….
.
Regal's focus was the casting for the film.
The most important are the two main leads.
These roles were the foundation of the entire film.
So, they had to be strong enough to hold the audience's attention, anding the s in every se.
The story would make or fall based on their performances.
Fortunately, Regal had already found one of the leads - Keanu Reeves - his sister's boyfriend.
Yes, he had been in tact with Keanu for the past couple of weeks, and he somehow mao tap him into thinking about ag for real.
And luckily, Keanu will perfectly fit in for one of the leads.
So, despite his tendency to go over the top at times, a side effect of his theatre background, Regal was fident he could guide ahe best from him.
He is the director of the film.
That's his job - a craftsman who should be capable of extrag the best craft from twenty four departments of filmmaking.
But that wasn't the hard part.
The real difficulty was finding the other lead.
The character Keanu ying was bold, charming, and stylish - a role Keanu could bring to life without breaking a sweat.
But the other lead?
He was an introvert. Silent, brooding, and reserved.
Still, he o be just as captivating as Keanu's character, someone who could hold the audience's gaze even in his silence.
Regal needed an actor who could make quiet moments just as pelling as loud ones.
Fortunately, the remaining characters were far simpler to cast.
A female love i - someoractive and charismatiaturally.
A cop - no frills, just a solid, serious actor.
Finally, a bckmailer - someone who could make the audienfortable with a presence.
None of these roles required much deep thought.
But the another main lead? That was the real puzzle.
Regal had to find someone who could py the quiet strength of the character while still holding the audience's attention.
It was a tall order, but Regal was determio get it right.
After all, the film depended on it.
…..
.
Same time.
Everleaf Press Headquarters.
The office buzzed with a faint hum from the air ditioner as Gwendolyn flipped through a stack of dots.
Her eyes sed each page, darting over the lines while a pen hovered near her lips, occasionally tapping lightly as she paused to sider the figures before her.
She was reviewing the financial breakdown of her pany's ret venture,＜Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone＞, a resounding success.
The total reveood at 3,426,633, geed from 201,709 copies sold over the past month. And after dedug the Author's share, the remaining amount came to 3,029,762.
"Three millihly." She murmured to herself, scribbling a quiote.
Even after fact in the printing costs, there was still 2.4 millio. "That's a solid profit." She thought, allowing herself a small, satisfied smile.
And if their projes were accurate, there was still more to e.
Just then, the door to her office swung open, the soft creak breaking the room's quiet rhythm.
Gwendolyn didn't bng up from her papers.
The figure strolled in casually, crossing the room without a word, and dropped fortably into the chair across from her desk.
The chair creaked slightly as the intruder leaned back, arms crossed, her expression tinged with skepticism, yet faintly amused.
Of course, it was her than Maggie.
She had found herself with a det amount of spare time tely, ever since delegating her receptionist duties to the new hire a few weeks back.
"So, Maggie." Gwendolyn began without looking up. "Did you read the two web novels I suggested?"
"Yeah, I did," Maggie replied with a shrug. "They were good, for web andards."
Gwen smirked. "I knht?"
But Maggie wasn't here to exge pleasantries.
Her gaze sharpened as she leaned forward. "Gwen, what are you thinking of doing? You do realize the pany is just starting to recover after years of struggling, don't you?"
"I do." Gwendolyn said, her tone calm, her pen scratg against the paper.
"Do you? Because if you are thinking about expanding into color ics–!"
Gwen's pen froze. She gnced up, eyebrows arched.
Maggie pressed on.
"...that's a pletely differeory. It's not just about good writing. The visuals have to be outstanding. Maybe wait a year, or so it's the safes-!"
"Safest bet? Is that what you are trying to say?" Gwendolyn interrupted, finishing Maggie's words.
"Yes." Maggie didn't flinbsp;
"I get it. But I think it's worth the risk."
"We just took a risk two months ago!" Maggie shot back, her voice rising slightly.
"And we are doing it again." Gwendolyn's response was cool and unyielding.
Maggie exhaled sharply, rubbiemples. "I knew you would say something like this."
"Which is why you came prepared?" Gwendolyn asked in a challenging tone.
Maggie straightened, pulling out her phone. "I did some digging. The results weren't in our favor."
Gwendolyn's curiosity piqued. "What's the issue?"
"The Author. He is not ied in colborations or selling his work. He is refused exclusivity deals from major ptforms."
Hearing that, Gwendolyn's lips twitched.
Maggie noticed but kept going, hoping logic would prevail. "He is one of those 'art for art's sake' types who don't py by the rules. For them, it's not about money. People like that pop up in the industry sometimes. It's weird, but it happens."
Her words hung in the air, and Gwendolyn's fingers paused briefly oack of papers.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Regal's unventional approach to publishing was by design, a carefully calcuted strategy to farm EP from the system.
It had uionally spawned a wave of misuandings among outsiders.
By now, many in the web novel industry had written him off as an etric rich brat, a self-indulgent author with too much time and moo care about traditional deals.
Typically, such authors faded away quickly, g either the talent to sustain attention or the willpower to resist the allure of lucrative offers.
But Regal was her of those things.
His writing was exceptional, and his cepts are uo the point of being groundbreaking - and these are all factors that defied the stereotype, only fueling the fusion.
Not that he would bother crifying any of it, even if he were aware.
Why would he?
After all, those misuandings worked to his advantage.
Meanwhile Gwendolyn frowned slightly at Maggie's ent, though she quickly masked her expression.
The casual remark about her boyfriend being referred to as 'weird' didn't sit well with her.
But since Maggie had no idea who the author really was or the e between them, Gwendolyn decided to let it slide.
Also, she knew Maggie noticed how weird she was behavie her doing her best but did not front her.
So she o be careful of not pushing her away pletely too. Only for now, though.
Still, she couldn't resist adding.
"What do you mean by 'weird'? It's just love for their work." She pined with mild annoyance.
"Call it what you want." Maggie said, waving it off.
"But do you holy think no one else has approached him for adaptatihts? If he had turhem down, what makes you think we would be any different?" She leaned forward, her voice firm. "So drop it, Gwen."
Maggie waited fwendolyn's usual rebuttal, but she was certain she had won this round. But when she looked up, her face wasn't annoyed or defe was smiling.
No, smirking.
Mischief danced in her eyes, and Maggie instantly felt a knot tighten iomabsp;
"Gwen." She said cautiously. "Don't tell me you–!"
"Yep." Gwendolyn responded smugly.
She raised a thumbs-up with one hand and fshed a victory sign with the other. "You don't have to worry about the rights. I get them whenever I want."
Maggie's jaw dropped, her expression a mixture of shod disbelief. "How are you so sure?"
"Because the adaptatihts are as good as ours." Gwendolyn replied, punctuatiatement with a pyful wink.
She leaned back even further, exuding an air of plete self-assurance.
Maggie stared at her boss for a long moment before letting out a frustrated groan. She rubbed her temples as though trying to stave off an oning headache.
"Why do I even bother?" She muttered under her breath.
.
….
[To be tinued…]
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