From Becoming Penguin's Major Shareholder to Building an Entertainment Empire

Note that this book is a slow-burn novel, and it will become increasingly exciting as the story progresses.

It starts from 2002, beginning at the Beijing Film Academy, and starting with the H...

Chapter 145 The King of Pretenders Assaults Someone

In the Prince's Building in Central, Shen Fang, Huo Xiwen, Ah Sa, and Ah Jiao were chatting animatedly, followed by Xie Biwang, Daniel Wu, Edison Chen, and Xiao Fang.

Xie Biwang looked at Chen Fang in front of him with some displeasure.

"To pretend to be a rich man and pick up girls, you have to buy the best and most expensive stuff. What kind of nonsense is that?"

Edison patted his good friend on the shoulder.

"That guy is a real tycoon; the watch he's wearing costs over a million."

The arrogant guy pouted: "It's the same as anyone else's. Sister Xiwen really believes everything she hears. Yanzu, you mustn't be fooled. She might just be a liar."

Xiao Fangzi laughed loudly: "Brother Feng, it's probably unlikely. It's probably a big production with a budget of 30 million US dollars. Even in Hollywood, that's a mid-range production. If Daniel Wu can play the second male lead, he might become a huge star. Besides, we'll know if it's true or not when Sister Manyu and Brother Chaowei arrive. Don't be jealous just because others are more handsome than you."

Xie Biwang scoffed, "30 million US dollars? What a joke! Nobody in Hong Kong can afford such a big production."

Xie Biwang's meaning was very clear: he was blatantly saying that Shen Fang was a fraud.

That's right, Xie Biwang looked down on mainlanders. Don't be fooled by his later portrayal of himself as a righteous and patriotic artist. Was he really like that? No, he wasn't.

PS: In 2004, Xie Biwang and Zhang Xijian assaulted mainland actor Wang Bozhao during the filming of "The Little Fish and the Flower Without Flaws". After the incident, Wang Bozhao sued Xie Biwang and Zhang Xijian, demanding one million yuan in compensation. After hearing the case, the court ruled that Wang Bozhao's injury was minor and therefore his claim for compensation was not supported. Wang Bozhao lost the case.

What was originally a personal dispute between the actors escalated into a group conflict between Hong Kong and mainland actors due to the director's deliberate favoritism towards the two Hong Kong actors, Tse and Cheung. This caused a huge uproar at the time. Mainland actors jointly supported Wang Bo-chao and demanded that Tse and Cheung apologize. In the end, Tse and Cheung personally visited Wang Bo-chao in the hospital and took photos of the three reconciling, thus bringing the matter to a close. Although Wang Bo-chao lost the lawsuit, he won the public opinion.

Why did they win? Because of Director Wang's shrewd tactics.

PS: Director Wang pointed out that Wang Bochao could dodge the slap when he was being slapped. Wang Bochao said that he was playing a dead person at the time, and he was not allowed to move freely.

Regarding the claim that Wang Bozhao disappeared after going to Huairou Hospital for a check-up, Wang Bozhao said that Huairou Hospital issued two diagnoses, both of which required him to rest for three days. The film crew also had a diagnosis. Moreover, his foot was in a lot of pain at the time, and it was inconvenient for him to live on set, so he went home to rest for a few days.

Director Wang said that Hong Kong film crews are very dedicated and "fight for real" when filming action scenes. Wang Bo-chao, however, disagreed. He stated that this wasn't his first time filming action scenes with a Hong Kong crew. He recalled a scene with Yuen Biao where he was beaten so badly he bled from all seven orifices and had a sword pierce his heart, yet he emerged unscathed. This suggests that Hong Kong film crews don't film action scenes "realistically" to the point of injuring people.

Director Wang played a videotape showing the "beating" incident on set. Wang Bozhao saw the tape through a friend. Wang Bozhao told reporters that four cameras were filming simultaneously from different angles, but Director Wang only played footage that was favorable to him, and he suspected that the tape had been edited.

Director Wang said that Wang Bozhao was using the situation to create hype. Wang Bozhao completely denied this claim, stating that the matter was highly unusual, which is why it attracted so much attention.

Director Wang criticized Wang Bozhao for lacking professional ethics as an actor. Wang Bozhao said that he stopped the filming even though the director hadn't called for it, entirely because he had been beaten too badly, and anyone would have found it unbearable; this wasn't a matter of professional ethics.

Director Wang said that Wang Bozhao had little acting experience. Wang Bozhao specifically attached his resume to the statement, saying that he had worked with many Hong Kong and American directors and actors who were much more famous than Director Wang, Xie Biwang, and Zhang Weijian.

This incident sparked intense controversy at the time, with both sides offering conflicting accounts. Regardless of the cause, Zhang and Xie should not have taken the situation too seriously and resorted to violence. Some have brought up Wang Bozhao's character, but whether he is good or bad is a matter of Wang Bozhao's personal conduct and has nothing to do with Xie and Zhang. It should not be used as a reason for them to make a fuss.

The incident began when Wang Bozhao saw an empty chair during a break and sat down. It turned out that the chair belonged to an assistant from Hong Kong, who was very unhappy, which led to an argument. Xie and Zhang then took advantage of the situation to physically assault Wang Bozhao.

Even a fool could see that they deliberately beat Wang Bozhao, and they did it seriously, sending him to the hospital. Director Wang wanted to suppress public opinion and fabricate stories in front of the media; he had never heard of someone being beaten into the hospital while filming a TV series.

He's a complete jerk. He thinks he's so great, looks down on mainland actors, and has this arrogant, domineering attitude. He even tried to get someone else to take the blame for his drunk driving. He's nothing without Albert Yeung protecting him.