Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 590 Now, you don't owe me anything.
Gu Ming received the check two weeks later. Perhaps as a thoughtful gesture, the money was deposited into a Japanese bank in Hong Kong and given in Japanese form.

A string of numbers, however, is quite reassuring.

Although it's roughly equivalent to a million Hong Kong dollars when converted to Hong Kong dollars, Gu Ming still agrees with it.

Golden Harvest can be stingy when it wants to be, but incredibly generous when it does. Unlike Lo Wei next door, Jackie Chan was already famous for his films, earning tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars per movie, but 300,000 HKD was taken away by Ng See-yuen and rented out for filming. After Jackie Chan left, Lo Wei even wanted to compile footage from Jackie Chan's previous movies into a separate film.

“People from Hong Kong are quite generous,” Kadokawa Haruki commented. “They don’t try to play tricks with money.”

"Of course it's impressive. But when did you come in?" Gu Ming exclaimed in surprise, "I thought this was my office."

“I came in just now when you were writing the box office figures on the whiteboard.” Haruki Kadokawa leaned back on the sofa, his feet resting on the armrest, and said, “Have you ever thought about working with that Hong Kong actor on a few more movies?”

"Of course I've thought about it," Gu Ming replied honestly. "It's a pity that we can't cooperate too often, otherwise the relationship that was originally good will get worse the more we cooperate."

There are some things that can't be completely ignored. Even if he doesn't care, he still has to consider what others think.

Even in Hollywood, with films like Rush Hour, the Black actor who relied entirely on Jackie Chan's connections eventually expressed dissatisfaction, believing that Chan had hindered his rise to fame. The two eventually fell out and disappeared from the scene. In reality, Chan earned over ten million dollars at the time, plus a share of the film's profits, bringing his total earnings to over forty million dollars, while the Black actor only received a fixed salary of seven million dollars.

If the roles were changed to Gu Ming and Cheng Long working together, the situation would be even more difficult to resolve.

There must be a distinction between the literary and the martial, but if a distinction is made, the relationship will inevitably break down!
"That's pretty much what I was thinking. This kind of cooperation can happen occasionally, but long-term cooperation must be properly stipulated. There has to be someone to support the other person."

Haruki Kadokawa shook his head: "Since you have your own ideas, I won't ask anymore. Let's get down to business now."

He finally put his legs down and sat upright, looking at Gu Ming.

"I'm here to collect a debt, Furuya-kun. Don't forget you still owe me money!"

Gu Ming leaned back instantly.

really.

It's almost time to pay back the money.

All told, the film has already been showing in Japan for three weeks, and the box office performance has completely stabilized. Even if the current screening period is longer than in later years, it will definitely be taken off the screens after three months.

So now, it's about time to ask for the money.

Gu Ming hung up the phone with Toei, feeling somewhat uneasy.

He knew the movie wouldn't lose money, after all, it had already earned nearly two billion yen in distribution revenue in Japan. But Gu Mingzhen dared not imagine how much it would go this time.

"Hello? This is Akira Furuya. Yes, I'd like to know how the film's distribution revenue is going."

"How many?"

"...Okay, I understand."

After hanging up the phone, Gu Ming sighed, feeling extremely relieved.

Brush and pull!

Gu Ming drew an upward diagonal line on the whiteboard.

The box office was 6.4 billion yen, and it is expected to gross around 7 billion yen after the screening period ends.

In other words, the rationed income was more than 3 billion yen.

Compared to the costs, the actual investment was 1.2 billion yen, which at first glance seems like a loss.

However, unlike previous films, this movie not only had product placements beforehand but also overseas box office revenue sharing, resulting in various other sources of income. All things considered, the revenue sharing not only covered the costs but also generated a surplus of over a billion yen. Considering the long payback periods of overseas box office revenue, it can be said to have been a huge success.

As for the cost, it mainly relied on product placement and sponsorship. Golden Harvest contributed a portion of the funding, and Gu Ming borrowed money to advance a portion of Onimusha's box office revenue. In total, the production cost was equivalent to everyone sharing 1.2 billion yen.

It's normal that the box office performance of Onimusha was not as good in Japan. Tani Akira was prepared for this. After all, Trucks on Meals is not a pure Japanese film. Its success in Japan is due to the appeal of the actors and the quality of the film.

The focus, of course, is overseas.

This "overseas" refers to places outside of Hong Kong, including Asia, Europe, and North America!
"Three billion, huh?" Haruki Kadokawa stroked the armrest of the sofa and sighed contentedly.

"Looks like this is a sure-fire money-making movie, plus there are overseas payments coming in. Congratulations, Furuya-kun. Just don't forget to pay back the money!"

Gu Ming was about to respond when he saw Kadokawa Haruki pull out his briefcase and take out a contract.

Gu Ming recognized him at a glance.

It was a contract signed when I borrowed money from Haruki Kadokawa, including a film contract, film remuneration, and a betting agreement.

"Let's find an opportunity to have it notarized. Once this contract is fulfilled, it can be voided."

Haruki Kadokawa dangled the paper between his fingers and chuckled, "Don't you suddenly feel a sense of relief?"

Gu Ming shrugged.

He wasn't exactly relieved; he never took the matter seriously.

only.

"Isn't there another film? And considering all the repayments, it shouldn't have reached the agreed-upon four billion, right?"

"It's not important anymore." Haruki Kadokawa rolled up the contract into a tube and brandished it like a samurai sword. "We still need one more film. Even if it's so bad it's unbearable to talk about, as long as we put your name, Akira Furuya, in the opening credits, we can still rake in some box office revenue. The difference of a couple hundred million in bets is negligible. Besides..."

Haruki Kadokawa stopped what he was doing, suddenly picked up the paper tube, and made a downward dropping motion.

“Sometimes I wonder if Furuya-kun had a premonition before doing this, or if he received some inspiration from Takamagahara? Two years ago, yen could buy a lot of things, but today, yen is becoming increasingly worthless. Rather than waiting for you to fulfill the contract in another six months, it's better to get my money as soon as possible.”

Money you get in your hands early is real money.

Gu Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

Now I feel so relieved.

When the contract was fulfilled, it meant that his relationship with Haruki Kadokawa changed from employer and employee to business partner. Even if this partner was not entirely reliable, the relationship had still undergone a significant change.

"Then, as a gift for this change in relationship, there is something I can give to Furuya-kun."

Kadokawa Haruki held up one finger: "There is a company that I plan to transfer to Furuya-kun. This company is not a shell company; it has various external businesses, mainly providing financial services and cash flow for some small and medium-sized companies. Currently, its cash flow is good and healthy, but there is one debt that has never been repaid, and it is about time to collect the debt."

“When we get that debt back…” Kadokawa Haruki held the roll of contract paper and made a chopping motion once again.

This time, however, the action was swift and clean, like a decapitation.

He wiped the end of the paper roll as if wiping away the blood of someone who didn't exist.

"Although it's a bit late, once that debt is recovered, consider it a birthday present."

(End of this chapter)