Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 519 An Uncertain Career
Those who work in film and television, or in media, all have a few dreams.

One option is to own your own newspaper, magazine, or periodical, but now that we live in the internet age and print media is declining, that's not an option.

Another option is to own your own television station, like Disney and Fox, but that's not allowed in China.

Another point is that he wanted to host his own film festival. At the groundbreaking ceremony for the Oriental Movie Metropolis in 2013, Lao Wang declared that he would host an international film festival that rivaled the Oscars and Grammys, which was very exciting at the time. But now, almost three years later, Lao Wang has never mentioned it again.

Li Qiutang certainly wanted to as well. Not to mention the film festival, he was drooling with envy when he saw the Wuzhen Theatre Festival organized by Huang Lei and Lai Shengchuan.

He also knew that Jia Zhangke had been busy with another project in the past three to five years besides making films: preparing for the Pingyao Film Festival, which should open in another two years.

Li Qiutang didn't know how Jia Zhangke did it, but he was really envious.

Which filmmaker wouldn't want their own film festival?

The opportunity is now right in front of us. Changchun Film Studio, the cradle of cinema in the People's Republic of China, and the Changchun Film Festival, a long-established film festival.

Li Qiutang did not underestimate the difficulty of this undertaking. Organizing a film festival would inevitably offend a large number of people and would certainly encounter unexpected difficulties and obstacles. It might take 5-10 years to succeed, but there was also a high possibility that it would all come to nothing.

But at the same time, Li Qiutang also knew that this might be the only chance in her life, and if she missed it, she would never have another one.

Therefore, Li Qiutang agreed without any hesitation to help the organization devise strategies to revitalize the Changchun Film Festival.

Li Qiutang knew what the organization valued in him. He was from Northeast China, giving him a natural home-field advantage. He was young, with plenty of time and energy to fight the "opposition." Li Qiutang was only in his early thirties; at worst, he could quit and endure for ten years. When he turned forty, he would be at the peak of a man's ambition. By then, those old guys would be either in a box or in a wheelchair—what could they possibly do against Li Qiutang? If ten years wasn't enough, he could endure for twenty. The director would only truly mature at fifty. By then, not to mention anything else, Li Qiutang's protégés and former associates would be all over the film and television industry, making things much easier.

Furthermore, Li Qiutang is wealthy. While he might not be the richest man in the film and television industry, he is certainly at the very top. The organization is not worried that he would use public funds for personal gain.

But in reality, the organization doesn't care whether you get personal gain or not. As long as you can handle things to a satisfactory degree, the organization won't hold grudges about minor issues.

If the team makes it to the World Cup, who cares about your petty problems? If you've taken the money, you have to get things done.

It was certainly a good thing that Li Qiutang agreed, but out of personal friendship, Mr. Hu reminded Li Qiutang: "This is just an attempt at reform. No one knows what difficulties lie ahead, or even whether it will succeed. Think it through. If you don't want to do it, we won't force you."

Li Qiutang said, "Why wouldn't I be willing? Organizing a film festival is every filmmaker's dream; I'd do it even if it cost me my own money."

They all laughed: "This is official business; it's not like you have to pay out of your own pocket to do it."

Li Qiutang's agreement to join was not unexpected for the group. Mr. Hu had already predicted before his arrival that Li Qiutang would definitely do it.

The four of them were having a meeting in this small room.

"Let's not talk about film and cultural tourism," Li Qiutang suggested. "Every film festival talks about cultural tourism and revenue generation, and there's a certain formula to follow. We should first set a tone for the Changchun Film Festival. What should its new positioning be? The Golden Rooster is an academic award, the Hundred Flowers is an audience award, and the Huabiao is a government award. What should the Golden Deer of the Changchun Film Festival be?"

Northeast China is an industrial base, and Changchun Film Studio is the cradle of cinema in the People's Republic of China. The Changchun Film Festival should also fully integrate and utilize the geographical advantages of Northeast China to develop its own unique characteristics and strengths.

"So I think the Golden Deer Award should be the film industry award."

The three nodded, agreeing that this positioning aligns with the film industrialization that the country and industry have been advocating for in recent years.

“But we can’t go to extremes. We should recognize the film industry, but we shouldn’t reject art films. If ‘In the Mood for Love’ is nominated and you give the Best Director award to Guo Jingming, everyone will criticize you.”

The three of them were amused by Li Qiutang's extreme example.

They discussed for most of the day, without even going out for lunch, and the four of them didn't disperse until the afternoon. "Alright, that's enough for today. Qiu Tang, you're familiar with the situation both domestically and internationally. You'll have to work a little harder to go back and write a report, explaining your thoughts in detail, and then come to the ministry to give a report. We also need to go back and report on today's situation immediately."

Before leaving, he added, "Prepare well. Number One knows about this, and he'll come to hear your report if he has time."

Li Qiutang left the hotel and returned to the company.

Li Qiutang worked until after 11 p.m., but since she felt it was still early, she called Guo Fan and asked to watch the film he had just finished shooting, "The Story of a Female Police Officer".

This is his second film, starring Shu Chang, a light comedy. Post-production is complete, and it's just waiting for the company to review it and set a release date.

The film focuses on the health product consumption traps for the elderly, telling the story of Tang Xiaoyu (played by Shu Chang), a rookie policewoman who, together with her mentor Gao Caihong (played by Sun Li) and her colleagues at the police station, works to combat health product consumption traps and encounters some hilarious and absurd situations in her work and life.

The story is simple; Li Qiutang is watching how Guo Fan handles it.

Guo Fan is still working overtime in his studio, and he can still entertain Li Qiutang since she came to watch the film so late.

"You came alone?" I was a little surprised that Li Qiutang came alone.

"Why would I bring a bunch of people to watch a movie? It's so late, and you're not even going to provide late-night snacks."

Guo Fan laughed and said, "I'll treat you to a late-night snack after we finish watching the movie."

"After finishing this film, what have you been doing lately, working overtime until so late?"

“I’ll try writing my own script. It’s not really good to always get scripts from the company, hehe,” Guo Fan laughed.

Without further ado, the two entered the screening room and began watching the movie.

The film is short, only 102 minutes long.

Li Qiutang quickly finished reading it and commented, "This is good enough, you won't lose money."

Just as Guo Fan faced pressure from Gao Xiaosong to film the embassy incident in the "My Old Classmate" crew, Li Qiutang also discovered Guo Fan's personal touch in "The Story of a Female Police Officer." Guo Fan stuffed a Hong Kong-style police car chase and explosion scene into the end of this light comedy.

It's as if it's telling the audience, "I didn't spend all my budget, so I'll blow it all up for you to see."

It's clear that Guo Fan really wants to shoot big-budget films and grand scenes; his reserved nature is about to burst forth.

Although this scene doesn't fit the overall style of the film, it's not a big problem. All the jokes that were supposed to be punchy in the beginning have been delivered, and the ending is just a visual and auditory thrill to give back to the audience.

If I had to rate it, I would give "The Story of a Female Police Officer" around 6.5 points. There are some things that are not well done, but as a comedy, it is worth watching. Comedy is different from other types of films, where a score of 6 is enough to watch. A comedy with a score of 6 points can be considered to be neither awkward nor melodramatic, and has good jokes and funny moments.

After watching "The Story of a Female Police Officer," Li Qiutang casually said, "This movie is good. We'll have you make a big film next. Do you have your own ideas, or will the company find a script for you?"

But then he laughed and said, "Let's not rush things. After this movie is finished, you should take a good rest for six months to a year, so that people won't say I'm a heartless boss."

Guo Fan laughed and said, "Since you've said that, I can't rest even if I want to." Guo Fan was very enthusiastic about his work, and when he heard that Li Qiutang wanted to support him in making a blockbuster, he had no intention of resting.

(End of this chapter)