Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 110 Victory Celebration Banquet
Many people looked over. Chen Shou had just picked up his teacup to drink when he was sprayed with coffee all over his face.

Yan Danchen, who was in front of him, covered her mouth, her body trembling. She hurriedly put down her coffee cup and coughed incessantly.

The others looked over and saw that Chen Shou had been sprayed with coffee in his face, so they brought him tissues.

"What's going on here?"

When asked by others, Chen Shou wiped his face with a tissue and said, "It was just a joke."

Having recovered, Yan Danchen glared at Chen Shouzhe, wiped her mouth clean with a tissue, and a lot of the spit-out spittle came out of her nose. Now, her eyes were red from the pain. She was already very charming, but with the glare, she could only be described as beautiful.

All kinds of styles.

Chen Shou was soaked to the bone and smelled of coffee, so he had no choice but to change his clothes. He waited for the sunlight in the evening and started filming at dusk.

Sometimes it's like that; it completely depends on the weather. If the weather doesn't give you the opportunity, it's hard to capture the light you want.

Sometimes artificial lighting can be used. The lighting on a large screen needs to be magnified, so it is very delicate. The artificial lighting is easily noticeable. If natural light can achieve the same effect, it is much better than artificial lighting.

Especially the yellow hue of dusk, like a lamp running out of oil, leans towards the impending darkness.

The movie was originally a ghost story. Dusk represents the decline of a dynasty, with corrupt officials running rampant and oppressing the people, and demons and evil spirits coming out to do evil.

The short twilight scene has been filmed. We'll have to carefully review how much of it we can use later. Today's twilight was a bit long and bright, which didn't quite capture the feeling of flying yellow sand that Chen Shouzhe needed.

During filming, Yan Danchen kept a distance from Chen Shou. When filming her scenes at night, the makeup transformed the fairy Chang'e into a female ghost who sucks the life essence of people.

That alluring charm seduced the scholar, leading to their passionate affair.

However, Yan Danchen was unable to get into the zone and was distracted, so Chen Shou had to stop and talk to her several times before they finally got it right.

Around 2 a.m., the day's filming was almost over, and we could go back to rest.

In the crew's car, Chen Shou and Yan Danchen sat in the back, while the assistant drove in front. The actors were all quite tired, some still wearing their costumes and makeup.

"What's wrong with you today? You seem distracted and out of sorts," Chen Shou said.

"It's nothing, I'll adjust myself." Yan Danchen said, looking out the window.

"That's good." Chen Shou said.

The atmosphere inside the car suddenly quieted down. The two assistants, a man and a woman, sat in the front seats, and neither of them spoke, remaining silent.

After an unknown amount of time, Yan Danchen suddenly spoke up: "Isn't China Film Group going to hold a celebration banquet? When are you going back?"

"The 7th, the 8th is the Mid-Autumn Festival, we'll give you two days off, what are your plans?" Chen Shou asked.

"Either go out and have fun, or go home for the holiday," Yan Danchen said.

“There are many interesting things to do in the Northwest. Thirteen dynasties have been established here, and the area is rich in culture and geography. You can celebrate the festival here,” Chen Shou said.

"Don't you ever go home?"

"My parents aren't home; they're both in the capital."

"Oh."

After about ten minutes, they arrived at the hotel and got out of the car one by one, returning to their respective rooms to rest.

Chen Shouzhe was in relatively good spirits. He wasn't sleepy when he got back to the hotel. He took a shower, poured himself a glass of wine, and started working on storyboards and organizing the script.

"Dong dong!"

The phone suddenly rang. Chen Shou glanced at it, walked to the door, opened it, and a person rushed in.

"What are you doing in my room alone in the middle of the night?" Chen Shou asked, looking at the woman in front of him with surprise.

"You want to try it? I want to try it too..."

The second day of filming went smoothly. Both the lighting issues and the actors' problems were resolved. Filming went exceptionally well for several days in a row. The crew was given two days off on the 7th and will return after the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Chen took the flight back on the morning of the 7th, even though his original plan was to leave on the evening of the 6th.

As a result, I was up all night and only got a few hours of sleep in the morning before rushing to catch my flight, where I fell asleep as soon as I hit the ground.

Luckily it was first class, so I could lie down and sleep for a while.

"They're like wolves and tigers!" Chen Shou said as he and his assistant walked out of the airport, dragging their luggage.

Some people noticed Chen Shouzhe, but didn't recognize him. After all, he had just shaved his head a few days ago. It wasn't until he walked out of the airport that people noticed him, but unfortunately, he had already left by car.

"That buzz cut guy just now looked like Chen Shouzhe."

"Chen Shouzhe? You're not mistaken, are you?"

"It should be right. He rarely cares about his image. The last time he went to the Basah party, he cut his hair. Let me look, and yes, it's him."

"I missed it; I should have come back for the victory celebration."

"42 billion in box office revenue, plus overseas box office revenue, I'm so envious."

"I'm envious too." Even if they didn't get a picture of the person, it doesn't stop them from publishing news. That's how social media works; a piece of text can become news, and a blurry photo of someone's back is enough.

Soon, people learned that Chen Shouzhe had returned from the Northwest, and many called him to invite him out for a get-together. Some even wanted to go to the horse farm for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Once you become famous, you'll be surrounded by friends.

He turned down all offers and drove straight back to the horse farm. When he arrived, his parents were there; they had just arrived a while ago.

Neither of them had a friendly look at Chen Shouzhe. Just over ten days ago, Chen Shouzhe had told them that he had a daughter, and the elderly couple had rushed over from the Northwest to take care of her.

So they settled down at the horse farm to take care of the child. The old couple were furious with Chen Shou for having a child out of wedlock, and they were almost ready to beat him with sticks.

Later, his master's wife said that he had already been beaten by his master, and that's why she let him go.

His father kept nagging him to get married, while his mother, Zhang Fengjiao, felt he shouldn't get married because Yang Mi was too career-oriented and wouldn't be a good wife and mother. She thought Chen Shou should find a wife who would take care of the family.

The elderly couple even had a fight over this, and Chen Shou simply ran away. He stayed at the horse farm for a few hours, then went to the auditorium, where the celebration banquet was held.

The film broke box office records and made its mark in film history; it was a milestone as China's first large-scale science fiction film.

The event attracted thousands of people, including many film and television company owners, internet business owners, and A-list and B-list celebrities, making it quite a lively affair.

Chen Shouzhe came in wearing a suit. Many people were surprised to see him. Although his skin was darker, he looked more capable and polite.

"Godfather, you're here too." Chen Shouzhe saw Guo Degang. This time, Deyun Society was one of the seven production companies.

“My son, your father has never been so glorious,” Old Guo said with a smile.

Chen Shouzhe laughed when he heard this. It was indeed true. His godfather's movies could only be described as a disaster. After making a fortune with "Goodbye Mr. Loser," he lost a lot of money investing in other movies. Chen Shouzhe brought Deyun Society with him when he made this movie.

Although it's only 2.5%, the box office is high enough that the domestic revenue share of around 50 million yuan, plus the overseas revenue of 60 to 70 million yuan, is not a problem.

If a movie costs ten million to produce and recoups that much in a year, anyone would be willing to invest.

He could be proud once, even though he had failed countless times. He only needed to succeed once. He was grateful for the help he had from his godson.

He wouldn't usually attend gatherings, but this time, as the producer, he came along to join in the fun. He was praised by people in the industry for quite a while. Many people look down on him, but they also admire him for having such a good son.

“If you prepare some more next month, I’ll take you to shoot a movie,” Chen Shou said.

"Is it 'Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy'?" Old Guo suddenly understood.

“Yes, it’s a patriotic film with an investment of around 200 million. You’ll prepare 10 million and take 5%. My master will also take 5% of the 10 million.” Chen Shou nodded.

"How many this time?" Old Guo's eyes lit up when he heard this. If the main theme is done well, then he can get his name listed on it.

"I'm in charge here, with August First Film Studio, China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, and Wanda Pictures as the main producers," Chen Shou said in a low voice.

"Okay, I'll have the investment department set aside ten million." Old Guo nodded.

Seeing the two whispering to each other, many people frequently turned to look at them.

"Teacher Guo, Director Chen."

Chen Shouzhe looked up when he heard a familiar voice and saw Han Sanping bringing his daughter over.

"Chairman Han," Old Guo called out.

"Third Master," Chen Shou nodded.

Although the current head of China Film Group is Mr. La, this film was signed when Han Sanping was in office, so he deserves credit for it and was naturally invited to the celebration banquet.

"I envy Teacher Guo, he has such a good son," Han Sanping said. He definitely looked down on Lao Guo, but since Chen Shou was there, he had to be considerate and greet Lao Guo first.

"He's successful because of his own abilities, and I want to thank him for helping me make money," Old Guo said politely.

"So everyone envies you; others can't even get a chance to invest."

"That's true. Raising a son is a blessing. My son has grown up and knows how to care for me."

Han Sanping was speechless. He wanted to show off too, but unfortunately Chen Shouzhe wasn't his son. Looking at Lao Guo's smug face, he couldn't help but feel envious.

After exchanging a few words, the other person left. Staying here would only make me more envious.

Many people came to greet Chen Shouzhe, and Lao Guo, being tactful, went to his friends and asked Chen Shouzhe to handle the socializing.

"Director Chen."

Yang Shoucheng came from Hong Kong in person. He followed Chen Shouzhe on two investments, which allowed him to recoup all the losses he had made in mainland China and even make a fortune. He treated Chen Shouzhe extremely well.

"Boss Yang." Chen Shouzhe wanted to shake hands with him, but the other party gave him a hug instead. Anyone who didn't know better would think the two were very familiar with each other.

Many mainland business owners felt sour upon seeing this scene, especially Ren Zhonglun from Shanghai Film Group. This time, Shanghai Film Group didn't have them, and neither did Kung Fu Hustle. Now that they've repaired their relationship, Chan Sau-yee will make another sci-fi film, and there will still be opportunities then.

Everyone present looked at Yang Shoucheng with envy. He really did make the right investment. Of all the investments he made in mainland China before, he only made money with Jiang Wenchao. He lost money on all the others, especially that director surnamed Lu. If it weren't for his good father, he would definitely be beaten to death when he went out.

"Director Chen, do you like the gift I prepared for you?" Yang Shoucheng asked in Mandarin with a southern accent.

(End of this chapter)