Global Film Emperor

Chapter 117 Filming Wrap-up and Variety Show Guests
After the last shot was filmed, when Zhuang Yu shouted "That's a wrap," Lu Zexin suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest, then dropped back down, feeling somewhat relaxed, yet also a little empty.

Looking at the smiling faces of the crew members on set, and calling out to them, a smile unconsciously appeared on my face. I reached out and clapped my hands, for all the staff who had worked so hard for so long, and for myself.

"Back to Shanghai tomorrow?"

"Yes, tomorrow at noon."

"Then you should drink more tonight. It's been almost five months, you must be exhausted."

Zhuang Yu walked over to Lu Ze and gently punched Lu Ze in the chest. Everyone had been exhausted lately, and it was time to relax.

After changing clothes, while the staff were still packing up the equipment, Zhuang Yu told the actors to leave first and tossed the car keys to Lu Ze, asking him to drive them back.

After returning to the hotel and saying goodbye to the other actors, Lu Ze went back to his room, gently pushed open the door, took off his clothes, and went into the bathroom to take a good shower.

I picked up the razor and shaved my face, making a soft, snip-snip sound. My beard was completely shaved off, and my fingers felt a sandpaper-like sensation on my chin. My face finally felt clean again.

After changing into clean clothes, he received a call from Wang Zixuan, who informed him that she was already waiting for him at the hotel entrance. After hanging up, Lu Ze hurried downstairs.

The restaurant we booked wasn't far from Lu Ze's hotel. It was a very unique restaurant, not large in scale, but very famous in Baiqing City.

Since the restaurant had no private rooms, Zhuang Yu had booked the entire place. As soon as he pushed open the door, he found the lobby full of staff members chatting enthusiastically before the food was served.

"Brother Lu! Let's drink until we drop tonight!"

"Brother Lu, I'll go toast you later. Thank you for taking care of me all this time."

When Lu Ze arrived, the staff and actors greeted him warmly, and some even cracked a small joke on him.

The hierarchical relationships within the small production crew certainly still exist, but they are not as rigid as in the larger production crew. Over the past few months, everyone has gotten along very well. Rather than a normal working relationship, Lu Ze's interactions with everyone are more like those of friends.

When Wang Zhen arrived last, Zhuang Yu picked up a cup of baijiu (Chinese liquor), said a few simple words, and drank the liquor in one gulp, which made everyone present applaud and cheer.

After spending so many days together, everyone knows that Zhuang Yu says he doesn't drink, but he actually drinks occasionally. He just doesn't have a high alcohol tolerance; one bottle of beer is enough to make him drunk. The fact that he can drink some baijiu today shows that he's really happy.

After that, there was a barrage of toasts, and many people had their eyes on Lu Ze. Since everyone else had downed a drink, Lu Ze had to do the same. After an hour, Lu Ze was also a little tipsy.

Director Zhuang, do you have any plans for this film?

After the situation calmed down a bit, Lu Ze sat down next to Zhuang Yu and inquired about Zhuang Yu's thoughts. He thought that making an art film was definitely aimed at winning awards, and they couldn't expect it to be a box office hit, could they?

So what Lu Ze wanted to know was whether Zhuang Yu wanted to apply to participate in major film festivals to compete with other excellent films, and which awards she was interested in.

Zhuang Yu had nothing to hide about this. Although the film was still far from being released, he already had a general plan for the future development of "Mr. Tree".

As a film that Zhuang Yu was very satisfied with during filming, the only remaining obstacles were editing and passing censorship. The quality of the editing was far more important than the filming itself. If the editing was poor, even if the actors were geniuses, it would still be a bad film.

The second issue is getting it approved. This film will definitely have some scenes cut, and Zhuang Yu is aware of this. After all, even in Zhuang Yu's opinion, some scenes were filmed a bit too much.

He took the film with a "blind chance" mentality, hoping it might work out. If it did, his message would be clearer and more precise.

"First and foremost, I'd like to participate in domestic film festivals, like the Golden Rooster Awards. If I have the opportunity, I'd also like to apply to international film festivals, but it's still uncertain."

Zhuang Yu's face was a little red, but Lu Ze could tell from his eyes that he was still relatively sober and not talking nonsense from being drunk. The two drank a cup of tea instead of alcohol. After that, Lu Ze didn't talk about this issue with Zhuang Yu again. It wasn't until the dinner was about to end that Wang Zixuan came over to inform Lu Ze that Shen Jinghan wanted him to go back to the company the next day.

They say the company has found Lu Ze a guest on a variety show, and they're going to sign a contract with him tomorrow to make up for the lost buzz during the past six months of filming.

Upon learning of this, Lu Ze turned his wine glass upside down and placed it face down on the table, remaining motionless until the dinner party came to an end, and the actors said their goodbyes before returning to their hotel to rest.

In March, the temperature in Shanghai had begun to rise, but Lu Ze could still feel the damp and cold air when he got off the plane.

Compared to the dry and cold north, Lu Ze disliked the winters in the south even more. The blankets were always damp, sticking to his body when he slept, and clothes would take ten days or half a month to dry after washing. Lu Ze had to buy a lot of underwear every winter, otherwise he wouldn't have time to change them.

When Liu Bin saw Lu Ze outside the airport, he was a little stunned. Although Lu Ze had gotten a haircut in Baiqing City this morning, his skin was obviously rougher and not as smooth as it was last November. It was obvious that he had suffered a lot.

"Long time no see, Brother Liu."

"Welcome back."

Lu Ze was in a good mood today. He turned on the car stereo and played a blues song. Lu Ze tilted his head and looked out the window. In just a few months, another new high-rise building had been built near the airport.

It seems that many new changes happen in Shanghai every day. Perhaps they were not noticeable before, but they have undergone qualitative changes over time. When people discover them, no one can help but be amazed.

The company's black and gold marble floor tiles were still shining. Lu Ze took a long step and his long legs landed on the ground. However, when he passed the front desk, he found that the familiar Xiao Mei at the front desk had been replaced by another unfamiliar beautiful woman.

"Where's Xiaomei? Did she resign?"

"I resigned before the Lunar New Year and left the company in mid-December."

The change wasn't significant; it just meant that Lu Ze would no longer hear that always energetic and beautiful woman say "Good morning, Brother Lu" to him.

Without giving it much thought, Lu Ze stood at the door of the conference room that Shen Jinghan had told him to come to and gently knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

Lu Ze pushed open the door. Shen Jinghan and another middle-aged woman with a ponytail and black-rimmed glasses were talking. Shen Jinghan stood up and walked to Lu Ze's side. The middle-aged woman introduced them.

"Let me introduce you. This is my artist, Lu Ze, and this is Li Nuan, the person in charge of the variety show 'Back to Field' on Hunan TV."

Lu Ze reached out and shook hands with the woman, who was in her forties, had a somewhat out-of-shape figure, and a very ordinary appearance.

"Hello, Director Li."

Lu Ze naturally knew about "Back to Field". Slow-paced variety shows are very popular now, and as a leading show in the genre, Lu Ze had watched two episodes of it.

This kind of variety show takes a heartwarming approach, adding some fun and funny moments, and subtly feeding you some inspirational quotes. The seemingly ordinary show always leaves the audience wanting more.

After shaking hands, Lu Ze sat down. Shen Jinghan had already discussed the details with Lu Ze this morning, and Lu Ze agreed to and understood the program's requirements. He was here to sign the contract.

Lu Ze is certainly not a guest on next week's show. The episode airing next week was actually recorded two weeks ago. Lu Ze will appear on the show as a guest the week after next.

Shen Jinghan had already negotiated the specific contract. Lu Ze only glanced at it briefly. The invitation fee was 800,000 yuan before tax. This price was in line with Lu Ze's status, so he didn't hesitate, picked up the pen, and signed his name.

(End of this chapter)