Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 9 Set Visit and Interview
"Director Chen, there are reporters everywhere outside, what should we do?" A crew member rushed in.

After the news broke in the morning, a large group of reporters, knowing they were filming there, rushed over in the afternoon, all wanting to interview Chen Shouzhe.

"Let's say that filming has just started, and in order not to affect the filming schedule, we will open the set for visits later." Chen Shou thought for a moment, deciding to leave it hanging and let things play out for a while.

As a new director and a crosstalk performer from Deyun Society, his popularity has remained high, mainly because there are too many people mocking him.

Even knowing that he graduated from the directing department, they still questioned why Chen Shouzhe could act right after graduation.

Even many veterans in the industry have stepped in, especially a certain "well-known director" surnamed Liu who directly jumped out.

"Guo Degang only acts in bad movies. What kind of movies can his godson make? This godson is probably just a godson in name only."

These words were tantamount to a personal attack. Without Chen Shou taking any action, his godfather personally engaged in an online battle with him, reigniting the war of words.

The public has been watching with great interest for over half a month, and the movie's popularity shows no signs of waning.

Chen Shouzhe's filming speed increased, and he was well-prepared. There were almost no unnecessary scenes to edit. He mainly focused on the flaws in some actors' performances and felt that a few takes were needed.

Shen Teng is good at everything, except he can't remember his lines. Several times he stumbled over his words and burst out laughing.

More than half a month has passed, and the campus scenes have been filmed. Today's scene is very important, and three important guests have come.

"Sister Na! Uncle Wang! Grandpa Zhou!"

Chen Shouzhe personally went out to bring the people in. He had rented a KTV room nearby today, and there were three important guest roles.

The entire production budget was cut, with all the money spent on set design. The original plan included a top singer, but in the end, three were found.

It was Master Yu Qian who stepped in and invited the two people who had played cards last time to come over.

Wakin Chau's godfather stepped in, since the song "Heartbreaker" had led the superstar astray. On the surface, he had blocked him, but in private, they still had a good relationship. Coincidentally, they were both in Kyoto, so they invited him to make a cameo appearance.

Three singers made cameo appearances, especially Nayoung. Getting the real Nayoung to come will add an extra layer of publicity to the movie compared to the original.

He also changed the show. The original "The Voice" was replaced with a very popular talent show in China. Three singers from the music scene—putting aside their character and such, just being able to invite them to make a guest appearance is already a huge favor.

Of the three, only Nayoung has acted before; the other two haven't acted much.

It's very simple; the three of them just need to sit with the protagonist and watch him beat people up.

"Why do I have to be beaten up?" Nayoung looked at Chen Shouzhe in disbelief after seeing the script.

“It’s like this, Sister Na…” Chen Shou patiently explained the script, and Na Ying suddenly understood after reading it.

"Hey, who wrote this song? 'Let's Meet in 1998.' If it had been released back then, this song would definitely have been a hit," Nayoung exclaimed in surprise after seeing the song.

"If you like this song, I'll give it to you, Sister Na."

"Give it to me? Sure." Nayoung didn't stand on ceremony. She sang the song and thought it was pretty good. She had agreed to make a cameo appearance but hadn't received any money, so getting a song was nice.

The other two, Wang Feng and Zhou Huajian, only made brief appearances and didn't have as much screen time as Na Ying.

Nayoung's acting skills are actually quite good; after all, she has acted in dramas before. After a few takes, she quickly finished the scenes with the three of them.

The three had other things to do, so they didn't linger and went to participate in a music program together.

After his cameo scenes were over, Chen Shouzhe breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't easy to get the three of them to come, and he thanked the elderly couple for their help.

"Thanks to my master and godfather's connections, this circle is all about personal relationships. I'll have to pay back a lot in the future," Chen Shou said with a wry smile.

The director's first film is very important. With these celebrities involved, it adds more hype and makes marketing easier.

Compared to the other world, the current lineup and investment are actually much greater.

Twenty million is a lot now. Chen Shouzhe didn't take any salary; it was all included in the profit sharing. It was precisely because they saw that Chen Shouzhe was willing to gamble that the others followed suit.

If Chen Shouzhe fails, he can only perform crosstalk for the rest of his life and can forget about acting again. He won't have any investors unless he does it all on his own.

A few days later, after filming the yacht scenes, only the wedding scenes were left.

From the moment the car came in and circled around, to when Xia Luo opened the door and came back to kiss Ma Dongmei, the filming took a whole day.

"Cut! That's all for today. Tomorrow is the last two scenes. Good luck, everyone!!!" Chen Shouzhe stood up and clapped his hands.

The actors all breathed a sigh of relief. The more people there were, the more chaotic things became, and today's filming hadn't gone particularly smoothly, especially when Liu Yan's wedding dress was stepped on, almost giving her away. Putting everything else aside, the entire crew came to watch the scene from the bathhouse a few days ago.

As expected of Liu Yan, her figure was truly surging and captivating, enough to make men weep and women shed tears.

"Director, the reporters are all outside the door," the production assistant said to Chen Shou.

"Then let them in. Remember what I prepared," Chen Shou said.

"Okay." The stagehand nodded and patted the bulging bag on his shoulder.

Soon after, reporters came in; several portal websites, entertainment media, and television reporters were brought in.

"So young!!"

When they saw Chen Shouzhe, they still underestimated his good looks.

"Isn't this guy a performing arts student?"

The reporter looked at Chen Shouzhe with curiosity. Judging from his appearance, someone who didn't know him would think he was a performing arts student.

"Hello everyone from the media, I am Chen Shouzhe, the director of the film 'Goodbye Mr. Loser'," Chen Shouzhe said to the reporter in front of him.

"Director Chen, I'd like to ask where the film is currently at?" a reporter asked first when he saw Chen Shouzhe.

"Filming is almost finished. We can wrap it up in a few days," Chen Shouzhe said.

"Is filming wrapping up so soon?" The reporter did a quick calculation and found that it would take less than a month.

"It's a low-budget comedy film, and the actors are all very cooperative, so the filming speed isn't actually that fast. There's even a record of shooting a movie in a week in Hong Kong," Chen Shouzhe said.

"So you think you can compare to Director Wang?" The media immediately tried to trap Chen Shou.

"That's definitely not comparable. I started preparing the script for this movie as soon as I entered film school. I've been drawing storyboards for two years, and I know the scenes by heart. It was only through the joint efforts of the entire crew that we were able to make it so fast." Chen Shou was lying through his teeth.

Shaobing and Xiao Si, who were acting as extras nearby, said, "Look at our senior brother, he's really good at lying through his teeth. Last time he said he hadn't written it yet, but now he says he's been writing the script for years."

"Shut up, or someone will hear you." Xiao Si stomped on his foot.

"My leather shoes!!"

The reporter continued to make things difficult, but Chen Shou easily dealt with them all. He then interviewed the lead actors, including Ma Li and Shen Teng.

Actually, Ma Li and Shen Teng aren't very famous. On the contrary, Liu Yan, who is currently wearing a wedding dress, was asked when she was going to find a partner and when she was going to get married.

"Director Chen, there are rumors that your godfather is Guo Degang, and that you were able to make movies because of your relationship with Guo Degang, is that true? And that you were able to attract investment because Guo Degang was secretly helping you." A reporter suddenly shoved a microphone in front of Chen Shouzhe.

Chen Shou paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's right, my godfather supports me and has helped me."

"Then why were you willing to become Guo Degang's godson? Was it for his connections? Not long ago, many actors from Deyun Society left, saying that he was a bad person. Is that true?" the reporter continued to ask.

As soon as he said this, the actors next to Chen Shou all looked over, and the other reporters also handed him their microphones.

"First of all, the reason why I am Mr. Guo Degang's godson has to start with my master, Mr. Yu Qian. The two are partners, and if you become the disciple of one of them, you become the godson of the other. This is an agreement between them. My master is Yu Qian, and Guo Degang is my godfather. Of course, Guo Qilin does not count, as he is a biological father."

"Hehehe!!!"

Many people were amused by him; those who have watched crosstalk know this joke, and many reporters also smiled.

"The second question is whether it has anything to do with my godfather. When I said I wanted to make a movie, my godfather was the first person to support me and the first person to give me funding. I would like to thank my godfather in front of all my media friends for his help."

The third question is why you left. Leaving and changing jobs is normal. Can you guarantee you'll stay with your company forever? People naturally strive for better opportunities. In today's society governed by law, labor laws protect us. If you commit a crime, you will be punished by law.

After the interview, although the reporter still had some questions, the set visit was over, and everyone received a red envelope as they left.

Leaving the film set, the reporter who had asked him the questions earlier picked up the red envelope, tore it open, counted the money, and smiled: "He knows how to handle people better than his godfather."

"He's not Guo Degang's apprentice. Teacher Yu Qian has a very good reputation in the industry. You've seen that many people are criticizing Guo Degang, not Yu Qian," the cameraman next to him laughed.

“That’s true. It’s a completely different story when your master is alive than when he’s dead. Chen Shou has such good elders; you can’t envy that!” the reporter nodded in agreement.

"If the Marquis were still alive, he wouldn't be acting like a mad dog!"

(End of this chapter)