Chapter 395

"Cut!"

After another shot was filmed, Miss Luo Quan paused the shooting.

"Extras, get into position; I'm going to explain the movement essentials." Miss Luo Quan waved to the extras and said with a serious expression.

The next scene to be filmed was the first appearance of the zombies; this was the second explosive point in the movie after the laser corridor, so it had to be filmed to be scary.

Although Miss Luo Quan had explained it to the extras once in the morning, because this shot was too important, Miss Luo Quan still had to tirelessly emphasize it again.

"Everyone pay attention, the camera will give quite a few close-ups later, try to show your gums as much as possible, and your bodies should also appear relatively stiff.

Come on, your performance is the essence of this movie."

After the explanation, Miss Luo Quan didn't forget to offer some encouragement.

Although she hired extras, Miss Luo Quan didn't just hire random ones; they were all screened through the actors' union and were extras with a certain amount of acting experience.

These types of extras had a certain level of acting ability and were professional enough; even though their mouths were coated with various liquids at the time, they listened to Miss Luo Quan's explanation very seriously.

The price was definitely a bit higher, but it was reassuring to use them.

After the explanation, the movie continued filming.

The plot here was that the STARS team, after suffering heavy casualties including the black deputy captain and several team members, finally passed through the laser corridor and forcibly shut down the Red Queen, the artificial intelligence inside the research facility.

At the same time, the power supply to the research facility was affected, and everyone was plunged into darkness.

Here, Miss Luo Quan made some modifications to the plot; after darkness fell, Captain Wesker finally waited for the opportunity to break away from the team and began to execute the true purpose of entering the research facility.

And not long after, a scream came from the darkness.

Ten seconds later, the electric lights came on.

Chris, Jill, and the others who stayed behind discovered that not only was Captain Wesker gone, but another team member had also disappeared.

Then Jill heard rustling sounds behind the generator and walked over with her gun raised.

Then, the extras began their performance.

Five or six extras in zombie makeup were huddled around the STARS team member who had just screamed, feasting away.

Jill, seeing this scene, had a look of shock on her face.

The camera immediately zoomed in on the zombies, and one of the zombies with its back to the camera slowly turned its head, revealing a creepy smile at the camera with its blood-stained face.

This was actually something not in the original movie; Miss Luo Quan recreated the classic scene from the game in the movie, and the effect was clearly even more outstanding!

"Cut!"

Miss Luo Quan paused the shooting with satisfaction, thinking to herself that having an actor's certificate really is different; even the extras performed so well.

This was basically the scene Miss Luo Quan had envisioned, and the extras were quite intuitive, grasping her ideas.

Afterwards, Miss Luo Quan explained while filming, and the plot of the movie gradually advanced.

With the complete plot progression in her mind, all the actors had to do was perform according to Miss Luo Quan's requirements.

Moreover, horror movies aren't as nitpicky as art-house films, requiring extremely high standards for the actors' acting skills, so most scenes were done in one take.

At the same time, Miss Luo Quan didn't encounter any actors like Yin Qianchou (the protagonist of the movie *King of Comedy*) who liked to change or add to the script on their own.

On the entire set, Miss Luo Quan held the roles of producer, director, screenwriter, and lead actress; what she said was basically the law, and absolutely no one could defy it.

However, the actors and other staff on set weren't newcomers; after spending these few days with Miss Luo Quan, they also felt her competence as a director.

Especially in terms of camera movement and lighting, she was so skilled that she didn't seem like a rookie directing a movie for the first time at all; her technical proficiency rivaled that of a veteran director.

From the very first day, everyone was full of conviction in this youngest girl on the entire crew.

With everyone working together, the filming of the movie proceeded very quickly.

Originally scheduled to be finished in a little over a month, it actually took twenty-three days to get most of it done, with only a few special effects scenes left to be performed in front of a green screen.

Then there was a scene in the post-credits; originally, Miss Luo Quan had envisioned building a physical set for filming, but considering that modern special effects could long since pass for the real thing, she simply decided to use special effects instead.

However, this didn't mean that Miss Luo Quan's work as a director was over; after the movie was filmed, there was still editing, scoring, sound-picture synchronization, adding filters to the footage, and so on.

Under normal circumstances, these tasks would be handed over to multiple professional post-production personnel, but Miss Luo Quan had always been accustomed to doing everything herself; except for the special effects part where there were truly no conditions to do it, the rest of the post-production was basically all her own work.

Fortunately, it's digital photography now, and most operations can be completed on a computer.

A lot of things happened this month; first, Avril's mini-album *Girl's Rock* finally finished its warm-up and was officially released.

Besides the three songs Avril wrote herself, it also included four songs Miss Luo Quan helped her produce.

They were:

"Complicated"

"He Wasn't"

"My Happy Ending"

"Innocence"

(PS: These are all classic Avril songs, and they were also the author's introduction to English songs.)

Before the songs were released, Miss Luo Quan and Universal Music conducted quite a lot of promotion for Avril.

Produced by Miss Luo Quan, rebellious girl, punk rock, plus Avril's highly personalized smoky makeup and her own outstanding looks—she had already gained a large number of fans before even debuting.

After the songs were released, they surged to the top of the Billboard charts in one go, with first-day album sales exceeding 1.07 million copies.

Compared to her boss, Avril's achievements couldn't be called that amazing, but compared to other newcomers, this was already a terrifying figure.

Major music media also gave Avril's debut album relatively high praise, calling it a rare album representing female rock. The entire album was well-produced, balancing depth and catchiness; for a newcomer, Avril had handed in a report card that satisfied everyone.

Of course, Miss Luo Quan, who was not mentioned in these reviews, was actually one of the biggest contributors.

The songs Avril wrote herself brought depth, while Miss Luo Quan gave the album its catchiness.

Just like what she said to Avril back then:

"You just put in the works you like; I have plenty of ways to make your songs a hit!"

Miss Luo Quan fulfilled this promise.

And Avril herself was indeed impressive; the album recording was quite good, she played the guitar entirely by herself, and her singing skills crushed all other newcomers of the same period.

With the right time, place, and people all on her side, it was no surprise that she became a hit.

Avril became a hit, and the script mall here for Miss Luo Quan was fully unlocked; the door to becoming a famous director was completely opened to her.

Of course, for now, she was still a singer, a not-so-famous famous actress who sat on ten billion in box office revenue.

On the evening of December 24th, Miss Luo Quan appeared at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, wearing a pale gold, luxurious long dress.

Tonight, the premiere of *The Lord of the Rings* would be held here, and a host of creators and Hollywood stars and directors would be in attendance.

As Hollywood's most successful commercial director, Director Ford had extensive connections and was very well-liked; many big names were willing to take the time to show their support.

Although it was just a premiere ceremony, the star power was comparable to the Oscars.

Interestingly, the annual Oscar ceremony was also held at the Dolby Theatre.

This place could be said to be a sanctuary in the eyes of global stars.

Every year when the Oscars are awarded, there are always people who spend a lot of money just to get a ticket to watch the ceremony.

Not for anything else, but because it's a symbol of status and proof of standing; once you get in, it's definitely big news worth broadcasting.

Of course, the stars who came to the Dolby Theatre today didn't have as much utilitarianism as they did during the Oscars; most came because of their friendship with Director Ford.

Miss Luo Quan was staying at a hotel not far from here, and she just threw a thick overcoat over herself and walked all the way there.

The temperature in Hollywood at the end of December was around 8 degrees, not particularly cold, but before getting on the red carpet, one still had to take measures to keep warm.

Outside the Dolby Theatre was a long flight of stairs, often called the "Road to Stardom" by the media, witnessing the birth of countless superstar directors and great films.

And tonight, it would also welcome the epic masterpiece that Director Ford had spent many years preparing—*The Lord of the Rings*.

When Miss Luo Quan arrived, the red carpet on both sides of the stairs was already packed with reporters, and the sound of clicking shutters was endless.

"Miss Luo Quan is here!"

Someone shouted, and all the reporters looked over, seeing Miss Luo Quan walking towards them.

Seeing that she had been discovered, Miss Luo Quan smiled and walked up to meet them.

She had already left the overcoat she wore when leaving the house at a shop on the street corner, and would go back to get it after the ceremony ended.

At this moment, all she had to do was show her most beautiful side in front of the world's cameras.

In other words, she just needed to keep smiling.

This red carpet originally didn't have an interview segment; one just needed to strike a few poses for reporters to take a few photos before entering the theater.

But there would always be reporters who couldn't stand the silence and asked Miss Luo Quan questions:

"Miss Luo Quan, can you talk about the progress of the movie you're filming yourself?"

"Miss Luo Quan, is *Resident Evil* really a so-called work to harvest fans?"

"Miss Luo Quan, what do you think of Director Hood's criticism?"

They were worthy of being entertainment reporters; as soon as they opened their mouths, it was like a barrage of questions, and they were aggressive.

However, Miss Luo Quan still maintained her smile:

"This is the premiere of *The Lord of the Rings*; tonight I am only the lead actress and theme song singer of *The Lord of the Rings*. Please do not ask questions unrelated to the movie."

The answer could be said to be quite appropriate; she had no intention of getting angry with these reporters who were clearly looking for trouble, and after explaining, she turned and entered the Dolby Theatre...

"Ah, Miss Luo Quan, you're here." Backstage at the theater, a group of creators were putting on makeup, and Director Ford and the host were chatting about something; seeing Miss Luo Quan, they greeted her enthusiastically.

"Director Ford, you look really sharp tonight." Miss Luo Quan praised with a smile.

Previously on set, Director Ford didn't care about his image at all; from the start of filming to the wrap, he hadn't shaved his beard, and he wore the same three sets of clothes in rotation.

He had his own explanation for this: "I'm the director, I'm not on camera, why spend so much energy on dressing up?"

However, Director Ford had spent a lot of energy dressing up tonight; the beard he had grown for several months was shaved clean, he was wearing a well-fitting black suit, and his hair was combed back, making him look much more handsome.

"On an important day, you definitely have to make yourself look radiant." Director Ford straightened his tie, beaming with smiles.

Since *The Lord of the Rings* started its online promotion, it could be said to have received overwhelming praise.

Mainly because the released trailers were truly too stunning.

The exotic architecture hidden in the mountains, the primeval forests, the dwarves with long brown beards, the righteous human rangers, the wizards holding staves, plus Miss Luo Quan's heavenly singing voice and her stunningly beautiful elf image.

It could be said that it satisfied everyone's imagination of orthodox Western fantasy.

Almost everyone was praising it.

And Director Ford wasn't worried at all about being "praised to death," because he knew very well that this movie was just that excellent!

And this was only the first part, just a beginning; the second and third parts would only be more exciting, and the scenes would become increasingly grand.

When this movie started filming, Director Ford already knew that he would produce a great work.

This was the intuitive realization of a top-tier director after obtaining a top-tier script, possessing the largest investment in history, and directing a group of top-tier actors.

With so many resources, let alone him, even if you replaced him with a second-rate Hollywood director, they could still win an Oscar!

Thinking that he was about to leave a heavy mark on the history of cinema, how could Director Ford not be beaming?

"By the way, you have to wear this when you go on stage later." Director Ford had his assistant bring over a pair of props.

Miss Luo Quan took a look; it turned out to be a pair of pointed elf ears.

When filming the movie, the actors playing elves would all wear them.

In Miss Luo Quan's view, this was probably the simplest form of cosplay.

However, although they were just two small props, wearing them really did a lot to enhance one's temperament; perhaps it was because people have a special fondness for fantasy creatures like elves.

For the movie's promotion, Miss Luo Quan doing some cosplay at the premiere was also a choice that fit the theme perfectly; Miss Luo Quan didn't say a word and stuck them directly onto her ears.

After sticking them on, Miss Luo Quan even took a selfie and posted it to her Bilibili feed.

It should already be Christmas morning in China, and there are probably quite a few people waiting outside movie theaters to watch *The Lord of the Rings*.

After waiting backstage for twenty minutes, the host notified everyone to prepare to go on stage.

Miss Luo Quan was also perking up at this time, because before the creators went on stage, she had to go up first to sing "May It Be," the theme song for *The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring*.

As the front of the stage plunged into darkness, Miss Luo Quan walked out from the backstage curtain, like a fluttering butterfly, arriving at the bright spot in the center of the stage where the only light was gathered.

At this moment, she was the focus of all eyes.

Her look tonight also stunned everyone.

A golden ethereal long dress, pointed and delicate ears, a stunningly exquisite face—she looked just like a real elf princess!

Amidst the sighs of the guests, Miss Luo Quan raised the microphone and emitted a holy and ethereal heavenly voice.