I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 450

Choi Sung-gun stared, eyes wide, at Kang Woo-jin, who sat beside him, maintaining a nonchalant expression despite bringing up such a huge topic. Choi Sung-gun blinked. ‘Huh? Wait a minute, what did Woo-jin just say?’ Doubting his own ears, Choi Sung-gun asked Kang Woo-jin again.

“Woo-jin, what did you just say?”

Holding up the ‘Guest’ script, Kang Woo-jin replied immediately. His tone was simple and low, as always.

“I asked if the CEO would consider making the main investment in this movie, ‘Guest’.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Suddenly?”

“Yes.”

“…Huh?”

Choi Sung-gun, clearly flustered, blinked. In contrast, Kang Woo-jin’s gaze remained steady. Choi Sung-gun sensed it. This guy was serious. Realizing something big was coming, Choi Sung-gun

-Swish.

Untied his ponytail and then tied it back up tightly. Then, he took a small breath and spoke.

“Hoo- Woo-jin, even if ‘Guest’ is a remake of ‘Detective Agency,’ and even if the film company is a small startup, the setting is still Hollywood, right? That’s a whole different ball game from Korea. The starting investment amount is on a completely different scale.”

It was true. No matter how much Korean content had developed, Hollywood was still Hollywood. For example, some Korean blockbusters these days reach 40 to 50 billion won, but that’s extremely rare. In Hollywood, it’s commonplace. Of course, there are movies in Hollywood with smaller budgets, but the point is that the investment for a Korean blockbuster is the basic level in Hollywood.

In short, making a main investment in Hollywood meant risking the future of BW Entertainment.

“Well, okay, it’s not like BW Entertainment would collapse immediately with this one move. But if problems arise, we’d be shaken quite a bit. Of course, I’m not ignoring your opinion at all. BW Entertainment has Hye-yeon and many other actors, but the reason we’ve come this far is because of you.”

Choi Sung-gun, muttering, wore a serious yet calm expression.

“Still, BW Entertainment has already grown into a top 5 entertainment company in Korea, and you could even consider us a large corporation with overseas branches. It means many employees’ livelihoods are at stake.”

“I know.”

There was also Chairman Yoshimura Hideki, his backer.

“So, it’s not easy to make a hasty decision. But since it’s your word, I trust it, but it’s too sudden, man. You’re telling me to make the main investment in ‘Guest.’ Is there a reason you’re saying this to me?”

Kang Woo-jin’s answer was short.

“It’s a waste.”

“A waste?”

“Yes.”

“…Of ‘Guest’?”

“That’s right.”

Choi Sung-gun, briefly twitching his brow, scanned the team members around him, then leaned closer to Kang Woo-jin and whispered in his ear.

“Could it be—did that divine sense of yours activate again? For ‘Guest’?”

If he answered here, the already globalized misunderstanding and delusion might skyrocket to the universe, but well, if it had already reached the universe.

‘Even brain farts become art when they’re infused with madness.’

It was better to just add fuel to the fire. That was Kang Woo-jin’s thought.

“You could say that. I have a good feeling about this script.”

“!!!”

Choi Sung-gun’s eyes widened. Soon, Woo-jin added.

“I’m saying this without considering the remake of ‘Detective Agency’ or Director Shin Dong-chun’s connection. Purely as a movie, ‘Guest’ is good. I feel like it’s a waste to throw it away.”

“Is… is that so?”

“Yes.”

Choi Sung-gun already worshipped, no, practically deified Kang Woo-jin’s divine, crazy sense. Hadn’t the results proven it? He came to Hollywood using ‘Leech,’ which had turned Cannes upside down, as a stepping stone, and works from Hollywood’s giant film companies were being offered to him left and right. At this point, not believing in Kang Woo-jin’s ‘sense’ was just being foolish.

-Swish.

Choi Sung-gun’s gaze shifted from Kang Woo-jin to the ‘Guest’ script he was holding. Choi Sung-gun had also roughly read this work. So, what would the total production cost be? 10 billion won was the base.

‘At least 30 billion, maximum 50 billion.’

In other words, between 30 and 50 billion won. Fortunately, the movie ‘Guest’ was small in scale. If it were a blockbuster, it would easily exceed 100 billion won. Either way, Choi Sung-gun had to consider up to 50 billion won.

50 billion won? It was truly an enormous sum of money.

‘If we put in more than 50%, we can be called the main investor. But if we’re going to do it, it’s better to put it all in, the picture looks better, and there’s Woo-jin’s crazy sense. So, 50 billion, can we make it?’

Choi Sung-gun’s conclusion was fortunately positive.

‘It’s possible.’

Various possibilities flashed through his mind. First of all, there was Chairman Hideki, and BW Entertainment was already a huge company. If they scraped together everything, it wasn’t impossible. At this moment, Kang Woo-jin’s low voice was heard again.

“CEO, isn’t our company in the middle of expanding its business anyway?”

“That’s right.”

“I know that domestic investment projects have already started, and overseas projects are also being prepared.”

It was true. BW Entertainment, which had grown into a veritable monster agency thanks to Kang Woo-jin, was preparing investment projects not only in Korea but also in Japan and Hollywood, where Woo-jin’s influence was exploding. Agents, actor discovery, work discovery, SNS and YouTube markets, and even the music market where Kang Woo-jin’s abilities had been proven.

However, it was such a vast project that they were looking at a minimum of 10 years.

But Kang Woo-jin was as calm as ever.

“If you’re planning to do Hollywood anyway, it seems like this ‘Guest’ would be a good start.”

“…Hmm, the size isn’t that big, and it would also have the symbolism of being a remake of your movie debut.”

BW Entertainment, Kang Woo-jin’s agency, would save the life of ‘Guest,’ which was on the brink. The overall storytelling was also amazing. If ‘Guest’ became a hit, as Woo-jin’s sense predicted, BW Entertainment, which already had a branch in Hollywood, could expand its reach into Hollywood in an instant.

At this point.

“This is—it’s like a ‘no matter what, go’ situation.”

Choi Sung-gun, who was grinning, was also feeling the same ‘no turning back’ spirit as Kang Woo-jin.

“Hoo- right now, I’m a bit clueless about where to start, but well, I’ll figure that out myself.”

Choi Sung-gun gave Kang Woo-jin a thumbs up.

“Let’s go for it. Let’s take a chance, it’s just one life.”

“If everything goes well, it might be difficult for me to take the lead role, but I could do a cameo or a special appearance.”

Kang Woo-jin, nonchalantly, added another blow.

“And I’ll also put some of my investment money into it.”

He had accumulated quite a bit of wealth.

One hour later.

Kang Woo-jin and his team arrived at ‘SPT Studio,’ the large set for ‘The Beast and the Beauty.’ Woo-jin and his team seemed ready to go straight to the set, but Choi Sung-gun, who had a huge task ahead of him, was on the phone, talking to someone. He had immediately started working on ‘Guest.’

Seeing this, Kang Woo-jin gestured to his team to go, then.

-Swish.

First, he walked towards the trailer. The entrance of ‘SPT Studio’ was already bustling with foreign staff from ‘The Beast and the Beauty.’ They were preparing the set, carrying equipment, etc. Woo-jin, who was greeting them appropriately, suddenly said.

“Ye-jeong.”

He called out to Han Ye-jeong, the head stylist who was following behind. She had dyed her signature bob red, perhaps influenced by ‘Joker.’

“Yes, Oppa [an affectionate term for older brother used by females].”

Kang Woo-jin handed her the ‘Guest’ script he was holding.

“Please make about three copies of this. You can tell the operations team.”

“Okay. I’ll make copies and put them in the trailer.”

“Okay, thank you.”

After handing over the script, Kang Woo-jin disappeared with the makeup team staff of ‘The Beast and the Beauty.’ Today, he had to wear the special effects suit, the spandex tights for CG [Computer Graphics].

Exactly one hour later, Kang Woo-jin.

“Action!”

No, the spandex ‘Beast’ had started filming. The starting point of the filming was the garden right in front of the ‘Beast’s’ castle, where flowers were blooming profusely. The roles cast were the ‘Beast’ and ‘Beauty Bella.’ Maria Armas, who was waiting on set, was also visible. Other Hollywood actors were also there. The scenes for the teapot, candlestick, and clock roles would also be filmed in succession.

“Cut!! Miley, I’d like you to have a more suspicious look towards the ‘Beast’!”

“Yes, Director.”

“And Woo-jin- good, your expression is more intense than during the first filming! Keep it up!”

“Understood.”

The ‘Beast and the Beauty’ set was moving at a fast pace. Fortunately, Kara was completely immersed in the role of ‘Beauty Bella,’ and she didn’t burst out laughing at the spandex-clad Kang Woo-jin like on the first day of filming. Sometimes, loud music was played on set.

-♬♪

There were many scenes where the actors sang the OST [Original Sound Track], typical of ‘World Disney Pictures.’ Right now, ‘Beauty Bella,’ who was strolling through the garden with the ‘Beast,’ was singing a song. Of course, the OST songs were recorded separately in post-production, but Kara performed the OST with her acting as if she were actually singing.

Her voice, which was melting the ears, echoed on set.

“…”

Kang Woo-jin, or rather, the ‘Beast,’ was also mesmerized.

‘Wow- crazy. Amazing… I know Miley Kara is a good singer, but hearing her sing as Bella makes me feel like I’m really in a fairy tale.’

The filming of ‘The Beast and the Beauty’ ended late at night. The staff began cleaning up, and the actors gathered in the trailers to go home. Kang Woo-jin was the same. He appeared alongside Kara, who was in her ‘Beauty Bella’ costume. Her trailer was right next to his. Soon, Miley Kara, who had reached her trailer, waved to Woo-jin.

“Goodbye, hurry up and change your clothes.”

But the spandex-clad Woo-jin stopped her.

“Miley, just a moment.”

“Huh? Why? Are you saying let’s go eat?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“What is it, we can eat, can’t we?”

“I have another schedule.”

“Wow- do you know you’re busier than me?”

Woo-jin had a real ‘Kang Woo-jin’s Sub-Character’ channel shoot, not a fake one. Anyway, Kang Woo-jin told Kara to wait, then entered his trailer and looked at the stack of papers on the table. What could it be? The ‘Guest’ script that he had asked Han Ye-jeong to copy.

‘Well, it’s an S-grade, so it’ll do well even if I leave it alone, but it’s better if it’s a bigger hit, right? The lead in this work, me, the CEO, and everyone else, it’s a win-win.’

Kang Woo-jin, who had briefly smiled, shedding his concept, picked up one copy of the ‘Guest’ script. Then, he put on his solemn face again and came out of the trailer. Kara was talking with her female team members, and when Woo-jin came out, she walked a few steps closer and said.

“Do you have something to say? You usually just leave without saying anything.”

Woo-jin, looking calmly at the blonde Kara, held out the script.

“If you’re interested, read this.”

“What is this?”

“A script.”

“…A script?”

“Yes. I heard that you don’t have any projects lined up after ‘The Beast and the Beauty,’ Miley.”

“That’s true, but- a script? From you, Woo-jin?”

“Why are you surprised?”

“It’s sudden. A man who didn’t even talk about being cast in Hollywood projects is suddenly handing me a script, of course, I’m surprised.”

‘Is that so? Well, but I can’t build up to something like this, can I?’ Woo-jin, muttering inwardly, took back the script he had offered.

“I guess so, then let’s forget about it.”

“No!”

Kara, who had suddenly snatched the script from Woo-jin’s hand, narrowed her eyes.

“I was surprised, but that doesn’t mean I won’t take it.”

Perhaps finding Kara cute, Kang Woo-jin, who had been looking at the people behind her, for the first time.

“Read it.”

He said to Kara with a faint, genuine smile, without any pretense.

“Let’s talk about the details after you’ve finished reading it.”

Kang Woo-jin went back into the trailer. Kara, who was holding the script and blinking her blue eyes, murmured quietly.

“Did he smile? Did he just smile?”

It was the first time she had seen a smile that wasn’t acting.

After that.

Kang Woo-jin’s schedule was a continuous cycle of filming, filming, and filming. For two days, he wore spandex tights in ‘The Beast and the Beauty,’ and for another two days, he transformed into ‘Joker’ and stirred up the set of ‘Clown: The Birth of a Villain.’

Some days, he filmed both projects.

In the midst of the relentless filming, Kang Woo-jin’s entry into the ‘subspace’ [a mental space where he can think and strategize] became more frequent.

“Ugh- I’m dying, really!!”

It was a common sight in Korea as well, but perhaps because it was Hollywood, a foreign land, he felt more fatigued. But he had to do it somehow. If it wasn’t Kang Woo-jin, no one could do it, and it had to be Kang Woo-jin.

About a week passed, and fortunately.

『CNM/Rumors Begin to Circulate About Columbia’s ‘Clown: The Birth of a Villain,’ Which Even Shook the ‘Emmys,’ Filming Almost Complete!』

The filming of ‘Clown: The Birth of a Villain’ was nearing its end.

And during a break in the filming of ‘Clown: The Birth of a Villain,’ Choi Sung-gun, with a smile on his face, entered Kang Woo-jin’s trailer. Inside, Woo-jin, in his ‘Joker’ appearance, was sitting.

“Woo-jin.”

Choi Sung-gun said to Kang Woo-jin with strength. He was certain.

“The funds have been secured, and we’re going to start working on ‘Guest’ right away.”