Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 259: No Life, Who Will Invest in Your Movie?
People carry people in a fancy sedan, so it never hurts to say a few nice words to people.

Although Gu Ming has not seen "The Most Dangerous Game", since it was praised by Watanabe Ryosuke, it is definitely not a bad movie.

"I watched the movie with my girlfriend a while ago. It was really wonderful. My favorite part was the protagonist's performance. That scene...it was really amazing."

Kurosawa Mitsuru bowed slightly and said, "It would be great if someone likes it. So, why don't we find a suitable place to discuss it in detail?"

"please?"

"please!"

A few of them greeted each other and were originally going to find a suitable place to watch movies and see the works produced by Gu Ming.

As the president of a film company, Kurosawa Mitsuru naturally doesn't pay much attention to TV dramas. Apart from Journey to the West, which is relatively famous to him, he doesn't know anything about other works.

Gu Ming said, "I have movie viewing equipment in my office, why don't we go somewhere?"

Kurosawa Mitsuru said, "Please."

Watanabe Ryotoku spoke at the right moment: "To be honest, I have some work to deal with, so I won't be with you for a while."

He was just a matchmaker to introduce the two of them to each other, and naturally he didn't need to be present for the things they were going to discuss next.

Gu Ming drove Kurosawa Mitsuru back to the office.

The moment he got in the car, Kurosawa Mitsuru took a quick look at the car.

It is Toyota’s new model last year. In terms of level, it is roughly equivalent to the Audi A6.

This is a car that a small boss of a certain class would drive.

He didn't say anything, but just sat in the passenger seat and left with Gu Ming.

The old warehouse where the office is located is near the port, with convenient transportation. However, the warehouse looks a bit shabby, and there is occasional noise from other warehouses moving goods.

Gu Ming said, "It's rare to find such a large space in downtown Tokyo. It's also conveniently located, making it a great place for everyone to conduct various training sessions and practice battle formations."

Kurosawa Mitsuru nodded slightly and made no comment, but walked into the office with Gu Ming.

There is always someone in the office. He is a young man with physical problems and is not suitable for performing action scenes. He is also the Yakuza sent by Nijiamoto Tatsumi. He was arranged by Gu Ming to act as the front desk, act as a liaison, and usually also do some odd jobs such as serving tea and water.

After a while, he made some tea and brought it over.

Gu Ming tried it and thought it didn't work.

The office doesn't receive many guests, and people can't tell the difference between good and bad tea. They drink tea just to add a taste to plain water.

Describe it in one sentence.

This is top-grade high-crushing!

Kurosawa Mitsuru picked up the teacup and took a sip carefully.

Cough, cough, ah, howl~bah!
Gu Ming coughed lightly and said, "We don't usually drink tea."

"It's okay, it's already good." Kurosawa Mitsuru put down his teacup and said, "Let's look at the work."

Gu Ming had prepared a videotape, so he inserted it into the VCR and played it.

Kurosawa Man put his hands in his pockets and looked carefully for a while, while Gu Ming secretly observed his expression, but this man looked as if he had been stabbed on the face, with no expression at all.

After a long time, the videotape finished playing and Kurosawa Mitsuru looked at Gu Ming.

"If you don't mind, could you show me the movie plan, Furuya-kun?"

"of course."

Gu Ming went to get the plan and entrusted it to Kurosawa Mitsuru.

Kurosawa Mitsuru flipped through a few pages and suddenly sat up straight.

This plan is quite formal, and it can be seen that Gu Ming is not just playing around.

If you do such professional planning just for fun, the cost will be too high.

Gu Ming continued to explain.

"This project was inspired by a Noh play, and the director I approached was Mr. Jissoji Akio, with whom I've collaborated on several projects before."

Kurosawa Mitsuru responded.

Akio Jissoji is not an unknown person. He has made many independent films, some of which were box office hits, some were box office failures, but they all had good reputations.

The main reason is that he likes to create literary and artistic works, which affects his ability to make money.

"The person who wrote the script is Shozo Uehara. He has collaborated with Mantani many times and his good friend is a disciple of 'Sekizawa Shinichi'."

Kurosawa Mitsuru looked up. Sekizawa Shinichi was a very famous screenwriter, his status comparable to that of Mantani Eiji in the tokusatsu industry.

That was the end of the plan. Kurosawa Mitsuru quickly closed the plan, even though there was still a large part at the end that he hadn't read.

"It's clear that Furuya-kun takes this work very seriously... I have some questions, and I hope Furuya-kun can answer them honestly."

"please say."

"This production seems to involve a large house and some exterior scenes. Do you want to film it there?"

"I have an old house in Nara that's now uninhabited. It's my own house and can be used for filming."

"So, what about the studio scenery?"

"I heard that Toei has a photography studio in Kyoto that I should be able to borrow."

"actor?"

"We used actors from the studio, and the main point was to showcase the action design techniques."

"I understand."

Kurosawa Mitsuru put down his plan and stood up first, while Gu Ming stood up with him.

"If Furuya-kun doesn't mind, I'd like to be the producer of this work and have it broadcast on Toei Cinemas. I only have one request: I hope Furuya-kun can produce the work within two months."

Gu Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

Two months, that’s not a big problem!
Filming a movie is not like filming a TV series. Two months is enough time for a small or medium-budget film.

As for other conditions, they still need to be discussed in detail, but they are nothing more than those things.

For example, the theater chain’s profit sharing ratio, distribution requirements, whether to advertise, dispatching financial supervisors, etc.

Gu Ming didn't mind the financial supervision at all. After all, he really wanted to create his work, not embezzle money.

After a detailed conversation, Gu Ming said goodbye to Kurosawa Mitsuru and sent him back to his residence, feeling a little relieved.

So, even if the distribution is settled, Toei Cinemas is very powerful. After all, it is one of the five major film and television giants in Japan and is said to have thousands of cinemas.

I don’t know whether it’s true or not, maybe many of the cinemas there only have dozens of seats.

But at least one thing is certain: if Toei's distribution is not good, other companies may not be able to do well either.

Unless it's Toho.

Toho is a true film giant, a unique giant, and this involves Toho's subsequent investment strategy.

After the decline of the film industry, Toho invested in a large number of cinemas. After the bubble, it managed to stabilize its assets and became the largest and most powerful cinema chain in Japan.

Unfortunately, Gu Ming doesn't have deep connections at Toho. Although I feel he could ask Mantani Eiji or Honda Ishiro to introduce him, it would be a long way to go.

What's more.

Gu Ming also didn't want to have much contact with Honda Ishiro.

"That way, the matter is settled."

Gu Ming thought to himself, "It's too late today, so forget it. I have to look into it tomorrow and find someone to customize a batch of business cards!"

Watanabe Ryotoku said it well.

It's not like he's playing the pig and eating the tiger. Without a business card, who would know he has work? Without work, who would give him gifts?
……

……

The next day, in the Toei TV class, Watanabe Ryosuke was playing with the ugly Astro Boy figurine on the table.

Although the toy made by Endai is really ugly, Watanabe Ryotoku has gotten used to playing with it and has played with Astro Boy's forehead until it shines.

After thinking about it, he finally took out his phone and called Gu Ming.

Abuse of power for personal gain? Nepotism? So what?

Could it be that he is being nepotistic? He has the power but doesn't use it. Is he really going to starve his daughter to death?

In Watanabe Ryosuke's view, as long as he can get things done well, he deserves all other requirements.

"Hello... Furuya-kun, I'm Watanabe Ryosuke."

"Since we're going to release a movie, we're going to have to advertise it, right? Why not just produce and broadcast it here? It's just a commercial, I'm sure TV Asahi will agree!"

"Haha, if you ask me the reason, it's nothing. Think of it as a gift from an old friend. After all, I'll need to continue collaborating with Furuya-kun on future works, right? Kamen Rider will definitely have a sequel, and when that happens, I'll still have to rely on Furuya-kun!"

(End of this chapter)