Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 540 Trust me, I can't be wrong
Today's meetings left Li Qiutang more exhausted than any other meeting she had ever attended.

Attending meetings all day is more tiring than filming a movie all day.

But the harvest was plentiful.

Around 11 p.m., Li Qiutang and Zhang Zhao left, looking tired but happy. They found a small shop nearby and had a couple of drinks.

"To be honest, I was very confident when I was running a company or making films before," Zhang Zhao said earnestly. "Because the prospects for doing these things were clear: if you succeeded, you would make some money; if you failed, you would lose some money. But now, I'm really not sure about this."

Reforming a film festival is not as simple as a matter of success or failure.

Zhang Zhao was unsure, and so was Li Qiutang.
He has been in the industry for a full 10 years, and he has always been very confident in making films. He can confidently tell others that in the past 10 years, none of the films he has directed have been bad. Even his lowest-rated work, "The Ruffian," which was used to save the day, still has a score of 6.5 on Douban.

Having worked as a director for 10 years, he was so confident that he felt he could make a good film about any subject matter and any actor.

But faced with the Changchun Film Festival, a hot potato, he felt for the first time that he might not be able to do it well.

On a film set, he clearly knows what he's facing, but when working at a film festival, he doesn't know who he's facing.

But this uncertainty spurred Li Qiutang and Zhang Zhao to choose this career without hesitation.

Two days later, Zhang Zhao led a group to Europe for study and research.

Li Qiutang is still busy with her work.

The films "The Wandering Earth" and "The Butterfly Lovers" have also been officially registered and approved by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

The day after the announcement was made public, it was discovered by the media and posted online.

"Autumn Pictures filed two films with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television yesterday. One is the previously announced new film 'The Butterfly Lovers' directed by Li Qiutang, with Li Qiang listed as the screenwriter. The other film is jointly filed with China Film Group, with seven screenwriters listed, including Li Qiutang, Chen Zhixi, Zhang Jialu, Han Jianu, and Chen Zijun. The film is titled 'The Wandering Earth,' which should be an adaptation of Liu Cixin's novel of the same name. It is currently unknown who will direct this film."

#Li Qiutang's New Film Revealed# This trending topic was not bought by the company; on the contrary, the company hoped that the news about the new film would be kept low-key.

This trending topic was really pushed up by netizens.

However, netizens generally assume that both films are by Li Qiutang. "The Butterfly Lovers" was revealed last year, and Chen Zhixi said at the time that the film was by Li Qiutang. Li Qiutang's name is listed as the screenwriter for "The Wandering Earth". According to convention, films with Li Qiutang as the screenwriter are usually directed by himself. So far, there has been one exception, which is "Mirage".

"Director Li Qiutang is a real workaholic. Before 'Mojin: The Lost Legend' has even finished its run in theaters, he has already released two new films in one go."

"A classic adaptation (you wouldn't know 'The Butterfly Lovers' is a modern story if you didn't read the synopsis), and a science fiction adaptation. Director Li Qiutang is taking big steps and going for a wild path."

"I'm really looking forward to director Li Qiutang's new film. I hope to see it this year."

"Director Li is going to film 'The Butterfly Lovers'? Is there anyone more suitable to play Zhu Yingtai than Liu Yifei? Yifei is going to wear ancient costume again!"

It seems like nobody thought that the director of "The Wandering Earth" would be someone else.

However, science fiction is the least popular genre in Chinese-language films. No one makes films about it, no one invests in it, and naturally, domestic audiences don't watch it.

Li Qiutang's fans are eagerly anticipating "The Wandering Earth." "If there's anyone in China who can make good science fiction films, it's definitely Li Qiutang."

"Why doesn't Director Li make a film about 'The Three-Body Problem'?!" Because he couldn't secure the rights.

However, many people are still pessimistic about domestic science fiction, feeling that Li Qiutang's decision to make "The Wandering Earth" was a self-inflicted wound, and that China still lacks the conditions to produce hard science fiction.

Li Qiutang neither cares about nor intends to respond to the discussions sparked by the release of the new film's filing information.

When has Li Qiutang ever made a film without controversy? Responding to every single one of them would exhaust him.

However, when he attended a forum in Yanjing on Saturday to "debate on Chinese and foreign commercial blockbusters," he was still asked this question by the host and his fellow forum members.

At first, everyone was talking about how popular this year's Lunar New Year film season was, with "Mojin: The Lost Legend" breaking records, but it only held the top spot for a month before being dethroned by "The Mermaid".

Li Qiutang's view on this is: "This is a good thing. Records are meant to be broken. If he breaks my record, I'll just make another film and break his record. Chasing each other is the norm."

Then, we'll discuss several foreign blockbusters released during this year's Lunar New Year holiday, taking "Kung Fu Panda 3" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" as examples.

Both films are doing very well at the box office, and "Kung Fu Panda 3" is about to break 10 billion.

It wasn't that Li Qiutang was deliberately trying to be unconventional or make startling remarks, but rather that he genuinely felt this way: "It feels like Hollywood is gradually becoming detached from its audience. Although Marvel's box office is getting higher and higher, Jurassic World is a global hit, Kung Fu Panda has reached its third installment, and Star Wars is the number one IP in North America, I wonder if everyone has this feeling that these movies are not made for the audience, or rather, the audience is not their primary target audience. The target audience of these movies is the IP, the phenomenon, the media and the internet, and even merchandise and amusement parks."

"Did Star Wars reach its seventh installment because its story reached its seventh installment? No, it's because of its merchandise sales and the need for its theme parks to continue the story. Whether the audience likes it or not is irrelevant. Marvel is the same. It does make a lot of money at the box office, but compared to its other revenue streams, that box office revenue is just a drop in the ocean."

"So a problem arises: relying solely on box office revenue is too risky. We need to expand our revenue channels, but once other revenue streams exceed box office revenue, which is mainly driven by audiences, most film companies will no longer think about telling a moving and captivating story to attract audiences."

Li Qiutang's statement was not agreed upon by the host, Cui Yongyuan, who believes that Hollywood films will continue to lead the way, thanks to Hollywood's industrial system: "Story-based production, this model will continue to lead the global market."

Li Qiutang said, "I didn't say that Hollywood will fall behind. The Hollywood film industry will certainly be ahead, but this system will gradually weaken, and the first thing to happen will be the Chinese market."

Now, not only the guests on stage, but even the audience felt that Li Qiutang was against Hollywood and against superstition.

Jurassic World grossed $16 billion worldwide, Furious 7 grossed $15 billion worldwide, and Avengers: Age of Ultron grossed $14 billion worldwide. Moreover, these three films also performed exceptionally well in the domestic market.

Are you saying that Hollywood movies will falter in the Chinese market?
Li Qiutang further explained: "Hollywood blockbusters will have a 3-5 year growth period, but after that, they will be met with a cold reception in the domestic market. You can remember my words and see how they perform in 5 years."

Then we talked about domestic blockbusters like "Mojin: The Lost Legend" and "The Wandering Earth," which Li Qiutang had just started developing.

Li Qiutang has posted his 10,000-word thesis on fantasy adventure films, which he wrote for the filming of "Mojin: The Lost Legend," on Weibo. He also added a lot of content at the last minute. He said, "This kind of film can be replicated. I have already posted my experience. You can search for it on Weibo."

Speaking of science fiction films, Li Qiutang said, "Many people say that domestic science fiction is not mature enough and there is no rush to make it. I heard these words when I was filming 'In Time' in 09. We can't just stand still and wait for the wind to come. We have to create our own wind. Our topic today is a heated debate between Chinese and foreign commercial blockbusters. Hard science fiction is a typical commercial blockbuster. It is precisely because we don't have it that we have to make it."

At the scene, Li Qiutang revealed that preparations for "The Wandering Earth" began in May or June of last year, and the team is currently recruiting members and preparing for the project.

Li Qiutang also said something very arrogant: "People don't believe in domestic science fiction, but they can't go wrong by believing in me, right? Just watch how I make it."

(End of this chapter)