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

Chapter 237: Looking Towards the Future – The "King of Animation"! (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"Last night, the 11th Huabiao Awards ceremony kicked off at the Beijing Exhibition Theater, with hundreds of directors and actors from the industry in attendance to celebrate the event!"

"Congratulations to Director Lü Rui for winning four awards for 'Taken': Outstanding International Co-production Film, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Feature Film, and Outstanding Producer. A resounding success!"

"Warmest congratulations to Chinese director Jia Zhangke for winning the Golden Lion Award for Best Film at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival for his film 'Still Life'!"

"..."

As September officially arrived, the entire internet's attention was focused on various film and television award ceremonies.

The news that Jia Zhangke won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival has become a hot topic of discussion across the internet!
The film "Still Life" tells the story of Han Sanming, from Linfen, Shanxi, searching for his ex-wife whom he hasn't seen for sixteen years, and Shen Hong, from Taiyuan, searching for her husband whom she hasn't seen for two years, in Fengjie County, Chongqing.

Jia Zhangke is very good at portraying these ordinary people, using them to reflect the changes in the larger environment.

Winning the Golden Lion Award this time clearly means that the film has produced another masterpiece that captures China's explosive economic growth and the ensuing turmoil.

Having just won the Golden Lion Award and not even returned yet, Shanghai Film Group announced that the film would be released on December 14th, heading straight for the Lunar New Year holiday season.

However, Lü Rui didn't pay much attention to these messages.

His schedule suddenly became very busy after September began.

Early in the morning, he first returned to school and filled out the new semester's graduate school registration form.

Although Tian Zhuangzhuang allowed him to not come back to class, giving him maximum freedom, the necessary procedures still had to be followed.

However, just as he finished filling out the form and was about to leave, he bumped into Qi Shilong, the head of the performing arts department, as he went out.

The way the other person looked at him was almost like a resentful wife looking at her husband.

"Director Lü! My great Director Lü! Look back at our acting department..."

Seeing that Qi Shilong was about to start chanting scriptures again, Lü Rui quickly made an excuse to slip away, not daring to stay for even a moment longer.

It's not that he didn't want to choose actors from the Beijing Film Academy, it's just that those people were all like hopeless cases, unable to even pass the first round of auditions, what could he do?
"Looks like I'll have to reduce the number of times I come back to school in the future, otherwise I'll be driven crazy if I get stuck in the office one day..."

Once in the car, Lü Rui muttered to himself and instructed the driver to head to the Beijing Film Studio first.

Today, all the main cast and crew of "Pacific Rim" have arrived and will begin their final round of intensive training.

This was also the last group training session before the official start of filming, mainly to help them quickly get into character.

Upon arriving at the studio, Lü Rui had just stepped inside when he saw Liu Ye, Liu Yifei, Fan Bingbing, He Rundong, Jiao Enjun, and Zhao Wenzhuo already there.

In subsequent filming, they will need to include shots of them piloting mechs.

Therefore, before starting the machine, staff from the Chinese Academy of Sciences had to help them familiarize themselves with the internal structure and movement of the mecha.

"Safety comes first. We must pay attention to safety. Report any incidents immediately. We must never take chances..."

Once you're familiar with the mecha cockpit, Zhao Wenzhuo, you'll be in charge of directing the other actors in rehearsing the action scenes. Don't focus on flashy moves; prioritize practicality and the ability to convey the sharpness of deadly strikes…”

In the original Pacific Rim, Lu Rui always felt that the training and combat between the male and female protagonists were like a joke.

How can something as important as fighting monsters and protecting our country be presented in a way that's all just fancy footwork?
Therefore, Zhao Wenzhuo was put in charge of the martial arts instruction this time, and he was determined to make up for this shortcoming and loophole.

If even having a martial arts-level coach personally instructing you doesn't produce sufficiently exciting fight scenes, then there's no point in making this movie; everyone might as well go home and find their own mothers.

"Okay, Director Lü, don't worry, I guarantee I'll complete the mission."

Zhao Wenzhuo patted his chest and agreed.

By the time all the details were arranged, it was already noon.

The staff bought boxed lunches from outside.

Like everyone else, Lü Rui picked up his lunchbox, found a random spot, squatted down, and started shoveling rice into his mouth.

After finishing his meal, he had to rush to the airport in the afternoon.

Actors from Hollywood would charter planes to fly over, and he would have to go there in person to meet with the CAA representative.

During this break, the assistant didn't forget to report to him: "Chairman Lü, Huayi has sent an invitation to a movie premiere and would like to invite you to attend."

Lu Rui paused in his act of picking up food, and subconsciously asked, "A banquet?"

"Yes." The assistant nodded quickly.

"When?"

"There will be one event in the capital at 1 p.m. on the 9th, and another event in Shanghai at noon on the 10th. There will be two events in total."

Lu Rui didn't want to go; he and Feng Xiaogang really couldn't stand each other. So he simply waved his hand and said, "Hou Hongliang is at the company, right? Ask him to go for me when he has some free time."

"Okay, I'll call Mr. Hou now."

As soon as the assistant got up to leave, Zhao Peng and Shen Ao brought Rao Xiaozhi to his side.

"Brother Rui, Huayi really pulled off an amazing feat this time!" Zhao Peng looked surprised.

Lu Rui asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Shen Ao quickly added: "The Forbidden Kingdom has officially announced another male lead after Li Lianjie, and you'll never guess who it is!"

"Who else could it be? Jackie Chan, of course." Lü Rui curled his lip.

Let alone the creators of "The Forbidden Kingdom," he knows far more inside information than this.

He was even more knowledgeable than paparazzi when it came to gossip about Huayi's future.

For example, the guy surnamed Li wanted to climb the corporate ladder, so he started having sex with Wang's ex-wife right there at the company...

I ask you, which gossip newspaper can find this kind of explosive news?
"Brother Rui, you are truly a prophet!"

When Rao Xiaozhi first arrived, he was quite well-behaved and seemed honest and simple. But after hanging out with Zhao Peng and Shen Ao for a short time, he started to "go astray".

He was incredibly skilled at using flattery and sycophancy.

"Let's eat quickly. Is there any need to guess? Besides Jackie Chan, who else is qualified to be the male lead alongside Li Lianjie right now?"

Upon hearing this, the three quickly opened their lunchboxes and began to eat.
However, Lü Rui was wondering how much it would cost to pay Jackie Chan and Li Lianjie for their film.
I heard that overseas, the price quoted for these two people is no less than 1 million RMB.

However, the total investment in "The Forbidden Kingdom" was only over 5 million yuan. Even if the salaries of other actors were low, with the addition of these two big stars, it would probably cost around 2.5 million yuan.

Will the remaining half of the budget be enough to maintain the quality of the film?

After quickly finishing his meal, Lü Rui got up, grabbed a bottle of mineral water, and hurriedly left the photography studio to head to the airport.

Meanwhile, the headlines on major portal websites have all been changed to news that Huayi Brothers' new project has completed casting.

"The Forbidden Kingdom, a Sino-foreign action co-production blockbuster co-produced by Huayi Brothers, J and J Films, directed by Hollywood director Minkoff, and with an investment of up to 7000 million yuan, has officially completed its casting process today."

"Li Lianjie, Jackie Chan, Zhao Yanzi, Li Bingbing, Collin Chou, Michael Angarano... Hong Kong's top action choreographer Yuan Heping joins the team... A top-tier lineup, all on stage!"

"The plot of 'The Forbidden Kingdom' has been revealed: The story unfolds with Jason, a modern American youth, being obsessed with Chinese martial arts films, and tells the tale of Jason traveling back to ancient China..."

Previously, the various gimmicks surrounding the film's casting had already piqued the public's curiosity.

The cast list has now been officially announced!
Two action stars appear as the two male leads, while Zhao Yanzi and Li Bingbing, two of the "Four Dan and Two Bing" actresses, appear as the two female leads...

This cast immediately ignited a massive frenzy across the internet!
Poor Jia Zhangke, even after winning the Golden Lion Award, his exposure only lasted for one morning before being completely overshadowed.

There is currently a lot of discussion online:

"I think if the cast of 'The Forbidden Kingdom' were replaced by 'Pacific Rim,' the latter would definitely be even better!"

"A $7000 million investment is that impressive? Why does a $2 million investment seem a bit low-key?"

"Wait, what happened? How come there's suddenly an American teenager? Who's the main character anyway? From whose perspective is the story unfolding?"

"It would be great if Fan Bingbing and Li Bingbing acted together. I really have no feelings for Zhao Yanzi."

"So, Jackie Chan is going to fight Li Lianjie this time? That sounds pretty amazing, doesn't it? Two action superstars, I wonder who's better?"

On the way to the airport, Lü Rui looked at the expectant voices online and shook his head helplessly.

The poor netizens have all been completely fooled. Luckily, he knew how much of a scam this project was, otherwise he might have been just like everyone else, foolishly believing it to be a real blockbuster.

In essence, this film is a movie made for Hollywood.

The reasons for choosing Jackie Chan and Li Lianjie are twofold: first, to capitalize on their nostalgia to win over the mainland box office; and second, to leverage their overseas popularity to tap into the international market.

As you can tell from the synopsis, this is simply an oriental fantasy kung fu world for a fair-skinned boy.

All those claims about two male leads or two female leads are lies and fake. In essence, they are all supporting characters. Jason is the real protagonist!
Unfortunately, everyone is still completely in the dark and unaware of the situation.

At 2 p.m., Lü Rui picked up a group of actors who had come from Hollywood at the airport.

Andy Serkis, Henry Cavill, Brad Pitt...

After hugging and greeting everyone in turn, he walked up to the person in charge of the CAA team.

"Tom?"

Looking at the tall, muscular white man in front of him, Lü Rui called out his name based on fragments of his memory.

Tom Slick, the agent in charge, immediately brightened up, unable to hide his excitement: "Lv, you still remember my name?"

Lu Rui smiled and said, "If I remember correctly, we've met before?"

"Yes, I greeted you at the Warner Bros. building before."

In addition to being the head of CAA, Tom is also Will Smith's agent.

One of the reasons he took on this job in China was to help Will Smith ease tensions with Lü Rui.

Will Smith suffered a huge loss when he failed to land the lead role in "I Am Legend".

Offending a director and top producer who consistently produces big projects is definitely not a good thing for an actor.

Lu Rui was unaware that the other party had come with an additional mission.

But even if he knew, he wouldn't care.

Will Smith is nothing more than an insignificant black plastic bag in a garbage dump, regardless of his identity as a Black actor.

Once everyone was confirmed to be present, Lü Rui waved his hand and led the group into several minibuses, heading straight for the hotel.

He had barely departed when paparazzi staking out the airport uploaded the footage they had taken to the internet:
"Director Lü Rui personally appeared at the airport to pick up the cast of 'Pacific Rim,' and it appears that all the foreign actors have arrived..."

"Pacific Rim vs. The Forbidden Kingdom vs. CJ7: Who will take the lead in the upcoming film market? Let's wait and see."

"An insider revealed that the hard science fiction facilities for the Pacific Rim production team are nearing completion and filming is expected to begin soon."

Compared to the previous two films, Stephen Chow's "CJ7" is simply not worth mentioning in terms of hype and popularity.

Furthermore, there are recent rumors that he received money from Huang Shengyi's financial backer in order to risk a bad reputation and not pursue Huang Shengyi's contract termination.

It must be said that he has indeed made many controversial moves regarding money, to the point that rumors about him in the industry have never stopped.

On the other hand, Lü Rui's approach was much more decisive and efficient.

The lawsuit against Song Zude finally reached a formal verdict in September.

For his involvement in the box office failure of "Sunny Sisters" and his fraudulent activities, coupled with his past criminal offenses, Song Zude was sentenced to ten years in prison and ordered to pay damages of up to 20 million yuan after a comprehensive trial.

Song Zude was naturally dissatisfied and filed an appeal in court.

However, Lu Rui has a professional legal team and lawyers in charge, which is enough to ensure that even if he appeals, it will be in vain and will not shake the first-instance judgment.

Just like Lu Chuan before, after several months of turmoil, the second instance still ruled that she had plagiarized.

If you don't know, you can do nothing.

Once you break the law, you will eventually be punished by the law!

After the verdict was announced, many media outlets flocked to Ruishijie, intending to interview Lü Rui.

But no one expected that he would appear at the airport again!

The paparazzi who were staking out the area looked on in utter bewilderment as he led more than a dozen foreigners into the car.

Haven't all the actors from Pacific Rim already arrived?

So what are these foreigners here for?

"Lu Rui reappears at the airport; has a new Hollywood team moved in?"

"Revised Vision is suspected of launching a new Sino-foreign co-production project..."

"Could the mysterious team carrying equipment be members of the post-production CG team for Pacific Rim?"

The media just makes all sorts of wild guesses, putting whatever headlines are eye-catching on them.

On the China Film Group side, Han Sanping, who had just officially signed a contract with Wu Yu's team for "Red Cliff" and spent as much as 8000 million US dollars, couldn't wait to call Lü Rui as soon as he saw the news online.

"What's going on? You've got another new move? Another group of foreigners has arrived? And they've brought equipment with them?"

"It's nothing really," Lu Rui explained casually. "My company has an animation department, right? There's an animation project overseas that's planning to film in China, so we decided to discuss whether we could collaborate."

Lu Rui didn't plan to share this project, mainly because there wasn't enough for his own family members, so he didn't explain it to Han Sanping in detail.

"Oh, I thought it was some big project."

Upon hearing that it was an animation project, Han Sanping immediately lost interest.

They haven't even figured out live-action movies yet, and they're already trying to make animation?

In his view, Lü Rui was just too young, too energetic, and couldn't stay still.

After chatting for a few minutes and hanging up the phone, he looked at the complete project proposal for "Red Cliff" on the table and nodded in satisfaction.

Tentative invitees: Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Hu Jun...

He was extremely satisfied with the cast, and given that it was based on a Three Kingdoms IP, the chances of success were absolutely top-notch!

At that moment, Lu Rui had just finished his call with Han Sanping when he received another call from Ren Zhonglun.

When Ren Zhonglun heard that he was interested in animation, he enthusiastically offered to help him contact the Shanghai Animation Film Studio if needed.

Lu Rui was naturally very familiar with this company.

Shanghai Animation Film Studio (SAFS) was founded in April 1957 and is one of the oldest animation studios in China. It has created a large number of classic animated works such as "Havoc in Heaven", "Little Tadpoles Looking for Their Mother", "Black Cat Detective" and "Calabash Brothers".

There is a group of outstanding talents hidden over there.

However, they were, after all, “outsiders” and could not be considered Lu Rui’s direct subordinates.

He launched the "Kung Fu Panda" project for two reasons: to make a profit and to cultivate his own team, not to benefit others.

Therefore, he politely declined, saying, "Thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Ren. I will definitely contact you if needed."

After hanging up the phone, Ren Zhonglun vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it, so he had to give up.

The following morning, at Ruiyue Animation Studio.

When Lü Rui brought Christopher Meledandri, the producer in charge of the "Kung Fu Panda" project, and Xu Chengyi, the director, Tian Xiaopeng and the rest of the team were completely dumbfounded!

When they learned that Lü Rui had quietly prepared an animated film project with a proposed investment of $1.3 million, and that it would be a Sino-foreign co-production, everyone began to wonder if they were still dreaming.
Representatives from Blue Arc, Guangdong Wingsound, Guangdong Original Power, and Vision Pictures, who arrived later, also looked bewildered when they heard the figure of $1.3 million.

Are you kidding me?
Right now, everyone is still making animations for young children like "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf," "GG Bond," and "Spicy Little Rivals."

But today, Lu Rui suddenly called everyone over, saying that he wanted to put up $1.3 million to make a Sino-foreign co-produced animated feature film and that he wanted to learn from Disney?

They even assembled a team! And brought the script and a fully-developed project proposal all the way from Hollywood?
Suddenly, the conference room was filled with a dozen more pairs of bewildered eyes, filled with doubt that they were still half asleep.

However, at this moment, everyone looked at Lü Rui as if they were looking up at a god!

A god who can open up an infinite future for animation for them!
(End of this chapter)