Chapter 0450: Jiang the Pit

Zhao Fusheng could actually understand a bit of Jiang Wen's complaints.

When he had visited the set earlier, the two had exchanged some thoughts about the script for Devils on the Doorstep. Zhao Fusheng had seen with his own eyes how Jiang Wen made extensive notes and revisions to the completed script.

Having witnessed this, he also came to understand what creation was all about.

True creation, whether in music or literature, is actually a long and tedious process.

A flash of inspiration might yield a good idea, giving one a sudden burst of motivation, but turning a work from a rough draft into a finished product requires constant refinement.

It's like an ice sculpture: from a big block of ice at the start to a breathtaking scene, it requires gradual accumulation.

"Tell me, they just spent a bit more money, is it necessary to be so relentless?" Jiang Wen was still chattering on like a child.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled: "Hey, you have to understand them too. At the end of the day, film is a commercial operation."

Jiang Wen fell silent. In fact, he understood what Zhao Fusheng said; he just felt uncomfortable about it.

Moreover, as someone who had been immersed in this circle longer than Zhao Fusheng, Jiang Wen knew very well what the essence of film was.

The essence of film is an art form under commercial behavior. Its entertainment nature determines that most films are made with the original intention of making money.

Unless you set out to record something from the start, what's the point of making a film about folk art, and then crying and shouting for pity marketing because no one watches it?

Exploiting the audience's sympathy?

Even top directors like Wong Kar-wai and Hou Hsiao-hsien, when they first started making films, didn't just pursue their own cinematic art; they also hoped to prove their popularity through box office success.

If you only want to make a niche art film, why bother releasing it? Just keep it for yourself.

In other words, you're happy yourself and want all the audience to be happy with you.

How does that saying go?

Solitude is one person's carnival, while carnival is a crowd's solitude.

But in Wong Kar-wai's world, it's clear that only he is having a carnival. As for others, sorry, most of the time everyone is confused about what he's trying to do.

Not everyone is Tony Leung, and not everyone is Maggie Cheung.

"Old Jiang, in my opinion, you really should control yourself." Seeing Jiang Wen silent, Zhao Fusheng didn't hold back and directly said to Jiang Wen: "Think about it, this film is likely to be banned. Even if you don't consider the present, don't you think about the future?"

Jiang Wen was startled, then understood what Zhao Fusheng meant. In fact, as Zhao Fusheng said, both knew that Devils on the Doorstep was very unlikely to be released domestically. Given the nature of the great SARFT, let alone release, if things got tense, Jiang Wen thought he might follow in the footsteps of many fifth and sixth generation directors and become one of those blacklisted.

"But now we're still short of a large sum for filming. What should I do?" Jiang Wen took a deep breath and said to Zhao Fusheng.

This guy always had good ideas; he felt he could listen to Zhao Fusheng's opinion.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled. "That's easy. How much did you ask for in the report you submitted to Huayi?"

"Ten million," Jiang Wen replied.

Zhao Fusheng sucked in a breath of cold air, thinking to himself that this guy really treated the Wang brothers like fat pigeons to be plucked—thirty million in investment for a film that couldn't possibly be released domestically.

Zhao Fusheng could only tell Jiang Wen that he truly didn't understand the mindset of a spendthrift.

Interestingly enough, the three biggest box-office flop directors from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the mainland—Sunglasses Wong, Hou the Loser, and Jiang Wen—all made films solely for their own satisfaction, with no regard for investors or audiences.

Especially Sunglasses Wong and Hou the Loser, who were known as the two great pitfalls of the directing world in the 1990s.

Is there an inborn hierarchy among kings and nobles?

And now, Jiang Wen seemed to be striving to catch up with his two predecessors.

"What's wrong? Is it too little?" Jiang Wen asked cautiously after a long silence when Zhao Fusheng didn't speak.

Zhao Fusheng blinked, swallowing the curse words that rose to his lips, and really wanted to ask Jiang Wen where he got such confidence.

The thickness of his face was practically comparable to the city wall of Chang'an.

"Brother, it's not too little, it's too much," Zhao Fusheng explained helplessly. "Call President Wang now and say you don't need ten million—ask for five million and you can still make the film. I bet he'll agree."

"Really?" Jiang Wen asked skeptically.

He felt that Zhao Fusheng's words were somewhat unlikely, given that Huayi had reacted strongly to his request for increased investment; the vice president in charge of finance had reportedly even slammed the table in front of Wang Zhongjun.

Now Zhao Fusheng wanted him to ask for five million—would they give it?

Even if this was a retreat in order to advance, it was too obvious.

Zhao Fusheng laughed. He had to admit that Jiang Wen was a smart man, but precisely because he was too smart, he couldn't see the forest for the trees.

For Huayi, Jiang Wen was a kind of banner; they couldn't afford to give him up. So no matter how much it cost to shoot 'Devils on the Doorstep,' Huayi would grit their teeth and agree.

But now they were probably calculating a break-even point. Since 'Devils on the Doorstep' couldn't be released domestically, they could only consider international film festivals and overseas rights. If the film could sell overseas rights, it might recoup costs.

Of course, Chinese films usually didn't fetch high overseas rights—typically capped at one or two million US dollars. Adding miscellaneous income, it probably wouldn't exceed three million US dollars.

Converted to RMB, that would be around twenty-five million.

So Zhao Fusheng told Jiang Wen to abandon the unrealistic ten million and instead propose a request for five million.

In Zhao Fusheng's estimation, Huayi would definitely agree, since Jiang Wen was a good director and a good actor, and quite talented.

The ambitious Wang brothers, eager to make their mark in the film and television industry, would never give up on Jiang Wen.

But these conclusions were reached from Zhao Fusheng's position of foresight, and he couldn't tell Jiang Wen that.

"Don't overthink it. Just make a call and you'll know," Zhao Fusheng said to Jiang Wen.