Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 112 Bandits, Crossing Shanhaiguan

Filming went smoothly and even faster than expected, and was successfully completed in less than two months.

As the final dawn breaks, the image freezes.

"Bravo! Filming for 'A Chinese Ghost Story' is wrapped!!!"

Chen Shou clapped his hands.

"call!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; filming was over in less than two months. The movie's scenes were simple, and the post-production special effects would take some time to complete.

The most grueling part was for the props team. They had been preparing the necessary props for a long time, and it was finally over.

Chen Shou and Yan Danchen exchanged a knowing glance. They didn't know if they would be able to cooperate in the future, but they were destined to cooperate tonight.

Everyone stayed up all night, went back to sleep, and then gathered at the hotel in the evening for a wrap party before heading back to pack their things.

The door to Chen Shouzhe's room was opened, and Chen Shouzhe was already packing his luggage.

"Are you ready?" Chen Shou asked, looking up at Yan Danchen, who was wearing hot pants and a shirt.

Yan Danchen came over to help tidy up the clothes, and looking at the ashtray full of cigarette butts, she said, "I've already cleaned it up. You have a lot of alcohol here, so you should smoke less too."

"Okay, I'll try to do less of that in the future." Chen Shou nodded.

Sometimes I really don't understand you.

"what happened?"

"Nothing much, just a sentimental thought. Don't worry, I won't bother you, and you shouldn't bother me either."

"Don't worry about that, I know the rules."

"Hmph, you know what I'm talking about. If I were younger, I would definitely force you to get married and I would never let you run away."

"Are you already desperate to get married?" Chen Shou asked with a smile.

“I’m over thirty myself. How much longer can I make a living like this? In a few more years, I’ll only be able to play mothers. You’d better finish filming these few years, otherwise when I get older, people will only see an old woman when they see Nie Xiaoqian.” Yan Danchen sighed.

"With a little dressing up, it's quite nice, and it even adds more charm."

"What does it smell like?"

"I don't remember, but I'll try it."

……

After returning from the Northwest, it was already past October. Chen Shou handed the film over to the company's post-production team for editing and special effects, while immediately starting another project.

This time it was the August First Film Studio. Chen Shou had notified several companies to go to the August First Film Studio.

This time, Vice Chairman Wang was still in charge of China Film Group, while Ren Zhonglun personally took over Shanghai Film Group. Ye Ning from Wanda, along with Chen Shouzhe, Deyun Society, and Daqian World were all replaced by him.

The five parties met, and according to the previous division, four parties would give 60%, which could either be split equally or they could fight for it themselves.

Chen Shou pulled his master and godfather along, gave them 5% to buy an admission ticket, and kept 30% for himself.

They didn't say anything about Chen Shouzhe's actions. To be honest, Shanghai Film Group didn't really want a patriotic film.

However, for certain reasons, Shanghai Film Group ultimately secured 10%, China Film Group 15%, Wanda Cinema 15%, and August First Film Studio 20%, thus completing the division among the three companies.

The funds were already prepared, and after the team from Painted Skin finished filming, Chen Shou took them to Northeast China.

Filming could only be done in winter, with scenes of bandit suppression amidst heavy snow and wind.

The casting was similar; Jiang Wen was cast as the male lead, and he also brought in quite a few other people.

He was a bandit one minute, and now he's a positive character in a bandit-suppression drama.

When guests arrived at the horse farm, Jiang Wen and Zhou Yun's eyes widened as they saw Chen Shou carrying a child out.

"You really had a child?" Jiang Wen exclaimed.

"Yes, she's my daughter," Chen Shou nodded with a smile.

"Quickly, let me hold her." Zhou Yun opened her arms and took the baby in her arms. She was only three months old, with big eyes that looked just like her mother's. She was clearly going to be a beauty. She was blowing bubbles at Zhou Yun.

"So cute!" Zhou Yun's heart almost melted.

"You're amazing, you've got a top-tier actress giving birth to your child." Jiang Wen gave Chen Shou a thumbs up.

"Stop talking nonsense. What do you want from me? Taking leave is impossible. I'll be joining the crew in November and need to finish before the Lunar New Year," Chen Shou said.

"You're ruthless enough to go to Northeast China to film in the dead of winter. Have you even finalized the roles yet?" Jiang Wen asked.

"Who do you recommend?" Chen Shou asked.

“Shao Jianbo, there’s a young actor named Peng Yuyan. I think he’s pretty good. What do you think?” Jiang Wen said.

“Peng Yuyan?” Chen Shouzhe picked up his phone, checked, and shook his head, saying, “He’s no good.”

"So who do you plan to give it to?"

"Not ready yet."

"Then give it to Xia Yu."

"can."

Chen Shou nodded without hesitation. Xia Yu was a movie star, so there was no problem with him. He had reached the peak of his career right from the start, and his relationship with Jiang Wen was excellent.

"What about the female lead?" Jiang Wen then asked.

"You're going too far! You want everything? Do you want my director's position?!" Chen Shouzhe panicked as soon as he heard this. Was this guy here to do a favor or to buy a favor? What if he kicked him aside and became the director himself?

"Pfft!" Zhou Yun, standing beside her, chuckled. She knew Jiang Wen too well; she wouldn't miss such a good opportunity. "Stop talking nonsense. I won't touch your director position. How about you, Sister Yun, play the female lead?" Jiang Wen said.

"Sister Yun!!" Chen Shou turned to look at Zhou Yun, and after thinking about it, he thought it wasn't a bad idea. She was just a village woman who had been taken away, so it seemed alright.

“Alright, then you two can be the couple. Don’t say anything more. Zuo Shandiao has already found Tony Leung Ka-fai. Unless you can find an actor who is more talented than him, you can’t replace him,” Chen Shou said.

"Tony Leung Ka-fai, that's good. This scene with him is really solid." Jiang Wen nodded in satisfaction.

"You son of a bitch, you're up to no good. I should have known better than to hire you. It would have been much better to have Zhang Hanyu star in the lead role," Chen Shou said.

"Too late. Am I not even as good as Zhang Hanyu?" Jiang Wen said.

"Fine, I'm too lazy to talk to you anymore," Chen Shou said.

"By the way, investment..."

"roll!"

After finally managing to get rid of Jiang Wen from the horse farm, this guy thought the horse farm was great and wanted to bring his kids over to play whenever he had time. He even wanted to name his daughter Chen Dama, and almost got trampled to death by Chen Shou riding a Shire horse.

After seeing Jiang Wen and her husband off, Chen Shouzhe finalized the casting.

Many people are watching with bated breath. Chen Shou's movies are currently very popular, and the box office is so strong that if it were a science fiction movie, it would be a fight to the death.

However, there are still many people willing to act in patriotic films.

Chen Shouzhe and Jiang Wen have been cast, and the film project has been officially announced.

[Shouzhe Film Industry Announcement: The patriotic film "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy" has been officially approved. The film tells the story of a brave and skilled squad of the People's Liberation Army outwitting and outfighting the bandit leader Zuo Shandiao in the mountains of Northeast China.]

[The film is directed by Chen Shouzhe and stars Jiang Wen, Liang Jiahui, Zhou Yun, Xia Yu, Yuan Quan, and others. Casting has been completed.]

The two announcements caught many people off guard.

Is the casting process complete?
Looking at the long list of actors, a careful comparison reveals that most of them are related to Jiang Wen.

For a time, the internet was full of jokes about it.

"Has Director Chen been kidnapped?"

“I think the role is wrong. Jiang Wen is the real bandit leader Zuo Shandiao.”

"Good heavens, half of the actors have close ties with director Jiang Wen. He is the male lead, his wife is the female lead, and he even brought his own son, Xia Yu. Not only did he bring Xia Yu, but he also brought Xia Yu's wife. Among the Eight Vajras is his younger brother, Jiang Wu."

“I now seriously doubt that halfway through filming, Jiang Wen will kick Chen Shouzhe aside and tell him to get lost, and he will take over filming.”

"You know what, I think there's a good chance that they've been completely sidelined."

"I'm dying of laughter. One second Director Chen turns on the camera, the next second Jiang Wen kicks him away and shouts: 'You're all my people, get out of my way!'"

"For a moment, it was hard to tell who the director of the film was and who the protagonist was."

Netizens were discussing it, and just then, Jiang Wen liked, forwarded, and commented on one of the comments.

"If he doesn't do a good job, I'll kick him out."

Countless comments flooded in, with many joking and asking if Jiang Wen could sideline Chen Shou.

The movie is already very popular even before filming has started.

The team went to Northeast China ahead of time to select a location for filming in the snow.

Chen Shouzhe had already begun preparations to head to the Northeast. After crossing the Shanhaiguan Pass, his network of connections came into play.

First, we went to my godfather's house. Guo Degang was very happy to see Chen Shouzhe and chatted with him for a long time.

"This is a gift I prepared. You can give it to your Uncle Zhao later." Old Guo took something from the study and handed it to Chen Shou.

"No need, I've prepared a gift for Grandpa Zhao," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"It's no use keeping it here, you take it to him for me."

"Okay, I'll go visit Uncle Zhao first."

“In the Northeast, no one in the circle has a more influential voice than him.”

"Uh-huh!"

Chen Shou nodded and set off for Northeast China the next day, first bringing gifts to visit Grandpa Zhao.

"You silly child, it's enough that you're here. Why are you bringing all this stuff? Take it all back."

Chen Shou's car drove to a manor, where an old man with a square face and white hair was standing at the door waiting for him.

"Uncle, it's been a long time. I haven't had time to visit you. It's nothing, my godfather and my master asked me to bring this to you." Chen Shou said with a smile, as he and his assistant unloaded the items from the trunk.

"Why did you bring so much stuff? I don't need anything here," said Grandpa Zhao.

"I brought a few bottles of wine with me. I'll have a couple of drinks with you later," Chen Shou said with a smile.

“That’s good. We’ve already heated the kang (heated brick bed) for you. It’s been so long since we last saw each other. You’ve grown up so much in the blink of an eye.”

In the early 2000s, Chen Shou worked as Yu Qian's assistant, appeared on shows with Guo Degang, and met Uncle Zhao a few times.

Over the past few years, he has arranged for someone to send a gift every year during the Spring Festival and other holidays. Over time, although they have never met, they have maintained a very good relationship.

Back then, Uncle Zhao spoke up for his godfather, and later, when it came to his apprentice's affairs, Lao Guo said in an interview that he fully supported the other party.

They are all folk artisans, and they have all gone through hardships together, so they can be said to appreciate each other.

Since we've come all the way to the Northeast, it's only natural to pay a visit. When you're in this place, Uncle Zhao is the best person to ask.

(End of this chapter)