning Hao still gritted his teeth and squeezed out some funds to hold a launch ceremony.

For commercial films to achieve high box office returns, they need to engage in marketing and generate buzz; they can't simply be made and sent to film festivals like art films do.

When Lü Rui arrived at the film crew, he saw that the stage had already been set up and the actors were dressed in costumes and preparing to go on stage.

Despite the tight budget, Ruishijie still lent a hand to the promotion.

For example, most of the media reporters present today were arranged by Lü Rui to lend their support.

The newly established publicity department of Ruishijie also played a significant role in this.

Compared to print media, the three major portal websites are at their peak, with extremely high news timeliness.

As a result, reporters from the three major portal websites always stood in the front row, no matter which film crew they visited.

Along with the reporters from the Sixth Princess's family, they are all people that major film and television production teams are unwilling to offend.

These media outlets may not be helpful under normal circumstances, but once they start causing trouble, they can definitely annoy the entire production crew.

At 10:00 AM sharp, the launch press conference officially began.

When Lü Rui and Ning Hao appeared on stage together, they immediately attracted enthusiastic attention from the media present.

In fact, according to reporters, even if Ning Hao, the entire cast and crew of "Crazy Stone" and other main actors were combined, their combined popularity would probably not match that of Lü Rui alone.

Therefore, people are clearly more willing to throw questions at him than to interview other people.

"Director Lü, you didn't write the screenplay for 'Crazy Stone,' yet the investment was as high as 400 million. Are you confident that the film won't lose money?"

The moment the Sina reporter asked the question, Ning Hao's smile froze.

He knew he didn't have much influence in these people's eyes, but he never expected to be looked down upon like this!
They actually worried that he would ruin Ruishijie, and even questioned whether the 400 million investment might be a loss?
Does he really think Ning Hao has no temper?
He felt a surge of anger... and in that anger, he snapped...

Lu Rui took over the conversation, his tone resolute: "Please rest assured, everyone. My decision to invest in 'Crazy Stone' proves that I have confidence in it."

I'm absolutely certain it won't lose money, and I trust Ning Hao completely. He was my photographer before, and I know his abilities..."

He didn't care about anything else and praised Ning Hao lavishly.

As a producer, it would be a joke if you didn't have confidence in the projects you invested in.

The script for "Crazy Stone" was already of good quality, and it became a dark horse in its previous life with little promotion. With the help of marketing this time, it may bring even greater surprises!

Lü Rui was quite looking forward to it.

However, what he didn't know was that Ning Hao beside him was already deeply moved by his praise.

He had previously approached many people with the script for "Crazy Stone," but repeatedly encountered setbacks.

Many people look down on him, but he himself is not up to par, and he almost lost his life while filming "Green Grassland".

Previously, Liu Dehua had launched an "Asian Rising Star Director" program, saying that he could invest in him.

But after he traveled all the way to Hong Kong, the promised 3 million yuan was reduced again and again, until finally only 1 million yuan remained, and that 1 million yuan took up the majority of the money.

This made him so frustrated that he almost had a breakdown on the spot!

From graduating from the cinematography department of Beijing Film Academy to the present, his directing career can be summarized in one sentence:

"I've been under the weight of wind and snow for two or three years, so it's been five years in total!"

He was prepared to accept the plan even at a loss, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better, and he found a more suitable investor.

Now that Lü Rui is willing to support his ambitions and help him realize his dream of becoming a director... He secretly vowed that he would definitely climb to the top of the mountain and never let this trust down!

"Director Ning, I'd like to ask, is it true that there are rumors circulating that you have water in your brain?"

Ning Hao was stunned: What did you say? What the hell is that?

You think he's easy to bully, huh?
His eyes widened as he stared at the reporter in front of him...

Huh?
Is she a reporter from the Sixth Princess?
A smile instantly bloomed on his face, and he said softly, "It's just ordinary hydrocephalus, it's nothing serious."

He already had a plan in mind. He would play the coward for now, and once the movie became a box office hit, he would definitely get his revenge!

Right now it's just ordinary hydrocephalus, but once he succeeds, it will be "all-encompassing" hydrocephalus!
...

Today is the day for "Crazy Stone," so Lü Rui naturally won't try to steal the spotlight.

After offering a few simple compliments, he stepped aside and handed the stage over to the main creative team.

After the interview, he arranged for someone to deliver a generous writing fee to the reporters at the only exit.

This process is essential.

As a reborn individual who experienced the "cyberbullying era" of the future, Lü Rui deeply understands the power of words to kill!

Many large production teams are arrogant and disregard the media, even to the point of "bullying the media because of their size".

For example, the crews of "The Twins Effect II" and "House of Flying Daggers" had conflicts with the media, which escalated into incidents such as "gang beating up reporters" and "acting violently," and they were chased and scolded by various media for several months.

Even the crew of Chen Kaige's "The Promise" failed to appease these uncrowned kings, and a bunch of dirt on them was dug up.

From disputes among lead actors to extras complaining about boxed lunches, to damage to scenic spots... public opinion has been completely ruined.

At the time, Lü Rui even thought that the producers of "The Promise" must have something wrong with their brains.

After the incident involving the film "House of Flying Daggers" and the reporter, the production team actively sought to remedy the situation, offering apologies and explanations to salvage the public's reputation as much as possible.

But "The Promise" was a different story. Its public relations were terrible, and it had almost no effective response strategy after the incident, resulting in widespread condemnation from various media outlets and netizens.

I don't know if Chen Kai is aloof and disdains to argue, or if Chen Hong is really as stingy as rumored, unwilling to even bribe the media.

With these negative examples before him, Lü Rui never skimped on expenses in this regard. As long as the reporters were willing to cooperate, he would give them some travel expenses and writing fees.

This is why the media outlets that have worked with him have mostly reported on him in a positive light, with very few negative stories being exposed.

Of course, he wasn't friendly to all reporters; at least they had to be legitimate journalists.

He would never invite those who specialize in digging into other people's privacy, even revealing details like how many people are in their family or their home address, to come for an interview.

This disgusting reporter should be beaten out with sticks!
"Director Lü!"

A sudden call from behind caught Lü Rui's attention.

He instinctively turned around and saw that the Sina reporter was still there, and instead, he was smiling and approaching him.

"What's up?"

Lu Rui's gentle tone made the Sina reporter secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

He loves attending Ruishijie's events, not only because they always generate plenty of buzz, but he also gets a red envelope (cash gift) when he leaves.

The key point is that the people here are friendly to reporters, unlike other companies where everyone treats them like "plague"!
"I forgot to ask you earlier, besides 'Click' and 'Crazy Stone,' do you have any new plans for the future?"

Lu Rui initially planned to find an excuse to get by, but then he thought it was unnecessary.

Since it will be announced sooner or later anyway, generating buzz in advance will help attract investment and advertisers later.

Thinking of this, he paused briefly before replying, "Indeed, there are new plans. I'm currently preparing an action film, still a Sino-foreign co-production, with an estimated investment of around 1 million..."

Lu Rui gave a brief overview of "Taken" but did not reveal the film's title, leaving it as a mystery.

The Sina reporter standing in front of him could not hide his excitement!
news!

Big news!
This is a major exclusive news story!

He had only been asking casually, never expecting to get such a bombshell!
Action commercial film, Sino-foreign co-production, 1 million investment...

These keywords are enough to appear on the homepage of Sina's portal website for a whole week!

……

With the press conference and media interviews concluded, filming for "Crazy Stone" officially began.

As is customary, the main cast and crew members must make an appearance on camera on the first day of filming.

Lu Rui stood behind the monitor watching, while Ning Hao shouted to everyone to start filming.

In the footage, in the dark and narrow alley, Brother Dao leads the way, accompanied by Blackie, muttering to himself as they walk:

"Your outfit underneath is so flashy, are you trying to go for a sexy look? You need to keep a low profile when you're new to the industry, don't you understand?"

Huang Bo tilted his head: "Low-key? This is a brand name! Baleno!"

Lu Rui's lips twitched, and he subconsciously looked at Ning Hao, asking curiously, "Did you secure investment from Baleno?"

"No!" Ning Hao looked bewildered, wondering why he would ask that.
Baleno is a top-tier brand, why would they invest in such a low-budget film?
"It's okay, just keep busy."

Lu Rui withdrew his gaze, looked at Huang Bo as he tossed his long hair, and silently mourned for [Baleno] for three seconds.

Poor Baleno, once this movie is released, it's likely to go from a top-tier trendy brand to something resembling a rural-urban fringe style.

Who was the last unlucky one?

It looks like a Mazda?

...

After a full day of filming, that evening, at Lü Rui's invitation, everyone went to the hotel for a start-up banquet.

By the second meeting, everyone had become much more familiar with each other, and the atmosphere was more relaxed and lively than the last time.

Liu Ye, Guo Tao, Xu Zheng, Wang Xun, and Huang Bo took turns toasting Lü Rui, creating a lively atmosphere.

Even Ning Hao's wife, Xing Aina, held a full glass of baijiu and walked sincerely to Lü Rui to express her heartfelt gratitude for his great support of Ning Hao.

"You're welcome, it's all trivial."

Lu Rui smiled and clinked glasses with them, and thoughtfully added that they were welcome to come back and collaborate with him again if there were any suitable projects in the future.

Ning Hao and Xing Aina exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with emotion.

They will forever remember this kindness and support!
...

The next morning, Lü Rui left the mountain city, preparing to return to the capital to handle other matters.

Work on "Click" and "Crazy Stone" has temporarily come to an end, and it's time to get started on preparations for "Taken".

The investors we had contacted earlier were already impatient and would call every few days to inquire about the project's progress.

It's time to get them to spend money... oh wait, I mean to reassure them.

On the plane, he was carefully planning his next steps when suddenly, a familiar system notification sounded in his mind:

[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have successfully translated the Hollywood film "Taken" into Chinese and passed the Film Bureau's review.]

[The mission reward, a C-level talent: "Pierre Morrel's techniques for uncovering themes of 'innovative camera style' and 'entertainment in action films'," has been successfully awarded.]

[Ding - New task issued: Please advance the financing, casting, product placement, and location scouting for the film "Taken".]

[Reward upon completion of the mission: Rank B talent: ...]

(End of this chapter)