Chapter 1153: Guaranteed Minimum Confirmed; Official Announcement of Withdrawal!

Ten-odd days passed in the blink of an eye, and the art examinations successfully concluded with the second and third rounds.

At the same time, the Berlin International Film Festival officially opened, with numerous Chinese-language filmmakers and film crews risking their lives to rush to the event;

At a time like this, this spirit of throwing oneself into the fray without hesitation or looking back, truly, is hard to judge.

Then there is the Hengdian World Studios, where the regrettable attempt to resume work failed; nearly ten thousand people remain stranded and under lockdown, six thousand extras have no films to shoot and no income, living off their savings, making it virtually a ghost town.

The most tragic are those several hundred stranded film crews, because according to Hengdian's official statistics, for every fifteen days of work stoppage, even the crew with the lowest losses must lose around 8.5 million;

As long as work does not resume, production costs will continue to accumulate, after all, the schedules of all actors in the entire crew must be paid for; including the salaries of the large number of crew members and their food, drink, and accommodation, these are all huge expenses...

"President Yue, this price is indeed too high. You are also clear that times are hard for everyone right now; our chain alone loses 5 million every day..."

"In the business world, do not say too much of this high-sounding nonsense.

If times are hard, then it is hard for ordinary practitioners; but with commercial blockbusters, with projects that can turn a profit, won't times be better?"

In the company office, Yue Jun leaned back in his chair, teasing the other party with ease, cutting off the other's intention to haggle.

Silence fell on the other end of the phone for a few seconds, then the voice spoke again: "President Yue, can the guaranteed price be lowered by another 50 million?

Even after the reduction, it will still be significantly higher than the guaranteed price of the original 'Lost in Russia'; keep in mind that film was at least a major IP sequel with a market foundation.

Our willingness to offer this price for 'Assassination of the Family' can be said to be very sincere, and also the greatest trust in Lin Dao and your company!"

Hearing the other party's tone, which seemed to be a final desperate attempt, Yue Jun hesitated decisively, frowning slightly as he pondered.

"The box office threshold between the guarantee and the revenue share can be raised by another 200 million, but the guaranteed price will not drop!" After a moment, Yue Jun spoke decisively.

"No problem, deal!" Suddenly, another voice rang out from the other end of the phone, faintly excited.

Only at this moment did Yue Jun realize belatedly that his heart was not ruthless enough; he could only speechlessly complain: "You people are really good at dragging things out; it turns out you are not just two people negotiating with me!"

"No choice, we learned a lesson from Happy and Xu Zheng. Although Lin Dao and Lin Nan Pictures' reputation and credibility in the industry are unquestionable, having a few more people to listen in is never a bad thing."

"President Yue, when do you think is a suitable time for us to meet and sign the box office guarantee distribution contract?"

"Let's hope there are no additional clauses this time, ha ha ha..."

"What kind of talk is that? Are you comparing Lin Nan Pictures to that bunch from Happy?"

"Look at my mouth; those two guys from Happy are simply no good..."

"It's better to sign early and announce it officially early; that can also give a shot in the arm to the entire film circle and the cinema industry!"

Yue Jun was a bit stunned; he had only made one complaint, yet suddenly a whole crowd had popped up on the other end of the phone? It turned out he was not facing two people, but fighting a crowd?

"Then let's do it as soon as possible. You can send someone over for an in-person signing, or sign online. Shortly after, I will also have to report to Lin Dao and Director Lu; this matter is settled."

"In-person signing is better. We will depart this afternoon; let's sign tomorrow morning! Afterwards, we will still need to specially pick a date for the official announcement..."

"Alright, you be careful." Yue Jun responded, then immediately ended the call.

Approaching noon, Zhang Zhang Zifeng appeared on the final test list published by the Beijing Film Academy's Performance Department, and Zhao Zhao Jinmai had secured the final exam for the Central Academy of Drama's Performance Department.

Thus, these two most famous post-2000s actresses who debuted as child stars landed squarely on the hot search list of the entertainment sector;

At the same time, Zhang Zhang Zifeng and Zhao Zhao Jinmai also did a big favor for the entertainment company Yuehua, helping the latter share the burden of traffic.

The reason was that the trainees under this company were reported by the police in Shanghai this morning.

The charges were not light: a series of online frauds carried out under the guise of "selling" masks.

One cannot help but sigh; this is indeed a smart person who knows how to make money; not only profiting from a disaster, but even pulling a rabbit out of an empty hat, with absolutely no goods to sell.

See, because the artist herself is not very famous, this overwhelming traffic can only be shouldered by the entertainment company Yuehua.

To be honest, Yuehua does have quite a few traffic stars; it's just that their boss learned too much from South Korea, squeezing the trainees who haven't made it out too much...

"Ha ha ha... Lin Nan, I told you I would get a high score, come look..."

Lin Dao Da, who was browsing entertainment news, was almost scared to death by his own wife; Liu Liu Yifei's laughter was indeed a bit abrupt and loud, and slightly demonic.

If her fans heard this, well, the halo of the white moonlight would definitely shatter for the Nth time; although afterwards it would surely coalesce again, even more solid...

After all, the fans also know what her style is in real life; it is two completely different appearances from the screen, not a cold goddess, but the very down-to-earth Liu Liu Qianqian!

"The scores are finally out." Lin Nan smiled, stood up, and walked out of the study.

In the living room, the elders were very happy; the two little rascals were also dancing with energy in their strollers, though the brother and sister had not yet reached the age of babbling.

"Congratulations, Producer Liu; in another half year, you will be a first-year graduate student." Lin Nan joked as he walked down the stairs.

"Oh, don't be so sure; there is still an interview to be held." Liu Liu Yifei smiled and shot a glance. She was not being modest; she was being tsundere and showing off.

"When is the interview time?" Liu Liu Xiaoli asked with a smile on her face.

"The online interviews will start in the latter half of next month and continue until early April. But the specific interview time for each person still needs to be notified; I imagine calls, text messages, or emails will be sent before the end of the month." Lin Nan answered proactively; he was the only one in the family who knew the school's arrangements.

"Then there is no rush."

"Anyway, it will definitely be no problem; it's just a formality." Watching Shu Chang added a sentence. She was a bit regretful now; if only she had known, she would have signed up with her best friend.

On the 23rd, the biggest focus news on the entire web was that Han Hong's charity foundation was reported with nitpicking.

After the relevant departments responded urgently to clear its name, the charity foundation also publicly issued a detailed explanation:

"Since its establishment, it has operated relatively standardly overall, with no illegal or irregular behavior;

It is only because it was established in 2012, four years earlier than the formal implementation of China's Charity Law, and the time it obtained the qualification for public fundraising was two years later than the Charity Law, so a very small portion of charitable work between 2013 and 2018 inevitably had certain flaws...

But subsequent procedures have all been made up and perfected, and all have been made public... Since its establishment, the charity foundation has completely contained no personal selfishness or private interests."

The internet was lively; countless ordinary people were all supporting Han Hong.

Actually, most clear-headed people also understood; this was not a problem of whether the charity foundation had illegal behavior, but a problem of it being too popular.

In other words, you have received too much donated money recently; others are jealous or just don't like you!

"Truly demons and monsters, a chaotic mess. I just donated to them, and the very next moment they were targeted?"

Han Jia Nu muttered as she went downstairs, and looked up to see her own Old Han there, wearing reading glasses and watching the news.

"Dad, I heard that 'Capital 9 to 5' was submitted for review, and they even held a meeting for it? Is there a result?" Han Jia Nu decisively interrupted Han Sanping.

"Impossible to be this fast. Even if there's a result, how could we see an approval before a month or two? After all, the situation is special and requires repeated deliberation."

"What's so special about it? What's there to hesitate over? If it were me, I'd just shoot it down immediately."

"Sigh, you speak lightly, but where is it that simple?"

"You don't actually mean passing it because of Big Brother's influence, do you? That would be a bit too..." Han Jia Nu instantly understood the meaning in her father's words.

Facing this question, Han Sanping helplessly shook his head:

"Hard to say, but the probability of passing is indeed greater than half. If it does pass, the reason will certainly be the one you mentioned.

After all, his dealings with the propaganda sector over the past few decades far outnumber his interactions with the film and television sector..."

"Got it!" Han Jia Nu nodded silently, speechless.

The 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th... As time drew closer to the end of February, all industries were doing everything possible to resume work.

After all, extending the holiday by half a month or even a month, all industries could still barely hold on; but not many companies dared to continue taking holidays on top of a month's break, unless the boss had already decided to close down.

However, since they were all going to close down anyway, there was naturally no talk of resuming work; and the enterprises and companies that had to forcibly resume work were definitely those wanting to continue living.

Even Lin Nan, under the advice of Yue Jun and Jiang Jiang Xuerou, made a decision to have the employees of Lin Nan Film, Shanhai Media, and Shiyue Culture resume work officially on March 1st, along with Tiangong Color.

"Yes, we just resumed work this morning. I heard Director Zhang Mo say that with the one-month delay, the production cost of the entire film has directly increased by nearly thirty million..."

On the morning of the 28th, Zhang Yi called Lin Nan. Because the production of "Cliff Walkers" had been halted for a month, his schedule now faced serious problems.

According to the latest estimates from Zhang Zhang Yimou's team, "Cliff Walkers" would finish filming no earlier than late May, and that was assuming no further problems arose in the production.

But on the other side, "My People, My Homeland" was set to start filming on April 30th... With a one-month overlap between the two productions, Zhang Yi simply couldn't handle it!

"Don't worry, I'll handle it. I'll help you contact Ning Hao and move all your scenes to the second half, meaning filming in June. You also go communicate with Director Zhang, see if you can move your scenes forward as much as possible... speak privately."

"I understand, I'll keep it as low-key as possible."

"Stopped work for a month, and the cost expenditure directly increased by thirty million? That does sound a bit terrifying." Seeing Lin Nan hang up the phone, Watching Shu Chang nearby finally sighed.

"This is because the core lead actors didn't demand their salary for this one month; otherwise, the additional cost expenditure would only be higher. It would surely rise to forty million."

"Lin Nan, the email from Disney has arrived. Tomorrow morning they will officially release an announcement, letting us..." Liu Liu Yifei interrupted Lin Nan and Watching Shu Chang's discussion and handed over the tablet in her hand.

"Tomorrow morning Hollywood time? Which means in the domestic time..."

Early on the last day of February, the entire Chinese film industry opened its eyes to news of Lin Dao Da's final film work before retiring from the screen—"Hua Mulan" flooded the entire internet.

"Reprinted from Hollywood Film Information: On the morning of the 28th Los Angeles time, which is around 1 AM on the 29th domestic time, Disney Pictures released an official announcement, solemnly declaring:

Produced exclusively by Disney Pictures at a cost of two hundred million US dollars, directed by the famous director Lin Nan, starring well-known actors Liu Liu Yifei, Jackie Chan, Teacher Gong Li, Nicky Wu, and Andy On...

The Eastern ancient costume war epic "Hua Mulan," one of the Disney Princess series IPs originally scheduled for global simultaneous release on May 20th this year, has officially been withdrawn from the schedule..."

"It is understood that Tom, one of the project managers for Disney Pictures' "Hua Mulan," stated in an interview with the media regarding the film's withdrawal: This withdrawal decision was initially proposed by director Lin Nan and confirmed through multiple rounds of high-level meetings within the group.

This move aims to ensure that the globally renowned major IP epic, the excellent blockbuster "Hua Mulan," is not affected by adverse external environmental factors, does not let down the expectations and efforts of all creative personnel, and lives up to the name of 'Hua Mulan'... ultimately achieving box office results that satisfy and amaze everyone!"

"Around 7 AM this morning, director Lin Nan, Liu Liu Yifei, Jackie Chan, Teacher Gong Li, Nicky Wu, and other key members of the "Hua Mulan" cast and crew successively reposted the "Hua Mulan" withdrawal announcement on foreign social media platforms and Weibo, clarifying the withdrawal information..."

"It is understood that neither Disney Pictures nor director Lin Nan and other key members of the cast and crew mentioned the future scheduling and release of "Hua Mulan" when releasing the film withdrawal information...

Industry insiders estimate that "Hua Mulan" may be sealed away for a long time until the global film market fully recovers, or at least until the audience can enter cinemas normally and freely."

"Good heavens, even director Lin Nan has become a deserter?"

"The entire domestic cinema industry was waiting for "Hua Mulan" to save them, and now, well, there's no hope left."

"But the decision to withdraw can be completely understood; after all, it's a sky-high investment cost of two hundred million US dollars. If they forced a release in the current adverse environment, the global box office would absolutely be miserable!"

"This is quite interesting! I remember at the celebration banquet for "The Wandering Earth" last April, Lin Dao said 'temporarily retiring from the screen' and 'won't hold the director's chair again for a few years';

Is there a possibility that by the time "Hua Mulan" truly releases, it will already be a few years later? Lin Dao's so-called 'temporary retirement' would also be over, and he could re-emerge and hold the director's chair again?"

"The one upstairs, do you know what you're saying? You really deserve to be struck by lightning! 'A few years later'? A mouth of a crow, spouting nonsense the moment you open it..."

"Indeed deserves to die, actually thinking this special period could last for several years?"

"Withdrawn? I was originally thinking of going to the cinema to take a look on May 20th, but now... it's fine too, let's just wait for the rescheduling later."