Chapter 16

"Jamie, you really are amazing. Do they teach you how to talk your way out of everything at Harvard?" Bai Jieqian was genuinely impressed by Li Jingming's verbal skills.

Li Jingming modestly waved his hand, "Just making a living, in ancient times, Lord Xuande used tears to invite generals, today I can only use my saliva to attract talents."

"Who is Lord Xuande?" Song Shizai, who was not very familiar with Chinese culture and had not read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, asked.

"Just an old man who used to live in our neighborhood," Li Jingming replied casually.

"Oh..."

Bai Jieqian, seeing Song Shizai's credulous expression, laughed and said, "How can you even deceive a child?"

"What's wrong?" Song Shizai still didn't understand what had happened.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Li Jingming's head. In his previous life, he had seen a movie about the power of speech. The protagonist, like him, was a member of the royal family. The prince had a severe stutter, but after overcoming numerous difficulties, he became an excellent orator and inspired his people during a national crisis. He was Prince Albert, also known as King George VI.

What was the name of that movie? "The Emperor's Mouth Skills"? It seemed to be "The King's Speech."

Guoguang Film Company had taken on this project, and he planned to call An Hanjian that night to secure the script, prepare for filming, shoot, edit, promote, release in theaters, create buzz, win praise, and compete for awards. Producing a movie from scratch would be a massive undertaking. It was impossible to plagiarize a script on a whim one day, find a few friends the next, and start shooting the day after, and then have the audience go crazy a few days later, resulting in box office success and awards.

It had been almost a week, and although Li Jingming's money was in place, the recruitment for the "Juno" production team was still not complete, especially the search for a good cinematographer. Casting for the main characters had not yet officially begun. Movies were different from TV shows; they were shown on the big screen, and even the slightest flaw in production would be criticized. In his previous life, the opening hand-drawn scene of "Juno" took eight months to produce.

Li Jingming had high hopes for this movie. In his previous life, it had won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. An Oscar nomination was enough to drive many filmmakers crazy, let alone a top-tier award-winning script. He only said two words to An Hanjian: "Do your best." This was different from the usual excuses people gave; he genuinely wanted An Hanjian to do his utmost to make this movie great. He might not get another chance to take on such a high-quality, Oscar-level script, and Li Jingming was not content with just winning Best Original Screenplay. The script was already excellent, and now he needed to ensure that the other aspects of the movie matched the quality of the script.

"The King's Speech" was not technically challenging and did not require many special effects, but the characters were extremely difficult to portray. Without superb acting skills, no one could handle these roles. Making a movie was not about having rich people eagerly coming to you to act; especially, the true talents were not short of money and had their own principles, making them even harder to invite than big stars. Li Jingming was confident in this script, which was even better than "Juno." He believed that the quality of the script would attract some discerning veteran actors. However, before that, he needed to build good relationships and social influence to win awards. "Juno" would be his perfect stepping stone to build these connections.

That could wait; the most pressing matter now was to finish the music video for "Confession."

Enlisting in the military was a decision Li Jingming had already made. LAD needed to establish a framework before he enlisted. LAD would be a production company, not an entertainment company, focusing on producing high-quality content rather than marketing artists. A good production company would be a valuable partner for many management agencies, as even the three major music entertainment giants in Korea had to seek external help from time to time, and TV stations had many outsourced programs and dramas.

A music video, or MV, could showcase both audio and visual production capabilities. Now, people called them MVs rather than MTVs because their platforms were no longer limited to television; the internet and mobile devices were also major stages. An MV is a visual culture built on music and song structure, where visuals are the external form of music, and music is the underlying form of visuals.

A good MV could attract a large audience and demonstrate the production company's strength. Smaller and larger music and entertainment companies would flock to LAD if they saw that it did not promote its own artists, did not compete in the market, and had such strong music production capabilities. This was similar to how many independent music producers, like New Sanddong Tiger, were sought after by various music and entertainment companies before launching their own groups.

Eating and drinking were essential. People are like iron, and food is like steel; one cannot go without a meal.

Li Jingming also called out Kim C, who was in the recording studio working on "Confession," to join them for dinner. Kim C was usually very busy, though not as visible as popular artists. He had a radio show called "A Lovely Morning with Kim C," was working on the music for the movie "Starry Walk," and was involved in the TV drama "Romantic Dad." It was no wonder he always looked tired. In the Korean entertainment industry, there were no idle people.

Kim C was initially reluctant. He was working on the electronic music for the romantic movie "Starry Walk," which was called the Korean version of "Ghost." The song "Confession" had caught his interest, and he had been listening to it all afternoon. Although it was too late to use it in the movie, he was determined to make it great. Li Jingming had to use the pretext of building camaraderie to get him to join them. Song Shizai would be the CEO of LAD, and Bai Jieqian, who was responsible for managing bookstores, cafes, and expanding promotional channels, would inevitably have many interactions with Kim C. Kim C, being close to middle age, understood the importance of socializing, and the music could wait for a meal.

Kim C, being the oldest, recommended a barbecue restaurant. When it came to the best barbecue in Korea, people would mention Suwon barbecue and Sam Soni Ribs. While Suwon was the undisputed king of Korean barbecue, it was too far for just a dinner. So, following Kim C's recommendation, they chose the popular Jang Hoon-dong 678 Barbecue.

Kim C would soon be a regular on the variety show "2 Days & 1 Night," so he had already built a good relationship with Jang Hoon-dong. The food at Jang Hoon-dong's restaurant was excellent, and it was easy to find. The four of them took the subway instead of a luxury car, as driving to Hongdae at night would be a nightmare. Korean artists did not need to act superior like some stars in other countries; they did not face paparazzi or get mobbed on the streets. Besides, Kim C, without makeup, looked like a neighborhood uncle, and the other three were completely unrecognized.

They took the subway to Hongdae, and after exiting from Exit 1, they walked for two minutes to see a prominent full-body statue of Jang Hoon-dong. He stood out like a firefly in the dark, impossible to miss. Jang Hoon-dong was known for his overwhelming presence, even on the streets. Li Jingming, the national MC, was easily recognizable, and the other two had done their homework. Kim C led the way, pushed the door open, and found a table. Hongdae, known for its artistic atmosphere, was mostly frequented by young people. Although Kim C was not that old, his tired face made him look like an elderly man, standing out in the crowd. No one seemed to recognize him, and no one came to take photos or ask for autographs.

Going to a private room for dinner was too pretentious, especially at Jang Hoon-dong 678 Barbecue. It was not like a KTV in China, where there were small, medium, large, and super-large private rooms. Getting a private room at Jang Hoon-dong's restaurant was extremely difficult. How difficult? You had to be very close to Jang Hoon-dong, close enough to make him change the restaurant's layout for you. There were no private rooms here...

The restaurant's decor did not match Jang Hoon-dong's national MC status. It had rough wooden tables and benches, and the metal smoke ducts were exposed. However, the many signatures of celebrities on the walls showed the owner's influence. The main customers were Korean college students, who loved Hongdae for its romantic atmosphere. Love was the main attraction, and for love, a meal of beef was nothing. This showed that Jang Hoon-dong's business acumen was excellent.

When Bai Jieqian opened the menu, he was shocked. The meat was priced in the tens of thousands? He was a wealthy heir, but he had never seen such expensive beef! He was still not used to the Korean pricing system. The menu had only numbers without currency symbols, and he had assumed they were in dollars.

After drinking a cup of coffee from the coin-operated machine at the entrance, Bai Jieqian calmed down. After the soju incident at lunch, he had started to view Korean restaurants as deceptive to international friends.

In Korea, it was the responsibility of the older person or the women to order, while the youngest person, or "maknae," was in charge of grilling the meat. Bai Jieqian, who was two months younger than Li Jingming, should have done it, but he was clueless, so Li Jingming had to take over.

After ordering beer, Li Jingming saw Kim C looking surprised, "Isn't it illegal for minors to drink in the U.S.?"

"Didn't we talk about this in the afternoon? I'm over twenty," Li Jingming seemed to recall an unpleasant experience. Once, he had been refused when trying to buy alcohol at a U.S. supermarket, and they even doubted his student ID. These Americans, having a young face was not a crime.

"Sorry, but your face really looks..." Kim C shook his head, "cute."

"Ha!" Bai Jieqian, whose Korean was not good, didn't hear clearly, but Song Shizai understood and spat out the water he was drinking.

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