Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 417 Seeing Small Gains

On the way back to the film set, Zhang Zhao and Li Qiutang talked about two things. First, Wen Jun from the Hong Kong film industry came to talk to him about cooperation. The implication was that he still hoped the two sides would do a co-production. Wen Jun also helped with public relations for the Hong Kong Film Awards in the fall.

Zhang Zhao was willing to accept this collaboration. Wen Jun's proposed collaboration wasn't actually bad, it's just that Li Qiutang didn't care about the Hong Kong Film Awards. But even without the Hong Kong Film Awards, Qiutian could still collaborate with Wen Jun on a co-production.

Li Qiutang expressed his thoughts: "If he wants to do a co-production with us, he can just talk to us openly. Why add the Hong Kong Film Awards as a condition? I'm worried there might be some traps involved. After all, we don't do many co-productions, and we don't know the ins and outs of it."

"Why don't they approach us when they've collaborated with Bernard for over a decade on co-productions? That's why I said they should just provide the funding and not interfere with our creative process."

Another point is that Li Qiutang predicted: "Hong Kong films have lost their local market and are about to fail in the mainland as well. Look at how much Hong Kong co-productions can sell for in the mainland now. 'Overheard 3' only sold for 3 million, and it will only get lower and lower in the future. I think we don't need to get involved in this mess." To put it bluntly, Li Qiutang's promise to take their money was already considered a favor.

But Wenjun doesn't control the funds; at most, he acts as an intermediary, facilitating communication between Qiutian and Hong Kong capital.

However, Li Qiutang actually controlled a large amount of funds, so the negotiations between the two were not on equal footing from the beginning.

The second thing is related to "Lost in Hong Kong".

Li Qiutang has completely stopped answering Xu Shanzheng's calls, so the bald guy has been bombarding all of Qiutian's senior executives with calls.

But Li Qiutang had already given the company permission to leave the "Lost in Hong Kong" project alone, and no one was allowed to interfere.

“Ignoring this isn’t a good solution; there needs to be an explanation.” Zhang Zhao still hoped to resolve this issue.

He knew Li Qiutang's initial plan: he wanted to sell "Lost in Hong Kong" to recoup funds, but hoped to hold out until the end to maximize profits, and he wanted to make the bald guy bleed a lot.

But Zhang Zhao felt it was unnecessary to do that. He thought it was better to get the funds back sooner so he could use them for other things, and that it wasn't worth wasting time.

"Is the company out of money?" Zhang Zhao seemed to be in dire need of funds.

“Running a movie theater is too expensive,” Zhang Zhao began to complain to Li Qiutang about being broke. “Yanyu has expanded very quickly in the past two years. With the one opening in Chengdu tomorrow, we already have 10 movie theaters and more than 70 screens.”

"What?! Ten already?!" Li Qiutang was surprised that her cinemas could expand so quickly. "Wasn't it agreed that we would only open a maximum of two cinemas a year? Why are you mentioning so many?" In the two and a half years since Qiutian entered the film investment industry, Yan Yu has already invested in 10 cinemas. It's hard to say whether to call her a spendthrift or a shrewd businesswoman.

"Yan Yu wouldn't listen, saying that this is a period of rapid development for cinemas, and if we don't take advantage of this time to expand, we won't have such a good opportunity in the future. Xingmei and New Film Union are also constantly urging us on."

"They make their money from franchise fees and management fees without any remorse, so it's easy for them to talk like that."

Zhang Zhao said, "The cinema company's debt is almost at the red line, and Yanyu is basically expanding by borrowing money."

While it is necessary for a company to expand through debt during its rapid growth phase, sustainable and healthy development must ultimately be considered.

In fact, Li Qiutang and Zhang Zhao both understood Yan Yu's thoughts. Now she was recklessly borrowing money. If things couldn't continue, she could simply be acquired by Qiutian, and Zhang Zhao and Li Qiutang would naturally bail her out.

But in other words, the 10 cinemas are a tangible reality. Despite the debt, Li Qiutang and Zhang Zhao have to acknowledge this achievement.

“No, this will cause problems.” Li Qiutang decided to intervene. “Let’s schedule a time this week to have a meeting with the film investment company.” After thinking for about the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, she added, “10 cinemas and 70 screens are enough for now. We can’t let Yan Yu continue like this. She’s having a great time spending money.”

Returning to "Lost in Hong Kong," since the decision has been made to suspend film investment development, "Lost in Hong Kong" will continue as planned, albeit without any progress.

"He's too greedy." Zhang Zhao also felt that Xu Shanzheng's appetite was too big.

The problem now is that there seems to be a conflict between Xu Shanzheng and Guangxian. Guangxian wants to buy out the profits from "Lost in Hong Kong" from Qiutian, or at least guarantee a minimum return; while Xu Shanzheng wants to sell the copyright of "Lost in Hong Kong" to Qiutian to maximize his own interests. "Too shrewd," Zhang Zhao commented on Xu Shanzheng, "only concerned with these petty gains."

Li Qiutang sneered, "Several hundred million in profits, that's no small sum."

The two were plotting how to handle "Lost in Hong Kong" in the car when they arrived at the Huairou base, where staff had already begun preparations.

Li Qiutang said he was coming back to have dinner with Liu Yifei when he left this morning, but he was still late when he got back. Liu Yifei had already finished eating and gone to the set to warm up.

After quickly shoveling down a few bites of rice and wiping his face, Li Qiutang entered the room.

On a long table outside the film set, there was a full stack of iced coffee. A small blackboard read: "The cast and crew of 'Mojin: The Lost Legend' invites everyone to have coffee. Thank you, Fairy Sister."

Liu Yifei doesn't actually like writing on the blackboard, but everyone in the industry does it now. It's said to be convenient for publicity and also helps actors establish a good image on set—if you don't advertise it, how will anyone on set know that you hired him?

Tonight we're filming the scene where Hu Bayi dreams of the three of them raiding a gold mine. This scene will be shown at the beginning of the film as an introduction.

This dream sequence is the only real tomb raiding scene in the entire film.

Jing Tian wasn't filming tonight, but she still came. She sat obediently next to the director's chair, drinking coffee and watching Li Qiutang film and others act.

"Have you tried on the clothes?" Jing Tian will also play the mysterious female corpse in Hu Bayi's dream. The red burial dress was custom-made to fit Jing Tian's figure and is the most expensive dress in the entire crew.

"They said it would take another week to finish, and I haven't even seen the clothes yet," Jing Tian said.

Li Qiutang complained that it had been almost half a year since this outfit was made.

"How are you doing? Are you getting used to working with me on set?" Excluding her cameo role in "The Invisible Guest" where she died in a car accident without any lines, this is Jing Tian's first time playing an important role as Li Qiutang.

"Great, everyone is doing their job well and taking good care of me."

What did you think of their acting?

"Amazing! I see they have such great chemistry; they respond instantly." Liu Yifei and Liu Ye had worked together on the TV series "Time Bureau," and Liu Ye and Chen Minghao are old classmates. There's a subtle chemistry between the three of them. "I've learned so much from them."

Li Qiutang laughed and said, "It's obvious you didn't study hard at school."

He even has the nerve to criticize others, saying his wife didn't study hard in school either.

"Hey, hey, hey, smoke! Who told you to put out smoke like that?" the assistant director scolded the pyrotechnician.

"What's wrong with the fireworks?" Li Qiutang asked, picking up the walkie-talkie.

"Director, it's okay, it'll be done soon, we can start filming right away."

After a brief discussion with Jing Tian about the character Ding Sitian, the assistant director informed us that everything was ready and filming could begin.

(End of this chapter)