Huayu: Enjoy Yourself

Chapter 102 Director Zhang: It's getting cold, I'll give you a yellow bathrobe.

The film's approval was like a stone sinking into the sea, just as Chen An had predicted.

The approval process for this type of film is more difficult and time-consuming than for previous films.

Even though Chen An is no longer the nobody he used to be.

Fortunately, there was still some time to spare.

"Sister Xiaoping, the Hollywood movie is about to be released, and I have to go out again. Contact me about the censorship later." Chen An made a phone call to her.

He was not in Beijing at the time, but had gone to Xi'an Film Studio to meet Director Zhang.

Han Sanping had just taken office and there were still a lot of things to do in the group's reorganization and integration, so he couldn't interfere and naturally had to turn to Xi'an Film Studio.

After all, they are one of the producers.

Li Xiaoping's voice came from the other end of the phone, "No problem, I have a lot of things to do anyway, I'll let you know in time." Then she hung up the phone.

Chen An looked at the phone that had been hung up, scratched his head, and realized that the other party must be quite busy with their tasks.

After tucking his phone into his pocket, Chen An was led to his office by a staff member.

Compared to the Beijing Film Studio, the Xi'an Film Studio has a more rustic and traditional appearance.

This magnificent hall of Chinese-language cinema is not decorated in a particularly lavish manner; nowadays, it is only filled with countless people carrying briefcases coming and going.

"Director Zhang, it's been a long time." Chen An greeted him with a smile as he entered the room.

Holding a thermos and wearing glasses, Factory Director Zhang smiled as he saw Chen An enter and said:

"Director Chen, welcome, welcome! We've been waiting for you."

He had been waiting for Chen An, knowing he was coming today.

They also knew the other party's intentions, and Xi'an Film Studio had a lot of experience in this area.

"Director Zhang, I'm sorry to bother you. How's the movie going? To be honest, I'll be going abroad for a while, which is why I came to see you."

After closing the door, Chen An didn't talk about anything else and went straight to the point.

Jerry had already called him, urging him to go to Hollywood to participate in the pre-release publicity.

This is an essential process before a Hollywood movie is released; once the production budget is confirmed, the marketing budget is also set.

Generally speaking, for A-list big-budget films, at least one-third of the production budget should be allocated to marketing and distribution.

This is already a mature business operation.

This was a process that was already specified in the previously signed contract.

"Director Chen, don't worry. I've already checked for you. The movie has been approved. There are no problems with the beginning, but the ending needs to be changed."

"How can we change it? Can we even change it? Changing it would render the entire movie obsolete."

Actually, Chen An had roughly guessed the reason beforehand, but changing the ending ruined the entire film.

Factory Director Zhang smiled and explained, "Director Chen, you're overthinking it. I was referring to the ending, where houses were allocated. How can we not move in?"

"Oh, I misunderstood. It was missed during filming. Thank you, Director Zhang, for fixing it right away."

After listening to what the other party said, Chen An understood. As expected of a veteran in this field, the solution was simple: a quick twist of the tongue.

Now that Xiaomei is back, she'll definitely be moving into the new house in the city.

Xi'an Film Studio truly understands this principle; their thinking is indeed broad.

"It's a rare opportunity to work with Director Chen, so we naturally want to make this our first collaboration a success. Xi'an Film Studio has always welcomed collaborations with outstanding directors like Director Chen." Seeing that Chen An understood, Director Zhang smiled and patted Chen An on the shoulder.

"Director Zhang is being modest. Which director wouldn't want to collaborate with Xi'an Film Studio? It's just that there hasn't been an opportunity before."

"Haha, Director Chen, you're too kind. The factory's glory days are a thing of the past. Since I took over, it has been declining. On the contrary, Han Sanping's Beijing Film Studio has been thriving since Director Chen joined. This is all thanks to Director Chen."

As he spoke, Director Zhang seemed to remember something. When he first joined the factory, it was the most glorious time, and the old factory director, Director Wu, was still alive.

He has repeatedly achieved brilliant results, leading Chinese-language films to win countless awards, from the first of the "Big Three" to the subsequent ones.

It promoted countless now-renowned directors; that was the most glorious period for Xi'an Film Studio, and also the most glorious period for Chinese-language cinema.

Thinking about all this, I couldn't help but sigh.

"No, no, no, I can't accept that. It was mainly thanks to Han Dong." Chen An quickly changed the subject.

You can't take this on yourself.

Factory Director Zhang still said, "I don't know his abilities yet. He has some skills, but he was lucky to meet Director Chen. Otherwise, how could he have achieved what he has today?"

"On the contrary, Director Chen, you wrote and directed your own film, which not only won you the Best Director award at Cannes but also broke box office records and achieved great success throughout East Asia."

"If we could have collaborated with Director Chen earlier, our Xi'an Film Studio could have done it too, and even better."

"Even distribution in Southeast Asia can be handled."

Seeing that the other party was getting more and more carried away, with an indignant look on their face.

Seeing this, Chen An thought, "Director Zhang, what are you doing? I'm not cold. You don't need to give me a yellow bathrobe."

"Director Zhang, it's getting late. This is my first time in the Northwest. Why don't you take me to try some local delicacies?" Chen An quickly changed the subject, afraid that the other party would go too far.

"That's perfect timing, Director Chen. Today I'll take you to try some of our Northwest cuisine."

After finishing his meal, Chen An did not linger but hurriedly took Zhao Xiong to the capital.

The movie still needs some reshoots, time is tight, and I have to go to Hollywood after filming is finished.

It took two days to finally get Zhou Xun back from filming elsewhere, while Ge You remained idle in Beijing.

"Director, is it really necessary to go to the north for this reshoot?" Zhou Xun asked, having just returned and eaten a bite of food.

Chen An took a sip of mineral water and placed the bottle on the dining table. "No need. We'll just shoot one more scene. We can just find a house in Beijing and shoot an indoor scene."

Time is of the essence; there's no need to travel that far.

Anyway, it's just an indoor scene, so it doesn't matter where we film it.

"Are you finished eating? If you are, get in the car, I'll take you there." Chen An paid the bill and said after seeing that the person across from him had almost finished eating.

The filming location has already been chosen, and Ge You has already gone there; all that's missing is the female lead.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xun put down her chopsticks, took out a tissue to wipe her mouth, opened a bottle of mineral water and took a sip, "I'm done eating, let's go, director."

"Have you bought your ticket back? Should I give you a ride later?" Chen An asked Zhou Xun as she got into the car.

They hurriedly called the other party over, knowing they would definitely send them back safely.

Zhou Xun, who had just gotten into the car, shook her head. "We finished filming yesterday. I only played the younger version of the character, and after that, I didn't have any more scenes; they replaced me."

"Okay, then I'll take you home." Chen An nodded, knowing which movie the other person was filming.

The classic film and television series "Palace of Desire," which will be released next year, is set in the Tang Dynasty, despite its name containing the character for "Ming."

The name is quite good.

It is also one of Zhou Xun's many hit dramas in recent years.

Upon arriving at the filming location, we asked the other party to find a room to change their clothes.

Uncle Ge also chatted with Chen An, "How was the final cut of the movie?"

"After watching the final cut, I felt like Uncle Ge was going to steal my Golden Bear, but I couldn't bear to re-edit it, otherwise the performance would be wasted."

"Then I'll have to see carefully whether it's as good as you said."

"I guarantee your efforts won't be in vain."

The two chatted for a few minutes, and after Zhou Xun came out and finished filming the scene in the house, they went their separate ways.

After sending Zhou Xun back, Chen An worked through the night to process the issue and then submitted the second version the next day.

(End of this chapter)