Wade asked, looking at Aiden. In the end, the opinion was going to be his. In the agent's mind, there was also a probability that Aiden was just going to reject it.
After all, from what they have seen till now, the script and director might be good but there are indeed problems in the studio.
It was not a bad decision to reject it and just focus solely on the album.
"It's a tough decision really. I want to be in the movie but the role of Andrew was not something I was thinking of."
"Yeah I understand that." Wade muttered, frowning. He never liked his actors losing roles due to studios wanting a certain actor. In popularity, both Seth and Aiden weren't too different. Just Seth has a bigger filmography. "Just think about it calmly."
"Yeah."
Aiden leaned against the couch and pondered upon it.
Although the character of Andrew wasn't something challenging, it was a character that would surely be liked by the audience. So, Aiden was still not sure.
There were conflicting feelings in his mind.
There was anger, regret, disappointment mixed up with confusion. The rejection was still running in his mind but this was almost like a second chance but the question was whether it was worth it or not.
It was more so because he wasn't rejected due to not suiting the character but because SGA wanted to promote their actor. That made it more bitter as it was a scenario in which acting wasn't even considered.
'I really want to get back on them.'
Aiden thought. He felt that if he didn't do anything, other studios would keep doing something similar until he became popular enough to easily be considered for the part.
But that would take a long time.
That's why, after thinking for a bit, he opened his mouth.
"Wade, I want to retaliate against SGA."
When the people in the room heard that, they were very confused. Retaliating against one of the top agencies in Hollywood? Was this a joke or overconfidence?
"Aiden, what are you saying? We are too small to do anything against SGA." Jody said, looking at him.
"Yeah, at most, we could spread rumors about the deal between SGA and Black Line Cinema but it won't help us in the long run. SGA might just decide to start conflicts with you due to that and that's the worst situation."
Sasha also added but Aiden shook his head. They have misunderstood his intentions.
"I'm not going to directly attack SGA. That's a fool's move and I know that well. I'm going to just do what I'm hired to do — Acting."
Aiden muttered and taking a breath, he explained what he was trying to say.
"Seth might have got the role but after reaching the set, SGA's influence would be way lesser and only his acting would count. So I'm going to beat him in that by giving a performance that overshadows his."
"Does that mean?" Wade raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I will do the role of Andrew Kingston. Anyway, it's not a bad role and it would be a challenge in itself to make a very simple character interesting. I feel like I would be able to really get into the role if I try."
It looked like Aiden had just agreed to the role due to being rejected and it was partly true too but one of the reasons behind it was also that he didn't want to lose out on a movie like [Disconnected].
It was a great addition to his filmography.
He didn't want any regrets and he also knew that it was going to be a big challenge to give a better performance than Seth Douglas. He knew that the guy was a good actor but this time, he was desperate.
***
After Aiden decided to go for the role of Andrew Kingston, Wade didn't wait a lot and informed Black Line Cinema about it and Jesse conducted an audition for Aiden himself and it went very smoothly after that.
The very next day, Aiden was casted in the role of Andrew Kingston. As soon as all the cast was selected, Black Line Cinema announced it and a few articles came up about it.
As Seth was a person with a good following and Aiden had just given a sleeper hit, the media didn't hesitate to use their names in the articles.
<Black Line Cinema announced a very interesting project called [Disconnected] inspired by the lives of billionaires who created social media platforms. Headed by Jesse Ross, it would star Seth Douglas, Aiden Silvereye and Dustin Redford in lead roles.>
<Two promising young stars Seth Douglas and Aiden Silvereye teaming up together for a drama movie. Will this movie turn up as good as their previous ventures?>
<As [30 days of Happiness] crosses 100 million dollars at the box office, Aiden Silvereye announces his next movie. This is a big announcement after the album reveal.>
"These media outlets really love you."
"More like they don't have anything else to publish. There's no scandal happening these days. Moreover, only 30 percent of them even mention me. Most of them are just about Seth Douglas."
"Ah, they're making it like he's leading it just on his shoulders. SGA has a habit of aggressive marketing. Don't worry."
Omar clicked his tongue while saying that. Aiden was currently sitting in his office as he had come to meet him after he had gotten his share from the box office of the movie.
His office was pretty clean and the one thing sticking out was the big poster of [30 days of Happiness] which was in a glass covering and was almost covering half a wall.
As the movie had crossed 100 million, it was immediately taken off from the theatre as Eternal life wasn't really earning so much everyday now to keep it running. Everyone has already watched it after all.
Because of that, Aiden who had a 9 percent share in the movie had also gotten his share which was 9 million dollars.
Yes, he was a pretty wealthy guy now. Though he still needed to give taxes on the money.
"You should go on a vacation or buy a million dollar luxury house or something with that much money? If you want, I even know high level escorts only millionaires use."
Omar asked but Aiden was quick to shake his head.
"No, I don't want to sleep with escorts."
"That's unfortunate. You don't know the amount of things they could do—"
Omar stopped his words noticing that Aiden wasn't the least bit interested in things like this. He could understand that too. As an actor, reputation was a big thing.
"Anyway, what about the house? That sounds like a good option."
This time, Aiden nodded. Real estate was always a good thing to invest in.
"Yeah, but not now. I'm going to be very busy with the shooting of [Disconnected] and recording songs for the album. Then, the album release and I also have another series I'm very interested in. I don't even think I'm going to be using my rented apartment a lot in the next few months."
Aiden explained. The shooting for [Disconnected] was going to happen in LA and for the album, he was going to visit a lot of places to promote it.
So, Aiden wanted to get all this over with before getting a house.
"That's fine. I know a few real estate agents if you want and even I would be very busy with other stuff. I'm starting work on my next production soon."
Omar said, surprising Aiden a bit.
"I didn't think you would get into another project so soon? You are the main producer?"
"Yeah, thanks to you, I became a full fledged producer. I met a good filmmaker a month ago and he pitched me the idea. It's a pretty good thriller and the director used to work as an assistant to an action director before, so stunts are pretty tight in this. Actually, it would release straight on Xtra prime."
For the record, Xtra prime was the same platform that had gotten the streaming rights to [30 days of Happiness].
Hearing that, Aiden suddenly thought of something and asked.
"Did you already get to the casting?"
"Not yet. I was actually wanting to cast you as the lead but your dates are booked." Omar said, frowning. He wanted to work with Aiden again as they were mostly on the same page regarding movies.
"If that's the case, then I have an actor I want to recommend."
"Who?"
"His name is Harley Martin. You will get his profile in the actor's guild. Trust me, he's really good."
Omar nodded hearing that with a smile. He wasn't going to reject a recommendation from Aiden.
"Don't worry, I will contact him myself and get him a good role in the movie."
"Thanks."
After that, they talked about more stuff on Omar's new production and how he had chosen to go with Xtra prime because it was a much safer bet.
In the end, the topic again shifted to [Disconnected] and Omar remembered something that he felt that Aiden should know.
"By the way, about Seth Douglas, I heard this in a party once but he's someone who's desperate to be in the limelight. That's why, he doesn't mind doing anything to get famous. You know people who crave attention, so if he saw you taking attention away from you, he would surely try to do something."
...
