Rise To Stardom - Chapter 75

Chapter 75: [Strange Canvas]
“So, do you think the movie would perform well at the box office?” an interviewer asked Bruce and Jeffrey, both of whom were doing a few promotions here and there for [Epoch One].

Glancing over at Jeffrey, seemingly asking him with his eyes if he wanted to answer that question, the old Hollywood star simply shrugged, causing Bruce to answer however he wanted.

“I’m not sure how well it’ll perform at the box office. Not because we’re not confident about the movie, but because many factors come into play for a movie to be a hit.” Bruce explained.

“Although, if it’s pure fun, a good story and thrilling action scenes you want, I think it’d best for anyone to see the movie and make what they think of it.” he then concluded his statement with a confident smile.

Nodding his head at that answer, the interviewer still had one more question to ask;

“The end of the movie’s trailer, which is the most talked about part of it… That character in it, one that’s played by the indie actor Kyle Kestis… Can you tell us more about him or his role in the movie?”

“No comment.” Bruce and Jeffrey simultaneously answered, their tones casual.

Having a wry smile form on his face, the interviewer couldn’t help but inwardly sigh.

He was from a big publication company and yet, even he knew better than to prod these two for more information.

One had cemented himself as one of the best actors of all time with his many years in Hollywood, his connections vast and wide, whilst the other, despite having left the industry for an exceptionally long time, led a very huge millennial fan following, one that wouldn’t take lightly to some interviewer pestering their precious actor.

Even if two days later, after racking up a view count of 3.5M views and counting, the last scene of the trailer had been the most talked about part of it, Bruce and Jeffrey, through all the other interviews and talk shows they had been at, had been very tight-lipped about Kyle’s character.

A good marketing strategy it was, because, even if, a fairly respectable number of people, were mostly coming to the cinemas to see Bruce pull off some crazy stunts despite his older age, and also see their beloved old Jeffrey in a movie, there was now another element of intrigue to the movie asides just both of them, one that would end up pulling a few other people to the cinemas.

And so, with a respectful smile, the interviewer ended the interview with a few words whilst offering a handshake to both individuals;

“Well, guess we’ll have to find out more about him when the movie hits theatres late August. Thank you so much for your time you two.”

Receiving the handshake with amiable smiles, Bruce and Jeffrey responded in kind and that was that.

* * *

Mike Woods was on top of the world.

His single, [Sensual], a song about sexcapades, was topping the ‘Buzzing 100′ charts, beating out all of his previous Rising Voices’ contestants by over a quite a fair gap of a few hundred-thousand streams.

Lily, having released another single again, this time with more resources on ground, released a song titled [Lily] that came in at second place on the charts.

The song, which was basically about her fears as a young lady trying to find her way through life’s ups and downs, all whilst staying true to herself, was a song which seemed to have resonated strongly with a lot of similar young ladies her age, hence the numbers.

Steven came in third with a single titled [Unconditional], a song about the type of love that was, simply put, unconditional.

Katie, with her song [Resilient], which was about being resilient in an unfair world, a world all too familiar to all of us, took fourth place on the charts.

R&J on the other hand, were also doing fairly well with their dance music [Party], one which took the fifth position on the popular chart.

Despite the commendable achievements, each in their own rights, Mike still felt the need to want to diss them because truth be told, he still felt very salty about losing so early on in the show.

And so, with a particularly nasty comment direct towards Rising Voices, Mike performed the deed and tweeted;

{Tried to make me feel unworthy but here I am, using your so called winners as a stepping stone to my success.}

This singular message, caused even more attention to be on him.

His fans too, as if being brainwashed, sided with the despicable act, believing that truly, Rising Voices had been idiots to have eliminated him so early on.

It even became a trending topic on TweetTalk for about a day, giving Mike even more exposure and boosting his songs even further on the charts, cementing his place as number one.

PR was PR after all, regardless of however it came.

Currently at a lavish party though, one that was hosted by him, a few models were draping over him with seductive gazes.

Some guys too, were busy sucking up to him, further boosting his already inflated ego.

“You’re the best Mike!”

“Yeah, ‘Rising Voices’ were fools to have let you go!”

“Such talent! The show would’ve only suppressed your star if you stayed longer!”

Basking in the shallow compliments, Mike soon noticed a peculiar lady and her clique of girls walking through the door of the small villa the party was taking place at.

All dressed in the most sensually revealing attires, they were literally turning heads as they stepped in and truth be told, they all seemed to be enjoying every minute of it.

“Hey! Baby sister! How was filming in New York?” Mike asked Haley who was just about to be approached by a few guys.

“Oh we’ve been done with filming about a month ago! I just decided to take a long vacation with my girls before we came back to Canada!” Haley responded loudly as she hugged her brother, her voice higher than the booming music that was being played.

“I see! So, did you have fun girls?!” Mike then turned his attention to the ladies who had been waiting for their pleasantries to be over.

“You bet we did!” Cassie responded first, exchanging a hug with the young man.

“Congratulations on your success!” Jennifer added with a hug too.

And then after a few more pleasantries, all the ladies dispersed into separate parts of party… all except one.

“You must be really talented to go that fast… up the charts.” Betty came closer to finally give Mike her own response, all while biting her lips seductively, an action that didn’t slip past Mike’s eyes.

Moving closer towards her, their intentions known, the two individuals knew what was coming.

Tonight was going to be a warzone for both of them.

A warzone in the bedroom that is.

* * *

(Two days later…)

“Frankly, I have no idea what constitutes a ‘hit’ or a ‘viral’ song.” Kyle employed the use of air quotes to get his point across.

“But this song, [Strange Canvas]…” Kyle pointed backwards with his thumb towards the speakers.

“It isn’t a song that’s gonna go viral.” he folded his arms gently across his chest as he concluded with a bit of thoughtful expression.

“And why do you say that?” Oliver lightly smiled and asked.

“Oh come on Oliver. You said it yourself. It’s quite unconventional, in every sense of the word.” Kyle gestured with his arms.

“And besides, it’s a whimsical song about Kyle Kestis trying to sleep. How does that constitute as a viral hit?” Kyle explained even further, he himself finding the idea absurd.

“But it is one of your best works, if not the best, till date, right?” his agent had the same light smile on his lips as he questioned.

“True, but still, let’s just release it without DiscoTune’s help this time. It would save us a lot of resources you know. No royalties on it too.” Kyle replied.

“In addition to that, I feel like the popularity of my last song was mostly due to Carl Finch giving it more exposure. It’s a great song I know, but still, I got very lucky…”

“And if I’m being honest, I really want to see how far I can go on my own…” he continued.

“More than that, though, I also, kinda want the song to find its own people. Be that sort of niche song you know…” he added with a small smile and a hopeful gaze.

Gazing at his ward, his ears listening to the completed song in the background, Oliver simply shook his head in genuine amazement.

Just as Kyle had said a week ago, the addition of electronic music had further elevated the song in a way, quite like no other he had ever heard before.

Instead of overwhelming the originally dreamy, whimsical and somewhat ethereal piano tune, the uses of electronica had only served to complement and elevate the tune even further.

The shimmering and twinkling synths, soft, driving electronic beats and the use of a glockenspiel, a sort of xylophone Kyle had incorporated into the song, alongside other electronic effects which he had employed the use of a sequencing program for, all of it served to give the song an ethereal feel.

Pair that with the whimsical lyrics and Kyle’s somewhat tired yet dreamy falsetto as he sang them, one that he had purposely incorporated solely for this song, the song just had this sort of otherworldly charm to it.

One that would definitely garner the interest of many people.

But yet, Kyle had genuinely believed that the song wasn’t meant for mainstream music and had more of a niche feel to it so, he was simply planning to just release it on his own onto the charts.

Oliver on the other hand, had a genuinely good feeling about the song and wanted Kyle to consider having the music distribution company, help them boost the song.

However, considering he wanted his talent to have full control over most of the decisions over his own creations, he eventually sighed and said;

“Alright then. Let’s do as you say.”

This caused a genuinely grateful smile to bloom on Kyle’s face as he said;

“Thank you, Oliver. Truly, thank you for putting up with all of my whims.”

“It’s nothing.” the agent gently waved off his gratitude with a light smile.

‘That being said though, despite Kyle’s intentions, I wouldn’t be surprised if the song ends up performing really well…’ Oliver mused to himself with a thoughtful gaze.