Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 556 Winning the Palme d'Or was all thanks to Akira Furuya
May.

After more than two months of filming, the movie was finally completed, and the editing work was quickly put on the agenda so that it could be released in Japan during the summer.

Gu Ming still has high expectations for this story. On the one hand, the story includes elements such as time travel, which are pioneering elements at the time. Originally, the first time travel movie was not expected to be the American "Back to the Future" in 1985.

With Satomi Hakkenden as a precedent, fantasy action films are currently a trend in Japanese cinema.

And most importantly...

Onimusha was the first game in the Japanese gaming era to sell over a million copies.

Gu Ming was only worried about one other thing, rather than whether the film would be successful.

Will the filmed video achieve the intended effect?

Therefore, as soon as filming was completed, Gu Ming went to the Bishamonten Studio to supervise the film's various special effects, such as the magical airship and the time travel effects.

While Gu Ming was busy working on special effects, the Cannes Film Festival in France was also held as scheduled.

Director Shohei Imamura is attending a film festival awards ceremony in the small town of Cannes, France.

Shohei Imamura graduated from Waseda University, and in the arts and entertainment industry, which is known for its low academic qualifications, Waseda University's credentials are quite impressive.

Shohei Imamura later joined Shochiku Film Company in Japan and directed many films.

As for "The Ballad of Narayama", it was Shohei Imamura who took the initiative to approach Toei and request to film it. Shigeru Okada also attached great importance to it and sent Ken Ogata, one of Toei's leading male actors, to participate in the film.

The Ballad of Narayama, adapted from a Japanese novel, tells the story of a Japanese folk custom where elderly people, upon reaching the age of seventy, are sent to the mountains to live out their days and die.

Ken Ogata, Toei's leading actor, plays the male lead Junpei in this film.

Although the film was submitted to the Cannes Film Festival as scheduled, Shohei Imamura was not very confident about it. If it weren't for the producer's repeated requests, he wouldn't have even wanted to come to France.

According to Shohei Imamura, this film will most likely only be well-received within Japan.

As the awards at the film festival were announced one after another, Shohei Imamura felt a little drowsy. He casually picked up his wristwatch and looked at the numbers on it. The hands on the dial turned slowly, seemingly without direction.

"It's not over yet."

Shohei Imamura yawned.

More than participating in film festivals, he is concerned about whether his next film will be secured.

Then, just as Shohei Imamura was dozing off, the host on stage suddenly called out a name.

"The winner of this year's Palme d'Or is..."

Shohei Imamura yawned.

Producer Goro Kusakabe suddenly nudged Shohei Imamura with his elbow.

"Ok?"

"Imamura-kun! Wake up! Come up on stage and accept your award!"

"Ugh?!"

Shohei Imamura was momentarily stunned.

It wasn't until a few seconds later, amidst the constant flashes of cameras and applause, that Shohei Imamura belatedly realized something.

He won an award.

"So, what kind of award is it?"

"The Palme d'Or! It's the Palme d'Or! Imamura-kun, get excited!" Kusakabe Goro almost stammered.

He never expected to win an award when he first came to France, and he never imagined that he would actually win the Palme d'Or.

Kusakabe Goro's tongue trembled for a long time before he nudged Imamura Shohei again.

Shohei Imamura, overwhelmed with joy, stumbled onto the podium and received the sealed gold palm leaf.

Palme d'Or...

He won the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival in such an almost comical way. Even when Shohei Imamura returned, he was still in a daze.

I never imagined that his film career would garner such an award!
"But wait, how exactly did we win the Palme d'Or?"

Shohei Imamura suddenly realized this crucial issue.

Beforehand, they only did a basic exhibition and didn't do anything else!

Goro Kusakabe slapped his forehead.

“I know, it must be Mr. Furuya! I heard that he was commissioned by the Cannes Film Festival to submit films from all over Asia to the Cannes Film Festival. Our film was submitted by Mr. Furuya, so of course it was because of Mr. Furuya’s help that we were able to win an award!”

Shohei Imamura exclaimed in surprise, unable to hide his delight.

He immediately waved his hand.

"Quickly, pack your things and get ready to go back to China!"

Producer Goro Kusakabe was slightly taken aback: "You just won an award and are going back to Japan? Aren't you going to attend the banquet?"

"It was just a meal, nothing special! I'll leave the rest to Kusakabe-kun to sell the copyright in France. I'm heading back to Japan now to visit Furuya-kun!"

Shohei Imamura is preparing to carry the plane back to Japan overnight.

Historically, Narayama's winning the award was indeed unexpected. Originally, only producer Goro Kusakabe and the leading actress attended the Cannes awards ceremony, but unexpectedly, they were able to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

The film was originally projected to earn 500 million yen in revenue in Japan, but it more than doubled to 1.2 billion yen. This was because the film won the Palme d'Or and starred Ken Ogata, a top Japanese actor, resulting in excellent sales.

Now, even though Shohei Imamura himself had no hope, the film still managed to win an award. The first person he could think of was...

Furuya Akira!
It must have been Akira Furuya who helped!

Otherwise, how could they have won the award so easily!

……

……

When they received this news, there was one person who was even more shocked than Shohei Imamura.

That was Shigeru Okada, the president of Toei Company.

At that time, Shohei Imamura was a director with a certain reputation in Japan, having worked in the industry for decades. That's why Shigeru Okada agreed when Imamura approached him about the filming plans for "The Ballad of Narayama".

However, Shigeru Okada was thinking that as a film full of humanistic concern, the cost should not be too high.

I never imagined this movie would take three years to make and have a production cost of over 200 million yuan...

Well, in comparison, the production cost of Satomi Hakkenden was also over 200 million yen, and they even built a city.

Even in the years after the yen depreciated, 200 million yen was roughly equivalent to 10 million yuan, and today it is no small amount.

Okada Shigeru thought this video about breaking down barriers would probably lose money, but he never expected that something like this would happen!

Like Shohei Imamura, Shigeru Okada also fell into thought immediately.

A film that wasn't promoted by anyone won an award; surely the French haven't gone crazy!
If the French aren't crazy, then there's only one reason.

Akira Furuya helped!

"Hmm, it seems that Mr. Furuya is quite magnanimous. Although there were some unpleasant minor conflicts before, he actually helped to get this film to the Cannes awards stage!"

Okada Shigeru pondered the matter repeatedly, feeling somewhat apprehensive.

This kind of influence is terrifying!

In return, since Akira Furuya was able to send Toei's films to the Cannes Film Festival, Toei could naturally adjust the distribution ratio and increase corresponding publicity when showing the films.

With that in mind, Okada Shigeru picked up the phone, ready to give the instructions.

For this film, *Onimusha*, Toei will cooperate with the promotion, but the distribution ratio will also be changed! Consider it a reward for Narayama's award!

(End of this chapter)