Chapter Ten: Witnessing a Major Scandal

Money isn't everything, but without money, you can't do anything. After acquiring the rights, the biggest problem Chen Ling faced was where to find the money to make his film. Buying the copyright was within the reach of his New Year's gift money, but for shooting a movie, that was far from enough.

Raising investment for a film really only comes down to a few channels. The first is capital from other industries—like coal barons, or internet giants who would flood into the entertainment circle a few years later, investment companies, or even individuals or businesses completely unrelated to entertainment. This category is broad, usually requiring introductions from acquaintances, or targeting big companies, big productions, and prominent directors.

Chen Ling had no such connections, so that option was out.

That left seeking funding within the industry itself. Industry capital generally falls into a few types, the largest being entertainment companies. Most films released in cinemas each year are invested in by these companies. If Chen Ling were a director who had already proven himself, there would be no shortage of entertainment companies vying to finance him. And their investment wouldn’t just be money—they could also provide resources for promotion, distribution, and so on.

Especially for big-name directors like Ning Hao or Jiang Wen, investing in their films requires more than just money; you must also offer something valuable to the project. At that level, directors begin to pick and choose their backers. Unfortunately, Chen Ling was a nobody, and no entertainment company would pay him any attention.

Another major source of film investment in the industry was China Film Group, which held the exclusive right to import foreign films. With numerous cinema chains under its umbrella, it was the undisputed boss of the entertainment world. Crucially, it controlled the special film support fund.

Every movie released in theaters had to pay 5% of its total box office to the film fund office before profits were split between producers and cinemas. This money was used to support film production and related industries, and China Film Group controlled a large share of it. Thus, most directors sought to curry favor with China Film Group, hoping to secure some investment when making their films.

Unfortunately, there were more wolves than meat. If Chen Ling tried to apply through regular channels, the odds were about the same as winning the lottery. Unless he had an influential connection—someone who could introduce him directly to Chairman Han of China Film Group—that would be ideal. Sadly, Chen Ling didn’t know anyone like that.

Chen Ling hoped to secure some outside investment and then ask his family for additional support. That way, it would be easier to persuade them, since seven million wasn’t a small amount for his family, and it would be hard to come up with. After much deliberation, Chen Ling decided to consult his homeroom teacher. It was reasonable for a student to seek a teacher’s guidance, but he needed to prepare first—not gifts, as it wasn’t at that stage, but by perfecting the script so he could present it properly.

After spending two days revising the script, Chen Ling approached his homeroom teacher, Mr. Lin.

Mr. Lin was a man in his forties, a bit overweight, with a gentle temperament that made him popular among students. He had worked at Xi’an Film Studio in his early years, directed films, and made documentaries in recent years. He was well-known and respected in the industry; otherwise, he wouldn’t be qualified to be the homeroom teacher for the directing department.

Chen Ling got along well with Mr. Lin, possibly because his two lifetimes made him more mature than his peers, and they had engaging conversations. Given Chen Ling’s keen mind and love for learning, Mr. Lin had even considered making him class president, but Chen Ling, wary of trouble, declined.

Chen Ling had Mr. Lin’s phone number. When he called, Mr. Lin happened to be in his office. Chen Ling explained he’d adapted a script and wanted the teacher’s feedback. Mr. Lin was delighted and invited him to come by.

When Chen Ling arrived with the hefty script, Mr. Lin had already made tea. Chen Ling didn’t dare let his teacher pour tea for him; he quickly took over, first filling Mr. Lin’s cup before pouring his own.

“Teacher, this is the script I adapted. Do you remember the senior whose phone number you helped me get a few days ago? This script is based on her novel of the same name. I’ve already bought the film rights,” Chen Ling said, handing over the script.

“Oh, you moved quickly. After I got her number for you, I heard from her department’s teacher about the novel and took a look at it online,” Mr. Lin said as he adjusted his glasses and accepted the script.

“Then I won’t need to explain too much. Please take your time reading the script,” Chen Ling replied.

“Alright, help yourself to tea when you’ve finished your cup,” Mr. Lin said, and began leafing through the script. For a while, the only sound in the office was the rustling of pages.

The story wasn’t long, and Mr. Lin had already read the original novel, so it wasn’t long before he closed the script.

“To be honest, you’ve given me a wonderful surprise. For a freshman not even through his first semester to produce such a mature script—you’re even better than I imagined,” Mr. Lin said, his admiration for Chen Ling plain in his gaze.

“The storyboard is well done too. Looks like you haven’t spent all your time dating,” Mr. Lin teased.

“Just lucky. I happened to stumble across a good novel and gave it some polish. What do you think of the script, Teacher? Is there anything that needs changing?”

Mr. Lin shook his head. “The script doesn’t need any more revisions. At most, you’ll make slight adjustments during filming as needed. It’s a complete story—try not to make any major changes.”

“About what we discussed before, if I had a project, would you help and give me some guidance? Does that still hold?”

Chen Ling seized the opportunity.

“You…” Mr. Lin pointed at Chen Ling, fully aware of his little schemes.

After thinking for a moment, Mr. Lin smiled. “Alright, as your teacher, who else would help you? From what I see, you’re the only one in your class with the potential to shoulder real responsibility in the future.”

He had given up directing films to teach at Beijing Film Academy, hoping to nurture a few promising talents, and Chen Ling was one of the rare seedlings worth cultivating. He would help where he could.

“Thank you, Teacher. Don’t worry, your fee will be paid in full,” Chen Ling quickly settled the matter, not wanting Mr. Lin to help for nothing.

“When do you plan to start shooting?” Mr. Lin asked.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“?”

“It’s like this,” Chen Ling said, scratching his head.

The budget for the film was estimated at six to seven million. Though his family had some money, it wasn’t a small sum, and it would be hard for them to provide it all. So he wanted to see if Mr. Lin had any channels to bring in some investment to ease the pressure.

“You really know how to put your teacher to work,” Mr. Lin said, gulping down his tea, leaning back in his chair, hands resting on his round belly as he thought.

“The bosses who invested in my previous films are out of the question. None of those projects made money, so it’s basically impossible to ask them for investment now.”

Picking up his teacup, Mr. Lin continued, “Let’s do this—I know a director at China Film Group. Maybe I can arrange a dinner with him and ask for some investment.”

“Alright, Teacher, you arrange it. Any expenses are on me—it’s my film, and you’ve already helped me a lot.”

Mr. Lin waved his hand, indicating no need for further words. Then, in front of Chen Ling, he made the call. The director was accommodating, saying he was free that evening.

At the appointed time, the two of them took the script and went to meet the director from China Film Group.

The director’s surname was Cao. Over dinner, the atmosphere was lively; it was clear Mr. Lin and Director Cao were old friends. Most of the conversation was between Mr. Lin and Director Cao, with Chen Ling mostly listening. Aside from a brief initial exchange where Director Cao glanced at the script and chatted with Chen Ling, the rest of the time was spent reminiscing with Mr. Lin.

Chen Ling couldn’t tell whether there was hope or not.

As the dinner ended, Director Cao patted Chen Ling’s shoulder and said, “I’ve been friends with Old Lin for years. It’s rare he puts in a request for a student. Your project is good, but under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t necessarily get investment from China Film Group. Even now, I can only help solve part of your funding problem.”

Before Chen Ling could react, Director Cao continued, “Recently, Director Ning Hao’s film ‘No Man’s Land’ was blocked by the review department. Chairman Han tried several times to intervene, but nothing worked, and in his frustration, he cut off the special support fund for those old-timers close to the review department. That’s why your project got a chance.”

Well, that matched Chen Ling’s memory. At this time, Ning Hao’s ‘No Man’s Land’ was stuck in review limbo. The film was held up for years, with Ning Hao and Chairman Han running around trying to resolve it, but to no avail. Ning Hao eventually turned to another script and shot ‘The Golden Robbery’ instead.

Ning Hao was considered close to Chairman Han, and China Film Group invested heavily in that film. If Ning Hao was uncomfortable, so was Chairman Han. When those with power collided with those holding the purse strings, there was tension—lucky for Chen Ling.

For the first time in his two lives, Chen Ling found himself at the center of major industry gossip—he was quite pleased.

A few days after the dinner with Director Cao, Chen Ling received a call from him. The good news was that he had secured some investment; once the script passed review, it could be finalized. The less good news was that only one million had been granted—Chen Ling would have to find the rest himself.

After the dinner, the script was submitted for review. Since it contained no sensitive content, there was no reason it wouldn’t pass.