Chapter 10:
After talking to June on call, Will invited her for dinner at a restaurant to talk about the details.
As this would be the first time Will had officially invited a girl over to a restaurant, even if it was for work-related purposes, he still didn’t want to come off as someone inexperienced.
So he searched on the web regarding various things one should take care of when inviting a girl for dinner and to make himself presentable.
Most of the articles were related to dates and such stuff, so they didn’t really help that much.
Will had bought a few clothes on the same day he got money from the [17 Again] script.
It wasn’t anything fancy or expensive, as Will believed a good personality defined a man, not his clothes.
Even the restaurant he called her at was a normal restaurant, not too expensive or too cheap.
He could account most of the credit to him saving money for making [The Blair Witch Project], but most of it was just because he didn’t care much about what he wore or what he ate as long as they were clean and hygienic.
Later that evening…
Will wore a plain black shirt and black pants. He tucked in the shirt, making his black leather belt visible.
He had a haircut, with his hair being quiff cut. He looked quite good looking because of his well-maintained body and fitting clothes.
His hairstyle suited him well, although it was new for 2010. Even the barber was surprised when Will guided him to trim all his side hair; he told Will to not blame him later.
All things aside, Will had rented a cab till Lakeside Restaurant, where he had an appointment with June.
A young man and a young woman were meeting at a restaurant for an appointment, that alone would make anybody laugh, either in disbelief or at the weirdness of the situation.
Will seated himself by a table near a glass fountain. The lighting was relatively dim, as this was a place frequented more by romantic couples than businessmen.
A waiter came to Will to ask for his order, and Will told him he was waiting for someone and would order when she came.
The waiter then excused himself, and Will put his head on his hand, seemingly thinking about something.
He was looking at the screen in front of him, to be specific. He had received a system prompt when he had signed the contract, he didn’t check it there so that it doesn’t come off as something weird.
He was the only one who could see the screen after all.
[Congratulations on a successful contract signing and earning $500,000. You’ve been rewarded with 50,000 Fame Points.]
So he basically earned 1 million USD from the script sale. $500k from MCA and 50k FP, which was equivalent to the same amount.
He thought if he could buy something from the system in that amount, but he was still taking things rather slowly.
There was no need to rush, rushing things would only make him regret some if not all of his actions later.
As he was busy thinking about all this, his eyes suddenly wavered from the system screen, the screen disappeared, and a beautiful June appeared in front of him.
She was wearing a grey bodycon dress with a long cream coloured trench coat on it. She held a small leather handbag as she walked in Will’s direction.
She waved a little and smiled as she saw that Will had noticed her.
His eyes couldn’t hide the appreciation for June, as she looked really beautiful with her dress-up.
She wore light make-up, making her green eyes shine especially brightly in the dim light.
“Hello, Will.”
“Hi, June. Please have a seat.”
Will shook hands with her and gestured towards the seat opposite to him.
As she sat down, she complimented.
“You look handsome; you should debut as an actor.”
Will just smiled and complimented her back,
“You look gorgeous today, and I love that handbag. Is it Mikyaa’s?”
June’s eyes lit up as soon as he talked about the handbag.
Girls loved talking about their belongings or stuff like their nail polish. It was always the right choice to mention something like that if you wanted them to open up to you.
This was something Will learned from the internet.
Later, June realised she was blabbering a lot and apologised. She then asked.
“Oh right, can I know what the plot of the movie is like?”
“Sure, why not? So it goes something like this…”
Will started to explain how the plot went and how he was planning on shooting it. They told her about the shooting style, about the different characters and how their role and plot would create a movie enough to shake the audience’s heart.
“The plot is very good. Although the idea of recording from a camcorder is interesting, I don’t think you should use it.”
June gave her opinion. She already saw Will in a new light after listening to the plot. It was well thought of; nothing gave out the vibe that a beginner made it.
But she couldn’t help but feel averse to the idea of using a camcorder to shoot a whole movie.
Will had expected such a reaction as nobody uses the ‘Found Footage Technique’ in movies nowadays.
He did some research and found out that the last movie that used the ‘Found Footage Technique’ on this world was made 30 years ago.
After that nobody had made a movie using the same method. Hence, it’d be common for people to be complaining about the method.
But Will knew what was the plus point of such a method, and he would use the same point to persuade June.
“Just watch the movie ‘Janitor of the Asylum’. It was made 30 years ago using the same method. If the movie scares you, you can contact me tomorrow.”
Will had watched the movie, although it was old and it didn’t have much graphics and such, it still managed to give him quite the scare.
He was sure if June watched it, she’d know what’s so good about the ‘Found Footage Technique’.
As he thought that, he couldn’t help but ask,
“By the way, how did you come to a decision so early? I mean, about the audition.”
He was really curious about this. He was sure he didn’t leave that deep of an impression that she’d agree to audition so fast.
June smiled at his question as she teasingly said,
“Maybe I just wanted to see you again?”
Will rolled his eyes at that as she laughed.
He asked again and she replied truthfully.
“I’m trying to take a chance here. I’m already 22 and haven’t gotten any major roles, even in small movies. I’m tired of acting as an extra. I just want one chance to prove myself, to prove what I’m really capable of.”
“Since you’re planning to give one of the lead roles, I’m going to take a chance here and audition for it. Maybe, you’d turn out to be the lucky charm that I needed? You can call it a fool’s gamble, I guess?”
She said as she couldn’t help but let out a bitter chuckle at the end.
Will could sympathise with her, but he had to praise her for her boldness. She was willing to act in a small movie to just show her talent to the world.
Will could feel it. If he didn’t hold out his hand towards her, it’d only take a few years before she got famous on her own.
It was good that he held out his hand during her desperation; it’d make her owe him since he was sure that [The Blair Witch Project] would be a big hit.
As they were talking, the waiter came again and asked for an order. This time, Will ordered the food that June selected for them. They ate and talked about various things.
While coming to a conclusion that she’ll contact him tomorrow about what she thinks about the ‘Found Footage Technique’ by watching the movie Janitor of the Asylum.