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

Chapter 214: What extreme subject matter? That's just our daily life, okay? (Seeking monthly votes)
"If you just want a chance to make a living, I can give it to you, but I have a few conditions."

In the break room, Lü Rui sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, leisurely observing Fan Bingbing in front of him.

Although he knew that since Wang Jinghua left, there had been fierce infighting among the actors at Huayi Brothers.

But unexpectedly, Fan Bingbing was defeated!
This result really surprised him.

Fan Bingbing seems to be a bit lacking in this life, isn't she?
However, upon closer examination, it seems to make sense. After all, she currently has no advantage over her competitors, and with Huayi constantly recruiting, her resources are bound to continue to shrink.

Leaving has become an inevitable choice; otherwise, even the title of "Double Ice" might be replaced.

"Just name your price, I'm willing to agree to any conditions." Fan Bingbing was ready to go all out.

Even if Lü Rui asked her to come back tonight to warm his bed, she would absolutely not say a word.

Unfortunately, Lü Rui didn't think of "rewarding" her.

"Regarding film and television resources, I can guarantee that it won't be like what happened with Huayi Brothers, where there are frequent gaps in supply..."

As soon as Lü Rui finished speaking, Fan Bingbing's eyes lit up instantly. This was exactly what she wanted!

"But!" Lu Rui suddenly changed the subject, "You can only compete for all resources after she has picked through the leftovers and decided not to use them."

Listen carefully, this is competition. You have to be a good fit for the role to get a chance to play it. The role won't be changed for you.

Fan Bingbing was taken aback, and looked in the direction Lü Rui was pointing. She saw Liu Yifei sitting obediently, holding a bottle of milk in her hand...

You really spoil her!

A flicker of envy crossed her mind, but Fan Bingbing nodded without hesitation: "Okay."

After all, she has no choice right now, and even the resources that Liu Yifei left over are enough to maintain her current status.

Just like in "Sunny Sisters", although she played the second female lead, the character "Xia Chunhua" gained countless fans because of her forthright personality and the image of a big sister.

If all the roles are this type, she'll be scrambling to take them.

"Secondly, finances need to be transparent and open. I will arrange for someone to be stationed at your studio to ensure that every inflow and outflow is strictly taxed in accordance with regulations..."

"Row."

Fan Bingbing didn't see anything wrong with that.

She opened a studio, and Lü Rui invested in it, providing her with resources and a share of the profits, so naturally he had to keep an eye on the accounts.

This is actually the same principle as a company seeking external financing.

"Third, any film or television projects, endorsements, etc. that you accept in the future will need to be reported to me. You can only proceed after I give my approval."

This condition is a bit too demanding.

Fan Bingbing was somewhat surprised. Was it really necessary to be so controlling?

However, after thinking about it, she gritted her teeth and agreed: "No problem, I promise to report everything."

Actually, it was the same when she was at Huayi; she could only do any work if she got approval from above.

So this isn't entirely unacceptable to her.

The thought of opening my own studio and becoming my own boss, yet still being managed by others, is something I'm not quite used to.

"My investment in Hongxingwu accounts for no less than 30%..."

"I'll give you 35%!"

Fan Bingbing has gone all out.

Her current revenue split with Huayi is 3:7, with her receiving 70%.

The company offered her a 2:8 revenue split for contract renewal, which seemed like she could earn more money, but she wouldn't get any guaranteed resources.

Therefore, rather than agreeing to a 2:8 split, having to put up with Zhou Xun and Li Bingbing's temper, and occasionally being ridiculed by Huo Siyan, it's better to go out on your own.

However, she soon realized how right her choice had been.

The moment Lü Rui nodded in agreement, he added, "Practice your physique more recently, and focus on improving your strength."

"Huh? Why?"

“There’s a female supporting character in Pacific Rim who is one of the main pilots of the Jaeger Medusa. You could give it a try.”

As soon as Lü Rui finished speaking, Fan Bingbing couldn't hide her surprise and delight!

This is like a windfall!
She had originally planned that once the auditions for "Pacific Rim" started, she would do everything she could to get an audition opportunity.

I didn't expect this to happen!
Although Lü Rui is domineering and a bit controlling, he really gives resources when they're available!
A top-tier project worth $2 million, even if it's just a supporting role, would be the target of countless female stars in the entire Chinese entertainment industry.

Although he said he would practice his physique for a while first, and then give it a try.

But this one sentence already conveys a lot of meaning.

Putting everything else aside, having received advance notice, her chances of successfully auditioning were definitely much greater than those of other actresses!
However, before she could recover from her surprise, she saw Lü Rui turn to look at Liu Yifei and tap her on the head: "You too, remember to practice your physical training, so I can let you pilot a mecha later."

"Don't worry, senior, I'll be fine!" Liu Yifei waved her fist.

It's just about physical appearance; that's what she's least afraid of.

Looking at the entire Chinese entertainment industry, although her acting skills are only average, her physical movements are definitely among the top tier, even better than many professional dancers from the Beijing Dance Academy!

Hearing their conversation, Fan Bingbing's expression darkened.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Liu Yifei will likely be playing the female lead again.

It makes sense when you think about it, since she's been his go-to leading lady for a long time.

However, Fan Bingbing herself was not too discouraged.

Take it slow. As long as she can maintain her current status and popularity, she will eventually find a suitable opportunity to rise to prominence.

Less than twenty minutes later, the three of them came out of the inner room.

There were hardly any people left in the banquet hall outside. Almost all the invited guests had left, leaving only some core members of Ruishijie.

"I'm leaving now to go back and be with my wife."

When Jiang Wen saw Lü Rui come out, he waved to him before getting up to leave.

"You haven't had too much to drink, have you? Shall I arrange for a driver to take you?"

"No need, I brought my assistant with me today."

"Okay, be careful on the road."

As soon as Jiang Wen left, Ning Hao also got up to say goodbye and left the banquet hall first.

Like Jiang Wen, he was close to Ruishijie, but he wasn't a core member; they were just close collaborators.

"Brother Rui, is there anything else planned?"

Zhao Peng brought Tang Yan over, and the others also gathered around him.

Lu Rui glanced at Hou Hongliang and asked, "What's the situation with those two dramas?"

Hou Hongliang replied, "Soldiers Sortie has a release date set for the summer season, while My Chief and My Regiment will start filming at the beginning of next month."

"Row."

Lu Rui nodded, then looked at Lu Yang: "How's the casting for 'New World' going?"

Lu Yang, sporting dark circles under his eyes, clearly had been staying up late recently: "It's basically confirmed. I'll report to your office tomorrow."

“Okay.” Lu Rui then looked at Zhao Peng and Shen Ao, “Next, I will officially start the preparation for Pacific Rim. You two will be my assistant directors and help me.”

Making blockbusters is no easy task, especially large-scale projects like Pacific Rim; Lü Rui simply couldn't handle it all by himself.

But with Zhao Peng and Shen Ao around, it's different. They can provide support from the sidelines and step in when necessary.

"no problem!"

The two nodded in unison.

Fan Bingbing and Tang Yan, who were standing nearby, were inexplicably moved by what they saw.

This atmosphere of everyone working together towards a common goal is inexplicably inspiring, as if no matter what difficulties lie ahead, they can be easily overcome!
……

The following morning, unsurprisingly, the topic of the celebration banquet for "Sunny Sisters" made headlines.

As the third Chinese film in history to break 200 million yuan at the box office, it has been the focus of attention and discussion recently.

The ignited "box office race" has also led to a series of subsequent reactions.

For example, the production teams of films such as "Dragon Tiger Gate", "The Banquet", "Curse of the Golden Flower" and "Rob-B-Hood" have almost all released new slogans and declarations.

Zhang Weiping remained as high-profile as ever, brazenly declaring to the media: "With such a powerful lineup as Zhang Yimou, Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, and Jay Chou, breaking box office records will be a piece of cake."

"I didn't even consider 'Sunny' a threat; 'Taken' was my real target."

Unsurprisingly, his words immediately drew a lot of ridicule.

Not to be outdone, Feng Xiaogang casually remarked, "2 million is just the starting point for 'The Banquet,' the end is bright!"

At the press conference for Polybona's "Dragon Tiger Gate," Yu Dong, with his left arm around Yip Wai-shin's shoulder and his right arm around Donnie Yen, boldly declared: "This will be a top-tier masterpiece that surpasses 'Kung Fu Hustle'..."

The only exception was Yinghuang's "Rob-B-Hood," which avoided joining the fray, neither being ostentatious nor engaging in comparisons.
Yang Shoucheng and Ruishijie are currently in a cooperative relationship, so there's no need for him to cause trouble. However, the pairing of Chen Long and Gao Yuanyuan as the leads is still quite anticipated.

Many people even speculated privately: "The eldest brother's private life has always been colorful. Could Gao Yuanyuan have been groped on set?"

After all, when he was filming back then, the crew suddenly asked to stop filming and clear the set. After the rumors of him and Nina Li Chi "setting bones" appeared, it caused quite a stir.

……

Wise Vision.

As soon as Lü Rui arrived at the company, Lu Yang came to his door with the audition list for "New World".

"Currently, two groups of people have been selected. One group consists of Fu Dalong, Sun Honglei, and Wang Yanhui. Their advantages are that they are young, obedient, and highly adaptable, but their disadvantage is that they lack presence and may need makeup and styling to compensate for it."

The other group was Hu Jun and Ning Li paired with Wang Zhifei. This group had a strong presence and could easily overshadow the supporting actors from Hong Kong. The drawback was that, apart from Hu Jun, the other two were not very famous…

In "Infernal Affairs," Hu Jun was a ruthless character who could suppress Lau Tak-wah, so his strength is beyond doubt.

Lu Rui glanced at the audition clip that Lu Yang had brought.

It's clear that Hu Jun's performance was indeed better than Fu Dalong's.

As for Sun Honglei, his "big brother" image is deeply rooted in people's hearts thanks to his role as Xiang Huaqiang in "Conquest".

However, his older brother is more like the boss of a small gang or thug, and his presence as a mafia boss is a bit weak.

As for Ning Li...

Lu Rui felt that the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it for the moment.

It wasn't until he watched the audition footage that he suddenly realized what was going on!

Ok!

Isn't that Li Fengtian?!

Eating raw ears without salt, Li Fengtian smoking in reverse.

This guy's performance in "The Untouchable" in his previous life was so good it was almost unreal; his demeanor was both wicked and evil, leaving a deep impression on Lü Rui.

Looking at the audition clips of Wang Zhifei and Wang Yanhui, these two are also representatives of the "doesn't seem like acting" category.

However, in terms of temperament, Wang Yanhui, who is currently on the heavier side, is clearly more suitable for the role of Section Chief Jiang after makeup than Wang Zhifei.

Lu Rui had already made up his mind.

He turned off the video and put down the documents, then directly ordered, "Choose the second group: Hu Jun and Ning Li, paired with Wang Yanhui. As for Wang Zhifei, we can have him play the director of the police station."

"it is good."

Lu Yang nodded without hesitation.

Lü Rui then glanced at the other characters on the list.

The role of the undercover police officer and Go teacher was originally played by Song Ji-hyo, but this time it was successfully played by 35-year-old Yu Feihong.

That makes perfect sense. They're all talented actors, so there's no need to worry about their presence being overshadowed by the supporting actors from Hong Kong.

"Let's stick with this cast. Contact Yinghuang and announce the cast as soon as possible, then we can schedule filming to begin at a suitable time."

"Okay, I'll get ready right now."

Lu Yang left the office overjoyed, holding the documents signed by Lü Rui.

His debut work is finally going to be completed, and just thinking about it makes him incredibly excited!
That afternoon, CJ's men arrived from South Korea.

Lu Rui did not pay attention to the details of the copyright fee negotiations; that was handled by a professional team.

People from China Film Group, Xi'an Film Group, and Shanghai Film Group were all involved to ensure maximum profit.

Lu Rui mainly met with the delegation from CJ and the two sides briefly discussed future cooperation.

Putting everything else aside, just looking at the South Korean film and television market, compared to the mainland, it is undoubtedly much freer!

The film censorship rights that the sixth-generation directors and underground directors in mainland China are fighting for are a piece of cake in South Korea.

What kind of extreme subject matter?
That's just our daily life, okay!

That's something to be envied.

Of course, while we may envy them, if this happened in mainland China, it would be a complete disaster. So let the Koreans "enjoy" it themselves.

"Director Lu, I have long admired your name!"

The person CJ sent had a pretty good command of Chinese; he bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle as soon as they met.

Hou Hongliang, who was standing next to him, introduced, "This is Park Bo-sung, the head of CJ's external copyright department."

"Oh, hello, Manager Park."

Lu Rui shook hands with the other person, but did not bow like him.

He's the client now, so why should he bow and greet the service provider?

Park Bo-sung didn't care at all, praising Lu Rui's achievements with obvious admiration.

But upon closer listening, it becomes clear that what the other person admires even more is actually his achievements abroad.

"I Am Legend," in particular, is mentioned very frequently!
With Warner Bros.' help, the film was also released in South Korea, where it performed very well, ranking second only to the Chinese mainland and Japanese markets at the box office.

If the domestic audience has a strong desire for Chinese films to go global, and views it as an honor and an achievement...

For South Korea, there is a morbid and complex mentality towards Hollywood.

They longed to enter that market, yet were suppressed; they wanted to rise up and sing their own praises, yet were forced to submit.

Given that it's a country built on the other side's military base, this situation isn't surprising.

"Director Lü, I met Jason from Brom House a while ago. He came to CJ to discuss distribution cooperation, and we reached a friendly agreement..."

"Really?"

Lu Rui raised an eyebrow in slight surprise, but quickly realized what he meant.

Blum House is currently expanding its overseas distribution, with South Korea, Little Days, and India among the countries currently on the list.

"He speaks highly of you and calls you a true publishing genius!"

"Haha, this guy..."

The cooperation in copyright transactions and distribution quickly brought the two sides closer together.

Park Bo-sung then suggested that he wanted to buy more rights to remake or distribute the films...

Having only one "Sunny Sisters" show was clearly not enough for him to go back and explain himself.

Lu Rui did not refuse and told him to go directly to Hou Hongliang to discuss it.

South Korea has spared no effort in promoting the film and television industry.

Since the hit drama "Dae Jang Geum" became a sensation in China last year, people from that market have been trying to expand and make money here.

If the competition between the mainland and Hong Kong is just a minor conflict between their own people, then the Koreans are clearly up to no good.

The Korean wave's invasion is no joke.

Especially those professionally produced, mass-produced girl groups, once they enter the scene, it's an absolute game-changer!
Chaebols and coal bosses may have many flaws, but their aesthetic sense is definitely above average!

It's still a niche market in China, but Koreans have already started getting plastic surgery, breast augmentation, and long legs. How can we compare?
This is an inevitable trend, one that Lü Rui cannot stop.

However, distributing Chinese-language films in South Korea could be considered a form of countermeasure; let's take it one step at a time.

After chatting for about an hour, Park Bo-sung tactfully got up to say goodbye, intending to go and discuss the purchase of the copyright with Hou Hongliang.

"Director Lu, if you have the opportunity, you are welcome to visit CJ and experience a different kind of happiness than in mainland China."

The word "happiness" is quite ambiguous, especially when it comes from Park Bo-sung.

Lü Rui smiled and agreed, shaking his hand again: "Okay, I'll definitely go if I have the chance."

He had indulged himself in his past life, so he wasn't really interested in these things.

However, he actually quite likes the atmosphere of listening to music in brothels, and he might visit one if he has the chance.

As for going any deeper, let's just leave it at that.

Koreans and ordinary people are the same; if they get filmed, they'll be in big trouble!
“Hongliang, I won’t go. Please take good care of these friends who have come from afar for me.”

"Okay, Director Lü, don't worry."

With just a glance, Hou Hongliang understood what Lü Rui meant.

Like coal mine owners, these tycoons have a lot of money in their hands, so they can just go all out and make a killing!

Meanwhile, just as Hou Hongliang was engaging in protracted negotiations with CJL's team, the first project in collaboration between Ruishijie and Yinghuang was finally finalized.

Unsurprisingly, when the cast of "New World" was announced, the Hong Kong film industry was in an uproar...

(End of this chapter)