Huayu: From an ordinary person to a happy director

Chapter 78: Reporters flocked to

The reporter asked while squeezing in, “Director Shi…Director Shi…Director Shi…”

The sound was extremely confusing and Shi Lei couldn't hear it clearly.

The bodyguards and airport security tried their best to protect the situation, but there were too many reporters, so the bodyguards and airport security slowly retreated.

Are you working so hard?
Shi Lei was worried about a stampede, so he could only be interviewed in a relatively open place.

The company needs marketing masters like Mr. Yu and Mr. Mi Lei. They really like to be interviewed, unlike him who just wants to make a fortune in silence.

News reports are fine, but it’s better not to interview him. Now it seems that he can’t refuse the interview.

Shi Lei stopped at a place that would not affect traffic and said loudly, "Everyone, don't crowd. Ask one by one."

"Director Shi, how do you feel about winning the Oscar for Best Picture?" a female reporter asked quickly.

"Director Shi..."

"Director Shi..."

Shi Lei had no choice but to signal to Liu Yan beside him.

"Quiet!!!" a sharp soprano voice rang out.

Let the excited reporters calm down immediately.

"Raise your hand to ask questions. Anyone who asks questions without raising their hand will be put on Taolin Film and Television's blacklist." Liu Yan said loudly.

If it were in the past, if they dared to speak to reporters like this, they would criticize Taolin Films to death.

But now Taolin Film and Television has already established a firm foothold in the country and is gaining momentum overseas.

The newspaper leaders will not allow Taolin Film and Television to lose this hot spot.

In just a moment, all the reporters raised their hands.

Shi Lei took a look and pointed to a female reporter with a better appearance.

"Ask the female reporter wearing glasses."

"Director Shi, I heard that you have signed contracts for two films abroad, both of which will be shot this year. Is your focus this year abroad?"

Of course, overseas is the focus, and Dao Le makes money there. The salary he gets from making a movie is the profit of a domestic movie, but he cannot say that.

"Filmmaking abroad is different from filming in China. Abroad, the producer is the center of the film. The entire crew is under the control of the producer. I only need to do my job of directing the film. I don't need to get involved in the early preparations, casting, location selection, post-production editing, etc. To put it bluntly, a director in North America is just a worker who goes to work."

What he said was both true and false. It was indeed the case with "The Pursuit of Happyness". He only needed to control the filming process, and the editing rights were not in his hands.

Will approached him personally, and he thought he would have the editing rights, but it turned out that he didn't.

"The Pursuit of Happyness" is a standard Hollywood film with a producer-centered system. The prototype of the film is the real experience of investment expert Chris Gad, and the producer is also Chris Gad.

This is a black man, so Shi Lei has no say in the editing and can only provide suggestions. Will, who is also a black man, may be able to help.

In fact, based on his domestic director's concept, he is somewhat uncomfortable with the North American producer system.

Since they paid a huge sum of money to hire him as a director, it means that they recognized his ability to direct films, but they didn’t give him the right to edit. I really don’t understand.

The effects of films edited from the same material can vary greatly, and no one can guarantee that the editor and the director have the same ideas.

Although Shi Lei is not used to it, he also respects the producer system. As long as it does not affect his ability to make money, he will not give him the editing rights!

Unlike "The Pursuit of Happyness", "300" adopts a director-centered system. He has a hand in the script, location, casting, shooting, special effects, editing, and dubbing, and he is in full control.

If "The Pursuit of Happyness" was successful based on the script, then "300" relied entirely on the director's ability.

So now he has completely let go of "The Pursuit of Happyness" and is remotely controlling "300". The current progress is that Warner is reviewing the script of "300".

He won't tell you the inside story, and the domestic media won't be able to find out.

The fact that he signed a contract to shoot two films was purely a publicity warm-up by Columbia and Warner.

These reporters didn't even know how much he was paid as a director. After hearing Shi Lei's answer, some of the reporters seemed to understand, and those who had done their homework said that the information they had found was indeed true, while those who hadn't done their homework felt as if they had suddenly realized something.

"Director Shi's work focus is in China, so when will he start shooting the new film?" a reporter continued to ask.

This is what you said, I didn't say that China is his work focus.

"I will consider making a new film after "Sword Rain" is released." Shi Lei did not correct it and answered the question directly.

At the same time, promote "Sword Rain".

"So when will "Sword Rain" be released?"

"Summer vacation!"

……

"Director Shi, Million Dollar Baby was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, but you didn't win. How do you feel about that?" Seeing that the topic was drifting further and further away, a reporter directly brought the subject back.

"I feel very disappointed, but I will not forget my dream. I will strive for the Oscar for Best Director again in the future." This is the dream of everyone in the director world, and he is not wrong to say that.

"So do you plan to make a splash with Mandarin films or foreign-language films?"

Shi Lei's face darkened. What was he talking about? It was not difficult for a Mandarin film to compete for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Although it is not more than a decade after the frequent sanctions, it does not mean that the Oscar judges will accept a Chinese-language film winning the Oscar.

"Let's talk about this later. I haven't come up with an idea yet." Shi Lei avoided the topic.

"Director Shi..."

The interview lasted for two hours before Shi Lei was able to leave under the escort of bodyguards and airport security.

After finally returning to Taolin Film and Television, I was blocked again and had to accept another round of interviews at the entrance of Taolin Film and Television.

Shit! Don’t these reporters need to eat?

He got off the plane in the morning, but it was already noon and the reporters showed no signs of dispersing.

"I'm sorry everyone, I'm hungry and need to go eat. You can't let me faint from hunger!" Shi Lei said in a joking tone.

If a small director said this, he would probably be disliked by reporters, but with his status and position, reporters laughed and said, "Director Shi is really humorous."

"We certainly won't let Director Shi faint from hunger..."

"Will Director Shi still accept our interview this afternoon?"

……

With the help of someone who was almost fainting from hunger, Shi Lei was able to enter Taolin Film and Television.

Walking into his office, Shi Lei let out a breath, finally getting rid of those reporters. As for the interviews with reporters in the afternoon, he would not go.

"Liu Yan, go out and deal with the reporters this afternoon, and order me some lunch."

"Okay, boss!"

Half an hour later, Shi Lei had a delicious lunch. He had just finished eating and was about to take a nap.

Han Sanpin called.

"Shi Lei is back! I have something to tell you. There will be a director seminar in a few days. All the famous directors in the industry will be there. I will let you know the specific time later."

Shi Lei was silent for a moment, then asked, "Director Han, this seminar wasn't held because of me, was it?"

"You're dreaming. This important seminar is certainly not held for you."

Shi Lei breathed a sigh of relief, fortunately nothing dramatic happened.

"However, I have been delaying the specific time of this seminar." Han Sanpin's voice came again.

(End of this chapter)