"Monica's Dollhouse had a pretty well-crafted plot, but…" Edward murmured as he took out his phone and sipped his fruit juice.
Although Monica's film had done quite well at the box office—breaking the 500 million mark—after being released under Ghost Film Studios, Edward hadn't received any fear points from it. That made him realize something: unless he was the one personally directing or writing the script, he wouldn't be able to earn fear points from it.
This discovery left him somewhat disappointed. He had originally hoped that if he could harvest fear points from other productions, he might recruit more directors and writers to constantly generate fear points for him.
"Boss, should we start promoting Sherlock Holmes Season 2 now?" Zoroark asked again. Since filming had wrapped up, it was about time to move into promotion.
Edward thought for a moment. In his opinion, there wasn't a need to rush the publicity. Sherlock Holmes Season 2 had already been attracting a lot of attention. Plus, the "The Thousand Actors Showdown" reality competition had only recently ended, and it was still a hot topic online.
One trending discussion titled "Is Good Looks the Real Ticket into Showbiz?" had taken over a popular platform where people shared original stories. The number of responses had already broken the ten-thousand mark, with users forming opposing camps and passionately debating the issue.
Edward couldn't help but chuckle helplessly.
Still, all the buzz had made the public incredibly curious about the final outcome of Sherlock Holmes Season 2. After all, the actors Edward had chosen were publicly known, and many had been visibly moved when selected—some even had tears in their eyes.
Edward hadn't been exaggerating either. Those who had been chosen ended up playing supporting roles in the series. A few were even just background characters with lines, but they were still overjoyed to be part of the production.
However, reading actors' true emotions was never easy—especially when those actors were the most skilled performers of the bunch.
"We'll handle promotion once the trailer is ready," Edward said, waving his hand for Zoroark to take care of the arrangements. After all, some pre-release hype would be beneficial.
Then he picked up an invitation that had been lying on the table.
It was an invitation to a Unova Region Sci-Fi Film Contest. The organizing committee had personally reached out to invite Edward to participate.
Edward felt both amused and speechless. He had originally intended to enter the contest, but the shooting schedule for Sherlock Holmes Season 2 had conflicted with it, so he'd put it off. He didn't expect the organizers to extend a formal invitation regardless.
"Well, for a sci-fi film… Alien really is the perfect choice." Edward looked down at the invitation, his thoughts already forming.
Though Sherlock Holmes Season 2 included quite a few suspense and horror elements—which would help generate some Fear points—when it came to serious fear points farming, nothing beat a full-fledged horror film.
With that in mind, Edward opened his laptop. He decided to start drafting the proposal for Alien and later pass it to Deck to help secure funding. This Alien horror project would likely be the most expensive production he'd ever attempted. Edward planned to use cutting-edge modeling and top-tier sets to bring the xenomorphs to life in the most perfect way possible.
The original Alien film was undeniably a masterpiece of science fiction. Despite the limited technology of its time, it laid a solid foundation for future entries in the franchise.
It even spawned video games and cross-franchise IPs, such as Alien vs. Predator, which managed to pull in decent box office numbers. However, those spin-offs were never recognized as part of the official Alien canon.
By the 21st century, entertainment companies had realized something: instead of just making movies, TV shows, or games—it was more profitable to build IPs.
And so, Edward now hoped to develop Alien into Ghost Film Studios' next big intellectual property. Just like how Tom and Jerry had taken the Pokémon League by storm, or how Sherlock Holmes had become iconic, Alien would carry the torch for Ghost Film's horror division and become another legendary monster.
…
"Director Edward, I truly hope to work with you again in the future," one of the actors said sincerely toward the end of the wrap party. Daniel stood quietly behind Edward, a faint smile on his face.
"Of course, of course. With acting skills like yours, I imagine your schedule will soon be packed with new roles," Edward replied warmly.
Indeed, several actors had already received new casting offers shortly after wrapping their scenes. Thanks to their popularity from The Thousand Actors Showdown, many had become household names. Casting them not only guaranteed talent but also saved producers a ton in promotional costs.
Still, when they heard about the Sherlock Holmes wrap party, every one of them made time to return—despite their busy schedules.
Even if some of them had self-serving reasons, Edward was genuinely happy to see them.
…
By the time Edward returned to the Hoenn, the sky had already grown dark. He yawned and pushed open the door to his house, only to be surprised by what he saw inside.
His older brother and father were both there.
"Dad? Bro? You both came back?" Edward asked in surprise. He knew exactly how busy the two of them were. Back when they were younger, his brother still had time to play with him. But ever since his brother embarked on the path of becoming a Pokémon trainer, it had mostly been just Edward and the old butler, Shita, at home.
"Well, since you've been away filming for six months and just got back today, I figured it was the perfect time for a family reunion," his father said kindly. Looking at his youngest son, there was clear pride in his eyes.
Edward had become his pride and joy.
After all, he had helped the Sinnoh League resolve a crisis that could have brought the entire region to ruin. Father Hibiscus had been there—he had nearly lost his son in that explosion. Fortunately, Edward had survived and even earned the League's Medal of Valor.
It was worth noting: although Steven had become the Champion of the League, even he had yet to receive the Medal of Valor.
(End of Chapter)