The impact of seeing ghosts again was clear on him as his back was drenched, and his heartbeat was still on the up. It was so much that he wasn't even able to concentrate on the system notifications.
At the same time, one of the fingers in his hand was shaking.
Every scene with the ghosts was a mix of acting and actual fear of ghosts. It was only after a while that he calmed down, and his eyes moved toward the system notifications.
'Luck coupons.'
It was the first time that he had seen something like that as a reward from his system. Normally, it would be some experience or an increase in skill level.
This was new, and it had left him surprised.
He also had levelled up in his acting skill, which was a good thing for him. He had found out that doing challenging roles gave out more experience, so the role of Finn Wheeler, who was a very complex and special character, was enough for him to level up.
Aiden guessed that he would be halfway through Intermediate Grade 6 till the end of the shooting.
'Let's check out how to use these Luck coupons.'
He thought and a screen appeared, explaining about the coupons.
[Luck coupons: Rare coupons that could only be used once. Think about the coupons in your mind if you want to activate it, and for the next one hour, nothing bad will happen to you. Every decision, even if it's weird in nature, would work out, and the world would help you to achieve your goals.]
'The last line is interesting.'
Aiden thought, musing over it and suddenly, someone grabbed his shoulders out of nowhere, scaring him for a second. He was too engrossed in his system that he hadn't noticed someone approaching him.
Shaking his system off, his vision finally became clearer. He looked at Jeremy, who had a very serious expression on his face.
"What happened? Did the scene not go well?"
Aiden asked. He missed Phineas's voice due to the notifications, so he didn't know if it was a good take or not.
"No, it was a good take," Jeremy muttered and smiled. "I would even say that was a great take."
"Uh, thanks."
Aiden said, not being able to understand what was going on. He felt like there was some kind of pressure on him as Jeremy had a wide smile on his face, like something good had happened to him after a long time.
"How did you do it?" Jeremy asked. "I have been in movies with heavy VFX. I have worked with shooting scenes like this before, and they are extremely hard. It's not easy for actors to project the right emotions as they need to imagine a lot. So, how can you do it so effortlessly? You looked flawless with the scared but determined vibe. You projected it so well I nearly forgot one of my lines watching you."
"Ah, I just have a vivid imagination."
"It can't be just that. You are a method actor, right? What's your process of getting into the role?"
Jeremy suddenly started asking a lot of questions that Aiden didn't know how to answer properly. Even if he talked about his process with Jeremy, he couldn't mention immersion, that was the core of his acting.
It just made things too easy.
Especially for projects that involved a lot of VFX and CGI like [Sherlock of the Shadows]. Fantasy and superhero flicks would also be the genres that Aiden would shine in no matter what.
Unlike other actors, he would see everything as real, and with enough analysis of the character, his acting was going to come out good even if he tried his best to fail.
As Aiden was busy explaining himself to Jeremy, other actors on the set were very shocked. The actress, who was a social media sensation, was even rubbing her eyes in disbelief.
Phineas was also giving an interesting expression seeing Jeremy being so friendly with Aiden.
He had worked with him before on a project, so he knew his personality very well. After all, he was the one who kept getting complaints from other actors from time to time.
But Jeremy had never changed himself.
Due to him being so good at acting, alongside having a lot of Oscar nominations and a few wins, Phineas and other directors would keep giving him roles because having a good actor improved the quality of a project.
'I guess he has finally acknowledged Aiden. It was bound to happen.'
Phineas thought in his mind.
From what he had heard, Jeremy looked like someone who almost had a split personality. He would be a mean bastard to actors until he personally acknowledged their skill.
But if one managed to prove himself, he would be that generous friend who would always help out no matter what the problem.
'At least, the atmosphere on the set would be a bit better now.'
Phineas thought and started preparing for the next scene.
***
'I need my acting to speak for myself here.'
Tom was there when Aiden had said those lines. He had felt ecstatic hearing that and felt that this was going to be another chapter in the reality TV show 'Aiden's Rise in Hollywood'.
He knew about the issue from the first day on set. Though it had started in the script reading session itself.
At the same time, Tom was also collecting information on Jeremy Hill, mainly for two reasons. He was just tired of narcissistic and childish actors who would try to get their way but end up getting hit by karma. Second reason was just that he wanted to get a different point of view.
It was one of his old habits. If he was interested in any issue, he wanted to know everything about it from every possible perspective.
One of the reasons was also to prepare for a situation in which Jeremy started making too much trouble for Aiden. In that case, Tom, as his assistant, would need to back him up and information was the best way to get back at someone.
After all, in the self-made reality TV show in his mind, Tom himself was also a character.
So, he talked to a few actors.
"Well, Jeremy is always hard. He's kind of an asshole to a lot of people, but well, he's an inspiration for many, too, as he's one of the oldest actors we have. If you are asking me reasons, I only know that he feels that actors these days ain't disciplined."
"Jeremy is good to only some people. I have worked with him before. He's not bad if you do your job well. He's Satan otherwise."
"If he targets someone, that person would feel like leaving the set, but if he likes someone, that person would feel like he's in heaven on the set."
Those were the words that he had heard about Jeremy, and after hearing them, Tom had come to one conclusion.
'Jeremy is that guy in a fantasy novel who would only be nice to the main character after he proves his skill. Then, become a loyal companion. Very interesting.'
With every day on the set, Tom was anticipating the moment when Aiden would prove Jeremy wrong. With his eagle-like eyes, he was already noticing that Jeremy was slowly finding out that Aiden was a good actor.
Though it wasn't complete acknowledgement, and Jeremy was still a cold douchebag.
Finally, after waiting for a long time, the scene that made Jeremy acknowledge Aiden did come, and Tom had to say that, in his observation, it was one of the best-acted scenes. Aiden completely nailed it, and after that, Jeremy got super friendly with Aiden, like they were friends from childhood.
A complete transformation, and Tom would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it.
From the next day, things around the set completely changed.
Jeremy was probably the richest guy in the crew, having made hundreds of millions in his career, so he had his own vanity van and a personal chef that used to cook in a Michelin restaurant.
He let Aiden eat with him and even discussed a lot of things about acting. Not only that, Jeremy even told Aiden that he could use his vanity van to rest.
It was obvious to say that Tom and Wade also benefited as they got the same food as Aiden.
Wade even wanted to come to the set just for the food daily, but that wasn't possible as he needed to fly to LA for a few things that he was looking for Aiden.
Seeing Aiden eating such good food daily, the other actors on the set kept feeling jealous. Aiden was playing the lead role and even getting delicious food, it was simply unfair in their eyes.
But they could do nothing.
The only way to get the delicious food was to make Jeremy like their acting skills, so a few actors even started working very hard on their own. Not for the script but for the food and the royal treatment.
Observing all this closely made Tom feel glad that he was Aiden's assistant. Not only was he getting a daily dose of a reality TV show that kept breaking his expectations, but he was also getting special privileges on the set.
For now, he was enjoying it, but a thought kept lingering in his mind.
'What would be next?'
Tom wasn't going to be satisfied with something that was not dramatic and was just simple. He had gotten used to seeing Aiden defy everyone's expectations and upping his game every time.
....
