Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 598: Filming in Progress

"Director Li Qiutang's new film 'The Butterfly Lovers' recently started filming smoothly in a residential area in Yanjing. All the main creators attended the opening ceremony. The ceremony was brief and simple, but full of substance. Director Li Qiutang revealed that this film was a project he felt he absolutely had to make, even stating that all the work he had accumulated over the past ten years was for this 'The Butterfly Lovers.' The picture shows director Li Qiutang and screenwriter Li Qiang posing for a photo at the opening ceremony."

"Li Qiutang's new film 'The Butterfly Lovers' has started filming. Liu Yifei is making her debut in an art film and says she's not too worried. Liu Yifei's co-star in 'The Butterfly Lovers' is Qin Hao, with whom she has previously worked. Liu Yifei said she feels very reassured, and with the couple working together, she believes they can achieve great success. The start of filming was on a weekend, and many of Liu Yifei's fans came to the scene to cheer for their idol, presenting the 'Fairy Sister' with flowers and postcards."

Liu Yifei said she wasn't worried and felt at ease, but Li Qiutang was not at ease with her.

I talked to her on the very first day the machine started, so I should talk to my own wife even more.

"What did you do for the past two months while experiencing life? You just did the experience, but didn't you summarize and digest it yourself?" Li Qiutang was somewhat disappointed with Liu Yifei's performance. He had taught her a lot, but the result she gave today still did not satisfy him.

"Don't bring your genre film acting style here. I want the raw, unpolished feel of life. Do you know what raw, unpolished feel is?" Li Qiutang came to the set to instruct Liu Yifei on her acting. "Why do we say that art originates from life but transcends it? The reality of life and the reality of art are two different kinds of reality. You are playing a real person in life, so your reactions have to be real. But now you are acting, so you have to learn to control it and learn to express it. Art is generalized; it is abstract."

"The best performances are always controlled."

Liu Yifei listened attentively. She knew that once her husband entered the film set, he would become oblivious to his family and friends, and everything he did had to serve the filming. She was his wife and the female lead of the film, so Li Qiutang's expectations of her would only be higher than usual.

Liu Yifei could only obediently accept the scolding.

Li Qiutang took out her wireless monitor and showed Liu Yifei the footage she had just shot.

"See? The performance is superficial and lacks depth. Life is about experiencing things, but after experiencing them, you need to be good at summarizing and extracting inspiration for your performance."

After Li Qiutang finished speaking, he left Liu Yifei on set to think and went back to the director's chair to wait for filming to resume.

“Don’t say that about Yifei,” Xi Meijuan said, sitting next to him. “This is her first time taking on such a complex role, and she’s young, so it’s inevitable that there will be things she doesn’t do well. Give her some time.”

"We need to find some ways to correct her bad acting habits." Li Qiutang had very high expectations for herself and the actors in this production.

After years of training, if I had to give her a score, Liu Yifei's acting skills could be consistently around 70 points. She can accurately portray most roles on the market, and when she's in good form, she might even reach over 80 points. She has highlights and deserves the title of a powerful actress, and she could even make it to film festivals.

But this is not Li Qiutang's requirement for "The Butterfly Lovers". Even now, the Zhu Xiaoyan in his mind is still the image of 28-year-old Zhang Manyu. And 28-year-old Zhang Manyu is already the Berlin Film Festival Best Actress, having evolved into the ultimate and complete form.

Li Qiutang's high standards are not only directed at Liu Yifei; he is equally demanding of other actors.

Qin Hao and Xi Meijuan are both seasoned veterans, and they are often ruthlessly eliminated by Li Qiutang.

As a result, a week into filming "The Butterfly Lovers," not a single usable clip was approved.

If this kind of efficiency had happened two years ago when filming "Mojin: The Lost Legend," Li Qiutang would have been furious. But this time, Li Qiutang didn't get angry. Instead, he said, "Let's consider last week as a test shoot. Let's work together to improve our efficiency."

Li Qiutang also reflected on his own shortcomings, saying that he hadn't filmed for over a year and this was his first time making an art film, so he might be a little rusty and not very efficient. He said it didn't matter, he wouldn't rush and would take his time.

Li Qiutang led the actors through a painful adjustment period on set, while fierce competition also took place in the market.

The debate surrounding right and wrong and monopoly sparked by Feng Xiaogang's appeal did not last long. "I Am Not Madame Bovary" has grossed nearly 3 million yuan since its release, which, in reality, is not a particularly good result for someone with Feng Xiaogang's established reputation.

The previous verbal sparring between Feng Xiaogang and Wan Da was believed to be due to a bet between Feng Xiaogang and Huayi Brothers, and the pressure to meet performance targets led him to take a risky move.

However, as the box office of "I Am Not Madame Bovary" rose, Huayi Brothers' board secretary revealed in an interview with financial media that Feng Xiaogang had already achieved the performance target he promised for 2016, so there was no reason for netizens to speculate that it was due to pressure from the performance-based agreement.

This year, betting agreements have attracted particular attention. Huayi Brothers made bets with Feng Xiaogang and Zhang Guoli, sparking speculation in the industry that Huayi Brothers was neglecting its core business.

Such a keen interest in betting on financial instruments might lead investors to believe that the company is not focusing on its core business innovation and is instead using financial means to generate profits. The decline in Huayi Film & Television's core business profits also indirectly confirms this suspicion.

Therefore, Huayi's board secretary has been particularly busy these past two years, working to calm market sentiment.

In particular, this year Huayi spent a huge sum of 7.56 million yuan to acquire 70% of the equity of a partnership company owned by Li Chen, Chen He, Zheng Kai, Yang Ying and others. The company's net assets were only 10 million yuan, so the premium was 100 times.

The performance-based agreement stipulates that the net profit after tax for this year shall not be less than 9000 million yuan. In the following four years, the celebrity shareholders promise that the performance target for each year will be 15% higher than the net profit target promised in the previous year. During the agreement period, the celebrity shareholders will not violate relevant laws and regulations and will not become the target of "blacklisting" by the broadcasting industry management department.

The next addition is particularly interesting.

However, the 100-fold premium still sparked speculation about the transfer of benefits.

Huayi Brothers is rife with problems, and covering up these contradictions and issues requires huge box office success. If Huayi can produce several blockbuster films this year, grossing 10 billion or 20 billion yuan, then no one will accuse Huayi of gambling and transferring benefits.

But this is exactly the kind of project that Huayi is lacking this year.

Just when it seemed that the guaranteed box office for "Pan Jinlian" was about to fail, the release of two blockbusters, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Moana," made matters worse.

But it doesn't matter, since Huayi has already received 2 million, and if the minimum guarantee fails, it's Yaolai's fault.

"Good, very good." Li Qiutang's voice came from behind the bulky, dark monitor. The actors were delighted to hear this; they had finally passed.

"We'll protect one."

The actors' faces fell again.

"Director, someone is looking for you."

Li Qiutang impatiently put down the walkie-talkie and said, "Didn't you say we weren't allowed to visit the set? Why are you letting people in again?"

“It’s not a set visit,” the assistant said. “Guo Fan and Gong Ge’er are here. They said they have something to discuss with you about Mulan.”

Zhang Zhao and Chen Zhixi usually handled the issues related to "Mulan," so they didn't need to involve Li Qiutang. Guo Fan arriving with his best friend meant they must have encountered something difficult. Li Qiutang then announced a short break for the crew and left temporarily.

(End of this chapter)