Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 635 The Art of Harvesting, Activated!
The attempt to re-enact "The Butterfly Lovers" at Cannes failed, but Liu Yifei is currently in Cannes—isn't this a perfect opportunity?

The journalists who went to Cannes to cover the event were fairly well-mannered and didn't deliberately make things difficult for Liu Yifei, but they still asked all the questions they were supposed to.

"It was previously said that 'The Butterfly Lovers' was being rushed into recording for Cannes, so why wasn't that possible?"

Since the "supplementary recording failed", there are some things that can be said.

Liu Yifei said, "As far as I know, the post-production of 'The Butterfly Lovers' has been very slow because the director has another film to prepare. Back when the Cannes film selector came to visit the set, the director refused his invitation. I don't know why he said he wanted to reshoot for Cannes recently."

The actress is also the director's wife; the official response confirms that it is.

That's enough for the response; the next question is:
Have you ever thought about bringing "The Butterfly Lovers" to Cannes?

Liu Yifei was also straightforward, saying, "Of course I've thought about it, but there really isn't enough time. Which film festival to go to is up to the director and the company, so I'll just follow their arrangements."

"The Butterfly Lovers" is still in post-production. I only asked a couple of questions from reporters. The focus is still on "Pacific Rim 2" and Liu Yifei's other schedules in Cannes.

Pacific Rim 2 has bought the most expensive advertising space in Cannes and held a grand press conference on the beach in Cannes last night, bringing the first trailer for Pacific Rim 2 to movie fans around the world, which is also its release date announcement.

World premiere on November 17th!

A blockbuster of this caliber should have had its release date set at the very beginning of its development, but due to a dispute between Legendary and Universal at the time, the production team faced a shortage of funds and almost couldn't start filming.

Finally, Autumn Films stepped in to save the day, but the original start date for filming had already been delayed, so the production team stopped announcing a new release date until now.

In the second film, Liu Yifei's role was upgraded from "the male lead's female comrade-in-arms" to "a heroine who turns the tide," becoming the absolute lead actress. Liu Yifei expressed her gratitude to director Guillermo del Toro for this change: "He's a very serious person. If he wants to make a story like this, he has to make it. No one can change his mind. He has an artistic temperament." Del Toro's almost obsessive insistence on making her the lead actress was interpreted by Liu Yifei as "artistic temperament," something she naturally had to praise.

"When filming wrapped up, I gave him a Chinese sword. The director is very interested in mecha, monsters, weapons and the like. Yesterday at the press conference, he asked me to send him two videos of him practicing swordsmanship, saying he wanted to learn a couple of moves. The director is a very fun person, haha."

Regarding its domestic release, Liu Yifei gave a definite answer on the spot: "It will be imported, but I don't know if it will be released simultaneously on the 17th."

Liu Yifei wasn't too busy in Cannes. After attending the press conference for the release date announcement of "Chang'e 2", she participated in two more events in Cannes and planned to leave two days before the closing ceremony.

As soon as I got off the hotel elevator, I ran into a group of domestic reporters.

There was no formal interview scheduled, but the reporters kept taking pictures and chatting with Liu Yifei as they did so: "Are you leaving?" The reporters noticed Liu Yifei's staff pushing a suitcase.

"Yes," Liu Yifei said, wearing a hat, "I've finished all my work and have to head back. When are you leaving?"

"We have to stay until the film festival ends."

"Oh, thank you for your hard work."

"What work will you have after returning to China?" The reporter wanted to know Liu Yifei's schedule.

"I had some filming work, and then I rested." Seeing the van that was supposed to pick her up arrive, Liu Yifei waved goodbye to the reporters, "I'll be going now. Be careful in Cannes, bye-bye."

"Wow, so beautiful." Even after Liu Yifei left, a reporter couldn't resist praising her, "Who do you think pursued whom back then?"

Would someone like Liu Yifei actively pursue someone?

"Too."

While Liu Yifei was struggling to adjust to the time difference after a 12-hour flight to Shanghai, Director Li was still working hard in the studio at Oriental Movie Metropolis.

Filming for "The Wandering Earth" has been underway for a week, and the progress is quite good. Li Qiutang is still more adept at shooting commercial films.

The bigger the film crew and the more people there are, the more excited he becomes.

Even though the female lead, Zhao Jinmai, had little acting experience and required constant instruction, he was very patient. "Director, they're here," the assistant announced.

"Who's coming?"

"Director Ning Hao."

"Oh? What's he here for?" Li Qiutang hadn't been notified in advance.

As they were talking, Ning Hao and his men entered the tent. Upon seeing Li Qiutang, he quickly stepped forward to shake her hand and said with a smile, "Long time no see, long time no see."

Li Qiutang also politely said it had been a long time.

The two had indeed not seen each other for a long time. Ning Hao debuted earlier than Li Qiutang, but both of them became famous in 06.

However, the two did not have much interaction and rarely contacted each other.

Of the three outstanding young talents in Chinese cinema, Lu Chuan is gone, leaving only the other two.

Ning Hao also started his own Bad Monkey Pictures, and also learned from the Towering Tree Project to create a Bad Monkey 72 Transformations Young Director Support Program.

He is also the co-founder and one of the shareholders of Dong's Huanxi Media, making him a player in the film and capital market.

Li Qiutang and her company, Qiutian, are not exactly at odds with Huanxi Media—they don't have any real animosity, and the money they paid for the Lost series was fair—it's more accurate to say they go their separate ways and don't bother each other.

However, neither company interferes with the private interactions of their employees, so it's not surprising that Li Qiutang and Ning Hao know and interact with each other.

Ning Hao's visit to the "Wandering Earth" film crew was indeed a spur-of-the-moment decision. He came to the Oriental Movie Metropolis today to look at the locations and did not know beforehand that Li Qiutang was filming here. When the park staff introduced him, they mentioned: "Director Li Qiutang is currently filming in our park."

Ning Hao then came to take a look.

Upon hearing this, Li Qiutang understood and said, "It seems our crew isn't famous enough."

After chatting for a while, Li Qiutang took Ning Hao to visit the film crew. He learned that Ning Hao was also preparing a science fiction film, which reminded him of "Crazy Alien".

Adapted from Liu Cixin's novel "The Rural Teacher".

In terms of film industrialization, Li Qiutang is clearly ahead of Ning Hao. The various novel equipment and the level of teamwork of the "Wandering Earth" crew have broadened Ning Hao's horizons.

Li Qiutang doesn't keep such things to herself; she shows them to others openly and honestly.

Li Qiutang explained to him, "We're filming in two parts, first the ground scenes and then the space scenes." She also showed him the special effects images of the Navigator space station and the interior design plan.

Ning Hao asked to see the set of the space station, but unfortunately, the set for the space scene had not yet been set up, and many props were still being made and would not be able to be delivered for several months.

"My movie also features spacesuits and space capsules, and yours is pretty good."

Li Qiutang laughed and said, "I spent the money. Our production manager comes to check the accounts with me every day, telling me to be more frugal."

Li Qiutang took Ning Hao to the adjacent photography studio to see the underground city scenery that they would be using next.

"You've really made this underground city feel real," Ning Hao said, quite pleased with the scene. "There's even a barbecue stall."

"People still need to eat, drink, and relieve themselves, right?" Li Qiutang suddenly had a sudden realization and asked, "How about you play the role of the owner of this barbecue restaurant for me?"

(End of this chapter)