Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 132 A flurry of visitors came to the door.
[From The Hollywood Reporter: Hollywood giant Warner Bros. has announced that it will produce the science fiction film "Gravity". The film has a total investment of $1.5 million and has been in preparation since last year. Filming will begin soon.]

The screenplay was provided by Chinese science fiction film director Chen Shouzhe, and Warner Bros. announced that Chen Shouzhe will also direct the film, which began filming in August of this year.

A piece of movie news is quite ordinary, after all, Hollywood is too far away and not something that the domestic film and television industry can access.

However, the article specifically mentions Chen Shouzhe, who has a $1.5 million investment and has been in preparation since last year. Chen Shouzhe is the director.

This is Chen Shouzhe's third science fiction film since The Martian, with a budget equivalent to one billion yuan.

There is no other director in China besides Chen Shouzhe who is capable of directing such a large-scale production.

This news quickly caused a sensation in the film and television industry, and countless people set their sights on this huge pie.

In the past, they definitely wouldn't have been able to get involved, but Chen Shouzhe is the director, and he even provided the script. Given his usual behavior, he would definitely participate in the investment.

A large group of listed companies immediately set their sights on Chen Shouzhe, and they were all frantically calling him.

If you can get involved in this kind of project, the stock price will immediately rise. I'm not kidding, Chen Shouzhe now has that ability.

Those listed companies are even more aware that if they can participate in the investment, regardless of the returns, they can earn at least ten times their initial investment in the stock market.

"Brother, if all else fails, go find him," Wang Zonglei said hurriedly, pushing open the door to his brother's office.

"You did such a good deed, do you think he would agree to it?" Wang Zongjun glared at his younger brother.

Ever since Chen Shouzhe's first film was released during the Lunar New Year holiday season and stole their box office revenue, Wang Zonglei has been targeting Chen Shouzhe.

As a result, when Painted Skin was released, it was sabotaged, causing a significant drop in box office revenue. Subsequently, Chen Shouzhe was repeatedly smeared, forcing him to assemble a public relations team and invest in news portals.

It can be said that Chen Shouzhe was forced to become stronger by Wang Zonglei, and he became a hedgehog. He would fight back if anyone touched him.

Now Wang Zonglei actually wants to ask Chen Shouzhe for an investment share, but even if Chen Shouzhe offers it to Bona, he won't give it to him.

“Brother, you have such a good opportunity. That lousy comedian is greedy for money. We can just give him the money,” Wang Zonglei said.

Their stock is now worth 90 billion, and they're just one step away from getting a share from Chen Shouzhe. They'll be able to break into the 100 billion mark as a company.

In this way, the brothers could immediately acquire more wealth, and Wang Zonglei really didn't want to miss such a good opportunity.

Wang Zongjun understood that the benefits of doing this were enormous, but he also knew Chen Shouzhe's temperament, so it was almost impossible, and he would even be ridiculed.

After all, they had just poached the company's general manager and a large number of middle-level employees. To avoid being targeted by Chen Shouzhe, Tao Le and his team hadn't even started working yet. How could Chen Shouzhe possibly agree to them asking for investment right afterward? He would rather not find an opportunity to deal with them.

"You go out first, let me think about it. You should also tone down your bad temper." Wang Zongjun glared at his younger brother.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Wang Zonglei lowered his head and walked out.

So many people are looking for him, even China Film Group called to inquire.

Chen Shouzhe didn't expect Warner to make such a sudden announcement, but it didn't matter; it was bound to happen sooner or later.

However, despite the barrage of phone calls, Chen Shouzhe chose to turn off his phone and didn't answer a single one.

But he turned off his phone and was still at the company when the CEOs of the nearest companies came and blocked the company entrance. Chen Shou couldn't refuse to see them even if he wanted to.

"I can't believe it's such a coincidence that you all have this so many coincidences," Chen Shou said with a smile, looking at the people in front of him.

They were all acquaintances: Wang Changtian from Enlight Media, Ye Ning from Wanda Media, Yu Dong from Bona Film Group, Huo Wenxi from Emperor Entertainment Group, Zhang Shao from Le's Group, and several other companies also came to us.

"That's why we can't get through to Director Chen on the phone," Wang Changtian of Enlight Media said with a chuckle.

"Don't even think about it, everyone. It was already decided last year, how could there possibly be any shares for you?" Chen Shou said.

Hearing what Chen Shouzhe said, although they had their own guesses, they were still unwilling to give up.

"Director Chen, can't you really give me a boat ticket?" Zhang Shao asked, unwilling to give up.

The Lok family desperately needed a large ship. The Taiping ship was destroyed, and Xiao Ma was on his last breath. There was also a power struggle between the sisters-in-law, with Xiao Ma driving his sister-in-law out. Now Xiao Ma can't even be considered a second-rate producer anymore.

The same was true for the Lok family, who also invested in Taiping Ship. They finally managed to get the director to co-produce a film, but they felt it wasn't enough and needed something even more powerful.

Although the director pioneered the era of commercial films in China, it's obvious who has a better box office performance compared to Chen Shouzhe. He is the undisputed number one in China, and no one can challenge his current box office record.

Many people yearn for Chen Shouzhe, simply because they value his abilities, but getting on this ship isn't so easy.

"I can't give you any, and I can't make the decision either." Chen Shou shrugged. "Even the director had to fight hard to get this, so please don't overthink it."

"Ugh!"

Hearing Chen Shouzhe say this, they knew it was impossible; Chen Shouzhe had no reason to deceive them.

"Director Chen, does your company have any plans for a new film?" Yu Dong asked with a smile.

Immediately, many people's eyes lit up. Chen Shouzhe had submitted a script a few days ago, and many guessed it was about Journey to the West, a major IP and a sure-fire money-making project. They had contacted him before, but Chen Shouzhe hadn't agreed to any of them. Now that they couldn't handle the billion-dollar investment abroad, they could settle for a domestic project.

"There's no need for you to do that, Mr. Dong," Wang Changtian said with a smile.

“That’s right,” Ye Ning nodded in agreement.

"What brings you two here?" Huo Wenxi asked, as if something had occurred to him.

"We've already made the arrangements; no funding is needed," Ye Ning said confidently.

He hasn't left Wanda yet. Wanda is rich and powerful, and they could take it all. The problem is that Chen Shouzhe won't give him the chance to take it all. Moreover, this is a big IP, and Chen Shouzhe wants to take even more. Wanda won't get much of a share.

The other companies could only sigh upon hearing this. Sure enough, the same people who were the first to invest in Chen Shouzhe back then are still here today, and Chen Shouzhe is still leading them around.

Yu Dong was probably the one who regretted it the most; he had already gotten on the bus, but then he jumped off.

They were working well together, but he backed down and didn't dare to join the Martian rescue. Coupled with his silence on certain issues, it will be difficult for him to get back on board.

Seeing how well the domestic stock market is doing now, he wants to slap himself a few times for choosing to list overseas.

Fortunately, the delisting process has already begun, and hopefully it will be able to return to the domestic market for listing in the future.

After seeing off the CEOs of these companies, only Wang Changtian and Ye Ning remained.

"The script hasn't been approved yet? Are they going to block it again?" Ye Ning asked with some worry.

"Don't worry, it's been almost ten days. If we wanted to take it back, we would have done so already," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"How many companies are involved this time?" Wang Changtian asked.

Four families have already been confirmed, but they are unsure whether Chen Shouzhe will bring in any more people, since Chen Shouzhe is a very sentimental person.

Xi'an Film Studio helped Chen Shouzhe back then, and even gritted its teeth and followed along during The Martian. Now, Xi'an Film Studio is clinging tightly to Chen Shouzhe's leg, and even with Painted Skin 2 still showing, Xi'an Film Studio has a share in it.

“Six families,” Chen Shou said.

"So many?" Wang Changtian frowned; Guangxian hadn't received much this time.

"Come on, China Film Group has even fewer than you," Chen Shou said.

"China Film Group has fewer than us?" Ye Ning was startled.

“I was originally thinking of getting rid of China Film Group. Over the years, they haven’t been able to play a role in scheduling films. It’s not like when Third Master was around and could still make some moves. Their distribution efforts are not as strong as Enlight Media and other companies.” Chen Shou shook his head.

We've now passed the most difficult period and entered a market-oriented phase. The market is getting bigger and bigger, and companies like China Film Group, apart from having the power of life and death over import and export, will see their situation deteriorate in other areas.

Next month's "A Chinese Ghost Story," as well as the National Day and Lunar New Year film seasons, will all be competing with foreign films. There's not much China Film Group can do, so why should they give them so much of a share?

I've kept only a portion of it now, as a token of kinship, since it has helped me in the past, and I can't say I've thrown it all away.

But giving more is completely unnecessary, as China Film Group can only provide so little feedback.

Wang Changtian had already discussed this topic with Chen Shouzhe; after Zuo Shandiao left, the power of China Film Group became increasingly weak.

Back when Zuo Shandiao was in power, China Film Group was the boss because Zuo Shandiao was domineering enough and he was truly willing to take action.

Now that it's La Dong in charge, he lacks drive, and his influence in the film market is bound to decline.

If we rely on China Film Group and try to hold onto our film business, it will eventually be swallowed up by others.

"What about the other two?" Ye Ning asked.

“My godfather and my master,” Chen Shou said.

“Your godfather has said this many times, especially at Wu Jing’s wedding a few days ago,” Wang Changtian said with a smile after hearing this.

At the same time, he also envied Guo Degang and Yu Qian. Guo Degang was known as a jinx in the film and television industry, but unexpectedly, Chen Shou pulled him along and they have already started to take off.

Of course, he also invested in other movies, but they were still bad movies, as if they were cursed.

Ye Ning did the math. Chen Shouzhe had said he wanted half, so the remaining five companies would each get 50%. Wanda and Enlight Media would each get 15%, China Film Group would get less, but not less than the other two, so it would get 10%, and the last two would each get 5%.

Ye Ning was worried about her future. Chen Shouzhe was unlikely to cooperate with Huayi, and if she went to Huayi, she didn't know if she could still make movies.

However, considering that Huayi is about to reach a market value of over 100 billion, and the shares he can get, plus the huge ship that is Huayi, what movie can't he make?

After seeing the two off at the company, Chen Shouzhe breathed a sigh of relief. However, the outside world was in an uproar, with even more comments online, all discussing Chen Shouzhe's new movie.

After seeing off the capital players in the film and television industry, they still have to deal with harassment from actors.

(End of this chapter)