Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 468 Real Life
Rumors circulated that Zhang Jingchu had an affair with a director, which led to her being blacklisted by the wives of directors and her career plummeting.

This news has been circulating in the industry for several years, and Li Qiutang doesn't know if it's true or not.

To be fair, Zhang Jingchu is truly a highly talented and skilled actress, and it's a real pity that her career has turned out this way.

"Director, I'd like to propose a toast to you." Zhang Jingchu leaned over and offered a toast.

Li Qiutang took a sip of her drink and said, "It must be hard for you to film in these mountains."

"You get used to it, it's not so bad." Zhang Jingchu seemed quite open-minded.

The two were not familiar with each other. Zhang Jingchu's toast was just a formality, but Li Qiutang overthought it, thinking that she would seduce him.

However, after meeting Zhang Jingchu, Li Qiutang seemed to have a better understanding.

The idea that the wives' group is boycotting them is complete nonsense.

The market is so hot right now that even a company as large as China Film Group can't blacklist an actor. How can a few directors' wives think they can do it?

Since leaving Gu Changwei, Zhang Jingchu has continued to act, appearing in Hollywood productions like "Rush Hour 3" and leveraging her resources in the Hong Kong film industry, with works like "Protégé" and "Night and Fog in Tin Shui Wai" being highly sought-after masterpieces. In mainland China, she has also landed roles in mega-productions like "Aftershock."

Can this still be called a ban?

After thinking about it, I can only say that Zhang Jingchu's star power isn't that great.

Her professional skills are certainly no less than those of the "Four Dan and Two Bing" (referring to four top actresses and two top actresses in China), but her star power is far inferior.

In other words, she cannot stir up large investments like the "Four Dan and Two Bing" (referring to four top actresses and two top actresses in China).

In this industry, it's not just about who has the best acting skills that makes someone famous.

To make a somewhat inappropriate comparison, Liu Yifei's film performance in the original timeline was not good, far inferior to Zhang Jingchu's. However, Liu Yifei's star power was too great, and even if the film flopped, she would still be a top star.

Zhang Jingchu lacks star power; she's better suited to be a goddess in art-house films.

However, it's possible that they really offended some people, and due to various influences, their resources are getting worse and worse.

Li Qiutang spent two days in the Lesser Khingan Mountains, learning about the filming of "The Three-Body Problem," before leaving with some disappointment.

After returning to Yanjing, Chen Zhixi gave him "The Devotion of Suspect X".

"Why would Guangxian ask me to be their director?" Li Qiutang asked, flipping through Guangxian's business plan.

"I'll get insurance from you."

"I'm more expensive."

"They are willing to pay this money."

If Li Qiutang still wanted to make suspense films, he wouldn't have handed over "Mirage".

"Cancel it, I don't have time."

Li Qiutang wanted to do a good job with "The Butterfly Lovers," and he had high ambitions for this film.

"Is your 'Butterfly Lovers' film still not finished? Can filming start this year?"

"This year?" Li Qiutang laughed. "I'd be laughing my head off if we could even start filming next year."

Li Qiutang had no specific timeline for the start of filming; he would begin preparations whenever the script was completed.

"So I really gave you the glamorous side?"

"Let's just drop it. Crime and suspense films are all the same old thing." He even put on an act.

Returning to the film "The Butterfly Lovers," the concept for this film began during the filming of "Mojin: The Lost Legend."

In the end, Li Qiutang still handed over the screenwriting work to Li Qiang. One person's strength is ultimately limited, and Li Qiutang, who had been immersed in commercial genre films for many years, would unconsciously pursue strong dramatic and emotional conflicts when he wrote, which he did not want to express in "The Butterfly Lovers".

Therefore, entrusting it to Li Qiang, who is more adept at writing art films, is the most suitable choice.

Li Qiutang was responsible for providing the requirements and basic ideas.

The movie is titled "The Butterfly Lovers," but it's not actually about the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai.

However, it cannot be said that it is completely unrelated to Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai.

The entire story originated from a sudden thought and question raised by Li Qiutang: "If Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai got married, would they be happy? Would they also quarrel over trivial matters like firewood and cooking oil?"

It's strange that he would suddenly have this idea when he had just proposed to Liu Yifei.

Later, my thoughts wandered, but I still couldn't find an answer.

So he tried to bring the idea to life, and later he decided to set the story in the contemporary era to explore marital relationships.

Li Qiang was particularly surprised when she talked to Li Qiutang about ideas. Li Qiutang was only in his early 30s. How could he be interested in marital relationships?
Generally, this kind of subject matter is something that directors only want to film after they have reached a certain age and have gained a certain understanding of family, society, and interpersonal relationships.

It has been three months since filming of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" wrapped up, and Li Qiang has already produced the first draft.

Li Qiutang went to his studio to look at the script, and after reading it, she rejected it.

Li Qiang is a renowned screenwriter of art-house films, having penned works such as "Peacock," "The Postmodern Life of My Aunt," "So Young," and "The Golden Era."

With masterpieces like "Peacock" and "The Postmodern Life of My Aunt" preceding him, Li Qiutang should have been particularly adept at writing about family life. However, Li Qiutang is not Gu Changwei or Xu Anhua, and his ideas are very different from those of the Fifth Generation writers.

In Li Qiang's script, Li Qiutang saw a strong imprint of the "scar literature" movement.

The two main characters, Liang Jiangong and Zhu Xiaoyan, are plagued by misfortune and everything goes wrong for them.

Li Qiutang disliked this version of the story: "Why not get a divorce when everything is going wrong? You can get a divorce even if you have children."

“High-level texts are about life itself,” Li Qiutang really didn’t expect that she would emphasize this basic concept to a screenwriter who has been writing for more than ten years. “Don’t pile up tragedies. “To Live” is tragic enough, but Fugui was also a rich young master for more than twenty years, eating, drinking, gambling and whoring and living a carefree life. After he became poor, he also had a short period of happy life. He was also happy when he sang shadow puppets for the People’s Liberation Army.

"Don't deprive ordinary people of their right to happiness." This was Li Qiutang's request to Li Qiang. "Life is bitter and tiring, but there is also sweetness in it. Don't follow the old saying that poverty-stricken couples suffer all kinds of misery."

This is also the most important reason why Li Qiutang dislikes "Hidden in the Dust": it's not that it can't depict hardship and poverty, but that it can't stand on a high ground and say to the farmers, "You can't laugh, you can't be happy."

The real lives of rural farmers are also filled with laughter. After returning from the fields, they might have a couple of drinks, play a few rounds of cards, and boast a bit, laughing heartily. They'll also lend a hand to their neighbors if they need anything.

"What I want is real life." Li Qiutang kept emphasizing the words "real life."

But everyone wants to capture life itself, yet that's incredibly difficult!

“I wouldn’t have asked you to write it if it wasn’t difficult,” Li Qiutang said with a smile. “So it has to be polished, polished repeatedly.”

Li Qiutang never expected Li Qiang to write the story she wanted in a short time.

I stayed at Li Qiang's place until very late before leaving.

As soon as I got in the car, I received a voice message: "Bro, I wrote a notebook and sent it to your email. Can you take a look at it for me?"

Information from Han Jianu.

"I'm driving back now, I'll watch it later." After saying that, he started the car and went home.

Even in the car, he didn't forget to call his wife: "I'm going home now. Which beauty salon is the thing you said you wanted to pick up during the day?"

Honestly, she just lies at home picking her toes all day, and you expect her to go to the beauty salon to pick something up? She's so lazy!

(End of this chapter)