Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 47, the next installment, science fiction?

"I've already confronted her about it."

Inside the house at the horse farm, Chen Shou leaned against the headboard, smoking, with someone nestled against his chest. It was January, the coldest time of year, but the two of them weren't cold at all, pressed together.

"A good top salesperson can support a company, so why does he need to take a salary of three thousand a month? Did the boss's wife give birth to a son for him? The whole studio is supported by you alone, but it just so happens to be a company named after someone else. It's a joke." Chen Shou flicked his cigarette ash and sneered.

Yang Mi looked up at Chen Shouzhe. She knew that this man did not love her; the two of them were just mutually beneficial.

She didn't know what she was thinking, but after the confrontation today, she felt very sad.

After all, she had always trusted him so much, but she never expected that he was just using her. She was charging into battle on the front lines amidst a hail of bullets, while Zeng Jia was constantly sneaking up on her from behind, taking credit for her achievements, and turning the wealth she had earned with her life into her own.

What she found most unbearable was that he secretly collected information about her private life and used it to threaten her.

She used her body to gain reliance; do you really think she was willing? She is also an ambitious person; otherwise, she wouldn't have set up her own studio and wanted to turn it into a company.

Now it seems I was fooled from the very beginning, and it wasn't until I met Chen Shouzhe that I realized it was all a deception.

After the confrontation, she didn't know who to talk to. Her closest friend had betrayed her and had only been using her.

She could only think of Chen Shouzhe. The physical pleasure allowed her to temporarily forget her troubles. At least with Chen Shouzhe, her efforts had been rewarded.

Now, with the global success of "2012," the world has witnessed a blockbuster special effects film, a truly spectacular movie.

As someone in the industry, someone in the film and television circle, she knows even better how this movie came about.

The man she was holding was the one who single-handedly made this movie a success; every domestic investor was looking for him.

Although "Kung Fu Hustle" was not a film he directed, he wrote the script. With Stephen Chow's endorsement, countless companies were eyeing this TV series. The spaceship tickets that were so expensive back then are now regretted by many companies. They should have tried to get on board. Even if they failed, they could still gain Chen Shouzhe's friendship.

After all, they boarded the ship when Chen Shou was short of money. Even a child understands which is more important: providing timely help or adding to someone's existing wealth.

It's true that she paid a price to land the female lead role in "Kung Fu Hustle," but the benefits are also obvious. At least she's no longer blacklisted by the big screen, and with Chen Shouzhe stepping in to help her, this matter ends here.

After a moment of distraction, Yang Mi said, "I've already explained things to her. With Bai Bing's lawyer helping me, the studio will be back in my hands."

“Those sisters are more skilled, you can learn from them. Your conflict of interest with them is relatively small, so they won’t try to trap you,” Chen Shou nodded.

"Stephen Chow has always liked to cultivate his own leading ladies. How much did you actually invest in kung fu?" Yang Mi stared at Chen Shouzhe, a question she had wanted to ask for a long time.

Everyone outside knows she's been laid off, and those in the industry who know Stephen Chow know that he's a man of his word on set and extremely greedy. Taking a role from him is no easy task.

Therefore, people in the industry speculate that Chen Shouzhe paid a considerable price to get her the lead role in "Kung Fu Hustle".

"One percent of the film investment share," Chen Shou said casually, taking a drag of his cigarette.

Yang Mi's eyes widened immediately. Two million in investment? Is that a lot? Not really, but giving away two million for a role means that if the movie does well at the box office, that two million will multiply several times over.

She hadn't expected Chen Shou to pay such a high price for her role. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she looked at the man in front of her, and she slowly shrank into the quilt.

"Sigh~"

The next day, before dawn, a car left the horse farm.

Chen Shou slept until noon before getting up. He didn't mind seeing the empty space next to his pillow. He thought that people can't control their bodies, and if they could, they wouldn't get sick.

It's only right to take care of your own health. If you're sick, go to the hospital; if you have congestion, you'll naturally need to reduce the swelling.

The Lunar New Year film season continues, and "2012" is still making waves. Regular movie attendance has slowed down, but 3D and IMAX theaters are still packed. Since the first foreign 3D movie appeared two years ago, there have been more 3D theaters in China, especially Wanda, which seems to have no shortage of money and is building theaters everywhere.

Now they're finally seeing the benefits, and they're the ones making the most money.

The film has applied for an extension, which means regular cinemas probably won't have many screenings. This application is specifically for 3D cinemas, and there's a high probability it will be approved. Unfortunately, if it were a purely foreign film, it would be very difficult to get an extension. The current issue is that Chinese companies have also invested, and two state-owned enterprises are involved, so the extension is very likely to be granted.

As expected, the extension key was issued, extending the release by another half month, bringing the film's release date to 45 days.

Many domestic film companies are in despair, knowing they will continue to be dominated for the next two weeks.

Chen was very busy here. Too many people were looking for him, including many wealthy people who came to him with money in hand.

"Director Chen, we at Le's are very sincere. As you know, Le's parent company is a video website. If you can join Le's Pictures, we will offer you sufficient shares, so you won't have to worry about investment in the future."

Inside the company, Zhang Shao, the CEO of Le's Film Industry, was sitting in front of Chen Shouzhe, and he was trying his best to win Chen Shouzhe over.

Chen Shou was both amused and exasperated. He hadn't expected the Le family to be so ambitious, actually wanting to devour him.

“Mr. Zhang, I have no intention of joining any other company. I’m perfectly fine running my own company. Besides, I don’t lack investment right now. Just tell me I have a project, and guess how crowded the company would be right now,” Chen Shou said with a smile.

Zhang Shao understood that what Chen Shou was saying was true; top directors don't lack investment, and even if they flop once or twice, people will still believe it and continue to invest money.

“Director Chen is very sincere about Le's. Our goal is to go public. The market value of our parent company has already exceeded 10 billion. If Director Chen is willing to join us, I am confident that I can make Le's the next Huayi,” Zhang Shaodao said.

“Huayi also tried to win me over, but I still refused. Moreover, the conditions they offered were much higher than those of Leshi. Leshi Film Industry has only been established for a year and hasn’t achieved any decent results yet. I’m sorry, I have no interest at the moment.” Chen Shou shook his head.

Seeing that Chen Shouzhe was completely unyielding, Zhang Shao had no choice but to leave Shouzhe Film Studio.

"What the hell? A company that has nothing to its name wants me to join and give me shares. If it were shares in their parent company, that would be one thing, but it's shares in their film company. What use would I have for them? Can't I just start my own business?"

After Zhang Shao left, Chen Shou sneered and mocked.

Tao Le sat to the side and smiled. Wang Zonglei from Huayi had come yesterday, just like Zhang Shao, trying to recruit Chen Shouzhe into Huayi.

Huayi's stock is tied to Feng Xiaogang. When Feng Xiaogang makes money, Huayi's stock rises. If it falls, they announce what Director Feng might do to stimulate the stock market.

They are completely bound together. If Chen Shouzhe could join Huayi, it would bring at least a few waves of limit-up stocks, and the Wang brothers would make a fortune.

Chen Shouzhe didn't want to do the work for someone else's benefit. Many other companies had inquired about him, such as Xiao Ma, which was preparing for its IPO and had regretted the "Kung Fu" incident for a long time. They were now trying to win him over.

On the contrary, Bona has been smiling and maintaining a cooperative relationship with him, neither too close nor too distant, and has already bought tickets and boarded the ship.

He's like someone who's boarded the ship in the movie "2012," a wealthy man who bought a ticket, watching those who couldn't get on board, carefully savoring his red wine.

Tao Le didn't respond to Chen Shouzhe's words. "Our company's plan for this year is to film Journey to the West and Kung Fu after the New Year. That's all. Is there anything you need to do?"

"The special effects team is back. Once the box office revenue is distributed, I plan to set up my own special effects company. We must have our own special effects; we can't leave everything to foreign companies," Chen Shou said.

"Special effects companies are burning through cash. The initial investment is hundreds of millions. Is it really necessary?" Tao Le asked.

"You've seen how profitable special effects blockbusters are, haven't you? There will only be more and more movies and TV series with special effects in the future. We've already reached an agreement with CCTV. Our company can handle the post-production special effects for Journey to the West. We'll start with the TV series and gradually move on to the movies," Chen Shou said.

“Okay, then I’ll assemble a special effects team as soon as possible, and then what?” Tao Le asked.

“I won’t be involved in the filming of Journey to the West entirely, and they don’t need me for Kung Fu. I’ll make another movie myself,” Chen Shou said.

"what movie?"

"Science fiction!"

"what?!"

(End of this chapter)