Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 372 Video Store, Gemini Script
It takes time for Tetsuo Kaneshiro to write the script, and Gu Ming is not in a hurry to urge him.

After resting for a few days, Gu Ming took the time to go to the video store.

The store's location is not very good, being located in an alley around Shibuya, but when Gu Ming arrived, he found that it was surprisingly popular.

"Haha...it's incredible," Koizumi sighed. "Actually, videotapes are really expensive. Who would buy them if they could rent them? Some people buy them individually for their collections, but many of the tapes here have been remastered, and there are translations of the videos. You can even watch foreign films, so many people like to come here."

"That's really good. Let's go in and take a look."

The two walked into the store. It was extremely quiet inside, with only the sound of low conversations coming from the counter at the door.

The shop assistant, who looked like a part-time student, was wearing an apron with her name, Uesugi Riona, written in Chinese characters with romanization on her chest.

Different films are arranged in different categories on the shelves. Gu Ming had never mentioned this before, and it is not known whether it was Kobayashi's own arrangement or a temporary preparation by the clerk.

After a tour, I found that the film content is generally quite complete, and works produced by several giants are available for rental.

Toho, Toei, Shochiku...

Gu Ming suddenly stopped.

Great reflection.

Daiei is quite special. Its full name is Dai Nippon Film Production Co., Ltd. Later, after changes, it became Kadokawa Pictures.

You can tell from the name.

During the war, Daiei specialized in shooting propaganda films. This was different from several other companies that only made temporary appearances. Daiei had been shooting wartime propaganda films since its inception, and its works also had a particularly obvious tendency.

you could put it that way.

Daiei's works sent to Zhou Kingdom could not be publicly shown and could only be used as internal reference films.

Gu Ming lowered his voice and said a few words to Koizumi: "Remember to remind me when you go back and tell Tanaka not to show Daiei's works in the store."

"Yes."

Koizumi didn't ask why, because he didn't watch Daiei's works anyway.

After walking around again, Gu Ming finally returned to the counter.

The previous customers had already left and there was no one else here for the time being. Seeing the two of them coming over, the clerk raised his head slightly and looked at Gu Ming.

"Yes, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Nothing, just a little curious." Gu Ming casually picked up a videotape of Nijiamoto Tatsumi and asked, "How is the rental of this videotape?"

"It's OK. Some people like it, but it's not a bestseller."

Gu Ming nodded and asked, "Actually, I don't watch videotapes very often. Can you pick out a few of the best-selling ones and rent them to me?"

"I'm really sorry, but the best-selling videotapes are not available for rent right now. They've all been rented out. They mainly include romance films released in recent years, some imported films, oh, and some of the latest films released last year, and..."

And some works that are obviously more erotic.

Gu Ming was not surprised by this.

"Speaking of which, how do stores rent out works? What if someone takes the videotape and doesn't return it?"

It won’t be like Yilin’s story, where he couldn’t find a job because of a videotape!

But after Gu Ming asked this, the clerk in front of him showed a somewhat wary expression.

"Ha, don't be so nervous, I'm not here to pry into business secrets."

Koizumi took a step forward and revealed his identity.

"Actually, this shop was invested in by Furuya-san. This is Mr. Furuya Akira, the famous actor who opened his own extreme action agency. He commissioned Mr. Kobayashi to open this shop."

"Huh? Yes, that's right!"

The clerk was really shocked.

But since that was the case, she felt somewhat relieved and bowed: "I'm very sorry, but I must ask clearly first."

There was a phone call from the other end. Obviously, Xiaolin was also a little surprised. He didn't expect Gu Ming to run to the store to see the situation.

Gu Ming answered the phone and said a few words, then returned the phone. This time, his identity was confirmed.

The clerk quickly explained: "It's like this. First, we have to register our number and address and set a deadline. We will contact you by phone when the deadline is approaching. If you don't return it by the deadline, a penalty will be calculated. Manager Kobayashi said that if you still don't return it, he will come to your door to ask for it. If you communicate in a nice way, you can usually get it." Gu Ming thought about it.

Most likely it was a fight with fists and feet.

"Although there are exceptions, such as when someone gives a fake address or has moved away, in which case only one tape is lost."

Gu Ming was not surprised.

Even a big company like Blockbuster often loses videotapes, let alone his small shop.

Never overestimate human nature!
The Japanese have no quality either!

This is not what is written in the Yilin, that the Japanese are well-mannered and don't litter...

Even the Japanese themselves don't believe this.

Gu Ming inquired a little more about the store's operations and expressed concern for the girl's safety on her commute to work before leaving the store.

"Anyway, the video seems to be quite effective. So there's a chance we can promote this plan," Gu Ming suddenly said. "Let's promote it within our office first. If the results are still good, we'll expand it externally and directly advertise it. Anyone who wants to give it a try can spend up to one million yuan for a short-term shoot. If the results are good, we'll send it to stores for rental and sale."

As for the branches, we will have to wait a little longer.

Gu Ming has to wait until the filming of the scroll of the vengeful spirit is completed.

Use a hit movie to boost the store's business, and then use the healthy store to obtain loans to open other branches.

We must arrange rental stores in the Tokyo area in advance before Toho and Toei take action.

But these are what Tanaka is responsible for.

I can’t just take hundreds of thousands of yen every month for nothing! I have to do something!

……

……

A week later, Tetsuo Kaneshiro brought the first draft of the script for the second film. It was just a draft that roughly told the story, and the details had not been polished yet.

The script was expanded based on Shozo Uehara's research and material collection.

After experiencing the events of the first movie, Ken Shimizu realized that there are all kinds of evil people in modern times, so he began to practice Yin-Yang magic.

At the same time, an incident occurred: two girls disappeared in the village where Shimizu Ken was born...

The girls are a pair of sisters.

On the surface, he disappeared, but in reality, he was tricked into becoming a sacrifice for an evil ritual.

The story, of course, ends in victory; the vengeful spirits are liberated, the evil is dispelled, and the twins leave the village that imprisoned them.

Geminis are born as twins and rely on each other, just like butterflies, so this story is called "The Red Butterfly".

After reading it, Gu Ming first praised it and then asked a crucial question.

"So what does this story have to do with me?"

"Forehead……"

Tetsuo Kaneshiro paused.

Also.

It seems that there is really nothing to do with Ken Shimizu.

It seems that even without Ken Shimizu, the story will still develop in the same way.

"Then should I change it again?"

“It should be changed.”

Gu Ming said, "But don't worry, why don't we go meet the twins first and see if Mr. Jincheng is suitable for the role."

"Ah?! There really are twin actors?!"

Tetsuo Kaneshiro was shocked. He had never heard of such an actor!
"That's definitely not the case." Gu Ming spread his hands and said, "But she alone should be able to play the twins, right?"

(End of this chapter)