Chapter 0995: The Solution

The hardest thing in the world has never been making mistakes, but admitting them.

Because people are proud; no matter how foolish a person is, deep in their subconscious, they always think they are the smartest and most correct. That's why we see so many seemingly ridiculous stories in history.

Actually, it's not that those people were particularly foolish, but at that moment, they truly believed they were right.

Marking the boat to find a lost sword, climbing a tree to catch a fish, including talking about strategy on paper—all are examples of this principle.

And at this moment, Zhou Kai's words suddenly gave the others in the meeting room that very feeling.

They thought, is this guy crazy?

What kind of damn terrible idea is this—going abroad to find actors and writing a script himself? Does he think this is China Film Group?

No one noticed that after Zhou Kai said that, Bai Jie and Zheng Yao's eyes suddenly lit up.

Zhou Kai's words might have been unintentional, but to them, there was room for maneuver. However, this approach still required someone's cooperation.

So, when Zhao Fusheng arrived at Future Film the next morning, he was greeted by two fierce-looking beauties.

"Hey, what are you two up to?"

Speechless, looking at Bai Jie and Zheng Yao, Zhao Fusheng almost couldn't help laughing—these two rarely looked like this.

"Well, let me apologize first." Bai Jie looked at Zhao Fusheng, full of remorse.

Apologize?

Frowning slightly, Zhao Fusheng was a bit surprised. Apologize for what?

"Because of my decision-making error, the company hasn't received any scripts for the past three months. As the general manager, I am responsible, so I hope you can punish me." Bai Jie said sincerely.

Zheng Yao didn't say anything, but her meaning was clear—this was a decision made after discussion with Bai Jie.

After all, this time Future Film had indeed suffered losses due to Bai Jie's decision-making error.

But no one expected that after hearing Bai Jie's words, Zhao Fusheng waved his hand: "Come on, let's talk business. Why punish you for no reason?"

Huh?

Bai Jie and Zheng Yao were both stunned, looking at Zhao Fusheng in confusion, not understanding what he meant.

Zhao Fusheng walked inside, shrugged, and said indifferently: "Even I was fooled. If Old Jiang hadn't brought up Ye Jing's matter, I wouldn't have thought of it either. So should I be punished too?"

Zheng Yao and Bai Jie exchanged glances, not expecting Zhao Fusheng to take the blame himself.

Actually, this was Zhao Fusheng's true feeling.

From start to finish, Zhao Fusheng didn't think Bai Jie and the others bore much responsibility. Their only mistake might have been not discovering the company's problems in time.

As for the rest, in Zhao Fusheng's view, it had nothing to do with them. The one who truly made the wrong decision was himself.

At the beginning, when Future Advertising first ventured into the film industry, it was he who first dragged Bai Jie and Dong Chenxi into investing in movies, which led to Bai Jie and others persisting in film investment even during the Future Film period, making them targets of others.

So if anyone was to be held accountable, it should be him.

Although he was the boss, Zhao Fusheng felt that if it was his responsibility, he should admit it without hiding.

Making a mistake himself but letting subordinates take the fall while putting on a magnanimous act—Zhao Fusheng could never do such a thing.

To be precise, his skin wasn't that thick.

Entering the company and arriving at the general manager's office, Zhao Fusheng smiled at Zheng Yao and Bai Jie: "Let's not beat around the bush. Tell me, what are you planning?"

Since they called him out from home, it meant Bai Jie and Zheng Yao had already come up with a solution.

They weren't surprised he guessed that. Nodding, Zheng Yao looked at Bai Jie, signaling her to speak.

"After our research, we decided that if no one submits scripts to us, we'll find our own scripts, invest, and then shoot them."

Bai Jie looked at Zhao Fusheng and said slowly.

Frowning, Zhao Fusheng was clearly not satisfied with Bai Jie's answer: "I think you should know that under the current circumstances, if we invest ourselves, money isn't the problem—people are. Moreover, how can you guarantee the quality of the scripts?"

But the next second, he saw Bai Jie and Zheng Yao both staring at him.

Blinking, Zhao Fusheng smiled wryly: "You two aren't thinking of using me, are you?"

"Why not?" Bai Jie shrugged: "Don't forget, you've written scripts before, and they had high box office. You can't deny that, can you?"

"Yeah, and this is your company. Now that it's in trouble, are you, the boss, going to stand by?" Zheng Yao chimed in.

Clearly, the two had discussed this beforehand; otherwise, they couldn't have coordinated so perfectly.

"Alas, it's all my fault. If I had discovered this problem earlier, I wouldn't have had to trouble Fusheng." Bai Jie sighed, looking guilty as she sat there.

"How can you say that? Didn't Fusheng say it himself? Even he didn't notice this issue, let alone you." Zheng Yao quickly comforted her: "Besides, I didn't spot it in advance either. If we're talking about responsibility, we all share it."

Zhao Fusheng looked at Zheng Yao and Bai Jie speechlessly, and after a long while said: "Come on, you two, do you have to do this? Putting on a double act for me, aren't you?"

Bai Jie and Zheng Yao exchanged smiles, and Zheng Yao said: "The double act is for the good of the company. Can you bear to see the company in trouble?"

Knowing full well these two women were playing him, Zhao Fusheng had to sigh and say: "So you think this solves the problem?"

Bai Jie shook her head: "Of course not. Do you think a good script alone is enough to make a good film? The rest—directors, actors, and the behind-the-scenes team—that's the real challenge."

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, not expecting Bai Jie to know this.

Or perhaps, she hadn't realized so much before, but now she was speaking with authority. It seemed yesterday's meeting had been quite productive.

Seeing that Zhao Fusheng seemed impressed by her eloquence, Bai Jie felt a little proud and smiled: "So after our discussion, we thought that since someone is secretly causing trouble in the domestic market, why not take a different path and invest in filming abroad?"

Abroad?

Stunned, Zhao Fusheng was quite surprised, or rather, a bit confused.

If Bai Jie and Zheng Yao's conclusion was to poach talent on a large scale, using money to buy a complete production team, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't be surprised. Or if they said they planned to promote some newcomers or those overlooked in the industry, he would find that normal.

But they actually said they wanted to go abroad to make films, opening a new battlefield—that surprised Zhao Fusheng.

Life is indeed full of surprises.

Even Zhao Fusheng himself hadn't thought of this answer during his several simulations at home.

And now, it was proposed by Zheng Yao and Bai Jie.

This showed that they had really thought it through; otherwise, they wouldn't have come up with the idea of using foreign production teams to shoot movies or TV series.

"Tell me more in detail." Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and said to Bai Jie.

Regardless, since it had been approved by Zheng Yao and brought before him, it meant Bai Jie's plan had Zheng Yao's endorsement.

And Zhao Fusheng also felt that a plan painstakingly devised by the collective wisdom of Future Film must have its merits.

Although most of the time truth is in the hands of a few, that doesn't mean the majority can't have good ideas.

"It's like this: after discussion, we think that if you can come up with an excellent script—whether for a movie or a TV series—we can go to Hong Kong or Taiwan, find a well-known director, and produce a co-production." Bai Jie said seriously.

Co-production?

Zhao Fusheng was instantly stunned. Honestly, when he heard those three words, he thought he had misheard, but looking at Bai Jie and Zheng Yao's expressions, he confirmed he hadn't.

There was a reason for his surprise.

People in the film industry and audiences view a movie or TV series from different perspectives.

Audiences focus on the plot and actors; industry insiders look at the producer, director, and screenwriter—these three are key to a project's success, while actors are less important.

Whether the work makes the actor or the actor makes the work is a difficult topic to clarify.

But in the industry, it's generally believed that the work makes the actor.

As long as the producer has means, the director has ability, and the script is outstanding, actors can be chosen freely. To put it bluntly, whoever you promote becomes popular; actors are just workers on an assembly line.

Often, it's said that a certain actor was made famous by a certain director, rarely that a certain director was made famous by a certain actor.

This is the view of most behind-the-scenes film and TV production staff, highlighting their importance.

Of course, actors also play an invaluable role in movies and TV series, especially those with good acting skills, who can elevate the quality of the work. The two are complementary.

But ultimately, without a good script and director, no matter how good the actor, there's no place to use their talent.

For example, an actor of Chen Dao's caliber, an award-winning actor, has also acted in many bad films—not because his acting was poor, but because the script and director's level were too low. Even an award-winning actor couldn't carry those lousy teammates.

Another example is Liang @Eye-Killer @Real-Sword @Lust-Caution @Zhaowei, who also acted in a bunch of bad films for a while, even with a bunch of traffic stars—it didn't help. The reason is the same.

And in this era, most people think that the level in Hong Kong and Taiwan is much higher than on the mainland.

If they followed Bai Jie's line of thinking, this matter might indeed have room for maneuver.