Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 240 Director Selection

"Chairman Han!"

On the eve of the release of Huang Bo's racing film, Chen Shouzhe and the Han family father and daughter had dinner together at a restaurant.

"You mean you still want to find someone else to film, and you can be listed as the producer, and keep a low profile during filming?" Han Sanping said.

“Yeah, it’s not just me who thinks so, the company thinks so too. If I were to film it myself, it would be too big a fuss and we wouldn’t be able to hide it from some people. The script has passed censorship now but it hasn’t attracted any attention. It’s better to let someone else film it so that it won’t be so conspicuous. Ideally, it would be a newcomer,” Chen Shou said while eating.

Han Sanping nodded. He had thought about it. If Chen Shou continued filming, it would definitely attract a lot of attention. At least some people in the industry wouldn't be able to hide it.

As an Oscar-winning director, he is now under too much scrutiny. Take Infernal Affairs for example, the script had just passed censorship when a bunch of people went to find Chan Sau-cheung and Emperor Entertainment.

This shows how influential Chen Shouzhe is; even the slightest movement can draw the attention of countless people to him.

Media professionals live under the public eye, so it's hard for them to keep their activities secret. Of course, the public isn't idle either, so they don't specifically keep an eye on these celebrities.

Aside from a few oddballs, most people who follow celebrities are quite rational.

Chen Shouzhe was afraid that someone inside would sabotage him and cause him trouble. Even if someone wanted to cause trouble, it would have to wait until after the movie was released. By then, the deed was done, and he would have the strength to fight back even if someone caused trouble.

We can't let it be nipped in the bud, so before the movie is successfully released, we should keep a low profile and avoid attracting too much unnecessary attention.

"Do you have anyone in mind?" Han Sanping asked.

“The directors in my company are all busy right now, and Huang Bo isn’t suitable either. He’s quite famous and can’t keep a low profile,” Chen Shouzhe shook his head.

"Then who should we look for?" Han Sanping pondered for a moment.

"How about I direct it?" Han Jianu raised her hand and said.

"Not suitable."

"Can't!"

Chen Shouzhe and Han Sanping spoke at the same time.

As the daughter of Zuo Shandiao, how could she possibly keep a low profile if she were to direct and make movies? Moreover, movies are risky, and Zuo Shandiao would never allow his daughter to take such risks.

"How about we find new talent among the graduates of Beijing Film Academy?" Chen Shouzhe suggested.

"Since I can't do it, can I recommend someone to you?" Han Jianu said.

"Who?"

“Wen Mu also.”

"Wen Mu?" Chen Shouzhe seemed to have heard this name before.

“Xiao Ye, he’s suitable.” Han Sanping nodded.

"I remember now, a master's degree in directing from the Beijing Film Academy." Chen Shouzhe suddenly remembered.

The master's student one year ahead of him was his senior, but they didn't have the same advisor; he was a new director.

“Yes, Wen Mu is fully capable of filming,” Han Jianu nodded.

"What is your relationship?" Chen Shou asked, noticing that they seemed quite familiar with each other.

"My boyfriend," Han Jianu said directly.

"Oh, that's suitable. Let's arrange a time to meet another day," Chen Shou said. Even as a senior, Wen Mu was still a newcomer in the film industry. If a movie was handed over to a newcomer, Chen Shou would have to supervise it from behind the scenes. Wen Mu was just a front man.

The director has been temporarily confirmed. The next issue is casting. Chen Shou will still be in charge of casting. After the actors are confirmed, they will sign confidentiality agreements and be handed over to Wen Muye, that tool.

Huang Bo's movie was released with great fanfare. With the success of the first film, the second one was bound to be just as successful.

As expected, the film grossed 110 million yuan on its opening day thanks to Huang Bo's positive word-of-mouth. Many people predict that the film will eventually reach 700 million or even 800 million yuan.

The word-of-mouth is very good; at least the audience thinks it's great, and the movie is not bad in any aspect.

What the industry envies is Chen Shouzhe, who successfully helped Huang Bo transition into a director, while also being able to make money through Huang Bo.

An investment of tens of millions yields returns of hundreds of millions; who wouldn't be envious?

Meanwhile, celebrities in the film and television industry are also envious. Huang Bo has successfully transformed his career, and with Chen protecting him, it would be difficult for him to fail.

Huang Bo expressed his gratitude to Chen Shouzhe for his guidance on Weibo and said that he would do better and give back to society.

Others who see Huang Bo's Weibo posts can only feel envious, because they can only watch helplessly.

Many actors nowadays transition into directing, but how many of them truly succeed?

Deng Chao has also changed his image, but his reputation has collapsed. Wang Baobao has also changed his image, but his movie is hard to describe and he even won the so-called Golden Broom Award. However, his personal reputation is still good, and the audience believes that he can do better. It just depends on whether the investors will buy it. After all, his first movie has already made money, and it was mainly funded by Enlight Media.

Chen Shouzhe was at the company when he saw Wen Muye, who was wearing black-rimmed glasses, was gentle and a little shy, just like a typical engineering student.

Chen Shou is only twenty-nine years old this year, and Wen Mu is three years older than him, but only one year ahead of him.

Han Jianu came with him. The two were a couple. With Han Jianu, it would be difficult for Wen Mu to fail. After all, she was Zuo Shandiao's only daughter. To put it bluntly, all the connections Zuo Shandiao had built up over half his life would eventually fall into Han Jianu's hands, benefiting Wen Mu.

"Director Chen, I've long admired your name," Wen Mu said politely to Chen Shou.

"You're too kind, senior. Come, have a seat." Chen Shou gestured for the two to sit. "Have you read the script?"

"I've seen it." Wen Mu nodded. In fact, Han Jianu showed it to him as soon as she finished writing the script, but he felt that the movie was too difficult and that it would be very difficult to film. He even thought that the script might not pass the censorship.

So he asked Han Jianu to show the script to her father first, but unexpectedly they ended up finding it on Chen Shouzhe.

He had also read Chen Shouzhe's revised script, and thought it was better than Han Jianu's. At least he felt that it would be approved for filming. The main reason was that Chen Shouzhe's revised script had lost a lot of its hostility and passed the script review.

"Is it okay if you direct the movie? I'll be the producer," Chen Shou said.

"Is this appropriate?" Wen Mu hadn't expected Chen Shouzhe to be his producer.

Chen Shouzhe is an Oscar-winning director. With an Oscar-winning director protecting you, it's hard for your movie not to be a success.

Thinking about it still makes me very excited. No director would refuse Chen Shouzhe's support; just look at Huang Bo now.

The box office exceeded 200 million on the second day, and more than 300 million in two days. Who helped him?

If I could be like Huang Bo, I would definitely have a place on the list of great directors in mainland China in the future.

“If you think it’s suitable, then it’s suitable. If you don’t want to film, I won’t force you,” Chen Shou said.

Han Jianu nudged him with her elbow, and Wen Mu came to his senses and made up his mind.

(End of this chapter)