Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 182

“…That’s what he said. He was so scary, he looked like he could do anything.”

On the evening of the day the investment meeting ended.

Lee Hansol, director Choi Dae-man, and assistant director Park Jae-min met again at the same barbecue restaurant they had visited before.

Director Choi Dae-man tilted his head at Lee Hansol’s words as he was about to drink some soju. .

Huh?

“I heard from the manager that he only gave us the investment money quietly.”

Assistant director Park Jae-min, who was grilling meat next to him, nodded repeatedly.

“He didn’t say much except for coming to see the filming once.”

Lee Hansol, who was chewing on his food, said.

“I heard that too. He said he didn’t know what we needed for a historical drama. He said it would be better to leave it to director Woo Jeong-han, who knows more about it than anyone else.”

Director Choi Dae-man and assistant director Park Jae-min agreed with him.

There was no one who could use the things needed for a historical drama more professionally and efficiently than director Woo Jeong-han, the master of historical dramas.

“But our work is a zombie movie. The US is the place to go for zombie movies, and they also have Plus+ Original zombie dramas.”

“Oh, that was fun. The makeup was not awkward at all.”

Park Jae-min’s words made Lee Hansol nod.

It was popular not only in the US but also in Korea.

“He said he got excited for a moment because it was something he knew well.”

He got excited for a moment?

It felt like they had to start over from the beginning. But the vice president never took back his words.

He blinked his blue eyes and waited for Lee Hansol’s words.

Lee Hansol swallowed his saliva.

The maximum budget that Lee Hansol had discussed with director Choi Dae-man was 20 billion won.

That was blockbuster-level in Korea.

But it seemed like they were going to shoot a Hollywood blockbuster movie in Korea.

To be a blockbuster in Hollywood, they needed at least 100 billion won.

It was five times the budget they had expected.

“100 billion won!”

The private room was quiet as a mouse.

Only the sound of grilling meat could be heard.

Director Choi Dae-man and assistant director Park Jae-min swallowed their saliva.

Lee Hansol felt like he was sweating cold sweat even now.

A few hours ago, Lee Hansol had answered that he would consult with the director and ran out of Plus+ Korea office.

“Wow. I didn’t expect him to run away when I said I would give him money.”

Lee Hansol drank some soju.

He felt ridiculous when he thought about how he had run out like that.

“…Can’t we take it? He said he would give us a lot. It would be fun if we could make it like Hollywood, with bangs and booms!”

Park Jae-min’s words made director Choi Dae-man scratch his cheek.

It was better to have more money for production than less.

But this was a commercial movie.

It was not a business that would bring back as much profit as they spent, and no matter how much money they poured in, they could still fail miserably.

“It would be nice to take it. But we have to think about the profit as a commercial movie. If we spend 100 billion won and can’t even break even, our company will go bankrupt.”

The investor of Movie Dream Production, director Choi Dae-man’s words made Lee Hansol nod.

Park Jae-min tilted his head. But didn’t they have Seo-jun as their guarantee?

“Wouldn’t we be fine with Seo-jun?”

“Seo-jun’s fans will watch it once. But we have to make them watch it multiple times with our work. If we fail with Seo-jun in it, my directing career is over.”

“Our company too.”

Director Choi Dae-man opened his mouth.

“Let’s take a moderate amount of investment money. If we take too much, we might waste it on unnecessary things.”

Lee Hansol nodded. Director Choi Dae-man sighed inwardly as he drank some water.

“To be honest, I don’t have the courage to spend that much money, and I feel like I might ruin the work if I get carried away.”

The budget that director Choi Dae-man had thought of for this movie was only 20 billion won…(that was the maximum), director Choi Dae-man gasped and shook his head vigorously. No, only? 20 billion won is not only!

Director Choi Dae-man drank some cold water and cooled down his inflated mind. He felt like he had already gotten carried away.

Anyway, he thought that if he changed the script and synopsis too much by adding this and that with 100 billion won, it might become a mess.

“And I feel like Seo-jun might not do it if the script changes too much.”

Director Choi Dae-man had failed five times to cast Seo-jun, and he felt that if the script and synopsis changed too much, seo-jun might not accept it.

Oh. That can’t happen!

Lee Hansol, who was startled by the possibility of losing the actor who would be the main contributor to the box office, quickly nodded.

“Yes. I understand. Let’s go with 20 billion won!”

While the two were talking, Park Jae-min, who had been stuffing himself with meat wrapped in lettuce, said.

“Then what about the camera? There’s a camera they use in Hollywood. The cinematographer’s bucket list is to shoot with that…”

Director Choi Dae-man’s hand, which was about to pick up some meat, trembled.

Camera!

He hadn’t thought of that. He had always thought of shooting with what he had.

Director Choi Dae-man also knew about the camera that was on the cinematographer’s bucket list. He liked the color of the movies shot with that camera.

“And there’s also the expensive audio equipment we couldn’t use. That one. The sound director would love it!”

Director Choi Dae-man frowned.

He knew that too.

The recording equipment that captured even the smallest sounds that the director wanted to express.

Director Choi Dae-man imagined the scenes shot with the expensive camera and recording equipment in his head.

‘Damn, it would look amazing.’

Director Choi Dae-man, who was chewing on his meat, looked at Lee Hansol.

Lee Hansol understood director Choi Dae-man’s eyes and nodded.

Park Jae-min, who had stimulated director Choi Dae-man’s greed with a few words, smiled satisfied.

It seemed like the filming equipment for this movie would be no less than a Hollywood movie.

**

Time passed as director Choi Dae-man made the official script from the synopsis and treatment.

The children who had entered summer vacation were enjoying their summer vacation, and Rebellion was uploaded to Plus+ after being taken down from the theaters.

Yang Ju-hee: I auditioned!

Kim Joo-kyung: Me too! But it was a different audition from Ju-hee’s.

[I hope you both get in!

Kang Jaehan: I’m still waiting for the document reviewㅠ I hope the results come out soonㅠㅠ

The first graders of Yeol Arts Middle School were busy.

They studied hard at acting academy, applied for auditions and went to interviews.

Seo-jun, who was working hard like his friends, also had a lot to do.

He checked the script that was gradually increasing and prepared for filming during his summer vacation.

Rachel: Are you not coming to America this summer?

He received a message from Rachel Hill.

Last summer vacation, he had gone to America for a short trip.

He watched Jack’s baseball game, met Evan and Rachel, and had a lot of fun talking to them.

He usually went to America for vacation unless something big happened, so she asked if he was coming this time.

Seo-jun, who was stretching his body, sent a reply.

[I have something to prepare for filming before shooting. I’m busy learning that.

Evan: Are you already preparing for your next work?

[Yes. I got a good work.

Rachel: What? What kind of work is it? Is it a Korean movie?

[Yes. I’m shooting with director Dae-man.

Evan: Dae-man!

Rachel: I know that!

Evan: I’m looking forward to what kind of movie it is. Is it another exorcism?

Seo-jun laughed at Evan’s question.

[It’s a zombie movie.

Rachel: !

Evan: !

The surprise of Hollywood actors Evan Block and Rachel Hill, who had never starred in a zombie movie before, seemed to reach them.

***

Lee Hansol, who became the head of the film production company Movie Dream, solved the problems one by one.

He first rented an office and contacted the employees.

The number of employees who accepted the reinstatement was small, but Lee Hansol was satisfied.

It was because most of the employees he thought were essential agreed.

“Hello.”

“It’s been a long time, everyone.”

The employees who came to the new office with awkward faces gathered in the conference room.

They were all familiar faces, but they felt awkward after meeting again in a few months.

Lee Hansol broke the ice first.

“I’m glad to see you again. I didn’t expect this to happen.”

“You’ve been promoted a lot. Team leader. No, you’re the boss now!”

The employees laughed at the words of the staff member who had been the mood maker of the publicity team before the change of the head.

Lee Hansol also smiled comfortably at the softened atmosphere.

“Thank you for trusting me and coming back. I know you’re all worried about what’s going to happen next, but Movie Dream is fine. Let’s do our best as we have done so far.”

The employees applauded Lee Hansol’s words.

“From today, Movie Dream will start producing a new work.”

“…Already?”

The employees blinked their eyes.

They thought it would take at least a few months to find a new work.

They didn’t expect to get a new project so soon.

Lee Hansol nodded.

“It’s a work by director Choi Dae-man, who worked with us before. He helped me when I took over the company.”

If it was director Choi Dae-man, then the work would be easy and he had skills, so they wouldn’t lose money at least. Maybe they could become a solid company again. The employees’ eyes sparkled.

“What’s the genre?”

“Is it another niche genre?”

The only thing that made them anxious was that Movie Dream’s movies were not very popular genres.

Lee Hansol said.

“The title of this work is Escape.”

The employees swallowed their saliva.

Escape? Escape from what?

Was it a disaster movie?

That wasn’t bad. Disaster movies were quite popular if the CG was good. But because of the CG, the production cost was high and there were pros and cons.

Or was it a prison escape movie?

Then most of the scenes would be inside the prison.

The production cost would be much lower, but the spectacle would not be flashy and the box office would depend entirely on the script and the actors’ performances.

The brains of the employees who had been hardened by unemployment moved quickly.

They all thought about various possibilities when Lee Hansol said.

“It’s a zombie movie.”

…What?

The employees looked at Lee Hansol with blank faces.

With a smile on his face, Movie Dream’s head Lee Hansol said again.

“It’s a zombie movie.”

At that moment, all the employees in the conference room thought of the same thing.

‘…We’re doomed!’

Lee Hansol barely held back his laughter at the faces of the horrified employees.

It was a fun prank no matter how many times he did it.

‘There’s still more to surprise you.’

“And the lead actor is Lee Seo-jun.”

…? Lee Seo-jun?

How long has it been since he finished filming?

There were many things they wanted to say, but they couldn’t say anything.

Their mouths just twitched.

One of the employees spat out a very small voice.

“…Boss.”

“Yes?”

“…Did you get scammed?”

!

An exclamation mark appeared over the heads of the employees who heard the question.

Their messy minds became clear with that word.

That’s right! Scam! It’s a scam!

The eyes of the employees looking at Lee Hansol became sharp.

‘Our team leader… How hard must he have been…’

Lee Hansol lost his words at their eyes.

He didn’t expect them to think it was a scam.

‘Well, there are people who often scam using Lee Seo-jun’s name…’

The employees clenched their mouths at Lee Hansol’s silence.

It’s really a scam!

“It’s okay. Team leader, no, boss. We’ll find a new work soon!”

“You didn’t sign a contract yet, did you?”

“You’re our boss, so you’ll be fine.”

“Do you want me to call the police?”

The employees who concluded that it was a scam tried to find a solution to save their jobs that had just returned, while Lee Hansol pressed the remote control he was holding without saying anything.

A picture of someone appeared on the screen that had been prepared in advance.

In the light projected from the projector, all eyes were on one place.

The employees’ eyes grew as big as they could.

Gasp!

The publicity team staff who was about to call the police dropped his phone without knowing it.

No one reacted to the sound of the phone falling.

They just stared blankly at the screen.

“No…”

“Is that… real…”

In the silence that seemed to hear a needle drop, Movie Dream’s head Lee Hansol opened his mouth.

It was a more chilling voice than ever.

“This is the lead actor of Escape, Lee Seo-jun.”

A boy’s face was on the screen.

He was holding a long bow and pulling the string near his lips with a serious expression.

It was actor Lee Seo-jun.