Chapter 92: Going to Venice

Lin Nan went to see Han Sanping.

"Chairman Han, the time has been confirmed over there; it will be released globally in July.

The matter of imports needs to be handled by the China Film Group."

According to the email sent by Nolan, "Inception" will have all its special effects and post-production completed by April.

The best release window is the summer season.

Upon hearing this, Han Sanping was visibly energized, and joy appeared on his face.

"July is quite good.

I will notify the department below to reserve an import quota; have those people over there send someone to sign the contract."

Han Sanping arranged things methodically and then glanced at Lin Nan again.

"By the way, the post-production for 'The Hunt' is all finished. Haven't you considered your next project? While you're young, don't be lazy."

"I will consider it once the equipment and personnel return."

After settling the matter of "Inception" with Han Sanping, Lin Nan left the China Film Group.

The school was already calling for him to attend a meeting.

This year, the undergraduate art exams and the postgraduate re-examinations happened to overlap.

After all, the former involves three rounds of interviews plus written professional exams, so it is inevitable that the timing would coincide.

As the saying goes, whether the Film Academy is on winter break or not, one can barely tell the difference.

Even if there is a change, it is just that there are more people.

"Hello, Senior Lin Nan."

A crisp greeting reached him, and Lin Nan saw a familiar face.

"Jiao Junyan, you're a senior now, right? Still hanging around school? How many films have you acted in?"

Lin Nan still had an impression of this girl; after all, when he saw her name during the art exams, his first reaction was Jiao Enjun.

The fact was that the two had no relation.

"I haven't acted in a single one. I'm not in a rush. Although they started filming early, I am building a good foundation at school..."

She was someone with her own ideas, which was rare at the Film Academy.

"Then take your time building your foundation; I have to go to a meeting."

"Goodbye, Senior Lin Nan."

…………

Previously, Lin Nan would at most wander around the offices of the Directing Department and the Acting Department; today was his first time entering the school's large conference room.

He and Lao Jiang sat in the back, listening to the school leaders arrange the procedures for the art exams and postgraduate re-examinations.

Upon hearing the end, Lin Nan was stunned.

He wasn't assigned specifically to the Directing Department, but was instead following several associate professors to conduct the first half of the interviews that didn't involve professional knowledge, which meant he had to see every single candidate.

"Lao Jiang, you can't be serious, right?"

"Originally, Director Tian didn't agree either, but the school leaders said this could fully utilize your 'value'."

"That's excessive."

"One last time, just consider it as contributing to your alma mater. Don't be late after the New Year," Lao Jiang urged.

The meeting ended quickly, and many people greeted Lin Nan before leaving.

Although it was the break, many of these teachers and professors had "side jobs" and couldn't possibly rest.

"The Message" held a press conference.

The lead actors met the public for the first time.

The media were all reporting on it; this could be considered Lin Nan's second intersection with Huayi in terms of film, the first being "Journey to the Center of the Earth."

Rumors about the script of "The Message," regarding the increase and decrease of character screen time, somehow leaked out.

It spread more and more fiercely online, to the point where one could almost write a twenty-episode TV series about it.

The creative team denied it flatly, though Lin Nan heard that Wang Zhonglei had fired several employees.

On the other side, after "Crazy Racer" grossed twelve million on its first day, it brought in nine million and eight million on the second and third days, respectively.

Online reviews were overwhelmingly positive, but it was already approaching New Year's Eve, so the box office would certainly see a significant decline.

Liu Yifei spent the whole morning looking at a cookbook.

Lin Nan sat across from her with a dark face; whenever the girl looked at him, Lin Nan would shake his head, very firmly.

Just as the two were "communicating" with their eyes, Lin Nan's phone vibrated.

"Who is it?" Liu Yifei asked.

"An unknown number. Hello, who is this?"

"Director Lin, it's me..."

…………

More than half an hour later, Lin Nan was driving and preparing to head out.

"Are you coming back for dinner?"

Liu Yifei asked while standing outside the car window, looking like a young wife.

"I'll be back."

He drove all the way to his destination, a high-end teahouse.

Lin Nan didn't know if Li An had come specifically to find him or if it was just on his way.

But since the other party had extended a warm invitation, he came.

"Director Lin Nan, sit."

Besides Li An, there was a waitress brewing tea in the private room.

After Lin Nan sat down, the waitress retreated.

"Director Lin's 'The Hunt' is already finished?"

Hearing this, Lin Nan seemed to understand something.

"It is finished. Is Director Li looking for me to talk about this?"

"Yes, I have met with many domestic directors these past few days; they either don't have a suitable film or have already decided to go to Cannes.

Director Lin's graduation work is my last hope, haha."

"Venice?" Lin Nan muttered.

He had thought about Cannes before; years ago, the invitation letters from Cannes had even been mailed to his school.

But now that Li An had come to invite him personally, Lin Nan felt it was hard to refuse such a kind gesture.

After all, in terms of age, seniority, achievements, and reputation, the other party was a senior in every aspect.

"Alright, then I will go to Venice this year. I hope for a good result."

After careful consideration, Lin Nan gave his promise.

"Haha, good, then many thanks to Director Lin."

Li An raised his teacup, and the two toasted each other.

Over an hour later, the two walked out of the teahouse side by side and went their separate ways.

The meeting between two directors could not be hidden from the media.

By the time Lin Nan returned home, the news had already spread online.

"Director Li An meets with Director Lin Nan; could it be a collaboration?"

"Two great directors meet at a teahouse; the specific reason is unknown..."

……

Netizens are sometimes faster to react than the media.

"One is the chairman of this year's Venice Film Festival, and the other has a new film; what else could it be!"

Many acquaintances came to ask Lin Nan, and he answered truthfully.

In less than half a day, the matter had spread throughout the industry.

In the eyes of many older-generation filmmakers, going to film festivals is the orthodox path, especially for a student like Lin Nan who is a "red-blooded" graduate of the Beijing Film Academy.

But there were more who had opinions, because ever since the Golden Rooster Awards that year, Lin Nan had never brought a work to participate in any domestic film festival again.

Many people recalled what Lin Nan and Ning Hao said on the Golden Rooster red carpet the year before last.

"'Golden Lion, Golden Bear might be simpler and easier!' That was quite ironic."

On New Year's Eve, Shu Chang came over to freeload a meal again.

"My little studio is doing okay; being my own boss is quite comfortable."

Shu Chang and Liu Yifei are very similar; generally, they have no desires or demands, which is why they get along well.

On the TV was Zhao Benshan's sketch "Not Short of Money," which was already cultivating newcomers.

The next day, all major media outlets were filled with news about the Spring Festival Gala.

Zhao Benshan's apprentice became famous across the country overnight.

Lin Nan was looking through the text messages from the early hours of yesterday; there were hundreds of them, all wishing him a Happy New Year.

Quite a few were sent right on time; Jing Tian's message was the first, and it looked like she spent the New Year on set.

The second was Huang Xiaoming, followed by Zhang Yi, Hu Ge, Yang Mi...

…………

"No, they have no acting skills at all. I do not agree to using these people."

"This is a commercial film; making money and the box office are the top priorities."

"He is extremely popular right now, the kind that is famous nationwide. Having him act in it will only benefit the box office. Besides, they have already agreed that as long as he can join our crew, the salary is a minor matter..."

"Still no. I have to be responsible for the film. Even when I used newcomers in the past, they were from professional academies. Someone like this, what can he do?"

…………

After the Lunar New Year's Eve, the daily box office for *Crazy Racer* began to rebound, reaching 55 million in its first week.

In contrast, *Red Cliff II* was already showing signs of running out of steam.

Just as the media and netizens had asserted, let alone surpassing *If You Are the One* and *The Martian*, it didn't even catch up to the box office of *Red Cliff I*.

The production company likely didn't want to struggle any longer, and after the box office reached 260 million, they chose to pull it from theaters.

As for whether the two parts of *Red Cliff* combined made a profit or a loss, only the producers know.

After the new year began, the most sensational event in the film and television circle came from New Pictures.

Zhang Weiping held a media conference to announce Zhang Yimou's new film.

"We will be using Xiao Shenyang, who shone brightly at the Spring Festival Gala, as well as members of the Zhao Family Troupe. This is a new attempt."

"The script is already finished, adapted from the famous foreign film *Blood Simple*."

"Starting production will still take a few months; we need to select other actors, and the filming locations and crew preparations all require time..."

For a time, actors in the circle cast their eyes in that direction.

The new film that was mentioned a few months ago had finally been announced.

When Lin Nan saw this news, he couldn't help but laugh. *A Simple Noodle Story* was about to be released.

No need to guess, this was definitely Zhang Weiping's idea. Using Jay Chou before and Xiao Shenyang this time—he is someone who understands traffic.

The art examinations for the Beijing Film Academy and the Central Academy of Drama began at the same time.

Both academies were flooded with tens of thousands of candidates, becoming extremely crowded all of a sudden.

Lin Nan was called back to prepare for the graduate student re-examinations.

Many candidates looked at Lin Nan as if he were a rare sight. One must know that Lin Nan had participated in the art examinations every year previously, and he was also in this year's brochure.

"Is Director Lin Nan not participating in the art examination interviews this year?"

Many candidates who hadn't paid much attention to the news asked each other.

"Director Lin is not participating in the undergraduate art examinations this year, but is going to participate in the graduate student re-examinations as an examiner."

An undergraduate student maintaining order at the scene explained.

A stack of materials was handed to Lin Nan; these were the resumes of all the students to be re-examined today.

"Lin Nan, you must be careful today."

"You are young, so when interviewing, ask some questions relevant to your peers."

"Our School of Arts still needs to be a bit more lively..."

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