Global Film Emperor

Chapter 493, "Atonement," begins filming.

The first scene was filmed in a quiet bar in the city. When Lu Ze and his companion got out of the car, there were already quite a few people watching. Even though no celebrities were seen, the sight of trucks unloading the props needed for filming had already attracted many onlookers to record short videos.

Of course, it's also possible that they were attracted by the Pagani Zonda that the Fatini had driven up to.

Even though Italy is the birthplace of many top-tier sports cars, and cars are much cheaper in Europe than in China, these top-brand sports cars are still beyond the reach of ordinary people. In fact, just like ordinary Chinese people, seeing one of them would be a novelty for them.

After greeting the staff, the two walked down the steps to the bar on the basement level. Fatini sat in a chair, calmly watching without saying a word, which made the staff carrying the equipment quicken their pace.

The overhead fan was blowing, and the circulating air was also working, but even so, the heat generated by the shooting equipment kept the temperature in the entire space quite high, basically the same as the outside temperature.

"Hey buddy, tie up these cables, they're too messy."

The various cables were laid out together underfoot, making it a bit of a tripping hazard. Fatini, sitting with her back to the front, didn't notice the problem until she heard Lu Ze's greeting. She then turned around, waved to the two of them, and went behind the bar to get a cup of coffee for them.

"Didn't you say you'd be there on time? Why are you here early?"

"Since you've said that, wouldn't it seem like I'm too lazy if I didn't come over? Not only me, they all came over too, even earlier than me. I heard they started coming here at eight o'clock to memorize their lines."

Fatini didn't retort to Lu Ze's teasing. She pointed to a corner of the bar where, behind several airline cases, a few people were indeed muttering something to themselves.

"I think you're putting too much pressure on them. Won't that have some negative effects?"

Seeing the actors muttering to themselves as if possessed, Lucas smacked his lips and asked Lu Ze a question. Although he, as a photographer, hadn't attended the script discussion, he had heard plenty from Fatini about how Lu Ze had tormented these poor children.

"No, if they can't even handle this much pressure, then they shouldn't be making movies. Everyone encounters situations where their co-stars are stronger than them, including myself. I've been overshadowed in scenes before, but that's not a reason to back down."

Lighting a cigarette, Lu Ze leaned against the bar and answered Lucas's question with a very serious expression. When he first started out, he was overshadowed by many big names. Perhaps the pressure those big names put on him was not as great as the pressure he put on those actors, but for Lu Ze, it was no different. Even though being outshone was inevitable, running away or facing it head-on were two different things. It was self-evident which kind of person he admired.

"You're really strict. I don't understand this thing about you actors. Never mind, I'm going to check the equipment."

Lucas didn't sit for long. He finished his coffee in one gulp and got up to calculate the angle of the equipment placement. After all, no matter how perfect the design drawings are, they are only on paper. When the actual filming begins, there will definitely be some bugs that he needs to fix.

Meanwhile, the actors seemed to have noticed Lu Ze's arrival, but for some reason, they didn't get up to greet him immediately. Instead, they danced and gesticulated wildly, reciting their lines along with the actions.

This somewhat childish behavior was quite amusing. Lu Ze simply smiled and didn't reach out to let them know that he had discovered them.

"Why don't you put on your makeup first?"

Fatini offered a reminder, and Lu Ze glanced at his watch. It was 9:40 a.m., and the shoot was scheduled for 1 p.m. So time was indeed starting to get tight. For such a large area of ​​makeup, it would take at least two hours. Without hesitation, he got up, asked Fatini's secretary, who was sweating profusely and was now the assistant director who was running around tirelessly, where the dressing room was, and then headed straight for the bar's backstage area.

……

Compared to the brightly lit front desk, the back is rather dimly lit. The walls are covered with posters of various musicians, as well as many signatures written with correction fluid. It seems that this slightly old-fashioned bar has a certain history and is openly displaying its sentimentality.

As you walk down the corridor, it gets darker and darker, but when you look to the very back, there are still lights on, and you can hear girls laughing inside, talking about something interesting.

Seemingly hearing footsteps, the laughter quickly subsided. A blonde girl in her early twenties peeked out from the corridor, her eyes meeting Lu Ze's. "Ciao."

“ciao”.

The two greeted each other in Italian. She seemed to realize that looking at people like that was impolite, so she came out of the room, stood at the end of the corridor, and smiled and nodded at Lu Ze.

"Hello Mr. Lu, I am a fan of yours."

"Thank you, may I come in?"

"Of course, please."

Upon entering the room, there were four other girls inside. They all stood up to greet Lu Ze. As makeup artists in the performing arts, the girls weren't exactly beautiful, but they were all pleasing to the eye. They pulled out chairs, turned on the vanity lights, and, perhaps worried that Lu Ze might be a germaphobe, carefully checked the chair for any of their hair. Finally, they covered the chair with a brand-new blanket and invited Lu Ze to sit down.

"Who is in charge of me? How long will it take?"

"It's the two of us, and it will take about three and a half hours. The quick method would require using plastic wrap, but if it's left on for too long, it will cause sweating and makeup to come off. Also, it would be too stuffy, and I was worried that you wouldn't be able to handle it, so I chose a more breathable method. The downside is that we have to wait for it to dry, which will waste about an hour."

The blonde girl pulled another girl aside and introduced herself to Lu Ze. Lu Ze then quietly waited for the two girls to tie their hair up, put on hairnets, carefully wash their hands, put on disposable black plastic gloves, and spray some breath freshener. This set of personal hygiene preparations was commendable. Even though the facilities in the dressing room were not very good due to the current conditions, the two girls' work attitude alone deserved to be called professional.

Next came Lu Ze's washing. Since a new hairstyle was needed, washing his hair was an essential step. After washing his hair, they started washing his face and then applied some skincare products. Even with gloves on, Lu Ze could still feel the cool palms gently rubbing his face, which felt quite comfortable.

The hairstyle design... is really hard to describe. It's definitely a slicked-back style, but you need to shave your hairline high, then thin out your hair, and thin it out again until you can see your scalp. Then spray on a one-time hair dye spray with plant extracts to dye your hair white. That's how you get a classic Western-style hair loss hairstyle for an elderly person.

Next came the makeup process. Although it was Lu Ze's first time doing old-age makeup, the process wasn't as difficult as he had imagined. He only needed to apply a thin layer of something similar to dough and then hand-draw age spots and wrinkles. The old man in the mirror didn't look realistic, especially the bright spots on his face, which were particularly distracting. But it didn't matter because the aging effect in this movie would be created by a special effects company, rather than relying entirely on makeup.

The downside of makeup is that it is difficult and time-consuming, it is hard to make the face look realistic, the probability of makeup fading is high, and it is even more difficult to touch up makeup. Special effects can perfectly solve this problem. We are now in an era of excess special effects performance, and it is not a problem at all to create an old face that is more realistic than that in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".

"great."

Although it wasn't realistic, the makeup was perfect for a special effects company to handle. Lu Ze understood special effects, so his praise was genuine. However, the girls didn't seem very happy, perhaps because the makeup didn't bring out their full potential. When responding to Lu Ze's praise, they appeared somewhat forcing a smile and dejected.

After saying goodbye to the girls and changing into his photoshoot outfit, Lu Ze returned to the front desk. The bar was no longer messy; the cables were neatly arranged, and the bar decorations had been changed. Lu Ze walked behind Fatini and gently patted him on the shoulder.

"Wow! Are you trying to scare me to death? But... not bad, you've entered the hair loss stage early, how does it feel?"

"hehe."

Lu Ze really didn't want to talk to him right now, because he had figured it out. This guy was the type who would get more excited the more he reacted. Although he was really annoyed by the haircut, he suppressed his urge to hit him in order to avoid seeing Fatini's mocking smile. He simply chuckled and said nothing more.

"Alright, alright, enough joking around. Let's get ready and start filming right away."

"..."

(End of this chapter)