Chapter 3

Three Generations of Family History

Lamp Entertainment.

Founded by Park Tae-hyuk with the ambition to produce good works that emit a gentle light into the world, like a lamp.

The office is located in Pil-dong, near the heart of the film industry, Jongno.

"I'm here."

Lee Gwan-han opened the door to Lamp Entertainment, located on the third floor of a shabby building, and stepped inside, greeting everyone.

"You're here?"

Park Tae-hyuk, with bloodshot eyes, glanced at Lee Gwan-han as he entered the office and raised his hand.

'He must have been up all night!'

Lee Gwan-han guessed, seeing Park Tae-hyuk's bloodshot eyes and haggard face.

He must have been tossing and turning, unable to sleep, as he pondered which of the two scripts to choose: "My New Partner" or "Three Generations of Family History."

"Miss Mi-ju, can you get me a cup of coffee, please?"

Lee Gwan-han, who was in charge of accounting and miscellaneous tasks, asked Kim Mi-ju for a cup of coffee and sat down opposite the sofa where Park Tae-hyuk was sitting.

"It's the day of the final decision."

"Yeah, it's the day that will determine the fate of our company."

"Let's be precise. It's your company, not ours."

"Anyway, you don't seem to have any loyalty to the company."

Park Tae-hyuk, who had been scolding him, gave him a puzzled look.

"But you, what's up? You look happy."

"I have good news."

"What is it? Did you win the lottery?"

"It's a secret."

"A secret? Did you really win the lottery?"

As Park Tae-hyuk pressed, Lee Gwan-han quickly changed the subject.

"Have you made a decision?"

"Kind of!"

"Which one?"

"My New Partner."

Lee Gwan-han nodded slightly.

Park Tae-hyuk's choice was not different from before.

"Why?"

"'My New Partner' has a higher chance of securing investment, obviously."

It was hard to criticize Park Tae-hyuk's choice.

"My New Partner" was already well-prepared, while "Three Generations of Family History" had no preparation at all.

Here, "preparation" refers to the director and actors.

Which director would take the helm?

Which actors would be cast?

This is commonly referred to as "preparation," and it is very important.

The lineup of the director and actors is crucial for securing investment.

"My New Partner" and "Three Generations of Family History."

Both films had rookie directors, but their levels were different.

The director of "My New Partner," Lee Hae-sung, had not yet directed a commercial film but had extensive experience directing short films.

His short films had won awards at various film festivals and were highly praised for their quality.

He was one of the young directors that Jongno was paying attention to and one of the new directors that investment and distribution companies were watching, making it highly likely that he could secure investment.

On the other hand, the director of "Three Generations of Family History," Kang Hyung-jin, had already made his debut after working as an assistant director.

His debut commercial film was "Scissors."

It was a horror film.

Aimed at the summer market, which is a prime time for horror films, but it received poor reviews from audiences.

"It's a horror film, but it's not scary at all!" It received the worst possible review and flopped at the box office.

The final audience count for the film "Scissors" was 31,500.

Kang Hyung-jin's debut commercial film, which he had put his heart into, turned out to be a flop. And the director that investors fear the most is one whose debut film flopped.

Naturally, investment and distribution companies would look at Kang Hyung-jin with distrust. And it wasn't just the director.

There was a difference in casting as well.

Both films had not yet finalized their lead actors, but "My New Partner" was being considered by the national actor, Ahn Sang-gi.

Or rather, his participation was almost confirmed.

Ahn Sang-gi's decision to participate was based on his trust in the young director, Lee Hae-sung, whom Jongno was paying attention to.

Of course, Ahn Sang-gi, who had aged, could no longer show the same box office power as before.

However, his recognition could not be ignored.

If he confirmed his participation?

The chances of securing investment would greatly increase.

On the other hand, "Three Generations of Family History" was struggling with casting its lead role.

This was the reason why Park Tae-hyuk, the representative of Lamp Entertainment, chose "My New Partner" among the two scripts.

"Have you thought about it?"

Lee Gwan-han, who had been pondering, woke up from his thoughts at Park Tae-hyuk's question.

"Of course, I've thought about it."

"So, what's your conclusion?"

Lee Gwan-han hesitated for a moment, searching his memory.

"Let's go with 'My New Partner.'"

It was the same answer he had given before.

At that time, Park Tae-hyuk and Lee Gwan-han's opinions were in agreement.

Thanks to this, production proceeded smoothly, though they didn't realize it was a path to failure.

"Let's go with 'Three Generations of Family History.'"

Lee Gwan-han gave a different answer from before.

Perhaps because it was unexpected.

"Why did you choose that?"

Park Tae-hyuk gave him a puzzled look.

"Maybe it will be a big hit."

Lee Gwan-han answered with a smile.

Park Tae-hyuk chose "My New Partner."

Given the difference in opinions, some adjustment was needed.

"Hey! Is a movie a joke? It costs at least tens of billions to produce and release a single movie. Hundreds of people work for months. And you want to choose 'Three Generations of Family History' based on your gut feeling that it might be a big hit?"

Park Tae-hyuk, who was clearly dissatisfied, raised his voice slightly.

'Frustrating!'

The real reason Lee Gwan-han chose "Three Generations of Family History."

It wasn't based on a gut feeling.

He knew the future.

"My New Partner" and "Three Generations of Family History."

The fates of the two films were starkly different.

One film created a surprising box office hit that amazed everyone in the Korean film industry, while the other struggled and failed to break even.

And the film that was a hit was not "Three Generations of Family History."

The title changed during production.

The film's title was "Overdrive Three Generations Scandal."

However, the problem was that there was no proper way to explain this to Park Tae-hyuk.

'What if I confess that I have regressed, meaning I died in the future and came back to the past?'

How would Park Tae-hyuk react if Lee Gwan-han confessed this honestly?

It was unlikely he would believe it easily.

More likely, he would scold Lee Gwan-han for still being drunk from yesterday.

'How can I persuade him?'

So, Lee Gwan-han was deep in thought.

Of course, Lee Gwan-han was not a great lover of the company.

He was a producer at Lamp Entertainment, founded by Park Tae-hyuk, but he had already decided to quit.

And there were two main reasons for his decision to quit.

First, he didn't get along well with Park Tae-hyuk.

Although Park Tae-hyuk had not been in the film industry for long, he had only learned the bad things in that short time.

In other words, he had only learned how to be a scoundrel.

He would not pay proper royalties to rookie writers and would only take the core ideas from their scripts, or he would insert unfavorable clauses into contracts to make rookie directors and writers cry.

The bigger problem was that Park Tae-hyuk didn't realize his own faults.

He considered these scoundrel-like actions to be old practices in the film industry and took them for granted.

However, Lee Gwan-han thought differently.

"Pay what you owe and treat people well!"

This was Lee Gwan-han's philosophy as a film producer.

So, they could not work together well.

Another reason was that he had decided to produce a film under his own name.

'Should I just let it fail?'

Since he had no affection for the company and no personal affection for Park Tae-hyuk, he thought about letting Park Tae-hyuk produce "My New Partner" as he wished.

"You were also in favor of 'My New Partner' until yesterday. Getting investment quickly would be good for you too."

At that moment, Park Tae-hyuk spoke again.

Hearing this, Lee Gwan-han changed his mind.

The reason Lee Gwan-han had chosen to produce "My New Partner" before was similar to Park Tae-hyuk's.

Director Lee Hae-sung and actor Ahn Sang-gi.

He judged that this combination would make it easy to secure investment.

No, it was almost certain to secure investment. And Lee Gwan-han, who was preparing to set up his own company, needed money.

At that time, Lee Gwan-han had signed a contract that he would only get paid if the film he produced as a producer secured investment.

So, he had no other choice.

Of course, the situation was not much different now.

Lee Gwan-han, who was preparing to set up his own company, needed money.

However, his choice was different from before.

'Let's make a big hit first!'

If "Three Generations of Family History" was a hit, the best beneficiary would be Park Tae-hyuk, the representative of Lamp Entertainment.

Next would be the people who invested in "Three Generations of Family History."

And the director and actors of "Three Generations of Family History" would also benefit greatly.

However, it would also be beneficial for Lee Gwan-han.

If he discovered and planned a film like "Three Generations of Family History," which had a final audience count of nearly ten million, his status would change.

Moreover, more film companies would try to recruit him, and his value would naturally rise.

'Let's start with persuasion!'

Finally, Lee Gwan-han opened his mouth.

"The quality of the script for 'Three Generations of Family History' is much better."

Chapter 4. Do you have no conscience?

"I have regressed. So, I know the future. In the future I saw, 'My New Partner' failed to break even and flopped, while 'Three Generations of Family History' was a huge hit."

Persuading Park Tae-hyuk this way was impossible.

So, after much thought, Lee Gwan-han found a method: the quality of the script.

"First, it perfectly fits the three-act, eight-scene structure, which is a formula for box office success. It means that the beginning, development, turn, and conclusion are clearly distinguished. Moreover, the elements that Koreans love the most are well integrated into the script."

"What?"

"Laughter and emotion."

The greatest strength of the "Three Generations of Family History" script, according to Lee Gwan-han's judgment, was that it was a well-blended mix of the most beloved elements by Koreans, making it perfectly suited to Korean sensibilities.

However, Park Tae-hyuk was not easily convinced.

"But why was it rejected so many times?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about the 'Three Generations of Family History' script. It has been submitted to many production companies, but no one has agreed to produce it."

Park Tae-hyuk's words were true.

"Three Generations of Family History" had already been rejected by several production companies. Therefore, the interview with Director Kang Hyung-jin, who cried as he talked about the difficulties of producing the film after it became a hit, was still vivid in Lee Gwan-han's memory.

"It's bad."

Park Tae-hyuk said bluntly.

However, Lee Gwan-han shook his head.

"They just don't have the eye to see it."

"Are you talking about me?"

"I'm talking about the other production company representatives who couldn't see the true value of this script."

"It's too old-fashioned."

"Old is gold."

"Have you never heard that?"

"Movies change so quickly these days."

"Fashions come and go."

As Park Tae-hyuk was speechless, Lee Gwan-han spoke again.

"Brother, things are tough these days, right?"

"Of course, they are tough."

Park Tae-hyuk sighed deeply and continued.

"But am I the only one suffering? These days, everyone is struggling. You know the rib restaurant I run? It's almost dead. My younger brother, who is not even forty, is trembling with fear of being laid off."

"That's exactly it."

Lee Gwan-han seized the opportunity to speak.

"What do you mean by 'that's exactly it'?"

"In these tough times, who would go to the theater to watch a depressing movie?"

"So, you think a comedy will do well?"

"Exactly."

"But...