Chapter 328.Holiday season
When Aiden voiced out his worries, Uncle Sam went silent for a while. Aiden felt like he heard a sigh before a voice came out, calm and concise.
“Every character becomes a part of an actor’s soul, you know.”
“I know that. It’s the same case with me but this time, I feel like the effects would be severe.”
Most of the characters Aiden has played were still with him.
The same was with Kai.
In the past, he had even acted like Kai to get out of some situations but till now, he had never explored the character after a certain point.
“Every actor has characters like those. These are the ones that become iconic because you just can’t sleep through them. You need to give your all to them or else the characters are ruined. But your concerns are legitimate too.”
Uncle Sam said and Aiden asked.
“So, what should I do?”
“Ask yourself if you can let go of playing this character or not. Think about the risk and whether the rewards would be worth it.”
“What about my mental health?”
Aiden asked. In his mind, he knew that his system would give him a boost on playing villain characters which Kai was. It meant that the affinity was surely going to be over 90.
“If you can play a character, you can control it. I know you, Aiden. You have a knack of coming out of bad situations.”
Uncle Sam laughed and hearing his voice, a certain ease swept inside of him. He would always say this one thing whenever Aiden would talk to him about a problem.
For better or worse, it was true too.
It was also the reason why Uncle Sam never helped him to get a career in Hollywood despite his connections. He always believed that he would do something on his own.
‘Aiden, you have a gift of facing against the odds and coming out. Never forget that.’
Those were the words he had told him a long time ago.
Maybe he just needed to follow it.
“Okay, Uncle Sam. I think I know what to do.”
“Yeah, good then. Just think if the role is worth the trouble.”
Uncle Sam cut the phone after that and Aiden took another look at the night sky before walking towards a mirror.
His reflection was clear on it.
Since entering the industry, he has gone through a few changes. His facial expressions looked better now thanks to keeping his health in check and exercising. Moreover, there was an aura around him now.
A certain aura that made him stand out.
‘Is the role worth it?’
He thought of his uncle’s words in his mind and suddenly, his aura changed. It became cold and sharp.
Aiden’s expression also changed. This was him trying to get into the character of Kai. Due to his system, he could do that in a second.
In the mirror, Aiden saw himself as Kai. A cold, bloody maniac killer with philosophies that made him attractive.
But was he ready to take his role further? To tell a story that was not going to be easy?
‘Take it.’
A voice said inside of him and for a second, he felt like it was just Kai who was telling him that. It sounded out again and Aiden shook his head.
‘Maybe I resonate with him more than I thought.’
He had the answer right there.
***
Time went by quickly after the shooting of [Agnas] ended. A week after he saw the script for [The Black Saint], he agreed to it.
Wade told him to contemplate a bit more but his answer was ready. There was no need to think more when he knew that he wanted to take the story forward.
So, he texted Zavier about his answer.
Aside from that, his celebrity life was pretty calm.
With no shooting or promotions, he was mostly free while doing a few live shows here and there. He also gave most of his time to develop the game’s story with Cory.
Apparently, he was already able to get investments, so the game’s demo was already out in works.
Aiden had worked hard in the story of the game and he was sure that it would turn out good.
Finally, at the beginning of November, the promotion and marketing for [Agnas] finally began.
It also marked a return of excitement in Aiden’s fan group that was largely silent as Aiden didn’t have a release for a few months and was pretty low-key.
[Milk Sheikh: Did you all see the new poster for [Agnas]. They are going to release a trailer next week. I heard that the songs in it are going to be superb.]
[Born to be a burden: Yes, yes, I saw it! It was really good. I’ve been extremely excited for [Agnas] from the time it was announced. It’s a return for Aiden on the big screen. I really hope it earns a lot and gets him to A-list.]
[Qatari tradition officer: This fan group has really happy short term memories. His last movie released just a few months ago and it earned over a hundred million. I bet he’s already on that A-list.]
[Hollywood Insider: No, my less knowledgeable friend, it doesn’t really work like that. Aiden is seen as probably the most commercial actor in the indie scene but he’s not there in the A-list. He’s in a strange and uncomfortable line between A-list and B-list. Anyway, [Agnas] becoming a big hit won’t really do anything for him in that regard until he gets a lot of awards which should be the case.]
[Moaning Frodo: Why is that?]
[Skyneves: Probably because the success of [Agnas] isn’t on the hand of Aiden. People won’t go to the theatres to watch him but to watch Agnas’s backstory.]
[Horny all Morning: I’m going to go to the theater to see Aiden.]
[April on Roof: Well, you are in the minority. People trust Aiden to give a great performance but overall, it would only help him critically. A few years ago, a biopic earned 600 million dollars but the main actor’s next release opened up at 3 million dollars and was a massive flop. It really depends on the movie rather than the actor in Hollywood.]
[My daily job is protesting: Pretty great analysis. Hollywood is really without star power. Though, it can be made with enough luck and talent.]
[Corn manhwa maker: I feel like it’s more to do with the fact that there’s no one in Hollywood that actually makes people feel like he’s a person one should support. Social media exposes most of these celebrities.]
[Talking to my imaginary friend in the sky: That’s true. Anyway, I hope [Agnas] is a huge hit. I’m going on the first day with my family for sure. My dad was a huge fan of his.]
[Young Fruit smiley: Anyone know where is ‘Aiden’s wife’ these days?]
***
“Hey, what are you doing?”
A man turned around hearing the voice of a person he was very familiar with. A fragrance entered his nose as he looked at the person who was towering over him.
She was an employee he was familiar with. Someone who got along with most of the people in the office. Yet, she would always bother him.
“Finishing up an article on the phase of superhero movies and how it’s going down.”
“You’re going to get a lot of hate from their fans for that.”
“I know but the editor wanted it. Moreover, the stats say that. The numbers are very down even for sequels and stats are never lying.”
He said and the woman just smiled at him. Both of them were employees of a news firm working in Los Angeles, the hub of Hollywood, so it was one of the topics that was common for the employees.
“So, what do you want?”
The man asked and the woman simply said.
“I got an event to cover. Not a big one. Just an early premier of a movie. I need someone to go with me.”
“Just go alone or take Robert down there. He looks like he don’t have anything to do on weekends other than changing TV channels.”
The man glanced at a colleague who seemed to be bored and was wasting time.
“No, I would need you. The editor wants me to do a critic on it and talk about the buisness of biopics. A full blown article. I need your analysis to help me on it.”
The woman said, her words being as polite as they could. She really wanted him to go with her, the man could tell.
“The business of biopics? Which movie is it?”
The man focused on that and the woman quickly replied.
“It’s [Agnas]. There’s a lot of rumors on how it’s going to be a big blockbuster. They do an early premier for specific critics to gauge reactions.”
“Ah, I don’t think it would be a blockbuster.”
The man said, surprising the woman.
“Why?”
“It’s going against a big opponent. Holiday season and all the big studios are bringing their top weapons. There’s no sure shot blockbuster.”