On 12 April, 2016, [Black Saints] crossed 130 million dollars at the box office and with that, they were one very sure of entering the 150 million mark and might even touch 200 million mark.
The movie was going to be in the theatres for two more months before it gets added to streaming platforms..
As soon as it crossed 130 million dollars, Hollywood Weekly, one of the leading celebrities and movie magazines, released an article titled, "Why Kai is one of the best modern day villains?"
The article's title made a lot of people curious and it got over 34k reads in just a day.
[We have seen a lot of villains since the start of 2010s, most of the famous ones being the ones from superhero movies but fans always felt like they lacked a certain edge compared to how these villains were in the comics.
Aside from the comic villains, a lot of original villains have also appeared on the big screen. But not one of them was able to make the movie elevate just because of their presence in it. Not one was able to resonate with the masses.
It was not because of bad acting. Ironically, the level of acting talent we have in Hollywood is just increasing every year, so it was never about talent but how a character is written or portrayed.
But just last month, [Black Saints] gave us Kai August, a villain that thoroughly resonated with the masses and was trending on Sparrow for quite a while. But why was that so? Is it the acting? Just the character traits? Or something entirely else.
Let's discuss that!
First, if you have seen the movie, you must have seen the opening scene. Just that set up the whole character of Kai. It gave him a very relatable background of someone who likes comic books. But it's a very unique character trait for a gangster.
Next, we see Kai talking to a kid and in that scene, we understand his mentality very well.
Here, we find out how Kai talked about his philosophy about politicians, the world and how being a gangster and politician isn't really different as in the end, it's all about power.
Both authority and fear are powers that one could use. And Kai understands that well and later, we get to know that he wants to grow over power.
The only way to do it is to become a symbol.
This is a very comic book philosophy but it sticks too well with the world of [Black Saints]. Like the director, Zavier Lamb said, "Kai is a villain inspired by comic books and he knows that even without superpowers, one could do a lot of things if they are smart enough."
That gets us to our next point. Kai is very smart and has plans for everything.
In the movie, he had already thought of all the What ifs that could happen to him. When he realised that he won't be able to get out of prison, he decided to take his own life so nonchalantly that it came off as a very unpredictable decision but at the end of the movie, everything came together.
Kai achieved his only goal, meaning that he had it all planned already.
Although a small point, his style is also one of the reasons that Kai became so popular. Wearing a black suit with a knife in his hand — That was one of the concept arts of Kai that was released after the movie did so well at the box office.
A lot of people liked it a lot and termed Kai as a very stylish villain.
Now, the next point is that despite being a villain, Kai is someone who loves the city a lot. He wants to rule over it as he thinks that he's better suited for it but this also stems from the fact that he has seen the effects of corruption on people.
In a way, being a gangster is a way for him to protect the city that he was born in.
Now, one of the last points is that Kai is probably one of the most mysterious characters. Project Anarchy that was revealed at the end of the movie is a definite proof of it.
The whole project is about destroying the illegal businesses of politicians and other black saints. He even revealed all the corruption of the politicians on the internet and we don't know since when, he was planning it and how he even did it.
But the moment that really cemented his mysteriousness was the video of him suddenly appearing on every TV in the city. It was the big reveal that Kai was still alive but those who watched the movie with keen eyes would know that Charlie Morgan, the main character of [Black Saints] himself said that he saw Kai's dead body.
So, was Kai actually dead or Charlie was lying in that particular scene?
It was never explained but a theory had come that Kai had made that video a long time ago for Project Anarchy to make it seem like he didn't die and was looking over the city, truly becoming a symbol even if he wasn't alive.
This theory had become very popular among fans of the movie and this just adds to the smarts and mysteriousness of the character.
Now, the final point is very easy.
The way the character was played. Aiden Silvereye, the actor who played Kai gave a great performance but it was only successful because he completely devoted himself to it as Ray Hardy himself explained.
It was probably not an easy role to play for a rookie actor, still trying to make his way into Hollywood but he surely gave his all to it and in the end, Kai became one of the most popular characters this year…]
"We are here."
Aiden raised his head from his phone in which he was reading the article from Hollywood Weekly when he heard Wade's voice.
"Are you ready?" His agent asked and Aiden nodded.
"Yeah, let's go."
Saying that, Aiden got out of the car and looked at the theatre building in front of him. It was the same place where the auditions for [Shadows of War] had happened and now, his audition for [30 days of Happiness] was going to happen here too.
It was only because the theatre was one of the cheapest to rent for a day but Aiden felt like things had come full circle for him.
"Are you nervous?"
"Actually, no. I have analysed the script a lot and am very confident that I would be able to pass the audition. Maybe because I have already been in too many auditions. I don't really feel the jitters."
"That's a good thing."
Wade said as they entered the theater. Aiden didn't tell him that rather than the audition, there was something else that was in his mind.
'I need to discuss the script with Leo.'
The system gave the script a low score and as it had pointed out negative points of the script, it had made Aiden's job easier.
As he walked, he saw a small number of staff from Night Hawk studios was there. From what Wade had told him, the producer of the project, Rodrigo Burke was trying to keep the budget as low as possible.
It was because he had gotten a lot of loss from his last few projects.
"Please come this way."
A staff member led them to the area around the stage where everything was already set up. There, Aiden saw a familiar face who was helping set up the camera.
"Leo, been a long time."
Aiden said, shaking hands with Leo who looked a bit different than the last time he had seen him, like there was a bit more maturity and experience in his eyes.
"Yeah, you really got too popular in just some months. I watched [Black Saints] and loved it. Your acting has improved a lot."
"Thanks." He said before turning to Wade. "And here, Wade is my agent."
Both Leo and Wade shook hands and introduced themselves before starting to talk about other few things. It was just small talk before they got to the main topic.
"Anyway, everything is already set up, so we can start any second." Leo pointed at the cameras and the other crew members standing around the stage. "The theatre is booked for the whole day, so you can take your time."
Aiden made an awkward expression hearing that. Hesitating a bit, he opened his mouth.
"Actually, I was hoping to have a discussion with you about the script and the main character before the audition."
"Oh."
Leo was not a lot surprised as actors would normally have discussions with the director about the plot and characters.
It was pretty normal.
He actually wanted to have discussions with Aiden about the script, but Rodrigo wanted to quickly finish the casting, so he had directly invited Aiden to the audition.
"Let's go to the makeup room then. We could talk about the script there."
Aiden nodded and they both went to the makeup room while Wade stayed behind to talk with the crew and staff from Night Hawk studios, trying to make a few connections.
As both of them reached the makeup room and sat down, Leo asked.
"So, what is it about the script that you want to talk about? How do you like the script?"
"Actually, the script is pretty good but…" Aiden trailed off in his sentence before completing it. "There were some parts that I thought could be better."
Hearing that, Leo's face froze.
...
