Chapter 325: Preparations for Film Adaptation

Takuto Utsumi was just picking up his chopsticks, preparing to grab some food to eat.

Upon hearing this proposal, he was so startled he nearly dropped his chopsticks.

He regained his composure, steadied his mind, and asked uncertainly, "Akiwara-sensei, could you repeat that?"

"I would like to ask you to direct a film about the sinking of Japan."

Akiwara Yuto complied readily, stating it again word for word.

"You aren't joking, are you?"

"I have no reason to joke with you."

Hearing this, Takuto Utsumi could only nod stiffly, and then he began to calculate in his mind.

After a moment, as if realizing something, he immediately asked: "Have you written a novel about the sinking of Japan?"

However, when he asked this, he was actually very uncertain in his heart.

Because in his memory, Akiwara Yuto was a mystery novelist who had, at most, occasionally written a couple of traditional novels.

And the topic of Japan sinking sounded like it belonged to the science fiction genre.

But soon, Akiwara Yuto confirmed his guess.

"Yes, I have written a novel about the sinking of Japan," Akiwara Yuto replied.

He looked at Takuto Utsumi, who still had a confused expression on his face, and began to explain.

After spending about 30 minutes or so, he finished explaining the main plot of the film version of "Japan Sinks."

In Akiwara Yuto's view, there was actually nothing much to say about the plot structure of this film.

It was similar to those Hollywood disaster blockbusters: scientists discover a disaster, warn the government, and then show the different reactions of the government and the citizens.

Although the plot was simple, it couldn't be helped that the gimmick was huge!

Like the first and second versions of "Japan Sinks" from his past life, the Douban ratings were all only around 6.5, and foreign ratings weren't high either.

One could imagine how the filmed version turned out.

However, relying on the gimmick of Japan sinking, this film still ran rampant in the film market, and even made a fortune.

In fact, Akiwara Yuto also understood that the Japanese public's enthusiasm for this film was inseparable from the reality they faced.

Japan is located at the junction of the Pacific and Eurasian plates and is in a high-frequency earthquake zone, so earthquakes occur frequently there.

According to incomplete statistics, there are about 1,000 felt earthquakes every year, accounting for 10% of the world's total earthquakes.

In addition to earthquakes, there are 83 active volcanoes of various sizes in Japan, accounting for one-tenth of the world's total active volcanoes.

It can be said that as long as the activity at the plate junction becomes a little more intense, the whole of Japan will face a "disaster."

Such an environment also makes the Japanese people have an extremely strong "sense of crisis" in their hearts; after all, there have been too many precedents of people dying under natural disasters.

Therefore, when "Japan Sinks" was first released, it quickly became the champion of Japanese historical box office, a record that wasn't broken until many years later.

Thus, in Akiwara Yuto's view, as long as this kind of film is made, there is basically no possibility of losing money.

In fact, if the box office cannot reach number one for the year, it can even be considered a failure.

He took a sip of water to moisten his throat and continued: "Utsumi-san, give me your opinion after hearing this."

After a moment of silence, Takuto Utsumi said: "Akiwara-sensei, this is a film destined to leave its name in history, but..."

"But?"

"But I cannot serve as the director of this film," Takuto Utsumi said with a conflicted expression.

Just as Akiwara Yuto was about to ask why, he continued, "You know, everything I've directed before has been realistic subject matter, such as the gangster genre, and the script you gave me, 'Memories of Murder,' didn't stray from that scope either."

"But the film 'Japan Sinks' is entirely in the realm of science fiction, so I'm sorry, I don't have the confidence in this area."

After listening, Akiwara Yuto pondered.

He found that Takuto Utsumi had a point; wanting to rely on one director to complete the filming of all genres was indeed a bit wishful thinking.

"Then do you have any suitable directors to recommend?" Akiwara Yuto asked.

Although he had some understanding of Japanese films, to be honest, he really didn't know any Japanese science fiction film directors.

Because whether in his past life or in this world, Japanese science fiction films were honestly not very good, whereas quite a few science fiction animated films were eye-catching.

Takuto Utsumi pondered for a moment and did not answer the question immediately, but instead asked.

"Akiwara-sensei, are you planning to use the form of an independent investor this time as well?"

Akiwara Yuto shook his head and said: "I am preparing to find a few suitable partners."

The cost of "Japan Sinks" in his past life was estimated at 2 billion yen, a sum that far exceeded the existing working capital of Tsutaya Bookstore.

After all, because of the pre-sale system without deposits, a large amount of money was still in the hands of the bookstore and could only be settled at the end of each month.

Moreover, the opening of chain bookstores and related publicity were also burning through a lot of money.

So, in order to share the costs, he prepared to find a film company to cooperate with.

"Then could you consider Tokyo Film Zhushihuishe?" Takuto Utsumi made a suggestion.

When Akiwara Yuto heard this name, he rubbed his chin and pondered.

Tokyo Film Zhushihuishe was also one of the major film companies in the industry. But the industry initiative regarding box office revenue sharing that was launched earlier seemed to have their signature on it as well.

So although he and the other party had never had direct contact, they could be considered to have a bit of "animosity."

Just as he was considering it, Takuto Utsumi continued to explain, "Akiwara-sensei, I have been working with Tokyo Film recently and understand their internal situation quite well. So I know that Tokyo Film is still willing to accept cooperation."

He paused and added: "I can understand your thoughts, but what I mean is that the industry association's initiative that time was not pushed by them."

Akiwara Yuto laughed, "Utsumi-san, what is your relationship with them?"

Takuto Utsumi said with a wry smile: "Just a simple cooperative relationship, but I believe that since we want to make this film well, we must have the most suitable distributor and investor."

Akiwara Yuto pondered repeatedly for a while, and finally decided to meet with the relevant person in charge at Tokyo Film first, and then discuss the matters of cooperation.

This wasn't a matter of holding a grudge or not, but rather what kind of view the other party had on this film, such as how the distribution rights would be calculated, and the investment amount, etc.

If they were truly sincere, he might be able to agree.

He informed Takuto Utsumi that he would meet them first before talking, and the latter breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

Immediately after, the two set aside work and chatted about romantic affairs.

According to Takuto Utsumi's account, Akiwara Yuto learned that he had already slept with the first to third female leads of the current film crew, which left him speechless.

However, he didn't say much; unspoken rules and the like were very common in the Japanese entertainment industry, and even the voice acting industry had followed suit and started playing with "pillow business."

At 11 o'clock in the evening, the two said goodbye and parted ways.

Akiwara Yuto returned home and fell into a deep sleep.

But what he didn't expect was that, driven by Jingfan Society, a storm of public opinion related to him was rapidly rolling toward him...