Chapter 1144: Professional Manager

Every encounter has its meaning. If this encounter doesn't give us what we want, then at least it tells us what we don't want.

Simply put, one must be good at analyzing things from different perspectives, not go down a single path to the end, and not get stuck in a dead end.

There are too many successful people around, or rather, one meets too many people in a lifetime. If one were to envy everyone stronger than themselves, probably no one in this world would live past thirty.

Therefore, while Zhao Fusheng always maintained sufficient respect for those big shots, what he thought about in his heart was how to surpass them.

As for those he couldn't surpass, he tried to turn them into collaborators.

Because if one wants to live a little easier, they must remember never to be affected by things beyond their control.

No matter which step of the ladder you're on, someone below looks up to you, and someone above looks down on you. You look up and feel inferior, you look down and feel complacent. Only by looking straight ahead can you see your true self.

Zhao Fusheng couldn't achieve this state in his previous life, but in this life he barely touched the threshold. From a certain perspective, the road he has to walk is still very, very long.

Fortunately, he is now on the road.

Work is not just about earning a living, but also a necessary stage to realize one's self-worth. Both Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao understood this clearly.

So Zhao Fusheng actually admired Fan Baobao a lot. Setting aside their relationship and his love for her, at the very least, Zhao Fusheng respected her pursuit and passion for her acting career.

This girl really cared about her profession as an actress.

Of course, this was just one way for Fan Baobao to prove her worth. If she had to choose between family and career, she would undoubtedly choose family without hesitation.

It's not advisable for men to depend on women in life; that challenges male dignity and social acceptance in a patriarchal society. While women depending on men is naturally acceptable in common values, it's still not recommended.

Especially in a society like China, it's only natural for women to work, not even necessarily to support the family. Not letting them work is essentially equivalent to locking them up.

Zhao Fusheng naturally wouldn't do such a thing, so he always maintained an open attitude toward Fan Baobao's acting.

The standard for everything was that she should be happy.

……

……

“A World Without Thieves has officially been set up. But are you really going to use these people?” In the general manager's office of Future Film, Ye Jing looked helplessly at Zhao Fusheng sitting on the sofa and said bitterly, “Besides Old Jiang and Feihong, the rest are artists from Huayi and Xinbaoyuan. Getting these people together in one film is a big deal.”

Zhao Fusheng laughed heartily: “Isn't that a good thing? Isn't our film in need of this kind of buzz?”

Ye Jing looked at Zhao Fusheng helplessly: “But the question is, if we do this, how much do you think the investment for this film will be?”

Obviously, he was considering the production cost.

After all, having so many big stars in one film alone would be a considerable expense in terms of salaries.

“Not much,” Zhao Fusheng shrugged. “They're just cameos; a travel allowance will do. You don't need to worry about this. Let Xinbaoyuan and Huayi handle it themselves. We'll just take care of our own side.”

Ye Jing frowned: “What exactly are you trying to do?”

For some reason, he always felt that Zhao Fusheng had something else up his sleeve.

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly and told Ye Jing what he had discussed with Jiang Wen earlier, along with the suggestion Fan Baobao had given him. Finally, he said, “My idea is to turn this project into a long-term investment.”

Hearing his words, Ye Jing's eyes lit up. He suddenly felt that Zhao Fusheng's plan might not be unfeasible.

“Then what about Ge You?” Ye Jing thought for a moment, pointed to a name on the list, and said to Zhao Fusheng. Although they were both in the Beijing circle, Ye Jing knew Ge You's current status in the domestic film and television industry. Perhaps a bit less than Jiang Wen, but he was definitely not someone who would casually play a major villain.

Zhao Fusheng laughed heartily: “Simple. Tell him that this film stars Jiang Wen and Yu Feihong, and I wrote the script. Moreover, if he agrees to cooperate, I'll reserve a lead role for him in another film by Old Jiang in the future.”

“What?”

Ye Jing was stunned and looked at Zhao Fusheng in surprise: “Are you kidding?”

Although Jiang Wen's reputation as a director wasn't very prominent outside, in the circle, everyone knew that this guy was destined to soar. So when Future Film announced that Jiang Wen had officially signed, countless people were shocked.

And everyone knew that Jiang Wen's films had a high standard, but Ye Jing never imagined that the lead role in a Jiang Wen film could be combined with a comedy actor like Ge You.

Although he didn't know the script, Ye Jing felt that if it were true, this news alone would be enough to get many people into the cinema.

“As for the script, I gave it to Old Jiang a long time ago, but the situation isn't good now. It'll take a few years before we can shoot it.” Zhao Fusheng nodded affirmatively and said to Ye Jing.

He was referring to Let the Bullets Fly, which achieved great success both at the box office and in reputation. No one had expected Jiang Wen to collaborate with Ge You. And it had to be admitted that in that film, Ge You, Fat Brother (Chow Yun-fat), and Jiang Wen, the three Best Actors, indeed sparked and delivered explosive performances.

And Zhao Fusheng also believed that Ge You couldn't refuse this proposal.

“Alright, as long as you know what you're doing.” Ye Jing sighed and nodded.

He also knew that he wasn't as good as Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen in this regard. Since these two felt the script wasn't suitable for shooting now, it probably really wasn't suitable.

“By the way, what do you think of the prospects for the film Kung Fu Hustle?” Ye Jing then remembered something and asked Zhao Fusheng.

This was a project that Bai Jie had been pushing before the establishment of Future Group. After taking over, Ye Jing valued it, but he really wasn't sure where Zhao Fusheng got the confidence to invest such a large sum of money.

That was no small amount—a full twenty million US dollars!

If it were Ye Jing himself, he wouldn't dare to try this lightly.

But regardless, since Zhao Fusheng had already spent the money, as the current general manager of Future Film, Ye Jing had only one goal: to recoup the investment in this film as soon as possible.

That was the true professionalism of a professional manager.

“This film shouldn't be a problem.” Zhao Fusheng smiled and explained to Ye Jing: “Stephen Chow himself has strong box office appeal in Hong Kong. On the mainland, it's also decent. I'm very confident in this film. You just need to do a good job with the promotion.”

Many people don't understand why the role of film promotion and distribution is equally important in the entire film. In their view, once the film is shot, it can be released directly.

In fact, this is a misconception.

A complete film, after shooting ends—the so-called wrap—is actually just the beginning of a lot of tedious work. The subsequent editing, promotion, and distribution all require a huge amount of work.

And with the continuous development of the film market, the promotional intensity of a film often affects its overall box office.

In other words, a film might have an investment of thirty million, with promotional costs alone reaching over twenty million.

And even so, there's no choice; they still have to invest.

After all, everyone knows that the era of “good wine needs no bush” is over. In this era, no matter how good the wine is, if you don't put it on the table and tell people, it probably won't attract public attention.

So hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Ye Jing nodded, indicating that he understood. It seemed that this time Zhao Fusheng planned to invest a large sum of money to thoroughly establish Future Film's reputation.