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

Chapter 92 A Hundred Flowers! Harvest Time! Some people are born to shake up this era!

With the male and female leads confirmed, the auditions for "Lurking" quickly came to an end.

Andy Serkis and Amy Adams star in the lead roles, alongside 9-year-old actor Austin Marjos; this is the main creative team behind the entire film.

As for the filming location, it was eventually decided to be a house in a small town on the northern outskirts of the Sacred Valley.

Because this house is frequently rented by Saint Valley Film Company for filming uncensored movies, the interior and exterior have been renovated in excellent condition.

Peter negotiated the lease terms with them for the second half of September and the first half of October.

B-movie horror films are typically shot in very short periods, and "Lurking" is no exception.

According to James Wan's plan, filming will be completed in a month at most.

If you're not too concerned about quality, it might not even take a month!
On September 15, filming of "Lurking" officially began.

"Lv, are you going to call for the computer to start?"

James Wan was sensible; he knew he was just a tool, and the real power in the crew lay in the hands of this young director who had made his way in the Chinese film industry.

“Okay.” Lü Rui did not refuse.

In Hollywood, appropriately displaying one's status can actually be beneficial for management.

As a producer, you can neither completely tie down the director nor completely loosen their control.
After all, many directors are incredibly imaginative; if you're not careful, their thoughts can soar straight out of the atmosphere!
He has a perfect example right next to him:

Jiang Wen!

Besides him, Chen Kaige and Wang Jiawei in China, as well as Cameron abroad, are all well-known directors who "let loose" their personalities.

Its main purpose is to scam investors...

"Action!"

With Lü Rui's command, the camera's red light came on, and filming of "Lurking" officially began.

He then stepped aside, handing over control of the set to James Wan.

Maintaining the director's authority during normal filming is a basic quality of a producer; he will only speak up to stop the director if the director makes a fundamental mistake.

Otherwise, all you need to do is instruct Peter to keep a close eye on the finances and personally sign off on every expenditure, and the crew won't be able to cause any trouble.

For the entire day, Lü Rui did not leave the film crew, but instead observed from the sidelines.

James Wan is a very good director.

It's clear that he's very good at handling horror scenes. Although the footage he shot wasn't post-processed and appears somewhat fragmented, the sense of "fear" is very well done.

There are almost no dismemberment scenes common in American horror films in "Lurking", and even blood scenes are very rare.

The film primarily focuses on creating a supernatural atmosphere and psychological fear, with only sporadic gore elements such as bloody handprints on the bed sheets.

Most horror scenes avoid direct displays of blood and gore, instead using sound effects, lighting, and plot to create a sense of terror.

This is actually very difficult for the average American horror film director to master.

After all, current American horror films are still in the stage of "flesh and blood flying everywhere," and American audiences often see blood and severed limbs.

Works like "Final Destination" are typical examples; audiences have long been accustomed to direct visual impact.

But James Wan is completely different.

Due to his father's death in his childhood, he came into contact with Eastern shamans and Yin-Yang masters, and also learned about Miao ethnic group's black magic.

According to him, he has even seen "ghosts"!
Furthermore, influenced by Western religious elements, he has a unique advantage in combining and creating Eastern thriller and Western horror.

Therefore, he was naturally adept at filming thrillers like "Lurking".

In terms of acting, Andy Serkis and Amy Adams both delivered outstanding performances.

In fact, for actors like them who have been in the industry for many years and have worked on many film sets, but still cannot become famous, the problem is mostly not with their acting skills.

The main reason is the inability to obtain high-quality resources.

However, resources are often confined to specific circles and cannot be obtained by just anyone who wants them.

This is true both domestically and internationally.

Meanwhile, during the filming of "Lurking", the 61st Venice International Film Festival also officially came to a close.

A total of 21 films were shortlisted for this year's film festival, including two Chinese-language films.

Unfortunately, neither Hou Hsiao-hsien nor Jia Zhangke won any awards and returned empty-handed.

On the 17th, two days after filming began, the production of "Lurking" officially got on track.

In the evening, Lü Rui left the film crew and headed straight for the airport.

He had originally planned that if work in Hollywood was too busy, he wouldn't go back to attend the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival.

Unexpectedly, everything went very smoothly.

In addition, Han Sanping and the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival organizing committee called one after another, strongly inviting him to return to accept the award...

Unable to refuse such a kind offer, he did not turn down the invitation.

After all, I'll still be living in China in the future, and some social interactions are unavoidable.

airport.

Before getting out of the car, Lü Rui solemnly instructed Peter: "Your current focus should be on keeping an eye on the film crew. You can put other matters aside for now."

Especially those social organizations—we need to handle public relations efforts accordingly; we absolutely cannot let them affect the normal filming and operation of the production crew.

Making movies in Hollywood is incredibly troublesome.

On the second day of filming for "Lurking", multiple organizations, including the Producers Alliance, the Film Union, and the Child Welfare Bureau, swarmed in like flies drawn by a scent.

Guidance, inspection, and membership fee collection – with these three simple moves, tens of thousands of dollars were siphoned off.

Especially the child welfare agency.

Because there were several child actors in "Lurking", they actually arranged for a special person to be stationed on set, claiming it was to protect the children's welfare.

Children represent the future, and any civilized country will "actively" protect their rights from persecution.

At least that's how it appears on the surface; the slogans are shouted very loudly.

Lu Rui neither refused nor raised any objections. Instead, like other film crews, he directly paid his "membership fee" and "protection fee."

Anyway, the filming period is less than a month, so there's no need to create trouble for ourselves.

“Lv, don’t worry, I will make sure there are no problems with the crew,” Peter Griffin solemnly promised.

From a junior agent at WMA to a film producer, Peter's rise in status and position has not only filled him with excitement and exhilaration, but has also strengthened his resolve to follow Lu Rui to the death.

He knew perfectly well who had given him everything he possessed.

If it weren't for California's rule against tattoos on the face, he would have loved to have the word "loyalty" engraved on his forehead!

……

The 24th Golden Rooster Awards (the 13th Hundred Flowers Awards) were held in Yinchuan, Ningxia.

This was Lü Rui's first time here, and he felt the environment was quite nice.

Most importantly, unlike the capital city where traffic jams are constant, the city's road network of six horizontal and sixteen vertical roads provides great convenience for transportation.

He quickly arrived at the hotel designated for the film festival.

He came on behalf of both the production teams of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and "The Pursuit of Happyness".

Unfortunately, Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui were unable to attend, but Wang Zhiwen had arrived beforehand.

"Director Lü!"

As soon as I entered the hotel, a warm shout came from above.

Lu Rui turned his head and saw Fan Bingbing coming forward with a big smile.

Besides her, Wang Jinghua, Wang Zhonglei, Li Bingbing and others also gathered around and greeted her warmly.

Only Feng Xiaogang stood awkwardly in place.

The people who were just surrounding him have now all turned to Lu Rui, leaving him completely ignored.

Of course, he couldn't possibly go over there on his own, so he simply turned his head and walked quickly toward the elevator.

"Director Lü, didn't you go to Hollywood? Why are you back all of a sudden?"

Fan Bingbing linked arms with Lü Rui, walking alongside him while asking questions curiously.

Lu Rui glanced at the arms nestled in the two soft mounds, then glanced at the slightly melancholy expressions of Li Bingbing and Li Xue out of the corner of his eye, finding it quite interesting.

Competition between two soldiers is indeed everywhere!
"The organizing committee called me and asked me to come back."

"Wow! The organizing committee personally invited you? You're sure to win a big prize this time, that's amazing!" Fan Bingbing's tone was full of exaggerated praise.

Looking at her extremely affected manner, Li Xue couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "That slutty whore."

Li Bingbing remained silent, but her gaze lingered on Lü Rui for several seconds.

She thought that after starring in "A World Without Thieves", she would be able to leave Fan Bingbing far behind.

Unexpectedly, the latter was lucky enough to get the opportunity to star in "The Prestige." This Lunar New Year film season will likely see another fierce competition!
"Director Lü." After entering the elevator, Wang Jinghua did not forget to promote the artists under her management, "This is Huo Siyan, she just signed with me."

Lu Rui was all too familiar with that name!

Turning his head, he saw a girl with an oval face and long, flowing hair looking at him nervously, her fingers twisted together, bowing obediently to greet him.

"Director Lü, I've long admired your name."

"Hello."

Lu Rui nodded in acknowledgment, then looked away.

She was still a naive young girl, and it was too early to tell that she would become the "Queen of Public Relations" in the future.

"Director Lü, filming for 'The Prestige' has wrapped up. What's your next project? Has it been decided yet?" Wang Zhonglei asked, looking very expectant.

Lu Rui chuckled: "President Wang, why do you seem more anxious than me? It's still a long way off, at least until the movie's post-production is finished."

"Haha, I was too impatient..."

Wang Zhonglei smiled and smoothed things over.

The elevator stopped on the 8th floor, and a group of people walked out one after another.

Lu Rui arrived late, so his room was at the other end of the corridor.

After saying goodbye to Wang Zhonglei and the others, he went straight to his room.

As he reached the door and was about to take out his room key, he suddenly stopped, turned to look at Fan Bingbing, who was still holding his arm, and raised an eyebrow, asking, "What? Are you planning to come in with me?"

"what?"

Fan Bingbing was keeping an eye on Li Bingbing, who had disappeared behind the door, when he heard this and belatedly let go of her hand.

Meeting Lü Rui's scrutinizing gaze, she hurriedly took a half step back: "I'm sorry..."

"It's just this once, it won't happen again."

Lu Rui swiped his card to enter and then slammed the door shut.

Outside the door, Fan Bingbing blinked, then suddenly became somewhat agitated.

"Am I not big enough? Or not pretty enough? Why won't this guy even look at me? Is he even a man?!"

She dared not utter a sound, but could only mutter to herself, even beginning to doubt Lü Rui's sexual orientation.

Fan Bingbing finally got her answer at 6 p.m. the next day, when the red carpet for the awards ceremony officially began.

On the brand-new red carpet, Lü Rui walked in the very center.

On the left is Wang Zhiwen, dressed in a suit, holding hands with Chen Xinxu, who plays his son in the movie; on the right is the recently popular "Little Dragon Girl"!
She wore a white wedding dress, her long, black hair flowing smoothly over her shoulders with soft, wavy curls at the ends. Her lightly made-up face exuded youthful elegance, along with a touch of innocent purity.

"So this is the style that Director Lü likes!"

Fan Bingbing suddenly realized why Lü Rui wasn't interested in him.

But thinking about it, it's normal. What man doesn't like a "white moonlight" type of girl?
Lü Rui was the last to walk the red carpet, followed only by the cast and crew of "House of Flying Daggers".

Clearly, Hundred Flowers' arrangement is to give blockbuster films and box office hits the highest level of prestige.

Of course, this is also a helpless move. Even if the Golden Rooster Organizing Committee is unhappy, it can only turn a blind eye.

After all, tonight's awards ceremony is being broadcast on television, and there are also sponsors and title sponsors...

Having the most popular creative team appear as the finale will undoubtedly maximize viewership and buzz.

"Director Lü, as a director who has produced both excellent art films and commercial films, are you confident that you will win both major awards at the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival this time?"

"I'm definitely confident," Lü Rui said with a smile, adding in a formulaic tone, "but there are many high-quality works at the same time, so I hope I'll be lucky enough."

"Okay, thank you..."

Upon entering the venue, Lü Rui was guided by staff to take a seat in the third row.

Coincidentally, Zhang Yimou was on his left and Feng Xiaogang was on his right.

The three major commercial film directors in China have gathered here.

Chen Kaige didn't come tonight; he's still busy filming "The Promise." Otherwise, if the four of them sat together, it would definitely be a very "eye-catching" sight!
"Is Director Zhang's new film about to start filming?" Lü Rui greeted Zhang Yimou first.

As for Feng Xiaogang beside him, although the two were close, neither of them paid any attention to the other.

"It'll be ready soon." Zhang Yimou knew that Lü Rui was asking about "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles".

After nodding, he changed the subject: "I heard that Director Lü's new film is also going to be released during the Lunar New Year holiday?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Xiaogang, who was chatting with Ge You, immediately lowered his voice and quietly perked up his ears.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lü Rui noticed him leaning slightly towards him, and deliberately said slowly, "I have that idea. After all, the Lunar New Year film season is very popular and lively..."

In an instant, Feng Xiaogang's face darkened.

Facing "Kung Fu Hustle" is already a headache enough, but if it were to run into "The Prestige" on top of that, wouldn't it be like they'd punch a dog's brain out?
Lu Rui almost burst out laughing when he saw Lu Rui's expression, which looked like he had swallowed a stinky fly.

The hosts for the Hundred Flowers Awards ceremony were Pu Cunxin and Zhang Yan.

The former is the vice president of Beijing People's Art Theatre, and the latter played Lin Shiyin, the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world, in "Flying Daggers Ask About Love"!
Compared to the suspense surrounding the Golden Rooster Awards, the results of the Hundred Flowers Awards were not too surprising.

Zhang Yan won the Outstanding Actress award for her role in "Warm Spring".

The outstanding male actor is Li Youbin from "Heart-Pounding".

Lu Rui suddenly remembered that Hou Hongliang had previously mentioned wanting to invite Li Youbin to play the male lead role in "Crossing the Guandong". He wondered how the talks between the two parties were going.
"Best Actress – Fan Bingbing, *Cellphone*!"

A Hundred Flowers Award-winning actress has emerged!
Fan Bingbing walked onto the stage in a low-cut dress, holding up the trophy.

However, nearly half the spotlight fell on her chest.

That snow-white expanse was so eye-catching and full that it almost seemed to jump out with her movements, making it even more captivating than the trophy!
"What does she usually eat? How did she grow so big?" Liu Yifei, sitting in the fourth row, muttered to herself, looking down at herself and silently clutching her chest.

She's still young, she hasn't grown up yet, we have to wait.

"Best Actor - Wang Zhiwen, 'The Pursuit of Happyness'!"

The Best Actor at the Hundred Flowers Awards has just been crowned!

However, the male actors around him did not look at Wang Zhiwen on the stage at this moment, but instead turned their heads to look at Lü Rui.

Last year, they produced Venice Film Festival Best Actor Jiang Wen, and this year they have sent Wang Zhiwen to the Huabiao and Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Actor. Their ability to create stars is truly amazing!

"Thank you, especially Director Lü Rui. Without him, I would never be standing here today..."

Burning gazes were cast from all directions, and pairs of eyes could not hide their excitement!

The Best Actor and Best Actress awards were announced, followed by the Outstanding Feature Film Award.

A rare "triple yolk" has appeared! It was awarded to three films: "Heart-Pounding", "Warm Spring", and "Cellphone".

Feng Xiaogang, Wulantana, and Shen Dong stood on the stage, their smiles somewhat forced.

He knew in his heart that he would most likely be just a background character again tonight.

Sure enough, the Best Feature Film award was then given to last year's box office champion, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty!
"Congratulations, Director Lü..."

Lu Rui walked onto the stage, accepted the trophy, glanced at the inscription on the trophy, and said with a smile, "Thank you to the Hundred Flowers Organizing Committee. I'm very happy to receive another trophy..."

He has already received many honors this year.

At the beginning of the year, he won the Best Director award at the Hong Kong Film Awards for "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," becoming the first mainland Chinese to win the award in 23 years.

He then went on to win the Best Director award at Cannes, becoming the world's first person to achieve a grand slam of Best Director awards at all three major European film festivals.

At the Huabiao Awards, she not only helped Wang Zhiwen win the Best Actor award, but also won a Market Development Award herself.

Now that the Hundred Flowers Awards have added another prize, the awards themselves are considered complete.

I wonder if the Golden Rooster Awards can add another prize?

The organizing committee called several times; they couldn't just let him make a wasted trip, could they?

As he pondered this, Feng Xiaogang, sitting in the audience, couldn't even maintain his forced smile.

Cellphone has become a foil to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty?

Although he had expected it, he still couldn't hide his embarrassment and indignation when he actually witnessed it.

If he had known it would turn out like this, he wouldn't have come today!
Now look what's happened! Who knows how the media will tease him next!

In contrast to Feng Xiaogang's embarrassment, Zhang Yimou's mood didn't fluctuate much.

Looking at Lü Rui on the stage, he could hardly contain his emotions!

When they first met, Lü Rui was just a boy following behind Jiang Wen, and he was very respectful to him, bowing and greeting him.

Only a few years have passed, and the two sides are almost on equal footing.

Even if he didn't want to admit it, he had to accept this reality.

If it doesn't fly, it doesn't fly at all; but when it does, it soars into the sky!
If you don't call it, it's a blockbuster!
Some people are born to shake up the times!

(End of this chapter)