I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director (Type-Moon Fanfiction) - Chapter 19: Reaching an Agreement

Despite his frustration, thankfully, Kariya understood the meaning in Shinji’s eyes.

“Udagawa-san.”

Kariya stood up to mediate, “Shinji is just sharing his ideas, and we can take our time to discuss. If Udagawa-san needs more time to make a decision, feel free to think it over.”

“I understand.”

Nao nodded slightly.

Matters concerning the company’s overall strategy weren’t something she could decide on her own.

“I will report back to my superiors about the situation, and as for what happens next…”

“I’ll wait for your good news.”

Shinji stood up and shook hands with Nao with a smile.

“However, I’d like to remind you that our preconceived Japanese distributor isn’t limited to just Bandai.”

In response to Shinji’s implication, Nao sneered, “Didn’t Toho already turn you down?”

“Well, we still have Toei to consider~”

Shinji chuckled; with his thick skin, he wasn’t about to show any vulnerability.

Nao shook her head in resignation, closed her notebook, and got up, leading her team to leave.

Shinji courteously saw the Bandai team off, not showing any intention of trying to retain them.

Once Shinji returned to the meeting room, Kariya eagerly approached him.

“Shinji, you’re quite ambitious. Have you thought about the possibility that the Japanese box office might not meet expectations? Even with a revenue share, you might not earn back 500 million yen.”

As per industry norms, a film production company’s share of the box office typically ranged from 60% to 85%. But given Shinji’s situation, he certainly wouldn’t get the best deal, and getting 70% would be a blessing.

While it sounded great, many additional expenses would be factored into the revenue share, like marketing costs, copy fees, taxes… These would be deducted from the revenue share.

No wonder film distributors, regardless of the country or region, sat at the top of the industry’s food chain.

Given the current state of Japan’s film industry, for Shinji to earn more than 500 million yen from the revenue share, FSN’s Japanese box office needed to exceed at least 1.8 billion yen. For most tokusatsu films, this box office figure was nearly unattainable.

Facing Kariya’s questioning, Shinji merely shrugged his shoulders.

“Because I believe that Fate is worth much more than this.”

“But what you need right now is a distributor!” Kariya earnestly reminded him. “As a newcomer, you’re asking for too much.”

“If Bandai can’t do it, we’ll find other partners.”

Shinji took out his phone from his pocket and waved it around.

〔Tell me, are you my Master?〕

Coincidentally, Shinji’s phone rang.

Ignoring Kariya’s puzzled gaze, Shinji answered the call.

A polite and familiar male voice came from the other end of the line.

“Director Matou, this is Hata Keigo.”

“Team Leader Hata, is there something you need?”

“I’m truly sorry. Despite my efforts to advocate within the company, however…”

Although the other party didn’t finish their sentence, Shinji could already discern their meaning.

“It’s alright, Team Leader Hata.” Shinji replied with an unconcerned tone, “We can collaborate in the future if the opportunity arises.”

Shinji wasn’t surprised by Toho’s attitude. Instead, he found it astonishing that they bothered to reply to him at all, considering their usual silence.

With patience, Shinji exchanged a few polite words with Hata on the phone before hanging up.

“Shinji, my boy.” Kariya, who had been “bullied” by his nephew all day, teased with a smile, “Do you need your uncle to contact Toei for you?”

Sighing, Kariya blew the bangs off his forehead. He really didn’t feel like talking to this smug guy right now.

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On the other side, after returning to the company, Nao conveyed Shinji’s requirements to the upper management at Bandai.

Initially unconcerned about a little-known film like Fate, the senior executives at Bandai had an immediate change of expression upon hearing about Shinji’s relationship with Europe and America.

After several rounds of investigation and confirmation, Bandai finally recognized the longstanding relationship between the Matou family and the Flora family. Now, Bandai’s senior executives were paying serious attention to FSN.

Following their superiors’ instructions, Nao promptly borrowed a copy of FSN from Shinji. In the company’s conference center, she played the movie for all the high-ranking executives to see.

After the movie ended, it was said that a heated argument erupted among Bandai’s high-ranking executives. The passionate voices of several directors could even be heard in the corridors.

Unfortunately, due to the internal nature of the meeting, no one knew the specifics of the conflict that unfolded among Bandai’s senior executives.

All Shinji learned was that, after the debate, the current president of Bandai, Yamashina Makoto, and the future president, Ueno Kazunori, gave Nao the same command.

“Continue the negotiations.”

It had to be said that Kariya was quite fortunate; the FSN project was perfectly tailored to Bandai’s current needs.

Firstly, FSN would be released in Europe and America. For Bandai, which was eager to penetrate the European and American markets, this was an irresistible opportunity.

Secondly, in the past decade, tokusatsu dramas have experienced a renaissance. The three major tokusatsu dramas had been incredibly successful, boasting excellent viewership ratings. This fueled Bandai’s ambition to transition from the small screen to the big screen.

Furthermore, there were internal factors within Bandai. In two years, Ueno was set to become the next president of Bandai. At this point, he urgently needed one or two impressive new projects to demonstrate his capabilities.

Of course, the excellent quality of the FSN movie itself was the foundation that bolstered Bandai’s determination to collaborate with Shinji. Bandai’s executives believed that even without any additional conditions, releasing a tokusatsu film of this caliber wouldn’t result in a loss.

Since distributing FSN wouldn’t result in a loss, and the film’s success had numerous benefits, why not give it a shot?

Thus, in the following weeks, Shinji and Nao engaged in a tug-of-war-like negotiation.

However, because both sides had drastically different understandings of FSN, the difficulty of this negotiation was evident. At times, they would even be deadlocked over a 1% difference.

Thankfully, both Shinji and Nao understood that compromises had to be made to seal the deal.

After nearly 15 rounds of negotiations spanning a week, the Type-Moon Film Company, represented by Shinji, finally reached an agreement with Bandai regarding the distribution contract.

“A successful collaboration, Director Matou.”

“A successful collaboration, Udagawa-san.”

In Tsuburaya Productions’ meeting room, Shinji and Nao exchanged smiles after signing the contract, officially sealing the deal.

Bandai had finally become the Japanese distributor for FSN, responsible for its distribution and promotion in Japan.

As the production company, Type-Moon Film Company, after subtracting various distribution costs, cinema fees, and other expenses, they would receive 70% of the Japanese box office revenue and 50% of the revenue from later-stage film and television rights like videotapes, DVDs, and television broadcasts.

Additionally, Bandai would exclusively manage FSN-related merchandise for a period of 5 years.

While 5 years of merchandise licensing might not seem too long, if it weren’t to ensure Bandai’s full commitment to FSN’s distribution, Shinji would have preferred a 3-year agreement.

Shinji was well aware that if FSN became a huge success, the value of this intellectual property would increase year by year. Signing a 5-year contract might actually be a disadvantage.

Fortunately, the agreement only covered the first FSN movie, and other Fate series movies wouldn’t be bound by the same terms.

With the contract signed, Nao showed no intention of lingering at Tsuburaya Productions. The arduous negotiations had left her with a very unfavorable impression of the place.

However, before departing, she reminded Shinji, “Director Matou, please provide us with the master tape of the Japanese version of the film as soon as possible.”

Shinji naturally wouldn’t renege on his promise and readily agreed, “Rest assured, I will provide your company with the completed Japanese version along with a well-edited trailer.”

The release schedule for FSN in Japan, mutually determined by Bandai and Shinji, was quite tight. Therefore, Shinji had to move quickly.

According to the plan, in the coming two weeks, Bandai would organize preview screenings for specific fans. Based on the reactions from these screenings, they would allocate the appropriate funds for publicity to build momentum for the film.

Then, in early April, during the relatively quieter season, FSN would be screened at 50 cinemas across Japan.

If the limited release performed well, Bandai would commence a nationwide release in mid-April.

“Well then, we entrust everything to your company.”

Finally, Shinji shook hands with Nao, bidding farewell.

“I look forward to Director Matou’s next work, but if possible, I would prefer to enjoy it purely as an audience member.”

Nao responded with a slightly tired smile, “Negotiating with you, Director Matou, is truly exhausting.”

Shinji’s lips curled upward as he politely replied, “How can that be? I’m quite easy to work with.”

“Assuming we follow your requests, right?”

Nao retorted with a hint of annoyance. She had experienced the skill of this young director’s persuasive abilities during this past week.

“My requests have always been reasonable.” Shinji shrugged, smiling mischievously.

Lastly, with a hint of hesitation, Nao brought up, “Director Matou, regarding the Time Group…”

“Yes, I’ve already been in communication with the Flora family. Once the box office results for the initial weeks of FSN’s release in Japan are out, I’ll engage in further discussions with the Time Group.”

Shinji pretended to be knowledgeable.

Due to certain personal reasons, Shinji hadn’t actually contacted the Flora family, nor did he intend to collaborate with the Time Group. Despite not giving up on the North American market, the most probable collaborators would be other media conglomerates.

As for the Time Group and the Flora family, Shinji planned to let his uncle handle the communication. It was just a way to fulfill the obligations of his role.

Thinking along these lines, Shinji promptly called out to Kariya, “Uncle, would you escort Udagawa-san?”

“Sure thing.”

Kariya obediently led Nao out of the meeting room.

After days of negotiations, Kariya had developed a reflexive habit of following Shinji’s instructions. Still, he was curious why Shinji didn’t go himself and had him do it instead.

Of course, Shinji wouldn’t mention that he was creating an opportunity for Kariya to interact with a wealthy woman. Such things were best left to chance.

Arranging dates for his uncle was just a pastime. Currently, the most important matter for the second master was preparing for FSN’s release in Japan.

Frankly speaking, Shinji was somewhat dissatisfied with Bandai’s conservative distribution model, which involved preview screenings followed by a limited release before the nationwide rollout.

Even if FSN received a nationwide release in mid-April, the film would only have about two weeks to earn box office revenue before May.

Considering that by May, the three major European film festivals would commence, Shinji hoped to find suitable European and American distributors during these festivals. The Japanese box office performance would be the best proof of FSN’s value.

As mentioned before, there were only about 400 cinemas in Japan. No matter how good or sought-after a film was, the number of seats available for sale was limited. The weekly box office was capped by this constraint.

You can’t really have cinemas selling standing or hanging tickets to generate revenue, right? It’s not like we’re talking about a comedic performance.

Thankfully, even though Bandai’s distribution strategy is conservative, their work efficiency is quite high. Within less than a week of Shinji sending out the master tape, Bandai sent back an invitation letter inviting him and the FSN production team to attend a preview screening in Fuyuki City.