Chapter 399: Full Bloom (5)

Translator: Dreamscribe

['Pierrot' will be the film that marks the beginning of this grand project. For several years, we have reviewed numerous stories and characters, and as a result, our ‘Columbia Studios’ has decided to take on this challenge. It is certain that this will not be an easy path, but we plan to do our very best. ‘Pierrot’ will be the starting point of the ‘Cinematic Universe’ we have prepared.]

The world is introduced to the ‘Cinematic Universe’ by ‘Columbia Studios’.

[This is not a ‘Cinematic Universe’ that is being approached lightly. It will be a hero series where various movies are organically connected, with a vast world-building, a wide range of characters, and countless stories. We are placing high expectations on this major project. We promise to bring you exciting films in the future.]

Additionally, they mentioned a change to the title.

[Also, the title of ‘Pierrot’ will be changed to ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’. This is because the protagonist of ‘Pierrot’, ‘Henry Gordon’, will be the first villain of our ‘Cinematic Universe’. We will provide a detailed briefing as soon as we finalize more details. Thank you.]

This marked the conclusion of the explanation regarding ‘Columbia Studios’ all-in ‘Cinematic Universe’ project. Although it was not a lengthy post, it included all the core content. As ‘Columbia Studios’ is counted among Hollywood’s ‘Big Five’, the post, which had just been uploaded to their official SNS, quickly accumulated an overwhelming number of comments. While many were in English, numerous other languages were also present.

-Oh! Cinematic Universe? Is this for real?

-I’m not sure how expansive the world-building will be, but it sounds pretty exciting! A hero series!

-I see what they’re aiming for… but who’s been cast as the lead actor for Pierrot?

-When are they going to announce the actor playing the male lead in Pierrot, the opening film for this massive project? It’s probably Chris Hartnett anyway

-Nice, I’m starting to feel a little excited. Of course, I’m also worried. Many studios have attempted Cinematic Universes, but they’ve failed.

-Henry Gordon is the protagonist’s name? I saw Beneficial Evil, and I think Kang Woojin would be a good fit.

-The other candidates in the running are all too high-profile. Plus, for Kang Woojin to take on the character that launches a Cinematic Universe project seems like a stretch.

-Cinematic Universe! Columbia is making a really big decision here!

.

.

.

The reactions from international audiences were becoming explosively widespread. Of course, in the comments, there were frequent mentions of who would play the lead in ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’, and Kang Woojin’s name came up quite often as well.

The general sentiment was a mix of curiosity and rising anticipation.

At this moment, in one of Columbia Studios’ medium-sized meeting rooms, all of the production staff for ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’, including Director Ahn Ga-bok, were looking at Kang Woojin.

“I'm fine with doing it right now if needed.”

They were amazed by Kang Woojin's ‘No backing down’ attitude. Despite the global surge of attention on him at present, he showed no hesitation whatsoever. In response, the executive producer, though slightly surprised, spoke.

"Al...right. We’ll finalize the announcement for three days from now and organize the schedule to send over.”

“Okay.”

In truth, the reason ‘Columbia Studios’ had pushed forward the announcement of the actor cast as ‘Henry Gordon’ was, of course, due to the extraordinary buzz created by the issue of ‘Beneficial Evil’. Kang Woojin had already been attracting global attention with numerous projects, and thanks to the release of ‘Beneficial Evil’, which many international audiences had been eagerly waiting for, that interest had increased tenfold.

Such a powerful promotional and marketing tool was not something ‘Columbia Studios’ would overlook.

In other words, they were leveraging Kang Woojin.

Even Hollywood’s giant film company, ‘Columbia Studios’, was doing so. Perhaps, no, undoubtedly, if they made the announcement under the current circumstances, both Kang Woojin and ‘Pierrot’ would enjoy an enormous promotional effect.

The executive producer then quietly conversed with Director Ahn Ga-bok before changing the subject.

“And secondly, the title of ‘Pierrot’ will be changed to ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain.’”

“......”

Kang Woojin, listening silently, showed no major change in expression on his poker face. This was the same on the inside.

“‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’? Not bad.”

Kang Woojin liked the new title. However, the producer’s explanation wasn’t over yet.

“And ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ will be the opening film for an expansive ‘Cinematic Universe’.”

‘Cinematic Universe’? A question mark popped into Kang Woojin’s mind. Though he didn’t show it, he was puzzled by what that even meant. Meanwhile, the eyes of Choi Sung-gun, who was sitting next to Woojin, suddenly widened.

‘Holy shit?! A ‘Cinematic Universe’?? Is this for real?!’

He could already guess what the female producer sitting across from him was about to say. As if to prove his guess correct, the producer continued her briefing.

“The ‘Cinematic Universe’ I just mentioned is a massive project that ‘Columbia Studios’ has been preparing for several years…”

The explanation that executives had once given to Director Ahn Ga-bok, as well as the content uploaded on their official SNS, was now being eloquently delivered by her. The more Choi Sung-gun listened, the wider his eyes grew.

‘…Re-really?? Our Woojin is going to be the first villain in this life-or-death project from Columbia Studios?? This isn’t just a scoop, this is breaking news!!’

Choi Sung-gun speculated that once all of this was announced to the world, everyone would have the same expression as him. A film that served as the opening act for such a colossal franchise, directed by Ahn Ga-bok, with Kang Woojin as the male lead? On top of that, the fact that he was the first villain in the ‘Cinematic Universe’ implied that Kang Woojin would continue appearing in future installments of the series.

No one knew what the world-building would look like or what movies and characters would come out in the future, but one thing was certain: Kang Woojin was now part of that universe.

It wasn’t strange at all that Choi Sung-gun’s heart was racing like crazy.

‘To think we’ve come this far in just three years, it’s absurd.’

As he glanced sideways at Kang Woojin, who sat next to him with his indifferent expression still intact.

“You will not only participate in this ‘Pierrot’ film, but also in various series that will be part of the ‘Cinematic Universe’ in the future. Mr. Woojin, are you okay with that?”

She was asking for his consent. As she had mentioned from the beginning, Kang Woojin had the right to refuse at this point. But Woojin’s answer came quickly.

“No problem.”

He understood that this was a huge deal, that many things were already in motion. But those kinds of things didn’t scare him. Above all, ‘Pierrot’ was an EX+-grade project. And he wasn’t the kind of idiot who would chicken out and let an EX+-grade project slip through his fingers. That was the extent of his mindset.

‘Well, at the very least, it sounds like it’ll be fun.’

Once Kang Woojin made his decision,

-Swoosh.

The faces of the executive producer, Director Ahn Ga-bok, and the Columbia Studios executives brightened. It seemed they had been somewhat worried.

Before long.

“Shall we proceed with the contract, then?”

The time had come for full-fledged discussions, agreements, and negotiations. The contract prepared by ‘Columbia Studios’, along with the proposed schedule and various other documents, were brought out.

Approximately an hour later.

‘Wo- damn!!! R-really??!!’

Kang Woojin’s eyes almost popped out of his head. Though, of course, only internally. The reason was simple.

‘How much is this?!’

The numbers being tossed around were far beyond what he had ever imagined for himself.

Meanwhile.

While Kang Woojin was in the middle of negotiating with ‘Columbia Studios’, the foreign press was abuzz with excitement over ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ and the ‘Cinematic Universe’.

『CNM/Columbia Studios suddenly announces large-scale project: “We’ve been preparing the Cinematic Universe for several years.”』

『BBX/‘Pierrot’, the starting point of the Cinematic Universe, changes its title to ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain.’』

『LA TIME/Columbia Studios to launch a superhero cinematic universe, ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ serves as its opening act!』

While part of the excitement was due to ‘Columbia Studios’ dropping such a major teaser without warning, the highly provocative content of the teaser itself played an equally significant role.

『ABY/Cinematic Universes have frequently failed even in Hollywood. Can Columbia Studios succeed?』

『NT/The opening act of a major project, ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’, attention focuses on who will play the first villain.』

This stirred up Hollywood. Interest from foreign media and international audiences surged, and curiosity about which actor had been cast as the male lead in 'Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain' grew even stronger.

As a result, names of candidates like Kang Woojin and Chris Hartnett were frequently mentioned.

This news quickly made its way to South Korea.

『[International Topic] 'Pierrot', which Kang Woojin auditioned for is the opening act of a major project: the Cinematic Universe』

『Can Kang Woojin become the first villain in Columbia Studios' cinematic universe?』

『A superhero series? What does Columbia Studios’ expansive Cinematic Universe, as announced, actually mean?』

The fact that the movie Kang Woojin auditioned for and screen-tested was the start of an enormous project? There was no way the domestic media would stay quiet.

The public opinion mirrored this sentiment.

The film 'Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain' had dropped a major teaser not only in Hollywood but also across South Korea, Japan, and the rest of the world. International audiences expressed a wide range of opinions, from excitement to concern.

And so, night fell in South Korea.

However.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ This is insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋ If Kang Woojin gets cast for Pierrot, that means he’ll not only debut in Hollywood but also become the first villain of the Cinematic Universe???

-↑Do you think he’ll actually make itㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ The Hollywood actors he auditioned alongside are so next-level, he probably got eliminated immediatelyㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Still, just the fact that a Korean actor participated in an audition for a project of this scale is impressive.

-True, fuck, even auditioning alongside ultra-tier Hollywood actorsㅋㅋㅋ But Director Ahn Ga-bok? He’s seriously a legend now.

-I can’t believe the director of such a massive project is a Korean director… I feel so proud…

The buzz surrounding ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ refused to die down.

Three days later, in LA.

It was late morning. Among the many 5-star hotels in LA, a large hall in one located near the city center was packed with foreign reporters for some reason.

Even at a glance, there were over 100 people.

Rows of long tables were lined up, and seated at them were foreign reporters. In front of each of them were massive, cannon-like cameras or laptops. On the stage at the front of the hall, visible to the hundred or so reporters, was another table long enough to seat about ten people.

In the midst of this, the murmurings of the foreign reporters could be heard.

“A ‘Cinematic Universe,’ huh? we hadn’t heard any rumors about this.”

“That just shows how tightly Columbia Studios kept it under wraps.”

“From what insiders say, Columbia Studios has staked everything on this project.”

“Of course they have. A Cinematic Universe costs an insane amount of money. Naturally, they’ll be betting everything on ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ .”

“The beginning is the most important part. They’ll be more focused than ever. And to think the director of this film is Korean, it already smells like a huge challenge.”

Familiar words were frequently heard. The reason was simple. This was a press conference prepared by Columbia Studios. While they called it a press conference, it was essentially a continuation of the explanation session for the recently announced Cinematic Universe project. Their goal was to sustain the buzz by gathering over a hundred reporters.

“But the male lead is supposed to be ‘Henry Gordon’, right? The protagonist of ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’. He’s already auditioned, but has the actor been confirmed? I hope they reveal it today.”

“Columbia Studios called it the first villain to announce the beginning of their massive project. With a project of this size, how hard must it have been to select the first actor?”

Soon, among the hundred or so foreign reporters, the names of Hollywood actors began to spread.

“Who will it be? Tom Brando? Jack Gable?”

“Both are great actors, but Chris Hartnett is the biggest name. I think it’s him.”

“What about Kang Woojin?”

“......I mean, his chances are probably the lowest, aren’t they?”

Naturally, Kang Woojin’s name could also be heard.

“No matter how much buzz Kang Woojin created internationally with Beneficial Evil, do you think Columbia Studios would entrust their all-in project to him? He has the shortest career among all the candidates.”

“Just the fact that Kang Woojin was part of this process is already incredible.”

“Hmm, true. Still, I think it’ll be Chris Hartnett. He's outstanding in all aspects - acting, recognition, private life."

At that moment.

-Swoosh.

At the front of the hall, where only reporters were present, additional individuals entered the stage. Among them were the executive producer and key staff of ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’, three executives from Columbia Studios, and.

“......”

Director Ahn Ga-bok, wearing a serious expression. The appearance of the key production team for ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ caused the hundred or so foreign reporters to,

-Pababababababak!

press the shutters of their cannon-like cameras furiously. In an instant, the hall was flooded with blinding flashes. Then.

“Hello.”

The executive producer, now seated at the table on the stage, greeted the gathered reporters briefly before continuing.

“Before we officially begin, we have an announcement to make.”

The room buzzed. The eyes of the reporters, who had been pressing their camera shutters, widened slightly. The executive producer, unperturbed, continued speaking.

"Recently, we've confirmed the actor for ‘Henry Gordon’, the male lead in ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’. I'll introduce that actor first."

The widened eyes of the hundred or so foreign reporters now gleamed with expressions that said, “We hit the jackpot!” This was something completely unexpected.

‘Who is it? Chris Hartnett?’

‘Chris Hartnett seems the most likely, but it could also be Tom Brando or Jack Gable. Either way, I’m glad I came.’

‘Hurry up and bring him out!’

‘Who is it?? Who’s going to play the first villain in the Cinematic Universe project?’

Soon, the producer turned their head to the right.

“Please come up.”

The actor everyone had been waiting for was called to the stage.

And.

-Swish.

A man with an indifferent face appeared on the stage. He, with black hair wearing a brown blazer.

“......”

As soon as the man with intense cynicism climbed onto the stage, the hundred-plus journalists' eyes.

“Huh?”

“Hmm?”

“......?”

Filled with question marks. Dumbfounded faces. Regardless, the black-haired man.

No, Kang Woojin

"Nice to meet you all."

Introduced himself, unfazed, in fluent English and a low tone, as he sat down next to Director Ahn Ga-bok.

“I am Kang Woojin, the actor who will be playing the role of 'Henry Gordon' in 'Pierrot: Birth of a Villain'."

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