Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 291 Adaptation of Journey to the West: The Monkey Falls in Love?
They ordered a few more dishes. Stephen Chow is from Hong Kong, and they were eating at a Cantonese restaurant today, so there's no need to worry about his taste. It's his taste anyway, unless it's not cooked authentically.

Anyway, Chen and the others couldn't tell the difference, as long as it tasted good.

Stephen Chow's group was small, mainly consisting of himself, the two lead actors, and his agent, Chen Zhenyu.

The remaining assistants were left to Xiao Fang and the others to arrange, and they went to eat in the private room next door.

The private room that Chen Shouzhe booked was very large. There were still empty seats for their group of four plus others, although they were quite far apart. There was a large round table, and to be honest, Chen Shouzhe didn't like this kind of large round table in a conference room because he could only talk to the two people next to him.

Zhou Xingxing was a guest and was seated to Chen Shouzhe's left. Everyone present knew about the relationship between Dilraba and Chen Shouzhe, so she was seated to Chen Shouzhe's right. Dilraba had been to these private gatherings several times and was already used to it. She was wearing a thick down jacket, but took it off after arriving at the restaurant, revealing a black turtleneck sweater underneath.

"Are you cold?" Chen Shou asked, pressing his ear close to hers and tucking her hair behind her ear.

It's still the first month of the lunar calendar, and the weather hasn't warmed up yet. In order to break the 3 billion yuan box office mark, Stephen Chow is really working hard to promote the film. The higher the box office, the greater the benefits he can get, whether it's wealth or future influence.

After all, there is a huge difference between a director who makes 2 billion yuan at the box office and a director who makes 3 billion yuan at the box office.

Commercial films only need to serve the public well and have sincere promotion. Stephen Chow, along with Deng Chao and Dilraba, kept traveling to major cities, including Hong Kong, many large cities in the south, and then back to the capital for another round of promotion.

Dilraba's outfit looks rather thin. As a female celebrity, she wouldn't wear a down jacket on stage for promotions. Stephen Chow can shamelessly wear a thick down jacket. To put it bluntly, female celebrities are selling their bodies.

Those who aren't pretty can't get into the entertainment industry, and those who aren't outgoing can't succeed in it. Either you need to have a strong background, like Tian Tian, ​​with someone protecting you, or you're too idle and have no fame.

"It's alright. I was promoting at Wanda Cinema today, and the heating there is quite comfortable." Dilraba looked beautiful with her makeup on today, and said shyly with her head down.

Seeing Chen Shou and Reba whispering and making small movements, Zhou Xingxing smiled. The others glanced over with smiles but didn't say anything.

"Indoors is fine." Chen Shou nodded.

"May I serve the food?"

The manager knocked on the door and came in to ask who was in the private room. She knew who the people in the private room were and had just instructed them to wait until everyone was present before serving the dishes.

"Let's go for it," Huang Bo said with a smile.

"Ok."

The manager went out, and soon the dishes were served one after another. Zhou Xingxing also took the opportunity to chat with Chen Shou.

"With Director Chen's film being delayed, what about the theatrical release schedule..." Zhou Xingxing said.

"The screening schedule depends on the distributor. Wanda Pictures is the distributor for The Mermaid, so you can rest assured that they can guarantee a certain number of screenings." Chen Shouzhe roughly guessed Stephen Chow's purpose: in order to reach 3 billion yuan in box office revenue, he needed the support of the cinemas.

Chen Shouzhe is the major shareholder of the largest cinema chain in China. He was shocked and happy when he received the news before the Lunar New Year.

Because of strong allies, the film's release is guaranteed by theater chains.

Zhou Xingxing actually had another purpose in looking for Chen Shouzhe, but there were too many people around.

"Director Chen, I'd like to offer you a toast," Stephen Chow said, raising his glass.

"I thank you too." Chen Shouzhe raised his glass and clinked it with his, while gesturing to the others. Seeing Chen Shouzhe raise his glass, the others followed suit.

"After the movie's run ends, let's have another drink at the celebration banquet to thank Director Guo Fan and Director Zhou Xingxing. Thank you both," Chen Shouzhe said with a smile. "Thank you for the opportunity, Director Chen," Guo Fan said, raising his glass. He was genuinely grateful to Chen Shouzhe.

He's already slated to be a director of films worth billions, not just The Wandering Earth. He's also one of the directors of WALL-E, not as an assistant director, but as the main director. He was practically the sole director in post-production. Chen Shouzhe also seems to be promoting him. Although his name is listed first in the promotional materials, Chen Shouzhe's name is listed last in the credits.

WALL-E grossed 480,000 RMB domestically and over 500 million USD internationally, which translates to approximately 32 billion RMB. Combined with The Wandering Earth, Guo Fan has now become a director with over 10 billion RMB in box office revenue, and the entire nation recognizes his box office achievements.

Shouzhe Pictures issued a special announcement when The Wandering Earth surpassed 2 billion yuan at the box office, congratulating Guo Fan on his official Weibo account on various platforms for becoming a 10 billion yuan director.

With Chen Shouzhe leading the way, even though Wu Jing broke box office records in China, Chen Shouzhe is still the strongest in the world.

While eating and drinking, Zhou Xingxing still didn't say anything. When they had almost finished eating, Zhou Xingxing saw that Chen Shouzhe was about to leave, so he hurriedly grabbed Chen Shouzhe.

"Director Chen!!"

"Is there something wrong, Director Zhou?" Chen Shou was still quite sober. With Reba right beside him, no one dared to get him drunk. Upon hearing this, he stopped joking with Deng Chao.

Deng Chao said he wanted to play Erlang Shen, and Chen Shou laughed at his courage, thinking, "He really dares to ask for that role."

Besides the monkey, Erlang Shen was naturally the second outstanding character. Erlang Shen, who appeared at Guankou, was the second male lead in the story of Havoc in Heaven. Unfortunately, Chen Shouzhe already had someone in mind.

"Director Chen, are you going to develop other Journey to the West movies?" Stephen Chow didn't lower his voice deliberately; he was clearly a bit tipsy and asked the question while drunk.

"We may continue to develop it, since there are many chapters," Chen Shouzhe nodded and said.

"Could I adapt Journey to the West? I really love Journey to the West. I've read the novel more than a dozen times since it was first published," Stephen Chow said sincerely.

"You want to adapt Journey to the West? How?" Chen Shou asked curiously. The others quieted down to listen, thinking to themselves, "Wow, they've actually got their eyes on the IP of Journey to the West."

“I think Sun Wukong should also have emotions. Gods also have emotions and desires, and they also have partners. Sun Wukong should have them too, and quite a few at that. So I think we can add the element of love to it,” Stephen Chow said.

Wuershan and the others listened intently. They hadn't expected that Stephen Chow was actually there for Journey to the West. But that made sense; everyone knew the allure of this major IP. Wuershan was handpicked by Chen Shouzhe to be the director in charge of this IP. He was skilled in fantasy films, and once Chen Shouzhe had laid a solid foundation like Painted Skin, he could expand upon it.

Unexpectedly, Stephen Chow suddenly appeared, also eyeing Journey to the West. Stephen Chow has made a lot of money for Chen Shouzhe. Now that The Mermaid is still showing, it's unclear whether Chen Shouzhe will agree to add a romantic storyline to Journey to the West. It's unknown whether the audience will accept it.

Or perhaps Chen Shou, the original author, would be upset that his intellectual property is being ruined.

"Adding a romance subplot... Actually, the novel has been licensed to Tencent's novel website, and there are quite a few adaptations, but the romance subplots are all about Tang Sanzang. Do you want to add a romance subplot to the Monkey King?" Chen Shou asked.

"No, I also choose Tang Sanzang. I think he is more like a human being. The audience and readers would definitely find it hard to accept Sun Wukong's emotions. I choose Tang Sanzang."

"You revise it first, and I'll take a look. If it's suitable, we can give it a try." Chen Shou gave an ambiguous answer. To put it bluntly, you revise it first, and if it doesn't work, I won't agree. It's like getting something for free.

A novice screenwriter would be easily fooled by Chen Shou, but an experienced screenwriter wouldn't fall for it and would demand a certain amount of payment before taking action.

Stephen Chow certainly wouldn't care about that small amount of royalties; he would revise the script.

Chen Shouzhe believed he would definitely give it a try, so he figured he might as well let Zhou Xingxing give it a shot.

(End of this chapter)