Reborn, my online friend is the real me.

On January 15, the Berlin Film Festival announced the first batch of films selected for the main competition.

Su Yu was browsing the web in his office, looking at ten movies, but not "Buried Alive".

He saw a Chinese-language film, Wang Quan'an's "Tuya's Marriage".

Su Yu leaned back in his chair and read the three characters "Wang Quan'an" aloud. In his previous life, he knew that this movie had won the Golden Bear Award, but he didn't know the specific year.

Emily poked her head in from outside the door and asked, "Boss, our movie should be in the second or final batch of announcements, right?"

"It should be. After all, we submitted our application late. When this batch of films submitted their applications, 'Buried' hadn't even started filming yet. It's definitely going to be shortlisted; it's just a matter of time."

He wasn't really sure himself, but he spoke with great certainty.

A few days later, the second batch of shortlisted candidates was announced.

When David burst into Su Yu's office, he ran all the way from the other end of the corridor, his leather shoes clicking on the floor like a machine gun.

"Boss, he's out! He's out! Quick, check the website!"

Su Yu turned on his computer and saw the latest news on the Berlin Film Festival's official website.

He scrolled down and saw the English title of the film, "Buried," followed by the director's name. He stared at that line of text for several seconds.

David was still catching his breath when Su Yu said something that surprised him: "Let's have a big meal for lunch today, let's find an authentic Chinese chef."

.......

It was late at night in China, but the media was already buzzing.

The first to react was the editor on duty at Sina Entertainment. He was habitually browsing the Berlin Film Festival's official website when he saw the news that "Buried" had been nominated. He rubbed his eyes and looked at it again.

The director's name is "Yu Su," and the remarks clearly state that he is the winner of the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the 55th Berlin International Film Festival.

Sina Entertainment's headline three minutes later: "Su Yulin is nominated again; foreign language film 'Buried' enters the main competition."

Netizens in the comments section reacted a beat slower than the media: "Wasn't he in the US negotiating a collaboration? When was this filmed?"

"Shoot a feature film in a month? And it got nominated for Berlin? Is this guy cheating?"

"What kind of movie is 'Buried'? Just from the title, it doesn't sound like it was made by normal people."

The news shocked the domestic media and film industries. Several major portal websites' entertainment channels immediately changed their headlines from "Tuya's Marriage" to Su Yubolin's nomination.

......

Han Sanping called the day after the shortlist was announced.

Su Yu was in the conference room discussing the filming of "The Lone Agent" with David and the others when he glanced at the caller ID and roughly guessed what Han Sanping was going to say.

He answered the phone, cleared his throat, and spoke first: "Mr. Han, what brings you here on the phone?"

Han Sanping's voice sounded like a mix of surprise and admiration: "Congratulations! Su Yu, you've kept this a secret for a long time. I thought you were going to discuss a collaboration, but I didn't expect you to have made a movie? And it's even been nominated for Berlin? Do you own shares in Time Entertainment?"

Su Yu understood perfectly well and didn't try to hide it. "Hehe, just a little bit."

Han Sanping chuckled twice, then sighed, "Alright, good luck; I'll treat you to dinner when you get back."

After news of Su Yu's nomination for Berlin spread within the industry, even those Hong Kong celebrities who were previously not particularly fond of Su Yu couldn't sit still; some started making statements in the media, saying that Su Yu was "lucky" and that the Berlin selection criteria were becoming increasingly incomprehensible.

But those who said these things quickly realized the tide was turning against them, and netizens weren't buying it: "He won the Golden Bear at 19, and his work was nominated again at 22. You're saying he was just lucky? Let me see you be lucky!"

Su Yu wasn't so busy that he was constantly on his feet. Through Downey, Su Yu contacted Marvel; Marvel was currently looking for investment everywhere, and the start of filming for "Iron Man" had been delayed again and again.

Casey from Lionsgate called in the morning Los Angeles time, her voice filled with genuine laughter, "Sue, congratulations. When the Lionsgate team saw the news in the Berlin main competition, the entire floor erupted in cheers."

Su Yu leaned back in his chair and turned around. "Casey, thank you. This movie wouldn't have been made without Lionsgate's support."

Casey's smile faded, and her tone became more serious: "Su, Lionsgate will be helping with the Berlin jury. We know the jury president quite well this year, so if your film gets any attention in Berlin, things will go much smoother from here on out."

Su Yu understood what Casey meant, although it was very realistic; there is no such thing as absolute fairness in film festivals, and Europe and America are also societies based on personal relationships.

"Thanks."

Casey chuckled on the other end of the phone: "Sue, don't thank me yet. Focus on preparing 'The Man from Nowhere,' win the award, and then we'll talk about the movie."

After hanging up the phone, Su Yu understood what Huang Bai had said in his previous life: "If you succeed, you'll be surrounded by good people!"

......

In January, the temperature in Los Angeles fluctuates around ten degrees Celsius, and you need to wear a jacket when you go out during the day.

Su Yu wasn't in a hurry to return to China, not because he didn't want to, but because of the preparations for "The Lone Agent" and the recruitment of personnel for the visual effects department of Time Entertainment.

That afternoon, David pushed open the door with a thick stack of documents, put the folder on the table, plopped down in the chair opposite Su Yu, crossed his legs, and began to speak earnestly.

"Boss, this is a big fish, but the risks are considerable; you'd better hold on tight."

Upon hearing this, Su Yu raised his head, raised an eyebrow, and leaned back in his chair.

"Oh? What do you mean?"

David opened the folder, which contained several pages of printed materials, including financial statements and summary pages of project proposals.

"Marvel! They're in big trouble right now, boss. You haven't been in Hollywood long enough to know the situation; Marvel is a joke in Hollywood right now, a worthless asset that everyone wants to trample on!"

Su Yu didn't interrupt, signaling him to continue.

David spoke faster, gesturing with his hands, "The movies they produced themselves were box office flops! The Punisher lost money, Elektra lost even more, and Daredevil, damn it, it was unbearable to watch; banks were practically begging to knock them down. All the big companies; Disney, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros. all kept their distance, saying Marvel was a hot potato and anyone who touched it would be doomed."

Su Yu slowly circled his finger along the rim of the cup, the movement was slow and he looked relaxed, but a storm was raging in his mind.

Marvel, Iron Man.

That was the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the starting point of the entire Avengers series.

In his previous life, Su Yu wasn't a Marvel fan. He had seen some of those movies, some in theaters and some on his phone, but he hadn't paid much attention to them.

After his rebirth, he began to analyze a large number of films and study the market; Marvel will be an unavoidable topic, as this company has almost single-handedly changed the landscape of global commercial films.

It all started with the success of Iron Man.

"Tell me about the project and their conditions."

David flipped to the last page of the document, pulled out a summary page of the project proposal, and pushed it in front of Su Yu, his tone becoming more serious.

"Iron Man. The total investment is $150 million, and it's currently stuck on the final funding gap. Their offer is a $50 million investment, in which case we can enjoy 30% of the global box office revenue, plus 10% of the subsequent copyright and merchandise revenue."

David paused, then held up five chubby fingers and waved them in front of Su Yu's eyes. "At least fifty million, that's the minimum."

Su Yu's heart skipped a beat, as if someone was hitting it with a mallet.

His face was expressionless, but he frowned slightly, looking down at the document, his gaze sweeping over "30% box office revenue" and "10% copyright revenue".

He was doing the math in his head: a budget of 150 million. He remembered that the global box office of "Iron Man" in his previous life was about 500 million US dollars.

Not to mention the continuous stream of subsequent revenue, that's the real gold mine.

"That sounds like a significant risk."

David lay on the table, his hands on the table, his expression serious. "Boss, to be honest with you, this project is poison in the eyes of all the big Hollywood companies. Nobody wants to take it on."

Iron Man isn't a top-tier IP in the comics, and its popularity is far less than Spider-Man's, especially with Robert Downey Jr. playing the lead role.

He paused, glancing left and right as if to make sure no one was listening, then lowered his voice: "Downey used to be a drug addict. Although he's reformed in recent years, no B-movie or higher production dares to bet on him. Look at his resume—what kind of movies has he been in lately? Supporting roles, cameos, independent films. When Marvel cast him as the lead, everyone in the industry laughed, saying they were crazy. Big studios are avoiding him like the plague; who would jump into this pit?"

David's vivid description clearly depicts Marvel's current desperate situation.

Su Yu looked at him, and an overwhelming surge of emotion welled up inside him.

He picked up his water glass and took a small sip. The water was at a comfortable temperature, much like Marvel's current predicament; not too cold, because it wasn't the final moment yet; not too hot, because no one was willing to add fuel to the fire.

Su Yu was silent for a moment, then said, "Um... is there any room for negotiation regarding the revenue sharing from copyrighted content and merchandise?"

David paused for a moment, staring wide-eyed at Su Yu, probably to make sure he hadn't misheard.

"The terms they offered were already the best Hollywood could offer to foreign funding; boss, you don't know, although the Marvel guys are short of money, they're very stubborn, especially that Kevin Feige guy, he's not old but he's very tough, he stuck to his bottom line during negotiations."

Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios and later chief architect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is probably still just an unsuccessful producer struggling on the fringes of Hollywood.

"Help me arrange a meeting with them, then you can go and have a face-to-face discussion."