Jonathan Lansmaier.
One of the few African American directors in conservative Hollywood.
His name is quite famous in Korea as well.
Especially his representative work, Enjoy Black Life.
That film left a deep impression on Hyekyung as well.
The male protagonist is the only Black person in a predominantly white town.
One day, he receives death threats.
Naturally, he struggles to uncover the identity of the perpetrator, but the tight-knit white community subtly hides the truth.
The film brilliantly portrays the fear of living as a Black person in a white society, while also delivering it as a black comedy.
Jonathan is deeply concerned with racism and human rights.
He must have been able to read similar themes of discrimination in The House.
“If it’s Director Jonathan… don’t you think it’d be better to let him handle it, hyung?”
“That’s right. It makes sense thematically too.”
Jihoon and Geumhong said excitedly.
But… it wasn’t just a matter of the message.
“No.”
I shook my head.
“The message would work, but the format is different. Jonathan’s films are far from cult.”
At my words, the two of them fell silent, as if they didn’t know how to respond.
They must have been disappointed.
But perhaps their disappointment was even greater than mine.
It was a tough decision for me as well.
“The message is fine for a novel. If it’s going to be a movie, I want to do it properly, in the way I originally planned.”
Jihoon seemed to want to say something but held back.
I knew what he wanted to say.
Right now, The House is outside of the sales rankings for Noodle.
It’s been a while since it placed 5th in last year's award, so I have no idea how far it’s fallen since then.
In this situation, gaining Jonathan's support would undoubtedly improve things.
But I had already decided to approach The House as a cult film.
It only made sense to find a director who has experience with cult films.
I gathered my thoughts and spoke to Geumhong.
“Geumhong, please write a response when you get home. While I appreciate Director Jonathan’s offer, I’m preparing a film with a cult atmosphere, so I’m looking for a director who has made cult films. I’ll analyze the works of the other two directors thoroughly and then contact them.”
“Ah… I understand, Hyekyung.”
An awkward atmosphere lingered.
It seemed they didn’t fully understand my choice.
But, ultimately, it was a decision I had to make.
Perhaps it was because I had worked so hard on The House’s storyboard.
I had developed quite an ambition for the film myself.
It was hard to believe.
The email window that appeared on his computer screen.
― …So, Writer Lee Sang would like to apologize and hopes to collaborate with the director in the future.
“…He’s not going to do it?”
Why?
Still, it’s Jonathan Lansmaier!
He stood up in a daze.
Then he flopped onto the office sofa.
The white ceiling filled his vision.
“This doesn’t make sense…”
He hadn’t thought he’d be rejected.
The other party was a newcomer from the East.
He was a thriller director who had already found success.
He thought he’d at least get some thoughtful consideration, but?
A flat-out rejection?
What is going on?
“…Why?”
Could it be… because I’m Black?
That was the unavoidable thought that crossed Jonathan’s mind.
This kind of victim mentality.
Regardless of age, social status, or gender, if you're Black in American society, it's something you can't help but have.
"...Snap out of it, Jonathan."
Getting swept up in a victim complex is not a good attitude either.
The writer must have had a reason for it.
Jonathan checked the email again.
Then, a word he hadn't properly seen due to the shock earlier caught his eye.
"
That was an unexpected idea.
But on the other hand...
"That's pretty cool, this writer."
It was impressive.
To try and turn a serious work like The House into a cult film.
It must have been a difficult decision to make unless you had a certain sensibility.
In fact, Director Jonathan had always liked cult films.
No, it would be more accurate to say he admired them.
When he was in college, every film he made was a cult film.
He thought he made them pretty well.
But after actually entering the film industry, his perspective changed.
The discrimination against Black people in Hollywood.
In front of that, it was hard to comfortably discuss art.
As his determination to make films about Black human rights grew, his dream of cult films slowly faded away.
"Well, it's just the typical growth process for a film student."
Jonathan suddenly looked at the bookshelf.
The DVDs of all the films he had made.
Most of them were thrillers.
It couldn't be helped.
Living a life according to the rules of white society.
That, in itself, was a thriller.
But he had never tried to incorporate cult elements into those thrillers.
"Why didn’t I think of that? 'Cult' is the very symbol of minority."
An odd thought crossed his mind.
Thinking that he had been rejected... The House and 'cult' now seemed so fascinating.
Director Jonathan was originally a free-spirited person.
An office like this was just to attract capable employees.
What he wanted was to plunge ahead without thinking twice.
He pulled out his cellphone.
"I'll probably get rejected again if I try again. So... why not..."
Be straightforward and persist!
"That writer will just have to contact me, Jonathan Lansmayer, whether they like it or not."
Jonathan opened his Twitter account.
Then, he started searching for Lee Sang's account.
"If I write the spelling as I hear it... is this the person?"
After passing a few accounts, he found one belonging to a man.
A pretty likable face.
The book covers he had published and the occasional English phrases.
"Yes, this is it. The House is introduced here, and this seems to be in Korean... and this is... Chinese characters? Whatever."
Jonathan tagged Lee Sang and a bunch of other writers.
He didn’t just tag Lee Sang, so others wouldn’t think it was odd.
Then, he left a message.
― Ah! I want to make a cult film!
...What is this?
I stared at the Twitter feed on my phone.
It was clearly Director Jonathan’s official account.
But he tagged me and left this message.
What was he trying to convey?
He was famous for being playful and humorous.
Maybe it was just a complaint about my rejection.
For now, I decided to ignore it.
Then, I focused on my own work.
The two directors who had requested the synopsis.
Rich Pavlovski and Melanie Rash.
The storyboard had already been sent for translation.
While waiting for the translation, I needed to learn more about the two directors' styles.
Then, I’d send the storyboard to the one that seemed the best.
In fact, both of them were well-known directors.
I had watched their films while preparing the synopsis for The House.
If I examine that memory and the materials Jihoon organized...
Russian-American director Richie Pavlovsky.
He’s famous for his cult film Light, which twists the meaning of God.
He is a director who uses complex narratives and images, and it is said that fully understanding his films is nearly impossible.
Melanie Lash, is a rare female director in the cult film scene.
A Jewish director is known for dealing with shocking imagery.
Her representative work is Saint Roland, which Kim Miso, the writer, gave up on watching.
Death, life, the body, blood...
Human biological essence is the main subject of her films.
“Hmmm…”
Richie Pavlovsky is too complex, and Melanie Lash is too extreme.
I don’t want to make a cult film.
I want to make a film with cult elements.
Suddenly, I remembered Director Jo In-hoo’s words.
He said it would be difficult to find the right director.
Now that I was actually trying to find one, I understood.
Jihoon, who was in the studio with me, spoke up.
“Hyung, Jonathan posted again on Twitter?”
“Again? What did he say?”
“When I was in college, I was obsessed with cult films. If I didn’t have the desire to be a Hollywood director, I would have become one of the few Black cult film directors. All the films I made back then are publicly available on YouTube. Without any shame, I’ve shared the links. This is my sincere resume.”
“...”
“...That’s what he said.”
Jihoon said, sounding dumbfounded.
“This person is really strange. Even stranger than the rumors.”
“...Send me the links.”
“Sure. Can I watch them too?”
“Yeah.”
Jihoon sent me a few links through chat.
Then he pushed his chair closer and sat next to me.
Three links.
Three short films, each about ten minutes long.
I played the first film, The Silent Moon.
The Silent Moon was the story of a Black boy.
The boy, who lives in Harlem, attempts to rob a store out of hunger.
Once inside, he is surrounded by white people, and the boy becomes afraid.
After a series of events, the boy manages to rob the store.
Of course, during the process, he encounters white people whose images shift into grotesque and frightening forms.
When it comes to images alone, it is just as daring as Saint Roland.
In the end, the only thing the boy steals is a chocolate bar.
He takes it to the beach.
A bright moon hangs in the sky.
Under it, the boy eats the chocolate bar.
Suddenly, the boy begins to cry.
The meaning behind his tears is never revealed.
It simply makes the viewer feel uncomfortable.
It’s rough symbolism, and it has the feel of a college student’s work.
But in terms of sincerity and sensitivity, it stands out.
The white images in the store likely represent the reality the Black boy would face.
It’s the mountain he must overcome to survive hunger.
After watching the ten-minute film,
Jihoon and I were silent for a while.
“...Should we watch the next one?”
“Yeah. I think we should.”
The other two films were the same.
Looking back now, they seem a bit outdated... but the symbols are understandable.
The narrative doesn’t get swallowed by the images.
The social message that made Jonathan the director he is today.
“…They’re all good. Each one.”
Jihoon said.
I fell into deep thought.
Short films are, after all, short.
They’re also art films.
But I wondered if Director Jonathan could make a full-length commercial film this well.
“Jonathan is probably waiting for me to reach out, right?”
“Of course. What should we do?”
It seemed to be written all over Jihoon’s face.
I should grab this director right away.
"We should post something on Twitter too."
"What should we write?"
"...' Can we solve the issue of race?'"
"What does that mean... Ah, you mean, can The House be interpreted only as an issue of racial problems, right?"
"Yeah, but if we write it like that, everyone will understand, so let's say it indirectly. Like a code."
AL hoped The House would be interpreted as a commentary on Asian racial discrimination.
If Director Jonathan truly had a sense of style... he wouldn’t miss the fact that people might interpret the theme of the work as ‘racial discrimination’ just because the writer is Asian.
Jihoon relayed my words to Geumhong.
Geumhong sent the translation exactly ten minutes later.
I watched Jihoon post the message on Twitter.
I was curious to see how Director Jonathan would react...
I waited in anticipation.
A few hours later, while I was having a meal at the dining table.
"Hahaha!!!"
Jihoon suddenly burst into laughter from his studio.
‘What’s going on? Why is he like that?’
I put down my chopsticks and went into the studio.
"What's going on?"
"Ah, hyung, look at this. Director Jonathan is really something."
Jihoon pointed to the computer monitor.
On the Twitter screen, there was a post from Director Jonathan.
The auto-translated content read:
― Ah! I could make a movie with just white people!