Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 97 I've already bet everything, what am I afraid of?
Film companies in the industry are all waiting, but neither film studios nor theaters have said anything.

This made them very anxious, and many people secretly criticized Chen Shouzhe for being ungrateful and not considering the production team's interests.

Eating alone, having unsightly table manners, etc.

However, they have forgotten that in the previous two attacks, the organizers were disintegrated from within, and a traitor was found in the other.

Who cares that the film and television industry is a united circle, a group of people all looking out for their own interests?

However, judging from the fact that Chen Shouzhe treated everyone to dinner and they left chatting and laughing, it can be seen that this negotiation went very smoothly. Chen Shouzhe managed to get something from the theater chain, although they didn't know exactly what it was.

Many celebrities and big names, upon seeing this news, couldn't help but remark that Chen Shouzhe's influence is growing, and maintaining a good relationship with him is extremely important. The current success of Huang Xiaoming and Li Baibing is largely due to Chen Shouzhe.

Many people envy Yang Mi, who has been missing for several months and occasionally posts travel photos, and want to know what Yang Mi has been up to.

Some people have already suspected that Yang Mi is pregnant, but there is no evidence at all. In addition, her studio controls the comments. Unless there are paparazzi specifically watching her, and believe it or not, if there were paparazzi doing that, they would break many cameras and keep going to court.

When Chen Shouzhe returned to the company, he ran into Wang Changtian, who had come over. Wang Changtian had originally planned to come directly, but he had a meeting to attend and was a little late. He arrived at the company in the afternoon.

"Chairman Wang?!" Chen Shouzhe was somewhat surprised to see Wang Changtian.

"How did the talks with Director Chen go?" Wang Changtian asked.

"What did they talk about?" Chen Shou had been dealing with these old foxes since he was a child and was used to their routines.

Don't be fooled by the question about how the talks went. If you say they went well, it means you've reached an agreement. If you say they didn't go well, he'll know that things didn't go as planned. So Chen Shou simply replied, "What did you talk about? I didn't talk about anything."

Wang Changtian didn't expect Chen Shouzhe to reply like that. The old fox was inwardly cursing Chen Shouzhe as a little fox.

Seeing Chen Shouzhe's smile, he understood even more clearly that Chen Shouzhe had figured out his thoughts.

He gave a wry smile and said, "Director Chen, stop pretending. What exactly did you discuss with the theaters? I originally came here to lend a hand."

"We didn't really talk about anything, just had a meal with them. After all, the movie is about to be released, so I contacted the theaters and treated them to a meal," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"Director Chen really can't say?" Wang Changtian asked, unwilling to give up.

"If you really want to know, then just wait. You're also a producer, so you'll find out in time."

“Okay, that’s good news. I have to say, in recent years, apart from Zhang Dapao, you’re the only one who has managed to snatch food from the jaws of the cinemas,” Wang Changtian said.

Although it's unclear what kind of cooperation was reached, it's obvious that Chen Shouzhe managed to snatch food from the tiger's mouth, and Wang Changtian left disappointed.

Chen Shouzhe turned on his phone, and immediately countless calls and text messages flooded in.

Wang Zonglei of Huayi Brothers, Yang Shoucheng of Emperor Entertainment Group, Zhang Shao of Le's Group, Zhang Qiang of Alibaba Group, and others were all people from production companies who called him.

In addition, there are a bunch of directors, including the renowned director, Stephen Chow, and Jiang Wen.

Chen Shou's phone had been on for a short while when a call came in.

"Damn it, I finally got through." The voice on the other end of the phone was incredibly familiar.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you so angry?" Chen Shou asked with a smile.

"I'm so worried! You've been taking so long to eat this meal. What's going on? What agreement did you reach with the theaters?" Jiang Wen didn't even have a good appetite at lunchtime. She kept calling Chen Shou every now and then, and she couldn't even focus on filming.

"Even if I failed to crack it, they would only give me one more point," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"One dot? That's so few?" Jiang Wen's voice was loud enough to draw the attention of the entire film crew, including the actors who were studying their scripts.

They knew Jiang Wen's condition today, and when they heard her loud voice, they immediately guessed what was going on.

Grandpa Ge blinked and muttered, "Just one spot? Or should we take it all?"

"What is he talking about?" Zhou Juanjuan had a condescending attitude towards the mainland entertainment industry and didn't know what Jiang Wen meant.

Liu Jialin, who was standing next to Ge You, noticed what was going on. She glanced at Ge You, and the two of them remained silent, listening intently.

"Keep your voice down," Zhou Yun said to Jiang Wen from the side.

Jiang Wen then realized what had happened, but it was already out in the open, and the whole circle would probably know soon.

"Young master, what do you think? It's already good enough if you can get one point. I originally wanted five points, and I won't budge an inch." Chen Shou leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and lit a cigarette for himself.

He's putting on quite an act; if Jiang Wen saw him like this, she'd know he's definitely not that simple.

"Damn it, those cinema chains are really something else," Jiang Wen cursed.

"What can cinemas do? If they had succeeded a couple of years ago, would things be like this? Those traitors are the real culprits. Otherwise, we would have won long ago under Chairman Han." Chen Shou said irritably.

"Forget it, since you managed to get a small share, the movie 'Bullet's the Buddies' should bring that share when it's released," Jiang Wen said. "You're dreaming. That's like giving a beggar a small share. I don't want it," Chen Shou said.

"What?" Jiang Wen's eyes widened.

"You think one point applies to everyone? It's only for me, and it's for the movie I directed myself. Nobody else can enjoy it. Even movies directed by my own company can't enjoy it, you know?" Chen Shou said.

"This... damn it, they're treating people differently based on who they're dealing with." Jiang Wen almost couldn't catch her breath.

"So what conditions did you reach with them?" Jiang Wen asked.

"Let's talk about it after the movie is released. I'm afraid there might be problems," Chen Shou said.

"I understand, then I won't ask any further questions," Jiang Wen said.

"I can handle the bullets when the time comes," Chen Shou said.

“Okay.” Jiang Wen readily agreed. Chen Shou was the biggest producer, and he wouldn’t let the movie suffer losses: “Now you’re the only one who can take on this challenge.”

"I hope I can make the decisions in the future," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"That's too difficult." Jiang Wen smiled.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shou finished his cigarette. He hadn't drunk much at noon, so he asked his assistant to drive him to Xiaoxiaomeng, where he still had work to do.

Sure enough, a message quickly spread within the film and television industry.

"Director Chen succeeded. The theaters refunded him a percentage, but only he was allowed to do so. Only films he directed could receive a refund; others could not."

"Successful then failure, how selfish, trying to enjoy the benefits all by yourself."

"You can also go ahead and try to get a piece of the pie from the theaters."

"If I were capable, I wouldn't need to be here talking to you; I would have gone to find them long ago."

"As expected, only a great director can do this. More than ten years ago, Zhang Dapao led the National Director to take a bite out of the market, and now Chen Shouzhe has taken another bite out of the market for himself."

"It's become too difficult to take over from cinemas these days."

"If Chen Shou can succeed, so can we. Let's unite."

"Heh, even when Master Han took the lead last time, it failed. We're nothing compared to the theater chains."

"Damn New Line, damn Huayi, damn Zhang Dapao, it's all the fault of these traitors. And Bona too, they're all either deserters or traitors."

The film and television industry was abuzz once again, and even Yu Qian received many congratulatory calls, saying that he had trained a good apprentice.

The celebrities in the entertainment industry are well aware of Chen Shouzhe's influence and have been accepting bribes of real money.

"Reba, you've seen how influential he is in the industry. Don't worry, this time we'll definitely succeed," Yang Mi said, holding Reba's hand.

"Sister Mi, I'm still a little nervous," Reba said.

"It's okay, just watch more South Korean variety shows, and they'll be yours eventually," Yang Mi said confidently.

Chen Shou has the ability to make cinemas bow down and also has ways to reach a cooperation agreement with Blueberry TV.

He's currently riding high, and the authorities need him to improve the domestic commercial film environment. Otherwise, if the market grows too big, foreign films will feast on it, and how much money will they plunder?
This summer, domestic films have largely avoided July 6th, but China Film Group has still released two foreign blockbusters to go head-to-head with "The Martian." If even Chen Shouzhe can't hold his own, then domestic films are truly doomed.

It was precisely because someone at higher levels was watching that the cinemas backed down. The higher-ups have been supporting the domestic film industry for years, which explains why Huayi Brothers' IPO went so smoothly and why its stock price is so high.

They haven't made many movies, but they've been quite adventurous with other things.

The entertainment industry is abuzz with gossip. Chen Shou is still producing his movie, and the theaters haven't come out to deny the rumors. Some theater representatives have even come out to say that they did indeed make a concession, and that this was the plan from the beginning.

Once confirmed, the news media began reporting on it without any further verification; the news content was confirmed solely from certain individuals within the entertainment industry and the cinema chain.

[It is reported that director Chen Shouzhe met with the heads of more than ten cinemas in China today and reached a new cooperation agreement. The cinemas will increase the revenue share for director Chen Shouzhe, which will be exclusively for his personal use.]

[Special treatment: Director Chen Shouzhe will receive an extra point of box office revenue from his films.]

The sci-fi blockbuster "The Martian," with an investment of 7 million yuan, will be released on July 6th. Director Chen Shouzhe met with more than ten theater representatives and ultimately reached an agreement to increase box office revenue sharing.

[After a two-year hiatus, box office revenue sharing has been increased again, solely for the benefit of director Chen Shouzhe. Many directors in the industry have expressed that theaters should treat all audiences equally.]

Several film companies have condemned theater chains for unilaterally increasing Chen Shouzhe's share of the box office revenue. They will renegotiate with theater chains to secure a larger share.

[An insider at a film distribution company stated that the reason for increasing director Chen Shouzhe's share of the profits is because he has consistently provided excellent commercial films to theaters over the years, making him an important partner. Furthermore, given the film's substantial investment, they waived one percentage point as a token of gratitude for his contributions to the film industry.]

(End of this chapter)