Global Film Emperor

Chapter 367

As they emerged from the alley, Mickey distributed cigarettes to the three of them and shook his hands, which were stained with blood. On the deserted street, cars with their high beams on sped toward Lu Ze and his companions, their lights catching the eye of the four as they lit the cigarettes.

"Turn off your high beams! You heartless bastard!"

He stood on the bottom iron beam of the pedestrian guardrail, pointed his middle finger at the vehicle, and cursed loudly, like a crazy drunkard. The car owner obviously heard him, and Mickey could clearly see that the middle-aged car owner also pointed his middle finger back, but the high beams were eventually switched on, which made Mickey, holding onto the guardrail, unconsciously let out a hearty laugh.

"So...why did you come out looking for me?"

“Your father came looking for you, but you weren’t there and he couldn’t reach you by phone, so we came out to look for you. We guess he’s still here, so let’s hurry back.”

Lu Ze certainly wouldn't complain to Mickey about his father's attitude towards the three of them, even though the old man was indeed quite unreasonable, considering them Mickey's cronies, eating Mickey's food, using Mickey's things, and making a mess of his rented luxury apartment, not at all like guests.

Furthermore, instead of keeping his dissatisfaction with Lu Ze and the other two to himself, he openly expressed it, criticizing them. This left Lu Ze and the other two in an awkward position, unable to sit or stand still, and making conflict even less likely. They could only slink away from the apartment under the pretext of looking for Mickey.

As per Mickey's original plan, the three of them searched the red-light district but did not find him. Lu Ze then suggested going to Lionheart to check. As luck would have it, they happened to witness the scene just now. Mickey was also glad that the three of them might have gotten into trouble if they hadn't found him tonight.

Although Lu Ze and Mickey's argument wouldn't really hurt their feelings, it was impossible for them to talk as if nothing had happened after only a few hours. Even the best of friends would inevitably have some lingering resentment after a fight, so the atmosphere was a bit awkward. The two didn't talk much and simply returned the way they came in silence on the snowy night.

When they opened the door, they found Mickey's father fast asleep on the sofa. The television was on, showing a replay of the evening's baseball game. The old man was known for his sharp tongue; even younger generations like Lu Ze, who were popular with the elderly, were disliked by Mickey's father. The Mendeleev brothers were even less favored. The three of them didn't dare to disturb him and quietly returned to their respective bedrooms, leaving Mickey standing in front of his father with his hands on his hips, wondering whether he should wake him up.

Back in the bedroom, I took off my coat and got into bed. At first, I could still hear Mickey's father's loud voice, but then, probably after Mickey had stopped me, there was no more noise outside the door.

Because he had slept for a long time today, he was no longer sleepy when he lay down in bed. It was around 1 a.m. in China, which was around 9 a.m. Da Hai had already gotten up, so Lu Ze made a video call request, hoping to see the cripple with a miserable look on his face. He chatted with the cripple for half an hour.

To adjust to the time difference, Lu Ze hung up the phone half an hour later, adjusted his pillow to a comfortable position, turned to his side, closed his eyes, and rested. People may have different feelings when they fall asleep. Some people are completely unaware of when they fall asleep and sleep soundly until dawn, while others are very sensitive to their state when falling asleep and feel their body gradually becoming lighter until they lose control. But Lu Ze was different from them.

When I'm sleepy, I fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow. When I'm not sleepy, I force myself to use the system space to absorb mental energy, and I still fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow. Over the years, I've never had insomnia. However, in this period when there's something to film but no actual filming, the system can only serve as a sleeping pill. Thinking about it this way... it does seem a bit like playing a minor role.

……

"Knock knock knock... Lu Ze, are you asleep? Can I come in?"

"Hmm...hmm? What's wrong?"

The fluorescent watch showed the hour hand pointing to three o'clock. In the short hour or so, Lu Ze had a not-so-pleasant dream. Countless mouths were urging him to film the movie. It wasn't until Mickey woke him up that he realized he was soaked in sweat.

"Have a drink with me, don't refuse, let's have a good talk, okay?"

"Okay... let me take a shower first."

……

After rinsing off the sweat in the private bathroom, Lu Ze casually draped the towel he had used to dry his hair over the towel rack and pulled his still slightly damp hair back behind his head. His hair was still very thick, which Lu Ze was very grateful for, as he didn't have to worry about hair loss. After all, quite a few of his friends around him were balding in middle age, such as Han Chen, Guo Mingde, his former driver Liu Bin, Huang Liu, and even Song Guiyuan had symptoms of hair loss.

He used to worry that taking classes on a systematic basis would cause him to go bald due to excessive mental exertion. His excessive worry even led him to use some hair protection products. But it seems that this will not happen now, and there is no hereditary hair loss disease in the Lu family.

Wearing a soft bathrobe and tying the rope around his waist, Lu Ze noticed that Mickey had started drinking by himself when he came out of the room. Lu Ze looked helpless and reached out to press down on Mickey's arm that was holding up the wine glass.

"Aren't you afraid of drinking yourself to death? Ever since I met you, you haven't stopped drinking all the time. It's a bit too much and it's too damaging to your liver. Stop drinking."

"This is the last glass. I won't drink anymore after this. Will you drink this last glass with me? I apologize for this drink. I went too far today. I'm sorry."

"Although I don't think you need to say this, since it will all be over by daybreak and won't affect anything, I still have to say sorry. I'll drink this glass."

Just as Lu Ze said, one argument wouldn't cause a rift in their friendship, because in the film industry, it's all too common for close friends to argue over work.

Think about it: any job that can cause two close friends to argue is almost always related to creation. This is because it involves something that doesn't yet exist in the world and needs to be created. If it's just one person, it's fine, but once there are more than two, clashes of ideas are inevitable, and conflicts will arise. This isn't just limited to artistic creation. Product design, marketing plans, construction plans, advertising strategies, and so on—all these creative jobs inevitably involve arguments. In other words, products are born from arguments. At times like these, you can only be thankful that your friend doesn't work at the same company as you, and colleagues certainly aren't friends.

The film industry is different. If you're high enough in rank, eight out of ten people in your level are acquaintances, and you could even call them friends. In this kind of environment, when you're doing artistic creation, you only have two choices: either recognize the difference between work and life and don't bring your work dissatisfaction into your personal life, or don't make friends with someone who is likely to clash with you.

The second option is the most common in this circle: no one gets close to anyone. The advantage is that you can be completely indifferent to the feelings of others, but the disadvantage is that you can't build a network at all. You don't have any close friends in the whole circle, and you are prone to paranoia. You wake up every day with a feeling of loneliness that you feel like the whole world is against you.

The first option has the advantage of a wide network of connections. No matter how much you argue, your friends will still be friends in real life, and that won't change at all. The disadvantage is that only top people in the industry are qualified to play this game. If you're at a lower level, you won't even have a say.

After finishing the last glass of liquor, Lu Ze forcibly took Mickey's glass, turned it upside down on the table to prevent him from breaking his promise later. He also picked up a lighter and placed it under the glass before asking questions.

"It's so late, can you go home without worrying about your uncle? Besides... what could he possibly want by coming over in the middle of the night?"

“Once he’s in the car, there’s no need to worry about him. His neighborhood is quite safe, after all, it’s a wealthy area with police patrolling every street. As for why he came, it’s because he misses his granddaughter and wanted me to bring Fanny over so he could take care of her for a couple of days. But when I told him that Fanny was filming and didn’t have time, he got angry and left.”

"It's normal for elderly people to miss their children. Coming over in the middle of the night, they must be really missing them. There's an old Chinese saying that grandparents love their grandchildren more, and that probably applies in every country."

"But Fanny doesn't like him. There's nothing we can do. Old people always like to impart their knowledge, which they can still hold in public, to children, regardless of whether they really like it or not. Just like how he always taught Fanny Chinese. Thinking back to when I was learning Chinese, I had nightmares every night, and my dreams were full of polyphonic characters... I'm still scared when I think about it now, let alone Fanny, whose language talent is much worse than mine."

When they talked about embarrassing things from their childhood, it seemed especially funny now. The two sat on the sofa laughing, but eventually ran out of things to say. They couldn't keep laughing about this one thing, so they fell silent.

From a high vantage point, looking out the window, one can see nearly half of Liverpool's nightscape. In the dead of night, even the bright neon lights have gone out, leaving only the streetlights waiting for the sunrise to paint the night golden. But while dispelling the darkness, the few vehicles on the road offer no warmth. One can only imagine that those who gaze upon this scene are lonely.

He tried to dissuade Mickey from drinking, but couldn't resist himself. He poured half a glass of the reddish-brown liquor and drank it down in one gulp. The aftereffects made Lu Ze frown. Martell VSOP was no longer considered a low-end liquor, and drinking it like that was a bit wasteful. But what was the point of drinking? Was it really just to appreciate the taste?

It's just that when you're drunk, it's less difficult to swallow.

"You're still hoping I'll take this role, aren't you? I know what you're thinking."

“I don’t deny it, because the only protagonist I’ve chosen is you. It’s not because your salary is low and your cost-effectiveness is extremely high, nor is it because you’re also a shareholder of the company that I’m assigning you tasks. It’s just that I feel… ever since that rainy night, I’ve considered that we are a team. To be honest, I really didn’t expect you to refuse. Maybe that’s just my overconfidence.”

The rainy night was in Ilkurburg that night. Both of them were terrified by the rain and spent the whole night watching the props being filmed. Then they both developed high fevers, worked while sick, and vomited together. In fact, after this incident, Lu Ze also affirmed him.

He reached for the bottle, but Lu Ze slapped it away, pushing it even further. He shrugged, giving up on the idea of ​​drinking. He coughed, lit a cigarette, took off his slippers, hugged his legs, and curled up on the sofa, quiet and decadent. Amidst the rising smoke, he stared at the crystal chandelier. Lu Ze couldn't see his expression through his slightly curly long hair, so he remained silent, gazing out the window.

They all have something on their minds, something weighing on their hearts.

“If you’re not holding this movie, then what you’re saying is true. I don’t understand what’s wrong with you to have such negative thoughts. I really don’t understand… how society has treated you, Mickey. Tell me, why did you want to write it?”

In fact, the part of the script that Mickey presented was not a continuous script segment, but two short stories. The purpose of this writing style is obvious: Mickey wanted to use a multi-point narrative technique and abandon the traditional three-part structure, no longer like ordinary movies, or Hollywood dramas, which are structured as a whole with a beginning, climax, and ending.

Instead, the plot is rearranged, with interconnected stories. So, one scene might depict the protagonist in his old age, while the next scene might show his childhood. Viewers are expected to piece the story together themselves.

The two expressive structures are not equally difficult, but vastly different. Films with multiple narrative points are much more difficult to shoot than those with a three-part structure, and the splicing is also very particular, demanding a high level of skill from the director.

This isn't the first time Mickey has used this technique in filmmaking; his failed film "Birdman" did the same. If it weren't for Lu Ze's strong protest for the sake of maintaining stability, "The Effect" would probably have been cut into a multi-narrative style as well.

Nowadays, the criteria for judging whether a film is good or bad are no longer determined by film critics. The only people truly qualified to judge the quality of a film are the audience, because they have paid for it and have the right to demand to see the scenes they want and make their movie-watching experience worthwhile. Excessive narration is precisely the weakness of audiences who lack film knowledge and are just watching movies for the sake of watching movies. To put it bluntly, they cannot understand excessive narration.

Multi-point narration must be concise and to the point, without dragging on. Otherwise, each story will take up too much time, causing viewer fatigue and making it easy for them to fall asleep. Therefore, every scene must be packed with substance. Such a tight plot can already overwhelm ordinary viewers without film knowledge, let alone expecting them to piece together the story numbers during the tense moments. This is simply asking the audience to do something difficult, and movies that make things difficult for the audience... well, how many of them end well, except for mind-bending films?

"..."

(End of this chapter)