novellhall Chapter 42 Li Zhixing, the Master of Saving the Day
Chapter 42 Li Zhixing, the Master of Saving the Day
On the way to the production office, Lee Ji-hwan couldn't help but ask, "Director Kyutae, why did you suddenly call me back? Did Choi Seung-hyun quit the role?"
Kim Kyu-tae slowed down, realizing he should indeed reveal the truth.
"It wasn't that I quit the show, I was basically forced off the set by the production team," Kim Kyu-tae said, half complaining and half explaining.
"You were originally chosen as the assassin 'BIG'. Writer Hyun-joon and I disagreed with changing the person. It was only because Jung Tae-won thought that BIGBANG was popular and could increase the copyright value that we forced an idol in without considering whether he could handle the job."
"Now, as expected, problems have arisen."
At the beginning of the year, when casting for "IRIS" was underway, Li Zhixing was introduced to audition and successfully landed a role as an assassin with a fairly important part.
But just a few days after signing the contract, I was notified that the role had been changed.
At that time, director Kyutae even called to pour out his grievances and offered some words of comfort.
Pulling his thoughts back, Li Zhixing didn't interrupt, but simply listened quietly to the director's complaints.
"The assassin 'BIG' is a recurring character throughout the series, with numerous action scenes. However, that idol's dramatic acting is a mess, and his action scenes are a serious drag on the show. Every time we filmed him, it took a lot of time, and the final result was extremely poor." Kim Kyu-tae became increasingly angry as he spoke.
"This drama is supposed to premiere in September, but we've only filmed the third episode so far." Kim Kyu-tae sighed. "The whole crew is complaining right now. Lee Byung-hun has the most scenes with him and is the most angry. He's directly demanding that his scenes be cut."
Li Zhixing nodded slightly.
It's a major no-no for one person to severely slow down the entire production.
"In the end, Jung Tae-won decided to drastically cut the assassin's scenes, and even planned to kill him off in the script. Writer Hyun-joon strongly resisted this decision, but he couldn't go against Jung Tae-won's strong will."
"Seeing that the role was about to be ruined, and considering how popular you are lately, I reluctantly suggested that we just bring you back." Kim Kyu-tae's expression was a bit strange. "Actually, I didn't have high hopes. After all, it's about to air, and replacing a popular idol at the last minute would be extremely risky in terms of public opinion."
"But to my surprise, Zheng Taiyuan agreed immediately, which is why I've come to discuss this with you today."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhixing raised an eyebrow: "Director, are you saying the producer agreed immediately?"
"Yes, it was so straightforward that it surprised both me and writer Hyun-joon." Kim Kyu-tae patted him on the shoulder and instructed, "Ji-haeng, you suffered because of the role change back then. This time, we brought you in to save the day. Make your demands as you see fit, don't be polite to that shady businessman."
Li Zhixing waved his hand with a smile: "There's nothing to feel aggrieved about. Representative Zheng paid the breach of contract penalty promptly. Besides, if it weren't for the change of personnel freeing up my schedule, I wouldn't have been able to get the job as the action choreographer for 'Tian Yuzhi'."
Kim Kyu-tae nodded with satisfaction: "It's good that you think that way."
As they spoke, the two arrived at the door of the temporary production office.
The door was ajar, but Kim Kyu-tae didn't stand on ceremony and pushed it open.
"I've brought the people."
Inside the office, two men were sitting at a table, discussing something while looking at several open scripts.
The tall, muscular man with thick eyebrows and big eyes on the left is Jung Tae-won, the representative of Tae-won Entertainment and the producer of this drama.
The bespectacled, well-mannered man in his thirties on the right is Kim Hyun-joon, the author of "IRIS".
This drama is his first time stepping out of his role as an assistant writer and independently taking on the role of the main writer. He even named the male lead in the drama after himself, Kim Hyun-joon.
Upon seeing the two enter, Zheng Taiyuan immediately stood up with a smile.
"Zhixing is here! Please have a seat. We've been waiting for you for ages."
Seeing Zheng Taiyuan's overly enthusiastic and smiling demeanor, Li Zhixing immediately became alert—something was fishy.
However, on the surface, Li Zhixing remained calm and politely bowed, saying, "Representative Zheng, Writer Xianjun."
Kim Hyun-joon smiled slightly and nodded at him: "If Zhixing is willing to come, then this role can be saved."
The group took their seats.
Jung Tae-won couldn't wait to speak, saying, "Zhi-xing, you know this is a 20 billion dollar production, and the filming pace is extremely fast. You need to get into character immediately after joining the crew, adjust your schedule quickly, and ideally, we can start filming tomorrow. We..."
Li Zhixing interrupted him with a smile.
"Representative Zheng, I think I should take a look at the script first. I heard that the plot has been changed quite a bit since my audition?"
Zheng Taiyuan's smile froze almost imperceptibly for a moment before quickly returning to normal.
"That's right, we should take a look at the script first." As he spoke, he picked up a script from the table and handed it to him. "The crew has already finished filming the first two episodes. Once you join the crew, you'll need to reshoot those scenes immediately. However, your role isn't large, so it will be finished quickly."
Li Zhixing nodded, took the script, and began to read it.
He flipped through the pages extremely quickly, skipping over other people's dialogue and focusing solely on the killer's scenes.
As the director said, this part of the script had been cut so much that it was almost nonexistent. He finished reading the entire script in just a few minutes.
He closed the script, pondered for a moment, and then smiled as he placed it back on the table.
"I'm sorry, I can't take this role."
The office fell silent instantly upon hearing this.
Jung Tae-won's smile vanished. He stared at Lee Ji-haeng, his tone carrying a hint of control: "Ji-haeng, I know you're very popular right after finishing 'Haeundae,' so it's normal for you to want to take this opportunity to raise your price."
"Here's what we'll do. Your current rate is at most 500 million per episode. Consider this a last-minute replacement, so we'll set a flat rate of 600 million per episode. This price is already the absolute maximum for a newcomer."
Li Zhixing shook his head and tapped the script on the table lightly with his fingers.
"Representative Zheng, it has nothing to do with the pay; the problem lies with the script."
Li Zhixing's tone was filled with doubt: "I remember the assassin first appeared at the scene of the assassination of the presidential candidate, and had a wonderful knife fight with the male lead, Kim Hyun-joon."
"But now, he's become a wooden doll who just stands indoors shooting targets, answers a phone call and spouts a few words of English, then strikes a pose with a blank expression the whole time. How did he change like this?"
Kim Kyu-tae sighed and explained somewhat helplessly, "That scene was filmed on location, and we hired a lot of extras. The rental period for the location was also limited."
"But in the scene where the male lead fights the assassin with a knife, and in the scenes surrounding the struggle for the presidential candidate, Choi Seung-hyun couldn't even do the most basic positioning and moves properly, and had to do countless takes."
"Later, the actor who played the presidential candidate even suffered heatstroke and fainted. There was really no other way, so we had to cancel the role and change it to the way it is now."
Li Zhixing's lips twitched slightly: "It's just a dagger attack and defense game. I remember Choi Seung-hyun was confirmed to star in March. After all this time, hasn't he even mastered the basic moves?"
An eerie silence fell over the office after these words were spoken.
Kim Kyu-tae snorted coldly and didn't reply, clearly also holding back his anger, while Jung Tae-won, who had forced people into the group, coughed awkwardly.
Li Zhixing glanced at Zheng Taiyuan, his eyes conveying a meaningful look.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Zheng Taiyuan put on a stern face and said, "Alright, stop beating around the bush and just tell me your thoughts."
Lee Ji-haeng turned to look at Kim Hyun-joon.
"First, there's the scene where he first appears in the second episode. I don't expect the production team to recreate the large-scale scenes, that's unrealistic. But I hope writer Hyun-joon can redesign this scene. It doesn't need to be too long, but it must be enough to show the killer's characteristics: his perversion, his madness, and his extremely dangerous fighting ability."
Li Zhixing leaned forward slightly, his tone radiating absolute confidence: "As for the action scenes, writer Xianjun, you can let your imagination run wild. As long as the crew's location and scheduling can keep up, I can bring any action you conceive to life."
"Your original design for the assassin was truly brilliant. I hope you can bring back all that hard work that was cut."
Upon hearing these words, Kim Hyun-joon's originally quiet face flushed slightly with excitement, a joy at his work being recognized by someone who truly understands the craft.
Before Jung Tae-won could make a decision, Kim Hyun-joon couldn't help but speak up first: "You can rest assured about this, Zhixing. This was my original intention. I only made changes as a compromise. As long as you are willing to take over, the subsequent plot will definitely follow the original setting."
"However, this assassin is a master of disguise, and the plot requires you to portray different ages, professions, and even genders. This requires extremely high acting skills, and I hope you can portray him well."
Li Zhixing sat up straight and looked at Jin Xianjun earnestly: "Writer Xianjun, please trust my acting skills."
The two of them went through a question-and-answer session and almost finalized the casting decision right away.
Jung Tae-won sat to the side, somewhat annoyed by Kim Hyun-joon's presumption, but he did not interrupt.
He knew better than anyone how much a top-tier assassin with immense charisma and charisma could boost the show's ratings.
The plan proposed by Li Zhixing now does not require the production team to spend money to set up large-scale scenes again, and it can boost the ratings with action scenes. Since this kid is willing to put in the effort, he, as the producer, is naturally happy to see it happen.
"Alright," Zheng Taiyuan tapped the table, bringing the topic back on track, "Now that you've all agreed on the roles, hurry up and sign the contracts and get on set to film."
However, Li Zhixing did not respond, but leaned back in his chair and smiled slightly.
"Representative Zheng, that's not enough."
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