Chapter 78: Selling the Film in Venice

"The Hypothesis of Li Mi" is about to be released.

Although there weren't many films in the same period, one "The Mummy 3" was a mountain that no film could get around.

"The Venice Film Festival?"

Many European and American distributors gave Lin Nan the same suggestion: come to Venice.

The people at Lionsgate and New Line told Lin Nan the same thing.

If he wanted to sell the rights to "The Martian Rescue" for the best price, the Venice Film Festival was an opportunity not to be missed.

"Lin, trust us. With your track record of two Best Director Silver Bears, the Venice side will be very happy to provide you with a venue and help you promote the film."

After much thought, Lin Nan communicated with a few Zhongying people and decided to head to Venice with a copy of the film.

Domestic time is six hours ahead of Venice.

Zhongying sent staff to go with Lin Nan, mainly to act as assistants.

Setting off at eight in the morning, they arrived in Venice at exactly noon local time.

"I didn't expect that my first time in Venice wouldn't be for competing for awards, but for selling the film."

Lin Nan remembered that last year in Berlin, an Italian filmmaker had sincerely invited him to come to Venice for the film festival.

"Maybe next time Lin Dao comes, it'll be to collect an award, haha."

The few Zhongying people had all gotten familiar with each other, so they joked around very casually.

"Let's contact the organizers first. There's only a week left until the closing ceremony, and we'll need their help to rent a venue."

"Okay, we have colleagues here. I'll contact them to handle this."

The Zhongying team leader said.

Han Han Sanping had instructed that their job in coming was to help Lin Nan with the trivial chores; as for selling the film, that would depend on Lin Nan's pulling power at the festival.

Jia Jia Zhangke's information was also very well-informed; that very evening he invited Lin Nan to dinner.

Among the directors in the country, Jia Jia Zhangke was the type who hung around film festivals year-round.

He couldn't handle theatrical releases, but in the awards-bait film arena, he was an expert.

This time, his short film had been selected for the "Masters' Screening Section."

"A master!"

Being able to openly challenge Zhang Zhang Yimou, Jia Jia Zhangke really wasn't far behind.

"Lin Dao, please sit."

"Thank you, Jia Dao."

Lin Nan thanked him politely; at the same table was also Jia Jia Zhangke's wife.

The industry all lamented that Jia Jia Zhangke's films could never do without his wife.

"You're a bit late; many distributors have already finished their purchases."

"I know, but the big distributors always leave last."

"That's true, you're not like me; mine are all low-budget.

That film of yours, 'The Martian Rescue,' could fund twenty or thirty of my films."

"Jia Dao, you're too kind. It's precisely because the cost is high that there's so much to deal with now," Lin Nan said with a smile.

"No need for false modesty. Although I don't get along with Zhang Zhang Yimou, I really can't compare to him.

In the past I only lost out on commercial films, but now that the Olympics have happened, the gap is even bigger."

One dinner lasted two hours; mainly they talked about a lot.

Jia Jia Zhangke proactively promised to introduce Lin Nan to some of the European distributors he had long-term cooperation with.

The next day, the film trading square in Venice gained a promotional spot for "The Martian Rescue."

In the director's introduction, that record was quite splendid—two Best Director Silver Bears—attracting a large number of distributors to stop and look.

"Lin? Haha, didn't expect to see you in Venice too."

Damn, what a coincidence.

The guy in front of Lin Nan was that same old fellow from Berlin who had twice tried to buy his rights but couldn't meet the price.

"When can we watch the film?"

"Wait until tonight. We've booked a screening hall, set up specially for the distributors; the more people the better."

Europe's three major film festivals are also the world's largest film sales venues.

Here, films of every subject and genre can be seen.

…………

Domestic media had already begun reporting news from Venice, especially the sudden appearance of "The Martian Rescue."

"Going over at this time, it can't be for competing; it can only be to sell the rights."

"Reliable sources say 'The Martian Rescue' won't be publicly screened in Venice, only for distributors to view."

A pirate copy couldn't possibly leak out.

Over two days, more than two hundred distributors watched "The Martian Rescue."

On the third day, Lin Nan stopped the screenings.

Any distributor with a bit of clout had already seen it; those small distributors didn't matter.

One by one, offers were delivered to Lin Nan's hands. Everyone knew he would be leaving on the day of the closing ceremony, so efficiency was very high.

"So far, a total of thirteen distributors have been screened out—ten from Europe, three from North America."

The Zhongying people handed a form to Lin Nan, who looked over it in detail.

"Mm, let's go with this."

A few people's eyes instantly lit up. "We'll go notify them right now."

According to the agreement, after these distributors get the film, they cannot release it within one month; this is also to combat domestic piracy.

Although this kind of film only offers the best viewing experience in theaters, piracy has to be guarded against.

While the people from China Film were busy with the contracts, Lin Nan went to keep his appointment.

Next year's Venice Film Festival jury president, Li An.

The two met at a café in the Water City.

"Lin Dao, the matter of 'The Martian Rescue' has been handled?"

"Mm, the European and American distributors have already been finalized, and contracts are being signed.

I wonder what matter Li Dao is looking for me for?"

Li An set down his coffee and spoke candidly: "I'd like to invite Lin Dao to participate in next year's Venice Film Festival."

Lin Nan was stunned for a moment. "Next year is still too far off."

"It's not that far either. Whether or not you have a film work, I very much look forward to seeing Lin Dao at next year's Venice Film Festival.

The mainland has an abundance of film talent, far beyond what Hong Kong and Taiwan can compare to; besides, Lin Dao has a certain reputation in Europe and America, doesn't he."

…………

Lin Nan didn't know Li An as a person, but felt that his understanding of film really had its own way about it.

Unknowingly, the two chatted for a long time, and even brought up Tang Wei in between.

Li An still had some sense of responsibility, letting Tang Wei go through the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme to Hong Kong Island, so as to bypass the mainland's ban.

Once they sat down in the café, it was an entire afternoon; when they left, the sky had already grown a bit dark.

"Goodbye, Li Dao."

"Take care, Lin Dao."

…………

The closing ceremony red carpet, Lin Nan wouldn't be able to see it; he and the people from China Film had already boarded the plane back home.

The airport was, as usual, swarming with reporters.

"Lin Dao, how much did 'The Martian Rescue' sell for?"

"That information is confidential; it will be announced at the premiere."

"What did you and Li Dao An chat about? A film project?"

"Small talk."

Online, the speculations about the total copyright transaction amount of 'The Martian Rescue' were all over the place, but none had any basis.

Lin Nan had planned this out beforehand: these figures would be made public on the day of the premiere, and China Film also had to keep them confidential.

Just as he returned to the company, someone from the marketing department came to find Lin Nan with materials in hand.

"How are the box office numbers?"

'The Hypothesis of Li Mi' had already been in theaters for several days.

"Lin Dao, these numbers aren't very good."

"Be specific."

"The opening weekend three-day box office was 8 million…"

Lin Nan was puzzled. Within the same genre of film, this should count as the best result, right?

"Are you sure these numbers aren't very good?"

"Let me finish first. On the fourth day, the daily box office dropped to below one million; these past few days it's been six or seven hundred thousand."

"What about 'The Mummy 3'?" Lin Nan asked.

"Opening day 14 million; it's been five days in theaters now, already at 60 million."

Cao Bao had not contacted Lin Nan all along; presumably he wasn't feeling great about it either.

Lin Nan was alone in the office, flipping through the news.

Some media had already declared outright that this would be the second loss-making film Lin Nan had invested in.

"Even if it loses money, it won't lose too much; the total investment was only a little over ten million."

He could only comfort himself this way.

Fortunately, 'The Hypothesis of Li Mi' had a very good reputation; hopefully it could attract some audience later on.

…………

Tang Ren publicly released a large batch of makeup photos and stills from 'Sword and Fairy 3'.

Cai Yizong's little schemes could be seen from the promotional approach.

'Sword and Fairy 1' was brought up for comparison and marketing, with the focus being Liu Liu Yifei.

"The new Nuwa descendant, Tang Yan vs Liu Liu Yifei."

"Li Li Xiaoyao and Zhao Ling'er, Jing Tian and Xue Cui Jian."

Even Liu Liu Shishi was mentioned with the spring-and-autumn brushstroke technique, her temperament comparable to Liu Liu Yifei.

Cai Yizong, in an interview, spoke even more bluntly: all three actresses have great potential, and have the chance to catch up with Liu Yifei's footsteps and step onto the international stage…

Lin Nan also admired this person — truly daring to say anything; are you catching up through a TV drama?

In the Penguin group, they were chatting about gossip.

Zhang Zhang Jingchu was truly formidable; after being taught a lesson by Jiang Teacher Wenli, she presumably learned a few new tricks. A couple of days ago she had a late-night rendezvous with Director Gu, and was caught red-handed by a paparazzi.

Facts proved that for a man, being old and ugly really doesn't matter much, as long as you have talent and ability.

Jiang Teacher Wenli wasn't idle; the directors' wives in Beijing were being invited out one by one by her for gatherings and meals — she was probably about to make a move.

These past few days, many teachers and professors at the Film Academy had been paying attention to 'The Hypothesis of Li Mi'.

Back then, the fact that Cao Bao had managed to pull in ten million in investment from Lin Nan had indeed set a lot of people's minds racing.

Even though they all teach at Beijing Film Academy, not many of them have actually taken part in film shooting or production.

Everyone wants to try their hand at it; the only problem is no one is willing to invest.

When Lin Nan returned to school, many of the teachers looked at him oddly, as if he were a fat sucker ripe for the taking.

"Lin Nan, I guess I did take advantage of you. This film is going to be very hard to recoup its costs."

Cao Baoping said, a little embarrassed.

"Teacher Cao, it won't lose money — it just might take a very long time to recoup the costs, since the film really is quite good.

Don't even mention taking advantage of me or not. Look at those directors from Hong Kong Island — they truly bled the investors dry, yet still wore smiles on their faces. You're far more decent than they are, ha ha."

"How can you talk like that?

Still, I really do plan to come find you for investment again next time. When that happens, you absolutely mustn't pretend you don't know me…"

Considering both box office and word of mouth, the film Cao Baoping shot can actually be considered a success; next time he'll only go further.

"I still believe in Teacher Cao's ability. You can come find me again next time — as long as the script isn't bad."

Lin Nan gave his word with a guarantee.

Sometimes taking a small loss really doesn't matter; in fact, it can be even more profitable. Human connections and goodwill — that's how they're built.