The first few years, Aiden had been living here in America, it was extremely hard for him to familiarise himself with things and everything was very expensive.
There were a lot of failures in his life and sometimes, he would just come across a rude passenger while driving his taxi.
In those times, this theatre was a place of calm for him, the doorway to a lot of movies that he was only able to watch on his TV or laptop screen. Watching them in a theatre, even with a low occupancy, was an experience in itself.
For his first date with Ava, he chose this place because of how memorable it was for him.
Moreover, Ava always asks him about his experiences when he first came here and his past. So, he thought it would be a place she would enjoy, especially as someone who loved movies.
"So, how many movies have you watched here?" Ava asked, looking at Aiden as they walked towards the ticket counter. He pulled up a mask just in case and she smiled seeing this.
"Around 40-50. Most of them were old ones or classics. Sometimes, they would get those B grade movies. Apparently, the projectionist really likes them and once in a while, he would talk about the B grade film business and how they would spread through DVDs. Good times, he would call them."
Aiden kept talking about it and Ava just listened, enjoying the tales from his past. Something he would seldom talk about and it was also the thing that she was always curious about.
'He's doing his best to open up to me.'
She thought in her mind and felt nice.
They reached the ticket counter and the employee there quickly got them two tickets for the next show of [Love Today], a 1987 rom com that Aiden had never seen before.
Apparently, it hadn't worked at the box office but the critics liked it. That's what he got on the internet.
"Here are your tickets."
The employee said that and After getting the tickets, they waited till the current show was over. According to the employees, there were only a small number of people inside.
"Have you watched it before?"
Aiden asked when he saw that Ava was looking at the poster for the film. She seemed a bit zoned out suddenly.
"I have a history with the movie."
"Like what?"
"Well..."
She was about to answer when people came out of the screening. Without answering, she gestured to Aiden to enter the hall and he decided to ask about it later.
There were not a lot of people in the hall and it was mostly empty. People weren't really fans of the movie and a few of them have just come here to pass time because of cheap ticket prices.
There were even a few couples who came here to just makeout with each other in peace. Both of them just ignored the others and waited for the movie to start while whispering among themselves from time to time.
"You know when I used to watch those old movies here, I used to wonder which one I would do if I became a movie star. Back then, it was still a dream. I used to imagine myself in the roles and write them down, thinking that I will do this type of role in the future no matter what. Those were my dream roles."
"Did any of those roles come true? Was Kai one of them?"
"Well, playing a psychopath isn't a dream role. It just happens. It's weird if I dream of playing a crazy murderer. Then, something is wrong with me."
Ava laughed at that and soon, the movie started and they stopped talking.
The movie plot was very simple and it revolved around a man who had just lost his wife in a car accident and was going through depression. It was actually a plot point that was used often.
But in this movie, it was executed extremely well, going deep into the mental health and how it affected the person. The story starts when the main character meets a girl in a help program who had been abused since childhood but always came across as a bright person.
As they got closer, the main character started to wonder why the girl was always so bright despite so many bad things in her life. It made him get closer to her.
That was the crux of the story.
The theme of seeing things from a different perspective was really binded well together and it was something that everyone could relate to.
Aiden was a bit surprised when the movie had flopped. He realised halfway through that it was very good. It had even aged well.
Something that a majority of hit movies from the 80s and 90s can't say in the modern world where themes of women empowerment and other ideologies have taken over.
As the third act of the movie started, Aiden whispered.
"I really wondered why it didn't work at the box office. This movie is a very good rom com and the underlying themes are much more than that."
Ava heard him and couldn't help but ask, "You like it?"
"Yeah, if I was offered the script of the movie, I would have done it."
"Maybe if you have done it, then it won't be a disaster."
Hearing that, Aiden found it a bit strange and looked at her for a second. How did she know that it was a disaster?
"You have watched this movie before right? And there's something more than that too."
Ava smiled hearing that and after thinking for a bit, she nodded.
"My dad produced it back in the day."
Aiden widened his eyes hearing that. He hadn't expected something like this. He had just come to watch the movie with her randomly but it was produced by her father! She rarely talked about her family and although Aiden had hunches, he had never asked.
This was the first time she was openly talking about her family.
"He was very excited about it and used to talk about it daily. I can see his enthusiasm and it reflects everyday. It was an extremely important project for him as it was the first movie he was producing after working as a screenwriter and an ad director for years."
She talked and Aiden just listened, finding it very interesting.
"He will tell me the story of <Love Today> daily, in parts, like they were small stories before bedtime. He even got a moderately successful actor and a very beautiful newcomer for the movie. Everything was set up but when it opened up, it wasn't good."
A dark cloud covered her stiff face as she thought of those times.
"The opening was low but the critics liked it, so he was expecting it to earn more and more as it goes. Several indie hits are like that but it didn't grow. Then, just a week later, an action movie opened at the box office. It was an instant hit. One person fighting against the whole army. Critics gave it bad reviews but the audience loved it. Completely opposite of <Love Today>."
"The losses would be huge."
Aiden muttered. Looking at the whole production cost that had gone into the movie and how good everything looked and sounded, he was guessing that the cost of making it was at least in the range of 5-15 million dollars.
Not easy for just one person who was producing his own movie.
"They were huge. He was depressed with the failure. I remember how it was back then but we needed money and he needed to work overtime to sustain everything. He wrote scripts day and night and even started to hate his writing. It took him years before he recovered from the loss. In those years, he always did one thing."
"What?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow, seemingly curious. Ava smiled, liking the fact that he was interested in the story.
"He used to take me to the theatre every week. Apparently, his friend was the projectionist so it was free. We will watch from his room and he will write down things."
"What things?"
"Things like which scenes got the best audience reaction and what story kept them glued to the screen. The scenes that elevated the atmosphere and the jokes that landed. And those that didn't. He was studying all the time."
"He produced another movie?"
"Yes."
Aiden didn't ask whether the movie was a success or not. He already had an idea about it and there was no need to ask any further.
But it was interesting how a person studied audience reaction to grasp what will work and what will not. Her dad changed his whole perspective after facing failure.
The movie ended soon after that and when they got out of the theatre hall, both of them seemed to have a good experience.
It was that Ava asked.
"There's a park close to here. Want to take a walk?"
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