Netflix Producer, Yoozoo Games CEO Lin Qi Dead at 39 Amid Poisoning Probe
Lin Qi, the billionaire CEO of Chinese video-game publisher Yoozoo set to executive produce the upcoming Netflix sci-fi series “The Three-Body Problem,” died at 39 on Christmas Day Friday amidst an investigation into whether he was murdered by poison. Lin was an executive producer alongside “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss on the high-profile English-language adaptation of novelist Liu Cixin’s “Three-Body Problem” trilogy for Netflix, announced in September. The platform had acquired the adaptation rights from Yoozoo, which itself nabbed the IP back in 2015 and is at work on other Chinese adaptations of its own through an affiliate called The Three-Body Problem Universe, led by CEO Xu Yao. Local reports had previously speculated that Lin had been poisoned via aged pu’er tea, but this no longer appears to be the consensus.
The China Economic Weekly, a magazine with ties to the People’s Daily, mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, said that Xu is suspected of having poisoned Lin due to “work disputes” that resulted in the former’s salary being cut. He may have administered the poison via medication, it added. A doctor surnamed Zhou who attended to Lin was cited by other outlets on Saturday as saying the executive had eaten blueberries the day he fell ill, but it remains unclear whether they were a source of poison. Zhou speculated that based on his symptoms, Lin may have encountered a neurotoxin like the deadly tetrodotoxin found in puffer fish. At least two other outlets said he may have been hit with a cocktail of different poisons. Shanghai-headquartered, Shenzhen-listed Yoozoo said in a Friday statement that it had received notice of Lin’s passing via his family. It did not specify a cause or provide further detail. “The board of directors gives its highest respects to the chairman for his contributions to the firm,” it said, adding that Yoozoo executives and employees felt “deep grief and mourning, and send their sincere condolences to the family.” In a post to social media signed as from the entire staff, the company wrote a more poetic send-off: “You saw through what was imperfect but still believed in beauty; encountered unkindness but still believed in kindness. Together, we will continue to be kind, continue to believe in beauty, and continue to fight against all that is unkind.” The goodbye was paired with an image of a handwritten note with a quote from “The Three-Body Problem.” As of 2AM on Saturday, piles of bouquets of white flowers and candles arranged in a heart shape had been left outside the company’s entrance in remembrance. A message emanating from Lin’s account had posted a final missive to a company-wide social media group chat that quoted Steve Jobs, reports said. It read: “‘I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with Socrates.’ Goodbye, kids.” Yoozoo was ranked the ninth highest grossing game publisher in the country last month, according to data from Sensor Tower. It is known abroad for having developed the smartphone and PC game “Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming,” based on Benioff and Weiss’s HBO series.
https://variety.com/2020/streaming/news/netflix-three-body-problem-producer-yoozoo-games-ceo-lin-qi-dead-at-39-amid-poisoning-probe-1234875034/