Huayu: Director started with art films

Chapter 314 325 [The Li family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law finally meet, horror movies must use sex]

After Lee Yi-su returned from Venice, the crew of "Chicago" naturally resumed filming.

Although the production has experienced many twists and turns since the official start of filming, fortunately, Lee Yi-su has the newly-won "Silver Lion Award". Everyone in the crew, whether it is the main creative team or the part-time workers, is full of confidence in this movie.

The success of a movie is not only the credit of the director, but also the credit of the entire crew. This awareness is more obvious in Hollywood.

Whether you are a lighting technician or a camera track pusher, as long as you have participated in one or two famous, box office or award-winning works, you can use this as your resume when you go out for interviews and applications, thereby increasing your employment opportunities and earning more salary.

With the official conclusion of this year's Venice International Film Festival awards ceremony, the three major European film festivals have come to a successful conclusion this year. The one who gained the most was no one else but Lee Yi-su!
Even though he only won the Silver Lion Award, a special jury award, this time, Lee Yi-shu's achievements this year are truly dazzling.

He successfully won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, becoming the fourth director in the world to win three gold medals and the first Asian Grand Slam winner. With the support of Time magazine, he has become the now household name and godfather of Asian films.

Nowadays, the three words "China Lee" are also very famous in European and American countries. When people hear "China Lee", they immediately have a common understanding: the godfather of Asian films!
At the subsequent Cannes Film Festival, Li Yishu became the first Chinese winner of the Best Director Award, and his fame soared again. To a certain extent, he basically represents a new height for Asian films.

This honor has always been held by Japan's national treasure director Akira Kurosawa. Back then, Kurosawa became a well-known Asian director in Europe and the United States with films such as "Rashomon" and "Seven Samurai".

But now this honor has gone to Lee Yi-su, and even more than Kurosawa Akira. After all, it is too far away from Kurosawa's heyday, and many young people in Europe and the United States don't know much about Kurosawa.

But Lee Yi-shu is different. He has won three Golden Globes and is also known as the Godfather of Asian Cinema. His films have long been sold all over the world by various film producers as his fame spreads. There are even videotapes of his films in Africa.

Now that she has won the Silver Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, Lee Yi-su has publicly announced that she will focus her energy on film festivals other than the three major European ones in the future.

The honors he received and the support from journalists from various countries also made him famous again within half a month after the closing of the Venice Expo.

This also led to a large number of reporters from all over the world surrounding the "Chicago" crew every day, most of whom were from North America. Everyone wanted to interview Li Yishu to get more hot news.

"Li, you have to go outside and appease those reporters yourself."

In Tom Theater, Harvey walked in from outside with a headache and said helplessly: "I am no longer useful. They strongly request to interview you!"

Looking at Tom Hanks who was rehearsing on the stage, Li Yishu nodded and said, "Then tell the reporters outside that I will be interviewed by them in the theater in half an hour, but I hope they can abide by the rules."

"Don't worry! I will definitely talk it out with them!" Harvey showed a happy expression, turned around and left excitedly.

Looking at his expression, Li Yishu shook her head. Did she really think that he didn't see through Harvey's little thoughts?
As a master at manipulating public opinion, Harvey is not the kind of person who can be manipulated by reporters. The reason why he is keen on Li Yishu being interviewed is nothing more than to warm up and promote "Chicago" in advance.

Now reporters outside are curious about which film festival Lee Yi-su's new film will participate in in the future, and what kind of film it is. Harvey can reveal it to reporters, but how can it compare to Lee Yi-su's personal interview?

"Jingle Bell……"

Just then, Li Yishu's cell phone rang. He took it out and saw that it was Amy calling. He answered directly, "What's wrong, Amy?"

"Boss, I've received the call from Auntie."

"How's it going? Is it going well?"

"It went pretty smoothly. Auntie is right next to me. Do you want to talk to her?"

"Then let my mother answer the phone."

After a moment, the voice of her mother Zhao Xue came from the other end of the line: "Hello, Yishu."

"Mom, is it okay to take a plane?"

"It's OK. It's a bit long, but luckily I've been on a lot of flights before. I just feel a little dizzy at this end."

This was Zhao Xue's first time to take a flight that lasted more than ten hours, and she had to change trains several times. She first arrived in Guangdong from Sichuan, then went to Hong Kong, and then flew directly from Hong Kong to Los Angeles.

Fortunately, I rested for two days, otherwise I might not have been able to withstand such a long journey.

After chatting with his mother for a few words and letting her take a nap in the car, Li Yishu asked Zhao Xue to give the phone to Amy and told her to escort his mother to Beverly Hills. He then hung up the phone and called Qingxia to inform her that her future mother-in-law had got off the plane.

Qingxia was very nervous: "I...what should I do?"

"Sister Qingxia, don't be nervous. My mother is very easy to talk to. Besides, you are pregnant with the eldest son of the Li family. She will definitely be very happy."

Li Yishu smiled and said, "I just talked to my mother. She will be here soon. Ask Huang Ma to arrange a room for her."

"I asked Huang Ma to clean it up a few days ago."

"Just pack it up. The crew still has a lot of things to deal with. I can't go back for the time being. It will probably be early next month."

In fact, Li Yishu wanted to go back to Los Angeles to pick up his mother in person, but the crew stopped filming several times, which delayed a lot of progress. In addition, Tom Hanks had a new movie to start shooting in mid-September, so he couldn't waste any more time.

Now, Li Yishu is not a big star enough to make Tom Hanks stop working on other crews to serve her. He is focusing on the North American market. No matter how famous Li Yishu is in Asia, she cannot hinder him.

After comforting the somewhat nervous Qingxia, Li Yishu said that he would find time to go back and see her in the future, and then hung up the phone.

Just then, a staff member came in and said that Harvey had arranged for reporters to wait in the theater next door. Li Yishu then shouted towards the stage: "Hey Tom, there are reporters coming to interview, let's go together!"

"No problem, director." Tom Hanks agreed readily.

Los Angeles.

Beverly Hills.

A black business car slowly moved towards the top of the mountain and soon arrived at the door of a mansion.

At this time, Qingxia was pregnant with a big belly. On her right was Mother Lin supporting her, and on her left was the maid Mother Huang.

Seeing this, Zhao Xue hurriedly asked Amy to stop the car, opened the door and got out: "Hey, Qingxia, why are you here? It must be uncomfortable with such a big belly. Come on, go back to the house."

"It's okay, Auntie." Seeing Zhao Xue taking her belly so seriously, Qingxia breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: "The doctor told me not to lie down too much at home, but to walk more, which will help with childbirth."

"It's good to walk around, but you can't walk around outside. Just walk around inside the house. It's so hot today." Zhao Xue held Qingxia's arm, then looked at the other woman next to her. Thinking that this should be Mother Lin, she immediately smiled and said, "You are Qingxia's mother, Mother Lin, right?"

"Yes, it's me." Mother Lin smiled.

"Oh, it's my mother-in-law. I'm so sorry. I came here and bothered you and Qingxia to meet me at the door. Don't stand outside. It's sunny. Go back to the house quickly."

Seeing that Li Yishu's mother was so easy to talk to, Mother Lin felt a lot more relieved. Even though it was her daughter who suffered the loss, her belly was so big already, could she still regret it?
Soon a group of people came into the house, talking and laughing.

As soon as Zhao Xue came in, she was shocked by this mansion. Not to mention how luxurious it was, but the decoration style and layout were much better than those mansions in the country today.

Fortunately, she already knew on the way here that this house was bought by her son for Qingxia to wait for her baby. She did not show any fear, but instead showed a satisfied smile: "Yishu did a good job this time. This house is a good one, but the location is not very good. Why do you live in the mountains? It's not very convenient to go back and forth."

Qingxia thought Zhao Xue was just dissatisfied with her, and hurriedly said, "Auntie, this place is pretty good, quiet enough, and the surrounding supporting facilities are also very complete. The view is wide, and you can overlook the entire city from the upstairs."

They all came from the daughter-in-law. Zhao Xue saw Qingxia's nervousness and said with a smile: "Don't be nervous, Qingxia. I'm a very easy person to talk to. In the final analysis, it's my son's fault. I was thinking of saying sorry to you."

"No, that's not necessary, Auntie." Qingxia became even more nervous.

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Sit down quickly. How many months have you been like this?"

"It's almost nine months now, and the doctor said September 9th is the due date."

When Zhao Xue heard that she was going to give birth on the 8th of next month, she was so excited that she said quickly, "Then we have to be more careful and take good care of ourselves. In the past, women had to go through hell when giving birth. Although medical care is advanced now, it is still painful..."

"Who says it isn't?"

Mother Lin nodded in agreement: "When I gave birth to Qingxia and her siblings..."

The two women began to chat with each other.

Seeing her mother and mother-in-law chatting happily, Qingxia also breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that the family was getting along well, Amy slipped out of the door, took out her cell phone and called her boss.

Speaking of which, Amy was very shocked when she first learned about Qingxia. She didn't expect that her boss would play so many games and actually made Qingxia, the most beautiful woman in Southeast Asia, pregnant, and he was willing to retire from the film industry.

But on second thought, why would I be reluctant? Li Yishu is not an ordinary director. Not to mention his artistic achievements, his ability to make money is much better than some wealthy people in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Pioneer VCDs are now selling like hot cakes in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but the production is insufficient, so they are unable to continue to expand into a larger market. Moreover, the outside world does not know who the boss behind the scenes is, otherwise Li Yishu would have gained the reputation of "VCD King" in Hong Kong Island.

Broadway, New York.

In Tom Theater, after the interview, Harvey immediately asked people to distribute the prepared gifts one by one.

"Chicago" is now one-third done with its filming. At this rate, it should be finished by early September.

After all, the movie doesn't have too many outdoor shots, and it focuses more on theater singing and dancing. As long as the actors rehearse smoothly and there are no mistakes during filming, the progress will be very fast.

After the reporters left, Li Yishu started filming the show, and Amy also called at this time.

"How was it? My mom didn't say anything, did she?"

"No, Auntie looks very happy and is chatting with Mother Lin now."

"That's good."

Li Yishu breathed a sigh of relief. Although he was very sure that his mother Zhao Xue would not do anything weird, it was hard to say without a definite answer. Fortunately, everything went smoothly.

After a few words, just as Li Yishu was about to hang up, Amy suddenly said, "By the way, boss, Wu Yusen has already prepared the crew, and the filming will officially start the day after tomorrow."

Since their last meeting, Wu Yusen has signed a contract with Li Yishu's Golden Lion Films for five films.

The pay is incremental, starting at $20 for the first film and increasing depending on the box office of subsequent films, but the maximum is $100 million.

Although it was a bit harsh, Wu Yusen still agreed because he could no longer return to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

After the last conversation with Li Yishu, a big shot from Hong Kong and Taiwan asked someone to contact Wu Yusen and asked him to return to Hong Kong as soon as possible to give an explanation.

It's impossible that an investment that was said to be 100% profitable has now lost more than half of its value. Not only have they not even recovered their costs, but you, as a director, are still staying in the United States and refusing to come back to give everyone an explanation, right?

Explain? How could Wu Yusen dare to go back and explain? If he went back, he would probably be forced to sign a slave contract at gunpoint.

Instead of returning to Hong Kong to give them an explanation, it would be better for him to stay in the United States and make a few movies for Li Yishu first, so as to become more familiar with the discussion of American commercial films. It will not be too late to make a comeback in the future.

Li Yishu smiled and said, "He is quite prompt. The crew has prepared the film so quickly. Which movie did he choose?"

"Wu Yusen chose the fatal curve!"

The plot of the movie "Wrong Turn" is very simple. It is about a group of people going out for an outing. Because of a car problem, they are forced to camp and rest in a remote forest. Then they meet a group of deformed people with great strength.

The plot of the film is actually not much different from "The Hills Have Eyes", but "Wrong Turn" is a bit more bloody. Lee Yi-su is well aware of how much money this movie makes, and she filmed seven or eight more in the future, which can be said to be a long-lasting success.

"Well, let him finish filming and editing as soon as possible. The speed of Golden Lion Pictures' production is still a little too slow. It would be best if they could release a low-cost horror film every month in the future..."

The US dollar is still very valuable now. A low-budget horror film can be made for $300,000 or $500,000, and a slightly better one would cost no more than a million dollars.

Because the bulk of the cost is spent on props and labor, the actors' pay is very little. An unknown actor can get the job with $10,000 or $20,000. The film is mainly about selling sex. When the blonde girl is being chased, the turbulent scene is enough to satisfy the audience.

It’s a pity that Daddario hasn’t grown up yet, otherwise he would have to sign him.

　I am going back to my hometown to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. I wish you all a happy Mid-Autumn Festival in advance. May you reunite with your family in harmony, become rich overnight and live a carefree life every day.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)