novellhall Chapter 57: Nazha with a Little Bit of a Temper
Chapter 57: Nazha with a Little Bit of a Temper
Sunday, May 6.
Lin Yu got ready and left home early in the morning. Perhaps he was influenced by Han Sanping, because he was also wearing a black Zhongshan suit today. The suit was very well-tailored and did not make him look old. Instead, it made him look quite composed.
It was already quite late when we arrived at the China Film Grand Hotel, and we had to detour to the Beijing Film Academy to pick up Nazha.
The little girl has been a bit temperamental lately. Unlike before, when she would always get dressed up early and wait downstairs, this time she made him wait downstairs for twenty minutes.
From the time Lin Yu went downstairs to send the message to the time Nazha leisurely came downstairs, it took exactly twenty minutes.
She wanted to throw a little tantrum, but she couldn't bear to actually keep Lin Yu waiting. Lin Yu understood her little scheme perfectly well.
"Brother Xiaoyu, have you been waiting anxiously?" Nazha's smiling face was particularly bright in the sunlight. She wore a beige dress with a light-colored jacket, which made her look dignified and proper, and it was obviously a carefully chosen outfit.
Lin Yu stretched out his arm and naturally put his arm around Nazha's shoulder, smiling as he said, "I'm willing to wait as long as you want."
Saying nice things doesn't cost anything; it's just a way to coax a young girl, a few sweet words are nothing.
Naza was clearly pleased with these words, her smile widening as she linked arms with Lin Yu and got into the car.
In the car, Nazha chattered excitedly with Lin Yu, sharing her experiences at school and the company: which teacher's lectures were particularly interesting, which classmate's performances were especially funny, and what training courses the company had arranged...
Looking at the exceptionally lively Nazha, Lin Yu almost forgot that he was actually her classmate, but it had been a long time since he had taken a class in the acting department.
"Aren't final exams coming up soon?" Lin Yucun wanted to tease Nazha. "How's your preparation going?"
Naza, who was happily chatting with Lin Yu, suddenly blushed and stammered, "What's so difficult about the final exams? I'm sure I'll pass..."
She paused, as if to change the subject, then retorted, "But you, you haven't attended a single class, you're definitely going to fail!"
"I don't have any exams this semester." Lin Yu rubbed Nazha's head, who was leaning against him. "The dean will arrange for me to take a make-up exam next semester."
"Don't mess up my hair!" Nazha slapped Lin Yu's hand away in dissatisfaction. She had specially done her hair today, and she couldn't let him mess it up.
She looked up at Lin Yu and asked tentatively, "Are you filming a new movie again?"
"Yes, we've been working on the script all this time, and filming should start this summer." Lin Yu wasn't annoyed when Nazha slapped him away, and started playing with her hand again. "This time it's a TV series, so the filming time will be longer."
"Then you'll be busy again." Nazha pouted, looking a little aggrieved. "Are you going to ignore me for a long time again? I was planning to take you to XJ this summer."
"How could I ignore you?" Lin Yu patted her hand gently. "I've saved you a role this time, the second female lead, with quite a few scenes."
"Really?" Nazha sat up in surprise, her eyes sparkling. "Then we can spend this summer together?"
But the surprise didn't last long.
Naza's expression quickly darkened again, and she leaned back against Lin Yu, whispering, "Let's stick to casting. Won't pre-selection negatively affect you..."
Lin Yu felt a warmth in his heart.
This girl clearly wanted to act, but she was still worried that the pre-selected role might affect her career.
"What are you afraid of? It's not like you're the only one who's already cast." Lin Yu chuckled and comforted her, gently patting her back. "The main roles for this drama have basically all been decided, and everyone who's in the running is someone we know."
Naza didn't say anything, but angrily clenched her fist and punched Lin Yu a few times, but not really hard, making Lin Yu cry out "Ouch, ouch" and pretend to be in pain.
The distance between Beijing Film Academy and China Film Hotel is quite far, almost an hour's drive, but time flies when the two of them are together, and they arrive at their destination while chatting and laughing.
The car stopped in front of the China Film Hotel. Lin Yu got out first, walked around to the other side to open the car door for Nazha, and reached out to help her out of the car.
Naza straightened her skirt, took Lin Yu's arm, and the two walked together towards the hotel entrance.
Including today, the film has been in theaters for 25 days. Normally, a movie's theatrical run is around 35 days.
Lin Yu had no intention of extending the screening. After organizing a unified viewing in the previous period, the box office potential had been almost exhausted. The box office in the past week was only a few million, and it would not look good to keep it in theaters any longer.
Han Sanping had previously considered boosting the box office slightly, as the film was performing well and boosting it wouldn't be easily detected, but Lin Yu refused. He reasoned that this was already a great achievement for a low-budget film, and there was no need for such shady dealings.
As of today, the film has grossed 56 million yuan at the box office. Although this result is not among the top in the country, it is important to know that the film only cost about 10 million yuan to produce, and this figure was achieved only because Lin Yu provided all kinds of benefits.
To date, "12 Citizens" has grossed a total of 56 million at the box office.
Although this achievement doesn't rank highly nationwide, it's important to remember that the film's investment was only around ten million, and that was only achieved with Lin Yu maximizing all the benefits and perks. The investors can be said to have made a fortune.
Except for the second brother.
The second brother hasn't seen a single penny of his money back, and Lin Yu still plans to swindle him out of another 50 million.
The main purpose of this celebration banquet was to announce the results to the media and peers, boost morale, and perhaps the box office could rise even more in the last week.
He led Nazha into the banquet hall.
The hall was already quite full, mostly with senior executives from China Film Group and some partners. Many people stood up to greet Lin Yu as he entered.
Lin Yu responded to each question with a gentle smile, leading Nazha through the crowd.
"Director Lin, congratulations!" Wang Jinghua walked over with a wine glass in hand. "You deserve the most credit for the success of 'Twelve Citizens'."
"Congratulations to you too." Lin Yu smiled and clinked glasses with her. "If I profit, you profit too. You ate your fill this time, didn't you?"
"That's all thanks to Director Lin's generosity," Wang Jinghua said with her smile unchanged. "I'll have to rely on you a lot more in the future."
"Let's help each other and develop together," Lin Yu said with a gentle smile. "Have things been settled in Shanghai?"
"It went very smoothly." When the conversation turned to business, Wong Jinghua's smile faded. "Brother Hu is affiliated with the company as a studio, while Liu Shishi and the others are still directly signed as artists. The profit sharing and terms are very generous, and they are all quite satisfied."
"That's good." Lin Yu nodded in satisfaction, then thought for a moment and said, "Tell Brother Hu, Liu Shishi, and Lin Gengxin not to take on any new roles for now. I estimate that I'll start filming a new drama around July or August, and they can join the crew then. Consider it a gift from the company to them."
Looking at Lin Yu, Wang Jinghua sighed inwardly. If all shareholders were like Lin Yu, not taking money from the company but constantly feeding it, she would welcome a few more shareholders like him.
"Don't worry, I'll let them know as soon as the banquet is over."
As they were talking, Han Sanping's voice came from the stage. "Everyone, everyone's here. I'll just say a few words."