Chapter 1138: Jiang Wen

"Property, property is extremely important.

Why is Wanda Cinema the most profitable cash cow among so many cinema chains in the country? I believe their market share is only secondary.

The most important, the primary reason is that all the cinemas under their banner are on self-owned properties. This point alone is enough to guarantee the minimization of long-term costs and overall costs."

"You certainly talk a good game, but doing this would cause Enlighten's upfront investment to skyrocket.

Our previous budget was only one billion; if we include property, that would at least double or triple!" Wang Changtian gritted his teeth, cursing with inner annoyance and struggle.

"So, Chairman Wang, are you tempted?"

"Isn't that a rhetorical question? I certainly know that self-owned property is more profitable, and it can significantly increase the group's market value, but...

Damn it, remember to remind me when the Shanhai Cinema chain clashes with Wanda later... I'm not like you, needing to build from scratch. I'll just keep my eyes on Wanda; if I can get a slice of the pie, that's enough. That's a 16.5% market share!"

After throwing out these two sentences, Lao Wang hung up the phone in a huff.

Just because this call was like a blow to the head, dumping another major issue into his lap—it was impossible for him not to be annoyed, after all, he would have to mobilize everyone for a big meeting after returning;

But he also had to admit that he was indeed tempted by self-owned property, very tempted.

"Heh, still acting all proud? If you have the ability, don't buy property then? You pay rent..."

Lin Nan laughed and looked down on him, then looked toward the distance where several elders were strolling in the manor, chatting happily. Were they discussing naming the child?

"Han Jia and Changchang have already arrived in Xiamen; they just sent me photos." On the sofa, Liu Yifei reminded Lin Nan while scrolling through her phone screen.

"All the big names and A-listers in the entire Chinese film industry have been rounded up this time. I imagine it must be very lively over there right now. The tourists and fans must be the happiest, right?"

Lin Nan smiled and sat down beside Liu Yifei. His flight was the day after tomorrow at 11 a. m., so he wasn't in a rush.

"It really is a total roundup. Look, even Director Jiang has come out of seclusion. He previously said he wanted to stay away from the hustle and bustle and settle down with a calm mind." Liu Yifei couldn't help but chuckle, making a joke.

"Believe his nonsense? Settle down with a calm mind? He's probably still stuck in a dead end right now, pondering all day why today's audiences are so ignorant and don't know how to appreciate art?"

Xiamen, Golden Rooster Forum.

The great Director Jiang had already walked out of the sorrow of *Hidden Man* and was "pointing out the landscape" on stage to a large group of industry filmmakers sitting in the audience.

"How come I don't understand what Director Jiang is saying? What kind of movie is he planning to prepare?

What is a 'absurdist comedy type of realistic education theme filled with realistic magical colors'? Is it that convoluted?" Lu Yang asked, crossing his legs and looking at Guo Fan sitting beside him with a confused face.

"How would I know what kind of film this is? Isn't it still just existing in Director Jiang's own brain right now?

But summarizing his past movies, especially the two big-budget films with ruined reputations, I think there's a nine-out-of-ten chance he's going to pull some fancy tricks again!" Guo Fan spread his hands and teased in a low voice.

"If that's really the case... don't say that, I'm actually a bit expectant now, haha..."

While Lu Yang and Guo Fan were whispering jokes, the film capital and industry giants present couldn't help but mutter and ridicule.

"If his next new film is really the kind of fancy type he talked about today, let's remember to stay far away."

"The Jiang Wen of today is no longer the Jiang Wen of ten years ago. Investing in his movies not only won't make money, but you won't even earn a good reputation..."

"Haven't learned the lesson yet? The more you want, the worse you crash... Can't he just pick a theme properly and shoot a movie properly?"

"Let's wait and see. Who knows, maybe this time it will be another *Let the Bullets Fly* after more than a decade?"

"That's also true. After all, it's Jiang Wen. The appeal of a great director cannot be completely erased by just one or two films, and he is indeed the type who is overflowing with talent."

"We'll see when the time comes. It's not certain he won't be able to pull in investment."

"You're wrong there. Back when *Hidden Man* was around, he couldn't pull in investment anymore; it was Chairman Yang of Yinghuang who played the fool again. Does he dare to pull this kind of empty project again this time? Heh!"

"Don't think about investing in Jiang Wen's projects; ten bets, ten losses." Chairman Ren turned his head and whispered to the person beside him. The latter was the company's vice chairman and his successor after he retired in the first half of next year.

"Don't worry, Chairman Ren, I understand."

Many investors off-stage looked at Jiang Wen, who was talking eloquently on stage, with mocking eyes. The latter was completely unaware of these people's thoughts and was still waving his arms:

"... In general, I have many big ideas for this movie. If I want to fully complete the script and prepare the crew, I estimate this time might take a long time. At least two or three years? Maybe even longer, it's not certain..."

The next morning, *Frozen 2* opened with a high-profile 36% comprehensive screening rate. And *Better Days* officially announced its withdrawal from theaters, with a total box office of 1.56 billion, which could be called a success.

Undoubtedly, for Liu Yifei, who really likes the *Frozen* animated movie, it was impossible for her to miss it.

So yesterday afternoon, Lin Nan got a copy from Wanda.

Of course, due to the restrictions of the public screening key, it couldn't be played yesterday and had to wait until today.

Thus, for the whole morning, the family stayed neatly in the home theater for more than two hours.

Don't say, this animated movie is quite suitable for the elderly. However, the main reason might be that the atmosphere of everyone watching a movie together is better.

"Let me put it this way, regarding what happened yesterday, I can laugh at him for several years.

After *Hidden Man* in last year's summer season flopped in both box office and reputation, he swore: he said he wanted to settle down for a few years, calm down and reflect for a few years, and not touch the director's chair for a few years.

As for the result, you saw it too. Only one year has passed, and he already has ideas for a new film!"

"That mouth of his, now it has no credibility at all. No, it should have started from the incident of changing seats at the Weibo Movie Night, from the moment he openly protected that Taiwan actor and ridiculed Li Bingbing, he had already trampled his last bit of 'prestige' into the ground."

After watching the movie, Lin Nan was teasing the child when Ning Hao's call came in.

The latter started talking about Jiang Wen's new film. This news, after a whole afternoon and night of fermentation, finally hit the hot search this morning.

If you ask Lin Nan how he sees it, he definitely sees it with a smile.

Jiang Wen's operation is a typical gambler's mentality. The more money he loses, the more he wants to continue gambling, thinking about starting the next round immediately, winning back all the fame, profit, reputation, and influence he lost in one go. He usually says he doesn't care about outside evaluations or reviews—bullshit, it's all fake pretense!

"Expectation, expectation is still possible. Director Jiang also said he would use two or three years to prepare this..."

"Forget it. Regarding the previous *Gone with the Bullets* and *Hidden Man*, from script preparation to official release, which one took a short time? Didn't they all take two or three years? But the result... sigh, sigh, sigh, someone come quickly..."

On the other end of the phone, Ning Hao was completely confused by Lin Nan's sudden exclamation, but in an instant, he burst into laughter: "Did she pee on you, or poop on you? Hahaha..."

Lin Nan held the phone, unable to laugh or cry for a moment; his clothes and pants were all soaked by the daughter in his arms.

The nanny ran over in a hurry and took the little one from Lin Nan's arms. And on the side, several elders were laughing loudly.

Liu Yifei was laughing so hard she was rolling, her mouth kept teasing: "She is still staring at you with big eyes and laughing. Won't she be a leaky one in the future? Haha."

Amidst the laughter of the whole family, Lin Nan quickly fled upstairs and changed his clothes in three or two strokes.

When he returned to the first floor, he saw Liu Yifei already chatting with Xing Aina.

She told Xing Aina about the elders' plan to hold a hundred-day banquet instead of a full-month wine, and the latter was laughing and listing the gifts to send when the time came.

Outside, the heat of the Golden Rooster had reached its peak.

Meanwhile, on the internet, the Golden Horse Awards, which were holding their red carpet and ceremony on the same day as the Golden Rooster, were nowhere to be seen; it was cold, truly frozen to the core!

"I'm also impressed by you guys, running to me to ask about Lin Dao's itinerary? Can't you figure it out yourselves? Since he hasn't shown up by now, it must be tomorrow. Also, don't ask me what specific time Lin Dao will arrive, because I don't know either."

Lu Yang complained speechlessly to the reporters in front of him, not expecting that he couldn't even eat a nomination banquet in peace.

"Director Lu, is it convenient for you to talk about *A Writer's Odyssey*? Is there any release schedule plan yet?"

"There really isn't one for this, let's talk after the New Year. After all, we haven't received the public screening permit yet, no rush... Cinema chains? You have to go to Director Yue for this, how could Guo Fan and I know about this kind of thing..."

In the distance, seeing Lu Yang surrounded by a group of reporters, Guo Fan turned around without saying a word; he didn't plan to go back to his seat.

"Director Guo, why don't you come and sit at our table?"

Hearing this, Guo Fan subconsciously looked toward the sound and saw Liu Dehua with a smile on his face. And more than half of this table were people from the Hong Kong circle, Liang Jiahui, Wang Jing...

"Okay, just in time to have a drink with Brother Hua." Guo Fan simply sat down.

But less than ten minutes after he sat down, he was asked about the projects behind Lin Nan Film Industry, especially the second part of the *Wandering Earth* series.

"At 6:00 a. m. sharp this morning, the commercial anti-corruption suspense crime film *The Whistleblower*, produced by Shanhai Media, written and directed by Director Xue Xiaolu, and starring Lei Jiayin, Ni Ni, Qi Xi, and others, was officially released.

But unlike the *Finding Mr. Right* series, the movie *The Whistleblower* was met with cold treatment by major domestic cinema chains, with a first-day comprehensive screening rate of only 7.6%, and the box office pressure is huge..."

"Around 9:00 a. m., Lin Nan Film Industry issued an announcement:

The realistic suspense crime film *The Sea of Anger*, written and directed by Director Cao Baoping, officially wrapped up its last shot on the Dalian seaside at 5:00 a. m. this morning, successfully concluding."

"The movie *The Sea of Anger* is led by Huang Bo and Zhou Xun, with Zu Feng, Yan Ni, Wang Xun, and others participating. It is the third installment of Director Cao Baoping's 'Burning Heart' series... The industry recognizes that this film is expected to win major film awards again!"

"The mainstream commercial blockbuster *The Sacrifice*, jointly produced by China Film and Seven Impressions Film, written and directed by Director Guan Hu, also wrapped up filming low-key yesterday afternoon; and all the main creators arrived in Xiamen last night and will attend the Golden Rooster Awards today..."

Lin Nan left the house by car at 9:30 a. m., not wearing formal attire, but a casual series, with a trench coat directly over his thermal underwear.

And he only brought a mobile phone and a charger, one in each pocket of the trench coat.

That's right, he was prepared to walk the red carpet in this outfit, focusing on being casual.

After arriving at the airport shortly after 11:00 a. m., Lin Nan discovered that Director Ning was also quite casual.

However, Lin Nan still felt that this guy Ning Hao might have self-knowledge, knowing that he didn't look good in a suit, so he wore a—more "fierce" one!

"You've gained weight in the past few years and don't manage your figure, yet you like to wear a leather jacket... Why don't you put on sunglasses now, and I'll take a photo of you and post it on Weibo?"

Upon meeting, Lin Nan couldn't help but complain. Really, at this very moment, the "underworld boss" temperament on Ning Hao was simply too eye-catching. If any crew was looking for this type of role, Ning Hao wouldn't even need makeup and could appear on screen directly.

"Get it straight, in such cold weather, even a fool knows to wear something warm, a leather jacket is windproof!" Ning Hao's smile tightened, his brows furrowed, and he immediately retorted.

"Then why don't you wear a windbreaker?"

"That's too childish, and it doesn't fit my temperament, does it?"

What a straightforward answer. In an instant, Lin Nan was speechless, "Okay, sincere enough!"

As he spoke, Lin Nan sent a message to Wang Changtian; he wanted to confirm the pick-up vehicle and personnel.

After landing in Xiamen, he and Ning Hao would go directly from the airport to the red carpet scene; of course, after finishing, they would return the same way without stopping.

"Good guy, the red carpet order this afternoon seems a bit interesting?"

Han Jia walked into the dressing room with a playful look, holding the red carpet schedule sent by the organizing committee staff. Shu Chang was busy with makeup and styling here.

"What, what's interesting?" Hearing this, Shu Chang asked suspiciously.

"Brother Lin is the third to last to walk the red carpet, Director Ning is the second to last?"

"That's absolutely impossible, my brother's return flight is at this time!" Shu Chang said very affirmatively.

"That's why I said it's interesting, what do you think? Heh heh."

"You should take a photo of this table and send it to him right now." Shu Chang curled her lips and urged immediately.

"No problem, I'm looking forward to watching the show."

Han Jia was completely a gossip-loving spectator, and while speaking, she had already hurriedly sent the WeChat photo to Lin Nan.

At the same time, the news that Lin Nan and Ning Hao appeared alone at the Capital Airport preparing to go to the Golden Rooster also landed on the Weibo hot search as a matter of course three minutes ago.

The paparazzi, who only had eyes for traffic data, even added a caption to the stolen photos: The last to arrive is not necessarily a big shot, but the one who sets off last and is still leisurely is definitely a big shot!

... ===== CHAPTER 1139 =====