Chapter 1147

After 2:00 PM, a group of several people left Huanxi aggressively, and Xu Zheng and Dong Ping didn't even politely see them downstairs.

Because both sides had completely torn their faces, and even intense conflicts had broken out between their words, so there was no need to do this superficial work anymore.

"Lin Dao's phone can't get through; it's turned off." Two six-seater business cars were driving fast on the main road; in the lead car, the accompanying staff reported to several bosses.

"Find Yue Jun; he can basically be contacted at any time." The person sitting in the third row ordered decisively.

"Now we can only think of a way from the Lin Nan Film Industry side. No matter what, they are the holders of the original copyright and one of the producers of *Lost in Russia*; they have to say something one way or another!"

"But Lin Dao might not be able to solve the problem. After all, when the box office guarantee distribution agreement was signed earlier, we didn't see Lin Nan Film Industry's shadow at all.

What this means, I think everyone understands. Lin Dao might have already lost the say over the *Lost* series; after all, it was 'sold' to Xu Zheng before."

"Regardless of how they specifically stipulated the copyright details and respective rights before, we must try, right?

Dozens of companies, over a dozen cinema chains, and countless practitioners in the entire Jiangsu-Zhejiang film industry are all waiting in a panic right now!"

At this moment, the busy signal of the phone ended, and Yue Jun's rather helpless, mocking laughter came from inside, ringing in the car:

"Calling me at this time, I can guess seven or eight out of ten; but I can't help you guys, it's useless to find me."

"President Yue, we can't contact Lin Dao, so we can only trouble you to contact him on our behalf. We are in a hurry; we are in the capital, and we want to see Lin Dao."

"Are you kidding? Today is New Year's Eve, and the situation outside is still like this, and you flew over from another province; do you think Lin Dao will take the risk to meet you?"

"I think President Yue knows the consequences of Huanxi backstabbing the entire cinema industry; they smashed countless people's rice bowls. President Yue, help us contact Lin Dao; we will remember this favor."

Since the words had reached this point, Yue Jun could completely hear the other side's resolute attitude and could only agree reluctantly:

"I'll try, but you guys had better not hold too much hope; if it doesn't work, you should immediately and quickly stop the losses..."

"If the trip to the capital today still results in the most serious consequences and an irreversible situation, then we will definitely make Xu Zheng and Huanxi pay the price!"

In the car, the boss of Hengdian Film Industry gritted his teeth and said viciously. Several other bosses also nodded and echoed.

"When stewing, there is absolutely no need to add salt, because its meat is naturally rich in salt; also, it's not advisable to eat too much, especially for the elderly; once or twice occasionally is enough."

Inside the manor villa, Lin Nan was chopping half a sheep in an outdoor environment, with a simple stove and a huge clay pot next to him.

In a while, everyone could gather around the bonfire and the stove, burning firewood while warming themselves by the fire; it could be considered a unique experience.

That's right, even the firewood was specially hoarded by Lin Nan beforehand, just so the whole family could have a bonfire from time to time after staying at home, having a touch of pastoral atmosphere.

"The news right now is so much and so chaotic; even the cinema chains and Huanxi have started fighting." Shu Chang's surprised voice attracted the attention of Lin Nan and Liu Yifei.

"How chaotic is it? Read it out," Lin Nan asked Shu Chang, who was by the bonfire, without stopping his hands.

"Because Huanxi and ByteDance reached a deal, Huanxi's stock price in Hong Kong stocks skyrocketed...

Multiple major cinema chains, including Hengdian, Wanda, Jinyi, and Dadi, just urgently requested the bureau to immediately stop the free online premiere of *Lost in Russia*;

Dadi, Jinyi, Lumiere, Oscar, CGV, Bona... over 10 cinema chains just announced together that they are suspending operations during the Spring Festival slot;

The Yangtze River Delta film industry circle issued a joint announcement, criticizing Xu Zheng and *Lost in Russia* for destroying industry rules... 13 cinema chains also followed suit, publicly condemning Xu Zheng and Huanxi;

From this morning until five minutes ago, over twenty TV dramas, including *Like a Flowing River 2*, have announced emergency suspension of filming...

Director Zhang's *Cliff Walkers* crew was forcibly sealed in the hotel at noon today, for at least half a month... There have also been a large number in the capital..."

As Shu Chang spoke faster and faster, the expressions of Lin Nan and Liu Yifei all became severe involuntarily.

"The bureau will absolutely not stop the free online premiere of *Lost in Russia*. Even if it broke the unspoken rules of the entire industry and even drilled loopholes in regulations, that is: the type initially declared for filing was a cinema film, but it was directly launched on the internet end, ignoring the window period between the cinema release and the internet release."

After Lin Nan was silent for a good while, he only commented on this piece of news.

"Why do you say it absolutely won't be stopped? Isn't this an act that seriously damages industry interests?" Shu Chang was a bit confused.

"Because right now is the 'winter,' and hundreds of millions of ordinary people need some warmth, and a free cinema blockbuster completely meets this demand.

Didn't you notice? Ordinary people are all on Xu Zheng's side. Although he did it just for himself, in terms of results, it is indeed beneficial to the people in this special period."

"Mm, to a certain extent, it does indeed conform to the principle of prioritizing the overall situation." Liu Yifei nodded in approval.

"Xixi, you have a call." Liu Xiaoli stood at the villa entrance, holding Liu Yifei's phone and shouting from afar.

"Coming." Liu Yifei put down the firewood in her hand and immediately ran back in a hurry. Having sat by the bonfire for a long time, her face was already red, looking very good.

"Senior Brother Yue Jun, Happy New Year." Before long, Liu Yifei walked back while on the phone. "His phone has been off since morning; you definitely can't contact him... What?"

Watching the smile on Liu Yifei's face gradually solidify, Lin Nan immediately guessed what was happening; people in the circle are really good at detours. "Turn on the speakerphone; I want to listen."

"Lin Dao, the people from Hengdian want to see you," Yue Jun said directly.

"How are they embarrassed to open their mouths? They want industry, they want business, they don't want their lives, but I cherish my life very much." Lin Nan lost his temper instantly: "Tell them, I'm afraid of death!"

"Haha, understood." Yue Jun hung up the phone with a laugh.

"As expected of a bunch of big bosses, ruthless enough to go on a long trip at this time." Shu Chang clicked her tongue in wonder.

"Aren't a large group of actors and celebrities in the circle also running announcements?" Liu Yifei smiled and tapped Shu Chang's head.

"In the end, it's all for career, for work and making money." Skimming off the foam, Lin Nan started the next step of the operation.

In less than five minutes, the half sheep officially started stewing.

And after washing his hands, Lin Nan also sat down next to Liu Yifei, and everyone warmed themselves by the fire together.

Just at this moment, the phone in Miss Liu's pocket rang again. "Is it Senior Brother Yue Jun again?"

"What's wrong again?" Lin Nan poked the firewood in the bonfire with the fire poker in his hand and asked Yue Jun on the other end of the phone speechlessly.

"Lin Dao, they said since it's inconvenient to meet, then they'll settle for the second best and want to invite you to participate in a video conference. No matter the result, they will remember the favor."

"Sigh, fine, let's start in twenty minutes." Lin Nan chose to nod and agree, then got up and walked towards the villa.

At 4:00 PM, Lin Nan sat alone in the study.

He stared at the computer screen, watching familiar faces in the industry join the video conference room one after another, the youngest of whom was 50 years old.

"Today is New Year's Eve; are you guys not planning to let me have a peaceful New Year at home?" When everyone was in place, Lin Nan complained without hesitation.

"Lin Dao, it's Xu Zheng and Huanxi who won't let everyone have a good New Year's Eve!"

"So what? What can you do by finding me?"

"We want to invite Lin Dao to come forward; at least you are one of the producers; you can send a message to the bureau to ban the free online premiere of *Lost in Russia*...

Lin Nan Film Industry also does cinema business; Lin Dao can completely put yourself in our shoes and think about it: if a production company did this to Shanhai Cinema Chain, what would you do?"

Good heavens, once "put yourself in our shoes" was asked, it really choked Lin Nan; after thinking for a few seconds, he said decisively:

"I won't lie to you; if I were the representative of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang film circle today, I would definitely kill Huanxi!"

"So..."

"There is no 'so'." Lin Nan interrupted the Hengdian cinema boss. "Back when I traded with Xu Zheng, they had a clear clause specifically used to constrain me.

That is, starting from *Lost in Hong Kong*, I only enjoy the right to share profits and have no power to interfere with the operation of the film project. Even when Dong Ping called me this morning to talk about selling *Lost in Russia* to ByteDance, he still emphasized this point to me. So I really can't help you; I'm powerless."

Lin Nan stopped there and didn't speak again; and the eight people participating in the video conference on the opposite side were also silent; the atmosphere at this moment was cold to the extreme.

After a good while, the boss of Hengdian Film Industry nodded with a stern face:

"We prepared for *Lost in Russia* three months in advance, and during this period, we invested huge manpower, material resources, resources, and costs... Huanxi backstabbing at this time, breaking faith...

Lin Dao, I can tell you clearly that we will boycott all of Xu Zheng's future films; we will also target other film projects produced by Huanxi in the future... We mean what we say!"

After the other side finished speaking, without waiting for Lin Nan to react, they exited the video conference directly. Immediately after, the other seven people also greeted Lin Nan one after another and exited in turn.

"Boycott? Target?" Lin Nan muttered, his heart having no emotional fluctuations. In such matters, outsiders can only watch; and how can backstabbing behavior, where greed swallows an elephant, not be retaliated against? Deserved!

The outside world was still a mess, with all kinds of news flying all over the internet.

And 99% of the ordinary population were all huddled at home, closing their doors tightly, never going out.

In addition, due to the special circumstances, this year's Spring Festival Gala seemed to have become more eye-catching; and professional institutions estimated that this year's Spring Festival Gala ratings would likely see a leap-style increase compared to previous years.

Starting from the evening, the New Year's Eve dinner began to be prepared in the villa. Fortunately, the table was big enough, otherwise, it wouldn't have seated 11 people.

Stir-frying, deep-frying, braising, this New Year's Eve dinner could be described as extremely rich. Liu Yifei even took Shu Chang to the wine cellar and brought out a bottle of red wine and two bottles of champagne.

The hour-long family dinner was full of laughter, and after it ended, everyone had a division of labor.

Old Lin received calls from "distant relatives" in his hometown, and Liu Yifei also made a call...

After the video call ended, the four nannies cleaned up the tableware efficiently...

By 8:00 PM sharp, everyone sat neatly in the family giant screen theater.

Not having watched the Spring Festival Gala for many years, watching a complete one tonight was just to enjoy this rare atmosphere.

As for the two little ones, they were already asleep, and the nannies would take turns checking on them every half hour...

"Is Ma Li's belly real?"

"Of course, she's amazing for performing a sketch on the Spring Festival Gala with a belly over 7 months pregnant. Haha..."

While Lin Nan and the others were watching the Spring Festival Gala happily and lively, the outside world, the internet, and the film circle exploded completely!

The Zhejiang film industry took the lead in publicly issuing a manifesto—*Statement on the Online Premiere of Films*; the full text was about 2,000 words, signed by: over 20,000 film practitioners in the Zhejiang film industry.

Immediately following were multiple cities in the Yangtze River Delta region, including Shanghai, Nanjing, Xuzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi, Nantong, and Changzhou, forwarding the manifesto... the signatures were also thousands or tens of thousands of practitioners in the local film industries.

Finally, there were 23 cinema chains across the country, including Hengdian, Dadi, Wanda, Pacific, Jinyi, Bona, Lumiere, Oscar, CGV, and StarMe; they publicly expressed their support for the boycott...

It is no exaggeration to say that on this New Year's Eve, more than half of the Chinese-language film circle and the entire domestic cinema industry were joining hands to jointly strangle Xu Zheng and Huanxi.

Because the meaning in the manifesto was very clear:

First, major cinema companies will boycott film works produced by Xu Zheng to the end, and will also boycott film works produced by Huanxi;

Second, if similar situations occur in the industry in the future, major cinema companies will refuse all cooperation with the film's producers and refuse to screen all films produced by that company.

The chaos of the night continued until the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year; the sky brightened, *Lost in Russia* started streaming for free, and the entire film and entertainment industry became a hundred times more "lively."

Just because such a large-scale "encirclement and suppression" had never appeared in the Chinese-language film industry, and it was a public statement.

Even the once arrogant Zhang Weiping had never forced (backstabbed) his peers and cinema chains to this extent, nor had he enjoyed such treatment.

"With this matter developing to this point, is it a bit ominous? Do you think I will be implicated?" Early in the morning, Ning Hao called Lin Nan.

"If you have any good projects in the future, just use Bad Monkey to produce them; don't give Huanxi a share, just in case," Lin Dao said with a yawn and a laugh.

"This suggestion is good; I've noted it. If I really have any good projects later or good projects that come to me for investment, to be safe, I will definitely call you.

With you in front, I don't think those people in Jiangsu-Zhejiang will find fault with me; after all, from beginning to end, I didn't touch *Lost in Russia* at all.

They can't target me just because of Xu Zheng, right? If they target me, can they also target Zhang Yimou? After all, Director Zhang is also a shareholder of Huanxi!"

"Let's not talk about the degree of boycott against Huanxi over there; anyway, Xu Zheng is finished. Of course, *My People, My Homeland* shouldn't have any problems, haha..."

Lin Nan couldn't help but joke; after all, there were quite a few producers for *My People, My Homeland*, and the Jiangsu-Zhejiang film circle couldn't target it.

"It really is 'sitting at home, disaster comes from the sky.' If I'm implicated, it's purely an unprovoked disaster...

I really can't figure it out; did he get water in his brain to make such a decision, and it was the kind that was firm to the death?

Now it's good; he got what he asked for, and others almost directly pointed out the word 'boycott.' I guess he was also afraid of being scolded by the competent department, so he used the euphemistic term 'boycott' instead...

Phone? Lin Nan, let's talk later; Dong Ping called, probably about the joint manifesto issued by more than half of the film circle last night."

"Mm, good, talk later."

After hanging up, Lin Nan habitually glanced at the news page on Weibo.

Sigh, the map is a large area of red, and the number of new red cases is enough to scare people to death... The manor gate cannot be exited!

Looking at the film market today, it is definitely the most miserable day since the marketization of the Chinese-language film industry, since the millennium.

More than half of the cinema chains are closed, and nearly 99% of cinemas have no customers...

Damn, even *The Hollywood Reporter* is publishing articles: it is estimated that for the whole year this year, the global film market may lose more than tens of billions of dollars in box office!

In the morning, Ning Hao, Dong Ping, and Xu Zheng had been in a video conference.

Ning Hao was fine, his complexion was normal; but the other two were different, their faces were gloomy the whole time, just like they had lost their parents.

After more than two hours of various discussions and debates, the three still couldn't come up with a good strategy to solve the problem of being "strangled."

By this time, Dong Ping and Xu Zheng were already sober; this time it was truly a dead end; but the two of them were also genuinely unwilling to accept their fate...

In the end, Dong Ping spoke first, instructing Xu Zheng with a cold expression:

"You should keep a low profile for a few years; don't direct, and wait a few years to see if there is any room for maneuver."

"Mm, I understand." Xu Zheng nodded, his breathing a bit heavy and hurried.

"Lin Nan told me very definitely that *My People, My Homeland* will absolutely not be targeted." Ning Hao hesitated for a moment and said this.

Hearing this, Dong Ping immediately frowned, as if enlightened... because Ning Hao's words indeed inspired him.

A moment later, Dong Ping spoke again, his tone firm, and his eyes flashing with brilliance:

"In the future, all films produced by our group will invite other giants in the industry to participate together, at least inviting multiple producers to co-produce;

In addition, we must change our past cooperation ideas and directions; we must actively move closer to state-owned enterprises, move closer to China Film and Huaying... invite more, cooperate more.

The more producers, the more heavyweight, the more stable Huanxi will be... Let's see how they target us? What will they use to boycott and target us?"