Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 418 Hua Yi Admits Defeat: Face Is Not as Important as Profit!
"Well!"

Just as Liu Yifei was about to retort, her soft, rose-petal-like red lips were silenced by a kiss.

Given their level of understanding, she subconsciously raised her head slightly, a blush rising on her fair cheeks, in sync with Gu Bei's movement.

But she felt that accepting her fate was not in keeping with her status as a newly crowned Cannes Best Actress, so she slightly shrank back her swan-like neck, as if trying to avoid it.

She had already been lying on Gu Bei's lap.

Aside from the little space she voluntarily gave up by looking up,
There was really nowhere to go. They had just hidden for a moment when Gu Bei caught up with them.

In the end, Liu Yifei could only resign herself to her fate and slightly narrow her eyes, her eyelashes drooping and trembling frequently, symbolizing that her inner self was not as calm as she appeared on the outside.

I don't know if it's because I've been drinking,

The temperature around the two people's bodies rose as if the water were boiling.

"call!"

Liu Yifei breathed softly, her fair cheeks flushed slightly with emotion, and her chest rose and fell gently.

She grabbed Gu Bei's wrist, her eyes misty and unfocused, as if veiled by a fog, and gently bit her lower lip: "You naughty hand!"

Gu Bei ignored her and picked her up in one swift motion.

"what!"

Liu Yifei exclaimed in surprise, then grabbed Gu Bei by the back of the neck.

She looked up at Gu Bei: "What are you going to do?"

I don't really want to pick up on some cheesy jokes at a time like this.

Gu Bei went straight to the bathroom: "I'll take you to take a bath!"

Liu Yifei seemed to have thought of something, and blushes appeared on her cheeks: "No need, I can manage on my own."

I'm worried about leaving you alone.

Gu Bei lowered his head and said with a smile.

"I can really do it myself, don't come in!"

"Get out of here right now!"

"No...don't come in!"

Silent all night.

Early the next morning.

Gu Bei handed the steaming hot breakfast to Liu Yifei, smiling as he watched her wake up from her hangover.

Liu Yifei felt a splitting headache and estimated that it would take several days to recover.

Seeing Gu Bei's smiling face again made her furious.

She whispered, "Pervert!"

"How can you only accuse me of being a pervert when it happened between two people? We were both perverts!"

Gu Bei didn't care at all about her fierce appearance and replied with a smile.

A few more blushes appeared on Liu Yifei's fair cheeks.

It's a mistake to drink!
Normally, she would resolutely refuse to give in to Gu Bei's excessive demands.

As a result, I drank a little too much last night, and my willpower was obviously not as strong as when I was sober. I just succumbed to it in a daze.

She rolled her eyes at Gu Bei, knowing she couldn't win an argument with him, so she simply drank the wonton soup slowly along the rim of the bowl, feeling much more comfortable.

What time is your flight?

Gu Bei gently tucked a stray strand of her hair behind his ear and asked softly.

"I'm going back to China tonight." Liu Yifei, who had just been somewhat resentful of Gu Bei, now asked with a hint of reluctance, "What about you?"

"My flight back to New York is this afternoon. I'll finish the last bit of work and then return to China in June," Gu Bei replied.

"Ugh!"

Liu Yifei sighed.

The time for joyful gatherings is fleeting.
After Gu Bei returned to China in June,
She's actually coming to North America to film The Hunger Games.
There was always an Pacific Ocean between the two of them.

"It's okay, things will be better in the second half of the year."

Gu Bei could also see Liu Yifei's reluctance to part. Fortunately, by the second half of this year, the two of them would no longer need to keep in touch with Pacific Ocean.

The two lingered for a few moments before parting again.
One returned to China, and the other returned to New York.

……

Huayi.

[Newly crowned Cannes Best Actress Liu Yifei returns to China discreetly, avoiding the media but still mobbed by fans]

When Wang Zhonglei walked in, he found that Wang Zhongjun was actually reading entertainment news about Liu Yifei's return to China, and a shadow of gloom appeared on his face.

He tried to hold back, but still couldn't help but ask, "Brother, does she really have the ability to win the Cannes Best Actress award at such a young age?"

I have a feeling this was all a PR stunt. Wasn't it always said that French actresses were the hottest contenders for this year's Cannes Film Festival?

Juliette Binoche, she's the hottest choice.
However, Liu Yifei has been one of the favorites from the beginning; both of them are potential candidates, and it's even possible that both of them could be selected.

It will be quite difficult for Cannes to do public relations, especially since the jury members have no direct connection with Rose Films, making any public relations efforts even less likely.

Chen Guofu walked in with Wang Zhonglei and explained softly.

“Guo Fu, you think there’s no direct contact, but maybe they’ve already talked it out in private. Liu Yifei is using her Rose Film Studio for herself…” Wang Zhonglei still wanted to stick to his own ideas.

"All right!"

Wang Zhongjun interrupted the argument between the two, saying, "There's no need to discuss this anymore. Almost everyone in the country already knows that Liu Yifei won the Best Actress award at Cannes."

Even if there's something fishy going on here, we can't change public opinion, so let's not try those thankless and arduous methods!

Wang Zhongjun glanced at the entertainment news newspaper beside him.

The image above is from Liu Yifei's red carpet appearance at the opening ceremony.
That stunning Chinese-style outfit is quite fitting for her current status as a Cannes Best Actress winner.

He said coldly, "The news of Liu Yifei winning Best Actress at Cannes this time has spread far further than any previous international Best Actor or Best Actress award won by a Chinese person."

Every time Liu Yifei's Cannes Best Actress award and Gu Bei's Cannes Best Director award are mentioned, the concept of gravity is brought up again. What we should be more worried about now is gravity itself!

After a pause,

He looked at Chen Guofu: "Guofu, you're someone who went to Cannes in person, and you're the only one among us who has seen the original Gravity film."
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, which you produced and directed, is about to be released on the same day as Gravity during the National Day holiday.
Give me an answer: how is the final product of Gravity?

"Science fiction..."

Chen Guofu glanced at Wang Zhongjun, then at Wang Zhonglei beside him, and said quietly.

“We know that. Gravity is a science fiction film. We’re asking about the final product!” Wang Zhonglei said impatiently.

"Shut up!"

Wang Zhongjun interrupted Wang Zhonglei, "Guofu, please continue." Chen Guofu sighed, "What I've said before is that the fact that the final effect of Gravity could be made into a film by Chinese people in this era is already quite a science fiction thing!"

"The special effects are amazing?"

Wang Zhongjun's heart sank, and he asked the question he was most concerned about.

“Extremely powerful, absolutely top-tier Hollywood special effects blockbuster level,” Chen Guofu replied with great conviction.

"How do the 3D effects compare to Avatar from earlier this year?"

Wang Zhongjun asked again.

It is well known that Chinese audiences love special effects blockbusters.

Avatar, which was released during the Lunar New Year holiday at the beginning of this year, still grossed 120 million yuan in seven days during the Spring Festival holiday, which was more than a month after its release. It has now accumulated nearly 1.4 billion yuan in box office revenue.

As a sci-fi film that focuses on 3D special effects, Gravity is in short supply globally, and whether it can compare to Avatar at the beginning of the year is a very crucial indicator.

"It's only stronger, not weaker!" Chen Guofu gave Wang Zhongjun a despairing answer: "Even its space scenes are the best space special effects ever, and no one will be able to surpass them for a long time to come!"

"Is it really that strong?"

Wang Zhonglei still had some doubts.

"Xu Ke is currently the most skilled at special effects in China, there shouldn't be any disagreement about that, right?"

Chen Guofu brought up director Tsui Hark, one of the main characters, saying, "The reason he didn't come today is because he became a little withdrawn after watching Gravity!"

Tsui Hark directed "The Legend of Zu" at the beginning of the century, and even in the future, it remains the pinnacle of special effects in fantasy films.

Tsui Hark's research on special effects makes him arguably the strongest director among Chinese directors at present, even surpassing Li An, who directed The Incredible Hulk, by a significant margin.

If it's just Xu Ke praising it, then it's not very convincing.

But what made Xu Ke so withdrawn was...
This certainly matches Chen Guofu's previous assessment.

At this stage, being able to film gravity in China is itself a science fiction feat!

Only with the strong support of Han Sanpin from China Film Group, the complete dedication of director Gu Bei, and the willingness of Liu Yifei, the owner of Rose Pictures, to take the risk...

All three are indispensable in order to learn from the West and use it to our advantage, and to use Hollywood's top resources to make a Chinese sci-fi blockbuster!

"What about its entertainment value? If it were an auteur art film like Chen Kaige's, the box office would collapse. This film won an award at Cannes, so I doubt it would be very entertaining, right?"

Wang Zhonglei tried his best to belittle Gu Bei and his Gravity.

"It can't compare to popcorn blockbusters like Transformers, but it's definitely not a dull art film. We even had to queue to get in to watch it."

Chen Guofu once again denied Wang Zhonglei's last remaining obsession.

Arthouse film enthusiasts aren't entirely averse to entertainment.
Because art-house films represent a deeper exploration, the viewing experience is very personal. Many art-house films are either madly loved or utterly hated.

Entertainment value is the greatest common denominator of popular tastes. Since it sacrifices depth in order to win more people's favor, it naturally gains more popularity.

Film festivals naturally feature many big-budget film premieres, and entertaining films also attract a large audience.

"Can……"

Wang Zhonglei wanted to say something more.

Wang Zhongjun, however, had completely understood Chen Guofu's meaning.

Clearly, neither producer Fruit Chan nor director Tsui Hark believed that Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame could defy gravity.

He said very decisively, "Then let's move up the release date! We'll move it to the summer season and compete with Chen Kaige's 'Aftershock'."

The casting controversy surrounding Huayi Brothers' previous film, "Gravity," led to Han Sanpin's retaliation, preventing the release of Huayi Brothers' summer blockbuster, "The Spy Who Came in from the Sky." The resources left over from this film were instead used for "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame."

"Brother, our schedule was announced a long time ago. If we announce it to the public now, it would be like admitting defeat to Gu Bei and Linlang Entertainment!"

Wang Zhonglei said with some pain.

"Saving face is not as important as profit!"

Although Wang Zhongjun said that...

But since its founding, Huayi has never suffered such a great injustice.

However, Gu Bei was putting too much pressure on him. Fortunately, they still had Feng Xiaogang, the creator of the Lunar New Year film season, in their hands: "But it doesn't matter. Xiaogang is returning to the Lunar New Year comedy season this year. We'll let Linlang Entertainment handle the National Day season. This time, we're going to win the Lunar New Year film season!"

"it is good!"

Wang Zhonglei nodded firmly.

……

new York.

When Gu Bei learned from Liu Yifei that Huayi had backed down,

He couldn't help but chuckle: "It seems there are some rational people within Huayi Brothers. If they really release Detective Dee during the National Day holiday, it will probably be another huge financial loss!"

The film "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" cost 130 million yuan to make. Even if we can buy overseas rights, it will still cost at least 200 to 300 million yuan to break even.

The best film seasons of the year are now the Lunar New Year film season and the summer film season.

Even with last year's rumors, the National Day box office only ranked third, far behind the top two.

If Di Renjie doesn't win the box office during the National Day holiday, there's basically no hope of breaking even.

The movie Gravity

With China Film Group's support,

There's also the gimmick of it being China's first sci-fi blockbuster.

And the fame of Gu Bei and Liu Yifei winning awards at Cannes,
Surpassing Avatar's 1.3 billion yuan box office might be a problem.
However, it will still easily outperform Di Renjie during the National Day holiday. If Di Renjie were to remain in the National Day release window, it would be impossible to recoup its costs.

However, Huayi lost face and momentum by backing down!

In name only,
Huayi Brothers and Linlang Entertainment also have the summer blockbuster "Detective Dee vs. Earthquake," and the Lunar New Year blockbuster "If You Are the One vs. Let the Bullets Fly."

However, the summer and Lunar New Year film seasons are both long-running periods, and since they are not released on the same day, there is no head-to-head competition like before. The outside world's perception is that Huayi Brothers is inferior to Linlang Entertainment.

"Are they afraid of you?" Liu Yifei asked curiously.

"I'm afraid of you too!" Gu Bei replied with a smile. "After all, this is the movie that won the Best Actress award at Cannes. The exposure during this period has saved the movie a lot of publicity costs."

"Hum~"

Liu Yifei chatted with Gu Bei for a couple more minutes.

Subsequently,

Gu Bei hung up the phone.
However, he soon received a call from Eric Figo, president of Summit Entertainment, who wanted to meet him.

Gu Bei arrived at the bar, sat down next to Eric, and asked with a smile, "Eric, when did you come to New York?"

"The plane just arrived this afternoon."

Eric looked up, his smile slightly forced. "Bruce, I'm very sorry, but I have a question I have to ask you: are you willing to hand over the global distribution rights for Gravity to Summit Entertainment?"

Gu Bei slowly suppressed his smile. These sudden phone calls were definitely not good news!
(End of this chapter)