Chapter 1293

After more than two months, Naoki Nagayama couldn't help but sigh upon arriving at Jurassic Island again:

"Things have changed a lot here~"

Before they were prepared to film the movie, all the facilities on the island were basically plain and undecorated.

But in these two months, with the preparations for filming, the entire island had become much more vivid... The simple port town, whether it was the graffiti on the surrounding buildings or the colorful flags and decorations on the streets, was more than twice as rich as when he had come before.

Masataka Komori, who came to the small airport to pick up Naoki Nagayama, said:

"Naoki-san, in the last few days, we have moved all the filming equipment and the props custom-made in Tokyo over here, and the off-road vehicles for transportation have also been shipped over..."

"We have also set up the scenes according to the script, and we can start filming at any time!"

As he spoke, he invited Naoki Nagayama and the others onto the small off-road vehicle waiting nearby.

Naoki Nagayama nodded with satisfaction and said to Yuko Tanaka beside him:

"Yuko-san, for the next few months, this island will be our studio! What do you think?"

"Naoki-san, you really turned an island into a film set!"

Yuko Tanaka, who had lost quite a bit of weight, was seeing Jurassic Island for the first time, and she was looking around curiously.

As the off-road vehicle moved forward, parks, dinosaur statues, exhibition-like venues, zoos enclosed by wire fences... these scenes made her unable to help but connect them to the novel "Jurassic Park."

When Naoki Nagayama called to invite her to play the female lead a while ago, he mentioned there would be many sci-fi scenes, and she had thought they would mostly be at the filming base in Ota Ward.

"This island will become a theme park after the movie is filmed!"

Naoki Nagayama introduced it to Yuko Tanaka in the car,

"So these scenes are all set up in real life... almost exactly the same as in the book! And the supporting facilities are also very complete; we will be staying in the resort hotel today."

"It will also be open to the public?!"

Yuko Tanaka was surprised. Just at this moment, she saw a Ferris wheel set up in the distance,

"Is that Ferris wheel real?!"

"Yes... you'll know when we get there; there are also roller coasters, pirate ships, and the like inside."

Naoki Nagayama said with a smile,

"This is just the first phase of the project. Once the second and third phases are completed, this place might be as famous as Disneyland!"

"I think once 'Jurassic Park' is filmed, this place will definitely become famous! It's just like the Jurassic Park in the novel!"

Yuko Tanaka had great confidence in Naoki Nagayama's talent; otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed to come and star in it as soon as he asked.

"Yuko-san, have you finished reading the script these past few days?"

"Yes, actually I had already read the novel, so the script was much more familiar..."

While enjoying the scenery of Jurassic Island and chatting about the script, the off-road vehicle soon arrived at the resort hotel. They saw that many people had already gathered there—Japanese people and even foreigners—all members of the film crew...

They didn't have the convenience of a private jet, so they had come early and had already checked into the hotel.

"Naoki-san!" "Director Nagayama!" "Director..." "..."

Walking along the way, Naoki Nagayama naturally received a warm welcome, and the crew members also looked at Yuko Tanaka one after another, knowing that she was the female lead of this movie.

When he saw Harrison Ford, this guy was chatting with extras of the same skin color...

Although the hotel staff could all speak English, it was still more relaxing to chat with Americans~

"Director Nagayama!"

Harrison walked over enthusiastically when he saw Naoki Nagayama and gave him a bear hug,

"Finally waiting for the start of filming! I've been so idle these past few days I felt like I was going to rust!"

"Haha, isn't it nice to be on vacation here? Beach, sunshine, fine wine..."

Naoki Nagayama joked with a smile,

"If the service team isn't good enough, you can give feedback!"

"No, no, no~" Harrison shook his head, "Their service is great, and the scenery here is also great... It's just that I'm not used to being on vacation for so long... I feel more grounded when filming!"

"As expected of a dedicated actor!"

Seeing Harrison's appearance, one knew he must have other reasons, such as the lack of women here... However, Naoki Nagayama naturally wouldn't expose him at this time. He turned around and introduced Yuko Tanaka beside him,

"Harrison, this is Ms. Yuko Tanaka, the female lead of the movie!"

"Yuko-san, Harrison Ford, you should know him, right?"

"Hi!" Yuko Tanaka extended her hand gracefully and said in English, "Mr. Ford, hello! I'm very happy to be acting opposite you this time!"

"Hello!"

Harrison shook her hand in a very friendly manner,

"I hope everything goes smoothly in the upcoming filming..."

After the two were introduced, Naoki Nagayama looked up at the sky and said:

"It's about time; the blessing ceremony should be ready..."

As he spoke, he looked for Masataka Komori in the crowd:

"Komori-kun... Murata-baba's apprentice, Toshio Matsuzaki, has arrived, right?"

"Hi, Priest Matsuzaki is already preparing." Masataka Komori nodded, "Once the auspicious time arrives, we can proceed with the blessing ceremony. Ah... he's already out!"

Just at this moment, Toshio Matsuzaki, wearing colorful priest robes, walked out from behind the hotel and came to the offering table filled with tributes, placed a spirit tablet, and began the final preparations.

The crew members also began to line up in formation at the call of the production manager... Several cameramen began to adjust the camera angles, preparing to record the blessing ceremony for publicity...

Harrison beside him was a bit puzzled:

"What is this for?"

"Oh?" Naoki Nagayama said in surprise, "Didn't they tell you? This is to hold the opening ceremony."

"Director Komori did tell me that an opening ceremony would be held..."

Harrison looked in surprise at the crew starting to line up in formation and the priest looking straight ahead, as if they were about to perform some religious ritual,

"But he didn't say there would be a religious service... I only knew there would be a service when that priest dressed so mysteriously came out."

Harrison had filmed so many movies that he had more or less an understanding of the religious customs of various cultures and knew what religious services in Eastern culture were...

There were also opening ceremonies in Hollywood, but most were just crew parties where producers and directors gave speeches, followed by a party, and reporters came to take pictures...

Naoki Nagayama found it a bit funny:

"The offering table had already been set up in the garden before; there were tributes and an altar too... Didn't you notice?"

"I thought that was food for the party..."

Harrison shrugged,

"This is Japan, so I thought this might just be a Japanese party..."

"Hahaha~ This is a Japanese blessing ceremony to pray to the gods for the smooth production of the movie and for it to sell well after release!"

Yuko Tanaka was amused by this conversation and explained to her future partner,

"These are tributes for the gods and spirits... you can't eat them!"

"Good thing I didn't eat any..."

Harrison had a funny look of lingering fear, which made Yuko Tanaka laugh very happily... However, would a guy who filmed "Indiana Jones" not know about tributes and the like?

Naoki Nagayama felt that this guy might be pretending to be innocent... He was teasing Yuko-san on purpose; he wanted to hit on her!!!

Actually, you couldn't blame him; although Yuko Tanaka's features weren't prominent, they were very harmonious when put together, and she had a special charm...

Otherwise, how could she have attracted the Japanese superstar Kenji Sawada, who even paid 1.8 billion yen to divorce his ex-wife and even gave up his children...

"Alright, alright..."

Naoki Nagayama interrupted Harrison's performance,

"The time for the blessing ceremony is almost here; let's go line up too... You two are the leads, line up on my sides..."

"Okay~" "Hi..."

After Naoki Nagayama also joined the formation, the blessing ceremony truly began.

As the sound of the small drum rose, the priest standing in front of the offering table began to chant incantations that no one understood, and his body seemed to become uncontrollable... After that, he began to dance like a shaman...

Toshio Matsuzaki was a one-eyed man, with one empty eye socket that was scary. Wearing the priest robes inherited from Murata-baba, he appeared both mysterious and terrifying, and his shaman dance seemed to have surpassed his master~

Naoki Nagayama was also very satisfied:

"He already has ninety percent of Murata-baba's skill!"

Compared to waiting for "Jurassic Park" to be a big hit, Toshio Matsuzaki would be able to directly take over Murata-baba's position and continue to serve Shuyou Film!

The manic dance lasted for ten minutes. During this time, with the urgency of the apprentice's drumbeats, Toshio Matsuzaki's dance steps became increasingly intense, and his exaggerated movements carried an inexplicable feeling, making others believe that Toshio Matsuzaki had definitely connected with some gods or spirits...

Until the end, with the ringing of a gong, Toshio Matsuzaki stopped, but he was already covered in sweat...

"Mr. Nagayama..."

Toshio Matsuzaki gathered his last bit of strength,

"You can offer incense now!"

"Thank you for your hard work..."

Naoki Nagayama nodded, picked up the three thick incense sticks handed over by the apprentice, took the lead in bowing three times, and then inserted them into the incense burner on the offering table!

Next were the male and female leads, and the other crew members offered incense in turn...

The curling blue smoke rose slowly, drifting into the sky and becoming invisible, as if the prayers had really been carried to some unknown place...

After the blessing ceremony ended, according to Shuyou's custom, a shot needed to be filmed.

Masataka Komori immediately led Naoki Nagayama to a film set not far away... The set was arranged as a sandy area...

"Naoki-san, for the first shot, we will film the scene of excavating dinosaur fossils!"

Masataka Komori said,

"The camera position has been arranged, the camera is in place... and the dinosaur fossils have been buried!"

And in the field, several extras had already put on costumes and were holding small brushes, cosplaying as anonymous archaeologists.

"..."

Naoki Nagayama actually knew that such archaeology was very unprofessional; if real archaeologists saw it, they would definitely nitpick!

Since when could you discover dinosaur fossils by just brushing away sand with a small brush... and since when did unprocessed dinosaur fossils look so much like dinosaur fossils!!

After being buried deep underground for thousands of years, all dinosaur fossils were pressed together with soil before excavation, and the bones were all in different positions... It required professional tools to clean them out...

However, since it wasn't a science documentary, let's just leave it at that~

"*Cough cough*..."

Naoki Nagayama picked up the microphone after a long time; he hadn't given orders since "Departures," and he even felt a bit nostalgic,

"Everyone to your positions..."

The crew members immediately took their places and reported their status. The script supervisor held the clapperboard in front of the camera and announced it clearly:

"'Jurassic Park,' Scene 1, Take 1..."

The "clack" of the clapperboard closing marked the official start of filming...

"Ready... Action!"

As the director's order was given, several extras lay half-prone on the sand, using brushes to brush away the top layer of sand, revealing the white dinosaur bone fossils underneath...

And one actor even used his hand to dig a few times at the nostril of the dinosaur fossil, digging out the sand...

"... Don't get angry, don't get angry..."

Naoki Nagayama comforted himself,

"This is just a shot to establish the scene... let them dig if they want..."

Then he watched the camera slowly rise, starting from a close-up to film the full view of the archaeological site... until the pattern of the entire dinosaur skeleton was included in the shot, and only then was it considered finished...

"Cut!"

Naoki Nagayama saw that the time was right and shouted loudly.

Then he reviewed the filmed footage on the director's monitor:

"Good, this take is a wrap!"

Hearing the director's words, applause erupted throughout the set... The first shot of "Jurassic Park" was filmed just like that!!!

Since today was the start of filming and only one shot was filmed, everyone on the crew was very relaxed... Next, naturally, was to return to the hotel for a banquet~

In the hotel's small garden, the previous altar had been cleared away, and now it had been replaced with long tables, snacks, and drinks.

The crew members began to share food, relax, chat, and drink beverages...

"This is what an opening ceremony should look like~"

Harrison had just watched the filming of the first shot with the crew. Although he found it strange that they returned to the hotel after filming only one shot, this was his first time collaborating with a Japanese director, so he didn't ask too much.

"Hahaha, Harrison, how do you feel about the filming just now?"

Naoki Nagayama came to Harrison's side and asked.

"The Shuyou crew is very professional; everyone knows what they need to do..."

Just now, when Naoki Nagayama gave the order, the orderly manner of the entire crew left a deep impression on Harrison... because when filming other movies before, the entire set needed to be rehearsed many times before it could be filmed smoothly...

Sometimes the director also needed to repeatedly tell the actors their movements~

"And the shot was filmed in one take, which also surprised me..."

"This is efficiency..." Naoki Nagayama said, "Harrison, when I was communicating with you, I said that in Japan, the speed of filming a movie is beyond your imagination..."

"The crew is one I'm used to working with, and the set is right on the island..."

"We will finish filming 'Jurassic Park' within a few months; you should believe it now, right?!"

Harrison raised his wine glass:

"Indeed, it surprises me! And I believe the movie can be filmed quickly!"

"But Director Nagayama, why only film one shot?"

"Haha, it's just a habit!"

Naoki Nagayama laughed,

"Harrison, enjoy the delicious food, drink good wine, and get a good rest today... Starting tomorrow, we will be filming non-stop!"

"Director Nagayama, I will show my best state..."

After chatting with Harrison, Naoki Nagayama also greeted the other crew members one by one. For the next few months, everyone would be in the same boat...

"'Jurassic Park' is in everyone's hands!"