My Hollywood System

Chapter 126:

Sitting on his chair, inside his office, on a Tuesday afternoon, Will scribbled the finishing touches on the sketch that he was working on. The sketch was of a man, wearing a long black raincoat, with a gun in his left hand, which had a star tattooed on the wrist. The right hand had a spiked club, and the rain was falling on his form. The street behind him showed a line of bodies and a shop whose front window had been smashed in, and smoke and flames were erupting out of the broken window. The man’s face was angular, with a hairline that looked wet because the raincoat’s hood had fallen off.

Will was just shading the last remnants of the man’s shadow, which was visible in front of the man because of the fire behind him, when Will heard a knock on his door, which was immediately followed by the sound of a door opening. He knew exactly who had come to his office, as Alexia had informed him after he had asked her to send the office’s resident border to his room. Looking up from his artwork, he could see that he had made a few errors in perfectly sketching Leo’s face in his work. He put the thought out of his mind as soon as it hit him though, as that was unimportant as of now.

“Leo! Please take a seat, and tell me what you think of my sketch.” He invited him, turning the sketch over to him.

Leo took a seat opposite his desk and peered over at the sketch. Will could see that his eye’s furrowed slightly, “This is a sketch of me. It looks great!” He said, his voice gaining a touch of excitement, for he had a feeling of what the conversation that was going to be taking place here was about “I-Is this…..?”

“That is Mario di Mauro, the main lead of my next project [Liberty City].” Will affirmed his hunch. “The same character you auditioned for, back at The Plaza, in New York City.”

Leo’s face must have shown his disbelief and hope, and he would stutter while trying to reply, “D-does t-this mean …”

“That you’re the main lead of [Liberty City]?” Will completed the sentence for him.

At Leo’s enthusiastic nod, Will tilts his head sideways and says, “Maybe.” Leo’s smile threatened to split his face in half, but Will immediately brought him back to reality by adding, “You’re not ready yet. You can’t even throw a proper punch, and if you want to secure this role, I want to see you at your best. There will be screen tests, and Amanda has arranged a martial arts and gym instructor for you. I want you in shape before the auditions. Your instructor has been informed of the requirements, and he will whip you into shape. But I will need your best, as I said. I am giving you the whole script for this movie. Read it; Memorize it; Eat it; I don’t care. I want you to know everything there is for you in there, memorized. I want you to become Mario by the time filming starts. I will see you again once the screen test starts. Go!”

Leo got up from his seat, stumbling slightly as he said, “Don’t worry, Will! I will give this everything I have!” And he practically fled the office, clutching the script like it was his only lifeline.

Will wanted to show him the severity of the situation. Hence he didn’t beat around the bush and cut through all the bullshit with him. He sighed, and looked at the setting sun, visible outside of his office, hoping that the project he had undertaken did well when it finally started production.

He then got ready as Alexia informed him that his chauffeur had arrived, and he had to take a flight to Jolly Old England again.

***

There were explosions everywhere, with bullets and shrapnel fire seemingly flying in all directions. Men wearing brown combat uniforms were lined in the trenches as they crawled up the side of the white, salted trench and took charge across the battlefield. Inside the trench, a tall soldier was running along the frontline, narrowly avoiding the charging men as he made his way to the bunker. He was being followed by a large camera hanging from a thin wire, with most of its body inside the trench, right behind the soldier.

The soldier, played by Renly Warren, falls but catches himself again and reaches the barracks, which was guarded by two more soldiers; he falls once again as he reaches the soldier but is caught by one of the captains that exited the barracks.

“Colonel McKenzie?” He asks as he once again steadies himself.

“He’s in there.” So came the reply, as the man turned towards the line and walked away shouting “B Company, two minutes!”

“Let me through!” Renly shouted as the guards stopped him.

“Hey, hey…!” The guards wrestle to hold him back.

“Let me through!” Only drops down a few steps before he is grabbed by the collar and pulled out.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The second guard shouts.

“I have to get through. I have to see Colonel Mackenzie!” As he finally breaks through the guards and into the barracks.

“Anand Cut! Perfect Shot! Take a rest for a few minutes, everyone, adjust the camera’s inside, and set the lighting to medium brightness. I don’t want it to be too bright, the lamp should be the only thing illuminating in the final shot, apart from a little sunlight.” Director Carlson announced, and Jeffery, who was by the camera crew, watching the operator take the scenes with the wire-mounted camera, turned around and headed back towards the seats to get himself water.

He had just reached the chair when he heard the rumblings of a motorbike, and he turned his head to see who had been allowed near the filming location by their security. He noticed the man getting off of his Harley Davidson chopper bike. He was wearing a black leather bomber jacket, on top of a white T-shirt, on black trousers. His hands were covered by fingerless gloves. The man took off his helmet, and Jeffery instantly recognized his friend Will Evans.

Will first exchange pleasantries with the Director. Jeffery could notice that every eye on the location was on Will as soon as he had arrived. He spoke with the Director for about a minute. Jeffery gulped his water and watched as Will finished talking and made a beeline to him.

“What are you doing in Queen’s England, again, Will?” He japed as he reached him.

Will smiled and said, “Why, Jeff? Can’t a man show up across countries to meet his old friends?”

Jeffery shook his head and retorted, “They could, but knowing you have another gamble that will either set my heart on edge but will be fun nonetheless.”

Will chuckled and replied, “Focus on the second part then. Having fun is all that matters; if you’re enjoying yourselves, the risks would all be worth it in the end.”

“Too true, my friend,” Jeffery acknowledged, giving Will a short hug.

“Well, anyway. I need to talk to you and Robert. Let us walk.” Will said as he headed towards where the barracks were built.

Jeffery quickly followed his step and asked, “So this about [Liberty City]? Did you finish the whole script?”

Will nodded in affirmation and said, “Yeah, and I was thinking of giving Robert the antagonist’s role in this movie. I think he would do magnificently in that role.”

Jeffery mulled it over. “The Villain, huh? That’s a new direction for Robert. Trying to give him variety?” He finished as they reached the barracks.

“Not quite, this role would be a feeler or a test for something else that I have in mind for him later,” Will replied, and Jeffery thought about what Will could have in store for Robert yet again after this.

Inside the barracks, they could see Robert accompanied by Renly Warren and a few other support actors. They were all dressed in standard infantry military uniforms, from World War One, with Robert having the highest rankings marked on his shoulder.

As soon as they stepped inside, all eyes turned to them, and Jeffery could see that Robert and Renly’s face had a smile that subconsciously bloomed on them. He could understand, for Will had technically made them and their careers into what they were today.

…

//DreamNote//

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