This answer that Kang Woo-jin spat out calmly.
“I think it will easily attract over 20 million viewers.”
It started out quite lightheartedly. Well, I wasn’t trying to turn this production presentation upside down or declare war. I was just responding without any serious intentions.
‘I have to maintain the concept anyway. But it’s not like I’m joking around, right?’
It was true.
‘It’s a given that it will be a success, but it’s uncertain how many viewers it will attract. But it’s certain that it will be higher than The Island of the Lost.’
Currently, the rating of ‘Stranger’ is higher than that of ‘Missing Island’ which exceeded 20 million.
-[7/Scenario (Title: Strange Sacrifice of a Stranger), SSS-Class]
That means at least 20 million viewers. Of course, since ‘The Stranger’ is being released in Korea and Japan, it could have been over 20 million in both countries combined. So what? Anyway, it’s a huge hit, right? In this hall filled with hundreds of reporters and other people, only Kang Woo-jin was able to see a glimpse of the future of ‘The Stranger’.
That’s why I’m calm.
On the other hand, the torrent of flashes of news that had been pouring down like crazy slowed down for a moment. Hundreds of reporters started to murmur at Kang Woo-jin’s answer.
“Hey, what did Kang Woojin just say?”
“20 million? I said 20 million.”
“Are you talking about 20 million viewers?”
“Then what would be there?”
That’s understandable, because when asked if ‘Stranger’ would be successful, Woojin answered without a second thought that it would easily get over 20 million. Many Japanese reporters were slightly taken aback, but they were also muttering their own assessments.
‘Aren’t you a little too confident? How many people are here?’
‘You can say something like that without changing your expression?’
‘I can’t tell if it’s confidence or arrogance.’
It wasn’t just the reporters who watched the production presentation, which had become a bit awkward, but tens of thousands of Japanese viewers who were streaming live.
-[Live streaming of the production presentation of ‘The Strange Sacrifice of a Stranger’!]
-[Live Broadcast]
-[49,872 people watching]
They, who had already reached 50,000 members, also started chatting like crazy as soon as they heard Woojin’s lines.
-Huh??? 20 million?!!
-Kang Woojin, isn’t that too much??
-wwwwww I think I answered without thinking
-I really hate Kang Woojin’s reckless behavior.
-It’s good to be confident, but… aren’t you taking 20 million too lightly?
-So what?
-Kang Woojin!! Awesome!!
-By the way, doesn’t Kang Woo-jin look good in an all-black suit? It definitely seems like Korean actors have great physiques.
·
·
·
However, it was impossible to check everything one by one because it was so fast. It was also worth seeing the expressions of the Japanese actors standing with Kang Woo-jin, who had an indifferent expression. They all opened their eyes slightly wide as they looked at Woo-jin.
‘Wow… he just screams.’
‘I knew Woojin-ssi wouldn’t follow through, but I didn’t know he’d go this far.’
The same was true for author Akari.
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A small smile spread across Director Kyotaro’s lips as he stood first. He was witnessing the scene he had been waiting for. In any case, the reporter who asked Woojin the first question was dumbfounded.
“······Over 20 million is easy?”
Kang Woo-jin answered quietly.
“Yes, that’s what I said.”
From here, the flash baptism that had faded for a moment exploded again.
-Pavabavabak!!
Of course, it was aimed at Woojin, and several dozen of the hundreds of reporters quickly typed on their laptops. In Japan, the 20 million viewers was a huge achievement. In terms of history, there have only been three works so far, and all three were theatrical animations. The highest score for a Japanese film was 19 million. That was quite a while ago.
Recently, the Japanese film industry has shrunk to the point where it is difficult to even find 10 million moviegoers.
But suddenly, Kang Woo-jin, a Korean actor and not a Japanese one, boldly declared 20 million viewers at the production press conference for ‘The Stranger’. Although it is a place to show ambition, it is better not to make an absurd statement like 20 million. It will only cause a lot of nonsense later. If it is not achieved, you will also get cursed at.
More than anything, the reporters focused on the word ‘easy’ in Kang Woo-jin’s line.
‘When you say it’s easy, you mean you’re going to easily reach 20 million viewers?’
In other words, it easily surpassed 20 million viewers and is expected to surpass that number. It is talking about the future where Korean actors will come to the Japanese market and create a legend. It was truly a strange picture, and Woojin’s declaration of war and similar answers were good fodder for the media and public opinion.
At this moment, in the minds of hundreds of reporters.
‘Haha, good, good. I guess there’s a lot to write about.’
The main title of the article that would be published in a few hours was already decided.
The production presentation for ‘The Stranger’, which had somehow been organized, continued. Starting with Director Kyotaro, Kang Woo-jin, and then the entire cast, greetings, a brief ‘The Stranger’ briefing by Director Kyotaro and Writer Akari, the actors answering questions set by the host, etc.
An hour passed by in a flash.
mudfish.
“Reporters, I have some questions for you.”
It was free question time for hundreds of reporters. Naturally, all the reporters raised their hands. However, since he couldn’t hear everyone’s questions, the moderator chose someone at random. It was a plump male reporter sitting on the far left of the first row.
The selected reporters.
-Ugh.
I turned my gaze to the cynical actor sitting third from the stage. It was Kang Woo-jin.
“Mr. Kang Woo-jin, as a Korean actor, it must have been burdensome to participate in ‘The Stranger’. Now that filming is over, what kind of movie do you think ‘The Stranger’ is?”
Woojin’s answer came quickly.
“I think this is the first film that will have a big impact on the Japanese film industry. A lot of things will change.”
This was also an answer that made hundreds of reporters’ eyes widen. The second bomb was dropped. At this point, the viewers watching the production presentation.
-[60,021 people watching]
There were over 60,000 people, and Chairman Hideki, who was watching from the back of the hall without anyone noticing, smiled.
‘Kang Woo-jin, he really is a star. Even if people curse at him for messing things up like that, curiosity explodes.’
Kang Woojin seems to like the Noppaku bombs. But after this too.
“Next question, sir, the reporter with glasses.”
“Me too, to Kang Woojin!!”
The bombing continued.
Two days later, Monday the 23rd. Korea.
Kang Woo-jin, who finished a short three-day schedule in Japan, returned to Korea last night. And as of the early morning of the 23rd, he was on his way to work in the elevator.
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‘Ugh- It hurts.’
It’s fortunate that there is a subspace, but if there weren’t, I would have died long ago, Kang Woo-jin muttered to himself. With his hat pulled down low, he yawned without showing it thanks to the concept he had put on, but he picked up his phone. While trying to check the piled up contacts, he changed direction and logged onto a portal site.
Main articles that are immediately visible.
Kang Woo-jin’s face was stuck on the door as big as a door.
『[Star Photo] Kang Woo-jin declaring war in front of over 200 reporters at the production conference for ‘The Stranger’ / Photo』
The bombs dropped by Kang Woo-jin in Japan were also introduced in Korea.
‘Why are you making such a fuss?’
But the sense of realism was lacking. Even so, the articles that broke out in Korea were all scraped from Japanese SNS or communities. The only effort they made was to quote Japanese articles. Woojin moved his fingers again. He turned off the domestic portal site and accessed a Japanese search site.
Soon, Kang Woo-jin let out a sigh inwardly.
‘Wow- Isn’t it worse than yesterday??!’
In reality, the Japanese media was already in shambles. Who? Kang Woo-jin.
『「Kang Woo-jin」, at the ‘Stranger’ production presentation, confidently declared ‘will easily exceed 20 million viewers!’』
『“Confidence or conceit?”, “Kang Woo-jin” sees ‘The Strange Sacrifice of a Stranger’ with a score of over 20 million』
The news rankings of Japan’s No. 1 search site were almost entirely dominated by Kang Woo-jin. In fact, it was like that since the production presentation for ‘The Stranger’ ended. The Japanese reporters who were present immediately wrote articles, and as it grew for about two days, it attracted a huge amount of aggro.
『“The first film that will have a great influence on the Japanese film industry” What is the ‘influence’ that Kang Woo-jin is talking about?』
All figures from Japanese broadcasting stations, film industry, production companies, and agencies were focused on Woojin. So were countless Japanese people. This atmosphere continued even after a day had passed on the 24th.
No, rather, did it get amplified? The Japanese media kept churning out bait.
『Kang Woo-jin’s powerful declaration at the production presentation of “The Strange Sacrifice of a Stranger”, causing a stir on SNS!』
Public opinion also joined in, encouraging hooking. Along with facts, rumors of abusive behavior and flyers were rampant. The remains of the bomb dropped by Kang Woo-jin spread throughout Japan.
-You’re too confident.
-I think it will be quite popular since the original work has power anyway, but Kang Woo-jin is overdoing it by himself.
-The stranger has quieted down a bit now… . The controversy has escalated again… .
-What on earth is this great movie that has such a big influence on the Japanese film industry? wwwww
-I’ll watch it once it opens!
-Anyway, Kang Woo-jin in all black was the best at the production conference!! He’s so handsome… .
·
·
·
The funny thing is that ‘Stranger’ and Woojin are gaining aggro in Japan, and they are popular among the Japanese public.
-I’m curious to see what kind of acting Kang Woo-jin will do in Stranger.
-I don’t like Kang Woo-jin, but I’ll hold back for now. If I have anything to swear at, I’ll do it after watching the movie.
Anyway, I had a bad feeling, but my curiosity exploded. How on earth did they film ‘The Stranger’ so that Kang Woo-jin appears like that?
Are you just trying to show off?
Although Kang Woo-jin was the one who turned the entire country of Japan into a wasteland, he himself…
‘Look at this, since I came back to Korea, there wasn’t much of a hit, right?’
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He was working on his schedule without much thought. That’s how quickly time flew by. Starting on the 26th, Woojin started shooting the main poster for ‘Leech’. It was a poster that was officially delivered to Cannes. Since it was done in secret, only the staff who were absolutely necessary participated in the shooting.
The poster shoot took place on set and outdoors, and was completed in about two days.
I took pictures with two concepts as poster candidates, and even within those concepts, I changed the composition and background in detail to create different feels. Whatever it was, the results came out in the hundreds.
It is Director Ahn Ga-bok’s job to choose just one poster among them.
Kang Woo-jin seemed to be nothing special.
‘I thought there was something special when they said they were sending it to Cannes, but it’s just like any other movie poster shoot??’
He was muttering things like, “I was nervous for no reason” or “I’m so excited.” Then, Woojin was immediately assigned to the next schedule. Well, as always, there were numerous schedules.
『Martial arts practice cuts released by ‘Beneficial Evil’ side, preparing for action that will challenge the world?』
Among them, the martial arts practice of ‘beneficial evil’ was the main one.
About a week later.
Before we knew it, August had come to an end and September had begun, and a few days had passed. Now the weather was clearly heading towards autumn, and people on the streets were starting to wear thicker clothing.
Today is Monday, September 6th.
The location was the editing room of a large film company. A slightly dark editing room. There were many monitors and work equipment densely placed. There was a resting area with a sofa and other things in the back, and two familiar posters were attached to a thick plastic plate on a round desk.
In both posters, Kang Woo-jin was the main character.
In the editorial office, there were several editorial staff. Among them, an old man sitting at the end and operating a work device caught my eye.
It was the veteran director, An Ga-bok.
In other words, this was the editing room for the movie ‘Leech’.
“······”
“······”
There wasn’t much conversation going on. The editing was just centered around Director Ahn Ga-bok, who had short white hair. There was no unnecessary movement in Director Ahn Ga-bok, who handled all the processes.
“Play some music.”
As if he knew everything and was moving forward.
“Cut, next one.”
About ten people, including Director Ahn Ga-bok, were in the editing room most of the time except for meal times. Despite this, they worked together smoothly without any signs of fatigue. Perhaps it was Director Ahn Ga-bok’s veteran charisma and experience that played a role.
Then late that night.
At around 11:45, Director Ahn Ga-bok, sitting in the center of the editing room, was staring intently at the monitor in front of him when suddenly.
-Ugh.
He leaned back against the back of the chair and muttered briefly. His voice was rough and hoarse.
“it’s okay.”
Soon, the editors sitting around Director Ahn Ga-bok turned their gazes to him. Although no one was saying anything, their widened eyes seemed to express the same message.
‘Say it again!’
Director Ahn Ga-bok, who had been rubbing his rough cheeks and forehead, whether he noticed this or not, muttered to himself again.
“This is enough.”
Several editors suddenly jumped up and screamed. Some even jumped around. Meanwhile, Director Ahn Ga-bok, who was looking at the many monitors in front of him, smiled faintly.
“It ended sooner than I expected.”
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The latter half of ‘Leech’ editing was completed. It meant that the sortie was complete.
Two days later, on the 8th.
At around 9 in the morning, a huge black van stopped in the underground parking lot of a major movie studio. After parking, a familiar black-haired man got out of the van.
“······”
Today, too, Kang Woo-jin was wearing an indifferent look. He was wearing a cream-colored jacket. Woo-jin got out of the van and waited for Choi Sung-geon or his team members, but he was controlling himself. He looked tough on the outside, but inside, he was busy controlling his mind. Because his tension was currently quite high. No, maybe it was closer to anticipation?
The reason was simple.
In about an hour, we will be heading to Cannes, one of the top three international film festivals in the world.
‘Oh my, is it because this movie is going to be sent to Cannes? Are you more nervous than other movies? Why?’
Because there was going to be a finished product test of ‘Leech’.
end
