Chapter 346: Films, TV Series, Voice Acting

After settling the matter of the film's investment, Wu Jing fully threw himself into it.

"Over the next two or three months, he'll start with casting and troop training. We should be able to begin shooting around mid-year.

When the time comes, you and Lin Dao must come to the set. He borrowed tanks and artillery — the real deal!"

Xie Nan acted like the perfect helpmate, assisting Wu Jing with the social obligations. From time to time, she'd call to chat about the film's preparation progress.

"Mm, no problem."

Liu Liu Yifei agreed readily as well — this was the first film she had solely invested in and produced, and it carried great significance.

Lin Nan didn't get involved in "Wolf Warrior" anymore; he hurried to finish all the post-production editing of "The Invisible Guest."

……

The mainland film market had returned to a bloody state, except this time it was domestic films bleeding and becoming cannon fodder.

And "Finding Mr. Right," though it still had about ten days of theatrical run left, had already seen its daily box office drop below 100,000, with almost no screenings remaining.

Lin Nan decisively chose to pull it early, just to leave a little more breathing room for the other domestic films.

"The film 'Finding Mr. Right' has exhausted its potential; the distributor pulled it early. Total box office: 582 million, regrettably falling just short of the 600 million mark."

"A Lin Nan Pictures production, directed by Director Lu Yang, 'Kung Fu Jungle' will be released at the end of next month, taking over from 'Finding Mr. Right.'"

……

"This film is a romance, and all three attached ads were for jewelry, cosmetics, and the like — earning 32 million.

And that's only because the film was produced by our company. Otherwise, given Director Xue's commercial pull, it wouldn't have reached that number."

Yue Jun reported the summary figures for "Finding Mr. Right" to Lin Nan — this film, too, was a small-budget, big-return success, very profitable.

"What about 'Kung Fu Jungle'?" Lin Nan pressed.

Although "Brotherhood of Blades" hadn't earned as much as "Love Is Not Blind," given the film's genre, Lin Nan felt Director Lu Yang should be more attractive to advertisers than Xue Xue Xiaolu.

Sure enough, Yue Jun grinned even wider. "Per company tradition, attached ads are capped at three, but this time there's only one."

"One?"

"Right, baijiu. How could 'Kung Fu' be without liquor? They bought out all three attached ad slots to film one long commercial. Total price: 57 million!"

Hearing that explanation, Lin Nan understood immediately.

For Director Lu Yang, that price was actually a bit inflated. But who could blame it — it fit the occasion. The Laughing Jianghu and the martial world truly couldn't do without liquor, and these companies weren't short on cash!

At that moment, Director Lu Yang was taking the main cast on variety shows and roadshow events — this film still carried some pressure.

Emperor Motion Pictures was also busy; distribution in Hong Kong and Taiwan was their doing.

Speaking of Emperor Motion Pictures, Lin Nan thought of Jiang Wen's new film "Gone With the Bullets." These past two days, casting had already begun.

And this time, Jiang Wen's stride was enormous — the film industry found it a bit crazy.

The film's preliminary budget was 300 million, and from the start of shooting, 3D cameras and supporting equipment would be used, preparing for IMAX and other 3D formats.

Jiang Wen vowed to measure up to Hollywood's top blockbusters, and even hired a Colombian technical team outright.

Most crucially, this time he was bold, brimming with confidence and ambition — as if he meant to eat his fill in one sitting, recouping everything he'd lost or under-earned in the past.

For the 300 million investment, Jiang Wen brought no one else in; it was all shouldered by him and Ma Ke's Bu Yi Le Hu Pictures, fully self-funded!

Even old acquaintance Yang Yang Shoucheng's investment offer was politely declined — enough to show Jiang Wen's appetite and resolve this time.

But no matter what, Lin Nan was completely baffled by the script of "Gone With the Bullets."

On the plane back from Cannes last year, the plot and envisioned scenes Jiang Wen had described had an excellent sleep-inducing effect!

"Oh right, that film 'Back to Back' sent an invitation to Lin Dao — it arrived at the company this morning."

Yue reminded him as he was leaving.

This film was also the most anticipated domestic release in March, billed as "three Best Actors, one show."

"Mm, got it."

Lin Nan acknowledged and kept sending text messages.

…………

They say if a person has no shame, they're invincible under heaven.

In Huayi, this saying was vividly embodied.

A few days earlier, Zhou Zhou Xingchi had suffered a crushing defeat in his lawsuit and returned to Hong Kong. Even so, he was still mocked and ridiculed by quite a few Hong Kong film-circle figures.

Especially those old nemeses and rivals — they could be said to be one-sidedly chasing him down to curse and bite, their words utterly unfit to hear.

Zhou Zhou Xingchi offered no response to their mockery, but rather unusually spoke about something else.

In the public's eyes, Zhou Zhou Xingchi's film output was very low — but not this time.

In an interview with Hong Kong media, he stated outright that his next film was already on the agenda.

Moreover, during the filming of "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons," he had already been mulling over the new project.

And the new film would be chosen between a sequel to "Conquering the Demons" and another film project — this time it wouldn't take too long; at most a year and a half to two years of preparation before greenlighting and shooting.

Once this news traveled from Hong Kong to the mainland, the film industry was thrilled.

Whether film companies, distributors, or the vast ranks of fans and audiences — all were eagerly awaiting.

Several major companies publicly expressed their intent to cooperate, sending collaboration invitations.

At this point, some mainland media went to interview Wang Wang Zhongjun and Wang Wang Zhonglei:

"Star Master says his new film has already entered preparation. So, is there still any possibility of Huayi cooperating with him in the future, or does Huayi still wish to work with Director Zhou Zhou Xingchi?"

It was precisely this question that let the film industry see the thickness of Huayi's skin.

Wang Wang Zhongjun didn't hesitate in the slightest: "Of course. Zhou Zhou Xingchi is an outstanding filmmaker, and Huayi doesn't want to miss out."

"But the conflict between you has already escalated to the point of lawsuits — is there really still a chance of cooperation in the future?"

Wang Wang Zhonglei, with a Yue Buqun-style smile, added:

"Speaking purely on the merits, lawsuits are lawsuits, cooperation is cooperation. We still very much hope to continue working with Mr. Zhou Zhou Xingchi…"

That face of his made plenty of peers in the industry "admire" him — that's Huayi for you!

Wang Wang Zhonglei seemed to have completely forgotten the mockery and belittlement he'd hurled at Zhou Zhou Xingchi just days earlier — his words back then had been utterly humiliating!

In less than half a day, Zhou Zhou Xingchi very unusually responded to Huayi's side of the story, though without naming names;

"In the future, the films I direct or produce, I will carefully choose my partners and learn from the experience. Thank you, everyone."

What a stir — the industry was instantly abuzz.

Though the words were tactful, everyone understood perfectly: Zhou Zhou Xingchi's future directed and produced films would no longer collaborate with Huayi!

You have to understand, Zhou Zhou Xingchi almost never responds to these kinds of conflicts and disputes — this time he truly made an exception for Huayi.

Lin Nan just watched the show. Even the ancients knew to spend a fortune buying a horse's bone — but with Huayi, it turned straight into killing the donkey the moment the grinding was done, striking out at their own partners!

…………

"An actress who can rival Teacher Gong Li…"

Lin Nan ran through every actress in the industry — forget rivals, even those who came close could be counted on one hand.

Just then, the phone on the table rang.

Lin Nan glanced at the caller ID and broke into a smile.

"Saw my text?"

"Saw it. I have to say, Lin Dao Da, you've got quite the eye!"

"So, want to come over and sign the contract? I know you've never limited yourself — you'll take both film and TV."

Lin Nan invited her in a joking tone.

Zhou Xun on the other end paused for a beat:

"No slot in the first half of the year. I even turned down next month's Hong Kong Film Awards — five films nominated for Best Actress, and two of them are mine!"

Zhou Xun's words carried a proud, coy air — this was the true confidence an actress should have.

"Then the second half it is. I went through everyone in the industry — only you could try, since the comparison is with Teacher Gong Li after all. Apart from…"

"Heh, apart from being a bit older? Go on, say it, and I'll just hang up."

"Apart from not being able to join the crew immediately, your temperament is very much like 'Jiu Er' too!"

Lin Nan corrected himself in time — this lady was truly sharp!

"That's more like it. Then I'll reserve my second-half schedule for your side. Strictly business — I'm very expensive."

Lin Nan laughed. "Then that's settled — come sign the contract when you have time."

"Got it."

……

TV drama costs are generally very high these days, especially when casting big-name actors.

But Lin Nan didn't care about that — the online broadcast channel for this drama was destined to be Tudou.

And the TV stations' offers absolutely wouldn't be low, given the cast and the fact that the original author was a Nobel laureate.

Once the male and female leads were set, Lin Nan left the rest to Jiang Jiang Xuerou and her team — including the director and casting for the other roles.

Outside, several young actresses seemed to be locked in a contest.

Over here, Tang Ren kept leaking candid photos of Liu Liu Shishi on the set of *Bu Bu Jing Qing*; over there, Ni Ni and Feng Feng Shaofeng were showing off their love.

Yang Mi sat firmly in the top spot — her *Finding Mr. Right* had raked in 582 million and was still hot.

The most mock-worthy of all, though, was Yang Ying.

The media grandly reported: "One of the newly crowned Four Young Actresses, Yang Ying, will star in Yu Zheng's studio's new drama, *Han Dynasty Romance: Song in the Clouds*."

Shortly after, Yang Ying's side also made a high-profile Weibo post: "Joining the crew next month — I won't let everyone down."

Huang Huang Xiaoming also took to Weibo to cheer on and rally support for his girlfriend — quite the spectacle!

But netizens had plenty to roast, with no shortage of cold mockery and digs.

"Yang Ying with no acting skills, the leader of the Cringe Sect, and Yu Zheng the plagiarist — what a combo!"

"But you have to admit, this combination is maxed out on buzz! All negative news…"

……

When Lin Nan got home, he received a phone call that was an absolute joke.

Back in late November last year, he, along with Liu Liu Yifei, Shu Chang, Zhu Zhu Yawen, and Luo Jin, had represented the *Bad Genius* crew at the Golden Horse — eight nominations, four wins, making them the big winners.

This incident had once plunged the mainland film festivals into an awkward position, with the Golden Rooster especially pushed into the eye of the storm.

The call now was from some "peacemaker" at Beijing Film Academy.

They hoped he would submit an entry for this year's Golden Rooster Awards — whether *Bad Genius* or *The Space-Time Traveler*, either one, or both, would be fine.

Lin Nan was so angry he laughed. What kind of shameless request was this? It was plainly trying to use him as a stepping stone for the Golden Rooster.

"Registration closes at the end of May? What does that have to do with me! Do I look like a fool?"

Lin Nan didn't spare them any face. For one, he wouldn't go; for another, his two films were a world apart from the Golden Rooster's "tastes."

In Lin Nan's view, given the Golden Rooster's style, even Feng Feng Xiaogang's suffering epic *Back to 1942* might get played — let alone Lin Nan's commercial films.

As he was hanging up, the other side still "earnestly" urged Lin Nan to think it over. Lin Nan replied directly: "No need to think about it. The Golden Rooster — I can't reach that high. I won't go be a monkey for you."

Tian Tian Zhuangzhuang hadn't even called Lin Nan, which said it all.

These people had definitely failed to win over Tian Tian Zhuangzhuang, and had no choice but to come personally to contact and lobby Lin Nan — and they didn't even have the decency to beg properly.

Liu Liu Yifei was holding her phone with both hands, chatting away. Whoever she was chatting with, she was typing pretty fast.

"Oh, the Class of '02 group chat! What are they gossiping about this time?" Lin Nan glanced over and asked.

Miss Liu looked up, a bit dazed, at Lin Nan:

"I just saw it too — gossip from over half an hour ago. They said Tang Yan… was hurt by love… and tried to kill herself by cutting her wrists?"

Holy crap!

Hearing this, Lin Nan was dumbfounded — are there really still such silly Misses these days?

But the next second, thinking it over, he let it go. You never know, there really might be.

He turned on the computer; the internet was in an absolute frenzy.

Once the hospital photos were exposed, Tang Yan's studio immediately responded: "Cut myself while slicing fruit, thanks for everyone's concern."

But slicing fruit — no matter how clumsy, at worst you'd cut your hand — how did it become the wrist?

On top of that, this month the media exposed that she was the one being dumped and played, and her manager, assistant, and others all accused the man of being shameless, a scumbag — which only made the netizens' imaginations run wilder.

"Fine, maybe she really is a silly Miss?" Lin Nan sighed, muttering.

At that moment, Liu Liu Yifei walked over as well.

She looked at Lin Nan and, out of nowhere, said: "If one day, you became a scumbag."

"How could I possibly…"

Lin Nan immediately retorted — he'd always been an honest person, doing things properly and by the book… the key thing was, Liu Liu Yifei's gaze was rather intimidating; she was dead serious.

"I mean if, if that day really came…"

"Then what?"

Lin Nan swallowed, looked at Liu Liu Yifei's exquisite face, and asked with a smile.

He saw Miss Liu's pretty face lean in — less than ten centimeters apart, face to face, staring straight into Lin Nan's eyes.

Suddenly, the corner of her mouth curved into a smile, she gently bit her pearly teeth, and softly uttered a line:

"Then, let's be sisters."

Hiss…

Lin Nan instantly felt a chill somewhere on his body.

"Then don't even think about it — at most you'd give birth to a pair of sisters."

"Get lost, who… mmph…"

Fortunately, Lin Nan was quick-witted and shut Miss Liu's mouth — the topic of being sisters was better left undiscussed.

A night passed.

The headline in the entertainment news had already been replaced by Tang Yan's story.

The scumbag from Wan Island became the target of mass attack by mainland netizens. What a great girl — fair-skinned, beautiful, those long legs… and she got played by some little actor from Wan Island, and even got a green hat put on her!

…………

"How did my mouth really turn into a jinx?"

Zhu Zhu Yawen ran over to Lin Nan Pictures to sign the contract, saying with a suspicious look.

Back then it was just teasing Luo Jin, telling him to give Tang Yan a try. And in the end he'd even joked that having a partner didn't necessarily mean a good match — and now look, he'd really called it.

"Congratulations, Master Zhu — you called it."

Lin Nan handed the contract, which his assistant had long prepared, over to Zhu Zhu Yawen.

Only a best buddy could just run straight into Lin Nan's office to sign a contract — other actors, at most, would go to the third-floor conference room.

"I'm wondering whether I should go check in on her? After all, we're all pretty close, all friends."

"Keep it private. Mm, I also gave Luo Jin a heads-up." Lin Nan nodded as he spoke — they did need to send regards.

"By the way, filming won't start until the second half of the year. The partner I found for you is Zhou Xun — study hard. Brother Xun's acting could lap you eight times over."

Hearing Lin Nan's words, Zhu Zhu Yawen immediately retorted:

"It's not that exaggerated — at most… at most four or five laps…"

…………

The Golden Rooster Awards officially opened for registration.

Last year, because of the competition for the Oscar nomination slot, "1942" missed the Golden Horse, and in the end still lost to "Search" — Feng Feng Xiaogang was furious, and grumbled about it for quite a while.

So this time, he immediately registered "1942" for the Golden Rooster.

Immediately after, including "Search" and the rest, all sorts of "in-system" films, or mainland-Hong Kong co-productions, began registering — these were all the Golden Rooster's "favorites."

"It is reported that Lin Dao Nan will once again be absent from this edition of the Golden Rooster Film Festival's selection — to date, it has been 4 editions…"

No one knew where the media got the news, but Lin Nan figured it must have been leaked on purpose by the Golden Rooster side.

Both inside the industry and online, people could guess it, and everyone was talking about it.

"Sure enough, this year still no Lin Dao Nan."

"If you're going to refuse, just refuse — but 'absent'? That leaves yourself face, in a roundabout way. Cultured people, they really know how to mince words!"

"Another year of the Golden Rooster Awards — let's just see what kind of trickery comes out this year…"

……

"Lin, my dear boss, I specifically waited until it was daytime on your side to call you."

Tom's call reached Lin Nan, and from his tone, it sounded like he had some good news to share.

"Not bad, you've learned. So what's the call about this time?"

"Good news. Is Crystal there? It's about her."

"I'm at the company, she went to shoot a magazine. Just say it directly."

"Alright then. Lin, last time at the 'Frankenweenie' cocktail party, didn't you make contact with Disney? They've sent an invitation."

Although two months had passed, Lin Nan hadn't forgotten what he'd discussed with the Disney people.

"You're sure we received an invitation?"

"Of course — the invitation was sent to Crystal Pictures. You or Crystal should reply as soon as possible; the follow-up arrangements will be notified by Disney.

At most in a month or two, Crystal will have to come over for the post-production dubbing — unless you choose to turn it down again now…"

"What are you thinking? How could I possibly turn it down — after all, I was the one who proposed it."

Lin Nan said with a smile. After confirming it was real, he was in a great mood.

At that time Liu Liu Yifei had gone to Paris, so in the evening Lin Nan went, by invitation, to attend the public-relations reception for *Frankenweenie*.

At the reception, Lin Nan learned that Disney was making *Snow White and the Empress*, and right then and there he pitched it to them at the reception — and to his surprise, it actually worked out.

"Mm, got it, I'll pass it along to her. Thanks for your trouble, Tom."

"You're welcome. Give my regards to the boss lady for me. Looking forward to seeing you and Crystal in a month or two."

"Haha, will do."

…………

That's it for today's chapter, 800 characters short.

(End of this chapter)