A Genius Director Who Dominates OTT Platforms - Chapter 39

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Director Who Dominates OTT

 

Episode 39

 

* * *

 

‘There’s no need to hang yourself over things you can’t solve.’

 

I learned this during my long life as an unknown actor.

 

While I needed to analyze why I failed auditions, obsessing over the fact that I failed made me afraid of new challenges.

 

Sometimes you need to know how to let things slide.

 

In that sense, I handled the sudden appearance of supernatural powers quite calmly.

 

I had many questions, but obsessing over them seemed pointless.

 

The situation surrounding Accomplice was getting busier by the day too.

 

But now it was time to face the questions I had buried.

 

Things were different now that I had more than just Accomplice as a sample.

 

After thinking for a moment, I picked up my pen.

 

1. Persistence

 

This was what I was most curious about, and it was clearly resolved this time.

 

The supernatural power isn’t exclusive to Accomplice.

 

It continues to activate.

 

2. Warning Signs

 

The moment I make contact with a proposal or script, warning signs of the supernatural power appear.

 

I don’t even need to read the content.

 

I heard cricket sounds as soon as I turned the first page of the 【Accomplice】 proposal, and I heard crowd cheers the moment I received 【Caught at Fingertips】.

 

What’s important is that this never happened once while working at SSK.

 

Even after the Accomplice possession, I touched all sorts of scripts and proposals just in case.

 

This means the choice of scripts lies entirely with the supernatural power.

 

Could the warning signs be a message saying ‘pay attention to this script’?

 

3. State During Warning Signs

 

Hearing and smell.

 

Just these two.

 

With 【Accomplice】, I heard cricket sounds and smelled grass.

 

With 【Caught at Fingertips】, I heard massive cheers and hoarse voices, and smelled sweat.

 

There was no other information.

 

4. Script Possession Conditions

 

Warning signs and script possession are separate things.

 

Thinking about Accomplice, nothing happened for a while after the warning signs.

 

Even though I agonized so intensely over the script.

 

Script possession activated when I heard Senior Ju Yeong-hun’s words and came up with the correct answer of ‘time loop’.

 

In other words, script possession activates when you find the correct answer that can unlock the script’s potential.

 

-Warning signs are the presentation of possibilities.

 

-Possession is the reward for finding the answer.

 

Wouldn’t this be the right way to summarize it?

 

5. Casting Recommendations

 

I just wrote the title for this part and pondered for a long time.

 

If Director Jang had stayed put, how much success would Accomplice have achieved?

 

As I told the actors, I was confident it wouldn’t fail.

 

But I’m skeptical whether it would have achieved the current level of success.

 

Director Jang set up such a grand stage, and I caused an even bigger commotion.

 

I think I’ll need more experience to know about this part.

 

After reaching that conclusion and looking at what I’d organized in my notebook, I let out a hollow laugh.

 

“I’m completely insane…”

 

To others, I’d be an undeniable delusional patient.

 

Seong Tae might see this, so I should tear it up and throw it away.

 

Anyway, the current situation is simple.

 

The supernatural power recommended 【Caught at Fingertips】, but I can’t achieve script possession because I don’t know the answer.

 

I’m so curious about the answer.

 

Where exactly is the potential hidden in this obvious script?

 

Of course, I had no intention of being consumed by the supernatural power.

 

Even if I found the answer, I’d give up production if I didn’t feel attracted to it by my own standards.

 

But knowing and rejecting is different from missing out due to ignorance, right?

 

“Caught at Fingertips…”

 

I fiddled with the script and turned to the first page.

 

The content wasn’t difficult.

 

–

 

Protagonist Park Seong-hwa.

 

Once the most successful volleyball star player in South Korea, but a man whose life off the court is a complete mess.

 

A failed husband, a failed father.

 

His marriage didn’t last a few years, and he has an awkward relationship with his daughter, worse than strangers.

 

It’s not like he succeeded as a leader either.

 

He experienced several victories as a coach, but as soon as he was appointed director, he was screwed.

 

Second from last for two consecutive years.

 

Since the bottom-ranked team was scheduled for dissolution, it was practically the same as being last.

 

If this year’s performance didn’t rebound, dismissal was virtually confirmed.

 

In this situation, Park Seong-hwa blamed the players for his failures.

 

“Why can’t you do this!”

 

He pushed hard while strongly controlling the players, but the result was conflict with the Franchise Star.

 

“The director projects himself onto the players.”

 

“But what can I do? I don’t know about player Park Seong-hwa, but there’s nothing I want to emulate about person Park Seong-hwa.”

 

Enraged Park Seong-hwa slapped the Franchise Star, and that was the end.

 

The violence incident was sensationalized and he was dishonorably dismissed.

 

Having given up everything, Park Seong-hwa decided to leave the Volleyball Community completely…

 

-Are you Director Park Seong-hwa?

 

An offer comes in to coach the perpetual bottom-ranked team scheduled for dissolution that no one wants to take.

 

–

 

Honestly, the content was so clichéd it was even bewildering.

 

Just from the beginning, the rest of the content was obvious.

 

Conflict with the ragtag team members, rehabilitation, reconciliation with family, and miraculous victory.

 

The growth story of Park Seong-hwa as a human, not a player.

 

There’s no way a production company would want to film this in 2028, and there was even a volleyball movie with similar material a few years ago.

 

Though the character and event details are completely different, it’s the same story of a former player coach joining a bottom-ranked team.

 

There was a high probability of being criticized with ‘Hey, this is exactly the same as that one.’

 

Of course, it’s not without merits.

 

If you can get immersed, it’s surprisingly very entertaining.

 

It’s amazing that it provides this much fun just through scenes even though I have no interest in the development.

 

The details of the bottom-ranked team’s gradual improvement process are incredible, showing how much thought went into it.

 

Even when I close my eyes and visualize it, there are no jarring parts.

 

Looking at just the script, it’s a good script…

 

‘Am I too buried in prejudice about clichés?’

 

Let me open my mind.

 

【Accomplice】 wasn’t fun.

 

So I added fun.

 

【Caught at Fingertips】 is fun but clichéd.

 

In other words, freshness needs to be added.

 

However, like with Accomplice, there’s a feeling that nothing should be removed.

 

Something needs to be added to create freshness…

 

What should I add?

 

-The ability to see the future?

 

-The ability to read minds?

 

-The colors of the players’ emotions?

 

I poured out ideas in my notebook alone and then let out a sigh.

 

Perhaps because of Accomplice’s successful experience, I keep thinking of things related to supernatural powers.

 

This isn’t right.

 

Suddenly adding fantasy to a realistic sports drama that vibrates with the smell of sweat would only diminish its strengths.

 

‘Let me think from the beginning again.’

 

What are the advantages of sports dramas?

 

What are the unique advantages that volleyball has among countless sports?

 

What sequences can only be shown through the profession of a coach?

 

I analyzed the script until dawn broke, filled my idea notebook, and dissected other sports movies and dramas, but…

 

“Is there even an answer?”

 

I had gained nothing.

 

* * *

 

Wednesday and Thursday returned.

 

Episodes 5 and 6 of Accomplice were released.

 

Accomplice was riding a complete upward trend, to the point where it was regrettable that only 2 episodes remained until the ending.

 

Recently, people have been calling Accomplice ‘a work with an entrance but no exit.’

 

Even though it had progressed to episode 6, the density of the narrative hadn’t weakened at all.

 

No, it had actually become even more intricate.

 

Thanks to this, when monitoring communities these days, it was confusing whether they were drama communities or Accomplice communities.

 

[(Accomplice) Think I found the leather watch hint that appears in every murder scene]

 

[(Accomplice) Decisive evidence that Jeong-hun is the culprit]

 

[(Accomplice) Episode 6 confirmed it. The time loop is definitely Hyeon-tae’s delusion.]

 

[(Accomplice) If Spider-Man has Dancer in the Dark, we have Light Unpacker.]

 

…What’s that last recommended post about.

 

Should I click on it?

 

Anyway, the writer, director, actors, Tivic, and SSK were all beaming with joy.

 

Surprisingly, CL 3 Team was also beaming.

 

Although Accomplice is an F.E.M production, since I belong to Team 3, it would definitely count toward the annual performance.

 

Perhaps because of that, Senior Ju Yeong-hun’s attitude seems to have softened a bit recently.

 

But where there’s light, there’s also shadow in this world.

 

【0% Algorithm, Episode 5 viewership 10.9%】

 

【Youngpal Episode 6, national viewership 10%, metropolitan viewership 9.1%? Rejected by younger audiences?】

 

【0% Algorithm barely maintains 10% viewership, what are the viewing prospects?】

 

Youngpal’s data was gradually crumbling.

 

The reason was too simple.

 

When dramas aired on the same day at the same time, people chose Accomplice.

 

This phenomenon was particularly pronounced among viewers from teens to thirties.

 

So Director Jang was wrong.

 

He said Accomplice’s success was due to issues, not the work itself.

 

I don’t intend to deny that we benefited from the issues.

 

Without the confrontational structure with Youngpal, there wouldn’t have been this much initial influx.

 

But if that was all there was, the drama’s continuous rise would have been impossible.

 

In the end, art triumphed.

 

It’s a grandiose statement to say out loud, but now Korean dramas are divided into before and after Accomplice.

 

Countless artists will start challenging various works using Accomplice’s success as a reference.

 

Moreover, hasn’t the hurdle for casting unknown actors also been lowered somewhat?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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