Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 760 Liu Yifei's Problem
Li Qiutang didn't even have time to have a late-night snack with Liu Yifei; after the re-release event for "In Time," he had to catch the last flight to Jinling.

Liu Yifei wasn't the kind of person to be dramatic. Knowing that the promotional work for "The Wandering Earth" was demanding, she didn't blame Li Qiutang for not accompanying her. She accompanied him to the airport, gave him a kiss, and then let him go.

Recalling the game of tacit understanding just now, Liu Yifei still felt amazed. She failed at all five questions. It's one of a kind that a couple can do this well.

But neither of them took it seriously; this kind of game doesn't prove anything.

Before leaving, Liu Yifei said, "After you finish your work, let's work together to build a better understanding."

The re-release of "In Time" will only have this one event. The company has a somewhat conflicted attitude towards this re-release. On the one hand, the re-release of "In Time" is to generate buzz for "The Wandering Earth," so naturally they hope that "In Time" will have some popularity and achieve some success. On the other hand, they have to admit that it is almost impossible for a re-released film to achieve good results.

But even the wisest can make a mistake, and Autumn Pictures' concerns are valid, but they still overlooked the appeal of a husband-and-wife team.

On its first day of re-release, "In Time" was boosted by fans of the original film by 2300 million yuan at the box office.

This is a re-release! This is a re-release! This is a re-release!

Say the important thing three times.

And there was almost no advertising!

Fans' thinking is simple: in 2019, there is a chance to see Liu Yifei at the peak of her beauty at 22 years old, looking so youthful and radiant, and the film is also good, so why not give it a try?
A score of 2300 million is not bad.

However, it's not without its problems. Some veteran film fans pointed out the issues Liu Yifei would face in the next two years during the re-release of "In Time": "The Cannes Best Actress award further boosted Liu Yifei's exposure, who was already in the spotlight. Liu Yifei should have realized at the time that too much exposure would damage the mystique of an actress. Fortunately, she was filming "Mulan" at the time, so she didn't hesitate to hide in the crew for four months before coming out. After filming wrapped, she tried to stay out of the public eye as much as possible."

"But with the official release of 'Marriage Story' and the re-release of 'In Time,' Liu Yifei's exposure has increased again at the end of the year. In just one month, she has starred in two movies. Although both movies are of high quality, this will still damage her appeal. And don't forget, 'Mulan' will also be released in 9 months."

"So the problem Liu Yifei faces in the next two years is how to maintain the mystery of an actress with such a large exposure. I looked through her filmography, and she has a movie almost every year, which is certainly good, but on the other hand, the intervals between her works are too short, which is not a good thing either. If she doesn't maintain the mystery, her appeal will definitely decline."

"I'm saying this based on her personality and career path. She definitely doesn't want to follow the traffic-driven route and thinks the more exposure the better. Fans, please don't argue with me. You all wish you could see her working every day, see her in the spotlight, and see her constantly trending on social media, but I can say that this is definitely not what she wants."

"The best solution is actually to reduce production and cut unnecessary external activities."

This fan's point is not without merit, but the fans of Liu Yifei don't accept it. These people in the fandom just want Liu Yifei to be active every day and stay on the trending topics.

Reduce production, reduce media exposure? Are you alright?! Other companies would kill for an opportunity like this, and you want Liu Yifei to give it up willingly?

But as this fan said, Liu Yifei has indeed realized the problem. Or rather, it's not so much a realization as a natural choice made by her personality and understanding of her acting career.

When "In Time" grossed over 60 million yuan in its opening weekend, "The Wandering Earth" finally surpassed "The New King of Comedy" in pre-sales, ranking third in the Spring Festival film season and climbing from the second tier to the first. It ranked behind "Pegasus" and "Crazy Alien".

Chen Zhixi took copies of "The Wandering Earth" all over the country, giving advance screenings to theaters and media outlets to build word-of-mouth.

This is also an important reason why "The Wandering Earth" was able to climb up the pre-sale threshold.

Some theater managers, when talking about this year's "strongest Spring Festival film season in history"—every year the Spring Festival film season claims to be the strongest ever—couldn't help but reveal some information about "The Wandering Earth": "I can't say much, I can only say that 'The Wandering Earth' is of a very high standard. I've never seen a movie like this in Chinese cinema."

Many self-media outlets, whether paid or spontaneous, have also begun to spread positive word-of-mouth for "The Wandering Earth." "I can only say that this film might create a miracle. Why 'might'? Because the Spring Festival film season is too unpredictable. If it were released during any other period, I dare say 'The Wandering Earth' would be a smash hit."

“I went to see the film yesterday. Their CEO, Chen Zhixi, personally led the team. I signed a confidentiality agreement so I can't say much. I can only tell you that even though I've already seen it once, I will go see it again on the first day of the Lunar New Year. And I must go to a high-standard theater like the IMAX or Dolby theater. You can really see how far the Chinese film industry has come.”

These are all very common word-of-mouth marketing tactics; The Wandering Earth did it, and other movies did it too.

The New King of Comedy even claimed that it made the audience laugh so hard they were lying on their chairs.

On the same day, the crew of "The Wandering Earth" released the final trailer and announced that the premiere press conference would be held in Beijing next week.

Although "The Wandering Earth" barely made it into the top tier of pre-sales, the market has already made its choice, and capital is already betting on "The Wandering Earth".

Twelve days have passed since the pre-sale for the Spring Festival film season began, and the stock price of Autumn Pictures has risen by a cumulative 17.33%, while the entire A-share film and media stock sector has risen by less than 1% during the same period.

It is said that a well-known domestic individual investor bought 1 million yuan worth of Autumn Pictures stock three days ago, betting that "The Wandering Earth" would be a hit.

Yang Mi, who was resting at home during her pregnancy, did something very foolish: she asked Liu Yifei if she could buy shares in Autumn Pictures.

Liu Yifei does not participate in any of the company's operations or management, but she is still sensitive to the role of the chairman's wife.

"It's your own money. You can buy what you want or not. Why are you asking me?"

But Yang Mi asked even more directly, "Did you buy it?"

Liu Yifei was already somewhat displeased. "Has pregnancy made you stupid?" she thought. "Whether you buy it or not is your own business. I won't give you any advice; I don't understand these things."

Liu Yifei's stern tone brought Yang Mi back to her senses. Yes, she was the boss's wife of Qiutian Film Industry. Her advice to others to buy or sell her own company's stock was suspected of insider trading.

Yang Mi immediately felt guilty, blaming herself for losing her mind during her pregnancy, and quickly apologized. Her previous conflict with Shu Chang had already created a rift between her and Liu Yifei; they couldn't afford to let their relationship suffer any further damage.

"I'm just so bored at home, my brain's gone rusty." She then invited Liu Yifei, who was also resting at home, to come over to her house.

There's a question Liu Yifei has always wanted to ask Yang Mi but hasn't dared to: why did she stay at her own home in Yanjing to rest and prepare for pregnancy after finishing filming her new drama, instead of going to her husband's family home in Hong Kong? What's even stranger is that, let alone going to her husband's family home to rest, she didn't even take the initiative to go to Hong Kong once after resting. If her in-laws wanted to see their daughter-in-law and grandson, she would obediently come to Yanjing to see them; she wouldn't go to Hong Kong.

But I was too embarrassed to ask that question out loud.

However, due to a woman's sensitivity, she felt that Yang Mi's relationship with Liu Kaiwei or her in-laws might not be very good.

"Sure, I've been free these past few days, so I came to see you. Is your husband home?"

No, he's in Hong Kong.

His due date is next month, and he's still in Hong Kong!
(End of this chapter)