Chapter 299: September

The news from the Bazaar gala has already spread.

Liu Yifei auctioned off the manuscript of Lin Nan's *Bad Genius* screenplay for 3.6 million.

In the end, it was snatched up by Huang Xiaoming, who bid all the way to the finish.

Everyone in the industry is marveling at Huang Xiaoming's high emotional intelligence and grand gesture; no wonder he's doing so well for himself.

Because this isn't just a simple matter of 3.6 million; perhaps in the future, it will represent a male lead role in a film.

On the contrary, Feng Xiaogang's "King of Bids" item was rarely mentioned.

A 17-million oil painting, and it was bought by someone outside the industry—what for? A fan?

……

Tiangong Color.

"I've been slacking off these past two days, mainly because I haven't waited for the *Bad Genius* celebration banquet yet."

A few days ago, Lu Yang had patted his chest and promised with certainty that he could finish the post-production of *Special ID* before *Bad Genius* left theaters.

As it turns out, he's now making excuses for himself.

A few days ago, the entire industry was staring at Lin Nan; the whole internet and the entire industry were talking about the 1.43 billion figure.

To keep a low profile, the company didn't hold a celebration banquet.

"Let's look at the final cut first." Lin Nan ignored Lu Yang's lack of seriousness and brought up business.

"Alright. This film is absolutely powerful!"

Lu Yang said with conviction.

Ten minutes later, the employees of Tiangong Color also gathered around.

……

"Oh my, Zhao Wenzhuo's fight scenes are so open and bold, it's satisfying to watch!"

"Better than Donnie Yen; he truly deserves to be someone who can go head-to-head with Jet Li. It reminds me of the Nine Gate Commandant!"

Lin Nan didn't know what to say to this group of people; they were certainly direct enough.

"How about we have Zhao Wenzhuo practice Wing Chun later?"

Hearing Lin Nan's words, the group actually started to think and compare.

"Action actors shouldn't have any problems. Only when a big, strong man fights Wing Chun is there a contrast, and only then will he be scolded by peers for 'fighting like a woman'!"

Good grief, a group of science and engineering nerds analyzing things so logically—it was actually quite persuasive!

Only Lu Yang seemed to understand what Lin Nan meant, a playful expression appearing on his face.

"……To distinguish the superior from the inferior, and to decide life and death……"

Describing Wang Baoqiang's performance as evil, charming, and insane is not an exaggeration at all; he acted very well!

And Zhao Wenzhuo is completely capable of standing toe-to-toe with Wang Baoqiang in terms of presence, without falling behind in the slightest.

This point is perfect; it fits the dual-male-lead setting.

When Lin Nan wrote the script, he had optimized it, and the nearly two-hour final cut had a sufficiently full plot.

"Lin Dao, give us an evaluation?"

"It's great, send it to the Film Bureau." After speaking, Lin Nan left Tiangong Color.

In the afternoon, the news that *Special ID* had been submitted for review appeared online; there was no deliberate concealment.

…………

*Prometheus* and *The Expendables 2* have been released.

These two films were released only one week apart from *Batman* and *Spider-Man*.

At this moment, four Hollywood blockbusters are harvesting the mainland film market together, with their combined daily box office exceeding 100 million.

A large number of domestic films collapsed in response, becoming cannon fodder once again. Production companies already have trauma.

There isn't much to say about films at the end of September, but *Sad Fairy Tale* and *White Deer Plain*, which were released earlier, are in a bad situation.

*About Time* has officially announced its casting to the outside world.

"After several days of auditions and screening, the casting for the film *About Time* is as follows:

Male lead: Luo Jin; Female lead: Wan Qian.

Supporting roles: Reba, Tang Yan, Sun Yizhou, Deng Jiajia……"

As soon as the news was announced on Weibo, netizens started arguing.

"Except for Luo Jin, not a single one is from the Beijing Film Academy!"

"This time it's impressive; out of six young actors, half are from the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Last time, the male and female leads of *Source Code* were also from the Shanghai Theatre Academy."

"Identification complete, Director Guo Fan is definitely a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy!"

"I dare to bet that even Luo Jin wasn't chosen through auditions."

"It's been so long, and I haven't seen Lin Nan Film's new films use any newcomers from the Beijing Film Academy!"

…………

The third floor of Lin Nan Film.

Guo Fan is on the phone in the hallway, while Lin Nan and a group of actors are laughing and chatting in the conference room.

Among the six actors, only Luo Jin can speak freely with Lin Nan; after all, they have been classmates for so many years, and their relationship is only a hair's breadth behind Zhu Yawen's.

"Director Guo wouldn't be on the phone with the school outside, would he? Haha……"

"Who else's call could it be? When he graduated, he was called aside to have a heart-to-heart talk."

Lin Nan said with a smile. He looked at Tang Yan again:

"Leaving Orange Sky is a good decision. We are acquaintances, so I'll give you a piece of advice: it's best not to play those 'silly, sweet, and white' roles in the future; develop towards the 'cool older sister' style or the 'big female lead' direction."

"Thank you for the guidance, Lin Dao, I will keep it in mind."

Tang Yan nodded; having graduated from the Central Academy of Drama, it's impossible for her to have zero acting skills.

Lin Nan has also met Wan Qian a few times, and he exchanged a few pleasantries with her.

Sun Yizhou and Deng Jiajia, on the other hand, are meeting for the first time. "Director Guo Fan has a very high opinion of you two; I hope there will be opportunities to cooperate again after this."

"Thank you, Lin Dao, I believe there will be opportunities." Deng Jiajia gives off a very confident impression.

"Me too."

Seeing Sun Yizhou, Lin Nan couldn't help but smile. "In the recently updated episodes, your performance as Lu Bu was quite good!"

"Haha, thank you for the compliment, Lin Dao."

As they were talking, Guo Fan came in, and Lin Nan nodded. "You guys discuss business, I'll take my leave first."

…………

Tang Ren's press releases have spread across the entire internet again, simply because their top star relied on *Scarlet Heart* to become the Golden Eagle Goddess.

But times have changed, and compared to a group of female actors of the same age, this starting point has already fallen too far behind.

Many netizens are complaining:

"Stop hyping the Golden Eagle Goddess; so much time has already passed. Female actors of the same age are all mixing in the film industry, and only your family's is still filming TV dramas.

By now, you probably can't even see Yang Mi's back, right? Others have just signed a contract for a film series……"

The things that hurt the most are often the truth!

Lin Nan isn't in a hurry for the promotion of *Passengers*, but China Film, Wanda, and Enlight are different.

There are too many imported films in September, and even more films aiming for the National Day slot.

"How about we run some promotions? You can't say that because *Bad Genius* is full and satisfied, you can ignore *Passengers*, right?"

Wang Changtian seems to have completely given up on *Sad Fairy Tale* and is only staring at *Passengers* right now.

"Don't worry, Chairman Wang, I have plans."

The time is about right, so Lin Nan called Yue Jun.

"You can release the film's promotional song first."

"Okay."

The next day.

Just like *Painted Skin* back then, before the film was released, the theme song *Painted Heart* appeared online first.

This time it's the same; when *Light Years Away* landed on major music and video websites, the click count soared rapidly.

"Today, the theme promotional song for the film *Passengers*, *Light Years Away*, is officially released."

"The song is grand and majestic, distant and profound; one can fully experience the desolation and loneliness of space, and the truth and eternity of love……"

The video that came with the song was the film's promotional short.

The endlessly vast, deathly silent, yet star-studded universe, as well as that shocking, incomparably realistic massive interstellar spaceship fleet.

The attention regarding *Passengers* online has surged again.

"Don't think too much; my box office prediction for this film isn't as high as you think."

Lin Nan timely dampened the enthusiasm of Han Sanping, Ye Ning, and others.

"You can't say that just because there was a *Bad Genius* before, you demand that this film reaches that level too; that's a bit unrealistic."

Lin Nan admits that *Passengers* is a fine film, but it's impossible for it to be as explosive as *Bad Genius*.

"How do you say that? At least 250 million was invested in it; can't you let us think about it?"

Han Sanping disagreed. "It's just a pity about *The Martian*; if that film were brought to this moment, tsk tsk tsk."

"I think it can easily break 1 billion!" Lin Nan said with a smile, taking over the conversation.

"Is this one not capable?" Ye Ning asked.

Lin Nan shook his head. "This is a sci-fi romance film, not pure sci-fi. It's not as hardcore as *The Martian*, so we'll see how it actually performs when the time comes."

After speaking, Lin Nan added, "With my current box office appeal, just in terms of box office, making money shouldn't be a problem. Besides, don't we still have copyright and in-film advertising?"

"Who would complain about earning too much?" Wang Changtian joked.

That made so much sense that Lin Nan actually couldn't refute it.

……

Huayi's *Tai Chi 0* shouted the slogan "Kung Fu + Steampunk" in Venice, which is a bit flashy.

Wang Zhonglei must have been drinking fake liquor; he bluntly stated that *Tai Chi 0* would take the crown during the National Day slot.

And that it would crush a series of domestic and imported films at the box office, including *Passengers*, *Second Exposure*, and *Looper*.

"Damn, even I wouldn't dare to brag like that!"

Lin Nan cursed after seeing the news.

He thought of the script and film he had promised Leonardo, as well as the upcoming Golden Horse Awards.

It looks like the time to go to Hollywood will have to be pushed back until after the Golden Horse Awards.

Liu Qianqian walked out carrying a trash bag, which made Lin Nan a bit curious.

"What is that, packed so tightly?"

"The evening gown you ruined..."

Alright, Lin Nan shouldn't have asked that question.

"Hehe, I'll be careful next time, definitely careful."

Liu Qianqian rolled her eyes at Lin Nan. "I don't believe a word you say."

"Actually, it's not entirely my fault; you're pretty strong yourself, you know!"

Just as he finished speaking, Lin Nan felt the murderous aura radiating from those beautiful eyes.

"Um, my fault, my fault."

……

(End of chapter)