Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 276 No way to survive
The two had just started their company and brought their company's biggest star to visit them.

The meaning is quite clear: they came here because of Journey to the West.

Talent agencies are similar to brokers, introducing jobs to artists and taking a cut of the profits.

However, unlike brokers in some professions, brokerage contracts come in several types. The most terrifying type only pays a base salary, requiring you to run around to various events every day. In the end, you're so exhausted that you want to quit, but you face a terrifying penalty for breach of contract.

After all, the allure of being a celebrity is too great, and the income is terrifying. Despite repeated orders from above to lower salaries, no one is actually willing to do so.

Unless it can bring them more benefits, such as winning a prize.

Otherwise, the cash flow in the film and television industry would be enough to make some people doing laundry go wild.

Chen Shouzhe went to India last year because of the movie "The Divine Doctor". Somehow the people there found out that he had been to India and wanted to collaborate with him on a Hollywood movie.

Although Bollywood also has Hollywood channels, Chen Shouzhe knows so many Hollywood companies that he can get more clothes washed through movies compared to them.

If he accepts, he can instantly bring them a large amount of cash; the temptation is immense—a lot of money, enough to drive a person mad.

Chen Shou refused. He still didn't dare to do anything reckless. He would honestly earn money through his work. Besides, he didn't lack money, just like others. There was no need to give up everything he had for that money.

It's fine if Zhou Xun and Chen Kun come, but if Li Baibing comes, Chen Shouzhe doesn't want to receive her.

It's not that she's a bad person. The fact that Chen Shouzhe chose her as the female representative of his country in the first co-production is enough to show that she is excellent. He even chose her to star in the film despite her relationship with Hua Yi.

He's a good person, but in private he's an extremely obsessive-compulsive person who washes a single vegetable hundreds of times.

So you absolutely can't let her into the kitchen. Just let her eat, but don't let her see the cooking process, otherwise she'll feel very uncomfortable.

Master Yu Qian is performing out of town and hasn't returned yet. The housekeeper we hired cooked some cold dishes to go with the drinks. The housekeeper Chen was supposed to be with at the villa has already come to the horse farm. The housekeeper at the villa only needs to go there regularly to clean, so there's no need for someone to be there to watch over things.

A table full of food was set up, and at the horse farm, even the aunties and nannies ate together; no one seemed to have any reservations.

The women are all in good health, have health certificates, and are all professionals in their respective fields. Their annual income is higher than that of white-collar workers within the Third Ring Road of the capital.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Zhou Xun casually suggested playing a few rounds of mahjong.

Chen Shouzhe was also itching to play, and the four of them gathered together to play mahjong.

"When will the movie casting begin?" Zhou Xun flashed her signature smile, and Chen Shou almost recalled her famous line, "So many people!"

"You can submit your emails now. We'll screen them first, and then we'll notify you of the auditions," Chen Shouzhe said.

"This time you've also joined Tencent Pictures, which is an internet giant. I never expected you to give up China Film Group and choose Tencent instead," Zhou Xun said casually.

Chen Kun smiled as he drew the tiles, while Ni Dahong stared intently at the mahjong tiles in his hand, his ears perked up as he listened.

“Penguins have the resources and can bring greater publicity to the movie, so why not choose them?” Chen Shou said with a smile.

"Didn't those companies from China Film Group cause you any trouble?" "Why would I cause trouble? I can cooperate with whomever I want. Besides, I don't owe them anything. On the contrary, they should owe me." Chen Shou casually threw out a North Wind card.

"Enlight Media's stock price has fallen again. Did you see the announcement released this morning?" Zhou Xun asked.

"I haven't seen it. I don't have that much time to watch these things. I'm very busy right now, dealing with post-production for the movie and preparing for the new film. I don't have much time to follow the news outside," Chen Shou said, shaking his head.

He is really busy. Journey to the West needs to be prepared, and there are many things that require his attention. The script for Investiture of the Gods has been submitted and is also in preparation. It will be a collaboration with CTV. It hasn't been announced yet, but the preliminary preparations need to be sufficient.

Then there's the post-production of "The Departed," which is being completed before July.

Why in July? One reason is to qualify for the Oscars, which requires the film to be released or have preview screenings.

Secondly, it's to coordinate with the promotion of "Infernal Affairs," maximizing the publicity for both films so they can be released worldwide simultaneously.

Two different versions of the same story might pique the audience's curiosity and prompt them to watch the film to see the differences in the performances of the four award-winning actors.

Therefore, the post-production of the film needed to be completed as soon as possible, so Chen Shouzhe had to take charge personally.

“Enlight Media’s financial report last year showed a sharp decline starting from the second quarter. Although advertising and production revenue did not decrease, there was a significant drop in revenue from distribution. If it weren’t for Wu Jing’s film, the situation would probably have been even worse.”

The financial report showed a profit, which also informed the outside world that the partnership with Shouzhe Pictures was over, causing the stock price to drop again. Only today did they hastily release an announcement stating that the cooperation had not been terminated.

"The announcement should be about 'The Wandering Earth,' right?" Chen Shouzhe had guessed it. At present, the only collaborative project with Enlight Media is "The Wandering Earth." This movie has been in preparation for two years. It was directed by Guo Fan after the release of "WALL-E." The total investment is 400 million yuan, which is higher than "Journey to the West."

The other project focused entirely on special effects, while Journey to the West, though also featuring special effects, is fundamentally different. Chen Shouzhe plans to reduce costs further, but additional production expenses may be required later.

We'll see when the time comes; the production companies aren't short of money.

"That's right, they emphasized 'The Wandering Earth,' which has already started its promotion. You have two movies releasing during this year's Spring Festival, and I've heard that quite a few people are criticizing you."

"We were originally going to release three parts, but one part was rejected by the higher-ups," Chen Shou said calmly.

"Boom!"

Chen Kun was stunned for a moment, and the cards in his hand fell to the ground.

"Are you out of your mind? Three movies crammed into the Spring Festival season? If I were a higher-up, I would only allow you to release one. You devoured most of the film market last year, are you going to eat it all up again this year? Give other production companies a chance to survive, okay?" Zhou Xun was also frightened.

Because of the two films produced by Chen Shouzhe Pictures being released during the Spring Festival, the film industry is already full of complaints. If they knew that Chen Shouzhe originally planned to release three films, I wonder what they would think.

I estimate that they will go to the General Administration to complain, because they can't let Chen Shou continue to suppress them.

The three of them played cards with him until 10 o'clock and then left. Chen Shouzhe did not promise them any roles, and the three of them did not say anything, but their meaning was very clear.

Who wouldn't want a piece of the Journey to the West pie? Especially a newly established agency, which can gain fame and prove its connections through movie roles.

(End of this chapter)