Global Film Emperor

Chapter 498

"It's your turn, Zixuan."

Lu Ze moved aside slightly, leaned back in his chair, and wiped the oil stains off his thumb and forefinger on a tissue. Wang Zixuan approached, picked up a French fry, and gently placed it on top of the French fry tower that was under construction.

He thought that thanks to Lucas, he would be lucky if he bought a larger quantity of McDonald's. But he never expected that this young and promising girl would become a store manager at the age of twenty and abuse her power to the point of packing fries by the bag. This made Lu Ze personally experience what potato hell is like. Can you believe that you can get full just by eating fries?
Lu Ze was alright, because he was worried about exceeding his calorie limit due to filming, so he didn't eat too much. But Wang Zixuan suffered the consequences. She ate fries until she burped every time she ate them. In just a few days, her face became a little rounder. This morning, she fell asleep in the car and had a nightmare. While talking in her sleep, she kept saying, "No potatoes... no potatoes."

"Lu Ze, stop playing around, it's your turn to shine."

Ever since Fatini became a director, it seems he's had some kind of hearing problem. He can't control his volume when he speaks, and his shouts are louder than a person using a megaphone. Lu Ze was focused on stacking French fry towers when this sound came. He was startled and lost control of his strength. Instantly, the "iron tower" that he thought was indestructible crumbled and scattered on the table.

"I'm in the play, Zixuan. Don't waste food. Try this new Mexican sweet chili sauce. I think it's pretty good."

"Brother Lu... I can't eat anymore..."

After placing the sauce in front of her, Lu Ze immediately chose to run away, ignoring her pleas for mercy. He quickly ran to Fatini's side, his expression turning serious again as he bent down and stared at the replay of the previous scene on the monitor.

It must be admitted that Fatini's progress is rapid. Although filming is sometimes paused due to the company he has to manage, he becomes very skilled and adept at his work once he gets into character.

After all, it wasn't an art film, and considering the new director's limited ability to handle the camera, the shots used were mostly common techniques found in commercial films: zooming out, zooming in, zooming out and zooming out, and brief close-ups of important characters and plot points. Apart from a few plot segments that particularly emphasized visual effects, most of the shots weren't too difficult.

Lu Ze watched it twice but found no problems. This made the two actors who had just finished their scene together breathe a sigh of relief. They sat down and patted their chests, whispering to each other. It was unclear what they were saying, but judging from their expressions, they were probably happy.

"How about it?"

"no problem."

The two weren't talking about camera work; that's not something actors should discuss. Even though Lu Ze has a wealth of experience, and Fatini is just a newcomer director, that's not a reason to bridge the gap between director and actor. No matter how famous you are or how new the director is, unless the director begs you, you can't interfere in the director's affairs; otherwise, it's against the rules.

After all, film is the art of the director, and a film should reflect the director's style. Randomly interfering disrupts the director's train of thought and rhythm, which is fatal to a work. Throughout the history of film and television, there has never been a good film that can be praised if actors interfered with the director's work.

They were just talking about Lu Ze's condition today. After chatting for a while, they understood each other's meaning without needing to explain too clearly.

The props team was changing the props for the next scene. In the meantime, the two could talk more about Lucas's situation. It wasn't about his love life. As long as his relationship didn't interfere with the crew's work, the director didn't need to care. What they really wanted to talk about was Lucas and Kesha's trip to Cannes, France, to participate in the Cannes International Film Festival.

Have you found a photographer to replace you?

"It's already been found, Hermann Randolphsky."

This person didn't seem to be a cinematographer from the film industry. Cinematographers who have made a name for themselves in the film industry wouldn't bother to stand in for other cinematographers. Lu Ze recognized the name slightly, but couldn't remember who this person was. He didn't ask any further questions, nodded, got up, and walked into the film set.

Walking into the frame with him was a blonde woman who played the protagonist's wife in the drama. The scene depicted the discord between the protagonist and his wife during their youth, a scene that required an argument. As a character with very little screen time, this actress did not participate in the script discussion. Today was Lu Ze's first meeting with her.

She was visibly nervous; she nearly tripped as she walked. Lu Ze, however, was used to it. After a token reassurance, he adjusted his wig, sat down at the table, lit a cigarette butt he had prepared, and sat on an empty plate. The woman took several deep breaths in the kitchen until they were steady, then gave Fatini, who showed no impatience, an OK sign. The stage manager entered. "Atonement, Act IX, Scene III! Begin!"

……

"Nuna, when will the food be ready? I'm starving."

The man leaned against the window, occasionally peeking out before quickly pulling back. He began to complain about the spotless plate in front of him, a cigarette butt between his teeth. He exhaled the last puff of smoke, opened the window, and casually tossed the cigarette butt out. Ignoring the angry shouts from the people downstairs, he calmly pulled the window shut.

"I said wait a minute, why don't you do it?"

The wife's attitude was also very firm. Their relationship had been at a low point for a long time. At this moment, she certainly wouldn't show weakness verbally and give her husband a chance to mock her. She stirred the rice spatula, muttering to herself. After a while, she came out with a frying pan and rudely poured the stir-fried mushroom noodles into the man's plate. Sure enough, some spilled out and got on the man's hand, burning him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm cooking for you, so what do you think I'm doing?"

"What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you exactly?"

I don't know when it started, but arguing has become the norm in this family. The child's crying and the man and woman's quarrels seem to have become essential seasonings for their boring lives, as if who wins and who loses really doesn't matter that much.

"You haven't brought home a single penny in three weeks! Three weeks! I'm already being generous by giving you a meal!"

She raised a finger, pointing it at the man she had sworn fidelity to before Jesus, her other hand pressing down on the table as she roared, barely suppressing the urge to throw noodles in her husband's face.

The biggest contradiction in marriage is that neither you nor your partner know why the relationship has turned out this way, while selfishness is at play, pushing you to be the victor in this family war, even though there is no compensation for the loser in this victory.

"Then get out! Get out of my house! If you can't stand it, go ahead and run off with that man, whatever! Tell Joseph to stop crying! I said tell him to stop crying! Give him some sleeping pills! Stop him from crying anymore!"

"What did you say, you bastard?"

……

One mistake—the delivery of the lines lacked power—caused everyone on set to shake their heads. The energy was clearly depleted, perhaps due to the excessive tension earlier, or perhaps because he was overwhelmed by Lu Ze's aura. In any case, it wasn't a good performance.

"Stop, rest for a minute, then start again."

"..."

I'm not in a good state for this chapter, so I have to stop here. I'm sorry. I've calculated that I'm currently 31 chapters short.

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(End of this chapter)