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

Chapter 213 A project copying the Koreans? A wolf in sheep's clothing! (Seeking monthly votes)
The celebration banquet for "Sunny Sisters" was held at the Capital Hotel.

Starting at 6 o'clock, actors, celebrities, and guests arrived one after another, walking down the red carpet.

The celebration banquet was organized by China Film Group and Enlight Media, since the two companies co-distributed the film and naturally had to fund the event together.

Two hundred million in box office revenue is an absolute milestone in the current film market!

Therefore, both Han Sanping and Wang Changtian were very happy to pay the bill to celebrate.

After all, compared to what they earn, how much does it cost to treat someone to a meal?
At the hotel entrance, Zhao Peng, along with the main cast including Fan Bingbing, Liu Yifei, Tang Yan, Shu Chang, and Jing Tian, ​​were responsible for greeting guests.

Almost all the well-known film and television companies, actors, artists, directors, and producers in the industry received invitations.

Almost everyone who came, unless their schedule was completely packed, made it here.

This is also to bring good luck; maybe by attending someone else's celebration, you can also share in the joy.
People in the industry still believe in this, especially actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan, who are particularly enthusiastic about this kind of ethereal thing.

For example, things like the White Dragon King and Thai invitations to certain people... were all introduced to the mainland from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Whether it's true or not is unknown, but the hype is certainly quite convincing.

Instead of going to the entrance, Lü Rui, along with Shen Ao, Hou Hongliang, and a few others, chatted and exchanged pleasantries with the guests who had already arrived at the restaurant.

Ning Hao is quite an interesting guy.

After more than two months of seclusion, he actually managed to write out the outline of a new script and brought it to the celebration banquet.

"It's still a comedy, continuing the style of 'Crazy Stone,' just with a multi-narrative structure instead of a single one..."

He talked on and on, trying his best to explain his thoughts, hoping that Lü Rui could offer some advice.

With the box office success of "Stone," the pressure also increased along with the excitement.

If "Racing" flops, then all his current efforts will have been in vain.

Many people gathered around and listened quietly, but Ning Hao didn't mind.

He wasn't worried about the script being leaked at all; after all, he had never heard of a director becoming famous by plagiarizing someone else's script outline.

"Crazy Racer? Not bad, the story is quite interesting." After listening to his description, Lü Rui was quite satisfied with the plot.

Ning Hao blinked and stared straight at him.

Knowing that he wasn't listening to her praise him, Lü Rui quickly changed the subject: "The only flaw is that the film's narrative is too complex, which may hinder the audience's viewing experience."

Furthermore, the disorderly, chaotic, and comical characteristics in the plot may cause cultural incompatibility…

Ning Hao frowned upon hearing this and quickly asked, "Is there any solution?"

“There’s no solution.” Lu Rui shrugged and handed the script back to him. “I’m telling you this just to prepare you mentally so that you can minimize this impact when refining the script later.”

It's impossible to completely eliminate it; that's just the nature of dark humor. Besides, no film in the world is absolutely perfect and can be liked by everyone.

"That's true."

Ning Hao suddenly realized what was happening.

He always tried to write a perfect script to please everyone, but that was clearly impossible.

For a low-budget comedy film, winning over a segment of the audience is already a success.

To win everyone's favor, you'd have to convert the movie into RMB; otherwise, it's impossible.

Once he realized this, the pressure in his heart vanished instantly, and he also roughly understood the next creative direction and goals of the script.

Ning Hao put away the script and stared at Lü Rui for a long time without looking away.

"What's wrong with you? Are you possessed?"

Lu Rui felt a little uneasy under his gaze.

"No." Ning Hao shook his head. "I just can't figure out how your brain works. You're a directing major, yet you have more creative experience than the screenwriting majors. You're even more of a prodigy than a monster!"

evildoer?

Lu Rui raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Actually, it's nothing. It's just that I have an advantage."

"What?" Ning Hao asked, eager to learn.

"I'm not out of my mind."

"..."

The memories of the dead suddenly began to attack Ning Hao.

He silently turned around, found a quiet corner, and tried to pour the water out of his ears.

Unfortunately, this had no effect.

"What's wrong with him?" Jiang Wen asked curiously as he walked over, watching Ning Hao picking at his ears.

"Who knows?" Lu Rui suppressed a laugh and asked him, "Is 'The Sun Also Rises' scheduled for release?"

Jiang Wen's attention was drawn back: "Yes, the 12th of next month."

"A premiere?"

"Let's skip the formalities and just go for it. It's not a commercial film."

"A 6000 million investment, and it's not even considered a commercial film?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Shoucheng, who was not far away, suddenly twitched his ears, clearly also curious about this question.

"Ahem." Jiang Wen coughed twice, feigning profundity, "You don't understand, high investment leads to high returns. Look at me this time when I went abroad to judge an award, didn't I sell the copyright? I easily recouped my costs?"

Lu Rui looked at him with a complicated expression.

Why would we need to fool our own people?

Jiang Wen felt a little embarrassed by his gaze, so she made an excuse and went to Ge You's side.

Seeing that both men had left after exchanging a few words with Lü Rui, Han Sanping was a little puzzled, but he didn't ask any further questions.

Walking up to him, he asked directly, "Is Pacific Rim ready to start production?"

Upon hearing this, everyone who had been eavesdropping turned to look, making no attempt to hide their excitement.

“I’m working on the script.” Lu Rui didn’t hide anything from him, and casually added, “By the way, I’m planning to make both 3D and 2D versions of this project.”

3D offers a better viewing experience than 2D, and for blockbusters like this, watching the 3D version is definitely more enjoyable.

More importantly, 3D box office revenue is higher than 2D!

Of course, the 3D he's referring to is the kind shot with stereoscopic cameras, not the new technology that James Cameron is currently developing.

Old Canaan created a whole new "world"; Pacific Rim didn't need to be on that scale.

3D?

Han Sanping frowned, after all, the number of cinemas under China Film Group that support 3D screenings is pitifully small.

However, Ye Ning, who had been listening intently, said with great interest, "Our Wanda Cinemas chain does have several cinemas that support 3D movies, and we also have 2K digital projectors. We will continue to increase our investment in this area..."

As Lü Rui listened, a thought suddenly popped into his mind:

"Money talks!"

Of course, he wasn't particularly envious, since he already had a deep presence in the cinema industry.

The team that had previously reached a financing agreement with Tudou, led by its head Zhou Haoran, has once again launched an offensive towards cinemas.

Warner Bros. Cinemas decided to withdraw its investment from China this year, and its cinema chains and theaters are being sold off one after another.

Thanks to his close relationship with Warner Bros., Lü Rui was able to contact the heads of cinema chains in China through communication with Alan Horn.

The two parties are currently in the negotiation stage, and they can take over the entire business once a suitable price is reached.

Lu Rui didn't understand the details of the negotiations.

He was only responsible for providing the money and ensuring a satisfactory outcome; the process was the responsibility of the negotiation team.

Inside the celebration banquet, everyone was chatting enthusiastically about topics such as theater chains, cinemas, and 3D movies.

More and more investors have joined in, forming a medium-sized conference format.

That's the beauty of attending a celebration banquet; you never know when a collaboration might be formed in just a few words, or a new direction for development might be discovered.

Outside the venue, Zhao Peng and several others were busy welcoming the arriving guests.

Although he was dating Tang Yan, the two did not show any excessive intimacy in public.

Having studied women's psychology for many years and considering himself a "master of love theory," Zhao Peng is particularly clear about his current advantages.

As long as he continues to enjoy his success, Tang Yan will never leave him on her own initiative.

Today's celebration banquet, strictly speaking, was prepared for him; it was naturally his moment of glory.

While greeting the guests, he kept an eye on his girlfriend out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing her eyes glued to him, he felt a surge of smugness.

As for other people, he has no interest in paying attention to them, nor can he pay attention to them.

Of course, he would definitely take special care of the female lead, Liu Yifei, who might just be his future sister-in-law, so he wouldn't dare to neglect her.

Fan Bingbing, standing next to Liu Yifei, shared the same sentiment.

As one of the "Four Dan and Two Bing" actresses, she should theoretically maintain a high profile and not need to deliberately curry favor with Liu Yifei.

But her current predicament forces her to think of a way out.

Before Zhou Xun came to the company, she could compete with Li Bingbing on equal terms, sometimes one side would gain the upper hand and sometimes the other would gain the upper hand.

But now Zhou Xun has arrived and is taking up most of the company's resources.

Li Bingbing also enjoys a very high status in the company because she has her younger sister Li Xue, who is currently the manager of Huayi Brothers' talent agency department.

Even Huo Siyan, whom she looked down upon, enjoyed many good resources because she became Wang Zhonglei's personal "public relations officer".

She alone was targeted by the company for having her resources completely suppressed because she was unwilling to sign a contract renewal agreement.

What's even more infuriating is that Huang Xiaoming also joined in the fray, intending to get a piece of the pie at Huayi Brothers and taking away a lot of good resources. As the saying goes, "Two tigers cannot share one mountain."

But now, Huayi is no longer just two tigers, but several tigers tearing each other apart, and Fan Bingbing has become the weakest one.

In this situation, there was no choice but to flee.

But the prerequisite for running away is to find a backer first, otherwise if you go out on your own, you will be suppressed by others.
Ruishijie is currently her top choice.

Although Orange Sky was also trying to win her over and offered her good terms, she always felt that Wu Kebo was lecherous and didn't seem like a good person.

Since you'll be relying on a sugar daddy wherever you go, why not find someone more handsome, more talented, and with more resources?
Lu Rui is currently his best option, but she has hinted at it several times and he has ignored her, which means that her physical advantage is useless.

Therefore, she could only choose to bypass Liu Yifei.

Through her woman's intuition, she could keenly sense that the relationship between Liu Yifei and Lü Rui was far from simple!
Although she couldn't understand why she, a ripe red apple, would lose to Liu Yifei, a green apple, it didn't matter.

What she wants now is for Lü Rui to be willing to eat her, this red apple!

It's not about eating in bed, but about investing in Hongxingwu's future, just like investing in the company itself.

"I'm so envious of you. Director Lü took care of that Song Zude guy so easily... Sigh, I wish I could find a boss like that..."

Although her words were meant to convey something in a veiled way, the envy in them was undeniable.

After all, although Song Zude was a dog that everyone hated, he actually had some skills.

There are quite a few celebrities in the industry who have been slandered and defamed by him.

For example, Jin Qiaoqiao, who played the Peacock Princess in "Journey to the West," was the subject of many erotic rumors, with people wishing they could tear Song Zude apart alive, yet they were powerless to do anything about it.

Even if it were Fan Bingbing herself, the only countermeasures she could think of besides responding online or suing the other party for defamation and infringement of reputation would be to the other party.

At worst, they might get an apology and compensation, but that's hardly a big deal for this kind of person.

As for finding him and arranging for someone to teach him a lesson, that's utter nonsense.

Song Zude always hid when he was up to something, and never stayed in the capital.

The country is so big, who knows where he's hiding?
But this time, he ran into Liu Yifei and kicked a hornet's nest!
Not only was he caught, but he was also reprimanded until he made to record a video to apologize. He was even imprisoned, and various charges against him were brought up.

The more Fan Bingbing paid attention to this matter, the more she could appreciate Lü Rui's skill and ability.

That's why she wanted to get closer even more!

If Lü Rui could become his sugar daddy, wouldn't resources be a sure thing in the future?

More importantly, she no longer has to worry about all the messy things in the industry and can focus on filming in peace.

Reaching the level of "Four Dan and Two Bing" is already the greatest fortune of her life.

After all, when she first entered the profession, she was just a lowly maid named Jin Suo.

Even in a female-centric novel, this would be a perfect ending.

Her beginning role was as Jin Suo, a maid in "My Fair Princess".

Outcome: One of the top actresses in the Chinese entertainment industry, one of the "Four Dan and Two Bing" (referring to four top actresses and two top actresses, respectively).

What’s the difference between this and cheating?
Therefore, all she wants now is to peacefully guard her own little corner of the world.

In fact, Liu Yifei probably guessed what she meant.

After all, Fan Bingbing had revealed too much information to her.

From terminating her contract with the company to secretly establishing her own personal studio, and constantly expressing envy towards her...

She's not stupid; how could she not understand what that means?

After reflecting on the care Fan Bingbing had given her since they met, the times she had helped her out of awkward situations in front of the media, and the kindness she had shown, she ultimately couldn't bring herself to ignore it.

"After the celebration banquet, I can have your senior speak with you privately. Whether it works or not is up to you."

Fan Bingbing was stunned for a moment, then couldn't hide her joy: "Yifei, thank you, thank you so much..."

She just needs an opportunity to make things clear, and as long as there's a chance to talk, she'll do everything she can to fight for it!
"You're welcome. I should thank you for all your help."

"Of course. If we can really reach a cooperation agreement with Ruishijie, you might even become my boss's wife. I'll definitely have to curry favor with you."

"What boss lady?" Liu Yifei panicked and quickly waved her hands, "There's nothing between us, don't misunderstand..."

No?

Did she show it so obviously?

Even though they didn't have any particularly intimate interactions while on set, did they?
Just kidding, haha.

Fan Bingbing gave her a knowing look and naturally moved on from the topic.

At that moment, she seemed to vaguely understand why Lü Rui valued Liu Yifei more than her.

How could a woman like her, weathered by life, possibly have the power to destroy a white moonlight?

She was confident that she could completely outshine Liu Yifei in terms of looks and temperament, but Liu Yifei's inner purity and innocence had already left her far behind.

……

"Crack!"

Inside the venue, the moment the ice shattered, the sign displaying the 2.26 million yuan box office figure for "Sunny Sisters" became clearly visible.

The audience burst into warm applause.

As the highest-grossing film in the first half of 06, this is undoubtedly another glory for the Chinese film industry.

Lu Rui, like everyone else, clapped along.

In this movie, Ruishijie invested 500 million yuan but received nearly 3000 million yuan in revenue sharing, making a huge profit.

More importantly, it also launched a director who made 2 million yuan at the box office, and the hidden benefits are immeasurable!
"Chairman Lü." The assistant suddenly squeezed through the crowd.

"What's wrong?" Lu Rui turned his head to look at her.

"The company called and said that a South Korean company called CJ approached us, wanting to buy the rights to 'Sunny'."

South Korea? CJ?
Lu Rui raised an eyebrow, suddenly finding it quite interesting.

In his previous life, this movie was made by CJ's side, and then the mainland bought the rights to remake it. Unexpectedly, the roles have been reversed now.

"Are you selling it?" the assistant asked in a low voice.

"Of course," Lü Rui replied without hesitation. "Why wouldn't I want to make money?"

Making money from Koreans is the same as making money from Americans; if you don't make money, you're wasting your time.

"I understand, I'll reply right away."

The assistant responded and left.

The celebration banquet went very smoothly, and everyone, including the hosts and guests, had a great time.

Before leaving after the meal, the heads of several investors shook hands with Lü Rui with genuine affection.

"Pacific Rim..."

"Don't worry, we won't forget you all, everyone has a share..."

Lu Rui smiled like an innocent little lamb, but in reality he was a wolf in sheep's clothing!

After seeing everyone off, he went to the inner lounge.

Liu Yifei and Fan Bingbing were already waiting there.

Fan Bingbing first explained her intention to ask Liu Yifei to act as a go-between, sincerely expressing her current predicament and desire to cooperate.

"Name your terms, I just want a chance to make a living."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei subconsciously stood up and said, "You guys chat, I'll go first."

She felt that this kind of privacy made her unsuitable to listen live, and that she should avoid it.

"No need." Lu Rui waved his hand, indicating that she could stay put.

Liu Yifei paused for a moment, then sat back down.

When Fan Bingbing saw this scene, her expression was inexplicably complicated, and she looked at Liu Yifei with a very strange gaze.

And you still say you're not the boss's wife?
We're all so familiar with each other already, is there any need to keep things secret?

But in fact, Lü Rui's purpose in keeping Liu Yifei there was very simple: he just didn't want to be alone with Fan Bingbing and didn't want to be misunderstood or cause any unnecessary trouble.

This is not fear or worry, but a form of self-protection after stress.

In his past life, when he was a short drama director, a female lead who was the third female lead came to his door saying she wanted to ask him for advice on her role, but she closed the door behind her as she entered.

He didn't think much of it at first, assuming the other person genuinely wanted to ask for advice.

Unexpectedly, as they talked, the other party became very close to her, saying that if she was willing to add more scenes for her, she could sleep with him for one night.

Without even a medical examination report, Lü Rui naturally couldn't agree and immediately kicked him out.

To everyone's surprise, the next day the other party reported him to the producer for indecent assault, saying that if he didn't get more screen time, he would call the police!

In the end, it was only after the company contacted the other party's agency that the matter was brought under control.

Since then, Lü Rui has learned from his mistakes and developed a habit of vigilance.

He could only completely relax when he was alone with Liu Yifei; as for other people, he was always on guard.

It's a habit he can't break yet; he needs more time to adapt.

As Lü Rui sized up Fan Bingbing standing in front of him, he pondered silently, when suddenly someone came to mind.

That's a South Korean celebrity named Jun Ji-hyun.

The other party has filmed many high-quality works, and their acting style is remarkably similar to Fan Bingbing's.

Judging solely by her acting skills and temperament, Lü Rui admires her quite a bit, but when it comes to her stance and character, she is a complete negative in his eyes, utterly and thoroughly negative!
Perhaps, all her resources could be copied and transferred over?
(End of this chapter)