Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 307 Chairman Ren's Little Thoughts

Excluding China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group was a decision Chen Shouzhe had made long ago. They're just going through the motions; what use are they?

Gradually weed them out and keep only those who are useful to us.

Besides, he's not the same person he used to be. Back then, China Film Group supported Huayi Brothers, but in the end, he still stabbed the bandit leader in the back.

Those two brothers really stabbed him in the back, and Chen Shouzhe gradually lowered his guard, so even if Zhongying had objections, he couldn't find an excuse to say anything.

They were well aware of their importance to Chen Shouzhe, so even if they had opinions, they could only keep them to themselves, as Chen Shouzhe would not give them a friendly look.

What is given to you is yours; what is not given to you is not yours, unless you can offer something in exchange.

Having acquired shares in Wanda Cinemas, he is no longer afraid of threats from those companies and can now enjoy the benefits all to himself.

Ren Zhonglun stayed overnight, and the next morning he had breakfast with Chen Shou before leaving.

He brought it up again this morning, but Chen Shouzhe still didn't give him a reply. He still didn't know what movie Chen Shouzhe had collaborated on with Jin Dun.

"Honestly, they're so meticulous, not giving us a single chance." Ren Zhonglun rubbed his temples in the car, the driver was driving, and his secretary was sitting next to him watching.

“Chairman Ren, we’re not short of money. We can always pay a premium…” the secretary said.

“It’s different. We are a state-owned enterprise. Besides, Chen Shou is not short of money. Moreover, since we are cooperating with Golden Shield, it must be a mainstream film. We cannot make any overpricing.”

He had already thought of it yesterday, but Chen Shou refused, citing the reason he mentioned.

A premium is impossible; you have to offer other benefits to get in.

What are the other benefits?
Approved?

We don't need them. Who would dare to block a patriotic film?

money?
Needless to say, he's not short of money. Chen Shou's two movies have just finished their theatrical run, and their combined box office is just over 8 billion yuan, which is domestic box office. He's not short of money now.
What can Shanghai Film Group offer?
Subsidiary stock? Chen Shouzhe wouldn't want to have anything to do with state-owned enterprises, as they easily involve a sensitive issue.

So, unless something like what happened with Reba happens again, the deal that Shanghai Film Group can make with Chen Shouzhe is impossible.

Provide Chen with the women around him.

The problem is that Chen Shouzhe has all the resources he has, so he doesn't need Chen Shouzhe's little bit of resources.

"Forget it, if we're not in it, we're not in it. We're not in Journey to the West anyway," Ren Zhonglun sighed.

It's becoming increasingly difficult to get involved in Chen Shouzhe's films, yet his films are still so profitable and so easy to achieve success.

Now, whenever there's an industry conference, Chen Shou doesn't need to attend; Zhong Lifan represents him and always sits in the second row.

In the eyes of those in power, Shouye Film Industry holds significant weight, serving as an important national propaganda company.

Chung Lai-fan's status and salary are the envy of many.

"Chairman Ren, shall we go back now?" the secretary asked.

Ren Zhonglun thought for a moment and then smiled, "Let's go to China Film Group."

The driver immediately understood and drove to the entrance of China Film Group. Chen Shouzhe arrived at the company just before Ren Zhonglun. Chen Shouzhe began preparing for the pre-production work on Journey to the West at the company. The script for Operation Red Sea had not yet been approved, and preparations would begin after that.

When Ren Zhonglun arrived at China Film Group, he went directly to meet with Director La. Director La was somewhat surprised by Ren Zhonglun's arrival, wondering why this guy had come.

"I arrived yesterday and spent the night at the horse farm in Daxing, where Chen is stationed," Ren Zhonglun said, taking a sip of tea.

Upon hearing this, La Dong immediately perked up his ears: spend the night at Chen Shou's horse farm?
Would Ren Zhonglun be the kind of person who only visits someone when he needs something? There's definitely something fishy about him going to see Chen Shouzhe, but why did he tell me this?
As the head of the family, La Dong still has the ability to maintain composure.

"Oh," La Dong said, without asking any further questions.

Ren Zhonglun didn't continue the conversation and chatted with him about other things. The two of them were trying to confuse each other with random things, while inwardly cursing each other as old foxes.

As they chatted, the two talked about "The Wandering Earth." They both invested in the movie, but unfortunately, each of them only had a 10% stake, which was less than Enlight Media and Wanda Media, whose stakes were 15%.

The four companies together account for 50%, and Chen Shou's side accounts for 50%.

With a global box office of $13.46 billion, they have a 10% share, and the film's impact is enough for them to write about for a long time.

At the last meeting, the two of them stood up straight, making other film companies extremely envious.

Now that the movie is out of theaters, the revenue sharing will come soon. For them, making money is not the most important thing. Some benefits are more important than money. After all, they are not a private enterprise.

When talking about "The Wandering Earth", it's inevitable to talk about Chen Shouzhe, and when talking about Chen Shouzhe, La Dong's words come up.

"Chen Shouzhe must be busy with Journey to the West lately. The project has been approved, and the four companies involved are all very wealthy. Apart from Yang Mi's company, Tencent has secured a major investment opportunity," said Director La.

“Penguins also paid a price,” Ren Zhonglun said.

"Oh? What price was paid?" This was the first time La Dong had heard of it.

"It's a stake in Tencent Video. Otherwise, why would Chen Shouzhe be tied to Tencent Video and even develop 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' with Tencent? I heard they're going to develop even more projects, like turning the stories from 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio' into web series," Ren Zhonglun said.

“Web series…” Director La suddenly lost interest. China Film Group has a big appetite; they only like big projects. Unfortunately, Journey to the West was completely excluded. Although he was unhappy, he couldn’t say anything. Every collaboration with Chen Shouzhe was based on past favors. Now that he was powerful enough, he had already repaid those favors many times over. It would be shameless to go to Chen Shouzhe again.

Web series operate within a relatively wide gray area, which would be unacceptable for television. However, web series offer greater flexibility in terms of control, making them suitable for genres like Ghost Blows Out the Light and Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

The authorities will turn a blind eye because of the relationship between the two companies. They can't just shut it down all at once, otherwise what will happen to the foreign films that come in?
Sometimes, films can't be filmed domestically, but foreign films are released all the time, which has caused a lot of complaints and criticism within the film industry.

"Chen Shouzhe's business is getting bigger and bigger. He has cinema chains, and now he even has a video website at the very bottom of the value chain," La Dong remarked.

“That’s right. I saw him at Golden Shield yesterday and chased after him all day. I still don’t even know the name of the project,” Ren Zhonglun sighed.

Upon hearing this, La Dong immediately perked up. "Golden Shield, Chen Shouzhe, the project?"
What do these three words mean when put together?
The last time these three appeared together was in "Operation Northern Myanmar".

Chen Shouzhe's mainstream commercial films.

Seeing that La Dong looked impatient, Ren Zhonglun picked up his cup, took a sip, and hid the smile on his face.

"I've been hitting walls all day, it's time for you to hit walls too, I can't be the only one suffering."

(End of this chapter)