Chapter 2118: A Little Suggestion

Zhao Fusheng really had no good feelings toward the United States.

In later generations, many people liked to boast about a sentence on the US passport, roughly meaning that no matter where you are, the United States of America will be your solid backing.

In fact, that was just some people talking nonsense.

On the actual passport, there was no such content.

But there were always fools who believed it.

After years of isolation, some of our citizens naively thought that foreign monks could chant sutras better, and that the moon abroad was rounder than in China.

When it came to anything involving foreign countries, they unhesitatingly sided with them.

Yet they completely forgot where their roots as descendants of the Yan and Huang emperors lay.

This country might have this or that shortcoming, but no matter what, it is our motherland.

Zhao Fusheng understood this better than anyone.

Because in his previous life, he had lived through it.

Although it must be said that sometimes China indeed had many deficiencies, that could not become a reason for some people not to love their country.

But that was digressing.

Kevin Feige's explanation, in Zhao Fusheng's eyes, ultimately passed muster.

Not because of his eloquence, but because Zhao Fusheng knew very well that what Kevin Feige said was all true.

Marvel's market direction was not wrong.

The real problem lay in their choice of superheroes.

"Zhao, please believe me, Marvel still has hope."

Kevin Feige looked at Zhao Fusheng and said seriously.

To be honest, Kevin Feige was now truly afraid of this Eastern man.

Back then, he had unhesitatingly sold Twitter, a business worth over three billion dollars, and sold it without any hesitation.

Now Evan Williams was working hard to build Twitter into the second Facebook, claiming he would make that Eastern man regret it.

But anyone with discerning eyes knew that Twitter could never catch up to Facebook.

"Kevin, I hope you won't disappoint me again."

Zhao Fusheng looked at Kevin Feige with a serious expression and said slowly, "I have always recognized your abilities, but what disappoints me is that you have never clearly understood this. 'Iron Man' clearly had great box office results, so why didn't you start production on the second part as soon as possible, instead going to make 'The Incredible Hulk'? Are the people on the board a bunch of idiots? If they won't listen, then I'll go cooperate with Disney, and we'll acquire Marvel together!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Kevin Feige's face changed instantly.

Disney had always harbored ambitions for the entire Marvel. If Zhao Fusheng entered Marvel to make money and had little interest in managing Marvel, Disney was different.

Having cooperated with Disney before, Kevin Feige knew very well that according to Disney's plan, once they became a major shareholder of Marvel, the entire Marvel would undergo a purge.

The principle of 'a new emperor brings new ministers' applied not only in China but also in the United States.

And if Zhao Fusheng and Disney joined forces...

Even just imagining that scene made Kevin Feige shudder.

"Respected Zhao, if you do that, can you guarantee that Kevin and I will still stay at Marvel and continue making movies according to our ideas?"

Just then, Jon Favreau, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke.

He was a fat man, sitting there like a big lucky doll, but his words made Kevin Feige's soul flee in terror.

Was this guy crazy?

How dare he say that!

Zhao Fusheng suddenly laughed upon hearing this, glanced at Jon Favreau, and said, "Mr. Favreau, I'd like to know, do you and Mr. Feige have any plans?"

"Very simple. We plan to integrate 'Iron Man' with several other superheroes to make a series of movies." Jon Favreau looked at Zhao Fusheng and said seriously, "But unfortunately, the board didn't agree with our approach."

After all, Zhao Fusheng rarely intervened in matters here, so he was unaware of the board's decisions.

"Okay."

Zhao Fusheng laughed.

Wasn't this exactly what Marvel did in later generations?

Except at that time, Marvel's boss was Disney.

But it had to be said, this was precisely the foundation of Marvel's success. Marvel spent ten years building the structure of the Avengers, with various spin-off movies and the shaping of actor images. Without exaggeration, the entire Marvel universe became known to fans worldwide precisely because of the Avengers series.

Even Zhao Fusheng, who didn't pay much attention to the foreign film industry, knew Marvel's reputation.

That was the concept of IP.

"Really?"

Jon Favreau looked at Zhao Fusheng with surprise. He really hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to agree so readily. Shouldn't he have asked for more details?

Was this guy plotting something bad in his mind?

Before he could voice his doubts, Zhao Fusheng smiled and said, "But I have a condition."

"Go ahead."

Looking at Zhao Fusheng, Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige asked almost in unison.

No matter what, if Zhao Fusheng really agreed to their idea, let alone one condition, even ten conditions could be accepted.

Where else could they find such a wealthy major shareholder who wouldn't interfere in company management?

Zhao Fusheng chuckled, "I hope to designate a few people to play the superhero roles."

"What?"

Kevin Feige and Jon Favreau's expressions changed slightly, their faces turning strange.

The request Zhao Fusheng made could be big or small.

On the big side, the producer intervening in actor selection was troublesome. After all, if the actors Zhao Fusheng designated had poor acting skills or caused problems, they would have to bear the responsibility.

But on the small side, this was actually quite normal in the film and television industry.

In this circle, investors were the bosses, the ancestors. Not to mention designating a few roles, even if they directly interfered in casting, they would have to obediently listen.

So, even knowing that Zhao Fusheng's request was somewhat demanding, they still had to endure it.

"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you."

Zhao Fusheng laughed and said to Kevin Feige and Jon Favreau.

He knew these two must be overthinking, assuming he planned to interfere in the production. In fact, they underestimated him.

"What I mean is that Marvel should try to ensure that the actors playing superheroes are not changed casually."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said lightly, "For example, if Black Widow is Scarlett Johansson, it's best if she stays. If Iron Man is Robert Downey Jr., it's best if he stays."

He paused and shrugged, "Of course, if one day their salaries get too high, that's when they exit the Marvel universe. What do you think?"

Hearing this, not only Kevin Feige and Jon Favreau but also Liu Yiming, who had been sitting nearby, was stunned.

What was this?

What was the boss trying to do?

Liu Yiming had no idea what to say. His boss's move was too bizarre.

But on second thought, Zhao Fusheng's words seemed to make some sense.

Not only him, but Kevin Feige and Jon Favreau also remained silent, heads down, thinking about something.

Zhao Fusheng's statement, at first glance, seemed casual and insignificant, but upon reflection, it made one think of many things.

For a long time, the salaries of European and American stars had far exceeded those in China.

Many Chinese netizens often complained about the high salaries of domestic artists, but they didn't understand the salaries of foreign stars.

For example, in the Avengers series, Robert Downey Jr.'s salary had already reached over twenty million dollars early on. By the time of Avengers 4, the reason the studio chose to kill off Iron Man was not due to the so-called sacrificial spirit touted by online self-media.

That was all nonsense made up by idiot self-media to attract viewers' attention and sell nostalgia.

The real reason was that Robert Downey Jr.'s salary was too high!

So high that they couldn't afford it, because if a movie flopped at the box office, that salary alone could make Marvel lose everything.

Under such circumstances, if he didn't die, who would?

Of course, this couldn't be said publicly. The superheroes who died in Avengers 4 happened to be the ones who had been with the Avengers from the beginning, and also the highest-paid ones.

How deep the waters were, one could figure out by thinking carefully.

But many people were willing to buy into the nostalgia, so there was nothing to be done.

Self-media needed to attract viewers' attention, and the studios wanted to promote this way.

A popcorn movie was hyped as a nostalgic masterpiece; it was tough for Chinese media workers.

But there was no choice, because Chinese movie fans ate it up.

Or rather, modern internet marketing was all about this routine.

Selling nostalgia, grabbing attention, making shocking statements.

That was the most realistic ecology of China's internet entertainment industry ten years later.

If you couldn't do that, then sorry, there was no place for you in this circle.