Generation Z Artists

Chapter 395 The Madness of the World
Actually, the press conference for this new film didn't go very smoothly.

Although Fang Xinghe, with his immense wealth, kept most media outlets from making any rash moves, his choice of Sony ultimately put him on the opposite side of the Big Five.

— Sony, which was already facing rejection, offered such disgusting conditions, making the two sides enemies in a sense.

Fang Xinghe's first modern action film shot in Hollywood has affected the interests of many people.

For example, 20th Century Fox's *Fantastic Four: Rise of the Four*, *Rush Hour 3*, and *Die Hard 4*; Warner Bros.' *I Am Legend* and *300*; Paramount Pictures' *Shooter*; Universal's *The Bourne Legacy*; and Disney's *National Treasure*...

All action films in the broad sense will be impacted by "Taken," the only difference being the degree of impact.

Warner Bros. was the least affected; Will Smith simply threw a tantrum and suggested, "I know my influence isn't as great as SR's, so I don't deserve such a high salary. Why don't you reconsider and ask him to make this film?"

Warner felt a chill run down her spine and frantically tried to prove to her idol: I love you, and I'm willing to give everything for you.

But... asking for a higher salary won't work.

In particular, it is impossible to prioritize dividends.

Yes, Fang Xinghe's "20% share of the total box office revenue" is a unique and destructive condition.

Tom Cruise received a record-breaking $20 million advance payment for Mission: Impossible III, plus a 25% share of the box office revenue. However, even this was far less than Fang Xinghe's "global box office revenue share".

As for Will Smith, the terms he received for "I Am Legend" were a $2000 million upfront payment plus 8% of the net profit, which is even more disparate.

The difference between total box office revenue sharing and first-time dollar revenue sharing is that the theater chain receives a full 40%-45% advance.

Tom Cruise earned a net profit of $75 million from Mission: Impossible III, but the total global box office of Mission: Impossible III was only $3.98 million. Paramount was essentially working for Tom Cruise for free. As a result, Mission: Impossible IV was delayed for five years before filming began, with the price reduced to $1500 + 20%.

Mission: Impossible III was released in 2006 and has now been confirmed as a failure. As a result, Will Smith's salary terms were quite "stable". Just when the negotiations were almost complete, Fang Xinghe dropped a bombshell.

What does it mean to be a "Chinese Destroyer"? Just look at how chaotic Hollywood is these days.

Warner Bros. ultimately couldn't ignore Will Smith's resentment, so they gave him a 2% bonus on net profit and a 2% bonus on producer back-end earnings.

This did not satisfy Will Smith, but Warner Bros. could not offer any more.

Therefore, neither of them was happy.

No, that's not right. It's the Big Five and all of Hollywood's top stars who are unhappy.

The wolf was coming, but they couldn't stop it. Although most people were trying to remain restrained, a small number of complaints were enough to disrupt the press conference.

In short, they were hostile and asked a lot of impolite questions.

Are you satisfied with the performance of "The Return of the Condor Heroes"?

Why not continue making Chinese-style period action films and instead switch to modern action films?

[If you lived in a country where guns are prohibited, would you be capable of filming good gunfight action sequences?]

The story is very clichéd and lacks the profound core that you've always valued. Don't you think this purely commercial popcorn flick is completely unbecoming of your status as a master?

[Compared to you picking up a gun and shooting, most viewers and I would much rather see your period epics, grand in scale and full of oriental charm. That's the essence of your unique action philosophy. Do you realize that you're heading towards a wrong ending?]

[It's unlikely that "Taken" will reach the heights of "Hero" and "Less Than You." Will you regret your arrogance?]

You are letting down your fans!

……

The aggressiveness of the American media did not frighten Fang Xinghe, but it did frighten the media in China, Japan and South Korea.

At the scene, the media from Japan and South Korea didn't dare to utter a single word, and could only ask the usual questions tremblingly, while the Chinese media were even worse off, and were completely led astray.

A Sina reporter, filled with righteous indignation, asked: "Your two major period drama roles are unique in the Western world. Why not continue to shoot Chinese-style period epics instead of wasting time shooting these low-budget B-movies? Haven't you always claimed to be promoting the image of Chinese culture? 13 billion Chinese people will be disappointed in you!"

What the hell?!

Previously, no matter what the American media asked, Fang Xinghe had not gotten angry. But now that this domestic idiot had opened his mouth, he could no longer suppress his anger.

You believe everything people say? Who the hell do you think you are, representing 13 billion Chinese people in front of me?!

Switch accounts, switch accounts, the trash-talking god is online!
Fang Xinghe launched a tirade in front of global media.

His emotions were not intense, and his tone was calm and unhurried. You could not sense his anger from his demeanor, but the words that came out of his mouth were earth-shattering.

"Many media friends are curious about why I don't continue making Chinese martial arts films. The reason is simple: domestic production companies and professional media have never figured out one thing—Western audiences don't actually like watching Chinese period dramas."

"what?!"

The audience erupted in a frenzy, completely taken aback by Fang Xinghe's argument.

"Nonsense!" The NetEase reporter, her face flushed with anger, immediately retorted, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, and The Return of the Condor Heroes—three blockbuster Chinese period dramas have already become global hits!"

American journalists, European journalists, Japanese and Korean journalists... they were all stunned.

They never expected that a mere film release conference would elicit such fierce opposition from Chinese domestic media towards Fang Xinghe—even though it was the American media that put pressure on him first, shouldn't the Chinese media have been determined to support SR?
"No, Chinese people are not like that."

The editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Daily News chuckled and muttered, "They're always fighting amongst themselves, it's the same everywhere, so they're destined to be the world's factory, doing the lowest-end jobs..."

The Fox colleague next to him nodded vigorously: "Yes, that's the root cause of why they're always teetering on the brink of collapse!"

To Gen Z, this might seem like pure idiocy and prejudice, but in today's world, it's a common perception.

When will the "China collapse theory" stop being so popular? In 2020!
Fang Xinghe didn't care how foreigners viewed this viewpoint, and even liked it when they held and believed in this fallacy. But he simply couldn't stand that the international journalists of the four major domestic internet news platforms were so foolish and so obsequious to foreigners.

Instead, he laughed.

With a smile and in a calm manner, he expressed his opinion.

"The success of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' has given Chinese filmmakers too many illusions, as if only period epics can be considered Chinese and can break through international borders and gain international favor."

The truth is quite the opposite; it wasn't passion, but merely curiosity.

Western audiences don't even like watching their own country's epic films, let alone Chinese period dramas.

Epic blockbusters have always been a major pitfall for Hollywood. To date, which big-budget epic blockbuster has achieved high box office returns? None, right?

The scene suddenly fell silent.

Hollywood reporters perked up their ears; they knew the reality best. Fang Xinghe was absolutely right—epic blockbusters were indeed huge traps.

But why?
The media has no answer, industry experts have no answer, and the six major Hollywood studios have even less of an answer.

They can only keep guessing in confusion and continue to try and fail in chaos.

Could it be... that SR knows the reason?!
Yes, he certainly knew that the experts in 2006 couldn't explain the reason, but Chinese netizens in later generations understood it immediately.

The God of Criticism smiled, his tone not at all aggressive, but leisurely and confident.

"The reason is actually very simple—"

Because the West lacks genuine history, it does not value history and has no passion for it.

This is not an isolated case, but a widespread phenomenon at the grassroots level. History is a very niche and infrequent word in the vocabulary of ordinary people in the West. More than 80% of young Americans cannot remember the founding date of the nation, and the French, despite their long history, rarely mention related topics in their daily conversations.

Of all the people in the world, only the Chinese love history.

Of all the cultures in the world, only those within the Chinese cultural sphere enjoy revisiting history.

Japan is obsessed with the history of the Three Kingdoms, Tang Dynasty, and Warring States period; South Korea prefers to fabricate history rather than talk about it; and Vietnam is secretive and determines its attitude towards history based on its own needs...

The West is completely different; the general public in the West lacks a sense of history, which is a privilege of the elite.

In such a social environment, for the general public, ancient costumes, ancient styles, and ancient times are all vague and unimportant concepts.

Hollywood's enthusiasm for making epic blockbusters stems from ideology, while the public's lack of acceptance is a reasonable consequence based on cultural foundations and educational inclinations.

The success of *Hero* had a strong element of sensationalism, while the 400 million views of *The Return of the Condor Heroes* were entirely due to my personal popularity. Using such exceptional cases to summarize experiences will inevitably lead to completely wrong conclusions.

The scene was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and everyone stared wide-eyed.

Fang Xinghe, seemingly unaware of the earth-shattering verdict he was making, slowly and deliberately uttered his final conclusion.

"So why do I stop making period epics? Because I know what my global fans really like. I want to give them a benchmark modern action film that is exciting and thrilling enough, but doesn't require too much brainpower. There's no preaching, no ideology, no philosophical questions or comprehension problems. Just pure enjoyment, nothing more."

The scene finally erupted into noise and chaos.

"Holy shit!"

"What is SR doing?!"

"Fool! He's stating the truth!"

"But he criticized Americans for lacking historical awareness and mocked the American people as being historically illiterate!"

"No, no, no, I don't mind his offense, I love his conclusion!"

"I knew it, I knew it! I fucking love SR, I'll never miss an opportunity to interview him!"

Some were panicked, while others were excited. Strangely, those who were panicked were mostly Asian journalists, while those who were excited were mostly American media.

American journalists don't care about being scolded or humiliated; they only care about generating buzz.

Fang Xinghe's answer was bound to be a bombshell.

Actually, your brother Fang didn't finish speaking at all.

The later mockery that Kai Ge's "Extreme God" closed the international door to Chinese period dramas is neither fair nor correct; it didn't have that much influence.

The fundamental reason is simply that it's not yet time for the Chinese traditional costume style to shine, nothing more.

When China becomes powerful and Hanfu becomes fashionable, Xiao Zhan's "The Legend of the Tibetan Sea" will naturally make it onto Disney+'s annual list.

If the popularity of "The Legend of Tibet" is concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, then "Story of Yanxi Palace" has truly captivated Western women.

Next, "The Longest Day in Chang'an" topped the Amazon platform, and "The Twenty-Four Strategies of Chang'an" reached number 8 on Netflix in the US... These are all real achievements worth boasting about.

Looking back now, from House of Flying Daggers to Curse of the Golden Flower to The Banquet and Three Kingdoms Kill... a dozen or so blockbusters, none of them resonate with foreign audiences. This is not a matter of quality, but rather a matter of the wrong direction.

To promote Chinese period dramas, we need both a leading figure like Fang Xinghe and the cooperation of the times; neither is dispensable.

Before the new era had arrived, Crouching Tiger and Hero had already exhausted the novelty factor. No matter how well-made subsequent period action films were, they could only sell DVDs and cater to a small group of curious audiences.

At that time, the vast majority of the hundreds of millions of Western action movie viewers still preferred the "friendly violence" of the modern style.

Almost all of the movies starring Kung Fu Emperor and Hendrik Willem Van Loon in Hollywood are modern action films, proving that Hollywood has always had a very clear grasp of the market.

The only period fantasy film, "The Forbidden Kingdom," only gained popularity because of the two leading men coming together, but it ended up being a box office flop.

If Fang Xinghe were to film another Chinese period drama, its influence would be limited.

His official announcement of switching to modern action films, especially those produced in Hollywood, is what will truly shake the Western world—Europe, America, Latin America, Russia, and the Middle East.

These American journalists are desperately praising his achievements in Chinese period dramas while belittling the potential of "Taken," which is nothing but absurdity.

It turns out some idiots actually fell for it, which is ridiculous.

Fang, the "God of Trolls," has always had a dislike for stupidity, and he's decided to make idiots pay the price.

Pointing to the Chinese media section, and noticing the reporters from NetEase and Sina, he calmly said, "Remember these idiots' names. Don't let them into the interview room again. Damn it, they've triggered my aversion to stupidity."

This is an interview in the United States, where swearing is not only considered reasonable, but also attracts fans.

If this were in China, Fang Ge certainly wouldn't be so arrogant. He would set an example and take the lead in abiding by the industry's self-regulatory conventions... You can trust him and that's all you need to do.

……

After the seemingly mundane yet passionate press conference, much of the world was in an uproar.

"SR is finally going to shoot a proper action movie!"

On the internet in Western countries, movie fans spread the news with great joy.

"That was awesome! Modern action movies are the most exciting. I'm so tired of those samurai and chivalrous heroes..."

"Yes, he's right. I'm just not interested in those silly ancient stories. There's nothing more boring than history class, nothing!"

"Although I am a huge fan of The Return of the Condor Heroes, I must admit that I am equally interested in his modern gunfight action films. These are two completely different feelings."

"The Star God has finally returned to his rightful place!"

"That jerk! I hate the way he talks about us!"

"So, will you go see Taken?"

"I don't know. I don't like SR, but I trust its reputation for action movies. If all my friends are planning to see it, or if even half of them tell me it's a great action movie, then I can't say for sure that I won't watch it..."

It's difficult to put into words the expectations contained in this wave of public opinion.

Many top film critics have already proclaimed it as a "must-see action movie in one's lifetime".

Upon receiving the feedback, Fang Xinghe quickly determined that his first modern action film would hardly require any promotion.

A concentrated promotional campaign before the release will tell everyone that it's going to be released, and action movie audiences will definitely go see it.

This would be an extremely large number.

Moreover, his "historical theory" has only just begun to spread, and its long-term and profound impact has only just begun to emerge.

Who is angry, who is resentful, who is hurt, who is encouraged, and who is half-believing and half-doubting?

This entertainment world is going crazy in ways no one could have imagined.

*********
I didn't go out this time; I just opened the living room window for a while to let in some fresh air. I was in the study, but I still collapsed.

(End of this chapter)