Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 513 Who is knocking on our door?

Princess Hamaji, in the movie adaptation of Hakkenden, was killed on her wedding day, and her body was stolen and transformed into a corpse killer.

In terms of room for creativity, there isn't much room for creativity in this kind of commercial blockbuster, but Gu Ming believes that at least basic acting skills are still necessary.

—At least you should look like you're dead. You can't be dead and then touch your head or your butt. Many people can't even act like they're dead.

The script is short and there's nothing particularly noteworthy. It simply requires Harada Tomoyo to die beautifully, then be resurrected, and when she lifts her veil, she reveals a stunning gaze.

However, Gu Ming noticed that the girl was clearly having some trouble, and her mother kept whispering something to her, which only made things more difficult.

Gu Ming had no choice but to tap the table to make the two of them look up.

Gu Ming tapped his wristwatch, emphasizing the gesture.

"Ah, yes, I'm so sorry!" The mother bowed deeply. "This child, I told you to read faster! Hurry up, everyone's getting impatient!"

Harada Tomoyo put down the script and began her awkward performance.

In fact, Gu Ming didn't have high expectations for the amateur; he just wanted someone who could do a basic performance. But soon, Gu Ming discovered that the child's basic performance wasn't very good either.

It's just a dead person, which is easy to act out; you just need to lie there. But to die well, to make it look proper on camera, is naturally much more difficult.

Gu Ming watched for a while, then couldn't help but shake his head.

This wasn't just a little bit off, it was a huge difference. When she lay down, she was like a piece of wood that had been chopped in two with an axe, then collapsed there with a thud, showing no sign of life.

To put it another way—she wasn't dead, she wasn't even pretending to be dead, she was just lying down, and lying down lifelessly and unnaturally.

"Tomoyo Harada shouldn't be at this level!"

Gu Ming shook his head secretly, thinking that he should indeed draw an X.

The other assistants around him had already picked up their pens decisively, ready to follow Gu Ming's lead. As soon as Gu Ming showed any intention of drawing an X, they would immediately follow suit.

The postures and glances of the group were quite obvious. Harada's mother saw it clearly and pulled Harada Tomoyo up, saying a few words to her.

From Gu Ming's angle, he couldn't see anything but Harada Tomoyo with her head down, seemingly unable to speak.

“Tsk…” Gu Ming tapped the table.

"This mother."

"Ah, yes, Mr. Furuya."

"Could you please step outside for a moment?" Gu Ming spread his hands and pointed around. "There are so many people here. Don't worry, no one will hurt your daughter. She's the one who came for the audition. Let her come by herself."

"Huh? But, but I..."

"There are no buts, please leave."

With his mother, who had been in the way, gone, Gu Ming finally put his hand down.

“Tomoyo Harada, right? Now you do it again. A sudden assassin attacks, you get slashed, fall to the ground, and die without even realizing it.”

Harada Tomoyo nodded, took a deep breath, then raised her hands and clenched them together, as if to encourage herself.

She put on a terrified expression, pretended that someone had jumped out and slashed her, then lay down, pressed her face against her arm, and died beautifully.

The performance was short and fairly standard.

—Actually, there's no need to expect much acting skill from amateurs; at least this is much better than before.

Gu Ming crossed his arms, and he roughly understood the reason.

"So family pressure really is quite important."

Gu Ming tentatively drew a triangle on the list.

Although it's Harada Tomoyo, whether or not to use her is still up for Tani Akira to consider; it can only be said that it's pending.

"Go back and get some rest. We'll let you know later."

After seeing Harada Tomoyo off, Cheng Long leaned over.

Do you think she can do it?

"It's alright, the little girl has some talent, but if there's something better, of course we'll use the better one." Gu Ming casually pointed to the small triangle.

Cheng Long responded without saying anything more. Anyway, he didn't know much about the situation in Japan; he was just there to sit for a while and make an appearance.

On the contrary, several assistants kept glancing at Gu Ming.

So why is this person represented by a triangle? Previous lists were either circles or intersections; this is the first time a triangle has appeared!
Is it possible?

Is Furuya a Sony fan?

……

……

That evening, Gu Ming sat in his room chatting with Cheng Long, but they were only talking about filming.

"When it comes to action design, Hong Kong is of course the best. However, Hong Kong has a characteristic of being particularly stingy in some things."

Jackie Chan nodded: "Indeed, many times when filming, if you want it to be fast and urgent, the final result will not be good. But if you don't want it to be so fast, it won't work. The pace in Hong Kong is very fast. Like today, we are doing such a long audition. In Hong Kong, it won't take that long. It's just that someone comes, and they ask you to cry or laugh. If you can do it, you come; if not, you move on to the next one."

"So we still need to go out into the world. The local market in Hong Kong is too small. There are only a few million people. Even if each person sells a movie ticket, it may not be enough to support a real big star."

Cheng Long nodded slightly.

That's why Hong Kong attaches great importance to the Taiwan market.

Hong Kong people have a complicated attitude towards Taiwan. On the one hand, they look down on it because Taiwan's film market is sluggish, and in the eyes of Hong Kong people, it is only worthy of receiving investment for films.

On the other hand, they also care a lot because Hong Kong films need the Taiwan market.

With tens of millions of people, Taiwan is of vital importance to Hong Kong.

Therefore, actors of average status must obediently go to Taiwan to apologize and distance themselves from Taiwan once Taiwan issues sanctions.

Jackie Chan doesn't use this service because his status is high enough. For him, it's not that he relies on Taiwan, but that Taiwan relies on him. Even so, Jackie Chan often has to show Taiwan a degree of respect, such as by entertaining the troops or giving performances.

Seeing that it was getting late, Cheng Long stood up and said, "It's getting late, I won't disturb you any longer, I'll go back to my room first."

Gu Ming will not see me off.

As Gu Ming was arranging for Cheng Long to leave, he was wondering whether he should take a look at the script when he heard someone knocking on the door. However, the person knocking was hesitant and didn't seem very enthusiastic.

"What's wrong?" Gu Ming laughed heartily. "Did Brother Long forget something in my room?"

Gu Ming froze the moment he opened the door and saw who was outside.

What the hell is this?!
Harada Tomoyo stood outside the door, trying to look up at Tani Akira with a cautious expression.

Gu Ming peeked out; the corridor was empty, and he couldn't see Harada Tomoyo's mother either. Looking around, the corridor was filled with countless dark corners, as if hundreds of cameras were hiding there, waiting to watch their choices.

Gu Ming's lips twitched, and he simply squeezed his entire body against the door.

"Did your mother send you?"

Harada Tomoyo nodded.

"Go back and study the script carefully, don't think about these things. Tell your mom... never mind, I'll tell her myself."

Gu Ming took out his key, locked the door from the inside, and then took Harada Tomoyo with him, intending to take him to the lobby to make a phone call.

There was a landline in the room, of course, but Gu Ming dared not bring Harada Tomoyo into the room, otherwise who knows what kind of news would spread later.

The door to the opposite room was only opened after Gu Ming had walked away.

Cheng Long leaned against the door, looking at Gu Ming with a face full of confusion.

He had actually forgotten that his things were in Gu Ming's room. He had just been about to go back and get them when he saw this situation. Cheng Long, of course, decisively leaned against the door and did not come out.

With his emotional intelligence, he wouldn't do something like pushing the door open and causing trouble.

Unexpectedly, I witnessed a good show.

(End of this chapter)