Rise To Stardom - Chapter 93

Chapter 93: Chaotic Trio
Filling up the well-furnished studio, were the sound of applauses, cheers and whistles from the audience as Bruce, Jeffrey and Kyle walked through the foyer, all whilst Craig Mercury introduced them in his signature manner.

Exchanging pleasantries and handshakes, all three finally moved to the conversation area.

This was ‘The Craig Mercury Late-Night Show’, a talk show where once you were invited to it even once, entailed the fact that you were pretty much a well-known face in Hollywood.

As opposed to Emma Harper’s ‘Artistry Unleashed’, Craig only ever invited people whom were either a big thing or he felt were going to be a big thing.

That was why, even when Benjamin, his producer, had told him to only request for Bruce and Jeffrey, he had asked to have them include Kyle too.

Since his producer knew Craig had a keen sense for things like this, Benjamin didn’t argue and just extended an invite to Kyle too.

That was how the young man had found himself sitting amidst Bruce and Jeffrey on the long, comfy red sofa whilst Craig sat on his own separate couch.

“It’s so lovely to have you all here.” Craig, with his slicked-back grey hair and black-irises, along with a well-kept beard, gestured to all three who simply returned the gesture with light smiles and warm responses of their own.

Whilst Bruce and Jeffrey were dressed in a three-piece black and red suit respectively, Kyle went for a simple, one-tone type dressing.

Wearing a snug black shirt, pants and sleek shoes, along with a stylish black and white patterned long coat to balance it out, he had a sort of exclusive yet modest look that still blended perfectly with his co-actor’s formal dress code.

“It’s so nice to see you in the limelight again Bruce. Years have passed and yet you still look like you’re in your late thirties. And still as insane as ever! How do you do it?!” Craig focused on Bruce and the latter chuckled along with some people in the audience.

“I just do what I can. It’s been a long while since I’ve being in the field so, I wanted to uh… I wanted to, you know, feel the adrenaline once again.” Bruce responded with a smile and a few hand gestures.

“And that involves you actually elbowing your co-star in the face.” Craig pointed towards Kyle.

In response to his comment, the young man and Bruce himself, along with Jeffrey, couldn’t help but share a small hearty chuckle.

“What if we told you… that was all Kyle’s idea.” Bruce then mentioned a few seconds later and Jeffrey immediately followed up;

“And you all better be informed…” the old star gestured to the audience with slowly spreading arms and pointed fingers.

“The kid, is crazy!” he declared and everyone in the audience couldn’t help but laugh at his comedic delivery.

“You heard it from me first!” he quickly added as he gazed at a quiet Kyle who was currently grinning with a knowing gaze, his head gently nodding in acknowledgement of Jeffrey’s words.

“Yeah, well, as long as you don’t have a grandfather like Jeff being in cahoots with his grandsons, they’re in safe hands.” Kyle made a playful remark, one that sent some people in the studio laughing again.

“Now, now Kyle. Play nice. Who’s gonna give us a free pass to be reckless if not him?” Bruce arched an eyebrow, one that seemingly asked the young man to be nicer.

“Alright Grandpa. I apologize for saying the truth.” Kyle said to Jeffrey with a mischievous smile.

“You two are the worst grandsons I’ve ever had.” Jeff deadpanned and both men, along with the audience, couldn’t help but share a wave of amused laughter this time.

Craig who was also laughing a bit whilst watching the sudden, chaotic interaction between the three, couldn’t help but be curious though as he inquisitively questioned;

“There’s a deeper story to that scene, isn’t there?”

“Yeah.” Jeffrey was the one to respond with a small grin.

And then he gestured to the two men, asking them if they wanted to take the story from here.

Passing up on the offer, Kyle passed it to Bruce who willingly obliged as he began to speak;

“So get this…” he gestured.

“Kyle, walks up to me, just before the scene, and he goes; ‘You don’t mind, actually, punching a twenty-one year old, do you?’ ”

Immediately, the host and the audience delved into another burst of laughter and Bruce, paused a bit till their laughter subsided;

Considering Bruce knew how to tell a story really well, both Craig and the audience listened as he resumed talking with a smile.

He then continued to explain the entire conversation he and Kyle had, eventually reaching the end of the story.

“And of course I still cut down the idea when he proposed it but, if there’s anything Kyle’s good at, it’s persuasion.”

“Next thing I know, we’re discussing with Jeffrey about it and he also gives the same verdict at first, only to oblige a few minutes later after we kept persuading him.” Bruce concluded.

“That certainly was interesting to know. Is it that same persuasion that got your arm dislocated Kyle?” Craig directly asked the young man this time.

“Yeah. Pretty much.” Kyle chuckled as he responded.

“Apparently, I landed the wrong way. That’s what the doctor told me. But it wasn’t a serious injury so it was an easy fix.” he continued.

“That being said though, at that exact moment when it happened, I really didn’t want the take to be ruined because it had been going perfectly so I just, willed myself to finish up the scene.”

“Didn’t think Mark would actually use it in the movie though, but, here we are I guess.” the young man concluded and was showered with quite a lot of claps from the audience while some even whistled.

“Well it really elevated the scene Kyle. That’s some immense dedication you have there.” Craig also praised him a bit.

“Thank you. Thank you for saying that.” Kyle gave an appreciative smile, one to which Craig nodded in acknowledgement.

“And speaking of elevation… Bruce… How in the exact hell did you pull off that long sequence fight scene from the elevator all the way up to the crane jump scene?” Craig curiously questioned and Bruce opened his mouth to answer.

Like that, a few more conversations were had and some other interesting things were shared about the things that happened on the set of the movie and during its filming process.

From how the gun fight scenes were shot with Mark’s superb vision of using long singular shots, to the use of plug guns to simulate real guns instead of loaded guns with blanks, to how Kyle had learnt all the necessary skills he needed to portray Alex in the film.

So many areas were touched and at some point, they also began to share a few more things that was less on the artistry side of things and more on the fun side of things.

“Orange juice?” Craig had an amused smile on his face as he questioned.

By this time, the trio were completely relaxed and Kyle was even partaking more and more in the discussions.

This was why Craig, just like Emma, was one of the best talk show hosts.

They ensured that their guests were very comfortable while they were on the show.

Right now, there was even a few cups of fine, non-alcoholic wine in the glass cups and Jeffrey, happily indulged while Kyle took a sip as he watched Bruce respond.

“Yeah. Whenever we went out to eat after a day on set, everyone would line up their dishes along with their beers in big chug cups.” the action star explained casually.

“And then you’d see the kid, drinking his orange juice amidst all that. A truly weird sight…” Jeff added with a genuinely amused expression while placing his empty cup on the glass table.

“And I think my choices were very valid because hey, I don’t suddenly wanna start waltzing and singing pirate shanties out of the blue.” Kyle immediately countered and the audience laughed as he went into a short section where he started doing an impression of a drunk Jeffrey and Bruce.

As Craig watched the three indulge in another chaotic discourse, the chemistry between them solid, the man now understood one of the major reasons [Epoch One] had been really successful.

The actors themselves.

Considering good chemistry was necessary to any movie that was being created, actors who tended to have strong chemistry with their co-actors, were able to easily pull off some really great acting.

And in the case of [Epoch One], despite the genre being action, the performances from all three were really solid, further selling the very simple plotline and getting the audience invested in the outcome of it.

This same chemistry, was also one his current audience were really enjoying as people loved to see actors in Hollywood being very normal and having a good time.

Getting back into the discourse though, Craig posed a few more interesting questions and soon, the show’s one-hour run was almost up.

“So, is it true that there are plans for an [Epoch Two]?” Craig then asked before they rounded up.

“Hmmm. Honestly, we’re aren’t too sure of that just yet. It’s really just up there for now.” Bruce honestly replied and Craig nodded in understanding.

“Well alright then. Hopefully we get to see Kyle returning for the next movie… if there is a next one.” Craig then stated as he watched all three share a similar, reserved smile.

“Maybe. We’ll see how it goes.” Bruce replied again and instantly, Craig grinned as he turned to face the camera and said;

“And that’s all we have time for folks! Thank you so much for tuning in! Do remember to check out [Epoch One] in theatres! Goodnight! Till next time!”

Immediately after that, the crowd began to applaud heavily as the host got up to exchange pleasantries and formalities with the surprisingly chaotic trio, hoping that maybe at some point or the other, he could have them on the show again.