Villain (3)

 

Sure? The bald executive of Columbia Studios frowned at the firm answer. The other executives also became more excited. However, there was no significant change in Director Ahn Ga-bok’s firm expression.

“······”

He just stared at the bald executive with an old-fashioned face. When producer Nora Foster, who seemed to have a strong impression, also looked at him in surprise, the executive, who was brushing his bald head, asked in quiet English.

“I’m aiming for this year’s ‘Academy Award.’ Director, I like how confident you are, but isn’t it impossible given the timing?”

Other executives also joined in.

“I think so too. If you think that ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ will probably finish filming around September… it’s beyond the level of trying too hard.”

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

“Don’t you know that well, Director?”

Nora didn’t open her mouth as if she wanted to watch for a moment. Instead, the bald executive crossed his legs and spoke again.

“If you are expressing your confidence as a director, I understand. But if you are really thinking about this ‘Academy Award,’ please let me know what you think.”

Everyone in the conference room turned their attention to Director Ahn Ga-bok. Director Ahn Ga-bok looked into Nora’s eyes for a moment, then turned his head to the bald man who had spoken among the executives.

“I know, it’s impossible for ‘Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ to be nominated for this year’s Academy Awards due to the timing. But it’s not like there’s no way around it, right?”

“Is there a way left?”

“There is just one.”

The bald executive furrowed his brows again as if a sudden thought had crossed his mind.

“Director, surely- what you’re thinking is.”

“That’s probably right.”

Director Ahn Ga-bok took a deep breath and continued speaking in a low voice.

“As everyone knows, ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ will crank up in September. It was originally scheduled to end in late September, but thanks to the actors’ hard work, it will be brought forward a little. And this year’s ‘Academy Awards’ will be held in April next year.”

For reference, the world’s most prestigious film awards, the ‘Academy Awards’ or ‘Oscars’, generally have a similar schedule every year, but there are times when they change. This year, they select works from February to February of the following year, and complete the nominations, judging, and announcement from March to early April.

The process is also complicated.

The selection and judging of the candidates and the nominated works are handled by members of the Academy Awards, which are distributed around the world. These members number in the thousands and act as judges. They come from various fields such as directors, actors, staff, and key staff.

Then, a grand film festival is held between mid and late April.

The problem is the conditions for getting a ticket to challenge for this ‘Academy Award’. There are many conditions, but the most basic is that the work must be released and screened in a theater in LA, USA for more than a week during the selection period. If this is not met, you cannot even challenge. This is exactly what the executives said was impossible.

Of course, director Ahn Ga-bok, who was a veteran, also knew it very well.

“In order to be nominated, it needs to be released in LA theaters by February at the latest, which means editing on ‘Clown: Birth of a Villain’ needs to be finished by January. It’s not impossible, since ‘Leech’ was much tighter.”

Although the systems in Korea and Hollywood are different, it was possible for a director to finish editing by January if he risked his life. But Nora intervened as if that wasn’t the problem.

“Director, finish editing by January and release it within February. This in itself is not easy, but even if it is done, it is impossible to schedule a worldwide release in about a month.”

“······”

“As you know, ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ is scheduled to be released in about 40 countries, including the United States, Korea, and Japan. Just the promotional marketing and distribution work for those countries will take several months. It’s a wall of reality that can’t be overcome with just spirit.”

She was right. It’s a daunting process to release a movie in 40 countries, let alone a few. And it’s even more so if they’re releasing it around the same time. It takes at least three months to half a year to prepare. That’s why Columbia executives and Nora said it was impossible.

The wall of reality is always huge.

The executives nodded as if they understood what I said. But for some reason, Director Ahn Ga-bok’s calm expression did not change much. Then he opened his wrinkled mouth.

“How about releasing it first in the US, centered around LA, rather than releasing it worldwide after editing is completed in January?”

“······Opening in the US first?”

“Yes. If we keep promotional marketing to a minimum and have a US release of about two to three weeks before the end of February, we will be able to meet the requirement of a minimum of one week of release in the US for the Academy Awards.”

Starting with the US. In fact, the idea was to release it mainly in LA and then release it in other countries later, in order to quickly meet the ‘Academy Award’ requirements. This time, Director Ahn Ga-bok raised his voice with a strong voice.

“’Pierrot: Birth of a Villain’ needs promotional marketing in the US, but the firepower is already hot thanks to Kang Woo-jin’s performance. So, it won’t be a big problem if the time is shortened a little.”

“Even if you go to such lengths-”

“If ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’, which took a lot of blood, gets a good result at the ‘Academy Awards’? Then, it will have an explosive advertising effect that will be several times greater than the current one.”

“······”

Nora, with a serious face, kept her mouth shut. Because what he said made sense. In fact, ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ was already well-known due to Woojin’s influence. Even if it were released in this state, it would be quite a hit.

‘If, indeed, the ‘Academy Awards’ produce any results… the explosive power will be beyond imagination.’

It was the ‘Academy Award’, the dream of filmmakers all over the world. And the male lead of ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ was Kang Woo-jin. If this game went well, a masterpiece could be born. Nora swallowed her saliva and organized it.

“So the director’s plan is… to crank up the film in September, then start editing right away, finish editing within January, do some proper PR and marketing, and then release it within February. But in a short period of 2 to 3 weeks, after meeting the conditions, to challenge for the ‘Academy Award’. The worldwide release will follow. Is that correct?”

“That’s correct.”

When I looked into it, it was absurd. Nora let out a slightly embarrassed voice.

“···As I said, it’s a hellish schedule. If you miss even one thing, it’s a failure.”

“I know. But as I said earlier, ‘Leech’ was more pressing and I’m confident. If I mess up and fail, I’ll just accept it calmly. I guess I have no luck with this ‘Academy Award’.”

“hmm.”

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

Some executives furrowed their brows and immediately intervened. Even if you just listened to it, you could tell that there was a big risk involved in taking on the challenge.

“Money? You want me to pour more money here?”

First of all, the biggest reason is money.

together.

“Isn’t that all if it goes well? If the plan fails, the money that will go up in smoke is money, but even if you try, the nomination itself is uncertain. Even if you get nominated, how are you going to handle it if you fail miserably at the ‘Academy Awards’?”

“I agree. If you try too hard, the entire movie release schedule will be ruined, and what good will it do to release it worldwide after a crushing defeat at the Academy Awards? The damaged image could have a big impact on the box office.”

There were many issues that could have been raised. Yes, the scenario that Director Ahn Ga-bok suggested was perfect. It was natural for executives of a major Hollywood film company to pick on realistic aspects. There was no reason to go on a rough, unpaved road when there was a paved road.

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

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

backwards.

Even after Director Ahn Ga-bok’s proposal, the meeting barely ended after talking for over an hour. No, it was ambiguous to say that it was over. Hollywood is very system-oriented when it comes to big things, and more than anything, it costs extra money. On top of that, the future of ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ was at stake, so it wasn’t decided right away.

‘Well, I didn’t think it would work out right away, but it’s better to push through than to regret it.’

So after Director Ahn Ga-bok left, the executives went into serious meetings again. It means that they are taking it very seriously. It was Columbia Studios that had staked its life on the vast ‘cinematic universe’. Just getting this level of reaction was a huge success for Director Ahn Ga-bok.

“I guess I’ll have to wait now.”

In fact, Director Ahn Ga-bok thought that Columbia Studios would be more likely to not accept the offer. They had already invested a huge amount of money to build the ‘cinematic universe’. It would not be easy to take a difficult or unreasonable path. However, the veteran’s unique sense and instinct encouraged Director Ahn Ga-bok’s actions.

and.

‘There might be another ending because Kang Woo-jin is here.’

The image of Woojin, who always presented a twist, must have been vivid to the executives. Whatever it was, the results would not come out for a day or two, and Director Ahn Ga-bok immediately returned to the set where there were about a hundred foreign staff members. Everyone was busy preparing for filming, and in the meantime, two actors were seen talking about the scene composition.

Kang Woo-jin and Chris Hartnett.

Since the two have been doing a lot of two-shot shoots recently, they were often seen together. Then, Director Ahn Ga-bok was greeting the staff around him.

-Ugh.

He slowly approached the two actors. When he heard a sound, Kang Woo-jin and Chris greeted him, and Director Ahn Ga-bok asked Woo-jin quietly. It was in Korean, not English.

“Woojin, do you think it’s too much to go to the Academy Awards this year? Do you think the next Academy Awards, the year after next, would be better?”

It was a sudden question, but Kang Woo-jin’s poker-faced expression didn’t change much. Only an excessive sense of doubt spread inside him.

‘What are you talking about all of a sudden? Academy Awards?’

Woojin calculated it purely. To be honest, it would be better to get hit first, right? It was a rule he had kept since he was young. If he did something wrong, he would be the first to raise his hand and get hit.

‘Since I’ve been mentioning the Academy Awards all along – obviously, the sooner the better, whether George or not.’

It could be ruined. But, it was just then. That was the extent of my mindset. Kang Woo-jin lowered his voice.

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

And director Ahn Ga-bok misunderstood on his own.

“I see. Well, it doesn’t matter to you whether it’s this year or the year after. You’re sure you’ll win the prize in the end, even if the timing is different, right?”

No, I just said that it was better to be fast. Woojin kept his mouth shut for the moment because he smelled a vague illusion.

“······”

Then, director Ahn Ga-bok smiled.

“Could you please convey your thoughts to Columbia Studios?”

When Chris tilted his head because he didn’t know what Korean was saying, Kang Woo-jin, with an indifferent expression, answered simply.

“No problem.”

A few days later, Wednesday the 17th. ‘SPT Studio’ in LA.

At the entrance of the set, which is over 50,000 square meters, there were many buses, trucks, and other vehicles. In addition, hundreds of foreigners were running around. They were employees of ‘World Disney Pictures’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ staff.

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

‘Oh my, these clothes are so uncomfortable.’

Kang Woo-jin is seen in a sophisticated manner. He is wearing a white and gold-colored suit, and his hair has turned light brown. It has also grown slightly and is neatly swept back.

The appearance of a nobleman who appears exactly in a fantasy.

He looked calm on the outside, but was very awkward on the inside. Around a hundred staff members were watching Woojin, and many cameras were filming him. There were also many unknown devices. The directing was done by general director Bill Lautner.

“Cut, Woojin. Should we change our posture a bit? Be arrogant and confident.”

“Yes, sir.”

All of them were currently filming the first poster for ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Kang Woo-jin, who had the most work to do, started first, and the other actors had also arrived and were waiting in the trailer.

Just one person.

‘Well done – the atmosphere is different when you dress it like that, it suits you well. It’s completely different from that ‘clown’.’

The blonde Kara, who was smiling without any makeup on, was watching the staff. At that moment, the director shouted at Kang Woo-jin.

“Okay! Now let’s go put on the ‘Beast’ makeup!!”

The time has come for the first ‘beast’ transformation.