Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 509 Movie Watching Party

The online feud between Tang Yan and Zhao Liying's fans after the holiday did contribute some buzz to "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe".

But the most crucial period for box office success has indeed passed.

It was also after the holiday that the promotion for "Mojin: The Lost Legend" began. Although it was too early, releasing a little bit of information slowly would give them an advantage.

Li Qiutang doesn't become arrogant and neglect publicity and promotion just because her film is a large-scale blockbuster.

Today, Wan Da invited major Asian distributors of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" to China, including those from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. These are some of the larger Asian film markets, but distributors from smaller countries like Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar were also invited. Wan Da and Li Qiutang are saying that the more the merrier when it comes to theatrical releases.

The post-production of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" is not yet finished, but the current version is ready to be shown to film distributors.

Both Wan Da and Li Qiutang want to push for the theatrical release of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" across Asia, ideally simultaneously.

Therefore, Li Qiutang and Liu Yifei, the most internationally-oriented members of the "Mojin: The Lost Legend" crew, were present today to accompany the film distributors to watch the movie.

This is also the first time Liu Yifei has seen the finished film since filming wrapped up 10 months ago.

The representatives from Japan and South Korea were actually acquaintances of Li Qiutang, and the two sides had cooperated before.

"I decided to buy the rights to this movie because I saw the names of Lee Sang and Crystal."

"Thank you."

"But as you know, Mr. Li, it's difficult for foreign films to be released simultaneously in Japan. Our company can only try our best to shorten the window period."

The Japanese market is relatively resistant to foreign-language films, and they are usually delayed for 3-5 months before being released domestically.

Li Qiutang respects this habit of the Japanese market: "It's okay, it's okay, everyone just needs to try to get it released."

"I'll also invite Mr. Li and Crystal to visit Japan sometime. I'll definitely treat you well."

"Hehe, there will be a chance. No rush, let's watch the movie first."

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone sat down to watch the film.

The version shown to the distributors did not include the dragon logo at the beginning, the production company's animation, or the end credits; it was just the main feature film.

It lasted for 2 hours and 5 minutes, and it couldn't be shortened any further. If it were shortened any further, the pacing would have to be changed, and Li Qiutang would absolutely disagree.

"More than a thousand years ago, China was divided into three countries and was constantly at war. The first thing to do before fighting a war is to be well-fed..."

The prologue begins.

When Princess Aogu, played by Jing Tian, ​​opened her eyes in the coffin in a flamboyant burial dress and smiled at Hu Bayi, the Japanese distributor exclaimed in a low voice, "Sigh, that's amazing!"

Japan has a rich culture of demons and ghosts, and people are always very interested in these things.

The version shown today still hasn't been dubbed. Actually, the actors are supposed to go into the studio to dub in a few days, but Wan Da couldn't wait.

It must be said that Li Qiutang has a really good grasp of the pacing of commercial films. A 125-minute feature film would definitely be boring and tedious in the hands of other directors, but Li Qiutang makes it anything but boring by creating one obstacle after another, one crisis after another, and one audiovisual thrill after another.

I wouldn't presume to call this the Chinese version of "Indiana Jones," but at least in terms of pacing, Li Qiutang can confidently say that his film is a textbook example.

Minor crises, major crises, jokes, and audiovisual stimulation—every step is precisely timed—there's a standard format.

After watching the movie, it was already noon. Ye Ning invited the guests to move to the restaurant to eat and chat.

Li Qiutang and Ye Ning walked behind. Ye Ning said, "I'm worried that Japan will cause trouble for us because of the radiation from the underground chemical plant."

Not to mention that Li Qiutang also filmed Japanese soldiers mutated by radiation in the movie, especially the Japanese officer on horseback, who was the first boss in the whole film. After the chemical plant was destroyed, he hid in the ancient tomb and survived, and later caused a lot of trouble for the tomb raiders.

Japan is a major client, and Ye Ning didn't want to miss out. "It's okay, I think he likes it quite a bit. Let's see what he chooses. If he doesn't like it, there's nothing we can do." I'll just bid as is. Anyway, you've already paid, and I won't refund your money if you want to back out now.

Ye Ning's concerns were indeed reflected on the faces of the Japanese publishers. While eating at a restaurant, the three Japanese sat at one table, discussing things in hushed tones.

The distributors from other countries looked much better, sitting in twos and threes, all saying that the film they had just seen was good.

Ye Ning sat with the Thai distributors, listening to their opinions on the film, while Li Qiutang and Liu Yifei sat at the table with the Korean representatives.

Li Qiutang had prepared a lot to say to the Koreans, but once she sat down, she didn't intend to say a word.

The two opposite me were stuffing food into their mouths like they were starving ghosts reincarnated.

And look at their plates, they're full of meat! They didn't order any staple food at all.

Li Qiutang had worked with the Korean team many times and knew their style well, so she wasn't surprised. Liu Yifei, however, was taken aback and said in English, "Eat slowly."

The two Koreans completely ignored Liu Yifei and continued to swoon.

After taking a couple of big bites to satisfy his craving, he finally had time to talk to Li Qiutang about watching the movie.

Li Qiutang said, "No rush, you guys eat first."

Those two idiots just kept showing off their bodies.

Liu Yifei also asked them, "How does it taste? Is it good? Do you like the food?"

One of them said, "It's far worse than our Korean food. It doesn't taste good without kimchi."

You two ate it with your mouths greasy because it wasn't good?!

Li Qiutang had long been familiar with the stubbornness and pride of Koreans. He watched it all with amusement and said to his wife in Chinese, "That's how they are. Let them finish eating first."

The two Koreans took mostly pork and beef. After finishing the meat, they took a large plate of fruit, mostly watermelon, cantaloupe, and grapes.

"Your Chinese food is too oily," the Korean said while eating watermelon. "Our Korean food is the healthiest."

Li Qiutang was too lazy to argue with them.

Back to the movie, the two became quite professional, saying that "Mojin: The Lost Legend" was very good and worth the money they spent, but whether it could be released in South Korean theaters at the same time still needed to be discussed back home.

Li Qiutang asked them what movies would be shown in South Korea in December and how competitive the competition would be.

The two representatives spoke frankly, saying that the South Korean film "Inside Men" was highly anticipated, while imported films included strong contenders such as "Sicario" and "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 3".

At least in East Asia, December is a crucial month for film releases every year.

Li Qiutang asked this not because he hoped "Mojin: The Lost Legend" would achieve great success in South Korea, but because he knew the film would suffer from serious cultural incompatibility overseas.

I just want to understand my opponent.

"What are your company's thoughts on the Shanghai theater chain?" Li Qiutang was helpless as she tried her best to push the local chain to do it but the local chain didn't want to.

"Of course the company wants to release it in theaters, after all, we spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy the copyright." South Korea is small, so the marketing costs are not high, and if there is any profit to be made, of course they want to release it in theaters.

Nothing much could be said at the dinner table, so after finishing the meal with them, the couple went home.

Later, I heard that a vice president of Wan Da Yanjing thought that Koreans were not used to Chinese food, so he took the two of them to eat Korean food. However, the two of them said that they wanted to experience Chinese food and refused Korean food.

But after finishing the Chinese food, he complained that it wasn't good, which made the vice president privately curse the Koreans for being stubborn and shameless, and he told his colleagues about the hospitality as a joke.

(End of this chapter)