Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 91, Section 90: Han Sanping: It's all or nothing!
After a brief commotion, the conference room fell silent.

The air was filled with the unique aroma of tea leaves, tobacco, and a mix of regional accents, a silent tension and restlessness flowing between them, like the calm before an impending storm.

After a long while, someone finally spoke.

However, it was the one who started the trouble.

It was the director of the Pearl River Film Studio. His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly: "Director Sanping, Comrade Wang Sheng's idea is very bold, and it is indeed a viable path. However, on the other hand, shouldn't we consider the issues of 'reputation' and 'influence'?"

He paused, looked around, and when he saw that everyone's eyes were on him, he continued, "Now, there are quite a few TV festivals and TV weeks across the country that are led by the government and supported or registered by the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television."

The Shanghai TV Festival, the Sichuan TV Festival, the Beijing TV Week, and the Eastern Guangdong TV Week are all well-known official or semi-official events that have been running for many years.

There's also the Chang'an TV Festival, which was organized in the area where Xi'an Film Studio is located, and it also received local support.

With dozens of film studios like ours forming a large alliance in private to distribute TV series independently and bypass existing platforms, won't the higher-ups think we're starting from scratch and creating a clique?

If the ministry or local authorities perceive this as a challenge to the existing order, leading to unnecessary trouble, or even... "extermination," then the losses would outweigh the gains.

The words of the director of the Pearl River Film Studio were like a stone thrown into the water, creating ripples.

Several factory managers immediately echoed this sentiment.

“Director Huang is right,” a deputy director of Emei Film Studio chimed in. “Ultimately, we’ll sell our TV dramas to television stations.”

It's hard to say there's no exchange of benefits between the TV station's purchasing department and these TV festivals and promotional events. If we create our own system, won't we offend some relevant local authorities?

Director Zhang of Xi'an Film Studio also looked grave: "To be honest, our participation in the Chang'an TV Festival is also to have a platform to showcase our works. If our alliance handles the distribution ourselves, it will inevitably divert the festival's resources and attention. Will the province and city have objections then? After all, the TV Festival is also a local cultural calling card, involving political achievements and face."

The factory director of the Hebei factory sighed, his voice tinged with helplessness: "We small factories have little influence, and what we fear most is offending our superiors. If the ministry issues a document saying that our kind of alliance does not comply with regulations, or if any leader expresses their opinion, we may find ourselves unable to move an inch. We don't want to end up losing our little bit of survival space instead of making money."

Anxiety, like a dark cloud, began to permeate the meeting room.

Each company has its own difficulties, but the biggest commonality is the fear of policy risks.

In 1996, the lingering influence of the system was still present, and the market had not yet been fully unleashed.

The cost of “making a mistake” could be unbearable for any film studio.

Just as the discussion was rising and the atmosphere was becoming tense, a loud voice with a heavy Nanjing accent rang out, drowning out the noise:
"Fear! Fear! Fear! All you ever do is fear!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was the director of Jinling Film Studio who was speaking.

He was a dark-skinned man, not tall but very sturdy, who was staring at him with a look of utter disappointment.

"Director Huang, Director Zhang, everyone," the director of Jinling Film Studio slammed his hand on the table, making the teacup lid jump, "Those TV festivals and TV weeks you've been talking about, are they good? Good! Big events, big leadership attention! But then what? How much of the real benefit actually ends up in our pockets from these glamorous festivals and weeks?"

He stood up abruptly, his finger almost touching the director of the Pearl River Film Studio's nose, and said, "How many films did your Pearl River Film Studio sell at the Guangdong Eastern Television Week last year? How much money did you get? Was it enough to pay the factory's employees a month's bonus? Huh?!"

Factory Director Huang opened his mouth, but no words came out.

The director of Jinling Film Studio then turned to the others: "And you! You're always thinking about not offending this person, not clashing with that person! But don't you think about it? Those provincial film companies, they make a fortune off our film copies, how much do they give us? They take the lion's share of a film, and we work so hard to make it, and we can't even recoup our costs!"

His words were like a knife, tearing open the wounds that many factory directors were unwilling to touch.

The rigidity and injustice of the film distribution system is the heaviest boulder weighing on almost all film studios.

"The path of making movies is getting narrower and narrower!"

The director of Jinling Film Studio spoke with fervor and indignation: "Now, Director Han and Comrade Wang Sheng have shown us a new path: television dramas! We can still sell them using our own connections! We can keep most of the money we make! Are we just going to let this opportunity slip by because we're afraid of offending people or taking risks?"

He surveyed the room, his gaze intense: "Let me put it bluntly, what are we factory directors for? Is it to put on a show for the leaders by organizing festivals and meetings, or is it to provide food for the hundreds or thousands of employees and their families?!"

The factory is barely surviving now, why would it care about those superficial things?
If we keep being so hesitant and fearful, we'll end up closing down! Then who will remember which television festivals we participated in? History books will only record that our film studio went bankrupt in a certain year and month!

The words of the director of Jinling Film Studio were like a thunderclap, silencing the entire conference room.

Many factory directors who had initially harbored doubts lowered their heads, their faces showing shame, or perhaps their thoughts had been exposed, their eyes darting around. "Director Jiu'an, your words may be rough, but the reasoning is sound."

A veteran deputy director of Changchun Film Studio slowly broke the silence: "We have indeed been forced into a corner. The film industry is in a slump, and if we don't find a new way out, we're doomed."

"But the risks..."

Some people were still muttering to themselves.

"Risk?" The director of Jinling Film Studio sneered, "What doesn't involve risk? Lying at home waiting to die is the least risky thing! With more than thirty factories joining forces, do you think we can't withstand the slightest storm?"

The meeting room erupted into debate once again, with voices of support and opposition mingling. However, it was clear that the director of Jinling Film Studio's speech, filled with realistic concern and a sense of tragic grandeur, had significantly shifted the balance towards a "risky gamble."

Seeing that the time was almost right, Han Sanping, who had been silently observing, coughed lightly.

His voice wasn't loud, but it instantly drew everyone's attention to him.

Han Sanping slowly stood up, pressing his hands together in a gesture of quiet.

His face was calm, but his eyes revealed an unwavering determination.

"Brothers," Han Sanping's voice was steady and powerful, carrying a calm and conciliatory tone, "Director Huang has his concerns, and Director Jiu'an has his reasons. We're sitting here today not to argue, but to find a way out, to ensure our workers can eat, and to ensure our film studio can survive!"

His gaze swept over each factory manager: "Risk? Do you think I, Han Sanping, don't know? I know! I probably know more about it than any of you here!"
But as Factory Director Jiu'an said, we can't do nothing out of fear. Waiting will only lead to our demise!

He then changed the subject, his tone becoming more pragmatic: "However, Director Huang's reminder is also correct; we can't act recklessly, we need to be strategic. Therefore, I have a suggestion—"

Everyone held their breath.

“Let’s not make such a big fuss yet.” Han Sanping looked at Wang Sheng: “Let’s use Wang Sheng’s just finished filming, ‘Harmony Brings Prosperity,’ to test the waters. It’s a three-episode New Year’s drama with a good cast and manageable costs. Let’s try to promote it through our alliance’s channels and see how TV stations in various places react, and also see… how the higher-ups react.”

He deliberately emphasized the word "above".

"If this drama is released smoothly, welcomed by the TV station, and no one from higher up speaks out, what does that mean? It means this path is viable! It means the market needs it, and the higher-ups tacitly approve! Then let's go all out and work hard!"

"If," Han Sanping paused, his gaze sharpening, "if someone really tries to stop us, saying that what we're doing isn't in accordance with the rules, or that it's not legitimate... we're not afraid!"

He raised his voice, a surge of pride welling up within him: "All thirty-one film studios combined, how many employees do we have? Including their families, can't we even gather ten thousand families? If the higher-ups don't give us a way out, and insist on letting our film studios die out like this, without any explanation..."

Han Sanping's voice suddenly rose, tinged with a sense of tragic heroism: "Then let me, Han Sanping, fight! Let me argue! Let me bang on the table! Even if the film studio still has to close down in the end, we must leave a mark of our resistance in the history books before it closes down!"

Let future generations know that we, the veteran filmmakers, struggled and fought to keep the flame of Chinese cinema burning! Instead of cowering and waiting to die like this!

These words resonated deeply, like the beating of war drums in everyone's hearts.

All the arguments, doubts, and fears from before seemed to be replaced by a more powerful emotion at this moment—a kind of fighting spirit and unwillingness to give up after being driven to the brink, a resolute determination to fight for survival.

The meeting room was eerily quiet; the only sound was heavy breathing.

After a long silence, Director Huang of the Pearl River Film Studio sighed softly, raised his hand first, and agreed: "I agree with Director Han's proposal. Let's try 'Harmony Brings Prosperity' first."

"agree!"

"Just do it!"

"Damn it, let's fight!"

"..."

The voices of seconding the motion rose and fell, eventually converging into a unanimous resolution.

Han Sanping looked at the group of "lords" before him, who were now sharing the same boat, and nodded heavily: "Alright! It's settled then! Let's use 'Harmony in the Family Brings Prosperity' as our rallying cry and fire the first shot of our alliance! It's all or nothing!"

(End of this chapter)