Chapter 979: The peak of the film industry has built an archway!

On the third day of the New Year, the lingering cold air finally played a big one.

Freezing rain with an icy chill started from the night and continued until morning, leaving all of Tokyo shrouded in biting cold wind~

Shanying Yuan was naturally not afraid; from the moment they woke up, the air conditioning was turned on fully, and just one glass sliding door separated two worlds.

Naoki Nagayama and Eitaro stood in front of the sliding door, drinking coffee while looking at the gloomy sky outside...

"Why isn't it snowing... It's already freezing rain, why can't it turn into snow?" Naoki Nagayama sighed, feeling that the god in charge of the weather was a bit lazy~

"What nonsense are you talking about~"

Akina came over and pulled him back to the dining table. Today was supposed to be Naoki Nagayama's turn to cook, but Akina couldn't resist the wish for the first hot meal of the New Year and made breakfast enthusiastically.

"Eat quickly!"

"Because if it snowed, it would at least bring a romantic and happy atmosphere... People would be shouting slogans like 'It's snowing'..." Naoki Nagayama shrugged. "With freezing rain, at most it's just 'It's freezing to death'..."

"Haha~ Indeed 'It's freezing to death'~"

Akina brought up a simple Western-style breakfast; now Naoki Nagayama no longer let Akina cook troublesome Japanese or Chinese food.

"Come to think of it, today is the release date for Naoki-san's new movie, right?"

"Hmm..."

"Will it have an impact?"

"Not much difference..." Naoki Nagayama had plenty of confidence in *The Legend of Hayato*. Unless this freezing rain continued for a week, the audience would definitely find a chance to watch it!

"By the way, Akina, I have to go to the company today... I probably won't be back until evening~"

"Yes, I know~" Akina pretended to hold her face while watching her husband eat, and said in an obedient tone, "Akina-chan will wait obediently at home for Naoki-san to return~"

"..."

Naoki Nagayama flicked Akina on the forehead, feeling that having such a mischievous partner was really a headache... but, wouldn't the future be boring otherwise~

The Spring Festival holiday hadn't ended, and there weren't many staff in the Tree Friend building, except for the distribution department.

Because *The Legend of Hayato* was being released today, the people in the distribution department were all ready to go in the company, prepared to contact the people in charge of various cinemas at any time...

They also had to calculate the screenings on the first day, the attendance rate, and other data, and even understand the audience's feedback after watching.

Afterward, they had to contact the media based on the feedback, change the focus of publicity, and let them continue to work hard on promotion~

The distribution of a movie can be seen as an exam, and the release is the time to hand in the answer sheet.

"Sugiyama-san~" Naoki Nagayama found the person in charge of coordination. "No need to be so nervous~"

"Naoki-san..."

Yoshihiko Sugiyama looked at his president with a pitiful look. How could he not be nervous? Although other aspects were well prepared, the weather today was bad.

And on the other hand, Naoki Nagayama refused to participate in the roadshows, which were very important for movie promotion!

Such an uncooperative director, in other film companies, like the Kadokawa Pictures where he worked before, would have been fired by the company long ago!

It was just that Tree Friend Pictures was opened by Naoki Nagayama himself...

"Sugiyama-san, no need to worry too much, our promotion is already very well-positioned..." Naoki Nagayama patted his shoulder, comforting his subordinate, "Trailers, posters, media reports, and film enthusiast groups... the free screening tickets we sent out have also attracted a lot of interest..."

Free movie tickets were sent to many large companies and famous social groups as year-end benefits... This was a specially planned promotion for this time, and through these people, it could radiate to more groups.

After all, if colleagues and friends have all seen it, then you definitely have to watch it too, otherwise you won't be able to join the conversation when chatting during the New Year...

In the cultural atmosphere of Japan, which is extremely worried about not fitting in, this is a very big pressure.

"Yes, actually I know~"

Yoshihiko Sugiyama nodded, but his heart still didn't relax... Naoki Nagayama could be relaxed because he was the biggest person there... but for others, the movie release was related to their wages!

*The Legend of Hayato* was finally released amidst everyone's anticipation!

Tokyo's cinemas were packed with audiences coming to watch the first showing, and even the cold rain outside couldn't block their enthusiasm.

"Although it's raining, since it's already planned, we can't miss it no matter what!"

"Yeah, the tickets were bought in advance... and we agreed with friends to finish watching it during the holiday!"

"Anyway, there's definitely no rain in the cinema..."

Similar words were spoken by the audience coming to pick up tickets. In short, at the beginning of this year, what people were looking forward to most was *The Legend of Hayato*, which had been promoted since the end of the year.

The actor Feng Nagayama's fame among the general public wasn't high, but he was famous among teenagers... The "Beast Serizawa Tamao" he played was regarded as an idol by many teenagers and delinquents, and the goal of dominating the academy even became a slogan for students with nowhere to put their hormones...

Although it was finally suppressed by parents and teachers together, the fire in their hearts had never been extinguished!

And the other protagonist, Tomokazu Miura, could be said to be the previous version of Naoki Nagayama, a national young actor, a handsome guy, who appeared in many hit TV dramas and movies, and even married the highly anticipated Momoe Yamaguchi... He is the hatred of stealing a wife in the eyes of many men, and at the same time, the national husband in the eyes of many women...

His popularity with passersby was a bit damaged because of his wife, but this face was familiar to the public... His personal fan potential was also not small.

Finally, the director Naoki Nagayama did many big things last year, won the Palme d'Or, held the Tokyo International Film Festival, and then secretly married a top female idol...

Also, isn't it said that this movie is the origin of Naoki Nagayama's family~

Then we must criticize it well!

There were also some audiences who were just free during the holiday, and it was raining... so they just came to watch the movie that everyone had been talking about for a long time... so they could chat with friends and colleagues after the holiday ended~

Because of various reasons, the audience who came to watch *The Legend of Hayato* in the rain packed the cinema lobby... and even other screening halls were opened to show *The Legend of Hayato*.

In this era, cinemas still had strong autonomy~

The movie officially started with the slogan "Baka Aibo"...

The early Showa era style gave people a feeling of familiarity, which was because society was developing too fast and everything was changing rapidly... but it was unexpectedly nostalgic.

Many people had seen coal-burning trains when they were children, and had also seen workers wearing old kimonos like ronin...

People watched Hayato Nagayama, who came to Tokyo from the countryside to make a living, on the screen, with the unique vitality and energy of young people, and a kind of reckless boldness... This was the characteristic of the first batch of people who came to the city to make a living in that era.

The audience watched Hayato Nagayama like a rabbit off the leash, chasing and fighting with hostile gangs and police on the street, saw him use violence to subdue the underground groups in the area, and saw him step by step to the top...

The action scenes with punches to the flesh and the smooth plot made people seem to see the wild vitality of the Yakuza bosses growing wildly in the early Showa era... as if they had participated in the boss's rise to power themselves.

"I've finished speaking, who agrees, who opposes?!"

The iconic lines made the audience in the screening hall feel surging, wishing they were the ones giving orders in front of the stage!

"It's really imposing!" "When I announce my New Year's goals at the company after the holiday, I must say it like this too!" "Oh? May I ask who you are..." "I am the business section chief!" "Tsk... what's so great about being a section chief!"

"..."

There were two fight scenes in this movie that were shot in one take, one was a street chase, and the other was the bloody fight in the underground parking lot at the climax.

Such a bloody fight scene was rare in Japanese movies... It was more like an American splatter film, but it looked really cool!

Seeing Hayato Nagayama betrayed by the upper echelons and besieged by enemies after stepping into the peak of his life...

The audience in the screening hall held their breath... clenched their fists... watching Hayato Nagayama fight to the death with ten enemies in the elevator...

"Really... fierce..."

At the same time, in Shizuoka, which the audience didn't know about, the members of the Nagayama-gumi, organized by the head Hayato Nagayama, booked a cinema to watch the release of *The Legend of Hayato* together.

"This is the experience of our old head when he was young!" The leader of the younger brothers shouted loudly in front of all the members. "Everyone must watch carefully! Keep it in your heart!"

"Know that the leader of our Nagayama-gumi is full of legends!"

"We, the people of the Nagayama-gumi, must never forget the history of the old head!"

"Yes!!!" XN

A group of members responded in unison; whether they were loyal or not, they were very happy to be treated to a free movie during the New Year!

"By the way... after watching, when we return to headquarters, we will select people to express their thoughts on the movie!"

"So everyone must watch carefully and think seriously! Gain something from the old head's life experience!"

"... Yes~~"

There's actually homework... This immediately made the happy atmosphere much less!

The official release of *The Legend of Hayato* made the entire film industry very concerned.

In addition to ordinary audiences, film critics, major directors, and film academy students all walked into the cinema with high expectations.

Know that Naoki Nagayama is the most handsome guy in the film industry now! His movies were mostly romance movies, horror movies in the past... action movies were actually very rare.

*Crows Zero* could at most be considered a fight between hoodlums, and the fight scenes in it, although very realistic, were actually not good to watch, mainly watching the passion and perseverance of teenagers...

And this time, *The Legend of Hayato* used action scenes as one of the selling points during the trailer, and in the early preview evaluations, the action scenes were indeed very exciting, which made those who wanted to learn walk into the cinema to watch.

The famous director Kinji Fukasaku actually didn't want to come to watch...

He came to watch Naoki Nagayama's movie before, but because he was scared to pee by Sadako, he suddenly became the laughingstock of the entertainment industry... After that period, he experienced illness and cancer, his old wife divorced him, and his lover broke up with him, and he suffered a major blow.

But fortunately, he survived, and now he has even recovered quite well.

Come to think of it, he should thank Naoki Nagayama properly; if it weren't for him, Kinji Fukasaku wouldn't have discovered he had cancer early.

He is currently preparing to shoot *House on Fire*. Although it is a drama movie, he has the confidence to get a good box office... This is the confidence of a famous director.

"Let me see what kind of action movie it is that has been praised for so long!"

Kinji Fukasaku is the director of *Battles Without Honor and Humanity*, and has great insights into gangster movies. He doesn't believe Naoki Nagayama can easily surpass him!

But after entering the cinema, he realized... the world has changed!

The original dark and violent gangster movie... could actually be shot so passionately...

Although there was still blood and violence, it didn't look so gloomy...

Even after encountering betrayal and strangulation, he fought with all his might and didn't surrender...

The final helplessness and departure made people see elegance and a little bit of regret...

"How could he shoot like this! How could he shoot so well!"

Kinji Fukasaku watched the subtitles of the movie appear, his heart full of shock and helplessness... He knew that the gangster movie had ushered in a peak again! Future filmmakers would all have to look at this peak and sigh powerlessly!

Thinking of this, the excited mood when watching the movie just now sank again... Kinji Fukasaku shook his head and planned to go home~

But when he stood up, he realized that the lights in the screening hall didn't turn on, and the audience beside him didn't stand up either.

"What's going on? Are the lights broken?"

Kinji Fukasaku was a bit surprised. The movie had subtitles, it was over, usually everyone should leave at this time, and the cinema should turn on the lights!

"Uncle, there's more~" the audience beside him reminded.

"More?"

"Yeah, sit down first..."

Kinji Fukasaku didn't react for a while, was pulled to sit down by the audience beside him, and then saw the screen light up again.

In the antique old-fashioned courtyard, the camera followed the person's footsteps, walking toward the study from a first-person perspective...

The old man holding a book and wearing a black kimono couldn't see his face clearly in the sunlight, only feeling a sense of time rushing toward him.

"Grandfather, Naoki is here..."

The camera's focus began to become clear, the old man looked up, with a kind smile on his face:

"You are Naoki..."

It ended abruptly!

Kinji Fukasaku was stunned. The interlacing of the past and the present, the bold operation, gave his soul a great shock. Until the lights turned on, he didn't stand up again...

"How could he think of shooting like this!!"

Kinji Fukasaku only had this thought in his head... There were many easter eggs in the movie, but this shot was not an easter egg, it was completely serving the movie!

This point, the famous director Kinji Fukasaku could see!

Because this final shot connected the story of the past with the reality of today, making the whole movie complete, and the audience's perception reached the highest point!

On the peak of the film industry, an archway was actually built... enshrining the image of Hayato Nagayama...

Every person who has watched this movie in the future will remember the Yakuza legend who made a big scene in Tokyo and then left quietly in reality and history!

Hayato Nagayama... as long as the gangster movie still exists, this person will always exist!

Kinji Fukasaku could already imagine how many directors would pay tribute to this scene in future Yakuza movies! ===== CHAPTER 980 =====