Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 3 Script and Budget

Three cobblers, each with their own limited abilities, offered advice comparable to that of Zhuge Liang.

Let's start with commercial films and make money first.

Chen Shouzhe already had an idea and was preparing a script.

In Chen Shouzhe's view, the entertainment industry in his previous life was extremely abnormal. It didn't value the script at all, but instead, the actors' salaries skyrocketed, and the directors completely controlled everything.

The vast majority of investment in movies goes to the actors, with salaries often reaching hundreds of millions. And they think they deserve that salary? The problem is, if you act like a piece of shit, how can you have the nerve to say you deserve that salary?

Chen Shouzhe firmly believes that the script is the core of a film, the foundation of a drama. Everything must start with the script. If the story is good, the filmmakers can present the scenes they want. Actors are just presenting the scenes, and are actually the least important part.

When should we be praised for our professionalism, and shouldn't we be expected to act well?
Whether a movie is good or not depends entirely on the script.

Although Chen Shouzhe says that Chen Da Shi Ren (the great poet) is not very good at everything, it is undeniable that Chen Da Shi Ren is a really good filmmaker. His film color rendering is superb, provided that he does not interfere with the script modification. If he just honestly works as a director, he will definitely be a world-class director. No matter how much you criticize him, his directing ability is very strong.

After the performance on stage ended, Chen Shouzhe went up on stage with the others to take a bow, and then went to eat with the rest of the group.

"I just heard from Xiao Meng that you're preparing a script and it could gross hundreds of millions at the box office."

On the way back, Yu Qian, who was smoking in the back seat, looked at Chen Shou, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

"I was just kidding, I haven't even finished writing the script yet," Chen Shou hurriedly said.

"You can't say things like that to the public anymore. The highest box office in China right now is over 600 million. You're just a newcomer, and you dare to say things like that to the public. It will cause a lot of unnecessary trouble."

"Yes, I understand."

"Your godfather wants you to go to his house. Prepare your script in a few days and go. Even if it's not perfect, a rough draft will do. Your godfather used to help people write scripts, so he knows about these things. And there's something you should understand by now: whether it's the arts circle or the entertainment circle, it's all the same. Your godfather is your connection, you know that?!"

“I understand, Master. You are my greatest connection,” Chen Shou said with a smile.

"If you have any ideas, you can also show them to your mentor. I also studied directing," Yu Qian said earnestly.

Chen Shou felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He had never received such treatment in his previous life; his parents were farmers who toiled in the fields.

Now that I have a master and a godfather protecting me, I suddenly feel like I have a powerful backer.

Chen Shouzhe was even more excited. Back at the horse farm, he couldn't sleep at all, so he turned on his computer and started typing.

Even by the afternoon of the next day, he was still not sleepy at all. If his teacher's wife hadn't called, he wouldn't have known that so much time had passed.

I took a bottle of fresh milk from the refrigerator. It was milked from the cow this morning. My master's family had a baby, and to ensure the child ate healthily, he had a horse farm, so he raised a cow. As a result, the cow produced too much milk, and besides the baby getting some, he also got a lot. Only the cow was grumbling and complaining.

After drinking the fresh milk, Chen Shouzhe finally fell asleep, but he didn't sleep for long. He had a performance to do that night, so he went to the theater again.

He brought his laptop with him and quietly wrote the script in a corner backstage.

He didn't close his notebook until Meng Hetang called him, and then he went out and fell asleep as soon as he got in the car.

Once he arrived at the horse farm, he regained his energy and continued writing the script.

After spending two days writing down the entire script in his mind, Chen Shouzhe finally breathed a sigh of relief and slept soundly until nightfall.

The crosstalk performance usually starts at 7:30 pm, but Chen set his alarm for 5 pm. He got up and washed up immediately, because tonight was a commercial performance.

After three consecutive days of small theater performances, there was a large-scale commercial performance scheduled before the incident, which was almost canceled because of that incident.

Both Guo Degang and Yu Qian value this commercial performance highly, as it depends on whether they can actually continue performing.

Fearing traffic jams, they set off early. When they arrived backstage, they met Guo Degang, who had already arrived. The elderly couple exchanged a few lines. With their solid foundation from childhood and their tacit cooperation, the two had reached a point where they only needed a rough idea to complete a piece – a perfect pairing that many crosstalk performers could never achieve in their entire lives.

Chen Shouzhe once wanted to become such an actor, but his partner left.

"Shouzhe, how's your script coming along?" Sesame Seed Cake on stage had already started performing, and backstage was quiet. Guo Degang, who also had nothing to do, turned his head and saw Chen Shouzhe carrying a small backpack, and casually asked him.

"Godfather, the script is finished. I'm planning to bring it to your house tomorrow or the day after." Chen Shou hurriedly took out two scripts from his bag, handing one to Yu Qian and the other to Guo Degang.

The two looked somewhat surprised. They hadn't expected Chen Shouzhe to actually write the script. Yu Qian knew that Chen Shouzhe had been working tirelessly on the script these past few days, but he hadn't expected it to be finished so quickly. He thought that Chen Shouzhe must have started preparing beforehand.

The elderly couple picked up the script and started flipping through it. The more they read, the more interesting it became. And it wasn't just a simple script; Chen Shou had also drawn some of the storyboards.

The elderly couple, both with experience in the film industry, especially Yu Qian who started acting in movies in the 1990s and later studied directing at the Beijing Film Academy, were even more surprised after reading the script. They exchanged a knowing glance as they read. "Did you write this?" Yu Qian asked Chen Shou.

Chen Shou's heart skipped a beat, thinking he had been exposed. But then he thought that this world was different, so he didn't care anymore and nodded, saying, "I wrote it, so what?"

"It's a very interesting script. It seems you've been working on it for a long time. Have you thought about the budget?" Guo Degang asked.

"I've thought about it, the budget is around 20 million, no, 15 million..." Chen Shou said nervously.

The highest box office so far is only over 600 million. A budget of 20 million is not cheap. How could a newcomer like him attract so much investment? Not to mention him, Guo and Yu in front of him fell silent when they heard Chen Shouzhe's budget.

With a budget of 20 million, it needs 50 million in box office revenue to break even. And that's just the initial investment. If you add in the later marketing and promotion, it's a huge gamble.

If we can reduce costs as Chen Shouzhe said, then we can only focus on the actors, saving money wherever possible, and it may not even be up to one company to make the decision.

Even if Guo Degang wanted to help his godson, he couldn't possibly give him such a large sum of money, since his money didn't come from thin air.

"Master, Godfather, it's time to go on stage." Meng Hetang ran in from the entrance door and called to the old couple.

The elderly couple immediately put down their scripts and stood up. Chen Shouzhe and Meng Hetang quickly straightened their gowns. The two walked to the stage entrance. At this moment, Sesame Seed Cake and Little Four-Eyes bowed and left the stage. The announcer went up to announce the program, and the elderly couple went on stage.

Chen Shou was filled with trepidation. The script had already been written. It was a very successful script from another world. Crosstalk was also a comedy, and the old couple would definitely understand the story.

After enduring the ordeal until the elderly couple stepped off the stage, Chen immediately poured them water.

The two closed their eyes to rest, as they had three shows to perform that day, and the rest time was very important.

After resting for a few minutes, the elderly couple opened their eyes, reached out and picked up the script again, their tacit understanding was unparalleled.

The only difference was that his master, Yu Qian, casually grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the table, shook one out and put it in his mouth, and Chen Shou immediately picked up a lighter and lit it for him.

Yu Qian didn't even look up. He took a deep drag of his cigarette, held it between his fingers, and continued reading the script.

The two were engrossed in watching, and no one dared to disturb them.

After the three performances, there were three encores, including a segment of Yunsu Tune, before the show finally ended, past 11 PM.

Because of the excessive number of encores in previous years, we were reported several times. Later, the relevant departments required that the performance time could not exceed a certain period, unless it was a major holiday performance, such as New Year's Eve or the closing performance, in which case an extension could be applied for.

After the performance, they would usually have a late-night snack. Chen Shouzhe and Meng Hetang straightened their robes and the things they were carrying, and followed them out.

"Luan Yunping, Shou Zhe wants to make a movie. Should we invest in him?" At the dinner table, besides Chen Shou Zhe and his group, there were three other pairs of actors: Bing Si, Yue Yue, and Gao Luan.

"That's definitely a good thing, but we need to discuss it with Master's wife to see how much to invest," Luan Yunping said with a smile.

"That's great! You'll have to take me with you when you're filming your movie," Yue Yunpeng said with a grin.

"Definitely. Don't complain about the size of the role when the time comes." Chen Shou looked at Yue Yunpeng's big butt face. No matter how you looked at it, the face was cheerful and made him look young. He would be good as a supporting actor.

"Now that Xiao Chen is going to make a movie, how will the performances be arranged?" Luan Yunping asked. He was not in charge of investment, but rather the performance department. Chen Shou's partner had run off with someone else, and now he had no partner, so the arrangement of future performances was a problem.

"Do you still want to continue performing crosstalk?" Yu Qian asked. As Chen Shouzhe's teacher, he should be responsible for Chen Shouzhe, especially in terms of crosstalk. He had been learning from him for so many years, and he couldn't just give it up all at once.

Chen Shouzhe doesn't want to perform crosstalk now, but he still loves it deep down. Suddenly, he thought of something.

"Master, Godfather, may I go to the bookstore to tell stories?"

"Storytelling?" The old couple were somewhat surprised and looked at Chen Shouzhe.

Deyun Bookstore opened two years ago. At that time, it wasn't Guo Degang, the troupe leader, who was in charge, but his master, the senior Jin. Later, Mr. Jin got old and his health deteriorated, so he gradually closed it down. The current plan is to open the bookstore next year.

"We'll open a library next year, you can work there," Guo Degang nodded.

After everyone had eaten their fill, they went home. Chen Shouzhe was filled with anxiety. The old couple had a good opinion of the script, but the problem was that 20 million was no small sum of money. Chen Shouzhe couldn't sleep at all and tossed and turned until dawn before finally falling asleep.

As a result, he slept until 2 p.m. when his teacher's wife woke him up for lunch.

The master and his family were all there, as were the other disciples. This was their breakfast; their schedules were already disrupted because the performances often went on until late at night.

"Come out with me after you've finished eating," Yu Qian suddenly said to Chen Shou during the meal.

(End of this chapter)