Global Film Emperor

Chapter 490 It's been a long time since we've held a seminar.

Besides the difference in experience, what is the biggest difference between new directors and veteran directors? Many people would say it's the basic qualities of a high-level director, such as "shooting techniques," "story logic and arrangement," and "editing rhythm," which also require time to hone. After all, most young directors present a formulaic and somewhat immature style in their first few works.

In contrast, veteran directors are different. They summarize the directing knowledge taught by academies, and after shooting and editing their works time and time again, they summarize their own insights. What they present to the audience is an artistic work with a strong personal style. This can also be included in experience, but it is different from the experience condensed when directing on set. It is more appropriate to say that it is the degree of talent displayed.

This is the standard answer, but for Lu Ze, it's not the whole story. In his view, besides experience and talent, the most important thing between new and old directors is their own actions during filming.

A simple example is that new directors often hold a lot of complicated and useless meetings when directing their first film, such as actor meet-and-greets, script review meetings, pre-shoot rehearsals, and so on.

Are these things useful? Perhaps they are useful for some actors, but for an actor like Lu Ze who doesn't like making friends at work, these so-called meetings, which are more social than work-related, are as boring and tedious as a leader's speech before a school gala. Lu Ze welcomes making friends and having a drink and chat after work, and he doesn't object to it. But he is reluctant to socialize under the guise of a meeting, which is complicated and a waste of time.

This is also why many actors don't like Lu Ze. They think he's too rigid, even arrogant and pretentious, and doesn't fit in at all. Fortunately, Lu Ze's skills are enough to completely overwhelm them, which prevents a group of actors who dislike Lu Ze from launching a mockery.

Fortunately, most of the directors who had worked with Lu Ze before were veteran directors who had a very thorough understanding of the actors' personalities and adapted to the circumstances. As long as the actors could perform well, that was all that mattered. They took a very relaxed approach to various meetings, simplifying complex processes and implementing a laissez-faire management style.

This time, however, Lu Ze was not so lucky, because Fatini, this newbie, really took the pre-shoot pep talk very seriously. As his actor and partner, it was difficult for him to refuse.

It wasn't that no experienced directors were willing to give Fatini advice, but most of them had the intention but not the courage. They could only let Fatini make decisions based on high expectations. As the young master, let alone if he wanted to hold a mobilization meeting, or even if he asked all the actors to go to the temple to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures for a month before filming, no one would dare to say a word against it.

As an actor, you can fall out with Gambiano Pictures, but if you're in Europe or America, you have to give the Gambiano family face, after all, they are a pure Jewish family.

Fatini was a bit excited today, and he was talking much more than usual. Lu Ze, sitting in the passenger seat, was getting a headache listening to him ramble on. In short, he wanted Lu Ze to teach him some experience in training actors. It wasn't that he was afraid any actor would disagree, but he was worried that he would look too much like a rookie.

Rubbing his temples, Lu Ze tightened his clothes, crossed his arms, and leaned against the car door, trying to find a comfortable position. Soon after, he felt that Fatini's voice blended into the male host's voice on the radio channel, and then... he couldn't hear anything at all.

"Please say a few words for me later. I don't want the meeting to be too pleasant. I think everyone needs to be on high alert and take the script seriously. Otherwise, if it turns into a family and friends gathering, it will have no reason to exist."

Every new director's initial intention in organizing this meeting or that meeting is good, but often the actual situation will deviate from their initial intention. Fatini has not yet realized this, and is still hoping that Lu Ze can help him.

"Um……"

"That's good. Sigh... I'm fine with business negotiations, but I'm getting nervous now. It's a really strange feeling. By the way, Lu Ze... Lu Ze? Damn."

As they were talking, they heard the man next to them snoring softly. Seeing how relaxed Lu Ze was, and comparing it to her own excitement, Fatini's originally good mood turned slightly down, but she didn't take it too seriously. This man in front of her was someone who could snore in a duet with Mickey at a film festival broadcast globally, so it was perfectly normal for him to sleep wherever he went. She simply turned down the volume of the radio and turned off the air conditioning to create a comfortable enough sleeping space for Lu Ze.

When Lu Ze slowly woke up, the two had already arrived at the business club owned by Fatini's family. Going out with this rich guy always made Lu Ze feel like he owned the whole world. After agreeing to play the good cop to Fatini again, the two pushed open the door to the private room. The room was crowded with people, so everyone must have arrived.

"Good morning, sir. Thiago greets you."

"Good morning, sir. Greetings! And this is..."

As soon as the door opened, everyone, regardless of age or gender, immediately stood up to greet them. To Lu Ze, this scene resembled the opening wedding banquet in "The Godfather Part I," and it also offered a glimpse into the daily lives of the Italian family members with a dark background.

Unlike British etiquette, while people here also bowed to show respect, it wasn't as solemn or formal. Everyone wore smiles, as if it were a gathering where the people weren't particularly close. Later, everyone recognized the Asian man standing behind Fatini, but this time, Fatini noticed a slight difference in how people treated Lu Ze compared to how they treated her.

Good morning, Master.

Good morning, Mr. Lu Ze.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. It’s our first meeting. I have read your Law of Alternation. I am learning from you.”

Compared to their respect for Fatini, the actors felt a mixture of respect and admiration for Lu Ze, even though this admiration mostly came from the younger men and women.

Everyone here has read Lu Ze's books, and no one is unaware of the online controversy from a few days ago. But in the end, Lu Ze proved his energy and uniqueness with his actions. Gradually, the admiration for Lu Ze has evolved from that of an excellent top actor to that of a master who is moving towards the hall of fame and transcending the basic qualities of an actor.

At thirty-five, to have achieved this is enough to earn the admiration of one's peers. Of course, some older actors found it difficult to address Lu Ze by his name, and simply expressed their respect before stepping aside and remaining silent.

In contrast, the young people were much more uninhibited, showering Lu Ze with all sorts of titles and words of worship. Some well-informed individuals, knowing that Lu Ze was a shareholder of "Universal Brothers" and a partner of "Gambiano Pictures," even went so far as to call him "Master."

Lu Ze refused to accept such praise and quickly denied it. He said it had nothing to do with humility. Even if it were a European or American actor, as long as they had the right mindset and skill level, they would not admit to being a master.

Although the book has indeed caused a major upheaval in the acting industry, and with the help of corroborating evidence, more and more actors have tacitly accepted Lu Ze's acting style as a branch of the method acting school, calling it the "experience-interaction substitution acting principle," or simply the "substitution method." But shouldn't a true master always keep the heart of an apprentice?

While they received the same courtesy as Fatini, using honorifics to express respect, the underlying emotions went far beyond simple respect. It was clear that their respect for Fatini stemmed from the fact that their careers were in his hands, and was largely out of fear—no different from an employee's fear of their boss. In contrast, their attitude towards Lu Ze was less driven by fear, but rather by awe and admiration for a pioneer with top-notch expertise in their field.

People in all walks of life admire the top performers, but Fatini asked himself honestly, and it seemed that apart from being good at negotiating business, he didn't really have anything to boast about. Moreover, because he came from a family, people would define his success more as coming from the help of his family. As a result, even from the perspective of entrepreneurship, people's expectations of him were only to acknowledge that he was destined to succeed because he was a member of the family, so there was nothing strange about it.

People always envy what they lack, and even the incredibly wealthy Fatini is no exception. What he envies is the admiration people have for those who have reached the pinnacle. In this respect, it's Fatini who should be jealous of Lu Ze.

Lu Ze responded to everyone and looked around at the group. There were a total of 27 people present. Apart from the child stars who needed to go to school, all the actors, big and small, were present. Most of the newcomers looked familiar, while the older generation of actors looked relatively unfamiliar.

That makes sense. Even if Fatini were to direct, he couldn't possibly pull out an all-star cast to play with him for the sake of the company's operations. If all those familiar faces were to get together, their salaries would be terrifying. Plus, he would have to consider Lu Ze's feelings. Lu Ze only got two million in salary. How much would those old guys get?

Of everyone present, no one's salary was higher than Lu Ze's. These people were also embarrassed to take more than Lu Ze. How could they, who couldn't compete with him, take more? How could they have any shame? Would they still be able to work after taking all that money? These were all questions they needed to consider.

But Lu Ze also had to admire the foundation of "Gambiano Pictures". These young girls and boys are all top-notch, and the old guys are no less capable than the young people. Twenty-seven excellent actors can be selected at will. What else can this be but a solid foundation?

It was three minutes later when they finally sat down. Lu Ze was sitting to the left of Fatini. After he coughed lightly, the whole room fell silent. There were no long, tedious speeches. He simply took out his script, placed it on the table, and said in a serious voice.

"Let's begin then."

"..."

(End of this chapter)