Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 731 Walking the Pancake
Aunt Men wasn't actually doing very well.

Five years ago, "The Grandmaster" made her a triple crown actress, but it doesn't seem to have saved her career.

In the five years since, apart from playing the female lead in episodic films like "The Wasted Times" and "Forever Young," all of Zhang Ziyi's other films have flopped.

Let alone leading lady dramas, even second lead actresses like Gong Er are no longer available in the market.

In addition, her attempt to transition into producing in the first few years failed, and frankly speaking, she can only play supporting roles or guest appearances now.

But to say that would be to belittle Aunt Men. She hasn't been idle in the past four or five years. She has produced no less than one work, and she has also gotten married and had children.

She also became a mentor on an acting-themed variety show and starred in a TV series.

"Your TV series has finished filming?" Zhang Ziyi's decision to film a TV series is truly remarkable, causing a great stir in the industry.

If it weren't for Zhang Ziyi's descent to earth, no TV drama production team would dare to approach Liu Yifei. Of course, Liu Yifei's team firmly refused TV dramas. They don't lack roles, so why should they lower themselves?

"No, I just took a few days off to attend the film festival."

"If you ask me, your TV series is really taking a lot of time. Filming started in February, and it's been more than half a year, and it's still not finished?"

"Well, good things come to those who wait." Zhang Ziyi seemed quite happy filming this movie.

"What's it like filming a TV series?" Sorry, Li Qiutang has never filmed a TV series, so he can't understand what it's like to film several pages a day.

But Zhang Ziyi felt that Li Qiutang was making fun of her, though she didn't think Li Qiutang meant any harm. So she said, "It's really different from filming a movie. I wasn't used to it at first. I hadn't even gotten into the zone when the director approved it." Zhang Ziyi was probably only talking about minor issues; she wouldn't complain to Li Qiutang about the more uncomfortable parts.

But since she took the job and received so much money from the production team, it's basic professional ethics to do the job well. Zhang Ziyi certainly has that kind of awareness.

The two chatted as they ate, and Li Qiutang originally thought that they had just met by chance at the restaurant and were having a pleasant chat.

It wasn't until Zhang Ziyi mentioned the story of the female reporter that Li Qiutang had told her a few days earlier that Li Qiutang realized she was just trying to get something for nothing.

Li Qiutang didn't think anything of it. Resources in the industry are very scarce. The higher up an artist is, the scarcer the resources are. The ones with the most resources are actually the average artists. They don't pick and choose roles. They can work 300 days a year.

It's the norm in this industry for everyone to strive for success.

But Li Qiutang really couldn't promise her anything. He did want to do this story, but he calculated that he couldn't do it in a short time—at least 10 years.

Unless someone takes over "The Wandering Earth," but it's unlikely that the investors would agree to it even if they were beaten to death.

Zhang Ziyi has had many opportunities with Li Qiutang. She was considered for roles in "In Time" and recently she also tried to get a role in "Marriage Story".

Li Qiutang didn't hide anything from her: "I can't film this story in a short time."

Li Qiutang's computer contains at least 20 demos. Some of these stories might be filmed, while others might not be filmed at all. Even Li Qiutang himself doesn't know.

"It's alright." Zhang Ziyi smiled. Actors have to be prepared for long-term opportunities like this. She even joked, "You can't be biased and give this film to your Yifei again."

"That's hard to say. If she sees it, I won't be able to handle her," Li Qiutang laughed. "Hey, didn't Chen Kexin have a film role for you?"

"You're quite well-informed," Zhang Ziyi laughed. The project "The Killer in the Sauce Shop" has been in preparation since 15, but not many people know about it now. "It's still in progress, and we don't know when filming will start."

In 2015, Chen Kexin saw the story and contacted Zhang Ziyi, confirming her as the female lead. Zhang Ziyi also liked the story very much. However, three years have passed, and not only has the production team not been assembled, but Zhang Ziyi has not even seen the final draft of the script. She is now in a state of uncertainty about the "Jiangyuan Lane Murderer" project.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to Li Qiutang to try my luck.

The Changchun Film Festival closed on Sunday. Adhering to its new mission of promoting film industrialization, this year's festival awarded Best Film to "Operation Red Sea," but Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay, and Best First Feature all went to "Dying to Survive." The Changchun Film Festival maintained its principle of no ties except in extreme cases, and Tang Lijun personally supervised the final voting, firmly rejecting any possible tie.

It was also after the Changchun Film Festival that rumors began circulating within the industry about Li Qiutang's journalist film project.

"Li Qiutang revealed at the Changchun Film Festival that she is preparing a realistic film about a female reporter risking her life to expose the dark side of the industry. The subject matter is very sensitive, but it is still unknown what kind of story Li Qiutang will write. Since the film was revealed, it has attracted the attention of female stars in the industry, and many people have taken the initiative to follow up on the film."

Li Qiutang has indeed received many messages from actors, agents, and film and television company bosses in the past few days, asking him about the film.

"Li Qiutang said at the Changchun Film Festival that the new film only has an idea and has not yet formed a story, but many actors have already taken action."

"Li Qiutang's new film is targeting investigative journalists. The film will take three to five years to prepare, but many actors have already taken notice. Almost every actress over 30 years old that you can think of is trying to send Li Qiutang information."

"Li Qiutang's new film has been revealed, and Zhang Ziyi has been confirmed as the female lead."

Two days later, it was said that the female lead was being contacted by Zhou Xun, and some even said that Li Qiutang was preparing to use a newcomer this time.

Anyway, there is anything to say.

I swear to God! This pancake was definitely not made by Li Qiutang.

He himself had no idea how the news had spread like this.

He made it very clear at the Changchun Film Festival that at present, there is only an idea, no story, and no script. Whether it can be filmed in Chengdu is another matter. It is too early to talk about making a film.

But this thing can't be simply categorized as good or bad.

Li Qiutang was speechless.

“These past few days have been stressful for me. Whenever someone I don’t usually talk to contacts me, the first thing I want to say is, ‘I’m just bragging about my new movie. There’s no script, no funding, no preparation, no actors needed, and I don’t even know when filming will start.’”

His colleagues found it funny.

“Our company has received a lot of inquiries like this recently. When we tell them that we haven’t started preparations, they don’t believe us. They think we look down on them and are unwilling to reveal the real information to them. It’s really frustrating for us.”

Chen Zhixi said, "That's your fault for being so quick to speak. Why did you say something that didn't exist? Hirokazu Kore-eda's new film will start filming in two months. Why are you getting involved?"

Li Qiutang said helplessly, "If I had known it would turn out like this, I wouldn't have said anything."

Actually, it's not really Li Qiutang's fault.

Li Qiutang's films have always been considered to not promote actors. Although Huang Xiaoming won the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor and Li Bingbing won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress for "The Message," many years have passed since then.

But the bad thing is that Liu Yifei won the Best Actress award this year.

You managed to turn someone with acting skills like Liu Yifei into a Cannes Best Actress winner? That's outrageous!
As a result, Li Qiutang's films became even more sought after by actors.

However, they overlooked the fact that Liu Yifei was only there to eat, drink, and sleep with Director Li, and that she would have his child in two years. It was only after years of close training by the great director that she achieved such results.

Just then, Li Qiutang's phone rang.

After glancing at her phone, Li Qiutang said, "Zhou Xun, I'm going out to take this call. You guys continue."

(End of this chapter)