Chapter 1672: 1942

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

The moment they saw him appear, Wang Zhonglei and Wang Zhongjun were visibly surprised, never expecting Zhao Fusheng to show up.

"Long time no see, Bosses Wang."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and greeted the two Wangs.

He always maintained an approachable demeanor, not changing with his increasing wealth. Instead, it was those around him who gradually grew distant because of his rising fortune.

But Zhao Fusheng understood that these people were not his friends; they were only connected to him through interests. Now that his status had changed, their attitudes naturally had to shift as well.

Often, this was a very interesting thing.

You yourself didn't want to change anything, but relative to certain people, they unconsciously wanted to change.

"Hello, Chairman Zhao."

"Chairman Zhao, long time no see."

The Wang brothers exchanged a glance. Though surprised, they still warmly greeted Zhao Fusheng, and Wang Zhonglei even gave him a hug.

After all, Huayi and Future Group had no conflict of interest.

Moreover, due to their previous cooperation, Future Film and Huayi Brothers were, in a sense, partners.

With this relationship, at least for now, the Wang brothers and Zhao Fusheng, despite their unequal status, were not enemies.

"And this is?"

Looking at a middle-aged man standing next to the Wang brothers, Zhao Fusheng found it odd. "He looks familiar..."

"Hello, Chairman Zhao. I'm Liu Yun, a writer."

The middle-aged man said respectfully to Zhao Fusheng.

"Liu Yun?"

Zhao Fusheng frowned. He seemed to recall that this person was quite famous.

"Teacher Liu Yun has many renowned works. Huayi is very interested in his works and plans to adapt one this time," Wang Zhonglei introduced to Zhao Fusheng.

"So, you're looking for Old Jiang?" Zhao Fusheng was somewhat surprised.

"Yes, that's right. We plan to invite Old Jiang to direct Teacher Liu Yun's work 'Remembering 1942,'" Wang Zhongjun said directly, without hiding their intention.

"'Remembering 1942'?" Hearing the name, Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, then recalled that this should be the film about the great famine of 1942.

"Yes, that's right."

Wang Zhongjun looked at Zhao Fusheng and slowly said, "This is a work with deep meaning. We plan to..."

Then he went on and on, essentially about how excellent the novel was and how, given the chance, Huayi would definitely make the film in a certain way.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and sat there without saying anything.

To be honest, he neither liked nor disliked this film. Zhao Fusheng had passed the age of being hot-blooded; he wouldn't judge something based on a film's promotion.

His thinking was simple: a commercial film is a commercial film. No matter how it's dressed up, in the end, as long as it's a commercial film, the goal is to make money.

So in his previous life, Zhao Fusheng wasn't really fond of Xiao Gangpao. That guy always liked to sneak in his personal opinions in films, as if audiences who didn't like his movies were unforgivable.

But in fact, that was nonsense.

After all, since it's a commercial film, it has commercial purposes. Even a mainstream film hopes to profit at the box office.

Xiao Gangpao's films, whether '1942' or 'Pan Jinlian,' or 'Fanghua,' all smuggled in personal opinions, and that was actually quite off-putting.

Or rather, at some point, Huayi's path had gone astray.

"The work is good."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and exchanged a glance with Jiang Wen. Before Jiang Wen could say anything, Zhao Fusheng spoke: "But I'm sorry, Future Film is launching a new project early next year. Old Jiang is not only the director but also the lead actor. He's also the deputy general manager of Future Film and needs to attend to company matters, so..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear: this time, Jiang Wen couldn't cooperate with Huayi.

"New project?"

Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei were stunned, looking at Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen in surprise.

But judging from Jiang Wen's expression, he didn't find Zhao Fusheng's words strange. It seemed that Zhao Fusheng wasn't making things up.

After all, if Zhao Fusheng were deliberately refusing them, Jiang Wen would have shown surprise, not such calmness.

"Chen Daoming should know. I told him that story before," Jiang Wen said happily. He had just discussed 'Bullets' with Zhao Fusheng yesterday, so he was pleased to hear it brought up now.

"Is that so? What a pity," Wang Zhonglei and Wang Zhongjun exchanged a glance and said helplessly.

Since Jiang Wen said Chen Daoming knew about the script, it must be true.

After all, given Jiang Wen and Zhao Fusheng's status, there was no need for them to fabricate such a lie; that would be too low-class.

"If you have financial difficulties, Future Film can invest a portion," Zhao Fusheng said with a light laugh, looking sincerely at the Wang brothers.

"That won't be necessary." Wang Zhongjun didn't speak, but glanced at his brother, and Wang Zhonglei quickly said.

In their view, since Jiang Wen had no time to help shoot or direct, there was naturally no need to bring Future Film into the investment.

"Alright."

Zhao Fusheng wasn't angry either. He nodded and said nothing more.

After sitting a while longer and chatting about the film, the Wang brothers and Liu Yun finally rose to take their leave.

"I never expected they'd ask me to act in a film," Jiang Wen said while eating, addressing Zhao Fusheng.

"Yeah, if we hadn't already decided to launch 'Bullet,' you really could have gone to shoot it."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said lightly.

He didn't really mind; Jiang Wen could act in anyone's film. But the issue was that priorities and closeness mattered. Leaving his own company's film unattended to shoot someone else's was undoubtedly a wrong choice.

"How would I have the time..."

Old Jiang shook his head helplessly and sighed: "Ye Jing called and said Marvel is preparing to start 'Iron Man 2.' If he doesn't come back, I'll have to handle the company's affairs, so naturally I won't have time to act."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and nodded: "Now you know how hard he works."

"It's tough for everyone." Sighing, Zhao Fusheng said.

Jiang Wen deeply agreed. They say you don't know the price of firewood and rice until you run the household; only now did he understand the meaning of that saying.

...

...

After the Wang brothers returned, they quickly found Chen Daoxing and inquired about the truth of what Zhao Fusheng had said. They indeed got the answer they wanted.

Chen Daoxing indicated that Jiang Wen had indeed discussed a script with him, one that he and Zhao Fusheng had been preparing for several years.

Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei immediately took this unstarted film seriously.

After all, Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen hadn't teamed up in a long time, and now they were jointly creating a new film. Although they had confidence in Liu Yun's work, the Wang brothers still hoped not to go head-to-head with Future Film.

After all, when two tigers fight, one is bound to get hurt.

Zhao Fusheng held the same idea and instructed Jiang Wen to stagger the release schedule with Huayi.

"I heard the Wang brothers went to see Chen Daoxing?"

At Zhao Fusheng's home, he said while eating fruit to Jiang Wen.

After the Wang brothers asked him, Chen Daoxing still called Jiang Wen. After all, they were all in the same circle; some things didn't need to be hidden.

Moreover, given Jiang Wen's current status, Chen Daoxing had no need to conceal anything from the Wang brothers.

Of course, if Jiang Wen were not doing well, he probably wouldn't have called him.

Sucking up to the powerful and turning on the weak—this is common in the entertainment industry.

"Yeah, they sounded out Old Chen's opinion; looks like they intend to cast him," Jiang Wen nodded, not hiding it from Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Do you think Old Chen could act in our film?"

"No."

Jiang Wen shook his head directly, without hesitation: "He's not suitable."

As a professional director, Old Jiang had a say in this matter. Since he said he wasn't suitable, then he definitely wasn't.

"Alright then, do you have anyone in mind?" Zhao Fusheng casually asked Jiang Wen.

"What do you think of Fa Ge?"

Jiang Wen was silent for a moment, then suddenly said to Zhao Fusheng.

"Fa Ge?"

Zhao Fusheng was startled, then nodded: "No problem; his image and acting skills are both fine."

He certainly had no objections; in the original history, Fa Ge had acted in this film.

"And then..."

"I haven't decided yet." Hearing Zhao Fusheng's question, Jiang Wen shook his head, looking uncertain.

That was his honest thought. Although the script idea came from Zhao Fusheng, the detailed work was done by Jiang Wen. He knew every role in the script by heart.

But the problem was that each character had its own traits, and Jiang Wen didn't want to casually confirm an actor for any role; he needed to think it over more.

"Then take your time."

Zhao Fusheng laughed, unconcerned. His expectations for this film were more about the plot; he didn't really care about the actors.

The reason was simple: Jiang Wen's eye was there; he had a knack for selecting actors.

"You really won't get involved?"

Jiang Wen was very surprised by Zhao Fusheng's words. He had originally thought Zhao Fusheng would give him some advice on this matter, after all, this was a blockbuster with an investment of over a hundred million. If something went wrong, even Future Film would take a big hit.

"You're the director, lead actor, and producer. Why should I meddle so much?" Zhao Fusheng shrugged and smiled: "Let me make it clear: you have no salary, only a share of the profits. If the film doesn't do well, you won't get a cent."

At that moment, Jiang Wen felt that Zhao Fusheng's smile was very sly.