Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 288 You Come to Be My Assistant

The concept of Shadow Warrior has been completely finalized by Akira Kurosawa, and he has even chosen the actor, who is Japan's top swordplay film actor, Katsu Shintaro.

After the discussion, Kurosawa Akira turned to Gu Ming.

"You have an action actor agency."

The words are extremely straightforward, simple, and full of certainty, and there is no doubt about it.

Gu Ming could tell that Kurosawa was a man used to giving orders.

He didn't say much, just lowered his head slightly and said yes.

"I have a screening room here. Do you have any work to bring?"

"Yes, there is."

"Let's take a look."

"I'll get it right away."

Gu Ming knew that Kurosawa might watch something, so he brought the tape early in the morning, but just left it outside.

After Gu Ming left, George Lucas and the other man raised their questions.

"That person just now, was he your disciple?"

"No, he's just a young man with great potential. He has some rare habits that are rare among people of this era. I plan to let him be my assistant in this movie, provided that his work is good enough."

It was probably because George Lucas was not very proficient in Japanese, otherwise he would have noticed that there were several stacked newspapers on the desk, all of which were recently collected by Ishiro Honda and submitted to Akira Kurosawa.

It was probably about some of the works that Gu Ming had participated in, such as preparing an actor's agency, taming the Yakuza, and chasing away a group of troublemaking Yakuza on the stage of a stage play.

If not for this, Kurosawa really didn't want to meet an actor who had just gained some fame in Japan.

Even if this person actually owns an action actor agency.

Not long after, Gu Ming came back with the tape, and Kurosawa took the three of them to a dark screening room with the curtains drawn.

With the hoarse sound of the projector's conveyor belt turning, the edited works appeared on the screen one after another.

Gu Ming was naturally very familiar with these works, so he did not concentrate on watching them, but instead looked at the reactions of several people.

Kurosawa had no expression from beginning to end, he just replaced his sunglasses with a pair of ordinary goggles.

Coppola's expression didn't change much, and it was clear that these things were still difficult for him to accept.

George Lucas is much the same, with just a low whimper now and then.

"Oh! Bruce Lee!"

Gu Ming scratched his head secretly.

Li Xiaolong.

During this era, Li Xiaolong still had a great influence overseas. After all, he passed away in the mid-1970s.

Until the scene cut to the part where Havoc in Heaven happened.

George Lucas suddenly leaned closer, his eyes full of charm.

The havoc in heaven, the fight between twenty or so Yakuza and Shocker fighters in the park...

When the screening ended, George Lucas stood up, and the bearded guy actually danced with joy.

"It's amazing. I always thought that there would never be another director as great as Mr. Kurusawa."

Gu Ming spoke at the right moment: "I'm not a director, I'm just a killing array instructor."

"What?"

This is an unfamiliar word for George Lucas.

What made him feel even more incredible was...

"Do you know English?"

Gu Ming nodded: "A little bit."

As for the Chinese accent, that's not a problem.

Haven’t you seen that they can understand Kurosawa’s Japanese accent?
George Lucas nodded and quickly passed over the subject.

He pointed to one of the tapes and asked, "How did you create this move? Do you have special effects like Industrial Light & Magic?" "Almost," Gu Ming said. "I just hung on a wire and told myself, 'Flying kick, flying kick, flying kick!' Then I turned around and did a flying kick, sending the guy flying. It's that simple."

"Hou Lei, Xie Te..."

George Lucas rubbed his eyes, spread his hands, and finally shrugged.

曼！
What else can I say!

This is unimaginable in the Hollywood film industry. There are no actors in Hollywood who can really fight, or rather, most actors cannot really fight.

Later, those who could really fight, such as Cynthia Rothrock, had been taken away by Gu Ming, and Jean-Claude Van Damme has not started to participate in the work yet.

There are actors like Chuck Norris who have fought against Bruce Lee, but they are still a little lacking in strength.

Kurosawa didn't stand up until this moment.

"Aki Furuya."

"Yes."

Gu Ming looked at Kurosawa with a serious expression.

"You have a talent for designing scenes. You are the most talented young person I have ever met in Japan, Asia... maybe even the world."

He spoke in English, so much so that Lian Coppola looked at Gu Ming, looking at Gu Ming's resolute face.

Gu Ming just smiled when Kurosawa suddenly changed the subject.

"But, you idiot, you actually used your talent for such a useless purpose! Why use such fancy moves! How can fancy moves be used in filming a movie? You will never become a real director like this!"

Gu Ming scratched his head secretly.

I'm not a director!
His name is Gu Ming, and his nickname is Gu Gu Ming.

He is an actor, martial arts instructor, and director of an action actor agency.

What else could there be?

It can't be a replacement partner!
Gu Ming originally wanted to express it in a tactful way: Actually, I don’t want to be a director.

Kurosawa Akira, however, waved his hand and made his final decision.

"From today on, turn down all your work and forget about those mediocre works. You, stay and be my assistant."

Gu Ming opened his lips slightly, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

assistant.

That's not bad, although he actually wanted to play Takeda Shingen.

"Let's try again. Kurosawa Akira had chosen Katsu Shintaro, but later changed it to Nakadai Tatsuya. Something must have happened in between! If Nakadai Tatsuya could be replaced, it doesn't mean he can't be replaced by me."

Gu Ming thought about it and bowed seriously: "Yes, I understand."

Kurosawa stood up and left the room first, while Gu Ming quickly packed up several tapes and followed closely behind.

……

……

After agreeing to obtain filming funds from Fox, Kurosawa prepared to leave Hawaii and return to Japan to prepare for filming.

Kurosawa Akira's reputation is still there, and now that he is going to make a comeback, he will definitely be able to attract a large group of people.

Besides, the Kurosawa group hasn't disbanded yet.

George Lucas wanted to take the videotapes away, and Gu Ming said it was no problem.

He has quite a few of these tapes, which he can reuse at any time. He has prepared them for various directors to watch at any time.

Of course, Gu Ming didn't think he would be cast in Star Wars. Star Wars is essentially a special effects blockbuster, not a martial arts blockbuster.

But considering George Lucas's level, he must have some ideas about wanting his videotape.

"Looks like I can go to the United States to be a martial arts director in the future."

Gu Ming sighed.

Maybe his name will be recorded in Star Wars many years later.

(End of this chapter)