Chapter 202 - 201: Opening Ceremony
Owen Jennings couldn’t resist reaching out and poking her cheek. "What’s with your face?" he asked.
Caught off guard by the poke, Joanna Kennedy was so repulsed she almost scowled. In fact, her expression wasn’t friendly at all as she moved a little farther away from Owen Jennings. "None of your business. Go memorize your lines."
"I’m just concerned about you," Owen Jennings said shamelessly.
Joanna Kennedy’s face turned cold. She stared at him with a half-smile. "When we’re filming, if I mess up a take because of you, wouldn’t you be humiliated?"
Owen Jennings: ".........."
’Tsk. Her attack power hasn’t weakened at all. Can’t even ask a simple question.’
He shrugged and obediently went back to his script.
*Falling Osmanthus* was an arthouse script that had been shelved for many years. It was said to be the last work left behind by Conor Archer’s deceased wife.
The script was an arthouse romance. The female lead, Laura Spencer, suffered from a congenital heart defect and was abandoned by her parents, whom she could only see twice a year. She spent most of her time growing up with her maternal grandmother.
The male lead, Kevin Aldrich, was the unambitious son of a wealthy official who did nothing but get into trouble. After causing another disaster, Kevin was "exiled" by his high-ranking father to a high school in Marinus, where he met the female lead.
One was timid and sullen, the other wild and unrestrained. Their unexpected encounter sparked a unique chemistry.
The timid one fell in love but didn’t dare confess, only secretly bringing him osmanthus cakes made by her grandmother.
The flamboyant one was unwilling to admit that he’d actually fallen for a poor girl.
With their completely opposite upbringings, unequal family backgrounds in the eyes of the world, and various other factors at play, Kevin Aldrich began to distance himself from the female lead. After the college entrance exams, he resolutely left for a foreign country.
Meanwhile, the female lead got into the best university in Marinus and, after graduating, joined the most famous local law firm with the help of her mentor.
They met again in a courtroom, with the female lead as the plaintiff’s lawyer and the defendant being the male lead’s high-ranking father.
Owen Jennings snapped the script shut and turned his head, unable to hold back a laugh. He laughed so hard that even a nearby crew member who was tidying up couldn’t help but look over.
Joanna Kennedy’s mouth twitched. She scooted aside, putting more distance between them.
Once Owen Jennings had laughed his fill, he looked at Joanna Kennedy and said with deliberate ambiguity, "You have a secret crush on me. Again."
Joanna Kennedy: ".........."
’Where did that "again" come from?’ Joanna Kennedy took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. Her tone was calm. "Laura Spencer has a crush on you, not me."
"Oh, no," Joanna Kennedy added cautiously, "it’s Laura Spencer who has a crush on Kevin Aldrich."
It was unclear if Owen Jennings had heard her or not. He just kept laughing. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought something was wrong with him.
A few veteran actors sitting and chatting to the side also heard the laughter.
"Hahaha, young people always have something to talk about," a middle-aged actor said with an appreciative tone.
But Leah Shaw, sitting elegantly beside him, had a scornful expression. "Youngsters these days. Instead of focusing on rehearsing their lines, all they do is fool around with the male actors on set. What a disgrace."
The comment was so pointed that the others’ expressions became a bit awkward, but no one joined in. They were all here to work; there was no need to offend anyone.
They all knew what kind of person Leah Shaw was. In her youth, her looks were average, and her acting career never took off. Now that she was middle-aged, she put on the airs of a senior and loved to pick on young actresses. It was nothing more than jealousy that they were prettier and had better resources.
That evening, the production team extravagantly booked out the private rooms on an entire floor of a nearby hotel. At the dinner table, everyone made simple introductions, toasting with tea instead of alcohol.
Joanna Kennedy first toasted the director, then a few of the senior actors. But when it was Leah Shaw’s turn, she was met with a roadblock.
Leah Shaw pushed her teacup aside, her tone unreadable. "Oh my, Joanna, you’re too polite. There’s no need for that. Our status isn’t as high as yours. You only need to toast the director."
Though her words sounded polite, they implied that Joanna Kennedy’s toast was a deliberate attempt to curry favor, revealing a calculating nature.
Just a moment ago, when Owen Jennings had toasted her, she had drunk more happily than anyone. She really was treating people differently based on their gender. The atmosphere at the table grew a little awkward.
Joanna Kennedy didn’t get flustered and change her expression as everyone expected. Her smile unwavering, she calmly set down her teacup and said laughingly, "We’re all professionals in the performing arts. Why divide ourselves by status? Aunt Monroe, you shouldn’t sell yourself short."
The polite "Aunt Monroe" packed quite a punch. Leah Shaw’s face immediately turned pale. She hated it when people brought up her age, yet Joanna Kennedy had just called her "Aunt Monroe" in front of the whole table.
But, as angry as she was, there was nothing she could say. After all, she was more than old enough to be Joanna Kennedy’s mother.
With nowhere to vent her anger, Leah Shaw’s face grew flushed with repressed fury.
The director, however, didn’t look at her. His gaze fell on Joanna Kennedy’s calm and composed face, a hint of an appreciative smile in his eyes. Only then did he feign disapproval, saying, "Joanna, what’s this ’Aunt’ business? Your Aunt Monroe doesn’t like being called that."
Joanna Kennedy feigned a look of sudden realization, with no trace of acting. "Is that so? My apologies. Then from now on, I’ll call you Big Sis..."
"That’s more like it. You have to know how to talk to people," Director Archer said with satisfaction.
With the two of them playing off each other, Leah Shaw was nearly faint with rage. She also realized that Conor Archer was deliberately warning her, so she had no choice but to swallow her anger.
With Leah Shaw serving as a cautionary tale, everyone else chatted happily for the rest of the evening. No one put on airs, and the mood was very relaxed.
To put it bluntly, this industry doesn’t rank people by seniority, but by talent and popularity. When someone with clout is humble, it’s because they have good manners. It’s never a good look to take yourself too seriously.
The next day was the movie’s opening ceremony. Even though the film hadn’t had much advance publicity, when the industry media heard the director was Conor Archer, they still fought tooth and nail to get into the event.
In the end, several dozen top media outlets made it in. Everyone was shouldering cameras and pushing toward the front, trying to get the best angle.
The ceremony followed the usual traditions of burning incense and unveiling a red cloth. What was different was that the first to offer incense weren’t the main leads, but several of the older veteran actors. The two young leads humbly stood in the back.
When the reporters saw the character name hanging on a placard on Joanna Kennedy’s chest, they were stunned. They all rubbed their eyes, thinking they must have seen it wrong.
The character Joanna Kennedy was playing was actually the female lead!
They had already found it surprising that Owen Jennings was playing the male lead. But now, seeing that the female lead was Joanna Kennedy, they instantly forgot all about him.
Owen Jennings, at least, had been in the industry for over a decade and was a bona fide top-tier male star. It was barely conceivable that he could star in a Conor Archer film.
But Joanna Kennedy? On what grounds?!
A starlet who had only just gotten popular this year was somehow able to land such a top-tier project. It was like she was punching way above her weight. Who would believe it if they were told?!
Someone immediately posted the news online. In an instant, the opening ceremony for the *Falling Osmanthus* production shot straight to the top of the hot search rankings.
Upon seeing the cast list, aside from the wild celebrations of Joanna’s Fans and Owen Jennings’s fans, the vast majority of voices were full of doubt.