Chapter 671

The next morning was the opening blessing ceremony for 'Kikujiro's Summer'.

After renting a venue at Senso-ji Temple, a ritual place was simply constructed with tents and enclosures. The offering table and incense candles were placed in front. Everyone in the crew gathered here. The weather was very good, and the shaman also arrived before the auspicious time. Everything went very smoothly~

It's just that inside the main hall of Senso-ji Temple, the eyes of those monks were a bit strange...

Naoki Nagayama rushed over before the ceremony was held, and stood in the C-position of the crowd without hesitation.

Yuko Tanaka next to him, after greeting him, peeked at Naoki Nagayama several times, and finally couldn't help but ask:

"Naoki-san, are you not feeling well today?"

"Uh... I'm okay." Naoki Nagayama stood in the sun with two panda eyes, his face still a bit withered, and the scorching sun made his head feel a bit dizzy.

"Haha, did you play too wildly over the weekend..." Takeshi Kitano laughed from the side, then raised his eyebrows, "Although Naoki-san is young, you should have restraint when drinking flower wine!"

Yuko Tanaka's gaze toward Naoki Nagayama instantly became a bit sighing at his lack of self-discipline.

"......." Naoki Nagayama really didn't want to pay attention to this poisonous-tongued guy.

In fact, the reason for being so exhausted today was because he almost didn't sleep all night, writing the script.

Originally, he thought he just recalled 'Our Little Sister', so he suppressed the memory in his mind and drove home. But he didn't expect that after starting to write at Shanying Yuan, the memory in his mind seemed to have opened a faucet, and a steady stream of memories began to flow out.

Besides 'Our Little Sister', 'My Neighbor Totoro' also came out before, and for some reason, there was also a movie named 'Blue Sea'.

It turned out to be a lesbian movie... and it was filmed by a male AV director!

"How could I watch this kind of movie!!!"

Naoki Nagayama kept talking to himself while writing the script,

"It must have been glimpsed from somewhere! Maybe it was those strange clips from Bilibili uploaders!! Hmm! It must be!"

As for why he could recall all the scenes and plots after only seeing a few clips... This must be the reason for the golden finger! Anyway, he, Naoki Nagayama, would absolutely not search for and download such movies to watch!

So, writing three scripts in a row all night made him feel a bit dazed.

Seeing that the time had reached nine o'clock, after Xu Mudao came up to say a word, the opening ceremony officially began.

"Mirama ni kohagosa sdjfhgwjsho........"

The shaman wearing five-colored silk sang an incomprehensible prayer, and danced a great god in front of the offering table with a ritual instrument like a bell in her hand, making the atmosphere of the whole ceremony look weird and mysterious, while also having some inexplicable sense of holiness.

Stating the reason, offering tributes, and then offering incense candles... This set of blessing ceremony was completed very smoothly. Yuko Tanaka, who had participated before, had no discomfort at all, but Takeshi Kitano, who came for the first time, was a bit curious.

"Naoki-san, your Tree Friend's opening ceremony for filming movies, how come it's different from others?"

"Hmm?" Naoki Nagayama turned his head, "How is it different?"

"They are all priests or monks, praying in shrines and temples, and there are many rules for rituals." Takeshi Kitano said, "Yours is just... very simple... why invite this shaman?"

Simple? This is just a polite way of saying it. In fact, he wanted to say it was very irregular! Very irregular...

Even the object of the blessing was just an incense table, and he didn't even know which god was being prayed to.

Originally, that shaman was just a shaman in the countryside, just relying on observing words and colors and god-like chatter to bluff and mix a meal, where are there any complicated rules.

Naoki Nagayama smiled: "Haha, this kind of thing itself is sincerity leads to spirit... However, we Tree Friend have a fate with this shaman, so we have always invited her over."

Yuko Tanaka interjected: "I knew a little bit when I was chatting with the crew members before, it seems that Tree Friend's best-selling movies were all blessed by this shaman!"

"Oh? So efficacious?!"

Takeshi Kitano still wanted to say something, but the shaman on the stage had already finished the ceremony and went down with some fatigue... Now it was Naoki Nagayama's turn to start lecturing.

Naoki Nagayama, who was a bit exhausted, forced himself to cheer up and walked before the crowd:

"Minasan, 'Kikujiro's Summer' has officially started! Today, we will film the first scene first!!"

"Hai~~" XN

The crew members all answered very politely, and then under Xu Mudao's command, they began to prepare in an orderly manner.

Speaking of which, Xu Mudao being able to command everyone so conveniently today was inseparable from the watch that looked very high-end on his hand... After getting the method from the shaman that using the personal belongings of someone with a strong presence can neutralize his weak presence, Xu Mudao begged Naoki Nagayama for a long time...

Naoki Nagayama naturally couldn't give socks to someone, so after thinking about it, he could only give the watch he had been wearing for this period of time to Xu Mudao as a gift (the money was deducted from the remuneration for this movie)...

And now it seems that the shaman's method really works a bit~

But it could also be that the high-end Patek Philippe watch itself is very eye-catching!!

The first scene of 'Kikujiro's Summer' is the scene where the protagonist, the little boy Masao, and his classmates finish school.

He had already greeted the management office of 'Asakusa Hisago-dori Shopping Street', so the crew members could occupy the passage for a short time.

Naoki Nagayama said to Naoto Fujiki, who was a bit nervous in his school uniform, and another little actor:

"Naoto-kun and Shouta-kun, just think about the mood when you usually finish school and go home, run over from the intersection... don't be too fast or too slow..."

"Yes!"

However, children don't know how to act, so when they ran for the first time, it was like a race on the playground... The first take naturally couldn't pass.

Watching Naoto Fujiki becoming increasingly nervous, Naoki Nagayama sighed... Communicating with child actors is more troublesome. At this time, the more he is told not to be nervous, the more nervous he might become.

"Hmm..." Naoki Nagayama looked around and happened to see a convenience store in the shopping street under the scorching sun, so he called out, "Mudao-kun..."

"Yes?"

Xu Mudao appeared from nowhere.

"Take Naoto-kun and Shouta-kun to the convenience store to buy a popsicle to eat..."

"???" Xu Mudao and the two little actors looked over in surprise.

"Yes, hurry up~"

Naoki Nagayama patted the little actors' heads, and after the two left, he asked Naoto Fujiki's guardian, Takuya Fujiki.

"Mr. Fujiki, does Naoto-kun usually run this fast?"

Takuya Fujiki was a bit strange, but still answered earnestly: "Yes, this kid usually runs away in a flash... track and field is also very good."

"So that's it..." Naoki Nagayama closed his eyes and recalled the scene of Masao running in 'Kikujiro's Summer'... That child didn't run very fast, but it didn't seem to be the reason itself...

He aimed at the prop schoolbag, it was an empty bag, filled with some clothes... That's right! That schoolbag seemed very heavy in his memory!! He also had this thing in his hand...

So that's it!

After Naoki Nagayama found the reason, he began to look for it: "Kongming Sakata, bring the spare battery of the camera, put it in the schoolbag!"

"???"

Although Kongming Sakata didn't quite understand, he still followed the boss's order and put several large batteries into the schoolbags of the two little actors.

Naoki Nagayama lifted it with his hand, felt the weight was about the same, and then nodded with satisfaction.

When Naoto-kun and Shouta-kun came back, after putting on the schoolbag again, they felt their shoulders tighten... The popsicle in their mouths didn't seem to be fragrant anymore.

After filming started again, the image of the two was clearly that of poor elementary school students oppressed by schoolwork...

Crossing the crosswalk, arriving at the shopping street...

"Masao, summer vacation is here, how are you going to spend it?"

"What about you, Daishi?"

"I'm going to my father's house in the countryside, it's very close to the sea..."

"Really envy you~"

Two elementary school students were chatting while walking on the way home, but they saw a group of idle bad teenagers in the middle of the road... so they decided to change direction temporarily... and ran wildly toward home...

For this running scene, the crew used a cart to pull the camera, and with the assistance of several field staff, ran in parallel with the two elementary school students.

Xu Mudao, as the executive director, stood on the cart with the camera, while Naoki Nagayama shouted 'start' to the people running on the side... and cheered...

"Ready... action!....... Ganbatte! Run hard!"

Because they had to maintain absolute parallelism, this shot was filmed several times... Everyone was sweating profusely and panting, only Naoki Nagayama on the side was not red-faced or out of breath...

"Hahaha, well done, this take is OK!"

After looking at the director's monitor again after another run, Naoki Nagayama said to the actors!

Finally breathed a sigh of relief... The two little actors were both tired and sat down...

Takeshi Kitano and Yuko Tanaka, who had been in the crew since the opening, had been watching the crew's filming. Takeshi Kitano asked Yuko Tanaka curiously:

"Yuko-san, this is my first time collaborating with Naoki-san. This is the first shot, but I always feel a bit strange when filming...

When other directors film, they will explain the scenes to the actors, but will film from different angles, and even deliberately film several different performances.

Before editing, even the director himself doesn't know what the final lens presentation will be...

But Naoki-san directly set up the camera, directly let the crew and actors perform a specific scene... It seems... it seems he knows very clearly what kind of lens he wants..."

Yuko Tanaka nodded: "It's as if Naoki-san already has the picture in his head, just wanting the actors to perform it and then record it, right?"

"Yes yes yes, that's the feeling!" Takeshi Kitano nodded, "Did Naoki-san really plan the lens in advance?"

"Naoki-san said in the pleasantries before filming that he already had the picture in his head when writing the script... So when filming 'Ring' with him last time, I also found his requirements were very clear, very specific, very precise..." Yuko Tanaka said, "So the filming progress was very fast!"

"Logically speaking, a movie of about an hour and a half needs at least half a year to film, but Naoki-san filmed 'Ring' in just over a month." Yuko Tanaka sighed, "Only later did I know that he was filming 'Love Letter' at the same time!"

Takeshi Kitano's originally small eyes widened: "Filming two at the same time?!"

"Yes..." Yuko Tanaka sighed, "Because the picture was already in his head, the subsequent editing process was also very fast..."

"Kitano-san, didn't you notice? Tree Friend Film led by Naoki-san... the same crew can even film and release four movies in one year... This is a speed far exceeding Shochiku, Toho, Toei, and Kadokawa."

Takeshi Kitano's surprise became even stronger: "Four movies!"

"Yes, every one is a big seller!"

Yuko Tanaka smiled: "I don't know how many directors are secretly inquiring about Naoki-san's filming techniques... Many directors have also asked me... But Naoki-san's techniques are really impossible to copy!"

"......."

After a long silence, Takeshi Kitano had to admit that this special technique relies entirely on Naoki Nagayama's own genius brain, and others can't copy it even if they want to.

Planning all the pictures of the movie in advance... Which director dares to say he can...

Naoki Nagayama, who was filming the last shot, didn't know about the conversation between the two.

He set up the camera at the Kaminarimon gate, filming the scene where Masao and Daishi separate... The originally not-too-tall Kaminarimon gate, in contrast to the two children, looked a bit magnificent.

The vermilion gate and the huge lantern gave this scene of separation a special meaning.

"Cut!"

After the two little actors finished filming, Naoki Nagayama looked at the director's monitor again and felt that there was no problem.

"The morning scenes are basically OK! Everyone can rest." He walked to the guardians of the two little actors and said, "Shouta-kun is considered finished today... However, Naoto-kun will have to be stationed for filming starting tomorrow."

"No problem." Takuya Fujiki said, "I will accompany him all the time."

"Hmm, but the actor's work today is over. After lunch, you take them back~"

"Uh... Yes!" X2

After chatting with the guardians of the two little actors, Naoki Nagayama found Takeshi Kitano and Yuko Tanaka:

"How is it, the filming experience today?"

"Very... interesting..." Takeshi Kitano said.

"Haha, that's good. Tomorrow is the scene for Kitano-san and Yuko-san, prepare well!" Naoki Nagayama smiled.

"Eh? Not filming today?" Takeshi Kitano looked at the sky, it wasn't even noon yet...

"The temperature is too high, filming in this weather will cause heatstroke." What needs to be worried about in summer filming is also this situation, "Besides, today is the opening, no need to rush work too much."

"So that's it..."

After Naoki Nagayama chatted with the two for a while, he turned to Xu Mudao: "Mudao-kun, in the afternoon, we need to film some silhouettes of the shopping street, such as special crafts, characteristic shops, etc... as filler for future editing.

You will preside over the crew's work as the executive director. Rest for a while after eating, and film when the sun is not so strong..."

"I understand!" Xu Mudao nodded.

"Sa, let's go have lunch now! Today is the opening, I'll treat everyone to a big meal!" Just in the bustling shopping street of Asakusa, Naoki Nagayama took the opportunity to treat guests.

"Yes!!" XN

Tree Friend, studio.

Naoki Nagayama, who had finished eating, didn't return to Shanying Yuan first, but came to the workplace. Regarding the movies he recalled, Naoki Nagayama felt it was necessary to talk to Otomo Yoshimura.

"Otomo-san, this 'Our Little Sister', I think it is very suitable as a movie for the Cat's Eye Three Sisters..." Naoki Nagayama had already told Otomo Yoshimura the plot of 'Our Little Sister' once, "It will definitely bring the popularity of the Cat's Eye Three Sisters back..."

"Hmm... sounds very tempting, three sisters living alone, etc..." Otomo Yoshimura actually wanted to ask another question, "However, for the youngest sister at the end of the movie, who does Naoki-san want to choose?"

"Hmm?"

"Naoki-san understands, right? We have so many girl idols under our banner... choosing who is to make who popular! This is a very rare opportunity!" Otomo Yoshimura said earnestly, the fire of gossip in his heart stirring, "Sa, so among the subsequent girl idols, who does Naoki-san like the most?!"

"......." "I always feel that Otomo-san, you are thinking of something bad! I treat all idols equally!" Naoki Nagayama said, and then took out a script from his briefcase, "So... I have another 'Blue Sea' here!!! Need two female leads to star!"

"So that's it, then besides Kaoru Kohirumaki who just had a movie, others can all star in movies!"

Otomo Yoshimura took the script of 'Blue Sea' and started reading...

After a while, Otomo Yoshimura's expression changed slightly: "Naoki-san, why does this 'Blue Sea' feel a bit... the female leads are a bit... ambiguous?!"

"Ahem! Otomo-san, the friendship between girls is like this. You straight men won't understand!" Naoki Nagayama's expression was calm.

Otomo Yoshimura continued to read ten lines at a glance: "But why are there hugs and intimate behaviors?"

"Uh... Otomo-san, between good friends who are girls, sticking and hugging, kissing and cuddling are just expressions of intimacy, no need to make a fuss!"

Naoki Nagayama seemed to be talking about a truth that everyone knows, which made Otomo Yoshimura a bit unconfident.

"Am I old? Have a generation gap with young people now?!" Otomo Yoshimura shook his head. This old man really doesn't know much about teenage girls... "However, how does Naoki-san know so much?"

"Me?"

Naoki Nagayama was silent for a while, "Because I am a fickle and romantic scumbag..."

"......."

Because of this frank, sincere, and shameless remark, the office fell into silence until a knock on the door came over.

"Please come in!" Naoki Nagayama hurriedly answered.

"Hai...."

Kawahara Wuchun walked in, followed by a girl with short hair - Shizuka Kudo.

"Naoki-san, Otomo-san. I brought Shizuka Kudo over..." Kawahara Wuchun said, "Met with her family over the weekend, the contract has already been signed. Shizuka-chan has already moved into the 'Girls' Dormitory' this morning."

"So that's it..." Naoki Nagayama looked at Shizuka Kudo, who was a bit cautious, and revealed a smile, "Then Shizuka-chan, welcome to officially join Tree Friend today!"

"Arigato... Naoki-san..."

Shizuka Kudo saw Naoki Nagayama's sunny and handsome smile again, her face slightly flushed, but in the hot weather, it couldn't be seen clearly.

"Ah, this is General Manager Otomo Yoshimura, the real boss of Tree Friend in the entertainment business. You will be his subordinate from now on." Naoki Nagayama introduced Otomo Yoshimura, "Otomo-san, this is the Shizuka Kudo I mentioned to you before."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Shizuka Kudo..." the little girl greeted respectfully.

"Hmm hmm, Shizuka-chan is indeed very spiritual..." Otomo Yoshimura said, "I look forward to your guidance in the future~"

While speaking, Otomo Yoshimura glanced at Naoki Nagayama. Naoki-san really has a lot of research on teenage girls. This Shizuka Kudo was so stunning at first glance, and even her face shape had some shortcomings, but after looking away, this face could make people remember it.

"Naoki-san, since Shizuka-chan has already joined Tree Friend, then training and stuff, are they all according to the previous ones?"

Vocal training, dance training, body training... This is already the only way for female artists under Tree Friend.

Naoki Nagayama thought for a while:

"Let's go through the process. Shizuka-chan has had training at the Kitten Club, and her ability is no problem. Just treat it as getting familiar with Tree Friend's culture..."

Otomo Yoshimura continued to ask: "Then when is her record debut scheduled? Debut song?"

"Shizuka-chan has accumulated some popularity in 'Evening Meow Meow'. It would be a pity if her popularity dissipates if she doesn't appear for a long time." Naoki Nagayama said, "The debut time is set for the end of August... As for the debut song... why not use the previous 'Sunshine Girl'!"

Shizuka Kudo's voice is very special, and 'Sunshine Girl' just needs a voice that can make people remember it, so that it can have a magical ability to be sung by people.

"Yes!" X2

In a few words, Shizuka Kudo's work at Tree Friend was arranged clearly!