I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 413

“If I decide, I’m immediately confirmed as the lead?” Across the table, Joseph Felton’s face held a faint smile and determination. Kang Woo-jin, with his usual poker face, didn’t show much change in expression.

“······”

Inside, the real Kang Woo-jin was quite surprised.

‘Woah, no audition or screen test?? Seriously? Just saying I’ll do it is an immediate okay?!’

Choi Sung-gun, sitting next to him, felt the same way. No, Choi Sung-gun was several times more shocked than Woo-jin. His widened eyes clearly showed his intense emotions.

‘J-Just if our Woo-jin says he’ll do it, he’s confirmed as the lead?! Is that guy serious?? What, did he already talk with Universal Pictures?’

Of course, Choi Sung-gun and the BW Entertainment staff felt the same. Even though they weren’t experts in Hollywood, the conditions Joseph Felton had just thrown out were unheard of. Just thinking about it, even top Hollywood actors like Chris Hartnett from ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ and Miley Cara from ‘Beast and Beauty’ go through auditions.

But Kang Woo-jin gets a free pass?

It wasn’t strange at all that Choi Sung-gun was shocked. A moment of silence filled the conference room. Neither Kang Woo-jin nor Joseph spoke; they just exchanged glances. It lasted for several seconds. Joseph Felton was the first to break the silence.

“Woo-jin-ssi, please know that this condition is quite extraordinary. Of course, I have received confirmation from Universal Pictures; I’m not acting alone here.”

Choi Sung-gun gasped again. The condition Joseph had proposed was likely unprecedented for him, for Universal Pictures, and perhaps even for all of Hollywood. If this became public, it would cause a stir not only in Korea but throughout Hollywood. Joseph was offering such an unprecedented condition to Kang Woo-jin for the first time in his career as a producer.

Woo-jin could feel how determined Joseph Felton was.

‘That guy’s spirit is amazing, especially since he’s such a famous producer.’

For a brief moment, various thoughts flashed through Woo-jin’s mind. From the first time he saw Joseph Felton to now. Thinking about it, Joseph Felton was the first in Hollywood to recognize Woo-jin. It started with ‘Last Kill 3,’ and since then, Joseph had shown Woo-jin great interest several times.

‘He even showed up with his team at the ‘Beneficial Evil’ filming location in Bangkok.’

If there had been a confirmed script, he would have presented it to Woo-jin a long time ago, and if the quality of that work had been good, Kang Woo-jin would have done it. But the timing wasn’t right.

‘Did he not know I’d make a name for myself in Hollywood so quickly? Well, it might be unfair to that guy, but the situation is good for me.’

If Joseph had given Kang Woo-jin the script before Columbia or Disney, he wouldn’t have offered the unprecedented condition in Hollywood now. He would have had to go through auditions no matter what.

Whatever.

-Swish.

Kang Woo-jin lowered his gaze again to the stack of papers Joseph had presented—the script. Yet,

“I see.”

He replied in a low, short tone. It was to show that he wasn’t greatly affected. In short, acting tough. He was surprised, but acting rashly was out of the question. Joseph across from him was about to say something, but.

“Yes, but besides that condition, we are confident.”

-Thud.

Before he knew it, Woo-jin had entered the endless, dark subspace. He had secretly poked the black square. As soon as he arrived in the subspace, Kang Woo-jin.

“Phew—crazy. I almost showed that I was surprised by entering without a signal.”

He immediately dropped the act. He stretched his stiff neck left and right as he arrived at the place where white squares were lined up. At the end, the works where Woo-jin had recently been confirmed as the lead were visible.

-[11/Scenario (Title: Pierrot), EX+ Grade]

-[12/Scenario (Title: Beast and Beauty), EX Grade]

And the very last one.

-[13/Scenario (Title: Unknown), S Grade]

-[*This is a high-quality movie script. 80% reading is possible.]

The work Joseph had handed over was floating there. As soon as he saw it, Woo-jin crossed his arms and muttered.

“As expected, the title isn’t showing. It wasn’t written on the script either, was it?”

The cover of the script he had received was blank. There was content, but no title or director was written. It meant that the director or title hadn’t been decided yet.

The unusual thing was.

‘But the completion rate is – 80%?’

It was the completion rate. Not 100%, but 80%. That meant the script wasn’t perfect. Was it roughly the first draft before revisions? Kang Woo-jin wondered. There had been a few similar cases so far. In short, Joseph had brought it to Woo-jin as soon as the script came out.

“He must have been in a hurry, that guy.”

It was a natural conclusion since he had come to Korea right away without a title, director, or detailed revisions. Yet, the fact that it was an S grade was unusual. Of course, it was different from the recent EX grades, but for a pre-completion script to be S grade.

“It’s amazing.”

‘Profiler Hanryang’ was S grade. ‘Island of the Missing’ was SS grade. And there was a possibility that the grade of this work might go up when it was completed, or other variables might exist.

Hollywood legend director Danny Landis.

If Kang Woo-jin was added, the grade would naturally change. All in all, it wasn’t bad. Kang Woo-jin stroked his chin as he looked at the white squares. His mind started to spin. Compared to when he was a rookie actor, he was now openly thinking as an actor.

‘Hmm… well, the grade is one thing. Other aspects can’t be ignored either.’

The ‘other aspects’ he was thinking about, to put it bluntly.

‘Impact.’

It was the potential to create buzz.

He had already taken over Columbia Studios and Walt Disney Pictures, two of Hollywood’s ‘Big Five’ [the five major film studios]. It was already a record. But if Universal Pictures joined, Kang Woo-jin would conquer three places. It was definitely a first in Hollywood, and the protagonist was Korean actor Kang Woo-jin. It was more than a unique legend.

The symbolism, of course, and the level that even Hollywood actors, including domestic actors, would not be able to surpass in the future.

Moreover, all three works were not supporting roles or minor roles, but all lead roles. The impact of each work was also huge. Just thinking about it, it was clear that Kang Woo-jin’s power in the world would easily surpass common sense.

“······Will there be another opportunity like this?”

If he went crazy and worked in Hollywood, similar cases might happen someday, but was there a need to wait for that? There were plenty of opportunities right in front of him that were easy to grab? In Woo-jin’s view, a path to becoming a legend in the vast Hollywood was wide open.

And Kang Woo-jin’s ‘no turning back’ spirit amplified.

Then.

“Exit.”

Woo-jin, with a smile on his lips, left the subspace and returned to reality. That is, to the conference room of BW Entertainment. As if time had started again, Joseph Felton across from him was continuing what he had been saying.

“We are confident, we have invested a lot of time in the production of the script, and when I read it myself······”

But his English words flowed into one of Woo-jin’s ears and out the other. Kang Woo-jin flipped the blank script cover.

-Flap.

Numerous English words were visible. He roughly flipped through several pages, from the first to the second, and then raised his head. Then, he spoke to Joseph, who was still passionately briefing, in a low tone of English.

“Joseph, this work. It doesn’t have a title yet.”

Joseph Felton, slightly paused, nodded.

“That’s right. Actually, we haven’t decided on a title yet. I brought it as soon as the first draft came out.”

“So that’s why the completion of the work feels a bit lacking.”

No, Kang Woo-jin didn’t feel anything like that at all. It was just a bluff. But Joseph, who had no way of knowing this, widened his eyes.

“…You felt that?”

“Yes.”

Then, Kang Woo-jin closed the script he had opened and replied to Joseph.

“I understand, I’ll contact you after reading the script.”

He was serious about reading the work.

After that.

Joseph Felton and his team members, having finished their meeting with Kang Woo-jin, got into the elevator. At the same time, the giant Joseph ran a hand through his hair and let out a hollow laugh.

“Haha, honestly, I was planning to hide that-”

Soon, the team members tilted their heads, and the bald Robert spoke.

“What do you mean?”

Joseph, keeping his gaze forward, replied with a faint smile.

“The completion of the script.”

“Ah.”

“It’s not a problem that we haven’t decided on a title, but I didn’t expect him to roughly look at the script and realize that the completion wasn’t 100%.”

“······”

“The script I handed over is still a first draft and needs revisions. But it’s hard for most actors to notice that, so I went ahead with it. I was also in a hurry.”

As Joseph answered, he got out of the elevator, recalling Kang Woo-jin’s indifferent face from a moment ago.

“To be able to immediately notice such details after reading a few pages, my eyes were accurate after all.”

It was a complete misunderstanding.

Meanwhile, Kang Woo-jin, having parted ways with Joseph, immediately moved to Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province. It was to participate in the filming of ‘Beneficial Evil’ Part 2.

-Flap.

He was reading the script in the van while traveling.

‘Oh—it feels good from the start? Phew, if I didn’t have the subspace, I would have never noticed the completion or anything.’

Choi Sung-gun, who was watching Woo-jin flipping through the pages of the script with an indifferent face in the rearview mirror, chimed in.

“Woo-jin, of course, you’ll decide after reading the work, but how are you looking at it positively right now?”

Kang Woo-jin replied nonchalantly.

“For now, yes, if the script isn’t interesting, I’ll have to refuse it.”

However, Woo-jin doubted that would happen. There was a reason for the S grade evaluation in the subspace. It was fun even after just a quick look. Kang Woo-jin arrived at the ‘Beneficial Evil’ set. The hundred or so staff members, including PD [Production Director] Song Man-woo, had faces full of curiosity towards Kang Woo-jin, and dozens of reporters were stationed around the set, but Woo-jin focused on filming first.

Meanwhile, the domestic media amplified the buzz around Kang Woo-jin.

『As expected of ‘World Star’ Kang Woo-jin, Universal Pictures travels to Korea to meet him』

『[Planning] Growing Rumors… Did Universal Pictures really come to meet Kang Woo-jin? If true, it’s a first in Hollywood』

The same was true in Hollywood.

In particular, these Universal Pictures rumors heated up two of Hollywood’s ‘Big Five’ film companies. Columbia Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. Including director Ahn Ga-bok, who was in the middle of pre-production.

“Universal Pictures huh—well, those guys did show up at the ‘Leech’ filming set. It’s probably not just a rumor. Hollywood will be turned upside down again soon.”

Similarly, director Bill Lautner, who was building up the early stages of ‘Beast and Beauty,’ was impressed.

“Since Kang Woo-jin appeared, there hasn’t been a quiet day in Hollywood.”

Of course, the executives of the two film companies, numerous staff members, and actors related to the films were all in a similar state. Miley Cara and Chris Hartnett even posted about this rumor on their social media.

The rumors and issues quickly swept through Hollywood.

But even after a day, and two days passed, and on the third day when Joseph Felton boarded a flight to LA, there was no significant reaction from Kang Woo-jin’s side.

Just.

『Kang Woo-jin, who is silent about Universal Pictures, is accelerating the filming of ‘Beneficial Evil’ Part 2』

He was just silently handling the filming of ‘Beneficial Evil’ Part 2 and his hellish schedule. The more he did, the more the issues that would elevate Kang Woo-jin’s power grew. From this rumor to ‘Beneficial Evil’s’ ‘Emmy Awards,’ ‘Beast and Beauty,’ ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain,’ and many others.

As things were hectic both domestically and in Hollywood, time melted away relentlessly, and before they knew it, March ended and April began.

The date was Monday, April 4th.

Kang Woo-jin, who got into the van early in the morning.

“······”

He was staring at the script with an indifferent face. Recently, whenever he had time during travel or short breaks, Woo-jin always read this script.

Finally.

-Swish.

Kang Woo-jin, having finished his first complete reading, closed the script. There was no change in his expression. It was because he had made eye contact with Choi Sung-gun, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Then, Woo-jin nodded with an indifferent face.

And at this time. Unlike the early morning in Korea, it was afternoon in LA.

The giant man sitting in his office. That is, Joseph Felton, was looking out the window while on a call. It seemed to be a work-related call, and after finishing the conversation, he put down his phone. Then, he checked the date on the laptop on his desk. His face looked slightly anxious.

“······Hoo, it’s been over a week. Should I contact him first?”

He was thinking of Kang Woo-jin in Korea.

Right then.

-♬♪

The phone in Joseph’s hand rang loudly. Slightly startled, he checked who was calling.

“!!”

His eyes widened immediately, and he quickly put the phone to his ear. His urgent English was a given.

“Woo-jin-ssi, I’ve been waiting.”

It was because the caller was Kang Woo-jin.

A few days later, in the afternoon. Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Kang Woo-jin, who had been doing a photoshoot until after morning and lunch.

-Thump!

Arrived at the Yeoncheon set for the filming of ‘Beneficial Evil.’ Woo-jin was looking down at his phone with a face full of concept.

“······”

On his phone screen, a fresh foreign news article that had just been released was displayed.

『BBX/Universal Pictures’ new work, to be directed by the master Danny Landis! This is the first time he has taken on a work he did not write himself』

Kang Woo-jin smiled. Of course, inwardly.

‘Joseph, that guy works so fast.’