Global Film Emperor

Chapter 41 seems to offer some hope.

"Brother Zheng, Brother Song, Brother Chen, my show is over for today. See you in Tengchong next year. Bye!"

It's past midnight now. After filming three night scenes for today, Lu Ze's scenes in Hengdian are finally over. After changing his clothes, Lu Ze said goodbye to all the actors who still had to keep going.

After lighting a cigarette, Lu Ze hadn't left, or rather, he was reluctant to leave. He sat by the trench, watching the pyrotechnicians check the buried explosives.

"What are you thinking about? Why are you standing here for so long? Why aren't you going home this late? Are you planning to spend the whole night with us?"

Song Guiyuan slapped Lu Ze on the neck and then plopped down on the ground. He probably didn't see the stones or other hard objects on the ground, because he immediately grimaced, clearly his buttocks had been hit hard.

"It's nothing, I'm just a little reluctant to leave. Brother Song, I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me, this is the best drama I've ever filmed, and the role is also the one with the most screen time I've ever played. Even though I've only filmed half of it, I really don't want to leave."

Lu Ze lowered his head and rubbed the cigarette butt on the ground. He shouldn't have said so much, but he still felt uncomfortable keeping it to himself. It just so happened that Song Guiyuan, his fellow villager who took good care of him, had arrived. If it had been Zheng Yi or Chen Zhijun, he wouldn't have said such things.

Lu Ze felt that Lao Song was just like Mi Long in real life, and his performance in the play was a natural fit for him.

He chuckled twice. After all, he was a middle-aged man, with many wrinkles on his face and his clothes were filthy, making him look like an old bitter gourd.

Without saying a word, she directly touched Lu Ze's pockets. Finding nothing there, she started searching the other side.

"Hey! Hey! What are you doing? Just tell me what you want! Don't just grab me... Let go of my hand, I'll get it for you, don't..."

Unable to argue with him, Song Guiyuan took a cigarette from Lu Ze's pocket, lit it, looked at Lu Ze, and scoffed.

"I know what you mean. You're just scared, aren't you? You're afraid you won't get roles like this anymore, afraid you'll go back to being an extra. Saying you'll miss the crew is just bullshit. You've developed feelings for the crew after just two days of filming?"

Lu Ze's words were exposed, but he wasn't embarrassed. Anyone who wasn't stupid could understand what he meant. This was what Lu Ze wanted to say, but he was too embarrassed to say it so bluntly, so he added some embellishments.

Seeing Lu Ze remain silent, Song Guiyuan braced himself with his hands on the ground behind him, then turned his gaze to the film set, where the bright lights illuminated the set.

"I'll teach you an idiom. Can you guess what it is?"

"what?"

"You're such a worrier! Do you know what 'worrying about the sky falling' means? It's exactly like you. Let me tell you, it's very difficult to get into the acting industry. It's not as simple as just being able to recite a few lines and having good body coordination. You have to admit that, right?"

He flicked his cigarette ash, exhaled a puff of smoke, and continued speaking without looking at Lu Ze.

"You have to admit that being a real actor is not easy, and I also have to admit that you truly deserve to be called an actor. You're not the kind of person who's just muddling through or relying on popularity. You have talent, and we can all see that. So, your worries are unnecessary. With talent, becoming a big star is up to fate, but you won't have to worry about food and drink. I can guarantee that."

"I hope so..."

"Bullshit, I hope so. Alright, go back to sleep. Don't think about having to be an extra after this movie is finished. As long as you work hard, you can't get worse off."

Song Guiyuan was spouting nonsense, and at the end he even gave Lu Ze a pep talk, saying that hard work doesn't guarantee success, and you might work your whole life and still end up with nothing. This is a very mysterious thing, and it has been summarized into one word by generation after generation.

Life.

Lu Ze himself didn't know what his fate was. He consulted a fortune teller, who said that he would never have to worry about food and drink in his life, and would have both a son and a daughter, but he was not destined for great wealth and honor.

Lu Ze used to believe, but now, because of a system, things have changed so much in just a few months, he has started to disbelieve, or rather, he is brainwashing himself and forcing himself not to believe in fate.

Since Song Guiyuan had already said so, Lu Ze thought about it and realized that there was no point in staying in the film crew any longer. He figured that dying here wouldn't move Guo Mingde to give him a script for the male lead.

He stood up, patted his bottom, and nodded to Song Guiyuan: "Well... Brother Song, I'm leaving."

After saying goodbye to the crew, he left the set, intending to go home and sleep. He was going to bed late, and by the time his classes ended, the sun might be high in the sky by tomorrow morning. But just as he turned the corner, Lu Ze bumped into someone. The man, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, shoved it into Lu Ze's down jacket, burning a hole in it. Lu Ze recognized the man's face and knew he couldn't let him pay for the jacket. This man was Guo Mingde.

"Director Guo..."

"Hmm, you're home?"

Guo Mingde was pulling up his pants and fastening his belt. Clearly, he had just come back from the toilet and noticed that Lu Ze's clothes had a hole in them. Since Lu Ze didn't mention it, he didn't either.

"Ah, I'm going home to sleep. Director Guo, you should also get some rest after you finish filming."

"Wait a minute, I have something to tell you. Let's sign with a company, it'll make things easier."

"Huh? What?"

Lu Ze didn't react for a moment, didn't understand what the company meant, and didn't really think about it being a brokerage company.

Hengdian is not without talent scouts; in fact, it has more talent scouts than most other cities.

But their attention was focused on the unfamiliar newcomers, and they no longer asked Lu Ze any questions.

When Lu Ze first came to Hengdian, he was approached by talent scouts. But when they asked him, they found out that he only had a high school education, came from the countryside, had never learned to sing, was uncoordinated when dancing, and was only good at acting. Apart from being tall and having a decent appearance, he was otherwise useless.

Moreover, his appearance is the kind that people born in the 80s and 90s find handsome, which is completely different from the cute and adorable young men that most people born in the 2000s like. With this kind of appearance and the fact that he can't answer any questions, naturally no one would be willing to invest in him.

As time went on, he was forgotten and ended up hanging out with a bunch of peasants, buried in obscurity in Hengdian.

"Company, agency, don't you understand? Once you sign with a company, you won't have to wait for a role to fall from the sky and land on your head. You can go and fight for roles yourself, understand?"

"But...but no company wants me..."

Lu Ze seemed somewhat depressed. He knew the benefits of having a company, but the key issue was that no one would sign him, so he couldn't put his skills to good use.

Moreover, he didn't dare to go for job interviews. Big companies didn't want people without achievements, and small companies were too many shell companies. Lu Ze was also afraid of signing an improper contract and being cheated. Being cheated out of money was a small matter, but what if his youth was kidnapped? Even though he had experienced a lot in the system, there was still a possibility that he might be caught off guard.

"Let me tell you, this industry is a dangerous place. If you dare to step in, you're basically doomed. I didn't want to tell you this, but a friend of mine recently started a talent agency and is recruiting actors. Are you interested?"

Lu Ze did not agree immediately, feeling hesitant. He still did not trust Guo Mingde. What if his friend was just a shell company owner?

Guo Mingde noticed Lu Ze's hesitation and comforted him, "Don't worry, it's true that the company is newly established, but in the entertainment industry, you can't just look at whether a company was established early or late. What you need to look at is very simple, in two words: connections. Even if such a company doesn't develop as well as expected, at least it can guarantee the welfare of its artists and avoid a lot of risks. I'm just making a recommendation; the decision to sign or not is up to you."

Lu Ze acknowledged that the backing of an entertainment company determines how far it can go. He only had some doubts about a new company, after all, it was only in this year that he thought of starting one...

“I’m not a talent scout for their company. If their boss weren’t my childhood friend, I wouldn’t have asked for your opinion. Anyway, if you’re looking for a way out, go check it out. Here’s his phone number. Just say I introduced him to ‘Shanghai Qian Shijia Culture Co., Ltd.’ You can find his information online now. That’s all I’ll say. Let’s go.”

After Guo Mingde entered the film set, Lu Ze was a little confused, looking at the note in his hand with a conflicted feeling.

He pondered this all the way home, and after washing up, he entered the system space.

I've arrived at my hometown. I wrote a chapter on the way and am posting it now. The old man is still alive and should be fine tonight. He saw me too, and although he can't speak, he still knows who I am.

I'll try to write as much as I can tonight, even if it's all night. Sorry everyone.



(End of this chapter)