Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 91 The Real Copyright Ceiling
I don't know who leaked the information.

By the day after the launch event, almost the entire country knew about it.

The news was prominently featured on the front page of Weibo's trending topics.

Director Chen Shouzhe invited director Jiang Wen to star in the patriotic film "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy." It is understood that this film is not a typical patriotic film; Director Chen Shouzhe proposed a commercial patriotic film approach, and it will be shot in a commercial style.

A mainstream commercial film.

The six characters were displayed on the top of Weibo's headlines. People in the film and television industry were curious about what the so-called "mainstream commercial film" was, and the audience was also very curious. In their impression, mainstream films were old-fashioned movies that, apart from being watched by some public officials and appearing at some award ceremonies, had basically no connection with commerce.

Previously, there was no other option but to watch patriotic films. Now that there are more choices, who would watch patriotic films?

Even though China Film Group released a trilogy, only a limited number of people went to see it, and those who did were in the designated viewing area.

When Chen Shouzhe decided to make a patriotic film at the beginning of the year, many people thought he had received some kind of mission, otherwise why would he get involved in a patriotic film?

It turns out that things are not as they thought. The so-called "mainstream ideology" may not be the focus. The focus is on commercial films. They have never heard of the concept of making a mainstream film in the form of a commercial film before.

It was later mentioned that Jiang Wen stayed at Chen Shouzhe's house to get the script for "Let the Bullets Fly," and Chen Shouzhe never intended to give the film to Jiang Wen.

So Jiang Wen owed Chen Shouzhe a favor, and now Chen Shouzhe invited Jiang Wen, who is now a famous director, to star in his patriotic film, allowing him to repay the favor.

"It's a mainstream commercial film. Mainstream is mainstream. What can he possibly come up with? Just ignore him."

Inside Huayi, Wang Zongjun said to his younger brother, Wang Zonglei.

"It's a pity we don't have any movies released during the summer, otherwise we could have taken a swipe at him. His movie is very important. If he fails, it won't just be a waste of 400 million yuan in investment. I heard that his Little Dream Company alone has an investment of several hundred million yuan." Wang Zonglei smiled.

"You don't need to target him anymore. He already knows that you did it, and so should you. Keep a low profile."

"I know, brother."

……

"Regarding the mainstream commercial films, we learned from China Film Group that this is a project controlled by the main film studio, with both August First Film Studio and China Film Group involved. What do you think about us getting involved? We've heard that many companies have refused."

Bona, Yu Dong was having a meeting with a group of executives when he suddenly saw the news and mentioned it briefly.

"How should I put it, Chen Shouzhe seems to have never failed," an executive said.

“I think we can take a gamble. We’ve already bet on kung fu, so what if it’s a patriotic film? Besides, it’s a commercial film, and Chen Shouzhe’s commercial films have never failed,” another executive said.

“My concern now is not whether we invest or not, but whether Chen Shouzhe will invest in us,” a vice chairman said, looking at Yu Dongdao.

“I’ll go myself,” Yu Dong said.

"After all, we didn't work with 'The Martian,' so we're building a good relationship before it's released. If this one is successful too, then no one can stop Chen Shouzhe."

Bona's meetings were also being held at other companies, but Wanda was not afraid at all. They had already secured a share, and Chen Shouzhe also said that four companies were enough for now.

The production company was very satisfied with Jiang Wen becoming the lead actress; Jiang Wen is indeed qualified.

It took a few days for the matter to gradually subside, and people went about their business as usual.

Chen spent six days a week at Xiaoxiaomeng, and one day was basically spent at the horse farm.

He either went to tell stories, or he initially thought that the Four Great Classical Novels didn't exist. It turned out that Water Margin and Romance of the Three Kingdoms were written before the Hongwu Emperor. The history of this world was changed because Crown Prince Zhu Biao didn't die, and Zhu Di didn't become emperor.

Since we can't talk about the Three Kingdoms or Water Margin, let's choose Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

If there's a ceiling to copyright, then Journey to the West is not as good as Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio in terms of copyright.

It contains all sorts of supernatural stories. The Painted Skin story comes from the first volume of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. There are nearly five hundred stories in the collection, including love stories, demons and evil spirits, and all sorts of other things.

The most famous are A Chinese Ghost Story, The Man in the Ear, and Painted Skin, etc.

Chen Shouzhe chose to tell these stories in the library, and when he did so, many people criticized him online.

He had already talked about the third story, "The Corpse Transformation." Many people came because of Chen Shouzhe's reputation. Some listened with great interest and were attracted by the story, while others seized the opportunity to criticize Chen Shouzhe for telling feudal ghost stories.

"Promoting feudal superstition should be banned."

"I wanted to sleep in the middle of the night, but then I heard a ghost story and I was even more afraid to sleep, because I was afraid that there would be a female corpse lying next to me when I went to sleep."

"It scared me to death. This guy is really something. He can't make a good movie, so he has to tell ghost stories."

"The Painted Skin story was scary. I heard that these ghost stories are part of the same series as Painted Skin."

"I find it quite interesting. The female corpse was already dead. Only someone with a guilty conscience would think she had turned into a zombie."

"I guess they didn't hear the whole thing. And rightly so, these people are probably just doing things for money."

"Where are the relevant departments? Why don't they ban people like this, instead of promoting feudal superstition?"

Inside the horse farm, Chen Shou came back to play. The horse farm was very large, and the weather was comfortable. Now that he was at the horse farm, he could relax.

The horse farm is no longer open to the public; it operates entirely on a membership system. Only members can enter, and there are requirements for membership, the first being a referral from someone you know. No matter how much money you have, you can't get in unless you're brought in by someone you know.

Most of them were Yu Qian's friends. There were very few people around Chen Shouzhe. Chen Shouzhe returned to the horse farm and spent the night there. Many people came to visit during the holiday, and they were quite surprised to see Chen Shouzhe there as well.

"Wow, Director Chen is here too." A man with a buzz cut walked into the horse farm with a woman with short hair and ran into Chen Shouzhe.

Chen Shou waved to him, holding a toothbrush and a cup, and squatted down at the door to brush his teeth.

Xie Nan, standing next to Wu Jing, stared wide-eyed in surprise, never expecting such a down-to-earth director.

Chen Shouzhe has a very high status in the industry. Xie Nan is a host under Enlight Media. He knows Chen Shouzhe and has met him several times, but he was always with Wang Changtian, the boss of Enlight Media. Moreover, Wang Changtian was very polite to Chen Shouzhe.

Yet this internationally renowned director was found squatting by the door brushing his teeth, holding a plastic cup in his hand, and chattering away.

“Bah bah bah!!!”

Chen Shou kept spitting foam into the sewer, and Xie Nan was almost stunned. Was this still a famous director?

"Director Chen, what brings you back?" Wu Jing asked after Chen finished watching the video.

“You can’t work all the time. Come back and have some fun during your holidays. You two must have some good news coming up soon.” Chen Shou had heard from his teacher’s wife that Wu Jing was getting married.

"Yes, we're getting married soon," Wu Jing said, scratching her head.

"Here you go. Remember to send me an invitation so I can attend the wedding," Chen Shouzhe said.

“Okay.” Wu Jing nodded happily, and Xie Nan was also happy. After all, Chen Shouzhe’s visit showed that he considered them friends. Although they were a generation older than Chen Shouzhe because of his master, they dared not call him Chen Shouzhe’s nephew in front of outsiders.

"Xie Nan and Wu Jing are here! Come in quickly, I'm just preparing lunch, come and eat together." The teacher's wife came out carrying the child and said happily when she saw Wu Jing and Xie Nan.

"Sister-in-law, we were just about to come and eat your fruit." Xie Nan carried the fruit inside.

"You too, we have everything here." The teacher's wife smiled.

"Sister-in-law, where's Brother Qian?" Wu Jing asked.

“He had a performance yesterday and didn’t get back until late at night. He’s still sleeping now. Go and wake your master up,” said the master’s wife.

"it is good."

"Director Chen, let's forget about it. Let Brother Qian get some sleep. The performance is too late, and he needs to rest. He's finally getting some sleep, so let's not disturb him. Besides, there's nothing important." Wu Jing hurriedly persuaded him.

"Alright, let's wait until he gets up. I'll stay here and accompany Wu Jing and the others for a walk. We'll come back for dinner later," said the teacher's wife.

"Okay." Chen Shou nodded.

Seeing the well-behaved Chen Shouzhe, Wu Jing and his wife were truly amazed.

They had seen Chen Shouzhe's powerful and influential figure outside, and had even heard about his domineering nature from others. They never expected him to turn out like this back at the horse farm.

Indeed, everyone has a gentle side, and Chen Shouzhe reserved his gentleness for his family.

They are infinitely better than those who show gentleness to strangers but unpleasant emotions to their loved ones.

"Spring is here and the flowers are in bloom; this is the most beautiful time at the horse farm," Chen Shou said, leading the couple for a walk.

Looking at the grown lawn and the flowing stream, one feels a sense of relaxation and tranquility.

"It is very beautiful." Mr. and Mrs. Wu nodded.

“When I’m out there, I’m always on edge, afraid that the movie won’t turn out well, afraid that I’ll be sabotaged by others. But when I come back here, I don’t have so many worries. Sometimes I think that once my company is on track, I’ll retire, buy a piece of grassland, and raise horses and sheep on it,” Chen Shou said with a smile.

“Director Chen can do it now if he’s willing,” Wu Jing said with a smile.

"Haha, definitely not now. Let's work hard for a few more years while we're still young. By the way, I heard Director Wu is going to make another movie?" Chen Shou asked.

"Yes, we're planning to shoot a second movie, but the first one was a bit of a disaster, so the second one..." Wu Jing hesitated.

"Is there any difficulty?"

"Director Chen, you also said that a new director's first film is very important; it either wins an award or makes money. My first film didn't win an award, nor did it make money, so now I'm in a very awkward situation," Wu Jing said with a wry smile.

"Is the movie currently in pre-production?" Chen Shou asked.

"Yes, it's still in the preparation stage."

Did you bring the script?

Upon hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Wu looked up at Chen Shouzhe, their hearts pounding. Suddenly, they understood something and remembered that Yu Qian had invited them to the horse farm today. Could it be...?

"I also started a film and television company."

"Yes, I brought it!" Wu Jing said excitedly.

(End of this chapter)