America's Top Player

Chapter 38 Can the soul be sold by weight?

Old Mike directed the team of photographers to capture the magnificent landmarks of New York in the camera from the best angles.

It won’t be long before these beautiful pictures will explode and burn to ashes under the reconstruction of CG technology.

"Le Ang, please watch your expression! You can get even crazier! Photographer, please be careful not to let any unnecessary scenes appear in the shot!"

"Keep the camera focused on the protagonist and the Empire State Building itself!"

"The better we get at detail, the closer the difference between the live-action and CG effects will be!"

Although Mike is nearly 60 years old, his scheduling ability and energy on the set are far superior to those young people who have just entered the industry.

Every word he spoke and every dispatch he made was just right, without a trace of redundancy.

Even a layman like Li Ang who knows nothing about film and television shooting can see that old Mike is much better than T-ray's unconventional approach.

There were not many outdoor real-life shots. With the excellent guidance of Old Mike and the perfect performance of the two actors, they only took one morning to complete the shooting plan that was originally expected to take a day.

Li Ang is now also the owner of a record company, although it is the most powerful one.

Even worse than T-ray's Black Panther album.

But it’s hard not to be moved when seeing a director as capable as Old Mike.

Any record company that can have such a talented director will be more competitive at the MTV Awards.

On the way back to the ROC Kingdom, Leon kept trying to get close to Old Mike, and his bombardment of flattery successfully narrowed the distance between the two.

Old Mike never curses or smokes on the set, just like a gentle university professor.

However, the fact is that if a gentleman becomes a scum, he will only become worse than a beast. This statement is fully true for Old Mike.

When Li Ang asked him for advice on filming techniques, Old Mike folded his arms, looking like a master, and quoted an old saying from the University of Tokyo: "No secret, I just have much experience."

What does it mean?
Li Ang said that he still didn't quite understand.

Old Mike took out his cell phone, opened the photo album, gave a mysterious smile and motioned the other person to come closer.

Li Ang was shocked when he saw the content of the photos. The women in the photos were all naked, posing in front of the camera with obscene expressions.

He was completely fascinated, not because the girl in the photo was so charming, but because old Mike's photography skills were so superb.

Even the dominant studio in the adult entertainment industry, B Studio (Bazes Films), couldn't capture this kind of woman's crazy behavior.

Seeing Leon's surprised expression, Old Mike became even more proud and said, "There must be some goals in life to strive for."

"I've been trying to hone my skills since I started this business at 22."

"Now I am a grandfather of ten children, and I still stick to this habit."

"Hail to the great Louis Daguerre!"

The gentle and refined image in Li Ang's mind was instantly shattered into pieces, but when he thought about it again, it was normal.

This is how the film and television industry is. No one can escape the romantic affairs between men and women.

Robbie, who was standing by, saw the two men acting suspiciously and quickly came over. "What interesting things are you looking at? Let me see!"

When seeing the disgusting photo, Robbie was not as ashamed and angry as Leon had imagined. Instead, he commented on it seriously.

"This girl's expression is really lustful. The photographer's shooting technique is also very good, but her figure is not so good."

"She looks less than 1.6 meters tall. Is she a Hobbit?" Old Mike, who had always been trying to be serious in front of Robbie, chuckled. "Of course these bitches can't be compared with you, Miss Robbie."

"Of course~ If I took photos like this, I would definitely look ten thousand times better than them!"

"OMG! This is absolute! Even God can't refute it!" Old Mike was excited, his eyes flashing like lasers: "If you want to dedicate yourself to art, my old bones are always at your service for free!"

"If you don't want to take pictures, only that [special guy] can take pictures of me~" Robbie showed a playful smile and hugged Leon's arm. With the help of exaggerated makeup, he looked more mischievous than usual.

"We're almost at the company, stop making trouble." Li Ang quickly stopped this meaningless discussion.

It was originally a business attempt to poach talent, but it unexpectedly turned into an exchange about artistic photography.

However, the conversation was not entirely without benefit to him.

Old Mike said that he once worked as an assistant photographer in the team of George Lucas, the "Father of Star Wars", so he knew every aspect of special effects movies very well.

Mr. Lucas's artistic contribution may be inferior to that of masters like Kubrick, and from a commercial perspective he may be half a step behind Spielberg and Cameron.

But when it comes to his achievements in movie special effects, I'm afraid no one in the entire film industry can claim his throne.

It's just that the Industrial Light & Magic company he founded is in a little trouble - the wealthy Disney is pursuing the company crazily.

Old Mike told Leon a top-secret piece of information, which was only known to the Disney executives and Lucas' closest friends and relatives.

Lucas, who has always been tough, has recently been willing to compromise with Disney. The other party gave him too much!

But Li Ang was not surprised after learning this "secret".

The craftsman's watchfulness, the master's hard work, and the pursuit of ideals are all lies.

As long as the price is right, there is nothing in this world that cannot be labeled and sold.

Mr. Lucas regards this company as his own child and a career he will fight for his whole life.
But under the fanatical money offensive of the rich second generation, he could only watch this "girl" become a bitch at the mercy of others.

The next shoot in the studio was even simpler. I just had to keep changing poses while facing away from a huge green cloth.

This shooting method made Li Ang feel extremely uncomfortable and he was unable to get into the state.

Fortunately, Robbie is a professional actor and patiently guided him, "Use your imagination and you will get into the state quickly!"

Li Ang couldn't understand this at all. In film and television works before the millennium, actors had to conduct dozens or even hundreds of real-life shoots in order to pursue a perfect scene.

Many people have broken several bones or even nearly lost their lives because of this.

In today's era, actors can make a fortune just by posing in a boring studio.

Fortunately, although the filming process was not smooth, it generally met Old Mike's expectations.

When Old Mike announced the end, Leon could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

By the end of August, the studio version of "Suker for pain" was finally completed.

From producer Big Dog, vice president Lenny to boss JAY-Z, everyone was very satisfied with the final result of the work.

So when Leon and JAY-Z asked if they could increase the budget and invite Kendrick to participate in the Made in America Music Festival next week, JAY-Z agreed without much thought.

Even though this means paying an extra appearance fee and making slight adjustments to some of the guest performances, JAY-Z thinks it's all worth it.

As the boss behind the Made in America Music Festival, he can do whatever he wants to promote his own singers.

(End of this chapter)