Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 32 Trip to Busan

A newly graduated directing student, who just made a big hit in a movie, was praised as a talented director. While he was young and promising, he also wanted to have some scandals.

But what kind of scandals could there be about a new director who just graduated?

It just so happened that the leading actress of the crew was a famous actress who was quite pretty, and this female star was recently going through a breakup.

If this isn’t ready-made material, then what is?
After the National Day, Li Qiutang went into seclusion.

He encountered the same situation as Ning Hao. After "Comet", everyone waved money to invest in his new film. Even though he said there was no sign of the new film, the investors didn't care and wanted to give the money to Li Qiutang.

Yanjing is a film and television center, so it is normal for investors here to look for me. But why do even the bosses of bathhouses and mines in my hometown in Northeast China come to me?

He came up and said he was a fellow villager who wanted to invest in him. The risk of film and television investment is very high. Li Qiutang didn't want to cheat people, so he told his fellow villager about the general situation of film investment and distribution. As a result, the fellow villager listened for a long time and said, "Oh, I don't understand what you are saying. Just tell me how much money you want, and I will believe you."

Why do you trust me? I don't even know you!
Li Qiutang still did not take the money.

On this day, Li Qiutang received his first and so far most important investor, Mr. Zhang, who grew greenhouse vegetables in Qilu, at the hotel.

Boss Zhang is in great glory recently. The success of "Comet" has earned him a lot of face.

"Brother Li, why are you staying in a hotel?"

Li Qiutang said: "My home is exposed and I am harassed every day, so I decided to move to a hotel for a while. It's quiet and private."

Boss Zhang boasted about his experiences during this period and expressed his gratitude to Li Qiutang.

Li Qiutang did the math for Boss Zhang: "You invested 200 million in me, and I estimate that I can return to million to you. However, the return of the film is slow, and it will probably take until next year to settle the bill. The money will come in around the middle of next year."

"No rush, no rush." Boss Zhang didn't sign the 200 million contract for Li Qiutang at the beginning, and he didn't think Li Qiutang could bring him any returns.

"Yes, yes." Li Qiutang was a man who knew how to repay kindness. Although there was no contract signed and he had the final say on how to settle the bill, he still treated others fairly. "Without your 200 million, I really couldn't have done this job."

Boss Zhang was of course very happy that Li Qiutang could say that. He said he wanted to invest another sum, but Li Qiutang refused and advised Boss Zhang not to touch film and television investment in the future: "Let's just rent land and grow vegetables, and don't touch this. The water in this industry is too deep. Once you step in, you can't see the bottom.

"If you want to invest, you can buy a property within the third ring road of the city in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. You can make money in ten years!"

But Boss Zhang looked down on real estate investment: "What's the point of buying a house even if it appreciates in value? Is this considered an investment? Any fool can do it, there's no technical content at all."

You are right. In the next ten years or so, even a fool can make money in real estate.

"It's about making money. No matter how you make it, it's still making money." Li Qiutang advised.

Boss Zhang is very determined to make cultural investments, especially in film and television. He said he plans to enroll in a president's class next year to learn about investment and management in a systematic way.

Li Qiutang could only wish him good luck.

In fact, Li Qiutang couldn't hide. On the 11th, he and Qin Lan appeared at the airport together and set off to attend the Busan Film Festival.

Facing the reporter's questioning, Li Qiutang found it funny. He really didn't know that the media was spreading rumors about him: "Ah? I didn't know. She has a boyfriend. We are just fellow villagers and friends. There is no other meaning. Don't say anything nonsense."

The reporter asked him what his criteria for choosing a partner were. Among the three outstanding young directors in the past two years, Lu, Ning and Li, he is the youngest.

Li Qiutang refused to answer this question: "My career has just started, so I will work for two years first, and I will just let things take their own course when it comes to love." As for the new film, Li Qiutang said she was not in a hurry: "Comet has not been released yet, and I don't have any idea about the new film, so let's talk about it later. Everyone, please give way."

Qin Lan also personally denied the rumors of a breakup with Huang Xiaoming, saying that everything was fine between them.

The Busan Film Festival claims to be Asia's number one film festival, but after its opening this year, it was questioned by the media for being "not international enough."

Although there were many stars present, only Andy Lau could be considered international and could cause thunderous applause from the audience.

There were more than 150 celebrity guests, basically a collective appearance of Korean local stars. Many European directors and actors even walked quietly on the red carpet like ordinary staff.

This is also Li Qiutang’s first time to come to Korea. Busan is not that great, it is just an ordinary coastal city.

"It's not even as good as the spicy cabbage my mom makes." Li Qiutang tried Korean kimchi and it tasted okay, but he preferred his own.

Each country has its own eating habits. It doesn’t matter whether foreigners think something is delicious or not.

Li Qiutang had no intention of criticizing Korean food. He could eat it, but he was a little uncomfortable using the stainless steel chopsticks. And their Korean soju was really hard to drink!
But the thing he couldn't accept the most about Koreans during his two days in Korea was their loud shouting.

Many people from Northeast China also like to shout loudly after drinking a little, but when Koreans have a meal together, even though they haven't drunk anything, they will shout and shout so loudly that they want to lift the ceiling off, without considering that there are other people in the restaurant.

Li Qiutang and his group were received by CJ Entertainment, the Korean copyright buyer of "The Night the Comet Came", who sent a director and a foreign student translator.

In her spare time, Li Qiutang wanted to go sightseeing, after all, she was already here, but the translator told Li Qiutang: "There is nothing interesting in Korea, just a big place."

But the translator also secretly told Li Qiutang: "The sex industry in Korea is relatively developed, but they generally don't accept foreigners. If you want to experience it, we can arrange it."

Li Qiutang didn't like this, but he couldn't help asking, "I heard Korean female stars also do this, especially those idols, is it true?"

"Yes, depending on what you need."

Then Li Qiutang rejected this arrangement.

Of course, Li Qiutang's most important task during her visit to Korea was to attend the film festival. Her second task was to discuss with CJ how to deal with "The Night the Comet Came".

The copyrights had been sold to CJ, and this matter was not Li Qiutang's business. However, seeing that "Comet" sold so well in China, CJ wanted to change his original strategy of directly distributing DVDs and selling them to TV stations. He wanted to try to broadcast it in theaters, so he discussed it with Li Qiutang and hoped that Li Qiutang could actively promote it at the film festival.

Of course Li Qiutang wants to have his film released in theaters, as theaters are the only places that can maximize the influence of a film.

But he also knew that his opinion was not that important. If CJ valued his opinion, he would not have just sent the director to receive him.

His focus is still on film festivals.

One of the important promotional slogans that CJ used for "The Night the Comet Came" at the film festival was "Conquer America". He said that at the Toronto Film Festival, Americans were so excited after watching "Comet" that they were scrambling for the copyright, offering higher and higher prices. In addition, Korean audiences saw "The Night the Comet Came" before American audiences.

In China, people only said "sold tens of millions in North America", but CJ directly said "conquered America", which made Li Qiutang admire this promotion.

The translator told Li Qiutang: "Koreans are particularly fond of this."

But no matter what, a lot of people came to the Busan Film Festival premiere of "The Night the Comet Came", even Zhou Xun and Andy Lau came to join in the fun.

(End of this chapter)