While Arwin and Celyne were busy inside the FAMD studio, running through auditions for the main roles in Interstellar, far from them, tensions were rising elsewhere.
Inside a sleek virtual meeting room, two figures stood face-to-face.
One of them was Dorian Kethos, the FAMD committee member. The other was the CEO of Starglow Studios, a man well-known across the entertainment galaxy for his aggressive business moves.
"You said Starglow would be chosen for the next phase," the CEO snapped. "Your words, Dorian. You said it was practically guaranteed."
Dorian let out a slow, tired breath. "I know what I said. But I'm telling you—things changed. The decision came from above. The executive chair himself suggested Vault Studios."
The man's jaw clenched. "Vault Studios? That tiny animation outfit? They've made one movie. One!"
"And it did extremely well," Dorian replied. "Four hundred billion views with no marketing. You can't ignore that."
"They don't even have five projects under their belt. You gave them a place that belonged to us!"
"I didn't give anyone anything," Dorian said firmly. "Look, I get it. You're frustrated. But this is out of my hands."
The studio owner's eyes burned with frustration. "Then I'll handle it myself. If you and your committee won't do the right thing, I will."
"Don't do anything reckless," Dorian warned. "This is FAMD we're talking about."
The CEO smirked bitterly. "You'll see. I'll make sure the whole galaxy sees what a mistake you made."
He disappeared from the virtual room.
Dorian stared at the empty space left behind, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Why is it always the ego-driven ones…?"
Back in his physical office, the CEO of Starglow Studios leaned forward and tapped a glowing point on his desk.
Moments later, a woman entered the room.
"Sir?" she asked.
"I need you to push a message out to the feeds. Subtle at first," he said.
"About?"
"Vault Studios. Start spreading the idea that they got into the competition through connections at FAMD. Suggest some bias. Use the right words—nothing direct. Just enough to plant the seed."
"I understand," she said, already typing on her tablet. "I'll get on it right away."
As she turned to leave, the man leaned back in his chair, a small, calculated smile forming on his face.
"They think this competition's going to be smooth. Let's see how they hold up."
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Back inside his studio, Arwin was sitting on the floor of his working zone, tired but satisfied. The auditions had just wrapped up, and the actors were now final.
He leaned back, resting his hands behind him as he looked around the massive virtual space he had shaped.
The casting process had been... different from what he expected.
The actors here were nothing like the ones back on Earth. Most of them could perform scenes with near-perfect precision. Probably thanks to those high-level education pods. Arwin figured they must've taken acting lessons while they slept. Pretty convenient.
Still, even with the skill level being so high, he'd picked his cast based on how close they looked to the original actors from Interstellar. The lead, Gareth Solis, was practically a dead ringer for Matthew McConaughey, while Selia Norwyn, who would play Amelia Brand, had that same quiet strength Anne Hathaway had in the original.
He handed them the full script and told them to start preparing now. They'd begin shooting in four months. That should be enough time for him to finish building the sets.
Speaking of which...
He stood up, stretched his arms out, and said, "Alright, Leah. Let's start working on Cooper's truck. Bring up the workspace."
"Right away," Leah replied.
A floating 3D wireframe of an old truck appeared in front of him.
Arwin stared at it, scratching his head. "Man, I remember watching this part of the movie and thinking how cool that rusty thing looked... didn't expect I'd be making it myself someday."
He began adjusting the frame, reshaping the tires and adding dents to the body, trying to make it look as old and worn-out as he remembered.
Just as he was tweaking the back bumper, a notification blinked in the air.
"Arwin, you have a call coming in," Leah said. "It's from Diana and Eden."
"Put it up," Arwin said, brushing off his hands as their faces popped up in front of him.
Diana's cheerful face lit up the screen. "Heyyy, boss! How's space?"
Arwin gave her a tired smile. "Busy. And exhausting. But things are moving forward."
Eden gave a small nod. "Good to hear. You look like you've been at it for hours."
"I have," Arwin chuckled. "Been stuck building this old truck for the past two hours. What about you guys? Everything okay over there?"
"We're good!" Diana replied brightly. "The new Doraemon episode's doing really well. Better than we thought, actually."
"Yeah," Eden added. "Viewer stats are looking good across the board. Especially with younger viewers."
Arwin grinned. "That's awesome. You guys are doing great."
"We might even pass Quizney at this rate!" Diana said proudly.
"Haha, let's not aim that high just yet," Arwin laughed. "But who knows, right?"
There was a short pause before he added, "Actually, I've been thinking… once I'm done with this Interstellar project, we should start something new."
Diana's eyes lit up. "Really?! What kind of project?!"
Eden glanced at her. "Don't get too excited. Let the man speak."
Arwin chuckled. "Relax, it's nothing secret. I was thinking of making another Doraemon movie. And I want you two to lead it."
Diana nearly squealed. "You're serious?! Us?!"
"Yep. You've both done a great job. And by then, we'll probably need to hire more people. So you can expect a promotion too."
"Yesss! Thank you, boss! I'll work super hard, promise!" Diana beamed.
Eden smiled a little. "Thanks. I appreciate the trust."
"Anyway, just keep doing what you're doing," Arwin said. "If anything comes up, call me anytime."
"We will," they both said.
The call ended, and the screen faded out.
Arwin stared at the half-finished truck in front of him, then looked around the virtual farmland he was building. The wind moved slowly across the fields, and the orange glow of the sky reminded him of late evenings back on Earth.
He took a deep breath, rolled up his sleeves, and got back to work.
There was still a lot left to build.