I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director (Patreon)

Chapter 117: I Only Want Daigo

Shinji mentioned Masahiko Kondo, a Johnny & Associates artist, who is notorious in the Japanese entertainment industry for being a scumbag. 

His list of misdeeds is so long that it would take days to cover them all. 

To give you an idea, compared to him, the original Shinji from FSN (Fate/stay night) is pure, and even Makoto Itou from School Days seems loyal by comparison. 

Probably only Makoto’s father, Saotome, could rival Masahiko Kondo.

However, if Kondo were just an ordinary scumbag, Johnny Kitagawa wouldn't have been so upset. 

Johnny's has plenty of bad apples, but Kondo stood out as one of the worst and most famous among them.

Shinji referred to a true story about this notorious man. Kondo had done so many bad things that he was widely despised. 

During a Japan Record Awards selection, someone even dug up his mother's grave. The culprit stole her ashes and threatened Kondo to withdraw from the awards. 

But Kondo, as if nothing had happened, participated in the event and won an award. 

And then... he never saw his mother’s ashes again.

This incident is not a secret within Johnny's, but no one talks about it. 

Kondo may be shameless, but Johnny's still has a reputation to uphold. 

Shinji couldn't care less about Johnny's face, so when Johnny Kitagawa mentioned Kondo's status as an artist under his agency, Shinji directly exposed the scandal. 

This, of course, enraged Kitagawa, who glared at Shinji like an angry lion.

Members of V6 and SMAP were terrified into silence, their eyes darting back and forth between Shinji and Kitagawa. 

Nagano Hiroshi looked awkward; just moments ago, he thought Shinji was easy to talk to, but three sentences in, Shinji had already infuriated his grandfather. 

However, it was too late to say anything now. Nagano just hoped the negotiations wouldn’t fall apart in the first round because he really wanted to attend Tsuburaya Productions' event. 

Unfortunately, Johnny's had strict control over their artists, and they had no autonomy in attending events.

"Matou-kun, please don’t joke around." Kitagawa forced a smile. "Such baseless gossip should not be brought up in a serious setting like this."

Even though everyone knew the story about Kondo’s mother’s ashes was true, Johnny's had never admitted it. 

As long as Kitagawa was thick-skinned enough, Kondo's mother’s ashes were still resting peacefully in her grave.

"Tch." Hearing Kitagawa back down, Shinji clicked his tongue inwardly. 

He didn’t expect Kitagawa to take such a roundabout approach instead of confronting him directly. The old man is definitely getting on in years. But if he wants to play the turtle, there's nothing I can do.

"My apologies," Shinji said, lowering his head slightly with a hint of regret. "I shouldn’t have mentioned such baseless rumors. Let's discuss something more realistic." With a smile, he continued, "So, Kitagawa-san, how much are you asking for Nagano’s appearance fee?"

"300 million yen, plus 15% of the global box office revenue without any conditions, and 10% of DVD sales," Kitagawa replied.

Kitagawa’s asking price nearly made Shinji want to flip the table. Why don’t you just rob a bank? That would be quicker. No, actually, this might be even more profitable than robbing a bank.

Shinji was about to reject the offer outright, but after observing the expressions of Kitagawa and his sister, he guessed their intentions. 

They had deliberately set a high price, hoping to negotiate a deal.

After some thought, Shinji offered what he considered a reasonable price: "30 million yen, with no revenue sharing."

This was the highest fee Shinji had offered any actor for his films so far, but he believed Nagano was worth it. 

Although he had downplayed the significance of Johnny's artists, he couldn’t deny the popularity they brought. 

Tokusatsu films were mainly popular in East Asia, and Japan was the most crucial market. 

Considering the buzz Nagano would generate, a fee of 50 million yen was fair. But no more than that. 

As for why he offered 30 million yen... well, there should always be room for negotiation.

Kitagawa's face turned a mix of purple and red when he heard Shinji slash his offer by 90% and remove the revenue sharing. 

Kitagawa had expected Shinji to haggle, but not this aggressively.

"250 million yen, with 18% of the box office revenue. We can drop the DVD sales share."

"31 million yen," Shinji replied, squinting.

"230 million yen, with 18% of the box office revenue."

Upon seeing Shinji's bidding method, Kitagawa quickly changed his strategy. 

"32 million yen."

Shinji, however, didn't seem anxious at all and continued to steadily increase his offer.

"200 million yen, plus 17% of the box office revenue."

"33 million yen."

"Matou-kun, negotiations require sincerity."

"Then how about 38,888,000 yen? Plenty of sincerity in those triple eights, right?"

Shinji slapped the table and named a price full of sincerity.

This time, it was Kitagawa who felt like flipping the dish onto Shinji's head.

"Matou-kun, you should know that no Johnny's artist has ever received such a fee."

"Kitagawa-san, this is the world's first glasses-free 3D movie. Just the title alone is worth Daigo's participation."

"Glasses-free 3D?"

This new term caught everyone's attention at the table.

Shinji briefly explained what glasses-free 3D technology was, and the younger members, like Hiroshi Nagano, listened with great interest. 

Even the middle-aged Takuya Kimura was intrigued.

But the Kitagawa siblings, both elderly, were unimpressed by this 3D technology that Shinji was hyping up.

3D movie technology had been around for a long time, dating back to the 1970s when film companies used 3D as a selling point. 

They even had Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense, direct a 3D movie.

And what was the result?

To this day, 2D movies still dominate, and 3D movies, once hailed as the future, remain niche.

Compared to this gimmick, the Kitagawa siblings were more focused on tangible profits.

"I have a proposal here, Matou-kun. Take a look."

Kitagawa had realized that if he didn't clearly state the purpose of the negotiation, with Shinji's ability to change the subject, they might not get to the point even by the next morning.

Shinji could afford to waste time, but Kitagawa's health couldn't.

So, Kitagawa took out his prepared proposal and handed it to Shinji.

From the look in Kitagawa's eyes, Shinji realized that Nagano Hiroshi's fee was just a side issue; this was what they really wanted to discuss.

‘This is trouble... I'm not interested in any Johnny's artists other than Nagano Hiroshi... Wait, what the hell is this?’

After quickly flipping through Kitagawa's proposal, Shinji's expression changed.

The proposal was to have Type-Moon and Johnny's each contribute a group of people to form a temporary idol group.

Once formed, Johnny's and Type-Moon would alternate in producing songs, and both companies would be responsible for the group's projects.

This group would debut at Tokyo Dome, kick off a nationwide tour, and aim to become a nationwide male idol group.

Shinji's first reaction to this proposal was that Johnny's was playing an April Fool's joke on him.

Aside from the fact that Type-Moon would also be involved in song creation and that Shinji would direct films for the idols, everything else involved Johnny's resources.

In that case, wouldn't it be better for Johnny's to train their own artists and make money on their own? Why would they willingly share profits with Type-Moon? This was completely unlike the stingy style Johnny's was known for.

However, after thinking it over, Shinji could understand why Johnny's would want to collaborate with him.

Johnny's hadn't produced any promising talents in recent years. While some groups had become popular, none had the potential to reach the national level like SMAP.

Currently, across Japan, the only artist with the potential to become a national, or even global, male idol was Diarmuid, who was under Shinji's management.

With the idea of "if you can't beat them, join them," Johnny's inviting Diarmuid to join their team didn't seem so far-fetched.

Shinji was sure that Johnny's had already tried to contact Diarmuid privately, but they hadn't succeeded.

And they never would.

The relationship between Diarmuid and Shinji wasn't just one of employer and employee—it was more like the relationship between a Master and a Servant.

Of course, Johnny's was probably interested in more than just Diarmuid. Gilgamesh, Lancelot, and even Cú Chulainn were likely on Johnny's radar.

As for the other reason Johnny's wanted to team up with Shinji, it was probably due to his influence in the Western entertainment industry.

This was a typical issue for Japanese companies. 

Once they became the leader in their domestic industry, they liked to expand their business and influence overseas.

And for some reason, whether it was bad luck or a cultural quirk, Japanese companies rarely adapted to local conditions when expanding abroad. 

Instead, they tended to push the same model they used in Japan.

Shinji wasn't interested in Johnny's ambitions to expand overseas. What bothered him more was their attempt to freeload off his influence.

‘Are they treating me like a free NPC or a sucker?’

Matou Shinji took a sip from his glass, his eyes gleaming like stars.