Chapter 7: Making a Script Himself

"Did you really invest?"

Zhu Yawen asked in a low voice with a smile.

Lin Nan could only nod; there was no hiding it. Director Li Yang had specifically thanked him during the ceremony and mentioned the investment.

"Then how much did the movie sell for? How much of a cut can you get?"

Looking at the curious Zhu Yawen, Lin Nan shook his head, "Director Li was still in negotiations when I left, there's no result yet."

Upon hearing this answer, Zhu Yawen felt a bit disappointed.

"The head teacher told me to remind you as soon as I saw you: go to her immediately to report back from your leave, and you can't skip class this afternoon."

Lin Nan made a bitter face; he had planned to take a nap in the afternoon, but now that was out of the question.

Everyone in the hallway who knew Lin Nan was greeting him; clearly, some bigmouth had been promoting him on his behalf.

"Teacher Zhou, I'm here to report back from my leave."

"Oh, back from Berlin, are we?" Teacher Zhou said jokingly.

"I'm back."

"Since you're back, go to class this afternoon. Also, the next round of art exams is coming up soon. You and Zhu Yawen should help maintain order on-site; your seniors don't have the time."

"Alright, alright, then I'll head back first."

"Go ahead."

To be drafted for manual labor the moment he returned—what rotten luck.

There was no acting class in the afternoon; it was a general education course.

Walking into the classroom with Zhu Yawen, he was surprised to see the long-lost "Celestial Immortal."

"Little Lin, a gift for you."

Lin Nan subconsciously took it; it was a fountain pen, and a foreign brand at that.

"How come you... oh right, *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils* wrapped up filming," Lin Nan suddenly remembered. Miss Wang had finished filming, which was why she had time to return to school.

"Yeah, other than some magazine shoots, I'm free now," sixteen-year-old Liu Qianqian said in a crisp voice that sounded like jade pieces gently clinking together.

"You guys move aside, people are trying to pass," Zhu Yawen grumbled from the side, earning a roll of the eyes from Liu Qianqian, which looked adorable and cute.

"Qianqian, let's move aside," Lin Nan said in a soft tone. He never would have dared to imagine Liu Qianqian like this before; she was fierce in a cute, childish way.

No matter the time or place, there are always cliques.

In this very classroom, Liu Qianqian was the youngest, and her circle only consisted of Lin Nan, Zhu Yawen, and Jiang Yiyan. Because she rarely came to school, the others were somewhat cold toward her—perhaps out of jealousy, too.

The teacher for the class was also lamenting that students only showed up in large numbers during the start of the semester in February; the rest of the time, they were all out running around, regardless of their year.

Some time ago, *Liancheng Jue* had started filming, and before the winter break, Zhu Yawen had dragged Lin Nan to audition for it.

The result was obvious: both of them were cut. Zhu Yawen was still feeling indignant about it even now—just because they weren't action actors by trade?

This show was about "cannibalism" from start to finish. Lin Nan had a deep impression of it; it was rarely remade later, unlike *The Return of the Condor Heroes* and the like, which were remade over and over.

"I'm planning to make a movie myself once Director Li Yang sells the film and I get my money."

That was what Lin Nan told Zhu Yawen while eating lunch at the cafeteria.

Old Zhu almost choked to death; he coughed for a long time, "Are you crazy? How much money could you possibly get, and you want to make your own movie?"

Zhu Yawen hadn't expected his best friend to have such an impractical idea.

"Are you really planning to do this?"

Zhu Yawen confirmed again.

"Yes."

Looking at the determined Lin Nan, Zhu Yawen finally realized that Lin Nan was serious.

"What genre? Do you have a script? Actors, director, production team?"

Lin Nan looked up, "The script is in the works, keeping it low-budget. As for the director, actors, and the rest, do you think our school would be short on them? There are seniors everywhere looking for opportunities right now. There are a few seniors in the directing department who haven't had a chance to shoot a film; if I give them the chance, won't they fight for it?"

Lin Nan said with great confidence.

"That's true, keep me in mind if an opportunity arises."

Lin Nan nodded; that would depend on which script he prepared to copy—oh, no, which script he prepared to write—over the next two days.

He would probably have to find some seniors from the literature department to polish it later.

After that day, Lin Nan painfully scoured his memories.

Back when he was at Hengdian, in order to chat up those actresses, he had watched countless films—proper ones.

Domestic and foreign, art-house, sci-fi, commercial films.

He had seen works by famous actors and directors.

But now, trying to recall them was truly difficult. Although he used to talk a big game when bragging to those women, now he actually had to write it out into a script.

Lin Nan racked his brain for an entire night and finally decided to copy *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*. In America, the production costs might be very high.

But it was different domestically; the cost of living couldn't be compared. He estimated that Li Yang should be able to give him a cut of one or two million.

A film that won an award in Berlin should be worth that much when sold to Europe.

Lin Nan spent another two days and one night perfecting his so-called script.

It might be full of holes.

Thinking about it now, at that time, Kate was still so beautiful.

Closing the script, he saw five characters in regular script on the front page: *Nuan Nuan Nei Han Guang*.

Lin Nan had made localized adjustments to it.

On March 3rd, Director Li Yang returned to the country.

When interviewed by the media, he said that *Blind Shaft* was definitely not an "underground film." Although it didn't represent the country in the Berlin Film Festival, that couldn't change the fact that it was a domestic film.

Lin Nan knew that Li Yang wanted it to be released domestically, and he had even prepared four endings for the film for that purpose.

But that still couldn't change the mind of the Administration.

"Lin Nan, the film rights and such have already been sold; it's still quite popular in Europe."

The time to reveal the results had arrived. Based on his ten percent investment share, converted into domestic currency, Lin Nan could receive 3.38 million.

But Lin Nan had forgotten a terrifying thing: when he signed the contract, it was in his personal name.

This meant tax rates.

"It hurts my heart," Lin Nan clutched his chest and smiled bitterly.

Li Yang had probably thought of this long ago.

"When we signed the contract, we didn't expect to win an award. It was only after things got out of hand that I remembered you signed as an individual. If you continue to invest in films in the future, I suggest you establish a company."

Lin Nan thought for a moment, "I'll just set up a studio."

Lin Nan took the newly finished script out of his bag, "Director Li, please take a look at this for me."

Li Yang took it with a puzzled look, "A script?"

As he spoke, he began to flip through it, his speed not slow, reading ten lines at a glance.

About twenty minutes later, he finished reading.

"A romance film. From my perspective, it's a very good script, but I'm not suited to direct this type of film."

Li Yang understood clearly that he was suited for realistic, gritty films.

"If you're short on investment later, you can tell me. The people I know are quite willing to invest in romance and art-house films, even if they have no interest in my films."

Li Yang said with self-mockery.

"But that might not be the case in the future. Didn't your first film, which wasn't highly regarded, win a Silver Bear?"

"I hope so."

The next day, Lin Nan and Li Yang's assistant went to settle the payment and, incidentally, pay the taxes.

With 1.8 million lying in his bankbook, Lin Nan felt a heart-wrenching pain.

Meanwhile, Li Yang's assistant looked at Lin Nan with intense envy.

1.89 million in this day and age was an amount many people wouldn't even dare to dream of.

Lin Nan called his father and told him about the matter. The old man was so shocked he didn't know what to say for a while.

Especially when Lin Nan said he planned to invest in making a movie next, the old man had even less to say, "Just keep 100,000 to ensure you have your capital. Don't be extravagant and spend money recklessly. You're at the right age, see if you can find a wife."

After chatting with his father for over half an hour, Lin Nan hung up.

In his past life, he never got married, which was his father's greatest worry. Hearing those words again now, how dear they sounded.

Lin Nan returned to school, preparing to seek help from his teachers.

Upon hearing that Lin Nan had already finished a script and had 1.8 million in funds, Teacher Zhou, who was not yet thirty, was speechless.

"Teacher, don't make that face. I'm here to ask for your help."

This wasn't the first time Teacher Zhou had been surprised by Lin Nan's actions, "The dividends from *Blind Shaft*?"

"Yes. Director Li said the script is very good, but he's not suited for this genre."

In the end, Lin Nan was taken to the office area for the directing and cinematography department teachers.

When they heard that Lin Nan, a freshman, wanted to invest 1.8 million, some teachers' eyes lit up.

But ultimately, as educators, they still tried to advise Lin Nan; investing in films was a huge gamble and very easy to lose money on.

Lin Nan couldn't exactly tell them that this film was guaranteed to make money.

Soft sci-fi combined with romance and a touch of comedy—given the current level of film consumption among the public, it absolutely wouldn't lose money.

Some teachers were very professional and helped Lin Nan draw up a budget.

Even if he found all the students from the school—whether for actors, directors, cinematography, or editing.

1.8 million was definitely not enough. Even if they kept it rough, it would still need at least 3 million as a baseline, and 4 million to be safe.

So, I still have to find at least 1.2 million in investment? The more the better?

"If you can secure the investment, I can recommend a director to you; a month should be just about enough," a teacher from the Cinematography Department said to Lin Nan.

As for cinematography, it goes without saying; the Cinematography Department at Beiyingchang is truly formidable.

In Lin Nan's view, the Directing Department is truly miserable; the other departments—Literature, Cinematography, Acting, and even the Fine Arts Department—are always coming over to steal the Directing Department's rice bowl.

However, when it comes to investment money, he really has no choice but to contact Li Yang.

"Director Li, I really need your help regarding film investment."

Li Yang seemed to ponder for a moment, "I'll help you arrange a meeting to ask around; I'll notify you around tomorrow."

Nowadays, when raising investment for a film, one generally considers state-owned enterprises like China Film Group first.

Li Yang paused, then added, "But China Film Group will absolutely not invest in a freshman student like you, because first, you aren't a director, and second, you have no impressive track record, even if you have a decent script."

Lin Nan wanted to say, "Big Brother, are you trying to crush me to death?"

Perhaps sensing that Lin Nan was angry, there was a loud laugh from the other end of the phone.

"I'll help you arrange a face-to-face meeting with people from Shanghai Film Group. If they ask, just say I'm the executive producer. This is the only thing this big brother can do for you. I hope this Silver Bear we just won can be of help to you."

"Thank you, brother. Your little brother is endlessly grateful, haha," Lin Nan took the opportunity to climb down the slope and acknowledged him as a big brother, even though there was a significant age gap.