Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 751 Liu Yifei's Unicorn
Along with "Marriage Story," "The Wandering Earth" also began its promotional campaign.

After entering the December holiday season, the production team of "The Wandering Earth" began releasing promotional materials.

Release a teaser today, a poster tomorrow, just to whet the audience's appetite.

Fortunately, as a low-budget art film, "Marriage Story" wasn't too tiring to promote, while "The Wandering Earth," being a Spring Festival film, hadn't yet begun its large-scale promotional campaign, so Li Qiutang could still manage. Otherwise, even with three heads and six arms, he wouldn't be able to handle it all.

On this day, Autumn Pictures announced via its official Weibo account that the 4K restored version of another sci-fi action blockbuster directed by Li Qiutang, "In Time," will be re-released on January 18.

However, the news of the re-release of "In Time" did not receive a very enthusiastic response from the audience.

There are so many movies on the market now that audiences can't even choose from them all, so how could they possibly have the time to pay attention to a movie that's being re-released after 7 years?

The lukewarm response was expected by Autumn Films. No matter how big a film is, a re-release is a re-release; it can't be compared to a new release. Autumn Films wasn't expecting to make much money from this re-release; it wasn't about profit.

The post-production of "The Wandering Earth" is not yet finished; it is still in the most crucial final stage. If Liu Yifei hadn't ordered Li Qiutang to go home to sleep every day, Li Qiutang would have wanted to sleep at Mojing Tianhe.

However, what touched Li Qiutang was that no matter how late he came home, Liu Yifei always waited for him during this time.

Liu Xiaoli couldn't stay up any longer and went to sleep first, so she was responsible for making late-night snacks for Li Qiutang.

That day, Li Qiutang stayed up until 2 a.m. before going home.

"It's really cold in Yanjing this year," Li Qiutang said as she walked in. "There wasn't a soul in sight along the way."

"You'd be scared to death if there were a ghost." Liu Yifei was making soup for him in the kitchen. "You said you were trying to conceive, but you're staying up like this every day. I'm the one who's suffering." Liu Xiaoli didn't know what to say about her son-in-law, so she just kept nagging her daughter.

"Take your time, we'll definitely succeed." Both of them had undergone a full check-up and there were no problems. They just had bad luck because they hadn't succeeded yet.

"How about getting some medicine to help regulate her body?" For some reason, after turning 30, especially after winning the Best Actress award this year, Liu Yifei really wanted a child.

"We're both fine, what kind of treatment are we going to do? We can take any medicine we want."

As Li Qiutang spoke, he lifted the pot lid, revealing a pot of delicious mutton soup simmering inside, which whetted his appetite: "Is it ready yet?"

"Not yet, the radishes were just put in, they need to simmer for a few more minutes for the flavor to come out. I've never seen you in such a hurry for anything else, but you're certainly eager to eat."

"I'm also anxious about other things."

Seeing Li Qiutang's sly expression, Liu Yifei immediately thought of that matter. Li Qiutang, sensing something was amiss, smiled ambiguously and said, "Your thoughts aren't pure."

"I didn't say anything. You're the one with impure thoughts." Liu Yifei naturally denied it.

But then he added, "I'm not available these days. I hope you'll still be this stubborn in a few days."

Li Qiutang didn't respond to that. He said, "When I went to Jiangxi Province before, I found that they all drank that kind of earthenware pot soup. It's such a small earthenware pot, just the right amount for one person. We can learn to make soup like that at home, so that we won't end up like this, where I'm eating alone and I have to cook such a big pot, which is a waste."

Liu Yifei said, "This pot of soup isn't just for you today; my mom will drink it tomorrow morning too." Lifting the lid, Liu Yifei ladled out two bowls of soup.

"Are you still eating?"

"Why can't I eat the soup I made?" Liu Yifei took a sip first. "Ah, mutton soup is the perfect soup for winter."

Li Qiutang also took a sip, and it did taste good.

"So, how about it? Was it worth it to marry me?" He raised an eyebrow, seeking praise.

"Coming home so late and still getting a hot meal, what more could I ask for?" He said, taking Liu Yifei's hand. "I love you so much." "Ugh—that's so cheesy, let's eat."

…………

"Marriage Story" was indeed a low-budget film, released during the Lunar New Year holiday season. Its promotional efforts were not as strong as those of other films in the same period, and art films are indeed a niche genre.

But you can't assume that "Marriage Story" is an easy target.

I don't know who started it, but before "Marriage Story" was released, some people actually began to question the prestige of Cannes.

"Cannes is just a small town in France, so the awards it gives out probably don't have much prestige, right?"

"The Cannes Film Festival is like Weibo Night in China."

"I've never even heard of this film festival."

“The award for ‘Marriage Story’ is thanks to Zhang Zhen. When other Chinese actors are nominated, Zhang Zhen will also fight for them.”

This kind of person is definitely not stupid, because a fool wouldn't say such a thing.

The production team of "Marriage Story" didn't even bother to respond to such blatant criticism.

But the fans said they did not accept it.

"You're back to criticizing us after six months? Is this never going to end?"

"Oh right, right, Cannes doesn't have much prestige. Why didn't your sister win? Did she not want to?"

"Yi Fei's Best Actress win has aroused too much jealousy, and all her rivals want to bring her down."

"After marketing alongside Liu Yifei for so many years, we've realized we can't keep up at all, and we're starting to panic."

"Yi Fei has become a top star in the entertainment industry, while some people can't even get into the film industry. They must be furious."

"Whose fans are hoping for their idol to get divorced every day?"

Where there are negative comments online, there are also positive ones.

A week before "Marriage Story" aired, a well-known screenwriter in the industry talked about Liu Yifei during a program:

"Think about it now, how many actresses around 27, 28, or 30 years old can you name? The ones you can still recall are Zhou Xun and Zhang Ziyi, right? Those are all over 40. The film industry has always been short of actresses around 30. Liu Yifei is probably a unicorn in this age group; they cast her in romance films, action films, and now even realistic films. She herself has made it clear she won't act in youth films, otherwise, with her looks, youth films would definitely cast her too."

"There's a saying in the industry about the 'Four Divine Beasts,' meaning that if you can find one of these four people for your project, you can move forward with the discussion. Wu Jing, Huang Bo, Shen Teng, and then there's Liu Yifei. The only female actress. In the past two years, I've participated in some projects, and when we're in meetings to choose who to play the female lead, the first person I always mention is Liu Yifei. Liu Yifei, Liu Yifei, Liu Yifei, regardless of whether she's suitable or not, I always hand the script to Liu Yifei first."

"It's a pity, there used to be four leading actresses who were on par with each other, but now at her age, there are no others who can be mentioned."

This interview is not a promotion for "Marriage Story"; the production team doesn't have the power to get people to say such things.

However, the trending topic #LiuYifeiUnicorn# was indeed orchestrated by the production team.

This was also the last trending topic purchased before the release of "Marriage Story"—art films really don't have the money or the need to buy so many trending topics.

On the 14th, "Marriage Story" was released as scheduled, and Liu Yifei's performance as a Best Actress was officially put to the test by audiences across the country.

(End of this chapter)