Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 171 Watching Ghost Movies During Qingming Festival: Strange Postures

Chen Shou didn't see the expressions on the faces of those people at Alibaba; they weren't interesting.

A group of employees, raised by a magical boss, are arrogant and think that money can buy anything.

I don't know what they're showing off about.

When others arrived, Chen Shouzhe remained silent. If you want to stay, stay for tea. If you want to talk about investment, are we that close?
Slowly, Ali's representative left first, then Yu Dong left, leaving very few behind. Huo Wenxi also left helplessly.

Wang Changtian, Liu Xiaobing, Vice Chairman Wang, and Ren Zhonglun are still alive.

The reason they were there was because Chen Shouzhe had called them in advance, and they knew they were part of the pie this time.

"Alright, here you go. Same rules as always. Total investment of 400 million. Director is Guo Fan. My share is at least 40%. Anyone interested, come on in," Chen Shou said.

Because the director isn't Chen Shouzhe, these people need to hesitate. If it were Chen Shouzhe, they wouldn't need to hesitate. A good director doesn't need so many reasons.

Although Guo Fan is also the director of WALL-E, he has never directed a feature film before, especially a science fiction film. The 400 million yuan investment is a challenge for him.

Investors wouldn't entrust their money to a newcomer, even someone who already has some reputation.

Even if they were given 60% to the four companies, they would still have to consider the risks.

Liu Xiaobing didn't stand on ceremony. With a wave of his hand, he said that this was the first deal he had made since taking over Wanda Pictures, and he had to close it quickly and make sure it was worthwhile.

"Wanda 20%."

Following Liu Xiaobing's offer, Enlight Media nodded in agreement, with Wang Changtian stating, "Enlight Media 20%."

“10% from China Film Group won’t do. If Shanghai Film Group doesn’t want it, then 20% from China Film Group will do,” said Vice Chairman Wang.

“The four companies should split it equally, 15% each,” Ren Zhonglun said, but he hesitated again because the director wasn’t Chen Shou; his old problem was still there.

"Let's make it clear first, the movie will probably take about two years to make, so it won't be available anytime soon," Chen Shou said.

Chen Shou's words pleased both Enlight Media and Wanda Media, because the longer the project existed, the more beneficial it would be for them. It would look good financially, and since the movie hadn't been released yet, it would help them stabilize their stock price.

However, there is definitely pressure for state-owned enterprises, as the process is lengthy and the investment returns are slow.

What they care about is not making money, but the return, like the return from taking Tiger Mountain by strategy.

In the end, the two private enterprises each took 10%. It was unrealistic to completely exclude China Film Group. The favors owed from back then were still being maintained. If it were Chairman La, it would be at most 5%, but Vice Chairman Wang and Chen Shou could not possibly reduce their share.

The four companies have signed contracts, and the results will be announced after the casting process is complete.

Many actors are eyeing roles in the film industry. As the script is roughly released, the actors know that two young characters are needed, or even junior high or high school students.

Some so-called fans started leaving messages on Chen Shouzhe's Weibo, recommending their idols, various "brothers" and the like.

Chen Shouzhe didn't even look at it. If the casting was given to Guo Fan, he would decide how to operate and build connections first. He would have the greatest power as the director, and the final decision would definitely be made by Guo Fan.

If Guo Fan had chosen someone with the same "Fan" in their name as him, Chen Shou would have kicked him to death.

WALL-E has been confirmed to be delayed. Now the box office figures for the 20-day period are out. It has already grossed 1.8 billion in the first six days, and all of the first 15 days grossed over 100 million, reaching 3.2 billion. The total box office for the 20-day period is 3.7 billion.

The remaining ten days should reach 4.2 billion, and with the extension for a month, if it continues, the final box office can reach around 4.8 billion.

When this box office prediction came out, the film industry was speechless.

With 1.8 billion to break even and 3 billion to make a profit, even if Chen Shou only gets 40%, he will still have an income of 1.2 billion.

The film earned 1.2 billion yuan at the domestic box office alone. With subsequent copyrights and derivative character copyrights, the film is expected to bring Chen Shouzhe 2 billion yuan in domestic value. In addition, it performed well in Southeast Asia, and the total box office in Southeast Asia is expected to be around 100 million US dollars. The European and American markets are expected to reach 400 million US dollars. Excluding the domestic market, the total global market value is 500 million US dollars.

Based on this calculation, Chen Shouzhe will earn 2 billion yuan from the box office. Earning 2 billion yuan from a single movie, no wonder so many people are envious and want to enter the film industry to make movies.

After roughly calculating the amount of money Chen Shouzhe could get, no film and television company could remain unexcited.

This is still assuming they're eating alone; what if they could share a cup too?

Even before the movie was released, some people had already calculated how much money Chen Shouzhe would receive.

The internet was in an uproar, and some fortune magazines even invited Chen Shouzhe to do an interview.

Chen Shouzhe even made it into overseas news, with one of his films earning $300 million in revenue domestically.

After February, in March, Chen Shouzhe got busy as he prepared to start filming the movie.

The third installment of A Chinese Ghost Story is being filmed, but the lead actor has been changed.

Tong Dawei is not suitable to play a monk, so Ning Caichen was not in the third part. Instead, a little monk was replaced, and the story is about carrying a golden Buddha.

A young monk, an old monk, a young exorcist, and the female ghost Nie Xiaoqian.

When Chen Shouzhe thought of monks, the first person that came to mind was the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon. But when he thought that he might not need his master and that he could probably kill the tree demon with a single slap, he decided to choose someone else.

You must have that kind of naive foolishness, that state of not knowing anything.

Chen Shouzhe chose Cui Peng on the recommendation of a friend; he couldn't very well ask Liang Chaowei to go to him.

The old monk casually found a kind-looking veteran actor, a female ghost who was with Xiaoqian and named Xiaolou, and Chen Shou came over with Liu Yan, whom he hadn't worked with in a long time.

She was ostracized at the wedding of the top male star of Enlight Media, and Chen Shou couldn't stand it anymore, so he called Wang Changtian. Liu Yan wasn't particularly beautiful, but she was well-endowed, which was attractive enough. The original Xiao Lou almost became the gambling king's fifth mistress, but failed and ended up becoming the wife of a kung fu emperor.

With similar actors and no source material to compare them to, filming Chen Shouzhe was much simpler.

With all the actors present, Yan Danchen was also ready.

The production team changed the lead actor, since the story takes place a hundred years later, and Ning Caichen had long since died, turned into bones, and had not become a ghost.

On the contrary, Nie Xiaoqian is still the same ghost.

"What are you doing?"

Inside the hotel, seeing Yan Danchen's strange posture, Chen Shou asked her, somewhat puzzled.

"I heard this can help you get pregnant faster!" Yan Danchen said, hugging her legs.

Chen Shouzhe didn't know what to say for a moment; as long as she was happy, that was all that mattered.

She went to take a shower, lay down on the bed, and only went to shower when she was almost done. After that, she crawled into bed.

"Are you going to the United States after you finish filming?" Yan Danchen asked.

"I won't go anymore, I'll go at the end of the year," Chen Shou said.

"Why at the end of the year? Don't you have a movie coming out in July?"

It's about when happiness knocks on the door. Chen Shouzhe filmed it at the beginning of last year. Post-production is already complete, and the release date is set for July. There are also other things going on, but Chen Shouzhe didn't say them.

"Just leave the film's release to them. As the director, I'll basically stay behind the scenes and let them handle it," Chen Shouzhe said, shaking his head.

"Okay, you're getting busier and busier," Yan Danchen said, hugging Chen Shou.

The two didn't spend much time together, and Chen Shouzhe never took the initiative to contact anyone, revealing his scumbag nature.

Yan Danchen stayed at Chen Shouzhe's villa for two days during the Chinese New Year, and this was their second meeting this year.

Compared to Yang Mi and Reba, she actually spent the most time with Chen Shou because of the movie.

This is already the third installment, but the filming progress hasn't accelerated. The main reason is the change in the male lead. Cui Peng was good at acting in TV dramas before, and he had a classic Hua Wuque look, but he was clearly not very familiar with movies. Putting him in the lead role all at once made it difficult for him to find that state.

To put it bluntly, he just went in with a foolish enthusiasm.

So the movie dragged on for a month and was only halfway done.

In addition, Chen Shou was also busy promoting the second part, so this matter was put on hold for a while.

The second film was released as scheduled on April 1st.

The Qingming Festival is just four days away, and many people are jokingly saying that they have chosen a good time to let their ancestors see how beautiful female ghosts are now.

There is a three-day holiday for Qingming Festival, and it is impossible to worship ancestors every day, plus the special nature of movies.

The pre-sale box office reached 1.2 million yuan on the first day.

There are basically no movies after the Lunar New Year. Everyone has received their salary from last month, so they can go see a movie or go on a date.

The film grossed 2.09 million yuan on its opening day, leading many to exclaim that it would break 15 billion yuan.

When the data came out, everyone gritted their teeth in anger. It was another movie that was monopolizing the profits. This year, Chen had two movies that were monopolizing the profits, and he was going to make a killing.

The key point is that this film had a smaller budget.

It's only a few tens of millions of dollars in investment; a box office of 100 million dollars is enough to break even.

After splitting the billions, I made several hundred million.

Who wouldn't want to make a movie like this? Isn't a movie more entertaining than dieting?

The publicity reached Hong Kong. Originally, Chen Shouzhe didn't want to come because he was doing publicity in Pengcheng, which was closer. So Yang Shoucheng invited him to watch the horse race, and Yan Danchen also wanted to go and buy some things.

So I took the film crew there for a few days.

Hong Kong is famous for its horse racing, mainly because of the gambling element.

Chen Shouzhe liked horses, and Yang Shoucheng, catering to his interests, let him experience horse racing.

While Chen Shouzhe's riding skills were average, horse racing is different from other horses, requiring more sophisticated equestrian skills and long-term training for both the rider and the horse.

"That was great." Chen Shou ran a few laps, still feeling like he hadn't had enough.

“If Director Chen likes it, I’ll buy it and give it to you,” Yang Shoucheng said.

Chen Shou waved his hand at the generous Mr. Yang and said, "Horses have their own battlefields, and it's not suitable for them to stay in the racetrack. I don't have much time to accompany them either, so let's forget it."

That evening, Yang Shoucheng hosted a banquet, and knowing that Chen Shouzhe would attend, many actors from Hong Kong came.

There was no way around it; Chen Shou was a big director in mainland China, and actors all wanted to get to know him. Some film and television company bosses even came uninvited.

(End of this chapter)