Chapter 1345: Abacus Rattling

Zhao Fusheng had no interest whatsoever in how Jiang Wen planned to screw Yang Shoucheng; after all, it wasn't his money being lost.

As for the profitable film *Let the Bullets Fly*, sorry, Zhao Fusheng had no intention of giving Boss Yang a chance. When it came time to shoot *Gone with the Bullets* and *The Hidden Man*, he wouldn't mind offering Yang Shoucheng an opportunity.

It wasn't that Zhao Fusheng was black-hearted; he knew that even if Jiang Wen helped Boss Yang make money, the man still wouldn't appreciate him. So it was better to let himself benefit.

Moreover, in Zhao Fusheng's memory, only a few of Old Jiang's films were profitable. After the millennium, it seemed only *Let the Bullets Fly* made money.

After arriving home, Zhao Fusheng called Ye Jing, told him about the day's events, and instructed him that he could cooperate with Hong Sanmao but should not consider signing his agency contract to Future Films.

Ye Jing had no objection to this; he had never been fond of artists from Hong Kong and Taiwan. In his view, these people only came to the mainland to cash in because they couldn't make it in Hong Kong.

Actually, he wasn't entirely wrong. If the Hong Kong film market hadn't shrunk, those Hong Kong film industry professionals wouldn't have chosen to develop in the mainland.

After all, in their eyes back then, the mainland meant backwardness.

"By the way, keep an eye on an artist named Wu Jing," Zhao Fusheng said after a moment's thought, instructing Ye Jing.

Ye Jing was taken aback. "Wu Jing?"

"Yes, that's the one," Zhao Fusheng nodded.

"What's the deal? Sign him, or do something else?" Ye Jing thought for a moment and asked Zhao Fusheng. Regardless, he needed to understand any artist the boss was interested in.

Zhao Fusheng smiled. "Signing him outright is unlikely. He's with Hong Sanmao now, part of the Hong family troupe. You can sign his mainland agency contract."

Wu Jing's rise to fame relied on a few action films. Zhao Fusheng didn't think making such films would be difficult; as for the script, Wu Jing could find one himself.

What Future Films needed to do was create the best external conditions for him.

This was very important because making a good film required not only a good script and good actors but also the right timing and circumstances.

This wasn't a joke. For example, if you wanted to film a snowy mountain scene in a blizzard, but the weather didn't cooperate and it never snowed, what would you do?

Would you simulate a snowy scene, like actors using green screens?

To be honest, in later years, such things did happen. It was a serious test of an actor's skills, after all, standing on an empty set and imagining various scenes around you was no easy task.

Not everyone was good at stage acting; some actors might excel only in real settings.

The state of performance was something that couldn't be clearly explained.

But Zhao Fusheng still intended to sign Wu Jing, after all, he was one of the future big names in domestic commercial action films. Signing him would at least guarantee half the box office.

In fact, Zhao Fusheng even wanted to sign Happy Twist now, since they would later become the leading team in domestic comedy films.

But the problem was, he couldn't rush this; he needed to proceed step by step to avoid alerting the enemy.

…

…

Ye Jing naturally had no objections to Zhao Fusheng's arrangements. He also understood that the actors Zhao Fusheng favored usually had some potential, a fact already proven.

Moreover, signing them to the company had no downsides. Most of Future Films' stars signed as studios. Wu Jing might not yet be at Jiang Wen's level, but signing him was hardly a losing deal.

If he developed well in the future, they could consider further cooperation.

It had to be said, Zhao Fusheng's abacus was incredibly shrewd.

Zhao Fusheng didn't know Ye Jing thought that way. He simply believed Wu Jing was a good person worth contacting.

To be honest, Zhao Fusheng was no longer dazzled by the halos of these entertainment stars. They were just ordinary people with a few more masks; take off the masks, and they were all men and women with heads on their shoulders.

Hanging up the phone, Zhao Fusheng sat on the sofa, lost in thought.

His conversation with Hong Sanmao today made him realize that China's film and entertainment industry had entered an era of rapid development.

Co-productions would increasingly appear on screens, and the model of Hong Kong/Taiwan directors + mainland actors + Hong Kong/Taiwan leads would dominate mainland screens for a long time.

This phenomenon was neither good nor bad. Compared to mainland actors, Hong Kong and Taiwan production teams were indeed more professional and modern, but the gap was narrowing, and by around 2010, there was almost no difference.

For Future Films, this was a good thing. As a latecomer to the industry, with the influx of hot money, the circle would become more materialistic, but capital meant increased investment in films, making it easier to improve quality.

In other words, special effects from a 50 million investment would certainly be better than those from a 5 million investment.

Of course, the bizarre film *Asura* didn't count.

Zhao Fusheng's biggest gripe with Tony Leung Ka-fai was that the actor really only looked at the paycheck, not the script. Sometimes, thinking about it, he felt helpless.

On second thought, Zhao Fusheng knew that Hong Kong's film circle still had a number of good actors.

In the heyday of Hong Kong cinema, it swept Southeast Asia and even all of Asia. Although later Korean films acted as if they were number one in Asia, in the 1980s and 1990s, they were just little brothers.

But times had changed. Now, Hong Kong cinema was in a period of transition, with only veteran directors and actors holding up its last dignity. When the last rays of the setting sun faded, the entire Hong Kong film industry would fall into a dead end.

Zhao Fusheng's idea was simple: since those Hong Kong filmmakers were heading into trouble, couldn't Future Films get a piece of the pie?

Though it might seem like profiteering, business was business. Zhao Fusheng didn't think there was anything shameful about his idea.

Moreover, to put it bluntly, Zhao Fusheng didn't want to wait ten years and see a bunch of Hong Kong entertainment figures exploit mainland audiences' nostalgia to pay for their film box offices.