Chapter 1443: Gossip

"The entertainment industry has been quite lively lately," Zhao Fusheng said, taking a sip of tea, smiling at Jiang Wen.

Although he spent most of his time at home and occasionally went to the company, because of Fan Baobao, Zhao Fusheng still knew a bit about what was happening in the entertainment industry.

It must be said that the entertainment industry in 2006 was already beginning to show the rudiments of later years.

At the beginning of the year, "My Own Swordsman" became a hit, and the style of spoofing began to be widely known.

Of course, no one knew what path the actors who shot to fame with this drama would later take, nor did anyone know that the screenwriter Ning Caishen would later be despised by the public for drug use.

Speaking of this, when he first registered his online nickname, he originally intended to call himself "Ning Caichen," but that famous lovesick scholar who fell in love with the famous female ghost Xiaoqian had already been taken by someone else. Considering that in Cantonese, Ning Caichen sounds like Ning Caishen, he ended up with this nickname.

Everyone has the right to choose their own life. Since he doesn't regret what he once did, it can only be said that he has his own style.

At the same time, in the capital, the little chubby guy, leading Uncle Yu, who was willing to smoke, drink, and perm his hair for the Guo family for generations, also began their path to fame. Zhao Fusheng had previously gone with Fan Baobao to watch his performances in small theaters, and they were quite interesting.

But at this time, he didn't yet have the guts to hit reporters; it would take a few well-known media figures to boost his fame before Old Guo had that courage.

To be honest, Zhao Fusheng sometimes also wanted to beat up those reporters who made things out of nothing and kept pressing people on a topic endlessly, but unfortunately, he didn't have Old Guo's guts.

Of course, it was also because Zhao Fusheng felt there was no need to argue with those idiots.

After all, reporters, sometimes, are not much different from prostitutes.

"Alas, this circle is getting more and more restless," Jiang Wen said, shaking his head helplessly with a sigh upon hearing Zhao Fusheng's words.

"A few days ago, I watched the news. Those talent shows are almost bursting the TV screens. Almost every TV station is doing them. I don't know where so many people come from."

Zhao Fusheng laughed. Old Jiang was right. As Hunan TV's "Super Girl" grew hotter, talent shows like "Dream China," "I Show," and "Cheer Up, Good Man" became increasingly popular.

It must be admitted that some stars did emerge from these talent shows later on, but the problem is that under this uneven mechanism, only a few people actually became famous, while the vast majority eventually returned to obscurity.

But what they wasted was their own youth.

Um, and their family's money.

Of course, many people don't really care about the latter, because youth is about pursuing dreams, heh...

Damn idiots!

What Zhao Fusheng hated most was this kind of behavior that used the banner of pursuing dreams to exploit one's own family.

But unfortunately, it seems that more and more young people nowadays like to talk about dreams, and as for other things, they are not within their consideration.

"What's wrong with TV stations these days?" Jiang Wen said helplessly.

"It's normal," Zhao Fusheng said indifferently, more open-minded than him. "You have to know, TV stations nowadays will do anything for ratings and economic benefits."

Old Jiang couldn't stand this now; if it were ten years later, he would probably be furious.

TV stations' integrity has always been zero.

This was not Zhao Fusheng's alarmism; he knew it clearly.

In later years, various counterfeit and shoddy products were exposed, including medicines. Did the TV stations really know nothing about the tricks behind them?

Things like Quanjian and Cao Qinghua were obviously deceptive to anyone with discerning eyes, yet their products were openly advertising on TV stations.

Who would believe there was no trickery behind this?

In his previous life, Zhao Fusheng worked in advertising and knew all the ins and outs too well.

Not to mention anything else, the health product ads broadcast on various TV stations were actually paid for at high prices.

Since the TV stations got the benefits, they naturally turned a blind eye to the content being broadcast.

Even if something went wrong later, it had nothing to do with them. The media, the uncrowned kings, always have some privileges.

"Alas..."

Old Jiang sighed and didn't say anything more.

No one could do anything about this kind of thing. Market economy, market economy. People's material lives are indeed getting richer, but everyone seems to be gradually changing. Not just the social atmosphere, but from the changes in the people around him, Jiang Wen could feel that more and more people were becoming refined egoists.

Sweeping the snow in front of one's own door.

These five words became the motto of many people.

"Alright, don't think too much," Zhao Fusheng said to Jiang Wen with a smile. "Times are developing, many things are changing. You and I are no exception."

This was the truth. People can't always be anxious about gains and losses, because the more you do, the unhappier you become.

In the entertainment industry, there are all kinds of people, but there are no fools.

Even if there are, they will soon be devoured by this circle, or quickly grow into smart people.

So Jiang Wen soon snapped out of it and started chatting with Zhao Fusheng about film-related topics.

Although Zhao Fusheng wasn't very interested in this, and he didn't even agree with many of the ideas Old Jiang talked about, he maintained a respectful attitude toward people with ideals and pursuits, so he was quite willing to chat with Jiang Wen.

You see, although Old Jiang wasn't a master, he was still a top director striving toward the level of a master. No one could deny that.

In his previous life, the reason National Teacher and Kaige were called masters was largely because they constantly tried to express Eastern aesthetics through visual communication in films.

In their eyes, film was a form of expression, carrying what they needed the audience to see.

That's why "The Legend of the Demon Cat" and "Shadow" came into being.

Although box office was one aspect, in terms of artistic pursuit, these two films were at least passable.

Similarly, there were films like "Song of the Phoenix." You could say that such films were not accepted by the market, but you couldn't deny their artistic achievements.

At least in Zhao Fusheng's view, comparing high-box-office entertainment films with such art films was itself an unfair act.

"By the way, that New Star Director Plan you mentioned before—there's a film about to be released. Did you know?" Jiang Wen suddenly remembered something and asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback: "New Star Director Plan?"

Apparently, he had forgotten about it himself.

"Did you forget it yourself?" Seeing Zhao Fusheng's reaction, Jiang Wen couldn't help but laugh. This guy Zhao Fusheng was really a character. This plan to support young directors was something he had proposed to Ye Jing, and Ye Jing implemented it. Now, this guy had completely forgotten about it, even though that director was constantly thanking Zhao Fusheng in the media.

"What are you laughing at?" Zhao Fusheng felt a bit embarrassed and said helplessly to Jiang Wen, "You know, I've been too busy lately."

Jiang Wen laughed heartily and didn't dwell on the issue.

But Zhao Fusheng was now somewhat interested in the New Star Director Plan. It seemed Old Jiang knew quite a bit about it.

"Have you seen that new film you mentioned?"

Zhao Fusheng asked Jiang Wen.

Generally, for new films like this, investors would hold internal screenings. Especially for someone of Jiang Wen's caliber, he would definitely be invited to preview it.

That was probably how he knew about the film; otherwise, why would he tell him?

Jiang Wen didn't hide it and nodded: "That's right. Let me tell you, that director has some skills. I think this film's box office might explode!"

Zhao Fusheng was startled and suddenly became quite interested.