Global Film Emperor

Chapter 421 This year, Venice belongs to us.
Waves crashed against the rocks, splashing water droplets. On the damp sand, small crabs crawled sideways at a considerable speed, hiding in the sand before the next wave surged up, leaving only their eyes peeking out at the outside world.

A pair of bare feet left faint footprints on the sand. Although the jeans were ripped at the ankles, they unexpectedly complemented the beautiful seaside scenery, carrying a touch of cheap poetic charm, if he really was on vacation.

He has been trapped on this deserted island for fifteen days. He has no idea where he is or what the outside world is saying. People outside probably think he is dead, and even his ex-wife and children probably think so.

But he is still alive, a fact known only to him. He will continue to strive for this goal. He wants to go back because there are many things he still cares about.

After the tide recedes, many shellfish are left on the rocks by the sea, forming a large, dark patch covered with sand. Relying on his knowledge, he searched for edible food, which fortunately was not difficult.

There were many wild oysters here, but they didn't taste good; they had a rotten smell and were nowhere near as fresh as the ones he had in restaurants. But now, he had no other choice.

After smashing down the stone for today's dinner, I went to the beach, dug out the oyster meat, squeezed out the dark green organs and excrement inside, rinsed it in the sea, shook off the seawater, and finally stuffed it into my mouth without hesitation.

The rotten smell filled my mouth again, and eating it felt like chewing a large piece of stinky pork fat. I forced myself to swallow the oyster meat, my throat tightened, I coughed, and spat out a mouthful of oyster mucus stuck to my throat. I gagged again and choked, tears welling up in my eyes.

With a long sigh, he finally calmed down his nausea. He picked up another piece of oyster meat, held it up to the sea, gazed at the surging waves, and said "Cheers" with a smile, as if he truly regarded the sea as his friend, or perhaps, he was creating a friend to accompany him through these difficult days.

Eating raw oysters could lead to hepatitis A, dysentery, or other diseases. Perhaps he should have grilled them before eating, but fate did not grant him that favor and denied him the right to start a fire.

The flint and lighter were all taken by the waves. Apart from books, there was nothing else to start a fire in the supply box. He couldn't bear to burn the books, because they were his only means of entertainment to get through this period. Besides, the seaside was humid, and the books were always damp, so they couldn't be used to start a fire. There was also no dry firewood in the dense forest behind him.

All he had were clothes, books, a few pens, and a plastic bag he had searched the entire beach for. He had read literary works such as "Drifting Adventure," but the characters in those stories were far luckier than him. This hellish start would probably have been difficult for other novel protagonists to survive.

He could only obtain a meager amount of fresh water by distilling plastic bags. He had no food, no fire, no shelter, and dared not venture into the forest, because this area was usually inhabited by poisonous snakes and venomous lizards. If attacked by a poisonous animal, he would definitely not survive a week.

Oysters did not whet his appetite at all. After a few pieces of meat, he could feel that his stomach had reached its limit. He got up, sprinkled some urine near his makeshift shelter made of palm leaves to warn any small carnivores that might be on the island not to come near, and then tidied up the SOS distress signs laid out on the beach. He picked up a pen and paper and climbed onto a rock at the highest point on the beach.

Every day, he would gaze from the reef for a long time, watching the occasional ships that passed by this sea, yet were extremely far from his isolated island. At such a distance, unless someone was on a 24-hour watch with binoculars, they would never be able to detect his presence. Having lived at sea for more than a decade, he knew this perfectly well. The purpose of his gaze was simply to get closer to human civilization, so that he wouldn't appear to be living like a wild beast.

Watching yet another cargo ship disappear below the horizon, he didn't even have the desire to call for help. He simply picked up a stone and drew a vertical line on the reef as a marker. Then, he picked up a pen and, before it got completely dark, wrote down the days in dense characters on a piece of paper. He didn't know how long these days would last, so he had to be thrifty and manage his household well.

I made some simple notes, mentioning my daughter in the text and talking about how much I missed her, then closed the notebook and carefully walked down from the rocks.

……

"OK, that's enough for today. Let's call it a day."

Beside him, Kesha called out, and the once quiet island was filled with the voices of others. They came out of the shed on the back slope, tidying up the cables spread on the ground and dismantling the cameras that had been set up. The lively atmosphere made Lu Ze, who had just finished his performance, feel a little uncomfortable.

Wang Zixuan walked over with the clothes in her arms, but before she could hand them to Lu Ze, she was stopped by Lu Ze's traffic police-style stop gesture. He rubbed his stomach, washed his hands in the nearby beach sink, squatted down, picked up a vomit bag, and inserted his index and middle fingers into his throat, gently rubbing his throat.

"Ugh... ugh..."

He then vomited out half a bag of oyster meat that he had just eaten. It came out exactly the same way it was when he ate it, perfectly intact. While it looked like he was chewing during the filming, he couldn't actually chew it properly.

The texture of this thing was indeed like pork fat, chewy yet soft. Lu Ze could only swallow the oyster meat the moment it entered his mouth and then pretend to chew it.

The oysters used in the filming were indeed wild oysters found on the shore, but they were disinfected and parasites eliminated before being carefully cleaned and put back in the container. They were raw and unpalatable, but not enough to cause Lu Ze to contract any diseases.

Furthermore, Lu Ze had received various vaccinations before filming, and after filming all the scenes involving eating raw meat, he would go to the hospital for gastric lavage and internal parasite removal to minimize the risk, which was essentially zero.

He wrapped the vomit bag in a black garbage bag and threw it into the trash can. Only then did he put on his clothes, rinse his mouth with mineral water, and take an antibiotic.

Although it wouldn't cause any major harm, it was raw after all, and certainly not fresh. In addition, Lu Ze had developed a stomach problem due to years of filming, so eating it would inevitably lead to him having to go to the toilet a couple more times a day.

"Lu, is everything alright?"

At this moment, Kesha and Lucas also came over to offer their concern and care. After all, this man was also their boss. Sometimes, the two brothers didn't know how to face Lu Ze when their boss and investor had to suffer like this.

"It's okay, you guys can finish up first, I'm going back to rest for a while."

He lay on the chair, put in a few drops of eye drops, and after a few minutes, he opened his bloodshot eyes, waved to the two brothers, and took Wang Zixuan back to the manor in a sightseeing bus.

The manor butler arranged a Hawaiian-style guest room for Lu Ze. After taking a shower, he got into bed, lowered the curtains at the head of the bed, put on an eye mask, and fell into a deep sleep.

……"Hello?"

"Dinner's ready, you're the only one missing."

Mickey called. Lu Ze glanced at the time; it was a little past seven in the evening. He had only slept for less than two hours. In the end, Lu Ze couldn't escape the fate of wearing a pineapple-patterned outfit. He got up, put on his slippers, and walked to the huge balcony in his room. He leaned on the railing with his elbows and looked out at the coastline. At sea, the lights of the ships were flashing, illuminating part of the sea. Lu Ze could even see a group of people having fun on a yacht that was closer by.

I took a cigarette from the cigarette case and put it in my mouth. The Dupont lighter made a crisp and pleasant sound as it flicked up. I slid the flint and it sparked out a few points of light. I bent down, lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, and then held it in my hand without touching it again. I just looked down at the cigarette burning. The ash was blown away by the breeze, and the burning part would occasionally brighten slightly, accelerating the burning of the tobacco.

Halfway through the cigarette, Lu Ze shoved it into the ashtray. He washed his face again, closed the door, and went downstairs. Inside the room, the warm yellow light was on, and a gentle breeze lifted the gauze curtains, making them dance gracefully. But at this moment, no one was there to appreciate its beautiful dance anymore.

From a great distance, Lu Ze could hear the loud noise coming from inside the restaurant. He pushed open the door and was surprised to find that the actors who had run away a few days ago because of his temper had returned to the restaurant for this dinner.

They were watching a boxing match. They had no particular stance; as long as the boxer made a good attack, it would elicit cheers from the crowd. However, when they saw Lu Ze, their voices quieted down, and they all greeted Lu Ze.

He casually pulled out the chair opposite Mickey, glanced at the boxing match, which was fierce; both sides were bleeding and genuinely angry. The manor's maid brought his dinner to the table: boiled chicken breast with broccoli. This kind of food was almost giving him anorexia; he only ate a couple of bites, leaving most of the plate untouched.

"I'm finished eating, I'll head back now, you guys take your time eating."

Seeing the abundance of food on their plates, it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted; his mouth was watering. Lu Ze had no choice but to say goodbye and leave, out of sight, out of mind.

"Wait a minute, aren't you going to ask us why we came here?"

Mickey was surprised. Normally, Lu Ze would have asked why it was so lively today, but now he wasn't interested in the reason at all. He didn't even ask and just wanted to leave. It seems that he's really depressed from working out.

"Oh why?"

"Didn't you see the news?"

"No."

"Ugh, this is so boring. Alright, stop hiding it, just show it all."

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of people pulled out beer and champagne from under the table, and the Lucas brothers even took two ceremonial cannons and turned them on with a bang at Lu Ze.

Mickey took a stack of paper crowns used for birthdays, put one on himself first, and then ran to Lu Ze's side and put one on him as well.

Elena picked up the remote and switched to a TV program, or perhaps a news page would be more appropriate. Lu Ze turned around and glanced at it.

"Will 'Rebirth' be the biggest winner at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival? With a nomination in the main competition and four awards, it's poised to become the strongest contender of the year!"

"Best Director: Mickey Taylor"

"Best Screenplay: Mickey Taylor"

"Best Film: Rebirth".

"Best Actor: Lu Ze".

Seeing this, Lu Ze finally smiled. They applied for the Venice Film Festival because the Venice Film Festival has always advocated innovation and serious artistry. Films like "Rebirth" are most favored by the Venice Film Festival judges, such as the hugely popular "Joker 2019" a few years ago.

The only downside was that it wasn't nominated for Best Actress, and the Venice Film Festival didn't have awards for Best Cinematography or Best Art Direction, otherwise "Afterlife" might have won even more awards.

"boom!"

The champagne was opened, and the strong sparkling wine splashed onto Lu Ze, sending a chill through him. Lu Ze shrank his neck in shock, but Mickey rushed over, put his arm around Lu Ze's shoulder, and enjoyed the celebration. He held up four fingers to everyone.

"Golden Lion! Silver Lion! Volpi Cup! I want them all! Venice! This year is ours!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)