The only sun in Huayu

Chapter 27 is filled with unease.
Bent Island.

Tamkang High School.

Zhou Jielun picked out a shot she liked from the footage provided by the assistant director, and then called for a break.

"Damn it, why are you arguing about my movie alongside his?"

Seeing some reports in Hong Kong and Taiwan tabloids putting his novels "The Secret That Cannot Be Told" and "The Eunuch" together, Zhou Jielun felt a little nervous.

It’s different in the past.

Previously, Shen Shandeng had never been involved in music.

Four years ago, Shen Shandeng was indeed very formidable.

Even he couldn't understand it, yet one song after another that could be a hit was released for free.

But soon, Shen Shandeng, who didn't sign with a record company, didn't use television or radio channels, and had no connections, was trampled on.

This time it's different.

Everyone here is a singer who turned director. Pop singers who release records and have won awards, and online singers, are not much different in front of film directors. They are all inferior.

Whether in mainland China or Taiwan, film directors naturally enjoy a higher social status than singers.

"Okay, okay."

Producer Jiang Zhiqiang put his arm around Zhou Jielun's shoulder to comfort him: "His film is purely commercial, while yours is an art film, so you are naturally invincible."

Art can be marketed as a way to project sophistication. As long as you don't admit defeat or the success of "The Eunuch" is exceptionally outstanding, there's no need to worry about comparisons.

Of course, by then, "Secret" will have been released and fans will have bought tickets, so Jiang Zhiqiang will no longer be in trouble.

“But I want to win,” Zhou Jie argued.

At the beginning of the new year, Zhou Jielun established his own record company, became his own boss, and was promoted to "Chairman Zhou". Now he is directing and starring in his own movie, which is the time for him to show his talents.

Jiang Zhiqiang was speechless; this guy's gotten too cocky.

Shen Shandeng is carrying a key project of China Film Group and is also a student of Beijing Film Academy, the top film academy in mainland China. He has basically reached the top in the film industry.

In the film industry, China Film Group is king!
Jiang Zhiqiang came up with a plan to put Zhou Jielun in an invincible position: "When the time comes, I'll have Paperclip say a few good words for your movie."

Upon hearing the name "Paperclip," Zhou Jielun immediately expressed respect and asked with concern, "Is 'Paperclip' almost finished filming?"

"Paperclip" is a co-production, a joint effort by multiple parties, including Shanghai Film Group from mainland China, director from Taiwan, Edko Films from Hong Kong, Sil-Metropole Organisation, and Focus Features, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures.

Compared to films like "Paperclip," which involve collaborations between China and the US, as well as between mainland China and Taiwan, films like "Secret," which are heavily promoted and supported by the Hong Kong and Taiwan film industry, simply don't stand out.

Jiang Zhiqiang nodded: "It'll be soon. I'm going to Shanghai soon. Things are on track here too, Jay. Keep your confidence."

"is it him?"

Wu Yusen asked producer Zhang Jiazhen.

With filming of "Paper Clip" nearing completion, John Woo's "Red Cliff" production team is making every effort to secure Tony Leung's participation and minimize the impact of Chow Yun-fat's withdrawal from the project.

The reason why John Woo paid attention to Shen Shandeng was because China Film Group's attitude towards the "Red Cliff" project had changed.

They used to be very easy to talk to, and I could get almost anything they wanted, but now they frequently check the accounts.

They kept urging us to start filming, and even suggested using mainland actors, saying that Huang Xiaoming and Zhou Jie would be good choices.

This is outrageous!
Wu Yusen has always had his own little schemes.

Using the mainland market, mainland funds, and mainland celebrities to promote their own people from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The Red Cliff project is his masterpiece.

China Film Group's demands crossed John Woo's bottom line, and he sternly rejected them, arguing that mainland actors lacked box office appeal.

Anyway, as long as they don't get screen time, they'll never have any appeal.

However, Wu Yusen felt uneasy. After all, his own people knew his own situation; he had been kicked out of Hollywood.

At first, he came to the mainland cautiously and constantly observed.

It wasn't until they later discovered that the mainland respected them greatly, treated them as honored guests, and even fawned over them that their attitude gradually became more unrestrained.

But if things really get tough on the mainland, he really doesn't have a good solution.

Zhang Jiazhen thought for a moment and said, "There are rumors that Shen Shandeng has influenced Master Han, but I think that's impossible."

John Woo, preferring to kill the innocent rather than let the guilty go free, said, "Spread the word in the industry that Hong Kong and Taiwanese actors should not support his movies."

Logically speaking, Shen Shandeng's "commercial supremacy" philosophy should have something in common with Hong Kong directors, but for some reason, it made Wu Yusen reject and dislike him.

Ignoring Zhang Jiazhen's surprise, Wu Yusen continued, "Get the project started as soon as possible and get filming going. We can't delay any longer." He was still uneasy.

Chen Kexin, who was filming "The Warlords" at the time, secretly groaned in his heart.

Han Sanping came to inspect the filming location of "The Warlords".

The conversation turned to the launch ceremony of "The Supervisor".

Chen Kexin realized that the main point wasn't "The Governor," but rather that it was a way to give him a warning.

Han Sanping suggested: "Chinese martial arts should still include fighting, and the fighting should be made more aesthetically pleasing."

Upon hearing this, Chen Kexin feigned ignorance: "I think the movements should strive for a sense of 'realism' and 'power'."

Chen Kexin took a big gamble with the project "The Warlords".

They offered an astronomical price to Li Lianjie, who plays dogs abroad and pays out of his own pocket to make movies.

Then, all the strengths of martial arts films were removed, and all the strengths of Jet Li were also removed, leaving only dramatic roles.

He is also one of the directors who went north to work in the north and practiced the strategy of "borrowing resources to generate wealth".

As a project primarily invested in by China Film Group, "The Warlords" features neither a single mainland newcomer nor a single middle-aged actor among its leading cast.

The three main actors are Jet Li, an overseas Chinese; Takeshi Kaneshiro, originally from Taiwan but now of Japanese descent; and Andy Lau, from Hong Kong.

He once thought that with them around, mainlanders couldn't possibly cause any trouble in the film industry.

Now I'm starting to feel uneasy, and this unease will continue.

Faced with Chen Kexin's constant evasions, Han Sanping remained calm and even comforted Chen Kexin by extending the first scene's filming time from 7 days to 20 days, reassuring him to film with peace of mind.

"There's an anomaly among the young directors here!"

Charles Perrick quickly made a judgment about Shen Shandeng after reading the report in The Du Gong.

Film, especially theatrical films, is at the forefront of the cultural war, and inquiries about films rank high on Chapel Perrick's list of concerns.

He is the cultural affairs officer at the Chinese Embassy in this region, serving as a bridge between the two sides.

Connect with the international public opinion arena and develop downstream cultural channels here.

Looking at Shen Shandeng's background, Chalperik suddenly realized what was going on.

So he didn't graduate from the directing department. No wonder.

In the past, most of the time, Chapel Peric had an urge to tear the filmmakers of this land apart.

It would be a disservice to their stupidity not to tear them apart.

Even though they were clearly enemies, he saw the other as prey, but the other treated him as a friend.

That's not just ordinary naiveté.

However, at this moment, Chalperik felt that naivety was still the best.

It's really upsetting when someone who's not naive suddenly appears.

Chalperrick's assistant analyzed, "Shen's remarks show a clear tendency towards social expression, and for some time before, his posts on blogs and other social media platforms showed characteristics that leaned towards us."

This was part of Shen Shandeng's preparations for pursuing awards overseas.

In the terms of later generations' winning strategies, Shen Shandeng played the role of the "defeatist".

To admit defeat is to show respect; to acknowledge that you have lost.

We are behind, you are ahead, but we will learn from you (Big Beauty), we will take you as our teacher, we will keep working hard, and one day we may be as strong as you.

Shen Shandeng tried it, but decided that people still couldn't eat excrement, so he left.

To be honest, Shen Shandeng, who plays an artistic youth, has been labeled a radical youth and a "50-cent party member" by some people.

In this day and age, the big influencers active on platforms like blogs are all "lose-lose-lose" – they lost in the past, they lost now, they will lose in the future, and they can't win no matter how hard they try.

Shen Shandeng, who is a "defeatist" who has little chance of winning but still has a possibility of winning, seems out of place.

Clearly, Chalperic's assistant had gathered comprehensive information and paid attention to this point.

According to the assistant's analysis, when Charperic linked Shen Shandeng's remarks that "weak countries have no art" and "Hollywood has crushed the three major European countries," it can indeed be concluded that he has a strong tendency towards "socialism."

Thinking about this, Chalperic felt a headache coming on and became uneasy.

(End of this chapter)