Chapter 923: Still Not Old, Can Still Fight a Bit More; A Spendthrift Brat with Water in His Brain!

For all the first-year to fourth-year students in the Performance Department of the Central Academy of Drama, Lin Nan pondered for a moment; the only three he had encountered and remembered were Liu Liu Haoran, already a third-year student, and Kang Keren and Dong Dong Zijian, both already fourth-year students.

Although there were only three, that was still more than at the Beijing Film Academy, because he only remembered two students from the current Performance Department of the Film Academy: Guan Guan Xiaotong, a second-year student, and Wang Wang Junkai, who had just enrolled in September this year.

Setting aside everything else, just comparing these few most famous ones reveals which side is higher and which is lower; it was truly a crushing situation, utterly unsolvable.

"Lin Dao, aren't you planning to visit the Performance Department? Those students are all looking at you with eager eyes, haha."

Noticing Lin Nan's gaze directed toward the Performance Department, the staff member who had run over to receive him immediately extended a very enthusiastic invitation.

"The competition among actors is getting fiercer these two years, and it will get even greater in the future. In terms of actors, the advantages of the Central Academy of Drama will become increasingly obvious." Lin Nan's unexpected remark of reflection made the several faculty members beside him feel very gratified, their faces constantly breaking into smiles.

"Truly worthy of Lin Dao, penetrating. Setting aside everything else, speaking solely of the success rate, the Performance Department of the Central Academy of Drama is absolutely higher than that of the Beijing Film Academy.

Although everything talks about traffic nowadays, if there is no substance in the belly, how long can an actor's traffic be maintained? Relying solely on a face is not enough! The neighbor has been a bit too obsessed with traffic and star power these past two years, almost pathological."

As the words landed, the several faculty members of the Central Academy of Drama all wore expressions of full agreement on their faces. That collective sense of honor and pride, as well as the contempt for the Performance Department of the Beijing Film Academy, Lin Nan could clearly feel.

By all rights, speaking such words in front of a big director from the Beijing Film Academy was, to some extent, somewhat inappropriate.

But after all, there is still an old saying in the industry that goes well: The big directors of the Beijing Film Academy are cultivated for the Central Academy of Drama; the big directors of the Beijing Film Academy are also the big directors of the Central Academy of Drama!

So, since we are all one's own people, naturally, these words can be spoken so bluntly and directly.

"Hmm, I won't go to the Performance Department." Lin Nan smiled helplessly, only then remembering the other party's invitation just now.

"Ah? Then Lin Dao, coming here today... you wouldn't really want to jump ship, would you? In that case, we would welcome it with open arms; you can pick any of the secondary colleges... the school leaders would absolutely hold the same attitude..."

Hearing this teasing remark, and seeing the slightly puzzled looks in the eyes of the few, Lin Nan simply stopped hiding it: "I came to find Li Laoshi Li Baotian."

"Li Laoshi? He is here. I wonder, Lin Dao, what is it you are looking for Li Laoshi for?"

"Entrusted by Ning Hao and Xing Yina, our Producer Liu also gave me an order; I came to invite someone on their behalf. Hmm, there is an invitation for a film."

"Director Ning Hao's 'The Father Locked in Time'?" In an instant, all the few reacted, and the joy in their eyes was then completely unmasked.

"Yes, this is almost a one-man show. Among several intended choices, Li Laoshi Li Baotian is the most suitable; the age is just right, the acting is top-tier, and the body is still okay, able to rush through filming.

There are a few teachers older than him, so their physical conditions are all a bit worse; Ning Hao is afraid of problems... and there is also Li Laoshi Li Xuejian; his original voice is a defect issue, so he is also unsuitable for acting in this film..."

Lin Nan walked toward the faculty area along with the few people, chatting about casting matters all the while. Finally, he couldn't help but sigh:

"June 2004, back then I came to the Central Academy of Drama to invite Li Laoshi Li Baotian to act in my first film aiming for awards;

thirteen years have already passed; today I have come again; looking back now, it is truly time flowing like water... days and months like a shuttle."

There was a thought that Lin Nan had not revealed to Liu Liu Yifei before. That was that he indeed hoped Xing Yina and Ning Hao would choose Li Li Baotian; there was a cause-and-effect reason within this.

Obviously, Liu Liu Yifei, Xing Yina, and Ning Hao all guessed his this mindset; luckily, Li Li Baotian indeed best fit the current needs of the film!

"Lin Dao, we have arrived."

The afternoon sunlight shone through the window into the room, illuminating the desk; there was a painting that was being created but had been interrupted;

and in the display cabinet nearby stood many wood carvings, messy yet orderly amidst the chaos, possessing great aesthetic sense and an artistic atmosphere.

This is the life and hobby that Li Li Baotian now focuses on during his leisure time besides teaching, and his attainments in all of them are not low.

He taught himself painting from childhood, held art exhibitions, published art albums, loves wood carving art, is devoted to collecting opera masks and opera scripts, has a stubborn and solitary personality, and is both arrogant and inferior...

"The last film where I played the male lead, I remember it was the 2012 Sino-French co-production 'The Return of the Nightingale', which was released in 2014. That year we also went to compete for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film..."

Li Li Baotian, dressed in casual denim wear, sat in a chair, wearing black-rimmed thin-framed glasses, recalling with a pleasant tone.

His appearance, his aura, were completely unlike what a seventy-something-year-old old man should have; he still radiated vigorous vitality, a very robust old artist.

There were only two people in the study, so Lin Nan also appeared more casual, jokingly saying: "This life rhythm is also quite good; teach a bit, act a bit, painting and carving without neglecting either, cultivating one's nature."

"Yes, it is quite good." Li Li Baotian nodded with a smile, then looked at Lin Nan and asked quite seriously: "Which film festival will 'The Father Locked in Time' go to?"

In an instant, Lin Nan was a bit stunned; such a fast reaction speed?

But then again, after all, being able to spend all day exhausting one's spirit and physical strength on painting and carving is enough to prove that Li Li Baotian's body is still strong, his energy is still abundant; truly worthy of that stubborn "Theater Tyrant"!

"Why do you ask this question?" Lin Nan asked with interest, smiling.

"Commercial films, would they be available to me?" Li Li Baotian asked Lin Nan in return with a smile, then said quite proudly:

"In my lifetime, I have also competed for the Best Actor award at A-class film festivals many times. As for the number of times I participated in major and minor foreign awards, I myself can't even remember. So I still have this kind of sense of smell."

Lin Nan agreed with Li Li Baotian's statement. The former's two films cooperating with Gong Li, 'Ju Dou' and 'Raise the Red Lantern', competed for Cannes twice, both entering the main competition section, and there was also the Berlin one he went to with her...

"Venice."

"No wonder, this is rushing against time? Hahaha, but speaking of physical condition, among male actors in the seventy-to-eighty age group, indeed, if I say I am number one, no one dares to say number two!" Li Li Baotian laughed very loudly, very confidently.

"This is only one of the main reasons. Additionally, I also quite hope to cooperate with Li Laoshi one more time."

"Cooperate again?" Li Li Baotian's smile became even warmer; he nodded gently: "That is also true; participating in a film produced by Hongxing Yu is also cooperating with you again after more than ten years.

Alright, then I will dream again. I am only seventy-something, I am not old yet, I can still fight a bit more. Go try the weight of the three major A-class films again; who knows, maybe this time I will succeed? Haha..."

Dong Ping and Xu Zheng left Bad Monkey Pictures with dark faces; the two of them had not gained any advantage in front of Xing Yina; to put it more directly, the latter simply did not care about human feelings at all.

"Regarding this result just now, we were already mentally prepared when we planned to come to Bad Monkey Pictures to find Xing Yina this afternoon, weren't we?"

The car started slowly, heading straight back to Happy Media. At this time, Dong Ping also began to whisper to Xu Zheng calmly.

"But I still did not expect that this couple would be so determined this time! So determined that they intentionally avoided the shareholder agreement beforehand, unwilling to let the group get involved even by a penny."

"You are wrong; I only realized it just now when we left the door." Dong Ping frowned slightly and corrected.

"What do you mean?"

"When we were talking to Xing Yina about matters, why did she still keep Producer Liu in the office?"

"Because Hongxing Yu is the production company?"

"Yes, but it is not only for this reason. I estimate that if Xing Yina couldn't handle us two, then Producer Liu might stand up... stand up to oppose Happy Media's desire to dip its fingers into this film's idea.

By that time, it would be a dead knot. If she opposes, then Happy Media naturally cannot take shares. But could we possibly demand that Bad Monkey withdraw from this project? We don't have that power, and it would also completely break us off with Ning Hao and his wife! Xing Yina kept Producer Liu present to ensure we couldn't take advantage of Bad Monkey."

As he spoke, Dong Ping was even startled by his own conjecture. He and Xu Zheng, were they calculated long ago?

"From the very beginning, they had made up their minds not to let us get involved?"

Hearing these words, Xu Zheng could only be said to have caught on after the fact. He hadn't actually thought that much about Liu Liu Yifei's presence to begin with. "Ning Hao's gone a bit too far this time — does he think we're thieves, or bandits?"

……

On the morning of the 10th, while Ning Hao's new film *The Father Trapped in Time* continued to dominate the headlines of film news, another great director's new movie also dropped out of nowhere, once again sending the entire film industry and market into a frenzy.

"Early this morning, the Film Bureau's official website released the October list of approved film scripts. Director Stephen Chow's film, *The Mermaid 2*, is prominently featured on the list!"

"China Film, Sparkle Roll, Huayi Brothers, Shanghai Magic City New Culture and many other film and television giants have issued a joint announcement: a large-scale media meet-and-greet and the *The Mermaid 2* project launch press conference will be held in Beijing on the 20th of this month…"

"According to insiders, Shanghai Film and Lin Nan Pictures have voluntarily withdrawn from the *The Mermaid 2* production lineup; the specific reasons remain unknown. Media outlets have called Sparkle Roll and China Film for confirmation, but have yet to make effective contact…"

If the actors across the entire film and television circle were thrilled at having one more top-tier cake to share, then the production companies within the industry were undoubtedly all cursing Lin Nan Pictures and Shanghai Film — and cursing them viciously!

"There's no smoke without fire, and since no one's come forward to deny it, the news is probably true."

"Have those two gone mad? The first film's box office was over three billion!"

"I wouldn't rule out that their brains really are waterlogged! Lin Nan is far too arrogant, and Ren Ren Zhonglun just doesn't have the luck for it!"

"It's also possible they've become complete strangers! After all, these past two years Lin Nan Pictures and China Film have been drifting further and further apart, and last time *The Mermaid* was greenlit, the Golden Rooster incident hadn't even happened yet."

"A sequel to a film that grossed over three billion, yet they casually discarded their investment share. When the movie finally hits theaters, don't come crying with regret!"

"If you don't want to invest, you could have just sold off your share. Wasting a good resource like this…"

……

"Pick up the phone!"

Wang Wang Changtian stared at his phone screen and urged through gritted teeth. Right now he truly felt like pointing at Lin Nan's nose and giving him a good cursing — this wastrel!