Translator: Dreamscribe
The female producer of ‘Pierrot’ with hair longer than a bob cut and what seemed like a stern expression.
“……You don’t seem to have any hesitation at all.”
The woman sitting across from Kang Woojin spoke.
“As you know, in this preliminary meeting, Woojin could be excluded as a candidate. Are you sure you won’t regret it?”
For a moment, in Kang Woojin’s mind, filled with cynicism.
“……”
The rating of the movie ‘Pierrot’ flashed through his mind.
-[11/Scenario (Title: Pierrot), EX+ Grade]
It was a staggering EX+ grade. The highest grade even in that overwhelming void space. Though outwardly rigid, Woojin’s soft inner thoughts burst out with sincere exclamation.
‘Regret it??! Of course, I’d regret it terribly if I miss this! Did she seriously just ask that?!’
To be honest, Kang Woojin wanted to shout out his true feelings without holding back. However, recklessness had no place in him right now. More than anything, he had just returned after making a major impact with Hollywood’s top-tier actor Chris Hartnett. His established ‘no backing down’ image demanded that he stick firmly to his intense persona.
‘Sigh- Forget it, damn it. Just go for it. Even if they drop me, another EX+ grade might come along someday.’
Or maybe not. However, Kang Woojin had other options. The EX-grade movie ‘Beast and the Beauty’ was still there, and although he hadn’t received the script yet, there was also the Joseph Felton’s project. Besides, he was only in his second year. Even though his third year was just around the corner, he still had plenty of time and endless possibilities.
‘Grandpa… no, Director Ahn might feel a bit off about this, though.’
To Woojin, maintaining his persona was one of the most crucial elements. Having made his decision, Woojin looked at the female producer, more precisely, at the seven members of the ‘Pierrot’ team who were staring at him, and coldly responded in English to the question about whether he’d regret it.
“I don’t mind, but ‘Pierrot’ will regret it.”
No backing down, no left or right turns, just straight ahead. Upon hearing this, the ponytailed Choi Sung-gun, who was sitting beside Woojin, slightly flinched and glanced at him.
‘Hey, hey, dude! Isn’t that going too far?!’
From Choi Sung-gun’s perspective, it was a reasonable concern. While his English skills weren’t perfect, even he could tell that Woojin’s response was far beyond anyone’s expectations. He had just bluntly thrown it out there during a preliminary meeting, even before the actual audition.
Though Choi Sung-gun was familiar with Woojin’s personality, he still thought,
‘Word of what happened with Chris Hartnett might spread, but if he acts this intense here too, Will Woojin’s image in Hollywood be okay?!’
It was only natural for him to worry. And it wasn’t just him. Everyone else in the meeting room, who now all had their mouths slightly agape, shared the same reaction.
‘Is he saying ‘Pierrot’ will regret it? Is he… talking about us?’
‘You’re saying we’ll regret it if we let you go? Huh-‘
While the female producer and the CD were shocked, the executives from ‘Columbia Studios’ were especially so. All of them had spent decades navigating the vast landscape of Hollywood and had encountered countless actors, both from Hollywood and elsewhere.
‘We’re the ones who would regret it? What kind of outrageous character is this!’
The ‘arrogant monster’ sitting before them was someone they had never seen before.
After some time.
The preliminary meeting, which lasted about an hour, came to an end, and Kang Woojin and Choi Sung-gun exited the meeting room. After Woojin’s ‘no hesitation’ comment, the meeting proceeded with relatively smooth questions and answers. For the record, Woojin dominated the meeting, and the peculiar expressions on the ‘Columbia Studios’ executives’ faces didn’t fade until the end.
It was likely that the fresh shock they had received from Woojin hadn’t subsided yet.
As soon as Kang Woojin, who had maintained his firm persona throughout the meeting, stepped out of the room, he thought to himself,
‘Yeah, it’s probably screwed. Tsk! Oh well, I’ll just take it easy.’
He actually felt calmer. How to put it, it was like he had reached a state of enlightenment. As Woojin walked down the hallway, a few foreigners passing by glanced at him. They all seemed like employees of ‘Columbia Studios’, probably having seen or heard rumors about the incident with Chris Hartnett. Ignoring them completely, Woojin continued walking while Choi Sung-gun stuck close behind him.
“Uh- Woojin.”
Standing in front of the elevator, Kang Woojin lowered his voice.
“Yes, CEO-nim.”
“Well yeah.”
As he pressed the down button for the elevator, Choi Sung-gun spoke in a hushed tone.
“There’s still ‘World Disney Pictures’, and Joseph’s ‘Universal Movies’, but- don’t you think you went a bit too far?”
“Did I?”
“Man, honestly, it was a little nerve-wracking. Rumors are already going to spread because of that Chris Hartnett incident, and this meeting will only add fuel to the fire. If your image is too strong right from the start…… Hollywood might shy away. There’s no shortage of replacements, and they don’t exactly have much to lose.”
Woojin watched Choi Sung-gun for a moment before nodding internally. But what could he do? The damage was already done. Stepping into the elevator, Kang Woojin replied nonchalantly.
“It doesn’t matter much to me. I don’t have anything to lose either.”
“That’s true, but still.”
“It’s better they understand me clearly from the start.”
“Hmm-“
“Hollywood is vast.”
“And we’ve got plenty of other options too?”
“Yes, so I’m not clinging to ‘Pierrot’.”
Finding Woojin’s attitude remarkable, Choi Sung-gun chuckled lightly.
“Right, right. Hehe, that’s so like you. Maybe I was the one overreacting. But honestly, couldn’t you have conducted the meeting more calmly? Was there a specific reason you went in so aggressively?”
Kang Woojin answered simply.
“Their condescending tone annoyed me.”
Later.
After leaving the building, Kang Woojin got back into the van. Whether the meeting was a failure or not, it was over, and now all that remained was to wait for ‘Columbia Studios’ to get in touch.
Of course, there was always the possibility of rejection.
So what? Maintaining his unshakable poker face, Kang Woojin brushed off any concerns while picking up his phone. There were plenty of unread messages. However, instead of dealing with them, Woojin first opened his internet browser.
At the same time.
“Uh- Woojin.”
Choi Sung-gun, seated to his right, spoke up.
“About what happened with Chris Hartnett earlier… there’s a chance rumors might spread. Even if you didn’t know who he was, Chris is pretty famous around here.”
Kang Woojin replied indifferently.
“It’s not a problem.”
“Yeah, yeah, I figured you’d think that. Just wanted to let you know.”
Woojin nodded briefly.
‘What’s the big deal about that anyway.’
Once again, his gaze fell back to his phone.
While it was the afternoon of December 6th in LA, it was already the morning of December 7th in Korea. With December having started, the domestic entertainment industry, and just about everywhere, was brimming with the atmosphere of the year-end season.
Amid the flood of various issues,
『[Film Festival] With the Blue Dragon Film Awards around the corner, two movies surpass 20 million viewers this year: ‘Island of the Missing’ and ‘Leech’… a tough choice』
Naturally, news about Kang Woojin was also included.
『Kang Woojin, completely off the radar after arriving in LA… even his SNS is temporarily inactive』
Meanwhile, what remained strong in the spotlight was ‘Beneficial Evil’, which had wrapped up its filming two days prior.
『[Issue Talk] ‘Kang Woojin’, ‘Miley Cara’ starring ‘Beneficial Evil’ Part 1 filming completed!』
As Kang Woojin headed to LA, the team behind ‘Beneficial Evil’, having finished filming Part 1, announced through various planned channels that filming had been completed.
Already a hot topic with numerous discussions, the news of the wrap-up quickly spread online. Backed by Netflix, it was Korea’s first major attempt at targeting a global audience. On top of that, many articles featured interviews with Beneficial Evil’s main director, PD Song Man-woo.
『Crank-up of ‘Beneficial Evil’, PD Song Man-woo: “To speed things up, we were editing alongside shooting. Launching planned for early next year.”』
『[Star Issue] Will we see ‘Kang Woojin’ and ‘Miley Cara’ sharing the screen early next year? Public anticipation skyrockets』
Thanks to these developments, the project garnered even more attention.
As a result, mentions of ‘Beneficial Evil’ sharply increased on SNS and community forums. With the buzz surrounding Cara’s casting, the scale of the conversation grew several times larger. By late morning, media outlets across the board were actively covering Kang Woojin and others.
At that point, as if seizing the moment,
『Netflix Korea announces: “The teaser for ‘Beneficial Evil’ will be released soon, with the release date expected in January or February.”』
Netflix had stepped in. On top of that, Netflix began gradually releasing information about ‘Beneficial Evil’ to the public. The first to be released was a character introduction video featuring Kang Woojin as the main focus. Naturally, Miley Cara was included in the video as well. This video, uploaded to YouTube channels and various SNS platforms, racked up an astronomical number of views in no time. In just over three hours since its upload, it had surpassed millions of views.
Of course, this wasn’t achieved through domestic efforts alone. Numerous international audiences were flocking to the video. The overwhelming number of comments written in various languages was proof of this.
Even without Kang Woojin being physically present in Korea, his influence was undeniable.
[Channel Name: Kang Woojin’s Alter Ego]
[38.53 million subscribers]
[104 videos]
His power continued to grow beyond imagination.
-@Wooji_n
Posts: 312
Followers: 48.11 million
Following: 114
Meanwhile, in theaters across Japan, posters of the Korean movie ‘Leech’ were prominently displayed, just as Japan’s ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ posters were prominently displayed in Korean theaters.
『’The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ and ‘Leech’, rank first in advance ticket sales in Korea and Japan respectively!』
This indicated that advance reservations had officially begun.
Morning of the 7th, LA.
In an office located on the middle floors of a tall building surrounded by countless skyscrapers, a meeting was in progress.
Six foreigners were seated around a ㅁ-shaped table. Among them, an imposing, familiar, large black man occupied the head seat. It was Joseph Felton, a producer who was handling the current meeting. Wearing a neat suit, perhaps because he had another engagement later in the afternoon, he spoke.
“Hmm, good. This approach will work when talking with ‘Universal Movies’.”
He was busy organizing matters related to works he was producing. For reference, Hollywood producers of Joseph Felton’s caliber don’t handle just one project at a time. Once a project begins production, they form a team, delegate tasks to them, and inevitably find themselves with a gap in their schedule.
During that time, they pick projects they like and work on them simultaneously.
Of course, Joseph was no exception.
However, what had particularly caught his attention recently was a project he was working on with ‘Universal Movies’, one of Hollywood’s ‘Big Five’, alongside CD Megan Stone. It was a project involving Cara and Hollywood heavyweight director Danny Landis, with Kang Woojin’s participation still undecided. Even if contracts with some of them fell through, work couldn’t simply come to a halt.
Though naturally, securing Kang Woojin was still the top priority.
Currently, the screenwriter had been finalized, and they were expediting the screenplay development process.
“It should be coming out soon. The writer is quick, so while the first draft might not be ready yet, they should’ve at least put together a outline and some material summarizing the overall story.”
“Yes, I’ll check on it right away.”
“Even if it’s just the outline, tell them we’ll go pick it up.”
At that moment.
– Swoosh.
Another foreigner entered the fairly spacious office. A bald man with a very familiar face, it was Robert, one of Joseph’s subordinates and his right-hand man. As soon as Joseph saw him, he immediately asked.
“Robert, did you handle the task I gave you?”
“Yes. It’s been communicated clearly to the staff. But, Joseph-”
With a serious expression, Robert approached Joseph, who was seated, and slightly lowered his voice.
“There’s an interesting rumor circulating about ‘Columbia Studios’.”
“Ah- ‘Columbia Studios’? They’ve already been making noise about their new movie project. Hiring Director Ahn Ga-bok was fresh. What’s the rumor?”
“It seems to be exaggerated, but apparently, Chris Hartnett had a confrontation with an Asian actor in front of ‘Columbia Studios’ headquarters.”
Joseph, who had been looking down at his tablet, furrowed his brows and lifted his head.
“Hm? Chris? Though he has a strong personality, he’s not the type to cause unnecessary trouble, seems like this might’ve been exaggerated.”
“They had a brief argument, and apparently, that Asian actor asked Chris for his name.”
“Haha, that’s amusing. Asked for Chris’s name? That was deliberate. Chris got properly caught off guard this time. But for Chris to be at ‘Columbia Studios’ right now, could he be a candidate for the lead role in Director Ahn Ga-bok’s project?”
“Most likely.”
“I’ll need to update my information. Still, if the rumor is true, that Asian actor has some guts, huh? To confidently cause a scene in front of ‘Columbia Studios’ headquarters in Hollywood, no less. Who’s the actor? Chinese?”
Robert shook his head and lowered his voice even further.
“It seems to be Kang Woojin.”
At that moment, Joseph froze, his eyes widening drastically.
“Huh?”
He stood up abruptly and asked strongly.
“What? Kang Woojin??!”
The rumor was spreading faster than expected.