Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 617 Being a judge isn't easy.
Yokohama.

Manatsu Ryu's hometown is here, but since he became successful, he hasn't been able to go back to Yokohama much.

Gu Ming was visiting his home at the moment, and was also watching some films that had been mailed to him.

The newspapers didn't hold back in describing his story. He was in charge of part of the screening and selection work for the first Tokyo International Film Festival, and he was also a judge. Quite a few independent producers would try to send him their works.

Gu Ming also contacted his friends overseas, telling them they could send over any films they had, regardless of whether they were good or not, just in case they won an award!

If Gu Ming remembers correctly, Police Story was released this year. Jackie Chan put a lot of effort into making this movie, and the scene of him leaping into the air was later imitated by many movies.

This movie marked the beginning of Jackie Chan's "real" action films.

Cheng Long has arrived.

Zhenxia Long came over to greet him.

"Brother Gugu, Brother Cheng replied that it's no problem. Although he can't be a judge, he can still be a guest at the event. As for the new work, he said he was sorry that it probably won't be completed by October."

"Really? That's a bit of a shame."

As Gu Ming spoke, he casually took the paper bag from Seto Kayoko's hand.

This place is bulging with videotapes; they were all sent to him voluntarily.

However, most of these works are indeed not very good.

"Midnight 25 video recording? This company doesn't sound right."

Gu Ming flipped through the videotape and watched it, his brows furrowing in disapproval.

Something doesn't look right!
However, out of a sense of responsibility, I still put it in the video recorder and watched it.

In just a few minutes, Gu Ming's worldview seemed to have been greatly impacted. He quickly closed the video recorder and kicked the videotape to pieces.

"Block them! They absolutely have to be blocked! What is this called? Midnight 25 recording? Get them out of here forever! I don't want to see any of their videos!"

Gu Ming got goosebumps all over his body.

Zhen Xialong reacted even faster than Gu Ming, immediately crumpling up the paper bag and throwing it into the trash can.

That's really going too far!

The film, mailed by Midnight 25 Video Club, is called "Guinea Pig: The Devil's Experiment".

The main point is, there's no content.

The main plot of the film is that there is no plot.

The entire short film only does one thing.

Abuse.

The film shows three men using various violent techniques to abuse a woman.

Gu Ming does not reject the various cult elements that appear in the film. In fact, he can accept even absurd films like Sodom: 100 Days.

However, the premise is that this film must at least have something to say!

No matter how outrageous the topic of human nature or social skills may be, there has to be something to it.

This movie doesn't tell any story at all; it's just pure sadism.

Although the abuse was faked with makeup and special effects, Gu Ming didn't even want to watch this kind of movie that only catered to a specific group.

"Damn it, they keep sending me this junk! I've been watching too many movies like this lately!"

Gu Ming rubbed his face with both hands and couldn't help but sigh.

After all, their status is not high enough to compare with the fame of Toei and Toho, so many good films are sent there first. Gu Ming's side mainly receives various independent works, and the quality is not very good.

"We can only try overseas. We can't possibly send 'Guinea Pig Games' to the first Tokyo International Film Festival. Even dogs wouldn't watch that kind of film!"

Zhenxia Long scratched his head and said, "How about we take a picture?"

"How can you do that? You're both a player and a referee!"

Gu Ming was about to refuse, but this idea moved him.

anyway……

Really?

Gu Ming tried calling Kadokawa Haruki, and sure enough, he had time; it seemed like he never lacked time. After listening to Gu Ming's question, Kadokawa Haruki gave a formulaic reply.

"Theoretically speaking, this kind of thing is not allowed. In principle, the jury will not approve it, and in practice, the jury... will not approve it. Of course, since this is the first time organizing the event, there are still some oversights in the work of the film festival. It may not be possible to verify the companies to which the entries belong and the legal relationships behind them one by one. Of course, the most important thing is that, after all, it is the first edition, so it cannot be too shabby. It cannot be like a cat eating food. It must produce qualified films. As a judge for the first edition, I think you still have a certain degree of autonomy to do what you want to do. Mr. Furuya, I've said so much, you understand what I mean, right?"

Gu Ming really understood.

The meaning couldn't be clearer!
Go ahead and take pictures! Feel free to take pictures!

Of course, we also need to be a little discreet and not be too blatant. We are all decent people who care about our reputation.

Anyway, there aren't many good films, and the film production is not high, so we have to bring out some good local films to the film festival!
"Ran" is alright, and everyone will definitely include "Ran" in their films out of respect for Akira Kurosawa, but there can't be only one "Ran"!
"Go ahead and make it. I support you. You and that other guy, the second director, and a few suitable people from your agency, make something creative. Since it's a film submitted to a film festival, don't treat it like an ordinary movie, and it's not for box office success, so just add as much creativity as possible!"

Zhenxia Long clapped his hands together.

It worked! I knew Gugu really valued me!

Of course, I'll go and discuss with my best buddies what kind of creative short video I can make!

……

……

A fisherman's shop at Yokohama Wharf.

Gu Ming sat on a small stool, opposite director Shohei Imamura.

That is, the director who won the award for filming the Narayama Festival.

"I haven't had a chance to congratulate Mr. Furuya on receiving this honor yet. I've heard that Mr. Furuya's works are very popular overseas, and I'm proud of him as well!"

As Shohei Imamura spoke, he poked at the still-struggling octopus tentacles with his chopsticks.

"Mmm! Delicious! Freshly caught seafood is definitely the most delicious."

"Right?" Gu Ming slowly sipped his beer and said, "Doesn't Imamura-kun have any good films lately? After all, it's his first time being a judge, it would be too embarrassing if he didn't have any good films."

"I'm really sorry, although I have a project in preparation, it hasn't started filming yet. I was thinking of borrowing Sanada-kun when the time comes."

It's not Sanada Yukimura, it's Sanada Hiroyuki.

Gu Ming pondered for a moment.

By the way, what movies has Shohei Imamura been making lately?

"Mr. Imamura, could you share your thoughts with me? Perhaps I could even generously offer my support."

Shohei Imamura then casually shared his thoughts.

"This is a movie related to the Nanyang sisters..."

As Gu Ming listened, he couldn't help but gasp.

I rely on.

This is a terrible movie, it shouldn't be made!

The movie that Shohei Imamura was talking about is called "The Woman's Show," which cost 800 million yen to make. What kind of story is it about?

Yes, it tells the story of a pimp who runs a brothel in Southeast Asia.

Yes, this one story cost 800 million yen, and that was before the price was raised.

Based on the yen exchange rate in 1986 when the film was made, the yen-dollar exchange rate had reached 110:1. In other words, it cost seven million US dollars to make this movie, which was about running a brothel.

Seven million dollars is enough to cover the production cost of a Dragon Kid movie in history. And Dragon Kid not only grossed over 100 million dollars at the North American box office, but also won North American awards.

The movie "The Lady" didn't win any awards or do any box office; it was a complete mess. It's probably enough to give Shigeru Okada a stroke.

Most importantly, the movie also revealed something it shouldn't have: there's a scene in the middle of the film where the protagonist goes to Shengjing (present-day Shenyang). Although it wasn't filmed on location.

"Stop filming, it's boring to even listen to." Gu Ming interrupted, "Even foreigners don't like this kind of thing. They don't care about the story of the Nanyang sisters. If you make a film with purely pornographic elements, it will be completely uninteresting. Why don't you learn from Akiyama's Ballad and try to integrate into this local folk custom?"

Shohei Imamura frowned slightly, somewhat displeased.

He would usually ignore other people's advice, but Gu Ming was a bit of an exception. He was more popular overseas, and the French liked him more.

Suppressing some anger at being rejected, Shohei Imamura countered, "Then what kind of work do you think I should make, Furuya-kun?"

(End of this chapter)