Chapter 1408 Jiang Wen's Predicament

Many people define love as a behavior that can be explained by psychology, but in Zhao Fusheng's view, this is actually a mistaken notion.

In a sense, love is metaphysics, not science.

Some people may like someone for a lifetime, and the other person might not even glance at them, but others can fall in love at first sight.

This touches on the differences between men and women.

'Men socialize by mocking each other, but they don't mean it. Women socialize by complimenting each other, but they don't mean it either.'

Lying on his own soft sofa, Zhao Fusheng said to Old Jiang, who was drinking at the dining table.

Fan Baobao wasn't home; 'Lurking' had officially started filming, and as the leading actress, she naturally had to stay with the crew. At least before New Year's Day, Zhao Fusheng had no chance to enjoy a private moment with his wife.

Fortunately, both of them were easygoing by nature, sending texts and making calls, so it wasn't too exaggerated.

Fan Beibei had been sent to Jiang Wen's house. Zhou Yun was free at home anyway, and with a nanny there, one more Fan Beibei didn't matter much.

Of course, now that Zhao Fusheng was back in the country, he naturally had to bring the little girl home.

'What you said is true.' Jiang Wen raised his glass, took a big gulp, and then said to Zhao Fusheng, 'People are all like that—they always say insincere things and act one way to your face and another behind your back.'

Zhao Fusheng smiled, shook his head, and didn't pick up on Jiang Wen's thread. He actually understood that Old Jiang had come to him today to vent his grievances.

The filming of 'The Sun Also Rises' wasn't going smoothly. Jiang Wen spent money like water. The original investment of thirty million was meant for two episodes, but this guy had already spent all the money before even finishing half of the first part!

That's right, it was all spent!

Jiang Wen's films always exceeded budgets, but this time, he had clearly overdone it, screwing over the investors so badly they were on the verge of tears. The Wang brothers were ruthless too—they simply pulled out their investment and left, refusing to play along with Old Jiang anymore.

Never mind that Future Films had just reached a cooperation agreement with Huayi; the problem was that no one would let Old Jiang keep screwing people over like this.

That was real money—tens of millions in investment, and it was all spent in just over three months. Wang Zhongjun felt like killing Jiang Wen.

As a result, the crew of 'The Sun Also Rises' had temporarily halted work, and Jiang Wen, with no other choice, had returned to the capital to seek investment.

Yes, Jiang Wen had come to Zhao Fusheng to ask for investment.

Among the people he knew, Zhao Fusheng was the richest, so after much thought, Jiang Wen had no choice but to come to him.

'To be honest, I'm not optimistic about your new film.' Now that he knew Jiang Wen's purpose, Zhao Fusheng didn't beat around the bush and said seriously, 'Even though you're trying to commercialize the film, given the current environment and your own issues, I don't think this film will do well at the box office.'

Jiang Wen was taken aback; he hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to be so blunt.

Seeing that Jiang Wen clearly wasn't convinced, Zhao Fusheng shrugged helplessly and continued, 'My personal suggestion is that you could try your luck in Hong Kong. Maybe someone there will be willing to invest in your film.'

Blinking, Jiang Wen looked at Zhao Fusheng in confusion, clearly not understanding his words.

Zhao Fusheng sighed and shook his head helplessly.

He couldn't exactly tell Jiang Wen that on the mainland, before those clueless coal bosses entered the scene, there was no sucker for him to screw over for the time being. If he wanted to screw someone, he'd have to go to Hong Kong or Taiwan.

In Hong Kong, quite a few people had been screwed by Wong Kar-wai, and this time, they'd probably be fooled by Old Jiang too.

Zhao Fusheng was curious to see if Yang Shoucheng would be ruthlessly screwed out of over ten million Hong Kong dollars by Jiang Wen, just as he remembered.

Speaking of this, Zhao Fusheng had to admit that although Yang Shoucheng wasn't a great person, he had a unique eye for business investment.

Even though Old Jiang had screwed him out of over ten million for 'The Sun Also Rises,' a few years later, 'Let the Bullets Fly' made him a fortune.

Sometimes we have to admit that investing in a cold stove can bring huge returns.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the cold stove you invest in is worth investing in.

'Hong Kong?'

After a long pause, Jiang Wen looked at Zhao Fusheng hesitantly and said, 'Do you think people there will like my style?'

Clearly, Old Jiang himself wasn't confident.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: 'Don't worry. There are plenty of investors in Hong Kong now who want to enter the mainland entertainment market. With your golden reputation, and the company not restricting you from cooperating with them, these people will be happy to throw money at you. I'm just curious if they know about your fine tradition of losing money on films but winning awards.'

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Jiang Wen was speechless.

Although he didn't want to admit what Zhao Fusheng said, the facts were clear: the films he had made so far, while winning many awards, hadn't actually made any money.

Of course, those were art films. As for commercial films, Jiang Wen felt he had made some money.

Well, no, the commercial films he made money on were all shot with Zhao Fusheng's help. Whether it was 'Good Dream One Day Tour' or 'A World Without Thieves,' in the end, Zhao Fusheng had specifically arranged for him to participate.

In other words, without Zhao Fusheng's help, he really was just an art film director who won awards but didn't make money.

This realization made Jiang Wen's mood even more depressed. He sighed, silently refilled his glass, and continued drinking.

Seeing Old Jiang like this, Zhao Fusheng felt helpless too, but he had no better solution.

Zhao Fusheng wasn't a saint. Although he knew Jiang Wen was troubled, he couldn't bring himself to shell out over ten million or more for Jiang Wen to make a film that was destined to bomb at the box office.

That was the truth. Zhao Fusheng knew very well how disastrous Jiang Wen's films could be. They were friends, and if Jiang Wen had a problem in life, Zhao Fusheng would help without hesitation, without a second thought. But the issue was that this was about making a film, not about living.

If a person doesn't separate work from life, they'll eventually suffer.

After a long time, Old Jiang looked up at Zhao Fusheng and said, 'I've always believed I can blend commerce and art.'

Zhao Fusheng nodded: 'You can, but not now.'

Jiang Wen was startled; he hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to say that.

You see, although Zhao Fusheng had never said it explicitly, Jiang Wen could sense that in Zhao Fusheng's eyes, he wasn't optimistic about the films he was making.

Or to be more precise, Zhao Fusheng wasn't optimistic about the path he was currently on.

But now, he was saying this, which surprised Jiang Wen.

'What, find it strange?' Zhao Fusheng glanced at Jiang Wen and asked.

Jiang Wen nodded: 'Yeah, I thought you'd think I could never make a high-grossing film.'

Zhao Fusheng smiled and shrugged: 'You're a good director. You know how to tell a story and have the ability to tell a good one. But the problem is, the current film market isn't the right time for you. It's not that the audience is bad, but because of the overall environment, not many people understand what you want to express.'

Jiang Wen frowned. Clearly, he didn't fully understand Zhao Fusheng's words, but he could tell that Zhao Fusheng seemed genuinely optimistic about his future.

Zhao Fusheng stood up, walked over to Jiang Wen, patted him on the shoulder, but said nothing more.

Some things need time to prove.

In the end, Jiang Wen went to Hong Kong.

As Zhao Fusheng said, he was a man with dreams, always hoping to make films that satisfied both himself and the audience. For that, Jiang Wen was willing to make any effort.

But the problem was, long ago, our ancestors had already said that you can't have both the fish and the bear's paw. To gain something, you inevitably lose something.