Global Film Emperor

Chapter 322 Lu Ze's Network of Connections

"Mr. Song, everyone knows that you and Lu Ze have a very good relationship and are very close friends. What is your opinion on Qian Shijia's announcement today that it has filed a lawsuit against Lu Ze and formally terminated its contract with him?"

Today is the promotional ceremony for Song Guiyuan's new drama. Song Guiyuan doesn't have many fans, and even fewer fans came to support him. Like Lu Ze, Song Guiyuan tries his best to meet the fans' requests for photos and autographs. He was writing and drawing on the paper with a marker when he heard the reporter's question. The pen tip paused on the paper, then reconnected to the point where he had stopped writing. After finishing, he handed the paper to the fans present.

"How do you see it? I'll just sit here and watch. What do you think I'll think?"

"Do you know the reason for the conflict between Lu Ze and Qian Shijia? Is it related to Lu Ze's new movie? Or is it due to some internal disputes within the company?"

"I don't know. How am I supposed to know about other companies' affairs? Go ask Lu Ze, or ask Qian Shijia's employees. Why are you asking me?"

"Then you."

"I told you I don't know! I'm unaware! What's the point of you keep asking me? Go ask someone else! This is a promotional event for my new work! Not Lu Ze's press conference! Can't you ask something relevant? Do you reporters have to drive people to their deaths?! One of Lu Ze's good friends has died! Do you want Lu Ze to be driven to his death too?!"

The sudden loss of control of his emotions not only frightened the female reporter who kept asking questions, but also the fans present. Then everyone saw that Song Guiyuan's eyes were a little red, and the fans quickly stepped forward to comfort him. Soon, Song Guiyuan's manager also squeezed in, stood in front of Song Guiyuan, and gently pushed away the reporters who were still crowding around.

"Excuse me, Mr. Song is not giving interviews right now. I'm very sorry to disappoint the fans who have come from afar. On behalf of Song Guiyuan, I apologize to everyone. The remaining autograph sessions may not be enough to satisfy everyone. Next time! Next time I will hold a special autograph session and prepare small gifts for everyone. I'm sorry everyone, reporters, please make way."

"Old Zhang, don't mind me! You guys wanted to talk about it, right? Fine, I'll tell you. Lu Ze! He doesn't earn the most, he doesn't do commercial performances! He doesn't do variety shows! He doesn't work on multiple film sets! He doesn't earn a fraction of what a popular star earns! Stars do earn a lot! Yes! He bought a house and a car outright in the last few years! But he's worth it! Try having someone else play that role! Who dares to guarantee they can act better than Lu Ze!"

"Yes! Lu Ze has absolutely no talent besides acting. He only has a high school diploma, which is lower than my education level! But at least he can honestly say that his acting has never disappointed the audience, isn't that enough? Why do you have to keep harping on his personal life? Six years, two TV series, six movies, he's exhausted enough! Can you please stop putting so much pressure on him in his personal life? I don't have many friends either!"

"Alright, Guiyuan, that's enough. Let's go. Excuse me, please make way."

“He has lost enough over the years. You can call us actors because we make a living by acting, but aren’t actors human beings too? Can’t you give us a way to survive?”

Fortunately, Song Guiyuan's agent was a man, who forcibly pulled the emotionally distraught Song Guiyuan into the car. Those present, listening to Song Guiyuan's shouts, felt a truly indescribable mix of emotions. No one tried to stop him, and the reporters didn't press their way in. They watched as the car door closed and they left the scene of the promotional ceremony.

"Li Shanjun! I demand an explanation from you right now! Immediately!"

A somewhat aged-looking figure ignored the secretary's attempts to stop him and barged into Lee Sun-kyun's office, slamming his hand on the table as Lee Sun-kyun was fiddling with his computer.

"Uncle Hu, what's wrong?"

Hu Zhiguang looked at the old desk that hadn't been replaced yet and had a dent in the surface and sneered. Seeing Li Shanjun's seemingly innocent face, he felt even more furious. He hadn't lost his temper in a long time because he felt that losing his temper was a very shameful way of expressing himself, but today he had to lose his temper!
"You were really angry yesterday, weren't you? You even smashed the computer desk, so why the hell are you pretending to be calm and collected today! Li Shanjun, Li Shanjun, I've worked for Rongchuang for almost thirty years, I've watched you grow up, and now what? You're playing these underhanded tricks on me? You even used me as a pawn, making me use my connections to get Lu Ze a movie role, and then you used him to launder money for you, didn't you!"

“Uncle Hu, I know you watched me grow up, so I didn’t call security to kick you out, but that’s not a reason for you to slander my reputation! Lu Ze’s refusal to act has nothing to do with me. I treated him like a king, but I got a higher reward, so why can’t I sue him! When he can no longer generate enough profit for the company, why should I treat him like a king as before? He’s just a mascot. All I can use is his fame, and now that I don’t need it anymore, so what!”

Hu Zhiguang looked at the somewhat aggressive Li Shanjun and his hands trembled with anger. He knew that Li Shanjun valued profit, but he did not expect that Li Shanjun had been corrupted by money. He felt dizzy and his blood pressure was soaring. He barely managed to adjust his breathing. Falling at this time would cause a brain hemorrhage. He had to stabilize himself.

Holding onto the back of the chair, Hu Zhiguang calmed himself down a bit. He felt more guilty and ashamed towards Lu Ze. How to face Lu Ze in the future had become a knot in his heart that could haunt him for the rest of his life. Looking at Li Shanjun's appearance, he didn't want to argue with Li Shanjun anymore, because it would really be pointless.

“From now on, I have nothing to do with Rongchuang. Tell Chairman Li not to contact me anymore and to let me return to the group. I will not go back. I will pay back whatever Lu Ze owes you.”

"I'm sorry, this is a debt owed by Lu Ze. I will only ask Lu Ze for it. Asking you for it is against the law."

"You, now I finally know how Rongchuang's last agency went bankrupt. It wasn't that Huang Guangwei was incompetent, it was that you emptied the agency's coffers. Even a god couldn't save it. Yes, doing this will definitely make you much more money than raising artists and relying on their revenue, but if you keep hunting geese all day, you'll eventually get pecked out by them. Let's see when you capsize."

"You don't need to worry about that, Uncle Hu. I'll definitely live to the end. Goodbye."

“You’re far inferior to your brother. No wonder Li Shanyang got into the board of directors, while you were relegated to being the general manager of a brokerage firm. The difference is immense. I believe you’ll regret it when you fall from grace.” These words seemed to hit a nerve with Li Shanjun. His face suddenly contorted as he stood up, glaring at Hu Zhiguang with his fists clenched. Hu Zhiguang scoffed at his appearance and slowly walked away. Just as he reached the door, he saw Li Jianni push the door open and enter, but he had no intention of catching up with her.

"Mr. Hu."

"Don't call me President Hu, I can't accept that title, don't you think? Big star?"

As Hu Zhiguang left, he heard a crisp slap and Li Jianni's cry of pain, but he showed no pity, only mockery. He held a burning cigarette butt between his fingers, took a drag, and threw it on the smooth ground, where it was stomped out by his leather shoes.

Starting this morning, the biggest news of 2022 exploded, radiating across the country. Basically, all internet users in China know that Lu Ze has had a falling out with his employer.

Many people, including industry insiders, are surprised. Qian Shijia pulled Lu Ze out of the mud and then raised him to the sky, making him a top-notch actor in the country. Lu Ze, in turn, made great contributions to Qian Shijia, making him the "ninth person" who is no less than the top eight brokerage companies in the country. The two should have been like-minded, deeply in love, and supporting each other. How come they suddenly broke up today?
Some say Qian Shijia is unethical, increasing Lu Ze's share of the contract and indirectly exploiting him. Others say Lu Ze is too arrogant, demanding excessive benefits that Qian Shijia cannot satisfy. In short, there are all sorts of opinions, and many netizens don't know who to believe.

However, secrets don't stay hidden forever. The real cause of the incident quickly spread, and at least those who were doing well in the entertainment industry knew the actual situation. They didn't say much about it, only that Lu Ze was a man who was too proud to admit his mistakes.

Such things are common in the industry. Some BMs even turn a blind eye to this in order to improve cultural output and SS. In this environment, Lu Ze still refuses to accept this fact. In the eyes of these submissive people, he is simply courting death.

But those with the pride of artists can accept it! They're completely used to it! Especially the veteran actors who have had contact with Lu Ze, this time without exception, they chose to stand with Lu Ze!

"I don't care how good the movies produced by Qian Shijia are! I don't care how superb the acting skills of the actors from Qian Shijia are! Not a single vote will come from me! I, Chen Yongbin, mean what I say! Old Zhang, our school must keep a tight rein on Qian Shijia's recruitment of actors! I'm definitely involved in shady dealings! If you have the guts, let that guy surnamed Li go and sue me at the China Arts Association!"

At the Golden Rooster Awards jury meeting, Chen Yongbin slammed his fist on the table and said something very assertive: as the vice president and director of the acting department of Huaxia Film Academy, the vice president and standing director of Huaxia Film Art Association, and the head of the Golden Rooster Awards jury, he was not afraid of Lee Sun-kyun suing him anywhere.

Go ahead and sue the Huaxia Art Association. Five out of the ten directors are leaders from Huadian University, and the other five are all good friends of Chen Yongbin for decades. You can sue wherever you want, and it will work. Chen Yongbin will kowtow to Li Shanjun. In short, as long as Chen Yongbin is still alive, Qian Shijia will basically say goodbye to the Golden Rooster Awards.

As for the old man's health? He's seventy-three years old this year. Yesterday, he was at the gym working out his legs, doing 60-kilogram squats for a set, and his lung capacity reached 7,200. You just wait and see.

"Old Zhao, how about we tighten our grip a bit too?"

"What a mess! Apart from 'Find You,' none of the films this year have been good enough. They haven't even made it to the awards ceremony yet, making it impossible to give out awards. They need to clean things up."

When Principal Zhao Guowei heard the vice principal's suggestion, he nodded in agreement. He had heard that Lu Ze's most desired university was Magic Entrance School, and that he had even touched the school emblem at the main gate. Although he had never met Lu Ze, he still had a high opinion of him. Moreover, Lu Ze was a young man that Chen Yongbin liked, so he couldn't be bad.

“Then I’ll call Lao Qu’s side. The new songs don’t seem to be very good. And they’re still calling it a platinum record? That’s going too far. They need to clean it up.”

"The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television called Lao Sun and said that the values ​​of these romance films are too skewed. What kind of influence are they having on young people's minds? We have to save the children quickly, otherwise the ideas of abortion and materialism among teenagers will become even more serious."

Of course, this is not an industry-wide crackdown, and they can't possibly crack it all down on. It's just targeting Qian Shijia specifically. It's clearly targeting them, so what?
That's how the academics are. If they want to fight, they'll bring a whole trainload of people to the scene before the fight even starts, surrounding you in droves. If you dare to say anything, they'll beat you up until they knock your teeth out.

Led by these veteran actors, leaders from well-known art colleges across China, including Chen Yongbin, president of North China Electric Power University; Gao He, head of the directing department; Meng Dekang, head of the screenwriting department; Zhao Guowei, president of Magic Theatre University; Fei Tianqiang, head of the acting department; Wang Guoqiang, head of the directing department; Zhang Wenju, president of Beijing Theatre Academy; and He Peng, head of the acting department, along with their disciples and grand-disciples within the system, began to openly target Qian Shijia.

Furthermore, Lu Ze's own friends also stood up for him, including 29 national first-class actors such as Ge Yunzheng, Tang Juan, He Suiping, and Guan Yong; 71 national second-class actors such as Song Guiyuan, Zheng Yi, Li Wei, and Zhao Xinxiang; 23 well-known screenwriters in the industry such as Huang Liu, Deng Bo, Yu Tai, and Li Congwen; 55 well-known directors from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong such as Zhuang Yu, Guo Mingde, Liu Ying, Song Qingmin, and Wang Yizhuo; as well as top photographers, top editors, and other miscellaneous people, totaling nearly 400 people.

I don't have any particular ideas, I just wanted to ask Qian Shijia on behalf of Lu Ze.

"What do you mean?"

"."

(End of this chapter)