Chapter 204: A Slight Scheduling Conflict, 400 Million is No Problem

The news about the Venice Film Festival opening ceremony has already become the headline of the entertainment industry.

The main reason is that as many as four Chinese-language films have been shortlisted for the main competition section this year.

In the eyes of the domestic film and television circle, they certainly won't return empty-handed this year, and the hopes of winning the Golden Lion are also very high.

"Brother Hua should be back today, right?"

Zhou Xun walked out of the dressing room and asked.

"The plane arrives at noon, and he'll join the crew as usual in the afternoon," Lin Nan said softly.

This morning, he saw the red carpet reports; when Liu Dehua was interviewed, he even specially promoted "Passengers".

Although Lin Nan didn't go to Venice, his name and his new film could be considered to have been present.

With the male lead away, some other trivial scenes were handed over to Guo Fan.

Lin Nan was slacking off on the side, checking film information and entertainment news from time to time.

"The Fault in Our Stars," which he made with Liu Yifei, really created a miracle for an art-house film.

"'The Fault in Our Stars,' daily revenue of 20 million, expected to gross 150 million in the second week."

"'The Fault in Our Stars' has been in theaters for half a month, and the total box office will reach 350 million!"

Although the second week hasn't ended yet, the media has already made predictions three days in advance.

But looking at it this way, it's indeed a near certainty!

An art-house film achieving such a high box office, coupled with significant copyright revenue, truly makes people in the industry green with envy.

By comparison, "Overheard 2," which grossed 70 million in 4 days, seems much less impressive, even though it is also a big seller.

At noon.

Miss Liu, who had been running promotional events for three days, was the first to return, and as soon as she arrived, she directly occupied half of Lin Nan's chair.

"It's really tiring these past few days; I couldn't even leave after the events, there were too many reporters."

Liu Yifei was complaining, but the smile on her face and her cheerful tone couldn't fool anyone.

Because the thing the media asked about most was "The Fault in Our Stars," and it was almost all praise and kind words.

"By the way, when shooting for Bazaar, Su Mang invited me to attend next month's charity gala and even asked about you.

But I only said I had a schedule and didn't agree on your behalf. The invitation will be sent to Red Star Dock by then..."

Liu Yifei looked at Lin Nan and said with a giggle.

Lin Nan nodded, feeling a bit troubled.

He had thought about wrapping up "Passengers" before the end of August, but that was just an idea after all.

According to the original shooting plan and progress, the wrap-up time was set for early September.

This time happens to conflict with the Bazaar Charity Gala.

By then, Lin Nan would very likely be busy with the final wrap-up work for the film.

You have to know that for a film shoot, the closer it gets to the end, the busier it gets, because it involves checking for omissions and filling gaps in all previous shots, and even reshooting or re-filming some parts.

Lin Nan held Liu Yifei's hand and shook his head gently.

"Xixi, the timing might be a bit of a conflict..."

Liu Yifei felt a bit disappointed upon hearing this, but the next moment a smile bloomed on her face again:

"It doesn't matter, I can go by myself and represent both of us. It's more important for you to be busy with serious matters."

"Mm, okay."

Lin Nan said in a gentle tone, subconsciously stroking Liu Yifei's smooth cheek. The two looked at each other and laughed foolishly.

"You two, that's enough. Go find another place to be lovey-dovey; this is a film set, mind the influence!"

Zhou Xun shouted from afar, laughing heartlessly.

Several other actors also looked over, wanting to laugh but holding it back.

"Brother Xun is really something."

Liu Yifei muttered indignantly, her face flushed, and she shot a glare at Zhou Xun.

"Fine, you have a point. When we start shooting in the afternoon, I will be very serious!"

Lin Nan looked at Zhou Xun and said with a pointed smile.

Around two in the afternoon, Liu Dehua returned to the crew. Without a word, he headed straight to the dressing room to prepare for work.

An hour later.

"Mr. Liang, are you ready?"

"Mm, no problem."

The plot was halfway through, and Liang Jiahui's character was about to come online.

The prop team had already transplanted a small tree to serve as the male lead's achievement when he was bored.

"Ready, action!"

On the main camera side, the elevator malfunctioned, and the male lead played by Liu Dehua fell down;

Camera two, the female lead was getting food, the machine malfunctioned, and food sprayed everywhere...

"I am the deck supervisor... which bastard is planting trees on the spaceship?"

Liang Jiahui's voice came over the broadcast, causing the male and female leads played by Liu Dehua and Zhou Xun to freeze instantly.

Liu Yifei, Especially Reba, and Lei Jiayin were all standing beside Lin Nan, ready to watch three movie emperors and empresses act together.

On the monitor screen, Liang Jiahui looked gloomy and imposing, watching the man and woman walking over.

"This aura is awesome. When will I have the strength of Movie Emperor Liang?"

Lei Jiayin couldn't help but whisper.

"Heh, I'm afraid that will have to wait for the next life," Lin Nan teased.

"Lin Dao, you don't have to hit me that hard, do you?"

"Watch more, learn more, ask more. This is a ready-made teacher, much better than those in school..."

The three of them nodded in agreement upon hearing Lin Nan's words.

The camera followed the leads as they moved into the spaceship's operation console.

A large number of shots required support from post-production special effects, so the performances of the few looked a bit "awkward" at this moment.

"Cut! Actors, take a break."

"Prop team, are you ready?" Lin Nan asked loudly.

"Lin Dao, everything is ready."

Next was the scene where the spaceship's gravity system malfunctions. The male lead played by Liu Dehua would float up while sleeping.

The female lead played by Zhou Xun would be swimming in the pool, but because of weightlessness, a large amount of pool water would rise in huge waves, floating out of the pool and forming several giant water spheres.

And the female lead would be rolled into a water sphere, suspended in the air together, struggling to swim out, nearly suffocating to death.

This shot of Zhou Xun was another special effects shot that would cost a lot of money. In the final film, the effect would definitely be very good, but this shot would take some effort.

Half an hour later, everything was ready.

Zhou Xun had changed into a swimsuit; although she wasn't a tall beauty, she was very well-proportioned.

This scene was a bit difficult, requiring her to act out a desperate struggle in the air, wanting to swim out of the water sphere, while accompanied by a state of extreme oxygen deprivation and near suffocation.

"Ready, action!"

It wasn't until after seven in the evening that the crew wrapped up.

"Brother Xun's figure is not bad, what do you think?"

Liu Yifei was sitting in the passenger seat, chatting aimlessly.

Lin Nan just smiled at most and wouldn't take the bait; this routine was really shallow.

"I'm asking you a question?"

"Ah? I'm watching the road, what did you say?"

"I said, what do you think of Brother Xun's figure?"

"Mm, didn't look closely. She's a bit short, ten centimeters shorter than you."

Lin Nan kept his eyes on the road ahead, giving an irrelevant answer.

"Heh, who talks about girls like that? If she hears you, she'll definitely scold you."

Although she knew her thoughts had been seen through by Lin Nan, Liu Yifei wasn't angry at all, because she had also seen through Lin Nan's thoughts.

Back home, after showering, Lin Nan leaned on the rocking chair in the garden, blowing in the evening breeze, feeling quite comfortable.

Liu Yifei had gone for a walk with Liu Mu, taking the dog out by the way.

"Good heavens!"

For the past two days, Lin Nan had been on set. Now, opening his laptop, the news in the circle was lively.

Nie Yuan's "Journey to the West" had very high ratings and had been on shows frequently during this period.

Because this drama was also produced by Zhang Jizhong, the "Yang Guo" incident from back then was inevitably brought up again, and the topic remained high.

This time, Nie Yuan laid his cards on the table.

In an interview in the morning, he bluntly stated that he had lost because he was an outsider back then, and it turned out this role could be bought! He only blamed himself for being too "naive" at the time.

And he stated that he would never work with "that person" in this lifetime!

Whether in the eyes of the media or people in the circle, this meant that two popular young actors from the mainland were having a head-on confrontation.

The fans on both sides were also bored, digging up the audition photos of the two from back then, arguing endlessly, which was exactly what Zhang Jizhong wanted!

Even under Liu Yifei's Weibo, there were many people campaigning for votes, which left Lin Nan speechless.

This matter wasn't even the liveliest.

The biggest hot news belonged to the Hong Kong circle today.

In the afternoon, Yang Shoucheng's godson and Zhang Baizhi officially announced their breakup.

The Hong Kong circle was as lively as the New Year, with press releases flying everywhere, and a large number of artists and film and television entertainment companies taking sides.

No matter how the female side pretended to be the weaker party, she didn't gain any advantage.

On the other hand, Movie Emperor Xie, with Yinghuang standing behind him, took on a group alone, completely not losing ground, occupying the high ground of public opinion.

Mainland netizens were also excitedly eating melons.

The Weibo visit count of Chen Kaige's company surged instantly, all filled with comments like: "Director Chen is awesome," "I understood 'The Promise'."

For a time, the entire entertainment industry was stirred up.

The next day, when Lin Nan arrived at the digital production base, the crew was also discussing yesterday's news.

Liu Dehua and Liang Jiahui sat on the side, not looking out of place at all, and even chimed in from time to time.

"The only young actor in Hong Kong who can be brought out now is him. Although there is some forced promotion, it is a fact."

Liang Jiahui was blunt.

In his eyes, Xie Tingfeng winning the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor had too much water in it, but there was no way, after all, there was no one else.

"Mr. Yang will definitely do his best to protect Tingfeng and won't let him have a single stain on such a matter," Liu Dehua said with a smile.

Lei Jiayin, Especially Reba, and others listened carefully on the side, nodding from time to time.

It wasn't until a group of people saw Lin Nan that they ended the topic.

"Lin Dao, congratulations, congratulations, 'The Fault in Our Stars' grossed 352 million!"

"There is still half a month left in the release period, Lin Dao, how much do you think 'The Fault in Our Stars' can reach in the end?"

A group of people were talking about "The Fault in Our Stars," which was the data that had just come out this morning.

"Thank you. I don't know how much it can reach, but I think it can definitely pass 400 million, heh..."

"Didn't Liu Yifei come with you this morning?" Zhou Xun glanced outside and asked with a puzzled look.

"She's coming this afternoon. Let's get ready; we'll start work in a bit."

Lin Nan said with a light chuckle.

This afternoon, he planned to film the cameo scenes for both himself and Liu Yifei.