Global Film Emperor

Chapter 318 Another Trouble
Starting the day after the press conference, Lu Ze's news was overshadowed by Han Tian's negative scandal, and everyone's attention was drawn to him. As a result, a large number of Han Tian's fans left, and his wife's fans also launched a verbal attack against him, and he was subjected to a barrage of insults.

Han Tian's losses are no longer mentioned. In this circle, there is no clear right or wrong. It can only be said that Qian Shijia used the fastest way to downplay the incident, minimizing the losses. It was underhanded, but most beneficial to himself.

From the second day onwards, there were no more paparazzi or bribed employees on set, and things finally got into full swing. The crew officially started operating. Lu Ze had many complaints, but since he had already said what he wanted to say, he stopped participating in the management of the crew and the filming of other actors. He only wanted to do his job well and ignored everything else.

Regardless of how well Bai Xiqun filmed, Lu Ze watched without offering any advice. He simply watched the actors finish filming the scene with his arms crossed, then pointed out any shortcomings in the young actors and helped them improve in the next scene.

If this show is a flop, so be it. Lu Ze accepts it. It's only half a year, right? He can handle it. He's no longer involved with the crew, so even if they don't make a penny, he won't take the blame. If anyone's going to die, it'll be Bai Xiqun.

As for Lu Ze's reputation loss? There's nothing he can do. Can you refuse a role in a company production? Since you've already signed the contract, can you afford to pay for it if you go back on your word? Besides, he genuinely didn't know the production team was in this situation at the time.

He was annoyed that he had been scammed, but he also learned his lesson. This was the first time in his life he had encountered such a trick. He considered the past six months as tuition, and he just hoped he wouldn't fall into the same trap again.

However, to be fair, his acting was still flawless, incredibly stable, and effortlessly powerful, making everyone in the crew realize what a top-tier actor is, and making these junior actors understand just how big the gap was between themselves and Lu Ze.

It was also because of Lu Ze's skill and aura that he could influence other actors. The performances of these young actors were not so bad. With Lu Ze's guidance, their performances were actually quite remarkable and seemed quite professional, making Lu Ze feel that they were teachable.

Except for one person, Li Jianni, who remained unchanged and did not change at all, which Lu Ze found laughable. If her homeroom teacher at the Shanghai Theatre Academy saw her like this, he would probably scold her to death. However, Lu Ze did not have the right or responsibility to scold her. He just watched coldly. His relationship with her, which was originally good, has now dropped to freezing point.

Time passed slowly, and more than a month and a half had passed in the blink of an eye. Shanghai had entered winter, becoming cold and damp, and the wind was so strong that it felt like needles were pricking your bones.

Today was just an ordinary day. Lu Ze got up and washed up as usual, made breakfast, fed the cat, groomed the cripple's fur after the meal, and finally put on a knitted trench coat and went downstairs to drive to the Rubik's Cube Technology Studio.

"Good morning, Uncle Lu! I bought you coffee, would you like a cup? It's your favorite espresso, with milk but no sugar, and no latte art."

"Thank you, it's much warmer now. Did you remember everything I told you yesterday?"

"Don't worry, I practiced until midnight last night. I can recite all my lines by heart now, and I've also carefully studied the movements. I was planning to show them to you today. By the way, Uncle Lu, could you take a look at the script for this scene? I'd like to..."

Lu Ze took the coffee from Pei Yuanhui; it was still hot, perfect for warming his hands. Holding the cup in both hands, he walked side by side with Pei Yuanhui toward the filming location, greeting familiar special effects staff along the way.

The two got along well. Although Lu Ze maintained a serious demeanor, he couldn't resist Pei Yuanhui's charm. No one would feel ill of someone with high emotional intelligence and good interpersonal skills, especially when they wanted to build a good relationship with you.

Therefore, Pei Yuanhui is envied by other young actors. After all, she can ask Lu Ze questions at any time, and Lu Ze will answer all her questions. So she is the fastest improving among all the young actors, far ahead of the others.

"Oh, I understand now, thank you Uncle Lu! I'll go change my clothes now. The first scene is mine, so I need to get ready quickly. I'll have to go now!"

Seeing her run away, Lu Ze found a stool, put the coffee on the table, took the script that Wang Zixuan handed him, and drew some annotations on it that only he could understand. He had a scene to film this morning, but it was estimated to be around 10 o'clock. It should be the last scene of the morning. There was no rush to change clothes. You know, the professional special effects bodysuit is really not comfortable to wear.

"Lu Ze, do you have time? There's something I need to tell you, it's urgent. Um... don't rush me after I finish speaking. I only found out about this this morning, which is why I rushed to the set to tell you."

Seeing Feng Changhao walk over and say these words, Lu Ze frowned, nodded, and reached out to pull out the chair next to him, gesturing for Feng Changhao to sit down and speak.

"Um... a shareholder withdrew their investment."

"what?"

Lu Ze was truly shocked. This film crew had completely shattered his worldview. One bizarre thing after another kept happening. First, there was a director who acted like a human being, and now there was an investor who withdrew his investment halfway through? What kind of mess is this?
First of all, it's true that this investment is from the company, but it's not purely a company investment. To put it another way, the production company of this film is Qian Shijia Media Co., Ltd., but the producer is not only Lee Sun-kyun. There are also other shareholders of Qian Shijia who made individual investments, making it a joint production.

During Ho Chi Quang's era, the company actually had no other shareholders. This change occurred after Lee Sun Kyun took over, as some shares were released to attract funds, allowing the company to grow more rapidly.

This approach wasn't stopped by the group. After all, holding all the shares wasn't really useful; as long as the shareholding remained above 51%, the rest could be exchanged for cash—financing was perfectly normal. Because this investment was too large, Qian Shijia's accounts couldn't handle it. The company didn't have many big-name artists, was still in its growth phase, and had too many expenses.

Lee Sun-kyun did not transfer funds from the Rongchuang Group, nor had he ever heard of any company needing financial support from the group to invest in a new film. Even if the group was owned by his family, the board of directors would not agree to it.

What if they can't make a profit? Lee Sun-kyun will talk to the other shareholders one by one. It's their personal investment, and they will settle accounts and receive dividends after the film is released. That's how it is. The film was jointly funded by four investors, and Lu Ze knew this.

It's not uncommon for investors to withdraw their funding, but that usually happens when some foolish directors offend investors. Lu Ze just couldn't understand why the shareholders would withdraw their investment when "Yinhuang" was being filmed so well.

"Who's not voting? How much money are they taking with them?"

"Yang Yong took away more than 80 million, nearly 85 million."

"So much? Is there no way to salvage this? After deducting over 50 million for publicity, the filming costs are already barely enough. Even 10 million less wouldn't be enough. Didn't President Li tell him that?"

"Mr. Li is negotiating with Mr. Yang, but it's unlikely they'll be able to get it back."

"Oh shit!"

Lu Ze slammed his fist on the table with a loud thud, startling Wang Zixuan. She was taking pictures of Lu Ze's life when she was suddenly startled. If her phone hadn't been strapped to her neck, it would have fallen to the ground and the screen would probably have been ruined.

Lu Ze was genuinely angry. To be honest, he sincerely hoped that every movie he starred in would be a good one. He wouldn't say he hoped that his movies would be bad. He didn't care about "Yinhuang" not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't have the ability to. But even so, he still had more than twenty burdens to deal with.

Does Bai Xiqun know about this?

"Director Bai knows; I called him this morning to inform him."

Lu Ze turned to look at Bai Xiqun, who was laughing and waving as he announced that another one had crossed, then pointed at him and looked at Feng Changhao, asking incredulously, "Are you sure he knows?"

"Perhaps...Director Bai has a strong ability to withstand pressure."

"Nonsense, 85 million. What are we going to do? The funds have already been withdrawn. Would you mind if I checked the accounts to see how much money is left?"

It would be inappropriate for an ordinary actor to say this, but Lu Ze's status is different, and given his position, Feng Changhao naturally couldn't refuse.

"Okay, I brought my computer. This place isn't suitable. Let's find an empty room to look at it."

"Okay, Zixuan, you stay here and wait for me. Give me your phone. Call me if Director Bai asks me to do my makeup later."

Lu Ze shoved his phone into his pocket, got up, and followed Feng Changhao toward a conference room.

"."

Let me tell you about the PUBG competition. This was decided a long time ago. Since Huochai has already been included, it would be unreasonable for him not to participate. Currently, Huochai's team has achieved a good result of fifth place on the leaderboard. Although it has little to do with Huochai himself, let's not mention the little incident of him falling to his death midway through the competition.
I've been suffering from injuries lately. I've developed a herniated disc, and it's been recurring and severe. I can't sit up, putting on shoes is difficult, and I can only lie down. This kind of pain shouldn't be happening to me at sixteen. Actually, my lack of updates is largely due to my back injury. I can't type on my phone, and I fall asleep as soon as I start. Oh well, I won't make excuses for myself. I really haven't been diligent lately. Please scold me as much as you want, whip me with a little leather whip. I deserve it, and I won't fight back.

The plot during this period may not have been enjoyable for everyone, and may have even overturned many people's impressions of Lu Ze, but there are reasons for all of this. It is all interconnected. These plots that may seem disgusting to some are all foreshadowing of a major event, which will be revealed in the next chapter.

The next chapter will be updated late at night, and it will explain everything clearly from the inception of the "Yinhuang" project. I feel deeply sorry and a little regretful to those who abandoned the book before this point, and I also feel a little distrusted. Enough said, I'm going to start writing now. The next chapter will explain everything clearly.



(End of this chapter)