Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 447 Running Game
Li Qiutang didn't really want to hold this kind of film release conference.

Since Autumn is not a listed company, it doesn't need to use this kind of thing to prove anything to the outside world, and there's no stock price for you to play with.

The company isn't under much pressure to meet performance targets, so there's no need to hold this kind of press conference.

But even if a company doesn't go public, it still needs to generate buzz, and film and television companies especially need to do so.

Specific data is not yet available, but if the calculations are correct, Qiutian Film Company was the highest-grossing private film company in China last year, marking the first time it has held this position since its founding.

Of course, due to its slower industrial development, Qiutian still cannot compare with Huayi in terms of overall revenue—last year, the show "Running Man" made Huayi a fortune, and Huayi's internet entertainment and technology companies also grew very rapidly.

However, if we only consider revenue from the film and television sector, Huayi Brothers has already fallen behind. But Huayi Brothers seems somewhat indifferent to revenue from the film and television sector.

This press conference caused a huge stir in the industry. Li Qiutang had only finished filming "Mojin: The Lost Legend" for two weeks, and this month he announced a new film. He's practically a filming machine.

Moreover, with 13 new films being released in the fall, many of which are still in the preparation stage, this provides actors with many opportunities.

"Autumn Pictures releases its New Year film slate; Li Qiutang confirms two films!"

"Li Qiutang is filming 'The Butterfly Lovers'!"

"Model worker! Li Qiutang announces two new film plans! One will start filming this year!"

On that day, the Weibo Night event was held as scheduled, but neither Li Qiutang nor Liu Yifei attended.

A closer look at events like Weibo Night reveals that top actresses, or to put it bluntly, established stars, seem reluctant to participate in these kinds of events hosted by internet companies. Even when they do attend, it's often just a formality.

This year's Weibo King is Lu Han, and Weibo Queen is Yang Ying. Who cares about these two awards?

They even said they wanted to award Liu Yifei the title of Goddess of the Year, but Red Star House politely declined, saying, "We can't come to the ceremony, so even if you award her the title, we still can't be there."

As an aside, Liu Yifei is still the spokesperson for Sina Weibo. Some people at Sina Weibo want to cancel Liu Yifei's spokesperson status because Sina Weibo has won the Weibo war and no longer needs a spokesperson for promotion. However, Liu Yifei's achievements in the past two years are too outstanding and her popularity is too high. Every time the idea of ​​canceling her is raised, a group of people within Sina Weibo oppose it.

This has resulted in Liu Yifei having the title of spokesperson but not receiving the corresponding benefits. Sina Weibo is giving Liu Yifei the cold shoulder, and Red Star House is also ignoring Sina Weibo; they won't even attend my awards ceremony.

Fortunately, Sina Weibo did not use its platform advantage to smear Liu Yifei in the media, and both parties are fine. It's good that things were handled officially.

After the Weibo event, each celebrity had their own plans, which I won't go into detail about.

At a hotel, Li Bingbing and her sister hosted a group of people. Li Bingbing didn't attend the Weibo Night event that night either, but that didn't stop her from organizing the gathering.

Li Bingbing has considerable influence in the industry, and many people were invited to tonight's gathering.

Li Bingbing's assistant jogged over and whispered something in the boss's ear. Li Bingbing nodded to indicate that he understood.

"What's wrong?" Li Xue asked.

"Director Li Qiutang will be here in a little while."

"That's great!" Li Xue exclaimed with delight. "He said he'd come whenever he had time. I thought he wasn't coming at all."

Three minutes later, Li Qiutang brought Xin Yukun to the hotel banquet hall.

He's going to introduce Xin Yukun to someone today.

"What a rare guest!" The Li sisters, the hosts, greeted Li Qiutang warmly upon her arrival. "Why weren't you at the Weibo Night event?"

Li Qiutang said, "We won't know many people there, and it'll be pointless to just sit there."

Then he laughed and said, "Besides, I'm so busy."

Several people laughed.

"Yes, you wrap up filming one day and start a new one the next. Who can keep up with you?"

After chatting for a while, Li Qiutang introduced Xin Yukun to Li Bingbing and her sister: "This is the director the company signed last year, Xin Yukun, he's very talented." That's how it is for new directors, even if they sign with a big company, they still need to go out and make connections.

The two shook hands and greeted each other. Li Bingbing laughed and said, "Other companies sign actors, but you sign directors directly. You're at the top right away, getting all the benefits."

Li Qiutang said, "The cost of training a director is much higher than that of training an actor, and the success rate of directors is low. I'd be laughing my head off if I signed ten and only one turned out to be successful."

"You can add Sister Bingbing on WeChat. If you find a suitable role in the future, you can contact Sister Bingbing."

The two exchanged contact information.

Li Bingbing laughed and said, "I'm not that easy to invite."

Li Qiutang said, "Then I'll treat you, okay?"

"I'd have to think about it if you invited me," Li Bingbing continued jokingly.

But Li Qiutang still leaned down and whispered in Li Bingbing's ear, "After all, he's a new director. It's not easy for him to hire big names when he makes a film. Could you help him out?"

Li Bingbing nodded: "No problem, everything is negotiable." Almost all actors know that they should befriend new directors.

After Li Bingbing finished speaking, someone tried to establish a connection with Li Qiutang.

“Director.” Li Qiutang recognized her; Yang Tianzhen was Fan Bingbing’s publicity director.

She introduced herself, saying that she had now left Fan Bingbing and started her own business: "I've opened a small company called Yixin Entertainment, and I hope you'll take good care of me in the future, Director." As she spoke, she handed over her new business card.

Li Qiutang glanced at it, then put it in her pocket.

"Starting a business is great! You can be your own boss and not work for someone else. Would Bingbing really let you out?"

"Bingbing is very supportive of my starting a business."

"Okay." After hearing this, Yang Tianzhen left.

"Hello, Director." Another familiar face arrived, Zhao Liying.

Zhao Liying originally thought that Li Qiutang wouldn't pay attention to her, after all, she had taken on the role in "The Ghostwriter," but she underestimated Li Qiutang.

He was targeting Ahri, not the actors in the film. He also knew that Zhao Liying had no choice in the film industry; if Ahri could cast her, she would have to kowtow to Ahri.

"It's been so many years." Li Qiutang was only three years older than her. "You've become a big star now."

"What big star is she?" Zhao Liying smiled.

Li Qiutang didn't mention "The Ghostwriter" to Zhao Liying, but only praised her for her current success.

"Director, you can still contact me for any future projects. I'll be there whenever you need me."

"Okay, okay, okay." It's so easy to say something like that.

After finishing with Li Bingbing's meeting, Li Qiutang went to another company's meeting and repeated the same words, mainly to promote Xin Yukun.

"For 'Mirage,' feel free to talk to whichever actors you want to invite. Don't be afraid that you can't get the big stars. Big stars are nothing special; they're just waiting for you to invite them."

"As for 'The Coffin in the Mountain,' it might be released in a less popular time slot. After all, your film doesn't look very appealing, and it would probably be overshadowed if released during a peak season."

"It's okay, I understand the company's decision. I'm just grateful to be able to participate."

"Okay, that's good. Do a good job on 'Mirage'."

After calming Xin Yukun down, the two left in separate cars.

(End of this chapter)