Chapter 81

The box office miracle of "The Chaser" is still ongoing, with over ten thousand people entering cinemas every day to watch the film. Online, there are extensive discussions about the plot, creating a nationwide trend.

Many people are now saying that if this film were not restricted to viewers 19 years and older, it might have already surpassed four million viewers, rather than the current situation. However, even with the rating, the film's box office success has exceeded expectations, bringing great joy to Showbox and prompting Choi Min-woo to increase the distribution efforts.

As for Lee Jong, he was dragged to the set to coordinate the relationships between various teams. After all, Lee Jong is still the assistant director of the film, managing a lot of things. In the event of any issues with Zhang Xun, Lee Jong would be the director, so he needs to be familiar with all aspects. Given Lee Jong's personality, he certainly felt aggrieved, "I'm both the lead actor and the assistant director, is it easy for me? I haven't even had time to go over the script!"

Zhang Xun then gave him a look of disdain, "You broke down the script, which character's lines don't you know? How can you be lazy? When we were shooting 'The Chaser,' I was fully dedicated to serving you. Do you know how tired I was back then?"

Lee Jong could only remain silent in protest. Indeed, at the time, Zhang Xun was handling many preparations and management tasks. Without Zhang Xun, Lee Jong, who was shooting his first feature film, might have faced many unforeseen issues.

Seeing that Lee Jong was silent, Zhang Xun felt even more justified in giving orders. He made Lee Jong manage everything from the venue, props, costumes, actors, to even the catering. If it weren't for the "feast" of beef soup that Lee Jong provided on the first day, Zhang Xun would have treated Lee Jong as if he were omnipotent.

Before they knew it, it was March 9th. The sun was shining brightly, and the early spring atmosphere was already present. Zhang Xun dragged Lee Jong to the press conference site early in the morning. "Brother, the press conference is in the afternoon. Why did you bring me here so early?" Lee Jong, still half-asleep, had been busy with pre-production preparations and hadn't rested well, even reducing the number of text messages he sent. Today, he had planned to get up late and go to the press conference in the afternoon.

"I plan to announce that you are one of the lead actors at the press conference this afternoon," Zhang Xun said, looking at Lee Jong.

"Ah..." Lee Jong rubbed his eyes and looked at Zhang Xun, "Brother, you're not messing with me, right? We agreed to release this information when there was nothing else to attract media attention during the shooting. Why are you suddenly bringing it forward?"

"Well, who would have thought that 'The Chaser' would be such a hit? In less than a month, it has won the weekly box office championship three times, with 3.5 million viewers. So the teacher thinks that announcing you now will have a better promotional effect." Zhang Xun felt a bit frustrated. His original plan was to first introduce Lee Jong as the assistant director and keep the other lead actor hidden to create suspense, then reveal Lee Jong's identity during the shooting to generate more buzz. However, for some reason, Kim Ki-duk called Zhang Xun early in the morning and asked him to announce that Lee Jong was one of the lead actors today.

"Ring, ring, ring" Zhang Xun's phone rang. "Hello, Director Ahn Byung-ki." Zhang Xun was a bit surprised to see it was Ahn Byung-ki. The last time he contacted him was about the film rating for "The Chaser," when he couldn't find Lee Jong. What could be the matter this time?

As Zhang Xun listened to Ahn Byung-ki on the phone, his expression changed, and a hint of envy appeared in his eyes. Zhang Xun rarely envied anyone because he had his own pride, believing that he just needed the opportunity to soar. However, Lee Jong had given him too many surprises. When Zhang Xun hung up the phone and stared straight at Lee Jong, Lee Jong felt a bit uneasy. "Um, Brother Zhang Xun, what's wrong? Did Director Ahn Byung-ki call you for something?"

"Is your phone still off?" Zhang Xun had woken Lee Jong up by banging on his door that morning.

"Yeah, I planned to sleep in this morning, so my phone has been off." Lee Jong even showed his phone to Zhang Xun.

Zhang Xun quickly moved to Lee Jong's side, pinning his head between his hand and body. "I finally understand why the teacher wanted to announce you as the lead actor now. You lucky little guy, I'm jealous of you." Zhang Xun continued to pin Lee Jong, making him yelp, "Let's talk properly, let's talk properly!"

Zhang Xun released Lee Jong, "Turn on your phone and take a look."

Lee Jong was puzzled. It's just a phone, what could be so significant? When he turned on his phone, countless missed calls flooded in, startling him. What's going on? Is it 2012?

Lee Jong saw that the most calls were from Showbox's CEO Choi Min-woo, with over 20, and Director Ahn Byung-ki had also called over 10 times. There were also calls from Girls' Generation, among others. In total, there were many missed calls and over 10 unread messages.

Lee Jong looked at Zhang Xun, who gestured for him to check the messages.

Lee Jong opened a message from Choi Min-woo: "Lee Jong, call me back as soon as you see this." Another message read, "Hurry up, call me if you see this." There were many more messages, and the last one, sent that morning, read, "Lee Jong, you little rascal, I can't deal with this. At such an important time, you actually turned off your phone. This is the phone number of a Hollywood Warner Bros. producer. Contact him."

Lee Jong was stunned. Hollywood, Warner Bros., these were names that had been frequently mentioned by him and his fellow film students six or seven years ago. He had even interned at Warner Bros. and received a job offer upon graduation. Now, suddenly, he was told that someone from Warner Bros. was looking for him, and he was a bit taken aback.

Zhang Xun, seeing Lee Jong in a daze, felt a bit envious of the young man. "What are you dazing about? Call Showbox's CEO Choi Min-woo. Warner Bros. wants to buy the film adaptation rights for 'The Chaser.'"

"Ah, is that true? They want to buy the adaptation rights for 'The Chaser'?" Lee Jong was still uncertain.

"If it weren't true, would the teacher have let you be exposed today? This news is already spreading in the director and screenwriter circles, and you're the only one who doesn't know. Director Ahn Byung-ki called about this just now."

Lee Jong quickly called Choi Min-woo. As soon as the call connected, Choi Min-woo scolded him fiercely, "Do you know how hard I worked to secure this for you yesterday? And you, you turned off your phone and couldn't be found. I had to explain to Warner Bros. that you were in seclusion writing the script."

Lee Jong felt a bit guilty and apologized, saying sorry. Once Choi Min-woo's anger subsided, Lee Jong asked, "CEO Choi, what does Warner Bros. mean? How did they see my film?"

Hearing this, Choi Min-woo scolded Lee Jong again. Then he explained, "When we were promoting the film, it coincided with the Cannes Film Festival. I took a few films to explore the international market, and you didn't go. Several international distribution companies were interested in this film, and a few countries signed agreements. Warner Bros. was the U.S. distributor at the time. They showed interest in the film, but as you know, it's rare for Korean films to be shown in the U.S., so it didn't go anywhere after that."

"Then, a few days ago, an email claiming to be from Warner Bros. requesting the film adaptation rights was sent to the company's email. The employee managing the email thought it was a joke and ignored it. Last night, a Warner Bros. producer called me to buy the film adaptation rights, and I realized it was real."