Tokyo Literary Godfather

Yoshida Kaishi hung up the phone with a headache, and then dialed a new number.

Sure enough, what worried him happened. The crew asked for an increase in the budget, and not just a tiny bit more.

In the process of making movies, it is actually very common to increase the budget. Although many film and television company bosses are very distressed by this behavior and complain a lot, when some directors ask to increase the budget, they will still hold their noses and agree.

What if we don't add it? After all, sunk costs are costs. Without a budget, the money spent previously will be wasted. For film and television company operators, there is always a sense of tension that they are threatened by kidnappers and that their children will be raped at any time.

In fact, many film and television companies went bankrupt in this way.

"Titanic" almost tied half of the company on board, but the box office was dismal in the first week. At that time, Cameron even thought

Of course, Kei Fujiwara was also afraid that a sunglasses king would emerge under his banner, so he left the budget control of several movies to the stingy Yoshida Kashi. Those producers and directors don't come to me when they want to apply for a budget, bother.

Other movies are okay. After all, they all have modern background stories. They are not like disaster movies, science fiction movies, monster movies, etc., where production costs can skyrocket if you are not careful.

But cartoons are more worrying. To some extent, the money burning rate is even faster. In addition, Otomo Keiichi has had the bad experience of increasing the budget four times, and the total production cost is three times the initial budget.

However, Otomo Keiichi has been much more conservative and prudent in spending money this time. The production budget has been burning steadily at a relatively slow rate and has not been exceeded.

On the one hand, it is because the early budget was well done, and Otomo Keiichi deliberately controlled the budget accurately to avoid having a bad impact on the work during the production stage.

On the other hand... Yoshida Kafumi speculated that it may also be the deterrent effect brought about by Kei Fujiwara's recent expulsion of Mia Sato...

What can't someone do who can drive away the heroine during half the filming of his work? Kei Fujiwara has sent a signal to everyone that in his criteria, the cost of silence is not a cost. He gave up without any psychological difficulty.

Therefore, in front of him, it is impossible to use the production funds that have been spent to blackmail Kei Fujiwara, so we must be more cautious in spending production funds.

However, what Yoshida Kafumi did not expect was that the person who proposed a substantial increase in the budget was not Otomo Keiichi, but Oshii An, who seemed to be honest and would not speak loudly.

Oshii'an's current work is "My Name", but after receiving the script, it entered a long preparation period. The plot is detailed and perfect, leaving little room for improvement.

Oshii-an is not good at storytelling, and he did not dare to make any changes to Kei Fujiwara's original script, lest the advantages turn into disadvantages.

But the story is complete, and turning the story into frames is also a delicate job, and it is precisely when the director's artistic level and level are reflected.

Oshii An likes the story "My Name" very much. It is full of fantasy and modernity, and has a youthful flavor, which is very impressive.

This is a wonderful fantasy journey about teenagers, and it is precisely because of this that Otomo Keiichi recommended him as the director of this film. Because many of his past works tell this kind of youth story, while Otomo Keiichi's movies are more full of fairy tale flavor.

Therefore, "My Name" is perfect for Oshii An - even Oshii An himself thinks so, and even secretly said in his heart: If this story is filmed by the teacher (referring to Otomo Keiichi), he may not be able to film it. The ideal effect depends on me.

However, although Oshii-an is good at shooting youth stories, he has also made many works. He has been an animator, supervisor, and producer. He is considered an experienced animator. However, when he was in Toani, all he produced was anime. drama, and has not been deeply involved in the production of the theatrical version.

So I am still a newcomer in the film industry.

Because of this, although Oshii-an is eager to prove himself, he still maintains an extremely cautious attitude and vows to make the film perfect so that every penny spent will be 120% effective.

Oshii-an looked at the group photo on the table. This was a photo taken when he first entered Toani and at the same time. Most of the people in the photo had already died in the fire.

"Watanabe, Kojima...I will definitely not let you down." Oshii-an said, looking at the familiar but gradually unfamiliar faces in the photo.

"Well, that's it." Yoshida Kashi called Fujiwara Kei, "Oshii-an wants to apply for more production budget. His reason is to improve the picture quality. He wants to produce starry skies and meteorites that exceed the industry level. effect, so I need to purchase a new set of production software. But I took a look and found that if I agree to his request, the overall production cost will be 1.7 times the planned amount."

"Well, it's indeed a bit much. What do you think, Yoshida-san?"

"I think I can agree to him, but after all, the amount is a bit large, so I'd better discuss it with you."

"I can promise him. This movie should indeed be good at its graphics in order to impress the audience more. Nowadays, domestic animation technology is changing with each passing day. It is updated almost every six months. As soon as you close your eyes, you will see more advanced technology. In order to pursue more With good visual effects, it is inevitable to spend more money. Go directly to the budget approval process. In addition, if Oshii-an continues to request an additional budget later, you can agree, but it cannot exceed 3 times the original plan. Don't tell him this. If the budget is consumed too quickly, send an auditor to the crew to see if there is any unnecessary consumption. This is not to distrust him, but to establish norms in the system."

"Well, okay." Yoshida Kashi was on the phone while writing down notes on his notepad, "As for the new additional budget, do you think it will come from the company or from new investment? Since "My Name" was written by yourself The script, plus Oshii-an is quite famous in the industry, so the industry trusts the film and it is easy to attract investment."

"Purchase a certain proportion of investment, or you can invest another amount yourself, but the company still has to retain a certain amount of cash flow. You decide the specific proportion." Fujiwara Keidao.

Yoshida Kashi rubbed his forehead. Perhaps it was because the heater at home was too hot, but there was fine sweat on his forehead in the early spring. "Three times the budget... This really can't be revealed, otherwise that boy from Oshii-an will know." Finally, I will definitely ask for money again with my palm facing up."

"It doesn't matter if we increase the budget for Oshii-an, but our company is currently shooting five movies at the same time, and there are also TV series production plans in the second half of the year. I'm afraid that the money on the account will be stretched by then. Once we increase the budget for Oshii-an, I'm afraid that other The crew will also come up with this idea..."

"Haha, there's nothing we can do about it. After all, we all want to have more money in our pockets to be more confident. But in the end, when the supervisors and producers proposed additional budgets, they just wanted to make the movie more presentable. The starting point is Okay. Oh, by the way, Yoshida-san, you just happened to call me, I have something to tell you."

"Well, you said."

"I don't have enough money. I want to add another 30 million yen to the budget. I would like you to help push it forward. You can discuss the specific matters with Suwon. I'll hang up first. I'll go to the editing room..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a "beep" sound came from the phone receiver.

Yoshida Kaishi held the receiver and was stunned for a long time. After half a minute, he muttered a Japanese curse.

"eight……"