Generation Z Artists

Chapter 184 Zhang Weiping's Frenzied Attack
Zhang Yimou really got things done; he started targeting Hong Kong and Taiwan employees and actors.

Actually, his reaction wasn't that quick, and he didn't even immediately grasp Fang Xinghe's intention.

It was Zhang Weiping who made the decision.

That day, after ending the call, Mou Zi panicked and immediately went to find Zhang Weiping.

"Oh no, Weiping, it seems Xiao Fang is really going to play in the NBA, so he won't be able to film our movie!"

Zhang Weiping was taken aback, then became anxious.

"What's going on? Can't the filming schedule be discussed later?"

"I don't know. He suddenly called me and spoke incoherently. I said the filming schedule could be adjusted, and he just replied that he was busy now and would talk to me later."

Zhang Weiping's heart skipped a beat: "So, he didn't refuse to die? Could it be because he was dissatisfied with the conditions?"

“No, that won’t do.” Mou Zi was very confident about this matter. “He’s not that kind of person.”

After thinking about it carefully, Zhang Weiping realized that Fang Xinghe's reputation for generosity and righteousness was not something anyone had fabricated; it was based on genuine donations. With a few million in film remuneration, it was hardly worth Zhang Weiping's time to think about it.

"Then let's wait and see if something's wrong."

Do we even need to ask?
Less than 10 minutes later, a colleague called him: "Holy crap, bro, have you heard? Fang Xinghe has turned against the entertainment industry in Hong Kong and is going to unilaterally blacklist the Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment circles!"

"Clam?!"

I was absolutely stunned.

These days, finding video materials from Hong Kong and Taiwan is quite difficult; you have to mail videotapes. But asking a friend in Hong Kong or Taiwan for information is not difficult at all.

Zhang Weiping and Zhang Yimou both have their own connections. As soon as the call was made, the person took the initiative to ask, "Are you trying to find out about Fang Xinghe's matter?"

Mou Zi couldn't help but ask, "Is it exaggerated?"

"That's ridiculous!"

After gathering the information, the two brothers sat there looking at each other for a long time, smoking one cigarette after another.

"This kid is a real troublemaker..."

"What...what should we do?"

Compared to the indecisive Zhang Yimou, Zhang Weiping was extremely decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

"Get it done as soon as possible! I'll go check how many Hong Kong and Taiwanese staff are in the crew, and we'll just get rid of them, won't that solve the problem?"

"It's not that simple!" Mou Zi was extremely annoyed. "Let's put aside the contract issue for now. Our core team includes many people from Hong Kong and Taiwan, who are all friends we've worked with for many years..."

"Why bother with the contract? Pay up if you're owed money, apologize if you're owed an apology!"

Zhang Weiping suddenly looked up, his teeth clenching his cigarette, his eyes fierce.

"Let's quickly sort this out, see who's involved, and then find domestic or international alternatives!"

Mou Zi grinned—but it wasn't a smile; it was more of a bewildered twitch of the corners of his mouth, as if his mind was a complete mess.

If we really follow Zhang Weiping's idea, it would be equivalent to completely severing ties with Hong Kong and Taiwan and standing on the opposite side.

This sounds incredibly simple, but the problem is, the entertainment industries in mainland China and Hong Kong and Taiwan are inextricably linked. Can they really be so easily and brutally severed?
Furthermore, how do we fill the gap in professional behind-the-scenes personnel?
Finally, after so many years of cooperation and shared ideals, are we just going to throw away our friendship?
"Look at you, thinking so much again."

Zhang Weiping felt that the matter wasn't as serious as it seemed.

"This time, we are fully supporting Fang Xinghe and taking care of his feelings, which is why we are not including Hong Kong and Taiwan."

Next time, for our own project, without him, can't we just use whoever we want?

Explain it clearly to your old friends; they'll understand. Fang Xinghe can't possibly care whether you use Hong Kong or Taiwan staff in your next film; there's no reason for that.

This is an exception, and it's also a demonstration of our sincerity that we must show!

Why hesitate to spend millions to hire Fang Xinghe for his first film?

Zhang Weiping has calculated this very clearly.

But Zhang Yimou couldn't understand that he was now a pure idealist who cared about nothing but filming.

Zhang Weiping had to explain in detail and make the matter as transparent as possible.

"If it were a regular feature film, given the current domestic market environment, spending 10 million to hire Fang Xinghe would be a sure thing, with a box office of 40 to 50 million. Sponsorships would definitely be found when organizing the event, and advertising would bring in another 10 million. Making money would be inevitable."

If we give him a salary of 1500 million, the risk is not high. Although the box office ceiling in mainland China is only so high, it sells very well in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. It should not be a problem to cover the total cost of 5000 million.

His maximum salary for commercial feature films is around 2000 million, mainly because this type of film is difficult to enter the European and American markets, and overseas copyrights are not popular.

I've spoken with many production companies, and they've been very proactive in inviting Fang Xinghe, with asking prices generally ranging from 1500 million to 2000 million yuan. The newer a person is, the higher their asking price.

Seriously, who would dare to look down on him for being a newcomer?
But our film is different. It's a period drama, a martial arts film, a blockbuster, and a trip to America. These elements are just right for us. We wouldn't be losing money even if we gave him 4000 million!

Jet Li's salary for "Kiss of the Dragon" was $750 million. With Fang Xinghe's current fan base, global fame, and the added hype of his first action movie, isn't he worth at least $500 million?

But how much money did he ask for when he confirmed the cooperation with us?

500 million RMB!
Even though he's more famous now and should raise his prices, how can he possibly ask for a high price when we're supporting him so much?
If I could spend tens of millions of RMB to hire him, I wouldn't mind offending anyone in Hong Kong or Taiwan, and I wouldn't even mind personally taking on a fight with them!
We'll talk about the next movie later; this time, we have to support it to the end!

With an investment the size of "Hero," I wouldn't be able to sleep soundly without his involvement!

Actually, even without Fang Xinghe, "Hero" could have been a success.

However, who among us living in this time and space could foresee such an inevitability? We can only strive under pressure and with trepidation.

Zhang Weiping is a typical pressure monster. Seeing that he was about to take down Fang Xinghe, he not only didn't care about saving face, but even went so far as to put pressure on Zhang Yimou.

After four hours of repeated persuasion, Mou Zi finally gave in.

“Okay, I only know how to film, you can handle the rest, but I have to apologize to Lao Du in person.”

"Hero" is currently in the preparation stage, and only three major items have been finalized: location shooting, script, and main creative team. Among them, the most difficult to deal with are the main creative team whose contracts have already been signed.

They've already invested a lot of effort and time in this project. To kick them out at the last minute is incredibly damaging to their reputation, let alone being friends.

But there was no other way; as it was his first time directing such a hugely invested blockbuster, Zhang Yimou had to make some trade-offs.

In this life, who doesn't bear pressure?
"no problem!"

Having finally received his old friend's approval, Zhang Weiping was overjoyed: "I will definitely handle it properly!"

Then the two of them compared notes and found that the situation was even more messed up than they had imagined.

First, there's cinematographer Christopher Doyle, a key member of the creative team and the core shaper of the film's visual style, renowned for his highly stylized and poetic cinematic language.

Finding a qualified photographer to replace him is not easy, especially under such rushed circumstances.

Secondly, there's action director Cheng Xiaodong, who's even more difficult to deal with—currently, all the action choreography teams in China are from Hong Kong!

Then there's producer Jiang Zhiqiang, a key figure behind Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and an important figure in its international distribution.

Finally, there's Pan Guoyu, the visual effects supervisor. She led her team to be responsible for the digital effects in the film. In addition, the visual effects production companies that were agreed upon beforehand were all Hong Kong companies.

As for the remaining Hong Kong and Taiwan employees, they are numerous and interconnected.

"Damn, this workload!"

Mou Zi couldn't hold back any longer and swore.

Zhang Weiping, being shrewd, reminded him, "Don't rush. I'll talk to Fang Xinghe right away and see his attitude before we do anything."

"Okay, you go ahead, I won't show up."

Mou Zi wasn't a very temperamental person, but now, he couldn't help but complain to Fang Xinghe—how could you cause so much trouble!
Indeed, many people thought: You troublemaker! As soon as the troublemaker landed in the capital, he was immediately called in for a talk by the department head... no, he was called in to appease him.

"Xiao Fang, look at you, how can you distrust your alma mater so much?"

A leader is a leader; their speaking skills are truly an art.

"When you feel wronged, think of the school. We have limited abilities and can't help you much with your creative work, but we won't just stand by and watch you get bullied. Once you're enrolled, if anything happens, remember to discuss it with your teachers. It's always good to come up with some different ideas!"

He actually had a lot more to say, but Fang Xinghe interrupted him with a raised eyebrow: "Enrollment?"

Xie Xiaojing raised her hand to cover her chest, her lips trembling violently.

To calm his racing heart, he frantically pounded his chest.

"Xiao Fang, I have other things to attend to, so I won't keep you any longer. Don't worry, I'll take care of the pressure from the leaders within the system!"

The conversation ended abruptly, with Xie Xiaojing immediately arguing with the principal, who then clashed with the leaders of the Guangdong Provincial Federation of Trade Unions. Caught in the middle, the leaders of the Federation also gave the Foreign Affairs Office and the Hong Kong and Taiwan Affairs Office a cold shoulder...

After pushing through layer by layer, the originally planned crackdown was completely aborted.

Despite its relatively low administrative rank, the Beijing Film Academy holds a special position. If it really decides to act decisively, most departments simply cannot restrain it.

"What did my students do wrong? Those guys from Hong Kong and Taiwan are really outrageous!"

"Even if he made a small mistake, he's still just a child!"

"I don't care, I'm determined to protect my students!"

After employing a rogue tactic, most of the pressure from the authorities was relieved.

Of course, in order to maintain harmony and stability, the Beijing Film Academy did not make any public statement that would escalate the conflict.

The relevant parties were too lazy to talk to Fang Xinghe anymore. All the undercurrents were churning beneath the surface, and on the surface, the official media avoided mentioning the matter and gave it a cold shoulder.

The media, led by the Difficult Defense faction, had a wild and chaotic period after the Lunar New Year, which further damaged Fang Xinghe's public image.

The specific impact... is negligible.

It's just a crazy loss of followers, nothing to brag about.

It must be admitted that this was the largest black tide Fang Xinghe had ever experienced, and none of the previous ones could compare to it.

Newspapers were filled with criticism, the public mostly condemned the criticism, and the internet was in complete chaos, causing concern among friends and anxiety among officials.

From the 8th until his arrival in the capital on the 10th, everyone was concerned about his condition, fearing that the child could not withstand the pressure at the moment.

Actually, your brother Fang is ecstatic.

Hong Kong and Taiwanese stars do indeed have an extremely large fan base, and their combined power is formidable. However, ultimately, Fang Xinghe's core fanbase consists of high-level fans.

In this day and age, ordinary people have very poor economic power, so what's the point of having good public image? Basically none.

There are 8 million rural residents in China who cannot even afford to eat meat twice a week, and half of the 4.5 million urban residents live in poverty.

This is completely different from the situation in later generations. In 2025, there will be no extremely poor families in China, and even the most impoverished people will have regular spending power. Public goodwill can be effectively converted into box office revenue, number of moviegoers, and sales of endorsed products.

Compared to now, that was such a great era. Even though entertainment demand was diverted to so many projects, it was still enough to support one top influencer, internet celebrity, foot masseuse, and casual online novelist after another.

The best example is still Fat Fairy. Her peak popularity was between 05 and 08, but her peak commercial value appeared after 2018.

It is precisely because the current public goodwill cannot be converted into economic benefits that this group of poor children will finally start to pay for the goodwill they had in their youth, once they have grown up and become materially well-off.

The reason why the big-eyed princess went to such lengths to take the wrong path is because her earnings simply did not match her popularity—it's already 01, and she's still incredibly famous.

It's just that female celebrities don't naturally attract die-hard fans, and she doesn't have Fang Xinghe's sophisticated fan-manipulation techniques, so the economic benefits of her fame can only be reflected in her gigs, which is really hard to assess.

Fang Xinghe is the same; he also couldn't reap the benefits of a huge fan base, otherwise the domestic sales of "Born to Be a Madman" wouldn't be what they are now.

For him, providing one Star Points was enough to fulfill his historical mission. The more Star Points he lost, the better—he could bring another Star Points bonus when he returned next time. Who could understand that kind of joy?
No one understood him, but they were all deeply shocked by his calm and composure.

When Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping arrived, they saw Fang Xinghe's relaxed and smiling appearance and felt a surge of admiration.

"You're amazing!" Mouzi gave a thumbs up. "That's some serious mental fortitude."

"Small idea."

Fang Xinghe treated the two brothers to a can of Red Bull.

It was already past 11 p.m., and the two brothers couldn't wait any longer; they had to get to the bottom of it with him.

“You and Zhang Yimou are close friends despite the age gap, and I am also your fan, so I will be frank.”

After getting on Zhang Weiping's good side, he immediately laid his cards on the table.

"Hero is willing to fully support your decision, not to hire a single Hong Kong or Taiwan employee, and there's no room for negotiation regarding the agreed-upon second male lead?"

"of course."

Fang Xinghe smiled sincerely and sighed, "Actually, I never intended to make things difficult for Director Zhang, so I was really prepared to withdraw."

"Impossible!" Zhang Weiping said firmly. "This whole thing was set up specifically for you and Li Lianjie. Without you, what kind of 'Hero' is it?"

That's ridiculous. You guys are still making a lot of noise in the timeline without me.

However, Fang Xinghe did not expose him, but only focused on the details.

"Any other problems? Let's solve them together."

Zhang Weiping had already prepared his speech and explained in detail: "As for the special effects, we can find a Korean company to do it; their level is sufficient to meet our needs."

On the other end of the line, director Du is in communication with director Gu Changwei.

International distribution might require some effort from you; have your agent contact Hollywood. But there's no rush. Let's keep filming; we have plenty of time to resolve this issue.

The biggest problem right now is the action choreography; without the Hong Kong and Taiwan team, it's really difficult to manage..."

Mou Zi nodded slightly, his brows furrowed with worry.

Laymen may not understand, with so many martial arts champions in China, what's so difficult about martial arts instruction?
This idea is actually wrong; it completely confuses the concepts of martial arts performance, kung fu combat, and movie fight choreography.

Traditional martial arts are poor in real-world combat, while Sanda, which is derived from traditional martial arts, is very strong.

But Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) is not visually appealing; it's nowhere near as entertaining as the routines performed by Wuying-level athletes.

However, the actual choreography in real life is unrelated to the fight choreography in movies.

The elegant, beautiful, and imaginative fight scenes in those classic kung fu movies require not only high-level kung fu skills, but also an artistic mindset, practical ability, teamwork, and a willingness to risk everything, even acting as a stunt double.

It's easy to say you've played well, but incredibly difficult to do it.

Hollywood has been learning from them for so many years, but what has been the result?
Without a mature team, even wire work is a major problem.

But Fang Xinghe had already made his plans.

"Since you all support me so much, then fine, I'll be the martial arts director."

Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping were both delighted and surprised. They trusted Fang Xinghe's practical abilities but doubted his design ideas.

Of course, neither of them raised any direct objections.

"But to handle the fight scenes well in the headquarters films, a large action choreography team is needed..."

"I'll go find it."

Fang Xinghe replied casually, "The Wudang Sanfeng School has a small reputation in the martial arts world. I will find the most suitable person to start the rehearsal and design process in advance. Any other questions?"

(End of this chapter)