Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 413 A Bet, Winning Two Billion
Kadokawa Shoten.

Upon hearing this statement, Gu Ming raised his eyebrows, recalling a series of rumors.

Most of them are about the person 'Haruki Kadokawa'.

"Haruki Kadokawa...it couldn't be him, could it?"

Gu Ming clenched his fingers, pondering various possibilities.

Haruki Kadokawa is a complicated person, and if possible, Gu Ming doesn't want to get too close to him.

Haruki Kadokawa's life story is nothing short of legendary.

For example, the recently released movie 'Makai Tensei' was planned by Haruki Kadokawa.

He later released many other works, such as "Sailor Suit and Machine Gun," "The Eight Kenken of Satomi," and "W's Tragedy."

That's right, they're all movies starring Hiroko Yakushimaru.

Emerging actors like Hiroko Yakushimaru and Hiroyuki Sanada rose to fame thanks to Haruki Kadokawa's efforts.

However, at the same time, Haruki Kadokawa also has a lot of negative rumors.

He takes medicine—the kind of medicine he only takes.

He's conservative, the kind of conservative who would fight the entire student union in the street.

He's stingy; I heard he actually sank people into Tokyo Bay.

At his most arrogant moment, Haruki Kadokawa created a masterpiece, *Heaven and Earth*, to prove he was superior to Akira Kurosawa in sword-fighting films. While *Heaven and Earth* ultimately failed to surpass Kurosawa commercially, it left behind cinematic visuals that even Kurosawa could not achieve.

all in all.

Haruki Kadokawa is the kind of person that Tani Akira doesn't want to associate with just by hearing his name.

Koizumi turned his face and looked at Gu Ming.

"Brother Gugu, shall we go?"

Gu Ming then looked at the field.

"Did the other party say where we met?"

"Yes, the person said they hope you'll meet them at a club called 'Takakura' before eight o'clock. When you arrive, just say you're Akira Furuya. Also, the person left a message saying—'No waiting after this deadline!'"

Gu Ming twitched the corner of his mouth and glanced at the time on his wrist.

six o'clock.

There's not much time left to think about it.

"Let's go! Let's go see them!!"

……

……

Gu Ming had been guessing what kind of club this was, but when he got closer to Takakura, he suddenly realized that this was not the kind of place he had imagined.

This is a traditional Japanese manor, not large in area, but exquisitely furnished. It is not used for other businesses, but for haiku.

Yes.

Haruki Kadokawa is also a haiku enthusiast and founded a haiku enthusiasts club, which is held at the 'Takakura Club'.

After passing through the dry landscape garden and through one sliding door after another, Gu Ming met the owner of the place.

Haruki Kadokawa.

A middle-aged man who was clearly in a state of high excitement.

Inside this Japanese-style room, there were also many companions kneeling on the floor.

"This body and these bones return to heaven and earth, untouched by the mortal world, living a solitary and unrestrained life! Cheers, everyone!"

Haruki Kadokawa sang with great passion, reciting a familiar-sounding death poem.

Upon seeing Gu Ming enter, he immediately stood up and raised his wine glass towards Gu Ming.

"Shingen! You've come, Shingen!"

Gu Ming took a deep breath, but immediately shook his head: "I am not a believer in Xuan, but just a lowly shadow warrior."

"Haha, no, no, that guy Nakadai Tatsuya can't be the Shingen in my heart. Furuya-kun, please have a seat!"

Kadokawa Haruki invited Tani Akira to sit opposite him. In the blink of an eye, all his companions left, leaving only Tani Akira and his companion in the large Japanese-style room, which was filled with messy cups and plates.

"Mr. Kadokawa, I..."

"Two billion."

"what?"

"Two billion!" Haruki Kadokawa held up two fingers: "I don't care what you want to do, I'll give you two billion."

In an instant, Gu Ming's desire to keep his distance from Gu Ming grew even stronger.

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Gu Ming remained somewhat composed and said, "The money is good, but I don't understand, what have I done to deserve this two billion?" Kadokawa Haruki couldn't help but laugh: "Don't you think you're worth this price? Alright, let's make things clearer."

"Two billion. As long as you can bring me an equal return, this two billion will be entirely yours. If you can't, you, and everything you've invested, will be included in this two billion."

Gu Ming understood.

A performance-based agreement.

If the revenue target is met, then this 2 billion yen will be equivalent to Kadokawa Haruki investing it, so everyone can make money together, and we may keep in touch again in the future.

He can't do that; he, his agency, and Mango are all Kadokawa Haruki's private property.

Gu Ming held the wine cup in his hand and took a sip of sake.

The current situation seems to leave no room for further reflection.

"So, what can I do? Or rather, how much do you want?"

“My request isn’t high,” Haruki Kadokawa said. “Four billion.”

Gu Ming looked up.

"Five works, four billion. Whether it's a movie or a TV series, excluding peripheral revenue, as long as it brings in four billion at the box office, Mr. Furuya, you and I will be friends forever."

As Kadokawa Haruki said this, he raised his hand and gestured back and forth in front of the two of them.

"But if that's not possible, then, Mr. Furuya, I wouldn't mind having another Best Actor filming for me under Kadokawa Pictures."

Five works, four billion—it doesn't sound difficult; you only need one work to reach eight hundred million.

However, Gu Ming knew this would not be easy.

This is not a trap; it's an open conspiracy.

Take last year's "Kagemusha" as an example. Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece became the box office champion, beating the previous year's "Superman".

The ration for the Shadow Warriors is 28 billion yen.

After deducting various dividends, it is still unknown whether the actual amount belonging to the investors is 800 million.

If even the annual champion of "Kagemusha" could barely earn that much, then other films in the next tier would have no chance at all.

For example, the three medium-sized films that Gu Ming co-produced only brought him a personal revenue of two or three hundred million yen.

In other words.

He needs five films, which would bring in at least twice the revenue of The Scroll of Vengeance.

Haruki Kadokawa fiddled with his wine glass, muttering something under his breath.

Gu Ming had heard rumors about him. Kadokawa Haruki believed himself to be the reincarnation of Takeda Shingen, and at the same time did not recognize the current emperor. He called himself a 'supporter of the Southern Court of Japan'.

Most likely it's from taking medicine or something.

"Four billion, five works... That's really difficult."

Gu Ming remained silent for a long time, so long that Kadokawa Haruki couldn't help but stand up, walk up to Gu Ming, and get closer to see Gu Ming's expression.

At that moment, Gu Ming suddenly stood up.

"Alright! I agree, and I will certainly live up to Mr. Kadokawa's expectations! The specific terms will need to be handled by professionals."

Haruki Kadokawa was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter.

"Alright! That's great, Mr. Furuya. You're still young, and you may have never seen so much money before. That's okay, go ahead and splurge! Invest, start a business, do whatever you want! But we have to agree on this. Three years, five projects! Within three years, five projects, give me four billion."

"Of course, I know very well."

"Okay, okay, let's drink!"

……

……

As Gu Ming walked out of the Takakura Club, he grinned.

Of course, two billion wasn't taken for nothing, but Gu Ming knew that sometimes, it really could be taken for free.

He has every right to be confident if he has five high-quality works.

The reason is simple: the bubble economy was coming, and the yen would undergo extremely rapid changes. The box office champion in 1980 was completely different from the box office champion in 1985.

Haruki Kadokawa could certainly sense the change, but he never imagined it would be so drastic.

Only later generations like Gu Ming truly understand the changes the yen underwent from 1980 to 1985, and the changes it underwent from 1985 to 1991.

"Five films, earning 4 billion, that's an average of 800 million per film! After deducting the income I need myself, at least one film's allocation income needs to reach 1.2 billion, and the box office revenue needs to reach 3 billion!"

This is no small amount.

However, Gu Ming wanted to give it a shot.

Because if he gets these two billion, he can do more important things.

Even if the trading partner is someone as notorious as Haruki Kadokawa.

(End of this chapter)