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

Chapter 140 Who Understands Women's Hearts Best? (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
"Celebrating your birthday at a victory celebration? Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

The mother and daughter were naturally very happy to receive Lü Rui's call.

Especially Liu Yifei, when she thought about how kind her senior was to her and even wanted to celebrate her birthday, her heart fluttered: "My senior is such a good person!"

But the next second, her mother kicked her out of the room, told her to go downstairs to play, and wouldn't let her answer the phone.

"Hmph! Mom is so stingy. It's not like it's your birthday. Why can't I answer the phone?"

After muttering a complaint under her breath, Liu Yifei picked up the kitten and headed straight for her walk-in closet.

She's going to pick out a really beautiful outfit to wear to the celebration party!

Inside the room, after chasing her daughter away, Liu Xiaoli quickly calmed down and began to analyze the pros and cons.

"Director Lü, personally, I'm very happy to celebrate Yifei's birthday, after all, it's one of the most important days in my daughter's life. But wouldn't it be a bit inappropriate to be too high-profile?"

She still feels lingering fear about being "besieged by public opinion" before.

Previously, he was just lucky enough to get a few high-quality roles, which attracted a lot of jealousy from his peers.

If they hold another birthday party, wouldn't that attract even more envious people?

But Lü Rui had a different idea.

If he had no connection with Red Starwood, he wouldn't waste his energy doing all this.

What kind of coming-of-age ceremony or birthday party is it? In the end, it's not for him.

But since he invested in Red Starwood, their interests are now intertwined.

As I said before, mutual benefit is the foundation of cooperation.

The more famous Liu Yifei is and the more money she earns, the more profits he will receive.

From this perspective, the birthday party greatly boosted Liu Yifei's fame.

Since we have the means, why not do it?
"Since you're already in the entertainment industry, why be afraid of being high-profile?"

Lu Rui's words left Liu Xiaoli speechless.

After a moment of confusion, she suddenly understood.

Yup!

When you first entered this industry, wasn't your goal to climb higher?
Well then, if we don't seize this opportunity to "make a name for ourselves," where will we find another chance like this?

While becoming famous brings pressure, it also helps avoid many unnecessary minor troubles.

Just like the "Four Dan and Two Bing" (referring to four top actresses and two top actresses in China), they have a large fan base. Whenever a competitor maliciously smears them, they don't even need to get involved themselves. Their fans and the resource providers around them will directly step in to help deal with it.

For example, Zhou Xun.

Although Faye Wong stole her boyfriend, and she was dumped and cheated on repeatedly, she has a lot of romantic entanglements.

There are even rumors that she had already dated several boyfriends when she was sixteen or seventeen years old when she debuted.

It's common knowledge that the circles she was involved in before her debut, such as bar singing and modeling, were notoriously chaotic.

But now?

She's become famous! Fans and resource providers are trying to force a "pure" and "innocent" image onto her.

Even if she has a new boyfriend, she still markets it as "pure love".

This is the most intuitive example.

Moreover, Liu Yifei has acted in many classic films and television dramas since her debut and has never been involved in any scandals. Why can't she be high-profile?
"Since you're aiming for the goal of 'Four Dan, Two Bing, and One Fei,' don't think about keeping a low profile. If you're not willing to work hard, then step back. Don't blame others for climbing over you to get ahead."

Lu Rui's words carried a hint of "anger at their lack of ambition."

There are some things I can't say to that little girl Liu Yifei, but I can say them freely to Liu Xiaoli.

If they weren't mother and daughter, Lü Rui would have already considered finding Liu Yifei a new agent.

You can't even do proper career planning, you might as well just stay a good assistant, what are you doing getting involved? You're just stopping me from making money...

Human relationships are human relationships, and interests are interests. Although they are inevitably mixed up, it is still necessary to keep them separate.

"Are we really going to go for the 'Four Dans and Two Bings' (referring to top female celebrities and top female celebrities)?" Liu Xiaoli swallowed hard, her hands trembling slightly.

"Of course," Lü Rui replied confidently.

If Bingbing and Shuangbing could successfully provoke the "Four Little Flowers" (a group of popular young actresses), then why can't he do the same?

In terms of national popularity, once "The Return of the Condor Heroes" is released, along with her previous works such as "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," "Chinese Paladin," and "The Story of Roses," Liu Yifei will be in no way inferior.

In terms of box office, even without mentioning Mystic River and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Taken alone is a significant film.

With these advantages, this girl who just turned 18 this year already has enough "blood" to be called a "blood cow".

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she's the thickest among actresses born in the 80s in the Chinese entertainment industry!
As long as we can withstand the pressure, we can market ourselves with slogans like "Four Dan Actresses are of one mind," "Two Bing Actresses form a united front," and "One Fei is unparalleled in the world!"

If "Yifei" can be ranked alongside "Shuangbing" and "Sidan", wouldn't that indirectly prove her high level of talent?

After hearing his words, Liu Xiaoli swallowed even faster!

If she could really raise her daughter to this level, she could go and brag about it to her ex-husband.

Look! My daughter hasn't suffered at all since she's been with me!
Thinking of this, she asked somewhat anxiously, "Then what should I do now?"

Lu Rui was straightforward: "First, cooperate in organizing the birthday banquet, then pay for press releases to hype it up."

"Money is not a problem."

Liu Xiaoli has no shortage of this; she can spend millions to buy roles, let alone promote her own daughter, she is even more generous.

Besides, she doesn't need to pay for it; Hongxingwu has so many shareholders, they didn't invest for nothing.

"That's it, it's that simple."

"But what if it attracts public pressure again?"

"If you want to become famous and make money, don't think about avoiding public opinion. You have to face it head-on and fight it down!"

Which of the "Four Dan and Two Bing" (referring to four top actresses and two top actresses) didn't rise to prominence by stepping on their peers?
How can you earn money while standing up?
Isn't that shabby?!

"how to spell?"

Liu Xiaoli was certain that this move would inevitably attract controversy.

However, Hongxingwu's public relations capabilities are lacking.

Therefore, we still need to rely on Lü Rui's resources and abilities.

"Easy to handle."

"How to do?"

"Give me another 10% share of Red Starwood." What Lu Rui really wanted was to take full ownership of it, but that was definitely not possible at the moment, so he had to take it one step at a time.

Liu Xiaoli: "???"

In his early years, Lü Rui loved to take advantage of loopholes and exploit promotional offers.

Later, as things developed, he also came to like cooperation and win-win situations, because this could avoid a lot of trouble.

Later, with more capabilities and a solid foundation, he began to move towards the path of "eating the meat himself and letting others drink the soup".

Don't underestimate this "broth"—many people would kill to even get a spoonful, let alone drink it.

Similarly, when collaborating with others, he also pursues the outcome of "you get what you put in".

Just like now, he can take the lead and push Liu Yifei to the level of "Four Dan, Two Bing, and One Fei", but he can't do it for nothing.

If he provides the ideas and resources, then he should get more benefits. Other shareholders shouldn't get something for nothing; they should contribute money and effort.

Therefore, he should feel at ease with this 10%.

After thinking about it for a moment, Liu Xiaoli was completely convinced and didn't utter a single complaint.

After hanging up the phone, she immediately went to her daughter to explain the situation, arrange a birthday banquet, and contact other shareholders.

Lü Rui then called Zhao Peng and asked him to come to the company.

Afterwards, he got up and went to Ruiyue Animation next door.

They had previously acquired shares in several animation companies, and it hasn't been long before they've already seen returns.

"Qin's Moon" is still in production, "GG Bond" co-produced by Blue Arc and Wingsound is also in production, Ruosen is still developing new technologies, and Vision Pictures is busy making "Spicy Little Enemies".

Only Original Force, shortly after Lü Rui invested, launched "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" on August 3rd. This animated series was broadcast simultaneously on multiple channels including Hangzhou TV Children's Channel, CCTV Children's Channel, Zhejiang Satellite TV, and Kaku Kids, resulting in a surge in revenue!

As long as children enjoy watching cartoons, the producers don't pull any tricks, and parents don't complain, the viewership ratings will remain rock solid.

Think about those born in the 80s and 90s. Who didn't rush to do their homework after school when they were young, and then turn on the children's channel as soon as the news ended?

"Director Lü, congratulations on the box office success of your new film."

Upon seeing Lü Rui approach, Tian Xiaopeng immediately offered his congratulations.

Lu Rui chuckled and patted him on the shoulder: "The ratings for 'Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf' are out?"

"It's out!" Tian Xiaopeng nodded emphatically, exclaiming in amazement. "In cities like the capital, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Guangzhou, and Fuzhou, the highest viewership rating reached 17.3%, far exceeding that of foreign animated films broadcast in the same time slot. The animation company you invested in has made a killing!"

According to feedback from Original Force, the local TV station is charging the production company 60 yuan per minute.

Each episode of "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" is 15 minutes long, and the first season had a total of about 530 episodes.

This portion of the revenue alone amounted to 48!
At larger television stations, such as CCTV, the price is 80-100 yuan per minute, resulting in higher profits.

Besides the smaller revenue streams from streaming and advertising, the real revenue comes from merchandise licensing, book copyrights, audio-visual copyrights, plush toys, and so on.

It is estimated that the book copyright has a market value of over 4000 million yuan, the audio-visual copyright several million yuan, and the plush toy category has a market value of over 2000 million yuan...

Adding all these together, and deducting the cost of approximately 2000 million, the profits increased several times over!
As a shareholder holding more than 30% of the shares, Lü Rui's current returns have already exceeded his initial investment.

You can recoup your investment in one go!
Furthermore, there will be a continuous stream of dividends going forward!

This is definitely a sure-fire way to make money!

Of course, on the other hand, if he didn't have the ability to foresee things, he wouldn't have dared to invest so much money in supporting Original Force in the early stages.

There are examples of making money, but it's not uncommon for large investments of tens of millions to be completely lost.

For example, the game "Elf Century," which Lu Rui remembers was to be released next year and produced by Longma Century Company with an investment of tens of millions, lost a fortune and eventually the company went bankrupt.

The owner of Longma Century had approached him before, but he didn't dare to invest.

This shows that the film and television industry is actually extremely risky, with both production and distribution having a very high probability of bankruptcy.

In comparison, the platforms are more stable. For example, TV stations don't need to worry about things going wrong; they can just buy the shows to broadcast.

CCTV, in particular, has shifted the risk of ratings away with its "point-based pricing" model.

Thinking about this, Lü Rui even considered investing in a television station!
But as soon as the idea popped into his head, he suppressed it.

Just kidding, how could the government allow private ownership of a television station?
According to later memories, the only thing that could be accessed was internet video websites.

He has been paying close attention to this area recently. For example, Tudou.com was established three months ago, but it has no intention of raising funds yet.

The "Kuaibo" that he most wanted to work with wouldn't appear for another two years; it's still a long way off...

After spending more than half an hour at Ruiyue Animation, instructing Tian Xiaopeng to keep a close eye on other animation companies and report any issues to him immediately, Lü Rui returned to Ruishijie.

As soon as I arrived at the office, there was a knock on the door.

"Enter!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Peng pushed open the door and came in, asking with curiosity and anticipation, "Brother Rui? You wanted to see me?"

Lu Rui didn't waste any time arguing with him. He took out a script printed by his secretary from the drawer and pushed it forward: "Take this and submit it for review. This is your next task."

He successfully translated another script into Chinese amidst his busy schedule. Fortunately, the plot of this script was simple, otherwise he really wouldn't have had the time.

Zhao Peng's eyes lit up with joy. He stepped forward, picked up the script, and looked at the cover.

Sunny Sisters

"What kind of subject is this?" he asked as he turned the page.

Lü Rui leaned back in his chair and joked, "Your forte is comedy/youth, and actresses."

Comedy, youth, actress?
Zhao Peng couldn't immediately figure out the connection between the three.

After carefully reading through the story in the script, he finally understood!
"Sunny Sisters" mainly tells the story of a sisterhood that spans decades.

The story unfolds from the perspective of Ren Nami, a middle-aged woman, who unexpectedly reunites with her old friend Xia Chunhua, who is seriously ill, at the hospital.

Chunhua hopes to find the other members of the "Seven Princesses" sisterhood from high school and reunite them.

Ren Nami then began to reminisce about her high school days.

At that time, the seven girls with very different personalities formed the "Sunny Sisters" group. Together, they experienced the laughter, arguments, confusion, and passion of adolescence, leaving behind many unforgettable stories.

In reality, Ren Nami searches for her sisters scattered in various places: some have become housewives, some have failed in their careers, and some are struggling financially. Everyone has had their original edges worn away by life.

In the process of searching and reuniting, they rekindled their past friendship and rediscovered their courage in each other, ultimately fulfilling their promise to Chunhua and completing a belated but heartwarming reunion.

The plot mainly weaves together two storylines: youthful memories and reality. It showcases the purity and passion of adolescence while also exploring the helplessness and growth of adult life. At its core, it emphasizes the value of friendship and a return to one's original aspirations.

This script is not a Chinese translation of a Hollywood film, but a Korean film, and it was also one of the top 250 films on Douban in its previous life.

The reason it was given to Zhao Peng was mainly because this kid loves to study all kinds of youth romance movies.

He can speak eloquently about everything from acting skills to the character's thoughts, actions, expressions, and inner qualities, especially when it comes to actresses.

In "Sunny Sisters", there were a total of fourteen female leads, plus one female villain.

The fourteen female leads are divided into seven actresses representing their youth and seven actresses representing their middle age.

Just thinking about the complexity of casting makes Lü Ruiguang's head spin!
It just so happens that Zhao Peng always says he's good at observing actresses' acting skills, so it's perfect to leave this task to him.

"Brother Rui! This script is amazing! Especially the character development. The eldest sister has a forthright personality, the female lead transforms from weak to resilient, and the others are either cute, feisty, kind, innocent, or aloof. There are even plot twists later on... Just reading the text makes me feel like they're all coming to life..."

Clearly, the script suited him perfectly; he analyzed so much from just one reading.

Lu Rui waved his hand, about to give some advice, when Zhao Peng suddenly exclaimed, "Brother Rui! I'm truly impressed! I used to boast that I'd 'watched countless films,' that I understood women's hearts best, and that I could recognize the faces of more than two thousand actresses and accurately call out their names."

But I never expected that you, Rui, are the real expert! This script portrays nearly twenty women, each with their own distinct thoughts, and it's all presented clearly and logically. That's what it means to understand women!

Lü Rui: "???"

I just translated a script, how did I become the one who understands women's hearts the most?
Seeing that this guy was about to continue praising himself, Lü Rui quickly waved his hand: "Alright, stop joking around, hurry up and get busy. Also, keep the role of the female lead in her youth, I have someone in mind."

"Okay." Zhao Peng chuckled and winked. "I understand, I understand what you mean."

"What do you know?"

"I'll submit it for review first."

Zhao Peng clutched the script to his chest and ran off in a flash.

"Jingle Bell!"

The office door had just closed when the cell phone on the desk suddenly rang.

Without even looking, Lü Rui picked up the phone and pressed the answer button.

The next second, Han Sanping's voice came through the receiver: "The Golden Rooster Committee called and wants to invite 'Taken' to participate in this year's Golden Rooster Awards. What do you think about that?"

“I’m not going.” Lü Rui refused without hesitation.

After being dragged to the conference last time and winning a worthless screenwriting award, and even having to help others along with Zhang Yimou, he learned what the Golden Rooster Awards really are.

Those committee members looked down on commercial films, and even despised the three major European film awards.

The reason for inviting him was simply to make it sound good and to elevate the status of other award-winning films.

Lu Rui wasn't stupid. He had no relation to those gentlemen, so why should he carry their sedan chairs?

In fact, the Golden Rooster Organizing Committee had been contacting him since the beginning of August, but he always had his secretary or assistant turn them away.

It seems they can't sit still any longer and have contacted China Film Group directly.

“Okay, since you don’t want to go, I’ll decline. I’ll just say… the movie hasn’t finished showing yet, and I’m not confident about winning an award. I’ll go next time when I have a better film, okay?” Han Sanping respected Lü Rui’s idea.

"You can arrange it as you see fit, just refuse if you want," Lu Rui said nonchalantly.

He'll visit the Hundred Flowers Awards next year, but as for the Golden Rooster Awards, he'll just say goodbye and let those committee members have their fun.

...

After a night, it was August 25th.

Taken has steadily surpassed 3 million at the box office!
However, before the publicity team could even release this news, a huge bombshell suddenly broke online!

Meanwhile, affected by this major scandal, Stephen Chow, who had just joined the "100 Million Yuan Box Office Director Club" last year with "Kung Fu Hustle," suddenly became the target of ridicule across the internet...

(End of this chapter)