Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 54 is not excellent
"Hello, Director Chen."

"Director Chen came to visit the set."

"Hello, Director Chen."

Chen Shou visited the set of "Kung Fu" in Hengdian. Hengdian is the most famous film and television city in China, where several film crews start filming every day.

The staff welcomed him into the film crew, and the weather gradually warmed up, no longer as cold as it had been at the beginning.

"Director Chen, you've finally arrived." Stephen Chow invited Chen Shouzhe to visit the set. Although he was the director, Chen Shouzhe was also the screenwriter. Strictly speaking, Chen Shouzhe was the one who ultimately controlled the film.

"I think we don't need to come. I have faith in Director Zhou's abilities," Chen Shou said with a smile.

Everyone wants to hear compliments, and Stephen Chow is no exception. Hearing Chen Shou praise him, he was naturally pleased and said with a smile, "No, you're the screenwriter. The movie needs your supervision. Filming will be almost finished in about half a month. If you don't come soon, there won't be any more set visits for you."

"That's why I came right away."

"It's perfect timing that Director Chen is here. Let him be the cameraman for us today," Stephen Chow said to the crew.

"So sudden?"

"You're a great director, so I'm entrusting this to you."

Stephen Chow is the lead actor. If a good director could film for him, he would definitely be happy, since he is the director in the end anyway.

Chen Shouzhe never expected to be drafted into this job. Helpless, he sat in the director's seat and filmed for Zhou Xingxing all day.

Sometimes, you might only get five minutes of usable footage in a day, or even none at all for several days.

News of Chen Shouzhe's visit to the set was spread through the media, along with photos of Chen Shouzhe filming on set.

"This morning, director Chen Shou visited the set of 'Kung Fu Hustle' in Hengdian and personally directed the filming for director Stephen Chow."

"According to rumors, director Chen Shouzhe bought a villa in Kyoto worth over 100 million yuan."

"Yang Mi was wearing a white shirt, exuding youthful energy."

The internet is buzzing with activity, with new news appearing every day. People who don't care about the film and television industry just glance at it and move on, while only those in the industry pay a second look.

Seeing the news about Yang Mi, many female celebrities pursed their lips, clearly envious.

The fact that someone who had been blacklisted could be brought back is no longer a matter of luck.

Countless people praised Yang Mi's beauty on her Weibo. After a day of filming, Chen Shouzhe had a meal with the main cast and crew and was then arranged to rest at the hotel where the crew was located.

The door was opened in the middle of the night, and someone slipped in.

The shirt buttons were scattered all over the floor during the day, as if they had been violently ripped open.

The next day, Chen Shou went to the "Journey to the West" film crew.

Besides filming on location, many scenes also needed to be shot in Hengdian, so Chen Shou stayed there for a few days before returning to the capital.

"The movie has been edited. I need to go to the school. Could you make a copy of the movie so I can show it there?"

Inside the company, Chen Shouzhe spoke to Tao Le.

"Won't this movie be released in China?" Tao Le asked.

"It will be released overseas. As for domestically, we'll discuss with China Film Group how to import it," Chen Shou said.

"Okay, you can personally handle the liaison with China Film Group when the time comes."

"Let's talk about it then."

Chen Shouzhe is graduating this year, and this is his graduation film. He plans to take it to the Beijing Film Academy first, and he has already made arrangements with his advisor.

When Chen Shouzhe arrived at the school, more than a dozen teachers and professors from the directing department came, as well as teachers and professors from other departments, all wanting to see how Chen Shouzhe's preparations were going.

No one expected that Chen Shouzhe would prepare to graduate with a foreign language film. The movie was playing with Chinese subtitles below.

Chen Shou said it was a science fiction film, and that it only cost tens of thousands of dollars to make. They thought it was a short film, but they ended up watching it for more than an hour.

Chen Shouzhe's graduation thesis focuses on the future trends of the special effects film market.

After his defense, Chen Shouzhe discovered that many professors weren't very interested, and some were even disappointed. They had expected him to surprise them, but instead, he presented a science fiction film without any special effects, and his thesis was about the market for special effects films. Ultimately, Chen Shouzhe didn't graduate with honors, and his postgraduate studies ended there, a three-year program.

Chen Shouzhe didn't care about this. He had learned knowledge during his time at school, and it was normal for teachers not to like science fiction special effects movies.

In their minds, film is art, art presented on the screen by the director through filming techniques.

At least that's what the teachers think; they feel that the core message of the film is lost once technology is incorporated.

It's all about storytelling.

Audiences go to science fiction movies primarily for the special effects.

It's like popcorn; it tastes good, but it's not filling because it's mostly air and has no nutritional value.

They insist on art films, insisting on shaping characters through the director's emotional expression, so that the film can reach an artistic level.

This is why you don't see special effects movies at major awards; the story isn't important, the special effects are the selling point.

No matter how high a movie's box office is, it's still worthless in their eyes.

A group of people are complaining that the market has been taken over by foreign special effects blockbusters, while simultaneously rejecting special effects movies and criticizing the audience for not watching their art films.

I always felt that their cinematic art was as high as a multi-story building, requiring me to savor it word by word.

Chen Shouzhe's failure to receive the Outstanding Graduate award surprised many. A renowned director graduating without receiving the best honor immediately drew numerous sarcastic comments.

It's safe to say that Chen Shouzhe's thesis and graduation project were not very good.

Many people ridiculed and mocked him.

Some people even jumped out and posted mocking comments on Weibo.

"Some people are just arrogant. They spent tens of thousands of dollars to make a sci-fi film, and think they're amazing just because they've made a few good movies. I heard that more than half of the teachers couldn't understand what he was making. It's no wonder he won't get an outstanding graduate award. He's just a comedian who got lucky. What good movies can he possibly make?"

The poster's introduction stated that he was a director from a certain association, had made some films and won awards, but hadn't made any films for several years. He said that no one would invest in him, and he begged and pleaded every day, but no one was willing to invest.

As soon as someone posted a message mocking Chen Shouzhe, people who disliked him immediately followed suit.

"His thesis was about the science fiction film market, and he ended up spending tens of thousands of dollars to make a science fiction film. It's a joke. The money he made is probably already overseas."

"Just kidding, a science fiction movie only costs tens of thousands of dollars."

"I heard it's going to be released in the US. Nobody's going to be stupid enough to go to the cinema to see it, right?"

"Columbia distributed it. It's a good dog. They'll even distribute a movie made by their own dog."

"Let's guess if the box office will exceed 100."

"It should break even, in case people like his movies."

"How come he's still alive? It's disgusting, a foreigner."

Public opinion surged one wave after another, with all the opportunities presented to focus on Chen Shouzhe. The company's public relations team also stepped up its efforts, resulting in a standoff between the two sides.

Chen Shouzhe didn't receive the Outstanding Graduate award, so there's no way to refute the ridicule directed at him unless it can be proven that the films he made are excellent.

At this moment, Chen Shou's allies seemed to have vanished all at once. Apart from a few companies like Deyun Society and Wanda, who stood up for him, and some celebrities who answered questions during interviews, no other companies stepped in.

"Hmph, you haven't even grown wings yet, and you dare to provoke me. I'll make you pay."

Inside Huayi, Wang Zonglei saw those comments online and thought of what Chen Shouzhe had said to him at the celebration banquet for "2012".

Since you've already discovered it, then I won't hold back. He's been manipulating public opinion to suppress this kind of behavior for twenty years.

"He's still too young. If it were a co-production, at least China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group would stand up for him. He doesn't even understand the principle of gratitude for small favors and resentment for large ones. He's too young," Feng Xiaogang said with a smile.

“Unless he continues to hang out abroad, not many people in China will want to associate with him anymore,” Wang Zonglei said with a chuckle.

"A sci-fi movie costing tens of thousands of dollars, young people really know how to have fun. It's going to be released in North America in a couple of days."

"A lousy comedian should go back to performing comedy. He can't make it in the film and television industry."

(End of this chapter)