Rise To Stardom - Chapter 113

Chapter 113: Infamously Notorious
A month and a few weeks had passed by since Kyle had bagged the role of The Curator.

During that time period though, a bunch of important things happened.

First off, [Paradox], within that exact same time span, had been moved to No. 10 on the ‘Groovelist Top 100’ charts after amassing a total of 315M streams in the US and UK alone, talk less of other countries, one whose additional streams would probably put the song at around 460M streams.

As music analysts kept close tabs on the song to inform the general public of every milestone it had crossed, most believed that it was going to be Kyle Kestis’s first song which would crack one billion streams.

That, unsurprisingly and unequivocally, was going to put him in the realm of a mainstream musician, although Kyle would still need to release another hit song before he cemented that position.

Yet, for an independent musician, a very young one no less, with not even a single record label backing him up, the entire situation, was a thing of marvel.

Sure enough, in the past, there had been other musicians like that but, most only achieved that after years and years of slowly building up their own, massive fanbase.

Some, looked at Kyle’s progress and found it nothing short of immense luck.

However, majority knew, that although luck was involved and undeniable in the young celebrity’s ascent to stardom, Kyle Kestis, was a hardworking and multi-talented young chap, one whose disciplined work ethic and workaholic nature, further bolstered and heavily aided in his exponential rise to fame and fortune.

That said, the second important thing that was noteworthy, was Christina being offered a job as a screenwriter for the new and upcoming seasons of The Curator.

Having being contacted by Jon, an opportunity that arose for the lady due to the audition script she and Kyle doggedly worked on, the woman’s efforts, were slowly being crowned and rewarded.

Still, due to how flexible the contract she signed was, courtesy of Quentin’s love for making his employees as comfortable as possible, Christina was still able to work with Maria without any issues.

The moment the lady had accepted the position though, she had quite literally, met up with Kyle and attacked him with the tightest and warmest of hug as a show of appreciation.

Yet, Kyle had simply told her that it was her hard work that payed off as he was just a medium through which that hard work was crowned.

The third important thing that occurred, was how Lily, also bagged a certain role in this same new season of The Curator, one that had come as a pleasant surprise to Kyle when he found out.

Considering DreamLand Inc. was being very secretive about everything, enough that even Hollywood tabloids, news channels and even reporters had no idea what was going on behind the scenes, a lot of the actors whom were also involved in the new season, were kept in the dark.

Added to that, the general public, weren’t all that interested in the new season of the show either so, all the media house and publications, big or small, weren’t exactly keen on getting any scoops.

That however, made keeping everything strictly confidential, very easy for the multi-billion-dollar company.

Occasionally though, a few tidbits of information were fed to the actors here and there by the broadcasting company themselves, one which was an avenue afforded to them due to being part of the main cast.

That was how it eventually got around to Jasmine and every other actor involved in the new season, along with the crew, that indie actor, Kyle Kestis, had bagged the role, of, the titular time traveler.

Sure enough, most were confused, dissatisfied and generally unwelcoming of the idea (with exception of Jasmine and a few others).

Due to how older actors were the only ones they felt were capable of giving out very complex performances worthy of The Curator, they couldn’t really see a young chap, giving a remotely good, much less outstanding performance in the shoes of the character.

Still, most had to accept the decision regardless and do as they were required without questioning Jon’s, Tiana’s and Barry’s decision to cast Kyle.

Whether it was a good decision to cast such a young lad as the enigmatic time traveler, they would be finding out soon enough.

So, two months and few weeks later after that reveal to them, after all the pre-production had been sorted out, the tenth season of [The Curator], was greenlit.

Shooting, was about to begin.

* * *

[April 1st, 2020].

The set was bustling with life.

Cameramen, audio engineers, prop staffs, extras, stage helps and the likes, populated the entire expanse of the massively wide, modernly built, underground hall.

This massive hall, one which was purposely built years back by DreamLand Inc., was one where any scene which was CGI, VFX and SFX heavy was filmed.

Camera’s were being set up.

The walls were padded and soundproofed.

Giant green and blue screens were expertly placed in all the necessary angles and corners.

And, amidst all these, in the middle of the set, was a large, wide, fully prop-built interior of a destroyed space ship from the ground up.

Sure this particular space ship was only going to be used only once in the entire season but, if there was one thing DreamLand Inc. did right, despite the show’s popularity dwindling alarmingly, it was their commitment to never skimping on coming as close to realism as they possibly could.

Jon especially, never used green screens unless it was absolutely necessary.

Since he had all the necessary funds and go-ahead to facilitate and envision a cinematography that could be as realistic as possible in the sci-fi genre, why couldn’t he?

Currently though, Kyle was getting accustomed to the interior of the destroyed space ship, a certain look of awe and wonder in his expression as he moved around.

There was even a certain, underlying mechanic hum to the space ship that permeated the entire hall, almost as if to simulate the actual movement of the ship despite it being currently static.

The other crew workers who were less busy though, found Kyle’s excitement amusing, especially because they had seen this same prop being built a thousand times over.

Sure they weren’t particularly of the belief that Kyle was a good enough actor to portray The Curator but, having met and conversed with the young man here and there a few times, they found him quite endearing.

Also, with their infamously notorious Director at the helm of directing, they knew she could and would, whip him up into shape in no time if he so much as fumbled around.

Yet for the young man, all this was a first for him, his enthusiasm to explore, through the roof.

As Jon, Tiana and Barry perused the sight before them, each in their casual wears, Jon soon asked;

“Tiana. Does he have any idea how you direct?”

“No. But that’s on him to find out. I do need to see if he’s come prepared for the grueling work schedule.” the Director’s expression was blunt yet calm as she responded.

Tiana had already slipped into work mode.

“Considering he and Jasmine have conversed quite a lot though, I’m certain she must’ve at least, informed him of it.” Barry on the other hand, chipped in casually, one to which Jon calmly nodded in response to.

Glancing over to his far right, watching as Jasmine, along with a few other actors, conversed and exchanged ideas, the showrunner, spoke again, his expression casual;

“Well, we’ll be finding out soon enough. Hope he’s not the nervous type.”

“He better not be.” Tiana’s voice, blunt as ever, replied as she stepped forward and clapped her hands once, loud enough to gather everyone’s attention.

Instantly, the set went quiet as the director commanded, her voice cool;

“Perform all the necessary checks. We begin in five.”

Swiftly, everyone, including the actor, staff and crew members, readied themselves.

Considering most had already worked with the Director at least once in their lives, they knew she was someone who hated any form of flippancy on her set.

Tiana’s directing style, was very… unconventional, to say the least.

For one, compared to other directors who spoke out loud to get their orders across, Tiana simply, spoke.

Why?

Because she had a certain dislike for all the building up and shouting that led up to the ‘Action!!!’ part.

Especially if the take or scene came out, rubbish.

In fact, she didn’t even like using the word itself.

Rather, she would say ‘Start.’, casually.

It was just a personal preference of hers to not scream her lungs out when she could simply, speak normally and still, get her orders across.

But more than that, there was another thing Tiana was infamously notorious for.

Something actors especially, had to watch out for while acting if she was directing.

Thrice.

You were only allowed to act a certain scene, a certain number of times.

Thrice was the max for scenes which required heavy CGI and VFX.

As for the more normal scenes…

Once.

An actor, as long as you worked with her, you would only be given the avenue to perform said scene, once.

If you messed up, that was on you.

Even if you pleaded for a second chance, Tiana would simply tell you in the coldest tone possible;

‘Why? Do you find it, fun, to waste everybody’s time?’

Yet, it’s not as if she wouldn’t retake the scene at a later date.

Her work ethic, just made her put things into perspective that, she would rather, go do another scene and get a great shot, than waste precious minutes, possibly hours, on trying to get a single scene right.

But, in an effort to ensure her actors took their role very seriously, the single take tactic was one she frequently employed.

So, quickly encasing and pushing Kyle into one of the translucent glassy cocoons which had being previously structured and modelled to perfectly fit him, one which was made out of dissolving sugar, the stage hands and prop artists, left the site after painting it in a fresh, silvery sheen, leaving only the glassy cocoon in the middle of the spaceship.

Seeing that they had done that, Tiana then moved over to her chair and gazed around for a few seconds, using a gesture of her hands to make checks and ensure that all was in place.

Realizing everyone was ready and everything was as it should be, the Director, opened her mouth;

“Start.”