Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 35 ratings, 40%
On Monday, at the Wangu Studios, after filming the human part in the morning, the special effects part began in the afternoon.

Gu Ming was hanging on the steel cable when he saw a young man walk in with a smile and walk towards Toshihiro Iijima.

Although he is called a young man, he is actually in his thirties.

This person is called Miwa Toshimichi, and he is the person in charge of communicating with Mantani on the TBS side. The original Kagi Takeshi has retreated behind the scenes and was promoted to director.

The two of them whispered a few words, and Gu Ming couldn't hear clearly, but Iijima Toshihiro's expression was visibly excited.

"Everyone!" Toshihiro Iijima clapped his hands and called everyone over.

Because they were already hanging on the steel cable, Akira Tadashi and Takeharu Sato could not get through and could only stand in the venue.

"The news from TBS is that the ratings for the first episode of Ultraman have been released yesterday!"

"The ratings for the Tokyo-wide show were around 41.2%! In some areas, like Minato Ward, the ratings reached 57%!"

In areas like Minato Ward, which is one of the most prosperous areas in Tokyo, the TV ownership rate is of course higher.

Toshihiro Iijima also has reason to be happy.

Judging from the ratings, it is a well-deserved success. Even for Wangu, it is a miracle. It is higher than the highest rating of Ultra Q's episode.

As part of the Ultraman director team, even if he only directed one episode, this is an important qualification.

"Besides the excellent production, the early promotional strategy must have had a positive impact. After just one week of promotion, people's interest in Ultraman was piqued. It was truly an excellent move."

Toshihiro Iijima praised this matter to his heart's content.

If it weren't a weekly drama, the ratings of the first episode alone would be enough for all the employees of Wangu to take a long vacation.

Gu Ming raised his head slightly, revealing a gentle smile under his leather jacket.

This rating was higher than he had ever known. It seemed that his presence had played a significant role.

Miwa Toshimichi cast his gaze towards the inside of the sand table used for filming.

Sato Takeji and Gu Ming, who were already hanging on the steel cable, had no way to go over and say hello.

"So this is Ultraman, what a brilliant guy!" Miwa Shunmichi bowed slightly. "Well, I won't interrupt your filming anymore. I'm going to tell Mr. Mantani Eiji the good news now."

Even after Miwa Toshimichi left, the filming naturally had to continue.

The steel cable was lifted, hanging Gu Ming and Sato Takeji in mid-air.

This scene is the classic air battle scene between the first Ultraman and Baltan. Everything is fine on Gu Ming's side, but there is a big trouble on Sato Takeji's side.

Baltan's pincers are too big and too heavy. Although they are hollow, they are still incredibly heavy.

Asking him to take off with two big pincers raised is indeed a very bullying thing to do.

Therefore, Sato Takeharu's hands were hung on the steel cable, and the two of them pulled it forward.

Without the addition of editing and special effects, this scene does look a bit strange.

Only when the two of them finally let go did Gu Ming feel relieved.

Wangu's broken steel cable... is too thin.

Gu Ming was afraid that something might go wrong one day and he would be thrown down from the sky.

Toshihiro Iijima called out again, asking the stunt team to hang up the Baltan alien's small spaceship, and Gu Ming would destroy the spaceship in a moment.

However——it’s different from the original series.

In the original plot, the first Ultraman killed Baltan and destroyed Baltan’s spaceship.

But this time there were changes.

First, Baltan's spaceship invaded and was destroyed by Team Kurt. Then Baltan showed up to cause trouble, and after becoming giant, he was defeated by Ultraman.

Before his death, Baltan told Ultraman that there were 2.8 billion people from the planet Baltan on the spacecraft.

So, should we destroy this manned spaceship, or let it go and let humans and Baltan decide the dispute themselves?

Ultraman's final choice was to destroy the spaceship, killing 2.8 billion people on the planet Baltan.

Afterwards, everyone was laughing and talking, except Ultraman himself who knew what the seemingly casual ray of light had done.

Among these, all the complex thoughts and feelings must be expressed by Gu Ming.

Toshihiro Iijima looked at the items on the script with an extremely serious expression.

I didn't expect that in the second episode, he would be responsible for shooting such an exciting scene. I don't know if I can do it well.

Although it cannot be said to surpass the first episode directed by Wang Guyi, if the first episode is 40% higher and his is only 30%, it would be a huge failure.

To conserve equipment, filming hadn't begun yet. Toshihiro Iijima called Furuya over, and the two of them briefly discussed the situation. "Furuya-kun, let's be frank about this. How do you plan to portray Ultraman's psychological transformation?"

"Yes, I've thought about this," Gu Ming said. "When there's no eye contact, and only dubbed lines, I try to use body movements to express changes in my mindset."

Gu Ming explained his thoughts: "Of course I didn't want to do this at first, but as the spaceship got closer, I finally made up my mind and unleashed my ultimate weapon, the Spesium Ray, to resolve everything neatly."

Iijima Toshihiro nodded slightly in approval. After discussing the posture with Gu Ming, he announced the start of filming.

Inside the studio, the only sound was the movement of photographic equipment.

The person walking up from behind startled Toshihiro Iijima slightly. He turned around and saw that it was Eiji Mantani, with Jie Mantani following behind him.

Toshihiro Iijima tried to stand up, but Eiji Mantani held his shoulders and made him sit down.

"Shh..."

Mantani Eiji made a gesture to silence him.

He looked at the scene in the sandbox.

The stunt team held the spaceship and gradually approached Gu Ming.

Gu Ming first made the Spesium Ray posture as before, but before the posture was formed, he froze it and then put it down.

He looked up at the approaching spaceship, his chest light flashing more and more rapidly.

Wan Gu Yingji looked at Gu Ming's hands. His left hand clenched, then immediately loosened.

The spaceship was getting closer and closer. Gu Ming finally made up his mind, raised his hands, made the Spesium Ray posture, and paused for a moment.

Later on, we will create the scene of light destroying the spacecraft.

When the spaceship was destroyed, Gu Ming should have flown away with his arms raised high as before, but this time, he lowered his eyes slightly and looked in the direction of the crash and explosion of the spaceship.

Then Wangu staff lifted the wooden board, and Gu Ming then showed a posture of flying away with his hands raised high.

The filming of this scene is over.

Eiji Mantani stood with his hands behind his back, thinking about all this.

In the absence of special effects, based solely on what he saw, in the last few seconds of footage, Gu Ming's body underwent a slight change, and his footsteps changed from facing forward to facing sideways. Although the shaking of his limbs was not obvious, it was still observable if one looked closely.

Judging from the body movements alone, it can be said that Mantani Eiji was satisfied.

The lights came on and the staff came forward to prepare for the subsequent filming.

It was not until this moment that the others saw the appearance of Mantani Eiji.

"Mr. Wan Gu!"

"President!"

"Dad..."

Various sounds came one after another.

"I just received the ratings news from TBS. Thanks to everyone's hard work, we were able to present a perfect series."

Wan Gu Yingji first praised everyone's performance, and then walked towards Gu Ming.

"Amin, you certainly showed the desired emotion. Have you ever had any acting skills before?"

Gu Ming responded: "Yes, I joined the drama club when I was in school."

Wangu Eiji nodded: "Really? That's not surprising."

A play script is a form of expression with a very high artistic level. It not only requires no NGs throughout the entire process, but also has extremely high requirements for various postures. The narration is required to be loud, clear, and emotionally rich.

"However, there were some minor problems with the performance just now."

Mantani Eiji explained: "Of course there will be conflicting emotions, but that's before you make up your mind. After you make up your mind, you can't have any more confusion in your mind."

If he were to make a final move to look at the wreckage of the spacecraft, it would be a bit unnecessary.

Gu Ming was somewhat educated and lowered his head slightly: "Dad is right."

A little further away, Sato Takeji lowered his hands and watched the scene.

Wan Gujie, who was accompanying them, raised his camera and took a picture of the scene.

Eiji Mantani is talking about a play with Ultraman. Perhaps this photo will become a classic many years later.

(End of this chapter)