In America, the Best Actor award starts with stereotypes.

"It seems Miss Ambrosia is a bit of a germaphobe. Perhaps I should go and wash my hands properly."

Chen Zhuo shrugged self-deprecatingly and observed her level of favorability.

[Natalie Amboria's favorability rating: -10]

This is bizarre; this is even after his favorability rating has been neutralized.

Without these favorability bonuses, it might have been -50.

Is this guy misogynistic?

"Natalie, we agreed to go out and clear your head, so why are you still thinking about that thing with Schumon?"

Although only 28 years old, Mariah Carey, who already exudes the aura of a big sister, took the initiative to raise a glass of beer.

"Chen, Natalie is in a bad mood. I'd like to offer you a toast on her behalf and apologize."

Xiu Meng? Did they just break up?

Chen Zhuo suddenly realized what was going on, and with a polite smile, he responded gracefully to Kelly.

"To Ms. Kelly, I wish your friend a speedy recovery from her grief."

[Natalie Amboria's favorability +1]

Although the meeting started off unpleasant, Mariah Carey and Chen Zhuo were both social butterflies, and with these two keeping the atmosphere lively, the group chatted and drank without any awkwardness. However, Natalie Ambrosia remained silent and just drank alone.

It was during the conversation that Chen Zhuo figured out why Natalie Ambrosia was in a bad mood.

It turns out she was dating David Schwimmer, the star of Friends. The two had a good relationship, but because it was a long-distance relationship, they both felt insecure.

British media are hyping up Natalie Portman's affair with a TV producer, while American media are hyping up David Schwimmer's affair with Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel in Friends.

The two were already insecure, and then they were subjected to these rumors from both media outlets. It would be strange if things didn't explode.

As a result, the two argued constantly, broke up and got back together repeatedly, and not long ago, the two who got back together broke up again.

That's why Natalie Ambrosia couldn't stand any man.

Perhaps a little drunk, Mariah Carey suddenly started cursing at the gossip media.

Soon, words like "FXX" began to appear frequently at the dinner table.

In her excitement, pop diva Kelly even put on an impromptu rock performance filled with profanities.

Drummer Robert Melhouse accompanied the music by tapping wine glasses with a fork, and Chen Zhuo, the male protagonist of the biggest recent gossip, also started swaying along.

Although you're not particularly good at it, as long as you're not stage-frightened and sing a couple of lines to the rhythm when someone is leading the singing, you can completely blend into the atmosphere.

As the music played, Natalie Ambrosia and the usually taciturn Keanu Reeves gradually let loose and started clapping along.

Thanks to being surrounded by music moguls, Chen Zhuo was also fortunate enough to have a title: "Junior Musician (White)".

[Junior Musician (White): Has a basic understanding of music theory and can operate most mainstream instruments with simple skills. Affection level increases faster during musical exchanges.]

This is the unique way musicians communicate.

The group sang and danced until late at night before finally leaving, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

……

Late May, on the set of The Matrix.

Inside the giant green screen studio, 120 Nikon cameras formed a semicircle, the lights were blinding, and a suffocatingly low atmosphere permeated the set.

Filming has been suspended for a day.

The filming process was originally going very smoothly and in an orderly manner.

Until the start of filming the script's biggest selling point—the bullet time sequence.

Initially, Bill Pope planned to use the traditional solution of a high-speed camera and a track-mounted jib arm.

However, because the cameras of that era were still outdated, they couldn't use high frame rates to record images, let alone high-speed movement.

As a result, this approach could only produce ordinary slow motion, failing to achieve the "time freeze" effect required in the script.

Later, creative director John Getty came up with a new solution: using 120 Nikon cameras to shoot around the subject and then reconstructing the one-second bullet-time image from 120 still images.

But the problem remains unresolved.

Seeing the obvious frame skipping and stuttering, the Wachowski director's brows furrowed deeply.

This is the biggest selling point of the movie, and we must overcome this challenge no matter what.

Cinematographer Bill Pope gripped the walkie-talkie and roared into the camera.

"Take a break, we'll continue later! The filming crew will readjust camera positions and triggers! Remember! All 120 cameras must be shooting simultaneously! Any desynchronization will result in a failed shoot!"

Keanu Reeves looked tired as he stepped off the wire.

He was suspended by wires all day yesterday, and even had red marks on his body from the wires.

At this rate, he probably won't last much longer.

Perhaps influenced by his previous impressions, Keanu suddenly had this idea pop into his mind—maybe Chen Zhuo could have a solution?

On a whim, Keanu glanced around the actors' rest area, seemingly wondering what Chen Zhuo, who always had a way of doing things, was up to.

The next moment, he froze.

He saw Chen Zhuo walk towards the filming area with a piece of paper in his hand.

Does he really have a solution?

Keanu took a sip of water, but his gaze remained fixed on Chen Zhuo.

"Eighth Master, I have an idea about filming."

Chen Zhuo handed over the paper with the diagram drawn on it.

In his previous life, thanks to advancements in technology, filming bullet time was actually quite simple.

He used an action camera and a rope to shoot in college and got pretty good results. He never expected that shooting in 98 would be so difficult.

Fortunately, he possessed multiple attributes such as "bookworm (green)," "resourceful person (green)," and "exceptionally intelligent (green)," coupled with a vision far beyond his time, and he eventually came up with a solution.

"this……"

Yuan Baye, who had been a director for many years, was immediately drawn to this brand-new idea after just one glance.

"So that's how it is! We were going in the wrong direction!"

The over-fifty-year-old Eighth Master was like a student who had suddenly solved a difficult problem. He slapped his thigh and was full of excitement.

"You've been a great help, young man."

Eighth Master smiled, grabbed Chen Zhuo, and walked quickly to Pope.

"Mr. Popper, I've found a solution!"

"What?"

Bill Pope was supervising the staff as they adjusted the cameras when he heard this, and as if a button had been pressed, he immediately turned his long, outstretched neck.

"What method?"

As he handed over the diagram, Yuan Baye gave Chen Zhuo a shove.

"Go on, young man, your chance to shine has come."

Chen Zhuo glanced gratefully at Eighth Master and stepped forward to explain, "Mr. Popper, actually, our initial approach was wrong. The reason why the synchronous shooting kept skipping frames and stuttering is not because the camera was not set up properly, but because the camera's shutter speed itself has a slight error. No matter how well we set it manually, we cannot truly achieve synchronization."

"Since we can't achieve synchronization, why don't we just abandon it and create a gradual time-lapse?"