Chapter 1022: Scheming

Regarding the actions of Xinghui, Zhao Fusheng was certain that Zhou Xingxing had authorized them; otherwise, Lin Darong would not have arranged for someone to do this.

This was understandable; if it were him, he would have done the same.

But the problem was that both sides had already seen through each other's cards. How were they supposed to negotiate the next steps?

"By the way, how much is Zhou Xingxing's fee for one movie now?" Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and asked Bai Jie.

Bai Jie thought for a moment, recalling the information she had seen, and replied, "It should be between eight and nine million. Apart from making his own films, he rarely takes outside work. I heard he was screwed over pretty badly back in the day."

Zhao Fusheng nodded. He had heard something about that.

Back when Zhou Xingxing first became famous, Li Xiuxian took him under his wing and had him sign a contract for multiple films, committing to over a dozen movies but with extremely low pay—only seven or eight hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars per film.

If it had only been that, it might have been bearable. But later, when Li Xiuxian realized he could no longer control the increasingly popular Zhou Xingxing, he simply sold Zhou's contract to the Winsome Film Company.

Behind Winsome Film Company was the Xiang family, the controllers of the notorious Hong Kong gang Yee On.

Under the Xiang brothers, Zhou Xingxing only received a fee of seven hundred thousand, yet every film he made grossed tens of millions at the box office. Later, even when his fee increased by several million, only about half ended up in his own pocket.

So as soon as his contract expired, Zhou Xingxing immediately set up his own film company, never again working for others and making them rich.

Zhao Fusheng could fully understand that. Not just Zhou Xingxing—any of the hugely popular actors in later generations, once they became famous, quickly set up their own independent companies or studios. In short, working for others never earned as much as being your own boss.

Even those so-called traffic stars who claimed to have returned from South Korea, unable to bear slave contracts, were essentially just capitalizing on their fame. They realized they could make more money in China without being exploited so harshly, so they came back under the pretense of having suffered greatly.

Entertainment contracts in South Korea have always been unfair; that's undeniable. Everyone knows what those Koreans are like. But the question is, if you know it's a slave contract and still sign your name, aren't you just stupid?

Are there any fools in the entertainment industry?

Obviously, there aren't.

So, it can only be said that money moves people. Some people like to play the victim while acting shamelessly, just to win sympathy from their fans.

But Zhou Xingxing's current fee, Zhao Fusheng felt, was reasonable. If you included his director's fee, it should be around ten million Hong Kong dollars.

Of course, if converted into box office shares, it would be different, since that depends on how well the box office performs.

"So, during negotiations, be careful. We can offer him a share of the Hong Kong box office, maybe even mainland China, but not the global box office," Zhao Fusheng said to Bai Jie after thinking it over.

If he remembered correctly, the global box office for *Kung Fu Hustle* was nearly 110 million US dollars. He couldn't accept letting Zhou Xingxing walk away with several million dollars for nothing.

"Will he accept that?" Bai Jie hesitated, clearly not convinced by Zhao Fusheng's idea.

In her view, Zhao Fusheng's thinking was a bit too fanciful. Not to mention the film's box office, even the option of box office shares might not be enough to tempt Zhou Xingxing.

"We'll see how it goes."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said slowly.

He wasn't confident himself, but things depend on human effort. Whatever it was, since it was business, they would naturally sit down at the negotiation table and talk. The final result would depend on the interplay between both sides.

"And what about the script? If he asks to make changes, what do we do?" Bai Jie asked hesitantly.

If it were anyone else, she might not have asked this question. But Zhou Xingxing's habit of rewriting scripts was well-known, and since the scriptwriter for this film was the big boss Zhao Fusheng himself, Bai Jie was worried that conflicts might arise and be hard to resolve.

After all, an actress who had once worked with Zhou Xingxing once said, "Zhou Xingxing is a strange man. We used to think it was enough to just do our job as actors, but he wasn't like that. When I acted with him, he would demand script changes all day. Now I understand why he did that—he only cared about making the film look good. People like us often worry about relationships and such, but he ignores all that."

For someone like that, even changing the script mid-shoot wasn't out of the question if he wasn't happy.

So Bai Jie felt she should discuss this with Zhao Fusheng in advance.

Zhao Fusheng smiled, understanding her meaning, and nodded. "We'll follow his ideas. If you employ someone, don't doubt them; if you doubt them, don't employ them. Since we've chosen him as director, we should listen to him."

Even so, he knew very well that his confidence stemmed from the fact that this script itself came from Zhou Xingxing's own film, or rather, something he had approved of.

That was also why Zhou Xingxing couldn't put it down after reading the script.

Of course, Zhao Fusheng couldn't explain this, but he still told Bai Jie that Zhou Xingxing could be given free rein with the film.

This was his area of expertise, and Zhao Fusheng always had great respect for professionals.

Especially professionals who could make him money—they deserved preferential treatment.

After seeing Bai Jie out, Zhao Fusheng lay on the bed and sent a message to Fan Baobao.

"What are you doing?"

Soon, his phone rang. Opening it, Fan Baobao's reply was amusing.

"At home alone, memorizing lines..."

A strong sense of resentment came through the phone, and a smile crept onto Zhao Fusheng's lips.

After a moment's thought, he simply called her.

"Beep, beep, beep..."

The phone beeped a few times before being picked up: "Hey, long-distance calls are so expensive, why are you calling?"

Huh?

Blinking, Zhao Fusheng looked helpless. This girl, didn't she realize that this wasn't the time to worry about such things?

"Ahem, I just missed you."

After a long pause, Zhao Fusheng said softly, then laughed: "I don't know why, but lately I keep feeling like I should keep you by my side."

"Tch, easier said than done." Fan Baobao was clearly happy to hear Zhao Fusheng's sweet talk, but she habitually acted a bit proud.

"I'm actually a pretty good singer," Zhao Fusheng laughed. "Oh, I met Zhou Xingxing today, but I didn't get his autograph for you."

"What, did the talk go badly?"

Fan Baobao was startled and then asked.

In her mind, since Zhao Fusheng said that, it must mean the conversation with Zhou Xingxing hadn't gone smoothly.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head and denied it: "It's not that it went badly; it's just that he's too shrewd. Hmm, a pure businessman."

If this assessment were given to an ordinary person, it might be fine, but to the so-called master of slapstick comedy, Zhou Xingxing, it was hardly a compliment.

Fan Baobao naturally understood Zhao Fusheng's meaning. She snorted: "In that case, forget the autograph. I thought he was an artist, but it turns out he's a bad guy too."

"Not necessarily a bad guy," Zhao Fusheng recalled how Zhou Xingxing had interacted with him and thought for a moment. "He's probably suffered too much in the past and been screwed over too many times, so he's wary of the whole world. Maybe only in movies can he truly let himself go."

That was his understanding, whether correct or not, but Zhao Fusheng felt it was probably close to the truth.

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Fan Baobao laughed: "I didn't expect you to be so good at reading people."

"Of course, don't forget whose man I am," Zhao Fusheng said smugly.

"Oh, I saw that play *Soldier Assault*. Just like you said, there are hardly any female roles," Fan Baobao suddenly remembered something and said to Zhao Fusheng.

The play *Soldier Assault* had already begun rehearsals as a key performance for the People's Art Theatre this year. As a member of the theatre, Fan Baobao was naturally allowed to observe.

Although there were no female roles, she could still learn acting techniques from the seniors.

After watching the full rehearsal, Fan Baobao felt that Zhao Fusheng had been right to advise her not to focus on this. If this play were turned into a TV series, it would probably only appeal to men.

"I told you that before," Zhao Fusheng said with a smile. "Remember, don't rush to act in any movie. You're not at the point where you have to grab anything. Art films hone your acting skills and temperament; commercial films require the right opportunity."

The waters here were too deep to explain in a few words, so he simply drew a line for Fan Baobao, telling her not to overthink.

This wasn't Zhao Fusheng being alarmist; the facts were right there.

Big Sweetie, with her formidable background, had starred in countless big productions, working with a succession of award-winning actors, yet she still struggled to make a truly satisfactory film.

Why was that?

In the end, it wasn't that her backers didn't support her or that resources were insufficient, but that Big Sweetie herself had issues with her acting skills.

If an actor can't carry a role, it's hard to shine in a film.

If someone truly has good acting skills and talent, even a few minutes of screen time can leave a lasting impression on the audience, making them remember it fondly.

As the saying goes, if you remember it fondly, there will be an echo. Wang Jiawei, who always makes you lose money and is serious about losing it, once said that if an actor can't get into character and become the person in the film, then he is a failed actor.

In her previous life, Fan Baobao had adhered to the principle of being a vase actress, perfectly embodying what it meant to be a vase among actors. But now, with Zhao Fusheng by her side, she was racing down the path of becoming both a skilled actress and an idol.

Life always involves choices. If you choose correctly, everything goes smoothly; if you're wrong, you have to bear the bitter fruit of failure.