Chapter 276: Golden Horse, A New Price High

"In another two or three days, I'll be able to head back."

"Mm, okay. Remember to tell me your flight time in advance; I'll come to pick you up."

On the phone, Liu Yifei's voice was slightly hoarse; she had clearly just woken up not long ago. While talking to Lin Nan, she was still yawning, and Liu Xiaoli's lecturing could be heard faintly in the background.

As for Lin Nan on this end, his voice was the same.

After all, it was only six in the morning in Cannes, unlike back home, where it was already 11 o'clock.

…………

The Cannes Film Festival was about to hold its closing ceremony and awards presentation, and major film distributors were scrambling to secure the films they had their eyes on.

While eating breakfast, Jiang Xuerou arrived with the team from China Film Group.

"Sit down and have something to eat?"

"No thanks, Lin Dao. We've already eaten."

Lin Nan looked at their hesitant expressions and set down his cutlery.

"Is it about *Passengers*?"

"Yes. Lin Dao, it looks like the copyright price won't be changing anymore. Would you like to go take a look? We've made appointments with all the distributors for today."

Lin Nan nodded. "Wait for me to finish breakfast, and I'll go with you."

Lin Nan had guessed earlier that *Passengers* would most likely be the first to be finalized. Now it seemed that was indeed the case.

However, as for *Bad Genius*, judging by the situation, it would also be a matter of a day or two.

……

Quite a few domestic films had come to Cannes to sell their copyrights, which naturally became a focus of media attention.

It was just that when faced with interviews from reporters, everyone kept a low profile.

Those who sold well probably wanted to wait until they got back to talk about it, coordinating with a wave of film promotion, just like Chen Kaige and Chen Hong.

As for those who sold their film copyrights cheaply or sold poorly, they all gave a unified response: "The copyright sold very well; the specific amount is a trade secret and is inconvenient to disclose!"

When Lin Nan followed the China Film Group team to the rented conference room, all the distributors had already arrived.

"Lin, we meet again. This time, I've actually bought your film."

Fate is such a magical thing.

Lin Nan looked at the person greeting him, a smile appearing on his face involuntarily, and he stepped forward to shake hands.

This was the person who had dealt with him many times at film festivals, wanting to buy copyrights but giving up in the end due to funding issues.

Looking at it this way, the other party had traded their bird gun for a cannon and had grown big and strong!

"Thank you."

*Passengers* had a total of 5 investors. This time, only Lin Nan and the China Film Group people were in Cannes, but they had full authority to make decisions.

More than two hours later, under the witness of Cannes officials and lawyers, Lin Nan and the Vice Chairman of China Film Group signed the copyright transaction contracts with the group of distributors.

11 distributors, totaling 58.6 million USD in copyright fees.

From this point on, *Passengers* would have no further connection with Lin Nan and the other 5 companies in Europe and America, including audiovisual copyrights and the like.

"Lin Dao is still the best! To say something shameful, the number of times China Film Group has encountered such a large copyright transaction amount can be counted on one hand..."

The Vice Chairman of China Film Group rarely complimented Lin Nan. After all, he had performed a meritorious service on this trip, and the transaction contracts in his hands were proof of that.

"You're too kind. I make films to earn money, while China Film Group shoulders the heavy responsibility of the development of domestic films."

Lin Nan smiled and also said something pleasant.

"Lin Dao is reasonable, unlike other companies that curse us at every turn, like that nickname for Chairman Han, haha..."

After chatting for a few sentences, the China Film Group people couldn't wait to call back to report the good news.

"By the way, notify Wanda, Enlight, and the Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation."

"That goes without saying."

…………

Lin Nan could already imagine that once Han Sanping learned of the transaction amount for *Passengers*, he would definitely publicize it with great fanfare. The domestic media would become lively again.

Buying imported films is a matter of gambling on luck.

Lin Nan could distinguish which films were good, but he couldn't guarantee whether they would pass censorship after being taken back, whether they needed cuts, or whether the audience would buy it.

Zhong Lifang had also been wandering around for many days, and it was said she hadn't bought a single one; they were either too expensive or she wasn't satisfied.

"I'm heading back to the country first."

Seeing Lin Nan, Ning Hao spoke directly.

"Not staying to play for a few more days and heading back with me?"

Hearing Lin Nan's words, Ning Hao mocked himself:

"Head back with you? You're returning in triumph, with tens of millions of dollars in copyright deals; reporters will definitely block you. But if they ask me, how am I supposed to answer? There's no harm without comparison; have pity on me!"

"Fine, fine. Director Ning still wants to save face, then I wish you a smooth journey." Lin Nan joked with a smile.

……

That evening, Ning Hao took a flight back to the country. When he arrived at the Capital Airport, it should be near noon.

Liu Dehua asking to meet Lin Nan was something the latter hadn't expected.

Especially since there was an extra person at the meeting site.

"Lin Dao."

"Lin Dao Nan."

"Li Dao, Brother Hua."

The three greeted each other and sat down.

"I just flew over from Hollywood yesterday afternoon. I heard about Lin Dao's *Bad Genius* this morning; it's fantastic!"

Li An started with praise, which made Lin Nan ponder slightly.

"Li Dao, has the production of *Life of Pi* been completed?"

"Yes, it will be released globally this year and has already been sent to the Administration for censorship."

At this moment, Liu Dehua spoke up.

"Lin Dao, do you have any thoughts on participating in this year's Golden Horse Awards?"

Lin Nan's heart skipped a beat. He knew there must be something going on; otherwise, they wouldn't have asked him to come over, and with Li An present too.

"I haven't considered it. I haven't participated in the judging of Chinese film festivals for a long time; there is..."

Lin Nan said nonchalantly; it should have been after 2005.

Liu Dehua and Li An on the side were stunned for a moment after hearing these words.

"To be honest with Lin Dao, the chairman of this year's jury is me."

Liu Dehua opened his mouth and shared a piece of news that hadn't been announced yet.

Lin Nan didn't respond. He already understood what these two were getting at.

"*Bad Genius* can be considered for the Golden Horse. I think the probability of winning an award is very, very high."

Li An took a sip of tea and said softly.

This scene before him made Lin Nan recall the scene when Li An came to the country to invite him to take *The Hunt* to Venice; everything felt familiar.

But Lin Nan was more willing to trust the Venice Film Festival than Chinese film festivals.

"Lin Dao can consider it. I know you aren't lacking in awards, but having a high probability of getting one more award is definitely not a bad thing."

…………

An hour later, Lin Nan left. He hadn't agreed to or promised anything.

"If Lin Dao can come, this year's Golden Horse Awards will definitely be worth watching," Liu Dehua said, shaking his head slightly.

"He didn't agree, but he didn't refuse either, did he? Let's wait."

Li An took over the conversation and added a sentence.

……

Lou Ye's *Mystery* was the only Chinese film shortlisted for Cannes this year, not in the competition section, but in the "Un Certain Regard" section.

When accepting an interview with foreign media, this guy started speaking without restraint again.

The sentence "The best films are free films" was directly extrapolated by the foreign media.

"Is your film not free?"

"If it were free, I wouldn't have been an 'underground director' for several years."

…………

The domestic directors in Cannes all felt that this guy was courting death again.

Why did he like to bring up the fact that he was banned whenever there was nothing to do, and always in front of foreign media?

The consequence of Lou Ye's remarks was that the domestic censorship system was brought to the forefront again, and the impact was very bad.

"Now you know why that guy doesn't have many friends in the circle, right? Because you never know when you'll be implicated by him."

Jiang Wen said publicly at a gathering. Chen Kaige's expression wasn't good either; he was the representative of Chinese filmmakers this time.

Just a moment ago, Chen Kaige had been blocked by a group of media asking for his views on the domestic censorship system.

Lin Nan avoided the media and went to attend to serious matters.

The copyright quote for *Bad Genius* had reached its limit.

Unlike the 11 distributors for *Passengers*, *Bad Genius* had a higher price, but the number of distributors was actually smaller.

9, all of them major distributors.

Jiang Xuerou beside him was restraining her excitement, waiting for Lin Nan to make the final decision.

"For this film, you won't lose money. After all, it's the background of the SAT, very realistic, isn't it?"

"Yes, Lin. This is also the reason why we are willing to keep bidding. This subject matter will explode; it can even cause a sensation."

There were no polite words; both sides were very straightforward. After all, the price had already reached that point.

"Then let's sign."

Every film that successfully trades at a film festival will be counted by the officials; this is the rule.

In the end, the officials will announce a total transaction amount. Generally speaking, the total copyright transaction amount of the three major European film festivals is the top three in the world.

"83.65 million USD, 83.65 million USD!"

Jiang Xuerou swallowed her saliva, repeating this number constantly.

"Director Jiang, are you that excited?" Lin Nan snapped his fingers and joked.

"Lin Dao, this is over 80 million USD; calculated, that's over 500 million!"

"I know. Now go contact the bank side; after all, it's foreign exchange, keep a close eye on it. Also, handle the taxes that need to be paid together; out of sight, out of mind."

Even for Lin Nan, thinking of those taxes made his heart ache.

But just because he didn't live in Chaoyang District didn't mean he didn't abide by the law; the taxes that should be paid must be paid!

"Okay, okay, I'll go handle it immediately, immediately..."

Watching Jiang Xuerou's retreating figure, Lin Nan couldn't help but smile. The copyright transaction of *Bad Genius* would definitely shock the domestic film circle. Hmm, and make them sour!

…………

Domestic film companies had long been stimulated by the news of *Passengers*.

The internet and media were reporting it crazily.

Just because this morning, China Film Group, Wanda, and Enlight simultaneously announced their battle results in Cannes.

"*Passengers* has completed copyright transactions in Europe and America, with a total price of 58.6 million USD!"

"*Passengers* production cost is 250 million; it has fully recovered its costs and achieved profitability..."

…………

"Lin Dao is awesome! The film hasn't even been released yet, and he's already earned 100 million!"

"It's the same as *The Martian* that year; it recovered its costs just by relying on copyrights, and it even made money."

"Inside scoop, *Passengers* has three product placement ads; the estimated cost is also around 100 million; it's either cars or high-end electronic products..."

"What about Lin Dao? Hasn't he returned yet?"

"To the person above, Lin Dao should be negotiating the copyright for *Bad Genius*; that's also a big chunk..."

…………

The entire film and television industry was stimulated by the news of *Passengers*.

It was impossible for China Film Group to lie. If they could take the initiative to report the transaction amount, it meant they had indeed sold it for that much money!

"*Passengers* was settled so quickly, so why is there no news about *Bad Genius*?"

In the eyes of many industry insiders, Lin Nan might value *Bad Genius* more. Being able to drag it out for so long meant its transaction price was definitely not low either.

After all, with Lin Nan's fame at international film festivals, it was impossible for the copyright transaction amount to be too low; it could only be higher!

Huayi, Bona, Orange Sky, Yinghuang... and even companies like China Film Group, Enlight, and Wanda were all faintly looking forward to it. For film companies in the industry, there was more envy, jealousy, and sourness.

A large number of netizens ran to Liu Yifei's Weibo to ask.

"Producer Liu, when is Lin Dao coming back?"

"Did he tell you how much *Bad Genius* sold for?"

"I remember Red Star Dock is also an investor; how much can Yifei get?"

…………

Liu Yifei looked at the constantly refreshing comments on the computer, her face full of joy, and then she started replying rapidly.

"I don't know either; he only told me on the phone that he was coming back, he didn't say anything else..."

"Wait until he comes back, and we'll know!"

…………

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 277 =====