Chapter 333

The male lead was "guided" by the lawyer and "made up" the third story.

That is, the boy's mother, who was an employee of that hotel, had hidden the boy's father in the room in advance.

When the male lead and his lover went to redeem the evidence of the affair, the boy's father knocked out the male lead, killed the lover, and then left without a trace with his wife's help.

This not only avenged his son but also framed the lover's death on the male lead.

"No no no, you are happy too early. Your private lawyer had already helped you delete the accident investigation record at the police station.

That is to say, the boy's father didn't know of your existence. Then why would he decisively kill Laura and directly frame you? This doesn't make sense; his motive is incomplete!"

In the shot, Leonardo's mouth trembled slightly, "Actually, I was also part of the traffic accident at the time; Laura was driving..."

One is the intentional homicide of a lover, the other is the cover-up of a car accident; the male lead could distinguish which was lighter and which was heavier. After all, the boy was still missing, not dead...

"Or you can think about this situation: actually, your lover did everything alone, and you weren't with her at all that day... She splashed the dirty water of the car accident on you, and you didn't know anything..."

The lawyer's words made the male lead a bit confused, and the former continued:

"Actually, the prosecution didn't have any witnesses; I lied to you that there were witnesses just to make you confess to me.

Only if you completely trust me, this defense attorney, can I help you perfectly convince the jury."

In the shot, Leonardo nodded suddenly, revealing a trace of relaxed expression.

He began to "make up" the fourth story, which was the story that his lover did everything alone and splashed dirty water on him; since there were no witnesses, it could be perfectly dead without proof.

"Actually, when I pushed the car into the water, he was still alive..."

Hearing this, Naomi Watts, who played the elderly female lawyer, clearly trembled.

She widened her eyes, a trace of grief flashed, but she instantly covered up this emotion and continued to induce...

"Cut!"

Lin Nan stood up and applauded.

"I said at the beginning that I hoped to finish filming in a month like *The Hunt*.

But looking at it now, Leon, you can let me and Crystal return to the country a week early."

"Oh, doesn't that mean everyone is going to separate soon? This is not good news."

Naomi and Jessica said with a smile at the same time; a group of people had been getting along very well these days.

"No need to work this afternoon; everyone rest well, and we will film the last story tomorrow.

It is also the most important link in this film, connecting, overturning, and completely reversing and subverting all previous plots."

"Dear Lin, then we must prepare the wrap party in advance."

Lin Nan looked at Leonardo and smiled, "Of course."

Only three days had passed, and the farce of a group of domestic directors and filmmakers ended.

The Film Bureau's reply this time was very fast, and the meaning was very clear:

"Considering the current development status of the domestic film industry, the rating system is too idealistic and is not more suitable for the domestic film industry than the censorship system... But in the future, it will be considered at an appropriate time and experts will be organized for demonstration."

There was much discussion in the circle and on the internet, all negative.

"The efficiency of the Film Bureau this time is rarely high!"

"Don't even think about it; the two words 'future' mean that it is impossible for at least 10 years..."

"Several top directors didn't speak up, which explains the problem; they don't favor the rating system."

Although the industry didn't have high expectations from the beginning, the Film Bureau's announcement still severely hit the enthusiasm of the entire industry.

Lin Nan glanced at the message sent by Yue Jun.

To be honest, this result was basically predictable for anyone in the circle who wasn't stubborn; it was all in vain.

"Let's go, let's go watch the stage play."

Liu Yifei had put on light makeup herself, looking graceful and beautiful, very aesthetic.

In the afternoon, there happened to be a Broadway stage play performance in Hollywood, *Cat on a Hot Tin Roof*.

Between several film party invitations and the stage play, Lin Nan and Liu Yifei chose the latter, which could be considered going out on a date.

Heard it was starring Scarlett Johansson.

Few people remember that she is also a Tony Award-winning Best Actress for theater.

Sometimes one has to sigh that in Hollywood actors, quite a few people have pursuits for art.

Like Scarlett, even if her worth skyrocketed after *The Avengers*, she still didn't give up stage plays.

Look at the domestic first-tier film and television 'Big Flowers', such as Zhang Ziyi, quite a few are registered at the People's Art and the National Theatre.

But how many plays have they actually performed? Very few, almost never heard of.

Domestically, *Lost in Thailand*, after fifty days of public screening, finally came to an end.

The total box office reported at 1.267 billion, and the daily box office was already less than 50,000; it could be considered a successful exit.

Xu Zheng leaped to become the second director in the 1 billion box office club, with a rather dreamy feeling.

However, this also made quite a few big directors in the circle feel aggrieved and powerless; this was only Xu Zheng's second film, and he was a layman who entered the industry halfway.

Also as New Year's films, Feng Xiaogang, Wong Jing, and others all had a bit of a 'killing with praise' meaning while congratulating him.

Xu Zheng was also quite good at being a person, saying directly: "In the director's line, I am still a primary school student; in the future, I still need the support and guidance of Lin Dao and all the seniors..."

When the three main creators were interviewed, they were asked about the sequel.

Huang Bo and Wang Baoqiang were both very low-key, "Lin Dao hasn't notified us yet; if there is a sequel and it's still the original cast, we will all prioritize reserving the schedule and even push away other announcements, without hesitation."

However, Xu Zheng was different; after thinking for a moment, he told the media reporters directly that there would be a sequel.

This made Huang Bo and Wang Baoqiang both a bit confused; how did they not know?

For a time, the circle discussed it rapidly. After Yue Jun heard the news, he frowned a bit; in his view, Xu Zheng was a bit over the line.

"Her figure is quite good, big breasts and fat buttocks; no wonder she became a screen lover."

In the evening, when Lin Nan and Liu Yifei returned to Beverly Hills, the latter said with a wink.

"European and American races can't stand the test of time; in five years, she will be much inferior. And in ten years, you will still be at the peak of beauty."

Lin Nan put Liu Yifei's bag on the sofa and said to himself, very seriously.

"Smooth-tongued, I remember when I first met you, you weren't like this."

Liu Yifei bit her lip corner lightly, looking at Lin Nan with a smile, her eyes carrying playfulness.

"When I started my freshman year, I was just 18, and you had just passed your 15th birthday a few days ago; how would I dare?"

"Good, so you were harboring bad intentions back then!"

"Wronged, I don't admit it..."

Lin Nan and Liu Yifei looked at each other, laughing heartlessly.

*The Invisible Guest* reached the last story.

"The previous four stories, starting today, all have to be reenacted once. It's just that the protagonist in the story has changed, becoming Leon."

On set, Lin Nan looked at Leonardo and said to everyone.

"I have already let Tom prepare the cocktail party; after wrapping up, we will celebrate together."

All crew members, whether actors or the logistics team, let out cheers.

"Ready, action!"

This sentence 'action' started three days of filming...

All previous stories were connected together, all overturned, all reversed and subverted.

Three months ago, the male lead and his lover each made excuses to their other halves to go on a business trip to Paris, but actually, they were having an affair.

On the return journey, the male lead took a shortcut, the lover proposed to end the affair and break up, followed by an argument and a car accident.

The lover wanted to call the police, but the male lead stopped her; he was at the peak of his career and couldn't have a stain.

The male lead played by Leonardo actively disposed of the corpse, let the lover wait on the spot, and waited for the boy's father...

The male lead scrapped his own car, took the boy's work ID, and let the lover use her husband's computer to forge the trace of absconding with money.

The latter refused, but the rich and powerful male lead still successfully forged the "matter" of the boy absconding with money.

The tragic situation of the boy's parents made the lover feel incomparably guilty; she decided to expose the male lead and sent a blackmail letter to the male lead in the boy's name, asking him to bring money to a remote hotel.

She wanted to use this money to compensate the boy's parents, and at the same time told the boy's parents the location of the hotel, letting them come too.

The cunning male lead discovered the lover's plan to expose him and decisively struck first, killing the lover.

Then he hit himself until his head was bleeding, forging the scene... At this time, the boy's parents hadn't arrived yet.

Lin Nan and Liu Yifei sat behind the monitor; in the shot:

Naomi looked at Leonardo and said coldly:

"The old couple arrived at the hotel and learned the news of Laura's death; they immediately understood the whole truth..."

"What do you mean?"

Leonardo heard the other party's abrupt and cold words, sensed something abnormal, and asked subconsciously.

At this time, the phone rang; it was the male lead's private lawyer calling.

Naomi said, "You answer the phone first, I'll go out to get some air..."

The phone was connected, and the private lawyer told the male lead that the passing driver had been settled with money; the latter had never seen the male lead, and besides, the defense attorney had something on the road and would only be able to arrive at the male lead's place in two hours...

And at this time, in the secondary shot, Naomi had already entered the elevator, crossed the road, and arrived at the building opposite.

She hugged the boy's father, and she had obtained the location where the male lead sank the car and obtained the recording.

She tore off a human-like mask from behind her ears with force, and the white wig was taken off.

The face revealed again was the boy's mother...

In the main shot, Leonardo had a look of horror.

He looked at the table, at the lines of text left on the paper humiliating him, plus the words of the private lawyer that the defense attorney was still on the way.

He finally realized that the defense attorney just now was fake...

"*The Invisible Guest*, wrapped up!"

"Tonight's cocktail party, don't return until drunk!"

Lin Nan looked at all the crew members present, let out a long sigh of relief, and shouted excitedly.

"God!"

"Awoo..."

Various cheers rose and fell.

Lin Nan also held Miss Liu's face and kissed her hard, making her giggle.

At the wrap party in the evening, guests gathered.

At the same time, the sky in the country had just brightened.

"Jointly produced by Crystal Pictures and Appian Way Pictures, directed by Lin Dao Nan, and starring Leonardo, Naomi Watts, Jessica Chastain, and others, the foreign-language film *The Invisible Guest* has officially wrapped up."

"At the cocktail party scene, the guest lineup is luxurious: Lionsgate, Warner Bros., Disney... Nolan, James Wan, Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon..."

The domestic film and television circle had their attention attracted by this news.

"So fast?"

"About the same as *The Hunt* back then; if nothing goes wrong, it will be an award-chasing film! Oscars?"

In that case, Lin Dao and Liu Yifei are returning to the country?

A little after seven in the morning.

Tang Mu took people and sent Lin Nan, Liu Yifei, and the two assistants to the airport.

"Lin, Crystal, the next time we meet will be at the end of the year."

"Tang Mu, remember to lose weight." Liu Yifei teased first.

"Crystal, don't say such hurtful words."

"I'll take the editing back to do; later if re-recording is needed, let them dub at Crystal Pictures."

"Okay, Lin."

After chatting for a few more minutes, the four of them walked into the airport.

A 12-hour flight is truly a long journey for those who are eager to return home.

In first class, Lin Nan looked at Liu Yifei's teasing eyes and couldn't help but tease:

"Isn't it just a cheek kiss? I was ambushed, um, for the first time!"

"You could have dodged."

Liu Yifei rolled her eyes; her exquisite face glowed under the light outside the window, appearing exceptionally alluring.

"Wouldn't that make the other party very embarrassed?"

At last night's cocktail party, Lin Nan was ambushed by the two actresses of his film, saying it was a farewell etiquette.

"Next time, definitely remember to dodge."

Liu Yifei looked at Lin Nan, muttering, as if she had suffered a loss and been taken advantage of.

"Okay, listen to you."

Lin Nan felt that the feeling of being jealous was actually quite good.

On the plane, one has to adjust the jet lag; the best way is to take a nap, and when you wake up, it's still daytime.

Twelve hours later, domestic time, around ten in the morning.

Not far from New Year's Eve. The weather also appeared dry and cold.

Lin Nan and Liu Yifei, wearing matching down jackets, followed the two assistants out of the capital airport.

The media had been squatting for a long time and finally caught these two big fish.

Lin Nan also knew that it probably couldn't be avoided.

After all, he went to Hollywood to film a foreign-language film; these people wouldn't easily let him slip away.

"Lin Dao, Yifei, your couple-style down jackets look very good."

Lin Nan nodded helplessly; if you don't know how to speak, don't speak.

Liu Yifei was smiling, because it was the clothes she picked...

"Lin Dao, can you introduce *The Invisible Guest*? During this time, everyone is really curious about this film."

"Sorry, this really can't be done. If it can be publicly screened in the country at that time, everyone can go to the cinema to watch it."

Hearing this, a group of reporters were excited, "Is it going to be imported?"

"It's hard to say yet; I'll try later."

Lin Nan didn't really want to import it into the country as an imported film; he wanted to use the form of a 'pi-pian' (flat-fee film), because the revenue-sharing ratio of imported films was too low.

If it's a flat-fee film, he only needs to move it from his left hand to his right hand.

If it's a flat-fee film, in fact, he only needs to pay a portion of the funds to Leonardo's Appian Way, and the rest of the loss is just taxes.

The revenue-sharing ratio between imported films and flat-fee films differs by nearly 20 points.

At this time, a media outlet asked a hot news question.

"Lin Dao, Yifei. After 4 years, the new 'Four Little Flowers' are being selected; what do you think?"

Lin Nan really didn't pay attention to this matter, and Liu Yifei certainly didn't care about the news in the country.

"If you didn't ask, Yifei and I wouldn't know about this. What's the situation now?"

Lin Nan asked with a smile, and Liu Yifei was also quite curious.

The reporters opened their chatterboxes all at once.

In these four years, Liu Yifei had completely promoted to a 'Big Flower', became a producer, and also became capital in the circle, naturally not in the selection consideration.

Huang Shengyi, the head of the former 'Four Little Flowers', had already fallen and was not eligible for selection.

Wang Luodan also went down the wrong path herself, had fallen to the second tier, and plus there was someone who looked similar over at Huayi, so her career was even more difficult now.

Only one Yang Mi maintained high exposure and commercial value and was a hot first-tier actress.

Jing Tian didn't have national popularity and didn't hype much; Shu Chang was deeply influenced by Liu Yifei and was too lazy.

Both lacked exposure and topics and were not among the popular candidates.

Lin Nan understood; the selection of the 'Four Little Flowers' this time was no longer like before.

Liu Yifei's time had CCTV joining in, and it was jointly selected by hundreds of mainstream media.

But this time it was different; many companies were throwing money and brushing public opinion, wanting to push people up.

However, come to think of it, Yang Mi was indeed very stable; currently backed by Shanhai Media and Lin Nan Film Industry, she firmly occupied a position.

"Lin Dao, will *The Invisible Guest* go to the Oscars?"

The media asked the last question, and all reporters widened their eyes, looking forward to Lin Nan's answer.

(End of chapter)