The Birth of the Best Director

Chapter 290 An incredible plot twist! Truth or fiction?! Even an Oscar-winning actor is stunned!

……

After filming the scenes in the Philippines was completed.

The entire crew took a day off, and the next morning they flew directly to the UK to the Sellafield nuclear power station to film the second scene.

After several busy days, Lu Zhiyuan was indeed a little tired.

He plans to take a break and relax a bit.

As for the specific details... it's not something I can tell outsiders.

……

That night.

Gao Yuanyuan was completely satisfied, her eyes sparkling with affection as she leaned against Lu Zhiyuan's chest.

"Honey, how about we do it again? I feel like you're still not quite done."

Gao Yuanyuan gently nudged Lu Zhiyuan, opened her red lips, and lightly licked the corner of her lips with her tongue, looking at Lu Zhiyuan with seductive allure.

After holding back for a whole week, Lu Zhiyuan only touched her once!
Although once a week is quite frequent, it's still better than waiting four years for one.

However, Gao Yuanyuan was still somewhat displeased.

It's all Zhang Ruonan's fault!

What a fool! His acting is so bad, he can't even act well in a special effects blockbuster.

Then compare yourself to them.

In "Art Students," the characters Ruan Wen and Wu Xiuqing, with their complex emotions and fractured feelings, were still portrayed with remarkable depth and realism.

Lu Zhiyuan has never criticized his own acting skills.

Unfortunately, I am no longer 17 years old.

She can't play Lu Zhiyuan's angelic side, but she'd be more suited to playing a cold and aloof CEO.

"Yuanyuan, let's pause for a moment!"

She noticed Gao Yuanyuan's hands starting to grope her body, and her lips slowly moving closer to her cheek.

Lu Zhiyuan suddenly hugged Gao Yuanyuan's head and grabbed her small hand, as if a flash of inspiration had crossed his mind.

"Husband, what's wrong?"

Gao Yuanyuan looked at Lu Zhiyuan with some confusion.

The arrow is already on the bowstring, what are we waiting for?
You can hold back, but I can't!
However, Gao Yuanyuan's hands and head were firmly pressed down by Lu Zhiyuan.

She has the will but not the ability.

At this moment, Lu Zhiyuan looked at the ceiling and said thoughtfully, "I've been thinking about how to portray hell as heaven and demons as sacred symbols."

The place where demons dwell is hell.

The origin of the gods is, of course, heaven.

But Godzilla looks like a demon and crawled out of underground magma... Under these circumstances, how can people realize that Godzilla is the guardian of the earth?
We can't use a storyline; we have to use visuals to show it.

This allows the audience to immediately realize that Godzilla is there to help humanity defeat the monster.

Lu Zhiyuan tried many methods, but he was always just a little bit off.

At this moment, he looked at the TV in the hotel room. The power button was in standby mode, and in the pink-themed room, that little red dot was so dazzling.

Suddenly, he understood many things.

"Where the light comes from, the dwelling place of the gods will be."

“Every time Godzilla appears, strange radiant light flashes around its body. Although it is fleeting, it is like a shooting star that attracts everyone’s attention in an instant.”

"I want to create a sense of sacredness for every appearance of Godzilla through lighting and shadow effects. I want the light emanating from him to shine through the chaotic and hazy world, like stage lights!"

"Sacred and destructive, a binary opposition."

"MUTO's temperament is close to that of the God of Destruction, while Godzilla's temperament is like that of an ancient giant god, moderate and peaceful."

"However, I'll have to talk to Schwarzschild and have the cold light reflection on Godzilla's skin and scales when he appears adjusted to remove the evil aspect and add some sense of power."

After Lu Zhiyuan finished speaking, he released Gao Yuanyuan's hand and head: "Yuanyuan, what do you think of this idea? Do you feel anything for it?"

During the filming process, Lu Zhiyuan was completely different from his usual aloof and silent self.

He was in a state of near-madness, his brain constantly working at a high frequency, and bursts of inspiration would occasionally appear.

But sometimes, he knows he's entered a state of frenzied self-indulgence. He may feel great, but the audience may not necessarily resonate with him emotionally.

Therefore, after he finishes conceiving a plan, he will discuss it with the people around him.

If someone objects, Lu Zhiyuan will reconsider and will not act unilaterally.

Box office revenue is the most important thing.

What matters most is whether the public likes it.

He can put aside his artistic creations and give way to box office success.

"Honey, I really feel it!"

Whenever Lu Zhiyuan said these things, regardless of whether they made sense or not, his eyes would light up, and he would act like a devout believer.

Gao Yuanyuan liked it very much!
She knew very well that after dating someone like that, she would never be interested in anyone else.

"I feel it too."

Lu Zhiyuan smiled, came back to his senses, and saw Gao Yuanyuan with a beaming smile. He suddenly felt that this girl truly deserved to be the goddess who had been ranked number one on Hupu's popularity chart for many years!
So lovely!
……

The next morning.

Zhang Ruonan yawned as she waited outside Lu Zhiyuan's door early in the morning.

"Squeak."

When Lu Zhiyuan opened his door, it wasn't Lu Zhiyuan who came out, but Gao Yuanyuan, who looked smug and triumphant.

Her eyebrows were delicately drawn, her smile was clear, and her eyes held a hint of contented sweetness.

"Xiao Nan, is something the matter?"

After Gao Yuanyuan closed the door, she noticed Zhang Ruonan, smiled, and deliberately asked a question.

She was too lazy to keep pretending anymore. Anyway, everyone in the crew, from top to bottom, knew about her relationship with Lu Zhiyuan.

Dilraba didn't say anything.

As for others, is it any of our business?
Anyone who dares to say a word will have their salary paid tomorrow and won't need to work at the company anymore.

"Sister Yuanyuan, you got up even earlier than me. Why are you here to see Brother Yuan so early?"

Gao Yuanyuan didn't want to keep up the act anymore, but Zhang Ruonan wanted to continue.

I don't know what your relationship is.

As the producer, Gao Yuanyuan must have discovered some problems early in the morning, so she came to Lu Zhiyuan, the director, to discuss the next steps in the workflow.

This is normal work, everyone agrees, right?
"Yes, I do need to speak with him about something."

Gao Yuanyuan couldn't help but laugh.

She immediately understood what Zhang Ruonan was thinking.

I don't understand, I don't want to admit it, but I still have a lingering thought about Lu Zhiyuan.

This little girl has already learned to play the ostrich!

"Xiao Nan, don't go in and disturb him. He was quite tired last night and put in a lot of effort. He'll probably need another two hours of sleep to recover."

Gao Yuanyuan revealed some little secrets to Zhang Ruonan in a meaningful way.

"Oh, Yuan must be working on the movie scenes, so he's staying up late. I won't bother him then."

Zhang Ruonan replied innocently.

No matter what you say, I just don't understand what you're talking about.

Anyway, I don't understand what kind of complicated relationship you two have.

"Yes. He was brainstorming last night about the scene where Godzilla would appear. How to construct it so that Godzilla would look like a savior, a protector of the Earth."

Since Zhang Ruonan pretended not to understand, Gao Yuanyuan didn't expose her and added a few more words with a smile.

"I knew it. Brother Yuan is indeed focused on making movies."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ruonan immediately beamed with joy.

The two of them headed down to the restaurant.

Walking down the street, Zhang Ruonan felt the atmosphere was a little awkward, so she deliberately tried to make conversation: "Sister Yuanyuan, you've been voted number one on Hupu's Goddess Ranking for years. Do you have any tips you can teach me? I want to be on the list too."

Gao Yuanyuan turned to look at Zhang Ruonan and calmly said, "It's very simple. Just act gentle and cute, smile innocently, and make it seem like you're easily manipulated by men. Those otaku will immediately fall for you."

Gao Yuanyuan casually picked out a few comments from the media about herself and relayed them to Zhang Ruonan.

Anyway, she no longer needs these empty titles.

What use is a "goddess" to male otaku?

My aloof and handsome guy wouldn't go on Hupu to vote for me.

But it doesn’t matter.

He can just vote for me; he doesn't need to go on Hupu (a Chinese sports forum).

"Thank you, Sister Yuanyuan."

Zhang Ruonan nodded thoughtfully, then murmured to herself, "So, Brother Yuan likes harmless girls who seem easy to manipulate. Does that mean they just need to be obedient?"

Strong-willed men generally prefer gentle and considerate women.

Gao Yuanyuan wasn't making things up on this point.

However, Lu Zhiyuan already has Gao Yuanyuan, a gentle and considerate lover. It seems unnecessary for him to find someone similar.
That despicable Gao Yuanyuan, she's trying to mislead me!

I'll just keep pretending to be cute!
This is the track I'm on!
……

Producer Gao Yuanyuan, along with lead actress Zhang Ruonan, arrived at the restaurant.

"Mr. Gao, please sit here."

"Sister Nan, please sit here."

Upon seeing the two women, some staff members rushed to offer them the best seats and invited them to sit down and dine.

after awhile.

Xin Yukun and Su Lun also arrived. After glancing around, they sat down opposite Gao Yuanyuan and Zhang Ruonan.

Although the film crew looked like a big construction site and seemed chaotic, there was actually a clear hierarchy, which could be seen from the seating arrangement.

"Brother Kun, how much do you think our movie will ultimately gross? Can it be like the 'Real Steel' series, making a billion US dollars?"

Su Lun was full of anticipation for this.

The higher the box office, the more bonus she receives.

With a box office of 1000 billion US dollars, she can earn at least 10 million after pulling off this stunt!

She earns more than she would make making movies on her own!

Otherwise, why would she give up her legitimate directing career and give up all her work to assist Lu Zhiyuan?
Isn't it simply because following Lu Zhiyuan will earn you more money?

If she were to make her own movie, it might even flop.

"A billion US dollars? That's hard to say."

Xin Yukun shook his head, not wanting to boast blindly.

"When it comes to movies, it's all about the subject matter. Special effects blockbusters like 'Godzilla' are the kind of movies that Brother Yuan excels at. It's impossible for it to flop."

"However, how high the box office can go, and whether it can break 10 billion US dollars, depends more on the media coverage and social atmosphere."

Public opinion and propaganda are relatively easy to handle.

If you throw money at it, it will eventually have some effect.

Social trends change so quickly. They're not social researchers, so who knows what the world's audience is thinking?
Moreover, movies are, after all, cultural products.

To achieve outstanding box office results in a particular country, it is essential to have a deep understanding of that country's social atmosphere and cultural characteristics.

However, these special effects blockbusters often fail to provide a deep understanding of these elements.

In terms of cultural narrative, it can only remain superficial.

Therefore, the content of such special effects blockbusters tends to be rather shallow.

In fact, this is not because the director is bad, but because the director did this on purpose to lower the viewing threshold.

The lower the threshold, the lower the cultural barriers. Even if it doesn't make audiences all over the world like it, at least it won't make some people hate it.

To make a film that everyone likes and can view objectively is a very rare achievement for a director!
"Brother Kun, you're wrong about that."

Gao Yuanyuan shook her head and smiled, appearing inscrutable.

"Mr. Gao, what are your thoughts?"

Xin Yukun had just been trying to get Gao Yuanyuan to reveal some of Lu Zhiyuan's true thoughts.

Filmmaking is one thing, editing is another.

Post-production is another matter entirely.

Xin Yukun could clearly feel that he was falling further and further behind Lu Zhiyuan's pace... mainly because he was too lazy to climb anymore and was ready to rest on his laurels.

Filmmaking is such a tiring thing.

Comparatively speaking, behind-the-scenes production work is more comfortable, as it doesn't involve much mental labor and is mostly mechanical physical work.

Xin Yukun felt that with his super physical strength, he could work until he was at least 70 years old!
However, when he worked on creative projects with Lu Zhiyuan, he felt that by the time he turned 30, he would have to empty his mind of all the creative ideas he had.

"What...what brilliant ideas could I possibly have? Let's eat."

Gao Yuanyuan couldn't wait to show off the bedtime ideas that Lu Zhiyuan had shared with her the night before.

But in the end, realizing something, he forced himself to hold back.

Hey!
If it were Dilraba, she would definitely say it casually but with a hint of boasting, "Last night before going to sleep, the two of us were lying in bed, doing this and that..." and then she would garner everyone's admiration.

I just can't say it. It's so painful!
……

The distance from the Philippines to London is over 11000 kilometers.

Even by plane, the flight takes about 15 hours.

I'm so tired.

Even though Lu Zhiyuan's physical abilities had been enhanced by the system, such a long flight time still left him extremely tired.

As for the others, needless to say.

They were all aching and their faces said, "I can't take it anymore."

Upon seeing this, Lu Zhiyuan considerately announced a day off: "Everyone, take a day off. Tomorrow night, we'll go to the Sellafield Nuclear Power Plant to shoot some exterior scenes."

The scene at the Sellafield nuclear power plant belongs to the second section, "The Birth of the Devil."

This will be the incubation base for [MUTO].

Lu Zhiyuan has already built the factory interior and nuclear power plant interior at the China Film Digital Shooting Base, which can be filmed domestically.

But for outdoor scenes, we'll definitely have to film on location.

……

The crew members can take a break.

But as a director, Lu Zhiyuan simply couldn't rest.

That night.

Lu Zhiyuan took Gao Yuanyuan to meet the male lead of the movie, Tom Hiddleston.

Tom Hiddleston has been working out a lot lately, getting himself into a muscular physique that makes him look like a powerful warrior.

"Boss, it's been a long time."

Tom Hiddleston came up and greeted Lu Zhiyuan, asking expectantly, "Boss, will we have any scenes together in this movie?"

Tom Hiddleston heard that Lu Zhiyuan plays the villain in this movie.

He was so surprised!
He even thought that his character would become the villain, used to highlight the male lead, Lu Zhiyuan.

It turned out he was overthinking it.

really.

Lu Zhiyuan is even willing to play villains in order to pursue art; he's a crazy guy!
Most directors, even if they want to make a cameo appearance, will not take on the challenge of playing a villain... In fact, villains are very difficult to play, requiring more acting skills than protagonists.

However, playing a villain is definitely more fun. You can openly and legitimately beat up the main characters in the movie until they're covered in bumps and bruises.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you. Our two characters won't have many direct confrontations."

For this film, Lu Zhiyuan plans to use a multi-narrative approach.

Dr. Lee's storyline and the male lead Tom Hiddleston's storyline are unlikely to intersect.

At most, the two will appear together in the final battle scene of the movie.

But in this scenario, the main character is the monster Godzilla.

In this movie, there is no distinction between the good guys and the bad guys.

Lu Zhiyuan gave a brief explanation, then looked at another friend that Tom Hiddleston had brought and shook hands with him in a friendly manner: "Mr. Colin Firth, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Colin Firth is currently filming "Kingsman".

Through Tom Hiddleston's connections, Lu Zhiyuan invited him to participate in the filming of "Godzilla" and play the role of "Joe Brody".

That is, Tom Hiddleston's father in the movie.

Dr. Brody!
Because this character's screen time has been significantly reduced.

Many of the scenes that originally belonged to Dr. Brody were taken over by Dr. Li, played by Lu Zhiyuan, and he was no longer an important character.

It was purely a cameo role.

Lu Zhiyuan felt it was a great deal to spend hundreds of thousands of US dollars to get Colin Firth, an Oscar-winning actor, to make a cameo appearance in this role.

For Colin Firth himself, being able to participate in a film by Lu Zhiyuan, a director of historical caliber, is also an honor.

Again.

As an actor, if you want to have big collaborations, you first need to get into the director's network of contacts.

Tom Hiddleston followed Lu Zhiyuan and played many small roles. Finally, he became the male lead in this movie, and his salary rose to 1500 million US dollars!
Colin Firth, on the other hand, is now making big-budget films because he doesn't have many fans or much fame worldwide. Even though he won the Oscar for Best Actor for "The King's Speech," his salary for a film won't exceed $200 million.

of course.

Another reason led to Colin Firth's cameo appearance in the film.

The filming of "Godzilla" in the UK may encounter some problems.

To resolve these issues, Universal Pictures approached Colin Firth to act as an intermediary and help Lu Zhiyuan coordinate.

Colin Firth is not only an internationally renowned actor, but also a film and television producer.

In the British film and television industry, Colin Firth has a lot of connections and can help Lu Zhiyuan get things done that others can't.

In addition, in 2011, Colin Firth published a research paper entitled "Political Orientation in Young People Related to Brain Structure" in a prestigious journal in the biological field, with an impact factor of 10.9.

Besides being an actor, this guy is also a scholar.

After all, both his father and mother are university professors. In China, only Gao Yuanyuan could rival him in terms of academic genes.

British actors, putting everything else aside, have truly high levels of education!
Even if they didn't become actors, these people would still be social elites.

In terms of temperament, both Tom Hiddleston and Colin Firth have a perfect grasp of it.

Each one of them exuded an aristocratic air.

Although the two actors don't look alike, their demeanor is very convincing in portraying father and son.

"Director Lu, I'd like to know, what should I be aware of when I'm making a cameo appearance for this role?"

Colin Firth only knew that he was there to have a cameo role, and that his screen time would be limited.

To this day, he hasn't even received the script.

“Mr. Fells, let’s sign the contract first. I’ll tell you after we’ve signed it.”

Lu Zhiyuan smiled and gave Gao Yuanyuan a meaningful look.

“Mr. Fells, please.”

Gao Yuanyuan immediately took out a contract and handed it to Colin Firth.

After glancing at it a few times, he felt there was nothing wrong with it and signed his name.

After the contract was signed, Lu Zhiyuan handed over Colin Firth's copy of the script.

"what?"

"Is this still possible?"

Before Colin Firth arrived, he had already heard from Tom Hiddleston that this was a standard Hollywood disaster movie.

After all, Godzilla is very famous, and Colin Firth, being British, had heard of it.

But at this moment, looking at the script handed to him by Lu Zhiyuan, Colin Firth quickly flipped through a few pages and was completely dumbfounded.

"is that true?"

"Unbelievable... Although I'm absolutely certain that a monster like Godzilla doesn't exist, these news reports put together inevitably lead to all sorts of speculation!"

Colin Firth looked at the script, muttering to himself in surprise.

He is a very rational person, but at this moment, he still feels that the world is somewhat absurd.

Because, on Lu Zhiyuan's script, there were two paragraphs written in bold.

……

In 2001, the European Commission commissioned a panel of experts to prepare an assessment report on the environmental and health impacts of radioactive emissions from the Sellafield nuclear power plant.

On the script, Lu Zhiyuan pasted a portion of the news report.

The core message of this report is that, as of 2001, when the report was published, the total amount of radioactive materials (especially plutonium-239 and cesium-137) released into the Irish Sea by the Sellafield nuclear power plant had a greater long-term potential impact on marine ecology and humans than the Chernobyl accident had on the North Atlantic Ocean.

……

The second paragraph, however, is even more suggestive.

After 2003, the International Atomic Energy Agency re-inspected the Sellafield nuclear power plant and found that the emissions of radioactive materials had suddenly decreased significantly.

Among them, the emissions of technetium-99 have decreased by an astonishing 99%!

……

In 2001, they were still frantically releasing radioactive materials.

But by 2003, it had dropped by 99%!

Given Godzilla's penchant for consuming nuclear radiation to replenish its energy... it's easy to draw parallels.

Most importantly, this is not a script!

This is real!

A quick online search will yield plenty of related news and reports.

That's why Colin Firth was so surprised.

In just two years, the changes in radioactive materials at the Sellafield nuclear power plant have been so significant... This is incredibly bizarre!
There's definitely Godzilla in it!

Even if it's not Godzilla, there are similar monsters silently consuming nuclear radiation.

……

"My God!"

"Director Lu, how did you discover all of this?"

"It's unbelievable."

"As a British person, I have no sense of this at all."

Upon seeing these two pages of the script, Colin Firth felt like he was going crazy; his worldview had been shattered.

At that moment, he couldn't help but rub his temples.

I fell into thought.

Is there really a mysterious monster in this world that enjoys devouring nuclear radiation?
Otherwise, how can all of this be explained?

……

Seeing Colin Firth's appearance, Lu Zhiyuan couldn't help but laugh.

“Mr. Fells, it’s not as mysterious as it seems.”

"Because after 2003, the Sellafield nuclear power plant implemented a new decontamination technology."

"However, I believe that most people in the world are pseudoscience enthusiasts. They prefer to believe in mysticism and that monsters swallowed the nuclear radiation."

After talking with Nolan a while ago, Lu Zhiyuan suddenly realized that audiences in Europe and America don't particularly believe in common sense.

They even like to pretend to be very smart, and they go against science and common sense.

Moreover, they felt no shame at all for their ignorance; in fact, they were quite pleased with themselves, as if they had discovered a new world.

From an intelligence perspective, they believe they surpass all scientists.

This behavior is the epitome of the idiom "to think oneself clever."

Given this, Lu Zhiyuan could certainly take advantage of it.

Exploit the human weaknesses of these viewers!
Don't they like to engage in these mystical and conspiracy theories?
Very good!
He loves these self-righteous viewers!
Since that's the case, he decided to cater to these audiences by making a disaster film that is full of mysticism yet closely connected to reality!

Just like the movie "2012," which created the apocalypse!
Does it matter whether it's true or false?

He wants to see audiences feel involved and be willing to buy tickets to go to the cinema!

The audience was satisfied, he made money at the box office, and got one step closer to the best in history... It was the best of both worlds!
"Director Lu, I now believe that you can definitely become the greatest of all time!"

In just one conversation, Colin Firth was utterly impressed by Lu Zhiyuan's astonishing insight and his ability to exploit human weaknesses.

Not to mention, Lu Zhiyuan's mastery of cinematic visual art is almost unparalleled in the world.

If this kind of person doesn't succeed, then who can?

Art students are terrifying!
"Director Lu, I heard that you used to be an art student. After you started practicing photography, you often went to a place called Jimen Bridge next to your school."

"There's a little pub nearby. Do you enjoy drinking there?"

As Lu Zhiyuan's fame grew and he even began to pursue the title of the greatest director in history, countless people dug up his background from childhood to adulthood.

What left Lu Zhiyuan speechless was that suddenly many "drunkards" jumped out and said that he often went to the small tavern under Jimen Bridge near the school gate to drink.

He was still singing inside, still confessing his feelings to a girl in the bar.

The small tavern under Jimen Bridge is filled with the legend of Lu Zhiyuan.

Singing and confessing his feelings to girls were completely ignored by everyone.

All netizens remember is that Lu Zhiyuan really liked going to small bars!

"No, that's a misunderstanding. I don't like drinking."

Faced with this combination of advantages, especially in Europe, Lu Zhiyuan naturally chose to deny it immediately.

In fact, Lu Zhiyuan had only been to the small tavern under Jimen Bridge a few times.

The widely circulated version... is that Lu Zhiyuan deliberately staged a chance encounter in order to trick Jing Tian, ​​this rich young woman.

As a result, after repeated revisions, it became that he liked to go to pubs to drink when he was in school.

"You go to a pub, but you don't drink? Then what are you going there for?"

When Colin Firth heard Lu Zhiyuan deny that he liked drinking, he felt that Lu Zhiyuan was a bit suspicious.

Going to a pub but not drinking?

Bro, you've got a problem!
There's a big problem!

(End of this chapter)