Life in Tokyo starting as a child star

Chapter 171 I'm going to start struggling! (4800 words)

Kawamura Takefumi never thought that two actors with such a big age difference could work together so well.

There seems to be some kind of invisible channel between Kitami Minoru and Mikawa Takeo.

When two people are playing against each other.

A strange tacit understanding can always be reached.

Takeo Mikawa here finished speaking his lines.

Just a look.

Kitaki Minoru over there was able to understand it and immediately cooperated with a performance that was no weaker than Takeo Mikawa.

This mutually reinforcing performance.

Even Kawamura Yuefumi doubted whether Kitumi Minoru had any blood relationship with Mikawa Takeo.

Otherwise, why would two people reach such a tacit understanding once they meet?

You know, usually before going on stage.

The actors all know each other slightly and are familiar with each other.

However, Kitami Minori and Mikawa Takeo are completely different.

It doesn’t even have to be right for the scene.

The performance starts immediately upon entering the stage, and the quality of the performance is exceptionally perfect.

As a late night slot.

An episode of "Little Canteen" lasts about twenty-three to twenty-five minutes.

The time it takes to shoot an episode is different from that of a Japanese drama like "Night Walk" which lasts more than 40 minutes.

An episode can be shot in three to four days.

However, due to the perfect performance of the two leading actors, Kitami Minoru and Mikawa Takeo.

The first episode of "Little Canteen" was filmed for only two and a half days, and there was a vague sense of ending.

The speed at which the shooting was completed is simply incredible.

Just like now.

The last few shots of the first episode of "Little Cafeteria" directed by Takefumi Kawamura——

After being conquered by the boss's cuisine at a nameless restaurant.

Saito fell in love with the warm and caring atmosphere here where he just enjoys the food.

But when this noisy little old man became a frequent visitor to the unknown restaurant.

All diners are actually a little uncomfortable at first.

After all, everyone's impression of Saito remains at the rude and disrespectful stage.

They are unwilling to understand Saito, just as Saito was unwilling to understand them before.

But after actually contacting.

Only then did they realize that Saito was quite interesting.

He's really rude.

But when it comes to cooking, he has a more delicate heart than ordinary people.

The behavior may indeed be a little rude.

But that would also allow others to quickly put aside their unfamiliarity and become one with him quickly.

The diners became friends with the elderly Saito.

Occasionally, he would also joke about his past troubles at other restaurants.

Every time Saito would be provoked by them, his old face would turn red and he would mutter and curse.

"You little brats, you don't understand anything at all!"

Every time it comes to this time.

The diners couldn't help laughing.

Therefore, when I heard that Saito was hospitalized due to acute organ failure.

Almost all of them visited each other in the hospital.

After all the diners had seen Saito and the party was over, the boss stepped forward.

It was different from the stubborn look he had before when he was full of energy and was unwilling to even use a cane to walk.

A cold infusion tube was inserted into the body.

Next to it is a heart rate monitor and various instruments for measuring blood pressure.

Saito, who was lying on the hospital bed, was obviously much weaker than before.

Just from his appearance, he already knew that he was a dying old man.

Every breath you take.

It seemed like he had exhausted all his strength.

There was sweat on his forehead.

But look at the boss in front of you.

He spoke anyway.

"boss."

"Um."

"Remember when I first went to your shop?"

Saito's eyes were wandering and empty.

"Um."

The boss will naturally not forget it.

When that stubborn and rude old man came to the door for the first time.

"At that time, I did something rude to you. I want to apologize to you here."

".good."

"At that time, boss, the pork chop rice you made was really delicious. It was the best pork chop rice I have ever eaten in my life."

Saito's voice paused, and his expression that was painful just now became relaxed.

The taste of happiness in my mind.

It seemed to relieve the pain in his body.

The boss remained silent.

But there was a hint of worry in the eyes he looked at Saito.

It seemed that he was aware of the boss's thoughts.

It seemed like he was telling himself.

Saito grinned.

"Don't worry, I have never seen any big storms in my life. A minor illness like this will be cured soon. If you don't believe it, let's make a bet. When the time comes, I will definitely go to your shop again and eat The pork chop rice you made.”

He smiled very happily.

He is obviously in his seventies or eighties.

at this time.

But he smiled like a child.

The boss said nothing.

He thought about it before he came to visit.

What the doctor said to them.

Saito's organs failed quickly.

It is estimated that there are only a few days left.

But now I look at Saito's energy and smile.

He couldn't help but imagine it.

Maybe this stubborn little old man can really create a medical miracle.

"I'm waiting for you."

He nodded.

However--

In the end, Saito did not wait until the day he was discharged from the hospital to eat pork chop rice.

Standing in front of Saito's grave.

The owner of the unknown restaurant lowered his body.

The long incense burns silently.

Gaze at the tombstone.

The boss thought of the words of a relative of the Saito family.

Listen to them.

Before Saito passed away, he had unconscious babble.

There are three paragraphs of his ravings.

"Nakajima Culinary Awards."

"It's so delicious."

"The disease will be cured soon."

This corresponds to roughly Saito's life.

The 'Nakajima Culinary Arts Awards' was the most glorious day when he won the championship at a young age and was sought after by thousands of people.

"It's so delicious." When Saito first arrived at the unknown restaurant, he ate the pork chop rice cooked for him by the boss and recalled his mother's days.

'The disease will be cured soon.' This was the last moment of his life. Saito had a positive attitude in the face of the disease. This little old man was still so stubborn and did not give in to the disease until the end.

Look at Saito's name on the tombstone.

The burning incense seemed to blur his eyes.

After returning to the store.

The boss carefully prepared a pork chop rice.

The wind chimes at the door of the store were tinkling.

He opened the store door.

The afternoon sun shines into the store and onto the pork chop rice on the dining table.

Through the rising slanting sunlight beam.

The boss seemed to have seen Mr. Saito sitting at the dining table.

While eating the pork chop rice he made, she smiled slyly but stubbornly at him.

That look seemed to say, 'Look, I've got you all. ’

Between the haze of light.

The boss seemed to hear the chirping and old man's noise at the door of his store again.

"Saito?"

The boss paused for a moment and hurriedly walked out of the store.

Only to find that there was just an old couple arguing about buying groceries outside.

Looking at their chirping, their faces turned red, they insisted on distinguishing themselves, and they looked completely dissatisfied with their old age.

The boss was stunned for a moment.

He thought of his previous bet with Saito.

"Really, I lost to you, Saito."

He smiled as he leaned against the doorframe.

In the afternoon sun.

His smile looked both helpless and relieved

After the last shot was taken.

Look at the performance of Kitami Minori and Mikawa Takeo in the camera.

Kawamura Takefumi, who has always been very picky about actors' acting skills, couldn't help but nod his head at this moment.

It's really good.

Especially the scene where Saito is seriously ill.

Takeo Mikawa really brought the image of the 'patient' to life.

Every breath feels particularly tight and weak.

You can even zoom in on some of the shots.

You will find that the veins in his neck are bulging out with force.

The intensity of this acting is really hard to find fault with.

Unlike Takeo Mikawa, whose acting skills are so superb that they impress others.

Beicheng actually gave Kawamura Takefumi a feeling of 'surprise'.

Yes.

surprise.

You must know that Takeo Mikawa has been famous outside for a long time, and Kawamura Takeo was expected to be able to show such acting skills.

But Kitumi Minoru is completely different.

He was just a child, just a nine-year-old servant.

But he is just such a nine-year-old boy.

When he was playing opposite Takeo Mikawa, he didn't feel any stage fright, shrinking, or feeling weak at all.

You know when we first started shooting.

Even though I know Kitumi Minoru's acting skills are quite good.

Kawamura Takefumi's expectation for Kitami Minoru is not to be overwhelmed by Takeo Mikawa's momentum - this is a simple request.

He was able to perform so well that he even managed to keep up with Takeo Mikawa.

This is certainly a surprise.

If we go by the performance of these two people.

Coupled with the popularity of Takeo Mikawa

"The ratings for the first episode of "Little Canteen" will definitely not be too low!"

Kawamura Yuefumi took a sip of water.

He thought of what happened before.

After a lot of hard work, I finally managed to get my TV series into the top ten in the quarterly ratings.

It was even possible to "guarante ten and compete for five".

But the rhythm was slowed down by the "product placement" of pig teammates.

In the end, I just barely made it into the top ten.

Because the Japanese drama that Kawamura Takefumi took over at that time was one of the four rare large-scale productions produced by Dongguan TV within a year.

It cost a lot of money to build, but in the end it only made it into the top ten, not even the top five.

And this naturally made the leaders of the TV station production bureau dissatisfied.

With such dissatisfied thoughts.

They transferred Kawamura Takefumi to the late-night department for filming.

This is called transfer.

In fact, anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is actually a simple devolution of Kawamura Takefumi by the upper leadership.

You must know that Kawamura Takefumi has always been responsible for the director of big projects such as prime time and morning time and investment.

As a result, he was now transferred to a half-dead late night position.

Of course Kawamura Takefumi was dissatisfied with this.

It can even be said to be extreme dissatisfaction.

Because last winter, he couldn't take the blame at all.

It was all product placement requested by the leadership that caused the ratings to plummet.

But obviously.

In Japan's workplace, "the credit of the subordinates belongs to the superiors, and the subordinates bear the faults of the superiors".

It is simply impossible to get leaders to admit their mistakes - after all, not everyone is a banking elite who pays back tenfold.

Originally, Kawamura Yuefumi already had a bit of a messy mentality.

I thought about finishing the employment period before looking for another TV station.

But the appearance of Kitami Minoru and Mikawa Takeo gave him a new dawn!

Think of this.

He couldn't help but grit his teeth.

The plastic water bottle in his hand was crushed by him.

When the one-year trial employment period with Dongguan TV ends, he will definitely leave.

But before leaving.

He wants to let the bosses of the Dongguan TV Production Bureau, who only know TV commercials, know how great he is!

Takefumi Kawamura wants to prove himself that even in the late night, he can still shoot impressively!

to this end--

"It must have excellent ratings data."

Kawamura Yuefumi touched his chin and began to make calculations.

It is also this time.

A voice suddenly came from the side.

"What ratings? Uncle Kawamura?"

Um?

Kawamura Yuefumi raised his head strangely.

When he saw the figure standing in front of him, he waved.

"Ah. It's Beicheng-kun."

The stern expression just now disappeared instantly after seeing Kitumi Minoru, and turned into a smile.

And this expression change is like a 'face change'.

In the eyes of the actors playing the roles of diners A and B next to them, they all felt inexplicably unsatisfied.

After all, he is the director.

The most senior person in the entire shoot.

But what about the taste?

You must know that Kitumi Minoru is the ‘studio bully’ of the current “Little Canteen” filming team.

Not only did Kawamura Takefumi dote on him, but he was also favored by Takeo Mikawa, who is known as the living fossil in the industry.

To put it bluntly.

Nowadays, Kitumi Minoru's status is second only to Kawamura Takefumi as a director.

He is an actor who would come up to him and talk to him with a smile even when he was lying down on the set.

But Kitami Minori obviously doesn't care what the supporting actor thinks.

He just stepped forward and asked his question.

"Was Director Kawamura just thinking about the ratings of "Little Cafeteria"?"

"Um."

There is no need to hide this matter from Kitaki Minoru.

Kawamura Yuefumi nodded simply.

"Really? What does Director Kawamura expect the ratings of the first episode of our "Little Cafeteria" to be?"

Kitaki Minoru became slightly interested.

After all, aside from Kirihara Kenji (child version), this is his first time starring in a TV series.

Of course, the higher the ratings, the better.

It doesn’t seek to be No. 1 in prime-time quarterly ratings like “Night Flight.”

But at least I hope to get a good result.

However--

"The first episode of "Little Cafeteria" has a ratings of 5%, which is pretty good."

Kawamura Yuefumi thought about giving a data.

"Is it that low?"

Kitaki Minoru raised his eyebrows and made a surprised sound.

Although I have known for a long time that Japan’s late night scene is not doing well.

Some TV stations even rely on marginal and soft porn to win the attention of the audience.

But the 5% viewership rating is indeed a bit low, right?

You must know that this time they have Takeo Mikawa among the actors.

There should be a lot of viewers just because of the name, right?

Plus this is the premiere of "Little Canteen".

Generally speaking, the first episode of a TV series usually has the highest ratings.

He came up with his own ideas.

However, this also made Kawamura Yuefumi shake his head.

"National-level actors are indeed very famous, but to put it bluntly, TV series still depend on the audience's reputation and the plot."

Yes.

Whether Japanese dramas can retain audiences, gain a good reputation, and generate positive publicity effects is the key.

Of course the most important thing is——

“The late-night segment is really sluggish right now.”

Already said before.

The impact of mobile phones and computers has long since made the TV industry no longer in its previous golden age.

Nowadays, the ratings of late-night Japanese dramas can exceed 3%, which is already considered a pretty good figure.

Like the 5% ratings of "Little Cafeteria".

In fact, Kawamura Yuebundu felt that he had said a bit too much.

only--

"Uncle Kawamura, I think if we can put more thought into promotion, the ratings of the first episode of "Little Cafeteria" can reach around 6%, and the ratings of subsequent episodes will not be too low."

Kitazumi put forward his own ideas.

"Propaganda"

Kawamura Yuefumi smiled bitterly.

It's exactly what Kitumi Minoru said.

If we can work hard on publicity, we might be able to make an impact on the higher level.

After all, he is quite confident about the plot of "Little Canteen".

I also quite recognized the acting skills of Kitami Minori and Mikawa Takeo.

I even feel that there are few TV series in the same season that can compete with their combination of one old and one young.

But the production bureau will not allocate much money for late-night production.

The production funds for each episode are set, and there is no extra publicity funds at all.

certainly.

If he is willing to apply for publicity funds from the production bureau regardless of the consequences, he can get some publicity funds by relying on his contacts while working in prime time.

only.

If we ask for money from the production company, the final ratings of "Little Cafeteria" will be much lower than expected.

Then the blame he has to bear will be huge.

There is a high probability that the boss above will not let him take over another drama before the end of the employment period, and will directly transfer him to the 'TV advertising' department and let him concentrate on filming commercials.

For a director, this price is indeed a bit high.

Even Kawamura Takefumi was a little hesitant.

After all, a qualified director would never bet on the late night slot with a terrible ratings.

That's what a fool would do.

But

Looking at Kita Chengshi's expression of thinking seriously about the work he shot.

And thinking of himself who was previously blamed for being demoted by his pig teammates' "embedded advertising".

Kawamura Takefumi inexplicably got angry.

5% ratings may surprise those pig-like leaders.

But it is definitely not as shocking as 6%!

Since his "trusted generals" have said so.

Then he has to "struggle" a bit!