Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 57 Little Dream

A scandal made Chen Shouzhe see the true face of this circle, and he could clearly see who his friends were and who his enemies were.

When they're drinking and eating, they run very fast; when it's time to get involved, they run very fast too.

After returning to China, Chen Shou's phone kept ringing, but he only answered a few before driving to a villa area outside the Fifth Ring Road.

As soon as he parked his car in the garage, several people were already waiting for him at the main entrance.

"Godfather, Godmother."

Chen Shou hugged each of them, one by one.

"You've lost weight, come in and eat quickly." Before Chen Shou could say anything, his godmother had already pulled him into the yard.

"Don't worry, the child just arrived." Guo Degang looked at Chen Shouzhe with a smile, his face full of satisfaction.

Chen Shou was extremely grateful to his godfather, who was one of the people who had stood by him throughout this ordeal.

None of his previous partners spoke up, but his godfather had repeatedly expressed his support for Chen Shouzhe through various media channels and on stage.

"You've suffered these past few days, but it's all for the best. How can you see a rainbow without going through the storm?" Godmother said, sitting in front of Chen Shouzhe.

"It wasn't really a storm, it's all in the past, things will get better from now on," Chen Shou said with a smile.

“Seeing you like this makes me even more heartbroken. If you have any problems, talk to your godfather and the others. They may not be as capable as you are now, but they have seen and experienced more, and they can help you with their experience.”

"We chat often, so don't worry about that." Chen Shou felt a warmth in his heart.

After finishing dinner at Guo's house, Chen went straight to sleep in the guest room of the villa. The next day, after his jet lag had mostly worn off, Chen went to the yard to practice his singing. He saw that Guo Degang was practicing, so he joined in for a while.

"The phone has been ringing for a long time, please answer it."

The two sat down for a cup of tea. Chen Shou's phone, which was on silent, kept vibrating and eventually rolled off the table onto the lawn.

Chen Shouzhe glanced at the incoming calls; he recognized several of them.

"Good morning, Chairman Wang," Chen Shou said as he answered the phone.

"I managed to get through to you on the phone. Hope I didn't bother you."

The person on the other end of the phone was neither Wang Changtian of Enlight Media nor Wang Zongjun of Huayi Brothers, but Vice Chairman Wang of China Film Group.

"What a coincidence, I just woke up and your call came in." Chen Shou was lying through his teeth, while Guo Degang next to him drank his tea and listened to his nonsense.

Are you free today?

"Oh, I just got off the plane yesterday, and I'm busy with company matters today. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I have two things to ask you about. First, I'd like to invite you to dinner. Second, I want to discuss how to get your $3.5 million movie into the Chinese market."

"Isn't Director La in charge of import and export films?" Chen Shou asked in surprise.

"What's wrong? Can't I do it?"

“Sure, why not? Let’s go in a couple of days. I’ll finish up my work at the company first, and then I’ll treat you.”

"That would be even better. Come to China Film Group in a couple of days."

"Go to China Film Group?"

"I'm treating you to dinner, where else would we go besides China Film Group?"

"Alright, I'll go to China Film Group in a couple of days."

After hanging up the phone, Chen turned it off; there were too many calls, and he didn't want to answer them.

“China Film Group is the big brother after all. Although it’s an insatiable wolf, it’s also the alpha wolf. When necessary, it can help you deter other wolf packs,” Old Guo said, taking a sip of tea.

"Godfather, how should I handle this?" Chen Shou asked humbly.

"Chairman Wang is your benefactor, and you owe him a debt of gratitude, but you have already repaid that debt to him. A cooperative relationship is sufficient. In this world, apart from your family, you shouldn't expect anyone else to be selfless towards you."

"I understand."

After having breakfast at Guo's house, Chen drove to the company. The company was very busy at the moment because a new department was being established, and a large number of people were being transferred.

Chen Shou was busy with this, and in the afternoon he and Tao Le went to an office building in Huairou.

“The entire building has been rented; this will be the company’s production base from now on,” Tao Le said.

"If you have the money, you should still buy it," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"We'll talk about it when you have the money," Tao Le smiled. A lot of equipment began arriving at the company, all purchased from overseas by Chen Shouzhe.

The following day, Shouzhe Pictures announced the news to the public.

[Shouzhe Pictures Announcement: Shouzhe Pictures has established a subsidiary, "Little Dream," which will primarily be responsible for visual effects post-production.]

The short announcement attracted a lot of attention, and major media outlets rushed to report on it.

"Chen Shouzhe established a special effects company, named it Little Dream, and the company's registered capital reached 100 million."

"Chen Shouzhe responded directly to special effects films and established a special effects company."

"China will partner with its own special effects company. It is reported that Chen Shouzhe recruited a large number of special effects talents to study in the United States during the filming of the movie '2012'."

"The company is named 'Little Dream,' which reflects Chen Shouzhe's small dream of special effects."

"I have called Shouzhe Films. The person in charge, Tao Le, said that director Chen Shouzhe plans to use all the box office revenue from 'The Man from Earth' to purchase the special effects production costs, and is determined to create a special effects company that belongs to the Chinese people."

"A small dream, a big ambition: Director Chen Shou ventures into the special effects industry."

"Several companies in the industry congratulated Chen Shouzhe on the establishment of his new company."

Major news media outlets are reporting on it, and even some official Weibo accounts have reported on it and praised Chen Shouzhe's actions.

For a long time, post-production special effects have been outsourced to foreign companies. There are very few domestic special effects companies, and even if there are, the special effects are terrible, almost like photoshopped images.

Finally, a domestic company is willing to work on special effects, and the government naturally supports this.

"Director Chen is awesome. He should do things himself and slap those people in the face."

"Just because you can't do it doesn't mean I can't. I believe I can create special effects blockbusters too."

"Some people shout slogans loudly, but they don't see a single thing. Director Chen is doing big things quietly. He had already laid out his plans starting with the movie '2012,' recruiting special effects talents and arranging for them to learn in major film crews."

“A senior I know said that some people in the company are still studying in the United States, and Director Chen spares no expense to train them.”

"Looking forward to Director Chen's sci-fi film."

"By the way, when will 'The Man from Earth' be released in China?"

"Although it's just the beginning, it's something to be encouraged. Someone has to pave the way, otherwise foreigners will make all the money."

"For this reason alone, I won't criticize you anymore."

Many companies in the industry have expressed interest in collaborating with "Little Dream" to support domestic special effects companies.

Inside the China Film Studio, Chen Shouzhe hadn't been there for a while. He sat opposite Vice Chairman Wang in his office, drinking tea.

"Your decision to establish a special effects company was very supportive from above, and Director Tong even praised you."

"Thank you, Director Tong. I was just doing what I was supposed to do," Chen Shouzhe said.

"If only other companies were as conscientious as you, they'd be doing such a mess. I really don't know what kind of business they're in."

Chen Shouzhe naturally knew who he was talking about. It was quite outrageous for a film company to get involved in real estate.

They probably saw that the real estate industry was making money and wanted to get a piece of the pie, just like Disney.

The problem is that other companies have accumulated over a century of experience, with various film-related copyright themes. What good stuff does this domestic film company have? It's a joke; it's bound to fail sooner or later.

“You should use a revenue-sharing model for your movie. After all, it sold so well overseas, we can’t just buy it out,” Vice Chairman Wang steered the conversation toward the movie.

“Alright, let the audience judge whether the movie is good or not. After all, I don’t know anything about art. I’m just a moviemaker,” Chen Shou nodded.

“China Film Group is a state-owned enterprise, so there are many things it can’t do directly. Don’t overthink it. China Film Group has always supported you,” Vice Chairman Wang said after thinking for a moment.

"Yes, I know, thank you, Chairman Wang." Chen Shou nodded without saying anything.

Vice Chairman Wang knew that Chen Shouzhe was angry and had become somewhat distant from China Film Group. However, he was able to show that they still had a cooperative relationship. On the other hand, Shanghai Film Group was in a bad situation. They didn't make any gesture and even took advantage of Chen Shouzhe's misfortune. It was estimated that they would completely distance themselves from Chen Shouzhe.

"Just tell me what you need for your new movie."

"Reserve one of the digital studios at China Film Group for me; I need to build sets," Chen Shou said after thinking for a moment.

"No problem. Do you need any help with investments?"

Chen Shou did not agree immediately. After a pause, he said, "Let's talk about it after the script is approved."

　There will be more at night

　　
　
(End of this chapter)