Peninsula: The young master is poor and doesn't want to date.

Chapter 81 For You, I'd Stand Against the Whole World

But Li Zhengyi wasn't sure either.

After all, the cast of "Asura" is unbeatable, it's CJ Entertainment's top promotion of the year, the marketing and distribution will definitely be top-notch, and with strong theater scheduling, if there aren't any particularly good movies at the same time, the box office might actually see a surge.

In that case, what he needs to do is produce a high-quality film at the same time.

We need to fight head-on.

Let moviegoers compare and contrast to see what truly makes a good movie.

With comparisons and discussions, the side with clearly inferior quality will definitely be dragged out and criticized by netizens.

Even if it can lure a large number of people into the cinema in the first few days, the box office will drop rapidly after the word-of-mouth plummets.

Comparatively, the film with high praise can see its box office rise against the trend.

The same applies to TV dramas.

To win, you certainly can't compete by throwing money around.

Although he is wealthy now, his wealth is still far less than that of CJ Entertainment as a whole.

What he wants to compete on is vision, timing, and the content itself.

I'd like to thank him again for watching so many Korean dramas and Korean films back then.

He probably doesn't remember ratings and box office numbers, but he at least knows what kind of shows are going to be hits.

What kind of movies are considered classics with high praise and high discussion?

Having lived through 2045, he has the vision for the future direction of the entire peninsula's cultural industry over the next thirty years in his mind; this is his most valuable asset.

What was that saying again?

Those who are reborn are either not plagiarists; they either have a bigger career and look down on such "petty gains," or they have a bad memory.

He silently made a list of projects in his mind.

In terms of television dramas, he has already invested in "Misaeng".

This workplace drama became a ratings and critical success after it aired this summer.

Even if it doesn't become a phenomenon, it's still one of the top ten most popular dramas this year.

This also gave X Supernova Entertainment, the new company, a certain degree of recognition in the industry.

Regarding television dramas.

What he really wanted to film was "Reply 1988".

This TV series is definitely going to be the number one nationwide hit next year.

The bad news is that this is the third installment in the "Reply" series, produced by CJ Entertainment and spearheaded by tvN.

The good news is that although it was a drama produced by CJ Entertainment, Lee Ji-hye had no say in the production at all.

Because this was spearheaded by tvN.

Lee Myung-han, the head of tvN, is known as the "God of Planning" and is also the chief producer of the "Reply" series.

The reason CJ Entertainment was able to take over the production of this drama is simply because they value your resources and channels.

At least, neither industry insiders nor audiences would consider this drama to be a CJ Entertainment project.

Therefore, Lee Jung-il doesn't need to defeat the invincible "Reply 1988," he only needs to defeat the musical romance drama "My Lovely Girl," which is directed by Lee Ji-hye.

Among the hundreds of TV drama scripts received by Supernova Entertainment, several were shortlisted.

"Goblin," a story initially dismissed as fantasy and absurd, became a blockbuster in 2016.

"Signal," a time-travel mystery, is a classic that went from niche to blockbuster.

The most amazing thing is that there's even a doujinshi of "Squid Game".

Li Zhengyi had read this script; it was also a death survival game, but the plot was very different from the Netflix series "The Squid Game" that he remembered.

However, after a little thought, it becomes clear.

Since the emergence of the battle royale film "Battle Royale" from Japan in 2000, this type of story has appeared one after another.

Especially in the fields of novels and comics.

In the past two years, there has been a trend of battle royale games emerging in the gaming industry.

And the game he is currently developing, PUBG, is the culmination of commercialized battle royale games.

Therefore, it's not surprising that TV series receive scripts in the battle royale genre.

It's just that with the current film and television trends on the peninsula, no one would make a script like this.

These days, the peninsula's economy is doing quite well, and people prefer to read stories that are uplifting, positive, and touching.

For example, "Reply 1988" is a period drama that moved countless viewers on the Korean Peninsula.

Therefore, Lee Jung-il is not prepared to film a TV series like "Squid Game" right now.

Looking at the world, we are currently in a golden age of economic development.

Full of youthful vigor.

Such dark stories easily fall into the niche.

This is also why he doesn't think highly of the movie "Asura"—it's too dark and doesn't align with the spirit of the times.

It would be good if it were released ten years later.

Some might say, "Isn't 'New World' also a gangster film that exposes the darkness?"

However, the core of "New World" is very positive.

Regardless of justice or injustice, it's essentially a story overflowing with male power, violence, and brotherhood.

The ending is also a standard male-oriented wish-fulfillment story conclusion.

The scene where Lee Jung-jae's character walks into the meeting room during his rise to power displeases the man in the scene.

There are quite a few good scripts for TV dramas.

Since the opponents are generally average, the difficulty is not high.

As for movies, there are plenty of options to choose from.

First, the cost cannot be too high.

Neither his own wallet nor the funds of the new company could withstand the investment of a big production.

Secondly, you need a good filming team.

At the very least, the director and lead actors need to be qualified.

The first name that popped into Lee Jung-il's mind was Ma Dong-seok.

Currently, he is just a supporting actor in TV dramas, with a certain degree of fame due to his unique image.

Then came "Train to Busan" and "The Outlaws," two works that propelled Ma Dong-seok to become a top actor on the Korean Peninsula.

Originally, it was supposed to be "Train to Busan" filmed first, followed by "The Outlaws".

However, after Lee Jung-il roughly estimated the filming costs required for "Train to Busan," he immediately felt a pang of regret.

Ultimately, it was still due to insufficient accumulation.

If his assets increase tenfold, he won't need to be picky; he can take them all.

Let's change the order.

Make "The Outlaws" first, and then make "Train to Busan" if it makes money.

Putting everything else aside, both of these films ranked among the top three at the box office that year.

And it has gained widespread recognition among movie fans worldwide.

That's the plan.

Then he suddenly thought of something.

The real trump card behind CJ Entertainment is not Lee Ji-hye.

The real mastermind behind CJ Group's cultural industry is his father's younger sister, his aunt.

Li Meijing.

This person has deep connections in Hollywood. Six years later, the film "Parasite," which won the Oscar for Best Picture, was spearheaded and promoted by her.

She single-handedly orchestrated the entire public relations path leading to the Oscars.

Aunt and eldest sister Li Zhihui have always been very close.

For a long time when she was a child, Li Zhihui was raised by her aunt. Her aunt had no children of her own and treated Li Zhihui like her own daughter.

Where did Lee Ji-hye's composure at the funeral come from?

It wasn't from the old man, it was from my aunt.

As soon as Li Zheng thought of this, he moved Li Meijing's name a few places forward on the list of bosses in his mind.

This aunt doesn't need to be confronted directly yet, but they will inevitably meet sooner or later.

Not urgent.

He closed the news page, opened his contacts, and found Kim Jisoo's profile picture.

After the funeral, Kim Soo-ho mentioned Kim Ji-soo's situation to him.

She publicly defended him at the funeral, and her parents cut off her living expenses.

Unless you sever ties with him.

Jisoo's response was: "Some people are worth going against the whole world for. He is one of those 'some people'."

That's cool.

It was so cool that Lee Jung-il suspected that Kim Soo-ho had embellished the story, rather than saying it was Kim Ji-soo's original words.

But Kim Soo-ho repeatedly assured that these were his silly sister's exact words.

Okay, so you'd rather be at odds with the whole world than not stand by my side?

Haki Show, you bastard.

"But I don't want to be at odds with the whole world."

After saying that, Kim Ji-soo immediately left home.

She is currently sharing an apartment with another YG trainee.

The pronunciation seems to be "Chao Mei Yan".

It's another familiar name; he'll probably be a star in the future.

After that, Kim Ji-soo didn't ask him for money or complain to him. She just occasionally sent him a few messages to ask if he had eaten properly.

He looked at Kim Jisoo's profile picture, hovered his finger over the screen for a few seconds, and then typed a few words and sent them.

Send me your address. I'll come see you tomorrow.