Global Film Emperor

Chapter 202 Premiere of "The Boss"
"The photos show good visibility in Victoria Harbour, with little cloud cover and generally clear skies in South China. The southeasterly airflow currently affecting the coastline will be replaced by a fresh easterly airflow."

"Splash. Plop."

The curtain remote was tossed on the table. Lu Ze, wearing a white bathrobe, dried his wet hair with a towel, stopped and glanced at the weather forecast on TV, then turned and walked to the windowsill to bask in the sun.

October 13th. The weather is nice today. When I opened the window, the air was very humid. Shortly after I arrived in Hong Kong last night, it rained heavily and didn't stop until after 3 a.m.

This made Lu Ze a little worried about the weather at today's premiere, but after checking the weather forecast and looking at the sky, he finally felt relieved.

After drying his hair, he casually draped the towel over the stool, lit a cigarette until it was slightly hot, stuck the butt in the ashtray, and sat on the edge of the bed, slowly exhaling a thick puff of smoke.

He was still thinking about how the "Living" film crew in the capital was doing. When he asked for leave, Zhuang Yu agreed very readily and let him leave immediately. However, Guo Mingde clearly showed his reluctance, but since he was only the assistant director, he could only nod in agreement in the end.

Filming has been underway for half a month, and judging from the current situation, the two directors are getting along relatively well. At least they haven't had any arguments. However, Lu Ze can tell that they are both being patient and respecting each other. After all, they only have different artistic ideas, and it would be a bit much to take it personally.

But no matter how much they tried to endure it, it was impossible to hold back until the movie was finished. No one could suppress such a big temper. So Lu Ze knew that a conflict between the two of them was inevitable. As for how long they could endure it, that was an unknown.

The beautiful Cantonese-speaking TV presenter said goodbye to the viewers, and the weather forecast for this segment ended. Lu Ze shaved his beard and put on a white shirt and a light blue suit.

Just after 7:30, Wang Zixuan knocked on Lu Ze's door and gave him a simple haircut. It has to be said that after losing weight, Lu Ze's energy and spirit have improved significantly. Now that he's back to his normal level of good looks, he looks quite handsome even with just a few quick strokes on his head, unlike when he was chubby and needed a hairstyle that matched his face shape.

After dressing Lu Ze up, they had a very exquisite breakfast at the hotel, which was quite nutritious. Afterwards, they went downstairs to the hotel's underground bus stop, where the car and driver arranged by Song Qingmin were already waiting.

The moment the elevator doors opened, Lu Ze heard the sound of a camera taking pictures. He immediately realized he had been photographed, so he put on sunglasses, grabbed Wang Zixuan, and quickly walked forward.

Although Hong Kong's entertainment industry has declined, Hong Kong paparazzi still enjoy considerable fame both domestically and internationally, perfectly inheriting and amplifying the shamelessness of British journalists.

Ever since Lu Ze got off the plane, he has been constantly "bumping into" paparazzi. Except for his hotel room, they are everywhere. Moreover, Lu Ze was photographed as soon as he got off the elevator. Who would believe that it wasn't related to the hotel?
This made Lu Ze, who was used to mainland reporters, very uncomfortable. Although he had often received such treatment since he came to Hong Kong to film, he could not get used to being watched 24 hours a day.

Moreover, it is said that since the handover, the paparazzi have become much more restrained. Before 1997, these paparazzi were even more unscrupulous. No wonder so many Hong Kong artists went crazy back then. It's probably not because they were punished for raising ghost children, but simply because they were tormented by the entertainment industry environment in Hong Kong at that time.

"Ze-zai, is there anything you'd like to say about the movie premiering today?"

"Excuse me, I'm in a hurry, please let me through."

Some reporters swarmed around Lu Ze and followed him all the way, bombarding him with all sorts of questions. Lu Ze was thoroughly annoyed by their stares, so how could he possibly answer their questions politely? Forget it.

Looking around, Lu Ze quickly found the car arranged by Song Qingmin. He walked over quickly, got in, and was about to close the door when a reporter tried to pry open the door, hoping Lu Ze would say something.

"Take your hand away, don't get your hand caught! I'm closing the car door, ugh... like a swarm of locusts."

After closing the car door, Lu Ze rubbed his forehead and sighed. The driver smiled and said it was normal before driving to the premiere venue.

When we arrived in Hong Kong yesterday, there had already been a rehearsal, and everything was proceeding as planned. Although Hong Kong's film history is much longer than that of the mainland, it's clear that the scale of the productions there is no longer comparable to that of the mainland.

Upon arriving at the venue, Lu Ze glanced through the glass and saw that there were only about five or six hundred fans waiting outside. After all, it was Wednesday, and fans couldn't just skip meals after seeing the artists.

When Lu Ze walked the red carpet, the cheers were a bit quieter than those for the local Hong Kong actors who had just gotten out of their cars. Lu Ze had to admit that he wasn't very popular in Hong Kong. Most people who followed the entertainment industry probably knew Lu Ze, but those who weren't so interested in the entertainment industry probably hadn't even heard of him.

He still signed autographs for the fans who came to support him. There were only a few people, and most of them were tourists from mainland China who had heard that Lu Ze's Hong Kong film was being released today and came to support him. After thanking the fans present, Lu Ze put away his pen and entered the venue. The venue was not large, but it was quite crowded with people, including media, film critics, and invited figures from all walks of life in Hong Kong.

He also saw Young Master Jia and Uncle Ya, the teahouse owner, sitting in the first row below, leaning on their canes, exuding an imposing and dignified aura.

Lu Ze never expected that the old man sitting swaying in the teahouse armchair, who was very kind to everyone, was actually the head of Heyisheng Hall. He was also the only one who survived among the big shots who followed Jia Helong. He took young Master Jia to Australia for refuge and protected the last son of the Jia family.

When Lu Ze was reading the biography before, he treated it as just a story. But as he read on, he realized that the person he knew was a participant in the story, and a very important one at that. It was quite a strange feeling.

Song Qingmin led the entire crew to shake hands with the investors, including Xiao Jiaye, repeatedly saying that he hoped not to let them down. It was clear that Song Qingmin was nervous.

After all, it's about the story of Xiao Jiaye's father. Song Qingmin has been under tremendous psychological pressure since filming began. He originally looked like he was sixty years old, but now he looks like he's seventy.

"Young Master Jia, I hope you are satisfied."

Lu Ze grasped Jia Changwei's hand. The old man's hand was actually bigger than Lu Ze's. Although the skin was loose, Lu Ze could still feel a high temperature through the rough palm.

This old man has hot blood; at his age, he should drink some traditional Chinese medicine to regulate his condition.

“You’ve never seen my father in person, and even if you had, you couldn’t have learned to look like him. I’m not going to have any expectations. I just hope we don’t lose money.”

Jia Changwei seemed to have given up hope, shook his head, sat down and took a sip of tea. Lu Ze didn't seem to care either, exchanged pleasantries with the next investor, and then followed Song Qingmin and his group back to the stage.

With Song Qingmin's approval, the host announced the official start of the premiere of "The Boss".

First, Song Qingmin gave a speech. Actually, all press conferences are the same thing, just different names for the same thing. He summarized the filming, then talked about the touching moments and hardships during filming, then reminisced about the past and expressed his hope for a good result.

Lu Ze once again became an actor specially praised by the director. Ever since Lu Ze took on the lead role, it seems that every director would praise him. Lu Ze simply expressed his gratitude and responded that Song Qingmin was such an excellent director, and that he had learned so much from him. He thanked him and that was it. He wasn't nervous at all.

After the main cast finished their remarks, it was time for the lead actors to share their thoughts. Interestingly, the first to speak was not Lu Ze, but the second male lead. As a veteran actor from Hong Kong, he is also very famous in mainland China. He is Lu Ze's senior, and given that it was Lu Ze's home turf, Lu Ze had no objection to the second male lead speaking first.

When it was Lu Ze's turn to speak, he weighed the microphone in his hand and couldn't think of anything to say. After a moment's hesitation, he picked up the microphone and began to speak.

"I suddenly don't know what to say, so I'll keep it short. All the sweat I shed during filming was what I was supposed to do. I just hope that after everyone has watched the movie, I'll feel that my sweat was worthwhile. Thank you."

The reporters below seemed to have never seen such a short speech before, and then quickly took a few photos of Lu Ze's face.

During the final Q&A session, although the investors weren't involved in the news industry, they were all big names from decades ago, so the reporters didn't dare to be presumptuous. After asking a few simple questions, they stopped asking questions.

The host picked up the microphone and announced the official start of the film. The lights in the venue went out, turning the room dim, and the names of the investment company and the distribution company lit up on the screen.

They knew that a dark history spanning more than twenty years was about to be revealed, and the rise and fall of a gangster family would be shown to everyone. They were the witnesses.

"."

(End of this chapter)