Chapter 73
"I think Ihave an amazing opportunity for you."
When Wade said that, Aiden's mind instantly thought that it was going to be another audition. After all, the former had told him yesterday that he was going to the Actors guild to finish some work.
A lot of audition notice and information were posted in the Actors guild office, so it was natural for Aiden to think like that.
"Is it another audition? What type of movie is it this time?"
"No, you won't do an audition for a while." Wade shook his head and when Aiden looked at him in confusion, he explained. "I tried to find out about movies that are posting audition notices yesterday, but I feel like you should not do a movie for a certain amount of time."
"Is it because of [Black Saints]?"
Wade nodded at Aiden's guess. There was a lot of buzz around Granite films due to [Black Saints] and he first wanted to wait to see the reception it would get from the audience.
"You have a way better role in [Black Saints] than your first movie and everything went well, people would take notice of you as the role is something that will stay in people's mind for sure. So, at that time, your value will rise. It's better to take more roles than, probably in a movie that has a positive vibe. Otherwise, it won't be long before you get stereotyped into negative characters."
Aiden agreed with that statement. It seemed like Wade had already planned out everything for him and it wasn't much different than what he had in mind.
He wanted to play a waiting game and wait for Aiden's stock to rise before signing his next project.
Though, there was one problem.
"What if the movie flopped though?"
[Black Saints] was considered as a very risky project by Granite films, who normally won't look beyond their comfort zones of romantic comedies and dramas. It was an investment of more than 50 million dollars, so people involved with the project were pretty anxious about it.
"Even if it flops, I think people will appreciate your acting. There will be comments like 'The movie wasn't good but Kai really gave me a scare. I wonder what's the name of the actor who played him?'. That's actually the best scenario as people will remember you even if the movie doesn't work."
Aiden laughed at that. Wade was right, but he felt it was funny that his agent didn't care a lot about if the movie worked or not.
"You should enjoy your current status in Hollywood here." Wade suddenly said. "You are not the lead actor, so people won't blame you for the movie not working. I'm pretty sure Ray Hardy's agent will be pretty tense."
After Aiden started leading a project, people were going to associate the movie with his name, so success and failure will be blamed on him too.
Becoming a lead of a movie was something he was aiming for but it didn't mean it won't come with responsibilities.
"Yeah, anyway, you have not talked about the amazing opportunity yet. If it's not acting, then what?"
Aiden asked curiously. Maybe another endorsement deal or a singing gig? He was fine with anything if it was not another offer to sing at a wedding.
He was already sick of them after doing it too much.
"You watch anime, right? I saw some posters of them in your apartment."
Wade suddenly asked and Aiden nodded his head slowly, finding it a bit strange.
"Yeah, I do watch anime. But why are you suddenly talking about it?" Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you are suddenly interested in getting into anime?"
At those words, Wade shook his head and frowned.
"No, I actually got an email from Animeroll. Do you know the company? They normally licence Japanese anime to distribute in America. They are one of the top companies in that sector. They have even worked on some animated movies like [Fang and the Dragon King] and [Kung Fu Bear]."
Aiden knew the studio as most people who watch anime would at least hear their name. They basically ruled over the anime distribution in the US and even other parts of the world.
Now, he was pretty curious about what was in the email that Animeroll sent Wade.
"So, what do they want?"
"They have recently picked up [Attack on Freedom], a high action anime that's already very popular in Japan and all over the world. The first season was a very massive hit, increasing the sale of the manga by a lot."
"I heard the dubbed version was going to be released in March?"
Aiden asked, thinking back to the news he had read about it. He knew the anime and had watched the first season too.
"Yeah, the dubbing is already in the middle and Animeroll is pretty strict about it because a lot of people don't watch the dubbed version because many times, they aren't as good as the original. Because of that, they are trying hard to get it right this time."
"So, what exactly is the job?"
Aiden inquired, knowing full well that it was not going to be a voice acting job or anything related to that.
"I'm coming to that. Their team had recently started going through the title track for the dubbed version. The original japanese one was by a band and was at the top of the charts in Japan for a long time. But the English versions they received were not up to their standards."
As Wade said that, Aiden widened his eyes, getting a sense of what the 'amazing opportunity' was. He still waited for his agent to finish up his words.
"So, their production team got an idea to have the title track made by an indie singer or band instead of already well established ones. They think it's going to bring a freshness and they might be able to get the title track they are looking for."
"So, they didn't choose me already, right?"
Aiden asked and Wade nodded, crossing his hands in front of him and leaning on his seat.
"Yeah, they are asking for guide tracks from a lot of indie musicians." Wade let out a sigh. "Around 15-20, everyone who is popular on social media or has a hit song out in the last year. They would choose one of the guide tracks that they have received. It's easy to see that they want a healthy competition to get the best title track."
Aiden stiffly nodded. It was a great opportunity for him but the competition was also going to be tough.
It was not going to be easy to get chosen from the crowd of 15-20 musicians. Though, he wasn't one to back down even if it was going to be hard.
"So, will you do it?" Wade asked, looking up to him.
"Yeah, I will. I don't want to miss such an opportunity. If my track gets chosen, fans of the anime will surely stream it a lot."
He remembered last year a rap group had sung the title song of a very famous multiplayer game. The music video had gotten more than 300 million views and it had become a very big hit due to the fanbase of the game.
"What is the due date?"
"A month. It's better to make the best song you could even record in a studio. We have the budget to do it now. Even if we don't get chosen, we could release it on your MeTube channel."
"Okay, I will start working on it as soon as I get home."
Aiden said and planned in his mind to rewatch the entire first season of [Attack for Freedom] to get a better sense of the essence of the show.
Only after that he would be able to make an appropriate song.
***
"Have you emailed all the indie groups and singers we choose?"
Stephen Greg, the producer working on the dubbed version of [Attack for Freedom] asked his assistant. He was currently sitting in his office and going through the progress reports submitted to him.
"Yes, almost all of them gave back a positive response. We are very hopeful to get a good title track in a month."
His assistant replied with a smile.
"That's good. Did the band 'Ryse' also reply positively?"
Stephen asked, tilted his head. Ryse was one of the most popular indie bands around, already having two hit albums and Stephen felt like they would be the perfect band to compose the title track of the anime.
"Yes, I contacted their manager personally and they are very enthusiastic about making a good enough title track for the anime."
"If they work to the potential they have shown, they would be the ones singing the title track. But it's still better to go through every single guide track we receive. These days, there are a lot of hidden gems in the market."
"We have only contacted the best ones, so I don't think we will have a problem."
Stephen shook his head, glancing at the open window before opening his mouth.
"It's not about getting a problem. The anime just have too many hardcore fans, so we need something that pleases them. I don't want to hear things like we butchered the dubbed version."
In the last two projects he has worked on, fans have complained a lot that the quality wasn't there in the dubbed version and how the title track sounded very odd.
He wanted to avoid such comments this time at all cost.
...
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