The shooting location being in the U.S. presents a few difficulties.
This wasn’t planned from the start; the location change happened quite suddenly, right?
It’s only natural that issues arise.
Firstly, there’s the issue of schedules.
If we head out here for filming, it becomes impossible to handle domestic scheduling.
Even leaving aside costs like accommodation or transportation, being abroad itself is problematic.
If the location for filming had been set from the beginning, it might be a different story, but since it changed at the last minute, several actors have conflicting schedules.
For example, our “modori” (someone who’s returned from rest to activities).
Despite being on hiatus as a popular idol, he still has a number of scheduled activities.
In particular, fan-related events are problematic. The artist in question is very serious about fan management, so schedules that had already been arranged on our side can’t be changed easily.
In that sense, the “modori” kid is pretty lucky; all the main actors in this work belong to our company, making it easier to adjust schedules.
And our company’s actors are seriously dedicated to working on the project; once they’re committed to a role, other schedules get cut entirely.
Since all the main actors are living on set and giving their full-time approval for the project, relatively more flexibility is granted to the supporting actors.
Supporting actors with other commitments can also be rescheduled relatively smoothly, in a similar way.
“This is an issue, but it’s fairly manageable…”
Another problem with filming overseas is recruiting extras and stunt actors.
To make a movie, we need plenty of extras in addition to lead and supporting actors.
In Korea, it’s as simple as calling them, but here in a foreign country, it’s difficult.
Bringing extras from Korea for overseas shoots can be tough, and in our case, as the whole filming is being done overseas, it’s bound to be even harder.
Bringing over extras just for a short period is simply not feasible.
The good news is, although the movie is Korean and will premiere in Korea, the background setting is the non-specifically Korean “free city” of Liberti.
So whether or not the extras are Korean doesn’t greatly affect the storyline.
We’re working it out by bringing in manpower from Finesse. For roles with lines, we cast aspiring Asian actors who can speak Korean, but for the rest, we hire locals.
With the large Korean population near LA, and Finesse’s extensive network, it works out somehow, though costs are likely to exceed our expected budget.
Actually, recruiting extras was relatively simple. Finding a stunt team was much more challenging.
Our movie has many large-scale battle scenes, especially in the second half, necessitating a good number of stunt actors.
We initially planned to hire the stunt team from the renowned Director Jang Soo-hong who worked on “Gold Rush, Joseon,” but everything changed when the filming location was set overseas.
It’s not just expenses; the whole schedule was disrupted.
Moreover, this stunt team is highly sought after; the Revenge shooting site was desperate for them too.
After careful consideration, Director Jang ultimately chose the Revenge project, putting us in a situation where we had to find a new stunt team.
Just as we were about to send the team over, this situation confirmed right before the advance team, including Chanyooah and me, set off for the U.S.
The plans to hire the previously successful Jang Soo-hong team fell through, and now the production team had to make a decision.
Since we’d have to hire a new team anyway, we decided to just go for local talent.
The most representative large-scale battle scene in our movie is “The Werewolf Counterattack.” Given that werewolves are closer to human form with a lot of CGI enhancement involved, there’s no compelling reason to hire a Korean stunt team if we’re already hiring international talent.
The production team’s stance is that it’s better, now that we’re here, to work with the Hollywood connections Finesse has built, and hire a separate stunt team.
“Today is when the stunt team officially joins us.”
Even before serious production began, we had already reviewed numerous stunt teams with Finesse’s assistance and finalized a contract with the team we felt best suited our movie.
Though it was a bit late in the game.
Stunts aren’t about just hiring a team. You have to rehearse, practice repeatedly until the movements are perfected before filming.
However, given this team is highly recommended by Finesse and has its own schedule, we decided to trust them and give it a try.
The action scenes that we’re shooting aren’t overly complex, plus the CGI scenes are something they’re far more familiar with than us, so it was a decision we could make.
“Hollywood also recognizes this stunt team. It’ll be fun. And the name is Libertad? Sounds like it fits well with our movie.”
Additionally, the team is called “Libertad,” which in Spanish means “freedom.”
Our movie’s setting, the free city Liberti, is derived from the French word “Liberté” (freedom), so it’s an interesting synchronicity.
We headed out for action rehearsals with Libertad, the newly joined stunt team, expecting big things, but…
“…Why is she here?”
There, to our surprise, we encountered an unexpected person.
“Woah! Siwoo Bai! Yuah Cheon! Nice to meet you! I’m Elia Ponz, the leader of the Libertad team. I love K-Pop, K-Dramas. Im Myung, Violet, they’re my favorite!”
Elia Ponz, the leader of Libertad.
She reminded me of someone I know. The Latin woman in her twenties greeting us in somewhat broken Korean, expressing her love for all things K-Pop and K-Dramas…
“…That’s South Sea Sword Queen.”
Indeed.
The South Sea Sword Queen, one of the few legitimate Orthodox sect members even acknowledged by me, and perhaps even by Heavenly Demon, had descended upon LA.
*
Despite the unexpected appearance momentarily flustering us, we didn’t have the luxury to dwell as our schedule was tight.
True to their reputation as a top-tier Hollywood stunt team, Libertad had a packed agenda.
Having joined the set later than expected, and needing to catch up mid-production, our situation was already pushing the boundaries.
This was almost a worst-case scenario, but we had factored in trouble during the process of selecting the stunt team and accounted for it by reserving extra time.
So, from the moment they joined, we immediately dove into perfecting the scenes.
“…This team is impeccable.”
“They’re incredibly skilled. They might even surpass the Jang Soo-hong team.”
“Yes, their reputation is deserved.”
Mostly Latin, Team Libertad turned out to be far better than I had hoped.
They earned their Hollywood recognition. They were not only exceptionally skilled in CGI filming but had already meticulously calculated everything, preparing thoroughly before we even tested the scenes.
In that area, they were definitely better than the Jang Soo-hong team.
“And, this team… They seem highly combat-ready. If I’m not mistaken, they’re experienced warriors.”
“Yes, if they hadn’t been in actual combat, they wouldn’t be this seasoned.”
This instinct, only someone, like me or Chanyooah, who’s been in a battlefield, would recognize, was unmistakable. They didn’t strike me as ordinary stunt actors.
They somewhat resembled our company’s guards. Not as refined, of course, but they were evidently battle-tested.
“Great. Fantastic. This scene is with this move. Siwoo, incredible. Yuah, also wonderful. Everyone’s impressive.”
“Yes, good job, Elia.”
“Elia, no no, just Elly. Let’s be friendly during the filming period.”
“…Alright, sure.”
At the center of the team was Elia Ponz, the near-certain reincarnation of South Sea Sword Queen.
During practice, she beamed and exuded charm, but during the actual drills, she was anything but ordinary.
Of course, as the reincarnation of the celebrated South Sea Sword Queen, her skills naturally astound, but if one possesses such abilities in this world, they likely haven’t led an ordinary life.
“Find out more about the Libertad team.”
“Understood, Miss.”
After a smooth first day of practice, Chanyooah was the first to step forward, drawing her sword.
She issued the directive to our guards to investigate the Libertad team.
There were plenty of our company’s guards dispatched to this set, along with S&M Guard Headquarters personnel, thanks to the fact that the U.S. is their base, providing ample opportunity for intelligence gathering.
Of course, starting with a background check on someone else was a bit much.
“So, doesn’t this pique your interest, Mr. Siwoo?”
“…Yes, it does.”
“Yes, that’s correct. We should be particularly mindful since this is South Sea Sword Queen. Especially because…”
“Why should we be particularly mindful?”
“Why, aren’t you aware? South Sea Sword Queen is the only orthodox sect woman you’ve acknowledged…even to the point of having ‘something’…”
“…That is absolutely not true. You’ve seen the report I’ve given, senior Yuah.”
“Well, modern folks define that kind of situation as having ‘something.'”
“Ah, that’s really not it at all.”
Apparently, Chanyooah harbored some serious misconceptions.
Me and South Sea Sword Queen… as if that constitutes ‘something’.
That’s completely nonsensical speculation. While it’s true I once met South Sea Sword Queen when I went down to the South Sea and collaborated with her, to suggest that as some sort of soft romantic encounter is completely false.
It seems the moment she appeared, she was observing me with a sharp gaze, conjuring such absurd imaginings.
Moreover, if Chanyooah is reacting this way…
“What?! She was into your scene too? This ‘South Sea Sword Queen’- who is she?”
“Don’t you know about the ‘Sword Queen’?”
“C’mon. In our region, ‘Young Sword Queen’ isn’t uncommon. Sword flowers are as common as small sword queens. Unless their relationship hit a deep awakening, it’s no big deal?”
“It wasn’t that deep… But…”
“But?”
“Isn’t her appearance Siwoo’s type?”
“Lean and curvy Latin beauty? Definitely could be. Looks like we should indeed keep an eye on this.”
And before I knew it, Moonsuyeon joined the investigation, forming an alliance.
This feels a little unfair.
It’s true; I did have some human interest in the South Sea Sword Queen, and that type of lean and curvy figure is my style, but linking us in this way is a bit…
And why is there such cohesion when it comes to these kind of situations?
It’s a rather farcical situation.
