524: Chapter 524 Is 3.5 billion a lot?

...

"Director Lin, what have you been busy with lately?"

The cast and crew of both "the mission" and "a moment of romance" gathered together, and Director Du Qiyu began chatting with Lin Chuyan.

"Don't do that, Sir Du. Don't call me Director Lin; it sounds awkward."

"You're not being kind!" With Ruan Xingyu nearby, Sir Du switched back to Mandarin. "Putting other things aside for a moment, when can I take a look at 'la la land'? Boss Yang told me that you filmed this movie to a very high standard."

Initially, to secure the film's distribution across Asia, Lin Chuyan had brought Director Du Qiyu on board as an investor. To put it bluntly, Director Du Qiyu hadn't participated in the creative process at all, only providing the funds, and originally hadn't even thought about watching the film in advance. However, Boss Yang's tone had been truly hyperbolic, not only praising Lin Chuyan's movie endlessly but also claiming he was going to send it to the Venice Film Festival... This piqued Director Du Qiyu's curiosity.

After returning to the country, Lin Chuyan suddenly became humble again: "That's too exaggerated. Boss Yang just took me along to broaden my horizons and join in the fun at the film festival."

"Is the Venice Film Festival coming up soon?"

"Soon, next month."

Director Du Qiyu nodded: "Alright, I'll go too when the time comes."

A month's time was certainly something he could wait for. Watching it now would definitely mean watching it on a small screen, so it was better to just go and see the premiere.

Lin Chuyan reminded him: "Sir Du, you can see the trailer today."

Director Du Qiyu's eyes lit up instantly: "I almost forgot about that part!"

"Not only that, but the organizers also asked me to go on stage and talk more about it, to really promote it..."

Come to think of it, the organizers were really good to him, with a feeling of constant reminders and instructions, even more attentive than he was himself.

Director Du Qiyu saw it clearly: "Tsk, tsk, tsk. They're just afraid that your 'la la land' will perform poorly at the box office, and you might actually quit the industry... Wouldn't that be a huge loss for the Hong Kong film scene?"

"Ah, so that's how it is..."

"And you're not worried at all?"

"Hehehe, once some things are done, there's no turning back. How can an arrow fired from a bow turn around?"

Lin Chuyan had long since figured it out: with his current net worth, what reason did he have to be timid? Moreover, everything was progressing even more smoothly than he had expected. If he could pull this off, he would be able to walk sideways in the Chinese Entertainment Industry from now on. Even in the worst-case scenario, if he failed, he could simply focus on building his "mythology universe." In any case, he could handle this project from behind the scenes without it interfering with anything. Not only would it not interfere with anything, but he could also fully enjoy the comfortable life of a newlywed couple with his girlfriend...

Thinking about this, a smile returned to his face.

However, this expression in Director Du Qiyu's eyes only made him feel that Lin Chuyan was terrifyingly confident...

...

The red carpet segment soon arrived.

Netizens watching the live stream stared intently at their screens, looking specifically for Lin Chuyan.

However, the prestige of "the mission" and "a moment of romance" was too high; they were destined to be the finale. [Note: Whenever "yazhou" (the finale/penultimate act) has been mentioned before, some people have pointed out that it technically refers to the second-to-last program. This is indeed true, but in the entertainment industry, the last program is usually called the "yazhou," and this is explained here for consistency.]

After waiting until the very end, they saw a group of people filing out—one, two, three, four, five, six, seven... They couldn't count them all. Why were there so many people?

Director Du Qiyu, Director Mu Sheng, Uncle Da, the major stars of "the mission," Zhou Shiyun, Lin Chuyan, Ruan Xingyu...

Huh? Ruan Xingyu is there too?

At this moment, the host's voice came through: This is the creative team behind "the mission," "a moment of romance," and "la la land."

Huh? "la la land" is here too? Is this movie going to be released so soon? Has a release date been set?

Reporters were equally concerned about this question and asked on the spot.

Lin Chuyan did not hide anything: "You will be able to see a teaser trailer tonight. The film has already been submitted for review, but as for the release date, it has not been determined yet."

He hadn't received the dragon seal yet, so he dared not boast casually about when or where it would be released; that was a major taboo. Facing the reporters, he ultimately only said one sentence: "I hope it can enter the Spring Festival Movie Season."

Reporter: "It is said that many major films are entering the Spring Festival Movie Season this year. Are you worried about this?"

When facing the reporter's question, Lin Chuyan suddenly became immodest again: "You seem to have forgotten one thing: 'la la land' is also a major film with an investment of 300 million. If I really go to the Spring Festival Movie Season, the ones who should be worried are others, not me."

This was also free publicity.

If he, as the director and lead actor, wasn't confident, how could he give confidence to everyone watching the live stream in front of the cameras?

The reporter didn't dwell on it and continued to the next question.

The opportunity to interview Lin Chuyan was very rare, and there was one question that had to be asked: "Everyone knows that there is a bet between you and Director Deng Yu. Now that 'la la land' has finished filming, are you still as confident as before? 3.5 billion is not a small amount."

Very good, it's time to show off.

Lin Chuyan smiled slightly: "Is 3.5 billion a lot? In some people's eyes, it's 3.5 billion; in my eyes, it's less than 500 million USD. Additionally, you asked if I am as confident as before. Here, I must correct this statement: there are some things that you don't necessarily have to wait until you are 'confident' to do. You only have a chance to achieve things you think are impossible, and a chance to change the status quo, if you are prepared to lose something."

The netizens watching the live stream were inexplicably stirred up by Lin Chuyan.

[Nice! My brother's dominance is leaking out!]

[Director Deng Yu is indeed a black sheep. One look and you can tell he's evaded a lot of taxes. He owes a big investigation.]

[This Chinese Entertainment Industry has long been rotten to the core. Support Lin Chuyan in giving it a good cleanup!]

The reporter didn't expect Lin Chuyan to say so much in one breath; he wasn't leaving himself any way out at all. Thinking about it, they decided to change the subject and started asking him if he was confident about winning an award tonight.

Lin Chuyan: "If I compare myself with the other nominated actors tonight, I don't have much confidence. If I compare myself with the version of me at the Golden Feather Awards, I can regain some confidence—the probability of winning Best Actor tonight is at least much higher than it was then, right?"

It's on point, absolutely on point; this is the answer the reporter wanted!

This guy is as sharp-tongued as ever, never knowing what it means to be forgiving. Whatever the grudge or resentment, he never forgets to make a few sarcastic remarks whenever he has the chance.

The netizens watching the live stream couldn't hold it back either.

[Translation: There's a problem! The Golden Feather Awards have a problem!]

[I never expected that after so long, Lin Chuyan could still whip the corpse; worthy of you, Lin the Dog!]

[You only see my brother relentlessly attacking the Golden Feather Awards, but you didn't notice his humble side: the first half of that sentence was too humble, okay!]

[Reporters, stop asking, can you hurry it up? I want to see the 'la la land' trailer.]

[Actually, I think it's a loss for the variety show industry that Lin Chuyan doesn't go on them. If he went on a variety show, the show's effect would definitely explode.]

Lin Chuyan didn't answer any more questions, so the reporter had to go and interview others.

Once this last group of people entered the venue, the awards ceremony was finally about to begin.