Chapter 431: Running Further and Further Down the Road of Capital

Domestic media continuously reprinted Hollywood film news.

"Directed by Lin Nan, starring Leonardo, Naomi Watts, and Jessica Chastain.

The Oscar-contending film *The Invisible Guest*, after two weeks in the North American market, has accumulated a total box office of $162 million…"

Every time the box office figures for *The Invisible Guest* were updated, it always drew sighs and grumbling from the mainland film circle.

Because whenever domestic blockbusters were released in North America before, which production company wouldn't try to keep the box office results locked down tight?

Afraid that domestic media would "talk nonsense" online and let audiences and netizens find out.

Even when directly asked, the studio would just give a vague and evasive "the film is a big hit at the North American box office" and brush it off.

Never daring to release the figures publicly, because they couldn't afford to lose face, afraid of being mocked and ridiculed inside and outside the industry.

Moreover, this kind of operation had already become an unspoken rule tacitly accepted by the industry.

But Lin Nan's foreign-language film this time wasn't bound by this unspoken rule, because it couldn't be enforced over in Hollywood anyway.

But one crucial point was that Lin Nan was a mainland director! Netizens unconsciously compared him with other domestic directors.

Now this was bad — if you didn't compare, fine, but once you did, problems emerged: the other directors and film companies really were both incompetent and useless!

Immediately, the internet naturally kicked into mass-mockery mode…

"Daily box office is dropping fast. We estimate the third week might be cut in half directly, then stabilize for a while."

Just past nine in the morning, having just gotten up, Lin Nan received a call from Tang Mu. The Hollywood PR party had also just begun.

"As long as the first month's box office can pass $200 million, I'll be satisfied. How much more after that, we'll see — you guys keep a close eye on it," Lin Nan said with a yawn.

"Mm, don't worry, Lin, everything's ok. Then I won't disturb your rest."

"You just don't want me to disturb your party time, right? Tang Mu."

"Hahaha, Lin, don't say it out loud."

Tang Mu's cheeky laughter came through the phone, and in the background you could faintly hear a woman calling him — that sound gave one goosebumps.

"This guy is really a hopeless case…"

Lin Nan smiled and shook his head, preparing to wash up and head out.

A dozen or so minutes later, he casually tapped open the entertainment news and found that today's front-page industry news was quite lively.

It seemed the matter of the Capital TV station sending an official letter to a higher department, strongly condemning a certain crosstalk performer for insulting the deceased, had made progress.

This kind of thing really couldn't be explained in a word — it was a long story.

Three years ago, the Capital TV station reported on a private villa illegally occupying public green space, triggering a chain of "conflicts."

Which led to a certain crosstalk troupe being named by major official media, shutting down for business, and undergoing rectification for a long time.

This grudge that had lasted over three years should have ended at the end of last month, because the station head at the time had passed away from a terminal illness.

But the other party involved clearly had no intention of letting things rest — the very next day he posted a double happiness symbol on Weibo, composed a doggerel verse, and celebrated with great joy.

Anyone who wasn't a fool could tell who he was targeting, and for a moment public opinion exploded online, with extremely bad repercussions.

So, the Television Arts Work Committee under the China Broadcasting Association officially issued an announcement this morning:

Strongly demanding that the crosstalk performer apologize to the deceased and his family, and calling on nearly four hundred television stations nationwide to "give up" attention on this person.

What did "give up" attention mean? The subtext was a soft ban.

One had to say, ideals were plump, but reality always talked in terms of profit.

The China Broadcasting Association was merely a public institution, not an administrative one — probably not many TV stations would pay it any heed, especially those satellite channels.

…………

The promotion for *Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy* was temporarily halted.

Because Han Han Sanping, Guo Fan, Zhang Zhang Hanyu, Fan Li Bingbing, and others had been running promotions for over half a month straight — it was time for a break.

Speaking of which, Old Han San was truly "saying one thing but meaning another."

When previously asked to join the promotion tour, he was quite reluctant on the surface, "putting on airs" and saying he'd only attend a few events.

But once the promotion actually started, he didn't miss a single one — more dedicated than anyone.

Lin Nan couldn't rest — he still had to come to the company; there were plenty of miscellaneous matters at year's end.

But no sooner had he arrived at the company than he heard that Feng Feng Xiaogang's *Personal Tailor* had run into a small problem.

"The premiere has been postponed from the 14th to the 17th. Wang Wang Zhonglei said he would do everything possible to ensure the normal release on the 19th."

"Why is that?" Lin Nan was a bit puzzled.

"I heard it was the result of an emergency review by the bureau. The specific reason seems to be that some of Fan Wei's lines were too bare-faced and contained a lot of 'sensitive content.'"

"Sensitive content? Then it's an emergency edit, right!"

Lin Nan recalled that the character Fan Wei played seemed to be a driver for a leader who dreamed of being an "honest official"?

Then it all made sense — after all, the film's screenwriter was Wang Shuo.

This guy must have alluded to too much real-life officialdom content, his words were sharp, and he'd touched people or things he shouldn't have.

"Oh, Lin Dao. They're asking about the year-end party again downstairs, hehe…"

Yue Jun's laugh carried quite a bit of information. Lin Nan could already guess what these people wanted to do — were they addicted?

"From *Finding Mr. Right* at the beginning of the year to *Kung Fu Jungle*, and then *About Time*, the box office alone adds up to 1.66 billion…"

As he spoke, Lin Nan looked at Yue Jun and smiled, nodding:

"Just do it like last year — let the employees on both sides submit their own ideas, compile them, and see which artists they want to invite to perform this year."

"Haha, alright, Lin Dao. I'll notify them shortly."

Not long after Yue Jun left the office, another call came in.

Lin Nan was getting a bit annoyed — since returning to the country a few days ago, the calls he received every day had never been fewer than five!

"Mm? Now this really is a rare guest."

Looking at the three characters "Cao Cao Guowei" on his phone screen, Lin Nan muttered softly, then answered the call.

"Hey, Cao Dong?"

"Hahaha, Lin Dao, sorry to call out of the blue—didn't interrupt your work?"

"No, I just got to the office. What's up, Cao Dong?"

Lin Nan asked directly.

Although he held shares in Weibo, strictly speaking, he and Cao Cao Guowei weren't in the same industry.

Of course, they rarely communicated otherwise—except when making additional investments.

Upon hearing Lin Nan's question, Cao Cao Guowei let out a hearty laugh before speaking:

"Thank you, Lin Dao, for your early investment when Weibo was just starting—it gave us major momentum. Now, among the three, we're practically the dominant player."

Lin Nan unconsciously frowned; he was confused—was Cao Cao Guowei trying to reminisce with him?

"Lin Dao, do you remember the special clause in our share transfer agreement?"

Lin Nan nodded instinctively: "I remember—I granted you voting rights, and I retain the right to increase my investment to prevent dilution..."

Here, Lin Nan's voice cut off abruptly.

His eyes widened instantly—he realized something!

"Cao Dong, you... Weibo?"

"Hahaha, Lin Dao, you've made several rounds of additional investments and only just figured it out?"

Cao Cao Guowei's words left Lin Nan too excited to speak.

"Is it... going IPO?"

"Yes, we plan to submit our IPO application in the first half of next year."

Cao Cao Guowei's tone grew slightly more serious: "Lin Dao, I need you to sign another amendment to the agreement."

"What agreement?"

"The shares you hold are original shares from Weibo's founding. After our IPO, we plan to implement a dual-class share structure."

"So we hope you'll come back to finalize the contract: you won't interfere in company operations, you'll continue granting me your future voting rights, and if you ever sell your shares, you must first offer them to the founding team..."

Cao Cao Guowei continued laying out his business matters, but Lin Nan stopped listening.

His mind was filled only with the words: "IPO," "original shares," and "dual-class share structure."

"Lin Dao, what do you say?"

Lin Nan snapped out of his daze and, suppressing his excitement, said: "Fine, whatever. I'll send people over in the next few days."

"Good, Lin Dao—I'll have the welcome mat ready at the office. But there's one more thing."

Hearing Lin Nan's affirmative reply, Cao Cao Guowei's tone softened again.

"What?"

"Weibo Night is scheduled for mid-next month. Lin Dao and Producer Liu, why don't you come show your support? Hehe..."

Lin Nan nodded on impulse, answering decisively: "Sure, no problem."

Only twenty minutes after hanging up did Lin Nan finally return to his senses from the euphoria.

"Hard-won—it's worth it, having stuck with it since day one. My voice in this? Basically secured!"

Suddenly, a thought popped into Lin Nan's head: he seemed to be drifting further and further down the path of capital.

"Big capital? Not bad—at least it ensures that Liu Liu Qianqian and I won't have to kowtow to anyone in the industry! Even..."

…………

The matter La La Peikang had called Lin Nan about was officially announced, and media outlets widely reposted and reported it.

"The Disney 3D animated feature film 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,' voiced by Liu Liu Yifei, has been confirmed for release on the Chinese New Year holiday, the sixth day of the first lunar month!"

"Disney stated that Liu Liu Yifei's voice performance was exceptional, and they plan to continue collaborating in the future..."

As the lead voice actor, Miss Liu was the first to repost and recommend it on Weibo:

"I'm thrilled to be the lead voice in 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.' I'd like to thank Lin Nan and Disney."

"I hope everyone who watches 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' in theaters during the Spring Festival enjoys my voice performance."

"Also, I'd like to mention: both Chinese and English voice tracks are available—feel free to choose your preference. Thank you."

Within moments of Liu Liu Yifei's Weibo post, numerous actors, artists, and companies began reposting, liking, and commenting—suddenly, it was buzzing.

But the announcement that 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' would release on February 5 was also used by many insiders and netizens to tease Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei.

"Noticed something interesting: 'Taking Mount Weihu Mountain' releases on the first day of the New Year, 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' on the sixth—same slot!"

"Wow, Lin Nan's main-theme film is going head-to-head with Liu Liu Yifei's animated film—competing for audiences! First time ever?"

"Old Zhu, can you even talk? What do you mean 'head-to-head'? That's love-hate, haha..."

"As one of the leads, I should support 'Taking Mount Weihu Mountain,' but I can't afford to offend Producer Liu."

"Xiao Ming, you're so sneaky. Liu Yifei, even though Lin Nan is ridiculously strong, I'm still backing you—take him down!"

"Better to offend a director than his wife—that's not a choice, it's a single option—Huang Huang Xiaoming!" Fan Li Bingbing commented, tagging Huang Xu Jiao Sect.

"Producer Liu, go for it—take down Lin Dao."

"I speak for 'Wolf Warrior'—supporting the producer, supporting Producer Liu!"

"Liu Qianqian, punch Lin Nan." Watching Shu Chang was acting up again.

……

Lin Nan looked at the Weibo comments—wanted to laugh but couldn't. Utterly speechless.

On Liu Liu Yifei's side, it was all encouragement and "brown-nosing," even plenty of jabs at him.

But on his own side, why were all the comments so absurd?

Like: "Pick between durian and keyboard?" "Box office or girlfriend?" "Advice to Lin Dao: think before you act!"…

"Who are these people?" Lin Nan chuckled as he complained.

I'm sure many production companies in the industry have strong opinions.

During this Spring Festival slot, a big-budget animated film has barged in again, and it's from Hollywood's Disney.

Most importantly, leveraging Liu Liu Yifei and Lin Nan's influence, "Frozen" rode the heat of "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy," and its promotional effect instantly took off, completely defying reason.

On the other side, films like "The Monkey King," "From Vegas to Macau," and "The Monkey King 2" were also forced to prepare to ramp up their promotional efforts.

In the afternoon, Lin Nan drove home, humming a tuneless little song the whole way, in an especially good mood.

After all, he had learned from Cao Cao Guowei today that Weibo was going to IPO; how could he not be excited?

Liu Liu Yifei, wearing a pink down jacket, sat on a garden swing, basking in the sun that offered only a hint of warmth, holding a tablet in her lap and chatting happily.

Seeing Lin Nan's figure, she immediately flashed a sweet smile on her face, patted the spot beside her, and said, "Come quickly."

"Miss Liu Qianqian, wait a moment first."

Lin Nan waved his phone, and Miss Liu instantly understood; it was a call.

It was a call from Hu Ge.

"You're calling me; there must be something on your mind, right?"

"Lin Dao, I've secured the male lead role in 'Nirvana in Fire'."

Lin Nan was not at all surprised by this result.

That "Nirvana in Fire" is a historical political intrigue drama, but leans more toward a historical idol drama; it has all the elements, and even carries a bit of a revenge power-fantasy vibe.

As for capable male actors in historical TV dramas, there are only a handful in the industry, and Hu Ge is the only one among them familiar with Lin Nan.

"Is it confirmed?"

"Producer Hou said the final casting list still needs Lin Dao's approval," Hu Ge said with a smile.

"That's right, I will take a look. But since it's you, then there's no problem. Congratulations."

"Haha, thank you, Lin Dao."

I can't write anymore; there's only one chapter today.

This month I've written 190,000 characters; on average, that's enough to split into six thousand characters per day.

(End of this chapter)