Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 216 Yes, You Finished
After making a cameo appearance in this scene, Cheng Long left the set. He came to Japan to accompany Toei to discuss the sale of copyrights, and to go to the bubble bath by the way, mainly to visit his senior sister Yuan Qiu.

Now that all three things have been done, Cheng Long naturally will not stay in this mountain village to make a movie, so he will naturally say goodbye and leave.

Of course Gu Ming couldn't leave, he had to continue filming.

In the blink of an eye, it was already December.

Journey to the West has been filmed up to the 19th episode. After that, there is no more news about Gu Ming. Due to cost and location reasons, the subsequent parts will be filmed in Zhou Kingdom. JAC people will go there with the crew to continue filming, and the stand-in will be taken by other people.

This episode was about the fake pilgrims, and four dummies appeared. On the one hand, it was for the plot, and on the other hand, it was also an opportunity for JAC to get used to each other.

Gu Ming took a deep breath, put his hands in his pockets, and stood outside the field ready to make any arrangements at any time.

This was also the last scene he directed. There was not much that Gu Ming could intervene in the Japanese version of Journey to the West, but at least he tried his best in the image and it was not as weird as the original.

Overall, the Japanese version of Journey to the West actually captured some details that were not filmed in China, such as Master Wuchao - although Master Wuchao is a Tsuchigumo in the Japanese version.

"I tried my best... I heard that the copyright of this drama is already being negotiated with overseas countries. I hope foreigners can watch Journey to the West again."

Gu Ming shook his head secretly.

This drama was average in Asia, but it became a huge hit overseas and had a certain influence in Europe and the United States.

While the domestic version of Journey to the West was a huge hit in Asia, it performed relatively poorly overseas.

Gu Ming has no control over the domestic version. The filming there is already very good, and he might even make it worse if he goes there.

Gu Ming's revision of the Japanese version of Journey to the West can be considered as an early indoctrination for foreigners of this era.

Alas! Every single person has their own version of Journey to the West, but there's only one Sun Wukong. You say you're better than Liu Xiao Ling Tong, then come on and try! What does it mean to be an international superstar?
……

……

The director of this episode is Kazuo Ikehiro, who was originally a director of Daiei. After Daiei went bankrupt, he went to Kyoto Eiga.

Daiei stands for "Dai Nippon Eiga Production Co., Ltd.". It shot special works that cannot be directly mentioned during the war. After the war, it was privatized. In the 1970s, due to poor management, it was acquired by Tokuma Shoten and became "Kadokawa Pictures". Yamaguchi has acted in many Kadokawa works.

Gu Ming was naturally not familiar with Ike Hiro Kazuo, and he did not say much about the filming. He just cooperated to complete the design of this episode. The four-person team of real and fake masters and apprentices completed the final handover with JAC.

"Wait a moment, you two stand over here. Long, you use Crane Soaring to the Sky to kick him over, and then you roll over here. Sha Seng will follow up and hit him with the staff."

Gu Ming briefly explained the action scenes later in the film to the actors. Naturally, it was still the same old style, with four people fighting each other, creating a chaotic yet not chaotic effect.

It is impossible to shoot action scenes in one go. After all, the actors here cannot really fight throughout the whole process. They need to stop regularly to change positions and repeat actions.

This process continued until the afternoon.

Gu Ming had a rough idea of what this scene would look like. The audience would see an eight-person melee.

That’s right, Tang Monk also had his own scenes. His disciples were fighting on both sides, while the two Tang Monks were meditating and chanting scriptures facing each other, while the six real and fake disciples were circling around and fighting around them.

This is what Gu Ming learned from Jissoji Akio, who made the picture symmetrical and asymmetrical. Here, Tang Monk serves to divide the picture.

It was not until the end that Sun Wukong defeated the fake Sun Wukong, entered the picture from one side, and fought between the two Tang Monks, deciding the winner. While destroying the composition of the picture, he also declared victory.

After the action was over, Gu Ming did not leave, but waited outside the scene, watching the director repeatedly arrange the filming of the final literary scene of this episode.

Tang Sanzang put his palms together and apologized to the three disciples. This time, the fake master and apprentice had caused her to misunderstand the three disciples. Then, naturally, the four of them understood each other and talked about the truth. The master and apprentices continued on their journey. Sakai Masaaki made a big leap, and the scene ended.

The director raised his hand.

Journey to the West, Episode 19, Final Scene, Filming Completed! Gu Ming stepped forward, hugged and greeted each member of the creative team.

We should prepare to leave tomorrow, and Gu Ming will no longer be responsible for the subsequent parts.

Shinichi Chiba is not here today. He has to take care of the movie and won't come often.

But Shinichi Chiba still kept the disciple Naoto Baba, who looked very similar to Bill Tung.

The two hugged each other, and Naoto Baba felt a little regretful.

We have been together for a few months and have eaten a lot of food bought by Gu Ming. Now that Gu Ming is gone, I don’t know what I can eat in the future.

"Gugu-kun, although Master is not here today, he still left a message for you."

Naoto Baba grinned, revealing a rather awkward smile: "A man named Okamoto Yuyu found JAC. He is the director of the Taiga drama for NHK."

Gu Ming said "oh".

That’s great, he knows two out of four words.

Okamoto.

Okamoto ultra-thin...

"So you're going to find Mr. Chiba to film a Taiga drama? Then I have to congratulate him in advance." Gu Ming raised his hand: "Being able to act in a Taiga drama is also a testament to an actor's ability."

Naoto Baba's smile became even uglier. "He's not looking for a master. Mr. Okamoto was deeply moved after watching the previous performance, so he inquired about this place and found us at JAC. He's not looking for a master, but for the killing master from that episode of Havoc in Heaven, that's you, Furuya-kun!"

By the way, Chiba Shinichi still wanted to take credit for the work, but when he heard Okamoto Yuyu say that he wanted a big scene, Chiba Shinichi immediately mentioned Tani Ming.

He couldn't do that scene, and it would be exposed when filming. It would be better for him to do a favor.

Gu Ming leaned back instantly.

"So, they're asking me to film a Taiga drama? Oh, who should I play then? Miyamoto Musashi? Tachibana Muneshige? Honda Tadakatsu? Sanada Yukimura?"

This amused Naoto Baba.

"I heard Honda Tadakatsu is only 1.4 meters tall. I don't think Furuya-kun can play Honda Tadakatsu. But maybe he can play Oda Nobunaga!"

It is said that Oda Nobunaga was 1.9 meters tall, but I don't know if it's true or not.

Baba Naoto laughed a few times, but then put on a serious face again. "It's not a performance. They're preparing for the next Taiga drama. They've asked Furuya-kun to be the killing master. Master has already informed him that you will be returning to Tokyo soon and also told him the address of the office. So when Furuya-kun returns to Tokyo, don't forget to meet with Mr. Okamoto."

Gu Ming suddenly lost his words.

I originally thought he was being asked to perform, but it turned out he was playing a killing array master!
"How come I'm just an actor, but I'm treated like a killing array master every day?"

Gu Ming sighed and was about to say something else, but his eyes suddenly froze.

He stretched out his hand and looked up at the sky.

"Snowing."

The first snow in 1978.

(End of this chapter)