Versatile Superstar: Rise In Hollywood

A wind rustled past him.

"What?"

The old Executive muttered, looking around here and there, wondering if there was anything around. A scared expression was on his face.

It was only after a while that he calmed down.

Seeing him like that, his secretary couldn't help but ask.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that after seeing that audition, I actually believe that there are ghosts around. Even the wind is able to scare me now. Kind of like how one would not be able to sleep without lights after watching a horror movie."

The old Executive explained, and his secretary quickly understood which audition he was talking about.

Those who watched the audition weren't able to stop themselves from talking about it in the company.

"You are talking about the audition of [Sherlock of the Shadows], right?"

"Yeah, that kid really scared me." The old Executive said, then smiled. "I'm actually glad that he managed to pull that off. I mean, I at least know now that the acting won't be bad in the series. It's giving me more hope that it would be a great product from Zetflix."

"You look very confident."

His secretary couldn't help but comment. The old Executive was a pretty casual guy who never hesitated to speak what he wanted to say, even if it was something bad about his seniors, so he was genuinely looking forward to the series.

"If I'm not confident, then others obviously won't be, and even if I think about it rationally, we got an award-winning director, a great production team that had worked on a lot of movies, and the main character looks like a perfect fit. I'm even going to ask them to increase the budget of each episode."

The current budget allocated to the first season was 2 million dollars per episode. It may look like a lot of money, but the show had usage of special effects, and there were going to be 9 episodes in the first season, so overall, it would only go upto 18 million dollars.

For a streaming giant like Zetflix, 18 million dollars was not a lot of money.

In a bid to get a better library of shows and movies, Zetflix had even hired a big director duo last month for an action movie worth 150 million dollars. Compared to that, [Sherlock of the Shadows] was very much an experimental project.

"I think that they need at least 3 million dollars per episode. We can't be stingy when we have a great idea."

The old Executive muttered, giving out his opinion.

"Will the higher-ups agree?"

"They would most likely. They don't have a long-term vision, but they are not idiots. They know that having capable people work on a project pretty much guarantees that it won't be too bad. Anyway, if they don't allow it, I will show them the audition footage. If Aiden could scare me for days, then he would do the same with them."

***

In an interview room, two people were talking to each other with smiles evident on their faces. One of them was Seth Douglas, who was currently giving an interview to a magazine to promote [Disconnected].

None of the other cast members joined him for the interview as SGA wanted the magazine to just focus on Seth and promote him as the next big thing in Hollywood.

They were doing a lot of PR for him this time, confident that [Disconnected] would do great business at the box office.

"What's really your way of choosing projects? Do you choose them because you like a particular character or just the overall story? Do you consider the box office estimates, and do they affect your judgement in choosing a project?"

The female interviewer asked, and Seth thought about it for a bit before replying.

"The focus is a lot on how good a story is and what type of character you are offered. If they connect with me, then I would go with a particular movie. The box office just comes after that, and you can't think too much about it."

"So, you would be fine even if [Disconnected] flopped?"

The female interviewer smirked, and Seth quickly retorted the question.

"I don't think it would. It's a great movie, and we have given it our all. I'm very confident that it's going to be a huge hit. Probably the best of my career."

"What if it didn't perform as you expected?"

"I will think about it when that time comes."

Seth kept answering questions with calmness. His team had made him practice all the questions that might be asked of him in the interview, and he had prepared hard.

A good job here meant more people being interested in the movie.

After so many interviews, he had become used to giving answers as the questions won't deviate a lot.

"Thank you for your time. The interview is over now."

The female interviewer said after it finished and Seth stood up, shook hands with her and then walked out of the studio. Along the way, he remembered something and took out his phone.

[Seth: Will you be able to handle what I requested before?]

A message quickly came as soon as he asked that.

[Franco Li: I did tell you not to worry about anything. Black Line Cinema and SGA are the ones responsible for the editing of the movie. Jesse had submitted his own cut, but we are going to edit it furthermore.]

[Seth: There won't be any problems, right?]

[Franco Li: Obviously not. Are you in the industry for a week? You do know that the studio controls what makes up for the big screen and not the director. That's how the business works. Jesse Ross can't say anything, and we are going to go for the version that's the best and one in which you could truly shine.]

[Seth: Thanks.]

[Franco Li: Just do your job and leave everything else to SGA.]

Seth smiled, reading those messages.

After the shooting of [Disconnected] had completed, Seth talked about his concerns with Franco about how he felt like other characters could take up a lot of screen time from Mark Knight.

It would have been bad news for SGA as they needed this movie to be all about Seth, so they could increase his rank in the Hollywood hierarchy and get him a few commercial blockbusters.

So, Franco Li made sure that SGA was going to be involved in the editing of the movie. The trailer that had been released just last week was according to what Jesse wanted, but after that, SGA and Black Line Cinema had taken the reins.

As the producers, they had full control of the post-production and directors were often disregarded when it came to post-production.

In one sentence, Jesse was powerless.

'I'm pretty sure my career is going to change after this movie.'

Seth thought, smirking.

The shooting wasn't a great experience for him, but he was ready to reap the rewards.

***

"This is a very big stage."

Aiden muttered, his eyes looking down on the seats. A lot of staff was working here and there, checking up on different things. Cyco media had worked hard to get him a chance to sing in Radio City Music hall.

Apart from arranging the backstage team that would be pivotal in handling things during the concert, there would be a whole dancing crew and a band that would accompany Aiden.

A few small singers from Cyco media were going to do the opening act of the concert, and then Aiden was going to sing all the songs from his album alongside Rachel, who would be a guest artist.

"It kind of looks surreal. A few days from now, there are going to be a lot of people there, cheering you on as you sing."

Wade said, walking towards him. Aiden was currently on a break from practice for the concert.

"I thought you were helping out on the backstage arrangements with George."

"I left it to him. He's the expert; he has planned a lot of concerts for a lot of big singers."

Wade said and shrugged. They both stared around the hall for a while before Aiden asked something that he was thinking these days.

"When we first started working together. Did you believe that we were going to go this far so quickly?"

"Not really," Wade answered honestly. "Hollywood doesn't work like that. Some become stars, and some get nowhere. It's not about talent until you are a genius that only appears once hundred years. Even then, it's a lot of luck and connections. I took a chance with you, and it paid off pretty well."

Hearing that, Aiden chuckled and didn't say anything. Then, Wade asked.

"Did you believe that you are going to become such a big star so soon?"

"Not at first. Definitely not after leaving X-Star but as time went on, I got more and more belief. I knew I would become something."

What he was saying was partly true. Most of the belief had come when Aiden had started feeling himself becoming better and better as time went by. The new skills had also increased his confidence.

If he hadn't done anything with that, then he was the one at fault.

"Let's hope that the concert gets sold out and [Disconnected] becomes a bit and you are appreciated. You have gotten ahead in your singing career, but a lot has to be done in your acting career."

"Yeah, I know that."