King of Hollywood

Chapter 383: Chapter 105: Trip to Japan (2)

Adrian had made up his mind. Even though Sony had managed to seize an opportunity due to a moment of carelessness on his part, he would not change his stance, nor would he, unlike some other Americans, take advantage of them—which alone was quite commendable.

But then again, if he were to scheme against them, it would have to be done covertly, and in other fields. If it were in the film industry, it could tarnish his own reputation. It was precisely because Sony understood this that they tried every possible means to collaborate with him. Unfortunately, they were destined to be disappointed, Adrian thought, but would it really be so?

For the first few days, there wasn’t much going on; he just attended some receptions arranged by Sugigi, which included some big names from the entertainment industry and heads of consortiums. They were purely Western-style receptions, no different from those in the United States, something the Japanese had thoroughly adopted. Adrian wanted to try the Japanese style, but he refrained due to his unfamiliarity with the specific rituals and taboos.

There wasn’t much to talk about between them; it mainly consisted of mutual introductions and compliments. Since Adrian was not only the chairman of AC Media but also a major Hollywood director, he didn’t worry about running out of topics; most people congratulated him on his latest Oscar nomination for Best Director.

Armed with comprehensive materials prepared by Sugigi, Adrian had no trouble responding—except that the English proficiency of these Japanese was far worse than Sugigi’s. Modern Japanese itself was a product of Japan’s departure from Asia to join Europe, with many syllables evolved from English. This meant that once mispronounced, it could sound almost right yet completely wrong, thus confusing what the other person was trying to say.

Many had strong accents, so Adrian had to guess and infer to understand their meanings—well, at least it was easier than guessing plots of Japanese dramas. Even so, Adrian maintained a well-mannered smile, even though sometimes he couldn’t understand a word. Sometimes, he wanted to say in Chinese, “Can we communicate in Chinese?” just to see their shocked expressions, but that was just a fleeting thought.

In addition to these activities, he also visited numerous film and television production companies, touring a great number of them without remembering a single name; he was just going through the motions. But these places were unavoidable visits under the guise of scouting the Japanese market. The only moment he perked up was when he finally met Mikami Shinji at Capcom.

Mikami looked ordinary, slightly gaunt, just like an average Japanese. Without the classic game “Resident Evil,” although he did fairly well at Capcom, he was stuck in a middling position—always buried without opportunity, as it often happens everywhere.

Since he had come here specially, Adrian felt no guilt; he even maliciously asked Mikami about his opinions on “Resident Evil.”

“It’s a puzzle adventure game with quite a novel concept, particularly the fixed scene transitions, which deeply capture the players’ fear that monsters might approach from blind spots,” Mikami Shinji, although confused by why Adrian would ask him instead of many other developers, responded honestly. He added, “We had a similar concept before, very close, but it was rejected.”

“How can you talk like that, Mikami!” the Capcom department manager who accompanied Adrian immediately disapproved, visibly upset.

Adrian quickly smoothed things over; with him there, the manager didn’t say much else, just glared fiercely at Mikami. Although Adrian didn’t know the details of the internal disputes at Capcom, it was evident that it had something to do with Mikami Shinji, especially combined with his rather defiant remark. Moreover, considering the past attempt by a Japanese person to acquire the game adaptation rights for the “Resident Evil” novel, Adrian could guess a bit.