The Fleeting Years of Chinese Entertainment

The wind was biting and the snow was falling heavily, making pedestrians on the road shiver and huddle together.

Having secured Huang Bo, a future box office king with a potential of over 10 billion yuan, Lin Mo felt a surge of joy.

Since its release, the movie "Kung Fu Hustle" has been unstoppable.

Whether it's Lin Mo's "Your Name" which was recently taken off the screens, or Feng Xiaogang's "A World Without Thieves" which is still showing, they all seem rather weak in comparison to Stephen Chow's film.

"A World Without Thieves" was completely overshadowed, and its total box office of just over 100 million yuan was about to be overtaken by "Kung Fu Hustle".

The daily box office trend basically showed that "Kung Fu Hustle" was "ten times" more than "A World Without Thieves". Even the early box office trend of "Your Name", which was released at the time, was much worse than "Kung Fu Hustle".

It's a certainty that "Kung Fu Hustle" will gross over 100 million, and the chances of it grossing over 200 million are also very high.

Stephen Chow's title as the King of Comedy has once again made headlines in the media.

While the outside world was buzzing with discussion about the release of "Kung Fu Hustle," Lu Chuan, a domestic "big director" with a somewhat questionable political stance, was also feeling quite pleased with himself.

Because this film won an award at the Golden Horse Film Festival, and it was even the Best Film award.

Watching Lu Taro give his acceptance speech on the podium with snot and tears streaming down his face, Lin Mo suddenly felt a little nauseous for no reason.

"Is this guy's next film... going to be 'City of Life and Death'?"

Lin Mo turned off the Golden Horse Awards ceremony video with a look of disgust, and the thought of whether he should take advantage of Lu Taro at the time also came to mind.

However, filming for "Nanjing" wouldn't begin until 2007, and the film wouldn't be released until April 2009.

The time interval was too long, so Lin Mo decided to let him off the hook for now and deal with it again in 08.

……

The script for "The Crowd" has passed the review.

While "Kung Fu" dominated the headlines of entertainment news, the news of Lin Mo's new movie also made its way into various entertainment news reports.

"Is Director Lin making a new film again? I wonder what kind of movie he's going to make this time?"

"Comedy films, realistic films, youth romance films—thinking about it this way, it suddenly seems like Director Lin's films are quite diverse?"

"I still feel that Lin Mo's youth romance films are better. It would be best if they could cast the 'Fairy Sister' as the female lead this time..."

……

Given Lin Mo's previous film box office success, many investors approached him the very day the news of his new film broke.

That's right, some people didn't even make a phone call and went directly to Lin Mo's studio.

Enlight Media, Wanda Group, Shanghai Film Group, Huayi Brothers Media, Bernard...

Of course, China Film Group Corporation is also indispensable.

However, China Film Group didn't come directly to their door; instead, Han Sanping made a phone call in person.

"Hehe... Little Lin, I just told you a while ago that you should keep in mind your Uncle Han when you start a new project, but how come you're suddenly starting a new film without saying a word? How much is the budget? Do you need any investment? Is there anything Uncle Han can help you with?"

Listening to Han Sanping's voice on the phone, Lin Mo felt a bit conflicted and wanted to scratch his head.

A direct refusal? Unlikely. After all, in this industry, China Film Group still needs to be mindful of interpersonal relationships.

Moreover, Han Sanping does indeed "take care" of Lin Mo. At least, a large part of the reason why Lin Mo is not short of money when filming is because of Han Sanping.

However, it's unlikely that Han Sanping could easily get involved, since "doing business" is about money, not feelings.

"Mr. Han, I still plan to invest around 30 million in my film this time, but I've already decided to fund 20 million of it myself. And... as you've probably heard, quite a few investors have approached me recently, so..."

"Thirty million? Another low-budget budget?"

Han Sanping was a little puzzled at this moment, because in his heart he felt that it was time for Lin Mo to take the first step toward making big-budget films.

After all, which great director doesn't dream of making a blockbuster?

But Lin Mo just doesn't follow the usual path; it seems he's set his sights on making movies with budgets of around 30 million.

Parasite grossed over 30 million, and Your Name grossed over 30 million. Now Lin Mo can be considered a successful and famous director in China, right?

They're even thinking of making a 30 million yuan film for their new movie!

"Xiao Lin, I'm not trying to be mean, but you're a well-known commercial director in China now, right? Why are you still thinking about making these low-budget films? Can't you learn from your senior colleagues?"

Lin Mo was a bit confused by what Han Sanping said, and he really wanted to ask Old Han...

"Thirty million? And that's considered low-cost?"

"Do you even know how many directors in China can make a film that grosses 30 million yuan? And you call that low-budget? What kind of argument are you making?"

"Besides... learn from Senior Brother? Who? Chen Kaige? Want to make a bloodstained steamed bun too?"

However, these thoughts can only remain in one's mind.

"Hehe... Mr. Han, I've only been in this industry for two years, and I'm still thinking of gaining more experience before making any decisions..."

Old Han, who always dreamed of making blockbuster films, was speechless at Lin Mo's explanation. Although he was now eager for some bigger "achievements," it was Lin Mo making the movie, not him, so…

"Sigh... alright, so how much of that ten million you got is left?"

"It's not decided yet, Mr. Han. We've been waiting for you!"

"Okay, then take some time to contact the companies that are interested in receiving investment, and we can sit down and have a proper talk..."

……

After finishing his call with Han Sanping, Lin Mo began to think about how many investors would be suitable for his film.

He doesn't have the idea of ​​eating alone for the time being, but he might occasionally do so once or twice in the future.

But he's not ready yet.

After all, the entertainment industry is a place where interpersonal relationships matter. Do you want to keep it all to yourself? What will other filmmakers in the industry think of you?

Do you still want to stay in this industry?

Let alone in the big and small entertainment and social circles in China, even abroad, you still can't get by without "living with others".

Lin Mo thought about the novels he had read in his previous life... novels where the protagonist funded the entire movie on his own, and he couldn't help but laugh.

Do you really think this industry is your personal playground? You think you can just film however you want? You'd be stuck with this kind of thing in real life!

Even in North America, where money is everything, it's hard to make a living without finding one or two partners.

……