Global Film Emperor

Chapter 525 Student Assignment Trailer Released
"No, let's start over. If you don't meet my standards today, everyone stays and no one leaves. We'll all stay with you. If you're so shameless, we can practice with you until tomorrow and start over."

"teacher……"

"Read!"

In the meeting room arranged by the production team, Lu Ze sat on the sofa, looking at Wu Chun, the youngest girl, with a somewhat oppressive gaze. The little girl, who had just turned eighteen and was only three months old, was frightened. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she pouted. She picked up her textbook with a trembling voice, but she couldn't read a single word for a long time while sobbing.

The other three students grabbed stools and sat by the window to cool off in the natural breeze. There was no air conditioning in the room, and it wasn't very big. Plus, they were nervous, so they started sweating easily. Although they had textbooks in their hands, they would occasionally glance at Wu Chun, who was standing as punishment. They thought about how they had barely managed to pass Lu Ze's test, and now their calves were clenching.

Through these few days of interaction, they discovered that Lu Ze's true personality was not as amiable and humorous as he appeared on the first day. Rather, he was more serious and strict with his work than most people, naturally principled, competitive, and unwilling to lose to others in terms of work ability.

In his personal life, he is easygoing, tolerant, and generous. However, once he enters work mode, he is completely different from his easygoing nature in life. He must make sure that he is satisfied with things he is not satisfied with, and the word "compromise" does not exist in his dictionary.

This is also why Lu Ze has always had a bad relationship with his partners. They are "difficult" to work by Lu Ze, and it is difficult for them to change their attitude and greet him with a smile after work. If Lu Ze were not extremely capable at work, good at talking in life, and had made many friends with similar personalities, he probably would not have a social circle.

Even in his teaching work, even though it was just a variety show and not a real class taught by Lu Ze, he still taught his students with an extremely serious attitude.

Of course, no one would hire Lu Ze to teach, since he had neither attended university nor held a teaching certificate; if reported, he would be teaching without a license...

In the past few days, Lu Ze has been leading the four students in basic dialogue training classes, also wanting to assess their foundation. After all, the performances in the selection competition have definitely undergone intensive training, and their true abilities may not be as shown in the selection competition. However, it's alright; all four have a solid foundation. Apart from Wu Chun, who just entered university and whose Mandarin is not up to standard, there are no fatal weaknesses.

However, Wu Chun's inability to distinguish between Q and X really annoyed Lu Ze. After emphasizing it once, there was no problem the first time, but if he wasn't careful, she would relapse when reading another essay, which made Lu Ze's blood pressure rise from time to time.

Seeing Wu Chun's tearful appearance, the other trainees had no intention of laughing at her. In the past few days, the four of them had been scolded by Lu Ze quite a bit. The girl was okay, at most she would copy it dozens of times, but when the two boys made a mistake, Lu Ze didn't care whether the camera caught it or not, he would make them jump rope a hundred times or more.

During this time, a director came over to advise Lu Ze that corporal punishment of students was inappropriate, but before Lu Ze could say anything, the students persuaded him to go back. They had finally been able to learn from Lu Ze for two days, and Lu Ze punishing them proved that he was teaching them seriously. They would accept jumping rope a thousand or eight hundred times a day. It was good for them to improve their memory and get some exercise. It would be really foolish to agree with the director and protest against corporal punishment.

After several more rounds of criticism, perhaps because she was already overwhelmed by the problems, Wu Chun, while crying, secretly glanced at her older brother and sister, who were all huddled up like quails, and suddenly burst out laughing. Gradually, her tense emotions relaxed, and she became indifferent to Lu Ze's criticism, even though she had corrected her accent today.

"It's alright, you didn't make me wait until the afternoon."

After reading a prose piece of over four hundred words aloud with great emotion, and hearing Lu Ze's indifferent response, Wu Chun breathed a sigh of relief and made a peace sign to her older brothers and sisters, who responded with a thumbs-up.

Looking at the time, he realized that the morning class was going to be a little later than expected, but he still had time. He slung his bag over his shoulder, grabbed his car keys, and watched as the four students excitedly discussed what to eat for lunch to recover their energy. Lu Ze sat coldly at the corner of the table, watching the four of them and letting out a soft snort, which made them tremble.

"I'm sorry, Wu Chun took up your time today and disrupted my schedule. No one will have lunch today."

"Why……?"

"No reason needed, just go downstairs, get in the car, and come with me."

"Teacher, are we participating in a competitive variety show...?"

It was now break time, and Peng Kuo, that talkative kid, dared to spout some nonsense. But as soon as he said it, Lu Ze silenced him with a glare. The others didn't dare to groan and dejectedly got into Lu Ze's car.

As the car drove along, two sharp-eyed locals from Beijing noticed that it was heading towards the CBD. The passenger flow was quite high at this time of day, and there was some congestion. While waiting for the car, Lu Ze looked at Xiao Ju sitting in the back seat, smiled mysteriously, and said, "Xiao Ju."

"Hey, teacher."

How much money do you have left in your pocket?

This was the first time Lu Ze had talked about money. The contract stated that food and lodging were included, and Lu Ze would also pay for the next meal at a restaurant. The sudden discussion about money made the four of them a little curious, wondering what kind of bad idea Lu Ze was up to.

"I still have a little over three hundred yuan left, and seven or eight thousand yuan in my phone. Teacher, are you...?"

"Ah, put the cash in the bag for me. Send the money in your phone to your parents. Empty all the money on you. I'll check each card one by one later. Oh, and Xiao Peng and Xiao Chen, empty your money too."

Although they didn't know what Lu Ze was planning, they seemed to understand something from the car's security camera. Although they had some thoughts of hiding some money, they didn't dare to do it. After emptying all the money, sure enough, Lu Ze sent text messages to check the balance of each card until he confirmed that the three of them were indeed penniless. Just then, they arrived at the Guomao business district.

After driving into the SOHO underground parking lot and finding a parking space, Lu Ze took out a brown paper document bag from the glove compartment and handed it to Ju Yulin.

Xiao Ju took the envelope with both hands, squeezed it, and noticed something thicker at the bottom, but no more than five centimeters long. She looked at Lu Ze with suspicion, and after receiving confirmation from him, she gently opened it and glanced inside. The most obvious thing at the bottom was a pink wallet, made of smooth leather, the kind that costs around ten yuan.

"We might have to part ways for a while now, Xiao Ju. You have to go to work later, right? Don't stay up too late, okay?"

Ju Yulin understood. After all, she had already received the script and knew what role she was going to play, but the suddenness of it still caught her off guard, and she stammered in response.

"Teacher, I don't know anything about how to work..."

"It's alright. Your boss, Mr. Zhao, is my buddy. When you come to work this afternoon, remember to look for Director Meng in the planning department. He'll show you around. Remember to pick up your uniform, your employee ID, and your time card are all in the file. Oh, and the key to your 10-square-meter luxury apartment in Building 23, Unit 1, Room 402 of XX Community in Mentougou is also in there. Clothes and toiletries are included. If you can't find it, remember to use navigation. You still have 952.08 yuan in your wallet. You'll get paid on the 14th of this month, but you were two days late, so you'll probably have some deducted. Remember to pay the rent on the 17th. It's 1,500 yuan a month, payable quarterly. The water, electricity, broadband, and gas bills are also overdue. Don't be silly and pay them yourself. Remember to split the bill with your roommate. Work hard, and ask Director Meng to mentor you more often. Oh, your mother's here. Get out of the car."

This series of blows not only stunned Xiao Ju, but also panicked everyone else. They secretly cursed themselves for not holding back some resources. If Xiao Ju, who acts in family dramas, is in such a state, how could they possibly fare well? Especially Chen Dongsheng, who was supposed to be in "Poor Village," which might very well end up in the Northwest!

At this moment, a simply dressed middle-aged woman walked to the car and gently knocked on the back window. Lu Ze rolled down the window, and the woman, holding onto the window, gently patted Ju Yulin's shoulder with her deliberately dirty hand.

"Xiao Lin, come down quickly, Mom wants to talk to you about something."

"Huh? Mom?"

"Isn't she your mother?"

"no……"

Ju Yulin was on the verge of tears. Seeing this miserable life about to begin, she instinctively wanted to refuse. But Lu Ze was no devil after all. He simply turned around, leaned against the headrest of the car seat with one hand, and shook his head at Ju Yulin with a smile.

"No, she is your mother."

……

Ju Yulin left, her heels barely touching the ground, swaying in the wind and rain, led by her "mother," slowly moving away from the sight of everyone in the car. Behind her, the photographer, unable to contain his smile, gave Lu Ze a thumbs-up and hurried to catch up. If it weren't for the image stabilization on his equipment, the footage for this episode would probably be ruined.

"Jiang Fang is a veteran actress, much better than you guys."

The passengers were stunned. Their mouths opened and closed, but they couldn't utter a word for a long time. Lu Ze put on his sunglasses and set off again. The next stop was... the Imperial Capital Railway Station.

Along the way, no one spoke. Xiao Peng, being bold, tried to secretly take back his little treasure from the armrest box, but Lu Ze slapped him away. When they arrived at their destination, Lu Ze led the three of them out of the car. In the parking lot, the film crew's camera car was already in place. Lu Ze took out two gray snakeskin bags from the trunk and gave one to Xiao Peng and one to Xiao Chen.

"You two get in the car, change your clothes, and pack these clothes to take home."

"Teacher, just give us a heads-up, where are we going?"

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up. The car will leave in less than an hour. If it leaves, you two will have to walk."

He kicked Xiao Peng and shoved him into the filming vehicle. Xiao Chen followed, and the two of them occasionally complained and shouted in the car, but Lu Ze scolded them back. After a full five minutes, a pair of feet wearing white Abibasi sneakers finally touched the ground.

Wearing a t-shirt, gray striped pants, and Adidas shoes, Xiao Peng didn't show the slightest dissatisfaction on his face. Instead, he looked quite satisfied. This wasn't surprising, because behind him was Xiao Chen, wearing a faded red tank top, camouflage cargo pants covered in yellow mud, and yellow rubber shoes.

"Laughing?"

"Haha, am I not much happier than Dong Sheng?"

Ignoring Chen Dongsheng's resentful expression behind him, Peng Kuo's face was practically overflowing with satisfaction, while Lu Ze gave a forced, insincere reply.

"Your shoes are smelly. I specifically bought them for smelly feet. You don't even need to take them off; the smell of your stinky feet can waft out. But I'm sorry, you only have this one pair of shoes. Remember to wash your feet frequently, or you might get athlete's foot."

Xiao Peng's smile vanished. After Chen Dongsheng took a few steps back and kept his distance, Xiao Peng felt completely numb. On the other hand, Wu Chun, who was watching the spectacle, laughed uproariously. However, he quickly stopped laughing when he thought about his uncertain future.

"Come on, let's split the tickets. This is yours, Xiao Peng, and this is Xiao Chen's. It's getting late, let's go. Get along well with the cameraman."

With two ordinary express train tickets, one to Shenzhen and the other to Dunhuang, the two men understood their destinations and quietly put the tickets in their pockets, preparing to leave with their snakeskin bags.

"Wait a minute, Xiao Peng."

"What's wrong, teacher? Have you changed your mind and don't want me to go?"

"Hehe, how could that be? I just wanted to give you something."

Lu Ze turned on the car, took a bag of medicine and handed it to Xiao Peng. He opened it and found some vitamin tablets inside, nothing else.

"I saw your WeChat Moments, don't you like NetEase Cloud Music? Go to Sanhe this time and experience the real 'depressing culture'. 'Hanging-up' noodles aren't nutritious, eat more vitamins to stay healthy. Good luck! Also, don't sell your ID card!" "Okay, thanks."

With his blood pressure skyrocketing, Peng Kuo forced a smile, carrying a bag of nutritional supplements, and walked arm in arm with Chen Dongsheng, who had a very punk-style look, through security.

"Teacher, then I..."

Watching the two enter the station, the lonely Wu Chun cautiously looked up at Lu Ze and asked about her future plans. Lu Ze didn't speak at first, but got on the car. Wu Chun followed, and the car continued to drive. After a while, Lu Ze finally spoke.

"You should stay with me."

"Really? That's great! I thought I was going to volunteer at a school for disabled children or go to school there."

The little girl was happy, clapping her hands and cheering, relieved that she didn't have to leave familiar people to live in an unfamiliar environment for a period of time, which would be terrifying enough for a girl who lacks a sense of security.

"I still have to go, but I have to go too. Here, take this. Go back to the hotel and rest today. Memorize this and you'll need it tomorrow."

A thick stack of papers was thrown to Wu Chun; they were all scripts, all of which had been shown in theaters. Wu Chun glanced at them and realized they were all classic comedies.

"Teacher, what are we going to do?"

"Go to a school for disabled children and make sound films."

"Oh well."

The little girl's attention was unlikely to stay on this thick stack of scripts, all of which she had read before. After flipping through them for only a few minutes, she quietly picked up her phone and started fiddling with it. Seeing that Lu Ze didn't say anything, she became even more blatant.

As Lu Ze turned right, he glanced at the rearview mirror on the right side, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over her phone screen. She was chatting with someone, and they seemed to be having a lively conversation.

"Are you in love?"

"Where can I find it..."

Perhaps due to strict family upbringing, this topic immediately perked Wu Chun up, and she hurriedly denied it with a slightly flushed face. However, after denying it, she quietly added a sentence.

"I'd like to..."

"Really? What kind of girl do you like? You can talk about it when you go to college. If you know anyone good, let Xiao Ju introduce you to someone."

Wu Chun looked at Lu Ze and saw that he was staring intently ahead, focused on driving, and didn't seem to be joking. After thinking it over, she shook her head.

"He must be handsome, preferably mature enough to pamper and take care of me. But I won't go with Sister Ju's introduction. I don't really like long-distance relationships and I lack confidence in myself."

"Just someone handsome is fine?"

"Definitely not, but handsome is always better."

"You just want to be a little princess, to be pampered by everyone?"

"Yeah, he's good to me, so I can be good to him. If he doesn't pamper me, why should I spoil him? Everyone's a baby at heart, right? I don't care how much money he has, I just want to find someone who's good to me but not too much, right?"

"Not too much."

The car window was lowered slightly, and Lu Ze took a cigarette from the armrest and lit it. The bluish smoke was carried out of the car by the gentle breeze. His eyes behind his sunglasses saw the blue sky, and the smoke that had briefly lingered inside the car disappeared into his filtered eyes.

"Let's not talk about the recording process of the show."

"I know the teacher, but I don't tell anyone."

"Ah That's good."

"Then why did you ask that, teacher?"

"I just feel that if you use this as a condition when dating, no matter who you date, you will easily end up disappointed."

"why do you say so?"

"Try taking care of people first. It's a different feeling. The premise is not to rush and to find a good person."

"I don't quite understand."

She looked at her phone, then at Lu Ze. The chat history was still growing, but she had no interest in continuing the conversation. After giving a brief reply, seeing that Lu Ze didn't respond, she turned her head, her hair supporting her head, and rested it against the car window, gazing into the distance.

……

It was already six o'clock in the evening when I got back to my master's house. It was long past my master's dinner time, so I went to the kitchen and picked up some leftovers. I didn't dare to eat too much. This morning, I weighed exactly sixty-two kilograms, which was a little more than half a kilogram more than yesterday. The food here at my master's house is too good. Even though I have strong self-control, I can't help but eat a few more bites.

The master's wife was going to reheat the food for Lu Ze, but there was really no need to reheat such a small amount of food. After finishing his meal, he wiped his mouth, ate some nutritional supplements, and then sat in the courtyard. He poured a cup of tea for his master and chatted with the old man.

It's autumn now. The days aren't cold, but the temperature difference between day and night is large. The old locust tree in the yard is starting to decline again, its leaves turning yellow from the base. It's just like a child who, when it reaches the stage of turning yellow, has to say goodbye to the tree that nurtured it. With a gust of wind in its ear, it leaves in a hurry, rushing to the embrace of the solid earth. Even if it's the tree's favorite child, no matter how thick or strong, when the time comes, it has to go. It can't be kept. Oh... what are you thinking?

Using a tree as a metaphor for a person, it's best not to think about unrelated things. Seeing the old man looking dazed, his body swaying with the rocking of the recliner, not saying a word, and not knowing what to do, Lu Ze got up and took a large bamboo broom to sweep the fallen leaves on the ground. Sweeping is a kind of white noise, which has a slightly hypnotic effect. Before Lu Ze could gather the fallen leaves together, he heard the old man's light snoring, so he had to give up, picked up his teacup, sat back down, and followed the gentle breeze to gaze at the golden-red sunset, taking a sip from time to time.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, he was woken up by his phone notification. Lu Ze quickly muted it and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the old man was still asleep. He went back to the room, gestured to the housekeeper to cover the old man with another blanket, and hurriedly went upstairs to call back the phone that had already been hung up.

"it's me."

"The trailer has been released."

It was Fatini calling. Lu Ze answered and said he received it. He had been notified that the trailer would be released soon, and Lu Ze had been waiting for it. After hanging up, he went online and opened Twitter. Sure enough, he received a @ from someone he was following. He retweeted it first and then read the comments below. Lu Ze really didn't expect that just seven minutes after the trailer was released, he had already become the last of the main actors to retweet it.

Scrolling through the comments below, there weren't many people. So far, most of them were reposts from official accounts of companies or individuals doing business with Fatini, and they didn't attract much attention from casual viewers. After all, it's a film by a new director. Although the pre-release publicity was quite high, the level of attention wasn't created solely through public relations. Most films that generate unprecedented buzz before release usually have a cast that audiences are familiar with, or they rely on riding on certain trending topics to attract attention, or even a combination of both. However, "Atonement" doesn't meet these requirements.

This is also a key reason why many big-name films and television series are not well-known, and why they only become hits after their release.

I browsed through the comments from passersby, and they either said that the trailer was good, but they couldn't understand why an Asian was chosen as the main character, or they were blunt and said that casting an Asian actor meant the box office would not be high.

However, some casual viewers and professional film critics who have seen Lu Ze's movies still offer praise and make comments like "I'll definitely buy a ticket." This is because when they examine Lu Ze's work with a professional eye, they know perfectly well that this Asian actor's acting ability is at the very top of the acting industry globally, and may even be among the top three.

So much so that Lu Ze's fans are still making solemn promises that even if it's a bad movie, as long as Lu Ze is a member of the cast, the bad movie can be turned into a miracle. He is the new era's reputation guarantee.

Asian directors and actors can also gain a foothold in the European and American markets, such as Akira Kurosawa, Jackie Chan, and so on... right? All you have to do is be better than Europeans and Americans.

Refreshing the page only revealed more arguments about whether Lu Ze was suitable for the lead role. There was no point in watching such pointless things, and he had already seen the trailer. So he turned off his phone, picked up a book, and started reading on the bed, waiting for drowsiness to wash over him and relieve his fatigue from the day.

……

"Huh? It's been sent?"

7:30 a.m., in a residential community in Beijing.

Lu Bo had just arrived home, washed his hands, and was about to eat. He had been very busy with work lately. The National Day holiday was just over a month away, and all sorts of big-budget films were eager to make a fortune in theaters. Naturally, there would be fierce competition in the early publicity. He had to outdo his competitors no matter what to gain attention and earn high box office returns.

As a result, film critics like Lu Bo, who primarily use social media and have a considerable number of followers, naturally became sought-after by major film studios, leading to an explosive increase in advertising placement fees.

If the major film release periods are a feast for film industry giants, then film critics will enjoy a lavish meal on the eve of those periods. What used to be a 3,000 yuan advertising fee can now be at least 50,000 yuan. Film critics or content creators with larger fan bases can earn several times that amount. Even so, film industry giants will still fight tooth and nail for film critic resources. It's easy to imagine how busy and fruitful this harvest season is.

His early return home tonight was just a stolen moment of leisure after submitting and getting his manuscript approved. It allowed him to spend time at home playing with his son and cooking with his wife, which was quite enjoyable.

I had just connected to the internet and was about to eat while keeping up with the latest news in the international film industry when my phone beeped. I saw it was a trailer for "Atonement" that Lu Ze's account had shared, so I forgot about my meal and hurriedly opened the message.

After going full screen, I placed the phone horizontally on the table, propping it against a bowl. I clasped my hands together, begging for forgiveness from my glaring wife. The video loaded, and after a brief period of darkness, a pool of water slowly appeared on the screen, with fish swimming in it. The camera tilted upwards, and the water reflected the underwater scenery, making the fish appear even more numerous. Finally, the fish stopped swimming and slowly formed golden words.

Gambiano Pictures.

"..."

(End of this chapter)