Global Film Emperor

Chapter 494, Act One

"The film crew has completed the equipment check."

"Lighting equipment check complete, sound reception is good."

"The costume and makeup team has completed the final touch-up, and the props department has passed the final inspection."

The crew operated smoothly without any problems, which was a good sign for Fatini. The fact that no major mistakes caused him any trouble was the best outcome for a new director without formal training.

His experience as a musical director proved invaluable, making him far superior to ordinary, untrained directors. Although the number of departments and personnel was significantly greater than in a stage play, it remained under his control.

Lu Ze saw this but didn't say anything. He felt completely relieved. Sure enough, in terms of professional skills, Fatini might not be a competent director now, but as a company leader who manages multiple companies and thousands of employees, keeping a small film crew running was no problem for him at all.

Beside him, Lucas lifted himself up from behind the camera, took the cigarette, now burning to the sponge, from his lips, pinched the still-burning red butt between his thumb and forefinger, rubbed it gently, and the sparks fell into the air and disappeared completely. He exhaled a long puff of smoke, casually stuffed the cigarette butt into one of the pockets of his military green denim vest, and his expression became much more serious. The light shone on his greasy bald head, making the goat horn tattoos on both sides of his head appear more three-dimensional.

Before they knew it, the atmosphere became oppressive. Even though filming hadn't started yet, no one dared to make a sound. Fatini's secretary and assistant director leaned over and asked, and after receiving Fatini's permission, picked up the walkie-talkie and gave an instruction to the staff outside the bar.

"Let the extras in."

As soon as the words were spoken, the sound of the roller shutter being lifted rang out, accompanied by both male and female voices, growing closer and closer to Lu Ze. The man and woman who had entered first were stunned for a moment, seemingly also affected by the oppressive atmosphere. Their smiles faded, they nodded to the crowd, and stood aside, waiting for the director's instructions.

"Find a seat for yourselves. The big guy, sit in the front. The big guys, sit a little further forward. Give them a drink. Play some music. Ferrer, get into the frame. Go to the side of the bar, on the left. Don't look directly ahead. Okay, you lady in the crop top, you know what you're doing, right? Very good. Lucas, is there anything else that needs adjusting?"

"Switch the strongest one with the guy next to you, no problem."

"OK, Lu Ze, it's your turn. All departments, get to your positions. Let's see how you perform, Lu Ze."

Fatini finally smiled and gave Lu Ze a thumbs up. Lu Ze understood, spat out the straw from his mouth, and walked straight to the bar entrance. This scene was about to begin.

As he walked toward the door, the actors present began to tense up. For the other crew members, it was just an ordinary gait, but for the actors, every step felt like stepping on a drumbeat, making them tremble with fear from the bottom of their hearts. They were really going to act opposite Lu Ze. This was not a rehearsal, but a real battle to compete with Lu Ze.

Music started playing, funk music filled the bar, and the extras began to taste the strong liquor placed in front of them. Gradually, under the influence of alcohol, they began to feel the effects.

The neon lights were switched on, flickering and swirling around the iron fence. The dusty, broken fans began to spin and sway. Cigarettes and smoking machines started working, filling the bar with smoke. The style and atmosphere of the old bar began to emerge, a kind of beauty that resonated with the rhythm of time.

"Beat the board!"

At Fatini's command, the script supervisor quickly ran to the camera position, held up the board horizontally, announced the scene number in a loud voice, then bent down and quickly retreated, disappearing from the view of the three cameras.

"Atonement, Act I, Scene I, Begin!"

Like the sounding of the final assault, or the revival of frozen space, the bar was bustling with noise, as if time had resumed its flow after a period of stillness. This shout also made Lu Ze concentrate completely, and an instant change occurred.

His back was slightly hunched, but not at a very high angle. His lips began to tremble involuntarily and glistened with saliva. Camera number one took a close-up shot, and an old arm full of wrinkles and age spots entered the frame, while most of his body was still obscured by a 90-degree angle. Then the camera pulled back, and his lower body came into view, consisting of a pair of jeans still covered in mud and somewhat muddy in color, with the ankles torn into strips of cloth, and a pair of old-fashioned Red Wing Martin boots full of wrinkles, with large areas of skin broken at the toes, and the soles of which had never been replaced.

The camera didn't tilt up or switch to another position. The track started moving, parallel to the walking trajectory of the jeans, until it stopped in front of the bar. The camera quickly switched to camera number two inside the bar, shooting a super close-up. The artificial lighting shone directly on the face from below, and the eerie light was one of the most direct sources of inner terror, making the old and unreal face that occupied the entire space of the lens even more unsettling.

……

"A glass of water."

His voice was hoarse, deep, and murky. He sat down on the bar stool with some difficulty, his hands resting on the bar counter. He blinked only once in a long while, as if he cherished even the time to blink excessively. However, his yellowish eyes and brown pupils gave off an aura of impending death, making the bartender behind the counter feel somewhat uneasy.

"Vanessa, you go ahead and get busy."

The bartender gave a brief instruction to the waitress who had been joking with him earlier. Seeing the bartender's serious expression, she seemed to be frightened by the old man as well. She nodded, turned around, and quickly left. After the waitress left, the bartender's expression changed slightly, showing a hint of fear. He didn't even look up at him, but simply picked up a white cloth and kept wiping the old bar counter, which had been there for decades.

"Just water?"

"Just water."

He turned around, picked up a large square cup, and went to the sink to wash it. His hands were trembling, and he couldn't even hold the cup properly. It slipped and fell into the stainless steel basin. The cup didn't break, and it didn't make much noise because of the music. He hurriedly wiped it clean, filled a glass with water, placed it on the edge of the bar, and gently pushed it in front of the old man.

"I don't want ice." "Please, stop messing with me... I'm really scared, I'm not doing that kind of business anymore, you should find someone else."

The bartender was nearly driven to despair by the simple criticism. He pleaded softly, hoping the old man would let him off the hook, but it was clear that there was little chance of that happening.

"Impossible, your family is in this kind of business, your grandfather, your father..."

"So they died, I didn't want to die, I was terrified... so I stopped!"

"Could you please get me a glass of warm water?"

The old man gently pushed the top of the rim of the glass with the tip of his fingernail, not even wanting his fingers to touch the glass wall which was already frozen and covered with frost. His emotions remained unchanged as he simply pushed the glass back in front of the bartender, made his request again, and then held out his palm, letting the bartender see... a glimmer of light on his fingertip.

"I don't like people playing mind games with me."

The bartender trembled even more dramatically, his legs were as supple as noodles, and his lips opened and closed, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence. The old man smiled, slowly got up from his seat, and took a small step back.

“I believe you’re not going to do it anymore, but I need a job. Find me one that I’m satisfied with. Don’t even think about running away. I’ll come back to you in three days. Whether I come to the bar or your house is up to you. Don’t let me down, buddy.”

"Why does it have to be me? I don't want to have anything to do with them right now. Why are you forcing me..."

“Family businesses are not so easy to sever. If you say you won’t do it, you’ll be even less able to protect yourself. Don’t think you’re living a carefree life. Look at this group of people. I’m protecting you. See you in a few days.”

He walked slowly, still smiling when watched, hands behind his back. No one doubted whether he was nearing death. The bartender watched his back, his breathing becoming uneven. Truth? Lies? Should he believe it? Just a few words from the old man stirred up a storm of thoughts in his mind. Finally, exhausted, or perhaps awakened by the waitress, he blinked hard, quietly put down the ice shaving knife he was holding tightly, and gently massaged his hands, which were already numb and lacked blood.

……

"Yes, Feller, you performed even better than I expected!"

After a clap, applause broke out. Fatini clapped, leading a group of people to join in. Lu Ze leaned against the door frame, the cigarette on his lips slowly floating in the air in a graceful curve. He also smiled and clapped to congratulate Ferrer. Then... a crack suddenly appeared on his face.

"Makeup artist, touch up my makeup..."

……

Was it an exceptional performance? Ferrer didn't think so. After filming, he didn't feel that confident feeling. After thinking hard for a long time, he realized that he had been led by Lu Ze. Rather than his own exceptional performance, it was more accurate to say that Lu Ze had drawn him into his own nervous emotions, immersing him in the role and integrating his own feelings into the character.

This was not something that Lu Ze could accomplish on his own. If he hadn't been severely tortured by Lu Ze during the script discussion phase, his emotions wouldn't have been so intense.

"So, in the end, it was because you were afraid of Lu Ze that you made yourself act so well... Hah."

Realizing this, the last bit of joy vanished. After thanking the people who had congratulated him, he found an empty chair and shook his head helplessly, trying to shake off the sad thoughts, but to no avail.

……

"Lu Ze's performance is still as consistent as ever."

Fatini didn't hold back his praise for Lu Ze, after all, he was a fan of Lu Ze's. However, he didn't get a response from Lu Ze, because Lu Ze was slumped in a chair waiting for the makeup artist to "stitch up" the cracks on his face.

The roller shutter was pulled up again, and footsteps came down the stairs. Xiao Wang arrived, carrying two boxes of cut fruit. He stood next to Lu Ze, looked around the set, and then looked at Fatini with a puzzled expression.

"Mr. Gambiano, where is Brother Lu?"

"His face is split open; he's in surgery."

"what??"

"..."

(End of this chapter)