Chapter 630: Indomitable

On August 20, in the Oval Office.

Jiang Zhiqiang, Han Jia_nv, Chen Zhixi, Donna, and others were present, seated around Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian, each in different postures.

Liu Tianxian wore a black dress, legs crossed, exuding an elegant, commanding aura—though only when she was quiet and discussing serious matters.

They were discussing The Martian, which would be produced as a co-production.

Co-producing with Yutu without an experienced Producer is hard to manage, because it must satisfy both our policies and censorship standards.

And also satisfy the U. S. side's censorship and policies.

That's double censorship risk; those who don't understand it really can't handle it well—Donna only understands the U. S., Fang Hong only understands China.

Jiang Zhiqiang understands both sides—not only that, he understands their cultural narratives, audience tastes, and operations.

How many Chinese elements to shoot, how many foreign elements—unless someone like Fang Hong, a prophet who copies exactly, it's nearly impossible to control, because both sides have strict rules.

Our rule requires Chinese characters or a Chinese story setting, so he can play a vital mediating role.

He can also help determine whether it wins the Oscar.

Jiang Zhiqiang is hailed as Asia's best Producer and was chosen by Time Magazine as an Asian Hero.

He is also regarded by industry insiders as a general who never loses; filmmakers from both China and the U. S. trust him.

Later, when Disney made Mulan, they invited him as Producer, so Fang Hong thought for a moment and decided to bring him in to oversee things, since he himself was too busy.

"Jiang General Manager, this is Donna, President of Universal. Our film will be a China-U. S. co-production," Fang Hong explained.

"Hello, I've had the privilege of collaborating with Universal before," Jiang Zhiqiang leaned forward and shook Donna's hand.

"Have you?" Donna looked puzzled, as if unaware.

"It should have been your subsidiary—Focus, right? Previously, Lust, Caution was handled by Focus for global distribution, and I also introduced Li An for Brokeback Mountain," Jiang Zhiqiang clarified.

"Oh, I see!" Donna exclaimed, smiling: "Pleasure to meet you."

Jiang Zhiqiang's reputation remains strong; in Hollywood, he has had indirect collaborations with Universal and direct or indirect ones with Sony, Paramount, and Warner.

Back in the 2000s, after major directors made films, they almost always sought him out precisely because he could get things through overseas.

Some simply collaborated with him directly—it saved a lot of trouble; Lao Mouzi often worked with him.

So Jiang Zhiqiang holds high prestige in this circle; even if he wasn't familiar with Wu Kebo, he could still be brought in to talk with Fang Hong, and Liu Tianxian deeply respects him.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have pleaded for him before.

"Honestly, Principal, you suddenly making me your Producer caught me off guard," Jiang Zhiqiang said, looking at Fang Hong.

The Martian is directed by Fang Hong.

"I've given this serious thought—I believe a film like this needs someone like you, who understands the industry, to coordinate it," Fang Hong said.

"Originally, we didn't think we needed a Producer, but Han Jie and Universal's Producer kept having cultural misunderstandings, so I suggested Fang Hong bring you in," Liu Tianxian explained.

Han Jia_nv really couldn't get along well with the U. S. Producer; constant communication was needed during early preparations.

Moreover, the U. S. operates under a Producer-centered system; China operates under a Director-centered system; Yutu uses a collaborative model—these systems are all different, making coordination extremely difficult.

Jiang Zhiqiang can serve as the coordinator.

"Oh, I see," Jiang Zhiqiang murmured.

Han Jia_nv and Chen Zhixi watched him, their gazes holding a touch of reverence—after all, to them, such a person had once been legendary.

Only in recent years, with Yutu's sudden rise, had Jiang Zhiqiang's halo faded.

Of course, Fang Hong had no halo at all, and Donna remained calm—she was here solely to negotiate cooperation.

"This isn't mandatory—if you're busy with other matters, we won't pressure you," Fang Hong said casually, offering him an out.

Whether he agreed or not, Fang Hong could simply find someone else—he wasn't losing anything; he just wanted to save effort.

"No, I just haven't heard your budget or production scale, and I haven't seen the script. All you've said is The Martian, but I don't know what story it actually tells."

You know—if the script doesn't fit, both sides will demand cuts, and even a great film could become a disaster.

As a Producer, I want the film to remain intact under my care—if it's not intact and can't be released, you and Donna will both come after me."

Jiang Zhiqiang voiced his concerns.

If this film fails under his watch—with Universal and Yutu both involved—he won't be able to explain it.

At minimum, if it doesn't sell in China, it must sell in North America; if it fails on both sides, he bears responsibility—after all, a Producer must ensure the film's success.

Otherwise, why hire them?

"Our film is S-class, higher than A-class—though that's Yutu's classification. The production budget is between sixty and eighty million U. S. dollars," Han Jia_nv briefly stated the budget.

Then she handed over a stack of documents and added: "Here's the proposal and the script—you can review them."

Jiang Zhiqiang took them—a thick stack, thicker than a book, clearly well-prepared.

He flipped through them casually; they listed runtime, genre, target audience, budget, and more.

The entire production team was detailed inside—screenwriters, cinematographers, art directors, editors—all meticulously listed, with Fang Hong as director.

The assistant directors are Wen Muye and Shen Ao.

Shen Ao is the one who later directed No More Bets, a renowned screenwriter who has won many major awards.

His first short film won an international prize.

He has talent, just lacked opportunities—Fang Hong brought him in, and he contributed to the script of The Martian.

He only polished it—he didn't write it.

The film is adapted from a novel; Yutu purchased the adaptation rights.

Jiang Zhiqiang flipped through it, read the script—the story roughly went: In 2035, during a Mars mission, an astronaut and his crew encounter a sudden superstorm.

Because the spacecraft cannot withstand the storm's intensity, the captain decides to evacuate immediately.

However, during evacuation, the astronaut is struck by debris, his Astronaut Suit ruptures, and his crewmates mistakenly believe he is dead, forced to abandon rescue and leave Mars.

Stranded on Mars, the protagonist uses his botany knowledge to grow vegetables—a trait characteristic of the Chinese people: wherever they go, they plant vegetables.

The protagonist solves food shortages by making his own fertilizer and recycling resources.

Earth's space agency, by monitoring activity on Mars's surface, discovered that this astronaut might still be alive.

Subsequently, the space agencies of China, the United States, and Russia launched international cooperation to formulate a rescue plan.

What followed was a series of thrilling scenes, but the script couldn't show them—only through post-production visuals.

Everyone watched Jiang Zhiqiang intently, didn't disturb him, and sat in silence, some sipping tea, some scrolling on their phones, some staring blankly.

Fang Hong took Liu Tianxian's pale, soft hand and compared it with his own, playing with it, even interlacing their fingers.

Liu Tianxian didn't mind, then she let out a sharp cry: "Ah!"

This startled everyone awake; they looked at the two in confusion and saw Liu Tianxian's hand interlaced with the Principal's hand, and then the Principal used his other hand to squeeze the interlaced fingers.

Like when you interlace your own two hands and someone squeezes them—it hurts terribly.

"You're really bored, aren't you?" Liu Tianxian said.

"Just a slip," Fang Hong laughed, patting her back to soothe her.

Liu Tianxian glared at him—so boring!

The others exchanged glances, then went back to their own business, pretending they hadn't seen anything.

This also snapped Jiang Zhiqiang out of his focus—he'd been deeply absorbed, but now the interruption killed his interest.

Actually, Fang Hong just wanted him to stop watching, but couldn't say it directly, so he had Liu Tianxian scream.

Whether or not to become Producer is just one decision—if he agrees, he can take it home and review it slowly.

Everyone here has time worth hundreds of millions per minute.

"This story is good, but I have a suggestion," Jiang Zhiqiang said.

"What suggestion?" Fang Hong asked.

"I think the budget should be raised further—to twenty to thirty million dollars—hire two Hollywood actors, the kind with fame, to add international appeal and elevate the film's stature," Jiang Zhiqiang said.

This is equivalent to hiring two Hollywood actors to co-star with Liu Tianxian; twenty to thirty million could secure very famous, recognizable Hollywood actors.

"Fine!" Fang Hong nodded in agreement—having Hollywood superstars co-star with Liu Tianxian to boost her status was a good idea.

Previously, it was always Chinese actors playing supporting roles for Hollywood stars—even Jet Li, at his level, could only play minor parts in The Expendables.

You can imagine how hard it was over there.

Now, with Fang Hong in charge, it was time to reverse it—make Hollywood stars play supporting roles.

"What about the actors we already found?" Han Jia_nv asked.

"Just tell them—it's fine," Chen Zhixi patted her leg, signaling her.

You shouldn't ask the Principal how to handle other actors—solve it privately, offer other resources instead.

Do you expect the Principal to tell you what to do?

Han Jia_nv realized she shouldn't have asked—it was her job to handle.

Fang Hong paid no mind and turned to Donna: "General Manager Donna, what do you think?"

Universal was also an investor; increasing the budget meant they'd have to contribute more money, and Universal had to coordinate finding two famous Hollywood actors.

"Tianxian has proven her box office draw—if this film becomes a hit, I have no problem," Donna said.

"Then find one man and one woman—international fame shouldn't be worse than Gal Gadot," Fang Hong set the tone; spending a bit more didn't matter.

Gal Gadot earns ten million dollars per film in Hollywood, less than Black Widow.

Donna nodded—no objections!

Liu Tianxian's cheeks flushed slightly—this was really happening: two Hollywood stars, international movie stars, as her co-stars.

The previous Thanos was several tiers below this—he earned only a few million, a B-list actor.

The others fell silent with reverence, suddenly energized—this was the first time Hollywood stars would be under the control of Chinese filmmakers, something never done before.

Previously, they always followed Hollywood's lead—for example, The Last Emperor and The Forbidden Kingdom had almost entirely Hollywood crews; Chinese actors had to follow their rules.

Then Fang Hong spoke again: "General Manager Jiang, do you have any other issues?"

"None. I accept the Producer role," Jiang Zhiqiang said.

"Good. Work closely with Han Jia_nv and the American production team to coordinate everything," Fang Hong said.

Universal will also send a renowned Producer—the production team won't be just Han Jia_nv and Jiang Zhiqiang; this lineup is now top-tier, unmatched even later.

(End of Chapter)