Chapter 251: Uninvited Guest

The next morning, Akiwara Yuto at home received a call from Asano Aiko and was informed that an independent producer named Nei Hai Tuo Ren hoped to visit.

Akiwara Yuto was a bit surprised after hearing this request.

In his original plan, he had never considered the option of an independent producer.

The so-called independent producer is generally a producer engaged in film production outside the major studio system or mainstream commercial film production system.

They often don't have a fixed team and need to find scripts, sign actors, and organize filming themselves; in terms of funds, they even have to find film companies or investors separately.

But such a model is often only suitable for the scale of the movie?

He originally wanted to refuse, but thought about it and now there was no suitable film company, so he agreed to the request for a meeting, agreed to Asano Aiko telling his address to that producer named Nei Hai Tuo Ren, and made an appointment for the afternoon.

At 2 PM, Nei Hai Tuo Ren came to the high-end apartment where he lived, accompanied by a screenwriter named Yongshan Yi Ren.

"Good afternoon, Teacher Akiwara."

After seeing Akiwara Yuto, both of them bowed respectfully and greeted him; after all, Akiwara Yuto's social status was very high, and they indeed had requests for him this time.

Akiwara Yuto greeted them to sit down, poured two cups of tea for them, and observed them carefully, discovering that both looked to be around 35 years old. By the standards of film people, they were a bit too young.

Akiwara Yuto felt even more unreliable, so he asked directly: "Nei Hai-san, Yongshan-san, may I ask what your intention is?"

He guessed it might be related to his copyright negotiation before, but still wanted to hear what the other party would actually say.

Nei Hai Tuo Ren cleared his throat, then handed over a document, and said in a respectful attitude: "Teacher Akiwara, I hope to obtain the filming authorization for *The Devotion of Suspect X*; these are the conditions we offered, please take a look."

Akiwara Yuto took the document suspiciously and opened it to look.

He discovered that the production of this document was very irregular, unlike one drafted by a specialized lawyer. However, the content was very sincere, and even increased the box office share to 10 percentage points.

However, he didn't feel happy because of this, but instead felt more like the other party was a "liar," and tested by asking: "Nei Hai-san, what is your budget for filming?"

This question is very critical; if the other party couldn't say anything, he would just find an excuse to kick them out.

Nei Hai Tuo Ren and Yongshan Yi Ren looked at each other, then said with confidence: "150 million yen production cost, and then 50 million yen promotion fee!"

Akiwara Yuto didn't believe it even more; he didn't think the other party had so much money, and asked: "Have the funds arrived? Is there a certificate issued by the bank?"

Hearing this question, the two revealed awkward smiles, then said: "Currently still looking for investors, but in our view, this investment is not a problem."

Akiwara Yuto was speechless, feeling that the two were just fooling people, and even fooling people to his head.

He was silent for a while, then intended to send the guests away, "Let's do this for today; please contact my assistant, Miss Asano, for subsequent matters."

Although he said this, he intended to let Asano Aiko blacklist the two later.

They didn't even have money and still wanted to film a movie; did they really think he was brainless?

Nei Hai Tuo Ren, as an independent producer, had been dealing with different people every day and had long stopped caring about face, immediately pulling his partner to stand up and bow deeply, and said sincerely: "Teacher Akiwara, please listen to me! You only need to occupy a little of your time!"

Akiwara Yuto originally wanted to refuse, but seeing the other party's posture, he didn't intend to leave.

He frowned, decided to let the other party finish speaking before kicking them out, and said impolitely: "I'll give you 15 minutes, please finish as soon as possible."

"Yes, thank you very much!" Nei Hai Tuo Ren felt relieved in his heart, then straightened his body and said: "It's like this, we intend to operate like this..."

Immediately following, he began to explain, and Akiwara Yuto listened and discovered that the other party's proposal indeed had feasibility.

After obtaining his filming authorization, the other party prepared to contact several suitable investors through this copyright agreement, including film companies, talent agencies, theaters, brand sponsors, and other investors.

This can not only obtain funds, but also let them borrow relevant resources for integration, thereby completing the filming at the standard of 150 million yen.

"Teacher Akiwara, in terms of supporting roles and artists, we can invite actors from cooperative talent agencies; in terms of filming equipment and props, we can let film companies contribute; as for the actors' costumes, we can find corresponding brand sponsors..."

Nei Hai Tuo Ren talked eloquently, and reported the names of companies they had cooperated with before, and Akiwara Yuto listened while also beginning to believe the other party's words.

The sales of this work *The Devotion of Suspect X* had already exceeded one million; it's a cake everyone knows. Plus his fame, maybe the other party could really pull in quite a bit of investment amount.

But he still raised a question: "Since that's the case, why don't I cooperate with film companies, but instead find you?"

Although the current copyright cooperation encountered some problems, there were still many medium-sized film companies that hadn't been contacted, and what independent producers could do, these film companies could naturally do too.

Nei Hai Tuo Ren laughed and gave a look to his partner beside him; Yongshan Yi Ren, who had been silent, spoke at this time: "Teacher Akiwara, do you have any impression of me?"

Akiwara Yuto looked at his face for a long time, but failed to remember who the other party was.

Yongshan Yiren revealed an awkward expression and said, "Yesterday, when you went to the Yoshikawa Corporation, I was standing behind Chairman Yoshikawa."

Akiwara Yuto finished listening to this explanation and continued to subconsciously recall, but still failed.

However, he also knew the ways of the world, pretended he knew, and asked puzzledly: "Then what is your intention?"

If the other party was a member of Jichuan Stock Company, why did they come with Nei Hai Tuo Ren, this independent producer? How could it be reasonable?

Yongshan Yi Ren explained further; he and Nei Hai Tuo Ren were childhood friends and had also cooperated because of work relationships.

He paused and said again: "Teacher Akiwara, if you still want to find a film company, the feasibility is not high."

Akiwara Yuto didn't understand what he meant and asked: "Why do you say that?"

Yongshan Yi Ren replied: "Some things between you and Dong Ying Film have already spread in the industry. And the Film Industry Association here expressed the hope that major film companies would abide by industry rules, especially not to overstep, so under this threat, our president gave up the cooperation with you."

Akiwara Yuto although guessed that Dong Ying Film was making trouble behind the scenes, still didn't quite understand what this had to do with the association.

Yongshan Yi Ren continued: "The Film Industry Association is organized by the five major film companies in the industry, representing their attitude. If a company does not recognize the association's initiative, it is very likely to suffer some suppression in theaters, award evaluations, and other aspects."

Akiwara Yuto frowned and said skeptically: "It wouldn't go that far, right?"

It's just a movie copyright; one doesn't know the specific box office before filming, why bother issuing some industry initiative?

Nei Hai Tuo Ren took over the topic with a smile, "Teacher Akiwara, this is not just a benefit problem of *The Devotion of Suspect X*, but also a face problem of big companies. If the copyright that big companies didn't talk down is snatched by a small company, will more people follow suit?"

Akiwara Yuto pondered for a while and found that there was indeed this possibility.

He had already made up his mind to have box office share, so it was unlikely he would grant the copyright to Dong Ying Film and the other four large companies.

In such a situation, if he cooperated with a medium company and filmed a box office hit in the form of box office share, it would inevitably make more medium companies jealous and even follow suit.

By that point, the five major companies represented by Dong Ying Film would have a headache; he estimated that in the future, if they want to get copyright, they will have to offer higher conditions.

Nei Hai Tuo Ren pondered Akiwara Yuto's thoughts for a while and said: "Teacher Akiwara, as independent producers, there won't be any problems in this regard. After all, independent production and film companies are different in essence."

After finishing this sentence, he and Yongshan Yi Ren bowed deeply again: "Teacher Akiwara, please agree to our request! We will definitely film a box office hit!"

Akiwara Yuto stared at them for a while and gave his answer.

"Sorry, please go back for today." ===== CHAPTER 252 =====