Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 14 Buy an X-movie and get The Promise for free

No one would believe this if I said it out loud.

The director's family runs a video store, and all they sell are pirated copies. There isn't a single genuine disc in the entire room.

That’s not the case. Those recorders are genuine BBK products.

What can we do? If we sell genuine products these days, we will starve to death.

"What movies are selling well recently?" Li Qiutang was flipping through the disc packaging in the cardboard box.

Li's mother said: "American films are still easy to sell. People always watch King Kong and Harry Potter. Then there are Stephen Chow's films, as well as some cartoons and horror films. When you make a film, I will sell it. I will also tell people that it was made by my son, so that he can show his face more."

Li Qiutang was so angry that she laughed: "How can you be so proud of yourself if you sell pirated copies of your own son's works?"

Mother Li smiled and said, "Then I raised you by selling pirated copies."

The mother and son were talking and laughing when a man came in. He didn't even bother looking for a movie, but went straight to the counter and asked, "Madam, where is Ultraman?"

"It's there." Mother Li nodded. "Do you watch Ultraman?"

"How can that be? I'm renting this for my son." The elder brother picked a movie at random and came to the counter to ask, "Are there any new movies coming in recently?"

"It's in the back, find it yourself."

The eldest brother went straight to the small room at the back. After a few minutes, he took out three discs and said, "These are all. How much are they?"

Mother Li took a black plastic bag and put the money in it. "The rent is 20, the deposit is 30, and you have to pay it back in a week."

“You’re too expensive.”

"Your Ultraman is worth more than 20 yuan, so I spared you these three discs in vain."

"Cheaper."

"If you think it's too expensive, I'll give you another one." Mother Li took out a disc of The Promise and said, "Four discs, one cartoon, 20 yuan is not too expensive, right?"

"Okay, the boss is a very polite person." The elder brother smiled and paid 50 yuan.

I wonder how Director Kaige felt when he saw this scene.

At dinner, Li Qiutang told his parents the reason for his return. Although his parents did not know what the Canadian Fantastic Film Festival was, they were still happy for their son: "The movie my son shot is going to be shown abroad!"

Li Qiutang certainly didn't say that he paid for the filming himself, and his parents still don't know that their son has made money by selling songs and opening a studio. Li Qiutang plans to find a suitable time to tell them that his son has made money.

"When can we see it in our cinema?" asked Mother Li.

"That's not certain. If I want it to be shown in theaters, someone has to distribute it for me."

"What do you mean?"

"After you make a movie, you need to put it in the cinema. There are so many cinemas in the country. I can't negotiate with them even if I have three heads and six arms. Besides, I'm not a celebrity. Why would a cinema show my movie? At this time, a film company needs to help me sell the movie to the cinema. I haven't found a company to help me sell my movie yet." Li Qiutang explained in a popular way what movie distribution is. "But this is only temporary. If I can gain some fame abroad, domestic companies will help me distribute it."

"What if I can't earn any fame?" Mother Li stabbed her son.

"How does this old woman talk like that?" said Li's father.

"That's how it is. Our son has made a movie with great difficulty and is taking it to a foreign country for screening. If the foreigners don't like it, then our son will gain nothing," said Mother Li.

"It's not like I won't get anything. It's great to be shortlisted for this film festival. I'm the only one in my school who was shortlisted."

"So my son is pretty amazing."

"It's okay." Li Qiutang smiled.

After dinner, Li's mother had to go to the store to look after the business. Li's father didn't go to the evening self-study today, so he lit a cigarette and went to play cards. Li Qiutang went out for a walk and a bite to eat. When he walked around and came to the store, he saw his mother on the phone:

"Yes, Qiutang is back. He came back to apply for a passport. He is going abroad, to Canada, to attend some film festival. It is said that the movie he shot was shortlisted for an international film festival. I don't know anything about this. I will ask Qiutang to find you tomorrow. You take the child to handle it." Mother Li glanced at her son coming in. "Hahaha, he is not a big director at all. He is just a student. Hahaha, what kind of prize money is there? It's good enough that he can go. OK, then it's settled. You take Qiutang to handle the formalities tomorrow. Bye."

Asking someone to do something for you is fake, showing off your son is real.

"Who?"

"Your second uncle."

"Isn't he from the Public Security Brigade? Is he in charge of passport processing?"

"They are all in the Public Security Bureau. They must know people there. Why can't they do anything about it? Bring your materials and money with you tomorrow and go with your second uncle."

"Okay." What my mother said made sense.

The business in the store was pretty good in the evening, with more than a dozen people coming to rent discs, including two minors who came to watch "better movies", and my mom rented the discs to them too.

Li Qiutang didn't care about all that. When he was fourteen or fifteen years old, he also followed others to watch these exciting shows.

The next day, he went through the passport formalities with his second uncle and would pick it up later. In the evening, Li's mother pushed a bank card in front of him and said, "You need money to go abroad. Here is 2 yuan. Take it."

Li Qiutang tried to evade the question and lied, "I was shortlisted to win glory for the school. This time I am going abroad at public expense. I have teachers from the school to accompany me. There are people to take care of my food, drink, toilet and urination. I don't need to pay."

"Then you have to spend some money when you travel abroad. You can't spend all the school's money. You should bring it with you in case you need it."

Li Qiutang had no choice but to accept the 2 yuan.

After staying at home for another two days, seeing that his beloved son was about to turn into a little bastard, Li Qiutang boarded the train back to Beijing.

Two days after returning to Yanjing, the 2006 graduation exhibition of the Film Academy's Directing Department began.

This also indicates that the 2002 class of the Film Academy, students from all majors, will soon graduate.

02级导演本科班（国内）就6个人，但一起参加毕业作品展的03硕士班有20人，再加上02导演国际教育班的7人，今年导演系毕业作品展规模很大。

Most of them are short films, but there are also feature-length documentaries, with a total of 15 works participating in the screening.

The most popular one is of course Li Qiutang's "The Night the Comet Came". This film has spread throughout the college, and many teachers and students want to see what kind of feature film this daring Li Qiutang has shot.

The academy also gave face by scheduling "The Night the Comet Came" as the finale on the first night.

Whether it is the Department of Acting or the Department of Directing, the annual graduation exhibition (performance) not only attracts teachers and students from the school, but also many CEOs from film companies come to watch in the hope of discovering good talents.

This is a very valuable opportunity for graduating students because they probably won't see these bosses again after they leave school.

Rumor has it that some big names will be attending the exhibition this year.

Li Qiutang was very relaxed. The film was already like this, so there was no point in being nervous.

But this was also the first time that "The Night the Comet Came" was screened on a large scale to audiences, and Li Qiutang had some expectations in her heart.

Sure enough, for this finale show, the 800 seats were filled before 7 o'clock in the evening. The venue was closed when full. If Li Qiutang had not been the director of the play, he almost couldn't get in.

There were so many people at the screening site. Li Qiutang looked around and saw several CEOs of film companies.

Huayi, Bona, Forbidden City, and even Shanghai Film Studio sent people.

Right in the first row, next to the director of the directing department, Mr. Tian Zhuangzhuang, Li Qiutang saw Mr. Han, the president of China Film Group Corporation. He should be the vice president now and will be promoted to chairman next year.

The two old friends lowered their heads and talked about something, and President Han nodded as he listened.

(End of this chapter)