Chapter 290.Devil's playground
The shooting for [Action Hero] started very quickly as Asano wanted to see the movie on the big screen as soon as possible.
The cast was ensembled to shoot at a school on the outskirts of New York. Asano had specially chosen it because it had a cold atmosphere to it and wasn’t really famous.
As they didn’t have a lot to prepare, the shooting started in March and a film that was going to be an unique addition in Aiden’s filmography began.
“You should go to give those students a few autographs after the shot.”
“I was thinking of it. They are continuously looking at us.”
Some distance away from where Aiden was sitting, there were rows of students lined up just to see the shooting. It was early morning and the crew was preparing for the first shot.
Some students were pointing at Aiden while others were gawking at the cameras and how the crew moved. They had been told not to come close to the shooting, so all of them were watching from far away.
It was an interesting moment in their otherwise repetitive life, so they were watching it at the expense of their classes.
“In my time, there were enough people to fill up a stadium that would come to watch the shooting. Especially in big productions with multiple famous stars.”
Aiden and Wade turned their faces to look at Ned Dweller, an older actor who was standing besides them. He was a short man with a rugged beard. One of Aiden’s scenes today was with him.
Although what he said was definitely exaggerated, Aiden was sure that his words did contain a bit of truth. Before the internet, the era of stars reigned.
In that era, just catching a glimpse of celebrities outside their movies was a rare thing. So, such a thing wasn’t too uncommon.
“Times have changed sadly.” Aiden muttered and Ned nodded. “Stars are a dying breed in Hollywood.”
“They say that you find a lot of celebrities but stars don’t come down on the earth now.” Saying that, Ned looked at his assistant who was standing besides him. He looked in wonder and laughed. “Hey, isn’t that a great quote?”
“Yeah, it is.”
Both of them seemed to get along well as they talked and after a while, Wade also joined them, showing his extraordinary social skills.
‘Stars don’t come down on the earth now. It feels like there’s no true way to describe current hollywood.’
Aiden thought in his mind.
The current scenario of Hollywood was mostly on studio based big productions with top celebrities acting in them. Collaborating on projects to market it better for the audience.
Stars were the people to make the whole project stand on their shoulders and it didn’t matter who the director or supporting actor was.
It felt like a distant dream in the age of the internet.
‘Is this even possible? Agnas was probably one.’
“Aiden.”
He raised his head to look at Asano standing in front of him. He instantly came out of his thoughts and blinked his eyes.
“Yeah?”
“The shot is ready. You didn’t hear me shout?”
“No, sorry. I was spacing out.”
Aiden stood up and apologized. Asano clicked his tongue in a bit of disappointment before pointing towards the crew.
“Look at that crew. Do you know they are the true voices in our industry?”
“True voices?”
Asano nodded and his expression was like he was trying to give Aiden some sort of a lesson. After he had managed to impress him, the veteran director had started to treat him as some sort of a disciple.
“Yeah, rather than reporters and paparazzi that are not allowed on the set, the crew is there. They see you in your most vulnerable moments and in your moments of brilliance. Then, they go home, to the bar or anywhere and talk about it. It spreads. Things about you spread and it’s on you whether you want to be good or not. Then…”
His finger moved towards a bunch of supporting actors that were sitting around in one place. As [Action Hero] contained fight scenes with over 30 people at once, the cast was very big and a lot of them were just young actors making their debut.
“Do you know how they see you?”
“With admiration.”
Aiden muttered. It was clear as a sunny day. When he looked towards those actors, a lot of them were looking at him with sparkling eyes.
He had heard a lot of them say that he was their inspiration.
To make sure that everyone looked teenage, Asano had only casted in the age of 16-20 for the roles. Only Aiden was an exception.
So, these people have seen Aiden’s career growth in the last couple of years and probably wanted it to happen to them too.
It was a heavy and great feeling to be admired.
“Yeah, so you can’t be spaced out. Look, I’m not the type to talk in circles or be in my own delusions.”
When Asano said that, Aiden focused on him. His words seemed to have an effect on him that was hard to ignore.
His voice was deep and calm.
“My last two movies failed. People say I’m washed up and you know, I realised why they failed after they have released. It’s a weird thing. Going back to your movies and realising you could do it better now but [Action Hero] isn’t like that.”
“Why?”
“I’m directing it thinking of how I would direct my last movie. There would be no going back and thinking I could have done it better if I can’t do that in the first try. That’s why, act like it’s your last movie.”
***
Like always, the shoot started with particularly easy scenes. The story of [Action Hero] was basic.
A rebellious teen gets sent into a boys school, a punishment for something he never did. Here, he realised that the school was completely different from what he would imagine.
The first few shots that were shot were of Aiden simply walking into the school and seeing tough looking teenagers all around.
A guy getting punched in the corner and a few guys glaring at him. It was a different atmosphere than a typical American school.
But the world that Asano was creating was enough for the audience to forget the reality. They were about to submerge into a reality that was far more entertaining than theirs.
According to the script, for the first ten minutes of it, the story would be slow as the world is introduced. Ray will try to help out a student who was getting beaten up by a few students and get injured himself.
The school janitor will find him and here, a scene that would set the tone for the whole movie would happen.
A scene which was one of the most impactful ones in the story. The scene in which the janitor played by Ned Dweller would tell Ray to toughen up if he wants to survive the school.
The last scene of the first day was practically that and after careful deliberation, Aiden had finally decided to do what Asano had said.
Act like it was his final movie.
***
[Action Hero|4 March-2018|Act 1|Scene 4|Take 1]
“Does it hurt?”
“It stings.”
The janitor looked down on the wounds on the arm and legs of Ray. There was a bruise on his face too. He was a new student and one that had learned the reality of the school in a harsh way.
“You will get used to the pain. Everyone does, here.”
“What is this place? There are delinquentes all around. People who don’t care what they are doing with others and no one intervenes.”
Ray asked, looking at the janitor. He had so many questions in his mind about the kind of place he had found himself in.
“It’s a school.” The janitor simply said.
“It doesn’t seem like it.”
“Yeah because the worst students are sent here. Those with bad grades and those who can’t think too much into the future. The ones with troubled families and those who simply were unlucky. A bunch of good for nothing in the end and for years, this place has been like the devil’s playground.”
A devil playground.
Remembering what he had seen till now, Ray was sure that this word fit the place the best.
But his questions haven’t ended yet.
“Why is so much bullying happening?”
“Only pushovers are bullied.” The janitor said, then saw the frowning expression of Ray and laughed, almost like he was mocking him. “What? You don’t like people getting bullied? Are you a self righteous person who believes that it’s his duty to save those who are unfortunate.”
Ray looked up at the janitor hearing that. He hesitated before replying.
“Those guys look miserable.”
“Yes, they are.” The janitor agreed. “But don’t think that they are some good people. Everyone who finds themselves in here is someone who has done something wrong. Big enough to be sent here and this place is completely different from society. Men are free here. Till they are here, they are free. They don’t care about anything and they get adrenaline with fights. It makes them feel alive.”
“No one says anything? Not even the authorities?”
“They don’t care. It’s a boys high school and the one where the delinquents are sent. If they try to contain them, they will be more rowdy. That’s why, no one says anything. Now leave. I have other work to do.”
The janitor showed Ray the gate. He walked up to it, each step filled with a stinging sensation that would take a while to go away.
As he was about to leave, the janitor opened his mouth again.
“Stay out of trouble until you can. People are going to pick on you sooner or later.”
“I hope they don’t.”
“They will and you can’t do anything about it. Just hope that your flesh gets used to punches”
Ray shook his head hearing that.
“You misunderstood me. I’m hoping they don’t do anything stupid because if they did, I don’t know if I would be able to hold myself back.”
Although the janitor didn’t know, Ray has a very short temper, resulting in him getting into fights since he was a kid.