Global Film Emperor

Chapter 492 The Attitudes of the People
The feeling of time dragging on endlessly is probably like this: you can't hold it in anymore and want to go to the toilet, but then you see that there are still fifteen minutes left before class ends; you check your watch on the bus and there are still three minutes left before you have to clock out at the company; or you're going over the script with Lu Ze, only to find that you still have more than thirty lines to say.

A week is enough time for actors with experience and solid acting skills to work out the script. The rest can be worked out on set.

This is a very long process, taking anywhere from a month or two to half a year. It depends on individual ability, but mostly on whether the actors working together get along well. If they dislike each other, how can they possibly act well together? But the crew of "Atonement" was somewhat different.

No film crew is without conflict among actors. Even in directors with more relaxed management, small cliques can form, making filming more difficult. This also happened in Mickey's crew. In fact, due to Mickey's personality, many actors felt resistant to the director who was always making personal attacks and had a very sharp tongue.

Fortunately, Lu Ze mediates between them. The actors respect Lu Ze, and his advice is convincing. Without Lu Ze, this gentle persuader, the Mickey Mouse crew might have become a powder keg where sparks fly everywhere, blowing everyone up.

The only exception was Fatini's crew. In just a few days, the actors became as close as family, almost to the point of swearing brotherhood. Fatini's intimidating presence certainly prevented internal conflicts among the actors from surfaced, but all he could do was suppress them. The real reason these actors were so close was that there was a powerful figure within them...

Losers always develop subtle feelings for each other. That shared sense of powerlessness naturally brings them together. This is the essence of the harmonious relationship among the cast of "Atonement," because they all feel... well, I'm just a piece of trash.

There's a saying that the warmer the place, the more enthusiastic people are, and the colder the place, the fiercer people are and the harder it is for them to express their emotions. Whether climate can affect the personality of everyone in a region seems to be impossible to prove scientifically, but it does seem to make some sense. For example, in Russia and the Nordic countries, strangers tend to be indifferent. And what impression do countries like Brazil and Italy leave on people from other countries?
That's why, after being abused by Lu Ze, these actors in Italy would always get together and go to a bar for a couple of drinks. Of course, they would unanimously exclude Lu Ze and Fatini, otherwise, how could they complain about what Lu Ze did that day?

I was torn. I wanted to work with Lu Ze so I could learn something and improve my resume, but my pride couldn't take the blow. So I drank some alcohol and cried my heart out. I really cried, and the others felt sorry for me. They listened with their heads down as someone broke down and cried about their grievances. That's how I got through the week.

They are far less resilient to pressure than East Asians, but fortunately they like to express their emotions, and shedding tears is not a shameful thing. This allows them to get up on time and accept a new round of torture with a smile, and so on until the day of filming.

……

"I'm saying, is it really okay for you not to go and see for yourself?"

Lu Ze sat down on the deck chair next to Fatini, not looking at her, but watching the automatic irrigation system of the lawn operate. When the water sprayed out of the nozzles, it was like a transparent curtain, aimed at the still rising sun, creating a beautiful rainbow.

Fatini was dressed rather flamboyantly today, wearing a white polo shirt, white suit pants, and white driving shoes (also known as loafers), a typical Italian casual style.

Stirring the ice cubes in his juice, he put the straw to his lips, took a sip with a crooked mouth, the shape of his mouth seemingly expressing dissatisfaction with Lu Ze's words. The icy juice tasted excellent, and he sighed contentedly, put down the glass, and then speechlessly spread his hands towards Lu Ze.

"Friend, this is Italy, and we don't work in the morning, sir~ Getting up at seven o'clock today is already my limit, sir~"

"Nonsense, which Italian doesn't start work at nine and finish at six? Don't make excuses for your laziness. Besides, today is the first day of filming. If you don't supervise and just let the assistant director do the work, why doesn't he start work in the afternoon?"

This is a common phenomenon on European film sets. Unless they are filming scenes in the early morning, most filming starts after 10 a.m. There is no other reason than that they can't get up. If someone with this kind of personality opened a breakfast shop in China, they would definitely fail. But then again, it is a bit unreasonable to ask someone who can sit in a bar until the middle of the night with a bottle of beer to go to work at 9 a.m.

Lu Ze still couldn't quite accept it. It's true that Chinese directors are very hardworking. Whether it's for artistic creation or to finish work early and get paid, whatever the reason, it all motivates them to be diligent. On the other hand, European directors all seem lazy. Although they are serious and responsible when they work, if you ask them to get up early every day and work overtime to finish work, sorry, you can choose to change directors. This job is not feasible.

This isn't a bad thing. Enjoying life and enjoying work is the best state, Lu Ze admits. But he's used to being hardworking, and this kind of lifestyle makes him very uncomfortable. Fortunately, Mickey isn't like that. He's more like a Chinese director, working like crazy, making the most of every spare moment to finish filming as soon as possible, then taking a vacation or gambling away all the profits he makes from a movie before starting to film again and make money, and so on.

"Stop talking, buddy~ We're human, not machines. We don't live for work! Life! Life, my friend! I can't be bothered with you... Wang, I really don't know how you've put up with him like this for over ten years."

He covered his ears and got up, complaining to Wang Zixuan that Lu Ze wanted to make him work hard too. His life had given him the answer. He had never let getting up late delay his business, and he had never heard of anyone who couldn't survive without working overtime. He was a capitalist, that's true, but did he want to squeeze his employees' time to generate profits? Look at how lazy his Italian employees are, they don't tolerate him.

Wang Zixuan was holding a small fish tank and changing the water. The goldfish were bought a few days ago. She bought five, but three died. Only two small fish remained in the tank, seemingly frozen in place. Only a few occasional tail waggings proved that time was still passing.

Listening to Fatini's complaints, she could only smile, neither nodding nor shaking her head, and didn't even say a word. She carried the fish tank slowly into the house, went upstairs, and disappeared. "Fine, I give up. I shouldn't have come to chat with you guys so early in the morning. One's a workaholic, one's autistic, and the other's still a glutton who hasn't finished eating. Boring, I'm leaving."

Fatini is a very outgoing person, just like the impression his hometown gives to the outside world. He likes to chat with friends, especially with beautiful women. This liking even exceeds what ordinary men hope to achieve after chatting with beautiful women. He simply enjoys making friends to satisfy his spiritual needs, or rather, that purpose is not new to him. But this time, the friends he seriously made were indeed quite boring.

Shaking his head, he left in disappointment after sitting for less than ten minutes. Just as the roar of a sports car outside began, Lucas came out of the room, toothpick in his mouth, looking at Lu Ze with a puzzled expression.

"What did he just say, 'good-for-nothing'?"

"It's nothing, he just suddenly went crazy. Don't worry about him. Would you like some fruit?"

"OK……"

Judging from Lucas's expression, Lu Ze could guess that he had figured out who Fatini had been cursing earlier. At least he figured it out after thinking about it more carefully. But what good would it do to find out the truth after digging so deep? To curse Fatini back? That was definitely not a good choice. So he could only pretend not to understand and play dumb. Lu Ze didn't want to put him in an awkward position, so he changed the subject and gave him a way out.

Lying in a chair, flipping through the latest fashion magazine, he heard that pleats have recently become a trend in the fashion world, and they suit men very well too. In order not to look outdated, he had to catch up on his studies. When it comes to trends, you don't have to follow them closely, but at least you shouldn't fall behind or be criticized for being unfashionable. This is the basic quality of an artist in front of the spotlight.

"I don't remember you ever reading fashion magazines."

“I only watch things occasionally. If something is really popular, I need to know about it. Did you send the track laying diagrams to the assistant director? I'm always a little uneasy if I don't go to the set to check it out beforehand.”

Modern photographers not only need to master shooting techniques, but also need to be able to draw track layout plans, arrange the reserved positions of the shots in advance, and negotiate with the director. This requires photographers to conduct on-site surveys and measurements well in advance, and create CAD top and front views on the computer.

The cinematographer needs to take into account the director's desired shooting techniques and angles when designing the shots. After repeated consultations with the director, the cinematographer can then produce the designs for the crew who will lay out the tracks and install the shooting equipment.

Although this is a bit of a hassle, it can effectively reduce unexpected situations during shooting, shorten the equipment setup time before shooting, and most importantly, prevent the photographer from taking the blame.

You know, many directors or big-name actors always like to shift the blame onto the cinematographer, blaming everything on bad lighting, poor camera transitions, or not timing the shots correctly. They always have a lot of excuses. But doing this greatly reduces the chances of being blamed. You think the filming is bad? Didn't you tell me to film it this way?

Of course, there are also photographers who are lazy and unwilling to learn a new skill. They will use photos and aerial images as references to add lens presets, and the effect is the same, just not as beautiful as the original.

"How about... we go and take a look in person? We're just killing time anyway."

Lucas made a suggestion that Lu Ze found very appealing. It wasn't that Lucas was a workaholic; he was quite normal, neither lazy nor overly diligent. It was just that he had finally made it to the top, which made him constantly tense. He was afraid that his team members would make mistakes that would affect his own work, so he wanted to do everything himself and make sure that everything was foolproof.

"Let's go, Zixuan, we're going to the film set. You don't need to come now, you can come after you finish eating this afternoon. We're leaving now."

Lu Ze seemed even more eager than Lucas. After all, he hadn't filmed for almost half a year and had already started to miss the film crew. It wouldn't be wrong to say he loved his work, but more specifically, he probably enjoyed forgetting himself and the process of playing other people. This made him feel that he would live longer and have a richer life than anyone else.

"..."

(End of this chapter)