Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 197 The Most Profitable Film Genre

From the moment the two appeared at the airport, Weibo became exceptionally lively.

In previous years, few people watched the awards ceremony, and there were no people they knew there, so it didn't really concern them.

Just like, do people abroad watch the Golden Rooster Awards ceremony?
The Golden Globes are a long way off, but they are still the second biggest award in Hollywood, second only to the Oscars.

The Golden Globes are considered a bellwether for the Oscars; generally, if you win a Golden Globe, you're more likely to win an Oscar.

Chen Shouzhe's nomination for Best Director is something many people in China are unwilling to see.

After all, he is known as a commercial director. If a commercial director can win awards abroad, does that mean they are not good enough?
If they can't afford it, and they can't afford to play the game, why can his commercial films win awards abroad but not in China? Are they inferior to those made abroad?

Many people are criticizing Chen Shouzhe for not participating in domestic awards and instead going to the United States. Isn't that betraying his own country?

However, the authorities seemed quite open-minded and gave a lot of positive feedback.

Going abroad to win awards is also a form of publicity, which explains why we've seen media reports from those with official backing.

After more than ten hours, they arrived in the United States. Even in first class, it wasn't very comfortable. Since the stay was only two days, Chen Shou simply didn't bother to adjust to the time difference, while Yang Mi was too excited to sleep.

"You've made so much money here, why haven't you bought a house?"

Chen Shou and I checked into the hotel together, sharing a room.

Yang Mi thought Chen Shouzhe had already bought a house in the United States, but she didn't expect him to be staying in a hotel.

“There’s no need to buy a house. What’s so great about the houses here? Besides, not buying a house can avoid a lot of trouble. If I had a house, people would say I’m trying to make money off it.” Chen Shou waved his hand.

Yang Mi didn't know what to say. Chen Shou had his own plans. Anyway, he wasn't short of money. He had invested all his money in expansion in the past few years. Looking back now, it was all his own. He wasn't being held back by anyone and was free.

Everything belongs to him. Making movies is all about making money. Looking at this man who is younger than him, he seems to live in his own world. Apart from movies, nothing seems to interest him. Even though she is dressed very sexily right now, if she doesn't take the initiative, Chen Shouzhe will probably have to sleep alone tonight.

Hmph! There's no such thing as a free lunch. Not letting her touch other men, not even him?
Because of Chen Shouzhe, even if there were scripts to read in the dark, even if she wanted to have sex, she could only hold back; anyone who touched her would die.

So Chen Shou was a little tired, and the extreme excitement of Yang Mi made him work hard, which resulted in him sleeping very well and soundly.

Knowing he had arrived, many people approached him. After discussing it with Warner Bros., they decided that since Gravity only had two main actors and one director, and The Pursuit of Happyness only had three actors and the same director, they might as well have both movies walk the red carpet together.

Including Yang Mi, there are only seven people, it's very simple.

The day began to get busy on the 8th. Chen Shouzhe finally made a trip, and Yang Mi followed him to his company first to check on the company's situation. After all, she was the hidden boss's wife, and Lu Sen treated her very politely.

"Chen, are you really not planning to stay for a few more days? Our movie will be released in a few days." Roland also came to the company and sat down to drink tea with Chen Shouzhe. Yang Mi, who was next to him, looked at this legendary disaster movie director, who was also the first director Chen Shouzhe had ever worked with. Seeing his anxious look, she didn't expect Chen Shouzhe to be so popular in Hollywood.

"No, Roland, I have other work to do, so I can only come during the Oscars," Chen Shou said. "Alright, with the two of us teaming up again, we're sure to succeed this time. Congratulations in advance on winning the Golden Globe," Roland said, picking up his coffee cup.

"Haha, thank you for your kind words, Roland. Let's make money together," Chen Shou laughed.

“Damn money brought us together, but I haven’t lost money since we started working together. I’m really envious of Lionsgate now. R-rated movies are so profitable, and they’re so short. How many more good stuff do you have up your sleeve?” Roland said enviously, taking a sip of his coffee.

"It's also luck. Director James Wan is very talented. He filmed the kind of horror I wanted, and it's very popular," Chen Shou said.

"I love Saw so much! I heard you sold several rights and made tens of millions of dollars. If the Fast & Furious franchise fails, I'll definitely make an R-rated movie," Roland said enviously.

“If it fails, then there will be no series. You should just stick to making it; it won’t be too bad,” Chen Shou said.

"Ok."

Lionsgate has already released two Saw movies. The first one grossed over $100 million, was filmed in less than 20 days, and had an investment of $1.2 million. Because it was an independent film, the release was quick. The rating system is great; R-rated movies can be released easily. The horror elements swept across Europe and America, and many countries were attracted to this movie. Lionsgate struck while the iron was hot and released Saw 2. The box office directly broke $300 million, reaching an astonishing $3.69 million, while the investment was only $4 million.

The two films had a total investment of $5.2 million and a total box office of $500 million. Other film companies were green with envy. This speed of making money made them realize Chen Shouzhe's worth again.

Back then, Chen Shou made over 300 million US dollars with "The Man from Earth," and now horror movies are making just as much money.

The most terrifying thing is that Lionsgate secretly leaked that there are nine Saw movies in total, all of which were scripts provided by Chen Shouzhe.

Two movies a year, earning hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

This news hasn't been reported in China yet, but Hollywood already knows about it privately. Lionsgate mentioned Chen Shouzhe in its annual financial report and will strengthen its cooperation with him to develop more horror movies. We expect to see the news in a few days.

"Saw is yours?" Yang Mi pondered carefully, then suddenly remembered the English name of Saw and exclaimed to Chen Shou.

“Yes, it’s a project I’m working on with Lionsgate,” Chen Shouzhe nodded.

"With a budget of 5.2 million, you landed a movie worth 500 million US dollars. How much money did you actually make?" Yang Mi asked, his eyes wide.

Her own company is about to go public, and she'll be ecstatic if she makes 200 million yuan in profit every year. Compared to Chen Shouzhe, she'd be furious.

I've never seen anyone make so much money from movies, especially in US dollars.

After seeing Law Lan off, James Wan arrived. He was said to be the director of Saw. Yang Mi was very polite to this director, who was also of Asian descent, but James Wan was even more polite to Chen Shouzhe.

After all, the success of Saw is inseparable from the script support of Chen Shouzhe. With nine films in a row, Lionsgate has won big. Even top disaster film directors like Lawrence said they would make R-rated movies, which shows how profitable it is.

That evening at the hotel, Chen Shouzhe and Yang Mi were changing clothes, preparing to walk the red carpet. Chen Shouzhe was quite calm, while Yang Mi was extremely serious and meticulous in her preparations. It was already morning in China, and Princess Six was broadcasting the event live.

(End of this chapter)