I, Hiroshi Nohara, the star of Japanese cinema

Chapter 72 "The Touch of Horror" filming is completed!
This heartfelt praise made everyone present clearly feel how heavy and precious the recognition from an industry leader was.

When Nohara Hiroshi heard this, the humble smile on his face did not change at all.

He simply bowed slightly again, his voice gentle and sincere, "Director Kurosawa, you flatter me. I just happened to be on the cusp of the times, and was lucky enough to catch on to something that young people like."

He was very humble, without any of the arrogance of a young man who had achieved success.

This calmness and clarity made the admiration in Kurosawa Eiji's eyes even stronger.

"No, this isn't a fluke." Kurosawa Eiji waved his hand. His eyes, having seen countless ups and downs in life, now held a loneliness and honesty that even he himself hadn't noticed. "Nohara-kun, to be honest, I did come here for selfish reasons."

He looked around at the familiar yet unfamiliar faces in the office. Those old subordinates who had worked with him in Taiga dramas and had once been influential figures at Kanto TV, now surrounded this young man like retainers who had found a new master, with a long-lost light in their eyes.

"I have spent my entire life photographing warriors and telling stories of loyalty, righteousness and honor."

Kurosawa Eiji's voice carries the stubbornness and pride of a bygone era craftsman, yet also reveals an unconcealable sense of desolation: "But in the end, I discovered that in this era, no one wants to listen to my old-fashioned stories anymore."

He smiled self-deprecatingly, with a hint of bitterness in his smile:

"My last movie was a complete box office failure. At the TV station, the ancient war drama I wanted to film was also shelved indefinitely by the top management because it didn't meet market expectations. That kid Ming Rihai has been repeatedly nagging the board of directors on my behalf about this."

"Sometimes I wonder if I'm really... old and behind the times."

Kurosawa Eiji's gaze fell on Nohara Hiroshi again. That look was no longer the scrutiny of a senior looking at a junior, but the concentration and desire that a pure seeker had when facing a wise man who had mastered new truths.

"So, I wanted to come to your place and see how you young people actually work. I also wanted to truly learn how those so-called 'urban legends' you mentioned...capture people's hearts."

He said this very frankly, without hiding anything.

A legend standing at the top of the industry could so frankly admit his predicament and humbly seek advice from a young man of his grandson's generation.

This broad-mindedness and magnanimity moved all the veterans of the Kanto faction present.

His eyes were even slightly red.

A feeling of sincere respect also welled up in Nohara Hiroshi's heart.

He looked at the old man in front of him. His well-made suit seemed a little loose due to the erosion of time, making him look a little thin. But his straight spine and eyes, although a little cloudy, were still sharp as an eagle, still exuded the unyielding spirit of a top creator.

A thought, like lightning that cuts through the night sky, instantly illuminates Nohara Hiroshi's mind.

"Director Kurosawa." A brilliant smile suddenly broke out on Nohara Hiroshi's face, a smile that held just the right amount of cunning and sincerity. "If you don't mind, I do have a role that might be... perfect for you to 'learn' from."

"Oh?" Kurosawa Eiji raised his eyebrows and became interested.

"Our film, 'Wonderful Stories of the World,' needs a storyteller who will tell the whole story."

Nohara Hiroshi speaks slowly, yet with a captivating charm: "He's a mysterious man in a black suit and sunglasses. He's both an observer and a guide. At the beginning of each story, he uses a detached tone to introduce the audience to a bizarre and wonderful world; and at the end, with a few concluding remarks, he inspires the audience to reflect deeply on human nature."

"He doesn't need much acting. What he needs is the calmness of someone who has seen a lot, a sharp understanding of the world, and... an aura that can make the audience willing to believe the story he is about to tell just by looking at him. It is not a simple aura."

Nohara Hiroshi looked directly at Kurosawa Eiji without any hesitation.

"I think this role belongs to you."

The office fell into dead silence in an instant.

Everyone was completely shocked by Nohara Hiroshi's bold and almost crazy idea.

Letting a national treasure-level first-class director guest-star as the host of a unit drama? !
This... this is simply unheard of!

Even Kurosawa Eiji himself was slightly stunned, and then, on that face that always had a serious look, he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth, revealing a hint of neither laughter nor tears.

He has been a director all his life, and he really likes to make a cameo appearance in his own movies as a passing passerby or a small-time transparent actor with a few lines.

But this was the first time someone invited him to play a core role throughout the entire play.

And it happened when he was at his lowest point and needed a way out.

He picked up the storyboard of "The Touch of Horror" on the table and started looking through it again.

The novel superpower setting, the thrilling and tense killer plot, and especially the shocking twist at the end that was enough to subvert everything and make everyone applaud...

Just by looking at the picture on the paper, countless ideas emerged in his mind.

This plan will definitely succeed!

and.

It will be a huge success!

For him, being able to participate in such a work that is destined to become a classic, even if it is just as a 'narrator', is an extremely attractive and honorable thing.

"You kid..."

Kurosawa Eiji pointed at Nohara Hiroshi, his sharp eyes flickering with a mixture of laughter and admiration: "You really know how to give an old fellow like me a way out."

He gently put the storyboard down and said in a playful tone, "Okay, I'll take this role. But I have to say in advance that my appearance fee is very high."

"I couldn't ask for more!" A victorious smile bloomed on Nohara Hiroshi's face.

He knew, it worked!

"In that case..."

A gleam flashed in Nohara Hiroshi's eyes, and the decisiveness and efficiency of a decision-maker were once again on full display: "Then let's not delay any further and start filming immediately!"

He turned around and took out several stacks of brand-new manuscript paper and a pen from his desk, moving as fast as the wind.

"I'll write out the host's scripts for the first ten episodes right now. Director Kurosawa, let's try to finish filming all of your scenes this afternoon!"

"what?!"

This decision once again made everyone in the office gasp.

It's already 2:30 in the afternoon. I have to write the script, set up the venue, and adjust the lighting equipment... Even if it's just a simple script-editing shoot, it will take at least three to five hours to complete!

What’s more, it’s ten episodes long!
"Don't worry."

Nohara Hiroshi seemed to see through everyone's doubts. Without even looking up, he wrote, his pen rustling across the paper. "The host's filming location is simple, in a special room. Director Yamamoto, go to the prop room right now and find me a vintage leather sofa, an old-fashioned desk, and a soft-light desk lamp. Section Chief Sato, please coordinate the studio. I need a completely black background and the quietest possible studio."

"As for the script..."

He handed a page he had just written to Kurosawa Eiji. On it was the opening remarks of the first episode. The handwriting was elegant, yet powerful enough to penetrate the paper.

"Just watch it first, I'll take care of the rest right away."

Looking at this young man who was strategizing and arranging everything in an orderly manner while working at high speed like a precision machine, Kurosawa Eiji was completely speechless.

He took the page of manuscript and looked at the words on it. After just one glance, he was deeply attracted by the mysterious and thought-provoking unique charm revealed between the lines.

……

Half an hour later, Tokyo TV, Studio 3.

Eiji Kurosawa changed into a neat black suit, put on a pair of dark sunglasses, and sat quietly on the retro leather sofa.

The soft light from the desk lamp illuminated half of his face with clear outlines, while the other half was perfectly hidden in the darkness, creating a mysterious atmosphere.

Hiroshi Nohara personally took the camera.

Instead of sitting behind the director's monitor, he carried a portable camera and aimed it at Kurosawa Eiji at a tricky and precise angle.

"Director Kurosawa, let's try a take." Nohara Hiroshi's voice came through the intercom, clearly reaching everyone's ears: "Don't look at the camera, just look at the empty darkness in front of you, and recite the lines in the tone you usually use to chat with old friends."

Kurosawa Eiji took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

"Humans are incredible creatures..."

His voice was hoarse and steady, with a sense of vicissitudes of life, as if every word contained an unknown story.

"Crack!"

Nohara Hiroshi decisively called a halt.

"Perfect! That's the feeling!" He put down the camera, his face full of excitement: "Director Kurosawa, you're absolutely right! Let's move on to the next take!" For the next hour, the entire crew witnessed a shoot that could only be described as a miracle.

Hiroshi Nohara finished filming the connecting words for those ten episodes at an incredible speed.

I passed almost every one of them in one go.

The veteran director Eiji Kurosawa has demonstrated an amazing sense of camera and dialogue skills.

Hiroshi Nohara used his almost precognitive camera movements to bring out the old man's charm to the fullest.

When the last shot was completed, thunderous applause broke out in the entire studio.

"so amazing……"

"I've never seen a shoot go by so fast..."

"The combination of Section Chief Nohara and Director Kurosawa is simply divine!"

The veterans of the Guandong faction watched the images replayed on the monitor with eyes filled with almost fanatical admiration.

However, Nohara Hiroshi did not give them much time to feel emotional.

He clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"Okay everyone, warm-up is over." He glanced at his watch and the hour hand pointed to four o'clock in the afternoon.

"Section Chief Sato, Director Yamamoto, are all the actors for the first episode in place?"

"It's... in place!" Kenji Sato and Takeshi Yamamoto replied quickly. They had just come back to their senses from the efficient shooting.

"Very good." A confident smile appeared on Nohara Hiroshi's lips. "Notify everyone to gather in Studio 5 in half an hour. We'll shoot the entire film 'Touch of Terror' today!"

boom!
This decision, like a real atomic bomb, exploded in everyone's mind!

Filming an entire episode of a drama in one afternoon and one night?!

This is no longer crazy, it is challenging the production rules of the entire television industry!
"Section Chief...this...this is impossible, right?"

Even Yamamoto Takeshi, who had always been confident in Nohara Hiroshi, couldn't help but question it at this moment: "We haven't even built the set yet, and we haven't rehearsed the actors' movements..."

"unnecessary."

Hiroshi Nohara interrupted him, handing out the thick stack of storyboards to everyone.

“The setting, the lighting, the camera position, every movement of the actors, every pause in the dialogue, everything is clearly depicted here.”

He looked at the group of veterans who were deeply shocked by his decision. His voice was calm, but it carried a power that brooked no questioning.

"What you have to do is very simple."

“It means giving up all your previous experiences, forgetting all your habits, and from now on, completely and thoroughly, trusting me.”

"Follow my pace. I promise that before eight o'clock tonight, we'll be done for work and go home!"

……

As night falls, the lights are on.

As Tokyo, this huge steel forest, began to show its enchanting and dazzling side, Studio 5 of Tokyo TV was a scene of bustling activity.

"Lighting crew! Lower light number three by another 15 degrees! I want to see a glimmer of struggle on the heroine's face!"

"Camera two! From the bottom up, give me a close-up of the hero's hands! Yes! This is the angle!"

"Xiao Xunhua! Don't be afraid! Imagine that you are really touching that cold malice! Your pupils! Contract a little more! Very good!"

Nohara Hiroshi's voice resounded in every corner of the studio.

He was like a god of war with endless energy, shuttling back and forth on the set and directing all the personnel.

He didn't sit behind the monitor, he was next to the actors, next to the camera, telling everyone what he wanted in the most intuitive way.

The entire crew, from the director to the stagehands, were like clockwork parts, operating with unprecedented efficiency and precision.

They looked at the storyboards in their hands and then at Nohara Hiroshi's on-site scheduling, and a feeling of absurdity and shock arose in their hearts.

Because everything that Hiroshi Nohara requested on the spot was exactly the same as what was drawn in the storyboard!
Exactly!

It was as if they were participating in a performance with a predetermined ending, directed by a prophet who could foresee the future.

Xiao Xunhua, Fujii Itsuki, and the second male lead Watanabe Ryu, the three selected male and female protagonists, were completely impressed.

They had never seen a director like this before.

He will not tell you about some vague feelings. He will tell you directly where your eyes should look, at what angle the corners of your mouth should twitch, and at what second your breathing should become rapid.

This kind of guidance, which is precise to the millimeter, allows these actors, who already have excellent skills, to maximize their potential.

Kurosawa Eiji, who had been standing in the corner, observing all this silently, had a weather-beaten face covered with bottomless shock.

He looked at the young man who was at ease on the set, as if he was in control of everything. An idea popped up uncontrollably from the bottom of his heart.

This young man is not filming a TV series.

He was using an almost miraculous method to replicate a perfect world that had already existed in his mind!

7:50 p.m.

"Okay! Cut! Passed! I declare that the filming of "Touch of Terror" is complete!"

When Nohara Hiroshi's powerful announcement rang out, the entire studio fell into a dead silence at first, and then, a huge cheer that was enough to blow the roof off, as if they had survived a disaster, broke out!
They...really did it!

In less than four hours, they actually finished filming an entire episode of a TV series!
"Editor!"

Nohara Hiroshi ignored the crowd's cheers. He pulled over the editor, who had been waiting nearby, and stuffed reels of still-hot videotapes into his arms. "Follow the shot order I gave you. Put together shots 2, 5, and 8 from camera A and shots 3, 6, and 9 from camera B. Add the sound effects I gave you. Now! Immediately!"

Half an hour later, when the rough cut of the film, which was already full of suspense and horror, was played on the monitor.

Everyone held their breath.

The smooth narrative, the tense rhythm, and the shocking twist at the end that was enough to make everyone's scalp tingle...

This... this is really something they shot in just a few hours?!

"monster……"

Someone was muttering to himself in an almost inaudible voice.

But this word, like a seed, took root and sprouted in the hearts of all the veterans of the Guandong faction.

They looked at the young man who was calmly discussing the details of a shot with Kurosawa Eiji. All the admiration and conviction in their eyes had been sublimated into a kind of absolute fanaticism that was almost like looking up to him!

They knew that from today on, a brand new era belonging to Hiroshi Nohara had officially arrived.

"Work overtime tonight!" Meanwhile, Nohara Hiroshi still wasn't about to let them go. He waved his hand and said, "Music Director! Next, arrange for the music library! Complete the entire soundtrack tonight!"

As he spoke, Nohara Hiroshi looked at the students with fanatical eyes, clenched his fists and said:
"Tomorrow! Send the project plan and the first episode to the review department for approval!"

"Then, continue filming!"

"Hi!" Everyone present stood up straight without any hesitation, bowed slightly to Nohara Hiroshi, and responded loudly.

Because Nohara Hiroshi has conquered them with his abilities.

Conquered everyone!

The strong should be admired, the strong should be respected, and the strong should be supported by everyone.

Nohara Hiroshi is a strong man.

(End of this chapter)