Global Film Emperor

Chapter 541 Variety Show Premieres

On the way back, Lu Ze didn't talk to him much. The car gradually drove through the bustling streets and slowly weaved through the wealthy area. Fatini was very quiet, just smoking one cigarette after another.

Upon arriving at the residence, Lu Ze got out of the car, lightly resting his arm on the window. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Let me think about it some more."

He didn't answer, just waved his hand. The driver gently released the brakes, and the wheels slowly rolled forward.

Watching the taillights of the departing car, Lu Ze lightly patted the dust off his suit jacket wrist, turned around, and walked through the gate.

He understands how agonizing this pain is, especially when what you love never accepts you. Unrelenting effort, selfless dedication, yet still limited by talent, you realize that all your time, energy, and even money are wasted. No matter how good the equipment or how much passion you have, you can't match even a fraction of a genius's dedication. Your own brilliance is overshadowed by the brilliance of those with talent. Even though you never crave competition, you always inexplicably lose in unintentional comparisons.

Even if you muster the courage again, grit your teeth and persevere with the belief of never giving up, and yearn to become as clear-headed and skillful as a genius, not seeking to surpass others, but only to follow in their footsteps, you will always find yourself in a blank state of mind that you have not even been able to follow in their footsteps.

This doesn't bring a sense of powerlessness or defeat, but rather a kind of loneliness—a loneliness of stagnation, like the loneliness of being the only one down on one's luck at an old classmate reunion. This inevitably leads to a denial of one's entire life. Even a wealthy old-money like Fatini, upon realizing that he has mediocre talent in the things he loves, or even in his beloved career, may sigh with a sense of "this life is meaningless."

This is the hardest hurdle to overcome, a hurdle that one may never be able to overcome in their lifetime, a hurdle that one will still wake up from nightmares with a sigh even in their old age. There is only one solution: give up, recognize that you have no achievements, no talent, no ability, and that there is no possibility of ever breaking through to the top.

Fatini is alright, after all, he has money, family support, and his own career. He can always find his own strengths on another path and become a goal that others yearn to pursue but can never catch up with. Even if he is not happy on that path, he can still find the value of self-awareness in the confidence that makes him stand out from others.

The difficulty lies with ordinary people.

A truly meaningless life.

Strolling through the lush greenery of the Fatini estate, with the chirping of insects, it felt like being back home at night when I closed my eyes. I glanced at the time; it was almost 1 a.m. No wonder I was feeling sleepy. I yawned and took off my coat, tucking it under my arm as I walked. The weariness made even lifting my feet a bit of a struggle. I didn't stop until I saw the lights were still on inside. I opened the door and saw Wang Zixuan sitting on the sofa, typing on her laptop. I asked her a question with some surprise.

"Still not asleep?"

After all, Lu Ze is the only artist under her management. Compared to other busy agents, Wang Zixuan's life is much easier. Lu Ze is also laid-back, which means she doesn't have much work. She has about 120 days off a year. Apart from negotiating a few business deals, she accompanies Lu Ze to work and acts as his assistant under the guise of an agent.

"Yeah, the variety show is about to start, I want to watch it, Lu Ge from Eleme."

"Somewhat."

He touched his stomach and found that his abdomen was somewhat sunken when he stood up. There were also obvious marks on his ribs when he wasn't stretching. This was the result of dieting and training. He pinched the fat on his stomach. Losing weight too quickly inevitably leaves skin behind. Fortunately, Lu Ze wasn't fat before, so the skin didn't sag. He could just pull it out with a light tug.

He sat down on the sofa, leaning back against the armrest, his legs crossed in a somewhat alluring manner. Wang Zixuan pursed her lips, got up, went to the kitchen, cut some fruit and cucumbers, placed them on the coffee table, and turned on the TV. She cleared the messages on her phone and tossed it aside, forcing herself to straighten up and pick up a cucumber strip, popping it into her mouth to chew. The cool texture was decent, but the flavor was far too bland. But there was nothing she could do; the banquet after the press conference would inevitably involve drinking, and tonight she had lost the right to eat cucumbers with low-fat sauce. She swallowed the food before speaking.

"I had completely forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it. It's airing tonight."

Wang Zixuan, sitting next to Lu Ze, felt slightly helpless and gave him a knowing look. She had reminded him this morning, but Lu Ze hadn't listened at all.

This can also be seen as taking care of Lu Ze's time. Unlike other variety shows that aim to quickly raise funds and catch up with the schedule of other shows, "Actor's Diary" did not choose to film two episodes and then broadcast them simultaneously to keep up with the real-time popularity.

Instead, they chose to broadcast the film after all the shooting was completed. After all, Lu Ze was quite busy at this time. He had finished filming one movie but hadn't even released it yet, and he had already started raising funds and preparing for the start of production for his next project. He might get called away at any time, and it would be abroad, which is not as convenient as in China. In order to avoid scheduling conflicts, they had no choice but to choose this filming method. Fortunately, the other three mentors were not busy. Two of them had already retired and were enjoying their retirement, and one of them was just sitting at home doing nothing. They were very considerate of Lu Ze's schedule. If it were a mentor who was equally busy, this matter would not have been so easy to handle.

However, this is good news for both the trainees and the production teams that recruited them. Now, all the trainees who were supposed to join the production teams have joined, and those who were ahead in their schedules (with fewer scenes) have even finished filming. By airing the show now, they have actually gained the most attention.

The program airs every Friday at 7:30 PM, simultaneously on television and an app. The program had already started when Wang Zixuan cast her screen to the TV and turned on the real-time bullet comments. The number of bullet comments was already quite high, indicating that CCTV's promotional efforts were substantial. Unlike variety shows featuring young idols, there weren't the constant stream of supportive and contentious comments like "I'm here for XXX" or "XXX is so ugly." Instead, most of the bullet comments were from students at various art colleges, expressing slight resentment such as "Teachers at XXX school forced me to watch" and "I'm here to study at XXX performing arts college."

After a twenty-odd seconds of thank-you notes to the sponsors, the show officially began. The mentors appeared in order of age and length of their acting careers. The first thing we saw was two veteran mentors enjoying their retirement at home, and discussing their preferences for selecting trainees based on specific strengths.

Then there's a certain young heartthrob from 20 years ago who has gained a lot of weight and developed a chubby face. Under the 4:3 aspect ratio, his face, which wasn't bad-looking even when he was this fat, is now grotesque.

The two predecessors were leisurely at home growing flowers and vegetables, living a peaceful and serene life. But when it came to him, he was picking up his son from school, delivering meals to his wife, and helping students rehearse stage plays. Suddenly, the atmosphere of daily life came alive. The comments on the screen weren't actually that harsh, but there were still a few sarcastic remarks. I guess if someone were to read the comments right now, their blood pressure would probably skyrocket.

Then, the scene shifts to the bustling Daxing Airport. There are many pedestrians, but it doesn't look chaotic. Occasionally, someone looks at the camera with curiosity, and every now and then, a few people wave at the camera and then hurry away. These meaningless scenes that shouldn't have appeared in the program were retained, which actually improved the viewing experience. The scene became more vivid, and the story was integrated into life, rather than just providing a dazzling entrance for the mentors.

A voice-over comes on; it's the program's producer.

"They've landed! They've landed! Lift it up!"

Not far away, the baggage carousel started to turn. The camera moved to the left to film. The male PD next to him was holding a whiteboard. When the whiteboard was facing down, the words could not be seen. It wasn't until the tall male PD held the whiteboard high that only two words were revealed on it.

Lu Ze.

"..."

(End of this chapter)