Life is Easier If You're Handsome novel Chapter 222

When adapting an animated film into live-action, changes were inevitable.

And more often than not, those changes significantly altered the original story.

Take Beauty and the Beast, for example.

In the animated version, Belle was simply a pure-hearted girl.

But in the live-action adaptation, she became bold, independent, and even had an inventor’s mindset.

It wasn’t uncommon for a protagonist’s characterization to shift.

A few tweaks to the plot were natural as well.

With that in mind—

Producer Verilad and Director McGroy decided to add new elements to Tarzan.

One of those additions was the light aircraft scene.

In the original Tarzan 2, Jane’s old colleague arrived in a small plane, creating conflict.

But bringing in a whole new character was too much.

Instead, they decided to keep only the chase scene on the aircraft wing—the most thrilling part.

Of course, the plan was to do it all with CGI.

Until a certain Korean actor casually made a suggestion.

"Wouldn’t it look better if we just did it for real instead of using CGI?"

“...What?”

“I mean... some of these scenes would look much better if we did them practically.”

“Donghu, what are you saying?”

“The light aircraft scene. And the part where I hang off the cliff—I could do both, no problem.”

“Hahahaha!”

The producer and director burst into laughter the moment they heard Kim Donghu.

They were already used to his spicy sense of humor.

But they hadn’t expected this.

“I feel like I’m developing a new stereotype about Koreans.”

“Right? As if they enjoy spicy jokes as much as their food—”

Just as McGroy was about to respond, Verilad caught something in Kim Donghu’s eyes.

That wasn’t a joke.

There was a wild gleam in his normally clear eyes.

“...Are you serious? For real?”

“Yes. Why would I joke about this?”

“A-Ah, no, I just thought I misheard you for a moment.”

“In that case, let me say it clearly.”

“...Yes?”

“For the Tarzan plane scene—can’t I actually climb onto the wing of a moving aircraft?”

“OH MY GOD, DONGHU KIM!!! CALM DOWN!!!”

Did he really just seriously suggest that?

Just because it would look better on film?

What the hell is this...?

A headache struck Verilad out of nowhere.

Admittedly, Donghu wasn’t wrong.

The visuals would be far more impressive.

It would help with marketing, too—CGI could never fully capture the realism of an actual plane chase.

It would even save money on effects.

There were plenty of advantages.

So why weren’t they doing it that way?

“Because it’s too dangerous! No matter how many safety measures we put in place, we can’t control every variable!”

A person only had one life.

No matter how skilled he was with ropes, no matter how superhuman his physical abilities were—

One wrong move, and he could actually die.

Sure, they could prepare parachutes and safety harnesses.

But nothing in this world was ever 100% safe.

Especially not during an action shoot.

The safety team was bound to reject this outright.

As Verilad carefully pointed out all these risks, Kim Donghu simply nodded, his eyes still clear.

“If you approve it, I’ll do it right away.”

“...Without a stunt double?”

“Yes. Oh, and also, let’s discuss the cliff scene.”

“....”

With that, Kim Donghu bowed and left to prepare for the shoot.

Verilad and McGroy, now alone, felt an overwhelming sense of dread settle in.

“...If he means the cliff scene, he’s talking about that, right?”

“Yes. The part where he actually climbs a real cliff... while carrying Jane on his back.”

They had assumed this scene would be impossible.

A few days ago, during filming—

“...Evelyn probably weighs around 60kg at most.”

“Right... but Donghu...”

Kim Donghu had climbed a rope while carrying a 70kg load—right in front of them.

Is he even human?

How was that physically possible?

No—

Should it even be possible?

By the time they had those thoughts, Donghu was already at the top of the rope.

If the actor himself is saying he can do it... shouldn’t we at least consider it?

If this actually works—if we can really pull this off—

What they were seeing was so unbelievable that—

Even though they knew they shouldn’t allow it—

The producer and director were slowly, inevitably...

Getting convinced.

***

Just as I was heading to get my makeup done, ready to convey my thoughts—

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

My phone chimed with incoming messages.

-[Due to your proactive approach, Tarzan's rating has been adjusted.]

-[You now have more opportunities to showcase your abilities!]

-[Congratulations.]

It had been a while since I last received one of these Sims-style system messages.

I immediately checked Tarzan’s new rating.

<Tarzan, A+>

“A+?”

When I first saw it, Tarzan’s rating was simply A.

And now, with this recent update, a + had been added.

“So that means my suggestions were accepted, and we’re actually filming with them in mind.”

That likely meant most of the action scenes would be shot without CGI.

“But what exactly does an A rating in an international film mean?”

The market was different.

The standards for an A rating in Korea and an A rating in Hollywood likely had discrepancies.

I had no real way of predicting how well the film would perform.

“Guess I’ll just have to wait and see.”

With that thought in mind, I quietly got my makeup done and headed straight for the set.