Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 563 Breakup Bonus: The Female Lead?
At midnight after the release of the autumn film lineup, Li Qiutang was still conducting an interview with kiwifruit.

Li Qiutang answered questions such as why he makes art films, whether he wants to switch careers to become an art film director, and what preparations he made for his first art film.

He's already talked about these issues to death in Cannes.

At the end of the interview, the reporter asked Li Qiutang: "Wanda also held a film list release conference a couple of days ago, which included 'Mojin: The Lost Legend 2'. Zeng Maojun, the general manager, said that the original cast would return. Are you aware of this news?"

Since the press conference for the second installment, Li Qiutang has not commented on the matter. In fact, the media has speculated that there is a high probability that Li Qiutang will not return to direct the second installment.

Li Qiutang was only informed by Wanda staff after the press conference, and she was slightly dissatisfied with this fait accompli approach.

Li Qiutang guessed that the reason was that Wan Da was not actually prepared to film a second part. They released the film first, using the gimmick of the original cast returning to create hype for the company.

Despite her dissatisfaction, Li Qiutang didn't want to go against Wan Da, so she went along with it, saying, "I know. The script for the second part is still being written."

But the reporter insisted that Li Qiutang give a direct answer: "Will you direct the second film?"

Li Qiutang replied, "I'm quite pressed for time later, so I'll have to look at it some more."

Li Qiutang meant that she didn't have time to direct the second film, but the phrase "we still need to see" was interpreted by reporters as indicating that the collaboration between Li Qiutang and Wan Da was not pleasant, and that if Li Qiutang wanted to direct the second film, it would depend on Wan Da's "sincerity".

Regardless of how it's interpreted, Li Qiutang's "ambiguous attitude" towards the second part of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" is certain.

However, given the huge success of the first film and the large fanbase of the original novel, a large audience is still eagerly anticipating the second film, even with a different director.

Li Qiutang's ambiguous attitude did not cause the second installment of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" to be a flop; Wan Da's stance remained that "the original cast is returning."

The film festival closed on the 19th. Li Qiutang attended the awards ceremony as an award presenter.

While Liu Ye was giving his acceptance speech thanking his mother and wife after winning Best Actor for his outstanding performance in "Cock and Bull," Li Qiutang was already backstage, ready to present the Best Director award.

"Oh dear, no one told me I was presenting the award with you!" A surprised female voice called out. Li Qiutang turned around and saw Yang Ziqiong.

Li Qiutang laughed and said, "Nobody told me I'd be presenting the Best Director award with you." After saying that, the two hugged as a greeting.

"long time no see."

"Yes, the last time we met was last year in the United States, wasn't it?"

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and Liu Ye, the receptionist, had already left. The emcee then announced the program:

"Next up is the Golden Goblet Award for Best Director."

"Our two award presenters are Mr. Li Qiutang, a renowned Chinese director, winner of the Golden Rooster Award for Best Director and the Golden Globe Award for Best Director; and Ms. Yang Ziqiong, a world-renowned Chinese actress who has served as a jury member for the Oscars, the Cannes Film Festival, and the Berlin Film Festival. Please welcome her with applause."

Looking at it this way, Yang Ziqiong really doesn't have many awards.

Yang Ziqiong, arm in arm with Li Qiutang, walked from backstage to the front of the stage to greet the audience.

"Hello everyone, I am Li Qiutang."

Good evening, everyone. I am Yang Ziqiong.

Both of them tacitly chose not to speak English.

However, the host will translate what the two said into English and read it to the audience, which is a huge hassle.

Li Qiutang disliked this aspect of the Shanghai International Film Festival; it was too cumbersome.

Before the awards ceremony, the guests would typically interact with each other, crack a joke, tell a story, and chat casually.

This guest usually doesn't rehearse lines, but Michelle Yeoh took the initiative: "Director, I heard you're going to make an art film." "Yes, let's try a new genre."

Are there any roles I can play?

Li Qiutang said, "If you want to act, I'll revise the script and change the role for you overnight."

This amused Yang Ziqiong, who then said, "You can bring your art films to the Shanghai International Film Festival, such a big platform."

Li Qiutang said, "It would be great if the Shanghai Film Studio could accept my film."

Without further ado, the two prepared to draw the lottery results.

"Best Director Award at the 19th Shanghai International Film Festival..." Li Qiutang handed the envelope to Yang Ziqiong, who glanced at the contents and read it aloud in English:
"Antijokinn, The Flowers of Evil".

This Finnish director was nominated for the main competition at the Shanghai International Film Festival last year and won Best Actress. This year she won Best Director, which makes her very happy.

To some extent, it can be considered a direct descendant of the film festival.

After the awards ceremony, Li Qiutang and Yang Ziqiong stepped off the stage. Unexpectedly, Yang Ziqiong actually inquired about what kind of art film Li Qiutang was going to make.

In recent years, Michelle Yeoh has gradually shifted her career focus to the United States, but if there are good film offers in China, she is happy to continue working in China.

"It's about the married life of a young couple, all the everyday stuff. The screenwriter said he'd finish writing it for me in the first half of this year, but it's still not finished. This piece of junk is doomed."

After listening, Yang Ziqiong lost interest and only said that he would definitely encounter many difficulties since it was his first time making an art film, and encouraged him to be patient while filming.

After the Shanghai International Film Festival ends, the summer movie season begins, so the industry is always bustling with activity.

The Warcraft movie grossed 1 billion yuan in its opening weekend, but it took 15 days for its domestic box office to surpass 14 billion yuan.

Warcraft's performance in the global market was not particularly outstanding. It grossed over $2000 million in its opening weekend in North America, and only $3.77 million worldwide by the closing day of the Shanghai International Film Festival.

Fan-made movies are all like this.

No matter how many Warcraft fans there are, there are still more casual gamers than those who don't play the game.

Even the world's number one online game couldn't help.

To please fans of the novel, Li Qiutang retained core elements such as Ghost Blows Out the Light, Black Donkey Hoof, Ancient Tomb, and the Legend of the Dragon in his film adaptation of "Mojin: The Lost Legend." However, to cater to a larger general audience, he still included a 3-minute prologue at the beginning of the film. This prologue introduced the concepts of "tomb raiders" and "ghosts blowing out the light" to viewers who hadn't read the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" novel. This gave casual viewers a general understanding, making the subsequent story easier to follow.

However, the team behind the Warcraft movie clearly didn't consider the feelings of casual viewers who don't play the game.

Li Qiutang looked down on these kinds of movies that were purely aimed at fans, but he had to admit that if the budget for these movies was well controlled, they could really make a killing.

Back to the summer movie season. The release of "Now You See Me 2" and "Independence Day 2" officially kicked off the summer movie battle.

Yang Ying is still being promoted. At the premiere of "Independence Day 2", Ye Ning came to the scene in person and said that she would continue to give Yang Ying resources and push her to a wider stage.

At the premiere, Yang Ying joked, "All my scenes involve playing video games."

Is it even allowed to broadcast something like this?

Ye Ning wasn't exaggerating. The day after the premiere of "Independence Day 2," news circulated in Sister Nose's fan circle that Yang Ying would be starting filming another movie in August.

"This drama is produced by Chen Guofu, so it will be biased towards Huayi Brothers. According to the leaked information, it is a fantasy romantic comedy, a rare type in China. Baby is really amazing. I don't want anyone to say that Baby relies on men anymore. After leaving Huang Xiaoming, Baby's career is even better."

(End of this chapter)