China Entertainment started from Nortel 2002

Chapter 1019 Wanda Cannes
As April approaches, the incident of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars is still a hot topic. Will Smith finally announced that he would withdraw from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was willing to accept all penalties from the academy.

In the film and television industry, the film market has been in a "weak" state since the Spring Festival. First, there were almost no new domestic films scheduled for release in March.

Influenced by the experience of the "schedule bonus" in 2021, many films have already turned their attention to the Qingming Festival holiday.

Although the eight new domestic films, including "Life Events", "Detective Wars", "You Are My Spring", "One Week Friends", "The Last Truth" and "The Victim", are not considered big productions, they cover a variety of genres including suspense, action, youth, animation, literature and art. Many of these works have a reliable and trustworthy creative lineup, and were expected to bring a wave of rich viewing options to the audience.

However, due to the impact of the epidemic, these films were collectively announced to be withdrawn on the eve of Qingming Festival. In the end, only three new films, "Escape Room 2", "Hotel Transylvania 4: New Extras" and "Steppenwolf", were scheduled for the Qingming Festival this year.

This invisible chill makes people in the industry shudder.

In addition to devoting himself to the Asian Games, Li Mu would often browse some reports sent to him by Lu Yu about the company and the film and television industry. The current situation in the industry is indeed worrying.

At this time, Wanda's Zeng Maojun was even more upset when looking at the data of Wanda Film and Television and the industry data.

The gambling period was originally extended for one year. However, even in this situation, the domestic epidemic situation remains severe. As a film and television production and distribution company at the upstream of the industry chain, Wanda Film and Television has been severely affected.

"If this continues, we will lose 500 to 600 million yuan in the first half of the year alone."

Zeng Maojun leaned back in his chair and couldn't help rubbing his brows. The repeated outbreaks of the epidemic had put a lot of trouble on Wanda.

As the largest cinema chain company in China, it is foreseeable that Wanda Film will suffer heavy losses if its cinemas are unable to open.

Thinking of this, Zeng Maojun couldn't help but pick up his phone, looking at the person in the phone, swiping back and forth, thinking about what to do, and finally stopped at the name Li Mu.

"Let's give it a try." Zeng Maojun thought about it. Li Mu was still working on the Asian Games in Hangzhou, so it was very likely that he was not available. But if he didn't give it a try, he wouldn't be able to explain himself to himself.

After all, Wanda Films really needs a suitable movie now to shine in the right period, so that it will have a chance to lose less this year. Otherwise, it will lose everything.

In the film industry, Mengying Media has the highest return rate and certainty.

At this time, Li Mu was sitting in the office of the Hangzhou Asian Games Opening Ceremony Project Team;

There is a thick stack of project materials on the desk, and even the laptop is filled with design drawings and data reports.

Li Mu couldn't help but frown and rubbed the corners of his eyes which were a little sore, but the phone on the table suddenly vibrated.

"Hmm?" He glanced at the screen and saw a call from Zeng Maojun.

"Mr. Zeng!" Li Mu answered the phone and said easily.

"Director Li, you must have been very busy recently, right?" Zeng Maojun said with a smile.

"It's okay, but the Asian Games are indeed not easy. It's much more troublesome than making a movie." Li Mu closed a plan.

"Hahaha, that's different, this is a national project!"

Zeng Maojun said cheerfully, but then changed the subject, "So Director Li, you are not planning to release a new movie this year?"

When Li Mu heard this, he understood a little bit. If there was really nothing to do, he wouldn't mind taking Wanda with him once, but he really didn't have much free time now.

"Mr. Zeng, to be honest, the focus of the whole year is basically on this. You said that I am free for half a month or a month, but it takes at least three or four months to shoot a movie. This time is not enough. I am afraid that the film project will not be able to start this year." There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment, and Zeng Maojun's tone revealed some regret:

"Indeed, a major event like the Asian Games cannot be delayed."

"It's really not easy for the film and television industry this year. It's a tough winter." Li Mu naturally knew Wanda's predicament, but this predicament could not be solved even if he took Wanda to eat meat once.

Moreover, the biggest difficulty comes from the controlling layer of Wanda Film. Li Mu estimated that Zeng Maojun had some guesses about this.

"Indeed, I haven't been this sad before." Zeng Maojun smiled bitterly, "Okay, then I won't disturb you from working for now, Director Li. We'll talk when we get back to the capital."

"Row!"

Li Mu smiled, exchanged a few words, and hung up the phone. Just as he put the phone back on the table, it vibrated again.

"Cannes?" I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows when I saw the caller ID on the screen, because it was a call from Cannes' general representative/artistic director Thierry Frémaux.

Since the two had contacted each other several times, the number was naturally saved.

Seeing the call, Li Mu naturally guessed what was about to happen behind the call, because he had no works this year, and Cannes would basically be scheduled for May or June, so the purpose of the call at this time was actually obvious.

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

"Li, I haven't contacted you for a long time. Are you okay?" Fu Mao said with a smile, and his voice was transmitted to Li Mu through the phone.

"Very good, Mr. Fumao!"

Li Mu responded with a faint smile.

"I think you should know why I'm here. We hope that you can serve as the president of the jury of the main competition unit of the 2022th Cannes Film Festival in 75. You know, this is the first film festival after the crisis."

"This crisis doesn't seem to be over. Is Cannes sure it can host the world's largest film festival?"

Li Mu naturally still had to express some doubts, after all, there was uncertainty here.

“This year, that’s been said by many, including film buyers and sellers, critics and film lovers, who all hope that the 2022 Cannes can bounce back and become a place for art, commerce and a much-needed sense of community.”

Obviously, Frémaux has expressed his confidence that this Cannes will be the most lively one for the film industry and also one of revival.

"I can't reply yet. I am currently in charge of the preparations for the opening ceremony of the Asian Games and may need to confirm the schedule."

"Of course, we fully understand that and we will start on May 5 and hopefully hear some pleasant surprises."

After hanging up the phone, Li Mu thought about it. He originally wanted to call Zhao Qiang, but then he changed his mind and realized that the person was right next door to him, so why bother calling him? He then walked out directly and knocked on Zhao Qiang's office door.

"Director Li, come sit down, is there any new progress?"

When Zhao Qiang saw that it was Li Mu, he quickly gestured and then prepared to make a pot of new tea.

(End of this chapter)