Chapter 97: If you can't beat them, join them~

"Otomo-san, agree to it!"

After Naoki Nagayama heard the news brought back by Yoshimura Otomo, he thought for a while and finally gave this answer.

Shuichi Ito sighed on the side: "Ai~ there's no other way."

In this country of Japan, if you want to break through class barriers and break the monopoly of circles, this is the simplest way.

If you can't beat them, join them~

Naoki Nagayama finally summarized, "Anyway, we still hold the majority of the equity~"

In the original shell company, the equity of the three people hadn't been calculated clearly; they were all indispensable to each other. Now that an outsider wanted to take a stake, the equity had to be made clear.

Yoshimura Otomo said: "Naoki-san, now that there's an outsider, the equity should be divided clearly, otherwise it will make the other party confused about where the company's true decision-making power lies."

Shuichi Ito also nodded in agreement: "We founded the company together, but the main decision-making power must be Naoki-san's. This point needs to be clarified."

Naoki Nagayama was a bit moved: "Shuichi-san, Otomo-san..."

"Don't be so wishy-washy, Naoki-san. This point really should be clarified."

Yoshimura Otomo had worked for so long that he still knew about equity division.

"Naoki-san should take 51%. Shuichi-san and I, one can be considered as investing with technology and venue, and the other as investing with labor. So Shuichi-san takes 15%, and I take the remaining 9%."

"This distribution..."

Shuichi Ito saw that Naoki Nagayama was still hesitant and made the final decision: "Let's do it this way, Naoki-san. For the two of us, this is already considered an exception."

This equity distribution, in the final analysis, was 20% of the box office split of the film *Paranormal Activity*. With this distribution, nearly 70% of the profits went to Naoki Nagayama.

"Since you both agree, let's do it this way for now." Naoki Nagayama stopped hesitating and settled it.

After everything was settled, the speed of the subsequent process suddenly accelerated.

After Kadokawa Pictures took action, the doors of national theater chains opened easily, and small-scale previews began in various cities.

It already had a certain reputation among young people in Tokyo, and now that the hype and promotion had begun, more young people started to learn about such a film.

Coupled with the connections of Dentsu, relevant reports appeared in newspapers and magazines of all sizes. Film critics who had watched the previews all said: "This is a cross-era film."

Novel, terrifying, realistic... the flowery praise made Naoki Nagayama blush when he read it.

"Otomo-san, these reports are too exaggerated."

Naoki Nagayama complained to Yoshimura Otomo, who was holding a magazine.

"They even came up with 'the most realistic ghost record in history'..."

"Hahaha, magazines are just like that, aren't they? Kadokawa is very powerful in the publishing industry."

Naoki Nagayama muttered: "Kuso, is the publishing industry also so murky? Is there no pure land in Japan?"

Yoshimura Otomo rolled his eyes: "Naoki-san, you are a vested interest now. Is it okay to say that?"

"My soul is still pure. At least I know how to reflect..."

"What nonsense are you talking about..." Yoshimura Otomo couldn't stand this "otaku" smell either. "Naoki-san, have you been staying at home for too long? Have you been confused by watching TV every day?"

Naoki Nagayama really hadn't been staying at home for the past two weeks.

Ever since signing the contract with Kadokawa Pictures, they had to meet every few days to hold a meeting and make final decisions on promotional materials, release dates, promotional methods, and so on.

Then, Naoki Nagayama also had to attend the previews in several larger cities. As the lead actor, director, and producer, he had to officially appear in the circle.

"Otomo-san, I've discovered that it's better to be a man in black behind the scenes. There's no need to face all kinds of problems."

Yoshimura Otomo looked at Naoki Nagayama and was a bit worried: "Naoki-san, you're not getting stage fright, are you?"

He suddenly remembered that although he usually behaved very maturely, the young man in front of him wasn't even an adult yet!

"If you're worried about the preview, I can accompany Naoki-san."

"What is Otomo-san thinking? Treating me like a child?"

In his previous life, he could talk eloquently in front of thousands of people at year-end summaries.

Now, facing a few reporters and a few audience members, what was there to be afraid of?

The preview in Tokyo was again arranged at the Ginrei Hall cinema in Iidabashi.

It seemed that this was the default preview venue in the circle.

The last time he came, he was still an audience member, mainly watching the lead actors being interviewed on stage.

He didn't expect that after a month or so, it would be his turn.

However, there was no star power, and the film didn't have a famous director, so the interview activity before the screening was canceled.

Naoki Nagayama, Yoshimura Otomo, Shuichi Ito, and several members of the Wild Cat Group sat in the front row to watch together.

To be honest, it was still a bit awkward to watch a film you acted in yourself.

Especially the image on the screen that looked exactly like an ordinary amateur...

The others watched with great interest. When the three members of the Wild Cat Group saw the scene of the male and female leads soaking in the hot spring, they actually joined the other audience members in making lecherous exclamations.

Of course, the male audience members were admiring the Wild Cat trio, while the female audience members who were like the Wild Cat Group... of course, they were admiring Naoki Nagayama.

And why were there a few male audience members who were also very excited?!

The quality of the film, for the current era, was already quite good.

They had magically modified the plot and the location, adding plot points that fit Japanese culture,

allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the film.

As the plot developed, they experienced the sense of horror slowly deepening time and time again. When the ghost shadow outside the door appeared, most people exclaimed.

And because Naoki Nagayama knew that the ghost shadow was actually Yoshimura Otomo wearing a black robe, he almost laughed out loud...

The nearly two-hour film ended quickly.

The credits at the end were very short, with a total of no more than 10 people, including the creators and behind-the-scenes staff. This was probably the fewest in the current film history.

"Please welcome the lead actors and the director~" The temporarily hired host had strong professional skills. A few jokes stirred up the atmosphere at the scene, and then the interview process after the preview began. "Please stand here~"

Naoki Nagayama naturally stood in the C-position without hesitation, with Shuichi Ito and the three members of the Wild Cat Group standing on both sides. Yoshimura Otomo, as the man in black behind the scenes, upheld the tradition of not standing in front of the stage.

The host began the cue process.

"Naoki-san, is this your first time acting in a film?"

"Hai, I've shot some commercials and short films before, but this is the first time for a formal film."

"Haha, shooting a film must be very interesting~ By the way, we learned that Naoki-san is the lead actor and also one of the directors of this film. So, during the shooting process, did the two identities conflict? Was the shooting process more difficult?"

What kind of cliché question was this? If you were both the director and the lead actor, you could act however you wanted. Wasn't it obviously very satisfying?

But he still had to smile: "In fact, from the director's perspective, I can better understand the needs of the character, which can help the actors perform better."

"Hai, that's indeed the case. I look forward to Naoki-san contributing better works next time."

The host turned to the next person. ===== CHAPTER 98 =====