Global Film Emperor

Chapter 425 Report from the Chinese Trio

"God, I miss Italy so much right now. At least I could wake up in the morning and eat pasta or spaghetti bolognese instead of boring mashed potatoes, hot dogs and toast."

As a pampered rich kid, Fatini's breakfast was probably much more elaborate than Lu Ze had imagined. A very ordinary English breakfast could not satisfy Fatini's dietary needs at all, but unfortunately, this was all there was for breakfast.

After filming on the island ended, Lu Ze resumed his carbohydrate intake, which felt like a spiritual uplift. If the movie wasn't still in production, Lu Ze would definitely have indulged in a binge to celebrate this moment of pleasure.

Because he had to film a scene of taking a walk in the early morning, he had to get up before 5:30. So Lu Ze gave up the idea of ​​leaving the company at 10 p.m. and driving an hour and a half home to sleep. After discussing the script, he slept at the company. Fatini would also be joining Lu Ze on set today, so she canceled her hotel room and slept in Mickey's bedroom, which she doesn't usually stay overnight at the company.

He took a bite of bread, the dry texture making Fatini, who was already thirsty that morning, frown. He ate a piece of bacon and muttered a word about Jesus Christ in an Italian accent.

"I really don't know how you can stand English breakfast, especially since you're Chinese. I think I need to hire an Italian chef, otherwise English breakfast will kill me."

"You could also consider a Chinese chef; they offer a wide variety of dishes that would suit my taste."

"Your suggestion is great. I like Chinese food, especially Cantonese breakfast, General Tso's chicken, and orange chicken..."

"If you're looking for a white Chinese chef, you'd better dismiss the idea, or I might go crazy and punch that chef."

Lu Ze, with one hand on the steering wheel, took a bite of bread. When he heard the menu announced by Fatini, he rolled his eyes. Remembering the British-style Chinese food he had in England, he suddenly lost his appetite. He threw the bread on top of the center screen, took a sip of coffee, swallowed the shriveled bread, and burped.

"Do I need to wear this work badge around my neck? The cord is of very poor quality and it cuts my skin. To be honest, I don't like wearing this thing."

"No need, because you're with me. Once the crew has met you, you can throw your work pass far away. It's fine."

"Then why did you send me this crap?"

"Then go ask Mickey. He might think it's silly for you to be carrying this thing, and he'll be very happy. Wait a minute..."

As he approached the beach where the film set was being built, he could see some crew members working on the beach through the sparse trees, but that didn't matter. The reason he slowed down was that, through his rearview mirror, he saw a cheap van he had never seen before parked in the open-air parking lot next to the beach.

Apart from a few actors, almost all the actors and staff drove their own cars, and the actors' vans were definitely not of this caliber. Through the windshield, he could see a large amount of filming equipment in the back seat. Lu Ze felt a sense of unease and quickly dialed Kesha's number.

"Damn it... Stop working first, there are reporters filming you."

British journalists are known for their infiltration capabilities; whether it's the private lives of celebrities or spy photos of their work, they always manage to get their hands on things without the voyeur's knowledge. This film, "Exile," was not publicly announced and was a classified project. It's a mystery how they obtained the intelligence and managed to carry out the filming so smoothly.

Movie spy photos are no small matter. A few photos are fine, but if too many are taken or videos are recorded, those who are interested can easily guess the content of the movie from the details, which will naturally affect the novelty of the movie in the eyes of movie fans.

He called Mickey again, but before Mickey could unleash his furious tirade, he hung up, parked his car next to the reporter's van, and was about to get out when Fatini stopped him.

"Don't get out, or you'll be resented. These guys might try to smear you. Leave this to me. There's a white MPV next to our car. Let's handle that."

He made a phone call, which was quickly answered. He said a few words casually, and a Mercedes that had been following Lu Ze's car stopped. Fatini's bodyguard got out of the car, pulled on the door of the van, and locked it.

The burly arm bent over, and the elbow slammed into the rear window, smashing it into a spiderweb pattern. With another impact, the entire pane of glass fell off, revealing the bewildered face of the reporter in the back seat.

He didn't hit anyone; he simply took out the memory card and put it in his pocket, then searched the reporter and handed over the press card he found to Fatini.

Throughout the entire process, the slightly thin white reporter remained silent, unlike someone experiencing this scene for the first time. He cooperated fully with the bodyguard's actions, even putting his hands behind his head until the bodyguard finished searching him and then turned around and got into the van to check if the various camera equipment was turned on.

"Get out of the car."

Fatini got out of the car first with her coffee and tossed her press pass to the man. He didn't catch it, bent down to pick it up, and remained expressionless, only nodding to Fatini in thanks.

The man with the emerald ring scratched his head, then grinned at Lu Ze, amused by the rascal's antics, before turning to the man and speaking.

"I will talk to your newspaper's boss about this. As for you, you've been fired. I hope your next job will be satisfactory."

"Thank you, sir."

Few celebrities and directors dare to do this, and those who do invariably have gang backgrounds and hold high positions. This is why men dare not resist.

He knew he was finished, but there were different kinds of finished. If he didn't resist, he would only lose his job. But if he resisted, the worst outcome would be physical pain, like being beaten up by that big man like a chick. The worst outcome might be gang retaliation. Between a job and safety, was there even a choice?

"You can leave now with your severance pay."

He pulled a wad of bills from his wallet and threw it onto the man's chest. He put on the sunglasses hanging in his breast pocket, didn't look at it again, waved to Lu Ze and called him over, and the two left as if taking a walk.

"I will talk to the newspaper, and no reporters will come to take pictures of you anymore. You can have fun and take pictures without worry."

"Your solution to the problem... is really quite simple."

“If it weren’t for my father’s business dealings with Murdoch, things might be a bit more complicated, but now, how difficult do you think it would be? Let’s go, I can’t wait.”

The two walked to the beach, where the film crew had already stopped working. Kesha was on the phone when he saw Lu Ze bringing people over. He paused for a moment, as if he had thought of something, and called Lucas over to shake hands with Fatini.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

The two already knew that Mickey had arranged for an assistant director to come in and learn, and Mickey had also revealed the identity of this assistant director to them. They showed friendliness and respect to their new boss, even though the two brothers were stronger than Fatini's bodyguards and looked much more menacing.

"Me too. The crew can start filming now. The problem has been solved. Time is tight, so I won't delay your work. Just give me a stool."

Kesha glanced at Lu Ze, and seeing Lu Ze nod, he waved his hand, and the staff resumed their work. Just as promised, Fatini sat down after the bodyguard brought him a stool, watching with great interest as the team skillfully set up the equipment.

"Brother Shen."

Wang Pushen has been staying at Lu Ze's house for the past few days, having been with the film crew for some time now. However, Lu Ze didn't come home last night, so the two of them didn't come over together.

Wang Pu was hiding in a corner, frowning as he studied the script. When he heard Lu Ze's call, he only looked up and responded before starting to expand his thoughts again, leaving the real world behind. Ever since he came to England and got the script, he had been like this. He was putting a lot of enthusiasm into his first film after more than ten years, becoming another dedicated and ruthless person in the crew besides Lu Ze.

Lu Ze was already used to him like this, and could understand his thoughts, so he didn't bother him any further. He went into the dressing room to change his clothes and let the makeup artist do his hair.

"Hello, Director Mendeleev..."

Another timid greeting came over. Kesha tilted his head and looked at the Asian man and woman standing in front of him. He was so busy today that he didn't immediately remember who the two were. He paused for a moment, then slapped his forehead and shook hands with them with a smile.

"Welcome to our show. I'll be signing contracts with you shortly. Yes, right here. Since you didn't join the crew immediately, I haven't had time to arrange a suitable signing venue. Welcome to 'Rebirth,' my friends."

Ding Zhiyi and Xu Shuang had met directors with fierce appearances before, but they had never seen a director with a head full of tattoos who looked like a murderer. They were initially a little apprehensive, but seeing how friendly Kesha was, they felt relieved.

"Your Majesty! Show your people around the area!"

He had many things to do and couldn't devote himself to these two newcomers, so he entrusted them to Wang Pushen. Immediately, the two felt as if they had met relatives, and the pressure of being in a foreign country surrounded by foreign colleagues was greatly reduced.

"You're here so early? Why didn't you sleep a little longer? Didn't you say there was no need to rush to the early show?"

Yesterday, Lu Ze was working on the script with Mickey and couldn't get away, so he asked Wang Pushen to pick him up from the airport. The two of them slept at Lu Ze's house. The reason he didn't wake them up this morning was because Wang Pushen wanted them to rest a little longer. Unexpectedly, he had just arrived when the two of them showed up. "Studying, studying..."

Ding Zhiyi hasn't changed much; she still exudes a sunny and energetic vibe. Although she doesn't talk much, she still has a certain presence. Xu Shuang, on the other hand, seems somewhat invisible in this setting.

She wasn't particularly talkative, whether in front of or behind the camera. At first, before Wang Pushen met the two of them, he thought Xu Shuang was just putting on a shy, girl-next-door persona, but he didn't expect that's exactly what she was like.

If it weren't for her family connections, her decent acting skills, the good results of the works she starred in, and her fans liking her timid demeanor, she probably wouldn't have been on the show "The Performer."

Wang Pushen arranged for the two to sit down, and he stopped flipping through the script. He chatted with the two who were a little uncomfortable. At first, he was also not used to it. After all, he had never had the experience of working with so many foreigners. However, the attitude of foreign film crews, who were serious about their work and serious about playing when the work was over, quickly made Wang Pushen adapt. At this moment, he was exchanging his experiences on foreign film crews with the two when Lu Ze came out of the dressing room.

"Zhiyi, long time no see. Xu Shuang, right? Hello."

When they met again, Ding Zhiyi didn't show the excitement of reuniting with an old friend that Lu Ze had imagined. After simply accepting Lu Ze's hug, he was somewhat reserved, nodded, and didn't say anything more. Perhaps in his heart, the gap between the two of them had widened. At this time, Lu Ze was a big name in the domestic film industry and an international film emperor, while he had not only never won any awards, but was also getting worse as he got older.

Lu Ze understood, but it wasn't appropriate to show too much enthusiasm directly, as Ding Zhiyi would find it unbearable. If he wanted to rekindle their relationship, he could only slowly melt the ice in Ding Zhiyi's heart in their daily lives. He didn't say much, just patted Ding Zhiyi's shoulder and shook hands with Xu Shuang.

"Brother Shen, you guys keep chatting, I'll go get back to work."

"Okay, go ahead and do it."

He waved to the three men, turned around, walked to Kesha's side, and discussed with him how to film the next scene. The two of them discussed the realistic electronic dog, clicking their tongues incessantly. Times are progressing, and today's intelligent machines are more realistic. With realistic fur, they are basically no different from real dogs in appearance.

Because filming real dogs was too difficult, and post-production was even more challenging, Kesha gritted his teeth and spent a lot of money to create some animal models. This way, only simple special effects were needed to make the animals' agility more realistic.

“This is the last scene. We won’t be able to film it for another two or three months. I’m really worried about your condition.”

Previously, Lu Ze's filming pace was too fast, causing the crew to stop filming for three days. Ke Sha had no choice but to change the filming schedule. Furthermore, Lu Ze needed a lot of time to discuss the script with Mickey. In the end, Ke Sha had no choice but to bring forward all of Lu Ze's scenes to make time for him to help Mickey research the new project. This also gave the new actors some time to get used to each other. Otherwise, the pressure from Lu Ze would be too great for them. For newcomers, too much pressure is not a good thing.

"Don't worry about my condition. Just focus on taking good care of the other actors."

After discussing how to film the next scene, Lu Ze started warming up. It was time for everyone to worship him. Wang Pushen and the other two, as well as Fatini, were all interested and stood aside, craning their necks to watch Lu Ze come off the set.

"I bet this movie can be done in one take, ten dollars, wanna bet?"

"Only a fool would bet with you."

The props staff, who were idly chatting nearby, were overheard by Fatini, who asked curiously what they were talking about. The staff could only smile awkwardly, wave their hands, pretend they knew nothing, and quickly ran away to find something to do.

After all, Kesha was still there. Although he wouldn't get angry with Lu Ze, it didn't mean he didn't have a temper. To the staff and other actors, he was no different from other tyrants on set, and even more intimidating because of his appearance.

Soon, the script supervisor entered, carrying a clapperboard, and announced the start of filming.

"Exile, Scene 24! Act I! Begin!"

The mechanical dog's chin is covered with green cloth to facilitate the later production of the dog's mouth opening and closing. Current machines can make mechanical dogs bark, but they are too rigid and the movements are uniform, unable to make the mouth's range of motion change like a real dog.

Movies with animals are difficult to make, let alone movies with a fake dog. Although it is more obedient, it makes it difficult for the actors to get into the role. Most actors are reluctant to act in this kind of movie, which makes it difficult to convey the emotions. But it seems that Lu Ze is not an exception.

……

"What's your name?"

He sat on the beach, stroking the dog's fur as if it were an old companion that had been with him for many years. The barking was added in post-production, so it naturally couldn't answer. The staff member controlling the dog made it sit down, and its tail swished gently, which was the only thing about it that resembled a real dog.

But Lu Ze acted as if he were talking to a real dog, nodding knowingly as if he truly understood what the dog was saying, and his expression began to change, showing a hint of pity.

"Poor fellow, don't you have a home anymore?"

"..."

"I don't have a home either. Do you want to come with me? At least I won't have any problems with food and drink."

"..."

“But he might not come back, so are you still going to wait? Well… you’re a good dog, Harry.”

"..."

"I brought a tennis ball, want to play some games?"

He released his arm from the dog, stood up, swung his arm, and threw the tennis ball with all his might. The mechanical dog, under the operator's command, turned its head to look at him, but did not participate in the game. Instead, it lowered its front paws and lay on the beach without making any further moves.

"Come on, buddy, how about you cooperate a little? Like this, get the ball back."

Suddenly, he landed on all fours, kicking up sand with his hind legs, and ran towards the ball like a dog. He was agile and, ignoring the sand on the tennis ball, he put it in his mouth, waved at the mechanical dog, and threw the tennis ball over.

"Wang Wang Wang!"

The barking came from his mouth, and the sound was just like a real dog's, at least to the listener's ears.

……

"Wow, Mr. Lu looks like..."

One staff member was about to say something when another colleague slapped him on the back, making him swallow his words. He seemed to realize that he was about to say something wrong, and turned to nod gratefully to the colleague who reminded him.

There are some things you can't say, even if everyone thinks that way. Even if that's the impression Lu Ze gives people right now, you can only think about them, not say them.

……

"Pooh."

He spat a few times to clear the sand from his mouth, then called out twice. The dog responded, got up, and slowly walked towards the tennis ball, but didn't bring it back. After all, its mouth was covered by a green cloth, making it impossible to do so. However, as if he had received a response, Lu Ze ran over, took out some snacks, and stuffed them into its mouth.

“Beautiful, Harry.”

He rubbed its head with a contented smile. The sea breeze ruffled his hair. Gradually, his movements slowed down. The camera shifted to the second camera position, filming Lu Ze's profile. His eyes gradually became vacant. Finally, his hands stopped rubbing the fur, and he murmured once more.

“Great, Harry…”

"Click! Passed! Lu Ze, your vacation is here!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)