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

Chapter 225 Another formidable general added! Ambitious... (6000 words, requesting monthly votes)
As expected, Jiang Wen's "The Sun Also Rises" could not escape the fate of "box office failure".

After more than ten days in theaters, the total box office barely exceeded 2000 million yuan, and the daily box office plummeted to less than 50 yuan.

This performance is a dismal failure compared to its high production costs.

However, "pounce" is relative.

The film had already sold its overseas rights at Cannes and recouped its costs, so strictly speaking, it wasn't a loss.

Even so, many people are still quite puzzled.

After all, this movie has neither cool special effects nor spectacular scenes, so how could it have cost 6000 million?

On Baidu Tieba, some people even gave Jiang Wen the nickname "Master of Overspending," jokingly saying that he is always on the road to overspending when making movies.

Others might not understand the reason, but Lü Rui saw it clearly.

In his view, Jiang Wen's approach to filmmaking is actually quite similar to that of Wang Jiawei.

Both of them follow the "stream of consciousness" approach, but the reasons for "overspending" are quite different.

Wang Jiawei's stream of consciousness is one that even he himself cannot quite grasp.

I don't know how to film next, I have no clue where the plot should go, and I can't explain what kind of performance the actors should deliver...

So in the end, all we can do is try again and again, grind it out day by day, until the time drags on indefinitely, and the costs will naturally skyrocket.

But Jiang Wen was different.

He has so many ideas in his head when he's making movies, like fireworks exploding, that he can't help but keep changing the plot as he's filming.

It was clear that Lü Rui had already drawn the storyboard for "The Sun Also Rises" for him, and marked the angle and rhythm of each shot.

But as he filmed, he completely forgot about the script and made random changes based on his feelings, completely deviating from the original plan.

This resulted in him using an exceptionally high amount of film when filming.

For example, when he was filming "Devils on the Doorstep", he used a total of 48 feet of film, setting a record rarely seen in the industry.

Especially the classic line "Happy New Year, elder brother and sister-in-law" in the film, it is said that the foreign actor filmed it more than 100 times before he was satisfied.

With such a "go all out on film" approach, it's no wonder they went over budget!
His talent is undeniable, but this "casual" way of shooting is something he'll probably never change in his lifetime.

In contrast, Lü Rui's style is completely different.

He prefers to use digital cameras and only occasionally uses film cameras when shooting art films in order to create a delicate atmosphere of light and shadow.

Moreover, he is extremely efficient during filming, and can usually get a shot right in two or three takes.

Even when faced with challenging scenes where actors struggle to find their footing, they can resolve the issue within ten takes, unlike Jiang Wen who wastes resources by repeatedly working on a single shot.

...

The Sun Also Rises quickly set a date for the celebration banquet.

Jiang Wen called, his voice as cheerful as ever, and warmly invited, "Are you coming to the victory celebration?"

Lü Rui wasn't busy at the moment.

The pre-production work for Pacific Rim has already been broken down and distributed to various teams.

The robotics team sent by the Chinese Academy of Sciences has moved into the Beijing Film Studio's soundstage. They are working with the props team, which is jointly formed by China Film Group, Huayi Brothers Media Group, Shanghai Film Group, and Ruishijie, to refine the movement structure and material selection of the mecha's joints.

The art team from the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts collaborated with the creative team at Ruishijie, repeatedly revising the monster design drafts.

Lü Rui's requirement was that everything from the scale texture to the limb proportions must balance visual impact with biological rationality.

Even the engineering consultant team was busy, using the site design drawings to calculate the load-bearing limits of the giant mecha model and simulated city ruins in the studio to ensure filming safety.

Everyone performed their duties, steadily advancing the preliminary work such as mecha design, monster modeling, prop making, and filming location construction, requiring little effort from him.

He is currently preparing to go home to pack his luggage. After making sure nothing is missing, he will set off abroad in a couple of days to meet with the Hollywood special effects team.

At this moment, holding his phone, he jokingly remarked, "2000 million in box office revenue and you're still holding a celebration banquet?"

"Hey? What are you saying!" Jiang Wen immediately retorted, unconvinced. "Although the box office wasn't much, we've already recouped the overseas rights fees. Besides, we won an award at Cannes, so we should at least have a big celebration."

"Haha, okay, I'll be there on time tonight," Lü Rui replied with a smile.

"Remember, don't give up halfway! Come on over, I'll introduce you to someone." Jiang Wen added.

"Who?"

"You'll find out when you come here."

Jiang Wen deliberately kept everyone in suspense before hanging up the phone.

Without giving it much thought, Lü Rui put away his phone, got into his car, and drove home.

The car quickly drove away from the Beijing Film Studio.

As he rounded the bend, he glanced casually through the rearview mirror at the enormous photography studio, which covered tens of thousands of square meters.

Inside, a partial steel frame structure has already been erected, and the outline of a partial city model can be vaguely seen.

Seeing this scene, a bold idea suddenly popped into Lü Rui's mind:

"How about we find a suitable place and set up my own photography studio?"

The moment this thought appeared, it was like a flame that had been doused with oil, and it quickly became uncontrollable!
He was well aware that a film and television company had a huge advantage if it had its own film and television base.

Firstly, it eliminates the limitations of renting out venues, freeing up time slots from competing with other film crews for studio space, and also freeing users from being restricted by the specifications of existing venues, allowing for the construction of custom sets according to project needs.

Secondly, it can significantly reduce costs. In the long run, the investment in building a base is far lower than the cost of repeated leasing, and the idle space can be rented to other film crews, generating additional income.

More importantly, a complete film and television base can integrate resources across the industry chain, providing a one-stop solution for everything from pre-production shooting to post-production, prop storage, and actor accommodation, greatly improving project efficiency.

Even after growing bigger and stronger, it can attract foreign film crews to shoot here, enhancing the company's influence in the international market.

At this moment, what came to mind for Lü Rui was the image of the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis film production base from his previous life.

In his past life, when he was filming a short drama about disaster, he rented a small studio there.

It was because of that experience that he witnessed the "arrogance" of the Oriental Movie Metropolis!
Covering an area of ​​approximately 376 million square meters and with a total construction area of ​​approximately 540 million square meters, it not only includes a film and television industrial park, but also supports supporting businesses such as Sunac Mall and a grand theater.

The film and television industrial park alone has planned 40 world-leading sound stages.

This includes the world's largest 10,000-square-meter film studio and a professional underwater film studio, as well as top-notch hardware facilities such as a digital audio-visual center and a virtual film and television shooting and production platform.

From pre-production filming to post-production special effects, from prop making to copyright transactions, it covers almost the entire film and television industry chain.

It's no exaggeration to say that any film and television company that has such a venue would be like having wings on a tiger!
The more Lü Rui thought about it, the more feasible the idea of ​​building his own photography base seemed, and the stronger his desire became!
But the next second, he suddenly realized a problem:
"Damn it, why are my ambitions getting bigger and bigger?"

With its own visionary approach, it also wants to create animation IPs and integrate the entire animation industry chain...

While preparing for "Pacific Rim," I've started thinking about the filming location again.

Isn't this exactly what the book calls "a snake trying to swallow an elephant"?

But he quickly suppressed his hesitation, and his eyes became firm.

greedy!
You have to be greedy!
If we don't take advantage of the current momentum to expand, when will we?

It's a good thing for young people to be ambitious; they can't just be content with the status quo and give up, can they?
After all, lying down is a "negative force." If one day you are labeled as "unambitious," it may affect project approval or even lead to being "blacklisted," which would be a real loss.

So, just do it!

However, this funding...

Lu Rui stroked his chin, unable to help but mutter to himself, "Damn it, looks like I still have to work my ass off... Why are we getting short of money the more we film? This is ridiculous..."

Even so, his eyes shone with a bright and burning light.

And this light has another name:

—Ambition!
When he first entered the industry, he originally planned to quit once he had earned 30 million.

But now, let alone 30 million, even 300 million or 30 billion would probably not be enough!
...

In the evening, Lü Rui arrived early at the celebration banquet for "The Sun Also Rises".

The banquet hall was already quite crowded.

Looking around, directors, producers, and actors chatted in small groups, and the air was filled with the aroma of champagne and food.

He was just about to find a place to sit down and rest when Jiang Wen walked over cheerfully, accompanied by a somewhat shy-looking young man.

"Come here, let me introduce you to someone." Jiang Wen pushed the young man in front of Lü Rui. "This is Rao Xiaozhi, a graduate of the Directing Department of the Central Academy of Drama. He's practically my junior."

After graduating in 03, I honed my skills on stage and in the theater, and now I want to switch to the film and television industry to find a reliable project to gain experience.

"Hello, Director Lü."

Rao Xiaozhi is not very tall. He was wearing a slightly conservative suit and had an honest and unassuming appearance.

He didn't talk much. After greeting everyone, he stood obediently to the side with a silly grin on his lips, but a hint of expectation in his eyes.

"Hello."

Lu Rui reached out and shook hands with him. As soon as he touched the other's hand, a string of movie titles popped into his mind.

"Hello, Crazy!", "The Nameless", "The Long Journey Home"...

This is the director who will later create many critically acclaimed and commercially successful films.

What a talent!

"His teacher was my classmate in college, and we have a good relationship."

Jiang Wen briefly explained the relationship between the two, and then added with a smile, "He graduated two years ago, and has done a few stage plays, but hasn't found a good opportunity in the film and television industry."

His teacher originally wanted to ask me to mentor him, but as you know, I've only filmed one movie in the past two years, "The Sun Also Rises," and I don't have any projects starting filming immediately. So I thought I'd bring him to see you and see if you have any suitable roles available.

Lu Rui understood that she wanted to ask him to help take care of her.

Of course he wouldn't refuse.

There's absolutely no reason to let go of such promising talent if we can hold onto them.

What's more, it also allows me to repay Jiang Wen's favor.

So he immediately nodded, his tone straightforward: "Sure, let him come with me then. The pre-production team for 'Pacific Rim' is short-handed, so let him go and familiarize himself with the process. He can start as a script supervisor and assistant director, learn as much as he can, and observe as much as he can." "Alright, it's settled then!" Since everyone was already so familiar with each other, Jiang Wen didn't stand on ceremony.

Once everything was confirmed, he turned around and patted Rao Xiaozhi on the shoulder: "Did you hear that? After the celebration banquet, you'll go with Director Lü, do your job well, and don't embarrass me and your teacher."

Rao Xiaozhi was already overjoyed, and his silly grin became even more pronounced.

He quickly bowed deeply to Jiang Wen: "Thank you, Director Jiang! Thank you for giving me this opportunity!"

After saying that, he quickly turned around and bowed to Lü Rui again, bending even lower:
"Thank you, Director Lü, for your guidance! I will definitely work hard, arrive early and leave late every day, listen and learn more, and make sure I don't hold you back or cause any trouble for the Pacific Rim project!"

Pacific Rim!

That's a massive international project with an investment of $2 million!
Rao Xiaozhi had heard about this movie when he was in the theater circle.

He never dreamed that he would have the opportunity to participate!

He knew very well that as long as he could accumulate experience in this project, even if he only did some auxiliary work, he would be able to establish himself in the film and television industry in the future. He would never have to worry about not having projects to work with again.

Lu Rui smiled and patted him on the shoulder, his tone gentle: "Don't be so reserved, do your job well, I'm waiting to see your performance."

Remember, with me, you'll have no shortage of opportunities, but what you'll lack most are people who can seize them. I hope you can be the latter.

Lü Rui's goal was to make Rui Vision bigger and stronger, and to create new glories.

Not only do we need to make good films and TV series, but we also need to cultivate our own creative team.

Recruit more talented young directors like Rao Xiaozhi, hone their skills and nurture them carefully. In the future, these people will surely become the company's "wealth" and even support half of Ruishijie's business!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at Rao Xiaozhi with a hint of expectation.

As the group chatted, the banquet hall doors kept opening, and more and more friends from the film and television industry arrived.

The space, which was originally quite spacious, gradually became lively.

Not long after, Liu Yifei walked in arm in arm with Liu Xiaoli.

The light pink dress she wore made her look exceptionally graceful.

"Oh? Isn't this my daughter!"

Jiang Wen spotted her immediately and waved to her cheerfully.

Good evening, Uncle Jiang.

Liu Yifei let go of Liu Xiaoli's hand and obediently stepped forward to greet her, but her eyes subconsciously scanned the crowd, clearly looking for Zhou Yun.

Jiang Wen saw through her thoughts at a glance and explained with a smile, "Zhou Yun didn't come. She's in her late pregnancy, and the doctor said it's not convenient for her to come out and move around, so I told her to stay home and rest."

"How many more months until I can have my baby?" Liu Yifei's eyes lit up, her voice full of anticipation.

She already knew about Zhou Yun's pregnancy and was especially looking forward to seeing the baby.

"Around September?" Jiang Wen asked, her tone somewhat uncertain.

Although this is his second time becoming a father, he really doesn't know how to calculate the exact date of his due date.

He only remembered that his first hospital check-up was last November.

According to the saying "ten months of pregnancy", it should only be a matter of one or two months.

Lu Rui, who was standing nearby, spoke up at the right moment, jokingly saying, "Congratulations, Director Jiang, you're going to be a father again. This is truly a double celebration, with the movie being a huge success and the family welcoming a new member."

"Don't rush to congratulate me."

Jiang Wen suddenly changed the subject, staring intently at him, and started doing some calculations: "You're 24 years old this year, aren't you?"

If you keep going like this, you'll be 25, then 26, almost 27, then 28, and soon 29, then 30, then 32, almost 35, then 40, then 50, then 60, and 70 or 80 won't be far off. Life's almost over! Shouldn't you hurry up and find someone to settle down with?

"..."

Lu Rui's lips twitched as he listened.

He's clearly only in his early twenties, so how come in Jiang Wen's words, he's almost lived half his life?

This was clearly meant to tease him.

"I'm not in a hurry, there's plenty of time. It's not too late to consider it in a few years." Lu Rui waved his hand dismissively.

Why are you in such a hurry to get married?

Do you really think getting married is a good thing?

He wasn't worried about basic necessities like firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea; the key thing was that he wanted to enjoy a few more years of freedom.

Dating is fine, but let's postpone marriage for now.

“That’s right, that’s right!” Liu Yifei chimed in, earnestly defending Lü Rui, “Senior has been working incredibly hard lately. He just finished filming his last movie and immediately started preparing for his new one. He hasn’t even had time to rest properly, so how could he have the energy to think about anything else?”

Jiang Wen looked at her protective expression towards Lü Rui, and his eyes suddenly became complicated: "You seem to care about him quite a bit."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei's face flushed red instantly, even her ears turned pink.

She lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly and whispered in protest, "Uncle Jiang, what are you saying? I don't understand..."

"Alright, alright, I'm not teasing you anymore." Jiang Wen couldn't help but laugh when he saw her embarrassed look. "A lot of old friends have come, I have to go and entertain them. You young people can chat by yourselves."

After saying that, he glared at Lü Rui again before turning around and walking towards the producers who had just arrived.

He felt a little "wronged" that his own "daughter" was siding with outsiders, so he needed to chat with an old friend to ease the tension.

Lu Rui decided not to pay him any more attention and turned to Liu Yifei, waving her over: "Come on, let me introduce you to some people. They're all seniors in the industry, and you might have a chance to work with them in the future."

"Ok."

Liu Yifei nodded immediately and quickly followed Lü Rui, completely forgetting that her elderly mother was standing behind her...

Watching her daughter's retreating figure, Liu Xiaoli rolled her eyes helplessly and muttered under her breath, "That brat, she forgets her mother as soon as she gets a man. I might as well not have come at all."

Despite her complaints, she still found an empty seat near a corner and sat down, intending to wait quietly for the celebration banquet to end.

Anyway, her daughter has someone to keep her company, so she doesn't have to worry about her.

...

Lu Rui led Liu Yifei around the banquet hall, where they greeted the CEOs and senior producers of several film and television companies.

Then, just as he was about to find a place to rest, he turned around and bumped into a familiar figure.

It was Yang Shoucheng who had come all the way from Hong Kong.

"Chairman Yang?"

Lu Rui was somewhat surprised, not expecting Yang Shoucheng to personally come to attend the celebration banquet for "The Sun Also Rises".

"Chairman Lü, haha, how have you been!"

Yang Shoucheng walked forward with a smile, warmly shook hands with Lü Rui, and nodded politely when his gaze swept over Liu Yifei, who was standing to the side, "Miss Liu is here too."

Liu Yifei responded obediently, "Hello, Uncle Yang."

After following Lü Rui around for a long time, she met many "uncles".

At first, everyone called her "Miss Liu", but later they all started calling her "niece", and she got used to it.

After a few pleasantries, Lü Rui got straight to the point: "How's the filming of 'New World' going? I heard from the crew a while ago that they encountered some problems. Have they been resolved?"

When "The New World" was mentioned, Yang Shoucheng's smile deepened, and his tone became more confident:

"The filming went very smoothly! We did encounter some troubles before, but they were all insignificant incidents that did not delay the main filming schedule. We guarantee that we will wrap up filming on schedule by the end of next month, and it will not affect the subsequent post-production."

He said this with a look of confidence in his eyes.

As a long-established player in the Hong Kong film industry, Yinghuang has been deeply involved in the Hong Kong film and television industry for many years.

If he can't even protect a film crew or handle the filming of a movie, then Yang Shoucheng might as well quit this industry.

Although the filming of "New World" was indeed affected by some external interference in the early stages, and the pressure was considerable.

Fortunately, with the support of the mainland market and Ruishijie, plus his own strong personality, many problems were solved one by one.

Only now does he fully understand that the difficulties and pressures that used to give him headaches and make him feel suffocated were actually mostly caused by "insiders" within the Hong Kong film and television industry.

Once you step out of that small circle and turn your attention to the mainland and the broader market, you'll find that there's plenty of room for growth, and all those previous problems are nothing compared to what you've been through.

As for those self-proclaimed "conservatives" who think they're sitting on a cloud, let them entertain themselves.

"It's good that everything went smoothly." A huge weight was lifted off Lu Rui's shoulders.

"New World" is the first project that Ruishijie has collaborated on with Yinghuang, and he naturally wants to see it succeed.

If we could also take this opportunity to deflate the arrogance of those haughty fellows, that would be even better.

Taking the opportunity, Yang Shoucheng extended an invitation: "If Chairman Lü has time, when would you like to visit the set in Hong Kong? The entire crew is looking forward to your visit and guidance. I would also like to extend my hospitality and show you around Hong Kong."

He knew very well that the cooperation between Yinghuang and Ruishijie was at a critical juncture.

Deepening the relationship with Lü Rui would be absolutely beneficial to Yinghuang's future development in the mainland market.

"I'll definitely go to visit the set, maybe after I get back from Hollywood in a few days."

Lü Rui did not refuse, and secretly calculated the itinerary.

I'm going to Hollywood in a couple of days to coordinate the follow-up work on "Pacific Rim". When I come back from there, I can conveniently visit Hong Kong.

When I went to Hong Kong before, I always came and went in a hurry, and I didn't have a chance to explore properly.

This time, I can go and experience the glitz and glamour of that place.

"That's wonderful!" Yang Shoucheng exclaimed with delight. "I'm ready to go at any time. Chairman Lü, please let me know in advance once you've confirmed the time, and I'll pick you up from the airport!"

Liu Yifei listened quietly to their conversation without interrupting.

But when Lü Rui mentioned "going to Hollywood," his eyes showed a hint of anticipation.

If only I could go to Hollywood with my senior again...

Well, that's impossible. Her mother would never let her run around like that. We'll just have to wait until filming officially starts and then look for another opportunity...

(End of this chapter)