It's reasonable for me to be a three-time Golden Horse Award-winning director and an all-around

Chapter 19: A multi-million dollar project! And, my first encounter with her~

"Brother Rui! From this moment on, you are my god!"

Having finally escaped the siege of a group of teachers and leaders, Lü Rui had just returned to his dormitory when Zhao Peng grabbed his leg.

"Stand up, don't kneel!"

"Then let me touch it!" Zhao Peng hugged his leg and refused to get up.

"What are you touching?"

"Your grand trophy!"

"Fuck you! Get the hell out of here!"

Lu Rui quickly broke free from the guy, took a few steps back, and looked at him warily. "The trophy was taken by the director. If you want to touch it, go ask the director yourself. Don't touch my thigh."

"Ok."

Zhao Peng sighed regretfully.

If the director took it, it means I won't see it for at least a month, and during that time he'll probably show it off to others quite a bit.

Lu Rui didn't care, as long as he didn't break it.

What's truly valuable is the "honor" of the Silver Bear for Best Director; as for the trophy, replicating one wouldn't cost much.

Zhao Peng quickly recovered and then eagerly came over again.

"Brother Rui! Our movie has grossed over 3000 million at the box office, did you know that?"

"Yes, I know, 3150 million?"

"No, you're mistaken. Another 40 was added yesterday, making it 3190 million."

"Oh."

Lu Rui responded nonchalantly.

With over 500 million yuan in copyright revenue in hand, he no longer cares about the small box office profits.

The most exciting days of the Spring Festival have passed, and according to estimates, the final box office of this movie should be around 3500 million.

After deducting the costs of cinemas and marketing, and based on the 20% investment share, he would only receive a maximum of 200 million yuan.

This is undoubtedly a huge sum of money these days!
But after witnessing the staggering copyright revenue in Berlin, Lü Rui looked back at the mere 200 million and realized it was pitifully little.

To put it in a very flamboyant way: I've already had my fill of fine food, so I don't care for this coarse food and pickled cabbage anymore.

Zhao Peng: I'm totally impressed! This is fucking awesome!

"Brother Rui, you wouldn't believe it, those gossiping bastards from before are all mute now. They don't even dare to look me in the eye when they see me, haha, it's hilarious..."

He started babbling again.

Lu Rui felt a bit of a headache listening to this, so he simply assigned him a task: "Go and find out for me what the situation is like for the 02 art exams, and it would be best to get back a list of those who passed the final exams."

Class of 02!?

Zhao Peng's attention was immediately diverted, and he blurted out, "I know this all too well. I heard there was a girl born in 87 who came to take the art exam at only 15 years old."

They're using the international student pathway, exempt from the national college entrance examination (Gaokao), and only need to pass an arts exam to get admitted. This is the first time I've ever heard of this route.

Lu Rui's heart stirred.

He knew this person.

The later-famous "Four Little Actresses" born in the 85s – Liu Yifei!

Coincidentally, he had collaborated with the other party once in his previous life.

At that time, he was an advertising director and personally shot a ten-second commercial for them.

The other person is quite easy to get along with, humble and polite, and even more kind and friendly to the staff. Compared to that "model-turned-actress" who is also among the 85-generation actresses, she is hundreds! Thousands of times better!
“I need a complete list of candidates for the final exam,” Lü Rui emphasized.

He needs to get this kid away; he talks too much and is too noisy!
"Okay, I'll get it for you right away."

Zhao Peng turned and walked out.

The old drunkard's heart is not in the wine.
This is a good opportunity to check out the pretty girls in the performing arts department, hehe~

After watching him leave, Lü Rui locked the door from the inside, then returned to his desk and opened his laptop.

Now it's time to get down to business.

Mystic River

Localization work!

start up!

Mystic River tells a story about childhood trauma, intertwined fates, and revenge.

Jimmy, who has a strong personality, Dave, who is introverted and timid, and Sean, who is calm and witty, are childhood friends.

One day, Dave was forcibly taken away by two strangers and suffered inhumane abuse!
This experience became an indelible trauma in his heart and changed the life trajectories of the three of them.

Years later, Jimmy became a grocery store owner with a criminal record, Sean became a police officer, and the reclusive Dave worked in a factory.

One day, Jimmy's 16-year-old daughter is brutally murdered! This case brings the three of them together once again. Sean takes charge of the investigation, while Jimmy, grieving, decides to find the killer himself.

As the investigation deepened, all the clues pointed to Dave, because there was blood on him!
Dave, however, claimed that he encountered a robber on the night of the incident and returned home covered in blood in self-defense.

However, his account did not gain the complete trust of Jimmy and the police.

In his anger and anguish, Jimmy becomes convinced that Dave is the murderer of his daughter and ultimately kills him.

However, the truth of the case is full of unexpected and complicated twists and turns.

It turns out Dave wasn't the killer! The real culprits were Jimmy's daughter's boyfriend's brother and his friend...

Through this series of intricate and coincidental events, the life trajectories of the three male protagonists are completely rewritten.

Every clue that appears in the story, and every encounter between characters, may seem accidental, but in fact, they are all inevitable.

Coincidence and the gears of fate mesh together, propelling the lives of three people in a poignant direction. Amidst intricate interpersonal entanglements and a fog of truth, the complexities of human nature and the capriciousness of destiny are revealed.

The difficulty of translating this story into Chinese is much higher than that of "Gone Girl"!
If it weren't for his S-level talent: screenwriting and adaptation skills for suspense/thriller/crime/horror genres, Lü Rui wouldn't have known where to begin.

Even with this talent, the difficulty is still quite high.

There are only two main storylines in "Gone Girl": the male protagonist and the female protagonist.

However, Mystic River has two parallel and intertwined main storylines, as well as several subtle subplots, all shrouded in the gloomy neighborhood.

Translating these into Chinese in a reasonable way is extremely difficult!

"It will take at least a month."

Lu Rui muttered something under his breath, preparing to write an outline first, while simultaneously working on the script, finding actors, and securing investment.

This time he wants to pull off something big, a project worth tens of millions!

3000 million RMB!

This is the initial investment ceiling he set for "Mystic River".

Feng Xiaogang's "Big Shot's Funeral" claimed a total investment of 4000 million yuan and attracted a large number of actors.

Lu Rui wasn't sure if there was any embellishment involved, but he felt that his 3000 million yuan should be enough to hire big-name actors.

He already has some suitable candidates in mind, and he can contact them when he has some free time.

However, one of his favorite actors is rumored to be "suffering from a strange illness" recently, but he doesn't know if it's true or not.

……

A day passes in the blink of an eye.

The following morning, Lü Rui, clutching the list of candidates for the fourth round of auditions for the 02 Acting Department given to him by Zhao Peng, arrived at the Acting Department's teaching building.

It's quite lively here today, with students and parents whispering to each other everywhere.

Although a large number of art students have been eliminated in the first three rounds, nearly a hundred people still came to participate in the fourth round of assessment.

"This is truly a battle of thousands crossing a single-plank bridge!"

Lu Rui murmured to himself as he walked through the bustling crowd toward the teaching building.

His figure attracted a lot of attention.

Many parents are still wondering who he is and why he went straight into the school building.

However, many people recognized him at a glance!

"Isn't this...the director of 'Gone Girl'?"

“I saw his picture in the news, it’s him! He looks exactly like the picture.”

"The banner said he was a student in the directing department in 2000, and he won the Silver Bear for Best Director this year. He is also the first director from mainland China to win this award. My God!"

"..."

The commotion around her grew louder and louder, immediately attracting the attention of Liu Yifei, who was squatting in the corner.

She was wearing a pink down jacket with white fur trim, and light blue jeans and pink snow boots were visible under the fluffy hem. She also wore matching bear earmuffs and was tightly clutching a beige cartoon thermos.

She instinctively stood up, tiptoed, and peeked out from the crowd like a curious little rabbit.

The next second, their clear eyes met Lü Rui's!

The moment their eyes met, her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and only one thought crossed her mind: "He's so tall! He has such a great presence."

At this moment, as Lü Rui looked at her, only one thought occupied his mind: "Why did she look so simple and honest when she was young?"

In his past life, when he filmed an advertisement for her, she exuded confidence and charm, radiating the powerful aura of a leading lady. Although her tone was gentle, it carried an undeniable authority.

But at this moment, her cheeks were round and full of collagen, and she looked like a soft and glutinous rice ball wrapped in a fluffy down jacket.

Those big, wet eyes, filled with confusion and bewilderment, were as she sipped hot water from a thermos through a straw, a few tiny snowflakes still clinging to the ends of her hair.

What made Lü Rui chuckle the most was that she had a small bag with a cartoon pattern hanging from her waist, which swayed gently with her movements.

At 15, her innocent and adorable appearance was completely different from how I remembered her.

(End of this chapter)