Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 341 Reunion with the Celestial Beauty, Did You Get Plastic Surgery?
Yang Mi is already promoting her movie and is attending a banquet today, which is attended by many celebrities.

The event was star-studded, especially the female celebrities who were dressed the most outstandingly. The male celebrities were all handsome men and beautiful women who followed a fashionable route, and you could see many popular stars.

There were also many wealthy ladies and patrons in the venue, coming and going, making it very lively.

Yang Mi brought Dilraba and other artists from the company over, hoping to gain exposure in front of these wealthy patrons, most of whom were agents of major luxury brands.

"Mr. Yang, congratulations."

A luxury goods agent came over with a wine glass and spoke to Yang Mi.

"Mr. Zhang, you're too kind. What can I do to congratulate you on?" Yang Mi asked, looking surprised.

"Director Chen has been making headlines lately, so congratulations to President Yang."

"Oh, I see. I'll pass it on to him when I have time." Yang Mi's smile was forced.

After exchanging a few pleasantries and leaving, Yang Mi finally understood why so many people looked at her with envy today.

She thought it was because the stock price had gone up and she was being congratulated, but it turned out to be because of Chen Shouzhe. Only she herself knew the true nature of her relationship with Chen Shouzhe.

No matter how much money Chen Shouzhe has, it has nothing to do with her; the only thing that matters is her daughter.

There were many people present who envied Yang Mi. It was definitely an exaggeration to say that Chen Shou had a net worth of hundreds of billions, but it was certainly in the tens of billions.

Even a slight leak of Chen Shouzhe's status in the film and entertainment industry could make Yang Mi a fortune.

Many people also greeted Reba. Although Yang Mi is the boss, Reba has higher commercial value, and she is young, so she may very well become the boss's wife in the future.

Chen Shouzhe's side also welcomed a heavyweight figure: Gong Li, who plays the Queen Mother, arrived.

“It’s been several years since we last collaborated,” Gong Li said with a smile to Chen Shou.

“Yes, it’s been five or six years.” Chen Shou nodded. Back then, they collaborated on The Mars Rescue, with Gong Li playing the astronaut captain, and Liu Yifei was also there.

As for Liu Yifei now, she's taken a big bite of the pie and gone to film a Disney movie.

Countless female celebrities in China envy her, but of course, Liu Yifei has her own advantages. Her nationality is different from Chen Shouzhe's; she is a genuine American citizen.

Moreover, Disney is unlikely to cast a Black actress in this film. Among all Chinese actresses in China, Liu Yifei is definitely the most suitable in terms of looks, skills, background, and marketability.

Since the project was announced, Liu Yifei has practically secured it, something others can only envy.

Chen Shouzhe had only worked with her once. To put it simply, she was good at urban films, but as an adult, she lost that ethereal quality. Plus, after dating a Korean, she gained a group of die-hard fans, making her quite a cash cow.

Chen Shou had privately discussed the movie with his friends, and none of them were optimistic about it. Coincidentally, Gong Li also starred in the movie.

“You’re something else now,” Gong Li said with a smile.

She understands the directing profession very well. Just look at Zhang Yimou. He directed his whole life, making money for Zhang Dapao (a famous Chinese director), and then his investment in Le's failed. Le's went bankrupt, and as the largest celebrity shareholder, he invested almost all of his wealth into it.

In May of this year, he joined the Huanxi Directors Alliance, the same company that Xu Zheng and Ning Hao work for. In addition, there are directors from Hong Kong in the company, which relies on signing big-name directors to make a living.

Putting aside the films they produced, this company did a lot of behind-the-scenes tricks during the film's release. After all, it's a Hong Kong company, and it's basically the same tactics as Jiang Zhiqiang.

Chen Shou was pessimistic about Zhang Yimou's future, believing he would follow in Jiang Zhiqiang's footsteps. The same applied to Ning Hao and Xu Zheng; despite their rise to prominence, their future films would be controlled by capital, making it difficult to maintain quality and potentially causing box office returns far exceeding their original capabilities.

Compared to previous generations of directors, Gong Li believes that Chen Shouzhe is actually the most successful director in China.

Because he had already decided on one path: making money.

Directors all want to make money, but none of them make as much as him.

Zhang Yimou had previously said he didn't want his films to be held hostage by box office numbers, but now he's joined the chorus of "Happy Together." When Gong Li heard the news, her heart sank. She knew that the Zhang Yimou of the past was gone forever.

She even felt that Zhang Yimou would be better off working with Chen Shouzhe, looking at the directors around Chen Shouzhe and then at the directors on Huanxi's side.

"You're joking. I'm nothing special. I'm just trying to make a living," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"You... never mind, you little fox, I'm too lazy to talk to you anymore. I only have one week for you, I have work next month," Gong Li said.

"Don't worry, it won't interfere with your work."

"Are you really not going to let Infernal Affairs not go to the Golden Horse Awards?" Gong Li suddenly asked.

"I won't participate in any of the three major film awards if I'm involved in a movie," Chen Shou said suddenly with a stern face.

"This year I'm the head of the Golden Horse Awards jury. If your film decides to go to the Golden Horse Awards, I think the chances are very good, maybe even... a lot." Gong Li's meaning was clear: if you go, there will definitely be big awards waiting for you.

If Chen Shou-chao could participate in the Golden Horse Awards, it would certainly be an honor for the Golden Horse Awards. Chen Shou-chao never participates in domestic awards, except for the Huabiao Awards.

As the head of the jury for this year's Golden Horse Awards, Gong Li naturally hopes that the lineup for the Golden Horse Awards will be as large as possible. If Chen Shouzhe can be brought in, it will definitely bring a huge influence to the entire Golden Horse Awards.

"Let's forget about it. Someone from the Hong Kong Film Awards contacted me last year. I won't participate in the three major domestic film awards. Besides, Infernal Affairs has already registered for the Venice Film Festival," Chen Shouzhe said, shaking his head.

"Alright, since you're unwilling, I won't force you. Let's just make the movie," Gong Li said helplessly.

She agreed to star in Chen Shouzhe's Journey to the West partly because the two had a friendship, and partly because she wanted to persuade Chen Shouzhe to participate in the Golden Horse Awards.

Gong Li finished filming her scenes in a week, and she is now preparing to participate in Disney's princess movie series.

Today is the last day of filming. Liu Yifei heard that Gong Li was coming to visit the set, and both of the former female astronauts from The Martian were there.

Since having his daughter, Chen Shouzhe rarely lives in that villa anymore. Now, the people who stay there are usually Reba or Yang Mi. He himself rarely goes there anymore, so naturally he rarely runs into Liu Yifei, who used to like to visit him.

Chen Shouzhe didn't think much of Liu Yifei when he saw her, but he frowned when he saw Shu Can next to her.

"You had plastic surgery?" Chen Shou asked, staring at Shu Can.

Shu Can was stunned for a moment, then quickly waved his hand in denial, saying, "No, no."

“I can tell you’ve already had work done, or at least had injections. I advise you to stop. If you don’t stop, your future acting career is ruined. No director will ever approach you again unless your pay is very low.” Chen Shou shook his head.

He could tell at a glance that something was wrong with Shu Can's face; it looked a bit stiff. Yang Mi's face, though surgically altered, was still beautiful. Shu Can's face, which was originally beautiful, now looked strange and somewhat like that of certain internet celebrities. Such a face would be very noticeable if it appeared on a movie screen.

(End of this chapter)