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

Chapter 128 Does Director Lü Suffer from Prosopagnosia? (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

The day after filming in North America wrapped, the entire cast and crew of "Taken," except for Lü Rui, chartered a plane to return to China.

Lu Rui gave the crew, who were still filming, a three-day break and asked them to return to the set on April 11.

However, he didn't rest during those three days; instead, he kept following up on the progress of acquiring shares in Blum House.

Ultimately, after multiple rounds of negotiations, he successfully acquired 73% of the shares from all shareholders willing to cash out and some management, for a total cost of $2950 million.

Including the $950 million spent on acquiring the rights to "Twilight," the total expenditure reached $3900 million.
"I Am Legend" has received a total of $1.05 million in external investment.

Although Ruixing Pictures holds a 30% stake, it has not spent a single penny yet, using only the investors' money.

$1.05 million minus $3900 million leaves $6600 million.

That number is just right!
As of now, filming is in its second half, and the total cost has not yet exceeded $5000 million.

Denzel Washington's salary was high, but it was not paid in a lump sum; instead, it was settled in installments.

Although post-production will require a significant amount of funding, it should be around ten million US dollars.

"Warner also invested, and they're the main distributor. Using their equipment for post-production, it's not unreasonable to offer a discount, right?"

In the office, when Lü Rui said those words, Peter immediately nodded: "Not excessive."

"The distribution costs are not low. It's not unreasonable to ask them to pay in advance and then deduct it from the profits after the film's run, is it?"

Peter: "Not excessive."

"It's not unreasonable to ask for payment on credit for the later installments, and to settle the payment after the movie finishes its run, is it?"

“…” Peter paused for a moment, then hesitated and said, “This seems a bit excessive? Post-production, distribution, and production are not the same department after all.”

"What does this have to do with us? They're all Warner Bros. They've been drinking so much broth with me, and they won't even give us this much face?"

Peter: "That's not excessive."

"That's right!"

Lü Rui stood up with a smile and immediately allocated a portion of the profits from "Lurking" to NASDAQ.

Anyway, the "I Am Legend" team doesn't need this money for the time being, so it's better to use it to make money.

There are still a few years until that stock market crash that affected global markets, so it's the perfect time to enter the market and make another fortune.

As for the remaining funds, he simply split them into multiple portions.

The first project was "Paranormal Activity," which was handled by Zack Snyder, who is also skilled at making horror films.

The second document was used to purchase the novel's copyright.

The third portion serves as the company's operating reserve fund.

The fourth portion was invested in Blum House, for operations during the post-shareholding restructuring period and for talent recruitment.

Although the company name remained unchanged, Lü Rui was unlikely to completely relinquish power to Jason Blum.

He would definitely place the necessary vice presidents and his own people in the ranks.

Even in the worst-case scenario, if Jason Brom suddenly quits, he still needs to have the confidence to keep the company running normally.

As for the last portion of the funds, he left it to Peter and gave the latter a new task.

"Let's think of a way to get the rights to Frank Miller's comic book novel '300' from Warner Bros.?"

“This is probably going to be a bit tricky…” Peter was immediately stumped.

Frank Miller is a key creator of DC Comics and is now one of the main figures at WarnerMedia’s DC Comics division. The copyrights to all his works belong to WarnerMedia.

To even think about taking over the copyrights he holds is utterly delusional.

Warner Bros. now treats DC as a precious gem, and no one can touch it.

"Go ahead and give it a try. If it doesn't work, we'll talk about it again." Lu Rui's eyes darted around as he added, "If all else fails, we can discuss collaborative development. I'll adapt the script, Ruixing Pictures will handle the production, and Warner Bros. will participate in the production and distribution. We can make money together. Anyway, the copyright is just sitting there, so why not use it to generate income?"

"Okay, I'll find a chance to ask."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Lu Rui patted him on the shoulder, got up and left the company, then went to the sets of "I Am Legend" and "The Pursuit of Happyness (US version)" respectively.

The large-scale scenes in the former have already been completed, and there's no need for Lü Rui to personally oversee them; James Wan can handle it. Filming is expected to wrap up at the end of April.

As for the latter, Sony Columbia attaches great importance to it, and many people are keeping a close eye on it.

In the dressing room on set, Lü Rui chatted with Matt Tolmacher for a while.

When he learned that Sony's much-anticipated "Marie Antoinette" had already begun filming, he silently mourned for a few seconds for the Japanese capital behind Sony.

It's one thing for the "Imperial Army" to be scammed before entering Hollywood.

Now that we've finally managed to get in, are we going to get ripped off by local forces?
Wouldn't the Imperial Army have come for nothing?

……

On April 10th, at 7:00 AM, Lü Rui arrived in the capital in a low-key manner.

He himself has a driver, assistant, and bodyguard, but when Zhao Peng learned the night before that he was coming back, he volunteered to pick him up.

The car this kid was driving wasn't the Mercedes that Lü Rui bought first, nor the Rolls-Royce he acquired later, but rather his newly purchased Dodge Ram RV.

"Oh? The car is all modified?"

As soon as he got into the car, Lü Rui began to look around curiously.

Most celebrities in the industry, especially those at the second tier or above, own their own nanny vans.

Although the film crew provides them during filming, their comfort level is far inferior to that of the custom-made ones.

Lu Rui had previously used rental equipment from the film crew, simply for convenience so he could rest during lunch breaks.

But later, when he saw on the news that Old Zhao had gotten a Dodge Ram, he became a little tempted to do the same.

Just as the box office revenue from "The Prestige" was coming in, he arranged for his company to order one of these cars before he left the country.

"It's all done. I just drove it out of the customization factory yesterday." Zhao Peng gripped the steering wheel and excitedly introduced as he drove: "The powertrain is a 6.7-liter Cummins diesel engine, and the interior is all wrapped in genuine leather with wooden flooring."

The living area features a wraparound sofa, the dining area has a rotating table, stainless steel sink, induction cooker, microwave, and refrigerator, and the bathroom has a toilet, shower, vanity mirror, and folding sink, all designed with a wet and dry separation.

It has everything: lithium battery, inverter, power socket, ceiling TV, and often comes equipped with a solar panel and a fuel-fired water heater to meet the vehicle's heating needs..."

The Dodge Ram Motor Company was founded in 1914 and was later acquired by Chrysler.

The iconic ram logo on the front of the car symbolizes the king of the road and represents the brand's unwavering pursuit of reliability.

It is rumored that Zhao Benshan's custom Dodge Ram RV cost as much as 500 million yuan!
Li Lianjie also owns such a car, which is rumored to cost a total of 520 million RMB including the price and customization fees.

Lu Rui's model is naturally no less impressive, using only the finest materials, with a total price of 550 million yuan, emphasizing understated luxury and sophistication.

Of course, he didn't pay for it himself; it went through the company's accounts, following the same procedure as when he bought the Rolls-Royce.

He didn't mind spending money; he figured he had to spend it if he wanted to be able to rest comfortably.

The key is that it can also be used to legally deduct taxes, so why not?
"Don't tell anyone the car price, especially Ning Hao, understand?"

Thinking about it, I feel a little embarrassed. The investment in "Crazy Stone" was only 400 million yuan, but he spent 550 million yuan on a motorhome.

If Ning Hao knew this, wouldn't he be secretly criticizing him?

"Don't worry, Brother Rui, I won't tell anyone," Zhao Peng assured him as he drove.

Lu Rui sat in the front row for a while, then walked through the middle aisle to the back area.

Besides the sofa, there was a double bed placed next to the car window, with a very soft mattress on it.

He took a pillow from the top cabinet and lay down on it.

I was fine when I wasn't lying down, but once I did, I unknowingly fell asleep!
When Zhao Peng woke me up, we were already at the film set.

It wasn't the crew of "Taken," but the crew of "Click."

Today happens to be the day filming wrapped up for this movie, and Lü Rui's return was quite convenient, so he came over to visit the set.

"Brother Rui, I'll go down and help first."

"it is good."

Lu Rui nodded, got up to wash his face in the bathroom, took a new set of clothes from his suitcase and changed before getting out of the car and walking into the film crew.

Perhaps because they were about to film their final scene, the crew was unusually busy, with everyone rushing around.

When people see the boss, most of them just say hello and then leave in a hurry.

The busy atmosphere only eased considerably once I stepped into the center of the crowd.

Lu Rui spotted Ge You holding the script at a glance.

But the next second, the cast of "The Banquet" that had just been announced flashed into his mind. He could understand Zhang Ziyi playing "Empress Wan," after all, she was an international star, and even if her acting skills were criticized, her status and presence could carry the role.

However, Ge You's portrayal of "Emperor Li," a king who plots to usurp the throne, feels very awkward.

His previous comedic roles were so deeply ingrained in the public's mind that audiences might find it difficult to accept his portrayal of a treacherous, cruel, yet somewhat sentimental emperor.

Furthermore, Zhou Xun and Huang Xiaoming actually played siblings, and Zhang Ziyi's character, Empress Wan, was originally in love with Crown Prince Wu Yanzu, but was subsequently taken by her lover's biological father and uncle...

Lü Rui acknowledged that Hamlet is indeed excellent, and that Shakespeare's four great tragedies are deeply moving.

But if "The Banquet" tries to imitate the tiger in this way, it may easily end up being a dog instead of a tiger!
"Director Lü? You're back?"

Hearing footsteps behind her, Ge You turned around curiously and immediately greeted Lü Rui warmly when she saw him.

But the next second, he subconsciously looked behind Lü Rui: "Where's Jiang Wen?"

"He's at home working on his script."

"Wasn't it all written?"

"Who knows what new inspiration he's come up with this time."

Lu Rui was also somewhat helpless. When filming "The Prestige", the two of them had almost finished the script and storyboard.

But in the past few months, Jiang Wen has been adding all sorts of things to the story, making it extremely bloated.

Lu Rui couldn't dissuade him, so he could only let him do whatever he wanted.

As the two were chatting, Liu Tao, Shen Ao, and the actors who played Ge You's son and daughter all came over and greeted them warmly.

The children in this film are all real kids, and they only have a few scenes.
However, the adult children have a lot of screen time, so they were all specially recruited actors who graduated from the Beijing Film Academy.

Zhou Yiwei and Che Xiao.

The Beijing Film Academy originally wanted to recommend current students, such as Zhu Yawen and Jiang Yiyan from the class of 02, but Lü Rui rejected them remotely.

Since they want to take care of people from the Beijing Film Academy, they will definitely choose those they are familiar with.

The class of 2000 would be a good fit, and their ages match. Why choose two that don't leave a good impression?
By this point, he had the confidence to say "No," and the Beijing Film Academy respected his decision.

"Senior brother."

Just then, a somewhat abrupt address suddenly rang in Lü Rui's ears.

He turned his head and saw a young man with thick eyebrows, a large nose, a thick and protruding lower lip, and an overall face shape that looked somewhat "ancient" appear behind him.

"You are... Lu Yang?"

Lu Rui was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized what was happening.

The only person who can call me "senior brother," looks much older than me, and is helping out on the set of "Remote Control" is my graduate school classmate.

Lu Yang, like him, was a graduate student supervised by Tian Zhuangzhuang.

The reason I'm here is because Tian Zhuangzhuang specifically asked me to join the group.

However, since they joined the production team halfway through, strictly speaking, this was their first meeting.

Speaking of which, his postgraduate studies are quite unique.

I went to school for a year but never went to the classroom once, and I didn't even get to know all my classmates.

Fortunately, he was recognized for his strong personal abilities; otherwise, in later generations, he might have been exposed and cyberbullied long ago.

Of course, most of those who were cyberbullied by the box-opening campaign were not innocent.

Maliciously framing others, stepping on classmates to get into graduate school, or even pursuing a doctorate, and then showing off—they deserve to be condemned!
"Yes, senior brother, I am Lu Yang."

Although his father graduated with a master's degree from the Central Academy of Drama and is an associate professor there, as well as a member of four major associations—the Drama Association, the Writers Association, the Television Arts Association, and the Film Critics Association—Lu Yang himself doesn't have the slightest air of being a "second-generation rich kid."

Firstly, he simply didn't possess the arrogant and domineering personality that Lu Chuan had.

Secondly, there are too many big shots in this production crew, so he neither dares to nor has the right to be arrogant.

Although Lü Rui is a few years younger than him, his status is evident. Even his father has to respectfully call him "Director Lü," so naturally he has to follow the rules even more.

After exchanging greetings, Lu Yang stood obediently to the side, occasionally casting envious glances at Shen Ao and Zhao Peng.

He heard from others that these two had been working with Lü Rui for several years and had now become directors, making a name for themselves.

I just don't know if I'll have the chance to make a living, maybe even get a script or some investment.

……

At 8:00 AM sharp, the crew of "Remote Control" officially began filming their final scene for the last day.

The male protagonist, Ge You, is obsessed with using a magical remote control to control his life, fast-forwarding through all the moments he considers "troublesome," such as arguing with his family and work stress.

However, he had unknowingly skipped over several decades.

When he woke up again, he found that he had missed his daughter's growth, his son's wedding, and his wife, due to years of arguing with him, had finally chosen to remarry.

He himself suffered from serious illness due to long-term neglect of his health.

In his final moments, he frantically chased after the car carrying his son, using his last strength to tell his son, "Family is the most important thing," before passing away in the rain.

However, the movie has a twist at the end: it turns out that all of this was actually a nightmare that Ge You had in her hotel room!
Upon waking up, he immediately rushed home to hug his family, cherished the life he had, and truly understood the value of family and the present moment.

This ending serves as both a warning to the audience and leaves behind warmth and hope, making it a decent and perfect conclusion.

Standing behind the monitor, Lü Rui saw this and suddenly recalled a dark horse movie from later years, "Goodbye Mr. Loser".

The ending of that movie seems quite similar to that of "Click"?
"Crack!"

As he was reminiscing, he heard Shen Ao stand up and loudly announce, "The movie 'Remote Control' has officially wrapped up filming!"

The set erupted in cheers and applause.

Ge You released her grip on Liu Tao's hand and smiled apologetically.

Liu Tao immediately said he didn't care.

She is not Lin Xinru.

Even Zhou Jie is no match for Ge You.

If you offend this person, she really has the ability to make it impossible for her to survive in the mainland entertainment industry, or even the Hong Kong entertainment industry!
A moment later, the crew tidied up a bit, and the security guards lifted the blockade at the entrance. Reporters immediately rushed in and started snapping photos of everyone.

When the reporters saw Lü Rui in the crowd, their eyes lit up, and a barrage of questions rained down on them.

"Director Lü, has filming wrapped on 'Taken' yet?"

"No, but it'll be soon. Only the mainland scenes are left."

"What are your thoughts on the fact that 'The Prestige' surpassed 'Rumble in the Bronx' to become the third highest-grossing Chinese-language film in North America?"

"Broken record? Haha, I didn't know that. Of course I'm happy. What director doesn't want their movies to have higher and higher box office returns?"

"Remote Control tells the story of a middle-aged man's family and kinship. What was your mindset when you wrote this story?"

"It's more of a fantasy, because my father was very busy when I was little and spent very little time with me..."

Will this affect your love life? So far, your romantic history seems to be completely blank? Could it be due to the influence of your family of origin?

"That's not true..."

"So what type of girl do you like? Pretty? Quiet? Sexy and generous?"

"I'm actually a bit face-blind... As long as the personality is right, I don't care about looks."

Lu Rui began to lie through his teeth.

After chatting for a few minutes, he made an excuse to step aside, leaving the spotlight to the entire crew of "Remote Control".

After the interview, he took everyone to the hotel for a wrap party.

Of course, he certainly wouldn't show favoritism.

When filming wrapped on "Crazy Stone," he also instructed Ning Hao to book a hotel and reimburse the cost of the wrap party.

That evening, while the crew was celebrating, media reports were already fresh off the press:
"The comedy film 'Remote Control,' produced by Ruishijie, directed by Shen Ao, and starring Ge You and Liu Tao, officially wrapped up filming this afternoon."

"Warmest congratulations! The Prestige has surpassed $3300 million at the North American box office, breaking the record set by Rumble in the Bronx and ranking No. 3 on the North American box office chart for Chinese-language films!"

"It is understood that filming for Taken in North America has been completed."

Director Lü Rui discusses his filmmaking and personal experiences: He claims to suffer from prosopagnosia (face blindness) and says he will only consider personality when looking for a partner, not physical appearance...

[Is Lü Rui face-blind?]

Upon seeing these four words, all the actresses who had worked with him were immediately filled with questions...

(End of this chapter)