Private room.
Fan Bingbing and her assistant had arrived early and were chatting quietly.
"Third Master's inspection this morning was supposed to last half an hour, but it went on much longer. The rumors were true—Third Master thinks far more highly of Shen Shanden than usual."
Fan Bingbing had been in the industry for so long and had risen so successfully that, even as an A-list star, she had still called in plenty of favors to obtain this information.
It was all worth it.
In this industry, one could lack talent or ability, but not connections, backing, or a network.
One had to be loyal!
That was the lesson Fan Bingbing had learned from making her way through the industry.
Film was already the upper tier of the entertainment industry, while China Film Group was the ceiling of the film business. Han Sanping was the highest-level connection one could have. Any news involving him was top-tier intelligence within the industry.
And Shen Shanden, who had gained Han Sanping's support, had also become a rising representative of the industry's true heavyweights.
Fan Bingbing desperately needed the support of someone as capable as Shen Shanden.
Ideally, she could shelter under his wing. If Han Sanping could put in a word for her, her predicament would resolve itself.
At the end of last month, Fan Bingbing's contract with Huayi had expired, and she had chosen not to renew it.
Fan Bingbing had signed with Huayi in 2000. Wang Jinghua, Huayi's top agent at the time, had signed her on, and Fan Bingbing had even acknowledged her as her godmother.
Later, when Wang Jinghua led a large group of artists to Orange Sky Entertainment, Fan Bingbing had chosen to remain at Huayi.
At the time, she had been deeply conflicted. Loyalty and filial duty were difficult to reconcile.
But she had still believed more in Huayi's future and wanted to become Huayi's top star through it.
Later, Zhou Xun joined Huayi, shattering Fan Bingbing's dream of becoming its leading lady.
It made her understand even more clearly that in this industry, if one came from a humble background, people would always look down on them.
From the very start, she had been the weaker party in her partnership with Huayi.
During the Shuang Bing era, Fan Bingbing had already felt herself trapped in vicious competition. Zhou Xun's arrival had only made it worse.
The key was that such competition might not even yield results.
Huayi's talent management department was far weaker than its film and television division. Outside the company, it also lacked sufficient Discourse Power in Co-production Films with Hong Kong and Taiwan.
If policy had not required Co-production Films to feature leading actors from the mainland, and if Hong Kong and Taiwan had not been unwilling to promote mainland male artists, she might not even have had a place.
Under those circumstances, Fan Bingbing had begun considering leaving Huayi. She was competitive by nature; there was no reason to stay when there was no benefit, people looked down on her, and she had to fight for everything herself.
So she chose to leave Huayi.
But for a star of Fan Bingbing's stature, her choices appeared plentiful but were actually very limited.
There were countless entertainment and talent agencies pursuing her, but very few could provide resources matching her status.
Orange Sky was one option. Her "godmother," Wang Jinghua, happened to be there.
But joining Orange Sky would come at a tremendous cost.
If she switched to Orange Sky Entertainment, she would enrage Huayi, which would absolutely blacklist her.
A few days ago, Huayi staff had already leaked word to the media.
Huayi had decided to blacklist her throughout the promotional campaign for its new film, The Shaft.
Later, they claimed it had merely been a private joke. Her final job at Huayi was to promote the film, and in a few days, she would still be coming to Shanghai to promote it.
How could Fan Bingbing fail to see that this was Huayi's serious warning?
Huayi's bottom line was that she could not join Orange Sky Entertainment.
Big and Small Wang harbored bone-deep hatred for Wang Jinghua's "betrayal."
The price of joining Orange Sky was not merely falling out with Huayi. Another moral dilemma awaited her.
It would put her in an extremely awkward position.
Chen Hao was in the middle of a contract dispute with Orange Sky.
Chen Hao had been very active within the industry lately, meeting with senior executives from various talent agencies. News had already spread that she was secretly meeting with the owner of a film and television company at the Four Seasons Hotel on the East Third Ring Road.
Chen Hao's contract with Orange Sky had initially been for one year, followed by another three. Now, while still under contract, she was trying to leave, mainly because Wu Ke Bo was too promiscuous.
This had little to do with Fan Bingbing. It was Wu Ke Bo's own problem, including his ambiguous relationships with the Seven Princesses of Orange Sky.
But outsiders did not see it that way. They were already saying that Fan Bingbing had forced Chen Hao out.
If she joined Orange Sky with her front foot and Chen Hao left with her back foot, Fan Bingbing's already controversial image would undoubtedly suffer tremendous damage.
Unlike ordinary controversies, the negative impact of this would be far too severe.
Moreover, Chen Hao was determined to leave, and Hu Jun was also leaving Orange Sky. Orange Sky's strength would decline as well.
Orange Sky also could not guarantee her a role in the Red Cliff project it was investing in.
If she did not go to Orange Sky, there would not be many options left for her.
Become her own boss?
That required capital, and even more importantly, connections.
Leaving Huayi had won her a certain degree of freedom, but she had also lost the shelter of that great tree.
On one hand, people fawned over her. On the other, all kinds of people coveted her.
In Fan Bingbing's view, these problems all stemmed from her lack of a sufficiently powerful background.
Her assistant said, "Based on the information we have, The Grand Director is definitely a key project for China Film Group. We can't uncover Shen Shanden's specific background, so it must be anything but simple."
Fan Bingbing nodded. "The degree of attention Third Master has given him is unheard of. He definitely isn't simple."
Her assistant was also puzzled. "We compiled some of his online statements and past interviews. He seems to come from an ordinary family."
Fan Bingbing shook her head with a smile. Anyone who had fought their way through the world understood one principle: the more powerful someone's background, the lower-profile they were. "What they let us see is the limit of what we can know. As for the rest, even if you wanted to investigate, you couldn't, because we haven't reached that level."
"Look at him back then. He casually released hugely popular songs for free. So many record companies were heartbroken and wanted to sign him or buy the copyrights. The number of people eyeing him was no less than those eyeing me, yet no one ever managed to get what they wanted."
"One time could be coincidence. But after graduating from university, he gave up a music career that had already gained some fame, chose to start from scratch, and enrolled in Beijing Film Academy's graduate program. That showed he had his own plans, or someone had planned things out for him. His personality was also steady. That came from having abundant material conditions since childhood and no intense hunger for fame or profit."
Fan Bingbing considered herself a fairly good judge of character. "During his first year of graduate school, he gradually stopped creating music, focused on his studies, made several short films, and even joined a production crew. Now, in his second year, a key China Film Group project has landed in his hands."
"Looking back, the fame he accumulated as an online singer has already been converted into something else. He has achieved a perfect comeback. After turning around, despite the heavy criticism within the industry, he has already built himself a gilded image in the public eye."
At this point.
Fan Bingbing's tone carried envy, along with a quiet sigh.
Ever since starring in Cell Phone, her public image had inevitably entered a path of controversy.
Deep down, she envied Shen Shanden's calm, deliberate planning, but beneath that envy lay an indescribable jealousy.
"Someone must be guiding him. That's the function of family background! It can cut through the fog and tell him which roads are difficult, and which roads only get smoother the farther he goes."
And that was precisely what Fan Bingbing lacked. Her family could be considered comfortably well-off, but within the industry, it was merely an ordinary family.
"He first released songs online, then openly made commercial films, and then drew criticism from many people because of those films. That suggests his family came from outside literary and artistic circles."
"If his family was in business, perhaps an older brother inherited the family business and connections. If they were in politics, he was probably an only child. He liked creating things, so he entered the field. His family had no resources within the industry itself, but they lacked no connections at market-oriented China Film Group."
"Only then could he make commercial films so confidently and declare, 'Studying art can't save Chinese Cinema,' with such utterly undisguised confidence. That sort of confidence cannot be faked. He isn't afraid to confront the rules of small circles head-on."
After hearing Fan Bingbing lay it all out, her assistant sucked in a breath and exclaimed, "Sister Bingbing, you're incredible."
Fan Bingbing chuckled. "Once you've met people like that, you'll understand. They don't flaunt themselves, and they may not even be particularly famous within the industry, but that confidence cannot fool anyone."
The two of them went over their strategy for later.
"We'll warm things up with the hometown connection, then talk about ending our partnership with Huayi. We'll air our grievances about our predicament and stir up his sympathy, but we won't make any requests."
"Then we'll gradually steer the conversation toward The Grand Director. Sister Bingbing should show a moderate degree of admiration. A newcomer being able to helm a project like this is so impressive—stoke his sense of satisfaction."
"Then we'll talk about his other hobbies. When it comes to his interests outside work, we can praise him extravagantly. That may satisfy his vanity even more than his career does."
"After that, we'll show our respect. We're also willing to contribute to making China a strong film nation. We'll subtly praise his friendship with Wu Jing and naturally join the project."
"Once we get more familiar and talk a few more times, Sister Bingbing can reveal the difficulties she faces. Make him feel protective. We won't even need to ask—he'll take the initiative to help us."
Fan Bingbing discussed the details further with her assistant, determined to win Shen Shanden over in one go.
The private room door opened.
Led in by a staff member, Shen Shanden pushed the door open and entered. His eyes lit up when he saw Fan Bingbing. "Sister Bingbing."
Fan Bingbing at that moment was simply too stunning. She was at the peak of her beauty, an absolute queen of looks.
She possessed both a young girl's fullness and the first hints of mature charm. Her cool, pale skin seemed to glow, her facial bone structure was sculpted while her soft tissue remained full, and her distinctive fox-shaped eyes were unforgettable.
That face immediately gave Shen Shanden an intense urge to create. He wanted to aim a camera right at her and fire off shot after shot.
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