The film shooting has ended, but there’s still a long way to go before the release.
The most important thing is completing the film, after all.
However, that part is Director Nam Hyun-a’s responsibility.
She’s likely still in the U.S., focusing on the remaining work.
“Shouldn’t we be doing something?”
“Well, what exactly should we do?”
“It’s overlapping with Revenge, you know. If we’re unlucky, it’ll flop.”
“In my opinion, there’s no way it’ll flop unless the CG team makes a total mess of things.”
“Would the CG team really mess things up? That studio isn’t something to be underestimated.”
“It might even turn out better. Dream Meta Studio is technically a late entrant in this industry, after all.”
“Well, that may be true…”
Ultimately, as we predicted, the release schedules of our film and Revenge ended up overlapping.
What we thought was an auspicious date was also considered auspicious by them, and despite us both signaling each other, neither side was willing to back down.
We, of course, couldn’t accept the release being pushed to next year, and neither could the other side. Thus, we ended up in this situation.
I hinted that maybe we should do something extra, but there was no real response.
Since we are confident in the quality of our work, everyone believed it would still be a fair fight.
It’s surprising when did our Lord Heavenly Demon become this weak?
—IT’S NOT A MARTIAL FOREST IN HERE!
Even though her only response was a quiet smirk, I understood what she was implying.
Lord Heavenly Demon has become almost entirely civilized, and since this is not a Martial Forest, there’s no way we can resort to illegal destruction just because of this issue.
And surely, I didn’t expect such extreme measures either.
“We’ve done all we can. There’s nothing more to do really. Their filming is almost done too, you know.”
“That’s… true.”
We did counter against Revenge with an approach involving Tae-kyu to ‘throw ashes’ into their plans.
As a result, public opinion strongly favored Tae-kyu, compelling the production company to pay attention.
We did make some impact.
It’s rumored that Director Sun Juhong and the producers had a bit of a feud over Tae-kyu.
It seems Director Sun Juhong won the argument, and Tae-kyu’s role was confirmed to be silent.
No matter how powerful the production company, they could not overpower the renowned international director, Sun Juhong.
Though Tae-kyu did experience some backlash, like missing out on a major award, the consequences were not severe.
For us, the perfect situation would be for Tae-kyu to destroy the film despite having his lines. Nevertheless, the feud made the atmosphere on set turn slightly noir-like, which was perhaps fitting for the film’s genre.
But it wasn’t enough to significantly affect the film’s overall performance.
“Although some embers remain due to Tae-kyu’s deflation of morale, it’s unclear how it’ll end.”
The more I think about it, the more aggrieved I feel. The opponent used both the ‘Moziri’ scandal and another scheme to strike us twice, but we only managed to hit back once.
The Moziri scandal is still particularly frustrating.
Even though we’re embarrassed by the internal leak and external spread, it’s even more frustrating to take a hit from the neighbor.
There was no significant blow, but the fact remains that we were hit.
Two hits for every one we deliver feels unfair, which keeps bothering me.
However, there’s not much else we can do either.
Their filming is nearing completion too, so anything we attempt now would be tricky.
Unless illegal methods are involved, there’s no way to really harm them.
“How about the theaters? I hear they’re in talks right now?”
“I’m not sure. It might take a while. But…”
“Will we be at a huge disadvantage?”
“We might be somewhat disadvantaged, but it won’t be severe.”
“Isn’t the disadvantage the issue?”
“There’s nothing we can do about it. Dream Corporation controls 50% of domestic theaters.”
Still, as Heavenly Yuah pointed out, if this becomes a pure skill battle then the number of screens we secure becomes quite important.
Given that our adversary is part of the Dream Corporation’s subsidiary, which owns theaters, we’re naturally at a disadvantage.
“You don’t have to worry too much. Even if we’re short on theaters, it won’t make that much of a difference. As long as the audience keeps coming, the theaters will have no choice but to open more screens. Nowadays, even theaters aren’t absolute ‘alpha’ entities.”
Heavenly Yuah had already done the calculations on this.
Even Dream Corporation can’t favor D-Pictures with a disproportionate number of screens.
It’s more advantageous to allocate them fairly.
Unless there are an unprecedented number of moviegoers, both films can potentially thrive.
The person who drove the final nail into the coffin regarding theater concerns was none other than Nam Hyun-ho.
“Dream Corporation plans to split the screens evenly.”
“How do you know that?”
“I asked them when we met. They initially blabbered on about giving Revenge a significant advantage, but after I said a word or two, they proposed to fairly split the theaters.”
Nam Hyun-ho, you’ve seemingly stopped hiding that you’re from an influential family.
How does a mere actor meet with Dream Corporation relations?
This guy is truly eccentric.
I do wonder what Nam Hyun-ho said that made them decide to evenly distribute the screens.
Are there special connections between them?
“Coward.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, coward. After I said that, they got really mad.”
“Who’s this guy?”
“Look, a coward. There are murmurs from above, but ultimately, it seems like this is the direction they’ll take since it is beneficial for them.”
Alright.
Given Nam Hyun-ho’s affirmation, it seems like we’ll secure an adequate number of screens.
It’s likely that both sides benefit equally by embracing both movies’ success, rather than overly favoring one.
Frankly, achieving a similar allocation of screens is already advantageous for us.
“So, it comes down to promotion.”
“Promotion? Should we leave all that to the production company like before?”
“Isn’t that what’s expected?”
“Movies are different from dramas, aren’t they? Also, since this film was entirely funded by Heavenly Financial, they should invest a bit of effort.”
“Wasn’t that always the case?”
The production company has already contracted a PR agency and is in the process of planning the promotional strategy for our film.
It’s a critical phase where promotional expenses for major projects can run into several billion won.
While it’s orthodox to delegate promotional tasks to a professional PR firm after making such a substantial financial investment, this time, with a rival, should we do something ourselves as well?
The first thing that comes to mind is variety shows.
But variety shows seem a bit distant for our members.
Of course, for those who have rarely or never been on variety shows, the impact is surely evident…
“But I suspect they’ll just unintentionally drop some bombs when they appear.”
Unfortunately, the recent issues with Moon Suyeon and Heavenly Yuah revolve around scandals.
They will undoubtedly be questioned about these issues if they appear on a variety show.
Even though we’ve had them firmly promise that there will be no more scandals, I have some doubts about whether they will truly hold up to that.
If the two of them negotiate amongst themselves, and one drops out to leave the other to deal with any scandal, that might work. But they’re both involved at this moment.
“…It’s probably best to skip the variety shows.”
Giving these ladies microphones outside of controlled environments might not be beneficial for mental health.
“So, it comes down to expanding the pie overall. Creating something that will attract even more attention…”
“Are you working really hard, Mr. Siwoo? You didn’t seem interested in promotional activities before.”
“That was before.”
“But why are you like this now?”
“Hmm… When will we have a lineup like this again? If the opportunity arises, I’d like to add one 10 million viewer movie to my list.”
“Is that all? I think there’s more to it.”
“Because we got hit twice but could only return one strike?”
“That fits Mr. Siwoo perfectly. I’m convinced.”
But what does it mean to convince me of that?
You’re likely thinking the same but pretending you’re not.
It almost feels like you’re trying to avoid my eyes as if you’re not part of the New Religion.
In truth, the more intuitive reason might be, even if we don’t expect 10 million viewers, I’ll be annoyed if we have fewer viewers than them.
And to prevent that, their active cooperation is essential.
Right now, they seem completely uninterested in promotion.
So it feels like I should make some kind of bet…
“If our film attracts more viewers than Revenge, I’ll grant each of you one favor.”
“Really?”
“Huh, why are you so excited about such a small promise?”
Why are they so hyped up about a simple favor? Plus, why are their faces turning red?
“No, not strange favors.”
“I won’t ask for anything strange.”
“Alright, I won’t ask for anything strange.”
Whatever. Let’s win first.
If they gear up, they’ll inevitably come up with some helpful suggestions.
“Hey, am I included?”
“Senior Nam Hyun-ho, you’re out. Why are you even in this movie?”
“Seriously? I thought the same. But I also want to win. After all, I can’t carry the nickname ‘-40,000’ forever.”
“Isn’t that a good nickname?”
“Are you serious?”
“Hmm, well, there are many actors who can’t even achieve that.”
Last year, there were no 10 million viewer films, and the best score set by Nam Hyun-ho’s brother was 9.96 million. Given the 40,000 shortfall from 10 million, the nickname ‘-40,000’ stuck.
It’s a somewhat memorable nickname, likely one that will stick with him until he stars in a 10 million viewer film.
So, Nam Hyun-ho also seemed quite interested in the success of this movie.
He’s willing to put in the effort without conditions to ensure the movie’s success, which is a reaction I can’t refuse.
“Maybe I was too hasty? I could have just waited for Nam Hyun-ho to take care of the promotion.”
Now that things have turned this way, I’m not sure whether proposing such a drastic move was the right judgment.
I could have just sat back and waited for the rewards.
But the stone has been thrown, and now that things have turned out this way, I should aim to win rather than lose, no matter what.
Words truly are the root of all problems.
