Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 623 Trivial Matters (14)

In the car, Shen Yan first called Shi Shi to confirm that she had arrived home before going to the company.

Ji Xiang, that pretentious guy, put up a huge banner at the entrance of the industrial park: Congratulations to "Burning" for winning three major awards at the Venice Film Festival: the Golden Lion, Best Director, and Best Actor!
Even Shen Yan blushed a little after seeing this…

Once inside the company, he found Ji Xiang and said, "Take down that banner right now!"

"This banner wasn't put up by me; it was put up by someone hired by the industrial park manager!"

"…ah?"

Ji Xiang continued, "The municipal cultural department should be coming over later..."

What are you doing here?

"Take a picture!"

"Photograph?"

"Our company is now a star enterprise in the 4.0 industrial park, and you're a star figure too, let's give them a shout-out..."

Shen Yan sighed: "That's why I didn't go straight back to China..."

Ji Xiang laughed heartily: "There's no escaping it, so it's also a way to bring glory to the country!"

"It's just a movie...it can't be that serious, right?"

"How could it not be? We won three awards at once, making film history!"

Shen Yan scratched his head: "Alright, I'll go back to rest later... Let's try to get these trivial matters sorted out today!"

"Today?" Ji Xiang shook his head: "Impossible. There are interviews with the Film Bureau and TV stations afterwards, as well as film seminars... You have to attend all of these!"

"This is a film I invested in myself...it's not a state-owned production..."

Ji Xiang interrupted him: "Is it a Chinese-language film?"

"That must be a Chinese-language film..."

"That's fine then. For Chinese-language films, once the film bureau approves the filing, you have to cooperate!"

Shen Yan was speechless...

But he knew Ji Xiang was telling the truth, so he called over a staff member: "Go buy me a few iced Americanos, I need to last all day!"

"it is good!"

The staff readily agreed…

Then Shen Yan sat down in his office. Of course, he didn't just sit there—he easily gets sleepy—so he simply opened his tablet and started scrolling through Weibo…

Recently, the hottest topics on Weibo have all been about a group of celebrities with bad reputations…

The authorities issued an order explicitly prohibiting celebrities involved in drug use or prostitution from participating in program production or advertising endorsements, directly causing the careers of the celebrities involved to stagnate.

Many completed or in-production films and television series have come to a standstill!

Ji Xiang knocked on the door and saw Shen Yan scrolling through his tablet. He said, "By the way, they fired Kai Ko from 'Monster Hunt'..."

Who did you ask to do the reshoots?

"Li Xian...I agree!"

"Sure, if you're short of funds, I can invest another 5000 million!"

Ji Xiang asked curiously, "You have high hopes for 'Monster Hunt'?"

"Not really," Shen Yan explained, "I have high hopes for Jiang Zhiqiang!"

“Okay,” Ji Xiang nodded, “It just so happens that reshooting requires at least 8000 million more in funding… I’ll talk to him.”

"...Are there any other movies?"

"China Film Group has a 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' series and wants to invite us to participate in its adaptation!"

Shen Yan shook his head decisively: "Forget it, I'd better not get involved in tomb raiding."

……

Rumors about a film or television adaptation of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" have been circulating for many years. The earliest rumor was that Du Qifeng would be the director, and a press conference was even held, but nothing came of it.

There were many rumors afterward, and it wasn't until 2013 that there was any definite news. This time, two versions of Ghost Blows Out the Light actually appeared at the same time.

One was the China Film adaptation of the first four novels. Later, I don't know what happened, but it was handed over to LeTV for production. LeTV brought in Lu Chuan, and yes, that's right, it's "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe".
The other is "Mojin: The Lost Legend," a joint production by the so-called three private giants: Huayi Brothers, Enlight Media, and Wanda.

In reality, it's a battle between state-owned enterprises and private companies regarding film and television IP. Actually, Lu Chuan was quite reluctant to take on the "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe" project!
However, at this time, LeShi Company had just completed its Series B financing, announcing a valuation of 48 billion...

The figure of 48 billion is an estimate of some of LeTV's previous film projects, such as "The Crossing," which had an investment of nearly 6 million but ultimately failed at the box office. After ending the only profitable film series, "Tiny Times," LeTV was under great pressure!

The biggest challenge is how to create the next profitable IP.

LeTV chose to adapt "Ghost Blows Out the Light" into a film and television series, and director Lu Chuan, who had just signed with LeTV, had no choice but to take on the challenge.

Anyway, Shen Yan wasn't interested.

If we can't film tomb raiding, and we can't have zongzi (rice dumplings), then what's the point of filming?

It's so frustrating to think about. Hollywood can make "The Mummy 3" under the guise of a co-production and openly excavate Qin Shi Huang, but we can't make one!
……

Around noon, the city's cultural department arrived, accompanied by reporters and media taking photos...

After a brief exchange, Shen Yan took out the golden lion and two silver lions. A group of people surrounded Shen Yan and took a picture...

It was really just a few words of encouragement.

They asked about things like "keep up the good work," and of course, they also asked about the Oscars.

Shen Yan was quite frank: "I will do my best in public relations, but I can't be sure if I can win the award!"

"Okay, we'll help you get a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film!"

"Thank you, leader!"

That's right, the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film is selected by the official film organizations of each country, and each country can only submit one film.

This year features films like *Black Coal, Thin Ice*, *Coming Home*, and *The Golden Era*…

However, in the original timeline, the film submitted for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film was *The Nightingale*…

A Sino-French co-production directed by French director Philippe Muyl and starring Li Baotian, Qin Hao, Li Xiaoran, Yang Xinyi, and others.

Dubbed the Chinese version of "The Butterfly"—a journey combining grandparent-grandchild relationships, nature, and small animals, bridging the age gap and family rifts.

However, Philippe Muyl's lack of understanding of China resulted in "The Nightingale" being superficial and lacking substance. It focused on specific details, with more alienation than intimacy, and more stiffness than naturalness, making it difficult to delve into the inner world and fully express the emotional aspects.

Perhaps the film bureau officials think that foreign directors have a higher chance of winning awards?

"The Nightingale" was submitted by Guangxi Film Group...

"Burning" is now recommended by the Beijing Municipal Cultural Department...

The pressure isn't so great anymore!
After all, BJ is the center of movie culture.

After seeing off the cultural officials, Shen Yan had a simple meal. Then, people from the TV station and the film bureau arrived, and it was more interviews and chats…

It was already 3 PM when we saw them off.

I'm a little sleepy...

Shen Yan downed two iced Americanos in a row and was starting to feel the strain: "Anything else planned?"

"...There's a cocktail party tonight..."

"Forget it, I'm not going. I'm going back to sleep... to adjust to the time difference!"

"Okay, shall we have the driver take you back to your hotel?"

"No need, send it to my house..."

Shen Yan stood up, ready to leave, when he remembered something: "Who hosted the cocktail party?"

"Sister Bingbing and Sister Wang!"

Shen Yan stopped and asked, "...Would it be disrespectful if I didn't go?"

Ji Xiang scratched his head: "...And Chen Kun..."

"Then I won't go!"

Shen Yan's dislike for Chen Kun is practically an open secret within the industry...

Ji Xiang knew that too!
"They collaborated on a movie called 'Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal'... It will be released during the Spring Festival next year!"

"...Next year's Spring Festival release? Next year's Spring Festival release, I'm going to be in 'The Martian'... Don't they know?"

"Perhaps they think science fiction films are nothing to worry about?"

(End of this chapter)