A Genius Director Who Dominates OTT Platforms - Chapter 56

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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 56

 

* * *

 

Kim Ra-un made a bewildered expression as he watched Dohyeon-u pour out what he wanted to say and disappear.

 

He had received countless casting offers so far, but this was a first.

 

This isn’t casting, it’s cast-writing, isn’t it?

 

But….

 

It didn’t feel bad.

 

It felt like going back a few years.

 

After Dohyeon-u left like that, he fell into contemplation in the quiet house.

 

Many thoughts passed through his mind.

 

“Don’t look for reasons to reject this work in yourself either.”

 

“If you’re going to reject it, read the script as an actor and then reject it.”

 

“Watch Accomplice. And read this script.”

 

When you think about it, these are all too obvious things to say.

 

When rejecting a work, you should do it after reading the script.

 

If there’s a competing work that brought you down, you should monitor it.

 

Of course, if it’s a script that doesn’t even meet basic standards, or a competing work that succeeded for ridiculous reasons, there would be no need to do so.

 

But this is a work that Dohyeon-u has touched.

 

The world might not know, but he’s the person Choi Jae-hyeok and Seo Jae-yeon consult first when deciding on their next projects.

 

The person that President Yun and Go Team Leader of D.P acknowledge as having better insight than themselves.

 

Although he mostly appeared in supporting roles or minor parts without dialogue, he’s the person who recorded the highest audience numbers and viewership ratings in South Korea.

 

Clearly, just dozens of minutes ago, he had no intention of reading the script called 【Caught at Fingertips】….

 

Now, somehow, it feels like he’d be a fool not to read it.

 

“This is ridiculous.”

 

Kim Ra-un chuckled and grabbed a bottle of beer, turning on the TV in the living room.

 

Beep beep beep-

 

The sound of the door lock being pressed was heard, and Director Jang Gi-un entered.

 

“Watching TV?”

 

“Just turned it on. I was bored.”

 

“What about dinner?”

 

“I ate earlier.”

 

Jang Gi-un looked at Kim Ra-un’s face and sat down next to him with a smile.

 

“You look good today.”

 

“…Do I?”

 

“Yeah, perfect timing. I’ve got a meeting set up with Director Go tomorrow.”

 

“Director Go, you mean Director Go Hak-su?”

 

“Yeah. The person who put you on the path to stardom. He says he wants to use you as the lead in his next project.”

 

“Why me?”

 

Director Jang Gi-un frowned at Kim Ra-un’s words.

 

“You don’t like the question?”

 

“….”

 

“Kim Ra-un. Get it together. Just because one project became uncertain, are you at a level where you’d be shunned?”

 

“…I’m sorry.”

 

“Director Go said the same thing. He said idiots are making noise for a moment so they can’t recognize an actor’s value. He was applauding Youngpal’s overseas performance, right? All the rights sold under your name, so he told me to tell you that the contents don’t get ruined just because the pot boils a little.”

 

“Was there any other talk?”

 

“What, acting? Isn’t confidence in acting something we take as a default?”

 

Director Jang relaxed his expression and patted Kim Ra-un’s shoulder.

 

“So don’t worry about what they’re saying outside. If Dohyeon-u hadn’t spread nonsense about next project casting and whatnot, it would have been buried already. Just wait 3 months and production companies will be lining up asking for your next project, right?”

 

Kim Ra-un nodded obediently, then thought about something and opened his mouth.

 

“But Director Jang.”

 

“What.”

 

“Have you seen Accomplice?”

 

“I watched it. Not all of it though.”

 

“What do you think it would have been like if I had filmed it?”

 

“What’s the point of saying that. It would have done better. What Dohyeon-u said was plausible nonsense to reject you.”

 

After chatting about similar topics for a while, Jang Gi-un got up from his seat.

 

“I’ll pick you up at 4 tomorrow. Even if you don’t need styling, it’s good to look confident, so I’ll send you an outfit.”

 

After Director Jang left, Kim Ra-un got up and headed to the study.

 

Opening the bottom drawer, there was a well-worn Accomplice script.

 

Dohyeon-u’s words were only half right.

 

Kim Ra-un had never watched the Accomplice video.

 

But he had read the script several times.

 

After skimming through the script, Kim Ra-un came out to the living room and accessed Tivic.

 

It wasn’t as nerve-wracking as expected.

 

I typed just ‘ㄱ’ and when I saw ‘공범체’ pop up in the suggestions, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

 

And so Accomplice episode 1 began playing.

 

* * *

 

The day after making a casting offer to Kim Ra-un.

 

I started avoiding Chae Seo-hui.

 

She kept asking if I really did well with the casting.

 

She’s quick-witted, so she seems to have noticed that I’m feeling uncertain.

 

Honestly, I’m not sure.

 

From Kim Ra-un’s perspective, my sudden outburst probably seemed absurd, but it might not have been bad because it reminded him of old times.

 

I wonder if I should have been more flattering, but then again, I think my sincerity probably got through.

 

Whatever the case, Kim Ra-un’s eyes when he looked at me at the end didn’t seem bad….

 

Damn, I don’t know.

 

I definitely intended to do the casting with better words.

 

No, he’s a top star, so why is he still so thin-skinned inside?

 

Don’t people change easily?

 

Since I thought of it, I should go scold Seo Jae-yeon.

 

-Live nervously. You lose your manners the moment you let your guard down.

 

Ignoring Seo Jae-yeon who immediately called back, I leaned back in my chair.

 

“Hyeon-u!”

 

Chae Seo-hui appeared from somewhere and shook my chair vigorously.

 

“Ah, stop it! I told you I did well in my own way.”

 

“Not that. I found out an incredible secret.”

 

“A secret?”

 

Chae Seo-hui whispered.

 

“Senior Ju Yeong-hun is producing writer Hong Hee-yeong’s new work. Oxygen Alert.”

 

Ah, that?

 

“The director is AP Go Hak-su.”

 

“…Really?”

 

“Yes. Director Go is good at filming mini-series. Though there are rumors that his personality is a bit nasty.”

 

Wow, what is this situation.

 

If Jang Gi-un gets attached there, it would be a collection of some of the worst relationships in my life.

 

“The 3 Team members probably don’t know yet, right? It seemed like only CE Kang Mu-tae knew.”

 

“No, where on earth do you hear such things?”

 

“There are ways for everything.”

 

Now there are no more points to give to her hearing ability.

 

“Hyeon-u, you’ve read the script, right?”

 

“I have.”

 

When I rejected it in front of Ju Yeong-hun, I hadn’t read the script yet, but I later asked the Script Team to let me see it.

 

Not all of it, just episodes 1-4.

 

“How was it?”

 

“It was interesting. It was definitely entertaining, but….”

 

Strangely, images kept flashing in my mind.

 

There’s only one case when this happens.

 

The density of the drama’s entertainment elements is excessively uniform.

 

Works with strong characters inevitably have relatively simple incidents.

 

Since the density of entertainment is concentrated on the characters, it becomes tiresome if the incidents are also intense.

 

That’s why character shows rely on coincidence to resolve incidents and obtain information.

 

Conversely, works with strong incident power can’t let characters stray beyond a certain range.

 

Even if given unique points, they must have universal validity that can be accepted without much explanation.

 

This applies not only to incidents and characters, but also to subject matter and settings.

 

If the subject matter is too unusual, you trim the setting; if the setting is too unusual, you lay down universally valid subject matter.

 

Of course, this rule doesn’t always apply.

 

Occasionally, works are born with incredible characters, incredible incidents, and incredible subject matter and settings too.

 

Those are treated as immortal masterpieces and talked about for ages….

 

But they’re rare.

 

They’re works that come out maybe once every few years.

 

In that sense, 【Oxygen Alert】 seemed to flash in my mind.

 

It’s a romantic comedy about a male mermaid + female chaebol heiress, but the central axis was unclear.

 

But the scenes and dialogue felt really well-crafted.

 

If they could just revise the script a little well, or reduce the density through direction, it seemed like an amazing work could emerge.

 

“It was entertaining, but what?”

 

“I was being envious so I dragged out my words a bit. It was just interesting.”

 

Chae Seo-hui chuckled at my words.

 

She seemed to understand the signal that I’d stop here since there were listening ears.

 

Sung Tae-chang needs to step up his game.

 

At this rate, the top priority System Message might end up being Seong Tae-chang.

 

I got up from my seat after having such pointless thoughts.

 

I needed to fill the supporting lead roles while waiting for Kim Ra-un’s answer for the lead role.

 

* * *

 

The second lead of 【Caught at Fingertips】, Lee Yeong-han.

 

26 years old in the story.

 

Now I also know that 26 is considered an old gamer in the pro-gaming world.

 

Yun Hyeon-sol gave me an intense lecture about it.

 

Lee Yeong-han, a pro-gamer representing a generation, mysteriously disappeared the day before the Asian Games finals.

 

A substitute player was put in as Lee Yeong-han’s replacement, but the result was defeat.

 

China took the gold medal.

 

How absurd and angry must people have been when a national team player just vanished?

 

Criticism poured out that E-sports could never become a real sport, and Lee Yeong-han became the worst traitor and deserter in the E-sports industry.

 

But no one knew the reason why Lee Yeong-han ran away.

 

When Lee Yeong-han returns to Seongwha Empire after disappearing for 3 years, Park Seong-hwa is appointed as the coach.

 

He’s an extremely important character.

 

If Park Seong-hwa represents the established generation, Lee Yeong-han represents the new generation.

 

If Park Seong-hwa values effort, Lee Yeong-han values talent; if Park Seong-hwa is about process, Lee Yeong-han is about results.

 

However, the color of pain both men carried was the same.

 

Ultimately, the two come to understand each other’s wounds, and Seongwha Empire moves forward as a true unified team.

 

In other words, we need an actor in his twenties who can hold his own against Kim Ra-un’s acting while creating a completely different atmosphere.

 

The supernatural ability’s recommendation is….

 

Min Jae-ryul from Surfer Entertainment.

 

Actors these days look so young that people in their thirties take away roles for twentysomethings, but he’s a twentysomething actor steadily building his filmography within that environment.

 

While a 16-episode lead role might still be too much, it was about time to aim for an 8-episode OTT lead role….

 

Surfer Entertainment’s reaction wasn’t bad.

 

Min Jae-ryul also completely read the episodes 1-4 script on the spot.

 

The role is substantial enough that if you look at it with slightly blurred vision, you could argue it’s a dual-lead story.

 

Thanks to that, the meeting was harmonious throughout.

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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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