Movies - TV
Netflix’s 3 Body Problem Was Involved With A Real-Life Homicide
By JEREMY MATHAI
Netflix's "3 Body Problem" adaptation has the characteristics of a murder-mystery. Investigating a number of eerie suicides are main characters Clarence Shi and the "Oxford Five."
However, “Problem” is wrapped up in a real crime— a murder involving the CEO of China's rights —holder to the show’s source material, and inspired by "Breaking Bad," of all things.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, in 2018 Chinese studio Yoozoo Group chose Amazon Studios as a potential partner to sell the rights to author Liu Cixin's “3 Body Problem” trilogy.
After spending almost a year acquiring talent, a a meeting was held in Los Angeles between the two parties, with Yoozoo represented by its own billionaire founder Lin Qi.
According to THR's sources, Lin set a bizarre tone when he "dressed like a gangster and put his feet up." The loose cannon of a CEO then proceeded to sabotage his own deal.
An executive at the meeting said, "[Lin] was so obnoxious. We were one minute away from signature when their CEO suddenly said, 'Let's do a joint venture instead.'"
The unexpected pivot made the lucrative deal fall apart and left the other Yoozoo executives outraged. Two years later, Qi was found dead in Shanghai, a victim of homicide.
Yoozoo film division leader Yao became an early suspect, supposedly poisoning his tea bags. Chinese media outlet Caixin said he got the idea from the AMC series "Breaking Bad."