Chapter 17

It is said that Li Chong's appearance attracted a lot of attention. While some were trying to trip him up, there were also those who saw potential in him, and An Bingji was one of them. It turned out that An Bingji was the head of the film company that had previously informed Li Chong that SJ was going to blacklist him.

An Bingji is a famous director from South Korea, a graduate of Seoul Arts University, who has directed many horror films. "The Evil Spell," "Ghost Bell," and "Pencil Witch" are all critically acclaimed and commercially successful films. In particular, last year's "Apartment" helped the recently returned Gao Xiaoying regain her status as a top actress. An Bingji is known as the "Midas Touch" of Korean horror films.

He co-founded a small film production company with friends, which made it easier for him to raise funds for his films.

He had read Li Chong's script and was very impressed. So when Li Chong held the press conference for the film's launch, An Bingji told his friend, "The film industry is getting interesting. It's going to get chaotic! More and more people will want a piece of the pie."

His friend was unconvinced, "This industry isn't for just anyone. If it were, the chaebols in Seoul would have already entered it. Everyone wants a high-profit business, but do they have the capability? You really think that kid has what it takes?"

"Hehe, yes, and I might even want to collaborate with him in the future..." An Bingji looked out at the blue sky, took a sip of coffee, and smiled.

At that moment, Li Chong was feeling the pain of spending so much money, while Zhang Xun watched him with interest. "Ah, Brother Zhang Xun, 200 million won, the Shilla Hotel is too expensive, right? I only rented it for the morning, and it cost so much?" Li Chong felt his heart bleeding, and it was bleeding profusely... The rental fee for the Shilla Hotel's conference room for the morning, the transportation costs for all the journalists, and the subsequent souvenirs cost Li Chong 200 million won... Journalists don't just come when you say; they need some incentives, or there wouldn't be so many people...

Zhang Xun looked at Li Chong with amusement, "Didn't you want to show those who wouldn't invest in you that you're doing it in the best place? This is just the launch event. The publicity before the film's release will cost even more. If you keep this up, you'll be bleeding dry."

"Ah, I need to save money, save money, save more money!!!" Li Chong wailed.

"Alright, stop whining. I've borrowed a police station in Jiangbei that's about to be demolished. We can shoot the first scene there after the launch ceremony tomorrow," Zhang Xun said.

Li Chong, hearing the practical matter, stopped feeling so heartbroken. "Okay, is that place far from our main location?"

"Not really, it's not far, just a 20-minute drive," Zhang Xun thought for a moment and said.

The main filming location for "The Chaser" is in a hilly neighborhood in Jiangbei. The area consists of individual houses with winding, narrow roads, making it very suitable for the film's setting. After the main location, the police station scene is the most important, as a significant portion of the film will be shot there. The rest will be scenes of the chase.

"The Chaser" is an idea Li Chong had before his military service. When he saw the most notorious serial killer and cannibal in South Korea, Yoo Yong-chul, sentenced to death, Li Chong wondered what would happen if he disappeared without a trace. Would anyone search for him tirelessly? Would anyone remember him?

During his military service, Li Chong had time to study Yoo Yong-chul's crimes. As the legal proceedings progressed, Yoo Yong-chul's methods, the brutality of his crimes, and his dramatic surrender to the police greatly inspired Li Chong.

Li Chong took a segment of Yoo Yong-chul's prostitution activities and developed it further. After completing his military service, he finally finished the script "The Jee Young-min Murder Case." Later, due to some reasons, it was renamed "The Chaser."

The plot of "The Chaser" is roughly as follows: Former detective Jang-ho, disillusioned by the corruption and incompetence of the Korean police, decides to change careers. However, with no other skills, he is forced to run a massage parlor. In recent months, several massage girls have disappeared from the parlor, the last being Mi-jin. While investigating the case, Jang-ho discovers that the last phone call numbers of all the missing girls, including Mi-jin, are the same. Jang-ho, in his search for Mi-jin, accidentally bumps into a man named Jee Young-min, who has bloodstains on his clothes. Suspecting him to be the culprit, Jang-ho calls the number left by the missing girls, and Jee Young-min's phone rings. Jang-ho concludes that Jee Young-min is the one responsible for the disappearances and begins to chase him.

At the police station, Jee Young-min reveals that all the missing girls are dead, and not just those few, but 12 in total. The police are shocked. However, with no evidence to arrest Jee Young-min, the police, already in a frenzy, are desperate to find evidence of his crimes. A prosecutor who had previously helped Jee Young-min evade charges interferes, leading to his release once again. Jang-ho, however, believes Mi-jin is still alive and begins to search for her...

On a sunny day, Li Chong led the crew to the main filming location, where he had already rented three houses for shooting.

First, there was the launch ceremony. In Korea, there is a tradition of offering sacrifices, but it's more for good luck.

Before starting the shoot, Li Chong, looking at the crew of over 50 people, took a deep breath and said, "Everyone, listen up. I am the director of this film—Li Chong. Some of you know me, and some are meeting me for the first time. I welcome everyone to my crew, yes, my crew. I am the director, screenwriter, producer, and executive producer of this film. I have invested all my heart and soul, and of course, all my money into this film. So if you don't want to see me go bankrupt before the film is finished, please try to save money where you can. Don't waste anything. I won't skimp on the important parts."

"Alright, Brother Zhang Xun, let's start. We'll shoot the scene where Jee Young-min goes to the convenience store to buy cigarettes first," Li Chong said to Zhang Xun.

"The Chaser" has very few daytime scenes. This shot is an early morning scene from the later part of the film, where Jee Young-min, after being released, is followed by female detective Wu Youzhen. Just before reaching his home, Jee Young-min goes to a convenience store to buy cigarettes. He then hears that a woman has run into the store and kills the store owner and Mi-jin.

"Alright, everyone, get ready. 'The Chaser,' first scene, first shot."

"Action!!!"