Chapter 85: A Dragon Spring on the Tongue

Lin Nan gave everyone a week, and filming would officially begin after one week.

Tang Mu pulled at a copy of *Vanity Fair*, sighing and groaning as he looked through it all morning.

The cover of this issue was Kate Winslet.

She was sitting on a stool, legs crossed, completely naked, draped in an oversized white suit jacket.

On the first page, she was in black silk stockings and high heels, wearing no clothes, lying on a sofa.

The fur was half-covering and half-revealing, with clear curves.

"Tang Mu, you're really affecting other people's work like this," Lin Nan reminded him.

Leonardo might come over in a while, and Tang Mu’s lecherous appearance was a bit inappropriate.

"Lin, look how sexy she is."

"Leon is coming over in a bit; you can discuss it with him."

"Ah? That won't be necessary."

Only after hearing this did Tang Mu put away the magazine, then he remembered something else.

"I saw a movie from your country promoting in Hollywood; it seems to have been shot by a Palme d'Or-winning director."

Lin Nan knew Tang Mu was talking about *Forever Enthralled*, and he had seen the poster too—it was the Peking Opera version.

The Li Ming on it was in the female lead's costume from the Peking Opera *Hongni Pass*, which was simply indistinguishable as male or female.

There were many foreigners at the scene looking at the novelty, and Peking Opera was also one of the iconic cultures of the country.

In the morning, Leonardo drove over; he heard he had just had a peaceful breakup with another one recently, possibly because the other party was about to have a birthday.

"That guy Matt keeps saying your script this time is fantastic, but he just won't tell me the content."

"It's alright."

"No, no, no, I know him. Just like when I mentioned *Inception* in front of him, he used the exact same words to describe your movie script."

Lin Nan was truly impressed by these two, "Then do you want to see the script?"

"I would love to."

Leonardo followed Lin Nan up to the third floor, and many employees looked at the two of them.

"This is the biggest international star I've ever seen."

"Me too, I wonder if we can take a photo together later?"

A group of people who had just arrived from the country not long ago were discussing it excitedly.

"What's there to be so surprised about? Director Lin and..."

Someone from the first batch was about to say something, but swallowed it back hard.

"What about Director Lin?"

Quite a few who had arrived in the first two batches looked at the brother who had almost spoken without thinking, with mischievous smiles on their faces.

"Nothing, isn't Director Lin a big shot?"

"This flattery is top-notch."

Leonardo drank coffee, flipped through the script, and asked after Matt Damon every now and then.

Lin Nan sat in front of the computer, browsing domestic news.

Previously, there had been rumors in the industry that Chen Kaige would cut out Zhong Xintong's scenes, but it had never been officially announced to the public.

Now, the producer, China Film Group, had spoken: the scenes in the film involving Zhong Xintong had indeed been completely deleted.

As for the reason, it didn't need to be stated; everyone understood.

Leonardo had a dark look on his face, "Lin, you should have come to me first."

"Still the same reason, you're too expensive," Lin Nan shook his head.

"Lin, next time you have a script, you must let me see it first; the salary is a secondary matter."

Leonardo returned the script with a look of regret.

"Then let's talk about it next time."

*The Martian* had given many domestic film and television companies and directors the idea of making big-budget science fiction films.

Lin Nan was inevitably used for comparison.

Wang Jing's *Future X-Cops* was invested in by China Film Group, with a cost of nearly 200 million.

"The film *The Martian*, produced by Director Lin Nan, is fantastic. We will strive to keep up with this film and do our best to shoot *Future X-Cops* well."

Looking at the other film, *Kung Fu Cyborg*, invested in by LeTV, it was quite boastful, and it was worthy of being directed by Liu Zhenwei.

"Since President Jia gave his support, I must shoot it well.

This movie is absolutely a sci-fi film comparable to *The Martian*, or even surpassing it..."

Netizens were frantically roasting it.

"You can't just talk big here because you shot *A Chinese Odyssey*."

"With a cost of 10 million USD, what are you using to compare? Using your mouth to surpass it?"

The reason Lin Nan waited a week to start filming was because *New Moon* was about to be released.

As a pure fan movie, its life cycle could not be long.

Lionsgate's distribution efforts this time were even better than last year.

The release time was still Friday.

On Monday, Paul called Lin Nan.

"The box office is quite good; it should reach 100 million in the end.

But it's still the same problem: the box office potential is insufficient, and it's decreasing significantly every day. You should have chosen global distribution back then."

"No need. Thank you, Paul."

"You're welcome."

Lin Nan had never thought that the second installment could achieve the results of the original timeline.

After all, the impact of the financial crisis was indeed very large.

"Tang Mu, you can go contact the equipment suppliers in advance.

I will use the profits from *New Moon* to buy machines, and I will ship them back to the country when the time comes..."

Lin Nan was already prepared to spend money for a long time.

The box office of *New Moon* sounded like a lot, but a special effects company was a true bottomless pit.

"Hmm, I will go contact them in these two days."

Tang Mu quite admired Lin Nan; he knew that the trend in the mainland was to take special effects abroad to be done.

But Lin Nan had prepared to start a special effects company several years ago, and Crystal Pictures was the stepping stone.

Han Sanping sat in his office, looking at the reports on *New Moon*, frowning.

When *Twilight* was released last year, Lin Nan had some stake in it, so what about this *New Moon*?

"What did he say?"

"Director Lin said his stake is still less than ten percent, and he asked if we want to buy it out as an imported film," the secretary replied.

Han Sanping's mouth twitched; last year's *Twilight* had lost a fortune.

"Buy? Buy it back and continue to lose money?

He thinks quite beautifully; tell him China Film Group won't buy it."

Han Sanping remembered that Lin Nan had even advised him last year that *Twilight* might not be well-received due to cultural differences.

This year, he was directly asking China Film Group if they wanted to buy it out? Definitely not buying it.

The stylist designed a divorced-man look for Matt Damon, which fit the script very well.

His complexion was slightly yellowish, and he wore glasses.

His cheeks appeared thin and gaunt, with stubble, looking like a typical middle-aged nice guy.

"Matt, you have to be 120% focused; I want to finish this movie within a month."

"Lin, don't worry, I won't let that bastard Leon make a joke of me."

Lin Nan thought these two were really interesting.

Everything was ready for the crew.

"Action."

In the lens, Matt Damon instantly presented the protagonist's shy and introverted tone and demeanor.

In the script, it was only with this personality that the male lead could get along with a group of children.

For the Berlin International Film Festival, Lin Nan indeed belonged to the inner circle of the inner circle.

Upon learning that he had started a new film, and a drama at that, the official invitation from the Berlin Film Festival was sent over.

"It was easy to say last year; *Buried* hardly needed any post-production, just a bit of editing.

But this movie can't be done like that."

Lin Nan had a headache; next year's Berlin Film Festival was nearly a month earlier than last year, so there was simply no time.

He also didn't want to affect the quality of this film because of rushing.

After thinking it over repeatedly, Lin Nan replied with an email to the Berlin Film Festival officials.

He explained the reason he could not go and expressed his gratitude.

The domestic media was still buzzing with excitement.

"Director Lin Nan and Director Chen Kaige are highly likely to meet at the Golden Bear."

"The competition between two generations of directors, the domestic film industry is full of talent..."

When Liu Yifei told Lin Nan about the domestic news, he was taken aback.

Did they really want to see him and Chen Kaige compete head-to-head that much?

"I can't go; let alone making it in time for the film nominations, even before the opening ceremony, the post-production will likely not be finished."

Liu Yifei's recent commercial shoots were packed tight.

So much so that every time Lin Nan called back, it was Liu's mother who answered because Liu Yifei was busy.

On the set.

Lucas, played by Ma Te, was confessed to for the first time by a precocious little girl under ten years old.

He felt a sense of abruptness at first, then smiled and rejected the little girl, not taking it to heart at all.

Then the nightmare began.

In the little girl, it perfectly embodied what is meant by:

Lying is a woman's nature; they are born actors.

"Lin, your script is fantastic."

Ma Te gave a thumbs up once again.

"You should have started filming this movie earlier; that way, we wouldn't have missed the Berlin Film Festival."

"I have already declined, so stop feeling sorry about it."

Filming continued.

Everyone, including the parents, began to suspect and launched an investigation.

It turned out that Lucas's home did not have the basement the little girl described, and all evidence proved he was innocent.

The protagonist originally thought everything was over, but in fact, the nightmare had only just begun.

After being in theaters for over a week, "New Moon" was pulled from the screens again.

But this did not affect its status among the fan base, and the star power of the leads rose straight to the top.

The matter of the third installment had to be considered again.

"Lin, they want to increase their pay."

Tang Mu conveyed the intentions of the creative team.

"What do you think?" Lin Nan asked in return.

"If we follow the original contract, it is indeed too low for those actors.

But it is also reasonable not to increase the pay, after all, we signed a contract."

This was indeed a problem; Lin Nan thought for a while and made a decision.

"Give them a twenty percent raise; after all, as you said, we could have chosen not to."

"Understood, I will arrange it."

The "Twilight" series was a cash cow, and Lin Nan was counting on it to support his special effects company.

When the news of Lin Nan declining Berlin reached back home, the media's reaction was just like the "The Hunt" he was currently filming—full of rumors and gossip.

"Director Lin Nan encounters 'Mei Lanfang', suspected of lacking confidence..."

"Director Lin, retreating before the battle."

"These people are truly bored out of their minds to be able to make up such reasons." Lin Nan was speechless.

The filming of "The Hunt" became increasingly unhurried.

Whether it was Ma Te, the other actors, or Lin Nan the director, everyone had entered the zone.

In the shot, Lucas, played by Ma Te, was making dinner with his son.

A stone smashed the window glass and flew in, nearly hitting Lucas in the face.

Ma Te's facial expression was spot on.

The subtle expression of the protagonist realizing something was perfectly portrayed by him.

"Cut."

"Take a break."