Chapter 2: The Strong Never Complain About Their Environment!

June 2003.

News that the Hollywood film "Superman 2" was about to premiere globally sent shockwaves through the Chinese film industry.

This superhero film, with an investment nearing 150 million US dollars, attracted countless investors flocking to it the moment it was approved for production in the early millennium.

During the three years of filming, Chinese national film magazines and various peripheral rumors surged like a tide...

Data showed that from the millennium to 2003, sales of countless Superman-themed toys in China skyrocketed exponentially over these three years...

All of this stemmed from the globally popular Hollywood film "Superman 1" in 1987.

How huge was the impact of "Superman 1" on the global market?

When "Superman 1" was released in Japan in 1987, it set a box office record in the market known as the "Graveyard of Superheroes," a record that remained far ahead even after the millennium.

At the same time in China, "Superman 1" attracted nearly 80 million viewers to cinemas, and with a ticket price of 30 cents, it achieved a box office of 24 million RMB in China.

The box office champion of domestic Chinese films during the same period, "Kung Fu Xiaolong," was only 15 million RMB!

Due to the film's massive influence, it even flowed back into comics, causing many artists to specifically shape the comic version of Superman to resemble Reeves himself!

It can be said that "Superman" is the childhood hero of countless young children in this world!

Sixteen years later, as "Superman 2" was about to be released and rumors spread that it would bring the world's most advanced Hollywood visual effects, more than half of the Chinese film industry boiled with excitement.

"This is a cultural export; as the founders of Chinese cinema, we must create style, create quality, and create confidence!"

Inside a rental room.

Zhou Yang pushed up his glasses, looking at director Shen Long with burning eyes.

Shen Long's throat moved slightly as he trembled while holding the script titled "Sun Wukong Battles Superman 2."

He lowered his head and shakily opened the script; upon seeing the single line on the first page, he instantly felt his vision go black.

【Superman was swept to China by a tornado in America, encountered a time-space turbulence, and finally descended into the Journey to the West world, where he met Sun Wukong】.

Time-space turbulence, time travel, tornado, Journey to the West world; these elements piled up one by one, exploding in his brain until it buzzed.

He took a long time to recover, but still hadn't recovered.

"Zhou, Mr. Zhou, we... I, I..."

He began to stutter, his gaze unable to look directly into Zhou Yang's eyes.

Heaven!

By what merit and ability did he deserve to make such an explosive film?

Zhou Yang seemed to anticipate his reaction, handed him a cup of coffee, and smiled: "Director Shen, don't you want to make movies?"

"I, I... I am, but I..." He felt the hand holding the script burning hot.

"Director Shen, I know you are talented, but in the years since graduation, you have drifted in Beijing, no one wanted you; except for working as a wedding photographer earning a hundred or so a day, you still have no personal representative work. Do you know why?"

"I..."

"Do you want to spend your whole life just as a wedding photographer, living in obscurity? Are you content that in the future, your classmates, whose talents are clearly inferior to yours, will one by one win the Golden Rooster Awards, the Hong Kong Film Awards, challenge the Oscars, and become global directors?"

"I don't want to, but, Mr. Zhou, I, I..."

Zhou Yang sat in the chair, adjusted his tie, patted Shen Long's shoulder, and said: "Make this movie well, and I will send you soaring!"

Inside the rental room.

Suddenly, it went silent.

Shen Long lowered his head, opened his mouth to say something, but after his throat trembled for a long time, he ultimately said nothing.

In the millennium, he graduated from the Photography Department of the Beijing Film Academy...

For three years, ambitious he stayed in Beijing, planning to stand out through his own talent.

For two years, he was cheated out of tens of thousands of yuan by unscrupulous film crews, worked for free for a year, and after failing to get paid, he was simply too hungry to bear it, so he finally went to a wedding company and worked as a photographer.

Then, the wedding industry requires festivity, high emotional intelligence, and social skills; with an average appearance, some shyness, and average emotional intelligence, he repeatedly lost in business competition. Starting from March this year, he lost his job, and then could never find a suitable job again...

His younger brother Shen Hu was even worse; not knowing which wire was crossed, he dropped out of high school, packed his guitar, and came to Beijing to drift with him, yet he insisted he was full of talent and kept creating on his own.

But the songs he created were completely ignored, so he sang under the overpass for three years, singing until he was deeply in debt, eventually unable to even afford a guitar, becoming almost indistinguishable from a beggar.

By chance, they met a "Mr. Zhou" who wore a suit and leather shoes and always carried a thick leather briefcase.

That night, Mr. Zhou treated the brothers to a barbecue, then handed them a business card named 【Xuan Shi Entertainment】, leaving the words: "Come work for me! I will push you forward."

For over ten days, Mr. Zhou moved into their rental room under the guise of "testing" the brothers' talents.

Although it was called a test, he seemed very busy, leaving early and returning late every day, but he often brought them meals.

Sometimes steak, sometimes pasta, sometimes Japanese cuisine...

Hmm, none of them were cheap.

Today, as usual, Mr. Zhou brought them steak again, then told him that he was preparing to invest in him making a movie.

The result was a movie titled "Sun Wukong Battles Superman 2," a name that made one's butt tighten.

Night.

Deep.

A gust of wind blew into the window.

Not far away, under the overpass, the singing of a street performer echoed.

Singing with heart-wrenching intensity and hoarseness.

Zhou Yang sat in the chair, listening to the song in the wind, silently watching the head-down Shen Long, a brilliant smile on his face.

One month ago, he came to this world and found he had only 100 yuan on his entire person.

After recalling carefully, he discovered the original owner was a penniless beggar whose father had just died of cancer, who had been laid off by the factory, and who had been kicked out of the rental room by the landlord.

Unable to bear it for a moment, the original owner jumped straight into the river and was washed ashore.

Then, Zhou Yang was choked awake, then resolutely went to a street stall to buy a cheap second-hand suit and a bag, and cut his own hair with a pair of scissors.

As someone who had made a living on the fringes in his previous world, after absorbing all these memories, Zhou Yang did not feel it was a big deal.

Heh, as long as there is a suit, even Old Ma would have to bow his head and call him "President Zhou."

This month happened to coincide with the international Asian financial crisis, a time when the entire Huaxia economy was undergoing transformation and many small enterprises were wavering in the wind.

While gathering information about this world through various channels, Zhou Yang actively approached misfits from all walks of life, using the guise of equity investment to take them to various venues to scam food and drinks.

Originally, seeing Shen Long and Shen Hu acting so stupidly, he had intended to swindle some money out of them and secure a place to stay.

But he discovered this guy was even poorer than himself, unable to even afford a meal.

Just as he was about to give up, Zhou Yang suddenly realized that although Shen Long was a bit foolish, he seemed to possess a tiny bit of talent, lacking only an opportunity to soar.

What is most important in the 21st century?

Talent is the most important!

"Director Shen, how is your decision? Are we shooting or not?"

"I..." Shen Long lowered his head, remained silent for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth: "How much is the investment?"

"About one million."

"One million..." Shen Long lowered his head, pondered for a while, and finally said bitterly: "One million to make a movie, the investment seems insufficient..."

"Just say what you lack, and I will help you solve it." Zhou Yang looked at Shen Long's expression and a smile appeared on his face.

"I lack a lot..."

"Here is the plan: write down everything you lack on a piece of paper, and I will help you get it sorted. For these two days, stop looking for work everywhere; just stay steadily at our 【Xuan Shi Entertainment】 and polish the outline of our movie, 'Sun Wukong Battles Superman 2', understand?"

"President Zhou, are we really shooting this thing?"

"Shooting!"

"But..."

"The strong do not complain about their environment. In two days, I want the movie outline 'Sun Wukong Battles Superman 2' to become a qualified script; I will review it..."

"..."

"By the way, it must be positive energy, understand?"

"..."

Shen Long lowered his head, remained silent for a long time, and then revealed an expression uglier than crying: "President Zhou, it can be done, but, President Zhou, can you take me to see the headquarters of our 【Xuan Shi Entertainment】?"

"The headquarters is currently under renovation; there is nothing worth seeing. When the time comes, it will be fine..."

"President Zhou, I will say something treasonous; I want to ask, do we really have a company?"

"We do!"

"Then..."

"Time is money, stop hesitating. Our movie must be released before 'Superman 2', understand?"

"So rushed?"

"..."

Zhou Yang did not speak; instead, he adjusted his glasses, patted Shen Long's shoulder again, and directed his gaze out the window.

After a long while, he finally revealed a smile: "Director Shen, in two months, let 'Superman 2' become the stepping stone to your success!"

(Returning to entertainment, writing a cool novel, absolutely no pretentiousness.!!!!)