Chapter 189 Subtlety

Chapter 189 Subtleties

Whether in his past life or this one, Lu Xu has always been an actor with role-selection freedom. He possesses strong self-confidence and knows what types of characters he can pull off.

Some actors, however, need their agencies to pick roles for them—an approach that can have mixed results, as neither the actors nor the agencies always make the right calls.

When Lu Xu signed with Soaring Entertainment, it was precisely for this freedom. Since then, the agency has never interfered with his choices, and his own decisions have consistently proven correct.

In short, Lu Xu believes an actor’s career is long, and there’s no need to confine oneself to a single genre. If he wants to try something, he’ll go for it—after all, there’s always room for trial and error.

Of course, this kind of freedom might only come with fame. Without it, actors often have little choice, and one major box-office flop can hurt their career.

Take *The Swordsman* and Zhang Che, for example. The latter was once quite well-known but has now dropped off the radar, completely exiting the competition among young male lead actors.

The acting world moves fast. At every stage of Lu Xu’s journey—from TV dramas to films—his competitors have shifted. On one hand, he climbed too fast; on the other, the acting world has its own pecking order. Once Lu Xu reached a certain level, his rivals couldn’t be Gu Sinian, Chen Ye, or Zhang Che—they had to change.

Lu Xu cherishes the freedom he has and is grateful for where he stands now.

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Returning from the *Black and White* set, C City was already pretty hot. The weather had been inexplicably warm in recent years, and Lu Xu guessed he’d have to endure the heat again while filming his new movie.

However, preparations for the new project were moving just as slowly. According to the director, all the high-quality special effects companies available for collaboration had been booked by other productions: "Special effects films are booming these years, but the industry hasn’t expanded. The skilled teams are still the same few."

If the crew wanted top-notch effects, they couldn’t rush things—they’d have to wait for a special effects company to take on the project.

Big-budget films usually don’t collaborate with just one special effects company but several.

From what Lu Xu heard, one reputable company was currently handling post-production for the sci-fi series he, Zheng Xiao, and Shao Yao had invested in. To be precise, all three of them had put money into the project.

It had to be said—the series was moving much slower than any drama Lu Xu had acted in before.

He’d been so busy these past two years that if not for the sudden mention of the special effects company, he might’ve completely forgotten about his investment.

After investing in this series, Lu Xu slowed down his investing slightly. Still, both he and Xu Wen continued receiving messages asking for funding. If a script had good potential, Lu Xu would pay some attention and occasionally make small investments.

The entertainment industry is such that big-name directors and stars never lack funding, yet investment tends to chase only these established figures. Meanwhile, films truly in need of financial support—like *Female Grandmaster*—struggle to attract backers.

Of course, after *Female Grandmaster* became a hit, Lu Xu stuck to simply acting and taking his acting fees, even for big productions like *Night Sky Observations*. He never considered switching to a profit-sharing model to cut costs, whether for himself or Li Yan.

Perhaps because both he and Li Yan were widely recognized for their box-office appeal. If a film was likely to be successful, investors would hesitate to share profits with the leads.

In any case, starting the new film would have to wait.

He was patient, though.

For now, he went over the script. The director had advised him earlier to spend the month working on his physique—his character, the Super Saiyan, would be wearing tight suits and multiple outfits. Lu Xu might as well be a male model.

G Brand had eagerly provided the production with a full wardrobe sponsorship.

Lu Xu couldn’t help but bring up a suspicion—that the crew had cast him partly to save on costume costs.

When he mentioned this, the director neither confirmed nor denied it, only laughing and saying, "You bit the hook yourself. Don’t blame me."

Lu Xu: "...Fine."

The waiting period turned out to be quite long. The crew arranged professional trainers for Lu Xu—not just for fitness but also for action and gunfight choreography. While he had experience with action films, he hadn’t done many in this lifetime.

Still, since the production demanded it, he committed fully to the training.

Lu Xu is usually a laid-back person, but for the sake of filming, he is willing to give 100% effort—this is his persistence as an actor.

He waited over half a year.

To make a movie, securing funding comes first, followed by countless challenges ahead. So Lu Xu is certain he could never be a director—being an actor is much easier.

Miao Zhi once asked Lu Xu if he was interested in directing, wanting to introduce him to the field. Though the director meant well, Lu Xu refused without hesitation. Truth is, his expertise lies only in performance-related aspects. He could scrape by as a casting director or acting coach, but when it comes to managing a film set, it’s better left to professionals.

...

Even before filming began on the new project, Lu Xu had already achieved a male model physique (self-praise).

He didn’t lose weight, because according to the director’s aesthetic, a truly good physique is definitely not the skinny type, but one radiating masculinity—lean but not skinny, muscular but not bulky.

Lu Xu: "Are we casting an actor or grading meat?"

The director was extremely satisfied with Lu Xu’s new physique, and so was Lu Xu himself. But the most satisfied of all? G Label.

Because the annual awards season is about to begin again.

Lu Xu was already a natural clothes hanger, but after some refinement, he became the pinnacle of a clothes hanger—the star unanimously recognized in the entertainment industry as the best fit for G Label menswear, now even more so.

It’s safe to say that in recent years, every awards season has been a prime sales period for G Label. The brand’s financial reports clearly show a positive correlation between awards season and peak sales.

All because Lu Xu, the top seller, is just that formidable.

The suit he wore at the Contention Award ceremony sold out instantly that night. The brand urgently restocked stores, yet it still sold out everywhere.

The brand regularly provides Lu Xu with a large amount of everyday wear. Even outfits that seemed mediocre and uninspiring during fashion weeks, lacking any urge to buy, transformed into must-haves when worn by him—sales still skyrocketed.

This year’s nominated film, *Fearless Life*, is a stronger contender than *Reversal City*.

Last year, *Reversal City* was nominated for three major awards: the Contention Award, the Golden Flame Award, and the Critics' Award. This year, no surprise, history repeats.

Compared to *Reversal City*, *Fearless Life* is clearly a more conventional film with a higher chance of winning.

At least when last year’s awards season began, *Reversal City* didn’t display unstoppable momentum—its competitive edge rose only after Lu Xu won the Contention Award.

This year, however, even during the awards season buzz, *Fearless Life* already carried unmatched energy.

Professional critics, film bloggers, film forum regulars, certain screenwriters and directors, as well as authoritative actors whose works weren’t nominated this year—when interviewed, they all mentioned *Fearless Life* without exception.

"Most impressive film this year? Definitely *Fearless Life*."

"With last year’s *Reversal City* as a comparison, the contrast in *Fearless Life* is even more striking. Lu Xu’s performance was outstanding—I can’t think of any reason he shouldn’t win."

"*Fearless Life*, and only *Fearless Life*."

Moreover, *Fearless Life* was also the year’s box office champion, making its name recognition miles ahead of other films.

Even within the film industry, including actors, screenwriters, and directors with voting rights for nominations, not everyone watches every submitted film. But *Fearless Life*’s box office success ensured that many insiders had seen it.

From this perspective, *Fearless Life* has a clear edge.

Soon after, the jury members for the major awards were announced.

The Contention Award stuck to its old-school ways, the Critics' Award kept pushing boundaries, but the most surprising was the Golden Flame Award—this year’s jury chair turned out to be Liu Rennong.

"Have they lost it??"

"What the hell is the Golden Flame Award doing? Is there no one else to choose? Does it have to be your Liu Rennong? I can't even."

"...Alright, I get it. Lu Xu's chances of winning the Golden Flame Award this year just dropped again. Laughable. If he gets nominated this time, it'll be his third nomination."

"Liu Rennong as Jury President???? Is the Golden Flame Award's reputation just for rehabilitating people like him? Does Liu Rennong have blackmail on the committee? Why are they so obsessed with him?"

The backlash was so intense that the Golden Flame Award issued a special statement defending Liu Rennong.

The reasoning was that Liu Rennong has a distinguished career, with award pedigree and quality unmatched among his peers, and his films are critically acclaimed, naturally qualifying him to be Jury President.

His position as Jury President was decided after careful deliberation at the end of the last term and the restart of this one, and it wouldn’t be arbitrarily changed due to baseless rumors.

Regardless of the gossip, judging solely by Liu Rennong’s achievements as a director, he is fully qualified to serve as the Jury President of the Golden Flame Award.

Netizens: "...Pure denial."

Everyone knows that if Liu Rennong takes this role, the first to suffer will inevitably be Lu Xu—their feud is public knowledge.

"I actually think it’s because the jury itself doesn’t like Lu Xu that they put Liu Rennong in this position."

"+1. The nomination for *Wings of Youth* dragged Lu Xu through a media firestorm—no favors, only flak. Then came *Reversal City*. The most old-fashioned Contention Award could give Lu Xu Best Actor, while the Golden Flame Award, which is supposedly bolder in selections, still overlooked him. Mark my words—this year’s gonna be messy."

Once the jury lists for the three major awards were announced, Lu Xu also guessed he had no chance of winning all categories this year: "Whatever, we’ll cross that bridge later. It’s not like I’ll stop making movies."

Logically, his chances of winning the Golden Flame Award or Critics' Award this year should be higher, since he’s already won the Contention Award. Given the prestige of the three major awards, giving repeat wins so close together is highly unlikely.

Now that the Golden Flame Award is probably out of reach, Lu Xu will likely gun for the Critics' Award.

But the Critics' Award loves innovation—what the audience and industry favor, the committee might deliberately avoid.

The promising momentum of *Fearless Life* just got shaky.