Global Film Emperor

Chapter 287 Qian Shijia's Investment in Film Project Approval

"Hello? Okay, I'll head over right away. Yes, I have time. It's nothing, no problem."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Ze threw his phone and the half-eaten jelly beans on the floor. He didn't know why he had such a craving for them today; he had to go to several convenience stores to finally buy some.

It's been two days since Lu Ze returned to Shanghai. He's barely left the house these past two days, hasn't exercised, and spends most of his time either lying in bed or lounging on the sofa watching TV. Occasionally, he'll go to Shabak for a game—yes, that game with a 999% drop rate that you can't put down, the kind designed to evoke nostalgia for middle-aged people.

However, Lu Ze estimated that his holiday was coming to an end, because he had just received a call from the artist department of Qian Shijia, who hoped that Lu Ze could come over to discuss his new job.

Lu Ze knew what this so-called new job was; it was probably a movie project invested in by Qian Shijia that had been approved, and they wanted to talk to Lu Ze about the new role. Apart from that, Lu Ze really couldn't think of anything else he could do for the company.

Lu Ze had no objection to this. After all, his company would definitely consider its own actors when investing in a movie, and as the top actor of Qian Shijia, Lu Ze would certainly be the first to be asked about his intentions.

He went to the bathroom shirtless and relieved himself. He touched his stomach and realized he didn't have abs, but he also didn't have a protruding belly. He burped, and it smelled like jelly beans. He turned around and looked at his back. Two long, narrow scars were very obvious. One of them stretched from his waist to almost his armpit, and was nearly 30 centimeters long.

Lu Ze is not prone to keloid scarring, but he is not completely free of scars either. For the time being, Lu Ze has no intention of removing these two scars. They are obvious, but they are not raised, so they can be covered with makeup. They will not affect filming much, so he will just leave them as they are. The main reason is that he heard that even with anesthesia, scar removal will cause slight pain, and he doesn't want to suffer that pain.

He put on a black T-shirt, a plaid shirt over it, casual pants, and slip-on shoes. He grabbed his car keys, told the cripple to stay home, and just as he closed the door, he turned around and pressed his fingerprint to open the door—he'd forgotten his phone.

"Good morning, Brother Lu. Long time no see. You've become even more handsome."

The two receptionists immediately smiled when they saw Lu Ze, their voices so sweet they made one's bones melt. However, Lu Ze had heard that she wasn't exactly a good person, and her boyfriend, who worked in the IT industry, seemed unaware of her affair with Meng Nixin, the head of the entertainment management department.

Lu Ze simply nodded to her without saying a word. It's normal for girls to have material desires; don't just young girls, even men do. But for someone with a boyfriend to still have material desires is a bit excessive, isn't it?

As usual, I got a cup of coffee at the door and drank it as I walked. When I got to the office, I peeked inside through the glass door. Sure enough, Meng Nixin, Bai Xiqun (the newly signed director of Qian Shijia), He Guohui (the new head of the artist department), and Feng Changhao (the new head of the business department) were all in the room, discussing a document.

As Lu Ze watched them from outside the door, Meng Nixin seemed to sense the gaze coming from outside. She looked up, smiled when she saw Lu Ze, and waved to him.

"Did I disturb you? Am I late?"

Now that Meng Nixin had seen Lu Ze, Lu Ze stopped looking, pushed open the door, greeted the four people sitting inside, placed a disposable paper cup on the table, and pulled out a chair to sit down.

"Not at all, what do you mean by disturbing us? You've come at the perfect time. We just sat down a short while ago. As for why we invited you here today, I think you can guess by now, Lu Ze. Our company's first film project has been approved."

Holding a paper cup in his left hand, Lu Ze didn't stand on ceremony. He pointed to the document, and after receiving confirmation, he reached out and turned the document on the table around, pulling it in front of him. It was the project execution document for the new movie. The director was, unsurprisingly, the director in front of him, Director Bai.

"Sure, I won't look at the project plan or anything. It's too complicated and I don't really understand it. Is the script ready yet? I'll look at the script instead."

"Wait a minute, don't rush. Let Director Bai talk about the preliminary casting choices. We were just discussing this issue, and we hope you can give us your feedback."

It has to be said that Meng Nixin and Lu Ze really do have a conflict and can't stand each other. The reason is the contract issue from back then, where Lu Ze didn't give Meng Nixin any face at all.

Although Lu Ze is now the company's top star, and Meng Nixin is a newcomer with less seniority than Lu Ze, a veteran, he is still part of the company's management. Lu Ze is still subject to the management, especially the artist department and artist management department. In that sense, Meng Nixin is actually one level above Lu Ze.

You, Lu Ze, rely on your seniority and fame to disrespect me. Well, I'm your boss, so why should I offer my face to you? Doesn't my face, Meng Nixin's face, count?

Although the two weren't exactly at odds, there was a clear discord between them. Lu Ze's attitude was more obvious; he would ignore you if he said he wouldn't. Meng Nixin, on the other hand, treated Lu Ze with a hidden agenda, a smile that concealed a dagger.

Lu Ze was interrupted, but he didn't show any obvious displeasure on his face. He lit a cigarette, flicked his steel-chain wristwatch with his left hand, pushed the project proposal back to its original position, and nodded to Bai Xiqun.

"Okay, Director Bai, please go ahead."

The conflict between the two was obvious to everyone, but the other two ministers remained silent. Bai Xiqun, on the other hand, was sweating a little. He was the least capable person here, but now it was his turn to speak, which was indeed a bit awkward.

"Well, it's like this. Regarding the casting, I already have a preliminary choice and plan to offer the role directly without going through the audition process. Mr. Lu, you are the actor I most want to work with, and since you're family, I'll definitely consider you first for the lead role." "And for the female lead, I still want to use someone from family, namely Li Jianni. In terms of all aspects, whether it's image, popularity, salary, or relationships, she's the most suitable."

Lu Ze took a sip of coffee and thought for a while. Li Jianni has been in the industry for almost six years now. After six years of hard work in the industry, she has achieved quite good results. She is considered to be in the upper-middle position among young actresses and is no longer a minor artist. In addition, she is also an artist of Qian Shijia. This casting is very appropriate, so he didn't say anything, but just nodded and let Bai Xiqun continue.

"Next up is the second male lead, chosen as Zhang Yuxian. He's currently very popular, and being a popular young actor greatly helps with generating buzz."

Lu Ze finished his coffee, flicked the cigarette ash twice in the paper cup, and when he heard Bai Xiqun mention the second male lead, he suddenly frowned, glanced at the others, and reached out to interrupt Bai Xiqun: "Director Bai, please wait a moment. I'd like to ask, who is Zhang Yuxian?"

The atmosphere suddenly froze. Everyone except Lu Ze remained silent. He Guohui, the head of the artist department, crossed his arms and rotated his two thumbs. After thinking for a moment, he slowly spoke.

"Zhang Yuxian is a newly launched artist in our company."

Lu Ze suddenly felt a toothache. It was indeed a bit embarrassing. To be honest, there are too many young male idols being promoted these days. Every month, big and small entertainment companies are sending young male idols into the entertainment industry like dumplings being boiled.

The sheer number of artists left Lu Ze with no interest or time to remember each one, not even the most popular artists in his own company.

This is supposed to be a way to promote a newcomer, right? Lu Ze doesn't know anything about this newcomer, so he can't judge whether this newcomer is suitable for this new movie that he hasn't even seen the script yet. He can only wave his hand.

"I'm sorry, I've been quite busy filming lately and haven't been very aware of the company's current situation. It's my fault. Director Bai, please continue."

"Okay, so who's the choice for the second female lead?"

Lu Ze didn't interrupt Bai Xiqun until they got to the fifth male and female leads. But starting from the third male lead, the names Lu Ze heard were either unfamiliar or were young heartthrobs he'd only heard of. This basically confirmed that the company was going to heavily promote newcomers, and to ensure a good reputation, they needed Lu Ze, a big shot, to lead them to success.

Nowadays, casting for films and television shows is basically done in this way: young, handsome actors attract money, while established actors ensure a good reputation. This combination has become the most common formula for filming in China, and Lu Ze expressed his understanding of it.

He doesn't have a prejudiced view of popular celebrities. After all, these young idols are all young people who have to learn to sing and dance, and their schedules are very tight. It's normal for their acting skills not to be very good. That doesn't matter. As long as they are willing to learn and learn well, like Ding Zhiyi, Lu Ze will appreciate them very much.

So casting isn't a big deal for Lu Ze. The most important thing now is for him to see the script and assess the quality of the work. If he doesn't like it, he won't film it, right?
"Can I look at the script now?"

"Of course, no problem."

Bai Xiqun took the script out of his backpack and handed it to Lu Ze. Upon seeing the title of the script, Lu Ze raised an eyebrow and slowly read it aloud.

"Phantom Spirit? Eastern Fantasy?"

In fact, upon seeing the title and subject matter of the script, Lu Ze had basically sentenced the film to death. After all, for this kind of subject matter, decades ago, the films made were all bad, without exception.

In Lu Ze's memory, most fantasy movies nowadays are basically about finding a bunch of handsome men and beautiful women, giving them a very flamboyant look, and then having them make some random gestures in front of a green screen. Once the special effects are done, that's considered a fantasy movie.

Outrageous designs, empty content, dull stories, and a complete lack of substance are the shortcomings of most domestic fantasy films. Although the special effects that have developed so well in China can make up for these shortcomings, special effects are not invincible!
Lu Ze couldn't even imagine how outrageous his appearance would be if he wore long white hair, green contact lenses, and maybe even had two horns on his head, and spoke incredibly cheesy lines with a cool expression in front of the camera. He probably would look absolutely stunning.

But it would be a bit unreasonable to reject it just because of the name and genre. Lu Ze could only open the script and read it slowly. Then his brows furrowed more and more. As Lu Ze expected, it was really bad.

Fortunately, at least Lu Ze has finished reading it now and can refuse openly and legitimately.

"I'm sorry, Director Bai, but I didn't want to take this role. I feel the character's setting doesn't suit me at all, so I'm really sorry. Also, we're all family here, so I'd like to ask everyone, do you really think this script can make money?"

"."

P.S.: I'd like to recommend a book, "The God of Luck," which should be quite popular lately. It's very interesting. However, I'm incredibly unlucky; I never get a single good result after using all my graduation tickets. So, I was completely skeptical of this book that's supposed to be about incredible luck, haha, just kidding. But of course, I still want to recommend it to everyone. I'll stop here for now; I need to absorb some good luck energy first!
(End of this chapter)