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

Chapter 181 Director Killer? Too Many Bad Women in the Entertainment Industry? Media Smearing Me? ? ? (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
"Director Lü, do you think 'The Promise' will achieve any success at the Golden Globes and Oscars?"

At the wrap-up press conference for "Soldiers Sortie," Lü Rui completely ignored the question when asked about it.

The film "The Promise" is already such a mess, and you still want to drag him into this mess? Do you really think he's an idiot?

Seeing that Lü Rui remained silent and instead continued to discuss Rui Vision's future development plans in the TV drama field with the Sina reporter, the Beijing News reporter became somewhat dissatisfied and deliberately raised his voice: "Director Lü, you haven't answered my question yet."

"Today is the wrap-up press conference for 'Soldiers Sortie.' I have no interest in answering questions unrelated to the drama. Are you satisfied with this answer?"

Lu Rui had a smile on his face, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

You're really asking for it! You only feel happy when I spell it out for you?
The reporter was stunned by the rebuttal and was speechless for a moment.

By the time he realized what was happening, he had already been pushed to the back by reporters from NetEase and Baidu, and could only stare at Lü Rui with resentful eyes.

"Director Lü, Li Lianjie's new film 'Huo Yuanjia' will be released at the end of the month. Will you go see it?"

The Sohu reporter keenly sensed Lü Rui's displeasure and tried to change the subject to gauge his attitude.

"uncertain."

Lu Rui responded indifferently, indicating he didn't intend to talk any further.

The lead actor in "Huo Yuanjia" is Li Lianjie, and he doesn't like this person.

There are many Chinese and Chinese-American actors in Hollywood, but only a handful of male actors have truly established themselves in the industry.

Netizens often compare Jackie Chan and Li Lianjie, but Lü Rui prefers Jackie Chan.

Aside from some controversies surrounding his private life, my elder brother is never ambiguous when it comes to national righteousness!
Moreover, in Hollywood, Jackie Chan's influence far surpasses that of Jet Li. Although both of them started out in action films, Jackie Chan's action comedy style is unique, and coupled with his high emotional intelligence, he is better at integrating into the local market than Jet Li.

Moreover, Jet Li's title of "Kung Fu Emperor" is just self-promotion; in his early years, he always tried to ride on the coattails of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.

It was only after Lü Rui had access to inside information in Hollywood in recent years that he learned that Li Lianjie was not considered a top-tier movie star there at all; at most, he was considered a top-tier actor in action films.

His DVD sales were good, but his movie box office performance remained mediocre.

In recent years, he seemed to want to take another step forward, so he pinned his hopes on "Danny the Dog," but the film lost money at the box office and its reputation collapsed, so he had to temporarily retreat to the Chinese-language market.

More importantly, Lü Rui vaguely remembered that there were some problems with the sequel to "Huo Yuanjia".

It seems that the plot was adapted and deviated from historical facts, which led to a lawsuit filed by Huo Yuanjia's descendants, causing quite a stir at the time.

He had absolutely no interest in watching such a controversial film.

After two attempts to probe, seeing that Lü Rui consistently refused to discuss other film topics, the reporters had no choice but to give up and instead focus on Rui Vision's future television drama plans.

They actually managed to extract a lot of useful information from Lü Rui, especially his repeated emphasis on the word "high-quality," which was enough to show the direction that Rui Vision was focusing on in the field of drama series.

At the same time, Lü Rui also revealed some updates about Ruiyue Animation.

For example, they are currently in talks with provincial and municipal television stations regarding the broadcast of the 3D animated series "Qin's Moon" on satellite television.

Taking advantage of today's opportunity, we can help the animation generate some buzz in advance.

He was actually thinking of mentioning the other two animated films he had invested in as well.

One of them is "GG Bond: The Magical Pig Chronicles" produced by Blue Arc Animation, and the other is "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf: The Great Battle in the Strange World" produced by Guangdong Original Power.

But then I thought about it again and realized that the art style of these two animations didn't match the tone of "Soldiers Sortie" at all, so I put them aside for the time being.

After all, "Qin's Moon" is still aimed at an adult audience, while "GG Bond" and "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" are profitable, but they are not mainstream yet, so mentioning them would seem out of place.

Ten minutes later, having achieved his publicity goal, Lü Rui made an excuse that he had other work to coordinate and left the scene, leaving the camera and interview opportunities entirely to the actors of "Soldiers Sortie".

He never tries to steal the spotlight.

At the wrap-up press conference, the main cast and crew should be the stars of the show.

However, just as he stepped back, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of Chen Sicheng rushing to the media and talking eloquently into the microphone about his role, his face full of longing for the camera.

Lu Rui shook his head inwardly. This guy really loves marketing and packaging himself; he can't sit still for a moment.

He originally thought that Chen Sicheng had become like this after he switched careers to become a director, but now it seems that this show-off personality is probably ingrained in his bones.

"I'll go to the wrap party hotel first. Once this is over, you can arrange for everyone to go there directly."

Lu Rui found Hou Hongliang, gave him some instructions, then turned around, got into his car, and headed to the hotel first.

On the bus, he was idly scrolling through the news when he suddenly saw another sensational headline from the Hong Kong media.

Jay Chou cheats on Hou Peicen with Zhang Jingchu late at night; Hou Peicen's love life takes a turn for the worse.

Upon clicking, it turned out that paparazzi had captured images of Jay Chou and Zhang Jingchu having dinner together.

Speaking of Zhang Jingchu, she has been a "controversial figure" in recent years.

Previously, she often mingled with Gu Changwei in mainland China, but was forced to go to the Hong Kong entertainment circle by the "Anti-Three-Party Alliance" formed by Jiang Wenli.

However, after entering the Hong Kong entertainment circle, he was successively rumored to have affairs with Tsui Hark, Derek Yee, and Cheung Ka-shui.

Hong Kong media dubbed her the "director killer"!

Now look what's happened, she's been linked to Jay Chou again, has she really completely ruined her reputation?
...

Upon arriving at the hotel, Lü Rui didn't have to wait long before the crew of "Soldiers Sortie" arrived.

When he first sat down, everyone looked at him with a bit of restraint.

After all, he was the company boss, and the difference in status was obvious, so no one dared to relax too much.

But after a few rounds of drinks, everyone gradually realized that he wasn't actually that "scary".

Actually, Lü Rui is younger than most people present. Even Wang Baoqiang, who was born in 82 and is only 24 years old this year, is 7 months older than him.

Since they were all the same age, the atmosphere became much more relaxed after they got to know each other.

Of course, the necessary sense of awe was not lacking.

Given Lü Rui's current status, the fact that he's willing to sit down and drink and chat with everyone is already quite down-to-earth.

Wang Baoqiang felt this most deeply!
When he met Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei at the company, no matter how enthusiastic they were, there was always a sense of condescension and aloofness.

But Lü Rui was different; despite his high position, he was very approachable.

As the drinking progressed, Wang Baoqiang mustered his courage, picked up his glass, and, blushing, recommended himself: "Director Lü, although I am not from a formal acting background, I am willing to take risks and learn, and I am also willing to study the role."

If you ever have a role that suits my type of acting, please give me an audition opportunity.

Lu Rui smiled and clinked glasses with him: "Okay, no problem. Let's exchange contact information first. I'll call you over to audition if there's a suitable role."

Wang Baoqiang was overjoyed. He downed the wine in his glass in one gulp and quickly took out his phone to save the number.

Seeing that Lü Rui was in a good mood, the others also gathered around to exchange contact information, afraid of missing the opportunity.

At drinking parties, where most people are men, it's inevitable that the conversation will turn to women when things get lively.

Chen Sicheng slammed his fist on the table and boasted that after he was admitted to the Shanghai Theatre Academy, he got into a fight with a classmate to steal his girlfriend and was expelled. Unconvinced, he turned around and got into the Central Academy of Drama...

Wang Baoqiang listened with wide eyes, filled with envy.

Seeing his expression, Lü Rui kindly reminded him, "Baoqiang, don't follow his example. Your personality isn't suited to dating a lively female college student. You should find someone honest, reliable, and good at managing a household."

This circle is full of temptations and bad women. If you're not confident you can handle it, don't easily invest your emotions; be careful not to get scammed out of your money.

"Huh? Is that so?" Wang Baoqiang was slightly taken aback. He had always been used to assuming that everyone was a good person.

Before he could react, Chen Sicheng had already moved closer.

He first flattered Wang Baoqiang by saying, "Director Lü is absolutely right," before turning to him and saying, "You'd better be careful. Some women specifically target honest people like you to scam them. They'll run away once they've made enough money. There are too many cases like this!"

Upon hearing these words, Wang Baoqiang fell silent, lowering his head to ponder.

Some time ago, he met a female college student when he went to Northwest University for an event.

The other person always initiates conversations with him, is quite his type in appearance, and is very willing to get close to him.

He was starting to get interested, since the other person did seem quite nice.

But now, after hearing what Lü Rui and Chen Sicheng said, he suddenly felt that he should think it over carefully.

I've worked so hard to get to where I am today, if I get scammed, wouldn't I be back to square one?

……

Around 10 p.m., the drinking party officially ended.

The actors said their goodbyes and left, while Lü Rui, Hou Hongliang, Kang Honglei, and Lan Xiaolong went to the tea room next door.

As soon as he sat down, Lü Rui glanced at Hou Hongliang's barely concealed expression and asked with a smile, "Another new project?"

"Impressive! Mr. Lü's insight is truly..."

Before Hou Hongliang could finish speaking, Lü Rui waved his hand to interrupt him: "Alright, stop flattering me. If you have any new projects, show them to me." Hearing this, Hou Hongliang and Kang Honglei both looked at Lan Xiaolong.

Clearly, he was the one who polished the script.

Lan Xiaolong immediately took out a stack of bound scripts from his bag and handed them to Lü Rui with both hands, saying politely, "My humble work is nothing to mention, but I hope Director Lü will take a look."

Lu Rui smiled, took the cover and looked at it. He saw the words "My Chief and My Regiment" printed on it.

A knowing glint flashed in his eyes, and he immediately opened the script to read it.

"The inspiration for this script came from my interest in the Chinese Expeditionary Force," Lan Xiaolong said slowly from the side, explaining earnestly. "The background is set during the Yunnan-Burma Anti-Japanese War. I didn't write about real troops directly, but instead created a fictional regiment and a regimental commander."

But the people in the group were all "scattered soldiers" gathered from all over the country, including deserters, students, and veterans.

The storyline incorporates real historical events such as the "First Incursion into Burma," the "Retreat from the Hukawng Valley," and the "Battle of Songshan" into the experiences of this fictional regiment, giving the story both historical weight and the ability to vividly portray the cruelty of war and the complexities of human nature through the perspective of ordinary people…

Kang Honglei added from the side, his tone full of emotion: "Old Lan's script really touched my heart."

The main storyline is based on historical facts and is not fabricated, but it breaks away from the traditional war drama formula of "perfect heroes" and focuses on the "imperfect" soldiers.

They might be afraid, they might run away, they might argue, but when it comes to taking responsibility, they can unite as one. This can be considered as pioneering a new path for Chinese war dramas, but…

Before he could finish speaking, Lan Xiaolong sighed softly: "Actually, when this script was being compiled, I showed it to many industry professionals and experts, but the evaluations were mixed."

Some experts say that writing about the War of Resistance in such a "fragmented" way, without highlighting the heroic spirit, is disrespectful to history.

However, some scholars have praised it, saying that this is the true nature of war, a reflection of humanity. I'm not so sure myself, which is why I thought we could study it together today since everyone is here.

Hou Hongliang remained silent, but his gaze never left Lü Rui's face.

He wanted to hear Lü Rui's opinion on whether or not to invest in the project.

What the three of them didn't know was that Lü Rui was already very familiar with the show, and even knew about the controversies it had caused in his previous life.

Ultimately, this is because the "authentic expression of human nature" pursued by elite creators does not align with the "heroic narrative form" that the general public is accustomed to.

To put it simply, it tries to be too profound, and the audience doesn't quite grasp it at first, but that's precisely where its value lies.

After turning the last page, Lü Rui looked up and said confidently, "Not bad."

Lan Xiaolong's eyes lit up!
Hou Hongliang quickly followed up, "Chairman Lü, can this drama be filmed?"

“It can be filmed.” Lu Rui nodded slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he said, “The ideological content is profound, and the spiritual theme is also correct. It doesn’t write the war as a feel-good story, but focuses on the struggles of ordinary people. This is true respect for history. Moreover, this style can lead a new direction for war dramas. It’s worth doing.”

Upon hearing this, Kang Honglei couldn't help but say, "This drama is quite risky. It has to break with convention and has the courage to try and fail. It may not be immediately accepted by the market, and the investment costs will not be low."

Lu Rui smiled, picked up his teacup and took a sip: "Rui Vision may lack other things, but it has no shortage of the capital to try and fail."

As long as the script is good and the direction is right, money and resources are not a problem. Just go for it!

Upon hearing this, the others looked at him with a mixture of respect and admiration.

They're willing to take on projects worth tens of millions and experiment with them without hesitation. Working with such a young and daring boss is a stark contrast to companies that stick to old rules.

No wonder everyone under him is so motivated!

With such courage and support, everyone is naturally willing to work together to build a career.

Now that they had received Lü Rui's approval, their concerns completely disappeared.

Kang Honglei immediately said, "Director Lü, then after I finish the post-production of 'Soldiers Sortie,' I'll start this project with Lao Lan..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lü Rui interrupted him with a smile: "For the TV series project, you can directly contact Hongliang; he's in full charge."

Hou Hongliang straightened his back subconsciously, but his tone remained humble: "Chairman Lü, rest assured, I will definitely handle things properly and live up to your trust."

Lü Rui nodded in satisfaction.

The next morning, after arriving at the company, he called Hou Hongliang directly into his office and got straight to the point: "We agreed that if the first project you were in charge of was successful, I would give you equity dividends. Now that 'Crossing the Guandong' has been a success, it's time for me to fulfill my promise."

As he spoke, he handed over a contract that he had prepared beforehand.

Just as Peter Griffin holds a 10% share of the profits from Ruixing Pictures, Hou Hongliang also received a 10% share of the profits from Ruishijie.

Of course, they only enjoy the profits, but do not have the right to buy or sell shares.

From beginning to end, Lu Rui maintained firm control over all the companies he founded.

Even if the equity is redistributed later, he is not worried about having a say, since Ruishijie and Ruiyue Animation are both subsidiaries of Ruixing Group.

As long as the parent company is protected, there won't be any problems at the lower levels.

"Chairman Lü! I..."

Hou Hongliang looked at the contract terms, his eyes slightly warmed, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart.

He gripped the contract tightly, his voice trembling: "Don't worry, I will definitely do my best to help you defend your position and assist you in expanding the Ruishijie empire..."

Hou Hongliang's job role is not just that of a TV drama project manager.

He was responsible for everything, including distribution coordination, public relations and publicity, as well as some of the work at Ruiyue Animation!

Strictly speaking, he is not only the general manager of Ruishijie, but also the 'chief steward' of Lü Rui's film and television empire.

Such people should naturally be firmly bound to the Vision platform.

As for the midday sun in the future, let it quietly dissipate in the wind.

Lu Rui patted him on the shoulder and said sincerely, "Work hard. After all these years of cooperation, I believe you know me. I never mistreat those who work for me. The benefits will definitely be greater than this in the future."

Hou Hongliang nodded emphatically, clutching the contract tightly in his hand.

He knew in his heart that this was not just a right to share profits, but also a sign of Lü Rui's trust in him.

Even if I'm shattered to pieces, I must shoulder this responsibility!
……

"Following 'Crossing the Guandong,' the second military-themed TV series produced by Ruishijie, 'Soldiers' Sortie,' has officially wrapped up filming!"

"Lu Rui himself revealed that Rui Vision will continue to expand in the TV drama market, focusing on a 'high-quality' approach..."

"Ruiyue Animation's new 3D animated work, 'Qin's Moon,' is about to meet the audience."

"Industry insiders reveal: Lü Rui's character is questionable..."

In the afternoon, on her way to the set of "Sunny Sisters," Lü Rui scrolled through the news and felt a strange sense of excitement.

Finally, some media outlets have released a press release to smear them!

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed published by the Beijing News, which he had previously criticized.

But just as he arrived at the film set, his secretary called: "Mr. Lü, the public relations department has detected negative news about you and has already dealt with it."

"???"

Lu Rui logged onto the website and refreshed it again...

Well, that smear article is gone!

He had originally intended to use this incident to assess the public relations department's crisis management capabilities, but unfortunately, the assessment ended before he could even give any orders.

"Got it. Tell the administration department that the public relations department's bonus will be doubled this month."

Those who make mistakes should be punished, and those who make merits should be rewarded.

If you want your employees to work hard, you have to keep up with their benefits.

Lu Rui has never agreed with the practice of "wanting the horse to run but not wanting it to eat grass," and he is extremely cautious about layoffs.

He specifically instructed the human resources department that in the event of layoffs, they must conduct multiple rounds of review to confirm that employees are completely incompetent before being laid off, and that they receive full compensation.

Having witnessed countless farces of "layoffs affecting vital sectors" in his past life, he had long since developed this habit.

Pushing open the car door and entering the "Sunny Sisters" film crew, Lü Rui immediately saw the entire crew taking wrap-up photos.

Liu Yifei stood at the front, her jeans highlighting her long, straight legs, and her long hair cascading over her shoulders, making her exceptionally eye-catching.

Every time he saw her, Lü Rui couldn't help but ponder.

Where did Zhou Xun get the courage to compete with Liu Yifei for the role of Little Dragon Girl?
Yes, her acting skills are indeed quite good.

However, her portrayal of Huang Rong in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" scared away many viewers with her address of "Brother Jing".

This is just a TV drama. If it were real life, Guo Jing would probably turn his horse around and go straight back to Mongolia.

The same applies to "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

Lu Rui couldn't even imagine how cringe-worthy and ear-piercing the scene would be when Zhou Xun played Xiaolongnu and called out "Guo'er"!
……

……

P.S.: Congratulations to my wife (just kidding!) Liu Yifei for taking center stage in the VOGUE 20th Anniversary Actresses Group and becoming the Queen of September Issue! Well deserved!
(End of this chapter)