Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 320: Preview Screening and Celebration Party for Two Films

Shen Yijie was ultimately disappointed.

All his friends advised him to abandon his own version and choose Chen Shouzhe's modified version.

They were all graduates of the Beijing Film Academy, specializing in photography, and also dreamed of becoming directors. They served as producers, directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, production assistants, and behind-the-scenes staff in the production crew.

The most crucial element is the collaboration between the director and the cinematographer. Once the script is in hand, the cinematographer must capture the specific shots the director desires.

Therefore, cinematographers are the people who understand the director's ideas best; they read the script and the storyboard.

Chen Shouzhe's script is clearly superior to Shen Yijie's.

Shen Yijie's script is about living in his own world, like a rebellious teenager who stubbornly believes he is very strong and doesn't know his own limitations.

Chen Shouzhe's script is like a reclusive master who has been through the trials of society and honed his skills, surpassing Shen Yijie in experience.

Besides, the goal of making movies is to make money. If the movie can't be released, how will you recoup your costs?
After being persuaded by his friends, Shen Yijie took a taxi home.

Chen Shouzhe also stayed at home. The only time he could relax was when he was at the horse farm, riding a horse and taking a walk with his daughter in the sunset.

The film market in May was almost completely dominated by foreign films, leaving domestic films utterly devoured and unable to recover.

Meanwhile, Chen Shouzhe was already planning a celebration banquet. In order to save expenses and give more bonuses to the behind-the-scenes staff, Chen Shouzhe entrusted Emperor Entertainment and Shanghai Film Group to host this celebration banquet.

They'll have to bleed a little, which is good for Shanghai Film Group and Emperor Entertainment Group.

The celebration banquet represents social interaction. They are the organizers, and there are plenty of people they can squeeze in. Moreover, this celebration banquet is a joint celebration banquet for the two movies, "The Mermaid" and "The Wandering Earth".

As for "Yunnan Insect Valley," there won't be a celebration banquet. Since the movie won't be shown in theaters, what's the point of celebrating? The box office revenue sharing hasn't been finalized yet. When that happens, Chen Shou will have to take a considerable amount from his own pocket to thank all the staff, with Wuershan receiving the biggest red envelope.

The celebration banquet was scheduled for May 5th, with Ren Zhonglun coming from Shanghai and Yang Shoucheng from Hong Kong.

In fact, Yang Shoucheng had already held a celebration banquet in Hong Kong when The Mermaid surpassed 20 billion in box office revenue. However, at that time, he invited people from the Hong Kong film and television industry, mainly to show off the results of his collaboration with Chen Shouzhe, which made many companies envious.

The second celebration banquet was held in mainland China, which was definitely to build connections with people there.

The event was co-organized with Shanghai Film Group. Originally, Shanghai Film Group intended to hold it in Shanghai, but due to pressure from Chen Shouzhe, they ultimately chose the capital city. Chen Shouzhe was the one who could make all the decisions.

The celebration banquet was naturally a gathering of big names, with almost all the top-tier celebrities present, as well as many popular young idols. Executives from companies such as Huayi Brothers, Enlight Media, and Berna were also in attendance.

Chen Shouzhe was actually the last one to arrive. He wasn't late; he was meeting with the Han family father and daughter in the upstairs reception room.

"Then it's confirmed to be released at the end of July, but should we have some advance screenings?" Han Sanping asked.

“Well, let’s try a preview screening first. There won’t be much publicity for the movie. It’s not like Ghost Blows Out the Light, which already has a fan base. We can’t promote it in a high-profile way, so we can only rely on word of mouth. The movie’s reputation is definitely not a problem. We can use public opinion to generate buzz. Besides, the higher-ups have already given permission, so let’s go all out and wait for the audience’s opinion to rise. The movie promotion will be easy then.” Chen Shou nodded.

This is a promotional plan devised by the company's team, relying on word-of-mouth to spread positive word-of-mouth.

The more realistic the subject matter, the higher the audience's opinion of it.

After all, everyone knows about the rebellious mentality. The more something is forbidden to be seen, the more I want to see it, and I want to spread it so that more people can see it.

Therefore, the marketing team who saw the finished product concluded that it was a good movie and would resonate with the audience. The preview screenings were scheduled for early July, and the official release was at the end of July.

The reason for choosing the end of July was to avoid the release of "Infernal Affairs" and "The Departed." "The Departed" has already passed censorship in China, and the simultaneous release of both films worldwide would certainly attract attention; promotion for them has already begun.

By avoiding screenings of both films and instead interspersing preview screenings, they can gradually guide public opinion, build positive word-of-mouth, and then release the film all at once.

The father and daughter explained the details of the publicity campaign, and both said it was fine. As for Wen Muye, he just needed to cooperate with the publicity.

"Then let's go with your publicity plan. Since the movie has already passed censorship, there's naturally no problem, and we can also manage the subsequent public opinion," Han Sanping said with a smile.

"As long as it doesn't cause trouble." Chen Shou nodded.

"Dong dong!"

A knock sounded, the door was pushed open, and Xiao Fang stood in the doorway, saying, "Boss, it's time. Chairman Yang and Chairman Ren would like you to come down."

“Okay, I’ll be right there. Mr. Han, please.” Chen Shouzhe stood up and said.

"In the current domestic film market, there's no one we can rely on except you," Han Sanping sighed.

"As you said, there are many directors more talented than me, but they have been overlooked. They need more support from companies like China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group," Chen Shou said with a smile.

“I understand now, but I’m no longer the chairman of China Film Group, so I can’t get involved in this matter. However, Chairman La has indeed gone too far these past few years, trying to get involved in every project and losing a lot of money. Without you as an ally, China Film Group, well, I’ve already retired…” Han Sanping shook his head.

Chen Shouzhe didn't believe he lacked ability; he just didn't want to get involved in his break with China Film Group.

Do you really think China Film Group has given up?

That's a mainstream commercial film, and even China Film Group was excluded. For Director La, that means losing political achievements. He doesn't care about making or losing money; it's not his anyway, so he won't feel bad.

Chen Shouzhe and his daughter Han Sanping went downstairs. A row of beautiful women stood at the entrance to greet them; they were the last group of people to enter.

When they saw him and Han Sanping come in, the people at the door were stunned for a moment, and then they smiled.

One is a leading private enterprise, and the other is a former state-owned enterprise leader. The old and the young are enough to command the heartfelt respect of everyone present.

Only after Han Sanping left did people realize how wonderful the domestic market was with him. Look at the movies released in May now; they've all been completely crushed by foreign films.

"Chairman Han, Director Chen."

"Chairman Han, Chairman Chen."

"Director Han..."

As the two walked in, they were greeted by voices from both sides. They could see familiar faces, at the very least second-tier celebrities, not to mention executives from various companies.

Under everyone's gaze, the two walked to the front along the red carpet. Han Sanping stood at the bottom and refused to move, letting Chen Shou go up.

On stage were the production companies of both films, and the only common major production company for both films was Shouzhe Pictures, while the scripts were both written by Chen Shouzhe.

Two large blocks of ice were pushed up, one worth $4.993 million and the other $13.46 billion. The dollar signs on the bills made them green with envy. At least 20% of this money would go into Chen Shouzhe's pocket, and copyright revenue would continue to flow into his pocket. Looking at the 30-year-old Chen Shouzhe on the stage, full of vigor and confidence, no one could help but envy him. Cultural output really depends on the person.

(End of this chapter)