SWNOVELXO Chapter 98: Chapter 100: The Premiere of UBW!
Upon hearing Shinji announce that he would personally direct an Ultraman movie, the expressions on everyone's faces in the conference room changed once again.
Who was Matou Shinji? He was the highest-grossing director in Japan!
Despite having only two films to his name, these two films had grossed more worldwide than any other director's work!
If this director were to helm an Ultraman movie, it would be a guaranteed box office hit!
Kazuo Tsuburaya's gaze towards Shinji became more eager.
He didn't like this opportunistic kid, but if he could truly restore the Ultraman IP to its former glory, that would be a different story.
However, the expressions of several other veteran members of Tsuburaya Productions were filled with conflict.
They were all too aware of Shinji's directing style.
The thought of Ultraman becoming a mere money-making tool for this businessman filled them with mixed feelings.
To them, Ultraman was not just a project; it was also a medium to convey their own ideas.
And now, their spiritual sanctuary was about to be sullied by ugly capital.
Shinji couldn't be bothered to argue with them; he directly told everyone his next plan.
"My schedule is fully booked for this year, so even if we start preparing for the movie, it won't be until next year. It just so happens that the year after next marks the 40th anniversary of the Ultraman series, and I will personally oversee the planning of this 40th anniversary project."
The original "Ultraman Mebius" had a great concept, being a classic among nostalgic works.
However, the show had its problems too—"Ultraman Mebius" made less money than the truncated "Ultraman Nexus."
So Shinji decided to personally oversee this project, aiming for it to be both critically acclaimed and financially successful.
"For now, your task is to come up with a project to fill the gap left by the premature end of 'Nexus.'"
Although he left it to the Tsuburaya team to decide, Shinji anticipated they would likely produce "Ultraman Max."
While Shinji wasn't a die-hard fan of Max, he liked the series well enough and had no intention of interfering.
Besides, another reason for not intervening was that many of the commercial issues that surfaced during the "Mebius" project were continuations of the problems from "Max."
When he took charge of the "Mebius" project later, he could use "Max" as a negative example.
"Brother Shinji, are you serious?" Kazuo Tsuburaya asked for confirmation, "I mean about you directing an Ultraman movie."
"Of course I am." Shinji smiled slightly, "That movie will be the cornerstone of the 40th anniversary project."
The movie he was referring to was naturally "Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers," the most influential Ultraman film in history.
Having bought Tsuburaya Productions, he would be a fool not to direct this culmination of the Showa and Heisei eras himself.
"Really?" Kazuo Tsuburaya still seemed incredulous. "Given the recent box office performances of Ultraman movies..."
A hotshot commercial director taking on a project destined to flop—Kazuo Tsuburaya doubted Shinji had the guts for it.
Even if Kazuo Tsuburaya didn't say it, Shinji knew the commercial performance of Ultraman movies.
In the original timeline, "Superior 8" was the highest-grossing Ultraman movie, yet it only earned 840 million yen at the box office, a fraction of FSN's earnings.
"I am also a fan of the Ultraman series, Brother Kazuo." Shinji deliberately changed his address to close the gap between them. "My passion and love for this IP are no less than yours. Directing an Ultraman movie has always been my dream. Rest assured, I will only charge a symbolic fee of 1 yen as the director."
"Really? That's fantastic."
Kazuo Tsuburaya smiled genuinely.
A director of Shinji's caliber was someone the original Tsuburaya could never have afforded, and now he was willing to direct a movie for free—this proved he genuinely loved Ultraman.
Kazuo Tsuburaya didn't know that Shinji's decision to direct "Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers" was partly to indulge his childhood passion and partly to test his new technologies.
Tōko and Medea's technological research had concluded, but how much of it could be used in actual movie production still needed to be verified by Shinji himself.
Since many technologies involved were new even to Shinji, he had to try them himself to know if they would work.
Some technologies might look good but wouldn't necessarily be suitable for film production.
Even for those practical technologies, Shinji needed hands-on experience.
In the era before Shinji's time travel, James Cameron had shot the purely technical film "Aliens of the Deep" to familiarize himself with 3D filmmaking before making "Avatar."
Using a nostalgic movie to test his technology was a win-win situation for Shinji.
"Alright, if there's nothing else, let's end the meeting here. Dismissed."
After assigning the tasks, Shinji ended the meeting and prepared to leave Tsuburaya Productions with Ophelia.
The post-production of the TV series FSN was at a critical stage, and he didn't have time to stay in Tokyo for long.
"Aniki."
Just as Shinji walked out of the conference room, Kazuo Tsuburaya caught up with him.
"Do you need something?"
"Well... I'm a bit curious." Kazuo Tsuburaya said awkwardly, "How did you manage to get the company shares from TYO?"
Shinji's mouth curled into a mysterious smile. "Take a guess."
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How did Shinji get the shares of Tsuburaya Productions? Of course, it was through the simplest and most direct method—money.
TYO wanted to acquire Tsuburaya but didn't necessarily need it.
In the past two years, TYO had aggressively acquired other companies, mainly for their technology, talent, and market presence in the entertainment sector.
Tsuburaya Productions, despite its poor management, was technically superior and TYO's top choice, but not the only option.
When Shinji approached TYO and straightforwardly told them he wanted to buy Tsuburaya, asking for a price, TYO willingly gave up Tsuburaya.
TYO's executives weren't fools. Faced with a choice between a near-bankrupt company and a global entertainment mogul, the decision was obvious.
Moreover, Shinji offered a substantial amount of money, giving TYO both face and profit. They had no reason to refuse.
However, to save Tsuburaya Productions this time, Shinji had spent almost all the money he had earned from Fate/Zero.
So, upon returning to Fuyuki City, Shinji immediately dove into the post-production of UBW and HF. Whenever he was low on funds, his work motivation soared.
As for the marketing and promotion of the series, Shinji entrusted the entire Western sector to Cloris and the Times Group. Using the sequel to Fate/Zero and the unique storyline of FSN as the main selling points, he believed the series would receive a positive reception.
With the Times Group handling the marketing, Shinji was free to focus on the series' production.
Compared to movies, the post-production of a TV series did not require meticulous detail work, but the increased volume of material meant that Shinji's pace was not significantly faster than when working on films. Fortunately, with his experience from two movies, Shinji found the post-production work tedious but manageable.
During this time, Shinji even contacted Weber in the UK, asking him to assemble a film crew to shoot the scenes of Rin studying in the UK for the finale of UBW. Originally, these scenes were supposed to be filmed in Japan, but since Rin was going to study at the Clock Tower this year, Shinji decided to film on location. Shirou was tasked with bringing back the footage from the UK.
Shirou had no objections, seeing this trip as a free overseas vacation.
From November 2004 to early February 2005, the post-production of UBW and HF gradually neared completion. By this time, the Times Group and Bandai had already set the premiere dates for UBW.
In North America, UBW was set to premiere on March 6, 2005 (Sunday) during prime time on TNT, a channel under the Times Group. In Japan, Bandai scheduled the premiere two days earlier, on March 4 (Friday) during prime time on TBS.
Even though Japan would broadcast it two days before North America, Shinji was not worried about leaks. Finding resources in the West was extremely difficult, unlike in China where it was much easier. Many people praised Westerners for their strong copyright awareness, but in reality, most pirated content originated from the West.
The Western piracy market was small mainly because resources were hard to find. Typically, searching for resources online in the West meant encountering 80% ads, 80% of the remaining sites being scams, and 80% of the rest containing viruses. Most Westerners, therefore, found it more practical to pay for legitimate content, especially since UBW was being broadcast for free on public TV. In contrast, some people eyed the future HF broadcast on the premium channel HBO with intent to pirate.
Regardless, the upcoming spring premiere of UBW had garnered significant attention, with an impressive 40% viewership rating for the TBS premiere on March 4th.
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