Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 152 Handling, Final Box Office

He tried to be polite first, but the other party didn't name him. However, Chen Shou was not the kind of person who would sit idly by and wait to be killed.

He knew this teacher; he was one of the teachers in the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy. Chen Shouzhe was one of his students, but Chen Shouzhe hadn't seen him many times during the years he studied there, so they weren't very close.

Aside from his three years of undergraduate studies at the Beijing Film Academy, he hardly ever went to graduate school. Even when he did go, it was only to visit his own advisor and he had little to do with the other professors.

Chen Shouzhe remembered that this teacher was there when he defended his thesis, and gave him a very low score.

It's been two or three years since I graduated.

Back in October, the Beijing Film Academy did send him an invitation, and it was sent in advance. However, Chen Shou was filming Gravity abroad at the time and didn't have time to come back. Later in October, he also had to film A Chinese Ghost Story and promote The Taking of Tiger Mountain, so he didn't attend the school's anniversary celebration.

I never expected that people would scold him for this.

Many people didn't go. Hundreds of celebrities attended the Beijing Film Academy's 65th anniversary celebration. What about the rest? Did they not want to go?
To put it bluntly, it depends on your fame; if you're not famous, you won't be invited.

Since graduating from the Beijing Film Academy, Chen Shouzhe has rarely returned to the academy, only three or four times. Once was for promoting kung fu, and the rest were mainly to visit his teacher, Professor Wang Hongwei.

He also called Wang Hongwei.

"Teacher, how have you been feeling lately?" Chen Shou asked.

“I’m fine, I can eat and sleep well. Did you call me because of Teacher Zhang?” Wang Hongwei asked.

"Yes, they're practically calling me out by name. I'm wondering whether I should respond. You know I can be quite ruthless when I curse," Chen Shou said with a chuckle.

"Let me talk to him. Honestly, he doesn't think before he speaks. But you too, it's such a big event for the school anniversary, why not just take leave and come? Why do you have to separate yourself from the school?" Wang Hongwei had a falling out with the school leaders because of this. The school leaders wanted Chen Shouzhe to come back, after all, Chen Shouzhe is now an internationally renowned commercial film director.

The Beijing Film Academy even prepared a trophy for him, but Chen refused to give him any face, saying he was busy making a movie and dismissed him.

People like the Imperial Advisor have all returned, but he's the only one missing, which is bound to cause resentment among the school leaders.

Wang Hongwei naturally defended himself, saying that because of the incident involving the outstanding graduate, coupled with the comments made by a teacher at the Beijing Film Academy about Chen Shouzhe's film that year, which ultimately grossed over two billion worldwide, the relationship between the Beijing Film Academy and Chen Shouzhe had become very distant. Apart from a few teachers, Chen Shouzhe was very disappointed with the Beijing Film Academy.

The school is more realistic than the outside world, especially considering the changes at Beijing Film Academy in recent years.

Among those students who were admitted to the school, there were no ordinary students left; everyone had connections.

Every summer vacation, there are tons of tutoring classes outside, and 100% of them are run by school teachers. Only those from well-off families can get in.

The film and television industry has been incredibly popular in recent years, attracting many people eager to make money. The status of public figures also gives them an air of superiority, with a large entourage of bodyguards protecting them whenever they go out.

The best way to enter the film and television industry is definitely through art schools. The three major art schools are naturally the first choice, especially the Beijing Film Academy, which is known for producing stars. In recent years, it has placed more and more emphasis on appearance, resulting in a large number of beauties appearing at the Beijing Film Academy's entrance exams every year, such as "Little Liu Yifei," "Little Yang Mi," and "Little Yang Ying," who seem to be trying to gain attention by impersonating others.

Whether or not he is an outstanding graduate is irrelevant to Chen Shouzhe; he doesn't rely on that for a living.

The problem is, if you don't want to give it to me, you don't give it to me, but you still criticize my movie for being bad, for making a foreign language film, for making a movie that is nothing, and then my movie becomes a big hit, and you shamelessly call yourself an outstanding alumnus.

I'm not even an outstanding graduate, so when did I become an outstanding alumnus?
Anyway, I called Wang Hongwei; how to proceed is up to the school.

If he responded, it would be as if he had acknowledged that the person was him, so Chen Shou ignored him.

The situation online is escalating, with a group of people appearing out of nowhere to start criticizing Chen Shouzhe. After all, Chen Shouzhe isn't money, and not everyone likes him, so it's normal for people to criticize him.

However, he also had supporters, as many people had experienced the same thing back then, and they immediately retorted.

"When they need something from someone, they're considered outstanding alumni; when they don't, they're seen as ungrateful ingrates. Are all teachers in schools so materialistic these days?"

“I feel I’m even more snobbish than Guo Degang. Guo Degang taught his apprentice for over ten years, and after being stabbed, he cried out in pain. How can he expect to work for you even after graduating from your school?”

"The funniest thing is that after graduation, they cut their losses and said that other people's works were nothing, but the box office was more than 300 million US dollars, which is enough to show that not everyone from so-called professional schools has the level of appreciation."

"We respect teachers because we respect their profession, not because we respect certain individuals."

"An ungrateful wretch who doesn't even recognize his school after gaining fame."

"When an apprentice leaves his master, he gets scolded; when a student graduates and doesn't return to school, the student gets scolded. It's such a double standard, isn't it?"

Are all teachers at the Beijing Film Academy like this?

"Director Chen Shou will swallow this insult; he can be quite ruthless when he curses."

“He didn’t name names, so he could easily deny that he was talking about Chen Shouzhe.”

The Beijing Film Academy (BFA) naturally remained silent, and the entire entertainment industry was quiet. Everyone knew the person being referred to was Chen Shouzhe, and they were dissatisfied with BFA's actions. In an industry where one person elevates another, suddenly belittling a major director puts them, as BFA students, in a difficult position. Supporting the school? That would be idiotic. Supporting Chen Shouzhe might earn them his friendship. Which big-name celebrities are keeping quiet? There's no need to offend either side.

But schools are different, especially the Central Academy of Drama, their arch-rival, who love to watch the drama unfold.

The Central Academy of Drama's strongest department is acting, while the Beijing Film Academy's strongest department is directing. The Central Academy of Drama has long coveted Chen Shou, and it would be ideal if they could recruit him into the Central Academy of Drama.

Popularity is fleeting. Since the Beijing Film Academy remains silent and Chen Shouzhe is also silent, this matter will end here.

Chen Shou is just like Zhao Ritian, always ready to criticize everything. But the teachers at the Beijing Film Academy will be more careful with their words in the future.

"The Taking of Tiger Mountain" is still showing in theaters, but the box office is already very low, hovering around ten million a day. It's impossible for it to reach two billion. As a patriotic film, it's quite satisfactory for everyone involved. Wanda has called several times to invite people to dinner.

Chen Shouzhe also had guests. He said he needed to rest, so not many people came. But Jiang Wen's whole family came yesterday, so many people in the industry started to come and visit Chen Shouzhe one after another.

Maintaining relationships with big directors requires effort; you never know, you might just get a role in the future.
If others want to move around but can't, how can you move around if you're not familiar with the area?

Huang Xiaoming brought his wife. They had a grand wedding in October this year, which was attended by many people from the entertainment industry. Chen Shouzhe didn't go because he simply didn't have the time. He could only send a gift through his mentor, Yu Qian.

I never expected that they would come knocking on our door so soon after our honeymoon.

It was Yang Ying's first time visiting the horse farm, and she was very curious about it. She stayed quietly by Huang Xiaoming's side. She was indeed very beautiful, no wonder she could make the leader so infatuated.

"I'm sorry, Brother Xiaoming, I couldn't make it to your wedding," Chen Shou said with a smile.

“It’s normal that you’re busy. I’d like to invite you alone.” Huang Xiaoming genuinely wanted to thank Chen Shouzhe.

Chen Shouzhe and Hua Yi didn't have a good relationship to begin with, yet Chen Shouzhe still gave him a role and helped him open up the global market and go international. He was kind enough to help him. Even if Chen Shouzhe didn't attend his wedding, what could he possibly complain about? Besides, Chen Shouzhe was busy with work, so it was understandable.

He happened to be in the capital, so he called ahead and came over with gifts and his wife.

Looking at Huang Xiaoming in front of him, Chen Shou couldn't help but sigh. He really knew how to get along with people. Even though he had a relationship with Huayi, he couldn't bring himself to dislike Huang Xiaoming.

Although his acting skills are inconsistent and he has a penchant for domineering CEOs, it cannot be denied that Huang Xiaoming is a very good person with a great temperament and personality.

Chen asked them to stay for a meal, but the two of them had other things to do in the afternoon, so they didn't leave until they finished eating.

The couple sat in the back of the car, with the driver in front. The van had a partition, so those in the front couldn't see those in the back, making it difficult for the driver to know what might happen in the back.

"Do you think I have a chance to act in Director Chen's movie? I really love A Chinese Ghost Story," Yang Ying said, looking at her husband.

"Director Chen has very high standards for acting skills," Huang Xiaoming said with a smile.

"You're saying my acting is bad, humph!" Yang Ying glared at Huang Xiaoming with her beautiful eyes, looking playful and cute, which melted Huang Xiaoming's heart. He was extremely fond of his little wife.

“It’s not like there’s no chance. The acting requirements for science fiction movies aren’t too high. If Director Chen makes another science fiction movie, maybe we’ll have a chance to give it a try,” Huang Xiaoming said, putting his arm around Yang Ying.

"Really?" Yang Ying asked happily.

"We can give it a try," Huang Xiaoming nodded.

As for A Chinese Ghost Story, forget it. Yang Ying really can't portray the charm of that kind of female ghost. Besides, Chen Shouzhe and Yan Danchen's relationship is semi-public in the industry. Are you suggesting he'd drag his wife into it?
Although he already had capital, compared to Chen Shouzhe, what good was money if he didn't have outstanding projects? At most, he was just a small-time investor. Ordinary actors might look at him with a second glance, but in front of the real big shots, he was simply not good enough.

On November 26th, "The Taking of Tiger Mountain" finally finished its run in theaters, and the film's box office reached its lowest point, with only 2.2 million and 1.4 million yuan remaining in the last two days.

However, the film earned 18.36 billion yuan, and it was a patriotic film.

Multiple official media outlets published articles, and the Film Bureau also issued an announcement, making state-owned enterprises such as the August First Film Studio, China Film Group, and Shanghai Film Group even more delighted.

It's unprecedented for a patriotic film to achieve such high box office results.

Chen Shouzhe's name was once again reported by major media outlets, and he pioneered a new path.

China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group are vying for the celebratory banquet again, with Shanghai Film Group even planning to hold the banquet in Shanghai.

As a result, China Film Group swiftly defeated them with a single sentence: "Our market share is higher than yours."

Ren Zhonglun is probably so angry about this that he won't be able to sleep.

However, the production company's biggest envy wasn't the three state-owned enterprises, but rather three other private companies: Wanda, Daqian World, and Deyun Society. Because of their good relationship with Chen Shouzhe, these three companies made money effortlessly, and at the celebration banquet, Guo Degang's ever-present smile was a common sight.

(End of this chapter)