Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 106

After sending a casting offer to Seo-jun Lee, director Sarah Roth sent the synopsis to every production company she knew.

She thought she would get a bite from somewhere, but to her surprise, it was Marina Studio that hooked on.

They responded immediately to the synopsis she sent.

On the day of the meeting, the person Sarah Roth met was Phelan Park.

There was a cold wind between Phelan, who had a wide influence over Marina Studio’s subsidiaries, and Sarah Roth, who had just finished two hero movies.

“I liked the synopsis.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re considering Seo-jun Lee for the main role, right?”

Sarah Roth straightened her back under Phelan’s sharp eyes. Hollywood was full of racial discrimination.

White washing was the norm, and there were fixed images for each race.

Seo-jun Lee, who was perfect for the role of Jin Natra, almost missed the opportunity because he was Asian.

‘Marina Studio’s public image is different, though.’

The person who created that image was director Ryan Will.

It was well known that Ryan Will had a hard time casting Seo-jun Lee. Hmm. Should I try it too? Sarah Roth wondered if she should cross her arms.

“Yes, I am.”

Phelan tilted his head slightly.

“Is he cast?”

“No, not yet.”

“Do you think Seo-jun Lee will star in your movie?”

That was a strange question. It implied that Seo-jun Lee would reject it regardless of her intention.

Sarah Roth blinked and answered.

“I sent the synopsis and the script to Seo-jun Lee’s Korean agency, cocoa Entertainment. They should contact me soon.”

“Oh, seo-jun Lee doesn’t have an agency in the US, right?”

Sarah Roth also tilted her head at that. She learned that fact when she researched Seo-jun Lee.

But how did Phelan Park know about the agency status of a movie star?

“Director Roth, there is a condition.”

“Yes.”

This was the main point. Sarah Roth straightened her back. Was this the time to cross her arms?

“If Seo-jun Lee stars in it, we’ll double the production budget.”

“…What?”

Sarah Roth’s eyes widened at Phelan’s words.

This was something she never imagined.

Phelan, who had kept a cool expression, took off his mask and sighed lightly. He tried to imitate Richard Bowen, but it didn’t suit his temperament.

“To be honest, seo-jun Lee’s ticket power is amazing. Just look at the streaming site, Plus+’s drama. You can guess the number of viewers for his next work.”

“I see.”

Sarah Roth also knew about Plus+’s growth. She subscribed to watch The Doctor, too. It was so fun. She and Emily cried a lot.

“But there hasn’t been a Hollywood movie starring Seo-jun Lee since Shadowman 2.”

Sarah Roth nodded.

“Marina Studio, Marina Studio’s subsidiaries, and the competing production companies, we have a lot of scripts that we sent to Seo-jun Lee. But none of them were chosen by him.”

“I see.”

“And this movie is a musical, right?”

“Yes? Yes.”

Phelan Park smiled.

“Korea loves musical movies more than any other country. Even if they don’t make a profit in other countries, they can make a huge profit in Korea. Think about it. A musical movie with a Korean main character. Can you imagine how much profit you can make in Korea?”

Sarah Roth’s mouth opened wide at the number Phelan Park presented.

“Think about the people around the world who are waiting for Seo-jun Lee’s next work. It would be much more than when Shadowman 2 was released, now that the drama has succeeded. Double the production budget? That’s easy to make up. We can give you more if you need it.”

Phelan’s eyes sparkled.

“But we need a certainty, a contract, that Seo-jun Lee will star in it.”

Sarah Roth lost her words. She had thought of all the reasons why she should cast Seo-jun Lee as the main character, but Marina Studio was against it.

“What if Seo-jun Lee doesn’t star in it?”

“The synopsis was good. If you agree, we’ll still produce it. But the production budget will be reduced.”

Sarah Roth nodded at Phelan Park’s words. After that, they talked about the movie production.

The place where Sarah Roth’s musical movie would be produced was Whale Studio, a subsidiary of Marina Studio that produced genres such as romance comedy and human drama.

***

“Marina?”

Emily was surprised and looked at Sarah Roth. Sarah Roth put a pile of papers on the table.

“Yes.”

“Well, Marina Studio has subsidiaries that make other genres of movies besides hero movies. Was it Whale Studio? Marina and Whale, it’s totally sea.”

“They’re going to make it at Whale.”

Emily sighed with relief. Sarah Roth had made a name for herself with Greenwing, but musical was a completely different genre. She was worried that she wouldn’t find a production company, but it was a false alarm.

“Marina, no, whale should be fine. But what did they say to produce it?”

Emily asked, and Sarah Roth recalled what happened.

“They said they would double the production budget if Seo-jun Lee starred in it.”

“Double?!”

“They said they could give more if needed. Seo-jun Lee must be more amazing than I thought, as an actor and as a ticket power.”

Sarah Roth told Emily what Phelan Park had offered. Emily nodded.

“Well, it’s not a hero movie, so the production budget is low, but double… Still, there were some cases where Korea was the most profitable country for musical movies. And if the main character is from their own country… I can understand why Marina Studio came out like that.”

“I hope we get an answer from Seo-jun Lee soon.”

“Let’s do our work first. Seo-jun Lee is secondary, and we have decided on the production company, so we need to form the production team.”

“That’s why I brought this. Marina Studio gave me the profiles of the staff who worked in the musical genre.”

As Sarah Roth sat down, Emily also took a seat in front of her. They both picked up their pens.

“How are you going to do the violin performance?”

“I’ll use an expert. The actors will learn the fingering and the timing of using the violin bow according to the expert’s performance.”

Sarah Roth answered Emily’s question.

Sarah Roth’s eyes moved quickly. She needed a new sense, different from the hero movies.

She saw the staff who had produced the musical movie that Sarah Roth enjoyed.

“That person has a bad reputation.”

“Really?”

The paper turned over. The eyes and mouths of the two moved separately.

“Wouldn’t it be better to have actors who have learned violin a little bit?”

“No. If we set that standard, it will be hard to choose good actors. Violin is not a basic education.”

“Oh. You’re right.”

Another paper turned over.

“First, we need to find actors who match the image and act well, and then make them practice violin.”

“Wouldn’t that take a long time?”

“I don’t know.”

Sarah Roth, who had stopped checking the profiles with her pen, looked at Emily.

“Would it take a long time to act the posture alone?”

“It would be better to have a generous practice period. How about we gather the characters who play the violin and give them lessons?”

“That sounds good.”

Emily counted on her fingers.

“We have outdoor shooting, so the weather has to be warm. The release date is up to Whale, but we can’t ignore it completely. The actors have schedules, too, so we have to consider that.”

“Hmm.”

Sarah Roth also thought about the future schedule.

“When will we get an answer from Seo-jun Lee? We need to get the production budget to do anything. I want to use a good camera! And a good violin! And other things, too, expensive ones!”

“Let’s start with the initial budget. We can use the rest for publicity.”

While Sarah Roth and Emily, the assistant director, were busy forming the shooting team, an email arrived. It was from Seo-jun Lee’s new agency.

***

The second team, who had sent the documents related to Seo-jun to his new agency, Kings Agency, had a bitter conversation.

“Well, hollywood is hard for us. It’s almost impossible to grasp the local situation in Korea. That’s why other actors work with agencies, too.”

“We could also make a branch, but since Seo-jun is the only Hollywood actor, it would be a waste of money when he’s not active.”

“It’s still a shame.”

“The manager must be more sorry than us.”

At that, Ahn Da Ho, who was taking care of the scripts for Seo-jun, gave a wry smile.

“But wouldn’t it be okay for the manager to go to the US? He improved his English a lot in two years. If the agency takes care of the big things and he just looks after Seo-jun, he doesn’t have to be fluent in the US.”

“That’s right. BuBl and White also took some Korean staff when they went abroad.”

“It’s definitely more comfortable to have someone who has been working with you.”

Then, one of the employees came into the second team’s office.

“Manager. The president is calling you.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Ahn Da Ho left the second team’s office and headed to the president’s office. Ahn Da Ho was also bitter. He never thought that Cocoa Entertainment and Seo-jun would leave the overseas works as an exception.

‘I wanted to help him with the Hollywood movie shooting… No. Let’s do our best in Korea.’

He tried to calm his mind and knocked on the door of the president’s office. He heard Seo Eun-chan’s voice telling him to come in.

“Did you call me, sir?”

“Yes. Have a seat.”

As Ahn Da Ho lowered his eyes to sit on the sofa, there was a boy who had a presence that was surprising to see.

“Seo-jun?”

“Hello! Ahn Da Ho hyung!”

In the president’s office, there was not only the president, seo Eun-chan, but also Seo-jun, who should have been at home. Surprised, Ahn Da Ho blinked a few times and sat down.

“Let’s skip the introduction and get to the point. I’d like you to go with Seo-jun for his overseas shooting, too.”

“…Yes?”

Ahn Da Ho asked back at Seo Eun-chan’s words. Seo-jun and Seo Eun-chan smiled mischievously.

“Ahn Da Ho hyung, we rewrote the contract!”

“…Again?”

“Originally, when Seo-jun does overseas activities, a Kings Agency employee would be his manager, but now that we have rewritten the contract, you can still support Seo-jun. Of course, you’ll get paid more.”

Seo Eun-chan said with a smile. Ahn Da Ho rolled his eyes and opened his mouth.

“Why…?”

“I saw you studying English.”

Seo-jun knew that Ahn Da Ho brought an English book every time he brought a script.

When Seo-jun read the script or did his homework, Ahn Da Ho, who had finished his work, never let go of the English word book in his hand. His schedule on his days off was always an English academy.

Sometimes he even talked to Seo-jun in English. He watched movies without subtitles and read scripts written in English.

After the WTV Film Festival, Ahn Da Ho always devoted himself to studying English.

“I know, too. How hard you work as Seo-jun’s manager.”

Ahn Da Ho’s face turned red. He didn’t think they wouldn’t know, but it was still embarrassing.

Seeing that, seo-jun laughed. He was proud to have such a diligent and cool person as his manager.

“Seo-jun would feel more comfortable acting with you than with a new employee. The other things will be done by Kings Agency. If you need anything while supporting Seo-jun, contact the agency.”

Ahn Da Ho was moved by Seo Eun-chan and Seo-jun, who recognized his efforts, and clenched his mouth and nodded his head.

“Oh, I forgot to ask you first.”

Seo-jun and Ahn Da Ho looked at Seo Eun-chan.

“You can still work as Seo-jun’s manager even if you refuse. You don’t have to go to the US. Ahn Da Ho. Can you keep helping Seo-jun in the US?”

“Yes! Just leave it to me!”

At Ahn Da Ho’s words, seo-jun smiled brightly.

“I look forward to working with you in the US, Ahn Da Ho hyung!”

“Me too. Seo-jun.”

In the end, seo-jun and Seo Eun-chan laughed after seeing Ahn Da Ho shed a tear.