Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 170

170

[I think we can start the casting process now.]

It’s time to start casting.

To be precise, that wasn’t a real suggestion to start casting. Considering Director Shim Sung-bo’s usual approach to scripts, he was speaking in a roundabout way.

“Does that mean you have a draft ready that’s good enough to consider casting?”

Meaning the script has a rough framework.

Director Shim Sung-bo replied with a defeated tone to Lee Min-ki’s question.

[I meant it as a joke, but I can’t fool you, actor.]

“……!”

[Yes, I’d like you to come over and take a look right now. Now that we have the basic framework, we can refine it, pick out scenes for casting, and prepare the announcement.]

Lee Min-ki internally cheered at the words he had been waiting for.

‘Finally.’

How much had he suffered, revising the beginning over and over again?

With a rough synopsis in place, he had scrapped and rewritten the plot-making process itself dozens of times. It was like walking endlessly through the desert towards an invisible mirage.

[Don’t you think it’s okay to proceed now? To my eyes, it’s the best I’ve seen so far, and one of the most fun movies I’ve seen this year.]

It was an enormous overstatement.

Coming from an actor like Lee Min-ki, and a movie fanatic, it was almost unbelievable. But despite that, Director Shim Sung-bo flatly rejected it.

[Being one of the best isn’t nearly enough if the goal is the Academy Awards. When I was in college, my professor told me something. Do you know what it is?]

[…….]

As Lee Min-ki remained silent, unable to answer the question, Director Shim Sung-bo said with a firm resolve.

[Aim for a masterpiece to avoid a flop, aim for a great work to achieve a masterpiece, and only by aiming for the best can you create a box office hit. Our goal is truly the best. What point should we be looking at?]

This time, there was an answer to the question.

[We should aim for a film that will remain in film history.]

[Yes, there’s no point in even trying otherwise. That’s the point I’m looking at, and this level of script isn’t nearly enough.]

He said it to that extent.

With the director’s will so firm, what could the actor do? He had no choice but to keep challenging himself, even if he withered away.

That’s how he finally received the call he had been waiting for. Lee Min-ki said with a light smile on his face.

“It’s the best movie of the year, right?”

[It’s beyond that.]

Lee Min-ki chuckled at the answer that far exceeded his expectations.

Ah, that’s right, if we’re aiming for the best this year, we should be aiming for the best of the 21st century. He’s someone you can never let your guard down around when it comes to movies.

“I’ll head to the studio right now.”

Lee Min-ki hung up the phone with those words.

He was excited. He was dying to go and check the results. Curiosity made Lee Min-ki’s heart burn like an erupting volcano for the first time in a while.

‘Ah, I’m curious. What’s it about?’

Lee Min-ki suddenly realized.

Come to think of it, he had only been repeatedly watching works he already knew. Even if the story changed because of his appearance, it was just a variation.

This time it’s different.

It’s original.

Yes, this is the first time for a truly original work.

With great joy in his heart, he was about to leave the studio when.

“Huff, huff! Senior!”

Chun Gun-joo ran up breathlessly.

Then, he placed his hands on his knees and took a few seconds to catch his breath, straightened his back, and said.

“Thank you!”

It was a thank you.

If he was going to say thank you, shouldn’t he embellish it a little?

But Lee Min-ki chuckled at the words that felt even more emotional because they were unadorned and simple.

“I’m the one who’s grateful. Thanks for taking my ad-libs well.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s work together again next time.”

Chun Gun-joo smiled brightly at those words.

What could be a better blessing than saying let’s meet again, let alone act together again?

Especially if the other person is someone like Lee Min-ki.

“Definitely!”

* * *

An apartment building in Seoul.

Unlike apartments in the city center, this luxurious apartment with a yard on the lower floors felt almost extravagant, and it was what is commonly called a terrace town. Some also called it a honeymoon home.

Director Shim Sung-bo said shyly.

“Joo-yeon was against it at first, but I bought it thinking it was a house we would live in for a long time anyway.”

“Wow… weren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”

“Actually, I got an additional call from Netplay. They said they would pay the excess profits soon.”

Excess profits, Netplay’s last bit of conscience.

[Manman-Too] was basically a work sold to Netplay with the concept of a buyout, so no matter how popular it became, the production team would not receive any additional income.

But perhaps because they knew that creators would gradually leave Netplay if they really did that? For works that were truly hits, they would create non-existent reasons to provide income to the creators and satisfy them.

‘Well, Netplay wouldn’t want to imagine the director who made [Manman-Too] going to theaters or other OTT [Over-The-Top, streaming media service] services.’

It was like a kind of bribe. A bribe that there was no reason to refuse.

Of course, that didn’t mean that they had to give this work to Netplay as well.

From Netplay’s point of view, it wouldn’t be good to have the image that even if a production company made a hit, they couldn’t earn more than the buyout price.

It wouldn’t be pure goodwill, so it was something to accept as goodwill.

“That’s good.”

Lee Min-ki chuckled and said.

“But Director, that thing you’re getting this time, isn’t it Netplay sending you a love letter to do your next work with them?”

“My next work with Netplay.”

“It’s not bad, is it? They’ll push you with their lives, and they’ll give you a lot of pre-investment money, unlike with Manman-Too.”

“Well, all I can say is that my thoughts may change depending on the conditions… but the future of the work is still unknown.”

It depends on the situation of the work.

Lee Min-ki nodded at Director Shim Sung-bo’s words that seemed to leave room for possibility.

“Well, that’s true, isn’t it? It’s best to finish it and then decide, especially if you’re confident in the quality of the work.”

In the end, it was a matter of timing.

Whether to receive pre-investment as much as the expectations for [Manman-Too] and be satisfied with the profits, or to create a great work and use that as a basis to draw a better negotiation table.

If you are not confident in the success of your next work, choose the former, and if you are confident, choose the latter.

In other words, Maiar Pictures had chosen the latter. It was like announcing that they would hit another box office success with their next work.

‘As expected of the director.’

I felt it from the first time I met him, but this person has no business sense. He’s completely a director, with the idea that it’s best to create good works as a director, and that the earnings should be determined by the level of the work.

Having Jin Joo-yeon, a talented businesswoman, as his spouse could be seen as a great blessing for Director Shim Sung-bo.

“…It’s still a shame.”

After chatting for a while, Lee Min-ki looked up at the ceiling for a moment and muttered.

“The amount was quite something.”

“Yes, the amount.”

“100 million.”

“Yes, 100 million.”

Director Shim Sung-bo also cleared his throat as if he still had regrets and said.

“100 million dollars, that is.”

That’s right.

The amount proposed by Netplay was a whopping 100 million dollars.

No matter what kind of movie it was, it was no different from offering to buy it for 100 billion won [South Korean currency].

“They said that Manman-Too had sales in the trillions of won, so there’s a bonus concept for that… but still, 100 billion is a lot.”

With this alone, you could buy buildings as a hobby and just play around. But Director Shim Sung-bo rejected it.

“I thought I might become lazy. I thought my desire to make better works would decrease, and I might think that this is enough.”

Ironically, it was also Netplay’s weakness. Studios that received advance payments suddenly abandoned their efforts to improve the quality of their work and became lazy.

Director Shim Sung-bo shook his head as if to shake off his vain thoughts and said.

“It may be something I’m sorry for to the actor, but even though Manman-Too was a huge hit, I should make a better work rather than being complacent about it.”

The reason he apologized was because Lee Min-ki had suggested that he take the investment.

It wasn’t for business reasons. He just wanted him to make a work without worrying about production costs, but now that things have turned out this way, Lee Min-ki chuckled and said.

“No. I also prefer to earn as much as my skills are worth.”

“I’m confident.”

“Me too. I also have trust.”

“Trust, isn’t that the most important thing in collaboration?”

“We should already see ourselves as being on the same boat.”

“I hope we don’t just go to the mountains [fail spectacularly].”

“Mountains are mountains, it’s not a big deal if we climb a neighborhood mountain, but it’s another story if we climb the Himalayas.”

Yes, like [Boyfriend from Space], which everyone thought would go to the mountains, ended up being a huge hit.

“No. That will be difficult. Works are not born in the mountains.”

Shim Sung-bo seemed to think that Lee Min-ki’s words were a joke, and he chuckled and continued.

“Then, let’s take a look at the plot and talk about it together.”

“Ah, finally.”

Lee Min-ki smacked his lips like someone who had a long-awaited feast in front of him.

How well-made is the plot that he was so confident? Maybe this movie will be the best of all the works he has ever seen.

“Please, take a look.”

In a moment of anticipation, Director Shim Sung-bo handed the laptop screen to Lee Min-ki. At that moment, Lee Min-ki’s eyes widened.

‘How detailed did you write just one plot?’

A feast of letters exceeding 100,000 characters. Would it be the size of a book?

‘What you’ve shown me so far was around 10,000 to 20,000 characters at best. Why is there so much this time?’

Did you get excited while working?

In the oppressive feeling that it would take hours just to read, Lee Min-ki was about to sweat when Director Shim Sung-bo opened his mouth.

“It’s okay to overturn it if you don’t like it after reading it, so please feel free to tell me your impressions.”

“…….”

Saying that makes it even harder to point out anything.

If I make one wrong criticism and make him overturn so many writings, how heartbroken would I be?

‘But I have to if I need to.’

Lee Min-ki turned his gaze to the laptop like Lee Bang-won [a Korean king known for his decisive actions], who made a decision.

And slowly started reading.

Ten minutes.

Twenty minutes.

About thirty minutes passed.

“Huh?”

Lee Min-ki said in a small surprise.

“Here, the character that the director put in this version of the storyboard, I think there’s an actor who’s perfect for it?”