Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 136 Stock Market Crash, Still Laughing or Not?

To promote his film, Chen Shou walked the red carpet for the second time, using someone else's platform.

He rarely participates in domestic award ceremonies. The Shanghai International Film Festival is held every year in mid-June, which is a crucial time for the summer movie season. Since Chen Shou has a movie being released, he naturally cannot miss this important promotional platform.

Of course, the organizers also hoped that he could present awards and even attend more forums.

As the director with the highest box office in China, he always negotiates with others when they make requests.

Chen Shou only agreed to walk the red carpet; he'd rather skip the awards ceremony. As for the forum, he'd consider attending, since it was just another internet charade.

I haven't seen them make any movies, but their concepts are even more impressive than Mr. Jia's cars.

Since stock market investors aren't smart anyway, they might as well keep fleecing them.

"Next, please welcome the cast and crew of 'A Chinese Ghost Story,' director Chen Shouzhe, lead actors Tong Dawei and Yan Danchen..." The host picked up the microphone.

Media cameras on both sides pointed their lenses at them. There were no big names in their film crew, and no fans cheering on either side. They walked over to the autograph board and signed their names.

"Director Chen, it seems you haven't submitted any of your films for awards. Are you interested in making an award-winning film?" the host suddenly asked Chen Shou.

"There are no plans at the moment," Chen Shou said, shaking his head.

"So when is there a plan?" the host asked.

"I don't know. I don't know which movie is suitable for winning awards. If someone tells me that a movie is sure to win an award, then I will definitely make it," Chen Shou said with a smile.

Those around him laughed when they heard this, and Chen Shouzhe's words had two meanings.

Making an award-winning film doesn't guarantee an award, and besides, who knows what the judges' tastes are?

Chen Shou saw no need to carry someone else's sedan chair.

The host didn't know how to continue the interview, so after saying a few words, he let Chen Shou leave.

There wasn't much else inside the venue, just a red carpet walk.

Because of the premiere, Chen Shouzhe needed to go and check out the venue. In addition, Chen Kaige was also holding a premiere, and it was even more high-profile than his.

The next day, Chen Shouzhe's movie premiered earlier, so he held a premiere ceremony first.

Many people from the international film industry came because of Chen Shouzhe's reputation. Even though it was a film festival and an awards ceremony, who would refuse a film by a commercially renowned director?

Chen Shouzhe also said there was another version that could win awards. He said it yesterday, and today even Hollywood on the other side of the ocean knows about it.

After all, the name Chen is already memorable to many people.

There were quite a few people who came, but Chen Shouzhe didn't see Chen Kaige. Since he wasn't coming, he wouldn't go tomorrow either. He would just wait and watch the show.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I won't say much more. Let's watch the movie first, and we'll talk afterwards," Chen Shou said with a smile as he stood on the stage, looking at the large group of familiar faces below, with many media personnel behind him.

This is a film produced independently by a film studio, while the distribution is handled by Enlight Media, so Lao Wang has a lot of experience in this area.

Many people in the industry came for the story of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. Painted Skin has been a success, and it still grosses more than 20 million a day. It is still very strong, and 700 million is no problem.

As the second film adaptation of Liaozhai, if successful, Liaozhai will become a major IP in everyone's mind.

The subject matter is a bit unusual, so getting it approved is a little troublesome.

A classic is a classic. The actors may not have reached the perfection that Chen Shouzhe needed, but they are already among the best actors with acting skills that can be found now. In addition, there is no classic to precede it, so this movie is the first one.

The entanglement between humans and ghosts in this period ghost film has caught the eye of many Japanese and Korean directors and screenwriters who love Chinese culture, making them even more fond of this movie.

As the movie ended and the credits rolled, some people started clapping, and the applause grew louder and louder.

Chen Shou led the main cast onto the stage. Next was the Q&A session, where they had to answer some media interviews so that people could write articles praising them.

This is also part of the promotion, and those who get in have more or less received a red envelope (cash gift).

"Director Chen, I'd like to ask, why did you choose to make this film? As far as I know, you seem to prefer science fiction films."

"There's no particular preference or bias. I just filmed it because I liked it. A Chinese Ghost Story is a story from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, and it's in the same series as Painted Skin. At the time, Journey to the West was airing, and when I saw the scene of Havoc in Heaven, there was a fairy named Chang'e dancing gracefully. That's when I thought of this script, and I decided to film it on a whim," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"Did you decide to film A Chinese Ghost Story because you saw Yan Danchen?" the reporter asked in surprise.

Both on and off stage were visibly surprised, not expecting that the decision to film was made because of an actor.

Yan Danchen smiled. She already knew. She thought Chen Shou had been eyeing her since watching Journey to the West, so he was making the movie so he could sleep with her.

Hmph! That must be it!!
Many actresses in the audience looked at Yan Danchen with envy as she smiled. This was a matter of first impressions; she was spotted by a great director at first glance.

"That's right, I decided to film because I saw my senior," Chen Shou nodded.

"I heard that Tong Dawei wasn't originally cast as the male lead, so how did he end up being chosen?"

"Because he's suitable; he portrays the state a nerd should be in."

...The reporters had already asked all the questions, so there wasn't much left to ask.

At this moment, a reporter suddenly asked, "Director Chen Shouzhe, your film is going head-to-head with Chen Kaige's. Who do you think will win?"

The question elicited a playful look from many, eager to see how Chen Shouzhe would answer. A bad answer could lead to a fight, with the two directors potentially coming to blows, which was quite exciting.

"You're giving me a bit of trouble." Chen Shou smiled and said, "But it's alright. As for the box office, I'll leave it to the audience. I'm always prepared to lose money. If movies were guaranteed to make money, everyone would be making movies. So let the market decide. Besides, I haven't seen any of Chen Kai's movies, so I can't make any conclusions. We'll know once the movies are released."

"Director Chen, I heard that Huang Bo is going to be a director, is that true?"

"This is the premiere of A Chinese Ghost Story, why are you all asking these kinds of questions? It's not decided yet, we'll announce it when we have the results."

The reporter was still not satisfied with the answer, but the interview was almost over.

Chen Shou still spent money to treat everyone present to a meal, treating it as a gathering.

On the 23rd, Chen Shou stepped into the so-called forum with a big smile.

Many people at the forum didn't look too good, and even Wang Changtian had a frozen expression.

"Oh, isn't this President Wang? Congratulations!" Chen Shou knew he wasn't saying this to Wang Changtian, but to Wang Zonglei.

These words, when spoken, sounded like nothing more than jarring to many.

Since the 19th, cancer stocks have started to surge. Yesterday, Monday the 22nd, there was another round of market openings, and the stock price plummeted again. The entire entertainment industry was affected, with companies like Huayi Brothers and Enlight Media all hitting their daily limit down.

Today is the 23rd, and as soon as the market opened this morning, there was another wave of groans and lamentations.

On the 19th, everyone thought it was just a normal adjustment, but it started to gain momentum on the 22nd, and by the 23rd, there were already signs of a stock market crash.

Huayi is aiming for a market capitalization of 100 billion yuan. It suddenly dropped from 90 billion to over 70 billion in just three days, which shows how deadly the A-share market is.

Faced with Chen Shouzhe's sarcasm, Wang Zonglei's smile vanished.

"Director Chen, are you laughing at me?" Wang Zonglei said.

"No, no, no, I'm just congratulating you. I heard your company has another project. What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Chen Shou said with a smile.

"Humph!"

Wang Zonglei didn't say anything, turned his head and left.

"Chairman Wang, were any innocent people harmed?" Chen Shou asked Wang Changtian.

“It’s already injured,” Wang Changtian said irritably.

"Hahahaha." Chen Shouzhe's laughter was a bit grating, but they really had no choice, because Chen Shouzhe's company wasn't listed on the stock exchange, so it had no impact on them at all.

Other companies are in a worse situation; they're all issuing announcements saying it's a normal adjustment.

However, the collapse was inevitable, and no one wanted to continue holding on after the price had already fallen so much.

"It's alright. Guangxian is a company that gets things done, not the kind that just brags. Those kinds of companies are worth at most a few billion, and tens of billions are just balloons," Chen Shou said sarcastically.

"Billions? Are you kidding me?" Wang Changtian thought Chen Shou was crazy. How could Huayi be worth only billions?

It's the top private enterprise in the media sector, after all. If it's only worth a few billion, wouldn't Enlight Media be in an even worse situation?

"A perfectly good film production company went into real estate. If Chairman Wang knew about the small businesses next door, you would know how ruthless they are. They have to pay for real estate. Moreover, Huayi has also abandoned its film production, making it even worse in terms of film production. Besides those celebrity studios, their company also has cinemas. How much is that worth?" Chen Shou said with a smile.

"It can't really be that bad, can it?" Wang Changtian was startled.

“Just wait and see. I’ve never had a good feeling about Huayi. They’ve put the cart before the horse. The higher-ups have given them so much support, and instead of making movies, they’ve gone into real estate. Isn’t that asking for trouble? They’ve lost their core business. Do you think Huayi can come back? I’m not going to let them come back,” Chen Shou said in a deep voice.

Wang Changtian glanced at Chen Shouzhe and realized that despite his youth, Chen Shouzhe was quite cunning.

If Huayi really crashes, Chen Shouzhe's methods will only become more ruthless in the future.

But it's exciting to think about. One whale falls and all things come to life. Huayi falls, and Enlight Media becomes the boss.

"Director Chen, I'm waiting for your good news. Please bring Guangming along for more projects," Wang Changtian said.

"We should all work together," Chen Shou said with a smile.

It was supposed to be a forum, but it looked so lifeless that everyone seemed to have lost a lot of money.

Even Alibaba didn't dare to be so arrogant this time, after all, the people present had a net worth of at least a few million, and at most several hundred million.

After Chen Kaige's premiere ended, Chen Shouzhe encountered the celebrities who came out. They all kept quiet, clearly having seen the content, and knew they had to shut up. The reporters had also accepted red envelopes.

We'll see what the State Administration of Radio and Television says when it's released. Big directors are so powerful, they're fearless.

(End of this chapter)