Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 607 Olive Branch

After Christmas, the crew of "The Butterfly Lovers" finished filming in Changping and moved to an indoor set built in a studio in Huairou.

Once in Huairou, Li Qiutang will be able to better balance her work on "The Wandering Earth".

The film crew can also save a considerable amount on accommodation costs, as the Autumn Film Studio building is provided to the crew free of charge, but the crew still has to pay for their own meals.

Filming for "The Butterfly Lovers" has been underway for a month and a half, but the actors' condition has not improved. They are still filming slowly under Li Qiutang's high demands.

The producer was extremely anxious, but even if he had eighteen times the courage, he wouldn't dare to urge Li Qiutang. He could only subtly suggest that the production team should improve their efficiency.

But Li Qiutang continued to do things her own way, filming as she pleased, ignoring the producer's requests.

On the first day of filming in Huairou, Li Qiutang took it out on his wife, criticizing her for not making any progress after more than a month of filming: "You've said it all before, it's pointless."

Only Li Qiutang would talk to her like that; other directors wouldn't. But Liu Yifei was sensible. She held out her hand and said, "Director, give me five minutes." She knew Li Qiutang was doing it for her own good. No matter how difficult it was, she had to grit her teeth and finish the film. Otherwise, she would really become what Li Qiutang said: "a mediocre actress for life."

Liu Yifei refused to let the makeup artist touch up her makeup or let her assistant fan her or bring her water. She sat alone on the sofa on set, head down, without saying a word.

After sitting for a while, he stood up and paced around the set, looking at this and touching that, trying to find his best state.

Li Qiutang approached the camera operator and discussed the camera setup with him.

"Director, Mr. Jon is here," his assistant called from behind.

Li Qiutang turned around and saw a bald foreigner standing next to her assistant.

"Bonjour, Lee," Jon said with a smile, taking the initiative to greet Li Qiutang.

"Bonjour." The two shook hands.

Despite years of practice, Li Qiutang's French was still terrible, and she rarely had the opportunity to speak it. Qiao En could speak a few broken Chinese phrases, but the two still communicated in English.

Christian Jon, Film Director and Asian Programmer at the Cannes Film Festival.

His visit to the set was quite obvious; he wanted to see the quality of "The Butterfly Lovers" and see if it could be taken to Cannes.

Li Qiutang is not active in the arts and culture circle, but Cannes executives such as Jon, Jacob, and Frémaux know him and are all interested in bringing him into the Cannes camp.

Of the three major European film festivals, only Cannes intentionally cultivates its own affiliated film groups. Of course, Cannes does not prohibit its affiliated film groups from participating in other film festivals.

Li Qiutang is only 32 years old. Other directors at this age are just starting out, but Li Qiutang is undoubtedly a very mature director who has achieved remarkable results.

Euro3 may look down on North American awards, but winning the Ballon d'Or at the age of 27 is something that can certainly make Euro3 take notice.

Unfortunately, after winning the Golden Globe Award, Li Qiutang did not continue to delve into art films. Even films like "In Time," which use genre conventions to package serious themes, were no longer made by Li Qiutang.

Therefore, Ou San could not find a good opportunity to contact Li Qiutang.

"The Butterfly Lovers" was a great start, and the project had just been launched and promoted in Cannes, selling several million dollars in pre-sales.

Jon guessed that Li Qiutang should be finishing filming soon, so he couldn't wait to visit the set and watch the film after Christmas.

As a result, Li Qiutang told him on set: "The film is not even half finished, and it will not be able to make it to the Cannes Film Festival next May."

Jon couldn't understand the Chinese script, but he could understand the storyboard on the blackboard next to the monitor. It was a familiar story with lines and multi-layered spatial narratives.

Cannes closes its application process in March each year, and the shortlist for each section is announced gradually one month before the opening ceremony.

Even if Li Qiutang had eight hands, she wouldn't make it to next year's film festival. But Joe still wanted to get Li Qiutang to Cannes, because if he let "The Butterfly Lovers" go, Venice in August would definitely try to recruit her.

Although Li Qiutang isn't quite so popular that it would cause the selectors of the three major film festivals to fight, she's still worth trying to win over.

Therefore, the condition that Joe Chen offered Li Qiutang was that the deadline for submitting "The Butterfly Lovers" didn't matter. As long as Li Qiutang submitted the film to the film festival committee 10 days before the opening of the film festival—which was the maximum deadline Joe Chen could give—the committee would add it to the list.

As for which unit it will be added to, we'll have to wait and see.

To be honest, Jon's offer was quite generous, giving Li Qiutang a lot of face.

The producer, who could understand English, almost wanted to agree on behalf of the director when he heard what Jon said.

What's there to hesitate about? The Cannes selectors are personally pulling strings, why not go?
Even if it doesn't make it into the main competition, it's still not bad to be in the Un Certain Regard section. Next year is Cannes' 70th anniversary, and the scale of the event will definitely be huge. "The Butterfly Lovers" can get the most exposure in Cannes.

The conditions were really good, but after thinking about it, Li Qiutang said, "The time is too tight. Even if I can finish filming in March, I won't be able to finish post-production in two months. I want to take the film to Cannes, but I won't compromise on post-production just to go to Cannes."

Jon knew Li Qiutang had a point, so he didn't press the issue. "I hope you won't agree to Venice's request," he said, his pride prevented him from uttering such harsh words.

While Li Qiutang and Qiao En were talking, everything on set was ready, and Liu Yifei had also adjusted her mindset, just waiting for the director's order.

She stayed on set the whole time. Even though she was told that Cannes film selector Jon had come to visit the set and wanted to invite Li Qiutang to take "The Butterfly Lovers" to Cannes, she didn't go out. She just quietly waited for the director to call "action".

Jon sat next to Li Qiutang and watched Liu Yifei on the set on his monitor. He exclaimed in surprise, "I know her, Lucy."

The movie "Lucy" is so popular that far more people abroad call her Lucy than Crystal.

"She is a very good actress, and it was a wise choice for you to cast her in your film."

The staff around him who understood laughed and reminded him, "Sir, Lucy is the director's wife."

How would foreigners know that Liu Yifei is already married!
"Oh!" Jon exclaimed in surprise, "Really?!"

Li Qiutang smiled.

“You married a beautiful woman,” Jon said.

“Of course.” Li Qiutang nodded, picked up the walkie-talkie, and said, “All departments, get ready. The director of the Cannes Film Festival is sitting next to me now. Do your best.”

The director on set shouted, "Quiet! Ready—Action!"

Jon couldn't understand the Chinese dialogue, but he could understand the acting and filming.

He keenly noticed that Liu Yifei's temperament was different from the temperament he had seen in "Lucy" and "Pacific Rim".

To foreigners, Liu Yifei isn't exactly a fairy-like beauty, though she's still beautiful.

In the film "The Butterfly Lovers," Liu Yifei, in Joe Chen's own words, is "trying to portray life itself, rather than the female warrior she is already adept at."

As for whether it's good or bad, the clip is too short to tell.

Liu Yifei's self-adjustment had a certain effect, and the effect was obviously different this time.

"Good, very good. Yifei, keep it up. Let's do one more take." Li Qiutang's ruthless voice came through the assistant director's walkie-talkie to Liu Yifei.

(End of this chapter)