I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 446

Director Bill Rotner’s shout signaled the start of the ‘Beast’ makeup. Kang Woo-jin, dressed in a formal suit that made him look every bit the aristocrat, left the filming area. Immediately, the hundred or so staff members moved with renewed focus. Kang Woo-jin subtly scanned his surroundings.

‘Crazy. It was a spectacle before, but it’s still magnificent to see again.’

He was referring to the massive castle set, the ‘Beast’s’ home in ‘Beast and Beauty.’ They had even built the castle walls. It was impressive just to look at, and it was only a small part of the entire 50,000-pyeong [approximately 165,000 square meters] ‘spt studio.’ Still, it was amazing.

‘Isn’t this set complex enough to be a country?’

The sheer scale was jaw-dropping, but what consistently amazed Woo-jin was the atmosphere created throughout the entire set. The villages, the castle—everything in this ‘spt studio’ felt like a fantasy world. Of course, Woo-jin was the only one among the crew who had actually lived in the real world of ‘Beast and Beauty’ multiple times.

Still, it was incredible how they had managed to recreate such a vast world so faithfully in reality.

‘Of course, the quality of the subspace is overwhelmingly superior.’

There was also a sense of excitement. The live-action adaptation of a memorable work. And he was the ‘Beast’ in this live-action scene. Outwardly, he seemed unfazed, but inwardly, Kang Woo-jin’s spirit soared. As Woo-jin moved with the foreign staff, his gaze was drawn to the top of the castle walls.

There was a lot of green, somehow.

Green was spread along the edges of the entire castle wall, on the roof of the castle, and in various places throughout the set. It was as if all the peaks were finished with green cloth. Kang Woo-jin muttered to himself, looking at the green.

‘That’s a green screen, right?’

A green screen, mainly used for special effects in production. Since ‘Beast and Beauty’ would use a lot of CG [computer-generated imagery], there were twice as many green screens as in a typical movie. Of course, Woo-jin had seen them in many movies, but this was the first time he had seen so many. Combining real and CG would make it look even more realistic.

Having made his assessment, Woo-jin turned his head when he heard a familiar female voice from the side.

“The aristocratic look suits you well?”

It was Miley Kara. She wasn’t in makeup yet, so her blonde hair was tied back in a single braid, and she was wearing a simple white short-sleeved shirt. Woo-jin, aware of the many eyes around, answered with a strong sense of his character.

“It’s hot.”

“You don’t look hot at all, though?”

“You’ll know when you experience it yourself.”

“Yeah, I’m third. And I took a picture of you just now, you don’t mind, do you?”

“Not really.”

Miley Kara, perhaps mindful of the surrounding staff, took a step closer. A pleasant fragrance wafted towards Woo-jin. Then, Kara whispered softly.

“I took it without even realizing it.”

“……”

Kang Woo-jin chose a nonchalant silence. Then, Kara smiled faintly and raised her voice.

“Shall we start the ‘Beast’ makeup?”

“Yes.”

“I heard you’ve never done such a full-scale makeup before. You might want to brace yourself.”

Kara, giving a small thumbs-up, walked away. Woo-jin, watching her retreating figure, tilted his head inwardly. Brace myself? Does makeup require bracing? He was puzzled. The most intense makeup Woo-jin had experienced was probably his recent ‘Joker’ makeup. It took an hour each time.

Since the ‘Beast’ was a high-level character, would it take a little longer?

‘Well, I did hear from the director that it would take quite a while. Since it’s more complex than the ‘Joker,’ maybe about two hours?’

Kang Woo-jin, taking it rather lightly, started walking again. His destination was the trailers set up at the entrance of the set.

The largest of them was the makeup team’s headquarters. Soon, at the entrance of the set, Kang Woo-jin met another actress. It was Maria Armas, already made up. Her hair was completely brown and wavy. She wore a beige dress with a white apron. She looked like an employee working in the ‘Prince’s’ castle. What was interesting was.

‘She’s holding a teapot.’

Maria was holding a white teapot with various patterns on it. It was an indication that she would transform into this teapot in the poster.

It seemed like she was next in line for filming.

Maria made eye contact with Woo-jin but didn’t say anything.

“……”

She just passed by with a haughty expression. Woo-jin wasn’t particularly bothered, but for some reason, he felt like teasing her.

‘When we start filming later, I should roar at her a bit harder. She’s my employee anyway, so it should be fine.’

Kang Woo-jin, having set a fun goal for himself, entered the makeup team’s trailer. He had already been there once for the ‘Prince’ look, but for some reason, unlike the first time, Kang Woo-jin was quite surprised this time. Of course, only inwardly.

‘Wow, what the heck is that? They’re going to put those on me??!’

Inside the makeup team’s trailer, there were large horns and a pile of brown fur. And that wasn’t all. There were strange, grotesque leathers and all sorts of props. Kang Woo-jin stopped involuntarily. He felt like saying, ‘Oh, I think I came to the wrong place, haha,’ and walking out. But he, with his strong facade, had to remain composed.

‘I don’t know, will I die or something?’

The foreign staff, exuding a professional aura, found Kang Woo-jin, who had steeled himself.

“Please sit here, Mr. Woo-jin.”

They greeted him with a smile. Woo-jin sat on the chair the staff guided him to, pretending to be calm. Although he had never experienced it before, it felt like sitting in a torture chair, and the main makeup team member standing behind him patted Woo-jin’s shoulder.

“Please relax, it will take 3-4 hours to finish the ‘Beast’ makeup.”

“……4 hours.”

“Yes, it’s a bit long, right? It’s about 4 hours because it’s not a full set. It’s not bad, you could say? Please tell us if you feel tired in the middle.”

“No, that won’t happen.”

Woo-jin, instinctively adding a touch of bravado, shouted fiercely inside.

‘4 hours??!!! Are they crazy? Is that even possible?!’

It was possible. In Hollywood, there were makeups that took more than twice that time. But for Kang Woo-jin, who was experiencing it for the first time, it was natural to be shocked. Soon, several staff members were about to swarm around Woo-jin when.

Kang Woo-jin suddenly requested something from the staff.

“Please give me the script.”

It was a ploy.

After that.

Kang Woo-jin, holding the script, his lifeline. Various things began to be applied to his face. At the same time, the main makeup team member smiled again and explained.

“The ‘Beast’ makeup won’t be used that much during filming, though. Just a few times during this poster shoot and the main filming…”

Her briefing didn’t quite reach Woo-jin’s ears. He was getting heavier and heavier because of the things being attached to his face. But the staff’s explanation didn’t stop.

“During the main filming, you’ll be wearing special filming costumes for almost 80% of the time – oh, you’ve seen the costumes, right? The ones that fit tightly to the body.”

Woo-jin, who hadn’t seen them yet, answered vaguely.

“Yes, I know.”

And so, four hours passed.

Kang Woo-jin somehow endured by visiting the subspace whenever he felt tired. The morning had turned into almost 2 PM, and everyone, including Miley Kara, had finished filming in those four hours. But none of the actors had gone home.

The reason was simple, wasn’t it?

To see the ‘Beast.’

Soon.

“The ‘Beast’ is coming in!!”

The ‘Beast’ entered the filming zone, which was filled with numerous filming equipment, a hundred or so staff members, and dozens of Hollywood actors. Perhaps because the makeup was heavy, the ‘Beast’ was being supported by staff on both sides, and Director Bill Rotner, who had been waiting, reacted immediately.

“Ooooh! That’s awesome!”

When he suddenly clapped, most of the staff also clapped their hands. Woo-jin, whose whole body felt like lead, resisted fiercely inside.

‘Don’t clap! Don’t clap! Ugh, it’s so heavy!!’

But there was no change in his expression. It was partly because of his character, but also because the makeup on his face was so solid that it was forced. Newly attached rough and grotesque skin, a thick layer of brown fur from his forehead to the back of his neck, curved and pointed horns on his forehead, and his eyes, nose, and mouth all enlarged and transformed like a beast. Of course, he also had teeth attached.

Kang Woo-jin was now a monster himself.

But the path to becoming the ‘Beast’ was arduous.

Around this time, the surrounding staff were impressed.

“It suits you well!”

“Right? But Mr. Woo-jin seems so calm. Isn’t it hard?”

“Yeah, it must be so heavy. He looks so light?”

It wasn’t. He was mentally confused by the unprecedented situation he was experiencing. Inwardly.

‘Ughhh!! I feel like throwing up, seriously!!’

It felt like he had about 10 pumpkin buckets on his head.

Anyway, Woo-jin, or the ‘Beast,’ stood in front of the camera with the welcome of the staff and actors. He could see, but not 100%. Next to the vaguely visible director was a blonde woman. Miley Kara. She was taking pictures of Kang Woo-jin, or rather, the ‘Beast,’ with her phone, and then suddenly chuckled.

“But why is only the upper body the ‘Beast’?”

Because only his upper body was the ‘Beast.’ His lower body was Kang Woo-jin’s. In other words, he was only half made up. Soon, the director answered.

“The lower body won’t be in the poster anyway.”

“Ah- is that so?”

Kara, smiling sweetly, took a picture of Kang Woo-jin’s entire half-‘Beast’ form. Then, she muttered softly.

“The title is half-human, half-beast. Yeah, that’s perfect.”

The next morning, at ‘Columbia Studios.’

Executives and many other stakeholders gathered in a large conference room. The atmosphere was quite heavy, indicating that they were discussing something very important. What could it be? It was about ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain.’ Specifically, it was about Director Ahn Ga-bok’s proposal regarding the ‘Academy Awards.’

“That’s impossible. It’s not about the money, but it could jeopardize the future progress of ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain.'”

“That’s right. Expectations are already high enough. If we fail after taking on that challenge, there could be a wave of cancellations in countries where the release has been confirmed. I’m against it.”

“Everyone knows, right? If we push forward recklessly, there will be a 100% chance of something going wrong. I’m also against it.”

As expected, the voices of opposition were louder. It was natural, considering they were being asked to take on a risky challenge when things were going well. Among the dozens of people, there was a man who had been tapping his finger on the table and lost in thought. It was the bald executive. Perhaps because he had been involved with Kang Woo-jin from the beginning, he seemed to be the most thoughtful.

He was now recalling the past.

The meeting with Director Ahn Ga-bok. The intentions of producer Nora Foster, who surprisingly supported Director Ahn Ga-bok’s words. And the recent conversation with Kang Woo-jin.

He let out a small sigh, having decided something.

‘Hoo- I guess I need to change the flow.’

In the noisy conference room, he suddenly raised his hand.

“I think we’re being too afraid.”

The bald executive’s sudden interruption. Soon, everyone in the conference room turned their attention to him. Some frowned, others had question marks in their eyes. On the other hand, the bald executive, who had slowly crossed his legs, was calm.

“The filming schedule, what if the ‘Academy Awards’ fail, what if the invested funds evaporate, what if the number of theaters decreases. If we keep listing reasons like this, there will be no end, but if we’re just going to worry, we shouldn’t have started the ‘Cinematic Universe’ in the first place.”

“Are you saying you’re in favor?”

“It’s not about being in favor or against. I’m just saying that we’re too afraid of failure right now. The die for the ‘Cinematic Universe’ has already been cast. Didn’t we start it because we were all prepared?”

“……”

“Failure is everywhere. In Director Ahn Ga-bok’s proposal, in our initial plans. Whether it’s risky or safe, there’s no place without failure. Isn’t that right?”

The atmosphere changed. The bald executive didn’t miss this timing.

“Do you think I don’t care about our ‘Cinematic Universe’? But if we create a vast world and then act cowardly, the ‘Cinematic Universe’ will inevitably end up as a narrow-minded result. And ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ is the beginning of all stories, isn’t it? We’re already being timid and backing away from the start.”

“…But conversely, you know that we need to succeed without failure because it’s the beginning.”

“I know, so I’m asking everyone once.”

The bald executive, pausing for a moment, scanned the entire room and then asked a question.

“Kang Woo-jin. Do you think the ‘Joker’ he created is not enough to turn Hollywood upside down?”

“……”

“We’ve seen it all this time. His chilling performance. It’s not an imitation, it’s real. Have you forgotten? Kang Woo-jin made Chris Hartnett give up. Let’s just believe what we’ve seen. I propose that we listen to what they want and quietly watch.”

Everyone in the conference room either sighed or became serious. Some people were changing their minds. At this point, the bald executive brought up Kang Woo-jin’s name again.

“I heard that Kang Woo-jin said, ‘The Academy Awards in two years are not in my plans.'”

“Not in his plans??”

“From the beginning, he was only aiming for this ‘Academy Awards.’ Yes, to be precise, from Cannes. Or even before that.”

The bald executive, leisurely changing the direction of his crossed legs.

“The first ‘villain’ of a vast world is so openly confident, and if we run away with our tails between our legs, our subsequent contracts with him will also fall through. Because we didn’t give him our trust.”

He spoke the core point.

“Are we going to give up on Kang Woo-jin’s ‘Joker’?”

The conference room was as silent as a graveyard.