Chapter 730: Wrap; Targeting; The Wandering Earth Project Timeline

Before the camera, Liu Liu Yifei, with gray-white long hair, terrifying pupils, ashen complexion, and faintly visible veins, hugged her knees tightly, her body trembling slightly, appearing utterly fragile and cautious;

She looked withered, like a walking corpse, instinctively resisting Lin Nan's urge to embrace her, even unintentionally harming him—this was the heroine's subconscious self-protection.

Though her makeup initially appeared horrifyingly pale, a closer look revealed unmistakably her facial contours: oval face, humped nose, eyes…

"Click."

Ning Hao shouted, but Lin Nan still didn't release the woman in his arms; Liu Liu Yifei clung tighter—she was still using this makeup to scare Lin Nan and those around her, clearly enjoying the prank.

"Honestly, you should've given Liu Yifei a makeup like Mei Ting from 'Painted Skin'—just thinking about it… sss… terrifying!"

"Come on, that look's ugly as hell—it gives people nightmares. Sister Mei Ting has complained to me so many times, still bitter about it to this day."

Lin Nan scoffed in reply, then glanced at the girl beside him—yeah, this look was just fine.

"Can't this enhance contrast? Look at what your male lead has done!"

"In the last film, 'The Story of a Marriage,' you hurt Liu Yifei; in this one, 'The Second-Generation Demons,' it's even worse—you're a textbook hypocrite, a human scum…"

"Ning Director, don't sneak in your personal grudges like this," Liu Liu Yifei, wearing colored contacts, rolled her eyes and firmly defended Lin Nan.

"Uh… fine, you two are clearly deeply in love."

"Exactly! Lin Dao and Producer Liu are a perfect match, born for each other—when did it become your place to comment… ah, never mind, hahaha…"

Watching Shu Chang, sitting behind the monitor with Xing Ainà, joked loudly, then received a blank, exasperated glare from Ning Hao: "So I'm the clown now?"

"How could that be? Ning Director's suggestion is excellent—we all want to see what Liu Qianqian's nightmare-inducing ugly look would be like, hehe…"

Ignoring the laughter and banter, Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei walked toward the canvas chairs in the rest area.

The makeup team would here gradually lighten her makeup; in later scenes, this look would fade further until it returned to normal.

"Let's see… we'll wrap shooting in at most two more days. Lin Nan, Liu Yifei—should we plan a wrap party?"

As producer, Xing Ainà diligently considered the closing arrangements; after all, wrap parties required accounting, and the crew numbered over a hundred.

Because she was still in makeup, Liu Liu Yifei couldn't speak, so she signaled with her eyes toward Xing Ainà—she'd follow Lin Nan's decision.

"Forget it. We've been working nonstop from morning till night, sometimes until dawn—after wrap, let's not waste the ordinary crew's time. Just the core team can have a meal."

"As for them… follow the 'The Story of a Marriage' standard: give wrap red envelopes—two thousand yuan per person."

Lin Nan spoke calmly, smiling.

He was certain most employees would prefer cash envelopes—after all, it was real money—and a wrap banquet? How much could one person eat or drink anyway? Just a waste of time.

"Alright, then red envelopes—I'll have someone prepare them today."

…

The summer season was about to end in July, but the film market's peak seemed just beginning—several major upcoming films were all poised and watching, ready to strike;

Meanwhile, the once loudly promoted, widely publicized blockbusters, whose projects and marketing had become household names, began flooding the internet with fresh updates.

First to emerge was Ning Ying's fantasy epic, announced in June at the Shanghai International Film Festival with a $100 million budget; in the afternoon, it officially revealed its creative team:

"Produced by Zhu Kong Chu Pin, with a production cost of 700 million RMB, the Eastern fantasy visual spectacle 'Asura' Part One has completed casting;

The film gathers numerous powerhouses and young actors from across the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, starring Wu Lei, Liang Liang Jiahui, Liu Liu Jialing, Zhang Zhang Yishang, Feng Zhang Jiayi, Dong Qi, Ming Dao, and others, with official shooting to begin in early September."

"It is understood that the tribute film 'The Founding of an Army,' produced by China Film Group, with joint production by Bo Na, August First Studio, and Golden Harvest, and La La Peikang as executive producer, directed by Liu Liu Weiqiang, has already begun assembling its crew in Wangzuo Town, the capital; the launch ceremony will be held there on Army Day…"

"Produced by Xin Li, Shengkai Pictures, Kadokawa Pictures, and Emperor Motion Pictures, directed by Chen Chen Kaige, produced by Chen Hong, the historical fantasy mystery epic 'The Demon Cat' has completed set construction at the Tang Cheng Film Base in Xiangyang;

The lead cast—Huang Dong Xuan, Sōsuke Aizawa, Zhang Zhang Yuqi, Zhang Zhang Rongrong, Akihiko Shiota, Ou Hao, Zhang Lu Yi, Tian Yu, Liu Liu Haoran, Liu Liu Peiqi, Keiko Matsuzaka, Xin Xin Baiqing—and dozens of Chinese and Japanese actors have all arrived…"

With three major films about to begin shooting, and Jiang Wen's new film already in pre-production, alongside films by Li An, Lin Nan, Zhang Zhang Yimou, Feng Feng Xiaogang, Wang Wang Jiawei, and Xu Ke all slated for the New Year and Spring Festival releases…

The entire film industry suddenly entered what felt like a new "explosion phase," leaving insiders dizzy and unprepared.

Yet when 'The Second-Generation Demons' resumed shooting that afternoon, Lin Nan and the others weren't gossiping about the film industry—they were talking about LeEco's stock price.

Since its listing on the ChiNext board of the A-share market in August 2010, LeEco's stock had remained high, even peaking at 179 yuan last year at this time—today, it finally began its collapse!

Although public opinion had been suppressed in recent days, sharp institutions and financial capital weren't fools.

Many retail investors could still believe LeEco wouldn't fall, convinced that the company, with its big directors and stars holding shares, was merely facing minor issues;

But such "stupid" beliefs and perceptions never existed among major institutions or capital—they had no time for niceties… Right now, they were unapologetically dumping their holdings, fleeing as fast as they could, clearing as much as possible…

And the retail investors eager to buy the dip and catch the bottom? They were so numerous, it was astonishing—truly astonishing!

The leeks will always be leeks!

So, even before market close, LeEco's trading volume had already become alarming, and its drop was terrifying—nearly hitting the daily limit down.

"Why is LeEco still issuing statements to calm people down? They haven't even explained the cash flow breakdown."

"What else can they do? The CSRC investigation team is still busy—more so than before!

And aren't Director Zhang and Guo Guo Jingming still on the shareholder list? These people are precisely the tools used to pacify the public—after all, to most ordinary people, these wealthy celebrities must have better judgment than they do!"

Lin Nan smiled knowingly, then picked up his towel and wiped his freshly washed face—the post-makeup skin felt refreshingly clean.

"Is there still hope?" Xing Ainà suddenly asked—clearly, she was no fool.

The makeup room held only Lin Nan, Liu Liu Yifei, and two others; the actors were chatting outside.

Lin Da directed a glance toward the door, lowering his voice:

"Recently, Han Dong and Ren Dong both hinted to me… stay away from LeEco. A market cap of over 50 billion and a cash flow collapse—that's tens of billions in liquid funds! Where did they go?"

"Sss… Director Zhang and the others… but LeEco is a listed company…"

"Who says a listed company can't be suspended or delisted?"

"You're not serious? If that's the outcome, won't Director Zhang and the others be ruined?" Ning Hao stared wide-eyed, visibly shaken by the thought.

"I was just joking—this conversation just happened to go there," Lin Nan laughed, deflecting; Liu Liu Yifei couldn't help rolling her eyes and teasing him: "That joke was kind of terrifying."

Before Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei could banter further, Ning Hao's expression had changed—he wore a curious, knowing look, muttering with hidden meaning:

"If it really came to that, wouldn't it even be a good thing? Director Zhang is so hot right now…"

"Are you insane? You're hoping they get crushed by LeEco?"

Xing Ainà slapped Ning Hao, who immediately laughed and explained, "I was just imagining the possibility—it's not impossible, after all…"

At this moment, unlike Liu Liu Yifei who was watching the spectacle and laughing, Lin Nan was somewhat shocked by Ning Hao's reaction... The thoughts of Director Ning were already those of a qualified capitalist!

On the 27th, another day of hurried filming, mainly because the final special effects shots were time-consuming;

On the 28th, adhering to the original intention of a perfect ending, "A Tale of Two Foxes" reached its final few shots, which were still special effects shots.

And thus, the female lead Liu Liu Yifei, who had been sweet and lovely in front of the male lead before, also revealed her "domineering" and "unreasonable" stubborn nature:

She would decide on having children, she would decide on how many to have, and she would grab Lin Nan's ears to "discipline" him... acting exactly like a fox spirit from Sichuan and Chongqing!

Indeed, she changed completely before and after marriage. No, it should be that before marriage, she had "restrained" and "disguised" her personality in front of Lin Nan, the male lead...

After all, one could hear from the lines of Guo Guo Jingfei, this "cat demon," that Liu Liu Yifei, this fox spirit, had been a mischievous troublemaker, carefree, and unreasonable violent tomboy since childhood! She had once caused him to be ravaged by a female crocodile, playing all night long...

"Hehe, so even fox spirits disguise themselves in front of the ones they like. You've got what you wanted now, so you're not pretending anymore, right?"

"Hm? Are you looking for a beating?"

In the shot, Liu Liu Yifei raised her fair fist, waving it in front of Lin Nan as a threatening gesture; her expression was cute and innocent, her eyes were gentle, and her gaze held a smile, very charming, just a silly girl...

"Cut!"

As Ning Hao's voice rang out, all the cast and crew of the film crew knew: "A Tale of Two Foxes," filmed over nearly 20 days, was perfectly completed at this moment.

"Good luck to everyone on wrapping up!"

"Lin Dao, congratulations on wrapping up."

"Liu Yifei, acting true to character, huh? Do you oppress Lin Nan like this at home too?"

"Sigh, Sister, you've finally figured it out. All these years I've been violently... ah, let go, I was wrong... You all saw it... she's not pretending anymore..."

"I'll hammer you to death for slandering me, hehe..."

"Line up, distributing red envelopes!"

"Producer Xing, the restaurant for tonight is booked."

Early on the 29th, the attention of the entire film industry focused on the epic mythological blockbuster "The Legend of Deification," which was claimed to have an investment of 500 million RMB;

But unfortunately, "A Tale of Two Foxes," with its luxurious lineup of two big directors and two big producers, firmly overshadowed "The Legend of Deification," occupying the top spot on the trending search!

"Jointly produced by Red Star Studio, Lin Nan Pictures, and Bad Monkey Pictures; directed by Ning Hao, produced by Xing Ai-na, starring Liu Liu Yifei and Lin Nan, with Shen Teng, Guo Guo Jingfei, Xu Jiao Xu Jiao Junyan, Mencius, Kang Keren, Chen Yao, and others;

The urban fantasy romantic comedy "A Tale of Two Foxes" was perfectly wrapped up yesterday afternoon at the National China Film Digital Production Base... The main creative team gathered last night to celebrate..."

"Jointly produced by China Star and Bona Pictures, starring Li Li Lianjie, Fan Li Bingbing, Huang Huang Xiaoming, Yang Ying, Louis Koo, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Xiang Zuo, Wen Zhang, Xu Qing, and Zu Feng;

The large-scale mythological period blockbuster "The Legend of Deification," with a production cost as high as 500 million RMB, landed on cinemas nationwide at dawn today and officially premiered...

"According to data from the cinema chains, on the first day of the premiere of the movie "The Legend of Deification," the national comprehensive screening rate was 24.5%;

The highest screening rate was 48.8%, allocated by Poly Bona Cinema Chain. The lowest screening rate was 7.4%, with a share that was also not small..."

"As of today, "Big Fish & Begonia," after 21 days of screening, has accumulated a total box office of 573 million, with potential exhausted; "The White Storm 2" has earned 676 million, with daily receipts under 100,000;

"Lu Yao Knows Ma Li" has been screening for two weeks, with the total box office fixed at 190 million, stopping just short of the 200 million threshold; "The Fast Gun" regretfully failed at 54 million..."

"Starring Jackie Chan and Fan Li Bingbing, the action comedy "Skiptrace" has been screening for 8 days, grossing 745 million in box office, currently leading the summer season strongly..."

Bona, Chairman's Office.

Although there were five people present, the atmosphere in the room was incredibly quiet at this moment, even suppressed to the extreme, with faint signs of an explosion.

"Chairman Yu, when you insisted on taking the exclusive distribution rights earlier, you solemnly guaranteed that the comprehensive screening rate of "The Legend of Deification" on the first day would not be lower than 35%. So why is it now nearly 11 percentage points lower?"

The Xiang family of three, who had not left the capital since the premiere ceremony, were sitting opposite Yu Dong at this moment; and the one speaking up to question was Mr. Xiang.

"Chairman Yu, we really trusted you before. The two companies have cooperated so many times and never had any problems, but why did such a huge blunder happen this time? According to reason, with Bona's distribution strength, it is impossible to make a fatal mistake like Huayi!"

The fat wife, following behind her husband, with a heavily made-up face, didn't give Yu Dong time to respond and continued to question. Business is business, friendship is friendship; this woman knew the difference!

Yu Dong was also at a loss for words at this moment, with a splitting headache. He glanced at the three people opposite him:

"Wait a bit longer. I've already sent someone to investigate where the problem is. In theory, domestic cinema chains wouldn't refuse to give Bona face!"

The latter half of Yu Dong's sentence carried unparalleled confidence, because Bona was backed by Poly—Poly Bona Cinema Chain!

After he finished speaking, before the opposite Xiang Xiang Huaqiang could react, a knocking sound came from outside.

Among the five, Jin Jin Qiaoqiao, who had always been like a vase, finally had some "use" at this time. She shouted towards the office door: "Come in."

Yu Dong's secretary, with a strange expression on his face, walked in quickly.

"Found it? What did the people below say? Why is there such a huge difference in the screening rate?" Seeing the person he sent out return, Yu Dong immediately asked.

The Xiang family of three also instinctively looked at the secretary, waiting for an answer. If someone was deliberately causing trouble, they were not ones to be trifled with.

"Chairman Yu, that..."

"Stammering? If you have something to say, say it quickly!" Yu Dong lost his good temper.

"It's the direct cinema chains under China Film and Shanghai Film, plus two holding cinema chains... They all uniformly gave a screening rate of 7.4%..."

"What?"

At this moment, Yu Dong's already small eyes widened to the maximum. The three people from the Xiang family beside him also stood stunned, with expressions of complete inability to accept it.

There were almost no fools present; at least Yu Dong and Xiang Xiang Huaqiang were smart people, and the two had already vaguely guessed some things.

Two state-owned enterprises gave the exact same, lowest, almost insulting screening rate! Was this normal? This was definitely not normal! But why would this happen? The answer was obvious: intentional!

Yu Dong was very certain that China Film and Shanghai Film were not targeting him specifically; he was just swept up in the "cleanup" along with the grass, and those two had not left him any face.

"Why would they do this?" The fat wife was still exposing her intelligence at this moment; after all, she was a delinquent girl by origin and had always been untouchable in Hong Kong.

"Why? Because during the casting period of "The Mermaid," you recklessly bombarded Zhou Zhou Xingchi and looked for trouble with "The Mermaid."

And for that film, China Film and Shanghai Film were both major investors, one with 25% and the other with 15%! Did you think our two big chairmen don't hold grudges? Did you forget what happened to Chairman Han back then?"

Yu Dong had lost his good temper by now. After all this, the problem lay with China Star! They had the nerve to question him just now, sarcastically criticizing Bona's distribution performance.

A barrage of sharp words left the three people opposite speechless; the previous chairman of China Film had slapped their face before, strongly protecting Zhou Zhou Xingchi.

"But, they are state-owned enterprises, how can they..."

Before the fat wife could finish speaking in a rage, she was interrupted by the person beside her raising a hand:

"Chairman Yu, now that the matter has been clarified and the cause understood, I can only apologize first; it was our problem. But the most important thing now is handling the screening rate."

"Chairman Yu, you come from China Film Group and have connections and favors within the state-owned enterprises. Please, Chairman Yu, go make the rounds."

"Today is the first day of public release; screening rates are the most important. And China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group combined hold too heavy a market share..."

The office fell silent for a few seconds. Yu Dong knew that arguing further would be futile; solving the problem was the immediate priority. Immediately, he nodded. "I will go... I won't keep the three of you here now."

The meaning in his words was clear: get out.

A few minutes later, a family of three, accompanied by their entourage, left the Bona Film Group building and got into their cars.

"Dad, Mom, can Yu Dong handle it? Those two aren't exactly kind..."

"Shut up. This is the mainland; watch your words!"

On the first morning after wrapping, Lin Dao Da got up holding his waist.

Because Miss Liu failed to get out of character, she brought the role from "Goodbye Mr. Loser" with her. Yes, after returning from the victory banquet last night, she "tormented" Lin Nan for a long time.

Lying on the sofa and reading the news online, Lin Nan knew that Shanghai Film Group and China Film Group had resolutely made their move;

the screening slots squeezed out from "The Legend of Deification" would, if nothing unexpected happened, all go to Jackie Chan's "Skiptrace." This movie was a good choice.

Wang Wang Changtian's phone call always came abruptly at unexpected moments, startling Lin Nan.

"I calculated the time for this call today. It's past ten; don't tell me you're still sleeping."

"Heh, just get to the point, Chairman Wang. Just don't put me to sleep." Lin Nan replied with a smile.

"Promotion for 'I Belonged to You' is about to start. I wanted to ask if you have time. If possible later on, could you make an appearance?"

Lin Nan knew it was this kind of trouble:

"Hard to say. I start post-production on the film next month. I can only guarantee that if I have time and the location isn't far, I can make an appearance."

"Your conditions are truly harsh; it doesn't even count as a promise. Saying it is the same as not saying it."

"It's not a big production; how can you, Chairman Wang, have the nerve to trouble me?"

"What about the victory banquet?"

"'Big Fish & Begonia'?" Lin Nan asked in return.

"Yes, on the evening of the 2nd..."

"That works."

To be honest, setting aside the plot, this animated film is indeed top-tier. Moreover, I heard the overseas rights sold very well; it deserves a grand, high-standard victory banquet.

No sooner had he hung up the phone with Wang Wang Changtian than Yue Jun's call came through. These people really saw that Lin Nan had wrapped from the set and didn't leave him a single moment of rest.

"What's the matter at the company now?"

Under normal circumstances, Yue Jun wouldn't call unless it was important. For the small matters at the company, he and Jiang Jiang Xuerou could basically decide them themselves.

"Lin Dao, Teacher Liu and the screenwriting team have given an estimated time. The script for the 'The Wandering Earth' series should be finished before the end of December; currently, progress is just at the halfway point.

According to the previous plan, you need to set the specific preparation time for this project and consider partners in advance... After all, this project is too big, and right now we and China Film Group..."

Yue Jun was speaking, and Lin Nan was listening. As he said, the connection between Lin Nan Pictures and China Film Group had completely ended with "Pacific Rim 2." Therefore, "The Wandering Earth" would not invite China Film Group...

"Hmm, I understand. I'll reach out to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation later; we have an old friendship with them. They'd be delighted if I threw money at them to play with, hehe...

As for the project approval time for 'The Wandering Earth'... let's put it in December! Didn't we estimate before that the start of filming would basically be next year?"