Chapter 76: Zhang Yimou Deified, The Graduation Play

The Olympic opening ceremony is right before our eyes.

A large number of reporters are staked out at the airport.

News and photos on the web portals are updating every second, all of them featuring domestic and international stars.

Liu Dehua did not choose to keep a low profile this time; instead, he braved the pressure and brought a female companion.

I have to say, the wife of Liu Dehua looks quite gentle and graceful.

Jackie Chan’s treatment is very high; he held an album launch event in the Olympic central zone.

He is also the only male artist among global Chinese to be officially invited to release an Olympic album, and his influence is unparalleled.

In the afternoon, Lin Nan waited early in the garden at Liu Yifei’s place, chatting idly with Zhu Yawen.

A few cats and dogs circled around the two of them.

Liu Yifei and Shu Chang had originally planned to just tidy up a bit before heading out; people with natural beauty don't need to dress up.

But they were firmly stopped by Liu Yifei’s mother; there will be many industry insiders at the Bird's Nest tonight, so they cannot be so casual.

After more than half an hour, Liu Xiaoli finally came out with the two girls.

Loose jeans, pure white T-shirts with patterns, palm-sized wine-red sunglasses on their delicate faces, and their hair braided in complex and beautiful styles.

A fresh and bright look that could absolutely be shot for a fashion magazine.

The two girls were dressed almost identically, while Liu Yifei’s mother wore elegant casual clothes.

"If you don't look closely, you'd really think you two are sisters," Zhu Yawen teased as he looked at Liu Yifei and the other girl.

"Alright, let's head out. There will be a lot of people today."

Zhu Yawen had already accepted his role as the driver, consciously moving to the driver's seat, with Lin Nan in the passenger seat.

Outside the Bird's Nest, it is incredibly lively; stars from all walks of life are stopping here, and a large number of media reporters are busy interviewing and taking photos.

Zhang Ziyi and her foreign fiancé.

Music industry figures like Wang Feng, Han Hong, Cui Jian, and Zhou Jielun.

Jackie Chan’s family, Xie Tingfeng, Rong Zu'er, Zhang Manyu, and other representative delegations of Hong Kong stars, as well as those from Europe, America, and Southeast Asia...

A star-studded lineup of hundreds of people, from first-tier to second-tier, making one’s eyes dazzle.

However, one could also vaguely see that various circles had been drawn among the celebrities.

Lin Nan separated from Liu Yifei and the others because Tian Zhuangzhuang was waving at him.

"Teacher."

"Seeing you here, I’ll mention this while I’m at it. Remember to find time to go back to school and finalize your graduation project.

Among so many graduating next year, you are the one the academy is most concerned about."

Lin Nan felt a moment of daze; is he graduating so soon?

A school leader nearby smiled, "The Martian cannot be your graduation play."

"That’s for sure, haha."

Although he said that, Lin Nan had actually considered that idea in his heart.

But now that he had been reminded to his face, there was no way around it.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lin Nan walked away, seeing from afar that Liu Yifei and the other two were being interviewed, while Zhu Yawen was with Wang Jinghua and the others.

"Director Lin."

"Big Brother Lin."

Lu Zheng walked over with a smiling Jing Tian, and Lin Nan subconsciously looked into the distance.

Before Lin Nan could speak, he heard Lu Zheng say: "Director Lin, my company recently invested in a major drama. When the press conference happens, you should come and sit in."

"What drama?" Lin Nan was a bit curious.

"A historical film, The Art of War." Lu Zheng’s tone carried confidence.

"The female lead?" Lin Nan glanced at Jing Tian.

"Yes, Tiantian is playing the female lead."

"Let’s see the schedule; I’m going to be very busy next," Lin Nan said evasively.

Lu Zheng could hear what Lin Nan meant and did not press the issue further.

It was just that Jing Tian was a bit disappointed not to have received a definite answer.

Watching Lin Nan’s retreating figure, Lu Zheng finally spoke.

"Tiantian, your development path can completely replicate that of Liu Yifei.

We can even use resources to shorten this process."

"Uncle Lu, are you sure this will be effective?"

"Believe me, no problem. Isn't the film and television circle just like this?

Acting skills and experience—we can pile on resources; isn't that faster than you learning slowly at school?"

When Lu Zheng said this, he looked completely confident.

Tonight’s Bird's Nest is said to have one hundred thousand spectators.

Those who managed to buy tickets to get in cherish them deeply.

The best core seats do not go through sales channels; Lin Nan’s five tickets are of this kind.

Of course, the very few VIP boxes are a different matter; those are for hosting foreign dignitaries.

As the sky darkened, the Bird's Nest was packed with people.

Lin Nan and the other four found their seats; looking left, right, front, and back, they were all big shots in the industry, led by Han Sanping.

That makes sense; they were using tickets from the China Film Group anyway.

Liu Yifei and Shu Chang were a little excited, chattering non-stop.

The opening ceremony performance officially began.

The Olympic opening design, kept secret for so long, met the global audience for the first time.

Whether it was the 2,008 people beating the drums in the "Ritual" segment or the 29 footprints in the "Fireworks" segment, they were all eye-catching.

It wasn't until that ink painting scroll unfolded that the five thousand years of heritage truly unveiled its veil, leaving people breathless.

All the remaining performances would unfold and bloom within this scroll.

"So beautiful."

Liu Yifei and Shu Chang were exclaiming in wonder beside him, while Liu Xiaoli looked at the dancers on the scroll, her eyes filled with memories.

"Damn, Director Zhang is awesome." Zhu Yawen appeared vulgar by comparison.

Next came "Characters," "Opera," "Silk Road," "Ritual and Music"...

Every new segment made the nearly one hundred thousand spectators at the scene boil with excitement.

Lin Nan knew that after tonight, Zhang Yimou would be deified.

Sarah Brightman’s singing was truly ethereal, and she completed the performance of the theme song with Liu Huan.

It’s just that the lighting segment was not quite spectacular enough; after all, the lighting method of the Barcelona Olympics was truly too classic.

The three-and-a-half-hour opening ceremony performance concluded successfully.

I believe there must be many, many people who couldn't sleep tonight because they were too excited.

Sure enough, the next day’s news was all about the opening ceremony.

Zhang Yimou’s prestige reached an unprecedented height.

A large number of stars who watched the opening ceremony became fans of Zhang Yimou.

"Director’s fee of twenty million..."

This is the latest quote for Zhang Yimou in the film and television industry.

Only Zhang Weiping flatly denied it and refused to disclose the amount of salary he had given Zhang Yimou over the years.

The salaries of several major directors in the film and television circle were also brought up for discussion by the media and netizens.

Lin Nan’s market value as a director was ranked in the top small group, second only to Zhang Yimou, Li An, and others.

A new record for domestic films was born; Red Cliff Part I stopped at 322 million.

And this was only the domestic box office; in Japan, it was nearly 6 million USD more than this.

The word-of-mouth for this film wasn't great, but it was definitely profitable, and domestic films have officially entered the 300-million era.

"Lin Nan, the next step depends on your The Martian.

Although Red Cliff broke the record, the word-of-mouth is really too poor..."

Han Sanping was right; many netizens were complaining about Red Cliff, regretting going to the cinema.

And they began to look forward to the upcoming The Martian being able to surpass Red Cliff.

Wu Yusen is now the first and only director with a 300-million box office in the country.

But having a film like Red Cliff carry such an honor makes both industry insiders and fans feel it’s not a good look.

Various competitions unfolded one after another, and the emotions of the people were infinitely high.

Lin Nan is planning to send screening invitations to European and American film distributors; these are the contact details left over from the Berlin Film Festival.

The copyright sale for The Martian must be conducted in advance.

Liu Yifei has been watching the Olympic games recently and rushed over in a hurry to tell Lin Nan something.

Cyberbullying is a knife that kills without blood; Miss Liu has deep personal experience with it.

Four years ago, what Zhang Yimou experienced after returning from Athens was endless abuse, while the "Flying Man" Liu received infinite praise and honor.

Now the two have been reversed, only the abuse is more, harsher, and uglier.

After reading some of the comments online, it felt like those people wished for someone to die.

Many celebrities and public figures supported Liu Feiren, but public opinion was almost entirely one-sided.

All those championships and gold medals were ignored, and they just kept harping on this one withdrawal from the race.

He apologized.

It is truly ironic that the person who was hurt is the one who has to apologize.

……

Lin Nan returned to the Beijing Film Academy; he wanted to graduate on time, and according to the requirements, he had to submit his graduation thesis film before June of next year.

Before "The Martian" finished its theatrical run, he certainly wouldn't have the time to do this.

And a film takes quite a bit of time from the start of shooting to the completion of post-production, so the choice of subject matter is very important.

"You're the only one who's so unhurried, needing Teacher Tian to remind you.

Everyone else started preparing over a year ago. Come on, fill out this form."

Lao Jiang held his thermos, taking a sip from time to time, and complained about Lin Nan.

"Red goji berries are useless; you need to get some black goji berries," Lin Nan said with a smile.

It seemed like he had touched a sore spot for Lao Jiang, as his face darkened instantly.

Picking up a pen, Lin Nan began to fill out the commitments regarding his graduation thesis film: to be completed independently, with a duration of no less than...

"Tell me, this doesn't look like a commercial film, does it?"

"With so little time left, what kind of commercial film could I shoot?

I can't just cut down on post-production time to rush graduation; that would be worse than not shooting it at all."

Lin Nan said without looking up.

"Hmm, that makes sense."

Just as the two were talking, Zhao Yanzi arrived at the Graduate School of the Directing Department.

"Instructor Jiang, Director Lin."

Lin Nan nodded politely, and Lao Jiang pointed inside, "He's in there, go ahead."

"Thank you."

Zhao Yanzi knocked on an office door and went in.

"It was lucky that Teacher Tian didn't take her on back then."

"What happened?" Lin Nan asked curiously.

"Do you know what she came here for today?

To apply for a graduation extension."

Before Lin Nan could speak, Lao Jiang answered his own question.

"A graduation extension?" Lin Nan was a bit dazed.

"The professor inside must be quite depressed; he praised Zhao Yanzi quite a bit during the department meetings.

Now that his student is applying for an extension, his reputation as a mentor is completely ruined."

Lao Jiang was somewhat gloating; he was a direct protégé of Tian Zhuangzhuang.

Lin Nan was also happy to watch the spectacle.

That afternoon, the news from the Beijing Film Academy's Graduate School of the Directing Department was released.

As an A-list actor, Zhao Yanzi applying for a graduation extension was quite a slap in the face—she had time to film movies but no time to complete her graduation project? It was said that her mentor was furious.

However, what the industry was more concerned about was Lin Nan.

What was his graduation thesis film? Did he need actors? When would it start filming? Was there a chance to audition?