After the meeting with Perry concluded, Perry rushed out of the office with an annoyed expression.
*Slam*
"This son of a b*tch."
Jeffrey, who was seated on the other side of the table, slammed his hands on the table as he let out a suppressed curse. Perry had treated him like air throughout the meeting, but that wasn't the reason why Jeffrey was angry.
"These people from ICM really think they're the boss of something. Fuck!"
Jeffrey cursed again as he thought about how Perry had acted throughout the meeting. Agents from powerful agencies like ICM mostly acted like this as if they had nothing in the world to fear about.
"Calm down, Jeff, let him be."
Will said as he chuckled, seeing Jeffrey's reaction.
*Knock*
After a knock, the door opened, and Amanda came in with a bitter expression.
"Don't worry Will, it's fine to let go of Jared. We can just find another actor."
She said as she sat on the chair in front of Will. She had a file in her hand that consisted of the information and details about various actors for various roles.
"But the problem is, most of the actors we have in mind are from ICM, and it's not uncommon to be seeing ICM agents acting like tyrants, especially in front of a new director."
Amanda massaged her temples as she said that. She was getting seriously stressed due to meeting with agents after agents and coping with their demands, it was going fine for the side roles, but there was only one main character signed till now.
"Don't worry, Hollywood doesn't lack actors. We can hire another actor, and if needed, we can take help from MCA."
Will said, trying to comfort her.
"What are we going to do about Lord Blackwood's role though? It's one of the difficult ones, and not just anyone could play it."
Jeffrey said in a concerned voice. They would face a lot of trouble if ICM really blacklists them. After all, this was Dream Vision's first-ever project, and with the amount Will was investing, it can be the last project if it turns out to be a flop.
"Don't worry too much about all this. Hollywood isn't so small that we don't have any options after Jared Morgan. In fact, I've someone else in mind already, but I need to think about how to persuade him."
As Will was going through suitable actors for the role of Lord Blackwood, another actor piqued Will's interest as he seemed like someone who could perform Lord Blackwood really well. But he was an A-Lister of this world's Hollywood and one of the highest-paid actors.
As he was currently in the free market, many agencies were trying to entice him into joining them. But he had rejected them all due to being too picky regarding the people he works with. Even his personality was a bit unique.
He has a record of kicking out his agents left and right due to various reasons, such as getting him movies from the directors he has no interest in working with.
After thinking for a while, Will said.
"Amanda, arrange a meeting with Uncle Ben for me."
***
In a black limousine, Will and June were seated together, and both were wearing expensive clothes designed by famous fashion designers.
Will was wearing a black tuxedo while June was wearing a black gown that had a cut near her right legs, with long black gloves covering her hands, making her look more elegant.
This was the night of the Oscar ceremony, and as Will was invited to the Oscar, he decided to go there to not have any beefy records with the Academy.
June was his companion and date for the night, and he wasn't able to take his eyes off her. She looked simply phenomenal in the black dress she was wearing.
"Oh fudge, I'm nervous. But I'm sooooooo happpyyyy tonight. I can't believe I'm attending an Oscar."
June said excitedly as she kissed Will on the cheek. She had been happy throughout the ride to the venue, and her happiness was so pure and lively that Will couldn't help but look at her in a daze.
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She kept telling how she could only imagine in her wildest dreams that she was attending Oscars, and now it had become a reality.
Kodak Theatres, Hollywood, Hollywood & Highland
As the limousine stopped at the venue, Will came out of the car and held his hand out to escort June.
*Click* *Click* *Flash*
The camera's clicking and flashing sound came out as soon as they made their way towards the red carpet.
"Will… It's Will Evans!"
People gasped as they looked towards Will. The reporters and cameramen's attention shifted towards him too.
Although there was news that the Academy invited the famous rookie director, people just took it as rumour as it was too much of a drag.
A new and young director who got famous for a movie that was more of a home recording was now even invited to Oscars? Even if it wasn't a nomination, it was still too much of a stretch because an invite from the Academy was a big honour in itself.
But witnessing the arrival of the famous rookie director in person not only confirmed one but two rumours.
Firstly, however unbelievable it was, he indeed had gotten an invitation to the Oscars. Secondly, the rumour about him dating June Roberts, the lead actress of his first movie, was also true, which was obvious seeing his companion for the night.
The reporters started jotting down articles after articles, and the cameramen kept taking photos as Will and June walked on the red carpet hand in hand.
The adventurous romance between co-workers was always a juicy and thrilling topic among the young generation especially when the story was about someone who was as young as them.
As June and Will appeared together, this basically confirmed their relationship and made it somewhat official.
Not just Will and June had come as famous celebrities were in their front and back.
"Woah, I can't believe I'm just behind Scarlett McJohn."
June said as she excitedly looked around.
"Yeah, …..I can't believe it either.."
Will replied somewhat absentmindedly. He couldn't believe Scarlett Johansson was right in front of him. No, She was Scarlet McJohn, at least in this world. Another celebrity from his world had appeared right in front of him, but she didn't seem as helpless as RDJ.
As Will thought that almost all of the reporter's attention had been shifted towards the duo, June got nervous seeing all the attention and tightened her grip around Will's hand.
Although they didn't have to face the situation for too long as they entered the venue, they were guided towards their seats and finally settled down.
"A very good evening, gentlemen and not so 'gentlewomen."
The host, Kellen Reeves, finally started the event. She was a famous comedian and actress.
"Thank you all so much for coming. For those of you who are watching at your homes, it has been a tough couple of days here," Kellen said with a pause, she continued, "It has been raining."
Everyone laughed at that.
"We are fine; thank you for your prayers."
Kellen said in her ever sarcastic voice, making everyone laugh again.
Then she moved on as she introduced famous people in a teasing manner.
"And, to top it all off, we have a new face here."
The cameras zoomed towards Will's direction as she said.
"Will Evans, of course, didn't get a nomination with his homemade video, but viola, he did manage to gain an invitation. Not gonna lie, I was shocked."
Kellen introduced Will, in the same ridiculing way she had introduced everyone else, and everyone laughed again. Will just smiled lightly as the camera's turned towards him.
"So we are all here to celebrate and award the movies and people that did exceptionally well in those movies. People throughout the world have hard times one way or the other, and I'm not saying that movies have helped them or are important in life ... But they're an escape from reality for them at least."
Kellen said in a sombre voice as she continued, "Of course, the most important thing in life is love, and family, and friends, and….. People who don't have these get into showbiz."
Everyone laughed at that.
Will and June just chit-chatted about various things and laughed at the host's jokes from time to time. After a while, the awards distribution finally started.
They started with technical awards such as best editors and cinematographers. Will kept an eye on the people nominated and those who won in case he might try to rope them in his studio.
Slowly, more important awards started to come out.
The award for the Best Original Score went to [Enchanted World], a musical based in the European mediaeval era.
The Best Supporting Actress went to Darcy Collins, and the best supporting actor went to Irfan Rahman, a Muslim actor of Indian descent who has been in Hollywood for 20 years now.
Will had watched both of their movies and was quite impressed with their performances. But he was more interested in knowing the winners of three of the major five awards.
Soon, he got his answers as the nominations for best actor and actress came out.
The award for best actress went to Emily White, who had played a deaf gymnast in the movie [Black], and the award for best actor went to Jack Crawley, who had played the role of a Bard in the movie [Enchanted World].
This movie had raked in two awards in a row, and what surprised everyone was the award that came later.
The Best Director awards went to Walden Ardolf, the director of the movie [Enchanted World]. This movie successfully raked in 3 major awards and became one of the movies that left people slack-jawed.
Will, who hadn't even watched the movie, was still in shock. He wanted to just run out of the function and directly watch this movie.
'I wonder what's the level of the direction of this Director as per the System terms.'