Tokyo Reborn: Dark Superstar

Chapter 4 New Model

In this dark star world, the filming environment for Ultraman Tiga was extremely difficult.

Because Ultraman Leo of the Showa family almost bankrupted Tsuburaya Company, and after decades of recuperation, Tsuburaya Company gradually recovered its vitality.

Ultraman Tiga is very different from the tokusatsu dramas of the Showa era in plot.

The "Ultraman Tiga" in this world has changed the positive energy style of the previous life.

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Initially, Tsuburaya's plan was to release "Ultraman Achilles", but due to lack of funds, "Ultraman Tiga" was released.

This financial constraint is reflected in the hourly wage of dispatch workers, which is only 750 yen.

The hourly wage at a 7-11 convenience store in Tokyo is around 800-1100 yen.

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Bunta Takakura came to work on the set of "Ultraman Tega" for a week.

Mainly to prepare a 60th birthday gift for the philanthropist of the welfare home.

Now that the birthday gift task is completed, there are no vacancies for various supporting roles in the crew.

Bunta Takakura planned to talk to the labor section chief of the dispatch company today about changing the crew to be a dispatch worker and looking for another opportunity.

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Just when Bunta Takakura was thinking about how to talk to the labor section chief of the dispatch company, he changed to the crew of a popular TV series in his memory.

Futaki, who had just moved the leather case of Gakuma the Rock Monster to the leather case actor's dressing room, panted and sat down next to Takakura Bunta.

Ermu has a square face, thick eyebrows, typical small eyes with single eyelids, slightly droopy eye tails, and a smooth head.

The length of my nose is too short, and my nostrils are pointed at people all day long. I have the most embarrassed expression in the world.

The overall appearance resembles that of Zhou Tianwang in his previous life.

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Bunta Takakura and Futaki were dispatch workers who joined the labor service company in the same period. They participated in company training together and came to the "Ultraman Tega" crew as temporary workers together. They got along well.

"Tai Wen, I heard that something happened to the actor with the leather suit."

As soon as Ermu sat down, he immediately started talking.

"problem occurs?"

Takakura Bunta handed Futaki a Peace cigarette and asked.

Tony Ermu took out his lighter, held a cigarette in his mouth, and said mysteriously: "Just now I was giving away the leather case of the rock monster Gakuma."

"I heard from Shunsuke Gondo that Shuichi Kaku quit and went to Diamond Pictures to film the series "The Widow of the Earth Defense Force"."

"Who is Shuichi Kaku?" Bunta Takakura asked.

Shunsuke Gondo is the suit actor for Ultraman Tiga. He is very prestigious among the suit actors and should not talk nonsense.

However, Takakura Bunta had no impression of Shuichi Kaku, the leather suit actor.

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"Kakushuichi... he's the one who played the Balrog warrior Kirialoid in the third episode "The Devil's Prophecy"..."

Ermu lit a cigarette, blew out the smoke, and then complained:
  "Tsuburbaya Co., Ltd. is really stingy. The actors in the leather suit are tired and the pay is low. I don't know who to replace them."

"This is already the third leather actor to leave."

"However, leather actors are better than our dispatch workers. This is a good opportunity... It's a pity that there is no recommendation..."

Takakura Bunta asked: "Recommend?"

Ermu: "If you want to get ahead in the entertainment industry, you must have a recommendation from an agency."

Tokyo is a society with solidified classes, especially in the entertainment industry.

Without the help of an agency, newcomers will basically not be able to find any performance resources.

Gao Cangbunta listened thoughtfully to Ermu's words.    …………………………………………

In 1996, it was the beginning of the (Heisei Ultraman) trilogy, and it was also the new work after the Ultraman series had been dormant for 15 years.

The entire crew was under great pressure.

Based on Tsuburaya's financial report during the filming of "Heisei Sangei", it can be estimated that the average filming cost of "Heisei Sangei" was 44 million yen per episode.

The cost of Gaia is significantly higher than that of Tiga, so the average shooting cost of Tiga is 40 million yen.

If the filming goes well and the film is not canceled midway, Tiga will shoot a total of fifty-two episodes and will need 2.88 billion yen in funding.

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The funding of 40 million yen per episode is mainly invested in two aspects.

On the one hand, Tsuburaya’s tokusatsu technology has greatly improved.

From the paper mache house visible to the naked eye in Ultraman Showa, to the obvious land model on the ground, to the beginning of modern special effects details in Tiga;
  The realism of Golzan’s digging;
  The majesty of the sea base;

There is also the shocking feeling given by the fighter jet engine light;
  These details all show that after more than ten years of precipitation, Tsuburaya's tokusatsu technology is developing rapidly.

The special effects in the play are the same as those in "Star Wars". Except for the strange light rendering, they are all shot from real models, and the production process is extremely exquisite.

The large-scale first use of new technology has caused the crew's shooting costs to increase significantly.

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On the other hand, TBS TV station has made clear requirements for the cast.

"The main actor must be a popular idol from Johnny & Associates who has a good relationship with the TV station."

"As a ratings guarantee for the new Ultraman project."

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In the 20s, Johnny's idol empire had become hegemonic. President Johnny Kitagawa established a solid community of interests with TV stations, film companies, newspapers and magazines.

The ecological niche of Johnny's idol is very special. It is not an idol that mainly relies on the stage, but a national idol that relies on film, television and variety shows.

It includes Kimura Takuya, Nakai Masahiro, Fuji Masahiko, Domoto Koichi, etc.

He has been a member of the Red and White Song Club for 10 consecutive years, and his singles have dominated the top of the RBOricon chart. His photo albums are often sold out.

Artists take turns starring in idol dramas, becoming celebrities, stabilizing their status, and then appearing in music variety shows to gain exposure...

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In 1996, Johnny & Associates already had 500 million members in RB, and now has the largest fan club in the world, with annual revenue from membership fees alone of billion yen.

Johnny's idol artists, who have strong market appeal, also receive quite high salaries.

After four rounds of arduous negotiations between Tsuburaya and Johnny's Agency, they reached the highest salary for a leading actor in the history of Ultraman special photography.

1000 million yen per episode! ! !
  In the 20s, the main actor's salary in Japanese dramas was generally 90 yen per episode.

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However, according to Johnny's management system, the lead actor Hiroshi Nagano himself receives a fixed salary from the firm.

That is to say, no matter how many episodes of TV series you film, how many commercials you film, how many programs you appear on, etc., your salary is fixed.

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Due to these two factors, production costs were very tight, so the crew could only save costs in invisible places.

For example, a large number of temporary workers are dispatched by labor service companies, and the wages of actors wearing leather jackets are compressed, etc.

This is an important reason why leather actors are poached one after another.

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However, the investment in high-cost special photography technology and the new model of idol stars made the first two episodes of "Ultraman Tiga" have good ratings.

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  (End of this chapter)