The drive took half an hour. When they reached the set, Chu Zhi met the main cast of Unsinkable.
"Come on, folks, I'm honored to introduce a key player," Capono said.
The female lead, Rose, was played by Idolia. She'd been written as a woman engaged to someone she didn't love to save her family's decline. Later, when she met a like-minded Eastern youth named "Li," she finally decided to follow her heart.
The second male lead, Tobit, was played by the Hollywood actor Momoko, the son of a steel magnate and the man Rose was supposed to marry.
There were the actors for Old Rose, Rose's mother, the captain, friends from steerage, and a string of other important supporting roles. Chu Zhi greeted them one by one.
As for the crew, director Comeron wasn't on site, and both producers were out. One producer was Brother Fei, who'd flown in two days earlier. Since it was his first stint as producer, he had to feel his way through a lot.
The film's launch ceremony was held at Belfast's Grand Central Hotel. The creative team stayed there too. It was right in the city center, close to City Hall and only a few hundred meters from Victoria Street.
"Director Wang's incredibly talented. In Eleventh Son, he drew out your visual gifts," Comeron had said. "I want to use another side of those gifts and build the visuals I like together."
No wonder he'd dared cast a Chinese lead. Hearing that, Chu Zhi understood. Comeron was pretty full of himself. He didn't say "what the audience likes," he said "what I like."
It proved the old saying about looks being deceiving. Comeron looked gentle and bookish, a little farsighted with reading glasses on the bridge of his nose, calm brown eyes that seemed peaceful. Capono, on the other hand, had a hawk's glare that made you feel like one wrong move would get you torn apart.
But when it came to shooting, it was Comeron who roasted everyone.
"Idolia, if that last take had been a little better, I might agree with the papers calling you a genius."
"Why did this error happen? If the lighting's wrong again, I'll do it myself. We don't keep people who don't work. Sir, you'll be let go."
"Excellent, Mr. Chu Zhi's performance could win a Golden Raspberry for worst actor."
"Sorry, I laughed because your acting just now was terrible."
…
So much for "gentle Comeron." His style wasn't like Wang Anyi or Ōtsu Etsuji, both world-class names. Wang Anyi guided actors to grasp the core of a character, while Comeron stabbed straight at flaws with sharp words, forcing targeted corrections.
If Wang Anyi was a tyrant on set, Comeron was a scalpel. Getting cut hurt.
"Chu, bar tonight," Momoko said, clapping him on the shoulder.
Momoko's role wasn't likable in the film, but off camera he was a good guy, and from the looks of it pretty well off. He treated people often.
"Tonight?" Chu Zhi hesitated.
"Yeah, we'll go hard. Tomorrow's a rest day, don't overthink it. The best way to spend a holiday is a hangover, drunk till you don't know your name," Momoko laughed.
American crews usually had weekends off, and sometimes they matched local holidays too. In Northern Ireland, there was the unique Orange Day, and they'd take that day off.
"I've got studio time tomorrow. I won't kill the vibe. You guys have fun," Chu Zhi said.
Momoko smacked his forehead. "Right, you're a singer too. That's rough, recording while filming. I've heard your tracks. When the album's done, I want a signed copy."
"Of course," Chu Zhi said.
Most of the principals went out with Momoko. Chu Zhi returned to the hotel instead and watched his diet to keep his throat in good shape.
Next morning, Saturday, he got up early, went for a run, washed up, and only then grabbed breakfast. The Grand Central's breakfast started at 7:40, and it was simple, bread and jam with some cereal and milk.
"Director Comeron, you're up early," Chu Zhi said when he saw him, full of energy. If he remembered right, Comeron had been invited out last night too.
"A little wine doesn't stop an early morning, and I'm used to it," Comeron said.
From Momoko's tweets, they'd clearly drunk a lot. Damn, still got stamina at that age.
You could always count on Niu Jiangxue's team. They'd already found a studio not far from the set, Curt Recording Studio, so Chu Zhi could record All Nations I without hassle.
In the last few days, his anonymous donations had reached 300 million yuan, thanks to a burst of heavy spending. The Emperor Beast figured the charity federation probably knew who he was, or they wouldn't have set up a special channel for anonymous large donations for him this year.
He didn't care as long as it didn't mess with the system's judgment. The goal was achievements and the personality coins that came with them.
In four or five years, he'd given three hundred million. He was a charity pioneer, no question. He naturally unlocked [Low-Key Donation, Ten Million × 30] and gained 30 personality coins.
By his grad-student math, 33 + 30 − 10 left him with 52 coins.
The minus ten was the frozen cost of a custom album coupon. Even after using the coupons, he'd still be three songs short.
So he made his biggest spend since crossing over, three blind boxes in a row. The prizes:
[Selected Poems of Haizi]
[Spanish Language Pack]
[Custom Album Coupon × 1]
The system really understood gacha. All three were exactly what he needed.
"I'm a guy who can work in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, English, French, and Spanish now. I'm not at the level of those Republic-era monsters who tossed around eight or nine languages, but I'm half a monster," he joked.
He needed three Spanish songs anyway. Last time, with Cup of Life, people nitpicked his accent. This time nobody would.
As for Haizi, he decided the next poetry album would use that. Back on Earth, he'd used one of Haizi's lines as his signature, "Promise me, endure your pain in silence, say nothing, pass through this whole city." Later, after he read the full poem, he realized the line's meaning in context was completely different, but he still loved it.
"I've got thirty-seven coins left. With a new custom album coupon, I've got enough to finish the record."
When he reached Curt Studio, he had to readjust. He'd gotten used to Dream Dragon. Switching to a foreign room felt strange at first.
Life in Northern Ireland settled into a rhythm, surgical cuts from Comeron on set, then album sessions on days off. Busy, but the music and the shoot both moved along well.
Since he'd be overseas for more than half a year, he couldn't go dark. The team released progress updates now and then.
March: Chu Zhi Becomes First Chinese Lead of a Hollywood Non-Action Blockbuster
Mid-March: Genius Scholar Idolia Says, "Chu's the best conversationalist I've ever met"
Mid-April: Huge Investment in Unsinkable, Fox Producer Admits Enormous Pressure
Late July: From Wang Anyi to Baggon, Joseph, and Comeron, Why Top Directors Favor Chu Zhi
Late August: Inside Aiguo, How a No-Name Firm Partnered With Fox
And so the promos kept rolling.
Idolia's "genius scholar" persona was the most successful in Hollywood. She'd earned a master's in electromechanical engineering from Oxford's Queen's College. If she hadn't been scouted for her looks, she would've been a research star.
The promo content never repeated. Niu Jiangxue's team did great, reading the room and riding the trends. If there was a hot topic that month, they didn't fight it, they slid around it and kept Chu Zhi shining.
Meanwhile, the set buzzed.
"Your turn."
"The next scene's tough."
"Look at Director Comeron's heavy expression, you know it's serious."
"Logistics has cold meds, hair dryers, and absorbent towels ready."
This sequence was a load-bearing moment near the end. Li, in subzero ocean water, clung to a floating board and urged Rose to live on.
To shoot the finale, Comeron rented a massive warehouse and built a huge temporary pool about one and a half meters deep, green screens on all sides to help with VFX and keep the actors safe.
"Budget maniac. It's not his money, so he spends it like water," Brother Fei muttered, combing through every expense.
He hated Comeron's lavish style. This pool's water was hauled straight from the sea, because the director insisted only seawater showed the way darkness swallowed.
"You're absolutely right, Qin," said the Fox producer, fully agreeing.
If the two producers hadn't chopped away needless costs, that two-hundred-million-plus budget would've still gone over.
"Don't be nervous, Chu. You've got this," Idolia said.
They were about the same age, but with more than a dozen films on her resume, she had the stronger acting chops. Over months of shooting, her NG count was far lower than his. This scene was the two of them head to head, so it made sense for her to reassure him.
"Thanks," Chu Zhi said. "I'll calm myself down."
Was he nervous? Maybe a little for other scenes, but here he had a hidden edge.
The pool water was kept a bit over twenty degrees, basically warm. That was nothing like the subzero North Atlantic in the story, so the shivering and agony had to be acted.
But the Emperor Beast had Sick-Leave Man. He could trigger a high-fever chill, a cold that bit straight to the bone. He'd checked with system bro, who guaranteed there'd be no damage to his body.
"C-round checks complete, moving to final D-round checks."
"D-round safety check complete."
The safety crew clocked out. Dressed in sky-blue uniforms, they didn't look like they belonged on set. They were the insurance company's people.
Comeron called action. Chu Zhi's Li struggled to float. Idolia slumped weakly on the wooden board. The instant they locked eyes, she felt his state shift. His brows drew tight from cold, even the shape of his mouth changed from the chill.
What's going on? Why did the expressiveness just spike?
Idolia missed her cue for a second or two. On a big screen, that'd pop the audience right out of the moment, a huge problem. Comeron didn't hesitate to call cut.
It invited comparison. The genius scholar's acting had slipped. When Chu Zhi guest-starred as Zhang Li earlier, a sudden split-personality snap, Zhang Li caught everything in an instant.
Props hustled in to reset. The floating ice looked real, but it was carefully crafted plastic.
Makeup moved too, touching up the leads and the extras. Most extras played victims in the water, floating in life vests as corpses. Frost on skin, hair ends, and even lashes came from a base wash and frosty particles, classic SFX makeup.
Repeated NGs crush actors. Take this scene. Every cut meant props, makeup, and dozens of extras reset around you, a small army watching.
Twenty minutes later, they tried again.
"Once more," Comeron said.
Chu Zhi could guarantee repeatable performance. He flipped on Sick-Leave Man. In the story, Li got Rose onto the board.
"Don't do this… it's not time to say goodbye… not yet… you hear me?" Chu Zhi's Li sounded like he was trapped in an ice cellar, teeth chattering as he spoke.
"I'm so cold," Idolia's Rose whispered.
Her cold was acting. His was real.
It was too cold. The warm pool turned to needles once he triggered the fever chills. Every drop of water felt like it stabbed his skin, pain straight to the bone.
He gripped Idolia's hand like he could pass her his strength and calm her down.
His head swam. His body shuddered. His consciousness felt like it might float away.
"Listen, Rose… you'll be saved… you'll live… you'll have… so many children…"
"You'll live long. You'll die in a warm bed… not here… not tonight… not like… this, you understand?"
There are plenty of ways to get violent chills, but he'd chosen the infectious kind, say pneumonia. His brain felt cooked. That last short phrase, "you understand," scraped out through clenched teeth with everything he had left.
"My body's numb," Idolia breathed. For a second she really felt the North Atlantic, the sea full of ice and bodies as far as she could see.
She'd been pulled into the performance. His pain made her feel like she was there.
"Has Chu hit his peak yet?" Momoko, the actor playing the fiancé, watched from the side, stunned at what he was seeing.
"If a student who usually gets a C scores a B, you can call that their best. But if they score an A, that's not their best, because their best shouldn't even look like that," assistant director Capono said.
Everyone agreed with Capono. Right now, the way he showed the cold and the pain was the ceiling. Even a Best Actor performance wouldn't go beyond this.
"Idolia lost a bit of emotional continuity. If she'd kept it, this exchange would've hit even harder," said veteran actor Luo Wenhuaifa.
Luo Wenhuaifa played Old Rose. He was once the "Pearl of British TV," rooted in the hearts of viewers from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and he'd been made a DBE by the Queen.
"If Chu can hold this level through the whole film, he'll win Best Actor at the BAFTAs," Capono added.
That's what real impact is. It wasn't just crew praise behind the camera. His scene partner was completely submerged too.
"I won this ticket… and it's the happiest thing… in my life."
"Meeting you… is my luck, Rose… I'm satisfied."
Everyone knew that once your mind fogs past a certain point, your thoughts thin out and your consciousness slips away.
For the Emperor Beast to get all the lines out was already a miracle. "Rose, I'm satisfied" came out in his native tongue, the last thing he could manage before blacking out.
As soon as he said it, Chu Zhi lost consciousness. Only his hands still clung to the plank.
There was a crack of the clapper, and Idolia felt her heart shatter. She honestly thought Chu Zhi was dying right in front of her.
It hurt, it hurt so much.
Her voice came out hoarse without her meaning to, calling for "Li."
It wasn't in the script. By the rules, they should've cut. But so many iconic moments in film are born on the spot. You know… that sort of thing.
Chu Zhi's "Li" was written as a wandering painter from the East, ambitious but blocked by nationality and skin color. So even if his English was fluent, his mother tongue was Chinese. Comeron felt this was a stroke of genius. At that brink of death, his brain wouldn't register that his lover didn't understand Chinese, he might not even realize what he was saying. He still wanted to tell her that meeting her satisfied him.
"Cut!" Comeron had been glued to the monitor and stopped the scene at the perfect frame.
The moment it ended, logistics rushed in. Some brought towels and hot water, others carefully lifted the actors out of the pool.
If anyone so much as sniffled, they got meds at once. Better to overtreat than miss something. The medical team stood by.
"Chu's performance just now grades better than an A," Comeron said, eyes leaving the screen. It sounded like a critique of Chu Zhi, and also like him joining Capono's earlier debate.
He walked to the leads. Chu Zhi had already turned off Sick-Leave Man and was toweling down.
"Good, very good, excellent. Chu, I'm proud of that performance," Comeron said, rare praise on set.
"I thought this scene would drag on. Sorry, that was on me. I never imagined you'd nail everything on the second take," Comeron said, patting Chu Zhi's shoulder.
"Go on, get some real rest," Comeron urged.
They weren't only shooting one beat in that temporary pool. There were five scenes in total. This was just the heavy one for Chu Zhi and Idolia.
The extras had it toughest. Leads could change and rest after a take, but he noticed a lot of extras still soaking, like one unnamed actress cradling a silicone prop baby, playing a mother trying to shield her child, only for both to freeze to death in the story.
Hollywood avoided real infants and animals when it could, so the baby was a silicone prop.
SFX makeup took time to clean off. Even if the base gum was mild, removal was a hassle. Chu Zhi had it easier. Idolia still had alcohol grease paint reddening her cheeks for frostbite.
"Chu, you alright?" Momoko asked.
"I'm fine," Chu Zhi said, sipping the ginger tea Xiao Zuzhi had prepared.
Seeing the healthy color in his face, Momoko relaxed. "You scared us back there. It felt like the next second something awful would happen."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Chu Zhi said.
"It is. I was watching from the side. Even the director surrendered to that performance," Momoko said.
Looked like the effect beat even what he'd hoped for.
"As far as illness goes, Sick-Leave Man's flawless. Mental and psychological stuff's a bit tricky, but anything physical, rock solid," Chu Zhi said. Strictly speaking, it wasn't acting, it was experience.
No matter how good an actor is, can they beat the real thing?
Big films take a year or more. Comeron was actually moving fast, mostly because if he didn't, the money would run out.
Chu Zhi wasn't anxious. In that half year of shooting, he'd used weekends and breaks to finish recording All Nations I. The album was already in post. The MVs needed travel shoots in Russia and Spain, so there was no rushing it.
Like he'd said before, while Unsinkable filmed, Niu Jiangxue's team kept steady promo rolling. Little Fruits were hyped for their idol's first Hollywood lead that wasn't in the action genre.
Take Gu Peng, who was a star, a fan, and a friend. Every day he switched four or five alts to post in Orang Home.
"Ah, another day without seeing Jiu-yé."
"Jiu-yé's too damn sexy. I want Jiu-yé's backdoor, right now!"
"It's been 194 days without a new song. Do you know how I've survived these one hundred and ninety-four days? Even the village donkey wouldn't dare rest this hard."
On each alt, Gu Peng posted something different. One sounded like a true believer, one went feral, another pretended to be a casual listener.
He'd been roaming the internet for five or six years and had never posted from the wrong account.
The second unhinged post got the most replies. "Weibo isn't a no man's land," "Big-chested bro, what're you doing," "You broken pervy fruits, don't scare Xiao Jiu," "Your account hasn't been banned yet? Why do I see you every time," and so on, with memes like "[the turtle carrying the barbershop.jpg]" to show their mood.
"Hm?" While scrolling Chu-related news, Gu Peng found an interview with big-name director Wang Anyi about her new film Abnormal Is Normal, done by Arts & Life Weekly.
The headline read, "Wang Anyi says Chu Zhi's acting exceeded expectations, Best Actor level."
"Can we not pull this clickbait crap? You're smearing brother Jiu," Gu Peng snapped. He'd been interviewed by Arts & Life Weekly before. Awkward interview, sure, but they'd felt like a responsible outlet. Why were they acting like shock-bait UC now?
How to describe brother Jiu's acting? With his professionalism, you can't call it bad. In Shiyi Lang, under a master director, he'd even had highlight moments. But "exceeded expectations" and "Best Actor level," what was that supposed to mean?
Arts & Life Weekly kept it arty and focused on the film. Near the end, the reporter asked, "Zhang Li, Gao Tan, and Wei Tingjun are all superb performers. Director Wang, what do you think of their acting?"
"They did very well, and met what the audience expected. But the ones who surprised me most were Huhu and Chu Zhi," Wang Anyi said.
"Huhu's a little actor in our crew, but he's gifted. Most importantly, he's serious. He's got every line down cold. Everyone in the team likes the kid."
"As for Chu Zhi… I've worked with him once before. I've said his acting wasn't good then. This time, he blew my mind. He delivered a Best Actor performance. To be precise, even Best Actor Zhang Li almost couldn't catch him when they played off each other," Wang Anyi said.