I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director (Creating Fate Movie In Nasuverse)

The bottom line for media professionals is far more flexible than that of politicians, and their shamelessness surpasses even that of Sir Humphrey. 

The last time Shinji publicly "blew up" and scolded the media, it left a psychological shadow on them.

With the rebound in viewership for the fourth episode of UBW, the media's attitude took a 180-degree turn. 

The voices of doubt and ridicule turned into praise and affirmation. The shameless faces that Shinji mocked were once again vividly portrayed by the media reporters.

Of course, amidst the praise, there were still critics who voiced their concerns about the series. 

Film critics argued that while the TV series significantly diverged from the movie's plot, it was essentially rehashing old content. 

Not only that, but it was also lazy, reusing the same actors and characters. 

If other film companies followed this trend, it would greatly lower the creative standards of the entire film industry!

However, such criticism didn't make much of an impact. 

Most people believed that being able to tell a completely different story with the same characters, and still make it engaging, was an achievement. 

Fate managed to accomplish what seemed impossible, and people thought it deserved celebration.

Apart from the film critics who stuck to their guns and continued to criticize the various flaws in UBW, media reporters quickly changed their stance. 

The speed at which these media professionals surrendered might even embarrass the French; after all, the French held out for 42 days during WWII and stuck with their arms orders for 3 days. 

The Japanese media reporters, on the other hand, changed their stance the day after the fourth episode aired.

Headlines like "The Same Characters, Different Story!", "A Genius Director Shows Us the Magic of Filmmaking!", "Touching Bottom and Bouncing Back: How to Save a Show's Ratings", "The Difference Between TV Series and Movies: FSN Explains" flooded the major media platforms in Japan. 

These gossip reporters, who had honed their skill of adjusting to the wind, had long abandoned any semblance of integrity.

At the Emiya residence, Kiritsugu Emiya was drinking with his adopted son, Shirou Emiya. 

Neither Kiritsugu nor Shirou found anything wrong with this; having both experienced the Middle Eastern battlefield, they could certainly handle their liquor.

"Cheers." Kiritsugu and Shirou clinked their glasses lightly.

Shirou downed his drink, smacked his lips, and looked a bit disheartened. Kiritsugu glanced at the TV in the room; the news was naturally about UBW.

"What's wrong?" Kiritsugu sipped his drink and looked at Shirou. "Your show is a big hit. You should be happy."

The success of the UBW series meant that the studio his wife invested in Fuyuki City would gain more recognition, which Kiritsugu saw as a good thing. 

Shirou's newfound fame didn't mean much to Kiritsugu since Shirou wasn't relying on his looks to get by.

Shirou put down his glass and shrugged. "Nothing, I'm just a bit lost."

"Lost?" Kiritsugu asked curiously.

"Rin went to England to study, Shinji is pursuing his own career, and even Sakura has her own goals and wants to help Shinji. But I can't find my direction for the future," Shirou said, smiling and shaking his head.

Unlike the Shirou Emiya from FSN, he didn't have dreams of becoming a hero, nor did he have the burden of inheriting a family business like Rin Tohsaka. 

Despite acting in movies and TV series, Shirou didn't develop an interest in being an actor; he felt that the entertainment industry wasn't for him.

"Shirou, you don't need to rush," Kiritsugu said understandingly. "You're still young. You have plenty of time to decide your path."

"Well, seeing everyone already deciding their futures, it's making me a bit anxious," Shirou said, self-deprecatingly.

Kiritsugu clinked his glass with Shirou's again. "Don't worry. No matter what you decide to do, we'll support you. How about becoming a mercenary like me?"

"No way. That's not for me. Last time you tricked me into going to the Middle East, I almost didn't come back," Shirou sighed, recalling those difficult memories.

Seeing Shirou's reaction, Kiritsugu didn't push further. Instead, he asked, "Speaking of which, where's Shinji? I haven't seen him around these past few days."

Kiritsugu had intended to invite Shinji for a drink today, but the Matou family mentioned that Shinji hadn't been home for several days. 

The magus community in Fuyuki City was small, and it was unusual not to see Shinji for such a long time, piquing Kiritsugu's curiosity.

"Apparently, Sakura was unhappy with her role, so she tied him to the bed while he was sleeping and put a 'Non-burnable Garbage' sticker on his forehead. He's been too scared to go home since," Shirou explained, taking a sip of his drink.

"Oh ho~" Kiritsugu chuckled. "That kid only gets bullied by his sister. But won't hiding from Sakura just make her angrier?"

"It shouldn't," Shirou replied, sipping his drink. "Shinji used work as an excuse, so he should be able to get away with it."

"That little trickster," Kiritsugu laughed, not delving further into the matter.

In fact, Shinji was indeed using work as an excuse to avoid Sakura, but it wasn't entirely false. 

The first reorganization of the Type-Moon company's operations had just been completed, and Shinji was busy maximizing the company's newly consolidated power.

Shinji was preparing for the pre-production of "Super 8" while frequently trading in the stock market. 

It wasn't that he was out of money and trying to emulate Buffett or Soros. With the burst of the dot-com bubble at the end of the 20th century, many related companies' stock prices were plummeting, and some were even facing financial difficulties. It would be a waste not to capitalize on this opportunity.

Shinji knew he wasn't a financial expert and didn't aim to maximize his profits. He bought stocks in technology companies destined to soar in the future and entertainment companies that could aid his career.

Apple was an obvious choice, given that smartphones would become indispensable over the next 20 years. 

Similarly, Netflix was another target, though Shinji's interest in Netflix was more strategic. 

He saw it as a platform to develop his streaming service rather than a mere investment.

Beyond these, Shinji's acquisition plan included other future giants, like IMAX Corporation. 

In this world, IMAX was even worse off than in Shinji's previous life. 

Despite Type-Moon's media praising IMAX during the release of Fate/Zero, the technology's limited use in commercial films didn't turn the company around.

With IMAX continuing to lose money, some board members were ready to sell their shares and move on to more promising companies. 

Shinji seized this opportunity and bought them out. He feared that personally holding IMAX might invite antitrust lawsuits from Western countries, so he transferred the shares to the Velvet family. 

He needed IMAX's technology, not its profits.

Indeed, the largest shareholder in IMAX was now Waver Velvet, holding over 23% of the shares, enough to secure a significant position on the board. 

If Waver chose to, he could even vie for the chairman's position. 

However, Waver was already overworked to the point of having dark circles under his eyes. Becoming IMAX's chairman might push him to his limit.

Having secured control over IMAX through his "puppet" Waver, Shinji proposed using IMAX technology for his new film. 

The IMAX board unanimously approved, seeing it as a monumental shift akin to transitioning from single to double weekends.

Despite Shinji's warning that the first film using this technology would be experimental and might not perform well at the box office, IMAX was still thrilled. Even a glimmer of hope was better than none. 

They had confidence in their technology, but the current film market had no place for it. Commercial films could benefit from large screens, but art films... unless they were nature documentaries, IMAX only highlighted unnecessary details.

Consequently, IMAX's technology had mostly been used in planetariums and educational exhibits about the universe and oceans. 

Eyeing the lucrative film market, IMAX's founders had always aimed for it, but technological limitations held them back. Now, with a renowned director willing to incorporate their technology, the IMAX board was eager to comply.

They quickly sent an IMAX camera across the Pacific to Shinji, along with a technical team to assist his crew in Fuyuki City. 

At this moment, Shinji was working with Touko and Medea to understand how to use the IMAX camera. 

Their method, however, would likely give the IMAX technicians a heart attack. 

They had completely disassembled the million-dollar camera.

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