Chapter 1310: The Sun Also Rises

George Soros said that the history of the world economy is a series of dramas based on illusions and lies. In fact, life is the same. Stories often reverse easily. Many times, people can guess the beginning of a story but not its ending.

Just like Fu Biao now. He probably never imagined how hard life would be for his wife and son after he left, to the point where they had to rely on help from friends in the circle to get by.

Zhao Fusheng did not go to visit Fu Biao. The two were not familiar with each other, and he wouldn't know what to say if he went. But he still asked Fan Baobao to deliver ten thousand yuan to Fu Biao.

Regardless, it was just a small gesture, a token of goodwill.

Little did he know, this move changed many people's impression of him.

"Kid, not bad. I didn't expect you to be so warm-hearted." Jiang Wen sat boldly on the sofa in Zhao Fusheng's house, eating fruit as he spoke to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng shot him a cold glare, showing no kindness to this bastard who was disturbing his alone time with Fan Baobao.

"Look at you, I'm clearly praising you, why are you frowning?" Jiang Wen, completely oblivious to being a third wheel, said smugly to Zhao Fusheng.

"Cut the crap. Spit it out if you have something to say." Zhao Fusheng said irritably, "I don't believe you came all this way just to praise me."

Having known him for so long, Zhao Fusheng was all too familiar with Old Jiang's character. The way he was acting now, he was definitely up to some mischief.

"Um, I have a script. Want to take a look?" Old Jiang, unfazed by being called out, grinned sheepishly at Zhao Fusheng, looking as if to say, 'Aren't I adorable?'

"Script?" Zhao Fusheng was taken aback and said casually, "Why come to me? Isn't Ye Jing in charge of this? Besides, weren't you working on that drug dealer case before?"

Before Zhao Fusheng went to South Korea, Jiang Wen had confidently said he would turn the drug dealer case into a script.

Now he had come up with another script.

If it were anyone else but Jiang Wen, Zhao Fusheng would have snapped at them.

Writing scripts or investing is no joke. Changing a project casually disrupts many people's work, especially for a director of Jiang Wen's caliber. The company has a dedicated team for his projects. If he switches scripts, it means a lot of preliminary work goes to waste.

Seeing Zhao Fusheng's bad expression, Jiang Wen quickly explained, "I've finished that script, but Ye Jing took a liking to it. He wants to find someone to shoot it."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Fusheng frowned, a bit confused. What, Ye Jing looked down on Jiang Wen?

Thinking about their relationship, Zhao Fusheng found it unlikely. If that were the case, he would have heard something.

Although Zhao Fusheng rarely appeared at the company, he had many sources of information. Whether it was old-timers from the Dong Chenxi Bai Jie era at Future Film or newcomers hired later, many middle and senior managers were familiar with him, not to mention Yu Feihong and Fan Baobao.

"He wants to make this film in the style of a big American blockbuster. I've finished the script, and the protagonist follows a personal heroism pattern." Jiang Wen explained to Zhao Fusheng, "The domestic filming team is fine, but as for the director, honestly, I can't guarantee I can shoot the scenes written in the script."

That was true. Jiang Wen was never good at gunfight films.

This was evident from the many works of his that Zhao Fusheng had seen in his previous life. To put it nicely, his films had artistic conception; to put it bluntly, they were just self-indulgence.

Yes, whether it was "Let the Bullets Fly" or "Gone with the Bullets," or "Hidden Man," Old Jiang's filmmaking skills were unquestionably top-notch in China. But when it came to battle scenes...

Heh, "Wolf Warrior 2" was more entertaining than "Let the Bullets Fly."

This was a common problem among domestic directors. In terms of special effects and fight scenes, they focused more on humanistic feelings, including national treasure Zhang.

That's why "Operation Mekong" and "Operation Red Sea" both used directors from Hong Kong, because they were better at shooting such things.

Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses; it's normal.

But since Jiang Wen said that, Zhao Fusheng understood his meaning.

Clearly, Old Jiang also agreed with Ye Jing's idea.

"So you went and made another script yourself?" Zhao Fusheng looked at Jiang Wen and asked slowly.

Jiang Wen nodded: "This script is very interesting. I plan to divide it into four stories from the 1950s to the 1980s..."

Damn it!

Zhao Fusheng cursed inwardly.

He knew which film Jiang Wen was talking about—it was "The Sun Also Rises." In the original timeline, it was the film that Jiang Wen used to screw over Yang Shoucheng.

How disastrous was this film?

Initially, Huayi Brothers invested 30 million yuan. But after spending 18 million, Wang Zhongjun discovered that the film wasn't even a third done, yet Old Jiang had already used up two-thirds of the budget. Awkward.

So Huayi decisively pulled out. They were done!

Because of this, Jiang Wen had a big falling out with the Wang brothers. Without the budget, the film was even suspended for a while.

Then, Han Sanping brought in Yang Shoucheng. Emperor Motion Pictures agreed to invest 22 million, demanding priority in box office revenue over Huayi. Huayi reluctantly agreed, having already invested 18 million.

Even worse, after Emperor invested 22 million, the money still wasn't enough. Then Jiang Wu and Zhou Yun each contributed 7-8 million and 4 million respectively.

And Jiang Wen's originally due 10 million yuan in salary was never paid.

Due to the film's expression issues and marketing mistakes, "The Sun Also Rises" grossed only 18 million at the box office. Jiang Wen's first commercially operated art film failed. Production costs alone: Huayi 18 million, Emperor 22 million, Jiang Wu and Zhou Yun 11 million, totaling over 50 million, not including later marketing expenses.

In other words, Old Jiang's film was a complete loss.

And now, this guy had brought the script to him.

Zhao Fusheng felt like saying, "What the fuck," but didn't know if he should.

Jiang Wen was truly a disaster!

Truly a man who could make any investor cry.

But Zhao Fusheng also knew that no matter what he said now, Jiang Wen wouldn't turn back. In his view, this "The Sun Also Rises" was already a compromise to commerce. If Zhao Fusheng spoke rashly, even if they had a good relationship, Old Jiang would probably be unhappy.

Thinking carefully, Zhao Fusheng could understand.

If he directly interfered with Jiang Wen's film and even suggested he not make it,

then in Jiang Wen's eyes, it would be blatant meddling and bossing around.

If word got out, both Jiang Wen's reputation in the circle and his own would suffer.

This was no joke.

Even ten or twenty years later, someone who did that would be despised, hated, or even ostracized.

There are many idioms to describe idiots who like to command and meddle in others' affairs, like 'a dog catching mice' or 'the emperor is not anxious but the eunuch is.'

Zhao Fusheng didn't want to be resented by Jiang Wen.

He was the boss of Future Group, not a low-level employee. Casual talk and loose words would have bad effects and easily lead to misunderstandings.

Why do politicians like to speak in clichés and play it safe? Ultimately, it's not that they don't want to, but that they can't.

Because careless talk brings trouble.

With that in mind, Zhao Fusheng looked at Jiang Wen: "Old Jiang, do you mean to have the company invest?"

In his view, Jiang Wen coming to him was most likely about investment.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Jiang Wen showed an apologetic expression and said a bit sheepishly, "Um, Fusheng, I have a request. Can the company let me find my own investors for this film?"

Hearing this, Zhao Fusheng was almost knocked out by happiness.

Oh my god, God had finally favored him again!