I, Hiroshi Nohara, the star of Japanese cinema

Chapter 71 Kurosawa Eiji's Arrival

The afternoon sun quietly filtered through the blinds, casting zebra stripes on the smooth floor.

As a first-level director of the production department, Kurosawa Eiji also has his own classroom in the production department headquarters, but his independent office is outside, so when he appeared in the director's classroom, the entire floor seemed to be quiet for a moment.

After all, he is too famous.

Therefore, wherever Kurosawa Eiji passed by, whether it was the assistant staff who were busy working or the directors passing by with coffee, they all quickly stopped, bowed respectfully at a 90-degree angle, and greeted him respectfully: "Director Kurosawa, good afternoon!"

"Yeah." He just nodded slightly as a response.

Not much emotion could be seen on that weather-beaten face, but the sharpness in his eyes was enough to make anyone feel nervous.

His eyes swept across the office area that was temporarily requisitioned as the 'Nohara Classroom', and his brows frowned slightly.

There are many people here.

Almost noisy.

But when he looked around, he found that most of the people present were old faces from Kanto TV, people from the Kanto faction he was familiar with.

"Sato, Yamamoto." Kurosawa Eiji stopped and looked at the two people who came to greet him. "What's going on here? When did the people from the Kanto faction come together so unitedly in a small place like this? Are you planning a Yamato drama?"

The Yamato drama he mentioned is an annual historical drama produced by the Neon Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK).

It is famous for its huge investment, grand scenes and excellent production.

It is the pinnacle of television dramas, and usually requires the mobilization of resources from the entire faction to complete.

Sato Kenji and Yamamoto Takeshi, who were called out, looked at each other, with a complex expression of bitter smile and admiration on their faces.

Kenji Sato stepped forward, his tone filled with suppressed excitement: "Director Kurosawa, you misunderstood. We are preparing for Section Chief Nohara's unit drama."

"Unit drama?" Kurosawa Eiji raised his eyebrows even higher, and a sharp glint flashed in his slightly cloudy eyes.

Of course he knows what a unit drama is.

Each episode is an independent story, creativity is king and rhythm is paramount.

This kind of gameplay is completely different from the grand narrative he is good at, which takes dozens of minutes to unfold the fate of characters and depict the trends of the times.

"Yes, Director Kurosawa," Yamamoto Takeshi spoke up at this point. His face, always as sharp as a hawk, now held a touch of student-like reverence. "Section Chief Nohara's concept has completely surpassed our imagination. He's incorporated a brand-new concept he's dubbed 'urban tales' into this live-action drama. Only after seeing his proposal did we truly understand what... genius means."

genius.

Coming from the mouth of a talented executive director like Yamamoto Takeshi, who has always been high-minded and only values ​​ability, these words carry more weight than any ratings report.

Kurosawa Eiji's eyes swept back and forth between the two faces of Sato Kenji and Yamamoto Takeshi, which were full of satisfaction.

He knew these two people too well.

When he was at Kanto TV, these two people were the backbone of his team that he was quite optimistic about.

One is good at coordination, the other is good at execution. Both are capable and proud guys.

But now, these two middle-aged men, who are almost a hundred years old in total, used the honorific title of Section Chief when referring to the young man who was only twenty-three years old.

The awe and submission that came from the heart did not seem fake at all.

This made the already strong curiosity in Kurosawa Eiji's heart completely ferment into a desire that was almost like exploring.

What kind of young man could make these two unruly Guandong tigers bow down to him?

"Take me to see it." Kurosawa Eiji's voice was not loud, but it carried a kind of authority that brooked no argument. "Don't make any noise. I just want to... take a quick look."

"Hi!"

Sato and Yamamoto looked at each other and saw the understanding in each other's eyes.

They stood on the left and right, like two loyal guards, pushing aside the waves of people that led to the door to the new world for the former king.

No one dared to be rude to Kurosawa Eiji.

All the artists present knew his identity.

So they all made way.

They arrived at the door of the separate room that served as the section chief's office.

The door was ajar, not closed tightly, as if a gap was left intentionally to invite people to peek into the secret.

Kurosawa Eiji's gaze passed through the gap and looked inside.

"Ok?"

Then he was stunned.

He envisioned many possibilities.

Perhaps, the young man is making phone calls with great enthusiasm; or perhaps, he is struggling with a pile of complicated reports and budgets.

But he had never expected the scene before him.

The room was very quiet, with only the rustling sound of the pen tip moving across the paper, like spring silkworms tirelessly gnawing on mulberry leaves.

The young man hailed as a 'genius' by everyone was now sitting quietly at the table.

He didn't check the report, didn't make a phone call, and didn't even look up.

He was just painting.

Sunlight streamed obliquely through the window beside him, outlining a soft yet resolute profile of his focused profile. His hands were steady, moving so fast they left afterimages.

The smooth lines, precise composition, and storyboards full of visual impact seemed not to have been created by him, but to have already existed in his mind. All he had to do was write them out.

Next to him was a pile of completed drawings, piled up like a small mountain. The thickness was enough to make any veteran cartoonist ashamed.

"...This!" Kurosawa Eiji's pupils suddenly shrank.

Of course he knew that Hiroshi Nohara was a cartoonist, and he himself had several cartoonist friends.

But he had never seen anyone who could complete this kind of storyboard creation that required tremendous effort with such amazing speed and such a smooth flow.

This is no longer a simple painting.

This is like using a pen to construct a complete, vivid visual world full of light, shadow, sound and color!
"Director Kurosawa."

Sato Kenji's voice sounded respectfully at this time.

He hadn't known when, but he had already handed the storyboard for "Touch of Terror," which he had read countless times, to Kurosawa Eiji as if it were a rare treasure. "Please take a look! This is the drawing that Section Chief Nohara prepared a while ago. I think it's very professional."

"Well, let me see." Kurosawa Eiji withdrew his gaze from the crack in the door and fell on the thin pieces of paper.

Start looking through it.

Then, in an instant, all the calmness and prudence in his eyes were completely replaced by an even stronger emotion of shock!

He saw it!

He saw the close-up of the heroine when she touched the murder weapon for the first time - the camera slowly moved from her fingertips to her eyes, and her pupils shrank sharply in an instant, expressing her inner fear and horror vividly.

He saw the key scene before the truth was revealed - half of the handsome face of the second male lead was always shrouded in an indispellable shadow. It was a textbook-level camera language that used light and shadow to imply the duality of the character.

He even noticed that next to each line, there were concise words indicating the actor's micro-expression at the moment - whether it was "an unconscious twitching of the corners of the mouth" or "a barely perceptible flash of pleasure in the eyes."

This...how can this be called a storyboard?!
This is clearly a photography bible that has been translated into visual language, accurate to every breath!
"Oh my God!" Kurosawa Eiji's hands began to tremble slightly uncontrollably.

He looked up at Yamamoto Takeshi, his weather-beaten face filled with unprecedented shock. "As long as... as long as you shoot according to this, even a beginner who just graduated from school can produce a decent work!"

"More than decent."

A bitter yet incredibly proud smile crossed Yamamoto's face. "Director Kurosawa, to be honest, what we do every day is to do everything we can to recreate Section Chief Nohara's drawings in reality... exactly as they were. We're not creating anything; we're just... a group of reasonably skilled craftsmen, recreating a flawless work of art that had already been designed."

His words made everyone around him nod in agreement.

It is a kind of awe and submission that comes from the heart after witnessing a true genius.

In this almost pilgrimage-like silence, the rustling sound of pens in the room stopped.

Nohara Hiroshi put down the pen in his hand and gently placed the latest completed page of the drawing on the top of the hill.

He stretched out his body, loosened his stiff neck, and made a few crisp sounds with his joints.

"call--"

"Finally finished!"

Nohara Hiroshi let out a long breath.

The memories of his past life were like an inexhaustible treasure trove, allowing him to complete these creations, which others thought required painstaking efforts, in a way that was almost like cheating.

In just a few days, the stories of the first six episodes of the first season had all taken shape under his pen.

As long as the actors are in place, he is confident that he can finish filming them all within a week!
He picked up the tea that had already gone cold on the table and was about to moisten his throat, but when he turned around he was stunned.

There were several figures standing at the door, and in an instant he saw the old man standing in the front, who was looking at him with an extremely complicated expression, a mixture of shock and admiration.

"Director Kurosawa!"

Information about this industry leader instantly flashed through Nohara Hiroshi's mind.

After all, we just met in Ming Ri Hai’s office this morning.

He almost subconsciously put down his teacup, walked over quickly, and made a standard 90-degree bow in front of the old man. His posture was humble, without any arrogance caused by his current success.

"I'm so sorry, Senior! I was so focused that I didn't notice you coming. I apologize!"

In Japan, a country that attaches great importance to etiquette and seniority, his attitude is impeccable.

However, to everyone's surprise, Kurosawa Eiji did not respond as usual, but simply nodded slightly.

He actually stretched out his hands, which were covered with age spots but still strong, and firmly held Nohara Hiroshi's arms, gently lifting up his bent waist.

"Do not."

Kurosawa Eiji looked at the handsome face that seemed too young before him, and at the eyes that remained clear and calm even when facing him, a smile of emotion appeared on his face:

"The one who should be blamed for being rude is me, the old fellow who came uninvited."

He paused, and in his eyes, which had seen countless ups and downs in the world, there flashed an unprecedented light.

Kurosawa Eiji handed the first volume's sketch to Yamamoto Tsuyoshi behind him, then patted Nohara Hiroshi's shoulder heavily. His voice was hoarse, yet it carried a great weight:

"Nohara-kun."

"You really are...young and promising."

(End of this chapter)