CK Agency (3) — White Happiness and the Giant Ship
On the way home after finishing the meeting with Warner Bros.
"You really can't beat a McDonald's soft-serve."
Sion sat in the passenger seat, happily devouring the ice cream he had bought from a nearby drive-thru. It was his first taste of sugar in a long time. The meeting had been mentally exhausting, and he had succumbed to a momentary impulse.
Beside him, Chloe drove in silence.
"I've decided to call this 'white happiness.'"
"..."
But his companion was entirely immune to jokes. Her silence was absolute.
"So... how did you think the meeting went today?"
"It was impressive."
"In what way?"
"Their willingness to actively accommodate our terms."
Oho. She was actually talking.
"Developing an IP franchise that actively capitalizes on an actor's image... I could feel how much value they place on you as an actor, Sion. I heard Tom Cruise is currently moving in a similar direction elsewhere, turning Mission: Impossible into a feature film..."
"Where did you hear about that?"
"Here and there."
Sion was slightly surprised by how well-informed she was on industry gossip. Well, it makes sense. Chloe had worked at CK Agency for a long time without complaint. That meant she had gained hands-on experience by wearing multiple hats in a small, unstructured agency. It was only natural that she had developed a comprehensive skill set and the confidence to voice her opinions.
"If this goes well, you'll establish a secure foothold as a franchise star, moving far beyond just a regular actor."
"Do you think it'll work?"
Chloe pondered his question for a moment.
"...?"
Then, she suddenly snatched the soft-serve cone from his hand.
"Are you taking a bite?"
No.
Plop.
The ice cream cone landed squarely in the car's trash bin.
Sion's face went pale. Chloe, keeping her eyes fixed on the road, replied flatly, "It will, provided Mr. Lee maintains strict self-discipline from now on."
"W-Wait! I didn't even finish half of it!"
"In a project like this, the physical condition of the lead actor, Sion Lee, is just as important as the quality of the film itself. Since you are currently on a temporary hiatus aside from communicating with the studio, it would be highly effective from a marketing standpoint to build a physique worthy of an action star as quickly as possible before we begin filming Bad Contract."
"How could you do this to me! My world just crumbled! Turn the car around! Go back to the drive-thru!"
"Once we arrive home, I will grill some chicken breast for you. I recommend two fillets."
"..."
Watching Chloe coolly dismiss his rebellion, Sion thought, She's truly heartless.
If it were Elena, she would have pouted but watched him eat. If it were Charlie, he would have said, "Heh, one day won't hurt!" and joined him. But Chloe was the type to manage him with the cold, emotionless precision of a machine, no matter what nonsense he spouted.
Still, her intervention helped him regain his senses. Sion looked at Chloe's profile as she demonstrated flawless driving skills. She was analyzing the upcoming work much more accurately than he had expected.
She doesn't show it, but she definitely knows how to read the industry.
This movie was a project that only existed because of Sion Lee. By projecting a young, energetic image to contrast with the now-mature action star Tom Cruise, they would create a bright, lighthearted action film. That was the fundamental premise of the venture. Therefore, how much excitement Sion could generate when he finally revealed himself in this role was one of the most critical factors for success.
...Even though his brain was still screaming for sugar.
Yeah. I have to endure it. What choice do I have?
Sion knew the despair of regret just as well as the pleasure of sugar. He understood the danger of daily neglect and the cracks it could create just as clearly as the dangers of sugar.
Warner Bros. estimated the film's development period to be roughly a year. Sion resolved to do his absolute best to bulk up and prepare during that time.
And I'll also get the personal project I've been planning off the ground.
It was a brief hiatus as an actor, but he had plenty of work to do.
Shane Black.
The screenwriter who debuted with Predator and made a name for himself with Lethal Weapon. He was also currently the only writer in Hollywood treated like a "star."
To summarize his reputation in one sentence: he was the absolute best at writing "talkative, troubled men," and his brand of humor had redefined the dialogue style of action cinema.
His protagonists were self-deprecating, arrogant, and incredibly chatty, yet they never crossed the line when it mattered most. And now, this man was being scouted to write Bad Contract.
In a Warner Bros. office, Shane sat across from Joel Silver, looking rather skeptical. Above all, the deadline was the issue.
"By the end of this year?"
"Yeah. Do me a favor. All the ingredients are already there."
"Dammit, Joel, do you think this is microwave popcorn? I haven't even heard what the story is yet. How can you be so sure? How do you know what I'll say once I hear it?"
"It's Sion Lee."
"...Ha!"
Shane let out a dry, incredulous laugh.
On the other hand, Joel Silver, sitting across from him, just grinned. He knew exactly why Shane was reacting that way.
"Sion Lee? The Sion Lee? That pretty prince is going to star in a blockbuster action movie? In a genre ruled by muscular machos and balding middle-aged men? Man, that's going to be a wild picture. Are you asking me to write a story where he fights off seven evil dwarfs trying to kidnap Cinderella?"
"First of all, the seven dwarfs concept isn't bad. Second, unfortunately, they're from Snow White."
"I like Disney too, okay? It's a joke, a joke. When I was a kid, my dream was to see Snow White naked just once."
"I don't really want to hear about your filthy childhood fantasies, so let's leave it at that," Joel said, narrowing his eyes as he continued. "He's building it. His body. To fit the style of a Hollywood action hero."
"...What?"
"I saw him recently, and he's already looking pretty good. He's tall, and his frame is starting to look manly. I guess a handsome bastard looks good no matter what he does. And you know it too. Even if he bulks up a bit more, his current image isn't bad. Times are changing. People prefer prettier, leaner stars these days."
"Like Leonardo DiCaprio?"
"Exactly. But since this is an action film, he'll need to be a bit more rugged than that."
"I heard he's shooting some new movie soon. The title was..."
"That's not what's important for our movie right now," Joel cut him off, not wanting to waste time on tangents. He got straight to the point. "Are you in or out?"
"Come on, at least give me the basic premise."
"A multinational mercenary. MIT valedictorian. A genius former soldier."
"And he has Sion Lee's face? Wow, a character every American man can truly relate to."
"We're not trying to make him relatable. We're selling a fantasy. The political climate is a bit chaotic right now. There are rumors that Bill Clinton might not get re-elected, following George Bush. In times like these, I think what people want is an 'individual hero.' Someone who follows their own beliefs rather than dedicating themselves to the state."
"You're making it sound incredibly complicated. Well, conspiracy theories are mainstream in this industry lately. Everything from government cover-ups to all kinds of nonsense... A 'stateless protagonist' in this climate. It doesn't sound too bad, actually."
As Shane Black rambled on, he couldn't help but chuckle again.
"And Sion Lee is going to play that character. In his own style."
"Yeah. I'm sure ideas are already starting to pop into that head of yours."
"Dammit, but a first draft by the end of the year?"
"If you need a co-writer to help put words on paper, I'll provide as many as you want."
"...Is the project really that massive?"
Shane suddenly felt the sheer weight of the expectations Warner Bros. was placing on this project.
He had recently read a newspaper article stating that Sion Lee had signed a contract worth a staggering $10 million. The film's budget would undoubtedly be scaled accordingly. If he joined, he would be able to blow things up to his heart's content, "without any limits on his imagination." It was starting to sound very intriguing.
"Tell me the rest of what you've got."
"He has a sick daughter. And we're thinking of overseas locations. Considering the budget and places we can get filming permits for quickly, I was thinking Budapest and Monaco. There, we can capture both an Eastern European—meaning Russian—vibe and a Middle Eastern vibe at the same time. Both are traditional American enemies, but hey."
"Well, a fictional enemy is easier for the audience to understand anyway. Hmm, this could be fun. Can we go with him beating up the Russian mafia?"
"How about that Russian mafia boss is a former Soviet KGB officer?"
"They say weapon smuggling through Monaco is common these days, so let's build on that."
The two men quickly found themselves in perfect sync, tossing ideas back and forth. With just a few basic concepts and the knowledge that "Sion Lee" was the model for the protagonist, countless ideas were already flowing and layering beautifully.
Unable to resist any longer, Shane Black picked up a pen and began brainstorming, jotting down their ideas on a piece of paper—effectively signaling his acceptance of the job.
"Man, but seriously. I'm so damn jealous."
"...Of who?"
"Sion Lee. With that face and all the buzz around him, his marketability is so insane that a major studio is bending over backward to build a film franchise around him. Dammit, ten million dollars. Some people work their entire lives and barely save a tenth of that."
"Well, the system generates profit precisely because his name is on it."
"What would you do if you made ten million?"
"I don't know. First, I'd move. My current place is getting a bit old."
"Even then, you'd barely spend a tenth of it."
"Why are you so obsessed with a tenth?"
"I'm just saying, make sure my backend points are good."
The two men chatted, feeling the immense weight of the word "ten million."
"For Sion Lee, that's probably a very realistic amount of money now. I wonder what he's going to do with it."
The brief question flickered through their minds.
While Warner Bros. and CK Entertainment collaborated to kick off the development of Bad Contract, Sion was leisurely looking into producing an indie film, drawing on his memories of his past life.
And that project was directly tied to those memories.
Daniel Summit should be making 'that' movie around this time.
Sion, who had never forgotten the director of the first film he shot after his regression, dialed the number he had written down in the corner of his notebook to catch up.
Daniel had been steadily directing various indie films over the past few years, gradually raising his stock, and had now become a fairly prominent director in Hollywood.
This would be his first "Hollywood" project.
"Danny, want to make a movie with us?"
"[It would be an honor! Ah, I actually have a script I've been preparing! I'll send it over right away!]"
Thrilled to hear from Sion after so long, Daniel immediately faxed over the treatment of the film he was writing.
When Sion reviewed the contents, a smile naturally spread across his face.
As expected, it's the one.
A road movie about a boy and his older sister living in the countryside who embark on a journey to find their mother, who abandoned them, after their father passes away.
The title was Rainbow Road.
It was an indie film that had performed decently at the domestic box office, a work praised for its dry yet warm perspective on humanity.
Originally, it was a project I wanted to act in myself.
...Actually, maybe it wouldn't be so bad?
"Should I try cross-dressing?"
"...What kind of crazy talk is that?"
When Sion actually suggested it, Charlie Kang reacted with utter disbelief for the first time in a while.
"Why? With my face, don't you think I could pull it off?"
"Maybe the old you could have. But now you're bulking up like a gorilla, so I think that's highly unlikely."
"Hmm. A pity."
"In the first place, didn't you bring this movie to us with 'those two' in mind?"
"...Who?"
"Elena Asimov and Leo Walker. The moment I saw the treatment you brought, I figured it out. You recruited those two to CK Agency specifically for this, didn't you? ...But wait, how did you even know this was in development? Were you really that close with the director?"
"Don't worry about the minor details. Anyway, you're sharp, Charlie. This is why I love you."
"The props shouldn't cost much—we can get by with a cheap camper truck. Since most of the locations are in deserts or mountains, we can just contact the national parks. With a budget of this size, we could start planning the shoot tomorrow."
"Exactly. But I want us to set a solid shooting schedule, package our agency's actors, and show the world that 'we are capable of making this kind of film.'"
"...Ho-oh. Yi-siony. Between your production ideas and this, you might have a better business sense than I do."
"Since my face is handsome, my brain must be handsome too."
Charlie couldn't help but marvel.
CK Agency had just expanded, and CK Entertainment had just been launched. With many eyes in the industry watching them, quickly producing a film with "great artistic merit and a modest budget" would serve as an excellent statement to the outside world.
It was also a perfect opportunity to test the skills of their newly hired staff and get everyone working in sync.
"Anyway, it's a good idea. Let's push forward with it."
"Thank you, Boss. Should I give you Daniel Summit's contact info?"
"Give it to Chloe... Ah, she's gone now."
"...She's literally in the office right downstairs."
Sion replied, feeling slightly bewildered by the sentimental look on Charlie's face.
"You have no idea... how much Chloe and I went through together just to take care of you. She feels like my own daughter now. Even though she's still in the building, not seeing her right in front of me makes me feel empty."
"Well, we can't have our boss feeling lonely. I'll have to throw a mountain of work your way as soon as possible."
"...Please, no. It's almost the end of the year. Let's take it easy."
"There's no time to rest. We're just getting started."
Smiling confidently, Sion laid out his ambitions in front of Charlie.
"Now that we've grabbed everyone's attention, it's time to show them what we've got."
"...Didn't you say something similar when we were looking for an office?"
"Let's make it count, Charlie."
"Fine, fine... Oh, by the way, why don't you start preparing for something else too?"
"Hmm? I'm already preparing."
"Not Bad Contract. A massive offer came in for you. The production budget is astronomical, and they're planning to start shooting next summer."
Dropping the hint, Charlie Kang pulled out a proposal and slid it toward Sion.
The moment Sion saw the title printed on the very first page, he felt a sudden chill run down his spine.
"They're building a massive ship as a set. They say the production cost is mind-blowing."
Standing at the threshold of that legendary film, how could he not feel goosebumps all over his body?