Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 175 Black Peony Accelerates, Box Office Reaches Another Height
In the summer, the sunset in Beijing is as brilliant as fire.

In the western sky, a golden-red glow spilled between the wide streets and tall buildings, the light filtering through the dappled shadows of the trees and gently illuminating the ground.

The window of the practice room was half-open, and the afterglow of the setting sun slanted in, spreading a warm sea of ​​light on the wooden floor.

Liu Yifei and Li Qin had just finished their afternoon performance training, and the sweat on their foreheads glistened in the setting sun.

Wu Chen pushed open the door and entered.

A look of joy flashed in Liu Yifei's beautiful eyes, while Li Qin respectfully greeted, "Hello, Director."

Li Qin's mother arrived to pick her up. After giving her a few gentle words of advice, she looked at Wu Chen and nodded with a smile: "Thank you for taking care of me during this time, Director Wu."

Her voice was soft, but polite and gentle, expressing her gratitude concisely.

"Not at all, Auntie, you're too kind," Wu Chen replied with a smile.

After watching Li Qin and her daughter leave, Liu Yifei couldn't help but jump over and ask with a hint of anticipation in her voice, "What are we eating later?"

"Yes, Teacher Zhang will be coming later, so I came over to talk to Teacher Zhang and Teacher Liu about something," Wu Chen replied with a smile.

"Oh, I thought you came here specifically to see me, but it turns out you just happened to be passing by?"

As she spoke, Liu Yifei pouted slightly, her eyes shimmering in the sunset like a pool of autumn water with light rippled across them.

Wu Chen couldn't help laughing.

Just as they were joking around, the door to the practice room was pushed open.

Zhang Jiqing walked in.

"Teacher Zhang!" Liu Yifei called out sweetly.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Jiqing smiled gently.

Liu Yifei had intended to quietly slip away, but Wu Chen said softly, "Let's listen together, it's related to 'Black Peony' anyway."

The four sat down, and Wu Chen got straight to the point: "Teacher Zhang, Teacher Liu, do you mean that filming can be moved up?"

Zhang Jiqing continued, "Yes, the training is progressing better than expected, mainly because both girls are very hardworking, not spoiled or lazy."

Take Ivy, for example. Even though it's only been a year, the extra training every night adds up to a tremendous amount of time, so it's normal for her progress to be fast.

Listening to this, Liu Yifei lowered her head somewhat shyly, her face flushed with a soft blush in the glow of the sunset.

Liu Tianchi then spoke up: "Originally, I planned to have a period of systematic practical training, but Teacher Zhang and I discussed it and found that no training could be as realistic as actual filming."

So we plan to start training based on the script in the next few months. If we can strike while the iron is hot after the training, that would be the best.

Director Zhang used to do the same thing when he made films; rather than slowly refining things behind the scenes, he preferred to bring them to the forefront and refine them.
Director Wu, do you think we should adjust the shooting schedule? I'm wondering if there's enough time for preparations?

"According to the two teachers, there are still several months left, so it's definitely not too late to come. Besides, the production team has been preparing all along, they just need to speed things up a bit."

Having already figured it out, Wu Chen smiled and added, "Teacher Zhang, Teacher Liu, have you considered the position of director of the Jinghua Kunqu Opera Troupe?"

Zhang Jiqing was taken aback, then smiled and waved his hand: "I can't play this role. I'm good at singing Kunqu Opera, but don't make it difficult for me to act."

Teacher Liu is perfect!

A burst of light laughter suddenly filled the training room.

Seeing this, Liu Tianchi didn't refuse. Since she was going to be on set anyway, she decided to act together.

Having decided to adjust the filming schedule, Wu Chen didn't delay any longer. He took out his phone and quickly sent messages to Xiang Zhuo and the others.

They were asked to work overnight to compile a new schedule and preparation checklist, and to make detailed adjustments to accommodate the new filming pace.

Time flew by and it was the weekend, and the Shanghai International Film Festival opened.

Then came another bombshell in the industry: Li An, who just won the Oscar for Best Director this year, will be adapting Eileen Chang's novel into a film called "Lust, Caution".

The news generated just as much buzz as, or even more than, the "Double J Plan" from a few days ago.

Li An revealed at the film festival that the female lead for "Lust, Caution" has not yet been decided, because Eileen Chang's portrayal of Wang Jiazhi is too "novelistic," making it very difficult to find the perfect candidate.

He came to the Shanghai International Film Festival to select actors and locations.

We need an actress aged 19 to 23, 164 to 168 cm tall, who is both sexy and intelligent, embodying both devil and angel.
He hopes to cultivate a "new Zhang Ziyi".

These words imply that 28-year-old Zhang Ziyi has been excluded.

This has thrilled actresses of the appropriate age in the industry. Li An's new film, Zhang Ailing's female perspective, the next Zhang Ziyi—each one is fatally alluring.

"How was it? Did you get anything?" Li asked his assistant that evening after returning from the film festival.

"I'm receiving a lot of favors from all sides, but there aren't many suitable ones."
Director Li, the casting director says Liu Yifei might be quite suitable.

"Liu Yifei?" Li An was slightly taken aback. "Her qualifications are right, but it seems she's already taken on Wu Chen's movie, so her schedule doesn't work out."

"Director Li, let's send out an invitation and see if we can adjust the schedule, right?"

"Then let's send an invitation and see."

Box office revenue in North America rebounded on Friday and Saturday.

Originally, the number of weekday sales gradually dropped to around six million, but on Friday it jumped back to nine million, and on Saturday it broke through ten million again, reaching more than eleven million.
The cumulative box office has reached over 95 million, just one Sunday away from breaking 100 million.

Domestically, Saturday saw the box office surpass 20 million again, bringing the total to 1.85 million in nine days, just one Sunday away from 200 million.

Despite China Film Group's strict prevention measures, pirated copies of "Now You See Me" still managed to be released.

Early Monday morning, before Sunday's box office figures were even released, the atmosphere in the China Film Group's internal meeting room was tense.

"Have you found out? Where did it leak from? Was it a camcorder or a high-definition version?" Han Sanping frowned. He hadn't expected that despite the considerable effort China Film Group had put in and the presence of people in various locations to prevent it, the pirated version still came out in the second week.

"We haven't pinpointed the source of the piracy yet; it's currently a bootleg version. Judging from the image quality, it was probably filmed using basic equipment," the staff member immediately responded.

Upon hearing this, Han Sanping tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

In 2006, an era rife with piracy, even "cam copies" could spread widely in a short period of time.

This is a persistent pain for the domestic film market.

Although piracy didn't appear early, it was somewhere in the middle. Two hundred million was no problem, but what about three hundred million?
"Given the current market situation, once piracy occurs, subsequent box office revenue will generally be impacted by 10% to 30%, and this impact will be more pronounced in the later stages."

Gao Chengsheng reported with a grave expression, "Especially in third-tier cities and county towns, where there are few cinemas, if pirated DVDs are everywhere, the audience will be lost very quickly."

"First, we must intensify our crackdown and shut down the sources of piracy, especially the distribution channels. We are now quickly arranging for rights defenders in various regions to contact their local departments."
Secondly, while the film has not yet spread widely, we should accelerate its promotion and screening schedule to get potential viewers into theaters as quickly as possible.

third"

Han Sanping quickly issued the order.

Soon after, China Film Group Corporation issued an official announcement:
China Film Group solemnly declares: Any unauthorized recording, distribution, or sale of pirated videos of "Now You See Me" is an illegal act. China Film Group will cooperate with relevant law enforcement departments to pursue legal action.
After the meeting, Han Sanping also informed Wu Chen.

"President Han, China Film Group has done a good job. I thought it would only prevent theft for a week." Wu Chen didn't have much of a solution either; that's just how the market is these days.

However, it's still a pirated version, and the best way to experience "Now You See Me" is to watch it in a movie theater, which somewhat alleviates the pressure caused by piracy.

"Oh, right, Michael's coming over tomorrow morning, why don't you come and take a look at the script too?"

At the same time, in a villa area far away in Beijing.

Liu Xiaoli received a phone call.

"Hello, this is the crew of 'Lust, Caution.' We would like to discuss Ms. Liu's availability with you further. Director Li An greatly admires her qualifications."

The person on the other end of the phone was polite and sincere.

But Liu Xiaoli didn't hesitate at all upon hearing this: "Thank you for the invitation, but Yifei already has work commitments and cannot participate in the audition."

The other party tried to salvage the situation, but Liu Xiaoli politely but firmly said, "Thank you so much for your group's favor, but please understand our choice. Ifi has no other time," and then hung up.

She looked up at the blazing sun outside the window, her gaze calm—

On her daughter's life journey, a mother must always take the first step carefully. It's okay to make mistakes, but you can't make them too drastic.

She was already familiar with Eileen Chang's novel, and it was completely unsuitable for Liu Yifei, not to mention that she now had Wu Chen's project to work with.

When it comes to scenes told from a female perspective, is there anything better than "Black Peony"?
Around noon, the domestic box office results for Sunday's Now You See Me were released. Although it failed to reach the 20 million mark, it still took in more than 18 million, which means that Now You See Me has officially entered the 200 million mark.

This is also the second film to gross 200 million yuan since the millennium.

The "200 Million Yuan Director Club" originally only had Zhang Yimou as its leader, but now it has a new member.

Many directors in the industry had mixed feelings.

Especially Chen Kaige, seeing the media reports, couldn't help but think of last year's "The Promise," which ultimately only grossed 1.75 million yuan in China, still a little short of 2 million, but that gap felt like an insurmountable chasm.
(End of this chapter)