Chapter 1144: Withdraw, Withdraw, Withdraw! The Movie Market on the Brink!

"Just one month after its premiere, 'Joy of Life' has fully revealed its king-of-dramas posture, crushing all opposition; barring any unexpected events, Zhang Zhang Ruoyun will surely cement his place in the top tier with this television series."

Han Jia Nu confidently predicted to Liu Liu Yifei and Shu Chang, but upon turning her head, she found the two completely ignoring her, so she immediately expressed displeasure: "Hey, could you two give me some face?"

"Face can wait until later. Right now, hurry up and make a list for Changchang to stock up on things. I clearly reminded her the day before yesterday, but she was just too lazy to take it seriously; how is buying this amount enough?"

Liu Liu Yifei scolded Shu Chang with a murderous aura; the latter shrank her head, cowering under the scolding, and whispered a defense: "I thought it was so far away, it couldn't possibly reach us for a while..."

"Shut up! The news online has been downplayed to avoid causing panic. Listen to me, call your assistant right now and have her handle it, do you hear me?"

"I almost forgot, that's your hometown. Liu Yifei, did you hear more detailed news?" At this moment, Han Jia Nu was also frightened by Liu Liu Yifei's tone and asked hurriedly.

"Yes, the worst consequences have already appeared, and it's not just isolated cases. The key is that the New Year is approaching, and the mobility is too high; you should understand what this means."

"Does it mean it has absolutely spread out?" Han Jia Nu swallowed her saliva, obviously feeling some fear.

Just then, the noisy sound of cars approached from afar, breaking the solemn atmosphere in the living room.

"Liu Qianqian, you're here?" Shu Chang reminded.

"Let's go out and take a look. Director Yue has finished buying the things Lin Nan asked for." Liu Liu Yifei immediately stood up and walked quickly toward the door.

At this moment, inside the huge manor, five small box trucks were parked in a single-file line.

Lin Nan and Yue Jun stood watching on the side as the drivers and employees in the passenger seats got out one after another and gathered together.

Meanwhile, Grandma and Grandpa strolling in the garden, Old Lin Head playing basketball at the stadium, and Liu Liu Xiaoli feeding the black swans also rushed over just like Liu Liu Yifei and the other two.

"Liu Yifei, you don't need to help, otherwise they will feel the bonus money isn't secure." Yue Jun, with a smile on his face, joked with Liu Liu Yifei and the others.

"Senior Brother Yue Jun, we weren't thinking of doing any work anyway. With so many male comrades, would it be proper to let us ladies do the physical labor?"

Han Jia Nu spoke up first with a joke, while Liu Liu Yifei and Shu Chang stood beside her, nodding and laughing.

"Move all medical and hygiene supplies to the building by the basketball court; classify and separate medicines and protective equipment; store purified water and mineral water in the building by the tennis court;

Rice, flour, oil, vegetables, fruits, fresh meat, miscellaneous grains, nuts... move them into the warehouse by the east garage; over a dozen large freezers and refrigerators have already been prepared inside.

Milk powder, packaged snacks, and daily necessities will be moved into the villa later; there is a storage room on the first floor... All alcohol and disinfection supplies must be stored separately and moved to the back..."

Lin Nan did not greet the elders nor pay attention to Liu Liu Yifei and the three others; instead, he was busy instructing the fourteen employees in front of him, as there would be a second trip after unloading.

"Oh my goodness, they are actually full? This is way too much, way too comprehensive!"

Han Jia Nu walked around the open doors of the five box trucks, looking them over, and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. She also waved to Shu Chang and Liu Liu Yifei, asking them to come look too.

"This is what 'prevention is better than cure' means, understand?" Liu Liu Yifei continued to criticize Shu Chang.

"Understood, I've already sent the list to my assistant; she will help me double the stock this afternoon." Shu Chang nodded and swayed her head, agreeing and admitting she had learned her lesson.

"Announcement? Senior Brother Lin, Liu Yifei... an official notice has been issued!" Han Jia Nu, who was taking photos with her phone, suddenly shouted. Looking at the pop-up news that had just appeared on her screen, her expression was shocked, as if something terrible had truly come to pass.

In an instant, Lin Nan and the others, along with the elders, all hurriedly crowded over.

Outside, just as the news Han Jia Nu saw indicated, an official notice had indeed been issued, and it was lengthy and extremely solemn.

Officially named, confirming its harm... high transmissibility, high mutation, high fatality; currently no effective means exist...

A night of panic, and upon opening eyes again, it was already New Year's Day of the new year. Everyone could clearly feel that this year's New Year's Day was far less lively than in previous years.

Because everyone's focus was completely not on the New Year atmosphere, not on the various cultural galas, not on stars, not on movies and television series...

So the entire film and entertainment industry undoubtedly witnessed a New Year's Day they had never experienced before:

The news that 'So Long, My Son' ended its run with 1.33 billion only flashed briefly on the hot search list; the insurance industry officially launching the 'Artist Scandal Insurance' didn't even make it onto the hot search;

And the undergraduate art exam registration starting at 9 AM on New Year's Day similarly failed to stir up any waves online...

Additionally, after a morning, three movies originally scheduled for release between the 15th and 24th successively announced they were pulling out of the schedule, and two Spring Festival movies also became cowards... The film market was in an uproar, and national cinema chains issued statements strongly opposing it...

After 2 PM, the Huanyu conference room was full; all three founding shareholders were present, but the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

"Chen Chen Kexin's company called this morning; they are preparing to pull 'Leap' from the schedule and cancel the plan for a Spring Festival release; other co-producers have already agreed."

"Is it really this serious?" Ning Hao, with a severe expression, questioned Dong Ping.

"Not just that." Dong Ping only nodded, his face turning a shade of iron green.

Pulling a movie from the schedule, especially a big director's film during the Spring Festival, undoubtedly means the huge upfront investment in promotion and distribution costs has all gone down the drain; the promotion work was done for nothing!

"For 'Leap', we are just a producer, not the controlling party; we can't influence the decision to pull the schedule. Our immediate priority is 'Lost in Russia'; we need to figure out what to do with this movie."

Xu Zheng directly changed the subject; he was now only concerned with what to do about his 'Lost in Russia'? Should they continue aiming for the Spring Festival slot, or temporarily avoid it?

The former is a gamble, gambling on timing, location, human factors, and luck; while the latter... the latter would require communication with the Hengdian Film Industry Alliance side, where nearly 100 million in promotion and distribution investment has already been spent!

"The box office guarantee distribution agreement we signed clearly stipulates: we can only enjoy the box office share of the portion exceeding 2.4 billion if the total box office exceeds 2.4 billion;

If the total box office is less than 2.4 billion, then we only enjoy the initial 600 million guarantee fund... Given the current situation, will it reach 2.4 billion by then?" Dong Ping looked at Xu Zheng.

"Originally, if nothing went wrong, it would absolutely exceed 2.4 billion. But under these circumstances, no one can guarantee..." Xu Zheng said one thing but meant another, his voice getting quieter and quieter.

He knew very well that under the current situation, there wouldn't even be a few audience members by then, so how could there be a box office of over 2.4 billion? He absolutely could not accept it!

Ning Hao's gaze moved back and forth between Dong Ping and Xu Zheng; he saw it, both of them seemed to want to back out, to pull the schedule?

Just as everyone fell silent again, the office door was knocked on and pushed open.

"Didn't you see we are in a meeting?" Dong Ping looked at the administrative staff standing at the door with a bad temper.

The latter hurriedly explained, "Chairman, people from Hengdian Film Industry are here, along with several cinema chain managers from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang film circle..."

"No prior notice?" Dong Ping was suddenly wide-eyed.

"There was no prior notification; they came directly. They want to see you and Director Xu."

"Well, they've come looking for you. It looks like they have absolutely no intention of backing out and intend to force a release during the Spring Festival!

But thinking from another angle, if it really releases as scheduled, it seems 'Lost in Russia' will have no competitors? Because the movies in the same slot have either run away or are considering running away... However, the massive losses for the overall market and national cinema chains are already destined!" Ning Hao joked with a smile, nodding toward Xu Zheng.

"If you have the leisure to joke, you might as well worry more about the script and preparation for 'My People, My Country'..." Xu Zheng cursed as he stood up and followed Dong Ping out of the office.

"Then let's end it here for today, meeting adjourned." Ning Hao continued to smile, gesturing to the other management members present. He also needed to hurry home to see if he should stock up on anything else. Anyway, it was best not to go out for these few days.

On the morning of the 2nd, Tian Tian Zhuangzhuang's 'Birdsong' announced a successful wrap and returned from Yunnan; but unfortunately, very few people in the industry paid attention to this film news.

Even the fact that Little Zhang Zhang Ziyi posted on Weibo officially announcing she had given birth to her second son yesterday failed to generate much of a stir online.

After all, the entire film and television industry and movie market are currently in a state of frantic disarray and teetering on the brink, and the vast majority of netizens and ordinary people simply have no spare attention to spare for these entertainment-circle affairs.

The Performance Department next door at the Central Academy of Drama cut more than a dozen spots, the Performance Department at Shanghai Theatre Academy cut nearly 10, and the Communication University of China's Performance Department kept admissions unchanged from last year...

So only the Beijing Film Academy's Performance School was the most ruthless, expanding the undergraduate Performance Department alone by 20 spots, bringing it to 80 students? The vocational class admissions weren't even made public... This is taking on a "big project," isn't it?

"I was just wondering why this year's faculty benefits included an extra suitcase — turns out that's where it came from? But isn't this a bit too stingy? Selling all those spots and only adding one suitcase, and it's not even Hermès or LV?"

Lin Nan stared at his phone screen, snarking at Old Jiang on the other end of the video call about the school, with not a pleasant expression to be seen.

Because many newly admitted arts-exam students had run to his Weibo comments to point out that the Performance School's admissions looked like dozens more spots on paper, but in reality the opportunities left for students from ordinary families were even fewer — full of shady dealings behind the scenes, and there were even rumors of openly quoting prices.

To be honest, everyone knows how these things work, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Lin Nan, a professor in a non-Performance department;

But with so many people flooding his Weibo comments and even sending private messages, if he claimed he felt no psychological or emotional ripple at all, he'd be fooling a ghost. Still, he had no recourse and could only curse it out with Old Jiang.

"On this matter, we have no say at all. Let's just turn a blind eye and keep our hearts quiet — pretend we're blind." Old Jiang was equally speechless and could only crack jokes to deflect.

"The overall environment is a film and television winter. Other schools are cutting admissions for the students' own good, but Beijing Film Academy's Performance School is expanding admissions to the death to make money and pull strings... not even bothering to pretend anymore, huh?"

"You don't use the actors they're recruiting — why do you care what they do?"

Seeing Lin Nan's irritation fade a bit, Old Jiang started joking around. Before Lin Nan could respond, he went on muttering:

"Since we've brought up the arts exam, let me leak you another piece of news. I heard from that side that Zhang Zhang Zifeng has already confirmed enrollment in the undergraduate Performance Department."

"Are you sure? But I clearly suggested she apply to the Central Academy of Drama!"

"Obviously — the little girl already agreed, you think I'd lie to you? Also, you'd better not publicly talk about suggesting that little girl apply to the Central Academy of Drama, or I'll have those people from the Performance School coming to my door again because of your comments..."

Within a few minutes, Lin Nan hung up the phone cursing and grumbling; Old Jiang was truly "disgusting," actually asking him to compensate for emotional damages, claiming he was always being bullied because of him...

"Just now, three more films pulled from their release schedule." Liu Liu Feiren came downstairs, her face full of lamentation. She had finished today's workout half an hour ago and had just showered.

"Understandable — everyone avoids bad luck." Lin Nan nodded. "This Spring Festival window will be the bleakest in history. The marketing costs a whole bunch of production companies have sunk in probably add up to several hundred million yuan!"

"Mm, I figure so too. Luckily our company doesn't have a film in the Spring Festival window. Wait — that's not right? That film 'Lost in Russia,' we have a share of the profits too!" Liu Liu Feiren, who had just been feeling relieved, suddenly jolted awake.

"We only have profit-sharing rights, no say in the matter. How to handle it can only be decided by Huanxi's side." Lin Nan reminded her.

"Another call?" Liu Liu Feiren pointed at the phone in front of Lin Nan — a number with no contact name saved.

"Who is this?" After answering, Lin Nan asked directly.

"Lin Dao, it's me, it's Zhao Zhao Jinmai, Mai Mai!" A crisp, cheerful greeting came from the other end.

"You? Alright, I'll save your contact in a bit." Both Lin Nan and Liu Liu Feiren couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What are you calling about at this hour?" Liu Liu Feiren asked, unable to hold back her smile.

"Sister Liu Yifei, Lin Dao, I'm calling to let you know — I took your advice and applied to the Central Academy of Drama's Performance Department..."

……

The 3rd, 4th, 5th — three days in a row, the cold wind grew more and more biting, and the whistling of the wind was clearly audible in the gusts.

And on the morning of the 6th, Chen Chen Kexin's "Leap" finally became a deserter too, officially issuing a withdrawal notice and exiting the Spring Festival window competition.

At this point, the two films starring Gong Li originally scheduled for release in the New Year and Spring Festival windows had all temporarily pulled from their schedules.

The next day, the 7th, that series blockbuster that had drawn enormous attention from the Chinese film world finally brought news of wrap!

"At around ten o'clock this morning, Jingxi Culture and Zheng Changsheng Tian Pictures jointly issued a public announcement:

After three and a half years of preparation, project approval, global casting, closed-door training, and immersive filming, with a production budget of up to 3 billion yuan, the Eastern mythology series blockbuster 'Creation of the Gods Trilogy' has successfully wrapped at Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis.

This wrap marks the completion of the back-to-back filming of the three-film series; it will now enter a multi-year phase of VFX shot production and post-production editing. When the time comes, the three films will meet audiences and fans online one after another over the coming years..."

"Jointly produced by Jingxi Culture, Maoyan, New Classics, Big Bowl Entertainment, Hengdian Pictures, Ruyi Pictures, and Alibaba Pictures, the fantasy comedy film 'Hi, Mom,' written, directed by, and starring Jia Ling, officially wrapped this morning.

The film is also Jia Ling's directorial debut, adapted from the sketch of the same name and Jia Ling's own life experience, and co-stars Jia Ling, Zhang Zhang Xiaofei, Shen Teng, Chen He, and others..."

Even a mega-hyped series film project like "Creation of the Gods Trilogy" could only barely crawl onto the Weibo hot search list at the second-to-last tenth spot...

One can well imagine what caliber of news those higher-ranked spots held — every single one was heartbreaking news.

"Right now the panic back home is very severe — everyone's on edge..."

At home, Liu Liu Feiren quietly told Lin Nan about the situation; Grandma and Grandpa had been calling back frequently these past two days, after all quite a few of the older generation's relatives were still there.

"We're too far away to help — we just have to take care of ourselves and the family around us." Lin Nan could only comfort her with that.

Outside, various media platforms had already begun reposting the data released above, updating once a day; but at the same time they were also updating news in real time, updating the situation...

"Mm, true. Hopefully it ends soon — Grandma was still planning to go back to the hometown after New Year, the flowers she grows can't go untended for too long." Liu Liu Feiren pouted, looking up at Lin Nan.

"Hopefully so." Lin Nan had barely finished speaking when he saw an incoming call from Ning Hao.

He picked up immediately and gave him a good dressing-down: "I sent you a message this morning, and you're only calling back now?"

"Brother, it's not that I didn't reply — I only just saw it. I've been in meetings over at Huanxi all morning, just finished." Ning Hao rebutted, exasperated.

"What meetings? Is Huanxi getting ready to close for the holiday too?" Liu Liu Feiren asked curiously.

"Not closed yet, but they'll break early on the 15th. These past few days we've been wrangling with the Hengdian Pictures alliance — Xu Zheng and Dong Ping want to pull from the schedule, but that side won't agree..."

"So? Has it been settled now?" Lin Nan found himself unable to help asking.

"For now it's settled — the release date stays unchanged. But I think Xu Zheng and Dong Ping are still wavering, haven't given up. After all, given how hostile the environment is right now, how could Xu Zheng be willing to accept it?

He's counting on this 'Lost in Russia' to vault himself into the 3-billion-yuan or even 4-billion-yuan box-office club of directors; and then keep developing this IP series, keep going with it..."

Hearing this, Lin Nan and Liu Liu Feiren couldn't help but exchange a glance, sighing at how Xu Zheng really had grand ambitions — what big ambitions!

……