Chapter 86
Chapter 86
He Crossed the Line
Manager Park looked at Lee Tae-gyeom with a strange expression.
‘Did he really understand?’
A manager voluntarily trying to persuade an actor to cut their appearance fee? Honestly, it was unheard of. For someone like Yu Yeon-seo, a high guarantee wasn’t a big deal. He was providing the capital, after all. And it was the manager’s job to coordinate that behind the scenes.
Sometimes, counter-viral marketing firms would try to stir up controversy about Yu Yeon-seo’s fees, but he didn’t have the fragile ego to be affected by such tactics.
‘Who else has that kind of influence... We have to use every advantage we have.’
Manager Park wasn’t particularly fond of Yu Yeon-seo, but he still worked for the benefit of his agency’s actors. Voluntarily cutting an appearance fee was out of the question.
Except in certain situations. Did he really understand what those situations were?
“Tae-gyeom, come out here for a second.”
Manager Park decided to test him.
“Why did you say you’d ask him?”
Following Manager Park into the hallway, Lee Tae-gyeom scratched the back of his head.
“I’m not saying we should lower his overall rate, just that we should be flexible depending on the situation.”
“Depending on the situation? What kind, specifically?”
“The project that man mentioned earlier, the one Jin Su-ho took a pay cut for—wasn’t that a Director Ahn Oh-jun film?”
“That’s right.”
Ahn Oh-jun was a young master of Korean cinema who had managed to capture both commercial success and artistic merit, earning accolades at various domestic and international award ceremonies. As a director with proven box office draw, he was also a favorite among investors.
“Then why wasn’t Yu Yeon-seo cast? He’s in the same age range as Jin Su-ho.”
“Of course, we got an offer too. We tried to make a deal, but Jin Su-ho offered to cut his usual fee in half, saying he’d always respected the director. You know Yu Yeon-seo—he insisted he wouldn’t go below a certain amount.”
Casting in the film industry was like a bargaining market.
For supporting or minor roles, production companies held auditions to cast actors that fit their tastes, but lead actors rarely auditioned.
Instead, the production company would send out materials to nearly every talent agency, essentially asking, ‘We have this project, who’s interested?’ Then, they would contact the interested agencies and start negotiating fees. ‘So-and-so offered this much, are you interested?’ ‘Someone else quoted this amount, what about you? Can you go lower?’
So it wasn’t, ‘Who wants to do this project? We’ll pay you this much,‘ but rather, ‘You like this project, right? How low can you go?’ This was possible because there were always plenty of other actors to take the role. They would bargain like this and cast the actor who quoted the lowest fee.
“That’s the kind of situation I’m talking about. His acting has gotten better, but he can’t just be ‘the hope of rookies’ forever. He needs to start appearing in projects by people like that.”
“Oh...?”
The reason Yu Yeon-seo had consistently landed lead roles was because he provided the capital. In return, he mostly worked with unknown writers, directors, and rookies who couldn’t attract investors on their own.
But for some big names, Yu Yeon-seo’s investment wasn’t necessary. They already had connections with major backers. And having a film by one of these people in your filmography was a huge boost to an actor’s career.
‘He really does get it.’
Feeling he had worried for nothing, Manager Park nodded toward the phone in Lee Tae-gyeom’s hand.
“Alright. Give him a call now.”
“R-Right now?”
“Yes. On speakerphone. Just tell him I’m here.”
Lee Tae-gyeom hesitated for a moment before making the call. The phone hadn’t even rung three times before Yu Yeon-seo picked up.
(What is it?)
“Are you resting well? I’m in a meeting, and Manager Park is here with me.”
(Get to the point.)
Hearing the curt reply, Manager Park swallowed hard, thinking, Of course...
It wasn’t as if Manager Park hadn’t thought of what Lee Tae-gyeom was proposing. A similar situation had come up before, but Yeon-seo had refused, saying, “Are you trying to turn me into some cheap actor just for the sake of some damn director’s name?” It had been wishful thinking anyway, since the director likely wouldn’t have approved of his acting in the first place.
But with his personality change after the accident, the result might be different.
“Do you have any intention of cutting your guarantee?”
(What kind of bullshit is this all of a sudden?)
Manager Park slapped his forehead. Didn’t you skip a few steps?
“No, no, not to lower your overall rate, but to be open to negotiating for the right projects. The kind of projects where there’s no room for you to invest.”
(Ah...)
Understanding what Lee Tae-gyeom was saying, Yu Yeon-seo fell into thought.
No matter how good his eye for projects was, there were limits. A film’s quality ultimately came from the director’s hands. And renowned master directors already had the trust of major investors, so they weren’t desperate enough to need to cast Yu Yeon-seo just to receive funding.
Moreover, even A-list stars coveted roles in these directors’ films and would voluntarily take pay cuts to be in them. There was no place for Yu Yeon-seo, who would never cut his fee.
(I see what you mean.)
Couldn’t he just offer additional funding to get cast? he wondered, but investing wasn’t that simple. It often required the consent of the existing investors.
And as for getting help from JSENM, the most influential investment and distribution company, Choi Yu-jin was a businesswoman. She would prioritize the company’s profits. Yu Yeon-seo didn’t want the image of a mother swayed by familial affection, using her power as the head of a major distributor to constantly insert her son into projects.
‘So the idea is to be bold and take a pay cut for the right projects, just like other actors.’
Until now, Halo Media had simply been following the manual set by his original self. Although Beta had synced him with some basic knowledge, the current Yu Yeon-seo didn’t really know how this industry worked, so he had just left things as they were.
(But how high was my fee anyway?)
“You have the highest guarantee after Jin Su-ho.”
(Wow, that’s ridiculous.)
Jin Su-ho had cemented his position as a top star in a short period and was the best among male actors in their 20s and 30s. Yu Yeon-seo had the appeal of being an investor, but that appeal was useless for projects that already had secured funding.
Hearing Yu Yeon-seo talk as if he had nothing to do with it, Manager Park thought that losing his memory was definitely a good thing.
“Originally, you told us never to go below the price you set, so we just followed that... but I thought maybe it’s time for a change.”
(Go ahead.)
For the current Yu Yeon-seo, it wasn’t a bad suggestion. In fact, it was an issue he would have never even considered if it hadn’t been brought up.
(But you know, right?)
“I know, I know. We’ll make sure it doesn’t damage your noble image.”
(Are you being sarcastic? Can you even handle it?)
At Yu Yeon-seo’s doubtful tone, Lee Tae-gyeom let out a small sigh.
“Hey, you think I’ll be the one doing it? Manager Park will handle most of it.”
(I can trust Manager Park. Well, go ahead then. I’m hanging up.)
He trusts me? Manager Park covered his mouth, overcome with emotion.
“...That went well, right?”
Having ended the call, Lee Tae-gyeom glanced at Manager Park. Why are you acting like this after doing so well? Manager Park slapped Lee Tae-gyeom’s back hard.
“Ow, that hurts!”
“It’s settled. Now, let’s go drop a little hint to those guys.”
Manager Park beamed.
Until now, Yu Yeon-seo’s pride had been so immense that they never even had a chance to sit at the negotiating table. But now, if they let it slip that he was willing to cut his fee for the right project... he would become an even more attractive actor than the others. Good offers would surely start rolling in.
While Lee Tae-gyeom watched with bated breath, the managers continued their meeting for Yoon Jeong-woo.
“Should we call it a day for now?”
“Let’s.”
“I pray today is the last of it.”
“Not a chance.”
If any changes came up, they would have another meeting as early as tomorrow. And even as filming progressed, the managers would be in constant contact with the production company, endlessly negotiating for their actor.
“Still, we finished early today. Should we grab lunch before heading back?”
Manager Park stretched. He had another meeting with a different production company in the afternoon.
“But that guy seems a bit strange.”
“Why?”
“I mean, no matter what, to openly use a term like ‘crazy bastard’... ”
Manager Park let out a dry laugh. So that’s why he looked so odd. He was still thinking about that remark. To think I’d live to see a manager who actually defends the kid. Is this really the same kid who abandoned him on the street and quit?
“I thought it was out of line, too. He’ll probably apologize first.”
Since Manager Park and that employee seemed close, Lee Tae-gyeom decided not to press the issue. Still, seeing the rookie manager’s unrelaxed expression, Manager Park chuckled softly.
“Want me to tell you why he said that?”
“Yes.”
“We may use our investor rights to gain the upper hand in these negotiations, but once filming actually starts, the director is king.”
Lee Tae-gyeom knew that. While meetings like this established the power dynamics, on set, the director’s authority was absolute.
“Of course, Yu Yeon-seo is the only exception, but still, a director has their own inherent authority. Only the director can direct. No matter if you’re an investor and an actor, it’s proper etiquette to respect the line.”
“I suppose so.”
Of course, the director would be mindful of the person funding the project, but investors generally didn’t cross the line and interfere excessively. Lee Tae-gyeom nodded.
“That employee from the production company was in charge during ‘Emergency’.”
“Oh...”
‘Emergency’ was the second movie Yu Yeon-seo had filmed. It was famous for being plagued with issues from before filming even began until the very end.
“Naturally, Yu Yeon-seo was the primary investor, and the distributor was JSENM. He had more power than the director. The director, being a proud man, tried to rein him in while still being wary of him.”
“Wow, and he just took that?”
“Yu Yeon-seo has some common sense, so he played along with the director’s demands to a certain extent. Though he swore he’d never work on another one of that director’s projects.”
The atmosphere on set was so terrible that rumors leaked and even made it into the news. Which manager was it back then? Lee Tae-gyeom considered looking it up in the ‘Yu Yeon-seo File’, but then remembered that the file was now in Yu Yeon-seo’s possession and dropped the thought.
“But when they were about halfway through filming, Yu Yeon-seo suddenly called a meeting and demanded they replace the director.”
“What?”
“He even threatened to pull the interim investment payment if they didn’t. Wow, that’s just something that doesn’t happen. No matter how powerful the investor, threatening to withhold an installment payment is an extreme measure you just don’t see.”
Okay, scratch what I thought about him being nice.Yu Yeon-seo, you really wrote a new chapter in the history of cinema. Lee Tae-gyeom’s jaw dropped.
“Even a regular office worker would get an earful for pulling something like that, people questioning their professionalism. We all predicted that in the already-small film industry, an incident like this would deal a significant blow even to someone as rich and well-connected as Yu Yeon-seo. Someone at his level could get a lead actor fired, but not the director. He crossed the line.”
“Wow...”
“From the production company’s perspective, changing directors would mean reshooting everything, so all the footage they’d shot would become useless. And even if he offered to cover the financial hole with additional investment, they’d still need time to consult with the other investors. Anyway, it was a situation where the entire project could have just disintegrated.”
“So what happened?”
“Obviously, the production company went into crisis mode, and all of us managers were running around like our feet were on fire.”
Manager Park’s expression darkened. He was remembering the hardship from back then.
“That guy was struck by lightning with that incident. He had to run around persuading the director, placating the other investors... We even had our CEO step in to persuade the kid. Anyway, we eventually managed to get him to see it through to the end of filming. But considering all the trouble he went through that day, calling him a ‘crazy bastard’ is putting it mildly.”
His expression softening, Lee Tae-gyeom nodded.
“But why did he suddenly do that?”
“We don’t know either. He never told us. The rumor was that the director said something about Lee Hui-seo. That’s about it. Come to think of it... after that, the director suddenly retired and vanished, didn’t he?”
At the mention of Lee Hui-seo, Lee Tae-gyeom flinched. Lee Tae-gyeom, not just Im Seung-hyeon, had noticed that Yu Yeon-seo had been asking around about matters related to Lee Hui-seo lately.
He moved his lips unconsciously.
“Um, Manager. Do you happen to know anyone from Twinkle’s agency?”
“Twinkle?”
Manager Park looked at Lee Tae-gyeom, puzzled.