Marcus was confident as hell he'd make a film that would earn more than his "dad." After all, the movie he was making had been a massive hit in his previous life. Especially with all the inside info from the Questclopedia.
On top of that, he was genuinely grateful that actors were actually willing to work on his project—and a huge part of that was thanks to Nathan. He really owed the old guy. If he'd been searching for cast on his own, it would've taken forever.
And realistically, if he'd approached actors by himself for his 'own' film, it would've been damn near impossible. Actors probably wouldn't have given him the time of day. After all, he was still just a high schooler—a sophomore, a sixteen-year-old kid trying to make his own movie. That was a punchline to most people.
He was lucky his new dad had actually gotten on board with the idea and was even backing him. Gotta give the old man credit where it's due.
While Nathan talked logistics with the cast and crew, Marcus sat quietly in a chair, pretending to jot notes in his notebook while actually checking the system panel. If he was right, the system wouldn't mark the Minor Quest about assembling cast as "complete" yet. Sure enough, it still said "in progress."
"So you're making a movie, huh?"
A voice snapped him out of it. He looked up to see his hot teacher, Ms. Katherine, sitting down next to him with clear curiosity in her eyes.
"Uh, yeah." Marcus closed his notebook awkwardly, but quickly shifted gears to look confident. "Just figured it'd be cool to make a movie."
He chuckled. "I mean, why not try, right?"
Katherine smiled at that. She glanced over at his father across the room. "Confident enough to say your movie's gonna make more money than Nathan's?"
"Haha, I gotta be confident. If I'm not, the movie probably won't be either." Marcus reasoned.
Katherine chuckled softly. "That's one way to stay positive."
"Yeah, I'm all about that 'law of attraction' stuff." Marcus said. "Sure, it's never been proven, but hey, what do we really know?"
"Fair point." Katherine said, then added with an interested look, "But honestly, you never struck me as the filmmaker type."
"No one does." Marcus laughed. "I mean, who expects a sixteen-year-old kid to make a feature film?"
"Not many people." Katherine said quietly. "I read the script. There's no dialogue—just situations and ideas."
"And you're still confident you'll beat your dad's work?" She gave a small laugh.
Marcus looked calm on the outside, but inside, his stomach was doing flips. 'Is she not impressed? Is she about to bail?'
The system's silence on the Minor Quest was making him anxious. It wasn't done yet, which meant someone could still back out.
"I could add dialogue, but I think actors should create their own once they get into their characters." Marcus said, deciding to head off any doubts before they took root. He needed to sell this with words.
"Actors making their own dialogue?" Katherine raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Marcus nodded. "You know, when they really embody the role, live in that situation, become that character—I think the words will just flow naturally."
He didn't really know much about what he was saying, but it made sense, so he kept going. "They're going to be the character. It'll be their story. You know what I mean?"
Though he appeared calm and collected, he watched her carefully for any sign of doubt.
She just smiled faintly, chin resting on her hand, relaxed and listening.
"Actors don't have to be puppets for a movie to work." Marcus said, sounding wiser than his years. "Sometimes an actor doesn't need to follow a script word for word. If they really become the character, they already have the script in their head."
Katherine's eyes lit up with genuine surprise, but she continued listening patiently as he elaborated on his approach.
He was clearly elevating the importance of actors.
By the end, Katherine looked genuinely impressed. "Wow. I had my doubts, but you've actually changed my perspective on this."
Marcus silently released a breath of relief.
"It's refreshing to meet someone with your perspective." Katherine said with mild praise. "You definitely surprised me today—beyond just finding out a student is about to become a director."
Marcus looked a bit flattered. "I'm honored to be praised by my beautiful teacher."
"Easy there, young man." Katherine chuckled, her eyes teasing. "Calling me beautiful? This old lady might die from the compliment."
"I don't see any 'old lady' anywhere." Marcus replied smoothly.
Katherine smiled. "You know what I mean." A moment later, she added, "But honestly, I didn't expect this. You never struck me as someone interested in filmmaking. I figured you'd be more into sports."
'Sports?' Marcus thought. 'She's probably thinking of the original Marcus.'
Now that he considered it, the original owner of this body had really enjoyed sports over movies. From the diary, the only reason he'd joined Media Arts Club was because his father worked in entertainment and he'd wanted to follow in his footsteps.
"I'm looking forward to working with my teacher." Marcus said, gauging her reaction.
"Did I say I was on board?"
Her words made his stomach drop.
"You're not?" He asked quietly.
Katherine held his gaze for a few more seconds, then chuckled. "We need to discuss payment first."
Hearing that, Marcus exhaled in relief.
"No problem at all." He said with a smile. Though he quickly added, "But go easy on me. I'm just a small-time filmmaker, so I can't exactly pay a few thousand per day of shooting."
Katherine laughed. "Well, I'm fine working under the SAG Ultra-Low Budget Agreement, so you can relax."
'There's such a thing?' Marcus was surprised but didn't dwell on it.
Katherine extended her hand. "I'm looking forward to working with you."
Marcus took it gladly. He could feel how soft and smooth her hand was as they shook. "You've got really soft hands, teach."
Katherine ended the handshake and pulled back. "You're making this weird."
"I'm not." Marcus denied, raising his hands innocently.
Katherine just shook her head with a smile. "Anyway, I should get going. Need to talk to your dad about some details."
"Sure thing." Marcus said, in a good mood.
As she started to leave, Marcus called out, "Thanks for giving me a shot, Ms. Katherine."
Katherine paused and glanced back at him. Honestly, she could've just turned down this project—the pay was way too low. But something about it made her curious.
At first, she'd been interested because of the "script." Yeah, it was probably going to be a low-budget movie, but no dialogue? That caught her attention.
What's more, it was actually her student's project. That didn't kill her interest—it only made her more curious.
"No problem." She said, but teased, "Just make sure your schoolwork doesn't suffer, filmmaker." Then she walked away.
Marcus chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll probably study just for the quest rewards." He muttered under his breath.
The moment those words left his mouth, the system notified him: [Minor Quest Completed.]
He smiled, feeling victorious. Seemed like his instinct to charm Ms. Katherine with words had been the right call.
'Now that I've got another 10 Points, I'm sitting at 23.8 total.' He pulled up the system shop panel. 'I can finally buy Basic Directing Instincts!'
If he were alone right now, he'd probably be dancing.
Without another thought, he quickly purchased "Basic Directing Instincts."
He didn't hesitate when he tapped "purchase."
[Basic Directing Instincts: Grants fundamental understanding of visual storytelling through camera work. User gains intuitive knowledge of shot composition, framing techniques, camera movement, scene pacing and rhythm, actor blocking and coordination, and spatial awareness on set. This creates a foundation for effective direction without requiring years of film school.]
His points dropped just like that. But he was too excited about what would happen next. Would he instantly become a director? Would he suddenly understand filmmaking? All these questions raced through his mind.
He waited a full minute, but didn't feel anything different.
'No way. Did the system scam me?' He questioned it internally, but then shook his head.
The system scamming him? That didn't make sense.
It was mysterious, sure. But it had no reason to screw him over.
"Well, whatever. Guess I'll just trust the process." He said to himself as he walked toward Nathan and the others, joining their conversation.
Apparently they were discussing the movie—how things would play out and all that. It seemed Nathan, despite his obvious reluctance to even fund his son and saying not to rely on him or his studio, was now actually willing to help with some stuff.
But when it came to payment discussions, that was all on Marcus. After all, he was the one holding the budget and deciding what to offer.
Though Nathan was there to give suggestions when they had a moment alone. He leaned in and whispered to Marcus, "It's an Ultra-Low Budget Agreement, so don't hesitate to offer five hundred for the entire shoot."
'Five hundred for the whole shoot!?' Marcus was shocked. He couldn't believe his father was trying to lowball the actors like that.
Obviously, Nathan caught his son's look.
"Of course, give them a small percentage of profits or bonuses." Nathan explained. "So even if the upfront pay is that low, they'll still agree."
Marcus nodded in understanding. "I see. So if my movie makes millions, they'll actually get rewarded for their hard work—"
He barely finished the sentence before Nathan started holding back laughter. "Pfft! Making millions? Oh please." He added, "Your movie probably won't make a dime, so feel free to offer them profit shares as generously as you want."
Marcus didn't want to argue. He just watched his father walk away laughing.
"We'll see who's laughing later." Marcus muttered.
Later, he met with the main cast—Katherine and Mike—for payment discussions.
He offered them options. One: higher upfront payment with no profit share. Two: lower upfront payment with a percentage of profits.
Mike didn't hesitate. "I'll take the higher upfront." He coughed slightly. "Look, I believe in your project enough to be part of it, but..." He hesitated. "I'm kind of strapped for cash right now..."
He said that, but like Nathan, he was obviously skeptical whether a movie made by a sixteen-year-old could even turn a profit.
Marcus had no problem with that. Actually, it worked out great for him—he'd keep more of the profits later.
He looked at Katherine, silently hoping she'd pick the first option too.
But to his surprise, Katherine chose differently. "I'll take the lower upfront payment with profit share."
Mike looked at her in obvious surprise.
"You sure?" Marcus asked, giving her a chance to reconsider.
"I'm sure." Katherine smiled. "Like you said—be confident in the movie, and the movie will be confident too. If I want our film to succeed, I need to show confidence in it."
Marcus smiled at that. "So you're a believer in the 'law of attraction' too?"
Katherine nodded. "I'm also a believer in myself. When you're confident in yourself, you create opportunities that wouldn't exist otherwise. You attract the success you believe you deserve."
"Amen to that." Marcus said with a chuckle.
Off to the side, Mike just watched, feeling left out. 'What's up with these two?' he wondered.
After more discussion, they settled on terms—Mike would get $1,500 for the entire shoot, and Katherine would get $500 plus a small profit share and bonuses. Marcus agreed.
Afterward, Marcus treated them to coffee at the café across the street for some casual conversation. As for the other actors with smaller roles and brief appearances, they'd get smaller payments.
Though he was a bit surprised to learn that Amy, the receptionist, would be playing the female lead's friend. Turns out Nathan had offered her the role, but she was also friends with Katherine.
So Katherine agreeing to the project had convinced Amy to join too. It was one of those "I'll only do it if my friend does it" situations. Pretty common with girls who needed that emotional support from each other.