Chapter 50

Zaro was rather indifferent to the online commentary that all his movies were crap . He knew the movies he produced were shallow and lacked depth, but that was the kind of film he liked—simple, straightforward, epic scenes, and visually exciting . Most importantly, they pleased his girlfriends . He felt good about them too .

When he had launched a production company after graduation, he had been in it only for the experience . He hadn’t thought that far ahead and was prepared to incur a loss . And yet he was able to break even .

So eventually, Zaro had become addicted . He did things his way, regardless of how the media and general public trashed him . Who cared what other people said? As his uncle once put it: “How are you going to get through life without a bit of thick skin?”

But now, he no longer wanted to be a spectator . He wanted to act himself, to star in an epic love story and play an invincible hero who saved the world .

Everyone aspired to be a hero . Zaro actually quite envied the men and women of his generation who joined the military . He wasn’t cut out for it and he didn’t want to suffer, so he would fulfill his dream through a movie . That was much easier .

He was ready to go all out . Ten million for a song, even if it was all for nothing—no problem . It was a movie built with cash . If he didn’t like the song, so be it .

He had thought about poaching the composer behind “Divine Punishment” and “Cocoon Breach” to tailor a song for him, but Silver Wing had done a good job of keeping the musician under wraps . All he could do was wait . If he liked the third movement, then he would make a move on the composer . If not, he would blacklist Silver Wing and the composer and not work with them again .

Zaro was a big spender, but he wasn’t stupid . If the song wasn’t to his liking, he wasn’t paying a cent .

As for the plot of the movie?

He didn’t care . It was just a movie, after all . It just had to be entertaining . The story didn’t matter . This year, it was an ordinary person who saved the world by defeating monsters, next year it’d be a mutant, and the year after the next it’d be a superman . And then a monster battling other monsters the following year . It was all the same .

For his eighth production, he was going to battle beasts in robot armor . How cool was that? His stunt double was doing all the fighting . All he had to do was show his handsome face at some point . Piece of cake .

Zaro had even named the film himself: “God of War . “

People teased after hearing the title: such hubris . Does his great-grandfather know?

Zaro’s great-grandfather, the father of Leizhou’s current governor, had belonged to the famed “God of War” unit when he was a young soldier . He had gone on to a highly decorated career and served as the deputy commander of the Leizhou military .

Now he was an old man, more than 190 years old . He had stopped wading into family affairs a long time ago, ever since his son became governor of Leizhou . Still, the old man wielded considerable influence . Every year, some of his former troops would pay him a visit .

While Zaro’s father was ostracized every time his son loaned military vehicles and equipment for his movies, he was never purged . That wasn’t entirely on account of Zaro’s grandfather, the governor . The top brass also felt they had to show respect for Zaro’s great-grandfather . As long as Zaro’s demands weren’t too outlandish and he was willing to pay, they were willing to turn a blind eye .

But Zaro didn’t think there was anything wrong with the title . He was starring this time . It wouldn’t be worth the effort unless he crafted a heroic image for himself .

As he was pondering the title, his agent ducked out to take a call, then scrambled back .

The agent looked miffed . “Senior Master, we have a problem . “

“What now?” Zaro asked .

“‘King of Snipers’ has bumped up its release date to Jan . 1 . “

No wonder his agent was so alarmed . The reason they had scheduled their movie for a January release was because there was little competition, only a few low-budget productions . Considering Zaro’s ability to generate buzz, they were confident about their box office returns . They weren’t aiming high anyway . All they wanted was to break even .

Zaro himself was a walking advertisement . So many people followed his every move . He was a frequent topic of discussion even on other continents .

“Leizhou Senior Master’s New Girlfriend Revealed . ” “Eligible Bachelors on Each Continent You Don’t Want to Piss Off . ” “Senior Master Zaro Named Leizhou Male Celebrity of the Year . ” The headlines never ended . Even though Zaro didn’t sing or act and had no other talents, the constant attention made him a bona fide celebrity in Leizhou .

News of Zaro’s starring role had dominated entertainment headlines for days . Interest was huge, so Zaro’s agent wasn’t worried about the box office . This was the first time Senior Master had starred in a movie, so many people were curious . The movie didn’t have to be a big hit . They just wanted to break even .

But now, a genuine blockbuster that was scheduled for release in February had bumped up its release date to January . Somehow, this move seemed aimed at Zaro .

“King of Snipers” was a coproduction by Leizhou’s two leading film studios . It featured an all-star lineup . Rumor was that it was awards bait . Movie fans were looking forward to it keenly, and films that catered to mass tastes and critics alike tended to have more depth and cultural significance .

A great plot, top actors, and a big budget to boot—even outsiders could tell a movie like this was a box office guarantee that would also likely meet critical approval . So when news that “King of Snipers” was being released in February broke, Zaro and company had breathed a sigh of relief . It was such good news that they didn’t have to go up against such a Goliath .

But now, “King of Snipers” was being bumped up . What could they do?

The good thing was that they had never nailed down their release date . They had announced a January release, but they could still push it back to February . All they had to do was come up with an excuse to feed the press .

Zaro also started getting calls from members of his family .

“Yes, Uncle . What is it?”

“Zaro, have you heard that ‘King of Snipers’ is bumping up its release date? Why don’t you push back your release date by a month . “

Zaro hung up before his uncle finished . He sat on his chair pouting .

Less than a minute later, another call came through . Zaro took a quick glance at the caller ID and put the call through .

“What’s so urgent, Auntie? If it’s about my movie, stop now . “

“Zaro, don’t be impulsive . “

Zaro hung up again and threw his tablet to the floor .

His terrified assistant tip-toed to the tablet and picked it up in case Senior Master wanted to keep using it .

Zaro was fuming . Everyone wanted him to back down, but he was no fool .

The filmmakers behind “King of Snipers” wouldn’t have bumped up their release date so publicly without the tacit approval of the Renault family .

Zaro was right . The move did in fact have the blessing of the Renault family . The point was to give Zaro a reality check, to make him realize that his success was due to respect for the Renault family . The time had come to burst his bubble, to restrain his personality through hardship .

Zaro had too many enemies . He had publicly trashed several leading actors . In revenge, their agencies had banded together and coordinated with the Renault family . The release date for “King of Snipers” was advanced after the Renaults gave the go-ahead .

Members of the Renault family, including Zaro’s father, had spoken privately of wanting to teach Zaro a lesson, within reason . Just a bit of real competition would do . They didn’t want to overdo it . If the Renault family ended up losing face, other family members wouldn’t sign off on the move .

The Renault family didn’t own the continent outright, but it was an indisputable fact that it was still the most powerful family in Leizhou . And they were still a prominent force 500 years into the New Era . That showed how united they were on key issues .

The shrewd operators in business and entertainment knew how far to push things .

In the Leizhou capital, several investors that backed “King of Snipers” were kidding around in an office .

“It’s time to let Zaro know that the only reason his movies made money and broke even in the past is because we gave way on account of his family name . “

“We never complained . We even cracked down on the naysayers . But he should be more mature and not just mouth off without regard to our reputations . “

“Let’s let him find out what real competition feels like . “

What else was there to Zaro’s movies except for buzz and military hardware?

They were total crap .

Zaro was the target of their sniping .

“The gap in quality is obvious when there’s a contrast to Zaro’s films . People like Zaro are a nuisance who poison the industry . It’s time we industry elders come out and restore order . “

News of the earlier release date for “King of Snipers” generated a massive response in the Leizhou entertainment industry .

“God of War” had also announced a January release, so these two hotly discussed films were going up against each other .

Except the quality of the former was guaranteed . You could tell from the names of the director, the screenwriter, the actors, and the production companies . As for the latter . . . Everyone knew what to expect .

After “King of Snipers” announced its release date, Wireless Media kept putting off a formal announcement on the release date for “God of War,” leading to speculation that Zaro was going to cave and push back his movie .

“Looks like ‘God of War’ won’t be screening in January,” the editor of a local magazine told a friend in private .

“It’s the right move to back down . This is no time to cling on, even if he’s a Renault . I’m sure other members of the family have long taken issue with him . “

“Yeah, you need to pick your battles . Being too aggressive and egotistical does you no good . He’s in his 20s now . It’s time to grow up . Zaro has caused too much trouble already . Even other members of the Renault family can’t stand him . “

“And it’s quite the lesson . Zaro is going to get his ass kicked, isn’t he?”

“Let’s hope that Senior Master can learn his lesson . “

“But given Senior Master’s personality, will he back down?” others speculated .

Zaro acted like he was king of Leizhou . He was used to having his way . Was he going to back down over a slight hiccup like this?

Wireless Media headquarters .

“Senior Master, should we have someone rework the script?” Zaro’s agent asked .

“No . We’re almost done with the shoot . How can we change the script now?” Zaro let out an eerie laugh . “You wanna mess with me? This mofo isn’t going anywhere . Let’s check with Silver Wing and see when the third movement will be completed . “

Sensing Zaro’s determination, his agent gave up and called one of Duan Qianji’s assistants .

After being briefed by her assistant, Duan Qianji asked Fang Zhao, “You’re positive you’ll be done before January?”

“Yes . “

“That’s great . “

After getting off the phone with Fang Zhao, Duan Qianji issued her orders: “We’re sticking to our plan . The third movement will be released on Jan . 1 . Get word to Wireless Media that we’ll deliver the third movement in late December . “

Zaro’s agent looked ashen when he heard back . His wistful thinking that Silver Wing might not meet its January deadline was dashed . He didn’t want to lie, so he relayed Duan Qianji’s message to Zaro unfiltered .

“That’s great . Then let’s set our release date for Jan . 1 . I’m not backing down an inch . ” Zaro kicked his feet up and started fidgeting hard . “Have the production team hurry up . Let’s wrap things up by the end of December . We’ll announce the release date now . I’m going head-to-head with them . “

The result of the matchup didn’t matter . He didn’t care about the box office . He just wanted to stick to his guns .

This . Mofo . Ain’t . Backing . Down .