Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 441 Japan Academy Film Prize

"Brother Gugu, your letter."

"No time, read it."

At the Extreme Action Agency, Gu Ming was hunched over his desk, adding details to the script.

In fact, the planning department had already produced a fairly complete script, but since it was nominally a studio that provided scripts for TV dramas, Gu Ming still needed to polish some parts himself.

Tanaka's assistant then selected two of the more important letters and read them aloud.

"This is a letter from the Japan Academy Film Prize. Because of the films released throughout this year, they hope that the production company can participate in next year's film academy awards ceremony."

"This is a letter from the Blue Ribbon Awards. The content is similar, summarizing the films we produced this year and expressing our hope to participate in the Blue Ribbon Awards ceremony next February."

Gu Ming suddenly looked up.

I didn't expect such a thing to happen.

"However, our film is unlikely to win any awards, so there's no need for us to make a special trip."

Gu Ming knew very well that the awards valued artistry and dissemination, not commercial value.

Only a very few films can win both awards and box office success.

Films like The Scroll of Vengeance, which rely on tear-jerking moments and humorous action to boost box office sales, are destined to struggle to win awards.

So he didn't receive any invitations in the first few years, and even though he received invitations later, Gu Ming didn't go.

—And as expected, he didn't win the award.

This time, however, Tanaka's assistant looked up, appearing somewhat cautious.

"The films nominated by the other side are not just 'The Scroll of Vengeful Spirits'."

"These are the third part of the Scroll of Vengeful Spirits, and 'Sailor Suit and Machine Gun'."

Gu Ming flicked his fingers, pondering the matter.

This is something that really needs to be taken seriously.

Gu Ming went through the awards of the original film in his mind. As the main adaptation, "Léon: The Professional" did not participate in the three major awards due to its release time, but it received multiple nominations at the French César Awards and was also nominated at the Japan Academy Film Prize that year.

As for his awards, Gu Ming didn't have a deep impression of them.

Sailor suits and machine guns are quite different.

The original work of this film won an award at the Japan Academy Film Prize.

Of course, the Japan Academy Film Prize is not authoritative because this film award has a major problem.

Anyone who makes it into the top five will win an award.

It's just a difference in the size of the award.

For example, the original sailor suit and machine gun won the "topic award".

Thinking of this, Gu Ming couldn't help but click his tongue.

Although the Academy Awards are supposed to be Japan's Oscars, they have absolutely nothing to do with the Oscars and are really not very interesting.

In comparison, the Blue Ribbon Award, as another well-known award in Japan, is actually more authoritative.

"Tanaka," Gu Ming pondered for a moment, "don't you think it would be interesting if I could become an award judge?"

Tanaka put down the letter and pondered for a moment: "If it's possible to do something like that, then it's highly likely that I'll avoid films that I've acted in or invested in, right?"

"We should recommend talented people regardless of personal relationships. If our work is good, why not vote for it?"

Gu Ming waved his hand: "Alright, it was just a casual remark, let's not talk about it anymore. Let's prepare to make a few phone calls."

Winning awards always requires some marketing; even the best wine needs advertising.

Moreover, Gu Ming was well aware that commercial films were not exactly fine wine.

Pure iced tea is all about the taste.

……

……

Evening, on the street.

Gu Ming planned to treat a film academy judge to a meal at the "Chicken's True Flavor" restaurant in Ginza.

Although I might verbally express my disdain for these kinds of awards that seem like a pie-in-the-sky prize, winning one of the more important ones can be quite effective. For example, awards for Best Actor, Best Actress, or Best Director can be very helpful.

Gu Ming tightened his collar and quickly got into the car.

Koizumi skillfully started the car and drove towards Ginza.

Gu Ming casually glanced out the window and saw several Yakuza with distinctly different auras, easily recognizable at a glance, walking aggressively from one side of the street to the other, seemingly having nothing to do with them.

The two passed each other by, and Gu Ming glanced at them again.

Whether it was just his imagination or not, Gu Ming felt that several people's outfits looked familiar.

A black suit, a red tie, and the Tokyo Garment logo—it looks a bit like something out of a movie.

"What's going on with these akuza? There seem to be more and more akuza on the streets lately."

Koizumi suddenly turned around: "Huh? Furuya-san, you don't know?"

"How would I know!"

Gu Ming rolled up his sleeves.

How could he know about Yakuza's affairs!
Koizumi couldn't help but scratch his face.

It doesn’t look like it!
But he immediately responded: "I'm not very clear on the details, but it's said that the Yamaguchi-gumi's leader passed away, which caused some internal problems. Everyone wanted to be the leader, and as a result, there have been a lot of Yakuza fighting in the streets recently. Speaking of which, there's an interesting anecdote."

Koizumi grinned and said, "Many of them have seen the movie and seem to like the costumes in it. So, many of them dress like the assassin Otani in the movie 'Sailor Suit and Machine Gun' not long ago, wearing black suits, dark red shirts and red ties, and even choosing cheap and plain artificial leather shoes."

Gu Ming scratched his face, imagining the scene.

Okay, if they even have the same hairstyle when they're fighting, it's still really hard to tell them apart!

Gu Ming shook his head, deciding not to think about it too much for the time being, and quickly stopped the car, getting into Ginza first.

Eat and drink as you please, money still needs to be spent. Besides, compared to the awards spent on legitimate Oscar lobbying every year, this year's expenditure is really not a large sum.

……

……

After Gu Ming went up, Xiao Quan was able to relax a little. Of course, not knowing when Gu Ming would come down, Xiao Quan couldn't just leave, so he simply propped his legs up on the steering wheel and smoked a cigarette.

After all, he used to be a Yakuza, although his rank was not high, only the lowest-ranking Yakuza, but he still picked up some bad habits.

Gu Ming simply doesn't smoke himself, but he doesn't forbid others from doing so.

"Wow, I didn't expect the Yakuza to be able to watch movies now! Can they even read subtitles? I bet they can't even remember the Japanese syllabary!"

Koizumi chuckled twice, then suddenly stopped.

hateful.

He couldn't memorize it either.

There's no way around it; after all, they're people who do Yakuza, and if you check their educational background, you'll find that most of them aren't very well-educated.

That's one way to put it.

Extreme stunt agencies currently have the lowest educational backgrounds in Japan.

Koizumi had just finished laughing when his gaze shifted and he saw a group of Yakuza officers, impeccably dressed in suits and carrying various weapons such as clubs, striding towards him from the end of the street.

Koizumi was slightly startled.

A little scary!

However, it seems they weren't targeting him.

Koizumi was about to start the car and park in another place, but as soon as he stepped on the gas, he saw another group of Yakuza on the other side. It was the same group of Yakuza they had encountered when they drove over.

"No way!!"

Koizumi was shocked.

What bad luck! I ran into a fight in the streets of Yakuza late at night!
"Are they crazy? They actually dared to fight in 'Harumi Street' just to become the leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi!"

Koizumi deeply regretted not having a communication device at that moment.

If he had a cell phone right now, he would call Gu Ming immediately.

Don't come down! It's terrifying!

(End of this chapter)