Chapter 349: Another Xianxia

The Hong Kong International Film Festival, a precursor to the Hong Kong Golden Awards, has concluded with its Asian Film Awards.

Although the Best Picture award went to Lou Ye's "Fucheng Mystery", it also sparked quite a stir.

The festival was held in Hong Kong, most of the guests in the audience were from the mainland, and the booth fees were mostly earned from mainland money.

Yet even so, the live broadcast of the entire award ceremony had no Chinese subtitles.

All the staff and hosts of the Hong Kong organizers spoke English exclusively; not a single Chinese character could be seen or heard.

To put it bluntly, over eighty percent of the mainland guests in the audience did not speak English well, probably finding it as incomprehensible as hearing a heavenly scripture, let alone the netizens watching the live stream.

This made many mainland filmmakers, including a large number of mainland netizens, extremely indignant.

This was no longer a matter of whether they could understand; it was an issue of ideological attitude.

"Among the three major Asian film festivals, the Tokyo International Film Festival definitely has Japanese, and the Fushan Film Festival would never lack Korean.

First, to ensure their own people can understand, and second, to showcase the charm of their national language and culture; otherwise, they would be cursed to death by the whole nation, forced either to commit seppuku or to kneel and apologize."

"But when it comes to the Hong Kong International Film Festival, at an award ceremony held in our own country, there is actually no Chinese? What are they trying to do? Is speaking Chinese and adding Chinese subtitles so shameful?"

Public opinion was suddenly pushed to the forefront.

Although the mainland was filled with indignation, the Hong Kong media and netizens were still mocking:

"Learning English well is very important; over ninety percent of mainland actors and filmmakers show their incompetence as soon as they open their mouths, communication is a problem, they can't step onto big stages, and they only pick faults in such trivial matters..."

Just like that, the two circles went back and forth, arguing fiercely.

But the Hong Kong International Film Festival side made no targeted response.

They merely said lightly: "Next year's Asian Film Awards will no longer be exclusively hosted by the Hong Kong International Film Festival, but will be jointly hosted by the three major Asian film festivals."

The attitude of answering a question with something irrelevant was truly arrogantly out of line!

"Look, this year they aren't even pretending anymore; they are too lazy to care about the emotions of mainland filmmakers.

Every year Lin Nan Film receives an invitation, but has never gone to the Hong Kong side. Facts prove that not going was the right choice.

Lin Nan was complaining about the news outside while looking at the banquet invitation sent by Huayi to the industry circle.

A couple of days ago, the media widely reported that Gu Gu Changwei had squeezed out Chen Guofu and would take the position of Chief Producer at Huayi Film.

Whether this claim is true or not, the result now appears to be exactly that.

Chen Guofu's contract expired, Huayi issued a statement not to renew it, and invitations for a welcome banquet for Gu Gu Changwei have been sent throughout the film and television industry.

Lin Nan recalled the film "The Message" that his company had cooperated on with Chen Guofu; that was more than four years ago.

"If we are talking about being a producer, I still think Director Chen Guofu might be more capable."

Guo Fan chimed in from the side.

Lin Nan did not reply, but looked at the computer screen where the finished film "About Time" was about to finish playing.

"Not bad, the film can be submitted for review."

Lin Nan gave his opinion; the post-production work was flawless.

"Alright then, I'll have someone send it to the Film Bureau this afternoon."

With "About Time" finally completely finished, Guo Fan also breathed a sigh of relief; now they just had to wait for the release date to be set.

The box office performance of "The Chef, the Actor, the Scoundrel" was very good.

It broke twenty million in one day, nearly fifty million in two days, and reached eighty million in three days.

In just three days, Light Chaser not only recouped its costs but also doubled its profit; no production company in the industry was not envious.

Everyone knew that this film would fiercely enter the April market and fight against the films from the first half of the month.

And there were quite a few films scheduled for April; at the beginning of the month was Huayi's "The Faithful Yang Generals".

However, the most attention-grabbing ones were still the few domestic films at the end of the month aiming for the May Day holiday, such as "So Young" and "The Grandmaster"!

Lin Nan suddenly realized that the April and May schedules this year seemed very competitive, with quite a few domestic and imported films with recognizable names!

In the afternoon, the entire film and television industry was drawn to a piece of film news.

"After four years, undergoing countless cuts and reshoots, the realistic crime film 'No Man's Land', directed by Ning Hao, is officially scheduled today; the film will be released in the New Year's Day season in early December this year..."

This film, which had been highly watched and regretted by the industry, was finally scheduled, but it was estimated to have been changed beyond recognition.

Many industry insiders sent congratulatory messages or Weibo posts to Ning Hao.

Lin Nan also made a phone call: "It's really scheduled for the New Year's Day season?"

"Do you think I'm drunk and just joking? Not only do I want to put it in the New Year's Day season, I also want to show off at the film festival!"

Ning Hao sounded full of energy, and it seemed he was in a very good mood.

"There's another thing; I'm preparing a new movie. Support me when the time comes, and just put my name down as a producer or something."

Lin Nan laughed; good heavens, is this the attitude for asking for a favor? Asking for a favor with this attitude?

"Alright then, what type of film is it this time?"

Lin Nan asked with a smile. Investment and putting a name on the credits were small matters; he was still very confident in the strength of Ning Hao and his wife.

"Of course, it's preparing a commercial film. Even Xu Zheng has become a director in the billion-yuan box office club; if I don't catch up, won't I fall too far behind? I won't be able to eat at the same table with you guys in the future!"

As Ning Hao spoke, he even cracked a joke, looking very confident.

"Hmm, a commercial film is good. When the script is ready, let me know."

"No problem, just prepare the funds and your name in advance, haha..."

An interesting thing circulated in the circle.

Since Lin Nan withdrew from the Film Association, he had not joined any other association; he would politely decline invitations, so he was not in the Directors Association either.

These past two days, the Directors Association was holding its annual awards ceremony.

Director Chen's "Search" only received a nomination for Film of the Year, but not for Director of the Year — this was the result of all the directors' votes.

For the Director of the Year nomination, Chen Chen Kaige lost to Feng Feng Xiaogang's "Back to 1942" and Xu Zheng's "Lost in Thailand" — the former relied on critical acclaim, the latter on box office.

Perhaps knowing his own limits, Director Chen, when interviewed by the media, didn't make snide remarks about "Back to 1942," but instead chose to take aim at Xu Zheng's "Lost in Thailand."

"Box office doesn't represent everything. Some films may have high box office, but they're nutritionless products, fast food; while other films are art, worth pondering over and over, enduring through the ages."

Alright, everyone got the message — "Search" is the art worth pondering over and over.

As expected, Director Chen's remarks were considered by many in the industry to be his grumbling about losing the Director of the Year nomination to Xu Zheng.

What people said online was even more bare-faced.

"The Directors' Guild is different from the Film Association. The former's members are all professional film and television directors in the industry. There are plenty of veteran directors who can go head-to-head with Director Chen — they don't need to give him too much face."

"Maybe getting nominated for Film of the Year is already giving him face. Critical acclaim can't compare to 'Back to 1942,' box office can't compare to 'Lost in Thailand' — what gives him the right to whine?"

"High box office is the audience's choice — is he looking down on the audience? Well, back during 'The Promise,' he already scolded the audience, saying we didn't know how to appreciate art!"

"What a pity Lin Dao isn't in the Directors' Guild…"

"Director Chen too — with neither critical acclaim nor box office up front, now all that's left is flashing his seniority and preaching."

Xu Zheng didn't respond, and Lin Nan couldn't be bothered to pay attention either.

How should one describe Director Chen sometimes?

It feels like his style of doing things, every now and then, doesn't match his age — a bit domineering and immature, and petty to boot…

Time came to April 1st, and Lin Nan went to the Poly Grand Theater as promised.

A play of over seven hours — Lin Nan certainly couldn't watch the whole thing; he only planned to stay for half.

After arriving, he discovered quite a few people from the theater circle had come to show support, such as Yuan Quan, Qin Qin Hailu, and others.

"Our 'Green Snake' will be performing in a few days too — Lin Dao can come show some support."

Lin Nan smiled and nodded to Yuan Quan and Qin Qin Hailu, "I'll try. I have to go on a trip with Liu Yifei afterward."

In the play "Green Snake," Yuan Quan, in an all-white knit embroidered bodycon dress, looked absolutely stunning.

When he had just come in, Lin Nan had already seen the promotional posters outside — plenty of people gathered around taking photos.

The play "A Dream Like a Dream" began. As director Lai Shengchuan's signature work, Hu Ge's performance as Patient No. 5 was quite good — one could tell he had definitely put in serious effort.

And Xu Qing, worthy of being a big flower of the Beijing circle, in her qipao on stage, looked exceptionally alluring, seductive, and radiant.

Lin Nan was puzzled — this woman was already past forty, yet showed no signs of aging at all. In every respect, she outshone many actresses in their thirties!

During the intermission, Lin Nan went backstage and greeted everyone.

"Act well. The Golden Lion Award for theater might be a bit of a stretch, but the Magnolia Best Actor in a Play is still worth thinking about." Lin Nan joked with Hu Ge.

"Then I'll have to borrow Lin Dao's auspicious words — shall we set a ten-year goal?" Hu Ge laughed along.

After chatting briefly with Lai Shengchuan, Xu Qing, and a few others, Lin Nan left the theater.

Huayi's "The Loyal Family of the Yangs" had been released.

Adam Cheng, Xu Fan, Ekin Cheng, Yu Bo… nine lead actors in total — all were familiar, well-known actors and stars.

Even with this lineup, after the first day ended, the opening-day box office still left the industry sighing — way too low!

The opening-day box office was only ten million; on the second day it simply dropped straight to seven million — you could see the bottom at a glance.

"Drug War," released the same day, maintained a daily box office of over ten million.

Huayi's 170-million investment — if things went badly, they might not even recoup the loose change. Among April's film companies, none were unhappy.

"The Chef, the Actor, the Scoundrel" maintained a daily box office of nearly twenty million, temporarily leading the pack among domestic films.

…………

"…That's the situation."

After Yue Jun finished speaking, he waited for Lin Nan's reply.

Chen Chen Kexin could be considered an outlier among Hong Kong directors — the kind who goes with the wind.

His original stance was to suck the mainland's blood to nourish Hong Kong's people.

Later, he and Wen Jun played off each other at the Golden Horse Awards, saying things they shouldn't have, and got warned.

For the sake of his future and his fortune, he chose to back down.

His last "American Dreams in China" was a pledge of allegiance to China Film — a purely mainland lineup. This film's the same.

"Director Huang Huang Jianxin's company participated in investing in this film. They're asking about Zhang Yi's schedule — to play a supporting role opposite Huang Bo." Yue Jun continued.

Lin Nan was also quite familiar with Huang Huang Jianxin, because Han Han Sanping and Huang Huang Jianxin had a very good relationship — they were classmates — and through that, he became familiar with him too.

To tell the truth, Lin Nan had never dealt with Chen Chen Kexin, but he truly couldn't stand the faces of that couple.

"What does Director Huang say?"

"Director Huang says this subject matter is adapted from a real case, very suitable for domestic film festivals."

Lin Nan nodded — that was true enough. It was an anti-kidnapping subject, after all.

Speaking of which, he thought again of Li Yang's "Blind Mountain" — what a great film. But back then, Li Yang politely declined others' suggestions to submit it to film festivals. Truly a pity.

"Who's in the lead?"

"Zhao Zhao Yanzi, Huang Bo…"

"Stop."

"The female lead is already set as Zhao Zhao Yanzi?"

"Yes, Chen Chen Kexin and Zhao Zhao Yanzi have a very good relationship." Yue Jun nodded.

"Forget it. We don't need this one film. Go thank Director Huang, just say the schedule doesn't work out."

Lin Nan looked at Yue Jun and instructed in a firm tone.

"Mm, alright."

A director who goes with the wind, a leading lady who wears flag-patterned outfits to diss netizens — forget it.

…………

When Lin Nan returned, it happened that Liu Liu Yifei and her mother had also come back.

"You actually came back early without even giving me a heads-up?"

Liu Liu Yifei had gone back to her hometown with her own mother; the original plan was five days, but she had only stayed three.

"Everything was fine, so we came back early — and to do a surprise inspection on you, too!" Liu Liu Yifei said provocatively.

"Surprise inspection on me? And how did the inspection turn out?"

"Pretty honest, I'd say."

As she spoke, Liu Liu Yifei came up and hugged Lin Nan's arm, laughing nonstop.

"Next time, come back with us."

Miss Liu's voice suddenly became very soft and very gentle, but Lin Nan still heard it clearly.

"Mm, sure."

A voice at the same volume reached Liu Liu Yifei's ears; she nodded in satisfaction, an indescribable smile on her face.

……

A piece of news about a TV drama had captured the attention of the entire film and television circle; almost every young actor was watching eagerly.

Speaking of xianxia dramas, what do actors in the circle think of?

The game-adapted "Chinese Paladin" made Hu Ge an instant hit, and Liu Liu Yifei's Zhao Ling'er is an unforgettable beautiful memory.

"Chinese Paladin 3" pushed Hu Ge up another level, let Yang Mi step into the front line of young actresses for the first time, gave Tang Yan a surge in popularity, and let Liu Liu Shishi emerge…

"Dong Xuan-Yuan Sword" was the same — how many people went for Hu Ge, even though in the end it was Jiang Jiang Jinfu who got the boost…

All these examples prove that this kind of drama really does launch people!

Now, another game-adapted xianxia drama has been greenlit, and its investment scale far surpasses Tang Ren's earlier "Chinese Paladin" series and "Dong Xuan-Yuan Sword"!

No actor could remain unmoved; netizens and celebrity fans were even more excited, hoping their favorite actors could be cast.

But such thinking is utterly foolish. No matter which film and television company it is, they will definitely prioritize their own artists.

Unless they need to borrow the stature or name of an outside actor to bring along some popularity.

"Memories are always beautiful. Look, so many people are still shouting about your Zhao Ling'er."

Lin Nan pointed at a post on Weibo and said to Liu Liu Yifei.

Although these netizens' ideas were unrealistic, this was indeed a form of affirmation — affirmation of Liu Liu Yifei's Zhao Ling'er.

Miss Liu just smiled and said nothing.

Her thoughts drifted back to when she was filming "Chinese Paladin" — how Lin Nan would often come over from the "Lotus Lantern" crew next door to find her, that man-made peach blossom grove, that photo together.

"Over a hundred million in investment, such a big production — the casting will probably set a lot of actors' hearts fluttering again," Liu Liu Yifei said lightly.

…………

Huayi, Tang Ren, Orange Sky, Shiba Culture… every company with an artist management business was scheming.

At this stage, everyone shared a consensus: xianxia dramas really do seem to launch people!

……

"Mimi, I've secured you the female lead — we need to go have a talk…"

Although Ceng Jia admitted that having Yang Mi, this actress with a 500-million-box-office leading role, come back to do a TV drama was a slight downgrade in stature, for the sake of the studio, it was worth it!

…………

(End of this chapter)