Chapter 1818 At Wit's End

Different pursuits naturally lead to different perspectives when considering matters.

Just like Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen—one is the investor, the other the director—their angles on things are certainly different.

Zhao Fusheng only cares whether the film can make money; artistic value is secondary in his eyes.

But Jiang Wen is different; he is a director, an artist.

No matter how he thinks, even if he compromises with commercial cinema and bows to the market, he still has to hold onto something in his own films.

This is a question every director considers.

At the very least, in this day and age, even directors of commercial films consider some artistic issues.

Of course, this refers to the mainland.

As for directors from Hong Kong and Taiwan, Hong Kong tends toward commercialization, while Taiwan has a stronger literary and artistic flavor.

As for realism, although there are directors on both sides of the strait and three regions focusing on it, it has not become mainstream.

In other words, the entire Chinese-language film circle has not developed well in terms of realistic themes due to market and policy reasons.

Even if occasionally directors like Li Yang, Lou Ye, and Xu Anhua pay attention to the lower social strata, unfortunately, they are not mainstream in the film circle and cannot have a significant impact.

A film like "The Way We Are" may reflect the miserable lives of certain groups, but sadly, its box office cannot be good, and the awards it can win are limited to the Chinese-language film circle. Moreover, in today's underdeveloped online media, it is not widely disseminated.

By the time multimedia is developed, such films will have become extremely niche.

This is the tragedy of Chinese-language cinema.

"ε=(´ο｀*)))"

Jiang Wen sighed and suddenly said, "I wonder when I can shoot the films I want to shoot."

"Wait and see."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said, "I think it won't be long."

"Oh?"

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Jiang Wen's eyes lit up. He knew well that Zhao Fusheng was not the type to speak recklessly without reason.

Since he said so, there must be a reason.

Zhao Fusheng smiled without saying a word and said nothing more to Jiang Wen.

Often, the development of film genres is closely related to the development of the film market.

The reason Korean cinema experienced an explosive growth is closely tied to the prosperity of its film market.

Before 2010, films with over ten million viewers were rare in Korean film history, but after 2010, with the boom of the entire Korean film market, one fine film after another appeared, and box office revenues grew higher and higher.

The same is true for China.

Back then, a film crossing 100 million at the box office was huge news.

But as the film market flourished, if a film didn't make a billion, it wasn't even worth media promotion.

Even the bad films directed by Miss Milk Tea could break a billion by selling nostalgia, let alone many good realistic works.

A film like "Dying to Survive" could break three billion at the box office, showing the prosperity of the Chinese film market at that time.

But Zhao Fusheng couldn't tell Jiang Wen now, because it would be meaningless. If he said it, Jiang Wen wouldn't believe him and would even think he was talking nonsense, dreaming.

A domestic film breaking a billion at the box office?

Haha...

Dream on!

But that is the truth. The box office of "Let the Bullets Fly" made everyone think Old Jiang had changed, that his work had gained market recognition.

Hence the subsequent Republican trilogy.

Then, the hundreds of millions earned from "Bullets" were lost completely.

Some things really can only be proven by facts.

"By the way, how's your business in Korea?" Jiang Wen casually asked Zhao Fusheng.

"Interested?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Jiang Wen, "Want me to find you some Korean actors? Dedicated, cheap, and easy to work with. Later, you can even harvest box office in Korea."

"That works too."

Jiang Wen's eyes lit up. He said to Zhao Fusheng, "Not the lead, just a supporting role. I've already decided on the lead."

"Huh?"

Zhao Fusheng blinked, looking completely bewildered.

After thinking for a moment, he tentatively asked, "Um, who are you planning to cast as the lead?"

"I'll play the male lead, and then Brother Fa and Ge Ye will also be male leads. What do you think?"

"..."

Zhao Fusheng was instantly speechless.

Sure enough, history had a strong inertia. Jiang Wen, that guy, had still found the actors he liked best and who were most suitable for this film.

"What, you disagree too?"

Seeing Zhao Fusheng silent, Jiang Wen frowned and said to him.

"Too?"

Zhao Fusheng was a bit surprised. He smiled and asked, "What, you've told others about this idea?"

"Old Ye, you know." Jiang Wen shook his head helplessly. "I talked to him about the casting. He had no objection to Brother Fa, but he thought Ge Ye was a bit unsuitable—too comedic. He was afraid the audience would be pulled out of the story when they saw him."

"Also, Brother Fa's schedule isn't easy to coordinate. And you know, if I'm the male lead, Brother Fa would definitely have to play the villain..."

Jiang Wen smiled bitterly and told Zhao Fusheng the result of his discussion with Ye Jing. Clearly, their exchange hadn't gone smoothly; otherwise, he wouldn't have shown up at Zhao Fusheng's home.

In short, the guy was here to recruit reinforcements.

This was Jiang Wen. If it were anyone else, how could they dare to bypass Ye Jing, the future top dog in film and television, and come to the group's chairman for help? Didn't they want to survive in the industry anymore?

But Jiang Wen didn't care. After all, the script was originally Zhao Fusheng's idea, and Ye Jing knew that. Given Jiang Wen's relationship with Zhao Fusheng, since Ye Jing disagreed, he naturally had to come talk to Zhao Fusheng.

"Is it hard to negotiate?"

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and asked Jiang Wen.

He was referring, of course, to Brother Fa's side.

"No idea."

Jiang Wen shook his head. "I checked on the schedule—it's not easy. And then there's the matter of asking him to play a villain..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Zhao Fusheng already understood what he meant.

Brother Fa was a top-tier actor who had stepped out of Asia and made inroads into Hollywood. He was also highly regarded across all of Asia.

Getting him to play a villain in a film was no easy task.

Not everyone was like Actor Liang, who enjoyed playing roles like the Mandarin.

Given Brother Fa's status in the industry, getting him to play a villain was definitely a very difficult task.

At the very least, Jiang Wen felt that he couldn't convince him on his own.

"What, you want me to personally invite him?" Zhao Fusheng frowned and said to Jiang Wen.

"No need for that."

Jiang Wen shook his head. "He's not that important."

This was the truth, with no disrespect intended toward Brother Fa.

The reason was simple: given Zhao Fusheng's status, if he were to condescend to invite Brother Fa to star in a work from his own film and television company...

Hmph, Brother Fa would probably be flattered.

Don't forget, Zhao Fusheng was no longer the fledgling screenwriter he once was, but a renowned super-rich tycoon.

It was like when Brother Ma invited actors to star in his short kung fu film—after it got out, everyone mocked the power of wealth, but if it actually came to their own turn, who could refuse?

But clearly, wasting face on this matter, in Jiang Wen's view, was pointless.

"Then what do you want me to do?"

Zhao Fusheng asked Jiang Wen, puzzled.

"Come up with an idea."

Jiang Wen said to Zhao Fusheng, "I've thought it over, and you're the one with the most clever ideas. You have to give me some advice on this."

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, looking utterly helpless.

That didn't sound like a compliment at all, this guy!

But he did understand that if it weren't a last resort, Jiang Wen wouldn't have come to him. It seemed the guy really had no good options left.