Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 135 Film Support
"cooperate?"

Chen Shouzhe turned his head and glanced at Ning Hao. This director was very good at road movies. In China, he was one of the few directors whose films could gross over a billion yuan.

Moreover, they have already completed their transformation, joined a company, and the three partners worked together to take the company public.

Unfortunately, their eating manners were terrible; they only thought about eating alone.

Chen Shou shook his head and said, "There are no plans at the moment. The company has many projects that we can't handle on our own, so we have no intention of cooperating with outsiders."

Hearing Chen Shouzhe say this, Ning Hao was somewhat disappointed. The collaboration between Zhou Xingxing and Chen Shouzhe had already proven one thing: Chen Shouzhe's scripts were truly effective.

If Jiang Wen succeeds this time, even more directors will want to work with Chen Shouzhe.

Who wouldn't like a top director who only provides excellent scripts? Many people are willing to be his tools.

Ning Hao, who already has a listed company, understands the operation of capital even better. He knows that just a little bit of news can stimulate the stock market and raise stock prices.

I'll sell some of them later and then I can profit from the losses.

Why not take advantage of such an easy way to make money?

He really couldn't understand why Chen Shouzhe didn't go public; it was by no means an easy task for him to operate his studio on the stock exchange.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Huayi doesn't have many projects right now. It has a deep foundation, including cinema distribution channels, studios for dozens of first- and second-tier celebrities, as well as real estate, hotels, clubs, and more.

It would be difficult for Ning Hao to go public on his own unless he, like Chen Shouzhe, personally controls a large number of intellectual property rights and can continuously generate new ones.

Ning Hao is a bit lazy. After his last film grossed over 1 billion yuan, he hasn't done anything else. Instead, he used his name to run a company that went public.

In his opinion, Chen Shouzhe was willing to make money quickly, but he was still tirelessly making movies, filming both domestically and internationally, with a continuous output of films.

“Director Chen, you can consider it. I’m really short of excellent scripts. If you have a suitable script, we can discuss it,” Ning Hao said with a smile.

If he can really reach a cooperation agreement with Chen Shouzhe, his net worth will increase by at least tens of millions.

There's no possibility of losing money, but unfortunately his company is in Hong Kong. The mainland stock market is just too bullish right now, constantly rising. He's very envious. If he could bring Chen Shou to manage things, he could make a fortune from the movie and another fortune from the stock market, a win-win situation for him.

Did Chen Shouzhe figure it out?
It's clear that Ning Hao isn't the first to have this idea; several listed companies share the same thought, with Alibaba being the most typical example.

They've been eyeing this lucrative opportunity for a long time. If Chen Shouzhe agrees, they're willing to give him all their money, as long as he makes a movie for them, preferably Journey to the West.

They won't invest in directors who are short of money, but they'll aggressively promote directors who aren't short of money, just like banks.

“No, of course. If Director Ning is willing to join our company, we definitely have a suitable film for you,” Chen Shou said.

"Uh..." Ning Hao never expected that he would also be poached.

"Hahaha..." Ning Hao chuckled but remained silent.

"Director Chen, do you think I'm okay?" Huang Bo suddenly asked with a smile.

"You want to be a director?" Chen Shou asked.

"Acting well leads to directing, that's popular now," Huang Bo said with a smile.

"If you're willing to give it a try, I can give you a good script, and the cost isn't high. Do you want to give it a shot?" Chen Shou said suddenly, as if he had just thought of something.

"Really?" Huang Bo's eyes widened immediately, and everyone else in the first-class cabin was also surprised.

Is Huang Bo about to undergo a transformation?

The legendary benefactor's help.

"Are you kidding me? If you're interested, you can give it a try. An investment of ten or twenty million is enough, it's a small investment," Chen Shou nodded.

“Great! I’ll treat you after we get off the plane,” Huang Bo said excitedly.

Who wants to be an actor for life? Actors are only chosen by others. He has been thinking about transitioning to directing for years.

However, being a director isn't easy. First, the script needs to be excellent, and second, the investment needs to be secured.

Now that Chen Shouzhe is providing him with scripts and funding, he is helping him completely. Even if there is a price to pay, Huang Bo feels it's no problem. If he succeeds, he won't be an actor anymore, but director Huang Bo. Who would refuse to become a director?

The others looked at Huang Bo with envy. They also wanted to be directors, but when they thought about their own abilities, they realized they really didn't have the talent.

Ning Hao was surprised that he didn't get the script from Chen Shouzhe, but instead his good friend Huang Bo did.

He was happy but also unhappy. He could come up with an investment of ten or twenty million, but the script was the real issue. With Chen Shouzhe's name on it, Huang Bo was about to take off.

"Okay, let's talk after we get off the plane. I'm going to rest for a bit." Chen Shouzhe picked up the blanket next to him and covered himself with it.

Huang Bo was excited and restless, eager to see the script immediately.

His mind was already racing with images of himself being called Director Huang. Wasn't that how Wuershan succeeded? Now he has a second film, and it's a big IP.

Two hours later, after getting off the plane, Huang Bo was still very excited. He followed Chen Shou off the plane, leaving Ning Hao dumbfounded. His good friend had just run off with someone else.

The conversation between Chen Shouzhe and Huang Bo on the plane quickly spread throughout the Shanghai International Film Festival. Now, people from the film and television industry are everywhere, and any news can spread throughout the entire circle in an instant.

"Should we support Huang Bo to become a director?"

"Damn it, what incredible luck Huang Bo had."

“If you’re good at acting, you can become a director. Why don’t we go and find Director Chen? Maybe we can get a script and funding from him.”

“I think that’s a good idea. We can ask around. We can’t be actors forever.”

"You can also ask Huang Bo about the role."

"Huang Bo not only received investment for the script, but also got a recommendation from Director Chen to act in Mojin: The Lost Legend."

"Really?" "Of course it's true, I heard it all."

"What...what kind of luck does he have?"

Amidst much speculation, Huang Bo has already booked a restaurant and is currently hosting a dinner party.

Ning Hao was also brought along, as Ning Hao was worried that his good friend might be deceived by Chen Shouzhe and wanted to keep an eye on Huang Bo.

“I’ll give you the script when I get back. If you invest, you can direct and star in it yourself, and I’ll give you a certain share as a way of supporting a new director,” Chen Shou said.

"Thank you, Director Chen, thank you, Director Chen." Huang Bo raised a glass of wine to Chen Shouzhao.

"Don't be shy, you can audition for the role of Fatty in 'The Lost Tomb,' it would suit you quite well," Chen Shou said.

After a hearty meal, Chen Shouzhe was so drunk that he would have gotten quite intoxicated if he hadn't been so reluctant to drink. Before he even returned to the hotel, someone called him.

"Director Chen has arrived in Shanghai. Do you have time tomorrow?"

"Chairman Ren, I have other things to do tomorrow, so I won't be going," Chen Shou said.

"I see. Then let's meet at the film festival."

"it is good."

Shanghai is Ren Zhonglun's territory, so we have to give him some face.

A huge poster for "A Chinese Ghost Story" has been made and is hanging in the exhibition hall, along with Wu Jing's movies and "Let the Bullets Fly".

The Shanghai International Film Festival opened the next day.

Chen Shou strolled over to the venue, wondering which movie to watch, when he heard someone calling his name.

"Chen, is it really you..."

He turned around and saw several foreigners walking towards him.

"My God, Roland, what brings you here?" Chen Shou went up and hugged Roland.

"Haha, I thought I was seeing things, it really is you." Roland patted Chen Shouzhe's shoulder hard.

"Director Chen."

"Director Chen, we meet again."

Roland brought a lot of people with him, mostly Hollywood producers and stars, whom he had worked with before.

"You didn't even tell me you were coming," Chen Shou said with delight.

“You must be doing this on purpose. I’ve sent you several emails and you haven’t replied to me,” Roland said.

"Uh, sorry, sorry, I don't have the habit of checking emails. I'm sorry, Roland," Chen Shouzhe said.

"Alright, I forgive you. I heard your movie is premiering here, I'll definitely have to see it," Roland said with a smile.

"Haha, if you like, I have another version of the movie that might give you a shot at the Oscars," Chen Shou said with a laugh.

"Really? Chen, you're going to help me get into the Oscars?" Roland asked excitedly.

“I don’t know either, but you probably aren’t good at this type of movie,” Chen Shou said.

“Chen, you underestimate me. But I do need to watch your movie first,” Roland said, shrugging.

"Want to compete for an Oscar? You two directors should really consider us!!" one of the actors joked.

Oscars, who doesn't want to compete for the Golden Horse Award?

You know, a certain young heartthrob has been trying to make a splash since the last century, and after more than 20 years, he's become a greasy middle-aged man, and he still hasn't won an Oscar.

They had no doubt about Chen Shouzhe's scriptwriting abilities; if they could succeed, it would be a huge boost to their careers.

At the opening ceremony, Chen Shouzhe walked the red carpet and met up with the cast and crew of "A Chinese Ghost Story," including Tong Dawei and Yan Danchen.

For some reason, Chen Shouzhe felt very uneasy, as if a sense of resentment was lingering around him.

"Is it really necessary to harbor such resentment?" Chen Shou asked.

"Hehe, I'll dump you after the movie is finished," Yan Danchen said with a forced smile.

"Whatever you want," Chen Shou said.

"You scumbag, do you really have no feelings at all?" Yan Danchen said through gritted teeth.

“You chose to leave on your own,” Chen Shou said.

"Then you still can't marry me, you bastard. You can't just watch me grow old, can you? If I get old, you'll definitely kick me to the curb. There are plenty of eighteen-year-old girls in the entertainment industry," Yan Danchen said.

“But there’s only one Yan Danchen in the whole world,” Chen Shou said.

"Humph!"

The others kept their eyes straight ahead; having all worked on the same film crew, they were already familiar with this kind of thing and knew it but didn't say anything.

However, quite a few people came to say hello. Many of the Hollywood actors were unfamiliar with the mainland, but they recognized Chen Shouzhe. Many greeted him, and some actresses even hugged him directly.

This made many people aware of Chen Shouzhe's influence and connections in Hollywood, and many people inquired about his new movie, saying they would attend its premiere.

Chen Shouzhe told them it would be tomorrow and invited them to come and see.

(End of this chapter)