Global Film Emperor

Chapter 132 "The Boxing King" Begins Filming

With a real-time cumulative box office of over 500,000 and over 5,000 viewers on the first day, the film had over 590 screenings per day. On average, each screening had less than ten people in attendance. This poor performance naturally led to a significant reduction in screenings on the second day, cutting it by one-fifth to just over 400 screenings.

Zhuang Yu was very dissatisfied with this, but there was nothing he could do. What worried him more was whether the film could break even. If it lost everything, he wouldn't be able to redeem the house.

Fortunately, the film received positive reviews on Douban and even garnered favorable feedback online, leading to a surge in attendance on the second day. The box office reached two million yuan on the second day, with over ten thousand viewers.

On the third day, the box office continued to rise, reaching over three million yuan, with more than 20,000 viewers.

On the fourth day, the box office dropped slightly to just over two million. On the fifth and sixth days, it remained relatively stable at just over one million. This eased Zhuang Yu's worries considerably. In at least a week, the box office had exceeded ten million. After deducting the theater's share and various taxes, he could earn 500,000 a day from now on. In another two days, he would be able to turn a profit.

Once his financial worries were alleviated, he began to focus on awards. If he hadn't worked so hard to make an art film, what else would he be after?

But that has nothing to do with Lu Ze. He should just let Zhuang Yu sign up. He's currently busy preparing for the filming of "The King of Boxers," and there's something else bothering him.

The system needs an upgrade.

Since Lu Ze woke up today, there is only one class left. He is not sure if this class is divided into sub-classes. If it is, then he will have to study for a few more days. If not, then the class will end tomorrow.

What will the upgraded system be like? Lu Ze was looking forward to it, but he was also a little worried, because he didn't know if he would have to retake the courses he failed, just like he would have to retake the exam if he failed a course.

But thinking about it more wouldn't help, and it wasn't a big deal anyway; it would just mean waiting a few more days. Pushing open the door, I saw that the crew was already setting up the scene.

A large portion of the film was shot at the Golden Tiger Boxing Club, so the first scene was filmed directly inside the boxing gym.

As for the press conference to mark the start of filming? That's no longer a reliable thing. Many production teams hold press conferences after filming has started, or halfway through, or even when filming is almost finished, in order to allow plenty of time for editing.

With so much time available, it's impossible to cut only one version. There might be three to four, or even five or six, versions. The best version will be selected for release, and the rest will be destroyed.

When it comes to filming, a big production team is what really makes it look impressive. Liu Ying, as the director, secured nearly 200 million yuan in funding for the production. Note! That's the production budget! And that doesn't even include product placement; if you include that, it's over 200 million yuan!

In a typical film crew, actors' salaries typically account for 30% to 45% of the total budget. Lu Ze's salary? Over 5.5 million.

Moreover, Lu Ze was the highest-paid person in the entire crew. In this drama, the actors' salaries only accounted for one-tenth of the total, which is 10%!

What to do with the rest of the money? Spend it like crazy! Even if it means using the money to wipe our butts, we can't leave any! I've never heard of a production crew getting their unspent investment returned; we're going to spend it!
As for the producer in charge of the accounts? He's like a grandson in front of Lao Liu. With Liu Ying's face that looks like a bully, the producer wouldn't dare to utter a single word if Liu Ying just bared his teeth.

"Lu Ze! Go put on your makeup!"

As soon as Liu Ying entered the film set, he seemed like a different person. He was no longer kind to Lu Ze. Holding a megaphone, he roared with a fierce look on his face. His voice was already loud, and with the megaphone, it felt like the ceiling could be shaken to pieces.

At this moment, who would dare to provoke him? Lu Ze strode off towards the props team, his legs jingling as he ran. The staff members also jogged along, their foreheads covered in sweat, not even having time to wipe it away.

The strictest director Lu Ze had ever met was Guo Mingde, but compared to Liu Ying, he was far inferior and could only be ranked second. At least Guo Mingde gave Lu Ze the right to speak, while Liu Ying dared to hit him if he dared to talk back.

I even prepared the money before I hit you, more than 200 million. How do you want to be beaten?

"Pants! Pants! Hurry up!"

The props team member quickly handed Lu Ze a pair of distressed designer underwear. Seeing Liu Ying's current temper, Lu Ze didn't dare to hesitate. In front of the girl, he took off his clothes and put on his athletic shorts, leaving only his underwear.

As soon as he finished dressing, the stylist started applying oil to Lu Ze's body, but unlike bodybuilders who apply oil to their bodies to make their faces a different color, this time it just added some shine.

I simply trimmed my eyebrows, didn't even use concealer, and that was it.

To prepare for today, Lu Ze barely drank any water after 5 p.m. yesterday and jumped rope 3,000 times, all to make his muscles more defined.

Boxers naturally tend to have higher body fat levels at higher weight classes because these classes have more heavy hitters who need to increase their resistance to blows. So, when you see a heavyweight boxer covered in fat, and his fat jiggles when he punches, you might think he's weak. On the contrary, they are very durable.

But this is just a movie. Who wants to watch two fat boxers fight with their breasts swinging around?

After finishing everything, Lu Ze ran upstairs and sprinted on the treadmill on the second floor at top speed. Five minutes later, covered in sweat, he came downstairs panting and reported to Liu Ying. "Director Liu, I'm ready."

"Wait a bit?"

"No need, this breathing frequency is just right."

"Let's go! All departments, listen up! Clear out the space right now! That kid from the props group, get out of here! Cameraman, one last check! You have thirty seconds! Lu Ze, come on in!"

"One set of video inspections completed."

"Scoop supervisor! Strike the clapperboard! Strike the clapperboard! Keep quiet! Sit your phones! Don't vibrate! Sit them!"

This swift and decisive command got everyone moving. Those who weren't busy stood aside, while those with tasks quickly prepared. The room fell silent in an instant. After Lu Ze nodded, the stage manager quickly entered and clapped the clapperboard!

"The King of Fighters, Act One! Match One! Begin!"

"boom!"

Lu Ze took a deep breath and slammed his fist into the sandbag with all his might. His skin collided with the sandbag leather, making a loud bang. The curtains were drawn, and only the ceiling lights were on. Under the camera's recording, the vibration from this kick made Lu Ze's muscles twitch violently, and his sweat splattered up.

But this wasn't the end. Lu Ze kept kicking the sandbag, making a series of loud thuds, until he caught his breath and wiped away his sweat after kicking it more than a dozen times.

"Pass! Get ready to set the clapperboard for the next take!"

Lu Ze climbed onto the parallel bars, stuck his legs on them, and head down, giving the stage manager an OK sign.

"The King of Fighters, Act One! The Second Match Begins!"

With a strong pull of his waist, he sat back on the lever. His face was flushed and his ears were ringing. After taking a deep breath, he fell back down and repeated the inverted push-ups.

"Pass! Get ready to set the clapperboard for the next take!"

After getting off the parallel bars, he hurriedly ran to the boxing ring. The kickboxing coach Lao Song, who played the main character, quickly came on stage and put on a boxing glove.

"The King of Fighters, Act One! Match Three! Begin!"

Lu Ze lay on the boxing ring, his head and chest lifted up, his hands bent and raised to his ears, his legs curled up as well, until his knees and shoulders bumped together, and a standard abdominal contraction exercise was completed.

But this is calculated based on groups.

"One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten!"

After performing ten abdominal contractions, Lu Ze forcefully tightened his abdominal muscles, lifting his head and thighs off the ground, and pressing his hands on the ground for support. Old Song, wearing boxing gloves, began to punch Lu Ze's stomach ten times with all his might, accompanied by a roar.

"Tighten your abs! Push! Don't let your head touch the ground! Keep it up! Keep going! Shout it out loud when you count!"

"One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten!"

After finishing another set, his abdomen was hit again. Lu Ze endured it, clenching his teeth, and his facial expression began to become ferocious and ruthless. He did the third set with all his might.

"That's a wrap! Twenty-minute break! Camera crew two, get ready! That woman in the costume crew, still playing on her phone? Get ready now!"

"Is Aze alright?"

Old Song pulled Lu Ze, who was lying on his side on the ground, clutching his stomach and grimacing, and was a little worried that he had been badly beaten. Given that Lu Ze had only been training for a few months, it wasn't impossible that he had been seriously injured.

"It's nothing. I just feel like throwing up. You hit my stomach."

(End of this chapter)