Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 634 Booting up

However, none of the projects the company has recently started have a suitable role for Huang Xiaoming.

In fact, the company clearly felt that funds were withdrawing from the entire industry at a very rapid pace.

It's not like 12 or 13 anymore, when money from the internet, real estate, and finance sectors was pouring into the film and television industry.

The company has initiated far fewer projects this year than in the previous two years.

This is Qiu Tian's personal experience as an industry leader, which shows what the entire industry is going through.

Some of that money was withdrawn from the film industry. Damn, these moviemakers are inhuman! Investors fleece the investors, and they fleece the investors.

Some went to the lower-risk drama industry, which has been able to generate a lot of money in the past two years.

The 70th Cannes International Film Festival opened as scheduled, but there were no re-enrollments, and "The Butterfly Lovers" was not included. Chinese-language films were once again absent from the main competition.

The Butterfly Lovers ultimately suffered the backlash of its previous marketing efforts.

However, the company had anticipated this backlash. They knew that "The Butterfly Lovers" would not be able to make it to the film festival, and the supplementary marketing recording was just for marketing purposes, to promote "The Butterfly Lovers" in advance.

The fact that "The Butterfly Lovers" was not recorded for the Cannes main competition at the last minute has drawn ridicule from some netizens.

Logically speaking, "The Butterfly Lovers" shouldn't have received so much attention as a low-budget art film, but what can you do when its director is Li Qiutang and its lead actress is Liu Yifei? It even marketed itself at a film festival.

"In order to catch up with the Cannes re-recording, the post-production of 'The Butterfly Lovers' was a complete mess, resulting in poor quality and being rejected by Cannes." This is a conclusion that many netizens believed after the opening of Cannes.

Liu Yifei is a natural troublemaker; she can make up stories out of nothing, let alone this time when she actually filmed an art film that she wanted to prove her acting skills and win awards.

"This film is fundamentally a speculative film. Li Qiutang wanted to prove that he could not only make commercial films, but also be an artist. Liu Yifei wanted to prove that she was not just a pretty face, but could also play profound and complex roles. Neither of them had pure motives, so it's not surprising that it was rejected by Cannes."

However, Liu Yifei's fans continued to defend their idol: "The production team never said they were going to Cannes. The reshoots were just something the media reported. The production team only finished filming in mid-March. Two months is not enough time for post-production. No normal person would believe that there would be reshoots."

“Yifei has already achieved a breakthrough; whether or not she goes to Cannes is no longer important.”

"Your older sister can't even get a movie role, so don't talk about others. Which actress of the same age can even see Yifei's taillights?"

"Even if she can't go to Cannes, Yifei is still the number one actress born in the 80s."

"Friendly reminder: Liu Yifei still has a Hollywood blockbuster, 'Pacific Rim 2,' that hasn't been released yet. Aren't you annoyed?"

News of the Cannes opening ceremony reached China simultaneously. Besides expressing regret that Chinese-language films were once again absent from the main competition, and reporting that Fan Bingbing had finally become a Cannes jury member after a long and arduous wait, the reporter specifically mentioned:
"The reporter noticed a huge poster for 'Pacific Rim 2' hanging on a milky-white high-rise building directly opposite the Palais des Festivals, occupying a full five stories high. Liu Yifei's image was particularly prominent in the poster. This location is a must-see on the Cannes red carpet, and it can be said that everyone who comes to Cannes will inevitably encounter it. It is the highest and most expensive advertising space in Cannes."

This advertisement was, of course, purchased by Universal Pictures, which was responsible for the global marketing and distribution of "Pacific Rim 2".

A reporter speculated: "Pacific Rim 2 may hold an important press conference in Cannes."

Sure enough, Liu Yifei flew to France three days after the film festival opened. She was photographed by reporters at the Capital Airport, either to attend "Pacific Rim 2" or other related events at the film festival in Cannes.

No sooner had Liu Yifei left China than Li Qiutang held the opening ceremony for the film "The Wandering Earth" at the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis Park the very next day.

It wasn't a grand affair; in fact, you could say it was a bit shabby. There was a banner that read "Opening Ceremony of the Movie 'The Wandering Earth'," and only about twenty people were present for a group photo. Only a handful of media outlets came to cover the ceremony.

To reiterate, the most pressing issue for Chinese science fiction right now is the problem of trust.

The solution to this problem may lie with Li Qiutang, and with "The Wandering Earth".

After taking the group photo, everyone went into the studio to prepare for the filming.

The production team allowed reporters to film and report on the opening ceremony, but declined to give interviews.

An impatient reporter shouted at Li Qiutang, "Director, you just finished filming a movie, aren't you tired joining this crew so soon?!"

Li Qiutang heard this guy's shout, turned to look at the media area, and said, "I'm not tired from filming." Then he waved to the reporters and went into the studio.

Here's the highlight of the press release: "Li Qiutang's new film 'The Wandering Earth' started filming this morning at the Oriental Movie Metropolis. The film tells the story of a future... At the start of filming, director Li Qiutang was full of energy, saying that he wasn't tired as long as he had a film to shoot."

"The sci-fi blockbuster 'The Wandering Earth' held its opening ceremony this morning at the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis. Directed by Li Qiutang, the film tells the story of… According to staff from the production company, China Film Group, 'The Wandering Earth' has an investment of nearly 5 million yuan and has been in preparation for over two years. The film is expected to be released in the summer of 2019."

Unfortunately, few people read these reports, and even fewer paid attention to them. It seems that the outside world doesn't care about the start of filming for a science fiction movie.

Audiences were more interested in discussing the phenomenal box office performance of "Dangal," an Indian film that actually beat Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2"; they were also more interested in discussing why the quality of the currently airing "Ode to Joy 2" had declined so much, and why changing directors was indeed a mistake; they were also eager to see what kind of performance Fan Bingbing, who was serving as a jury member for the first time, could produce at Cannes.

Nobody cares about "The Wandering Earth".

It's just a matter of turning on the machine; Li Qiutang doesn't need anyone else to care.

Just as he said outside the studio, he's not tired when he's filming, and he's even very happy. He's currently very relaxed talking to the actors who are about to start filming.

The very first scene of "The Wandering Earth" was a major production: the main characters arrived at the ignition core of the Sulawesi III steering engine and restarted it using Li Yiyi's method, attempting to ignite Jupiter.

The set was very large, with some parts being real sets and others being green screens.

"Now this is what you call industrialization." It was also La Dong's first time visiting the "Wandering Earth" set. Looking at the dazzling setup in front of him, he thought to himself, "Now this is what you call a big production." Looking at the young director in the film set not far away, who was making various gestures to explain the upcoming filming to the actors and crew, La Dong felt that this project could really be a success.

It would be even better if Li Qiutang's salary could be reduced a little further.

After "Mojin: The Lost Legend" set a record, Li Qiutang's salary for "The Wandering Earth" became even more "excessive".

2300 million fixed salary + 15.7% full copyright revenue sharing.

This means that Li Qiutang will not only receive a share of the box office revenue, but also the copyright revenue from streaming media, merchandise, and television.

Of course, there are still strict triggering conditions: Li Qiutang can only get the 15.7% copyright share if "The Wandering Earth" reaches 20 billion yuan in box office revenue.

That's why the three production companies agreed to let Li Qiutang raise the cost to 5 million, not a penny less.

Li Qiutang signed the contract without the slightest hesitation seven months ago.

(End of this chapter)