I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 304

Ethan Smith, the Hollywood stunt coordinator. His work during film production was never-ending. Planning, revising, and developing action storyboards, creating and designing martial arts choreography, working with stand-ins, handling opposing roles, scouting locations, training, practice, and so on.

The list went on and on.

Even before the script was finalized, he was consulted on action-related matters. The director and actors would also have in-depth discussions with the stunt team. The art and special effects teams were also closely linked to the stunt team.

In other words, all the action sequences in the film passed through his hands.

Usually, Ethan, who was based in Hollywood, was involved from the beginning to the end of a film. However, he also took on short-term action projects like ‘Beneficial Evil.’ He would work anywhere, whether it was Hollywood or Asia, as long as the timing was right. Of course, the scale of the project was also a factor. Broadly speaking, he was a freelancer, so it was natural. Ethan wasn’t the only famous stunt team in Hollywood.

In any case, his experience in Hollywood was considerable.

The same went for his connections.

From his perspective, the ‘CQC’ [Close Quarters Combat] martial arts storyboard sent by ‘Beneficial Evil’ was disappointing. Well, the truth was, there weren’t many storyboards that met his standards. Storyboards were ultimately based on scripts or scenarios, which were usually created by directors or writers. It was rare for a storyboard to satisfy an expert like Ethan.

‘Beneficial Evil’ was no exception.

It wasn’t that it was lacking in detail. It seemed the writer had done thorough research. However, there were many issues due to a lack of practical experience. It was Ethan Smith’s job to refine them, but it was impossible to do it freely as he wished. He had to make the most of the situation and reality.

For example, the production costs or the actors.

Even if he came up with a brilliant concept, he couldn’t shoot it if there wasn’t enough money. And even if he created flashy and cool techniques, it was useless if the actor couldn’t pull them off. Usually, a lot of time was wasted on training the actors’ skills. That’s why Ethan had to compromise, even though he felt the ‘Beneficial Evil’ storyboard was lacking.

The priority was to bring the actors up to the level where they could handle the storyboard, rather than developing it further.

But when he came to Korea, there was a huge twist.

The ‘CQC’ storyboard provided by ‘Beneficial Evil’ wasn’t long. It was meant for the first and second episodes of the script, and over 80% of it was to be filmed on overseas locations.

In other words, it was more about quality than quantity.

A short and impactful feel. Ethan, with his prominent nose, shook the storyboard.

‘When I first received this storyboard, I thought it was generally disappointing. It would be more accurate to say it was uninspired. I could revise the action design, but it’s meaningless if the main character is not skilled in ‘CQC.’’

A bear-like man among the team members agreed.

‘Even if we develop the storyboard, the main character, who has just started basic training, won’t be able to handle it. We’ll have to spend a lot of time just on training.’

‘That’s right. But yesterday, Kang Woo-jin was proficient in ‘CQC.’’

‘His basic martial arts skills were also above average.’

‘Of course, ‘CQC’ is a comprehensive close-quarters combat technique. You can’t achieve that level of quality without a foundation in martial arts. Anyway, I thought he was lacking, so I overlooked the storyboard’s shortcomings because of things other than training, but if Kang Woo-jin’s skills are the same as yesterday, we need to make the storyboard more exciting.’

-Flap.

Ethan unfolded the storyboard. Then, the stunt team members also picked up the same storyboard. Ethan Smith, scratching his prominent nose, spoke again.

‘First, let’s talk about your impressions of working with Kang Woo-jin yesterday.’

The team members took turns sharing their observations.

‘Kang Woo-jin’s situational awareness was at a level that would work in real combat.’

Problems were also a necessary consideration, but for some reason, they didn’t come up from the team members’ mouths. They mostly praised Woo-jin’s movements.

‘His handling of firearms was at an expert level. Of course, it’s too early to judge based on just one day, but it’s true that he was skilled.’

After receiving the team members’ opinions for several tens of minutes, Ethan picked up a pen and began to write something on the ‘Beneficial Evil’ storyboard. He was jotting down various things besides ideas and creative choreography.

‘…Firearms. In the original storyboard, pistols are mainly used, but it would be good to increase the variety. Rifles, for example. The AK series comes to mind.’

‘It would suit the main character well.’

‘We also need to use more common props that can be found around, besides bare hands and swords. Things that people use every day but wouldn’t think of as weapons.’

Ethan, who had been muttering, stroked his chin and said,

‘Forks—no, Koreans use chopsticks more than forks.’

After throwing out several ideas, Ethan changed the subject.

‘This storyboard already has a good sense of speed. But I think it needs to be faster.’

‘I agree. The setting itself is that the main character is an expert in ‘CQC.’’

‘The test cuts we did yesterday were actually scenes dealing with a mid-boss level confrontation, so we increased the detail and reduced the speed, but the main thing is speed.’

Ethan’s conviction was that the core of ‘CQC’ was speed. Of course, all of his team members felt the same way.

‘In terms of pacing, this storyboard needs to be twice as fast.’

‘Twice. Even more is fine. After all, most of the cuts are of the main character quickly dealing with dozens of opponents. We need to increase the speed without sacrificing the action design.’

Soon, various words came out of Ethan and his team members’ mouths. Action design, artistry, dynamism, impact, speed, destructive power, car chases, and so on.

Gradually, the ‘Beneficial Evil’ storyboard that Ethan was holding became filled with writing.

His ambition, skill, and experience were being written down in detail. Of course, it would be meaningless if Kang Woo-jin’s condition wasn’t met. But now, Ethan was unleashed.

It meant that the ‘CQC’ martial arts storyboard of ‘Beneficial Evil’ was being upgraded to Hollywood level.

At that moment.

-♬♪

The cell phone in Ethan’s jeans pocket, which he had been busy writing on, rang. It was a call, and Ethan smiled slightly after checking the caller. Soon, he gestured to his team members, got up, and answered the phone.

‘Yeah, Gary.’

The caller was Gary Peck, a famous Hollywood stunt coordinator who had worked with Kang Woo-jin on the screen test for ‘Last Kill 3.’

‘Hahaha. Ethan, how’s Korea?’

‘Not bad. Except for the heat.’

‘Really? Have you met Kang Woo-jin?’

At the question, Ethan with his prominent nose gave a different answer.

‘Did you know he was from a special forces unit?’

Gary on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment before answering.

‘…Special forces?’

This time, Ethan was the one who was mistaken.

Meanwhile.

Around the time Ethan was spreading the misunderstanding in Hollywood, Kang Woo-jin, who had left home long ago, was busy with his schedule.

‘Wearing a coat from the morning.’

His first schedule of the day was a photoshoot for a luxury brand. Although it was summer, the clothes he was changing into were autumn and winter coats. He must have changed into at least five different coat designs already. It was a tight schedule, but this was nothing.

He had more than four schedules to handle today.

It was more than usual. The reason was simple. In a few days, Kang Woo-jin had to go to LA because of Miley Cara. To prepare for that, he had to handle several schedules in advance.

The domestic media was already covering Woo-jin’s trip to LA.

『[Star Photo] Global Superstar Miley Cara and Album Work Imminent, Kang Woo-jin, Casually Greets Fans / Photo』

Of course, there were many other issues, but Kang Woo-jin’s were the most prominent. Above all, his work with Cara was quite unconventional, which made it even more so. He was the first Korean actor, not a singer, to do so. After that, Woo-jin finished his photoshoot around late lunchtime.

Woo-jin’s destination was a hotel. There was a fairly large fashion-related event there, and Woo-jin was an invited guest.

Soon.

‘Woo-jin.’

Choi Seong-geon, with his ponytail, who was in the passenger seat, held out a tablet.

‘The trailer for ‘Boyfriend: Remake’ is out.’

The official trailer for ‘Boyfriend: Remake,’ which was about to premiere, was released. It was all in Japanese, but Kang Woo-jin had no problem with it.

‘Wow, the quality is good.’

Kang Woo-jin was satisfied. First of all, he liked that the OST [Original Sound Track] in the trailer was a part of the song he sang. His voice as a voice actor was also added in various places. Woo-jin maintained a stiff expression and muttered in a low voice.

‘It’s good.’

Interestingly, the word-of-mouth for the anime ‘Boyfriend: Remake’ was also growing quite rapidly in Korea. The results that Kang Woo-jin searched for were proof of that.

『‘Kang Woo-jin’ Participates as a Voice Actor in ‘Boyfriend: Remake,’ Official Trailer Released in Japan!』

In the case of the anime ‘Boyfriend: Remake,’ interest in Korea was high thanks to the power of ‘Issue King’ Kang Woo-jin. Well, Japanese animation had a considerable following in Korea anyway. On top of that, the power of domestic OTT [Over-The-Top] platforms specializing in Japanese anime was added. They were enthusiastically posting events and advertisements.

The reason was obvious, wasn’t it?

The day after ‘Boyfriend: Remake’ was officially broadcast in Japan, the anime OTT platform in Korea would also be providing ‘Boyfriend: Remake.’

In other words, the Korean public would also be able to watch ‘Boyfriend: Remake.’

So, Kang Woo-jin pretended not to care and browsed various online communities on his phone. ‘Boyfriend: Remake’ was mainly for Japan, but he was also curious about the reactions of his Korean fans.

-I never thought I’d see the day when a Korean actor would participate as a voice actor in a Japanese anime lololololol

-Ah, damn…. Do I have to resubscribe to this anime ott??

-I already subscribed lololol

-I’m just going to watch the first episode, is there anywhere to watch it???

-Haaah, I want to watch it so badly!!

-But what if Kang Woo-jin did a terrible job as a voice actor??

-That would be worth watching in its own way lololol The next day, the people who watched the anime would be cursing lololol

-I’m really curious about the anime’s content lololol How did they adapt it

·

·

·

The anticipation was greater than expected. It wasn’t all positive comments. There were quite a few negative comments too. But so what? Woo-jin didn’t care.

However, one thing bothered him.

-[10/Script (Title: Boyfriend: Remake), SS-Grade]

It was the result of the SS-grade ‘Boyfriend: Remake.’

‘Hmm—it must be the viewership ratings? How many will it get?’

7th day, noon. DM Production

A production company that was jointly producing ‘Beneficial Evil’ with Netflix. In the spacious conference room of DM Production, where Song Man-woo PD [Production Director] also served as the figurehead, familiar faces gathered.

About 20 people?

Song Man-woo PD with his beard, dozens of key staff including the martial arts director, and across from them, four members of the Hollywood stunt coordinator team and their leader, Ethan Smith.

The atmosphere of those sitting around the U-shaped table was not very bright.

It was even more so because the conference room was a bit dark. The reason was simple. All eyes in this conference room were facing forward. There was a screen in front, and a video was being played.

Kang Woo-jin, wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and slacks, was visible.

That’s right. What they were all watching was a video of Kang Woo-jin, who had appeared at the action school a few days ago, showing the ‘CQC’ storyboard as a test. The test proposal had been made by Ethan Smith, the leader of the stunt team. And everyone in this conference room had witnessed that video in real life.

Anyway.

‘…’

‘…’

‘…’

Kang Woo-jin in the video. No, while ‘Jang Yeon-woo,’ the main character of ‘Beneficial Evil,’ was running wild, no one opened their mouths. ‘Jang Yeon-woo’s’ movements on the screen were cold and showed immediate judgment. He was clearly a person specialized in ‘CQC.’

And the stunt team was being utterly defeated.

Song Man-woo PD with his beard glanced at Ethan Smith’s expression across the table while watching the video. It was his request to suddenly watch this video.

‘Why did he suddenly want to watch this?’

Is he going to raise an issue or try to run off to Hollywood? There must be some kind of sign.

After several tens of minutes.

When the video that was playing reached its end.

-Swish.

Ethan Smith with his prominent nose suddenly spoke to Song Man-woo PD across the table. In English, of course. His tone was serious.

‘I have something to discuss separately, is that okay?’

He was asking for the key staff to leave. Soon, Song Man-woo PD, who had received the message through an interpreter, asked for the key staff’s understanding. The key staff hurried out of the conference room. Soon, Song Man-woo PD, Ethan, and his team remained in the conference room. In addition, the martial arts director was also there. It was Ethan’s request.

Then.

‘After seeing Mr. Kang Woo-jin.’

Ethan said to Song Man-woo PD across the table.

‘I wondered why you called us.’

Song Man-woo PD narrowed his brow slightly.

‘What do you mean by that?’

‘I mean, I felt like we weren’t needed. Because Mr. Woo-jin’s ‘CQC’ was close to perfection.’

‘That’s…’

‘However, now I understand. Our main focus was not training, but refinement.’

Leader Ethan suddenly raised his index finger. He pointed his index finger at Kang Woo-jin in the paused video on the front of the conference room and spoke again.

‘I heard that he came from a special forces unit in the military. The fact that Mr. Woo-jin was not familiar with ‘CQC’ was referring to acting, not real combat. Certainly, there is a difference in balance between real ‘CQC’ and staged ‘CQC.’’

At that moment, Song Man-woo PD and the martial arts director blinked their eyes. It was like they were spacing out. Neither of them opened their mouths, but inside, they were screaming something similar to a roar.

‘What, what did he say?! Special forces??! What the hell is he talking about???!’

‘Mr. Woo-jin was in the special forces??!!’

It was a statement that didn’t make any sense, but the two didn’t have time to ask Ethan a question.

-Swish.

Because Ethan, the leader of the stunt team, handed a transparent file he had brought to Song Man-woo PD.

‘I’ve upgraded the existing storyboard. If we have Mr. Kang Woo-jin, who is skilled in ‘CQC,’ we can raise the tension to that level.’

‘So quickly?’

At the sudden change of topic, Song Man-woo PD calmed down for the time being. He was also a big shot in the drama scene. He quickly opened the transparent file.

‘…!!’

His eyes widened from the first page. The explanations to help understanding caught his eye more than the storyboard.

‘A 10-minute long take??’

End