Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 230 The Emperor, Terrified of Being Scammed

The opportunity to collaborate with Shouzhe Pictures is an irresistible temptation for major film companies. Looking at Enlight Media's current predicament, countless companies are probably gloating.

Since the partnership ended, neither the release of A Chinese Ghost Story III nor Huang Bo's racing movie, which will be released at the end of the month, has been related to Enlight Media.

Wanda was responsible for the main distribution, while other companies were also assigned smaller portions of the distribution.

The incident that caused a great stir at the end of last year, although the investigation revealed that there were indeed insiders manipulating the stock market using inside information.

But the news is indeed true; Guangmang and Chen Shouzhe have indeed broken up.

The quarterly reports released in the first half of the year show that the cooperation ratio with Shou Zhe Pictures is declining. The profits gained from investing in Xihong City's richest man are now only left with Guo Fan's Wandering Earth, which has not yet been released.

As for the two films in the Ghost Blows Out the Light series, they have nothing to do with Enlight Media anymore. Enlight Media's stock price finally reached 20 billion, but this blow reduced it to only about 18 billion.

If it weren't for their business support, the price would probably have fallen even further.

Emperor Entertainment Group has a lot of projects, but very few are truly excellent. Many people take advantage of them.

Lu Taro really screwed over Emperor Entertainment Group by making a terrible historical epic and even admitting to hiring online trolls. That kind of brainless person would have been beaten to death long ago if he didn't have a powerful father.

For Emperor Entertainment Group, the mainland is a huge market, and only Chen Shouzhe is sure to find a treasure in this market; no one else can guarantee that they will find one.

Faced with Chen Shouzhe's invitation to cooperate, not to mention her, even Yang Shoucheng, the boss, was clearly very excited when she had a phone conversation with him on the way.

"What movie?" Huo Wenxi asked impatiently.

"Haven't you read the script yet?" Chen Shou asked, looking at Zhong Lifan beside him.

“Ms. Huo just arrived,” Zhong Lifan said with a smile.

“I see. Let’s take a look at the script first. I’m not the main producer here; the main production will be handled by Emperor Entertainment.” Chen Shou smiled and took the script from Zhong Lifan, handing it to Huo Wenxi.

Huo Wenxi took it and started reading.

The script is the foundation of any film or television production. No matter how good the work is, you must first read the script.

Investors see the script first, and you need to impress them with the script to secure investment.

Back then, Chen Shou took the script for "Goodbye Mr. Loser" to major film and television companies all over the country, and was dismissed quite a few times.

Later, it was Guo Degang who made the first investment and his mentor who made the final investment, which allowed the film to be filmed smoothly.

Why does Chen Shouzhe try to bring the two of them along on some projects? This gratitude, like the bond between father and son, isn't mixed with too much self-interest; it's purely because he wants to show his filial piety.

After reading the script, Huo Wenxi took a sip of tea. Chen Shou had already left the meeting room to handle some matters in his office, with Zhong Lifan accompanying him.

"Thank you very much, Director Chen, for choosing us. I'll go back and discuss it with Boss Yang now. So, what about the investment?"

"We'll keep 70% of the film production, and leave the filming and acting to you."

"70%? That's too much, we..."

“Ms. Huo, there’s more than one Emperor Entertainment Group in Hong Kong. Giving you the casting rights will allow you to profit from other sources. Besides, 30% is quite a lot. Director Chen said it’s the lowest price. If you don’t agree, we can work together next time,” Chung Lai-fan said, waving her hand.

Perhaps influenced by Chen Shou's decisive personality, Zhong Lifan was too lazy to haggle. Originally, she only wanted to offer 20% and then negotiate slowly to gain more benefits. Now she realized that it was unnecessary. She should just give her bottom line and if they didn't agree, she could find someone else. There was more than one Emperor Entertainment Group in Hong Kong.

Huo Wenxi hadn't expected Zhong Lifan to be so direct, leaving no room for negotiation. However, 30% was indeed a significant amount, and very useful to Emperor Entertainment. She had read the script and found it excellent. Besides, they were handling the filming and casting. Although the final casting was with Shou Zhe Film Studio, it meant it could be someone from their company, or it could be used to curry favor. Shou Zhe Film Studio's brand and Chen Shou Zhe's script were highly sought-after in the industry. If she missed out, she would have nowhere to turn.

"Can I discuss this with Mr. Yang?"

"Please." Zhong Lifan said, getting up and leaving the conference room. Huo Wenxi picked up his phone and started making a call.

A short while later, Zhong Lifan's assistant came to inform her that Huo Wenxi had given her the results.

"Mr. Zhong and Mr. Yang have agreed," Huo Wenxi said with a smile.

“It’s a pleasure working together. You can take the script back with you. Director Chen will make the final decision on the cast.” Zhong Lifan nodded.

“No problem. What about Director Chen? I’d like to invite him to dinner,” Huo Wenxi asked.

"He should be in his office now. I'll have someone go and ask him."

Huo Wenxi nodded, and Zhong Lifan sent someone to ask Chen Shouzhe.

"Director Chen said he's going home for dinner tonight," the person said with a smile when he returned.

"Let's do it another day then." Huo Wenxi nodded, stood up, shook hands with Zhong Lifan, and left Shouzhai Film Studio with the script.

Chen left work on time and drove back to the horse farm himself.

The weather in April is cool. The capital city has four distinct seasons. Spring is a time of renewal, and you can see that the horse farm has recovered from the desolation of winter. The grass on the grassland has grown and the stream is babbling.

The vegetables at the horse farm have already been planted, and in two months we can enjoy watermelon while listening to music.

"Does your master's wife want to go on a trip?"

At the dinner table, Teacher Yu was still performing out of town and hadn't returned yet. It was Qingming Festival, the time for spring outings.

Chen Shouzhe recently decided to take a break, since he had nothing else to do, so he decided to take the whole family on a trip.

He didn't really get to explore Yunnan properly this time, only spending a little time there on the last day. He thought the weather there was pretty good, except for the strong winds. It's like spring all year round there, and even though it's spring now, it's still the best place to visit.

"Let's forget it. The eldest still has to go to school, and the two younger ones are too naughty. There's also a lot of work to do at the horse farm. We'll go together when your master has time," said the master's wife.

“Okay, I don’t have anything to do lately, so I’m planning to go back to my hometown. It’s been three or four years since I last went back,” Chen Shou said.

"It's time to go back. Your grandparents haven't seen you in a long time."

Chen Shouzhe recalled that it had been more than a year since last year's Spring Festival when he brought the two elderly people from the Northwest. The two elderly people were relatives of his master's parents, but by the time his master and his father reached that generation, the relationship had become quite distant. If it weren't for Chen Shouzhe, the two families probably wouldn't have much contact.

Back then, the Yu family were highly educated intellectuals, while Chen Shouzhe's family was less so. His grandparents were also intellectuals, but like weasels, each generation was worse than the last. Chen Shouzhe studied crosstalk while attending school from a young age, and unexpectedly, he became a famous director.

"Okay, let's go back in a few days and take the girl with us. Girl, let's go back to see Grandpa and Grandma, okay?"

"not good!!"

"why?"

"I want to play with the pony."

(End of this chapter)