Chapter 5: The Savage Man Films "The Savage Man"!

Chapter 5: A Violent Man Films "Violent Cop"!

"Violent Cop" was originally the directorial debut of Takeshi Kitano.

Right now, Iwata Takeshi was effectively "borrowing" the concept, and furthermore, he intended to play the lead role himself.

Hold your horses!

A violent man filming "Violent Cop"?

Are you kidding me?

Of course not!

Iwata Takeshi had his reasons for choosing this film.

First, the original was exceptionally well-made, won numerous awards, and gave Takeshi Kitano a fantastic start to his directorial career.

Second, Iwata Takeshi remembered clearly that the production cost for this film should be quite low.

This was the key!

Although he had unexpectedly clawed back 10 million yen, Iwata Takeshi had no idea how far that amount would actually go.

In the current climate, 10 million yen was less than 100,000 US dollars.

Trying to make a movie with 100,000 dollars was incredibly tight.

Iwata Takeshi had to keep costs under strict control.

Since he had transmigrated and possessed such a fierce-looking face, he naturally had to make full use of it.

That being the case:

Director, screenwriter—oh right, in Japan, the position is called "Kantoku"—he would take on the role of Kantoku. As for the on-set director, which the Japanese call "Enshutsu," he would handle that too. As for cinematography, he had tinkered with that back in the Hengdian days.

And then, starring as the lead.

That covers it!

Iwata Takeshi was a one-man army... or rather, a one-man creative team.

So why was he cursing while writing the script?

When someone is fully immersed in a task, certain peculiar habits can emerge.

For instance, when Michael Jordan played basketball, he would unconsciously stick out his tongue.

Iwata Takeshi was the same; he was so deeply engrossed in writing the script that he had completely projected himself into the plot.

Moreover, cursing while writing felt quite satisfying.

In the film, not only was the protagonist a violent man, but his adversary was also an extremely violent man.

And so.

Deep in the quiet of the Tokyo night, someone was writing a script with gusto, his pen moving like a dragon or a snake, while he muttered curses under his breath.

...

Several days later.

Jimbocho, arguably the most literary place in all of Japan.

Within a small intersection, there were over a hundred bookstores.

Furthermore, looking south from the subway station, the famous Hitotsubashi Group was not far away.

Shogakukan and Shueisha were both located here.

Shueisha in the 1980s was quite interesting; some joked that their office building should simply be renamed the Masami Kurumada Building.

In short, it was frequently decorated with elements from Masami Kurumada and "Saint Seiya."

This went to show the immense popularity of his work.

But as for all this, the man with the fierce face who had just emerged from the subway station didn't care at all.

Iwata Takeshi had arrived in Jimbocho; as a Yakuza, he seemed naturally out of place here.

Although he was currently wearing a formal suit, he didn't look like a Yakuza in the slightest.

So, was this fierce-looking guy here to buy books?

No.

Film is a high-risk investment, and that risk is primarily reflected in distribution.

If the distribution is handled poorly, even the best film will struggle to succeed.

Iwata Takeshi was here to discuss distribution.

However, he walked straight into a bookstore, looking quite familiar with the place.

On the sign outside this bookstore, two characters were particularly prominent.

Iwanami.

...

Strictly speaking, the current Iwanami Shoten was different from the past, even though it was still housed in the three-story building purchased in 1920.

However, after the death of Iwanami Shigeo, the founder, the bookstore was no longer inherited by the Iwanami family, which gave some people the impression that it was no longer "authentic."

Iwanami Shigeo himself had made significant contributions to the development of Japanese culture, and one of them was the publication and distribution of Natsume Soseki's works.

The influence of Natsume Soseki in the Japanese literary world might be debated if one were to call him the greatest, but finding someone to surpass him would be truly difficult.

One thing was certain: almost everyone in Japan had read his work.

For us Chinese, we are more familiar with "I Am a Cat," but here in Japan, his work "Kokoro" was more prevalent—it was in the textbooks, after all.

For Iwanami Shoten, the first Natsume Soseki work they published was "Kokoro."

But the reason this place succeeded was also because it led a trend.

Coffee.

Being able to drink coffee while reading books was something that hadn't existed in Japan before 1920.

Right now, in a café with over sixty years of history, there was an extra man with a fierce face.

To be honest, sitting in a place like this drinking coffee, Iwata Takeshi felt a bit out of sorts himself.

Perhaps it was his Yakuza mentality at play; it seemed like someone like him shouldn't be in a place like this.

But he had to be here, because it was crucial for his film.

He had been coming here for coffee for five consecutive days; he had shown great sincerity and patience.

Unfortunately, he hadn't made any progress in five days; the person he wanted to see remained elusive, and instead...

Damn it, he kept running into this bald old man, and this guy always seemed to be smiling at him.

Is he some kind of old pervert?

Damn it! The guy was even walking over.

"A-ano..."

"Old sir, is there something you need?"

Iwata Takeshi adopted a polite attitude that had nothing to do with being a Yakuza, his face filled with smiles and kindness.

The old man smiled and said, "I've been observing you for five days."

"Yes, I've been coming here for five consecutive days."

"I have confirmed that your appearance is extremely fierce."

"This..."

His blood pressure was rising. Did it really take five days to observe that?

The old man continued, "Do you want to make a movie? I..."

Before he could finish, Iwata Takeshi interrupted, "I'm very sorry, but I'm planning to make a movie myself. I think I can make better use of this face of mine."

Make it himself?

The old man was startled but didn't say much more; he could see that the other person was dismissing him.

...

"Yamaguchi-san, that man is here again."

"Oh."

Yamaguchi Akira was the "store manager" currently in charge of operations at this main branch.

After all, Iwanami Shoten was also a publisher, so the operations of the bookstore and the café had to be distinguished from the publishing side.

The man the waiter mentioned had indeed caught Yamaguchi Akira's attention.

It was already the fifth day, five days in a row.

When the man first came, Yamaguchi Akira wasn't in the store.

The two had missed each other, and on the second day, when Yamaguchi Akira saw the man's face, he felt a bit scared and made an excuse to avoid him.

On the third day, he wasn't in the store.

On the fourth day, they missed each other.

Now it was the fifth day; that man was indeed very sincere.

But... he really did look quite fierce. So scary.

"Did that man say what he wanted?"

"He didn't ask, should I go ask?"

"That... better not. Just say I'm not here."

Yamaguchi Akira was mostly afraid. Besides, the man wasn't complaining about the shop's service, so as the manager, he shouldn't get involved.

However, just as the waiter was about to leave, Yamaguchi Akira saw someone walk over.

"Teacher?"

...

"This guest..."

Yamaguchi Akira came over after all, but as soon as the man looked up, Yamaguchi Akira's heart began to pound again. How terrifying!

Still, he braced himself and said, "May I ask, are you looking for me? I am Yamaguchi Akira, the store manager."

"You..." Iwata Takeshi had spent seven days writing the script and then had come to this Iwanami bookstore repeatedly for five days.

Honestly, even an ordinary person would be filled with anger by now, and he had just encountered that weird old man.

But Iwata Takeshi swallowed his curses, stood up with a smile, and extended his hand. "Hello, my name is Iwata Takeshi. I have an important matter I would like to discuss with the manager."

Iwata Takeshi?

Never heard of him, but when this man smiled... he somehow looked even more terrifying.

Fortunately, Yamaguchi Akira fully demonstrated his professional dedication at this moment; he had started out as a waiter himself.

He greeted him with a smile, shook his hand, and asked, "May I ask, what is it about?"

Iwata Takeshi didn't say much, simply placing a stack of papers in front of Yamaguchi Akira.

As a bookstore manager, Yamaguchi naturally understood immediately, but he said with a smile, "I'm sorry, guest, if you want to submit a manuscript, you can contact our editors, I can help you..."

As he spoke, he was about to turn back, probably to find a business card.

Iwata Takeshi reached out and grabbed the man's wrist.

In that instant, Yamaguchi Akira's legs trembled.

So scary, am I going to be beaten up?

Then he heard Iwata Takeshi say, "This isn't a novel. This is a screenplay."

"A screenplay?" Although Yamaguchi Akira understood what that was, he was still very confused. "If it's a screenplay, why come to me?"

Exactly, it was so strange. You should be looking for a film company... of course, he didn't dare say that; he was afraid of being beaten.

Iwata Takeshi said very solemnly, "It's simple. Because I hope that, in the future, this film can be screened in your shop's theater."

Screened?

Iwanami Shoten had the bookstore on the first floor, the café on the second, and a movie theater on the third.

Furthermore, the theater on the third floor was quite famous.

The Iwanami Theater was known for screening only excellent films.