Chapter 218:

The [Spiderman] wave had taken over the entertainment world, and it had been three weeks since the launch of the movie.

Dream Vision studios had somewhat solidified their presence, and a new superhero-movie centric fanbase was beginning to assemble.

And when one thing falls right, everything begins to turn out fine. With the catapulting success of [Spiderman] and the utter defeat of [Darklow Wizard] the entertainment industry, especially the media was having a field day.

<Will Evans’ [Spiderman] come out on the top again! The movie is ranked number one in the North American box office rankings since it’s release.>

<[Spiderman] covers the whole world with its brilliance. Beat local movies in Asian countries to build its fanbase there too. Marvel comics sales are all time high after the release.>

<Let’s talk about [Darklow Wizards], the transcendent failure by the most renowned Studio>

<Zero reasons to watch Darklow Wizards, and one hundred to watch [Spiderman] this week in theatres.>

Headlines like this were becoming prevalent day by day and however, this rarely affected the mood of the man who had suffered an utter defeat. Ashton Banasiewicz.

The old Hollywood legend was sitting in his office, facing the wide transparent glass wall of the building, overlooking the Hollywood skyline.

After a long silence, he let out a sigh and stood up.

Just then, the door of the office was pushed open, and his assistant, Ayden, stepped in.

“Sir, the Oscar invitations are here. They were on this weekend.”

Ashton nodded as Ayden continued after a hesitation, “Would you… like me to reject it?”

The recent failure of [Darklow Wizards] had given a huge blow to Allen Pictures’ reputation, especially when it lost to [Spiderman], directed by Will Evans, who was stabbed a few months back in the former’s party.

It was a strange turn of events but the online fans were already divided into two groups – one calling it the perfect revenge and the second calling it a happy ending. There was a third group too who supported Allen Pictures and called Will Evans overrated, but they were silenced under the outpour of internet trolls.

With the media hounding Allen Pictures to catch their reaction to this failure, it was evident that Ayden was worried all this might have affected the old CEO.

“Why would you reject it?” Ashton however still had the calm. It was as if his name wasn’t dragged through mud all over Hollywood, rather he was just a spectator in all this.

“Sir, the media…”

“Since when have you been bothered by them?” Ashton shook his head, “It’s their job to find something spicy to get people’s attention. Don’t let them bother you. As for the movie, I have said it earlier, and I will repeat one last time to you: failure and success go hand in hand. In the end, what matters is how much faith you have in yourself and your work.”

“Yes, sir.” Ayden lowered his gaze and nodded.

Ashton stood up and put his hands in his pockets as he stepped closer to the glass panel, staring at the city.

“We will go to the Oscars. We may have lost this clash, there will be more chances.”

“Yes, sir.”

….

[EUC School Of Cinematic Arts]

<<Good morning, EUC! The time is 4 PM!>>

Hourly time announcements rang throughout the EUC as June stepped out of her classes and headed towards the parking lot.

The class she had just come out of was related to Movie Direction, and Other Essentials. This course was what Will was pursuing before he received the Hollywood System which changed his course of life.

Although she was only a bit famous through the masses, in a school that focused solely on the filmmaking field, it was quite normal for students and her classmates to recognise her.

Especially after [The Terminator], she was seen as an up and coming lead actress.

And the fact that she was also in a relationship with the young star director, Will Evans, made her somewhat of a famous celeb.

However, it’s been almost a whole semester since she joined this University and was now better used to the presence of continuous curious stares.

She didn’t let herself get distracted from her true goal: to create a foothold of herself in the Entertainment Industry.

Not that she wanted to compare herself to Will, rather she was more concerned about her name becoming the reason for criticism for Will. To avoid the chance of trolls and media embarrass Will, and also because of her calling to create a new studio that she was very serious about at the time.

This was not a long term goal of her and just a part of a plan that would let her get more stakes in the movies she would do and also a chance for her to promote some people she knew who were very talented but never got what they deserved.

A chance to promote good talents.

‘It’s weekend now, I should go and meet Will. I wonder if he’s free?’

With her being busy with classes and Will being busy with the [Spiderman] promotions and other events, this was why the two haven’t had some personal time with each other in quite a long time.

[Du! Du! Du! Du! Du! Du! Du! Du! Du! Du! Du! Du!]

Just then, the monotonous ringtone of her phone rang, pulling her out of her thoughts.

[Will.]

Seeing the name, a smile appeared.

“Hey,” She said after picking up the call, “I was just thinking about you.”

[I know, that’s why I knew I had to call.]

“Haha,” June chuckled, “Where are you learning these cheesy lines from, huh? Anyway, how’s your day going?”

[I just got back from a photoshoot. It took almost a whole day, so I am planning to head back home. Are you coming over this weekend?]

“Yes, I was thinking about it,” June replied, “I don’t have anything to do for the next two days anyway.”

[Perfect. The Oscars are this Sunday. We would need to prepare a lot for it.]

“I know.” June smiled, “I will be home soon.”

[Nice, I will see you later tonight then?]

“Deal.”

[Alright. I will be driving now, so I will call you later]

“Drive safe.”

Du! Du!~

As the call disconnected, a smile couldn’t help but form on June’s face. The Oscars were finally here and she was nervous. Not because she would have to go, but because she knew how special they were going to be for Will because there was a chance of him bagging an Oscar. Although she hadn’t been directly in contact with the industry because of her classes these days, she had been very keen on news related to Will and had come across many articles talking about how there’s a high probability of Will Evans winning an Oscar for [1917].

Another good news was she was feeling mentally content and there was a strong intuition in her that whatever she was doing, it was going to turn out alright. This was a strange intuition to say the least, but June being quite a superstitious young lady, couldn’t ignore this feeling, which in turn built confidence in her and helped her get out of the depression and suffocation that she had been suffering from in those days.

‘Hm?’

A frown suddenly appeared on her face and she turned around.

She was already in the parking lot, but the number of people here were quite scarce. After looking around for a few seconds, she shook her head and turned around, heading for her car, which was still quite far away.

But she had taken just a few steps when the strange feeling as if someone was following struck her once again and she immediately turned around. But there was no one.

This time, a frown appeared on her face.

“I know you’re hiding somewhere. Come out.” The smile on her face had now turned into a scowl.

And seeing no one responding to her call, she added, “I will call the cops if you don’t come out. I hate paps who like to hide like this.”

Saying this, she took the phone out of her pocket and just as she was about to dial something, someone’s panicked voice came from behind one of the cars.

“Please don’t!”

When she raised her head, a young man with black hair and white skin came out of the car. He had both of his hands raised and in one of them was a small camera.

“I knew it.” June frowned, “You people have followed me here too.”

The young paparazzi scratched the back of his head, “I am sorry if I have disturbed you.”

June sighed, “Why are you here? To get pictures for another slanderous article? Last time someone clicked the picture of me crying during that party incident and it created quite some drama for me. And just when I was expecting a few months of peace from glamour, you’re here.”

“I apologise, I just wanted to take a picture and sell it to a magazine. I don’t want to sound self righteous, but I am being honest here. As for the articles, I don’t have control over them. The paparazzi just get paid for the pictures, how the media uses them is not under our control.”

June sighed, “Yes, how can I forget. But shouldn’t you be chasing someone famous? I don’t think my picture will fetch you much money.”

“It would fetch me good enough. You are in demand because of [The Terminator] and obviously because of Will.” The young man said and hesitating, he added. “Moreover, I wanted a chance to meet Will?”

“And this is how you found the chance? Will is not here.”

“…No, no, it’s just I first thought about just following you and approaching when Will appears.”

“You are just a stalker. I should just give you to the police. Let’s see if the media company who you work for would save you.” June frowned, glancing at her phone. “Why did you even want to meet Will? For a photo?”

“That and…” The young man hesitated. “I’m an actor. I was hoping I could impress Will if I get to meet him once. I went through auditions in DTA but got rejected in the first round.”

The young man said and June wasn’t really convinced. The only reason she hadn’t called the police yet was because of how young he looked.

She felt like he was still a teenager. Though, it might just be his looks.

“How long have you been an actor for?” June asked.

“Quite a few years, I started at a young age as a child actor and it’s been almost a decade.”

“Have you acted?”

“As an extra, sometimes. Not in a role with dialogues, yet. So to make ends meet, I have become a paparazzi.”

June nodded. His situation reminded her of the struggling days before her big break with the [Blair Witch Project].

In the end, she put down her phone and decided not to call the police.

“What’s your name?”

“Johnny. Johnny Depp.”

…

//DreamNote//

Bonus chapter if we maintain 1st Rank in Power Stones for this week!