Chapter 1070: Reducing Holdings in Tudou?

A new day, and the industry broke the news that "Ever Night 2" had quietly started filming.

However, whether it was the cast or the production budget, compared to the first installment, there was clearly a significant reduction.

Leon Lai quit, Tong Yao quit, Shi Shi quit, Liu Peiqi quit, Meng Ziyi quit... Actually, the reason for all this was because Chen Feiyu quit, which is to say, Director Chen quit!

The broadcast performance of "Ever Night 1" was actually quite good; it could even be considered a minor hit. But alas, due to a series of unfortunate events, Chen Hong had already made the decision for her son before the show even aired, "politely declining" the invitation for the second season.

This decision, in turn, "liberated" a large group of the original cast.

They had almost all come for the sake of Director Chen's face in the first place. Since the latter had chosen to quit, they naturally could quit as well; there was no need to play supporting roles in a costume fantasy drama.

Of course, only Meng Ziyi's reason for quitting had nothing to do with Director Chen's family; she quit the second season because she was aiming higher and had accepted another role as the female lead.

How to evaluate the huge gap between the first and second seasons? It was a rare, high-quality fantasy drama that was now, at best, half-crippled.

After all, sequels featuring the original cast aren't always guaranteed to maintain the quality of the predecessor, let alone a second season that is "adding a dog's tail to a sable coat."

Don't believe it? People online have already started complaining:

Who is this Wang Hedi? Where did he come from? Oh, he debuted from a talent show? Then he must be trash!

The perfectly fine Daoist Ye Hongyu was actually replaced by an ugly woman...

What? Yang Chaoyue will make her costume screen debut in "Ever Night 2," and she's a lead? And there's another show, "Dance of the Phoenix," starting filming afterward? Oh my goodness, can she do it? Does she have any acting skills? Or is it all just crying scenes?

"To be honest, I'm sure Chen Hong definitely feels some regret in her heart about her decision to abandon 'Ever Night 2'."

You have to know that a high-quality costume fantasy drama, especially a series split into upper and lower parts, can completely serve as an actor's representative work.

In other words, Chen Hong's decision not only artificially cut off a series representative work for her son, but also directly affected the production quality of the second season..."

"In all fairness, it's understandable. The two of them have been dealing with movies for years, and coupled with their status in the industry, they naturally have a hint of contempt and arrogance toward television dramas."

Look, when filming "Ever Night 1," the two of them paved the way for their son with three movies:

Starring in China Film Group's youth film "My Best Summer," participating in the anthology film "My People, My Country," and even getting a cameo in "Mulan" through me..."

"But when it comes to promoting someone, television dramas are still the way to go."

"I bet Director Chen and his wife will eventually have to let their younger son act in television dramas!"

"Don't think of Director Chen as too shallow. The development path he set is definitely walking on two legs, but it will inevitably lean more toward movies," Lin Nan corrected with a chuckle.

"Whatever. Anyway, Tudou's intention is to suppress the price; the price for the second season must be suppressed. The cast is so much weaker than the first one; there's no way we'll give them the price they want."

"Do as you please; I'm not interfering with Tudou's operations. By the way, you called me today, it shouldn't just be to mock Producer Chen and a TV show, right? Is there anything else?" Lin Nan glanced back; Liu Yifei was calling him for breakfast. Immediately, he also began to urge Wang Wei.

Sure enough, Wang Wei immediately put away his joking tone and became much more serious: "There is one thing, I think it's very necessary to tell you, Lin Dao."

"Then hurry up. Although it's already past nine, I haven't had breakfast yet," Lin Nan smiled and couldn't help but yawn.

"Wanda mentioned something to me; they have the intention and plan to reduce their holdings in Tudou."

"Are you sure?"

At this, even Lin Nan had to take it seriously. He hadn't received word directly from Wanda, and presumably, Wang Changtian hadn't either, otherwise the latter would definitely have called.

"They have been doing 'industrial adjustments' for the past two years. The moves are too big, and their capital demand is like a bottomless pit. Besides, Lin Dao, you know that the film and entertainment industry has never been their main business."

"They only entered the film and entertainment industry because they owned cinema chains due to commercial real estate; in the end, they even accidentally entered the internet industry and became original shareholders of Tudou," Wang Wei said with a sigh, as if telling a story of "accidental circumstances."

"So what exactly did they say? I need to know their original words," Lin Nan pressed. He wasn't prepared to ask Liu Xiaobin directly, because that would make several parties look awkward.

"They only said they would reduce their holdings in Tudou when necessary and hoped I would be mentally prepared. Of course, they will also fully comply with the original shareholder agreement when reducing holdings."

"When necessary?" Lin Nan muttered. The meaning of this sentence was worth pondering.

"Yes, it should be that Wanda's top-level decision has been made, at least it's written in the memorandum... It's just that they might not have reached that step yet, so no specific time for the reduction has been set."

"But I estimate it's highly likely to be within this year or next; anyway, it definitely won't drag on for too long."

"After all, their scale is simply too large, and they are all heavy assets. If they want to turn around and reduce the burden to travel light and not explode, there is no doubt they need massive amounts of capital to fill..."

Around two in the afternoon,

Luo Jin and Zhu Yawen arrived at the "Mulan" set together.

Because they were only making cameos, the two of them only brought their assistants. But even being so low-key, they still didn't escape the media's lenses.

Consequently, in less than half an hour, the news of the two joining or visiting the "Mulan" set spread online, sparking a lively discussion and speculation.

"'Mulan' has entered the final quarter of filming. If nothing goes wrong, the wrap-up time will coincide with the Spring Festival."

"But listening to Lin Dao, it seems the movie isn't planning to hold a wrap-up press conference, and Disney has also agreed to his decision."

"That means they want to wait until the global promotion and release to be high-profile? Hahaha," Cao Baoping laughed and added. For a blockbuster of this level, he was envious from the bottom of his heart, but he couldn't really be envious, because his strength didn't allow it.

"That point is correct. Isn't the promotion for every Disney movie global and high-profile?" Yue Jun smiled and nodded.

His original schedule for this afternoon was to visit the set of "The Captain," but he received a temporary call from Cao Baoping in the morning, so he had to change his schedule to tomorrow.

Everything was because Lin Nan had greeted him earlier, saying that Cao Baoping would have a movie seeking investment and that he should be responsible for the connection.

"Director Cao, let's talk about your new movie script and budget." After a few words of small talk, Yue Jun naturally cut to the chase.

Hearing this, Cao Baoping didn't stand on ceremony and smiled: "Currently, only the first draft of the script is finished. Mainly because this period between the end of the year and the beginning of the year is too busy. I have to organize final exams, participate in the art exam selection for the Literature Department, and prepare for the postgraduate re-examination work after the year..."

"So I thought I'd just come to you to finalize the budget in advance, to avoid everything piling up later and being too busy to handle."

"Then about when can the script be finalized?"

"Early March at the latest, but the filming time will probably have to be pushed to mid-year, June or July. As for the reason, it's still because I'm too busy. I'm not like Lin Nan, who is so comfortable being a professor; my teaching tasks are quite heavy, haha."

As he spoke, Cao Baoping laughed. The more awards, the better the results, and the treatment at school would undoubtedly be higher! He was ultimately no match for Lin Nan, and his main job was teaching at school anyway.

Yue Jun was speechless and couldn't join in complaining about his own boss, so he could only smile and change the subject: "Is it the third installment of the 'Burning Heart' series?"

"Yes, the third installment of the 'Burning Heart' series, adapted from the realistic suspense crime movie of the same name: 'Sheep Without a Shepherd'."

While speaking, Cao Baoping had already pushed the first draft of the script he brought to Yue Jun.

The latter opened the content very solemnly and couldn't help but sigh with emotion:

"Nowadays, besides mainstream and comedy, the biggest genre in the market is realistic suspense crime movies."

"You have one here, Director Xue Xiaolu has one, Director Zhang Yimou seems to have submitted one for review before the year, and we will also start one after the year..."

"This is something to look forward to. In the next few years, there will be quite a few realistic suspense crime movies in theaters, and they are all from well-known directors and production companies in the industry, haha..."

"Tell Lin Dao that we are about to start filming. Also, because we have to 'split filming' with 'My People, My Country' in the middle, I've set the filming duration for 'Lost in Russia' quite loosely, planning to wrap up within 5 months."

"Got it. Lin Dao is probably busy right now. I'll look to call him tomorrow morning or noon," Dong Ping nodded, then asked: "What about the release slot? New Year's slot or Spring Festival slot?"

"Naturally, the Spring Festival slot. As far as we know, the summer slot is already full of dumplings; and 'Lost in Russia' is a family-friendly theme, naturally suitable for the Spring Festival slot!"

"Most importantly, as of now, there are no big directors participating in next year's Spring Festival slot. The big directors are either locked into this year's National Day slot by mainstream films, or they are stopping work to rest."

"Especially Lin Dao, he clearly stated that he would temporarily stop filming. Without Lin Dao's movie in the Spring Festival slot, isn't this cake for us to eat to our heart's content?"

Xu Zheng said quite affirmatively and confidently. Although his last words sounded arrogant, if you think about it carefully, you will find that what he said was indeed the truth!

Because the "Lost" series undoubtedly has this appeal, and as of now, it is indeed unlikely that most big directors in the industry will have movie works for the 2020 Spring Festival slot.

"Chairman, Director Chen Kexin has arrived."

"Okay, I'll be there in a moment."

"Chen Kexin? What is he doing here this afternoon? Isn't his movie 'Li Na' not wrapped up yet?" Xu Zheng looked at Dong Ping in confusion.

"Soon, it will wrap up before the end of next month. Then he will rest for two months and start filming 'Leap' directly," Dong Ping explained.

This movie will be produced by Chen Kexin's company, with the director's salary as a stake, and Huanxi is the main producer;

Besides that, in order to build relationships and expand connections, they also invited many companies in the industry to co-produce, meaning they shared the shares.

"Only two months between wrapping up and starting filming? That means the casting is almost done?"

"Hmm, the leads are indeed settled, Teacher Gong Li is starring."

Dong Ping nodded first, then his expression suddenly turned cold, and he said with some disgust: "Do you know how much production cost he quoted?"

"How much?" Seeing Dong Ping's appearance, Xu Zheng immediately thought of something.

"500 million! A sports biography movie about the women's volleyball team, no special effects, no large-scale location filming, and no need to build or construct locations..."

"He actually dared to open his mouth and report a production cost of 500 million RMB! Damn, he's really a leech, openly shameless..."

Listening to Dong Ping's low cursing, Xu Zheng couldn't help but swallow his saliva. As expected of Director Chen Kexin from the Hong Kong circle, greedy enough!

"My 'Lost in Russia' is already considered high-cost, but I only made a budget of 200 million... He, he actually dared to be so unscrupulous?!"

"Lin Dao's 'The Wandering Earth' is powerful, right? So many special effects, and it only had a production cost of 500 million."

"Forget it, forget it, let's not talk about it. We are still too timid; we need to learn more from Director Chen Kexin... As for that 'Fengshen Trilogy', don't learn from that; our lives are light, we can't afford to play..."

Dong Ping gritted his teeth and cursed, then urged Xu Zheng to go see Chen Kexin with him.

The 4th, another sunny day.

But Zhu Yawen and Luo Jin, who were on the set, couldn't feel the brightness of the sun at all, because their deaths were both quite tragic.

On the battlefield where Mulan led troops and the two armies fought, the soldier played by Zhu Yawen was hit head-on by the warhorse of the Rouran cavalry, kicked directly in the chest by two front hooves, and flew backward like a parabola;

The moment he flew backward, his eyeballs bulged, and he spat blood; before the body landed, the jib camera would give a close-up of his face; and after landing, he would be stabbed again by another cavalryman with a spear...

And Luo Jin's shot was no less inferior, also dying "heroically." A spear flew in, piercing his chest like a candied hawthorn, pinning him to the ground. His body hung halfway like that, blood foam surging in his mouth, and finally, there was a half-second close-up of his face...

Of course, these two shots were filmed with wires, and also required the assistance of many people in slow motion.

Fortunately, both of them were senior actors with strong professional qualities, so their scenes didn't affect the filming rhythm of this war scene at all. In the morning, it was successfully completed.

After Lin Dao shouted "Cut," everyone returned to the crew's residence in groups. Upon returning, all the main creators immediately lay flat lazily, waiting for lunch.

"After lunch, we'll rest for a while, and then we'll leave," Zhu Yawen said, lying on a lounge chair, greeting Lin Nan and Liu Yifei.

"The flight is at five o'clock. By the time we fly back, it will be past nine in the evening," Luo Jin added with a smile.

"Thanks to the two of you for your heroism this morning. We won't see you off in the afternoon," Liu Yifei joked with a giggle.

"Lin Dao." At this time, the assistant brought over the thermos cup that Lin Nan had bought in the last two days.

After taking it, Lin Dao covered the cup mouth with his right hand holding the lid and took a sip. While quenching his thirst, hmm, the goji berries were quite sweet. Then he quickly put the lid back on and placed it beside him.

"I heard you've been strengthening your exercise recently, preparing to have a baby?" Lin Nan looked at Luo Jin playfully.

"It must be Zhu Yawen's loose lips again! I only talked about this with him, just yesterday on the plane. I haven't mentioned it to anyone else," Luo Jin immediately locked onto the suspect upon hearing this.

"Don't spread rumors casually; I'm not that free."

"Don't wrong him; it was Tang Tang who told me when we were chatting," Liu Yifei explained with a smile.

"Fine, then let him off." Hearing this, Luo Jin was speechless. Then he shook his head helplessly and chuckled: "I'm two years older than your Lin Dao, and Tang Tang is four years older than you. We can't drag it out anymore."

"Look, you heard it, he's also hinting at you two," Han Jia, who didn't think the trouble was big enough, stood in the distance and teased.

"You go away." Liu Yifei turned her head and waved her hand in disgust.

"I came out to remind everyone. The Berlin International Film Festival organizing committee has just officially issued an announcement. This year is another big year for Chinese films. The industry and the internet are all paying attention to this matter right now."

"The shortlist is out!"

In an instant, everyone reacted. Everyone hurriedly looked for their phones and flipped through the news.

Sure enough, the top headline on Weibo was information about the Berlin International Film Festival, and this year was indeed a big year for Chinese films!

"The 69th Berlin International Film Festival officially announced the shortlist for each unit module at 12:00 noon Beijing time."

"Among them, there are two Chinese films in the main competition unit; they are Director Zhang Yimou's realistic drama film 'One Second' and Director Wang Xiaoshuai's family affection film 'So Long, My Son'!"

"Director Lou Ye's film 'The Shadow Play' and young director Xiang Zi's work 'Bye Bye, My Southern Mountain' were shortlisted for the Panorama unit;"

"There are other Chinese films like 'The Crossing', 'A First Farewell', and 'Roaming' shortlisted for the Generation and Forum unit modules; Director Wang Quan'an brought the Outer Mongolian film 'Öndög' to be shortlisted for the main competition unit."

"It is reported that senior actors like Wang Jingchun, Yong Mei, and Zhang Yi will compete for the Best Actor and Best Actress Silver Bear awards at this Berlin International Film Festival."

"The new 'Mou Girl' Liu Haocun, her debut film was shortlisted for this Berlin International Film Festival, and she herself will also have the qualification to compete for the Best Actress Silver Bear award; this achievement of hers has already caught up with the senior Teacher Gong Li, which is worth looking forward to in the industry!"

... ===== CHAPTER 1071 =====

"The new 'Zhang Yimou Girl' Liu Haocun has been nominated for this year's Berlin International Film Festival with her debut film, and she herself will also be eligible to compete for the Silver Bear for Best Actress. This achievement of hers has already caught up with the great senior Teacher Gong Li; it is worth the industry's anticipation!"