Chapter 86: Killing Without Drawing Blood

The *The Hunt* film crew.

Whether it was Lin Nan the director or Matt Damon the lead actor, both were extremely dedicated during filming.

Filming efficiency improved significantly without anyone realizing it.

Leonardo came to visit the set several times, and each time he sighed with regret.

He said Lin Nan should have talked to him first; he definitely would have been willing to lower his salary for a film like this.

Every time he said this, Matt Damon would always retort with a few words.

"Matt, you should thank me; this script was originally mine."

"You've touched so many scripts and models with those hands; you're too greedy."

Matt Damon laughed and teased.

Taking advantage of a break and preparation time, Lin Nan was reviewing the footage shot that morning.

Matt was indeed putting in a lot of effort while filming.

The shift in the protagonist's mental state was spot on.

Lin Nan had hesitated for a long time about whether or not to kill off the character Lucas.

In the end, he decided to let him live.

Even if condemned by everyone, innocence is still innocence.

The male lead staying alive was the finishing touch, keeping all the villains in constant fear, like having thorns pricking their backs.

Back home, *Hard Men* and *If You Are the One 2* began direct competition, and several New Year films were still in the midst of promotion.

News that Lin Nan's new film had started shooting a week ago traveled back and landed straight on the headlines.

"Look at Lin Nan; he's not even in the country, yet the media news is all about him. He's much better than you."

Xing Aina, with her big belly, placed a plate of fruit on Ning Hao's desk and joked.

"I'm not comparing myself to him; he's an animal. By the way, when the baby is born, make him give a big red envelope."

"Go ask him if he can make it back before the premiere of *Crazy Racer*."

The name of Lin Nan's new film appeared online.

"*The Hunt*?"

"I can't guess the content from the name of Director Lin's new film."

"It won't be like *Buried*, will this movie actually be about hunting?"

Chen Kaige had certainly gone to great lengths to deal with piracy.

According to the rules of the Berlin International Film Festival, films competing for awards must have their premiere at the festival.

To guard against domestic pirates, the release date of *Forever Enthralled* was moved up by a week, releasing on the 5th.

While on set, Lin Nan heard about the preferential treatment this film received.

By 6:00 PM on the 4th, *Forever Enthralled* was already fully scheduled across major theater chains in the mainland.

The results from those 6 hours up until midnight would also be counted toward the opening day box office.

"Is this the treatment for a Palme d'Or-winning director?"

Many film companies, directors, and producers had strong opinions, but no one dared to say it openly because this matter was decided by Chen Kaige and China Film Group.

Lin Nan sat back behind the monitor.

"Matt, let's do that take again. Express the internal breakdown more subtly. In front of his son, he is always a father; it cannot be seen..."

"OK, you are very right."

Matt Damon returned to his original position.

"Action."

In an instant, the facial expressions, hand movements, and the look of loss and helplessness were all there.

His spirit seemed to be drained in an instant.

Yet he still had to pretend to be calm in front of his son.

"Cut." Lin Nan clapped his hands.

If they kept filming like this, this movie should be finished very soon.

Zhang Weiping began to bombard *Forever Enthralled*.

"Everyone else's opening box office is for 24 hours; why does *Forever Enthralled* get an extra 6 hours?"

Regardless of Zhang Weiping's usual arrogant and domineering personality, this time he really took the lead.

On the 4th, the 6 hours brought in 5.5 million; on the 5th, it brought in 9.5 million for the day. The total opening day box office for *Forever Enthralled* was 15 million.

It had artificially created a new record for domestic art films, and a biographical art film at that.

Only after Zhang Weiping took the lead in speaking out did the industry's public opinion begin to emerge.

There really weren't many who could butt heads with Chen Kaige.

Unfortunately, Zhang Weiping counted as one, because he had Zhang Yimou.

There were also many directors with opinions, including Jia Zhangke and Wang Chang.

The total box office of many of their films didn't even add up to what *Forever Enthralled* made in 6 hours.

China Film Group did not respond, and Chen Kaige ignored it.

The box office for *Forever Enthralled* dropped to five million on the third day...

New Pictures immediately announced to the public that Director Zhang Yimou's new script was about to be completed.

Many people realized belatedly: after all that trouble, was Zhang Weiping trying to talk about this?

However, for the industry, this was also major news.

This was Zhang Yimou's first film after his legendary work at the Olympics; the attention it received was definitely international-level.

But the production company for Zhang Yimou's films was always New Pictures; Zhang Weiping never let go, and outsiders couldn't get involved at all.

But when it came to casting, Zhang Weiping was easy to talk to; he was a pure businessman.

And over these years, he had intervened in Zhang Yimou's work more and more often, and he had succeeded every time.

This gave many talent agency companies ideas.

Upon learning that this film was a commercial movie, all the actors and stars in the industry became even more excited.

Lin Nan noticed that the competitor of the same type for *Ip Man* was actually the action film *Fatal Contact*, directed by and starring Wu Jing.

This was very interesting.

Emperor Motion Pictures' promotional strategy was correct.

By using Lin Nan's name, both the audience's willingness to buy tickets and the theaters' screening rates were very good, just waiting for the release in a week.

The filming of *The Hunt* started in mid-November, and it had been twenty days now.

Matt Damon's new makeup made him look more decadent and exhausted.

The male lead was the target of exclusion and oppression by everyone.

The alienation of his girlfriend, the malice of strangers, the distrust of his ex-wife, and even the pet dog he raised was poisoned to death.

Even though that little girl had already admitted she lied, all the malice and harm had not disappeared, nor had it even decreased in the slightest.

This made a person who knew he was innocent become increasingly introverted, panicked, and uneasy, surrounded by malice.

"Lin, about how many days until we wrap up?" Matt asked.

Up to now, for the entire script, only the final bit of scenes remained to be filmed.

"Just these two days; I have a pile of things to take care of afterward too," Lin Nan replied.

"That's really fast! But this movie is really good; we are all objects being 'hunted'."

Lin Nan ignored Matt's sentiment; he was thinking about whether to take this film back and do the post-production editing himself.

On one hand, the on-site sound recording effect was very good during filming, and on the other, there were no special effects.

Thinking about it carefully, he really could take it back to the country for post-production.

*Forever Enthralled* was a film released globally, and Lin Nan went to the theater alone to take a look.

Chen Kaige's aesthetic attainments were truly high, and they were displayed vividly in this film.

As supporting actors, Wang Xueqi and Sun Honglei performed very vividly, and the lines and details were aesthetically pleasing.

But the plot became more hollow and boring the further it went, and there was even a lot of preaching.

After the "Death" part, it was really unwatchable, and the film was so long...

After watching it, Lin Nan really felt it wasn't as well-portrayed as the protagonist in *Farewell My Concubine*; Li Ming lacked a bit of charm.

Domestic news reported that *Forever Enthralled* reached a box office of 42 million in its first 4-day weekend, including those 6 hours.

In the eyes of the audience, it was an art film, but this box office result was higher than many commercial films.

An art film with an investment of 100 million—only Chen Kaige could play like this, because his films were never short of copyright buyers.

Of course, it was already destined that this film would be the highest-grossing art film in the country.

Ning Hao calculated the time difference and called Lin Nan, asking if he could return before the premiere of *Crazy Racer*.

"I'm not shooting a commercial film; how could it take that long? It's wrapping up immediately."

Nowadays, the box office records for domestic films were breaking 200 million and 300 million one after another, and Lin Nan had even smashed through 400 million.

Ning Hao was getting a bit anxious.

The little achievement *Crazy Stone* had obtained had already fallen out of the first tier.

"By the way, get the red envelope ready; make it a big one. Your nephew is about to be born..."

As he hung up the phone, Ning Hao didn't forget another important matter.

"Fine, these things are about give and take," Lin Nan said with a smile.

*The Hunt* began its final scenes.

Lucas, played by Ma Te, had reconciled with his girlfriend after a year of effort.

The rumors and gossip also seemed to be gradually fading away.

When he accompanied his son to complete the essential hunting portion of the coming-of-age ceremony, an accident occurred.

While he was separated from his son and searching for animals alone, a bullet grazed his forehead and struck a tree nearby.

The tree bark exploded, splattering onto Lucas's face.

He instinctively slumped to the ground beneath the tree, looking toward the direction of the gunshot.

The sunlight pierced directly into his eyes, making it impossible to see clearly; he could only see a blurred figure quickly dodge away and disappear.

In the shot, Lucas, played by Ma Te, struggled to stand up, his legs trembling slightly, looking fearful and heavy-hearted as he went to find his son under the setting sun...

There was no prey around at all, so why did that familiar figure fire a shot?

It turned out he had always been the prey; from the moment the rumors were born, he had become the prey.

"Cut."

Ma Te walked back with a smile on his face.

"Lin, why not let the protagonist die? That would stir up the audience's emotions even more."

"If Lucas died, the story would be over. But look at reality—aren't these things happening all the time? It has never ended."

Lin Nan could understand Ma Te's perspective; he had thought the same way initially.

But thinking about it carefully, if Lucas died, wouldn't that just turn the lie into the truth, and the right into the wrong?

If the protagonist died, this film could only be an excellent drama; by living, the film is elevated...

"Thank you all for your hard work over the past month. *The Hunt* has officially wrapped."

Not participating in the crew's wrap party, Lin Nan hurried back to Crystal Pictures.

Tang Mu handed over a report.

"Lin, this is the quote for the first batch of equipment. Take a look."

"If there are no issues, I will place the order. Also, there are no problems with the exports here, but you need to handle the import matters."

Lin Nan took the report and read it carefully; the items were all high-quality, but the numbers at the end were quite frightening.

He had already spoken to Han Sanping about the import of the machinery and equipment, and the China Film Group would help him resolve the paperwork issues.

"No problem. Leave the rest to you; I'm heading back to the country."

"I will also recall those 11 people from the first batch in a few months. Tell them in advance so they can prepare."

"Understood."