Chapter 38: The Competition

The conference center was huge, right at the Olympic Committee's side.

Led by Chen Chen Kaige, Zhang Zhang Yimou, and Li An, along with Tian Tian Zhuangzhuang, Lin Nan, Feng Feng Xiaogang, and others from the three major academies, several major film studios, or private companies — every director with a name was there, plus a few from Hong Kong Island and abroad.

At a glance, they were all people who had won awards at home and abroad and had real achievements.

Director Chen, eager to try, currently sat firmly on his throne; Zhang Zhang Yimou was probably still thinking about Athens' failure; Li An clearly already had his calculations.

Looking at the others, more or less their eyes were burning and full of drive.

The opening ceremony director — what a tempting assignment; how many people could remain unmoved?

A person lives one life, for fame and for profit, and the position of opening ceremony director brings both! As for failure? Who would think of consequences — isn't every one of them proud?

Only Lin Nan understood that only a small fraction of the people here had come for responsibility and honor.

He wasn't cut out for it — forcing himself would kill him. Playing a supporting role might still be passable, but being the lead was absolutely out of the question.

The leaders mobilized from above: "This is an opportunity to show the world our five-thousand-year culture, a matter of national and ethnic importance, a grand ceremony watched by the world. We hope all of you will actively participate and contribute your ideas…"

Today's meeting was mainly to announce the matter of competing for the position of chief director of the opening ceremony, what the candidates needed to prepare, and the timeframe for the competition.

This matter wasn't kept secret from the public; the media had already begun reporting on it, with an illustration being a photo of a group of directors at the conference center.

"Olympic Opening Ceremony Chief Director Competition: Over a Hundred Major Directors Gather at the Olympic Committee."

Lin Nan was honored to appear on camera — a young face mixed in among a group of middle-aged and older people, looking somewhat out of place, especially conspicuous.

No matter what others did, Lin Nan had firmly decided he wouldn't get involved in this bidding competition.

He had self-awareness. For such a grand affair, no one was more suitable than Zhang Zhang Yimou — brilliant, energetic, experienced, pragmatic and truth-seeking!

Thinking from the result back to the process, Lin Nan was startled — this was tailor-made for Old Zhang.

Having figured this out, Lin Nan tossed the bidding out of his mind. Back at school, he began a rare comfortable life.

Browsing the industry news, Little Zhang Zhang Ziyi was truly sailing with the wind — in the past two years, several of her films had been released in North America, and last month she had even served as an Oscar juror.

This year had just begun, yet she had already firmly become an internationally famous film star — "International Zhang" was a title truly deserved.

Among the actresses Zhang Zhang Yimou had made famous, the most successful were Gong Li and Little Zhang Zhang Ziyi; Lin Nan admired Gong Li more.

Everyone said Little Zhang Zhang Ziyi had followed Gong Li's template upward, but ultimately she couldn't compare.

Zhu Zhu Yawen had returned, and it looked like he'd learned quite a bit from Wang Wang Jinghua — already a qualified young actor.

"Recently signed a drama; after resting a while, I'll be joining the crew."

Zhu Zhu Yawen drank his water and said, "Recently, whether it's the dramas I've signed, or endorsements or magazines, I've all steered clear of Huayi…"

Lin Nan picked up on the meaning — Wang Wang Jinghua had already begun cutting ties over interests.

"What dramas did you take?" Lin Nan asked.

"All TV series — film resources are still scarce. On this point, Sister Hua really can't compare with Huayi, but I'm quite satisfied. With those two films of yours as my foundation, I'm doing pretty well now." Zhu Zhu Yawen wore a look of contentment.

"Doing well is good. If there's a suitable role, I'll consider you."

Lin Nan said.

"I'm holding you to that — whether this bro can blow up big depends entirely on you."

Zhu Zhu Yawen instantly became playful again. Lin Nan knew this guy's temperament — couldn't stay serious for more than a few minutes.

"Speaking of which, you're now a real thigh. The other artists under Sister Hua haven't stopped asking me about you, especially about new project intentions."

Everything Zhu Zhu Yawen said, Lin Nan knew. Since returning from Berlin, he faced this kind of thing almost every two or three days — many people passed along messages: the school, Enlight, China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, actors he'd worked with — anyone with his contact info was asking.

Lin Nan turned them all away with "no plans for now." Even when "Back to Youth" broke a hundred million back then, it hadn't been this intense.

"A feeling of pain mixed with pleasure." Lin Nan smiled.

"Look at that face of yours — showing off already." Zhu Zhu Yawen was also feeling sour. "In the Class of '02, you're the most successful — a big director with both box office and awards."

"Haha, seems like that's really the case…"

Lin Nan laughed unrestrainedly — only between close friends could one let loose like this.

"Actually, Sister Hua also hinted to me that I could ask you for resources." Zhu Zhu Yawen spoke bluntly.

Lin Nan had mentally prepared for this. Wang Wang Jinghua was a top-tier agent — she wouldn't let any opportunity slip, especially knowing that Zhu Zhu Yawen's relationship with him was rock-solid. It was only a matter of time before she brought it up.

"Mm, don't worry. Your bro here will take care of you." Lin Nan joked.

Zhu Zhu Yawen blurted out a Chinese curse — the two had long been used to this way of getting along.

……

"Chinese Paladin" had already begun its second round of broadcast — its popularity was beyond imagination, second only to "Super Girl."

Mango TV had drawn on the experience from the first season, and this year's launch promotion was even stronger than last year's.

Some proper trained actors at the school also ran off to participate in the competition, but more teachers and students still looked down on this kind of talent show.

Director Tian Tian Zhuangzhuang had teamed up with several peers, preparing to collaborate on a joint bid — this was also a form of competition.

Lin Nan clarified his own thoughts — he wouldn't participate in the chief director competition. After the higher-ups persuaded him once, the matter was dropped.

After all, he was too young, unlike Zhang Zhang Yimou. He heard the organizing committee was actively trying to persuade Zhang Zhang Yimou not to take the previous failure too much to heart.

Zhang Zhang Yimou also refused to admit defeat and had already pledged to actively prepare his bid.

Last month, "Back to Youth" was released in Korea. The export had chosen a revenue-sharing model. Data from China Film Group showed viewership approaching two million — very popular with young people, with excellent box office results.

Exports making money was good news. Combined with Lin Nan's Berlin harvest last month, CCTV gave it an eight-second report in its news bulletin.

Lin Nan had clearly become another name card for the directing department.

Tang Mu contacted Lin Nan again — the rights to a certain script. The other party still wanted it, and this time their attitude was much better, wanting to discuss face-to-face with Lin Nan.

"America?"

Lin Nan figured he should make a trip over there. Tang Mu had registered many scripts and bought many novel rights for him — he should go take a look. This was a perfect opportunity.

He gave Tang Mu a time and told him to pass it along to the other party, saying Lin Nan would arrive early.

Promotion for "Stone" had already begun. Because there was still a month and a half to go, the promotion wasn't very intense — limited to posters.

Lin Nan's name was also on the poster. Producers, supervisors, screenwriters — everyone in the industry already knew this film was fully financed by Lin Nan.

Given that Lin Nan's previous fully self-funded film "Return to Dust" sold its rights for over eight million US dollars, and this one is a commercial film, everyone is very optimistic about its box office.

As soon as the promotion began, it attracted plenty of attention.

The cost of eight million was leaked — betting big with a small stake, that's a selling point.

The three-million-cost "Return to Dust" already made over twenty times its cost, and it hasn't even been released domestically yet; jealous people are everywhere.

How much the eight-million-cost "Stone" can earn is clearly even more worth looking forward to.

After meeting Ye Ning last time, there had been no further contact until the promotion for "Stone" began.

Ye Ning had made a phone call, and while catching up, said that screenings would definitely accommodate "Stone," and hoped there would be a chance to cooperate again soon; Lin Nan gladly agreed.

It's only March, but this year's film market competition has already kicked off — several blockbusters have revealed their release dates, all in the second half of the year.

This is also why Lin Nan scheduled "Stone" for May Day; "Return to Dust," limited by its subject matter, would be released no later than July 1st.

Ning Hao truly treated "Stone" as his comeback work, and was even more eager about promotion than Lin Nan.

Light Media's promotions, portal site interviews, and various TV station talk shows — whenever there was a chance, Ning Hao would urge Lin Nan, and would also see which of the main creators had time slots to go together.

In just one week, Lin Nan rushed through nine interviews nonstop, each time having to find different ways to talk about how difficult the script was to write, how dedicated the crew was, and recognition of Director Ning Hao's skill.

"These past few days, I've said every word I can think of; if the box office doesn't deliver, it'll become a joke."

Lin Nan said it as a joke — just a joke; he didn't think "Stone" would flop, he was just teasing Ning Hao.

Huang Bo had recently gone on several shows as well, and for him these opportunities were precious.

Ning Hao smiled without speaking; he had directed the entire film and was very optimistic about "Stone," and had praised the script more than once in the studio.

Huang Bo hummed a little tune, in a great mood — he'd had quite a few gigs recently.

"Oh right, I forgot — Old Huang, you're a singer by background, that's not bad humming!"

Lin Nan suddenly remembered that Huang Bo was still a resident singer; when it came to singing, Lin Nan was tone-deaf and couldn't pull it off.

"Of course — one day I'll take you guys to karaoke and let you see my skills."

"Deal."

The promotion and distribution costs for "Stone" were, of course, paid by Lin Nan's company; he wouldn't agree to a box-office percentage split — "Return to Dust" was a special case due to its subject matter, so it was excluded.

After parting with Ning Hao and Huang Bo, Lin Nan returned to the company alone.

Looking at a stack of letters the company receptionist had sent in, he couldn't bring himself to throw them out or leave them be, so he could only pick them up and go through them one by one.

There were film premiere invitations, self-recommendation letters, academic exchanges, symposiums…

The more formal ones had also made phone calls along with sending the letters; those self-recommendation ones couldn't reach Lin Nan directly, so they could only be mailed to the company.

Near the back, an invitation for a film and television industry exchange caught Lin Nan's attention.

It was an invitation to a film and television symposium from Magic Capital Drama Academy, and the date was still some time away.

Lin Nan had never had any dealings with them before, except for getting to know Hu Ge on the set of "Immortal Sword."

Among the three major academies, one leans toward film and two lean toward drama; the two drama academies, one in the south and one in the north, both produce excellent stage actors.

An official invitation from the school — hard to refuse. If he went along to attend an exchange meeting, it shouldn't affect his trip to America.

Thinking of this, Lin Nan took out his phone and dialed a number.

The dial tone was interrupted: "May I ask who's calling?"

It was actually a woman? Lin Nan was surprised.

"I'm looking for Hu Ge."

"I'm his assistant. May I ask who you are?"

"I'm Lin Nan. Is he busy?"

The person on the other end of the line clearly paused, then said somewhat uncertainly, "Lin Nan… the director?"

"That's me."