Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 83 Welcome
After waiting for a while, Chen Shouzhe finally met the new top leader. It had just been a short time since the New Year, and China Film Group's quota had been released. As you can see, many people from China Film Group have arrived.

When they saw Chen Shouzhe, many of them looked at him with hostility.

These people were generally older, while the younger ones were eager to try their luck when they saw Chen Shou, but Chen Shou's aloof expression made them hesitate.

Since China Film Group invested in and successfully supported newcomer Chen Shouzhe four years ago, the criteria for supporting newcomers have been continuously increasing.

Han Sanping made a decision: once the money came in, he would cut it in half and keep it for other investments, give the other half to newcomers, and then consider the old guard last.

New directors today should all thank Chen Shouzhe. Without Chen Shouzhe's success, they wouldn't have the opportunities they have now, while those old fogies would continue to occupy positions without doing their jobs.

Of course, Chen Shou wouldn't easily offend them, after all, those old guys still had a knife in their hands, a knife that hung over the heads of all filmmakers.

Avoid unnecessary conflicts with them, as it's easy to get annoyed.

"Director Chen, Chairman La invites you in." A group of people who had been waiting in line for a long time were immediately invited in as soon as Chen arrived, a completely different treatment.

"Thank you."

Chen Shouzhe nodded to his secretary. The secretary knew that he would have many opportunities to deal with Chen Shouzhe in the future. Just now, when he went in to say that Chen Shouzhe had come, the smile on the secretary's face was genuine and he couldn't help but smile.

"La Dong!"

Pushing open the door, Chen Shou saw that La Dong exuded a refined air. Compared to Ren Zhonglun's scholarly demeanor as a university teacher, La Dong was still lacking. However, compared to Han Sanping, he was simply too good. The bandit-like aura on Third Master was not something that ordinary people could control.

"Director Chen is here! I've been waiting for you." Although Director La had a smile on his face, he didn't say much, but he greeted him warmly.

Chen Shou didn't think much of it and didn't expect the other person to stand up and greet him.

"I heard from Chairman Han that you're the one who can handle the current projects," Chen Shou said.

"No, it's just a handover of work. Did you come to see me because you have a project?" Director La's eyes were shining.

Chen Shouzhe's projects are never short of investment. His relationship with China Film Group had become a bit distant before, which led to a decrease in the proportion of investment. His biggest achievement now is still the co-production that Chen Shouzhe facilitated. One co-production made China Film Group very rich, so he naturally had to remember Chen Shouzhe's kindness and keep this big commercial film director in mind.

“A few days ago, Director Huang from the August First Film Studio contacted me and decided to collaborate on a project with me. Filming is expected to start at the end of this year. He came to ask if China Film Group was interested. If not, I will release the project,” Chen Shou said.

“Yes, China Film Group is definitely interested. What kind of movie is it?” Director La immediately agreed. He had only just taken over the project, and a project had already been offered to him. He might scoff at other people’s projects, but no matter how much outsiders slandered Chen Shou’s project, no film company would want to miss it.

"A mainstream commercial film."

……

La Dong wanted to invite him to stay for lunch, but Chen Shou checked the time and realized it was still early, so he declined, thinking it unnecessary to make him wait for several hours.

China Film Group wanted a large share, but Chen Shouzhe wouldn't give him the chance, offering a maximum of 20%, which he considered a gift to his new leader.

There were no problems with the August First Film Studio either; it's settled now. This movie won't start filming until the second half of the year, at least until after "The Martian" is released.

The plan is to first reach an agreement with China Film Group and August First Film Studio, and then submit the script for review.

No one should dare to obstruct the censorship of patriotic films, otherwise the August First Film Studio and China Film Group Corporation would be in trouble.

With the work arrangements for the second half of the year in place, the first half of the year seems relatively uneventful.

"We can't let Xiaoxiaomeng be idle..."

Little Dream is a money-devouring beast; with so many machines and so many people, it's a huge expense every day.

Once the special effects for "The Martian" were finished, Xiao Xiaomeng was out of work. Because they hadn't made a name for themselves, not many special effects companies came to them. Some TV series did come to them, but those projects weren't profitable at all. The reason they approached Xiao Xiaomeng was because they were a new company and wanted to lower their prices.

Moreover, many of them are taking a gamble; if Chen Shouzhe's movie succeeds, they can include Xiao Xiaomeng in their publicity.

Anyway, they kept trying to drive down the price, and their quote for Little Dream was much, much less than that of other special effects companies. They were all taking advantage of him.

Chen Shouzhe was naturally unwilling to lose money. He would rather do the projects himself than let his company be labeled as low-end special effects.

Once a company is labeled as low-end, even if it has genuine technology, it will be ridiculed as being obsessed with money when it tries to move upmarket.

Chen Shouzhe believes that if you're going to do something, you have to do it to the best of your ability; otherwise, he'd rather shut it down than lower his standards.

Special effects are a matter of cost; if you want the best special effects with the least amount of money, dream on.

Chen Shouzhe asked Tao Le to submit the film for review. The next day, the news somehow leaked out, and everyone in the industry knew that Shouzhe Film Studio had submitted the script for review. Shouzhe Film Studio only has one director, so there can only be one reason for submitting the script for review: Chen Shouzhe is going to start a new film.

The first person to call surprised Chen Shouzhe, but he had no choice but to answer.

"Hey Chairman Ren!"

“Keep an eye on it. I heard you’re making a new movie?” Ren Zhonglun said gently on the other end of the phone.

"It's just submitting a script for review." Chen Shouzhe knew it had been leaked, so he decided to admit it openly. "If you encounter any difficulties, just come to me," Ren Zhonglun said.

"Okay, I'll let Chairman Ren know if I need anything."

Speaking to people in a human language and to ghosts in a ghost language, Chen Shouzhe gave a few perfunctory replies and almost hung up the phone. Wang Changtian from Guangxian also called, and Chen Shouzhe gave the same answer: it's not certain yet, it's just a script submitted for review, we'll talk about it after it's approved.

He was on the phone all morning; Emperor Entertainment was also looking for him, and Huo Wenxi even came to the company in person.

“This movie is a bit special, and whether Emperor Entertainment can get involved is not something I can decide,” Chen Shouzhe shook his head.

The domestic film and television industry is divided into several circles. The Beijing circle is undoubtedly the largest, consisting of children of high-ranking officials from military compounds. The Huayi Brothers and Jiang Wen are examples of this circle. Next is the Shanghai circle, led by Shanghai Film Studio. Then there is the Northwest circle, which was once glorious but has declined. Its representative figures are director Gu Changwei and Guo Shishi. Finally, there is the Hong Kong circle, which has moved north.

Several major circles were vying for power, and Xi'an Film Studio also called to inquire about the project.

Their hometown is too pitiful. Chen Shouzhe has wanted to bring them along on several projects, but they really don't have the money. They gritted their teeth and participated in "The Martian". Now they also want to be associated with Chen Shouzhe.

A script kept him busy all morning. Film and television companies contacted him, and big stars also sought him out, trying to get information from him indirectly.

"I'm going to the United States in a couple of days. Has Ms. Zhong heard from me yet?"

"I'll ask later," Tao Le said, shaking his head.

"As soon as possible. If she doesn't agree, then we'll find someone else. Let's not waste time."

Zhong Lifan's abilities are recognized within her circle, but unfortunately, Xiao Ma's side is completely finished. It is said that internal strife broke out, and later the Madam stepped in to quell it, but those relatives are all causing trouble.

Fortunately, Zhong Lifan ran fast; if she had been slower, she probably would have been stabbed.

The next day, Zhong Lifan arrived, and Chen Shouzhe and Tao Le met with her.

"Is Director Chen busy tomorrow?" Zhong Lifan asked Chen Shouzhe.

"Yes, I'm going to the United States tomorrow, and it might take a while," Chen Shou nodded.

"Looks like there's a new project. Congratulations to Director Chen on the box office success of his film," Zhong Lifan said.

"It's not decided yet. What's your decision, Ms. Zhong? I hope to hear good news since you've come in person." Chen Shou smiled.

“I’ve decided to join Shou Zhe Films,” Zhong Lifan nodded.

"That's great, welcome to the team," Chen Shouzhe said.

Her position remains the same as before: Operations Director and Deputy General Manager. The company's operations are handled by her. Tao Le is the General Manager, responsible for managing Shouzhe Film Industry and Xiao Xiaomeng. Chen Shouzhe is the behind-the-scenes boss; he will not participate in the company's management but will mainly control the direction and film production, etc.

After signing a contract with Zhong Lifan, this strong woman finally joined Shouzhe Film Industry.

Chen Shou posted on Weibo that noon. His Weibo account was only used to promote the movie. Of course, people discussed it on his Weibo every day, especially when Ghost Blows Out the Light was not finished. A lot of people came to urge him to update it every day.

Chen Shouzhe posted on Weibo and then ignored it, but the film and television industry noticed it and many people left him messages.

Chen Shouzhe's Weibo is very simple.

Welcome Ms. Chung Lai-fan to Shou Zhe Film Studio! @ChungLaiFan

Many people in the industry didn't know Zhong Lifan at all, but the comments section quickly provided an explanation.

"Former General Manager Xiao Ma".

"Congratulations to Ms. Zhong on joining Shouzhe Pictures."

"Take care of me in the future."

Many film and television companies left messages, and some even called Zhong Lifan directly to congratulate her.

All of Shouzhe Film Studio's projects are good projects. Who wouldn't want to participate in Chen Shouzhe's movies? Many people who have a good relationship with Zhong Lifan want to participate in Shouzhe Film Studio's projects through her.

Chung Lai-fan never expected to be more popular than when she was at Little Horse.

In order to go public, Xiao Ma cast a wide net. In the past, she was the one asking others to join her projects, but now others are asking her for help.

Shouzhe Film Industry is simply a production company. In Zhong Lifan's view, Shouzhe Film Industry has huge potential and can even expand into artist management. Nowadays, the salaries of celebrities are too high. If they can cultivate some artists themselves, it will bring huge profits to the company.

In addition, she was also sorting out the projects of Shouzhe Film Industry and discovered that Chen Shouzhe had written many scripts, some of which were TV series. Perhaps the company could produce TV series.

In her eyes, the entire Shouzhe Film Industry was a treasure trove, while Xiaoxiaomeng was more like a burden. With so many good things, there was no need for Chen Shouzhe to work himself to death to develop the special effects company.

"What on earth is going on in this person's head?" Zhong Lifan thought as she looked at the script registered with the company and the current projects. She realized that joining Shou Zhe Film Industry was the right decision.

(End of this chapter)