The entertainment empire began with Liu Yifei's premarital pregnancy.

"Boss, there are so many directors in Hollywood..."

After Chen Kaige and his wife left, Carter looked at Lin Bufan with a puzzled expression.

In Carter's view, the script for "Night at the Museum" even had a storyboard, and any director in Hollywood could easily make it, so why bother having them take charge?

"Do you think that just having a good script and storyboard is enough to make a good movie?"

Lin Bufan shook his head slightly.

Carter wasn't a director, so he didn't understand that film is the art of light and shadow.

The fantasy film "Night at the Museum" is not something anyone can make well, especially the magnificent scenes and visuals involved, which most directors simply cannot handle.

Those who can handle it are certainly not ordinary directors.

Hollywood certainly has its share of directors like this, but the prices are different; a director's fee can easily be three to five million US dollars or more.

"Night at the Museum" is a film series, and three movies have been released so far.

In Hollywood, once a film series becomes a box office hit, the subsequent directors will definitely raise their demands, either by asking for equity or a share of the box office revenue.

Just like James Wan, who was an unknown director of niche horror films, after making several series of horror films, he began to ask for equity and box office revenue sharing.

From a director's perspective, James Wan is definitely not wrong. If Lin Bufan were just a director, he would have done the same.

However, he is now not only a director, but also a profit-driven "capital". Of course, he doesn't want to hand over a movie that is destined to be a blockbuster to a Hollywood director.

On the contrary, if it is handed over to Chen Kaige, there will be no need to have these worries.

First of all, Chen Kaige is talented. The plot of "The Promise" was bad, but the visuals and scenes were fine and very suitable for fantasy films.

Secondly, Chen Kaige is relatively easy to handle.

Furthermore, Lin Bufan's focus has always been on the mainland, so having Chen Kaige owe him a favor is more advantageous for him.

"Okay, Boss, you're right."

Lin Bufan gave a brief explanation, which Carter agreed with.

"But boss, where's the seed funding for 'Night at the Museum'?"

Carter looked at Lin Bufan.

The budget for "Night at the Museum" is nearly $100 million, but Extraordinary Pictures currently only has less than $2 million in its accounts, and that's for the production costs of "Kung Fu Panda".

"Let's get the project approved first and start the preliminary work. Filming will be postponed for now."

Lin Bufan had no choice.

He doesn't have that much money right now unless he sells his shares in AMC Theatres, which is absolutely impossible.

……

"Director Lin, let me toast you."

Inside the private room, Chen Kaige stood up, raised his glass to Lin Bufan, and then downed it in one gulp.

Only after signing the contract did Chen Kaige's excited heart finally calm down.

He was able to direct a big-budget production worth 100 million US dollars, and he knew he owed Lin Bufan a huge favor.

"Director Chen, we're all on the same side, no need to be so polite."

Lin Bufan smiled and looked at Chen Kaige, then turned to Chen Hong beside him and said, "Sister Hong, don't you think so?"

Chen Hong secretly rolled her eyes at Lin Bufan. To Chen Kaige, these words meant that since they were all mainland directors, they were all on the same side.

But Chen Hong knew the true meaning behind Lin Bufan's words.

"Old Chen, Director Lin is right, we're all on the same side, no need to be so polite."

What could Chen Hong do but continue along with Lin Bufan's words?

"Director Lin is right. We're all on the same side. If there's anything I need to do in the mainland in the future, just let me know." Chen Kaige laughed heartily, looking at Lin Bufan with a cheerful expression.

Looking at Chen Kaige laughing heartily, and Chen Hong looking at him with a shy expression, Lin Bufan smiled slightly.

There was something Lin Bufan didn't tell Carter: another reason for choosing Chen Kaige, which could be considered a form of compensation.

Lin Bufan still has a bottom line; his encounter with Chen Hong last time was truly just an accident.

But no matter what, I've already cheated on Old Chen, so I feel a bit guilty. This is a way of making amends to him.

"Bufan, thank you..."

Chen Hong lay on Lin Bufan's chest, her head tilted up, looking somewhat emotional.

As expected, Chen Kaige got drunk again. To thank Lin Bufan, Chen Hong invited Lin Bufan to tour the room.

If the last time in the restroom was an accident, this time it was no accident.

"You're welcome, Old Chen is a good man!"

Lin Bufan shook his head slightly and sighed.

"Ugh, why bring him up now?"

Chen Hong gave a coquettish laugh.

He said that, but his heart was filled with something indescribable.

"If we don't mention him, he's almost fallen off the sofa."

Lin Bufan gave a signal with his eyes.

Chen Hong turned her head and followed Lin Bufan's gaze. Chen Kaige was fast asleep on the sofa, his body almost half-suspended in mid-air.

"Okay, I'm going now."

With that, Lin Bufan stood up and left.

After Lin Bufan left, Chen Hong got up, put on her pajamas, and helped Chen Kaige from the sofa to where Lin Bufan had been lying.

Chen Hong frowned slightly. She had sweated too much earlier, so she went to the bathroom to shower and then lay down for a good night's sleep.

In her dream, Chen Hong felt as if she had returned to her twenties.

In her dream, Chen Hong dreamed that she first met Lin Bufan, then the two fell in love, married him, and had his child...

But when Chen Hong opened her eyes the next day, she realized that it was all just a dream.

Chen Hong was a smart woman. She knew that this was the only possible relationship between her and Lin Bufan, and any other thoughts were just wishful thinking.

"But it's fine this way..."

Men are all the same: a wife is not as good as a concubine, and a concubine is not as good as a stolen affair.

Looking at her rosy and radiant skin in the mirror, Chen Hong smiled confidently.

……

In the blink of an eye, almost half a month has passed.

Today is January 16th, and tomorrow is the Golden Globe Awards ceremony. Lin Bufan has already received an invitation.

Lin Bufan took a close look at the films nominated for this year's Golden Globe Awards, and the one that posed the biggest threat to him was Li An's "Brokeback Mountain".

Manchester by the Sea received six nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay.

Brokeback Mountain was nominated for seven awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song.

Meanwhile, news also came from China that after "Love is Not Blind" broke 100 million yuan in 4 days, more than half a month after its release, the box office has finally exceeded 200 million yuan.

To date, it ranks second in the mainland China box office charts, second only to "Hero" which grossed 2.5 million yuan.