Global Film Emperor

Chapter 175 The Premiere Begins

"Ugh"

When he opened his eyes, he felt a little sore all over. He pulled the blanket over his head to block the sunlight coming in from the window, lay on his side for a while, and then got up from the sofa.

A pile of empty cans of liquor lay on the platform in front of him, and the ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts. He rubbed his messy hair, his throat a little dry. He went to the kitchen and got some water, but one glass wasn't enough, so he got another.

I bent over and rubbed my face in the sink. When I looked up, my face was noticeably swollen and pale. It seemed the air conditioner was set too low last night. My whole body felt stiff.

While filling the bathtub, Lu Ze went to the study, turned on his computer, and browsed through the surroundings of his home from the previous night at 32x speed.

He saw himself drinking, leaning on the sofa eating peanuts, watching SpongeBob SquarePants on TV with a blank expression, then taking a sheet from his room, covering himself with it and going to sleep.

Then, in his sleep, he would occasionally turn over, perhaps feeling cold, and cover himself with the blanket, curling up into a ball, but he was still peaceful, not letting Lu Ze see the side he didn't want to see.

He turned off the computer, lay in the bathtub, and the warm water relieved his physical discomfort and fatigue. Sleepiness washed over him again, and he fell asleep in the bathtub once more.

"Is this alright, Brother Lu?"

Wang Zixuan straightened Lu Ze's head, looked him up and down in the mirror, and then looked at herself from all angles. She thought it looked good, took out her phone and took a few pictures of Lu Ze before finally asking for his opinion.

"That's great. Should we give you a raise from now on? You're my assistant and stylist, you're practically an all-rounder."

"Okay."

Wang Zixuan didn't stand on ceremony and nodded in agreement. She went to the bathroom to wash her hands. Actually, her expenses were quite high. Even though the company reimbursed her travel and accommodation expenses and subsidized her meals, her expenses were still very high.

Because she's Lu Ze's assistant. Lu Ze is a big star now, so even if she's not decked out in luxury brands, she can't be dressed in cheap clothes and be outshone by other celebrities' assistants, making Lu Ze lose face.

Although Lu Ze never cared about this matter.
Lu Ze stood up, straightened his tie, and made a phone call to ask Liu Ying if they could leave now. After receiving confirmation from Liu Ying, he took Wang Zixuan downstairs. A Bentley was parked on the side of the road, still the car borrowed from General Manager Guan's company.

Lu Ze was a little nervous about attending the premiere of "The King of Fighters". After all, it was his first film after winning the award. If he did well, people would say that he had maintained his standard and would praise him, but they probably wouldn't exaggerate his achievements.

But if he makes a bad film, he'll fall from grace and ruin his reputation. People will say all sorts of hurtful things about him. Even if Lu Ze has a strong mentality, he probably won't be able to accept that.

This situation exists in many people, and Lu Ze is no exception. As the saying goes, if you want to wear the crown, you must bear the weight. It is easy to conquer a country, but difficult to maintain it.

The car was driving on the highway, and the cars behind it were about thirty meters away from the Bentley. In fact, Shanghai during the daytime is not so extravagant and decadent; it is mostly just busy and bustling, and the vast majority of people are just ordinary people.

There was a luxury hotel more than a kilometer to the east of the venue. After the car entered the underground parking lot, the staff quickly ran over, handed Liu Bin a walkie-talkie, and left after adjusting the channel.

A car soon came in. Lu Ze didn't know who was in the car, nor was he curious. He took out his phone and started playing with it to pass the time.

Actually, it didn't take long, about twenty minutes, before a staff member came through the walkie-talkie with a notification.

"Director Liu, you can start the car now. Producer Zhao, follow behind, and then the cars will wait in the designated order. Okay, Mr. Lu, you can start the car now. Mr. Tang, your car will follow behind."

Liu Bin followed in his car, keeping a distance of about 200 meters from the screenwriter's car at a speed of 30 miles per hour. He then stopped at the designated location. Through the windshield, Lu Ze could already see the people gathered around the venue.

The event was well-attended, though perhaps not as large as the Golden Rooster Awards ceremony, but for a film premiere, it was certainly a prestigious affair. While only Lu Ze and Xu Lu were truly popular members of the cast, the other actors were all veteran performers with high status; no one could argue they lacked talent. However, in terms of popularity, they couldn't match the younger generation.

After all, it's a huge investment of 200 million yuan, not even counting the cost of product placement. With so much money, they only hired a newly crowned Best Actor and an excellent young actress, and it's an action movie. Many people are curious about how Liu Ying spent all that money.

Rumors circulated online that Lu Ze's salary skyrocketed to 30 million after becoming a film emperor, but this was quickly debunked by industry insiders. Film salaries are relatively transparent; even without the production team revealing anything, those familiar with the industry can deduce that Lu Ze's salary definitely wouldn't exceed 10 million. The salaries of other actors should all be lower than Lu Ze's, considering that he was the male lead and this was an action film.

But when you calculate it this way, another rumor spread online: money laundering in movies.

The actors didn't cost much, the script didn't cost much, and it's an action movie with very few special effects, yet the total investment is over 200 million. Do you believe it's not money laundering?
These rumors circulated wildly, even causing moviegoers' expectations for the film to plummet. Before they even saw it, it was already being equated with a money laundering drama.

Liu Ying was also quite helpless. He dared to make a promise, and he did spend money extravagantly, but he didn't pocket a single penny of the invested money, nor did it return to the investors' pockets. But if he made such a promise, no one would believe him.

He was prepared for the box office performance on the first day of the premiere to be less than he expected, but Liu Ying was still confident in the film. After all, the quality speaks for itself, and he was just waiting for word-of-mouth to spread.

Moreover, the pre-release word-of-mouth will not affect the screening schedule. He has already obtained a satisfactory screening share of 36.53%, which is the highest screening rate today.

A total of 14 films were released during this year's May Day holiday, with only one imported war film, accounting for 23.76%, ranking second.

The third place went to the domestic comedy "Starlight Splendor," accounting for 14.32%, and the fourth place went to the domestic romance film "Autumn Brocade," accounting for 8.91%.

Liu Ying predicts that ultimately, these four films will be the main battleground for the May Day holiday, while the remaining ten films will be nothing more than small fry, toy cars that will be crushed and killed.

First, big names like Liu Ying, the producer, supervisor, and screenwriter entered the room, followed by Lu Ze.

The Bentley slowly drove to the entrance of the venue. He had already seen people holding up their light boards, and there were quite a few of them. This was indeed a first for Lu Ze.

After getting off the car, cheers suddenly erupted. Even though he had seen this kind of occasion many times, Lu Ze was still excited. Filming was boring and tedious. He would hide in the crew all year round, just for this moment of cheers.
Lu Ze bowed to all the supporters present to express his gratitude. Lu Ze didn't know why he always attended events in the hot summer, and he always saw the supporters present with their faces flushed from the heat.

"If it gets hot, go outside quickly, or you'll get heatstroke."

He walked up to the crowd, took out a pen from his pocket, and signed his name on behalf of everyone who had come for him.

Although he didn't think his autograph was worth much money, they couldn't leave empty-handed after coming all this way. Having an autograph was at least something to have, so the trip wouldn't be a complete waste, right?

"Lu Ze, why have you gotten so fat!"

A girl next to him shouted, and Lu Ze recognized her accent—she was from his hometown. But, fellow townsmen meeting—wasn't it a bit much for her to just shoot me right off the bat?
"Don't speak! Shut up! If you're hot, take a rest. The boys next to you, take care of the girls and protect them. Keep this in mind. I'm leaving."

Lu Ze's fans burst into laughter. The girl didn't expect Lu Ze to "scold her," and she blushed as she ducked behind the crowd.

After having his reporters take a few photos in front of the curtain, Lu Ze signed his name, bowed to thank everyone present, and then turned and entered the venue.

"."

I got sleepy while eating and fell asleep, so I'm a few minutes late. Sorry!


(End of this chapter)