Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 290 Monkey Selection

Chen Shou chose a nice Cantonese restaurant for their gathering.

Huang Bo said he wanted to eat Western food, but in the end he chose a Chinese restaurant. However, he was good at choosing and picked the most expensive Cantonese restaurant.

The group naturally chose a private room when they arrived at the restaurant. Chen Shouzhe and Wuershan were behind-the-scenes staff, and not many people probably knew them. Chen Shouzhe, on the other hand, was quite famous over the years.

But Huang Bo is different; he's a household name.

In the past, people knew he made good movies, and many movie lovers would recognize him.

However, after he participated in a wildly popular national variety show, more young people got to know this bad uncle.

Even though he was wearing a baseball cap, he was still recognized at a glance. Several waiters looked at them and naturally recognized Chen Shouzhe and Wuershan.

Soon, news of the group's dinner gathering was captured by the media, and they appeared openly in the seafood section of the restaurant.

Huang Bo is from the coast and knows a lot about seafood. Chen Shou is from the Northwest and also eats a lot of seafood.

Because Lao Guo is from Tianjin, which is also by the sea, he especially likes to eat mantis shrimp.

Having grown up feeding dogs in the yard, he ate a lot of seafood with Lao Guo.

A group of people started ordering seafood. Huang Bo knew that his chance to splurge had come. The group specifically picked the expensive items: lobster, abalone, and king crab. They didn't even like the Boston lobster; they wanted the blue lobster instead.

Anyway, Chen Shou couldn't taste any difference; they were all lobsters, and they all tasted the same.

Cantonese cuisine emphasizes the original flavor and freshness, with many ingredients being air-freighted in.

News of their appearance at the restaurant spread, and soon Chen Shouzhe's phone rang.

"Really." Chen Shou glanced at the screen on his phone, somewhat surprised, and tapped the green answer button.

"What's wrong?" Chen Shouzhe's voice was a little soft. You could tell that the person on the other end was quite important to Chen Shouzhe, otherwise he wouldn't have lowered his voice and spoken with such gentleness.

Huang Bo and the others had known Chen Shouzhe for some time and had discussed him countless times in private, so they knew what kind of person he was.

Beneath his humble exterior lies a strong, even ruthless, heart; he is considered a combination of Guo and Yu.

It has Yu Qian's shrewdness and Guo Degang's vindictiveness.

They knew that only a few women could make him gentle. If it were his daughter, he would probably be beaming with joy right now, so it definitely wasn't his daughter.

"I'm currently in the capital with Director Zhou for promotional activities, and he said he'd like to meet you," the person on the other end of the phone said softly.

"Do you know where I am right now?" Chen Shou asked.

"I saw the news; you guys were at a Cantonese restaurant," Reba said.

"If there aren't many people, we can call them over." Chen Shou thought for a moment. Zhou Xingxing was alright; apart from his love of money, he didn't have any flaws. It would be good to introduce him to Wuershan and the others.

Wen Mu and Shen Yijie are both big fans of Stephen Chow, so they should be very happy to meet their idol.

"Okay, I'll take Director Zhou there right away. There aren't many people, and Brother Chao is there too," Reba said.

"Okay, I'll order a few more dishes, hurry up and come over." Chen Shou nodded and hung up the phone.

"Is anyone coming?" Guo Fan asked curiously after hanging up the phone.

"Reba said that Director Zhou is coming over."

The people around quieted down. Director Zhou? There aren't many Director Zhous in the industry. There's only one Director Zhou who would call Chen Shouzhe: Zhou Xingxing.

“Director Stephen Chow!” Wen Mu’s eyes lit up.

"Yes, he happens to be in the capital promoting the film 'The Mermaid,' which aims to reach 3 billion in box office revenue, so he needs to step up his promotional efforts."

"He's been promoting his film much more diligently than I have," Guo Fan nodded. Although he was also promoting his film, he wasn't going around doing it. Anyway, many people were coming to him, and he could just select a few to appear on.

The main focus of the publicity is on Wu Jing, so when Wu Jing called him just now, he was too busy to come over and was currently promoting in Shanghai.

Guo Fan, as the director, has been slacking off, and he has already obtained the script for the second film, planning to shoot it.

"Don't be lazy, let's see if the movie can reach 5 billion," Chen Shou said with a smile.

“It’s too difficult. Fifty billion. The market is only so big now. Even if we increase our promotional efforts, that’s all we can achieve. Besides, Wu Jing’s miracle is hard to replicate. At least for the next ten years, I estimate only you can break it,” Guo Fan said.

"It's not easy for me either, but of course, we can still count on Journey to the West," Chen Shou nodded.

“That’s true, I also think Journey to the West is a good choice, but hasn’t the actor for Sun Wukong been decided yet? I think Wang Baobao is also a good option. Anyway, he needs to be made up, so he can be completely covered up. He has a good physique and is also a trained martial artist. We should really consider him.” Huang Bo recommended his good friend Wang Baobao.

There was no conflict of interest between him and Wang Baobao, but his relationship with Baldy had deteriorated considerably due to the financial ties surrounding the film.

Ultimately, it was because the bald guy was too greedy. He didn't want to give them to them, so he completed his own capital transformation and joined forces with Ning Hao and others to join another company. Now he has capital, though it's only small capital.

Huang Bo was different. With Chen Shouzhe's support, Chen Shouzhe's company was much more powerful than the bald man's company.

Wang Baobao and Chen Shouzhe have never worked together, but they have a good relationship with Enlight Media, which has a program to support new directors.

Dapeng, Deng Chao, and Wang Baobao have all received support from the light source.

"Wang Baobao, what do you guys think?" Chen Shou asked Wuershan and Guo Fan.

"His acting skills and abilities are certainly not a problem, but his face looks a bit bitter. The fierceness of a monkey is difficult to portray even with makeup." As a cinematographer, Shen Yijie understands the actors' performances in films better.

Wang Baobao's image is that of an ordinary person, a rural person. I watched his portrayal of Mr. Tree Chen Shou once, and I wouldn't watch it a second time. It has to be said that this is the peak of his acting skills, and also one of the peaks of Chinese-language acting skills. It is the kind of performance that can be included in textbooks.

Huang Bo also demonstrated this kind of acting skill in "Cow". An actor who can make the director remember the character must be a good actor.

“I think we can give it a try. Maybe he’ll look different with makeup. He’s the highest-profile male celebrity in China right now, so we can definitely have him audition with makeup on,” Wuershan said.

The makeup for Journey to the West can take four or five hours to apply, so during auditions, the monsters aren't made up; they're mainly judged by their physical features, and those who fit the description get the role.

The deities need props and costumes for their blessing, so they will hold auditions for props and costumes.

As Sun Wukong is a main character, none of the previous auditions required makeup. If Wang Baobao is willing to give it a try, we can let him wear makeup and see the effect, after all, he is a big star.

"Give it a try, if you're willing," Guo Fan said.

“Okay, Sister Zhong, could you please inform his company?” Chen Shou nodded, thinking that it might be worthwhile to consider collaborating with this Mr. Shu.

(End of this chapter)