I, Hiroshi Nohara, the star of Japanese cinema

Chapter 67: Ambitions! Iwata Masao is arrogant again!
Nohara Hiroshi could see how ambitious these marginalized "Kanto faction" backbones were to make a career.

They are like sharp blades that have been hidden in boxes for many years, eager to be unsheathed and drink blood, and Nohara Hiroshi is the swordsman who hands them the whetstone and points out the enemy to them.

They had also heard of Nohara Hiroshi's talent.

and.

Willing to work for it!

"Section Chief Nohara, this is Yamamoto Takeshi, the best executive director among us. When he was at Kanto TV, the morning drama he was in charge of ranked first in the same slot for three consecutive years." Sato Kenji began to introduce him, pointing to a middle-aged man who was not tall but had eyes as sharp as an eagle.

Yamamoto Tsuyoshi nodded slightly, without any unnecessary courtesy, and said in a deep voice: "Yamamoto Tsuyoshi, thank you for your guidance." His voice was hoarse, as if he had not spoken happily for a long time.

Nohara Hiroshi's gaze lingered on him for a moment, and he nodded: "Director Yamamoto, nice to meet you."

"This is Panasonic Kai, the best cinematographer and an artist who plays with light and shadow." Sato pointed to a man with unruly long hair and a somewhat decadent temperament.

"And this one, Nagisa Oshima, the best art director, who is the best at using the smallest budget to create the most textured scenes."

"This is Kudo Ryosuke, our best screenwriter. Although he's only a third-level screenwriter, his scripts are no worse than those of first-level screenwriters..."

Every time Kenji Sato introduced someone, Hiroshi Nohara would step forward, look at the other person seriously, and personally extend his hand to express his gratitude.

He didn't say too many pleasantries.

But the respect hidden under the calmness made these veterans who had been marginalized by Tokyo TV for a long time feel a little warm in their hearts.

They were used to the arrogance of the younger generation of the Tokyo School, and were fed up with the outdated rules of seniority.

It was the first time they had seen a young man like Nohara Hiroshi, who had an S-level project and works that proved himself, still show respect to these "defeated generals".

When the last person has finished introducing himself.

Nohara Hiroshi's eyes swept over the team in front of him, which looked a little run-down but still had strength. He turned and walked to the whiteboard, picked up the eraser, and wiped out all the job requirements on the board neatly.

This action stunned everyone.

"Seniors."

Nohara Hiroshi's voice echoed clearly and forcefully in the quiet office: "Positions and titles are just for management convenience. For me, there is only one criterion—ability."

He paused, picked up a pen, and wrote seven big words in the center of the whiteboard.

"Wonderful Stories of the World".

"This is the name of our project," he said, and then wrote a line of small words below it: "Season 1, Episode 1, 'Touch of Terror'."

The office was silent, and everyone's eyes were focused on those words, with inquiry and curiosity in their eyes.

Nohara Hiroshi turned to the screenwriter, Ryosuke Kudo, a middle-aged man with thick glasses and a somewhat dull look. "Mr. Kudo, the story of the first episode is very simple. An ordinary woman in the city possesses the supernatural power of sensing the inner thoughts of others by touching their belongings."

"Hmm? Superpowers?" A glimmer of light flashed behind Kudo Ryosuke's lenses.

In today’s Neon, super powers are still a relatively new thing.

Hearing that Nohara Hiroshi was going to use his ultimate move right away, he subconsciously pushed his glasses up and moved his lips slightly, as if he had already begun to conceive of the scene in his mind.

"I need you, Mr. Kudo."

Nohara Hiroshi's voice was filled with unquestionable trust: "Expand this core idea into a complete, coherent script full of suspense and twists. The character dialogue, the progression of emotions, and the control of rhythm are all left to you."

As he spoke, Hiroshi Nohara handed him the planning proposal.

Kudo Ryosuke took it and flipped through it for a few seconds.

Then his eyes were filled with horror.

This story is so exciting!
He worked as a screenwriter for more than ten years at Kanto TV and then worked as a screenwriter for several more years at Tokyo TV. He has accepted countless scripts and initial planning proposals.

But now, Kudo Ryosuke looked up at Nohara Hiroshi, his eyes full of disbelief.

Because this story is so novel and unique!

"I will also give you suggestions on the corresponding story details. I think that's okay, Mr. Kudo?" Nohara Hiroshi looked at him with a smile.

"I...I understand!" Kudo Ryosuke nodded heavily, and the flame of creative desire was rekindled in his eyes that had been a little dim. "I will do my best to make the story more perfect!"

"Very good." Nohara Hiroshi nodded with satisfaction.

Although he already has specific lines and plots, those are some settings of Neon in the previous life, and there are still slight differences from Neon in this world.

Especially the filming of live-action dramas.

You need to be more careful.

Therefore, having this experienced screenwriter to supervise the work is a great help to Hiroshi Nohara.

"other people."

Then Nohara Hiroshi turned his gaze to Yamamoto Takeshi, Fujiwara Takumi and the others, and spoke again in a deep voice: "While we are waiting for the script, I have something else that requires your cooperation."

He pulled up his chair, sat down, and took out several stacks of brand-new manuscript paper and a whole box of pencils from the drawer.

“I will draw all the story threads of the first season of “Wonderful Stories of the World” into comic storyboards.”

After these words were spoken, everyone was surprised.

"what?!"

“Draw them all as comic storyboards?!”

"You kid..."

"Can this really be done?!"

For the first time, surprise appeared in Yamamoto Takeshi's sharp eyes. Fujiwara Takumi subconsciously stood up straight. Even Sato Kenji, who had been smiling gently, froze the smile on his face.

A section chief, the overall leader of an S-class project, personally drawing storyboards? Or comic storyboards?
This is unheard of in the entire industry!
It's not uncommon for a director to draw storyboards, but those are shooting sketches based on an existing script.

What Nohara Hiroshi meant was that before the script came out, he wanted to use comics to determine the visual style, camera language, rhythm and atmosphere of the entire story!
This is no longer the scope of a director. It is almost equivalent to one person doing the work of four people: the original author, screenwriter, director, and storyboard artist!
"This way, all of our work will have the most intuitive and unified reference."

Nohara Hiroshi's voice remained calm, as if he were discussing a trivial matter. "Director Yamamoto is in charge of scheduling, Mr. Fujiwara is in charge of cinematography, and Mr. Oshima is in charge of art. Everyone can work from the same 'blueprint,' minimizing communication costs and misunderstandings."

He raised his head and looked at the group of 'veterans' who were shocked beyond words by his decision, with a confident arc on the corner of his mouth.

“Everyone, welcome to the way I work.”

At this moment, there was no more noise in the office.

The group of middle-aged men looked at the young man in front of them, and the depression, loneliness and unwillingness in their eyes gradually faded away, replaced by a kind of ignited excitement and enthusiasm.

They realized that they were not following a lucky person who had risen to power through factional struggles.

But he is a true genius that only appears once in a century!

A monster with absolute control and execution power!

After assigning the core tasks, Nohara Hiroshi's gaze fell on the three young men in the corner of the office who had been unable to get a word in from beginning to end and seemed a little at a loss.

Nancun Xing, Changgu Luzou and Beichuan Yao.

They looked at this group of seniors with powerful auras and Section Chief Nohara planning everything, and they felt both excited and inferior.

Nohara Hiroshi stood up and walked in front of them, the seriousness on his face turning into a gentle smile.

"You three, the next mission is also very important." He looked at them and said, "Logistical support for everyone on the crew, including food, clothing, housing, transportation, budget reimbursement, and location liaisons, will all be your responsibility. It will be tedious and arduous, but it will also be where you will best hone your coordination and communication skills."

He stretched out his hand and patted Nancun Xing and Chang Gu Lu Zou on the shoulders respectively.

"More importantly, we should follow these predecessors, observe carefully, and learn from them. Each of them is a living textbook."

Finally, his eyes became extremely serious and his voice became deeper.

"Remember, no matter how big our team becomes or how many new people join us, you three will always be the same people who walked out of Suzuki's classroom with me."

These words were like a warm current, instantly hitting the softest part of the three people's hearts.

All the inferiority complex and fear of being marginalized disappeared at this moment.

They looked up at Hiroshi Nohara, and their eyes instantly turned red.

"Yes! Section Chief!"

The three of them bowed together, their voices choked with sobs, yet filled with unprecedented determination.

They understood that the section chief had not forgotten them.

They are not abandoned old subordinates, but the core cornerstone of this new team!
However, just as this feeling of emotion and passion was quietly spreading in Suzuki's office, a shrill and undisguised laugh erupted from Iwata's classroom not far away, penetrating the wall and appearing particularly abrupt.

……

In stark contrast to the tense yet orderly atmosphere in Suzuki's classroom, Iwata's classroom was currently immersed in a false sense of revelry. "Hahahaha! Hashimoto-kun, you're truly a hero to our Iwata classroom!"

Iwata Masao's face was flushed. He put one arm warmly around Hashimoto's shoulders and pointed his other finger at him. He announced loudly to the room full of subordinates, "From today on, Hashimoto-kun will be the deputy director of our department! You will be responsible for the production of our highly anticipated flagship project - the third season of 'Anshiji'!"

"Oh oh oh!"

"Congratulations, Deputy Section Chief Hashimoto!"

"As expected of Senior Hashimoto, you've turned from evil to good and have a bright future ahead of you!"

The group of lackeys under Masao Iwata immediately burst into thunderous applause and compliments.

They surrounded Hashijita Ichiro and showered him with compliments as if they were free.

Hashijitaro's face was already flushed red at this time.

Half excitement, half embarrassment.

He has a simple and honest character. When has he ever enjoyed such treatment as the center of attention?

Although he is a senior in Suzuki's classroom.

But everyone's eyes were focused on Hiroshi Nohara.

He is like a planet revolving around the sun, never emitting any light or heat of his own.

But now, in Iwata's classroom, he has become the center and the hero!
This huge sense of satisfaction made him feel a little dizzy.

The slight guilt caused by betrayal was completely washed away by the flattery.

"No, no... This is what I should do." Hashijitaro waved his hands dizzily. Surrounded by the crowd, he felt that his life had reached its peak.

"Deputy Section Chief Hashimoto, please stop being so modest!" A clever subordinate immediately handed over a cup of hot tea. "I heard you brought all the secrets to the success of 'Anzhiju' with you? Come and open our eyes!"

"Yeah, yeah! We're all so curious. How on earth did Nohara Hiroshi come up with such a brilliant idea?"

Driven by his huge vanity, Hashijitaro puffed out his chest and proudly took out several notebooks from his briefcase that he had sorted out for a long time and regarded as treasures.

"Humph, that kid has a lot of ideas, but I've followed him for so long, I've figured out his tricks!" He exclaimed, slapping his notes on the table. "The key to the success of 'Dark Zhiju' is all here! As long as we follow this, the third season will definitely be another success!"

Everyone immediately gathered around and scrambled to look through the notes.

"Hiss—I see! The story of each episode originates from a widely circulated urban legend!"

"The handling of this storyboard deliberately imitated the pulling and pulling feeling of 'Kamishiba', which is why it is so unique!"

"And this soundtrack! They actually use dissonance to create a sense of horror... Oh my god, whoever came up with this idea is a genius!"

The exclamations kept coming and going.

However, as he listened, Hashijitaro's expression gradually became ugly.

Because he found that although everyone was reading his notes, what they were exclaiming about were "Nohara Hiroshi's brilliant ideas", "Nohara-kun's talent", and "What is the difference between that young man's brain structure and ours".

Not a single word was praising Hashijita.

He was like a jester presenting a treasure, who worked hard to bring it up, and in the end everyone was praising the original owner of the treasure for how ingenious his craftsmanship was.

A feeling of humiliation and unwillingness surged in his heart, and Hashiji Ichirō's face turned completely purple.

"Cough!" He coughed loudly, interrupting everyone's discussion. He stiffened his neck and said, "Nohara Hiroshi is amazing, but... but I've also learned a lot of the essence! I've completely mastered his methods!"

He didn't notice at all that while he was defending himself with a flushed face, Iwata Masao and several of his core subordinates exchanged smug glances in the gaps among the crowd.

It's like a group of experienced old hunters watching a smart prey walk step by step into their carefully set trap.

A hint of barely perceptible contempt flashed across Masao Iwata's eyes, and then it was replaced with a sincere expression of eagerness to recruit talents.

He signaled with his eyes, and the lackeys around him immediately understood.

"That's right! We believe in the ability of Deputy Section Chief Hashimoto!"

"Deputy Section Chief Hashimoto's ability to compile this information is a tremendous achievement!"

"That's right! No matter how great Nohara Hiroshi is, isn't he filming a live-action drama now? The future of Anzhiju still depends on us, Deputy Section Chief Hashimoto!"

The new round of flattery helped Hashiji Ichiro regain some confidence.

Seeing the time was right, Iwata Masao spoke slowly, his voice as if carrying a kind of magic: "Hashimoto-kun, now that you've grasped the essence, why don't you tell us what was the key to the success of the first two seasons?"

This question was exactly what Hashiji Ichiro wanted.

He couldn't wait to prove himself and immediately replied, "It's 'urban horror stories'! The core is urban horror stories! Audiences have a natural sense of connection with these familiar horror stories circulating around them! This is the foundation of the success of 'Dark House'!"

"Well said!" Iwata Masao clapped his thigh, his face full of approval. "Then, in your opinion, what should we do for the third season?"

"Of course, we'll strictly follow the same format as Seasons 1 and 2!" Hashijitaro said without hesitation. "We don't need to innovate. As long as we continue to explore those classic urban legends and present them in the original style and techniques, we'll definitely succeed! This is the safest and most correct path!"

Of course, these words coincide with Masao Iwata's thoughts.

What he wants is not to surpass, but to copy.

He needs to use the success of the third season of "An Shibaju" to prove that he, Masao Iwata, knows how to operate a mature IP better than Hiroshi Nohara, in order to consolidate his position in the production department.

As for innovation?

That's a risk only a young and inexperienced person like Nohara Hiroshi would take.

"Good! Great!"

Iwata Masao stood up suddenly, raised his arms high, and announced in a very inflammatory tone: "From now on, the production of the third season of "Anzhiju" has officially started! Everyone obey the command of Deputy Section Chief Hashimoto! We have only one goal -"

He paused, his eyes scanning everyone.

"Starting on time in July during the summer season! Let's use the ratings to show everyone who is TV Tokyo's true trump card!"

"Oh!!!"

The entire Iwata classroom erupted in thunderous cheers once again.

In the fanatical atmosphere, a cold smile appeared on the corner of Masao Iwata's mouth.

His gaze passed through the wall and he seemed to see the figure of the young man working hard next door.

S-level project...

When he thought about how this should have been a smooth road for him to be promoted to a second-level director, but ended up becoming a ladder for Nohara Hiroshi to climb to the sky, the jealousy and anger in his heart burned uncontrollably.

But so what?
Masao Iwata thought with a sneer.

Your idea, Hiroshi Nohara, is great, but can a live-action drama be handled by an animator like you?
Budget management, actor communication, on-site scheduling, post-production... the water here is so deep that you can't see the bottom!
The cartoon failed, and the only loss was the production cost.

If an S-level live-action drama fails, the loss will be astronomical, enough to ruin any producer!

What's more, the war in the sub-prime time slot has never been just a game within Tokyo TV.

It is said that Osaka TV and Kansai TV have invested heavily this year and are preparing to make a big splash in the summer season.

Whether it is prime time or mid-prime time, there are extremely well-produced programs prepared.

That is the real Shura field!
Nohara Hiroshi is a newcomer. He thinks that he can fight his way out of this sea of ​​blood with the support of the Kanto faction?

It’s simply a fool’s errand!

In Masao Iwata's mind, the meaningful instructions given to him by Director Takada Toshihide emerged.

"Iwata-kun, don't be impatient. The station director's intentions are clear; this is a 'clear strategy.' Let that Kanto kid charge ahead and make his move. If he succeeds, it'll be a testament to the station's leadership; if he fails, it'll be a chance to reprimand the entire Kanto faction, letting them understand who's in charge at TV Tokyo. All you have to do now is stabilize the base of 'Anzhiju', and then... just watch the show."

Go to the theater.

That's right, all I need to do is move the bench, make some hot tea, and quietly watch how that ignorant kid walks step by step towards the abyss and is eventually smashed to pieces by the huge waves of reality.

By then, the Kanto faction behind him will completely lose its power.

If they want to continue to survive in the TV station, they must lower their proud heads and integrate into their Tokyo faction.

Thinking of this, the smile on Iwata Masao's face became more complacent and cruel.

Especially when you think about such an important planning project as "Dark Zhiju" and such an important IP, which can be held in his hands.

Even though his previous work "Ghost Shop Samurai" failed.

So what?

Now, am I not preparing to embrace a better life once again, relying on the wedding dress embroidered for me by my enemies?!
Masao Iwata's laughter became more and more arrogant, as if he had returned to his former arrogant self.

(End of this chapter)