Chapter 74: The Message, Ning Hao's New Script

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

Online and within the industry, news of Liang Chaowei and Liu Jialing’s grand wedding in Bhutan was everywhere, overwhelming.

The most interesting part was that the groom invited Zhang Manyu, while the bride invited Hu Jun.

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

Among a flurry of film news, Lin Nan saw the report on the opening press conference for *Wolf Warrior*.

In his first time as a director, Wu Jing 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.

But aiming for the Spring Festival slot on his first attempt was, in Lin Nan’s view, a very reckless decision.

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

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

"Xiaoming, we're working together again this time, let's have some 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 laughing and chatting, 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 boldest espionage film to date. If it's filmed well, it has every chance of winning 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 change them? Would he agree? Would Zhou Xun be willing?"

Li Bingbing was also somewhat unwilling to give up.

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

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, the decision-making had always been done by her younger sister, Li Xue; before that, it was Wang Jing.

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 listened, the brighter her eyes became; this was indeed a good method.

"But how do we execute it?"

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

Didn't she just say she wouldn't renew her contract after it expires? Mr. Wang can't be happy about that."

*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 was incomparable to *Soldiers Sortie* back then.

Lin Nan left the negotiations 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 well that this business would definitely be handled by China Film Group.

As luck would have it, Lin Nan ran into Huo Wenxi at China Film Group, and she was with Zhong Xintong.

"Hello, Director Lin."

"Why is Director Huo wandering around outside?"

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

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

Huo Wenxi looked uneasy for a moment; clearly, the matter being discussed inside made her feel uncertain.

"Her business?"

"Yes, it's about Ah Jiao." Huo Wenxi nodded.

Since the last incident, all the female stars involved had their activities in the mainland terminated; advertisements, endorsements, and film and television works were all 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.

Huo Wenxi looked at the scene before her in 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.

"Chairman Yang." Huo Wenxi and the other walked up.

"Director Lin is here too."

"I've been here for a while, but since Chairman Yang was inside..."

Lin Nan glanced inside as he spoke; Han Sanping seemed to be on the phone.

"How did the talk with Chairman Yang go?"

"The others still need to wait, but Ah Jiao’s advertisements and endorsements can be put back up recently."

When Yang Shoucheng said this, he felt a sense of relief.

"Then congratulations."

After Han Sanping finished his call, he called Lin Nan in. The three from Yang Shoucheng’s side left together.

"Chairman Han, is that Hong Kong matter 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 loosen up on this side.

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

Film distribution would be concentrated mainly in Asia.

As for Europe and America, after careful consideration, they would not be released there; they would only sell the rights. 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 rights wouldn't sell poorly.

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

"In October, yours is the only film that can compete. You can tell by the names of the others that they are just making up the numbers.

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

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

Once the official business was done, Lin Nan had to bring up personal matters.

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

"What favor?"

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

"Get out." Han Sanping’s face darkened instantly.

"Then eight will do, right?" Lin Nan took a step back.

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

"Okay, five it is. Thank you, Chairman Han." Lin Nan hurriedly agreed, happy to have them in his pocket.

When he returned to the company, he heard good news from Yue Jun.

Because of the reputation of *Soldiers Sortie* before, the four satellite TV stations offered a very high price for *The Regiment* this time.

The price per episode for the first round was set at one million, in the form of a deposit plus the balance.

Once the finished film was delivered, the full amount would 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 no.

He nagged and asked how things were with Liu Yifei, if they were having conflicts, and he had recently heard she was filming 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 finally 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; after all, she had brought back a foreign son-in-law.

Ning Hao rarely invited Lin Nan to dinner.

The location was at Bad Monkey, with food delivered by the hotel.

"I have 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, that really is the New Year slot."

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

……

Halfway through the meal, ignoring the eye-rolls from Xing Aina, Ning Hao insisted on going to the office to fetch a script for Lin Nan to critique, likely just to show off.

"I still need to aim for awards. I had someone write this script, take a look. You have more experience than I do in this regard."

Ning Hao looked very excited, which showed that he thought highly of this script.

"You should take a look for him; ever since he got this script, he's been rambling 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.

Yet the more he read, the more Lin Nan’s brows furrowed.

"A road movie?"

"Yes."

Half an hour later, Lin Nan wore a helpless expression on his face.

"It’s 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 film aimed at winning awards.

Ning Hao disagreed, "I think it can."

Lin Nan didn't know how to 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 oppressive, all the main characters are so dark..."

Lin Nan offered his own advice.

Xing Aina changed the subject, talking about going to watch the Olympic Games when the time came.

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

"Why don't we listen to him and make some changes?"

"No changes. We'll shoot 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 look for China Film Group for investment."

Ning Hao thought for a moment and made his decision.

He felt this was a good method that could help with the censorship process, and Han Sanping should be willing to invest as well.

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

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

…………

"On what grounds are they changing my scenes?"

Zhou Xun was somewhat agitated as she questioned it.

Her manager was equally furious; this was something 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 more well-rounded and improve the ensemble effect, we have modified the script."

"Brother Xun, what did Director Chen say? Did they only change your scenes?"

Zhou Xun’s face was gloomy.

"Director Chen said that Wang Zhonglei and Wang Dong talked to him one after another, hoping to turn it into a dual-female lead film.

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

"They added scenes for that side?!"

The manager understood in an instant; a dual-female lead meant one person's screen time would increase while the other's decreased.

"So are we just going to let it go like this?"

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

Chen Guo told Zhou Xun over the phone that because the modified plot didn't affect the film as a whole, he had no way to refuse.

But he also gave Zhou Xun a hint: he couldn't refuse, but someone else could.