In the entertainment industry, everyone has been reborn, but who will be their servant?

Chapter 89 How to Relieve Worries
Filming of "The Unknown" continued as usual, with constant location changes. They could be seen filming everywhere, including Xishan Bridge, Shiban Street, and Hengli Watch Factory, and the filming was always done in closed locations.

Filming this drama was very easy for Qin Xuan. Fan Wei, who played the lead role, and Tan Zhuo, who played Lili, both had excellent acting skills. There was no one with bad acting skills.

Qin Xuan basically only needs to control the direction of the plot and doesn't have to worry about anything else. He already has Rao Xiaozhi, who is a professionally trained actor, and the others are considered his core team.

Aside from the fact that he didn't attend the Olympic bid and Zhang Linke's absence, many people started following him when he was "liked, commented, and shared".

Even if Ye Ning sent a producer to supervise, it wouldn't be a big deal. The show was filmed in a small city, and apart from the food expenses being a bit expensive and the accommodations being a bit extravagant, it wasn't as unacceptable as some people say.

The logistics were entrusted to the local cultural and tourism bureau or a relative of someone in the neighborhood. Qin Xuan was too lazy to ask. He only had one request: no one was allowed to disturb him.

When filming here, you always have to give the locals some benefits, otherwise they won't be so cooperative.

Anyway, if we don't count the human resources involved, this production will cost tens of millions of yuan in the city, making it even more important than key enterprises. Logically speaking, the local mayor should come to see Qin Xuan and offer his condolences.

But Qin Xuan kept a low profile and didn't meet with the mayor.

Before the release of the film "12 Citizens", New Force bought the copyright and entrusted China Vision Fengde Copyright Distributor to help with the purchase.

It's an old movie from half a century ago, and it only cost a few hundred thousand to get it done.

Even so, some people online still say that "12 Citizens" is plagiarism and continue to criticize it.

Qin Xuan has not only become a fraudster but also a plagiarist, accusing him of accusations of plagiarism. It's fortunate that he didn't engage in prostitution; otherwise, he would probably be accused of soliciting prostitutes by now.

If you look at a person closely, you can always find flaws.

Although "12 Citizens" did not perform well at the box office, it received a high score of 8.4 on Douban.

It received many positive reviews, with some calling it "the most successful film adaptation for local audiences!"

Some people say this film could rank among the top five or even the top three Chinese-language films, but these are mostly comments from netizens and are rarely reported by the media.

A large number of reviews doesn't necessarily mean that everyone went to see it in theaters; some people watched pirated versions online.

However, the box office remained stable, hovering around 27 or 28, and this level of box office performance continued for several days before it broke one million in just a few days.

Actually, this movie would break even if it grossed over two million, which would cover Wanda's marketing and distribution costs. After all, there wasn't much production budget; they just set up a table and filmed it.

From "Nightclub" to "12 Citizens," Zhang Songwen released three films in just four or five months, all of which received high ratings. He was remembered once again and gained some fame in the industry.

Many film and television professionals remember him and are using him. Huayi Brothers did not make things difficult for him, and his acting skills are also good.

However, Qin Xuan also became embroiled in a public opinion storm. A reporter asked Zhang Songwen, "What do you think about the plagiarism of 'Twelve Citizens'?"

"The plagiarism issue is debatable. As long as it can be released, the copyright has been purchased, so there is no plagiarism involved," Zhang Songwen replied in a standard and unambiguous manner.

The reporter asked, "Were you aware that the director of this play was involved in a fundraising fraud?"

"It's best not to say things like that. President Xuan is a very upright person." Zhang Songwen still wanted to speak up for his former employer.

After all, it was Qin Xuan who brought him out of school.

Anyway, now reporters just grab anyone connected to Qin Xuan and ask them if they're a fraudster; this label is impossible to shake off.

The movie "The Forbidden Kingdom" was released internationally five or six days earlier than in China, on April 18th, which made it an imported film.

Just then, news broke that Liu Yifei had signed with Hollywood's WMA agency, becoming Zhang Ziyi's junior.

The moment this news broke, the entire entertainment industry was stunned. Everyone in the Chinese entertainment circle knew that Huayi Brothers had been trying to sign Liu Yifei; it was an open secret.

This move, signing a contract with a Hollywood agency right before the release of "The Forbidden Kingdom," is undoubtedly a slap in the face for Huayi Brothers, essentially a complete falling out.

All I can say is that Liu Yifei is a very stubborn girl. I don't know if it was her mother's idea or her godfather's idea.

There are many rumors circulating, with some saying that "Liu Yifei used Huayi Brothers to her advantage and then abandoned them after getting the resources for 'The Forbidden Kingdom' through Huayi Brothers, using it as a springboard to Hollywood."

"It was all Chen Jinfei's idea to be kept by someone."

In no time, various speculations and rumors circulated on Tianya, Tieba, and other online forums, providing plenty of entertainment for onlookers.

Huayi Brothers has remained silent on this matter and has not commented, while Baofengyun is already brewing its own plans.

As a reborn person, Qin Xuan knew that not only Liu Yifei would be in trouble, but Chen Jinfei would also be in trouble.

He and Chen Jinfei are in a similar predicament; he was accused of plagiarism and fraud, and the case is still under investigation.

Old Chen will soon be reported for workplace bullying and tax issues, and a series of problems will follow.

In fact, Qin Xuan really wanted to suggest to Liu Yifei that she deal with Huayi first, and wait until this financial crisis was over before making any further moves, and until her godfather had recovered.

But Qin Xuan knew that Chen Jinfei would have a hard time recovering, and Liu Yifei would also be in trouble; this was already an ultimatum.

After all, rumors of him signing with Huayi Brothers had been circulating since 06, and the movie was already finished and released in 08. Where could he possibly hide now?

Therefore, Qin Xuan didn't offer any advice. The only way to relieve his worries was to go short and speculate on stocks with his mother. This was the fastest shortcut. As long as he had money, he could go head-to-head and get revenge.

Making movies is a pipe dream.

With the letter of guarantee secured, an international bank in Hong Kong provided a loan of six million US dollars to his new subsidiary, "Qin Dynasty".

For the past few days, Qin Xuan has been on the phone with Liu Xiaoli for hours at a time, and he hasn't been filming much, handing the project over to Rao Xiaozhi. This has led the crew to wonder if President Xuan is in a relationship, and they've started gossiping about it.

"Does President Xuan have a lover?"

"How could that be? President Xuan said he's not interested in women!" This was what Ren Suxi said. "Huh?!" The crew was shocked.

Actually, Qin Xuan said it to dissuade Ren Suxi from that idea, but now it has become a rumor.

Even Liu Yifei on the other end of the line wondered if Qin Xuan and his mother were having an affair, since they were constantly on the phone. Of course, she also knew they were trading stocks.

The two haven't been in contact for a long time. They haven't been in touch much since their all-nighter last time, as they've both been busy.

In fact, Qin Xuan and Liu Xiaoli were shorting crude oil.

The financial crisis hit Bear Stearns hard after the company was acquired.

From mid-April to the end of April, there were quite a few projects shorting, including S&P futures, Morgan Stanley futures, and crude oil.

However, Qin Xuan chose crude oil because it had the highest risk and the greatest leverage.

Anyway, Liu Xiaoli was numb, and said to him, "A margin of six million in crude oil can leverage about 16.67 times, which is about 1 million US dollars."

"Okay! According to US time, if you enter the market on the 21st, the oil price should drop to the range of 104 to 103 by April 24th. You only have three days, so you absolutely cannot be slow." Qin Xuan was also afraid; if he was even a step too slow, he would be doomed.

This is leveraging $1 million, yet it doesn't cause the slightest tremor.

The recent drop in crude oil prices is due to an unexpected increase of 580 million barrels in US crude oil inventories. I don't know how it happened, but it's all part of a scheme orchestrated by capital, and Qin Xuan just needs to follow along.

Then the situation in the Middle East pushed oil prices up again. It was a game of cat and mouse between the two sides, one pushing prices down and the other pushing them up.

They've made global investors feel like they're in heaven!
Liu Xiaoli's fingers were trembling. Just as she was about to press the keys, she couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Xuan, what are you going to do if you fail?"

"Pay back your brother's bank loan first, then return to the countryside." Qin Xuan was very direct.

Liu Xiaoli's brother was helping out, so the money should be given, but American capitalists' money is nothing. How many movies can you make with 100 million or 700 million US dollars?

In any case, it's impossible for the film market to recover in the next few years; the overall market size is too small.

Liu Xiaoli sighed. This boy was really too crazy, but her fingers still landed on the keyboard. Since she was overseas, it was still very convenient for her to operate.

But she also joined in, investing 200,000 dollars and leveraging her position. No one plays this game without leveraging, but she wasn't as crazy as Qin Xuan, betting her entire fortune.

She made some money during this period; she had previously invested a total of $43.6 in gold, which Qin Xuan did not ask for back.

In addition, she received 25 yuan from the film investment, and nominally there is still 20 yuan left to be distributed, so she now has some capital on hand.

But there's no need to be as crazy as Qin Xuan.

During these three days, Liu Xiaoli not only had to travel around the world with her daughter to promote her products, but also had to keep an eye on changes in the crude oil market.

I haven't slept at all, and my nerves are completely worn out.

In the hotel suite at night, Liu Yifei had just come out of the shower, wearing a bathrobe, her long hair loose, and still covered in a misty haze.

Seeing her mother sitting in front of the laptop, she hugged her mother's neck from behind and pressed her face against her mother's face.

"Stop fooling around." Liu Xiaoli untied her daughter's hands.

"You only have eyes for that President Xuan, you don't even care about your daughter anymore." Liu Yifei hugged her tighter, her voice sweet and slightly sour.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm doing something serious with him. If we make a mistake, we could lose everything. How could I not keep an eye on him?" Liu Xiaoli glanced at her.

“That President Xuan is really something. He only comes to you when he needs something like this.” Liu Yifei touched her mother’s face with the back of her hand: “Look at you, you have dark circles under your eyes.”

"Go to sleep if you have nothing else to do. Your mother is busy." Liu Xiaoli nudged her daughter with her head.

"How can you sleep?" Liu Yifei let go of her mother, pulled out a chair next to her, picked up a book and started reading: "I'm always restless."

"For Huayi's sake?" Liu Xiaoli turned her head.

"Hmm!" Liu Yifei nodded, and then said, "Now that 'The Forbidden Kingdom' is already in theaters, I've noticed that a lot of my scenes have been cut, and the response hasn't been good. It's also difficult to get roles here."

Returning to the Chinese entertainment industry will definitely be fraught with difficulties. They had previously planned to develop their careers in Hollywood, but after the movie was released, the internet was full of criticism of her, and she didn't receive good reviews or become as famous as they had imagined.

Hollywood isn't what it used to be. Even Zhang Ziyi has to obediently return to China. How could Liu Yifei possibly break into it with just one film?

“It’s alright. If the US doesn’t work out, we can go to Hong Kong. We’ll find somewhere to stay,” Liu Xiaoli comforted her daughter, patting her head.

She had anticipated this, but it was the best choice. Should she really send her daughter away?

"What do you think Huayi will do to us after this?" Liu Yifei asked with worried eyes.

Liu Xiaoli put her arm around her daughter's neck and said kindly, "No matter how it treats us, we will fight to the end and never compromise."

Liu Yifei pursed her lips and nodded with feeling.

"Oh my god, it's gone up! It's gone up!" she suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the laptop.

Liu Xiaoli was startled and quickly looked at the notebook. Seeing the downward trending line, she reached out and slapped her daughter, laughing and scolding, "You little brat!"

Liu Yifei giggled and ran away.

They were shorting the stock, so the price couldn't go up; if it did, they would lose a lot of money, which terrified Liu Xiaoli.

However, after Liu Yifei's outburst, the atmosphere became much more relaxed, but the issues still needed to be addressed.

(End of this chapter)