A few days later.
Junseong called me in to prepare for the production presentation.
This presentation was particularly significant as it would be my first official public appearance as a film director in Hollywood.
Junseong seemed nervous as well; he looked at me with a slightly grim expression and spoke.
“This production presentation is going to be especially important. Reporters will be swarming, eyes wide open, trying to find even a single flaw no matter what.”
“Then we just have to prepare our answers that thoroughly.”
We were still nothing more than outsiders in Hollywood.
It was obvious that reporters would take the path that best increased their newspaper circulation.
Attacks and criticism disguised as questions.
There is no method as provocative yet convenient as attacking an outsider.
“What about the attacks on Robert Penn?”
“Mr. Robert will handle that himself. It’s more urgent for us to prepare for questions about ourselves.”
Just as Robert Penn had asked during our drinks.
We needed to speak clearly about the purpose of our entry into Hollywood itself.
“Questions about us?”
“Yeah. Like what Mr. Chester mentioned before. There will be some who pounce as if their skin color were a privilege. They won’t show it openly, but they will.”
“Ugh…”
Junseong crossed his arms and closed his eyes for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.
“But I’m curious about this too. What exactly are you trying to do?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, look. Robert Penn, and those unknown theater actors. This is almost a gamble. From a reporter’s perspective, the casting process will be full of question marks. In fact, it’s a casting process brimming with room for them to tear us apart.”
Junseong’s question was natural.
Between Robert Penn and the prospective stars I had cast, it was obvious that this casting would look like the worst possible move in the eyes of the public.
But at the same time, it was the best move to make my film shine even brighter.
“It makes them focus more on the movie.”
“What?”
“This time, I’m not stealing the audience’s eyes with visual effects like I did with Space Vagabond. I’m going to make people completely immersed in the film.”
An unknown actor and a star who had fallen into a nuisance.
It was clear that their casting wouldn’t influence the box office success of the movie in the way A-list stars would.
However, if the movie was truly interesting, it would move the hearts of the audience.
And if it became a hit because of that, I could establish myself as a proper director in Hollywood.
“So… you’re saying that instead of succeeding through visual effects or actors with high ticket power, you want to be recognized for your skill through story and direction alone?”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
“Hmm… tsk.”
Junseong smacked his lips and spoke.
“My heart gets it, but my head doesn’t understand.”
“Huh? Isn’t that a bit weird?”
“What is?”
“Isn’t it usually the other way around?”
Junseong chuckled, tapped his head, and continued.
“Most of your actions are like that. They don’t make sense by common standards. But they touch the heart. Ha… it seems like you’re taking the hard road instead of the easy one…”
“It’s hard, but if it succeeds, it’s the most certain path there is.”
If I could receive proper recognition through this film, I could move one step closer to my goal.
‘Saving the film industry.’
It’s easy to say, but saving the film industry is not as simple as it sounds.
Literally, it means I have to save an entire industry on my own.
Besides, is the film industry a small one?
If this weren’t a ruined world, the scale of the theater industry in Korea alone would have reached nearly a billion dollars.
So, when looking at the film industry as a whole—and expanding it globally—the scale of the industry is unimaginable.
Then, what should I, as an individual, do to save this massive film industry?
I spent many sleepless nights agonizing over this.
And the conclusion I reached was surprisingly simple.
Making a good movie.
But it had to be a movie that someone could watch, be moved by, dream through, and then follow in its footsteps.
It starts with my movie, but my movie will sprout, and that sprout will grow to bear fruit, scatter seeds, and sprout new shoots.
Only then can the film industry be saved in a true sense.
‘But I can’t stop at just making a good movie.’
Even if I make a good movie, it’s meaningless if people can’t see it.
Therefore, I must ensure that the movie is widely known and accessible worldwide.
In that sense, Hollywood is a great place to spread my films.
No matter how ruined the world is, a fallen aristocrat is still an aristocrat; it still possesses a fairly decent market.
In short, though my explanation was long, the summary was simple.
Make a good movie.
And make that movie available to see all over the world.
To do that, I must reach the top of Hollywood.
If I do, not only will the film industry revive little by little, but wealth and fame will follow me as well.
It’s a win-win.
‘To do that, I first have to focus on the movie in front of me.’
Depending on the results of Detective Graser, the course of my future actions would be decided.
I had spoken with the distributor, but currently, my new work was not in a position to have a wide release—meaning a release targeting the entire US.
From the distributor’s perspective, they couldn’t fully trust my new work, nor could they be expected to make such a large investment.
However, if I could earn the title of a “hit director” to some extent through this work, things would proceed much more easily from the next project onward.
The next plan depended on this work.
“Whew…”
“What. Are you nervous?”
“No. Actually, I’m excited.”
After answering Junseong, I grabbed a few sheets of paper from the desk.
“Let’s go back to the basics. Back to when we talked to your father about the first movie.”
“Basics are good. Ha, brings back memories.”
After stretching, Junseong and I put our heads together and began crafting a strategy.
A few days later.
Starlight Hollywood Newspaper.
“Ha, that Robert Penn guy is making a comeback?”
A few days before the production presentation for Seonghyeon KMD Pictures’ Detective Graser, an invitation arrived at the newspaper office.
“Yeah. Shouldn’t you go, Philip? You’re an expert at chewing Robert up.”
At the editor-in-chief’s sinister smile, Philip, who had taken the invitation, nodded and spoke.
“Tsk. I don’t think there’s anything left to chew. I’ve chewed that guy so much that all the sweetness is gone.”
“What are you talking about? There are plenty of stories to weave together.”
The editor-in-chief spoke to Philip, his lips twitching as if he couldn’t suppress a sneer.
“That Asian director. He became somewhat famous with Space Vagabond and the Late Night Show, but he’s still a rookie. Isn’t he perfect to step on?”
“That’s true. He’s not Chinese or Japanese, right?”
At Philip’s words, the editor-in-chief nodded.
“Yeah. I heard he’s from Korea. You know those places near Compton that got hit during the old LA riots? I heard most of that was Koreatown. There won’t be any problem even if we touch him.”
“Interesting. If I just weave it together and add some tasty seasoning, I could make a pretty delicious dish.”
“Exactly. Let’s make a killing while we crush these guys this time.”
As the editor-in-chief rubbed his palms together and grinned, Philip laughed along and checked the invitation.
“But other than Robert Penn, these are all actors I’ve never seen before.”
“That Seonghyeon KMD Pictures? The rumors aren’t great. A director who succeeded with a space opera suddenly does a thriller? I heard most of the budget for the current production is being pulled from Korea.”
Philip nodded as if following a rhythm and chuckled upon seeing the words ‘We look forward to your support’ written on the last line of the invitation.
“Look forward to my support… I’ll attend this event for now.”
“Right. I’m counting on you.”
Philip left the editor-in-chief’s office, carelessly stuffing the invitation into his pocket.
“Tsk.”
Robert Penn was an actor who never ran out of dirt, no matter how much you dug.
Convinced that he definitely hadn’t quit drugs yet, Philip contacted a paparazzi he knew well.
“Hey, how’ve you been?”
-Great. I’ve had so much work lately. I’m losing my mind because of some chaebol family members who want to become celebrities. I don’t even know how much they move in a single day.
At the paparazzi’s complaint, Philip chuckled and spoke.
“5,000 dollars if you bring me a photo of Robert Penn doing drugs. How about it?”
-5,000? For that washed-up hack?
“Yeah. Anyway, there are plenty of competitors for those photos of the chaebol wannabes. I’m making this special offer because I know your skills.”
-Tsk, but is it certain he’s doing drugs? I think I heard news that he quit.
Philip laughed as if it were absurd and replied.
“Look. You can’t quit drugs. Especially not that bastard. You know as well as I do that quitting drugs is fundamentally impossible for him, right?”
-That’s true, but…
“Then just get back to Hollywood quickly and bring me photos of Robert Penn. 5,000 minimum, and I’ll give you more if they’re good.”
Click.
After creating a card to destroy Robert Penn, Philip now prepared a card for Gyeong Chanhyeon.
“Hmm…”
Since he was a man with very little information, it wasn’t easy.
Just Space Vagabond and the Late Night Show.
And the news that he had won an award at the Cannes Film Festival a few years ago.
“Is there nothing to chew on…?”
Staring intently at Gyeong Chanhyeon’s face on the monitor, Philip put a cigarette in his mouth.
People around him frowned and coughed at the smoke, but Philip didn’t care.
“Whew…”
After exhaling a deep cloud of smoke, he tossed the cigarette butt into the water cup of a reporter sitting next to him and spoke.
“Can you throw this away for me?”
“…Yes.”
Looking at the junior reporter who couldn’t say a word, Philip chuckled and resumed his research on Gyeong Chanhyeon.
“Hmm. I’ll have to go with a different strategy.”
Philip had several ways to ruin a target he wanted to destroy in show business.
The first was to crush them mercilessly, but this method only worked on targets of a certain size.
Crushing an opponent who isn’t even big is like stepping on an ant; nobody cares.
In such cases, the best thing is to inflate the opponent’s size with a bubble.
Since he already had some size from Space Vagabond, what if he gave him a bit of hype first and then crushed him?
Thinking that there was no more effective method, Philip first wrote a complimentary article about Gyeong Chanhyeon.
The day before the production presentation.
Seonghyeon KMD Pictures, CEO’s Office.
[Digging into <Space Vagabond> ahead of the production presentation for the new work <Detective Graser>.]
Junseong and I put our heads together, puzzled by the sudden complimentary article.
“What is this? Philip John? Starlight Hollywood is suddenly praising us like this?”
“But it doesn’t feel like praise. It’s all just vague. Doesn’t it seem ambiguous?”
“Is that so? Hold on.”
Junseong read the article again, reciting a few lines aloud.
[Excellent direction and dazzling visual effects. A series of dramatic cuts that make it impossible to take one’s eyes off the screen, is… Director Gyeong Chanhyeon, whose new work is highly anticipated. One cannot help but look forward to his next project.]
“You could just change the movie title to something else and it would still work. It feels like there’s no substance, just scratching the surface.”
“Now that you mention it, you’re right. It doesn’t mention a single thing about the content; it just repeats that it was ‘good.’”
Ding.
“It’s Mr. Robert. One second.”
With the article in front of me, I answered Robert’s call.
“Yes. Hello?”
-Director. You saw that article, right? That dog… whew…
Robert, who was about to start cursing immediately, seemed to hold it back and finished with a deep sigh.
“Are you okay?”
-Damn it. It seems that bastard named Philip is on me. I can see punks on motorcycles circling my house right now. They’re obviously paparazzi bastards.
Robert continued in a voice that sounded quite anxious.
-My wife is anxious, so it’s getting irritating. I apologize for the harsh language.
“It’s alright. But who is this reporter named Philip? Do you know him well?”
-I know him dirty well. Enough to want to beat him to death.
I swallowed hard at Robert’s emotional voice.
“Then this article is probably…”
-Yes. He probably hyped you up on purpose to sell the next newspaper. It’s his old modus operandi. Quite a few actors have suffered because of him, but everyone keeps quiet. They just hope to escape his target.
Hearing Robert’s answer, my anxiety actually vanished.
Because he was a human being I didn’t need to feel any pangs of conscience about what I was about to do.
“For now, would you like to sleep at a hotel tonight? We still have to hold the production presentation tomorrow.”
-Ah, yes. I should.
“Thank you for telling me. I’ll take care of it, so don’t worry.”
Robert asked back in a questioning voice.
-How?
“I know someone. Well, it’ll be resolved quickly. And that human named Philip… He must have a weakness.”
Click.
“Why? What did he say?”
“It seems like Hollywood trash reporters and paparazzi are on the move.”
At my answer, Junseong frowned and grabbed his forehead.
“No, ha… but what do you mean it’ll be resolved? A weakness?”
“If it’s someone we know, we can just clear away trash of this level.”
“Who is it…?”
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