Versatile Superstar: Rise In Hollywood
chapter-100

As the release of [Black Saints] and other movies came close, a lot of critics' work started. Their primary job was to give their opinions on movies while trying to be completely unbiased.

But only a few of the critics were like that.

A lot of them would just take money from movie studios and sometimes even actors to praise them in their reviews.

It was shady but a good way to earn a lot of money.

Just the thing was that a lot of these critics would lose their credibility over time, especially with audiences starting to trust sites like 'Do you like the movie?' and 'Rotten Apples' more where people could post public reviews of the movie.

A lot of them would even go on forums to check reviews from people instead of listening to critics. But it was not like there weren't any good critics.

There were good ones too and they were very popular due to their unbiased opinions and had a string of fans. One of these was by a person who goes by the handle of @Criticye on social media platforms.

Every month, he would release an article about movies that were going to be released soon and what clashes were expected in the theatres. He was very popular as he focused more on the art than the artist.

This month, the article he released on his website was titled, "Two different movies and a clash that might see no winners".

[Hello, just like every month, I'm back with a look at the movies that will be releasing at the box office next month. Two of these would be clashing at the box office next week and it's going to be a very different clash than what anyone is used to in Hollywood.

Because this time, both the movies have a chance to bomb at the box office.

Everyone knows that box office clashes are big, wild events at the box office with two big studios going against each other. Films headed by big directors and supported by astounding actors create a storm at the box office in which innovation and egos clash with only one movie coming out on top.

Sadly, nothing like this is going to happen this month.

The movies that clash next week are [Black Saints] and [The Last Wolf]. Both of them are by mid sized studios and going by whatever was shown of these movies, they failed to create any big anticipation in the audience.

[The Last Wolf] is the fourth movie in a trilogy which should have never gone ahead after the first movie but producers saw the results. Despite the horrendous story and a female lead which the movie tries hard to show as an innocent girl trapped in supernatural events but failed, the box office returns were very big, with the first movie earning over 400 million dollars at the box office.

But the next two movies earned almost half of it. It was a sign to the producers to end the story there as the third movie provided a fine end but the fourth movie is now being released and has grey clouds all over it as most of the original fans of the trilogy have already grown up and have moved on.

Now, only time would tell if the producers have grown up or not and going by the trailer, they have not as there's a lot of hints that the fourth movie is just going to be a bad try at trying to make the story move forward.

At least from a critics point of view, the movie is certainly not something that is aiming to be a part of the list of Top 100 movies of all time.

Let's move to the second movie which is a bit more promising but comes in a genre that only selective people like, especially when it's headed by a TV director working on his first movie. Though cinema has moved forward and integrated well with TV, there's still a massive line between TV and movie productions.

From what we saw in the trailer, this one is touting to be an interesting Cop vs Mafia thriller with good cinematography and the colour palette gives the world a very grey look. It makes one hopeful for the movie.

But only a few directors can pull up movies like this, showing off the appropriate amount of charm of the villains as well as the rugged look of the main character.

Even if the movie is not bad, the genre is something that has stopped working a long time ago due to the excess of movies that sound similar to this one.

Just on pure box office numbers, [Black Saints] is going to be suffering a lot due to the obsessive fans of [The Last Wolf]. Though the last two movies didn't perform well, the opening weekend was packed with a lot of fans coming in to watch it.

So, the momentum would surely be with [The Last Wolf].

Now, let's move to the other movies that will be released at the end of the month, both eyeing for an Ott release. That's a smart move by the producers of the movie going by how many movies are working in the box office these days…]

'This one is also getting a good amount of reads.'

A middle aged man with a shaved face said and smiled at the comments on his IPad.

People were praising the article and the reads on it were increasing every minute, with the article getting 14k reads in just three hours.

His name was John Longbottom and he was mostly known by his social media name @Criticye. He would feel very happy whenever people would appreciate him for his views on movies and because of his hardwork and love for movies, he had become a very big critic in Hollywood.

"Sir, we are here."

As John was reading the article and smiling to himself, his driver suddenly stopped the car and said.

'I really hope my time won't be wasted.'

He thought, getting out of the car and waving at the paparazzi that were gathered outside the theatre. He was here to attend one of the screenings of [Black Saints].

But he was not really anticipating anything great from the movie. Just yesterday, he was at the premier of [The Last Wolf] and the movie was too hard to go through for him.

Rather than supernatural powers clashing at each other, the movie was focusing more on the love triangle. Midway, it even went to become an erotica with a threesome scene between the leads.

Because of that, his expectations were very low and he was just hoping that the movie would be decent.

"Sir, are you excited to watch the movie? How did you like the trailer?"

As he was walking inside the theatre, one of the reporters asked and he Just politely smiled.

"I would give replies after watching the movie." Saying that, he went inside the theatre.

Most of the major questions would be asked after he had watched the movie, so John didn't feel like giving too much time to the reporters. Once inside, he saw that a lot of famous people were present there.

Granite Films had called a lot of actors, directors and other famous celebs. On one corner, there was the cast of [Black Saints] talking among themselves. The director, Zavier Lamb.

Looking at them, John thought to himself.

'Let's see what kind of a movie you have made.'

***

Two hours later, when [Black Saints] came to an end, John wasn't able to mutter a word as the credits rolled on the screen. Around him, people were giving similar reactions and a lot of them were also clapping.

The movie had truly managed to amaze them.

'I never expected it to be this good.'

John thought to himself and his shocked face slowly changed to one of smile as he processed the whole movie in his mind. At first glance, he was able to feel a lot of weak points in the movie, especially in the mid parts where the plot seems to be a bit slow.

In those parts, it was only the actors' performance that was able to keep one interested in the movie. There were also more weak points like some technical aspects and how some characters seemed very unnecessary.

But the climax was what made the movie a great watch.

As a critic, John has seen thousands of movies but only a few of them were able to give him such a shock in the climax. It was something that he had not expected even if it was hinted at.

Ultimately, [Black Saints] was a movie that made John like a character after a long time.

'This is truly a great surprise. Who's the guy who played Kai? I can't remember where I saw him before.'

He thought and stood up, his eyes trying to find out the cast of the movie. Finally, he saw Ray Hardy talking to some reporters from Hollywood Weekly and LA times, both big movie magazines.

He quickly made his way towards him.

"Ray." John said, having known him for some years.

"John, you are here too. How did you like the movie? I hope you liked it and are planning to give a good review." Ray said, turning around and facing him.

"I did like it a lot. The plot truly captivated me. But I am actually looking for someone." He said, before asking. "Do you know the actor who played Kai?"

"Ah, yes. Many people are interested in him after watching the movie." Ray laughed and looked around him before his eyes stopped at someone's back. "Hey, Aiden, come here."

A young man wearing a suit walked towards him and Ray patted his back.

"John wanted to meet you." Ray explained and Aiden stayed calm and gave off a charming smile.

"Hello, I'm Aiden Silvereye."

John was surprised for a second when Aiden introduced himself as his atmosphere and smile were completely different from Kai. But that was only natural as Aiden was an actor.

Composing himself, John said.

"My name is John Longbottom and I'm a movie critic. Kai made me a fan. I'm really interested to know about the projects you have done in the past and projects of yours that's going to be released in the next few months. You must have a lot of them."

"Thank you, but the only movie I have done aside from [Black Saints] is [Shadows of War]."

"Ah, I really liked it. Now that I think, you do look familiar. What else other than that?"

"There's nothing."

John's expressions formed a crack hearing that.

"What?"

"These are my only movies."

"What about future projects?"

"I have not signed any others but I will audition for some soon."

Hearing that, John realised that the guy in front of him wasn't a new actor from a big agency who already has a career plan formed out in front of him but is a complete rookie.

'When was the last time a rookie managed to stun me?'

He thought, gulping.

...