Chapter 0626: Best Actress

"According to your plan, this is the first domestic New Year film."

Ye Jing looked at Zhao Fusheng and said seriously.

Hmm?

Zhao Fusheng was startled, then remembered that in this world there was no Wang Shuo, no Feng Xiaogang, and naturally no concept of a New Year film.

New Year films originated and became popular in Hong Kong. Starting in the 1980s, at the end of each year, some stars from the Hong Kong entertainment circle would spontaneously come together to shoot a few lively, joyous films for the audience without pay.

Most of these films were named after auspicious phrases like "Gong Xi Fa Cai," "Family Happiness," or "Fu Lu Shou Xi," and their content generally met two criteria: first, they were comedies; second, they had a relatively happy ending. In 1995, Jackie Chan's "Rumble in the Bronx" was the first film imported to the mainland under the label "New Year film," and its box office revenue that year was second only to the Hollywood blockbuster "True Lies."

In Zhao Fusheng's original history, in 1998, Feng Xiaogang made the mainland's first New Year film, "The Dream Factory," which opened the mainland New Year film market. The film won three major awards at that year's Hundred Flowers Awards: Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Feature Film.

The box office success of "The Dream Factory" sparked a New Year film war in the following years: more and more New Year films were produced each year, and more renowned directors joined the ranks of those directing them. Among them, the most influential and highest-grossing was "Be There or Be Square," shot in the US in 1999 by the Forbidden City Film Company, specially inviting Feng Xiaogang.

And it must be said that Hong Kong is the best place for creating entertainment myths. The emergence and growth of New Year films in Hong Kong not only created a domestic film season but also provided a new development opportunity for domestic cinema. Now, looking back at the formation and development of Hong Kong New Year films, many film bigwigs grew up alongside them.

Indeed, the post-80s and post-90s generations grew up watching New Year films.

And now, Zhao Fusheng suddenly realized that he seemed to be about to become the first person to try something new.

"Really?" He looked at Yu Feihong and Jiang Wen with a hint of doubt.

Because it was a parallel world, he himself knew very little about the entertainment industry. In fact, Zhao Fusheng hadn't even thought about making any film similar to those from his previous life.

But since he knew that Wang Shuo and Feng Xiaogang didn't exist in this world, he had come up with the idea for "The Dream Factory." As for the plot, Zhao Fusheng had mostly incorporated various jokes from later times.

For example, the famous "Back View" gag, and jokes about getting a haircut.

Also, the phrase "Seeing your handwriting is like seeing you in person" was written in by Zhao Fusheng.

Now, Ye Jing's words suddenly made Zhao Fusheng realize that he had inadvertently created a piece of history.

To be fair, no one dislikes being admired. Even a time traveler like Zhao Fusheng enjoys being looked up to.

"Since that's the case, let's make this film a good one." After all, with his mental age, Zhao Fusheng quickly calmed down after the initial surprise and said to Jiang Wen and Yu Feihong.

Jiang Wen nodded. Yu Feihong, however, was startled and looked at Zhao Fusheng in confusion: "What does it have to do with me?"

Zhao Fusheng laughed: "Sister, this is my first time seriously making a film. If you don't be my leading lady, who will?"

Leading lady...

Yu Feihong was dumbfounded. It wasn't that she had never acted before, but the problem was that she had always played serious dramas with more emotional scenes. A comedy? What the hell?

If it weren't Zhao Fusheng saying this, if anyone else had told her to act in a comedy, Yu Feihong would have turned and left without a second thought. What a joke.

Even so, she looked at Zhao Fusheng with an absurd expression and said, "Are you kidding?"

Zhao Fusheng blinked: "Sister, do I look like someone who's kidding? Seriously, you're the leading lady in this film."

Yu Feihong was completely at a loss. She looked at Jiang Wen for help, only to find him grinning mischievously, looking utterly indifferent.

"Old Jiang, you..." Yu Feihong was furious, pointing at Jiang Wen, unable to speak.

Jiang Wen shrugged: "Actually, I'd really like to see how you act in a comedy."

Yu Feihong's image in "Hand in Hand" was too deeply ingrained in people's minds. Now having a chance to change her acting style, Jiang Wen meant well for her.

Of course, Jiang Wen wouldn't say that he really wanted to see what Yu Feihong looked like when she dropped her dignified and virtuous facade.

Seeing the two of them playing off each other, Yu Feihong looked helpless and resigned: "Fine, I'll act. But I have one condition."

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, then laughed: "Whatever condition you have, go talk to the producer. I'm not handling that."

With that, he pointed at Jiang Wen: "Let me introduce you. This is the producer of our film, Teacher Jiang Wen."

"Please take care of me."

Jiang Wen, showing great respect, cupped his hands toward Yu Feihong, making her both amused and exasperated.

"But seriously, don't worry about the pay. If you join, we'll make sure the price satisfies you." Jiang Wen said with a smile. "In this film, you and Ge You are the biggest names, so you'll get the highest pay. As for the rest, I'll personally invite them. It probably won't cost much."

He was planning to mobilize all his connections. After all, this was the first film he collaborated on with Zhao Fusheng. The previous one, "Devils on the Doorstep," didn't count; it was merely a bridge for them to get to know each other.

"What about the investment?" Since she agreed to be the leading lady, Yu Feihong naturally wanted to know about the film's investment. In filmmaking, the worst thing was to run out of money halfway through, which would be awkward.

"Huayi will invest some, I'll invest some myself, and Fusheng said he can also get a portion." Jiang Wen replied.

"Future Advertising?"

Yu Feihong and Ye Jing blurted out almost simultaneously.

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "President Zheng told me she plans to get into the film production industry. As you know, at Future Advertising, my words carry some weight."

Everyone laughed together. Although none of them knew he was a major shareholder in Future Advertising, given his status as the chief advertising designer, they all knew that any suggestion Zhao Fusheng made, Zheng Yao would agree to.

After all, Future Advertising's current scale and development were all thanks to Zhao Fusheng's efforts alone.

"By the way, what's your condition?" Jiang Wen suddenly remembered Yu Feihong's earlier words and asked casually. In his mind, what condition could Yu Feihong have? Since it was their own film, she was probably just saying it casually.

But unexpectedly, Yu Feihong's next sentence instantly made both Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen's expressions turn strange...