Global Film Emperor

Chapter 82 Arrival at the Filming Location
"Give me my luggage, give it to me now."

This morning, Lu Ze, Li Jianni, and Zhang Haopeng gathered together and boarded a plane to Dalian International Airport. The entire filming of the movie was completed in Dalian.

As soon as they got off the plane, Wang Zixuan's old habit kicked in again. The plan was to film in Dalian for more than a month, so Lu Ze naturally brought a lot of luggage. After they got their luggage, Wang Zixuan tried to snatch it from Lu Ze again.

Li Jianni and Zhang Haopeng were dumbfounded as they watched the two of them fighting over the luggage. They had no idea what Lu Ze's assistant was up to. This girl was so thin and small, why was she fighting so fiercely with Lu Ze over the luggage?

Lu Ze grabbed the suitcase handle, while Wang Zixuan grabbed the suitcase lever. Lu Ze didn't dare to use too much force, afraid of hurting Wang Zixuan. Wang Zixuan remained expressionless, but her face turned a little red and her lips were puffed out, indicating that she was really using her strength.

In the end, Wang Zixuan couldn't beat Lu Ze. Once she lost her grip, Lu Ze easily snatched the suitcase away, pulled it along, and walked ahead like a victor.

Wang Zixuan followed behind Li Jianni and Zhang Haopeng, looking a little angry. She lowered her head, clenched her fists tightly, and walked silently towards the airport gate.

"Hello, Oze."

Liu Bin set off a day early as usual, borrowed a car from the company, and waited at the airport. When he saw Lu Ze coming over, he waved and helped put the luggage of the four people into the car.

The envy in Li Jianni and Zhang Haopeng's eyes was obvious. This was the advantage of signing the contract first. Even though they were not famous yet, they were provided with an assistant and a driver. They had cars to pick them up and drop them off wherever they went, and their travels were no different from those of celebrities.

Han Chen had already informed them that after returning their luggage to the hotel, they would have to report to the film and television city. When Lu Ze got out of the car, he looked at the hotel in front of him and couldn't help but smack his lips. "Home Inn, huh?"
Home Inn was already pretty good. Everyone knows the budget of the film crew. Lu Ze originally thought Han Chen would arrange a small hotel for them. But with Han Chen's shameless personality, it's hard to believe he would actually do that.

But was Lu Ze really wrong about him this time?
After receiving the room key, Lu Ze and Zhang Haopeng exchanged a glance. The double room was registered to Lu Ze and Zhang Haopeng, which meant that they would be staying together for more than a month.

Everyone had double rooms; Li Jianni and Wang Zixuan shared a room.

Lu Ze didn't feel dissatisfied at all. It doesn't matter where you stay. A few days ago, during a simulation course, he worked as a laborer on a construction site. He had stayed in a simple house with twelve men inside. Home Inn's standard was already very high.

However, Li Jianni and Zhang Haopeng were not very satisfied. They hadn't stayed in a double room at a budget hotel in a long time, and the thought of staying with someone they didn't know for more than a month might be too awkward. But when they saw Lu Ze enter with his luggage and go up the elevator, they could only follow silently. After all, he was a newcomer, and even if they were not satisfied, the older staff hadn't said anything yet, so it wasn't their place to complain.

The glass bathroom in the room would be wonderful for a man and a woman, but two men would get styes just looking at it. Lu Ze and Zhang Haopeng remained silent, quickly packed their luggage, and left the awkward space.

This was Lu Ze's first time visiting the film and television city in Dalian. The theme was very different from Hengdian. The only thing that was the same as Hengdian was that there were still quite a few extras waiting for work outside.

Come to think of it, he has been away from Hengdian for more than half a year and has not been back since. I wonder how Zeng Long and Liu Le are doing now.

Now is not the time for reminiscing. As soon as Lu Ze got out of the car, he saw Han Chen's fat face revealing a lewd smile as he shouted loudly at them.

"Come on over. After the opening ceremony, filming will officially begin this afternoon."

Lu Ze and the others had no objections. They could skip the press conference, because it would be too expensive for many small production teams and wouldn't attract any viewers, so it would be meaningless.

But the opening ceremony is different. Whether you call it feudal superstition or just for psychological comfort, although many directors no longer follow this tradition or only go through the motions, the vast majority of directors still preserve this tradition.

They worship Guan Gong, offer sacrifices, burn incense, and cover the camera with a red cloth, praying that Guan Gong will bless the filming to go smoothly, prevent any accidents, and ensure that the broadcast will be profitable.

Guo Mingde and Cheng Yuan were both compliant with the opening ceremony tradition. He had personally participated in the opening ceremony of "Youth in the Capital" and was very familiar with it. Moreover, he had seen even more in Hengdian. Li Jianni had never participated in an opening ceremony before, so she could only imitate Lu Ze, bowing respectfully and offering incense. Once the red cloth was lifted, there was no ribbon-cutting ceremony, and the opening ceremony was considered over.

"What are we having for lunch? We'll have something nice for the first day, but from now on it will be boxed lunches. Don't be picky, though. If you want to eat something else later, you'll have to buy it yourself."

Since Han Chen said so, Lu Ze, who was very familiar with Han Chen, no longer stood on ceremony. He had Liu Bin drive and headed straight for a seafood restaurant. It was just a seafood meal. They wouldn't drink alcohol, eat Australian lobster or sea cucumber, just some fresh local seafood. How much could it cost?
The seafood in July wasn't very plump. Although it was fresh and tasted great, the size was too small to satisfy our cravings. Li Jianni and Zhang Haopeng were a little embarrassed to eat any, as were Liu Bin and Wang Zixuan.

Lu Ze and Han Chen ate heartily. Lu Ze's eating manners were somewhat better, but Han Chen was completely picky, saying that this one was too small and that one had too little meat. All he said were criticisms, and his mouth was still busy stuffing food into his mouth.

Really fragrant.

After eating a table full of dead seafood, the two wiped their mouths, patted their bellies, and asked Han Chen to pay the bill.

"Hey you, I can eat a little more without any problem, but aren't you afraid of getting fat from eating so much? If you puff up like a balloon, how will we be able to film this movie?"

After returning with his phone, Han Chen said something to Lu Ze, but it wasn't about Lu Ze's physique at all. He was just subtly complaining that Lu Ze ate too much and that this meal probably wasn't cheap.

"Don't worry, Director Han, I pay close attention to my weight. It generally fluctuates between 150 and 160 pounds. If it exceeds that, I lose weight. I'm in good control."

"That would be perfect."

Han Chen got into the car dejectedly, muttered a few words, and then closed his eyes to rest without saying another word.

When they returned to the set, it was already 1:30 pm. Han Chen ran over to ask the staff to make preparations, while Lu Ze and the others went to the costume and props department to change into their performance costumes and then to the makeup department to do their costumes for the play.

After putting on the trousers, shirt, vest, and suit, she sat down in the chair. Because of the limited budget, the makeup artist certainly couldn't find anyone with experience. She looked like a girl of seventeen or eighteen.

Although the girl was young, her makeup skills were decent; she wasn't some greenhorn trying to fool around. It seemed she had experience working on several production teams. If you didn't look at her young face, Lu Ze couldn't really tell the difference between her and a seasoned professional.

Lu Ze's eyebrows were thick, which made his eyes very bright, but they weren't sword-shaped eyebrows, so he didn't have an aggressive demeanor. After the young girl saw the protagonist's design, she trimmed Lu Ze's eyebrows, making the tails narrower, which made his demeanor very serious and sharp.

After his hair was finally styled, Lu Ze looked at himself in the mirror. He didn't look drastically different, but he definitely looked more handsome after dressing up.

This is also the second reason why Lu Ze did not discuss the main characters' images with Han Chen. In the original novel, Qin Ming is a goofy fat man, and Zhao Dabao is a man. If the film is made according to the original novel, many female viewers will be lost.

After all, the protagonist with this kind of expressionless, handsome young man look is more popular than the middle-aged, beer-bellied, balding uncle in a white coat.

Lu Ze originally had slightly curly hair, so the makeup artist had no choice but to use a lot of hairspray to straighten it. With a gentle shake, his head felt heavy.

Not daring to touch his hair again for fear of getting hairspray all over his hands, Lu Ze straightened his suit and headed towards the film set.

Let me address the issue with the update earlier. I posted the wrong chapter, skipped a chapter, and then clicked to delete it and repost it. The backend indicated that it had been posted, but it didn't update in the app. It took more than an hour to post. I've already posted the author's note four times, and I refuse to believe it still won't show up.

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(End of this chapter)