"Well, for starters, the movie is just a series of fights. The director who showed me the script literally named it 'Ballads of Fights'. It goes from one cool scene from another with a story coming in the middle."
"So an action movie? Something like a slick spy movie?"
"No, it's uh, a teenage gang movie. A bloody one at that."
Aiden blinked his eyes in confusion hearing that.
A teenage gang movie? With bloody scenes? Aiden had never seen something like this in Hollywood before. Whatever teenage stuff he has seen was either a rom com, a comedy or something in the superhero genre.
Those things were often very family friendly.
'It at least looks new and different.'
Aiden thought in his mind.
"What's the story exactly?"
"Well, if I have to give a short summary, it's about a gang that rules the student body in a boys high school and a guy challenging it. The director who wrote it is a huge fan of Hong Kong action movies and took a lot of influence from it. You know Asano Mercer?"
"I feel like I have watched a few of his movies. He's a veteran, right?"
Aiden asked and Omar nodded.
From what he remembered, Asano Mercer was a Japanese origin director that had started his career doing Asian family dramas. He had a show on IBM channel called [Crazy Rich People].
Aiden's roommate used to watch it a lot back in the day.
"Yeah, actually his last two movies flopped because he was trying to show a very slow but emotional story. The movies were liked by the critics but the audience just said that the movie wasn't able to hold their attention for a long time. He was missing the entertainment element. So, he decided to do his next movie entirely on cool moments and one good fight scene after another. I have seen his work and preparations for this movie and it's very brilliant."
Omar explained in an excited tone. It was very easy for Aiden to see that he genuinely was interested in this movie.
'It certainly doesn't look like something that one would see often. Although risks would be there.'
Aiden thought in his mind.
He would only be able to tell if he read the script but he was able to imagine a movie with only fight scenes. It looked like a weird concept but it was possible.
One needs to just make it entertaining enough to capture the interest of the audience.
A lot of movies work on just visual spectacle because they are beautiful to watch. So, a movie that has a story in between fight scenes could certainly work if done well enough.
Though, Aiden saw the problem.
"The media could make issues because it's basically high school students fighting it out right. If it's too violent, people could term it as a bad influence. A lot of people could target it just as being toxic."
"Yeah, that's the problem. The movie looks promising and I have read the script, the execution is really good. Most of the fight scenes that Asano is planning are very slick and would look great on the big screen. It would make you feel very excited but I'm in a dilemma as I don't really want bad press against it."
Omar muttered. Having only recently gotten a good foot in Hollywood with producing movies, he was a bit concerned about getting into controversies.
Aiden was also thinking about it. Hearing what Omar had said, he had felt like it was a very innovative idea.
'It's trying not to follow a template by prioritising entertainment above everything else.'
It was a strange thing for most Hollywood directors as they focused more on realism.
But people would only move ahead by doing something different than the rest.
"Take the risk." Aiden said, coming to a conclusion.
"What about the controversy?"
"Your job as a producer is to make a good movie. Focus on that. Controversies are there in the past too. India has controversies regarding movies every month. It don't stop people from telling great stories. If it's good enough, audience would enjoy it. The common audience don't really care a lot about these things and just want good entertainment."
Aiden recalled the various controversies that he had followed in the past. Some were from religious reasons while others were due to portraying certain characters in a particular way. Movie making was such a tough business also because you don't know what would offend them.
One just can't appeal to everyone.
"You are right." Omar said, his chest feeling a bit light after talking with Aiden. Thinking of the reason why Aiden was here, he asked. "So, are you interested in this movie? If you say you are, I will give you any role you want."
"Send me the script first. I will go through it and then, it's better for me to do an audition, so the director knows whether I fit in the role or not."
Although Aiden could easily get the lead role in this case, he would rather not do it. A good actor needs to know which role he was most interested in and which role he could play to its potential.
Sometimes the lead role wasn't the most lucrative.
"Okay, I have the script here in my office. Take it with you and call me after you have read it. I would arrange a meeting with Asano."
"Okay—"
As Aiden was talking, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was from Wade.
[Wade: Aiden, I got a great project! It's something that others would kill for. It's really a big opportunity and I feel like it would suit you a lot.]
***
After talking with Omar, Aiden left with the script. In his mind, he wasn't thinking of his meeting with Omar but the text that he had received from Wade.
Wade had never seen so excited about any movie before. So, Aiden knew that it was going to be something big.
The question was what?
On the whole way to the hotel where they were staying, Aiden kept thinking about it.
When he reached the hotel lobby, he saw Wade standing here, walking in circles like he was waiting for someone.
He noticed Aiden and quickly walked towards him.
"You are finally here."
"What happened? You look very excited."
"Am I?"
"Yeah, there's a wide smile on your face."
When Aiden pointed it out, Wade finally noticed that he was smiling. Shaking his head a bit, he gestured to the sofas on the side and sat down in the hotel lobby.
At this time of the evening, not a lot of people were present in the lobby.
"So, what is this project that you got your hands on?"
Wade's face was making him more curious about the project.
"You won't believe it." He muttered. "Do you know Agnas?"
"I think everyone in America would know of him. You are talking about the pop icon right?"
"Yes."
Aiden grew silent for a while. Agnas was a name that he was very familiar with as he was one of the first global icons. He was the first western artist to perform in many countries that Hollywood used to ignore back then.
At the same time, his confidence and charm were one of dreams with each of his songs becoming national sensations.
Aiden had listened to his music a lot.
"What about him?" He asked, wondering why Wade was suddenly talking about him. He was heard only in whispers in the current generation as most young people have gotten new pop icons.
Only the old people truly remembered him.
"There's a movie going to be made on him. It's been in planning for a long time and it only got confirmed a few days ago. It's made by Zero International and they have started the audition process for the movie."
"I didn't hear about it." Aiden made a confused expression.
If such a movie was in the works, there would be a lot of media covering it, just because Agnas was a cultural phenomenon.
"It was a tight lipped project. Only a few people in Zero International knew of it as they didn't know if it would go through. Agnas family members didn't want to get a movie on him and they only recently got the full rights."
"And you got me an audition for the role of Agnas?"
Aiden asked, his voice becoming a hit excited. His eyes were shining a bit, knowing full well that it was a very big opportunity for him.
In a bipoc like Agnas, it didn't matter which actor was playing him until he played it well. So, Aiden was also eligible for the role.
"They are looking through a few actors, preferably those who can sing and your name came up due to that. I was just in a meeting with one of the people that is working on the movie and they want you to audition for it."
"That's great. I would love to do it—"
Aiden stopped in the middle of the sentence. He glanced down to the script that was beside him.
'I just told Omar that if I liked the script, I would do the movie. Now, the audition for Agnas. Both of them look very enticing.'
Aiden thought in his mind and asked.
"When are they going for the shooting? Like they have a date in mind."
"Around April. Why?"
"Nothing. Just I met Omar today…"
Aiden started telling Wade about his conversation with Omar and the script that he had gotten.
...
