Chapter 930: Public Screening; Casting; Covering the Sky!

"The realistic romantic art film *Marriage Story*, which won Best Director, Best Actress, and the Jury Grand Prix at the Venice International Film Festival, officially opened in theaters at 6:00 AM this morning."

"The film *Marriage Story* is headlined by Liu Yifei, Lin Nan, and Zhou Xun. The former, by virtue of this film, has won an international A-list Best Actress award from the 'Big Three' film festivals for the first time, achieving a qualitative breakthrough."

"On its first day of public screening, the film achieved a comprehensive screen share of 24%, setting a record for the highest screen share for a film of this genre. Additionally, according to distribution personnel, the overseas copyright revenue for *Marriage Story* has reached as high as 30.6 million USD..."

"This morning, the 1st Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival will hold its grand opening in the ancient city of Pingyao, which boasts a history of over 2,700 years."

"This film festival was initiated by Director Jia Zhangke, co-signed by dozens of major directors in the industry, and features film professional Marco Müller as the chief consultant. It is the fifth international film exhibition in China to receive state approval..."

In the morning, the film and television industry was extremely lively; half the reason was the Pingyao International Film Festival, and the other half was *Marriage Story*.

On Weibo, there were significantly more first- and second-tier celebrity actors posting tweets and advertisements for *Marriage Story* than there were stars posting about activities related to the Pingyao International Film Festival.

In fact, quite a few actors who were at the film festival were 'wearing a green hat'—no, that's called 'being in Cao Ying but having one's heart in Han'—cheering for Producer Liu and Lin Dao to grab exposure and traffic.

However, for the film and television companies in the industry, their eyes were fixed on the overseas copyright revenue of *Marriage Story* from the very first moment. Without exception, that eye-popping number made everyone jealous and sour.

"There is too much film and television news, to the point that the news about *Ming Dynasty* starting production early has been completely squeezed into a corner..."

After Lin Nan flipped through the film and television news for a good while, he finally managed to find that short message.

Clearly, the media is not very optimistic about this drama at the moment. After all, there are too few TV dramas about the Ming Dynasty, and the few famous ones from before are dramas from a very, very long time ago.

"Starting today, he has to shuttle back and forth between two crews to film; it would be better if this dog thing just died of exhaustion." Luo Jin lay on a rocking chair to the side, leisurely teasing Zhu Yawen.

He and Tang Yan returned to the capital today mainly to re-select the venue for their engagement banquet, because the number of guests had increased significantly during this period, far exceeding the expected plan, so they had to urgently change to a larger venue.

Of course, money makes everything easy. Just like that, the two of them made the decision on the spot after seeing the venue this morning.

As for the new location, it was actually recommended by Miss Liu in passing. Hmm, the old place, Diaoyutai. But it definitely isn't the Fangfei Garden, but another larger hall.

"The call is here, is she calling us to eat?" Before Lin Nan could respond, Luo Jin picked up his phone; it was Tang Yan calling. She had run off to Bad Monkey to join the fun over an hour ago.

"Should be." Lin Nan nodded. He had been living like this for the past two days, going to Bad Monkey Pictures to eat on time. As for Liu Xiaoli, she returned to her hometown a few days ago.

"Alright, Lin Dao and I will be there immediately."

After Luo Jin hung up the phone, he teased Lin Nan with a playful expression: "Just now on the phone, Tang Tang was holding back laughter and said something to me. Guess what it was?"

"How would I guess? If you have something to say, say it quickly." Lin Nan gave him a look of disdain and retorted unhappily.

Luo Jin couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. "She said that once the official casting list for *The Father* is announced to the outside world, the Film Academy will probably be mocked by the entire internet and the entire industry again..."

In an instant, Lin Nan understood. This morning, could it be that Producer Liu and Screenwriter Xing decided on quite a few actors from the Central Academy of Drama?

"Looking at your expression, it seems you've already guessed it? Hahaha."

Not long after, Lin Nan and Luo Jin drove away from the manor villa.

Meanwhile, at Bad Monkey Pictures, Xing Aina was reviewing the casting matters from this morning with Liu Yifei.

"They are two very suitable actresses in the circle. At the age of forty, they only need a little makeup and styling, and that feeling on the big screen will come rushing out. Most importantly, they are both recognized as acting powerhouses."

"However, when the casting list is officially announced, remember not to include Red Star Dock and me. I'm afraid of being nagged." Liu Yifei smiled sweetly and winked at Xing Aina.

"You think quite beautifully. Don't forget, Ning Hao and I also came out of the Film Academy. None of us will be able to escape when the time comes."

Screenwriter Xing didn't take the bait at all. In fact, from the moment the casting was decided, she already had this psychological preparation. But the same old saying applies: who made the actors from the Central Academy of Drama the most outstanding?

"So far, you have decided on four main actors for this film, three of whom are from the Central Academy of Drama. Although Shu Chang is not professionally trained, she was, after all, admitted to the Central Academy of Drama with the top score. She also has a connection. Thinking about it this way, tsk tsk tsk..."

Tang Yan teased with a sense of shared honor. And that smile of watching the fun without fearing the trouble was already hanging clearly on her face.

On the other side, the two old classmates were also meeting in a coffee shop to chat about this film after leaving Bad Monkey Pictures.

"To be honest, I have never acted in Director Ning Hao's film before."

"Although I have collaborated before, the previous film *Breakup Buddies* was a comedy, and my role wasn't very likable. This is the first time I've received an invitation from Bad Monkey for this kind of serious award-chasing subject matter."

"However, I can feel that Screenwriter Xing attaches great importance to this film, not even inferior to the importance attached to *No Man's Land* back then. It's just that the two films are completely opposite styles. That one talked about the evil of human nature, while this one is clearly talking about the beauty of human nature—family affection."

"You are still diligent. You've actually started analyzing the film, and you're quite articulate. I'm far behind; I was still thinking about doing a character biography after the script is sent down. Haha..."

In the afternoon, starting from the first batch of *Marriage Story* audience members walking out of the cinema and taking the time to write reviews online, Lin Nan was destined to be "attacked by everyone."

A large amount of teasing, banter, and even extreme cursing poured toward Lin Nan, the male lead of *Marriage Story*, like an avalanche, and it was hard to refute.

"I think Lin Dao's male lead acted very well. To be able to act as a scumbag who cheats in marriage to this extent... he doesn't look like he's acting at all!"

"Ah? Right, right, right. When he scolded Liu Yifei, I had this feeling too, as if he was taking the opportunity to vent all his dissatisfaction with his wife in reality and daily life. Hmm, he is playing himself, taking the opportunity to retaliate..."

"This is the first time I've seen such a fierce Liu Yifei on the screen. When she was scolding Lin Dao, I felt like she was going to go over and kill the other person any minute, and she indeed has this fighting power!"

"It was indeed like that when they were arguing, but isn't their performance after the argument also very real? Both of them had red eyes and were very sad. Although they still loved each other, they really couldn't go on."

"Appraisal complete, scumbag without a doubt! In reality, the couple is a director and an actor, and in the play, it's the same combination, and the male lead also cheated on the actress in his own crew... What is the script written by Lin Dao implying? Is he exposing himself?"

"Stop making trouble, you guys are going to kill Lin Dao! Hahaha... He's probably going to sleep on the sofa when he goes back today, if our Best Actress watches Weibo reviews this afternoon."

"That's miserable, Liu Qianqian does often lurk and surf the internet... Mourn for Lin Dao for three minutes, light a candle!"

"Mourn, three minutes..."

"Mourn, light a candle..."

"By the way, if Lin Dao is sent to sleep on the sofa, would this be a reward for him?"

"Damn, the person above, I advise you not to fire indiscriminately, we are all compatriots."

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On the morning of the 29th, when the first-day box office data of 38.42 million appeared on the front page headlines of film and entertainment news, everyone in the industry knew clearly that *Marriage Story*, a non-commercial film, had achieved a successful start in the box office market!

Looking at the film and television industry, as of now, it seems that only Lin Nan can make a non-commercial film achieve this.

Because to put it bluntly, this great director Lin Nan possesses a trace of the characteristics of a "traffic star." Of course, his traffic was accumulated film by film; it is an incomparably solid reputation!

"This morning, Chen Kaige's *Legend of the Demon Cat* screened a 10-minute special clip at the Tokyo International Film Festival, and I heard it caused a great sensation. I reckon his film will definitely be able to get good box office and copyright revenue there."

"*Legend of the Demon Cat* already has Japanese capital and Japanese actors participating, and it is a Tang Dynasty-themed costume blockbuster directed by the great Director Chen. It would be hard for it not to be popular there."

Lin Nan sat on the swing on the lawn, basking in the sun, pounding his waist from time to time, and taking Wang Changtian's call.

The latter mainly came to talk to him about screen scheduling. The screen share of *Marriage Story* increased to 26% today, and it shouldn't be higher after that; after all, it's not a commercial film.

"What you said is also correct. Film and television works with Han and Tang themes are indeed popular there... What? Are you joking or am I having auditory hallucinations? Such a big joke?"

While talking on the phone, Wang Changtian's voice suddenly raised quite a bit, giving Lin Nan a big fright. However, he reacted in an instant; the former should be talking to the employees around him.

"What's wrong?" Lin Nan asked curiously.

"Go look at the news that just came out. The one surnamed Jia has been officially listed as a dishonest person and has been restricted from high consumption. You say, isn't this a big joke? The person has been running for several months, and only now do they remember to make a gesture."

"The most ridiculous thing is that they also issued a reminder at the same time, urging him to return from abroad quickly and bravely take responsibility; they even specifically gave a reminder, saying that the high-consumption restriction does not affect taking international flights back to the country... Haha, it just cracked me up."

Hearing this, Lin Nan couldn't help but laugh either.

After hanging up the phone, he was originally prepared to flip through the news online to watch the fun. But the facts told him there was no need to flip at all, because the news was hanging at the first spot on the trending list.

Netizens across the entire internet were cursing like crazy, not only cursing the one surnamed Jia, but even more cursing...

Huayi.

Wang Zhonglei was already urging Feng Xiaogang for the script, the script for *Cell Phone 2*.

To be precise, he wasn't actually urging for the script, but urging for the film project. To be more blunt, he was aiming at the thing that the film project could cover up; he was a bit anxious recently.

"I estimate it will take at least three or four months, right? He is not an employee of our Huayi; he has his own main job. University professors have to teach classes and lead students; especially in these two or three months at the end of the year, he also has to be busy dealing with various social engagements within the system..."

Feng Xiaogang took the initiative to explain to Wang Zhonglei. He could see that the other party was a bit anxious, and he roughly guessed the reason.

"Is there a possibility of advancing it?" Wang Zhonglei's eyes flickered, and he suddenly asked.

"Without a script, how can the film project be advanced?" Feng Xiaogang asked back subconsciously.

"I'm not talking about the early start of the film, but the advancement of the project!" Wang Zhonglei looked directly at Feng Xiaogang and reminded him with hidden meaning.

Sure enough, worthy of being people on the same boat for many years, the latter reacted immediately: "Does President Wang mean to prepare 'low-key' first?"

"Not bad, my meaning is that the group should allocate the project funds for *Cell Phone 2* first and put them aside separately. Because the amount of funds is huge, the process must be perfect, and the procedures must be compliant..."

"In addition, we can also contact Fan Bingbing in advance these two days, draft the contract with her first, and give her the remuneration in advance. Of course, the procedures and details must also be careful, must be meticulous, and must be completely legal and compliant..." Wang Zhonglei said righteously, his tone unusually upright, upright to the point of being rare.

And Feng Xiaogang had already revealed a smile, nodding: "Of course no problem, it is necessary to sign the contract first and be meticulous."

"Then let's contact her later. Ever since she was robbed of the role in *She Kills*, she hasn't accepted any acting offers, just waiting for *Cell Phone 2*. She should be at the Pingyao International Film Festival today."

*The Birth of an Actor* became popular.

Zhang Guoli, Zhang Ziyi, Liu Ye, Song Dandan, Chen Kexin, Wu Junru, Chen Jianbin, Hu Jun, Tao Hong... and the eye-sore Taro.

An acting competition variety show for actors directly brought out such an unusually luxurious lineup of mentors and team advisors. To put it bluntly, it would be hard for it not to be popular!

And with the end of the 29th and 30th, after two days of fermentation and crazy dissemination, this variety show's first episode became completely popular across the entire internet...

Subsequently, rumors began to run rampant: various major directors and top actors were on the list of "flying guests," among them were Lin Nan, Liu Yifei, and others.

Don't even mention it, facing this kind of means of rubbing traffic and hyping heat, quite a few people in the industry were indeed a bit helpless.

Because if you pay attention to it, you are really giving it traffic, and this is just a small matter. Netizens might really be looking forward to it, and in the end, you will appear petty and stingy.

If you don't pay attention to it, it's also really a bit disgusting, like a mosquito, constantly sucking blood.

However, Lin Nan and Liu Yifei have always had big hearts, because at this status, these problems of rubbing traffic are inherently difficult to avoid.

Furthermore, Tudou bought the exclusive online broadcast rights, so the two of them just treated it as a contribution to that side.

In fact, to be fair, although the popularity of a new variety show did attract the attention of the entire industry, film production companies and filmmakers were actually more concerned about the trend of the film market—*Marriage Story*.

Including the first weekend's two days plus the public screening on Monday, over three days, *Marriage Story* obtained a gratifying box office of 114 million!

After the end of this National Day holiday and before the start of the New Year's holiday, Lin Nan and Liu Yifei's *Marriage Story* could be said to have no opponents, and it was also the film with the most topics and traffic during the period.

It's just that with the public screening of the film, Lin Dao was truly a bit miserable.

Because online, there were people teasing him every day, and even building threads under his Weibo, reminding him not to cheat.

Looking at the comments under Liu Yifei's Weibo, there were even more excessive messages and comments—all of them were trying to set Lin Nan up, trying to pit him in various ways, hmm, letting Liu Yifei hammer him to death!

Qingdao, Oriental Movie Metropolis, *Crazy Alien* crew.

On the last day of October, Ning Hao was still working overtime to catch up on the work. And the entire crew, the entire film, was already doing the final countdown to wrapping up.

"After this film wraps up, I have to hurry back to do the post-production for *A Good Show*. Ning Hao was just waiting for the egg under the chicken's butt at that time. I had just wrapped up my directorial debut, and he dragged me over."

"Bullshit, I gave you two weeks to rest."

"Listen to that, is that human talk? Which serious actor wraps up a play and enters the crew for another film after only two weeks of rest? And I directed and acted in the previous one, which is even more tiring." Huang Bo pointed at Ning Hao and complained to Shen Teng.

"You two shut up, I'm taking a call." Ning Hao pointed at Shen Teng, instantly making him swallow the teasing words that were on his lips. He had no choice but to mutter to Huang Bo:

"The world is big, the crew director is the biggest. Brother Bo, endure it, be careful not to let him make you NG again..."

"Has everything been decided?" In a quiet place to the side, a flash of light flickered in Ning Hao's eyes, and his whole person became excited all of a sudden.

"Hmm, the remaining few roles were all decided this morning. I've already sent them to your phone, take a look later. In addition, about the official announcement time, when do you think is appropriate?"

"I can wrap up here before the 5th, wait until I come back."

"Good, then wait until you come back to talk about it!"

Xing Aina was talking to Ning Hao on the phone while sending Liu Yifei and Shu Chang out of Bad Monkey Pictures. Seeing the figures of the three, Lin Nan stopped leaning against the car door and scrolling through Weibo, and instead walked up to greet them.

"Are we going straight home now, or should we go out for a stroll and eat lunch before going back?" Lin Nan took the bag from Liu Yifei's hand and asked.

"Eat, eat." Shu Chang was quite good at answering, not being polite at all.

"Stroll? I haven't gone shopping for a long time, and shopping too." Liu Yifei smiled at Lin Nan, eager to try, her attitude firm.

"I'll treat today, to thank Yifei for her help these days." Xing Aina interrupted Lin Nan.

"Forget it, wait until Director Ning comes back, you two treat together." Liu Yifei decisively suggested.

"This idea is good, wait until he comes back and you two treat together." Lin Nan also echoed, anyway, his task of accompanying shopping today could not be avoided.

"This... also works, then wait until he comes back in a few days. By the way, drive slowly on the road."

Watching the three get into the car and drive away, Xing Aina turned around and returned to the company. Casting complete, feeling relaxed.

Here in the capital, the paparazzi who didn't go to the Pingyao International Film Festival to join the fun finally found a savior.

For an entire afternoon, they watched with their own eyes as Lin Dao's hands went from one to many various brand shopping bags, and after they were all stuffed into the car, they went from one to many again... truly pitiful!

While Producer Liu led her good sister Shu Chang to shop more and more energetically, in contrast, Lin Dao appeared more and more listless.

To the point that he finally called the assistant from Red Star Dock over, and only then did he have a helper... when the two picked out things and were ready to leave, he only needed to lift his butt off the stool to pay the bill!

For an entire afternoon, Lin Dao's "decadent look" could be said to have made countless male compatriots online empathize, but they still had to curse him:

"Being so lazy and listless while accompanying his big beauty wife shopping, it seems *Marriage Story* really has substance..."

On the morning of the first day of November, when Lin Nan was still sleeping in at home, the outside world had already become a mess.

The film and television entertainment circle, the internet industry, the financial industry, all were looking at that announcement...

And online, it was an uproar, with cursing everywhere.

Everything was just because the penalty notice had come down—the final penalty decision regarding the matter of someone maliciously manipulating the stock market for profit.

After removing the non-nutritious wording in the penalty decision, the simplified content is:

First, within 5 years, banned from entering the securities and financial markets.

Second, a fine of 300,000 yuan.

There is no third point, there are only two substantive penalty contents.

In the eyes of everyone on the entire internet, how to describe this penalty? It is completely eight words: lifted high, put down gently.

That couple intentionally set a trap, illegally cut off how many hundreds of millions of leeks, and despite the complaints of the entire internet, in the end, they only received this little penalty?! As for those fines, to someone, what is the difference between that and a spit?

Under this kind of injustice, how could people not curse online?

The most infuriating thing is that someone also clearly submitted a defense letter at the first time, believing that the penalty measures were too heavy and hoping for a re-adjudication!

Just this behavior, without a doubt, is adding fuel to the fire, to the point that it completely ignited everyone's resentment and anger.

The final result was that countless netizens, stock investors, and passersby also aimed their spears at... blowing up a storm...

When Lin Nan woke up naturally and opened his phone, a large number of short messages and news poured in at this moment.

Everyone in the circle was eating melons, after all, the person involved was indeed a legend in the circle, the earliest traffic superstar—every summer vacation, that TV series was rebroadcast!

"Cover... the Sky! Listen, the nickname has been taken online, you just need to add a 'surname' in front of these two words."

"I even feel that these netizens online are truly talented, because only this reason can explain why the result and intensity of this scraping-style handling is like this, it is simply the biggest joke in the world!"

"To put it bluntly, this matter has made me have thoughts. When I can't make it anymore or want to retire one day, I will also learn, pluck a billion or so out, and just have a set according to this penalty standard!"

Sitting at the breakfast table, listening to Wang Changtian's nagging on the phone, Lin Nan couldn't help but laugh out loud:

"Calm down, calm down, stay away from these crooked paths, we are law-abiding. Besides, you are not short of that money, no need to ruin your reputation for a lifetime for this."

Liu Yifei had a speechless smile on her face, handed Lin Nan a peeled egg, and just watched him banter with Wang Changtian.

"Nonsense, my reputation is definitely worth more than that money. It's just a bit emotional, those people are really too crazy, even daring to do this kind of thing..."

"Stop, that's it!"

Lin Nan immediately interrupted Wang Changtian upon hearing this and changed the subject: "Let's talk about the box office of *Marriage Story*. I haven't had time to look at yesterday's daily box office. How much is it? What about today's screen share?"

"Yesterday was Tuesday, only 32.18 million." Liu Yifei answered first. As for the screen share, she didn't know.

"Today's screen share is 25.5%, maintained very well, mainly because the daily box office is relatively stable. Furthermore, you and Yifei can be considered the biggest traffic in the circle, hahaha." Wang Changtian took over the conversation, talked about the screen share, and couldn't help but tease.

... ===== CHAPTER 931 =====