Two Months Is Enough, Right? (2)
“W-wait. You’re planning to make a movie in just two months?”
Yoon-gi nodded. “To be precise, we have a little more breathing room than just two months, don’t we?”
“No, you know that a movie isn’t something you can just whip up in two months!”
“Why not?” Yoon-gi asked, looking genuinely puzzled.
“What do you mean, why not? Where in the world is there a movie that finishes production and hits theaters in two months?”
If one were to look for such examples in this era, they weren’t exactly common, but if one considered the future, they certainly existed. There were even cases in South Korea where a 100-minute film was shot in a mere 200 minutes of filming time. Of course, there were quite a few movies that had managed to go from production to release in two months.
“Then, why don’t we just do it ourselves?”
Choi Cheol-jae was utterly flustered by Yoon-gi’s nonchalant tone. Of course, Cheol-jae wasn’t a film industry insider. However, because the celebrities under his agency frequently filmed movies, he had at least a basic grasp of typical production schedules. That was why he couldn’t help but be shocked by Yoon-gi’s words.
“No, I’m telling you, making a movie in two months is impossible!”
“So, why is it impossible?”
“That’s… well, it’s just……”
Cheol-jae was momentarily speechless. ‘Wait… why is it impossible?’ A thought flickered through his mind. Among those who claim something is impossible, there are surprisingly few who can explain it logically. Of course, when thinking only of the “conditions given to that person,” it is usually impossible. That’s because people think based on their own standards, leading to a knee-jerk reaction of impossibility based on quick calculations. But in this situation, Cheol-jae had already answered that it was impossible to “Yoon-gi’s question.”
“Ah… Yoon-gi, don’t tell me you’re… the production budget…?”
Yoon-gi nodded. “Yes, I’m going to film without worrying about the budget. So, I’ll ask again. Is it still impossible?”
“Uh… a-ah, surely not…?”
“And I’ve already prepared the big framework for the scenario.”
Currently, the people of South Korea were craving a strong sense of “catharsis” regarding Japan. In that regard, Yoon-gi was a person who had experienced plenty of what “catharsis” meant during his days as a laborer. That was why he had decided to make this movie a truly refreshing, satisfying experience.
“You’ve prepared the framework for the scenario?”
“Here.”
It was a given that any South Korean would know at least something about Admiral Yi Sun-sin. Yoon-gi, too, had grasped the essence of the Admiral through dramas and the like, so structuring the big framework of the scenario wasn’t difficult.
“Whoa……”
Cheol-jae marveled at the scenario, which had all the scene structures laid out, even if it lacked the detailed dialogue. What Yoon-gi had handed him was, in comic book terms, a storyboard. Of course, the work following the storyboard usually took up the majority of comic production, but Yoon-gi had decided to drastically shorten this period with his immense financial power.
Under Yoon-gi’s directive, the schedules for all films being produced at the MEV-affiliated studio were temporarily halted. Instead, every director and staff member belonging to the studio was assigned to the movie Yoon-gi wanted to make: ‘Admiral Yi Sun-sin’.
“Won’t there be complaints from the directors or staff?”
To Yoon-gi’s question, Choi Cheol-jun, the president of MEV, shrugged his shoulders.
“Hm? I gathered the directors and just showed my face once, and it was all resolved.”
Choi Cheol-jun had an impression that could make even a mid-level yakuza tremble. Because of that, the directors and staff couldn’t voice a single complaint and willingly poured their labor into this project. Naturally, it wasn’t because they were afraid of Cheol-jun. It was because, after reading the framework of the scenario for ‘Admiral Yi Sun-sin’ that Yoon-gi had prepared, they were convinced it was the movie the South Korean public currently desired. Furthermore, the amount of money to be poured into this film was set to be the largest in South Korean history. Having their name appear for even a single line in the ending credits of such a film would undoubtedly be a massive career boost. Because of that, film industry personnel at MEV Studio were even canceling their sick leaves to participate in the filming.
“The personnel must have been woefully insufficient even with the MEV studio, right?”
To Yoon-gi’s question, Cheol-jae shook his head.
“The number of directors and staff was surprisingly manageable. That’s because we gathered all of MEV Studio’s capabilities into one place.”
Of course, because of this, all film production at MEV would be suspended for about two months. However, it wasn’t a big problem. They could just bring in the movies they were short on from Hollywood.
“Then the extras must be the problem?”
War movies basically require a significant number of extras. On top of that, the production period for ‘Admiral Yi Sun-sin’ was only two months. Not only that, because they had to film “naval battles,” the number of days they could properly film on the sea was even more limited. If so, there was only one way. They had to mobilize three times the number of extras originally needed.
“That’s right. The directors were worried about that too, but it was resolved surprisingly easily.”
“Is that so?”
Yoon-gi’s eyes went wide. Honestly, Yoon-gi had thought that directors, filming staff, and extras would all be in short supply.
“You procured all the lead and supporting actors through Cheol-jae, right? Because of that, we were able to keep the lead and supporting actor fees incredibly low.”
“Ah, there is that aspect.”
An actor’s appearance fee depends strictly on their fame. As such, actors who were good at acting but hadn’t built up name value would actually accept lower fees when signing on to a highly anticipated project. That was because they could advertise themselves through the movie. Of course, highly anticipated projects just use expensive actors. Using an expensive actor makes the movie go viral on its own. However, ‘Admiral Yi Sun-sin’ wasn’t just targeting the domestic market; it was scheduled to be filmed for the entire world, so there was no need to use expensive actors. No, rather, they scouted only those actors who were like pearls in the dirt, who hadn’t yet built up name value. In this regard, Cheol-jae was a true expert. That was why the labor costs for the lead and supporting roles in ‘Admiral Yi Sun-sin’ were cheaper than one could imagine.
“But that influenced the extras too? You can’t just use anyone for extras, right? They need at least a minimum level of acting ability.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
Extras weren’t just random people being scouted. It was an official profession with the term “assistant performer.”
“Among the official actors, there are quite a few who request to be used as extras, saying they’d be happy to receive even extra-level wages. So, we were able to resolve the extra side as well.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Of course, they aren’t popular people right now, but it seems they have the mindset of wanting to expose themselves to the media by adding one line to their resume with this opportunity. Thanks to that, we secured both quantity and quality.”
“That’s surprisingly fortunate. Now the remaining tasks are script writing, procuring and producing the props needed for filming, and the actual shooting.”
Yoon-gi, who had been nodding, looked at Choi Cheol-jun with a smirk as if he had just thought of something.
“Right. What if the directors go off on their own trying to inject their own color?”
“Then I’ll just have to show my face once.”
Cheol-jun knew Yoon-gi was joking and smirked back. MEV was a studio where the director’s discretion was extremely low to begin with. That was why the directors didn’t dare to “think about doing art with someone else’s money without permission.”
“Anyway, it’s a relief that there are so many talented people around you.”
At Cheol-jun’s words, Yoon-gi smiled again and nodded.
“Ah, why are regular guards using tridents?”
At Son Min-gwan’s words, which made him frown, the prop manager looked flustered.
“Yes? Guards should naturally use tridents……”
“What nonsense are you spouting? Guards don’t use tridents. People think it’s funny because they see guards flailing around with tridents in historical dramas, but tridents were items used by special forces in the Joseon Dynasty.”
“Eh? Really?”
The prop manager was genuinely surprised. Because, as far as he knew, guards in historical dramas were always supposed to be holding tridents.
“Do people think guards in historical dramas look cool? They don’t, right? In that situation, imagine the soldiers in ‘Admiral Yi Sun-sin’ carrying tridents around. Do they look like elite troops?”
Son Min-gwan already had a track record of writing a novel called ‘Princess Seollok’, where the king’s daughter is active as a detective. In this process, he had naturally conducted significant research on the Joseon Dynasty, and thanks to that, he was cutting out all the problems that could arise while writing the scenario for ‘Admiral Yi Sun-sin’ in advance.
‘If it becomes fun and cool, it doesn’t matter if I ignore some historical accuracy. But this movie isn’t one where I have to abandon historical accuracy because of the production budget.’
Thinking this, Son Min-gwan looked at the professor of Joseon history who was following him around.
“Right, Professor?”
The professor nodded. “That is correct.”
A professor’s words are always more persuasive than a writer’s. That was why the prop manager nodded more firmly.
“I understand. Then, I will report to the president so we can prepare more accurate props.”
“Get the materials and such from the professor here. And don’t just order from the existing suppliers; if you can meet the production volume, find every other place as well. We don’t have time, but we have money overflowing. So, proceed quickly.”
“Understood! Professor, could you come with me for a moment?”
The prop manager left the spot with the Joseon expert professor. Next, Son Min-gwan was heading to the place where the extras were receiving training. Since it was a war scene anyway, there were no lines for individual extras. However, since he had to train them on expressions and such related to acting, a truly massive number of extras were currently receiving training.
“Wait, the extras aren’t classified at all right now, are they?”
To Son Min-gwan’s question, the lecture assistant staff member nodded.
“Yes? Ah, yes. That’s right.”
Naturally, Son Min-gwan couldn’t help but knit his brows.
“Then, that won’t do.”
“Yes? Why?”
“During the Imjin War, the Japanese were 6cm shorter than the Joseon people. So, classify the extras into Joseon specialists and Japan specialists in advance. And make the average height difference 6cm. We won’t mention height in the movie, but we have to make the audience ‘instinctively feel’ that the Joseon people are taller.”
“Uh… that is… well……”
Since Son Min-gwan was currently closer to an advisory role, he lacked actual authority. So, Son Min-gwan sighed and picked up his walkie-talkie.
“President, an employee named Lee Se-beom is hesitating at my instructions; what should I do?”
The employee’s expression turned to one of pure terror in an instant.
“…What did you say?”
“Ah, no! I’m sorry! I was thinking about something else for a moment!”
The voice of Choi Cheol-jun, who had made the employee snap to attention with just four syllables. Thanks to that, Son Min-gwan also completed the classification of the extras.
‘Certainly, it’s nice that the budget never runs dry no matter how much I spend. If the budget were tight, I wouldn’t even be able to imagine classifying extras like this.’
Because of that, Son Min-gwan put in more effort and steadily checked the situation. That was how a week passed. Naturally, Japan was attempting to interfere this time as well.