National Tide 1980

"What do you mean?" Fukasaku Kinji suddenly raised his head and stared at him with bright eyes.

He is not a fool, and now he suspects that Haruki Kawakawa is deliberately instigating a relationship between him and Shochiku.

However, Jiaochuan Haruki acted calmly and not nervous at all.

What he said next made Fukasaku Kinji even more suspicious.

"I mean well. I just want to tell you that luck is unreliable. Sometimes if you don't pay attention, it will slip away quietly. So even if the director fails to get the award today, please believe that you Those who are capable of winning awards will have more opportunities in the future..."

There was undoubtedly something in Jiaochuan Haruki's words, but he didn't say it clearly, and he looked like he meant something profound.

Fukasaku Kinji also had no good methods to deal with him.

He didn't know the purpose of Jiaochuan Haruki at all.

When I said these words to him before the award ceremony, was it because I wanted to give Shochiku Pictures some eye candy, or was it because I really had a movie project planned and wanted to lure him into filming, so I tried my best to win over him.

But to say that there was something wrong with his award, he still couldn't believe it.

With his level, with Junichi's commitment, and with his movie's stake in Shochiku, who else can compete with him this year?

"How is that possible? Is President Jiaochuan joking?"

Michiko Harada also sensed something was wrong and said a little unhappy, "Director Fukasaku's film won the award as expected. It seems unlucky for you to say such things to the director before the award ceremony."

But her rash intervention in order to protect Fukasaku Kinji's face made Haruki Kawakawa's face really show a hint of ridicule.

"Haha, it seems that Ms. Harada is just like the director, taking the award as her own, right? Now she speaks like a big star, but with all due respect, you will probably be even more disappointed..."

"you……"

"Shut up! Apologize! Don't talk nonsense anymore, it's impolite!" Fukasaku Kinji reprimanded him unhappily. At this time, he was already very sure that Haruki Kōgawa must know something.

"I..." Michiko Harada was immediately furious.

Of course she couldn't figure it out and couldn't help but curse in her heart - I said this to protect your face, why did you do this to me? Crazy!

But facing the dissatisfaction of a director and a film company boss, she couldn't bear the pressure.

There seemed to be no other choice but to roll my eyes inwardly and apologize honestly.

"If you have anything to say, please give me a quote. I know how to be grateful, and I have always regarded you as a friend..."

Kōgawa Haruki finally heard what he wanted to hear from Fukasaku Kinji, and then he smiled.

"Then let me tell you straight, director, you are in trouble. There is a high probability that Shochiku's boss has betrayed you. You'd better be mentally prepared and don't have too high expectations. When the awards are announced later, Don’t lose your composure, otherwise others will laugh at you.”

"What? Impossible!"

Although Fukasaku Kinji was mentally prepared, when he heard the bad news with his own ears, he still felt as if he had been struck by lightning and could not accept it.

"President Omoto clearly promised me, and Shochiku's behind-the-scenes operations have been going smoothly. I even got inside information..."

"Humph, President Omoto may not be telling you the truth. Even if he has promised you something, you don't really think that this kind of verbal promise can be as legally binding as a contract and has an unchangeable effect on both parties. Is it binding? What can you do if he changes his mind?"

Kagekawa Haruki, who didn't want to attract attention, said carefully while observing the surroundings.

And his words not only caused confusion and pain to appear in Fukasaku Kinji's eyes.

Michiko Harada, who was an observer, was even more frightened.

Out of the interest-bound stance, she couldn't help but speak again.

"But... there is no reason for President Omoto to do this? "The Man in the Burning House" was filmed by Director Fukasaku for Shochiku, and our interests are bound to Shochiku. The director will be more famous if he wins an award for his film, video It will definitely sell better. If the director is unlucky, what good will it do to Shochiku? "

Fortunately, this time, she also expressed her feelings for Fukasaku Kinji.

So not only was he not scolded, even Fukasaku himself couldn't help but ask questions.

"Yes, why does President Omoto have to be the one who breaks his promise?"

But on the other hand, Kōgawa Haruki saw that Fukasaku Kinji was still unable to face the reality. His mouth was already a little dry and he licked his lips, but his heart was full of disdain.

What director? He turns out to be a fool with a simple mind and lack of courage.

Why don’t you know that you have offended others? It's too stupid.

"Everyone has enemies. If the original good thing is gone, of course it is your opponent who takes action. Think about it carefully. Is it because you were negligent and gave others an opportunity?"

"You mean... that stinky woman Matsumoto?"

Fukasaku Kinji's pupils suddenly tightened, and he suddenly thought of Matsumoto Keiko.

And Michiko Harada simply couldn't control her curses.

"Impossible, she doesn't have such ability. Could it be that she climbed into the old man's bed?"

"I say you two, please keep your voice down, and don't forget what the occasion is."

Kinji Fukasaku and Michiko Harada spoke loudly and suddenly, which not only startled Haruki Kōgawa, but also attracted a lot of curious eyes from the surrounding round tables.

Jiaochuan Haruki looked around again, pretending to be innocent and smiled at the disturbed guests.

After waiting until everyone's expressions finally returned to normal and he was sure that no one should pay attention to this place anymore, he made a sincere expression and whispered to Fukasaku Kinji in a low voice.

"Okay, director, who made us friends? Then I will tell you everything I know. First of all, I have to say that you are right. The reason why there are problems with the awards that have been basically confirmed is that Because the woman you have been targeting. Your guess is correct. We all know that it is impossible for her to become a shareholder of a Ginza restaurant, buy two studios, and more in such a short period of time. Yuli invested one billion yen to make the movie, so there is only one answer, that is, someone fell in love with her and helped her. But she has no such relationship with President Omoto, but someone else..."

"Then who is this person?"

"What do you mean...is this person the mastermind behind this?"

Fukasaku Kinji and Harada Michiko asked almost at the same time.

But regarding this issue, Jiaochuan Haruki was quite apprehensive.

"I didn't say that, and I can't tell you who he is, because I don't want to cause trouble. If you want to know, you have to investigate it yourself. The most I can say is that this person is Chinese and has an official background. "

"Official background..."

Michiko Harada was immediately shocked. This answer was definitely beyond her imagination.

Fukasaku Kinji, who gritted his teeth, was not that surprised.

Because as early as when the news broke that Matsumoto Keiko became a shareholder of Dan Gong Restaurant, he noticed some signs from the level and origin of the guests.

Later, he also visited this restaurant. Unexpectedly, he was rejected at the door because it was still a membership-only restaurant, and the flag of the Republic was hung at the door.

Therefore, Jiaochuan Haruki's words confirmed his suspicion, and he frantically began to make up his own mind.

Damn it! She actually became restless as early as when she went to China for exchange.

How many people has she seduced behind her back?

Fukasaku Kinji could only think this way, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. The veins on his forehead were exposed and his eyes were red.

"Assholes, they are all bastards. Let alone that stinky woman who is a bitch. This guy, Omoto, is actually afraid of a Chinese person to suppress me. He actually allows a Chinese person to interfere with the selection results of the Japanese film industry. He is also worthy of Shochiku. President, it is really a shame to the Japanese people, I want to report it to the Japan Filmmakers Association..."

Michiko Harada wasted no time in throwing fire. "Yes, I'm going to inform the media. We can't tolerate this happening..."

Seeing them looking like this, Jiaochuan Haruki couldn't help but persuade them.

"Don't be stupid. This matter is not exactly what you imagined. Director, if you can't calm down, I won't be able to tell you what happens next."

Michiko Harada was glared at by Kagekawa Haruki, and finally became honest again.

And Fukasaku Kinji took a deep breath and finally forced himself to control his emotions.

"Okay, I'm fine. If there is anything else, please tell me together. Don't worry, Jiaochuan, I will keep this favor today deeply in my heart."

With such a guarantee, Jiaochuan Haruki was basically satisfied, and this was his purpose.

So I no longer held any reservations and told everything.

"As you just said, if President Suomoto really just made a behind-the-scenes deal with an official Chinese person to suppress you, then he would be too stupid. This is tantamount to giving him a handle. Here you go, as long as you get real evidence, he is finished. Not to mention that it is impossible for him to retain his position as president, even Shochiku Pictures will be boycotted by the Japanese people and be disgraced. But the problem is that there is something else involved in this matter. The man behind this is someone you have absolutely nothing to do about.”

"Who? Who is it?"

"It's Japan's number one director - Akira Kurosawa!"

Fukasaku Kinji's eyes suddenly widened. This answer was so unexpected that he couldn't believe it.

"What? Kurosawa? What does this matter have to do with him? He has no works to compete for this year's Academy Awards."

But Jiaochuan said it with certainty, and even laughed with a mocking tone.

"Director, you haven't forgotten the time when Japan and the United States cooperated in the filming of "Tora! Tora! Tora!"? I think back then, your stabbing in the back not only caused Kurosawa to lose his directorship, but you replaced him and got the Japanese directorship. Director Fang, and Akira Kurosawa almost committed suicide because of it after the film was released. Think about it, if you were him, would you not hold a grudge? "

Fukasaku Kinji's face suddenly turned pale, and then he remembered the grudge between himself and Kurosawa Akira.

At that time, due to Akira Kurosawa's insistence on perfection, the filming progress was extremely slow and the budget was seriously overrun, which made the American Fox company extremely crazy.

Only then did he find an opportunity, taking advantage of the dissatisfaction of Toei's crew and American director Richard Fletcher with Akira Kurosawa, and successfully backstabbed him.

It should be said that this incident was indeed enough to cause him and Kurosawa to become eternal enemies.

But later his career went smoothly, but Kurosawa, who was already over sixty, quickly fell into a period of career depression and appeared less and less in public.

Although Akira Kurosawa has shot masterpieces such as "Shadow Warrior" and "Ran" in recent years, it is said that he has been in serious financial crisis.

It stands to reason that besides making movies, this old guy should be busy paying off his debts first, and he can't possibly think about revenge against him first.

So he almost forgot about it, but he didn't expect to get such news today.

Is he really to blame for being careless?

"No, it won't. Although Kurosawa is recognized as a national treasure director in the Japanese industry, he is old and his body is no longer able to support efficient and fast shooting. His works are all big-budget movies with huge investments. . And what Songzhu lacks most now is money. If you consider it from a business perspective, the old man will never give up on me for him!"

Fukasaku Kinji thought for a while, and still maintained his persistence out of confidence in his personal abilities.

He still didn't want to believe that Jun Omoto, who valued interests so much, couldn't settle the bill in a while.

At this moment, Jiaochuan Haruki was really speechless. He didn't expect that there were people in the world who were so blindly confident.

Sighing, he didn't bother to use tactful methods anymore, so he simply pointed out the mystery directly.

"Director, everything you said is right, but you are not a businessman after all. There are some issues in the business field where you are still not professional enough. Let me tell you this. In the evening the day before yesterday, a friend of mine who works at Toei told me, It was said that the presidents of Shochiku and Toei had made an appointment to meet at a Chinese restaurant in Ginza at dinner time. The people who could confirm the meeting included Shochiku’s president Okumoto, Toei’s president Okada, as well as Kurosawa Akira and Toei’s subordinates. Director Junya Sato, as for the Chinese restaurant famous for its Chinese palace cuisine, it was a restaurant owned by Keiko Matsumoto. Then these people went to a nightclub in Ginza to drink and came out after drinking. They all looked very happy. There’s no need to say the rest, you can imagine what will happen, right?”

After saying this, Michiko Harada lost her composure again.

"Toei? You mean Toei? So, we are now being targeted by the two major studios..."

However, Kōgawa Haruki completely ignored her, a little Karami who had no vision, and just continued to concentrate on analyzing Kinji Fukasaku.

"Director Fukasaku, as far as I know, Akira Kurosawa and Junya Sato have been friends for many years, and Junya Sato was also nominated for Best Director in this year's Academy Awards. Although I don't know what they talked about, but as far as I know It is expected that the award will most likely go to Toei, and it will be taken away by Akira Kurosawa. As for Shochiku's interests, Toei will naturally be able to reciprocate. There are a lot of things to trade, just like the "Dunhuang" where you were kicked out. If you think about it again, since Omoto can be the president of Shochiku, he must be a master of playing both sides and exchanging benefits. It’s impossible…”

As soon as he said this, at exactly this time, guests at several tables in the banquet hall stood up, bowed when they should, and said hello when they should.

Looking from a distance, it turned out to be President Omoto of Shochiku Pictures, President Okada of Toei, Keiko Matsumoto who had just bought Kiri Studio, and Yajun Sato, the director of Toei. Went in together.

At this moment, Haruki Jiaochuan, who had been reporting the news just now, lost his composure and quickly ran away, disappearing into the crowd.

When Fukasaku Kinji saw this scene with his own eyes, he really realized his situation.

Kōkawa Haruki's words shattered his whole world!

Unable to help himself, he pressed his body hard on the table.

He hunched over in pain, suppressing the unwilling and painful voice in his heart!

Especially the muscles on the face were almost completely distorted by painful thoughts!

But he couldn't speak, couldn't speak! Don't curse! Also pay attention to your manners!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh did it happen!

Bastards! They are all bastards! Those who joined forces to plot against him should all die!