Chapter 96: Is Zhouyi for Sale?

Ning Hao did not lie to Lin Nan; he really did enter the production early.

The media reported it all.

"Director Ning Hao's new film, 'No Man's Land,' has officially moved into the Gobi Desert region of Dunhuang."

"'No Man's Land' will be the first domestic road movie set in the Great Northwest."

"Director Ning puts work first, even though his child is not yet a month old..."

Lin Nan looked at the news online with a look of disdain.

"Tsk tsk tsk, so this is putting his career first? It's clearly running away early to hide, heh..."

At this moment, Liu Yifei was asking Liu Xiaoli a question.

"Mom, why is Sister Ai Na's temper sometimes good and sometimes bad, and why is she so irritable?

I heard Lin Nan say that Director Ning even hid away at the production set."

Liu Xiaoli’s face darkened as she looked at her daughter’s confused expression, and after a moment, she sighed.

She pulled her own daughter close and whispered some secrets to her.

Before long, Liu Yifei’s face was flushed, and she would occasionally lower her head to look at her own stomach.

"Machine Man," which had previously boasted that it would be comparable to or even surpass "The Martian," had wrapped up filming.

Even the release date was set for August.

When this news was announced, it dragged "The Martian" into the conversation again.

A large number of reporters ran to Lin Nan Film to conduct interviews, which was very unreasonable.

What could Lin Nan say? He let Yue Jun handle it.

"I won't comment on other people's films; I will only talk about Director Lin's 'The Martian.'

From the project initiation and filming to the special effects and release, this film took about 27 months.

Over 200 million was spent on special effects alone; you can compare it for yourselves..."

Every word of Yue Jun’s statement was about "The Martian."

Yet in the eyes of the vast majority of netizens, every word was mocking "Machine Man."

"Stop trying to ride on its coattails; with that little money and that little time, you insist on pretending to be a hardcore sci-fi blockbuster..."

"Daring to set a release date right after wrapping up filming—you can imagine how much 'sci-fi' is actually in there!"

"Maybe it's 'A Chinese Odyssey: Machine Man'?"

Lin Nan didn't care how the internet discussed it.

Tang Mu sent an email; those 21 people had already been arranged.

According to Lin Nan's requirements, the training efficiency would be increased.

The email also included a few photos, which were of Tang Mu and Kate Winslet together at a cocktail party.

Lin Nan remembered that she had just won the Oscar for Best Actress a few days ago for "The Reader," so this must have been a celebration party.

"Smiling so lecherously, he probably hasn't seen her less in his dreams."

"Poor Leonardo..."

Lin Nan complained while replying to the email.

James Wan’s "Happy Death Day 2" was a bit more meticulously crafted this time, and it had also just wrapped up filming two days ago.

The post-production editing was being done at Crystal Pictures, with a planned release on June 1st.

Lin Nan still intended to use the profit share from this film to purchase equipment.

After writing everything that needed to be reminded into the email, he suddenly thought of the matter regarding "The Hunt."

He had to tell Matt Damon about Venice.

A few minutes later, Lin Nan sent out a second email.

To his surprise, Matt called within ten minutes.

"Damn, it should be night over there, right?" Lin Nan exclaimed.

As soon as the call connected, he heard Matt Damon's excited voice on the other end.

"Lin, is what you said true? We are going to Venice? My god, don't lie to me."

"Why would I lie to you? I already promised Director Ang Lee a while ago that I would attend the Venice Film Festival."

"Are you talking about the Ang Lee of 'Brokeback Mountain'?"

"Yes, he is the president of this year's Venice Film Festival."

"Oh, God. This is the best news I've heard all year; I'm missing a Best Actor award..."

Matt Damon was being quite shameless; which actor isn't missing one?

"That guy Leo used to show off his Silver Bear trophy to me all the time.

I hope this time, I can also get the Volpi Cup for Best Actor in Venice..."

Before Lin Nan could say the next sentence, the person on the other end was impatient to hang up.

"Lin, thanks for the news; I'm going to go tell that bastard Leo about this..."

Lin Nan found it quite funny; these two were becoming a bit of a "love-hate" pair.

A knock on the door sounded, and Yue Jun entered with a joyful expression.

"What's wrong? You look like you have some good news."

"It is good news; Jiang Xuerou wants to see you."

"What did you say?" Lin Nan asked for confirmation.

"I said Jiang Xuerou from Zhouyi wants to see you; this is a good thing, right? Haha."

Lin Nan confirmed he hadn't misheard; this was indeed a good thing.

"Time and place?"

"We decide the place; she wants it as soon as possible."

Yue Jun's words made Lin Nan a bit suspicious—why so urgent?

"What happened? Logically, a strong woman like her wouldn't be like this."

"Their company is going from bad to worse; a financial crisis appeared a long time ago.

After those two TV dramas lost money the year before last, the investors turned their backs, so there haven't been any new works for a long time."

Lin Nan nodded; Zhouyi's period dramas were their specialty, but they hadn't touched modern dramas for a long time. They had a whim to film two the year before last, but they were already out of touch with the times, resulting in a massive loss.

Due to their unique production model, Zhouyi's ability to resist risk was much weaker than other companies.

Especially in these few years of rapid development in the film and television industry, one slight mistake would lead to being abandoned by the market.

"Tell her to come to the company; I'll wait," Lin Nan said.

"Okay, I'll go notify her now."

At noon, Liu Yifei called to say that Shu Chang had arrived and asked him to come back for a meal, but Lin Nan refused.

He only hoped that he could negotiate a good result in the afternoon.

He didn't know if it was because Yue Jun notified her quickly or if Jiang Xuerou was indeed very anxious.

At two o'clock, she arrived at Lin Nan Film.

Looking at the 12-story office building in front of her, Jiang Xuerou felt a bit dazed.

Thinking about how Zhouyi had been around for so many years, only to end up in this situation.

She vaguely remembered the first time she met Lin Nan; it was at the celebration banquet for "Space Cruise."

At that time, Lin Nan had just become a director in the 200-million-box-office club, and he was so young—"unrivaled in popularity" was the perfect way to describe him.

Regarding Lin Nan's comment at the banquet, "If you ever need investment, President Jiang, you can contact me," she had never taken it to heart, but now it had actually come true.

"Heh, fortune is fickle..."

As she spoke, Jiang Xuerou entered the building.

"Hello, I have an appointment with Director Yue Jun; I am Jiang Xuerou."

In Lin Nan's office.

A man and a woman sat opposite each other.

Logically, Jiang Xuerou counted as a senior, but reality didn't work that way.

"President Jiang is truly bold, launching three period dramas in one year; is this a last-ditch effort?"

"Director Lin is right."

Jiang Xuerou was a sensible person; Yue Jun had been in contact with her for the past two years, and she understood what he was after.

But now, almost no one was willing to invest in Zhouyi, and the offers from TV stations were also very low; the only one she could think of was Lin Nan Film.

All funds had been invested into the three period dramas; once they failed, Zhouyi would be completely gone.

In Lin Nan's eyes, Zhouyi's current situation was caused by Jiang Xuerou and the others being stuck in their old ways.

When TV stations buy dramas, they look at the fame of the actors and the production team, and Zhouyi happened to be weak in these areas.

No matter how good the story is, if you can't take the first step, it's almost equivalent to working in vain.

Even if time proves your drama is good, if the company doesn't survive until then, what's the point?

"Has President Jiang ever thought about selling the company?" Lin Nan said, shocking her.

"What!"

Sure enough, he saw Jiang Xuerou stand up with wide eyes.

"I will not sell the company; those employees are all veterans of nearly ten years..."

"Then let's do it together," Lin Nan said with a chuckle, extending his hand to invite Jiang Xuerou to sit.

Since she was able to come, Lin Nan did not believe she hadn't considered this situation.

It was just that it was hard to accept for a moment, and she was still holding onto a sliver of luck and fantasy in her heart.

Jiang Xuerou sat there without speaking.

"The behind-the-scenes team at Zhouyi is quite good. Don't you feel it's a pity to keep filming television dramas? Have you ever thought about making movies?"

Lin Nan's words echoed in Jiang Xuerou's ears.

Making movies? She had certainly thought about it; she loved martial arts films very much.

But Zhouyi never had the ability to organize such projects, and no investors gave them a chance.

"Director Lin, the purpose of my visit today is not to discuss this..."

"Looking for a way out? Or perhaps seeking investment?

But doesn't Zhouyi still have this final, last-ditch opportunity?" Lin Nan smiled.

By this point, Jiang Xuerou had completely understood Lin Nan's attitude.

He would not invest; his intention from the very beginning was not...

Jiang Xuerou stood up.

"Director Lin, if Zhouyi loses this time, I will come back to continue today's conversation with you.

I only hope that by then, I will still be able to enter this building."

Lin Nan understood perfectly; she was truly a strong woman who had been in the industry for so many years, and her spirit was still quite high.

"Of course, you are welcome at any time."

After Jiang Xuerou left, Yue Jun came in.

"She didn't budge?"

Lin Nan shook his head; it wasn't a roadside stall, after all.

"Director Lin, what about those three dramas of theirs?"

"If you put them a few years back, they might have been fine, but they aren't popular these past two years. The television stations won't offer a good price."

Lin Nan left one thing unsaid: if they were released ten years later, they would also be fine.

Yue Jun frowned, "Then, should I continue to maintain contact?"

"Just act as if she never came today; keep things as they were before. We'll have results by the end of the year."

"I understand."

Although the matter wasn't settled, both sides had made their attitudes clear, waiting only for the outcome.

Returning to the villa, he saw two beauties, Liu Yifei and Shu Chang, happily scooping poop.

The scene was incredibly abrupt.

"Yay, Lin Nan is back. Qianqian, hurry and call him to help."

Shu Chang looked up and saw Lin Nan walking over from a distance.

"You've started calling me by my name directly again."

Lin Nan walked to Liu Yifei's side, took the tool from her hand, and said to Shu Chang.

"I finally had some free time to come over, wanting to have a meal with you two, but you didn't come either.

Qianqian, prove it; I even brought you a gift."

"What gift? Where is it?"

"It was food, and it's already in my stomach."

Liu Yifei said with a smile, then glanced at Lin Nan.

"The business you mentioned, did it go through?"

"It's neither a success nor a failure. The specific result will have to wait until the end of the year."

Lin Nan replied.

The two girls listened, feeling a bit confused.