Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 171

Let’s Go to New Zealand (4)

* * *

“Why is it raining so much?”

“I know, they said it would be a monsoon since winter… it’s so unpredictable.”

In a makeshift tent, two staff members grumbled as they sipped hot tea.

It had already been ten days.

As soon as the scorching late summer sun had subsided, dark clouds had gathered and started pouring rain.

New Zealand’s nature was unpredictable, as if God was playing a prank, alternating between sunshine and rain.

Just when the sun peeked out, another rainstorm would hit, and just when the rain seemed to ease, a downpour heavy enough to make standing difficult would fall.

As a result, the ‘Chronicles of the Gods’ team, including the staff, gave up on predicting the next day altogether.

Another staff member, lying on a mattress and fiddling with his smartphone, asked,

“When are we moving? Haven’t you heard anything?”

“I don’t know. I heard there’s still stuff to film on the South Island.”

What was even more infuriating was that these thunderous dark clouds were only hovering over the South Island. The sound of rain drumming against the tent grew even louder.

The staff member threw his phone down and turned over.

“Damn it, why does this drama have so many rain scenes? We should be moving somewhere else by now.”

Other staff members sighed. Usually, when it rained during filming, the response on set was twofold.

Either film the indoor scenes first, blocking out the windows and using all sorts of lighting, or take advantage of the rain and finish the outdoor scenes.

And Peter Shawn chose both.

‘Alright, we don’t have time. I was worried about when it would rain, but this is good. Let’s split the team and finish all the filming on the South Island.’

In fact, the continent in ‘Chronicles of the Gods’ was notorious for its unpredictable climate.

Therefore, the actors filming inside the completed indoor set of the Emperor’s castle endured the damp environment without much complaint.

In the early to mid-stages of the drama… and until Yi-do arrives at the Imperial Palace, the characters of the Ayras family mainly engage in power struggles indoors.

The ones suffering were those out in the field.

‘Hey, Peter. You’re going to film this action scene from the script here? And it’s raining?’

Ignoring the lamentations of the cinematographers, Peter Shawn strode into the jungle-like forest.

‘It’s originally a rain scene.’

‘…We’ve been filming outside for five days already? The prop armor is getting moldy.’

‘That was the plains and the valley. The Forest of Evil Spirits is entered during a downpour in the original story. You wouldn’t say that if you knew how hard I worked to get permission here.’

In the end, a large group of people wearing raincoats entered the heart of the forest for outdoor filming.

It wasn’t just a scene of passing through the forest. In the jungle, where it was hard to distinguish between swamp and forest, the imperial army chasing the protagonist Yi-do and all sorts of demonic creatures had to engage in a fierce three-way battle.

There were dozens of types of equipment alone.

Each actor, staff member, and extra’s helmet had 2-3 lightweight headcams attached, and the stuntmen playing the demonic creatures wore specially made suits with infrared reflective markers.

When shooting for ten to twelve hours under such harsh conditions, even the most professional people would inevitably get exhausted.

“Ah, now that I think about it, the director said something.”

Perhaps he had brought some useful news. The staff member who spoke first sat up with a delighted expression.

“What, is he finally giving up and calling it a day?”

“No. He said to rest well today because we have to film the sunrise tomorrow morning.”

“……Damn it.”

*

Command Camp.

The kettle on the electric heater boils water.

In the face of continuous bad weather, Peter Shawn seemed rather pleased.

“Looking at this, we’re lucky. If the monsoon didn’t come, I was going to rent a water truck to pour it down, but it’s raining just right.”

The assistant director, wearing a hat and having worked with him for a long time, asked with a suspicious expression.

“You didn’t deliberately schedule it during the rainy season, did you?”

“Did New Zealand have such a thing? Anyway, it’s much better than using clumsy VFX [Visual Effects]. If people suffer, it costs less money and feels more realistic.”

“Ugh, that’s why actors and staff run away and don’t come back after working with you once, Director.”

Peter Shawn shrugged. He didn’t even wear a hat, let alone a raincoat, in the rain, looking like an ancient native.

“But we make a lot of money, and we win awards.”

He is a director who stands in the middle of efficiency and romance. He uses CG [Computer Graphics] boldly where necessary, but otherwise, he insists on old-fashioned handcrafting.

Rain plays an important role in ‘Chronicles of the Gods.’ The optimal environment is created to depict the wet ground and leaves, and the unique humidity.

At that moment, one side of the tent opened, and the main cinematographer came in, looking like a drowned rat.

“Ugh, this rain is like hailstones. It feels like I’m getting bruised even through the raincoat.”

As this is a mega-project funded by the world’s top OTT [Over-The-Top] platform, the scale of the staff is also enormous.

There are more than ten fixed cameras capturing the magnificent world, and there are as many as three teams of cameramen following the actors from various angles.

The assistant director handed him a hot tea and asked,

“Did you just come in?”

“Yeah. I was just touring the team tents for a bit.”

Peter Shawn asked the cinematographer, who was taking off his raincoat,

“What’s the atmosphere like?”

“What do you think? Depressed. Everyone’s getting tired because of this damn rain.”

“They get tired even when the sun is out. It’s not like they’re being washed away, what’s the big deal.”

When the director says something like that, it’s the assistant director’s job to cover it up.

The assistant director quickly changed the subject.

“But everyone was full of energy when filming. Maybe it’s because the actors have good tension, and the Hollywood trio isn’t as picky as I thought.”

“Ah, right. Rick Michael… it’s the first time I’ve seen that troublemaker so docile. Is it because of MacLane?”

The cinematographer snapped his fingers, but this time Peter Shawn shook his head.

“I don’t think so. It’s just that he’s stimulated by the appearance of someone as strange as himself.”

“You mean Park Geon.”

It’s the name that has come up the most in production meetings, pre-shooting meetings, and headquarters discussions.

It can’t be helped. He leads the stuntmen with direction comparable to a martial arts director, and he doesn’t make any NGs [no-good takes] no matter when or where the camera is pointed at him.

That alone is enough to surprise the seasoned Hollywood staff, but when he goes out into the wild and shoots for 2-3 days, he shows even more new talents.

“……I really still don’t get it. I don’t know if he’s an actor, or if they just brought an outback explorer from some unit and stuck him there. Looking at his face, he’s definitely an actor……”

The cinematographer’s mutter is mixed with admiration and doubt.

During several overnight stays, especially in the forests near Te Anau, there was no need for a local hunter.

His skills in starting a fire with flint, cooking stew with the food he brought, and adding leaves to make shelter were enough to impress even experts.

‘Hey, I have nothing to do here? Did you already train him and bring him here?’

‘I didn’t say anything like that… Park, was he a survival expert or something before he came?’

Every time he heard such things, Park Geon would hesitate for a moment before answering.

‘I was a soldier until a few years ago.’

Besides, the actors from Korea each take on the role of the energizer on set.

The actress playing the princess of Ayras, Jin Ji-yu, goes around the set with a bright smile, lending a hand.

It must be hard to handle the makeup and dyeing every day with quite a few outdoor scenes, but she never shows any signs of being tired or annoyed.

And what about the actor Seo Hee-do, who came with her? I was worried after hearing that he was from a boy group, but he is showing perfect acting skills that make my worries pale in comparison.

‘Director, it’s really no joke. He’s going to be on the Billboard charts soon!’

‘I know, Alisha, go wash the sleep out of your eyes.’

There was an unexpected commotion with Alisha Ryo, who plays the Empress… but they are actors who fit well with the empire, which is a good mix of East and West.

It’s ironic that I was worried about most of the Asians in the work being Korean actors during the casting stage.

“Anyway, it was much better than using Chinese actors for nothing. It was a good choice.”

“That’s right. Aren’t they completely one team?”

Peter Shawn took a sip of his tea.

The group from Korea was united by a trust he had never seen before.

Even if the manager was a younger sibling, the actresses and supporting actors… especially the middle-aged actor who had Hollywood experience in the past, seemed to give unconditional trust.

“How much filming is left on the South Island?”

“It’ll be delayed as it rains more. If it doesn’t stop, we may have to leave this camp and go to the North Island.”

Outside the command headquarters camp, the sound of pouring rain still shows no signs of stopping.

Thump! At the timely sound of thunder, the assistant director flinched, and Peter Shawn narrowed his brows.

The cinematographer stroked his thick arm and muttered.

“The first step was taken well, I just hope there are no accidents……”

* * *

That evening,

The accommodation in Queenstown.

Darkness fell on the illuminated three-story log cabin made by cutting natural logs.

“Where is Actor Park?”

“He’s probably resting inside? He has to go out for another dawn shoot later.”

“Ha… I’m worried that he might get sick. The staff are on rotation, but……”

As the dark clouds began to gather, the number of tourists flocking to the South Island decreased.

Because the ‘Chronicles of the Gods’ filming team rented most of the nearby accommodations, you could see familiar staff members in restaurants everywhere.

Geon closed the slightly open window. Even though the door was blocked, the voices of the domestic staff were heard faintly.

‘Certainly, it has become sharper.’

The sense is different.

Even without deliberately expanding or sharpening his senses, he was now in a state of being drawn like a taut bowstring.

“Is it because of the environment?”

After arriving on the South Island, the most surprising thing was the local air.

The endless plains, the mountain ranges that could not be seen at a glance… and the wind that touched the skin, strangely reminded him of the past.

The nostalgia he felt when he was first transferred to the Iron Kingdom.

The greatsword that Peter Shawn gave him as a gift, which he carried like a part of his body, was placed against the wall.

Geon got up and approached the sword.

-Draw me, warrior.

Is that why?

These days, before the cue drops, even before the camera starts rolling, visions and hallucinations come and go from time to time.

There is no need to try to immerse himself.

God and Yi-do,

The Iron Kingdom and the Katamatra Empire.

Demons and monsters, angels and sun gods.

From the moment he saw the script, he could feel it. This work was pulling him in like two sides of a mirror, like a destined pair.

The warrior who fell into another world—the wanderer takes a giant sword and moves his feet. Towards the fallen ruler, and the more sacred absolute being behind him.

“……”

Geon clenched his fist. The power, stronger than ever, the Hapki (合氣) [a Korean martial art] not allowed in this world, vibrated redly within his fist.

Then,

There was a knock on the door.

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