Global Film Emperor

Chapter 170 Starting Ceremony

"Can we not bring this?"

Lu Ze fiddled with the big red flower on his chest with his fingers. He was wearing a black suit with a big red flower on him, looking like he was about to get married.

Moreover, all the key staff members, including Song Qingmin, were dressed the same and stood at the entrance of Zhao's Film City, waiting for the auspicious time as indicated by the master.

"Don't move! You're about to have a happy ending! Behave yourself."

Song Qingmin patted Lu Ze's hand and scolded him in a low voice. He seemed to believe in such things very much. Just a couple of days ago, he had told Lu Ze about the paranormal events he encountered on set, which Lu Ze listened to as ghost stories. No one knew whether they were true or not.

Of course, Lu Ze believed it was better to be safe than sorry. Since he was filming in Hong Kong anyway, he had to respect their customs and traditions, so he stood still and didn't say anything.

The other actors laughed when they saw Lu Ze's reaction. They were mostly local Hong Kong actors, and they were used to the opening ceremony being handled like this. They were also scolded by Song Qingmin, so they shrank back and kept quiet.

The master was wearing a yellow robe covered with various symbols that Lu Ze couldn't understand. If this were in mainland China, he would definitely be arrested by the public security authorities for feudal superstition. Yet he was wearing it openly in Hong Kong, a blatant act.

At 9:18 a.m., the master said that we could enter. However, when entering the film studio, the main characters, including the director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and male and female leads, had to kowtow three times on the prayer mats at the entrance. Those born in the years of the Rooster and Horse had to turn around and kowtow three times facing outwards.

The big head exercise requires each head to be pressed against the ground for three seconds, then stand up and kneel on the cushion a second time, repeating this three times.

This bizarre statement left Lu Ze completely bewildered. He had never heard of such a thing before, and even in Hong Kong, this kind of etiquette was uncommon.

To paraphrase the master, making a movie about Jia Helong is to spread his deeds, which would upset the people who were killed by Jia Helong and cause trouble. You have to ask for the forgiveness of those dead ghosts first, otherwise you can't expect to make the movie peacefully.

First was Song Qingmin, who respectfully kowtowed three times, then stood up and stood aside. Seeing that everyone else had kowtowed, Lu Ze felt it would be strange if he didn't, so he also had a herd mentality and obediently imitated the others, bowing deeply to those "dead ghosts".

After everyone had finished kowtowing, they continued walking. The path they took was quite regular, requiring them to avoid certain film and television base buildings. More than a hundred people formed a long line and walked forward one after another.

Then you have to pay homage to the camera. A camera is covered with a red cloth, and below it are three kinds of sacrificial animals, steamed buns, wine and other delicious food and drinks. At the front is a large cauldron with two burning candles on either side.

The director offered the first incense stick, a very thick and large one, which took a long time to light with a candle. He then bowed three times to the camera while holding the three large incense sticks, and then inserted the first incense stick into the large cauldron, and then the next person took over.

Actually, you can tell a person's status in the crew by the length and thickness of their incense sticks. Song Qingmin's stick is definitely the longest, followed by the producer, whose stick is slightly thinner than Song Qingmin's. Then there are the screenwriters and various directors, whose sticks are even thinner and shorter than the producer's stick.

Then there's Lu Ze. His fragrance is a bit stronger than the female lead's and the well-known local second male lead's. It's about the same thickness as the screenwriter's and director's fragrance, only a bit shorter.

He aimed the incense at the burning white candle, lit the tip of the incense with the outer flame, flicked it slightly to extinguish the flame, bowed, and placed it on one side of the large cauldron.

From then on, it wasn't just a matter of the length of the incense stick; the errand runners only had a regular incense stick of normal length and thickness.

After everyone finished offering incense, the scenic spot was filled with smoke, and the smell of burning incense was pungent. People coughed from time to time, and then immediately held it in, including Lu Ze.

The final part was the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Since none of the investors were present, Lu Ze joined the ribbon-cutting team and was handed a pair of golden scissors, which were actually just ordinary large scissors sprayed with gold paint.

After the master calculated the time, ten people, including Lu Ze, simultaneously cut the red cloth with scissors. Other staff members quickly lit firecrackers, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.

Song Qingmin stepped forward, personally lifted the red cloth covering the camera, and then shouted, "I hereby announce! Filming for 'The Boss' has officially begun!"

"Oh!!!! Good!!!!"

The staff started clapping and shouting, giving Song Qingmin a lot of face. The producer respectfully handed the master a large red envelope. The master said a few kind words, then took the red envelope and drifted away without a trace of money. This made Lu Ze want to come to Hong Kong to become a master.

"Crew, get ready! Actors, hurry up and get your makeup done! Everyone else, get to work! We're starting filming in half an hour! Hurry up!"

The "battle" over "The Boss" has officially begun. Everyone is jogging to get ready. Lu Ze is also caught up in the atmosphere and runs towards the styling team.

After changing into his costume, Lu Ze was dressed in rather tattered clothes. The first scene of the script was to depict Jia Helong's rise to power. His loose brown pants were a bit dirty, and he wore a beige vest that looked like it was made from burlap sacks. He was also wearing flip-flops.

The makeup artist carefully trimmed Lu Ze's beard and then put a wig on him, giving him a hairstyle similar to the Beatles', a classic hairstyle among the poor in Hong Kong at the time. Lu Ze went to the beach the day before yesterday, certainly not to swim; with temperatures in the mid-twenties, swimming in the sea would be quite chilly.

He went sunbathing, applied some sunscreen, and sunbathed for two consecutive days. Now he has turned bronze, which is quite close to Jia Helong's skin tone back then. However, the sun was more intense than he expected, and his back was a bit sunburned and peeling. He has been sleeping on his stomach for the past few days.

When he came out after changing his clothes, his burly figure had a disheveled look, but it couldn't hide his original fierceness. Lu Ze didn't even realize that from the moment he finished his makeup, his temperament had become more and more similar to Jia Helong's.

When Lu Ze weighed himself recently, he found that he was about to reach 200 pounds, weighing 193 kilograms. At 1.84 meters tall, or 1.86 meters with shoes on, he was a burly man.

Song Qingmin was making final preparations. The first scene he would act opposite Lu Ze was with the third and fourth male leads, who played the brothers who followed Jia Helong. After the three of them finished their scene, they entered the set, which was the gambling den run by Jia Helong.

"Ready! Clapper, slate out!"

"The Boss, Scene One, Act One! Begin!"

The three sat in the small room. Jia Helong lifted the curtain and glanced outside. The guests were pushing dominoes, shaking the dice, and throwing their only money on the table, hoping that this hand would make them a fortune.

He lowered the curtain, sat down in a chair, lit a cigarette for himself, and Ah Er lit it for him. Jia Helong took a deep drag, squinted, and leaned back in the armchair.

Ba Tou was a little anxious. He exchanged a glance with A Er before cautiously speaking, "Brother Long, we haven't been getting any goods lately. The women that Du Jiu brought over are no longer working. There are fewer women now, and the cops are taking a bigger cut. Plus, the Chaozhou guys are stealing our business. We really can't collect any more money."

Jia Helong took off his shoes, put one leg on the armchair, flicked his cigarette ash, and pondered for a moment: "How much did you collect this month?"

"Less than 60,000. After the notes are all gone, there will only be a little over 30,000 left. I estimate that there will only be 40,000 this month."

"Is business good over there with the Chaozhou people?"

Anyway, it's better than us.

Ba Tou seemed afraid of angering Jia Helong. After hesitatingly telling Jia Helong what had happened, he lowered his head and chose to remain silent.

"Ah Er, how many fans do you have over there?"

"About this number."

Ah Er held up five fingers, and Jia Helong, indicating his understanding, extended one finger and pointed it at Ah Er.

"Leave this number untouched. Ba Tou, go find Du Jiu and tell him to tell the women who just drifted over that he can give them jobs. Pick the young ones, and send the less attractive ones away. Use them until they get addicted, then they can go to prostitutes. As for Hei Pi, don't touch him yet. We'll deal with him in a few days."

A'er and Ba Tou were shocked to see that Jia Helong dared to do such a thing. It was clear that they still had a conscience compared to Jia Helong, who had been blinded by money and had lost even the most basic moral principles.

But soon, faced with a choice between conscience and money, they nodded, threw their cigarette butts on the ground and stomped them out, then got up and stormed out of the room.

Jia Helong was left sitting in the armchair with his eyes closed, swaying slowly, occasionally taking a puff of a cigarette. The dark room was very quiet, with only sunlight shining through the wall, illuminating the table and creating the Tyndall effect, in which dust particles could be seen floating in the beam of light.

The shot stretched out for a long time, all the way to a wide shot. Song Qingmin looked at the monitor and nodded in satisfaction. The scene was simple, but the skill was evident in its simplicity.

The actors playing Ah Er and Ba Tou were both older than Lu Ze, but Lu Ze's aura overshadowed both of these well-known Hong Kong actors. Most importantly, his micro-expressions, revealing the coldness and immorality in his eyes, were vividly portrayed.

That year, Jia Helong was twenty-two years old, and his heart had already turned black.

"Pass! Next!"

"."

(End of this chapter)