The cocktail party, or buffet party, initiated by Nagayama Kozo, convened by his father, and actually supported by Cao Zhiqiang, not only brought benefits to Cao Zhiqiang, but also brought benefits to everyone attending the meeting, at least it provided a way to get to know each other. and opportunities for communication.
The reason why I say this is because the entertainment industry in Japan is actually quite narrow. Everyone basically does their own thing, and there are very few opportunities for people from different walks of life to come together.
This is because Japan is a very class-conscious society and its national character is more conservative, so even people from different classes in the same industry generally do not play together.
For example, people of Sayuri Yoshinaga's class would not play with Yamaguchi Momoe all day long. Even though Yamaguchi Momoe's popularity has now surpassed that of Yoshinaga Sayuri, in terms of status and class, Yamaguchi Momoe and Yoshinaga Sayuri are incomparable.
Another example is well-known actors such as Miura Tomokazu, Takakura Ken and Utsui Ken. No matter how famous they are among the people, they can't compete with great directors such as Akira Kurosawa, Katsumi Nishikawa, and Junya Sato.
It's not that Miura Tomokazu and Takakura Ken don't want to play with those big directors, but that those big directors look down on those actors.
In Japan, celebrities are just glamorous on the surface, but their actual status in the industry is very low. Few big directors in the industry will lower their status and hang out with actors all day long. At most, they do things to save face in public, but rarely do anything in private. Coming and going.
Of course, if you want to talk about the private affair between a certain male director and a certain actress, that's another matter. But on the whole, it's common sense in the industry that directors look down on actors.
As for great directors like Akira Kurosawa, compared with senior executives such as Taro Okada, Tokugen Yamamoto, and Minoru Endo, who have control over resources and channels, they are also unable to get along with each other. Both sides look down on each other.
In the eyes of the top executives of real big companies, such as Mitsui, Sumitomo, Fuji and other consortiums, those who are engaged in the entertainment industry, such as Yamamoto Tokuhara and Okada Taro, are even less high-quality.
Even medium-sized companies like Taiyo Yuden look down on the entertainment industry.
Because of this, Taiyo Yuden came over in a hurry to stand up just because of Cao Zhiqiang's face, but soon made excuses and left without communicating much with people in the entertainment industry.
Similarly, at this cocktail party, perhaps it was because it was too casual and there were no forced activities. Everyone just ate, drank and socialized at will, so small circles naturally formed.
For example, actors are in a circle, directors, screenwriters and producers are in a circle, TV stations and film company executives are in a circle, and so on.
Within the same circle, people are divided into smaller circles based on their fame and family background.
Actors who are well-known and have good family backgrounds naturally belong to one circle, and everyone else is in another circle.
To put it simply, in this cocktail party, actors are the lowest level of the group. Unless you are like Yoshinaga Sayuri, you marry a high-ranking TV station executive.
It can be seen that in Japan, the status of actors is actually very low, and they do not have the same high status as in China.
However, it is also because there are no simple singers here. If there are, then singers are the lowest level of existence, with a lower status than actors.
Among them, Akina Nakamori made her debut as a singer, so strictly speaking, she is the lowest status among these people.
But the problem is that Akina Nakamori is no longer just a singer. She is also the president of an entertainment agency, the heroine of a hit drama, and the female companion of Cao Zhiqiang.
Regardless of her identity, Nakamori Akina can have a good time chatting with people like these, at least those who are at the level of actors.
Normally, it is difficult for people from different circles to get together, but there are exceptions.
Just like now, because of this cocktail party and because of Cao Zhiqiang, these talents temporarily broke out of the circle and gathered together temporarily. At least they seemed to be getting along well.
This is a rare opportunity for many people, especially many actors.
Not only does Tsao need to expand his social circle, but actors also need to expand their social circle.
After all, multiple friends lead to multiple paths, and it’s the same in Japan.
Perhaps because of this reason, or perhaps because Cao Zhiqiang is really outstanding, at this cocktail party, except for a few people, almost no one disliked Cao Zhiqiang.
Everyone likes to chat with Cao Zhiqiang, and many people hope to cooperate with Cao Zhiqiang.
Some want to film with Cao Zhiqiang, some want Cao Zhiqiang to film for them, some want Cao Zhiqiang to write songs, some want Cao Zhiqiang to write scripts, there are even matchmakers, and some want Cao Zhiqiang to be their son-in-law.
Of course, it’s unclear how much of this is true.
No matter what, with Cao Zhiqiang's humble and amiable attitude and various fine wines and food, everyone was very satisfied with the buffet reception.
Unfortunately, happy time is always short-lived. No matter how happy everyone is, there will always be a time when the party ends.
So soon, the reception ended in a peaceful atmosphere.
On the third day after the reception, Nagayama Kozo officially started the casting interview for his next drama "Tokyo Love Story".
Sure enough, Yoshinaga Sayuri, Miura Tomokazu, Nanjo Yutaka, Utsui Takeru, Furotegawa Yuko, Asano Atsuko and others who had met at the cocktail party all came to interview in person.
This naturally caused a small sensation. After all, most of the people who came for interviews before were third-tier stars or pure newcomers. They were incomparable to these first- and second-tier stars.
At the same time, the reporters who had been waiting here for a long time also swarmed up, taking photos, videotaping, and entertainment reporters going up to interview. Anyway, it was a great momentum.
All of this was, of course, a predetermined routine.
In fact, Nagayama Kozo had already negotiated with TV stations and major entertainment magazines before, and asked them to come over for interviews. Firstly, he could promote the new drama, and secondly, he could also promote the actors, and at the same time, various entertainment magazines could have News can be written, which is a win-win situation.
If Kozo Nagayama was unknown before, and his identity and background were only circulated in a small internal circle, then when "101 Proposals" is on the air, Kozo Nagayama is no longer a transparent little person. .
The popularity of "101 Proposals" has not decreased, but has increased slightly. The ratings have stabilized at more than 40%, which is a miracle.
You know, "101 Proposals" is not a long drama with dozens or even hundreds of episodes, but a short and medium-sized drama with only twelve episodes. It is not even a mainstream big production like Dahe Drama, but a relatively unpopular one. urban romance drama.
Such an urban love drama that focuses on the love story of young people actually achieved a ratings of 41% as soon as it was aired. This is incredible, but this can be said to be a trick, and it is said to be due to the previous publicity. The film caught on to the popularity of the movie "Love in the Rain".
But the show is still so popular even now, so it's not just a commercial trick, but a real win based on strength.
Once the show started airing, the number of people in the Tokyo market became less and less, especially young people, and not many people could see it.
It can be said that at this time, most young people in Japan are attracted by this drama, and they are all stuck in time to follow the drama.
Not only young people like it, but middle-aged aunts and uncles also like to watch this show.
Someone once interviewed an uncle and asked him if he liked "101 Proposals". The answer was that he did. When asked why he liked it, he said that after seeing that show, it was like seeing himself.
Well, okay, that interview was indeed enough to make people complain, but it did express the feelings of many middle-aged drama fans.
That's what happened to the male protagonist in "101 Proposals", which touched the hearts of too many middle-aged men.
And the situation of the heroine in "101 Proposals" moved a lot of middle-aged aunts and a lot of young people. Everyone wants to see what kind of story this pair of lovers who seem to be in the wrong family have. And what will be the final outcome.
As the TV series becomes popular, related topics also become more hyped.
For example, the phenomenon of Japan's declining birthrate, Japanese young people no longer like to fall in love, and their work pressure is too high, etc., have all been hyped up.
There were also discussions on whether the traditional sectarian views were reasonable.
Corresponding to the popularity and discussion of the TV series, is the hot sales of the original albums of the TV series.
While "101 Proposals" was on the air, Japan's Warner Records also promptly released the original soundtrack album - "Sudden Love".
As soon as this album appeared, there was a rush to buy it.
Whether it is cassette tapes, vinyl records, laser videos or relatively new CDs, people are grabbing them all. There are long queues outside many sales points. Almost as soon as the goods are released, they are sold out within two hours.
The title song of this album, "Sudden Love", is even more popular. Not only do a large number of people pay to request this song on the radio every day, but also people are covering this song in the streets and alleys.
In fact, if many street singers can't sing "Sudden Love", no one will stop at all.
The high school students in the school are even more powerful. Almost all of those high school students can sing this song, and this is not taught at all. It seems to be a spontaneous behavior.
Anyway, the TV series is very popular, the discussions are very popular, the commentators are very popular, the songs are very popular, and then each other is popular, and everyone has gained a wonderful harvest.
This situation has undoubtedly not occurred for a long time.
There has been a similar situation in Japan before, that is, there was a period when "The Story of Torajiro" was aired, but it was not as crazy as after "101 Proposals" was aired.
Many media people have also analyzed this phenomenon and believe that it is promoted by young people.
Many commentators believe that the reason for this crazy phenomenon is that many young people like this show. However, young people in contemporary Japan have relatively strong purchasing power and like to pursue fashion and trends, so it is difficult to resist "101 Proposals" magic.
However, some people think that the plot of "101 Proposals" itself is average. The good thing is that the characterization is very successful and the music is particularly suitable for the scene.
Some commentators sensitively pointed out that the male and female protagonists in "101 Proposals" seem to have very different statuses. In fact, they are not perfect. They are not normal people. They all have their own mental illnesses and flaws, but they can heal each other perfectly. ,help each other.
Therefore, this is not a simple drama about a male version of Cinderella, but a drama that pretends to be a male version of Cinderella, but is actually a healing drama.
Precisely because this drama has a strong healing effect, it not only pricks the pain points of older leftover boys and leftover girls as well as parents of older leftover boys and leftover girls, but also gives them a spiritual healing and baptism.
In other words, many keen-eyed critics believe that it is not unreasonable for this drama to be popular.
Because ordinary TV dramas just create a fairy tale similar to Cinderella, but they are not realistic enough or real enough, and it is difficult to resonate with everyone.
But this "101 Proposals" is different.
This drama seems to be about the love story of a pair of older boys and girls, a male version of Cinderella, but in fact it is not only about beautiful love, but also about how to heal pain.
The episode doesn't give a specific cure, but it does offer a prescription.
The prescription is courage.
That's right, many analysts believe that both the male protagonist and the female protagonist in the play are actually cowards in love and have their own psychological problems before they meet each other.
But after they met, they used love as a medium and bravery as a prescription, and boldly walked out on the path they usually didn't dare to take. Because of this, they healed each other and found love for each other.
Yes, although the finale has not yet been played, the beginning has already foreshadowed that this will be a happy ending.
After all, at the beginning, the heroine was wearing a wedding dress and chasing the hero. This is a flashback drama, or a narrative drama.
Many people believe that "101 Proposals" not only focuses on the current marriage and love problems of older men and women in Japanese society, but also provides a unique prescription.
Unlike other prescriptions that focus on material things, the prescriptions given by this drama are given from a psychological level.
In other words, this drama tells you that if you can't change society, then change yourself first.
After changing yourself, the results may not be better, but they will certainly not be worse.
As long as you have the courage to pursue what you love boldly, there may be a real possibility of success.
This is in line with the Japanese character who likes to make all-or-nothing decisions and take big risks.
Of course, this is the mainstream view.
There are countless other more detailed explanations and discussions.
Anyway, since the drama "101 Proposals" was aired, there have been endless topics surrounding this drama.
Not only do newspapers and magazines often feature topics related to this drama, but TV stations also have special talk programs, specifically inviting some so-called experts to use this drama to discuss Japan’s current problem of declining birthrates. , the difficulty of love between men and women, as well as issues such as high work pressure.
Some congressmen even came out to participate in TV programs to call for changes in the law and the full introduction of a weekend system to change the current inhumane working conditions and give the Japanese people a chance to breathe and pursue love.
Well, at this time, Japan, like China, did not have a so-called weekend holiday. Whether it was civil servants, large companies, or even major schools, they all had one day off per week.
Only some particularly good companies have so-called weekends.
But in fact, the system of weekend breaks has been around for a long time, but it’s just not popular.
Now some congressmen have come out to use the influence of the show "101 Proposals" to call for the comprehensive promotion of weekend holidays. Although they are doing it to win votes, they also show how popular this show is.
Therefore, this show became popular, and the actors, directors and screenwriters in it naturally became popular as well.
At this time, no one thought that Nagayama Kozo was a transparent person anymore.
With the foundation of this drama, he can already be regarded as a star director in the industry.
For such a popular young director with a great background, the major media will of course want to sell him off. (End of chapter)
