National Tide 1980.

Chapter 1027 Second Bombing
If the mental shock that the first decision just brought to Akira Okamoto and Mitsuru Watanabe is basically equivalent to a mortar shell that can unplug the machine gun.

Then the second decision is said by Keiko Matsumoto, and its power is equivalent to pulling out a pack of explosives in a bunker.

"Ah! Is Matsumoto-san going to invest in making movies by himself? Isn't this too risky?"

This time, it was Man Watanabe who took the lead in expressing doubts and intending to object.

The starting point of his disapproval is purely worrying about investment risks, after all, making movies costs money.

Although Keiko Matsumoto is a successful film actress, it is true, and she has extremely high talent in acting and enviable appearance conditions.

But it is another matter for her to control, shoot, and operate a movie with her own personal ability.

That is a more complex and larger project, requiring a highly professional team.

Watanabe is obviously not optimistic about Keiko Matsumoto making such a decision, and feels that the existing conditions of the firm are obviously insufficient.

Regardless of experience and talent are shortcomings, and financial capacity is even more insufficient, if you try your best, you will fail in all likelihood.

"Although I understand your urgent need for work. But now the audience's tastes are becoming more and more difficult to grasp. This year, the business conditions of Toho, Toei and Shochiku Films are all not ideal. In the first few years, small Studios also go bankrupt from time to time. Even Mifune Studios, which has a lot of background and can bring together many famous directors and famous actors, and competes with the big studios for the limelight, has collapsed. What if the box office Not ideal, if your investment cannot be recovered, then...then..."

Watanabe Mitsuru originally wanted to mention the loan that Matsumoto Keiko made with the villa.

But suddenly realizing that Ning Weimin was present, he still held his tongue in time.

He is a well-established man with great professionalism.

Just because the two are only discussing marriage at present, he is still not sure whether Ning Weimin has a complete grasp of Keiko Matsumoto's financial situation.

Naturally, it is time to keep financial secrets for the proprietor.

But unlike him, Keiko Matsumoto's idea of ​​investing in movies made Akira Okamoto very excited.

As Akira Okamoto complained privately with Mitsuru Watanabe just today, there is a big difference in their work.

What Akira Okamoto valued most was not money gain or loss, and it was not the lack of money that made him want to quit.

But Keiko Matsumoto had no chance to participate in the show, so she had no hope of turning the tables and had no future.

Now Keiko Matsumoto wants to invest in filming by himself, which undoubtedly has new hope for him.

As long as Matsumoto Keiko can continue to release works, he can maintain his fame, and if he is famous, he still has a chance.

Well, if possible, Akira Okamoto doesn't want to bear the infamy of abandoning his old master for the sake of being alone, and face the guilt in his heart.

At this time, I was naturally moved.

So instead he supported Matsumoto Keiko and took the initiative to do Watanabe Mitsuru's ideological work.

"No, I think it's worth trying. After all, Matsumoto-san is in such a difficult situation now, deeply involved in public opinion turmoil, abandoned by advertisers, and abandoned by TV stations. In addition, some people deliberately target. Not to mention the outside world I’m afraid that in the future, Matsumoto-san will not be able to get a chance to perform in Shochiku Films in line with his status as a movie queen. Then why don’t we give it a go and give it a try? At least there are some impressive performances Possibility, no matter for Matsumoto-san or for us, no matter how bad it is, it is much better than doing nothing and waiting for nothing. Right?"

"Watanabe-san, I know what you are worried about. Yes, the film market is becoming more and more competitive. But you have to think about it, we also have our own advantages. There is no doubt about Matsumoto-san's acting skills and personal charm. ?Even if the popularity has dropped and suffered a major blow, there are still many audiences who are willing to spend money to buy tickets to enter the theater because of her. And to shoot a movie, the salary and equipment are the big ones. If these two aspects can be resolved by human favor , The production cost has been reduced by at least half. Among other things, Matsumoto-san’s salary can offset a large part of the investment cost, which greatly reduces the risk.”

"Also, after all, we still have connections with Shochiku Dachang. With Matsumoto-san's face, Shochiku's theaters will arrange a screening time for us, and they should give us good conditions. In terms of production, renting equipment is not a problem, right? Costumes, props, etc. can also be handled in the same way - as many makeup artists and props artists are needed. It is much easier to invite experienced directors to guide, and to partner with famous actors. Even if there is no overall operation The experience of the film, after all, we can still invite experienced people to assist, and we will not be as flustered and helpless as a real layman."

"In my opinion, if we shoot the urban love scene that Matsumoto-san is best at, the risk is actually close to zero. The production cost of the film is [-] million yen, which is enough. The promotional funds can spend tens of millions of yen, and the box office As long as it reaches [-] million yen, the cost will be almost recovered. This goal is actually not very difficult for Matsumoto-san. Which of the movies she participated in has a box office of less than [-] million yen?"

"After that, we can still make money by selling video tapes for rent, renting out video tapes, and selling overseas copies. Those are all pure profits. How can we lose money? Conversely, the benefits we can get from it may be harder than Matsumoto-san One year, we get much more. If the film can maintain a certain level, the box office can reach more than [-] million box office like most of Matsumoto-san's films. We will win the lottery and make a lot of money."

"I might as well say frankly that in fact, we can shoot movies according to this safe model in the future. Not too many, even two such movies a year are enough for us. The cycle is short, the investment is small, and the risk is high. Low. It’s not a problem to make [-] million yen a year. At that time, Matsumoto-san will become the absolute queen of urban love. What kind of big river drama, period drama, social theme, so what if we don’t shoot it? We don't care."

"Sometimes when I think about it, we really had a hard time in the past. Matsumoto-san has already won enough awards and is famous enough. Why should we continue to go around for those so-called honors?" Please, wrong us? Since Matsumoto-san is willing to invest in movies, why not be our own boss? Mr. Watanabe, doesn’t this relieve your worries?”

In this way, the more Akira Okamoto talked, the more excited he was, the more excited he was, the more satisfied he was, the more successful he was.

To be honest, even he himself was surprised today. After thinking about it carefully, he seemed to realize that Keiko Matsumoto invested in his own film, the probability of success and the return of profits are very high.

And after his detailed explanation, Watanabe Mitsuru also had to admit that it seemed to be the case.

In fact, as long as Matsumoto Keiko no longer entangles in those vain things, she is willing to give up the so-called artistic pursuit.

As long as she is willing to do what the audience likes and make love movies that the public loves, they can really get a lot of benefits.

To put it bluntly, in fact, Akira Okamoto's method is to use all the existing resources of Keiko Matsumoto to find bad money in the easiest way.

As long as the audience is still eager to see Matsumoto-san's demeanor on the screen, it is really like running to the bank with a sack to pick up money, and casually satisfying the staff of the firm.

Even if she does this, she will definitely overdraw all of Keiko Matsumoto's potential, and her acting career will be capped.

But in this situation, the lesser of two evils.

It's much better than her being burdened with a scandal of being framed and defamed, staying away from the screen without a penny, and closing the office quietly.

It can be regarded as a no-way solution, a way out of nowhere.

For this reason, Watanabe Man couldn't help changing his initial attitude, and looked at Matsumoto Keiko with expectant eyes.

"Matsumoto-san? Do you think so too? Okamoto-kun's words... do you agree? Or... let's try this method?"

Unexpectedly, just when the mood of the two right-hand men improved rapidly and they seemed to see the dawn of hope.

From Keiko Matsumoto, the feedback he got was negative.

"Ah, I'm sorry, you seem to have made a mistake. I actually plan to shoot a big-budget movie with an investment of about one billion yen. The theme has almost been settled. It is a biographical movie that can reflect the characteristics of wartime history. Not long ago, I just won the approval of Ms. Yamaguchi Yoshiko, a member of the National Assembly, and spent 700 million yen to buy the right to adapt "My First Half of My Life-Li Xianglan Biography" written by Representative Yamaguchi. I will play her when she was young , and put her legendary life on the screen. That is to say, during the war, under the name of Li Xianglan, she became popular throughout China, and the story of this female star is well known."

"Ten...billion yen?"

"Matsumoto-san! Are you serious?"

After finishing this speech, Akira Okamoto and Mitsuru Watanabe almost spoke in unison, showing shock at the same time.

Afterwards, the two quickly fell into depression and bowed their heads in silence.

For nothing else, this number is really astonishing.

One billion yen, equivalent to a huge sum of 700 million U.S. dollars.

In this era, even Hollywood in the United States should not be underestimated, and it can be regarded as a relatively large production.

You must know that the production cost of "ET Alien", which smashed the global box office in 1982, was only about 1000 million US dollars.

And if this huge sum of money is filmed in Japan, it is almost difficult to recover the cost, unless a film can be made into the top five box office of the year.

Needless to say, for Keiko Matsumoto, who has no production experience, this is almost an impossible task, barring a miracle.

However, the two of them could also feel Keiko Matsumoto's persistence and earnestness, and decided that this matter might be irreversible.

After all, 700 million yen has been spent, so buying the copyright of an autobiography with such a large amount of money is definitely not for shelving.

Besides, the Japanese are a bit different, they don't just buy copyrights if they are willing to spend money.

Especially for the authors of literary and artistic works, copyright transactions are not only about money, but also about the qualifications of the other party and the idea of ​​adapting their works.

"Why buy this copyright?", "How do you plan to adapt it?" and other questions, the author needs to figure it out.

Only when the author feels that you agree with his ideas, he will release this copyright to you.

Otherwise, if the original author is unwilling to sell, even if the publishing house is willing to sell, there is no way.

Therefore, since Matsumoto Keiko bought the right to adapt the memoirs of Yoshiko Yamaguchi, it means that her sincerity must be recognized by the author.

If there are no substantive plans and measures, how can it be possible to get the determination?

"Matsumoto-san? Excuse me, what are you thinking? It's too hasty for you to use such a large sum of money to make a movie without hesitation? If you fail and you can't recover the cost, you can regret it It's too late! Besides, you know the actual situation of the firm. The financial situation is not enough to support such a large shooting plan. It is too risky to shoot such a movie. We cannot bear the result of failure. Could it be that you wanted to make this film because Chairman Ning is from Huaxia?"

"That's right. It's not that we have to object. But this matter seems too unrealistic. Matsumoto-san, this kind of movie involves a special historical era, which requires special props and costumes in every aspect, and spends everywhere. Money. And there are many actors, it is absolutely impossible to only shoot in the studio, and it is inevitable to go out on location, or even go to other places, into the mountains, and block roads and parks. Please think about it seriously? Don’t Impulsive! You won’t be angry because of NHK TV’s breach of contract, and you will always be brooding about it, so you insist on shooting such a movie with a historical theme to prove yourself?”

Watanabe Mitsuru and Okamoto Akira each pondered in their hearts for a while, and then couldn't bear to speak out again.

Because in their hearts, this move is obviously a bad move.

They really couldn't sit idly by and let Matsumoto Keiko step by step into the abyss and fall into the cliff.

At this time, they even looked at Ning Weimin a little differently.

Whether it's pure anger or suspicion that Ning Weimin didn't play a good role in it.

Anyway, they all blame him, and feel that he should bear a lot of responsibility for this.

I have to say that they didn't think wrong about this, and their intuition was very keen.

This matter is what Ning Weimin tried his best to promote.

Not only was he the one who gave Keiko Matsumoto the idea, but he also got Li Xianglan's contact number by taking advantage of the opportunity to meet Yoshiko Yamaguchi at the opening ceremony of the Ginza Tan Palace.

This was the only way to reconnect with the other party during the holidays, bring Matsumoto Keiko to visit, and negotiate a copyright deal with him.

It's just that Ning Weimin is not as pessimistic as Okamoto Akira and Watanabe Man, he really has his own reasons.

It was a decision made after careful consideration.

It was even more shrewd than Akira Okamoto's calculation just now, thinking that there was no possibility of losing money at all, so he took Matsumoto Keiko to do it together.

So at this time, seeing Matsumoto Keiko facing the accusations and doubts of the two subordinates, it was a bit difficult to deal with it.

Moreover, those two people still showed a grudge to him, and he didn't want to sit and watch Matsumoto Keiko in trouble.

Simply go overboard and explain it yourself.

"I almost understand the confusion of you two. Frankly speaking, your suggestions just now are very pragmatic, and I actually agree with some of them, which shows that you are really thinking about Qingzi and this firm. I am not afraid to tell you, In fact, I really want to do what you said. But the problem is, if we don’t have any risks, but we have enough ability and strength to make better movies. More artistic, and more audience base , you don’t have to worry about the cost at all, but you can get rid of the shame, get a double harvest in terms of artistry and money, and make those who laughed at Qingzi too late to regret, and they themselves become a joke. Then why not?”

"What? Ningsang, are you joking?"

"Impossible! How dare you say that there is no risk for such a large investment?"

However, facing Akira Okamoto and Mitsuru Watanabe who were yelling at Qiqi and furious, Ning Weimin calmed them down immediately with just a few words.

Started to refresh my views on this matter again.

"Of course, because you have overlooked one thing. Not only do I have sufficient funds, but I also come from China. Let me tell you responsibly, all the funds for the film are covered by me, and I will solve it. And this film , will also be produced in the form of a Sino-Japanese co-production. In order to restore the real history and pursue a sense of reality. Not only will we go to China to shoot locations, but we will also use a large number of famous actors from mainland China to participate in the performance, and it will also be released in China. So please be a little Confidence is good, this kind of film that reflects on the war and promotes Sino-Japanese friendship will naturally attract the attention and expectations of fans of the two countries, and will receive great assistance from China, and it will be easy to win awards."

(End of this chapter)