Chapter 939: The First Jury Member; Let's Go, Mulan!

On the morning of the 27th, Los Angeles time, Ang Lee flew back to Hollywood from Taiwan.

At the same time, what spread along with it was the casting announcement for his new film, as well as the information that it would officially start filming at the end of February.

Sci-fi blockbuster: *Gemini Man*; Starring: Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead...

What caught the industry's attention the most was the production format Ang Lee publicly revealed. He would continue to use the 3D, 4K, 120-frame film format and would incorporate VR technology for the first time in this *Gemini Man*.

When Lin Nan heard this definitive news, his first reaction was that Ang Lee had become completely obsessed.

And he was very certain that the latter had become exactly like Tsui Hark—severely lopsided, even more extreme, and the path he was walking was getting narrower and narrower... He only had eyes for new technology, didn't mention any other components of film, and everything was just to make way for and serve film technology.

But Ang Lee clearly couldn't achieve what James Cameron did—walking one path to the extreme, even "creating a new world" by using technology to create a native world of film.

Comparing them like this, the gap between the two great directors seemed a bit outrageous, didn't it?

"So, the film hasn't even started shooting yet, and you've already sentenced it to death?"

The business van was driving steadily on the way to Crystal Pictures. In the back seat, Liu Yifei looked at Lin Nan with a playful expression, waiting for his answer.

"Hmm, that's what I mean. How should I put it? He has never been a professional commercial film director. His strength is in plot films—the ability to tell stories and describe emotions, as well as the ability to render them."

"But the success of *Life of Pi* made him obsessed with the technical flow. You can tell that it was from this film onwards that he cared less and less about the plot, and every time he only talked about film technology."

"You'd better not let Director Ang hear these words, otherwise even the best-tempered person would get angry with you, haha. Oh my, we're at the company."

The car's deceleration and turn made Liu Yifei notice the change in the environment outside the window; they had already arrived at Crystal Pictures.

The three-story detached building was definitely exceptionally eye-catching in this area, especially that large sign... which had been changed to an ink-wash style by Tom at the end of last year!

With this thick Chinese style, how could it not be an eyesore in Hollywood?

A nail from the East had taken root in the frontier of film and television culture; how could it not be targeted? Although it was just a side effect of "beating the grass to scare the snake," in this environment where the trend was overwhelming, the intensity was still not light...

The appearance of Lin Nan and Liu Yifei did not cause much of a "sensation." After all the employees greeted them in a hurry, they went back to working.

After all, everyone had long been accustomed to the big boss and the boss's wife only remembering to come back to the company during the awards season. It had been like this for so many years; of course, the few times they were filming English-language movies were exceptions.

"Self-production is fine, but outsourcing business is getting tighter and tighter. We are being deliberately targeted, undergoing low-profit commercial squeezing... from quite a few companies of the same scale..."

"Also, some companies from South Korea in Hollywood are not good things either. They often speak ill of us. They seem to be very hostile to Chinese capital..."

"Oh right, I remembered. You seem to have swept the Korean Wave out the door? No wonder they say the Chinese market is not free, is deliberately xenophobic, and dares to do it but won't admit it..."

In the third-floor office, Tom finally spoke about the company's affairs. Those guys from the peninsula were really good sons; they knew how to judge the situation, follow behind their biological father to bully others, curry favor, and take the opportunity to seek private revenge...

Liu Yifei personally brewed three cups of coffee, handed one to Lin Nan and one to Tom, and then corrected him very seriously: "Tom, that is a spontaneous behavior of the market. Here, drink while we chat."

"Right, that is a spontaneous behavior of our domestic film and television entertainment industry." Lin Nan took over the conversation and nodded with a smile, then took a small sip of coffee and praised: "Hmm, the coffee you brew tastes good."

"The coffee is still Blue Mountain, the water is still that same water..."

Tom's teasing words were only muttered halfway before they were blocked back by Lin Nan's knife-like gaze; and on Liu Yifei's smiling face, a cold light seemed to flash as well.

"Haha, I didn't sleep well last night, I was a bit distracted just now. Hmm, this coffee is better than the one brewed before..." Tom was cheeky and immediately changed his words to save himself.

He really wanted to slap himself. He hadn't been able to resist the urge to tease just now, and now it was awkward.

"Looks like you were really distracted. You rarely did that before." Liu Yifei pretended to be sarcastic, and in an instant, it was as if Lin Daiyu had possessed her.

Lin Nan tried hard not to laugh out loud, while Tom was a bit uncomfortable, constantly winking at his boss for help.

But he forgot one thing, which was that he had "ignored" his boss countless times before and had been a lackey many times... Now he knew who to look for? Too late!

The brief pleasant atmosphere was interrupted by Liu Yifei's phone ringtone. After she glanced at it, she immediately said to Lin Nan with great spirit: "It's from Disney."

Lin Nan and Tom watched as Liu Yifei answered the phone, nodding and responding from time to time, and hung up a few minutes later.

"We have to rush to the press conference site before eight o'clock the day after tomorrow morning, take a special passage, and enter the backstage low-key... The media press conference will officially start at 10 o'clock sharp. They have invited a large number of media, including some of our domestic media, like the Movie Channel..."

Liu Yifei repeated the content of the phone call to Lin Nan meticulously. It had to be admitted that Disney's confidentiality work was quite rigorous.

In their invitations to the media, they didn't reveal at all what it was specifically, and the media couldn't guess, because Disney never lacked major or minor events every year!

Near noon, taking advantage of Liu Yifei going to the restroom, Tom lowered his voice and spoke his heart to Lin Nan very solemnly and seriously, which was also what he hadn't said for the past two days:

"Lin, in early August, we were still joking on the phone. You told me to try hard to hold on for another two years or even two and a half years, and I joked that I wanted to hold on until he stepped down..."

"But now I might have to slap my own face. I feel that at this rate, I might not be able to hold on for two years... Some inexplicable copyright lawsuits have come to my door, completely unreasonable, and I've spent a lot of effort..."

"Still the same sentence, hold on as long as you can. If you really can't hold on anymore..." Lin Nan paused, his eyes looking out the window again, "Then call me."

Tang Mu also fell silent. It was only after a good while that he spoke, his laughter sounding very helpless: "Then, after you leave Hollywood this time, I will try my best not to call you before he is finished. If there is anything else, I will send an email, and you can reply to me?"

"Good!" Lin Nan patted Tom on the shoulder and agreed to this pact.

Accounting for the time difference, the domestic side is 15 hours ahead of Hollywood; therefore, most of the time, the two sides are always in a state of one being in the daytime and the other in the night.

On the 28th, the news that the *Marriage Story* crew gathered in Shanghai undoubtedly occupied a spot on the hot search; but the top headline of film and television information across the entire network was the news about Fan Bingbing's *Win the World*.

The drama was officially renamed *The Legend of Ba Qing*, scheduled for the end of January, and would be broadcast on the first round on Litchi TV and Tomato TV, earning a total of 465 million;

As for the price of its exclusive online broadcast rights, it was also disclosed: Youku had already bought it for a high price of 525 million several months ago.

In other words, this ancient costume blockbuster, which cost 500 million RMB to build, had its first-round broadcast rights plus exclusive online rights sold for a full 990 million!

In the eyes of the domestic film and television industry, the producer of this TV series, Tang De Film and Television, had undoubtedly made a killing.

Even though the drama's revenue involved a gambling agreement, it was still a killing, after all, there were second rounds, third rounds, and export earnings later...

In one day, it flashed by again.

On the morning of the 29th, Lin Nan and Liu Yifei attended the PR parties for *I, Tonya* and *Dunkirk* in Hollywood one after another, which made it onto the domestic film and television entertainment hot search.

The news that ran parallel to this hot search was the high-profile release of Huayi's *Ex-Files 3*.

The 18.6% screen share was already a figure that had been deliberately suppressed. After all, as a commercial film that kicked off the New Year's season, it was indeed not easy for individual large cinema chains to be too obvious...

"Han Dong, Chairman La wants to ask if Han Dong has time this afternoon. He hopes Han Dong can return to the group... There are some important matters that need a meeting..."

"That's unfortunate. My dad is still lying in bed recuperating. After several months of filming, his body really can't take it anymore. He wasn't feeling well in the last few days before wrapping up, and he kept carrying on to finish filming... When he went to Shanghai to see my Uncle Ren and the leaders there the day before yesterday, he also went to the hospital once... He is old after all..."

Han Jia held Han Sanping's phone and rambled on to stall La Peikang's secretary, not giving the other party a chance to interrupt at all.

She had only one principle: on the basis of clearly stating that her father didn't have a major illness or serious condition, she would make it sound as serious as possible... Anyway, in a roundabout way, it meant one thing: the person was completely exhausted, had to recuperate at home, and couldn't go anywhere...

Not long after, the secretary on the other end of the phone had no choice but to hang up, not daring to force it.

"Yesterday was the sixth day of release, with a daily box office of 820,000. And they said it was feared to stop at around 80 million? I think it'll be 70 million at most."

"With this result, let alone calling you over, even if you called Hua Tuo over, there would be no saving it. Furthermore, the New Year's season has officially begun, survival of the fittest! As for the road ahead, let whoever is in charge worry about it!" Han Jia looked at Han Sanping, who was sitting on the sofa flipping through a newspaper, and complained mercilessly.

"With the continuous prosperity and growth of the market, the decline of China Film Group is inevitable; the only discourse power that can be relied upon is the import rights for foreign films and the quota for batch films, as well as the share of cinema chains."

"In terms of marketization, China Film Group is indeed far inferior to Shanghai Film Group. This is also the confidence that Ren Zhonglun often uses to be sarcastic: they rely on the market to fight their way out, while China Film Group relies on policy advantages..."

Han Sanping closed the newspaper, his mood also a bit low. Because it was indeed after his retirement that China Film Group began to gradually decline. When it was in his hands, that was the peak period; otherwise, where did his nickname come from?

"Do you believe this set of rhetoric yourself?"

Looking at his leader's indifferent expression without a trace of emotion, the secretary was confused from the bottom of his heart. Han Sanping was sick—could this be fake?

"Chairman La, Han Dong is indeed old, and he has been busy in the crew for several months. Han Dong said that Han Dong was not feeling well a day or two before wrapping up." The secretary explained again.

"Not feeling well a day or two before wrapping up... Isn't that after *Manhunt* was officially released?! He's old? Poor health? Hehe, he is indeed 65 after the new year, but do you think he looks like a 65-year-old person? If you say he's 55, a large group of people will definitely believe it!"

"He looks younger than me, and he looks more energetic and spirited than me... He has always been in a state of being able to eat and drink, and his energy is even more vigorous. He can even argue with Ren Zhonglun!" La Peikang frowned and muttered unhappily.

The secretary's face turned pale, because at this moment, when he thought about it carefully, Han Dong was indeed what his leader said: always full of energy, in great health, and not at all worse than his state when he was in office.

"I knew the wording of these reasons was made up by Han Jia on the spot. She didn't even draft it, and it's full of loopholes. Also, don't you think the excuse and time for being exhausted are very similar to John Woo's?" La Peikang was so angry he laughed. This was clearly fooling him!

At this moment, the secretary was already swallowing his saliva, "Chairman La, then Han Dong's meaning..."

"He didn't even remind Jia to draft it in advance. Do you think he wouldn't guess that I guessed it? Or rather, he is intentionally pointing at me! He doesn't want to deal with these 'messy things' of the group anymore!"

In an instant, the office was silent. La Peikang's expression was cold, suppressing his anger, while the secretary just wanted to hide out... He had heard a bit too much today.

"Leave me a 1.5-month slot for next year, how about it?"

On the morning of the 29th, Hollywood time, Lin Nan and Liu Yifei gathered with a group of old friends—well, for a meal.

When he said this sentence to one of them, except for Miss Liu, the few people present were instantly excited.

"Lin, are you extending a new film invitation to me? If so, let alone a month, even three months is no problem!" A boisterous female voice rang out, with constant laughter.

"Lin, what about me? What movie? Is there a role suitable for me?"

Ma Te Damon was anxious. Having just wrapped up a new film not long ago, he was losing weight. Hearing that Lin Nan seemed to have a new foreign-language film again, he naturally couldn't stay calm.

"Actually, I think I could try it too. I've been on vacation for a long time." Leonardo put down the red wine in his hand, his voice not loud but his tone was unusually firm.

"Crystal, why are you laughing? It wouldn't be a play without a male lead, would it? Or are neither Leo nor I suitable for the male roles in it?" Ma Te glanced at Liu Yifei, who was laughing non-stop beside Lin Nan, and asked puzzledly.

"Lin? Crystal?" Jessica Chastain and Leonardo also asked one after another.

"The slot I want is from the end of July to early September, and there's no salary." Lin Nan smiled.

"To be precise, you don't need to be busy for a month and a half. If you add it up, you'll be busy for at most 15 to 20 days. You can move freely the rest of the time, but you need to be confidential and low-key, especially forbidding the disclosure of work content to the media until you can appear in public... At that time, you will have to face countless spotlights and media lenses..."

Liu Yifei took over Lin Nan's conversation and smiled, playing a riddle. But she only left a layer of veil before revealing the answer.

Sure enough, for the three old hands, based on these elements, they analyzed the general idea in minutes.

"End of July to early September?"

"No salary? It's not a film contract!"

"Confidential, low-key, forbidden to disclose work content, countless spotlights and media lenses... Venice International Film Festival!?" Leonardo stared at Lin Nan, asking and spitting out a noun.

"Lin, you? I have no problem, I have time, plenty of time!" In an instant, Jessica Chastain was pleasantly surprised, her eyes wide. This resume was also very precious to her!

"Lin, are you next year's?" Ma Te Damon also reacted.

"Remember to keep it a secret for me." Lin Nan nodded with a smile.

"But why is it Jessica? Are Leo and I not qualified enough?" Ma Te asked a bit "sourly."

Leonardo was also nodding. In terms of artistry, the three major film festivals were higher than the Oscars. Being a judge there, even for him, was a surprise. And he never minded having too many surprises.

"A total of 8 people in the main competition jury. Besides me as the chairman, the other 7 people have to be evenly divided by profession, and there can't be too many actors among them... We also need to invite two or three more directors!"

"So, Jessica is a lady... priority?" Leonardo asked speechlessly.

Lin Nan didn't speak, just smiled. And Liu Yifei had already nodded with a smile and explained: "There must be at least three ladies among the 7 people."

"Hahaha, although this awards season has nothing to do with me, I received a big surprise today. Thank you, Crystal."

Jessica had already raised her red wine glass and clinked it with Liu Yifei. The two of them completely ignored Lin Nan, whose smile had instantly stiffened, and didn't pay attention to Ma Te Damon and Leonardo, who looked regretful.

"Hmm? Are you going to invite others besides Jessica in the next few days?" Suddenly, Ma Te Damon had a flash of inspiration and asked.

Lin Nan and Liu Yifei looked at each other subconsciously and couldn't help but laugh. It had to be said, this guy Ma Te reacted quite quickly!

The moon set and the sun rose, 64.49 million on the first day!

Huayi's *Ex-Files 3* handed in the first answer sheet of the New Year's season with a bright result; compared to the National Day season, it was truly three points more dazzling.

And with the release of this film, the box office of *Manhunt* on the 7th day completely died down. Compared to the daily revenue of 820,000 on the 28th, there was only 220,000 yesterday, the 29th.

The entire film circle understood what this data meant, which was that this co-production by China Film Group could already calculate the final total box office, because it would definitely be factually removed from theaters by cinema chains within these two days.

Compared to the mourning of Chairman La and the Emperor side, the atmosphere on Huayi's side was completely opposite—it was full of joy, because the group hadn't had such a good box office start for a long time!

So much so that Feng Xiaogang was even more confident and eager to try about *Youth* taking over the baton, and even started planning the casting for *Cell Phone 2*—prioritizing human feelings and connections first!

"Chen Kaige's younger son's *Ever Night* seems to still be filming. Tsk tsk tsk, more than 90% of the plot is shot with real scenes, this is really a big deal!"

"So that's why the shooting cycle is more than half a year. After starting filming on September 1st, they have been filming non-stop. Even so, I heard them say it will take at least until the end of March next year to wrap up."

Feng Xiaogang took over Wang Zhonglei's conversation and teased. He planned to talk to Chen Hong about that matter at the premiere of *Legend of the Demon Cat*, which was to invite the latter's younger son to play a supporting role in *Cell Phone 2*.

He had mentioned it to Liu Zhenyun and confirmed it—there was a male supporting role in the script of *Cell Phone 2* that met the requirements, which could just be used as a favor to win over Chen Kaige.

Feng Xiaogang knew very well that Director Chen had always thought highly of himself, considered himself a cultural person, and looked down on this and that, including him, Feng Xiaogang...

If it were in the past, he would absolutely have no possibility of winning the other party over; he wouldn't have this idea either, because it would only be a futile result.

But now it was different. Chen Feiyu's entry into the industry gave Director Chen a small weakness—well, a soft spot.

Even if Chen Kaige didn't buy his act, as long as Chen Hong nodded... then naturally, he would have the former in his grasp!

"How come I heard gossip that Potato Network has already paid a deposit and signed a contract for this *Ever Night*?" Suddenly, a sentence from Wang Zhonglei interrupted Feng Xiaogang's train of thought.

"Hmm, it was decided during the Shanghai International Film Festival in the middle of the year. At that time, Potato and Youku were competing, and Director Chen and Producer Chen chose Potato."

"The reason he didn't choose Youku, which offered a higher price, is clearly to show favor to Potato, for his son! Lin Nan Pictures, Enlight, Wanda... He can distinguish the pros and cons!"

Feng Xiaogang muttered while thinking, and for a moment, he couldn't help but think of Lin Nan.

He was very certain that the current Chen Kaige was not as arrogant as before, at least in front of Lin Nan... he would take the initiative to show favor. In the final analysis, one still had to have awards and box office, and had to have status and appeal!

Domestically, when November was only two hours away from ending, it was just past six o'clock on the morning of the 30th in Hollywood.

The sky was not yet bright and was still a bit dim. Standing on Beverly Hills, looking out toward the coastline, there was only a hint of fish-belly white faintly revealed where the sea and sky met in the distance.

But at this moment, it was not so in Lin Nan and Liu Yifei's villa; it was brightly lit here.

The bodyguards and assistants who came from the country were all guarding the living room on the first floor, all looking excited. They had just been informed of the true purpose of this Hollywood trip;

Everyone knew very well that after returning to the country this time, they would most likely be blocked at the airport by the media, but it had to be said that it was indeed a great happy event worth being happy about!

The bodyguards brought by Tom were guarding the courtyard, while he was pacing back and forth in the restaurant on the first floor.

He saw Director Lin eating breakfast leisurely there, while Liu Xixi was also applying makeup unhurriedly—well, applying her own makeup!

"You two are really casual. You actually plan to attend such a high-scale press conference wearing this kind of ordinary casual clothes, and even doing your own makeup." Tom couldn't help but tease.

"Calm down, calm down. Our mindset is the right one. Even the Emperor isn't in a hurry, what are you in a hurry for?" Lin Nan drank a sip of milk and joked with a smile.

Beside him, Liu Xixi instantly rolled her eyes and then giggled: "Don't talk, if my eyebrows are drawn crooked, you'll be in trouble!"

"Lin, I understood what you said, you're scolding me!" Tom raised his eyebrows unhappily.

"Hahaha, you've made progress. Come, come, sit down and eat something. We have to have a press conference for the whole morning." Lin Nan waved at Tom, who hesitated for a moment, but ultimately couldn't resist the temptation of the food.

Time passed second by second. Just past seven o'clock, when the sky turned white over a large area, Lin Nan and Liu Yifei were finally ready to go out in high spirits.

Both were dressed in casual wear, and of course, Liu Yifei's casual wear was always so heroic and spirited!

"Let's go, Xixi. No, let's go, Mulan!" Lin Nan reached out his hand and invited with a smile.

"Okay, Director." Liu Yifei smiled sweetly and placed her hand on his.

Facing the first ray of morning sun, Lin Nan and Liu Yifei were surrounded by everyone and got into the car. Destination: Walk of Fame, Chinese Theatre! ===== CHAPTER 940 =====