Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 173 Dangerous Schedule, But Also an Opportunity

Guo Fan gave us some important news.

bad news.

Because the preparations were insufficient and did not meet his expectations, the film needs more time to prepare.

It will likely take a year to prepare, and filming won't start until next year, 17.

"It's okay, filming can start next year. Just tell Wu Jing then, don't make him wait, give him enough time," Chen Shou said.

"Okay, there was too much preparation work beforehand, I'm sorry I couldn't finish it in time." Guo Fan kept apologizing. He had initially thought things were too rosy, but the reality was not so simple at all.

"It's alright, it's your first time after all. Take your time and refine it carefully," Chen Shou comforted her.

After ending the phone call with Guo Fan, Chen Shou checked on the status of other movies.

Filming for "A Chinese Ghost Story" is almost finished, expected to wrap up at the end of April. There won't be many events scheduled for May, but his movie will be released in the United States.

The first Saw movie has already been released and received a great response. The second movie has also been filmed. It has to be said that James Wan's filming speed is really fast.

Horror movies are really profitable. The Matrix is ​​an R-rated movie, and knowing there's a sequel, Warner Bros. has been contacting him, hoping he can come to the US to discuss it properly.

"It's been almost two months, why is there still no sign of anything?" Yan Danchen said anxiously.

"Don't rush, there's no such thing as hitting the target right away," Chen Shou said.

“It’s definitely not my problem. I’ve already checked. You also had a daughter. It can’t be a problem with you. Could it be something else?” Yan Danchen muttered.

"Let's try again in the next few days. There's plenty of time," Chen Shou said.

"I'm almost forty. If I didn't have one, you would have abandoned me." Yan Danchen glared at Chen Shouzhe.

A woman's shelf life is too short. Female celebrities might be able to maintain their looks if they have money, but now she talks about having a baby every day.

Chen Shou has been a bit tired for the past two months, working during the day and toiling away at night.

After the third installment was filmed, A Chinese Ghost Story II came to a close, successfully surpassing 18 billion yuan, with a final box office of 18.13 billion yuan. A successful series, with the support of various conditions, became a cash cow for the film industry.

Other film and television companies were completely speechless.

Last year, the total box office revenue of the entire market was over 40 billion yuan. This year, in just five months, Chen Shou has already grossed 8 billion yuan with three films, two of which are his own.

How do you play this?
Why not give him the entire film and television industry?
But the market doesn't dictate what they can say. Chen Shou is not the same person he used to be. He needs to think twice before making a move, since he's officially listed as a key figure.

The only thing worth mentioning is that Chen Shouzhe has never won an award.

The problem is that Chen Shouzhe is not Feng Xiaogang, who can easily dismiss someone with an award.

Feng Xiaogang said the award wasn't important, but when he actually received it, he immediately went over to accept it with a big smile.

The more powerful he becomes, the more he retreats behind the scenes. But now the entertainment industry is all about popularity, with many handsome men and beautiful women appearing on various variety shows.

Because variety shows are really lucrative; for celebrities, the money comes in incredibly fast.

After finishing filming, Chen Shouzhe happened to be on the May Day holiday. When he returned to the horse farm, Huang Bo brought his family over for a visit and remarked to Chen Shouzhe.

"Variety shows these days are really crazy, and the money they make is really fast," Huang Bo said.

"So, do you want to become a variety show personality?" Chen Shou asked with a smile.

"I don't want to, so I don't act on variety shows. I don't want to leave a label for the audience, or what's called a persona now? Once you're set up with a persona, it's very difficult to act," Huang Bo said.

"You're right to think that way. Variety shows aren't movies. Although there are acting elements, what the audience wants to see is authenticity and to understand the actor's personality. Once a persona is established, when you watch their movies, you'll only see that person from the variety show, making it hard to connect with them. Just look at Deng Chao. He's directing movies now, but he still gives off the feeling of that team leader—kind and approachable. He's lost the ability to create a character as an actor. Even if his acting is superb, when you see him, you can only think of the person from the variety show. With two movies that were box office successes but critical failures, his movies will likely get worse and worse in terms of reputation. I guess he's focusing on variety shows, or maybe he'll quit variety shows altogether," Chen Shou commented.

Huang Bo nodded. He had discussed this issue with many people, and the short-term gains would be substantial, with both compensation and popularity greatly improved.

However, in the long run, this is a devastating blow to an actor on the big screen.

Whether it's a thousand people with one face or a thousand faces with one person, no matter how good the acting skills are, if an actor's image has been fixed as a persona in a variety show, then acting again will definitely make the audience lose immersion.

"You can't have your cake and eat it too. The current pace of life means that variety shows will be more popular with audiences, and they will be able to get closer to their favorite actors," Huang Bo said.

“Once an actor loses their mystique, they are put under a magnifying glass. If it were me, I would be more cautious about using these actors. In the future, there will be fewer and fewer real actors, leading to a talent gap.” Chen Shou leaned back in his chair and picked up the beer in front of him.

"Ding!"

The two touched hands and took a sip of beer.

"The movie is scheduled for release on June 6th," Huang Bo said excitedly, putting down his wine bottle.

"I've already contacted the theater chains for you," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"How much?" Huang Bo's eyes lit up. "The distribution wasn't fully secured, and the costs weren't high, so we gave it to Enlight Media at a fixed price. With your connections to variety shows, the distribution fee was a flat 15 million. Because of your good reputation and popularity, the theaters tentatively gave us 25% of the screenings," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"Really?" Huang Bo asked excitedly.

It's already a great achievement to capture a quarter of the screenings during the summer season, especially considering the film's budget was only a few million. He also has a stake in the film, and if it succeeds, he'll become Director Huang.

"Would I lie to you? I'll be waiting for your good news next month," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"That's wonderful, Director Chen, you're my benefactor!" Huang Bo said excitedly.

Huang Bo had a very difficult life before. He formed a band and sang in various bars. Later, he felt that it was not working, so he used the money his girlfriend earned to study at the Beijing Film Academy. He was in the class of 02 and was a classmate of Liu Yifei.

Huang Bo's first benefactor after graduation was a fellow townsman who had already been imprisoned once and was now a disgraced celebrity, and Huang Bo was powerless to help him.

The second benefactor was Ning Hao, who helped him achieve success step by step, and then collaborated with the bald man. He can be described as an actor with both high emotional intelligence and a good reputation.

It's hard to find an artist in the entire entertainment industry with a similar reputation to him, except for Huang Xiaoming. The two are from the same hometown and are both representatives of high emotional intelligence.

Huang Xiaoming is very meticulous in his dealings with people and treats those around him very well. Many people are willing to be his friends. Huang Bo's emotional intelligence goes without saying. There is even a female model in Taiwan who is completely infatuated with him.

The release date is set; now we're just waiting for the movie to be released.

However, this period is difficult because several foreign films are going to be released, which will be a disaster for domestic film companies in June.

At this point, only Huang Bo's film made it to the top, and many people were speculating whether Huang Bo was being used as cannon fodder.

That's World of Warcraft! It was the youth of a large number of internet addicts, and now these people are the main consumers, the main group in their thirties and forties.

Huang Bo was also worried, since the cinemas were giving him a lot of screen time.

Huang Bo came to Chen Shouzhe because he was worried about not having enough screenings, but he didn't expect the screenings to be so good, 25%.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Do you know why there are so many screenings?" Chen Shou said with a smile.

"Why?" Huang Bo asked, puzzled.

"It's simple. Because there are no other movies, you're scared, and so are others. But we can't give all the screening slots to foreign movies. We can't stop showing other movies just because foreign movies are coming in. They're releasing on the 8th, and we're releasing on the 6th. We got some screenings in advance. We could have gotten more, but the theaters wanted to avoid any appearance of impropriety. However, if the movie performs well, it might reach over 30 screenings on the 8th!" Chen Shou smiled.

"Huh? It can still increase?" Huang Bo was shocked. How could a blockbuster movie continue to get more screenings? What could Chen Shou possibly do?
"It's a very simple principle. The market is so big, what can you do if there are only a few movies? Generally, only a few movies can stand out in the same release period, so the screenings will definitely favor the top ones. You can't give them all to foreign movies. For the sake of 'fairness,' the higher-ups will require that domestic films be taken care of, so you understand." Chen Shou emphasized the word "fairness."

Huang Bo immediately understood.

Protecting domestic products is something that can be done if necessary.

Chen Shouzhe taught Huang Bo, a new director, a lesson; he never expected such a tactic.

However, he didn't know that this was already very gentle. If that eagle were here, there would probably be a dozen foreign films crammed together, making them fight each other.

It's a pity the eagle is gone; La Dong is no different from a mere tool.

On the contrary, Chen Shouzhe, because of his relationship with the cinemas, was able to directly negotiate with them and secure more screenings.

While chatting with Huang Bo, Liu Yan arrived.

"Oh my, what a beautiful woman!!" Huang Bo exclaimed with a smile when he saw Liu Yan.

“Brother Bo is here too,” Liu Yan said confidently as she approached.

"I just happened to come here to have a drink with Director Chen. Should I excuse myself?" Huang Bo said with a smile.

"No need, no need, I'm here to thank Director Chen," Liu Yan said.

"I've heard you say that several times already," Chen Shou said, waving his hand.

The whole country knows that Liu Yan was bullied, but it wasn't those people who were punished; it was Liu Yan who was punished. That's disgusting.

Despite being the victim, she was the one who was punished. As the second female lead in Chen Shouzhe's first film, Chen Shouzhe still had to call him "sister," since she and Lao Guo had a good relationship.

"But I..." Liu Yan wanted to say something more.

"By the way, please reserve a slot for you in August. I mentioned before that there would be a second part of Charlotte's Tale, and I'll reserve a role for you this time," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"Huh?" Liu Yan didn't expect that her trip to express her gratitude would bring her such an unexpected reward.

"Oh my god, Director Chen is going to make a comedy. This time the filming is in August. Could it be for the Lunar New Year season?"

"Mojin: The Lost Legend has already been scheduled for the Lunar New Year release. Let's have a happy and joyful New Year."

(End of this chapter)