Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 273 Toei Spider-Man?
Of course, Toru Hirayama was in the Kyoto studio. In fact, Toru Hirayama spent much more time in the Kyoto studio than in Tokyo.

As a television producer, he first started producing films at the Kyoto Studio.

This time, I heard that Gu Ming was holding a wrap-up party here, and it happened that he also had something to say, so I came to find Gu Ming.

"Furuya-kun! Long time no see, congratulations in advance on the success of your movie!"

"No way, actually, it depends on the distribution from Toei!"

After exchanging pleasantries, the two sat down and Gu Ming said, "Mr. Pingshan must have something to do."

"Not bad... Have you seen Ma Lei Wo?"

Gu Ming:?
What are these?

What is Ma Leiwo? He is also Ma Leida!
Hirayama Toru gave a brief description.

"It's an American comic book company that's created a lot of comics. Not long ago, Toei signed an agreement with them, allowing both parties to exchange copyrights. Toei licensed Kamen Rider, and they also licensed a character called 'Seven Hundred Mothers,' which tells the story of a high school student who gets bit by a spider and becomes Spider-Man. Do you think we can make it work with a high school girl?"

Gu Ming: ...?
What?
He asked again with some disbelief: "Four hundred what?"

"Four Hundred Aunt! Spider-Man!"

Gu Ming gasped for a second as he felt his spider sense.

Spiderman!
Did Toei film Spider-Man?
What Gu Ming didn't know was that Toei actually made a Spider-Man movie.

The reason is as mentioned before. Toei signed an agreement with Marvel in the mid-to-late 1970s, allowing each other to authorize each other's works for filming within a few years.

At the time, Marvel had licensed a ton of stuff in the US, like the Hulk and Captain America, and all the movies they made were garbage. Toei licensed the rights to Kamen Rider to Marvel and produced some American comics.

In the end, Toei got the copyright of Spider-Man, so it produced an extremely magical work.

Toei Spider-Man!
By the way, this is a special effects work, and it has also collaborated with Kamen Rider.

Toei Spider-Man has instantaneous sensing within a range of fifty kilometers, can directly lock onto enemies like a radar, can fight against monsters hundreds of meters away, and can also drive a Gundam - that thing should be called Leopatron, and it is undefeated in TV shows.

After watching Toei's Spider-Man, Marvel's father Stan Lee compared it with American comic-based movies and TV series of the same period and sighed sincerely.

What kind of guns do we Americans shoot?
Okay, that's not the original words.

Stan Lee's original words were, "Compared to the ones we've made (American productions), this is my favorite Spider-Man."

However, this work is quite old, and many people have not seen it unless they are Spider-Man fans.

Because of the unique Japanese pronunciation of miso, it is also called Four Hundred Aunt.

After listening to Hirayama Toru, Gu Ming immediately responded: "So you want me to play the role of the 400-year-old aunt."

"No, this is a special effects film. You know, special effects, the funds can't be spent mainly on hiring actors. Although Furuya-kun hasn't filmed many works, but this price..."

Hirayama Toru smiled but said nothing.

Gu Ming sighed.

"Am I that expensive? So, if they're not looking for me to act, then they must be looking for me to be the one in the killing formation."

"That's right, this is a battle manga, so there must be a lot of action scenes. Speaking of action, although some people would recommend JAC and other killing companies, the first thing that comes to my mind is Furuya-kun."

Hirayama Toru wasn't exaggerating, but among all the killing companies he'd worked with, none did better than Gu Ming's.

It’s okay to charge a higher fee, the photos are great!
Speaking of killing formations.

Hirayama Toru asked casually, "Does Furuya-kun have any suitable actors to recommend? For example, is there any actor in the agency you would like to promote?"

"no?"

Gu Ming looked at Manatsu Ryu who was chatting with someone a little further away.

In fact, Gu Ming felt that he could give him a push.

But if he gives Manazato a push and lets him play Spider-Man, his value will go up in the future, and I'm afraid Wangu won't ask him to play Leo.

"But how can Wangu afford to film Leo? He's so poor now that he can only film Dinosaur Super Ksai. I can invest in Leo later!"

Gu Ming raised his hand and waved, and Zhen Xialong trotted over.

He had drunk a little, but he looked sober. "What do you think of him, Mr. Pingshan?"

"Forehead……"

Manatsu Ryuu instantly stood at attention, alert and alert, without losing his composure.

Hirayama Toru took a quick look.

Indeed, he looks young, energetic, sunny and cheerful, but whether he can really do it or not, we will have to audition to find out.

With Toho taking the lead in disbanding its artist department, Japan's large studio system has fallen apart, and audition systems have begun to be implemented in various places. If there are better and cheaper actors, they will definitely use better ones.

Hirayama Toru just made a note of Manatsu Ryu.

He had only come to discuss the killing array service with Gu Ming, and the specific price would be discussed in detail later. After congratulating Gu Ming on the completion of his film, Hirayama Toru left first.

Manatsu Ryu looked at Gu Ming and said cautiously, "Brother Gu Gu, so what are you going to do?"

"Oh, Toei is planning to make a special effects TV series. I think your image is suitable. I'd like to see if I can recommend you to be the lead. Come, stand at attention, let me see."

Gu Ming looked at it carefully and nodded with satisfaction.

It's okay, but don't smile, because if you smile you look like the silly boy next door.

However, in Gu Ming's impression, Spider-Man is a dead-end image. In Japan, this thing is called NEET. It may not be suitable for Manatsu Ryu.

Although he had never seen Toei's Spider-Man, Gu Ming intuitively felt that the Spider-Man shot in this special effects style would definitely not be bad.

In other words, if he had come earlier or later, he might have performed in person!
Spider-Man debuts!
……

……

Before leaving, Gu Ming walked around Kyoto but didn't find what he wanted to buy, neither comics nor videotapes.

Although American comics have some audiences in Japan, they are obviously not popular enough.

The Japanese market is both open and closed. Except for a few individual films, there are basically no films that can get high box office in Japan in later generations.

Soon the group returned to Tokyo.

One is to complete the editing and post-production of the film, and perhaps to reshoot some literary scenes.

Gu Ming directly asked a few people to see if they could buy Spider-Man comics.

This whole process took several hours.

Koizumi handed Gu Ming several magazines containing Spider-Man.

"Brother Gugu, I found it. Here are the four hundred aunts you wanted!"

"Well, Four Hundred Auntie..." Gu Ming ignored the pronunciation and flipped through it roughly.

At first glance, Gu Ming knew why this thing was not popular in Japan.

What kind of comics are these?
The text throughout the book is difficult to read after being stacked together after being translated into Japanese, and the coloring of the characters is also rather crude.

Compared to Japanese anime, the animation is not even close to the same level. It's more like a novel with pictures than a manga.

Many people may have watched superhero TV shows and movies, but they have definitely not read the comics.

Now Gu Ming just wants to say.

No wonder these comics didn't become popular.

"Americans are pathetic. What can American NEETs read? Nothing more than illustrated novels and Dungeons & Dragons. Rolling the dice requires the DM's approval. And if they want to read, they have to watch Dragon Ball... That's what it means to be a good reader!"

When it comes to Dragon Ball, Gu Ming starts thinking.

What is Akira Toriyama doing now?

Akira Toriyama has just started contributing to comics and is still a complete newcomer.

(End of this chapter)