My singer girlfriend is super fierce

Chapter 1530 "Battle Royale" Story Script

The script for "Train to Busan" was finally approved by the unanimous approval of SG Entertainment executives, and the project was officially launched.

As for Kim Jun-hyun, who had intended to obstruct the event, he could only helplessly accept the outcome in front of the excited crowd.

However, Kim Mi-young's next move stunned everyone.

The same assistant took a second copy of the script into the meeting room and distributed it to everyone.

"Starting today, SG Entertainment is officially entering the Korean drama field, with the main goal of targeting the global market and exporting overseas."

"This is the script for a TV series, also written by Ye Zhi Qiu. Please take a look."

Everyone stared blankly at the script in front of them.

Is SG Entertainment going to make Korean dramas? Actually, many companies in South Korea started with film production, accumulating experience, brand and creative teams through the success of films, and then gradually entered the field of TV dramas (Korean dramas).

This path of "from film to TV series" is not uncommon. CJ Entertainment, which previously collaborated with Ye Zhi Qiu on the TV series "Hidden and Great," is one such example.

Unlike the common perception in China that "movies are superior to TV dramas," in South Korea, the transition from movies to TV dramas is not a "downward shift" but rather an "upward shift."

To everyone's surprise, Kim Mi-young acted so quickly and decisively, and even managed to get her hands on the script.

Everyone had their own thoughts as they looked at the script in their hands.

—The Squid Game (?????)

In the audience, upon seeing the title of the script, 32-year-old Kim Jun-hyun looked puzzled, not understanding what it meant.

There were many senior executives in their forties and fifties present, and they reacted immediately.

"Squid Game" is a children's game that was popular in Seoul and the surrounding areas of South Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.

The game rules are somewhat similar to a combination of "Eagle Catches Chickens", "Capture the Flag" and "Wrestling". The general idea is to draw a shape resembling a squid's body on an open space, and the children are divided into two teams, the attacking team and the defending team, to attack and defend. The team that reaches the head of the "squid" wins.

After the 90s, this kind of game gradually disappeared, so few young people today know about it.

What puzzled them even more was the question: with such a title, what exactly was the script about?

Is it a nostalgic theme about youth and childhood? Or is it about family and romance?

With these questions in mind, everyone turned their attention to the script in their hands.

For a moment, the meeting room fell silent again, with only the rustling sound of pages being turned.

Soon, everyone's expressions changed from confusion to astonishment, then they stared wide-eyed in disbelief, beads of sweat appearing on their foreheads, their faces filled with terror.

"No! This show can't be filmed!"

Half an hour later, the first executive to finish reading the script, a 50-year-old middle-aged man, suddenly stood up and said.

After him, many people echoed his sentiments.

"This subject matter is too radical and bloody. It's just a low-brow drama designed to grab attention, simplifying social issues into a life-or-death game, which is completely unreasonable!"

"Adapting a children's game into a murder mystery? This premise is utterly absurd. Audiences won't buy it, and it won't have a large international audience!"

"A confined space + a multiplayer battle royale? I admit the theme is somewhat innovative, but the exaggerated setting is completely detached from reality, and the characters are as flat as paper dolls, making it impossible for the audience to empathize with them!"

"I know the screenwriter may have wanted to use the 'squid game' to provoke social reflection among the audience, but is it really appropriate to do it in such a forced way?"

"Not only that, according to the script, the investment cost of this show will definitely be ridiculously high, but the subject matter is too dark and not suitable for family viewing. Advertisers will not be interested either. Such an investment will definitely go down the drain!"

Surprisingly, unlike the near-unanimous support for "Train to Busan" earlier, the situation was completely reversed for the drama "Squid Game".

Almost all the senior executives expressed their strong opposition and urged Kim Mi-young to change her plans.

All I can say is that the style of "Squid Game" is too unconventional for Korean dramas.

Absurdity, gore, violence... all sorts of elements are mixed together, which is completely different from the "emotionally delicate" style of Korean dramas in people's previous impressions, so it's no wonder that everyone couldn't accept it for a while.

Below the stage, watching the crowd's excited expressions as they tried their best to persuade Kim Mi-young to abandon the plan, Kim Jun-hyun remained silent with a strange expression, staring at the script in his hand.

He didn't understand why everyone was against it.

To be honest, in his opinion, this story was absolutely hilarious!

The novel subject matter and thrilling plot perfectly matched all his preferences.

He completely disagreed with the opinion that foreign audiences wouldn't like the show.

He himself grew up studying in the United States, and in his experience, North American audiences absolutely love this kind of subject matter!

Don't assume that just because North America is a developed country, its audience has a high level of appreciation. Compared to dramas that preach various moral lessons, the straightforward and violent plot of "The Squid Game" is more appealing to them.

At this moment, Kim Jun-hyun's jealousy of Ye Zhi Qiu reached its peak.

Why was he able to write such a good script? Why wasn't it him?

However, Kim Jun-hyun was certainly not foolish enough to reveal his own opinion on the script; that would be giving Ye Zhi Qiu an advantage.

At this moment, people are still expressing their pessimism about the show.

The executive in charge of cost accounting, holding the script, quickly said, "The investment in this show is too high; many scenes will have to be built from scratch."

"For example, this giant dollhouse for 'Red Light, Green Light' is 16 meters high, occupies more than a football field, has a complex internal mechanical structure, and the dolls can be rotated and scanned 360 degrees..."

"Furthermore, according to the description, there are a total of 456 contestants, each of whom needs to prepare three sets of costumes: daily wear, game outfits, and a spare outfit. All of them must be numbered with embroidery. In addition, there are 100 guards... Such a large cast of actors is something that most movies can't match!"

"...Damn it! All these costs add up, the total investment for this drama is over 250 billion Korean won!"

When the estimated cost of 250 billion Korean won, equivalent to 2500 million US dollars, was revealed, everyone gasped in shock.

The $2500 million investment is higher than that of "The Host," "Train to Busan," and over 90% of South Korean films.

But this is only a 9-episode TV series!

Before this, no Korean drama had ever had a production cost of this amount.

Despite everyone's continued efforts to persuade her, Kim Mi-young remained unmoved. She waited calmly until everyone had finished speaking before slowly opening her mouth.

"There's no need to worry about the risks."

"First, Ye Zhi Qiu's side will not only serve as the screenwriter, but his studio will also invest and take a 50% share."

"Secondly, North American film and television companies, including HBO and Netflix, have shown great interest in the script for Ye Zhi Qiu and are willing to invest."

"Do you still think this show shouldn't have been made?"

Kim Mi-young's words were like a bombshell, stunning everyone.

A North American film company has already shown interest? So fast!?