Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 23 Unique Marketing Approaches
The premiere of Painted Skin was quite crowded. It was Chen Shouzhe's second film, and many people were eager to see how this newcomer's romantic comedy would turn out.

Many directors and actors from the industry came. Chen Shouzhe stood at the door to greet them, and the invited celebrities came in from the red carpet.

"Director Zhang." Chen Shou stepped forward to greet him.

"Hello, Director Chen." Director Zhang extended his hand and shook hands with him.

This is a renowned director with the title of "National Master," and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the top director in China.

He is internationally renowned and holds a high position in China; he is also a director who graduated from the Beijing Film Academy.

"You are a promising young man! I've come to see your new work and learn from it."

"Please correct me when the time comes; I just got lucky."

After exchanging pleasantries, one party invited the other inside. A number of people arrived one after another. Chen Shou could recognize most of them, while the others he didn't recognize were mostly managers from film and television companies. Fortunately, Director Wang was with him.

Almost everyone arrived, and the premiere began, featuring a popular female singer performing the theme song "Painting Heart".

As the lights dimmed, the logos of several companies appeared, and a group of people in black armor rode horses through the desert amidst a sea of ​​yellow sand.

As the story unfolds, it becomes clear why this movie is labeled as a romance. If judged by its content, it could be classified as a horror film, making it even more difficult to pass censorship.

Some film critics received a red envelope (cash gift) as they left after watching the film and were preparing to write their articles. This is an unspoken rule, and it's handled by Enlight Media.

The others either stayed to chat for a while or left.

Chen Shouzhe and the main creative team were the last to leave; they were all exhausted.

He also gave an interview on stage and was asked many questions by the media.

Chen Shouzhe's problems mainly revolve around his scandals. He wasn't as ruthless as Wang Changtian, who directly crushed the other party; he was just being misrepresented by some busybodies.

The fact that a female celebrity who hasn't even debuted yet has been exposed to have a boyfriend is already a significant blow to her career.

Although it's normal for men and women to have sex, after all, they are adults. Anyone with eyes can see that the company that signed them is just trying to ride on their popularity, especially Chen Shou, who is a rising director.

If Chen Shouzhe were to say something like, "You're playing pretty fancy tricks," this actress would be finished.

The kind of thing where someone falls from the sky into a paradise on earth.

Of course, even if Chen Shou didn't say anything, it was already mostly ruined. The culprit was speaking as if he hadn't done it. Tao Le, who was standing next to him, felt a chill run down his spine. His boss was so young, yet so ruthless.

After the premiere, the film critics began their work; some praised it to the skies, some offered insightful analyses, but none said anything bad.

The film was released the next day, the 28th, on Wednesday. Chen Shou waited anxiously. In terms of screenings, because of his previous success and the presence of Wanda this time, he was given face as the box office record holder, with 20% of the screenings. Other films released at the same time wished he would die quickly so that they could get a share of the pie.

The box office figures for the first day haven't been released yet, but many people who have seen the movie have already written reviews online.

"I bought a ticket at midnight and couldn't wait to go in and watch it. I really like Director Chen's 'Goodbye Mr. Loser,' and I supported this movie as soon as it aired. After watching it, I was a little afraid to go home. What a liar! It was supposed to be a romance movie, but it turned out like this. Zhou Xun's acting was really amazing, no doubt about it. They are all top-tier actors. It just made me feel very sad. Xiao Wei is so pitiful!!"

"I watched it during my lunch break. I was planning to take a nap in the movie theater, but I couldn't sleep at all. The story was very gentle, but there were no awkward moments and some highlights. It's a love story about giving up a thousand years of cultivation for love."

"Watch with caution if you're easily scared. There are two particularly terrifying scenes. I have to say the special effects are really amazing. I want to watch it a second time."

"The acting was excellent, and I really liked the lighting design."

"Xiao Wei's acting really broke my heart; the little lizard's love was too humble."

"I was horrified when I peeled off that layer of skin."

"If the full score is ten, I would give it nine points and eight marks."

The reviews were generally positive, but there were also quite a few negative ones. Most of them said they felt cheated, that while it was indeed a romance film, it was more of a fantasy film with horror elements.

"I didn't expect it to be that scary. What were you thinking?"

It was already evening at the horse farm. Chen Shouzhe was having dinner with his master's wife and employees. His master's wife had gone to see the horse farm in the morning to support him, and she had been talking about it a lot since she came back. She was frightened by the destruction of the two female protagonists.

"So that's what it means, no wonder it's called 'Painted Skin'. But the song is really nice, 'Painted Heart'," the teacher's wife said with a smile.

"I already told you, it has a slightly scary aspect," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"By the way, are you really not involved with that girl?" the teacher's wife gossiped, and everyone immediately fell silent as the others pricked up their ears to listen.

"What connection do we have? We just bumped into each other on campus, and then her company used it as an opportunity to create hype," Chen Shou said, shaking his head.

"Oh, don't do anything reckless. These days, paparazzi are really something. If you're looking for a girlfriend, I know a lot of nice girls, I can introduce you to some," the master's wife said. The horse farm initially operated at a loss, but later realized this couldn't continue, so they adopted a membership system. Only members could come and play; those who came to eat, drink, and have fun were mostly celebrities in the industry, ensuring a high degree of privacy.

As Chen Shouzhe became more famous, more people came to the horse farm. Many people from the entertainment industry would bring their juniors, and there were quite a few young girls there.

Chen Shouzhe has reached the legal marriage age, and it's normal for his wife, who is like a mother to worry about her son's important life event.

After eating and taking a walk, Chen Shou returned to his dormitory to continue writing, putting down what was in his mind.

Although his memory is very clear, who knows when it might suddenly disappear? It's important to save more information; a bad pen is worse than a good memory.

Chen Shou didn't know what time he finished writing, but he fell asleep in bed in a daze. He was woken up by a phone call the next day.

"Hello, who is it?" Chen Shou picked up the phone, not knowing who was calling, and listened to it.

"Director Chen, the first day's box office results are in." It was Tao Le calling from the other end of the phone.

Chen Shou, quick-witted, suddenly remembered the box office figures and hurriedly asked, "How much?"

“2641 million,” Tao Le said excitedly.

"Phew, okay, wait until I get to the company for the meeting." Chen Shou took a deep breath.

"Okay." Tao Le hung up the phone.

Chen Shou checked the time; it was 7:30, and the sun was already out.

After washing up and changing clothes, my master was already feeding the horses.

He had a performance yesterday and came back very late. He probably got up so early because of the ticket sales. Chen Shou felt a warm glow inside and went up to help.

"Master, the box office results are in." Chen Shou helped put the licorice root into the manger.

"How many?"

“2641 million,” Chen Shou said with a smile.

"That's good, at least breaking even shouldn't be a problem."

"Reaching 500 million shouldn't be a problem."

With a return of 200 million, you can break even; with 500 million, you can earn 30 to 40 million. Plus overseas income and copyright revenue, it's a steady stream of profits.

The master and apprentice were so busy that the master's wife called them to eat. After they finished eating, Chen went to the company, while Yu Qian went back to catch up on his sleep. The master's wife watched them with a smile at the dinner table.

Chen Shou's phone kept ringing. He had turned it off at first, but when he turned it on in the car, there were dozens of calls from China Film Group, Wanda Cinema, Xi'an Film Studio, Enlight Media, and even the actors. Some of the calls that couldn't be reached were just text messages of congratulations.

Anyone with a discerning eye can tell from the opening day figures that this movie's box office won't be low, especially since the National Day holiday is just two days away.

"Hello, Mr. Han, it's me. Thank you, Mr. Han. The overseas results are good too, right? Thank you so much. Okay, I'm going to the company now. I'll arrange the publicity."

"Hey Mr. Wang, the actors are ready, no problem. We'll handle the lighting later."

"Thank you, Mr. Ye. Will you increase the number of screenings? That would be great, with National Day just two days away."

Several production companies called one after another. Chen Shou made several calls and unknowingly arrived at the company.

When a movie is released, promotion is required, which is stipulated in the actors' contracts. This is an unspoken rule. Even actors on set have to cooperate with the promotion. Otherwise, if you hold my actors hostage today, I can hold yours hostage tomorrow. Besides, who would dare to use actors like that in the future?

With the first day's box office results in, some film companies are envious. The film earned more than 20 million yuan and the word-of-mouth seems pretty good. Next is the National Day holiday. These days, couples go on dates either to the cinema or the hotel. You can't just say you want to go to a hotel directly. You have to go to the cinema first to prepare.

Especially with the popularity of a post, countless young men and women saw an opportunity.

[Painted Skin is worth watching, especially the part about the characters who are almost lovers!!]

At first, no one paid much attention. But after opening the post, they found out that because of the scary scenes in the movie "Painted Skin," a boy invited a girl to see it. As a result, the girl was frightened and snuggled into his arms. That night, after leaving the movie theater, the two went to a hotel.

I don't know when this idea popped up, but someone said, "If you want to take a girl to a hotel, then take her to see 'Painted Skin' first!"
As for who posted this message, that remains unknown. The box office figures for the second day were also low, at 29.7 million, failing to break the 30 million mark.

This relieved many film and television companies, as the lack of the terrifying surge seen in "Goodbye Mr. Loser" meant that they could still compete with it during the National Day holiday.

However, the box office figures on the third day left many film companies dumbfounded, as if they had seen a ghost.

(End of this chapter)