Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 580 578: Who Else But Me?

"Boss, the public opinion is still very heated, and the reactions from all sides are quite intense. Especially the two parts about artists' cultural literacy and capital encroaching on creative work, there are quite a few opposing voices, which have also had some impact on the company's stock price. Do you think we need to cool things down?"

Some time has passed since Wang Sheng published those papers and sparked the debate, and the situation has intensified with the help of various parties.

"It takes more than one cold day for the ice to freeze three feet deep."

After listening to Li Tingting's summary report on the recent public opinion, Wang Sheng said calmly, "Intense? As expected. It has affected too many people's interests and cut off too many people's shortcuts. It would be strange if they didn't jump up and down."

"Tingting, do you really expect to make this industry completely clean, law-abiding, and virtuous overnight with just a few articles on paper?" Wang Sheng's tone was slightly amused.

He paused, then said, "Think about it, what about other circles?... Heh."

Wang Sheng shook his head and didn't continue, but his meaningful "hehe" said it all.

"This circle has too low a barrier to entry and too many temptations. In this world of fame and fortune, how many people can truly remain untainted?"

Wang Sheng: "I myself am quite adept at this, and plenty of men and women who want to climb the social ladder try every means to get close to me. There are many people in the industry who are even more adept and have no bottom line than me."

He is not a moral saint, nor does he intend to portray himself as a defender of morality.

What he pursued was never the vague concept of "purification," but rather the establishment of order in chaos and the delineation of boundaries in disorder.

"Want to completely purify the Chinese entertainment industry? It's difficult, as difficult as ascending to heaven."

Wang Sheng concluded, "But it's not impossible to make it a little more normal and establish a set of rules that everyone should at least have to follow on the surface."

One reason he dealt such heavy blows to Wang Jiawei and Lu Chuan was that they "didn't understand the rules" and crossed the red line he had drawn. The deeper reason was to show the entire industry the strength and will of the "Shengying Group"—those who obey me may not prosper, but those who oppose me will perish!

Only those who have established unshakeable authority are qualified to be rule-makers.

"Therefore, the next step is to make this set of 'rules' more specific, systematic, and quantifiable."

Wang Sheng: "Directors should have a director's level, screenwriters should have a screenwriter's level, and actors, singers, producers, and even investors... should all have a clear and evaluable level standard."

Li Tingting immediately understood: "Does the boss want to establish a professional rating system that covers the entire industry?"

“That’s right,” Wang Sheng affirmed. “Who will do the rating? Who will set the standards? Looking at the entire industry right now, in terms of influence, resources, practical experience, and understanding of the industry, besides our Shengying Group, who else is more qualified to say ‘no one else but us’?”

This is not arrogance, but a calm assessment based on strength and the current situation.

Shengying Media has become a behemoth spanning production, distribution, cinema chains, talent management, and even international cooperation. While it may seem domineering to lead the establishment of industry standards, it actually has the strongest feasibility.

"But this requires official endorsement and involves more stakeholders; it cannot be done by one party alone."

Wang Sheng pondered for a moment and said, "First, we should promote the establishment of a 'Film and Television Industry Professional Talent Evaluation Standards Research Group' or a similar organization. The name can be reconsidered, but its nature must be clear: it should be industry self-regulation and professionally oriented."

"Don't rush," Wang Sheng instructed Li Tingting. "Have the Group's Strategic Development Department draft a detailed plan, including the framework of the rating system, such as the classification of each occupational level, assessment dimensions, review process, organizational structure, and a list of departments and key personnel to be contacted. Let's first unify our thinking internally and prepare our resources."

“Understood.” Li Tingting quickly took notes. “What about external relations…?” “Externally, maintain the momentum of the debate, but our core members should no longer personally participate. Let the scholars and commentators who support us speak out.”

Wang Sheng waved his hand, "We need to create a public opinion atmosphere that 'industry transformation is inevitable, and Shengying Group is willing to take responsibility.' As for the specific rating committee... let them talk it out for now. Bickering, bargaining, and exchanging interests are all inevitable. We have plenty of time, we'll take it slowly."

Rome wasn't built in a day, and establishing industry standards is an even longer process.

……

Time slipped away quietly amidst Wang Sheng's methodical planning and the overt and covert power struggles among various parties.

The idea of ​​establishing an industry rating system has begun initial contact and discussion at the "research group" level.

As Wang Sheng predicted, the reactions from all sides were mixed.

Within the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, there are voices supporting standardization, as well as cautious voices concerned about the excessive concentration of power in the hands of market entities; Han Sanping of China Film Group has an ambiguous attitude, expressing support for industry standardization while implying that the matter involves a wide range of issues and requires long-term consideration; the senior members of the China Film Association are more concerned about how to quantify artistic standards; while institutions such as Beijing Film Academy have shown a strong interest in participating in the formulation of standards and influencing the future direction of talent cultivation.

This is a long game, and it needs to be played slowly.

Wang Sheng is not in a hurry to achieve quick results. As long as Shengying Group maintains its current dominant position and continues to demonstrate its "sincerity" and "ability" to promote the healthy development of the industry to the authorities, the initiative will always remain in his own hands.

As autumn deepens in Beijing, the yellow leaves fall from the branches, and the chill of early winter quietly descends, another major event that has captured the attention of filmmakers worldwide enters its final countdown.

The first China-US International Film Festival will be grandly opened on November 14, 2004, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

As November arrives, the film festival's promotional campaign enters its final and most climax phase.

In China, as one of the organizers, the event received great attention. It was not only heavily promoted on its official website and affiliated media, but also coordinated with CCTV and mainstream newspapers to conduct a series of reports, positioning the film festival as "an important milestone in Sino-US cultural exchanges" and "an important platform for Chinese films to go global."

In the United States, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) played a key role in the partnership.

Leveraging its strong industry influence, the MPAA coordinated support from its major member companies—such as Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Fox—providing significant convenience for the film festival in terms of both media promotion and industry participation.

In addition, organizations such as the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board and the California Film Commission actively participated, viewing it as a major event to enhance local cultural influence.

In East Asia, especially South Korea and Japan, due to the cooperative relationships and influence that Wang Sheng had previously established through projects such as "Seoul Farewell," the major local media outlets devoted considerable attention to the film festival, focusing on reporting the Asian films shortlisted for the main competition and the activities of celebrities such as Fan Xiaopang and Li Bingbing who participated in the event.

In Europe, despite the geographical distance, the film festival's unique positioning as a "dialogue between China and the United States," along with the participation of heavyweight European film critics such as Charles Teson (former editor-in-chief of Cahiers du Cinéma) on the jury, attracted the attention of authoritative film magazines such as the French Cahiers du Cinéma and the British Sight & Sound. They regarded this film festival as a new window to observe the interaction and competition between the two major film markets of China and the United States.

The Maoyan Movies platform launched a special page for the film festival, providing real-time updates and voting predictions, which sparked great enthusiasm among domestic movie fans.

The pop-up news on Tencent QQ and the entertainment headlines on major portal websites were almost entirely dominated by news such as "The Sino-US International Film Festival is about to open," "Wang Sheng competes for the Golden Angel with 'Havoc in Heaven,'" and "Chinese stars shine on the Los Angeles red carpet."

This is a meticulously planned global cultural marketing campaign with the support of multiple parties.

Wang Sheng, as the soul of the film festival and its most important promoter, will lead the Shengying Media delegation and some of the main creators of the participating and competing films to Los Angeles by chartered plane two days before the opening.

(End of this chapter)