Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 84: Man in Ultra, Za in Yaku

The bigwigs at TBS were going to continue their meeting. After deciding on a few leading actors, they left the meeting room.

This is different from special effects dramas, which are unit dramas. This kind of short drama is shot directly and then released. The pay is calculated according to the number of episodes. Gu Ming is the second character and has almost twenty minutes of shots in the drama. There is also a highlight performance at the end. On average, he has roles in the first four out of six episodes.

The final salary was set at 200,000 yen, to be paid in two installments.

——Converted into contemporary prices, it is almost hundreds of thousands of RMB.

The shooting difficulty is much simpler than the leather suit, and the shooting time is also shorter. As the second male lead, the price is still very appropriate.

The loser Ace definitely gets more, but Gu Ming won't specifically ask about his pay.

Gu Ming and the future loser Ace looked at each other, with a bit of scrutiny in their eyes.

Keiji Takamine looks young, but in fact, he is already 30 years old. In terms of seniority, he has more acting experience than Gu Ming, so Gu Ming has to call him "brother" in front of him.

Takamine Keiji took the initiative to extend his hand: "I am Takamine Keiji, from Osaka."

Gu Ming clicked his tongue.

This Takamine Keiji speaks with an accent!!

He is from Osaka, a Kansai native who is even more Kansai than Nara!

However, Keiji Takamine speaks Japanese Mandarin quite well. After all, he is an actor with a relatively high academic level in the studio.

Most of the special effects actors in the Showa era had low educational levels, and many of them only graduated from middle school or even dropped out. For example, Ryu Manatsu only studied until high school before going out to work.

For example, Gu Ming actually didn’t even finish high school.

——He dropped out of kindergarten and entered a Peking Opera theater to learn to sing before finishing kindergarten. He did more somersaults than he knew words. In his two lives, he learned to read and write entirely through self-study, which made him very capable.

As a university graduate, Keiji Takamine's academic qualifications can be said to be the best among his peers.

Gu Ming coughed lightly and stretched out his hand.

"Furuya Akira, I'm from Nara."

"Oh!" Takamine Keiji was a little happy: "So we are from the same hometown!"

Gu Ming: ...?
Nara and Osaka are from the same hometown, just 60 miles apart!
Osaka speaks with an Osaka accent, and Nara speaks with a Kyoto accent!
But considering the accent, Gu Ming endured it.

"I've only played ordinary supporting roles before, but I didn't expect to have the opportunity to play the main role this time." Takamine Keiji smiled and said, "I wonder what roles Furuya-kun has played?"

"Me? I've only played some ordinary guest roles on TBS, like a bandit, a bodyguard, an illegal businessman, a brutal thug, and so on."

Gu Ming spread his hands and said, "So far, the most famous role I've played is only Ultraman."

Keiji Takamine said "oh".

Ultraman, hi, he thought it was Ultraman.

"...Wait, which Ultraman? Who among the Ultramen?"

Gu Ming said: "Ultraman among Ultraman."

Keiji Takamine:?
This was a bit confusing, but Keiji Takamine understood it.

Gu Ming plays the Ultraman in Ultraman.

After hearing this, Takamine Keiji couldn't help but slap his thigh.

It turns out he is a suit actor, no wonder I couldn’t recognize him when we met!

"But, that's still considered a major role! It's really unexpected."

Gao Fengkeiji looked at Gu Ming and couldn't help but marvel at him.

No wonder he can wear a suit like that. This body really looks unusual.

This person has a face that shows he can be an actor.

The two of them exchanged a few words. Knowing Takamakura's personality, Takamakura's words suited his style, and after a conversation, Takamakura couldn't help but regard him as a close friend. Thinking about the fact that they would be co-starring in a lot of scenes together, Takamakura was even more delighted and even exchanged contact information and addresses with Takamakura.

"If we have the chance, we'll definitely pay you a visit. Brother Gugu, please don't think we're nosy!"

Keiji Takamine put the note away.

He's not being polite with Gu Ming. Gao Fengkei has already made up his mind and will visit tomorrow! Just give him a call and come straight to his house!
The two of them stayed, waiting for the TBS meeting to finish so they could thank Kagi Takeru in person. Kagi Takeru was the broadcast director, not the production director, so he wasn't supposed to be in charge of casting, but the casting of several key roles for this production was all related to Kagi Takeru.

Actually, in the power struggle within TBS, they are all considered to be members of Kawai Ichi's faction, so they naturally have to thank Kawai Ichi later.

After waiting for a while, the meeting ended and Qi Jingwei came out.

Seeing the two of them, Qujing Wei was not surprised and brought them both to the office.

"Gao Fengjun has played many roles before, and his acting skills have been unanimously recognized by everyone, so I gave you the leading role of this drama. I believe Gao Fengjun will not disappoint us."

Keiji Takamine kept nodding.

Of course, we should try our best when we have the opportunity!

This is not the time of decades. In a few decades, the Japanese entertainment industry will see who sells the most butts... Kitagawa of Johnny's uses hundreds of butts on average every year.

Now of course it depends on the level.

It's no use selling your ass if you don't have the skills! The audience is not stupid. When they turn on the TV and see this person acting like Meng Dan, they will curse on the spot.

Qiu Jingwei reminded again.

"Although a TV series isn't a movie, it still has to have some fighting scenes. Ming is very good at action. If you have the chance, you can ask for his advice."

"Yes, please rest assured, Mr. Kashii," Takamine Keiji said. "I also felt that Furuya-kun and I hit it off right away. I will be in touch with you more often in the future."

After talking for a few more words, Gao Fengkeiji left. When Gu Ming was about to speak, Kashii Wei waved his hand first.

"There's no need to express my gratitude. I have complete confidence in your abilities. The most important reason I chose you was because I heard what happened earlier from Mr. Wangu. It's no easy feat to subdue those Yakuza."

Gu Ming touched his face and smiled.

"I didn't expect this kind of thing to spread so far. Actually, I didn't do anything. I just wanted to do my best since I was entrusted with this task."

Having said this, Gu Ming hesitated for a moment and said, "Well, although I probably don't have the qualifications to ask such questions, this play should need a lot of background roles, right? Can..."

Can we bring in those young Yakuza as well? After all, it's still a true portrayal.

Qiu Jingwei glanced at Gu Ming and immediately laughed and scolded.

"You haven't forgotten them even after doing something like this? Don't worry, I chose you because I knew that."

Qi Jingwei casually pulled out a folder and threw it to Gu Ming.

"Take a good look at the roles here. If you find a suitable candidate, please tell me."

Kagi Ie wanted to take a further step in the power struggle at TBS through this drama. Since he had already recommended Tani Akira and Takamine Keiji, Kagi Ie certainly didn't mind recommending some more people.

Gu Ming took a quick look and found that most of them were background characters, or small characters with two or three seconds of screen time, such as crowds, civilians, gang thugs and the like.

In just a few words, he wrote an alternative role.

In addition, there are several supporting roles with more screen time, which accounts for one or two minutes in a 100-minute TV series.

Needless to say, there are so many young Yakuza, there's no need to worry about not having enough roles. Maybe one person will even play multiple roles.

Gu Ming casually clicked on one of the supporting roles.

"I can't say much about other roles, but I do have someone I can recommend for this one."

This character is the younger brother of the second male lead. He is honest and simple, and seems loyal. However, in the end, it is this person who betrays the second male lead and causes him to be killed.

When it comes to people who look simple and honest, Gu Ming thinks of someone first.

Alas! Manatsu Ryu has no movies to shoot right now!

As for the apparent loyalty but actual betrayal that followed, Gu Ming simply ignored it.

Some of the photos are good, and you have no right to be picky.

After Gu Ming said this, Qujing Wei thought about it for a while and nodded slightly.

"It would suit him perfectly. And with that appearance and that silly smile, if he actually chose to betray me in the end, it would have an unexpected effect. Then let him come in for an audition on Wednesday."

(End of this chapter)