Chapter 84: Busy President Sang
Asuka Kobayashi felt that Shirakawa Kaede's request was unreliable. The licensing fee could be paid in installments? How could such a good thing happen?
However, the facts soon exceeded her expectations. This man named Andre seemed to be more anxious than her.
Not only did he immediately agree to this request, he also urged them to transfer the money immediately.
In fact, this cannot be blamed on Andre. He was in Europe and watched as his patent application had been unattended for two years.
Those famous big companies simply looked down on his creativity. In their eyes, Andre's so-called portable concept was just a poor imitation.
Speaking of the Walkman, the concept of a true cassette tape player first appeared at the 1963 Electronics Expo.
The manufacturer was Philips, so Philips was the most disdainful of Andre's so-called creativity.
Therefore, for Andre, who had been rejected several times, now that a sucker has finally come to his doorstep, why not take him down quickly?
Even though he didn't even know where RB was, he knew that £20,000 was a huge sum of money in 1979.
It's hard to get into a big company, but it's easy to get the money from this small company.
Andre didn't even have any expectations for the subsequent 10,000 pounds from Shirakawa Electric. Who knew whether this so-called Walkman could be sold?
If it can't be sold, this small RB company might go bankrupt.
Ten thousand pounds is the most practical thing to get. The remaining ten thousand is the best, but it doesn't matter if you don't have it.
So it was a win-win situation where Andre felt he had made a profit and Baichuan Feng felt he had picked up a bargain.
The two parties signed the patent licensing agreement cordially and amicably, one immediately demanded payment and the other immediately made the payment, leaving no chance for the other party to go back on their word.
Baichuan Feng looked at the contract in his hand, which still smelled of ink, happily and shook it with satisfaction.
With this, you don’t have to worry about trouble from big brother Sony in the future.
…
With the patent license obtained, the development of the Walkman proceeded step by step.
Shirakawa Feng suddenly found that he, the president, seemed to have become idle.
In that case, can I also be a hands-off boss and experience the life of a real president?
The answer is no.
Since the last meeting with Takeshi Kitano at the summer festival, the biggest funding problem of the film has been solved.
So Kitano Takeshi couldn't wait and immediately began to prepare for the crew.
Now that the male and female protagonists have been decided, the most important thing left is the behind-the-scenes team.
Although he had Masayuki Mori to help him, Kitano Takeshi, who was still unsure, still planned to ask for advice from seniors in the industry.
Among the seniors he knew, the only one who took a new look at him and encouraged him to enter the film industry was the famous director Nagisa Oshima.
Nagisa Oshima put down the script in his hand and glanced at Takeshi Kitano who was sitting beside him with bated breath.
"It's very much like Akira Kurosawa-san's style, but it's not the type of comedy you're good at, which is quite surprising."
Kitano Takeshi nodded cautiously, "The script was written by one of my Meiji juniors. Oh, by the way, he is also the leading actor of this movie."
Kitano Takeshi, who was carefree and nonchalant in front of Shirakawa Kaede, is now as obedient as a little lamb in front of Oshima Nagisa.
"Oh~" Oshima Nagisa became interested, "He also dropped out of Meiji University?"
Kitano Takeshi choked, then shook his head awkwardly, "He is different from me, he is a good student.
In short, he is a child who listens to his parents, but... "Kitano Takeshi paused, "sometimes he seems to be restless, and recently he became the president of a vinyl record company."
Oshima Nagisa was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. He had seen students making movies, but he had never seen a student write a script, make a movie and become a company president.
However, when he saw Takeshi Kitano kneeling in front of him, he seemed to think that this was very reasonable. After all, it was normal for a restless person to have a few restless friends around him.
"The script is worth filming, so let's give it a try." Nagisa Oshima closed the script and returned it to Takeshi Kitano.
“However, for a film to be successfully completed, the smooth operation of the crew is of utmost importance.
As the supervisor, the entire crew will operate under your command. Whether you can coordinate well depends on your ability.
But no matter what, this is also a rare learning opportunity.”
As an internationally renowned director, Nagisa Oshima has extensive experience in film crews.
He is quite optimistic about the future performance of this junior who comes from manzai.
"By the way, the operation of the crew cannot be separated from a capable producer. Have you decided on this person?"
"Hai," Kitano Takeshi nodded, "The producer of the program of TV Asahi, Mori Masayuki-san."
"Hmm~" Oshima Nagisa nodded. He had some relevant experience, but TV stations and movies were two different things.
“How about this, I’ll introduce another producer to you and let him be your assistant producer.
Although relatively young, he has had one or two film production experiences. I think he will be a good fit for your film team.”
Kitano Takeshi hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "Senior, excuse me, who is this producer?"
"Okuyama Kazuyuki" Nagisa Oshima uttered a name.
Kitano Takeshi was shocked. "The president of Shochiku Film is Mr. Okuyama Jun. This Mr. Okuyama Kazuyoshi..."
Oshima Nagisa nodded and confirmed his guess, "Okuyama Kazuyu's father is Okuyama Rong-san."
After getting a positive answer, Kitano Takeshi nodded with an inexplicable expression, seeming to want to say something but hesitated, but finally fell .
"Kid, stop worrying about it." Seeing Kitano Takeshi looking aggrieved , Oshima Nagisa couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Okuyama Kazuyuki is not as simple as you think. He actually has experience in film production. At least he is more reliable than your team."
If Oshima Nagisa hadn't explained, Kitano Takeshi would probably have thought that a related person had been forced into his team.
"Eh" Kitano Takeshi grinned a little embarrassedly. To be honest, he really thought so at the beginning.
Oshima Nagisa waved his hand nonchalantly, “Anyway, you’ll know after you get in touch with them, and your film needs to be released smoothly.
A strong company like Shochiku is also an indispensable aid, so just be content."
This is true. Many independent films want to establish this kind of relationship but cannot find a way to do so.
There are hundreds of movies a year, and it would be great if one-third of them could be released in theaters.
Kitano Takeshi nodded, feeling much more comfortable this time. This also provided a lot of help for the post-production of the film.
I got a positive answer from Oshima Nagisa, and also received extra help.
So, without any more worries, Takeshi Kitano immediately notified Shirakawa Kaede to join the crew and prepare for the filming.
And our President Shirakawa had to rush back into the film industry less than half a day after he had just had some free time.
Alas, that’s what capable people are like. They can shine wherever they are.
