Global Film Emperor

Chapter 259 National Second-Level Actor and New Film Contract?

After the performance, all the actors went to the front of the stage and bowed to the children and their parents in the audience. With the help of the adults, the children also clapped for the actors, though they probably didn't know what clapping meant.

The audience began to leave, but the actors did not go backstage to rest. Instead, they came to the entrance of the hall in full makeup to say goodbye to the children one last time.

"Little bird!!"

The children really liked this character. When they saw the senior female student, they pointed at her, called out to the birds, and surrounded her.

"Brother Tree"

Only some children with mild intellectual disabilities could recognize the tree played by Lu Ze. They were also much more enthusiastic than the children with more severe intellectual disabilities. With their parents' support, they hesitated, looking back at their parents and then at Lu Ze, before finally cautiously walking to Lu Ze's side.

Lu Ze is someone who particularly loves children. He squatted down and gently patted the child's head, his affection for the child evident in his expression.

Although many people have suggested treating these children like ordinary children, without showing them pity or sympathy, to be honest, Lu Ze couldn't do it, and neither could the vast majority of people.

Seeing children this age struggling to speak, drooling constantly from the corners of their mouths, and exhibiting strange, distorted movements, it's hard not to feel compassion for these children born with disabilities.

Lu Ze was good at making children happy. He picked up the child and chatted with him, making the child's face beam with smiles. Even when the parents were about to leave, the child cried and clung to Brother Shu's arms, refusing to go.

"Bye-bye, little friend, be careful on the road, see you later."

He said goodbye to the children who were crying and didn't want to leave, and told their parents to be careful on the way. Watching them slowly leave, Lu Ze felt a lot of emotions.

These children come into this world and cannot be judged as right or wrong, nor can they be measured by one's own standards to determine whether their arrival brings good or bad to the world.

He couldn't even empathize with the parents of these children, because he didn't know whether he should try to solve the problem rationally or emotionally submit to fate if he were actually in such a situation.

He has no right to judge the children's parents, but one thing is certain: these parents have extraordinary courage and determination to sacrifice their later years so that their children can see the world.

After the audience left, Lu Ze went to the dressing room to remove his makeup. The green-faced monster that no one recognized finally revealed his true face. He then found the cripple who was fast asleep backstage and drove away from the theater.

For the next few days, Lu Ze went to the Magnolia Theater every day to report for a performance. Although he only played a supporting role, he felt it was a very meaningful thing whenever he saw the children's smiling faces.

In his spare time, he would often have tea with Song Guiyuan and director Chen Yongbin to discuss film-related issues and knowledge.

Although Teacher Chen is a very serious person and has a terrible temper during rehearsals, he will go berserk and scold anyone who makes a mistake, surprisingly, yet understandably, he gets along very well with Lu Ze.

Mainly because...
"Tear off some plastic wrap and wrap it around your neck twice, not too loose and not too tight. Oh, and don't apply any medicine these next few days, or it will easily burn. Water it frequently, once a day. Hey, if it survives, it will be so beautiful."

Lu Ze listened to Teacher Chen's words and carefully tied the plastic wrap around the grafting machine before he breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, he hadn't expected that Old Chen, such a serious person, was actually a grafting expert.

I heard it's mainly because his wife loves growing flowers, but due to tendonitis in both hands, she can't bend her fingers, so Mr. Chen has to do it for her. Over time, he has developed a skill in growing flowers and cultivated this hobby that cultivates his mind.

He showed Lu Ze the photos on his phone. The yard was full of very valuable varieties, which made Lu Ze extremely envious. It was thanks to Teacher Chen that he went from playing around with items worth tens or hundreds of yuan to playing with items worth tens or hundreds of yuan, and even then, the survival rate was low. If any of the items died, the tens or hundreds of yuan would be wasted.

Lu Ze gently turned over the flower petals, occasionally sticking his nose over to smell them. Teacher Chen had boiled water, scalded a cup, brewed a cup of Pu'er tea, and was playing with his old, well-worn tea tassel. He picked it up, took a sip, and let out a long sigh.

"Xiao Lu, the list of national-level actors for this year is about to be announced. Have you received the news?"

"I know, it's only the day after tomorrow, right? I've heard about it for a while now." "Then why aren't you worried at all? Don't you have any ideas?"

"I definitely have ideas. To say I don't would be just fooling the foreigners. But this is something that you seniors should evaluate. I'll just wait for the news. I know in my heart that I can forget about Level 1, but Level 2 is very likely."

Seeing that Lu Ze was still concerned about the potted plant, Teacher Chen rubbed his lion's head, shook his head and smiled gently. It was strange, but many of his students were still in their late twenties, but Lu Ze was quite different from them.

If Lu Ze is different from his peers who are still in the ivory tower, Chen Yongbin believes that. However, he has interacted with young people outside, but he always feels that they are not as mature as Lu Ze.

Perhaps this is why he likes Lu Ze so much. This young man is calm, magnanimous, and meticulous. Most importantly, Lu Ze has exceptional talent.

He admires talent, and Lu Ze is exceptionally talented, so he can't help but admire him.

If Lu Ze lacked talent and ability, then his evaluation of Lu Ze might be that he was scheming. This is entirely based on first impressions. If you have goodwill towards someone, you can easily find all their shining points and think they are good in every way. But if you are disgusted by someone, you will find everything they do repulsive.

Chen Yongbin is such a subjective person. People who dislike Lu Ze may think that Lu Ze is too scheming and hypocritical, but to him, Lu Ze's hypocrisy is a kind of sincerity that includes a well-intentioned disguise.

"You know we're the ones who will be reviewing it, so why didn't you ask me? It seems you don't care much. Alright, I'll give you a heads-up. It's only half a day anyway. You'll get Level 2. Go pick up your certificate in a couple of days."

"Thank you, Teacher Chen. I need to tell my mom the good news later. She's been calling me a lot these past few days to ask about me."

Lu Ze wasn't lying. He didn't know where Li Yumei had heard that he had a good chance of being nominated for a national-level actor this year. She was more concerned about titles with "national" in their names than anyone else. She had been calling Lu Ze for the past few days, always asking if he had received any news and what he thought about his chances of being nominated.

If Li Yumei were told today that he had been selected, she would probably take Lu Weiguo to the ancestral graves overnight to kowtow to them. Having achieved a national honor, the Lu family would truly be bringing glory to their ancestors.

"You're really calm. So you got this certificate just to make your mother happy? You're not excited at all, are you? I'm afraid you'll tear it up to wipe your butt if you don't bring toilet paper."

"You can't say that carelessly, Teacher Chen. The certificate is an honor awarded by the state. How could I not take it seriously? I'm happy, but the public doesn't pay much attention to this kind of thing. And even though the company recognizes this title, it won't increase your pay, right? It's certainly nice to have something to show for it, but there's no need to get so excited that you almost faint."

This is indeed true. As far as Lu Ze knows, this certificate is very prestigious, but you can't sew it onto your chest and show it to everyone, can you?

Moreover, apart from enjoying government subsidies, national-level actors are not very useful to commercial agencies. Look at the popular young stars now, how many of them are national-level actors? On the contrary, a large number of national-level actors are not well known to the public and never come into the public eye. In this era, you still have to look at popularity and influence.

"According to you, that's true. But sometimes, this kind of thing can be very useful. In a few days, there's an audition for a film. All the actors must be at least a national second-level actor, and the lead actor must be between 30 and 45 years old. Although you're a year short, you look older. I happened to be asked about this, and I said that being a year short wasn't a big problem, and they approved me. The offer should be sent to you in the next day or two."

When it came to film offers, Lu Ze's ears perked up. Only national-level actors could participate in such a film? How big of a production must that be? If he could really get into this group and act alongside a bunch of experts, just thinking about it would be exhilarating! As for Teacher Chen saying that he looked old, he didn't care, since it was a fact.

"What kind of play has such a large scale? Including the supporting roles, there must be at least twenty or so national actors, right?"

Chen Yongbin took a sip of tea, tapped his fingers on the table a few times, and then slowly spoke.

"Now that the country is entering an aging society, we pay special attention to children's issues. 'The Little Bird with Broken Wings' is one such focus, and this play is no exception. I don't know the specifics because I'm in charge of theater and I have to go to more than 30 cities. I haven't read the script either, but I know one theme: it targets human trafficking and child trafficking. It's a serious drama."

"Your specialty."

"."

(End of this chapter)