It was the first day of shooting and Kyle was pretty excited.He didn"t have any scenes that day, but he came anyway as he wanted to get a feel of the place. After all, he was a newcomer and it wouldn"t be right that he just appears during the times he has a scene.
He needed to know the area, the people and how things worked. Seeing the hustle bustle of the crew members made it all so exciting, too. Kyle had arrived early (as per normal) with Sam and went to greet Chad first.
"Ah, Kyle," Chad greeted him with a smile, "Here"s the script. Keep it under lock and key. Not even the crew members know of its contents."
Kyle took the thick pad of paper and nodded. He had already signed the contract which included a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) the other day, so he was well prepared for this. Kyle had to admit. Agent Oreo did a good job in the contract details.
For one, Kyle wasn"t paid at all but took a % of the box office income.
The % wasn"t high as he was a newcomer but the fact that he could even get that % was already amazing enough. Agent Oreo had pointed out that Kyle was already filthy rich so any sort of payment would be an insult (even though he was a newcomer).
However, bearing in mind that Kyle was the 2nd male lead, then the popularity of the movie would also be depended on him. Thus, the only logical thing to do was to get a % of the income: after all, Kyle would definitely be part of the reason the movie would do well. Agent Oreo was that confident of Kyle"s marketability.
Secondly, in order to expand Kyle"s marketability, Kyle would need to aggressively promote the movie. Which would mean going on worldwide tours with Keanu. Attend talk shows. At first, Kyle blanched at this until he saw that one of the areas he would be promoting the movie in was Country M.
His eyes sparkled at that. The hometown of his old life. Would he be able to somehow wheedle his way back home just to glance at his kids? Maybe ... even ... meet them? Such thoughts made him nervous and excited though he knew that he wouldn"t (or rather, shouldn"t) meet them. Still, it was a chance to make some background check on Rex Industries.
It gave him a lot of opportunities that he hadn"t planned before.
His initial plan was to "touch base" with Country M during the student exchange programme, which would be in 3 years time. The main reason he had chosen Sakura Academy was for this. Now, however, it seems that he may be able to push his plan forward a bit.
This would require a lot of adjustments and work but it was something that Kyle was more than willing to work out. Kyle was very happy with this, and for Agent Oreo"s foresight in adding it.
Third, he could do his own stunts. He had a stunt double, but that guy would only be involved in the car chase scenes. Kyle couldn"t quite reveal the fact that not only could he drive, but he could also race and drift as well. Somehow, such a skill would not be easy to explain.
Kyle smiled at Chad as he held the script in his hands, "I"ll study this really carefully. When is Mr Reeves coming?"
"Please, call me Keanu," came the sultry voice from behind Kyle.
Kyle had actually been aware that Keanu had arrived, for he heard the footsteps. Still, he had to act surprised, right? Since Keanu had obviously walked silently. Whether that was intentional or not, Kyle couldn"t tell.
One thing he had to do though ... was keep a very, very straight face.
In truth, Delilah and Sam weren"t the only fans of Keanu Reeves. Kylie had been a HUGE, major fan ever since his first movie. She had stood by him even when he had received a lot of criticism for his "wooden" acting, for the fact that he had only "one expression". That he was a bad kisser on screen and all sorts of bad press.
Yet, he had never retaliated and kept on making movies.
So look where he is now. The darling of the movie world and everyone adored him. He didn"t need to do anything anymore and the whole world would swoon. His private life, though, was rather tragic. Broke up with his beloved upon the loss of their unborn daughter. Lived alone and was very low key.
The last interview he did had him admit that he was lonely and that made all the women (and, Kyle suspected, men as well) swoon even more and most likely scrambling to get his attention.
All of that flashed through Kyle"s mind and he had to mentally tell himself ... he is Kyle. Kyle. Don"t let inner Kylie out.
So easy to say. So hard to do.
Luckily, Kyle managed it.
Or at least, he hoped so.
Kyle gave a sincere ... and a bit adoring ... smile as he turned to face his idol from his previous life, Keanu Reeves.
"Mr Reeves! I mean, Keanu," Kyle gushed a bit, then coughed, steadying himself, "It"s an honour to meet you."
Keanu gave a smile that made Kyle weak in the knees. d.a.m.n this man was good. He was a natural charmer and didn"t have to do anything!
Silly Kyle. While he"s admiring Keanu for being the s.e.xy stud that he is, he never realised that he, himself, exuded that sort of simmering s.e.xuality as well. It wasn"t at the level of Keanu yet but it was getting close.
This was all due to the fact that Kyle was still young, so there was still that invisible barrier that most people didn"t cross. Kyle"s training and past self helped him bring that s.e.xuality out but it had to be "activated" to get the best results. Keanu, however, didn"t need that.
All he needed to do was just "exist".
Of course, in the future, Kyle would surpa.s.s Keanu in that aspect.
As Chad looked at Kyle standing next to Keanu, he couldn"t help but feel extremely satisfied.
His instinct had been on the nose again.
Both of them had that innate sense of presence that could not be dimmed nor imitated. A sort of dark, dangerous s.e.xuality yet a hint of innocence in Kyle and a hint of softness in Keanu which appealed to a lot of people.
Chad rubbed his hands together in glee.
✿✿ ✿✿ ✿✿
As the crew members were preparing the set, Kyle read the script a few times.
The first time was to get an overall understanding and view of the whole movie. The second time was to highlight his parts. The third time was to jot down certain notes by its side of his impression of what the scene would entail and what was expected of him.
Chad had only given him the script now rather than when the contract was signed as Kyle"s part wasn"t anytime soon. For now, most of the scenes at Mansion BMX involved Keanu. They were going to film all the scenes which involved Mansion BMX within two months then go to other places for those scenes.
Kyle"s part was only towards the end, so he had plenty of time to study the script and immerse himself in the role. Including getting to know the other actors and actresses, plus learn the fighting moves with the stunt team.
Despite the excitement that he felt over everything, he never forgot his main purpose of the whole thing: to infiltrate Mansion BMX and a.s.sa.s.sinate Richard Greene, Samantha"s father. Richard was notorious in the underworld yet had such a firm grip on the police and politicians that he could get away with anything.
Big Bro Nitocris didn"t really care that Richard was trespa.s.sing on his area for there wasn"t much damage that Richard could do. He was like an annoying fly that buzzed around you. What Big Bro Nitocris couldn"t tolerate, however, was the wanton way Richard did things.
There had to be order, even in the underworld. Otherwise, there would be chaos. And Richard Greene was the one that could be the trigger for that. He was already creating waves and didn"t care about the repercussions. He felt that he was invincible.
Nitocris was to show him that he was wrong and Kyle was tasked to prove it.
So while Kyle was studying the script, he was also thinking of ways to slip out unnoticed and do what needs to be done. It had to be timed perfectly so that the job would get done yet the movie crew would not get involved or affected. Kyle gave himself two weeks to formulate the plan, two weeks to fine-tune it and then the remaining month to time the moment to do the deed.
He still needed that one factor though. If she didn"t turn up, he would resort to another plan. He felt no guilt in using Samantha to get to her father, for Richard had to go. There was no ifs, ands or buts about it.
✿✿ ✿✿ ✿✿
Keanu was watching the young man from afar and was impressed by the seriousness that he was giving to the movie. One thing that Keanu admired was hard work and dedication, upon which this young man was giving - something he rarely saw in the younger generation.
When he first met Kyle, he could tell the hidden excitement in his eyes as they shook hands. It was hidden well, and there was no shaking of the voice nor a show of nervousness, but Keanu could tell. That was due to experience more than anything and he took it in his stride.
Yet, unlike most, the young man didn"t gush nor fawn over him. Instead, he did his best to act normally and talk respectfully. Keanu liked that. He was an easygoing person and wouldn"t think negatively of Kyle should he be all "star struck" but he definitely had a better impression of those who didn"t and worked seriously.
He sat there, pondering and studying the young man.
Finally, after much deliberation, he walked over.