Global Film Emperor

Chapter 311 Meeting These Newbies
"Director Bai, please have a seat."

"No need, Lu Ze, please sit down. I'm fine."

"No, I don't care about that. Please sit down. It's such a small matter. There's no point in arguing back and forth. Please sit down."

After some polite exchanges, Lu Ze seated Bai Xiqun in the main seat, then sat to his left and took out his phone to fiddle with it for a while.

After all, Bai Xiqun is still the director on the surface, the boss of a film crew. Now that he wants to meet other actors, even though Lu Ze has already divided up most of the power, he can't be too obvious. He still has to give Bai Xiqun some face. He glanced at Bai Xiqun's face, and sure enough, this action made Bai Xiqun's expression much better.

Nobody wants to be a puppet. Which director doesn't want to make a movie that truly belongs to them according to their own wishes and ideas? But he also understands that the company is not wrong in doing so, and Lu Ze is not wrong in taking over the power. His qualifications and abilities are not enough, so he will naturally be deprived of some things. This has nothing to do with right or wrong, but only with the size of the leg.

"Click, haha, Minister Meng, you're so funny. Actually, there was no need to do that, Brother Lu. Long time no see, I think you've become even more handsome."

The door was pushed open, and Lu Ze was not surprised to find that Li Jianni seemed to have a good relationship with Meng Nixin. The two walked into the conference room chatting and laughing, and only nodded to Lu Ze when they saw him.

"Long time no see. Have a seat. Have you finished filming your new movie?"

"Yeah, you bet! Work here is so tight, so I had to work overtime to finish filming over there. I didn't get back to Shanghai until late last night. I'm exhausted."

Li Jianni pulled out a chair and sat down, just like a student sleeping in the classroom. She placed her hands on the table, rested her head on her arms, and yawned.

Lu Ze had no opinion on this. It's perfectly normal for actors to work overtime to meet deadlines, and there's nothing to say about it. If someone needs praise and comfort for even meeting deadlines, then that's a bit unreasonable.

Lu Ze turned his gaze to Feng Changhao, who had walked in with Li Jianni and Meng Nixin. Seeing him pull out a chair and put down the documents in his hand, he asked the most important question, which was also the question Lu Ze cared about the most.

"Minister Feng, which special effects company did we choose?"

"It's not finalized yet. Why? Do you have any good visual effects companies you can recommend?"

“That’s not what I meant. I was just asking. After all, the other actors basically have no experience in special effects filming. I hope to finalize things quickly and then send them for training.”

Knowing that Feng Changhao had misunderstood and thought that someone had used his connections to try and secure the job for "Yinhuang," Lu Ze waved his hand and denied the matter.

"Oh, I see. We've submitted bids to three visual effects companies: 'Cube Technology,' 'Magic Eye Project,' and 'Huake Visual Effects.' Their quotes are actually quite similar, and from what I understand, their skill levels are roughly the same. The only difference might be that 'Cube' has the best modeling and set design, being a game effects company. 'Magic Eye' has the best motion capture among the three. 'Huake' is more average, but their speed is faster than the other two. By the way, Lu Ze, didn't you shoot a game promotional video with 'Cube'? What did you think of 'Cube'?"

This question was directed at Lu Ze, so he had to think carefully before giving his evaluation of the "Rubik's Cube." Because he currently wielded considerable power within the production team, his words could potentially influence Feng Changhao's choice of a special effects company. Therefore, he had to take responsibility for every word he said.

"Well, when 'Cube' was shooting CG before, I really felt it was great. Both the technology and equipment were top-notch internationally a few years ago. I don't know if the equipment has been updated since then, or if there have been any technological breakthroughs. I don't think we should be in a hurry about speed. After all, slow and steady wins the race. The company has invested so much, so it's better to polish it carefully."

“I think so too. OK, then we’ll not consider Huazhong University of Science and Technology. We’ll only consider Rubik’s Cube and Magic Eye. I’ll go to Rubik’s Cube this afternoon to take a look and negotiate again. If the conditions are good, we’ll choose it. After all, Rubik’s Cube is in Shanghai, so it’s closer and easier to communicate and exchange ideas.”

Seeing his words, Lu Ze waved his hand to indicate that he had no objection. Just as he picked up his coffee cup, there was a knock on the door. Meng Nixin said "Come in" and then her assistant pushed open the door and came in.

"Minister, the actors have all arrived. Shall we let them in now?" "Let them in."

The assistant nodded and turned to leave. About thirty seconds later, the knocking sounded again, and a handsome young man, about 1.75 meters tall, walked in and bowed to the people sitting at the head of the table.

Then all twenty-four actors entered the stage, each with an extraordinary appearance. Their gathering together made even the ordinary-looking ministers look more energetic. Lu Ze held a water-based pen in his left hand, propped his chin up, and looked at the twenty-odd people.

Upon noticing that Lu Ze was looking at them, these people tried their best to straighten their backs and act obediently. Many girls even had their eyes sparkling when they saw Lu Ze.

Among these people, there are quite a few who regard Lu Ze as an idol, and some are even his most loyal fans who have an extreme admiration for him. After all, he is the first actor in China to win three Golden Horse Awards, making him the number one in the country. Moreover, he accomplished this unprecedented achievement at an extremely fast pace, so no one doubts Lu Ze's strength.

Although there were many people in the room, no one spoke. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The atmosphere became increasingly oppressive until Bai Xiqun glanced at Lu Ze, then clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention to herself. As the head of the crew, she was the first to speak.

"Everyone is here, and I'm very happy to see you all today. I hope we can get along well in the future. No matter which company you come from or how popular you are right now, I hope you can temporarily forget your achievements in the industry, abide by the crew's rules, and ensure the smooth operation of the crew."

“I know that some of you are making a movie for the first time, so you should study even harder instead of using your first time as an excuse to be lazy. People like that are not suitable to work on my set, so once I find out, I will ask them to leave.”

"Of course, I will also give you relative freedom, instead of constantly exploiting you. I hope that you can take responsibility for this hard-won job as actors. In the future, I hope we can develop a good friendship, and that this filming period can become an unforgettable memory for you. That's all I have to say. Lu Ze, is there anything you want to say?"

Lu Ze rested his chin on his left hand and slowly tapped the table with his right. His gaze swept over the group of beautiful and handsome faces, and his serious and rigid demeanor put considerable pressure on these young people whose average age was twenty-two. Although he had already agreed with Bai Xiqun to have Lu Ze play the role of the bad cop, this kind of temperament was not something Lu Ze was acting; he was serious.

He tossed the pen on the table, took a sip of coffee, leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, pointed to the boy furthest away from him, and asked a question.

"What's your name?"

"Brother Lu, my name is Jiang Chengzhe."

"Stop fiddling with your fingers. I don't know if it's a personal habit or if something on your fingers is attracting your attention, but you should get rid of this problem during your time on set. Did you get in through connections? If you were auditioning, you should have already taken a taxi home."

Without hesitation, Lu Ze revealed the inside story. Although everyone knew it, it still surprised the young people by exposing it to the actors who had auditioned for the role. Under their astonished expressions, Lu Ze pushed the resumes of the twenty-four people aside.

"To be honest, I haven't looked at your resumes since you got into the crew through connections or auditions. I've long forgotten your names because you're all newcomers to this industry. But being a newcomer is not a reason to affect filming. What I hate most is people who use their shortcomings as an excuse. I hope you're not one of them."

"In short, age is not the problem, attitude is. Once you're on set, you need to have the self-awareness of an actor. Wait for the company's notification, which will be in the next few days, to begin a month-long motion capture training. No lateness, no early departures, and no more than three days of leave within a month. If you want to make money through commercial performances, then don't come back. China has no shortage of actors; you are not the only option. Finally, those who got in through connections, don't talk to me about connections. You can ask the person who brought you in. I, Lu Ze, don't recognize anyone on set. I have no connections. If you can't stand it, turn left as you leave, and I'll reimburse your taxi fare."

Seemingly surprised that Lu Ze would speak to them in such a tone, the young people seemed frightened and sat obediently on their stools, watching Lu Ze pack his things with unwavering eyes.

"That's all I have to say. I welcome your questions about the script if you don't understand something, but please don't ask me any more basic questions. I hope that when I finish filming this movie, I can get to know you all and not make you look down on me, okay? That's all I have to say."

"."

(End of this chapter)