Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 222

222. Effort-Based Genius (1)

“Wow! Ms. Min Ye-rin!”

“I watched the press conference! I’ve become Ms. Min Ye-rin’s biggest fan!”

“Ms. Min Ye-rin, how did you find such courage? Thanks to you, we survived!”

With the troublesome tooth [referring to the corrupt CEO] gone, the production company quickly resumed its work.

One of those tasks was today’s meeting.

Several actors, who had been worried about the direction of this drama, gathered quickly, one by one.

They had all seen Min Ye-rin’s press conference.

‘To take such a strong stance?’

‘Amazing… she’s determined to cut out the rotten parts no matter what.’

‘Min Ye-rin must care a lot about this drama. It’s rare for an actress to show such loyalty to a project. Does that mean this drama is really good?’

Everyone was deeply impressed by the press conference, and their reactions were extraordinary.

So, the moment Min Ye-rin entered.

Even though no one had planned or coordinated it, everyone stood up and applauded.

“Thank you…?”

Min Ye-rin, who had cautiously entered, stopped in surprise and raised her voice questioningly.

“What are you all doing? Come on in.”

“I should be apologizing to you all… but thank you for welcoming me so warmly.”

“No, we should be thanking you, Ye-rin. We’re benefiting from your hardship.”

A veteran actor with a significant supporting role made a lighthearted joke.

In fact, the contract terms for all the cast members had changed because of this incident.

It was a gesture of respect for the actors who had shown loyalty in a situation where they could have easily left, and to prevent any potential issues.

“Thanks to you, the drama is getting a lot of attention.”

“We haven’t even had the script reading yet, but the recognition is already unprecedented, so we just need to film well now.”

The story of a malicious CEO trying to exploit the affiliated celebrities wonderfully united the drama team.

“Alright, alright. The axis of evil is gone, so let’s all cheer up now.”

Director Gil Sang-jun and writer Song Jin-joo also apologized and bowed deeply.

Regardless, the production company was also at fault for not drawing a clear line and being swayed.

Of course, they didn’t just call the busy people to come and go for apologies.

“So, about that. We’re going to make this script reading public.”

This schedule had been forcibly stopped due to the former CEO of A Entertainment.

If Director Gil’s influence over the cable broadcasting company hadn’t been strong.

If the filming hadn’t been independently conducted by Director Gil’s production company.

The drama itself would have been canceled multiple times.

Fortunately, the drama was successfully revived and also succeeded in attracting considerable attention.

“It would be a waste to just let this attention go. Others are spending money to promote, but as you know, we’re getting publicity on our own, aren’t we? Hahaha…”

The last laugh sounded somewhat hollow, but the content itself was true.

“Public. That sounds good too.”

“Well… it’s not like there aren’t public script readings. It’s definitely doable.”

The actors nodded one by one.

“Although it has unintentionally become a form of noise marketing [marketing that generates buzz and attention, even if it’s controversial], our goal is to firmly hold onto this attention and turn it into interest in the drama itself.”

“The filming schedule will also be a bit tight. We unintentionally lost several weeks due to the all-stop, so it will proceed as a semi-pre-production.”

“There will be a production presentation almost immediately after the script reading. Fortunately, the venue dates barely matched, so we’re going ahead with it. That means our schedule for shooting the teaser has become tight.”

Director Gil Sang-jun calmly briefed the team.

Contrary to his calm voice, the content was brutal.

“That’s right. We have to strike while the iron is hot [take advantage of an opportunity immediately]. It’s all for the good of our drama, right?”

“Let’s just think we were dead for a few weeks. No big deal.”

There’s a saying that misfortune turns into a blessing.

In any case, the worst situation turned into the exact opposite.

Whether that opposite will be the best or if they will be fools who can’t even take what they’re given depends on the next few weeks’ schedule.

They must effectively digest the current attention and public opinion.

That’s why the production company and actors are all wearing willing faces, even while anticipating a murderous schedule.

‘There must be a more effective way…’

The sight of people doing their best.

He sees his past self reflected in them.

Yeon-woo and they were no different in wanting to cherish this drama and make it a success.

‘Ah. That should do it.’

A thought suddenly occurred to Yeon-woo, and he raised his hand.

“Huh? Yeon-woo, do you have something to say?”

“Yes. I have an idea.”

“Oh. I’m suddenly excited!”

Yeon-woo changed the course of the drama with his acting during the audition.

No one forced Song writer to change it, but Yeon-woo’s completed image of ‘Kim Sun-woo’ was enough to create non-existent narratives on the spot.

Even the revised synopsis was slightly more interesting than before.

“I get excited whenever Yeon-woo does something now.”

Writer Song Jin-joo looked at Yeon-woo with anticipation.

“Script reading. Since we’re making it public anyway, how about doing it as a live stream?”

Let’s make it even more definitive since we’re going public anyway.

“Live streaming?”

“Yes.”

Yeon-woo nodded.

This idea came from his memories of filming.

From reality shows to the occasional X-App broadcasts.

And if you think about why we made the making-of film while shooting the movie, the answer is very simple.

‘The purpose of all this is none other than the viewers. You shouldn’t get your priorities backward.’

What’s the point of calling the media and constantly exposing news?

Isn’t it to attract viewers when the main broadcast airs?

The media is just a means, not the goal.

The people who appreciate the drama are not the media, but individual viewers.

Even without media promotion, if it’s fun, word-of-mouth can create a huge hit.

You can find similar examples everywhere.

A song that was buried after its release climbs the charts after word-of-mouth.

An unknown group catches people’s eyes and establishes itself as a famous idol group.

A movie that was pushed out by a large franchise film is re-released in theaters due to positive word-of-mouth and eventually reaches ten million viewers.

‘This is all possible because there are people watching.’

The media?

It’s important.

It’s necessary for promotion.

But if I had to choose between the media and the public…

‘Of course, it’s the public. They’re the ones who like me.’

It’s very clear where to focus.

Yeon-woo didn’t forget that fact.

“What we need is continuous public interest, right? I know the reason for making the script reading public is that it’s good for creating buzz.”

“That’s right. We need to expose it from time to time to leave an impression… Especially this time, we need to make a strong impact.”

It’s not for nothing that we pay expensive advertising fees for promotion.

Of course, Yeon-woo also knows the reason.

But that doesn’t mean he should just stand by and do nothing when he knows a better way.

“I’m not saying we shouldn’t schedule broadcasts. I’m saying we can just do it simultaneously.”

“Ah. Ahhh! That’s right?!”

“Yes. Even if the broadcasting station covers us, they won’t broadcast everything, will they?”

“That’s right. They’ll edit it.”

“So I thought it would be better to show everything from our side. If it’s to appeal to the public, wouldn’t it be more effective to show the whole thing rather than such edited versions?”

“That’s right…?”

Gil Sang-jun, who answered that way, looked like he had been hit on the head.

Yeon-woo’s words were right to the point.

Think about it.

No matter how favorably they write articles and broadcast, how much will it be?

‘At most, it’ll be a few minutes. How long can the time allotted to a corner in a program be?’

With that alone, there’s a limit, no matter how much praise the broadcast panelists pour out.

It’s far from the drama team’s wish to not just make an impression but to firmly hold onto the current interest and turn it into viewership.

“That’s right. Yeon-woo’s method… I think it’s good. Young people watch a lot of that stuff these days. It’s better to have them see everything we do than to have a tiny bit go out.”

The veteran actress who played the role of the protagonist’s mother seconded Yeon-woo’s words.

“I agree. That’s a pretty good idea. Well… the broadcasting station doesn’t necessarily need to be on bad terms with us, so they’ll probably broadcast it well on their own… but we all know they sometimes play tricks.”

“That’s true.”

“They might do that again this time. Even if they kept it quiet, they’d know there was noise, so they might play tricks with that. We’re the ones who suffer, but why would they care? They’re the kind of people who think it’s okay as long as the ratings are good, right?”

“It’s really disheartening when they do that to people they know. If you say something to them next time you meet them, they’ll make all sorts of strange excuses even though they know everything. They were ordered from above, the editors did something wrong. They have such long tongues.”

It’s fortunate if they package it well and send it out.

There is also a good chance that it will not.

After going through the magic of editing here and there, a strange video that is very different from expectations may come out.

While promoting the drama, they subtly imply that the production environment is worse than expected because it is a company that has just started.

Or they deliberately mention the fact that the filming was delayed due to discord between the production company and the actors.

That’s what they do.

Even if they don’t do outright malicious editing, they can still sabotage by deliberately saying things that don’t need to be said, making people aware of facts they don’t need to know.

“Then it would be better to just broadcast it live and reveal everything coolly, as Yeon-woo said. That will convey the atmosphere of the set better. Even if the broadcasting station plays tricks in the middle, we have solid evidence left. There will be witnesses, too. Isn’t that right?”

At the actors’ words, PD [Production Director] Gil Sang-jun nodded.

“The director should treat Yeon-woo to a meal. You can’t just swallow this good idea for free.”

“Are you saying the obvious? Yeon-woo, what do you like? Our writer Song will take care of the screen time, so don’t worry.”

PD Gil Sang-jun looked at Yeon-woo with eyes as if he were looking at something very lovely.

It was Yeon-woo who awakened the fundamental reason that he had forgotten because he was so busy trying to attract attention.

Not only that.

He even came up with the unexpected idea of a live broadcast.

These days, recordings of various events are uploaded to YouTube.

This is not for recording purposes, but a live broadcast.

Showing the script reading live in the current situation where many people are interested.

How good is this for attracting attention?

It would be strange if he weren’t lovely.