Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 359 Something is going to happen
On the set of "Lucy," Luc Besson spared no effort in promoting his EuropaCorp to Li Qiutang, hoping to achieve a deeper collaboration with Qiutang, rather than just a simple project partnership.

In short, Luc Besson wants to invest in EuropaCorp this fall.

EuropaCorp is undoubtedly the largest film company in Europe, but it's not exactly a high-quality asset. First, its film library isn't very extensive, and its intellectual property isn't strong enough. Second, the European market as a whole is relatively small, and language and cultural differences between countries limit EuropaCorp's European distribution. Although EuropaCorp has tried to overcome geographical limitations with English-language films, its production scale still can't compete with Hollywood. Third, EuropaCorp relies too heavily on the single genre of action films and Luc Besson's personal brand, resulting in a lack of innovation.

Li Qiutang was able to launch the Towering Tree Project to prevent Qiutian from becoming too dependent on him, but other film companies couldn't do that.

So, despite Luc Besson's enthusiastic pitch, Li Qiutang remained unmoved: he was willing to invest in projects, but not to buy shares in his company.

Investment projects still need to be evaluated by the company, but Qiu Tian has been very generous to Luc Besson. As long as the project is approved by the company, Qiu Tian will be very generous. Just like with "Lucy", which cost $4000 million, Qiu Tian's family contributed $3000 million. Luc Besson basically doesn't have to worry about money.

After leaving the set of "Lucy", Li Qiutang went to the set of "John Wick", where the crew was making final preparations for the start of filming in New York.

Even if the King of Heaven himself came, Li Qiutang would have to say that the script for "John Wick" was extremely crude.

However, there's no way around it; the quality of a film depends on more than just the script.

The action choreography team for the film crew included many Chinese people, including Li Qiutang's acquaintance, Sun Nuo, a Chinese martial arts choreographer who runs a martial arts school in the United States.

Many of the film crew's action training and rehearsals were conducted at his martial arts school.

Li Qiutang was mainly there to get a feel for the gun; such opportunities are rare in mainland China. The film set definitely wouldn't allow it, but getting a feel for it and showing off his skills shouldn't be a problem.

Director David Leitch was tempted by the huge profits Pacific Rim made in the Chinese mainland market and said he wanted to send John Wick to the mainland for release.

But Li Qiutang advised him to give up: "The Chinese mainland market does not allow such films to be released, and there is absolutely no chance of them passing censorship. Didn't you tell him that?" The last question was asked to Sun Nuo in Chinese.

“I did,” Sun Nuo replied in Chinese, “but he said that anything is possible with human effort, and it would be a shame not to enter such a huge market as mainland China and take a bite.”

"This foreigner isn't senile at all."

Li Qiutang has seen too many foreign filmmakers look down on the Chinese market. It's not that they look down on it, but that they don't have the concept of the Chinese market. They never think that there are 14 billion people in China who watch movies.

People like David Leitch who would proactively consider entering the Chinese market are rare breeds in Hollywood.

David Leitch said in English, "You're speaking Chinese, are you saying bad things about me?"

Li Qiutang laughed and said, "We're saying you have great foresight and have seen the potential of the Chinese market. But it's almost impossible for a blood-soaked movie like this to be shown in mainland cinemas."

During her conversations with David Leitch and other key members of the creative team, Li Qiutang discovered that they also disagreed with the current dominance of Hollywood superheroes, and action director Chad Stahelski was even reluctant to call Marvel movies action films.

Both directors are fans of Shaw Brothers kung fu films and Jackie Chan. When Li Qiutang took out his phone to show a photo of himself with Jackie Chan, the two directors were as excited as children, exclaiming "Oh my god!"

Jackie Chan's global influence has been severely underestimated by domestic audiences.

Li Qiutang's visit to the film set wasn't just for casual conversation; he also met Chen Zhixi, who had been studying in Hollywood. Chen Zhixi, as the assistant president of Lantern Entertainment, was deeply involved in the company's projects, learning by doing. She was one of the producers of "John Wick." She said, "I didn't know until I came; it was truly astonishing. The sophistication of our film crew management and shooting process is on a completely different level compared to Hollywood."

"Before I came here, I thought, it's just filming, what's the difference? But it's really different here. It's true that we're a makeshift crew."

Chen Zhixi listed what she had seen and heard in Hollywood over the past six months, as well as her new ideas on the management of domestic film crews.

After listening, Li Qiutang knew that Chen Zhixi hadn't been slacking off in the past six months; she had been seriously learning advanced Hollywood production management experience.

"Have you thought about when you'll return to China?" Li Qiutang respected Chen Zhixi's opinion. If she was willing to stay in the United States, Li Qiutang would secure her position as assistant president and let her fully assist Michael Lynn. The old man was 70 years old, and no matter how energetic he was, Li Qiutang still had to consider the issue of succession. If Chen Zhixi was willing to return to China, Li Qiutang would transfer her back to the company.

Chen Zhixi said, "I still want to go back to China. I'm currently working on two movies, 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 3' and 'John Wick.' After I finish these two, I'll have learned most of what I need to learn. I'll go back to serve my country." She laughed as she spoke.

Chen Zhixi understood Li Qiutang's meaning. She couldn't say she wasn't tempted to take over Lantern Entertainment, but she knew that she was still relatively inexperienced and young at the company. If she took over Lantern Entertainment within three to five years, not only would she lack the ability, but she would also be the subject of gossip. It would be better for her to learn and gain experience and qualifications back in China.

Besides, the environment in China is always more familiar, and it's definitely more comfortable to stay there than in the United States.

Li Qiutang promised Chen Zhixi that he would find an opportunity to transfer her back to China next year.

Before leaving the United States, Chen Zhixi handed a thick document to Li Qiutang and said, "Lin En met with several bosses in China and reached some cooperation agreements. This is the document. Take it back and take a look."

"Also, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 3 can't be made into a wholesale film; Universal will have to submit it as a revenue-sharing film."

No one had high hopes for "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" at the time, and it was imported as a franchise film in the fall. The upcoming sequel was also unable to obtain revenue-sharing status due to the quota for imported films and the timing of its release.

However, Universal Entertainment, which had already started filming the third installment, did not want it to be released as a franchise film in the fall. Lantern Entertainment also wanted to make greater profits in China and felt that the time was right to make it a revenue-sharing film.

Li Qiutang did not object after listening. The demands of Lantern Entertainment and Universal were very reasonable. Autumn Pictures might have objections, but that depended on how Li Qiutang calmed the emotions within the company.

"No problem, I'll take care of it."

Li Qiutang has returned to China. She was on the train back and scrolling through Weibo when she saw a few news articles.

Yang Ying said that she would rely on her own hard work to build her career and not depend on anyone else.

"The film 'Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon' is achieving great success. Yang Ying: No more playing the role of a pampered wife, breaking stereotypes."

"Huang Xiaoming goes to bars late at night and spends money like water!"

Li Qiutang realized that something bad was about to happen.

(End of this chapter)