Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 349 True Friendship is Revealed Through Difference Between the Noble and the Humble

"It seems like today's press conference is in Seattle, and they're asking about other movies..."

Chen Shou held the microphone and pondered for a moment, all the media reporters watching him.

Chen Shouzhe did say he would not participate in the three major domestic awards. It is precisely because of this that he has been criticized and accused of being a Western worshipper.

Sometimes it's just so frustrating when your own people mess things up so badly.

There is a term called cost-effectiveness. When the same thing can be bought at a lower price, it is cost-effectiveness.

It's not right to refuse to use other people's things just because of our own political stance.

Ordinary people need to make a living, so they'll naturally use whatever products are good or cheap, as long as it's not illegal.

This is clearly another instance of moral blackmail: if you don't participate in the three major domestic awards, you're unpatriotic.

Some people are purely evil, while others are brain-dead and easily swayed by rumors.

The best response Chen Shouzhe could give was silence; it was best not to respond.

Faced with Chen Shouzhe's silence, the media were very disappointed, and they all had only one thought in mind: he had become a seasoned veteran.

The Chen Shou of the past dared to speak and act; now he dares to remain silent.

As media reporters, they naturally enjoyed watching the drama unfold, and clearly they were still unwilling to give up.

"Director Chen, the Hong Kong Film Awards say that you deliberately discriminate against the Hong Kong film industry and even blacklisted related Hong Kong companies. What is your opinion on this?"

"Why are all the press conferences in Seattle filled with these kinds of questions?" Chen Shou chuckled, one hand in his pocket. "As for Hong Kong films, my collaboration with Emperor Entertainment is going quite well. I don't know where this discrimination comes from. If I really discriminated against them, I wouldn't have chosen to collaborate with Emperor Entertainment and director Stephen Chow. Do I have to change my nationality to Hong Kong before they'll say I don't discriminate against them?"

When "Infernal Affairs" was first conceived, there was a storm of controversy surrounding it. Countless bigwigs in the mainland film and television industry approached him, telling him not to cooperate with Hong Kong, not to give them any opportunities, and to completely destroy them.

To put it bluntly, the Hong Kong film industry is only being given a chance by Chen Shou. If they continue to make a fuss, he won't hesitate to target them.

"Director Chen..."

"Alright, these are all irrelevant questions. Today is a press conference in Seattle. Stop talking about such trivial things. I'm starting to doubt your professionalism," Chen Shou said jokingly. In reality, the media reporters all understood that he was making a veiled attack.

Although the media reporters were furious, there was nothing they could do. Chen Shou could only go directly to their superiors and tell them to get lost, to see what kind of trash they were interviewing.

Chen Shouzhe hadn't originally planned to attend the banquet after the premiere, but many people who were there to give him face came over, and Jiang Wen also came over and started chatting with him.

“I’ve made up my mind,” Jiang Wen said.

"Oh!" Chen Shou replied.

"Is this all you're going to do?" Jiang Wen said unhappily.

“Your movie has little to do with me. I’m starting to regret telling you so much. It’s not easy to be a good person. If the movie does well at the box office, you might blame me. I’ll be caught in the middle.” Chen Shou went back and thought about it. After talking with his master, Yu Qian, his master gave him some pointers.

It's well known that Yu Qian has many friends, and these friends can be categorized into several types, as clearly illustrated in his crosstalk piece "Entrusting Wife and Child." Actually, the easiest friends to get along with are drinking buddies; you go out for meals and drinks when needed, but there's no conflict of interest.

The best way to handle friendships is to avoid involving interests.

Many good friends turn against each other after starting their own companies.

Therefore, it's best to avoid any business dealings between friends and simply maintain a friendly relationship.

After reflecting on it, Chen Shou realized he had gone too far. He did not have a good opinion of Jiang Wen's movie, but from a friend's perspective, he wanted to help Jiang Wen cut his losses and make some money.

This is tantamount to transferring the risk to someone else.

However, it's uncertain whether Jiang Wen thinks that way. He didn't approve of the script, but Jiang Wen still made it into a movie.

He's not optimistic about the movie either, even though it's set to be released in a few months.

He also advised selling it with a minimum guarantee, just in case the movie turned out to be a hit instead of what he expected.

What if Jiang Wen earns less money because he gave up the guaranteed minimum?
Friends can fall out over a few hundred dollars, but movies often cost tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. How would he feel if Jiang Wen lost so much money because of his words?
He violated a taboo in friendships by involving conflicts of interest.

"Why are you thinking about this?" Jiang Wen patted his head. "I've never thought about this. I treat you like a brother, but what do you take me for? I talked to your sister-in-law for a long time. Let's play it safe. Alibaba offered 14 billion, and I agreed."

“If it exceeds 1.4 billion by then, I still have a bottle of Guocang wine, which I will open for you then,” Chen Shou said.

Jiang Wen's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this, and she asked curiously, "How much is that bottle of wine?"

"Over a hundred," Chen Shou said.

"Okay." Jiang Wen patted his shoulder. Anyway, he had already sold the movie and made money. Even if it went for more, he wouldn't have lost money. He was just a little uncomfortable.

While the two were talking in hushed tones, the media outside had already begun reporting on it.

Yang Shoucheng immediately contacted Huo Wenxi at the Emperor Group to discuss the matter.

"What does Liu Weiqiang mean?" Yang Shoucheng was very unhappy. Even if he was unhappy, he should know his own identity. Even for the sake of Hong Kong films, he could not offend Chen Shouzhe.

“I’ve already contacted him. He said he was also scammed. He’s definitely happy that the film can participate in Venice. He knows very well how prestigious the Hong Kong Film Awards are now, but he didn’t expect his words to be spread.” Huo Wenxi just contacted Liu Weiqiang, who explained it to her.

“If he continues to cause me trouble, I won’t let him off the hook. They have no idea what the Hong Kong Film Awards are like now. They should just entertain themselves. Why do they have to come out and embarrass themselves? Look at how the Golden Horse Awards are doing. They actively embrace the mainland market, while they’re still living in the last century. Nobody owes them anything. They really think they’re big shots. A bunch of losers.”

"Get ready to go to the capital. The first film has already grossed over 30 billion. Even if we only get 30%, we've still made a lot. Chen Sheng said before that if the first film does well, we can start making the second one. Take this gift to Director Chen." Yang Shoucheng took out a thick stack of things from the drawer and handed them to Huo Wenxi.

Huo Wenxi knew what it was. If he wanted to maintain his relationship with Chen Shouzhe, he had to give this gift. Otherwise, there would still be companies in Hong Kong that could replace Emperor Entertainment.

After the movie "Infernal Affairs" became a hit last month, Yang Shoucheng convened a shareholders' meeting and passed all the shareholder resolutions, including his elder brother Cheng Long, who all agreed with his approach.

“Okay, Mr. Yang, I’ll book the tickets right away.” Huo Wenxi took the ticket and nodded.

(End of this chapter)