Chapter 117: Pre-production Underway

Often times, the general public misinterpreted the role of an agent and a manager.

In fact, it was safe to say that most didn’t know the distinction between both roles to an artist.

Largely in part because both roles, seemed to work towards the same goal.

Getting their client’s career to thrive.

Yet, their roles couldn’t have been anymore distinct.

To begin with, an agent mostly handled the business side of things, whereas the manager was more hands-on and involved in the personal life of their client, managing their day-to-day activities.

The former also had a job to secure scripts and roles for their actors, pitch them to studios, directors and producers, and handle all the documentations and negotiations as regards to most of their contracts.

The latter on the other hand, had to manage a client’s day to day schedule, connect them with other industry peers to secure opportunities, oversee their public image, review any and all offers sent their way first before it got to them and also, plan the long-term trajectory of their career.

Simply put, the artist was the passenger, the manager was the driver and the agent put the fuel in the tank.

It was also why, Victor’s workload had significantly reduced from the moment Niall employed Paul.

Now he could dedicate more time to sourcing scripts and roles for Niall whilst also being able to allocate more time to his other clients.

For now though, he’d put a pause on any role that would require him to act this year or next year, all as a result of the pre-production of [A Maddened Wonderland] being underway.

Paul on the other hand, had been flying back and forth alongside Niall, the young star taking his role as an executive producer seriously.

Though Niall didn’t quite need to engage with all these logistics of location scouting and obtaining permits and paperwork as he was essentially the general overseer, he still wanted to do it for the experience.

Amidst all these, he was also speaking with Henry and Vrael Production’s line producers to ensure that their budget wasn’t mishandled and they had a concrete yet realistic plan of what they could have and not once shooting began.

Considering there were several vistas and moments in the script that couldn’t be done using practical effects, there was a need to plan, construct and build a physical set to bring it to life.

Whilst discussing this with Henry and Mark, Niall had an idea for a way they could easily mitigate CGI costs across the movie’s run time without having to spend a bogus amount on actually building the set itself.

After running it through them, both individuals were honestly stunned at the idea.

Yet, it was something Niall had sort of subconsciously picked up on whilst practicing his dance moves a few weeks back, though he himself would only be realizing it much later.

In any case, with that approved--something even the line producers were just as stunned yet excited to make--it didn’t take long before he had to move on to other aspects of pre-production.

One being the creative oversight he had over whom was to be cast, and what to revise in the script--though the only major revision he’d approved, was the one he and Mark had discussed a month back.

Still, Niall had decided to have the castings shelved for now... at least until they were certain that the movie was nearing production.

Then, he, Mark and Henry could dedicate their time to thoroughly screening several actor and actresses whom would be vying for the roles in the movie.

And naturally, the individual who had to handle all the e-mailing, whilst equally being the middleman between Niall and everyone else when he was busy with other aspects of pre-production, was Paul.

As if that wasn’t enough, now that the industry had caught whiff of the news that Niall Parker had a manager, brand deals started swarming in like no man’s business.

It was easy to forget just how much of a trailblazer Niall had been in the past two and a half years considering how uninterested he was in hanging in the spotlight.

Hollywood however, hadn’t.

Not even for one moment.

Not only was it rare to have an artist that was an actual triple-threat, it was even rarer for said artists to not just be successful, but be very successful in all of those endeavors.

Top that off with Niall’s clean image, one that felt very natural in comparison to most celebrities in Hollywood, he was even more of a goldmine... especially when the general public had a high positive reception of him.

Who then, in their right minds, wouldn’t want to have the young star be an ambassador of their products?

Nonetheless, Niall had laid out three ground rules for Paul.

One; I don’t want to work with any brand that’s extravagant. I barely use all the stuff I have, so I don’t see why I’d want to clog my home and closet with stuff I don’t need.

Two; Whatever I’m required to promote, has to toe the line between quality and affordability. I mean, what’s the point in promoting a product if it’s not up to snuff?

And three; Just three brands. Nothing more, nothing less. I don’t need any more work on my plate as is.’

Repeating Niall’s words in his mind as he was reviewing yet another e-mail, Paul adjusted his reading glasses, a thin smile on his features.

Despite all the workload he’d stumbled upon since he began working with the young star, Paul couldn’t help but feel motivated day-in, day-out.

For someone whom had worked with problematic clients for roughly over ten years, some part of him had expected Niall to have at least a few things hidden in his closet.

Such was the case for even the most beloved artists in Hollywood.

Yet, within just two months and a couple weeks of working with the young star, he’d come to realize how refreshing it was to actually work with someone who had a squeaky-clean image, both outside and behind closed doors.

Better still, it was another to actually experience working with that very person and realizing just how terribly he’d Pavlov-dogged himself into believing it was alright to work with haughty, insufferable douches as long as the pay was worth it.

Safe to say, Paul quite liked the new station he was at and had no intentions of dropping off anytime soon... provided Niall was willing to keep him around of course.

That said,

"I have to say, this house is rather scanty... isn’t it?" Niall looked around his living room, his eyes blinking in mild realization as he stood, his arms akimbo.

Practically most of his old stuff had been moved over, yes, but because he’d lived in a rather small apartment previously, there was a clear dissonance between the old furniture and the space he was currently living in.

Seated on his old couch was Paul, the manager looking up from his laptop, his eyes equally scanning the apartment before he then replied, his thoughts solution-oriented;

"IKEA?"

"That would be nice, wouldn’t it?" Niall looked to him and said, his head bobbing once in acknowledgement.

Paul, on the other hand, tilted his head in curiosity, unsure of what to make of Niall’s response as he mused to himself;

’Does he want to go or not?’

Funnily enough, it wasn’t as if Niall hadn’t considered going shopping for home décor a couple times.

Afterall, he’d gone right ahead and bought a TV he’d installed when he felt the need for it.

It was just that he barely had the time to dedicate to installing other things as he didn’t consider it necessary at the time.

Now though, with most of his parts in the pre-production of [A Maddened Wonderland] ticked off the board, he could finally do something about it.

At the same time, Niall also had another reason why he’d been stalling it.

It was also why he’d gone right ahead and bulldozed through a lot of his work in the past two months so he could be free for most of the last three ember months.

Camille and his parents.

October had long arrived two weeks ago, and now, they were all set to arrive in three days’ time.

For individuals whom had lived in a generally quiet suburb their whole lives without all the hustle and bustle of the urban life, he wasn’t of the belief that they would be inclined to transition straight into sightseeing and recreational sites for fun and what-nots.

Especially when he himself was a paparazzi magnet.

Rather, it would do him a whole world of good if he could gradually ease them into it.

Home décor sounded like a really nice start.

It would offer his father some avenue to exercise his handyman skills and would equally give his mother and Camille the opportunity to put their décor and artistic skills to good use.

Nodding to himself with a light smile, much to the confusion of Paul, the manager then offered;

"I could go on your behalf, if the paparazzi’s what’s bothering you."

Niall was just about to dismiss his concerns when a thought suddenly wiggled in his mind.

In an instant, he froze on the spot, the realization suddenly dawning on him as he immediately declared;

"Scratch IKEA, Paul. We’re heading to a car dealership, right now!"

"What?" the manager whispered, evidently perplexed, as Niall suddenly swiped his car keys from the table.

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/Caer07