Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 42 finalized, watch the movie.

It took three days for CTV to reply.

Chen Shouzhe was already preparing to go to the United States. Everything had been done there, and he was waiting to conduct a final review.

The film is produced by Columbia Pictures, and Chen Shouzhe plays an important role, so he needs to go there. Besides, there are two versions of this film, one of which is a special version for the domestic market.

"Tell them to wait for me, I'll finish writing first."

Chen Shouzhe continued typing on the keyboard. Tao Le glanced at it and realized that once Chen Shouzhe started writing, it was difficult to interrupt him. They could just wait for him to finish.

Tao Le first sat down and chatted with the people from CTV for a while, and waited for more than ten minutes.

"Is Director Chen that busy?" asked a female director from CTV.

“Director Chen is writing a script. He writes whenever his thoughts come to him, so it’s best not to interrupt him,” Tao Le said.

"Then let's wait a little longer." The female director nodded and picked up her teacup.

At that moment, the door opened, and Chen Shou rushed in.

"I apologize, I was writing something just now. I apologize for the poor hospitality."

“It’s normal for Director Chen to have work, and besides, it hasn’t been long,” said the former marketing director.

"What have you all thought about it?" Chen Shou asked.

"CTV is in charge of production. They can't just publish one novel while maintaining their film studio."

"We will also invest in the film industry, taking half of the profits."

"So, the film and television rights will belong to both companies in the future?"

"The television rights belong to both companies, but the novel's rights still belong to me."

What about derivative rights?

"It's mine too. It's based on my novel, so the derivative works are definitely based on the novel's copyright. The TV series is based on the novel's copyright, so how could it be based on other copyrights? If this continues, the copyright will be in chaos."

Chen Shouzhe didn't want any copyright disputes, so he made a decision right away. Moreover, film and television copyrights would appreciate in value in the future, so investing in them was a normal thing to do. Chen Shouzhe had already prepared for his retirement in terms of copyrights and had no intention of handing them over.

You have to understand that someone else has been using copyrights for over a hundred years and has managed to grow into a giant. They can live off Monkey Teacher Liu for a lifetime, and Chen Shou can at least ensure that his children can live off them for a lifetime.

"China Television can cooperate with Shouzhe Film Industry, but there is a precondition."

"What conditions?"

"Our animation department needs animation copyrights."

"Animation copyright, no problem, but the conditions are the same."

After thinking it over, Chen Shou agreed. It was impossible to get something for nothing from CCTV. Retaining the copyright and subsequent copyright revenue was already like snatching food from a tiger's mouth. Of course, if he were to cooperate with other film and television companies, the terms would definitely be higher.

The problem is that it's China Central Television (CCTV), just like China Film Group (CFG). CFG produces movies, while CCTV produces TV dramas. CCTV is probably a lower-level organization, as it's under CCTV.

With a national brand name, quality assurance is absolutely guaranteed, and there will definitely be many benefits after cultivating a good relationship.

Tao Le led his company team to communicate with CCTV. Chen Shou told them his ideas and let them implement them. If he had to do everything himself, what was the point of hiring employees?

After a day of negotiations, an agreement was finally reached. Chen Shou-chao will serve as the film's producer and screenwriter to assist in the filming of the TV series. However, filming is not expected to begin until next year. Chen Shou-chao will have to go to the United States and participate in the casting for CTV after his return. They will then train together. Once the preparations are complete after the Lunar New Year next year, filming can begin. Chen Shou-chao will also need to accompany the crew to filming when necessary.

After the negotiations were completed, the two companies jointly issued a public announcement.

[Shouzhe Pictures and CTV have reached a cooperation agreement to jointly develop a TV series based on the novel "Journey to the West" by director Chen Shouzhe. The series will be directed by Yang Jie, with Chen Shouzhe serving as screenwriter and producer. It has been officially approved and included in CTV's production slate for next year.]

This news sent a chill down the spines of countless production companies that had been vying for the rights to "Journey to the West." They finally understood why the film studio hadn't responded to them—it turned out they had gotten together with CTV.

Many book fans are excited. With the release of the novel, more and more people have come to like it. The world presented in the novel is unique. Some Taoist disciples have come out and said that it is a book about cultivation.

It is the mind that is cultivated.

It corresponds to the five internal organs and the five elements, etc.

The novel's sales are steadily increasing, and some people who have read the vernacular version will buy the classical Chinese version to continue their in-depth understanding.

The more people learned, the more they felt that the novel was not written by Chen Shouzhe, and doubts arose one after another.

Chen Shou did not respond, because it really wasn't him who wrote it.

He was just a porter, a plagiarist. The roles in CTV dramas aren't for just any actor.

Some actors who have watched "Journey to the West" are thinking about what kind of roles they would be suitable for.

Actors who haven't read the novel should quickly buy a copy and read it, preferably the illustrated version, as Chen Shou has drawn many character illustrations.

Compare your own image to see if there are any roles that suit you.

Many of the TV dramas produced by CTV have become classics, but it is not easy to be able to act in them; they are all national-level actors.

Chen Shouzhe's mentor, Yu Qian, is only a third-level actor. The national team members are not comparable to those outside stars. They can only watch with envy and try their luck when the time comes for auditions.

After resolving the copyright issues, Chen Shou took off for the United States, rested for a night, and then arrived at Columbia Pictures.

"Chen, you've finally arrived!" Roland said excitedly when she saw Chen Shou.

"Is it ready?" Chen Shou asked.

"It's finished! Come and see it with me. Walker and I have watched it three times, and we still can't get enough," Roland said happily after hugging Chen Shou.

Walker had to go out, so Roland stayed with Chen Shouzhe and all the post-production staff. Everyone watched the movie together again.

"Chen, how is it?" Roland asked.

“This version is fine. Which version do you want?” Chen Shou asked.

“Alright, I knew you were thinking about your part, but the situation in your country is really strange. I don’t think it would exist in reality,” Roland said.

“You don’t understand Chinese romance. I will make a science fiction movie that will make you understand in the future,” Chen Shou said.

“I’m really looking forward to it. You know, people are selfish. The ships in the movie were built with the resources of many countries. Do you really think you would use the entire nation’s resources to build them for 1.4 billion people?” Roland asked with a face full of doubt.

“Yes, our country will not abandon any of its citizens,” Chen Shouzhe nodded vigorously.

“Alright, when you go to China next month, you have to take me to see it properly,” Roland said.

“As you’ve seen, China is prosperous and powerful,” Chen Shou said, pointing to the Chinese cities featured in the film.

“I’m sorry, buddy, Mumbai was pretty good when I went to India,” Roland said, shrugging.

Chen Shouzhe remained silent, his arrogance stemming from the white man's very bones. Under the influence of their media propaganda, he estimated that China was still like it was in the 1970s and completely disbelieved in China's current development.

Chen Shouzhe will use his films to let the world know that times have changed and that we can no longer understand China with the same old perspectives.

Spreading culture and letting the world understand China is the mission of filmmakers, not to make films that smear China just to please foreigners and win awards—that's shameful.

With the movie finally finalized, the promotional campaign began in November, coinciding with the global release on the day of 'the end of the world'.

Chen Shouzhe informed China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, and Wanda Film Group about the film, and they were all extremely excited, especially about the version of the film that Chen Shouzhe brought back. They were very happy.

I was already dissatisfied with the original film version, and now that the domestic version has been modified, it is more in line with the national conditions. It's a pity that it can't be released globally, otherwise, this version would allow more foreigners to know about Chinese culture.

I hope that foreigners will buy this version in the future and witness China's spirit of unity.

Chen Shouzhe personally brought the movie back, and the top executives of the four companies organized a screening. They were all amazed by the special effects.

"This is what a real special effects blockbuster is like." Chen Shouzhe sat next to Han Sanping and heard him muttering to himself.

The others were stunned. With the help of the big screen in the movie theater, the special effects were so immersive that they felt as if they were actually there, watching the exploding volcanic rocks crash down, as if they were about to be hit.

There's also a 3D version, which is even more stunning, featuring airplanes flying through buildings, spaceships crashing into icebergs, and cars escaping volcanoes.

They all think that a blockbuster with special effects, a movie that cost 13 billion yuan, is well worth it.

"When will we be able to make our own special effects blockbusters?" Han Sanping sighed.

"In the future, yes. As our living standards improve and the market grows, there will be more and more blockbusters like this," Chen Shou nodded.

"As expected, we can only rely on you young people." Han Sanping shook his head and said.

"Old Han, I don't want to see a single pirated copy," said Chairman Ren of Shanghai Film Group.

"Hmph, you don't need to tell me." Han Sanping snorted coldly.

(End of this chapter)