Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 172: No Face Given

To be honest, Chen Shouzhe doesn't really like Hong Kong. If there are Celestial Dragons in this world, then Hong Kong is one of them.

The phrase "to be arrogant because of one's privileged status" is used to describe people from Hong Kong.

We've been too kind to them, making them think they're Celestial Dragons.

They look down on people from mainland China.

He wouldn't have come if Yang Shoucheng hadn't invited him.

Chen Shouzhe likes parties, but he doesn't like parties with strangers.

Yang Shoucheng was unaware of this, while Chen Shouzhe thought it was just an ordinary gathering, only to find a large number of Hong Kong stars had arrived.

"Mr. Yang, I'm not feeling well, so I'll head back to the hotel first," Chen Shou said, looking at the large crowd gathered there.

Yang Shoucheng didn't expect Chen Shouzhe to say that, and thought he hadn't done things properly.

"What's wrong with Director Chen? Should we call a doctor?" Yang Shoucheng asked.

"I'm feeling a bit unwell due to the change in environment, so I won't stay any longer. Have fun, everyone." Chen Shou waved and left with Yan Danchen.

Yang Shoucheng saw them off at the door, and many celebrities craned their necks to look in their direction. They knew that the main character was Chen Shouzhe, so why did he leave as soon as he came in?

It's not that they're disrespecting him, but Chen Shou's personality is similar to his godfather Lao Guo's. He feels comfortable with acquaintances, but if the other person is unfamiliar or someone he doesn't know and doesn't have anything in common with, having to socialize like this will annoy him.

I feel inexplicably irritable and uneasy.

This is a social emotion; the more people there are, the less relaxed you feel, unless they are people you know.

"Director Chen, you should go back and rest first. I'll come see you again tomorrow." Yang Shoucheng didn't dare to force Chen Shouzhe and personally saw them off to their car.

The assistant next to him wanted to speak several times, but held back in the end. After Chen Shouzhe's car left, he said to Yang Shoucheng, "Yang Sheng, he's really not giving you any face. You've been fine all day, so why are you suddenly feeling unwell? This is disrespecting you."

"Shut up, make a call to Mani," Yang Shoucheng said in a deep voice.

Yang Shoucheng called Huo Wenxi and explained the situation.

Huo Wenxi immediately understood. She often stayed in the capital and knew the personalities of the bosses of major film and television companies. She knew Chen Shouzhe even better.

“Yang Sheng, you made a mistake this time,” Huo Wenxi said.

"What did I do wrong?" Yang Shoucheng asked, puzzled.

“Chen Shouzhe actually prefers quiet. If you're hosting a dinner party and it's just you and your female companion, it's fine. But if there are too many people, he'll get annoyed. Are you hosting a banquet and inviting a lot of people? That will make him feel uncomfortable or even uneasy,” Huo Wenxi said.

"I'm sorry, Mani. I didn't know he was this kind of person before. I originally wanted to hold a banquet to show how much I valued him, but I didn't expect him to be that kind of person. After all, I had only met him at various celebration banquets before." Yang Shoucheng immediately understood and apologized.

“That’s on the surface, it’s work. In private, the simpler the better. He thought it was just a regular dinner party, but you invited so many people. I still need to explain to him, just in case he leaves overnight,” Huo Wenxi said.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mani," Yang Shoucheng said.

"It's what I should do," Huo Wenxi said. She was about to call Chen Shouzhe, so she hung up without saying much more.

Yang Shoucheng handed his phone to his assistant. A car arrived shortly after, and a middle-aged couple and a young man got out. Yang Shoucheng's face darkened when he saw them.

"Yang Sheng, it's been a long time." The other person smiled and reached out his hand when he saw Yang Shoucheng.

One doesn't hit a smiling face, so Yang Shoucheng extended his hand to shake his and said, "Xiang Sheng, what brings you here?"

"I heard that Director Chen is here. Zuo'er has long admired Director Chen, so I came to pay a visit. Has Director Chen not arrived yet?" Xiang Huaqiang asked, looking inside. After all, Yang Shoucheng was outside the door, so it was very likely that the distinguished guest had not yet arrived.

Yang Shoucheng was glad that Chen Shouzhe wasn't there, otherwise it would have made Chen Shouzhe even more unhappy. He wasn't interested in anyone in Hong Kong except Emperor Entertainment and Star Overseas, especially this family in front of him.

Before Yang Shoucheng could speak, another luxury car arrived, and the people who got out surprised both Yang Shoucheng and Xiang Huaqiang.

"Jiang Sheng?!" Yang Shoucheng exclaimed in surprise when he saw the person getting off the bus.

"Mr. Yang, I apologize for the intrusion," Yang Zhiqiang said with a smile.

"What brings Jiang Sheng here?" Yang Shoucheng asked in a deep voice.

"I heard that Director Chen Shouzhe came to Hong Kong, so I came to pay him a visit," Jiang Zhiqiang said with a forced smile.

At this moment, Yang Shoucheng was glad that Chen Shouzhe had left early. If he had been caught by these two later, Chen Shouzhe's cooperation with Emperor Entertainment would have fallen through, and he would have been out of the running for cooperation.

Jiang Zhiqiang almost went bankrupt because of Chen Shouzhe's ban on his company. He had no choice but to cut his losses and sell the cinema chain. Otherwise, if the ban continued, he would lose money in those places. He would have to sell them to other companies.

Because of the sale of the cinema chain and the film's losses, the company's stock price plummeted by half, bringing it back to square one. Although the mainland film industry did not completely blacklist him, the pie is only so big, and the best way for him to go back is to seek help from his nemesis, Chen Shouzhe.

It's not that he didn't try, but Chen Shouzhe simply refused to see him.

He was so adamant about ignoring Chen Shouzhe back then, and now Chen Shouzhe is just as adamant about ignoring him. If Jiang Zhiqiang were to actually meet Chen Shouzhe, would he suspect that Yang Shoucheng was behind it all?
Will they give Yang Shoucheng face then?

Yang Shoucheng broke out in a cold sweat thinking about all this, and was glad that Chen Shou had left early and hadn't run into the two of them.

"Director Chen has already gone back and hasn't come," Yang Shoucheng said, shaking his head.

"Mr. Yang, I really need to speak with Director Chen. Please make an exception for me. We're all from Hong Kong, so we should help each other out," Jiang Zhiqiang said with a smile.

"I really didn't lie to you. Please come in. You can see for yourselves whether Director Chen is here or not." Yang Shoucheng made way for Jiang Zhiqiang and Xiang Huaqiang to enter the manor.

When the two entered, they saw a large group of Hong Kong stars, but they didn't see Chen Shouzhe, which greatly disappointed them. They left shortly afterward.

"Damn it, those dogs came as soon as they smelled it. Just as Mani said, we can't do it this way. It's too ostentatious. We can't hide anything. We almost ruined things with good intentions." Yang Shoucheng cursed as he watched the two cars drive away. His assistant beside him had already fallen silent.

Chen Shouzhe had just finished a phone call with Huo Wenxi. Hong Kong is heavily influenced by the West.

For them, banquets are very important; they are important venues for communication.

When Chen Shouzhe was in the United States, he often received invitations to banquets. Some were from directors, and others were from companies that wanted to collaborate with him.

Chen Shouzhe wouldn't attend if he didn't have a reason to. He had attended a banquet organized by Columbia once before, which was attended by hundreds of Hollywood stars, even more dazzling than tonight's event.

Chen Shouzhe remained uninterested; he viewed banquets as work, something he would only attend when necessary.

If it's a private gathering of friends, sitting together with a few acquaintances, drinking and eating some peanuts is something to be happy about.

The next day, Chen Shouzhe took a plane directly from Hong Kong to the capital, and Yang Shoucheng personally escorted him to the airport.

They returned to the capital and did another round of promotion before taking some of the crew back to the Northwest to continue filming.

WALL-E is still raking in tens of millions of dollars at the box office every day. It's already April, and with new movies being released, it continues to rake in a lot of box office revenue, even though there are very few screenings in theaters and the occupancy rate is still very high.

The film, originally scheduled for February 10th, was finally released on February 10th. This brought a sigh of relief to countless production companies, who began to pay attention to the animated film industry, finding it incredibly lucrative and enviable.

Huayi is already getting restless, planning to release an animated film to save their still-falling stock.

On the other hand, "A Chinese Ghost Story," which has been in theaters for ten days, is also performing very well. The first film has already grossed 16 billion yuan, and if it weren't for the box office fraud, it could have grossed 18 billion yuan.

If it reaches two billion, the profit sharing will be two percentage points higher.

Chen Shouzhe lost tens of millions of dollars because of box office fraud; it would be strange if he didn't kill Jiang Zhiqiang.

April wasn't a great month for box office, but thanks to being a sequel, it raked in 15 billion yuan in just ten days, and is expected to surpass 17 billion yuan.

The film's subject matter is limited, and its main target audience is young people, especially couples.

Unlike robots, it's not a family-friendly film, suitable for the whole family to watch.

Since Shouzhe Film Industry is not a listed company, Chen Shouzhe no longer holds any so-called celebration banquets.

Many companies hold celebratory banquets after a film is sold, and there are often many such banquets, especially in Hong Kong where people like to open champagne halfway through.

Even the demon-catching project that he scrapped last year still had a celebration banquet a few days after the movie's release.

News of a celebratory banquet can stimulate the stock market and boost stock prices, so film and television companies naturally like to host one.

Since he doesn't need to keep the film business and wants to keep all the profits for himself, he has no plans to hold a celebration banquet.

However, Chen Shouzhe took out a sum of money as a reward to Xiaoxiaomeng's animation team, and let Guo Fan handle it. Each person would receive a red envelope of 200,000 yuan.

As soon as the news came out, many college graduates began asking if Xiaoxiaomeng was hiring.

The benefits are really good, and the boss is very generous.

Throwing away ten million in one go is more important than any victory celebration banquet.

No matter where you are, talent is the most important thing. Only in a comfortable environment can people earn more money for themselves.

The company also has a system for weeding out employees; it's not like you can just come here and retire there. You can't treat this place like some other organizations.

While high pay is desirable, it's also necessary to achieve results.

The three distributors are pressing for payment; they'll definitely collect money after the film's run ends, and they've also started negotiating the copyright.

It was publicly stated that the company broke even with 18 billion yuan, but in reality, there was advertising revenue before the film's release, including pre-roll ads, a mobile phone ad, a computer ad, and a car ad. These three ads combined brought in over 100 million yuan in revenue, and there were also subsequent revenue from copyright, image licensing, and so on.

For a company, copyright revenue is a steady and consistent source of income; it will never be lacking.

The film's overseas revenue will gradually come back within three months. The distributor needs to chase after the theaters to pay. After deducting the distribution fee, the remaining money is what Chen keeps here, after taxes, of course.

(End of this chapter)