Global Film Emperor

Details of Chapter 400, "Exile," finalized.

"Hey! Lu Ze, you've lost a lot of weight. Looks like your vacation wasn't so relaxing after all. Great, that means you can skip some muscle training. Wait a minute, what happened to your face..."

At 7 p.m., Lu Ze and his companion returned to the company. The Mendeleev brothers were so busy with pre-production that they had moved out of Mickey's apartment and moved to the company to live. As soon as Lu Ze opened the office door, a cloud of white smoke billowed out. If it weren't for the choking white smoke, Lu Ze would have thought he was flying.

The room was fairly tidy; after all, the company's cleaning staff weren't just sitting idly by, and they wouldn't let the two of them turn the office into a pigsty. There was just some cigarette ash scattered on the table, along with a few bottles of beer, two pizzas, and some side dishes.

The two brothers weren't in good spirits. Their hair was a mess, twisted into knots that shone brightly in the light. They had heavy eye bags and frighteningly dark circles. When they saw Lu Ze and his companion push the door open, they managed to cheer up, stood up, and gave Lu Ze a tight hug.

"He... hahaha... let the kangaroo."

"Shut up."

The menacing reprimand silenced Mickey, but his face continued to twitch. After all, the idea of ​​being hit by a kangaroo was quite comical, especially since it was Lu Ze who was hit. Not laughing out loud was a favor to Lu Ze.

Lu Ze suffered a minor injury; a kangaroo punch bruised his eye. Although such an injury would be nothing to a zookeeper, Lu Ze was an actor by profession, and his face, being injured, made the situation more serious. The zoo's management repeatedly urged Lu Ze to go to the hospital for a check-up, but Lu Ze refused. In the end, Morgan had to take the blame and was reprimanded by his superior, leading to a hasty conclusion.

"Something interesting seems to have happened?"

"No."

Lu Ze clenched his teeth tightly, and Mickey didn't dare to speak either. This matter was skipped over, and they went straight to the main topic. Of course, Lu Ze still had to keep an eye on Mickey to prevent him from sharing the joy with the Mendeleev brothers when he wasn't around.

"So, we first decided on the filming location. Here, about seventeen nautical miles from Liverpool, into the Irish Sea, at 52°28'N, 3°01'W, there is a small island called Kassel, with an area of ​​about 37 square kilometers. It is an island that has already been purchased. The owner is a local wealthy businessman who has developed the island into a private resort. I have contacted him and rented the forest on the island for £8,000 a week, on the condition that the trees are not damaged and the forest is kept clean."

Lucas stood by the wall and drew a circle on the map on the blackboard, marking the location of the island. Suddenly, Mickey reached out and interrupted Lucas.

"Then where will we stay?"

"Um... After filming is finished, we will take a boat back to Liverpool."

"That bastard dares to charge us eight thousand pounds a week? Add the travel expenses, that's almost nine thousand a week! And we don't even live there, is that lousy forest worth eight thousand?"

“I’ve already negotiated the price down to the lowest possible level. He originally asked for 20,000 yuan. Moreover, the island’s ecology is indeed excellent, basically meeting the characteristics of an uninhabited island. There are also many wild animals, which is incomparable to other tourist islands.”

"What? Twenty thousand? That's the most ridiculous joke I've heard all day. What's the island owner's name? Give me his phone number, I want to talk to him."

"Marshall Stanford, I heard, is an exporter from the Port of Liverpool."

"Marshall? Marshall... that's not expensive... let's skip this topic and continue."

Upon hearing the name, Mickey shut his mouth. Marshall, a Liverpool importer and trader. Of course, that was his public identity. His private identity was Liverpool's largest marijuana supplier and a human smuggler. At least half of the refugees smuggled into Liverpool back then were sent by him. This man belonged to the criminal underworld. Mickey knew his own limitations. Being able to negotiate eight thousand was probably already a favor Marshall had given him.

The pizza had gone cold, and the meat slices on the cheese were starting to get dry, but it was enough to fill him up. He picked up a slice and ate a couple of bites. Lu Ze didn't participate in the spending.

Mickey manages the company's finances, as stipulated in his shareholding agreement. He only holds phantom shares and receives dividends annually. He is not involved in any aspects of the company's operations, and these are discussions between the director and producer, having nothing to do with him as an actor.

There was a kraft paper file folder on the table. Lucas picked it up and took out many photos from it. He used a magnet to fix them to the blackboard. The scene looked somewhat familiar, but Lu Ze didn't say anything and waited quietly for Lucas to explain.

"Victoria Street, the second filming location, is in a prime location in Formby. I can't negotiate this location myself; Mickey, you'll need to discuss it with the relevant departments. Secondly, the medical school at the University of Liverpool will also require your assistance..."

Lucas talked a lot, analyzing the locations in the photos and the script one by one. Some of the proposed locations were adopted, while others were rejected. The four of them talked until 9:20 p.m. before the location was initially settled. At this point, it was time for Lu Ze to raise his own questions.

What about the casting?

"The well-known actors are tentatively cast. We've sent out quite a few audition invitations, but not many have responded. Most of them aren't interested in this film. On the other hand, we've secured quite a few high-value supporting actors who will take on any role if they're paid. Perhaps I should think about finding some supporting actors who can play the main roles." "Show me the photos."

It was still this same brown paper bag, filled with many official photos of the actors, each labeled with the character's name. I flipped through a few; some faces looked familiar, while others were completely unfamiliar, and I couldn't name a single one.

He stacked the photos, flattened them on the table, pressed the first one down with his thumb, bent it into a U-shape, and then let each photo slide across his fingertip before finally slapping it onto the table. Lu Ze pondered for a moment, then turned to look at Mickey, who was tilting his head back and blowing smoke rings at the light.

Is Fanny available?

"Hmm... my daughter has retired from acting and is going to school, didn't you know?"

Did you tell me?

"It seems...no."

Interestingly, it seems that Mickey only shows such a bitter and resentful expression when he mentions his daughter and ex-wife. After pondering for a long time, he stubs out the cigarette butt, which has burned down to the sponge, into the ashtray and pats his face hard.

“OK, I’ll talk to Mary about this. I hope she can help me this time. Lucas, you’re coming with me tomorrow to be my bodyguard. I can’t beat her current husband who’s in the military. Lu Ze, are there any other candidates?”

Where is Elena?

"Why do you always have to pick on these troublesome guys! I haven't been to Lionheart in ages. Depp is chasing me everywhere. Every time he sees me, he wants me to get a role for Elena. Fine, fine, I'll negotiate that. It'll be doing Depp's wish, so he doesn't actually catch me halfway through and beat me up again. Is there any more?"

"That's all I can think of for now, ugh... Alright, it's 10 o'clock, I'm sleepy too, let's stop here for today, you guys can continue chatting, I'll talk about it tomorrow."

"Alright, you can go back and rest now. By the way, Lucas, when does his fitness plan start?"

In this respect, Lucas showed considerable rigor. He took out Lu Ze's training schedule from the brown paper bag. It started at 7:30 every night, with one hour of swimming, two hours of weight training, and four meals a day. He also brought out four buckets that looked like gas cylinders from the bedroom.

"I bought a tub of pre-workout supplement and three flavors of protein powder: chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. Which one do you like?"

After glancing at the schedule, Lu Ze was relieved that the amount of exercise was not much compared to when he was filming "The King of Fighters," since he had to gain nearly 40 pounds of muscle back then. After glancing at the four "gas cylinders," Lu Ze finally left with the vanilla-flavored protein powder, navigated, and set off home.

The company was far from the new house, and it took Lu Ze nearly an hour to park the car, wash up, lie on the bed, and enter the system space to simulate the characters he was about to film.

Meanwhile, Mickey was preparing to go to bed at the company when he suddenly remembered that the mailroom had notified him that there was mail. He hurriedly went downstairs, searched through the mailroom, and finally found an envelope. He opened it as he walked, and when he sat on the bed and opened the letter, his expression suddenly changed when he saw the printed text on it, and finally he smiled.

……

The next morning, a Chinese actor with a bruise around his eye stood at the zoo entrance, attracting the attention of visitors. He casually swiped his ID to enter the staff area, but overheard the conversation of other employees.

"This is the employee who got KO'd by the kangaroo? Oh, I have to say, he's actually quite wealthy."

Lu Ze couldn't hear what they said after that, since it was quite embarrassing to talk about. He had already run away when they started talking.

After changing into their work clothes and wearing their badges on their left chests, Morgan had already informed Lu Ze that the two would be separating to feed the animals breakfast separately.

He picked up the tin bucket, searched the food for the animals in the granary according to the recipe, filled it with fresh vegetables and a large bundle of hay, stood at the entrance of the kangaroo enclosure, picked up the key and opened the door. Instantly, the eyes of the four kangaroos turned to Lu Ze, but Lu Ze was already mentally prepared and physically ready. He picked up a carrot, slowly walked forward, and threw it at one of the kangaroos.

"Jack! You fucking eat!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)