Generation Z Artists

Chapter 208: The New Version of "Hero"

"Fang Fang got scolded again!"

Yang Xiaomi was furious and kept grumbling in the official fan cafe.

The girl who used to eat plain rice has long since transformed into the shape of Fang Xinghe.

The StarNet official cafe is a stroke of genius, providing Stargirls with an extremely valuable social platform in this era, allowing them to gather together to comfort each other and thus maintain their passion.

A lonely star without companions, constantly bombarded with criticism in the newspapers every few days, would probably have given up long ago.

Creating pink galaxies truly requires a strong heart.

"They're sick! Fang Fang can do whatever she wants, what's wrong with making a movie?"

"Exactly, what a stupid basketball league, they really think they're something special!"

"That fat bastard surnamed Ao is so annoying!"

"How could anyone be as annoying as Lieyan Mountain? He's finally found another opportunity to insult Fang Fang!"

Breaking news! The league has punished Fang Fang!

"Damn, are they crazy?!"

"Do you know how much viewership our 'Starry Night' program contributed?"

"Sisters, let's organize and boycott NBA!"

……

Fang Xinghe's request for a long leave to return to China to film a movie caused a huge uproar... no, a very huge uproar.

No one has ever done this before.

League stars have made movies before, but they all happened during the offseason, which is their free time.

During the season, theoretically, players can only take time off due to injury, and cannot take leave to do other things.

The problem is that... the alliance regulations do not explicitly address this.

The league only stipulates in the salary clause that players will receive full compensation for missing games due to injury, while the right to handle absences due to other reasons belongs to the team.

Now that the Wizards have approved Fang Xinghe's leave, the league can no longer interfere with him.

But the impact of this incident was extremely negative.

From childhood to adulthood, let's go through them one by one.

First, the Wizards sold more than 2 season tickets.

Let's assume that half the tickets were bought for Jordan and half for Fang Xinghe. More than 10,000 Washington fans have bought season tickets for Fang Xinghe, but they won't see him play for more than a month.

It wasn't because of force majeure, but because Fang Xinghe was "not doing his job properly." Do you think they were angry?
This is a tremendous amount of pressure.

Second, the Wizards will have six nationally televised games in the next month.

The broadcaster purchased the Wizards' broadcast contract, arranged the broadcast resources, conducted broadcast promotion, and collected advertising fees.

Now that Fang Xinghe is gone, a 30% drop in ratings is reasonable, right?
Who will compensate for this loss?

Third, home sponsors and team-related advertisements.

Fang Xinghe's own sponsors were easy to talk to, as they dared not offend Ziwei Xingjun, but the other businesses had a lot of opinions.

We came here specifically for Fang Xinghe, and we've already paid the money. Now that his influence has declined so much, what do you say?
Fourth, all fans.

Regardless of which team I'm a fan of, I want to see exciting and intense games. If I can't see them, it's the league's problem.

Fifth, pressure from other teams in the league.

The playoff teams in the East were overjoyed that Fang Xinghe could no longer play, so they took the initiative to put pressure on the league.

The weak teams in the east rely entirely on the Qiao-Fang combination for ticket sales, and now that their profits have been damaged, they are very resentful.

The Western Conference teams aren't directly involved, but they still feel deeply aggrieved.

—Are we even going to keep the rules?

If the league tolerates him now, how are we supposed to manage our team's superstars in the future?!
Fuck you, pay me back!

Sixth, pressure from external media.

Professional basketball media outlets believe this incident is not only despicable but also undermines the foundation of the league.

"If every superstar could take leave so easily like SR to do other things, leaving fans disheartened, what would be the point of the league's existence?!"

"SR has absolutely no professional ethics! Such a player must be severely punished!"

"I don't understand why the league is condoning him!"

Non-basketball media don't care about this bullshit league; they just find this interesting and worth writing about.

“SR wasn’t a professional player to begin with. He came to the NBA just to seek excitement. Don’t take yourselves too seriously.”

"You guys should reflect on whether the NBA made SR feel too bored, which led him to return to China to make movies. This isn't SR's problem, it's the problem of you bunch of low-IQ musclemen!"

“Wake up. Only you guys see basketball as your whole world. SR doesn’t. His world is much broader. He has more things to devote his energy to. What’s wrong with that? No, there’s nothing wrong with that. He’s on a higher level.”

Those media outlets that thrive on chaos, while gloating over the misfortune, also fanned the flames, instantly igniting a great deal of anger.

As a result, its influence spread rapidly.

Across the United States, there have been violent incidents of radical fans burning Wizards #0 jerseys.

A large number of North American fans defected. They had only come for basketball, and when they felt that "Fang Xinghe betrayed basketball," they naturally became overreacting.

Stern's head was extremely large.

Not one lap, not two laps, not three laps... but seven laps.

He immediately tried to communicate with Fang Xinghe, but only managed to get through to Wang Chali's phone.

"I'm sorry, BOSS is not available to speak with you. We accept all punishments from the Alliance."

Wang Chali left only this sentence and then ignored him.

Stern was heartbroken and angrily slammed the phone down.

Immediately afterwards, he went to find Pauline.

Xiao Bo cried out in distress, "What can I do? I don't want him to leave either!"

At most, I can only deduct his salary and fine him a little money, but before he asked for leave, SR had already prepaid $500 million in his account and told me to deduct as much as I wanted. Brother, what can I do?
I wouldn't dare deduct a single penny from his pay!

Grass!
Stern smashed the second aircraft.

There were no phones in the office, so he had to take out his cell phone and call Jordan.

"You actually agreed to let him leave the team?!"

"why not?"

Danzi's voice was extremely rational, even somewhat leisurely.

"A playoff spot is basically secured, and I'd like to see what level the Wizards are at without him. It'll be very interesting, won't it?"

"You're crazy."

Stern felt a chill in his heart.

"Why don't you consider how much your personal reputation would be affected if the Wizards' performance declined significantly?"

"I've thought about it, but can I stop him?"

Danzi's words carried a sense of helplessness, but her tone was not helpless; on the contrary, she seemed eager to try.

"So I can only accept it. It's a good opportunity for me to play against the league's newcomers and hone our teamwork without SR controlling the game. This will increase our margin for error in our championship run."

Stern raised an eyebrow: "Is this the reason SR convinced you?"

“Yes.” Jordan nodded. “He gave me his reasons, which I considered a sign of respect, so I agreed.”

"All right!"

Stern was completely at a loss and emphasized, "But I must punish him, and I hope you are prepared to deal with the media."

"OK, that's your right."

Danzi didn't care at all; he just wanted to start the game and get going. The next day, the league issued a penalty decision against Xinghe for "voluntary leave"—a 10-game suspension and the maximum fine of $10.

Fans commented: "A suspension that's as pointless as taking off your pants to fart."

Media added: Fines that you wouldn't even feel bad about throwing away.

Although Fang Ge is only a rookie, he has already become one of the highest-earning players in the NBA, on par with Dan Zi.

Putting everything else aside, the subsequent sales of that photobook alone in the Americas amounted to more than $5000 million.

This guy, relying on his face, acts like he's robbing people.

This comment comes from Barkley. Now, Feizhu no longer envies Jordan, but has started to be jealous of Fang Ge.

The alliance's stance only added fuel to the fire.

"Fuck! This is condoning, this is a crime!"

Head coach Popovich was particularly unhappy. When he benched the Admiral in their pursuit of the number one draft pick, he was constantly criticized by the league and is still frequently targeted. Why should Fang Xinghe be so indulged?

Well, just because he's valuable.

The league stopped responding to any questions and started playing dumb.

But the media won't let such a big story slip by, and they'll launch a frenzied attack.

Wizards players are harassed every day; wherever they go, a large microphone is shoved into their mouths.

Danzi responded once, expressing her support.

"Yes, I support him doing his own thing. It won't affect our championship plans. You don't think we're going to lose all the remaining matches, do you?"

Danzi smiled radiantly, appearing carefree and composed, as if nothing had happened.

The reporter thought for a moment, then nodded in relief: "Of course not, Michael, the Wizards, and you."

half a month later.

Danzi's forehead was bulging with veins as he roared angrily, "You idiots! Do you even know how to play basketball?"

The Wizards suffered a five-game losing streak, and the hype surrounding Fang Xinghe's departure didn't subside; instead, it surged.

The American media couldn't take it anymore.

American media outlets are starting to focus on China.

……

Dunhuang Film and Television City, Gansu.

"My little darling! You didn't get much sleep again yesterday?"

Wei Ping rushed to the viewfinder on set and handed Fang Xinghe a cup of hot milk.

"Here you go, freshly squeezed milk, sterilized at high temperature. Warm yourself up quickly, then go take a nap!"

Mou Zi and Li Lianjie glanced at Wei Ping but didn't say anything.

Fang Xinghe took the thermos, took a casual sip, and ignored him.

It's not that they're impolite, it's just that we simply can't keep up with them all.

Ever since Fang Xinghe joined the production with his immense popularity, Wei Ping has been like a castrated woman, serving him every day, even more attentively than the chief eunuch.

Zhang Yimou, Li Lianjie, Zhang Ziyi—get out of my way!
This steward only has Fang Xinghe as his master.
Wei Ping didn't say it, but that's exactly what she did.

What's the most outrageous thing?
Lately, if he's not on set serving people and is out discussing business, he'll criticize Hong Kong and Taiwan whenever he meets someone.

"Hero" did not employ a single staff member from either location, placing it at the forefront of the ban and making it the most heavily censored film.

At first, Wei Ping wasn't this arrogant; at most, she would make a few sarcastic remarks.

Lately, things have gotten really bad. He's been verbally abusing people by name, and when reporters from both places come to interview him, they all get kicked.

Fang Xinghe's feud with the Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment industry is no longer an internal matter; it's now a damn international spectacle!

Media from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Europe, and the United States came to the film set to conduct interviews, making it feel like the United Nations headquarters. Of course, everyone knew about this trivial matter.

Wei Ping didn't care about losing face or the impact on her reputation.

All he knew was that "Hero" was a hit even before its release, and had become famous worldwide!

Even professional basketball media outlets like Sports Weekly wrote special reports, roughly saying—

"What kind of movie is 'Hero'? Why would SR be willing to be criticized for lacking professional ethics just to complete the filming?"

The readers who are curious about the reason are not just a few, nor are they limited to basketball fans.

Therefore, almost all influential media outlets have to make a trip to China in person.

I don’t know, I’m scared.

Zhang Yimou, Li Lianjie, Gong Li, and Zhang Ziyi are not nobody; they are well-known in the global film industry.

Hearing that "Hero" had a larger budget than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and featured fight scenes between Jet Li and Fang Xinghe, the film thoroughly piqued the interest of movie fans.

On a professional level, six of the seven major Hollywood studios were willing to cooperate, and with the addition of European giants such as EuropaCorp, "Hero" suddenly became incredibly popular.

The world is already in a kung fu craze, and with the added bonus of "Fang Xinghe's first kung fu film," who wouldn't want to give it a try?
Global release!

It must be released globally!

Warner Bros. and Fox were making grand promises to Fang Xinghe, while Sony and Disney took a different approach, leaving Koreans drooling with envy, and the big yellow dogs and black dogs barking incessantly.

The scene was so chaotic that it was overwhelming, and Wei Ping was experiencing both pain and pleasure.

But none of that has anything to do with Brother Fang.

Fang Xinghe has his own troubles—he has to deal with Mou Zi, the Emperor, Empress Gong, the ambitious Zhang, and so on.

Shooting blockbusters is such a hassle; there's never one that's easy.

As for Mouzi, the main task is to curb his restless and reckless behavior.

The plot of the new version of "Hero" is very simple, and can be summarized as follows:

Nameless, the top assassin of the Yan Kingdom, wanted to assassinate the King of Qin, but was troubled by not being able to get close to him. So he thought of using the head of an important person as an opportunity to get close.

This is the core storyline, which Editor-in-Chief Fang didn't touch.

What changes is the specific process.

Anonymous assigned →
The idea of ​​using the head of Fan Lie, a traitorous general of Qin, as a stepping stone for advancement →

Go to the State of Zhao and find the wandering knight Fei Xue (Zhang Ziyi) →

Feixue led Wuming to find Fan Lie →
Easily kill (demonstrating superior combat skills) →

Before his death, Fan Lie scoffed: "How can my head possibly gain the King of Qin's trust? Wishful thinking!"

Nameless and bewildered, Feixue suddenly said: I can introduce you to the Queen of Zhao →
Queen Zhao (Gong Li) quietly tells Wuming a matter: King Qin has a major threat, the crown prince of the now-defunct state of Han. Only by obtaining his head can King Qin gain his trust.

An anonymous person was moved: What was so special about Crown Prince Han? →
Flashback to the war that destroyed the kingdom, where Crown Prince Han (Fang Xinghe) led his troops in a desperate battle, almost managing to kill the King of Qin amidst the chaos, slaying generals and seizing flags →
The climax of the war scenes in the entire film →

The flashback ends, and Nameless decides to go find Prince Han.

The Queen said: "Besides me, no one else can the Crown Prince trust."
The three of them traveled together and finally met Prince Han.

Intense battle (the film's action climax) →
In a sword and spear duel, Nameless was utterly defeated by Crown Prince Han.
Crown Prince Han arrogantly asked: "With your abilities, how dare you presume to assassinate the Emperor?"
Nameless explained that assassination is different from battle. Prince Han remained silent, then discarded his spear and fought him hand-to-hand, only to be defeated by Nameless using his Hidden Sword Technique.
Crown Prince Han laughed loudly and said: "Take my head, and I wish you success!"

Anonymous used the flying snow to bribe the King of Qin's favorite minister with the Queen of Zhao, and presented the head of the Crown Prince of Han in the main hall.
Stab him.

Jing Ke failed to kill the King of Qin, and Wuming naturally had to fail as well.

However, Zhang Yimou made a mistake in explaining the reasons for and the course of the failure, insisting on playing with heights, and then he was severely reprimanded by Fang Ge.

If the original, awful, verbally-driven plot hadn't been changed, would it still be watchable?

It's not just Chinese people who can't accept it; foreigners are completely baffled too!

However, even Fang Xinghe was quite troubled about what kind of ending to change to maximize the audience's trust and even further promote culture and ideas.

If Wuming represents faith and Han Taizi represents righteousness, then is the King of Qin brave, cruel, wise, or simply blessed by Heaven?
The creators argued for three days, but in the end, Fang Xinghe made the final decision.

(End of this chapter)