Huayu is here for you

Chapter 167 The Confident Crowd

Looking at Lin Yu who was smiling, Han Sanping silently sighed at the impermanence of life.

A few years ago he was just a clueless little guy, but now he inspires a sense of admiration in everyone.

"Hehe—you're being too modest. Success comes first, and you're already ahead of all of us—" Han Sanping looked at Lin Yu with satisfaction and said, "Keep up the good work! Strive to make our Chinese films dominate the world! Don't let Hollywood keep being so arrogant."

Lin Yu smiled slightly: "I'll do my best!"

Despite his outward modesty, Lin Yu was thinking: I must hollow them out! I must use their films to dominate their market! I must control the market for at least the next decade or so.

During the dinner, Lin Yu only chatted briefly with the people at his table and did not move around much.

But Jackie Chan was different. He didn't stay still at the entire banquet, as if he knew people at every table, flitting around like a butterfly among flowers.

The banquet lasted until nearly midnight before finally ending.

Upon returning to the hotel with Ms. Liu, Lin Yu immediately threw the pile of business cards he had received into the trash can.

Seeing Lin Yu's actions, Miss Liu was a little confused. "Senior brother? You're not keeping a single one?"

"Hehe—they'll contact me when they need me, but I don't know if that time will come." Lin Yu said casually, "It's getting late, you should get some rest too, you have to fly back tomorrow! I'm going back to my room now."

Miss Liu wrinkled her nose. "Alright, senior brother, you should get some rest too."

After leaving Linyu, Ms. Liu looked at the business card she had just taken out of her bag and pondered for a while.

However, after pondering for about a minute, Ms. Liu casually tossed the business card into the center of the trash can.

Back in his room, Lin Yu first washed up, then checked his phone to see if there were any calls or messages he needed to return, before preparing to go to bed.

But before he could even close his eyes, his phone rang.

"Hey? Bob, what's up?" Lin Yu looked at the caller ID and said helplessly.

You picked a really good time. Couldn't you have called again tomorrow?

"Boss, the total box office figures for the second Twilight movie have been released. Except for a few theaters in North America, the movie has been completely pulled from theaters."

"Hmm, how much?"

"7.51 million US dollars! Boss, do you know? 7.51 million! Our Starlight is going to be a huge hit this time!"

Hearing Bob's excited voice on the phone, Lin Yu rolled his eyes. "It hasn't even broken 8 million yet. What are you getting so excited about?"

Bob: "??? Is my boss really this calm?"

"No, Boss, 7.51 million US dollars? Shouldn't I be excited? Your reaction is the abnormal one!"

"Great, I'm so excited! But did you forget to check what time it is here? Calling me in the middle of the night! Don't you want your bonus anymore?" Lin Yu said, somewhat annoyed.

Bob, on the other end of the phone, only realized after hearing Lin Yu's words that his boss was in China!

So he quickly apologized to Lin Yu: "I'm so sorry! Boss, it's my fault. It was me—"

"Alright, is this all you called for? If there's nothing else, I'll hang up!" Lin Yu interrupted directly, "Uh—Boss, don't hang up, I have something else I'd like to discuss with you!" Bob quickly said, "Go ahead!" Lin Yu said succinctly, "Hehe—Boss, Twilight is all done, the DV rights and stuff are pretty much settled, and as for Stephanie, the third novel isn't finished yet. Our company's all pretty relaxed right now, so—how about you give me another script? I know you have quite a few in reserve." Bob probed slightly:

Lin Yu listened to Bob's words with a hint of surprise. "Heh—what? You're not happy being idle? You're not happy getting paid for nothing?"

"You can't say that, boss. Look at me, I'm getting such a high salary. I won't feel at ease unless I do something for the company!"

"Come on, you just want a bigger bonus. Don't try to fool me with that 'I'm not comfortable' nonsense!" Lin Yu bluntly exposed him.

Bob, whose thoughts had been exposed by Lin Yu, wasn't angry. After all, his boss was right; he was only after money.

But isn't this normal? These days, how many people actually strive for their ideals? Aren't they all just after the money? "Hehe—Boss, if you say that, I'll be hurt. You can't doubt my loyalty to the company! I've been wholeheartedly dedicated to Starlight; I haven't slacked off at all. Look at our company's profit reports over the past few years—they've been steadily rising! Although most of that is thanks to you, even if I, Bob, haven't done anything outstanding, I've certainly put in the hard work! I—"

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. I'll send you the script later. Get ready to take charge of pre-production!" Lin Yu was so tired of hearing this.

"Hehe—I knew you'd understand me, Boss. But—Boss? How big of a game are we going to play this time?" Bob asked expectantly.

As Lin Yu listened to the words on the other end of the phone, he fell into deep thought. To be honest, he hadn't decided what kind of script to give Bob yet. He was thinking of hanging up the phone and thinking about it carefully!

However, since this guy asked on the phone, Lin Yu started filtering through his thoughts directly.

So, one script after another kept swirling in Lin Yu's mind.

"To be honest, the current state of North American Starlight is a bit like a castle in the air. Although the Twilight movie series made the company famous, it still seems a bit superficial. There is no real masterpiece that can be stored away."

Moreover, this would make Starlight's fans too unloyal. It seems they still need to produce a classic film to truly establish Starlight in Hollywood and turn ordinary moviegoers into loyal fans.

This also lets the outside world know that Starlight Media can not only make blockbusters (and terrible movies), but also classics!

Bob listened to the phone for a long time without any response, but he didn't urge him. He felt that the longer Lin Yu thought about it, the bigger the film he would produce would be!

Most importantly, his prize money will be even greater!

As for whether it will succeed? That's not something he should be thinking about. Besides, he doesn't think Lin Yu will fail, because his boss's track record speaks for itself. Just relying on Lin Yu's name, the movie might not even lose money, right? Unless the investment is too big!

"Interstellar? Gravity? Passengers—" Lin Yu's brainstorming lasted a full three minutes.

"Bob, get ready, this time we're going big!"

Just as Bob was waiting blankly for Lin Yu to speak, Lin Yu's voice finally came through the phone.

"Oh? A boss? How big is it?"

"1.6 million US dollars! We need to find a big star for the lead role." Lin Yu made up his mind and said, "1—who should we get?" Bob was stunned for a moment and then asked, "Tom Hanks, or Leonardo DiCaprio."

"Wow! Boss, are you going to personally take charge? Such a big investment, and you want to cast these two? I don't think most directors could handle this!" Bob said excitedly. "Hmm—okay! You should spread the word first! I definitely won't be free for the next three or four months. Besides 'Wanted,' which I'm currently filming, I have another movie waiting for me! But this movie is more complicated, and the pre-production time will probably be longer. I should be able to finish it in time! And I'm leaving all the roles except for the main characters to you. Choose carefully and don't disappoint me." Lin Yu thought for a moment and said, "OK! Boss, leave it to me. With your current fame, finding actors will be a piece of cake. And persuading Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio shouldn't be too difficult. But—which one is the priority?" Bob said happily, "Leonardo DiCaprio! He has more fans. I'll have someone send you the script later."

"OK."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Yu opened Xiao Ou's contact list on QQ and sent her a message.

"Xiao Ou, send the script for the movie Inception to Bob. We need to prepare for the project to be approved in North America."

After editing the message and clicking send, Lin Yu was finally able to lie comfortably in bed and prepare to fall asleep.

"It's mid-08 already. If I don't make Inception by now, Nolan might come knocking on my door!"

"However, the cast list this time can't be chosen like it was in the previous life. One Tom Hanks or Leonardo DiCaprio is enough. He doesn't want to have to cut a quarter of the actors' salaries for the movies he produces."

As for why it's also $1.6 million, it's obviously a smokescreen, an exaggeration! It's better to keep even our own people in the dark to make it seem more real, and the share announced to the public can be higher, right?

"And casting—fuck you, I can't sleep now! You son of a bitch Bob! When I get to North America, I'm going to take your year-end bonus!"

Nothing more was said that night.

-

The next day, Lin Yu was still in a daze when Miss Liu pulled him out of bed.

"Senior brother! You told me to get some rest, but what have you been doing? You look so listless! What time did you finally go to sleep?" Miss Liu said, frowning slightly in dissatisfaction.

However, Lin Yu, who had just been pulled up, was still half asleep!

"I didn't want to either, it's all that dog Bob's fault. He called me in the middle of the night and I didn't fall asleep until three or four in the morning."

Ms. Liu: "Huh? Bob? Why did he call you?"

"What else could it be? The total box office figures for Twilight 2 are out, he gave me a report." Lin Yu replied listlessly.

Ms. Liu became very excited upon hearing this. Although everyone was saying the film would break 7 million US dollars, seeing is believing, and hearing is not! She was still very interested in whether her senior's film had broken 7 million. "How is it, senior? What's the total box office?"

"Seven and a half!"

"Seven and a half—wow! 7.5 million US dollars? Haha—you're amazing, senior!"

The somewhat excited Miss Liu grabbed Lin Yu's arm and jumped up and down twice, instantly dispelling any lingering sleepiness Lin Yu might have felt.

"Hey, hey, calm down! What's the big deal? It's just seven and a half! Why are you getting so worked up?"

Looking at Lin Yu's constantly curled lips, Miss Liu said indignantly, "Then, senior brother, take that smile off your face before you say that!"

Lin Yu: "?? Did I laugh?"

"You smiled!" Miss Liu asked definitively. "I really smiled?"

"You laughed!"

Seeing Liu's exasperated expression, Lin Yu stopped pretending. "Alright! I just laughed. What's wrong?"

"Senior brother, you—you did this on purpose!!!" Looking at Lin Yu's smug and self-satisfied expression, Miss Liu wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face until it was swollen!

"Pfft—hehe, alright, alright, Miss Liu, I'm not teasing you anymore. I am indeed quite happy to have received over seven hundred million US dollars, but now—get out of my way, I need to go wash up." Lin Yu walked past Miss Liu as he spoke, "Hmph! You stinky senior brother! You're so smug—"

As Miss Liu watched Lin Yu's departing figure, she also fiercely swung her little fist at him.

After Lin Yu finished washing up, he met up with Miss Liu and Cheng Long and the others, and then headed straight to the airport.

On the way, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, and the others also learned that Lin Yu's film had earned more than 700 million US dollars at the box office. When they heard this, they were all extremely envious.

"Director Lin, do you think our 'Wanted' can achieve such high box office numbers?" the straightforward Wu Jing asked. "Hehe—what do you think?" Lin Yu found it quite amusing.

Although he had the added advantage of Jackie Chan and his own talent in this life, he was still somewhat confident in surpassing the box office records of his previous life, but this 7 million—

"I think there's a chance! After all, our film's investment is much higher, and we also have you and Big Brother joining us. It would be a disservice to your reputations if it didn't surpass it!" Wu Jing analyzed confidently.

Instead of criticizing Wu Jing for his outrageous remarks, the crowd looked at Lin Yu with hopeful eyes.

Lin Yu, facing the gazes of the crowd, almost laughed. "What are you thinking? You think getting 7 million US dollars is so easy? Just like that? I'd be laughing all the way to the bank if 'Wanted' made 4 million US dollars, let alone 7 million? You're dreaming!"

No one took Lin Yu's self-deprecation to heart; instead, they all smiled and encouraged him.

"Director Lin, you're wrong about that. While *Twilight* is also one of your films, it's purely an idol movie! The actors could rake in so much box office revenue just based on their looks. What's wrong with our *Wanted*? Not to mention, you directed it yourself, which gives it a natural advantage! It can't possibly be that much worse, right?" Zhang Hanyu chimed in, "That's right, Director Lin, even if we don't aim for 7 million, can't we at least break 5 million?"

"Hehe! Xiao Lin, I'm on their side this time. Don't underestimate yourself—I'm here too!" Cheng Long couldn't help but laugh and say.