Chapter 1247: Capital

From beginning to end, in Zhao Fusheng's impression, behind the incident of Xie Tingfeng and Zhang Weijian beating someone, there were always shadows of certain people, because he didn't remember it very clearly, only having occasionally seen an article in his Moments in his previous life.

Because of this, Zhao Fusheng was very cautious.

One should not have the heart to harm others, but must have the heart to guard against them. Although Huayi and Xinbaoyuan now have many collaborations with Future Film, in Zhao Fusheng's view, he still needed to be careful in some areas to avoid becoming a knife in someone else's hand.

Those in the film and television circle, though their assets might not match his, were no worse than anyone else when it came to playing mind games. They were all sharp cookies, extremely shrewd.

So facing Wang Zhonglei, Zhao Fusheng appeared very calm, because he knew that since Wang Zhonglei had come to see him today, it was obvious that he intended to lay all his cards on the table.

Zhao Fusheng had always felt that within the domestic film and television circle, there existed a loose alliance organization. But previously, without full certainty, he hadn't stirred up trouble. This time, he wanted to see what tricks these people were planning to play.

Wang Zhonglei sat opposite Zhao Fusheng, sighed, put down his teacup, casually pulled out a cigarette case, flicked out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it with a snap. After taking two deep drags, he exhaled a puff of white smoke and then inhaled it back through his nose. The taste of nicotine filled his mouth, nose, and lungs in an instant, and an indescribable, inexplicable feeling of comfort arose spontaneously.

Smoking is harmful to health, yet so many people still love it, showing just how powerful its magic is.

"Fusheng, what do you think about co-productions?" Wang Zhonglei, having satisfied his nicotine craving, suddenly asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng was startled, then smiled: "You should ask Ye Jing about that."

After all, Ye Jing was the general manager of Future Film. As Zhao Fusheng said, even if they were to discuss it, Wang Zhonglei should talk to him.

"Don't give me that. Specific cooperation can be discussed with him, but when it comes to matters like this, if I don't come to you, who do I come to?" Little President Wang waved his hand, completely unswayed by Zhao Fusheng's evasion.

Zhao Fusheng smiled, noncommittal to Wang Zhonglei's words.

That was indeed true. Although Ye Jing was the head of Future Film, he only handled specific matters. The general direction of the company's development still had to be decided by the boss himself.

In fact, not only Future Film, but all subsidiaries including Future Advertising and Future Technology, Zhao Fusheng always paid close attention to the development direction of the Future Group.

As a boss, employing people without suspicion and not employing those you suspect is meant to make employees work hard and feel trusted. But it doesn't mean the boss can truly become a hands-off manager and ignore everything.

If that were the case, sooner or later he would be sidelined, or even have his assets swallowed up.

The idea of doing nothing and having a group of loyal subordinates manage one's affairs can only happen in novels and TV dramas. In real life, how could such a thing exist?

"You know, the film and TV industry in Hong Kong has been getting more and more sluggish lately," Wang Zhonglei continued, looking at Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng nodded. That was true. The local film industry in Hong Kong was declining; bosses were tightening their wallets, the number of industry professionals was plummeting, and most of the industrial chain was shifting to the mainland. Commercial film directors could still make a living, but niche directors and screenwriters were basically running out of work.

Having talent but no出路—that was the most awkward situation.

Reform, after all, not only brought hardship to mainland filmmakers, but Hong Kong filmmakers also had to face growing pains.

"So, do you plan to boycott people from Hong Kong?" Zhao Fusheng asked Wang Zhonglei, somewhat puzzled.

In his understanding, after the Hong Kong industrial chain moved to the mainland, although it brought advanced technology and concepts, the resulting increase in production costs should be something that companies like Huayi and Bona did not want to see.

If understood that way, it would explain why these companies were fueling the beating incident.

"Come on, do we have the final say?" As if hearing a ridiculous joke, Wang Zhonglei looked at Zhao Fusheng speechlessly: "Ask Ye Jing, among us, who dares to go against the authorities? Unless we're crazy, if a big hat of 'undermining unity' is put on us, who can bear it?"

Zhao Fusheng frowned, then sneered coldly: "That's exactly why they act with impunity."

He understood some things but was too lazy to say them, after all, the legendary 404 god was watching him.

Wang Zhonglei shook his head with a bitter smile and didn't pick up on Zhao Fusheng's remark.

He couldn't touch that topic and had to play dumb.

"Recently, there have been many online messages targeting the mainland..." Wang Zhonglei looked at Zhao Fusheng: "You know, this should be the work of Emperor Motion Pictures."

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "Yang Shoucheng likes this kind of trick. That's probably the Hong Kong way."

He paused, looking at Wang Zhonglei: "What are your plans?"

"It's not about what we plan; it's that mainland filmmakers should make some response," Wang Zhonglei said seriously, looking at Zhao Fusheng: "If things continue to develop like this, it will be very detrimental to the entire film and television circle."

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Aren't you afraid that after doing this, the fans of those Hong Kong and Taiwan artists will cause trouble?"

There seems to be an interesting phenomenon in the entertainment industry: only good-looking stars have obsessive fans; ugly stars don't.

Actually, that's not true. Every artist who has made a name for themselves has obsessive fans. It's just that handsome ones are too high-profile, often appearing in the media and attracting more controversy, so their fans seem more rowdy.

Ugly ones are relatively low-key because they can't rely on their looks, so they have to rely purely on talent. And their fans are more rational, rarely making a fuss or starting group attacks.

"If fans could decide a star's fate, this circle would have changed long ago," Wang Zhonglei said coldly.

Clearly, in Wang Zhonglei's eyes, capital was the one that decided the fate of stars.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said nothing, but in his heart, he felt Wang Zhonglei was right. Capital was the biggest boss in the circle. No matter how big a star was, they had no say in front of capital.

According to the information he had received, from 2001 to 2004, there were 101 co-productions, 77 of which were between the mainland and Hong Kong. It was foreseeable that co-productions would become a common choice for filmmakers from both sides, and later, Taiwan, East Asia, and Hollywood would also break in.

And in Zhao Fusheng's eyes, the best era for capital had finally arrived.