Tokyo: My Best Actor Gear List

Chapter 55 The Gamble at Fuji TV

The ashtrays were piled high with cigarette butts, and the air in the conference room was as stuffy as a sauna.

"no."

At just 23 years old, screenwriter Yuji Sakamoto slammed a ballpoint pen on the table, his youthful and impetuous face filled with resistance. "If the male lead feels like this, I can't continue writing this script."

Sitting opposite him was Akira Ota, a top producer from Fuji Television.

The man who single-handedly created the concept of "trend drama" is currently frowning, staring at the name "Kanji Nagao" on the whiteboard with a troubled expression.

Tokyo Love Story.

This is Fuji Television's major production for next spring's prime-time slot. The lead role of "Rika Akana" has been almost certainly secured with Honami Suzuki; no one can replace the unrestrained and free spirit in that girl's smile.

However, the casting of the male lead, "Kanji Nagao," has stalled.

The male star I had initially favored had to cancel his contract yesterday to film a movie due to a scheduling conflict.

The remaining candidates were either too handsome, like playboys, unable to portray the awkwardness of a country youth; or too rustic, making it seem like Rika was blind to fall in love with him.

"Knock knock".

A knock broke the suffocating silence as the conference room door was opened.

Kitahara Shin's agent, Ota, leaned halfway in, clutching a manila file folder tightly in his hand, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Excuse me! This is Ota from Ota Office. Regarding the documents we submitted earlier..."

"Come in." Da Duoliang rubbed his temples and waved wearily.

Ota strode into the room and, like a salesman, quickly handed the resume to Ota Akira and Sakamoto Yuji with both hands.

"Please, everyone, really consider our Kitahara Shin! Although he's acted in a lot of different genres before, he..."

"Kitahara Shin?"

Before Ota could finish speaking, Sakamoto Yuji let out a strange cry, as if he had heard some absurd joke.

He picked up the resume and pointed to the photo on it—a still of Kitahara Shin from the drama "Yakuza Blood," with a cold look in his eyes and a chilling smile on his lips.

"Are you kidding me?"

Yuji Sakamoto threw the resume back on the table. "Ota-san, do you even know what we're going to film? It's pure love! It's urban romance! Not 'Shinjuku Riots'!"

"Are we going to cast this guy who plays a psychopathic killer as Wanji? His temperament is definitely not a good fit, and his reputation is already established; the characters he's played have already created a fixed image in the audience's minds!"

An awkward chuckle rippled through the conference room.

Indeed, the label of "national rabid dog" is now deeply ingrained in people's minds.

The mere thought of casting him as an indecisive, even somewhat cowardly, country youth is jarring.

Da Liang didn't say anything, he just glanced at the resume.

The image is indeed too sharp.

What Kanji needs is that kind of "dullness," a warmth that makes you feel frustrated yet unable to resist wanting to embrace him. But Kitahara Shin's face is etched with the image of a "high-IQ criminal" or a "cold-blooded killer."

"terribly sorry!"

Da Tian did not back down. He pulled a black videotape from his bag, his movements so hurried that he almost dropped the tape on the ground.

"Give me three minutes! Just three minutes! This is a clip from his TBS drama 'Winter Sunflower.' That was before he started playing gangsters!"

"Winter Sunflowers?"

Director Kozo Nagayama, who had been silent until now, raised an eyebrow. "That drama had good ratings, but I don't remember him being in it."

"It's the third male lead, the mute painter."

Ota deftly inserted the videotape into the projector, pressed play, and said, "Please take a look, just one look!"

The TV screen flickered a few times before the picture lit up.

It was a late autumn afternoon, and sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves.

In the painting, Kitahara Shin is wearing a linen shirt stained with paint and sitting in front of an easel.

He held a paintbrush in his hand and was looking at the void in front of him.

In that instant, the sarcastic words that Yuji Sakamoto originally wanted to say stuck in his throat.

The man's eyes on the screen were as clear as a pool of unpolluted water.

There was no murderous intent, no chilling coldness.

There was only a kind of cautiousness, a desire to touch but also a fear of disturbing something... a sense of humility.

That was Kitahara Shin's state after he used the [Silver Zippo Abandoned by the Songstress].

That sense of fragility that emanated from the very core of them, even through the rough videotape quality, still pierced the hearts of everyone present like needles.

"this……"

Da Liang, who had been leaning back in his chair, slowly sat up straight.

He stared at the screen.

The scene then switched to the final scene.

On his sickbed, the mute painter, running a high fever, called out the heroine's name in his sleep.

"Kaoru..."

The sound was very soft, almost breathy.

The restraint of swallowing one's love, like chewing it up, instantly silenced the entire conference room.

The image freezes.

Da Tian turned off the video recorder and nervously watched the big shots, his palms sweating profusely.

"Is this the same person?"

Yuji Sakamoto picked up the still from "Yakuza Blood," looked at the blacked-out TV screen, and said with an incredulous expression, "It's like he's had plastic surgery."

"Their eyes are completely different too."

Director Kozo Nagayama stroked his chin thoughtfully, "To be able to conceal the murderous aura so cleanly, and judging from his expression and posture, this kid has a very solid foundation, and... he has a strange quality about him. This contrast might bring something different to the character of Kanji."

"But the risk is too great."

The casting director raised objections, saying, "Viewers will be pulled out of the story as soon as they see this face. This is a romance drama; if viewers feel something is off, the show is ruined."

The debate erupted again.

Some people found it a pleasant surprise, while others found it a shock.

Da Tian stood to the side, like a prisoner awaiting sentencing, not daring to breathe.

Da Liang remained silent.

He twirled a pen in his hand, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two strikingly different photographs of Kitahara Shin.

Mad Dog Sawada.

A mute painter.

Extreme violence and extreme affection.

As a producer, his intuition told him that this could be a huge hit. In an era where audiences are tired of standard idol faces, this monster with "plastic surgery-like acting skills" might just be the X factor that "Tokyo Love Story" needs.

"Smack."

Dadu Liang slammed his pen on the table.

The argument stopped abruptly, and everyone looked at him.

"Let him come."

Da Liang looked at Da Tian with sharp eyes, "Bring him to the audition at 2 PM the day after tomorrow. I want to see the scene."

"Yes! Thank you so much!" Da Tian bowed deeply, his voice trembling with excitement.

Don't get too excited yet.

Yuji Sakamoto added coldly from the side, "I just said I'd take a look. After all, we can't find a suitable candidate right now, and we haven't even said we'd hire him. Besides, if he acts like a yakuza debt collector, I'll kick him out on the spot."

Da Duoliang smiled, stood up, and straightened his suit.

"If it's not suitable, then we'll talk about it again... but I believe it shouldn't come to that."

He looked out the window at the bustling streets of Tokyo, a gambler's excitement flashing in his eyes.