National Tide 1980

If the first decision just now brought a mental shock to Akira Okamoto and Mitsuru Watanabe, it was basically equivalent to a mortar shell that can pull out the machine gun position. [.\\nCOM Situ’s updated chapters are the most complete and comprehensive, and error-free content is repaired in the most timely manner. Due to caching reasons, browser access is recommended.\\nCOM official website]

Then the second decision comes from the mouth of Matsumoto Keiko, and its power is equivalent to enough explosives to pull out a bunker.

"Ah! Matsumoto-san, are you going to invest your own money in making movies? Isn't this too risky?"

This time it was Mitsuru Watanabe who was the first to express doubts and intend to oppose.

The reason why he didn't agree was purely because of concerns about investment risks. After all, making movies costs money.

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

But it's another matter for her to control, shoot, and operate a movie with her own personal abilities.

It was a more complex and larger project that required a highly professional team.

Mitsuru Watanabe is obviously not optimistic about Matsumoto Keiko's decision, and feels that the current conditions of the firm are obviously insufficient.

Both experience and talent are shortcomings, and financial capabilities are even more insufficient. If you try your best, you will most likely end up in trouble.

"Although I understand your urgent need for work. But now the taste of the audience is becoming more and more difficult to grasp. This year, the operating conditions of Toho, Toei and Shochiku Pictures are not ideal. In the first few years, the Studio closures also happen from time to time. Even Mifune Studios, which has a lot of background and can bring together many famous directors and famous actors to compete with the major 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 Matsumoto Keiko’s loan from the villa.

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

He is a mature and prudent man and is extremely professional.

Based on the fact that the two were only discussing marriage, he was not sure whether Ning Weimin fully understood Matsumoto Keiko's financial situation.

Naturally, financial secrets should be kept for the proprietor.

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

Just like Okamoto Akira and Watanabe Mitsuru complained privately today, there is a big difference in their work.

What matters most to Akira Okamoto is not financial gains and losses, nor is it the lack of money that makes him want to quit.

But since Keiko Matsumoto had no chance to participate in the show, there was no hope of a comeback and no future.

Now Matsumoto Keiko wants to invest in making movies by himself, which undoubtedly gives him new hope.

As long as Matsumoto Keiko can continue to release works, she can maintain her fame. As long as she is famous, she will still have opportunities.

So if possible, Okamoto Akira doesn't want to face the guilt in his heart just to be alone and bear the infamy of abandoning his old master.

At this time, I was naturally very moved.

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

"No, I think it's worth a try. After all, Matsumoto-san is in such a difficult situation now. He is deeply involved in public opinion, abandoned by advertisers, and abandoned by TV stations. In addition, some people are deliberately targeting him. Don't talk about the outside world. , I am afraid that it is not very likely that Matsumoto-san will get a performance opportunity within Shochiku Pictures that matches his status as an actress in the future. So why don’t we give it a try and give it a try? At least there will be something that will impress people. Possibility, for both Matsumoto-san and us, no matter how bad it is, it is much better than doing nothing and waiting in vain. Right?"

"Watanabe-kun, I know what you are worried about. Yes, the film market is becoming more and more competitive. But you also have to think about it, we also have our own advantages. There is no doubt about Matsumoto-san's acting skills and personal charm. Right? Even if her popularity has declined and she has suffered a major blow, there are still many viewers who are willing to spend money to buy tickets and enter the theater for her. And when shooting a movie, the salary and equipment are huge. If these two aspects can be solved with favors At least half of the production cost has been reduced. 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 the Shochiku major factory. With Matsumoto-san's reputation, the Shochiku theater chain will arrange a release time for us, so we should be able to provide good conditions. In terms of production, renting equipment is not a problem, right? And The same goes for costumes, props, etc. - there are as many makeup artists and prop artists as you need. It will be much easier to hire an experienced and famous director to guide you, and to partner with a famous actor. Even if there is a lack of overall coordination With the experience of the film, after all, we can still ask for the help of experienced people, so we won’t be as confused and helpless as real amateurs.”

"From my point of view, 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 200 million yen, which is enough. Tens of millions more yen can be spent on publicity and box office. As long as it reaches 400 million yen, the cost will be almost recovered. This goal is actually not very difficult for Matsumoto-san. Which of the movies she has participated in has a box office lower than 500 million yen?"

"Then, we can also make money by selling and renting video tapes, and selling overseas copies. Those are all pure profits. How can we lose money? On the other hand, the benefits we can get from it are probably harder than Matsumoto-san In one year, we will get much more. If the film can maintain a certain level and the box office can reach more than 700 million like most of Matsumoto-san's films, we will hit the jackpot and make a lot of money."

"I might as well say frankly that we can actually shoot movies according to this safe model in the future. No more, even two such movies a year will be enough for us. The cycle is short, the investment is small, and the risks are Low. It won’t be a problem to make 500 million yen a year once it’s done. By then, Matsumoto-san will become the absolute queen of urban love. What about a big river drama, a period drama, a social theme, so what if we don’t film it? We don’t care.”

"Sometimes 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? To please and wrong ourselves? Since Matsumoto-san is willing to invest in movies, why not be our own bosses? Watanabe-kun, doesn't this relieve your worries?"

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

To be honest, even he was surprised today. After thinking about it carefully, he seemed to realize that Matsumoto Keiko invested in her own movie, and the probability of success and the profit in return were very high.

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

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

As long as she is willing to do what the audience wants and make love movies that the public loves to watch, they can really reap big benefits.

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

As long as the audience is still eager to see Matsumoto-san's grace on the screen, they can really just use a sack to go to the bank to pick up money, and casually feed and drink everyone in the office.

Although doing this will definitely overdraw all of Keiko Matsumoto's potential and cap her acting career.

But in this situation, it was the lesser of two evils.

It would be much better than for her to be saddled with a scandal of false accusations and defamation, stay penniless and quietly stay away from the screen, and quietly close her office.

It can be regarded as a last resort, a way out of nowhere.

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

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

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

The feedback received from Matsumoto Keiko 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 decided. It is a biographical movie that can reflect the historical characteristics of wartime. Not long ago, I was approved by Congresswoman Yoshiko Yamaguchi and spent 7 million yen to buy the rights to adapt "My First Half of Life - The Biography of Lee Hyang-ran" written by Representative Yamaguchi. I will play the role of a young woman. She put her legendary life on the screen. During the war, she became famous throughout China under the name Li Xianglan, and everyone knows the story of this female star."

"Ten...billion yen?"

"Matsumoto-san! Are you serious?"

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

Then, the two of them quickly fell into depression and bowed their heads in silence.

If nothing else, this number is simply astonishing.

One billion yen is equivalent to a huge sum of seven million US dollars.

In this era, even Hollywood in the United States cannot be underestimated. It is considered a relatively large production.

You must know that the production cost of "ET", which destroyed the global box office in 1982, was only about US$10 million.

And if this huge amount of money is used to shoot in Japan, it will be almost difficult to recover the cost, unless a movie can be made that can reach the top five at the annual box office.

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

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

After all, seven million yen has been spent. Such a large amount of money to buy the copyright of an autobiography is definitely not just to let it go.

Besides, the Japanese are a little different. They don’t just have to spend money to buy copyrights.

Especially for authors of literary and artistic works, copyright transactions do not only focus on money, but also on the qualifications of the other party and the concept of adapting their works.

Authors need to understand questions such as "Why do you want to buy this copyright?" and "How do you plan to adapt it?"

Only when the author feels that your ideas are consistent with his, will he release the copyright to you.

Otherwise, if the original author is unwilling to sell it, even if the publisher is willing to sell it, there is nothing they can do.

Therefore, since Matsumoto Keiko bought the right to adapt Yamaguchi Yoshiko's memoirs, it means that her sincerity must have been recognized by the author.

If there are no substantive plans and measures, how can it be possible to achieve determination just by relying on certainty?

"Matsumoto-san? I'm sorry, but what do you think? It's too careless for you to use such a large sum of money to make a movie without hesitation? If it fails and you can't recover the cost, you will regret it. It's too late! Besides, you also know the actual situation of the office. The financial situation is not enough to support such a large-scale shooting plan. It is too risky to really shoot such a movie. We cannot bear the result of failure. Could it be that you wanted to film this movie because President Ning is from China?"

"That's right. It's not that we have to object. But this thing seems too unrealistic. Matsumoto-san, a movie like this involves a special historical era, and all aspects require special props and costumes, and everything has to be spent. Money. And there are many actors involved. It is absolutely impossible to just shoot in a studio. It is inevitable to go out on location. It is even inevitable to go to other places, into mountains, and to close roads and parks. Please think about it seriously, right? Never do it. How impulsive! You can't be angry about NHK TV's breach of contract, and why do you insist on making such a historical movie to prove yourself?"

Mitsuru Watanabe and Akira Okamoto each thought about it in their minds for a while, and then they couldn't bear to give advice.

Because in their minds, this move was obviously a bad move.

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

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

Whether it was simply to vent his anger or to suspect that Ning Weimin had no role in it.

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

I have to say that they were not wrong about this, and their intuition was very keen.

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

Not only was he the one who gave Matsumoto Keiko the idea, but it was also the opportunity for him to get acquainted with Yamaguchi Yoshiko at the opening ceremony of Ginza Danguchi that he obtained Li Xianglan's personal contact number.

Only in this way can we get in touch with the other party again during the holiday, bring Keiko Matsumoto to visit, and negotiate a copyright deal with them.

It's just that Ning Weimin is not as pessimistic as Akira Okamoto and Mitsuru Watabe. He really has his own reasons.

It was a decision made entirely after careful consideration.

His calculations were even smarter than what Okamoto Akira had just calculated. He thought there was no possibility of losing money at all, so he dragged Matsumoto Keiko along with him.

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

Moreover, those two people still showed grudges towards him, and he did not want to sit back and watch Matsumoto Keiko being in trouble.

Simply go ahead and explain yourself.

"I almost understand your confusion. Frankly speaking, your suggestions just now are very pragmatic, and I actually agree with some of them, which shows that you are really considering Qingzi and this firm. I'm not afraid to tell you, In fact, I really want to do what you said. But the problem is, if we don’t take any risks, we will have enough ability and strength to make better movies. They will be more artistic and have a stronger audience base. , you don’t have to worry about the cost issue at all, but you can avenge the past, gain both artistic and financial gains, and make those who laughed at Qingzi regret it and become a joke themselves. So why not?"

"What? Ningsang, are you kidding?"

"Impossible! With such a big investment, you actually said there is no risk?"

However, in the face of Akira Okamoto and Mitsuru Watanabe, who were both shouting and furious, Ning Weimin calmed them down with just a few words.

I started to refresh my view 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. I tell you responsibly that the funds for the film are all on me, and I will solve it. And this movie , will also be produced as a Sino-Japanese co-production. In order to restore the true history and pursue authenticity. Not only will we go to China to shoot locations, we will select a large number of famous actors from mainland China to participate in the performance, and we will also release it in China. So please It’s good to have some confidence. This kind of film that reflects on the war and promotes Sino-Japanese friendship will naturally attract the attention and expectations of movie fans in both countries, will receive strong assistance from China, and will easily win awards."