Chapter 48: Speaking Up

During this period, Liu Liu Yifei had been shuttling between school and home — weekends at school, weekdays at home — with professional tutors on both sides for training, so she looked very busy.

"It's rare to see you on a weekday, why the long face?"

Lin Nan looked at the rather glum Liu Liu Yifei.

"Recently in training, I just can't hit the higher notes, or if I do, I can't hold them. I thought I'd come ask the teacher — she's an associate professor after all."

"What did I think it was — even the teacher couldn't do anything about it, right? How many of the people putting out records and albums these days are all-rounders? As for high notes, don't you know your own talent?"

In Lin Nan's view, Liu Liu Yifei had taken the attitude she had toward acting and applied it to singing, but when it came to high notes, that really depended on natural talent.

"But I just want to do better — is that wrong?"

Liu Liu Yifei's big dark eyes looked at Lin Nan; clearly the latter had guessed right.

"Nothing wrong with it, worth encouraging. But don't let it ruin your mood. Jay Chou is huge — you ask him to try a high note, he can't hit it either."

Lin Nan offered an example to make his point.

"Who uses an example like that?"

Liu Liu Yifei said that with her mouth, but a smile had already appeared on her face.

"Oh right, recently Boss Wang from Huayi has been contacting my mom again — they want to sign me. They've tried before."

"I bet Auntie still hasn't given them a definite answer, right?" Lin Nan asked with a smile.

Liu Liu Yifei nodded. "Mom and Godfather are planning for me to stop doing TV dramas from now on and move toward the big screen, but Director Feng doesn't have a role that suits me right now."

"True. I heard he's working on a big production, so there won't be any other news in the short term."

"Aren't you very busy? How come you have time to come to school too?"

Liu Liu Yifei thought of something and asked back. Those two days she had sent Lin Nan a text, and Lin Nan had never replied — only saying several days later that he'd been too busy and forgot.

"Just felt like I should come, and here I ran into you."

Lin Nan paid no attention at all to Liu Liu Yifei's snide tone and said with a smile.

"Hmph, I'll let it slide since your box office is raking it in."

……

The two of them took a stroll around campus. Liu Liu Yifei was full of anticipation for the big screen, and had even started fantasizing about filming with Zhang Zhang Yimou and Chen Chen Kaige. Lin Nan admired her little brain — she really dared to dream.

The daily box office of "Stone" gradually declined, and as Lin Nan had predicted, on the eighteenth it dropped to six figures, which also signaled that preparations to end its run could begin.

Lin Nan was very decisive — he decided to end the run after the twentieth. The big money had already been made, no need to fuss over the scraps.

From the first to the twentieth, "Stone" had been lucky, picking a good release window with almost no competition, and the final box office locked in at 154.68 million.

Hong Kong Island even ended its run two days earlier than the mainland — sixteen days total — bringing in 11.6 million at the box office.

When these two numbers were frozen on the headlines of various media outlets, almost everyone's first reaction was the same: Lin Nan had struck it rich.

Many bored industry insiders had already calculated Lin Nan's profit — damn Lin Nan, after costs, he'd made roughly seven times his investment!

"Lin Dao, does your company need investment?"

……

The day after the film ended its run, Lin Nan started hearing this sentence. Even Ning Hao's Bad Monkey had many people wanting to buy in. He and Xing Aina thought it over and over, and turned them all down one by one.

Hung on the entertainment news alongside Stone's box office was the Cannes closing ceremony awards gala.

Wang Wang Xiaoshuai's "Qing Hong" had been nominated for the Palme d'Or and Best Actor, but in the end it took home the Grand Prix, and Best Actor went elsewhere.

What caught Lin Nan's interest was this male lead — he first encountered film at eighteen or nineteen, came from a non-professional background, and won Berlin's Best New Actor for "Beijing Bicycle." His fourth film was directly nominated for the Cannes Best Actor; though he didn't win, he was already very impressive.

Looking again at Wang Wang Xiaoshuai's Grand Prix, Lin Nan thought of Gu Gu Changwei's "Peacock," and couldn't remember who had said it: the runner-up is the biggest loser.

Talk all you want about the Grand Prix — isn't it still just playing second fiddle to the Palme d'Or?

Plenty of domestic directors have won the Grand Prix, but why was it only Chen Chen Kaige who stepped straight onto the pedestal after leaving Cannes?

Because "Farewell My Concubine" won the Palme d'Or — the film and the award elevated each other, jointly cementing his status.

This time the box office share settlement for "Stone" would need Lin Nan's own people to keep an eye on, but he figured the theater chains wouldn't deliberately drag their feet — after all, Lin Nan had let them make plenty of money too, and there was still "Return to Dust," which had won him the Silver Bear, waiting in the wings.

Judging by the usual pattern, a seminar or two was inevitable.

Both Lin Nan and Ning Hao had received the notice — wait for the "Qing Hong" crew to return, then hold it together.

One had won an award, the other had just raked in high box office — perfect timing.

Of course, there were also directors and producers with films releasing this year, as well as heads of major theater chains, film companies, and so on.

When Lin Nan had returned from Berlin with Gu Gu Changwei back then, he hadn't been able to dodge it — he hadn't expected it to come again just three months later.

The one delivering the notice was Han Han Sanping, who was also one of the attendees.

"This is a good thing. Don't always find it troublesome — show your face in front of the leaders more often. There are plenty of people who'd beg for a chance like this."

When it came to matters of attitude, Han Han Sanping's lecturing was exactly the same as Director Tian Tian Zhuangzhuang's.

"Okay, okay, don't worry — I guarantee I'll participate actively and won't slack off."

Lin Nan quickly lowered his head and backed down.

Less than two days later, the seminar began. The bureau took the lead, and the association organized the personnel.

When they arrived at the venue, everyone saw that among the attendees were also many actors — mainly a few major directors, with each crew bringing along one or two of their principal actors.

Outside, Ning Hao and Lin Nan ran into Wang Wang Xiaoshuai, with both the male and female leads beside him.

"Congratulations, Director Wang, on winning at Cannes."

The two stepped forward to greet him.

"Thanks. I should also congratulate you — 'Stone' was a huge box office hit."

Wang Wang Xiaoshuai seemed to be in good spirits — though he'd missed out on the Palme d'Or, he was already content.

"Let me introduce you — these are the leads of 'Qing Hong,' Gao Gao Yuanyuan and Li Bin. This is Lin Dao Nan and Director Ning Hao."

Wang Wang Xiaoshuai made introductions between the two sides.

"Hello, Lin Dao. Hello, Ning Hao."

"Hello, although 'The Blue and the Red' hasn't been released domestically yet, I still remember your Zhou Zhou Zhiruo vividly."

Ning Hao shook hands with Gao Gao Yuanyuan and added casually.

Lin Nan stood beside Ning Hao and smiled; this guy was quite good at chatting.

"Let's hurry inside," Wang Wang Xiaoshuai suggested.

While speaking, several more cars arrived, carrying some members of the association and actors who frequently appeared on screen.

As for the leaders, they would certainly arrive last.

One-third of the venue consisted of actors, directors, and practitioners with official establishment status; the rest were from private enterprises and independent filmmakers.

Director Chen's speech slipped in his own agenda; as he spoke, he drifted to his 'The Promise', covering art, fantasy, big-budget production, and market prospects. Not to mention, the listeners were filled with passion.

'Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles' seems to be finished filming; it is not a commercial film.

Zhang Zhang Yimou spoke very euphemistically; he believed that high-box-office films were what could make the industry grow rapidly. Only when audiences enjoyed themselves would they continue to spend money on tickets; only when theaters and production companies earned money would they continue to invest, attracting more capital in the process.

Once high-box-office films were mentioned, it undoubtedly offended some of the veteran directors present.

Lin Nan suddenly felt that Chen Chen Kaige was quite cunning; he slipped in his own agenda without offending anyone.

The speeches from film companies and theater chains were very professional; after all, they were the upstream and downstream of the industry, closest to the money.

Today's theme was industry development; to put it plainly, it was about money.

Those mentioned most were film companies and theater chains. The major film groups were fine; they always contributed effort and resources, but there were too many people and films needing assistance.

Although films offer high returns, they also carry high risks. Many state-owned groups often found themselves stretched thin, so they had also begun to layout across the entire industry.

The theater chains' speeches were much bolder, especially those from several private enterprise chains, with Wanda in particular explicitly stating that the company would continuously expand its theater scale, building at least how many cinemas and investing how much capital annually. Even the leaders listened with smiles.

"They really have money."

Ning Hao whispered to Lin Nan.

Before Ning Hao could say a second sentence, he was called upon; as the director of 'Crazy Stone', this ordeal was inescapable.

Lin Nan sat beside Ning Hao, motionless, trying to keep a low profile and avoid drawing attention.

This guy also slipped in his own agenda when he spoke, saying that support for new directors was currently too scarce; everyone relied on veteran directors and big directors, with only a few capable of drawing crowds, leaving them too busy to cope. Support for new directors should be increased, and failure should be allowed.

He had once put all his assets into filming 'Incense', which flopped completely. If not for Lin Nan giving him a chance, he would probably be working on another film crew by now, at most as an assistant director.

"Hmm, supporting new talent is a good suggestion. For the industry to develop well, it needs a constant influx of new forces."

The leader above nodded and said.

After Ning Hao sold him out like that, the leaders indeed proceeded to call Lin Nan's name.

In such a setting, Lin Nan could not make jokes about how 'Da' or 'Qiong' only took care of people around them.

"'Crazy Stone's' success has had a very positive impact on the market; I believe all theater chains have benefited greatly. Currently, there are not many films with low costs that can become huge hits. Regarding the positive impact on the industry market, Lin Nan, what suggestions do you have? Speak out boldly."

The leader had completely blocked any retreat; what could Lin Nan say?

Suggest replacing the old scholars at the film festival? The officials wanted high-box-office commercial films to drive the market, yet they marginalized commercial films in the awards?

Speaking so directly would surely be a path to death.

"I think Director Zhang Zhang Yimou just spoke well. First, we should support the development of commercial films. As foreign blockbusters enter, only domestic commercial films can stand at the forefront."

In his heart, Lin Nan could only apologize to Director Zhang; using him as a shield, who else could he blame for his own lack of seniority?

"Secondly, what Ning Hao said is truly correct. Currently, help for new directors is too scarce. For my first film, I contributed part of the funding myself; Shanghai Film helped me a bit, and the funds I contributed myself were earned from selling the copyright of Director Li Yang's 'Dead End' back then."

"Back then, Shanghai Film acted with the intention of providing assistance; they only asked for a share of the box office and left the copyright to me. For this, I am extremely grateful."

Upon hearing this, the people from Shanghai Film had smiles on their faces. In contrast, President Han's smile was somewhat forced; many knew that at that time, China Film had rejected Lin Nan's investment request.

"Finally, I don't know if everyone has noticed, but our domestic film festival does not seem very friendly toward commercial films. Except for 'Hero', the first big-budget production back then, other commercial films find it hard to win awards at domestic film festivals."

"Even if you go to the film festival and receive great attention, there is a high probability that in the end, you will just serve as a foil for unknown films."

Lin Nan had originally intended to play it safe and slip through, but he couldn't hold back for a moment and spoke the final point anyway, even as Ning Hao was tugging at his clothes.