Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 140

140. The Great War (2)

Did Lee Minki really have any interest in their movie?

In the end, the concerns of the two directors, Jin Jooyeon and Shim Sungbo, were completely meaningless.

“Hello.”

Five minutes after Lee Minki entered the Maiar Pictures office and faced the two young CEOs.

“Yes, I was surprised to receive the proposal from the US. My manager told me to read it, and well…”

Another three minutes spent breaking the ice with casual chatter.

Then, a brief handover to Manager Park Hanmo.

“I see. You’re considering OTT [Over-the-top media service, like Netflix] as a direction, but you haven’t decided on a specific distribution route yet.”

“Well, we’re thinking about it slowly, but we thought it would be best to consider all possibilities… Haha…”

“Are you in talks with any potential partners, or do you have any in mind?”

“…….”

“I see, none in particular. Then, this might be a rude question, but which other actors are you considering besides our actor?”

“…….”

“My apologies. Then…”

Another 30 minutes spent in a meeting that felt more like an interrogation.

‘This is a disaster.’

‘We’re doomed.’

Seven years spent together was enough time for the two CEOs to share the same thought.

The existing infrastructure is hopelessly inadequate.

Considering supply and demand, their value isn’t very high.

Their sales skills are also lacking.

‘Who should we send the proposal to next?’

‘We’re dead once these two leave.’

Just as the two of them were secretly giving up.

The first words that came out of Lee Minki’s mouth with a grin were something they couldn’t have imagined even in their wildest dreams.

“Sounds good. Let’s sign the contract.”

There was no need to say more since he had already made up his mind.

The meeting they had was just to verify if the information Lee Minki had was different from what they knew.

It was the moment when the demand for a contract flowed from Lee Minki’s mouth.

“Pardon?”

Shim Sungbo asked back as if he had heard something wrong.

Oh, shoot.

Instead of asking that, I should have said something else.

Act like a CEO, Sungbo.

Shim Sungbo, barely managing to control his weak heart, asked.

“Pardon me?”

Even more ruined.

No, that’s not it.

‘Sungbo, you idiot! There’s a time and place for mistakes!’

His head was so tangled that the right words wouldn’t come out.

No.

It’s a problem from before that.

Inside his head.

Like an office worker suffering from aphasia after a long period of overwork, the appropriate vocabulary wouldn’t come together in his head.

“Ah, it seems you misheard me.”

Lee Minki said with a smile in front of Shim Sungbo.

“I want to sign a contract. With Maiar Pictures for [The War of All Against All].”

“…….”

Oh dear.

He heard those words.

The fuse blew in Shim Sungbo’s head, who had already lost his normal judgment.

Fssss――

In the fleeting moment when he thought steam might be coming out of his head like a kettle, Lee Minki opened the synopsis again and said.

“I’ve read the synopsis and script you gave me several times. I was so interested that I looked at the previous work you directed, and it was definitely good.”

“Wait a minute. You enjoyed our work?”

Jin Jooyeon, who was relatively calm, opened her mouth as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Are you lying?”

“Hey, Jooyeon, what are you saying to the actor?”

“Just stay out of it for a second.”

It couldn’t be helped.

It was because she couldn’t believe that he had seen a work that had only mobilized 300,000 viewers nationwide and had been a box office failure.

No, he could have seen it.

It would be strange not to watch the work of the company you’re going to sign a contract with.

But.

‘He said he enjoyed it?’

This was a difficult thing to accept even from the producer’s point of view.

Because as a producer, she knew that there were many flaws in the work due to inexperience.

“Um, Actor, thank you. Haha! This friend has a lot of doubts.”

“Yes, I really watched it.”

Lee Minki said in a calm voice while Shim Sungbo was flustered.

“One Above All, right? The script and directing were definitely excellent. The theme of human praise was also well done. I almost shed tears because of the main character.”

“…….”

“The main character who perseveres and endures with only willpower was amazing. There are so few works like this these days.”

The two people’s mouths were wide open.

It was because they couldn’t readily accept Lee Minki’s praise.

But.

‘It was really fun. The more I watched it, the more new flavors permeated.’

This wasn’t just flattery.

Lee Minki actually had fond memories of watching the previous work made by these two directors, [One Above All].

‘The quality was a bit lacking, but it was a fresh work.’

It was a survival movie.

The story of a person stranded in the wild surviving alone.

It was obvious that they saved money, but they covered it all up with directing.

I heard it was the movie that became the origin of [Manman Fight].

They said they incorporated the experience they gained while filming [One Above All] as it was.

But Maiar Pictures’ career didn’t end with just this one work.

Lee Minki is a cinephile, and he’s an omnivore who eats almost everything.

He knew one more thing.

“That previous work was also fun.”

“Yes?”

“Red. The work you two made when you were college students.”

“……!”

Red.

It was a work that was re-examined after the two people’s hit work [Manman Fight] became a hit.

A movie about a terrorist holding hostages and staging a hostage situation.

They saved so much money that there were only five backgrounds from the beginning to the end of the movie.

“I’m saying this sincerely.”

Lee Minki, who silenced the two with pure reviews, neatly folded his hands on the desk and opened his mouth.

“I want to participate in the production of the work you two made, Manman Fight… no, the War of All Against All.”

It was the moment when he verbally stamped the deal.

Shim Sungbo said in a voice trembling like an aspen tree.

“Can we really have the actor?”

“Hey! Shim Sungbo!”

“Huh, no, of course, we would be very happy to film a work with the actor, no, it would be an honor.”

The two still seemed uneasy.

Even though Lee Minki was the actor and they were the directors, they seemed very intimidated.

Lee Minki knew the reason.

Long before he heard their words, to be exact, from a few years ago.

‘I heard they’re suffering a lot from financial problems, right?’

That was their production environment.

[Manman Fight] is indeed a hit work.

But there was a common anecdote that followed behind that [Manman Fight].

‘They said they went around with the synopsis to get investment for the production cost… but they kept getting rejected, and even the actors turned them down.’

They were rejected and rejected and rejected, and rejected again.

In the end, while they were considering closing the studio, they made a proposal to Netplay with the thought that it was their last chance.

Netplay, an OTT service company.

It was also the world’s number one company, so they didn’t even think they would accept it.

[I want to sign a contract.]

Netplay recognized their value and invested in them.

Of course, under very cheap conditions.

Thanks to this, even though the work’s performance went crazy, they didn’t make much money, but instead swept away a lot of fame.

It was natural for netizens to laugh at domestic film companies for this.

[Logically, if it’s a work like Manman Fight, shouldn’t they have recognized it?]

[The people who make movies in Korea are all blind lol]

[If it were in the US, Hollywood would have snatched it up as soon as they saw it]

I remember it clearly.

In terms of the contract, the actor is the weaker party, but in reality, the company is the weaker party.

So Lee Minki decided to make the first move.

‘There’s something I can only do at this time.’

He knows the value of these two people.

He also knows that Netplay will recognize their value.

What is the best choice he can make in this situation?

How can he go beyond charity and reap appropriate benefits together?

It was simple.

“Instead, I want to go in the form of co-production.”

It was an investment.

* * *

At the same time as Lee Minki’s words, an untimely autumn breeze blew into the office.

“Investment?”

While Shim Sungbo barely managed to ask back, Lee Minki smiled and continued.

“Yes, I want to proceed with the condition that I buy some of the shares or receive some of the royalties for this work.”

There was no need to even think about it.

It’s a company whose stock price will soar endlessly in the near future.

Netplay is holding onto their pants and willingly offering investments in the hundreds of billions of won, so is there any other investment product like this?

‘The actor must be out of his mind.’

Of course, Manager Park Hanmo was only seeing Lee Minki’s actions as eccentric.

It’s natural.

Because he doesn’t have confidence in success.

Of course, it was normal not to have it.

“But still…….”

Shim Sungbo, who was still weak-hearted, couldn’t give a definite answer and was fidgeting.

“I’ll say it clearly.”

Jin Jooyeon interrupted Shim Sungbo and joined the conversation.

“Even if we talk about the investment itself, it may be difficult for us to fully reflect the actor’s opinions in terms of directing.”

“That’s right.”

“If you thought you could do whatever you wanted just because we’re a small studio, you’re wrong.”

Shim Sungbo quickly stopped her from saying something that could sound aggressive.

“Hey, hey, be careful with your words.”

“What do you mean be careful? We have to say this properly at the contract signing. You’re an actor, but this is an investment proposal.”

It’s true that it’s something that needs to be pointed out clearly.

It’s also true that it can sound unpleasant.

But Lee Minki wasn’t that upset.

‘Well, the director has to be strong in these areas.’

It’s better that someone with a clear sense of self holds the megaphone than to be swayed by his participation as an actor.

It’s a hundred times better than ruining the work by trying to read the room.

‘Director Shim Sungbo makes the movie, and Director Jin Jooyeon sets the discipline?’

Maiar Pictures has two directors, so I was wondering how they work, but the combination isn’t bad.

It looked the opposite at the awards ceremony.

Lee Minki smiled at the unexpectedly human side of the two people he wouldn’t have been able to talk to in the past and said.

“That part is fine. I don’t intend to interfere anyway. What I want is something else.”

“What do you mean by something else?”

“You said you plan to hire a lot of actors for this work, right?”

“Ah, that’s, yes, the actor is right.”

Shim Sungbo nodded and replied.

“We are thinking of at least 40 to 50 people in supporting roles and extras in the play.”

Manman Fight was such a work.

As it is a survival game that takes place on an island, the number of participants itself was diverse.

Of course, more than half of them are swept away within 30 minutes of the screening.

‘The characters that the audience supports die after only a few minutes.’

Lee Minki recalled the unconventional development and said.

“I would like to be able to designate two of those supporting actors.”

“Two people, there’s no reason why not, but what kind of…”

“They are two fellow actors from our JC who recently debuted.”

“Ah!”

Shim Sungbo opened his eyes wide and said.

“Actor Kim Tak and Actor Yoo Seona!”

“Yes, putting those two into the play is the first condition.”

It’s a work that will definitely be a hit.

It would be good to invest in one or two seats at times like this.

They’re not people who lack skills in the first place.

Lee Minki knew their skills well, so he was just trying to create an opportunity.

“And here’s one more thing.”

Lee Minki raised his finger and said.

“I hope the distribution is done through OTT.”

This is the last one.

Distributing exclusively through OTT, not theatrical release.

At those words, Shim Sungbo asked carefully.

“If it’s OTT, is it related to JC?”

“No.”

Lee Minki shook his head and said.

“It’s a Netplay exclusive supply!”

“……!”

Netplay exclusive supply.

While Shim Sungbo’s eyes widened at the unconventional remark, Lee Minki smiled and played his last card.

“I would like to submit a proposal exclusively to that place. What I saw and felt in the United States is that Netplay is definitely a trend. The theater is also good, but…”

He finished telling the story.

He will receive a production share, and he has proposed two actors and a distribution service.

‘Netplay.’

Shim Sungbo, who has a weak heart, swallowed hard.

Is it a place that will just accept the work of such a small studio?

Isn’t the condition too difficult?

But to reject the conditions of a famous actor named Lee Minki just because of this one thing, the bait was too sweet.

“Hoo.”

Finally, he made a conclusion, took a breath, and said.

“We can’t help it if we fail.”

At those words, Lee Minki smiled and said.

“Yes, of course.”

Of course, that won’t happen.

There’s no chance.