Global Film Emperor

Chapter 102 Celebration Banquet

"Brother Lu, please have a seat."

"Would you like some water, Brother Lu? Let me pour you a glass."

The trainees in the company are all quite adept at currying favor. Because Lu Ze has indeed gained some fame, they are even more attentive to him.

However, they still couldn't understand that even if they served Lu Ze perfectly, Lu Ze couldn't help them. He had no right to let them debut directly. And after they debuted, would Lu Ze promote them? They were all artists in the same company, so he would definitely help them, but Lu Ze's help was limited.

"Jenny, you're back too? How's filming going? Are you tired?"

Lu Ze sat next to Li Jianni. He hadn't heard anything about her coming back today, so he was a little surprised. He took a sip of the water the trainee handed him and asked...

"It's alright, not too tiring, just various things to do."

She phrased it somewhat vaguely, but Lu Ze understood that most film crews were rife with worn-out shoes and socks. This was only Li Jianni's third film, and this was probably the first time she had encountered such a situation.

The first drama was directed by Guo Mingde. Guo Mingde was a complete tyrant on set. If anyone dared to have any crooked ideas and delay the production schedule, Guo Mingde wouldn't care how good your relationship with him was in private. If you dared to mess around, he would deal with you.

Therefore, the production of "My Chief and My Regiment" proceeded smoothly, and no one dared to make any mistakes.

The second drama was "Forensic Doctor Qin Ming". Since it was their own production, if anyone dared to drag the show down, and Han Chen was dissatisfied, he would directly confront the higher-ups, and they would definitely be in deep trouble. So everyone worked together with one mind and one heart, and dared not slack off.

The third one is a romance drama with high viewership. The situation is probably similar to when Lu Ze filmed "The Capital Youth". Everyone is on the surface but they are scheming behind the scenes. This is not very friendly to a girl who has not yet graduated from university.

Seeing her gloomy expression, Lu Ze didn't say much. This was something she had to go through. It's impossible for a supporting actress to have a smooth career in every production. If she couldn't handle this, then it meant she wasn't suited for this industry.

Li Jianni didn't continue her story or complain to Lu Ze. It's a very important rule in the entertainment industry not to talk about others behind their backs. If she were to speak ill of someone behind their back and it got back to them, she, as a newcomer, couldn't afford to suffer the consequences.

For a moment, the two had nothing to talk about and just played on their phones until Zhang Haopeng arrived. The three of them had been working together for over a month, and because they were all on the same side, they got along very well, and their friendship was deeper than that of ordinary people in the industry.

I haven't seen Zhang Haopeng for over two months. He's lost some weight, I heard it's for the sake of the plot. He's been eating fruit every day to maintain his figure while filming in Xishuangbanna. It's tough on this man in his thirties.

In reality, Lu Ze and Zhang Haopeng talked more. Compared to Li Jianni, a girl who had just entered society and still needed her agent to guide her, the two mature men had more in common.

This relieved the trainees who arrived early, making them feel much more relaxed.

When only Li Jianni and Lu Ze were present, the two of them were silently playing on their phones, making the trainees afraid to speak loudly. Now that Lu Ze and Zhang Haopeng have started chatting, the trainees sitting in the lobby are able to laugh and talk with their friends.

"I heard you've taken on a new role. When does filming start?"

Fruit was laid out on the table. Lu Ze picked up a large cherry, popped it into his mouth, spat out the pit, and shook his head.

"I don't know yet, but it'll probably be soon. I'm waiting for news."

"Is it a movie?"

Lu Ze remained calm and didn't ask where he had heard the news. From the beginning, Zhang Haopeng had been trying to get information out of Lu Ze, as if he was very curious about Lu Ze's new movie.

In fact, Lu Ze could sense that he was somewhat unwilling, and it was directed at Lu Ze. Thinking about it, it makes sense. An actor in his thirties naturally has no resistance to appearing in movies. Perhaps appearing on the big screen is a very distant dream for Zhang Haopeng.

Lu Ze had nothing to hide and nodded in agreement. This made Li Jianni perk up her ears; she didn't know this news yet and was surprised that Lu Ze was getting a movie role so quickly. Lu Ze didn't want to say more about it, only briefly mentioning what kind of films he would be acting in, and then said nothing more.

Seeing that Lu Ze seemed unwilling to talk, Zhang Haopeng didn't ask any further questions. However, he was genuinely jealous of Lu Ze, jealous from the bottom of his heart.

When Han Chen and the company's senior executives arrived, it was already past six o'clock. Lu Ze, who treated the company as his own home, was already very familiar with them. He got up, greeted everyone, and sat down next to the senior executives to chat about miscellaneous matters.

This made the trainees and new actors very envious. This is the status of the veterans. Perhaps they will do better than Lu Ze in the future, but they will never be able to chat and laugh with these executives again.

When the company was desperately looking for an actor to debut, Lu Ze was the first to agree to sign with Qian Shijia, which is why Qian Shijia treated him like a treasure.

Nowadays, the company has signed quite a few actors, so the higher-ups have become less fond of their own artists and are already doing well if they can treat them all equally.

The banquet hall doors were pushed open again. Lu Ze glanced outside and saw that everyone had to stand up to welcome him. Their big boss, Hu Zhiguang, had also come to the celebration banquet. To be honest, Lu Ze had never expected him to come.

"Please have a seat, Mr. Hu."

The middle-aged handsome man smiled gently, patted Lu Ze on the shoulder, and sat down at the head of the first table. Looking at the team he had built over the past two years, he felt a little emotional.

Qian Shijia is not a company that has had a smooth journey. Its pressure does not come from the outside, but from within. As a veteran of Rongchuang, he has been following the old chairman since the 1990s to build the company. Now he can only leave the group to run a brokerage company. He knows that many old friends and rivals must be laughing all the way to the bank.

But he didn't regret it, nor did he feel ashamed, because he believed that as long as he did it, he could do it well, better than anyone else. He had that absolute confidence.

Two years later, he had 327 full-time employees, 152 trainees, and 17 officially debuted artists. This was his answer to himself after two years.

The waiters brought the dishes to the table, and the drinks were also fully served. After all the food and drinks were served, Hu Zhiguang poured himself a glass of baijiu and said to all the employees behind him.

"This is Qian Shijia's first celebration banquet, for the company's five heroes. The company's first investment, 35 million, I put it in, and now we've recouped the costs. The projected revenue is 80 million. It didn't disappoint me. Cheers!"

No long speeches, just concise and to the point. He says things like, "Let's eat and drink." That's Hu Zhiguang, a pragmatic boss who only talks about money and not dreams, but has a unique personal charm. He says he'll make you money, and you believe him and then just follow him.

The atmosphere was ignited, but the trainees could only miserably drink tea and eat delicious green vegetables. Even at the celebration banquet, they had to maintain their figures. If they gained two pounds from one meal, the physique teacher could make them sweat four pounds.

When the opportunity arose, Lu Ze stood up and toasted Hu Zhiguang and the other executives. It was, in fact, the first time they had ever drunk together.

Everyone gave Lu Ze face and drank with him whenever he was offered a toast. When it came to Hu Zhiguang, Hu Zhiguang drank with Lu Ze and then asked Lu Ze to sit next to him. This made everyone realize how much Hu Zhiguang valued Lu Ze.

"When Lao Guo introduced you to me, I knew you were a promising talent, but I really didn't expect you to make it in such a short time. A year, that's really fast. Lu Ze, you've really surprised me."

"It was also thanks to your help that I was still working as an extra in Hengdian without the company's support."

"No, you would succeed in any other company because you are more clear-headed and have a better plan than many people. You know what you should and shouldn't do, and you surpass many people in this respect."

Lu Ze didn't know how to respond, so he could only nod, toast Hu Zhiguang again, and remain silent.

Hu Zhiguang smiled and patted Lu Ze on the shoulder, like an elder watching a younger generation grow.

"I'll go back to the company tomorrow. I think we should talk about how to revise the contract. We should raise the threshold for C-level contracts."

(End of this chapter)