A Genius Director Who Dominates OTT Platforms - Chapter 57

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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 57

 

“Actor Min Jae-ryul really grasps the first point well. Even with difficult scenes, he starts off well so he makes it look easy.”

 

“Ah, that’s right. The professor who teaches Jae-ryul acting always praises that aspect.”

 

“To be honest, I don’t think there’s any actor who could portray Lee Yeong-han better than Min Jae-ryul.”

 

At my words, Min Jae-ryul’s team leader broke into a bright smile.

 

Over his genuinely pleased expression, Go Team Leader briefly flashed through my mind.

 

Go Team Leader always had that same expression whenever his actor received praise.

 

After that, we spent quite a while praising Min Jae-ryul’s acting.

 

It wasn’t fake.

 

He was an actor I would have considered for first or second choice even without the supernatural ability’s recommendation.

 

Around that time, the Surfer Entertainment team leader casually brought up a topic.

 

“By the way, is there any progress on the protagonist casting? I heard some talk about actor Kim Ra-un.”

 

“We’ve delivered the script to actor Kim Ra-un and are waiting for a positive response.”

 

“Ah, is that so?”

 

“Yes. He’s an outstanding actor. His box office power is solid too.”

 

When I responded firmly to his probing question, he seemed flustered, but this was the right approach.

 

There was no point in being vague and trailing off since we’d have to discuss it anyway.

 

Besides, today wasn’t a day for signing contracts.

 

The production budget hadn’t been set yet, and the director position was still vacant.

 

It was like getting a waiting number, you could say.

 

Even if the meeting ended amicably, once I left, the internal staff would gather and run their calculations.

 

And I had a name that would record a plus in those calculations.

 

“By the way, team leader. While reviewing, I noticed that an actor suitable for the role of PR team leader Yu A-yeon is also from Surfer Entertainment.”

 

“Yu A-yeon? The one with the romance line with Lee Yeong-han?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Yu A-yeon, PR team leader of Seong-hwa Empire.

 

A proactive character who struggles to save a team drowning in debt.

 

She truly loves Seong-hwa Empire and is also someone who constantly provokes Lee Yeong-han, who has never deeply thought about ‘team’ or ‘duty.’

 

“In the 4 episodes of script we’ve delivered, Yu A-yeon’s role isn’t prominent, but she becomes more important as it progresses.”

 

I found and opened Yu A-yeon’s section in the casting book.

 

“From episode 6 onwards, her screen time increases dramatically. But it’s not just romance – she has many parts where she proactively pursues her goals.”

 

The team leader nodded as he skimmed through the casting book.

 

In our drama where the main female lead position was vacant, this was quite a significant role.

 

The script role itself wasn’t high, but it was a position that would benefit if the drama succeeded.

 

Seeming attracted, the Surfer Entertainment team leader swallowed and spoke up.

 

“Which actor are you considering…”

 

“Oh Ha-eun. Is her schedule okay?”

 

“What? Ha-eun? You mean, not some other Ha-eun, but Oh Ha-eun?”

 

“Is there another actor at Surfer Entertainment who uses Ha-eun as a stage name?”

 

“No, there isn’t. But…”

 

The team leader looked at me like I was crazy and asked.

 

“She is our actor, but doesn’t her name value fall too short?”

 

That was true.

 

In most of the works Oh Ha-eun appeared in, she played either ‘the female lead’s best friend’ or ‘the male lead’s unrequited love interest’ who only appeared briefly in episode 1.

 

When I possessed Park Seong-hwa and met her, I thought she was a completely unfamiliar face.

 

Honestly, after looking up her filmography, I had initially thought about rejecting the supernatural ability’s casting recommendation for the first time.

 

But the three web dramas she filmed recently changed my mind.

 

I hadn’t noticed when she only played obvious roles in commercial dramas, but when she took on a character with desires, she really blossomed.

 

“Are you thinking of doing fee negotiations as a package deal? Since Jae-ryul and Ha-eun have different management teams, it would be good to let us know in advance.”

 

I shook my head at the indirect question about bundle sales.

 

“Let’s proceed separately. I desperately want Min Jae-ryul, but I also want Oh Ha-eun.”

 

The team leader stared at me for a while, then burst into hearty laughter.

 

“I’m starting to understand how the Accomplice actors must have felt.”

 

* * *

 

I found it fascinating.

 

If I had only tried to cast Min Jae-ryul, Surfer Entertainment would have been busy punching their calculators.

 

But with Oh Ha-eun included, there were many more positive factors.

 

It’s harder for female actors to make it big than male actors in today’s entertainment industry.

 

In that sense, Oh Ha-eun was a realistically helpful recommended casting.

 

‘Could it be that the supernatural ability only recommends guaranteed castings?’

 

Come to think of it, the same was true for Eum Seong-hyeon.

 

Meeting Eum Seong-hyeon was by chance.

 

I suddenly discovered him at a cafe I visited for a meeting with writers.

 

But when I heard the story later, Eum Seong-hyeon’s visit to the cafe that day was a series of coincidences.

 

Doesn’t that mean the supernatural ability helped arrange our meeting?

 

This thought grew stronger as I went around agencies.

 

You’d expect at least one person to have scheduling conflicts, but they were all resting without any planned next projects.

 

I began to feel greedy.

 

‘Could I fill all the core characters with recommended castings?’

 

It was definitely pushing it.

 

Accomplice was a unique work that had been left alone after being allocated a contest-winning budget.

 

In other words, with just SSK’s permission, I could proceed with casting as I pleased without any problems.

 

But 【Caught at Fingertips】 was different.

 

Minimum 10 billion won.

 

Maximum 20 billion won.

 

The budget would probably be set somewhere in between, and a considerable amount of Tivic’s money would be in there.

 

There was no reason for Tivic not to get involved in casting.

 

Not only that, but SSK’s leadership, the director to be appointed later, writer Yeom Jae-mun, the lead actors, and even Chae Seo-hui who was working with me.

 

There were many opinions to consider, and they had to be considered.

 

I couldn’t act like a stubborn dictator while grasping everything.

 

It wasn’t a project of a size where I could grab everything I wanted to hold.

 

Nevertheless, I felt greedy because I thought the supernatural ability’s recommendations were ‘castings that would definitely come to fruition.’

 

But…

 

“What did you say?”

 

“Actor Jeong Gi-jun signed with another project.”

 

The casting for Han Guk-yeong, the script’s third role, fell through.

 

* * *

 

Jeong Gi-jun.

 

An actor who played protagonists several times in his 20s and 30s but had no luck with ratings.

 

All the dramas he starred in as the lead flopped, and he suffered box office disasters when he moved to films in dual lead roles.

 

But from his 40s, he tried doing many projects and hit it big.

 

He appeared in so many works that he was called ‘Again Gi-jun,’ and they all performed well.

 

After that, they say Chungmuro uses Jeong Gi-jun as a standard when moderately important roles come up.

 

To the point where people say ‘If it’s more expensive than Jeong Gi-jun, we might as well use Jeong Gi-jun.’

 

He had literally become the standard, true to his name.

 

But I found that somewhat regrettable.

 

Personally, I really love senior Jeong Gi-jun’s acting.

 

I’ve never met him directly, but he’s also a senior from the theater troupe 【Admiration】 that I belonged to.

 

I had even cheered internally when Han Guk-yeong in the script possession had Jeong Gi-jun’s face.

 

But he signed on to a different project?

 

“Are you sure? He really signed a performance contract?”

 

Chae Seo-hui nodded her head.

 

“Yes. I’m certain.”

 

“Where did you hear this?”

 

“There’s nothing to hear or not hear about it. Everyone at the company knows.”

 

A thought suddenly struck me.

 

“Don’t tell me….”

 

“Yes. Oxygen Alert. Senior Ju Yeong-hun snatched him up.”

 

No wonder there was no contact from Senior Jeong Gi-jun’s agency after our cheerful meeting.

 

Usually in cases like this, they reach out in advance.

 

Even though we hadn’t signed a contract, there had been prior understanding.

 

They ignored me because it was me.

 

Even though I’m serving as temporary supervisor, I’m just a CE, not a senior.

 

And until just a few weeks ago, I was an assistant CE under Ju Yeong-hun.

 

They thought since he’d be joining an SSK project anyway, Ju Yeong-hun would handle the coordination.

 

“Hyeon-u. You can’t do anything rash. Honestly, casting falling through is common, isn’t it?”

 

“I know. I know, but….”

 

This feels pretty damn awful.

 

They ignored the unwritten rules that Creative Line teams should follow because it was me.

 

I held back even with the Ethics Committee.

 

I didn’t want to brand them when I had suspicions but no solid evidence.

 

But now I can feel the malice.

 

And this wasn’t a misunderstanding.

 

-Director Do. Honestly, internal opinions are divided.

 

“Please tell me.”

 

-The actor wants 【Caught at Fingertips】. Says the script is too good. But from the company’s perspective, 【Oxygen Alert】 is more attractive. The writer’s name value and confirmed programming slot.

 

“I understand.”

 

-If you could just adjust the fee a little, I could talk to the higher-ups….

 

The next day, agencies for roles 4 and 5 contacted me.

 

Saying Ju Yeong-hun had approached them.

 

I hung up the phone, thought for a moment, then stood up from my seat.

 

It seemed I needed to meet with Ju Yeong-hun.

 

* * *

 

The moment Dohyeon-u appeared on the 5th floor.

 

The Creative Line Teams 2 and 3 members fell silent as mice.

 

Everyone knew what had happened over the past two days.

 

Ju Yeong-hun had broken Creative Line’s unwritten rules.

 

Since Teams 1, 2, and 3 did the same work, there were established boundaries, which he completely ignored.

 

The problem was that Team 4 had no senior to cover for this.

 

Some CEs thought Gong Seok-jun would step in soon, but it was actually a very ambiguous issue.

 

If Ju Yeong-hun said ‘we were in contact first,’ there’d be nothing to say.

 

Usually when it became an emotional fight between seniors, they’d reach a reasonable agreement to avoid hassle….

 

Manager Gong Seok-jun couldn’t care for Team 4 forever.

 

Meanwhile, Jeong Gi-jun had fallen into Ju Yeong-hun’s embrace.

 

It was expected that Dohyeon-u would take action.

 

But no one thought he’d come directly.

 

They expected him to send an SOS to higher-ups.

 

As all team members held their breath, Dohyeon-u stood before Ju Yeong-hun and opened his mouth.

 

“Team 3 Leader. From what I learned, there are lines that should be respected.”

 

“Lines?”

 

“When there’s clearly a side that made contact first, shouldn’t you have asked for understanding?”

 

“You should have asked for understanding. I made contact first. If you didn’t know, that’s a matter of ability.”

 

Ju Yeong-hun was shameless.

 

“What? Did you think you’re the only one in this world with an eye for actors? Those actors were our first priority too. I was the one who communicated with the team leader faster than you. If you’re going to insist on being first by just throwing a script at them, everyone would just hand over their first drafts, right?”

 

“Would that logic hold if the positions were reversed?”

 

“Of course? Why? Do I seem like I’m being unreasonable?”

 

Ju Yeong-hun chuckled and pointed to the script on his desk.

 

“Our project, Director Go Hak-su is taking it on. You know each other, right?”

 

“Yes, well. I know him roughly.”

 

“Director Go Hak-su wants Kim Ra-un as the lead. It’s already been discussed with Director Jang.”

 

“What are you trying to say?”

 

“Since we’re face to face, let’s coordinate traffic. You might come running again when we sign a contract with Kim Ra-un, right?”

 

Dohyeon-u, who had been listening, opened his mouth.

 

“From what I hear, you haven’t signed a contract yet.”

 

“It’s just a matter of time. After Kim Ra-un’s brief stumble, wouldn’t he miss Director Go? He’s the director who brought out his charm the best.”

 

That was the moment.

 

Before Ju Yeong-hun could finish speaking, Dohyeon-u burst into loud laughter.

 

It was genuine, unforced laughter.

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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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