Global Film Emperor

Chapter 486 The Curse
The online criticism came faster than expected. Perhaps adults abroad really value the growth of teenagers, or perhaps many people dislike Lu Ze. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that some people with ulterior motives are stirring things up. In any case, Lu Ze, who had just emerged from the animal protection controversy, was once again caught in the chorus of public criticism.

On social media platforms such as Facebook, the number of people attacking Lu Ze quickly increased from a few hundred a few hours after the release to thousands by evening.

A large number of insulting words are spread across various officially certified software programs, covering up the curses that were not completely removed due to the animal protection association issue. The layers upon layers of insults have given many busybodies who do not know Lu Ze the illusion that they have never heard a kind word from him since he became famous.

In contrast, the domestic internet was much quieter. There were no arguments or insults. It wasn't that there weren't any hot-tempered people, or that Lu Ze didn't have any haters in China, but rather that a series of comments criticizing Lu Ze were being throttled. Any posts containing profanity were deleted within a minute.

The dissatisfaction with Lu Ze was effectively confined to a small circle, which prevented it from spreading widely. Otherwise, despite Lu Ze's success abroad, there are quite a few people in China who dislike him.

This wasn't Lu Ze's intention, but he had connections above him, so there was nothing he could do. He didn't care about being criticized, but some people were optimistic about his future career in the cultural circle and wanted to give him face by taking the initiative to shield him from the netizens' attacks. Whether Lu Ze wanted to accept it or not, he had to acknowledge this favor.

With domestic criticism being suppressed, the problem becomes much simpler. As long as foreign voices are silenced, the temporary dissatisfaction with Lu Ze within the country will be completely resolved.

Looking through the comments section, Lu Ze frowned like an old man looking at his phone on the subway, becoming a perfect meme. Even though he had prepared himself mentally, he still found the racial attacks rather offensive.

After concealing their identities, people unleash their instincts, making no attempt to hide their racial discrimination. Perhaps in real life he is a teacher, treating white, black, and Asian children with equal gentleness and courtesy, but behind the phone, he would love to skin people of color alive.

Even though such comments only accounted for about one-fifth of the comments section, many people still felt indignant. But he was still fed up and too lazy to read the comments section anymore. He quickly uploaded the edited video to YouTube, shared it on Facebook and Twitter, then shut down his computer, closed his eyes and rested in his first-class seat, waiting for the plane to land at Turin Airport in Italy.

Meanwhile, the perpetrators of the "righteous" violence on the internet also noticed the video posted by Lu Ze immediately.

……

"Some answers regarding my book."

The brief statement surprised many netizens. That's it? Nothing more? No apology? No promise to withdraw the books from sale? Not even a long article?
The originally cold words seemed to carry a mocking tone in their eyes, as if saying, "I can't be bothered with you, watch the video yourselves." This "attitude" enraged some people, who, like cats whose tails had been stepped on, jumped up and down and cursed. Instead of clicking on the video immediately, they chose to reply with equally "mocking" text.

"I'd rather spend money to buy Scarlett Johansson's foot bath water and give it to KD than waste my data to watch your video."

"You've made it a habit to step on things first and then look at them; you shameless Chinese Jews."

"Hehehe, bitch, what did the Jews do to you?"

"If you've made a mistake, you should apologize! Don't try to distract us with these trivial things. We just want your apology, nothing else. Before you ruin some children, if you could be more sincere, we might forgive you. But is this how you apologize?"

Within minutes, the video received hundreds of comments, and its duration of twelve minutes was enough to prove that some people vented their inexplicable anger without even watching it. However, there were still some people who silently clicked on the video to see what Lu Ze wanted to say.

For example, the professor who disapproved of female students reading Lu Ze's books.

……

He drank a few more glasses tonight, not entirely because of Lu Ze's book. He neither appreciated nor hated the book, as it had only been on the market for a short time. He needed time to process the emotions he had before deciding how to approach the work. At this moment, however, he was filled with more doubts.

No one wants to admit that the content of this book is true, but in the short term, no one can objectively deny whether it has any value.

He admired Lu Ze. Even though there was a huge gap between film and stage plays, he appreciated Lu Ze's emotionally charged performances. With just his eyes, he could make any emotion almost overflow.

He likes to see the emotions on stage as a kind of energy, a power to infect people, and the strength of an actor's ability should be measured by the strength of his energy.

And what about Lu Ze's energy? It's so powerful it's almost tangible. At first glance, you can lock onto him among a multitude of characters and immediately recognize him as the protagonist. If he isn't, then you should feel sorry for the protagonist.

Would an actor like that ruin his reputation? Is it really worth it to make some money? The professor held a negative view, but looking at this book... he just couldn't agree with it.

This is perhaps the trouble of mediocre people. Their limited thinking always carries a sense of skepticism towards the strong.

Ding dong.

As he scrolled down the message bar, he put on his reading glasses, brought the phone closer to examine it carefully, his breath trembling slightly, and a faint sheen of saliva glistening beneath his thin lips.

This was a video that a female student named Linda forwarded to him. The video was posted by Lu Ze. Without hesitation, he clicked on it. The buffering circle spun for a while, and after a few seconds, a human figure appeared.

……

"Camera crew, hurry up, you fucking idiots! We only have three hours to finish four scenes. I don't want to drag things out until tomorrow, because there's always another tomorrow after tomorrow! And another tomorrow after that! From now on, nobody the fuck is allowed to speak, or I'll make sure you don't have a tomorrow! Lu Ze, are you ready?"

Each sentence is interspersed with words starting with F, indicating that this person's manners are not very high. This camera should be a handheld DV, not a mobile phone, as the colors are more vibrant than those on a mobile phone. The camera pans to Mickey Mouse, who is standing on the director's chair and roaring. Mickey Mouse sees the camera, suddenly smiles, and makes a peace sign at the camera. Then he performs a Peking Opera face-changing act, his face darkening as if it could turn frost over at any moment, and points at the camera and starts cursing.

"Don't you fucking film me! I told you to film the trailer! I didn't tell you to fucking film me!"

The DV camera shook slightly, probably startled. The lens blurred, focusing on Lu Ze as he adjusted his costume for the last time before filming began. The script supervisor quickly ran into the frame and slammed the clapperboard.

"The Effect, Scene VII, Act II! Begin!"

When Mickey went berserk, only Lu Ze could still keep a smile on his face. But the moment this man who was smiling just now hit the clapperboard, he suddenly seemed like a different person. He sat on the edge of the bed with a blank expression, and the horizontal lighting made his face above his nose dark.

The professor pressed the pause button...

In just over thirty seconds, he was already deep in thought. Even though the character had no lines, the simple action of sitting on the edge of the bed revealed a problem.

Why didn't he get a feel for the role before filming started?

The professor initially thought the video would provide an answer, but just thirty seconds later, strange questions arose again.

No actor can get into character without getting into the mood before filming begins. Whether a top actor or a third-rate actor, everyone needs to find the right feeling and emotions. Besides how well they act, the speed at which they find the right feeling is also an important indicator of the difference between top actors and third-rate actors.

No matter how top-notch an actor is, even if you can get into the mood quickly, it still takes time, ranging from a few seconds to several minutes. This is an essential preparation step before filming begins.

But look at Lu Ze! What is this? He didn't need any preparation at all. After tidying up his clothes, *smack!* One slap, and he immediately went limp. Is this filming? Isn't this like being possessed by a ghost?

"how did you do that?"

The professor held his phone in both hands, muttering something to himself. His gaze gradually drifted away, as if he were wondering if the world had been deceiving him for over fifty years. In a daze, he noticed the family photo on the table…

Under the sunlight, the glass reflected a white light, and he couldn't see the three smiling faces in the photo clearly. He couldn't even remember if he had ever smiled in the photo.

He suddenly thought of the performance style described in the book, and subconsciously glanced at the mirror. Why did he feel... somewhat unfamiliar with himself in the mirror?
He tossed his phone aside, quickly got up, and flipped the mirror hanging on the wall upside down. But the panic in his heart had not subsided. He plopped down on the sofa, his hands on his forehead, breathing heavily. Cold sweat seeped from his pores, condensed, and slid down from his brow bone.

He shouldn't have felt such intense fear, but he found it hard to pull his mind away from the terror brought on by Lu Ze. His existing knowledge clashed with the new theory, and only someone who had been immersed in performance for decades could truly understand the pain of this. This time, he no longer doubted whether Lu Ze's theory was true, because whether it was true or not was no longer important.

The important thing is that even if it were true, it wouldn't be a gift to the actors, but rather a curse placed upon all the actors by the man who is about to ascend to the throne of actors—no… the devil.

"..."

(End of this chapter)