Chapter 716: A fairy tale filmed for adults!!

In the university classroom in Ikebukuro, Rintaro Tsutsui was attending a large lecture, but the teacher's rigid and boring narration on the podium was only enthusiastically responded to by the annoying cicadas outside the window.

He scribbled a few sentences from the blackboard into his notebook, and then couldn't help but slack off.

"Director Naoki Nagayama's new movie seems to be released today~ I heard it's a comedy, and it looks very interesting~"

His friend Nobutomo Okawa, who was dressed like a peacock, poked his arm,

"Should we call Koto-chan and the others after class and go watch it together~"

"You guy, if you want to pursue a girlfriend, go do it yourself; why are you dragging me into it!" Rintaro Tsutsui replied in a low voice.

"Who told such a beautiful girl like Koto-chan to actually like being with a blockhead like you~"

Nobutomo Okawa sighed, "If you don't go, she won't come out~"

"..."

Even though Rintaro Tsutsui wasn't very sensitive to feelings, he felt something was wrong:

"Nobutomo... is the relationship between the three of us a bit complicated?"

"? What's complicated about it?"

"You just said Koto-chan likes me, but you want to invite her out to watch a movie... and then you called me too?!!"

Rintaro Tsutsui combed through the relationship, as if he understood something!

"Nobutomo... my good friend! So you're a lick-dog!!!"

"Phew! What the hell are you talking about!" Nobutomo Okawa was immediately furious, "I have no interest in Koto-chan! What's important are her best friends who are with her!!"

"Beautiful girls playing with beautiful girls! Her few beautiful best friends are my targets, okay!!!"

"Are they all targets?" A voice popped up from the side, asking with some surprise.

Nobutomo Okawa subconsciously replied: "Of course, my motto, Nobutomo Okawa's, is to cast a wide net, raise many fish, and only pick the best one!"

After saying that, the somewhat proud Nobutomo Okawa suddenly realized something was wrong; Rintaro Tsutsui in front of him didn't seem to have spoken!

Then who asked just now...

He turned his head stiffly, and sure enough, he found the lecturer for this class standing right beside them!!!

The lecturer, Ryohei Kawamura, who was over fifty, looked at Nobutomo Okawa with eyes that didn't know whether to be surprised or contemptuous, and sighed in front of the whole class:

"Nobutomo Okawa... you really have the potential to be a scumbag!"

"... Teacher, please listen to my sophistry..."

"I won't listen!" Lecturer Ryohei Kawamura shook his head immediately, "No matter what you say, no matter whether you are a scumbag or not, you are definitely sweeping the floor of this classroom today!!"

"No!!!" Nobutomo Okawa let out a wail!

This is a tiered classroom for a large lecture, almost the size of two basketball courts!!!

But the other students let out happy laughter; for a time, the whole classroom was filled with a happy atmosphere!

"Kikujiro's Summer" was officially released!

A movie without even a preview made all film critics and movie lovers full of expectation, unable to wait to appreciate the confident work of the well-known director Naoki Nagayama.

At this time, someone dug up previous reports; Naoki Nagayama had said that this was a movie that would win both an Oscar and the Palme d'Or!

The premiere press conference for the movie was still arranged at "Bungeiza"; this cinema had accidentally become the dedicated cinema for Shu-Yu Films.

I heard that the section chief of the Shu-Yu distribution department, Toshihiko Sugiyama, and the owner of the cinema had reached a cooperation, and would specifically place a movie display cabinet for Shu-Yu Films in the exhibition hall next to the main entrance of the cinema.

Today, in the exhibition hall located at the corner of the street, there was a huge poster, which was the scene of "Kikujiro's Summer," along with advertisements for the release time and so on... "Bungeiza" would play this movie for a whole week!

"Naoki-san, is there any problem?"

The planner for Shu-Yu Films, Eiichiro Watanabe, asked while standing in front of the display table in the lobby; he saw Naoki Nagayama looking at the movie brochure on the display table.

"Are there actually three different types of brochures here?" Naoki Nagayama flipped through the brochures casually; the three brochures of different colors were, according to the previous decision, one type randomly distributed to each cinema.

"Hai, this is specifically prepared for today's media meeting, and we will also publicize the fact that there are three different promotional brochures..." Eiichiro Watanabe explained.

"So that's how it is~"

Naoki Nagayama nodded and didn't say anything; his own planner was still very capable.

Just at this moment, a greeting came from the entrance: "Naoki-san~"

"Yuko-san!" Naoki Nagayama greeted this mature big sister happily, and seeing her skin that had become fair again, he praised, "It's only been a few days, and Yuko-san, who was tanned, has become fair again, and has become so beautiful... It's truly a case of 'three days without seeing, one must look with new eyes'..."

"What a glib tongue!" Tanaka Yuko was obviously even happier when she heard this; she walked to Naoki Nagayama's side and smiled, "Speaking of 'looking with new eyes,' Naoki-san is the amazing one, actually announcing your romance without a sound..."

"You already knew about this a long time ago~"

"I didn't expect it to be announced so suddenly!" Tanaka Yuko continued, then looked at Naoki Nagayama with some concern, "Although I knew you woke up from your coma from the phone call before, is there really no problem?"

"Daijoubu! I'm very healthy!"

"That's good~"

The two people who hadn't seen each other for almost a month were chatting very familiarly, and not long after, they saw Takeshi Kitano and the child actor Naoto Fujiki and his father Takuya Fujiki...

It was inevitably another set of warm greetings, and then they returned to the main topic.

"Naoki-san, after this premiere, there will be a media meeting; media reporters and film critics might be very strict about this movie!" Takeshi Kitano had already heard the news in the media circle, "When the time comes for interviews..."

"Haha, daijoubu! If they ask about you, just say your true feelings, it doesn't matter otherwise." Naoki Nagayama smiled, "The reporters will most likely concentrate their firepower on me!"

"? Why?"

"Because I let out the word before that I would accept some interviews unrelated to the movie today..."

"..."

Now everyone knew that the reporters would definitely surround Naoki Nagayama and not let go!

In the unhurried chat, the cinema soon welcomed many moviegoers; Naoki Nagayama and the others naturally followed the crowd to the screening hall and waited for the movie to start in the front row seats.

As time passed slowly, the seats in the screening hall gradually filled up... As the lights dimmed, "Kikujiro's Summer" officially began!!

The light piano sound rang out, the jumping rhythm like a happy child; the melody of "Summer" led people to that childhood summer full of joy~

The first scene was a long take; the little boy Masao, wearing a flashy shirt, ran over from the other end of the bridge, with a happy smile on his face, his steps agile and light, carrying a small blue cloth bag, with a sky-blue angel bell hanging, running toward the other end of the bridge...

"This is the end of the journey~"

Takeshi Kitano was stunned; he actually revealed the final ending in the first scene? As expected of Naoki-san! The editing is also so unrestrained.

The transition that seemed like flipping the pages of a storybook made the audience sitting there feel surprised...

The official start of the story wasn't very happy all at once; the gloomy little boy Masao was on summer vacation, his best friend went to the countryside to escape the heat, the soccer class was disbanded, and as an orphan living with his grandmother, he could only look at books by himself...

In such a vacation where a child should have been happy, he appeared particularly lonely, which led to the idea of looking for the mother who had abandoned him...

Just at this time, he met the cynical middle-aged old thug—Kikujiro.

One old and unrefined, one introverted little boy, started a journey of finding relatives that was both sad and happy in this summer.

When they saw Masao almost being molested by a perverted uncle, the audience was angry; watching Kikujiro crash in the swimming pool, everyone laughed again; when Kikujiro caused trouble, people hated him for not being better; when he was comically blocking cars on the road, everyone felt the comedy again...

However, when Masao discovered that his mother already had a new family, that kind of loss and helplessness made Kikujiro think of his own childhood, and also touched the hearts of the people watching; many audience members had wet eyes.

The second half of the movie was filled with deep warmth; they met the kind motorcycle duo and the writer traveling everywhere, everyone camped on the bank of the Tenryu River, using childish and funny jokes to soothe Masao's heart; Kikujiro also forgave his own mother and reconciled with his own childhood...

The timely original soundtrack, the melancholy blue permeating the details, made the comedy that should have been very noisy appear quiet and gentle, as if a pair of gentle hands were soothing the audience's mood.

In the final "Summer," the movie ended; the cinema was silent for a long time, and then someone started to applaud, followed by more people starting to applaud, until finally the applause was like thunder!

"Truly a master's work~" "So comedy can be filmed like this!" "This guy Naoki Nagayama can be said to have grasped the audience's mood in the palm of his hand!" "After watching the movie, I feel like my heart has been ironed!" "This is a fairy tale filmed for adults!"...

The rustling sighs spread continuously among the film critics and movie lovers at the scene, and praises for this movie kept coming out of the mouths of critical critics.

After this movie was released, everyone finally understood why Naoki Nagayama dared to skip the preview and go directly to the premiere!

The same feedback, from cinemas in Tokyo to cinemas in Kyushu, was all the same.

In just the time of one screening, everyone knew that "Kikujiro's Summer" would definitely be the most unforgettable movie of this year!

As the lights in the cinema came on, the audience prepared to get up and leave amidst excited exchanges; quite a few audience members said directly that they would bring friends to watch it a second and third time!

However, at this time, in the lobby of "Bungeiza," the premiere press conference for "Kikujiro's Summer" was already ready to begin.

The staff guided the media reporters to stand in position in front of the main background, the back row was today's audience, and then Naoki Nagayama led the creative team and walked to the front of the stage leisurely...

"Minna-san, the premiere press conference for 'Kikujiro's Summer' officially begins... Next, we invite the creative team to greet everyone..."

The host began to cue the process; for a time, the light of the flashes overwhelmed the lights in the lobby...

"Minna-san, good morning, I am Naoki Nagayama/Takeshi Kitano/Tanaka Yuko/Naoto Fujiki..."

After the introduction, some reporters couldn't wait to ask:

"Director Naoki, is 'Kikujiro's Summer' based on a true story?" "Director Naoki, is the music for this movie also composed by you?" "Are the plot points on the journey true?" "May I ask where the location of that hotel is?"

The noisy sound made the host have to pat the microphone to maintain order:

"Dear reporter friends, please ask questions one by one in order! Otherwise, we will ask you to leave!"

After loudly announcing it several times, the scene finally became quiet again...

The host handed the microphone to a reporter in the front row; it was seen that his first question was:

"Director Naoki Nagayama, may I ask what your purpose was in filming this movie?!"

"Eh..." Naoki Nagayama was a bit speechless for a moment, "Of course, it's to make money!"

The audience started to clamor again; it seemed that the audience didn't agree with the director's answer at all.

Such a movie full of childlike interest, full of innocence, full of the most simple emotions people had when they were young, you actually linked it to the smell of copper?!

We don't agree!

Seeing that no one believed the truth, Naoki Nagayama could only press his hand and continue: "Filming a movie to make money is a very normal thing, right... However, filming this movie 'Kikujiro's Summer' is actually to explain a story of reconciling with one's past self..."

"Everyone has a childhood; some people are healed by their childhood for a lifetime, while others spend their whole life healing their childhood..."

The reporters below listened with flickering eyes; sure enough, he is a well-known writer; the words he said casually are actually full of literary sense!

"'Some people spend their whole life healing their childhood...' just this one sentence will definitely be included in the monthly buzzwords of the 'New Word and Buzzword Awards'!"

After a narrative mixed with chicken soup for the soul and warning words, the questioning reporter sat down satisfied.

The next reporter began to ask:

"Director Naoki, is the filming route of this movie exactly the same as the journey in the movie?"

"Ah, it's roughly the same, but there are also places where we deviated... Regarding this point..." Naoki Nagayama took a movie brochure from Eiichiro Watanabe, "Our movie brochure explains it in detail, and there are also detailed explanations for several filming locations."

Saying that, he also flipped through it, letting everyone see the pictures in the brochure clearly:

"Just now, some reporters' questions can be found in the brochure... This brochure has three styles and is very worth collecting! It will be given to everyone as a small gift later..."

This was helping Eiichiro Watanabe promote the activity afterward.

Afterward, the creators faced the questions from the audience and began to answer them one by one.

For example, Tanaka Yuko was asked why she came to perform, whether Takeshi Kitano felt that the role of the little thug was tailored for him, whether there was any difference between the character and his usual self, and the child actor Naoto Fujiki was also asked how it felt to film a movie for the first time, etc.

However, just as it was said before the release, the questions were still concentrated on Naoki Nagayama; he probably shouldered seventy percent.

More than half an hour passed; what was surprising was that everyone's questions were actually really related to the movie; it seemed that this movie had brought quite a shock to everyone!

However... he still couldn't escape it!

A reporter picked up the microphone and began to probe:

"Naoki-san, may I ask if Ms. Akina Nakamori came to visit the set when you were filming the movie?"

"Akina..." Naoki Nagayama shook his head, "She was on a national tour at that time, busy running around every day, where would she have time to visit the set."

Naturally, he couldn't talk about their secret meetings at the hotel.

Seeing that Naoki Nagayama wasn't angry, other reporters began to exert force.

"Naoki-san, when did you start dating Ms. Akina? Can you tell us?"

"I've known Akina for a long time... But if you're talking about the confession, it was on Akina's last birthday..."

"Where did you confess? Can you tell us what method you used?" The reporter was very excited.

Naoki Nagayama poured a basin of cold water directly: "No! This is a memory that belongs exclusively to us."

"Eh..."

The next reporter took the microphone:

"Naoki-san, to what extent has your romance with Ms. Akina developed now? Have you met the parents?"

Naoki Nagayama answered directly: "Not yet... But we are both dating very seriously with marriage as the premise..."

"May I ask when you plan to meet the parents? When do you plan to get married? When do you plan to have children? How many children do you plan to have? What are their names..."

The reporter who asked this question was directly snatched the microphone by other reporters; there were no answers to these questions anyway, what was there to ask! Wasting time!

The next ten minutes became a special session for Naoki Nagayama's romance, and he really responded positively to the romance matters as promised, without avoiding them.

Including where they would go on dates, what hobbies they usually had, what he was thinking when he sent the airship before... Even Tanaka Yuko beside him listened with relish, until Naoki Nagayama was a bit dry-mouthed.

The host had been a microphone-passing employee for a long time, and only understood after seeing Naoki Nagayama's eye signal.

"Minna-san, it's getting late... Next is the last question! However, this is the movie premiere after all, so please ask questions related to the movie!"

Saying that, he began to patrol the reporters at the scene, quickly recognized the plant at the scene, and handed the microphone to him!

"Director Naoki, may I ask if you have any movie production plans after this movie?"

"Ah... this... I originally had some! The production of 'Crows Zero 2' and 'Ring 2' was already in preparation, but... I don't know if it can proceed smoothly..."

The reporters at the scene were all attracted; Naoki Nagayama actually said he didn't know if he could produce the next movie? What's going on? Did something happen that we don't know about?

"Hontou ni?" "What's going on?" "Director Naoki, did you encounter any difficulties?"

Seeing that the reporters at the scene were all asking, Naoki Nagayama sighed:

"You've heard about it too, right... the struggle of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi... made the conflicts of the Yakuza in Japan obvious..."

"Is it the Yama-Ichi War?! " "The Fourth Generation leader was assassinated?" "Two gangs retaliating against each other?"

The reporters talked all at once.

Naoki Nagayama looked worried: "Originally those things had nothing to do with my movie, but the chaos caused by the Yakuza struggle actually extended to Ota Ward in Tokyo...

A group of Yakuza has been making trouble near our movie filming base, threatening us... Even though we called the police, the police station in Ota Ward has no way to solve it..."

"If the movie base cannot be built well, then naturally there is no way to continue filming the movie!"

Once these words were said, the reporters at the scene instantly realized again that this was another news point!

Coming to the premiere press conference of "Kikujiro's Summer" today, they really gained a lot!

The movie is a hot spot!

The romance is a big hot spot!

Now there is another hot spot!

And it's even involved with the safety issues that the public is concerned about recently!

The flashes of the reporters clicked again; some reporters had already made up their minds to go to Ota Ward to interview as soon as possible!

And Naoki Nagayama, who was holding the microphone on the stage, had the corners of his mouth slightly raised...

The plan was achieved! ===== CHAPTER 717 =====