Chapter 1887: Strong-Arming

"Also, consider this film for the North American market."

Zhao Fusheng looked at everyone and said slowly, "Chinese cinema has to go global."

This was his heartfelt thought. As a Chinese filmmaker, who didn't harbor an American dream, hoping to break into Hollywood and promote Chinese culture?

But unfortunately, wave after wave of attempts had all ended in failure.

In the end, the so-called result of Chinese cinema going global often meant playing a few insignificant roles in Hollywood films, or a few seconds of screen time, supporting characters with hardly any lines.

And Hollywood, being clever, not only gave opportunities to Chinese faces but also created special versions tailored for the Chinese market.

What a damn pain in the ass!

"Then, do we need to modify the plot?"

Ye Jing hesitated after hearing Zhao Fusheng's words.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "No need. We're promoting our own film; we can't lose our style. If we change our film just to please them, what's the point?"

Everyone exchanged glances, clearly surprised that their boss had such grand ambitions.

Zhao Fusheng's expression was calm, as if he didn't see anything wrong with his words.

Simply put, because this was his true inner thought.

All along, Zhao Fusheng didn't understand why, when both were making films, Hollywood blockbusters didn't need to consider as much as Chinese blockbusters did.

Many works on the Chinese side often deliberately added Hollywood elements to curry favor with the Hollywood market.

And the result?

They still looked down on Chinese films.

Kissing ass and getting a cold shoulder—that's what described these Chinese film workers.

So now, Zhao Fusheng had no intention of pandering to those Hollywood folks. Like it or not, if they didn't, he simply wouldn't bother making that money.

Of course, only Zhao Fusheng could say that, because he was the chairman of Future Group and the big boss of Future Films, naturally qualified to speak such words.

Others, like the Wang brothers, wouldn't dare say that.

In the capital market, financial strength is confidence. In short, Zhao Fusheng was willing to lose money and could afford it, but others might not have his boldness.

For other companies, the first consideration was profitability, at least ensuring no loss, but for Zhao Fusheng, that wasn't a concern at all.

"I can accept this film not making money, but you must guarantee that no matter what, the finished film must satisfy me. It cannot be a shoddy piece of junk!"

Zhao Fusheng sat there, addressing the top executives of Future Films.

Including Ye Jing, everyone detected a hint of severity in Zhao Fusheng's calm tone.

Clearly, he wasn't joking.

If they couldn't deliver, Zhao Fusheng would really lose his temper.

After the meeting ended, the executives went off to carry out the company's directives, while Ye Jing followed Zhao Fusheng to his office.

"Were you too harsh today?"

Ye Jing asked Zhao Fusheng, puzzled.

He knew Zhao Fusheng's character well; he wasn't the type to lose his temper without reason.

In today's meeting, he had practically forced those middle and senior managers to pledge their commitment.

To be honest, this side of Zhao Fusheng was rare.

Zhao Fusheng smiled lightly and said to Ye Jing, "So, was I imposing enough?"

Ye Jing was speechless and rolled his eyes at him: "Is this fun for you?"

"Pressure creates motivation."

Zhao Fusheng said smugly to Ye Jing.

Of course, he had done it on purpose. After all, to the entire Future Films staff, he, the boss, was aloof and mysterious. If he had been mild in today's meeting, how would the employees feel pressured?

Now, with the pressure he applied in the meeting, everyone realized how much the company valued this film and naturally wouldn't dare slack off.

That's the art of corporate management.

...

...

"How's the filming of 'The Martial World' going?"

Zhao Fusheng remembered that Jiang Wen was coming back to coordinate the filming of 'The Bullet' and asked Ye Jing.

"It's basically done."

Ye Jing smiled: "We didn't shoot much, only thirty episodes, so it didn't take long. The remaining shots can be handled by Feihong."

Sister Feihong had been a director before, so such trivial matters were a piece of cake for her.

"I'll drop by when I have time. Don't worry." Ye Jing said to Zhao Fusheng.

He naturally understood what Zhao Fusheng was worried about. After all, this was the company's first self-produced series. If it succeeded, they could continue with this model in the future.

Moreover, this was essentially using the lowest cost to reap the greatest profit.

Even Ye Jing himself felt that Zhao Fusheng's 'snatching' of this script back then was definitely a deal that wouldn't lose money.

"Mm, that's good."

Zhao Fusheng nodded with satisfaction. "How did the negotiations with CCTV go?"

"A bit troublesome."

Ye Jing gave a bitter smile. "Channel One is definitely out of the question. Channel Eight is possible, but the price they're offering isn't high, and the broadcast time slot is mediocre."

As he spoke, he hesitated for a moment and said to Zhao Fusheng, "What do you think, should we apply some pressure?"

Apply pressure?

Zhao Fusheng frowned. He naturally understood what Ye Jing meant.

So-called applying pressure meant nothing more than giving gifts and pulling strings. After all, CCTV was a big player that bullied its customers; there was no way around it.

Over the years, they had always been so high and mighty.

"No need."

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and finally said to Ye Jing, "Since they won't give us any favors, we'll broadcast according to the time slot they arrange. We can accept the price too, but I just hope they won't regret it."

"What?"

Ye Jing was stunned and looked at Zhao Fusheng in surprise. Clearly, he hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to make such a decision.

"What, you don't understand?"

Seeing Ye Jing's reaction, Zhao Fusheng knew he definitely didn't quite understand his decision. After all, in Ye Jing's view, the best choice in this situation was to compromise.

At worst, they could give some gifts and find some connections, and the matter would be settled quickly.

Or to be more precise, over the years, this was how things had been done throughout China.

Especially in the northern regions.

"I'm just a bit surprised."

Ye Jing honestly said to Zhao Fusheng, "To be honest, there's really no need to agonize over this. Everyone does it, so we..."

His implication was naturally that Future Film could also follow the usual practice.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head. "This has nothing to do with convention; it's just that we don't need to do it."

Then he smiled and said, "Think about it, what's the quality of our TV series? Once it airs and performs well, who will have the upper hand in the subsequent negotiations?"

Ye Jing was taken aback. It took him a while to come to his senses. So that was it—Zhao Fusheng was setting a trap for CCTV!

On second thought, it really was just as Zhao Fusheng had said.

For Future Film, the investment in 'Wulin' was actually not large. The show was a sitcom shot indoors, requiring no outdoor scenes. Even the film set being built was temporary, and the actors were all contracted artists from the company, very cheap.

Under these circumstances, the cost of the entire series was shockingly low.

So even if CCTV offered a low price, Future Film would still make a profit.

Originally, Ye Jing had planned to sell the first-run broadcast rights at a higher price, but judging by Zhao Fusheng's current attitude, he clearly intended to screw CCTV over.

More precisely, he planned to put CCTV completely on the spot.

Ye Jing could even imagine that once 'Wulin' aired and the ratings were particularly good, CCTV would be frantic to discover that the series only had thirty episodes and that the rest of the story hadn't been filmed yet.

That would be the moment Future Film held the initiative.

"Got it?"

Seeing the changing expressions on Ye Jing's face, Zhao Fusheng knew he had understood his meaning.

"Got it."

Ye Jing smiled. "That's good too. I'll contact them as soon as possible."

By now, he realized that sometimes he was too kind, always trying not to offend anyone. But the problem was, if you didn't offend people, they wouldn't take you seriously!

"Alright, you figure it out yourself."

Seeing this, Zhao Fusheng stood up and said to Ye Jing, "I have things to do. I'll be going now."

Ye Jing was startled. "Aren't you meeting with Brother Fa?"

Today, Chow Yun-fat was arriving in the capital from Hong Kong. According to plan, Zhao Fusheng was supposed to meet him.

"No rush. I'll invite him to dinner tonight." Zhao Fusheng waved his hand casually.

He had already asked Jiang Wen to notify Brother Fa and his wife that he wouldn't attend the company's welcome reception. Instead, he would privately host a dinner tonight for Brother Fa, his wife, and Ge You.

The reason was simple: before formal filming began, he needed to reassure the lead actors.

Moreover, Brother Fa and Ge You already knew how Jiang Wen had invited them. Zhao Fusheng had to personally explain the matter to avoid any lingering resentment, which would turn a good thing into a bad one.

To be honest, Zhao Fusheng greatly admired Brother Fa, who was willing to donate his entire fortune.

He was a very pure, old-school actor, free of all sorts of messy habits. Brother Fa, who always called himself an ordinary Hong Konger, was worth learning from for many later traffic stars.

Especially those young idols who became famous through bromance TV dramas and then went on to film adaptations of novels—they should really learn from Brother Fa's low-key and dedicated approach to acting.

Zhang Xiaofan isn't gay; you can't play him well just by acting gay.