"This actor… is really emotional." Edward paused as he looked at Daniel, who had arrived at the company. According to Zoroark, Daniel had shown up extremely early—at 7:30 in the morning, even earlier than the cleaning staff.
When he saw Edward, his eyes were red with emotion. He rushed over, bowed deeply, and shook hands so enthusiastically that Edward found himself a little overwhelmed.
"Maybe he just wants to confirm whether he really got the lead role?" Zoroark stood behind Edward, holding some documents, speaking in a teasing tone.
After all, two film emperors had auditioned yesterday, yet the boss chose this unknown newcomer. If this news got out, it would definitely cause an uproar.
"His image and acting skills are quite good and match the impression I have of Holmes. That's why I picked him as the lead. Zoroark, go get the legal department to sign the contract with him." Edward said, rubbing his temples.
He had read Daniel's resume and knew that this poor guy hadn't had much luck in his acting career. He'd only played background roles—not even minor speaking parts. For someone like that to suddenly land the male lead was bound to be overwhelming.
Still, a proper contract had to be signed. Edward was confident—90% certain, in fact—that Sherlock Holmes would become a milestone in the world of fictional detective stories within the Pokémon universe.
Once that happened, Daniel would earn both fame and recognition through this role, so having a signed contract was also a safeguard. Plus, to ensure stable production funding, Edward wanted the paperwork completed early, especially since Sherlock Holmes would have more than one season.
In his past life, the Avengers films became increasingly expensive to produce—not only because of the VFX but also due to the actors' skyrocketing salaries.
Take Robert Downey Jr., for example: he only earned $500,000 for the first Iron Man, but by Avengers: Endgame, including profit shares, his earnings reached $100 million—a staggering amount.
While Edward planned to sign Daniel for multiple Holmes seasons in advance, he wasn't planning to exploit him. The pay would scale with fame, though it would have an upper limit.
But even that was probably overthinking it.
"Boss," Zoroark walked back quickly. It was wearing a black office skirt and sheer black stockings, making its legs look incredibly long. Edward's mouth twitched—Zoroark's transformation skills were ridiculously convincing. If it went into livestreaming, it could probably become an overnight sensation with a million fans.
"Did he sign it?" Edward asked casually. He wasn't interested in Zoroark despite being surprised at its human appearance. He understood that, at its core, Zoroark was still a Pokémon—specifically a Dark-type known as Zoroark.
Romance or marriage between humans and Pokémon was illegal.
"He signed it without even reading it. I reminded him to take a look, and he was very grateful to you for giving him this opportunity. He looked like he wanted to kneel down and kowtow to you." Zoroark chuckled. It had never seen an actor this emotionally overwhelmed before.
Edward nodded. Good—signed. As for Daniel's acting and character, time would tell.
"Go ahead and give him his first payment—one-third of the total. From what I saw, his financial condition isn't great. Give him some money to improve his living conditions so he can focus better on acting." Edward thought aloud.
During yesterday's audition, Edward had already noticed Daniel's worn-out clothes. The fabric was faded, probably from being washed too many times. Coupled with his years of struggling as a background extra, it was clear Daniel wasn't doing well financially.
"Understood, boss." Zoroark noted it down. Edward had agreed to a pay rate of 700,000 per episode for Daniel. The first season of Sherlock Holmes would have three episodes, totaling 2.1 million. Advancing 700,000 upfront was just a drop in the bucket for Ghost Film Pictures.
But for Daniel, it meant the world.
After just beginning to calm himself, Daniel was once again overwhelmed with emotion. He almost jumped for joy.
With the actor confirmed, Edward moved quickly to begin filming. Giovanni only had a six-month leave, and although a TV show wouldn't take that long to shoot, Edward still wanted to wrap up early.
So, the very next day, Edward chartered a few planes and flew to the Galar region with Giovanni, his team, and Daniel.
"Edward, why do you seem so… anxious?" Giovanni asked curiously while sitting next to him on the plane.
"Mm… I just want to get this work out quickly so the audience can see it." Edward paused to think, then gave this explanation. Giovanni nodded—yep, big-name directors always thought differently from ordinary people.
Edward glanced sideways at Giovanni. Why was he in such a hurry? Because of Giovanni himself, of course.
Edward really didn't want to be mid-shoot and suddenly see the news flash across his TV or phone: "Team Rocket Boss Identified as Giovanni." That would be a complete disaster. That's why he was rushing production.
He even planned to pre-shoot some of the confrontational scenes between Holmes and Moriarty. That way, even if something happened to Giovanni later, he could still finish the series. The only issue might be the waterfall scene, which might need some major rewriting—Edward hadn't yet figured out how to handle that script.
In the British series Sherlock, Moriarty dies early and uses his death to trap Holmes in a dilemma, forcing him into a fake suicide. That scene had been incredibly impactful.
But this world included Pokémon, so rewriting the waterfall scene required more thought.
Designing it well, designing it cleverly—that was Edward's next challenge.
As the plane slowly descended, the Galar region came into view.
Edward looked at it with interest. The Dynamax system here was quite intriguing, though compared to Mega Evolution, Edward still preferred the latter. It was more unique and filled with tactical possibilities.
(End of Chapter)