Hollywood What If Chapter 597
"Leave this place now! I don't want any Japanese in my film! Get the fuck out!"
"But I'm not even Japanese! I'm Korean!"
Enzo explained to the director, who was livid and clearly in a bad mood. The small-time director was fuming as he held his storyboard in a rage. He was crumpling his storyboard without care.
"Japanese, Korean, Chinese, or whatever the fuck you are! Get out! All of you look the same anyway. I don't want any of your kind in my movie. It will dirty my masterpiece!"
The so-called masterpiece in question was a small-budget horror movie that didn't even last a week in theaters before getting pulled out.
"What your people did in World War II is disgusting! You should be ashamed!"
"Again, I'm not Japanese. I'm Korean. Also, World War II happened almost seven decades ago. That's so long ago, and people today shouldn't be blamed for what happened in the past," Enzo explained.
"It doesn't matter! Fuck you, chingchong motherfucker!"
"Why are you so mad about the Japanese anyway? Was your grandfather a soldier in World War II?"
"Not at all. I just hate your people."
"..."
Enzo was speechless. He looked at the other people in the audition room. This was a small-budget movie, so they couldn't afford to hire a casting director. Because of that, there was no filtering, and actors could just visit the audition address.
Some of the people in the room kept their silence, while others were having fun watching the humiliation.
"I repeat, get the fuck out of my movie! You don't have a future here in Hollywood!"
"... You curse too much." Enzo left the place with disappointment.
...
...
...
This was not the first time Enzo was rejected because of his race.
...
...
...
"Your name is Hae-Won Park, right?" The director looked at Enzo's résumé.
Actually, it was Park Hae-Won, but this was the United States, and the surname was placed at the end, unlike in Korea, where the surname was in front.
"I'm sorry, Hae-Won, but we're not looking for an Asian actor, not even a Korean. The role is meant for a Caucasian man with blonde hair and blue eyes."
"But you didn't give any description when my agent got the script."
"Yeah, I just made the criteria right now," the director simply said. There was no reason to hide it anyway. He was the director, and he was in control of the creative aspects of the project. Not even the producer could stop him from making that decision.
"..."
"Your appearance doesn't fit the aesthetic."
...
...
...
Enzo opened his eyes and groaned. He sat up and massaged his forehead, which was throbbing in pain. He then realized that he had been sleeping on the floor.
"That explains why my body aches..."
Unlike sleeping on a comfortable mattress, the floor was nothing but a cold, tough surface that didn't provide any solace.
He had been drinking last night until he couldn't get up. So instead of going to his bedroom, he decided to sleep on the floor instead. He was too drunk to think clearly.
He frowned as a throbbing pain hit his head.
"Tch..." He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
He couldn't believe that he had dreamt about his past. The endless rejections had been a trauma that he would never forget.
He stood up and confirmed that his body was mildly aching. Anyway, he didn't have the time to think about it. Today, or to be precise, this midnight, was important to him.
After a month of endless preparation and promotion, the important date had arrived.
Today was November 25, 2009, the release date of Ninja Assassin.
Enzo went to the bathroom and took a cold shower to wake himself up. After that, he drank two glasses of water to stay hydrated.
He was hungry and decided to cook a cup of noodles by microwaving it... You couldn't really call that cooking, to be fair. Enzo didn't have the energy to cook anything else, but he was also too lazy to call for food delivery.
If his acquaintances could see him right now, they would be surprised. Because the Enzo they knew was a strict and hardworking person.
Well, that Enzo and this Enzo were different but also the same. Enzo was a strict and hardworking person, but he was also a lazy guy who didn't like cooking and preferred drinking alone at night.
While waiting for the noodles to cook, Enzo checked his mailbox by the door and found that the newspaper had been delivered. Being a celebrity, he read the showbiz section.
Some movies released a few weeks ago performed well at the box office.
Disney's A Christmas Carol, released on November 6, grossed $85 million as of November 25 at the North American box office.
2012 was released on November 13. The movie grossed over $116 million at the North American box office.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon was released on November 19. In just six days, this movie about vampires and werewolves grossed over $178 million. The Twilight era was quite strong around this time. Fans were either Team Jacob or Team Edward.
The Blind Side was released on November 20. The movie grossed over $50 million after five days of screening.
While reading the newspaper and the box office results of these movies, Enzo was thinking about how Ninja Assassin would perform against these blockbusters. Well, today was the time to find out.