Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 476 The Trip to Cannes
Both Li Qiutang and Liu Yifei had more than just "Mojin: The Lost Legend" to do at Cannes. Especially Liu Yifei, as Dior's Asian ambassador (already confirmed but not officially announced), had too many brand events and charity galas to attend.

Not to mention that as a popular actress, she will definitely have a lot of interviews and shooting tasks when she comes to Cannes.

Jing Tian is pitiful. Apart from promoting "Mojin: The Lost Legend" and filming for her own company, she has no other work in Cannes.

She's really not famous; not many people seek her out.

Fortunately, with Li Qiutang guiding her, she was able to get four or five interview jobs every day.

"Mojin: The Lost Legend" sold quite well in the trading market.

The 3-minute introductory segment was shown very well.

"A Chinese version of Indiana Jones," "Crystal Liu portrays a Chinese Lara Croft," "Another masterpiece by Li Qiutang after TIME CAGE!"

Although Xia Yu is also an international film emperor, his current influence is no match for Liu Yifei.

Wanda also booked a beach for the film crew to hold a promotional event called "Mojin: The Lost Legend Night," and the sales figures for the second day were indeed very good.

Vanda also lacked experience in international copyright transactions, and this part of the work was assisted by two companies, Autumn and Lantern Entertainment, who acted as consultants.

Regarding the copyright transaction for "Mojin: The Lost Legend," Li Qiutang advised Wan Da not to sell an entire region as a package unless the offer was exceptionally high.

Talking to each country individually, breaking it down into smaller parts, takes more effort, but the actual benefits are often unexpected.

In large European markets like Germany, the UK, France, and Italy, a good deal can sell for six or seven hundred thousand US dollars. In smaller markets like the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, it can be sold for one or two hundred thousand US dollars.

As for the North American market, anything less than $100 million is out of the question!

After the "Mojin: The Lost Legend" film crew entered the trading market, transactions were completed in 14 countries and regions within two days, which is a very good result.

But Qiu Tian has bigger ambitions; he wants to push "Mojin: The Lost Legend" to theaters in other Asian countries and regions.

Small countries are also acceptable.

For example, in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, Vantaa is also interested in negotiating with local film distributors regarding theatrical releases.

This is why Li Qiutang and Liu Yifei have international influence; if another director and actor were chosen, local film distributors might not necessarily pay attention to their requests.

At Cannes, Wanda promised that once the film "Mojin: The Lost Legend" is fully completed, he would invite film distributors and theater representatives to China for a screening.

While Ye Ning was talking about work with someone, Li Qiutang was also talking about work with someone else.

Cate Blanchett brought her film "Carol" to Cannes, and Li Qiutang is currently discussing some work with her.

Filming for Arrival began last week in Montreal, Canada.

To my surprise, Cate Blanchett has actually seen "In Time" and expressed her love for the film.

She knew Li Qiutang was criticizing capitalism, but she didn't seem to agree with the proletarian violent revolution plan presented by Li Qiutang in the film. She preferred Li Qiutang's visual language in the film.

The use of lines, warm and cool lighting, and the narrative use of vertical space all made Cate Blanchett feel that Li Qiutang was a "social observer and thinker".

She talked to Li Qiutang about the filming of "Arrival". In addition to the main topic, Li Qiutang also talked about the film he was preparing. He used a story that Cate Blanchett could understand as an analogy: "If Romeo and Juliet had successfully eloped, would they have been happy? ... Life is not just about sweetness and bitterness. The taste of life is more like this glass of water, tasteless... The story I want to film next is just like that."

He added regretfully, "If I were an American director, I would definitely cast you in this story."

Kate was drawn to the story, but added, "It's a lot like Revolutionary Road."

“No, no, no,” Li Qiutang denied Kate’s statement. “The ending of Revolutionary Road was too hasty. Death and escape are the easiest things to do in life, but facing them is the hardest.”

During their brief exchange, Kate made no secret of her admiration for Li Qiutang: "It would be great if you could come to America to film a movie."

"There will be a chance."

Before parting, Li Qiutang took out a small notebook and asked Kate to sign it: "My wife likes you a lot. She's also an actress, and she insisted that I get your autograph." Kate readily signed it and hugged Li Qiutang goodbye.

After meeting with Kate, Li Qiutang had to go to her next appointment.

We don't usually meet in China, but now that we're all in the town of Cannes, there's no escaping it.

Xin Yukun's "Mirage" has officially started filming, and Li Qiutang was surprised to see Li Bingbing at Cannes.

Producer Li asked Li Bingbing, "How is Xin Yukun doing on set? You guys didn't bully him, did you?"

One of Li Qiutang's biggest concerns beforehand was that the newcomer Xin Yukun wouldn't be able to handle the production of "Mirage." The crew not only included Li Bingbing but also Duan Yihong, and Li Qiutang bluntly stated that if the two of them teamed up, eight out of ten new directors would not fare well under their guidance.

"What kind of people do you take us for? We would never dare to bully the director."

Li Bingbing really likes "Mirage". It's definitely a female-led film with a lot of room for performance. Except for the director being a newcomer, there's nothing to criticize.

It was worth it for her to have followed this drama for so many years. Besides finally finishing it, what made her even more proud was that she had once again beaten Fan Bingbing, knowing that Fan Bingbing was also working on this drama.

After having coffee, Li Qiutang and Li Bingbing went to see Jia Zhangke, who brought "Mountains May Depart" to Cannes this year.

That evening, he treated the Chinese journalists who had come to Cannes to dinner at his own expense. After toasting everyone, he quickly left to do his interviews.

Li Qiutang was so busy that he almost forgot he was just there for publicity; he thought he had made it into the main competition.

That evening, Li Qiutang refused to attend the press conference for her new film "Rock Dog" held by Huayi Brothers.

That's why this year's Cannes Film Festival is more interesting off-site than on-site.

Wang Gongzi publicly dissed Fan Bingbing and Zhang Xinyu as "carpet stars": "Carpet stars Fan Bingbing and Zhang Xinyu, besides having no works and being unable to act, mainly became popular through scandals, online trolls, and hype."

Zhang Xinyu was the first to retort: ​​"You're really nosy."

Then Young Master Wang retorted, "Zhang Yan, don't take it personally."

Two days later, Fan Bingbing also responded to Wang Gongzi: "You go find your father, I'll do my job, we're both self-reliant."

Fan Bingbing's publicity director even said directly, "Are there really people in the world who can't stand to see others do well?" He also suggested that Wang Gongzi "see a doctor and check if his personality has changed."

Look at this kind of bickering, that's what makes it interesting.

Neither Wang Gongzi nor Wan Da retaliated against the two afterwards. Such things are nothing in the entertainment industry and not worth revenge.

The "Mojin: The Lost Legend" crew only had four days to promote the film in Cannes. Apart from the copyright trading staff who stayed at the trading market, the rest of the crew had to go back.

Ye Ning was very satisfied. In four days, the "Mojin: The Lost Legend" production team sold the rights to nearly 30 countries and regions, and is expected to recoup nearly ten million US dollars.

Selling copyrights to 30 countries and regions is pretty much the ceiling; anything beyond that is just selling or giving away small fry.

Ye Ning couldn't stop smiling on the plane, praising the teams from Qiutian and Lantern Entertainment for their great work. He also didn't shy away from admitting that Wan Da was still a newcomer in film: "Working with you guys is really worry-free."

Li Qiutang flipped through the news about Young Master Wang's verbal sparring with two actresses and laughed, "Your young master is quite a handful."

Ye Ning didn't take it to heart: "That's just how Si Cong is, he's too blunt." Actually, Ye Ning didn't have much contact with this young master.

Li Qiutang said, "It wouldn't be good if he started cursing at me one day."

Ye Ning smiled but didn't reply.

The group took off from Paris, flew directly to Beijing, and landed at midday.

(End of this chapter)