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

Chapter 193 What? A monk driving a Mercedes? Getting married? Keeping a mistress? (Seeking monthly votes)

"The Hollywood blockbuster 'I Am Legend,' directed, written and produced by Lü Rui and directed by James Wan, grossed 1356 million yuan on its opening day."

"The Film Bureau announced that Jiang Wen's new film 'The Sun Also Rises' has passed the review."

"Feng Xiaogang appeared for an interview, saying that post-production of 'The Banquet' is complete and it will soon be submitted for review..."

The nominations for the 25th Hong Kong Film Awards have been announced. Mainland actress Zhou Xun has been nominated for Best Actress for her role in "Perhaps Love". We wish her the best of luck in winning!

"..."

After many twists and turns, "I Am Legend" has finally been released in Chinese theaters.

Although it's only a "special edition" for mainland China, it's already great news that it was able to be released smoothly.

As of now, the film's global box office is approaching $7 million, just one step away from breaking the mark, but it still falls short.

With the support of the mainland market, I believe we will be able to overcome this hurdle soon.

China Film Group didn't hold back this time either, providing ample publicity resources!

Of course, this was also due to the fact that there were no strong competitors at the same time, allowing the film to monopolize the market benefits.

At this moment, inside the film crew of "Dying to Survive".

After Jiang Wen sent his wife, who was in early pregnancy, back to her parents' home to settle her in, he officially joined the crew and began to work on his scenes with Jiang Wu.

During his break, he answered a phone call and his face was full of barely suppressed excitement: "I never expected that the approval would go so smoothly, I didn't even have to make a single change, haha!"

"Congratulations," Lü Rui said with a smile, then changed the subject, "By the way, it seems the Cannes Film Festival registration has already started, right?"

The Berlin International Film Festival awards ceremony just ended recently, and because no Chinese-language films were nominated, it generated almost no buzz in China.

With Cannes just around the corner, the buzz surrounding it is exceptionally high!

The main reason is that the president of the jury for this year's Cannes Film Festival is Wang Jiawei, and the list of jury members includes Zhang Ziyi.

These two are skilled in marketing, and their related topics have been generating a lot of discussion lately.

Jiang Wen nodded: "It's all arranged. I just received a call from the film festival. The film has already been sent over for review."

"Are you confident you can bring home the Palme d'Or?" Lu Rui joked.

Jiang Wen shrugged, his tone casual: "It's hard to say. Whether we can be shortlisted or win an award depends mainly on fate... After all, man proposes, God disposes."

Lu Rui grinned as he listened.

In his past life, Jiang Wen said something similar, which is why Zhang Yimou didn't dare to present him with an award at the Venice Film Festival out of consideration for him.

However, there's no need to worry this time, as Zhang Yimou isn't on the Cannes jury, which undoubtedly reduces one concern.

Before Lü Rui could reply, Jiang Wen changed the subject again: "By the way, Chairman Yang from Yinghuang will be coming to the capital in a few days. Would you like to have a meal together?"

Since they're aiming for awards at Cannes, public relations are naturally essential.

Jiang Wen's purpose was clear: Wong Ka-wai is a Hong Kong director, and Yang Shoucheng has extensive connections in the Hong Kong film and television industry. Perhaps he could get the other party to say a word or give him some encouragement on the judging panel.

"Okay, sure."

Lu Rui readily agreed, as he was also planning to talk to Yang Shoucheng about something, so he decided to take this opportunity to meet him.

Seeing that he agreed, Jiang Wen took a moment to step aside and call Yinghuang back.

On the other end of the phone, Yang Shoucheng's voice was filled with excitement when he heard that Lü Rui was willing to come out: "Okay, thank you Director Jiang for helping to make the connection."

Actually, this meal wasn't just Jiang Wen's idea; it was also Yang Shoucheng's idea, and Lü Rui had been planning it for a long time...

Each of the three parties had its own agenda, and all were aiming for cooperation, which can be considered a coincidence.

……

In the afternoon, Liu Yifei also returned to the set.

Lu Rui was somewhat surprised to see her return so suddenly. He put down the storyboard in his hand and asked, "Didn't you say you wouldn't join the crew until March? Why are you back early?"

Liu Yifei sat down on the folding chair and shrugged helplessly: "The promotion for 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' can't continue, so I have to come back first."

"what's the situation?"

Lu Rui was puzzled. The publicity campaign was at a crucial time, so why did it suddenly stop?

"Huang Xiaoming has been sued by his agency, and they're currently in court," Liu Yifei said, counting on her fingers. "His boss said that he didn't report to the company about 'The Return of the Condor Heroes,' 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio,' 'The Emperor of Han Dynasty 3,' 'The Banquet,' and even the upcoming 'New Shanghai Bund' and 'The Deer and the Cauldron.' He accepted all of them privately."

Many business activities also bypassed company procedures, so they sued him directly, demanding hundreds of millions in damages!

Huang Xiaoming is currently a very popular young actor in the entertainment industry. As soon as this news broke, there were many people watching the spectacle, and the media seized the opportunity to report on it.

"Hundreds of millions in compensation?" Lu Rui pondered for a moment, then his expression turned somewhat strange: "His contract with his agency is probably about to expire, isn't it?"

Liu Yifei, quick-witted as ever, immediately realized what was going on, her eyes widening slightly: "Senior, you mean... he wants to terminate his contract? The company doesn't want to let him go, so he's deliberately causing trouble?"

"That's probably it," Lü Rui nodded.

It's all too common for companies to use lawsuits to pressure artists who want to terminate their contracts when they expire...

The two chatted briefly and then dropped the matter.

After all, it's someone else's dispute; filming is the priority right now.

Ten minutes later, as the production crew announced that the set was ready, filming quickly began.

Liu Yifei turned to go to the dressing room to put on makeup, while Jiang Wu and Jiang Wen were already standing in front of the set, starting to rehearse their lines.

The core of this scene is the fierce conflict between the two brothers over the issue of their father's care!
Jiang Wen plays a policeman with a respectable but extremely busy job. He can afford to pay for his father's medical treatment but doesn't have the time to take care of him, so he wants Jiang Wu to share the burden.

Jiang Wugang had been ridiculed by his ex-wife and was full of anger with nowhere to vent it, so he was unwilling to take on this task at all.

"Can't you pay a little more attention? Dad's already like that!" Jiang Wen frowned, her tone full of impatience.

"I don't care? What do I have to care about?" Jiang Wu retorted stubbornly, his voice suddenly rising, "You have a proper job and a salary, what about me? I can barely afford to pay the rent right now!"

"Coward! Scumbag!" Jiang Wen was enraged by his words and pointed at his nose, cursing, "You can't even keep your wife and children, and you make excuses to take care of your father. Are you even a man?"

The more down on one's luck a person is, the more their pride becomes like a thorn that pricks them.

Jiang Wu clenched his fists tightly, his eyes reddening as he retorted, "You think you're respectable? What can you do besides stand on your high ground and criticize me? When Dad was hospitalized last time, did you even show your face once, except to send money?"

The two argued back and forth, their faces flushed red.

In the end, Jiang Wen simply said, "You figure it out yourself," then slammed the door and left, ending the meeting on bad terms.

The scene had just finished filming when the next scene, "selling products at the aphrodisiac shop," began filming immediately.

Jiang Wu composed himself and enthusiastically pitched his product to the customer who came in: "Brother, don't worry, my miracle oil is absolutely effective. Everyone who's used it says it works..."

Before he could finish speaking, his face suddenly turned pale, his body swayed, and he fell straight to the ground, the bottle of ecstasy oil in his hand crashing to the ground with a clatter.

"Hey! What's wrong?" The customer, played by Lu Yang, was startled and quickly went to help him.

Seeing that Jiang Wu was unresponsive, he kindly called for an ambulance and took him to the hospital.

As per the script, Lu Yang also helped contact his family.

When his ex-wife answered the phone, she coldly said, "I divorced him a long time ago, his affairs have nothing to do with me," and then hung up.

Finally, it was her daughter at the hospital who received the call and rushed to the ward.

...

The production crew and props team are busy setting up the hospital scene, pushing in hospital beds, affixing "ward number" signs, and even arranging the medical records and water glasses on the bedside table meticulously.

At this moment, Liu Yifei, who had finished her makeup, came out.

She was wearing a light gray loungewear outfit, her hair simply tied back, and her face had lost the ethereal beauty of Little Dragon Girl, but instead showed a more capable demeanor, while also concealing a hint of barely perceptible fatigue.

Lu Rui beckoned her over and briefly explained the scene to her: "The daughter you play has a bad relationship with her father. He is rarely home, and you resent him, but blood ties are there, and your sense of responsibility makes it impossible for you to ignore him."

Seeing him in a coma and hospitalized, you're already exhausted. Hearing the diagnosis of liver cancer, that feeling of helplessness and sudden collapse needs to be contained and not displayed outwardly.

"Ok, I know."

Liu Yifei nodded slightly, unconsciously clutching the hem of her clothes, clearly already pondering her emotions.

Ten minutes later, the scene was set up.

After returning to the monitor, Lü Rui raised his hand and signaled: "3, 2, 1, action!"

Filming officially began. In the shot, Liu Yifei walked to the bedside and looked at Jiang Wu, who was lying unconscious on the bed.

She first sighed softly, then placed her hands on the edge of the bed, leaned forward slightly, and looked at her father's pale face, which showed resentment, exhaustion, and a trace of worry that she herself did not realize.

Just as she was about to tuck the blanket in, the ward door was suddenly pushed open, and the actor playing the attending physician walked in, gesturing for her to come out and talk.

Liu Yifei immediately straightened up and followed slowly. Once they reached the corridor, she anxiously asked, "Teacher, what happened to my dad?"

The attending physician stopped, turned around, shook his head helplessly, and after a few seconds of silence, slowly uttered two words: "Liver cancer!"

Upon hearing those two words, Liu Yifei visibly paused, her eyes widened slightly, and her lips moved, but she couldn't utter a word for a moment.

She knew all too well what "liver cancer" meant.

This means that the father's life is nearing its end.

However, in Lü Rui's opinion, this reaction was still somewhat lacking.

"Cut!" he warned. "Your reaction of shock is too superficial. Go deeper. Think about it: you already feel resentment and helplessness towards your father, and now you suddenly hear that he's seriously ill."

That complex feeling of 'no matter how much dissatisfaction I have, I won't have a chance to hold a grudge' needs to be conveyed. Try it again: first, let your eyes look blank, then press the corners of your mouth down. Don't make any big movements.

Liu Yifei nodded, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, the emotion in her eyes was clearly different.

"One more take, 3, 2, 1, action!"

During the second shoot, when she heard "liver cancer," she froze on the spot, her eyes glazing over as if she hadn't reacted.

A few seconds later, she slowly lowered her head, her lips involuntarily turning down, and her hands quietly clenching...

Without crying or screaming, she concealed the helplessness and collapse of being suddenly defeated in her subtle movements.

"Good, that's a pass!" Lu Rui shouted with satisfaction. "The emotion is spot on, that's the feeling, keep it up."

"okay!"

Liu Yifei responded, secretly thrilled.

She suddenly realized that her acting skills seemed to improve particularly quickly every time she collaborated with Lü Rui.

This made her think to herself, "My senior is really my lucky star!"

However, before this joy could last long, Lü Rui began to put pressure on her.

In the next scene, Jiang Wu wakes up from his coma and asks groggily, "What happened to me? Why am I in the hospital?"

Liu Yifei composed herself, her tone calm yet tinged with heaviness: "The doctor said you have liver cancer, late stage, and don't have much time left."

She didn't hide it, and there was no way to hide it anyway.

"Bullshit!" Jiang Wu abruptly threw off the covers, his emotions collapsing instantly, his voice rising sharply, "Liver cancer? I'm perfectly healthy! This lousy hospital is full of quacks, I want to be discharged!"

"Can you stop making a scene?" Liu Yifei stepped forward to try and hold him back, but Jiang Wu pushed her away. "What do you know? I have things to do, I don't have time to waste here."

The father and daughter immediately engaged in a fierce conflict.

One wanted to be discharged from the hospital, while the other desperately tried to stop him, making the atmosphere on set increasingly tense.

When it comes to moments that require acting prowess, Liu Yifei still seems to struggle a bit.

Although she had enough emotional outburst, the "grievance and helplessness" in the details were not revealed.

One or two takes were fine, but after several takes fell short, Lü Rui stopped holding back and started yelling into the walkie-talkie:
"Stop! Liu Yifei, the way you pushed him just now was too harsh! You're worried about him, not angry with him. Soften your hand, and show that you're about to cry in your eyes, not just frown. Put your heart into it, understand? Use your pig brain..."

Despite the scolding, Lü Rui went to her side and patiently guided her through the adjustment process:

"Think about it, you've argued with your dad your whole life, and now you know he's dying. You're angry at him for being so irresponsible, but you're also afraid something will happen to him. You need to incorporate this conflicting feeling into your movements. Try it again..."

Liu Yifei listened very attentively and followed his instructions exactly during filming.

But once they finally got through that scene and finished work, she hid in a corner and muttered to herself, feeling wronged:
"Can't you just talk to me properly? Why are you being so fierce? I'm not deaf, you jerk..."

She was sulking when, a few minutes later, Lü Rui came over with a bottle of AD calcium milk and handed it to her.
"I was a little harsh just now, don't take it to heart. I watched the replay, and you did a great job. This is a reward for you."

Liu Yifei's eyes lit up. She took the milk and drank a sip. Her earlier grievances vanished instantly, and when she looked up, she was all smiles again: "Thank you, senior!"

Lu Rui had long since figured out her little temper.

Whenever this girl is feeling sullen or wronged, she respectfully calls out "Director Lü".

After they've calmed down from their anger or been cheered up, they'll warmly call you "senior" again.

It works every time!

He's like a silly little bun, which is really funny.

……

In March, "I Am Legend" successfully surpassed 3 million yuan at the domestic box office, which is equivalent to about 1300 million US dollars.

With this, the film's global box office has officially surpassed the $7 million mark!
Although it did not break any records, the $7 million (approximately 56 billion RMB) budget still made people in the domestic film industry both envious and amazed.

Many media outlets are even speculating about how much money Lü Rui will make from this film.
It is known that Ruixing Pictures holds a 30% share in the project. After deducting the revenue share from theaters and distributors, as well as various costs, and adding the copyright revenue, the preliminary estimate is that it can receive more than 5000 million US dollars.

This portion of the revenue naturally includes Lü Rui's share, since he is a screenwriter and producer and cannot simply take a fixed share.

However, to the outside world, he always appeared as a "contracted director and partner of Ruixing Film Industry," and no one knew that he was actually the behind-the-scenes boss, and the specific profit sharing ratio was impossible to verify.

Although some people have guessed that he owns shares in the company, he never admits it.

Therefore, the media can only speculate that he could earn between $1000 million and $2000 million.

What the outside world doesn't know is that before filming even started, Lü Rui had already earned more than $3000 million through the project's early operations.

Once the film is officially out of theaters and the theaters receive their share of the revenue, after deducting the remaining costs and adding subsequent revenue from DVD distribution, disc sales, and product placement, Ruixing Films' net profit will be at least twice the box office revenue, which is more than 1 million US dollars.

Combined with previous revenue, total earnings reached a staggering $1.5 million!
This funding is enough to instantly replenish the company's accounts, enabling it to smoothly advance the preparation and filming of three new projects: "300," "Life of Pi," and "Twilight." It can also allocate a portion of the funds to lend to the House of Brom, supporting the expansion of its overseas distribution channels and the promotional work for "Twilight."

The success of a Class A major project has already made the company a fortune.

Although the money won't arrive all at once, it's bound to come eventually.

Lu Rui is already looking forward to what kind of huge revenue the company will receive after the three new projects are launched and released.

At that time, our presence in Hollywood may also reach a new level!
Meanwhile, with the arrival of March, "Curse of the Golden Flower" officially started filming at Studio 2 of Beijing Film Studio, and a grand opening ceremony was also held at Beijing Film Academy.

Under Zhang Weiping's arrangement, the media flooded the media with press releases, posters, and promotional photos.

Lu Rui flipped through the pages casually and was particularly impressed by an interview with Jay Chou.

Fans praised his dashing look in armor, while the media pressed him for his secrets to maintaining his physique. Jay Chou laughed and said he's naturally thin and can eat whatever he wants without gaining weight...

When Liu Yifei heard this, she couldn't help but feel envious: "I have a body type that's prone to gaining weight. I have to control myself if I eat a little more, otherwise I'll get fat. What I envy most is this kind of body type that doesn't gain weight."

Lu Rui smiled and comforted her, "Actually, there's no need to be too envious. When you get older, this kind of physique is more likely to make you fat than the average person, especially after you start drinking 'milk tea,' you'll gain weight very quickly."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei immediately frowned and decided to give up Xiangpiaopiao milk tea, which had just become popular last year!

AD calcium milk is better; you won't gain weight even if you drink a lot.

At the same time, just as "Curse of the Golden Flower" was starting filming, the boss of Shaolin Temple suddenly announced that he would be making "Shaolin Monks and Soldiers" and invited Hong Jingbao to join the cast.

Lu Rui and Jiang Wen were discussing this topic when Han Sanping, who had come to make a cameo appearance, overheard them and chimed in, "This monk is strange. Instead of chanting scriptures and reciting Buddhist prayers, he's single-mindedly focused on getting into the film and television industry. I don't know what he's thinking."

Lu Rui casually replied, "Maybe he's short of money to get married."

"Don't talk nonsense! How can a monk get married?" Han Sanping said with disbelief.

Jiang Wen suddenly interjected, "If monks can drive Mercedes, why can't they get married?"

Lu Rui didn't continue the conversation, but silently nodded in agreement.

"Are you kidding me? Getting married and driving a Mercedes? Why don't you just say he's keeping a mistress?"

Han Sanping still didn't believe it, waved his hand and went to the dressing room, ignoring the two of them.

Jiang Wen watched him leave, then turned and nudged Lü Rui with his elbow, saying, "The one from Emperor Entertainment is here. He's on his way and should arrive this afternoon."

Lu Rui nodded: "Okay, let's finish work early today and not keep people waiting too long."

However, to their surprise, after arriving in the capital, the other person didn't go to the hotel immediately, but instead came to visit the film crew...

(End of this chapter)