The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

Chapter 107 An Unknown Meets Harry Potter

Shen Qing owns more than a dozen properties in Beijing, and Wan Qian, as the woman who was with him the first time, lives in one of them.

That evening, after finishing a game of World of Warcraft, Wan Qian casually browsed online news.

"Will it be released simultaneously in China and the US on July 15th this year?"

Wan Qian's heart skipped a beat. The news was about the release date of the Hollywood blockbuster "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," and she was shocked by the release date!

The release date for "The Unknown" has already been announced: July 17th this year. So the two films are only two days apart, right? Will this affect "The Unknown"? It definitely will! How much of an impact? She doesn't know.

Let's see what netizens are saying.

There happened to be a discussion about this on the movie box office forum.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has a release date, two days earlier than The Unknown. There's bound to be a fierce battle. Who do you think will win?"

"I know about *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*, it cost $250 million. The title *The Nameless* is brilliant, it really does *belong to the nameless*." Whose film is this, that it dares to try and piggyback on *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*'s popularity?

"It's a film directed by Shen Qing!"

"Brother Qing's movie? Then I take back what I just said. It's really hard to say who will win."

"Aren't you guys a bit too confident in Shen Qing? I looked at the cast of this movie. Do Chen Jianbin and Wan Qian have any box office appeal? I've never even heard of Zhang Yu. Pan Binlong is a sketch comedy actor. The investment is said to be only 20 or 30 million. How can this compete with 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'?"

"Actually, it doesn't matter whether we succeed or not. If the movie investment is only 20 or 30 million, product placement will almost cover the cost. The box office is profitable no matter what. Occasionally, the box office may not be ideal. If you don't stumble usually, you might stumble big later. If you stumble a little usually, you won't stumble a big one later."

Wan Qian was no longer calm. Actually, what the netizens said made sense. With Shen Qing's current status, it wouldn't be a big deal if the box office flopped once in a while, but it wouldn't be the same for Wan Qian!

She did act in quite a few magical films, but none of those films were directed by Shen Qing herself!

The director of "Fame and Fortune" was Shen Qing herself, but Shen Qing was not famous at that time, so she didn't really benefit much from it.

After that, both "Almost a Comedy" and "Mr. Donkey" were directed by Zhou Shen. While these two films did bring Wan Qian considerable popularity, they couldn't compare to starring in a film personally directed by Shen Qing!

We've been eagerly anticipating "The Nameless," and although the investment is small and Shen Qing didn't act in it, at least he directed it himself!

Wan Qian had high hopes for this movie, hoping to use it to rise to the second tier of stardom, but instead she ran into the Hollywood blockbuster "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" right in the middle.

"Why am I so unlucky?!"

Wan Qian couldn't help but want to call Shen Qing. If Shen Qing said he was alright, she would feel at ease. But when she took out her phone and found his number, she hesitated for a long time before finally deciding not to dial.

At this time, Shen Qing is most likely with some woman, and calling him would likely disturb him.

Wan Qian guessed correctly; Liu Yifei was at Shen Qing's house at that moment.

There were seven or eight snacks on the table. Liu Yifei only ate one bite of each and dared not eat any more. Female celebrities are often anxious about their figures, and she was no exception. However, she was also greedy, so she had to eat a bite or two of each.

Shen Qing took the bowl of hot and sour noodles that she had only taken one bite of and finished it off in a few bites.

Then came the fried chicken leg, which Shen Qing had only taken a tiny bite of, and she finished it in two bites.

The remaining snacks were basically the same.

"You don't have to force yourself to eat what I leave behind. You can just put the rest in the refrigerator if you can't finish it," Liu Yifei said somewhat embarrassedly.

Shen Qing asked her, "What happens after you put it in the refrigerator?"

"Put it in the refrigerator and throw it away when it spoils," Liu Yifei said, turning around and pointing to the refrigerator.

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She smiled after she finished speaking.

"Then why not just throw it away?" Shen Qing asked her with a smile.

"That would be such a waste of food!" Liu Yifei said seriously.

Then she suddenly turned to the side and lifted up Shen Qing's shirt, revealing his abs.

"What do you want to do? Are you indulging in lust after you've had enough to eat and wear?" Shen Qing crossed his arms and looked at her with a terrified expression.

"You want to die!" She lightly punched Shen Qing's arm, looking at his abs, and said, "You eat so much in one meal, how come you don't gain weight? I really envy you."

Shen Qing sighed and said, "Every gift that fate bestows comes with a hidden price. Do you think my ability to stay slim comes without a cost?"

Liu Yifei was startled and grasped Shen Qing's hand with concern, asking, "What's the price?"

"Why!"

Shen Qing sighed again, and only after Liu Yifei's expression became increasingly uneasy did she say, "The price is that I have too much energy. I feel like I never get tired and I'm always full of energy."

"You're going to die!"

Liu Yifei then realized she had been tricked, and couldn't help but lightly punch Shen Qing again: "Sometimes I just can't muster up any energy. Isn't it good to be full of enthusiasm?"

"To be honest, having too much energy is sometimes not good either. It doesn't affect me much, but it mainly affects you."

"You're full of energy, what does that have to do with me—" She understood Shen Qing's meaning before she even finished speaking. Shen Qing's excessive energy had indeed caused her some suffering, but she was actually willing to endure it, and even looked forward to it, because after the suffering came the sweetness.

The next morning, Wan Qian called, and Shen Qing could hear the unease in her voice.

"I have a meeting at China Film Group this morning, mainly about scheduling. Why don't you come along?"

"Okay, how do I get there?"

"Wait for me, I'll call you when the car arrives at the neighborhood."

"it is good."

Shen Qing picked up Wan Qian in his car, and the two of them went to China Film Group together.

"Harry Potter 6 is still under review. If there are no problems with the review, the two movies will definitely clash. This is Warner Bros.' global plan, with simultaneous release in China and the United States. Its release date cannot be changed. If it needs to be changed, it can only be changed by us."

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Wan Qian wanted to ask about the probability of problems during the review process, but was too embarrassed to ask. Just then, Shen Qing spoke up: "No matter when the release date is set, there will definitely be competitors. Let them compete. I don't think the threat is that great."

"The threat isn't that great!"

Shen Qing's words reassured Wan Qian.

Han Sanping laughed and said, "The box office of 'Harry Potter 5' was 1.3 million two years ago, and this year it is estimated to be around 1.5 million. It is indeed not a major threat."

Wan Qian turned her head to look at Han Sanping again.

Around 1.5 million, not a major threat!

Her best film, "Mr. Donkey," didn't even gross over 100 million yuan.

Wan Qian couldn't sleep last night because she was thinking about this. But in the eyes of these big shots, clashing with a blockbuster like "Harry Potter 6" was no big deal.

"So, are you confident you can reach 3 million?" Han Sanping asked again.

Shen Qing quickly waved his hand: "It can't go that far. The subject matter and cast are what they are, so there are still many limitations. It'll probably be around 2 million. If it gets 2.5 million, we'll be lucky."

"We should still aim for 3 million. Ning Hao's 'Crazy Racer' had a budget of 1000 million, but the box office was ten times that. Your movie had a budget of 3000 million, so ten times that is exactly 3 million."

"That's not how you calculate it," Shen Qing said with a shake of his head and a smile.

After leaving the film studio, the two got into the car. As Shen Qing started the engine, he asked Wan Qian, "Are you still worried?"

Wan Qian laughed and said, "So you guys didn't really take 'Harry Potter 6' seriously. Didn't you see the online discussions? Most netizens think that 'The Nameless' is going to fail this time."

"Isn't that how the internet works?" Shen Qing smiled.

As the car pulled up to Wan Qian's apartment complex, she bit her lip and asked before getting out, "Are you busy this afternoon?"

"I need to go to the company in a bit," Shen Qing said.

Wan Qian added, "If you're not in a hurry, why don't you go upstairs and have a seat?"

An hour would pass before they could sit down, but since Wan Qian had already spoken, Shen Qing couldn't bear to refuse.

"Sure, I'll sit down then."

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