Become A Star

Chapter 26

Death Hill was rated PG-15 – film intended for audiences 15 and over.

Death Hill, a blockbuster planned to be released as a summer hit, had received a lot of attention from the public since the early stages of production because it was a movie directed by Moon Seung-Kwon. It was so popular that there were speculations from the beginning that  the movie would attract approximately 10 million viewers, so the PG-15 rating was a green light for the movie.

Since there were quite a number of violent scenes that were associated with the dark side of society, they were greatly concerned about the rating they would receive. There were even rumors about how the investors had put a lot of pressure on Director Moon and demanded that he edit a number of scenes for the sake of receiving a favorable rating. Needless to say, Director Moon did not accept their request, and the scenes were edited according to his own wishes, making the movie a director’s cut.

Fortunately, the outcome was satisfactory. Considering that a blockbuster had to get a PG-15 rating at the very least if they wanted it to become a big hit, the rating they received could be said to be rather beneficial.

However, despite the favorable rating, the people who were going to bring down the success of the movie were none other than the two main leads. Although Kang Hee-Joo was originally one of the top actors in the country who was a great actress, recently, her performance had been rather poor. More precisely, a lot of people had been saying that she did not have an eye for good screenplays. The screenplays of the films were sloppy and unrealistic, and had been flops, that’s why she was worried that it might be the same for Death Hill.

As for the male lead, Park Min, there was only one issue with him – his lack of acting skills. Park Min was famous for having a lot of female fans. Whenever his movie was released, a basic review and rating would be out as well, and every single time without fail, there were always criticisms about his acting skills. The movie was not made solely for Park Min’s fans. The main issue was how many audiences they would lose because of Park Min, who was expected to perform poorly.

It was only natural that people’s expectations about how well Death Hill would be received at the box offices would be significantly lower than it was at the beginning because of these concerns. Nonetheless, the very good looks of the main leads would be pleasing to the eyes.

There was no doubt that Moon Seung-Kwon was a very talented director, who had poured a lot of money into the cost of production. Because of that, people were also optimistic that to a certain extent, their expectations would be met. That’s why as soon as the official teaser was uploaded to the internet, the number of views increased exponentially.

The scene of the expected hardship of the pitiful and beautiful female lead, as well as Park Min’s good looks, caught the eyes of the people everywhere. Also, although the alley action scene only appeared briefly, it stirred excitement among the viewers and piqued their curiosity.

“He’s Park Min, right?”

The female students who were sitting at a cafe with their friends, watching the teaser of Death Hill, shared their opinions with one another. And there was the brawl scene in the alley but it was too short and the face of the man in that scene, which looked somewhat similar to the male lead, couldn’t be seen clearly, so it sparked a heated debate.

“Park Min is not that tall. He’s probably shorter than 5’11 (180cm).”

“Indeed, Park Min isn’t that short, but he’s not as tall and slim as the man in the teaser.So then, who is he? If he’s not the male lead, then who’s the guy that appeared in the action scene in the trailer?”

“Park Min probably used a stunt double. Isn’t he known for using a stunt double in action scenes? He’s always openly talking about how one has to take care of their own body.”