Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 138 Home was stolen
No wonder Jiang Wen was upset.

There are differences between people, and between directors.

Despite the great poet's recent decline in performance, he still holds the only award in China.

Regardless of how he obtained it, since his name is on it, it belongs to him.

With his powerful background, many of those people had close ties to him; to put it bluntly, they were all from the same circle.

They can get approved anyway, and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television can only bury their heads in the sand.

It's no wonder so many people are criticizing it; even people in the directing circle are criticizing it privately, but they don't do it publicly out of consideration for face.

If there really were a director who could keep a great poet in check, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television would probably feel the pressure just by taking the lead.

The problem is that nowadays, only the Imperial Preceptor can surpass the great poet.

The Imperial Advisor would never do such a thing. He was even looked down upon by the great poet, after all, the Imperial Advisor could only carry the camera for him back then.

In his eyes, the National Normal University was from a peasant background and could not compare to him at all.

Jiang Wen got completely drunk and went to sleep in the villa.

The two of them hadn't woken up by noon the next day when someone came to their house.

When Jiang Wen got up and saw the person, she was stunned for a moment. The other person was also stunned when they saw Jiang Wen.

"Sister-in-law!!" Jiang Wenshun said.

Yan Danchen's face immediately turned red; she hadn't expected Jiang Wen to be here.

"Director Jiang, what's wrong...?"

"It's nothing, I was just drinking with your man last night," Jiang Wen said with a smile.

"That's enough, hurry up and brush your teeth and eat something," Chen Shou said.

“Hey, you’re something else. Oh well, young man, who hasn’t been young before?” Jiang Wen said.

"Yes, I can't compare to you," Chen Shou said irritably.

“By the way, I want that role,” Jiang Wen said.

"Go and talk to Urshan yourself."

"also."

Jiang Wen smiled and went to brush her teeth. Yan Danchen was a little at a loss. She didn't expect Jiang Wen to be there. She had come to find Jiang Wen because she couldn't get through to Chen Shouzhe's phone in the morning.

"Director Jiang, this is..."

"He's just upset because he felt that 'Let the Bullets Fly' had to be reshot, but Chen Kaige's movie got approved, so he came to me to vent his anger."

"So that's it."

"What are you thinking?"

"No, it's nothing."

Chen Shou glared at her. "Have you eaten?"

"not yet."

"Then come and have something to eat with us."

"it is good."

The aunt prepared the meal, and the four of them ate a simple meal.

Jiang Wen had nothing else to do and had already gone back. Yan Danchen knew that Chen Shou was about to go to the United States, so she came to find him.

After Jiang Wen left, the two waited until dark before going out. They called Tong Dawei and a few others and went to a restaurant.

Paparazzi were taking pictures of them, but there were a lot of people, so it wasn't a big deal.

Soon after, paparazzi posted on Weibo that they had photographed a group of people entering a restaurant.

Initially, only Chen Shouzhe and Yan Danchen were seen, but later Tong Dawei and the others also appeared, which cleared up the misunderstanding.

Yan Danchen even gave a special response.

[Director Chen is going abroad to film a movie and won't be able to make it to the wrap party, so he's celebrating for us in advance. Thank you, Director Chen!!]

In addition, a nine-square grid photo.

You can see the crew members gathered together, having a meal like friends.

The comments section was buzzing with activity, everyone praising her beauty.

The celebration banquet was to be held ahead of schedule, and Chen Shouzhe needed to travel to the United States in advance to prepare.

Filming Gravity was no easy task; the actors had been training for a long time.

This is also one of the advantages of Hollywood: the producer is the focus, and the director is only responsible for filming.

So Chen Shouzhe left many problems to Warner Bros., letting them solve them themselves, and he would just go and film when the time came.

The Matrix is ​​set to be released this year, and Gravity next year.

The great poet Chen was relentlessly criticized, and even with the intervention of the State Administration of Radio and Television, the box office decline could not be stopped, while A Chinese Ghost Story continued to rise.

It grossed 4.88 million yuan in its second week, and its box office exceeded 1.3 billion yuan in two weeks. A film produced independently is aiming for 1.5 billion yuan. This is the advantage of being a great director.

As long as the film is well-made and the marketing is good, it will definitely be a box office success. The company originally planned to release it on Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day), but that would be August, so it would be better to release it during the summer season.

Clearly, the gamble paid off.

With its romance elements, the added bonus of Painted Skin, and Chen Shouzhe's fame, this movie is aiming for a box office of 1.6 billion yuan.

However, there is also bad news: two movies have joined the mid-July battle, one is Anle's Monster Catcher, and the other is Dapeng's Pancake Man.

Chen Shouzhe has already boarded the plane. Both of his movies grossed over 100 million on their opening day, leaving people astonished that the current box office figures are completely incomprehensible. Meanwhile, A Chinese Ghost Story, which used to maintain 40 to 50 million a day, was suddenly slashed at its main artery, leaving it with less than 10 million, a mere 7 million.

Chen Shouzhe had just arrived in the United States and hadn't even reached his hotel when he received a call from Zhong Lifan.

"So much less all at once?" Chen Shou asked in surprise.

“Yes, logically speaking, even the most popular movie wouldn’t be cut so many times all at once, so I have my doubts,” Zhong Lifan said.

"Go and investigate, and also notify Enlight Media and the theaters. I want to see who's trying to take advantage of this."

"We've already sent people to investigate."

"Thank you for your hard work, Sister Zhong."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shou felt a little tired. Even in first class, a flight of more than ten hours is exhausting.

I couldn't sleep after arriving at the hotel because I needed to adjust to the time difference.

The domestic film market appears prosperous, so the fact that "A Chinese Ghost Story" only grossed a little over seven million yuan has surprised many. How could such a large sum disappear so quickly? Enlight Media, the distributor, has begun investigating, and several cinema chains have also started checking. Chen Shouzhe is a major client of theirs, with many films scheduled for release.

After adjusting to the time difference, Chen Shouzhe finally went to sleep, but he couldn't sleep soundly because he had something on his mind.

When he woke up, it was already night in China, and the investigation had not yet been completed.

It wasn't until evening that Zhong Lifan called him.

"Director Chen, we've found the problem."

Where does it come from?

"Theater."

"How much did you steal?"

"The box office revenue is around 40 million over two days."

What did the theaters say?

"They said they would handle it and give us the money back then."

"Nothing else?"

"It's over. They must have reached some kind of agreement with other companies." Zhong Lifan was angry and helpless; she had encountered some kind of unspoken rule. "There are still half a month left. We were planning to reach 1.6 billion, but now we can't."

"I'll handle it," Chen Shou said in a deep voice.

"it is good."

Zhong Lifan didn't know how Chen Shouzhe would handle it, but she knew this matter wouldn't be left unresolved.

The opponent is indeed powerful, but that doesn't mean Chen Shou can be bullied like this.

Chen Shouzhe thought for a moment and decided to try making a phone call first.

"Hey, Director Zhang, this is Chen Shouzhe."

"Director Chen, aren't you in the United States? Why are you calling me?" Zhang Hongsheng asked in surprise.

"Director Zhang, I have a question. My movie's box office revenue was stolen. What should we do about this?" Chen Shou asked directly.

"Uh, your movie had its box office revenue stolen? When did that happen?" Zhang Hongsheng asked, surprised.

"It's been two days already. The box office has been halved from over 40 million to just over 7 million. Director Zhang, can't you see that? Tsk tsk, it seems we need to be careful when making movies in China in the future. It's so hard to make a good movie, and the box office ends up in someone else's hands." Chen Shou sneered.

Zhang Hongsheng immediately understood that Chen Shouzhe's movie box office revenue had been stolen, and he immediately said, "I'll go investigate right away."

"No need for investigation, our company has already found the evidence. We'll just show it to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. Hong Kong capital is really something. It seems that I should use American capital for my future films. Anyway, I also have a company here, so that the legal department here can negotiate with China Film Group."

"Don't be impulsive, I'll give you an explanation."

"Then I won't bother Director Zhang any longer."

Chen Shouzhe first called the Film Bureau, then called Director Tong at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and said the same thing. After the call, he asked Zhong Lifan to send all the materials to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television for processing.

Chen Shouzhe probably couldn't handle much, but he wouldn't just let it go like that.

You can steal, but I can't?

[I never expected my home to be burgled just one day after arriving in the US. What should I do about the thief? I called the police, but the punishment isn't severe. I want to kill him, but I'm afraid of committing a crime. What should I do?]

Chen Shou posted a Weibo post, which quickly became the number one trending topic.

Chen Shouzhe's house was robbed.

The burglary at the home of a famous director has attracted a lot of onlookers.

However, some people in the industry understand that they have also noticed something unusual in the past two days.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, a group of people were having a meeting.

"It seems we've been discovered, but it's alright. As we expected, he won't dare do anything," an executive laughed.

“A movie that’s trying to profit alone, with no allies to help him, and even theaters not on his side, let’s see what he can do.” Another executive smiled.

"Shall we continue?"

"Of course we'll continue."

“Alright, don’t be too ostentatious about getting a good deal. He’s a big commercial film director in mainland China, after all. There’s no need to clash with him. What we want is box office revenue. We can return the money to him. That’s what the theaters said,” Jiang Zhiqiang said, sitting in the main seat.

"We should just eat his money too, who cares?" the executive next to him laughed.

"Judging from his expression, he can only hold it in, hahaha."

Jiang Zhiqiang smiled. He had the ability to do so, but it was a pity that the theaters were difficult to deal with, since Chen Shou was no ordinary person.

"Chairman Jiang, it's a call from the General Administration."

At that moment, the secretary knocked on the door and came in, nervously holding her phone.

Jiang Zhiqiang raised his hand to signal the others to be quiet and took the phone from his secretary.

"Okay, I understand, I'll be right there, yes, yes." Jiang Zhiqiang's smile disappeared, and he nodded and bowed.

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Zhiqiang took a deep breath: "Get ready, I'm going to the capital."

"Did he go to headquarters?" an executive asked.

"Yes, I went to complain to the General Administration. But it's okay. Since the General Administration called me over, it means it's easy to resolve. At worst, I'll just give him more money." Jiang Zhiqiang nodded.

Chen Shouzhe also received a call from the General Administration.

"Director Chen has investigated thoroughly, and they will refund the box office losses of 'A Chinese Ghost Story'," said Director Tong.

"Hasn't it been dealt with?" Chen Shou said calmly.

"After all, they are..."

"Alright, Director Tong, I understand. Looks like I'll have to move. I can't afford to offend them, so I'll just avoid them. Anyway, I'm doing quite well abroad. From now on, I'll invest in movies under the name of a company from out of town. It's not too much for me to steal a little bit then, is it?" Chen Shou said with a smile.

"You, you calm down, stop joking."

"Director Tong, I'm not joking. If it's really going to be like this, then I'm not playing anymore. I can't afford to play this game. Luckily, I'm currently abroad..."

"Calm down first, and I will give you a satisfactory answer."

"It's bad enough that those old fogies in the auditing department bullied me, but now a Hong Kong-funded company has popped up. It seems that society is really divided into different classes. I remember the first class was foreigners. Anyway, I'm abroad now, which is very convenient. When I go back to China, will I have to kowtow to them?"

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"A public apology and tenfold compensation. Give me back ten times what you stole. This is not over until you pay back a penny less."

(End of this chapter)