Chapter 0972: A Wise Man Does Not Stand Beneath a Crumbling Wall

Three years of zero-three time had somehow passed by more than half, something Zhao Fusheng had not expected.

Perhaps because of the outbreak of the SARS epidemic at the beginning of the year, for the entire first half of the year, Zhao Fusheng had basically been idle most of the time.

And during the summer, aside from occasionally checking on the campus network, he had not left the capital.

It wasn't that he had nowhere to go, but because Zhao Fusheng knew he needed some stability now.

A while ago, Dong Chenxi brought him good news: the two million US dollars' worth of NetEase stock he had bought earlier had started to rise. It was said that because NetEase had ventured into the gaming business, US stock market investors had greatly increased their confidence in the company.

Naturally, Zhao Fusheng was in a good mood about this and had no mind to bother with other matters.

After all, if NetEase's stock really could rise to over seventy US dollars per share, as he knew from the history he was familiar with, then he would have struck it rich.

The National Day holiday passed quickly. Zhao's mother and Fan Beibei reluctantly left the capital, having promised the little girl that he and Fan Bao would return to spend the New Year's holiday with her. Only then did Zhao Fusheng watch them board the train.

They didn't take a plane, because Zhao Fusheng always felt that planes were not as safe as trains.

As they left the train station, Zhang Qian followed behind Zhao Fusheng, hesitating as if he wanted to say something.

"What's up?"

Zhao Fusheng looked at Zhang Qian with some curiosity; he didn't seem like someone who would keep things hidden.

Zhang Qian gave a wry smile. "There's something."

"What is it?" Zhao Fusheng frowned. His intuition told him this matter might be troublesome, otherwise Zhang Qian wouldn't be acting like this.

"It's Jiang Wen. He's been planning some things lately," Zhang Qian said quietly to Zhao Fusheng.

"How do you know?" Zhao Fusheng was puzzled. There seemed to be no connection between Jiang Wen and Zhang Qian.

"He came to the house looking for you before, but you were with Auntie and Beibei, so I turned him away," Zhang Qian explained, scratching his head.

When Fan Beibei and his mother had visited, Zhao Fusheng had indeed given his phone to Zhang Qian, asking him to hold onto it and only contact him if there was something important.

He hadn't expected there to be such a thing.

After hearing Zhang Qian's words, Zhao Fusheng's face darkened, and he remained silent for a long time.

"Let's go. First, head back," Zhao Fusheng instructed Zhang Qian after a long while, but he himself sat down in the back seat of the car.

Sitting in the car on the way home, pondering what Zhang Qian had just said, Zhao Fusheng's expression shifted between uncertainty and gloom.

In fact, in the year 2003, the situation in the domestic film and television industry had already become quite delicate.

From the beginning of that year, through various channels, discussions about film classification among the media, the public, and industry insiders had become increasingly frequent and intense. In August, the National Film Bureau began proactively summoning some well-known independent film directors, and their attitude had clearly shifted from the previous "lecturing" mode to one where "everyone could sit down and talk."

In the past, this would have been utterly unimaginable, but now it was happening.

What's more, there were rumors that the higher-ups were very dissatisfied with the sluggish box office of domestic films over the past year. Throughout 2003, domestic film box office had been almost entirely suppressed by imported foreign films. Not only that, but the quality and reputation of films had also plummeted, making the authorities realize that some things urgently needed change.

In fact, it wasn't just the higher-ups who felt this way; filmmakers in the industry also shared this sentiment.

And the one leading this effort was Jiang Wen.

Thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng let out a long sigh and said to Zhang Qian, "Let's go to Old Jiang's place."

He needed to discuss this matter with Jiang Wen.

Zhang Qian grunted in acknowledgment, and the car continued forward, but turned toward Jiang Wen's home.

Familiar with the route, Zhao Fusheng entered Jiang Wen's residential complex and gave Jiang Wen a call.

"Oh, you're done," Jiang Wen's voice came from the other end of the line. "What's up? Did you take your mom and sister back?"

When Zhang Qian had stopped him earlier, he had told Jiang Wen what Zhao Fusheng was doing.

Zhao Fusheng grunted. "I'm at your doorstep. Got time? Let's talk a bit."

Jiang Wen was taken aback, then nodded. "Alright, I'll come down right away."

It seemed that it wasn't convenient at home, so the guy was coming down to talk with Zhao Fusheng.

Soon, Jiang Wen came out of his house and got into Zhao Fusheng's car.

Zhang Qian wisely vacated the passenger seat, leaving the space in the car to Jiang Wen and Zhao Fusheng.

"What do you want to do?" Zhao Fusheng didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.

He knew very well that Jiang Wen wouldn't have contacted a group of filmmakers, especially those banned from making films, for no reason. The guy was clearly planning to take advantage of the situation to do something.

"Do what I ought to do." Jiang Wen was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I'm a filmmaker. I want my works to be shown in theaters with dignity, not just in film school classrooms."

Zhao Fusheng remained silent. He had discussed this with Jiang Wen before, but he hadn't expected that in just one year, Jiang Wen would actually be ready to do something.

"What do you plan to do?" Zhao Fusheng took a deep breath and asked.

Jiang Wen smiled. "Actually, it's nothing much. Right now, we have only one request: we hope the higher-ups will listen to our opinions."

Request?

Zhao Fusheng frowned. To be honest, his intuition told him that Jiang Wen's so-called request was not a good thing.

Sure enough, what Jiang Wen said next made Zhao Fusheng's expression quite interesting.

"The film administration should schedule time to review works shot domestically in China, so that some works that have never been reviewed but do not violate national regulations can have a chance to meet the public. Film censorship or future rating systems should be made public. A film rating system should replace the film censorship system. Domestic films that are creative but have limited market potential should receive policy-based funding and protection. These are our demands." Jiang Wen looked at Zhao Fusheng and said slowly.

Clearly, this was something he and his group of friends had come up with.

Sighing, Zhao Fusheng knew that he might not be able to stop Jiang Wen.

A group of people had even come up with a platform of action, showing that these guys really intended to do something, or more precisely, they were truly tired of the current state of Chinese cinema.

"Forget it, do as you please. But remember, you must involve everyone in this. Don't rush in alone and be the first to stick your neck out." Zhao Fusheng thought about the so-called 'Seven Gentlemen of Film' petition incident he had heard of in his previous life, and said solemnly to Jiang Wen, "You can be the convener, but you must never become the vanguard against the authorities, understand?"

Jiang Wen was startled, then understood Zhao Fusheng's meaning. He was worried that if negotiations failed, Jiang Wen would become the one made an example of.

A warmth surged in his heart. Jiang Wen nodded, indicating he would remember Zhao Fusheng's words.

Time proved that Zhao Fusheng's judgment was correct.

In mid-October, the Film Bureau called Jiang Wen, telling him to inform Wang Xiaoshuai, Lou Ye, and others to attend a meeting.

On October 20th, the symposium that was later mystified was finally held in the conference room of the Beijing Film Academy. Those attending were divided into four groups: Film Bureau officials, Film Academy leaders, independent filmmakers, and Film Academy faculty and students. According to Lou Ye, one of the attendees, 'More than a hundred people came. The seating was very absurd, neatly divided into two rows. On one side were Wang Xiaoshuai, Jiang Wen, me, and a few others. We all spoke. There were others who didn't speak, not because they didn't want to, but because there simply wasn't time for everyone to speak.'

At this meeting, Jiang Wen read out a pre-drafted outline on behalf of everyone. The outline was carefully considered and contained four clear opinions, three of which were related to the censorship system. The outline was signed by thirty-six people, all independent filmmakers, young directors, and actors in the industry.

Because of the typical nature and historical significance of the event, this day came to be known as 'Independent Film Revival Day,' and Jiang Wen was called the 'Spokesperson for Youth Cinema.'