Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 596 I Know You're That American Guy

"I don't care about any of your ridiculous demands. I can cooperate, and I can listen to your team, but the director's fee can't be reduced by a single penny! It has to be at least half a million dollars!"

"You think I'm just some random director? I may not be a big shot in the US, but I do have a certain status. The two films I directed were huge hits in theaters, and they call me 'King of Teen Films' Griffith!"

"I was supposed to be an assistant director on the set of Ghostbusters! That was a big production with a budget of tens of millions of dollars!"

Mark Griffiths was quite adamant, sticking to one thing: the project couldn't start without $500,000.

Tanaka, however, had no intention of backing down.

“Mr. Griffith, all cooperation is based on openness and transparency. Since the film is related to Columbia Pictures and has already been approved, as the project leader, we naturally have the right to arrange everything. Since the personnel and actors are mainly appointed and dismissed by us, and Mr. Griffith is only responsible for directing, he should take the compensation he deserves.”

Mark Griffiths didn't want to talk anymore. He picked up his teacup and drank hot cocoa one sip after another, while inwardly grumbling to himself.

Not bad! At least the Japanese didn't offer him tea!
He can't drink tea, that stuff. Hot cocoa is alright, except it's high in calories and can make you gain weight, so it has no other downsides.

Tanaka also fell silent, and the two sat in the meeting room in silence.

Mark Griffiths flicked his wrist, crumpling the waste paper into a ball and tossing it into the trash can. A limping sanitation worker appeared just in time, emptying the half-full trash can into a cart beside him, casually rummaging through the trash can for recyclables, and flattening and taking away disposable paper cups along with it.

"You guys are quite humanitarian, knowing he's disabled, so you specifically hired him as a cleaner?" Mark Griffiths exclaimed in surprise.

That cripple, you know what, he's actually pretty fast!
"Ok?"

Tanaka paused for a moment, then suddenly stood up.

"What, you've decided to agree to my terms? I told you we'd eventually reach an agreement. Five hundred thousand dollars is a great deal, you won't regret it."

Mark Griffiths also stood up and reached out to grab Tanaka's hand, but missed.

"Wait, what... what's going on?!"

For a moment, Mark Griffiths felt his head begin to spin, and the limping janitor from before sat right next to him.

Snapped!
A powerful hand landed precisely on Mark Griffiths' thigh.

Mark instantly became alert.

I'm super!

Japanese nantong!

"What are you doing? You, you don't touch me!"

“Mr. Mark Griffiths, don’t be afraid, I’m not an animal, I don’t bite.”

Gu Ming grinned, his body becoming increasingly humble thanks to his superb muscle control. Although his height remained unchanged and he didn't hunch his shoulders, the image of a cleaner moving among the skyscrapers was already clearly visible. He leaned slightly forward, almost putting all his weight on his right leg, as if his left leg couldn't bear the weight.

"First, let me introduce myself. My name is Akira Furuya."

"Ah, oh..."

Mark's mind was still a mess.

He knew Furuya Akira; wasn't he just that Japanese guy?
Although I haven't seen their work or heard of their name, I at least know that they are the collaborators for this project.

only.

Mark couldn't help but mutter to himself.

I didn't expect him to be a cripple.

"I've heard of your work. You did say you had two theatrical releases, but both 'I Didn't Say You Can't' and 'Love Perpetual Motion Machine' are typical short films with youth elements. They're only 60 minutes long, with limited screenings. The box office revenue is probably only around 100,000, let alone a million. In that case, you're asking for 500,000 in director's fees. Mr. Mark, the Japanese aren't easy to fool."

"I……"

Mark Griffiths took a deep breath.

This is a very secretive matter, I never expected that someone would point it out!

That's pretty scary, bro!

Tanaka, standing to the side, also raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised. For a moment, he was almost convinced by Mark, after all, this American was far too confident, and he hadn't expected him to be lying through his teeth; it turned out he wasn't a high-class director at all.

This kind of thing wasn't mentioned in the information provided by Columbia, so he naturally didn't know about it either. He never expected that Gu Ming could point it out so clearly.

Gu Ming maintained his smile but directly drew a conclusion on the matter.

"One hundred thousand dollars, that's it. If you're not satisfied, go back. Hollywood doesn't need another Canadian director."

Mark Griffiths' eyes widened instantly.

He felt a sense of shame, as if he had been stripped naked, that people actually knew about this!

Canadians are certainly not ashamed of being Canadian, but the key point is that he publicly identifies himself as an American.

Gu Ming's expression remained unchanged, which made him appear even more mysterious and unpredictable in Mark Griffith's eyes.

"You really want to give me $100,000 as a director's fee?"

Gu Ming nodded: "One hundred thousand, not a penny less, no delay in payment. If you want it, I can give it to you now."

Mark said, "I don't need to arrange those things. You guys handle everything: personnel scheduling, casting, sets, and all the management."

Gu Ming nodded: "We have a professional team and connections. You just need to focus on making a good movie and creating that subtle youth film atmosphere. Isn't that what you're best at?"

Mark breathed a sigh of relief.

If that's what you're saying, then what else can I say! Just open the bottle and that's it!

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Furia."

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Griffith." Gu Ming greeted Tanaka: "Make proper arrangements for Mr. Griffith, and send him back tomorrow."

Mark Griffiths couldn't help but lick his lips.

Any other plans? Then we absolutely have to play!
Tanaka nodded.

Arrange it, absolutely! We'll get him the yakitori lantern set right now!
After seeing the two off, Gu Ming leaned back in his chair and shook his head slightly.

It seems Columbia Pictures still lacked confidence, which is why they brought in this person.

He had previously received a call saying that the script had been submitted to Columbia through higher-level connections, with a specific note that it had been submitted through Sony's channels.

For films that are cut in line, it is of course necessary to read them in advance. Regardless of how Columbia Pictures evaluates them, after some consideration, they approve the film project.

At the time, Gu Ming stated that an American team would be employed, including an American director and American lead actors, with Columbia Pictures handling distribution and marketing.

The only condition is that the director shouldn't be too famous.

Gu Ming had thought it wouldn't need to be too big, but he didn't expect the other party to find such a guy!
The name Mark Griffiths flashed through Gu Ming's mind, perfectly matching his identity.

Mark Griffith has made many films, but they are mostly American teen movies. His most famous film is probably "Beethoven Symphony".

Gu Ming knew his name because this director's works were once listed on a YouTuber's list of worst film directors.

Simply put, the other party claimed that Mark Griffith is a very mediocre director whose works only show male actors' abs and female actors' big thighs and butts, and have no vision whatsoever.

But Gu Ming pondered.

Why do we need so many teen movies?! What's the point of watching teen movies if we don't want to see big breasts?!

“This Mark Griffith isn’t very famous, but that also means he doesn’t have much power. After all, he doesn’t have much authority himself, so he can’t interfere with other filming matters. This allows him to focus on creating the youthful atmosphere in the movie. If 100,000 can open up the market… it’s worth it.”

Gu Ming tapped on the table, pondering the production costs of this film.

The original Karate Kid cost over eight million US dollars, which is considered a low-budget film. However, Americans aren't very good at cost control; even the movie "Wheels on Meals" didn't cost eight million. If they had managed to control costs better, it could have been made for five million US dollars.

Out of five million, one hundred thousand was allocated to the director's fee...

It's just that Mark Griffiths isn't famous or capable enough, otherwise any other director would have been furious with him!
(End of this chapter)