Chapter 913: Changing to the New Year Slot; *The Mermaid 2* — Producer Meeting!

After 4:00 PM, the media's "inside scoop" landed on Weibo's trending list before Feng Xiaogang arrived at Huayi, and it also appeared on the front page headlines of film and entertainment news across the entire internet.

Countless production companies and practitioners in the industry were stunned; the internet was in an uproar, and public opinion was shocked...

So much so that a small-fry level joke like *Pure Heart: Dream of the Entertainment Circle* was directly crushed in the waves of public opinion regarding *Youth*, and no one cared about it anymore.

"According to informed sources, Director Feng Xiaogang's film *Youth* was forcibly pulled from theaters by the competent department at noon today; and the incident was sudden, catching the producers and the creative team off guard."

"Senior film industry insiders analyze: *Youth* has a powerful lineup of producers, involving Huayi, Dongyang Meila, August First Film Studio, China Film, Emei Film, Alibaba Pictures, Jingxi Culture, and many other film companies and state-owned units;

But it still went through three rejections, and even after receiving the public screening permit for the fourth time, it was still forcibly pulled on the eve of the public screening. Various signs are enough to show that the content problems of the film are indeed very serious!"

"Media reporters called Huayi, trying to confirm the pulling of *Youth*, but as of one minute before the report was issued, no effective contact had been made;

But according to clear confirmation from Wanda, China Film, Dadi Theater Chain, and many other theater companies, major theater chains did indeed receive temporary notices in the afternoon: cancel all screening plans for the film *Youth*, remove posters, promotional boards..."

"With such a lineup of producers, it could still be rejected three times, and the leaders had to change their orders even if it meant slapping their own faces, revoking the public screening permit... Tsk tsk tsk, this shows that our big Director Feng is really floating so high he can't find north this time! He must have stuffed a lot of private goods into the film, and has been resisting and perfunctorily dealing with the competent department!"

"Think back to *Assembly* back then, this time the problem is definitely ten times more serious. He wouldn't have directly exposed his butt and openly smeared that-thing in the film, would he?"

"Hahaha, Huayi's stock price moved, it's wearing a green light, jumping and wanting to jump..."

Wang Changtian was almost laughing his head off. In one day, *Sewing Machine Band*'s two opponents in the National Day slot had one "die" and one "flee." This feeling was incomparably refreshing!

For this reason, he was so happy that he called Lin Nan again: "Those two grandsons' moods right now must be like their own mother died, right?

Tens of millions in promotional costs were thrown out, but the film was killed just before the public screening, hahaha... And that stock price, it's definitely going to diarrhea when it opens tomorrow, they are the controlling party..."

In the practice room, Lin Nan was listening to Wang Changtian's mocking laughter while helping Liu Yifei press her legs.

Well, Miss Liu was also laughing until she was out of breath. She grabbed Lin Nan's arm with both hands, steadying herself, trying her best not to lose her strength from laughing, so as not to fall onto the carpet.

"Feng Xiaogang must be about to explode with anger, right? His gambling agreement with Huayi, *Youth* is also one of the key projects. The net profit to be submitted this year seems to be over a hundred million?!"

Lin Nan didn't guess wrong. Over at Huayi, the "Little Steel Cannon" had indeed been cursing for nearly half an hour.

Inside the chairman's office, a group of executives from relevant departments were all present, just watching Feng Xiaogang rage for half an hour, and occasionally cursing the Bureau a couple of times.

"The problem with *Youth* can't be avoided, because it's obviously ordered by a competent leader personally. The wording and tone in the phone call were all business-like and sharp." Seeing Feng Xiaogang ready to curse again, Wang Zhongjun immediately interrupted the other party and reminded him.

"Director Feng, let's hurry up. Delete what needs to be deleted, cut what needs to be cut. Let's recover as much of the promotional cost loss as possible in terms of time." Wang Zhonglei took over the conversation, continuing to block Feng Xiaogang.

"I want to remind Wang Dong and Wang Zong, we have already invested 80 million in the promotion of *Youth*." Ye Ning interjected, intentionally ignoring someone.

"Why so much?" Feng Xiaogang asked immediately upon hearing this. He was also one of the producers and needed to share the promotional costs.

"Director Feng, your memory isn't good, is it? Your last film, *I Am Not Madame Bovary*, won the grand prize at an international A-list film festival, won the Golden Horse, and won the Golden Rooster.

Because of this, for the promotion of this *Youth*, you specifically instructed: strike while the iron is hot, take advantage of the honor and heat of *Madame Bovary*, and increase the promotional efforts..."

In the office, anyone could hear the sarcasm in Ye Ning's words, but no one refuted it. Because what he said was indeed the truth, and everyone had an impression of it. Those were the words Feng Xiaogang said when he was in high spirits!

Looking at the "Little Steel Cannon" again, his mouth had opened and closed several times, but he didn't curse out loud. However, that ferocious expression clearly showed he was cursing very filthily in his heart.

"Xiaogang?" Wang Zhongjun looked at Feng Xiaogang, the meaning was obvious, letting the latter express his stance.

After a silence of more than ten seconds, Feng Xiaogang nodded with a ferocious face: "I will re-edit it as soon as possible, delete those shots and content, and ensure that the story of the final film is as smooth as possible."

"Good, then pick a time in these two days, rephrase it, and then issue a statement to the outside; say the company is willing to cooperate with the requirements of the competent department and will rectify it as soon as possible." After getting Feng Xiaogang's response, Wang Zhongjun looked at Wang Zhonglei.

"Okay, I'll arrange it." The latter nodded and took on this external public relations work.

"Then what about the schedule? The distribution department needs a new schedule to rearrange the promotional plan." Ye Ning asked, and this question also made everyone in the office frown involuntarily.

Because if the new schedule is far from the present, the promotional costs that need to be invested later will undoubtedly be very high.

After all, as time passes, the promotional help that the 80 million thrown out before can provide will become smaller and smaller, even negligible.

But if the new schedule is too close, it will also be very rushed, because re-editing and going through procedures all take time.

"Thinking about it seriously right now, the New Year slot and the Spring Festival slot are the most suitable, and they are also the optimal solutions in terms of time and schedule scale!"

"The logic is the logic, but these two slots are both dragon pools and tiger dens, and big films have already been scheduled long ago."

Several executives started chattering, and Wang Zhongjun also pinched his eyebrows, finally biting the bullet and speaking: "New Year slot or Spring Festival slot, pick one."

"The New Year slot has Director Chen Kaige's *Legend of the Demon Cat*, as well as Happy Mahua and Red Star Dock's *Never Say Die*, as well as John Woo's *Manhunt*, Yuen Woo-ping's *The Thousand Faces of Dunjia*, Jackie Chan's *Bleeding Steel*..."

Wang Zhonglei took the initiative to introduce, but after a while, his tone changed, and his tone became more serious:

"But the competition in the Spring Festival slot will only be more tragic. The Navy's *Operation Red Sea* will definitely have 'preferential treatment,' and there is also *Monster Hunt 2* just scheduled by Edko..."

"In addition, there is inside news in the circle that it cannot be ruled out that Lin Nan Pictures' *Detective Chinatown 2* will also go to the Spring Festival slot."

"Then the New Year slot it is." At this time, Feng Xiaogang, who had been silent for a long time, spoke again. In his tone, there was still a hint of anger and irritability.

"Then the New Year slot?"

Following Wang Zhongjun's inquiry, everyone present raised their hands one after another, seconding the motion — *Youth* changes to the New Year slot!

The murmurs in the film circle and on the internet about *Youth* hadn't stopped since the afternoon of the 22nd, and they hadn't ceased even in the evening.

Of course, this "not ceasing" refers not only to the netizens and industry insiders who were eating melons, but also to Feng Xiaogang. Look, early the next morning, big Director Feng was on the trending search along with his *Youth*.

"He definitely drank alcohol last night, otherwise he wouldn't have posted on Weibo in the middle of the night, and it was in such a sarcastic tone.

I reckon he hasn't sobered up yet, otherwise this Weibo post couldn't still be there. But those people at Huayi must be anxious, they must be trying their best to contact Feng Xiaogang, hmm, or Xu Fan."

Lin Nan stuffed the last bite of egg into his mouth and teased Liu Qianqian with certainty.

"But this is too blatant, isn't it? How dare he?" Liu Yifei took the milk handed by her mother, glanced at the content on her phone, and couldn't help but be stunned.

"Within a year, he swept the San Sebastian International Film Festival, the Golden Horse, and the Golden Rooster. With his personality, wouldn't he become arrogant? In his own words, it's like a long-suffering daughter-in-law finally making it out, naturally he wants to be high-spirited.

Hmm, changing a line is also quite appropriate, and that is: before winning those big awards, I was this arrogant; after winning so many big awards, if I weren't even more arrogant, wouldn't the big awards have been won in vain?"

Lin Nan analyzed Feng Xiaogang's mentality with a smile and joked, even Liu Xiaoli was amused by him.

However, it must be admitted that the "Little Steel Cannon's" Weibo post was indeed a bit dangerous.

In the Weibo post he sent in the middle of the night, he directly admitted the fact that *Youth* was forcibly processed, and gave the reason conveyed from above:

"Because part of the plot and shot content seriously violated regulations... required to correct the attitude, rectify, and not be allowed to be publicly screened in the National Day slot as scheduled!"

In the words of big Director Feng, it meant that this film had to be cut on a large scale, re-edited, and the premiere naturally had to be canceled.

Originally, it was all fine, he was just complaining. But it really might be that he drank alcohol, and finally, the energy came up, and the "Little Steel Cannon" "sighed" a few more times at the end, firing a few more shots.

After drinking, he basically pointed his sword at the rules and systems, and even his gibberish was a bit too naked, almost sarcastically...

In the eyes of industry insiders, every sentence picked out was a death-seeking remark.

"Your achievements are so much higher than his, yet I haven't seen you be this arrogant?" Liu Yifei looked at Lin Nan with a giggle and teased.

"He and I are completely not on the same path, our personalities are diametrically opposed, so our styles of doing things are naturally very different."

"Hmm, Lin Nan is right." Liu Xiaoli nodded in agreement.

The three of them chatted while eating, and the topic changed from *Youth* to the two film premieres that Lin Nan and Liu Yifei were going to attend in the next few days, as well as the subsequent visit to the set of *A Cool Fish*.

The phone always rang at an inopportune time, but Lin Nan couldn't not answer it.

"Who is it?" Liu Yifei asked.

"Ren Zong?" Lin Nan answered the phone directly and turned on the speakerphone, so Miss Liu naturally got the answer.

"China Film and Starry Sky just sent me news that the script for *The Mermaid 2* is finished, and they have scheduled a meeting at China Film tomorrow morning.

Lin Nan Pictures and Shanghai Film are both investors in the first one, and I have already conveyed it to you before, they are inviting us to participate for the second time.

Are you coming yourself tomorrow, or sending someone? I remember that since the beginning of the year before last, you haven't been to China Film again?"

The two-minute call ended quickly. Before Liu Yifei could ask Lin Nan's thoughts, Yue Jun called in again.

"Let me guess, is it about China Film?" Lin Nan joked with Yue Jun, and Liu Yifei laughed out loud upon hearing this. And Liu Xiaoli also shook her head with a smile, calling the nanny to clear the table.

"Hmm? How did Lin Dao know? China Film shouldn't call twice for one thing, right?"

"Ren Zong just called."

"I knew it." Yue Jun complained speechlessly, and then immediately talked about the business:

"Chairman La's secretary called and asked us to attend the producer meeting for *The Mermaid 2* tomorrow morning. Listening to his tone, it seems that they hope Lin Dao can go in person to attend..."

At 10:00 AM, Lin Nan accompanied Liu Yifei out for a stroll.

And Huayi's stock price on the A-share market was indeed flashing green all the way down; the fact that *Youth* was forcibly pulled from theaters indeed had an immediate negative impact on Huayi!

"If Chairman Ren hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have realized this. You haven't been to China Film for two and a half years!"

"There's nothing that must be done, so why must I go there?"

Lin Nan glanced at Liu Yifei, who had just put on her sunglasses in the passenger seat, and asked back. If she hadn't forced him to come out shopping together, Lin Nan would probably be working for Guo Fan at Tiangong Color right now.

"Fine, I won't say anything, but I know the reason. Chairman Han is still cunning, hmm, that's what Han Jia said. Hehe." Liu Yifei raised her chin, looking like she had everything under control.

However, in less than two minutes, she became curious again, "You were whispering to Senior Brother Yue Jun for so long just now, what exactly were you ordering him to do?"

"Ordering him to... act according to the situation!" Lin Nan played a riddle, and then suddenly stepped on the gas to accelerate, startling Liu Yifei.

"Just because you scared me like this, you have to accompany me shopping until the afternoon today at least..."

"No problem. Since I can come out, it means I'm prepared to accompany you at the risk of my life. I really don't understand, how can you women all be so good at shopping?"

"Lin Nan, you've changed, you've really changed. You used to be able to accompany me shopping all day without getting tired." Liu Yifei puffed out her cheeks, complaining about her big director.

"Before, we weren't married yet..."

............ ===== CHAPTER 914 =====