Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 322 Adding drama to the Earth Tiger
Six hundred million.

In just one week, Shadow Warrior's distribution revenue reached 600 million. Given the current situation of long-term film releases, no one doubted that Shadow Warrior's distribution revenue would eventually reach around 3 billion.

At that time, the distribution income of Gu Ming's scroll of the vengeful spirit was slightly higher than the first week distribution income of Shadow Warrior.

But Gu Ming naturally would not feel discouraged by this.

He invested in "The Picture Scroll of Vengeful Spirits" himself, with some insignificant assistance, and the total investment was no more than 100 million yen for a medium-sized production.

The investment in Shadow Warrior alone reached tens of millions of US dollars, which in Japanese yen would be around 300 to 400 million. It is an absolute blockbuster at the moment.

There is no comparability between medium-cost production and high-cost production. At least if calculated by rate of return, Gu Ming still made a lot of money.

The only thing that amazed Gu Ming was that Kurosawa actually had some box office appeal. Many people went to see the movie because they heard that Kurosawa had returned to the film industry.

"When I have the charisma of Akira Kurosawa, I will be a superstar."

Gu Ming comforted himself in this way.

After all, he couldn't find two foreign fans who were busy arranging tens of millions of dollars of investment for him and took the initiative to find Fox to do overseas distribution.

Gu Ming stopped and looked around.

Sadly, no one recognized him.

His makeup in the play is different from that in his off-screen appearance, especially the beard in the play. Off-screen, he keeps it neatly groomed, so naturally no one recognizes him.

"Nothing interesting."

Gu Ming suddenly took a step forward and stopped a fat otaku who looked easy to bully and would probably cry for a long time if he got punched.

"Excuse me, I'm an investigator from Toho Film Production Company. Have you seen Shadow Warrior?"

The fat man met Gu Ming's eyes, flinched for a moment, and then responded: "Look, I see."

"Can you tell me what you think? Focus on the plot, character development, the protagonist, the shadow warrior or the thief?"

The fat guy scratched his head.

What the hell.

The protagonist, the thief, and the shadow warrior, aren't these three the same person?
The investigator that Toho hired is not professional at all!
Having said that, the fat guy immediately became delighted.

"That's quite impressive. I heard that this was the actor's first time in the film industry. If true, it's incredible. It's hard to describe the depth of his performance. It's like he completely immersed himself in the role of Shadow Warrior."

As he was talking excitedly, the fat guy suddenly took out a business card.

"Actually, I'm a member of the 'Tokyo Movie Viewing Association', and this time I'm planning to participate in a group activity and re-watch Shadow Samurai with a few other members."

Gu Ming couldn't help but exclaim, "Do you want to watch it a second time?"

"Of course. Kurosawa's films have so many details that you can't find unless you re-watch them. It would be so much better if I had a videotape, but the film is still showing and there are no videotapes for sale right now, so I had to go and watch it again. You know, this is a masterpiece, and you wouldn't be a Japanese if you didn't! Whether it's for the film itself or to appreciate the performance of the protagonist and the characters in the play, it's a real pleasure!"

The fat guy talked excitedly, and at the end he handed Gu Ming a business card, inviting him to visit the Tokyo Film Association if he had the chance, and then turned around and left.

Gu Ming looked at the business card and hesitated to speak.

I didn't expect the public evaluation to be unexpectedly high.

"It's a pity that no one can recognize me."

Gu Ming shook his head, with a bit of regret, and took a few quick steps.

It was not until the end of the street that Gu Ming got into the car.

Koizumi glanced back.

"Brother Gu Gu, are you...are you going back to walk it for the fourth time?"

"Then there's no need." Gu Ming looked serious, without any sign of fatigue from walking back and forth to the Shibuya meeting point three or four times this morning.

As the car drove to the office, Gu Ming touched his cheek and suddenly asked, "Koizumi-kun, do you think it would be better if I grew a beard?"

"I think so," Koizumi said. "Whether it will be better or not, I can't say. But people will definitely recognize you as the lead actor."

Gu Mingha smiled.

Otherwise, why grow a beard?

……

……

Drove all the way back to the office.

Except for Tuan Shilang who was participating in the filming of Guiman, almost everyone else was there.

Gu Ming casually threw the statistical report from Toho on the table.

"Shadow Warrior" earned over 600 million yuan in its first week.

The office was in an uproar in an instant.

strong!

With such box office success, the status of the leading actor will naturally rise.

"If this film can win an award, maybe Gugu-ge will become a big shot in the future!"

"That's impossible." Gu Ming spread his hands.

Big Thing's demands are high; a movie isn't much of a stretch. "Anyway, Shadow Warrior is over, and this matter is behind us. Anyone who has work outside right now, please finish it as soon as possible. After Kamen Rider V3 wraps up in April, the agency will be collaborating with Toei on a major tokusatsu TV series!"

“There are quite a few characters in it!”

"We need at least five suit actors!"

“There must be five main actors!”

"Toei has already reserved the first lead role, and the remaining positions are at our disposal!"

Swipe and pull.

More than a dozen pairs of eyes looked at Gu Ming.

Those who were called by Gu Ming today were all from the contracted agency, but those who were cooperating with him were not called by Gu Ming.

It can be seen that this is definitely their opportunity.

Gu Ming had already made some calculations.

Originally, the five protagonists in Armor Hero corresponded to the five elements, but this time there will be some slight modifications.

Although Japan also has the concept of the five elements and five directions, compared to the five elements, Gu Ming has a more suitable surname.

Konoe, Kujo, Takashi, Nijo, Ichijo, and Fujiwara.

The five characters are
Flame Dragon Armor, Guardian Flame.

Wind Eagle Armor, Kujo Nagi.

Earth tiger armor, eagle rules the earth.

Black Rhino Armor, Nijo Nagisa.

Snow leopard armor, a king kong.

And the Emperor Armor, Fujiwara Yang.

While retaining the five attributes, the original location was changed to the Five-She Family.

Toei has already booked Flame Dragon and Wind Eagle Armor as the main characters, and this cannot be changed. After all, Toei has its own actors to promote.

Gu Ming could only arrange the subsequent characters as secondary protagonists. For this role, Gu Ming set it as the Earth Tiger Armor.

The character that was originally given away for topping up your phone bill will be epically enhanced this time, becoming the second male lead with a lot of screen time and serving as the representative of Kansai.

Gu Ming recalled the settings of several characters in the original work and began to name them.

"Moriji Koji, you are the Black Rhino Armor."

"Yes!"

As the stricter and sometimes less likable character in the team, it is indeed appropriate to choose someone with a fierce and serious face. Akira Moritsugu's square face is just right.

Although he is always mistaken for an old man, he actually doesn't look that old even with makeup on. It's mainly because he was born in Hokkaido and doesn't care much about dressing up.

"Tuan Shilang is still busy filming Guiman, but he's almost done. When he comes back, give him the Snow Leopard Armor."

This character will be black first and white later, and his face must be presentable.

Even though Tuan Shilang is always ridiculed as a mixed-race person, only a mixed-race person like him can be more handsome than others in terms of appearance.

Gu Ming really wanted to go to Taiwan to look for Fei Xiang or Zun Long. However, considering the situation at Toei, Gu Ming decided to wait until the theatrical version.

Manatsu Ryu was waiting in the back, jumping up and down with anxiety.

Mine, mine!

Brother Gugu, am I not your favorite child?
Gu Ming looked around and pretended to pause before speaking.

"Oh, yes, there's also Earth Tiger Armor. This character is quite important. In the plot, he's a Kansai native, born in Kyoto, and has a unique kind of arrogance. He often competes with Flame Dragon Armor, and when Flame Dragon is not around, he's the second-in-command of the team. Oh, such an important role isn't something most people can play."

Manatsu Ryu: Me, me, me! I'm not an ordinary person!

Gu Ming paused for a long time, seeing that he was really anxious, and then called on him: "Long, this role is for you. Do you have the confidence to play it well?"

Manatsu Ryu secretly thanked God.

A happy group!
"Brother Gu Gu, don't worry, I will definitely play this role well!"

Gu Ming nodded slightly.

The original Dihu Kaijia was also a character with a green face, so it was more appropriate to let Zhen Xialong play it, not to mention that Gu Ming also added more scenes to this role.

"As for Xiangyang... we have someone ready. It's summer vacation when we start filming, so we can find a kid to shoot most of the scenes in one go."

Gu Ming actually wants to find a female Xiangyang.

But unfortunately, Japan is a country where male chauvinism is quite prevalent, and unless under special circumstances, there is no future for female films.

In the movie "Sailor Suit and Machine Gun" starring Hiroko Yakushimaru, four macho men were used to set the mood. Strictly speaking, the audience for this kind of movie is still male.

People go to the cinema just to see the youthful and invincible beautiful girls in sailor uniforms!

If a female Xiangyang is not available, then a male Xiangyang can only be found. Coincidentally, Gu Ming knew a kid.

Oh! Little Koji Yano, who lives in Osaka, must really want to continue acting!

(End of this chapter)