Chapter Text
Japan Entertainment
Actor Atsushi Nakajima ends contract
What can we expect?
As our fellow film enthusiasts may know, on May 5th, we celebrated actor Atsushi Nakajima’s 18th birthday. Nakajima has been appearing in commercials, movies and TV shows since he was a child, but what earned him his fame is the mysterious aura surrounding him. He’s known for never making appearances at galas, premiers or other such events. This has left fans wondering about the reasons for his extreme animosity and made him an interesting character, but most have assumed it’s because his guardian, Li Zheng, well-known movie director, wanted to preserve his privacy as a minor.
With his coming-of-age however, we were expecting more public activity. Instead, Monday morning hit us with a huge surprise, as the company Nakajima was working for announced he refused to sign the contract. The reason for this is unknown and wasn’t disclosed by the company.Zheng has refused to speak to any magazines or newspaper articles, though some of our connections that work close to him have stated that he didn’t seem any different or affected by the events, if only a bit more abrasive, though some may argue that’s his usual demeanor. Costars of Nakajima all seem to agree that the decision seemed out of the blue, but claim they weren’t that close with the boy.
Our most burning question is: what’s next? “He may want to join another studio or start his own”, a fan says. “I’m scared we’ll never see him again, with all his secrecy”, another laments. “It may be Li Zheng’s fault” seems to overpower all the others as the most popular internet theory. Our personal guess is that Nakajima may want to create a certain drama around him, building anticipation for a future comeback, a business strategy we’ve certainly seen multiple times before.
What do you think, dear readers? Is Atsushi Nakajima gone forever? Is he planning on a comeback? We’ll keep you updated. Until next time!
-
Atsushi strolled the streets of Yokohama anxiously. He was quite furious with himself. Honestly, what had he been thinking? This whole mess was his fault, he should’ve just let things be the same, but no, he just had to go and screw everything up. He’d never gone to a real school and his only talent was acting, he was probably going to die of hunger or something, he couldn’t even fend for himself if he had to live on the streets. He was a disgrace and-
“-showed up for the audition, if things continue this way we’ll never make it to the festival.”
The discussion between two men that had just passed him caught his attention. Out of interest and lack of anything else to do, he took after them, hoping to overhear more.
“Oh, calm down Kunikida, I’m sure you’ll figure something out. You’re basically two actors in one already!” the more cheerful man reassured the other, who just scowled in return.
They needed actors? Atsushi perked up. He could act quite well if the headmaster was anything to go by.
“Excuse me?” he called, a bit too excited. The two men turned around, at first startled, then eyeing him carefully. “I’m so sorry for eavesdropping, but maybe I could help you if you need… uhm… extra actors or something.” He gradually lost bravado as the cheerful one stared at him, while the other - Kunikida - frowned.
“Listen, kid, we can’t just pick anyone up from the street-” he began, before receiving a hit in the ribs from his partner. “What was-?”
“What my colleague meant to say,” the other spoke over him. “is that we’d be glad to talk over a coffee, right?” He smiled at Atsushi while Kunikida glared at him.
“I- yes! Thank you!” he smiled back, if a bit awkwardly.
The man, whom Atsuhi learned was named Dazai, made small talk with him as he was leading them to a nearby cafe, all the while Kunikida was silent and throwing glances - whether questionable or furious Atsushi couldn't tell - at Dazai. They settled onto a small table and, after they order (Atsushi didn’t get himself anything, his pockets were pretty much empty), the younger one squirms in his seat nervously, waiting for one of them to start the conversation - preferably Dazai. He knew he seemed quite pitiful, approaching two random people he didn’t even know. Well, no turning back now.
“So…” he ultimately began. This caused Kunikida to redirect his attention, which had been stolen by coffee, back to scowling at the boy. He sighed.
“It’s true that our troupe, the ADA, is looking for a new member.” Atsushi’s eyes glimmered with hopefulness. “We don’t take just anyone, though.” He accentuated the word gravely, casting a side-glance at his partner.
Dazai wasn’t bothered. “That’s right! We’ve had little luck with finding a suitable candidate. This is the Tokyo Theatre Festival we’re talking about!” he added with a grin.
Ah, so a festival! I could probably manage that! I think. “Oh. Then I think I can help you!” he smiled confidently. He’d practiced that particular feature quite a lot before finally managing to get it right.
“You really think so.” Kunikida seemed unimpressed, before Dazai butted in.
“That’s great! You can come to auditions this evening! I’ll text you the address!” he announced cherfully.
“He can do what?” Kunikida all but yelled. If he didn’t have such high regard for his surroundings, he probably would have.
“Ah- Okay!” the youngest of the three breathed. “I’ll give you my number.” He scrambled for his phone. Still, he watched for the other’s reaction, which was ignored by the brunette.
“Wait just a moment. Dazai, you can’t just invite some kid to audition. We just met him!” The blonde fumed.
“Relax, Kunikida. I’m sure no one would mind if we give him a chance!” he winked, but the two seemed to share another message, having a staring contest until Kunikida resigned with a huff. He grabbed his partner’s hand and raised the both of them to their feet.
“I’ll see how you fare this evening.” he mumbled as he dragged the other to the exit.
“Seeya Atsushi!” Dazai chimed. And with that, Atsushi was left alone at the table to think over what had just happened. What he had just done, really.
-
The ADA - that’s short for “Acting Dream Agency” (yes, they knew the abbreviation sounded cooler) - was having a rough time. They were short on money and, moreover, no suitable candidates had shown up to audition. The Theatre Festival required at least 10 people in the troupe, dammit! Of course, you could blame their picky sub-director and scriptwriter for that, but, in the end, they were professionals!
Because of that, the members were gathered in the theatre they had hired to hold auditions, with the stage annoyingly empty. They’d been discussing this issue, how some of those who didn’t actually take part in the play could become temporary understudies, but it still wasn’t enough and they were running out of time.
“We’ll just have to accept we won’t be able to participate this year,” President Fukuzawa eventually concluded. Some were disappointed, some angry, some bewildered he could suggest giving up, but no one interrupted as he continued. “We will work hard and eventually find-”
That was the moment the “tardy” members decided to show up. Who else other than Kunikida and Dazai, one looking like his usual frustrated self and the other seemingly quite happy with himself.
“Hi there!” the brunette greeting excitedly. “I have some really good news for you!” he grinned at the others present in the room while his partner scowled.
A young, blonde boy, who had been wearing a sad expression this whole time, perked up with a smile as if all the gloom was gone. “You do? You’ve found someone?” he asked with hopefulness.
Kunikida seemingly couldn’t take it any longer and responded instead of Dazai. “What he did was invite some guy from the street to come to audition. President, you surely wouldn’t agree to that?”
The older man sighed. “Let’s hear what Dazai has to say, at least.” The black-haired boy next to him nodded in an all-knowing manner.
“Well, I won’t hold the suspense any longer. I must inform you, that “guy” was, in fact, famous actor Atsushi Nakajima.” Everyone looked shocked at Dazai’s statement, until Kunikida responded in an unimpressed tone.
“I… have no idea who that is.”
A woman wearing a butterfly hairpin turned her head to stare at him. “Kunikida, you’re saying you never, never heard of him?” she was more teasing then surprised as he looked at the tall man in astonishment.
“Honestly, I don’t watch TV either and I still know who he is,” remarked the boy sitting next to the president.
Kunikida was still waiting for an explanation, but the others turned their attention to Dazai as he spoke. “Yes, as I was saying, I met Nakajima and he was desperately looking for a new job. I thought, what good news for us! He’s coming to audition tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?!” the redhead, who had been listening, panicked. He’d heard of the guy, but had never seen any of his productions. “Shouldn’t we give him a bit more time to prepare?”
The woman smiled. “Ever so considerate, Tanizaki. Honestly, with his talent, I supposed he wouldn’t even have to audition.”
“Now, now, Yosano, don’t overestimate him too much. We need to be critical. Sure, he’s good in movies, but what about the stage? That’s the talent we have yet to see!” Dazai cheerfully explained.
“WHO IS THIS NAKAJIMA GUY?” Kunikida finally intervened, having had enough of being ignored. Dazai just shook his head.
“The famous child actor, Atsushi Nakajima, son of renowned film director Li Zheng, has been in the industry for probably as long as he can remember, though he recently turned eighteen and decided to drop his contract. He paved our golden path to the festival. Not only do we get a talented actor with lots of experience, but it’s also a famous one who already had tons of fans squirming over him. The kid’s our ace.” The president listened and thought the plan over.
“I agree with Dazai. Very well, we will see him tomorrow. Tanizaki, you’ll be his stage partner, is that fine with you?” he nodded to the redhead teen.
“Oh, I- of course!” he smiled nervously, as he often did. Yosano seemed amused at the thought.
“You sure Tanizaki won’t be a bit too… intimidating for the kid?” she asked, though there wasn’t that much concern. The mentioned boy blushed slightly.
“That’s exactly what we’re aiming for, Yosano! Does he do well under pressure? Can he improvise? That remains to be seen!” the black-haired boy was as critical as can be when it came to new members. Yosano agreed.
“I can’t wait to meet him and see what kind of actor he is!” Kenji exclaimed, already excited.
Dazai smirked. “Then we shall have our star by tomorrow evening!”