Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 48 Celebration Banquet

When Tao Le first heard Chen Shouzhe talk about the science fiction movie, he broke out in a cold sweat. When he heard that Chen Shouzhe was going to go to the United States to shoot this science fiction movie, he thought Chen Shouzhe was crazy.

When he finally heard Chen Shouzhe talk about the cost, he felt even more that Chen Shouzhe was talking in his sleep.

A science fiction movie with a $100,000 investment—this is perhaps the most sci-fi thing Tao Lak has ever heard of.

Fortunately, the company belongs to Chen Shouzhe, as does the independent company he owns in the US. If he were a shareholder, he would definitely take Chen Shouzhe to the hospital for a check-up immediately, or oppose him.

Chen Shouzhe said he didn't care; in fact, $100,000 was still a lot. In his memory, this science fiction movie was simply a miracle in film history.

Therefore, he absolutely could not miss it; it was already part of his plan.

The money hasn't come back yet, and a lot of it has already been spent, including purchasing a lot of special effects equipment.

Those companies aren't afraid that Chen will refuse to pay, because they all know that his movies are making money right now, and besides, copyrights are a lot of money.

Even though he had already borrowed 100 million from the bank, the bank still called Chen Shouzhe and asked if he wanted to borrow more.

He didn't know what to say about the bank's practices. People who needed money but didn't have it couldn't get it, while the bank was desperately trying to sell it to people who had money.

Chen Shou currently holds the rights to three films, and countless companies are eyeing them, with more expected to follow. Moreover, the number of people eyeing the rights to "Journey to the West" is also increasing, with some even inquiring about purchasing the film rights.

"Celebration party?"

Chen Shouzhe received a call from China Film Group. As time passed, the film had already finished its run overseas. Apart from the domestic delay, the total overseas box office figures had been released.

$8.91 million, much higher than Chen Shouzhe remembered. The domestic box office is already $26.1 billion, which is equivalent to $4 million. There are still a few days left, and if we squeeze it out, we can probably fill the gap left by the foreign box office and reach $13 billion.

A $200 million investment yielded a $1.3 billion return.

With the Chinese side receiving 40% of the profits, after deducting the production cost of 200 million US dollars, 500 million US dollars is needed to break even at the box office. The remaining 800 million US dollars is the profit, which is then divided with theaters in various countries. This is a huge calculation process.

For example, if a movie sells for 100 million US dollars overseas, the local distributor and theaters will take 60%, meaning that only 40% (40 million US dollars) will end up in the hands of the production company. Of the 40 million US dollars, only 40% (16 million US dollars) will end up in the hands of the Chinese side. Chen Shouzhe will take one-sixth of that, receiving more than 2.6 million US dollars. After deducting taxes and other expenses, he will receive about 2 million US dollars.

Of course, these are just superficial calculations. The actual amount would be much more. Chen Shou invested 100 million, and of the 800 million US dollars, he could only get less than half. He would only get one-fifteenth of that, which would be about 300 million.

What's most terrifying is his subsequent copyright, which will provide him with a continuous stream of income.

In just one year, the return tripled; who wouldn't be envious?

China Film Group invested much more than him; he had 300 million, China Film Group had over 700 million, and Shanghai Film Group had over 400 million. Wanda was the same as him.

Everyone's making money, so a celebration banquet is definitely in order, and it'll have to be a big one.

The venue had already been decided. China Film Group originally wanted to host the celebration banquet alone, but Shanghai Film Group also stepped in. They needed to demonstrate their strength as well. In the end, the matter went to the Film Bureau, and it was the leaders who made the final decision to let the two companies jointly host the celebration banquet.

This time, the box office record was broken and so much money was made, so the leaders were naturally happy.

Companies large and small in the film and television industry received invitations, totaling at least a thousand people, including many celebrities. This shows how happy China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group are this time.

For the first time in many years, they made money so easily. Although the rate of return wasn't that high, the various records and unseen benefits were unimaginable to outsiders.

Are you free in a couple of days?

Chen Shouzhe was at the horse farm when his master's wife asked someone to come and help him choose clothes. Originally, they were going to have them custom-made, but there wasn't enough time, so they could only take his measurements first and find a set from the inventory.

After trying on the suit, Chen Shou's wife went to discuss it with the shopkeeper. Chen Shou was walking on the snow when he suddenly remembered something and picked up the phone to make a call.

"Have you been busy lately?"

"It's nothing, I've been busy with company matters lately, nothing else," the person on the other end of the phone said softly, as if someone was nearby.

"China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group are holding a celebration banquet the day after tomorrow. You'll be coming with me then," Chen Shou said.

"Huh? Is this appropriate?" Yang Mi exclaimed.

“There’s nothing wrong with it. They’re just speculating, so let’s be open about it. Besides, I’m all alone, so it’s better if I bring you along,” Chen Shou said.

"So, are we going to walk the red carpet?"

"There's no red carpet at the celebration banquet, so you can figure it out yourself. Just wait for me at the door."

"okay, I get it."

Yang Mi stared at the phone that had been hung up, her feelings complicated. Was this considered an official announcement? The problem was that the guy was a scumbag, and Yang Mi knew very well that there was no real affection between them.

However, although Chen Shouzhe is a scumbag, she can't get enough of him and he even provides her with help, unlike other men who just play around and then leave.

If they had known they could gain so much from Chen Shouzhe, there would have been countless people willing to give themselves to him in the future.

Yang Mi knew this was a rare opportunity, and Chen Shou's decision to bring her along in public for the first time was a way of showing his attitude.

"You scumbag, Yang Mi, you need to calm down. This guy is a lecherous bastard. He'll dump you when you get old and lose your looks..."

Chen Shouzhe himself knew that he had no feelings for Yang Mi; he was just sick and needed an antidote.

The antidote might not be Yang Mi; it could be someone else. Who would give up an entire forest for a single tree?

The next day, the owner of the suit shop personally delivered several suits, all made in advance and conforming to Chen Shou's size, but with different fabrics and styles.

Chen Shou decided not to come, so he let his master's wife choose. Ever since he came to the Yu family to learn crosstalk, his master's wife had been in charge of his clothes since he was a child. She thought this outfit looked good, and she also thought that outfit looked good.

Since they have plenty of money, they bought everything. Only people without money make difficult choices; people with money never have this problem.

"So handsome." The teacher's wife tied Chen Shou's bow tie and clapped her hands and laughed.

"Honey, take a look, do you think this outfit looks good?" The teacher's wife turned to Yu Qian, who was making tea, and asked.

"It looks pretty good." Yu Qian looked up and nodded.

"Master, aren't you coming with me tomorrow?"

"I have a performance tomorrow, I won't be able to make it," Yu Qian said, shaking his head.

He wanted to go, and not only him, but Guo Degang also wanted to go. The problem was that the performance was already scheduled and it was difficult to change it.

Premiere celebrations and after-party are great places to network, and people in the film and television industry are eager to go and make connections.

As Chen Shouzhe's mentor and godfather, the two naturally made new connections at the celebration banquet. Just look at how many more friends they made after Chen Shouzhe's movie became a success.

Even with Chen Shou's godfather's aloof personality, he already has several friends.

One has friends in the world of crosstalk, and the other has friends in the film and television industry.

The two are somewhat extreme.

Teacher Yu enjoys making friends, and he feels happy and proud to see his students grow up.

“You need to settle your housing situation. You can’t live at the horse farm every day,” Yu Qian said.

“That works too. We’ll buy a villa then,” Chen Shouzhe nodded.

"That's good, I'll ask for you."

“What’s wrong with living in the horse farm? It’s close by.” The master’s wife was a little reluctant to leave.

“The child is growing up and should go out on his own. Besides, it’s not good for him to be at the racecourse. There are so many paparazzi and reporters coming to the racecourse every day. He just wanted to find a quiet place. It’s not proper for him to be surrounded by paparazzi everywhere,” Yu Qian said, shaking his head.

“Master is right. I didn’t think it through. Please keep an eye out for a place that’s close to the rising sun and preferably has a large courtyard,” Chen Shou said.

"Tell me how much money you're prepared first," Yu Qian said with a smile.

"How about one hundred million?" Chen Shou asked with a smile.

"Buying such a big one?" the master's wife asked in shock.

"If you're going to buy something, buy something good, and it should be real estate, so you can use it if you need it in the future."

Yu Qian thought it was a good idea. He made money in the early 2000s and bought a house. Now he has made a lot of money. In fact, he not only bought a house, but also lent money to other people to buy houses. Those people couldn't understand him before and had opinions about him. Now, looking back, they wish they could kowtow to him.

As Chen Shouzhe gets older, it's time for him to move out on his own. He can't keep living at the horse farm, and it's inconvenient being so far from the city. He has to travel a long way every day, and traffic jams are a problem. It would be better to find a place to live closer to home.

Besides Yu Qian's family, Meng Hetang, Feng Chaoyang, Chen Shouzhe, and relatives of the horse farm employees also live here. With so many people around, it's no longer suitable for Chen Shouzhe to live here.

(End of this chapter)