Chapter 101: Believe it or not, I'll shoot a *Ring* for you to see!

Wan Shengjie,

The "All Saints' Day" of the Christian Church,

It was originally a grand festival for the ancient Irish priests, the Druids, to praise autumn.

But the ancient Celts believed that this day was the beginning of the harsh winter.

Regardless of which one, Wan Shengjie had a meaning of the cycle of time and the alternation of life and death.

Naoki Nagayama was woken up by a phone call this morning.

"Naoki-san, are you up?"

The person calling was Yoshimura Otomo. Fortunately, Naoki Nagayama didn't have a bad temper when waking up, otherwise...

"Ah, Otomo-san, calling so early, did something happen?"

"Naoki-san, you're really carefree. This is your first film, you know. I didn't even sleep last night, okay!"

Yoshimura Otomo seemed a bit excited after staying up all night, and he spoke very fast.

"Does Naoki-san know how much our premiere box office is?"

"Eh? Do you know so early?" Naoki Nagayama was a bit surprised. Weren't box office statistics usually delayed?

Yoshimura Otomo said as if he were claiming credit: "I called major cinemas across the country overnight to confirm!"

"Ah! Otomo-san... you're really reliable~"

"Haha, Naoki-san, do you know how much our premiere box office is?"

You already asked that once... Naoki Nagayama knew that if he didn't follow his lead, this conversation wouldn't end.

"How much is it?"

"Not counting other small cinemas, it's already 80 million! Naoki-san, at least 80 million!"

"Is it that high?"

Naoki Nagayama was also a bit surprised. In an era where the first-week box office of an ordinary film was basically less than 100 million, *Paranormal Activity* actually had 80 million at the premiere.

"Otomo-san, looking at it this way, this film has already become a big hit!"

Naoki Nagayama was very happy. After all, for a film made in a rush, this result was already a huge profit.

"Hahaha, that's right, Naoki-san. I'm looking forward to the first-week box office!"

"Otomo-san, don't be too excited. Don't stay up late or anything. You're already over 40, so you should still pay some attention to your health."

"I say, Naoki-san, you're only 19, right? Why do you feel like an old grandfather, talking about health all day? I'm in my strongest age!"

Career is indeed the second spring of a man. Yoshimura Otomo, who had already been balding, had been glowing with energy recently.

He was as energetic as a young man in his 20s.

Things couldn't always go smoothly. With the expansion of the entire theater chain, *Paranormal Activity* was no longer limited to young people, and people of all ages noticed this film.

Some liked it, thinking that the film had a strong sense of reality, novel ideas, and a well-rendered sense of horror, making it a masterpiece of horror films.

Some hated it, saying that the film was crudely made, the plot was fake, the actors' performances were stiff, and there was no acting skill at all. Watching it for two hours was a pure waste of time.

I don't know why, but the phone number of the studio was leaked, and many haters called to harass Tree Friend Films.

"The voices of criticism are increasing, Naoki-san!" Shuichi Ito said this when the three of them gathered in the studio.

"There are even bad articles in magazines."

As he said this, he handed over a copy of *Shukan Bunshun*. The cover clearly read: "*Paranormal Activity*: A Play-Work by a Third-Rate Director, Sales Relying Entirely on Promotion?" Inside, they criticized the director and the lead actors one by one, and even interviewed the hot spring owner.

"Haha, Shuichi-san, have we offended *Shukan Bunshun*?" After reading the article for a few times, Naoki Nagayama couldn't help but laugh: "A frustrated third-rate advertising director, that's talking about you, Shuichi-san~"

Shuichi Ito couldn't help but say: "It also says you're a director college dropout who only relies on a face!"

"Hahaha, at least they acknowledged my looks! What's wrong with eating with your face? Many people don't even have this capital~"

"Kuso, I admit defeat to you in terms of thick skin!" Shuichi Ito touched his face helplessly, and then said to Yoshimura Otomo,

"Otomo-san, don't act like it has nothing to do with you. You've been called an 'accomplished-nothing balding agent'!"

Yoshimura Otomo indeed thought it had nothing to do with him. As a man in black behind the scenes, he was generally not brought out for reports.

"Nani? Did they actually write about me?" Why was he even a bit excited for a moment?

"Yes, it says that it was the short-sightedness of you, this accomplished-nothing balding agent, that led to the dissolution of the thriving Wild Cat Group, forcing several young ladies to participate in such a film..."

"What is this? It's completely nonsense~"

Naoki Nagayama patted him: "At that time, the agency did trade them to the Burning system. It's not wrong to say it was short-sighted. As the direct agent, of course, you have to take the blame."

"Kuso... how can it be like this!"

The reason why the three of them could look at this report so relaxedly was that the first-week box office of *Paranormal Activity* had already come out, reaching a staggering 230 million yen. According to this trend, reaching a final box office of 2 billion would not be a problem.

This was in 1981. For a film with decent quality, the box office was usually around 1 billion yen.

"Ding-a-ling!" "Ding-a-ling!"

The phone in the studio suddenly rang, startling all three of them.

When Shuichi Ito heard this sound, his brows immediately furrowed.

Media dirt and such were nothing, but some haters were too annoying!

These guys called specifically to scold people and disgust people...

"Kuso, this is already the 50th call today!" It wasn't even noon yet, and there were already 50 calls. In the Showa era, this frequency could be compared to the "call-to-death" of later generations.

"The previous call was received by the makeup artist Rena-chan, who didn't know anything and was almost scared to tears..." The studio didn't have a full-time customer service representative, and generally, whoever heard the phone would go to answer it.

Naoki Nagayama had no good way either. Their phone number must have been leaked by some jealous guys: "Shuichi-san, it seems we can only change the number. Let's not answer the phone for the next two days."

"That's true. We have to consider this aspect in the future. Naoki-san and Shuichi-san's residences and such..." Yoshimura Otomo said. He had been in contact with many artists and idols and was relatively sensitive to this kind of privacy protection.

Naoki Nagayama nodded: "Yeah, the apartment in Waseda is a bit inappropriate."

It was mainly a student apartment area, where people coming and going were all young people, making it easier to be recognized.

But fortunately, the house in Chiyoda was already renovated!

"Otomo-san, Shuichi-san, I'll be moving to the house in Chiyoda in a while. Remember to come when I move in~"

Both of them knew he had bought another house, but was it already renovated?

"Is it already renovated?" Shuichi Ito said: "At this time, I feel the benefits of Naoki-san buying so many houses..."

Naoki Nagayama advised: "Shuichi-san, I didn't buy houses to live in. It's an investment! Investment! Otomo-san, by the way, the film dividends are coming down, you guys can start buying too~"

Shuichi Ito shook his head repeatedly: "I still have to pay off the loan after the film dividends come down, and I still have to buy a car~"

Yoshimura Otomo was also a bit reluctant: "There's already a house in my hometown, it's better to save it."

"You guys will regret it~" Naoki Nagayama could only say this.

At this moment... suddenly...

"Ding-a-ling!"

The office phone rang again!

Naoki Nagayama was startled.

"Kuso! Always scaring people.

Believe it or not, I'll shoot a *Ring*!

Let's see if you still dare to call randomly!" ===== CHAPTER 102 =====