Script reading sessions were one of the most important parts of a movie or a series. For a lot of people, it was the first time they would meet the cast and it would be a nice way to get some chemistry with each other as there was no pressure of doing well.
It was just reading out your line one after another and discussing a few scenes.
Though, they can easily turn into a bad experience from a good one depending on the people involved in the project. There are also ego battles taking place in silence.
Especially if big stars are involved.
Each of the A-listers have their own unique quirks and a lot of them are eager to prove themselves, especially towards other actors of similar stature.
Unfortunately for Aiden, [Hex] was full of big names.
"Wade is having a phone call. Let's wait in the cafe till then."
"Okay."
Tom and Aiden sat down in the cafe that was beside Olio's office to drink some coffee. There were still twenty minutes left till the reading session started.
They could go early as he was sure that a few people would already be there but they needed to wait for Wade first.
As they were sitting, Tom suddenly opened his mouth.
"By the way, did Wade tell you about Emma Lander?"
"What about her?"
Aiden asked as the coffee arrived. She was one of the A-listers working on the movie and someone who had a role that was only secondary to Aiden.
She didn't play a love interest or something but instead played the villain that went by the name of 'The Witch Queen'.
"Well, from what I got from my sources." Tom said, making a very serious expression. "She's very close with Alberto and was the first one to get the role. She's also very controlling on the set."
"I doubt she will try anything with Olio. She's going to get scolded. I doubt she will take that with a straight face though."
"Nah not with Olio. Pretty sure she knows her limits with him. She's probably going to try to keep you in check."
Aiden stopped drinking the coffee after hearing it.
"Me?"
"Yeah you. You are the hottest person in Hollywood right now. She probably would feel threatened just because you have the main role. As for others, they would just try to butter you up but would keep her in check while doing that."
When he heard that, Aiden realised that this was going to be his first shoot after becoming an A-lister. He had seen the drama around egos during his time as a lesser star.
People won't focus on him that much then.
But he did play his role as a spectacor. Once, he had even heard about two A-listers who were in a project together but they couldn't deal with each other due to ego issues.
One of them wanted to get out but he needed to pay too much in cancellation fees. In the end, the actor did the project somehow and was depressed at the end of the movie.
So, it was really not just games. It could really affect a person.
As for Emma Lander, he liked her filmography because it was very standard. She started from rom coms for the initial few years, getting the box office pull when they were at the height of popularity.
But after that, she branched out in different types of roles, eventually becoming a better actor and one of the most reliable A-listers.
He did know her personality wasn't the best due to Tom but he didn't really care. In his opinion, her role was extremely good and was something that could even have a movie of its own later on, so she doesn't have to feel insecure due to him.
"I don't want a situation like that." Aiden muttered. "I will just try to talk to her nicely. If it doesn't work out, then you know me. I'm good at these types of things."
Tom smiled when Aiden said that. Taking a sip out of his coffee cup, he muttered.
"I'm sure most of Hollywood knows what type of things you are good at by now."
***
At the place where the reading session was going to take off, most of the cast was already present. A few people from the crew were also there and food and drinks were on the table for everyone to eat.
It looked like a pretty good atmosphere.
The executive producer, Alberto Dundley and the director, Olio Fermen weren't here, so the cast was just talking among themselves.
But if one looked closely, they would notice that a woman with dyed blond hair was sitting in one corner, wearing what looked like a designer dress.
Around her, there were a few people standing like her bodyguards. She has a bitter look on her face like she was not fed anything since the morning.
Seeing her like that, the other actors talked.
"She looks pissed."
"Anyone know what happened?"
"I don't know. I tried to introduce myself but she just shrugged. Her agent is scary too. Can't even go near her."
"I heard she has a narcissistic personality but didn't know it was like that."
"I guess there's a reason why she was chosen to play a cold witch."
A few people laughed at that joke but when they saw Emma Lander looking towards them, they quickly lowered their heads and refused to meet her eyes.
Hoping she hadn't heard about it, the supporting cast continued to talk.
One of them, a middle aged actor who was playing the role of a magic professor in an academy, seemed to have some information on the reason behind Emma's bad mood.
"I think it's because a few of her scenes are supposedly going to be removed from the script."
"What?"
"Yeah, Olio is known to edit out bad parts from his screenplay from the last minute. Sometimes, he writes scenes during filming itself and her character is getting a bit shorter compared to before. She's probably informed about it and isn't happy."
Hearing the fresh piece of gossip that was straight out of the oven, the supporting cast finally understood what was going on.
Even they would be bitter if their scenes were shortened. Though, most of them were very used to such practices and didn't mind it much.
But the middle aged actor wasn't done yet.
"You know, she won't be this furious normally. It's more so because Olio removed her scenes and added them to Aiden, saying he was the lead and needed to be projected as the hero of the whole movie. I heard it from his assistant when I came to meet him last week."
A few eyes glanced towards Emma but she glared at them again. Her gaze was very sharp like she was going to kill them if they spoke any wrong words towards her.
"Aiden hadn't come yet, right?"
"Yeah, it will be very interesting when it comes. You all just enjoy whatever will happen. Once we are on the set, someone like Olio will handle them."
The middle aged actor advised and it was then that the door to the room opened up.
"Aiden is here."
Aiden walked in with Tom and Wade behind him. Everyone had seen him in TV and photos before but he looked better in real life. There was a sense of calmness in his eyes and he had a good height too.
With all the recent development in Hollywood, he was the man that was becoming too big and no one knew when he would stop.
'Looks like most of the cast and crew are already here.'
Aiden thought and walked up to the group of actors standing together. He introduced himself to them and shook hands.
A few people looked surprised by his friendly demeanour but they talked nicely.
"Let's have fun shooting the movie."
"Yes yes, I'm looking forward to seeing you on the set." The middle aged actor said, shaking hands with Aiden.
Then, he turned and found that Emma was sitting by herself with her agent and bodyguard standing on both sides, like they were protecting her.
As she was a senior, he walked towards her.
"Hello, I'm Aiden Silvereye. We have not met before but I'm looking forward to working with you."
Hearing that, she raised her head and looked at him before standing up. As Aiden was a head taller than her, she could still just keep looking up.
That made her more angry for some reason.
"Oh really?" She asked.
"Ah yeah."
"Well, I'm not really looking forward to working with you but I guess it will change depending on how you act around me."
Hearing that, Aiden wondered for a second if he was hearing it right. Emma's whole tone sounded childish like she was expecting him to work hard to impress her.
'Is she an entitled brat or what?'
He thought but before he could answer, the door again opened and Alberto walked in this time.
The first thing he saw was Aiden and instantly, an ugly expression spread on his face.
