Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 15 Love for Talent
The lights dimmed and the whole place fell silent.

There is no dragon logo and no production company’s opening animation.

There were only two lines of text on the big screen:
Youth Film Studio

Joint project of 2006 graduates of Yanjing Film Academy
The first scene of the feature film is Qin Lan driving and talking on the phone at night.

After 86 minutes, the screen went dark and the music started.

Director, Screenwriter, and Editor: Li Qiutang.

The main subtitles are rolling.

The lights come on again.

There was no post-screening exchange session at the graduation exhibition. As soon as the film was over, the students began to leave one after another.

But Li Qiutang still heard some discussions:

"He spent more than 200,000 yuan to shoot this?" It was a graduation project for the directing department, and the start-up capital provided by Qingying Studio was more than 200,000 yuan.

"How is that possible? 86 minutes of film costs more than 20. He must have paid for it himself."

"It's awesome that he spent money on this film. What did he think of this story?"

"The story is secondary. What's so brave is really great." The bravery mentioned here does not only refer to the fact that Li Qiutang dared to make a feature film for his graduation work. Didn't the master's class make a documentary feature film? There is never a shortage of brave people in the directing department. The bravery mentioned here refers to the fact that Li Qiutang dared to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to make a graduation work, which is a feature film.

The directing students are short of money! Anyone with money is bold.

"How did he get Qin Lan to star in her film?" This is something many students cannot understand.

"The actor who plays Qin Lan's boyfriend is our teacher Zhang Songwen, right? This is the first time I've seen him act."

Li Qiutang also followed the crowd out. From what she had heard so far, teachers and students had given a lot of praise to "The Night the Comet Came".

"Qiutang, come here." Tian Zhuangzhuang called him and waved to him.

When Tian Zhuangzhuang shouted, many teachers and students looked at Li Qiutang.

"He is Li Qiutang, he is quite handsome."

Li Qiutang took two quick steps and came to the front.

"He is the director." Tian Zhuangzhuang introduced him to Mr. Han.

"Hello, Mr. Han." Li Qiutang took the initiative to shake hands with Mr. Han and say hello.

Director Han smiled and said, "I came to China Film Group to look for distributors."

"I looked for it." Li Qiutang smiled, "They said it was a student's homework and they wouldn't give it to me. Haha."

Tian Zhuangzhuang laughed and said, "You are quite vindictive."

Li Qiutang laughed dryly.

Director Han did not think that the people below him should be blamed for rejecting Li Qiutang, because China Film Group would certainly not push a student work to the market.

Most of the people who had placed the order left very quickly, leaving only a few teachers, Li Qiutang and Mr. Han sitting inside and talking.

Director Han first praised Li Qiutang's film: "It's a good idea to build a temple in a snail shell, and it's also very well done."

Then he said that this movie reminded him of the movies they made in the 1980s and 1990s: "We also got very little money and tried our best to make the story interesting."

Then he asked, "I heard from your teacher that it was shortlisted for the film festival?"

"Yes, the Canadian Fantastic Film Festival, next month."

"Very good, are there any difficulties? Our China Film Group is not only market-oriented, but also has a social responsibility."

Without even needing a glance from Teacher Jiang Wei, Li Qiutang said, "We have everything we need now, except for distribution."

Also talking about the release.

This made all the teachers laugh. Xie Xiaojing said, "I was asking you if there were any difficulties in going abroad to participate in a film festival. You really know how to choose the right time."

Mr. Han said, "Come over tomorrow and we'll talk about it in detail."

"Okay!" Li Qiutang agreed readily. Since President Han had agreed to have a good talk with her, this matter must be possible.

Director Han encouraged Li Qiutang again and left. Han Sanping really wanted to help Li Qiutang.

Although the domestic film market has improved, it is still very difficult. The market urgently needs works to bring audiences back to the cinema. His choice is commercial films, especially commercial blockbusters, so he supported Chen Kaige in making "The Promise".

While making blockbuster films, we also actively support new directors.

His support is behind Lu Chuan's success. Lu Chuan is now preparing for "Nanjing! Nanjing!". Chairman Han is very supportive of this project and has high hopes for the film and Lu Chuan himself.

Originally, he was not going to watch the film academy graduation screening, but old friends like Tian Zhuangzhuang, Xie Xiaojing, Hou Keming and others invited him warmly and praised Li Qiutang like a flower, so he became curious and decided to come and watch.

It doesn't matter at first glance, I was really surprised after watching it.

Although it is a science fiction story, it does not beat around the bush at all. The story is easy to understand and there is no threshold for ordinary audiences to watch the movie.

The most valuable thing is that he saw Li Qiutang's imagination in "The Night the Comet Came".

As a director or creator, the most frightening thing is the lack of imagination.

Imagination not only refers to going into the sky and into the earth, moving mountains and filling the sea. In many cases, imagination is linked to ingenuity. The word "ingenuity" has troubled many directors.

"The Night the Comet Came" reflects the director's ingenuity, using little money to make a good movie.

Not to mention that he is only 22 years old. Such a young director is worth seeing.

Early the next morning, Teacher Tian Zhuangzhuang contacted Li Qiutang and took him to China Film Studio.

Teacher Tian was very thoughtful. Last night, it was Director Han who personally invited Li Qiutang, and the people below didn't know about it yet. If Li Qiutang went alone today and asked to see Director Han, he would most likely be kicked out. But he was different. It would be easy for him to see Director Han, and the people below would not stop him.

The teacher and student came to China Film Group and successfully met Mr. Han in his office.

"I brought it here personally, and you think it's so precious?" Director Han said as soon as he saw the teacher and the student.

"You guys talk about your things, I'll just listen." After Tian Zhuangzhuang finished speaking, he sat down, sipping the cup of tea, looking as if he didn't care at all.

Director Han ignored him and started communicating with Li Qiutang.

It mainly consists of Li Qiutang talking about how he created "The Night the Comet Came".

"…The three major genres that best reflect the strength of a country's film industry are science fiction, fantasy, and military war. I want to make all three, but I don't have the money, so I can only try this trick."

A student was talking about the industrialization of film in the office of the vice chairman of China Film Group. He must have been bragging. Chairman Han knew he was bragging, but the student's boast touched his heart, because he was promoting the industrialization of film by making commercial blockbusters. He firmly believed that if Chinese films were to develop, they had to take the path of industrialization.

"Qin Lan and I are from Fengtian. We have known each other for two or three years. This time she helped me for free. The other actors were hired with money... The biggest expense was the film. Even if I could buy it from Qingying Studio at a low price, I still spent four or five hundred thousand on the film. The other expenses were not much."

"I have my own small studio. I usually shoot commercials, promotional videos, music videos and everything else. Not only do I shoot them myself, I also act as an agent to introduce other people to filming jobs. Over the years, I made some money, but I invested it all in 'The Night the Comet Came'." He never said that he made money from ringtones.

"The total cost is about 80." Li Qiutang quickly calculated in his mind and reported a number.

"80? That's a lot of money." Director Han's words made Li Qiutang's temples throb. "Even if we lose money on this cost, it won't be too much."

The cost is already so low, how much more loss can there be?
Then, President Han said that China Film Group has its own social responsibilities. It not only has to produce excellent films, but also supports new talents. "I have made the decision on this matter. I will distribute your film. You can send the tape to me in a few days and the group will help you submit it for review."

"Good." This should be the best news Li Qiutang has heard in the past six months.

"We have our own procedures for review and distribution, which will take some time. Forget about the summer season."

It's already June, and Li Qiutang has no dreams of a summer movie season: "As long as I can make it, I'm not picky about the schedule."

"Then I'll let you enter the Lunar New Year box office?" Director Han said with a smile.

Li Qiutang was stunned. "Curse of the Golden Flower" was scheduled to be released early for the Chinese New Year. Although she knew that the quality of the film was average, Li Qiutang would have to be crazy to touch "Curse of the Golden Flower".

Seeing Li Qiutang's strange expression, Director Han smiled and said, "Even if you want to enter the Lunar New Year period, I won't let you. Don't worry, if it's earlier, it will be National Day, and if it's later, it will be November. This year, you will definitely be put in the lead."

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Han."

After discussing the film distribution, Mr. Han asked Li Qiutang about some homework. In general, the directing department courses are divided into three parts: performance, drama, and audio-visual language. These three parts run through the entire learning process.

“What other scripts have you written?”

"I've written some in my spare time, including feature films and short films," Li Qiutang said, "but most of them are not very mature." Li Qiutang had a hidden trick. Even if he told the truth that he had two or three scripts in his hands, Mr. Han would not believe it.

Mr. Han casually said that he would bring it over to watch when he had the chance, and encouraged him to keep creating. Before seeing him off, Mr. Han also mentioned a movie: "There is a movie called Crazy Stone that will be released at the end of the month. It is also shot by a very good young director. I will introduce you two to each other when I have time."

After hearing what Director Han said, Li Qiutang realized that this movie had his support behind it, which was something she had not known in advance. Li Qiutang agreed and left China Film Group with Teacher Tian.

(End of this chapter)