Reshaping the landscape of the Chinese entertainment industry

Since we're going to target He Ye and Han Sanping, it's definitely not enough for them to just criticize each other internally.

Someone definitely needs to be the first to bring this up, the so-called leader.

The first to step forward was an elderly director surnamed Wang.

He is a director in his sixties who has made films all his life and won several domestic awards, but not many people remember his name.

At the same time, he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to do it for many more years, so he simply took on the task of leading the way. In exchange, he must have colluded with other people to make sure they would take care of his juniors in the future!

These are just simple exchanges; there is no coercion or blackmail involved.

It was all consensual!

After completing the collusion, he attracted reporters directly because of it. During the interview, he slammed his fist on the table in front of the camera and started cursing:

"...I've been making films for thirty years, and applying for funding from the China Film Group has always been extremely difficult. Several times, I've applied three times and still haven't been approved... But this time, the China Film Group actually made an exception... Why is it that an eighteen-year-old got it on his first application?"

"There must be something shady going on here... This must be thoroughly investigated!!"

"...What? You don't believe me? There's definitely something between them... If you don't believe me, go and ask around. From what I know, he's so young and people are already calling him 'Master.' What will he be like in the future?"

"...Han Sanping says there's nothing fishy going on here, but I don't believe him...He and that little brat surnamed He deserve an explanation!"

The reporter pressed further: "Director Wang, have you read He Ye's script? Have you seen any of his films?"

Director Wang waved his hand dismissively: "No need to look... What good stuff can an eighteen-year-old write? Even if it's not bad, it's definitely been ghostwritten. You can hire a college student for a few hundred dollars... College students are so cheap..."

"...So what if he wrote it himself? Does writing something automatically make him a movie? What he produces will definitely be unwatchable."

This interview, which named names and made no attempt to conceal them, was released so openly that it ignited the first shot in the anti-He and anti-Han movement!

Of course, since they've decided to form a team, these people definitely won't be working alone.

After Director Wang took the lead in initiating the discussion, another veteran director surnamed Li also jumped in.

However, his words were much more intense, escalating directly to personal attacks!

"People like He Ye are a cancer in the film industry... They rely on their family connections and use public funds for frivolous pursuits!"

"This kind of rich kid is trash, the scum of society. What he makes isn't a movie, it's visual garbage!"

"I strongly suggest that China Film Group investigate whether the use of this money is compliant. I suggest that the leaders of China Film Group clarify the facts and take back the money to those who really need it. That rich second-generation named He Ye is not worthy of it at all."

These remarks caused an uproar both inside and outside the industry.

The first instinctive reaction of everyone who saw these messages was...

Who is this He?

Why are these directors boycotting them?

Furthermore, forcibly associating him with labels such as "rich second generation" or "dabbling in hobbies" will only evoke disgust.

After all, at the beginning of the century, "second-generation rich" was never a good term.

Lazy, fond of ease and averse to work, bullying and domineering, spoiled brat...

These words can all be associated with the vocabulary of "rich second generation".

It has to be said that these people are extremely malicious; they are directly aiming to kill and discredit He Ye.

It is said that cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents, and this is certainly true!

He also touched their cake, and they immediately jumped up and down in a panic.

The ten days or so before the Spring Festival should have been a quiet period for news, with things gradually decreasing and everyone busy wrapping up their final tasks, leaving everything to wait until after the Spring Festival.

After all, one of the common Chinese phrases for reducing conflict is: "It's the Lunar New Year..."

As a result, several directors have taken the initiative to ignite the fire, completely detonating the quiet period before the Lunar New Year.

In an instant, the entire public opinion field became extremely heated.

On Tianya Forum, an article titled "How to view the issue of veteran directors in the industry criticizing rich second-generation new directors" appeared very quickly, which sparked many comments.

Some people support it, some oppose it, but most are just watching the spectacle.

This hot topic quickly spread from the internet to print media.

Furthermore, print media reports are not so "fair" and are full of guidance and innuendo!

The Beijing Entertainment News was the first to report on this, with the headline: "Eighteen-Year-Old Director Receives One Million Yuan Investment and Resource Support from China Film Group; Industry Insiders Question 'Hitchhiking'."

Nanfang Entertainment's headline was even harsher: "Where Did the Funds from China Film Group Go? New Director He Accused of 'Receiving a Salary Without Working'"

The Beijing News went even further, asking, "Has the subsidy for art-house films become a 'golden goose'? Who's taking a bite out of this pie?"

The article quoted several "unnamed" veteran directors, describing He Ye as a "connected person" who relied on his family background and connections to get money.

Upon seeing these articles, He Ye's parents clearly wouldn't believe it if they said that the media reports had nothing to do with those people and weren't intentional.

With these leading entertainment media outlets stirring things up, the matter escalated further and began to expand.

Then more and more entertainment tabloids began to follow up with their reports on this.

Keep in mind that this was only the beginning of 2002.

Nanfang Entertainment just launched its so-called "Four Little Actresses," which has generated a lot of buzz.

The subsequent cases of so-called cover-ups, Liu Xiaoqin's incident, and even Liu Jialing's incident occurred much later and have not yet surfaced.

Everyone's just sitting around waiting to see what happens.

As a result, veterans in the entertainment industry are now angrily criticizing newcomers, saying their movies are garbage, that they are involved in bribery, that they are cronies, and that they are a cancer that should be swept out of the industry.

This is absolutely the grand opening act of the year!!!

Moreover, as public opinion fermented and many reporters conducted in-depth investigations, He Ye's identity as a young writer was also revealed.

There are actually literary circles involved here?

Also revealed was the news that he had studied under Mu Deyuan for several years.

Well, this has immediately created a lively scene between two different circles.

Although the distinction between the literary and artistic circles is not obvious, they are two separate circles until they truly break out of their original boundaries.

Now He Ye is caught between two circles, and it seems impossible for him not to break out of that circle.

In fact, many entertainment reporters, upon hearing the news, had already written headlines before even meeting He Ye.

However, they blatantly ignored the fact that He Ye had studied under Mu Deyuan for three years, and directly focused their discussion on the two things: the young writer and the filmmaking.

After all, news needs buzz, not some damn truth!

As long as the hype is there and the traffic is generated, the truth is completely unimportant.

Anyway, they're not the ones who are suffering!

Even if they were to be sued for going too far, let's say they do something terribly wrong.

At worst, we can just clarify it later.

They are the ones who hold the power of discourse!

At this moment, whoever controls the channels of speech and expression is truly awesome!

Think about Liu Yifei. Starting in 05, she was repeatedly attacked online, and by 07, the attacks were so severe that she couldn't prove herself.

Why?

It's all because they lack the right and channels to speak out; people can say whatever they want!

Write however you want!

Ultimately, they were forced to appear on "Today's Talk" as a platform to voice their opinions.

The result was still that they were hacked!

After all, you only have one place to voice your opinion, and you only have one chance. How can you compare to dozens of people joining forces?

At that time, the media had too much power, so the headlines of these news stories were more and more sensational and exaggerated than the last.

Before even making a name for themselves, they were suppressed by veteran directors: the self-destructive path of a new director!

"A Young Writer's Crossover into Directing: A Detailed Look at His Mysterious Background and the Source of His Substantial Capital."

Writer? Photographer? Director? What's wrong with this country's development? Is the restlessness of the new era already showing signs?

Is the influx of teenagers into the entertainment industry before the age of 18 a sign of a misguided education system, or a flaw and error in the national system?

Is becoming a director or a writer switching careers right after freshman year of college a sign of confident courage or ignorant arrogance?

Don't let literary opportunists and privileged privileged children ruin the future of Chinese cinema and the bottom line of high art.

These news stories were everywhere, and in 2002, the entire entertainment industry was ignited by He Ye's news.

Compared to his current blazing popularity, the so-called "Four Little Actresses" hype is nothing more than a spark and a fuse.

Of course, those entertainment companies in the south that are located further away can only talk nonsense online at this moment, since the Spring Festival travel rush has begun and it is still very difficult to buy tickets to visit in person.

Therefore, those reporters who were closer to the scene were the ones who truly felt the madness.

They found out where He Ye was filming his movie and were rushing over here.

However, He Ye, who was filming in Tianjin, was unaware of these matters at the moment.

After he finished filming a scene, Liu Guonan hurriedly came over with his phone.

"Oh no, something's happened."

"What's wrong?"

"Someone in the industry just made a statement and mobilized multiple reporters and media outlets to report on it, saying that you got the support funds from China Film Group through back channels and that you are not qualified to make movies at all."

He took the phone with a puzzled look on his face.

Because these reports had just been released and he was unaware of the extent of the public outcry, he only glanced at the news a few times before handing his phone back.

"It's just some people barking like dogs. Ignore them and let them talk."

"Aren't you going to respond?"

"Respond to what? The more we respond, the more these clowns will jump around," He didn't take the matter to heart. Instead, he picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "The New Year is coming soon. What we need to do now is to hurry up and continue filming."

Liu Guonan had never experienced these things either. Seeing He Ye's nonchalant attitude, he figured it was really nothing, so he stopped caring about these matters.

The crew has entered a high-speed operation phase, and everyone has almost gotten used to each other, making it the perfect time for filming.

He also wanted to try to finish filming before the Chinese New Year. If that didn't work, then they would have to rush the production.

But He didn't want to pay attention to it, yet things didn't go according to his plan.

This matter was clearly orchestrated by someone behind the scenes, and the speed at which public opinion was shifted was faster than he had imagined.

Seeing that He didn't respond, the veteran directors became even angrier and more excited.

They jointly issued a statement demanding that China Film Group withdraw its support funds for He Ye, and also requested the Film Bureau to investigate He Ye's background.

Investigate his other sources of funding, and be sure to find out if there was any transfer of benefits between him and Han Sanping.

Now Han Sanping was completely involved.

It even caught the attention of Director Liu of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

They even sent me a personal inquiry.

This infuriated Han Sanping, who immediately submitted a petition suggesting that all subsidies be completely eliminated, including subsidies for all associations, film production, and award selections.

Now that private enterprises can produce films, there should be a free-flowing market, and they should no longer need to rely on China Film Group for support.

This suggestion was like throwing a brick in a latrine—it stirred up public outrage.

Those old folks just wanted subsidies and felt that Han Sanping's distribution was unfair, so they wanted to complain. After all, those who cry get what they deserve, right?

Good heavens, after they questioned him a few times, Han Sanping actually tried to cut off his very roots.

Don't be a burden!

This immediately involved even more people.

However, Han Sanping's drastic actions made those old folks hesitant to jump again for a while, because they knew that Han Sanping was truly capable of such actions.

What to do when you have a belly full of anger and nowhere to vent it?

Everyone pinpointed the cause of this incident.

Well, here comes an even more powerful barrage of attacks!

Han Sanping was cleared of suspicion immediately. The General Administration conducted a brief investigation and found that his actions were indeed reasonable, so they dropped the matter.

But He could also suffer a severe punishment!

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P.S.: This chapter is almost 3700 words~ I've written so much in my new book, please vote with monthly tickets~