My Hollywood System - Chapter 222
The articles had begun to gain traction with every passing second.
Yet, the media was still going on about Will’s falling out with Benjamin Scott. The articles were not just getting popular, but the content was also turning spicy with every passing day, glorifying Will as a ‘dictator’ whose success had gotten into his head and fired Scott because the latter questioned the script.
The articles were suspiciously against Will, one way or another. Although not all of them were vocal about it, none of them were in his favor.
Amanda held a tablet in her hand, and was sitting in front of Will in his office. The environment of the office was not chilly as normal, rather it was tense—or maybe it was just Amanda’s moon.
“…They are basically hellbent on making you the villain. And the articles just keep getting worse.” Amanda said while shaking her head.
“It’s an old tactic, Amanda. Our main goal is not any of the things that’s going around or among them, it should be to find a new, better replacement.” Will said.
Amanda nodded understanding his point, but her mind was distracted.
On the other hand, Will was more concerned about the current situation regarding [Friends] and even thought of doing a manhunt to find Matt LeBlanc in this world. Matt LeBlanc, who Will actually knew from his previous life, was the actor who actually played the role of Joey Tribbiani.
‘Only if I could find the man.’ He kept thinking. But then, he reconsidered the thoughts with how uncertain the time it would take them to find Matt, and another thing was if it was even worth it since there was a chance Matt LeBlanc of this world may not truly be fit to be an actor. Although something like this hasn’t happened with the other actors he had found, he couldn’t bet on this always being the case.
“This article is saying you had a fight with Scott, leading the latter to revoke his contract and get into ICM, and angered by this, you didn’t renew Scott’s contract and now he’s out of [Friends]’s next season. Everyone has a new story here.”
Amanda’s chain of words brought Will out of his thoughts.
“… It’s most likely ICM who was doing all this from behind the scenes and trying to make you the villain of this entire scenario,” Amanda remarked. She then added, “I think this is just a tactic to force you. And if by any case, if you actually renew the contract with Benjamin, then the media will come out that all this was fake and there was never a fight. I guess this is the benefit of having stakes and connections in the media.”
Amanda’s words did have a true definition behind them. Will thought for a split second before saying, “Hm… I get your point. And what if we went on and explained our side of the story? ICM would surely add some flair to the controversy but if we don’t bother, nothing will happen since it’s just a dog barking. And, not that I am being conceited, but my reputation isn’t something that can be hurt by something like this.” He added looking at Amanda
“Yeah, that, I can agree upon. But these articles aren’t helping at all,” She shook her head.
Amanda was someone who did not make anything personal. So even this situation was something she could handle with the right amount of calmness to face it.
“Yeah, but as I said, we have to do our part in this situation.”
Over the course of the last few years, the media had dubbed Will as a star maker and a genius director who never actually got into any sort of weird rumors.
In Hollywood, weird rumors were something very common—emphasis on ‘very’.
But for Will, it was an entirely different story. The stories of his success spread but any sort of negative story which could ruin his image hadn’t happened until now.
In fact, Will wasn’t even a playboy who people would degrade with him by that and therefore, he had gained a lot of credibility among the fans.
“What would we do with Joey? RBO already called me. They were concerned about the next season, but I handled it. They straightaway asked if they could kill Joey from the show…”
“No.” Will interrupted.
Will thought of how in his previous life, [Two and Half men], a famous sitcom was ruined because one of the leads was fired which led to the eventual deterioration of the entire show.
Thinking of it, he knew that he couldn’t let such a thing happen with [Friends]. It would not only lead to making things worse, but also might harm his image since the word of him being the reason for Benjamin’s exit was basically everywhere.
He had to think of something and make things right.
As per what RBO was thinking, since Joey was one of the vital characters in the entire series, he knew that they couldn’t just kill off the character.
And this meant there was only one solution: finding another actor to play the role.
“I don’t want to make changes in the character. Or even with the show. It’ll go as planned,” Will told Amanda who was already staring at him with a massive questioning face plastered in her face.
“How are you doing?” Amanda asked back.
Will leaned back in his chair and thought about the only person who could pull off Joey’s character the best: Matthew LeBlanc. And yet the other question was still in its play—How to find him?
***
“Did I really get the role?” A man said. Surprise was evident in this words. In front of him was none other than June.
She nodded at his question, “Yeah, out of all the actors who auditioned, you had the highest score during the audition. And just like that, you’d be the lead of my next paranormal movie.”
The man who sat in front of June was undoubtedly talented.
“So, Mr Depp, your compensation will be 50 Grand for this role.” June was direct, and turned to look at John, her agent. “John over here will send you the contract. You can go through them with the help of a lawyer. Also, the shooting will go on for ten days. However, you don’t have to worry about anything, I will soon pass on all the details regarding the shoot schedule.”
Johnny looked extremely excited by her words. He nodded in agreement and replied, “I’d do anything for the role. Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m not worrying, Mr Depp. I trust you on this.” She said with a professional smile.
’50 grand for ten day work? That’s basically far more than what I’d earned being a paparazzi.’ Johnny’s thoughts were taken by how much the deal cost.
With her words, he was ready to take any challenge that was to be thrown in his way with the role.
As a person who hadn’t given up on auditioning, and for someone who kept hoping to get his big break someday, he felt as if the entire situation was due to some sort of luck and a blessing.
“Have you gone through the script?” June asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Johnny nodded, “Yeah, I understand it very well. The role I’ve to play is very easy.”
“I admire the confidence,” She said with a smile which he returned politely.
The movie that June had planned was about a couple who had just moved into an apartment and didn’t believe anything related to the paranormal.
No proof; no belief.
But to everyone’s surprise and horror, not long after moving in, the male lead would get controlled by the ghost who haunted their house. The premise for the movie was set in an order which could even give thrills even to an old man if executed well.
After the male lead gets haunted, scared, controlled and the story starts to get into the paranormal scenarios, the lead wanted to find the exact reason as to ‘why’ weird things were happening around him.
Due to that, he would set a camcorder to record things around the house which would lead him to discover the ongoing paranormal activities.
The ending was something that could completely take any viewer by surprise, and would definitely grip the audience’s hearts when the movie hits the theaters.
June, with John helping her out and two leads would be the only members of the crew. The movie was going to be shot in the same style as [The Blair Witch Project].
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