Chapter 15:

Will quickly noticed that June’s mood was sour after the free stripping show that he had gotten. It was not like he didn’t understand the reason behind it.

They have spent a lot of time together in the last few days, and for her, Will was one of the very few people who believed in her.

Though she acted confident in her skills, she sought validation because of the constant failure she had gone through, and Will gave her that.

‘I need to talk about this later.’

Will thought inwardly as he secretly glanced at June, who was pouting her lips with a displeased expression.

Nothing good would come out by talking about stuff like this in the middle of the auditions.

He didn’t want any external factors to ruin his first movie. So, he decided to deal with it after the shooting ended.

For now, he just wanted to go on with the auditions.

“Do you think there are going to be more strippers?” Will asked John who was still laughing while thinking about the public strip show.

“Once in a while, there are those desperate ones. They will do anything for roles, and fifteen grand is a lot of money, so they don’t mind sleeping with or seducing someone. You do know the unspoken rules of Hollywood, don’t you?”

Will nodded his head and decided to not overthink about it.

Hollywood was the center of many immoral things, and sleeping with someone for a role was one of the everyday things.

Sometimes, even known actresses or actors will do it. Just to play a part in a big movie.

That’s why it is said that the more you go up in Hollywood, the more you will dirty your soul.

Will didn’t know if his soul would stay clean or not. But he was strictly against sleeping with someone for a role or making someone sleep with him for one, and that was one thing that he would never change his mind about.

The auditions continued for hours as more and more people came. A small audition like this will still get 300-400 people, but it was still hard to find good actors and actresses.

Most people came because of money and didn’t even understand the fundamental essence of [The Blair Witch Project].

While some of them just wanted to try out for a lead role. Still, it was really hard to find a person with good enough skill.

Then, some would start crying after being rejected. Will had a tough time dealing with them because of feeling bad.

But he can’t do anything.

Crying won’t get an actor role. People are always desperate in places like Los Angeles, and most of them won’t even become third-tier actors no matter how much they struggle.

That was the cold and harsh reality of Hollywood.

By the time they had gone through more than 100 people, it was already lunch. Other than June, they have only found four more actors to fill up the supporting roles, and Will was slowly getting anxious.

No matter what, he needed to sign the two lead actors other than June today.

After eating lunch, a thought slowly started messing with his head.

‘What if I don’t get the two male lead actors today?’

In this case, he would have to come back tomorrow again, but Will has already planned to look for the crew that he would need and start the shooting next week.

Any delay would mess up his plan like this.

“Will, don’t worry. We will find the other leads today.”

June said, noticing his anxious expression.

“We need to hurry. The scheduled time to finish this is 5:30 PM, and it’s already 3:07 PM. I think you should lower your requirements and just choose the one with basic skills. Going by the shooting method, a really good actor isn’t essential.”

John advised, slightly annoyed because of sitting in the cafe for so long. If they can finish early, his job would be over too.

“I can’t just select anyone.”

“I know, but you at least have to give 100k for a good actor. 15k is a lot for strugglers, but most of them won’t be strugglers if they are good actors.”

He just nodded in response to that, and at that moment, a black guy walked into the cafe.

He looked around a bit before heading towards Will.

“Hello, is this the place where the audition for [Blair witch project] is taking place?”

“Yeah, I’m the director and producer. What’s your name?”

The black guy was surprised to see the director being so young, but he didn’t say anything and introduced himself.

“Marcus Brown.”

Marcus sat down after that, and Will started reading his portfolio. Honestly, he wasn’t a bad choice, and he gave the same vibe as Will was looking for in one of the lead characters, Joshua Leonard.

But till now, there were many people Will thought would suit the role, but none of them had the acting prowess to back up the character.

He looked young, the same age range he wanted, and he had a unique charm about him. But Will was still skeptical about his acting skills.

Will told him to act a part from the movie where the three friends fought among themselves as they realized they were lost. The fight was a unique arc in the movie because most of the horror parts began after this.

The character of Josh during this time was peculiar as he was devastated, like his friends, that they were lost, and he was angry at Mike that he kicked out the map due to frustration.

Josh was also the character that disappeared first in the movie. All in all, like the other two leads, Josh was a special part of the movie, without whom the movie wouldn’t have been as thrilling.

As soon as Marcus replayed the given scene in mind, he started acting according to it. John, who was already yawning and wanted to go home, looked at Marcus in surprise, his mouth still wide open because he forgot he was yawning.

Will, looking at Marcus, widened his eyes a little; after a moment, they turned into a curve as he smiled softly.

He finally found his second lead.

…

//DreamNote//

Do not forget to drop your powerstones so I can massage my fingers to help me type more.

🙂