Chapter 530: Running Man

One night passed, and the domestic internet seemed to have returned to the days of the 2008 "Celebgate" scandal, with countless netizens once again getting an eye-opener.

Only this time, the "leading ladies" everyone saw were not those Hong Kong actresses, but came from Hollywood — and they were all A-listers!

Teacher Chen had been fixing computers back then and accidentally caused a huge incident. As for Hollywood's side, it was hackers who deliberately stirred things up.

The latter had stolen nude and risqué photos of over a hundred top actresses and released a portion of them, spreading across the globe within just a few hours!

"Tsk tsk tsk, Jennifer Lawrence, Victoria Justice, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Bosworth, Emily Browning, Amber Heard... living room, kitchen, bathroom, balcony, fitting room... on the bed..."

Lin Nan felt Tang Mu was really not a good guy — this fellow actually called him specifically to chat about these things and give a point-by-point commentary.

"Look, this nude photo of Jennifer Lawrence kneeling on the bed is actually pretty nice. No wonder Weinstein was pushing her so hard!"

"If you have nothing serious to say, I'm hanging up."

Lin Nan shifted his gaze away from the computer screen — this one of Jennifer Lawrence was indeed decent. One must not gaze at impropriety.

As he spoke, he casually closed the webpage.

These things would probably disappear from the internet within an hour or two; the relevant authorities wouldn't let them spread unchecked.

"Lin, don't rush — I have something serious."

"Then say it quickly. Also, you need to wash your brain — what garbage have you been filling it with all day long?"

Lin Nan retorted irritably. This guy even wanted to email him the full set of photos!

"Hahaha, this is my only little hobby. Here's the thing — *Fifty Shades Darker* has wrapped, and we expect to release it in the first half of next year.

Also, the company's *The Conjuring 2* with James is all ready to go, only this time the investment budget is a bit high..."

Hearing Tang Mu's last sentence, Lin Nan was momentarily stunned.

He remembered that last time when filming *The Conjuring*, James Wan had given a budget of 16 million US dollars, which Tang Mu had eventually squeezed down to 12 million bucks — could it be that this time it had doubled?

"How much is it this time?"

"Forty million US dollars!"

Hiss... Lin Nan was a bit shocked.

Damn, where was this a doubling — this was nearly four times the cost of the first one!

"How low can you squeeze it?" Lin Nan asked decisively.

Although horror films were very profitable, especially franchise films, saving where possible was still necessary!

"At most I can squeeze it to thirty million US dollars. Going over thirty-five million bucks would be excessive — purely a waste." Tang Mu answered very firmly.

"You go tell James: thirty-three million bucks. The split stays at sixty-forty — we invest sixty percent, he takes forty."

"Alright, got it, Lin."

After finishing the serious business, without waiting for Tang Mu to continue being off-topic, Lin Nan hung up the phone directly.

Mm, he wasn't interested in those messy photos online.

Entering September, two imported blockbusters — *Dawn of the Planet of the Apes* and *The Expendables 3* — had essentially split ninety percent of the mainland film market's total box office between them.

All domestic films in the same release window collectively felt like they couldn't catch their breath — oppressive, helpless!

And the seemingly presentable domestic films like *Dearest* and *Breakup Buddies* were almost all scheduled at month's end, eyeing the National Day window.

Under these circumstances, September's film market could pretty much be regarded as the undisputed domain of imported films — unsolvable!

When Lin Nan left the company, Yue Jun had already gone to Enlight Media on behalf of Lin Nan Pictures to attend the screening and business negotiations for *Running Man*.

As for which satellite TV station it would ultimately land at, there should be a result within a couple of days.

But the online streaming channel would definitely be only Tudou — although Youku and LeTV had both come to inquire, Lin Nan and Wang Wang Changtian were in complete agreement: reject.

Huayi Brothers' Weibo announcement drew the attention of the entire film and television industry.

"Exclusively produced by Huayi Brothers, written and directed by Director Guan Hu, the film *Mr. Six* has officially been greenlit. Some roles will be open to industry-wide auditions."

Many industry actors were drawn in by this piece of film news.

But the vast majority took a wait-and-see attitude, because everyone knew Huayi's playbook.

Unlike companies such as Lin Nan Pictures — when they said open auditions, they truly gave ordinary actors a chance, and afterward there were no strings attached; if they worked well together, they'd come find you again in the future.

But with Huayi? Apart from their own people or the Beijing Circle, actors from other companies who wanted to land a role there definitely had to pay some price.

Either an exchange of benefits, or signing with them — or even the casting couch!

One should know that to this day there were still rumors in the industry that back when filming *The Forbidden Kingdom*, Huayi had set its sights on Liu Liu Yifei, wanting to sign her — only to be blocked by Lin Nan in the end.

At this moment, Lin Nan, who had just gotten home, was on the phone with Wang Wang Changtian.

"It's exactly this film. Back then I only said I'd think about it for two days, and that guy didn't even bother to give me a heads-up before going straight to Huayi — what kind of behavior is that!"

Liu Liu Yifei, wearing hot pants with a pair of fair, long legs draped over Lin Nan's lap, couldn't help wanting to laugh upon hearing Wang Wang Changtian's complaints.

"Wang Dong is carrying quite a grudge!"

Miss Liu tilted her head up, mouthed something to Lin Nan, then continued lying on the sofa playing with her phone.

"Haha, Wang Dong, still going on about it? It's been so long already. Let's talk about your situation over there — how's it going now?"

When it came to serious business, Wang Wang Changtian reined in his negative emotions.

"A bunch of TV station people are inside watching right now, Yue Jun and the others are there too. I think we can rule out Mango TV."

"Why?"

Lin Nan was stroking Liu Liu Yifei's smooth, delicate calves. Upon hearing Wang Wang Changtian's last sentence, his hand paused and he instinctively pressed for an answer.

"Mango TV has a lot of popular variety shows — even if they got *Running Man*, they might not be able to allocate many resources to it. You should understand this logic, right?

Finding a satellite TV station that's rich and doesn't have a hit variety show to support — that's the best choice! They can give all the promotional and marketing resources they're capable of giving, plus prime time slots."

At this moment, Lin Nan admitted he didn't see as far ahead as Wang Wang Changtian — worthy of being an old fox who dealt with TV stations year-round, his experience was truly rich!

"Alright, I'll go with Wang Dong's call."

"Since you agree with my thinking, things will be easier in a bit.

"There's quite a bit of laughter inside — looks like everyone's pretty satisfied with 'Running Man,' so this price is worth discussing, hahaha…"

After hanging up the phone, Lin Nan gave Liu Liu Yifei's chubby little feet a squeeze.

He gazed at that exquisite face, and the content of Cao Cao Guowei's phone call from that morning surfaced in his mind.

A major shareholder getting married is a big deal for the Shangshi Company too!

"What a hassle!"

…………