Chapter 290: Release

Counting them up, in the film market in the second half of this year, Huayi's films are the most numerous.

Previously, the release times of *Tai Chi 0* and *Passengers* were only two days apart, both aiming for the National Day season.

Today, the media reported that *Tai Chi Hero* had also been scheduled, right on November 1st, taking over from *Tai Chi 0*.

In the eyes of the industry, Huayi's ambition in the second half of the year is not small.

Several films, from the National Day season all the way into the New Year season, and then to the Spring Festival season, one after another, without even a break in the middle.

Especially for series films like *Tai Chi*, they used a relay mode for release; as long as it's operated well, that's one plus one greater than two.

To be honest, Lin Nan didn't take these two *Tai Chi* films seriously.

Liang Jiahui Ka-fai is amazing, but the director is an unknown, and the female lead is Angelababy; just relying on Liang Jiahui alone, I'm afraid he can't carry it.

……

Yue Jun was busy docking with Zhongying, and the first batch of *Bad Genius* prints had been sent across the country.

Major theater chains had also set their schedules; the first day was no less than 30%, and all cinemas were ready.

Almost all theater chain representatives who attended the premiere had full confidence in the film.

This *Bad Genius*, directed by Lin Nan and starring Liu Yifei, was bound to get a high box office!

Especially since it was being released during the summer vacation; in terms of box office, it would definitely be icing on the cake!

Even some media joining in the fun reported:

"The summer season is the right time, the theater chain's cooperation is the right place, and Director Lin Nan plus Liu Yifei is the right people; a *Bad Genius* has it all!"

After Miss Liu saw this news, she was very happy. She even specifically shared it on her and Lin Nan's Weibo.

Before long, it attracted a large number of industry insiders to forward and like it, and a large number of netizens left messages: tickets already booked.

…………

In the afternoon, when Lin Nan returned from the company, he saw Liu Yifei on the phone.

Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her face had an expression of disdain and impatience, as if she wanted to hang up the phone immediately, but out of politeness and respect, she held back.

Seeing Lin Nan's figure, Liu Yifei clearly breathed a sigh of relief, patted the sofa beside her, signaled him to sit over, and then turned on the phone's speaker.

"... Xixi, please, you must help me, I don't want to be banned..."

Just as Lin Nan sat down next to Liu Yifei, a sobbing sound came from the phone.

He didn't make a sound, but listened to Liu Yifei's perfunctory replies and Jiang Yiyan's continuous sobbing on the other side.

A few minutes later, Lin Nan also turned into a look of disdain, signaling Liu Yifei to find an excuse to dismiss her quickly.

At the end of the call, Jiang Yiyan still wanted to seek Miss Liu's help, and even wanted Liu Yifei to find Lin Nan for help.

"I'm also impressed by this person!"

Lin Nan said irritably.

The day the *Bad Genius* premiere ended, *The Four* also broke 200 million.

Wang Changtian, in his joy, decided with Gordon Chan to shoot *The Four 3* and *The Four 2* back-to-back.

It only took half a day for Enlight Media to complete the changes to the contracts with Tiangong Color and Zhao Liying. Other crew members were the same; after all, even a fool knew this was a good resource!

This news was currently still confidential and was not intended to be announced for a short time.

Who knew that the film crew would suddenly cause trouble.

"When did this happen?"

Lin Nan asked, he really hadn't noticed this gossip.

Liu Yifei shook her head, a trace of contempt on her smooth face:

"The specific scandal seems to be the day before yesterday, the 22nd, right? The day after the *Bad Genius* premiere, it's said they were photographed that night."

"I heard from Liu Yan this morning that Sun Li stormed the film crew yesterday evening, and the crew stopped work today."

Now Lin Nan understood. No wonder Jiang Yiyan was in a hurry to find someone.

Although Deng Chao's contract with Huayi expired last month and he left.

But his connections and favors were still there; this bit of mess wouldn't affect his status in the circle.

And Sun Li was a first-tier star, the treasure of Hairun Media; wanting to destroy Jiang Yiyan would be a simple matter, right?

Who told Jiang Yiyan to choose to follow Wang Jinghua when she fell out with Orange Sky, losing the backing of a big company.

"Wang Jinghua?"

Lin Nan muttered, then looked at Liu Yifei:

"We won't worry about her. Let her bear the consequences of her own disgusting actions."

"Scandals have been constant since school; directors and producers fought over her, Chen Daoming stood up for her... This time she hit a hard nail, right?"

"That's what I think too."

Liu Yifei nodded and replied; if it weren't for the sake of being classmates, she wouldn't even have answered the phone.

This matter was too damaging to one's reputation; clearly knowing that others were married and had children, yet still acting like that. Besides, Deng Chao also had responsibility.

"However, with the connections Wang Jinghua has accumulated over so many years, she should still be able to smooth it over, but it's inevitable that she'll be hurt." Lin Nan speculated.

There is nothing in this circle that cannot be solved privately; making a big scene is not good for anyone, and will only benefit outsiders and competitors.

…………

In the evening, Liu Yifei and Lin Nan posted on Weibo again.

"Tomorrow at the cinema, *Bad Genius* will see you there..."

Time came to the 25th; *Bad Genius*, which had been promoted for two months and had explosive topic popularity, finally ushered in its official release.

From the morning, major portal websites were all news about the release of *Bad Genius* and live reports from inside the cinemas.

"Learned from New Film Union, Wanda Theater Chain, etc., that the seat occupancy rate of the film *Bad Genius* is close to 100%, and today's comprehensive screening rate has reached 31.4%..."

"The last time I saw such a huge ticket-buying queue was *Titanic 3D* in April!"

"*Bad Genius* is indeed expected to break the domestic film box office record of *The Thieves*..."

……

In the morning, most of the media's focus was on *Bad Genius*.

Many actors and artists in the industry who couldn't go to the premiere were also posting their movie tickets, counting as riding the wave of popularity.

Liu Yifei was excitedly scrolling through the news, but the earliest film reviews wouldn't come until the afternoon.

"I guess Director Chen shouldn't be feeling well right now."

Liu Yifei flipped to a few live photos of the cinema; the window for *Caught in the Web* was already empty, while *The Four* had some scattered people.

In the words of the media, these were audiences who hadn't bought tickets and just decided to watch *The Four* instead.

"Oh, someone even bought out the whole theater?" Liu Yifei exclaimed softly, smiling and pulling Lin Nan over.

"These people! Fortunately, they are all inviting audiences to watch the film; it's not a waste, and it doesn't count as faking."

Lin Nan looked at the report on the computer page and smiled; he didn't know what to say about them.

Huang Xiao, Jing Tian, Fan Bingbing, Wang Baoqiang... all acquaintances.

……

From noon, evaluations of *Bad Genius* appeared one after another online.

"Amazing! I feel like I watched a spy suspense film; it made me so nervous, too exciting!"

"This is the real student era; not the small love, affectation, pretending to be deep, pretending to be lost, and melodrama in previous youth films!"

"Everyone who has experienced exams will have a resonance carved into their bones, as if they were there."

"It's a trap; I've been graduated for so many years, and seeing Liu Yifei's cheating shot in the film, I was subconsciously a bit scared, and couldn't help but look around; it turns out I'm in the cinema, not the exam room!"

"This film made me recall unbearable past events again."

"The one above, tell me more."

……

There were more and more comments; one sentence each, and it turned into an exchange meeting.

Although most were positive reviews, quite a few bizarre comments had really gone off track.

"Shanhai Media's new artist, her name is Reba, right? This look, so domineering! I have to follow her Weibo..."

"Together."

"Just followed."

"Damn, is that how top students cheat? So hard! After school starts, I have to calculate with the top female student in the class..."

"Liu Yifei provided us with ideas; can we really do this in reality? Apply to top public universities in America?"

"Seems... it really can be done!"

"Oxford is also fine."

……

The comments online exploded and were almost uncontrollable.

Lin Nan felt a bit empty looking at it, and hurriedly posted a Weibo:

"Just like in the film, what Liu Yifei said to Watching Shu Chang and Luo Jin: cheating can only deceive for a while, not for a lifetime; cheating is only deceiving yourself, and sooner or later you will reveal your true colors, and lose even more..."

Subsequently, Liu Yifei followed up with a Weibo:

"Thank you all for recognizing this *Bad Genius*, but cheating is indeed wrong, and the ending of this film also tells us this truth."

Afterwards, Watching Shu Chang and others spoke up in unison; values must be upright, and Zhou Xun and Liang Jiahui Ka-fai also forwarded and shared.

This was only the first day of release, and the focus of the film circle was all attracted.

Quite a few film critics and big-tailed wolves started preaching: "I really don't understand how the Film Bureau could pass this kind of film; it's completely teaching students bad things."

Lin Nan didn't even need to counterattack; netizens could spray the film critics to death:

"Did Director Lin not pay you off? You're everywhere! Do you have to force everyone to watch *Teletubbies* all day to satisfy you?"

"Did you watch the film or not, spraying here? In the final ending, the lead played by Liu Yifei takes the initiative to admit the cheating. The film's values are very upright, much more upright than yours!"

……

Lin Nan and Liu Yifei were mentally prepared; after this film was released, public opinion would inevitably explode.

Even Tong Gang called Lin Nan:

"The film is fine, no need to worry about anything at all, especially this year. You just focus on getting the box office up, don't worry about the rest."

Hearing this, Lin Nan instantly felt full of confidence.

Liu Yifei was also in high spirits, "I just want to know what the first-day box office is now, a bit excited. The original *The Thieves* didn't have me."

After speaking, Liu Yifei also glanced at Lin Nan.

Lin Nan could only smile helplessly; what could he say, tell the truth: your figure and temperament really weren't as suitable as Fan Bingbing's?!

Lin Nan put his arm around Liu Yifei's waist and chuckled:

"Believe me, the box office of this film will definitely be higher than *The Thieves*; you can tell just by looking at today's screening rate and seat occupancy rate."

Speaking of this, Liu Yifei's eyes instantly lit up; the first-day screening rate and seat occupancy rate were indeed higher than *The Thieves*.

She hoped that this film she starred in and Lin Nan directed could refresh *The Thieves*' record; just thinking about it was a happy thing.

…………

The next day, Lin Nan was sleeping soundly when he was woken up by Liu Yifei.

"Lazy pig, get up quickly."

A burst of fragrance hit him, and when Lin Nan opened his eyes, it was that exquisite face. Mm, really good!

…………

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 291 =====