One Year Left to Play

Chapter 620: Chapter 191: Blossoming in Sports and Entertainment (Part 2)

"Acting Talent (Zhang Hao Exclusive): Wearing this will help the player immerse themselves in the role and the content they want to perform, making it easier for the audience to resonate with the performance."

"What’s the use of this during a game? Fake falls? China Oscar winner? Isn’t the name of this medal insulting? Who’s the acting talent?

I’m the idol!"

...

...

Kazuo Tsuburaya felt he had truly underestimated Zhang Hao’s popularity in Los Angeles.

The film hadn’t even started shooting, just the news of Zhang Hao joining had set this new Ultraman project on fire in Los Angeles, and it even gained recognition across most of the United States!

Before Zhang Hao arrived on the set, national-level TV stations like American Cable TV Station and Time Warner Cable TV were already eager to purchase the broadcasting rights.

The price wasn’t high, and there wasn’t a bidding war between the two stations; they just wanted the right to broadcast, so they bought it first. But for Tsuburaya Special Effects Group, it wasn’t important; they just needed to spread the news back to Japan, and it would be a good way to boost local viewership.

The market they originally cared about was Japan, where a lot of otakus and older otakus would frantically buy merchandise and videotapes...

Initially, Kazuo Tsuburaya thought Zhang Hao was acting like a diva by demanding that all other actors memorize the script before he arrived, and that daily filming times were only from 1 PM to 10 PM...

Now, there are no objections; Zhang Hao is a true star!

The only concern now is the acting; Zhang Hao is great at basketball, and even Kazuo Tsuburaya, who doesn’t watch much basketball, knows Zhang Hao is amazing, possibly the strongest player of the same age in basketball history.

However, being great at basketball and acting are two different matters.

But once Zhang Hao arrived on set and interacted with the director and other actors concerning the script, the worries were already reduced by more than half.

Memorizing the script, having lines down pat; doing these two things means even the worst actor can at least deliver an average performance—maybe not outstanding but at least passable.

Moreover, Zhang Hao didn’t have many demands aside from shooting times. Once everyone saw him recite the script fluently, his insistence on everyone memorizing the script and being ready to perform wasn’t diva behavior but rather a "strict requirement" for the film.

Additionally, Zhang Hao was very polite and humble, asking questions if he didn’t understand something about acting and addressing older colleagues as "Mr.", "Ms.", or "Miss".

Originally, besides Zhang Hao, other actors were seasoned extras from Hollywood or actors from Japan with special effects film experience. Zhang Hao could have acted like a diva, but he didn’t...

This had already satisfied Kazuo Tsuburaya. Lack of experience wasn’t an issue, but with such an attitude, it’s worth the pay; filming could progress slowly and cost more money, but as long as Zhang Hao is willing to learn and act well, with their carefully polished script, high-quality props, and Zhang Hao’s popularity, it will surely be a hit!

But after the actual shooting started, as the supervisor Kazuo Tsuburaya saw Zhang Hao’s infectious performance, the shooting progress, and recalled how Zhang Hao kept asking questions when he returned to the set and that he wasn’t pretending since there was no need to...

It became apparent that Zhang Hao’s learning and performing on the spot brought out such results!

"Is this the legendary gift from God? Wasting this talent by not being an actor would be too much of a waste!"

...

The thing about Barkley’s joining was almost set; even if it fell apart at the end, it would be the Phoenix Suns’ fault. Barkley would definitely opt-out to join, because Zhang Hao remembered that after Barkley joined the Rockets, he signed a 2-year renewal contract totaling 3.25 million US Dollars that made other teams furious.

Originally, in this timeline, when Barkley joined the Rockets, Olajuwon seemed to still be in his prime, averaging 27+11+3.7+1.6+2.9 for the season, performing explosively in the playoffs; but unfortunately, they faced the SuperSonics, exposing the aging roster issues, and the entire Rockets team was crippled by the SuperSonics’ strong pass-cutting defense. The Rockets even traded Cassell for Barkley, driving other teams mad, and Barkley’s 2-year 3.25 million US Dollar renewal made others crazy with rage.

But just as the new season started, Olajuwon’s form collapsed, leaving Barkley as the mainstay, and he led the Rockets to win 57 games and to the Western Conference Finals where they lost 2-4 to the Utah Jazz.

In this scenario, Zhang Hao returned to Los Angeles, happily filming his favorite scenes in the afternoon and evening, and began regular daily training of 3-4 hours in the morning.

Initially, he trained alone, focusing on strengthening his corner threes and turnaround fadeaways, focusing on his strengths and aspects that could quickly improve, seizing the time to train first.

After Zhang Hao returned to Los Angeles, joining the crew and starting his training and filming lifestyle, just a couple of days passed, and on June 15th, during the game between the Bulls and SuperSonics on the road, Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman teamed up to demonstrate to Payton what height advantage means.

Indeed, Payton was a master at defense in the point guard world, but with intense defense and fierce confrontation, the role of height on defense becomes increasingly significant.

Rodman, Pippen, and even Jordan could guard in the paint area, but Payton could not!