After all of them were reborn, who would still be an actor?

Chapter 700 The Big White Cake, Nicole Kidman
"No, I really wanted to film it, and Guo Fan was also volunteering. We both wanted to give it a try."

Where did you find the time?

"We're filming in Hengdian, and Guo Fan and I can take turns. We'll definitely wrap up filming by the end of the month."

"You need to figure out what's important. If you mess up, you'll end up like them, going back to Korea for retraining!"

"Director Li, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Wu Zhikui hung up the phone, sighed, texted Guo Fan with one hand, and drank beer from the bottle with the other.

Wu Zhikui: "When Princess Jing confronted Director Li, she probably meant she didn't want to film anymore."

Guo Fan: "It's pitiful for us working people..."

Wu Zhikui: "Hurry up and find an actress. I'll go back tomorrow, and filming will start the day after tomorrow."

Guo Fan: "Where can we find them? Can we find them at the Beijing Film Academy?"

Wu Zhikui: "Director Li was in the 2007 undergraduate class of the Performance Department, and Yang Mi was in the 2005 class."

Guo Fan: "So, can we make that decision?"

Wu Zhikui: "We've staked our reputations on this... so... we should be able to make the decision, I guess..."

Guo Fan: "..."

……

Li Mingyang felt that something was amiss about this matter.

Jing Tian changed her mind too quickly... She stopped filming again shortly after restarting the project.

Time passes.

July and Ansheng is no longer the same as when filming first started, when Li Mingyang went to film it just to see Jing Tian make a fool of herself.

This is a fantastic project, produced by two powerful companies, Enlight Media and Wanda Group, with an experienced behind-the-scenes team, and starring four rising stars, Yang Mi and Liu Yifei. It's a Chinese-Korean dual version of "Goodbye My Soulmate"...

Maximum traffic! Maximum hype!
Lao Wu and Guo Fan were willing to take it on because it was a good project.

If it were a bad project, the two of them would be too busy running away to even think about it.

They have no right to fail now.

If you mess things up once, it can take years to fix them!

You need to earn the trust of investors, the trust of the audience, and your own confidence...

Li Mingyang felt something was off, so after Jing Tianrou bent over like a crescent moon, her jade arms waving long sleeves, and forced him to fall asleep, Li Mingyang went to the hotel bar, called Lao Wu over, and asked him what was going on.

After a few cocktails, Li Mingyang finally understood why Jing Tian didn't film "July and Ansheng".

Jing Tian insisted on using the special effects film process of "Seoul Spring and Miss" to film "July and Ansheng".

It hasn't even learned to crawl yet, and it's already trying to fly...

If we used a special effects film production process, the budget would definitely explode.

The filming costs for "July and Ansheng" had already doubled due to delays, reshoots, and staff changes. With the addition of special effects modifications, the costs increased by more than double.

Both Yang Mi and Liu Yifei were aiming for big gains with small investments.

This completely deviated from the two women's original intentions, and the three women had a disagreement on the first day of filming.

Old Wu and Zhang Wei tried to persuade both sides, and finally managed to reconcile them.

When filming began, Lao Wu, Guo Fan, and Zhang Wei were all surprised.

The first scene took a whole day and night to film...

Yang Mi and Liu Yifei's expressions changed after being tormented by Jing Tian.

Jing Tian felt that the two women's acting skills were terrible... she couldn't find the feeling she wanted at all.

Jing Tian's comparisons to the two women are Kim Min-hee and Kim Tae-ri...

What can Yang Mi and Liu Yifei expect? Compared to Kim Min-hee, she is South Korea's only Berlin Film Festival Best Actress!
Kim Tae-ri, a monster newcomer, won the Blue Dragon Best New Actress award and became the first post-90s actress to win the Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actress twice!
What acting awards have the two women received?
They're evenly matched, let's see who can cry the most beautifully.
Seeing this, Zhang Wei simply ignored it.

Old Wu and Guo Fan were left with days that felt like years, watching as the relationship between the three women became increasingly strained.

The two were genuinely afraid that if the three women exploded, filming would be impossible.

Just as the two were worrying, Liu Yifei and Yang Mi received a notification to record the fourth season of Running Man.

Liu Yifei missed the third season, but returned for the fourth season.

There's a big difference between Running Man and Running Man China.

Running Man airs once a week, while Running Man China airs twelve times a year.

The current cooperation model between the two is somewhat reversed; the Chinese side is buying the South Korean side's ideas.

Because the film and variety show recordings clashed, the three women discussed it, and Lao Wu doesn't know how they negotiated, but in the end, none of them wanted to film anymore.

Then they dumped this mess on Lao Wu and Guo Fan.

The two of them did take the initiative to accept the project. Besides it being a good project, the main reason was that the production team had more than 60 million yuan in their accounts!
Jing Tian generously said that she would leave the money to them.

Although both of them had worked on large-scale projects with budgets exceeding 100 million, this was the first time they had ever worked on a youth film with budgets of over 60 million.

I'd be doing myself a disservice if I didn't answer.

Moreover, the preparations for "July and Ansheng" were done by the two of them, so it seems like "July and Ansheng" will be easy to film...

“A perfectly good project, and it ended up being a complete disaster. Jing Tian, ​​Liu Yifei, and Mimi all dropped out.” Li Mingyang said speechlessly, “Without Liu Yifei and Mimi, what are you expecting to make? Even if your budget is 60 million, you’ll need 180 million to break even.”

"Director Li, isn't that what you're here for?"

"They won't film, do you think I would?"

Old Wu lowered his head and thought for a moment, "I have a few candidates here: Zhang Xiaofei, Gao Ye, Yuan Shanshan, Shuangzi, Kan Qingzhi, Su Chang, Tan Songyun, Tang Yixin, Mao Xiaotong..."

“I’ve approached all these women to act in movies, but they can’t be the lead actresses in theatrical films.”

"What about Liu Shishi?"

"She's still filming 'Scarlet Heart 2,' she doesn't have time."

"What about Fan Binbin?"

"How old is she?!"

"Gao Yuanyuan is quite old, yet she still plays a high school student."

"Don't follow my example! If you follow my example, you'll die quickly... Whether it's Your Name or Weathering With You, I think the female lead casting was terrible. Jing Tian playing Mitsuha, ugh, it almost made me depressed. Gao Yuanyuan playing Yang Cai, she doesn't even deserve to play Yang Cai. Zhang Ruonan is the chosen one!"

"Zhang Ruonan is indeed very talented... So, should we cast her as July?"

"She's too young!"

“Then I’ll use new actors… I’ll pick from the Beijing Film Academy…” Old Wu said cautiously.

"Which one you choose is your problem. Anyway, I'm telling you this today: I'll see the film at the end of the month. If the film doesn't satisfy me, you and Guo Fan won't be allowed to make any theatrical films for two years!"

Old Wu wasn't worried at first, but when he heard that he couldn't make movies for theatrical release for two years, he immediately panicked. Isn't that a ban on directing?
He finally had a little confidence!

"Director Li, I..."

"Not negotiable."

After Li Mingyang finished speaking, he snapped his fingers, summoned the waiter, and paid the bill.

There was absolutely no room for Lao Wu to refute.

The so-called ban on directing is just a scare tactic.

Li Mingyang is preparing to have Lao Wu and Guo Fan work on The Three-Body Problem.

The production of science fiction films typically begins two to three years in advance.

The Wandering Earth, China Film Group bought the rights from Ning Hao in 12, and decided to start production in 14. They looked at a lot of directors, and finally chose Guo Fan, who made a name for himself with "My Old Classmate".

Filming began in 17, and the movie was released in 19.

It took eight years.

The scriptwriting for Monster Hunt began in 2009.

The character design work began in 2010, with the main creators investing a lot of energy in designing core characters such as "Huba," which took a year.

All character designs were completed in 2013, and intellectual property protection work was launched simultaneously.

Filming began in 2014 and the film was released in 2015.

It took seven years.

The movie "Monkey King: Hero Is Back" took eight years to finally be released.

Tian Xiaopeng is currently going through the lowest point in his life, and Li Mingyang has no intention of helping him out.

He was worried about pulling the other person astray...

Many excellent films are actually created under conditions of extreme financial shortage.

Too much funding can actually cloud creative thinking.

Crazy Stone is a good example; due to a shortage of funds, so many cheesy classics were produced!

We need to get the Three-Body Problem working!
Although he can use his financial power to speed up the film's development, a lot of preparatory work still needs to be done.

Arranging the crew alone is a huge undertaking.

Zhang Yimou and Xu Ke mobilized over a thousand people.

We need to make it a big event...

Li Mingyang walked towards the bar entrance while lost in thought.

Suddenly a 'big white cake' appeared at the door.

Nicole Kidman was wearing a white T-shirt and tight jeans, her fair skin even whiter than the white T-shirt.

Li Mingyang recognized her immediately; she was a jury member at this year's Cannes Film Festival, and Li Mingyang had always wanted to befriend her.

Li Mingyang took the initiative to go up and greet her.

However, the other party's bodyguards stopped him. Taking advantage of Nicole Kidman's gaze, Li Mingyang opened fire, his peach blossom eyes piercing through the sunglasses and striking Nicole Kidman directly.

"Who are you?" Nicole Kidman asked. "Director Li Mingyang from Dongda University." Li Mingyang took off his sunglasses and extended his hand.

Nicole Kidman's red lips parted slightly in surprise, and then she extended both hands to shake hands with Li Mingyang.

Li Mingyang wasn't sure if the peach blossom eyes technique was effective.

But Nicole was very enthusiastic and invited him to have a drink together.

Nicole Kidman is approaching fifty this year. When she debuted, Li Mingyang wasn't even born yet.

Nicole Kidman of the Moulin Rouge was at the peak of her beauty, stunning everyone she met, and was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman on the court.

Among all the white actresses in Hollywood, Nicole Kidman has a really long shelf life.

Although she's approaching 50, her appearance is still stunning, especially her skin, which is as white as snow and incredibly fair. She radiates a dazzling glow, as if she has professional lighting equipment.

She is 1.8 meters tall, with an unparalleled super nine-head body proportion, and even taller than Li Mingyang when wearing high heels.

Before long, Li Mingyang and Nicole Kidman arrived at a booth in the corner of the bar. The U-shaped booth was occupied by eight people, both men and women, and they were all quite old.

Li Mingyang didn't know any of them.

However, these people all knew him, and upon hearing Nicole Kidman introduce herself, they immediately became enthusiastic, their joy evident in their expressions.

Li Mingyang was originally just testing whether his "peach blossom eyes" would have any effect on Nicole Kidman.

Unexpectedly, I've entered a new circle...

In the world of producers, Nicole Kidman also has the role of a producer. A producer's primary responsibility is to maximize the profits of a project.

It's an open secret that FBTV intends to dominate Asia.

These people all want to sell films, and each of them has a large number of film sources in their hands.

Streaming media is all the rage.

DVD copyright revenue has been rendered obsolete, making online streaming copyright the hottest copyright trading activity.

The price of domestic online broadcasting rights is rising, and the price of global online broadcasting rights is rising even more outrageously!

These small film producers are all incredibly shrewd; they all sign one-year contracts and divide them by region.

It's sold once a year, and the price increases every year.

After chatting for more than half an hour, Li Mingyang became interested. He was quite curious about what film and television copyrights these people held.

So Li Mingyang made an appointment with them to meet at the Festival Palace the next day to watch a film.

"Director Li Mingyang, have you met Mr. Spielberg?"

Before leaving, Nicole Kidman gave Li Mingyang a polite hug and whispered something in her ear.

"Not yet, but I think we should meet soon."

Li Mingyang greeted everyone and left the bar with a smile on his face.

After leaving the bar, Li Mingyang didn't go back to his room. Instead, he called Wu Zhikui, who was still at the bar, and summoned him out.

"Was that Nicole Kidman just now?" Old Wu asked as soon as he came up.

"Ah."

"What a pity, we can't take a photo together."

"Are you a fan of hers?"

"I don't have many favorite foreign celebrities. For men, it's Nicolas Cage, and for women, it's Nicole Kidman."

"Don't be disappointed, I've arranged to meet her at the Festive Palace tomorrow, and I'll bring you along."

"Ah."

Li Mingyang asked Lao Wu to lead the way to his room so he could make some arrangements for tomorrow.

……

The Cannes Film Festival is the world's largest film copyright trading market, where approximately 70% of the world's film transactions are completed.

But the trading here is not as bustling and lively as people imagine.

In reality, most film deals are done behind the scenes, such as in booths on the basement floor of the cinema or in the large hotels across the street from the cinema.

These places bring together film company owners, producers, copyright companies, and film sales agents from around the world, who easily finalize "business deals" over drinks or coffee.

The next morning, Li Mingyang took Lao Wu and Jing Tian to the Festive Palace to meet Nicole Kidman and her entourage.

Unexpectedly, they arrived even earlier than Li Mingyang.

Compared to last night, Nicole Kidman's team had more producers, nearly twenty in total.

Li Mingyang wanted to watch a movie, so Nicole Kidman and her friends rented a movie theater specifically for showing movies. They also had a catalog of the movies, which was very simple, consisting of just the title and poster.

It also has a Chinese title.

Li Mingyang and Lao Wu spent the whole morning looking at things, while Jing Tian and Nicole Kidman chatted all morning.

Nicole Kidman's life... is quite inspiring and she's very lucky.

It is well known that many beautiful actresses in Hollywood have encountered harassment, temptation, manipulation, and unspoken rules to varying degrees.

But Nicole Kidman, as an "outsider," established herself in Hollywood without encountering any trouble from beginning to end.

This is all thanks to her ex-husband, Hollywood's most commercially successful male star! Tom Cruise.

Of course, Tom Cruise also left a significant shadow on her...

On the day of her divorce, Nicole Kidman was laughing so hard she almost looked powerful!

That photo of him laughing heartily, as if he'd just been released from prison, went viral around the world!
However, in interviews after the divorce, Nicole never spoke ill of Tom Cruise.

She also expressed her gratitude to Tom Cruise, saying that without his protection, she might have been harassed to no end...

She's a tall actress, standing at 1.8 meters! Even in Hollywood, it would be hard to find a Hollywood actor who matches her height.

Visually, it makes the male protagonist feel very uncomfortable.

Tom Cruise must have truly loved her, otherwise she would never have gotten the lead role in Dave Woolf.

Not to mention the future!

When the two divorced, the media mocked Nicole Kidman, saying that without Tom Cruise, she would wither away like a dried-up flower.

As it turned out, she was indeed a blooming rose!
Six months after her divorce, her film "Moulin Rouge" was released.

For this role, she was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe.

The following year, her starring role in "The Hours" earned her an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a Berlin Film Festival Best Actress award.

As an Oscar-winning actress, Nicole Kidman is arguably one of the pinnacles of female stardom worldwide.

As a producer, he was also quite successful.

This is thanks to her high productivity!
Yang Mi is already known as one of the most hardworking actresses in the Chinese entertainment industry, but compared to Nicole... it's hard to compare...

Nicole Kidman was a prolific film actress, still a top Hollywood star, when she suddenly turned to television.

In 2010, Nicole entered the television industry as a producer, participating in the production of several film and television projects through her production company, Blossom Films.

This was such a forward-thinking move!

As an independent producer, Nicole doesn't have many film projects; they mainly consist of... art films.

It's actually level three.

The same applies to other films; from another perspective, the Cannes Film Festival screens mostly Category III films.

feature!

Universal values, without a touch of bitterness, won't sell well!

After looking around all morning, Li Mingyang talked to these people about the price during lunch, offering a package deal instead of selling them individually.

Prices range from $300,000 to $3 million.

They're all small-time producers with reasonable prices, not ripping people off.

It's just that it's a bit old...

While we were eating, another group of foreigners, who had heard rumors, volunteered to sell their films. There were local French film distributors and also small film distributors.

After lunch, they continued watching the movie in the afternoon. Li Mingyang only watched the first five minutes, watching very quickly.

During this period, film distributors kept coming in to promote their products.

Li Mingyang welcomed all comers, and some even prepared portable hard drives, showing their eagerness for cooperation.

And so, Li Mingyang stumbled into the world of independent producers and small film distributors.

In the days leading up to the Cannes Film Festival opening, I was either watching films or on my way to watch films.

This left Wall Street capital, Cannes organizers, Hollywood capital, and people in the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese entertainment industries completely dumbfounded!
In terms of status and position, Li Mingyang is a big name at this year's Cannes Film Festival. He has a net worth of billions, is backed by CJ, and owns FBTV, a company that many people envy.

Dealing with those movie vendors is really beneath one's dignity.

Even Nicole Kidman, who brought Li Mingyang into the industry, was speechless.

She originally just wanted to earn some pocket money and casually help a friend sell a film, but she didn't expect that Li Mingyang would not go to lobby for the Palme d'Or, but instead be very interested in low-budget films.

Nicole doesn't believe for a second that these low-budget films can help FBTV.

What good stuff can rot in a warehouse?

Just when everyone was suspecting that Li Mingyang was engaging in shady dealings!
On May 14, 2013, local time in France, Zhang Wei, vice president of Bouquet CJ, arrived in Cannes and booked a banquet hall at the hotel where Li Mingyang was staying. She invited film distributors who had been in contact with Li Mingyang to discuss the details of the deal.

In just one afternoon, Zhang Wei signed contracts worth $130 million with more than 100 film distributors from around the world.

The deal was completed under the official witness of Cannes, and Cannes naturally had to give it a big shout-out for this record-breaking transaction.

With the powerful media channels in Cannes, the news that FBTV had spent $1.3 million to acquire the global streaming rights to tens of thousands of movies swept through the global entertainment industry in less than an hour!
Producers, celebrities, and agents who benefited from this confirmed the news's authenticity on social media, praising FBTV as an excellent partner, saying they would buy from them as long as the price was right and basically wouldn't haggle.

It has a somewhat foolish and rich-minded tone, implying that people should come quickly.

In reality, however...

If you want to take it, you must first give it.

(End of this chapter)