Generation Z Artists

Chapter 319 Ideas for the New Project
The entertainment industry has been quite lively lately, with private film and television companies springing up like mushrooms after rain, mainland actors' salaries soaring, and film and television investment projects surging.

Compared to the same period in the previous life, the prosperity of the film and television industry may have more than doubled.

The reason is simple: "Hero" and "Young Love" made a fortune.

"Less You" hasn't reached its settlement period yet, so let's leave that aside for now. "Heroes," on the other hand, has made headlines in the business world many times with its revenue.

$7 million in global box office revenue, $3.5 million in global DVD sales, nearly $8000 million in various copyrights, and countless other merchandise sales that haven't been fully tallied yet...

One movie generated a market of approximately $15 billion.

Of course, the revenue that goes to the production company isn't that much.

The distributor wants a share of the profits, the theaters want a share, the DVD sales channels want a share, and the peripheral manufacturers want a share…

The final revenue settled with the production company totaled 3.66 million.

It may not seem like much, just over 20%, but that's the inevitable result of not having a complete industry chain and overseas distribution channels.

So Zhang Weiping went crazy and started setting up a global distribution channel as soon as he got the money.

The two companies each received $1.83 million. Wei Ping waved the checks around, acquiring publishing companies in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, and actually made a name for himself.

Dong Youde was also tempted and applied to Fang Xinghe to build his own distribution channels.

"No approval."

Brother Fang stared intently at him.

"Zhang Weiping is sick, and you're joining in the fun?"

Dong Youde was unwilling to accept this: "But too much of our profit has been swallowed up by the distributors..."

"Let them profit from overseas distribution." Fang Xinghe was clear-headed and determined. "If you want to do it, just focus on domestic distribution."

The company's senior management didn't understand, especially the vice president who had just been recruited to be in charge of the distribution business, who was in a very bad mood.

"When will this protection money ever end...?"

He even muttered something to Fang Xinghe's face, questioning his decision.

"You can go to the finance department to settle your salary now."

Mr. Fang was decisive and cold-blooded, firing the manager he had just recruited on the spot.

“Having ambition is a good thing, but if you can’t see the big picture of the future and you’re unwilling to give up your self-righteous ideas and agree with me, then your ambition will only have negative value.”

Fang Xinghe doesn't need employees like that; no matter how capable they are at the micro-management level, it's meaningless.

He then explained the reasons in detail only to Dong Youde and Wang Chali.

People in the entertainment industry often have a misconception that acquiring a few distribution companies overseas will allow them to combine production and sales and establish a global distribution system like the six major Hollywood studios.

This is because they failed to see the true nature of things.

The reason why the Hollywood Big Six's global distribution is so successful is fundamentally due to the United States' dominant position in the Western world.

North America is their base, Latin America is their backyard, Europe is a follower who has paid protection money, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia are their staunch allies, and the Middle East and Southeast Asia are areas of military domination.

Therefore, the six can thrive anywhere.

Local media resources, publicity channels, cultural elites, government departments, gangs and shady businesses, and cinema chains all have to give you face and follow the rules.

If someone else were to make money from this kind of culture, why wouldn't the local powers exploit you to the bone?

Especially in China, due to ideological differences, Chinese distribution companies simply cannot establish an efficient distribution system in Western countries.

Building it yourself is useless, acquiring it is useless, renovating it is useless...

They had no choice but to obediently pay protection money.

Even being able to pay protection money is an extremely difficult task.

Did Nezha not want to pay protection money when it went to sea? Dumplings really wanted to, but they wouldn't accept it.

Back then, China was too intimidating, and the struggle with the United States was too intense. So even though it was a very universally appealing animated film, it received no promotion, no screenings, and no protection. They would rather not make money than include it in their productions.

Now, the situation is different. China and the Western world are in a honeymoon period, which has given Fang Xinghe the opportunity to rise to prominence.

He remained unperturbed, always remembering that this was only a temporary peace.

Spend $2 million to build a decent global distribution system, so that all movies can be produced and distributed by the company, making it big and powerful, and magnificent. Wow, how wonderful that sounds!
It's pure bullshit.

If you refuse to pay protection money now and insist on setting up your own business, prematurely revealing your ambitions, then fine, they won't play with you anymore. They'll switch from limited cooperation to all-out struggle. What will you do then?
Fang Xinghe is not afraid of struggle; he was born to fight enemies. But the problem is, this kind of struggle based on money is meaningless.

The real battleground lies in ideology, in cultural export, and in awakening national self-confidence.

To achieve all this, one must temporarily forgo money, share profits with the enemy in exchange for their paralysis and assistance, and output as many works and personal ideas as possible during the limited honeymoon period.

To put it bluntly, the extra money earned from building your own distribution channels is not as important as gaining more support within the enemy camp.

So what if I make an extra 5 million in 5 years? I don't need that kind of money!

True madness is like Fang Xinghe's; he knows where the road is and what he should give up.

At the end of the conversation, he summarized for Wang Chali and Dong Youde—

"From a macro, future-oriented, and high-dimensional perspective, nothing is more important than maintaining my position as the No. 1 global pop idol in the long term."

As long as I stand there, the flag will remain.

……

Since that day, Starry Sky Films, which had more than 10 billion RMB in its accounts, has fallen silent and has shown no intention of strategic expansion whatsoever.

In fact, using this money to build our own cinema chain is far more reliable than using it to build our own global distribution channels.

But Fang Xinghe still resolutely rejected it.

"Let's wait until the profits from 'Less Than You' come back before making a decision. There's no need to rush into building our own theaters. If children in the mountains go hungry for even one more day, they might become disillusioned with the world."

Therefore, Fang Xinghe invested all the profits into a special program to help students in mountainous areas, leaving only a little over 100 million yuan to film his next project.

When domestic media outlets found out the approximate figures, they were practically all in a frenzy.

More than 10 billion!

And more than 10 billion in 2003!

The money was used to build 588 primary school complexes that do not require land purchase. Each building costs an average of more than 200 million yuan. If the money is spent sparingly, it can build a total building area of ​​5000 square meters.

However, even the largest central town is less than 3000 square meters. The money saved from the size was invested in quality.

Frame structure, earthquake resistant to level 8, standard canteen, double-glazed windows, thermal insulation layer...

Fang Xinghe didn't opt ​​for flashy but impractical air conditioning or underfloor heating, as it would be too expensive for the mountain area. He prioritized practicality, ensuring every penny was spent wisely.

Oriental Finance released the relevant data and described it as "investing one-sixth of the nation's richest man's fortune into the future of the country."

Xinhua News Agency defined this action as "the most vibrant sincerity of Chinese youth".

The education authorities held a special conference, which was quite interesting—the recipients of the awards didn't attend, and the education authorities went ahead and called on young people across the country to learn from Fang Xinghe.

Immediately afterwards, banners with six characters were hung in primary and secondary schools across the country.

"Learn from Fang Xinghe."

To learn, you need materials.

His deeds were compiled into an article by the education authorities and distributed to all schools across the country. Each school arranged its own time to organize students to study and discuss them.

Subsequently, the Taoli Cup Primary School Student Essay Competition used this as its theme for this year's essay evaluation.

Middle school students weren't spared either; they had to write self-reflection summaries. Across the country, primary and secondary school students were groaning in despair, but the hidden "Full Sky of Stars" (a group of students who had been active in the community) had a very different experience... no, it shouldn't be described as hidden; now "Full Sky of Stars" is a legitimate "official organization."

If you idolize other celebrities, your mom might pick up a broom, scold you for not focusing on your studies, give you a couple of hard whacks, and tell you to go back to your studies right away.

If you pursue Fang Xinghe, she'll most likely gossip and ask, "That celebrity who donated billions?"

"There aren't that many!"

Naza stood with her hands on her hips, looking quite pleased with herself.

"So far, it's only a little over a billion RMB, just shy of two billion... For Fang Shen, it's nothing at all!"

Although even her own mother had no idea what she was so proud of, this was indeed the norm for Baby's Breath.

On campus, they walk sideways, looking down at all the "miscellaneous fans" with arrogance.

Online, they launched a fierce attack, criticizing the Ministry of Education and attacking online trolls, becoming invincible in all forums.

All existing forums have a dedicated section for Mantianxing.

For example, Tianya already has a film and television section and a celebrity gossip section. In addition to these, there is a special section called "This Side and That Side", which only discusses Fang Xinghe.

To the average person, these fans are quite annoying.

For Fang Hei, Mantianxing's arrogance further intensified their anger and jealousy.

However, given the overwhelming momentum, they have no way to change the situation, at least not in the short term.

By the way, the number of baby's breath flowers in China has finally reached its limit.

Level 1 powder buildup: 6.5 million

Tier 2 Midfielder: 3050 million

Level 3 die-hard fans: 450 million

Level 4 Frenzy: 152 million

Level 5 Belief: 143588
Starlight Value: 40 billion

Star Value: 0
The excess powder comes and goes, and can be ignored.

The number of core fans hasn't increased much, it seems to have reached its limit.

Fun fact: In any era, there is a limit to the total number of people who follow celebrities.

This upper limit is highly positively correlated with the total number of women aged 10-35.

Of course, there are also mothers over 35 years old who are fans, but most women in this age group focus on family and career, and the proportion of them who have nothing to do is too small, so they can only be a supplement.

Similarly, the number of men who are fanatical about sex is large but the percentage is small.

Men are like this: they all respect Fang Xinghe and give him a thumbs up, but if you ask them to help Fang Xinghe argue, or chase after him, that's just wishful thinking.

If you don't put in enough effort, no matter how much you admire someone, it will only be a fleeting admiration.

Unless we find a way to cut off more of them... cough cough.

Fang Xinghe has clearly stopped playing basketball, but Nike's Galaxy III is still scheduled to launch as planned, with 5 limited edition men's shoes specifically designed to attract male fans.

If you keep exploiting them for a few more years, you'll eventually cultivate a group of die-hard fans.

In short, with a sufficient base, Fang Xinghe must now focus on refining his fanbase and striving to convert them into even more fervent and die-hard supporters.

Among all fan levels, only the most devoted fans can transcend the timeframe of ten or twenty years and remain steadfast in their support for him.

The level of a die-hard fan depends on the real-world environment. If they become more committed, their beliefs will solidify. However, if they face busy and turbulent realities, they are more likely to degenerate into a level 3 or level 2 fan.

Mid-tier fans are relatively more fragile; they can't withstand much wind and rain, nor can they endure a long period of silence.

Therefore, the most important mission of popular stars is to maintain exposure. Fan Bingbing is willing to do anything for exposure, otherwise she might get herself into trouble.
Learn from this experience. You must know that this cannot be rushed. First, you need to wait for the right time; second, you need to accumulate works; and third, you need to wait for the fans to continue fighting... But there's not much left to do, as there are no worthy opponents to be found.

Now that we've dealt with the immediate matters, it's time to carefully consider our next project...

The matter of providing educational assistance is now in its final stages.

The current situation is that the national media are singing praises, and only a handful of people dare to stand up against the wind and sing a different tune.

One has to admire the dedication and audacity of domestic public intellectuals; compared to their later counterparts, they were truly outrageous at that moment.

Lieyan Mountain declared: "Fang Xinghe's attempt to win people's hearts is utterly despicable!"

It's remarkable that he found such an angle to rekindle the resistance of the haters.

Cheng Yizhong also wrote a magnificent article, which included a famous quote—

"The root cause of the current backward state of education lies in the combination of institutional dereliction of duty, widespread government corruption, and inaction among lower-level bureaucrats!"

This has given some capitalists room to manipulate the system by offering fame and fortune!

Fang Xinghe wanted to be a saint, and utilitarianism emanated from every pore of his body. But tragically, our reality not only allowed him to succeed, but even helped him succeed!
If the country does what it is supposed to do, there will be no opportunity for him to point fingers, be smug, and create momentum.
If we accept his charity, then from now on, no one will be able to resist his tyranny…

The article immediately generated a huge response upon its release.

Many strange people have started saying strange things.

"Fang Xinghe harbors ill intentions and has grand ambitions."

"Fang Xinghe wants to be a modern dictator."

"Fang Xinghe doesn't love money, but he loves fame more than anything."

"Fang Xinghe is actually a thorn in the side of the nation."

……

From the perspective of Generation Z, these idiots are incredibly abstract, but the middle class and petit bourgeois actually love to believe in this kind of thing.

The self-perceived independence, clarity, and difference is the greatest poison of this era.

Fang Xinghe saw the noise and also realized the enormous damage that nonsense was causing to his aura.

The company's database contained information collected over the past three years. He specifically took the time to organize it and discovered an interesting trend—

The more economically developed a region is, the more high-grade starry sky there will be.

At the same time, there are more and more elites who disapprove of him, freedom seekers who deeply resent him, and Western believers who harbor deep hatred for him.

A developed economy is a double-edged sword. It provides little girls with opportunities to learn about him and to earn pocket money to admire him, while it also fosters a strong sense of superiority and stubbornness in the materialistic petty citizens who consider themselves upper class.

The less economically developed a region is, the more low-grade baby's breath there will be.

He has a very good reputation among the people, but poor students and the working class have neither the time nor the inclination to follow celebrities. In fact, their understanding of him is quite superficial and often contains errors.

Strictly speaking, this misalignment stems from his development path being too high-end.

Whether it's novels, the NBA, or movies, these are not mainstream forms of entertainment that the vast majority of poor people in China can afford.

Luanchuan County has only one movie theater, basketball is rarely watched in the surrounding towns, and school teachers don't explain the essays in "My Youth" to their students.

Of the 8 million farmers, only the younger ones know that Fang Xinghe is a rising star in the entertainment industry and that he is very popular.

Students are now aware of his deeds, but this understanding is very superficial, mechanical, official, and rigid.

We must find a way to resolve this imbalance...

Once he made up his mind, Fang Xinghe quickly figured out what his next project should be.

He opened the drawer of his desk, pulled out a folder with the words "Project Pending" written on it.

(End of this chapter)