Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 364 I've done a pretty good job as a brother-in-law, haven't I?

Li Qiutang has basically stopped managing the TV series and has completely handed it over to Cao Ping.

But he also knew about the TV series "Nirvana in Fire." He hadn't read the novel, but he had seen the character stills.

Hu Ge's appearance in the film was indeed very good, looking like a refined gentleman.

Li Qiutang encouraged Hu Ge to do his best in "Nirvana in Fire": "Instead of wandering around like a headless fly, not knowing what role to play, you should play every role you have well and wait for your opportunity."

"You need to bring out the unique qualities of each historical drama character. I believe that the audience and producers will see your strengths, and then people will naturally ask you to play other roles. If you play Li Xiaoyao and Jing Tian in every historical drama, then no matter how much you try to change your image, it won't work."

Before Hu Ge left, Li Qiutang made a promise to him: "You look great in period costume. I'd like to film a period drama like 'Mulan,' and I might need to ask you for help in the future."

It's true that Li Qiutang wants to film "Mulan," and it's also true that he previously said he wanted to film "Journey to the West." He has many other stories he wants to film.

But Hu Ge wasn't fooled by his pancakes. He stayed in Liangxi for most of the day and then went back to Shanghai.

After entertaining Hu Ge, Shu Chang arrived.

She came in person to thank her brother-in-law.

"The Fault in Our Stars" ultimately grossed 4300 million yuan, barely breaking even.

However, this film earned director Han Yan industry recognition and lead actress Shu Chang recognition. Han Yan and Shu Chang were even nominated for Best New Director and Best Actress at this year's 50th Golden Horse Awards.

Although neither of them won an award, being nominated in such a prestigious year as the 50th Golden Horse Awards is already a great honor for these two newcomers.

"The Fault in Our Stars" didn't make money financially, but it earned the creators fame, and Project Tower didn't tarnish its reputation.

This is the first time Shu Chang, who has been in the industry for 20 years, has participated in such a major film festival as the 50th Golden Horse Awards. You can imagine how excited she was.

"Sissi is so jealous it's driving me crazy," Shu Chang laughed. Liu Yifei has been in the industry for 10 years but has yet to win any major domestic awards.

Li Qiutang laughed and said, "I'm also jealous of you. You were nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Horse Awards right away. You're a veteran artist at such a young age."

"How's the collaboration with Xiaoming going?"

Shu Chang is currently filming "The Glamorous Imperial Concubine" in Shanghai, which was invested in and starred by Huang Xiaoming, playing the female lead Rong Jinxiu.

"It's only been a few days since filming started, and it's going very well." Shu Chang is now experiencing a career resurgence, and she happily shared her upcoming film with Li Qiutang: "After being nominated for the Golden Horse Awards, I received another film offer, 'Love for Dew,' directed by Gao Xixi. Filming will start next March, and I'll be working with a big star like Rain."

"It's good," Li Qiutang said sincerely. Shu Chang needs to boost her popularity and exposure right now, and "A Fleeting Romance" is a good choice. There aren't that many high-quality films coming her way. Shu Chang's film career is just starting out; she doesn't have the luxury of being selective. As long as the scripts are generally acceptable, she'll take any role she can get.

Li Qiutang teased Shu Chang, "How about it? I'm a pretty good brother-in-law, aren't I?"

Shu Chang replied, "Let's talk about it after you get married."

"Hey, you're turning your back on me now."

"You're not even married, how dare you be my brother-in-law?"

"The parents have all been met."

“So,” Shu Chang said, “hurry up and propose. Do you still want Qianqian to bring this up?” “Tsk, don’t worry about that. I have my own plans.”

No sooner had Shu Chang left than she tattled to Liu Yifei, who was in Italy: "I want him to propose right away. He said he has plans. Be prepared."

It was still morning in Italy. Liu Yifei was putting on makeup and getting ready to start work when she received a voice message and scolded Shu Chang: "Why did you tell him this?" Her heart was pounding.

"Didn't you say he was looking at rings the year before last? It's been almost two years now." This woman tells Shu Chang everything!

"Mind your own business, you're still single."

"I'm not in a hurry. I'm currently in the prime of my career and have no interest in finding a man." Shu Chang's assistant pretended not to hear. Can't you send a text message? Do you think I'll listen to a voice message?
Shu Chang's assistant knew that Liu Yifei and Li Qiutang were together, but she didn't expect that they had been together for so long. Director Li Qiutang had been preparing a ring for two years.

Within a week of Shu Chang's departure, Li Qiutang met with Jiang Wu, Chen Minghao, and Jiang Chao respectively.

Of the three, Jiang Chao, who is the least well-known, is also a very good actor. It can be said that in terms of acting skills and appearance, all three are capable of playing the role of Wang Kaixuan.

When Li Qiutang met Jiang Chao, she became distracted while chatting with him: "No, right now all I can think about when you talk is Li Dazui."

Li Dazui left a very deep impression on me.

Li Qiutang ultimately chose Chen Minghao because Chen Minghao's image inspired a natural sense of trust.

Li Qiutang immediately felt that Chen Minghao was a very righteous and trustworthy person. This was also Wang Pangzi's true nature. He was usually unreliable, but he would really go through fire and water for his brothers when it mattered.

However, Chen Minghao is not without flaws. He has spent many years on the stage, and his film and television performances also have a strong theatrical flavor.

But the theatrical feel can't be thrown away so easily. Since filming hasn't started yet, Li Qiutang can't expect him to be in the right state before filming begins. She can only do his homework with him on set.

However, he also reminded Chen Minghao of this point, telling him to do his homework before filming started: "The camera is different from the stage. The camera will magnify every detail of your performance, and many stage techniques cannot be used."

Chen Minghao couldn't possibly be unaware of this, and he also stated that he would try his best to adjust his performance style.

"Alright, that's all for now. Go back to Yanjing and sign the contract with our production team to coordinate the timing."

The four production companies had no objections to Chen Minghao's involvement, but they felt that Chen Minghao was not a big star and lacked appeal.

But Li Qiutang's reasoning was: "Why are you still thinking about hiring celebrities? Is the selling point of our film celebrities? Big special effects and drama films will greatly weaken the appeal of celebrities. Which actor in Avatar had appeal? As long as the role is suitable and the actor performs well, that's enough. The production team should spend money on filming and special effects. Why spend so much money hiring celebrities?"

Aside from refusing Li Qiutang's request for a budget increase, Wan Da fully respected Li Qiutang's authority in the production team.

This is also the source of Li Qiutang's confidence in refusing Chen Guofu and Huayi's demands. The two largest investors are on his side, and coupled with Li Qiutang's personal authority in the production team, he can disregard Huayi and Chen Guofu's opinions.

Li Qiutang was still only willing to give the role of Yangzi to Chen Guofu, but refused Yang Ying's participation. There was no other reason than that Ding Sitian was an educated youth, and Yang Ying's face was too modern and high-tech, which did not conform to the aesthetics of the time.

Although Wan Da did not have artist management business, he still recommended a candidate to Li Qiutang regarding Ding Sitian's selection.

This is the first time in a long time that Wan Da has recommended an actor.

Their recommendation is—Jing Tian!
(End of this chapter)