Chapter 515: Cao Baoping's New Film

The news video of Zhang Guoli facing the media lens, bowing ninety degrees, and apologizing in tears had already spread.

This time, he didn't beg the industry and the public to forgive him and give him another chance like he did two and a half years ago; he simply admitted his mistake and accepted the punishment.

Even "his own people" like Feng Xiaogang only expressed regret and didn't express too many opinions.

People in the circle could see that old Zhang was in a state of exhaustion and despair, completely giving up hope on this son.

The headline of film and entertainment news was replaced after only one day, in a very abrupt way.

The gossip reported by paparazzi about Xu Jinglei and Wu Yifan quickly topped the list, successfully attracting the attention of most people.

Countless fans denounced Xu Jinglei, saying she was an old cow eating tender grass and was shameless.

A small number of people posted, firmly believing that this was hype for "Somewhere Only We Know," which was about to wrap up.

But as for the specific situation, I guess only the parties involved know; maybe it's both?

"Oh, I have to prepare another red envelope." Lin Nan looked at the news on Weibo and joked with a smile.

Zhou Xun is worthy of being called "Young Master Zhou"; she does things cleanly and efficiently.

She didn't hide or tuck away something like getting a marriage certificate; she participated in a public activity, and when she was in a good mood, she just said it out loud.

It shocked a group of reporters, who then hurriedly asked again and again, confirming with Zhou Xun if she was joking.

They clearly hadn't asked questions in this regard, so how could there be an unexpected harvest? It was truly a rare surprise!

After leaving blessings along with the rest of the circle, Lin Nan suddenly realized one thing: it seems there are quite a few big actresses getting married and getting certificates this year.

There are already three: Gao Yuanyuan, Tang Wei, and Zhou Xun!

Looking at the time, Lin Nan prepared to leave the company for Bad Monkey.

The promotional activity for "Breakup Buddies" at the Beijing Film Academy's small auditorium was set to start at 3:00 PM, but preparation was definitely needed in advance.

Since they asked Lin Nan to help stand on stage, they should at least treat him to lunch, right?

Who knew that just as he walked into the elevator, a call from Happy Mahua came in—it was Yan Fei.

Lin Nan thought about it; "Goodbye Mr. Loser" couldn't be filmed that fast, right? It had only been a month since they started filming!

"Yan Dao?"

"Lin Dao, you'd better call me by my name; Yan Fei is fine.

When you call me 'Yan Dao,' I always feel ashamed; my virtue doesn't match my position. Haha..."

Worthy of being a screenwriter and director for comedy stage plays, this punchline was delivered just right, belittling himself to elevate others.

"Since you want to make a movie, you are definitely a film director. Do you think you are not as good as Guo Jingming? You are from a professional institution!"

Lin Nan joked with a smile; compared to Guo Jingming and Han Han, Yan Fei and Peng Damo were indeed much more professional.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, until Lin Nan got into the car, the other side started talking about the real business of calling today.

"Lin Dao, we are filming very fast; we expect to wrap up at the end of this month or the beginning of next month. Do you have time recently to come and visit the set?

Mainly because in the crew, everyone doesn't have much influence... the media reports are few, and there isn't much attention on this movie on the internet either..."

Lin Nan understood; the reason was that Happy Mahua's foundation was too thin, and the public couldn't raise much interest in "Goodbye Mr. Loser."

So much so that media and internet reports and discussions were too few, and a group of people were a bit worried. Therefore, they set their sights on him.

Thinking about it, Lin Nan didn't say anything else and agreed immediately.

"Wait a couple of days, I'll find time to visit the crew; a morning should be enough."

"Enough, just right. Then give me a heads-up in advance; thank you so much, Lin Dao."

"You're welcome, we're all our own people."

Lin Nan said with a smile. Aren't they their own people? 30% of the company's equity, two-thirds of the film's investment share.

There were several cars parked outside Bad Monkey; it seemed the film's main creators had already arrived.

Walking inside, Lin Nan heard the chattering gossip from afar, coming from Ning Hao's office with the door open.

Something about a Tsinghua school beauty, a business tycoon, a talented man and a beautiful woman... refusing Enlight's "The Left Ear"...

"Oh, Lin Dao is here, sit down quickly."

Huang Bo reacted first and shifted his position with a giggle. Xu Zheng sat on the opposite sofa and also greeted him.

"Yuan Quan and the others have to wait a while; I ordered a private room nearby for noon, and we'll arrive at the Beijing Film Academy by two o'clock."

Ning Hao put down the thermos cup in his hand and said unhurriedly.

Lin Nan sat carelessly beside Huang Bo and glanced at Ning Hao's thermos cup, unable to help but want to laugh—it was the same model as Old Jiang's!

"From far away, I heard you talking about some school beauty? The employees outside are also discussing it."

"Hi, it's just gossip, chatting blindly, and it's far from us..."

Ning Hao and Huang Bo said one sentence after another; half a minute later, Lin Nan suddenly realized.

Mm, it's "love," no mistake!

Just past eleven o'clock, Yuan Quan and several other actresses arrived one after another.

Regarding the actresses Ning Hao chose, Lin Nan was more familiar with Yuan Quan.

After all, he had worked with several people from the 96th class of the Central Academy of Drama, and most of the others were acquaintances. Moreover, Xia Yu was currently in the crew of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" at Lin Nan Film.

After a hurried lunch, everyone rested for half an hour, and the crew headed to the Beijing Film Academy in several cars.

Using Ning Hao's joke, this could be considered a home game; including him, plus Lin Nan and Huang Bo, there were three from the Beijing Film Academy.

As for Xu Zheng, Yuan Quan, and others, they belonged to actors from the Shanghai Theatre Academy and the Central Academy of Drama coming to challenge them on their home turf.

Today, the Beijing Film Academy was very lively; although it was summer vacation, there were an unusually large number of students at the school.

Because a few days ago, the news that "Breakup Buddies" was coming for promotion had already spread.

And the newly announced guest list was luxurious; just one crew brought three big directors.

How could a large group of students not be excited? Maybe they would be spotted if they were lucky? Those were all opportunities!

Ning Hao's group was already resting at the reception area, just waiting for the start. Lin Nan was outside, chatting with Cao Baoping about something.

"It's only been ten days this month, and the Directors Guild and the Screenwriters Guild have held no less than four major meetings, all talking about your 'ban' proposal."

Cao Baoping said with some helplessness.

He was not only a member of these two associations, but his own painstakingly polished "The Dead End" was the first to bear the brunt, encountering this kind of mess.

Gao Hu was one of the actors in this movie, and Cao Baoping was terrified that the former's drug involvement would affect the film's public release.

"Teacher Cao, the association held a major meeting; it shouldn't be 'talking' about my ban proposal, but rather a struggle session, right?" Lin Nan joked.

"Haha, you guessed right, almost." Cao Baoping nodded with a smile.

Ever since Lin Nan won the Golden Lion Award in September 2009 and strongly withdrew from the Film Association after returning to China, he had become a typical example of being unconventional within all associations.

"Let me tell you something?"

Suddenly hearing this sentence from Cao Baoping, Lin Nan realized that the next part should be the real business the former wanted to talk about.

"Teacher Cao, please speak."

"I'm thinking that after 'The Dead End' is released during the New Year's slot, I'll immediately prepare a new film..."

Lin Nan nodded slightly, having an idea in his heart—is Cao Baoping looking for him to pull investment?

"I couldn't turn down Bona's invitation before and accepted Yu Dong's investment. Although 'The Dead End' is finished, the cooperation experience wasn't very good.

Production and casting were interfered with to a certain extent; Yu Dong is too much of a businessman. After thinking about it, I still have to come to you."

Cao Baoping looked at Lin Nan and said bluntly.

"What kind of film?"

"Mm, it's a black comedy suspense film; I've already finished the first draft of the script.

I saw Xiao Xue working on the script for 'Finding Mr. Right 2' a couple of days ago, so I thought I should find you to chat recently, and today just happened to be a coincidence."

Lin Nan never doubted Cao Baoping's strength; the former was a veteran filmmaker, screenwriter, and director.

"No problem, just give me a detailed budget breakdown when the time comes, Teacher Cao. By the way, what's the name of the film?"

"'The Dead End'! I'm confident that the story of this film is absolutely good; I'll give you the finished script later."

"Good."

The two chatted for a long time until someone from Ning Hao's side came to call them, and Lin Nan and Cao Baoping went their separate ways.

There was one thing he held back and didn't say: that film "The Dead End" might have a bumpy road ahead.

The promotional activity for "Breakup Buddies" went into the second half and inexplicably turned into Lin Nan's exclusive "Q&A time."

A large number of students chose to ask him questions, but the questions they asked were not about "Breakup Buddies" at all!

"Senior Lin Nan, it's said that you are getting engaged this month; can you tell us the specific date?"

Everyone has a heart for gossip, and the scene instantly became lively.

Not only all the students, but also Ning Hao and others, as well as the teachers and leaders of the Beijing Film Academy present, all had teasing expressions.

"Originally, Producer Liu wanted to set it on the 9th of next month, but I insisted on choosing the 25th of this month."

As Lin Nan's voice fell, there was a commotion on the field.

"What a guy, Lin Dao stuffed us with a mouthful of dog food!" Ning Hao held the microphone, feigning a look of disdain, and complained.

"Lin Dao, we were already very full at noon; no need to add a meal. Haha..." Huang Bo also joined in the fun.

"Senior Lin Nan, can you tell us your specific time for returning to teach at the school? The students all want to know if there is a chance to attend your class."

The questions from this group of students were really getting trickier and trickier, asking only about things the outside world wanted to know. Lin Nan felt he couldn't hide today.

"Yes, Lin Dao, when will you officially take office as Professor Lin? Speaking of which, you and Yifei are really suitable to act in that South Korean drama 'My Love from the Star.'

One is a handsome professor, and the other is a beautiful big star. Haha..."

Xing Aina's joke was spoken, and it was applauded by almost everyone at the scene. Don't say, it really fits!

Lin Nan smiled and shook his head. "Strictly speaking, actually, next month, everyone can call me Professor Lin or Teacher Lin."

The promotional effect of "Breakup Buddies" at the Beijing Film Academy was very good, so good that it hit the entertainment news headlines that afternoon and occupied the Weibo trending list.

It's just that the movie was mentioned incidentally, and the real focus was on Lin Nan and Liu Yifei.

"Lin Dao Nan announces engagement date, which is the birthday of Liu Yifei on the 25th of this month."

"Lin Dao Nan hints that he will officially join the Film Academy at the beginning of the school year in September!"

"It is expected that the number of candidates for the Beijing Film Academy will increase significantly during the 2015 art exam registration..."

"The school will announce it next month, so it's perfectly fine for them to call me Professor Lin or Teacher Lin. It's just that officially teaching classes will have to wait until next year."

Looking at Liu Yifei sitting in front of him, Lin Nan said softly.

The former was holding a tablet, replying one by one to the messages from friends in the circle who tagged her on Weibo.

"Getting engaged on my birthday, they all say it's very commemorative and envy me."

Liu Yifei looked up and said to Lin Nan with a bit of arrogance. It could be seen that she was very happy.

"Yes, I envy you too."

Hearing Lin Nan's words, Miss Liu just smiled, couldn't stop smiling; she really is a silly girl.

The film market in August is relatively chaotic, and the entertainment circle in August is even more dramatic.

Bona's stock price plummeted because Fat Yu was sued by his ex-wife again after two and a half months.

But he deserved it; not only did he not pay child support, but he also fired the woman from her position as cinema manager of the Poly Bona theater chain, losing her only job.

Now it's good; the entire film and television circle is watching the fun, because Fat Yu's ex-wife is asking the court to re-divide the marital property before the divorce.

This includes a large amount of Bona's original shares, a huge number, and a high equity ratio.

Many peers in the industry are mocking Fat Yu, saying he really doesn't do human things.

For two consecutive days, from the Beijing Film Academy to the Central Academy of Drama, after the promotion ended, Lin Nan ran away directly.

Because Ning Hao, this guy, was a bit too shameless and actually wanted to take advantage and continue conscripting soldiers!

Liu Yifei was rushing to finish her announcements, striving to end them in a few days, after which she could wholeheartedly stay at home waiting for the engagement.

And Lin Nan was shuttling between home and the company, sometimes being sought out by Lu Yang to help, giving him some editing opinions on "Brotherhood of Blades 2" for reference.

In the film market, as expected by the industry, Han Han's "The Continent" completely lost its box office potential after 18 days of release and couldn't reach the normal end-of-screening time.

But even so, this film still achieved a high box office of 560 million, making a bloody profit.

Relying on word-of-mouth that was barely passable, Han Han could be said to have gained a foothold in the film circle; anyway, it was definitely more stable than Guo Jingming!

The film "The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom" starring Huang Xiaoming and Fan Bingbing became the leader of a group of domestic films.

After getting 223 million in four days, it had been released for 12 days so far, and the total box office had reached 350 million.

Although the daily box office had dropped to just over 10 million, looking at this, there was clearly still hope to rush for 400 million.

As for whether the box office could smoothly break 400 million, it would depend on whether "How to Train Your Dragon 2," which would be released the day after tomorrow on the 14th, would give them a chance.

"Lin Dao, I have to come back from the crew."

Yue Jun's call suddenly came back.

Lin Nan originally thought he intended to return to remote control after arranging the subsequent production work, but Lin Nan guessed wrong.

"Lin Dao probably wouldn't have guessed; Shiyue Culture called me and asked me to go back to handle the company acquisition. Haha..."

"So sudden?" Lin Nan asked subconsciously.

"Didn't that 'Dragon Nest: Warriors' Dawn' get pulled from theaters early? The total box office was 57.4 million.

Maybe this information stimulated them; without money, without capital, without support, true animated blockbusters really can't be played!"

Lin Nan immediately flipped through the news; Yue Jun was right. This animated film, which invested over 100 million and had a Hollywood team involved in production, lost a bloody fortune!

"Then you come back; handle Shiyue Culture as soon as possible."

"Mm, good."

After hanging up Yue Jun's phone, Lin Nan noticed an entertainment text message on Weibo, which was very explosive.

Mango TV's "Where Are We Going, Dad? 2" had an incident and was exposed for a scandal.

It was said that the artist who always prided himself on being a "good dad," "good man," and "good husband" had done dirty things with a female staff member during the recording of the program.

Although the post didn't name names, it was no different from naming names!

Anyway, Lin Nan's subconscious first reaction was that he knew this person!

Although the program team was vehemently refuting it, Lin Nan really felt there was such a possibility, and the probability was not small.

After all, those who set up that kind of persona seem to have problems.

"Amazing!" Lin Nan couldn't help but exclaim.

He just went to get a bottle of water, and the trending topic was gone, just disappeared so suddenly!

I don't know if Mango TV made a move, or if the one he knew spent money?

I guess it should be the former; after all, this program is a cash cow and can't have any mistakes!

Rushing on the afternoon of the 13th, Liu Yifei finished the shooting for the September issue.

The first thing she did when she got home was to kick off the high heels on her feet, pick up her favorite cat, and incidentally call Lin Nan to get her something to eat.

"All work is done; will you accompany me to see 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' tomorrow?"

Looking at Miss Liu's expectant look, Lin Nan definitely wouldn't refuse.

"Of course I can. If it's confirmed to go tomorrow, then I have to call now to get two IMAX 3D giant screen tickets, otherwise, I definitely won't be able to buy them tomorrow."

"Mm-hmm, go quickly, go quickly." Liu Yifei nodded straight away with a smile, urging him.

Lin Nan found it quite interesting; besides the cooperation with Wanda on movies and Tudou, the thing he contacted them about most was asking them to help him reserve IMAX 3D giant screen movie tickets.

If this were said out loud, I guess no one in the circle would believe it. But this is indeed true, and Wanda always treats it as a serious matter every time.

Lin Nan made a call, and in less than five minutes, a text message came back.

At the cinema closest to the villa, go anytime tomorrow, there will be IMAX 3D giant screen tickets anytime; there will be staff specially waiting for Lin Nan and Liu Yifei, and even a few more people can come.

The next morning.

When Lin Nan and Liu Yifei were still sleeping in each other's arms, the film and entertainment industry was already in chaos, completely in chaos.

One wave had not yet subsided, and another rose.

The third wave had also arrived!

My state has been a bit off recently; I will speed up the pace next.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 516 =====