Chapter 23 - 22: Twinkling Stars
"Emperor Xiang" took five months to shoot, and during this period, Ye Qiu celebrated her twentieth birthday. At the end of the year, the small-budget comedy she took on during the summer holidays also began to premiere in major cinemas.
In "The God of Misfortune", Ye Qiu played a stunningly beautiful yet haughty and indifferent young lady. Compared to the misfortunes and humor that befall the male and female leads in the film, her role was simply to be gorgeous.
The entire movie's budget was less than twenty million, yet the jewelry, costumes, mansions, and luxury cars used solely for her character cost over three million, and that was just the rental price.
It wasn't noticeable during filming, but at the premiere, the female lead looked like a beggar next to her, and Ye Qiu was keenly aware of the darkening expression on the face of the actress playing the female lead.
"The God of Misfortune" doesn't have a single serious antagonist. The whole story is about how the male lead has been unlucky since childhood and, after growing up, meets the female lead and successfully transfers his misfortune to her. The two of them share a journey filled with laughter and love.
Although Liu Ying, the actress playing the female lead, was not as stunning as Ye Qiu, she was a pretty little beauty. However, to fit the role described in the script, she had deliberately uglified herself, which made the contrast with Ye Qiu particularly harsh.
No woman does not love beauty, and even though the movie was thrilling and successfully made everyone laugh, comparing her ungainly appearance in the film with Ye Qiu's gorgeous and haughty young lady, Liu Ying found it difficult to remain cheerful.
Apart from the female lead, everyone from the crew was satisfied with the movie's outcome. However, as the production was small, there weren't many journalists or film critics at the premiere, and the movie theaters were equally unenthusiastic about scheduling the film, so everyone was still concerned about the eventual box office revenue.
Ye Qiu remembered that "The God of Misfortune", with its relaxed tone, good pacing, and no dull moments, stood out as refreshingly unpretentious among the end-of-year blockbusters. Although initially neglected, its popularity exploded later on, ultimately becoming this year's dark horse at the box office.
Ye Qiu had been promoting the movie early on Weibo. With the popularity of "Emperor Xiang", her fans numbered over ten million, which stirred quite a topic. This made the rookie director very grateful. After all, he had bet all his fortune on this film, and if the outcome had been poor, he probably would have heeded his family's advice and left the film industry he loved.
Fortunately, Bright Pearl did not gather dust. Two days after the movie's release, it gradually gained popularity online. Thanks to recommendations from major Weibo influencers and requests from netizens, theaters also began to increase screenings.