NOVEL NEXT Chapter 78: Chapter 80: Fan Club
"To produce this film, I and all the members of the crew have put in countless efforts. Just the film alone cost us 250,000 meters of film."
That evening, the TV station aired the interactive program for Fate/Zero fans on the evening news.
"As for props, we prepared 1,500 different sea demon models for the film, over 500 sets of armor for various Heroic Spirits, over 900 ancient weapon props, and over 700 sets of costumes."
Facing the camera, Shinji maintained his elegant demeanor, speaking confidently.
"Regarding personnel, we utilized a total of 1,000 actors, including extras, over 1,000 backstage staff, 400 prop makers, 200 computer effects personnel, and there were over 1,600 computer-generated effects shots in the entire film!"
"I envy your lie-making skill, where did you learn to do that anyway?"
Listening to Shinji's nonsense on TV, Rin, sitting on the sofa, let out a cold snort.
"You only made 100 sea demon models, over 50 sets of costumes, and even if we generously count extras, there were at most 100 actors. The props for the Heroic Spirits were brought by the actors themselves. As for the so-called 200 computer effects personnel, there wasn't even a single person! This interview is just boasting."
Shinji, with his left eye covered by his hand, weakly replied, "People are only interested in large numbers, not in the truth behind them."
Rin, with her feet propped up, smirked, "Heh, didn't you want to build a film studio in Fuyuki City? By exaggerating the costs like this, will anyone come?"
"The cost data report received by the film company is, of course, another matter."
Shinji rolled his eyes at Rin's sarcasm.
"Besides, if I were to report the real data to the public, wouldn't it mean explaining why the costs were so low? The mystery would be exposed to the world~"
Rin teased with a smirk, "Yes, yes, our dear Director always has his own reasons for everything. So when faced with unreasonable people, your eyesight becomes useless."
"It's not useless, it's just a bit bruised!"
Shinji retorted loudly with his hands raised in protest.
Seeing Shinji's panda eyes, Rin burst into laughter regardless of her image.
"Haha, this look really suits you. When will your other eye join in?"
Shinji complained unenthusiastically, "You should ask Yan Qing about that."
During the daytime event, although Shinji successfully got Yan Qing to take his place and managed to evade the questioning from Diarmuid's fans, as a result, Yan Qing directly punched Shinji in the eye, causing it to swell up.
Shinji knew he had been unfair in this matter, so he didn't complain.
Thinking about Yan Qing's abilities in Fate, Shinji felt that Yan Qing had been merciful by not breaking his legs.
And Yan Qing had also saved Shinji some face by not acting before the TV appearance, otherwise, Shinji on the TV show would have been identical to Ophelia's appearance.
"It's a good thing there aren't any other public interview programs in the next few days, otherwise, my eye would really be in trouble."
Shinji said with a slightly relieved tone.
Rin poured cold water on him directly, "I think you should be careful not to be caught by Diarmuid's fans again, otherwise, who knows what they'll do."
Shinji waved his hand and said, "Don't worry. As long as Diarmuid takes on a few more male idol drama scripts, people will naturally forget about his tragic fate in Fate/Zero."
"Rather than those obsessed fans, I'm more concerned about something else..."
Shinji turned to his personal secretary.
"That magus's fan group, have someone investigate them later."
"You mean Miss Alice?"
Because she had been mistaken for Shinji's girlfriend, Ophelia had a favorable impression of Miss Alice.
"Yeah, I think we can find a way to have a more in-depth conversation with them."
Rin, hearing this, gave Shinji a disdainful glance. "More in-depth— What exactly are you planning? Don't tell me you're getting excited again?"
Shinji shrugged and said, "Give me a break, I'm not Kukulkan. I just think we can make good use of those second-generation magus."
These people are the future of the magical world, and their decisions will influence the future direction of magic.
Although at this stage, except for a few families like El-Melloi, most of the heads of magus families don't really like Shinji.
It's only because Shinji has ancient magic materials related to Heroic Spirits that some families are willing to compromise.
Facing this situation, Shinji felt that he should change his approach and focus on these second-generation magus.
This way, even if the families are not on good terms with him, when the older generation passes away and the new generation successfully takes over, they will naturally be on his side.
Education starts from a young age, and fans need to be cultivated in the next generation.
After all, magus in this world cannot live as long as in other Type-Moon parallel worlds.
As long as he can capture the hearts of these young magus, the future magical world will sooner or later look up to him.
More importantly, with a fan group completely under his control, many things will become easier in the future, such as using fans to manage other fans.
After all, when there are many people involved, things can get messy. If there's a radical among his fans, or someone with a less than stable mind...
Shinji himself isn't able to manage the fans directly, so letting his "official fan club" intervene is the best option.
This idea originated from the moderator system in Shinji's live broadcast room in his previous life.
Those moderators spent a lot of money in the live broadcast room and gave lots of gifts as senior fans.
Once they became moderators, they were responsible for maintaining order in the live broadcast room and removing those who made inappropriate comments.
In summary, these fans are a group of people who give others money, help others work, and even enjoy doing it.
So, it's a matter of making the most of them and fulfilling their duties as fans.
However, Shinji wouldn't go as far as directly charging these fans money. What he hopes for more is to let these core fans guide more fans.
So, it's necessary for Shinji to establish a stable and good relationship with these second-generation magus.
But whether it's influencing the future of the magical world or standardizing fan management, it will be a long-term project. But Shinji is only 16 years old now, still very young, and can totally wait.
After all, once successful, the benefits would be tremendous.
"First, we need to contact Alice-san."
As Shinji spoke, he began jotting down notes in his notebook.
Ophelia chimed in, "I heard them mention that they seem to be a fan group on the internet."
"The internet? Looks like young people are more accepting of it— but there are always exceptions."
Shinji glanced at the tech-illiterate Rin, implying without words.
"What kind of look is that!"
Blushing, Rin argued, "Let me tell you, modern people are becoming more and more indifferent because they rely too much on modern devices! My attitude is not to forget my original intentions!"
Shinji dismissed it casually, "And also, Modern Magecraft Theory studies have fully incorporated computers. If you're going to study abroad, at least learn to write papers on computers, okay?"
"Um..."
The cruiser named Rin Tohsaka was utterly defeated by Shinji Matou.
Ignoring Rin's further protests, Shinji continued writing in his notebook, "Since it's an internet fan group, it should be convenient to contact them— Looks like I need to find another assistant specifically to communicate with them."
"Huh? Isn't it me?"
Ophelia asked, surprised.
Just now, Shinji was focusing on himself, so she thought Shinji was going to ask her to communicate with Miss Alice.
"Ophelia, you're not good at using computers either, right? You already have enough work on your plate, it would be a bit hard for you to handle something you're not good at."
"Hey! We both don't know how to use computers! Why do you have different attitudes towards me and Phamrsolone-san?"
Rin, feeling annoyed, jumped up and grabbed Shinji's neck.
"You should ask yourself that! Who would have a good attitude towards someone trying to kill them?"
"Shinji, do you really think I would simply let it be if you treated me differently like this?"
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Shinji's "nonsense" during the interview spread throughout the film industry via the television station.
Those who didn't know the insider information about Fate/Zero felt admiration after hearing the astonishing numbers Shinji reported.
In their view, without Shinji Matou's massive investment and the wholehearted dedication of all the crew members, it would have been impossible to complete such a huge production like Fate/Zero.
Indeed, success never comes from luck alone!
This was almost the consensus among all the filmmakers who held a positive attitude towards Fate/Zero.
So, when the official announcement from Fate/Zero revealed that the global box office had surpassed $500 million, no one found it surprising.
Even the film companies competing with Fate/Zero's schedule felt it was only natural.
However, understanding was one thing, accepting it emotionally was another.
Compared to North American film companies, Japanese film companies felt a stronger sense of crisis.
After all, Japanese films usually run in theaters for a significant portion of the year. If Fate/Zero could maintain the box office momentum of its predecessor, Fate/stay night, then the Japanese film market this year would have nothing left for them!
Among them, the most anxious was Toho Film Company.
Previously, in order to avoid the potential frenzy caused by Fate/Zero, they moved their main romantic film, "Calling Love at the Center of the World," from May to July.
However, given Fate/Zero's monstrous box office trend, Toho's distribution department felt that even moving the film to July wouldn't guarantee success.
But the problem was, they had already rescheduled once. Could they do it again?
If they did, how would other Japanese film companies view them?
As the leader of the industry, being forced to reschedule twice by a newcomer was embarrassing for Toho.
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