Global Film Emperor

Chapter 285 The script is getting thinner and thinner

"This must be a movie shoot, right? It looks a bit scary. That fall must have been pretty hard. The stunt double looks just like Lu Ze. You really can't tell them apart from a distance."

"Wait a minute. Is the child that the stunt double is holding alive? It's just a movie, right? Is it necessary to make a child do something so dangerous? I personally dislike the production team's actions. Even if Lu Ze directed it, I won't watch it after it's released."

"+1, there was no protective work at all. If something goes wrong, can the production team afford the responsibility? Even if the child isn't injured, how can you be sure the child won't be traumatized? This is practically child abuse, isn't it?"

When the video first circulated online, people thought it was behind-the-scenes footage of a movie shoot. They commented on the quality of the scene, which was a bit funny. Most people thought it was a stunt double who looked very similar to Lu Ze.

Once people discovered that the child was alive and a real person, it instantly ignited the passion of keyboard warriors, who launched a tirade against the crew's "inhumane" filming methods.

Initially, the video was used to attract attention with the headline "Find You: Child Abuse by the Film Crew." If the public had been aware of the film's message and its mission-driven nature, those unscrupulous media outlets would have certainly used a more sensational headline to spread rumors.

The news continued to spread rapidly and relentlessly, so much so that during the subsequent filming, Ho Jui-Kuan received several phone calls, which lasted for nearly an hour, before returning to the set in a rage to inform his assistant.

"Make a note of all those media outlets that spread rumors, and sue them one by one. You don't need to come with me this afternoon; go to court now. All the media involved must issue a public apology. They can't let me have a good New Year, so they shouldn't have a good one either. Also, contact Jinxiu immediately to refute the rumors. I want to see this matter resolved in half an hour. Hurry up!"

Soon, Jinxiu Media began its media operations, found an insider and published the truth online. The media outlets that had previously published child abuse headlines quickly threw the freshly published news into the trash. Just like that, before the public could even react, the tide had turned dramatically.

"The news circulating today regarding child abuse on the set of 'Find You' has been confirmed by multiple media outlets to be untrue. The real cause was an accident during filming. Due to snowfall in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions and actor Lu Ze's improper handling, the accident occurred. In this incident, actor Lu Ze sustained minor injuries, while the child was unharmed and calmed down after being comforted by his mother. We hope that all media outlets and independent media will refrain from making hasty conclusions and causing negative impacts on the film crew. @EntertainmentPioneer, @EntertainmentGossipKing, @NewTideEntertainment"

Jinxiu Media's official Weibo account showed no mercy to these media outlets, directly tagging them and criticizing them for spreading rumors and fake news.

Talk is cheap, so in order to clear his name of this false accusation, Jinxiu's official Weibo account posted pictures of Lu Ze's injury and shards of glass pulled from his skin in a nine-grid format. Everyone could clearly see the bloodstains on Lu Ze's neck and back, especially his back. Although the wound was not deep, it covered a large area, and blood soaked his vest. Wang Zixuan could also be seen crying.

This girl has been with Lu Ze for so many years. Although she only works as his assistant, she has attracted some fans because of her petite figure, cute appearance and indifferent face. These people even found Wang Zixuan's Weibo and followed her daily life posts from time to time.

Being able to see this seemingly cold but actually quite silly girl, and at the same time seeing Lu Ze appear in her daily life, is pretty much a win-win situation.

The rumor was eventually debunked in a very short time. However, the onlookers didn't do anything to defend the production team. It's unrealistic to expect them to feel cheated, turn around and angrily scold the media after learning the truth, or fight to the death with unscrupulous media. Only online trolls would be so shameless.

Everyone simply admitted to being scammed, then offered a few cursing comments from their own perspectives, and the matter was easily forgotten. Their tone was merely contemptuous, without much anger or embarrassment. After all, they were used to it; weren't these entertainment media outlets always like this?

Everyone's attention was quickly drawn to Lu Ze, and they became concerned about his injuries. Seeing the notification on Lu Ze's Weibo, they were finally relieved.

The neck wound is nothing to worry about, and the back wound doesn't need stitches either. After it's bandaged, I just can't shower for almost a week. The most serious thing is probably this back muscle strain, but it's not serious and there's nothing to worry about.

The doctor didn't suggest hospitalization for observation. After putting on his clothes, Lu Ze took a motorcycle taxi back to the hotel to rest for a day. As for whether to film tomorrow, he would see how things went.

That's what they said, but in reality, Lu Ze arrived at the film set the next day to start work, and He Ruikuan also adjusted the shooting order, trying to start shooting some scenes with less movement earlier.

During this time, Lu Ze also privately talked to Tang's mother about the compensation for Tang Renxuan's fright. However, for some reason, Tang's mother refused to accept Lu Ze's compensation, and just told Lu Ze to forget about it and let it go.

As for Xiao Renxuan's feelings for Lu Ze, this incident did not affect him. He still liked to stay by Lu Ze's side as before, and occasionally watch a couple of episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants together.

The scenes in Dongyang weren't actually that many. After filming for fifteen days, the crew of over a hundred people packed their belongings and set off again for Henan for the next stage of filming.

First, we filmed in Zhengzhou for seventeen days. Everything else was fine, except that the local cuisine was mainly noodles, which made a group of people who mainly eat rice feel a bit uncomfortable.

At first, we enjoyed a bowl of spicy soup for breakfast, mutton stew for lunch, and stir-fried noodles for dinner, which was quite satisfying. However, after a while, we couldn't eat anymore. Only after finishing work in the evening could we go to a restaurant together or find a place to cook for ourselves to have a good meal. Then a new problem arose. In mid-March, Zhengzhou inexplicably became obsessed with rain. During our seventeen days in Zhengzhou, it rained for thirteen days. It wasn't heavy, just a light drizzle, sometimes there and sometimes not, accompanied by a cool breeze, which made filming somewhat difficult.

First, there was the issue of lighting. The sky was overcast the whole time, and filters couldn't do much to salvage the situation. Occasionally, the wind would blow drizzle through the protective cover and onto the lens. Although this was extremely rare, if even a single drop of rain got in, the entire shot would be ruined, and we would have to reshoot it.

What was even more terrifying was the illness. The crew encountered a series of worst-case scenarios, including the low temperatures, prolonged light rain, spending a whole day in the cold wind, water and soil incompatibility, and dietary differences. In the end, out of more than 170 people, more than 90 succumbed to colds, and the crew used three large bags of tissues a day to wipe their noses.

The cold also greatly affected the performance. The actors' stuffy noses forced He Ruikuan to abandon the sound recording and decide to record it in post-production. In addition, the actors needed to have enough rest time. The script, which was originally supposed to be filmed in about thirteen days, was dragged out to seventeen days before they moved to Puyang. After filming in Puyang for eight days, they arrived in Zhoukou.

After arriving in Zhoukou, He Ruikuan organized a charity event, which served as a break for everyone and a wonderful memento. Together, they went to a poor county and donated a lot of supplies to a primary school there. Afterwards, each person contributed some money to renovate the dilapidated primary school. However, this was no longer their responsibility; someone would come to negotiate with the local government, and construction would begin this summer.

Lu Ze had done charity work before. As long as his schedule allowed, he would attend charity galas once or twice a year. However, this was the first time he had personally gone to the local area to deliver the goods, and he was quite moved.

Back then, his family was also poor. Lu Nan received a poverty subsidy to attend high school. Lu Ze originally thought his family was poor enough, but after coming here, he realized that his life back then was nothing compared to this.

Although it's already 2021, it's certainly not like the old jokes where a family of several people had to decide who wore pants when they went out. But how to get enough to eat is still the biggest worry for the people living here.

Actually, it's not fair to blame Lu Ze for not being proactive in donating money. Over the years, he has donated about two million yuan in total, mainly because Lu Ze's income is still not considered high among artists.

All things considered, the amount of money he can earn in a year is no more than ten million. This is true because he has very few sources of income. He doesn't accept many endorsements, doesn't participate in variety shows at all, and only earns money by acting. His fans are so devoted that they would pick up and eat even the smallest grain of rice that falls on the ground. Apart from contributing a movie ticket to Lu Ze, they only spend a little money on data usage on Weibo. They don't spend a single penny more.

After deducting taxes, company profits, buying a house, team operations, clothing expenses, and other such expenses, Lu Ze could only save up one or two million by the end of the year.

He wasn't really that selfless; he wouldn't sell his house and car for charity. After all, he needed to eat too. The two million he donated was all squeezed out by tightening his belt.

Don't be surprised if some actors panic when they say they have a few million in their pockets. It's true, if it were Lu Ze, he would panic too, since there are so many places to spend money, and the amounts are not small.

Lu Ze thought for a moment, and if one day his child—and I mean if—got married and started his own family, and no longer needed his financial support, then he might go all in, betting everything he had earned over the years, keeping only enough for his own funeral and donating the rest. He figured it would be great, satisfying, and a good deed.

But it's too early to discuss this now. He still needs to work hard to earn money so he can go all in when he's old.

After returning from the impoverished county, the crew continued filming, shooting in Zhoukou for more than twenty days.

You have to admire how well the veteran actors maintained their condition. Apart from a few days when they had a cold and their condition declined a bit, the rest of the time the filming progress was amazing. They basically didn't have to do a scene twice, which was really satisfying.

Lu Ze also became engrossed in the process of acting alongside veteran actors. As the saying goes, "Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me." Lu Ze did indeed learn a lot of old methods that could be used in filming from them, which greatly helped him improve his own acting skills.

Lu Ze also gradually changed the veteran actors' perception of him. To them, thirty years old was still very young. They didn't believe that an actor of that age could compete with them and even surpass the level of the young actor.

It wasn't until they met Lu Ze that their worldview was refreshed, and they were given a new definition of the word "genius." The vague image of a genius in their minds gradually became clearer, taking on the form of Lu Ze.

Just as everyone was immersed in the joy of filming, the script became thinner and thinner. It wasn't until everyone touched the last page that they suddenly realized that they had almost finished filming the movie in less than three months.

"."

(End of this chapter)