Chapter 1820 The Old Pro

Both Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen knew that the main purpose of his approach was to attract talented supporting actors.

You see, *The Bullet* was a blend of art film and commercial film.

The combination of Zhao Fusheng's idea and Jiang Wen's script was itself an experiment.

More importantly, in the script, the women's roles were few, and most scenes needed male actors to carry them.

In such a situation, a mediocre vase actress had no place.

Therefore, both Jiang Wen and Zhao Fusheng had only one requirement for the actors in this film.

That was acting skill—it had to be top-notch, they had to be skilled performers.

What does 'skilled performer' mean?

Simply put, they had to at least be able to hold up their own role.

That was no easy task.

For an actor to transform from a newcomer to a skilled performer required more than just one or two films of training.

For example, why did Hong Kong produce such good actors in the 1970s, 80s, and even mid-90s, so that even years later, people like Gu Tianle, Andy Lau, and Damian Lau still propped up Hong Kong cinema?

The reason was simple: when these people debuted, it was precisely the heyday of Hong Kong cinema sweeping across Asia. At that time, there were films being shot almost every day in Hong Kong, and actors were so busy they even had to eat and sleep in their cars.

As an actor, having so many opportunities to take on roles and hone one's acting skills was undoubtedly a very fortunate thing.

In this process, those with talent naturally made progress. Those without talent, as long as they worked hard, could also gain something.

So we can see that the Chinese-language film circle of that era was dazzling with stars, even dominating Chinese-language cinema for the next twenty years.

Of course, some eventually faded into obscurity, and among them were actors who often appeared in films in later generations.

Sometimes the media would call them 'old pros,' but that was actually a very absurd judgment.

It wasn't that acting in many films and becoming a familiar face made you an old pro; such people could also be called 'film slickers.'

A true old pro was a supporting actor who could carry a film. For example, Secretary Da Kang in *Wolf Warrior 2* and Secretary Gao in *In the Name of the People*—they were both old pros.

They were people who truly made you remember the characters they played.

Of course, that didn't mean the young idols were completely useless. In the age of traffic media, these people had no chance to hone their acting skills. Their backers, agencies, and even agents only pushed them to attend various events, secure endorsements, and make money.

As for whether they themselves improved, no one cared.

Thus, the term 'traffic' gradually became a joke in the entertainment industry.

Yes, a joke.

Didn't they really want to shed the traffic label?

Of course they did.

But the problem was, some things weren't up to them.

They wanted to, but the issue was that aside from that, they had no representative works, no opportunity to hone their acting or singing skills. They couldn't even compare to those assembly-line trainees from Korea—at least those were systematically trained 'products,' while they were just traffic figures pushed onto the stage by their backers.

A few years later, no one would remember such a traffic idol, because everyone knew that fans were the most prone to jumping ship.

Of course, among the traffic stars, there were also smart ones who were trying to transform in their own ways. The 'pond master' acted in Wu Jing's film for a mere one million yuan and explicitly stated that Wu Jing handled *Wolf Warrior* while he handled '2,' all to shed his固有的 image.

And Li Yifeng, his performance in *Animal World* was also refreshing, truly breaking away from his past image.

People progress, that was beyond doubt.

For Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen, they certainly wouldn't allow so-called 'young idols' in their crew.

So how to choose old pros became a troublesome matter.

That was why Zhao Fusheng's idea interested Jiang Wen.

…

…

"You two, what are you chatting about so happily?"

Zhou Yun and Fan Baobao happened to come out and, seeing Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen chatting so cheerfully, asked casually.

"Nothing much, just talking about the film."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and explained to Fan Baobao: "How about it, want to eat out?"

"No need."

Zhou Yun shook her head: "I think eating at home is fine too. It's just us."

With just a few of them eating, going out wasn't really interesting.

"Alright."

The others nodded and decided to eat at home.

At the dinner table, Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen talked about the new film. Fan Baobao looked at Zhou Yun with envy: "Hey, I don't have the time, otherwise I'd definitely join."

She really loved acting, and having the chance to work with three Best Actors—tsk, just thinking about it was a delight.

With that thought, she shot Zhao Fusheng a glare.

Zhao Fusheng was speechless, feeling the timing was a bit awkward.

Zhou Yun chuckled and said to Fan Baobao: "When the film starts shooting, if you have time, you can visit me on set."

"How would I have time..."

Fan Baobao smiled bitterly: "Think about it, by the time the film starts shooting, I'll have just given birth. By the time the film is released, my second child will only be one. How would I have time to visit you?"

Thinking of this, she glared at Zhao Fusheng again.

Zhao Fusheng looked completely innocent, feeling terribly wronged.

Why was she glaring at him for no reason?

"Men..."

Zhou Yun sneered, then glanced at Jiang Wen.

Old Jiang was also stunned.

The two kindred spirits exchanged a look and neither dared to speak.

Heh, they were both smart.

After dinner, Jiang Wen and Zhou Yun stayed a while longer, then took their leave.

Fan Baobao and Li Yuan took Fan Beibei for a walk in the neighborhood, but Zhao Fusheng didn't join them. Instead, he sat alone at home, starting to review the documents sent by the company.

As the chairman of Future Group, although Zhao Fusheng rarely involved himself in company management, when it came to major company matters, each subsidiary would send documents to him for review.

Usually, Zhao Fusheng just glanced at them.

If you employ someone, don't doubt them; if you doubt them, don't employ them. Since he chose to delegate power to the subsidiaries, he had to trust them. No matter what decisions they made, as long as they thought it was reasonable, Zhao Fusheng rarely interfered.

Of course, unless it involved something from Zhao Fusheng's past life memories, he might offer guidance based on certain things he remembered.

Other than that, Zhao Fusheng basically didn't meddle.

"Time really flies."

Looking at the financial report data, Zhao Fusheng was silent for a long time.

Sometimes he himself wondered how Future Group had quietly grown to such an extent.

"Could it be that I'm really the Chosen One?"

Just as this absurd thought popped into his mind, Zhao Fusheng nipped it in the bud.

What a joke, this wasn't a fantasy novel.

With a sigh, Zhao Fusheng refocused on the documents before him. He was starting to understand Ma Xiaoyun a bit—what he disliked most might really be money.

Because making money was no longer a goal for him; it had become a daily routine.

No matter what job, you might love it at first, but over time, you grow tired of it.

Just like Zhao Fusheng now.