Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 386 The Ghostwriter

What Li Qiutang feared finally happened.

Ali Pictures is newly established and needs to generate revenue. If they can come up with a new film plan as soon as possible, that would be ideal. If they can't come up with one right away, it's fine to wait a year or two.

Ali Pictures poached talent from all over the industry, and those they recruited naturally brought their projects with them.

However, the entire industry couldn't understand how Ali managed to offend two of the biggest companies and one of the biggest directors in the industry with just one film.

Ali has announced their first film, a martial arts epic titled "The Ghostwriter"! Directed by veteran Hong Kong action choreographer Ma Yucheng, produced by Tsui Hark, and starring kung fu superstar Zhao Wenzhuo.

What do you call this? This is called taking advantage of someone's neck and going too far.

Although Mr. Ma is a shareholder of Huayi, he still had to stand up for himself when he was bullied like this. The next day, Huayi's chairman's assistant responded to the public: "We have never authorized anyone to film a sequel or prequel to 'Arrogant'."

Zhao Wenzhuo plus the ghostwriter—isn't this blatant piggybacking on the popularity of "Arrogant"?

But Ah Li is clever; he didn't call it "Arrogant 2" or "Arrogant Prequel," he called it "The Ghostwriter."

You can't exactly claim that you own the copyright to the term "ghostwriter," can you?

Ali must have anticipated Huayi Brothers' opposition, so at the press conference they emphasized: "We are making a completely new and original martial arts film, not a sequel or prequel to any movie. We chose Zhao Wenzhuo to star because he has been working in the action film field for many years and is the most suitable candidate."

Autumn Pictures also responded to the matter: "Without any warning or notification, this constitutes a substantial infringement."

Li Qiutang only learned of this news a few days later. He tolerated the people who tried to poach him, and he didn't stop them from thinking Ah Li had a better future, but what was the difference between Ah Li making films like this and outright robbery!
Li Qiutang directly attacked Ali on Weibo:
"This is utterly shameless and blatant robbery! As one of the leading super-enterprises in China, Ali's foray into film was expected to bring something extraordinary and a breath of fresh air to the industry. But their first film has turned out like this. We thought you'd achieve something great, but it seems you weren't really in the film business to begin with. Let's see how long you last!"

The phrase "Let's see when you die" is quite harsh, and many netizens believe it's tantamount to declaring war on the newly established Ali Pictures.

Li Qiutang took the lead, which attracted many traditional film companies to follow suit.

In a later interview, Li Xiaoping, the vice president of Guangxian, told the reporter helplessly: "Our company lost an entire team. The first day we went there, everything was fine, but the second day the whole office was empty. There was nothing we could do."

A Bona representative also complained to reporters: "Two of our vice presidents left. We've never seen such poaching before."

Xiao Ma is currently in a state of chaos and hasn't gotten involved in this matter.

But Ahri doesn't care what his peers say about him.

Tell me, did I infringe on any copyrights? If I didn't, what right do you have to criticize me?
The organizational structure of Ali Pictures is still unclear, and no specific person in charge has come forward to respond to these comments.

However, Mr. Ma has been enjoying great popularity in recent years, and he has a considerable number of fans. His fans see the actions of Li Qiutang and others as a fear and instinctive rejection of new forces by traditional film companies.

“They are afraid of Ali. If a company as big as Ali comes in, it will devour them completely.”

"Teacher Ma will surely revolutionize the entire film industry. They are trying to band together and strangle Ali Pictures in advance."

"Arguing online is useless. If Ali really infringed on copyrights, go sue him. But he won't sue. Do you think you can stop him from filming just by talking?"

"I don't like Li Qiutang's movies; they're not interesting at all. 'In Time' is terrible, and its Golden Globe award is undeserved."

"International awards are either the three major European awards or the Oscars; the Golden Globes are basically worthless. He's just a director who knows how to make money; he has no artistic merit." Huayi and Li Qiutang originally thought that after this commotion, Ali would at least try to reach out to both companies and secure the rights to "Arrogant."

But no!

Until Li Qiutang set off for Chengdu, no one from Ali's side contacted him, and Huayi also said that they had not received any notification from Ali.

It seems they really don't care.

Li Qiutang stayed in Chengdu for a week, and then changed trains to visit the Sanxingdui Museum for the fourth time.

That evening, Li Qiutang was having dinner with some friends from Sichuan Province when he suddenly received a call from Liu Yifei, who asked him if he knew any good hospitals or doctors.

Li Qiutang thought something had happened at home and hurriedly asked what was going on. Liu Yifei explained that it was about her childhood friend Yao Beina. Yao Beina had been hospitalized yesterday, and the doctor had advised her to stop all work and rest for a while.

However, Yao Beina's relatives were also advised that it would be best for her to stop working and just let her rest, as this might save her from further complications. Otherwise, the chances of her condition worsening were very high.

Yao Beina's health condition is very bad.

The next day, Li Qiutang flew back to Yanjing and visited Yao Beina that afternoon with Liu Yifei.

All of Yao Beina's relatives and friends advised her to suspend her work and focus on recuperation. Although breast cancer is incurable, with proper rest and active treatment, it shouldn't be difficult to prolong her life with the technology available in China.

Even if Yao's father were to say it all, he was just a vocal music professor. He had some influence, but the resources he could leverage were not very large.

“I think we should stop working.” As an outsider, Li Qiutang didn’t really have much to say, but she wanted to do her part. “Have you contacted the hospital? Just let me know if you need anything. Yifei and Nana are such good friends.”

Mr. Yao said he had contacted Peking Union Medical College Hospital, but his daughter didn't want to go: "She wanted to rest well before going back to sing, saying she had promised and couldn't break her promise."

"At this point, people can understand if I break my promise. I'll negotiate with which company Nana's music contract is with."

“Huayi,” Liu Yifei said.

Li Qiutang laughed: "I can't speak for other companies, but I can say a few words about Huayi." With that, she walked to the side to make a phone call.

Liu Yifei went into the ward again to see her childhood friend, and when she came out, her eyes were filled with tears again.

Wang Zhonglei happened to be in Yanjing, and he quickly rushed to the hospital to visit her, apologizing, "I'm so sorry, I really didn't know about this." He knew Yao Beina was ill, but he didn't know she had been hospitalized again these past few days.

Even if Huayi is inhuman, it would never force a cancer patient lying in bed to continue working. Wang Zhonglei said at the bedside, "I will personally handle your work from now on. Just focus on getting better. If you need anything, just tell the company."

Unexpectedly, Yao Beina refused to agree, saying that he could be discharged from the hospital after a few days of rest and could continue recording.

The more Yao Beina opposed it, the more upset Yao's parents became.

Liu Yifei, watching from the side, couldn't bear it either, and held Li Qiutang's hand tightly.

(End of this chapter)