Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 463 Self-directed and self-acted
The release date announcement for "Wolf Warrior" was held at the end of January, and it was set for March 6th.

However, on the first day of resuming work after the Lunar New Year, news of a schedule change was reported.

On March 1, the crew of "Wolf Warrior" held a press conference for the "Final Battle," and Li Qiutang was present.

Because Wu Jing was going to announce the rescheduling of "Wolf Warrior" at this press conference, Li Qiutang came to support him.

Wu Jing announced that the release of "Wolf Warrior" will be postponed by one month and will be released in theaters on April 2.

Wu Jing explained that there were two reasons: first, he is a perfectionist and wants to make "Wolf Warrior" as perfect as possible, striving to present the best effect to the audience.

Secondly, it was out of personal motives, because April 3rd is his birthday, and he wanted to treat the release of this movie as a gift to himself.

This reasoning was accepted by the outside world.

The real reason was that before the Lunar New Year, Li Qiutang, Zhang Zhao, and Wu Jing watched the finished film together. At that time, Li Qiutang and Zhang Zhao pointed out some shortcomings to Wu Jing, and Wu Jing adopted their suggestions.

Of course, Li Qiutang wouldn't say that he fought back; he would accept Wu Jing's version of events.

"We reviewed it internally and thought it was already very good and could be released, but Wu Jing was still a little dissatisfied and said he wanted to rework it. We told him about the negative impact of changing the release date, but he still insisted on making some more changes, and the company ultimately respected his choice."

"Good things come to those who wait. I think we should support him in making the movie as perfect as possible before its release."

Li Qiutang remains the nominal producer of "Wolf Warrior," and when asked by reporters how he would handle the losses caused by the rescheduling, he was told...

Mr. Li chose to tell the truth: "Actually, we decided to change the files before the Lunar New Year, so we suspended some of our investment at that time. Now that it's officially announced, there will definitely be losses, but not too much. The company supports him in doing so."

Wu Jing added from the side, "I have to make up for the losses in the early stages. The pressure on the box office of 'Wolf Warrior' is really huge."

"No, no," Li Qiutang said with a smile.

Even now, a large portion of the company still doesn't have a positive view of military action films.

Li Qiutang even revealed to the media on site: "The script for the second 'Wolf Warrior' movie is already in place. If the first movie can break even or not lose too much money, I will support Wu Jing in making the second movie."

"Because military action films are so rare in today's market, I think this genre should be supported."

Replacing "Wolf Warrior" with "The Coffin in the Mountain" in March, this film is bound to make a mistake no matter which release date it chooses, so it might as well be released after the New Year.

Before this, "The Coffin in the Mountain" had been screened at many film festivals and won numerous awards.

In the fall, we did some award marketing for Xin Yukun and "The Coffin in the Mountain," but the results were mediocre. Judging from pre-sales and market surveys, most viewers showed little interest in a film like "The Coffin in the Mountain," which features a new director and a completely new cast.

A large portion of the viewers who were interested in watching the film said, "Seeing how many awards it has won and how many celebrities have recommended it, I'd like to go see it."

I didn't go for it because of the director, cast, or subject matter.

However, today's premiere still managed to invite some big names in the industry to lend their support. Some were invited by Qiu Tian and Li Qiutang, while others were invited by director Cao Baoping—who was Xin Yukun's first mentor and who overcame all opposition to send "The Coffin in the Mountain" to the FIRST Best Feature Film award.

Some people simply thought the film was good and came to support it on their own initiative. Li Bingbing came with Li Qiutang today.

At the premiere, Li Qiutang praised Xin Yukun as a "rising star".

"I'm younger than the director, so it doesn't seem appropriate for me to say something like that," Li Qiutang said with a smile.

Li Bingbing said she hopes to see Xin Yukun's second film as soon as possible.

A reporter asked Xin Yukun if he had considered making a comedy film, but Xin Yukun had his own principles: "I don't reject commercial genre films, but I have a special fondness for crime and dark themes. So, while learning from my colleagues in the industry, I hope to retain the consistent style of my films. I will try, but I won't change." That's how cool he is.

Xin Yukun was reluctant to discuss the box office performance, saying that the fact that the film could be released nationwide was already a huge surprise. "For a new director, the fact that the film was successfully released is the greatest support that the fans have given me, and that is enough."

He's not stupid; he'd be content if his "three-no" film—no big director, no big stars, no big production—could even be released.

During the sharing session after the premiere, Li Qiutang dropped a bombshell, announcing that she was handing over her upcoming film "Mirage" to Xin Yukun: "I know many viewers are looking forward to 'Mirage' after 'The Invisible Guest', but because I have other films to prepare, it would be a pity to leave 'Mirage' unfilmed, so I have no choice but to do this."

"I believe that 'Mirage' will also be very good in Xin Yukun's hands."

The best approach would have been to not announce it at all, but rather let Xin Yukun continue making "Mirage." When it was released, Li Qiutang could have gone to support him and explain as usual. However, by publicly announcing that the project had been handed over to Xin Yukun, Li Qiutang achieved her publicity goal, but at the same time, she put Xin Yukun in a very difficult position.

He took on Li Qiutang's project. If he didn't do it well, or if the film had obvious flaws, the audience and the media wouldn't let Xin Yukun off the hook.

But Li Qiutang still chose to prioritize publicity.

Sure enough, the next day, #TheMazeMirage# became a trending topic.

"Last night, at the premiere of 'The Coffin in the Mountain,' director Li Qiutang, who came to support the film, announced that due to other work commitments, he had decided to hand over the film 'Mirage' to Xin Yukun for directing, while he would serve as the producer."

This move has sparked a lot of discussion. Project transfers are common in the industry, but few people would announce it so openly as Li Qiutang.

As soon as the news broke, the market was filled with pessimistic voices about "Mirage".

"This movie is ruined. Director Li Qiutang and producer Li Qiutang are completely different concepts."

"I was really looking forward to watching 'Mirage,' but now that the director has changed, I don't want to watch it anymore."

Some radical viewers even believe that Li Qiutang is "treating the audience like monkeys" and "does not care about the audience's expectations at all."

“He knew perfectly well that the audience only wanted to see him direct ‘Mirage.’ He could have privately handed the project over to Xin Yukun instead of being so high-profile, but he still did it. I understand his desire to promote new talent, but I cannot accept his disrespect for the audience.”

The pessimistic comments quickly affected "The Coffin in the Mountain".

The day before the official release of "The Coffin in the Mountain," Li Qiutang posted a Weibo post explaining the matter:
"Project changes are common in the industry, so it's surprising that the change of ownership of 'Mirage' has caused such a strong reaction from the audience. Actually, Xin Yukun had already taken over the work on 'Mirage' before the announcement. I understand everyone's concerns. The script for 'Mirage' took more than two years to write, so please rest assured. As the screenwriter, I have confidence in my story, and as the film's producer, I am responsible for the quality of the work. 'The Coffin in the Mountain' being implicated is truly an undeserved misfortune. Everyone can go and watch 'The Coffin in the Mountain' first, and after watching it, you should understand that I didn't make the wrong choice. By the way, 'Mirage' needs an eleven or twelve-year-old male actor. Amateurs or experienced actors are both welcome. If you know anyone, please contact our production team."

After this Weibo post was published, some people felt that the whole thing was orchestrated by Li Qiutang.

(End of this chapter)