Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 175 Brothers, Sisters, and Brothers
Many people are worried about Huang Bo's schedule, and even film and television producers are inquiring about it.

Why would he choose a release date that clashes with a major foreign film? He's not some big-name director. How could a newcomer like him be so bold? What is Chen Shou thinking?
Upon learning the number of screenings, they all started cursing.

Is 25% a lot?
Not much, or not much?
Quite a lot.

It was only then that I realized that competing with blockbusters was actually a matter of strategic maneuvering, like the story of Tian Ji's horse racing strategy; using the best film to challenge them would only result in mutual destruction.

However, if you try making a film with the lowest budget and it gets good word-of-mouth, you can become famous overnight.

With Huang Bo's existing fan base, and the fact that he directed and starred in this film, along with Chen Shou's support, this movie is a success.

The box office revenue is unlikely to be too high; the key is to focus on the quality of the film.

Any director's first film is crucial to their future directing career.

Huang Bo's fame shouldn't make the movie too bad; it just depends on the quality he can produce.

If Huang Bo can take down the big blockbuster, then he'll have succeeded.

Wu Ershan is still working on the post-production of Mojin: The Lost Legend, Guo Fan is preparing for the pre-production of The Wandering Earth, and Wu Jing is preparing for the second film.

After making money with the first film, many people approached Wu Jing to invest in the second film, but he immediately turned to Chen Shouzhe.

We have to ask him if he wants to vote. If he abandons Chen Shouzhe, his situation will be difficult in the future, and we can forget about being friends.

So the first person I thought of was Chen Shouzhe.

Chen Shou naturally invested, and even took the lead with 40%. Wu Jing invested part of the remaining amount herself, and left the rest to other companies. He also wanted to do favors and pave the way for the future.

Chen Shouzhe was going to the United States because Warner Bros. had been urging him to film a sequel to The Matrix, which had performed very well.

Another reason is that his movie, The Pursuit of Happyness, is about to be released, and he needs to promote it.

Finally, we need to discuss the method of manipulating gravity, which requires consultation with Warner.

The plane took off from the capital and flew directly to Hollywood.

Jet lag is very painful. If you stay for a few days, you don't need to adjust to the time difference. But if you need to stay here for a while and do some sightseeing, then you do need to adjust to the time difference.

"Lusen, it's been a long time." Chen Shou saw the person who was supposed to pick him up at the airport.

"Yes, it's later this year than last year. Another year has passed," Lu Sen said with emotion. He only sees his boss once a year, but he is always happy to see him because he has more money to make.

He has a very comfortable job now. Without his boss watching over him, he is a professional agent with plenty of time to do other things, mainly receiving invitations to various parties.

"It's time to start work again. I'll go adjust to the time difference first," Chen Shou said.

“I’ve already booked a hotel for you. Are you really not sure about buying a house in the US? With your current wealth, it would be easy for you to buy a villa in Beverly Hills, and the US would welcome you,” Luxen said.

“I only come here for a short period of time each year. It’s more comfortable to stay in a hotel. I bought a villa, but I don’t stay there for more than a few days. It’s not very useful. I bought a villa in the capital, but I rarely live there. If I could, I would rather buy a farm,” Chen Shou said.

“Farms are nice, but farms in Los Angeles are expensive, and there are quite a few wealthy people who think like you,” Luxen shrugged.

He knew Chen Shouzhe's preferences and found that he really liked keeping animals, so he thought he could give him some animals, like steaks.

"So I'd rather use the money to make movies in a place I'm not often in," Chen Shou said with a smile.

“Alright, boss, you’re the biggest miser I’ve ever met,” Lu Sen said.

He has been here for many years and has long been assimilated by the local consumer values. In his opinion, people in China have the habit of saving money because of the unstable business environment in China. He is different. He has basically used his money for various investments. Even if he doesn't work now, he can still live a very comfortable life by relying on these investments.

Investing in real estate and other immovable assets is a way for many people to hedge against risks, especially with mortgages. Money can depreciate, and there is inflation every year, while houses and gold can protect against risks.

Of course, market prices also have value; they can rise or fall. Wealthy people invest abroad more often to leave themselves a way out.

Many people in China still say he owns a large villa in the United States, but Chen Shou is too lazy to explain.

As a time traveler, how could Chen Shouzhe possibly be willing to keep his money abroad?

Even permanently neutral countries can start causing trouble. The more he learned about the outside world, the clearer it became that there was no such thing as security. As long as you are alive, you are safe; if your country is destroyed, you will die.

If your own country is good, why go to other countries? He's here to make money, not to save money.

Go to the hotel you've booked. Long-term hotel rentals are actually quite cheap; you don't need to pay daily rates.

Many people are unaware of this: for long-term rentals, you can negotiate with the hotel. After all, hotels don't have guests every day. If you can rent a hotel room long-term, the hotel will be happy and willing to make concessions on the price.

Chen Shouzhe didn't know this before, but he came to understand it later when he joined the film crew.

Sometimes when film crews go out to shoot, the crew members will stay in hotels. In this case, if you book the hotel or rent it long-term, you can negotiate a reasonable price with the hotel.

Hotels don't have customers every day; they earn money based on the flow of people. If there's a steady stream of customers, why bother trying to make a living every day?

Still jet-lagged, Chen Shou went to the company to handle work, mainly collaborations with three film companies and the film his own company was producing. "Boss, this film is fantastic; it could be a contender for an Oscar," Lu Sen said, bringing over a cup of coffee. Ever since he bought a coffee machine, he'd been coming here every day for coffee.

"You need public relations funds to win an Oscar. How much would that be?" Chen Shou asked.

He knew the rules of the Oscars, but he didn't know exactly how much public relations money would be needed.

“Boss, you’ve already paid the PR fee,” Lu Sen said.

"You gave it to me? I don't remember."

"The film's production cost was ten million dollars. Wasn't that money you kept to prepare for the Oscars?" Lu Sen said.

Chen Shou patted his head. He had forgotten that filming a movie didn't require that much money, but he still approved it. After all, Hollywood operates on a producer system, which originally included the public relations costs for the Oscars.

“No problem, buddy. We still need to spend the ten million. It might require some hard work from you,” Chen Shouzhe said.

“No problem, I’ll handle it then. But if you really sign up, you’ll have to come to Hollywood in person for the PR dinner,” Lu Sen said.

“That’s no problem, I hope to see a good result,” Luxem said.

“That might require more help, Warner would be a good option,” Luxen said.

"When are they coming?" Chen Shou asked.

“They’ll be over this afternoon. They’re already itching to get started. How about we keep The Matrix for ourselves? R-rated movies are really lucrative, and with the success of the first one, we can totally produce the sequel ourselves,” Lu Sen said.

"Forget it, it's not my territory after all. I should leave some food for others. As long as I'm full, that's enough. Eating too much will make me bloated," Chen Shou said.

“That’s true. I’ve already contacted the shooting range for you. Every year, many tourists from other places come to shoot, and you’re no exception,” Lu Sen said.

"I'm a bit more free this year, so it's time to relax. Filming four or five movies a year is exhausting. My plan for this year is only two movies," Chen Shou said.

"Aren't you planning to make one in the US?" Luxen asked.

"No plan."

He hadn't decided what to film yet. Chen Shou had many award-winning movies in his mind, but he didn't have any ideas right now, so he decided to leave it for later. He was here on vacation.

Warner's people arrived in the afternoon, and Chen Shouzhe met the Wachowski sisters.

That's right, her younger brother Andy Wachowski also underwent gender reassignment surgery and became Lily Wachowski.

The two went from being younger brothers to siblings, and now they are sisters.

This is the free America, with a whole host of genders.

Chen Shou respected them; his sister Lily Wachowski only made her public debut in April, and the two sisters were uglier than each other.

"Lana, Lily, it's been a long time." Although Chen Shou was uncomfortable with their change in attitude, he still went up and hugged them.

The two stood happily in front of Chen Shouzhe. The older sister, Lana, smiled and said, "Chen, we've been waiting for you for so long. Lily looks completely different when she meets you."

“I can understand the changes in you, and I’m glad to see you all the way you are now,” Chen Shou said with a smile.

“I’ve heard that the mysterious great country in the East is very conservative. Thank you for your understanding, Chen,” Lily nodded.

"Is it just you guys this time?" Chen Shou asked in surprise.

“Yes, the Matrix 2 will be produced and directed by my sister and me,” Lana nodded.

"That's great, it won't take too much trouble. What do you want to do?" Chen Shou asked.

"How about we follow the same collaboration model as in the first movie?" Lana asked.

Chen Shou pondered for a moment and shook his head, saying, "The first one was already quite successful. The Matrix has a second, a third, and a fourth installment. This time, I'll ask for more."

"There's a second, a third, and a fourth installment, Chen. We need to take a break. We didn't expect so many sequels. What are your plans?" Lana asked.

“We can divide it in tiers. Starting with the second part, I’ll take 40%, the third part 30%, and I can sell the fourth part and the animation rights to you; I won’t participate,” Chen Shou said.

"Really?" the two sisters exclaimed in surprise; this was indeed good news.

Logically, they should have received more and more, but Chen Shouzhe received less and less, which was somewhat unexpected.

However, this is a good thing. In the first film, Chen Shouzhe had 30%. Hollywood is very domineering; their films are mostly made independently and exclusively.

It's already quite an achievement that Chen Shouzhe managed to take over a share from them. If he could independently acquire the copyright, it would be great news for Warner.

"Chen, I think we need to discuss this step by step." The two sisters weren't stupid; they were just afraid there might be a trap inside.

(End of this chapter)