Chapter 59

After returning to the studio, everyone resumed their紧张的拍摄工作。

The third short story is called "Rejuvenation".

It tells the story of a 70-year-old man who, while worshipping at a shrine dedicated to a cicada deity, swallowed the offerings out of hunger and began shedding his skin, becoming ten years younger each day.

At first, it was thought to be a miracle. In the first few days, the increasingly younger man indulged in eating, drinking, and enjoying life, spending money extravagantly, even visiting a brothel, behaving like a young man full of vigor, completely different from the kind and gentle old man he once was.

Within a few days, he had a falling out with his loving family and, in a fit of anger, left home to stay at a hotel.

But after a long absence, his family, unable to let go of their loved one, found the hotel where the old man was staying a week later.

However, when they opened the door, they found no one in the room. The bed was covered in skin flakes, and they discovered a fleshy mass resembling a fetal embryo....

This short story was quite interesting. What was initially thought to be a blessing of rejuvenation turned out to be a curse in the end.

When filming this story, a lot of effort was put into the special makeup, including the skin, white hair, wrinkles, and even the rubber skin used for shedding, all of which had to be meticulously done by the makeup artist.

Apart from the initial visit to the shrine, the rest could be completed in the studio.

...

The next day, while it was raining, Naoki Nagayama and Kannako Higuchi completed the remaining ending scenes.

With this, all three stories in the anthology were finished.

Even with the subsequent editing and opening credits, the entire process would not exceed a week.

Isn't that fast?

In fact, in Hong Kong during the 1990s, a fast-paced film could be shot in just one week.

A comedy film like "A Chinese Odyssey" took only a month to shoot, and the crew was simultaneously working on "Ashes of Time".

This shows how fast the shooting pace was back then.

Fumio Oyama had already contacted Fuji TV, planning to air the program at 11 PM, with one of the three short stories airing each week, for about a month.

"Mr. Naoki, it's up to the audience now!"

Ishido Shuichi was quite relaxed: "A 30-minute program, finishing around 11:30 PM, just in time for bed."

"I'm not worried about the quality of the short drama, but I'm afraid not many people will see it.

Mr. Oyama, if the response is good, try to get a mention in other programs." Naoki Nagayama knew that many programs had such "friendly sponsorships".

As long as keywords like "beauty jar" pop up a few times, it will attract the audience's attention.

...

In 1980s Tokyo, the nickname "city that never sleeps" had not yet become widespread,

But the city centers like Shinjuku and Roppongi were already lit up all night.

At 11 PM, the nightlife of young people was just beginning.

Many office workers, having just returned home, would relax by drinking beer and watching TV.

Ryūichi Miyazaki was one of them.

After taking a shower and opening a beer, he would turn on the TV, and this was the most comfortable time of the day after a long day's work.

Relaxing by watching late-night talk shows or comedy variety shows, he would pass the time and go to bed, a simple routine for a single man.

However, that night, he saw a program called "World Mysteries", where a bespectacled uncle introduced something interesting—a "beauty jar" that, when opened, would release a beautiful woman to accompany you?

The plot was not complicated, and the "beauty jar" was quite intriguing. In the end, the handsome protagonist discovered he was also manufactured, a twist that was surprising.

"Of course, such a handsome guy couldn't be an ordinary person~"

"The beauty produced by the beauty jar is indeed perfect~ Is that Kannako Higuchi?"

Kannako Higuchi was exactly Ryūichi Miyazaki's ideal type.

"Besides the beauty jar, there must be a handsome guy jar too."

After the 30-minute episode ended, Ryūichi Miyazaki was still lost in thought.

In the small, square apartment, with random items scattered around, a single bed, and a single water cup, the atmosphere that once felt free now made Ryūichi Miyazaki feel a long-lost loneliness.

Lying on the tatami mat, he couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard he tried.

"Where can I buy a beauty jar...?"

...

The next morning,

Naoki Nagayama, still half-asleep, was woken up by Fumio Oyama's phone call.

"Moshi moshi~"

"Mr. Naoki, it was a huge success!" came the excited voice on the other end of the line.

"What success?" Naoki Nagayama was still not fully awake.

"World Mysteries!" Fumio Oyama's voice was very excited, "The ratings were 17%! After the broadcast, many viewers called Fuji TV asking where they could buy a 'beauty jar'!"

"Is that so? That's great!" Naoki Nagayama was now fully awake. For a late-night slot, a 17% rating was considered a huge success, given the usual 10-15%.

"Mr. Oyama, it's up to you now!"

"Hai, leave it to me!"

According to the previous plan, the first three episodes of this month were resources exchanged from BURNING Production. Whether the subsequent episodes would be purchased by the TV station depended on the ratings and audience interaction.

Generally, buying a TV drama is calculated by the number of episodes, but "World Mysteries" had no final number of episodes, so the shooting length had to be agreed upon, with about 9 episodes per quarter, 18 episodes in total for summer and winter.

The copyright of "World Mysteries" was not registered under GG Production but under a new shell company, Shuyu Eiga, which mainly handled TV and film copyrights.

With the success of the first episode, negotiating the subsequent purchase contract was not a problem, but the price was still to be discussed.

Fumio Oyama's social skills were quite good, honed over many years.

A few days later,

After drinking with the TV station's purchasing staff and department head several times,

The broadcasting rights were finally sold.

Just the broadcasting rights, 20 million yen per episode, 60 million yen per month, 9 episodes per quarter, totaling 180 million yen.

However, it was a monthly renewal,

If the three episodes this month did not perform well, there would be no next month.

This contract was very strict, showing that the TV station had reluctantly signed it based on the previous resource exchange.

But Naoki Nagayama and his team had confidence in their work, so they accepted it.

...

Everyone knew that making TV dramas was profitable, but they didn't expect it to be this profitable!

With only a 20 million yen budget, the profit was 8 times that!

All three were amazed by this return on investment.

Since the contract was signed, the subsequent production had to be put on track.

"Mr. Shuichi, the door to the TV drama industry is now open, the rest is up to you!"

Finding creative scripts, seeking stars, and rapid shooting... these were all tasks for Ishido Shuichi,

As the producer, Naoki Nagayama, besides the final review, was also responsible for some script creation, as he still had many intriguing short stories in his mind.

"Hai, I will do my best to complete the remaining 15 episodes, for the sake of the director's reputation!"

For a director, adding their name to each production was a future resume and badge of honor.

...

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