Chapter 1906: Actors and Stars

From a certain perspective, Zhao Fusheng felt sympathy and regret for the decline of Wanhe Tianyi.

After all, this company had brought him many memories.

Its later decline was actually due to issues with the decision-making level, not the artists.

After sending Fan Baobao back to her residence, Zhao Fusheng didn't get out of the car.

"Not going home?"

Fan Baobao asked Zhao Fusheng, somewhat puzzled.

"No, I'm going to chat with Ye Jing."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Fan Baobao, "Don't wait for me for dinner. You all eat first."

"Okay."

Fan Baobao knew he must have serious business to discuss with Ye Jing, so she nodded and said nothing more.

Once Fan Baobao entered the house, Zhao Fusheng said to the driver, "Let's go, to Future Film."

The motorcade soon arrived at the office building of Future Film.

"Why are you here?"

Seeing Zhao Fusheng enter, Ye Jing was somewhat surprised. "I happen to have something to tell you."

"Then you go first."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Ye Jing.

He hadn't expected that when he came to see Ye Jing, Ye Jing would also have something to discuss with him.

"Here's the thing: the air date for 'The Martial World' is set for June 1st. What do you think?" Ye Jing asked Zhao Fusheng.

June 1st?

Zhao Fusheng frowned upon hearing this. "Can't it be moved up a bit?"

"This is already as early as possible."

Ye Jing smiled bitterly. "I knew you'd say that."

He wasn't joking; this was the result of maximum coordination. For one thing, other networks' annual broadcast schedules were basically fixed. Cutting in line like this would offend too many people. Even Future Film would face a lot of pressure.

Although Future Film didn't care about that, the problem was that if the drama performed well, it would be fine, but if something went wrong, it would definitely provoke strong backlash.

Occupying the toilet without shitting—why shouldn't others criticize?

Zhao Fusheng was indeed rich, but no matter how rich he was, he couldn't stop people's mouths.

Public opinion is not so easy to guard against.

Money can make a company stand firm in the entertainment industry, but to gain recognition from others, money alone is useless.

Look at Da Tiantian—she starred in many international blockbusters, yet she still struggled to rank among the top-tier actresses.

In the end, it was because she had no works.

Idols can get by without works, relying on endless scandals and news for hype, or leveraging the popularity boosted by their backers to cash in on fans.

But as an actor, to become a perennial in this circle, you must have works.

This is no joke; it's the truth.

"Alright then, since that's the case, let's do it your way."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Ye Jing, "All the actors from our company have joined the cast, right?"

"All of them."

Ye Jing nodded.

For the company's self-produced drama, even Jiang Wen and Yu Feihong had joined; how could anyone else refuse?

Hesitating for a moment, he then asked Zhao Fusheng, "But do you think this will work?"

"Of course it will."

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "What we cultivate are not idol stars, but genuine actors. Actors must speak through their works; film and television present characters to the audience, not the actors themselves. If you let the audience know too much about you personally, your path narrows. This is just my humble opinion, perhaps mistaken. But I believe in sticking to this—letting the audience know too much, because when you play a character, the audience already gets to know one side of you, and then you play another and they get to know another side. Tell me, in a lifetime of acting in thirty or fifty films, how many sides can you show the audience without making them tired?"

"Therefore, if you go dancing around on platforms for no reason, showing off, it's not about keeping a distance from the audience or being arrogant—it's a professional necessity, I think. Only one type of actor must interact with the audience: what we call in the film and television industry, the star."

Ye Jing looked at Zhao Fusheng with some surprise, not expecting that Zhao Fusheng would have so many thoughts on this matter, but he had to admit that Zhao Fusheng's words were indeed correct.

"What you're talking about are two professions: one is the star, the other is the actor. Both have their merits. The star has commercial value; their commercial value lies in exposure rate, that is, media coverage rate, that is, click-through rate. Without these, they wouldn't be called a star, because their works are not the top priority."

Ye Jing summarized Zhao Fusheng's words and nodded.

He was also an insider in the industry and naturally understood these things well.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Actors and stars are truly different. Actors are culture itself; they speak through their works, through their roles.

Nowadays, when we watch movies or TV shows, we might see many, many actors who act really well, whose roles are portrayed excellently, yet why haven't they become famous?

Many people are wronged like this; they feel they have no star luck.

But some people suddenly act a little better, have a certain image, and suddenly become famous overnight, known to all. So this industry is opportunistic; conceptually, that should be the top factor. Your conditions and your efforts sometimes don't matter. That's why people sometimes say, just go act in something, you have no other出路, go act, maybe you'll become a star. I don't know if this is praise or insult to the profession, but it shows that the element of luck and opportunity in this profession can be fatal."

Ye Jing was speechless for a long time.

Although he didn't quite like Zhao Fusheng's way of putting it, he had to admit that what Zhao Fusheng said made a lot of sense.

Zhao Fusheng, though he always claimed not to understand movies or the entertainment industry, no one could deny that he had unique insights into matters of the entertainment circle.

This was probably talent.

At the very least, Ye Jing himself, if he hadn't been immersed in this circle for many years, would absolutely not understand what Zhao Fusheng meant by these words.

"What, am I wrong?"

Zhao Fusheng asked Ye Jing with some surprise.

"No, you're not wrong."

Ye Jing nodded. Precisely because he was not wrong, Ye Jing felt that the communication between him and Zhao Fusheng was actually a communication between two schools of thought.

Obviously, Zhao Fusheng leaned more towards the old-school actor's mindset; in his eyes, the play is greater than anything.

And Ye Jing himself, as one of the big shots in the Beijing circle, used to think similarly to Zhao Fusheng.

But now, Ye Jing felt that he was more in favor of cultivating artists into stars.

The reason was simple: it was more beneficial for the company.

If it were ten years ago, Ye Jing might have thought that people should be idealistic, that being a good actor was better than anything.

But now, Ye Jing was no longer that ignorant passionate youth.

In his worldview, the highest principle for everything was to enable the company to make a profit.

If it didn't make money, what was the use of cultivating artists or stars?

To be mascots?

Like art films—after filming, they don't get released, just kept for the director and investors to enjoy themselves?

What's thrown out is real money, not street-side cabbages.

Sometimes, thinking about those movies he was once fooled into investing in, Ye Jing felt that he was too naive and foolish back then.

Therefore, now Ye Jing, even if called a vampire, resolutely implements a profit-oriented business strategy.

Although this might be laughed at by many, he felt it was better than when he made 'A Big Laugh' and almost went bankrupt from losses.

This damn society is extremely realistic; they only remember successful people, and those who fail are not remembered by anyone.

Ye Jing was well aware that without Zhao Fusheng, he would be one of those failures.

This thought of his was not wrong. In the previous life, Ye Jing became a disappointed figure in the Beijing circle. After all, whether it was Little Steel Cannon, the Wang brothers, or others, strictly speaking, they were all successful and famous.

Only he had always been obscure.

If not for the title of one of the big shots in the Beijing circle, no one would even remember that the rich man eating chicken in 'The Dream Factory' was such a legendary person.

Thinking of this, Ye Jing looked at Zhao Fusheng and said, "Fusheng, I think we can actually try to launch some young people."

"Young people?"

Zhao Fusheng was startled. Intuition told him that what Ye Jing was about to say might change the future direction of film and television development.