Best for Business (1)
"‘I hate you.’: The single most impactful line from the interview."
This was the first sentence that caught Charlie Kang's eye as he unfolded today's edition of the Los Angeles Times, the local flagship newspaper he had bought from a stand near his office early this morning.
"......?"
A column about the ongoing Sundance Film Festival. And the headline was "I hate you"?
What on earth...
Vaguely anticipating that this wasn't just any ordinary article, Charlie Kang felt a sudden wave of heartburn, like a patient suffering from anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Don't tell me this punk caused 'another' scene during the interview?
Just yesterday, he had been singing songs of joy over the non-stop business inquiries pouring in day after day.
As if all that joy had been a lie, he tried to calm his racing heart and stared down at the newspaper, completely forgetting to light the Camel cigarette clamped between his lips.
The single most impactful line from the interview.
The independent film Swing in Chicago, starring actor Sion Lee, is currently screening to great acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival. Our press team set out to check on the film, which was invited to the opening premiere and instantly captured the public's attention.
To put it bluntly, Sion Lee fooled us all.
"Fooled us again?!" Charlie blurted out reflexively.
Fortunately, the sentence was closer to irony.
His performance felt like the desperate cry of someone who has struggled with loneliness and prejudice for a long time, screaming to convey his sincerity to the world. It was a powerful film crafted with a force that tugs at the heartstrings. While everyone reading this article might feel a disconnect from Sion Lee's previous image, we say this with absolute sincerity: his brilliant acting elevated the film's charm to a whole new level.
"......Huh?"
He reread the following sentences several times.
Sion Lee's acting was incredibly good. It was a brilliant film.
He tilted his head at the column, which was packed with such praise.
The Los Angeles Times isn't the kind of place to take bribes, though.
This meant the writer of this seemingly biased column had written it with the utmost sincerity of a passionate journalist.
Even though Sion was an actor he worked with, Charlie found it hard to believe that Sion Lee had actually delivered a brilliant performance.
The emotion he felt right now was similar to a parent whose child, who usually brought home straight Ds, suddenly came home with an A.
He was thrilled, but he couldn't help but want to deny reality.
Is this real? Our Sion isn't the type of kid to do that...
But the article continued in an almost worshipful tone.
I have a confession to make. Before watching this film, I constantly doubted whether Sion Lee could properly adapt to an indie film set. Is it possible for him to work properly in a completely different field and environment that is not his specialty? I would like to apologize for that first. Though that doesn't mean I have any intention of stopping my report on the heat of the scene.
After the movie ended, someone remarked that they thought Sion Lee was 'possessed by a demon.' My reaction after watching the film was exactly that. I felt possessed by a demon. The teen heartthrob acting Sion Lee had shown so far was nowhere to be found; the moment the movie started, he dragged the audience into his world.
According to the on-site interview conducted afterward, Sion Lee put in the effort to gain a whopping 10 kilograms for this film. At first, everyone in the theater looked as if they didn't know how to treat the handsome actor who had walked in. This was because, in the film, he felt like a completely different person.
As questions were exchanged and the interview regarding the film progressed—see page 12—someone stood up. It was Elena Asimov, who co-starred with Sion Lee in Deadly Summer Camp. The 17-year-old actress, who is actively demonstrating her acting prowess in Hollywood as the successor to the prestigious 'Asimov family.' Her question, as she approaches adulthood, was as follows:
'What on earth do you think acting is?'
Only after reading the final part of the column—where a conversation ensued between the two due to their differing views, and Elena snapped, "I hate you"—did Charlie finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, it wasn't Sion who said it.
He was a bit surprised to see Elena Asimov's name suddenly mentioned in the column, but he didn't have the luxury to dig into that right now.
His entire focus was immediately drawn to the overwhelming praise in the column.
Baffled, Charlie checked the columns of other newspapers he had bought along with it.
"The finest performance suited for this film."
"A mature expression of emotion unbelievable for a teenager."
"Quiet. But slowly exploding."
"A depth to Sion Lee never seen before."
"Is it right to keep him bound to the shackles of teen romance?"
While reading all of them, Charlie couldn't help but keep tilting his head.
"Ha, this is just absurd."
Just yesterday, he had become a hot topic for losing weight and looking stunning in a tuxedo, and today, he was making headlines again with overwhelming praise for his acting in the film.
For an actor, this was nothing short of hitting back-to-back home runs.
Charlie smiled, anticipating that all kinds of business inquiries would pour in once again.
And apart from that, as a fellow Korean adult who cared for Sion, he was deeply moved.
Yes, you're overcoming it well.
Looking at the detailed interview, his rebellious personality—which had developed during his puberty at fifteen—seemed as wild as ever, but...
Still, now that he's recognized as an actor, that personality will actually become a huge asset.
As someone raised in a Korean household where "humility" was considered a virtue, it was a concept difficult to fully comprehend. However, through social learning, Charlie had come to understand the American mindset to some extent.
Americans—especially Californians—valued confidence.
Even when they were good at something, the Korean-Americans around Charlie would lower themselves, saying, "Oh, no, I'm not that good," or "I still have a long way to go."
This was due to a characteristic collectivism that prioritized group harmony over individual standing.
On the other hand, America was a country that valued individual self-assurance.
A Christian individualism where humans are equal before God, and individual value and autonomy are paramount.
Therefore, even if someone who was good at their job acted confident to the point of being slightly aggressive, they would actually find it "COOL" and love it.
Especially for the young kids these days, that's considered an even more important value...
Though not quite there yet, the current generation in their teens and twenties would soon be dubbed "Generation X."
In that sense, Sion's current approach was brilliant from a personal branding perspective.
Well, Sion is a completely modern American kid, so he's probably just doing it naturally. It's not like he's doing it on purpose.
At any rate, that "COOL" image was something sponsors wanted to some degree, so Charlie thought the current level of his remarks was just right.
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and flick his lighter to his Camel cigarette.
The California winter weather, rapidly heading toward noon, was warm and beautiful today as well.
Sion Lee was scheduled to digest various events over five days at the Sundance Film Festival.
All of them were opportunities to promote and sell the currently screening Swing in Chicago as much as possible.
Starting from the opening section, interviews after the press screening, promotional photo shoots, Q&A sessions with fans, and finally, meetings and parties with distributors.
And at every single one of those events, Sion formulated and executed his own image strategy.
First, in schedules where he had to deal with groups, he intentionally acted more arrogant.
"Alright, let's make this quick. I didn't get much sleep last night, so I'm a bit tired~."
And in settings where he dealt with individuals, he showed a tiny bit of kindness.
"I liked your question earlier. It's the first time a reporter has asked me a serious question about acting, so I was quite touched."
Basically, he showed a confident attitude while also displaying respect for the other person.
Faced with such an attitude from Sion, the reporters, being human, couldn't help but react this way:
"Your performance this time was truly spectacular."
"You weren't really hiding your acting skills all this time, were you?"
"No, how can someone change so suddenly in an instant? This is a first in Hollywood history."
People began to show favor toward the somewhat unpredictable Sion Lee.
It was image-making based on the knowledge of a Hollywood actor he had diligently accumulated from his past life.
For now, this level is just right.
For a celebrity, a purely righteous image is poison.
Because it only restricts your actions.
In daily life, if a good person accidentally does something bad, their image takes a huge hit. Conversely, if a bad person happens to do something good, it leaves a positive impression. It was a similar principle.
Humans place greater weight on the occasional "secret" revealed rather than a person's consistency.
As if that were the person's true nature.
Above all, I acted like a total delinquent for nearly three years. If I changed overnight, it would be perfect for strange rumors to start. Like, drugs are the least of it, maybe he joined a cult... Hollywood is the kind of place that will make up non-existent rumors to report them sensationally.
Since he had successfully filmed his first movie after regressing, he wanted to build the career he had so desperately desired.
First, act in the roles I want to my heart's content, and gain people's recognition through that.
The major direction he faced after regressing was set.
As a Sion Lee whose face wasn't ruined.
Once he achieved a certain level of success, he would take the next steps he had in mind based on his future knowledge. But for now, it was a perfectly suitable task for the "delinquent Sion" who wasn't even twenty yet to dream of.
The very act of carefully breaking down aspects of the "Sion Lee of his past life" and revealing changes to achieve his goals with clear determination felt incredibly enjoyable.
Yes, to the current Sion, all of these moments were "acting" to reach the absolute peak.
"......So, are you happy now?"
However, he never expected someone to cling to him and nitpick his every action.
And it was an entirely unexpected opponent at that.
"......Why are you here again?"
"I'm telling you not to just blurt out whatever comes to your mind. I'm listening right next to you, and your words don't match your actions."
"Hmm, did I do that?"
"......When we were shooting that scene in the forest, you said you couldn't film because a single mosquito landed on your arm. Don't you remember that?"
"Uh...... did I?"
Sion genuinely had no memory of it, so he tilted his head and asked back.
At that, the beautiful face of Elena Asimov in front of him instantly contorted.
"Ha! Unbelievable! Don't think you can just gloss over everything like that!"
......No, I really don't remember.
To the seventeen-year-old kid Elena, it might be a memory from only about a year ago, but to the forty-eight-year-old grandpa Sion, it was an event from more than thirty years in the past.
Moreover, he was the type of person who tried his best not to recall bad memories for the sake of his mental health.
It was thanks to the mental defense mechanism skills he had naturally acquired to survive while living in seclusion for ten years.
"My god, you're a guy, and you threw such a massive fit......! In the end, the staff had to spend over three hours running around catching mosquitoes, completely ruining the night shoot! You don't remember that either?!"
"I don't. Seriously."
"Ughhhhh......!"
Elena's pale face turned completely red.
Perhaps because her skin was thin, she looked as if she had applied a pink blush, looking almost drunk.
Dressed in a light sundress, she had attended the industry party—Sion's final schedule—and was letting her emotions show without any filter right in front of him.
Considering her usual appearance, she was a swan, but to the current Sion, she was a total ugly duckling.
Especially since she kept picking fights that barely bordered on logical.
Well, she's still a kid, so it can't be helped.
Since he was the target, Sion wanted to escape this spot as quickly as possible.
Above all, he had a crucial plan tonight to scout out a decent indie film distributor at this party.
"Aren't you going back to your lodging soon?"
"Why would I go? I was invited to this party!"
"Is a minor allowed to attend a party past ten o'clock?"
"I'll be eighteen after my birthday next month!"
"So you're still a minor."
"Grr......"
"So, why did you even come here?"
"I've attended every single year since it was first held! Because I want to watch good movies and get inspired! But for a wicked person like you to come to such a great film festival as an actor before me! And on top of that......!"
"On top of that?"
"......A-Ah, never mind. Forget it."
"There are two ways to make someone angry. One is to stop talking in the middle of a sentence."
"Huh?"
"......"
"W-What is it? Why stop in the middle? ......Ah."
"Exactly. What you just did."
"Hey!"
"I'm heading over there. Don't drink alcohol."
As Sion turned away after cleanly landing a blow, someone approached him as if they had been waiting for the conversation to end.
"Sion, hello. I'm Jimmy Carpenter, director of Aeugos."
"Hello, Jimmy."
"Haha, I really wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the movie. Especially your acting in that one part. At the end, when the protagonist is waiting to face Detective Cobbs......"
"‘Fine. Let's do this. It's nothing. Just like always.’"
Elena Asimov, who was behind Sion, suddenly chimed in and delivered the line on Jimmy's behalf.
Is this girl ever going to leave?
......Still, someone who would grow up to be "the great actress succeeding Meryl Streep" in his past life had just recited a line from his movie without missing a single syllable.
Though she was clearly still a childish brat, the bizarre sensation it gave him made Sion chuckle in spite of himself.
"Ah, Elena. That's exactly it. Yes. I loved that part so much."
"How he calmly raised the hammer, as if doing evil had already become second nature to him, contrasting with the urgency of the moment...... It was exquisite."
Another industry insider who chimed in from the side added.
Business parties like this were originally places where people competed to see who could time their entry into a conversation the best.
Starting with Jimmy, those who wanted to speak to Sion—the lead actor of the most talked-about film at the festival—gradually gathered.
In an instant, four or five people gathered in a circle, and a "socializing" session involving Sion and Elena began.
"If this movie gets a good distributor, it's going to perform quite well."
"Exactly. Sion has great ticket power to begin with, and his acting was superb."
"Plus, the fact that the public is already aware of this film's existence through various media is a huge plus."
As the conversation flowed back and forth, Sion calculated their value in his head.
The beauty of a business party lay in how quickly one could read the other person and get what they needed.
First, "Aeugos," which had initiated the conversation, was an indie film distributor based in New York. However, according to his memory, they had only recently been established, so they didn't seem like a very good option.
I wish a decent place would talk to me......
Sion sipped his drink with that thought.
It was at that moment.
"Hahahahaha!"
A boisterous, overly hearty laugh echoed from somewhere.
Glancing over, Sion spotted a heavily built man with a half-balding forehead standing nearby.
Who in this industry could ever forget that face?
Wow, he's laughing so merrily, completely unaware of what his future holds.
Well, he would live comfortably and well for the next few decades, so it was only natural.
"My, it seems too much attention is focused on one movie today. Especially on its lead actor."
The man approached as he spoke, extending a hand that looked like it would feel sticky.
"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Harvey Weinstein of Miramax."
Miramax—the film company that had distributed Sex, Lies, and Videotape in '89, Cinema Paradiso in '90, and would soon be involved in distributing masterpieces like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.
The man who ran it, Harvey Weinstein, would be evaluated in the future as:
A sex offender, a gaslighter, and a sociopath.
But at this moment, it was undeniable that he ran a company with overwhelming distribution power in the small market of independent films.