Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 584 We Still Need to Do Business

Tokyo.

Carrying the suitcase containing the mother strap, Gu Ming jumped down the steps and boarded the airport shuttle bus. In an instant, his mind went completely blank.

After filming in France for so long, I can finally return to a place where I can feel at ease.

Knowing that everyone was eager to go home, Gu Ming didn't contact anyone else, but only brought back the master tapes with director Fukasaku Kinji to edit.

Actually, the master tape didn't matter; Gu Ming wasn't afraid of losing it. What he was afraid of was losing the bullet time shots that he had worked so hard to film. These shots were no easy feat! The entire shoot took half a month, and it had almost exhausted Cheng Long.

Outside the main gate of the airport, a familiar-looking car was parked there, flashing its lights twice. Koizumi was sitting obediently in the driver's seat, ready to start the car.

"Welcome, welcome! You're finally back." Haruki Kadokawa poked his head out and greeted them from a distance, "Let me see how my movie is going!"

"I thought you'd at least say something to show you care, but it turns out you only care about the movie?" Gu Ming casually tossed the box forward, and Kadokawa Haruki, seemingly unconcerned, took it without a second thought...

The weight of the box suddenly dropped, and Kadokawa Haruki felt his arm tendons bear a burden he shouldn't have had at his age, almost causing him to fall over on the spot.

The box was much heavier than he had imagined.

Gu Ming was quick-witted and picked up the box again.

Kadokawa Haruki shook his wrist and saw Gu Ming lift the box and throw it into the trunk. The imported Mercedes, known for its large size and heavy load capacity, sank a bit in an instant.

Haruki Kadokawa wasn't surprised at all.

"Why is this so heavy! Did you bring all the movie master tapes back in this box?"

"Are you kidding me? Do you think I'm some kind of ultimate life form? The master tapes have been handed over to the next group for transport, and they should arrive in Yokohama around the day after tomorrow. The only master tape in this box is the one for that special effects shot!"

Gu Ming didn't want to admit it, but when computer special effects weren't advanced enough, the only way to create unique special effects was to spend a lot of money. The master tapes in this box were enough to build a Shaolin Temple!

Haruki Kadokawa clicked his tongue, unable to help but sigh.

It's all about money!
After everyone got into the car, Shinji Fukasaku finally spoke.

"Does Kadokawa Group have no work to do? Mr. Kadokawa seems to have a lot of free time every day."

Haruki Kadokawa glanced at Kinji Fukasaku's reflection in the rearview mirror, maintaining a restrained respect for the veteran director.

"Supervisor Fukasaku clearly doesn't understand. If I'm busy with work every day, it means my subordinates aren't working hard enough, so I'll have to replace them and start over. The fact that I can come out and stroll around means they're doing a good job, and I'm happy about that!"

Kinji Fukasaku could imagine that kind of realm.

Working with Gu Ming was quite pleasant; it was as if all he had to do was call out "Carter," while the action sequences and scene direction were handled by others.

Gu Ming, who was standing nearby, suddenly sneezed.

"That's strange, is someone secretly cursing me again!"

Gu Ming pondered, it must be Jackie Chan. After all, Jackie Chan owed him over ten million yuan for movie tickets.

……

……

Gu Ming had been watching the editing process closely for several days, focusing on the master tape of the bullet time section.

As for the editing of the entire film, Gu Ming didn't even watch it; Jackie Chan was more concerned about this than he was. Gu Ming simply entrusted Kinji Fukasaku and the director's team to keep an eye on things to prevent his scenes from being cut down during the Hong Kong editing process, thus highlighting the fact that Jackie Chan was the sole male lead.

Although Gu Ming thought that Jackie Chan would not normally do such a thing, firstly, Gu Ming did not trust other teams, and secondly, Jackie Chan had made so many bad movies that he had no credibility with Gu Ming.

Besides, Gu Ming wasn't idle either.

Today, Gu Ming brought a group of people to participate in a TV interview program, mainly to promote the movie.

'NLS' is a late-night talk show on TV Asahi. Like many of Japan's more unusual late-night programs, it occasionally features pranks and spoofs. However, because it handles things well, it's very popular among TV Asahi's late-night programming.

Gu Ming is here today to promote this program.

Besides Gu Ming, the only other person accompanying him was a muscular man with a buzz cut.

Ko Shou-liang.

Ko Shou-liang actually had a good personality, but he was physically strong with a face full of menacing features. When he wore sunglasses, he looked just like a five-star assassin. Just standing there, he was quite intimidating.

The show hadn't even started yet, and backstage at the studio, Ko Shou-liang was a little nervous. It wasn't his first time on a TV show, but it was his first time on a foreign one!
He would certainly come if he was paid, but Ko Shou-liang was also afraid of embarrassing Hong Kong if he didn't perform well.

"Ke Jun, don't worry." Gu Ming comforted him a little: "The program has been arranged in advance, and everything that needs to be filmed has been filmed. They know you are a foreigner, so they won't ask you questions easily. NLS has a pretty good reputation, so they won't make fun of you."

Someone slipped in from behind the curtain and bowed deeply to Gu Ming and his companion.

"Mr. Furuya, and this is the other guest. The show is about to begin, and you two may now enter."

Ko Shou-liang then put on sunglasses, maintaining his five-star assassin persona, and walked into the studio with Gu Ming.

Gu Ming glanced over...

Quite a few audience members were already seated, but some were obviously fake. Their formulaic smiles were reminiscent of the four-person fake-smile group often seen in edited Japanese parody shows from later times.

Formulaic, and flamboyant.

"Sometimes I just don't understand..."

Gu Ming muttered something to himself, but didn't say anything more.

It's perfectly normal for programs to have directors and producers; at least it hasn't gotten as serious as it will be in later years.

Later programs basically lacked facial expressions and relied entirely on the directors and writers.

The director just waved his hand and joked!

Everyone laughed.

If this were filmed live, you would see that the audience's faces looked as if their parents had died, and they couldn't laugh at all.

At least most of the time, the laughter is genuine; it's just a few people creating the atmosphere.

The two took their seats, and the program began.

Originally intended to promote the movie, questions about the movie itself naturally came up.

A few words later, the crucial moment arrived.

"Yes, speaking of France, this trip there has been a lot of feelings. Nice is a very beautiful place, and I welcome everyone to visit Nice."

"The most memorable thing there was definitely the footage we shot at the Place de la Bay in Nice. It was real filming, and a lot of passersby came to watch. We were fighting with a motorcyclist."

At this point, Gu Ming suddenly smiled and looked at the big screen in sync with the host.

On the screen, edited promotional footage was displayed, all involving motorcycle stunts. Several motorcycles performed stunts in the footage, such as rear wheel and front wheel flips, which were just minor tricks. The most exaggerated one was Ko Shou-liang's flying dash.

In the end, Gu Ming and Cheng Long each took one side, one jumping up and kicking the rider away, the other kicking the motorcycle away, their teamwork was excellent.

It's hard to tell how much of the unified cheers from the audience was genuine and how much was staged.

The host laughed along, then suddenly spoke.

"This must be the motorcycle rider and stunt coordinator from the movie. What do you think of Japan?"

Ko Shou-liang didn't understand, but he had already memorized the answers to the questions, so he was just following them. He immediately slicked back his hair and began reciting his lines on the spot.

The host nodded, but then abruptly changed the subject.

"Mr. Ke, I heard that Zhou Ying's negotiations have yielded results. As Hong Kongers, what are your plans..."

Gu Ming's face immediately fell.

Host B is really daring to ask that question!
Gu Ming moved a few steps closer, smiling, and put his arm around Gu Ming's shoulder.

"Shut up! You may not care about the market, but I do! What about foreign box office revenue? Don't ask us such dangerous questions!"

The host's smile remained unchanged, but his reaction was extremely quick: "There are still audience members here, Mr. Furuya, shouldn't you calm down a little?"

"Of course there are audience members at the scene. What about after get off work? Oh dear, what a pity. I heard that motorcycle gangs are rampant in Tokyo now. I hope no one will suddenly be hit and killed. Oh, I was just kidding. Don't be nervous. I know that someone told you to ask this kind of question, but think about yourself too. Don't ask everything!"

Gu Ming casually patted the other person's chest.

"Making money is important! After all, we Kansai people still need to do business with foreigners!"

(End of this chapter)