Chapter 62

Chapter 062

The meeting began with CEO Han Tae-sung at the center.

Sitting around him were the general affairs director and accounting team leader, whom it was normally difficult to even see, as well as PD Baek Seong-han from Production Team 1, PD Eom Ji-yeon from Production Team 2, Production Director Heo Gi-ho, and other employees of the film company ‘Big Picture.’

“Since we’re choosing the next project for our ‘Big Picture,’ everyone needs to keep their heads straight and choose carefully.”

The general affairs director said this with a playful smile toward everyone gathered.

“Of course.

But the next project is definitely coming to our Production Team 2, right?”

PD Eom Ji-yeon cautiously glanced at CEO Han Tae-sung and asked in a probing tone.

“We’ll see how things go.”

Han Tae-sung raised the corners of his mouth with an expression that made it impossible to tell whether he was joking or serious.

Perhaps because she might become the production PD for the project they had planned, Oh Sang-min and Joo Han-young, who were preparing their presentations in the corner, quickly turned their gazes toward Eom Ji-yeon.

Eom Ji-yeon...

I think I would work better with Baek Seong-han than Eom Ji-yeon.

There are still about two months until Director Park Jun-beom finishes filming.

If I join him immediately after that...

While I was lost in my thoughts, Team Leader Kim Eun-kyung entered the conference room.

“Hello.

I’m Kim Eun-kyung, the head of the Planning Team.

Then, let’s begin the pitching with the first project.

The first project is one that all three members of our team selected.

Its title is ‘The Probability of Snowing on Christmas.’

It is a seasonal movie targeting the Christmas season, and we estimate the net production cost to be around 3.5 billion won.

I assume you have already read the screenplay, but for those who were too busy to familiarize themselves with it, please turn to page three of the proposal...”

The pitching that began like this ended after an hour and a half.

“That concludes the pitching for all five projects.

From now on, we’ll have a question-and-answer session.”

The conference room instantly became quiet.

Among the people sitting there with serious expressions as they seemed to contemplate their own thoughts, the first person to speak was the accounting team leader.

“I found all five projects interesting, but the budgets are all over the place.

CEO, is there a possibility that we might invest all the money we received this time into a single project?”

Despite the sudden question, CEO Han Tae-sung remained calm.

“If there’s a guarantee that it will be a hit, there’s no reason we couldn’t.”

“Tsk.

CEOs really do make irresponsible statements like that so easily.

I could say something like that, too.”

The general affairs director pouted at Han Tae-sung.

For a moment, the entire conference room erupted in laughter.

If we could invest ten billion won all at once, I think Director Go Chang-seok’s ‘Crossing the Line of Fire’ would be a decent choice...

The accounting team leader explained that the screenplay itself was extremely touching and well-made.

He also said that the fact that it dealt with historical events that every Korean should know was the biggest reason he felt the movie should be made.

“Besides, Director Go’s previous movie surpassed six million viewers, didn’t it?

Well, unless something major goes wrong, I think this movie could probably reach around that number as well, considering Director Go’s name value...”

“Come on, Director.

The phrase ‘unless something major goes wrong’ is exactly what makes that an irresponsible statement.

Fine.

Let’s say, giving Director Go the benefit of the doubt, that this movie gets around six million viewers like his previous movie.

After subtracting the ten-billion-won production cost, there wouldn’t be much profit left.”

PD Eom Ji-yeon shook her head repeatedly as she spoke.

“I agree with PD Eom.

Six million?

If things go wrong, we won’t just fail to recover our investment.

We could actually lose money.

With ten billion won, we could make two or three medium- or small-scale movies.

With those kinds of movies, once they surpass 1.5 to 2 million viewers, they start generating profits...”

Baek Seong-han supported Eom Ji-yeon’s opinion.

“What do you think, Team Leader Kim?

You already have everything planned out in your head anyway, don’t you?”

CEO Han Tae-sung spoke as though he already knew that this public pitching session was merely for show.

Kim Eun-kyung slightly raised the corners of her mouth before slowly opening her mouth.

“Well, since you’re asking me so directly, I’ll be equally direct.

Among these five projects, I would also give Director Go Chang-seok’s movie the lowest score.

Of course, it could still make a profit, but I don’t think it would be possible to make a significant profit compared to the investment.”

Kim Eun-kyung added that a movie like this should actually be made with a certain sense of duty.

In other words, it was the kind of movie where you had to think, Even if it fails at the box office, I’ll make at least one work that will remain in history.

“Even so, the reason I included this movie among the final five was because I wondered if perhaps the CEO might be willing to take on that kind of responsibility.

Well, it doesn’t seem like our company is that kind of company, though.”

An awkward silence instantly filled the conference room.

The people gathered there didn’t know how to react to Kim Eun-kyung’s final statement, which was a fact that wasn’t quite a fact.

Their eyes met here and there before awkwardly drifting away.

Kim Eun-kyung herself, however, remained completely calm.

Han Tae-sung smiled at her.

**“This is exactly why I like you.

Haha.”**

Kim Eun-kyung continued speaking as if she had expected that reaction.

“If it were up to me, I would choose three movies.

First, ‘The Probability of Snowing on Christmas,’ which all three of our team members unanimously selected.

Second, ‘Escape of Fury,’ which Oh Sang-min and Min Gibek selected.

And finally, ‘Family Scandal.’

I think we should release ‘Escape of Fury’ during next year’s Chuseok holiday, ‘The Probability of Snowing on Christmas’ during Christmas in the second half of next year, and finally ‘Family Scandal’ during the Lunar New Year holiday the following year.

That would probably give us the greatest synergy.”

Ha...

Being a planning team leader really isn’t something just anyone can do.

Kim Eun-kyung couldn’t possibly know the future.

And yet, she seemed to know exactly when each of these movies should be released to maximize their potential.

“Hmm...

That doesn’t sound bad.

What does everyone else think?”

“I don’t think it’s bad either.

The budgets are also within a reasonable range compared to the amount we received in investment this time...”

The general affairs director quickly looked through the proposals for the screenplays Kim Eun-kyung had listed before speaking.

“Come to think of it, all three movies were selected by Gibek.”

Perhaps he wanted to cheer me on because we had once been on the same team.

I was caught off guard by PD Baek Seong-han’s sudden comment.

“Ah, yes...”

“Oh, really?

You certainly have an excellent eye for projects.

It was a good decision to put you in that position.”

At Han Tae-sung’s words, everyone’s eyes turned toward me at once.

“Come to think of it, wasn’t that guy originally part of Director Park’s film production department?”

“Ah, so that’s the guy the CEO sent to the Planning Team.”

The general affairs director and Eom Ji-yeon continued exchanging comments.

I felt a little uncomfortable with everyone suddenly paying attention to me.

But then again, I thought this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

After that day’s meeting, Big Picture’s next projects were officially decided.

Under Team Leader Kim Eun-kyung’s direction, Oh Sang-min took charge of ‘Escape of Fury,’ Joo Han-young took charge of ‘The Probability of Snowing on Christmas,’ and I took charge of ‘Family Scandal.’

‘Escape of Fury,’ which Oh Sang-min was planning, was assigned to PD Eom Ji-yeon of Production Team 2.

They accelerated preparations for production, including casting the director and actors, with the goal of beginning filming at the end of December that year.

As for ‘The Probability of Snowing on Christmas,’ PD Baek Seong-han from Production Team 1 was originally supposed to take charge.

However, because of the post-production work and various tasks related to the release of Director Park Jun-beom’s movie, he decided that it was impossible to handle both projects at the same time.

As a result, CEO Han Tae-sung entrusted ‘The Probability of Snowing on Christmas’ to the film company ‘Better Than,’ which he was personally close to, under the name of a co-production.

The approximate plan was to begin filming in the spring of 2006.

As for ‘Family Scandal,’ the project I was in charge of, it was scheduled for the latest release, so I had a little more breathing room.

In the meantime, we received the happy news that Gil Bo-young had been cast in Director Kim Ji-hwan’s movie ‘A Radiant Outing.’

We held a drinking party for the first time in a long while to celebrate.

“Really?

Seong Na-hyun, Kim Do-yoon, and Seol Gi-chan were all cast as child versions of the main and supporting characters?”

“Exactly.

Honestly, if you hadn’t told me that they were looking for child actors, I wouldn’t have even thought about submitting their profiles.

This is really all thanks to you, Gibek.”

They were still minors, so they didn’t attend the drinking party.

But Ma Sang-hee told us that Seong Na-hyun, Kim Do-yoon, and Seol Gi-chan had all been cast in ‘A Radiant Outing.’

Although they were minor roles, they would be playing the younger versions of the protagonists.

Time passed once again, and before I knew it, we had reached the final month of 2005.

Director Park Jun-beom’s movie ‘Blue Sun, Red Moon’ had originally been scheduled to finish filming earlier.

However, the final filming was delayed by about a week and finally ended around December 20.

Because of that, the year-end party and wrap-up party for Director Park’s movie ended up being held on Christmas Eve.

More than a hundred people, including the staff and actors from ‘Blue Sun, Red Moon’ and the employees of Big Picture, spent Christmas Eve together and enjoyed a wonderful time.

Production Team 2’s ‘Escape of Fury,’ led by PD Eom Ji-yeon, began filming at the end of December as originally planned.

As it happened, Cha Seung-jun and Kim Gi-nam, who had finished working on Director Park Jun-beom’s movie, were immediately assigned to the on-site production department of ‘Escape of Fury.’

“Huh?

Hyung, you’re joining ‘Escape of Fury’?

Weren’t you going to take a break for a while and then join PD Baek’s next project?”

“What’s the point of sitting around doing nothing?

They say you should row when the tide comes in.

When there’s work, you have to work hard.

Besides, I want to build up my experience by at least one more movie so I can earn the title of production director.”

Meanwhile, Moon Chang-soo came to see me with a troubled expression before joining ‘Escape of Fury.’

“Gibek-hyung, what do you think about me becoming a manager?”

Moon Chang-soo’s expression was more serious than I had expected.

“You enjoyed working in the production department, didn’t you?”

“That’s true...

But Sang-hee seems to be having a hard time because there are more and more people she needs to take care of.”

“Come to think of it, Hyun-bin-hyung is going into a drama soon, right?”

“Yes.

I heard he decided to do that romantic comedy drama you recommended last time.

On top of that, Na-hyun, Do-yoon, and Gi-chan have to keep going to auditions...

And Noona Bo-young has her own schedule, too...”

Instead of answering, I nodded.

“Anyway, it’s too difficult for Sang-hee to take care of five people by herself.

So I think I should help her out from the side.”

“Yeah.

I think that would be better, too.

You’re friendly and good at dealing with people.

Besides, being a manager is basically a kind of sales job as well...”

And so, Moon Chang-soo officially began working as a manager alongside Ma Sang-hee.

Once ‘Escape of Fury’ began filming, the next project, ‘The Probability of Snowing on Christmas,’ went into production.

Originally, PD Baek Seong-han from Production Team 1 was supposed to handle it.

However, due to the post-production work and various tasks related to the release of Director Park Jun-beom’s movie, he decided that it was impossible to work on both projects at the same time.

Therefore, CEO Han Tae-sung entrusted ‘The Probability of Snowing on Christmas’ to the film company ‘Better Than,’ which he was close with, as a co-production.

Time passed once again.

Then, on April 10, Director Park Jun-beom’s movie ‘Blue Sun, Red Moon’ finally opened in theaters.

“300,000 viewers in the first week, and I’ll bet 10,000 won!”

“Come on!

That’s way too realistic.

How boring.

I’ll bet 50,000 won that it gets 500,000!”

“Even so, how can it possibly get 500,000 viewers in the first week?

Hahahaha.

What about you, PD?”

“As for me, it’s definitely one million!

Hahaha.”

A natural bet broke out among the staff over how many viewers the movie would attract during its first week.

One million?

As I imagined how they would react when the one million viewers they were joking about now became reality, the corners of my mouth naturally curled upward.

A quiet smile appeared on my face.