Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 289 Photographer Shen Yijie
The one calling him "Dad" is not his daughter Chen Caiyu, but his son Yan Ruyu, whom he had with Yan Danchen. He is over a year old and can call out "Dad" and "Mom". When Chen and he see each other on video, Yan Ruyu will call out to him.

"You've only been gone a few days, and you're back so soon?" Yan Danchen appeared on camera holding her child.

"I came back because there was nothing else going on there. We still need to cast for Journey to the West," Chen Shou said.

"What role did you reserve for me?" Yan Danchen asked with a smile.

“Chang’e,” Chen Shou said.

"That's more like it. Come over when you have time; the child misses you." Yan Danchen nodded in satisfaction, her eyes sparkling with a captivating light. After a moment, she smiled and said, "I didn't know that Director Chen had that kind of taste. How come I didn't know before?"

“I don’t have that kind of fetish, you know that yourself.” Chen Shou rolled his eyes at her, while Xiao Fang and the driver in front of him kept their eyes straight ahead and sat obediently in the front.

Chen Shouzhe was wearing headphones, but they couldn't tell who he was chatting with.

"Would you like to give it a try?" Yan Danchen asked with a grin.

"Not interested in."

"If you want to try, go find the other two. I don't like them either, hmph!"

We chatted about the children for a while longer before hanging up after we got to Xiaoxiaomeng.

The film is still in the audition process. This audition is very large and needs to generate buzz. Since Chen Shou is not on the top of Wuershan Mountain, Guo Fan, Wu Jing, and Huang Bo have all been brought over to help.

When Chen arrived, they had just finished discussing which one was suitable and hadn't made a final decision yet.

Very few roles can be decided on the spot, unless they are particularly suitable.

"Director Chen, you're finally back! Hurry up and treat us to a meal!" Huang Bo greeted him.

"The restaurant reservation is ready. We'll be there in a bit. Thank you all for your help." Chen Shou nodded to Wuershan and the others.

"Director Chen is not only a force to be reckoned with domestically, but he can also dominate internationally," Wuershan said enviously.

Wen Mu, who came over to help, kept nodding in agreement. In his opinion, Chen Shouzhe was already the pinnacle of domestic commercial films.

While Zhang Yimou's Heroes is considered the pioneer of commercial films, Chen Shouzhe represents the pinnacle. At least in terms of box office, more than half of the films that are currently considered top-tier are from Chen Shouzhe's hands, which is a remarkable achievement in the global film industry.

He still has a huge appeal in overseas markets. Even though The Wandering Earth wasn't directed by him, many viewers were still willing to pay to see it because of his fame abroad.

Who doesn't want to be a commercial director? Do you think Wong Kar-wai and the great poet don't want their movies to sell well?

It's because they can't sell them.

"It's just good luck. Movies and gambling are no different. Before the results are in, nobody knows what will happen. Many movies lose money these days. I'm walking on thin ice. If one day my movie loses money, I bet the outside world will be ecstatic." Chen Shou smiled.

Countless people are waiting for him to doze off, waiting for him to make a mistake.

If his box office performance falters, he will be attacked by a mob; there are too many people who would love for him to suffer.

Rivals are enemies; if one Chen Shou falls, they can eat even more.

We were all pretty average to begin with, and then you suddenly appeared. Are we even going to play anymore?

Just like smartphones, it was a revolutionary massacre.

Even the largest companies aren't immune to failure; a single wrong decision could cause the US to collapse. Chen Shouzhe faces immediate and widespread criticism if he fails even once.

“No, you won’t. With the reputation you’ve built up, as long as the movie quality is good, this situation won’t happen. The audience has already been cultivated,” Wuershan said.

Chen Shouzhe has an incredibly high level of popularity with the audience. Although many people dislike him and criticize him, especially those in the crosstalk world, who have spoken ill of him because of Guo Degang's situation.

Even Cao's recent decline has been rumored to be due to Chen Shou's suppression.

Chen Shouzhe was too lazy to respond to this. He figured that the people who were criticizing him must have some vested interest in it, otherwise why would they criticize him? What was wrong with him?

When they were falsely accused of being promiscuous, even the authorities were alarmed and stepped in to clarify. What more can be said?

Just look at the great poet. Over the years, who has understood his movies? Anyway, Chen Shouzhe still doesn't understand "The Promise" after all these years. If anyone understands it, you can tag him and explain to him what story it is about.

To be frank, I could still watch "The Warring States" with Chen Shou, but I just couldn't understand what "The Promise" was about.

But great poets' movies all make money, and audiences still have faith in them, even if they're fed piles of material.

Therefore, a great director with a solid foundation is unlikely to emerge unless he becomes like Wu Baige, who has been fed up with history several times and has been completely abandoned by the audience.

Of course, the audience doesn't really care too much about the director; they mainly care about the quality of the movie. If the movie is of good quality, it can still be successful.

"The quality of a film should speak for itself. Let's go eat," Chen Shou said, waving his hand.

"Hurry up, you guys are only getting this meal because of me. I was 'humiliated' just now, and that's how I got to eat here," Huang Bo said with a grin.

"Director Chen, I think Director Huang Bo doesn't want to continue. Actually, I can be a director too. Look at Zhang Yimou and Ning Hao, they are both cinematographers. I think I can do it too," Chen Shouzhe's go-to cinematographer said with a smile.

"Go away, go away. I knew you were staring at me, so you were hiding something." Huang Bo stared at him and said.

Chen Shouzhe seemed to be deep in thought. A cinematographer who doesn't want to be a director isn't a good cinematographer. Sometimes, cinematographers can actually be directors. They have a strong control over the camera. His own cinematographer had been with him for almost eight years, starting from Painted Skin. He was recruited by Chen Shouzhe from the Beijing Film Academy and was a bit older than him.

"Do you have any ideas?" Chen Shou asked him.

The cinematographer's name is Shen Yijie. He graduated from the cinematography department of Beijing Film Academy. He used to work for other film and television companies. After Chen Shou finished filming Goodbye Mr. Loser, he planned to film Painted Skin. The crew of Goodbye Mr. Loser was from China Film Group. Later, in order to make his own film, he poached Shen Yijie from other companies and had him film many movies.

Upon hearing this, Shen Yijie immediately became excited and nodded, saying, "Yes, I have written a notebook about it over the years."

"It's been revised. I'll bring it over another day." Chen Shou nodded.

"it is good."

Shen Yijie nodded immediately, and the others looked at him with smiles.

"Not bad, Lao Shen. You have the heart of a director. How come I never noticed before?" Huang Bo said with a smile.

“Actually, I prefer the script you have. Can I have it?” Shen Yijie said to Huang Bo.

"You're overthinking it. There's no way I'll give it to you. The script has already been approved and filed. I've already prepared the actors. You come over here and be my cinematographer, and I'll teach you how to be a director," Huang Bo said with a smile.

"Do I need to learn directing from you?" Shen Yijie glanced at Chen Shou and laughed.

"Let's go. Oh, and Xiao Fang, bring those bottles of wine from my office." Chen Shou smiled. It was good for the company to have another director; they could earn more money.

(End of this chapter)