Chinese Entertainment: Directors Start with the Fairy Sister

Chapter 60: The Liu Family's Blood Bull Has Grown Up; "Juno" Released in North America (More to come, still updating)

Zhao Yanxi's speed is once again fully demonstrated in "Juno".

On the last day of March, the crew of "Juno" announced that filming had wrapped up!

For a film with such a simple plot that doesn't require location shooting, a month is more than enough time for filming.

Even during those 30 days, there were four or five days when Ellen Page couldn't truly embody the role of a pregnant woman and couldn't portray her vividly.

Having no other choice, Zhao Yanxi contacted several pregnant women in Vancouver and had Allen stay with her for three days, which allowed him to gradually understand the essence of a pregnant woman's daily life.

However, the completion of filming is only the first step in the overall production process of a film.

Next, I will work with the editors from Crystal Pictures to do post-production editing on the film.

Like "First Love," since it's a movie for high school students, it has to make way for their time.

Therefore, the release date of "Juno" is aimed at the summer season, and the time schedule is quite tight.

At the same time, Juno also needs to incorporate a lot of music, including songs by some current popular singers, as well as original soundtracks.

Zhao Yanxi also needs to determine the music and interludes in this regard. It is expected that there will be more than a dozen songs in the whole movie, and the Shen Fu part will require original music.

So even after filming wrapped, Zhao Yanxi remained very busy.

I need to oversee both the post-production editing of the film and the film score work in the music studio.

Domestically, with the conclusion of "The Return of the Condor Heroes," Liu Yifei's popularity has reached a new level.

Let alone those born in the 85s, even among those born in the 70s, apart from the "Four Dan and Two Bing" actresses, it would be difficult to find actresses who could rival them.

Numerous TV stations are vying for the second-run broadcast rights of "The Return of the Condor Heroes," scheduling their shows until the May Day Golden Week holiday.

It has to be said that Xiao Liu is quite lucky.

Look at these TV dramas filmed before I became an adult: *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*, *Chinese Paladin*, *The Return of the Condor Heroes*, and *The Story of Jin Li*.

A romance set in the Republican era, adapted from a game, a classic martial arts story.

Several completely different themes, yet each one is a classic. Even the most inconspicuous "The Story of a Noble Family" allowed people to see Liu Yifei's princess-like nature.

In the original timeline, if those movies hadn't flopped, Audrey Hepburn wouldn't be the only one to have become a female version of Leonardo DiCaprio!

"Sissi, you're the best right now. No TV series can compare to 'The Return of the Condor Heroes'..."

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Liu Xiaoli held her daughter's delicate face in her hands and couldn't help but kiss her again and again, appearing extremely excited.

Many TV stations and media outlets are now predicting that even if "The Legend of the White Snake" airs on CCTV-8 during the May Day holiday, it will be difficult to steal the limelight from "The Return of the Condor Heroes," let alone shows like "Seven Swords" which are already being overshadowed by "The Return of the Condor Heroes."

"Mom, it's not that amazing..."

Liu Yifei wiped her face a little shyly, "Sister Tao is also very capable."

"Hehe, it's good to know how to be humble," Liu Xiaoli said with a smile. "Go and get ready, Sony is sending another message."

"Your album is still missing a few tracks; Sony has already arranged for a composer."

After a moment's hesitation, Liu Xiaoli asked, "Qianqian, Yanxi gave you a few songs, should we add them to the album?"

"No."

Liu Yifei's smile was sweet and radiant, making Liu Xiaoli feel somewhat "eye-catching".

"That was a birthday present Yan Xi gave me..."

"Alright," Liu Xiaoli asked casually, "Since Sony promised to produce the album, let them figure it out themselves!"

In late April, Zhao Yanxi finally completed the post-production of "Juno".

Paul invited many foreigners from distribution companies to a small screening of "Juno," and many distribution companies showed great interest in the film.

However, Zhao Yanxi could tell that most of them were not interested in the film itself, but rather in her, the newly crowned Silver Bear winner at the Berlin Film Festival.

However, Juno is not a horror film, and Zhao Yanxi did not want to let its reputation slowly spread.

No one can say for sure whether this fermentation period will miss the students' viewing period. Without the support of American students, Zhao Yanxi cannot guarantee that the box office of "Juno" will reach his desired goal.

Therefore, Zhao Yanxi also put forward relatively harsh conditions.

"Marketing costs of no less than $1500 million will be deducted from box office revenue sharing, amounting to 20% of the distribution expenses!"

"Director Yan Xi, with a budget of only 800 million for a campus romance film, 1500 million for marketing, and 20% for distribution, it's hard to say whether we can even break even!"

"Robert Downey Jr., 'Shutter' only cost $30 to make, but it grossed $1.8 million!"

"That's different," Fox's head of distribution argued.

"But they're all my children, aren't they?" Zhao Yanxi smiled and said, "I wouldn't joke about my children."

Seeing Zhao Yanxi's resolute attitude, the distribution companies that had originally had some interest in "Juno," such as Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, Midas Touch, and Searchlight Pictures, all fell silent.

Capital is profit-driven.

It's true that Zhao Yanxi's name can bring in profits, but if it can't cover the 1500 million yuan loss in marketing costs for "Juno," most people wouldn't take the risk.

After all, if they successfully snag a bargain, the company profits as well.

If you lose money, your bonus will be deducted in full!

After a long silence, just as Zhao Yanxi was hesitating and preparing to continue with the "Ghost" mode, Steve Roth from Lionsgate stepped forward.

"Since no one is willing, let's give it a try."

The other foreigners didn't seem surprised by Lionsgate's risky attempt.

After all, Lionsgate's rise to power was essentially a history of taking advantage of loopholes.

Their specialty is acquiring films that are ignored or deemed "high-risk" by major studios at low prices—from early films like "American Psycho," which were rejected by countless studios, to the controversial independent film "Fahrenheit 9/11."

Furthermore, the Saw series of horror films released in recent years, despite being met with skepticism and disapproval, were leveraged by Lionsgate to capture a huge market with extremely low costs.

This group of gamblers has once again targeted "Juno," simply using Zhao Yanxi's reputation and this youth film as a new bargaining chip on their gambling table.

"Boss, Lionsgate has a lot of experience in achieving big results with small investments. Handing 'Juno' over to them should be fine."

Paul offered words of comfort as he watched the departing crowd.

"Hehe," Zhao Yanxi chuckled, "I'm not worried about the box office, I'm only worried about when it will come!"

He copied the assignment from his head, so how could the film be bad?

"The special effects team shouldn't take on any more projects for now. Finish your current work, and then go on a business trip to China next month to do some work!"

"Okay, boss!"

Unlike domestic film and television companies, special effects teams are standard equipment for Hollywood film and television companies with even a little bit of strength.

After all, in the efficiency-driven film industry, things that can be done with special effects are usually not filmed practically.

No matter how expensive special effects are, they can't compare to the cost of Hollywood's live-action filming!

Instead of hiring professional special effects companies like Industrial Light & Magic or Weta Digital to create special effects, it's better to prepare some equipment and hire some technicians to do it yourself.

The equipment and special effects technicians that are lacking in China are readily available in Hollywood.

In terms of film, Hollywood will always lack one thing: music!

Crystal Films originally had a simple special effects team, and after Zhao Yanxi acquired it, he had Paul continue to recruit, and also used the revenue sharing from "Shutter" to purchase a lot of second-hand equipment.

Crystal Pictures' special effects team is now more than twice as strong as it used to be.

Zhao Yanxi then planned to entrust the special effects work for "Painted Skin" to Crystal Pictures.

We should keep the good stuff within the family!

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