The words spoken by Gotanda Taishi carried no hesitation.
From this, one could also see his degree of seriousness toward his works.
If that child actor named Yuji performed unsatisfactorily, he genuinely intended to kick him out and change personnel.
After all, although Hoshino Aqua’s role wasn’t as important as the lead, it was still an important supporting role with lines.
These words were spoken with great weight.
Even Saitou Miyako could sense the seriousness of his words.
She couldn’t help but take a step back.
But soon she realized this action of hers was somewhat improper.
After all, she was Yuji’s recommender; no matter what, she mustn’t show cowardice at a time like this.
Therefore, she took a deep breath, stepped forward, and raised her pretty face.
“Director Gotanda, please rest assured, Yuji-kun will definitely not let you down!”
When she reached this point.
Her voice paused for a moment, but she still made up her mind and continued to add.
“Because judging from my years of experience managing the agency, his potential is enough to rival Ai!”
“?” Gotanda Taishi couldn’t help but raise his head.
Even due to being too surprised.
He didn’t even notice that his cigarette was about to burn his hand.
No…
What did she just say?
Rival Hoshino Ai…?
As a powerhouse director, Gotanda Taishi possessed a pair of eyes that could unearth stars.
From the very first moment he saw Hoshino Ai, he had already determined that the woman before him…
clearly an ‘idol’ with the lowest status in the industry, was undoubtedly the type of person who could’sell’.
Subsequent facts also proved that she indeed sold, and in a massive-selling way at that, even securing a spot to perform at the Tokyo Dome.
Tokyo Dome…
many people might not understand what kind of concept this was.
To put it roughly, that was a stage where national-level figures could appear, the genuine peak stage of the Japanese music industry.
In the past, those who could ascend to this stage were, without exception, basically the elites of the Japanese music scene.
For example, AKB48, Nogizaka46, and other Japanese national-level idols.
And what about Hoshino Ai?
She almost single-handedly led the completely unknown B-Komachi to break through and secure the performance qualification for the Dome—such aptitude seemed rather unrealistic even if placed in novels or anime.
But what was Saitou Miyako saying right now?
Rival Hoshino Ai?
Hiss…
No…
Did she really think people like Hoshino Ai were wholesale cabbages?
That you could just pull one out of the dirt at will?
“Ms.
Kyoko, it’s not that I don’t trust your vision…
but rivaling Ai…
isn’t saying something like that a bit too exaggerated?”
Gotanda Taishi twitched the corner of his mouth and couldn’t help speaking up.
“Whether it’s an exaggeration or not, Director Gotanda, you’ll know once he actually takes the stage next.”
Saitou Miyako knew that for a powerhouse director like Gotanda Taishi, similarly, only strength could convince him.
However——
Turning around, until she could no longer feel Gotanda Taishi’s gaze at all.
Saitou Miyako could no longer maintain that pretentious, confident and awe-inspiring expression from just a moment ago.
In a place where Gotanda Taishi couldn’t see, the corners of her mouth twitched, and after rubbing her hands together vigorously, she began to pray with her hands pressed together.
Please, Great Deity Yuji, I’ve already talked up such a big game, you mustn’t let me down later!
Please…
please don’t let me down!
Just as she was preparing to pray sincerely once more.
A voice came over.
“What are you doing?”
Saitou Miyako subconsciously looked up.
It was precisely Yuji.
At this moment, he was leafing through the script in his hand while looking at her with a strange expression.
“Yuji-kun——!
You must work hard, okay!
Auntie…
Auntie is betting everything on you, okay!”
Saitou Miyako’s hands tightly gripped Yuji’s shoulders.
Not only did she give her adopted son’s role to Yuji, but she also made bold boasts in front of Gotanda Taishi.
Her current stress was undoubtedly immense.
“Is that so…
Rivaling Hoshino Ai…?
That’s probably pretty difficult.”
After hearing her words, Yuji spoke up.
“Eh?” This unexpected remark made Saitou Miyako let out a sound of surprise.
After all, she remembered that yesterday Yuji had been quite confident, so how come he had lost his confidence today?
But soon, the other party gave her the answer.
“Because it’s not rivaling.”
Yuji closed the script completely, his expression serious.
“I will surpass Hoshino Ai.”
…
“The sets and camera positioning are all ready.
Director, should we rehearse once before officially starting?”
“Let’s rehearse once first.”
Many film crews would rehearse once before shooting important scenes—mainly to let the actors adapt to the rhythm of the shooting location.
After roughly confirming the surrounding sets and equipment distribution, Gotanda Taishi sat in front of the monitor.
To be honest, even now he still cared a bit about Saitou Miyako’s words of “rivaling Hoshino Ai”.
However…
“We’re about to go on stage formally…
Whether he truly has that aptitude…
Let me take a good look.”
Narrowing his eyes, Gotanda Taishi watched the monitor in front of him with rapt attention.
The movie Gotanda Taishi was currently filming was titled “The Uninhabitable House”.
Just as the title suggested.
This was a horror film.
Then, how should an excellent horror film shoot the feeling of “terror”?
The trick was actually quite simple.
The actors’ Acting!
The control of facial expressions, the movement of body language, the proficiency of lines, and so on.
How to silently stir up the audience’s emotions by relying on these was the most important thing.
“”The Uninhabitable House”, Scene 9, Take 1!
Action!”
The clapperboard clapped.
Good!
Let me see your strength!
Gotanda Taishi perked up.
“The Uninhabitable House” was filmed in the style of a very common episodic horror film.
The previous tenant killed their own child because they were bewitched by the “filth” lingering in the apartment, and then committed suicide.
And the killed child remained forever on the day they were killed, and as a new “filth”, murdered all the tenants who moved in.
This current scene was precisely the first scene of the victim Kana moving into the apartment.
The incandescent light was pulled open, representing someone entering the room.
The gap between the vase and the photo frame formed a small frame, wrapping around the actress playing Kana who appeared on screen.
This was a technique that many horror film shoots would use.
The environment was greater than the characters, giving the viewer a feeling of being wrapped by the environment and being secretly peeped at by someone.
Kana, who had just finished work, sat at the table and chatted smilingly with her boyfriend.
Matched with the bright light of the incandescent lamp overhead, everything appeared so warm and kind.
“Not bad…” Gotanda Taishi nodded inwardly.
The rhythm was very good, and the line proficiency of the actress playing Kana was also good.
Then next, it should be the appearance of Yuji playing the murdered child’s vengeful spirit, right?
His heart stirred, his gaze carrying a hint of relaxation as he looked toward the door of the room.
And then——
He discovered something was wrong.
His relaxed and happy mood from the previous second—
almost the moment the monitor’s lens turned toward the door, it was enveloped by an indescribable fear.
Only to see within that small monitor.
A white human figure…
no…
“a mass” of white human figure was slowly crawling upwards from the very bottom of the monitor…
A suffocating shadow began to slowly erode the bright indoor space.
Replacing it was the hoarse, retching swallowing sound of a child being murdered, with fresh blood continuously oozing from their torn-open throat…
That white, child-like twisted body continued to crawl upward, wriggling in an extremely bizarre and terrifying posture…
“Gulp…”
The actress playing Kana had completely dazed out at this time, and she even forgot to speak her lines right now.
No…?
Hold on a second…?
I…
we’re shooting a movie, right?
You…
this…
how is this completely unlike Acting at all!
The actress forgot to speak her lines.
This, within the shooting location itself, was a quite serious mistake.
But at this time, unexpectedly not a single person called cut.
Because the entire shooting location had already quieted down at this instant.
Everyone watched this scene intently.
And the terrifying, struggling, and painful sounds of a child’s slender throat being pierced coming from the monitor, along with the twisted and bizarre crawling posture of struggle—
caused even Gotanda Taishi, who was staring at the monitor outside the scene, to feel a piercing chill surge up his spine.
At this time, he finally remembered Saitou Miyako’s extremely serious words without the slightest perfunctoriness.
“His potential is enough to rival Ai!”
He originally thought this sentence was just a joke.
But now it seemed…
“Far from just rivaling…”
“From the perspective of Acting, this has already surpassed it.”
He muttered to himself.