Tokyo Literary Godfather

Eiji Shirai was not surprised either: "Does Fujiwara-sensei have any plans to write a movie script recently? What type?"

"In addition to writing the script, I plan to write and direct it myself." Kei Fujiwara said, "As for the genre, I plan to keep it a suspense film."

As a business elite, Eiji Shirai has great attainments in expression control, but he still couldn't help but show his mask of pain.

Although the current operating strategy of Matsunichi Films is to reduce the investment in independent production, Kei Fujiwara, as a victorious independent screenwriter, if he proposes to make a film, Eiji Shirai will not refuse rashly.

But……

The company had just failed in a suspense-themed film, and the market had already lost confidence in such films. And the original author of this failed film now proposes to create a film with a similar theme, and Eiji Shirai subconsciously feels that this is an unreliable proposal.

But in view of Fujiwara Kei's outstanding achievements in the past, Shirai Eiji still did not immediately refuse: "Mr. Fujiwara... your ability is obvious to all, but the current film market environment is not very good, especially the market for self-produced suspense films." "White Night Journey" "The market performance of "The Movie" failed to meet expectations as evidence, so the company will be more cautious about this type of film."

Fujiwara Kei said: "Shirai-san don't have to worry about it, because I'm still from Fukuyamadai, so if you think about making a movie, of course the first choice is Matsunichi Films, but if the company has difficulties or other arrangements, I won't force it. "

Eiji Shirai drank the wine in his glass, thought for a moment and said, "Teacher Fujiwara, what is your estimated budget for the movie?"

"In terms of detailed production expenses, statistical calculations have not yet been carried out, so specific figures cannot be given."

"Probably?"

"About 200 million." Kei Fujiwara said.

This is actually a more common production fee amount, neither too high nor too low. The real money-burning machine in the movie market is cartoons, which are a bit higher than live-action movies. However, due to the particularity of the Japanese movie market and the Japanese audience's love for cartoons, the rate of return is often high.

"Is there a script?"

"It hasn't been written yet, only a draft." Kei Fujiwara said.

If anyone else had said this, Eiji Shirai would have dismissed it. But Kei Fujiwara's words are a different matter.

"What's the general content?"

Kei Fujiwara said roughly.

Eiji Shirai was silent again. This plot sounds like it is not as good as "White Night Journey". If it is filmed, can it really be sold for money?

"Teacher Fujiwara, I can't answer you right now. I still need to discuss it with the senior management of the company."

"It's okay." Fujiwara Kei nodded, "You don't have to be too embarrassed."

Immediately afterwards, the two changed the topic to other places.

Seeing that the conversation between the two had turned to a more relaxed topic, the two waitresses came over, poured wine for the two of them, and took advantage of every opportunity to sell drinks to the two of them when they were happy.

In the end, the two-person drinking game ended after the female publicist who listened to Eiji Shirai's heartbeat to Kei Fujiwara's heartbeat for a while, and said "Your heart is very healthy".

Both of them were slightly drunk and were about to leave the club when Kasai Chio came over and gave each of them a box of wagashi as a present, then whispered a few words in Shirai Eiji's ear, and put a piece of wagashi Something like a business card was stuffed into Eiji Shirai's jacket pocket.

After the two left the club, Eiji Shirai offered to go to a nearby restaurant to eat fried noodles. Kei Fujiwara just drank alcohol and only ate half a piece of snacks in the club. I hesitated and wanted to talk to him more about movies, so I agreed.

The fried noodle stall is not far away, and the two of them walked a few steps.

This is a very smokey restaurant. The storefront is small and the tables are a bit greasy, but there are many customers. There is a middle school nearby, and many students eat there. Besides the boss, Kei Fujiwara and Eiji Shirai are the current shopkeepers. The only adult in the house.

After sitting down, Eiji Shirai took out the business card in his pocket, looked at it for a while, and sighed: "It seems that I really can't work at a high load for a long time in the future. There is really a problem with the heart. Mr. Fujiwara should also pay attention to his health." ah."

As he said that, he shook the business card in his hand in front of Kei Fujiwara, and found that it was the business card of a professor of cardiac surgery in a famous hospital.

"I see...Miss Hexi is really careful."

It seems that when Kasai Chio listened to Shirai Eiji's heartbeat, she did notice something abnormal. It’s just that it was inconvenient to say it in front of Kei Fujiwara at that time—many business leaders don’t want to show a bad or weak image in front of outsiders, so Chio Kasai chose to tell Shirai about this in private and returned it to him. Famous professors were recommended.

"It is not easy for a woman to be able to stand in a gold-selling cave like Ginza for more than ten years, and to be in such a position. Her meticulousness is just one of her advantages." Eiji Shirai smiled, "I heard that this woman in Hexi There is a trick, as long as you hear the name once, you will never forget it. There was a not-so-famous local councilor who came to that club for the first time, and he was called out by Chio Kasai accurately. When watching the local TV station, she once appeared on the scene and was remembered by her. The congressman was very touched and has become a regular visitor since then."

"Teacher Fujiwara, getting to know this woman is like having a phone book of people from all walks of life in Tokyo. If you want to know someone, you can ask her to help introduce you." Shirai Eiji reminded.

People who can become regulars in clubs like Ginza are all leaders in various industries. People who can easily mingle in these people's network are certainly not ordinary people.

"Mr. Fujiwara, I just thought about it carefully. If Matsunichi Pictures really invests in the production of the movie you mentioned, it will not be fully funded." Eiji Shirai suddenly said, "If Mr. Fujiwara can also get the money, ..."

This is hoping that Kei Fujiwara will invest on his own. Songni Pictures, which had already failed one movie, had obviously become conservative and was unwilling to invest fully in order to control risks.

After all, 200 million yen is not a small number, not to mention, is it really 200 million when he said 200 million? It is common in the industry for a film to be asked for additional investment in the middle of filming.

At first, the director begged the production company, but halfway through the filming, the director straightened his back and asked for additional production funds. Just say yes or no. Anyway, the money that has been spent has been converted into film, and it is impossible to turn it back into money. Either additional investment, or let the initial investment go to waste, it is your choice.

At this time, many production companies often have no choice but to bite the bullet and add more money. Sometimes they may not be able to add even once, but two or three times...

Many times, when a movie bankrupts a company, it's not because the movie company can't control the budget, but because the director is a jerk.

When this happens, the director and the production company will become like grasshoppers on a string. After spending several times the budget to shoot a movie, they wait in fear for the box office results.

"Okay." Kei Fujiwara agreed directly at this time. He also knew that after the failure of "White Night Journey", Matsunichi Pictures had become very cautious. In order to give them some confidence, Kei Fujiwara was also willing to spend some money to share the risk.

The louder the waves, the more expensive the fish.