I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 355 The Slowly Burning Flame

The rain continued to fall as Liu Jinghua silently walked into the gate of [Xuan Shi Entertainment] company.

The past two years have been a rollercoaster of ups and downs for her...

After leaving the company she had worked for for five years due to differences in philosophy, she founded Century Entertainment and formed a strategic partnership with Xuan Shi Entertainment, focusing on artist management and low-budget production.

With the help of Zhou Yang's rise, she returned to the management of [Huashang Brothers] to expand her influence, but encountered a dramatic change in the industry: the Zhang brothers sold all their shares, and the company became a puppet of capital.

After her equity was continuously diluted, she left the company in disappointment with a return on investment of 2 million RMB, and now she can only return to Century Entertainment to start all over again.

In fact, it's not just Huasheng Brothers Film Company that's in turmoil; several major film companies in China have experienced severe upheavals in the past six months.

[Shengshi Entertainment] suffered huge losses and its stock price plummeted by half due to blindly following trends and producing mindless romance films. [Xingmei Films] experienced a setback overseas with its film "The Feast of Kings," leading to investors withdrawing funding from subsequent projects and forcing the shelving of multiple projects.

Even more fatally, with the strong intervention of Hongsheng Capital in conjunction with international capital, these companies are gradually losing their autonomy. Veterans such as Zhang Zhonglei were forced to sign agreements to relinquish their voting rights, and the core creative team left one after another.

This storm, stirred up by capital, is pushing China's film and television industry into an unprecedented state of division...

However, Liu Jinghua also sensed a hint of crisis!

……

in the office.

Zhou Yang poured Liu Jinghua a cup of tea.

Raindrops tapped against the window, and a faint aroma of tea filled the office.

"What are your plans for the future?" Zhou Yang asked, looking at her.

Liu Jinghua gave a wry smile: "【Huashang Brothers】has completely changed. After capital entered the market, all original projects were shelved, and now they only do Hollywood distribution... I plan to continue running 【Century Entertainment】 and continue to do artist management and small film production!"

Zhou Yang nodded: "I happen to have a few projects that I can entrust to Century Entertainment for co-production."

Liu Jinghua's eyes lit up: "What type?"

"Romance films, tokusatsu films, fantasy films, suspense films, and a comedy film called 'Kung Fu Soccer'..." Zhou Yang smiled. "Although it won't make a lot of money, it'll be enough to support a team. Also..." He paused, "If you're interested, you can participate in [Xuan Shi]'s new director support program to cultivate some new talents."

Liu Jinghua pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up: "President Zhou, aren't you afraid of being besieged by Hollywood?"

Zhou Yang looked out at the rain and suddenly burst into laughter: "Starting with just a few beat-up cameras back in 'Monkey King vs. Superman 2,' what haven't we seen? Are we afraid of them crushing us? We don't care about the overseas market, but the Chinese market... bring it on..."

His laughter was hearty and sincere, like a spring breeze that instantly dispelled the gloom in Liu Jinghua's heart.

Seeing the confident gleam in his eyes, Liu Jinghua's tense shoulders unconsciously relaxed, and a long-lost smile appeared on his lips.

"Good! That's enough!"

Just as the two had finished shaking hands, the office door was suddenly pushed open.

"No, Mr. Li, Mr. Zhou is busy, you can't go in..."

"Damn it, we're in a real crisis, what's the point of stopping us now!"

Xu Tingting hurriedly tried to stop her, but to no avail.

Zhou Yang and Liu Jinghua subconsciously looked towards the door, where they saw Li Changhe from Changhe Film and Television standing there in a disheveled suit.

He held a crumpled agreement in his hand.

“President Zhou,” his voice was hoarse, “those vampires want to take 51% of the company’s shares… We at Changhe Films don’t want to sell our souls, so we’ve come to you!”

Zhou Yang narrowed his eyes, staring at Li Changhe who was standing at the door.

As one of the former top five film and television companies in China, Changhe Film and Television has been involved in the suppression of Zhou Yang over the past three years.

Li Changhe himself once pointed at Zhou Yang's nose in public and called him a "troublemaker in the entertainment industry" and a "cancer in the industry".

Although this company is usually low-profile, it is never absent from actions targeting Zhou Yang.

Surprisingly, amidst this wave of Hollywood capital influx, while the other four major film studios succumbed, Li Changhe has persevered to this day.
Zhou Yang put down his teacup: "Mr. Li, what a rare guest."

Li Changhe smiled wryly: "Stop being sarcastic, I'm here to discuss cooperation..."

"What cooperation?"

Li Changhe took a deep breath: "President Zhou, we did have some past disagreements, but now is not the time to dwell on those. This time, I've brought the entire production team and distribution channels of [Changhe Films], as well as a 15% share transfer agreement. I hope to collaborate with your company on projects and obtain joint distribution rights for several films. In this fiercely competitive market, we know we've lost the right to compete independently, so we've decided to place our bets on you..."

"Oh?" Zhou Yang raised an eyebrow slightly and gestured for him to sit down: "President Li, please sit down and have a cup of tea. We can talk slowly."

........................

"What exactly have I been filming all these years?"

evening.

The rain stopped.

The setting sun gradually spread across the mountaintops in the distance.

Liang Xiaogang sat in his dimly lit studio, smoking one cigarette after another.

The projector played Zhou Yang's movies on a loop, from "Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2" to "The Devil Knight." The crude special effects that he had once looked down on now brutally tore open his pride.

When "The Devil Knight" swept the Chinese film industry, Liang Xiaogang locked himself in his studio for ten days to thoroughly reflect on his past.

At the heart of this profound self-reflection is Zhou Yang's rise and why he suddenly feels so powerless.

For Liang Xiaogang, these twenty-odd days were the most impactful period of his career...

The arrogance and haughtiness of the past, the blind pursuit of blockbusters, have all vanished like fragments.
At that moment, he felt as if he had just woken up from a dream.

Under the dim light of the setting sun.

Liang Xiaogang stared at the mountain of cigarette butts piled up in the ashtray and suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly.

He pulled out a script titled "No Love, No Disturbance," which had been gathering dust in the depths of his drawer for many years. It was an urban comedy written five years ago based on other people's blind date experiences, but it was rejected by investors on the grounds that it was "not commercial enough."

He touched the yellowed pages.

At that moment, he suddenly realized how ridiculous his obsession with big-budget productions over the years had been. Those exaggerated special effects and empty epic feel had long since made him lose his way and forget his forte: down-to-earth humor.

"Ding!"

Just then, the phone screen lit up, and Li Zhengtao's phone rang.

"Old Liang, the movie 'Demonic Knight' gave me a lot of inspiration. I've thought about it carefully for a long time now, and I finally understand why my movies have been unable to gain wider acceptance!"

“We’ve all focused too much on stories with a Western soul and an Eastern shell, which has resulted in something that’s neither fish nor fowl…”

"Actually, the kind of movies that can be accepted by both the East and the West are co-productions. These days, I received an invitation from [Hong Sheng Capital] to come out of retirement and produce [Tianyu Media]. I've decided to make 'The Great Wall: Taotie'!"

Liang Xiaogang listened attentively.

Li Zhengtao's voice carried a hint of seriousness as he detailed the magnificent co-production project over the phone.

"This is a monster movie set against the backdrop of the Great Wall. The protagonist is a foreign explorer who gradually unveils the mysterious Chinese behemoths originating from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. The film has a budget of $1.5 million and is a co-production of companies such as Paimon Pictures, Hongsheng Capital, Huasheng Brothers, and Tianyu Media. The film is produced to Hollywood industry standards. The special effects are handled by companies such as Industrial Light & Magic and Weta Digital, with the budget for the 'Taotie' design and war scenes alone exceeding $5000 million. I would like to invite you to serve as art director and assistant director, and let's make a splash in the global market together."

"I won't hide it from you, I want this movie to hit the global box office..."

"..."

Liang Xiaogang's fingers suddenly trembled uncontrollably as he held his phone.

On the other end of the phone, Li Zhengtao's grand vision truly captivated him!
A $1.5 million investment, a top Hollywood special effects team, and ambitions for global distribution...

These words bathed his long-dormant dream of becoming an international director like gold.

"Old Li, I..."

Just as he was about to speak, there was a sudden, urgent knocking on the studio door.

When the secretary pushed open the door and entered, the bank transfer notification on her laptop startled him.

"Director Liang, Zhou Yang's studio just transferred 1000 million RMB, with the note 'Script Creative Fee'!"

The secretary's voice trembled; even now, she was still somewhat shocked: "The finance department has confirmed three times that this payment has no additional terms or conditions!"

Liang Xiaogang stared at the familiar official seal of "Xuanshi Entertainment" at the end of the transfer screenshot, and after confirming it several times, he was slightly shocked.

Immediately afterwards, his mind went completely blank!
Zhou Yang, that bastard!

This is……

What does that mean?
"This……"

At that moment, it felt like something was stuck in his throat, and he suddenly couldn't speak...

Images of myself publicly mocking Zhou Yang over the years flashed before my eyes...

From criticizing him for "desecrating the art of film" during the "Monkey King vs. Superman 2" era, to attacking him for "selling blood and violence" when "Saw" was released, and even posting a veiled sarcasm on Weibo before the film's premiere last year, asking "Is he going to make a movie about riding a Harley and fighting zombies...?"

But no one expected that this sarcastic remark would actually...

What I didn't expect was that it would turn into "Dark Knight"...

At this moment, the "industry cancer" that he had cursed for many years actually took the initiative to send him ten million when he fell into the lowest point of his career due to the failure of "The Feast of Kings"!

He immediately instructed his secretary to go online and check on Zhou Yang's whereabouts.

But the internet was calm.

Zhou Yang, who is usually fond of creating hype, was surprisingly low-key this time.

They neither used the money to make a big fuss about him nor even let out a word about it.

You know, in the past, Zhou Yang could create a huge buzz even before the money arrived...

this moment……

He was stunned!

He frowned, hesitated for a long time, and finally made a phone call to Zhou Yang.

The call was answered quickly.

"Zhou Yang, what do you mean by this? Is this ten million a mockery of me, or an insult?"

"Director Liang, the creative inspiration for 'The Demon Knight' came from a single sentence you said. This money is for creative fees. Regardless of any past conflicts, the creative fees that are due must be paid in full. My previous sarcastic remarks about you were serious, and this creative collaboration is also serious..."

"You seem to have given it to me before..."

"Did you give it to me? Anyway, there's plenty of money, I'll give it to you again... Consider it a share of the profits from the box office success. You know, my film partners all get a share of the profits..."

"Zhou Yang, what exactly do you want? What do you want? Don't think you can buy me off with money. I'll still scold you as much as I want. Don't think that just because you're in power now, I can just do whatever I want to you. Let me tell you..."

"Alright, alright, if there's nothing else, I'll hang up now. I still have a lot of work to do."

"and many more!"

"What else?"

"I've received information that overseas capital is currently investing in domestic film projects of China's four major film companies. They're preparing to join forces with Hollywood to target you. I'm warning you, during the upcoming domestic film protection month, you'd better keep a low profile..."

"Yeah. I know!"

"besides……"

"What else?"

Liang Xiaogang's hand holding the phone trembled slightly.

long silence.

Finally, he took a deep breath, his voice hoarse: "Zhou Yang... I have a notebook in my drawer called 'No Love, No Disturbance,' it's about urban matchmaking... This ten million, I won't take advantage of you, consider it an investment in my movie, and... I'll list your company as a production and distribution company..."

He stopped abruptly before he could finish speaking, as if he had used up all his courage, and hung up the phone.

(End of this chapter)