Chapter Forty-Nine: The Press Conference and the Copyright

September’s movie news was overwhelming. First, “The Love of Hawthorn Tree” was about to premiere, its publicity flooding the media. Then came the announcement of “Empire of Heaven,” a blockbuster fully funded by Huayi, slated as the grand finale at the end of the month, with press releases rivaling those of “Hawthorn Tree.”

Meanwhile, two Hong Kong films were also set to hit theaters: “Sword Rain” and “Legend of the Fist.” The former, starring Wang Xueqi and Yang Ziqiong, was also scheduled for the end of the month and was touted as the best wuxia film of the past decade—though who knows by what standard. As for “Legend of the Fist,” the name alone betrayed its nature as a nostalgic rehash.

Amid this dizzying cascade of news, the press conference for “Breakup Buddies” in the latter part of the month still managed to draw considerable attention.

Just days after auditions concluded, once the actors’ schedules were confirmed and contracts signed, Chen Ling Films released the complete cast list and filed it with the Film Bureau.

…

Title: “Breakup Buddies”

Producers: Chen Ling Films, China Film Group, Wanda Pictures, Enlight Media

Director: Chen Ling

Producer: Chen Zhixi

Main Cast: Chen Ling, Xu Zheng, Liu Yifei, Yang Zhi, Zhang Yishan, Yang Mi, Liu Yan…

The cast announcement naturally sparked a flurry of discussion. The most buzz surrounded Liu Yifei and Yang Mi. The former, a national first-love figure, always drew traffic; even though her participation had been announced before, she still attracted the most attention among the main cast this time. The latter, one of the Four Little Flowers, also had considerable influence, and her ongoing disputes with Tangren Media over the past two years had fueled frequent online clashes between their respective fans, further boosting her profile—even if the term “traffic star” hadn’t yet become common in the entertainment industry.

Chen Ling considered casting Yang Mi precisely because of her immense exposure.

Riding the wave of publicity from the cast filing, the team promptly held a press conference.

The event took place at a five-star hotel, with numerous media outlets invited but no special guests. Chen Ling’s network was just beginning to take shape, and it wasn’t the right time to call in favors—inviting people risked souring relationships if they declined, or indebting himself if they accepted. At present, Chen Ling’s favors weren’t worth much, but who could say about the future? He had no intention of squandering them now.

Representatives from Wanda, Enlight, and China Film Group, as co-producers, were naturally present.

On stage sat the key creatives: Chen Ling, Chen Zhixi, Liu Yifei, Xu Zheng, Zhao Qian (general manager of Chen Ling Films), and representatives from the three production companies.

As the press conference hadn’t started yet, the group chatted and joked among themselves. The topic of conversation wasn’t Chen Ling, but rather “Baldy Xu.”

—

“Zheng, how much weight have you lost lately?”

At the contract signing, Xu Zheng had joked that he’d need to lose some weight to play alongside Chen Ling in the leading role. Chen Ling had thought he was kidding, but within a month, Xu Zheng had truly slimmed down.

“Less than twenty pounds,” Xu Zheng said, rubbing his noticeably smaller beer belly with a smile.

“Impressive!”

Everyone gave him a thumbs up. Whatever one might say about Xu Zheng’s character, his dedication was admirable.

—

As soon as the press conference began, the media were eager with their questions—but everything had been coordinated beforehand; there were no troublemakers.

“Director Chen, do you have confidence that your new film will surpass the box office of your debut?”

“Absolutely. The script for this film is even better, the cast is stronger, so I have even more confidence in the box office.”

“With such a high benchmark set by your last film, do you feel any pressure this time?”

“Of course there’s pressure—but pressure is motivation.”

“It’s undeniable that your film’s high box office was helped by winning the Golden Melody Award, bringing a lot of attention. Do you have any plans for a new album?”

“The protagonist of this film is a singer, so I’ll be releasing at least two songs in the film. If I’m not too busy next year, these songs will be included in my new album.”

If not for the reporter’s question, Chen Ling would have nearly forgotten that his first claim to fame was through music.

“Yifei, what made you decide to join this film?”

“An excellent script and a great team, of course. I believe this film will exceed everyone’s expectations.”

The press conference ended amid laughter and excitement, taking just two or three hours—unlike others that dragged on all day. The reporters were more than happy; after all, their red envelopes were generous.

Once the journalists had mostly dispersed, Chen Ling notified the attendees, “Don’t forget the script table read at the company the day after tomorrow. The crew is ready. We plan to start shooting at the end of this month and aim to wrap by November.”

“Got it.”

“Understood.”

—

Everyone responded enthusiastically.

Since it was a road movie, the crew would first shoot in Hengdian, then move to Tianmen Mountain, and finally to Dali. Hopping between these locations would take a lot of time, so Chen Ling set a two-month schedule. If there weren’t so many location changes, a month would have sufficed.

…

After the press conference, Chen Ling returned to the company. On his desk was a dossier Zhao Qian had just submitted: the copyright paperwork for “Lost on Journey.” Chen Ling had initiated this process over a month ago.

Only today was it finally completed. From now on, the copyright for “Lost on Journey”—including potential sequels—belonged to Chen Ling.

It hadn’t come cheap. The initial asking price was eight million, which Zhao Qian, on Chen Ling’s behalf, flatly refused. That figure was laughable—the original film’s production cost was nowhere near that, and the price exceeded both the budget and the box office profit. Not even Zhao Qian would accept such terms, never mind Chen Ling. It was daylight robbery.

After several rounds of negotiation, they settled at five million—a price Chen Ling personally approved. Zhao Qian still thought it was high, but she always executed Chen Ling’s instructions to the letter.

“Register the script’s copyright tomorrow,” Chen Ling said, handing Zhao Qian the completed script for “Lost in Thailand” from his drawer.

“Should I submit it to the Film Bureau for review?”

“Not for now. Let’s wait until this movie is finished.”

Chen Ling wasn’t ready to submit the script just yet. If he did, the media would inevitably catch wind of it. With “Breakup Buddies” about to start filming, he didn’t want any distractions. As long as the copyright was registered, the timing of the rest was unimportant.

Still, Xu Zheng would likely learn of this soon. During negotiations, the rights holder had hinted to Zhao Qian that Xu Zheng was interested in making a sequel, and had been in discussions since the film’s release. But the rights holder didn’t want to proceed, nor did they want to sell to Xu Zheng—so Zhao Qian was able to bring the rights back to Chen Ling.

“Let Xu Zheng know to come early to the script reading tomorrow. I have something else to discuss with him,” Chen Ling instructed Zhao Qian.

“Understood.”

…