Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 21 Difficult and Mysterious

"Everyone, let's watch the movie."

After two busy months, Chen Shouzhe finally finished all the post-production work for the film. There weren't many outsourced special effects, but each shot cost millions. Chen Shouzhe opted to have all the special effects produced by an overseas team. The budget of 100 million yuan had already been significantly reduced, cutting costs by at least 10 million yuan.

Several production companies were present, and as is customary, they were shown the film first; the box office performance was left to the market.

Except for Xi'an Film Studio, which is located far away and did not come, the other three companies all arrived.

They got a sneak peek and watched for over an hour, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

“No problem, send it for review. I’ll keep an eye on it,” Han Sanping said first.

After all, these are gods, demons, and monsters. Some people don't like Chen Shou, so it's inevitable that some accidents will happen. Even though he's the only director in China with over a billion yuan in box office revenue, he'll still be made as difficult as possible by those guys who haven't even filmed anything.

"Thank you for your trouble, Third Master," Chen Shou said, nodding.

"No need for that. We, China Film Group, are also a production company. It's only right." Han Sanping waved his hand, showing that he still valued Chen Shou.

The group chatted for a while and decided that China Film Group would submit the film for review, since Painted Skin had a somewhat terrifying element to it.

As expected, something unexpected happened; the situation got stuck for a moment, but China Film Group quickly resolved it.

In the morning, Chen called the company's landline, and the application was approved smoothly in the afternoon. Chen Shouzhe only called Han Sanping's personal phone, leaving all the trouble to them.

Sometimes, things that you struggle to accomplish can be solved with just a few words from someone else; that's the importance of connections.

This is also the key reason why he wanted to bring in China Film Group and Xi'an Film Group. With state-owned enterprises involved, a lot of unnecessary trouble can be reduced in terms of review.

Moreover, China Film Group has the power of life and death over the import and export of films. "Painted Skin" will not only be shown in China, but also in Southeast Asia and some overseas countries.

Otherwise, why only allow foreign films to come in, but not allow their own films to go out?
Most people will find it hard to accept, but they'll be very interested in these kinds of movies with their mysterious Eastern elements and fantastical elements. The only thing they lack is mystery, as the story mainly revolves around the relationships between the four main characters.

The romance film "Painted Skin," directed by Chen Shouzhe and starring Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, Zeng Li, and Wu Yue, has passed the Film Bureau's review and is permitted for release today!

As soon as the Film Bureau's official website released the announcement, some media outlets immediately swarmed around it like cats smelling fish.

Before they could react, the five production companies simultaneously released announcements.

[The romance film "Painted Skin," directed by Chen Shouzhe and starring Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, Zeng Li, and Wu Yue, will be released in theaters nationwide on September 28th, and will also be available in international theaters simultaneously!]

"A worldwide release?"

"Goodness, no wonder it's China Film Group. It's different when they control the life and death of import and export."

"The treatment that only top directors receive is now rare in China."

"It seems that China Film Group is very confident in this film, as it is preparing for a worldwide release as soon as it is finished."

"I suddenly lost interest in romance movies."

"I thought it was a comedy."

"Brother, it was stated during the filing that it was a romance film, but it seems that it was only noted as a romance film in order to pass the censorship."

"What movie is it?"

"You'll see when you go to the cinema."

Suddenly, the popularity of "Painted Skin" soared. After all, Chen Shou was the first director in China to have a box office of over 1 billion yuan, making it easier to promote the film.

Just like how he was initially promoted as a crosstalk performer, now who even remembers that he was a crosstalk performer?

There's a deluge of news about "Painted Skin" out there, and posters of the four main characters have already been released.

Different backgrounds, same style. In Zhou Xun's picture, there's a huge moon in the background, and she's wearing a cloak, making her look like a ghost.

While the publicity was in full swing, a mysterious guest came to the bookstore that opened in May.

Many people enjoy listening to audiobooks, especially those featuring Guo Degang's stand-up comedy. He's created so many plot holes that he's gradually attracted a large following.

However, Guo Degang himself didn't have much time to tell stories at the bookstore, so he handed it over to several apprentices.

It mainly involved the two fellow disciples, Li Yuntian and Yan Hexiang.

Three people came to the library backstage today: Li Yuntian, Yan Hexiang, and Chen Shouzhe.

"Senior brother, it's been a long time since I've seen you wear this outfit," Yan Hexiang said with a smile.

Despite being much older than Chen Shouzhe, he joined the sect later and still called Chen Shouzhe "senior brother." The same goes for Li Yuntian, even though he was also from the Yun generation and joined the sect later. His clapper talk was exceptional.

"You two better warm up the atmosphere for me, I'm not going to be talking about familiar stories today," Chen Shou said. "No problem, we'll definitely warm you up. We told you a week ago that there was a mystery guest, and everyone thought it was my master. The place is packed today," Yan Hexiang laughed.

“Yes, I see quite a few people have come from outside,” Li Yuntian added with a smile.

The afternoon session started at 2 PM. Today was the weekend, and there were a lot of people there. In particular, there was a sign at the entrance saying that there would be a mystery guest today, and the tickets were sold out in seconds.

Li Yuntian spoke for an hour first, then left a question unanswered, and then Yan Hexiang spoke for an hour.

"I know everyone came here today for the mystery guest, so I'll be the host for once. There are already few people in the library, and this guest's arrival today makes the library even more glorious. The audience is packed today because of this guest. Let me tell you, you've come to the right place. This guest today is even more important than my master. Please give a round of applause to my senior brother, Chen Shouzhe!!"

As soon as Yan Hexiang finished speaking, Chen Shou, dressed in a long gown and holding a scepter and a fan, walked up.

Many people were stunned when they heard Yan Hexiang's introduction, but when they saw Chen Shouzhe, they burst into amazing cheers.

"Really? Chen Shouzhe?!"

Who is Chen Shouzhe?

"He's so young, yet he's more influential than Guo Degang. Don't you know him?"

"who is this?"

"Chen Shouzhe, the director of Goodbye Mr. Loser, a director with 1.5 billion yuan in box office revenue."

"Yu Qian's apprentice, Guo Degang's godson, and the most famous person in Deyun Society."

"My God, this was a great deal! I never expected that a big director like him would come back to perform stand-up comedy."

Hearing the explanations from those around them, some of the staff who were unaware of Chen Shouzhe's identity finally realized that this young man with a scholarly air was actually a director with 1.5 billion yuan in box office revenue.

Chen Shou sat down in the chair with a smile, feeling a little uncomfortable, because the chairs used for storytelling were all very high. The saying "high platform for teaching" refers to the high platform and the high chair, which supported the person upright and tall.

"That was my junior brother Yan Hexiang. You all saw his big head. Not only is his head big, but his butt is also big. It gets really hot sitting down. When I sit down, it's like sitting on a heated brick bed. My butt is burning!" Chen Shou didn't rush to speak when he came on stage, but first told a little joke.

As expected, a knowing smile rippled through the audience, and Chen Shouzhe then picked up the eye-catching item.

"Difficult! Difficult! Difficult! The Dao is the most profound."

Do not take the elixir of immortality lightly.

Without encountering a sage to impart the secrets, one cannot succeed.

Empty words lead to exhaustion...

Snapped!
My tongue is dry!

"Come up on stage and recite a poem to set the stage. You can all tell that you haven't heard this poem before, right? It's about cultivation. Taoist cultivation is divided into internal alchemy and external alchemy. Internal alchemy is about cultivating the golden elixir within the body, while external alchemy is the ancient alchemy technique. They are different paths but the same, both born for the purpose of cultivating the Tao."

The opening poem I spoke of was a warning: cultivating the Tao is not easy. Only those with a predestined connection can obtain its wondrous methods. If you are not a predestined person, even if I speak until my throat is dry, you will not understand.

The book I'm going to talk about today actually existed during the Southern Song Dynasty. Its original title was "The Great Tang Monk Xuanzang's Journey to the West," which tells the story of the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang's journey to India to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

Later, in various dynasties, there were also different interpretations. I collected and organized them, and compiled all the content into a book to tell you all. However, my version is different from other versions. It may be published as a book later. There may not be many jokes, so please be patient. Today is the first episode.

The spiritual root nurtures and gives birth to the source; through the cultivation of mind and nature, the Great Dao arises. In the beginning of the separation of heaven and earth, there was a natural order: 129,600 years constitute one cycle, and one cycle is divided into twelve periods…”

As Chen Shouzhe recounted the story, a stone monkey was born, and it even became an apprentice, learning seventy-two transformations, and causing havoc in the Dragon Palace and the Underworld.

As the time was running out, the audience was completely engrossed. Although there were no jokes or punchlines, it brought back the feeling of old-fashioned storytelling, making it irresistible.

"So what did the Monkey King Sun Wukong do after he rebelled and descended to the mortal realm? Stay tuned for the next episode!"

Chen Shouzhe's knock was so striking that the audience finally came to their senses.

"Come again."

"another one."

"another one."

"That's no good, time is limited. I've already exceeded half an hour, so that's enough for today. I'll come back to talk to you all next time when I have time. Remember to buy tickets!" Chen Shou stood up and clasped his hands in greeting.

Before the audience could linger, Chen Shou packed up his things and left the stage, leaving the audience still savoring the moment.

The event ended at 5:30 PM. Around 6:00 PM, news about Chen Shouzhe's storytelling appeared online, and someone even uploaded the content of today's storytelling, which immediately attracted a lot of attention. Who would have thought that a big director would go back to storytelling? Chen Shouzhe once said that he started making movies because his partner quit, and now he has switched to storytelling.

(End of this chapter)