Chapter 29

A white shirt, a pair of light gray jeans, and a pair of blue and white sneakers; the shirt was a bit wrinkled, the jeans a bit worn, and the sneakers were covered with the dust of travel.

This was Guo Jingze, of average height, with a slightly plump face and figure. When he smiled, his eyes squinted, giving an impression of shrewdness and kindness.

"Hello, Director Guo!" Li Zhengxi specially came downstairs to greet him, showing his respect and initiating the conversation.

Guo Jingze looked at him seriously, a smile on his lips, then extended his hand to shake Li Zhengxi's, saying, "Actually, I heard your name at the beginning of the year, and when I got the script, I specifically inquired about you!"

He then asked, "I heard you went back to complete your studies?"

Li Zhengxi smiled and nodded, "My mother hoped I wouldn't neglect my studies because of this. Fortunately, everything went smoothly!"

Guo Jingze was finally surprised, "You graduated." After Li Zhengxi nodded, he praised, "Indeed, for a prodigy like you, this is just the final step!"

He paused slightly, then turned to the main topic straightforwardly, "Well, let's not talk about trivial matters. Let's discuss this movie!"

Li Zhengxi nodded, inviting him upstairs. After they sat down in the reception room, he began, "Well, how to put it, I recently became obsessed with Hong Kong gangster films and also watched some American genre films. However, I felt that the street fights and violence in those films were somewhat lowbrow and lacked depth.

Later, I recalled the movie 'Once Upon a Time in America,' which inspired me and led to this script..."

"Um," after Li Zhengxi's brief explanation, Guo Jingze nodded, "This is similar to my thoughts," then smiled and looked at Li Zhengxi, continuing, "Moreover, this script reminded me of my reckless youth and the stories of the Busan Seven Stars Gang. It sparked more enthusiasm in me..."

Li Zhengxi smiled and teased, "So, Director, you were quite passionate in your youth!"

Guo Jingze chuckled, "Back then, society was turbulent. Except for those particularly timid and well-behaved, which boy didn't dream of being like the street toughs, roaring around and looking invincible on the surface?"

He shook his head and added, "Fortunately, I saw through it early and ran away!" Then, with a serious expression, he said, "Although it might be presumptuous, because of what you just said, I want to set the perspective in Busan. Therefore, if we shoot, I want to use the Busan dialect throughout the film..."

Korean dialects are numerous, with the standard Korean being from Gyeonggi Province, near Seoul. Using a dialect would naturally affect the viewing experience of some audiences.

However, Li Zhengxi had known this all along and understood that it would instead evoke more nostalgia and resonance among viewers. Therefore, under Guo Jingze's surprised and pleased gaze, he nodded decisively and said, "My grandmother is from Busan. She said that after living in Seoul for over forty years, she still couldn't change her accent, and she didn't want to..."

This was the truth. In Guo Jingze's surprise and joy, Li Zhengxi continued, "Of course, I also trust your decision and ability, and I admire your realistic style, which will make this film even more outstanding!"

Guo Jingze was the director, and Li Zhengxi was the screenwriter. This was a film project. Normally, Guo Jingze would make the decisions himself, but the current issue was that Guo Jingze wanted to shoot the film, and he didn't have the money, nor did he have the rights to the script. Therefore, they needed to reach a consensus before discussing further matters.

The two seemed to get along well, so Guo Jingze took the opportunity to say, "Then, should we talk about the investment now? Perhaps, this is why you invited me here!"

"Exactly!" Li Zhengxi nodded, then said something that surprised Guo Jingze, "I will handle the investment, and you will be responsible for the pre-production from now on..."

"Your meaning is, you will be the investor?" Guo Jingze couldn't blame him for being surprised. Although Li Zhengxi was a prodigy, prodigies don't magically produce money, and the Li Zhengxi in front of him didn't seem particularly wealthy.

However, despite his shock and surprise, he still saw Li Zhengxi nod, "Exactly, now I want to ask, how much investment do you think this film needs?"

Guo Jingze frowned and answered, "I've considered this. If we only talk about production costs, it would be around 4 billion won!" Then, he couldn't help but ask the key question, "Um, sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but if you say you will invest, where is the money?"

At this point, Li Zhengxi suddenly smiled and pointed to his head. When Guo Jingze looked at him in confusion, he continued, "You probably know that 'Curse' has already been completed, and post-production is almost finished. The film is set to be released in July, so I will get the money in August. Additionally, in November, I will receive the payment for a TV drama. Together, these will give me about 1 billion won..."

Hearing this, Guo Jingze almost called him crazy. He was just a screenwriter, yet he claimed to earn so much from two projects. However, Li Zhengxi ignored his reaction and continued, "With this 1 billion won, plus the reputation accumulated from the two scripts, I think I can borrow about 2 billion won from the bank. That would give us 3 billion won. With 3 billion won, do you think it would be difficult to raise the additional 1 billion won, given our reputation?"

At this point, he confidently smiled and raised his right index finger, "So, the most important thing now is to do a good job with the pre-production. Pre-production doesn't require much money, Director Guo, right?"

Guo Jingze wasn't a child to be easily swayed by a few words. If he had heard this from Li Zhengxi at first glance, he would have walked away. Now, however, he was both amused and exasperated, "I may not understand much, but I get that you're using your economic mind to play a game of capital operations. But this is a movie..."

At this point, Li Zhengxi interrupted him, with a serious expression, "No, Director Guo, I am very serious and passionate about movies..."

He paused slightly and added, "You just said this is a method of capital operations, which proves it's feasible. We don't have the money now, so why don't we try it?"

Guo Jingze laughed at this point, then took a sip of the already cold coffee on the table, and looked at him, asking the most critical question, "Then, what about the 1 billion won you mentioned for the operations?"

Hearing this, Li Zhengxi knew he had been convinced, so his expression became even more confident, "It's simple, because the contract I signed with them has a performance-based agreement..."

Not only did he say this, but he also showed Guo Jingze the contract he signed with TUBE Entertainment. Then, in his astonishment, he smiled, "I know this still seems a bit unreliable because no one knows what the future holds, but we only need to wait for less than two months!"

"Within two months, before the box office results of 'Curse' are out, we can start the pre-production, form the crew, find actors, scout locations, and you can think about how to shoot it and prepare the shot-by-shot script..."

At this point, his words carried much more weight, as evidenced by Guo Jingze's serious attention, "Once the box office results are out, if they are good, we can start immediately. Although the money isn't enough, the crew doesn't spend it all at once. If the results are bad, I will bear all the consequences, including your director's fee..."

Guo Jingze laughed again, but this time with more emotion, and he shook his head, "Is this your genius plan? It seems too crazy to me!"

Li Zhengxi also laughed, brightly, "It is a bit, but a more adventurous plan like this makes my blood boil. Maybe this is how young people do things!"

He looked at Guo Jingze and joked, "Of course, you don't look old either!"

Guo Jingze chuckled. He was thirty-four years old, quite young for a director, but compared to Li Zhengxi, he was almost twice his age.

Moreover, he was past the age of easy enthusiasm, so he looked at Li Zhengxi seriously, "To be honest, I am a bit tempted, but do you understand the consequences if this fails?"

"Of course," Li Zhengxi replied seriously, "Not only will the movie be scrapped, but we will also have to pay breach of contract fees to the crew, especially the actors. Moreover, once this happens, our reputation will be ruined, and the road ahead will be difficult..."

Guo Jingze nodded, then frowned. He originally wanted to suggest waiting two more months to see the situation, but he hesitated. Even if 'Curse' was successful, he wouldn't get all the money immediately. So, why not start now? But this was really crazy!

"Um, let me think about it!" Guo Jingze couldn't make a decision immediately, so he told Li Zhengxi, "Three days, I'll give you an answer in three days!"

The fact that he didn't refuse outright was good news, and Li Zhengxi smiled and nodded. PS: Dear readers, please consider adding this to your favorites!

[Page Break for AD]

[End of AD]