Ever since a trusted Hollywood insider had tweeted;
THE SCRIPT FOR [LOST HAVEN] IS LOOKING TO BE AN OSCAR-WORTHY HOLLYWOOD ORIGINAL
…discussions on the new movie had become a trending topic on the site.
This led to a revival of last year's shituation with the Academy Awards that no one seemed willing to forget for the foreseeable future.
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Buddhabuddha: Yeah. At this point, I really don't trust those salty little losers with fragile egos to even do the needful and actually acknowledge actual works of art.
Vrael: Not like Kyle gives a crap, obviously. If, however, they pull the same stunt with [Lost Haven], especially if it clearly deserves to be awarded much like the previous two, then I vote pitchforks.
Feyre: To be fair, it's not like Kyle needs another award to prove he's by far one of the best actor et composer of this generation thus far. I can at least trust the Platinum Globe and Prime Emmie to do the right thing.
WrathsFlame: [Tech Wiz] was fine since it's a superhero movie and the Oscars don't really take to them. [Epoch Two], I can forgive (barely) since its an action movie. [Lost Haven] though, we'll see how it goes.
Hypnos_the1: I swear, the Academy snubbing [Epoch Two] in the Best Original Score, Best Cinematography and Best Picture Awards still needs to be investigated. I doubt they'd dig their graves by pulling the same rubbish again though. It's either they're fair or the get wrecked this time.
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The dings of the doorbell, pulled Christina's attention from her phone.
'Oh! They're here!' her face brightened up in an instant, a beaming smile spreading to the corners of her lips.
Gently pulling herself up from the couch, she carefully made her way across their beautifully adorned and tastefully decorated chalet-bungalow to reach its door and open it.
Standing at the forefront of the opened door, was Lily and Katie.
Both had their eyes widen upon laying eyes on their close friend, amazed gasps escaping their lips.
"Christie!!!" they exclaimed gleefully!
"I know right?!" Jasmine chimed in with an audible gasp of her own!
"You. Are. Glowing!" an awestruck Sharon summed up their thoughts as she walked around the pregnant lady in circles, her ocean-blue irises gleaming.
Christina mouthed in glee, her smile radiant as she rubbed her baby bump whilst leading her friends into the living room.
A couple minutes later, after all the pleasantries had been exchanged and all the gifts had been placed in a corner of the well-furnished living room, all four ladies slumped tiredly onto the plush, comfy couches.
"The jet lag's killing me…" Katie whom had ended her second tour a few days ago whined warily.
In response, the other ladies whom had also rounded up filming for the second season of [The Promised Knight] synchronously agreed;
"Tell me about it!"
And then came the sudden curiosity.
A very understandable one at that.
"Wait, wait, wait." Jasmine tilted her head slightly, her coal-black hair gently draping to one side.
"Where's that dashing, soon-to-be father and husband of yours?" Lily followed up, her curiosity evident.
Quite instantaneously, the doorbell dinged again.
More guests had arrived.
"I'll get it!" Sharon sprung off the couch whilst Lily, Katie and Jasmine, took to ensuring Christina didn't overexert herself by having her sit still instead of heading for the door again.
* * *
At the very core of [Lost Haven]'s plot is one many would render, simple.
Your typical revenge story, set in a noir-inspired, fictional city of Lost Haven, New Jersey, 1935.
Yet, it was all the nods and beats of a few unexpected plot twists, morally ambiguous characters, betrayal, dark humor and an underlying yet subtle sense of grief that made it a genuinely intriguing story to experience.
That and its main antagonist, Victor Morello, a dedicated family manwith sadistic tendencies, who spared no effort to screw the main character over several times… and effortlessly at that.
Pedro Martinez, after a job gone awry, loses his brother, Tommy, to the Morello family's dog, Victor Morello who practically had control over everything in Lost Haven.
Miraculously surviving a gunshot to the heart, all thanks to their family heirloom of sorts, Pedro who crawls out of a pile of dead bodies at one of the Morello Family's Port (a place where most of their dirty business took place) vows to take revenge for his brother while maintaining his status as a ghost.
Just like that, the main plot of the movie was set in motion.
It followed all of Pedro's cunning schemes and machinations as he tried every possible trick in the book to not only kill Victor Morello, but also, wrench the control of Lost Haven, right out of his very grasps and leave him with nothing.
And to begin with, he had started small, teetering the edge of simply manipulating small-time businesses to go bankrupt and then swoop in to save the day, all while harboring grand plans to gradually climb up the criminal ladder to take the Morello Family's Ports for himself.
After all, if he could amass their importation business of smuggling hard drugs, firearms and women, he'd pretty much flip the reins of control over Lost Haven to his side and make their deaths as excruciatingly painful as possible.
However, his plans hadn't gone that far just yet.
In comparison to the resources the Morello Family had, his was practically dust, especially in Lost Haven where quite literally everyone was driven by the insatiable greed for money.
This was why, not all the meticulous and rational plans that a vengeful Pedro carefully set into motion, went as expected.
Then a situation cropped up.
The 'orphanage' he and his brother grew up in by the port, one they frequently visited till the latter's demise, was soon to be demolished by Don Morello to build another den of the Mafia's dirty business.
This time, Pedro wasn't planning to be rational, or meticulous.
This time, he'd decided to fight back hard and hit the Morello Family right where it hurt.
The young teenage heir to the Morello business, Alphonse Morello, whom would be arriving in the city in a few days to gain experience on how Victor, his uncle ran things in Lost Haven— he'd decided to kidnap him and make demands in return.
The orphanage would be the main bargaining chip in return for the Don's son but, in addition, Pedro wanted to capitalize on it to gain some funding of his own to accelerate his gradual takeover.
And so, having secretly hired the right people for the job, all whilst keeping his identity a secret, the ghost set the daring plan into motion.
Surprisingly, the abduction went smoothly.
However, in a stroke of terrible, terrible luck and ultimately, a civilized yet ruthless retaliation from the Morello Family, what had been a smooth abduction, ended up turning into literal shackles, both on him and his hired kidnappers.
This, as one would expect, was all thanks to the one man he was hell bent on paying back in blood.
{Lost Haven | 20th of April 2024 | Act 3 | Scene 5 | Take 1}
It was a news channel.
The most popular news channel in all of Lost Haven.
And seating at the forefront today of a Breaking News segment, was not the familiar host the citizens of Lost Haven had come to know over the years, but Victor Morello himself.
In the flesh.
Lightly tapping a finger on the desk which was littered with unmarked dollar bills, the transmission feed in black and white, he spoke with a frigid air;
"I don't agree to your demands to leave the orphanage on Westside, Franklin Street, as is."
"Rather," Victor paused, his unfeeling blue eyes staring dead into the camera.
"This is it. This, is your ransom." the tepid chill in his voice was unmistakable.
"Five million dollars, in unmarked bills, just like you asked." he gestured briefly towards the table, his interlocked fingers resting gently on it afterwards.
"Unfortunately, this is the closest you'll ever get to it." Victor's icy gaze, dipped a couple degrees lower as he continued;
"You'll never receive a single dollar of this money, because no ransom will be paid for Don Morello's son."
"Instead, this money will be offered as a reward for your heads, along with the ownership of the orphanage. Dead or alive, I could care less." Victor tapped the desk once again, his words digging deep into every viewers' soul.
"So, congratulations. You've just become a home ownership and $5 million lottery ticket." he added, the apathy in his voice evident.
And then, in an unexpected turn of events, the subtlest hint of a sadistic smile, tugged slightly on the corners of Victor's lips as he concluded;
"May the Lord be with you, because as far as Lost Haven's concerned, there isn't a single tainted soul in this godforsaken city who wouldn't turn you in for $5 million and the chance at owning a property."
In sync with his lingering words, the transmission slowly faded out as the news channel logo, came into focus.
As Pedro watched, his jawline hardening with such immense and burning hatred, he furiously popped a couple bullets into the monochrome TV with a ballistic bellow!
"Tailslate and… Cut!"
-
"That was a great take, Aiden." Xavier, after checking the cameras, briefly complimented the young actor who was all smiles.
Then he signaled to the crew who were in noticeably high spirits today considering filming had been coming along swimmingly.
"Alright people. Let's move on to the last scene for the day."
"See. Told you it'd get easier. You're doing fantastic." Kyle also complimented the young lad who seemed to be gaining more confidence the longer he stayed on set.
"Thanks Kyle. That really means a lot." the rookie actor scratched the back of his head with a thankful smile.
"Don't mention it. Keep up the good work." the superstar waved it off with a light gesture of his arms.
"Well, I'd best be on my way!" Kyle turned around to leave, a box containing party supplies, tucked between his arm and lateral torso as he whistled a tune Aiden had been hearing more and more of in recent memory.
'Huh… I wonder if that's part of the movie's score…' the rookie actor pondered curiously.
"Aiden! Come over! We need help with a reference shot!" Xavier's call, pierced through the young man's thought.
"Coming!" the young actor was already on his way to meet with the Director and the crew.
As for Kyle, whom had only branched on set to check out if things were coming along smoothly, he had long since left the set to head home.
Xavier too, when he was done shooting for the day, would head over with Cassandra for the baby shower.