The only sun in Huayu

However, Ma Youde didn't stand on ceremony and said directly, "Mr. Muller, just say what you have to say. There's no point in beating around the bush."

Marco Müller had no choice but to awkwardly explain his purpose.

I hope to see Shen Shandeng again to express my goodwill.

Ma Youde frowned, feeling that the old man was taking him for granted.

After looking at Marco Müller for a while, he said with a forced smile, "Mr. Müller, things are different now. The boss is very busy. In the future, if there's anything, you can communicate with me first. Meeting me is the normal procedure, but meeting the boss is the last resort, depending on whether it's necessary."

Marco Müller felt a pang of bitterness; this was the downside of not being spiritually colonized.

Once you consider the financial implications, the three European small prizes are indeed small prizes.

In truth, how could he not know?

In just seven or eight months, Shen Shandeng has grown from a dazzling new director into a towering tree.

A net worth of hundreds of millions, which translates to tens of millions in euros.

More importantly, the film industry he founded has taken shape, the industrial system is being built, and his influence is now vastly different from what it used to be.

Correspondingly, seeing him again as before is no longer a casual matter; rules have been established.

Otherwise, why would Chalperic go through him?

Ultimately, Shen Shandeng already had his own territory, his own businesses, and was able to make a profit.

This is also why Shen Shandeng is constantly embroiled in public opinion storms and unable to do his job.

Although the foundation is small, it has already been laid.

Moreover, it's not small anymore. Apart from those who have been ideologically colonized and willingly debase themselves, the influence of the Chinese film market is actually quite significant.

Columbia Pictures, as a Hollywood giant, has been tricked by Huayi Brothers, and its collaboration with Stephen Chow was not very pleasant.

Isn't that all for that little bit of expectation?

Shen Shandeng and his men were not influenced by their system. According to the rules, it wasn't as simple as him seeing someone whenever he wanted.

Marco Müller knew that he had been somewhat unwilling before, but Shen Shandeng and his team had manipulated him.

Even if he were willing at this moment, Shen Shandeng might not necessarily want to take him under his wing.

Once you become a lackey, you naturally expect to be sheltered from the wind and rain? Dream on!

However, Marco Müller also remembered that he was, after all, a nominal lackey, and immediately began to play the victim.

After listening to Mark Muller's complaints, Ma Youde offered some words of comfort and reassurance.

Back at the company, Ma Youde reported Mark Müller's purpose to Shen Shandeng.

After listening, Shen Shandeng simply smiled faintly: "Chaperrick wants to make friends? If it's just superficial cooperation, then accept it; there's no need to block the way."

Shen Shandeng remained calm.

Although his career and influence expanded further with "The Eunuch" and "Lost in Thailand", he also developed a two-pronged business model.

But its rise has been too short, only about a year at most.

In the cultural sphere, certain rampant trends of thought have persisted for two or three decades and are deeply rooted in two or three generations.

The selling points of "The Eunuch" are special effects and an exciting story, while "Lost in Thailand" is about jokes and plot. The historical confidence and patriotism hidden in it can only be buried in the movie.

Audiences need to gradually adapt and get used to these elements on the big screen before they can naturally become the characters' motivations; otherwise, it will seem a bit fake.

Just like Zhao Jinmai's final speech in "The Wandering Earth," if you were to say it to a white person, it would simply be a very simple emotional and didactic speech.

However, it would seem a bit out of place in Chinese films.

Some things, from financial support to industry concepts, and even within some functional departments, are deeply intertwined and entrenched.

Shen Shandeng's strategy for the next few years is very clear.

They can openly oppose Europe, especially the artistic standards represented by the three major European film festivals, but they cannot openly and fiercely oppose the United States for the time being.

Otherwise, the resistance we face will be beyond our imagination, and our situation will be extremely difficult.

Thinking of this, he took a slight breath, feeling a little frustrated.

But that's reality, and we must face it calmly.

Newly appointed producer Zhou Qifeng came to report on the progress of the Du Gong cinematic universe. The two chatted as they walked.

Shen Shandeng put aside these external disturbances for the time being and focused his energy on advancing the company's projects.

In addition to preparing for the already scheduled releases of "Jiajing" and "The Embroidered Uniform Guard," he has also begun to focus on the early preparations for "No Man's Land."

"Senior brother, 'Jiajing' has been scheduled for release during this year's Lunar New Year holiday. The first trailer has received a good response, and post-production is in its final sprint stage."

"The script for 'The Embroidered Uniform Guard' has been finalized, and preparations are in full swing. Brother Jing has gone to scout locations; this time, he's planning something big."

"Because the action design and special effects scenes are more complex than those of 'The Eunuch,' the preparation period will be longer, and the sets will need to be rebuilt. Filming is tentatively scheduled to begin early next year."

Shen Shandeng listened and nodded: "Discuss with Youde and me and come up with a plan. We also need to move up the schedule for 'Brotherhood of Blades.' I plan to build a city in Qingdao and talk to the local government about it."

When he was filming "Lost in Thailand", he talked with relevant departments in Qingdao about building a film and television base.

However, both parties need time to work together and the collaboration needs to be progressed step by step.

Zhou Qifeng said, "Brotherhood of Blades will definitely be the culmination of our series of work."

"Yes, keep the rhythm right, quality is the most important thing."

Shen Shandeng nodded and said, "Let's go to the conference room together. We have a class to attend."

Production Team.

Including Zhou Qifeng, this producer training course selected a total of five people, all of whom were core production team members who had participated in projects such as "The Eunuch", "Jiajing", and "Lost in Thailand".

Their average age is only around thirty, which is very young.

They are all promising talents within the company, and have already been taking classes for a while, including training in project management, communication and coordination.

The course content includes theory, as well as retrospective analysis based on actual cases such as "The Eunuch", "Lost in Journey", and "Jiajing".

The theoretical portion was taught by professors from the Department of Management at Beijing Film Academy and the Department of Engineering Management at China University of Petroleum.

The teachers in these universities are alright, but they don't have much experience.

In practice, the company hired engineers from heavy industry enterprises to act as consultants.

This caused quite a stir. When people saw the process, their first reaction was that the management was incredibly chaotic.

When I learned that Shen Shandeng's company had several projects that were already top-notch in terms of organization and management in the film industry, far ahead of its peers.

It's very difficult to hold on.

The entire curriculum, including the production and directing courses, was developed gradually by a group of people through trial and error. Teachers and students learned from each other and wrote the textbooks together.

There are no role models to learn from; this is a first for the film industry.

It was written and called a textbook, but it was actually a film production operation manual.

Shen Shandeng would occasionally come to give lectures in person, and sometimes he would also come to listen to lectures.

Today's class is a class about abstract concepts.

Shen Shandeng spoke about his core understanding of the role of a producer.

He got straight to the point: "Many people think that producers are just in charge of money or just do odd jobs for directors. In my opinion, neither of them gets to the heart of the matter."

"The core positioning of a producer can be summed up in two words: management and direction."

"Management is not about giving orders, but about efficiently integrating the resources of the entire crew—people, money, materials, and time—to ensure that the crew operates smoothly like a sophisticated machine. From a small meal to the filming schedule, you have to keep track of everything."

"More importantly, it's about direction."

Shen Shandeng emphasized, "Producers need to have a deep understanding of the core objectives of the project and keep the overall direction of the production team from going astray."

"Your primary task is to cooperate with the director's creative process, overcome all difficulties for the director, and provide the best creative environment. But this is not unconditional obedience. When the director's creative process may deviate significantly and may damage the foundation of the project, the producer must have the courage and ability to step forward and correct the deviation."

The path Shen Shandeng wants to take is not the Hollywood production center system where capital reigns supreme.

It's not a director-centric system like in China, where the quality of a project depends entirely on the director's performance. The auteur has a strong cinematic feel, with a touch of genius and a touch of madness.

Shen Shandeng wants to take a path of film production with Chinese characteristics.

He concluded, "Therefore, a good producer is not only the director's most reliable ally and support, but also a lookout and calibrator for the project's direction. They must be able to work diligently while also keeping an eye on the bigger picture." (End of Chapter)