Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 254 Young people should read more books
Faced with the overwhelming power of the mainstream ideology, other film and television companies really had no choice, since they were bound by certain missions.

Fortunately, Chen Shouzhe is not aggressive. Many bosses in the film and television industry are very polite to him, thinking that he knows how to handle people.

As long as they don't provoke Chen Shouzhe, Chen Shouzhe won't provoke them either, and they won't be very aggressive, unless they are people with warped values.

He will greet even people he doesn't like with a smile, at least adhering to the principle of everyone making money together.

Many people in the film and television industry call Chen Shouzhe a madman, or a rabbit.

When cornered, they'll bite, and they won't let go until they're dead.

The major film and television companies received a message from those cinemas.

Chen Shouzhe persuaded the theaters to reduce the number of screenings, and he voluntarily requested a 45% reduction; otherwise, given his box office appeal, the number would definitely have exceeded 50%.

His request relieved many companies that had just released the film, and even those who disliked Chen Shouzhe wouldn't say anything openly.

But things will be hard to say after the National Day holiday. With other movies being released, Chen Shou will definitely have to increase the number of screenings.

It seems certain that the film will surpass 20 billion, but it hasn't reached the expected 30 billion. Zhang Hanyu and others are constantly appearing on TV shows to promote the film.

There are only four main actors, among whom Dilraba is definitely the most popular. Although she doesn't have many scenes in the film, she wasn't criticized by the audience. On the contrary, Zhang Tong's acting skills impressed the audience. He truly deserves to be called a monk.

Mahua FunAge's "Iron Fist" performed very well. Although the film had many flaws, Ma Li and Shen Teng's box office appeal has grown, and both films are raking in the profits.

Since Wu Jing's film broke 400 million yuan in single-day box office, the estimated box office for the entire market has been pushed up to 500 million yuan, although this can only be achieved during holidays.

Wu Jing's film had a screening rate of over 90%, which was something that could only be achieved if all the cinemas in China were showing the same film.

With the improvement of living standards and the stability of real estate-related industries, more and more cinemas are opening, and they are gradually spreading to second-tier and lower-tier cities.

The total box office revenue on the third day of the National Day holiday reached 4.67 million yuan, which was divided among more than ten films. Among them, Iron Fist took 210 million yuan and Operation Northern Myanmar took 190 million yuan. These two films took 400 million yuan of box office revenue, and the remaining 60 million yuan flowed into other films.

The promotion of the greenhouse continued, and it was clear that he had suffered from the failure of his first film.

Because of the patriotic theme, the promotion will definitely not stop, and there are certain requirements from above, so there will be instances of private screenings.

As a key member of the creative team, Chen Shouzhe had to participate in the promotion, taking the film's main actors to various cities.

"Director Chen, you're right. Reputation is really important for actors transitioning to directing."

The promotion has reached Hunan, and it's going to be on Hunan TV. This is Chen Shouzhe's first time promoting a movie on Hunan TV. He has promoted movies here before, but he has never come in person.

Hunan TV, as the strongest local satellite TV station in China, is rich and powerful, and is also synonymous with entertainment to the death.

Young people who like celebrities almost all grew up watching Hunan TV, and some celebrities even consider it an honor to appear on Hunan TV programs.

Having just finished recording a program, Wang Han, one of Hunan TV's leading hosts, treated everyone to a meal at an upscale restaurant near the Hunan TV building.

Because of its patriotic theme, Hunan TV has two indoor variety shows, and another one with five hosts. It's too entertainment-oriented, and the content consists of childish games.

Ultimately, Chen Shouzhe and his team chose another program with six hosts, which focused on popular science films.

The program featured professional criminal police officers who explained how to prevent fraud, and actors also participated in the interviews.

At the dinner table, the conversation turned to recently released movies. The other hosts, unlike their on-stage personas, were much more serious in private. Only Wang Han was relatively open and chatty, sitting with Chen Shouzhe.

“Indeed, for directors, a film’s reputation is sometimes more important than its box office performance. You never know if a film can attract an audience until it’s released, so it’s too much of a gamble,” Chen Shou nodded.

“Dapeng came to record before, and I even chatted with him. He was very confident in the box office performance of his film. I didn’t expect that the second film would not do well because of the poor reception of the first one,” Wang Han sighed.

“At least he’s making money. As long as he can make money, there will still be capital to continue investing in him, so there’s no need to worry about him not making movies in the future. He chose to make money, just like me, right?” Chen Shou smiled, and the others smiled along with him.

Because Da Peng recently quoted Chen Shouzhe in an interview, saying that a director's first film should either win an award or make money, and he chose to make money, just like Chen Shouzhe.

The first movie broke 1 billion, and the second movie received good reviews. In the promotion, Dapeng was seen as becoming the second Chen Shouzhe, after all, Chen Shouzhe's second movie, Painted Skin, only grossed 600 million.

Faced with the greenhouse's attempt to extort money, Chen Shouzhe remained silent, as using such an opportunity for publicity is common in the film and television industry.

Of course, it also depends on how you borrow it. The greenhouse keeps praising and flattering Chen Shouzhe, so what objection could Chen Shouzhe possibly have?

It's not like the old Sugar Man anymore, where he and Nezha were used to create a scandal.

However, Nazha's starring role in "The Sewing Machine in the Greenhouse" brought up her past relationship with Chen Shouzhe.

Compared to her fellow townsman Reba, who, despite being the second female lead, is a top-tier female celebrity, while she is only a second-tier celebrity, as evidenced by her endorsement advertisements, her commercial value is far inferior to Reba's.

Since Chen Shouzhe gained power, the sugar industry has been declining. Apart from the top leader who can still hold on, the rest are just small fry.

The eldest sister married a man who was about the same age as her father, and the eldest brother who was supposed to succeed her left one after another due to lawsuits, and one of them even went into boxing.

I doubt Naza will stay long; that girl seems to be obsessed with romance.

She's been spat on quite a few times by fans of another A-list female celebrity, since that celebrity's fans are just like her—crazy.

"Director Chen, let me introduce you to a good young man, Wang Yibo." Wang Han nudged the handsome young man next to him.

"Which company is he from?" Chen Shou glanced at him. He was very handsome, but he looked a bit dull. People like him would definitely have no shortage of fans in the film and television industry, especially on a stage like Hunan TV. To put it bluntly, he was a traffic star, which was definitely not suitable for him. He gave Wang Han some face.

"From Yuehua Entertainment."

"Oh, from General Manager Du's company, she's quite good-looking." Chen Shou nodded.

Wang Han gave him a look, and Wang Yibo stood up, holding a glass of wine in both hands.

"No need for that, how old are you?"

"twenty."

"I was still studying at the Beijing Film Academy when I was twenty. Let me give you some advice: if you want to go far in the entertainment industry, you need to read more books and improve your acting skills. It will be useful for your future." Chen Shou raised his glass in a gesture of respect and took a small sip.

"Thank you, Director Chen, I..." Wang Yibo was a little excited. He downed the wine in his glass in one gulp and soon slumped onto the table.

"Your alcohol tolerance isn't good. You need to practice more. It's too easy to be a celebrity these days. You can debut for several years by the time you're twenty. If you want to go far in your career, reading more books is definitely the right thing to do."

(End of this chapter)