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

Chapter 83: Likes to be picky, dislikes being picked over (Seeking monthly votes)
As soon as Xia Yu, who was following behind Wang Jinghua, got into the car, she greeted Lü Rui and went straight to Jiang Wen's side.

He won the Venice Film Festival Best Actor award thanks to Jiang Wen's help with "In the Heat of the Sun".

Unfortunately, since then, it seems he has used up all his "luck," and most of his works have been mediocre, with his popularity declining again and again in recent years.

While the two Venice Film Festival Best Actor winners were catching up, Wong Jing-hua introduced the people she had brought with her to Lü Rui.

"This is Li Bingbing, who auditioned at Ruishijie last time. Next to her is her sister and manager, Li Xue."

The two sisters were quite perceptive and immediately stood up to greet them.

Li Xue even specially handed over a business card.

"Well, hello."

Lu Rui nodded in response, his gaze sweeping over the two of them.

The two sisters do look quite alike.

The older sister has a strong jawline and a heroic air about her, giving her a bit of the "heroine" vibe.

At first glance, the younger sister has curved eyebrows and eyes, and is the kind of gentle type, with a graceful and generous temperament.

One person manages the internal affairs while the other manages external affairs; they complement each other perfectly.

Wang Jinghua continued, "These two, Tong Dawei and Ren Quan, have acted in 'Jade Goddess of Mercy' and 'Young Justice Bao' respectively."

The former is the rumored beneficiary of Shi Xueba Mei and the 800,000 Cherokee, and was also one of the four most popular young actors of 2003, alongside Huang Xiaoming, Yin Xiaotian, and Nie Yuan.

The latter was one of the four most popular young actors of 2001, alongside Lu Yi, Li Yapeng, and Chen Kun.

"Hello, Director Lü."

Tong Dawei and Ren Quan bowed in unison.

Although Lü Rui was younger than the rest of them, their social status was vastly different, so none of them dared to be negligent in the slightest.

Ren Quan handed over a business card with a smile.

"Director Lü, I own a chain hot pot restaurant in Shanghai called 'Shudi Spicy Fish.' If you have time, you can try it. There are also chain branches in the capital."

As he spoke, he pulled out a thick stack of business cards from his pocket and distributed them to the others.

Hot pot restaurant?
Lu Rui picked up the business card and glanced at it. In his memory, this person was indeed quite skilled in investment, with a very wide range of business interests. Later, he even became one of the most well-known investors in the industry.

His counterexample is Li Yapeng.

That guy was like he was under a curse; he couldn't do anything right, and every investment he made resulted in losses. In the end, he even had to make movies to pay off his debts. He was really unlucky.

After exchanging greetings, the group took their seats, occasionally chiming in when Lü Rui and Wang Jinghua were chatting.

The bus continued its journey and soon arrived at the cinema.

The group entered the theater that Lü Rui had booked and took their seats.

To his left was Wang Jinghua, to his right was Jiang Wen, and further on were Zhou Yun, Gu Changwei, Hu Jun, Fan Bingbing...

As for the Li Xue and Li Bingbing sisters, along with Ren Quan and Tong Dawei, they sat on the other side.

Although they are all artists under Wong Jing-hua's management, the competition among them is extremely fierce!
Especially Fan and Li Bingbing.

A few years ago, the two sides had a pretty good relationship. Fan Bingbing was able to sign with Wang Jinghua because Li Bingbing and Ren Quan acted as intermediaries.

However, as Fan Bingbing began to emerge, the conflict between the two sides quickly intensified.

They are all rising stars, even have the same name, and are in the same agency, so resource conflicts are inevitable!

The casting controversy surrounding "Young Justice Bao 2", the competition for the female lead in "Cellphone", the feud over "A World Without Thieves"...

After these three "battles," although the two sides have not yet completely broken off relations, they are practically estranged forever.

Lu Rui recalled that the marketing slogan "Four Dan and Two Bing" seemed to have emerged in the last year or two.
As the screen lights up, the light and shadow of "The Pursuit of Happyness" begin to flow.

Lu Rui had watched it no less than thirty times, and had already etched every frame into his very being. He had no intention of watching it any longer.

However, the people around them were watching intently.

After all, this is the work of the best director at the Cannes Film Festival. Every shot has its own secrets, and you might be able to learn something useful.

Feeling utterly bored, Lü Rui opened his phone.

Just then, a series of messages from Liu Yifei, each marked with an exclamation mark, popped up on the screen: "Senior! Zhou Xun has started swearing..."

"Who are you scolding?"

"Zhang Jizhong".

"what's the situation?"

New messages kept popping up in the chat box, and Liu Yifei quickly launched into a "gossip broadcast" for him.

Rumors had been circulating that Zhou Xun had been chosen as the "Little Dragon Girl," and Zhang Jizhong tacitly acknowledged this, stating that everything was settled and only the signing of the contract was pending.

But this morning, news broke that Zhou Xun will not be able to play the role due to opposition from investors!

People say her voice isn't pleasant, her looks aren't up to par, and she doesn't have that "cool and aloof" feeling of Little Dragon Girl...

That person also has a fiery personality; she immediately issued a statement formally resigning from the performance, and even retorted, "I hope this is the last time I'm doing this for publicity!"

This statement completely tore away the pretense of civility, meaning that the two sides had directly broken off all pretense of civility.

Zhang Jizhong was put on the hot seat, and he could hardly contain his anger!

But he was helpless; after all, he started the hype first, so he couldn't blame others for criticizing him. "Slap slap slap—"

Applause suddenly erupted in the theater. Lü Rui put away his phone, looked up, and saw that the movie was coming to an end.

"This film is really well made!" Jiang Wen commented sincerely.

Wang Jinghua even lightly wiped the corner of her eye, as if thinking of her own past: "Indeed, these stories of struggle are so touching!"

"Without flashy shots, relying solely on the emotional resonance of the story—that's the essence of art films! Truly brilliant!"

Gu Changwei was quite moved, and then suddenly thought of his own work, "Peacock".

He has already submitted the finished film to the Berlin Film Festival and is very much looking forward to winning a major award.

Seeing that everyone was still immersed in the emotions and hadn't recovered for a long time, a thought suddenly popped into Lü Rui's mind: "Could this movie be going to be a hit again?"

After the movie, everyone returned to the hotel.

Taking this opportunity, Wong Jing-hua extended an invitation to Lu Rui to have a meal, as she wanted to thank him for taking care of her artists.

Unable to refuse her hospitality, Lü Rui had no choice but to follow her to a quiet private restaurant.

After a few rounds of drinks, Wang Jinghua asked curiously, "Director Lü? I heard that Ruishijie is also preparing to enter the TV drama production business?"

This wasn't a secret, and Lü Rui didn't intend to hide it, nodding frankly: "I do have this idea."

Upon hearing this, a barely perceptible glint of calculation flashed in Wang Jinghua's eyes.

Movies are gilded medals, while TV series are the secret to attracting attention and generating traffic. Which actor in the industry doesn't want to reap the rewards of both?
The more famous your name, the higher your popularity, and the more money you'll earn!
However, hit dramas are rare and hard to come by, so many people have stumbled and been criticized in this regard.

For example, the artists under Wong Jinghua's management have acted in both hit dramas and bad dramas.

Bad dramas are absolutely detrimental to an actor's career!

At best, their popularity will plummet; at worst, due to the impact of their roles, they will fall from being a popular young actress to a second-tier star!
This is why production companies with access to high-quality dramas have become highly sought-after by agents.

This is precisely the source of Zhang Dahuzi's confidence to repeatedly hype up the casting process.

Although his character isn't great, his abilities are undeniable; he's produced quite a few hit dramas.

When Wang Jinghua came to meet Lü Rui, she brought many of her artists with her, hoping to become familiar with him and get a chance to participate in Ruishijie's TV dramas.

“Director Lü, I’m a novice in film and television production, but I do have some connections in actor management.” Wang Jinghua raised her glass in a gesture of respect, smiling brightly. “If you ever need my help, just let me know.”

"it is good."

Lu Rui took a small sip and casually agreed.

His first criterion for selecting actors is always that they fit the role, and then he looks at other conditions.

Resource exchange is by no means simply a matter of transferring benefits.

Production companies must always prioritize "quality" to ensure long-term and stable development.

Wang Jinghua swirled her wine glass and brought up a new topic: "Director Lü, I wonder if Ruishijie has any plans to get involved in artist management?"

"Not for now, but plans can change, so who knows what might happen in the future? What, Mr. Wang, are you thinking of changing jobs?"

Lu Rui had only made a casual joke, but to his surprise, the other people at the table who were drinking with him suddenly became serious and turned their attention to Wang Jinghua, as if waiting for her answer.

Recent internal changes at Huayi have been quite turbulent, with rumors circulating that a major reshuffle at the top is imminent.

As celebrities, they will inevitably have to choose sides.

Wang Jinghua chuckled, neither denying nor admitting, and raised her glass, saying, "Director Lü is too kind. Come, let me toast you again to thank you for taking care of Hu Jun and Bingbing."

She did have some disagreements with Wang Zhonglei recently, but she hasn't decided whether to leave yet.

Many people from outside the industry have approached her, offering very tempting opportunities, which makes her both tempted and conflicted...

Lu Rui lightly touched glasses with her, and as he raised his glass, memories suddenly surged back.

If he remembers correctly, it should be next year when Wong Jing-fa and Wah Yi completely break up.

It goes without saying that things will change dramatically at that time!
Half an hour later, the banquet ended.

Wang Jinghua personally escorted Lü Rui back to the hotel, leaving behind some gifts before leaving, her words full of flattery.

Watching her lead the artists away, Lü Rui shook his head slightly.

That's how it is in the brokerage business. For the sake of resources, even the "top agent" in the industry has to lower their stance, flatter and fawn.

This is precisely why Lü Rui finds the brokerage business very troublesome.

He likes to be the one to choose people, not to be chosen by others.

He can provide film and television resources, but endorsements, variety shows, and commercial performances are all very troublesome.

He doesn't have the energy to do those things right now, at least not yet.

"By the way, when did artist studios first appear?"

As Lü Rui flipped through his memories, he boarded the elevator.

Having drunk quite a bit, he quickly washed up in his room and went straight to sleep.

Little did they know, the word-of-mouth for "The Pursuit of Happyness" was already spreading like wildfire! A wave of heated discussion was sweeping across the country…

(End of this chapter)