Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 567 Food Truck

"Onimusha" grossed 9.8 billion yen, rightfully earning its title as the highest-grossing film in Japanese film history.

Below is a line of smaller print: Box office revenue is the final estimate by experts.

Gu Ming casually put down the newspaper.

This matter is over and he no longer needs to concern himself with it.

Now, it's time to move on to the next thing.

"Ryu, how was the filming this time?" Gu Ming greeted Zhenxia Long, who nodded repeatedly: "It felt great. On the one hand, it was my first time playing the lead role in a work, and on the other hand, well, how should I put it, it was completely different from the feeling of filming before."

When he was a suit actor, he still had to do many things physically, such as setting fires, emitting lights, and using various small devices to create effects.

But now, many things can be solved by computers.

No matter how you look at it, it's an amazing thing.

Gu Ming leaned forward, suddenly revealing a gossipy expression, with a hint of cunning in his eyes.

So, when are you having your wedding?

"Ah, um, I..." Zhenxia Long scratched the back of his head and grinned foolishly.

He has already confessed his love to his wife and plans to get married this year.

The location was, of course, Yokohama, my hometown. After the wedding, I accepted Koji Moritsugu's invitation to go to Hokkaido for a few days.

Therefore, the wedding date was chosen in winter, because winter is when going to Hokkaido is more worthwhile.

You can also soak in hot springs, sometimes lying down in the shape of the Chinese character "太" (tài), sometimes in the shape of the Chinese character "木" (mù).

Gu Ming thought for a moment and said, "In that case, come with me first. We'll finish filming your scenes before the wedding so you can go home and prepare for the wedding."

Zhenxia Long grinned: "Thanks, Brother Gugu!"

……

……

Hong Kong.

At the Fist Power Film Company, a rope hung from the ceiling. Jackie Chan gripped the limp rope with both hands and used his waist strength to climb upwards, but even with the rope knotted, he could only climb half a meter before giving up.

If there's something to hold onto, you can barely manage to do it; if there's nothing to hold onto, you simply can't get up there.

“No, I’ve tried my best.” Cheng Long shook his head and looked at his junior brother Yuen Biao: “I can’t do it.”

Yuen Biao sighed.

After he came back, he looked for a bunch of people, but none of them were suitable, not even Chin Ka-lok.

Some say that if Chin Ka-lok can't do a stunt in Hong Kong, then no one else in Hong Kong can.

Now it seems that it really won't work.

“No comparison, those are aliens.” Jackie Chan waved his hand. “Let’s not talk about that.”

The film premiered in Asia, and of course he went to see it in the cinema. The film grossed over ten million Hong Kong dollars at the box office in Hong Kong.

It may not be as good as those big-budget films costing over two thousand Hong Kong dollars, or as good as Project A, but it is a foreign film after all, and the audience still has to read the subtitles, so this achievement is quite amazing.

Even Jackie Chan was amazed by the elements in the film.

Wow, that's a really big ship!
He couldn't understand time travel, but the idea itself was truly astonishing.

This also gave Jackie Chan some inspiration.

Movies that combine history with elements like time travel and other seemingly plausible themes.

Cheng Long had some ideas, but he couldn't quite grasp them for the time being.

He is a person with many creative ideas, but he often can't express them.

Jackie Chan later made a movie called "The Myth," which followed the same path. A sequel to "The Myth" called "Legend" was later released, featuring an AI Jackie Chan who could laugh and cry at the same time; even when his teammates died, the AI ​​Jackie Chan would still grin widely.

The plot isn't exactly bad, but when you think of the AI ​​Jackie Chan, it leaves you speechless.

This terrible movie still managed to gross 80 million yuan at the box office.

It's clear that Jackie Chan still has a certain box office appeal.

Just then, the assistant came in and whispered a few words.

Gu Ming has arrived.

……

……

Eating, drinking, and having fun—there's no time for fun, but we can certainly eat and drink.

"It's really not easy for someone as busy as you to still have time to come to Hong Kong! I also saw your movie in Hong Kong. Your imagination is truly rich. What was that time travel thing? I really don't know how you came up with that idea!"

"I'm ashamed to say that I only did a very small amount of work..."

After the banter, Jackie Chan sighed, "Although it's a foreign film, it grossed over ten million here. Many people say it's even better than American blockbusters."

After all, we're all in Asia, so there are some things we have in common.

Hong Kong people may not understand who Akechi Samanosuke is, but they can at least understand what kind of story it is. They can also empathize with this kind of story about killing a tyrant.

Yuen Biao couldn't participate in these topics, but he would occasionally chime in with a few words.

He felt great after filming a dozen or so minutes of footage in Japan last time, especially since it was a movie he was involved in and his presence was used as a selling point during the initial promotion.

After eating and drinking his fill, Gu Ming wiped his lips and casually put down the napkin.

"Well then, I'll get straight to the point. We discussed a movie before, and now the movie is ready."

Cheng Long instantly became serious, his previous carefree demeanor gone. He sat up straight and leaned forward.

Although Yuen Biao didn't know what had happened, he quickly put down his food and drink.

Gu Ming's eyes swept over Yuen Biao and Cheng Long's faces before he spoke.

"I plan to film this movie abroad, about two business partners who run a food truck overseas..."

The work that Gu Ming wants to talk about is the movie "Wheels on Meals". It was originally directed by Sammo Hung and starred Yuen Biao and Jackie Chan. They found Miss Spain from overseas and filmed it on location in Spain.

Gu Ming had originally considered other films, such as "Once a Thief" and "A Better Tomorrow." However, after much thought, he realized that these films were outdated and might not suit contemporary tastes. While Japan also produced many excellent films, and Jackie Chan had even starred alongside Joe Chen in "Shinjuku Incident," Gu Ming was still considering other options.

However, Shinjuku Incident was a classic case of critical acclaim but commercial failure; it was not only unable to be shown domestically, but also performed poorly at the Japanese box office.

The films about food trucks are historically proven, and they also feature multiple male leads, ensuring that each protagonist is fully represented and that no one's role is too small or that anyone is neglected.

Internationally, the box office performance was also quite remarkable, with a total overseas box office of US$21 million.

If Gu Ming were to give his opinion, he actually prefers Shinjuku Incident to Trucks on Meals, but this film is still somewhat lacking.

If only the box office were a little higher!

If Shinjuku Incident's box office can reach the production cost, Gu Ming is still confident that he can revive the film's popularity. After all, Jackie Chan was at the height of his career in the 1980s, in his prime, and had a lot of works to shoot, which is incomparable to what he did later.

After Gu Ming finished speaking, Cheng Long did not rush to respond, but instead began to think about the film.

Ho Koon-cheung has already agreed to let him film this kind of movie. Right now, Golden Harvest is getting beaten to a pulp. Next door is Cinema City, a must-have for Hong Kong entertainment. In terms of both artistic merit and box office performance, it is something that Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest combined cannot compete with.

Therefore, whether it's out of emotion or practical interests, there's no problem with co-producing films.

The only problem is that...

Will this film be like American movies, where the protagonist is nominally the main character, but he's actually just a powerless filmmaking tool, resulting in poor box office performance and bad reviews, with him being cursed as a flop every day on the streets of Hong Kong?

But this thought lasted only a moment before Cheng Long took the initiative to reach out and hold Gu Ming's hand.

It's a performance, bro. It's a performance!
(End of this chapter)