Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 718 Suppressing You

Li Qiutang had reminded the company, and also Deputy Director Zhang Hongsen, that they shouldn't expect to replicate last year's success this summer and should be prepared for a decline in performance.

Everyone knows that after the huge success of "Wolf Warrior 2" last summer, they won't be so lucky this year.

Therefore, releasing "Jurassic World 2" in mid-June to warm up the summer movie season was a very wise move.

But the actual market was even worse than Li Qiutang and other industry professionals had imagined—the Shanghai International Film Festival, a major mid-year review event for Chinese films, had no attendees!

The booths in the exhibition center's trading market are all unrentable, and the size of the exhibiting companies and film crews is visibly decreasing.

"There are fewer and fewer film listings and events. Whether it's the speeches of industry leaders or the personal experiences of participants, you can feel that the film industry is cooling down."

Huang Jianxin lamented that this year's Shanghai International Film Festival was the quietest one he had ever attended, saying, "Once the excitement of the film festival is over, no one wants to come anymore."

Even reporters complained that they had less work this year: "In the past, there could be more than a dozen press conferences a day, and we would be rushing around to different venues. This year, there may only be three or four a day. Even the bottled water and refreshments provided to the media by the press center are not as good as last year."

As usual, Autumn Pictures participated in the exhibition and conference, but given the current environment, Autumn Pictures was not immune. However, unlike Yu Dong and Wang Zhonglei, Zhang Zhao did not talk about capital or the industry. Instead, he was the most optimistic among all the CEOs.

Zhang Zhao believes that content creators are not so easily defeated by capital.

“We have always believed that this is an inevitable law of industry development. After the rapid progress of the past five years, Chinese films will inevitably enter a period of cooling down, just like our economic development. You can’t expect to keep growing by 8% every year, that’s not scientific. During the industry’s cooling down period, we need to focus on creating solid content and accumulating energy.”

When Zhang Zhao finished speaking, Wang Zhonglei, who was on the same forum, joked, "If you gave me Li Qiutang, I would be just as optimistic."

Before the Shanghai International Film Festival opened, Feng Xiaogang's gold coin theft and laundering incident caused a great uproar and implicated Huayi Brothers. It is quite remarkable that Wang Zhonglei was still able to chat and laugh at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

Perhaps it is precisely in times like these that one must not back down. Just like how the poorer a boss is, the more high-profile and extravagant they must be, because they cannot let outsiders think they are truly poor, and they cannot let their dignity crumble.

Even a broken ship has three thousand nails. Despite the industry downturn and capital withdrawal, companies still have to hold on and release new films.

Huayi Brothers, braving the storm, took the lead and was the first to hold a press conference to announce the film slate for Project H.

"Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings" will be released on July 27th, during the summer movie season.

"Find You" has been shortlisted for the main competition at this year's Shanghai International Film Festival.

"Ash Is Purest White," directed by Jia Zhangke, will be released on September 21. It is a co-production of Huayi Brothers.

The movie "Yunnan Insect Valley" will be released during the National Day holiday.

Huayi Brothers also has three imported and co-produced films on its list, including this year's Palme d'Or winner, "Shoplifters."

Regarding "Cell Phone 2," Wang Zhonglei stated at the press conference that the film is still being shot normally and has not been affected in any way.

There's also "Bureau 749," the first film to appear on a film company's official slate, directed by Lu Chuan. Its tagline is: "A journey of redemption for humanity amidst disaster; a long reunion of two souls fighting for love."

And then there's "The Eight Hundred," a film that appeared on Huayi Brothers' film slate 15 years ago, and it's still on it now!
Wang Zhonglei probably knew that delaying the release of "The Eight Hundred" for too long would cause audience resentment, so he added an explanation this year: "The filming of 'The Eight Hundred' has been completed, and it is currently in post-production. We are striving to release it later this year, or at the latest next year."

Huayi Brothers cobbled together 20 films to create a respectable film slate.

As an industry leader, Autumn cannot simply abandon its responsibilities; no matter what, Autumn will still contribute a film slate to the Shanghai International Film Festival.

Leaving aside those released in the first half of the year, "How Long Will I Love U" grossed nearly 9 million yuan, making it the best-performing domestic film since the Spring Festival in the first half of this year.

In terms of plans alone, Autumn Pictures surpassed Huayi Brothers, announcing 21 films.

The most anticipated film is undoubtedly "The Wandering Earth." Li Qiutang announced at the press conference that the film will be released on the first day of the Lunar New Year next year.

Zhang Zhao, the keynote speaker at the press conference, proudly declared: "Chinese cinema has turned a new page since 'Wolf Warrior 2,' and another page will be turned by 'The Wandering Earth.'"

Following that are films confirmed for release this year, such as *Dying to Survive*, *Hello Mr. Billionaire*, *The Meg* (a co-production), *Hello, Mrs. Money*, *A Cool Fish*, and *Marriage Story*. Then there are some films still in preparation, with *Detective Chinatown 3* being the most important.

The attention surrounding "Detective Chinatown 3" may be even higher than that of "The Wandering Earth".

The newly confirmed film "The Beneficiary" has also been added to the film list.

There are also animated films in production or in preparation, such as "Ne Zha", "Deep Sea" and "Jiang Ziya".

After "Monkey King: Hero Is Back", Tian Xiaopeng was preparing to make "Havoc in Heaven", but this project was shelved. Tian Xiaopeng went to make "Deep Sea", so "Havoc in Heaven" was not included in the film list.

The list of 21 films ends with "Director Su Lun's work." Zhang Zhao said that the project has been approved by the company and is still a love story, a genre that Su Lun is familiar with.

Isn't the industry supposed to be in a downturn?! How come he still has 21 movies?! So I'm the only one experiencing an economic downturn?!

It's also worth noting that Autumn Pictures hasn't released "Wolf Warrior 3" yet.

After "Wolf Warrior 2", many viewers are looking forward to a third installment, and Wu Jing has also stated that there will be a third film.

But autumn was not mentioned at all today.

In an interview following the press conference, Zhang Zhao stated that not including "Wolf Warrior 3" was in full respect for director Wu Jing's wishes. He did not intend to say anything further about "Wolf Warrior 3."

Moreover, "Mulan" was not on the list of films.

“A colleague suggested I add Mulan, but I don’t think it’s necessary. We are just a co-producer of Mulan in China and do not participate in the film’s investment and distribution. This film will definitely be released as a revenue-sharing film, which has nothing to do with our company, so I won’t include it.”

On the other side, Li Qiutang was also talking at length about the post-production work of "The Wandering Earth" and the release of "Marriage Story".

This is Li Qiutang's first public appearance since Cannes.

Li Qiutang smiled and said, "I think I've done right by winning the Best Actress award for Yifei, and I've also done right by her fans."

After Liu Yifei won the Best Actress award, no one questioned whether Li Qiutang was a good match for the "Fairy Sister" anymore.

"I won't comment too much. Just go to the cinema to see it when it's released. I believe everyone's opinion of Yifei's acting will change a lot. If I praise her, it will sound like I'm just bragging." Li Qiutang was in a good mood today. "Even from the perspective of a director, Yifei is a very serious and hardworking actress who deserves everyone's love."

"Some netizens said that you lost to 'Shoplifters' by one vote, otherwise you would have won the Palme d'Or. Are you aware of this claim?"

Li Qiutang really didn't know.

"This year's Cannes Film Festival is full of masters, and as a newcomer, I really didn't dream of winning the Palme d'Or. 'Shoplifters' was very good. My personal regret is about 'Burning,' which was truly perfect in every aspect, it's such a pity."

When talking about "The Wandering Earth", Li Qiutang had even more to say.

"We're still in post-production. We'll set a release date, and if everyone works together in this direction, we'll be more efficient."

"I believe it will surprise everyone then."

"It's not Hollywood-style apocalyptic sci-fi; it will definitely be different."

A reporter dug up something he said 16 years ago, in which Li Qiutang said that Hollywood-style blockbusters would be abandoned by Chinese audiences within the next 3-5 years: "Do you still think so now?"

"Yes." Since you want to know, I'll just say it directly: "Six of the top ten films at the mainland box office last year were domestic films, which speaks volumes."

"Aren't there four more Hollywood movies?"

“There are only three Hollywood films, and one of them is an Indian film,” Li Qiutang said. “It will take time for domestic films to gain the upper hand. My prediction from 2016 will not change, and I still believe it now.”

(End of this chapter)