Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 99 Animated Film
The film "The Day After Tomorrow" has officially been released in China. Compared to the special effects of "2012", the special effects of "The Day After Tomorrow" are more realistic.

Many people who went to the cinema to see it said that The Day After Tomorrow is the true pinnacle of disaster films, but the plot was still criticized.

However, this is typical of special effects blockbusters. The film performed well at the box office, earning 4338 million on its opening day.

Choosing the Labor Day release date was already a gamble, and then they ran into big-budget films. After entering May, they were constantly being attacked. They took in 3.17 million in the first week and 2.87 million in the second week.

As May approached, Yang Mi's belly grew larger and larger; she was already seven months pregnant. She was now less active and had been resting in the capital.

"The variety show has already been arranged for you. You'll be going to record it with Blueberry TV. This show has a lot of fans in China and has the potential to become a hit. It's a shortcut for you to become a top-tier female star," Yang Mi said to Dilraba while eating fruit.

Reba sat obediently on the sofa, listening attentively, her eyes occasionally glancing at Yang Mi's belly.

"It's getting bigger, isn't it?" Yang Mi said with a smile, stroking her belly.

"Sister Mi, do you regret it?" Reba asked.

"There's nothing to regret. We're all adults and have to take responsibility for our decisions."

"I am a little scared."

"afraid of what?"

"I don't know, I can't sense any emotion from him."

“You’re still young now, you’ll understand later. Sometimes I envy you. You’ve avoided many detours compared to me, and maybe your path will be even smoother than mine.”

"Sister Mi."

"While you're still useful to him, make more money for yourself. Female celebrities are always coveted under the spotlight. Rather than being coveted by a decrepit old man, you might as well give yourself to him. He's rich and powerful now, which is good."

"Want to come over and listen? It sounds like he's kicking me."

The film that Chen Shou is currently producing has still been exposed, leaked by the Film Bureau.

[It is reported that director Chen Shouzhe once said he was currently producing a new film. However, our reporter learned from the Film Bureau that Shouzhe Pictures does not have any film projects. Nevertheless, Xiaoxiaomeng, a special effects company under Shouzhe Pictures, has listed a film titled "Robot WALL-E," described as a science fiction adventure romance animated film!]

Animated film?

For a moment, countless people turned their attention to Chen Shouzhe. After filming "The Martian" last year, Chen Shouzhe had been working on post-production and had not arranged any other work. At the press conference for the start of filming of "Let the Bullets Fly", Chen Shouzhe said that he was already making a movie.

Everyone thought it was "The Taking of Tiger Mountain," but it turned out to be an animated film.

Many people think Chen Shouzhe has gone mad, starting to obsessively pursue science fiction, from soft science fiction to hard science fiction films, and now a science fiction animated film has emerged. Does he really have to forge a path in the field of science fiction?

Upon hearing that it was an animated film, people in the film industry were exasperated. This kind of movie doesn't need much else; the actors are mostly just doing voice acting.

It was entirely produced independently by Little Dream. Other companies had no interest in animated films, believing that they were only for children and wouldn't generate much box office revenue.

They even thought that Chen Shouzhe's investment in special effects companies didn't have many projects, so he started doing projects himself.

This was after Chen Shouzhe became famous, when no one called to inquire about his projects, and even he felt a little unaccustomed to it.

Another piece of good news is that Painted Skin 2 has been approved, with Wuershan as the new director. Chen Shouzhe did not attend the press conference, and Tao Le, as the producer, attended in his place.

The film will continue to be co-produced by five companies: Shouzhe Pictures, China Film Group, Xi'an Film Group, Wanda Pictures, and Enlight Media. The cast has also changed. Wu Yue's role has been replaced by Zhao Wenzhuo. As for the role of Que'er, Chen Shouzhe originally intended to give it to Yang Mi, but she is already pregnant and probably hasn't given birth yet when filming starts, so the role has been given to Dilraba.

Many people in the industry are curious about Dilraba, a newcomer, and how she managed to get a project from Shou Zhe Film Studio. After some investigation, they learned that she is actually a newcomer from Yang Mi Studio.

"This saved us from taking so many detours."

Many industry insiders could tell that there was something fishy about Dilraba's inclusion in the cast.

Zhou Xun even called Chen Shouzhe to tease him, saying she would take good care of Reba.

Filming is scheduled to begin in July, with production expected to be completed in three months and the film to be released next year. This presents both an opportunity and a challenge for Wuershan.

Many people questioned his ability, but Wuershan said that they would only know when they saw the movie, and besides, with Chen watching over him, it wouldn't be too bad.

After the press conference, Huang Xiaoming confirmed that the role of Chen Shouzhe was not intended for Yang Mi, but for the newcomer Reba.

His girlfriend was no match for Chen Shou's woman, so he gave up and went to find other projects for Yang Ying.

Yang Ying knew it was Chen Shouzhe's arrangement, but she was helpless. Her boyfriend had gone international because of Chen Shouzhe, and he had to give Chen Shouzhe gifts during holidays. How could she possibly get involved?

Even if she were completely brainless, she wouldn't dare to bang her head against a rock. In May, aside from the wildly popular "The Day After Tomorrow," most other movies weren't very good. June saw the start of the summer movie season, and the film market remained calm, but a storm was brewing in the television drama sector.

On June 1st, the TV series "Journey to the West" finally premiered. Those who had read the book were eager to see how it was adapted, while those who hadn't were even more captivated and quickly began watching the series.

The story of the monkey was so wonderful, and with its exquisite production, the TV series became an instant hit across the country as soon as it aired, achieving the best ratings in recent years and bringing "Journey to the West" into every household.

Many foreign television stations have begun to import it, and it has truly become a hit overseas.

This immediately drew the attention of countless people to the film rights of "Journey to the West." The TV series is so popular now, what about the movies?
The real money comes from the movies; if something is made into a movie, it's a gold mine.

Chen Shouzhe has found a gold mine for his company, and the various derivative copyrights and other assets will become a continuous source of wealth for Shouzhe Film Industry.

Look at those Hollywood film companies; they all rely on copyrights.

The same goes for Xiao Ri Zi; Pocket Games boasts the most copyrighted games globally.

"Journey to the West" is expected to become the next major copyright holder, and may even have a global impact.

And sure enough, the first fish that smelled fishy came to our door.

"Director Chen, we've come with sincerity. If you can sell us the film rights, we're willing to spend 100 million." Zhang Qiang sat in front of Chen Shouzhe, mentioning 100 million at every turn.

"Mr. Zhang, we currently have no plans to sell the film rights, and even if we did, it wouldn't be an exclusive sale," Chen Shou said, waving his hand.

"Director Chen, just name your price, and Alibaba will definitely meet it. We only hope to obtain the film rights to 'Journey to the West'." Zhang Qiang, backed by Alibaba, was now very arrogant. After all, their boss, Jack Ma, was almost becoming a leader of the times, enjoying unparalleled influence, and no one dared to offend him.

However, Chen Shouzhe remained unmoved. He would never sell all the copyrights in one package. You could buy them, but only the licenses. You're dreaming if you think you can buy them all for 100 million.

Chen Shou smiled but didn't say anything. He picked up his teacup and took a sip. Zhang Qiang knew it wouldn't be so easy to win.

But through their big data analysis, they found that the TV series is now incredibly popular, to the point that it has startled them.

If Chen Shouzhe knew they were using big data analysis, he'd probably laugh. Just look at the ratings and overall discussion, and then look at elementary school and kindergarten kids holding sticks—that's how popular TV dramas are right now.

I wonder how many children nowadays are making hand gestures and chanting incantations, holding hula hoops and calling them "universe hoops," and so on.

After a thorough analysis, Alibaba decided to buy the copyright, and specifically, to buy it outright. So they prepared to spend 100 million yuan to acquire the film's copyright.

Regarding Alibaba's offer, Chen Shouzhe could only say that big data simply doesn't understand the value of "Journey to the West." As time goes by, this novel will only become more and more popular, and the animated version is also coming out soon.

Owning the copyright to Journey to the West is enough to open a theme park; how could Chen Shouzhe possibly sell it for only 100 million?

"Director Chen, won't you reconsider?" Zhang Qiang asked, still unwilling to give up.

"To be honest with you, Mr. Zhang, I would never sell it for even 10 billion, let alone 100 million."

Zhang Qiang paused for a moment: "Director Chen is still negotiable. Your company currently has no plans to develop it, but you can divide it into several units, and we will only purchase one of them."

“Mr. Zhang really doesn’t have any plans to develop this right now. Let’s wait a while,” Chen Shou said, refusing.

Zhang Qiang tried several more times, but in the end he had no choice but to give up. After that, the Le family came, Wang Changtian came, and even China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group called to inquire about the copyright. The TV series was so popular, and it was also very suitable for movies. The fan base was so huge that it would be suitable for any kind of adaptation.

There are no fools in the film industry; everyone knows that there's a golden goose right here in the film business.

Zhong Lifan has had many social engagements these past few days, and she's been nagging on and on since she got back.

"It's incredibly popular. The TV series is a hit, and the animated series is a hit too. The copyrights we licensed out sold for over 100 million yuan in just one day."

Students' stationery, various daily necessities, image-related items, etc., can all be sold. It can be said that it is extremely popular. The broadcasting rights for the second episode were even being competed for by dozens of TV stations.

However, the copyright of the TV series belongs to CCTV and Shouzhe Pictures. CCTV approached them, hoping that the second round of broadcasting rights would remain with CCTV.

Because of the popularity of the TV series, advertising fees have increased several times over.

In the end, they still paid a considerable price to retain the second round. A single TV series can bring in hundreds of millions of yuan in revenue for Shouzhe Film Industry, and it will continue to generate income in the future.

The entire film and television industry is watching Chen Shouzhe. Now, Chen Shouzhe's two novels, plus a supernatural story, are all being targeted by "Ghost Blows Out the Light" and "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio".

Chen Shou was also watching TV. When he saw the Peach Banquet, his eyes lit up when he saw the actress playing Chang'e who was being teased by Zhu Bajie among a group of Chang'e.

"She is quite suitable for this role, but with the current film schedule, if we shoot The Taking of Tiger Mountain in November, we have three months from August to October, so it's feasible to start the project now."

(End of this chapter)