Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 398:

The movie was over.

The theater lights came on and the OST of [Flowing Away] was playing from the speakers, but the audience was silent.

Kim Han-seok, who was about to clap enthusiastically, rolled his eyes at the quietness.

It was a contrast to the situation where [One Shot] had received applause and admiration as soon as the movie ended.

The [Flowing Away] team also looked around nervously.

“Seo-jun hyung. I enjoyed watching it, but I guess it wasn't that good for foreigners.”

Seo-jun smiled and replied to Kim Han-seok's whisper, which sounded a bit sad.

“I don't think so.”

“Huh?”

Then, somewhere, a clap! sound was heard.

Seo-jun and Kim Han-seok turned around.

Clap clap!

At that sound, as if waking up from a dream, the audience shook their bodies and came to their senses.

They quickly got up from their seats and clapped their hands.

Some people hurriedly took out their phones and filmed the theater.

Clap clap clap clap!!

The applause sound that was small at first grew louder and louder, and the audience getting up like waves could be seen.

There were also people who couldn't get up from their seats because they were sobbing.

The loud applause and sobbing filled the Lumiere theater.

“They were too immersed in the aftertaste to miss the timing to clap.”

Without having to look far, the actors and directors sitting near Seo-jun couldn't take their eyes off the screen even after the movie ended.

Seo-jun was happier with that silence than with a standing ovation.

“That's right! I guess we’ve seen it once.”

Seo-jun and Kim Han-seok also got up from their seats and clapped with a smile.

Director Min Hee-kyung and the [Flowing Away] team also clapped with joy.

Director Kim Joo-hyung of [One Shot] opened his mouth with tears in his eyes.

“Is the movie, ahem, divided into three parts?”

He had to cough because his throat was choked.

“Yes. I divided it into three parts: Part 1 with a happy atmosphere, Part 2 where the truth is revealed, and Part 3 where the events pile up.”

Director Kim Joo-hyung exclaimed at Director Min Hee-kyung's words.

“You really made it impossible to predict anything. I didn't expect the live broadcast to be an obstacle. I thought it was just a minor incident, but it turned out to be a solution.”

“Seo-jun, no, actor Lee Seo-jun said that the previous script was boring, so I added it and it turned out well.”

“The previous script?”

“I had written a script about a terminally ill person before [Flowing Away]. It was just a story of a terminally ill child who went on a trip and met another child on the beach and comforted each other… There was no YouTube broadcast content, nor any content that deceived the audience using editing.”

“I see. I heard that actor Lee Seo-jun has a good eye for scripts… It was true.”

Director Kim Joo-hyung looked at Seo-jun with admiration.

Seo-jun was talking with Hollywood actors.

“How much weight did you lose?”

“I lost some weight. It was makeup in the hospital.”

“I didn't notice because the atmosphere was bright in the first part. When I noticed, you had already lost enough weight to be noticeable. I've always thought so, but Jun is really good at acting sick or dying.”

Seo-jun smiled brightly at Evan Block's sincere admiration.

“Han-seok was amazing too! I could see that you did a lot of analysis!”

“Thank you!”

Kim Han-seok smiled happily at Rachel Hill's compliment.

“/It's amazing. I still feel the aftertaste./”

Director Jeffrey Rodex clapped with an excited face.

“/It's touching, but… It seems to come across differently for actors./”

Davis Garrett said, and Vanessa Olsen and Milan Chellen nodded in agreement. Catherine Miller and Paul Oden perked up their ears.

“/How so?/”

“/The public can only meet actors through the media, but media can be edited as much as you want, like Part 1 of ‘Flowing Away’. And distorted like Part 3./”

Ah…

Director Jeffrey Rodex nodded his head.

Not only actors, but anyone who showed their face in the media would sympathize.

“/Not only actors, but ordinary people too./”

Director Ryan Will, who had been silently clapping, opened his mouth.

“/Even ordinary people hide parts of themselves that they don't want to show to others outside, like ‘Jung Ga-ram’, and only reveal them when they are at home or alone. There may be people who hide their illness like in the movie, or people who hide very trivial things./”

Swalin Arnham nodded and said.

“/These days, there is SNS, so people edit themselves instead of others. They cut out the bad parts and only upload the good parts. People who don't know anything are swept away like Part 3./”

Sarah Roth looked elsewhere.

“/There may be times when you focus only on your own feelings, like ‘Kwon Yoon-chan’, without caring about others. The movie shows well that people don't care much about other things than their own. Sometimes you have a part of yourself that even your family and friends don't know, and sometimes you think you know well, but you don't./”

Milan Chellen said with a serious expression.

“/Honestly, even if you just look at Part 3, there is a lot to talk about. I think I would doubt it too if such a controversy happened./”

“/Me too. I was totally fooled in Part 1./”

Catherine Miller and Paul Oden nodded their heads repeatedly.

“/It's a movie that makes you think a lot./”

Everyone nodded at Director Jeffrey Rodex’s words.

Not only the actors, but also the audience and the film industry people were talking about the movie, so the theater was noisy.

Seeing the reaction of the audience, it seemed like a movie that was worth importing and screening. The staff of the film import companies in various countries rubbed their noses with that thought.

Then, the screen lit up.

Ooh!!

The applause grew louder with cheers.

Jung Ga-ram, who had just been fluttering his black hair in front of the beach, was clapping with a healthy face in a neat suit.

It was actor Lee Seo-jun.

As Seo-jun smiled brightly and bowed his head lightly on the screen, cheers erupted.

And the camera moved to the side.

Kwon Yoon-chan, who had been praying fervently with a sad expression in front of the operating room until a while ago, was giggling.

It was actor Kim Han-seok.

As Kim Han-seok waved his hands vigorously with an excited face, the applause grew louder with laughter.

Next, Director Min Hee-kyung with an excited face appeared on the screen.

The audience smiled at her awkward but courteous greeting as she looked around.

The camera that showed Kim Ho-young and Choi Hyun-hee also showed the [Flowing Away] team together.

Clap clap clap clap!!

As the standing ovation time was longer than expected, seo-jun and Kim Han-seok's eyes grew bigger and bigger. Director Min Hee-kyung and others were the same.

That time passed 6 minutes of [Suryeo],

7 minutes,

And when it reached 8 minutes, the reporters’ eyes lit up.

It surpassed 9 minutes of [One Shot],

And when it reached 10 minutes, everyone from actors, directors, to production companies clenched their fists.

And 11 minutes.

Cheers erupted.

***

[A brief silence after ‘Flowing Away’ ended?!]

[Why did silence fall on the Lumiere Theater at Cannes Film Festival?!]

[Actor Lee Seo-jun, the lead of ‘Flowing Away’, received an 11-minute standing ovation!]

[An 11-minute standing ovation! The longest so far!]

[Foreign media praised ‘Flowing Away’! What are the chances of winning?!]

-Does anyone have a video of it?

=I know, right. I'm curious about the silence!

=All I see are people turning on their phones after clapping.

=What the hell is the story that made them do that?

-There are so many people crying.

=Do we need tissues again? LOL

=I think we can sell a lot of tissues in front of the theater!

=LOL

-I'm really looking forward to this one!!

-There are so many movies to watch in the first half of this year. I'm happy.

***

The most important schedule of Cannes Film Festival, the movie screening, was over, but the team of [Flowing Away] still had a lot to do.

“We have a photo call and an interview in the morning, and a brief interview with Korean media in the afternoon. After 3 o’clock, you have free time.”

At Ahn Da Ho's words, seo-jun looked at the movie list with a serious expression.

“3 o’clock… This one should be good. Han-seok-ah. Do you want to go with me? Charlie is going too.”

“What is it about? Oh. English subtitles.”

Kim Han-seok brightened up.

“I never thought I would feel so close to English.”

“That's because there are only English and French subtitles.”

Seo-jun laughed and said in response to Kim Han-seok's words.

The teams of [One Shot], which was in competition, and [Flowing Away] decided to wait leisurely while doing some schedules from time to time until the closing ceremony on the 25th.

They couldn't go back to Korea awkwardly because they would be notified of the awards on the morning of the closing ceremony.

While the two teams were enjoying Cannes, Korea was buzzing with anticipation.

[‘Flowing Away’ rating! 3.4 out of 4! The highest score among the competitors!]

[‘One Shot’ rating! 3.0! The third among the competitors!]

[‘Flowing Away’ sold to 162 countries out of 189!]

[‘One Shot’ sold to 133 countries out of 189!]

[Cannes Film Festival jury members praised ‘Flowing Away’!]

-Wow… What's with the rating? Is it just me or is my heart pounding?

=No, me too;;;

-Can we really expect this?

=But ratings are given by the media… It's not the jury's decision.

=But they say the jury's reviews are good too!

-I think One Shot will win something too!

=I hope both of them win!

[Will ‘Flowing Away’ be the first Korean film to win the Palme d’Or?]

[Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony scheduled for tomorrow dawn (Korean time)!]

[‘One Shot’ rating increased! 3.0 ] 3.1!]

-But if they win the Palme d’Or, they can't win the Best Actor Award, right?

=Yeah, that's right.

=It would be a bit disappointing as an actor.

-?? What's One Shot? Why did it suddenly rise to second place?

=The second place dropped by 0.1 points. The second and third places switched!

=OMG, what's going on?

-KBC will broadcast live the closing ceremony of Cannes Film Festival!!

=Oh, I have to watch it even if it's at 2 am!

=I have to watch it even if I have to go to work tomorrow!

-Cocoa Entertainment has great timing LOL They said Lee Seo-jun's fans will hold their cheering sticks and cheer for him LOL

=LOL I thought they would only sell them in March and use them at some fan meeting LOL But they found a use for them in May LOL

=The first use of cheering sticks is for Cannes Film Festival award cheering LOL What a scale LOL

-They’re discussing what model to attach to their cheering sticks.

=Basic sprout VS favorite work model

=Isn't it basic?

=22 It's basic here.

=Oh. Solomon came out.

=What?

=He bought two cheering sticks and attached different models.

=LOL

***

May 25th.

The day of Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony.

Director Min Hee-kyung, the production company, Dahong's staff, and actors gathered in one place.

What was placed in front of them was a phone.

“They’ll contact us here?”

“Yes. They’ll be here by the morning.”

The planning team leader nodded.

“Did you hear from the One Shot team?”

“Not yet.”

“I hope they come before lunch. I feel like I’ll get sick if I eat like this.”

Everyone agreed with Choi Hyun-hee's words.

“But what if we get a call from somewhere else?”

Kim Han-seok asked, and the planning team leader smiled proudly.

“I blocked all incoming calls.”

Wow. That's extreme.

Everyone chuckled at his words.

But thanks to his half-joking, half-serious remark, the tense atmosphere eased a bit. They all leaned back on their chairs or looked for lunch places on their phones.

Seo-jun was checking out the movies he missed at the Cannes Film Festival.

‘I heard this one was sold… This one, I’ll have to buy online when the DVD comes out.’

It had mixed reviews, so it probably wouldn't be imported to Korea.

Then, the phone on the table in the middle of the room rang.

It was an ordinary ringtone, but it captured everyone's attention at once.

The [Flowing Away] team put down their phones and straightened their backs. Seo-jun also put down the movie list he was looking at.

Tension filled the room.

The planning team leader reached out with a slightly trembling hand towards the phone. He picked up the ringing phone. He pressed the screen and answered the call.

It looked like slow motion.

Everyone strained their ears towards the planning team leader who was talking on the phone, but they couldn't hear the conversation. But Seo-jun and the [Flowing Away] team felt like they knew the result without listening.

The planning team leader's face brightened up, no, it seemed to shine.

Still, they all held their breaths and waited for him to speak.

A silence so deep that even breathing sounds seemed unheard of.

Expectation settled in the room.

The planning team leader finished his call and looked around at the [Flowing Away] team. He finally opened his mouth with a voice full of joy.

“Flowing Away. We’re invited to the closing ceremony!”

Wow!!

Cheers erupted.

***

[‘Flowing Away’, director Min Hee-kyung, actors Lee Seo-jun, Kim Han-seok invited to closing ceremony!]

[‘One Shot’, Director Kim Joo-hyung, actors Lee Ji-seok, Kim Jong-ho invited to closing ceremony!]