Global Film Emperor

Chapter 244 The storm arises

To be honest, Dai Xilu had never actually eaten the crew's meals before. Although they didn't look very appealing, they weren't as bad as she had imagined.

She took a couple of bites, put down her chopsticks, unscrewed the bottle of mineral water, and took a sip. Even if it wasn't bad, she, who was used to fine food and clothing, found it hard to have an appetite. She looked at Ding Zhiyi, who also had little appetite but was still trying to swallow, and then at Lu Ze, who was eating with great relish. She felt a little helpless.

Lu Ze didn't go out to eat with them, and they were probably too embarrassed to say that they went out to eat a big meal and left Lu Ze here for a working lunch; it was a matter of seniority.

As a trainee who debuted in South Korea, Dai Xilu still values ​​seniority quite a bit even after returning to China to develop her career, even though seniority and status in China are not as strict as in South Korea.

Ding Zhiyi is also someone who values ​​seniority and ability highly. In addition, Lu Ze really takes good care of him, so he can't say that he ignores Lu Ze and goes out to eat well on his own.

"Brother Lu, do you think there's anything I need to improve on today?"

Ding Zhiyi had become quite familiar with Lu Ze and knew his character. Lu Ze was never stingy with giving advice; on the contrary, as long as the filming was done well, he really wouldn't mind wasting his breath. So Ding Zhiyi didn't hesitate to ask Lu Ze's opinion and see where he needed to improve.

"It's alright. The lines are okay, but the emotions are a bit loose. Micro-expressions are actually just two things: eyebrows and eyes. As long as you control these two things well, you can have a lot more room to express yourself. Your eyebrows are okay, but your eyelids need more practice. The expression you made when you first entered the shot was too loose."

Ding picked at his rice, gave a helpless smile, and said that Lu Ze made it sound simple, just control your eyes. But how many actors can play with micro-expressions to such a high degree?

The combination of eyebrows and eyes can convey a lot of meaning and express many things. He is not Lu Ze, so how could he master all of these in just a few years?

"I know my weaknesses, but I really can't keep up in a short time. Sigh, Brother Lu, I feel embarrassed to even step on set when I see you filming."

This is the truth. Ding Zhiyi did not lie at all. Lu Ze set an example for him, and when he went on set, he felt uncomfortable all over. He wanted to learn from Lu Ze, but unfortunately, his skills were not up to par and his acting style was different.

In the process of imitating, he increasingly realized how big the gap was between himself and Lu Ze. He always felt like he was trying to draw a tiger but ended up with a dog instead, which gradually made his mentality unbalanced.

This is why Dai Xilu's performance was even worse; otherwise, his performance would have been cut by Xiao Fengying sooner or later, and he simply wouldn't have passed the test.

Lu Ze pondered for a while, then took out a cigarette from the cigarette case. He didn't light it, but just turned it over in his hand, the two ends of the cigarette tapping against the cigarette case. Finally, Lu Ze held it firmly in the middle.

"Well, it's true that it's hard to make up for a lack of hard skills in a short time. I can only give you one suggestion now: if you can accept it, put your energy into real college students in your spare time, observe their real daily lives, and pay close attention. This will definitely take up your spare time, but it will help you. If you can't act well, then act more realistically. You know what I mean?"

"I understand, Brother Lu. I don't care about leisure activities. I'll start looking into it today."

Ding Zhiyi did not refuse. He was a very ambitious young man and did not complain about Lu Ze's suggestion. Instead, he pondered Lu Ze's words: if you can't act well, then act more realistically. He wondered how realistic he could be.

Dai Xilu didn't respond, just sipped her mineral water. She had no intention of getting Lu Ze to give her pointers. She knew how she had behaved just now and didn't need to offer herself up for Lu Ze to slap.

Even if she did ask, Lu Ze really couldn't tell her anything, and might even laugh out loud. This wasn't mocking a newcomer, but Dai Xilu's actions were truly cringe-worthy, like Curry's 10 most embarrassing moments, such as falling down while dunking, making it hard not to laugh.

"Xilu, if you can't act well, then act more realistically. Let me tell you this too. There's no need to put so much pressure on yourself. Relax a little so you can improve your performance. Otherwise, if you're too tense, you'll become strained. That's all I have to say. Are you two still eating? I've finished eating, so I'm not going to talk to you anymore."

In the end, Lu Ze thought about it and realized that it wouldn't be good if he only paid attention to Ding Zhiyi, but he didn't know what to say. So he simply repeated what he had said to Ding Zhiyi, bent down and scratched the limp man's forehead, picked up the script and walked to a secluded corner, reading it silently as he walked, which was also a way to digest his food.

He found an empty space and lit a cigarette. He knew this habit was bad, but although he had strong self-control, he was shameless when it came to cigarettes and alcohol. However, he was more self-aware now and would only smoke a couple of cigarettes in places where no one was around, trying his best not to affect others or cause unnecessary annoyance.

Work resumed in the afternoon. There was some chaos when the extras took their seats, but things quickly calmed down. After a few extras who had clashed were asked to leave, filming continued as scheduled. Thanks to a quick script review during the lunch break, Dai Xilu managed to avoid forgetting her lines again. She only had to do two takes before the scene was successfully completed.

It seemed as if some kind of curse had been broken. The pressure that NG had been putting on the two of them disappeared after the first take was completed. The filming became smoother and smoother, and the pace became faster and faster. Lu Ze watched as the two of them adapted to the filming rhythm and nodded with satisfaction, like an old father watching his child grow up.

Lu Ze went on two more takes after that, and both were completed in one take. Moreover, his level of performance was not lower than the first take. Xiao Fengying kept marveling at how steady Lu Ze was, like a robot. At this rate, the auditorium scene could be filmed in two days, which would be half a day, almost a day, earlier than expected.

Even the stagehands have noticed something's wrong. Before, they might have thought there was a clear difference between Dai Xilu and Lu Ze, but they thought Ding Zhiyi and Lu Ze were about the same level in terms of performance.

But now it seems that Lu Ze is far ahead in terms of stability. He's practically got the word "steady" written all over his face. Although they've never eaten pork, they've seen pigs run. Having worked with so many film crews, they've never seen such a stable actor.

Amidst exclamations of amazement, the crew finished filming today's scenes more than two hours faster than expected. It was only the first day of filming, so it was normal for the crew to need time to work out.

Everyone was prepared to work overtime, but no one expected it to be so fast. They finished work before 4 p.m. All the staff were as enthusiastic as if they were having lunch, and they packed up the props so quickly that it gave Xiao Fengying a headache. These old hands were so lazy that they were all better than the last. If it weren't for the fact that they had worked so hard last night, she would have definitely given these animals a good scolding.

"Brother Lu, you go back first. Xilu and I will wander around the school and take a look around."

They had originally planned to ride back to the hotel together in Lu Ze's car that morning, but after listening to Lu Ze's words at noon, Ding Zhiyi chose to follow Lu Ze's advice and walk around the school more. Dai Xilu did the same.

"Okay, you two keep up the good work, I'm off now."

Lu Ze didn't stand on ceremony. He got into the car, rolled down the window, said a few words to the two of them, and then told Liu Bin to drive away. He told them that if they needed anything, Liu Bin would come back to pick them up.

On the way, Shen Jinghan called. Lu Ze was a little surprised, wondering why Shen Jinghan would call him when he had only been away from Shanghai for two days.

"Aze, are you free now? It's urgent, let's find a quiet place first and then I'll talk to you. If you're filming, I'll call you back later."

"I finished work early today and am on my way back now. What's going on? Why are you being so secretive, Aunt Han?"

"Are you taking a car? Call me back when you get to the hotel. This news has only just come out from inside the company, so it can't be known to anyone else yet."

Lu Ze glanced at Wang Zixuan. The girl seemed sleepy; she had fallen asleep by the car window as soon as she got in, with a little bit of glistening drool at the corner of her mouth. She looked quite cute. Liu Bin, on the other hand, kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, seemingly ignoring Lu Ze's words and giving him an expression as if he were deaf.

"It's alright, Aunt Han. Just say what's on your mind. It's just Brother Liu and Zixuan in the car, no outsiders. You can talk to me."

Shen Jinghan sat in his office, looking out through the opaque glass door. Outside, many people were walking and jogging. Ever since the news was made public internally, Qian Shijia had become a mess. This storm was really too big, affecting everyone in Qian Shijia, from the top to the bottom, from employees to artists and trainees. No one was spared.

"General Manager Hu announced his resignation today."

"What??"

"."

(End of this chapter)