The entertainment industry: My 99 future timelines!

After a night of significant breakthrough in their relationship.

Jing Tian's condition began to improve significantly, and it felt as if July had been almost completely stripped away from her.

Jing Tian also started to become more attached to Li Xu.

For example, when eating or watching TV in the living room, she would naturally sit close to Li Xu, her legs touching his.

Occasionally, she would drape her arm over Li Xu's shoulder and lean her body against him, appearing quite intimate and affectionate.

Liu Yifei, however, seemed completely oblivious to this situation.

For the next few days, she spent most of her time quietly doing her own thing.

Take a walk, swim, read a book.

This is the situation.

This continued until the morning of the last day before I was to leave.

That day, Li Xu was making breakfast in the kitchen.

Jing Tian, ​​wearing pajamas, sneaked in quietly, hugged him from behind, pressed her face against his back, and chuckled, saying "Good morning."

Upon seeing this, Li Xu immediately stopped using his cooking utensils, turned around, and prepared to embrace her.

As soon as Li Xu turned around, he saw Liu Yifei silently watching from outside the kitchen.

The atmosphere in the three-person room instantly became awkward.

Just like in the movie "Soulmate", Jing Tian plays July, who catches An Sheng and Su Jiaming cheating.

Liu Yifei's sudden appearance made Li Xu and Jing Tian feel as if they had been caught having an affair.

"Um... Yifei, would you like something to eat? I'm making breakfast."

Li Xu spoke somewhat awkwardly.

"One fried egg is enough, and I'll eat it with milk and toast."

"Tian Tian, ​​if you want, you can eat with me later."

Liu Yifei spoke in a cool tone, then turned and left.

Only Li Xu and Jing Tian remained in the kitchen, looking at each other with subtle expressions.

-

Breakfast time.

Liu Yifei and Jing Tian sat on the rooftop of the villa, basking in the sun while eating breakfast.

Li Xu sat somewhat awkwardly in the distance.

Fortunately, the situation did not escalate into a dramatic or soap opera-like turn.

Under Li Xu's silent gaze, Liu Yifei and Jing Tian acted as if nothing had happened, continuing to eat breakfast as usual, chatting and laughing.

The only difference is that Li Xu seems to have suddenly become marginalized.

He casually broke the fried egg on the plate, picked up a piece with his fork, and put it in his mouth.

Jing Tian turned her head and glanced at Li Xu not far away, giving him a reassuring look, then suddenly spoke:

"Sister Yifei, after we finish filming this movie, what are your plans? Do you think we should make another movie together in the future?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei's gaze remained calm, and her tone was indifferent: "Tian Tian, ​​do you want to take the picture? If you want to, then I can."

"Of course I want to!"

Jing Tian nodded vigorously upon hearing this, a smile spreading across her face. "But I hope our next movie won't be so tough. Next time, it would be best to make a comedy, preferably with action scenes. I've never played an action heroine before."

"Sister Yifei, you'll play the cool female warrior, and I'll play the second cool female warrior."

As she spoke, Jing Tian turned her head and suddenly waved to Li Xu, who was still looking at her.

Seeing this, Li Xu quickly walked over, and then heard Jing Tian speak:

"Li Xu, Sister Yifei said she wants to film another drama with me. Do you have any good movies with two female leads?"

"Or even if it's not a dual female lead, there should at least be two female characters with significant roles. Then Yifei and I can each have one. Of course, it would be best if it were a comedy."

"This kind of movie will definitely be made."

"But I haven't decided what to film yet. I'll write a script when 'Soulmate' is officially released."

Li Xu responded upon hearing this.

Hearing Li Xu's words, Liu Yifei's expression remained unchanged. She glanced between Jing Tian and Li Xu before saying, "Remember, you still have to be the male lead."

"Otherwise, if there are any intimate scenes between Tian Tian and others in the movie... well, I'm afraid some people will get jealous."

"Sister Yifei! You've gone astray!"

Jing Tian blushed. She wasn't stupid; she could clearly understand the meaning behind Liu Yifei's words.

Seeing this, Liu Yifei smiled and slowly said, "An Sheng, wasn't she always a bad girl?"

Jing Tian froze, then burst out laughing, almost falling off her chair in the process.

Li Xu quickly reached out to support her.

She gently dodged, then leaned her body against Liu Yifei's shoulder, pouting deliberately, and said, "Sister Yifei, you're not at peace now."

Seeing this, Liu Yifei quickly reached out and put her arm around Jing Tian to prevent her from falling over if she lost her balance.

Her eyes crinkled into crescents, her lips curled slightly, and she spoke leisurely: "But sometimes, I feel like I want to be An Sheng too. She's mischievous but also cool."

Upon hearing this, Jing Tian's eyes flashed with a complex emotion, but her expression remained impassive. She pretended not to understand at all and chuckled as she replied:

"That's fine too. Even a good girl can be cool sometimes."

Li Xu listened silently from the side.

He could understand part of the situation, but that was precisely why he dared not say anything.

-

After one night.

Li Xu and his two companions returned to Guijing City.

In early January, Beijing was still in winter.

It was dry and cold, windy, but sunny.

However, despite the bright sunshine, Li Xu was unable to enjoy any of it after returning to the capital.

Because he had wasted a week in Sanya, Li Xu had to catch up on the schedule even more.

Over the course of seven days, Shen Ao, the film's executive director, and the experienced editor he hired have completed a rough cut of the film "Soulmate" according to the film's plot.

The rough cut is done; it's two hours and forty minutes long.

Based on the current standard movie length, "Soulmate" will need to have at least 60 minutes of footage cut, which is a huge undertaking.

So for the next week, Li Xu spent all his time discussing the details of simplification with Shen Ao and the editor, and had no time to deal with Jing Tian and Liu Yifei's affairs.

I spend a maximum of half an hour each day sending them messages to maintain basic communication.

In the editing room.

Looking at the footage that has been cut down to only 130 minutes.

Shen Ao pointed to a scene on the screen—a scene that wasn't originally in the movie's plot but was added on the first day of filming by Li Xu—showing An Sheng pulling Qi Yue running in a downpour. He hesitated before speaking:

"Junior Li Xu, should we keep this rain scene?"

"Keep."

"This is the key scene, and it must be kept, but we can cut about ten seconds of unnecessary details and leave it to the audience to fill in the blanks themselves."

"After all, sometimes, leaving some blank space can actually enhance the artistic beauty."

Upon hearing this, Li Xu decisively agreed to keep the shot.

Following Li Xu's suggestion, the editor beside him quickly and efficiently deleted about ten seconds of unnecessary details from the shot.

A few minutes later, Shen Ao spoke again:

"That bathroom confrontation scene, the one where they tear clothes—should we keep that close-up? It's a bit too graphic..."

"reserve."

"What about the death scene? Should we extend Jing Tian's final look a little?"

"Don't prolong it, maintain the rhythm."

"..."

-

Editing is a cruel process.

Because every director wants to preserve as much of their film's story material as possible.

However, in order to make the movie story exciting, avoid a slow pacing, prevent the audience from getting tired, and make it easier for theaters to schedule more screenings.

A qualified domestic film typically has a runtime of around 90 minutes, and at most, it will not exceed two hours.

So, over the course of the week, Li Xu had to make several painful choices, keeping some items and deleting others, then deleting some and adding others back.

Finally, on January 15th, a final cut of 110 minutes was finalized.

In late January, "Soulmate" successfully passed the censorship of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and obtained the film's official seal.

Meanwhile, through the joint efforts of China Film Group and Jing Tian, ​​"Soulmate" was submitted to the Berlin Film Festival at the last minute.

A few days later, the Berlin Film Festival announced its main competition lineup, and "Soulmate" was prominently featured.

When the news came, Li Xu was in a meeting at the company.

His phone vibrated; Jing Tian's message came first, just a short sentence:

"Li Xu, did you see that?"

Then it's Liu Yifei's:

Congratulations, junior Li Xu.

Then came the bid for the Australian Olympic Committee, China Film Group, media...

In an instant, Li Xu's phone and QQ were flooded with messages.

As a result, Li Xu had no choice but to temporarily close all contact methods.

Aside from a few close acquaintances, he doesn't even glance at most phone calls or messages, trying his best to avoid trouble.

-

The 59th Berlin International Film Festival was held in Berlin, Germany, from February 5 to 15.

This year, Berlin experienced an unusually cold snap, with temperatures dropping to minus five degrees Celsius on the day of the red carpet event, accompanied by biting winds.

Outside the Palace of Cinema in Potsdamer Platz, reporters in the media area were bundled up in thick down jackets, their breath visible in the flashes of the cameras.

Both Liu Yifei and Jing Tian's dresses were meticulously prepared haute couture gowns.

Liu Yifei chose Armani Privé, wearing a black strapless long dress. The simple and neat cut accentuated her cool and ethereal temperament.

Jing Tian wore a white embroidered Elie Saab gown, exuding gentle elegance with a touch of youthful vivacity.

The two of them stood together like a pair of mirrored reflections, standing out starkly against the gray, cold sky of Berlin in February.

"Yifei, Tiantian, are you two alright?"

Compared to Liu Yifei and Jing Tian, ​​their clothes were thin.

At this moment, Li Xu was wearing a black Tom Ford suit with a cashmere coat over it.

This meant that although he still felt a bit cold, he could barely bear it.

Looking at Liu Yifei and Jing Tian's thin clothing, he couldn't help but speak up with some concern.

"cold."

Jing Tian nodded honestly, her teeth chattering slightly, "But it's worth it."

"I'm okay. I have a lot of heat packs stuck inside my skirt. It's just that my bare arms and elbows are a bit cold, but I can still manage."

As Liu Yifei spoke, her voice trembled slightly, but even so, she tried her best to maintain the elegant demeanor befitting a top-tier Chinese actress.

"Alright, let's hurry up and walk the red carpet so we don't take too long."

"I think your health is more important than murdering those journalists' films."

Seeing this, Li Xu nodded slightly, but also emphasized his own attitude.

Without waiting for Liu Yifei and Jing Tian to speak, he took their arms and led them quickly onto the Berlin Film Festival red carpet.

This year's Berlin Film Festival was noticeably less star-studded on the red carpet compared to the previous edition.

Amid the shadow of the global financial crisis, most of Hollywood's A-list stars were absent from this film festival.

On the red carpet, 80 percent of the celebrities were from Germany.

And that's why, when Li Xu, Jing Tian, ​​and Liu Yifei appeared hand in hand at the entrance to the Berlin Film Festival red carpet, the flashbulbs of many Asian media outlets instantly went off.

"Liu Yifei! Look this way!"

"Jing Tian! Over here!"

"Director Li! Please look at the camera!"

These Asian journalists were all shouting, their voices a mix of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other languages.

Seeing this, Li Xu smiled and nodded.

But their steps did not stop; they continued at an incredibly fast pace.

More than accepting interviews from these media reporters, Li Xu is now worried about whether Jing Tian and Liu Yifei will get cold.

In less than a minute.

With Li Xu deliberately quickening his pace, the three of them quickly walked the entire red carpet and entered the Berlin Film Palace.

However, as soon as Li Xu entered the cinema, his expression changed slightly as he realized he had bumped into a "familiar face"—a film team also from China.

-

This year's Berlin Film Festival's main competition has 26 films in competition.

According to the official list released by the Berlin Film Festival, in addition to "Soulmate", another Chinese-language film has also been shortlisted.

That is the film "Mei Lanfang" by Chen Kaige, one of the three major directors in China.

This director, Chen, won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival with "Farewell My Concubine," and has a certain degree of international recognition.

His film "Mei Lanfang" was nominated for the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival at the same time as Li Xu's film "Soulmate".

Domestic entertainment news outlets recently conducted comparative reports on these two films, as well as Li Xu and Chen Kaige themselves.

This has led to a small-scale online battle on various online platforms.

Most people chose to support Chen Kaige, after all, he has more seniority.

However, a small group of people chose to support Li Xu, believing that young and outstanding directors like him represent the future of Chinese cinema.

Li Xu naturally chose to ignore this situation.

As for Chen Kaige, this poet-director, although his personality is a bit pretentious and out of touch with reality, he is ultimately not like Xiao Gangpao, who just spouts nonsense.

Like Li Xu, he chose to ignore the online battle between netizens and the deliberate provocations from various entertainment media outlets.

It wasn't until this moment, when the two unexpectedly and yet predictably bumped into each other, that they were forced to have a direct confrontation.

"Hello, Director Chen."

After hesitating for a second, Li Xu took the initiative to step forward and greet Chen Kai.

"Hello, Xiao Li."

Chen Kai nodded and silently responded.

However, he was inherently awkward and considered himself to be of a higher status.

After responding, he didn't say anything more, turned around and left immediately after saying goodbye.

Upon seeing this, Jing Tian and Liu Yifei couldn't help but frown slightly, but out of respect for Chen Kaige's status as a renowned director, they dared not say anything more.

Seeing this, Li Xu reached out and took their arms, saying, "No need to say more, just wait and see the movie's outcome. After all, he's a senior director, so it's normal for him to be a little arrogant. Let's go inside first."