Reborn in the Chinese Entertainment Industry: You're a Director, But You're a Casanova?

The cold wind slapped haphazardly against my face.

Takahashi stood there, watching the lighting technician climb up his car without any hesitation to install reflectors, and felt as if his... well, you were being... done to him.

His chest heaved violently with anger, his mind filled with humiliation, rage, and resentment.

He took out his phone, walked to a dark corner beside the mountain path, and dialed a number.

Takahashi gritted his teeth, a malicious glint in his eyes.

"Brother, it's me. These Chinese people are too arrogant."

"Yes, Mount Akina. Bring your brothers over tonight and block the road. I'll make sure they can't get a single car out."

Not far away, Liu Yuehua slightly raised his head, glanced in the direction where Takahashi was making the call, and gave a cold smile.

They want to close the mountain? Great!

I was just worried about not having an excuse to ask the local authorities for subsidies.

Now I don't even need to write scripts for scamming people.

……

Entrance to the main road of Mount Akina.

The production crew's coordination vehicle and props vehicle were blocked by three bread trucks parked across the middle of the road.

A dozen or so Japanese yakuza members, each carrying a baseball bat, were sitting arrogantly in the car, smoking.

Leading the pack was Takahashi, who had lost the car race.

He demanded that the production crew pay 500 million yen per day for road safety, otherwise any vehicles or equipment could be damaged.

The production manager, sweating profusely, was holding the phone, preparing to call Huanya headquarters to request instructions on accounting procedures.

500 million yen is less than 40 yuan, which is not a large sum of money in a Hong Kong-funded enterprise worth tens of millions.

The production manager's idea was to pay to avoid trouble and delay the schedule.

Meanwhile, he was also grumbling to himself, "You weren't willing to pay the 200 million yuan stunt fee before, but now they've turned their backs and raised it to 500 million yuan. You mainland kid really know how to cause trouble."

"Hang up the phone."

Liu Yuehua snatched the production manager's phone, his tone icy.

"The production budget is meant to provide extra meals and perks for the crew, how can we give money to these thugs?"

"Once this door is opened, other local yakuza and environmental organizations will swarm in like cockroaches tomorrow."

In construction site management, compromise is the beginning of financial loss of control.

The production manager was in a panic.

"Director Liu, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. The Japanese Yakuza are legal, and even the police might not be able to do anything about it."

"If we miss a day of filming, our equipment rental and personnel expenses will amount to millions of Hong Kong dollars."

"You've lived in mainland China, you don't understand."

"This is a common occurrence in Hong Kong. Everyone is just trying to make a living, so we compromise with each other."

"Who told you I was going to call the police?" Liu Yuehua turned to look at Tang Yan.

"Drive back to the hotel and call Jay Chou."

"Also, bring the publicity and marketing plan that the public relations team prepared beforehand. We'll go to Gunma to find the relevant local authorities."

……

10:00 AM, Gunma Prefectural Tourism Bureau, Director's Office.

Faced with the sudden arrival of the film crew, Director Yamamoto wore a bureaucratic, fake smile and dodged the question.

This indicates that local governments have no right to interfere in civil disputes, implying that they are unwilling to get involved in issues such as biker gangs and motorcyclists.

The absolute rule for local bureaucrats in Japan is to avoid making mistakes rather than seeking merit.

Liu Yuehua was well aware of these social rules. He didn't mention calling the police, but instead handed over the promotional plan for "Initial D".

"Yamamoto... Chief Yamamoto, I'm not here to report a crime, I'm here to deliver results to you."

Liu Yuehua looked at Jay Chou, who was standing next to him, looking cool and silent.

"Who is this? You should recognize him, right?"

"The highest-selling pop king in all of Asia, whose album audience covers 200 to 300 million young people in East and Southeast Asia."

"The Initial D movie we're currently filming in Mount Akina is a top Asian IP for next summer's release."

"Once the movie is released, Mount Akina will no longer be an ordinary mountain road; it will become a sacred pilgrimage destination for young people all over Asia."

Director Yamamoto is still pretending to be stupid.

"Pilgrimage to sacred sites, that's just a term used in your film and television industry."

"Let me give you a breakdown of the numbers," Liu Yuehua began, using data to support his argument.

"In 95, the movie 'Love Letter' was released, saving Otaru City's tourism industry from bankruptcy."

"According to our marketing projections, Initial D will bring at least 5 million overseas tourists to Gunma Prefecture within 500 years of its release."

"Based on an average expenditure of 5 yen per person on accommodation, food, and related expenses, this represents a super GDP increase of 2500 billion yen."

Liu Yuehua stared at Yamamoto.

"A 2500 billion yuan economic stimulus is enough to help you go even further in your future upward trajectory."

"You don't want to close off your own path to advancement just because a few street thugs are demanding protection money, do you?"

Liu Yuehua hit the nail on the head regarding the weaknesses of Japanese bureaucrats.

Driven by performance and career advancement, he escalated a public security dispute into a matter that undermines the local revitalization strategy.

Yamamoto broke out in a cold sweat. In Japan, while the Yakuza are legal, they are illegal if they hinder local development.

Liu Yuehua provided the final straw.

"In addition, the music video for Jay Chou's new album's title track, 'Seven Mile Fragrance,' is also planned to be filmed in Gunma Prefecture."

"If the investment environment in Gunma Prefecture is this bad, we'll withdraw our investment tonight. We'll move the filming location to another prefecture, and I believe the tourism bureau there would be more than happy to send police cars to clear the way for us."

"Please wait a moment, Director Liu, this is a misunderstanding." Director Yamamoto suddenly stood up and bowed 90 degrees.

"I'm sure you'll be shocked, damn it! Gunma Prefecture will not tolerate any criminal acts that disrupt cultural exchange."

At noon that day, on the road to Akina Mountain, Takahashi was still dreaming of collecting protection money.

Five police cars painted with Gunma Prefectural Police's logo sped up.

Fully armed police ignored all explanations and directly charged the dozen or so bikers with serious crimes of obstructing local economic development and organized extortion, pinning them to the ground and impounding their vehicles.

Not only were the yakuza organizations wiped out, but in order to appease this multinational film crew that could bring in 2500 billion yen in GDP, Director Yamamoto even used a special fund to provide the crew with a local cultural promotion subsidy of 10 yen per day and promised to implement all-weather traffic control during filming.

Liu Yuehua, without blushing, naturally pocketed the initial subsidy of 100 million yen.

Not embezzling public funds is the bottom line in China, but foreign subsidies obtained through one's own abilities and deception are considered legitimate labor remuneration.

"Attention all departments, clear the mountain roads, film crew, get moving!"

Liu Yuehua glanced at the time and began to exploit the resources.

"Also, notify the lighting and photography teams to bring those two cameras and lenses over."

"We didn't have many scenes to film during the day; we were helping Jay Chou shoot the music video for 'Seven Mile Fragrance'."

At that time, the production cost of a top-notch music video was at least between one and two million NT dollars, not including expensive film supplies and lighting rentals.

Liu Yuehua had a clever plan.

Since the venue is free, the daily rental costs of equipment (tens of thousands of yuan) for the film crew are sunk costs. Why not just use these top-notch film equipment and professional teams for free and shoot a music video on the side?

"Director Liu, the female lead originally planned for the music video was also supposed to star in Initial D."

"But after she lost her role in Initial D, she rescheduled for other slots."

"We're preparing to start filming now, but we don't have a suitable female lead," Jay Chou's manager, Yang Junrong, said with a troubled expression.

"Who said there isn't? It's right here." Liu Yuehua raised his chin and pointed to Liu Yifei, who was looking at the script on the side.