Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 566 Exclusion
Liu Yifei filmed until noon, when the production producer told her that Chen Guofu would come to visit her on set in the afternoon.

"I just received the notification too."

Liu Yifei didn't take it to heart. She and Chen Guofu had a very pleasant working relationship on the set of "Mojin: The Lost Legend," so it was normal for him to visit her on set.

Two hours later, Chen Guofu arrived at the film set. Details of his visit are omitted, but he mainly treated the crew to drinks and snacks.

He only said that after finishing work that evening, Chen Guofu would take Liu Yifei out for dinner.

He proactively talked about a film he was working on, called "A Generation of Fairies," which is positioned as an urban fantasy romantic comedy. It's quite novel, and the female lead is a fox spirit.

His Kungfu Pictures was the largest producer. "I want to invite you to play the female lead, Bai Xianchu, the fox spirit." Chen Guofu knew that using a role like the fox spirit, which Liu Yifei had never played before, to entice her was the most effective approach.

Sure enough, Liu Yifei's eyes lit up when she heard that she was playing a fox spirit, especially since it was a comedy. She really wanted to act in a comedy.

Chen Guofu told Liu Yifei how fun the role was, and said, "I think you have a lot of comedic talent, you can try playing it."

"Right, I also think I can act in comedies, but my husband always says I can't."

"You have to be brave enough to try. You'll know once you've acted in it."

Liu Yifei agreed with Chen Guofu's statement and became interested in "The Fairy Tale" and Bai Xianchu.

However, when she heard Chen Guofu say that filming for "The Fairy Tale" would begin at the end of August, she hesitated.

Filming for "Now I'll See You" is scheduled to continue until mid-August. After that, she will be busy with some brand events that have piled up due to filming, so she really doesn't have time to seamlessly join the film crew. She also doesn't allow herself to join the crew before she is in the right condition.

But she also found the character Bai Xianchu quite interesting and was reluctant to let her go.

However, Liu Yifei is not one to waste time internally. After quickly considering the situation in her mind, she explained her situation to Chen Guofu, saying that she simply couldn't adjust her schedule.

Chen Guofu didn't insist, but said it was a pity: "You are really suitable for Bai Xianchu, and people will definitely watch you act in comedies."

Liu Yifei took it in stride, saying, "It's also possible that the audience doesn't like watching me act in comedies, since I've never done it before."

Liu Yifei didn't want to act, but she wanted to recommend some actresses to her friends: "You can look for Shu Chang and Yang Mi. They've both played fox spirits before, so they have more experience than me."

Shu Chang played Xiao Yu, and Yang Mi played Bai Qian.

Chen Guofu said with a wry smile, "They are both top stars. Even if I wanted to invite them, they would have to be available."

The two production teams of "The Legend of the Demon King" have indeed been in contact, but neither has responded yet.

Liu Yifei immediately took out her phone: "Let me ask for you."

In front of Chen Guofu, she sent Shu Chang a voice message: "Are you free at the end of August? Teacher Chen Guofu is starting a play at the end of August, playing a fox spirit, a comedy. He asked me if I had any suitable people to recommend. What do you think?"

Shu Chang was probably still busy with work, and only replied to Liu Yifei after Liu Yifei and Chen Guofu finished their dinner and were leaving.

"No problem, just send me Mr. Guofu's contact information." Shu Chang trusted Liu Yifei's judgment; the plays she recommended were never bad.

Although her schedule for next year is full, there's always time if you squeeze it in. Liu Yifei only acts as a referral and doesn't interfere with Shu Chang's talks with the production team; whether or not the talks go through is none of her business.

The release of four blockbuster films on the 8th was a sign of a booming market, offering audiences a feast for the eyes with a variety of genres to enjoy all at once.

Judging from the early reviews of the films, Autumn Pictures' "Mirage" is the best, followed by "Cold War 2".

However, the marketing team for "Mirage" has noticed a problem in the past two days: the film has suddenly been attacked by a large number of negative reviews on various platforms.

"It's all suspense and not good. I fell asleep within the first three minutes." That's bullshit. The production company only showed an animation for one and a half minutes. You came to the movie theater to catch up on sleep.

"I really can't relate to watching two actors over 40 playing young roles on screen. One star."

"What kind of movie is this? It looks scary at first glance, but it's actually just a melodramatic romance."

All of these kinds of things have emerged in large numbers on various platforms.

Online reviews are a very important reference. A flood of negative reviews before the film's release could significantly influence the choices of potential viewers, something the production team has to take seriously.

So, at the promotional event for the film's release, producer Li Qiutang, who was not originally scheduled to participate, suddenly appeared at the event. He said he had been looking at equipment in Liangxi for the past few days and came over since it wasn't far away.

Regarding the sudden influx of negative reviews in the past day or two, Xin Yukun, a new director, couldn't say anything, and the actors had even less to say. The producer had to play the villain.

When asked about this, Li Qiutang remained calm and composed, saying, "If we could achieve results through such underhanded tactics, then we wouldn't need to work on film sets; we could all go into marketing or start online marketing companies."

Li Qiutang bluntly stated that such tactics were low-class and unorthodox.

“I think they may have a path dependency. They have succeeded once or twice with this method before, and they want to replicate it again. It would be better to put these funds and energy into making good films.”

Li Qiutang didn't name the company that made it, because he hadn't been able to find out in such a short time, but there were only a few films released in the same period as "Mirage", and the culprit was probably among them.

Li Qiutang then launched into a discussion, saying that the current film promotion and distribution environment is too harsh. Promotion and distribution costs are increasing year by year, almost exceeding the production costs. Not to mention, the public opinion environment is also bad. Competition in the same release period often turns into a public opinion war of mutual attacks and smears.

"The market is booming right now, and the pie is huge. We are not competitors, nor are we adversaries where one of us gets a piece while the other gets a piece. We are collaborators working together to provide audiences with a high-quality movie-watching experience."

Despite his high-sounding words, Producer Li's subordinates were quite ruthless.

On the 8th, Huayi Brothers' "Rock Dog" only had a 1.7% screening rate on at least 80 screens in the Autumn Cinema.

A single screen can screen about 6-8 movies a day, averaging five or six per 1-minute window. That means the Autumn Cinema screened 450 movies that day, with "Rock Dog" screened at most 8 times.

During the prime time slot from 6 pm to 9 pm, no matter how much other movies are paid, "Rock Dog" is not included.

You could say that there are fewer screens in cinemas in the fall and it won't have much of an impact, but it's disgusting.

Li Qiutang didn't forget to make sarcastic remarks on Weibo that night:

"They are immersed in the sunset of a bygone era, indifferent to and unwilling to care about the changes in the outside world. Fortunately, this progressive era is also inclusive, still allowing them to retreat into their own closed world, wandering the streets and alleys, carrying birdcages, speaking of rules and local customs. They are old, and their few pleasures are relying on their limited experience to tell the younger generation how awesome they were back then."

(End of this chapter)