Chapter 380: Let's Set a Target of One Billion at the Box Office First

Early in the morning, the media and the internet were already flooded with news about *Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy*.

"Directed by Lin Nan, produced by Zhou Zhou Yiwei, starring Han Han Sanping, Zhang Zhang Hanyu, Huang Huang Xiaoming, Fan Li Bingbing, and others, the main-melody commercial blockbuster *Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy* officially wrapped filming last night."

"It is reported that the film's main creative team members will return to Beijing today."

"Since filming began, *Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy* has never opened to media visits; the secrecy has been quite tight, and the outside world knows very little."

……

When everyone came to the set, they arrived in dribs and drabs.

Now that they were heading back together, they naturally had to travel in a large group.

"All the crew and equipment have been arranged onto a bullet train and have already set off. As for the guns, cannons, and that sort of thing, Hu Bayi Factory will handle it."

Guo Fan reported to Lin Nan briefly. Expecting the other assistant director to worry about this kind of thing would be pure wishful thinking.

"Lin Nan Pictures, Tiangong Color, Hu Bayi Factory, Beijing Film Studio — together there are over eighty crew members, so we do need to arrange a bullet train." Lin Nan nodded.

At this moment, all the principal creators were packing their bags, getting ready to head to the airport.

"Come help."

Zhou Zhou Yiwei called out to Lin Nan, who had just finished talking with Guo Fan in the hallway.

"Coming."

Walking into the room, the first thing that met his eyes were four large suitcases; an assistant was helping Miss Liu pack together.

In about half an hour, the hotel entrance was packed with people, everyone averaging at least two or three suitcases apiece.

A dozen or so cars were lined up in a row, with each company's assistants stuffing luggage into the trunks.

Quite a crowd had gathered in the distance, many of them holding up phones or cameras.

Everyone knew a group of actors and stars had been filming here, and today they finally got to see most of them in person.

Signing autographs and taking photos took twenty minutes — it couldn't go any longer, because they had to hurry and set off.

As the motorcade drove toward the city, photos of the principal creators began appearing online one after another: "*Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy* crew, departing to return to Beijing…"

"Before we board, change into casual jackets. The temperature in the capital doesn't call for down coats."

Zhou Zhou Yiwei leaned against Lin Nan and reminded him considerately.

"Mm, whatever you say."

Lin Nan nestled against Miss Liu as well, responding softly, and the two closed their eyes to rest together.

…………

*Erta God Detective* began borrowing the same trick from *Sound of the Sea*: reverse marketing — the more it was hated, the more popular it got!

In one week's time, the total box office had reached 150 million.

Relying on a flood of bad reviews, this film stubbornly held onto a daily box office of twelve million.

Still, it ultimately couldn't compare with *Sound of the Sea* — after all, the latter had a massive amount of product-placement advertising as its foundation, with no pressure to recoup costs.

And *Erta God Detective* copying this move was undoubtedly drinking poison to quench its thirst.

But what was both helpless and ironic was that this film had no choice but to drink poison to quench its thirst — its box office numbers had to be higher.

Because Enlight Media's stock price had been falling for seven days straight.

Although the daily drops weren't all that large, accumulated over time it was quite frightening. The key issue was that no one knew when the stock price decline would end!

Listed companies in the film and television industry were just like this — films were their core product.

Whether a film succeeded or not had an impact that, in the short term, fed directly back into its stock price and market value — it was agonizing.

Wang Wang Changtian had done his best these past few days, but with little effect.

He felt they needed a boost from some good external news — for example, *Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy*.

"Issue a press release in the company's name. Celebrate the successful wrap of *Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy*, which we invested in and produced — make it grand… I've already sent a message to Lin Nan and the others."

"Understood, Director Wang."

…………

The flight was just over two hours; Lin Nan and Zhou Zhou Yiwei had slept through it — they had been too tired the night before.

When they got off the plane and the group walked toward the exit, the heads-turning rate was genuinely high, with quite a few people stopping to stare.

"Our big group here is a bit conspicuous — we definitely won't be able to dodge all those long lenses and short lenses in a bit."

Lin Nan quipped; he just wanted to get back and catch up on sleep. But he also knew that not everyone wanted to avoid the cameras.

"Lin Dao's films getting a lot of attention is only right — there must be a lot of reporters out there right now."

Huang Huang Xiaoming, wearing large dark sunglasses, chimed in cheerfully. Fan Li Bingbing, Zhang Zhang Hanyu, and a few others nodded along.

"Jianü, come back to China Film with me." Han Han Sanping instructed his daughter.

"Oh."

……

The capital's weather was indeed incomparable to Mudanjiang's — just a few minutes after getting off the plane, one could clearly feel a hint of warmth.

Outside the airport.

Everyone had anticipated beforehand that there might be quite a few media reporters, but they hadn't expected this many!

The moment the group came out, they heard someone outside shout, "They're out!"

Immediately after, Lin Nan and the others were surrounded by more than thirty reporters.

Fortunately, the assistants came through, forcefully clearing a path ahead and leading everyone to an open area without obstructing traffic.

This interview — dodging it was definitely not an option.

"Let's make this quick, everyone." Lin Nan joked.

"Lin Dao, Enlight Media's press release emphasized within that *Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy* is a main-melody commercial film. Do you think combining 'main melody' with 'commercial film' can succeed?"

Everyone looked at Lin Nan, waiting for his answer.

Because back when "Taking Mount Mount Weihu by Strategy" was first announced, a large number of industry insiders had already raised objections to his idea of a "main-melody commercial film," believing Lin Nan was taking a risk.

They believed main-melody was main-melody, and commercial films were commercial films — preaching and entertainment simply could not be combined.

Main-melody films could never achieve high box office unless they had policy support and organized group bookings.

This question had really hit Lin Nan right between the eyes.

"The focus of a main-melody commercial film must always be the commercial film itself. We downplay the traces of preaching, and there won't be any dry, flavorless chicken soup either."

"The core of a commercial film is always the story. And 'Taking Mount Mount Weihu by Strategy' uses the commercial-film approach to tell a main-melody story.

I have full confidence it will definitely be a commercial film with a very decent box office. Hmm, let's set a target of one billion at the box office first."

As he spoke, Lin Nan even glanced at the actors beside him and tossed out a box-office target half in jest.

Hearing the figure of one billion, a group of reporters' eyes instantly lit up — today's first major piece of material was in hand!

……

"Lin Dao, what do you think about 'Tiny Times,' which premieres today? This is the series of films Yang Mi took on back when she was still at Shanhai Media."

"What do I think? I'll go back and catch up on some sleep first, and once I remember, I'll watch it with my own eyes," Lin Nan said with a laugh.

"Director Guo Guo Jingming has spoken out several times, saying the film circle is exclusionary, that it ostracizes and attacks him as a new director. Lin Dao, as a top-tier director in the circle, do you have anything to say?"

"Heh, I haven't attacked anyone myself. Of course, those whose moral compass is crooked don't count…"

……

Zhang Zhang Hanyu, Huang Huang Xiaoming, Fan Li Bingbing… Tong Tong Liya — not a single one was left out; the media grilled them all.

Even Liu Liu Yifei, who was beside Lin Nan, the reporters had to ask about her experience as a producer on set, and about the snowball fight that Watching Shu Chang had mentioned on Weibo.

Sometimes, you really have to admire these media reporters — they dare to ask anyone anything, and the sharper the question, the better.

The most tempting one is always saved for last. For example: Han Han Sanping.

"Han Dong, when Lin Nan first invited you to play 'Zuo Zuo Shandiao,' did you ever refuse or lose your temper? What are your thoughts on taking on this role?"

Lin Nan and the others instinctively looked toward Han Han Sanping — dead silence.

"Haha, I never refused, so how could I have lost my temper? Playing this role is quite interesting, and it's also a way of supporting Lin Nan's main-melody film."

How does he manage to tell such barefaced lies with his eyes open? And with a smile on his face, speaking so naturally, as if it were the most natural thing in the world?!

"What about the pay? How much did the crew offer you?"

Several actors were dumbfounded — is that even something you can ask? Han Han Sanping holds an official position, even though he's only two months from retirement.

"Being able to act in a major main-melody commercial film before I retire, and to make some contribution to the cause of domestic cinema — whether there's pay or not isn't important. I'd be more than happy to act for free…"

After being delayed for an hour, the group finally parted ways outside the airport and got into the cars that had come to pick them up.

"I really admire Han Dong — so when I first invited him, I didn't have to lift a finger, did I? He practically paid me to take the role!"

Sitting in the car, Lin Nan complained for a long while, and Liu Liu Yifei kept laughing nonstop.

The interviews outside the airport quickly made it onto the entertainment news, drawing the attention of the entire film and television circle.

"The crew of 'Taking Mount Mount Weihu by Strategy' arrived at the capital airport around noon."

"Lin Dao Nan has set a guaranteed box-office target of one billion."

"CFCC Han Dong acts as Zuo Zuo Shandiao for free, contributing to the cause of domestic cinema…"

"Lin Dao stated that his schedule is fully booked and he has no plans to attend the Golden Rooster Awards…"

…………

The first thing Lin Nan did upon getting home was sleep. As for Liu Liu Yifei, she was pulled aside by her mother for some private mother-daughter talk.

Calls for socializing, greeting text messages, and invitations to events from the circle were all blocked outside in one fell swoop.

It wasn't until past five in the afternoon that Lin Nan finally woke up — and he was a bit hungry too.

After turning his phone on, the large number of missed calls and text messages proved that quite a few people had been trying to reach him during that time.

"Lin Dao, the premiere of 'Blind Detective,' the premiere of 'Tai Chi Hero,' the launch press conference for 'The Crossing'…"

"I'm starting to regret calling you back — handle it however you like, I can't be bothered to go," Lin Nan said with a light laugh.

"Oh right, tell Tiangong Color to start the special effects for 'Taking Mount Mount Weihu by Strategy' as soon as possible. Post-production editing — we'll talk about it in a couple of days."

"Understood, Lin Dao."

After Lin Nan hung up the phone, he finally noticed the news online.

'Tiny Times' had already become the top headline on every major portal site.

A large number of photos taken from inside theaters indicated that this film was about to explode.

In the cinemas, the showings of 'Tiny Times' basically all had long lines, and the vast majority of the ticket buyers were young girls in the bloom of youth.

In the photos, countless girls could be seen, organized, writing "Support 'Tiny Times'" on their faces and arms in face paint — almost as if possessed.

The theater chains' screening rate was also astonishingly high — 37% as a baseline, with over twenty cities reaching 45% or more, a completely dominant situation.

In the media reports, Guo Guo Jingming had already seemingly been destined to become the new commercial-film blockbuster director, just like Zhao Wei had two months earlier.

"Want something to eat?"

Liu Liu Yifei's clear, crisp voice came through.

Lin Nan looked up — it was her bare-faced self, a delicate face with a playful smile.

"Just woke up, right?"

"Hehe, how did you know?"

"If you'd woken up early, I wouldn't have woken up on my own."

Lin Nan smiled, got up, went over and pulled her into his arms. "You definitely would have woken me up."

"Hey, how can you slander me like that?

Hurry up, your mother-in-law made a few dishes — she hasn't cooked herself in ages, you're in for a treat…"

Liu Liu Yifei, still refusing to admit it, took Lin Nan's hand and started walking him outside.

…………

(End of Chapter)