"You seem a bit worried. The audition went well. Do you think I won't get the role?"
Aiden asked, turning his head to look at Wade who was driving the car with a blank face but as they were working together for a while now, it was easy for him to notice his emotional state.
He was never so silent until he was worried about something.
"Well, I know the audition went well."
The audition went on for more than 2 hours as Leo had made Aiden try out a few dresses that they were designing for the character of Arthur and then, he was told to act out some scenes.
As Aiden had a good control over the plot and had analysed the character of Arthur, the audience had gone very well.
At least Aiden thought that.
"Then?" Aiden raised an eyebrow.
"The thing is Leo looked blank at times while doing the audition. He didn't even look like he was focusing a lot on the audition. This is worrying me."
"Oh, that." Aiden smiled and explained. "I think it's just because he was thinking of the plot. I had a talk about it with him and pointed out a few loopholes in the script."
"What?''
Wade asked in a raised voice, shock written all over his face and Aiden had to quickly open his mouth.
"Don't worry, he liked my suggestions and even thanked me. That's why I think the audition is a success. I managed to impress the director even before the audition."
Aiden said and Wade took a few seconds to calm down.
"It would have been better if you had pointed out any suggestions after you passed the audition. A lot of directors have big egos and don't really like actors interfering with the story."
"I know that but Leo is a friend and I thought he would listen. He's very passionate about getting his debut right, so I thought he would take it in the right way."
There were various cases of directors refusing to work with actors just because they don't like the actor. Sometimes, actors and directors would even fall out in between the shooting.
Whereas there were even actors who liked to shadow control movies and some action actors who wanted the studio and the director to list down how many punches and kicks their character would take during the movie.
For a movie to succeed, sometimes a director had to keep aside his ego and an actor to completely give himself to the vision of the director.
"So, it worked out right? Are you completely sure?" Wade asked after a while. If everything went right, the movie would be Aiden's first lead role.
So, it was very important to get everything right.
"Yeah, I'm. Leo even told me that he would call me to discuss some more ideas."
"Okay, it's best if Leo feels like only you could play the character of Arthur Reeves. We don't have a lot of luck otherwise."
Aiden felt something amiss at the end of Wade's sentence and couldn't help but ask, "Is something wrong?"
"Well, when you were discussing stuff with Leo, I was trying to make new friends with the crew and staff members that were there and it seems like the guy producing the movie, Rodrigo Burke, doesn't really like you."
"Why he don't like me? I don't even remember meeting him." Aiden asked, tilted his head.
"It's not like that. He just wants an actor with more visibility heading the movie. The staff told me that he and Leo had a few discussions about it already. Leo wants a fresh face who's not in a lot of movies and Rodrigo wants an actor with at least 10 years of experience."
In Hollywood, actors have lost roles for all sorts of reasons. From producers not liking the actor's face to just on the fact that an actor had never been struck by a girl.
There was even an incident that Aiden remembered where a director told a pretty famous actor, "You look too American for this role." when he had auditioned for a British supernatural wizard movie.
So, getting rejected due to not having a lot of experience and visibility among the audience was still a pretty good reason.
"I sometimes feel like getting roles is way harder than playing them." Aiden said after a while.
"Yeah, but it's Hollywood. We are still standing at the back of the line in popularity. Just we have one advantage."
"What?"
"There's too many projects being made here every year. One goes and another comes."
Wade said and smiled, his face loosening up a little.
"That's true."
Aiden muttered and the conversation died down. Truthfully, he really wanted to play the role of Arthur and even if the producer didn't like him, he was very confident that Leo would at least get him a role in the movie.
'If the studio wants a more popular actor, I will at least get you a supporting role.'
That's what he had told him and these words didn't seem like a lie to Aiden.
Moreover, he had already gotten a skill out of it. Leaning against his seat, Aiden thought of it and in an instance, system notifications appeared in front of him.
[You have delved into another talent and unlocked the skill 'Writing'.]
[Sub skills like 'Script writing' and 'Novel writing' have been gained.]
[Your Writing skill has been assigned 'Level 6'. Sub skills Script writing has been assigned 'Level 6' and Novel writing has been assigned 'Level 5'.]
'It's been a while since I checked my status screen.'
He thought and opened up his status screen.
[Aiden Silvereye] [25 years]
[Singing level: Intermediate Grade 2]
–Has all the basic qualities of a vocalist.
–A uniquely calm and soothing voice with a talent for composing.
–Has the ability to express emotions like the very best.
–High level of proficiency in the use of Silver light.
[Acting level: Intermediate Grade 1]
–Has a charm that reflects during acting.
–Prefers method acting.
–Is able to understand the character being played.
–Have the ability to immerse yourself in the role you are playing. The Immersion might affect your real personality.
[Writing level: Level 6]
–Have all the basic skills of a writer.
–The ability to understand stories in more than one way and portray them as such.
–The ability to write characters that could relate to people.
[Special skill: Empathy]
–The ability to understand, interpret and experience the emotions and feelings of characters, music, and people.
–Gives a special boost to performances that might entrance people.
–Weaves strong emotions into music and acting.
[Special skill: Charisma]
–People would notice you easily in a crowd. Gives a special effect to your aura, making you stand out.
–Easy to increase the favorability of people towards you.
–You will look more handsome to the opposite gender.
There were a lot of things written on his status screen but Aiden's eyes went towards the writing skill that he had gotten just a few hours ago.
He was sure that he had unlocked it by trying to add a few things in [30 days of Happiness]. Maybe that was the criteria to unlock the skill.
After all, the last time he came close to writing a book was in high school when he was in a sort of group with his friends where they would share the books they have and write short stories.
After that, he mostly focused on writing songs as for him, his songs were also a way to portray stories.
Both novels and songs were similar to him in that regard.
'Now, what should I do with my writing skill?'
Aiden thought, closing off his status screen.
Now that he had gotten the skill, he felt like it would be a waste if he didn't do anything with it. There was a gamer inside of him who wanted to grind levels on it too.
'Maybe I can try writing a script or a book going forward?'
He thought, getting an idea in his head. Sadly, for now, Aiden wanted to take one step at a time and the next step for him was [30 days of Happiness].
***
"Congratulations. I watched your movie last night and it left me starstruck. It was too good."
"Oh, I love that song? You know that Canadian singer?"
"Is it true that Aaron Hart got aids? There were photos of him going to clinics and his wife hasn't been out for a long time."
Rodrigo Burke entered the party with a smile on his face. It was hosted by a director friend of his and he could see that a lot of people were invited.
On the right, some producers were talking about what films were working in the market currently and on the left, there were people gossiping about every type of scandal in Hollywood.
'I should try to have a good time here. My work has been stressing me a lot these days.'
He thought and was about to join some other producers to talk when a voice called him out.
"Hey, Rodrigo."
He looked up to see a guy with a sharp face, blonde hair and a clean shaven face heading towards him. He was wearing a suit and he looked like the type of guy who would always be surrounded with girls no matter where he went.
"Harold, I didn't expect you to be here."
"I have some time off. Flops give you a lot of time to think about your next. My agent doesn't want me to rush into another movie, so I'm pretty free these days."
His name was Harold Wood, an actor who had gotten famous due to his looks early on and had solidified himself in Hollywood with a lot of romantic comedies and dramas.
"Oh, are you going to try another in the action genre?" Rodrigo asked. Harold's last movie [Grenade] was an action movie which had tanked at the box office.
"No, I'm not comfortable in those. I only did that because my agent forced me, saying it's an opportunity to try something new." Harold shrugged. "I think I will go back to doing comedies or any romantic drama. They are well suited for me but my agent hasn't been able to get a good script."
"That's true." Rodrigo nodded before an idea suddenly struck his mind. "By the way, do you have a minute? I think I might have a script for you."
....
