Chapter 23: Awards Gala

Old Lin’s life is very good now; his son paid to expand the restaurant, and he had someone renovate it from top to bottom.

He hired a few veteran chefs to run the kitchen and has plenty of servers; he just drinks tea, listens to operas, and checks the accounts every day.

The monthly income is quite high, and this shop is famous far and near.

Lin Nan chatted with his father for a bit; it looks like the old man intends to stick with this shop until he can no longer work.

"You need to hurry up and find a girl; your cousins in the village are all married."

Old Lin says this whenever he has nothing to do, and sometimes Zhu Yawen can’t help but laugh out loud.

After staying for two days and visiting historical sites with Old Zhu, Lin Nan was ready to hit the road.

"I can't take it. I suggested he find a companion, and he turned it around and told me to find a girlfriend. He’s like this on the phone, and he’s like this when I come back. Sigh..."

The two chose to take the train this time. "When we get there, let's try the lamb," Lin Nan mentioned.

Lin Nan was also scouting filming locations along the way. *Return to Dust* doesn't actually have high requirements for a location—just a rural area with a river or something similar will do.

The two of them were truly out for a vacation; they ate their way there, and after arriving, they didn't rush to the hotel, spending three whole days just eating lamb.

"It's a good thing we walk a lot every day and have a fast metabolism, otherwise I'd probably have gained a few pounds after all these days," Zhu Yawen said while walking.

The two had already arrived at the hotel specifically designated for film festival guests; the opening ceremony is tomorrow.

They hadn't spoken two sentences before they saw people from Huayi—the *Cell Phone* crew.

"Big companies really have style, they even have personal security," Lin Nan and Zhu Yawen sat on a sofa in the corner of the hotel lobby.

They saw several security guards escorting Huayi’s Young Master Wang and Director Feng inside, followed by Zhang Guoli, Ge You, and Fan Bingbing.

Reporters outside the hotel tried to follow them in but were blocked by the security at the door.

"Linzi, it’s not that comparisons are bad, but how come I feel like we’re just two passersby? Look at their grand entrance," Zhu Yawen said, feeling a bit bitter.

"We’re still students right now; don't get blinded by this kind of flashy, superficial behavior," Lin Nan said, a bit stubborn.

Huayi is a standardized corporate model. Lin Nan’s small company doesn't have any PR or image departments; it only serves himself, so naturally, no one prepared for any grand entrances.

Shanghai Film Group and China Film Group had asked Lin Nan about it, but he was having too much fun on his hiking trip and turned them down.

At dinner that night, Zhou Yang and the others joined them.

"There are so many reporters outside."

"For sure, it's the biggest film festival in the country."

Although it is the biggest in the country, it certainly can't compare to the Golden Horse Awards during the Spring Festival last year.

"I saw Zhao Yanzi, and Xia Yu too," Zhou Yang said.

Lin Nan nodded. To the three people in front of him, they might truly not reach the heights of those two—one is wildly popular, and the other is a young international Best Actor.

"Director Lin, Manager Han and the others would like you to come over for a moment."

Someone knocked on the door to find Lin Nan. "You go ahead, we'll keep eating," Zhu Yawen said, taking the small bowl Lin Nan had just filled with beef.

Almost all the major film companies had come: Shanghai Film Group, China Film Group, Enlight Media...

Lin Nan entered a banquet hall; good heavens, there were only three people there.

China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, and Enlight Media were all there—they were his three investors, after all.

"Director Lin, sit down quickly, we were just waiting for you," the person from Shanghai Film Group said with a smile, urging him.

If he guessed correctly, it was about *Return to Youth*.

There was no pressure to drink; luckily, Lin Nan hadn't eaten much at the house just now, otherwise, it would have been awkward.

"It's going to be released during National Day, and the promotion has already been arranged for these days," the person from Enlight Media spoke first.

The person in charge from Shanghai Film Group ate a bite of food and said nothing.

Manager Han looked at Lin Nan with a smile, "Do you have any expectations for the box office?"

Hearing this, Lin Nan relaxed a bit. He thought it was something major; it seems they were tempted by *House of Flying Daggers*.

"Jackie Chan’s *New Police Story* is coming at the end of the month. Although this series is a classic, I’m afraid it won’t be ideal nowadays."

Lin Nan paused, "There are no big blockbusters next month. *A World Without Thieves* and *Kung Fu Hustle* are both in December. I think Senior Brother Lu’s *Kekexili* won’t beat me next month—I’m talking about the box office."

They seemed to be waiting for exactly these words; smiles appeared on their faces.

"Have you found an investor for *Return to Dust* yet?"

Unexpectedly, Manager Han asked this.

Is this the real show? Lin Nan thought.

It makes sense; Lin Nan’s first two films were funded by others.

Now that the script for the third one is ready and the actors are all cast, he hasn't mentioned anything about investment. Is he trying to go it alone?

Lin Nan put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth.

"It’s a realistic subject; it’s impossible to make a profit, and the probability of losing money is very high."

Sure enough, the three people sitting there understood.

Shanghai Film Group and China Film Group are under great pressure to make a profit and have so many people to support; even if they invest in such loss-making films, they would first consider those veteran directors.

Not to mention Enlight Media—a private enterprise with the goal of making a profit. Lending money to Lin Nan was already a sign of their confidence in him and *Return to Youth*. Investing in a film destined to lose money is absolutely impossible, unless it can win awards.

As for whether Lin Nan’s new film can win awards, none of the three are optimistic; he is a complete newcomer when it comes to chasing awards.

The topic shifted back to *Return to Youth*; everyone was looking forward to how much box office it could get.

"The market is warming up; I think we can raise our expectations a little," Lin Nan added.

Policies have started to favor this industry, whether for film companies or cinema chains—haven't many coal bosses already come over to invest?

"That is indeed true."

They are all industry insiders and can clearly feel the changes in the market. Everyone was suddenly much happier; perhaps the box office really could make a push.

At eleven o'clock in the evening, the dinner party broke up, and everyone returned to their rooms to rest, preparing for tomorrow's opening ceremony.

In the morning, Lin Nan began to tidy up his attire. He felt more and more like a fraud; he was a rising director, yet the makeup artist he was using was someone else's.

"A man just needs to look spirited and clean; don't bother with all these useless things."

Facing Zhu Yawen’s teasing, Lin Nan retorted, but he still sat there and let the makeup artist work.

"Just keep being stubborn. I just went for a walk; every company brought their own makeup artists. Your company is like an empty shell; I don't even want to talk about you."

For the sake of safety and stability, most guests stayed at the hotel arranged by the film festival. The surrounding area was crowded with both reporters and ordinary people—the former wanted to capture shots, and the latter were purely there to see the stars.

"I just saw Jackie Chan."

"Didn't go up to ask for a photo?"

"Too many people, so I didn't."

Big Brother came as a guest; he didn't bring any work, but his *New Police Story* will be released at the end of the month, so it’s a good time for promotion.

In less than half an hour, Lin Nan went out, accompanied by Zhu Yawen and the others. Yan Danchen and Shu Chang didn't come; they were with the crew.

Opening ceremonies are generally quite official: speeches, film trailers, short films, game segments, and various artistic performances.

The next two days will have various seminars, academic conferences, and exchange meetings.

The segments that crews and stars value the most, and the ones that attract the most attention, are always the closing ceremony red carpet and the subsequent awards gala.

This is the last time the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards are held together, so it is undeniably grand.

At six o'clock on the evening of the 19th, the red carpet officially began.

*38 Degrees*, *Heaven and Earth*, *Thrilling*, *Jade Goddess of Mercy*... the grand finale was the *Cell Phone* crew and the *House of Flying Daggers* crew.

Jiang Wen, Xia Yu, Ge You, Zhang Guoli, Fan Bingbing..., Zhang Yimou, Zhang Ziyi...

The crews that close out the red carpet are all big-budget, box-office-hit films.

Lin Nan and his group were fine; they were placed in the middle-to-back section. There were quite a few young audience members at the scene, and when Lin Nan walked the red carpet, he could hear many people shouting the names of the films and their names.

"Director Lin, this is your first time attending a domestic film festival. Do you have confidence in the awards you've been nominated for this time?"

The red carpet host handed over the microphone after the group signed their names.

"Participation is what matters. It would be best if I win, but I’m still young, and there are plenty of opportunities ahead."

"Thank you to the *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind* crew, and the *Return to Youth* crew, thank you Director Lin Nan..."

Following the standard procedure, Lin Nan and his group walked past quickly, and the crews behind them had already stepped onto the red carpet.

The leaders of the major state-owned film companies were already sitting in their designated seats.

Manager Han waved at Lin Nan, but Lin Nan politely declined; it was more comfortable sitting with Zhu Yawen and the others.

"Our seats aren't very good," Zhou Yang said bluntly.

In the back and off to the side—how could they be good?

More and more people entered. Lin Nan scanned the area and said, "Look at who is sitting in the good seats; they are either leaders or big crews. I’ve only released one film so far; are we expecting to sit in the middle?"

The host for the Hundred Flowers Awards is Pu Cunxi. This year’s Hundred Flowers Awards has a recommendation system, and *Return to Youth* took that route, with China Film Group putting in the effort, since it hasn't been released yet.

There are three awards for Outstanding Feature Film; *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind* got one spot, while *Return to Youth* missed out.

When Lin Nan went to accept the award, he thanked Manager Ren of Shanghai Film Group. Manager Ren was waving and smiling below, and Lin Nan took the opportunity to plug his film, "My *Return to Youth* will be released during National Day; please show your support, thank you."

The people in the audience laughed heartily. There are really very few people who dare to advertise at an awards ceremony; this move by Lin Nan left a deep impression on everyone.

The Best Feature Film award was taken by *Cell Phone*. Not to mention Zhang Yimou, Director Feng is currently the commercial film director most capable of carrying the box office.

Best Actor, Ge You, *Cell Phone*.

Uncle Ge is very humorous. After his acceptance speech, he also said, "I hope everyone supports my next film, *A World Without Thieves* in December. Thank you to Director Lin Nan for the inspiration, hahaha."

The audience was completely delighted, and even the host relaxed quite a bit.

"Linzi, you’ve become famous in a unique way tonight."

Lin Nan covered his face with one hand; many people turned their heads to look and laughed unreservedly.

Best Actress, *Cell Phone*, Fan Bingbing, in a low-cut white dress—very stunning, very voluptuous.

The Hundred Flowers Awards ceremony ended, with *Cell Phone* sweeping the Best Actor and Best Actress awards.

Feng Xiaogang was chatting and laughing with Wang Zhonglei in his seat, while those around them were offering congratulations and compliments; Fan Bingbing took her seat, holding her trophy as she greeted the other actresses, though her smile always seemed to hide the glint of swords and shadows.