Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 361 My mom hopes I can get married and have children soon.

However, Wan Da believes that Lu Chuan's remarks are an attempt to steal the selling points and hype from "Mojin: The Lost Legend".

Although the two films and two directors were put in direct competition from the beginning, Wan Da and Li Qiutang felt that Lu Chuan was just bragging and provoking them.

What does it mean to set an example for later adaptations?

So Ye Ning took action. He didn't go directly at Lu Chuan; Ye Ning disdained doing such a thing. Instead, he changed his approach to promote "The Lost Tomb":
"Mojin: The Lost Legend boasts three major strengths and one super factor: a major IP, a major company, and a major director, creating a super production!"

Wanda proactively released the information. "Mojin: The Lost Legend" brings together four of the most powerful film companies in China: Wanda, Qiutian, Huayi, and Guangxian.

"Such a collaboration has never happened before in the Chinese film industry, and it may be difficult to happen again in the future."

China Film Group's "Ghost Blows Out the Light" chose to collaborate with LeEco. Although LeEco is also financially powerful and can be considered a major player, it is still not comparable to the big companies.

“I understand why netizens are comparing our two films,” Ye Ning said magnanimously. “But our goal is to provide the audience with a visual and auditory feast, not to compare ourselves with anyone.”

But the booming business of Wan Da in the past two years does not allow Ye Ning to keep a low profile: "His budget is sufficient? Even if it is, it can't be as sufficient as mine."

It's easy to pretend, but it's also very easy to answer questions.

Li Qiutang also responded to Lu Chuan's remarks in an interview at the premiere of "The Fault in Our Stars": "He just needs to make his own films well and not let the investors lose money. He doesn't need to set an example for anyone."

Li Qiutang only responded with this one sentence. Today is the premiere of the second film in Autumn Pictures' "Towering Tree" project, but because "The Fault in Our Stars" doesn't have a big director or big stars, and it's an art film, the whole ceremony seems a bit shabby.

The theater was small, and there weren't many media or movie fans present. Li Qiutang, as the film's artistic director, wanted to invite a few friends from the industry to lend their support, but few responded. Such a film doesn't hold much appeal for guests.

However, Yu Qian, Zhang Yuqi, Tong Dawei, and others came to the scene either because of their relationship with Li Qiutang or because they had connections with other members of the crew.

Regardless of whose face it was for, Li Qiutang thanked them.

Shu Chang is 26 years old and has been in the industry for almost 20 years. She finally got to play the lead role in her first movie, which was a low-budget art film.

But she knew it was a good start.

Li Qiutang, as the film's art director, stood on the stage with the film's main creators, each sharing their personal journey in making the film.

But Li Qiutang talked more about how he, as the art director, assisted the director in completing the work. He did not compete with Han Yan for credit, and said: "The Fault in Our Stars is the only art film in this batch of the Sky Tree Project. It may not be very profitable, but many times you can't be in it for the money. When I got The Fault in Our Stars, I thought that even if it lost money, I would still make it."

Han Yan didn't try to elicit sympathy; instead, he expressed his gratitude to Li Qiutang and the entire production team for giving him the opportunity to film such a movie.

Shu Chang thanked Han Yan for choosing her to star in "such a warm and emotional movie".

Judging from the reactions of the guests after the film screening, they were very satisfied.

Sure enough, many reporters said they were very moved before asking their questions.

But the questions weren't so polite. The first question was directed at Li Qiutang. As one of the suspects in Liu Yifei's change of profile picture to confirm her relationship, reporters asked him, "Why did you choose Shu Chang as the female lead? Is it because she is Yifei's best friend?"

"Oh—" The audience started to cheer.

Li Qiutang held the microphone for a long time but couldn't open her mouth. Shu Chang and the other main creators were laughing, which made Li Qiutang start laughing too.

Li Qiutang did not deny the relationship, but he said, "I am not responsible for casting. You have to ask the director about this."

Han Yan then took over the conversation and shared his casting experience.

The reporters at the premiere were relatively polite, mostly discussing the movie, but the interviews after the premiere were less so. When reporters asked Li Qiutang about her relationship, it seemed everyone assumed the two were already together.

But Li Qiutang also has her own way of playing ambiguity: "My mom hopes I can get married and have children soon." But if you ask who she'll marry, well, guess!
Ironically, Li Qiutang wasn't the prime suspect in Liu Yifei's tacit confirmation of their relationship. Fans felt that Li Qiutang wasn't handsome enough and didn't deserve the "Fairy Sister" (Liu Yifei's nickname).

If Li Qiutang knew what his fans were thinking, he would definitely say, "I'm a director, working behind the scenes. Why would I need to be so handsome? I don't make a living off my looks!"

The release date for "The Fault in Our Stars" wasn't ideal, as "The Wolverine" had only been in theaters for a week.

But there's no way around it; it's just that difficult to secure a slot for art-house films. If we don't release them now, there are even more Hollywood blockbusters in November, and going into the Lunar New Year season would be suicide.

"The Fault in Our Stars" has a fellow sufferer, "The Great Ming Dynasty," which was released a day later.

Li Qiutang had seen "The Great Ming Dynasty" in advance, and it was really good.

As fellow sufferers, Li Qiutang even campaigned for "The Great Ming Dynasty" on Weibo, hoping that the audience would also go and watch it.

But the ideal is full, the reality is very skinny.

"The Fault in Our Stars" earned 500 million on its opening day, setting a new record for the lowest revenue for a film produced by the main studio of Autumn Film Group.

"The Great Ming Dynasty" fared even worse, earning less than 50 yuan.

Both films received excellent reviews and were hailed by moviegoers as the year's most surprising releases. However, this positive reception was limited to moviegoers; neither film managed to attract a wider audience beyond the general public.

Shu Chang's performance as the leading lady in her first big-screen role was well-received, and was hailed as "a transformative masterpiece for the 'silly girl'."

Her fans have dug up her later works: the TV series "The Glamorous Imperial Concubine" co-starring Huang Xiaoming will start filming next month, "The Lady in the Flames of War" will air in December, "Magic Phone 2: The Return of Silly Girl" is CCTV-12's opening drama for next year, and another movie "Brotherhood of Blades" is expected to be released next year.

Fans joked, "He's a true brother-in-law; he really gives you resources."

Of course, Magic Phone 2 is not Li Qiutang's resource.

Autumn has low expectations for "The Fault in Our Stars," aiming for 3000-4000 million RMB, and is willing to accept losses; the key is word-of-mouth.

Li Qiutang finished working on "The Wrong Star" and continued to work on "Mojin: The Lost Legend".

The script breakdown has been completed, and the production team has made a preliminary budget, which differs somewhat from Wan Da's production cost of 1.8 million.

Li Qiutang requested an additional 2000 million yuan in budget from Wan Da, arguing that special effects makeup and visual effects are quite expensive.

Li Qiutang plans to film mutated monsters in "Mojin: The Lost Legend". Some can be solved with special effects makeup, but others must be done with special effects. Li Qiutang also said that 2000 million might not be enough, and the specifics will be determined during the actual filming stage.

Wan Da wasn't stingy with money and promised to increase investment in Li Qiutang, but not now. Who adds money before work even starts? Wan Da demanded that Li Qiutang's team get things started first; if they really needed more money, they could discuss it later.

The first batch of 2000 million yuan has been deposited into the production team's public account, enough for Li Qiutang to squander for a while.

The location scouting team set off with the split script, while the casting team began casting with Li Qiutang's requirements for the actors.

The first actor Li Qiutang auditioned for was Fatty Wang, Wang Kaixuan.

There aren't many overweight male actors in the entertainment industry, so Li Qiutang originally thought the selection process would be relatively simple. However, he didn't expect that many thin actors would also volunteer themselves after hearing about it.

Their reasoning was: "I can gain weight!" But what's a little weight gain when you're in a production of this caliber?

(End of this chapter)