Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 161 Box Office and Reviews

"Of the three films released around the same time, my assessment is: God, Mortal, and Garbage."

Let's start with the fact that it's garbage. It's a garbage movie, and the director should take the blame. I can't see anything good about it. Just like his last movie, it has the same low-brow humor that he always has. In my opinion, the humor should be like kung fu. The main plot remains the same, with jokes interspersed throughout.

Instead of focusing on humor and developing a main storyline, this movie relies entirely on the actors' fame, using variety shows and a husband-and-wife team to create a compelling narrative. The quality of the film is not very good.

"Fan" means ordinary, nothing special. In the north, it's more polite to call someone an "old scoundrel," while in the south, it's an "old rogue." They are just like those noble rogues of ancient times. Although things have changed a lot since then, the number of Zhu family members has never decreased.

It's okay, nothing special, but not great. You can barely watch it. I personally have no interest in the young male actors; in fact, I find them disgusting. Their acting is terrible; you can tell they're not from a professional acting school. They have absolutely no acting skills.

Feng Xiaogang's performance was excellent. He plays a typical old scoundrel from the capital, with an innate sense of superiority, making him very suitable for this type of role.

Finally, let me talk about Bullet. In my heart, it is a god. I would say that this movie is a classic. It may not be Chen Shouzhe's best script, but in my opinion, it is his most dedicated script.

I finally understand why Chen Shouzhe was unwilling to give the script to Jiang Wen, and why Jiang Wen would cling to Chen Shouzhe for the script, even at the cost of owing him a favor.

No director could refuse such a brilliant script.

At first glance, you might not understand many of the lines, but upon closer examination, coupled with the collaboration of three top actors, it is, in my opinion, a work that combines social exploration with exceptional acting skills. There's nothing to criticize about this movie.

The original flaw was a certain actor, but the production company completely disregarded the cost and replaced him for a reshoot. You can see a slight disjointedness in the middle, and the actor who appeared on screen was definitely replaced.

In conclusion, director Jiang Wen strictly followed the script during filming, fulfilling her responsibilities as both a director and lead actor very well.

He also admitted that he wanted to change the script, but didn't know where to start. Moreover, director Chen Shouzhe had said that if he changed his script, the film would not be made.

The collaboration between the two reminded me of the kung fu of Chen Shouzhe and Stephen Chow back then, with Stephen Chow also serving as director and lead actor. I really hope more people will go to the cinema to appreciate this movie.

As for the many digressions, I won't go into them. Everyone can find their own answers in this film, and I hope there will be many different interpretations.

A movie review from a rating website received countless likes, resonating deeply with many viewers.

The comments below are almost all the same.

"Having watched three movies with six women, I can say I agree with your film review."

"Although I haven't seen it yet, all my friends who have seen it have this opinion. They've already bought tickets and will go see 'Let the Bullets Fly' later."

"I give this movie a 9 out of 10. The reason I lost one point is because there were some parts I didn't understand."

"There are too many metaphorical parts. It's hard to doubt that Chen Shouzhe is trying to say something or to criticize certain people."

Did Huang Silang ultimately die or not?

"The sun rose as usual, and Zhang Muzhi continued to ride his horse, even as the sun set."

"There will always be fighters in the fight, and there will always be advisors, people like Huang Silang."

The word-of-mouth was already out by the third day, which happened to be Saturday, and the box office results came out on Sunday.

The villain's value dropped to 4400 million, and the old scoundrel's value dropped to 4230 million, so the house price also fell.

"Let the Bullets Fly" grossed 1.04 million yuan, successfully breaking the 100 million yuan mark, with a box office of 2.51 million yuan in three days.

Three movies can't be released in the same period, and you can usually tell whether a movie is good or bad in three days.

The most prominent ones are the cinema chains; they know best how the movies are doing and start adjusting the screening schedule.

The screenings of "The Villain" were reduced from over 30 to 20, and "The Old Scoundrel" was reduced from 30 to 25. The 15 slots were all added to "Bullets," bringing the total to around 45, and the remaining 10 slots were allocated to other films.

On the fourth day, the box office continued to break 100 million yuan, reaching 1.27 million yuan. Many people watched it a second time, and those who watched it a second time found it more and more enjoyable.

Online comments offer various interpretations, analyzing the characters' psychology and the underlying meanings of every word they utter.

Who exactly is director Chen Shouzhe satirizing?

"It seems like no one was mentioned, yet everyone was talked about."

"The first time I watched a movie, I felt that my life experience was insufficient, and I needed the explanations of the experts to understand it."

"Don't try to understand other people's explanations. First, develop your own understanding, then look at other people's analyses. Combining them will give you different insights."

"It's really amazing that it passed the review. The absurd story is full of drama, which is just like our lives now."

"What makes a good movie? This is it, fucking."

The movie became a hit with word of mouth, and more and more people joined the discussion. Jiang Wen continued to lead people to promote the film in various places.

Many people ask him what the movie is about. Jiang Wen laughs and says to ask Chen Shouzhe. The script is his, and he can say whatever he wants.

According to Chen Shouzhe's logic, if a movie is poorly made, then whoever deserves the blame should be blamed.

If the plot is bad, blame the director; if the director is bad, blame the director; if the actors are bad, blame both the actors and the director. The director of "Let the Bullets Fly" was fine, the screenwriter was fine, and the three leading actors, all award-winning actors, delivering outstanding performances were also fine.

It has all the elements a good movie should have.

"Director Jiang Wen, will you work with Director Chen Shouzhe again in the future?" a reporter asked.

"I don't know, let's see what scripts he has first. But he really has a lot of scripts, a lot of good ones. I'll go to his study to look for them another day. If he doesn't give them to me, I'll stay at his house," Jiang Wen said happily.

Emperor Entertainment is the happiest right now. Hong Kong films are already declining and have no choice but to move north to embrace the mainland market.

Compared to other companies, Emperor Entertainment started relatively late. Anle and others started much earlier. Now, with the help of Jiang Wen and Chen Shouzhe, Emperor Entertainment has established a firm foothold in mainland China and is making a lot of money.

Yang Shoucheng had already started thinking about what gift to give Chen Shouzhe. He knew that Chen Shouzhe liked animals, so he had given him two horses before, and later some others. He had given him a woman, but Chen Shouzhe refused. After thinking it over, Yang Shoucheng brought an antique to the horse farm in person.

"Mr. Yang?"

Chen Shou was walking his horse when Yang Shoucheng and Huo Wenxi arrived unexpectedly.

Yang Shoucheng and Huo Wenxi were both incredulous when they saw Chen Shou sitting in the car.

Chen Shou's current state is completely different from what they imagined.

On the handcart, the kind with two wheels, made of steel, with two pneumatic tires and two handles tied to ropes, pulled by an adult dwarf horse, Chen Shou sat on it, his lap bulging, a child wrapped in his down jacket, only a rosy little face showing, crystal clear, smiling happily.

"Shut up!"

Chen Shouzhe pulled on the reins, and the miniature horse stopped. Chen Shouzhe carefully dismounted, carrying the child, who continued to smile.

"Daddy play, Daddy play."

The child, who is over one year old, is at the age where she loves to play the most, and Chen Shou now spends every day with her at the horse farm playing with her.

To allow the miniature horses to exercise, an indoor enclosure was built, and the temperature was controlled so it wouldn't be too cold.

It's almost January now, which is the coldest time of year.

"Dad will play with you later, let's go back first, okay?" Chen Shou said softly.

"No, no, let's keep playing."

"Director Chen, is this your daughter?" Yang Shoucheng was visiting the horse farm for the first time and saw Chen Shou holding the child in his arms with a smile on his face.

“Mani!”

"Director Chen, this is a gift that Mr. Yang prepared for your daughter." Huo Wenxi took out a box, and inside was a piece of lush green jade. Chen Shou was well-informed and knew a lot about jade; he had one too, and estimated it would cost tens of thousands of yuan.

"This is too valuable, Mr. Yang, you should take it back," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"Director Chen, you're too kind. The movie was a success, and Emperor Entertainment made a lot of money. I was planning to give you a red envelope, but since you've earned more than me, I'll give you a gift instead," Yang Shoucheng said directly.

He understood Chen Shouzhe's personality; he preferred directness, as he liked straightforward methods and disliked roundabout approaches.

"No need, I earn so much more than you, why would I need a gift from you? I haven't even thanked you yet. You should give this gift to Director Jiang Wen; he needs it," Chen Shou said with a smile.

“I’ve also prepared a copy. I’ll send it to him when he returns to the capital,” Yang Shoucheng said with a smile.

"I'll have to prepare a gift for him too. Thank you for your hard work." Chen Shou nodded.

Jiang Wen has indeed worked hard, so she definitely deserves a red envelope, and only they should pay for it; China Film Group can't possibly pay for the rest.

The red envelope should be given to Jiang Wen, since he spent a lot of money on reshoots for the movie. Regardless of what happened before, now that he's making a profit, he should make up for the losses he incurred, so that there can be future cooperation.

As for the actors, we need to make up for some of the shortfall with Ge You, but we don't need to make up for the rest, since they've all already received a lot, especially Zhou Juanjuan, whose salary is the highest and who doesn't cooperate with the publicity.

Yang Shoucheng came to see Chen Shouzhe for the same purpose: to get closer to Chen Shouzhe and continue their cooperation, and also to discuss compensation for Jiang Wen.

Although he was also a producer, the reshoots were a significant blow to him. As the director and lead actor, he deserved a reward for his hard work, and it had to be substantial.

Yang Shoucheng sent four gifts: an antique fan for Chen Shouzhe and Yu Qian, and a piece of jade for his teacher's wife and daughter. The total amount was quite considerable.

This is a bit too hot to handle. We'll definitely be cooperating in the future, since Chen Shou can't just give away a piece of braised pork, can he?

In return, Emperor Motion Pictures is still included when there are suitable movies. They really know how to behave, at least better than Shanghai Film Group and Bona Film Group. They didn't stab him in the back, and they even chose not to get involved in Anle's affairs. They clearly value Chen Shouzhe's friendship more.

While "Let the Bullets Fly" was still conquering territory, Jiang Wen confidently declared her intention to aim for 2 billion.

The people in the film and television industry envy are someone else entirely.

(End of this chapter)