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

Chapter 121 What is the identity of the company's top female employee? (Seeking monthly votes)

After the interview, Liu Yifei removed her makeup and officially left the "The Return of the Condor Heroes" production team.

The mother and daughter planned to return to the capital to pack their luggage before heading to Hollywood.

Lu Rui specifically instructed Hou Hongliang to charter a plane so that all personnel and equipment could be brought to Hollywood when they departed.

At the same time, the timeliness of the news is fully demonstrated.

Less than an hour after the interview ended, the headlines on major entertainment news websites and sections had already been updated:
"Liu Yifei, who played Xiaolongnu in 'The Return of the Condor Heroes,' has finished filming her scenes and is suspected of joining 'Taken,' where she will collaborate with Jiang Wen and Lü Rui on a new film."

"Liu Yifei said that although her acting skills are not as good as Zhou Xun's, she is more suitable for the role of 'Little Dragon Girl'."

"A deep dive into director Lü Rui's personality both on and off set..."

"Taken is about to start filming, and the main cast has been revealed... Follow Sina.com to get the latest details!"

"Revised by Ruishijie: 'Taken' will begin filming in Hollywood in March, with a production team including director Lü Rui and cinematographer Gu Changwei..."

Cast: Jiang Wen, Liu Yifei, Zhou Yun, Jing Tian, ​​Andy Serkis, Amy Adams, Ryan Gosling, Michael Shannon, Tom Hardy, Christian Bale… This year’s Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood will make a cameo appearance…

As soon as the news broke, the entire internet exploded.

"Director Lü's connections are amazing! An Oscar-winning director making a cameo appearance? Incredible!"

"Ling'er is going to work with Director Lü again? Looking forward to it. It seems like all the movies she's acted in were directed by Lü Rui, so are they related?"

"Jiang Wen + Lü Rui, this combination is a sure thing, there's no doubt it will be amazing!"

"Wow, the Hollywood lineup is pretty strong too. I've heard of several of them. Director Lü has quite a bit of influence in Hollywood."

"Who is Jing Tian? I've never heard of him before. Where did he come from?"

Capital City, Starlight Brilliant Film & Television Culture Co., Ltd.

This company, which was only registered on January 20th, has already set up and officially started operations despite being less than two months old, with multiple departments including film and television production, publicity and distribution, and artist management.

However, despite having invested millions of dollars, the company has yet to find a source of profit.

Many newly hired employees, after working for half a month, still don't know what they are supposed to do. They either participate in research or slack off and sleep every day.

Today, Jing Tian, ​​the only artist signed by the company's artist management department, finally came to the company with the boss and brought all the employees their first job.

"Next, Jing Tian will first participate in the filming of 'Taken,' and at the same time, Zhang Yadong, an excellent producer from mainland China, will tailor-make a song for her. Your task is to cooperate well in all aspects..."

When Lu Zheng said these words in the conference room, everyone realized that the core of their work was to serve Jing Tian, ​​the company's only artist.

However, while clarifying their work goals, everyone couldn't hide their curiosity.

What is the true identity of this seemingly gentle, kind-looking, and youthful company leader?
Her debut work was a film by Lu Rui, a rising star director in the industry, and she even got Zhang Yadong to tailor-make a song for her. That's incredibly generous!

Could she be the mistress of some big boss?

But which big boss would be willing to spend so much money?
Or is it that she has an unusual background? Is she a second-generation member of some family?

Who are some big shots with the surname "Jing"?

Someone secretly opened Baidu and started searching.

Shaanxi, the Jing surname...

With a constant stream of news from home, Lü Rui's phone began to ring off the hook.

Some people will even calculate the time difference when making phone calls, but some media outlets don't care and bombard you with calls without saying a word.

Lu Rui was extremely annoyed when, just then, Apple and Motorola launched an iTunes phone in collaboration.

He simply bought a new cell phone and got himself a new SIM card.

One machine is used specifically for work, and the other is kept for personal use.

In this way, those who don't know their place can't bother him.

Occasionally, you might encounter some troublesome phone calls that you can't directly refuse. In that case, just have your assistant handle the rejection.

Time enters June.

After multiple rounds of auditions and verifications, Denzel Washington, an African American actor, was finally selected as the male lead in "I Am Legend".

At 51 years old, he is at the peak of his acting career.

With an Oscar for Best Actor and two Silver Bears for Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival, he is currently the most prestigious, highest-paid, and most famous African American actor in the United States.

It was after 02 that he gradually began to try his hand at behind-the-scenes work and became a director; otherwise, other African-American male actors probably wouldn't even have had the chance to pursue him.

Lü Rui highly regards him.

Hollywood stars' promiscuity has become commonplace, and many movie fans and idols are so tolerant of their idols that they only focus on their work and not their private lives.

But in his memory, Denzel Washington maintained a record of 48 years without any bad movies and 42 years of marriage without any scandals, making him an absolute legend!

The only thing that bothered him was that this actor's salary was really too high.

A net worth of $2000 million!

If he hadn't been absolutely confident in the profitability of "I Am Legend," he would never have dared to make such a choice among top-tier male actors.

In addition, the male lead for Sony's "The Pursuit of Happyness (US version)" project has also been officially cast.

Although the agreement stipulates that Lü Rui only has the right to invest, not the right to produce.

But as a director who has won the Best Director Award at Cannes, Sony Columbia would naturally take his opinion into consideration.

Therefore, when the production company suggested Will Smith for the lead role, he immediately declined. Jamie Foxx, who had just won the Best Actor award at the 77th Academy Awards for his role in *Ray*, then became the top choice.

Thus, Will Smith will no longer be involved in any of the three films: The Pursuit of Happyness, Hitch, and I Am Legend.

Lu Rui was quick to agree, but Will Smith, who had failed his auditions repeatedly, was completely bewildered.

He signed up for "I Am Legend" but didn't even get an audition.

Regarding "The Pursuit of Happyness," he even expressed his willingness to bring his son along to act in the film and voluntarily reduced his salary.

Several producers at Sony Columbia were very satisfied with him, so why was he ultimately sidelined at the last minute?
Completely baffled, he inquired everywhere and finally figured out the reason.

"You mean I offended that director from China before?"

Will Smith stared blankly at his agent, whose face had turned ashen.

He had absolutely no recollection of offending the other party; they hadn't even met!

The agent frowned and said in a deep voice, "Two years ago in June, we went to Warner Bros. to discuss the publicity agreement before the release of 'Bad Boys 2.' When we got into the elevator, there was a Chinese man wearing sunglasses..."

Will Smith is not a drug addict, and his memory is not bad.

After a moment's thought, his expression changed slightly, and he subconsciously uttered, "Chingchong?"

“That’s right.” The agent had a headache. “How many times have I told you to watch your mouth and control your temper? You just wouldn’t listen. Now look what’s happened. One sentence from someone and you’ve lost your role.”

Will Smith's face turned pale and then red.

Little did he know that the man in sunglasses was actually the Chinese director.
I only meant to speak my mind, but I never expected it would cause such a big problem.

"So what should we do now?" he asked, frowning, his voice tinged with frustration.

Offending a director is troublesome enough, but it's even more problematic when the director has a say in the film or television project.

"Let me think of a way to help you."

The agent secretly pondered how to find a suitable intermediary.

CAA has many A-list celebrities and directors, such as the famous director Steven Spielberg, who is a contracted director with CAA.

But no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't think of anyone who could be connected to Lü Rui...

……

Entering March, Lü Rui became even busier.

The casting for both films has just been completed, and the next steps involve negotiating salaries with the actors and support teams, as well as finalizing filming and location scouting details with the investors…

After working non-stop for three days, all the trivial matters were finally settled, and the shooting arrangements for the two films were finally finalized.

According to the plan, filming for "I Am Legend" will officially begin on March 5th at Warner Bros. Studios.

On March 6, "Taken" will also begin filming at the same studio, and will later move to Warner Bros. Leavesdon Studios in London, England, which is also the actual filming location for the "Harry Potter" film series.

Furthermore, after negotiations among Sony, Warner Bros., and Lionsgate, the final distribution allocation was determined to be Warner Bros. receiving the largest share, followed by Sony, with Lionsgate receiving the smallest share.
Under these circumstances, Warner Bros. naturally paid extra attention to the quality of the two films.

Lauren Megan is still producing "I Am Legend," while Dennis Smiths has been brought in for "Taken."

These two are old acquaintances; they can control the quality and have given Lü Rui a lot of convenience.

The people sent by Sony and Lionsgate were all familiar faces, so they basically let him do whatever he wanted.

With the tacit approval of all parties, Lü Rui took the opportunity to arrange for the simultaneous filming of "I Am Legend" and "Taken".

His reasoning was that while filming "Taken," he could also keep an eye on the quality of "I Am Legend" and maintain control from behind the scenes.

The investors simply couldn't find a reason to refuse.

As for domestic investors, they don't have much say to begin with, and with the mountains high and the emperor far away, who can control them?
...

On March 4th, after getting up early in the morning, Lü Rui, along with Peter Griffin and several business vehicles, headed straight to the airport.

Today, the cast and crew of "Taken" will be flying in from China on a chartered plane, and he has to pick them up in person.

On the way, he was chatting idly with Peter when suddenly, a system notification sounded in his mind:
[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have successfully completed the financing, casting, product placement, and location scouting for the film "Taken".]

[The mission reward, a Grade B talent: "Pierre Maurer's 'Tough Guy Protagonist Portrayal,' 'Villain Supporting Character Portrayal,' 'In-depth Portrayal of Ensemble Characters,' and 'Character Emotional Development' Directing Techniques," has been successfully issued.]

Lu Rui immediately stopped talking, closed his eyes, and began to process the reward.

He had long felt that, apart from the male lead, the other characters in the original "Taken" were too stereotypical.

His ex-wife and daughter, in particular, are treated like mere tools; it's so annoying and stupid it's almost unbearable to watch.

The depth of the ensemble cast is just adequate, and there's not much to remember after watching it.

He was determined to reverse these flaws, and made many revisions to the script.

Now, the system has rewarded Pierre Morel with his directorial skills at his peak.

With these skills, his confidence soared even higher!

While digesting the techniques, new tasks followed one after another:

[Ding! Please hold a press conference to mark the start of filming for the movie "Taken".]

[Reward upon completion of the mission: A-rank talent...]

(End of this chapter)