Global Film Emperor

Chapter 543 was the inevitable outcome.
The first interviewee, Peng Kuo, stepped forward, unable to hide his joy. He bowed deeply to his examiner, Lu Ze, and confidently looked directly at Lu Ze, who sat opposite him with a calm expression.

"Can we perform now?"

"of course."

Despite Lu Ze's somewhat aloof indifference, he remained unfazed. After getting into position, he glared and suddenly became energetic, his facial expression enhancing the overall impression. His body movements were clean and precise, without any noticeable swaying or shaking. The audience could easily ignore the background that didn't fit the storyline and focus all their attention on the performer.

An expert's skill is immediately apparent, while most amateur viewers can only sense the change in Peng Kuo's demeanor. He instantly transforms from a confident and sunny boy into a spirited and resolute man. However, this momentary change also allows these viewers to perceive the gap between Peng Kuo and the young actors they usually see on television.

Those working in the field and students in this major can see more from this brief change in detail. Solid basic skills, good posture, and excellent proportions of limbs, head, shoulders, and waist are the most direct impressions, making one marvel at Peng Kuo's excellent innate physical condition.

At the same time, this instantaneous change shows that he has a great deal of experience in stage plays, and ordinary students can hardly match his skill in "changing faces".

He took a deep breath, recited his lines with a loud and clear voice, a pleasant tone, clear articulation, standard accent, and powerful and rhythmic delivery. His phrasing was perfect, and his emotions were full. Combined with his facial expressions and body language, he was undoubtedly qualified by the standards of an excellent stage actor. Even when Lu Ze gave him his lines in a calm tone, he was not surprised at all and smoothly took over the rest of the lines without any delay.

The emotional gap in the lines between the two leads to a complete disconnect in the audience's perception, but this disconnect also significantly enhances the audience's perception of the performers' skill level. Even ordinary viewers can see how impressive Peng Kuo is.

The only flaw, if not a fault, is that Peng Kuo's performance is too theatrical. It would be fair to say it has a strong formalistic feel, with a faint air of craftsmanship. It is quite different from the performance style of common movies or TV series. But this is not a big deal. It just means that he is not very familiar with the performance style of movies or TV series. He can improve with some practice. In general, he has strong acting ability, but with a clear professional style. He is a young actor whose main performance path is the stage.

"Is this the bigwig selected from across the country? I'm the same age as him, and I'm speechless."

"I feel he's better than my teacher..."

"Chun Chun Gui Wu is a year younger than me, but her theatrical skills are far superior to mine."

"This is one of the top 400 in the country? If all 400 people were this good, I wouldn't need to look for a job after graduation; I could just go straight to a factory!"

"Jingye is really amazing. He's probably performed in dozens or even hundreds of plays. It's not surprising that he's reached this level."

"The capital city really has a regional advantage. Our whole city only has one drama troupe. Let alone a performance, it's hard to even see one. They have at least ten performances a month. What are you comparing yourselves to them?"

"Isn't this Peng Kuo Saint? A pure Celestial Dragon."

The comments section was filled with mixed reviews, but most of them were about the region. As for Peng Kuo's acting ability, it was not questioned. His ability speaks for itself, and even acting teachers could not find any fault with his performance.

Regional advantages? Undeniably, they exist, but this cannot erase Peng Kuo's talent and hard work. It's true that the capital city has better resources, but better resources are mostly wasted, generating more waste. It's not like any actor in the capital's drama troupe is a genius; there will only be more Dong Guos than elsewhere.

The camera focused on Lu Ze, whose demeanor was noticeably different from when Peng Kuo first entered the room. He looked at Peng Kuo, occasionally glancing down at the script in his hand, and a slight smile gradually appeared on his face until the performance ended.

"Teacher, I'm done performing."

"Peng Kuo, did your parents come with you today?"

"Um... no teacher. I'm an adult now and I've talked to my parents. If you choose me, I can take responsibility for my contract."

Peng Kuo was taken aback by the question, but then he was overjoyed and nodded excitedly.

"Shall we contact each other tomorrow? Wait for my call."

"Okay, then I'll wait for you tomorrow!"

Lu Ze's first student was confirmed. In the area where no mentor had chosen him, one of the four "?" marks below Lu Ze's avatar went out. Lu Ze wasn't the quickest to choose his first student; on the contrary, he was the slowest, considering things more carefully and repeatedly comparing the scripts he had. If his first student hadn't been so strong, perhaps the other mentors would have already chosen their second student, and it would have been uncertain whether Lu Ze would have even produced a top performer. Soon, the extinguished "?" mark caused a stir among the students in the waiting area. As one of the very few Chinese film actors who have been active abroad for a long time, Lu Ze had the least seniority compared to the other three mentors, but his popularity was the highest. If they could only choose one mentor from the four to guide them in the future, it's estimated that the vast majority of students present would vote for Lu Ze, the six-time Golden Horse Award winner with the highest prestige in Eurasia, to become one of his top performers.

The trainees who were not selected began to feel anxious, and some even closed their eyes and prayed that the actors who were previously selected did not meet the requirements of the four mentors, so that they would have the opportunity to stand in front of the teachers and show their acting skills that they had worked hard for over the years.

This anxiety was captured on camera and displayed to the audience without any attempt to hide it. No one would blame these trainees for their slightly dark thoughts of not being able to stand seeing others succeed. Everyone understands that when they signed up for this program, they themselves threw themselves into this jungle of survival of the fittest.

Only when the audience realized what was wrong did they begin to understand the problems with this selection mechanism.

"Isn't this torture?"

"If all the selected students are hired, then what are the vast majority of the remaining students doing here?"

"Are you kidding me? So many students beat out so many people across the country, finally made it into the top 400, and are standing here, only to be sent home without even a single shot?"

"Even if you don't get screen time on shows like 'The Voice of China,' you should at least get to stand on stage and sing a song, right? What do they do? They just give you a group shot and that's it? Are they just there to be stepping stones for the selected contestants?"

"The selection mechanism is indeed disgusting."

Most of the viewers who had been sleeping realized what was happening, and the number of real-time comments began to climb towards the peak of the show. However, this did not affect the continued broadcast of the show; the viewers just watched, and just watched...

Watching the question marks go out one by one.

The students who were not selected looked blank.

Until his expression turned to despair.

Pointless.

Signing up for the competition is meaningless, going all out to pass the preliminary rounds is meaningless, and even standing here is meaningless. All the effort is just to serve as a backdrop, to stand in the camp of the losers, to be a scarecrow that can't make a sound.

As one of the top 400 in the country, none of the contestants are weak. The selected contestants are not necessarily more talented in acting than the others, but simply because they are more "like" or more like the roles the mentors feel they have been given. That's all.

And "likeness" is the result determined the moment the trainees are initially selected...

So no miracle happened. The last spot for the last mentor, Lu Ze's last "?", slowly faded in their eyes, completely killing their spiritual support.

This is a game that's inherently for losers.

ended.

The number of comments peaked in the first episode, then plummeted.

The decision to abandon the variety show in the first season is now a done deal.

"..."

(End of this chapter)