Traveling through the Tokyo bubble era

Chapter 716 Visiting the Set of Need for Speed

January 29th.

The Sundance Film Festival concluded in Park City, Utah.

At the closing ceremony of the film festival, "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" produced by Yunshang Pictures won the Audience Award in the feature film category.

Steven Soderbergh's name became known in the independent film industry for the first time.

Of course, winning awards alone does not reflect the attention the film received at the Sundance Film Festival.

Hideki Hanyu arrived in Park City that day.

After he checked into the hotel, Ito Shinsuke, who attended the entire film festival from beginning to end, couldn't wait to share with him what he saw and gained at the film festival.

Among them, the movie "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" was mentioned countless times.

It has to be said that Steven Soderbergh's debut work, which was at its peak, was indeed very much liked by Shinsuke Ito.

And it's not just Shinsuke Ito who likes this movie. The film also received very good reviews from the media and critics.

At this time, the Sundance Film Festival came to an end, and Yunshang Pictures continued to go to the film festival to build its reputation as planned with "Sex, Lies, and Videotape".

The next most important stop, of course, is the Cannes Film Festival, where "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" became famous in the previous life.

But that time is not until May, so for the time being we can only do word-of-mouth marketing.

After all, such a niche movie would hardly achieve good commercial results if it doesn’t gain good reputation.

In the cabin of the "Clouds" returning to the West Coast from Utah, Shinsuke Ito, who was still lingering over the film festival that had just ended, asked Hideki Hanyu curiously.

“Hanyu-san, why did you decide to invest in Soderbergh’s film?”

"He is a junior of one of my partners. I just helped him out, but I didn't expect he would give me a surprise."

Hanyu Hideki answered in a calm tone.

"Sex, Lies, and Videotape" has a very good reputation, and it will definitely bring considerable honor to the producer Yunshang Pictures, and then make a small profit through marketing.

But for Hideki Hanyu now, that's all.

He has too many things to care about recently, so it is difficult for a movie to stay in his mind for too long.

Take America for example, he just received the news that the Elf Engine that came with the Elf Scepter development end has completed all tests and officially completed the research and development work.

The birth of the world's first 3D game engine has brought electronic games into the 3D era, taking an important step forward.

The successful test of this engine also means that the PS console developed by Elf Entertainment and the graphics processing chip developed by Shenling Vision have completed the relevant supporting tests.

The launch of the second-generation PS console has also entered the final countdown stage.

Compared to the next-generation console that will revolutionize the entire video game market, what is a movie?

As for the European part, Hideki Hanyu is also working hard to compile the future development strategy of the Lamborghini Automobile Group to guide the Lamborghini Automobile Group into the next stage of comprehensive development.

Even when he went to Hua Xia for investment inspection again next month, he asked Wendelin Wiedeking to prepare accompanying personnel.

Since we know that the mainland will be an important market, we naturally need to cultivate it in advance.

Last time, Hideki Hanyu went to the country for inspection with a $200 million investment plan.

This time, the industries and funds covered by the investment will far exceed those before.

Since we have mentioned the country, we have to talk about Hong Kong.

After acquiring shares in Yulang International last year, we found evidence and now it is time to close the net.

After all, he invested in Yulang International not really to help Huang Yulang solve the crisis.

Let’s turn our attention back to neon.

With the end of the Showa nuclear era and the announcement of the Heisei era, although Emperor Akihito will not be crowned until next year, this does not prevent Japan from entering a new era.

The most direct manifestation is that the Rikuruto bribery case, which was temporarily suppressed due to self-discipline, has been reopened for investigation and is once again being discussed by the public.

And Hideki Hanyu's layout has also entered the most critical stage.

Massive amounts of funds were either hidden in predetermined plans or withdrawn from overseas and flowed into newly established cornerstone banks.

As for other plans, they are also being implemented steadily.

In all of this, Hideki Hanyu was hiding behind the scenes.

He planned everything calmly, like the best hunter in the world.

"Are you planning to stay in America from now on, Hanyu-san?"

It was Shinsuke Ito asking Hideki Hanyu again.

Hanyu Hideki stopped writing the development strategy of Lamborghini Automobile Group and shook his head. "I will stay in Los Angeles for a day to visit a film crew, and then I will leave for China for business inspection."

Shinsuke Ito is not interested in Hideki Hanyu's business trip to China.

Instead, after hearing that Hanyu Hideki was going to visit the crew, he curiously asked, "Hanyu-san is going to visit the crew, what crew is it?"

Hanyu Hideki said, "It's an action commercial film that I co-invested with a European car company."

"Promoting cars through movies?" said Shinsuke Ito.

Shinsuke Ito is also a veteran in the film industry and is familiar with all kinds of routines. Therefore, as soon as Hanyu Hideki finished speaking, he guessed the purpose of the movie.

"That's right." Hanyu Hideki nodded.

This movie is related to the future development of Lamborghini, so Hideki Hanyu naturally attaches great importance to it.

So this time when I went to Los Angeles, in addition to discussing work with the CEO of Yunshang Pictures, I also planned to visit the crew in person.

Thinking of this, Hanyu Hideki said to Ito Shinsuke, "Mr. Ito can go with me when the time comes. Art films can only be considered a niche in Hollywood. The real core of Hollywood is actually commercial films under the film industry system."

"No problem, it's a deal." Ito Shinsuke readily agreed.

On the same day, the 'Clouds' arrived in Los Angeles.

Hideki Hanyu and Christiana Yeri move into a beachfront mansion in Malibu.

This night, Christiana Yeri was particularly enthusiastic.

Because tomorrow morning she will say goodbye to Hideki Hanyu and return to France.

Of course, no matter how passionate Christiana Yeri is, with the current scumbag's strength, he can easily kill the beauty in seconds.

After a night of love, it was time for the next day.

Hideki Hanyu first sent Christiana Yeri to the airport to board the plane, and then arrived at World City Cloud Pictures to chat about work with CEO Alan Horn.

Speaking of which, although he got several of the movies released by Yunshang Pictures this year by relying on his memory, such as "Midnight Passion" and "Leap of Innocence".

But there are also many projects that were initiated by Yunshang Pictures when it was operating independently.

Just like Yunshang Entertainment in the past, Hideki Hanyu started out by bringing the company in, but the company eventually learned to walk on its own under his letting go.

Of course, competition in Hollywood is fierce, and Hanyu Hideki will not sit idly by and let it go. For example, when he came to see Alan Horn today, he found a few familiar scripts and book adaptation rights from his memory and asked Alan Horn to get them.

After chatting with Alan Horn for a whole morning, Hideki Hanyu met up with Shinsuke Ito who had been waiting for a long time and set off towards a film set in West Hollywood.

A closed road with real scenery is the filming site of the movie "Need for Speed".

As soon as Hanyu Hideki and others approached, they saw violent flames on the road in the distance, followed by explosions.

"It looks like they're filming an explosion scene," said Shinsuke Ito.

"Just go and take a look and you'll know." Hanyu Hideki said as he led everyone forward.

Then they found that what they were filming was indeed an explosion scene, but it was not just an explosion scene, it also included road racing, car chases, gun battles, action scenes and so on.

When the boss Hideki Hanyu came to visit the set, the producer was naturally the first to greet him.

"Sir, I will now introduce the main creative staff to you."

After hearing the producer's words and looking at the crew filming, Hanyu Hideki waved his hand and said, "Don't disturb the crew's filming because of me. Just take me to the set."

Since the boss had spoken, the producer naturally didn't dare to force it, and could only take Hideki Hanyu to watch it on the set.

At the same time, he also introduced the content of the movie to Hideki Hanyu.

In fact, it was mainly introduced to Ito Shinsuke and Okada Nana. After all, Hanyu Hideki knew this project very well.

As a commercial film created to promote cars, the story of the movie is actually very simple.

The story of a biker gang member in America who was full of justice and was betrayed by the boss while working for him, but he eventually proved his innocence and achieved revenge.

Although it is an action movie, the main scenes are basically based on car racing.

It can be regarded as a personal heroic version of "Fast and Furious".

The film is directed by John McTiernan, the director of "Die Hard".

Apart from the director, the most important person in a movie is of course the leading actor.

This movie is a typical man's play. The only female character with a relatively important role is also a typical vase in Hollywood commercial films.

Hanyu Hideo did not inquire about this role, and Yunshang Pictures finally chose to cooperate with the well-known "Elite Model Agency" in the industry.

The candidate recommended by Elite Model Agency was a model they had just signed and was promoting.

Linda Evangelista.

(Photo by Yi Wan Jie)
This model, along with Claudia Schiffer, the Snow Queen who once had a friendly match with Hideki Hanyu, was one of the "BIG 5" supermodels in the s.

Among the "BIG 5" supermodels, Linda Evangelista has another nickname, "Sister Ten Thousand".

It is claimed that if she is not paid $10,000 a day, she should not be asked to work.

From the beginning to the end, this woman did not hide her love of luxury and pursuit of wealth.

It can be said that the supermodel era in the 1990s, which represented "high salary", was opened by Linda Evangelista.

Of course, no matter how great Linda Evangelista will be in the future, she is just a little-known model now.

When Hideki Hanyu saw the other party at this time, Linda Evangelista did not have the arrogance of a big star after becoming famous. Instead, she was in a disheveled state while filming an escape scene with the male lead.

As for the male protagonist, he is also an acquaintance.

Jean-Claude Van Damme.

In the action movie era of the 1980s and 1990s, he was a fairly famous action star, but only compared to the first-line action stars like Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Bruce Willis, and Mel Gibson.

In terms of both popularity and commercial performance, Jean-Claude Van Damme pales in comparison.

He has been in the industry for many years, but only last year did he make a fortune in Hollywood with the movie "Bloodspot", which grossed 30 million U.S. dollars.

What Jean-Claude Van Damme is best known for in China in later generations is probably the splits advertisement he shot for Volvo Trucks.

(Advertisement Photo)

In fact, the original intention of Yunshang Pictures and Lamborghini's marketing and publicity departments was not Jean-Claude Van Damme, but Mel Gibson, who established his tough guy style with "Lethal Weapon".

But after some contact, Yunshang Pictures finally gave up.

Because they found that although Mel Gibson met the requirements of the movie in terms of fame and image, his personality was too bad.

When discussing his salary, this guy asked for eight million plus a five percent share of the box office.

If it's just about remuneration, Yunshang Pictures is willing to negotiate.

After all, they ask for a high price but pay it back on the spot. Hollywood is also a business place and there is nothing that cannot be negotiated.

But the problem is that in addition to the salary, Mel Gibson actually asked the producers to provide him with a lot of additional services.

For example, luxury RVs, luxury hotels for filming, and various catering requirements.

He even asked the crew to pay the salaries of a twelve-person service team for him.

What's even more outrageous is that after learning that the film's investor had a Lamborghini, he also wanted to get an endorsement contract for the investor's car that appeared in the film.

Due to the outrageous demands, Yunshang Pictures didn't even bother to discuss the salary and simply gave up on contacting Mel Gibson.

Then, Jean-Claude Van Damme became famous with "Blood Spot" and came into the sight of the production crew. After some contact, they found that Jean-Claude Van Damme was much more reliable than Mel Gibson.

The salary is three million US dollars, and there are no other additional requirements besides some normal crew benefits.

As for another important character in the movie, the leading villain is played by Dolph Lundgren.

This was also a second-tier action star in the 1980s and 1990s.

He had just starred in the movie version of "Masters of the Universe" as He-Man, but it did not cause much response. In the 1990s, he also played major supporting roles in some action movies.

The person who introduced him to Hollywood was Sylvester Stallone, so when Stallone later organized the movie "The Expendables", he also invited Dolph Lundgren to participate.

However, in front of Hideki Hanyu at this time, there were only Jean-Claude Van Damme and Linda Evangelista. The two male and female protagonists were fleeing in front of the camera.

What's rare is not the car racing scene, but the chase scene before the car racing scene. On the surface, the two people look quite embarrassed, and there are explosions created by pyrotechnics from time to time.

In this case, you must strictly follow the movements set by the crew, otherwise you will easily be injured by the explosion.

Hideki Hanyu watched the filming for a while and found that the person directing the scene was not director John McTiernan, but a young man wearing a cowboy hat.

So he curiously asked the producer, "Where is director John McTiernan?"

"Director John is filming the villain's literary scenes on another set."

The producer said, pointing to the young man wearing a cowboy hat next to him.

"All the scenes here today are directed by the assistant director. Although he was a commercial and music video director before, he is very good at shooting racing and explosion scenes. This is why Director John recommended him to be the assistant director."

At this point, the producer remembered that he had not yet introduced the name of the assistant director to Hanyu Hideki, so he hurriedly said.

"Sir, his name is Michael Bay."

(End of this chapter)