After the fiasco in the office of Zero International, things moved very quickly. Aiden knew that a lot of noise was going to generate due to what had happened.
It was pretty inevitable.
Wade said that Zero International was pretty abuzz with what had happened. Although the normal employees didn't know what had transpired, there were several rumours.
People like Tom were having a field day with all the rumours.
As Baz had said that he would handle everything, Aiden wasn't worried. Joseph was also going to put in a good word for him by using his connections.
That old man looked like he would even give Aiden the biggest piece in his will from the looks he was giving him.
Even Cameron said that his grandpa was going to treat him very close now and he was already declared a family friend.
He also had meetings with Theodore, the main producer and a few other people on the movie and in the end, they all looked pretty receptive to it.
He knew that it was a lot because of Baz but Aiden didn't mind it.
Even with this, he needed to wait a while to formally sign a contract.
During this time, he just lied and kept a watch on what was going on. He was also a bit tired from shooting [Action Hero], so a break was necessary for him.
Like he had expected, Intra Entertainment quickly acted upon what had transpired and started having meetings with Zero International and making them feel responsible for not keeping their verbal agreement intact.
They were going all out to make sure Liam gets the role.
But Zero International seemed to be going with what Baz had decided.
"A director's word is everything," they told intra Entertainment.
Aiden didn't know what the director had talked with Zero International CEO but it was surely effective and he was easily able to protect himself under the director.
He guessed that it was also because Baz's personal production house was also one of the investors. Every big director normally had one.
A lot of it was also because of the influence a big director had. They enjoyed the top view in the hierarchies in Hollywood.
Moreover, Aiden heard from Wade that Zero International was very confident in Agnas that they didn't really care about the main lead. Their previous support of Liam was mainly due to their deals with Intra Entertainment.
But it seemed like they didn't mind offending them as the deals were expiring soon and they might have gotten better offers.
It also meant that the internet was filled with a lot of rumors. A few of them Aiden felt were planted by Intra Entertainment themselves.
At least the articles seemed to be targeting him.
<Liam Wilde who was reportedly going to play Agnas in the superstar's much awaited biopic had been replaced by Aiden Silvereye. The decision has very sudden and Zero International seemed to be silent on it.>
<Liam Wilde said, "I did my best. It's not in my hands whether I get the role or not." after being asked about the rumours. A big gossip site had mentioned that some politics have been played to get him off the role.>
<Aiden Silvereye bags the role of Agnas. Fans are not happy about the decision as they feel like it's a disrespect that their idol would be played by a half Indian.>
Aside from the articles, there were also a lot of talks online about this.
[Cat-astrophic: Aiden as Agnas? Interesting casting for sure. He proved himself to be a good actor so we will wait and see.]
[K.E.V.I.N: Anything better than Liam Wilde. I don't want him to play such a prestigious figure. At least someone with a good image and good acting ability is chosen. He looks a bit like him anyway.]
[Savlon: I won't believe this until it's confirmed. And Hollywood doesn't even like to make good biopics. They either make it a fiction, sexual or preachy. They should focus more on the aspect of the life of a superstar that only few get to live.]
[A stone faced Rock: I don't care who's playing the role until they do a good job. Baz McCarthy is known to not let his views guide his movies. Otherwise, he would make Agnas a sex fiend or something like half the Hollywood directors do, wanting to show their wet dreams on screen.]
[Aiden's wife: Wow! I'm so excited for it. Aiden is finally working with a top studio with a lead role. He's going to blow up big time after this.]
[I'm a Racist and I know it: I hope this is written by someone who actually researched Agnas and his life. I'm watching [The Witch Hunter] after playing through the games and it's awful. I heard the writers didn't even like the source material and wanted to make it 'better'. Egoistic bastards.]
[Hollywood Insider: Every negative article on this topic ain't even giving any legitimate reasons. These are planted by companies who don't like an outsider getting a great chance. Unlike the 90s, it's way easier to make a person a villain in this age. People! Be careful!]
Aiden mostly ignored whatever was going on online. Wade had told him to stay away from this and not degrade his mental health.
It was an old tactic to do social media attacks and anyone with a little knowledge of how the industry worked would know that.
Aiden followed Wade's advice and kept low, waiting for everything in Zero International to settle.
He had done this part.
It wasn't his place to interfere in what was going on between two big corporations.
At the same time, he also helped out in the post production. A few dubbing sessions were required of him and other than that, there were poster shoots.
[Action Hero] was a special indie movie for him and he was doing his best to make sure that it became a hit.
Before that, he was going to attend a comic con event for <Morpheus>.
***
After its release last year, <Morpheus> had quickly turned out to be a hit out of nowhere in terms of comic book sales.
The graphic novel was continuously in the list of 'Top ten highest selling comic books of the month'.
At the same time, it had repeatedly gotten good, critical reviews from critics. Even a few other comic book writers have praised it.
Aiden had written it even with the shooting and although the release had stagnated and Aiden had missed deadlines, it was still booming due to the fan base it had gotten.
A core fanbase meant that it was a loyal one too. Every person who was reading it would wait for the next issue.
Aiden was also doing a lot of cliffs, making some readers curse him.
With its newfound popularity, Vikings publishing had gotten Aiden and Bruce a signing event in the comic con. They would also be speaking in a panel of emerging comic book writers.
Although he was tired by the shooting and everything else, Aiden didn't reject such an event, knowing that it would be a good chance to say thanks to the fans of the graphic novel.
"A lot of people are here."
He commented, looking around. He was currently standing in the entrance of the event with a mask on, so he didn't get recognised.
People were everywhere and cosplays were also on display. A few people who looked like cosplay influencers were posing and a photographer was taking their pics.
A few were vlogging while most of the people just looked excited.
"It's comic con. It's weird if there's no less people here. Have you ever been here?"
Bruce Morse, the artist working with him on <Morpheus>, was standing next to him. Wade and Tom were also in some distance with a few other people from Viking publishing.
"I have." Aiden said. "I was stabbed the last time I attended one."
He smiled but Bruce just gave him a weird look. He didn't seem to know about the incident.
"Don't joke."
"I'm not. It's true. You can search for it online."
"I don't need to. You would be dead if you were really stabbed."
Bruce clicked his tongue, not believing what Aiden was saying. He looked a bit radiant after <Morpheus> had become a success.
He had supposedly managed to impress an employee from Vikings publishing and she had pushed him to exercise, making him look slimmer.
"Anyway, our book signing event would have time. Do you want to go to meet other comic book authors? I heard a few movie studios are going to reveal their future comic book movies here too? Some announcements."
"They do that every year."
"Are you not a fan?"
Bruce raised an eyebrow but Aiden shook his head.
"I'm but they are just becoming a cash cow now. You need more originality in them. They also don't get too many great villains for some reason. A hero is as good as the villain."
Aiden explained. He still watched superhero flicks but there were too many of them and he guessed that they were going to die sooner or later until there's actual originality in them.
But a heavy VFX movie was what everyone wanted to watch. So, he didn't know for sure.
"Anyway, let's go. There's a lot to explore."
Bruce said and Aiden entered the comic con with him, looking around. He hoped that today would be a good day for him.
Meeting fans was always something good after all.
