Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 354 A 2 Million Yen Animated Film?!

If you're wondering why Liu Yifei did that, well, it's nothing more than teasing her fans.

#Liu Yifei implicitly acknowledges being in a relationship#
#Liu Yifei obediently changed her profile picture#
The two terms immediately went viral on Weibo's trending topics.

A few days ago, Liu Yifei was photographed shopping with a mysterious man. The two were seen holding hands, hugging, and pinching each other's cheeks, suggesting a possible relationship. The man's identity is currently unknown, and Liu Yifei's team declined to comment on the artist's private life. Liu Yifei's fans left comments on her Weibo, saying that if she was really in a relationship, she should change her profile picture to a picture provided by them. This afternoon, fans discovered that Liu Yifei had indeed changed her profile picture to the specified one, implicitly confirming the relationship.

After trending on social media, reporters contacted Hongxingwu to inquire about the situation, but received the same response as before:
"This is Yifei's personal life; we only concern ourselves with her work."

"This is her private life, and the company doesn't know anything about it."

Liu Yifei's rumored boyfriend, Li Qiutang, was the first suspect among fans and reporters. It had been rumored in the industry that the two had a close relationship and that the resources Liu Yifei received were all provided by Li Qiutang.

However, staff from Li Qiutang's studio and Qiutian Pictures declined to comment, giving the same answer: "The director is currently preparing for 'Mojin: The Lost Legend,' and we don't know anything else."

There are many speculations, but they are just speculations.

The beauty of this situation lies in the wide range of interpretations. You could say that Liu Yifei changed her profile picture at the request of her fans, which is a tacit admission of her relationship. But Liu Yifei could also say that it was just a change of profile picture and there's no need to overinterpret it.

A relationship? What relationship? Changing a profile picture is now related to a relationship?
When Liu Yifei and Yang Mi were having coffee, their assistant told them, "We're trending on social media."

"What is it?" Liu Yifei asked without looking at her phone.

"It's about changing the profile picture," the assistant said.

"Oh well, it's just changing my profile picture." Liu Yifei didn't expect that something as small as changing her profile picture could become a trending topic. "Never mind."

Upon hearing this, Yang Mi took out her phone and glanced at it, then laughed and said, "Even such a small thing has made it to the trending topics."

Liu Yifei also felt that netizens were making a fuss over nothing.

The two best friends talked about their upcoming work. Yang Mi said that she still has four more dramas to film, and all four of them will start filming this year: "I took leave from Hengdian yesterday and today to come and celebrate your birthday with you. I have to go back tonight."

The most urgent project, "The Last War," will begin filming next month.

Liu Yifei disagrees with Yang Mi's work style, saying that she would never film three or four dramas at the same time. However, to some extent, she admires Yang Mi's perseverance and execution. Such a high-intensity work is something most people couldn't handle.

"I only have one more film, 'Lucy,' after this, and I don't want to push myself too hard." Liu Yifei also asked Yang Mi, "Aren't you tired from filming like this?"

"I'm tired, but what can I do? It's all work."

Yang Mi's work style is certainly influenced by market forces, but it is mostly her own proactive choice.

She's popular, so many films come knocking on her door. But when artists choose films, it's not always the case that if they accept one film, they can't accept another. I'm sure Yang Mi has acted in some films she didn't want to because of personal relationships.

In addition, fearing that she would quickly lose her popularity, she actively increased the quantity of films she made, resulting in an increasingly heavy workload.

She certainly earns a lot; even Liu Yifei might not earn as much as her. But pushing for volume will inevitably sacrifice her reputation.

Yang Mi couldn't possibly be unaware of such a simple truth, but ultimately, it was her own active choice.

She envied Liu Yifei's resources, but she didn't regret the path she had chosen. She couldn't stand only filming one movie a year.

No matter what happened to her, she's still one of the most popular female celebrities today. Yang Mi left without having dinner with Liu Yifei, and actually, she didn't need to accompany her anyway. The 25th is Liu Yifei's birthday, and the 26th is Li Qiutang's birthday, so Liu Yifei has to go back and spend some time alone with her boyfriend.

Li Qiutang had originally set aside time, but something came up at the company that he had to deal with.

The problem lies with Li Qiutang's first animated film project, "Journey to the West." Tian Xiaopeng was willing to sell the entire project to Qiutian, but Qiutian was unwilling to offer a good price.

Tian Xiaopeng has produced about 5 minutes of the main feature. After watching the film, the general manager of the production management department of Qiutian Pictures offered 2000 million yuan. Selling a 5-minute trailer for 2000 million yuan is already quite good.

If you invest 2000 million in the fall, you need to gross 6000 million at the box office to make a profit. And what domestic animated film can make that much money?

Autumn is already quite risky.

But Tian Xiaopeng's demand for 5000 million yuan is, in Qiu Tian's opinion, nothing short of outrageous!
50 million? 150 million to break even, for an animated film? Are you kidding me!
Tian Xiaopeng also had his own grievances. His "Journey to the West" was very expensive, with an estimated budget of 6000 million yuan to complete. He sold it for 5000 million yuan, which was the maximum he could achieve by losing all of his initial investment.

Li Qiutang returned to the company to personally oversee this project.

Li Qiutang watched the five-minute clip, along with Tian Xiaopeng's 42 storyboards and 160 art design drafts, repeatedly for over an hour.

Then they said, "Keep it up, this can sell for 2 million." That's how they quoted it initially.

Just as a colleague from the investment and production management department was about to speak, Li Qiutang waved her hand to stop him and continued, "It is indeed difficult to make domestic animated films, and there are no precedents for them being big hits, but judging from this clip, I think it can sell. 'Journey to the West' is the biggest IP in domestic film and television, and everyone knows Sun Wukong. I think there's no problem with this kind of story and visuals."

The investment and production management department did not deny Tian Xiaopeng's story and visuals, but rather considered the overall animated film market.

"So what? Kung Fu Panda is also an animated film. Who would have thought it would sell so well? I think Journey to the West is a perfect match for Kung Fu Panda. They are both classic characters and both are action films. If pandas can sell, why can't Sun Wukong sell?"

Sometimes, the investment and production management department really can't do anything about their own boss. The company tries to lower the price, but Li Qiutang wants to pay more.

It's not that Li Qiutang has too much money to spend; sometimes he needs to negotiate the price, and sometimes he can't.

He knew that the production cost of this "Journey to the West" film would not be low, and Tian Xiaopeng's offer of 5000 million yuan was probably the absolute minimum.

With less money, the quality of production will inevitably decline. If this film is ruined by Qiu Tian, ​​Li Qiutang will never forgive himself.

Therefore, Li Qiutang quoted 200 million, which translates to 60 to 70 million in production costs. This figure should allow Tian Xiaopeng to successfully complete "Journey to the West" and even make a profit.

The boss has already spoken, what else can the company say?

Autumn is now flush with cash; there's not much difference between 20 or 30 million and 60 or 70 million—it's all nothing to her.

Tian Xiaopeng thanked him, and was practically ready to sign a pledge.

But Li Qiutang said, "Alright, just make sure the film is done well and don't cut corners. I've never lost money on a film I've valued, so don't embarrass me within the company."

Needless to say, Tian Xiaopeng patted his chest and guaranteed that he would not embarrass Li Qiutang.

When Li Qiutang returned home, Liu Yifei was still waiting at the table. Seeing Li Qiutang come back, she smiled and said, "You're back."

Li Qiutang felt that it was wonderful to have a woman waiting for him to come home.

(End of this chapter)