Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 468 I Want a Reed Horse

"He still has the mood to watch horse racing at a time like this?"

The fact that Gu Ming would go to watch a horse race at such a time was quite surprising to many people.

But that's all.

He didn't win the prize, so what else can he do besides watch horse races?

Gu Ming, on the other hand, naturally ignored everything from the outside world.

Since Kadokawa Haruki has gone to France and no one will bother him for the time being, Gu Ming can do some things without restraint.

At Kisaragi Equestrian Center, located on the outskirts of Kobe, Akira Tani underwent two full weeks of professional training to run like a real racehorse jockey.

After today's training session ended, Tanaka's assistant, who had been waiting outside the field, delivered a letter.

Gu Ming glanced at it and nodded.

Kadokawa Haruki's team has already submitted their film to the Cannes Film Festival in France. They successfully submitted it at the end of March, so we hope they can come to Cannes in May to participate in the festival.

"Tanaka, book me a few ship tickets to France for May... um, plane tickets, I guess. Ask around the crew who's free. It's a company-funded trip, don't miss out!"

After settling in, Gu Ming headed towards the rest area.

Shigemitsu Mizoguchi had been waiting for a while, and when he saw Gu Ming approaching, he smiled and said, "They really have no taste. When the news about the racetrack broke last time, our sports newspaper also saw a significant increase in sales. In addition, you've been training at the racetrack recently, and there are rumors that you're going to participate in the three major awards."

Gu Ming said, "I really want to participate in the horse racing grand prize."

"Right? I told you those were just rumors... What did you say?!"

Goukou Chongguang was greatly alarmed.

"Wake up, Furuya-kun! Many professionally trained riders can't beat the three major championship winners. We're just doing this for news coverage. If anything goes wrong in the future, no one will be held responsible. You don't really want that, do you?"

Gu Ming shrugged.

why not!
"I'm not aiming for the three major awards, I just want to get a fun little horse to participate in some big competitions as a pastime. By the way, Mr. Mizoguchi, do you know where I can get a horse?"

When it comes to this, Shigemitsu Mizoguchi knows it all too well.

"You can find a familiar horse owner and give him a small sum of money, a few hundred thousand or even tens of thousands of yen, and you can get a breeding foal. But no one knows how far such a horse will go in the future; it will most likely just be an average horse."

"If you want to run in major races and get a good ranking in them, you have to find those famous foals. That would require several million yen, and even if you have the money, you can't get many famous foals. You also need connections. I mean, you have to know the horse owner or have a good relationship with the breeding farm before they will agree to sell to you."

Gu Ming tapped the table lightly, thinking to himself that this was quite complicated.

"I don't have such high requirements. Are there any horses that are of decent quality and that I can buy without too many connections? Preferably the kind with spiky hair."

Goguchi Shigemitsu casually mentioned a few horse owners and horse farms, which Gu Ming noted down one by one.

Once things are over, he'd like to go and take a look when he has time.

After all, horse racing seems quite interesting.

……

……

Before the Marseille match even began, the newspapers published another piece of news first.

The Blue Ribbon Awards in Japan gave "Sailor Suit and Machine Gun" high praise and awarded it the titles of Best Film and Best Actor.

Although the Blue Ribbon Award is quite modest, consisting of only a certificate bound with a blue ribbon and accompanied by a Pilot fountain pen.

However, this does not affect the status of the Blue Ribbon Awards; it remains one of the highest-level film awards in Japan.

This has certainly given some people the idea to have wild thoughts.

The film went almost empty-handed at the Academy Awards, only receiving a consolation prize for Best Kill Scrap Design, an award that had never been established before.

However, he won a major award at the Blue Ribbon Awards. No matter how you look at it, it makes one wonder.

At this time, Gu Ming also subtly indicated that he had submitted the award to overseas film festivals and was preparing to participate in some overseas exhibitions.

There is no doubt that.

If a film fails to win awards domestically but wins major international awards, it would be a significant blow to the prestige of the Academy Awards.

Even if laymen have a vague understanding of this matter, many insiders are quietly paying attention to it.

Once a film wins an award overseas, they will turn to the Blue Ribbon Awards rather than the Academy Awards first.

If there are no awards overseas either, then it proves that the problem lies with Gu Ming, and film awards are dispensable.

Time gradually moved forward to April.

April, Chiba Prefecture, Nakayama Racecourse.

Zhongshan Racecourse is the venue for the Satsuki-sho (Satsuki-sho) competition.

Compared to the fame of Satsuki Sho, the Zhongshan Racecourse is quite simple. The brick walls outside the gate are peeling, giving it a sense of history.

Although it's not an official competition yet, the various warm-up matches and exhibition matches are already quite attractive.

Today, during the preseason exhibition game, a different rumor is circulating among the people.

"Have you heard? Actually, that Akira Furuya is also a horse racing enthusiast, and I heard he'll actually be participating in an exhibition race today!"

This news drew sighs from many people.

It's a feeling of 'Oh, so celebrities are just like us!' that makes you feel like the distance between you has been shortened a bit.

As for whether Akira Furuya actually likes horse racing, they don't really care.

On the contrary, the news in the newspapers is quite noteworthy.

Gu Ming is currently taking a short rest in the waiting room.

The horse was personally selected by Shigemitsu Mizoguchi; it could run and jump, and its appearance was very similar to that of a wild horse.

According to Shigemitsu Mizoguchi, you don't even need to win; you just need to reach the finish line. What matters is generating buzz, not winning.

Gu Ming had also seen the horse; it was a sturdy-looking horse that could probably run the entire course.

Gouguchi Shigemitsu comforted Gu Ming from the side.

"Furuya-kun, don't worry. Just run the whole course as you've trained. You're not a professional jockey, and that horse wasn't a professional racehorse before, but that's okay. Our goal is to reach the finish line, not to win. Just let people know that you love horse racing and that you participate in horse races."

Gu Ming responded naturally.

He also doesn't believe that a month of intensive training is enough to win a major award.

But then again.

"I still want to buy a horse with a reed-haired body."

Shigemitsu Mizoguchi raised his hand and pressed down on Taniaki's hand, which was trying to slap his thigh.

"Furuya-kun, don't worry! As long as you finish this race, and the Kobe News Corporation sells the newspapers, I'll personally send you a horse with reeds! If not, I'll glue some reeds on myself and let you run it."

Gu Ming trembled instantly, a chill ran down his spine, and he shook off Goukou Shigemitsu's hand.

At that moment, a loudspeaker outside the venue sounded, and Shigemitsu Gouguchi immediately stood up.

"Furuya-kun, get ready to go! You absolutely have to finish the whole race!"

After all, there were advertisements pasted on the horse coat!
(End of this chapter)