Chapter 80: Special Effects Company

The 29th, a beautiful, sunny day.

Outside the Great Hall, nearly a hundred media outlets gathered, with cameras and microphones packed densely together.

From nine o'clock in the morning, the guests on the red carpet never stopped coming.

First-tier and second-tier stars arrived in an endless stream, and all the major film and television companies were gathered here.

"Is that Liu Dehua?"

"Yes."

When Hu Ge and the others arrived, they saw a group of people from Hong Kong entering the venue.

Yang Shoucheng, Cheng Long, Liu Dehua, Liang Jiahui...

Car after car pulled up and then drove away.

Wang Zhongjun led the Huayi entourage onto the red carpet.

Feng Xiaogang, Zhang Hanyu, Li Bingbing, Zhou Xun, Deng Chao...

Xie Nan and Liu Yan, who had acted in *Painted Skin*.

Jiang Wen, Jia Zhangke, Gu Changwei, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Ning Hao...

Many directors in the industry also came today, because few people in the country shoot this kind of hardcore science fiction, and everyone was very interested in it.

People kept walking onto the red carpet and entering the Great Hall; there were even more people inside, including quite a few foreigners.

…………

Liu Yifei and Shu Chang were dressed in youthful and beautiful attire, attracting many gazes as they walked into the Great Hall.

"Lin Nan and the others haven't arrived yet?"

"The film crew is definitely going to be the last to arrive."

Liu Yifei explained. In fact, Lin Nan had left earlier than them, so he should be somewhere else right now.

With the entry of Han Sanping, Ren Zhonglun, Wang Changtian, and other bigwigs from the production side, the scene became even more crowded, with the sound of greetings constant.

Outside, Lin Nan and the seven members of the film crew stepped onto the red carpet.

Chen Baoguo said he only had a cameo, so he wouldn't follow them, but instead entered the Great Hall in advance.

Jing Tian's heart was beating fast; this was her first time walking the red carpet with Lin Nan, and this film would also be the most brilliant entry on her resume.

The media's cameras flashed frantically, and a large number of fans were gathered on the periphery.

Entering the venue, everyone sized up the film crew.

"Director Lin, wishing you a massive box office, haha."

"Director Lin, it's all up to you now."

…………

The premiere officially began.

The seating today was also very strict.

The first and second rows were for the Space Administration, the Film Bureau, several major film groups, various film and television companies, and famous directors.

The third and fourth rows were for first-tier stars and above, such as Cheng Long, Liu Dehua, and others.

Liu Yifei and Shu Chang were arranged in the third row, sitting next to Zhou Xun and the others.

Hu Ge, Yang Mi, Tang Yan, and the others were seated much further back.

Many people would pay attention to this seating arrangement; what it represented was self-evident.

"How come I've never seen that person sitting in the second row?" Yang Mi asked in a low voice.

"You're ill-informed, that's Director James Wan," Hu Ge joked.

"The one from Lionsgate?" Tang Yan realized instantly.

"It's him."

Yang Mi nodded and turned her gaze forward again.

In the third row, the youngest were Liu Yifei and Shu Chang, along with that green-looking Jing Tian on stage.

Yang Mi felt she was no worse than them, and looking at Tang Yan beside her, even she had more film resources than herself; she really couldn't stay at Rong Xinda anymore.

"Everyone will know in a moment; I was really called by Director Lin Nan to plant potatoes. He demanded the most realistic scenes..."

Hu Jun held the microphone, talking about his "bitter journey." He had packed those bags of potatoes and taken them back to eat, not wasting a single one.

The interviews with Zeng Li, Liu Ye, Huang Xiaoming, and Zhang Yi were similarly much smoother.

When it came to Jing Tian, the young girl might have been a bit excited.

"I am very grateful, grateful to Brother Lin Nan for giving me this opportunity. I was clumsy on set, everyone took great care of me, and Brother Lin Nan taught me many things..."

The most important part was the screening of the film.

The landscape of Red Cliff was just too perfect for filming a Mars-themed movie.

Everyone at the venue began to stare at the big screen without blinking.

As the plot unfolded, the Mars team members encountered a storm, and Hu Jun, as the botanist, was accidentally left behind.

A Mars farming operation for self-rescue began.

"You can play it like this?"

"This visual effect is amazing..."

Whispers began to rise from below, and people from the Space Administration and the Film Bureau were nodding and discussing something.

"Can we do this kind of thing? Forget it..."

Although many film and television companies felt *The Martian* was shocking, they had no desire to do it themselves; the cycle was too long, the cost was too high, and whether it could succeed was unknown—it wasn't cost-effective.

Many directors smiled and shook their heads; they couldn't pull off something like this. Lin Nan was truly impressive this time.

The two-hour film ended, and the front row was the first to applaud.

The person from the Film Bureau picked up the microphone.

"Everyone here is in the film and television industry, and we also hope that everyone can produce more high-quality films and commercial blockbusters.

Large-scale science fiction films like *The Martian* are very beneficial to the film and television industry.

If any company is willing to continue to explore this field, the Film Bureau will definitely maintain an attitude of encouragement and support..."

Many people were still immersed in the film they had just seen, that vast and boundless space, the gorgeous and stunning special effects...

A group of filmmakers envied the *The Martian* before them, but to ask everyone to do it themselves was another matter entirely.

This kind of project isn't something you can just do because you say you support it. You have to have the courage; if handled improperly, you'll definitely lose everything.

And when it comes to special effects, you can only send money abroad.

"Lin Nan's film is really amazing, worthy of having spent two years on it."

Shu Chang whispered to Liu Yifei.

"That's only natural, hee hee."

……

The creators were interviewed again, and this time they said even more.

"Director Lin, what are your box office expectations for this film?"

This question made everyone at the scene prick up their ears.

"To be honest, this project was a bit of a forced effort at the beginning. But since we gritted our teeth and finished it, in terms of box office, we hope it lives up to the two years of effort and sets a new record."

Lin Nan said with a smile, and the audience applauded again.

"A new record? Then Director Lin, haven't you considered the issue of breaking even? After all, the current record is only about 20 million more than the cost of *The Martian*."

"We previously planned to announce the copyright transaction price of *The Martian* at the premiere, so I'll tell everyone now."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone from the film and television companies perked up; this was also what they had been most concerned about during this period.

"At the beginning of the month, we took the film to Venice, and the copyrights for Europe and North America were traded away, with a total transaction price of 55 million US dollars.

We have already recouped our costs."

Lin Nan had a smile on his face as he said this decisively.

Watching the shocked expressions of the people in the audience, Han Sanping was very satisfied.

"May I ask Director Lin, how much did the film's embedded advertisements sell for?"

"The total cost of the two ads accompanying the film was exactly 90 million..."

Many people began to gasp; it meant that *The Martian* had already earned over 100 million before it was even released!

Banquet time.

Lin Nan was surrounded by layers of people, all asking about the special effects.

Liu Yifei saw that Lin Nan was very busy, so she didn't go over to disturb him.

"I'm planning to build a company to slowly cultivate my own people."

"A special effects company?"

"Yes."

The way everyone looked at Lin Nan changed a bit, as if they were looking at a fool.

"Director Lin, this kind of thing is not like making a movie. Our foundation is too poor; it requires burning money for a long time to support people, and the results are completely unpredictable..."

Lin Nan could see that these film companies had no intention of doing special effects themselves; they felt that the current situation was just fine.

The conversation was a bit out of sync.

Liu Dehua came over with a wine glass.

"Director Lin, the film is amazing. You really should have told me about it back then; it's such a pity."

Liu Dehua had a look of regret.

"You are too kind, Brother Hua. The future is still long, isn't it?"

"It is indeed long. Then I shall wait for a film offer from Director Lin."

As he spoke, Liu De raised his glass, and the two clinked them together.

Lin Nan felt a sense of impending liberation; "The Martian" had weighed on him for two whole years. After this film finished its theatrical run, he absolutely would not touch science fiction again in the short term—the pressure was too great.

From afar, Lin Nan saw Wan Ziren surrounded by a group of domestic actors, among whom was Yang Mi; this bunch was truly too ambitious.

Liu Yifei and Shu Chang seemed to be chatting with those two from Enlight Media.

The news online was already updating.

"'The Martian' copyright sells big, no more pressure to recoup costs."

"Before release, profits already exceed one hundred million..."

This premiere was held very successfully; the news leaking out could better stir up the audience's desire to watch the film.

Near the end of the event, Lin Nan and Wan Ziren met up.

"Happy Death Day 2" would still follow the previous installment's ratio for profit sharing; the latter could go find Tang Mu to sign the agreement.

After a whole day, it was still very exhausting.

Lin Nan leaned back in a garden chair, petting a cat.

Liu Yifei handed over a glass of orange juice, "Come, replenish some vitamins..."

"Thank you."

"How is it? Is it sweet, Big Brother Lin Nan?"

Murderous intent!

A death trap question!

…………

The next day, a massive amount of news regarding "The Martian" occupied the headlines.

Netizens were all discussing how long it would take for this film to wipe out the record of that trash film "Red Cliff."

What the industry was most concerned about was still the matter of Lin Nan wanting to establish a special effects company.

There were those who supported it, those who were just watching the spectacle, but the vast majority still thought Lin Nan was being a bit self-righteous and aiming too high.

Why not just be a proper director and film company boss? Why bother with special effects?

"Do you really have this idea?"

"Yes, I've had it for a long time. I think it's time for the domestic industry to take this matter seriously; we can't have the special effects for big films always being done by foreign companies.

The larger the commercial film, like 'Painted Skin' or 'The Martian,' the more special effects it requires.

The domestic market will definitely get better and better in the future; wouldn't we just be working for others by then?"

Han Sanping nodded; Lin Nan's words were indeed very reasonable.

"Then go ahead and do it. If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me. People say I'm overbearing, but for something that genuinely benefits the industry, China Film Group will certainly support it."

"Mm, then thank you, Chairman Han."

If nothing else, when it came to the development of the film industry, Han Sanping had truly never been ambiguous.

Major cinema chains began preparing for the film's release; "The Martian" on the 1st was the top priority.

Wanda, as one of the production companies, had already raised the screening rate for "The Martian" to 50%; of course, this was done privately.

China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group, as state-owned enterprises, could not do that, but they still performed some "micro-adjustments."