Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 356 Dominating the Second Half of the Year

The content of Liaozhai is quite explicit, so there's no problem with filming it and posting it online.

The script was given to Zhong Lifan to handle, and the director and actors were also given to her to manage.

Chen Shouzhe had nothing else to do at the company except collect money.

The movie "The Divine Doctor," which was released in July, has already finished its run in theaters, and the celebration banquet hasn't been held yet. Han Sanping said that it would be held when he returned. Chen Shouzhe is the producer, and the movie has grossed more than 35 billion yuan, even more than he remembered, after all, they got an extension.

Then Yang Mi's movie was also taken off the screens for a while, and it grossed over 10 billion.

The celebration banquet for the box office exceeding 10 billion yuan was held a few days ago during the National Day holiday, and Chen Shou is still abroad.

"You are finally back."

I went to Xiaoxiaomeng's place in the afternoon. Wuershan had already finished editing the Journey to the West video and started making special effects. I teased him when I saw him come back.

He's overseeing the post-production special effects. Meanwhile, Guo Fan's Wandering Earth 2 has already started filming and they're aiming to finish before the new year, quickly move into post-production, and wait for its release during the 20 Spring Festival.

Xiao Xiaomeng is currently operating at full capacity and has no plans to expand. There have been many projects in the film and television industry in recent years, but few are willing to spend money on them. Sometimes he doesn't understand why it's so difficult to buy a steamed bun.

They insisted on adding a steamed bun effect, and it was particularly awful. They were willing to spend money on a terrible photo editing effect, but they weren't willing to spend money on a five-cent steamed bun.

Little Dream can't do these kinds of special effects. Now, many companies are using Little Dream's name for their works, which brings them revenue.

After all, Little Dream's special effects production is top-notch in the industry. Announcing that they used Little Dream's special effects would imply a connection with Shou Zhe Film Studio, especially since Little Dream is not a small company.

The company is one of the top special effects production companies in China, and it has also produced two top-notch animated films. Having the company's name on the label means that the special effects are guaranteed, and at least they are not crude or shoddy.

"How's it going?" Chen Shou asked.

"It will be released next year," Wuershan said.

"National Day film season, Lunar New Year film season, Spring Festival film season," Chen Shou said.

"Hiss, you're not giving us any way out at all." Wuershan gasped, and the other staff members working on the film's post-production were also looking at Chen Shou in shock.

"There are only a few big release dates, and everyone is competing with each other. It's not like we're using any other means," Chen Shouzhe shrugged.

"How do you plan to arrange this?" Urshan asked curiously.

"Operation Red Sea for the National Day holiday, Journey to the West for the Lunar New Year holiday, and The Wandering Earth for the Spring Festival holiday."

“This arrangement is reasonable.” Wuershan thought for a moment and saw no problem with it.

“I’m going to Hollywood in November, so I’ll leave all the post-production to you,” Chen Shouzhe said, patting Wuershan on the shoulder.

"You can't do this."

Have you figured out how to film the next one?

How about "Three Battles with the White Bone Demon"?

"No problem, just show me the script later."

"Actually, I'd prefer the Kingdom of Women, but I'm not good at that kind of storyline, and the protagonist of the Kingdom of Women is Tang Sanzang."

"There are quite a few people watching this unit, let's leave it for now, I can take over later."

"Alright, your matter is more important. I'll work on it slowly."

After Wu Jing returned, Guo Fan quickly pulled him to film "The Wandering Earth 2". Wu Jing is extremely busy right now and is trying to finish filming the movie before the end of the year. Then, Guo Fan will prepare to film his movie after the new year.

He's definitely the busiest celebrity right now. Since his movie was a huge hit last year, he's been receiving a constant stream of offers, and some big productions are also looking for him.

The celebration banquet for the legendary doctor had been planned since his return. Han Sanping was co-hosting it with him, and many people in their social circles responded; almost everyone who received an invitation attended. "Not ours?"

Meanwhile, inside Huayi, Wang Zongjun, with a stern face, asked his younger brother, Wang Zonglei.

"I didn't receive an invitation," Wang Zonglei said, shaking his head.

“They even received the light source, but not our Huayi! Good! Good! Good!” Wang Zongjun said through gritted teeth.

They didn't even consider their relationship with Zuo Shandiao and Chen Shouzhe. This movie was produced by the two of them, so how could they possibly invite them?

It wasn't just them; some actors under Huayi Brothers also didn't receive an invitation.

By the time Huayi realized how much money celebrities were making, it was too late. Those celebrities had already been released to open their own studios, which were then acquired by Huayi, with many signing performance-based agreements.

Signing a performance-based agreement is tantamount to overdrawing an actor's potential.

Otherwise, why would Feng Xiaogang have gotten involved in the sequel to the mobile phone project? It's all because of the pressure from the betting agreement.

The same goes for Zhang, the advisor to Chen Shouzhe. After getting involved in a gambling scheme, he had to appear on various variety shows to pay off his debts.

For this reason, Lao Guo even approached him, hoping he could help. Chen Shou acted as a go-between, getting him signed on to several shows with Tencent and getting him some gigs.

A performance-based agreement is similar to going public. The purpose of going public is to raise funds and expand, but nowadays going public is almost entirely about raising money.

If a company can maintain rapid profitability, especially without significant competitive pressure, there is absolutely no need for it to go public.

Huayi's rise and fall both stemmed from its IPO. Once a company worth 90 billion, it is now worth less than 10 billion. It deserves its fate.

The two brothers were sulking, while Chen Shou was receiving congratulations at the victory celebration banquet.

The film was entirely funded by Chen Shouzhe, so naturally, they received red envelopes as well.

He originally didn't want to give the bald guy a red envelope, after all, the bald guy's salary accounted for more than a third of the investment, with an investment cost of 80 million, and he took away 30 million of the salary.

After deducting taxes, theater revenue sharing, and production costs, Chen Shouzhe will receive approximately 11 billion yuan out of the 35 billion yuan.

The distributor is Wanda Pictures, so the money was settled a long time ago.

A reliable distributor is highly sought after. Wanda Pictures' approach of not tying up money has won the favor of many production companies, resulting in an increasing number of distribution deals. Coupled with its connections to theater chains, Wanda Pictures is naturally the first choice for many production companies.

Some issuers are shameless; they deliberately deduct money and put it in the bank to earn interest.

Imagine if Chen had 11 billion yuan in the bank; the interest he would have earned in a few months would have been substantial.

Bernard used this tactic to screw over many companies, especially Zhang Dapao, with whom he exchanged insults for a long time.

The bald man was eagerly wanting a red envelope, so Chen Shouzhe gave him one, not a large one, but enough to save face.

There were many people who came to support him, and Chen Shouzhe provided a social venue for everyone.

"Congratulations, Director Chen." Ning Hao came over with a wine glass.

"Congratulations to you too, I heard the movie is scheduled for release during the Spring Festival," Chen Shou said.

"Thank you for your leniency, Director Chen," Ning Hao said.

"Although there aren't any films from film studios during the Spring Festival season, don't underestimate the market," Chen Shouzhe said.

"Of course, but I hope Director Chen won't launch a surprise attack." Ning Hao was actually still a little scared. Director Chen had many trump cards. Although Shouzhe Pictures didn't have any movies, there was Xiaoxiaomeng. This company had a lot of animated films registered, so it was definitely not to be underestimated.

The movie "Panda" that was released this year was actually completed last year. Who knows if it will become an animated film this year?
Chen Shou smiled. How could he possibly miss such a good window of opportunity as the Spring Festival?

(End of this chapter)