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

Chapter 97: Harvest Arrangements and the Cast of "Crossing the Guandong" (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)
"Brother Rui! This is awesome! Being a director is so much fun!"

Upon landing at the airport, the "driver" who came to pick up Lü Rui was changed to Zhao Peng.

"Hitch" has successfully finished its run, grossing a total of 8500 million at the box office, and he can finally relax.

Now it's Australia's turn to be busy.

After submitting "Remote Control of Life" for review, he was busy working on the project proposal and arranging the preparatory work for the project's initiation.

Seeing Zhao Peng's high spirits, Lü Rui chuckled and joked, "This is nothing! When you become a director with a box office of 100 million yuan, that's when you'll really have it cool."

"Wow! A box office of 100 million yuan? I can't even imagine that!"

The 8500 million yuan box office is enough to make Zhao Peng happy for a long time.

Hundreds of millions?

That's something even Feng Xiaogang and Chen Kaige couldn't do, so who does he think he is?

Lü Rui did not discuss this topic in detail.

However, according to his memory, after the Lunar New Year film season ends this year, two more directors will emerge with box office earnings exceeding 100 million yuan.

As the market develops, there will only be more and more directors with box office earnings exceeding 100 million yuan.

Later on, even exceeding 100 million was just a basic threshold.

"By the way, how's the lawsuit about 'Kekexili' going?" Lu Rui suddenly remembered Lu Chuan.

Shen Ao was too busy to follow up, so the task of supporting Liu Yujun in the lawsuit naturally fell to Zhao Peng.

"The court is still collecting evidence. It's a long way off. In cases of plagiarism of cultural works, unless there is an out-of-court settlement or the plaintiff withdraws the lawsuit, it will take two or three years to get a result," Zhao Peng said cheerfully.

Back when "Hitch" was scheduled for release, he was worried that it would clash with Lu Chuan's "Kekexili," and there would inevitably be a tough battle to fight.

Both of them had followed Jiang Wen before, so it was inevitable that whoever lost would lose face.

The media had been hyping up the competition between the two for box office and critical acclaim during the National Day holiday for a long time.

But no one expected that just after the seven-day National Day holiday, "Kekexili" had to be pulled from theaters early due to plagiarism allegations, and its box office was only around 500 million yuan, just a fraction of the revenue of "Hitch".

Even before Zhao Peng could say anything, the media singled out Lu Chuan and "interrogated" her several times.

"That guy has been hiding somewhere lately, he hasn't shown up for a long time, and reporters can't catch him anywhere."

Lu Rui scoffed: "He dares to show his face? With 'plagiarism' written all over his head, he'd be getting spitted at if he came out."

Although Lu Chuan has been suppressing trending topics and deleting posts, Ruishijie has been constantly adding fuel to the fire behind the scenes.

Many people now know that "Kekexili" is suspected of plagiarism.

The articles and posts praising the film as "excellent" have all been deleted by the original author.

Although there has been no official statement yet, people can see for themselves.

A quick look at the documentary reveals that the two works are almost identical in style and many scenes!
Many people in the industry already had their own conclusions, and they were all secretly criticizing the Lu family father and son.

This is exactly the result Lü Rui wanted!
"Take me back first, I need to get some sleep and adjust to the time difference. Call Shen Ao tonight, we'll meet at the barbecue restaurant downstairs."

"okay!"

Zhao Peng turned the car around and headed straight for Guanghuali.

Back home, Lü Rui had just finished showering and was about to take a nap when the phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID and answered casually, "Hello? Mr. Han?"

"came back?"

"Just got home, about to rest for a bit."

"Alright, alright, you can rest first. Come visit China Film Group when you have time, and we can talk about the follow-up publicity for 'The Prestige'."

"Okay, tomorrow morning...afternoon, I'll go there at three o'clock in the afternoon?"

"Sure, I'm free tomorrow. I'll wait for you in the office. Just come up when you arrive."

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, Lü Rui went to sleep, but Han Sanping couldn't contain his excitement.

Previously, the Sino-foreign co-production project "The Prestige" was finalized, which made him stand out in the company, especially in front of Vice Chairman Han Xiaoli, Vice President Shi Dongming, and La Peikang, who were in charge of other businesses.

Not only does Hollywood value the domestic market, but China Film Group has also long coveted Hollywood and yearned to expand overseas.

The collaboration with Warner Bros. on "The Prestige" was undoubtedly an excellent start.

He originally thought that this project was already excellent enough.

Unexpectedly, news has now emerged that Lu Rui has once again connected with Lionsgate and is collaborating on a project worth hundreds of millions of dollars!

If he could get involved, wouldn't his chances of taking another step up as vice chairman be even greater?

The current chairman, Yang, has been confirmed to gradually transfer to take charge of China Film's overseas promotion business, at which time the chairman's position will be vacant.

The competition has begun, and he must build up his strength to ensure he can stand in that position!

……

That evening, Lu Rui, Zhao Peng, and Shen Ao booked a private room at the Veteran's Barbecue restaurant downstairs.

While ordering food, Lü Rui suddenly remembered Jiang Wen and decided to give him a call.

Coincidentally, Jiang Wen had just returned from Hong Kong yesterday.

Upon receiving the invitation, he immediately agreed and told me to wait for him to eat together.

After pondering for a moment, Lü Rui tried calling Gu Changwei again, only to learn that the other party had flown to Hong Kong to discuss a new project.

The excuse he came up with was so ridiculous that he was speechless.

When Jiang Wen arrived, he didn't hold back and exposed Gu Changwei's past: "His young girlfriend went to Hong Kong to film a movie. She collaborated with Tsui Hark on a martial arts film, and Gu went to visit the set."

"I knew it."

Lu Rui shook his head helplessly. Gu Changwei was indeed very infatuated. He really didn't know what kind of spell Zhang Jingchu had cast on him.

The barbecue and draft beer were served quickly.

Zhao Peng was the first to raise his glass and say, "Director Jiang, I'd like to toast you to thank you for your help when I was filming 'Hitch'."

"a piece of cake."

Jiang Wen waved his hand, tilted his head back and downed most of the glass, exclaiming how refreshing it was.

He's been working himself to the bone trying to attract investment for "The Sun Also Rises" lately.

Now we can finally sit down, eat barbecue, drink beer, chat, brag, and have a good time.

After eating and drinking for a while, the conversation inevitably turned to Lu Chuan.

"Damn it, I'm pretty lucky when I think about it."

Jiang Wen slammed his hand on the table, causing all three of them to turn and look at him.

Before the release of "Kekexili", that guy was bragging to the media that the movie had nothing to do with him and would not contain any "Jiang-style" elements, but was entirely his own work.

Now it's all good. The movie ran into problems, but nobody's coming after me. It has nothing to do with me. Don't you think that's lucky?

"Hahahahaha!"

A burst of laughter immediately erupted from the private room.

Lu Rui raised his glass and laughed, "Come on, let's have a toast, it's definitely worth celebrating."

Jiang Wen raised his glass and took a big gulp, cursing, "Damn it, I regret it so much. I wish I could delete my name from 'Looking for a Gun' now."

At first, I just thought that although that guy looked shifty, he was at least obedient. I never expected him to be such a scoundrel..."

They were eating barbecue and drinking alcohol.

They were cursing Lu Chuan and chatting idly.

As the conversation got more interesting, Jiang Wen even started planning how to burn down the sacred toilet in Yasukuni.

The group brainstormed together and actually came up with a good idea!
When Koizumi visits the shrine again, sneak into the crowd, grab a homemade gun and kill him first, then set a fire in the chaos...

Before I knew it, it was past midnight.

It's hard to get a taxi late at night, and the roads aren't safe either.

Since Lü Rui's place was big enough, the four of them simply went back to his house.

After returning, Zhao Peng and Shen Ao went to the toilet first, and then collapsed into the guest room and fell fast asleep.

Jiang Wen took out his phone to let Zhou Yun know he was safe, then turned around and saw Lü Rui's tea table, busily preparing tea for himself.

When Lü Rui came out of the main bathroom, he was already drinking.

Having slept for several hours in the afternoon, Lü Rui wasn't sleepy at the moment and joined in.

He picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup, then casually asked, "Director Jiang, has the investment for 'The Sun Also Rises' been secured?"

Jiang Wen paused slightly, then shook his head and said, "Almost there."

"How much?"

"Yinghuang gave 2200 million, Taihe Film & Television 2000 million, Huayi 800 million, China Film 400 million, and now we are still short 600 million."

Lu Rui almost spat out his tea!
Total investment: 6000 million?
Are you kidding me?
"The Sun Also Rises" is an art-house drama film!

There were no special effects, no grand scenes, and it was still a film starring Jiang Wen and Zhou Yun, a married couple...

"Can you really use that much? My 'The Prestige' has only cost less than 7000 million so far!"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Jiang Wen's face as he waved his hand, saying, "You don't understand. This is all there is to it. This is just the basic investment; we might need to add more later if needed." "???"

Lu Rui didn't understand, but he was greatly shocked!

No wonder there are rumors that Jiang Wen doesn't treat money like money when making movies.

Lu Rui didn't have this concept before, but now he understands it.

He's treating money like paper!

"How about I invest the remaining 600 million with you?"

Although he wasn't confident about the profitability of "The Sun Also Rises," Lü Rui was willing to put up the money for Jiang Wen's sake, considering it a gamble.

"No need, I can't cheat... cough cough, let me think of a way, if it doesn't work I'll go find Wang Zhonglei, or sell an apartment."

Jiang Wen used all the money he earned to pay off his debts; otherwise, he would have invested it himself.

"No way! Why sell the house? How about I lend it to you?"

"No, I won't lend it to you." Jiang Wen refused outright.

He had no idea how long the movie would take to film or when it would be released.

It's fine for temporary emergencies, but I'm really sorry to borrow it for two or three years.

Ruishijie is currently developing across multiple sectors including film, television, and animation, and they need money right now. It's fine if he can't help, but he can't hold them back.

When traveling, he values ​​loyalty and righteousness, and he has his own standards for being a good person.

Lü Rui had no choice; he couldn't very well force the money on him.

But then he remembered something else: "When will your movie start filming?"

"The second half of next year, why?"

"Hey! What a coincidence!" Lu Rui slammed his hand on the table. "I might be making a commercial film in the first half of next year. How about you come and be the male lead for me again?"

Jiang Wen blinked, somewhat tempted.

He's too embarrassed to lend money, but when it comes to making movies and earning a salary, that's no problem at all!
"What subject matter?"

"Action genre".

"What story was told?"

"Save my daughter..."

Lü Rui gave a brief account of the story.

He doesn't plan to touch art films for the time being. He has already won the grand slam of the three major European Best Director awards, and it would be too difficult to compete for more awards. He needs to take a break.

Therefore, commercial films aimed at making money are undoubtedly the best choice right now!

"Okay!" Jiang Wen readily agreed. "Just let me know when the time comes, and we can discuss the payment!"

……

The following morning, Lü Rui arrived at the company early.

Hou Hongliang had arrived ahead of time, and upon seeing him, immediately handed over the revenue report for "Everybody's Rival".

"After deducting taxes, special funds, theater revenue sharing, and distribution costs from the 8500 million box office revenue, the amount of revenue that can be distributed is more than 2900 million."

Ruishijie owns 40%, so we can get 1160 million. After deducting the 600 million investment share, we have 560 million left.

Including opening and closing credits ads, brand placements, Hong Kong and Taiwan box office revenue, and Southeast Asian distribution rights, the total revenue is nearly 1400 million.

Many Hollywood companies also came to discuss distribution and adaptation rights, offering $350 million..."

Hearing the last condition, Lü Rui curled his lip: "Tell them, the distribution rights are $350 million, take it or leave it, but the adaptation rights are not for sale."

"it is good."

Hou Hongliang nodded emphatically and wrote it down in his notebook.

Lu Rui then instructed, "Take 1000 million from the returned funds and transfer it to Ruiyue Animation through the group's channels."

The renovation of Ruiyue Animation's office area has been successfully completed, and many imported animation production equipment have been shipped back to China one after another. Next, it's time to start the preliminary preparations for "Qin's Moon".

This 1000 million yuan was the start-up capital that Lü Rui gave to Tian Xiaopeng.

"Have all the payments for 'The Pursuit of Happyness' been collected?"

"Yes, they've all been credited to the account."

"Remember to leave some money that can be used flexibly. Shen'ao is currently following up on 'Remote Control,' and Ruishijie will take a 50% share. I may start another new film after the New Year."

"Ok."

Hou Hongliang agreed, inwardly sighing with admiration.

Other companies usually plan their films carefully before making them.

On the other hand, Lu Rui was filming one movie after another, almost without stopping!
If this trend continues, Ruishijie will eventually be able to rival Huayi!

"And my share of the profits, have the finance department calculate a portion of that..."

Lü Rui only keeps money in the bank if it's money that needs to be accessed at any time.

He mostly uses the remaining funds to buy houses, stocks, or invest in promising emerging industries.

How much can you earn by simply collecting interest?

Also, that Mercedes has been driven for two years, it's time to upgrade to a Maybach... no! It should be upgraded to the level of a Rolls-Royce.

What's the point of making so much money?
Isn't it all about enjoyment?
"Is the progress of 'Crossing the Guandong' going smoothly?" Lü Rui didn't forget about his own TV drama business.

The project had already started and casting was underway before he went to Hollywood.

Logically, it should be almost time to power on by now.

"It went very smoothly," Hou Hongliang said, handing over a form. "This is a preliminary casting intention form. Please take a look. If there are no problems, I will sign contracts with the actors and prepare to start filming."

Lü Rui reached out and took it.

The candidates for "Zhu Kaishan" and "Wen's Mother" remain unchanged.

The former is Li Youbin, and the latter is Sarina, a "professional mother".

After the names of the three brothers Zhu Chuanwen, Zhu Chuanwu, and Zhu Chuanjie, the names of Wang Jingchun, Yu Jinwei, and Zhao Yi are respectively listed.

Compared to the latter two, Wang Jingchun's resume is not particularly outstanding.

A graduate of the Shanghai Theatre Academy and affiliated with the Shanghai Film Studio, he is considered a professional "supporting actor".

He wasn't particularly handsome, but his face was perfect for playing ordinary people.

Kong Sheng specifically noted after his name: "His performance was delicate, able to portray Zhu Chuanwen's cowardice and inner struggle, bringing a sense of realism to the role."

However, Lü Rui was quite impressed with him.

In his previous life, he played "Liu Yaojun" in the film "So Long, My Son," and later became the Berlin Film Festival Best Actor!
What a good seedling!
Yu Jinwei is a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama. He once played the role of "Liu Haodong" in "A Match Made in Heaven". His temperament is both tough and gentle, which is very suitable for the role of "Zhu Chuanwu".

Although Zhao Yi did not graduate from a professional opera school, he did come from a traditional opera academy and played the role of "Li Wei" in "Yongzheng Dynasty". He has a certain degree of fame and is slightly more well-known than the previous two.

He is the perfect choice to portray Zhu Chuanjie, who possesses a blend of street smarts, resilience from working at the bottom, and composure that gradually develops later in the story.

They're all talented actors with a certain level of fame, and their salaries aren't expensive...

Lu Rui nodded in satisfaction and continued reading.

The names of the four actresses who played the roles of Wen, Xiuer, Xia Yushu, and Xianer were listed after Niu Li, Qin Lan, Guan Yue, and Dong Xuan, respectively.

Niu Li is quite well-known in the industry. She was originally an athlete and then became an actress.

In 2000, she played Qin Caiqing, one of the "two beauties," in the period comedy "The Peerless Twins," which brought her into the public eye!
In Lü Rui's memory, she was the actress who played "Na Wen" in her previous life.

Qin Lan is Chen Zhihua from last year's "My Fair Princess III".

She was once described by Qiong Yao as: "A tear from Qin Lan is a star in the sky!" She is currently enjoying immense popularity.

As for Guan Yue and Dong Xuan, there's no need to mention them; they are both Lu Rui's old classmates!
In terms of suitability for the role, they are both very well-suited.

After graduating, Guan Yue became a teaching assistant at the Beijing Film Academy. She naturally possesses the qualities of a "virtuous wife and loving mother," making her perfectly suited to play the gentle and caring teacher "Xia Yushu."

As for Dong Xuan, in "Snowflake Goddess Dragon", she displayed qualities similar to "Xian'er" in "Crossing the Guandong", such as bravery, perseverance, stubbornness, and loyalty.

The actor and the role are a good match, but...

"What's the story behind Qin Lan, Dong Xuan, and Guan Yue? Which company introduced them?"

Lu Rui was quite curious about the three of them.

How could a historical drama like "Crossing the Guandong" attract rising new generation actors like them?
Hou Hongliang replied, "Qin Lan was recommended by Hunan TV, Dong Xuan was recommended by General Manager Dong of Huayi, and Guan Yue was selected when she accompanied Dong Xuan to the audition."

"Okay, got it." Lu Rui handed the list back to him. "Let's go with this one."

Hou Hongliang took the list and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something else. "By the way, Chairman Lü, will we be involved in artist management business in the future?"

Lu Rui looked at him with a puzzled expression: "Why would you ask that?"

"It's nothing. I just learned that Qin Lan's contract with Hunan TV is about to expire. If we're in the agency business, we could try to sign her."

"Okay, I understand. You go ahead and do your work. I'll think about it."

Doing artist management is no small matter; it has far-reaching consequences.

Lü Rui has to go to China Film Group this afternoon. He'll have to wait until he's less busy before he can make more careful plans...

(End of this chapter)