Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 624 The overseas rights have been sold; the deal is done.

1985 October.

The Tokyo International Film Festival has officially opened.

As this was the first international film festival, it had not yet gained international recognition, so the awards in the main competition section could not be called 'Grand Prize', but were simply referred to as 'Sakura Awards'.

The main competition is divided into the Sakura Award, the Jury Grand Prize, the Best Director Award, and the Memorial Award.

In addition to the main competition section, there is an overseas section and a separate short film section.

The first film festival invited filmmakers from more than 30 countries, including South Korea, Thailand, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as filmmakers from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Due to both internal and external unforeseen circumstances, the first International Film Festival ultimately did not extend any invitation to mainland China during the week, nor did it receive any film submissions.

Gu Ming speculated that the reason why the first film festival did not invite Germany, or either East or West Germany, was probably due to some kind of taboo by the Japanese, just as they ultimately failed to successfully invite mainland filmmakers.

The first chairman of the jury was David Putnam, born in 1941. He was British, had been nominated for an Oscar four times, and won an Oscar once. Now he was middle-aged and full of energy.

The jury also includes many filmmakers from Japan and abroad, including Chow Man-wai, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Shohei Imamura, who recently won a major award at Cannes.

—The Tokyo International Film Festival was missing a Frenchman named Adrian compared to the original one, but it gained Gu Ming.

The opening ceremony was not complicated. The chairman of the jury made a few simple remarks before the film exhibition and screening began.

Backstage at the theater, Shohei Imamura saw Akira Tani, clicked his tongue, and suddenly stood up.

"I think I'll go watch the movie."

After finishing his speech, he walked away.

Gu Ming was quite helpless.

It seems that winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes wasn't for nothing; Shohei Imamura insisted on making that terrible film about a brothel.

Last time, Gu Ming tried to persuade him, but Imamura Shohei not only didn't listen, but probably also felt that Gu Ming was getting in the way.

"If you can't stop me, then don't. I'm just your friend, not your father."

Gu Ming's gaze wandered, finally settling on another person.

This man was quite old, with the air of an old-fashioned scholar. He wore thick-rimmed glasses and didn't have much hair.

Gu Ming recognized at a glance that this was the head of Jiahe Company.

Zhou Wenhuai.

Since he wasn't filming in Hong Kong, there was no need to rush to beg for favors. However, Gu Ming still went up to greet the veteran filmmakers out of respect.

To be fair, Zhou Wenhuai's abilities and status are still worthy of respect.

"You must be Mr. Zhou Wenhuai. I never expected that we would have the opportunity to meet here."

Zhou Wenhuai crossed his hands in front of his knees. He was initially a little confused when he saw Gu Ming, the person who greeted him, but after adjusting his glasses and looking closely, he recognized Gu Ming's face.

"It turns out it was Akira Furuya in person. A-Long often mentioned you to us."

Zhou Wenhuai leaned closer, feigning intimacy: "Your last film, 'Wheels on Meals,' was really well made, and the new technology was eye-opening. I wonder when we'll have the chance to see you and Ah Long work together again."

"I really hope I can have such an opportunity."

However, it's highly unlikely that they'll have that opportunity. Given their current level, unless it's to repay a favor, they won't be filming with other actors of the same caliber very often.

Gu Ming bowed slightly: "My affairs are nothing to mention, they are all trivial matters. But your departure from Shaw Brothers back then and the establishment of your own business was truly a remarkable feat."

Zhou Wenhuai smiled but did not respond, though he was indeed somewhat pleased with himself.

This is indeed one of the honors of his life. A former Shaw Brothers employee who left to found Golden Harvest, he has now become a force to be reckoned with, rivaling Shaw Brothers. He certainly has every right to be proud!

Since he was going to be a judge anyway, and it was in Japan, Zhou Wenhuai didn't mind giving him plenty of face.

He immediately stood up and extended his hand to invite Gu Ming.

"Sitting here is pointless, why don't we go watch a movie?"

“Sure, please!” Gu Ming casually mentioned his film: “I have a few friends who just co-starred in a short film. It’s not very long, only about ten minutes. Why don’t we go check it out together?”

"please!"

The two went into the nearest theater, where the short film was played repeatedly. People came and went, and although there was no dubbing or subtitles, since it was a gunfight short film, subtitles were not really needed.

When the two entered, the short film had just ended, and several viewers who looked like they were of South Asian descent got up and left, muttering to themselves.

"It's not very good! I don't understand it!" "I think it's great."

"It's so chaotic, it's making my eyes dizzy."

Zhou Wenhuai glanced at the group.

Although South Asian English is even more difficult to understand than Japanese English, there are many Indians working in Hong Kong, so he can understand it.

It sounds like this film has received mixed reviews.

Zhou Wenhuai sat down, leaning on his cane, and began watching the film.

The short film begins with an over-the-shoulder shot, clearly showing the profile of Zhen Xialong, revealing him to be a man with strong, resolute features.

He braved the rain to return home, only to find his house in disarray.

As they went upstairs, they discovered that their home had been occupied by robbers and that their wife had been killed by the gang.

Enraged, he grabbed two guns and launched a fierce attack on the robbers.

The scene then shifts to the massacre of the entire gang. Finally, he goes to the bathroom to wash the blood off his face, where the real Xia Long's face is finally revealed through the mirror.

Zhou Wenhuai took off his glasses and wiped the corner of his eye.

He now understood why the three third brothers had given such different evaluations.

The story is fairly standard; Hong Kong has produced many works featuring bloody revenge. However, the filming technique is quite novel, as it uses an over-the-shoulder perspective.

In addition, the action choreography in the gunfights is very clean and crisp, which is different from the current style in Hong Kong where people just blindly shoot with their eyes closed while holding a submachine gun. It is much more concise and efficient. There are also scenes in the film where Zhenxia Long changes magazines several times.

"That's interesting," Zhou Wenhuai said honestly. "The filming techniques are very fresh; I've never seen anything like it before. The action choreographer is skilled, and the gunfights are quite convincing, especially that middle section."

Zhou Wenhuai couldn't explain it clearly.

He was referring to a scene at the end of the film where Manatsu Ryu and the gang leader, Niyamoto Tatsumi, have a brief fight. The two fight with guns, and Manatsu Ryu eventually seizes an opportunity to shoot him dead.

This uses techniques from 'gun-fu', employing a pistol as a close-quarters combat weapon, resulting in sharp and visually appealing movements. While it has no practical value, it's certainly entertaining.

Zhou Wenhuai pondered for a long time before looking at Gu Ming.

"Could I meet with the director and action choreographer?"

Gu Ming bowed slightly: "Of course, no problem, they're right here."

Gu Ming sent someone to run and inform them. Before long, Takeshi Kitano and the others arrived at the theater.

They certainly didn't know Zhou Wenhuai, but Gu Ming had specifically told them that he was a film tycoon.

Zhou Wenhuai scrutinized Kitano Takeshi from head to toe.

He looks fierce! He doesn't look like a good person at all!

Chow Man-wai cut to the chase: "The film was sold to Golden Harvest in Hong Kong."

Kitano Takeshi, of course, couldn't understand, but Gu Ming understood instantly.

"You want to remake it?"

"I think it's interesting, but we have to bring back the original action choreographer, and the people have to be from Hong Kong."

"Oh my, Erjiaben, you've gone to sea!" Gu Ming exclaimed, but refused to agree to the condition.

'Why not just use the original cast, lead actors, director, and action choreographer?'

Zhou Wenhuai suddenly yawned, squinted his eyes, and fell silent.

Gu Ming couldn't help but mutter a curse to himself.

As expected, none of the older players at this age are easy to fool.

A film company that can rival Shaw Brothers, and such a big boss, is certainly not someone who will back down with just a few words.

Gu Ming simply settled for second best.

"The Killing Master can be lent out, and Hong Kong can film it if they want, but in Japan, they still have to bring the original cast and crew to film it, and we only sell the remake rights."

Zhou Wenhuai then opened his eyes.

make a deal!

(End of this chapter)