Chapter 189: Major Script Revisions

This new "Passengers," Lin Nan had put tremendous effort into adapting.

At the very least, those parts buried deep in his mind that were unreasonable, that didn't fit Chinese logic, had to be overhauled.

The story's origin and framework were already completely different!

Additionally, in Lin Nan's script, the male lead is forced to wake early because of a hibernation pod malfunction.

The female lead's awakening, meanwhile, was changed to be caused by the male lead's accidental slip-up.

Guilt and the fear of losing her would drive him to conceal this truth by any means possible.

And so, the entire story began.

…………

Now he only had to wait for the budget to come together, and Lin Nan could announce the project to the outside world.

A little past nine in the morning, Liu Liu Yifei applied a touch of makeup.

She wore a simple white T-shirt, a belted knee-length skirt, and high-heeled sandals, and stepped out together with Lin Nan.

The premiere of "Beginning of the Great Revival"—no one could refuse it; on a grander scale, it was a matter of attitude.

This year there were a total of 28 tribute films, most of them unknown.

Only "Beginning of the Great Revival" and "The 1911 Revolution" were worth watching.

The SARFT had even stepped forward to chant the slogan, hoping that these 28 films combined could hit 1 billion at the box office.

Most industry insiders knew perfectly well that of the 1 billion the SARFT mentioned, probably 900 million would have to come from "Beginning of the Great Revival" and "The 1911 Revolution."

The other 26 films were nothing but a rabble—using the name of making tribute films to apply for all sorts of funding from above; the quality of those films was self-evident, mostly garbage.

…………

If you saw this many stars on the red carpet at another film's premiere, they would surely all be guests.

But ever since "The Founding of a Republic," another possibility had emerged—perhaps all those stars were cast members of that very film!

When Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei got out of the car and stepped onto the red carpet, they happened to catch a portion of the main cast heading up.

"Beginning of the Great Revival" had too many actors; they could only walk the carpet in batches.

"Director Lin, Liu Yifei, come join us."

"Yeah, together!"

Liu Ye and Nie Yuan called out in turn.

The former had starred in "The Martian Rescue" and was quite familiar with Lin Nan.

The latter had appeared in Lin Nan Pictures' "Brotherhood of Blades," back when Liu Liu Yifei was the producer.

Nearby, Zhou Zhou Yiwei, Fan Li Bingbing, Huang Huang Xiaoming, Yang Ying, and others were also waving…

"Then shall we go together?"

Lin Nan took Liu Liu Yifei's hand and slipped straight into the main cast lineup.

Media reporters on both sides hurriedly snapped photos on the spot—this was all material!

Inside the venue, the biggest names had gathered—genuine A-listers!

Led by Han Han Sanping, there were Chow Yun-fat, Andy Lau, Simon Yam, Feng Gong, Zhao Zhao Benshan…

And the great directors were even more numerous: Chen Chen Kaige, Feng Feng Xiaogang, Gu Gu Changwei, Jiang Wen, Wang Wang Xiaoshuai…

Even Zhang Zhang Yimou had given the "Thirteen Flowers" crew a day off to come and show support.

After Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei came in, they didn't push into the crowd but headed straight for their seats.

Mm, not bad. Given the two of them's current status, the first row was absolutely secure. Besides, there weren't too many official leaders here today.

Han Han Sanping and the others called out a greeting from afar and didn't insist on dragging Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei over.

"You sit first, I'll go grab some food."

Liu Liu Yifei glanced around, smiled, and nodded at Lin Nan.

Neither of them was the uptight type; they wouldn't care too much about the eyes of outsiders.

Besides, even if people looked over, they'd only think Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei were carefree and unrestrained!

When Lin Nan came back carrying two plates of food, he saw Huang Bo sitting in the second row chatting and laughing with Liu Liu Yifei.

"Oh, you're back already. That 'Design of Death' wrapped?"

Lin Nan asked curiously.

Zhou Zhou Xingchi's "Journey to the West: Jiang Mo Pian"—Huang Bo had only filmed a few days before wrapping; he remembered complaining at the time that it was too fast, that he was nothing but a small supporting role.

After that, he had joined the "Design of Death" crew.

Huang Bo shook his head and said:

"Not yet, still two months to go. Came back for the 'Beginning of the Great Revival' premiere, didn't I? Look, Director Guan Hu is here too."

Following the direction Huang Bo pointed, Lin Nan indeed spotted Director Guan Hu, who was chatting with the boss of Enlight—Enlight being one of the investors in "Design of Death."

"Huang Bo says the character he plays this time is really interesting—both a rogue and a 'real person'!"

Liu Liu Yifei took the fruit plate from Lin Nan's hands and said casually.

Lin Nan had read the original novel of "Design of Death"—very absurd, very interesting, very real.

"One great director, one internationally famous actress, sitting here eating—aren't you afraid of losing face if word gets out…"

"Then why are you reaching for it?" Lin Nan shot back with a smile.

"Heh, whoever sees it gets a share."

Liu Liu Yifei was amused by Huang Bo's antics and hurriedly swallowed the orange in her mouth.

…………

As the three chatted and laughed, the premiere began.

"Regarding this 'Beginning of the Great Revival,' Director Huang Huang Jianxin and I have absolute confidence that its box office will definitely surpass 'The Founding of a Republic'!"

"I don't ask for much, 500 million as the floor, haha…"

Lin Nan learned for the first time the cost of this "Beginning of the Great Revival"—the actors' fees didn't exceed 2 million.

Several top-tier superstars all took symbolic fees, and even those were forced on them by China Film, afraid of being accused again of freeloading off actors under the name of a tribute film.

Still, this production cost was much higher than "Founding of a Great Empire," reaching over seventy million.

The film began, a grand, majestic historical atmosphere rushing in, giving one a sense of weight and depth.

…………

Chow Yun-fat as Yuan Shikai;

Fan Bingbing as Empress Dowager Longyu;

Zhao Benshan as Duan Qirui;

…………

Damn, Feng Gong as Feng Guozhang—it's simply uncanny, worthy of being a descendant!

Andy Lau as Cai E, truly refined and scholarly, his lines absolutely gripping.

"Alas, this seven-foot body has already been pledged to the nation; it can no longer be pledged to you…"

In Lin Nan's view, Andy Lau's performance in this segment absolutely fused emotion into it.

It should have become a classic shot, but alas, opposite him was Yang Ying, making Andy Lau's performance directly counterproductive!

"I think I definitely could have played this Xiao Xiao Fengxian very well."

Liu Liu Yifei suddenly said something, catching Lin Nan off guard—her literary-young-girl act acting up again!

"I'm talking to you."

Liu Liu Yifei shook Lin Nan's arm.

"Huh? Telling me now is useless too. If you'd said so earlier, I could have figured out a way to squeeze you in…"

Lin Nan laughed helplessly, earning a cute eye-roll in return.

…………

The premiere of "Beginning of the Great Revival" ended; now they just waited for the official release a little over a week later.

The next day, China Film, Han Han Sanping's office.

Lin Nan came this time on serious business—matters concerning "Passengers."

"That biggest soundstage? You're sure you can use it all?"

Han Han Sanping wore an incredulous expression as he questioned Lin Nan.

That was a five-thousand-square-meter super-sized soundstage; since the day it was built, it had been used no more than five times, and the rental fee was very high!

"Yes, I want that one."

Seeing Han Han Sanping's doubtful expression, Lin Nan straightened up.

"For this sci-fi film of mine, over 90% of the shots have to be filmed in a soundstage—a green-screen stage."

"When the time comes, I'll need to contact the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation side and have them help me design a spaceship.

The kind of interstellar ship that can house over five thousand people—house, not just fit! The kind where each person has a large living and activity space, equivalent to an independent living circle…"

Han Han Sanping just listened to Lin Nan talk about the new script, momentarily dumbfounded.

Something about Earth about to "kick the bucket";

Human numbers plummeting, forced to begin interstellar migration;

Vast numbers of interstellar ships carrying humans out of the solar system, heading to newly discovered habitable planets in outer space;

Each ship carrying at least five thousand people in complete hibernation, flying toward the new homeland under intelligent system navigation;

A long starry journey, lasting a hundred years each time;

……

……

"The general background framework is just like this—the film's story takes place aboard one of these ships!"

Lin Nan finally finished speaking—this was the background framework of his heavily revised new script.

Lin Nan finished speaking, and Han Han Sanping was thoroughly dumbfounded.

"Good lord, the background of your film is really sci-fi enough.

Apocalyptic Earth, interstellar migration, deep human hibernation technology…

A dream of a hundred years, no aging!

Whatever you look like when you sleep, that's what you look like when you wake up…"

Han Han Sanping muttered to himself, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

"If the background is grand enough, then the plot definitely has to be delicate, otherwise the budget is very likely to be an astronomical figure—money would have to be thrown in continuously!"

Lin Nan inwardly exclaimed: "Holy crap," worthy of Han Han Sanping indeed.

"You're right. Unless you give me a billion, I'll try playing it big… hey hey, I was kidding, don't take it seriously!"

…………

"I'll keep that soundstage reserved for you. Get the budget worked out as soon as possible, and bring in China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation as an investor.

I remember when 'The Martian' was released, their leader talked with you alone and said that in the future, if there are similar projects needing technical support, just look for them."

Lin Nan smiled and nodded—yes, he did need to seek their help.

Inside the soundstage: "ship interior design," "various functional cabin designs," "hibernation pods," "spacesuits," "pressure chambers," and so on—all depended on the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation team.

This promise was made publicly by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation leader at the premiere of "The Martian," and quite a few film companies in the industry were envious.

…………

After leaving China Film, Lin Nan returned to his company.

He had someone send the script for *Passengers* to the Film Bureau first.

No matter when the budget comes through, the sooner the script gets approved, the better; the sooner the filming permit comes down, the more time it saves.

"My sci-fi film — no one would dare hold it up!"

On this point, Lin Nan was very confident.

Back then, Director Tong had said that all his future sci-fi films would receive special consideration. After all, the benchmark for domestic sci-fi cinema was set by him — namely: *The Martian*!

Lin Nan suddenly had an idea: this film would feature a lot of hibernation pods, so could he find some actors from the industry to make cameos?

Find some familiar big names, just lying in the hibernation pods, give them a shot of no more than a second or two.

When the time comes, the cut-together effect will definitely be fantastic — a long take, then a quick cut, just like an Easter egg.

The more Lin Nan thought about it, the more he felt this could work! Just a few would be enough — too many would actually be worse…

"Mm, not bad, there's something to it!"