Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 301 The Golden Shield Invites You, Haiyi's Main Theme

The sudden release of Ghost Blows Out the Light caught many film and television production companies off guard, especially other films released in the same period.

The release date wasn't great to begin with, and now a blockbuster has squeezed in. They're really in a bind.

If you want to file a complaint or take action, you should consider Chen Shouzhe's reaction.

After all, Chen Shouzhe is no longer just a production company.

The reason they dared to join forces with Huayi to attack the Ghost Blows Out the Light IP before was because Chen Shouzhe didn't have as much influence back then as he does now.

The $154 billion gave him the confidence to buy so many shares of Wanda Pictures, making him the second-largest shareholder of Wanda Pictures.

It means he now has the power to control these film and television companies. The largest cinema chain is in my hands. Do you still dare to make a move?
April's movie season is generally not very busy, so major cinema chains naturally hope to have big-budget films coming in. Otherwise, how will they make money during the off-season? The cinema chains don't care about the thoughts of the film companies. Even the trending topics aren't bought by the film studios, but rather the result of the efforts of these cinema chains.

They want to make money; the higher the box office, the more money they can get. Who doesn't want to make money?

Chen Shouzhe hadn't expected Hua Yi to come knocking on his door. He had indeed been overthinking things. Those two brothers were no good; their greed for money could make them shameless.

However, attentive viewers noticed that no movies were showing at Huayi Cinemas on the first day. Since people usually go to the nearest cinema, they couldn't find "Yunnan Insect Valley" at Huayi Cinemas, so they posted about it on Weibo.

After all, it's been a day since it was released, and viewers have already seen whether the movie is good or not. The theaters are promoting it as the last big-screen film in the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" series, so watch it while you can and cherish it.

Many book fans bought tickets to see the movie, and thanks to this promotional slogan, the box office on the first day was quite good, reaching 1.37 million yuan.

Without any prior publicity, the film grossed over 100 million yuan on its opening day thanks to its online distribution.

It's estimated that it will reach one billion, but no one knows exactly how much.

Because it's unknown how many days the film will be shown before it's forcibly taken down; it depends on what the higher-ups and certain dogs want. If they keep targeting the film, there's nothing Chen Shou can do; those old fogies have plenty of connections.

"Yunnan Insect Valley wasn't showing in Huayi's cinemas yesterday?"

Inside the China Film Studio, Director La was in a meeting. After the meeting ended, he suddenly started gossiping.

After all, the box office results for the movie today made the senior management of China Film Group a little envious.

Although the IP has encountered some issues, the movie will definitely make money at the box office.

They also want to make money, but the problem is that Chen Shouzhe no longer involves China Film Group. China Film Group can offer less and less, and apart from cinemas, there is nothing else it can offer Chen Shouzhe to help him.

The senior management of China Film Group didn't say anything about this. They knew very well why: the market had grown larger and Chen Shouzhe had become more powerful.

In the past, when he was weak, he could only win over other companies and share the pie with them.

They pinned their hopes on China Film Group to protect him, but China Film Group failed to intervene several times, and his share was gradually reduced until now it's completely gone. The Journey to the West movie only earned the money from renting out a film studio.

"When Feng Xiaogang ignited the IP issue of 'Ghost Blows Out the Light,' Chen Shou, to avoid any unforeseen circumstances, deliberately avoided Huayi Brothers when contacting theater chains," Vice Chairman Wang said with a smile.

“Those two brothers really went too far. Once they started fighting, they’ll definitely get a chance to retaliate. Chen Shou is a man who holds grudges and seeks revenge,” the general manager of China Film Group said with a smile.

"Even if it's been suppressed, a big IP is still a big IP. I heard that Ghost Blows Out the Light has already been approved as an online movie, and it's being produced by Tencent and Yang Mi's company?" Director La asked.

"Yes, we've already handed the IP over to them for development. We'll keep the film company and take a cut from the copyright and investment, it's a sure thing," the general manager of China Film Group nodded.

"He was decisive. He anticipated this outcome when he handed the IP over to Tencent to film a TV series. It's a pity about the subsequent chapters. If they could have been made into big-screen movies, each one would have grossed two billion, and the IP would have been worth over five hundred billion," said Director La enviously.

The novel was worth over 50 billion, and even after being cut, it's still worth 20 billion. The three movies alone have grossed billions, and there are still decades to go. Even if Chen Shouzhe dies, his descendants will still have 50 years of copyright protection.

"Compared to Ghost Blows Out the Light, Journey to the West is the real big IP. If Chen Shouzhe's big movie is successful, its future will be more stable than Ghost Blows Out the Light. It's an inexhaustible treasure," Vice Chairman Wang said enviously.

"Yes."

"I wish I could participate."

"The penguins got a good deal."

"Can we get involved in the Investiture of the Gods?"

"It's very difficult, it's a CCTV project." A group of people shook their heads and sighed. Good projects are too hard to come by these days, and developing a series of good projects is even more difficult.

The absence of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" in Huayi's cinemas on the first day was interpreted by outsiders as Chen Shou being wary of Huayi. However, Huayi did not allow such news to linger for long and immediately suppressed it. The trending news quickly disappeared without a trace, and on the second day, they successfully got "Yunnan Worm Valley" to appear in their cinemas.

If a movie shows any signs of trouble during its run, it must be stopped immediately to ensure that the movie can complete its full run.

Chen Shou arrived at the company early in the morning. After confirming that everything was alright, he was about to breathe a sigh of relief and continue drawing the storyboard for Journey to the West when a phone call came in.

"Director Wang."

"Is Director Chen free?"

"I have some free time. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I'd like to invite you to sit down for a while. There's someone I'd like to introduce to you."

"Okay, please wait a moment, I'll be right there."

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shou shouted towards the door, "Xiao Fang, get the car ready, I need to go out for a bit."

Xiao Fang immediately went to inform the driver, and Chen Shou packed his things and left the company for the garage.

"Where is Mr. Chen going?" the driver asked, and Xiao Fang also turned around to look at Chen Shouzhe with curiosity.

"Go to Golden Shield."

The car drove all the way to Golden Shield, where Chen Shouzhe met Director Wang, as well as several other people in white military uniforms.

"Director Tang, this is Director Chen Shouzhe."

"Haha, I know, Director Chen, hello." The man in the white military uniform extended his hand to Chen Shouzhe.

Chen Shouzhe quickly extended his hand, while looking at Director Wang and shaking his hand tightly.

"This is Director Tang from the Navy Political Department."

"Hello, Director Tang."

"Hello, Director Chen Shouzhe. I've heard so much about you. You're the best film director in China," Director Tang said with a smile.

"You're too kind, you flatter me," Chen Shou said, feeling extremely embarrassed.

"you are very welcome."

"It's not just politeness, it's respect. I will always have the utmost respect for soldiers. Thank you for protecting our country."

"I love hearing that, it's better than anything else. Thank you too. To make a long story short, I'm here to ask you for a favor."

"Tell me what you need my help with, and I will definitely do my best to help."

"You helped the August First Army film 'Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy' and the National Security Army film 'Operation in Northern Myanmar,' and both films brought a lot of publicity, but our Navy didn't get any."

Chen Shou clapped and laughed. The others present looked at him in confusion, wondering why he was suddenly laughing so happily.

"A mainstream commercial film? No problem."

"Really? Director Chen, can you guarantee it?" Director Tang stared at him seriously.

"Actually, I happen to have a script for a mainstream commercial film with a naval theme."

"Really?"

Everyone present looked surprised; it seemed Chen Shou had been prepared all along.

(End of this chapter)