Chapter 382: The Era of

Early in the morning, the front-page headlines of entertainment news featured a story that could stand shoulder to shoulder with "Tiny Times."

The thigh so many top-tier actresses in the circle want to cling to: Deng Deng Wendi, sued for divorce!

A divorce between an American couple actually set the nerves of the entire domestic film and television industry on edge — truly rare.

Li Bingbing and Zhang Ziyi, the current and former besties, were inevitably dragged out by the media, and their trending popularity skyrocketed in an instant.

"The channels for mainland actresses to go overseas have lost yet another one."

"Ms. Deng is nothing short of an inspirational legend of the mistress-climbs-to-the-top variety, worthy of emulation by countless female compatriots!"

"Worth it. Though there's a prenup, it was the old man who filed for divorce — he'll absolutely have to pay out a massive fortune as compensation."

"When young, find an old one; once you're financially free, find a young one…"

"Marrying into a wealthy family isn't the ultimate goal — using it to cultivate your own insight, ability, and connections is the proper path. That's exactly what Ms. Deng did; she's long been a big shot."

……

The internet is truly filled with every sort of outrageous opinion, constantly assaulting any normal person's worldview, yet it also reflects naked, bare-faced reality.

Lin Nan skimmed a few lines and then stopped paying attention — no overlap with his life, just a bunch of messy nonsense.

On the other hand, "Tiny Times"'s box office remained dazzling: 60 million on day four, pushing the cumulative total to 270 million.

Still, the better this film's box office did, the bigger the reaction in the film industry.

Guo Guo Jingming and his fans were still locked in "combat" with filmmakers and critics, the two sides going at it needle to awn, looking every bit like they'd fight to the death.

At this rate, it looked like there'd be no winner for a while yet, and no peace either.

Yue Jun came over to Tiangong Color.

"Director Lin, the promo push for 'About Time' has to get rolling — the posters and teaser clips are already fully deployed."

Only then did Lin Nan remember: in about a month, the film would be released.

Guo Fan was going to be swamped — one moment out of the "Mount Mount Weihu" crew, the next already running the "About Time" promo tour. Pure back-to-back, non-stop rhythm!

Thinking of that, Lin Nan couldn't help shaking his head.

He looked at Yue Jun and smiled helplessly:

"Then notify Guo Fan — tell him to bear with it, gather all the leads, and follow the promo plan."

"Mm, I'll personally notify them later."

Yue Jun had specifically come over to touch base with Lin Nan because he was worried about Guo Fan's stamina.

"In a few days, Han Jianü will come to borrow a batch of people and equipment — help her arrange it."

Yue Jun paused, then caught on: "No problem. She's doing her graduation showcase?"

"Right, I promised her that before."

Lin Nan smiled and nodded, and couldn't help recalling Han Jianü's stunt of selling out her own father.

…………

The Film Bureau released its first-half-of-the-year data report.

Given the dazzling box office of "Journey to the West: Jiang Mo Pian," "Finding Mr. Right," "So Young," "Wu Lin," "American Dreams in China" and a few other films…

Domestic films had miraculously fought the imports to a draw? That really wasn't easy!

And so, all the pressure landed on the domestic films releasing afterward.

Because the second half had even more imports — and all blockbusters at that — "Furious 7," "Thor 2," "Jurassic Park 3D," and so on, each one eyeing the market like a tiger.

Lin Nan couldn't guarantee that "Mount Mount Weihu" would definitely be finished in time for the New Year season.

So he wasn't going to think about the New Year slot or the Spring Festival slot for now — he'd decide based on the actual situation when the time came. Of course, if there was a chance, he wouldn't mind going to play in the Spring Festival slot either.

After "The Four 2" wrapped at the start of the year, Wang Wang Changtian had specifically pressed Tiangong Color on the VFX progress.

At this moment, Enlight was making a big, bold thrust toward the New Year season, looking every bit supremely confident at the box office.

"Directed by Chen Chen Jiashang, starring Deng Chao, Zhao Zhao Liying, Collin Chou and others, the 3D martial-arts film 'The Four 2' will officially hit theaters on December 6!"

For the production industry, that meant yet another rival not to be underestimated at year's end.

Over the course of the day, Lin Nan turned down several event invitations — all the sort of industry socializing you could take or leave.

Huayi's annual film-plan launch, Pony's IPO reception…

There were even several banquets jointly hosted in Beijing by the six biggest South Korean agencies. At them, countless long legs and pretty boys would be on offer, giving one the feeling that they too were items on the banquet menu…

But one had to admit: South Korean idol artists were genuinely on fire in the country right now.

Mango TV could be called "greatly meritorious" in this regard — "indispensable"!

Even EXO, who hadn't even been around for a year and a half, had already appeared on their variety shows multiple times, their explosive popularity pressing right up against the top-tier A-list.

That evening, a piece of news back from Hollywood once again put Miss Liu in the spotlight.

"The Disney 3D animated feature 'Frozen,' featuring voice work by Liu Liu Yifei, has been scheduled for a North American release on November 27."

"Disney revealed that after a week of talks with China Film, 'Frozen' will smoothly enter the domestic market, with the specific release date to be further negotiated."

"The head of Disney's production division said he looks forward to working with Liu Yifei again, and hopes to reach a collaboration agreement with Director Lin Nan in the future."

When Lin Nan got home, Miss Liu was on the phone, looking to be in a very good mood.

From the sound of it, once "Frozen" hit domestic theaters, she was going to take Watching Shu Chang and the others to see it — and rent out the whole theater!

"Mm, let Lin Nan pay."

Glancing at the just-returned Lin Nan, Liu Liu Yifei cooed into the phone with a smile.

"Me pay? Sure."

Lin Nan smiled lightly, nodded, and sat down beside Liu Liu Yifei. Presumably Watching Shu Chang and the others had called after seeing the news.

While Miss Liu chatted, Lin Nan couldn't sit idle — he had to do some promo for "Zhao Zhao Jingzhong," which was premiering tonight. That was also a favor the other producers had asked of him.

"'Zhao Zhao Jingzhong' — the national hero with 'Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty' carved on his back! Brilliant performances by Huang Huang Xiaoming, Zhao Zhao Liying… and others — well worth looking forward to…"

In under five minutes, a Weibo post was out, tagging several of the main creators.

Very quickly, everyone began replying and interacting. Quite a few industry insiders swarmed in, one after another showing their support.

Lin Nan's phone suddenly buzzed—it was a call from Han Han Sanping.

"When Han Dong calls after 5 p. m., it's generally never something trivial—it's basically always more important than a call during work hours."

Lin Nan picked up the phone, said softly to Zhou Zhou Yiwei, then walked out into the garden.

"Han Dong, the co-production 'Tai Chi Hero' from China Film Investment premieres tomorrow. You're calling me now—it can't be about that, right?"

Only Han Han Sanping's voice could be heard on the other end, tinged with a trace of complicated emotion:

"Come by China Film tomorrow morning. In the small auditorium—I'm treating you all to a meal."

"What did you say? Treating us to a meal?" Lin Nan thought he'd misheard and asked again to confirm.

China Film's small auditorium was the place for receiving guests. Every time he'd crashed a dinner there before, wasn't there always business to discuss?

As far as Lin Nan was concerned, this time absolutely couldn't be just a simple dinner on the host!

"That's right, treating you all to a meal."

"The 'you all' you mentioned—who exactly?" Lin Nan pressed again.

"You, Wang Wang Changtian, Ye Ning—just the three of you."

Hearing this, Lin Nan's heart skipped a beat.

Lin Nan Pictures, Enlight Media, and Wanda? Plus China Film…

These were the four core partners that frequently collaborated, with Lin Nan at the center!

"It shouldn't be you treating us, right? Or rather, not just you alone?"

"Ha ha ha, that brain of yours really works fast. Not bad—you guessed right, it's not just me. Come by tomorrow and you'll find out."

Han Han Sanping didn't say much more and soon hung up.

Back at the villa, Lin Nan nestled beside Zhou Zhou Yiwei, waiting for the call.

Sure enough, within ten minutes, calls from Wang Wang Changtian and Ye Ning came in one after another.

"Chairman Wang, your little scheme is probably going to fall through. Ha ha…"

"Looks like it. See you tomorrow at noon."

Zhou Zhou Yiwei was a little curious. "Han Dong is inviting you all to a meal?"

Lin Nan first nodded, then shook his head, and finally said with a smile: "How is this a meal? This is going to meet the next leader."

"The one after Han Dong retires?"

"Right, the new chairman of China Film." Lin Nan sighed. "The era of 'Vulture' is over."

…………

Back in the capital, sure enough, he couldn't be as unrestrained as when he was on set.

The next day.

Dozens of pieces of film news refreshed, climbing to the headlines.

First was "Tiny Times," which had been a hit for a week, seemingly about to plummet.

For the first three days of release, daily box office was over 70 million. The fourth day was still okay—daily intake only dropped by 10 million.

But starting from the fifth day, daily box office began a cliff-like decline.

On the fifth day, daily box office dropped by around 15 million; on the sixth day, it plunged another 25 million.

By the seventh day, daily box office was barely over 20 million. Yesterday was the eighth day!

"'Tiny Times' daily box office drops to 16.7 million after one week of release; over eight days, total box office stands at 360 million."

"1 billion is hopeless, 800 million is hopeless—even whether it can cross the 500 million threshold is unknown. Surpassing 'So Young' is absolutely impossible!"

"Even though the film is flooded with bad reviews and has no reputation whatsoever, and its actual box office falls far short of expectations, Guo Guo Jingming is already a successful commercial film director, and 'Tiny Times' is likewise a very successful commercial film."

……

"'Blind Detective' first-day box office reports 17 million, with extremely low attendance."

"Most viewers can't muster any interest in this film…"

Lin Nan drove toward China Film; the film news on the radio left him speechless.

Andy Lau's "Blind Detective"—to put it bluntly, was completely dragged down by his "Switch."

The two films were released so close together; the earlier one was a universally panned stinker, so the latter one's lead actor's film being affected was inevitable.

"Andy Lau once again apologized to fans and audiences, stating outright that the poor reviews of 'Switch' were entirely his own doing. Unrelated to anyone else or any other film, please don't deliberately target 'Blind Detective' and its cast…"

Not far from the China Film gate, Lin Nan spotted Wang Wang Changtian's and Ye Ning's cars—they hadn't driven in.

"Just waiting for you—let's go in together."

Both car windows were open; Wang Wang Changtian called out to Lin Nan.

"Okay."

The three cars passed through the gate one after another, heading toward the parking area.

"He used to be the deputy general manager of China Film's Import & Export branch, later serving as vice chairman and general manager of the co-production company.

Lin Nan's co-productions should originally have been under his purview, but Han Dong took care of everything personally…"

The three walked together; Wang Wang Changtian suddenly muttered something, audible only to the three of them.

China Film has many vice chairmen; by the rules, this matter wouldn't be announced until early next year.

But everyone in the industry clearly had their own channels.

"Let's go meet Han Dong's successor."

Lin Nan said with a smile as well.

(End of chapter)