Chapter 639: Tom's Rumors; A Few Minor Objections!

In the afternoon, the large-scale media and fan meet-and-greet cum premiere press conference that Tang Ren held in the capital for "The Imperial Doctress" had spread like wildfire across the entire internet, causing an enormous stir.

Word had it that the number of media outlets, fans, and guests in attendance added up to nearly a thousand people — a rare, high-spec affair for Tang Ren Pictures.

Lin Nan vaguely remembered that this drama seemed to have wrapped filming in the first half of the year before last; Tudou had even put in a bid back then, so he figured they must have secured the online broadcasting rights.

"When a company's only top-tier young actress and leading lady is asked at a large public event like this whether she will renew her contract after it expires, or whether she will renew in the form of a personal studio, and she herself answers irrelevantly and brushes it off — the answer has actually already been laid out **bare for all to see — she won't renew when it expires, she'll set up on her own!"

Wang Wang Changtian said, half in mockery and half in lament. Although he looked down on Liu Liu Shishi, Enlighten Media after all didn't have a top-tier artist of its own either, so at this moment he couldn't help feeling a touch wistful.

Lin Nan didn't pick up the thread; his mind was still on the scene from that morning when he had gone to 'debate' with Tong Gang.

"We want one month, but the higher-ups give us half a month. How to put it? We're in the right, but the higher-ups aren't exactly in the wrong either.

Although in an ideal world it should be good money driving out bad, in reality it's usually the other way around! Our films can crush the competition, but we can't wipe them out completely…

Lin Nan looked up at Wang Wang Changtian and couldn't resist teasing him: "That's rare — Chairman Wang actually knows how to comfort people too? I remember you being pretty hot-tempered before."

"Besides comforting you and myself like this, what else can I do? It's just like the rich getting richer first and then helping the rest — the delayed key policy is officially an industry-supporting measure for the film sector;

Giving you a delay is supporting you; not giving you one is also perfectly defensible. Because there's never been any explicit rule saying a delay must be given to anyone, and the higher-ups have never owed anyone a delayed key — everything is vague.

The last and most important reason: you're already this rich, what more support do you need? No matter how rotten that bunch of 'ungrateful heirs' behind you may be, they can't really let you wipe them all out in one fell swoop, can they? Unless you can support half the film industry — but is that realistic?"

Well, hearing Wang Wang Changtian's self-comforting joke, Lin Nan really couldn't help laughing.

"That's the bureau's typical patriarch-style attitude and way of handling things. But next time, if there's anything you need to bring up, you can absolutely bring up what happened this time. Lin Dao, we still have to learn to 'cry'! Hehe…"

At this moment, Lin Nan considered himself taught a lesson.

You had to admit Wang Wang Changtian was a sly old fox — he promptly accepted reality, analyzed the pros and cons, and drew lessons from it along with whatever minuscule favorable factors he could find.

Lin Nan didn't stay at Enlighten Media long before he left.

He had only dropped by Enlighten Media in the afternoon to find someone to gripe with in the first place — who could he blame when there wasn't even a single person at his own company he could chat with? They were all subordinates!

And Big Lao Wang also had to prepare for the red carpet at the Weibo Night gala in the evening, so he didn't have much spare time to shoot the breeze with Lin Nan either.

Speaking of Weibo Night, Cao Cao Guowei had invited Lin Nan again yesterday, but he had once again chosen to politely decline.

Miss Liu wasn't by his side, and going alone he really had no interest in wandering over;

Besides, the messy jumble of awards at Weibo Night — let alone sorting them out, just hearing about them was enough to make one's head spin.

Undoubtedly, it was purely and utterly a social event for the showbiz and entertainment circle, as well as a giant spotlight stage;

For Lin Nan, he was fully entitled to decide whether to go or not based on his mood, so he couldn't be bothered to go.

However, Jiang Jiang Xuerou would be bringing Zhao Zhao Liying along to Weibo Night, because after last year's "The Journey of Flower" exploded in popularity, the latter seemed likely to win an award.

"Sigh, it's only the second day since classmate Liu Liu Qianqian went back to her hometown, and I'm already starting to miss her a little!"

Lin Nan smacked his lips, both hands gripping the steering wheel, as he began waiting at a red light.

…………

The New Year season was still rolling on, and "Detective Chinatown" was also crushing everything in its path, bloodily sweeping all before it…

"The Mermaid," "Journey to the West: Sun Sun Wukong vs. Bai Gujing," "From Vegas to Macau III," and several other Spring Festival commercial blockbusters had already quietly kicked off a white-hot promotional war.

Because these films had only a month left before their theatrical release, counting generously!

Early in the morning, Lin Nan, still deep in slumber, was woken up by his phone ringing;

He had stayed up past midnight video-chatting with Liu Liu Yifei last night, so he didn't need to think to know that Liu Liu Hanhan must also be lying in bed sleeping in at this moment.

After dinner last night, Liu Liu Qianqian, in a good mood, had posted a Weibo update tagging Lin Nan.

In the Weibo photo, she was wrapped in a pink air-conditioning blanket with only her head sticking out, holding a pink-toned rabbit plushie that covered half her face, eyes closed as she slept in bed. The caption read: "Lin Dao, will I turn into a pig's head if I eat and then go straight to sleep?"

Before Lin Nan could even reply, the comments below had already been flooded by those 'mean friends' from the industry.

"Lin Dao, you'd better answer with your hand on your heart." Zhou Xun had clearly left the comment under Liu Liu Yifei's Weibo post, but had deliberately tagged Lin Nan.

"No worries, a plumper and rounder Liu Yifei is still pretty!" Han Jianu made a rare appearance.

"Eat, sleep, sleep, eat — don't worry, how could a piggy get fat?" Watching Shu Chang openly flirted with her own bestie.

"Waiting for the great Lin Dao to start flattering!"

"+1"

"+1"

"Sitting tight for Lin Dao to take the bait… live flattery tutorial…"

"Let's agree on this — no dog food!"

……

A bunch of people were making a ruckus, but Lin Nan simply didn't take the bait; instead, he called a video call directly and chatted privately with Liu Liu Hanhan until past two in the morning.

Squinting, he glanced at the incoming call notification — it was… Tom?

"Tom, didn't you check the time? It's early morning here! Disturbing someone's sweet dreams is very rude."

"Lin, but I checked online — it should already be ten in the morning over there!"

Huh? Lin Nan pulled the phone away and looked carefully at the screen again — well, it was just past nine fifty.

"Speak, what's the matter?"

Lin Nan said, with an obvious nasal tone, mainly because he really wasn't awake yet.

"Lin, in one week the Oscars will announce the nominations list, and your and crstl's guest invitation letters will be mailed directly to China…"

"For such a small thing, you don't need to call, do you? Especially in the morning!"

Lin Nan said, none too pleased. Having spent a long time with Liu Liu Yifei, he had also picked up a bit of her morning grumpiness.

"No, no, that's just incidental." Tom's voice suddenly dropped a little: "Lin, something big has happened!"

"What's wrong?"

Hearing this, Lin Nan immediately became more alert, because his curiosity had been piqued.

"There have been rumors in Hollywood these past couple of days, especially today — I feel like this one is real!"

"Out with it!" Lin Nan was getting impatient.

"One of Hollywood's top giants, Legendary Pictures, has been swallowed! By capital from your country... I think they previously collaborated with Crystal Pictures..."

At last night's Weibo Night, Zhao Zhao Liying won the "Weibo Queen" award for "The Journey of Flower," which sounds like a traffic-based prize.

But it doesn't matter, because this indeed symbolizes the commercial value of "The Journey of Flower" last year; it was undoubtedly the biggest hit, bar none!

After arriving at the company, Lin Nan specifically called Ye Ning, but unfortunately, the call didn't go through. It seems this guy really is on annual leave, so Lin Nan decided not to disturb him further.

"Yesterday's daily box office dropped to 141 million... 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens,' releasing tomorrow, will be a very strong competitor for us!"

Yue Jun walked into Lin Nan's office carrying several documents.

"No harm done, haven't you heard that saying? When the boss and the second-in-command fight, the third one ends up dead!"

It applies here just as well, except this 'third one' won't be just one movie, but most of the other films currently showing."

Lin Nan looked up and smiled with ill intent. He thought again of the "patriarchal" mindset in the bureau; heh heh, let them worry for a while!

"That's certainly true!"

Yue Jun nodded in strong agreement, then handed the document in his hand to Lin Nan:

"The annual meeting is set for the evening of the 2nd. This year, that Xiao Wang from Wanda actually made a bundle off us; I heard he recently signed a South Korean girl group... quite the spending power. It seems he's the only one in the country signing South Korean girl groups, and he's signed several..."

Listening to Yue Jun's casual chat, Lin Nan signed the financial statement.

"The voices in the mainland film and entertainment industry calling for resistance, or at least restrictions on South Korean actors and artists participating in domestic film and television works and commercial performances, are growing louder and louder.

Who knows, one day it might... oh snap, so you guys need other arrangements or plans; you can't demand a South Korean girl group by name at the annual meeting every year!"

Lin Nan pushed the signed expense statement in front of Yue Jun while joking, and the latter immediately laughed, "I'll have to talk to them about that, heh heh..."

All morning, the Weibo trending searches and the headlines of major portals were dominated by that Wu Wu Yifan;

It's clear that many capital players in the industry are promoting him.

And the reason he could dominate the headlines and trending searches in the entertainment sector wasn't just because he won the "kng" trophy at last night's Weibo Night, but also because of a variety talk show that aired yesterday.

This variety show was likely recorded a couple of days ago when Director Guan Hu was leading the promotion for "Old Pao Er."

In the program, Director Guan Hu praised Wu Wu Yifan to the extreme, even going so far as to bash the entire domestic education environment in the process.

As a result, by noon, the internet erupted in an uproar, because those "brain-dead fans" were all shouting that Wu Wu Yifan is the new era's superstar, comparing and bashing a large number of popular male artists...

The traffic was indeed off the charts, with a momentum unmatched at the time!

Lin Nan went to Bad Monkey to mooch a meal, and when Ning Hao saw Director Guan Hu's shameless remarks, both of them couldn't help but want to curse.

"This is a typical case of having a problem with one's ass; once the scoop is out, it's crooked!" Ning Hao pointed at the news on his phone, muttering curses.

Lin Nan also looked at the content in the news, already feeling a bit of an urge to make some sarcastic remarks.

"What do you mean by children raised abroad don't have the flaws of domestic children? That children abroad are cleaner, more pure?"

Even Xing Aina couldn't stand it anymore and scolded in a bad mood. She is a mother herself!

"When I was invited to make a cameo in 'Old Pao Er,' I saw it; this director indeed has a bit of... you know what. This isn't a problem with his brain, this is truly a problem with his thinking!"

Ning Hao reined in his emotions, but his tone was no less intense.

"Holy crap, what are you doing?" Looking at Lin Nan, Ning Hao asked in shock.

Lin Nan was seen typing on his phone; he looked up at Ning Hao and Xing Aina, then smiled quite "seriously":

"I'm just offering him a 'slight' different opinion... I've smelled the air abroad, it's not as sweet as he says?"

(End of this chapter)

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