Hollywood What If Chapter 248

Kazir met the producer for the first time, it was a meeting with some of Marvel staff. They were currently choosing the costume design for Spider-Man and Green Goblin.

At first the meeting was peaceful, the staff from Marvel Comics were having a nice conversation with Kazir... They were probing about Kazir's intention with the superhero characters that Grey Pictures bought from them.

Marvel Comics was at their lowest and they were trying to find a way to turn things around. They felt that movie adaptations were the right idea. After all, this generation preferred motion pictures than comics.

The movie adaptation of Blade had a great response and Marvel Comics found that their superheroes had what it takes to be on the theater screen. They gained profit from that movie as well. Too bad, the movie was bought by New Line Cinema and Marvel Comics couldn't maximize their profit.

Note that Marvel Studio, the production company responsible for the MCU was still not founded.

Anyway, profit was still profit.

So yeah, these staff wanted to know if Kazir was going to sabotage them or not.

At first they wanted to buy back the copyrights of their superheroes but Marvel had to buy in a significant amount, and as if Grey Pictures would sell that easily.

But the success of Continental Cinematic Universe made them realize that Kazir Grey definitely had a plan for their superheroes. As for what it was, they hoped it was something positive.

Actually, Marvel Comics pushed the idea of working with Kazir Grey and Sony-Columbia abided their desire since Kazir was a great director.

He had an experience with movie adaptation since The Bourne Identity was based on a novel and Kazir did a good job with the project.

Anyway, the situation in the meeting room turned sour when a female costume designer showed up to present her artwork. The woman wanted to be a fashion designer but entering the fashion industry was not that simple. She currently works as part of the costume design team.

When the crew saw her designs, they nodded and knew that her art sheets were the best so far. They were detailed as well.

Most of the crew members of this project didn't come from Grey Pictures and were hired by Sony-Columbia, so Kazir didn't know the woman.

"I think this is the best one we have so far."

He admitted and everyone around him agreed. Except for the producer.

"Um..." Jezebel Salome, the producer of this project, nudged her eyeglasses and said her opinion.

"I think the Green Goblin looks goofy. The audience will make fun of our villain if we make the Green Goblin look like this. We should choose the one earlier, his designs are great."

Jezebel smiled at the female designer but her eyes were not that empathizing.

"..."

Kazir kept his mouth shut for a second.

'This is actually the costume that Willem Dafoe wore in the movie. Except for some color schemes, they are basically the same.'

Now, the question was... Should Kazir agree with the producer?

'As expected, working with people you didn't know will have some complications.'

"Jezebel, the designs are very close to the comic counterpart. Although I agree with you."

"I'm glad that we have the same idea--"

"We should drop the purple color and make the suit completely green, shiny green."

"..."

Jezebel stopped talking. She looked down at the art sheets and nodded weakly.

"Okay... Okay, we can do that."

The atmosphere in the room turned better after that. Now, they have costume design references. They should now look for the characters who would use these costumes.

Kazir knew that keeping the original cast was the right thing to do. The original movie was successful and he admitted that the cast was part of the reasons.

So Kazir personally invited Willem Dafoe to audition. Willem Dafoe was the deceased Marcus in Continental Cinematic Universe and he had a status in Hollywood now.

Many fans expressed their sadness when Marcus died and Willem Dafoe's image was good because of that.

So when he received a call from Kazir that the director wanted him to be the villain in a superhero movie, the actor was hesitant. Actors should maintain a personality. If he accepted this role, perhaps his public image would be affected.

People hate villains, after all.

However after reading the script, Willem Dafoe admitted that he was interested in the role. Norman Osborn/Green Goblin was not a 2-dimensional character. He had a good reason why he turned evil. That caught Willem's attention.

In the end, Willem Dafoe attended the audition. The agent was against it but not that much. The director of this project was Kazir Grey, the one responsible for Willem's recent stardom in Hollywood. Perhaps Willem was trying to return the favor. Besides, who didn't like to work with Kazir?

Heck, more and more actresses were trying to flirt with him just because they wanted to work with the director.

Reese Witherspoon, Cameron Diaz, and Angelina Jolie worked with Kazir... There was a rumor that for you to have a chance with the guy, you have to work with him first.

So yeah, it affected the audition for the female roles.

"Willem, there's no reason to test your acting. Everyone here knows that you're s great actor. I can testify to that."

"Thanks, Kazir."

"I guess both of us have an agreement then?"

1/3 of the people in the audition room were from Sony-Columbia and Marvel Comics and they didn't have a problem with Kazir's decision. They all watched Willem Dafoe's audition and it was amazing. Furthermore, his appearance sits well with the Norman Osborn they imagined.

"I'll call my agent."

"I hope we can finalize this as fast as possible."

"I hope so too."

Hollywood What If Chapter 249

Willem Dafoe left the room after that. Yet despite knowing that the role was already taken, the audition role still looked for second and third choices.

They kept the audition for Norman Osborn's role open for many reasons.

If Willem's side didn't didn't want to work with them, then the crew had to find another actor to fill the role. But honestly, Kazir wanted Willem to get the role. For that, he didn't have a problem with increasing another million dollars in his salary if the negotiations didn't work. If that amount is not enough, then go with the plan B.

...

...

...

Now that the role of Norman Osborn was in good hands, the crew started looking for Mary Jane. In the comics, Spider-Man had a lot of lovers. Although his famous lovers were Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy. Unfortunately, most of his relationships didn't end well.

In this movie adaptation, they decided to go with the safest route. Tobey's lover would be Mary Jane.

Dozens of actresses already auditioned for the role of Mary Jane. Some of them were quite famous in the industry.

But the one thing that troubled him was the producer who was sitting next to him. Jezebel was quite a critic, she kept telling all of the mistakes that each actress made so the audition for today was like walking on eggshells.

"Miss Kirsten Dunst, are you fine with dyeing your hair red?"

Stan Lee asked. The man didn't attend the audition yesterday because he had other things to do. So this time, the old man was trying to be active.

Stan Lee already had a conversation with Kazir but the topic of the superheroes' copyrights was still not talked about. Marvel Comics was still trying to understand the director. They didn't want to fuck up this once-in-a-lifetime moment to convince Kazir about their plan of making a Cinematic Universe.

"Yes, I can do it."

Kirsten nodded. She knew that Mary Jane Watson in the comics had red hair. Because she was not sure if she could get the role, Kirsten didn't dye her hair.

"Miss Kirsten, I can see that you're not serious and passionate about this role at all. At least the other actresses dyed their hair, showing their clear intentions. I'm sorry but I gonna give you a minus because of that."

"I- I understand."

Kirsten Dunst stuttered and slightly blushed from embarrassment. But she didn't want to damage her hair without the assurance that she would get the role.

Stan Lee did his best to make the atmosphere peaceful. As for Kazir, he was quiet the whole, always in his mind, and rarely spoke.

'If I'm not wrong, Kirsten Dunst had a kissing scene with Brad Pitt in Dance With The Vampire. Just to be clear, Kirsten was only 12 years old at that time.'

Kazir couldn't remember the exact story but Kirsten indeed kissed Brad in that movie.

As for hiring Kirsten Dunst... Kazir was not sure what was the right thing to do. Again, he had some trouble choosing, especially when the producer next to him was making passive-aggressive comments. Well, her criticism was not that bad.

"We have a wig. You can wear it and we will discuss if you fit the role. There's no problem with the acting, we just want to know if red hair works with you."

A few minutes later, a make-up artist did his best to give Kirsten a makeover. Yup, most of the crew members were not from Grey Pictures. The head of the make-up team of Grey Pictures was Jane, not a male.

The people checked the actress' appearance and nodded. Well, it was not that bad. Not that great, but not that bad either.

Once Kirsten Dunst left the room apolitically, knowing that she fucked up, Kazir announced something.

"Put Kirsten Dunst on the top list. For now, she's our first choice."

"Wha-- Okay, I understand."

Jezebel was shocked at first. She gritted her teeth but decided to keep her cool. Obviously, this time, she was not at fault.

Unlike the original screenplay, this movie was based on comics, and actresses and actors had a lot of time to prepare themselves. In Kirsten's position, she could just dye her hair or put on a wig before attending the audition. Yet the woman appeared in her blonde hair.

The audition had a break after that. Unlike yesterday, it seemed that choosing the female lead might take a while.

Kazir's reason for putting Kirsten Dunst on the top list was because of his knowledge. He knew that the original Mary Jane was Kirsten Dunst.

The break was ongoing and Kazir decided to eat salad, quite craving for a healthy diet. He looked at his phone and chuckled when he received a message from Angelina Jolie, telling him that she missed him. Kazir texted back.

While eating, he realized that the makeup artist was eating slightly close to his table. The director decided to talk to the makeup artist.

"You're the makeup artist, right."

"Yes, I'm Peyton Joel."

"Just call me Kazir. Anyway, Peyton, do you know Jezebel? I just want to ask, but does she have a problem with women or something? I realized that most of the crew members are men."

"Ah, about that... I don't know if I should say this but I guess it's important for you to know since it might affect the filming. Based on what I heard, Jezebel was abused by her mother and her sisters hit her because she was acting righteous and smart. I heard that her female classmates bullied her when she was at school as well, apparently, she was a smart woman and they didn't like that about her."

"I see, thanks, Peyton. Please keep this between us."

"I understand."

Trauma was a real thing. Even Kazir suffered from trauma, he was not sure if he already overcome it. He thought of doing therapy but he felt like it was a waste of time. His therapy was his work, he loved working very much.

As for Jezebel, too bad but her prejudice was affecting the production. Kazir hoped that this problem wouldn't become huge.