Ch 15: An Unexpected Face

25th October, 2007

{1st Person POV}

"I think the script is fantastic." Said Christopher in an excited voice over the call that kinda didn't suit him. Or maybe that was just me. "The ending really makes you feel satisfied, but the rat at the end is a bit too on the nose." He finished.

"Great to hear that you liked it. And yeah, I did think about removing it, but in the end, I just left it in." I said.

"It's good that you work fast. The studio has been on my back ever since I agreed to let you make this movie, and it is pretty annoying. I'm sure they'll be happy with the script you wrote. Anyways, I'll call you later. I have a meeting up."

"Oh, okay." And with that, the call ended.

A sigh escaped my lips.

I was currently standing in the balcony of his new apartment in Los Angeles, overlooking the city.

This wasn't an expensive house that cost $1M or something ridiculous like that, it was still under that. And the view from here was beautiful. It all felt surreal to me, someone who could only dream of such things in his previous life. The previous me would scoff at the thought getting transmigration and a system, and yet, here I was.

There was one odd thing that ruined this scenery though.

A blue translucent screen was floating in front of my face, slightly blocking his view.

[Milestone: Reach $50M domestic with a film you directed

Reward: 30k coins]

Apparently, this message had showed up on the system while I was scrolling on the internet and searching for discussions about 'Halloween'.

I checked it today because I wanted to see some new skills, and the first thing I saw was this.

'Accept.' I mentally ordered the system.

Accepting the reward, 50K Entertainment Coins went into my balance. Soon however, something new popped up on the screen.

[Urgent: The Entertainment System needs to be updated to the latest version, 1.10. It will take roughly two days to do so. Should the update commence?]

[Yes]

[No] <--

Updates? This thing has updates? That's surprising.

Though, If I think about it, it makes sense. It is like an AI program, which means it must also have someone maintaining it.

Though, two days? That's a pretty small amount of time for updating something like this.

Well, I guess I could check some skills later. It's not like I need them right now.

So, I clicked on the [Yes] option.

And with that, the system screen vanished for two days, and wouldn't show up even if I ordered it to. It was fortunate that those two days were very uneventful, other than the fact that 'The Departed' got greenlit.

***

Back in mid August, 2007

{3rd Person POV}

It was a dimly lit room, where a lone man sat, scribbling down things on a piece of paper.

"Hey! It's a great day today, isn't it?" He acted out the lines he wrote. "Ugh, no!" He folded the piece of paper and threw it away.

He was a man in his mid-20s, with black, shoulder length hair and a young and charming face. 

He was currently writing down the introductory lines for his audition for a role in an indie movie, which was going to be held in 3 days. 

It's supposed to be a romantic comedy by a relatively established but small director by the name of David Smith.

He was hoping for the main character's role, but in the end, it will all depend on his luck. Luck, which was most of the time not on his side. 

And so, to not make a fool out of himself in front of many people, he decided to write down his lines. 

He was confident in his acting skills, but his nervousness might get the better of him. 

He NEEDED this acting gig, otherwise he'll be late at paying the monthly rent for three consecutive months.

He was by no means an unknown actor, but he didn't reach B-tier either. He was a C-tier actor, but unlike others who just call themselves C-tier without any prior experience, he had already starred in a few indie films, but he never got his breakout hit. 

And that is what he was waiting for. And if he got this job, he was sure this'll make him at least a B-tier actor.

Due to this, he hadn't gotten enough sleep, and had dark spots under his eyes. Even now, when it was already past 11 PM, he was still preparing for the audition.

I pray to God this guy will pass the audition.

***

29th October, 2007.

{1st Person POV}

I was currently in the Sky Mount studio building, inside Mr. Christopher's office.

I was currently discussing the matters of the shooting locations and actors for the film.

"Shooting on a set will be cheaper and better if you want this movie to be released as fast as possible than shooting on location." Advised Mr. Christopher.

He was kinda like a mentor to me now. Keyword, 'Kinda'. He was still pretty distant and cold towards me, but still very reasonable. 

"Yeah, but I want to film on location to give the film an authentic feel . And we already finalised the budget as $50 million, so we might as well make use of it." I explained. "And as for the time, I'll manage it. Though, I'm okay with shooting scenes which take place indoors on a set."

Mr. Christopher nodded at my idea and said. "Hmm,  that makes sense. I can't really stop you from getting an authentic feel. I was like that in my early days, too. So I get where you're coming from."

He stretched his back and looked at the table. "The studio has been really pushy lately because of you. They wanted to get you after the news of 'Halloween' being a success, but the news about you making an R-rated mob film instead of a PG-13 adventure movie made them angry." 

I furrowed my eyebrows. 

These execs really only care about money, don't they? 

Mr. Christopher continued. "However, after reading the script for 'The Departed', they've become quiet, and some even hope that this film will be a huge success." 

'Well, that's a bit surprising.'  I thought.

Just what do I look like to these execs exactly? A golden goose? A cow that they can milk? 

While I can understand their anger at me turning down a PG-13 film for an R-rated one, just what the hell did they think I was gonna do with that screenplay? Did they think I was a wizard or something? That I'll use my magic and turn that mediocre screenplay into something great? 

As I thought all that, Mr. Christopher brought me back to reality.

"Anyways, about the actors." He grabbed my attention, and I looked in his direction. 

"You have the funds, and me being a producer on this film will grant you access to some acclaimed actors. So, I brought some files." He handed the files with the actor's names and their previous works on them.

"Take a look at the actors and tell me the names of the one's that you're interested in. I'll get them in contact with you."

I started reading the list, and flipped through a few pages. 

Not many of the actors on the list interested me. However, I stopped on a specific person. 

I was shocked to see him here. I wasn't sure if I was hallucinating of not.

"What the…?" I exclaimed.

Mr. Christopher looked at me, and asked. "What happened? Did you find someone?" 

"Yes." I immediately replied.

I'm sure I'm not hallucinating this. At the same time, there's no way this was true.

"That's good. Who is it?"

I flipped the list and showed Mr. Christopher the page while my finger pointed at the person I chose.

He looked at the name and read it out aloud

"Keanu Reese?"

~~

A/N: Wooo! I'm back, baby!

God damn, can't believe its already been a whole ass month since chapter 14! The whole reddit protests thing, then me going on a vacation, me having to complete my assignmenst and then just not having an idea for this chapter made the delay last 1 month.

But I'm back now!

The original idea was to give some more information about the system rather than anything else, but then it evolved into this. So yeah, I guess I'll explain more about the system later on.

Also, I didn't notice it before, but this is basically a power fantasy, isn't it? And a very 'meh' one at that.

Anyways, see you later next week! (hopefully)