“I think he’s rather absorbed in this so he might not want to be distracted by going to the film festival.”
Nell frowned.
This film festival may be important but Gareth, as a well-known director, was not lacking exposure nor did he require it. Hence, it did not matter whether he participated or not.
However...
He would like to film a science fiction movie?
What was the meaning of this?
Everyone knew that domestically-produced science fiction films were basically poison.
The film had been a flop every single time, and none of them brought home the bacon.
In recent times, regardless of whether it was the audience, directors, actors, or investors in the country, they had lost all hope in the subject matter of science fiction.
It was not an issue of a director’s talent or the acting skills of an actor but its essence revolving around technicality. A breakthrough on this problem was highly unlikely any time soon.
Yet Gareth was now saying he would like to film a science fiction movie?
Was he out of his mind?
Feeling a headache coming, Nell kneaded her temples and asked Kylie, “When did you hear him say that?”
Kylie dwelled in her thoughts, trying to recall.
She quickly replied, “It’s probably three to four days ago. I happened to hear it when I passed by his office in the afternoon.”
By now, the headache had become a migraine.
Her intuition told her that once Gareth set his mind to it, it was impossible to change his mind.
This headstrong mull.
She helplessly waved her arm at that thought. “Okay, got it. You may leave.”
Kylie nodded and turned to depart.
As expected, Kylie had not been gone long when Gareth came in carrying a pile of documents with a huge smile.
Nell’s eyelids were twitching involuntarily at the first sight of him. Her cup almost slipped past her fingers and fell to the ground.
“Young Aunt.”
Beaming, Gareth approached her in a position, ready to suck up to her.
Nell could tell from his smile that he was surely here for the film.
A headache.
Unable to comment yet on the film, Nell waved him over and gestured to him to take a seat.
“Director Leith, what’s the matter?”
Gareth was signed onto Anning International last year and worked as a director exclusively for films produced by Anning International.
In other words, Nell was his direct boss.
Her question led Gareth to answer with all smiles. “Oh, nothing. There’s just... a tiny thing I want to discuss with you about.”
Perhaps he was aware that his suggestion this time bore a huge risk to the point that it was unreasonable, hence Gareth’s voice reflected much guilt as he spoke.
Nell was struck with a headache at first but the pain seemed to have left her when he presented with this attitude. In fact, she was amused.
To have the famous Director Leith feeling guilty like this, just how big of a favor was he asking?
Marcus Campbell, a relatively famous niche director in the entertainment business, focused on both animations and art films. Nell had seen a work of his before and felt there was a certain something to this person.
Although there were many flaws in his work, she had to admit that he had the makings of a star director.
During that time, she had the intention to sign him over to Anning International.
To her dismay, she received news that Marcus had collapsed and died at home from overworking before she made a move.
Since Marcus was not that famous, people outside the entertainment business were not affected by the news. Almost nobody knew of his passing.
However, it was quite a stir within the industry.
The directing profession could be really taxing at times.
The payback might be substantial, but the winding road to success was unimaginable.
Nell was filled with regret by Marcus’ passing, in the perception that a star on the rise was lost in an untimely death buried under the burden of work.
She was despondent for some time and only recovered much later.
Now that Gareth brought up this person, she realized that it had been a year since Marcus’ death.
It was as though she was cut off from the outside world for ages.
Shaking her head, Nell snapped out of her thoughts. She probed, “I remember him, why are you mentioning him?”
Gareth frowned, his face mirrored a hint of grief.
“I’m a friend of his. Although he’s about a decade younger than me, we had known each for a long while. He had a mind of his own and was a creative director. He’s just been held up because he was born ahead of his time and quite aloof.
“The script that I handed you to take a look is actually his idea. Of course, I know what your worries are. I share the same concern with you when he first brought up shooting this science fiction movie.
“As mature directors, we naturally can’t just focus on what we want to shoot and express without considering if it could be completed realistically, as well as the acceptance of the audience. I tried to talk some sense into him a few times and told him not to touch this project.”
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