Chapter 74: Rumors, Ning Hao's New Script

Lin Nan stayed in Hengdian for an afternoon and rushed back to the capital by evening.

Online and within the industry, news of Leung Chiu-wai and Carina Lau's grand wedding in Bhutan was everywhere, completely overwhelming.

The most interesting part was that the groom invited Maggie Cheung, while the bride invited Hu Jun.

One politely declined, and the other went. It wasn't just netizens who were gossiping; industry insiders were even more so.

Among the flood of film news, Lin Nan saw the report on the launch press conference for *Wolf Warrior*.

Wu Jing was directing for the first time and had managed to secure 20 million in investment to make an action film.

It seemed he had gained quite a lot during his years in Hong Kong.

It was just that aiming for the Spring Festival slot on his first attempt seemed like a very reckless decision in Lin Nan's eyes.

Huayi sent the finalized casting list for *The Message* to Lin Nan.

After Chen Guofu, Wang Zhonglei, and Wang Zhongjun argued their case, Zhou Xun unsurprisingly secured the female lead.

"Xiaoming, we're working together again this time. Let's have some good chemistry."

"Haha, don't you worry about that. Didn't we have great chemistry during *Painted Skin*?"

Just as Zhou Xun and Huang Xiaoming were joking around, Li Bingbing wasn't sitting idle.

"I've already read the script; it's an excellent espionage film."

"Sister, you might not be able to judge it, but this should be the most daring espionage film to date. If it's filmed well, there's a complete chance to win awards."

Li Xue looked at Li Bingbing and said firmly.

"But the roles are already set. Can we really go to Director Chen and ask to swap them? Would he agree? Would Zhou Xun be willing?"

Li Bingbing was also feeling somewhat unwilling to let it go.

But when it came to awards, she truly couldn't compete with Zhou Xun's Golden Horse and Hong Kong Film Award wins.

As for box office, *Painted Skin*'s 295 million performance was a new record for domestic films; she had no way to contest that.

Although Li Bingbing was the older sister, making decisions had always been the job of her younger sister, Li Xue; before that, it had been Wang Jinghua.

Li Xue pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up.

"Even if we can't change the role, we can find a way to change the screen time."

"Cut some, add some, turn it into a dual-female lead during filming, or even use special scenes to make you stand out more..."

The more Li Bingbing heard, the brighter her eyes became; this was indeed a good method.

"But how do we execute it?"

"You and I will go find Wang Zong. In terms of relationships, we are definitely closer to the company than she is. Let the company communicate with Director Chen."

"She just said she wouldn't renew her contract after it expires, so Wang Zong can't be without some temper."

*My Chief and My Regiment* held its wrap-up ceremony in Tengchong.

After Zhang Yi returned, he met with Lin Nan once before going to find Cao Baoping; he had to keep up with the second round of promotion.

Just after this drama wrapped, four television stations came looking for it; it wasn't something *Soldiers Sortie* could compare to back then.

Lin Nan left the tug-of-war with the television stations to Yue Jun; he had to go see Han Sanping.

To date, no domestic distribution company had come to ask about the distribution of *The Martian*.

Everyone knew very clearly that this business would definitely be handled by China Film Group.

As luck would have it, Lin Nan ran into Mani Fok at China Film Group, and she was even bringing Zhong Xintong along.

"Hello, Lin Dao."

"Why is Director Fok wandering around outside?"

Lin Nan ignored Zhong Xintong, who was standing to the side, even though she was smiling and bowing to greet him.

"Yang Dong and Han Dong are inside discussing matters, so we are waiting here."

Mani Fok had a moment of unnaturalness; clearly, the matter being discussed inside left her feeling uncertain.

"Her matter?"

"Yes, it's about Ah Jiao." Mani Fok nodded.

Since the last incident, the female stars involved had all their activities in the mainland terminated; advertisements, endorsements, and film and television works had all been pulled from shelves or taken off the air.

Looking at this, could there be a turning point?

Since Han Sanping was meeting guests inside, Lin Nan could only wait outside.

Before long, someone came over to greet them and brought fruit and snacks.

Mani Fok looked at the scene before her with a face full of surprise.

"Haha, once you get familiar with them, it's like this. I often treat them to food too."

……

The door to Han Sanping's office opened, and Yang Shoucheng walked out first.

"Yang Dong." The two, Mani Fok and Zhong Xintong, walked up.

"Lin Dao is here too."

"I've been here for a while. Isn't Yang Dong inside?"

Lin Nan said while peeking inside; Han Sanping seemed to be on the phone.

"How did the talk go, Yang Dong?"

"The others still have to wait a bit longer, but Ah Jiao's advertisements and endorsements can be put back on the shelves recently."

When Yang Shoucheng said this, there was a sense of relief.

"Then congratulations."

After Han Sanping finished his call, he called Lin Nan in. The three, Yang Shoucheng and his party, left together.

"Han Dong, is that matter in Hong Kong considered over?"

"The top priority right now is the Olympics..."

Hearing this, Lin Nan understood the meaning; there were demands on that side, and things would gradually open up on this side.

……

They talked about *The Martian* for nearly an hour.

The film's distribution would mainly be concentrated in Asia.

As for Europe and America, after careful consideration, it wouldn't be released there; they would only sell the copyrights. This would not only save time but also ensure faster payment.

Lin Nan believed that with his track record of winning the Silver Bear for Best Director twice, the copyrights wouldn't sell poorly.

After all, he had sold *Buried* for 20 million USD.

"For films in October, only yours is worth watching. You can tell by the names of the others that they are just there to make up the numbers."

"China Film Group will tilt resources toward it, and the other production partners feel the same way. We must also try our best to secure screen time from those distributors in Southeast Asia..."

The more Han Sanping spoke, the more pressure Lin Nan felt; this clearly already had a hint of a mission to it.

After finishing the serious business, Lin Nan had to bring up a personal matter.

"Han Dong, can you do me a favor?"

"What favor?"

"Help me get some tickets for the opening ceremony. I want the ones in the front, the best area, hehe."

He could easily get ordinary tickets for the opening ceremony, but tickets for the core area really required someone's help.

"With your achievements, getting one is no problem, but how many is this 'some' of yours?"

"Not many, ten will do." Lin Nan said with a thick face.

"You can go now." Han Sanping's face darkened instantly.

"Eight tickets will do, then?" Lin Nan took a step back.

"Five at most. I can move them to you from China Film Group's quota."

"Alright, five is five. Thank you, Han Dong." Lin Nan hurriedly agreed, securing the bag.

……

Upon returning to the company, he heard good news from Yue Jun.

Because of the reputation of *Soldiers Sortie* previously, the quotes from the four satellite TV stations for *The Regiment* were very high.

The price per episode for the first round was set at 1 million, in the form of a down payment plus a final balance.

Once the finished film was delivered, everything could be settled.

Lin Nan called his father to ask if he wanted to come to the capital to watch the Olympics. Old Lin didn't even think about it and said he wasn't going.

He nagged and asked how things were with Liu Yifei, if they were having any conflicts, and he had recently heard she was filming a movie abroad...

Finally, he sternly warned him not to have any wandering eyes, otherwise, he would break Lin Nan's legs.

After a round of "education," he hung up on his son.

With the Olympics approaching, the entertainment industry was in full swing.

Stars and artists from all walks of life were gathering toward the capital.

Among them, Zhang Ziyi had the most news; who told her to bring a foreign fiancé?

Ning Hao rarely invited Lin Nan to dinner.

The venue for the treat was Bad Monkey, with food delivered by the hotel.

"I've already communicated with China Film Group; *Crazy Racer* is scheduled for late January."

Ning Hao had an excitement about him, as if he were about to do something big.

"Hmm, it really is the Lunar New Year slot."

"When it comes to promotion, you come and support me."

……

Halfway through the meal, Ning Hao ignored Xing Aina's eye-rolling and insisted on going to the office to get a script, asking Lin Nan to give some pointers; it was highly likely he was just showing off.

"Still have to aim for awards. I hired someone to write this script; you take a look. You have more experience than me in this regard."

Ning Hao looked very excited, which meant he was very optimistic about this script.

"You take a look for him. Ever since he got this script, he's been muttering about it all day." Xing Aina added.

Lin Nan began to flip through it.

*Crazy Racer* had five narrative threads, but this script was a single-line narrative.

But the more he read, the more Lin Nan frowned.

"A road movie?"

"Yes."

Half an hour later, Lin Nan had a helpless look on his face.

"The film is a good film, but have you thought about whether it can pass censorship?"

A script full of criticism and resistance was something almost no director could refuse; this was also a type of award-seeking film.

Ning Hao disagreed, "I think it can."

Lin Nan couldn't respond to that; he knew Ning Hao's temper, and once he made up his mind, it was almost impossible for him to turn back.

"Then change the script a bit, make it slightly more 'sunny.' This script is too depressing; several protagonists are all dark..."

Lin Nan gave his own suggestion.

Xing Aina changed the subject and started talking about going to watch the Olympics.

After Lin Nan left, the couple began to discuss what the former had just said.

"How about we listen to him and change it a bit?"

"No change, we'll film it just like this."

"But what Lin Nan said isn't without reason." Xing Aina reminded him.

"I know he means well, but I really don't want to change this script. Let's get investment from China Film Group."

Ning Hao thought for a while and made a decision.

He thought this was a good method; it could help with censorship, and Han Sanping should also be willing to invest.

On the other side, Lin Nan only hoped that Ning Hao could take the advice and at least change the ending.

Liu Yifei sent a message back; her scenes could wrap up at the end of the month, and she could return by early August.

…………

"Why should my scenes be changed?"

Zhou Xun's emotions were somewhat agitated as she questioned.

Her agent was equally furious; this was what Wang Zhonglei had just notified them of, and she had opposed it, but it was useless.

In Wang Zhonglei's words, "To make the script fuller and the ensemble effect better, the script was modified."

"Xun-ge, what did Director Chen say? Did he only change your scenes?"

Zhou Xun's face was gloomy.

"Director Chen said that Wang Zong and Chairman Wang talked to him one after another, hoping to make it a dual-female lead."

"Do you think he only cut my scenes? They really are capable of doing anything."

"They added scenes to that side?!"

The agent understood instantly; a dual-female lead meant one person's screen time increased while the other's decreased.

"So we're just going to let it go now?"

"Let it go? How could we let it go." Zhou Xun sneered.

Chen Guofu told Zhou Xun over the phone that because the modified plot didn't affect the film as a whole, he couldn't refuse.

But he also hinted to Zhou Xun that while he couldn't refuse, someone else could.