Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 308 Impatience for Quick Success, Chairman Wang Steps In

La Dong couldn't wait for Ren Zhonglun to leave so he could go to a meeting and then contact Chen Shouzhe.

But Ren Zhonglun didn't intend to leave, so he sat down in front of him and drank tea.

The two of them shared a pot of tea, drinking it from dark to white until they could no longer get any color out of it.

Ren Zhonglun really couldn't drink anymore, so he went to the restroom.

At this time, Chairman La left his office to use the restroom in the office next door, and asked Vice Chairman Wang and others to come over.

After being notified, the group went to the office next door, only to find that Director La had not yet come out, as the two of them had drunk far too much tea.

"Is there something you need, Mr. La Dong?"

After he came out, Vice Chairman Wang and others asked him questions.

"Chen Shouzhe went to Jundun yesterday. I heard there's a project collaboration. Could you help me find out more?" Director La said to Vice Director Wang.

"Chen Shou is going to Jin Dun?" Vice Chairman Wang and the others immediately understood. No wonder Chairman La was in such a hurry to have his secretary call them over; it must be something important.

Since it involves Chen Shouzhe and Golden Shield's collaboration, it's naturally a mainstream commercial film.

Given La Dong's personality, he can skip other movies, including Journey to the West, which is now hailed as the biggest IP.

But he doesn't want to miss any patriotic films.

This is a patriotic film.

It concerns his future, and whether he can get promoted.

It's worth noting that all the previous directors of China Film Group have risen to the top, including the current Director Tong.

Only Han Sanping was sued by a foreign country, so he was unable to go up.

Even if he didn't make it to the top, his influence in the industry is still very large, and many people owe him favors.

Chen Shouzhe was one of them.

It's obviously impossible to find Han Sanping now. The person with the best relationship with Chen Shouzhe within China Film Group is Vice Chairman Wang, who invested in Chen Shouzhe back then.

He had helped Chen Shouzhe get promoted. Chen Shouzhe's first film was made by begging for money everywhere under the banner of China Film Group. It was Vice Chairman Wang who helped him withstand the pressure from those old fogies and allocated four million to him.

Chen Shouzhe always remembered this kindness and maintained a good relationship with Vice Chairman Wang.

Hearing what Director La said, Vice Director Wang had no objections. After all, it would also benefit him. He was about the same age as Director La, and it was hard to say whether he could get promoted. There was still a chance. At least he wasn't like Zhang Qiang, who jumped ship from China Film Group to Alibaba without seeing any hope.

"What's the movie's name?" Vice Chairman Wang asked.

"I don't know right now, I'll trouble you to inquire about it," said Director La.

“Okay, I’ll go and keep an eye on the film studio.” Vice Chairman Wang nodded.

When Mr. La left the office and returned, his secretary told him that Ren Zhonglun had left on business.

La Dong was still somewhat grateful to Ren Zhonglun, after all, he had told him that it would be a bit difficult to get the movie script approved. The fact that the script had not yet passed the review meant that there was a chance. Wasn't it because Xi'an Film Studio relied on the review process that it was able to secure the majority of the investment in "Operation in Northern Myanmar"?

A mainstream commercial film allowed Chairman Wang of Xi'an Film Studio to hold his head high and speak loudly at a meeting at the end of last year, while also causing the top two companies, China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group, to lose face.

Even if they make a lot of money, they can't match the arrogance of those who uphold the mainstream ideology, so what's wrong with them speaking louder? It wasn't until the meeting at the beginning of this year that the success of "The Wandering Earth" allowed China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group to rise above Xi'an Film Group.

Having secured investment in a mainstream commercial film, perhaps he can take another step forward next year.

He is looking forward to this and thanks Ren Zhonglun.

As Vice Chairman Wang walked out of the China Film Group Corporation's main gate, he ran into Ren Zhonglun, who was about to leave, in the parking lot. He already knew that Ren Zhonglun had told Chairman La the news.

"Chairman Ren."

"Chairman Wang."

Upon seeing Vice Chairman Wang, Ren Zhonglun immediately understood that Vice Chairman Wang was to be dispatched. After all, among all the directors of China Film Group, apart from Han Sanping, the person with the closest relationship with Chen Shou was Vice Chairman Wang.

It was precisely because of Vice Chairman Wang that Chen Shouzhe was able to maintain cooperation with China Film Group for so many years. Without this favor, Chen Shouzhe would have ignored China Film Group long ago.

"Where is Chairman Ren headed?" Vice Chairman Wang asked with a smile.

"I'm getting ready to go back to Shanghai. Where's Chairman Wang?"

"I'm going to oversee the film company. I heard that Chairman Ren discovered the project first. Could you tell me what it is?"

"I don't know either; Chen Shouzhe didn't say."

"Didn't they say anything from Golden Shield either?"

Ren Zhonglun definitely has connections at Golden Shield. He can find out about the film through Golden Shield, or if that doesn't work, he can find out through the Film Bureau's review department. In fact, as long as Chen Shou submits the script, they will know immediately. There are plenty of people in there.

Otherwise, why would some projects, which have not been publicly announced or approved, already attract a group of sharks eager to snatch them up?

Moreover, in the early 2000s, piracy was rampant. The source of piracy was not from cinemas, since cinemas also needed to make money from movies. Besides film producers, cinemas also hated piracy the most.

The source of the leaked video was actually certain related companies. Otherwise, Zhang Dapao wouldn't have pointed at Han Sanping and cursed him. It was they who condoned the rampant piracy because the piracy originated from within their own ranks.

Later, the piracy problem was solved and Kuaibo collapsed. The film and television industry actually added fuel to the fire. As a video company, Leshi was naturally the biggest target. In fact, behind the scenes, companies such as Huayi, Wanda, China Film Group, and Shanghai Film Group all took a hard line against Kuaibo, not to mention Alibaba and Tencent, which are also internet companies.

It's easy for certain powers to get what they want. Even if Ren Zhonglun doesn't say it, as long as Chen Shou submits the script in a couple of days, La Dong will still know immediately.

Why can China Film Group get involved in every project? They have powerful backers.

They're the judges, after all. How could they not know which movie is good and which is bad?
"No, I asked Golden Shield, but they didn't say what movie it was," Ren Zhonglun said, shaking his head.

"It doesn't matter. I'm going to keep an eye on the film company now. See you next time, Chairman Ren." Vice Chairman Wang smiled, waved, and got into his car.

"See you next time." Ren Zhonglun got into the car and left.

“If it’s the guy surnamed La who goes to Chen Shouzhe, he definitely won’t get a share. Chen Shouzhe is about to sever ties with China Film Group. At most, he can only distribute the film. But the guy surnamed Wang has been kind to Chen Shouzhe, so he might actually succeed,” Ren Zhonglun murmured in the car.

The secretary and driver didn't say anything when they heard this. The leader was muttering something, but they pretended not to hear it and wouldn't say anything.

"Sigh, we missed out again. Chen Shouzhe has grown stronger now, even stronger than Zhang Dapao was back then with Zhang Yimou. If China Film Group were still Han Sanping, Chen Shouzhe would probably continue to cooperate with them. Han Sanping's personality wouldn't let Chen Shouzhe suffer losses. That guy surnamed La is too greedy, unwilling to put in any effort, so being kicked out was inevitable. Shanghai Film Group can't offer anything either, a mainstream commercial film. It's such a pity to miss out."

On the other side, Chen Shou was still drawing storyboards at the company. After all, this script was entirely his original work. Over the years, he had accumulated enough experience to be fully capable of independently producing a feature film.

He spent a long time drawing a storyboard without being disturbed until Xiao Fang came in and told him that Vice Chairman Wang had arrived and it was almost noon.

(End of this chapter)