Chapter 8
The moon hiding the sun.
It is a virtual historical drama prepared by KMB one of the three major broadcasting companies in Korea.
To put it simply a virtual historical drama is a mix of general history with a fictional background and can be said to be a virtual historical drama created to captivate both the young and middle-aged.
‘You have to make it that good.’
Ha Tae-oh the producer of The Moon That Hidden the Sun was an industry veteran and had experience directing several historical dramas.
This is the second virtual historical drama.
The first one ‘Fox Dew’ wasn’t a huge hit but it was decent enough.
‘If you make it poorly you will miss out on both the young and middle-aged.’
So the actors also sharpened their knives as much as possible.
The given budget is also twice that of a typical virtual historical drama!
From KMB’s perspective this means that it is a work that should never fail.
“Wow the child actor is also very talented.”
Casting director Kim Ki-woong said to Ha Tae-oh as if he was surprised.
“All kinds of agencies and academies. “I think almost all the kids who want to make a name for themselves in entertainment are there right?”
“Everyone probably knows this. “How much KMB sharpened its knives on this drama?”
Even if I couldn’t play a child role I didn’t have to face any criticism.
Typically the episodes in which child actors appear are at the very beginning of the drama.
If it’s short it’s 1 episode. If it’s a little long it can be up to 5 episodes.
So it’s not important?
That is absolutely not the case.
Ultimately it is very important as it determines the first impression of the drama.
So recently there have been many cases where childhood has been omitted altogether.
If a child actor with unstable acting skills makes a mistake the image of the drama also becomes ambiguous.
“It’s almost as if young Yoon Seo-il’s role has already been decided.”
“Yes I guess you were very famous since you were young weren’t you?”
Ha Tae-oh who was looking through the profile of the male child actor shook his head.
It has already been five years since he first started acting at the age of five and has been recognized for his acting skills.
Park Jeong-woo the son of great actor Park Seon-woong.
Ten-year-old Park Jeong-woo was a child who was more suited than anyone else to play the role of ‘young Yoon Seo-il’ the male protagonist of The Moon Hiding the Sun.
“I don’t think anyone can choose young Lee Hye-wol.”
“Park Jeong-woo is a boy with very good acting skills so if he’s not careful his opponent will be eaten in an instant.”
A child who inherited the talent of great actor Park Seon-woong.
If I was dealing with a child like that I had no choice but to carefully choose the child who would play the female lead role.
“Oh this….”
At that time Kim Ki-woong let out a sigh.
In his hand was the profile of a girl he had just seen.
“This is my first time appearing in a drama… I’m a kid who has already shot two commercials but I’m included in this audition?”
“Oh that kid?”
Ha Tae-oh also glanced at the profile held in Kim Ki-woong’s hand.
“It is said that this child was recommended by Director Cho Bang-woo. “From what I heard he was the kid who filmed a commercial with his son.”
“Ugh. Did he stab me because he was the kid in his son’s CF? If it goes well my son might get noticed too.”
“Oh no way.”
They clicked their tongues briefly when they saw the name ‘Joo Seo-yeon’ written on the profile.
If you look at the photo his face looks really good.
He is six years old.
Although she is a little young it is not so much that she cannot act as her drama role the younger Lee Hye-wol is eight years old.
‘The mask is definitely good.’
What kind of CF was he? Yes I think he was a Doyu CF.
“Well the image she showed in Doyu’s CF wasn’t that bad but….”
“You can show that kind of lively child even without acting.”
Moreover her acting and drama in her CF are completely different.
First of all the problem was whether I could memorize the lines properly.
“There are degrees of parachutes….”
Ha Tae-o said that and roughly threw out Seo-yeon’s profile.
A kid who has only done two commercials will not be selected for this audition.
***
The moon hiding the sun.
The so-called ‘Taesumdal’ audition site.
‘Wow what the hell.’
Seoyeon wanted to ask if this was really an audition venue.
Isn’t it just a set for filming?
When I went inside after checking my personal information the staff briefly explained about this audition. Then he took out a document.
“Please understand that the contents of this audition may be aired in various forms such as making films or advertisements. If you agree to this please sign here.”
“Ah yes.”
Su-ah calmly signed with trembling hands.
Seoyeon who is still a minor required the consent of her guardian in this regard.
“This audition is definitely something different….”
As she went inside Su-ah muttered those words to herself.
Seoyeon also agreed with Sua’s words.
As the saying goes there were a lot of kids around me who had many managers or agencies.
Seo-yeon and Su-a felt like they were stranded on a remote island because the child actors with their parents were not seen like before.
“Who is he?”
“Aren’t you in the wrong place?”
Thanks to this the situation also attracts attention.
There were also kids wearing costumes or putting on makeup for the audition.
“Seoyeon what should we do?”
“I don’t know.”
What are you asking a 6-year-old who has only filmed two commercials so far?
Of course even if Seoyeon had been in Suah’s position she would have been in the same situation.
“Seoyeon’s mother is this way.”
When the gaze on us began to increase a savior appeared.
“Director Cho!”
When Su-ah approached Seo-yeon holding her hand with an emotional expression he smiled as if to reassure her.
“I put it in by recommending it so I have to help.”
“Oh thank you so much.”
“And from here please just call me Jo Min-tae.”
Director Cho smiled and said to Seo-yeon who nodded and bowed.
“I also had some greed. “I wanted to see how Seoyeon would feel if she acted in a drama.”
He said that but Seo-yeon knows how special this is.
There was no reason for him the CF director to help Seoyeon a stranger to this extent.
The other child actors were proud to have been provided with an audition like this.
Seoyeon glanced at her surroundings with stinging gaze.
‘It’s a parachute.’
With Jo Min-tae’s appearance some people frowned at us.
It seems they thought it was a child brought in by an insider.
“But is this what drama auditions are like?”
Seoyeon asked Jo Min-tae in a low voice.
Then Jo Min-tae shook his head.
“Sometimes you go through an audition and sometimes you are selected through a director or casting director. There are very few cases where big auditions are held like this. “It’s probably for a promotional making film.”
“aha.”
Making film.
Seoyeon suddenly remembered something from the past.
If you think about it The Moon that Hidden the Sun attracted attention by releasing various videos even before it aired.
There was definitely an audition for a child actor involved.
“Ah it looks like everyone is here so let’s get started quickly.”
At that time a man with a bushy beard spoke in the audition room.
“This is Ha Tae-oh the planning producer. First let me tell you briefly about the contents of the audition…”
According to Jo Min-tae the producer of this audition came forward.
The planning producer is literally the person in charge of planning this drama.
He is the person who leads the direction of the work and is responsible for matching the director or leading the casting of actors.
He is a person who together with the drama writer leads the play in the right direction.
In other words he was the one who had the greatest power in casting for this drama.
“The audition is for two people per group. A male child actor and a female child actor will perform together. “I will now hand out the script… and the reading time will be approximately 2 hours.”
Two hours was neither too long nor too short.
However as no script was given in advance the child actors felt quite overwhelmed.
“You’re not alone? “What is this…”
“If there are two people in a group the results will vary depending on the opponent. “This doesn’t seem fair.”
There were people whispering in low voices around them.
‘I guess auditions aren’t usually done this way.’
I think this is why the moon hiding the sun became a hot topic from the making of the film.
‘Two people acting as a team.’
It’s definitely different from CF.
Plus the script is different.
Compared to the CF script which had a more visual feel the drama script was like a novel.
“In acting like this as others have said the role of the opponent is important.”
“Is it a problem if my partner can’t act?”
Su-ah asked with a trembling voice at Jo Min-tae’s words.
“hmm. That’s right. To be precise whether the opponent is very bad or very good than you is both a problem.”
“Isn’t it good to do well?”
“This is a drama not a commercial. “If your acting is lacking… your presence will be eaten up by the other person.”
This is something that actors must absolutely avoid.
Especially when it comes to the ‘main role’.
If your presence disappears under the pressure of the other person’s acting you are not qualified to play the leading role.
“First of all Miss Seoyeon. Let’s change clothes first. The reading time is 2 hours so you need to prepare quickly. “You can change your clothes in the dressing room over there.”
“ah! yes yes!”
Su-a held Seo-yeon’s hand and quickly headed to the prepared dressing room.
“huh? what?”
When we went to the dressing room a child who had just changed his clothes was coming out.
A pretty child with clear eyes.
Unlike other children his appearance and aura were different.
‘Ah it’s him.’
As soon as Seoyeon saw this child she thought of it.
‘Child role of the female protagonist Lee Hye-wol.’
I remember seeing her in a drama from her past life.
Even though she is still young she has shown quite outstanding acting skills.
Her name was probably ‘Cho Seo-hee’.
She ‘wasn’t as good as the child actor who played Yoon Seo-il.’
When she was alone her acting skills were worthy of applause but when she was with the boy playing Yoon Seo-il her presence was strangely small.
She remembers that because of that her child part lasted only two episodes.
‘Well that alone was enough to make my presence appealing.’
She went on to win quite a bit after that….
Seoyeon didn’t remember that part very well.
“Oh is it him?”
At that time she chuckled as Jo Seo-hee heard something from her female manager.
“parachute?”
When she said that and smiled she looked like a drama villain.
Seoyeon was amazed when she saw that.
‘The child has high language skills.’
Is this why she is an actress?
He only looks a year or two older than me but I never thought he would know words like ‘parachute’.
“What are you doing well?”
The child said that and went out confidently.
In some ways she was like Lee Ji-yeon’s superior compatibility.
Mainly in a bad way.
“Ugh. Seo Yeon-ah. “You can never lose to him?”
Of course Su-ah had no idea that the hated kid who had just passed by was someone with the talent to be selected as the main character of ‘The Moon in the Moon’.
From her point of view she was just an asshole who laughed at her precious daughter.
“…I’ll try my best.”
She beat the heroine of Tae Sumdal who defeated numerous child actors.
Now she is a mountain too high for a novice child actor who has only filmed two commercials.