Chapter 140: Tentative Title: *Thief Among Thieves*

In the blink of an eye, Fan Fan Binbing had been back from Cannes for a month.

In this month, she gained 3 pounds. Mainly because she had nothing to do, just idle.

The termination negotiations with Huayi had reached a critical moment, and their attitude wasn't as tough as at the beginning, so naturally, she wouldn't show her face to provoke the other side.

Walking into the front door of Chen Nuo's studio, Fan Fan Binbing didn't look like someone who hadn't earned a penny in a month at all, greeting the pretty girl at the front desk, He Yuan, with high spirits: "Xiao Yuan, has Qi Da come?"

He Yuan stood up and said with a smile: "He's here, talking to someone. Sister Bingbing, I'll help you tell Qi Da."

Fan Fan Binbing had already become familiar with everyone in Chen Nuo's studio during this period, waving her hand: "No need to trouble you, I'll go over myself."

"That's fine. Sister Bingbing, you look really beautiful today."

Fan Fan Binbing smiled charmingly: "Your mouth is really sweet, I'll give you a bag tomorrow. Alright, I'll go over first."

Walking outside the manager's office of the Artist Management Department, through the glass, Fan Fan Binbing saw Qi Yuntian was indeed talking to someone.

Qi Yuntian also saw her and waved for her to come in.

After Fan Fan Binbing walked in, she saw a man in his 30s sitting on the sofa. He wasn't ugly, but his head looked like a potato, which was quite funny.

"Bingbing, come, let me introduce you. This is Director Ning Hao."

When Fan Fan Binbing entered the door, Ning Hao was truly shocked.

Fan Fan Binbing, who could be said to be the hottest actress in China during this period, had heat that remained high.

The reason was a photo.

It was the photo of her wearing a sea-blue floor-length dress standing in the middle, with Chen Nuo on the left and Leonardo DiCaprio on the right.

Since it was passed back to the country, it had been a hot topic in the domestic entertainment circle for many consecutive days, and it even went viral online.

In current China, you can not know Yang Guo, and you can also not know Jack from *Titanic*.

However, if you say you don't know either of them, then you definitely have never been online, don't have a TV at home, and don't even have friends around you who can watch TV online.

Fan Fan Binbing stood between these two men so grandiosely in that photo, and against the backdrop of the Cannes Palais des Festivals, the level of coolness was truly high to the extreme.

Originally, this photo was only spread among those who cared about the entertainment circle, until one day, this photo was photoshopped by a moderator of the Baidu PS bar.

This moderator was a girl, who looked quite good. She replaced Fan Fan Binbing in the middle with herself and uploaded it to the Baidu Tieba, with the title: "My photo with the most handsome men in the East and West."

It exploded in popularity!

Even the moderator herself, who just wanted to play a prank, didn't expect that her post would have over a thousand pages of replies and wouldn't fall off the top of the Tieba for several consecutive weeks.

From that day on, this trio photo changed its flavor. From then on, it became a meme, spread everywhere.

First, it went viral from online forums to Sina blogs, then to social platforms like Renren and Xiaoyou, with countless people using this photo to play memes and create memes.

Under these circumstances, Fan Fan Binbing's popularity was suddenly raised by several levels.

For Ning Hao, in this month, the name Fan Fan Binbing was even more thunderous. He didn't know how many peers wanted to get in touch with her to see if they could talk about cooperation or something.

But the other party was busy terminating the contract with Huayi, and she couldn't take any plays.

Ning Hao, as a young director, although he had filmed two films that could be considered not bad before, could only be called a newcomer in the film and television circle.

Encountering this one of the hottest actresses in the current entertainment circle unexpectedly, he actually had a feeling of being lucky in this life for a moment.

He hurriedly stood up, "Miss Bingbing, hello, my name is Ning Hao."

Fan Fan Binbing might have put on airs elsewhere, but here, Fan Fan Binbing wouldn't.

She put on a just-right smile, reached out her hand, and said: "Director Ning Hao, hello, I am Fan Fan Binbing."

Ning Hao was truly flattered, only daring to shake half of her palm, "Hello, hello."

Qi Yuntian said: "Bingbing, sit here and listen."

Fan Fan Binbing nodded: "Good."

Qi Yuntian then turned to Ning Hao and said: "Director Ning, continue."

After Ning Hao sat down, he calmed his mood.

This meeting today was something he hadn't expected at all.

Having been rebuffed everywhere, he only learned from relevant friends that Chen Nuo's studio seemed quite willing to support domestic films, so he sent an email a while ago, attaching his shooting plan and script.

As a result, he didn't expect that there would really be an echo.

And up to now, there was still quite a chance.

Otherwise, why would people introduce Fan Fan Binbing to him?

Ning Hao cheered up and continued to introduce: "Originally, we had already talked about the Asian Star Project sponsored by Hong Kong's Andy Lau at the end of last year. As a result, I didn't expect that at the end of February, they changed their minds and decided not to invest. I asked around, and it was the deputy director of *Perhaps Love*, Director Liu Wenjing, who submitted a plan to them. It was favored by them, and as a result, they took my quota."

Ning Hao sighed after saying this, "Afterward, I also met many investors, talked back and forth, but there was no result. This time, finding your company was a friend of mine who is an acquaintance of Director Li Yang. He heard some things about your studio from Director Li Yang and advised me to come and try, so I came."

Qi Yuntian thought for a while after listening, and said: "Director Ning, you know, our studio has actually never invested in any films externally. The purpose of our founding is actually just to facilitate our boss to take on films. And you also know that Chen Nuo is filming in the United States now, and it's not very convenient to contact him."

Ning Hao's heart sank. He didn't know how many similar words he had heard in the past half year. The next sentence should be "We'll cooperate if there's a chance next time."

But he didn't expect that the Qi manager, who was excessively handsome and looked more like an artist than many artists, suddenly changed the subject and said: "However, a few days ago, when I was contacting our boss, I suddenly mentioned your movie. He was actually quite interested and asked me to talk to you again. If our two sides can reach a consensus, it's not impossible to cooperate."

When Fan Fan Binbing entered the door, Ning Hao was just shocked, but now hearing Qi Yuntian, all the hair on his body stood up, and his brain was buzzing.

A thought popped into his head, and he said in disbelief: "Manager Qi, you mean... Chen Nuo wants to act in my movie?"

Qi Yuntian shook his head: "That's not it, because of the schedule, he definitely can't participate. But investment, that's fine."

Ning Hao was a bit disappointed when he heard the first half, but when he heard the last part, his eyes suddenly widened, "Really?"

Qi Yuntian chuckled: "You mentioned 6 million in the plan, right?"

Ning Hao's heart was thumping. His dream of many years was close at hand.

Only those who have experienced it will understand how intense the feeling of gain and loss is.

Hearing Qi Yuntian, he was afraid of a joyless expectation, so he immediately said: "Actually, I calculated it before. If you think it's too much, we can lower it appropriately. It's just that if it's too little, I'm afraid it will affect the final quality of the film."

Qi Yuntian said: "6 million is indeed a bit much. If 4 million or so is fine, we'll continue to talk down."

Ning Hao had been running around for so long and had long been beaten to a pulp by repeated setbacks. Not to mention 4 million, he felt that even if the other party said 3 million, he would agree to it in one bite.

Ning Hao and Qi Yuntian hit it off immediately, and Fan Fan Binbing listened with her eyes shining.

At first, she still looked down on a new director like Ning Hao and listened listlessly. However, hearing Qi Yuntian mention that Chen Nuo was quite interested in this movie, she suddenly became energetic.

Listening to Ning Hao and Qi Yuntian discuss for a while, she found a gap and asked: "Director Ning, is your movie still short of people? Do you think I'm okay?"

Hearing that Fan Fan Binbing wanted to participate in his movie, Ning Hao was truly begging for it. With the topic and heat of this current hottest actress, it would definitely be a hundred benefits and no harm to the film's future promotion.

Besides, his film was originally an ensemble film. Even if there was no suitable role for Fan Fan Binbing in the script, it would be too easy to add a role or change a role by then.

Not to mention a Fan Fan Binbing, even if Fan Fan Binbing and Chen Nuo came together, he, Ning Hao, would definitely not have the slightest problem.

Ning Hao wiped the saliva that was about to flow from the corner of his mouth and said: "If Miss Fan can participate, then I would definitely be begging for it. It's just that I don't know if it's convenient for you?"

Fan Fan Binbing knew she was particularly convenient now, with no film contracts on her body, as long as she handled the termination of the contract.

But she couldn't say this herself, so she cast her gaze at Qi Yuntian.

Qi Yuntian was thoughtful, turning the fountain pen in his hand, and didn't speak for a while.

Actually, in the phone call, he didn't communicate much with Chen Nuo. At first, he just said that after Li Yang returned to China, he spoke good words about their studio to quite a few people, which led to quite a few directors coming to them recently, wanting to cooperate with them.

At that time, he said the names of several people.

He didn't expect that when he heard the name Ning Hao, Chen Nuo didn't know what was going on, and suddenly seemed quite interested.

After hearing him talk a little about the script, he said this movie could be invested in.

Since the boss had spoken, Qi Yuntian naturally made an appointment with Ning Hao to talk. Because the studio's account did have some money, the 4 million salary for *My Blueberry Nights* hadn't been touched at all, which could just be used to do this.

And besides investment, Qi Yuntian also considered other things.

Letting Fan Fan Binbing come in to listen was to prepare for her to participate.

Because if it was really talked down, this would be the first film their studio invested in, and he would try his best to ensure it became a hit.

Fan Fan Binbing's current heat was so high, not using it would really be unreasonable.

Also, he had read the script and knew that this film of Ning Hao's was a story about a group of little people.

Qi Yuntian felt that letting Fan Fan Binbing appear in such a small-budget film would definitely be a good thing.

Fan Fan Binbing's current image was just too ungrounded. This was also the main reason why her black fans and scandals were so numerous.

If she

This way, each gets what they need, killing two birds with one stone.

The only concern is the side of Huayi. But there is no need to discuss that here.

After thinking it through, Qi Yuntian nodded and said, "Fan Fan Binbing does have availability in her schedule now. Our contract termination with Huayi is already at the final stage; we estimate it will be completely resolved next month. By then, catching up to your start date should be no problem."

·

After leaving Chen Nuo's studio, Ning Hao felt as if every step he took was on the clouds. His mind was somewhat dazed, as if in a dream. In just one morning, he had not only secured the investment but also brought in the most popular female star in the country to act in his film.

The key is that from this moment on, he could uprightly tell anyone that his film had Chen Nuo endorsing it behind the scenes.

After the Cannes Film Festival, although Chen Nuo did not win Best Actor, his status in the mainland film and television industry truly rose rather than fell, especially due to that earth-shattering kiss from Emma Stone, which kept his popularity high.

The key is that this popularity is different from Fan Fan Binbing's; Fan Fan Binbing's was riding on the coattails of others, while Chen Nuo himself was the source of the heat.

Among the new generation of male actors, there really is a feeling of being peerless for the moment.

Moreover, from his debut until now, although Chen Nuo has not filmed many movies or TV series, he has not missed once.

Chen Nuo is willing to put up money to invest in his film; what does that signify?

As soon as Ning Hao stepped out, he picked up his phone and called the friend who had passed him the news: "Gao Ge, I've finished talking, just came out."

The voice on the other end of the phone was somewhat expectant: "How did the talk go? Is there any hope?"

Ning Hao said: "Gao Ge, it went very well, and the investment is basically settled."

Gao Ge's voice instantly became high-pitched: "Really?"

Ning Hao said very sincerely: "Gao Ge, this time, little brother owes it all to your blessing. I won't say much else; in the future, if you need any help, just give the word. Through wind or rain, if I, Ning Hao, shirk, then I am not a man."

"Haha." That Gao Ge sounded quite happy too, "Tell me in detail, how exactly did the talk go?"

Except for the final profit-sharing ratio, which was a trade secret and not mentioned, Ning Hao said everything, including that Fan Fan Binbing was also preparing to join the cast.

Gao Ge listened for a long time, remaining silent halfway through. After hearing it all, his voice became very calm, and one couldn't tell if he was happy: "4 million. I thought it would be like the Hong Kong side, at most 3 million."

Ning Hao was also a bit happy, saying: "Yeah, I didn't expect it either, so I didn't haggle. 4 million is 4 million; it's better than 3 million."

Gao Ge seemed a bit worried, saying: "How come there's also Fan Fan Binbing... Haozi, with this little money, can you afford her? Fan Fan Binbing is very hot lately. She is currently in the middle of a contract dispute with Huayi, and she has pushed away all commercial performances. Now, for merchants to invite her to appear, the asking price has reached 800,000. If you want to invite her to film a movie, don't even think about it without a salary of several million."

Ning Hao said honestly: "Fan Fan Binbing is also an artist under Chen Nuo's studio. They just said that she is helping out as a favor this time, and giving her 10,000 yuan for travel expenses is enough."

The other side of the phone fell silent.

After a long while, Gao Ge said in a somewhat dry tone: "Hehe, then congratulations to you, Haozi. It seems you really are going to be driving a Land Rover this time."

The news that Chen Nuo invested several million in a low-budget film spread to the ears of some interested parties within a few days.

Among them were the big Wang and small Wang of Huayi.

Wang Zonglei was chatting about business in Wang Zongjun's office at the time.

Suddenly, Wang Zongjun took a call, and after some "uh-huhs," he revealed a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Wang Zonglei rarely saw Wang Zongjun show this expression and asked curiously: "Brother, what's wrong?"

Wang Zongjun chuckled: "Haven't you been asking how to deal with Chen Nuo? Now there's an opportunity; he has actually started investing in films."

Wang Zonglei exclaimed: "Fuck, really?"

Wang Zongjun chuckled: "Really, just got the news. Remember that director before, named Ning Hao, who came to us wanting us to invest in his new film, remember?"

Wang Zonglei said in surprise: "Remember, Chen Nuo invested in him?"

Wang Zongjun said: "That's right. I even remember the movie title, called 'Thief Among Thieves.' The investment department even came to ask me, saying it was imitating the style of Guy Ritchie's 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,' and they requested a minimum investment of 3 million, which I rejected."

Wang Zonglei agreed: "Brother, you did the right thing. After 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' who in the country isn't filming big-budget costume epics? From 'Hero' to 'The Promise,' including our just-finished 'The Banquet,' that is the way to make money. This kind of film, with a total investment of only 3 million, can't even hire a superstar; which audience would pay for it? Chen Nuo and his people invested in this?"

Wang Zongjun nodded and smiled, saying: "That's right, and I heard they are also planning to call that traitor Fan Fan Binbing to play a role in it."

Wang Zonglei's expression changed instantly, and he said angrily: "Fan Fan Binbing? They dare to let her take a role? Her contract is still in our hands; isn't he afraid we'll go to her and demand her salary?"

Wang Zongjun chuckled: "There's no fucking salary. I heard Fan Fan Binbing is only taking 10,000 yuan; are you going to go demand it?"

Wang Zonglei gritted his teeth and said: "Fuck his mother, this cheap bitch, she is clearly doing this on purpose to mess with us."

Wang Zongjun toyed with the jade prayer beads in his hand, pondered for a while, and said: "I think there's no need to drag out this contract termination anymore, let her go."

Wang Zonglei said: "Brother, why? Didn't we agree to drag that bitch to death? Now their lawyers say they will give us at most 7 million in breach-of-contract fees, the reason being that the bitch Fan Fan Binbing's total income last year was 15 million, and our share was only 7 million-plus. According to this ratio, they only need to compensate us for the profits of the remaining time on the contract; how can we agree to this?"

Wang Zongjun said coldly: "What if we don't agree? Drag it to next year, and we won't have a single cent."

"But she..."

Wang Zongjun interrupted expressionlessly: "She what? Look at Fan Fan Binbing's current popularity; how many merchants are crying and begging for her. If we really let her keep this up and wait until next year to make a comeback after the contract is terminated, do you believe her commercial performance price could reach seven figures? By then, she might earn back all the money for this half-year in just one month."

"If we let go now, we can still collect 7 million in breach-of-contract fees; otherwise, we'll be losing both the wife and the soldiers!"

Wang Zonglei was so angry his face turned red, gritting his teeth, and said with resentment: "Chen Nuo, Fan Fan Binbing, these two dogs, don't let me catch an opportunity, otherwise I will definitely finish them off."

Wang Zongjun chuckled: "Isn't the opportunity here now?"

Wang Zonglei was stunned for a moment and said: "Brother, what do you mean?"

"I mean, let's start with this film, let that wet-behind-the-ears kid Chen Nuo sober up, and let him know that China is not France, nor is it America, and it's not his turn to stir up trouble." Wang Zongjun lit a cigar, took a puff, and blew a faint smoke ring.

Wang Zonglei clenched his fists and said: "Brother, tell me, what should we do?"

Wang Zongjun sneered: "Actually, this 'Thief Among Thieves' only has a total investment of a few million, which won't hurt his bones, but this is a finger he has extended. If we don't chop it off and make him feel the pain in his heart, we would really be doing a disservice to the 7 million in breach-of-contract fees he paid us. Zonglei, I plan to adjust the release date of 'The Banquet'; I want it to be released at the same time as their film!"

Wang Zonglei was shocked. 'The Banquet' was a blockbuster that Huayi invested in this year in cooperation with Media Asia. Wang Zongjun personally found the script and let Feng Xiaogang be the director. The film was full of stars, and the total investment reached 130 million.

That so-called 'Thief Among Thieves' is really not worth a fart compared to 'The Banquet.'

Wang Zonglei hesitated: "Brother, wouldn't that be too exaggerated? If we really want to compete with them, wouldn't using 'A Battle of Wits' be enough?"

Wang Zongjun shook his head and said: "Zonglei, you still don't understand what I'm saying. I want to make him feel the pain in his heart, which means not only do I want their film to lose a lot of money... more importantly, what is it? I want to shatter Chen Nuo's halo!"

Wang Zongjun stood up from his chair and paced in the office while smoking his cigar. "During this time, I have been studying this person Chen Nuo. I am thinking, why does our huge Huayi feel like we have nowhere to start against a mere actor."

Wang Zongjun walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looked at the high-rise buildings outside, and said with cold eyes: "The result of my thinking is that the hardest thing to deal with about this person is the halo on him. Since his debut, he hasn't encountered any setbacks, which simply gives the outside world a feeling that he is invincible. Therefore, many people don't like him, but no one is willing to be the first to stand up. And if we want to deal with him, we must first remove the halo on his head!"

Wang Zonglei listened intently and couldn't help but nod: "Right, if everyone knows he's actually nothing, then surely more than just our Huayi will want to bite him to death."

Wang Zongjun turned around and smiled: "You're right. So we often say, the higher a person stands, the harder they will fall when they fall, even to the point of being smashed to pieces. Chen Nuo has been in the industry for over a year and has really taken all the limelight in our circle; people who don't like him can be said to be as numerous as hairs on an ox. What we need to do is fire the first shot. This shot, I am aiming at 'Thief Among Thieves'."

"The reason I am using 'The Banquet' to compete with him is to ensure there are no mistakes."

"As long as he loses his halo, there is plenty of dirt on him. Didn't I hear that when he was in high school, he was expelled from school for messing around with many women? Also, some time ago, wasn't it rumored that he had a girlfriend in Hong Kong? And that Emma Stone, hehe, there are countless similar handles."

"By then, we will hype up these scandals along with Fan Fan Binbing, let everyone know that this man is not as simple as everyone thinks, and let his image completely collapse. After that, the paparazzi in the country will naturally bite him to death."

Wang Zonglei carefully thought about his big brother's moves.

That's right, with the cast of 'The Banquet,' combining the power of superstars like Zhang Ziyi, Ge You, Wu Yanzu, and Zhou Xun, they can slap that so-called 'Thief Among Thieves' to death with one palm.

Then, link by link, from small to big, pull Chen Nuo off the altar and make him a stray dog that everyone wants to beat.

Every step is calculated based on human nature.

The more he thought about it, the more exquisite he found it, and he couldn't help but praise: "Brother, you are truly amazing. By then, when the wall falls, everyone will push it; as long as Chen Nuo falls, that cheap bitch Fan Fan Binbing, if she wants to continue mixing in the country, won't she have to come back and beg us?"

Wang Zongjun was also a bit proud and smiled: "That's right. So, let's let Fan Fan Binbing go, let her act, let her get on this ship. Didn't she take photos with Chen Nuo and Leonardo DiCaprio? This might be fate, letting them sink to the bottom of the sea just like the Titanic."

The two brothers looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.

Ever since signing the contract with Chen Nuo's studio, Ning Hao's life has undergone earth-shaking changes.

Chen Nuo's studio deposited the money into the escrow account the next day and sent an accountant over. They seemed quite at ease with him and didn't conduct any further financial audits.

At the same time, they really did as they said at the beginning: apart from investing money, they didn't interfere with anything else.

Except for letting Fan Fan Binbing join to add luster to the film, all other casting, location selection, and even how to film were left entirely to Ning Hao to be responsible for.

Ning Hao really felt a sense of "a scholar dies for his bosom friend" because of this.

With the blessing of Chen Nuo's name, before the film even started shooting, China Film Group came to him to prepare for the mainland distribution of this film, and even Media Asia in Hong Kong heard the news and started contacting him.

His subsequent casting work also went incredibly smoothly.

After more than half a month of casting, if Chen Nuo saw the final list, he would probably sigh that the butterfly effect had indeed occurred.

Sun Honglei, who originally suddenly had no time to participate, pushed away other film contracts this time.

Together with Fan Fan Binbing, he played the protagonist Bao Shihong and his wife in the film, replacing the positions of Guo Tao and Luo Lan. Moreover, Sun Honglei knew that the budget here was tight, so he took a salary of 10,000 yuan, following Fan Fan Binbing's example.

Among the other candidates, the "Dao Ge" trio remained the same three, and the future Best Actor Huang Bo also caught this express train to success.

But the international thief originally played by Lian Jin was replaced this time by Chen Nuo's film academy teacher, Huang Lei.

Like Xu Zheng, Huang Lei applied on his own initiative to participate with 0 salary, and Ning Hao was overjoyed by this big shot who said he came to support his own student.

Plus Wang Xun, who was still playing a bit part in the play...

Of the six members of the future "Extreme Challenge" men's group, four had actually arrived.

I don't know how this combination, which would later set viewership records, plus Xu Zheng and Fan Fan Binbing, will perform on the big screen, and what the box office record will be.

In short, this film crew, temporarily named "Thief Among Thieves," officially started filming in Shancheng in July!

(End of this chapter)