336 - Cannes 2

< Cannes (2) >

The largest theater among large movie theaters in Tokyo. The ending credits were in full swing in the theater where hundreds of reporters and others sat in the audience. From the movie title to the actors who appeared in it. Hundreds of spectators are all watching letters printed in white on a large screen.

"······"

"······"

It was a face of confusion. The expression of being hit hard in the back of the head. I was full of embarrassment and absurdity. Although each person's emotions were slightly different, what they had in common was that the movie they had just seen was an extreme culture shock.

The movie they watched was 'The Strange Sacrifice of a Stranger.'

Of course, this is a preview, not an official screening.

'Unfamiliar Gisaeng' was holding its first press preview today. The press preview was held with hundreds of reporters, media personnel, and film critics gathered here. There are quite a few types of previews other than general, VIP, and blind, but among them, the press preview was the most important.

Because it is directly related to public relations and marketing.

Of course, publishing articles right after the preview is prohibited, but when the timing is right, articles related to the movie pour in. Those articles are the information that the public can check through searches before the release of a movie.

In other words, it was safe to say that it decided the first image of the movie.

In the article, spoilers other than the direct story or ending of the movie are prohibited, but the reporter's own feelings or a brief description of the content is allowed. At this point, film companies and production companies hold the largest press screenings and prepare for multiple rounds.

The same was true for the 'Unfamiliar Gisaeng' side.

However, the size of 'Familiar Gisaeng' was more than double the size of a normal preview screening. It was decided in advance by director Kyotaro and the film company, and as a result, a large number of people flocked to this large theater, far exceeding the number of people attending a normal screening. Several preview rounds were also increased several times.

Anyway, the gray-haired man sitting at the far right of the front row of the audience watching the ending credits on the screen.

"hmm."

It was the master director Kyotaro, who directed 'The Stranger.' Of course, next to Director Kyotaro were Japan's top actor Mana Kosaku, as well as five or six leading actors from 'Familiar Parasite'. They were in attendance for the stage greetings that took place after the first preview.

In fact, only director Kyotaro and the actors had calm faces.

Some of the actors seemed a bit flushed.

'also! When I see it on the screen, the tension increases several times, and it's completely different from what I saw during the test!'

It was generally calm. It was natural because they had already tested the finished product.

On the other hand.

'······Heh! My, what did I just see??'

The preview host, who sat in the same row as director Kyotaro and the actors of 'The Stranger' and held a hand microphone in one hand, could not take his eyes off the screen. I opened my mouth slightly. His face was full of shock, just like the hundreds of reporters behind him. As the host, he even read the original 'Familiar Gisaeng' book several times in the past.

That's why it was even more difficult to accept the movie 'Unfamiliar Parasite' that I just watched.

'Oh, I knew there would be some degree of adaptation or modification, but they cut it this much? Even the ending! 'This is completely different from the original!!'

Because the ending of the original work and the movie were 180 degrees different.

'The ending of this movie…is it really good??! I think it will just flip over when opened???'

About halfway through the end credits of 'Familiar Parasite', the lights in the dark large theater came on. And then, instead of the ending credits, other letters began to appear on the screen. Of course Japanese.

-[A Stranger's Bizarre Sacrifice/Stage Greetings]

It was time for director Kyotaro and the Japanese actors who were waiting to move in front of the screen. Before that, a bewildered host stood in front of the screen.

"···Well, then! "We will bring you the main characters of 'Unfamiliar Gisaeng.'"

It started around this time.

"Hey, why does this movie end like this??"

The mutterings of hundreds of reporters and media representatives who filled the audience suddenly began to raise the decibel level.

"Did it end like that?! Does it really end like that? With Kang Woo-jin's face???"

"In that case, Kang Woo-jin is the mainstay… The ending is different from the original? "That too badly."

"Director Kyotaro Tanoguchi is crazy. "If you release it like this, what kind of criticism will you get from strong fans of the original?"

This is because the accident, which had stopped due to shock, gradually resolved.

"Are you saying that you deny causal retribution or that it has no meaning?? And I also changed the setting of the main character, Kiyoshi!"

"Well, did you change Kiyoshi's settings because of Kang Woo-jin's casting?"

"Did the original author, Akari, really approve this? That doesn't make sense. "The ending is harsh."

"This is tantamount to trampling on the unwritten rules of the current Japanese content market."

"If the public sees this 'unfamiliar parasite'… it will be an accident, and a huge accident at that!"

Hundreds of reporters, every single one, expressed shock and horror. At the same time, I recalled the contents of 'The Stranger' that I had just seen. The other person is 'Iyota Kiyoshi'. In other words, Kang Woo-jin's meticulous murder plan, a story that reflects Japan's reality so clearly, and a ridiculous ending that ends with a close-up of Woo-jin at the end.

Hundreds of reporters going from excitement to frenzy.

Meanwhile, Japanese actors, starting with director Kyotaro, stood in a straight line in front of the screen. All of the reporters who were buzzing excessively suddenly raised their cameras and took pictures of the main characters of 'Unfamiliar Parasite'. A flash went off like lightning.

-Pababababak!

This was not a positive shutter sound. Large-scale controversies, complaints, disasters, and backlash that will soon erupt. Whatever the expression, it was like gathering information in preparation for a war that would break out throughout Japan. Among those reporters, film critics who had been relatively quiet saw something different in 'The Stranger.'

'In the end – Yes, I predicted that this kind of interpretation would appear in Japan someday. I didn't know that director Kyotaro Tanoguchi would do that. It's also a work by author Akari. By the way, Kang Woo-jin…what on earth is acting? It's as if they took Kiyoshi and filmed it, right??'

It was Kang Woo-jin. To be exact, his acting.

'Maybe it's because he's such a hot topic, but honestly, I can only see Kang Woo-jin in terms of acting.'

'The final cut will probably cause great controversy in Japan. There are so many fans of 'Unfamiliar Parasite' that it will be absurd in their eyes. But in my eyes… I think it's at least the best ending of the year. In particular, Kang Woo-jin's eyes really gave me goosebumps.'

They were critics who reviewed almost all Japanese films. Unlike hundreds of reporters, their evaluation was not bad.

'Directing, sound, acting. There was no shortage. No, it was full and overflowing. In particular, Kiyoshi's piano scene and the scene where he appears to have multiple personalities left an impression.'

'I think a great work was selected in another sense.'

Either way, the frenzied reporters flashed like crazy and bombarded Director Kyotaro and the actors with questions as if they couldn't bear it anymore.

"#)(%*#()%*(!!!"

"%(%*)(#%*)(#%*!!!"

It's hard to understand what's being said because they all mix together at once. Hundreds of reporters were all recalling the current press conference for 'The Stranger.' Specifically, it was Kang Woo-jin's line that set off the bomb there.

'I think it will be easy for the audience to reach over 20 million.'

'I think this is the first film that will have a big impact on the Japanese film industry. A lot of things will change.'

Soon, Director Kyotaro, who was standing in front of the screen, heard a question from a reporter who was barely nearby.

"Director!! Are you really releasing it like this??! Then there will be a nuclear bomb-level controversy!!?"

Director Kyotaro smiled leisurely after receiving a hand microphone from the frozen host.

"It doesn't matter. Reporters, please write articles with as much emotion as possible in the future."

after.

This situation was the same at another press preview held two hours later.

Because hundreds of reporters here also fell into the Great Depression.

Meanwhile, France.

This was the morning of the 29th. However, Nice Airport, close to Cannes, was crowded from early morning. The airport lobby is so crowded that there is no room to walk. Crowds from all over the world crowded around.

The reason was simple.

It was because of the 'Cannes Film Festival', a world-class film festival scheduled to open tomorrow and where many global stars have already arrived. There are over 4,000 invited reporters and tens of thousands of official invitees. But that's about medicine. The number of tourists from around the world to see the Cannes Film Festival approached hundreds of thousands. Although arrivals already started last week, Nice Airport is still exploding with tourists.

Their destination, of course, was Cannes, France.

It was about an hour away from Nice, and Cannes, a day before the huge film festival, had a very festive feel. The 5-star hotels and small lodgings in Cannes are already fully booked, and even though it is a small city, there are crowds of people on the sidewalks, huge billboards for the Cannes Film Festival hung all over the city, promotional flags hung on every street lamp, pamphlets scattered all over the roads, etc.

At this point, Koreans were easily seen among the racially diverse crowd.

"Here here! "Take a picture of me here!"

"Ugh, but there are really a lot of people."

"Take a picture quickly! "There are many places to go."

As it was the day before the Cannes Film Festival, there was a lot to see. Just by looking at people, the day will disappear like a crab's eyes. Among the many attractions, what particularly stood out were the movie posters distributed throughout the city. These were 20 movie posters that were invited to the main 'competition section' of this year's Cannes Film Festival.

It was printed out on a monitor, posted on the wall of a building, made into a pamphlet, or displayed on the side of a bus.

There were a lot of cameras around the posters.

Reporters and broadcasting stations teams from around the world are taking posters. There is nothing better than the invited works that capture the atmosphere of the local situation at the Cannes Film Festival. Since all the main awards, including the Cannes Film Festival's highest award, the Palme d'Or, as well as the Best Director and Best Actor awards, come from the 'competitive section', attention is bound to be focused.

Therefore, poster promotion is essential.

It was quite an interesting sight to see foreign broadcasting teams gathering around the 'Competition Category' posters, and of course, among the broadcasting teams from various countries, there was also a Korean one.

Even now, a team was filming in the empty space.

"here? "Can I stand here?"

"Good – just right!"

"I'll start with rehearsal."

"okay!"

A female reporter holding a hand microphone and a large camera filming it. A few team members around. Next to the camera, there is a label for Korean public broadcaster MBS. From anyone's perspective, it was MBS's news team. They sat down in front of a large poster hung in the form of a large banner on a building.

Soon, a female reporter stood in front of the camera so that the large poster behind her could be clearly seen.

"I'm in Cannes, France. There's a huge crowd here for the Cannes Film Festival, which opens tomorrow afternoon. Can you see the big poster behind me? This is the poster for director Anga Bok's 'Leech'."

The full body of 'Park Ha-seong' is half-occupied in a dark background. He was looking at a family photo, and the frame included members of the chaebol family, including Chairman Yoon Jeong-bae. 'Park Ha-seong', reflected in the glass of the frame, was smiling, but in the frame, he had a creepy, expressionless expression. The poster itself depicts Ripley Syndrome, but you won't know until you see the movie.

One thing is clear here.

"The poster with a large drawing of Kang Woo-jin is impressive."

Kang Woo-jin's face was displayed all over Cannes, France, where world-famous stars and hundreds of thousands of tourists flocked.

"'Leech' is the only Korean film to enter the 'competition section' of this year's Cannes Film Festival, and is drawing great expectations. Even now, foreign reporters and teams from overseas broadcasting stations are filming 'Leech' posters…"

This meant that the war had already begun.

30th, late morning.

A rope fence was erected in front of the arrival hall door of a large airport, and a crowd of at least 300 people was crowded on both sides of it. What's unusual is that they are all of different races. It seemed as if people from many countries were mixed together.

That was true.

More than 300 people were reporters dispatched from various countries. Meanwhile, dozens of Korean reporters were also seen. All the reporters sitting or climbing on small ladders were holding cannon-like cameras.

It was definitely worth it.

International stars have been appearing at the arrival hall of this airport for a few days now. There were countless celebrities, actors, sports stars, etc.

At this time.

-Smurf.

The arrival hall door opened. At the same time, reporters of hundreds of races began frantically pressing their shutters.

-Babababababaak!

Soon, a black-haired Korean actor appeared in front of reporters. The outfit was natural with a zip-up hood, but his expression was extremely tough. He didn't even seem surprised to see hundreds of reporters.

"······"

I just raise my hand indifferently.

-Bababababababaak!

A barrage of flashes pouring down on him.

A few tens of minutes later, articles with the same content began to flood in Korea. The articles all had a picture of an actor plastered on them.

『[Cannes Film Festival+] Calm-faced 'Kang Woo-jin' arrives at Nice Airport late in the morning/ Photo』

< Cannes (2) > End