Chapter 87: Returning to the Country, December

Even though Lin Nan was bundled up so tightly, he was still blocked at the airport.

"Director Lin, has your *The Hunt* finished filming?"

"What do you think of *Forever Enthralled*?"

"Between *Future X-Cops* and *Cyborg*, which one are you more optimistic about?"

"The film has finished filming.

I’ve been too busy, so I haven't seen Director Chen's film yet.

As for the latter two, I don't know much about them..."

Not long after he got into the car, news of Lin Nan's return to the country spread throughout the industry.

A call from Emperor Motion Pictures came immediately after.

Today was the premiere of *Ip Man*, and Yang Shoucheng hoped Lin Nan could make it to the venue.

"Chairman Yang, I won't be going; I'm about to be home now..."

Lin Nan figured the premiere had already reached the eating, drinking, and socializing phase.

There was no point in him going over now.

When he returned to the villa, Lin Nan went to check on Liu Yifei, but she wasn't home; she must have gone to attend an event.

"Fine, I'll go check on Bad Monkey."

…………

Thinking about it carefully, it had only been a month or nearly two since he last saw Xing Aina, so how had her belly grown so much?

"Lin Nan is here, sit down quickly." Xing Aina smiled and pointed at the sofa.

"I say, Director Ning, you still let Sister Na come to the company? Why not hire a nanny to take care of her?"

"She's not that delicate. There are so many people here I can order around, haha."

"You heard him, no nanny needed; we are all nannies."

Ning Hao joked, holding the completed storyboards and handing them to Lin Nan.

"I truly envy Director Chen. Do you know how many prints his *Forever Enthralled* has in circulation?"

"How many?"

"1,400. That's more than the release of *Red Cliff I*. If it weren't for your *The Martian*, this would be a distribution record."

Ning Hao felt that if he could give *Crazy Racer* that level of distribution, he would be confident in securing a floor of 100 million in box office, with a sprint toward 200 million.

But the production cost and scale of *Crazy Racer* destined it to not have that many distribution resources.

"It is quite exaggerated; after all, Director Chen's status is what it is.

Isn't China Film Group still counting on him to go win another Golden Bear?"

That was all Lin Nan could say.

For an art-house film's distribution scale to be second only to *The Martian* domestically—he couldn't think of any other reason besides that.

"At the end of the day, that Palme d'Or trophy carries too much weight." Ning Hao sighed.

Back then, he was full of confidence and wanted to choose the New Year slot for release, and there were quite a few films with the same idea.

The final result was that *Crazy Racer* had to go head-to-head with *Red Cliff II*; even with a few days in between, it was still a tough battle.

This was also the reason Ning Hao called to ask if Lin Nan could come back to attend the premiere.

Although everyone said *Red Cliff I* was bad, its box office genuinely exceeded 300 million; there were quite a few audience members who watched it as a comedy.

He believed that with Lin Nan, *Crazy Racer* should be able to compete with *Red Cliff II* for box office.

Speaking of films, the group started chatting about the recently released *Fatal Contact*.

"It's really not easy for an actor to transition into a director."

*Fatal Contact*, which had an investment of around 20 million, only had a first-day box office of a little over one million.

Facing the pressure of *Forever Enthralled* on one side, and with *Ip Man* and *If You Are the One* following right behind.

*Fatal Contact*'s performance was destined to be hopeless.

"I heard Wu Jing invested over four million of his own money into it..."

"Practice makes perfect, right? Maybe he'll turn things around next time." Lin Nan smiled.

"However, when actors switch to directing, the films they shoot are usually of a specific type; the path is too narrow, and it will be very difficult to broaden it.

I suspect he might just stick to this type of subject matter from now on."

Ning Hao reached a conclusion about Wu Jing.

There were quite a few guests at the premiere of *Ip Man*.

Everyone already knew that this film was a collaboration between Lin Nan and Emperor Motion Pictures, and that the former held more than half the stake.

"Chairman Yang, is Director Lin really not coming?"

Huo Wenxi looked around the venue; all the artists Emperor could name were here.

If Lin Nan could come over, the promotional effect would be even better.

"He's already home.

By the way, what was that thing you just said about Jiang Wen?"

"Director Jiang just told me he is working on a script and is still refining it, asking if we want to invest; it's a commercial film."

Yang Shoucheng scanned the venue but didn't see Jiang Wen.

"Where is he?"

"He just left."

"Go tell him that the investment is no problem."

"But he lost so much on the last one?" Huo Wenxi reminded him.

"I see this person clearly; we aren't investing in a film, we're investing in the person. I have faith in him."

Yang Shoucheng said with unquestionable authority.

"Very well, Chairman Yang. I will contact him later."

Lin Nan was thinking about the post-production of *The Hunt*.

Previously, he had always done post-production editing at China Film Group, but this time he wanted to do it at school.

Once the equipment and the first batch of people returned, he wouldn't have to run outside for film post-production anymore.

On the way to the Beijing Film Academy, Liu Yifei called; she was attending a brand event.

Walking on the campus of the Beijing Film Academy, except for some teachers, Lin Nan could barely see any familiar faces; there was a feeling of things having changed and people being gone.

"Director Lin is back at school?"

Many undergraduates only dared to watch from afar and whisper a few words.

"Director Lin graduates next year; I heard he turned down the school's offer to stay on."

"Are you joking? Would Director Lin care about that kind of 'opportunity'?"

"That seems to make sense."

Lin Nan felt quite sentimental; not every student could be like Yang Mi, who dared to take the initiative to run up and say hello.

Old Jiang looked to be in good spirits.

"How is the effect of the black goji berries?"

Old Jiang's face darkened instantly, and he silently covered his thermos.

"What are you here for today? Don't tell me you're here to submit a project."

"It couldn't be that fast. I want to apply for an editing room."

"That really is a novelty. How long do you need?"

"Half a month to a month, I suppose."

Lin Nan knew that during this period, there would likely be many directing students coming back to edit their post-production.

Since it was a graduation project, he still felt it was better to edit post-production at school.

Old Jiang took a notebook out of his drawer, filled it out with a flurry of strokes, stamped it, tore it off, and handed it to Lin Nan.

"Here, one month, the one with the best equipment. I haven't approved it for anyone else asking."

"That's great, thanks."

The first-week box office for *Forever Enthralled* was announced in the afternoon.

Perhaps because the results were quite good, that was why China Film Group did that, taking the initiative to cut out those 6 hours.

42 million in domestic box office was already a new record for an art-house film.

But clearly, the box office destination for *Forever Enthralled* did not end there.

In the evening, Liu Xiaoli drove back, and just as she parked, her daughter in the back seat opened the door and ran out.

She knew with her eyes closed which direction her daughter had run; she had been absent-minded all day.

On the other side.

Liu Yifei wrapped her arms around Lin Nan, and the two embraced.

A few cats and dogs were barking nearby—well, they were Liu Yifei's.

"You seem to have lost a little weight?"

"How so?"

The girl asked in return.

The next second, her cheeks turned bright red, and she jumped off Lin Nan.

"You're being naughty again." Liu Yifei rubbed her hip and said with a playful pout.

"Haha, I was just spacing out, do you believe me..."

"I don't believe you."

After the two of them had been acting lovey-dovey for over an hour, Liu Xiao came over to call them.

Fortunately, there was no awkward scene; they had only left a few hickeys, which had already faded quite a bit.

"Ip Man" was released.

As the screenwriter, Lin Nan brought a lot of attention to this film.

Judging from the data fed back by China Film Group, the attendance rate was not bad.

Conversely, the other film, Wu Jing's "Legend of the Wolf," was quite miserable.

The first-day box office was over one million, approaching two million, but it dropped directly to 800,000 on the second day; if this continues, it is highly likely to be dropped by the theater chains within a week.

The opening day box office for "Ip Man" settled at 14 million.

The line "I want to fight ten" began to appear on the internet.

Yang Shoucheng specifically called to talk about this matter.

"Director Lin, this film will not lose money.

Even though "If You Are the One" and "Red Cliff II" are coming up later, it still has a very high probability of exceeding 100 million."

Lin Nan understood what Yang Shoucheng meant.

According to what was agreed upon before, if this film made money, Lin Nan would continue to cooperate with Emperor Motion Pictures.

"I understand Chairman Yang's meaning; let's talk about future cooperation after the film finishes its theatrical run."

"Good, then we'll talk about it when the time comes." After receiving Lin Nan's affirmative reply, Yang Shoucheng felt much more at ease.

"If You Are the One" sent an invitation to Lin Nan for its premiere.

He refused without even thinking; he hadn't even gone to "Ip Man," which he had invested in himself, so how could he possibly go to support another film?

Wu Jing was truly miserable; on the fourth day, "Legend of the Wolf" was silently pulled from theaters.

The mainland box office was only 4.2 million, and adding the Hong Kong box office, it only just reached 5 million.

And for this film, there was no talk of selling copyrights at all.

With a 20 million investment and only 5 million in box office, as one of the investors, Wu Jing would probably need several years to recover.

Lin Nan suddenly felt that there were really a lot of things happening in December.

"Chinese Paladin 3" over there was also about to wrap up filming soon.

Cai Yinong was preparing to hold a wrap-up press conference in the capital.

With "Chinese Paladin 1" as a foundation, this show didn't have to worry about buyers at all; the press conference was just to build momentum for this "Chinese Paladin 3."

"Director Lin, can you come to the press conference site when the time comes? What about Yifei?"

As soon as Cai Yinong opened her mouth, she went straight to the point.

"I'm really not sure if I'll have the time; the film's post-production is about to start editing."

Lin Nan automatically ignored the second question; not answering was an answer in itself.

"Director Lin can see which day you are free; the crew's wrap-up press conference can be arranged according to your schedule..."

It was clear that Cai Yinong did not intend to give up.

"Then let's wait until the end of the month; by then, the film's post-production should be about finished."

In the end, Lin Nan gave a time, and the other party hung up the phone, very tacitly not mentioning anything else.

In the outside world, there were more and more evaluations of "Forever Enthralled," and the word-of-mouth was quite good.

Most people in the industry believed that Chen Kaige was returning and re-reaching the level of "Farewell My Concubine."

There were also voices of rebuttal, but they were quickly drowned out...

Director Chen also accepted several interviews, stating that it was not difficult to be shortlisted for the Berlin competition section and that he had more than a 50% certainty of winning the Golden Bear Award.

No director had ever dared to speak so publicly, but Chen Kaige did it.

"Forever Enthralled" was indeed quite good overall, and coupled with the director's halo, it really gave many people a hint.

That was that at the upcoming Berlin Film Festival, for the Golden Bear Award, Chen Kaige was determined to win.