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

Chapter 154 Clearly and Unmistakably a Scumbag (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Huayi acted very quickly.

They've only just finalized the cooperation agreement, and haven't even signed the equity transfer contract yet, but they've already started hyping it up so much. They seem rather impatient.

Breaking news: Huayi Brothers and Ruishijie have formed a strategic alliance!

"Sunny Sisters" officially announced the casting of some characters: Fan Bingbing, Huo Siyan and other Huayi signed artists will play major roles.

"The new drama 'Soldiers Sortie' by Ruishijie has announced its lead actor, Wang Baoqiang, an artist signed with Huayi Brothers, has been selected."

"Director Lü Rui is rumored to be releasing a new film, collaborating with Li Bingbing..."

Huayi Brothers unveils its five-year development plan, joining forces with Vision and Columbia Pictures to target Hollywood!

With Lü Rui's consent, Huayi used all sorts of gimmicks and unfounded rumors for marketing purposes.

In an interview, Wang Zhonglei stated bluntly that the departing artists had no impact on Huayi Brothers.

When reporters pressed him about the details of the collaboration with Ruishijie, he avoided the topic and instead talked at length about Huayi's upcoming reform plans, displaying a "no destruction, no construction" attitude.

From now on, the artist management business will be solely under the control of the two brothers, and no one else will interfere.

In a short time, the public pressure surrounding Wang Jinghua's departure dissipated rapidly.

The industry was filled with astonishment!

Although the specific details of the cooperation between Huayi and Ruishijie are unclear, the slogan of "a powerful alliance" has been shouted out.

One is a leading private film and television company under a state-owned enterprise, and the other is a "dark horse" in the film and television industry.

The sensation caused by the collaboration between these two companies is enough to make the entire film and television industry take notice!
Just then, China Film Group released another piece of news, instantly sending the entire film and television industry into a frenzy once again:
"The action/suspense Sino-foreign co-production film 'Taken,' co-produced by Ruishijie, China Film Group, Warner Bros., and others, and directed by Lü Rui, has grossed 3.6 million yuan at the domestic box office!"
Warmest congratulations! This film has successfully broken the box office record of 3.59 million yuan set by the Hollywood import "Titanic," becoming the number one film in the domestic box office rankings!

After 50 days of release, the film grossed a total of 3.6 million yuan, with an average daily box office of 720 million yuan.

In 2005, "Taken" achieved a result that no Chinese filmmaker dared to even dream of!

Who could have predicted that Chinese commercial films would one day break Hollywood box office records?
Zhang Yimou was once highly anticipated, and his film "Hero" was so brilliant! But now it has become a thing of the past.

Now, Lü Rui has emerged like a shining "morning star," officially ushering in a new era for Chinese commercial films!
With 10 days left before the key extension expires, "Taken" has less than 100 million yuan left in daily box office revenue.

Many people on Tianya Forum expressed their intention to watch the film a second time to show their support, hoping to push the box office to 3.7 million yuan before the film's run ends.

Huayi Brothers wasn't idle either; they started buying articles to hype things up again.

"Breaking news: A sequel to 'Taken' has been confirmed. Huayi Brothers will participate in production, casting, and post-production as a co-producer..."

This is actually fake news.

As for a sequel, Lü Rui definitely won't be filming it anytime soon; there will be at least a few years between projects.

But some people still believed it!

For example, Wang Jinghua believed it when it came to Orange Sky Shib.

She thought that if she left, Hua Yi would be crippled or even killed.

Unexpectedly, the two Wang brothers reached a cooperation agreement with Ruishijie.

If, as the news suggests, Huayi Brothers holds the casting rights for the Ruishijie production project, then their artist management business can definitely be revived in a short period of time.

For an actor to thrive in the industry, access to high-quality film and television resources is essential.

Fortunately, Ruishijie has no shortage of good projects.

And coincidentally, Ruishijie does not engage in artist management business.

And coincidentally, Huayi also reached some little-known cooperation agreements with Ruishijie...

With this in mind, Wang Jinghua could almost assert that Huayi's artist management business would definitely flourish in the future!
As for the mess she left behind when she left, it can definitely be fixed in a short time.

"Chairman Wang, you really have some clever tricks up your sleeve!"

Wang Jinghua knew without guessing that it must have been Wang Zhongjun who made the move.

Having worked with the two brothers for many years, she knew all too well that Wang Zhongjun's vision and skills were far superior to Wang Zhonglei's.

"Boom boom boom——"

There was a sudden knock on the office door.

Wang Jinghua responded with a "Come in," and her assistant pushed open the door and entered, followed by Li Xiaolu, who had just straightened and dyed her hair black a few days ago.

"Sister Hua," Li Xiaolu greeted her.

"Xiao Lu is here," Wang Jinghua forced a smile, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then got to the point. "Ruishijie sent me a message saying that they've found a suitable actress for the role you auditioned for, so you don't need to go."

Li Xiaolu looked bewildered: "???"

She just had her hair done again!

They're saying the roles have already been decided?
It was only a two-day delay, and now I've lost even the audition opportunity?!

While I was still in a daze, Wang Jinghua continued, "They said there's still one female villain role that hasn't been cast yet. I wonder if you'd be interested in giving it a try?"

"A villain?" Li Xiaolu's voice suddenly rose. "I don't play villains!"

Unless absolutely necessary, actors rarely play villains, regardless of gender.

Once an image becomes ingrained, it's difficult to transform it!
Wang Jinghua's smile froze, and her tone became more serious: "That's the villain in the Ruishijie film project, not an ordinary film or television drama. Have you thought it through?"

Li Xiaolu fell silent instantly, opened her mouth, but for a moment didn't know what to say.

She's eager to return to the film industry, so finding a suitable, high-quality project is crucial.

The potential for box office success of Ruishijie's films is currently unmatched. Such opportunities are rare and precious; once missed, they may never be found again.

"I...I'll think about it." Li Xiaolu ultimately didn't refuse outright, because she had no other choice.

"Okay, as soon as possible. Let me know when you've made up your mind, and I'll arrange your audition."

Wang Jinghua picked up her bag from the table, ignored the Golden Horse Award-winning actress who was always fiddling with her hair, and went straight out the door.

She had originally wanted to help Li Xiaolu promote the "Little Zhou Xun" title, but now she felt that the other party's personality still needed to be tempered.

You still look down on villainous characters?

That's a project from Ruishijie!
Do you really think you can get selected just because you've got your eye on someone? What unrealistic dreams are you having?
After leaving the company, Wang Jinghua got into a car and headed straight for the Great Hall of the People.

At the same time, Lü Rui also took Shen Ao to the Great Hall of the People.

"It has to be Jackie Chan! What a grand gesture, holding the movie premiere at the Great Hall of the People."

On the bus, Shen Ao muttered to himself, his face full of amazement.

Lu Rui smiled and pointed out, "It's not entirely because of Jackie Chan's influence. The key is that it was produced by China Film Group and distributed by Polybona."

"Wow, state-owned enterprises are really something!"

In fact, this morning, Lü Rui had planned to go to Huayi to sign the equity transfer agreement and secure the funds.

But Han Sanping called in the morning, asking him to show his face at the premiere of "The Myth" and help support the film.

We have to give them face, of course.

But he didn't want to go alone, so he simply dragged Shen Ao along, which also served as a way to promote "Remote Control".

The car traveled west along Chang'an Avenue, passed Tiananmen Square, and arrived at the Great Hall of the People.

From afar, the brand-new red carpet stretched from the entrance all the way to the roadside, where media and movie fans on both sides had been waiting for a long time.

The prestige of "The Myth" was not only reflected in the premiere venue, but it is also said that the filming location even included the Terracotta Army pits of Qin Shi Huang.

This shows just how much influence Jackie Chan has!
In fact, Lü Rui also has a similar level of prestige now, but he is not willing to go to these venues.

After all, the damage caused to cultural relics or scenic spots by filming is often irreversible.

For example, "The Promise" destroyed Tianchi Lake, and "The Last Emperor" damaged the Forbidden City...

This situation is hard to avoid, and if it gets out, you're likely to get criticized, so it's best to avoid it as much as possible.

As soon as I got out of the car and stepped onto the red carpet, the flashes of light from the cameras exploded like stars!

"Director Lü, congratulations on the box office success of 'Taken', reaching 3.6 million..."

"Director Lü, can you give us a sneak peek at the details of the new project?"

"Regarding the collaboration between Ruishijie and Huayi..."

Lu Rui's arrival caused a stir among the audience, and a barrage of flashes and questions poured in.

However, he did not answer, but simply waved for the photo and then walked quickly inside.

He's here to help with the promotion, not to be a clown; he won't do anything that steals the show.

When the reporters couldn't get any concrete information out of him, they turned their attention to Shen Ao:
"Director Shen, are you confident that 'Click' will go up against 'The Myth'?"

Shen Ao humbly shook his head: "I hope the box office performance won't be too dismal."

The prestige of "The Myth" is also fully reflected in its distribution, with the first round of screenings including mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore, followed by online releases in nearly ten countries including South Korea and Japan.

In contrast, "Click" is currently only planned for release in mainland China.

The popularity and treatment received by the two films are simply incomparable.

However, Lü Rui, who was walking in front, had other ideas in mind.

He vaguely remembered that the domestic box office of The Myth was not as high as the outside world had predicted, and the hype after its release was far less grand than the premiere.

The enormous movie poster almost completely obscured the facade of the Great Hall of the People. More than fifty extras dressed in armor and holding round shields braved the scorching sun, maintaining their presence... and there were thousands of other staff members...

The presentation is truly impressive!

After signing their names on the signature wall, the two entered the venue.

Looking around, it was indeed a gathering of stars!

Because Yinghuang is one of the production companies, there are quite a few stars and actors from Hong Kong Island who speak Cantonese.

Lu Rui listened without showing any emotion, but he was somewhat speechless inside.

He really couldn't understand why so many people had a sense of superiority even when it came to language. Was Cantonese somehow more sophisticated than Mandarin?

Just then, Han Sanping and Yang Shoucheng walked towards them.

Before they could even speak, Jackie Chan approached from the side: "Director Lu, welcome! Haha!"

The older brother didn't let go of the South Korean actress Kim Hee-sun's hand until he got close enough to hold hands tightly with Lü Rui.

The latter looked at him with resentment, like a heartbroken young lover who had been abandoned...

After exchanging a few polite words, Jackie Chan reached out and pulled his son to him: "Let me introduce you, this is my son, Jaycee Chan."

"Hello, Director Lü." Jaycee Chan seemed quite well-behaved.

"Director Jiang didn't come along?" Lü Rui knew that he was currently working with Jiang Wen on "The Sun Also Rises".

Jaycee Chan shook his head: "No, they're still filming."

"Oh."

Lu Rui ignored him and turned to greet Han Sanping and Yang Shoucheng.

He had absolutely no interest in getting to know Jackie Chan, the "dog son" born of a tiger father.

"So what if he made a few movies and won a few awards? What's so great about that?"

Jaycee Chan looked at this man who was the same age as him but was already a famous director, and felt resentful.

He felt that Lü Rui was arrogant and disrespectful to him, which made him very unhappy.

But no matter how unhappy he was, he had to keep it to himself. Before he came, Jackie Chan had specifically warned him that he had to keep a low profile, smile at everyone he met, and absolutely not do anything foolish.

In Hong Kong, trouble is relatively easy to resolve, but the mainland is teeming with hidden talents and its waters run much deeper than those of Hong Kong.

Jaycee Chan agreed verbally, but he didn't take it seriously and continued to play as usual, only pretending to be well-behaved in front of his father.

After all, if you don't go along with them, you won't have any pocket money.

He always complains to the media about how hard his childhood was, just to make Jackie Chan feel indebted and give him more money.

After all, how could the money he earns from filming be enough to cover all his antics?
~

As Lü Rui arrived, people came over one after another to greet him.

Tang Jili, Liang Jiahui, Shao Bing, Lu Huiguang, Tan Yaowen, Liu Sihui, Yu Rongguang...

Even Kim Hee-sun came over and greeted him in somewhat broken Mandarin, "Hello, Director Lü."

Lu Rui gave Shao Bing a few extra glances.

There are rumors in the industry that this actor, who also graduated from the Beijing Film Academy, was kicked out of the "Swordsman" crew by Zhang Dahuzi for "acting like a diva," which led to Li Yapeng's portrayal of Linghu Chong. Whether this is true or not is unknown.

A premiere of this scale today would naturally attract mainland Chinese artists and investors.

Wang Zhonglei led a group of artists from Huayi Brothers, Li Shaohong led people from Rongxinda, and Wang Jinghua led actors from Orange Sky Entertainment...

The three sides are clearly distinct, much like the Wei, Shu, and Wu kingdoms in the Three Kingdoms period.

"Director Lü, congratulations on the box office success of 'Taken'."

Wang Changtian, Yu Dong, and Dong Ping arrived a little later, but they all came over first to greet Lü Rui before turning around to find Jackie Chan.

However, as he watched Yu Dong's departing figure, Lü Rui frowned slightly.

There are quite a few overweight people in the film and television industry. Fan Wei, Fu Biao, and others he has met all have good personalities, temperaments, and character.

On the other hand, Yu Dong, apart from being shrewd and mercenary, has almost no other good qualities.

During their previous collaboration, Lü Rui had already vaguely sensed something was amiss.

This time, when they were promoting "Remote Control," this guy completely dropped his pretense and resorted to all sorts of outrageous tactics to gain attention. He even suggested marketing the topic of Fu Biao's death more than once, which really made people lose all goodwill towards him.

Lu Rui made up his mind that once this cooperation ended, he had to stay away from this guy from now on.

Making money is one thing, but some money can be earned while others cannot.

If a person has no bottom line, what's the difference between them and a beast that eats raw meat and drinks blood?
……

Another half hour passed, and the premiere of "The Myth" officially began.

Jackie Chan led the main cast and crew onto the stage for an interview.

Facing the media cameras, he didn't shy away at all, holding Kim Hee-sun's hand and praising her for being beautiful and considerate.
“We often discuss scripts privately, we have a great relationship, and we have excellent chemistry while filming. I understand her both inside and out…”

Kim Hee-sun, looking like a little bird nestled against someone, blinked her big eyes and said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "My older brother is also a gentle person. He was especially kind to me on set..."

Her words, coupled with her tone, easily led people to have all sorts of wild thoughts.
After all, the older brother has never hidden his love for women, especially those with big, wavy hair, which has always been his type.

Only Jaycee Chan looked somewhat resentful.

His biological father has been involved in numerous scandals, including countless stepmothers younger than him, making him extremely embarrassed when facing media interviews.

After chatting with the South Korean beauty, Jackie Chan took the hand of the Indian beauty and recounted some interesting anecdotes from filming with a beaming smile:

"When we were filming a passionate scene, the script required her to be topless and told me to close my eyes. But as soon as she took her clothes off, I suddenly opened my eyes, which startled her so much that she rushed over and covered my eyes, bumping into me with her breasts... haha..."

Everyone listened with amazement.

The older brother may be a scumbag, but he's a scumbag in a very clear and unambiguous way.

On the left is a Korean "god-like face," and on the right is an Indian "big-breasted" woman. This scene is truly both enviable and poignant.

Below the stage, Shen Ao subtly moved closer to Lü Rui and asked curiously, "Brother Rui, I heard that Jackie Chan likes to 'clear the set' when filming? Is that true?"

"It's probably fake, right?" Lu Rui wasn't too clear about this either.

Although the rumors are quite detailed, there are no videos or photos to prove them, so who knows if they are true or false?

After the interviews with the main cast and crew, Tang Jili stepped forward to speak, declaring, "We have ambitious goals for the box office of 'The Myth,' striving to break the latest box office record and achieve global success..."

After hearing this, many people turned to look at Lü Rui.

His smile remained unchanged, but he didn't think so in his heart.

Want to break the box office record of "Taken"?

Why not give it a try?

Unfortunately, the premiere of "The Myth" did not screen the full film; only some exciting clips were shown.

Jackie Chan's main characteristic in filming is his "fearlessness." He even pulled Leung Ka-fai to jump from a mountain into a helicopter, a scene that left many people speechless!

It's clear that a lot of effort was put into filming locations; the investment of HK$1.6 million makes the scenes appear exceptionally grand.

During the event, Jackie Chan and Kim Hee-sun sang the theme song, while the busty Indian actress performed a belly dance...

After the premiere, the group moved to the banquet hall.

Another large group of singers arrived to lend their support, taking turns to perform on stage.

Lu Rui was eating when a voice suddenly came from behind him: "Director Lu?"

He turned his head and saw Yang Shoucheng walking over with a wine glass in his hand.

"Chairman Yang?"

"Director Lü, I have to apologize to you. I originally planned to attend the celebration banquet for 'Taken' in person, but I was delayed by other things."

Lu Rui smiled, not minding at all: "Chairman Yang, you're too kind."

He later found out that the reason no one from Hong Kong attended was indeed because of "jealousy".

Some people have warned others not to "suck up to the mainlanders."

Yinghuang still has to operate in the Hong Kong entertainment circle, and it's not easy for them to offend their peers.

But today is different. Taking advantage of the premiere of "The Myth" to explain, and with the help of Jiang Wen and Han Sanping, Lü Rui naturally won't hold a grudge.

The two clinked glasses, and Yang Shoucheng took the opportunity to briefly introduce the artists following behind him to Lü Rui.

"Cho Kwan, Gillian Chung, Isabella Leong..."

"Hello, Director Lü..."

Several girls greeted each other respectfully.

You can tell they've put a lot of effort into improving their Mandarin; although they have accents, they're not very noticeable overall.

In order to embrace the mainland market, Yinghuang has clearly been making continuous efforts behind the scenes.

"Well, hello."

Lu Rui nodded, glancing at Gillian Chung out of the corner of his eye before discreetly looking away.

For a long time, he didn't quite understand why, with so many beautiful women in the world, some female celebrities who weren't exactly stunning, could garner so much "unusual" attention.

Only after he truly entered this industry did he realize that beautiful women and beautiful female celebrities are completely different things.

Fame and fortune are like a natural aphrodisiac!

The accolades, status, and fame have a profound psychological impact on people.

For example, in those "gate scandals" that have been exposed, why do female netizens and female celebrities often attract huge attention?
Is it really because they are beautiful? Or is it due to their unique physical structure?
Of course not, it's more about fame and celebrity aura at play.

~

It was already afternoon when the banquet ended.

After parting ways with Shen'ao, Lü Rui first went to Huayi, where he signed an equity transfer agreement with a lawyer, securing the 8% stake.

Wang Zhonglei tried to take him out for drinks again, but he refused.

This is the time to focus on your career; what kind of behavior is it to spend all your time eating and drinking?
Before heading back to her office, Lü Rui made a detour to the audition site for "Sunny Sisters" and then went back to her office.

Today's main audition was for the villain role.

To his surprise, he saw Dong Jie's name on the resume!

This guy is quite something. After creating the image of "national first love" with "The Story of a Noble Family", he went to Hong Kong to develop his career.

Before she could even make it big, Hong Kong media exposed her affair with actor Leung, and she was angrily denounced as a mistress by Carina Lau, who even used her connections to blacklist her! In the end, she had no choice but to return to the mainland.

Lu Rui suddenly thought of Zhang Jingchu.

The experiences of these two people are remarkably similar!
"Brother Rui?" Zhao Peng thought he was going to help keep an eye on auditions again.

But the next second, Lü Rui put the resume on the table and waved his hand: "You go ahead and do your thing. Try to get the audition done before National Day."

"okay!"

Zhao Peng nodded emphatically.

Unfortunately, just a few minutes after Lü Rui left through the back door, Liu Xiaoli and Liu Yifei pushed the door open and walked in.

Liu Xiaoli was still a little confused even after receiving the audition requirements.

The movie had already cast her daughter as the lead actress, so why did they ask her to audition?
The key question is, am I good enough at acting?
"It's mainly because you two look alike," Zhao Peng explained with a smile. "Liu Yifei plays her high school years, and you play her as an adult, so it's perfect for you."

Don't worry about acting skills. The plot of this movie is very mundane and doesn't require high-level acting. The main thing is that your image and temperament match the character. There will be acting coaches to guide you..."

After confirming that Jing Tian would be one of the lead actors, Zhao Peng once again relaxed the requirements for the actors' acting skills.

Whether you're herding one sheep or a flock, it's all the same.

"Okay, let me try."

Liu Xiaoli picked up the script and began to read it carefully.

Liu Yifei sat next to her, her eyes darting around.

She wanted to go upstairs to find Lü Rui, but her mother was watching over her, so she felt embarrassed to go and had to give up.

But what she didn't know was that even if she went upstairs, she wouldn't see anyone.

After printing out the first draft of the translated "Dallas Buyers Club" script, Lü Rui left the company and went straight to Tian Zhuangzhuang's house.

In order to help his script pass the review, he plans to drag the Beijing Film Academy down with him!

At least I'm a graduate student at the Beijing Film Academy. If my script is made into a film and wins an award, it will bring honor to the school.

In that case, it shouldn't be too much to ask the senior alumni to help out during the review process, right?

Upon arriving at Tian Zhuangzhuang's house, Lü Rui stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Because we had already informed them beforehand, the door opened quickly from the inside.

"You're here? Come in."

Upon seeing Lü Rui, Tian Zhuangzhuang smiled, but felt a mix of emotions.

Since starting graduate school last year, Lü Rui has finally come to seek advice. It seems that his mentor is still somewhat useful after all.

After changing into slippers and putting down the gifts he had brought, Lü Rui followed Tian Zhuangzhuang into the study.

However, as soon as he stepped inside, he immediately noticed the framed picture on the wall.

What was inside was none other than what Jiang Wen, Lou Ye, Wang Xiaoshuai, Jia Zhangke, and others longed for but could not obtain.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has officially issued a ban on broadcasting!
(End of this chapter)