Chapter 274

Not long ago, Wu Jing and Xie Nan were still joking with Lin Nan, saying that their relationship should take its natural course and not be spread yet.

As a result, today the two were followed by paparazzi and secretly photographed being unable to hold back and getting "intimate" in a car.

At the critical moment, the man was quite responsible. Wu Jing posted on Weibo, humorously admitting it:

"Reporting to my former instructor: as an excellent special forces soldier, I was actually followed and photographed by civilians without noticing.

I actually forgot about counter-surveillance, counter-reconnaissance, and anti-encirclement; I truly failed the army's education. I'll punish myself with 1,000 sit-ups; I definitely won't underestimate the enemy next time..."

As one of the few martial arts actors in the circle, Wu Jing's news was also highly concerned by the media and netizens.

Plus, the woman was also a top host at Enlight Media; in less than half a day, the two received a large number of blessings from people in the circle.

Lin Nan couldn't help but join in the fun and teased:

"Look, love really is a honey pot; even someone who has participated in special forces training becomes slow to react and loses vigilance after falling into it..."

In less than half an hour, Lin Nan was tagged by Wu Jing and others, "What about Lin Dao?"

"Hmm... drowning in it, unable to extricate myself!"

…………

The Cannes Film Festival was about to open.

The number of domestic films going there to exhibit this time had more than doubled compared to previous years.

Regardless of whether they could sell them or how much money they could sell them for, everyone was prepared to give it a try; otherwise, the only outcome would be being crushed by imported films.

"A media meeting for 'Xuan-Yuan Sword'? They really know how to make a fuss. But that's right, isn't their main business TV dramas?"

The "Xuan-Yuan Sword" that Tang Ren filmed last year had already set its broadcast time, right in those first few days of this summer vacation.

Regardless of whether there was cooperation now, or if there was competition between artists, Cai Yinong still sent an invitation to Lin Nan's film company. In the circle, this belonged to the unspoken rules.

"Director Yue is not here, and Director Jiang has already taken people to Cannes in advance. When the time comes, just send anyone over."

"Alright, Lin Dao."

The assistant responded and left the office.

Suddenly, Lin Nan put down the pen in his hand and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He remembered another interesting thing, also about Tang Ren, which had just been reported by the media in the last two days.

Logically speaking, whether it's a movie or a TV drama, if you want to film it, you must at least submit the script for review first, and only after getting the filming permit from the State Administration can you officially start filming.

But Cai Yinong just wouldn't follow the rules and pulled a flashy move.

At the beginning of March, the media reported that Tang Ren had quietly started filming "Song of the Desert." Tang Ren didn't respond, and was even more low-key, almost sneakily.

Now, more than two months later, the circle finally knew why Tang Ren was so low-key at that time.

Because "Song of the Desert" was filmed without approval and without authorization.

People in the film and television circle could all guess what Cai Yinong was planning.

It was nothing more than wanting to take the script to the State Administration for review and filing when the TV drama was almost finished, to supplement a filming permit.

Because this could save a lot of time; as long as they weren't caught by the State Administration with evidence of substantial violations, it would be fine.

But after all the calculations, the final result was completely beyond Cai Yinong's expectations, and Tang Ren was caught off guard.

The script for "Song of the Desert" was directly killed by the State Administration!

One must know that "Song of the Desert," which was about to wrap, was filmed according to this script, and they had already spent tens of millions!

No matter how Tang Ren tried to find ways or connections this time, it was of no avail.

The State Administration even clearly gave the reasons for killing "Song of the Desert": suspected illegal filming, not in line with mainstream values, seriously distorting and tampering with history, smearing historical figures...

Some media exposed the script content online; it was completely plagiarized. Many industry insiders read it and felt it was indeed very excessive.

The Western Han Dynasty's behavior of fighting the Xiongnu was defined as aggression, the positions of good and evil were reversed, the Han Dynasty was seriously slandered, and the Xiongnu were righteous;

Huo Qubing's sealing of the Langju Mountain was the result of jealousy over a woman...

……

It would be simply unreasonable not to kill such a script.

But even so, there were still a large number of Tang Ren fans who publicly opposed and refuted the State Administration online.

However, more netizens still supported the State Administration's opinion and supported the ban.

For a costume drama to have such a thing happen, hurting the bones and muscles was light.

Tang Ren's only way was to make major changes! Re-filming was definitely not an option. Don't even think about making money; minimizing losses was the key.

In two days, Tang Ren would hold a media meeting for "Xuan-Yuan Sword," and it was estimated that "Song of the Desert" would be the focus of questions.

……

"How many days are you going for?"

"Hard to say, it depends on the transaction situation."

As the winners of last year's Jury Prize, Lin Nan and Liu Qianqian were invited by Cannes this year.

But Liu Qianqian had work and couldn't go, and Lin Nan had no interest in the red carpet alone, so he simply declined the red carpet invitation.

For him, going there to sell the copyright for a good price was the real business!

Originally, Lin Nan was prepared to go in the last few days, but Jiang Xuerou called back, hoping he could go early, as this would be more conducive to film promotion.

"Then I'll drive you to the airport." Liu Qianqian arranged.

"Of course you can, as long as you can get up. This time I'm leaving with Ning Hao, Zhong Lifang, and the others; the flight is at eight in the morning." Lin Nan joked.

"As long as I want to get up, I can get up."

Liu Qianqian's mouth curled up, full of confidence. She still had this bit of confidence; just pretend, just pretend it's like being on set, getting up early to film. She brainwashed herself like this...

…………

During the May Day holiday, everyone thought the film market this month would be better, especially for domestic films.

Now it seems that the idea at the time was truly a bit ridiculous and naive; the overall market was even more sluggish than in April, let alone domestic films.

The box office of imported films, especially "The Avengers," could be described as advancing triumphantly and crushing everything.

Several Hollywood films combined accounted for more than 90% of the market every day, and the remaining less than 10% of the scraps were shared by more than a dozen domestic films.

"200 million, that's a bit difficult."

Ning Hao sighed and called Lin Nan, feeling a sense of bad luck and a bumpy road.

"173 million, struggle a bit more. Or think about the copyright matter in advance, how much you want to sell it for."

Lin Nan said casually. He invested in "The Great Robbery" at the beginning just because of personal connections; now this box office compared to other domestic films was already very good.

"I want to sell it for tens of millions of USD, is it possible? I don't have a Golden Lion Award, nor a Silver Bear..."

As he spoke, Ning Hao suddenly raised his voice:

"I want to notify Xiaoma that in the producer column of the promotional materials and posters, your name must be placed at the front, enlarged and bolded!"

Hearing this, Lin Nan was a bit dumbfounded.

Originally, in the producer column, Xiaoma was ranked first, after all, they invested the most. But if they were going to Cannes to sell the copyright, putting Lin Nan at the front was very reasonable; it was thought that Xiaoma would definitely have no opinion.

"Director Ning is truly 'witty'!"

"You're too kind, isn't it because Lin Dao's name is more useful, haha..."

……

The next day, Liu Qianqian, in casual sportswear, with long hair draped over her shoulders and wearing sunglasses, personally sent Lin Nan to the airport.

For this trip, Lin Nan didn't bring anyone else; Jiang Xuerou and many employees would be there to pick him up.

Outside the airport, Zhong Lifang, Ning Hao, and others had also just arrived.

"Lin Dao."

"Oh my, it was actually Qianqian who sent you!"

"Yeah, didn't Sister Na send you?" Liu Qianqian smiled.

Seeing the smile on Ning Hao's face suddenly freeze:

"Sigh, ever since I had a son, my family status has plummeted. In the past, she would send me off on business trips; now, she can't be bothered with me..."

"Lin Dao, Director Ning, are you going to Cannes?"

The reporter blocked on the side shouted loudly.

"Yes." Zhong Lifang answered.

"Let's hurry in, it's not good to block the way here."

Lin Nan turned back, took Liu Qianqian in his arms, kissed her, and said softly: "You should hurry back too; you can still take a nap."

"Hmm, I'll watch you go in and then leave." Liu Qianqian said crisply, her face full of smiles.

The reporters on the side were frantically pressing their shutters...

…………

An hour later, there was one more item in the news section of the Cannes Film Festival.

"Lin Dao Nan, Director Ning Hao, and Ms. Zhong Lifang set off for the Cannes Film Festival this morning. Wishing the film copyright transaction a great success!"

"Lin Nan and Liu Qianqian kiss at the airport..."

"Director Jiang Wen will announce a new film plan at the Cannes Film Festival..."

"Jackie Chan brings 'Chinese Zodiac' to Cannes to release a trailer..."

……

Ten hours later, the group left Nice Airport.

"It's supposed to be the most prestigious Cannes Film Festival, yet there isn't even an international airport nearby; you have to transfer from Paris to Nice. It's really trash..."

Ning Hao cursed.

A foreign filmmaker rushing by on the side clearly understood Chinese and even turned back to give Ning Hao a thumbs up, "Good, you're right, it's really too trashy!"

At this, Lin Nan and the others couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I say Director Ning, watch your influence; if it's reported by foreign media, who knows what they'll say. Although you're telling the truth, haha..."

Jiang Xuerou was waiting outside the airport with people. Xiaoma's people were also there.

Zhong Lifang didn't just come here to sell copyrights with Ning Hao; there was also the matter of buying imported films.

"I'll go with Lin Dao, Ms. Zhong, let's meet up in Cannes." Ning Hao took the initiative to say.

"Alright, see you later."

…………

Getting into the car, Jiang Xuerou started talking about serious business.

"This year, basically all domestic production companies have run here, all because they have no confidence in the domestic box office."

Now there is still more than a day before the opening ceremony, but many domestic films have already been sold. The prices range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of USD; currently, there are none over a million..."

"They're all from ordinary directors, right?" Ning Hao asked with a bit of lack of confidence.

Jiang Xuerou nodded, "That's right. Among Chinese-language films, Lin Dao's 'Passengers' and 'Bad Genius,' and Director Chen Kaige's 'Caught in the Web'—these films are the highlights that are highly concerned."

Those domestic films with relatively high investment are also waiting and watching, all waiting for after the opening ceremony. At that time, there will be more big film merchants..."

Ning Hao felt less and less confident the more he listened; here, he was just an ordinary Chinese-language film director with no fame at all.

"Lin Dao, it's up to you."

Lin Nan chuckled and nodded, "Don't be so desperate."

Immediately after, Lin Nan looked at Jiang Xuerou in the passenger seat, "Are those screening halls all set?"

"The screening hall for 'Bad Genius' has already been arranged; Lin Dao's reputation is very useful."

"'Passengers' is being handled by China Film Group, and there's no problem either."

"That's good."

Lin Nan was full of expectations for this trip to Cannes.

The audience for sci-fi romance films was not small.

And "Bad Genius"? The matter of exams, isn't it something that is connected all over the world?!

"This time, I want a higher price!"

Lin Nan's tone was full of confidence as he said this emphatically.

Jiang Xuerou was stunned for a moment, then smiled and echoed:

"Many film merchants are asking when we will start screening. I believe Lin Dao's film transaction price this time will definitely reach a new high."

"Especially 'Bad Genius' with you and Qianqian; many film merchants even mentioned last year's 'The Fault in Our Stars'..."

"Take a break, you're making me so jealous."

On the side, Ning Hao said unexpectedly.

"Haha, fine, listen to Director Ning Hao. Once we arrive, it's my treat."

Looking at Ning Hao's sour look, Lin Nan said with a smile.

…………

(End of chapter)