Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 653 Wu Jingjin Group
After breaking the record set by The Mermaid, Wolf Warrior 2 continues its meteoric rise, showing no signs of slowing down.

On the 11th, after 16 days in theaters, it grossed 40 billion.

19号下午5点46分，上映24天，《战狼2》毫无悬念地站上50亿大关。

After "Wolf Warrior 2" broke records, some enthusiastic viewers calculated how much money Wu Jing could make from the film.

Including his personal salary, his company's investment share, and the share he receives after the box office reaches its target, netizens say Wu Jing could personally earn at least 5 million yuan.

This figure was denied by Chen Zhixi, who recently made a high-profile appearance. She laughed and said, "It's too early to calculate now, but it shouldn't be that little."

With "Wolf Warrior 2" making such a high profile, Autumn Pictures CEO Zhang Zhao has also been very high-profile recently, as has Vice President of Production Chen Zhixi.

There's nothing they can do; their achievements speak for themselves, and reporters won't let them off the hook even if they don't want to be high-profile.

However, it's not appropriate to talk about money and profits in public like this, so Chen Zhixi didn't want to say too much about it. The profit-sharing figures are company secrets, so it's not convenient to say more.

Regarding the recent drop in Autumn Pictures' stock price from a surge to 700 billion, since Chen Zhixi is not in charge of this matter, she simply said, "Everyone should view this rationally and invest rationally," and that was all.

After discussing "Wolf Warrior 2," Chen Zhixi was asked about the progress of "The Butterfly Lovers" and the re-recording in Venice, which is always within Chen Zhixi's scope of responsibility.

Did "The Butterfly Lovers" really receive an official invitation from the Venice Film Festival for additional screenings?

I did receive it, but I can't say. Because even Chen Zhixi herself doesn't know how far along the post-production of "The Butterfly Lovers" has progressed.

Chen Zhixi said, "Please refer to the official announcements for accurate information."

What has Director Li been up to lately?

Such a large film crew is in Qingdao; it seems that "The Wandering Earth" is truly not getting any attention.

"He's filming in Qingdao, but the crew has been too busy to allow the media to visit the set, so people don't know."

The key question is: "With Director Zhang Yimou terminating his contract with LeEco, will your company consider signing him?"

"Huh?" Chen Zhixi was puzzled by the question. "Is Director Zhang going to terminate the contract?" At least she hadn't heard any news about it.

"Given LeEco's current situation, they'll probably terminate the contract," the reporter said.

"Let's talk about it after the contract is terminated. Many people in our company, including myself, are fans of Director Zhang and want to work with him." Could this be considered an ambiguous response that Autumn Pictures might consider signing Zhang Yimou?
But in reality, this is just rhetoric. Zhang Yimou is very capable; he would be a guest of honor at any film company.

However, each company has its own development path and pace, which will not be easily changed.

Zhang Yimou terminated his contract with LeEco, so why didn't Huayi Brothers sign him? Why didn't Bona Film Group sign him? Why didn't Guangxian Media sign him? These three companies are known for signing directors.

Liking someone is one thing, being a movie fan is another, but to be honest, I haven't really considered signing Zhang Yimou this fall.

Huayi relies on the Beijing art circle, Bona relies on the Hong Kong art circle, Qiutian relies on Li Qiutang, and the young directors gathered through the Santianshu Project over many years.

Among the directors signed by several companies, the average age of the directors in the "Autumn Series" is definitely the youngest.

Chen Zhixi later came to inquire about the progress of "The Butterfly Lovers". Instead of asking Li Qiutang, she contacted the editor and learned that the film had only completed a rough cut two days ago. According to the editor's estimate, it should be able to complete all the post-production work of "The Butterfly Lovers" in another two months. Chen Zhixi knew that Li Qiutang did not take the reshoots in Venice seriously at all.

However, as the crew of "The Wandering Earth" gets busier and busier, Chen Zhixi estimates that two months may not be enough, and it would be considered fast if they could finish "The Butterfly Lovers" by the end of this year.

If they don't want to record it, they don't want to record it. The company didn't have high expectations for "The Butterfly Lovers" anyway.

"Come on, welcome Jing-ge to the crew!" Li Qiutang led the applause. Good heavens, we've been waiting for Wu Jing for ages!

"Sorry, sorry, I should have arrived earlier." Wu Jing bowed to everyone in apology. He had just finished the last stop of the promotion for "Wolf Warrior 2" yesterday and rushed to Qingdao without stopping. He then said to his assistant, "Come on, distribute the drinks I brought to everyone."

The assistant director even had to shout to Wu Jing, "Brother Jing is treating everyone to drinks, thank you Brother Jing."

While taking a break to drink a beverage, Wu Jing walked behind the monitor and asked, "What scene am I in?"

Wu Jing still doesn't know what he'll be filming later.

"If we don't film you today, you'll have to do location shooting tomorrow."

Tomorrow we'll be filming a scene on the beach with Wu Jing, Wu Mengda, and Xiao Liuqi. The location is Lingshan Bay, and this is one of the few outdoor scenes for the entire "The Wandering Earth" crew.

"We feel like we're in prison every day in the shed. Only when you come do we have a chance to go out for some fresh air." That's no exaggeration.

Li Qiutang then asked Wu Jing, "Will you need to have surgery later?"

Wu Jing knew what Li Qiutang was worried about, and said, "I'll have surgery after I finish filming here. I'll be fine after two months of rest."

He patted his leg and said, "It's an old problem, not serious, it'll be fine after I finish."

If you don't have any injuries, how can you call yourself an action actor?
My partner films one movie a year, and he's always injured.

As we were chatting, today's actors arrived.

Wang Zhi arrived, all made up.

"Director." She was quite simple, coming alone without a bag or assistant. "What scene do I have later? How will it be filmed?"

"What did Zhixi tell you?" It was Chen Zhixi who arranged all the cameo appearances for him.

“Zhixi just told me she was coming to do a role in one of your plays, but I didn’t ask what kind of play it was,” Wang Zhi said.

“It’s okay, you can just lie there for a bit.” Then she pointed to Wu Jing, “You two are a couple. You die of cancer, and your son is left to your husband and father to raise. Teacher Wu Mengda will play your father. Your husband is a soldier and an astronaut. He went to space to carry out a mission when your son was very young, so your son is left to be raised by his maternal grandfather. It’s that simple.”

That's all Wang Zhi needs to know.

"Okay, let's get started." That's easy.

As a result, Wang Zhi came and left on the same day, lying there without uttering a single line, and the filming was over once he was put in a box.

Wang Zhi didn't complain. He happily accepted the flowers the director presented him, hugged the director, and left.

Wang Zhi's position as an actress is actually a bit awkward. She has representative roles and the audience recognizes her, but she doesn't get many jobs, so she has to spend some time doing favors.

Go to various events, try out different shows, get to know more people, make more friends—who knows, someone might call you someday.

That's how she came to the "Wandering Earth" crew. She was going to play Li Qiutang's role, whether it was a chance or not. It was just a one-day gig anyway. If she didn't get paid, she didn't get paid. It was worth spending a day getting to know Li Qiutang. Who knows, she might think of Wang Zhi, who helped her with her previous projects, when she starts a new project in the future. "Wang Zhi is pretty good. Let her try this project."

Many opportunities in this industry come about this way.

The next morning, the crew of "The Wandering Earth" left the Oriental Movie Metropolis Industrial Park for the first time to go out and film on location.

(End of this chapter)