Please! My relationship with the girl group leader is purely platonic.

Chapter 8 Hollywood's Freshly Made Screenwriter

After settling down in New York to study, I spent several years there, from the dead of winter to the chirping of cicadas in the height of summer.

During his years studying abroad, Jiang Youzhen spent most of his time in his New York apartment, except for holidays when he would return to Korea with Mads-Oh to spend a month with his family. Before graduating from high school, he sent out three scripts through Mads-Oh, all of which were horror films, and they were all based on the content that Jiang Jingshu taught him when he returned to school.

Compared to adventure or action movie scripts, Kang Woo-jin prefers horror and thriller genres.

Moreover, once he starts writing, he can't stop. He spends all his free time researching and writing scripts.

Influenced by his father's acting in television dramas, the first script Kang Woo-jin wrote was about a group of immature male and female college students who encountered a mutated cannibal tribe during their adventure.

Mads-Oh didn't find the script interesting and thought that some of the plot points written by Kang Woo-jin were too terrifying and bloody, which was too much of a contrast to his age.

On the contrary, his agent liked it very much, and after discussion, he spent money to buy it and signed a contract.

The movie was full of jump scares. Thanks to the screenwriter being his son, Mads Wu successfully snatched the lead role. Although he acted recklessly, he was full of masculinity.

In horror movies, this kind of righteous character is very popular, even if he is actually in his thirties, he looks as young as those college students.

There are many low-budget films in this era, with a wide variety of themes. To become famous, besides a good script, the rest depends on the actors' performance.

The movie was very popular after it was released. It had a novel style and exciting and tense cinematography. The box office revenue was more than several times the cost. The agent suggested that Kang Woo-jin write a sequel, which could continue the cannibalistic theme. Of course, the remuneration would not be less.

A good start gave Jiang Youzhen a lot of confidence. He renewed his contract with his agent for two sequels. This time, however, he wanted a share of the box office revenue. The share wasn't high, but after a little calculation, the amount of US dollars he would receive was quite substantial.

If a high school student who's barely out of school proposes such an idea, the other party will definitely disagree, but the copyright is in Jiang Youzhen's hands, so even if they disagree, he's unwilling to write it.

After much back and forth, he finally agreed. Only later did Jiang Youzhen realize that this agent had just terminated his contract with Warner Bros. and was planning to start his own company, so he didn't care at all about the percentage of profit Jiang Youzhen wanted.

Upon hearing this news, Jiang Youzhen felt as if he had been tricked. Sure enough, he wasn't greedy enough and didn't know how to maximize his own interests.

Kang Woo-jin visited the filming sets for both sequels. He said that writing a script and filming on set are completely different experiences. Although he had experienced acting when he was a child, to be honest...

It wasn't a pleasant experience; most of the time was spent waiting, and there were too many trivial matters on set.

Mads Wu once told him that his future development could be expanded to include directing and acting, not just screenwriting, and he could even try his hand at producing.

But this was just the beginning; Jiang Youzhen didn't think that far ahead.

Following the precedent set in the first film, the second and third films featured young actors whose acting skills were generally quite good. The production team spent the most money on props and makeup for the cannibal actors.

The film was shot consecutively, taking more than three months to complete. Including the expected post-production editing, the second film is expected to be released around Halloween.

On his first day back in Manhattan from the film set, his agent came to see him. Seeing that the agent was dressed very luxuriously and had a cigar, gold ring, and luxury watch, Jiang Youzhen thought that he must have signed a lot of new screenwriters this year.

After all, newcomers are easier to manage.

"Anders ~ My Future Star"

.....

Jiang Youzhen was used to the other person's irrelevant tone. He silently handed over the coffee shop menu and asked, "What's it like leaving Warner Bros.? But judging from your situation, you must have signed quite a few people."

"Exactly twenty, no more, no less."

"???"

To seize the young?

No, you went to the market to fish? You scooped up a whole basketful, didn't you?

Casting a wide net will eventually yield some successes, and Jiang Youzhen is one of the more successful fish out there. Otherwise, the other party wouldn't have been so shameless as to ask for a contract renewal, or even wanted to buy out the IP.

He did consider asking someone else to write it, but the damage to his reputation and public opinion would be significant.

Mads Wu's fame in Hollywood has grown considerably, and his contract is about to expire. I heard that Columbia Pictures is in contact with him and has signed him to film several TV series. Both sides are making a fortune.

The actors are secondary; the companies behind them are the most important.

This agent himself came from Warner Bros. If a big company finds out that he plagiarized something, wouldn't they have something to hold against him?

Kang Woo-jin chatted with the other party for a while in the coffee shop, and then they discussed the movie promotion.

Because it's a low-budget production, we didn't think too much about it. We just did a simple promotional float event, it'll be released on Halloween, and we'll need to work on some deals with streaming services. That's about it.

The more effort you put into it, the greater the losses you'll incur.

At the very beginning of the 21st century, Kang Woo-jin became a newly minted screenwriter in Hollywood. His movies became famous, and he became popular as a result.

There are many downsides to becoming famous at a young age, and this was true for him as well. He received a constant stream of phone calls and text messages, and even when Mads Wu was filming on location, people kept asking about his son.

There were only two benefits: first, he received an offer from Columbia University, one of the Ivy League schools; and second, his wallet was much fuller.

It's not uncommon for fathers and sons to venture into the entertainment industry together, especially in Hollywood. Almost every celebrity with a bit of fame and capital is willing to let their children join them.

However, it's rare to see a father who is an actor and a son who is a screenwriter.

Mads Wu not only changed agents at the beginning of the year, but the two of them also signed a new contract with Columbia Pictures, so they can be said to be riding high.

It's a helpless situation, really. Mads Wu likes to audition at various script locations. In order to change his career path, he started to pull strings. In the end, perhaps due to a breakthrough in his acting skills, he actually beat several famous actors and managed to snag a villain role in a movie.

That same day, Mads-Oh took the script home and excitedly pulled Kang Woo-jin aside to discuss his acting career.

He also briefly explained that villains are not common, but this is one of the main villains in Columbia's most ambitious comic book adaptation film this year, "Spider-Man," namely the Green Goblin.

Jiang Youzhen vaguely felt that his father, who was only starting to thrive in middle age, would find this movie to be a crucial turning point in his father's career. Therefore, he was very supportive. He had also reviewed the contract and found no loopholes.

Of course, Columbia Pictures wouldn't stoop to using such a contract to deceive an actor like Mads Wu, who is famous for teen dramas.

With a major company involved and a big push, it's pretty much certain that this will be an excellent comic book adaptation.

Congratulations, Dad!

"I really hope to appear on camera with you, my darling son."

......

Jiang Youzhen subconsciously raised an eyebrow, looking at Mads-Oh with a "you're not kidding" expression, and chuckled dryly, "No way, Dad, I was just helping you with the lines, I didn't audition myself."

"Why? The role of Harry is currently being auditioned, and I will recommend you to the director," Mads Wu seemed very confident, especially since he believed in his son.

Jiang Youzhen had no thoughts on this matter, but since Mads Wu had brought it up, he took out his calendar and checked the current date and time.

"Dad, there's still over a month before I have to register at school. Are you sure that's enough time?"

"What's the big deal? Does the school think it won't let you act? There are so many actors in New York. If you sign a contract with Columbia Pictures, your school will be thrilled. They'll have another news story to promote."

That's true. He believes in making as much money legally as possible, and since his whole family is in the entertainment industry, starring in a big-budget movie might be quite beneficial for him.

Since the auditions are still ongoing, it's worth a try. You might even run into some newcomers with decent acting skills and good looks.

If Columbia Pictures doesn't want them, perhaps he can leave his contact information so he can call them over to give it a try when his next movie starts filming.

If I succeed in the audition, I'll earn even more.

Thinking about it this way, it seems like it's not a loss at all!