Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 467 Visiting the Set of "The Three-Body Problem"

Things always involve both cooperation and competition.

Guangxian wanted to join forces with Xu Shanzheng to buy out "Lost in Hong Kong", so they encountered many setbacks in Qiutian. Unexpectedly, Guangxian was tricked by Guangtou, who wanted to take "Lost in Hong Kong" for himself and at most share Guangxian's hard-earned distribution agency fee. So Guangxian and Qiutian are, to some extent, allies in the same trench, not to mention that Guangxian also invested in "Mojin: The Lost Legend".

So Guangxian approached Li Qiutang with a try-it-out attitude, wanting him to take on a project, and was very willing to offer a high price, promising Qiutang 30% of the investment, with Li Qiutang's director's fee to be calculated separately.

This project has a very prestigious background; it's called "The Devotion of Suspect X," based on a novel by Keigo Higashino.

It took a lot of effort for Guangxian to obtain the adaptation rights.

The first person they thought of who was most suitable to handle this project was Li Qiutang. Although Li Qiutang may be the highest-paid director in the Chinese film industry, Guangxian still felt that spending money on him was the safest and most rewarding.

Li Xiaoping didn't approach Li Qiutang directly, but instead spoke with Chen Zhixi first, inviting Qiutian to invest in the project together.

Keigo Higashino is very popular in China. It's no exaggeration to say that he is one of the most popular contemporary Japanese writers in China, alongside Haruki Murakami.

Many domestic film and television companies are eyeing the copyright of Keigo Higashino's works, including Qiu Tian. However, Higashino is very protective of the film and television rights to his novels. He insists on personally reviewing the adapted scripts, which is something many film companies find difficult to accept.

Chen Zhixi was surprised that Guangxian had acquired "The Devotion of Suspect X": "We sent people to negotiate for a long time but couldn't get it. I didn't expect you to win it over."

Li Xiaoping said, "It was also through perseverance."

Chen Zhixi would certainly be willing to invest in "The Devotion of Suspect X". It's a big IP, and the suspense and reasoning aspect won't have high costs, so it has potential.

But Li Xiaoping then proposed that Li Qiutang take over the project, which immediately put Chen Zhixi in a difficult position. As the vice president of production at Qiutian Film Industry, she could make decisions on many things in the company, but Li Qiutang was an exception.

"Mr. Li, you also know that Qiu Tang has projects in progress."

“That ‘Butterfly Lovers’? It’s fine. It’s normal for a director to work on two or three projects at the same time.” Li Xiaoping wouldn’t have come if she didn’t know about “Butterfly Lovers.” “You know, Qiu Tang is the best at making these kinds of mystery films. He’s the most suitable person to do it.”

Chen Zhixi nodded, admitting that when Li Xiaoping presented this project to her, the first person she thought of was her boss.

Chen Zhixi promised to show Li Qiutang "The Devotion of Suspect X", but she couldn't guarantee that she would be able to persuade Li Qiutang to take on the project.

Then Chen Zhixi presented an uncertain project, hoping to get Guangxian involved: "President Li, is your company interested in co-producing a sci-fi blockbuster?"

Upon hearing the words "sci-fi blockbuster," Li Xiaoping instinctively wanted to refuse, but she listened as Chen Zhixi continued her introduction:
"We've bought the rights to many science fiction novels and plan to gradually adapt them into films. China Film Group even asked me for the rights before, but I didn't agree to give them to them. This year, we're planning to launch the project 'The Wandering Earth.' If Guangxian is interested, we can work together on it."

With the rapid rise of Marvel-style science fiction and the fact that almost all major Hollywood studios are making science fiction blockbusters, domestic science fiction is increasingly considered hopeless.

The release of films like Inception and Interstellar has made not only ordinary viewers but also professional filmmakers doubt that China can produce its own science fiction films.

In Time did not improve the situation; some even criticized In Time as "more of a war action film than a science fiction film."

This is a very frustrating situation.

When Li Xiaoping heard Chen Zhixi say this, she felt that Qiu Tian was being a bit sloppy.

I gave you Keigo Higashino's IP, and you try to scam me with a sci-fi movie?

Li Xiaoping also said she needed to go back to the company to discuss it.

Li Qiutang listened to his wife and stayed home to have the designer take his measurements. In addition to the main wedding dress, Liu Yifei will have three other dresses: one for going out, one for toasting, and one for seeing off guests. Li Qiutang will have three dresses, one for picking up the bride, one for the wedding, one for toasting, and one for seeing off guests.

"Why do you have four sets while I only have three?"

"If you don't mind the hassle of changing clothes, we can make another set."

"Forget it, even three sets are too many for me."

All three of Li Qiutang's formal wear were designed and made by the Italian menswear brand Brioni.

While Li Qiutang was taking measurements, Liu Yifei sat next to her and said, "I want to take this opportunity to make a dress for your parents and my parents as well."

"Sure, you can decide. By the way, how many bridesmaids have you booked? Reserve one for me."

"What?"

"My uncle's daughter is a fan of yours and wants to be your bridesmaid, but she's too shy to tell you."

"The one studying at the Ocean University?"

"You remember?"

"Graduating this year? Sure, I'll just be a bridesmaid." But Liu Yifei also said, "Just this one, don't add any more. I've already counted the number."

“I guarantee I’ll add this one.” Actually, Li Qiutang felt it was a bit early to take measurements now. For haute couture gowns, from design sketches to finished garments, a shorter one can be completed in a week, and a longer one in no more than a month.

"What do you know? It's not like we'll start working on it as soon as we measure. They have other jobs besides you."

"What about your dress? Have you chosen your wedding gown yet? Let me see."

"I won't let you see it!" Liu Yifei refused. "If you see it now, there won't be any surprises later."

After spending half a day getting her measurements taken, Li Qiutang asked Liu Yifei to drive her to the airport.

"Where are you going again? Didn't you promise to stay home with me these few days? You're not keeping your word again." But she still went to get the car keys.

"I'm going to the Lesser Khingan Mountains. There's a film crew starting production there, and I'm going to check it out."

"What kind of movie is this, that they have to film it in the deep mountains and forests?" Liu Yifei started up the G-Wagon she had snatched from Li Qiutang more than two years ago.

“The Three-Body Problem production team,” Li Qiutang said.

Liu Yifei had not read the novel "The Three-Body Problem," but she had heard Li Qiutang mention it.

Although the Three-Body Problem was not in Qiutian's hands, Li Qiutang was very concerned about the project. Yoozoo Pictures had gone through many hardships and finally started filming. Li Qiutang had to go and see it no matter what.

That afternoon, Li Qiutang checked into a guesthouse in the Lesser Khingan Mountains. The next morning, Li Qiutang visited the set of the TV series "The Three-Body Problem".

The crew of "The Three-Body Problem" warmly welcomed Li Qiutang. Science fiction films are not popular to begin with, so we appreciate the thoughtfulness of such a heavyweight director as Li Qiutang coming all the way to visit the set in the remote mountains.

Director Zhang Fanfan, along with Lin Qi, Kong Ergou, and other key members of the production team, warmly welcomed Li Qiutang.

The scenes filmed in the mountains must be scenes from Hong'an.

"Did you build a set at the Red Coast Base? Is this for real filming?" Li Qiutang got out of the car and walked towards the film set with Lin Qi.

"Most of it is real, but some virtual processing has been done. Large-scale construction is not allowed in these mountains."

If it weren't for the crew filming behind the scenes, Li Qiutang would have really wanted to ask Lin Qi why he chose Zhang Fanfan as the director, and he even wanted to ask why they didn't bring it to autumn.

The film set was bustling with activity, looking quite professional.

Director Zhang Fanfan warmly shook hands with Li Qiutang and introduced him to the filming process.

Zhang Fanfan was indeed a director before, but he didn't have any representative works. At least Li Qiutang had never heard of him.

The drama set in the Lesser Khingan Mountains mainly involves three main characters: Ye Wenjie, Lei Zhicheng, and Yang Weining, played by Zhang Jingchu, Du Zhiguo, and Xing Jiadong, respectively.

There's actually nothing wrong with the actor's image.

Li Qiutang's focus wasn't on that; she was more interested in Zhang Fanfan's adaptation strategy.

"How will you film during this special period? Do you plan to film the suffering Ye Wenjie endured?"

"We'll bring some; you can't just rely on what's in the book." That's true.

How was the interior of the Red Coast Base designed?

"The interior was filmed at Yanjing Studio. You can come and see it again later. We spent a lot of time and energy on art direction and props."

Zhang Fanfan is not an amateur; the whole crew looks quite professional.

However, Li Qiutang still discovered some problems: Zhang Fanfan and Yoozoo Pictures lacked experience in producing and managing blockbusters.

Li Qiutang felt that a blockbuster like "The Three-Body Problem" must have a dynamic preview of the entire film, but Zhang Fanfan still carried on his previous habit of using low-budget films and did everything with storyboards.

This resulted in low shooting efficiency.

Zhang Fanfan even lacked sufficient skills and authority in communicating with various departments within the production team, and producer Kong Ergou was unable to make up for this in a good way.

Lin Qi comes from an internet technology background, and he doesn't know much about film and television production.

The whole production team gave the impression of being sloppy—they had some skill, but were lacking in many aspects.

To be honest, Li Qiutang was a little disappointed.

"Director, I'd like to propose a toast to you." At the banquet that evening, Zhang Jingchu sat down, raised her glass, and smiled.

(End of this chapter)