Shinji: You're Treating Me Like a Sucker!

He didn't seem to mind being called Shinji; ever since he starred in Tiga, he'd been called Daigo more than once or twice.

In fact, apart from V6's female fans, everyone else's first reaction upon seeing him was Daigo from Tiga, not Hiroshi Nagano from V6.

The advantage of having a very famous role is that your face will be highly recognizable, and you won't have to worry about people not recognizing you.

The downside is that people will only remember you for that one role, and you'll be completely confined to that character.

"Director Matou, I really admire you. Both your movies and TV dramas are huge hits. If I had your talent, I could transcend the character of Daigo."

After Hiroshi Nagano finished speaking, he glanced at Shirou to the side.

Shirou is currently in discussions with several TBS executives. He's the only male lead in the UBW production team, and the TV station is focusing all its attention on him.

"You never know, maybe one day you'll be directing an Ultraman TV series," Shinji joked.

"Impossible, I have absolutely no talent for that."

Hiroshi Nagano knew Shinji was joking, and he chuckled, touching his nose, "Back when we were filming Tiga, Mr. Takano barely slept. All his energy was focused on the drama's ratings. Before it aired, he worried about the premiere ratings; after it aired, he worried about the next episode's ratings; and at the end of the drama, he would start worrying about the ratings for the new drama..."

At this point, Hiroshi Nagano shook his head. "After experiencing it once, I knew I was definitely not suited for that kind of work; it was too grueling. Acting and singing are more suitable for me."

Shinji took a sip of water from his glass. "So, Daigo, would you be interested in returning to Tsuburaya's film sets?"

The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere at the table instantly changed.

Johnny Kitagawa had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them and let out a heavy snort through his nose.

The old man's long-standing high position gave him a terrifying aura that made others nearby dare not look him in the eye, and they all gave him a wide berth under his imposing presence.

The V6 and SMAP members, who had been chatting and laughing, stopped talking and sat up straight.

Fujishima Taiko released Takuya Kimura's hand, which she had been holding tightly, and looked up at him. Her lips were pursed tightly, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

Shinji, however, seemed completely oblivious to these changes. He smiled and faced Hiroshi Nagano, awaiting his reply.

Despite being Shinji's momentum was in no way inferior to that of the Johnny & Associates's group.

Hiroshi Nagano opened his mouth, but after a long pause, he finally managed to say, "This isn't something I can decide."

"That's true."

Shinji looked up at Johnny Kitagawa and a smile appeared on his lips.

"Then let the person who can make the decision do it. Don't you think so, Johnny Kitagawa?"

"Then let's talk, Shinji- kun."

Kitagawa's eyes narrowed, and he withdrew the imposing aura he had just exuded, expressing goodwill towards Shinji.

He transformed from a majestic old lion to a kind old grandfather in an instant.

Shinji's lips twitched in disdain; he could see the old man's guilty conscience.

If this attitude had happened 20 years ago, the other side probably would have punched me right then and there.

Johnny Kitagawa was truly a tyrant during that period. Suppressing his own disobedient artists (both professionally and physically) was his daily routine and weekly task.

"Shinji- kun, let's talk first... about Abo."

Shinji raised an eyebrow and stroked his chin. "I'd like to invite Daigo to star in my new movie. What's your opinion, sir?"

The Kitagawa siblings' eyes flickered; this young man was indeed very direct.

"Shinji- kun, how would you portray Hiro in your film?" Kitagawa asked slowly, pursing his lips slightly.

Shinji, resting his chin on his hands, said, "Given Tiga's status among Tsuburaya's Heisei Ultraman, I will give him the protagonist's position."

The subtext of this statement is that Hiroshi Nagano's leading role is due to the status of the Tiga series, not his popularity as Johnny & Associates's artist.

There is no doubt that Shinji is trying to drive down the price.

Johnny Kitagawa, displeased, reminded him, "Shinji, your status as Johnny & Associates's artist can't be dismissed with just a few words."

"His status as Johnny & Associates's artist..."

Shinji swirled his wine glass, a playful smile on his face. "Johnny Kitagawa, I'd like to ask... how are Kondo-san's mother's ashes?"

Smack

Johnny Kitagawa's eyes sharpened instantly.

Chapter 117 Shinji: They're treating me like a sucker!

Shinji mentioned Masahiko Kondo, an artist under Johnny & Associates, who is a notorious scumbag in the Japan entertainment industry.

This scumbag has so many crimes that it would take three days and three nights to recount them all.

Everyone just needs to know that compared to this guy, Shinji from the original FSN manga is so pure, and even Makoto-bro seems so devoted.

I reckon only Makoto-bro's father, Sawazuki, could compare to Kondo Masahiko.

Of course, if he were just a simple scumbag, Johnny Kitagawa wouldn't have been so agitated.

After all, there are plenty of scumbags in Johnny & Associates's Entertainment, and Masahiko Kondo is just the one who has the biggest and most notorious scumbag reputation among them.

Shinji was referring to a true story that happened to this scumbag.

Perhaps because he had done too many bad things and was hated by people, Masahiko Kondo's family grave was dug up during a Japan Record Awards ceremony.

The grave robbers stole Kondo's mother's urn and threatened to withdraw him from the record award competition.

As it turned out, Masahiko Kondo participated in the grand prize and won an award as if nothing had happened.

And then... and then Kondo Masahiko never saw his mother's urn again.

This isn't exactly a secret within Johnny & Associates's, but almost nobody mentions it.

Masahiko Kondo is shameless, but Johnny & Associates itself still has a sense of shame.

Shinji didn't care about Johnny & Associates's reputation at all. When Johnny Kitagawa mentioned the identities of Johnny & Associates's artists, he immediately stripped the man naked.

This naturally Johnny Kitagawa, who glared at Shinji like a lion with its mane bristling.

The members of V6 and SMAP were all terrified and fell silent, their eyes constantly shifting between Shinji and Johnny Kitagawa.

Nagatobo looked embarrassed. During their conversation, he had thought Shinji Matou was quite easy to talk to, but he hadn't expected that just three sentences would provoke his grandfather.

But it's too late to say anything now. Nagagubo only hopes that this negotiation won't fall through in the first round.

He genuinely wanted to go back and participate in Tsuburaya's grand event.

Unfortunately, Johnny & Associates & Associates is very strict with its artists, who have absolutely no say in what events they attend.

"Matou-kun, please stop joking."

Johnny Kitagawa forced a smile, "Please don't bring such hearsay and gossip to this kind of occasion."

Although everyone knows it's true that Kondo Masahiko's mother's ashes were scattered, Johnny & Associates has never admitted it. So as long as Johnny Kitagawa enough, Kondo Masahiko's mother's ashes will continue to lie peacefully in her grave.

"Tsk."

Upon hearing the old man concede, Shinji inwardly scoffed.

He hadn't expected that Johnny Kitagawa wouldn't directly confront him, but instead would adopt such a roundabout strategy.

[The old man is really getting old. But, there's nothing I can do about him being Ninja Turtles like this.]

"My apologies," Shinji said, bowing slightly with a hint of regret. "I shouldn't have brought up gossip and other such unfounded rumors. Let's talk about something more practical."

Shinji, as if nothing had happened, smiled and said, "So, Johnny Kitagawa, how much are you planning to ask for Daigo's salary?"

"300 million yen, plus a 15% share of the global box office without any strings attached, and a 10% share of the DVD revenue."

Johnny Kitagawa's price quote almost made Shinji slam his plate down on the face of the person opposite him.

Why don't you rob a bank? You'd make money faster than making movies. No, wait, that's much more promising than robbing a bank.

Shinji was about to refuse outright, but after carefully observing the expressions of the Kitagawa siblings, he guessed what they were thinking.

This price was intentional; they wanted to discuss something with him, so they deliberately set an excessively high price to make Shinji negotiate.

After a moment's thought, Shinji offered what he considered a suitable price. "30 million yen, with no profit sharing involved."

This is the highest salary Shinji has ever offered to the actors in the films he directs.

However, Shinji believes that Hiroshi Nagano is worth the price.

Unfortunately, even though Shinji downplayed the status of Johnny & Associates's artists, he couldn't deny the popularity they generated.

Special effects films are only popular in East Asia, and Japan is currently the most important box office market in East Asia.

Given the popularity brought by Hiroshi Nagano's appearance, Shinji's salary of 50 million yen is quite reasonable.

But it's only worth 50 million yen.

Any more, Shinji would feel it wasn't worth it.

As for why the initial offer was 30 million yen... well, it's the first offer, so there should always be room for a price increase.

Upon hearing that Shinji had reduced his offer tenfold and even canceled the profit-sharing arrangement, Johnny Kitagawa's face turned a mixture of purple and red, a truly fascinating sight.

He knew Shinji would definitely try to bargain, but he didn't expect the other party to be so aggressive.

"250 million yen, 18% of the box office revenue, DVD revenue sharing is optional."

"31 million yen."

Shinji said, squinting.

"230 million yen, 18% of the box office revenue."

Seeing Shinji's method of raising prices, Johnny Kitagawa quickly changed his strategy.

You're adding it little by little, right? Then I'll subtract it little by little.

"32 million yen."

Shinji, however, seemed completely unconcerned and continued to steadily increase his offer.

"200 million yen, 17% of the box office revenue."

"33 million yen."

"Matou-kun, negotiations require sincerity."

"That 38,880,000 yen, how about 888? That's quite a generous offer, isn't it?"

Shinji his hand on the table and announced a very attractive price.

This time, it was Johnny Kitagawa's turn to want to dump the plate of food on Shinji's forehead.

"Matou-kun, you should know that Johnny & Associates's artists have never received this kind of pay."

"Johnny Kitagawa, this is the world's first Naked-eye 3D movie. Just that title alone is enough to make Daigo actor."

"3D without glasses?"

This new term captivated everyone at the table.

Shinji gave a brief explanation of what Naked-eye 3D technology is, which the young people, including Hiroshi Nagano, listened to with great interest, and even the middle-aged man, Takuya Kimura, was quite intrigued.

However, the Kitagawa siblings, both elderly, were completely unimpressed by the 3D technology that Shinji had Shinji.

3D movie technology appeared very early. As early as the 1970s, some Film Company used 3D movies as a selling point. At that time, they even invited Alfred Hitchcock, the master of horror movies, to make a 3D movie.

And what was the result?

Even today, 2D movies still dominate the mainstream, while 3D movies, once hailed as the movies of the future, remain a niche within a niche.

Compared to such pointless gimmicks, the Kitagawa siblings focused more on tangible benefits.

"I have a plan here, Matou-kun, you can take a look."

Johnny Kitagawa realized that if he didn't clearly tell Shinji the purpose of his negotiations, given Shinji's ability to steer the conversation away, they probably wouldn't be able to get down to business until tomorrow morning.

Shinji, being a young man, Johnny Kitagawa's health truly can't take it anymore.

So Johnny Kitagawa took out the plan he had prepared and handed it to Shinji.

Shinji could tell from Johnny Kitagawa's eyes that Hiroshi Nagano's salary was just a bonus; this was what the other party really wanted to discuss.

[This is bad, I'm not interested in Johnny & Associates's artists other than Hiroshi Nagano... Wait, what's this?]

After quickly glancing through Johnny Kitagawa's project, Shinji's expression changed.

The old man's plan was to have Type-Moon and Johnny & Associates's each send a group of people to form a temporary idol group.