Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 174 Press Conference: A Hellish Start
Chen spent most of his time at the horse farm. The weather was pleasant, and it was even more comfortable there. Plus, there weren't any major issues at the company.

Occasionally, I'll stay at the villa, but most of the time I'll be taking the kids to play at the horse farm.

She's not much different from Yu Lao Er. The little girl had a lot of fun, but when we took her to her godfather's house, she liked to hit his younger brother.

Guo Lao Er is a bit older now, over a year old. He's chubby and doesn't run fast, so he's easy to get beaten.

In April, I attended the 20th anniversary celebration of Deyun Society. There were many people at the event, but Chen Shouzhe did not go up to perform for them; he just stayed backstage.

There aren't many movies in May. The Matrix is ​​an R-rated film and can't be shown in China, which means it will miss out on some of the box office revenue.

Huang Bo's movie was released at a press conference, and Chen Shou, the screenwriter, came to support him. In addition, some of his friends in the industry also came to support him.

"Director Chen."

"Director Chen, you've arrived so early."

Good morning, Director Chen.

At the press conference, Chen Shouzhe met many actors, as well as some directors who had a good relationship with Huang Bo, such as Ning Hao, one of his friends.

He was very supportive of his friend's first film. During filming, he often went to see Huang Bo. He learned from Huang Bo that Huang Bo was actually hiding from his wife when he went to see him. Middle-aged couples know what I mean.

At first, Chen Shouzhe thought he was doing it for Huang Bo's good, but later he found out that he was hiding from Huang Bo's wife.

It's said that his wife lost a lot of money in the stock market, so he found a place to hide and went to give Huang Bo pointers on making movies.

Therefore, Ning Hao's name appears on the producer list.

Producer Chen Shouzhe, director Huang Bo, screenwriter Chen Shouzhe, and executive producer Ning Hao—this is quite a lineup, with two renowned directors providing him with support.

When the actors present saw Chen Shouzhe coming over, they all stood up to greet him.

"Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedules to come," Chen Shou said.

"Of course, I should support my good brother's first movie," Sun Honglei, whose eyes are small and resemble those of a bull terrier, said with a smile.

Regardless of his character, his acting skills are undeniable, after all, he graduated from the Central Academy of Drama.

"Thank you everyone, Uncle is here too." Chen Shouzhe smiled at Wang Xun.

"Please don't call me uncle, I don't deserve it," Wang Xun quickly waved his hand.

"Each of us keeps our own?" Chen Shou said with a smile.

Wang Xun is a third-generation disciple of the Hou family, and is of the same generation as Guo Degang and Yu Qian. Chen Shou should call him his senior uncle.

It's worth mentioning that Wang Xun is also part of the system, having come from the military. He is officially employed by a performing arts troupe, and his financial contract is with Huang Bo's studio.

Huang Bo tries to include him in his movies and variety shows, including popular ones. However, Huang Bo has a condition: he wants his good friend to be included as well.

"Teacher Huang." Chen Shou nodded to the other teacher, a professor at the Beijing Film Academy who taught acting. They weren't particularly close; they hadn't interacted much while in school, and even less so after graduation.

It's not that there's no opportunity, it's that we don't value it.

I have no feelings for him and don't want to get too involved.

Then there was a young, handsome man who was quite polite. Actually, he was about the same age as Huang Bo, and Huang Bo treated him very well.

"Director Chen, Zhang Yixing, is a very good young man," Huang Bo introduced.

Chen Shou nodded without saying anything, but the other party bowed to him right away, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.

Chen Shouzhe and Ning Hao talked a lot; since they were both directors, they had plenty to talk about.

However, Ning Hao complained that Chen Shouzhe has taken all the money from the current film market.

The first half of the year is not over yet, and the box office has just exceeded 20 billion. Apart from the domestic films, which are mainly produced by foreign films, the domestic films have been eaten up by foreign films. Of the 20 billion, Chen has 8 billion from China, 8 billion from foreign films, and the remaining films have taken 4 billion.

On the surface, they won, but the real winners were Chen Shou's films here and abroad, and had little to do with domestic films.

With many more films awaiting release overseas, the situation is set to become even more challenging.

“Back when Third Master was around, everyone was cursing him. Now that Director La has taken over, everyone is reminiscing about Third Master and cursing Director La. Actually, I miss Third Master too. If only Third Master were still here, there would only be twenty movies a year. Now there are eighty. How can anyone live like this?” Ning Hao kept complaining.

The men standing next to him didn't dare to bring up the topic at all. Chen Shou chuckled and said, "That's why we need domestic production companies to stand up and produce even better works to compete with them."

"Competition my ass. What movies have we seen these days? Everyone's busy making money," Ning Hao said.

"What are you talking about? You didn't even film it yourself, so what's there to complain about? If I had to say something, I would scold you too," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"Damn, I didn't offend you." Ning Hao realized. "You're a shareholder of a listed company now, a big boss, a rich man. Why would you care about the film market? Who else would we criticize if not you? Not to mention garbage like Huayi Brothers, the so-called number one private enterprise. And Alibaba is the same. They have money, so they make big IPs, but now we haven't seen a single thing. The whole industry is in a state of restlessness, and there are no truly decent films."

"It's not that my movie is unseemly, it's that you guys are too trashy and too weak, making me look superior. There's no point in competing with you," Chen Shou said, spreading his hands.

Hearing Chen Shou's boastful words, no one present dared to refute him. How could they? Whose movie could surpass his? The domestic box office record had been broken.

The previous 42 billion yuan Martian was Chen Shouzhe's, but this year's WALL-E broke the record for domestic films with 48 billion yuan and entered the world box office record. How can they be compared?
Although Chen Shouzhe is not the top director in China, no one dares to say anything about his commercial films.

These are genuine directors who have achieved a box office of over 10 billion yuan, not through other means, but through making one film after another.

How do we compare them?

Chen Shou said everyone else was trash, so they could only put up with it.

Ning Hao was the only director present; the rest were actors. What could they say? Anyway, Chen Shou wasn't pointing his finger at them and yelling at them.

Imagine this: over 400 movies, 80 of which are foreign, with a total box office of over 40 billion yuan, and foreigners taking half of it. Aren't you ashamed?
Should we blame China Film Group, the cinemas, or the audience?

It's because they're terrible that others took away so much of the box office; they're the ones who are shameful.

Ning Hao had nothing to say. After he and the other two successfully ran the company, they planned to take a break for a few years. They already had hundreds of millions in assets, more than they could ever spend in their lifetime. Why should they work themselves to death making movies?

He truly admired Chen Shouzhe, who was still tirelessly investing in and producing big-budget movies; no wonder the higher-ups had been helping him.

Chen Shouzhe is the only one who can make domestic films look a little better.

The press conference started quickly; we watched some trailers and then began the media interviews.

Huang Bo sat in the middle, in the center position, with Chen Shouzhe and Ning Hao sitting next to him, and the rest were other actors who came to cheer him on and perform.

A large number of people came; the entire press conference was packed with people, which shows how well Huang Bo has connections. Moreover, many people couldn't come, but they cheered him on on Weibo.

"I'd like to ask Director Chen, why did you choose Huang Bo as your director?"

"It was a coincidence. Last year, when we went to the Shanghai International Film Festival, we happened to be on the same flight. Bo asked me if I could direct a movie. I happened to have a script on hand at the time, so I thought I'd let him give it a try," Chen Shouzhe said.

"I heard you even invited Huang Bo to star in Mojin: The Lost Legend back then, is that right?"

“Yes, we did it together, so Bo-ge had a tough time last year, having to travel back and forth between filming Mojin: The Lost Legend and producing his own movie at the same time,” Chen Shou nodded.

"I have to thank Director Ning Hao for this. He helped me with part of the film while I was away. Actually, the film was shot by the two of us together. Of course, Director Chen also joined the filming. Now that I have the support of two great directors, I believe the film won't be too bad," Huang Bo said with a smile.

The actors on stage were very envious. Having a wide network of connections has its advantages. With two big directors protecting her from the start, and especially with a script from Chen Shouzhe, as long as she honestly makes movies, things won't be too bad.

After asking a few more questions, Chen Shou, who was watching from the side, realized the problem: apart from the media, many people who came to the scene were not there for Huang Bo, but for the popular celebrity Zhang Yixing.

Young people in China these days have gone a bit too far with their idol worship; no wonder Dilraba is making so much money.

It's no wonder that more and more wealthy people are sending their children into the entertainment industry.

The status of this industry is getting higher and higher.

They used to be called the lowest of the low, but who says that now?

After the press conference, Chen Shou treated everyone to dinner, since he was the one who invested in the movie, so it was only right that he treated them.

They all give him face. Even though Zhang Yixing is very busy now, his agent is still smart enough to let him stay. In order to give Chen Shouzhe a good impression, if he leaves when Chen Shouzhe is treating him to a meal, it would be a disrespectful act.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they went home, and the contents of the press conference were released through various media channels.

Seeing the three people sitting on the stage, Ning Hao, Huang Bo, and Chen Shouzhe, Huang Bo, who was surrounded in the middle, was the envy of many people, and the comments below were also envious.

"If it were a movie that Huang Bo directed, starred in, and wrote himself, I might consider it, or wait for other people's reviews before watching it. But now it seems I have to support it as soon as possible. With the support of two great directors, and the script being written by director Chen Shou, even if the investment is not high, the story should be very exciting."

"The circle of friends of big directors is really different; I want both roles and directors."

"A chance encounter on a plane brings immense wealth; we look forward to Huang Bo's successful career transition."

"According to Chen Shouzhe, it's either about winning awards or box office success. Now it seems that word-of-mouth is more important. I hope Huang Bo's film will receive better word-of-mouth this time."

"It's releasing on the 6th, and Warcraft is on the 8th too. Wow, I heard the budget was only 30 million. Are they trying to piggyback on foreign blockbusters?"

"I'm not optimistic, but I support it and hope a miracle will happen."

"If the director is Chen Shouzhe, it might be possible to compete, but Huang Bo, a new director, is going to compete with Hollywood blockbusters, which is a bit difficult."

"It's not just a little difficult, it's like starting in hell mode. How did they even choose this time slot?"

(End of this chapter)