Global Film Emperor

Chapter 131 The Attitude of Movie Fans
Around 1 a.m., Lu Bo drove home from the movie theater. As an artsy young man, his usual drinks are either coffee or tea, which must be sophisticated and stylish.

After taking the coffee beans out of the glass cabinet and grinding them, I put them in the coffee machine but didn't rush to drink them. I took a shower first, then filled a cup with milk but no sugar.

He opened his laptop, put down his coffee cup, took the laptop out of his bag, and examined the results of his work today. After the premiere, he watched Mr. Tree twice more. Now, recalling it, every word Tree said and every turning point was deeply etched in his mind.

He was still experiencing the final scene of the movie, the image of the tree walking into the distance under the blood-red sky, which brought him a climax. That scene was not the climax of the plot, but the shock brought by the color to people.

I opened my notebook, created a new document on my computer, typed out my notes, gently stroked my beard, tapped the horizontal bar of my glasses with my middle finger, and began to try writing a review of this movie.

How many massive impacts are needed to destroy a person?

First, shatter his self-esteem in the outside world, make him introverted, cowardly, and make him feel that everyone outside looks down on him.

Second, destroy his position in the family, make him feel the coldness from the family, and completely lose someone to confide in.

Finally, it detonates the shadows and fears in his heart, making it difficult for a person not to go crazy.

This is not just the mental journey of a rural person driven mad by adversity, but a microcosm of many people being crushed by life, experiencing self-doubt after encountering setbacks. It's just that some people are lucky enough to receive encouragement from others and get back up after falling down.

Some people, however, continue to suffer from external and familial pressures after their failures, plunging them into an abyss forever.

When did Shu go mad? Perhaps it was when his younger brother beat him, or perhaps it was when he knelt down and apologized to Er Zhu.
At the end of the film, the tree's mother leaves in her brother's car. This may be a warning from director Zhuang Yu to the audience: when you give up on yourself, your family may also give up on you, leaving you in that forever cold place, hiding alone in the tree.

It cannot be denied that Zhuang Yu, as a new director and screenwriter, has given movie fans a huge surprise. Perhaps the film's editing and shooting techniques are still a bit immature, but the use of color and the design of the plot do have their own unique features.

And then there's Lu Ze, this 26-year-old newcomer actor who has been in the industry for just over a year. He really broke my previous impression of him in this movie. In my memory, he was just a poker face. Perhaps his delivery of lines was decent, but the rest of him was not worth mentioning.

But now, his progress is so great that it leaves me speechless. I still remember his twisted hands, his slurred speech, and the indifference he showed when he went mad at the end. I have to applaud him. At least for the role of Mr. Tree, I have to admit that I am his fan.

His dedication exceeded my expectations. Compared to actors who are now considered dedicated simply for not being late or leaving early, there's no comparison. Perhaps that's why he made such great progress in such a short time.

Finally, let me make a prediction: a dark horse has emerged at this year's film festival. In a year where art films are declining, "Hello, Mr. Tree" has a high chance of winning an award. Art film lovers who haven't seen this movie should definitely go and watch it.

After typing the last period, he glanced at the document and saw that he had written more than two thousand words. He looked up at the clock and realized it was already past three o'clock.

After posting the film review, he took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, poured out the now-cold coffee, brushed his teeth again, turned off the bedside lamp, turned to his side, and closed his eyes. Perhaps his sleep tonight wouldn't be so sweet.

Since the premiere at noon, comments about "Mr. Tree" have gradually started to appear on Douban. Some say they don't understand it, some say they don't like it, but most like it but dare not watch it again.

Indeed, the entire film becomes increasingly oppressive from beginning to end, and a movie without a moment of catharsis is naturally not liked by the vast majority of people.

The rating fluctuated because it was newly released and there were too few people using it. It reached a high of 9.5 and a low of 6.0. It only stabilized in the middle of the night when the number of active users decreased and the number of comments increased, and the rating stopped at 8.2.

Of course, as time goes on and more people rate it, the rating of this show will decrease, but at least it got off to a good start, didn't it?
Until after 2 a.m., the night owls who were still awake were still arguing in the group about whether "Mr. Tree" was good or bad, and each held their own opinion, engaging in a long discussion.

The majority of people who like this film are art-house enthusiasts, but there are also quite a few who dislike it or even criticize it. It is worth discussing by all art-house film lovers, unlike other art-house films produced by other directors this year, which were criticized as garbage as soon as they were released. In a sense, "Mr. Tree" has already succeeded.

Since the film's release, Lu Ze's Weibo follower count, which had been gradually declining, has begun to recover. Unlike the rapid increase during the Qin Ming era, the increase has been steady and genuine, much like Lu Ze himself, taking one step at a time and building a solid foundation.

Original fans like it quickly, but forget it just as quickly. Without Lu Ze's constant management and maintenance, they started to gradually lose fans after two or three months. This instability is due to their young age.

The new fans are much older than the original fans, mostly between twenty and forty years old. Fans in this age group don't have much popularity, unlike younger fans who like to grab comments, build threads, and check in for their idols online.

Older fans have jobs and lives, and some even have families and children, so they don't appear particularly fanatical; instead, they tend to be quite composed. However, because of their age, they have stronger financial capabilities. As long as they can afford it and it's worth the money, they won't mind spending money to support their favorite artists, such as taking their family to see a movie.

This is a change of blood. We can't say that the original fans are bad blood or harmful blood. We can only say that the new blood is more suitable for Lu Ze.

To put it another way, the original fans can be called couple-like fans. They like each other, follow each other, and enter the honeymoon phase. They are very affectionate. But after a while, they feel that the two are not suitable for each other, so they choose to leave and neither owes the other anything.

New fans can be called "marriage-style fans." They have a long period of consideration before getting married, and after finally deciding to be together, they support each other through thick and thin, growing old together. They can provide long-term companionship unless there is infidelity during marriage or other major scandals occur, in which case they will officially "divorce."

Looking around, there aren't many young artists with such a large fan base. Even if there are, they are usually over thirty. It's truly remarkable that Lu Ze was able to achieve this at the age of twenty-six, and it's something to celebrate.

The next morning, Lu Ze got up at 7:30 sharp, put the script and autobiography back on his desk, went to the bathroom to wash up and brush his teeth, weighed himself, and found he weighed 88.1 kilograms.

After breakfast and warming up, I changed into my swim trunks and goggles as usual, then jumped into the water and swam nimbly. I swam three laps in the 200-meter lane, and just as I was about to jump onto the edge of the pool, I saw someone I hadn't seen in a long time.

He pulled his goggles to his forehead, wiped his face vigorously, and then greeted Liu Ying.

"Director Liu."

"I've always heard that you work very hard and exercise very diligently. Thank you for your hard work."

"It's okay, it's what I should do. I have to be serious and responsible in my work."

There was Shen Jinghan between the two of them, so they had a good relationship. Liu Ying helped to get the long towel and put it on Lu Ze's shoulders, then patted Lu Ze's pectoral muscles hard.

"Very sturdy, how much does it weigh now?"

"176.2, just measured this morning."

It's not that you have to be exactly 180 pounds. Even for light-weight classes, there are upper and lower limits to weight. Especially when it comes to filming movies, it doesn't matter if you're a few kilograms underweight, as long as you don't look obviously underweight or have a lot of fat.

"Okay, you've been learning boxing for almost three months, right? Filming starts next week, so get ready."

"it is good."

There were no surprises or doubts; everything was based on the director's instructions. Unless the director was truly incompetent, this was a basic professional quality of a good actor—like a soldier following orders, hitting wherever instructed.

Liu Ying was very satisfied with Lu Ze's attitude, and his initial fondness for Lu Ze gradually turned into genuine affection.

"I watched the show, and you acted very well; you've improved a lot."

"Thank you, Director Liu."

He had some other things to do, so after encouraging Lu Ze, he said goodbye and left. Lu Ze wiped the water from his ear canal, sat down to rest, and glanced at the missed calls on his phone. It was Zhuang Yu calling.

"Hello, Director Zhuang? I was swimming just now and didn't hear your call."

"The box office figures are in: 5712 admissions, 182,000 in pre-sales, and 527,000 in real-time cumulative box office."

I'm adding an extra chapter today to apologize to the villagers who were disturbed yesterday. There are two more chapters to go, I'll post them later.

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(End of this chapter)