The literary era since 1979

Chapter 297 Everything is ready
"Sakura, Sakura, Sakura, Sakura, Sakura..."

As the Japanese folk song "Sakura" sounded, the banquet became more and more lively, pushing the atmosphere to a climax.

Fangyan brought Yoko Suzuki from the literary world to the film industry, and took the initiative to greet Keiko Matsuzaka and Komaki Kurihara.

"haven't seen you for a long time."

"Long time no see, Fangyan-kun!"

The two women greeted each other in unison.

"You've never been to Japan before, so I haven't had the chance to congratulate you in person."

Keiko Matsuzaka's eyes sparkled. "Now I can finally say, Fangyan-kun, congratulations on winning the Akutagawa Ryunosuke Award."

Kurihara Komaki added: "And the National Book Award."

"Thank you. Cheers."

Fangyan smiled, clinked glasses with them, and drank the wine in one gulp.

After Matsuzaka Keiko finished drinking, she pursed her lips and heard Kurihara Komaki mention her impressions of the movie "That Man, That Mountain, That Dog".

The copy had already been sent to Shochiku Film Company, and a preview was organized within the company. Senior executives, directors, actors and others all watched it. At first glance, this art film seemed a bit tepid.

However, you will appreciate its flavor only when you taste it carefully.

After the movie, it received rave reviews, and even the company president, Shiro Kido, was moved by the father-son relationship in the film.

"So, Shochiku attaches great importance to this movie?"

Dialect looks left and right.

"Of course!"

Keiko Matsuzaka's tone was full of excitement: "This is your work, Fangyan-kun! It is a testimony to the friendly cultural exchanges between China and Japan! And it is an adaptation that won the Akutagawa Ryunosuke Prize! Shochiku has invested 100%, no, 200% of its efforts and energy."

Kurihara Komaki said that the distributor of "The Village Postman" was the vice president, Okuyama Jun, who specially tailored a series of promotional plans for the film, which is extremely rare in Shochiku Company.

Fangyan then asked whether Shiro Kido and Okuyama Jun were also present.

"The vice president is over there."

Keiko Matsuzaka pointed her finger at the middle-aged man who was drinking with Ishikata Yu and others.

He was wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, with a few white hairs in his black hair, and his face looked particularly serious.

"Hello, Mr. Fangyan!"

"Hello."

With the introduction of Kurihara Komaki and others, Fangyan met Okuyama Rong as he wished.

The two of them quickly became closer by talking about movies, and then slowly started chatting.

“The father-son relationship contained in this film is very attractive to me.”

Okuyama Jun praised the film, saying, "But what attracted me most was the technique of expressing emotions and feelings, which was subtle and silent. The estrangement between father and son, the vague emotions between son and girl, and the communication between man and dog, all these emotional threads blended with the surrounding scenery and colors. I have only seen this technique in the works of Akira Kurosawa before."

Fang Yan did not take the credit for himself, but instead gave it to cinematographer Zhang Yimou and art director Huo Jianqi.

Then he asked playfully, "Based on this film, how close do you think they are to Mr. Kurosawa's level?"

"It should be around 5 or 6 points of skill." Aoshan Rong commented.

Fangyan asked: "So, I wonder if an art film like this will be popular in Japan?"

Okuyama Jun nodded firmly and said that Japanese audiences like this kind of thing: the simple folk customs, pure emotions, heartwarming artistic conception, fresh images, healing warmth, and slow narrative rhythm. Although the box office may be slow to heat up, Shochiku is already prepared.

Keiko Matsuzaka watched Fangyan take another glass of wine from the waiter's tray and asked casually:

"What preparations have you made?"

"We plan to combine short-term and long-term plans." Aoshan Rong first talked about the short-term plan.

In the five days before the release of "The Village Postman", intensive publicity activities were launched. Except for the press conference on the first day, the remaining four days were all media interviews specially arranged for Fangyan, at least four per day.

"Four a day?"

Fangyan was stunned.

Wow, even the donkeys in the production team didn’t do this!
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Fangyan. Of course, we will not stand idly by."

Okuyama Rong said that since interviews with NHK, Fuji and other TV stations have been arranged for Fangyan, he will not be allowed to fight alone.

All the actresses signed by Shochiku Film Company, including Keiko Matsuzaka and Komaki Kurihara, took turns partnering with Fangyan, assisting with interviews and cooperating with publicity. That is, they used the fame of Japanese actresses to hype Fangyan and his novels and movies.

"I can't promise you this now."

Dialects cannot be decided arbitrarily. The delegation must be consulted and consent must be obtained.

"I understand, I understand, I can totally understand."

Okuyama Rong smiled knowingly and said that they would also communicate with the visiting delegation and finalize the matter as soon as possible.

"If this is really possible, please take care of me from now on, Fangyan-kun."

Kurihara Komaki bent down slightly with a smile on her face.

Keiko Matsuzaka also did the same, her big eyes smiling, coquettish and charming, the ground was covered with mist and water, and she was full of charm.

Use this to test cadres?

Are you challenging my weakness with this?
Fang Yan raised his eyebrows and continued to listen to the film planning plan formulated by Aoshan Rong.

In order to support the publicity, in addition to the inevitable media promotion, Shochiku also specially printed exquisite promotional brochures.

It will introduce the background of the film's creation, the humanities and geography of the Xiangxi region where the film was shot, and even contacted the China-Japan News Agency to print the script in both Chinese and Japanese.

The design is comprehensive, showing that a lot of effort has been put into it.

When I think of this, although Shochiku is "exploiting" my own labor force, I am very happy being "exploited".

After all, they had been preparing for the release of the film for several months, and they only had to give interviews for five days.

"As for the long term, we have already contacted several theaters that we frequently cooperate with in Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya and other places, and arranged a six-month schedule for "The Village Postman"."

Okuyama Rong said: "Especially in the Iwanami Cinema."

Fangyan asked curiously, "Iwanami Cinema?"

Kurihara Komaki explained that Iwanami Cinema is a famous art cinema in Japan that specializes in showing literary and artistic films.

Previously, he specialized in bookstore business. Later, he was approached by the president of Toho Towa, the largest film company in Japan at that time, and asked Iwanami to open a cinema specifically for the purpose of adopting a slow and steady model and specializing in art films for long-term business.

Although the theater has only more than 100 seats, any movie shown here can be shown in a loop for half a year or a year.

“Are there many cinemas like this in Japan?”

The dialect was a big surprise.

"There are quite a few."

Okuyama said Shochiku is also working with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Not to mention that "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" is one of the first Chinese novels introduced to Japan. Just as a winning work of the Akutagawa Ryunosuke Award, it should be qualified to be included in college and middle school textbooks, so that Japanese students can study and reflect on it carefully!
"That's a really good idea!"

Fangyan narrowed his eyes into slits.

While chatting with them, I was looking forward to the premiere on October 10 more and more.

(End of this chapter)