Chapter 1014: The Bait Is Taken

As it turned out, Zhao Fusheng's guess was correct.

The day after Yang Lixin returned to the People's Art Theatre, he had already investigated the whole matter thoroughly.

"This kid, he really did hide something from me." Yang Lixin put down his phone and muttered to himself.

As he spoke, he looked at a middle-aged man sitting across from him: "Dean Chen, I've found out. Future Film is having some trouble lately. Someone in the circle has put out word to blacklist them."

Blacklist?

The middle-aged man, addressed as Dean Chen, frowned: "What's going on?"

"It's like this..." Yang Lixin repeated what he had learned, and finally said: "Future Film is in trouble now. They're probably planning to break through from the theatre side first, then shoot a TV series."

"I see." Dean Chen smiled and nodded: "He's a clever guy."

Clearly, he had no issue with Zhao Fusheng's choice.

"So, Dean, what do you think? Should we..." Yang Lixin asked tentatively. This was the deputy dean in charge; if they wanted to go out and stage a play, they would definitely need his approval.

"Go, why not?" Dean Chen smiled faintly: "We are the People's Art Theatre. It's perfectly legitimate for us to participate in works that promote the main theme. Besides, I know the situation in the theatre. We can't really let everyone eat chaff and swallow vegetables, can we?"

Yang Lixin's face flushed slightly. The phrase 'eat chaff and swallow vegetables' had actually originated from him.

Of course, his original words were: 'I'd rather eat chaff and swallow vegetables in the theatre than abandon the traditions our ancestors left us.'

"Hahaha, Old Yang, Old Yang, even you have your day." Dean Chen laughed, patting Yang Lixin on the shoulder: "I won't get involved in this. In principle, the theatre agrees to let your performance team collaborate with Future Film to stage this play. Of course, you must personally oversee the compensation. Don't let our comrades suffer losses, understand?"

"Don't worry. Since that kid Zhao has shown his hand, if I don't take a few chunks out of him, I'd be letting him off too easy!" Yang Lixin vowed confidently.

Turning around, Yang Lixin left the dean's office and immediately called Zhao Fusheng.

They had exchanged phone numbers during dinner the day before.

"Oh, Teacher Yang, what made you think of calling me?" Zhao Fusheng's cheerful laughter came through the phone: "What's up? Any instructions?"

"Instructions, hardly." Yang Lixin smiled faintly: "But Xiao Zhao, you're a young comrade. How come your words are watered down?"

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback. His mind turned quickly, and he guessed that Yang Lixin must have found out something. He smiled inwardly but remained calm on the surface: "Teacher Yang, you're wronging me. I haven't watered down anything I said to you."

"No watering down? Let me ask you, I heard that your Future Film can't even find a director now, is that true?" Yang Lixin exposed Zhao Fusheng without mercy.

"Well..." Zhao Fusheng hesitated, then finally sighed: "Ah, I knew I couldn't hide it from you. Teacher Yang, to be honest, I've approached several people with the script for 'Soldier突击', but no one dared to take it on. That's why I thought of the People's Art Theatre. How about this: if the theatre is willing to participate, I'll agree to any conditions. Is that okay?"

"Really?" Yang Lixin was startled. He could tell that Zhao Fusheng was probably sincere.

Zhao Fusheng nodded repeatedly: "Of course it's true. With Fan Baobao in the picture and your reputation, Teacher Yang, how could I deceive you?"

"Alright then. Tomorrow, you and that general manager of Future Film come to the People's Art Theatre. We'll talk face to face." Yang Lixin thought for a moment and said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng quickly agreed: "Fine, fine. See you tomorrow, Teacher Yang."

Hanging up, Yang Lixin showed a satisfied smile, inwardly calculating how much money he should ask for his team members the next day.

Meanwhile, Zhao Fusheng's smile was even brighter.

"It's done!"

He punched the air excitedly. Zhao Fusheng knew that the barriers some people had erected had been completely broken with the People's Art Theatre's involvement.

From stage play to TV series, the distance wasn't that far, and adapting the script wasn't that difficult, especially since Zhao Fusheng had already secured the rights to 'Soldier突击'.

Of course, he had also promised Lan Xiaolong that when adapting it into a TV series, he would be invited to be the lead screenwriter, and only his name would appear in the credits—no so-called co-writers.

To be honest, Zhao Fusheng admired this screenwriter who specialized in military题材. According to his memory, Lan Xiaolong was a powerhouse who had written several classic military TV series.

But since Lan Xiaolong was doing quite well at the Comrade-in-Arms Drama Troupe, Zhao Fusheng couldn't easily recruit him. He could only instruct Zhang Qian to hint to Lan Xiaolong that if he ever wanted to leave the troupe, Future Film's doors would always be open.

To be honest, even Bai Jie didn't quite understand why Zhao Fusheng treated a screenwriter with such courtesy.

After all, even a decade or two later, apart from literary adaptations, original scripts held a very low status. Screenwriters who could get their names credited on films or TV shows were rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Many had written over a dozen works but didn't even own the right to their own names.

The entertainment industry doesn't believe in tears!

Often, some reincarnators like to take classic movie scripts from their past lives and sign betting agreements with some boss. But in reality, that's impossible.

Capital's goal is to make money. The value of a script depends on the screenwriter's status. A newbie screenwriter wanting to make it?

Get slashed a few times first!

Speaking of which, one has to mention Hollywood in the US. Although Hollywood is more commercialized than China and screenwriters' status is also low, the existence of the Writers Guild of America ensures a basic bottom line for creators.

In other words, top Hollywood screenwriters enjoy box office splits. If even one word of their work is changed, they get paid.

But in China...

The director doesn't like the script—change it!

The male lead doesn't like it—change it!

The female lead doesn't like it—change it!

The prop master says it's too hard to make—change it!

Anyone and everyone has the right to meddle with the script.

This is both good and bad.

The good side is that everyone can contribute ideas to make the script better. The bad side is that a thousand readers have a thousand Hamlets, and the same goes for script readers.

No one can guarantee that the script in their mind is the most suitable.

In other words, if everyone changes the script according to their own demands, what's the use of screenwriters and directors?

But regardless, the low status of screenwriters in China is a fact.

So Bai Jie and the others really didn't understand why Zhao Fusheng actively wanted to recruit Lan Xiaolong.

However, as the big boss, Zhao Fusheng's authority was established. Even if they disagreed with his actions, no one dared to say anything.

Zhao Fusheng didn't bother to explain. These people could hardly understand what 'content is king' meant. Only when the film and television market truly boomed would they realize the importance of a good screenwriter to a company.

For any work, if the script quality isn't up to par, even if you hire ten Best Actors or Best TV Actors, it still won't hold up.

The most obvious example is Da Tiantian. She acted in so many big movies, co-starring with top-tier Best Actors, but she never became popular. In the end, what kind of crappy scripts did she get?

Look at Pan Yueming. Although his ex-wife Dong Bailian Jie played a dirty trick on him, almost sinking him to the bottom, when he encountered a divine script like 'Day and Night', he still turned his life around and became a hot uncle with a bunch of fangirls.

In short, a good drama can really lift someone to the sky, while a bad drama can truly ruin a star with an excellent reputation.

For example, a certain princess from the Beijing circle. After she became famous, the few dramas she took on—well, the producers probably weren't using their brains when choosing scripts.

...

...

Zhao Fusheng called Bai Jie and arranged for her to pick him up the next day to go to the People's Art Theatre. Then he let out a long breath.

The TV series part was finally settled. Next came the movie side.

In fact, Zhao Fusheng knew that compared to TV series, the movie side was more troublesome. After all, neither he nor Future Film knew much about the situation in Hong Kong.

They couldn't be taken for a ride, and they had to find a suitable behind-the-scenes team. It really wasn't that easy.

He had had a slight connection with Lau Tianwang before, but by now, they had lost contact. Zhao Fusheng definitely couldn't bring himself to ask for help.

Although he knew that if he asked, Lau Tianwang would definitely help given his character, the problem was that Zhao Fusheng didn't want to owe anyone a favor.

Hmm, speaking of favors, there seemed to be someone who owed him a huge favor.

Zhao Fusheng looked at a certain face on the TV and suddenly thought.

How could he have forgotten that guy?

With that thought, Zhao Fusheng took out his phone and dialed a number.

The phone rang with a series of beeps. After a long while, a slightly hoarse voice came from the other end.

"Hello, who is this?"

"It's me. What, a VIP has a short memory?" Zhao Fusheng laughed unceremoniously.

The other party was startled, clearly surprised, and then laughed: "Mr. Zhao, it's you?"

"Yeah, it's me. How have you been this past year or so?" Zhao Fusheng asked.

"Pretty good. You know, after I finished that movie, I announced my retirement. This past year, I've been traveling around." The person on the phone laughed like a child, then said happily: "I still have to thank you, Mr. Zhao. If it weren't for your reminder, I might have been stuck in Hong Kong all along."

Zhao Fusheng chuckled lightly, but silently breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

He knew that he had finally made up for the biggest regret in many people's hearts.