The Fleeting Years of Chinese Entertainment

"I'm over thirty, I don't have a stable job, I can't afford the rent, and as an actor, I can't even play a good extra role."

"With an old face and a name like Xiaomeng, it's only natural that she wants to die."

In front of the camera, Andy Lau, smoking a half-burnt cigarette, is briefly recounting "his" life.

"Cough cough... I even forgot to smoke..."

……

"Cut! This one's passed."

Andy Lau's acting skills remain consistently excellent. Since filming began, he has delivered a flawless performance in every scene.

"Brother Hua, Sister Zhang, today is the first day the production crew is open to the media. Would you two like to set an example for everyone?"

Filming for "The Crowd" has entered its later stages, and this is when most production crews open the set to the media, and Lin Mo is no exception.

"Okay, no problem."

"Okay, Director Lin..."

Zhang Ziyi and Andy Lau both agreed; they had already made preparations for the reporter interviews during filming.

"Okay, that concludes this morning's filming. We'll now spend the rest of the time dealing with the media."

……

Jiang Wen's new film, "The Sun Also Rises," which marks his "return of the king," has recently been officially announced as a project.

The industry's actors and stars are naturally very interested in this director who has won the Cannes Jury Prize.

Unfortunately... in the end, all attempts were fruitless.

Shortly after the film project was announced, Yinghuang released the cast list, which consisted of more than half of Hong Kong artists, and 80% of those were stars under Yinghuang's management.

It's clear that securing investment for Jiang Wen's new film wasn't easy.

The earth begins to shed the silence of winter, all things revive, and spring is drawing ever closer.

Lin Mo's filming wrapped up a little earlier than Liu Yifei's "The Return of the Condor Heroes" crew.

Furthermore, when Lin Mo was hosting a wrap party for the film crew that evening, a "big shot" showed up uninvited...

"Mr. Han, what brings you here?"

Lin Mo was quite surprised by Lao Han's arrival.

"Hehe...Besides coming to mooch a drink, there are some things I'd like to hear your opinion on, Kobayashi."

Han Sanping first greeted everyone in the crew, and then pulled Lin Mo to a quiet spot.

"Mr. Han, what's the matter?" After the two sat down, Lin Mo asked immediately.

Han Sanping paused for a moment,

"Many foreign companies are eyeing the screening rights to 'Your Name' that I own. I wanted to directly take a share of the box office revenue, but as you know, I don't have much say in China Film Group anymore, so..."

"Are there many people at China Film Group who want to sell the rights directly?" Lin Mo asked curiously. "What's the highest price offered by foreign companies that want to buy the rights?"

"Columbia offered twenty million US dollars to buy out the screening rights in North America and some European countries," Han Sanping replied after thinking for a moment.

"Twenty million US dollars..." Lin Mo murmured, stroking his chin.

"That's quite a lot, Mr. Han. When you bought the copyright from me, it only cost you 40 million. If we calculate based on the 20 million US dollars you mentioned, after deducting taxes, you could still earn several million more RMB! Why don't you agree?"

Han Sanping adjusted his glasses, hesitating to speak, but finally said, "But... Xiaolin, you know how well your film did in Japan and South Korea... How can I accept that it's just sold like this?"

"Then it's no use you're coming to me, Mr. Han. What good can I do?" Lin Mo asked, somewhat puzzled.

Lin Mo believes that he is just a small-time director with limited skills and resources, so how could he possibly influence the decisions of China Film Group?

But he was wrong...

"Who says it's useless?" Han Sanping retorted directly.

"China Film Group has now decided on two solutions for handling the film 'Your Name.' One, which goes without saying, is that I am in charge and they want the film to go through the box office revenue sharing route."

There's another kind, a few others... who are my old friends..." Han Sanping became more and more unhappy as he spoke, and then picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

"They also contacted a group of people, thinking of selling the copyright directly, saying that it would be a quick and guaranteed way to make money, without considering long-term interests at all."

Lin Mo understood…

He thought that Han Dejun had always been in charge of China Film Group! Little did he know…

"But...Mr. Han, what does this have to do with me? It can't be that you two disagree and decided to have me act as the referee, can it?" Lin Mo said with a smile.

But his smile quickly faded...

"That's right, we want you to be the referee this time, and it was my suggestion!" Han Sanping said with some pride.

Lin Mo was stunned. He truly never imagined that he was so "awesome" that he would one day be able to make decisions for China Film Group...

"Mr. Han, you're not joking, are you? Why are you making me the referee?"

"Because you directed the movie, and your previous decisions regarding your own movies have proven to be those that maximized the profits of the movies, I trust you, and the other faction in the company has no objections."

Han Sanping smiled and patted Lin Mo on the shoulder.

"Xiao Lin, just say it... just to give your Uncle Han some face."

Looking at Han Sanping's expectant gaze, Lin Mo felt a little amused and exasperated.

"What kind of mess is this...?"

On the other side of the wrap party...

At this moment, Zhang Ziyi was glancing at Lin Mo and Han Sanping from time to time, along with Andy Lau.

"Brother Hua, what do you think Director Lin and President Han are talking about? Why are they talking for so long?" Zhang Ziyi asked curiously.

Andy Lau glanced at Zhang Ziyi and joked:

"Hehe...who knows, maybe they're planning some big project."

"Oh?" Zhang Ziyi's eyes lit up. "Brother Hua, you think so too?"

Andy Lau: ? ? ? You actually took it seriously?

Zhang Ziyi, oblivious to Andy Lau's bewildered expression, continued speaking to herself:

"I think so too. After all, with Director Lin's current abilities, it's not right for him to keep making low-budget films. Look at Director Chen and Director Feng, they seem to be preparing to make a big production. I think Director Lin must be getting impatient now."

Andy Lau initially thought Zhang Ziyi was a bit "naive," but upon hearing this... he couldn't help but lean a bit more towards Zhang Ziyi's perspective.

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

At this point, Lin Mo had both awards and box office success, and Andy Lau really thought that Zhang Ziyi's words made some sense.

If he were Lin Mo, he would probably have already devoted himself to making big-budget productions, instead of focusing on low-budget films costing only 20 or 30 million...