Huayu 1992, my entertainment era

"Mr. Zhou, hello! It's a great honor to meet you. It's like looking up at the Big Dipper."

Zhou Ziheng didn't know how brother Wang Zhongjun got in touch with the little cannon at this time.

But there is one thing he can be sure of, that is, the little cannon is in a very miserable state at this moment.

He was really down and out, wearing a gray suit that looked washed out.

There is absolutely no trace of the future when one would be full of vigor and vitality and would confront anyone he met.

The little cannon who came closer was very enthusiastic. He held Zhou Ziheng's hand tightly and wouldn't let go, and kept saying all kinds of words of admiration.

Zhou Ziheng was a little embarrassed. He had read some reports in later life. It was said that the sentence "It is a privilege to meet you. It is like looking up and seeing the Big Dipper" was the flattering words that Xiao Gangpao used when he first met Wang Shuo.

Unexpectedly, one day, this sentence would be used on me again.

Zhou Ziheng didn't treat Xiao Gangpao perfunctorily like Wang Shuo did because he was ugly. He smiled and said:
"Director Feng's movies are good. I've had the opportunity to watch them before. I really like the movie 'Beijingers in New York'."

As they talked, everyone walked towards the restaurant. Most of the time, it was Wang Zhongjun and his brothers who were talking, and Zhou Ziheng who was listening.

It has to be admitted that it makes sense that these two brothers will make a big splash in the film and television industry in the future.

The two had not yet entered the film and television industry at this time, but they already had a considerable understanding of the film industry.

Some of their insights even surpass those of many people in the domestic film and television industry at this time.

In fact, this is not surprising. At this time, the Wang Zhongjun brothers were no longer small figures in the country.

In 1994, after obtaining a master's degree in mass communication from the State University of New York, Wang Zhongjun returned to China to start a business with $10 earned in the United States.

Huayi first started out by publishing a small magazine that published some advertisements and then mailed them directly to embassies and luxury apartments with three stars or above.

Soon after, the Bank of China's nationwide standardization project for more than 15000 outlets gave Huayi Advertising the opportunity to immediately get out of its predicament and establish its position in the domestic CI field.

This deal, which brought him both fame and fortune, also allowed Wang Zhongjun to take on big orders from State Grid, Sinopec, Agricultural Bank of China's Golden Harvest Card, China Hua Xia Bank and others.

During this period, his younger brother Wang Zhonglei, who had suffered setbacks in business, joined his brother Wang Zhongjun and jointly ran Huayi Advertising Company.

Under the management of the two brothers, Huayi Brothers became the leading advertising company in China in just two years.

Of course, to be honest, the deeds of these two brothers are actually not replicable.

Can ordinary people win a big order from the Bank of China? Can they also get so many orders during the National Day holiday in China?
Zhou Ziheng was actually not very clear about the specific backgrounds of the two brothers, but the word "Manchu" alone was enough to show that it was not surprising that they were rich and well-connected.

"Mr. Zhou, our company is currently looking to expand its business and enter the film and television industry. Do you have any good suggestions?"

When they arrived at the restaurant, everyone took their seats. Taking advantage of the atmosphere, Wang Zhongjun asked Zhou Ziheng with a smile.

What can Zhou Ziheng say?
Why don’t you just focus on advertising instead of stealing my business?
If you really say that, you will offend people to death.

Although he really didn't want Huayi Brothers to get involved.

He has plans for Hengyu, one of which is to become the first private film and television investment company in the country.

He is looking for someone to do the work and persuade the film studio to give him their share of the investment.

Only when this goal is achieved can the mainland Hengyu Film Company be established, and he can invest in mainland films as a mainland company.

Instead of like now, movies need to be labeled as Hong Kong films.

In fact, it is not a bad thing to label a film as a Hong Kong film, and many mainland filmmakers really want to do so.

But Zhou Ziheng had different ideas.

He attaches great importance to the mainland market.

At this time, the mainland market has not yet begun to be officially hatched, and it is the most suitable time to enter.

If he waits until Huayi Brothers has established itself before coming in, there won’t be much cake left.

The first one to eat the cake usually gets the most.

His idea is to follow Huayi Brothers' path and leave Huayi Brothers with no way out.

“It’s not easy to do. There is no precedent for private companies intervening in film and television projects in the mainland.

I set up my film company in Hong Kong because I couldn’t make movies in the mainland.”

Zhou Ziheng had a very difficult expression on his face.

What he said was not actually false.

At this time, all mainland film and television projects were controlled by state-owned enterprises such as China Film Corporation, and outsiders had no chance of interfering.

First of all, it is a question whether films invested by private enterprises can be released.

There’s no way, I can’t get the screening rights!
If you can’t get the screening rights, it’s useless even if you make a movie, it will just sit in the warehouse and collect dust.

However, this problem is gradually becoming less of a problem now.

The new film system document issued last year was a good start.

This document stipulates that producers can bypass the studios and communicate directly with theaters.

This gives private companies like Zhou Ziheng an opportunity.

As long as he gets the production license, he will be able to become the first independent film production company in the mainland.

Hearing Zhou Ziheng's words, Wang Zhongjun smiled and said, "Advertising companies don't actually make much money in a year. I'm still more optimistic about the film and television industry."

It can be heard that the two brothers have made up their minds to enter the film and television industry.

This made Zhou Ziheng feel a sense of urgency.

We must speed up the process to get the production license, otherwise these two brothers might overtake us.

He would not doubt that the two brothers could not get the card.

For someone to be able to turn a small magazine company into a top domestic advertising company in just two years, the connections and the energy behind it are not simple.

After just one dinner, Zhou Ziheng’s biggest impression was that Wang Zhongjun was no ordinary person.

Not only does he speak very carefully, but he also gives people a very steady feeling when doing things.

However, his younger brother Wang Zhonglei is obviously much more impatient.

At the dinner table, Zhou Ziheng was still chatting with Wang Zhongjun about family matters. He directly proposed the idea of ​​participating in Hengyu Film's next project.

By the way, there are so many people who want to invest in Hengyu’s new play.

Why should Zhou Ziheng give them the opportunity?
As the Spring Festival box office came to an end, "The Conjuring" took in 35 million Hong Kong dollars at the box office, ranking third during the Spring Festival.

The success of this movie made Hengyu Film Company very popular in the industry. Many big bosses came to the company with money, wanting to invest in Hengyu's next project.

Among them, there are many people who are more powerful than the Wang brothers.

"At present, the company's new dramas have no shortage of investment. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will definitely give priority to Huayi Brothers."

Although he had already decided in his heart not to let the other party participate in the investment, Zhou Ziheng still spoke very politely on the surface.

After the dinner, the Wang brothers and Zhou Ziheng left their phone numbers, and then everyone went their separate ways.

Little Cannon did not follow the Wang brothers, but followed behind Zhou Ziheng, saying that he was familiar with the capital and took Zhou Ziheng for a walk.

In fact, Zhou Ziheng guessed that he must have something to ask him.

"Director Feng, let's be frank. You must have something to talk to me about, right?"

Zhou Ziheng felt really uncomfortable being followed by a grown man, so he took the initiative to speak.

"Haha, President Zhou is really amazing!"

The little steel cannon gave a thumbs up.

He then took the initiative to say: "It's like this. I'm actually here to recommend myself. I heard that your film and television company likes to hire its own people (mainlanders), so I came here shamelessly, hoping that you would give me a chance." Although he has a bad reputation in the Hong Kong circle, in fact, Zhou Ziheng has a surprisingly good reputation in the mainland film and television circles.

At present, Hengyu has shot a series of profitable and influential movies such as "Tazza", "The Untold Story", "The Untold Story 2", "The Conman", and "Stormtroopers".

In these films, mainland film and television personnel account for a very high proportion, reaching a rare two-thirds.

In terms of directors, except for "Storm Troopers" who was directed by Benny Chan, all other directors are from mainland China.

In addition, several dramas have used actors from mainland China.

Zhang Fengyi also completely opened up the market in Hong Kong with "The Conjuring" and became well-known by the audience.

Therefore, people in the mainland's film and television industry who want to develop in Hong Kong and Taiwan, or want to go further, basically start running to Hengyu.

In the eyes of later generations, Xiao Gangpao is undoubtedly the country's leading director and the one who opened the Lunar New Year box office.

But in fact, in the early to mid-1990s, although Xiao Gangpao had directed "A Native of Beijing in New York", he was looked down upon by many people.

Many people think that he is only good at flattery and is a follower of Zheng Xiaolong and Wang Shuo.

Speaking of these two people and the little cannon, Zhou Ziheng couldn't help but think of the articles he had read about the three people in his previous life, as well as the interesting stories told by some people in the Beijing circle in this life.

They are all about Xiao Gangpao and Zheng and Wang.

To be honest, not only did he not hate this guy, but he admired him very much.

What's wrong with being a follower? Don't despise the young and poor. This saying can definitely be applied to the little steel cannon.

He is a model of grassroots rise in this era.

Of course, his rise to prominence was definitely inseparable from the two big brothers, Zheng and Wang.

Back then, Xiao Gangpao, who worked in a cultural unit of the Beijing Military Region, met the most important person in his life by chance: Zheng Xiaolong.

Zheng Xiaolong was a very famous director at that time. If I had known him, my future path would definitely not have been as bumpy as it is now.

The little cannon walked up to Zheng Xiaolong and greeted him, leaving an impression.

Later, whenever he saw Zheng Xiaolong, Feng Xiaogang would take out his own savings and treat Zheng Xiaolong to a meal.

The more we meet, the more often we eat together.

The two of them got to know each other after a few interactions.

Xiao Gangpao knew that Zheng Xiaolong worked at the Beijing Television Art Center, so he often talked about his ideals and ambitions with Zheng Xiaolong.

He said his dream is to become an actor and make a lot of money to show off to his mother.

After all, the two of them are so familiar with each other, and they have talked about it so many times that Zheng Xiaolong will naturally take it to heart.

What's more, Zheng Xiaolong has always valued talents. To him, Feng Xiaogang should be a good candidate in the future.

So he arranged for Feng Xiaogang to work in the same unit as himself at the Beijing Television Art Center.

Although he got into the industry with the help of Zheng Xiaolong, Feng Xiaogang has never told anyone that he and Zheng Xiaolong are good friends.

With my own efforts, things soon started to improve at work.

At that time, there was a play called "The Tree of Life and Death", so Zheng Xiaolong called Feng Xiaogang to be his assistant. This was Feng Xiaogang's first contact with movies.

This further inspired Feng Xiaogang to become an actor.

In addition to work, Feng Xiaogang would read books when he had nothing to do. Once when he went to see Zheng Xiaolong, he happened to see Zheng Xiaolong reading Wang Shuo's work.

So he asked, "Do you know Wang Shuo?"

"Yes, I know him. We grew up together." Zheng Xiaolong responded.

Upon learning that Zheng Xiaolong knew Wang Shuo, Feng Xiaogang begged Zheng Xiaolong to take him to meet Wang Shuo.

Why does Feng Xiaogang want to meet Wang Shuo so much?

At that time, Wang Shuo was as famous as Zheng Xiaolong.

At that time, Wang Shuo was already a famous writer in China. His literary talent was beyond the reach of ordinary people, so ordinary people naturally could not see him.

If he could hook up with Wang Shuo, Feng Xiaogang's dream of becoming an actor would be one step closer.

Zheng Xiaolong happened to be a childhood friend of Wang Shuo, so it was just a matter of time for him to get to know Wang Shuo.

Zheng Xiaolong immediately agreed to Feng Xiaogang's request, because for him, meeting a friend was not a big deal, especially Wang Shuo, who grew up with him.

In this way, Zheng Xiaolong took Feng Xiaogang to meet Wang Shuo.

When Wang Shuo saw Feng Xiaogang for the first time, his face was full of disgust. He said Feng Xiaogang had no looks and no talent, just like a country bumpkin. It was really unknown how he knew Zheng Xiaolong.

When Feng Xiaogang met Wang Shuo, he immediately said what he had said to Zhou Ziheng: "It is a great honor to meet you. It is like looking up and seeing the Big Dipper."

As for Wang Shuo, there are so many people praising him. What is Feng Xiaogang? Wang Shuo did not take him seriously. But after all, he was brought by his good brother Zheng Xiaolong. He could not just ignore him. So he just said perfunctorily, "Yeah."

When the three of them were eating, Wang became even more disgusted with Feng Xiaogang. What kind of dishes are these? Why are they bringing out this dish?
Since then, Feng Xiaogang often came to see Wang Shuo, and Wang Shuo couldn't avoid him.

Later on, I simply stopped hiding and told you to do whatever you want.

Feng Xiaogang followed behind Wang Shuo, saying "Hello, Brother Wang, how are you doing recently?" and "Hello, Teacher Wang, what are you busy with recently?"

The two met more and more often and talked more and more.

Once Wang Shuo asked, "What do you want to do in the future?"

Feng Xiaogang immediately responded: "I want to be an actor."

But Wang Shuo mocked him: "You are like this? You still want to be an actor? Go to bed now."

Although Wang Shuo said this, Feng Xiaogang was not discouraged at all.

Although Wang Shuo has a sharp tongue, he has a kind heart. He keeps Feng Xiaogang's words in mind.

Through Wang Shuo's circle, Feng Xiaogang met Ye Jing, Jiang Wen and others.

At that time, Feng Xiaogang was not as well-known as he is today, but fortunately he left a good impression on these directors.

At the dinner party, Feng Xiaogang always sat in the corner, but as long as there was work like serving tea or water, Feng Xiaogang would rush to do it, which brought Wang Shuo a lot of honor.

Because of his hard work and dedication, Zheng Xiaolong saw it all and brought Feng Xiaogang with him on several filmings afterwards.

Feng Xiaogang also worked hard and not only did he not make things worse, he also often helped him solve many problems, saving him time and effort. As a result, Feng Xiaogang was given a lot of support. Although he did not fulfill his dream of becoming an actor, he was able to become a director.

On the other hand, Wang Shuo was also impressed by Feng Xiaogang and began to treat him as a true friend. In 1994, Wang Shuo founded his own film and television company and brought Feng Xiaogang with him.

Of course, the two later broke up because of "Party A and Party B", but Zhou Ziheng did not comment on this.

But it is undeniable that he still admires Feng Xiaogang's perseverance.

"You and Wang Shuo have a film and television company, right? Can you come and make a movie for me?"

Zhou Ziheng looked at Feng Xiaogang.

At this time, Feng Xiaogang and Wang Shuo's company were still there.

However, Zhou Ziheng knew that the company would probably collapse in the second half of the year.

It didn't collapse because it didn't make money, but because it violated the General Administration's taboos.

It seems that they sent the film to overseas exhibitions without passing the review.

There is another reason, which is Wang Shuo’s personal reason, but I’m not going to elaborate on it.

However, for now, Feng Xiaogang should still be working hard for the company with Wang Shuo.

(End of this chapter)