Chapter 322: Investment, Cunning Tang Mu

Lin Nan drove Liu Yifei back to the company.

The two people who came to ask for investment with the idea of trying their luck suddenly looked a bit flustered.

Because the people in front of them were one internationally famous big director and the other a top actress and big producer, both of whom were capital parties in the film and television circle.

And their company, compared to Lin Nan Film Industry and Tianshan Color, was just a makeshift team doing animation outsourcing.

"Director Yue only told me it was an animation film project; can the two of you introduce it to me and Yifei again?"

In the large conference room on the third floor, Lin Nan sat in the main seat, wearing a smile, and said very naturally.

Liu Yifei sat on the side, also a bit curious.

She also liked animation films; the animation blockbusters on the market were almost all produced by Hollywood, and she hadn't seen any on the domestic side yet.

"It's shameful to say." A middle-aged man stood up.

"We have always been doing animation outsourcing, and we have always had a plan to make original animation feature films; we had it back in '06."

"Until the year before last, we gathered the courage to choose the 'Journey to the West' subject matter, because all the employees liked this, for the sake of dreams, but..."

Looking at his companion's stumbling way of speaking, the other person took the initiative to take over the conversation.

"We thought too simply; original work is not that easy to do; design, action, testing, every link, as well as experience, technology, and equipment are the key factors restricting us."

"We promised the investors with certainty before that we would finish it in two years and release it in '13."

"But for the sake of quality, we spent a year revising a 2-minute scene back and forth. Not long ago, the investor withdrew..."

The two of them supplemented each other, sentence by sentence, very sincerely.

Lin Nan glanced at Yue Jun; this ordinary investor would definitely withdraw; there was no hope, and the risk was high.

These two people in front of him were definitely from a science and engineering background, because the project was initially launched for ideals!

Liu Yifei listened very seriously; this was her consistent attitude.

"How many people are in your company?"

Lin Nan suddenly asked, and the two opposite looked a bit unnatural.

"Dozens."

"More specifically?"

"Twenty-something, originally there were over thirty..."

Lin Nan knew very well that for a technology-based company in the film and television industry, this number of people was a bit small; if they couldn't get enough to eat, they would have to run away.

"Then did you bring that 2-minute scene?"

Hearing Lin Nan's words, the two opposite clearly perked up, "We brought it; Director Yue just saw it."

Yue Jun also nodded; the reason he called Lin Nan to say it was good was because he had seen those 2 minutes of footage.

"Then play it again, let me see."

A laptop was moved in front of Lin Nan and Liu Yifei, and the two opposite already had more confidence on their faces.

Although the video was only two minutes long, the two of them had still put in the effort to package it before coming.

Opening subtitles: "Shiyue Culture - 'Monkey King: Hero is Back' short film footage."

Lin Nan nodded; it was indeed this one!

"Animation blockbusters are time-consuming and laborious, and there is no precedent for box office profitability in the domestic market in this regard; they are all Hollywood animation films harvesting the global market. It must have been difficult to find investment before, right?"

Facing Lin Nan's question, the two opposite smiled helplessly and defaulted.

"How many companies did you look for for investment this time?"

"Lin Dao's side was the first one we looked for. At the time, we thought about trying our luck; if it didn't work, we would continue to look for other companies." Jin Dayong answered decisively.

"Hmm? Why was I the first choice?"

Although Lin Nan had a guess in his heart, he still asked.

"Funds can be found anywhere, but making this kind of high-end animation film requires more technology, equipment, and talent."

"And these, Tianshan Color has, and they are all the top-notch in the country." Tian Xiaopeng added.

Hearing this, everyone present laughed; direct enough!

Lin Nan pondered for a moment, looked at the two opposite, and nodded to Yue Jun:

"You talk; later, Director Yue just tell me the result."

Lin Nan's words made the two opposite tense up instantly, and then relax again.

"Lin Dao, are you willing to invest?"

"Hmm, talk to Director Yue."

Lin Nan nodded with a smile; he invested in this project.

"Thank you, Lin Dao, thank you, Lin Dao." The two thanked him repeatedly with excitement.

Liu Yifei followed Lin Nan, and the two walked out of the conference room.

The subsequent investment negotiation was Yue Jun's work.

Another two days, the New Year's slot continued, and the film circle was stunned.

After "Lost in Thailand" was released for 10 days, because there were no opponents, the scheduling rate was increased by the theater chains again, and the daily box office returned to 80 million.

At this time, the daily box office of "Back to 1942" had fallen to 5 million, with a total box office of 320 million.

The industry already had a prediction that it would be very, very difficult for this movie to break 400 million. Even 350 million was a big threshold!

When everyone thought back to Huayi's behavior of betraying the distribution alliance to exchange for an incremental tiered revenue-sharing contract, they only felt it was ridiculous and laughable; Huayi must be regretting it to death.

On the other side, Jackie Chan's "Chinese Zodiac" held its global premiere eight days in advance.

Lin Nan and Liu Yifei didn't miss it.

In the eyes of the circle, the two of them were absolutely the hottest pair this year.

From "Bad Genius" to the Golden Horse Awards, to the currently popular "Lost in Thailand," Lin Nan and Liu Yifei were all there!

"Lin Dao, Yifei, congratulations. This year, you two have made a fortune. Everyone in the industry is very envious."

Wang Zhonglei's fake smile was really uncomfortable.

"President Wang is too polite, just good luck."

Hearing Lin Nan's words, Wang Zhonglei paused unconsciously; did that mean Huayi was unlucky?

"Hurry in, everyone is waiting for the two of you."

"Okay, thank you."

Liu Yifei held Lin Nan's arm and laughed softly: "I guess that sentence of yours definitely choked him."

"That's his business. But thinking about it, 'Back to 1942' really lost miserably, and it even implicated the stock price, tsk tsk tsk."

The two walked into the venue all the way, with many guests, and greetings kept coming.

Jackie Chan's face was indeed big enough; all the big names in the entertainment industry came, and there were quite a few foreigners; this was the result of decades of cultivation in the film industry.

"Lin Dao, Yifei, congratulations on the big sale of 'Lost in Thailand'."

Fan Bingbing held a wine glass, her dress showing off her figure, and walked over swaying.

"Thank you."

Immediately after, it was Zhang Ziyi, Li Bingbing, and others, coming to greet them one after another.

These people also had a tacit understanding not to "happen" to bump into each other.

Liu Yifei was also a target for people in the circle to win over and flatter, but she obviously didn't like the feeling of being surrounded by people.

So, she pulled Lin Nan to the side to taste the food, and those with eyes wouldn't come up to disturb them again.

There was never a shortage of women in Jackie Chan's movies, and they were all beauties; "Chinese Zodiac" was the same.

Good guy, doing the splits to get the key, it was thanks to Big Brother being strong in his old age that he could fully consider the actor's own conditions and conceive such a plot!

Jackie Chan was also fighting for this movie, even inviting his wife Lin Fengjiao, who had been retired for thirty years, to the scene; this gimmick was nothing to say.

He even joked about his own death, very confident:

"If I die now, I will definitely become a legend like Bruce Lee and James Dean. 'Chinese Zodiac' will also be my last work, recorded in film history."

These words, heard in the ears of the guests at the scene, were extremely stimulating.

Those who mixed in this industry were more or less superstitious, especially in Hong Kong, but Jackie Chan said it just like that, which showed how much he valued this movie.

"I hope its box office can be like the two movies of Lin Dao's company, rushing toward 1 billion or more."

On stage, Jackie Chan looked at Lin Nan and Liu Yifei and shouted with a smile.

In the afternoon, the headline news in the circle not only had "Chinese Zodiac" but also Lin Nan Film Industry.

This really shocked the circle again.

"Lin Nan Film Industry signed an investment agreement, and will invest tens of millions of funds in the next year or two to complete the production of a domestic animation blockbuster..."

"Lin Nan Film Industry, as the producer of 'Lost in Thailand,' has submitted an application for extension of release to the Film Bureau, and the new extension key time limit is one month."

Two pieces of news made the entire film circle restless.

12 days, 800 million box office, "Lost in Thailand" had this qualification!

But an animation blockbuster?

"Is he floating? Does he really think there is such soil in the country, and he even invested in a domestic animation film?!"

"Animation film? What subject matter? Is there potential?"

"Another extension of release! Are they not letting other movies live?"

The news spread, and the phones on Lin Nan's side didn't stop.

Han Sanping, Wang Changtian, and Ye Ning, one was faster than the other.

"Did you really invest in an animation?"

"That's an animation film, not that kind of cartoon; it's to be benchmarked against Hollywood!"

Lin Nan corrected Han Sanping, who was quick to speak, once again.

Whenever these people mentioned domestic animation films, they would unconsciously think of those juvenile, childish cartoons, which was indeed a drawback of the domestic animation market.

Foreign animation films are not inferior to Hollywood blockbusters, but domestic ones are the opposite; in terms of thinking, they think it's for children!

"Benchmarked against Disney, DreamWorks, that kind?" Han Sanping reacted.

"Yes, make our own animation film."

"Alright, the organization supports you; if you need anything, just say it. The bureau has also mentioned these, but no company is willing to develop in this direction; the movies made are all that kind of coaxing children."

"Are you not mentioning the investment anymore?" Lin Nan teased.

"Forget it, the cycle is too long. By that time, you know, I might not be in office..."

Han Sanping's words made Lin Nan stunned.

He really hadn't thought about this matter; calculating the time, it seemed it was indeed coming soon.

After ending the call with Han Sanping, Lin Nan sat there and pondered for a while; this was indeed a matter.

"Lin, are you coming over?"

Tang Mu's voice was still a bit excited.

"Yes, have someone thoroughly clean the villa in Beverly Hills; in a few days, I will be over."

"Remember to clean it thoroughly, Tang Mu." Liu Yifei was also on the side, shouting with a smile.

"Oh, it's dear crystal! Haven't seen you for a long time; will you be coming over this time too?"

"Hmm, I will."

"Then when the time comes, I must send more people to pick you up. Don't worry, I will find the best cleaning company to do the villa's hygiene."

"By the way, Lin, at the Oscar party two days ago, Leon was still complaining about you."

Lin Nan couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Then you just tell him, see you in a few days. Today, let's stop here."

"No problem. Goodbye, dear crystal, and my unreliable boss!"

Before Lin Nan could retort, the phone had already been hung up by Tang Mu.

Lin Nan had to admire Tang Mu; when he and Liu Yifei were present at the same time, this guy always knew who to flatter; very cunning!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 323 =====