Chapter 167: Everyone Just Bear With It

Fang Hong's sudden shift in demeanor, becoming so cold and unfeeling, left Xie Bazi stunned.

Just moments ago he was acting like he wanted to apologize and admit fault, and now he's turning his back on everything—how could someone be so heartless?

Are all movie people this arrogant?

"Hey, General Manager Fang, this whole thing seems like you're being unfair—you've got to follow some rules!"

Xie Bazi chased after him, trying to catch up to Fang Hong, but was blocked by a security guard who had just entered.

Fang Hong turned back with a blank expression: "Setting aside the facts, aren't you two at fault too?"

"What fault do we have? We never offended you," said Xie Bazi.

"I won't say more—go home and think about it yourself," Fang Hong pointed, then walked away.

In truth, he couldn't articulate why, and he genuinely didn't know what Xie Bazi had done wrong.

But Xie Bazi didn't realize Fang Hong was scolding him to divert attention.

Still, he won't be scolded this month—Liu Tianwang's baby news should be out any day now.

Liu Tianwang, how old is he again? Getting a child in his old age—shouldn't we celebrate?

Xie Bazi stared at Fang Hong's retreating back, utterly confused—what had he done wrong?

The company just brought in over a hundred million, and though not all of it has been received yet, it doesn't hinder development—Finance Department's Meng Jun will naturally leverage it.

The first film project to lock down is "The Witch," but it's not called "The Witch" anymore—it's been renamed "Superbody 1."

Actually, "The Witch" and "Superbody" have nearly identical plots—just told differently, still with suspense.

Unlike "Superbody," whose story is simpler and more direct.

The script adapted by Yutu differs somewhat from the Korean version of "The Witch."

It can't be as bloody and violent as Korea's—audiences would feel nauseated; this film must cater to all age groups, with action that's visually engaging, plus telekinetic powers.

The plot is roughly this: In Southeast Asia, there's a secret U. S. biological research facility that has bred a large number of mutants.

Among them, an eight-year-old Chinese girl was classified as an S-class experimental subject.

Basically, her IQ is higher than a computer's, and her combat strength surpasses Captain America's.

To give the girl extreme combat power, the facility's doctors injected her with numerous violent, murderous genes.

But the girl's development exceeded expectations—she became too powerful, causing the leadership to feel threatened and decide to eliminate her.

The girl sensed the danger in advance and escaped, living for ten years in a peasant household near China's border.

Though the girl harbored kindness and constantly tried to suppress her violent genes, her genes left her with less than a few months to live, so she meticulously planned a scheme to deliberately reveal her powers.

To lure the research facility back to find her.

Here, the girl's character is defined by her kindness—she refuses to kill, but is forced into action to survive, pretending to be a meek lamb returning to the base for medicine.

But upon returning to the base, she sees the mutants slaughtering people indiscriminately, treating human lives as worthless, and using people like livestock for experiments.

Only then does the girl's rage ignite—she decides to kill every mutant, destroy the base, and ultimately single-handedly wipes out the entire base's mutants, including several S-class combat mutants.

By this stage, the girl has surpassed S-class—killing them is like slaughtering dogs, emphasizing pure satisfaction.

So this female lead's characterization differs from the Korean version—this heroine fights to survive and to protect innocent lives.

The original version fights to survive and for revenge.

There's a fundamental difference—every memorable superhero carries a sense of compassion for humanity.

Iron Man does. Spiderman does.

A hero without compassion is destined to remain niche.

This is also why Fang Hong didn't buy the Korean rights—there's nothing worth buying; the character is changed, the story merely borrowed.

The original Korean version was a state-run research institution; here it's a U. S. biological facility—different national contexts, can't set it the same way.

Hence this film is called "Superbody 1," with no "witch" in the title.

Fang Hong wants to build Liu Tianxian an IP: the "Superbody" series—the core is a powerful female-led action film; whether the stories connect is irrelevant.

Do Spiderman's movies all connect? Many are reboots—and still they sell massively.

"Superbody 1" is officially greenlit for pre-production; "Now You See Me" is also greenlit—it's an IP too.

Both are action-packed films aimed at breaking into the international market.

Of course, "Superbody 1" will be shot first, "Now You See Me" later—the former to train the team, the latter to upgrade the production crew further.

Both films are directed or produced by Fang Hong—just to support Liu Tianxian's career.

In truth, without Liu Tianxian, Fang Hong wouldn't bother making any more films—he'd hand them off to others and just oversee the direction.

But since they're dating, if they're apart too long, their relationship might grow distant. Liu Tianxian likes this—so he'll go along with it! Other film projects are all under Chen Zhixi's control.

For example, she's currently negotiating "Lost in Thailand," and "Cold War" has also been greenlit.

The "Cold War" script has been in Fang Hong's hands since last year.

This film stars Liang Jiahui, Zhang Songwen, Zhu Yilong, Guo Jingfei, and Zhou Yiwei; the female lead is given to Song Jia.

This film collaborates with Yindu—Yindu doesn't need to pay; it only needs to provide locations in Hong Kong for filming, while overseas distribution rights remain with this company.

Of course, the copyright belongs to Yutu.

In other words, follow Hong Kong's film path—block Hong Kong's options, crush it completely.

Here, Yutu's production capability is clearly much stronger than in the first half of the year—it's been growing steadily, and producing "The Big Shot" was accumulated experience.

Of course, Yutu rewards itself with another melodramatic trash film: "Our Teenage Days."

This film is directed by Guo Fan; the theme song is licensed from the Music Association—afraid the original creator won't sell, so they take a shortcut.

As for Ai Dajin's protests later? Who cares!

If you have a problem, take it up with the Music Association—anyway, the Music Association agreed to let Yutu use it.

You know what? Today's music scene is this chaotic—Li Jian himself revealed that he didn't even know others were singing his songs.

He only found out when the Music Association offered him a few hundred yuan in royalties—no need to notify the creator—this is exactly what's happening now.

With this, Yutu Company's films are all set—small-budget, mid-budget, large-budget, and special-effects films, all covered.

But these aren't being shot together; some are in preparation, some in negotiations, some in project approval.

Some films are being spaced out, with filming delayed until at least next year.

As for TV dramas, besides Legend of Lu Zhen currently in production, Beijing Love Story is already in post-production.

Additionally, Fang Hong plans to adapt Love Story for the video platform to drive traffic.

That is, to use this drama to prop up his own video platform.

He feels it's already late if he doesn't enter the video platform and start carving out his share of traffic.

This drama, when produced, will be set in 2012.

The problem is finding actors—the male lead must be handsome, the female lead beautiful, and both must have decent acting skills. When free, ask Liu Tianxian if she'll take the role.

Time passed quickly, and it soon became late November, with the Golden Horse Awards opening on November 26.

Liu Tianxian's Legend of Hongmen Banquet will be released on November 29.

That means Liu Tianxian has already returned to promote this film.

To divert attention from Liu Tianxian, rumors recently surfaced that Liu Tianwang had a son.

"Liu Tianwang's second child is a boy! The king finally has an heir!"

"Liu Tianwang, past fifty, finally has a child after years of waiting—joy comes in waves!"

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These rumors left Liu Tianwang, far away in the United States, stunned for hours—he had no idea how he suddenly had a second child, or a son, when his wife was still pregnant and hadn't given birth yet.

These unscrupulous gossip media are too reckless in their fabrications!

But he didn't come out to deny them, only assuming it was more reckless reporting.

In truth, Fang Hong didn't know Liu Tianwang's actual situation; publicly, his past record showed he had a daughter, but she hadn't been born yet—she was due in May next year—but rumors claimed he also had a son.

No one knew if it was true, and no one had the time to investigate.

Just keep spewing rumors—true or false—let Liu Tianwang sort it out himself.

The main goal is to draw attention away from Liu Tianxian and shift public focus toward Liu Tianwang.

Let Liu Tianxian pass through safely; whether Legend of Hongmen Banquet's hype fades or its box office succeeds—none of it matters to him.

Fang Hong tolerated the underwhelming box office of The Genius Club; everyone just needs to bear with it.

Anyway, for Liu Tianxian's sake, Fang Hong has been stirring up trouble these past few months.

Either slandering one person or exposing another.

But there's no choice—he must hold the line; if he doesn't, he'll be forced to take his final step.

It's been tough, and Liu Tianxian noticed—she felt pressure, and inwardly resisted the idea of this man exposing others' secrets for her sake.

But she couldn't say anything.

(End of Chapter)