Versatile Superstar: Rise In Hollywood

“Did you really get frisky with Skye Ellison?” 

“What kind of question is that?”

Aiden stared at Wade with squinted eyes. His expression was like he was asking, ‘Do you even know what you are spouting out?’.

“It’s a genuine question.” Wade coughed and explained. “After the photoshoot, I got a call, saying ZXO is hopeful to work with us again when their new brand of clothing is out. They will even pay more.”

Hearing that, Aiden understood what was going on in his agent’s mind. He was thinking that Skye had given him this deal because he had slept with her.

It was pretty common in Hollywood, for both genders and even in the business world.

People in positions of power will often try to sleep with those with no power. Especially in Hollywood, it was one of the major dark spots but no one was ready to speak against it.

“You are making weird conclusions. I had lunch with her and returned to the photoshoot. Then, you dropped me home. When would I even have had the time? And even if I had the time, I wouldn’t sleep with her to get money or a deal.”

“Don’t get so serious. I’m just joking.”

Wade laughed. He obviously could tell that nothing like that had happened between the two of them, but he still felt like joking around.

He was very happy that ZXO was happy with Aiden. Endorsement deals were always good for a celebrity.

Trying to change the subject, he asked, “Are you confident about today’s audition?”

“Yeah, I have done my best to prepare for it. Now, it all depends on the performance and what the director thinks of it.”

Aiden replied while trying to fix his hair, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He was currently wearing a suit that he had especially prepared for the audition.

They were currently sitting in the parking lot of the Granite films office. The audition was scheduled to be in their office rather than in a theatre like the last time._.

“Remember, you need to at least impress one of the directors or the producer, The CEO of Granite films. It’s rumoured that he’s closely involved in the production this time.”

Zavier Lamb and Anthony McCarthy – Wade had explained intensively about them to Aiden. To get a role, it was very important to give a good impression to the director and the producer.

After all, the movie was basically their creation and the character he was playing was just a part of it.

If they liked him, the role was as good as his.

“Let’s hope it goes well.”

Wade muttered and got out of the car. Aiden followed him, fixing his suit and glancing at the sky.

The sky was bright and clear today, giving him a bit of hope.

***

“Thank you. We will call you later to inform you about the results.”

Zavier looked towards a blonde haired guy who was giving off a charming smile.

He stood at 6ft with a robust body, like a bodybuilder and a dominant aura around him. Looking at him, anyone would think that he was the embodiment of the action heroes in the 90s that Hollywood had churned out.

His name was Tyler Reed, one of the actors that they have zeroed in to play the role of Kai. He had just finished his audition but it was nothing short of underwhelming.

“Can’t you tell me about the results now?” Tyler asked, not wanting to wait for the result.

Mostly, he would get the result of an audition straight away due to his backing. It was also because of his backing that he had rarely been rejected for a role before. 

“I’m sorry, but we need to discuss it a bit more to come to the conclusion. We will release the results in two days.”

Anthony replied this time. The other people sitting besides him – the cinematographer, the casting director, production manager – felt a bit uncomfortable at Tyler’s question but Anthony answered quickly.

He knew very well that he can’t come out as a pushover.

“Okay.”

Tyler simply replied and left the room.

Although he was sceptical about the results, he didn’t really focus a lot on it.

His agent had told him that the role suited him a lot and it was as good as his, so he was not worried.

Ironically, both Zavier and Anthony thought completely opposite of that.

“He doesn’t suit the character at all.”

“It’s not only about his body stature not really suiting the character. But it’s also his expression. Rather than giving off a menacing feel, it’s more like he’s auditioning for the role of a harmless bear who likes honey.” Zavier made an awkward smile. “His expression is too blank.”

The other people nodded at those words. They all shared similar thoughts about Tyler but due to his background, it was hard for them to completely reject him.

“Do we even have a choice here? Harrison Owens will surely push for him to get the role. He has a lot of influence in Titan studios. I don’t know if it’s good to get on the bad side of that man.”

The production manager said, rubbing his bald head in worry. Titan studios was one of the major film companies in Hollywood and also the distributor for [Black Saints].

As a mid-sized production company, Granite films still didn’t have any distribution channels and hence, it needed to rely on big studios.

Titan was one of their close partners since the studio had begun.

Harrison Owens had given a lot of blockbuster movies to Titan studios in his prime, so he held a considerable amount of influence there.

“Let’s just go on with the auditions.”

Anthony said, getting the topic back on track. Turning towards one of the staff members, he said.

“Call the next guy in.”

The staff member quickly went to the hallway and after a minute, he came back with a guy who was oddly wearing a suit, like he worked on wall street.

“What’s your name?”

Zavier asked when the guy stood in the middle.

“Aiden Silvereye.”

***

When Aiden had gotten the screenplay of a scene that he needed to perform in the audition, he had felt that the character he was auditioning for was a stylish, cool character.

Someone who took care of the way he dresses up and talks.

It was just a small thing he had noticed from the script and because of that, he had come to the audition wearing a black suit and gelled hair.

“Why are you wearing a suit?”

As expected, the first question that was asked of him was regarding his outfit. Even in the hallway, no other actor aside from him was wearing a suit.

“When I read the scene given to me for the audition, I imagined Kai to be like this. Someone who is well maintained. So, I thought a suit was the best outfit for him. I kind of took it as one of the traits of the character.”

Zavier nodded at that answer. Every actor saw a character in a different way and Aiden’s explanation was something that Zavier found interesting. 

‘At least he has taken time to understand his character.’

“What other traits did you notice?”

Suddenly, Anthony asked and Aiden instantly recognised him as Granite films CEO and the executive producer of [Black Saints].

After thinking for a bit, he replied.

“Cold, someone who stays mostly composed but menacing at the same time. Although I didn’t notice anything related to his background, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have a simple one.”

“Why is that?”

“Someone from a simple background wouldn’t really threaten a gangster.”

Zavier laughed at that. The scene that was given to Aiden was one where Kai would be threatening one of the gangsters in New York City. It was a one on one conversation but it needed to be gripping enough to captivate the viewers.

“Who is this guy? I haven’t seen him before.” Anthony whispered to Zavier and the crew. One of them replied after glancing at Aiden who had no idea what they were discussing in whispers.

“I think he’s more or less a struggling actor but has a role in a movie that’s going to release soon. One of the assistant directors finalised him for the audition after seeing one of his scenes. Apparently, he’s said to be good.”

Zavier nodded at that and Anthony put a finger on his chin, “We will know if he’s good enough after seeing the performance.”

Saying that, he turned towards Aiden.

“Okay. You can begin your performance.”

Anthony gave the signal and with that his performance started.

***

Just like his last audition, this one also required a staff member to play a role. The staff member was playing a gangster who Kai had come to meet regarding something.

The staff member was sitting behind a desk while Aiden who was trying to get in the mindset of Kai was standing.

‘I need to give a good enough performance.’

He thought, taking a deep breath. After reading and analysing just the one scene, he had liked it a lot and didn’t want to lose the opportunity to play as him on the big screen, so this opportunity was a big deal for him.

‘I need to trust myself.’

He thought as his immersion took over. His surroundings changed and the staff member now truly seemed like a gangster. Aiden was even able to see imaginary gangster goons beside him.

Zavier, Anthony and other crew all disappeared as his personality slowly mixed with that of Kai.

…

//DreamNote//

Another bonus chapter guys 🙂

📌IMPORTANT NOTICE⚠️

From now on, newly earned bonus chapters will cumulate and will be released in bundle on the 30th June. 

Although there are 6 more bonus chapters available, if we cross the limit, I won’t ignore that and will deliver the chapters you deserve on the 30th June. 

From next month, we will go back to releasing bonus chapters as soon as you earn 🙂