Global Film Emperor

Chapter 499 The Decameron

"Ding ding ding..."

The alarm clock rang in the dark room, waking the person who had just fallen asleep. After a long sigh, he gently patted the alarm clock to turn it off, propped himself up on the headboard, and called to the smart home assistant to slowly open the curtains. Instantly, sunlight appeared in Lu Ze's field of vision.

After his abilities became so powerful that the system could no longer teach him anything, he had more freedom at night. He could sleep in longer and have sweet dreams. For Lu Ze, who had been busy all day, this was the most satisfying treat he could enjoy after work.

He had just had a wonderful dream, but he had forgotten what it was. The silk robe slid smoothly off the edge of the bed, and the alpaca carpet provided ample protection and softness for his feet, like walking on cotton, enough to sink his feet in. Sitting by the bay window, he looked down at the city and the mountains. The clear blue sky was cloudless. The beautiful scene of the combination of the times and nature was somewhat familiar to him, as if he had seen it in his dream just now.

The wealthy lady next door got up even earlier and was already jogging slowly in the park with her dog. There were also dissolute playboys who came back from playing all night, driving their cars swaying as if they were about to crash into the roadside guardrail and plunge into the valley. The most wonderful thing about the city is that in the early morning, the vibrant energy can blend with the languid life without revealing a trace of it.

……

"Chen Yonghe, I urge you to lay down your weapons and surrender immediately! Don't do anything to harm the hostages! Otherwise, things will become more serious than you imagine! Release the hostages immediately. You can state your conditions, and we can consider them and grant your request. Now, put down your guns!"

"It's a bit salty, don't you think?"

"I think it's fine, I just like strong flavors."

The TV was showing a popular crime drama series that's all the rage in China right now. There were many familiar faces in it, and the veteran actors' acting skills were guaranteed. The depth, humor, and plot twists were all done very well, which made this hit drama, which started with a 9.1 rating, a must-watch for Lu Ze to watch while having breakfast.

Lu Ze cooked this morning: spaghetti bolognese. He likes the chewy texture, and the simplified version is also easy to make. This pasta dish has now become a must-have breakfast for Lu Ze every week.

A pasta plate the size of a washbasin is served. In reality, there are only some pasta in the small indentation in the center of the plate, garnished with some chopped parsley and half a cherry tomato. The gold-veined plate instantly elevates the value of this ordinary pasta dish, making it look much more upscale.

He pulled out a napkin to wipe his still slightly damp hands, forked a noodle into his mouth, and chatted with Wang Zixuan, but his eyes were fixed on the TV screen. The actor playing the robber was none other than Comrade Song Guiyuan.

The show is now nearing its end, and Lao Song, who isn't the final boss, has met his glorious demise in this episode. A single shot from a sniper sent him to his death, and Lu Ze couldn't help but chuckle as he watched.

The character's death wasn't exactly satisfying. On the contrary, due to the successful character portrayal, the fact that the character wasn't purely evil and also had some painful past experiences, and finally, Song Guiyuan's acting skills played a tiny role—just a tiny one, more than Lu Ze would never admit—it all blended together to make the audience's impression of Chen Yonghe not so bad. Although he couldn't be redeemed, many netizens on the live stream were moved to tears when he was killed.

The camera focuses on the already deceased Chen Yonghe in a rising main shot, with only the chaotic footsteps of the surrounding crowd highlighting the silence of the corpse on the ground. It's a shot that metaphorically represents liberation. Although it's not particularly original, it's fitting for the occasion, and the director's skill is still commendable. However, Lu Ze isn't focused on the use of the camera right now. Instead, he quickly snaps a photo of "Old Song's" death and posts it in his old friends' group chat, along with a congratulatory message.

Calculating the time difference, it's the middle of the night in China right now. No one in the group is replying; they're all probably grinding their teeth and snoring in bed. As a lurker, Lu Ze scrolled through their previous chat history, which was basically consistent with the messages he sent. In fact, six people had already posted this death scene in the group, jokingly saying that Lao Song "died" well and felt good.

The record shows that Lao Song and his dozen or so friends argued until 11:30. If Lu Ze had gotten up earlier, Lao Song would probably have been one of those who got flamed too. Unfortunately, the time difference saved Lu Ze's reputation, which made Lao Song feel a little regretful.

Half an hour after breakfast, I finished watching the latest episode, went to the gym to work out, and declined Fatini's invitation to go fishing after returning to Turin in the evening, choosing instead to stay in the courtyard and read.

The film crew stopped work again today, for the same reason: Fatini needs to go to Rome to discuss a contract. In any other film crew that takes filming seriously, the fact that the main creative staff's leave causes the crew to be unable to operate normally would be deeply resented. But the "Atonement" crew is indeed different. After all, the old man who keeps asking for leave is the director and boss.
With at least one day off per week, and sometimes even three days off, coupled with the rather lazy nature of Italians, Lu Ze found it difficult to enjoy such excessive leisure. He complained to Fatini more than once, saying that Fatini took more days off than his high school PE teacher. But then he thought about it again, and it seemed that in this retirement-style film crew, Fatini was the one who didn't get any rest.

I called Lucas, who was in Cannes, but the line was busy. I then called Kesha, and the call went through quickly. This was the reason why Lu Ze wasn't going fishing with Fatini tonight. Fatini might not care about the situation of "Exile" at the Cannes Film Festival, but as a shareholder of "Universal Brothers," he naturally couldn't ignore it.

"Did you sleep well, Kesha?"

"It's not bad. Thanks to the finance department for helping me book a single room, otherwise I probably wouldn't have slept so well."

"You knew already?"

"He talked on the phone for four and a half hours last night, how could I not know? It's insane! I really don't know where he got so much to say, and now that he's said it all, what will he say next?" Everyone knows that a lot of sweet talk in the early stages of a relationship can quickly lead to a silent period where there's nothing left to say. But people with high expectations for the relationship often find it hard to control themselves and end up talking less. This can cause the relationship to cool down before the honeymoon phase even begins. Talking too much or too little is the hardest thing for new couples to manage. Perhaps the best way to keep the relationship fresh is to develop a "talkative streak," saying only ten words a day, the kind where saying even one more word feels like dying.

Lu Ze chuckled, not continuing the topic of Lucas's love life, and didn't intend to provide Lucas with an emotional support hotline. After all, it was someone else's relationship, why should he get involved? After a brief digression, the topic returned to normal.

"Keep a calm mind tonight. As long as you have the confidence that you won't leave empty-handed, I'll be waiting to throw you a victory celebration."

"Don't worry, boss. This isn't our first time attending the Cannes Film Festival. We'll handle the mindset issue."

"Okay, right now 'Exile' is the most popular choice for winning awards, and the online attention on the two of you is the hottest. No matter what happens, just remember to keep a good image, okay?"

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone and finishing his encouragement, Lu Ze browsed online speculations about the Cannes awards. Sure enough, more people chose to side with "Exile," not only because "Exile" had a deeper and broader plot than the other four nominated works, but also because it occupied the so-called core of "animal protection." Protecting animals is politically correct, and this alone was enough for "Exile" to have a significant advantage.

The award was irrelevant to Lu Ze, and he could have been indifferent to it. Even though he was the boss of the Mendeleev Brothers, and whether they won the award would determine whether the company's valuation would rise again, Lu Ze didn't care about money at all. So why did he care about the award's ownership? Lu Ze asked himself honestly, and perhaps it stemmed from the lingering obsession he had after he had no chance with Cannes anymore.

……

This year's Cannes Film Festival format is the same as in previous years. The organizers allow films that will compete in the main competition next year to have their premieres in Cannes during the festival, which is only a short period of ten days. This lays the foundation for the competition for the next awards in advance. Even today, the day of the awards ceremony, many films are still being screened here, causing many film fans to rush around in order to catch the screening of the films they are looking forward to. This has resulted in a scene that is lively but also somewhat chaotic.

Following the reporters on site, Lu Ze once again experienced the charm of Cannes. Now, Cannes, which is vaguely sitting on the top spot among the three major European film festivals, is the most commercially successful of the three. It not only incorporates commercial attributes into the selection criteria, but also the style of the venue is more modern and fashionable than the other two film festivals. In contrast, the other two film festivals pay more attention to artistic and pioneering spirit. It is not possible to say which of the three film festivals is better or worse, but rather that all three are following their own paths. At present, it is impossible to answer which of the three choices is more correct.

Reporters kept stopping fans who walked by, and the fans readily accepted the interviews. It was not uncommon for female fans to offer kisses. When asked by reporters if they had any directors or works they were looking forward to, and whether they were satisfied with the movies they had come to see, the fans gave their answers and comments.

One of the works caught Lu Ze's attention because it had received high praise from so many movie fans. After searching for information about it online, he found that the director was not famous and seemed to be a self-taught director. This highly acclaimed film was his first work.

What surprised Lu Ze the most was that the film's production and distribution were not from any European film company, but from Paramount, one of the giant film studios in the United States.

The logo of stars surrounding a snow-capped mountain is familiar to any movie fan who has watched European and American films. After all, the company's works and IPs are so impressive. Just think about what movies Paramount has released.

Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Terminator, The Godfather, Forrest Gump, Indiana Jones, Mission: Impossible, Titanic, The Truman Show, Roman Holiday, and many more...

Even though Paramount has been somewhat lackluster in recent years, failing to release a single critically and commercially successful film in the past decade, and even falling to the bottom of the list of major film studios at one point, a fallen giant is still bigger than a horse. Even now, Paramount is not an ordinary company that can compare with it.

This also made Lu Ze take notice that this film, which had just been released less than an hour ago, might become Paramount's most critically acclaimed film in recent years.

However, what drew Lu Ze's attention to this film was not Paramount Pictures, but the film itself. It was a remake of a novel by an Italian named Giovanni Boccaccio.

Yes, the film he adapted is the one that was once ranked alongside Dante's "Divine Comedy" and called the "Human Comedy," the first great work of realism in European literary history.

The Decameron.

"..."

(End of this chapter)