NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 289

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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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Episode 289. Get to Work

“···A global match?”

– Originally, I was planning to tell you over drinks when Ryu came to LA to hang out, but my friend is such a busy person, you know. Haha. Since there’s no telling when you’ll come visit LA, BWGS seemed to be getting anxious, so I called directly.

 

Yeon-woo nodded as he read the email Bernard Fenton had sent.

 

‘BWGS. I’ve heard of Blue Whale Gate several times.’

 

Blue Whale Gate, which made the proposal through Bernard Fenton, is a global production company famous for having a high success rate with the shows they launch.

 

A considerable number of the flagship shows on major American broadcasting networks are currently their works.

 

“But I didn’t know Blue Whale would purchase formats?”

– Hmm, that was unexpected for me too. They’re usually the type to plan and sell their own projects.

“The scale and methods will probably be completely different from the survival show we did domestically.”

– Now that I think about it, that makes sense. After all, even I had ideas bubbling up in my head about using it as source material after watching “Survival Island,” so those who compete with ideas would certainly change it creatively.

 

Listening to Bernard Fenton’s words, Yeon-woo quickly finished his calculations in his head.

 

He didn’t know how much they paid for the format, but considering Blue Whale Gate’s company size, it probably wasn’t a burdensome amount.

 

From their perspective, TVM would probably be a small broadcasting station from the Asian periphery that they’d never even heard of.

 

‘Hmm, Blue Whale Gate and TVM… The weight classes don’t match at all.’

 

Organizing his thoughts, Yeon-woo spoke up.

 

“Bernard. Then what they really want probably isn’t the format of “Survival Island” itself, right? The concept of celebrities playing survival games is something they could use without necessarily importing a format.”

 

Listening to Bernard Fenton’s words, Yeon-woo had a hunch that Blue Whale Gate’s CEO John McClellan wanted not the format of the program “Survival Island” that they bought from Korea, but Yeon-woo himself.

 

In fact, commercial films with the concept of death matches originated in Japan and America.

 

When PD Yoon Chang-jun first explained the planning intention to Yeon-woo, he had said he established the concept by presenting several foreign films to help with understanding.

 

‘It’s hard to say there’s copyright on this type of variety show format.’

 

Moreover, if it was Blue Whale Gate, they would tear everything apart and rebuild it anyway, leaving only the framework, so there seemed even less need to import the format.

 

Then what they needed wasn’t “Survival Island” but the symbolism possessed by player ‘Ryu Yeon-woo,’ the inaugural winner of that show.

 

‘If I unexpectedly do well, that would be good in its own way, and even if I get eliminated by another country’s representative, it would feel like an upper league rather than a spinoff concept of the existing show.’

 

Making the “Global Match” feel like it was above “Survival Island” rather than beside it was most likely what they wanted.

 

Meanwhile, Bernard Fenton, who understood what Yeon-woo was getting at after hearing his words, laughed from the other end of the phone.

 

– Hahaha. Here I was walking around Hollywood with my shoulders back, thinking I’d gotten some experience with the ocean breeze at Santa Monica Beach, but I missed something important? Ryu is better than me. These aren’t blue whales, they’re cunning killer whales.

 

Bernard Fenton caught his breath for a moment and continued speaking.

 

– Then it looks like negotiations with BWGS will be necessary? If Ryu is thinking of participating in the global match…

“It goes without saying. Of course I’ll leave everything regarding negotiations to Bernard.”

 

Bernard Fenton laughed heartily, seeming satisfied with Yeon-woo’s words.

 

– As expected, Ryu is someone I can have a conversation with without having to think twice, which puts my mind at ease. The longer you work in society, the rarer it becomes to find people you can speak openly with.

 

Yeon-woo felt the same way.

 

Saebyeol didn’t currently have a pool of personnel they could dispatch overseas, and even if they did dispatch someone, would they be able to hold their own among the seasoned industry insiders who had been grinding it out in Hollywood?

 

For now, even if it meant giving up a commission in the middle, Bernard Fenton’s very existence was beneficial.

 

“Then let’s save the detailed discussion for later, after things progress a bit more.”

 

***

 

The day after receiving the casting proposal from Bernard Fenton, when he visited the Saebyeol Building for a meeting, CEO Jeong Hyeok handed Yeon-woo some documents.

 

“I cut most of the casting proposals at my level, but I thought Actor Ryu should take a look at this one directly.”

 

Taking the documents, Yeon-woo tilted his head.

 

“Is this perhaps from Hollywood? Things wouldn’t have progressed this quickly.”

“Huh? Hollywood?”

 

Seeing CEO Jeong Hyeok’s reaction, it apparently wasn’t from Bernard Fenton.

 

“Hmm, I’ll tell you about that later. Let me read what you gave me first.”

 

Yeon-woo shifted his gaze to the documents in his hand.

 

– 8th Scenario Competition Special Judge Appointment Proposal

 

To Ryu Yeon-woo, selected as ‘Most Beloved Actor by the 20-49 Young Generation,’ special judge for the 8th Scenario Competition hosted by the Korea Film Council…

 

‘Hmm? A judge for a scenario competition…’

 

Yeon-woo stroked his chin at the unexpected proposal written in the documents.

 

Then CEO Jeong Hyeok also nodded as he watched Yeon-woo and continued speaking.

 

“I thought Actor Ryu might find this interesting, so I delivered it directly.”

 

This was Yeon-woo, who would sit in the 3rd floor cafe and read through all the scenarios that came into the company, even if they weren’t for projects he would be in.

 

And CEO Jeong Hyeok held Ryu Yeon-woo’s scenario-reading ability in high regard.

 

This was partly because CEO Kim Ju-seong had advised him to pay attention to Yeon-woo’s scenario-reading sense, but above all, the results spoke for themselves.

 

‘All the scenarios Actor Ryu has chosen so far have been huge hits.’

 

Of course, it was uncertain whether the Film Commission people would think the same way.

 

Yeon-woo also focused on the first line written in the proposal’s overview.

 

‘Selected as the number one favorite actor among the young generation aged 20-49, so they sent the proposal…’

 

In fact, to interpret it more broadly, they were asking him to be the face of the competition to ensure its success.

 

‘Well, it doesn’t really matter what they think.’

 

He was starting to think that Saebyeol Media needed storytellers under its umbrella, and there might be some hidden gems in this competition.

 

And if there were hidden gems that others hadn’t discovered, it was only right to pick them up first.

 

‘Hmm, if things go well, I might find a movie for my next project.’

 

Yeon-woo, who had been examining the documents, spoke up.

 

“CEO, have you reviewed this? Which side gets the copyright for the competition entries?”

“Hmm? Min-jeong. How does the copyright issue work?”

 

Hearing Yeon-woo’s question, CEO Jeong Hyeok looked at Gong Min-jeong.

 

“Just a moment. Um, winning entries have a two-year priority negotiation right with the committee, and rejected works can be freely contracted.”

“That sounds good. Accepting this won’t interfere with my schedule, right?”

“Well, there’s no fixed schedule and they said flexible attendance is fine, so timing shouldn’t be an issue. However, there are so many old-fashioned people there that I’m worried you might accept with good intentions only to end up feeling bad…”

 

Yeon-woo nodded at CEO Jeong Hyeok’s words.

 

“I’ve never directly dealt with the Film Commission, but honestly, I’ve heard plenty of stories from people around me, so I have some expectations.”

“Um, well, if you’re prepared for it, that’s good.”

 

Looking at Yeon-woo, CEO Jeong Hyeok tilted his head.

 

“By the way, what was that about Hollywood you mentioned earlier?”

“Ah…”

 

Yeon-woo briefly explained the content of his contact with Bernard Fenton last night.

 

Yeon-woo’s story seemed as unexpected as the judge proposal he had delivered, as CEO Jeong Hyeok’s eyes widened.

 

“What? A global match? I heard that TVM signed a supply contract with Netflix, but I didn’t know they would expand the scope like this… Are you going to participate?”

“Well, I’m thinking of participating for now, but I think I need to lay some groundwork first.”

“Groundwork?”

 

At Jeong Hyeok’s question, Yeon-woo grinned and continued.

 

“Since it’s clear they want me, I should raise my value. First, there are media outlets requesting interviews about ‘Survival Island’, right?”

“Well, there’s a truckload of them.”

“I need to do some interviews. I’ll say that filming ‘Survival Island’ was quite physically demanding, and to prevent being typecast as an actor, if there’s a follow-up season, I’m thinking of not participating…”

 

Hearing Yeon-woo’s words, CEO Jeong Hyeok also grinned.

 

“So the interview would be like a letter to Hollywood?”

 

Yeon-woo nodded.

 

Since the news of the global match production hadn’t been reported yet, he needed to make the first move to raise his value.

 

‘They probably thought that if they bought the rights to ‘Survival Island’ and planned it with the same title, naturally the inaugural winner – me – would come as a package deal…’

 

He would be going onto the global stage more often in the future, so he needed to button up properly from the start.

 

How his value was assessed would also affect other casting offers that would come in later.

 

Yeon-woo organized the documents in front of him and looked at the desk calendar on one side of the desk.

 

“Both the competition judge position and the global match are still distant matters, so let’s discuss only this much for now… It’s today. With programs coming one after another, we’ve ended up having viewing parties every week.”

 

The staff nodded at Yeon-woo’s words.

 

“We like it though?”

“Honestly, even if it’s not just for the first broadcast, I’d like those who want to gather every week. Meeting at night is quite fun…”

 

“Parabola” was about to have its first broadcast this evening.

 

Actually, if you think about it, the drama content was nothing special – just a youth sports story – but it was special in that there were no ‘youth sports dramas’ among recently aired dramas.

 

‘I did a lot of groundwork to ensure its success…’

 

“Survival Island” was a variety show he decided to appear on for the success of “Parabola,” but somehow it even expanded overseas, making the tail wag the dog.

 

“And there’s ‘that thing’ we planned to film around the time ‘Parabola’ airs.”

 

When Yeon-woo looked at Gong Min-jeong and asked, she immediately nodded and took out documents to distribute to the meeting participants.

 

“But is this really okay?”

“Of course. If you’re a contracted actor, you should work hard, shouldn’t you?”

 

Gong Min-jeong, who had been looking at Yeon-woo, broke out in a cold sweat.

 

Somehow, his determination to work her hard seemed to be shooting out from his eyes.

 

And indeed, the upcoming projects were lined up one after another.

 

Anyway, since the global match and competition judging were things Yeon-woo would handle, even setting those aside, he still had to manage the activities of the contracted actors.

 

‘It feels like I’ve been the only one working lately…’

 

Each actor needed to work on their individual projects, and they also had to actively run their YouTube channel Saebyeol Tube, which hadn’t had any notable activities since “New Star Family.”

 

Among all these, Yeon-woo looked at the documents containing ‘that project’ which was approaching most imminently.

 

A project that would begin filming in just two days.

 

《- Working Title: Yeo-reum’s Dining Table Season 2

 

(Omitted)

 

Special Notes: Scheduled to kidnap actor An Jun-ho directly from in front of a certain military base on the day of his discharge and immediately begin filming with other members.》

 

 

Yeon-woo quietly smiled as he looked at the project proposal.

 

‘He’ll be discharged in two days, so now it’s time for him to work, right?’

 

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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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