Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 180: Rich Second Generation Takes the Lead, Master and Disciple Become Enemies
The criticism of the plot of "Hello Mr. Billionaire" is nothing; comedies rarely have moments of logic.

From its inception, pioneered by comedy directors Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, comedy has been an art form that uses absurd storylines to create laughter.

Like crosstalk, it originally existed to make a living, and only later was it given other functions.

The so-called illogical plot is actually reasonable in comedy movies.

This is comedy, based on absurdity.

Is the story of Tang Bohu and Qiu Xiang real?
It's fake too, so why isn't anyone criticizing the plot?

To put it bluntly, some people these days just stir up trouble for no reason.

If you don't argue, you won't seem very smart.

Even when "Goodbye Mr. Loser" was released, there were still many people criticizing Chen Shouzhe. He had been criticized since the film was first conceived, and it was even more so after its release. Film critics, filmmakers, and screenwriters were all openly and secretly criticizing him.

The movie "Hello Mr. Billionaire" is about to be filmed. Those who used to criticize him are still around, but they won't directly start cursing him anymore. The current Chen Shouzhe is not the same Chen Shouzhe from before. If you criticize him now, he might curse you even more harshly.

When you are powerful, great scholars will naturally come to debate with you.

They said they'd finish in a month, and they did. Filming was at the end of July, and they wrapped up before September. The movie was simple; the biggest expense was a fireworks display and the cost of hiring stars. Chen Shou spent money to hire Jay Chou to sing, but they didn't hire the one from the original story.

Jay Chou clearly gave Chen Shouzhe face in accepting his invitation.

Compared to six years ago, when he invited people back then, he used his elders' connections to invite half of today's rock stars, as well as Na Ying. He also invited Wakin Chau with his godfather's song "Heartbreaker." Now, he can also use his influence to invite music superstars.

However, in August, everyone was shocked by a major scandal: a top male celebrity announced his divorce, revealing that his wife had cheated on him with his agent, and this happened during the Olympics, completely overshadowing the Games.

For the next few days, Chen Shouzhe and Shen Teng were just gossiping on set.

Chen Shouzhe and Wang Baobao didn't have much interaction. He knew that Wang Baobao was a good actor, a boy from the countryside, who married a so-called school beauty, which ended up benefiting his agent.

It's both ridiculous and outrageous.

The drama has been circulating for half a month, and the whole country is discussing it. After all, it's rare for people to directly confront each other.

This doesn't align with the sentiments of Chinese people, which shows that the couple went too far.

Many people who were close to Wang Baobao stepped in and supported him.

While the onlookers were making a movie, Chen Shouzhe even brought in Xiao Wang.

"You asked me to come and act in this?" Xiao Wang asked, his eyes wide.

"Stop talking nonsense. Aren't you going to enter the entertainment industry? Look, this hairstyle is designed according to your style. Hurry up." Chen Shou pressed him into the chair and let the makeup artist do his makeup.

Upon seeing the legendary rich second-generation, a large group of crew members gathered around to peek.

Xiao Wang was ready in no time. Chen Shou asked him to play the role of Xia Zhu's ex-boyfriend, the one who had a keen eye for people. As for whether he looked like Jay Chou, that didn't matter. What he wanted was the effect, so he just wanted to have fun.

The rich second-generation actor played a gardener quite well, and Chen Shou was enjoying watching it. Xiao Wang finished filming after only two days and went to Shanghai to pick up girls.

The plan is to wrap up filming at the end of August, and then hand the film over to post-production. There's not much to edit; they've already filmed all the complete scenes, so we just need to do some rough editing and cross-cutting.

In the end, due to scheduling conflicts, I waited a few days for Jay Chou, and then in September, I ended up getting caught up in the gossip myself.

Chen Shouzhe was caught off guard by a major scandal in August, leaving him speechless even as he prepared for the final act.

"Director Chen, there are a lot of reporters outside now," the production assistant said as he approached him.

"Understood. We can bring them in after filming wraps up, and do some publicity while we're at it," Chen Shou said.

"Okay." The production assistant nodded.

As filming wrapped on the final scene, the crew began packing up, and a large group of reporters were 'invited' in.

There were quite a few reporters present, more than a dozen, almost all of them from internet portal media.

"Director Chen..."

Before they could speak, Chen Shou said, "You've come at the right time. The movie has just finished filming, so please help me promote it."

I'm taking the initiative; if you don't give me publicity, I won't give any interviews.

These media people are all shrewd; they immediately understood Chen Shouzhe's meaning: bring in the movie promotion.

To enjoy the gossip, they nodded in agreement.

"No problem, Director Chen, we're just here to visit the set," a Sina reporter said with a smile.

"That's perfect. You all want to ask about the movie, right? The filming of 'Hello Mr. Billionaire' has just wrapped up, and we'll be having a wrap party later. You've all come at the perfect time; you can have a meal with me," Chen Shou said with a smile.

Well, the reporters present had nothing to say; Chen Shou's handling of the situation was even more sophisticated than theirs.

First, you had to promote my movie. Now it's even more direct: you can ask me questions about the movie, and I'll treat you to dinner.

What else can be said?

I originally just wanted to observe the drama, but now I'm forced to report on his movie. I have no choice but to report it, otherwise I'll probably get blacklisted. Besides, these days, who in the media can't be messed with?

Journalists are indeed the uncrowned kings, but that doesn't mean others can't become journalists. We live in the era of internet and social media, not the time when you could spread rumors without consequence.

In the past, when people were attacked online, they couldn't find a way to speak out. Even if they did, the public had already stopped paying attention, and some unscrupulous media outlets had already profited from the tragedy and disappeared.

What's the point of them apologizing?

It would be best if we all worked together. I'd treat you to a meal, and you'd give me some publicity. In return, I'd give you the news you wanted. Wouldn't that be great for everyone?

"Director Chen's movie has just finished filming, so there's no need for our publicity," a reporter from Tencent laughed.

"Of course we need it. You can just mention it when the time comes," Chen Shou said with a smile.

“No problem.” The reporters nodded.

"Shen Teng, Ma Li, come over here. You're both lead actors, come and do some interviews. It's not easy for so many media friends to come." Chen Shou smiled and beckoned Shen Teng and the others, who were just watching the show, to come over.

Shen Teng and the others were stunned, exchanging bewildered glances. They had only come to watch the drama unfold, but now they were forced to promote the film and give interviews.

The reporters also discovered that Chen Shou was deliberately keeping them hanging on, trying to get them to promote the movie.

There's no way around it; they're after traffic. Since Chen Shou allowed them to conduct the interview, they'll just do a simple one and report on it later. If they don't report it, they'll probably be blacklisted.

If his story is ever reported, Chen Shouzhe will target them relentlessly.

Reporters aren't as formidable as people think. Chen Shou has plenty of ways to target them. Even if he can't target the companies behind them, he can certainly target them.

If I can't beat the foreigners, I can still beat you!

That's the point. We're all just working people; there's no need to make things difficult for ourselves.

Shen Teng and his team had completed most of the interviews. Most of the reporters were unprepared to interview about the film, but they managed to get by thanks to their professionalism.

After conducting the interviews and asking all the necessary questions, it's finally time for the main course.
"Director Chen, I'd like to ask you, you were also a crosstalk performer at Deyun Society, what's your opinion on the conflict between Guo Degang and his apprentice this time?"

Guo and Cao got into a fight on Weibo, which escalated all day yesterday, resulting in a bloody brawl.

"What else can we do but sit on a stool and watch?" Chen Shou said with a smile.

"You are Guo Degang's godson, and you and Cao Yunxin are also fellow apprentices..."

"Let me interrupt here. My master is Yu Qian, and their side belongs to Master Hou's faction, while our side belongs to Master Shi's faction. Strictly speaking, this is their family matter. If my master is involved, then I will naturally defend my master. So we will not comment on this matter. You should interview the parties involved." Chen Shou smiled.

"But the controversy surrounding your departure from the company back then also affected you. Don't you have something to say?" the reporter asked persistently.

"From the current perspective, everyone in the Deyun Society should actually be grateful to them," Chen Shou said.

"Thank them?"

"Take me for example. When my partner quit, I had to give up my job in crosstalk and choose to become a director. Without their departure back then, I might not be who I am today. I won't say more, as it has nothing to do with me," Chen Shou said with a smile.

If he were to actually participate, it would be a crushing defeat. Their relationship isn't bad, it just shows that everyone makes different choices.

Cao Yunxin is a bit like Sun Wukong learning his skills on Fangcun Mountain. Before learning, he claimed to be asexual, but after learning, he boasted to his fellow disciples and was expelled from the school.

He knew very well what the backstage situation was like back then. They had been learning the craft together since childhood. Chen Shouzhe arrived a little earlier than his fellow apprentices, but at that time, crosstalk was not doing well. He mainly studied in the capital and learned some crosstalk from others.

Actually, Yu Qian had already given up crosstalk by then. Later, when he was in the cultural troupe, he went to the countryside with Guo Degang, and Chen Shou followed along.

At that time, the entire Deyun Society only had a few members. The earliest disciples of Guo Degang were not Luan Yunping and Yue Yunpeng, but the elders, Mr. Zhang, Mr. Li, and the children were Cao Yunxin, him, Xiao Bian, and Shaobing.

Chen Shouzhe met them back then, and they learned their craft together and went through hardships together.

Everyone goes through a period of arrogance, and Guo Yu was no exception. Chen Shou witnessed firsthand how arrogant they became in 2005 and 2006. Back then, they were on TV shows every day, and a huge crowd of people would come backstage every day. They were all kinds of people, and they would greet everyone, whether they knew them or not.

The main conflict is still about money. Those who withdrew initially wanted shares, but Guo refused, so they withdrew.

The second wave of departures was due to Guo Degang offending the TV station and almost being blacklisted, which led to the departure of some of his veteran apprentices. The final wave was Cao Yunxin, who left because of salary issues.

Because of the performance schedule, Cao Yunxin took on outside jobs without the company's approval, meaning he bypassed his own agency. This definitely caused dissatisfaction in the performance department, whose head at the time was Luan Yunping.

After the turmoil, Deyun Society needed to make changes, which required transforming the company from a traditional opera house into a modern corporation. Cao Yunxin's requirements were the same as those of the first wave of people who left.

It is precisely because of the departure of these people that Deyun Society has the current salaries.

Therefore, Chen Shou should not get involved in these matters; he should just watch and observe.

Given my current situation, it's a bit like bullying people, especially since we have a good relationship.

When the disciples of Deyun Society were interviewed, the main target of their interviews was actually someone else—the one who had water but no clouds.

　Someone in my family has pneumonia and has been transferred to a large hospital for treatment, so updates may be irregular these days.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)