Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 378

378. Unexpected Problem (2)

November 13, 2022

“Why isn’t anyone coming?”

A while ago.

Mac Houston finally announced a large-scale audition targeting famous agencies.

However, several days after the ambitious announcement.

“Is the phone line broken? Or did I write the email address wrong…?”

Not a single call.

Not even one.

In short, it meant that only flies were buzzing around.

“Could it be that they’re all rejecting us…?”

Mac, who had been staring at his inbox, phone, and telephone with sparkling eyes for days.

He finally realized the reality.

“Could it be…?”

He sent the announcement to each agency with specific guidelines that couldn’t be more perfect.

But.

The only contact he received afterward was just ‘We have confirmed it’.

There was no mention of when they would contact him.

Or any talk of sending profiles of prepared actors.

“Could it be that they are preparing to send audition tapes and that’s why they aren’t contacting us?”

The assistant director added.

He had known Mac Houston for a long time, and many staff members were hired through similar routes.

“How about asking Kathy again?”

Kathy was also a casting director hired through a similar route.

She was also known for having a good eye, having worked as a casting director for several famous movies.

“Nothing. Zero. None.”

Kathy, who was called in, also had a bad expression.

“Come to think of it, she seemed a bit reluctant from the beginning. Hmm… I thought it was because our production company is new, so there might be risks, but this is, wow. It’s really unexpected.”

In Hollywood, countless production companies are established and fail every day.

Scripts are often scrapped even after they are completed because they cannot attract enough investment.

But Miracle Company was different.

It was a place where money was already overflowing, without needing to ask anyone for favors.

That was Miracle Company.

“Did you talk to them? That Miracle is a company that can’t possibly fail?”

“Of course! I talked about it until my mouth hurt! How many years do you think I’ve been doing presentations?”

Kathy, who had experienced short films and independent films while working as a casting director, shook her head, saying this was the worst ever.

“There is one thing I have a feeling about…”

“What is it? What is it?”

“Mac, I heard you had trouble with the Chinese side before.”

“Uh-huh. I did, didn’t I?”

“I think they’re watching their backs. They didn’t say it outright, but I have a feeling that’s it. Those guys are very aggressive these days, eating up movies. They must have been plotting something where we can’t see. They probably want to take advantage of you if you bow down to them.”

Is this something that can happen in the 21st century?

Surprisingly, this kind of thing happens frequently.

Especially in places like Hollywood, where various interests are strongly intertwined.

“But just in case, I’ll keep sending offers around.”

But unfortunately.

The situation did not improve.

*

“Is this kind of thing common?”

“Well… it’s not uncommon.”

To think that production is suspended because there are no actors to appear, even though the money and manpower are all prepared.

It was so absurd that words couldn’t come out.

“People call Hollywood another world, but it’s just the same as any other place where people live. It’s even more extreme.”

Gabriel said in a strangely desolate voice.

“Burying a scenario is nothing. They even bury the writer. There are also cases where they prevent the director from even getting a foothold, but well. Our case is getting a bit bigger, but when you think about it, there’s nothing really new. There’s always someone who tramples on promising seedlings. Well. I’ve experienced something similar, too, haven’t I?”

Although the starting point was an accident caused by the forced opening of the Eye of the Spirit.

Various issues such as the drug scandal and mental illness that stuck to Gabriel.

It was difficult to see that as just media play by paparazzi.

“People who would benefit from my disappearance must have fueled it.”

The case is a little different, but this is a similar context.

“There’s also the ‘resentment tax’ [unofficial penalty for success], and like the casting director said last time, there’s also the reason to swallow good works cheaply. If they drive the other party into a corner like this and make them give up, it becomes easier to tamper with the scenario later.”

It’s a way to thoroughly make the other party the ‘underdog’.

“Isn’t that illegal?”

“It’s not. Because they didn’t make any threats? It’s just that everyone is afraid and watching each other, so there’s nothing we can do. It’s a dirty job, but.”

In fact, the Chinese film company did not do anything illegal, such as making threats.

However, they spread rumors.

Since the contract was once concluded and then broken, it was more than enough to fuel the rumors.

The slaves of capital, who cannot be free from huge capital, could not easily ignore the rumors.

‘In short, they’re saying they don’t want to get on the wrong side of them.’

It means they don’t want to take even 1 gram of risk.

‘Should I just throw money at it?’

Since they’re throwing money around to act superior, shouldn’t we also throw money around to get a taste of it?

Well, I can keep earning money in the future.

Money is still piling up now.

However, before Yeon-woo could do that.

A breakthrough began to appear from an unexpected direction.

*

-Ting!

[You have successfully harvested lifespan.]

[Lifespan harvested: 14 days]

“…?”

It had been several days since anyone had applied for the audition.

Yeon-woo was puzzled by the sudden notification sound.

‘Was there something that would allow me to gain lifespan?’

Black’s cameo filming had already ended a long time ago.

Notifications from the same source, such as Dream Walker’s music or YouTube videos, have all been turned off.

So there’s no reason for a notification to pop up.

If there’s anything going on these days…

“Master. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s all my fault!”

“No… I’m telling you, don’t call me that? It makes me feel like an evil owner who exploits slaves.”

It’s just Mac’s constant prostration of repentance, which is almost every day.

“It’s because I broke up with those guys on bad terms that this happened…”

“Why is that Mac’s fault? It’s wrong for those thieves to try to swallow someone else’s scenario whole.”

“Still…! You’ve done so much for me…! To think that production is being delayed like this! It’s my fault!”

“…Calm down.”

As Mac said, production is indeed being delayed.

But the delay itself is, well, not particularly regrettable.

‘Because I can do other things in the meantime!’

Even a movie that starts filming normally is often delayed for strange reasons.

‘First of all… I need to learn some action.’

The target of feeling upset was the culprit who was pressuring people with unfounded rumors, not Mac.

Rather than waiting anxiously, it’s better to do something productive during that time.

Yeon-woo, who made that judgment, set out to find something to do in advance.

One of those things was to invite an expert and start learning action in earnest.

‘After all, acting is best when the actor does it themselves.’

Yeon-woo easily recognized Mac Houston’s style.

No wonder he’s friends with Jonas Ben, they’re all birds of a feather [people with similar tastes or traits].

That means they’re the type who expect more from the actor’s own acting than from stunts.

‘Well, I agree with that, too.’

I know that stunt actors are used as substitutes for various reasons.

But aside from others, Yeon-woo wanted to step up himself.

‘It’s not like I’ll be hanging from a plane or the Burj Al Arab [iconic skyscraper in Dubai].’

The action in the scenario Yeon-woo saw was extremely common sense.

“Why bother? Why? You’ll get bruises and injuries on your body if you do it wrong?”

Gabriel, who heard Yeon-woo’s words, asked that, but

“I don’t want to be restricted. I don’t want the flow to be broken, either.”

It’s an advantage in that there is no risk of injury, but everything else is a minus.

First of all, you have to approach from an angle where your face is not visible.

Or there are limitations on the angle because you have to shoot in a structure that doesn’t come out at all.

Limited conditions with various restrictions inevitably make perfect shooting difficult.

And that was definitely not what Yeon-woo wanted.

‘How did I find this golden scenario? I have to make sure it comes out as much as possible!’

Of course, that’s not the only reason.

‘I don’t want the breath to be cut off, either.’

There is something called flow in filming.

If you ride the flow well, you can shoot several scenes in a short amount of time.

But on the other hand, if the flow is broken, you can go from doing well to having dozens of NGs [outtakes or mistakes].

Not all scenes proceed sequentially.

If possible, directors and actors try not to miss this ‘flow’.

That was the same for Yeon-woo.

‘The more parts I don’t act, the more distance I’ll have from the role.’

You can think of it as a kind of greed.

It’s like feeling that your character is being invaded.

It’s similar to the feeling of a foreign substance being inserted.

I don’t know what other people think, but that’s what Yeon-woo thought.

“Yeon-woo, you’re greedy. Is that why you’re so good at acting?”

Gabriel nodded, understanding Yeon-woo’s answer.

Then he left a message asking me to register him as well.

That’s how most of the time was spent.

There wasn’t really anything that would allow me to harvest lifespan.

But.

-Ting!

[You have successfully harvested lifespan.]

[Lifespan harvested: 8 days]

-Ting!

[You have successfully harvested lifespan.]

[Lifespan harvested: 10 days]

-Ting!

[You have successfully harvested lifespan.]

[Lifespan harvested: 11 days]

The lifespan notifications that rang in succession did not stop.

Even,

-Ting!

[Would you like to activate the multiple lifespan automatic harvesting function?]

[Yes/No]

How much lifespan has come in a row.

The system even made this suggestion.

‘Where is the source?’

Lifespan is right.

I’ve filled it up quite a bit now, but 28,470 days.

In other words, there is still a long way to go to fill the 78 years.

‘This movie is worth a shot.’

The golden scenario.

How much lifespan can I earn with this scenario that I discovered myself?

In other words, how much influence can I have on people with this movie?

How much meaningful change can I make?

Yeon-woo was curious about that.

No matter how much money Yeon-woo has and how much he can only wear clothes and have a roof and sleep in a house.

That doesn’t mean he has a hobby of throwing money into the air for no reason.

Even investments that seem crazy to others are actually the result of thoroughly calculating the possibilities.

‘Lifespan is good and free is good, but… I hope I don’t pick up something weird and get sick?’

I had to find the source.

The answer came surprisingly easily.

“Gabriel?”

“Ah, Yeon-woo. Just a moment. I’ll hang up the phone.”

Gabriel, who hung up the phone refreshingly, answered.

However, as soon as he hung up, his bell kept ringing.

“Ah, annoying.”

It was only after he completely turned off his smartphone that it became quiet.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing… The hyenas [opportunistic people] who confirmed that I’m not dead yet somehow smelled it and contacted me. I don’t know how much noisier it will be when Black is released, but I have to block them all.”

“Advertisement?”

Gabriel answered.

“Yeah. The public service advertisement that I did in collaboration with Dream Walker that Yeon-woo introduced me to. It was released today, wasn’t it?”