Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 131 The Temptation of Top Actresses
Huo Wenxi was destined to leave disappointed, and Bona also wanted to participate but was rejected.

Chen Shouzhe has never lost money since his debut. Everyone knows how good his movies are, and he's always been steady and reliable, so there's absolutely no need for him to share his profits with others.

The entire internet is discussing which script Chen Shouzhe submitted for review—whether it's Journey to the West or Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

Meanwhile, at the Film Bureau, a group of old fogies were arguing heatedly.

“This kind of subject matter should not be approved. Tomb raiding teaches people to be bad. What kind of behavior is this?”

"I think he's gotten too cocky over the years. He made 'Painted Skin' and 'Demons and Monsters' and then 'A Chinese Ghost Story'. Now he's even daring to make 'Tomb Raiders'. Will he go even further in the future?"

"So you mean you won't approve it? Sure, go ahead and try. It's not me who'll be the one posted online."

"You bastard, what do you mean? You're one of the reviewers too. You can block Feng Xiaogang and Jia Zhangke, so block him too."

"I can't guarantee he won't write poems like 'Dead Water' again. Even the higher-ups have noticed. Sometimes you have to step down and give opportunities to younger people." The reviewer who spoke was only in his forties, but he had long been annoyed by these people in their sixties and seventies.

Although the country has delayed retirement, this absolutely does not include these people in front of us.

It was because Chen Shouzhe had scolded these people that he had the opportunity to come in. Among the people here, he was the youngest. He had long disliked these people and had nothing else to say about them except for their age and seniority.

"What do you mean? You're one of the reviewers too, can't you tell if this script is good or bad?" an old man said, puffing out his beard and glaring.

“I can see that. No problem. If it can’t be filmed because of the subject matter, how did Director Chen’s film get approved? Aren’t you afraid of being criticized after it’s released? Director Chen is watching you closely. When his film is released, and his script is blocked again, what will he say?”

"you……"

A group of old men were furious, but helpless, because this man was able to get in because of his family connections. His father had been one of the reviewers, and was even older than them, and was still alive.

"You've already given it to me," an old man said.

"Are you serious?"

“China Film Group has already made arrangements, and they have also invested in the script. If it doesn’t pass, Chen Shouzhe will probably bypass us and go directly to Director Zhang, or even Director Tong, just like with the last time with A Chinese Ghost Story.”

"That little bastard dares to bypass us time and time again. What does he take our review department for?"

"So what do you suggest we do? Keep it blocked? This is a big IP movie. If we block this one, he'll definitely mock us once his other movies get approved. Besides, Chen Kaige's movie is going to be released in two months. Do you think he'll shut up?"

"You know what you did. He almost broke up with Jiang Wen because of his bad reputation. Jiang Wen paid for reshoots. When Chen Kaige's movie is released, there will be a lot of trouble." The censor in his forties sneered.

"That's enough. Don't get too entangled with him. He's not someone to be trifled with. If his approval is blocked because of the subject matter, then we won't be able to make any more movies. Do you really want to retire now?"

One side was furious, while the other side was calm and even mocking.

Painted Skin 2 continues to perform well, earning 2 million yuan in its first week, and breaking 59 million yuan should be no problem.

Chen Shou was at the horse farm with his daughter when Yang Mi returned and joined him in playing with the children.

"Speak, what's the matter this time?" Chen Shou asked.

"Do you have any suitable roles for your new film that you've submitted for review?" Yang Mi asked.

“It’s not suitable for you, but we can reserve a supporting role for Dilraba.” Chen Shou said.

"Who will get the lead female role?" Yang Mi asked, staring at Chen Shou.

"The female lead needs to be over thirty years old. The script is based on Ghost Blows Out the Light, and it's the second half, so the lead actors will generally be older," Chen Shouzhe said.

"Yan Danchen?" Yang Mi asked.

“She’s not suitable either.” Chen Shou shook his head.

"Who makes the final decision?" Yang Mi asked.

“Urshan, I can give the second female lead role to Reba, that’s the one I can secure. I’ve also secured a role for Xia Yu, the rest will be decided by the director,” Chen Shou said.

“Then I can give it a try too,” Yang Mi said, tilting his chin up.

"You can give it a try."

"The script for the TV series has been approved. The series is quite long, and I'm already looking for a team. We've also reached a cooperation agreement with Hunan TV."

"How you proceed is your business; I'll take a look when the TV series is being filmed."

"That's for sure. You're going to make movies abroad? Are there any suitable ones for me?"

"No."

"Li Baibing and Huang Xiaoming can do it, so why can't I?"

"You can do it too, but you need the right opportunity, and there isn't one right now."

"Can't we do co-productions?"

"Co-productions are guaranteed to be successful. Have you seen Liu Yifei's co-production film released this year?"

"Looked."

"They almost came to blows. The co-production project was brought in by Chen Jinfei, and Liu Yifei and Hongxingwu both invested. And what happened? The company almost lost everything, and there are still follow-up moves. Do you think co-productions are guaranteed to succeed?"

"I don't know if others can succeed, but you can definitely succeed as I do." "So confident?"

"Because you've never failed."

"You're overthinking it. I'm still walking on thin ice. I hope I can really succeed." Chen Shou shook his head.

"Please think about me sometime in the future. Yang Ying has taken so many resources from Huang Xiaoming, but I haven't gotten anything from you."

"Just wait, I'll get you a movie screening next year," Chen Shou said.

"Really?"

"Ah."

With Chen Shouzhe's approval, Yang Mi was finally relieved. The trip had been worthwhile; indeed, the resources were something he had fought for himself.

If you don't take the initiative, opportunities will never come knocking.

While those people outside are still fighting tooth and nail over a resource, she has already found a shortcut, and the benefits of dating a big director are becoming apparent.

There are countless people outside keeping an eye on Chen Shouzhe. Whenever she has free time, she comes over herself or arranges for Reba to come over, keeping a close watch on Chen Shouzhe.

Now she has TV dramas, movies, and Dilraba's hit variety shows have propelled her to become a second-tier female star. With the addition of Painted Skin 2, she has directly become a movie star.

There's also Ghost Blows Out the Light and other TV series planned. Although she'll be playing supporting roles, it's only a matter of time before she becomes a top-tier female star, given the current state of the entertainment industry.

Moreover, Dilraba is more suited to fashion resources, and she's already receiving countless advertising offers.

This puts a lot of pressure on many top-tier female artists, since resources are limited, and having more people means fewer resources.

But with Chen Shou behind her, it won't be easy for anyone to make a move against her.

Back then, Stephen Chow's leading lady left after a disagreement and became someone else's wife. She also offended Wang Changtian and was knocked down from her position as a top-tier actress by him. At that time, young actresses like Yang Mi were living a very comfortable life.

A whale falls and all things come to life; a top-tier female celebrity's scandal has revealed resources that are the envy of many.

The same applies to the "Backstabbing Cult".

It can be seen that those who stabbed him in the back were all second-tier celebrities of Huayi Brothers. Yin Xiaotian, who was stabbed in the back, revealed a lot of things. His most valuable menswear endorsement was replaced by a second-tier male star from Huayi Brothers. The rest of his things were also completely taken away.

Even when he was finally exonerated, he had lost everything and could never rise again.

Even worse is the PC guy, who's a transvestite. If there wasn't something fishy going on, who would know? Some people guessed it was Zuo Shandiao who did it, but Zuo Shandiao wouldn't go to such lengths. He could easily wipe out everything he had in the entertainment industry with just a few words. Why would he resort to disgusting methods?
This is what happens when you have no connections.

If a behemoth like Huayi Brothers would target a second-tier celebrity, what chance do they have against anyone else?

There are many people eyeing Yang Mi and Reba. They have Chen Shouzhe behind them, so unless Chen Shouzhe falls, they will never lack resources.

Our confidence stems from this.

Yang Mi knew that Chen Shou must have other women outside, but she had already gotten what belonged to her. Worrying too much would only make things worse; it was more important to maintain a proper balance.

Painted Skin 2 entered its second week, and it still had more than 30 million yuan in box office revenue every day, and it was very stable. Occasionally, it would have a surge on Saturdays and Sundays, reaching 40 to 50 million yuan. The second week achieved a miraculous box office of 2.96 million yuan, which was even higher than the previous week.

Chen Shou was busy preparing for the release of "A Chinese Ghost Story" next month. Both films were based on the classic Chinese ghost story, but the difference between them was that "Painted Skin 2" had several production companies, while "A Chinese Ghost Story" was produced by a single company.

It was the first film that the studio produced itself.

Five years have passed, and Chen Shouzhe finally has the confidence to produce a film independently.

In the film and television industry, it's easy to get isolated if you try to do everything yourself. Before Chen Shouzhe transmigrated, he remembered that he wanted to see a movie by a famous director. The movie was about the story of a star in the entertainment industry, but the production company was the same one that handled everything.

The end result was that it was sandwiched between movies produced by two major internet companies, and had to reschedule.

This is my first attempt at making a solo film, and I need to leverage the popularity of Painted Skin. After all, they are from the same series of movies. With Painted Skin as a foundation, A Chinese Ghost Story is destined to be pretty good, especially since the director is Chen Shouzhe.

The Shanghai International Film Festival is about to start. I wasn't planning to go, but I need to promote A Chinese Ghost Story. Also, just like last year, the premiere has been scheduled here by director Chen Shou. In addition to the premiere of A Chinese Ghost Story, it seems that director Chen Kaige's new film is also scheduled to premiere at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

The difference is that Chen Shou's film was released first, on July 1st, while Chen Kaige's new film was released on July 3rd. Although they overlapped, the themes were different.

One is a romance film, and the other is a martial arts film. The huge summer movie season can still accommodate several films, and who wins and who loses depends entirely on the audience.

This was also the first time the two had faced off.

This also attracted a lot of attention, since the two had clashed before.

The point of contention lies with Yang Mi.

Several years later, the two films collide, which has many people eagerly anticipating and waiting for a good show.

Let's see who is better between the two Director Chens.

While everyone in the industry was focused on the Shanghai International Film Festival, a message from Hollywood arrived.

The sudden news shattered the tranquility of the industry, drawing countless eyes to Chen Shouzhe and causing a stir in the film and television circle.

(End of this chapter)