I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 445

Conviction? The bald executive from ‘Columbia Studios’ frowned at the overly firm answer. The other executives also grew more agitated. However, Director Ahn Ga-bok’s resolute expression remained unchanged.

“……”

He simply stared at the bald executive with the seasoned gaze of a veteran. Just as producer Nora Foster, known for her strong presence, looked at him in surprise, the executive, who had been stroking his bald head, asked calmly in English.

“You’re aiming for this year’s ‘Academy Awards.’ Director, your confidence is admirable, but isn’t it impossible given the timing?”

Other executives chimed in.

“I think so too. If we assume that ‘Clown: Birth of a Villain’ will wrap up filming around September… it’s beyond just pushing it.”

“That’s right. It’s not just difficult, it’s impossible.”

“Director, you know that well enough, don’t you?”

Nora remained silent, as if observing the situation. Instead, the bald executive crossed his legs and spoke again.

“If you were just expressing your confidence, I understand. But if you’re seriously considering this year’s ‘Academy Awards,’ please explain your thoughts clearly.”

All eyes in the conference room turned to Director Ahn Ga-bok. After a brief glance at Nora, Director Ahn Ga-bok turned his head to the bald executive who had spoken.

“I know that it’s practically impossible for ‘Clown: Birth of a Villain’ to be nominated for this year’s ‘Academy Awards’ given the timing. But it’s not as if there’s absolutely no way, is there?”

“There’s a way left?”

“There’s exactly one way.”

The bald executive narrowed his brow again, as if a thought had suddenly struck him.

“Director, could it be that what you’re thinking is…”

“You’re probably right.”

Director Ahn Ga-bok replied, exhaling softly before continuing in a low voice.

“As everyone knows, ‘Clown: Birth of a Villain’ will wrap up filming in September. It was originally scheduled for the end of September, but thanks to the actors’ hard work, it will be a bit earlier. And this year’s ‘Academy Awards’ will be held in April next year.”

For reference, the world’s most prestigious film awards ceremony, the ‘Academy Awards’ or ‘Oscars,’ generally follows a similar schedule each year, though it can vary. This year, they select works from February to February of the following year, and finalize nominations, judging, and announcements from March to early April.

The process is also complex.

The selection of nominees and nominated works is handled by the ‘Academy Awards’ members, who are distributed worldwide. These members number in the thousands and act as judges. The fields are diverse, including directors, actors, staff, and key crew members.

Then, the film festival is held grandly between mid-April and the end of April.

The problem is the conditions for obtaining a ticket to challenge the ‘Academy Awards.’ There are several conditions, but the most basic one is that the work must be released and screened in a movie theater in Los Angeles, USA, for more than one week within the selection period. If this is not met, you cannot even be considered. This was the point that the executives deemed impossible.

Of course, veteran Director Ahn Ga-bok knew this very well.

“To be included in the nominations, the movie must be released in LA theaters by at least February, which means the editing of ‘Clown: Birth of a Villain’ must be finished by January. This isn’t impossible. ‘Leech’ was much tighter.”

Although the systems in Korea and Hollywood are different, if the director is determined, it was possible to finish editing by January. But Nora interjected as if that wasn’t the main issue.

“Director, completing the editing by January and releasing it by February. This itself is not an easy task, but even if it were possible, it’s still impossible to schedule a worldwide release in about a month.”

“……”

“As you know, ‘Clown: Birth of a Villain’ is scheduled to be released in about 40 countries, including the United States, as well as Korea and Japan. Just the promotion, marketing, and distribution work for those countries takes several months. It’s a wall of reality that cannot be overcome with just willpower.”

She was right. Releasing a movie in 40 countries is a tremendous undertaking, let alone a few countries. Especially if they are released around the same time. It requires a preparation period of at least three months to half a year. That’s why the Columbia executives and Nora said it was impossible.

The wall of reality is always formidable.

The executives nodded as if to say, ‘That’s exactly what we’re saying.’ But for some reason, Director Ahn Ga-bok’s calm expression didn’t change much. He opened his wrinkled mouth.

“What if, instead of a worldwide release after the January editing, we do a pre-release only in the United States? Focusing on LA.”

“……A pre-release in the US?”

“Yes. If we keep the promotion and marketing to a minimum and have a two to three-week release in the US before the end of February, we can meet the ‘Academy Awards’ requirement of a minimum one-week release in the US.”

Starting with the US. It was essentially a plan to release the movie mainly in LA and release it in other countries later, to meet the ‘Academy Awards’ conditions as a matter of urgency. This time, Director Ahn Ga-bok spoke with a strong voice.

“The US promotion and marketing for ‘Clown: Birth of a Villain’ is necessary, but thanks to Kang Woo-jin’s activities, the hype is already intense. So, even if we shorten the schedule a bit, it won’t be a big problem.”

“Even if you push it that much…”

“What if ‘Clown: Birth of a Villain,’ which has taken a gamble, gets good results at the ‘Academy Awards’? Then it will have an explosive advertising effect that surpasses the current one by several times.”

“……”

Nora, with a serious face, closed her mouth. Because his words made sense. In fact, ‘Clown: Birth of a Villain’ already had high recognition due to Woo-jin’s influence. Even if it was released in this state, it would be a big hit.

‘If, just if, it gets any results at the ‘Academy Awards’… the explosive power will be beyond imagination.’

It was the ‘Academy Awards,’ the dream of filmmakers worldwide. And the male lead of ‘Clown: Birth of a Villain’ was Kang Woo-jin. If this went well, a historic work might be born. Nora, who swallowed hard, summarized.

“So, the director’s plan is… wrap up filming in September, then immediately start editing, finish editing by January, release it in February after minimal promotion and marketing, but for a short period of two to three weeks, meet the conditions, and then challenge the ‘Academy Awards.’ The worldwide release will be after that. Is that correct?”

“Exactly.”

After summarizing, it sounded absurd. Nora spoke in a slightly bewildered voice.

“…As I said, that’s a hellish schedule. If even one thing goes wrong, it’s a failure.”

“I know. But as I said before, ‘Leech’ was even more rushed, and I’m confident. If it fails because something goes wrong, I’ll accept it calmly. I’ll just think that this year’s ‘Academy Awards’ wasn’t meant to be.”

“Hmm.”

“And we need the help of the entire staff, and of course, we’ll have to spend more money.”

Some executives frowned and immediately interjected. Just by listening, it was clear that there were big risks involved in the challenge.

“Money? You’re saying we should pour more money into this?”

The biggest concern was the money issue.

Furthermore.

“All of that is only if things go well. If the plan fails, not only will the funds be wasted, but even if we challenge it, the nomination itself is uncertain. And if we are nominated but suffer a crushing defeat at the ‘Academy Awards,’ how will we handle that?”

“I agree. If we push it too hard, the entire movie release schedule will be ruined, and what’s the point of a worldwide release after a crushing defeat at the ‘Academy Awards’? The damaged image might cause a big setback in box office success.”

Many potential problems were raised. That’s right, the proposal that Director Ahn Ga-bok had made was a scenario only if everything went perfectly. As executives of a major Hollywood film company, it was natural for them to point out the realistic aspects. There was no reason to take a difficult, unpaved road when there was a paved one.

Then, as if understanding everything, Director Ahn Ga-bok nodded.

“I was just confident and made a proposal. Of course, you have to make the decision.”

After that.

After Director Ahn Ga-bok’s proposal, the meeting barely ended after about an hour of discussion. No, it was ambiguous to call it an end. It was Hollywood, which emphasized systems, especially for such a big project, and more money was needed. Moreover, the future of ‘Clown: Birth of a Villain’ was at stake, so a decision was not made immediately.

‘Well, I didn’t think it would be decided right away, but it’s better to push forward than to regret it.’

Therefore, after Director Ahn Ga-bok left, the executives seriously went into another meeting. It meant that they were taking it very seriously. ‘Columbia Studios,’ which had staked its future on the vast ‘Cinematic Universe.’ Just the fact that this kind of reaction came out was a significant success for Director Ahn Ga-bok.

“Now, I have to wait and see.”

In fact, Director Ahn Ga-bok thought that ‘Columbia Studios’ was more likely not to accept the proposal. They had already invested a huge amount of money to build the ‘Cinematic Universe.’ It wouldn’t be easy to choose a difficult or unreasonable path. But the veteran’s unique sense, his instinct, encouraged Director Ahn Ga-bok’s actions.

And.

‘Since Kang Woo-jin is there, there might be another ending.’

The image of Woo-jin, who had always provided a twist, would be clear to the executives as well. Either way, the result wouldn’t come out in a day or two, and Director Ahn Ga-bok immediately returned to the set where over a hundred foreign staff members were busy. Everyone was busy preparing for filming, and in the meantime, two actors were seen having a conversation about the scene composition.

Kang Woo-jin and Chris Hartnett.

Recently, the two of them had been filming together more often, so they were often seen together. Then, Director Ahn Ga-bok, who was casually greeting the surrounding staff, slowly approached the two actors.

-Swish.

As he approached, both Kang Woo-jin and Chris greeted him, and Director Ahn Ga-bok asked Woo-jin quietly. It was in Korean, not English.

“Woo-jin, do you think it’s unreasonable to aim for this year’s ‘Academy Awards’? Do you think it’s better to go for the next ‘Academy Awards’ in two years?”

It was a sudden question, but there was no significant change in Kang Woo-jin’s poker face. Only a hint of bewilderment was spreading inside.

‘What’s with the sudden talk? The Academy Awards?’

Woo-jin calculated purely. Honestly, it was better to get hit first, right? It was his principle that he had kept since he was young. If he did something wrong, he would raise his hand and get hit first.

‘I’ve been mentioning the Academy Awards all this time, so of course, whether I get screwed or not, it’s best to do it quickly.’

It might fail. But, that’s for later. That was his mindset. Kang Woo-jin lowered his voice.

“The year after next is not in my plans.”

And Director Ahn Ga-bok misunderstood as he pleased.

“I see, well, it doesn’t matter to you whether it’s this year or the year after next. It’s just a matter of time, and you’re confident that you’ll win the award anyway, right?”

That’s not it. I just said it’s better to do it quickly. Since there was a hint of ambiguous misunderstanding, Woo-jin kept his mouth shut.

“……”

Then, Director Ahn Ga-bok chuckled.

“Can you convey your thoughts to ‘Columbia Studios’?”

As Chris, who didn’t understand what the Korean was about, tilted his head, Kang Woo-jin, with a calm face, replied simply.

“No problem.”

A few days later, on Wednesday the 17th. At ‘spt Studio’ in LA.

At the entrance of the set, which was over 50,000 pyeong [approximately 123 acres], there were many buses, trucks, and other vehicles. In addition, hundreds of foreigners were running around. They were the employees of ‘World Disney Pictures’ and the staff of ‘Beast and Beauty.’

And inside the set, around the largest and most magnificent tree among the many trees of the huge castle.

‘Ugh, damn it, this outfit is so uncomfortable.’

Kang Woo-jin, dressed in a luxurious outfit, was visible. He was wearing a formal suit with a mix of white and gold, and his hair had turned light brown. The length was also slightly longer and neatly swept back.

He looked like a nobleman straight out of a fantasy.

On the outside, he was calm, but on the inside, he was very awkward. Over a hundred staff members were watching Woo-jin, and several cameras were filming. There were also many unknown devices. The directing was being done by the general director, Bill Rotner.

“Cut, Woo-jin. Can we change your pose a bit? More arrogant and confident.”

“Yes, Director.”

They were all currently filming the first poster for ‘Beast and Beauty.’ The work started with Kang Woo-jin, who had the most work, and the other actors had also arrived and were waiting in their trailers.

However, there was one person.

‘He’s doing well. He looks different again when he’s dressed like that, it suits him well. He’s completely different from that ‘Clown’.’

Kara, who was blonde and not yet in makeup, was watching from among the staff, smiling subtly. At this time, the director shouted to Kang Woo-jin.

“Okay! Let’s go for the ‘Beast’ makeup now!!”

The time for the first ‘Beast’ transformation had arrived.