Global Film Emperor

Chapter 555 Return
"Sir, our flight is about to land. Please fasten your seatbelt and refrain from using your headphones for the time being. May I have the blanket for you? Have a pleasant journey."

The blonde, blue-eyed flight attendant half-squatted beside him and gently touched Lu Ze's arm to wake him up. After a brief exchange, Lu Ze watched the flight attendant's departing figure, rubbed his eyes, and tried to shake off the lingering drowsiness.

A dozen minutes later, after going through a series of procedures such as shuttle bus and baggage claim, when I walked out of John Lennon Airport, the gray and gloomy sky gave me the illusion that I couldn't distinguish between day and night. Soon after, a breeze began to rise, and the earthy smell that could be smelled before a rainstorm entered my nostrils.

Wang Zixuan came to pick him up at the airport, but after passing through the city center, she got out of the car first and returned to the agency to handle Lu Ze's recent business collaborations, while Lu Ze returned alone to his base camp.

After passing through the relatively bustling city center and the dilapidated suburban housing areas, the traffic on the narrow opposing lanes gradually thinned out, and eventually only a few vehicles would intersect with Lu Ze.

Raindrops fell, yet they slowly chased after the car from behind. This long chase finally ended with the defeat of the dark clouds, with Lu Ze reaching the finish line first.

"Mr. Lu, it's been a long time. How was your vacation?"

The old man in the mailroom still maintained the attire of an old British gentleman. Even though the fabric of his shirt and vest wasn't high-end, and the stitching and buttons weren't exactly exquisite, the white-bearded old man still exuded an elegant air that came with the passage of time. Upon seeing Lu Ze, he quickly came out of the room and the two shook hands.

"Not bad, how about you?"

After Lu Ze asked a question, Jill's expression was a little strange. She pursed her lips, clicked her tongue, took a deep breath, shrugged, and then performed a classic white man's smooth little combo.

"Tsk~ To be honest... it's hard to comment, especially on Mickey, you know what I mean."

Even though he's old and they're very familiar with each other, you can't just casually complain about your boss in the UK, let alone in front of Lu Ze, the company's second boss. But no matter how subtle it was, could Lu Ze not get it? He nodded with a smile and replied, "I understand. It seems he's caused you a lot of trouble lately. Where is he?"

"museum."

"I'll head over now, we'll talk about Jill later."

After waving goodbye, Lu Ze walked around the corridor to the back door. The museum Jill mentioned was the small building where the company stored its photography equipment. If all the equipment inside were exhibited, it wouldn't be difficult to establish a film museum. As he pushed open the door, the central air conditioning brought warm air, and the shouting and yelling inside also reached Lu Ze's ears.

The sound came from the third floor. There were many flight cases in the corridor, with several people sitting on them. They were all from the props team, chatting in twos and threes. When they saw Lu Ze coming, they quickly got up to greet him.

After responding, Lu Ze turned his gaze to the room, where a set was being set up. It was a somewhat shabby living room with a worn-out, cracked brown leather sofa and a cheap, yellowed carpet covered in dust. Several cups of steaming coffee sat on the coffee table, but this was probably not a prop. The LCD TV, at least from the early 2000s, was playing a copied talk show, but there was no sound.

The room was cluttered with many items, but surprisingly, it was organized and didn't look messy. The prop team was still tidying up and setting up, further enhancing the room's living atmosphere. Mickey and Kesha, however, were standing by the sofa, their eyes fixed on the floor lamp beside them, whispering to each other.

Where is Zhuang Yu?

Seeing that the two hadn't noticed him, Lu Ze spoke up himself. Kesha looked at Lu Ze, chuckled, and patted Mickey next to him.

"Dave, the zombies are coming."

Mickey chuckled at this, but didn't respond. He took out a cigarette case from his pocket, tossed it to Lu Ze, and replied, "Looking at resumes in the office. How was your trip home?"

"It feels so good to hear my parents scolding you, I really want to record a video of it."

"It's normal to sacrifice for art. You should talk to them and give them some advice. Otherwise, you'll offend me and suffer even more in the future."

Mickey turned his back again, bent over and looked up, his hands busy inside the lampshade. Lu Ze kicked him in the butt, but he wasn't angry. He didn't even turn his head, just patted his butt and went back to his work.

"Why did you leave the casting to Zhuang Yu? What? You feel your judgment is lacking and you're going to relinquish control?" Lu Ze sat on the sofa, picking out some sponge crumbs from the cracks in the sofa with his fingers. After clapping his hands to shake them off, he looked at Mickey and noticed that he had a very narrow strip of transparent tape around his wrist. Mickey was tearing off a strip, biting it off with his teeth, and sticking it inside the lamp.

“Delegating authority is impossible, but he wants to do the casting, so I’m at ease leaving it to him. I’ll only cast you as the actor; as for the others, I trust Zhuang Yu’s judgment. Kesha, turn on the power.”

Kesha plugged in the power, and the desk lamp turned on. The light was very dim, so dim that even on a cloudy day like this, it was difficult to find the light source projected by the desk lamp on the sofa. Lu Ze was sitting on the other side of the sofa. After taking a closer look, he found that the projection distance of the light was unexpectedly short, only illuminating less than half of the sofa. He reached out and touched it. His skin tone and brightness were basically unchanged under the light. This piqued Lu Ze's interest. He leaned over and looked inside the desk lamp. He found that there was something like a mesh stuck inside, but the holes were much denser than those of a mesh. The light did not appear as a grid.

"I told you it's something that can be done for a few dollars, but you're being stubborn. Is there any difference between this lighting and a custom-made one? Why is he charging me seven hundred? Does he think I'm a sucker?"

Mickey waved his hand under the light, opened his palm, and looked at Kesha with an unfriendly expression.

So you're trying to say I'm a sucker, huh?

"More or less, or to put it more bluntly, that would be more accurate."

Mickey casually tossed the tape onto the table, picked up his coffee, and sat down next to Lu Ze. Only then did he have time to look Lu Ze up and down, his gaze scrutinizing, but a hint of mockery on his lips.

"Minister Lu got promoted and went home for the holidays, but didn't he think of bringing me any gifts? He could have given me a red envelope instead. It seems there's still an irreconcilable rift between us."

"If you kowtow to me, I'll wrap it up for you."

"Heh, heh... Run the wire around the back panel of the cabinet, don't go underneath! Don't hammer nails up there! See if the tape can stick."

After reminding Mickey of the props' placement, he downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp, then picked up the cigarette Lu Ze hadn't lit earlier from the table, took a drag, flicked the ash into the paper cup, and suddenly looked somewhat melancholy as he spoke.

"This mission is very urgent. We only have five months. After filming is finished... you can take a short vacation."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ze frowned. The timeframe was too short—five months for a single film, especially with the cast yet to be finalized and the location not yet coordinated. Various unforeseen issues were bound to arise during filming, and short breaks for negotiation were frequent occurrences. Most importantly, the actors needed time to gel. Completing a film in five months was truly difficult. However, since Mickey had set a five-month deadline, he must have his reasons. Lu Ze didn't immediately dismiss Mickey's decision.

"Are they putting pressure on them?"

"Yes, I'm going to Hollywood in five months."

"Oh, he's going to be a director in Hollywood, that's great!"

Mickey took a deep drag on his cigarette, listening to Lu Ze's teasing. Actually, it wasn't quite right to call it teasing, since he had genuinely aspired to be a famous Hollywood director when he was young, and he hadn't given up on his ambition until now. But he never expected to fulfill his long-cherished wish in this way. He turned his head, looked at Lu Ze, and suddenly smiled.

"At the current pace, I'm not even confident that I can finish a film that I'm satisfied with in five months. You, on the other hand, have confidence in me. But there is some good news I have to tell you."

"what?"

"I'm going to take 'Nothing to Hear' to the Oscars."

"..."

(End of this chapter)