Chapter 84 of 100

Chapter 84

15 min read3,670 words

Li Chong maintained his composure and kept a straight face as he faced a group of reporters who were looking at him with hungry eyes. Zhang Xun spoke, "Now, please feel free to ask your questions. We only have 20 minutes."

"Mr. Li Chong, is it true that the film adaptation rights of 'The Chaser' have been acquired by Hollywood's Time Warner?" A reporter from MBC's entertainment section asked first. This was what everyone wanted to know, after all, without confirmation from the parties involved, everything could be a lie.

"Yes, it's true. The person who contacted me is the well-known Hollywood producer Larry Franco," Li Chong replied with a smile.

"Larry! He's the producer of 'Batman' and 'The Hulk'!"

"It seems 'The Chaser' is really a great movie!"

"I bet Li Chong sold the adaptation rights for a good price!"

Many reporters began to whisper among themselves. Then another reporter, from Never's entertainment section, asked, "Mr. Li Chong, how much did you sell the adaptation rights for? What do you plan to do with the money?" This was a topic of great interest to everyone.

"Although Warner Bros. is very optimistic about this movie, the price wasn't really high, only 1.5 million!" Li Chong said smugly. Zhang Xun, standing beside him, was seething. Why wasn't he mentioning the movie? That was the key point. He secretly kicked Li Chong under the table.

"Only 1.5 million? That's too little!" A new reporter who had just started work hadn't caught on yet.

"You fool, that's 1.5 million in U.S. dollars, not Korean won. That's 1.5 billion won, a number you could never earn in your lifetime!" An experienced reporter beside him smacked him on the back of the head and explained.

Many reporters felt that it was indeed generous of a big American company to spend 1.5 million U.S. dollars just for the adaptation rights of a script. The average production cost of a Korean film was less than 5 million U.S. dollars, so this script alone cost one-third of that.

During the 20 minutes, the reporters asked many questions, 95% of which revolved around Li Chong. Only one fangirl reporter asked Su Zhixie a fangirl question, "Mr. Su Zhixie, do you have a girlfriend now?"

No celebrity would say "yes" to such a question, so the press conference ended harmoniously and satisfactorily.

Everyone was quite satisfied. Zhang Xun had achieved the desired fame and exposure, and the reporters had dug up some of the information they wanted, though not all of it. After all, Li Chong was a Korean director, and this incident was just beginning. There was still plenty of time ahead.

"How about it? What scene are we shooting today?" Li Chong asked, loosening his tie as he watched the reporters leave.

"In a bit, we'll go to the bar and shoot the scene where you rehearsed the script. You don't even need to change clothes. Have you and Ma Yanxi already discussed it? She only finalized the costume design this morning, and you're already so coordinated in the afternoon," Zhang Xun said, looking at Li Chong in white and Su Zhixie in black.

"Black and white is a good match, but how late do you plan to shoot today? I have something to do tonight," Li Chong said, noticing Su Zhixie's black suit, which looked really handsome.

Zhang Xun gave Li Chong a look. What kind of actor was this, starting to be picky before even starting the shoot? "It depends on you. I'm sure Zhixie won't have any problems. It's all about how well you perform in front of the camera. If you do well, we'll finish early. Otherwise, hmm, we'll shoot all night!" Zhang Xun joked.

After the hotel, everyone moved to the set, where the crew had everything prepared. After the opening ceremony, the film "Film Is Film" officially began shooting.

Li Chong's performance was excellent, with his tone, eyes, lines, and camera presence all on point. As for Su Zhixie, there was no need to worry; his careful study of the script had not been in vain. Their scenes were almost all done in one take. However, the supporting actors caused Zhang Xun a lot of frustration. They either forgot their lines or walked out of the frame. The most annoying was a key supporting actor who needed some acting skills. To save money, Zhang Xun had hired a newcomer, but the result was terrible lines and stiff performances. Zhang Xun had scolded him many times but had no choice but to fire him.

"Ugh, how did I end up with such a stupid actor!" Zhang Xun complained to Li Chong during a break.

"Alright, for the supporting roles, you should have hired better actors. They don't have many scenes, so you don't need to save money there. You think you're saving on salaries, but you're wasting film, which is a major expense," Li Chong pointed out. He noticed that among the supporting actors, only two or three were experienced, the rest were new actors or extras. A commercial film isn't just about the main characters; it also needs many distinctive supporting roles to make the film complete. Zhang Xun had the main characters, but lacked the supporting roles that could enhance the quality of the film.

Su Zhixie, who was listening, said to Zhang Xun, "Director, I know some supporting actors from TV dramas. They're not expensive, and they would be happy to appear in a big-screen film, so they might ask for even lower salaries."

Zhang Xun calmed down. The first day had been too rushed, and after nearly five hours of shooting, they hadn't completed a single scene. The main actors, Li Chong and Su Zhixie, were fine, but once the supporting actors entered the frame, the overall picture was ruined. Their performances were so fake compared to Li Chong and Su Zhixie.

Li Chong checked the time; it was almost 9 p.m. "Brother Zhang Xun, I think we should call it a day. Let's wait until tomorrow when the supporting actors Brother Zhixie mentioned arrive. Shooting now would just be a waste of film."

Zhang Xun glanced at Li Chong. "Alright, I get it. You have something to do tonight, go ahead!"

"Everyone, that's it for today. Get some good rest, and starting tomorrow, we need to work even harder." Zhang Xun announced the end of the day loudly.

Li Chong asked Su Zhixie for the gift he had bought. "Brother Zhixie, how much did it cost? I'll pay you back."

Su Zhixie didn't know the exact cost. He called his assistant, "Assistant Zhang, how much did the gift cost?"

Assistant Zhang hadn't seen the gift either. He had asked a vendor to help choose it and hadn't paid for it, so he was at a loss for words.

"How much? Tell me, I'll pay you." Li Chong checked the time again; he was in a hurry.

Assistant Zhang thought for a moment. It couldn't be 500,000 or 1,000,000 won, as that would be too cheap. It also couldn't be 5,000,000 won, as that would be too expensive. So he told Li Chong, "I don't know the original price, but after the discount, it was less than 3,000,000 won."

Li Chong thought the price was reasonable, neither too expensive nor too cheap.

Seeing Li Chong's expression, Assistant Zhang felt relieved. He hoped the gift was worth the price. A little more was fine, as he could say it was discounted. After all, it wasn't his money, as long as it wasn't too cheap.

"Alright, Brother Zhixie, I'll transfer the money to you when I get home." Li Chong said to Su Zhixie, then left with the gift. He estimated he would reach his apartment around 10 p.m.

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