Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 13

The Home Theater Debut (2)

* * *

Today’s scene is a raid on the Russian mafia.

A lavish scene shot by renting out an entire floor of a hotel, pouring in a ton of production costs.

“The exterior wall explosion scene will be filmed separately by the assistant director. We’ll start outdoor shooting as soon as the crane and helicopter cam arrive… The hotel has given us a tight schedule, so let’s try to keep it as smooth as possible.”

Na Jong-mo PD [Production Director], holding the megaphone, gives directions.

“What should I do?”

“Park Geon, you’re here, along this route. Non-stop from the elevator, hallway, to the suite room scene. Would it be okay if the breathing gets a bit long?”

“Yes, I don’t mind.”

It’s a pincer operation where Jeong Yeon-woo’s drones drop bombs through the hotel windows, and Choi Seung infiltrates in the meantime.

“That’s why I like Park Geon. He’s always so straightforward that we don’t have to worry.”

Na Jong-mo PD grinned, his face gaunter than at the beginning of filming.

“Most of the stuntmen and extras are the same. There’s one new person we’ll be working with today… Ah, he’s coming over there. Malchin!”

A huge white man walked over from a distance and bowed his head.

“Our drama has really taken off with the action. We’re getting a lot of love calls from actors who say they can fight, asking to be put in as special appearances.”

“Is that so.”

“So I invited an expert. Malchin has been exercising for a long time, so try to work well together.”

Park Geon glanced at Malchin and asked in Russian.

“[Boxing?]”

It wasn’t English, but fluent Russian. Malchin tilted his head but answered, also in Russian.

“Yes, I’ve done other martial arts, but I’ve been boxing the longest. But the director here is…”

“[I’m the director now. There won’t be any directing other than the route.]”

“Pardon?”

“[I’ll hit while controlling my strength. There will be almost no pain, so you can do it as if it were real.]”

…As if it were real?

Malchin blinked, looking innocent.

He only came because an acquaintance said he would get paid for acting like he was getting hit, but for real?

He took another look at the Asian man in front of him. He was quite well-built, but not comparable to Malchin, who was 195CM [approx. 6’5″] and 130KG [approx. 287 lbs].

With this much of a weight difference, he would be crushed even in sparring…

“Okay, get ready!”

“Cut will be a little later! Extras, please wait over here!”

The staff raised their voices. Glancing at the man standing there indifferently, Malchin made up his mind.

‘I have to be careful not to get any hospital bills.’

*

The entire staff is especially nervous on days when action scenes are filmed.

The reason is obvious: the danger.

Whether it’s flying wire action or just fighting in sync, it’s the same.

Even skilled stuntmen get injured while doing stunts, and if an actor even twists their back, it leads to a major accident.

That’s why meticulous directing is required for each scene, but…

“Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, just remember the order and the props to bring. Don’t get tangled up while going out.”

That’s the end of the directing from martial arts director Hyun Do-gyun, who is known for being picky.

The reactions of the extras are similar.

“This is enough. He does everything anyway.”

“I heard he just said ‘You all know, right?’ last time?”

“It’s really amazing. I get so immersed, I feel like a real actor.”

“Oh, wake up from your dream. You’re just a wooden doll without Park.”

The actor who received full authority from the director, Park Geon’s directing puts the period on it [completes the scene perfectly].

“Just rush in like last time. Just don’t overlap with each other.”

The staff and performers, who were bewildered at first, now have a ‘whatever’ expression.

That’s because there hasn’t been a single NG [no-good; a failed take] in Choi Seung’s scenes yet.

There was also a happening where a supporting male actor who stuttered his lines especially well had his acting skills come alive only when he was with Park Geon, and he followed him around every time he saw him.

‘Park Geon. How do you do it? Please tell me your secret.’

‘What secret are you talking about?’

‘No, when the camera turns on and you’re in front of it, you get completely… like this, sucked in. I won’t tell anyone, so please give me a hint.’

‘I don’t know.’

The youngest PD [Production Director] captured all those scenes with an 8mm camera. Na PD is dividing and splitting the tight schedule to edit the making-of film.

After the last episode airs, these videos will once again ignite the fans’ hearts.

*

“Okay, rolling!”

The filming that followed began.

The hotel lobby is in chaos with people running away in surprise at the explosion.

Security guards rush at Choi Seung, who is walking through the chaos, but they are subdued like children and tumble to the floor.

The camera follows Choi Seung, who gets into the elevator without cutting the scene.

He heads to the 30th floor, but the elevator stops midway, as if the power was cut off from above.

ㅡ······.

Choi Seung presses the emergency button in the elevator without changing his expression. The muscles in his suit expand explosively, tearing open the closed door.

Bang, bang!

Rubber bullets fly as soon as he sticks his head out. Choi Seung retreats for a moment, takes off his suit, and rushes out, holding it like a cape.

“Shoot, shoot quickly… Keheok!”

“He’s blocking with his clothes! Aim for his legs!”

The rubber bullets are dodged, and the taser guns are blocked. In a matter of seconds, the hotel hallway is neatly cleared.

As Choi Seung, who passed the groaning security guards, was about to open the emergency staircase door.

Pshew!

A bullet is embedded right next to his hand.

Choi Seung turns around expressionlessly, and the huge white man wags the muzzle of his revolver.

In response to the clear provocation, Choi Seung also takes a stance.

The highlight of today’s filming.

The fight scene that will become the scene stealer in the trailer.

*

‘This is it, this is it!’

Filming director Kim Jeong-nam is enjoying life these days.

He was thrilled when he won 3rd place in the lottery or when his child first called him dad, but this is a different kind of excitement.

15 years of filming since he was an assistant director. Has there ever been a time when the scenes were so well-captured?

‘There weren’t many times.’

Talented actors often immerse themselves in a state of hyperfocus called ‘method.’ At that time, those holding the camera find the best angle to capture.

That is the direction of the directing and the role of the filming director.

But this actor is different.

Thud, thud, thud!

A short burst of attacks is planted in the huge stomach. The giant white boxer distorts his expression as if he is shocked.

However, the weight difference of nearly 50 kilograms [approx. 110 lbs] is difficult to ignore. The white man throws a light hook, and Choi Seung barely dodges it.

‘Good expression, crazy sense of urgency.’

Others will think that the action direction is amazing. Or that the ability to coordinate is good.

But as a filming director, he can know.

What’s really creepy is that the ‘actor’ creates the optimal visual beauty from any angle.

He avoids, deflects, and tilts his head, but never deviates from the angle.

It’s an ability that can’t be explained unless he has eyes on the back of his head.

‘He said it was his first time with the camera. Did he often film demonstration videos in the military?’

He did some practical training in the military, but if special forces were all like this, Korea would have been unified a long time ago.

What about the ability to immerse the scene?

If you stick next to Choi Seung, no, Park Geon, even the extras’ eyes change.

An aura that attracts not only himself but also others.

An unknown actor who doesn’t care about the camera but captures the shooting angle like a ghost.

‘If his acting spectrum, not just action, is just average…’

Filming director Kim Jeong-nam shook his head.

It’s too much greed. Even if he only takes on action one-tool, cold and emotionless roles like now, there are more than enough roles to sweep up.

When this episode airs, and around the time the drama ends, a new rising star will be born.

‘…I feel sorry for the actor I’ll be working with next.’

*

Geon thinks.

‘It’s not a delusion.’

Now I can know for sure.

The moment the shoot starts and the camera turns, the senses of the sleeping ‘warrior’ awaken all at once.

The blood boils red, and the familiar sense of omnipotence seems to be within reach.

Just like when he accepted the warrior’s karma in the most intimate part of the temple under the guidance of the saint.

‘It’s certain. It’s a fragment of Hapki (合氣) [a Korean martial art].’

Why is this happening?

Out of curiosity, I asked the staff to film it separately.

Surprisingly, when it wasn’t a real scene, my heart didn’t even beat, and I didn’t even feel a slight sense of elation.

The wind of another world. The longing atmosphere of blood and iron.

The feeling of returning as a warrior is only felt in the actual battle when the shoot is called.

Boom, boom!

The white boxer, now fully in match mode, swings a hook.

‘This angle will look better from the opposite angle.’

I’m fighting a real fight, not an action, but there’s no sense of crisis.

In the first place, the warrior’s ability, the crisis detection ability of Hapki, is close to precognition.

In addition, the body trained in two worlds far exceeds the level of ordinary people. Since I can know where it’s coming from, I can also know how it will be filmed.

Rather, it reminds me of the old days.

-Die, warrior!

-You first, Cabil!

I had fake duels with my colleagues and looked at the traitors of the kingdom one by one.

The corrupted border lord, the archbishop who sold his soul, and the ambitious 3rd corps commander. The traitors who watched the duel between the warrior and the prince with interest all died that night.

“······.”

Compared to that, the filming director and staff who are taking pictures there with their breath held are good spectators.

The actors and extras who are working together are also very cooperative extras.

They give you money even if you don’t kill or hurt people, so there’s no better job than this.

‘Wait, then maybe…’

Hapki is an ability that does not exist on Earth. Of course, I lost everything when I returned from the Iron Kingdom to modern times.

Even if it’s limited to actual filming, what if I can exert my old power even only when the camera is running?

‘That’s a problem to think about later. Work comes first now.’

With his lead, the opponent is also immersed as if it were a real battle. I have to make him come to his senses so he doesn’t get hurt.

The moment Geon clenched his fist, the white boxer paused. It’s the momentum from when he made Director Oh Gwi-jun wet himself.

“······.”

A fleeting look passed between them.

If it even grazes him, he could pass out regardless of his weight. Keep enough distance, but instead, at an angle that looks like he’s really getting hit…

Bang!

A popping sound erupted from Malchin’s temple.

*