Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 358 Controlling Stephen Chow

The next morning, Zhou Xingxing arrived early and waited for Chen Shouzhe at the film studio. Chen Shouzhe didn't arrive at the company until after nine o'clock. Zhong Lifan entertained Zhou Xingxing, and after drinking several pots of tea, Chen Shouzhe finally arrived.

"Sorry, sorry, there was a traffic jam on the way."

Traffic jams are normal during rush hour in the capital, especially around the Third Ring Road. He lives in Daxing and it took him more than an hour to get here; he set off at eight o'clock.

If he lived in his own villa, it would only take him about half an hour to get here.

"I arrived early too, I didn't confirm the time," Zhou Xingxing quickly waved his hand and said.

Actually, Chen Shou had already told him to come at 10 o'clock, but he couldn't wait and came early. He actually wanted to go to Xiao Xiaomeng's place.

The main purpose is to see how well "Journey to the West" was produced, and whether it can be used as a reference.

It seems there's no time now, so I'd better get the script out and give it to Chen Shouzhe.

Zhong Lifan had other work to do, but since Chen Shouzhe had come, she naturally had to go and get busy.

Zhong Lifan had been with Zhou Xingxing, but they didn't talk much. She simply gave him Chen Shouzhe's book to read while she went to work in the next office.

"Let's cut to the chase, you've been waiting a long time," Chen Shou said, sitting on the sofa.

There aren't many people in the film and television industry who can be called "Master". There's Master Han, Master Xing, and Master Fan who went to prison. In terms of age, Stephen Chow is indeed not young anymore.

Zhou Xingxing took out the script and handed it to Chen Shouzhe. Chen Shouzhe took it but didn't rush to read it. He gestured for Zhou Xingxing to have some tea. Zhou Xingxing took a sip, and Chen Shouzhe also took a sip before opening the script and starting to read.

I finished watching it half an hour later, and then closed my eyes and went through it in my mind.

It does use elements from Journey to the West, the four main characters.

However, the order in which apprentices were accepted was disrupted.

First, they encountered Sha Wujing at the Flowing Sand River, and then they met the man-eating Pigsy at Gao Village. However, neither of them worked out, and instead, they encountered a demon hunter.

Finally, with the help of the demon slayers, they found the demon king Sun Wukong. With the help of the Buddha, they subdued Sun Wukong, who then went on to subdue Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing.

The script is indeed quite subversive, adding a romantic subplot involving Tang Sanzang and the entanglements between him and the demon hunters.

It's a bit like a script that Chen is holding onto in his memory. He doesn't know if the audience will buy into it, but the elements of the script are romance.

But the subversion is definitely very subversive; Tang Sanzang in Journey to the West has seven emotions and six desires.

For example, when the Four Sages tested his Zen mind, Pigsy couldn't hold on. Did Tang Sanzang not really want it?

It was just that Pigsy couldn't hold back and was the first to rush forward to block it for him.

The most dangerous part is the Kingdom of Women, which shows that Tang Sanzang has not actually severed his emotions and desires; he is just an ordinary person.

You could even say he was greedy, otherwise he wouldn't have had so many conflicts with Sun Wukong along the way.

It's like a company leader who has been sidelined by his subordinates.

Why did Tang Sanzang become more obedient after the story of the true and false Monkey Kings?

There was no such thing as the Six-Eared Macaque. It was just an incarnation of Sun Wukong who took the opportunity to beat up Tang Sanzang, then went to Buddha to complain about his grievances. Only after obtaining a Buddha position did Sun Wukong return to his team.

The four members of the group each harbored their own ulterior motives.

That's a good alternative interpretation, but the most important thing is still the issue of money.

If a movie is made using his IP and the result is bad, Chen Shouzhe will have something to say. The script for this movie has been approved, but filming will not start until next year, and the movie will not be released until the year after next.

It won't conflict with "Havoc in Heaven"; at most, it'll just benefit from some of its fame. Chen Shou closed his eyes, pondering whether or not to grant authorization.

Stephen Chow stared blankly at the teacup beside him, neither of them saying a word.

Time ticked by, and Stephen Chow finally couldn't help but say, "Director Chan..."

Chen Shouzhe had been looking up with his eyes closed, but when he heard Zhou Xingxing call him, he opened his eyes and looked at him.

What do you think of the script?

“It’s very revolutionary, it’s completely overturned my understanding of Journey to the West,” Chen Shou said truthfully.

He brought the Journey to the West to the world. After all, the people who came to power were Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiong Ying. The world was changed, and naturally there was no Jiajing Emperor.

Journey to the West satirized the imperial court at the time and was also considered a smear against Taoism, which led to its banning by the court.

As a reader, Chen Shouzhe naturally has his own version of Journey to the West, which is different from the version seen by Stephen Chow.

His interpretation of Journey to the West was meticulous, based on the characteristics of the court and the characters at the time. In his view, there were many potential conspiracies, but they were not excessive.

Stephen Chow is completely subversive.

The order and method of the pilgrimage no longer involved the crucial intermediary Guanyin Bodhisattva; instead, it directly connected with the Buddha.

It's worth noting that Guanyin Bodhisattva embezzled a lot of benefits; she secretly kept two of the three headbands for herself, and only gave the worst headband to Sun Wukong out of necessity, otherwise she wouldn't have wanted to give it to him.

“I want to subvert the original. Journey to the West is now deeply ingrained in people’s minds. Whether it’s TV series, animation, or novels, everyone in the country knows it. I want to subvert the characters and make Tang Sanzang fall in love for once,” Stephen Chow said.

“Your idea is good, but…”

Chen Shouzhe's hesitation made Zhou Xingxing uneasy.

"Is there a problem with Director Chen?" Zhou Xingxing asked nervously.

After much effort, we finally got a script together, and the entire editing team worked on it to create this final version.

If it's rejected, their year of preparation will have been wasted.

It's been from the beginning of this year until now, October. If we don't take action now, it's questionable whether we'll even be able to launch it the year after next.

“The script is fine, but I don’t plan to use Shouzhe Pictures for this investment,” Chen Shouzhe said.

"Director Chen, please speak."

Chen Shouzhe's plan this time is simply to license the IP, meaning it won't affect the upcoming Journey to the West movies. He's just licensing the copyright to Stephen Chow for adaptation, essentially selling the rights. Film investment can be indirectly provided through other companies.

After Chen Shouzhe finished speaking, Zhou Xingxing understood that he didn't want to affect the reputation of his novel, nor did he want to implicate Chen Shouzhe's "Havoc in Heaven".

The two discussed many details, with Chen Shou selling the rights to Stephen Chow for adaptation and then indirectly investing in his film through Wanda Pictures.

Zhou Xingxing was quite pleased with himself for getting the authorization. Chen Shou took 70% of the investment share, and Zhou Xingxing used the remaining 30% to attract investment.

As for who to recruit, that's up to Chen Shouzhe to decide. The money he invests will be used to pay a large copyright fee, and that money will eventually come back to him. Then there's the investment from Wanda; Chen Shouzhe needs to talk to Liu Xiaobing about that, and he believes Liu will ask for a share.

By making this indirect investment, they can distance themselves from the project, attract other capital, and expand the project.

Zhou Xingxing left Shouzhe Film Studio with a relaxed expression, while Chen Shouzhe spoke to Liu Xiaobing on the phone, asking him to come to the company when he had time to discuss the matter.

When Liu Xiaobing arrived, he called Zhong Lifan, and the three of them finalized the project.

(End of this chapter)