Global Film Emperor

Chapter 436 Closer to the Dream
October 4th, sunny, Beijing.

"Ling Jiyun, we must set off immediately to find the antidote for the Soul-Soothing Gu in Xiafeng Valley. Otherwise, once the Gu worm takes effect, Xiao Qi will definitely die from the poison within three days."

“But…Xiafeng Valley is a full three thousand miles away from where we are. Even with a flying sword, it would take two days to fly there and back. Little Seven can’t wait that long.”

"I'll go beg my uncle, even if I have to kneel, I'll demand that he lend me the magic boat, even if it costs me my life, Xiao Qi absolutely cannot be harmed! I'm going right now!"

"Yang Junchi!"

……

"Ha~ Sigh..."

Inside the room, there was a projector playing a period drama. Two men, one dressed in black and the other in white, were arguing in front of a woman who was lying unconscious on the bed. After the man in black chased the man in white out of the room, the woman on the bed suddenly twitched her eyelids and shed a tear.

Meanwhile, off-screen, several young people sat at a conference table, taking notes. After finishing, they looked up listlessly, rested their chins on their hands, and watched the movie. Some of them, feeling sleepy, quietly turned away, yawned, wiped away the tears from their eyes, and continued watching the movie with furrowed brows.

The woman was faking being poisoned; she was actually perfectly fine. However, this made her two suitors extremely anxious. The one in black wanted to die with her, while the one in white knelt and climbed 108,000 steps, his knees bleeding all the way, begging his master to take out his most treasured artifact so he could save her.

These scenes, which feign deep affection but are actually just for the sake of tormenting, make them increasingly uncomfortable. If this were in the real world, and this kind of woman were their own wife, they would definitely raise questions about it.

How many steps would it take to throw this kind of vile woman off a building?
No, they should have caught him the first time he pretended to be sick, and then slapped him across the face! Wake up! Get up!

But a movie is just a movie. What a bunch of mortals could see through, they still managed to confuse the two young talents of the cultivation world. They wished they could kick the bucket first and sweep the road to the underworld clean so that the beauty wouldn't get her shoes dirty when she went down.

This has completely deviated from the essence of love and pursuit; it's outrageously sycophantic. They can all guess what will happen next; something will definitely expose the female lead, but the two male leads will never be angry. Their reaction will definitely be to say, "It's good that you're alright."

Sure enough, based on their extensive movie-watching experience, they subconsciously deduced the subsequent plot. Just as they expected, the female lead woke up, and was discovered in a very embarrassing situation. You're a cultivator! Why are you in such a hurry to find a toilet?
Any normal person would immediately turn off the movie, even if they were still in the theater, and leave without hesitation, even if they hadn't finished their popcorn.

However, they had no reason to refuse to watch films about cerebral palsy, because they were employees of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and it was their duty to review the first drafts of submitted films.

They are the first wave of viewers to submit bad films for review, the frontline warriors resisting the onslaught of bad movies. Their job is to use their professional eye to select non-compliant film clips, notify the director to revise them, and continue until the film passes review. Then they submit it to higher-ups for a second approval and to receive a publication number that allows the film to be shown.

With a sense of mission, they finally watched the entire film "The Immortal" to its end. After the projector was turned off, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had accomplished some arduous task, and unconsciously picked up their teacups and took a sip.

The electric curtains slowly opened, letting in sunlight. Everyone organized their reports and summarized for about ten minutes before the group leader led a meeting to discuss the film "The Fallen Immortal".

"Alright, let's start the meeting now. Xiao Yang, you can begin."

After generations of changes, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has become younger and healthier. This is why many films that couldn't get a publication number before can now be released online. This is a good phenomenon, which means that the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is beginning to move towards more diversified and open review standards.

Xiao Yang, who was called out, is only thirty years old this year and has been in the bureau for more than three years. In this group, he is considered a middle-aged employee, but he is not particularly valued by the leaders. Usually, he is not allowed to speak first in meetings. However, he was called out by the group leader to speak. Having been in the system for some years, Xiao Yang was naturally very sensitive to such obvious differences.

He glanced at his team leader, who was squinting at him, and couldn't help but feel nervous. He stammered a few words, his usually eloquent tongue now speechless. He suddenly felt an itch on his back, the sensation of goosebumps rising. He clutched his collar, twisted his neck uncomfortably a couple of times, silently closed his notebook, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed.

"Um... First of all, I'd like to point out that the main characters in the script are poorly portrayed. It explicitly depicts a love triangle between the main characters, as well as the mutual antagonism and hostility between the two male leads. This is a very obvious unhealthy concept of love..."

He looked at the team leader again. This time, the team leader's eyes widened. He blew on the tea leaves floating in his cup, drank while looking at him, and nodded when he saw Xiao Yang stop.

"continue."

"Secondly, the female lead, while in a relationship with one of the men, still engages in inappropriate remarks and behaviors with the other. I believe this is shameful for a character who has already established a romantic relationship. It violates correct values ​​about love and establishes an improper moral outlook. If the film is released, the influence of the three actors will attract many supporters to watch it. This will instill such immature values ​​about love in underage boys and girls. If minors accept this viewpoint, then this film will have a very negative impact on society."

"The fantasy genre cannot rely on improper views on love to attract attention. As a unique style of China, it should promote traditional Chinese culture and the positive energy that good triumphs over evil. While showcasing the unique features of China, it should also embody the gentlemanly way and integrity. If it only relies on distorted views on love and the appearance of the actors to generate revenue, or if the production team intended to profit from this from the beginning, then I think this movie needs to be revised. Because fundamentally, it does not show the most important element of the fantasy genre, the 'fairy' element. Team leader, that's all I have to say."

Xiao Yang looked nervously at the group leader. Seeing that he had no expression, she could only obediently open her notebook and cross out the words she had written. Afterwards, the other group members also began to speak, and almost all of them disagreed with the screening. Their opinions were surprisingly consistent. After all the group members had finished speaking, Xiao Yang finally saw a faint smile on the corner of the group leader's mouth.

"Alright, let's vote by raising our hands. Raise your hand if you agree to approve it."

No one raised their hands.

"Alright, Xiao Xu, draft a report listing the regulations that need to be rectified and send it to Qian Shijia. That's all for now, meeting adjourned."

Everyone got up and left, without the usual post-screening chatter. They just kept walking briskly forward, and Xiao Yang was the same, thinking about leaving as soon as possible. He was wondering who Qian Shijia had offended. He thought that all the fantasy films in the past were the same, just rehashing the same love stories. So why could other companies' films pass the test, but Qian Shijia's couldn't?

However, he was also glad that he reacted quickly enough and made up some solid lines. Otherwise, today would have been a huge hurdle for him, and if he hadn't had a few more drinks tonight, he would definitely have had nightmares.

"Xiao Yang, can you stay here for a moment?"

"Team leader..." Upon hearing the call, Xiao Yang's expression changed, and he secretly groaned. He turned around, but remained calm and composed as he looked at the team leader. When he saw the team leader put his arm around his shoulder, his heart jumped into his throat.

The team leader seemed to want to say something, but after thinking for a moment, he swallowed his words, patted Xiao Yang on the shoulder, and turned to leave. But then, Xiao Yang suddenly realized that he could never accept Qian Shijia's gift again.

……

"Wow..."

Staying at home for too long meant getting used to his mother's initial joy turning into indifference, and finally, her nitpicking. In the end, Lu Ze couldn't stand his mother's nagging any longer, so he drove his electric scooter back to Luhua City to his own beer house.

He hadn't been back for more than half a year, and a thin layer of dust had accumulated in the house. When the roller shutter was opened, the Tyndall effect occurred, and the dust floated in the air. The faint musty smell wasn't unpleasant; on the contrary, Lu Ze liked it.

Lu Ze left the cripple in the space capsule to avoid having to bathe it later. He took off his coat, went into the bathroom, filled a basin with water, and wiped the bar counter clean.

The clear water turned murky and had a slightly grainy texture. Just as he was about to pour the water out, Lu Ze suddenly noticed that the paint on the wall above the TV was cracked and peeling off. There was only one possibility for this: the upstairs apartment had been leaking water a long time ago.

After searching for the remote for a while, I pressed the power button but nothing happened. I opened the back cover of the remote, rubbed the batteries with my thumb, and then pressed the power button again. The TV turned on.

I randomly tuned into a channel, and the screen color and sound didn't change much. It's just that since it hadn't been turned on for a long time, there was a slight buzzing sound, which disappeared after watching for a while.

The TV was on, but he didn't watch it. He continued cleaning until the dust was wiped away. He was sweating from exhaustion. He took a bottle of room-temperature beer from the refrigerator, opened it, and gently stroked the cripple on the table. Just then, a program broadcast on the entertainment channel caught his attention.

"The movie 'The Immortal,' starring Chang Xiyuan, Meng Xiao, and Chu Chao, which was originally scheduled to be released during the Spring Festival, has announced that due to scheduling issues, it will be withdrawn from the Spring Festival release schedule. The new release date has not yet been determined. The three lead actors and the 'The Immortal' production team have issued an apology."

The scene shifts to the interview, where a director wearing a beret, missing a tooth, with a beard and a somewhat gaunt face is apologizing to the audience. Lu Ze doesn't recognize him and naturally doesn't know if his dark complexion is simply due to his skin tone or because he's angry. In any case, he's very sincere, apologizing for something the audience doesn't care about at all. After all, not many people care about movies, which is a fact, though it's somewhat disheartening.

If even the most enthusiastic fans say a movie is terrible, they'll become more rational. After all, most viewers rely on word-of-mouth, and a movie ticket costs a few dozen yuan. They'll feel bad if it goes down the drain. Otherwise, with tens of millions of fans, even if half of them bought tickets, "The Fortress of Shanghai" wouldn't have only grossed a dismal 120 million yuan.

I lit a cigarette and watched with interest as the director, his face ashen, mourned his dead work. I scratched the cripple, pulled out a handful of cat hair, and threw it into the trash can. Just then, my phone rang.

"Hey Mickey."

How's your rest at home?

"Not bad. How's the post-production of Exile going?"

"The special effects are only one-third done so far, and it is expected to be completed in January next year. Rushing the process will cost a lot more, so... please wait a little longer."

"Then what did you mean by making that phone call?"

"I just wanted to ask if you had a good vacation. Also, the script for Fatini has been revised and I've sent it to your email. Please take a look. If you accept the role, I'll send you the contract electronically."

Lu Ze shifted to a more comfortable sitting position, turned off the TV, downed the last bit of beer in one gulp, and let out a burp.

"Okay, I'll take a look and give you an answer by tomorrow at the latest."

"OK, there's one more thing. The company is going to bring in new people. We're still negotiating. I believe that if they join 'Global Brothers,' it will be a huge upheaval."

"Have you achieved any results?"

"A great achievement."

"Very famous?"

"Not quite as good as me."

"Director or actor?"

"Both."

"who is it?"

"It'll be a secret for now. I'll give you a surprise when you come back, brother. You're one step closer to your dream."

"..."

(End of this chapter)