A few cynical young men were here cursing the big shots of the film and television industry, and the more they cursed, the more worked up they became.
It was only normal. Everyone had some resentment toward the rich, especially when they had suffered unfair treatment. It was inevitable that emotions would run high.
After all, they all felt their talents had gone unrecognized, and none of them believed they were any worse than those people.
“Brother, you’re right. Zuo Shandiao was the one who started it.” The man beside him was very excited and slapped him hard on the shoulder, clearly feeling the same way.
Caught off guard, Qin Xuan was nearly slapped face-first onto the ground. Couldn’t he be a little gentler?
“Brother, you look unfamiliar. May I ask your esteemed name?” Someone across from him cupped his fists.
“I do not change my name whether standing or sitting. My surname is Qin, given name Xuan.” Qin Xuan also cupped his fists in proper fashion. “May I ask your honored surname, brother?”
“Li Miao, props intern,” Li Miao said.
“An honor, an honor.” Qin Xuan was indeed being terribly remiss.
This man would later become the art director for films like Detective Chinatown and Sheep Without a Shepherd, as well as a special effects artist.
“Zhang Linke, interning with the camera crew.” Zhang Linke cupped his fists and introduced himself, mainly because the mood had gotten to him a little, as if they were people of the jianghu.
“A pleasure, a pleasure.” Qin Xuan returned the salute.
This one was also a heavyweight. Later on, My People, My Homeland and The Wandering Earth would both have him behind the camera.
“I recognize you now. You’re the guy who was beside the director just now, right?” The brother beside him pointed at him.
“Unworthy as I am, that was indeed me,” Qin Xuan said modestly.
“No wonder you looked so familiar. Just now, when I was watching them set up the lighting array on set, he was beside the director. It even looked like he was giving instructions,” that brother said to the others.
Li Miao was somewhat impressed. “Then, brother, you’re pretty amazing. Our leader won’t even look at me and keeps calling me shit, but you can actually speak beside the director.”
“I only contributed a tiny bit. Not worth mentioning.” Qin Xuan waved his hand.
Right now, these people were all just starting out, so having even a little weight with the higher-ups in the crew was enough to make others envious.
He cupped his fists to the person beside him. “We’ve spoken for so long, but may I ask who you are?”
“Shen Ao, directing intern.” Shen Ao also cupped his fists at him.
“Oh, forgive my rudeness!” Qin Xuan returned the salute.
No wonder he looked a little familiar. He was still quite handsome now; when he got older, his looks would go downhill.
Sure enough, talented people all tacitly came to large production crews for internships. Although they were dissatisfied with the treatment, a person’s name was like the shadow of a tree. They would all come to further their training.
Only after this training did they discover it was just as others had said: they were treated differently. Naturally, they felt unbalanced.
To put it this way, the entire industry was like this right now. There were basically no exceptions. Otherwise, later on, there wouldn’t have been such resistance toward the Hong Kong circle, and it had even been spontaneous.
It was just that these people were all only in their early twenties, so their hot blood inevitably made it hard for them to endure. If you asked today’s post-00s to put up with it, there wouldn’t be many who could. It was not physical hardship, but mental torment.
They simply looked down on you, belittled you. Could you stand it?
Qin Xuan looked at everyone and said, “Since we’re all dissatisfied with the current situation, why don’t we form a new force and start our own operation?”
“A new force? Start our own operation?” Zhang Linke was stunned.
The others were also somewhat surprised.
“That’s right. We’re no worse than them, so why can’t we strike out on our own instead of working for other people?” Qin Xuan said.
Shen Ao was tempted and asked, “Then if we form a new force, where do we start?”
That question left everyone else at a loss. That was right—where did they start? Making films required funds, equipment, scripts... They had nothing.
“We can plan that slowly. First, we need to seek justice. They treat us like beasts of burden. We can’t just let it go. We have to get it back, don’t we?” Qin Xuan circled back again.
Only because these few people were far from enough. He had to gather more talent. To gather more people, he had to stir up trouble, create opposition, and block off everyone’s retreat.
When that time came, they would have no choice but to follow him. Wasn’t this how one forced people up Liangshan?
To be honest, Qin Xuan was a bit black-bellied, saying one thing in front of people and thinking another behind their backs. But he had no choice. He needed people, needed funds... He needed everything.
All of that had to be dug out from these people.
“How do we get it back?” Shen Ao asked, puzzled.
The others also looked at Qin Xuan in confusion.
“It’s very simple. We find more people and have them demand an explanation with us. There’s strength in numbers.”
“But a lot of people won’t join us. They’re all afraid of trouble,” Li Miao felt it was a little uncertain.
Just now, only the few of them had been unhappy and caused a scene. Of course, this was not the first time. They had caused trouble several times before, and some people had also been fired.
A lot of people simply stopped making trouble. They still wanted to keep their rice bowls.
“That’s because you didn’t use the right method. You can’t target the crew. If you target the crew, the producers will definitely deal with you. You need a specific target. Pick one person. Only by getting rid of this person will the others become afraid. Understand?
“So whoever you can’t stand, single that person out.” Qin Xuan gave them an idea.
It was very simple. The law did not punish the masses. Since they could not solve the problem, they would solve the person who created the problem.
But if they targeted the crew, the scope of the attack would be too broad. It was impossible to deal with all the main creators, right? That was completely unrealistic. But if they picked one person to go after, it would be different. To quell public anger, there was still a chance that one or two main creators could be compromised.
As long as there was compromise, that was victory, and the others would also become afraid.
“That does make some sense.” Zhang Linke nodded, somewhat agreeing.
“What if, when the time comes, the producers hold us accountable and really deal with us? After all, we’re at the bottom.” Worry showed in Shen Ao’s eyes.
“You’re afraid of this and afraid of that. Then you shouldn’t have made trouble in the first place.” Zhang Linke’s tone was unhappy; he thought Shen Ao was cowardly.
“...” Shen Ao’s expression turned a little awkward.
Among them, Zhang Linke was the one with the most explosive temper. The others were all fine.
“Listen to me.”
Qin Xuan raised a hand and smoothed things over. “The purpose of us forming a new force is to stand up for those brothers who have been bullied. It’s to give those whose talents have gone unrecognized, those who clearly have real ability yet are not valued, a platform.
“It’s to create a fair and just environment and platform. That is our purpose.”
The few of them nodded solemnly, their sense of responsibility instantly stirred up.
“Since that’s the case, why should we be afraid of trouble? If we’re even afraid of this, then how can we have a future? The film and television industry has always been like this. Are we supposed to keep wasting our lives like this forever?”
Qin Xuan watched everyone’s expressions, taking in every change.
Seeing that they had been persuaded, his tone grew heavier. “Rights and interests are something you fight for yourself, not something others give you as charity. What comes from charity is the cheapest thing of all. That’s others taking pity on you. We don’t need anyone’s pity.”
“That’s right. Rights and interests are something you fight for yourself, not something others give you as charity. I’ve had enough of being bullied, and I’ve had enough of being cursed by that bastard assistant director. I’m rebelling.” Zhang Linke abruptly stood up, deciding to do it.