The filming of Buried progressed rapidly. Under the refinement of time and his own perseverance, Daniel's acting finally blossomed with brilliant intensity in this film. Edward wrapped up the entire shoot in just twelve days, and only now was the crew for Alien fully prepared to begin filming.
That alone showed just how unbelievably fast Buried was produced—even Zoroark, who had been watching the process and had seen part of the film, found it hard to believe.
"Boss, you finished a whole movie that fast?" Zoroark still sounded incredulous at the wrap party for Buried. There weren't many people at the celebration—several characters in the movie only appeared via voiceover, and Edward had hired professional voice actors to record those parts in studios using the script.
So those voice actors never set foot on set, and naturally weren't at the wrap party.
"Yeah, Daniel's acting was really solid. I originally thought it would take at least half a month," Edward said, stifling a yawn. He'd been quite busy lately—juggling filming with managing Devon Corporation's affairs, working non-stop every day.
On top of that, he was also prepping Alien. Edward now deeply understood what true self-inflicted torture meant. If he hadn't planned to shoot two films back-to-back, things wouldn't have been this exhausting. So, after some thought, he decided to temporarily put Manchester by the Sea on hold and film it after Alien wrapped.
"Oh right, boss—do you have Ms. Kugimiya's contact info?" Zoroark asked hopefully. Edward paused for a second—Kugimiya? Ah, right. That was the voice actor enthusiastically recommended by an agent from the voice acting agency they had worked with.
After hearing her voice, Edward felt it was a great fit and decided to cast her.
"Of course I have it. Are you trying to…" Edward answered instinctively, but then realized what was going on. He gave Zoroark a playful smile. Zoroark coughed awkwardly, then babbled on about how the voice actor had voiced characters from all its favorite games and anime—making Edward want to laugh even more.
Of course, Edward was a bit of an otaku himself in his past life, so he understood Zoroark's excitement. And to be honest, Kugimiya's voice did sound just like a certain famous voice actress from his previous world.
Naturally, Edward had saved her contact info. After confirming her consent, he passed it along to Zoroark.
As Zoroark happily ran off to message its idol, Edward shook his head helplessly but didn't say anything more. He simply smiled and chatted with the rest of the crew and Daniel.
"Boss, I really want to thank you! Letting me star in such an amazing script means the world to me!" Daniel said emotionally.
Edward sighed. Ever since casting Daniel as the male lead in Sherlock Holmes, the guy had been endlessly grateful.
Edward had told him over and over that there was no need to be so dramatic. He chose Daniel because of the effort and dedication he had shown—his accumulated experience had earned Edward's recognition.
But Daniel remained just as grateful. So, Edward simply encouraged him to keep honing his craft and make enough money to repay his parents.
Edward knew well—Daniel's greatest regret in life was not being able to give his parents a better life. Now, with just his paycheck from Sherlock Holmes, Daniel's life had already transformed.
Soon after, the wrap party ended. Edward called in the studio's post-production team to begin editing the film. He planned to release Buried ahead of schedule, since Alien would take more time to shoot. This way, he could monitor how Buried performed without the two films clashing.
Though even if they did clash, Edward wasn't too worried—they were two completely different genres with largely separate audiences. Of course, he couldn't rule out fans who'd see both just because he directed them.
After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to stagger the releases. He also wanted to see how audiences responded to Buried, both in terms of reviews and box office—and most importantly, whether it could generate fear points.
This was Edward's first attempt at directing a thriller. Buried was a unique genre experiment, and he wasn't sure if it would truly scare audiences. But with all the abilities he had backing him, he felt pretty confident.
After watching the film himself, all he could say was—it felt amazing.
Edward even thought about reminding theaters to double-check their ventilation systems—otherwise, someone might end up passing out. That wouldn't be a pleasant PR situation.
"Oh right, the online buzz…" Edward suddenly remembered the drama that had birthed Buried. An idea struck him, and he gathered the post-production team, announcing a generous bonus scheme to encourage faster editing.
Under the tireless, borderline-insane effort of the Ghost Film Pictures post team—and with Edward supervising—Buried completed editing and review at lightning speed. It was quickly submitted to the League's film review board for approval.
At the same time, news of the new release hit the internet.
[Director Edward Stone's New Film! Thriller Buried Premiering Soon—A Response to Online Rumors?]
[From Viral Rumor to Completed Film, Director Edward's Rush Feels Alarming]
[Buried: Another Hit Thriller from Director Edward Stone, Starring Daniel Clovis!]
The internet lit up.
Edward's controversy with Kendall hadn't faded yet. While the internet had a short memory, this time the hype persisted—so naturally, the public hadn't forgotten. The debate raged once more.
Over on a major video-streaming platform, Kendall was livestreaming.
"Edward's new movie Buried? Of course, I know about it," Kendall said confidently, fanning himself with a fan inscribed with the characters 'Authentic Critic.'
"Now, I'm not trying to be a hater here, but I really don't have high hopes for this one."
Kendall understood that negative attention was still attention. Some viewers would even mistake his bluntness for honesty and become fans.
[Kendall's back at it. Riding Edward's coattails got him a million followers already—who wouldn't milk that?]
[Buried? Sounds weak, and didn't they say the whole thing was shot in just 12 days?]
[12 days? That's probably a record for shortest production time ever!]
[Even with Daniel, a 12-day shoot isn't gonna hold up.]
Many doubters filled the chat.
Alongside the hype came rumors.
"Ahem. My sources tell me Officer Jenny showed up during the shoot for Buried. Looks grim," Kendall smirked as the stream chat exploded.
[I heard Director Edward nearly killed Daniel for the sake of realism!]
[Seriously? Didn't Ghost Film Pictures release a statement saying it was a misunderstanding?]
[And you believed that? Plenty of companies issued legal threats and still crashed afterward!]
As the online debate grew louder, industry insiders were confused by Ghost Film Pictures' silence. Aside from a brief clarification about Officer Jenny's involvement, the studio didn't say much.
It wasn't what anyone expected from a professional PR team. Ignoring the flames would usually only let them grow.
Then, at the height of the controversy, Ghost Film Pictures dropped two more announcements.
[Alien is now in production. Main cast includes...]
[Regarding all recent controversies, answers will be revealed after the premiere of Buried. Don't miss it.]
These simple statements sparked even more discussion.
Some people even tried dragging Devon Corporation into the controversy, but those voices were swiftly silenced—barely making a ripple.
After all, Devon had been a leading enterprise for so long that plenty of competitors were constantly looking to bring it down.
—
Inside Devon Corp, the head of the PR department looked at Secretary Kennedy, puzzled.
"Secretary Kennedy, what is the Chairman thinking?"
Even though Edward was filming in Kanto, Kennedy hadn't gone with him. Under his coordination, Devon was running like clockwork.
But the PR chief couldn't understand why Edward had instructed the department to only handle Devon's image, while telling them to ignore all of Ghost Film Pictures' issues. Aside from a few statements, they had left everything else untouched.
"Who knows?" Kennedy replied calmly, sipping tea as he reviewed documents on his computer. He sorted out the ones that required Edward's decisions and placed them in a separate folder to send later.
The PR head pursed his lips but returned to monitoring online sentiment.
"My Arceus… the buzz around Ghost Film Pictures is insane. Four of the top ten trending topics are related to them," he muttered in awe.
This level of hype was rare. But then, a thought struck him.
All this buzz was like a vortex pulling Ghost Film Pictures in deeper. If Buried turned out to be amazing, then Ghost Film Pictures would receive massive attention and acclaim. The box office could soar to unimaginable heights.
And the Chairman's fame would skyrocket—Edward could instantly become a top-tier director, maybe even win awards.
But if Buried turned out to be underwhelming, it would all collapse. The reputation Edward had built would be questioned. A label like "failure" might even get slapped on him.
"This is… a huge gamble," the PR chief gulped.
If they succeeded, the rewards would be astronomical. Edward could become a legendary director. But if he failed—
The PR chief glanced at Kennedy, who still looked perfectly calm.
That calmed him down too. After all, he had worked with Kennedy for years and knew how steady the man was. If the Chairman hadn't confided in Kennedy, the ever-cautious secretary would never have agreed to this risk.
Kennedy was always composed and meticulous—he'd even kept the previous chairman on task.
Yet now, he looked completely unbothered. That could only mean one thing—
"Secretary Kennedy~ could I sneak a peek too?" the PR chief grinned as he tried to cozy up to him.
Kennedy glanced at him, a little exasperated. There was no fooling the upper ranks—everyone in Devon's leadership was sharp. The company promoted based on merit, so none of the higher-ups were pushovers.
Clearly, this guy had figured things out.
"If you're that curious, just go see it the day after tomorrow. That's when the Chairman's film premieres," Kennedy replied with a smile.
Chairman Edward had insisted on keeping the film secret. Kennedy had only watched it after arguing that the risk was too high otherwise.
But after seeing it, he was stunned.
There were no cheap jump scares, no creepy background music—just a calm, straightforward narrative. And yet, when it ended, he was left speechless.
It felt like he had been buried in that terrifying box, suffocating underground, unable to escape the dread.
Seeing Kennedy's mysterious smile, the PR chief became even more curious. But he held back. It was only two days away—he'd see for himself soon enough.
He'd find out just how good this movie really was—good enough to make even the ever-steady Kennedy support such a high-stakes gamble.
(End of Chapter)