Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 201: Arrangement of the Grand Scene

The director of the first episode of the Japanese version of Journey to the West is Yusuke Watanabe.

He was originally a director at Toho and later went to Toei. He has rich experience and good skills.

Now that Gu Ming had stopped him, Watanabe Yusuke was silent for a moment and said, "Then how do you want to shoot it?"

"This scene is the highlight. It would be a shame to skim over it. It requires a lot of people, a huge army. We need smoke, smoke cakes or dry ice to create the atmosphere of the celestial palace, which is shrouded in smoke and clouds."

"Besides that, we need more costumes and props. The people we have now are not enough. This is the Heavenly Palace. Do we only have a dozen soldiers?"

The original treatment of the Japanese version of Journey to the West was very simple. After discovering that he was a low-ranking official, Sun Wukong decided to make trouble in the Heavenly Palace, but the way he made trouble was to smash a few tables and fight with Zhu Bajie outside the South Heaven Gate, and he did not win.

Winning or not is another matter, but Gu Ming thinks that this scene must be grand!
Now, after listening to Gu Mingfen's words, Watanabe Yusuke fell into deep thought.

"Doesn't that mean we can't shoot this scene today?"

"Yes, at least until tomorrow."

"In this case……"

Watanabe Yusuke made the decision in just a moment.

Then shoot!
An investment of 40 million yen must be made!

"Let's shoot other scenes today and move this scene to tomorrow."

Watanabe Yusuke quickly looked through the script book and found that the next scene was more suitable for an interior scene, where Sun Wukong was knocked down by the Buddha.

The Japanese version calls Tathagata Sakyamuni Sakyamuni, and the actor is called Takamine Mitsuko, who is also a female actress playing the male Tathagata. The Jade Emperor is called Tiandi, which is a different name.

"Oh right, since we're going to film this scene, we have to have the Emperor of Heaven. If we want the Emperor of Heaven, we have to choose someone new."

Watanabe Yusuke looked at Gu Ming and suddenly his eyes lit up: "Hey, Gu Gujun, you look so majestic, why don't you become the Emperor of Heaven?"

"I'm the Jade Emperor? Is that true?"

Gu Ming waved his hands desperately.

Oh, that won’t work. How can an action actor like him play the Jade Emperor?
Who put this costume on him?

Why is there suddenly a wig on my head!

Why did he sit down?
I don’t want to act, I really can’t act!

Just tell me, how come I, an actor, suddenly ended up playing the Jade Emperor in the Japanese version of Journey to the West?

"I'm just going to sit here for a while, right?"

Gu Ming sat upright on the throne and in just a moment, he immersed himself in the role.

At this moment, he is the Jade Emperor!
The shots in this part create several special pillars, which are actually the fingers of Tathagata. Sakai Masaaki will speak nonsense here and then be suppressed by Tathagata with his butt facing outwards.

As for the fighting scenes, we will have to wait until tomorrow to purchase enough supplies and make the necessary costumes before we can start filming.

……

……

The next day, at the Tangzhaoti Temple.

"Hey, the Emperor of Heaven is here!"

"God!"

"Why don't you say thank you, Brother Tiandi?"

Gu Ming walked through the crowd without looking around.

There's nothing we can do about it, this is how we Tiandi players are.

"Everything we need has been purchased. The dry ice has been taken out, but I'm not quite sure what the smoke cakes you mentioned are. The costumes are also ready, and they can accommodate over a hundred people!"

The stagehand looked at Gu Ming, feeling both excited and concerned. "Can you manage a scene with over a hundred people?"

"That depends on your skills."

Gu Ming quickly went through the situation in his mind and had a rough idea in mind.

When it comes to group battles in the history of film and television, one of the most classic scenes that cannot be avoided is the one in The Matrix where the savior Neo fights against a large group of Agent Smiths.

But that scene in The Matrix wasn't the first one; it was created by Yuen Woo-ping before that. Such a strong coordination is impossible without a full team, and Gu Ming can't do it yet. But after some time of adjustment, Gu Ming estimates that he can still manage a small team of dozens of people.

At that time, an effect of being surrounded will be created, with more than a dozen people fighting inside and more than a dozen people circling outside. In short, we must move to make the scene lively.

While he was busy, Gu Ming saw a man rushing over and breaking into the temple.

"It's you! Xiongba!"

Shinichi Chiba rushed over from the other side of the set and was sweating profusely.

Gu Gu Ming was so shameless that he took advantage of his absence to rebel and almost snatched away the right to execute the killing formation!

Gu Ming chuckled, not caring at all: "I say, why don't you continue to be busy with the filming task over there, and let me continue to work here."

"Are you kidding me? We were supposed to be directing the killing formation for this episode! How could you suddenly snatch it away from us?"

As the founder of the JAC Club, if his subordinates are bullied, he will stand up!

Gu Ming originally had a smile on his face, but at this moment, he immediately became serious. With one hand, he grabbed two Su Zhen sticks, and he took one in each hand and twisted them into a twist.

"Mr. Chiba Shinichi, why don't we have a kendo competition?"

Chiba Shinichi stepped back in an instant and protected everyone in JAC in front of him.

"Don't worry, even though I've done the work for you, I won't rob you of the money for the killing array."

Chiba Shinichi couldn't help feeling depressed.

Is this about the cost of killing array?
This is a question of whether or not you can use this opportunity to become famous!
Seeing that he was still hesitating, Gu Ming simply grabbed another vibrator.

Yagyu Sosami was heartbroken watching from outside.

Big brother, stop pinching me! I only brought a few sets of vibrators with me, and you ruined them all!
Chiba Shinichi hurriedly raised his hand.

"Alright! Let's settle it then!"

This person is unreasonable!

……

……

Although Shinichi Chiba gave up this position, he did not leave, but stayed outside the field to observe.

Gu Ming no longer paid attention to him, but discussed the shooting plan with Watanabe Yusuke first, and then began to make arrangements and gave instructions to the actors one by one.

"First, practice your positioning briefly before you start filming. All of you, aim for this circle on his back and circle around it. Yes, circle around like this, holding your weapons."

"Look at the circle on his back, a dozen of you. Go around it in the opposite direction, this way!"

"Don't you understand? There's an arrow on the ground!"

Gu Ming felt a little disappointed with his friend.

Arrows have been posted in places that the camera cannot reach, so the actors just need to follow the circles.

Seeing Gu Ming carefully sticking the circle, Chiba Shinichi couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

This practice is not widespread at present, but has only been standardized within Hollywood.

That is, use stickers to mark the actors' movements and standing positions on the ground in advance to assist in filming.

Of course, this is seen as a deceptive act by real actors.

But it is crucial for the scheduling and shooting of such large scenes.

"Then, it's you."

Gu Ming looked at the people from the Extreme Action Agency he brought with him.

"You guys are the main force, and Manatsu Ryu will be the stunt double. Everything should be done according to yesterday's rehearsal! Got it?"

"Yes!"

There were responses one after another.

Chiba Shinichi sat on the sidelines, his eyes wide open, trying to find some clues from the deployment.

(End of this chapter)