ATPnovel Chapter 527 - 160: Aix!
Chapter 527 - 160: Aix!
"Hello Mr. Zhang, I am Kazuo Tsuburaya. My father is Tsuburaya Ogao, who launched Ultraman Taro, and my grandfather is Eiji Tsuburaya, the founder of Ultraman. Pleased to meet you, and this is..."
"My girlfriend, Aprile Clark."
"Hello, just call me Aprile."
"Hello, Mr. Zhang, you’re lucky, your girlfriend is really beautiful."
"Thank you..."
Many people from Tsuburaya Productions have come as well. Although Japan’s financial crisis brought about a decline, they are still quite wealthy, but the company isn’t doing very well right now.
Over the past few months, Kazuo Tsuburaya conducted a detailed investigation into Zhang Hao’s preferences and found out that Zhang Hao doesn’t have any particular hobbies, no private news, and just got a girlfriend.
So, he could only find a topic from Zhang Hao’s love for Ultraman, intentionally mentioning his two elders who created successful Ultraman series, deliberately ignoring the decline in Ultraman’s popularity since he took over Tsuburaya Productions.
Also, Zhang Hao attaches great importance to courtesy, which was relayed by some veteran players. Kazuo Tsuburaya used very polite language, though Japanese English still sounds somewhat peculiar.
Zhang Hao nodded and shook hands with him.
So distant and cold...
Henry Thomas and Pelinka didn’t find it strange at all, but Kazuo Tsuburaya was worried that by deliberately highlighting his father’s and grandfather’s achievements and not mentioning the past 15 years of failures, Zhang Hao might see through him.
In Kazuo Tsuburaya’s mind, true fans of special effects films probably know about their losing operations over the past 15 years...
"Mr. Zhang, your time is precious, I know, so I won’t chit-chat further. Please come inside, we have prepared our script, the new Ultraman’s design, and publicity plan for you to review..."
Although he was cautious, fearing Zhang Hao might ultimately reject this cooperation and their plan to use Zhang Hao’s fame to make a comeback would fall through, he was very confident in mentioning these.
The Ultraman suits and monster suits are all worn by actors, and they are all more than two meters tall... To find actors tall enough to share the screen with Zhang Hao to play monsters, Kazuo Tsuburaya went to great lengths, and upon arriving in Hollywood, he saw many people of such height, almost breaking his heart.
However, when Zhang Hao saw them, he didn’t find anything unusual, as he had only seen Ultraman on TV before, where backgrounds made it hard to discern height.
Originally, he remained composed, but when he saw those familiar monsters, building models, and the "high-tech concepts" which he found odd yet nostalgically charming, his eyes widened in excitement.
You can always trust in the light!
At this moment, Zhang Hao focused his gaze on the three Ultramen at the center of the actors, intending to look there last...
"Eh? It’s not Ultraman Tiga? The chest LED light has turned into an X-shaped strip light? Well, at least it’s not as gaudy as future Ultramen... otherwise, I would become the pioneer of non-mainstream Ultramen."
Seeing Zhang Hao’s excitement, Kazuo Tsuburaya finally breathed a sigh of relief, stretched his neck, and began the introduction: "This is our latest conceptualized Ultraman, Ultraman X, with three forms... more forms may be added in the future. We plan to create an Ultraman world, linking Ultramen together in future storylines. Of course, our current goal is to focus on building the Ultraman X brand.
For Ultraman X, we have meticulously crafted the script, moving beyond simple monster-fighting plotlines to include richer storylines and deeper topics..."
Speaking of this filming plan, Kazuo Tsuburaya exuded strong confidence, which Zhang Hao could easily sense.
As a fan of special effects films, Zhang Hao naturally had heard of Kazuo Tsuburaya, who saved the Tsuburaya Special Effects Group and launched the immensely successful Ultraman Tiga.
Though future Ultramen became somewhat peculiar, Kazuo Tsuburaya’s aspirations were realized when his successors, after earning a fortune with Ultraman Tiga, went on to perfect the Ultraman universe and create several blockbuster Ultramen.
Aside from the clumsy concepts of future technology, misguided judgments on 21st-century development, and rough craftsmanship of props seen in Ultraman Tiga, everything else was meticulously done and utterly excellent, marking the peak of Ultraman.
After speaking for over half an hour, Kazuo Tsuburaya looked at Zhang Hao with hopeful eyes.
Zhang Hao was certainly going to perform but raised a question: "In the film, my nationality is still China, right?"
"This... no problem! We are very happy to bring Ultraman to China!" Kazuo Tsuburaya, after a moment’s hesitation, quickly decided and agreed.
Everything is negotiable, especially when facing foreseeable crises.
If this investment fails, then there is no future.
Despite having great faith in the Ultraman he was about to launch, Kazuo Tsuburaya still wanted to be more assured.
Zhang Hao, the first Asian All-Star Game MVP in the NBA, although basketball isn’t very popular in Japan, Zhang Hao still has a high following there.
Being the first is always special.
Relatively speaking, Japanese in Asian countries are quite self-confident. They do not seek validation by registering various intangible heritages like South Korea, recognizing Zhang Hao’s greatness for making history in Asian basketball.