Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 17 The Lead Actor is Late, Which Is Really Annoying

"Ohhh!! Ming, you're here."

As soon as they met, Narita Heng rushed over and grabbed Gu Ming's hand tightly.

"So reliable... Sorry to bother you so early, but this matter is really urgent. TBS said that due to program scheduling, they hope to have the work ready next week. Damn, the suits are not even ready yet, and wasn't it agreed to be ready in two weeks?"

Gu Ming was stunned: "Next week? But today is Wednesday, so it's only a few days away!"

"Yes, so there's no other choice but to call everyone here as soon as possible to discuss what we can do. Ming, you're the main character after all, so we called you here urgently."

Although he is a suit actor, Ultraman is of vital importance.

Of course, people go to watch Ultraman just to see Ultraman, so in a sense, Ultraman is the protagonist.

Cheng Tianheng patted Gu Ming's shoulder and sighed: "Anyway, let's go in first. Everyone is basically inside."

Gu Ming responded and followed him into the two-story building.

The familiar office was filled with many people, even Eiji Mantani came.

However, probably because it was too early, Wangu Eiji looked a little drowsy and sat leaning back, while Wangu Ichi and Wangu Ao were guarding him on his left and right.

Seeing Gu Ming come in, Tetsuo Kaneshiro, Kunio Miyauchi and others, as well as a few staff members whom Gu Ming had seen before but could not remember their names, nodded at him as a greeting.

Gu Ming sat down next to Narita Heng.

Mantani Eiji opened his eyes and glanced around.

"Xiaoyi, everyone is here, right?"

"There are still two people who haven't come yet, Kurobe-kun, who plays the main role, and Nakajima-kun, who plays the monster role."

Wangu Eiji nodded slightly: "It's Toho after all... Let's wait a little longer."

After saying that, he closed his eyes again and took a nap.

Gu Ming whispered to Narita Heng: "Who is Kurobe?"

"Kurobe Susumu, he was loaned to Toho by Mr. Mantani Eiji when he returned to the company. He's responsible for playing the human protagonist in Ultraman. He's appeared in many Toho productions and can be considered a key player there. If Mr. Mantani hadn't asked, it wouldn't have been easy to get him."

Gu Ming understood clearly.

Kurobe Jin, it seems that he is the same as in the original time and space, and no one has changed.

The male lead, Hayata Susumu, is still played by Kurobe Susumu.

There is no negative news about Mr. Kurobe Susumu.

There are no issues with stance, arrogance, etc.

After the reorganization of Toho's artist department, Kurobe Susumu has frequently appeared in various works, including guest appearances in Ultraman, Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, etc. He has also appeared in other realistic works, but he is no longer the protagonist.

Later, he was often invited to participate in some large-scale exhibitions at home and abroad as a witness of the filming of Hayata Susumu and Ultraman.

All in all, he's a nice guy.
Not long after, a Bankaya staff member knocked on the door and walked in with Kurobe Jin.

Gu Ming looked at the man. He had a square face, no expression, and looked very indifferent.

It was indeed the young Kurobe Shin.

But soon, Kurobe Shin showed some apology that was inconsistent with his cold expression.

"Mr. Mantani Eiji, I'm so sorry! I'm a little late."

Mantani Eiji just nodded slightly at him, and Kurobe Susumu took the empty seat.

Gu Mingduo glanced at Kurobe Jin. Although Kurobe Jin was a little confused, he nodded slightly to Gu Ming and said hello: "I am Kurobe Jin. I am honored to be recommended to star in Mr. Mantani Eiji's work this time."

Gu Ming also responded with a salute.

"So it's Kurobe-kun. I'm Akira Furuya, and I'm playing the role of 'Ultraman' in this drama."

"Oh! It's you!" Kurobe Jin suddenly became interested, which surprised Gu Ming a little.

Kurobe Susumu quickly explained, "Mr. Mantani Eiji told me at the time that he was going to play a human Ultraman. I asked him what Ultraman was. He said it was the most noble of heroes, and that it would be played by a karate master. So it was Furuya-kun!"

Kurobe Shin compared the bulging muscles under Gu Ming's clothes and said with a smile, "It's really amazing."

Gu Ming burst out laughing.

Unlike his serious and cold appearance, Kurobe Susumu is actually a very humorous person.

Everyone hasn't arrived yet, and many people are whispering to each other, so the conversation between Gu Ming and Kurobe Jin is not a problem.

He took the opportunity to inquire about other matters, and Kurobe Shin answered all his questions without any airs. Finally, he smiled and said that he had always been interested in martial arts and hoped to see some.

Gu Ming naturally agreed.

"It's wonderful to see you two getting along so well," Narita Toru sighed. "Kurobe-kun, Furuya-kun, you two are both crucial actors in this drama. Speaking of which... after the meeting, let's go home and have a nice drink tonight to celebrate your harmony!"

Kurobe Jin bowed apologetically and said, "I'm very sorry, but I have plans at Toho tonight and can't stay too long."

There is no problem with Gu Ming, he can go today.

And he hasn't had breakfast yet.

"How can there be so many arrangements?" Narita Heng raised his wrist and looked at his watch. "It's only...ah, it's already 9:20."

He looked around.

It's 9:20, where are Haruo Nakajima and the others?
Although calling at 7:00 was a bit early, everyone was there, including Kurobe Shin from Toho. Surprisingly, Nakajima Haruo still hadn't shown up.

Gu Ming was embarrassed: "Mr. Narita doesn't seem to have the right to say that others like to be late."

Narita Henton felt a little embarrassed. "That's true, but as the art director, the filming can still go on even if I don't come. And I'm never late when I have work to do!"

Narita Toru was a little annoyed.

As a monster actor, Haruo Nakajima is also part of the main cast, so it would not be acceptable if he was always late.

Wan Guyi called a staff member and whispered a few words to him. Gu Ming guessed that he should ask the other party to go directly to see Nakajima Haruo in person.

Time passed like this for a while, and in the blink of an eye, it was already half past ten.

Eiji Mantani's body could no longer hold on.

"Nakajima-kun, ah..."

Mantani Eiji sighed, stood up and left.

However, that annoyed attitude was particularly noticeable.

After Wangu Eiji left, only Wangu Ichi and Wangu Ao were left.

Hearing the sound of a door opening, several people looked up, but the person who came was not Nakajima Haruo, but a staff member of Wan Gu.

The sweaty employee ran back to Wan Guyi and whispered a few words.

"He's not at home?! Where else could he be?! Damn it, let's go look for him in the billiard room over there. Dongbao doesn't have any special filming activities today, so he should be at home!"

Wan Gu had a terrible headache.

Gu Ming also sighed.

It's really troublesome to find someone when there is no time for personal phone calls.

If it weren't for Nakajima Haruo's qualifications, he would probably have been caught on the spot for being late today.

"Never mind, let's not wait any longer. Let's just get started." Wang Guyi cleared his throat. "Everyone should know what's going on. TBS has told us they want us to start the show a week earlier, but that's impossible. We still have a lot of preparations to make. You all will be playing important roles in the filming of Ultraman, so we've gathered everyone together this time to pool our wisdom and hopefully provide reliable suggestions."

Wan Guyi spread his hands and stared at everyone.

"Everyone, any ideas?"

Gu Ming looked up at everyone.

Ultraman starts filming early?
He had actually heard of this matter.

In the original world, because TBS finished an old work, it notified Tsuburaya to release Ultraman ahead of schedule.

However, the preliminary preparations for Ultraman had not been completed at that time, so in the end, Tsuburaya's solution was to produce an Ultraman Eve Festival, which was a stage play that showed the core elements of Ultraman in advance - Ultraman fighting monsters.

Only then was Ultraman officially released.

However, at that time, the preliminary preparations for Ultraman had basically been completed, but there was no time for filming, so a stage play would be enough to solve the problem.

But it’s different now, the Ultraman suit hasn’t even been completed yet!
Tetsuo Kaneshiro and Kunio Miyauchi, the two creative staff members, did not speak at all.

One of them is not good at communication, and the other is not good at speaking. This kind of situation is really a bit difficult for them.

"This is really troublesome! Why are TBS doing this?" Narita Toru muttered, "They haven't even finished the Ultraman suit yet."

Wan Gu'ao said, "Why don't we first film a 20-minute video in the format of a stage play, with everyone introducing the Ultraman show. That video will then replace next week's show."

"How can we film a stage play when Nakajima Haruo hasn't arrived yet?" Wan Gu got angry whenever this kind of thing was mentioned: "Even if it's a stage play, it would take half a day to prepare, right? What the hell is this guy doing!"

Kurobe Shin didn't say anything.

This is Wangu's family affair. He was called here because he is the leading actor, and some arrangements require the cooperation of the leading actor, but if possible, Kurobe Jin still doesn't want to express his opinion.

Gu Ming shook his head secretly.

Haruo Nakajima... is a bit of a rip-off.

Seeing that everyone seemed a little helpless, Gu Ming simply raised his hand.

"I do have an idea, but I might need the cooperation of Kurobe-kun."

Kurobe Susumu suddenly looked up.

There is actually something about him.

"Who is Ultraman? Why did he come to Earth? Why does he protect humans instead of harming them? Children won't dwell on these questions, but if someone were willing to explain them, it would be much easier for them to understand the plot."

"We could use the format of Ultraman and humans talking to each other. Ultraman doesn't need to actually appear; a human monologue would suffice. Ultraman could be voiced to create a mysterious image. We could insert scenes of monster destruction and try to exaggerate the sense of crisis. If we could see it in advance, it would pique people's interest in how they would actually fight such a monster."

"Release one or two monsters every day. Ultra Q has a lot of prepared suits. We can modify them and use them."

"On the last day, when Ultraman's suit is complete, I can appear in Ultraman's image and tell everyone that Ultraman, the cosmic hero, will fight monsters and protect humanity."

　Well... I know that the filming of the first drama was indeed a bit slow, and it hasn't officially started yet.

　　But I still want to write as much as possible about the behind-the-scenes things of special effects, those people, those creativity, those ideas.

　　After finishing the first film, the subsequent works will be accelerated.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)