Hollywood What If Chapter 277
Jimmy Kimmel Live! A show that recently popped up in ABC last year and it was slowly gaining fans all over the US.
It was a talk show with good ratings.
This time, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros decided to work with the show to promote the movie The Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring.
The audience in the studio clapped their hands as Viggo Mortensen showed up.
Jimmy Kimmel and Viggo Mortensen started talking, particularly focused on The Lord Of The Rings. Viggo talked about his experience in New Zealand and how Director Peter Jackson was a good director.
"By the way, I just want to congratulate you on your other movie. John Wick Chapter 2 is an amazing movie, I love it. You look good in a suit with guns in your hands."
"Thanks," Viggo humbly smiled. His career flourished and now he was certified a superstar. Two of his movies last year were doing very well.
John Wick Chapter 2 made over $600 million worldwide. While Lord Of The Rings was currently on $245 million at the North American box office. With that, his status in the industry elevated.
"Of course you look good with a sword too."
"Holding a sword is quite hard because they are real metal. Not sharp but indeed heavy."
"Tell me about, did you train swordsmanship for this movie?" Jimmy Kimmel Live! and New Line Cinema had cooperation and the talk show received money to promote the movie.
"Ah, yes, I did six months of training. Thankfully, I already have a lot of experience regarding training before Lord Of The Rings. I train for my role as John Wick."
"Tell me about it, how was it working with someone like Kazir Grey? Everyone is curious about him."
"He's a serious guy. Strict and always composed. He's an amazing director. Most of the time, he just knew what scene to film and there was no wasting time regarding the positioning of the cameras and such. Like he already envisions everything about the movie."
"Yeah, I heard about that. Apparently, he's very professional and never takes a vacation. Is that true?"
"I guess so. I mean, I never saw the guy have fun, or rather working is fun for him. He mostly put his time on work."
Viggo explained.
The news regarding Spider-Man was quite positive for Sony-Columbia and Kazir. The movie was close to $900 million after three weeks in January. The movie already ended its screening in the US but the movie was doing well overseas.
The hype regarding Spider-Man was still going strong. The merchandise related to the movie was selling like hotcakes. The production has to work overtime just to keep up with the demands.
You see, Spider-Man was for all ages. Even 50-year-old men like the movie. The character Spider-Man was created in the 1960s and slowly gathered fans. And now that Spider-Man was released in theaters, the hype regarding the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man just blew up.
Jimmy Kimmel and Viggo Mortensen talked a few minutes later before the show reached its end.
"You're friends with Matt Damon, right?" Jimmy Kimmel asked.
"Ah, yeah, we are friends. We have worked in Wanted two years ago." Viggo responded, he already knew where this was going.
"Then can you please tell him sorry and that the show's over, we ran out of time and come back the next time."
Viggo chuckled and nodded.
"Okay, I'll tell him about that."
The fake beef between Jimmy Kimmel and Matt Damon might have been the longest-running gag in the history of the TV show. It started with Jimmy Kimmel calling out Matt Damon as a joke until Matt Damon himself decided to play along.
...
...
...
Kazir was stepped out of the CCU as a director but it didn't mean that he abandoned the project. Hell no, he usually attends to the production if he has time.
He was the executive producer... Actually, his position was not that simple. After all, Kazir was the sole owner of Grey Pictures and he was the boss. Even Harold Witsend, the current producer of CCU, was working under him.
Being the executive producer, Kazir naturally attended the 3rd round of auditions for the female lead.
This time, the crew had a list of actresses who had strong box-office appeal who applied for the role.
2002 and Hollywood just kept getting stronger. People all over the world now recognize many superstars from the US.
'Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts, Cate Blanchett, and Jennifer Connelly... Wow, so you're saying that these actresses are interested in being a part of CCU?'
Honestly, yes. Continental Cinematic Universe was not a small project, not anymore. After the huge success of Wanted two years ago, so many actresses/actors in Hollywood became interested in this certain Cinematic Universe.
Furthermore, The Fast and The Furious and John Wick Chapter 2 earned huge at the box office as well. This showed that the influence of the Continental Cinematic Universe was getting stronger. At least many fans were waiting for their next movie.
After so many movies that mostly had male protagonists, Mr and Mrs Smith was the only movie in the CCU that had an obvious female lead. Well, one of the leading roles was female so they might as well grab the opportunity.
Kazir didn't set any appearance for Mrs. Smith. He just wanted the woman to be sexy and beautiful and knew how to fight.
So it seemed that this role gained the attention of many actresses. The actresses who auditioned for the role already have a steady foothold in the industry. They could get a job every year with no problem.
'Charlize Theron and Cate Blanchett already performed and their performances were not bad. They seem healthy and it looks like they already trained for the role.'
Kazir loved the dedication, not going to lie.
He turned to Doug Liman, the current director of Mr and Mrs Smith. The guy nodded at him and invited the next actress.
"Hello, I'm Naomi Watts. I've worked in Mulholland Drive last year. I'm here for the role of Jane Smith."
As expected, Naomi Watts was looking great. Beautiful and sexy, she already checked the appearance requirements.
The woman slightly glanced at Kazir and smiled, the two of them had been acquaintances long before. Kazir nodded but maintained his expression.
Naomi and Kazir first met at Tom Cruise's party back in 1995. And yeah, they almost have a fling if not for Carl Morin who disturbed them. Since then, Kazir and Naomi have been a bit close but couldn't be called friends.
Hollywood What If Chapter 278
"Miss Watts, let us start your audition."
Doug Liman said while the cameraman started filming. They record the audition of the cast.
Naomi Watts nodded. For this movie, she was given a chance to perform a scene in the script that she liked.
As expected, Naomi decided to go with the dinner scene. The part where the Smith couple met at the dinner table after they realized that the other person was actually an agent.
"How was Atlanta?"
"Big deal?"
Despite doing a solo performance, Naomi did the part right.
Solo performance, sometimes called One-Man Show. Naomi said her lines as if she was really talking to her husband.
However, a minute into her audition, Doug Liman raised his hand and stopped her.
"Your acting is great, but I want to see you act with another person."
The role of Mr. Smith was still unoccupied because the crew was still deciding between the three actors which were Hugh Grant, Russell Crowe, and Brad Pitt. The crew was okay with casting Hugh Grant and Russell Crowe because their salaries were affordable. Producer Harold Witsend preferred the two.
However, both Doug Liman and Kazir Grey prefer Brad Pitt. Grey Pictures was not a small production studio anymore and they could afford to hire superstars. Heck, Kazir and Tom Cruise even have a collaboration this year.
Since Doug and Kazir were interested in casting Brad Pitt, the negotiation started. Brad Pitt agreed to a trilogy and cameos but the salary was still getting negotiated.
So since there was no official Mr Smith at the moment, someone had to step in to join Naomi for her audition.
"Kazir, um, would you mind?"
Doug talked to Kazir who was next to him. Inside the audition room, only Kazir had experience in acting. He had been in so many movies... All of them were cameos of course.
Kazir nodded and agreed. He knew that Doug had no hidden intentions. He already did this twice earlier when Charlize Theron and Cate Blanchett showed up.
Kazir sat across from Naomi who was poised and gorgeous. The two started their acting.
He was not a professional actor so he could not keep up with Naomi. Just like in the dinner scene, Kazir and Naomi talked peacefully at first until guns were brought up... Fake guns(props) of course.
They had a scuffle until both of them admitted that they loved each other and they didn't want to kill each other. Naomi was so close to Kazir, it was a miracle that Kazir maintained his sanity.
"Too bad, this is just an audition and I can't kiss you... Unless you want me to."
Naomi whispered into his ear and Kazir slightly blushed. After that, the actress thanked Kazir and the acting ended.
"Miss Naomi, are you fine with trilogy and cameos."
"Yes. I want to be part of the Continental Cinematic Universe."
A common response. All of the actresses who auditioned had almost the same answer.
"You have to sign three to four months of training once you get the role, are you prepared for that?"
"I've been exercising and I'm confident in my body."
Perhaps these questions were so obvious since CCU was all action movies.
All of the actresses who auditioned were fit and went to the gym to train.
"That's good to hear."
Doug Liman ended the audition, he said to Naomi that she would receive a call today or tomorrow regarding the result of her audition.
Once Naomi left the room, the people started talking about her and said their thoughts on Naomi's audition.
'This is going to be tough. Every one of them is amazing to work with. Personally, I prefer Charlize and Naomi in terms of appearance but I prefer Cate if we're talking about acting.'
'Charlize Theron might be the first choice because her future films were Aeon Flux and Mad Max: Fury Road. But we can't be sure that she is currently fit for action movies.'
However, the three actresses were all expensive to hire. All of them already have a foothold in the industry and they could ask for a minimum of $2.5 million. That might be a problem since there would be trilogies and cameos. Furthermore, they already had a talk with Brad Pitt and the guy was asking for at least $7 million on the first movie alone. It would be painful if the actress would ask for more.
Even if Grey Pictures has a bigger budget and can afford big expenditures, they have to be smart regarding their money.
Another truth was that there was a pay gap between actors and actresses. It didn't help that actors have longer peak careers than actresses as well.
Even if actors were over 50 years old, they could still get leading roles but that was the opposite for actresses. If an actress reached the point of 50 years old, it would be hard for her to compete with younger actresses.
The crew won't spend big on an actress unless she was Julia Roberts or Michelle Pfeiffer, these actresses had worldwide box office appeal.
Then, Doug Liman called for the last actress who would audition for Mrs. Smith.
Kazir was not surprised when he saw Jennifer Connelly. She was still beautiful as expected.
'She's born in 1970, she's only two years younger than me, huh.' Kazir thought to himself while looking at Jennifer's information.
Yes, Kazir was 33 years old as of 2002.
Jennifer glanced at Kazir but kept her emotions... She was surprised that the guy she saw wheezing in the gym and vomiting at a party was actually a superstar director.
Her first impression of the man was not positive but more on the negative side. Her agent told her to audition for the role because the era of Cinematic Universe was getting started and Jennifer needed a steady role. Her career lately was steady... Well, actually, it was getting downhill and she needed a breakthrough.
CCU might be her door to accomplish that. Since she was here, she might as well do her best.
She kept her smile and started her audition... Only to realize that Kazir would participate in the dinner scene. Yep, she chose the dinner scene as well. Perhaps because it was one of the most compelling scenes in the movie.
[This is the best I can write today. I'll try to write two chapters tomorrow instead.]
Hollywood What If Chapter 279
"I- I'm sorry, wait what?"
Jennifer realized that she made a mistake. She met Kazir twice and the first impression that the man showed was not appealing.
However, when she faced the man, she realized that Kazir was actually tall and big. As they started the audition, Jennifer slowly lost her focus and forgot her line.
"That's fine, Miss Connelly. We can end the audition here."
Doug Liman announced and Jennifer immediately stepped back.
After the audition, Doug Liman started asking Jennifer about the trilogy and cameos contract and her interest in undergoing physical training.
Jennifer said yes to everything and left the room.
"... So who should we pick?"
The who asked that was Harold Witsend. He had an artistic sense since he was once a props master. In his opinion, all four of the actresses were beautiful and appealing. They were fit for the role.
"Naomi Watts and Charlize Theron seem promising."
Doug Liman said and Kazir agreed. Both directors had the same thought.
"Harold, who do you think should we cast?"
"Well, I guess I'll go and choose Jennifer Connelly."
"Why?" Kazir curiously asked.
"How should I say it... Her career is not that good compared to the other three. We can hire her at a cheap salary."
"..."
Kazir realized that Harold was starting to become a real producer. The guy based his opinion on budget!
"She's beautiful, she can act, and her status is not that great. Definitely someone we can exploit."
'Woah woah woah, Harold you're taking this far. I take back my opinion, you're now a bonafide producer.'
Kazir touched his chin. He was against Harold's thought process but it was true that Jennifer had a cheaper salary than the others.
Naomi Watts' career would level up after the success of Mulholland Drive. She would participate in King Kong, The Ring, Le Divorce, and other movies. If we cast her, her next salary might become $5 might at least.
Charlize Theron and Cate Blanchett were the same.
Cate Blanchett would win the Best Supporting Actress in 2004 and Best Actress in 2013.
Charlize Theron also won the Best Actress in her role in Monster(2003). She would also star in many blockbusters such as The Italian Job, Hancock, Snow White and The Huntsman, and many more.
'... I guess it's a good thing I acquired the movie adaptation rights of Hulk from Universal Pictures. If not, Jennifer Connelly might star again in Hulk(2003) which was a box office flop.'
Kazir's butterfly effect slightly changed Jennifer's career.
"I guess we should cast her. What do you think, Doug?"
"I'm fine with that."
Doug was just starting his career in the industry and he didn't have strong authority against Kazir and Harold so he agreed.
"Harold, contact Jennifer and her agent. Make them sign a contract as fast as possible since they are going to train."
"Alright."
The negotiation between the two sides would start again... However, Kazir forgot that Jennifer Connelly actually had a nomination for this year's Oscar for her role in A Beautiful Mind.
Anyway, they would tackle the problem once they were there.
...
...
...
Unlike Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Bourne Supremacy didn't spend much time auditioning. After all, this was a sequel and most of the cast was already filled.
Kazir knew that this moment would come so he decided to attend their script reading and just as he expected, he met Cameron Diaz.
Cameron Diaz already has a good career and she could terminate to contract if she wanted to. She could probably afford the termination but Cameron Diaz decided to keep her role.
The salary that Grey Pictures offered was $5 million since Cameron was not that simple anymore. Charlie's Angels, The Invisible Circus, and Vanilla Sky together with Tom Cruise. Cameron grew more as an actress.
She could ask for more but Cameron decided to agree so that the production won't be late... Perhaps she had another reason why.
She read the script and she was shocked when she realized that her character would actually die in the movie.
She contacted the writers and found that Kazir and Robert Ludlum both agreed that her character should die to give Jason Bourne character development.
Of course Cameron didn't like it at first but she understood that the plot was indeed reasonable... She hoped to stay in this project for quite long. Perhaps she had another reason why.
So when Kazir attended the script reading, he saw Matt Damon talking with Paul Greengrass. But his eyes completely landed on Cameron Diaz.
"..."
He already expected that he would meet her today, but she didn't expect that Cameron would be so gorgeous. Like she really prepared herself today and picked the best dress.
Her makeup, her slender figure, and her dress. Everything was perfect.
Kazir admitted that Cameron Diaz was the goddess of the 90s and early 2000s.
'I can't believe that I broke up with her... Well, she's a nice woman but I failed to open my heart to her. I was still scared at that time.'
He gulped hard for obvious reasons.
When Cameron realized that Kazir arrived, she rose from her seat and gave the most charming smile. She approached him and greeted him bubbly.
"Good morning director, I know it's late but congratulations on your newest movie Spider-Man. I heard it's going to surpass $900 million."
She reached for a handshake.
"Thanks, you too Cam-- Cameron, Charlie's Angels and Vanilla Sky performed well. I heard that Charlie's Angels will have a sequel." Kazir almost said"Cam" which was too endearing. He felt he should be formal since this was a job and they separated for almost four years now. On top of that, Kazir was currently dating Angelina.
He shook her hand. Kazir felt her firm yet soft hand gently squeezing him.
Cameron giggled.
"As expected, you're still serious. Perhaps that's what I like about you."
She left after that but Kazir felt like she was messing with him.
[Yep, I fucked up. I failed to write two chapters. I sound like a broken record with my promises so I'll just say that I'll do my best tomorrow. I'm busy earlier buying groceries for the New Year. Goodnight, it's already late here.]
Hollywood What If Chapter 280
The time with the cast of The Bourne Supremacy was awkward for Kazir. The cast was professional and they followed the standard procedure, which was reading the script...
However, Kazir could sense that Cameron Diaz gave him flirty gazes once in a while. Even Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass sensed it but they decided to keep quiet. As long as the job was not affected, they would keep their silence.
Besides, Cameron and Kazir were dating and they have a history together. There would be an awkward atmosphere between them, that was for sure.
Kazir decided to leave the script reading earlier than the others. It was obvious to everyone else that Cameron was disappointed when Kazir left the set.
In Kazir's defense, he was busy which was true. He had a lot of things to do even in the first month of the year. The production of Mr and Mrs Smith and The Bourne Supremacy were important and he couldn't just leave these two projects like that.
He put importance on the Continental Cinematic Universe, a successful Cinematic Universe that he started from scratch. Of course he didn't want to see it fail.
It was true that he stepped out of the CCU for a while to expand his filmography but he would never leave the project to someone else. Grey Pictures could hire directors now but his presence was important as well.
'I have to meet someone from 20th Century Fox to finalize the distribution contract.'
It was a worldwide distribution contract with a 25% box office fee. However, this time, Grey Pictures would be the one responsible for advertising. Meaning, they have to come up with money for promotion to pay 20th Century Fox.
Hollywood makes around 500-600 movies per year but most of them never had the chance to be released worldwide. Only around 100 movies had the chance to be released in foreign countries and they were mostly distributed by the Big Six, because of obvious reasons.
Big Six and MGM were the only ones that could currently distribute movies worldwide. Although MGM would lose its international distribution in a few years because of bankruptcy.
In the near future, new studios such as Lionsgate, EntertainmentOne, A24, Focus Features, and Netflix would establish their own distribution but that would be another story.
Grey Pictures knew that the Big Six already tolerated them enough and the company couldn't do business with them without bleeding.
News Corporation was a media giant and it could promote their movies well. The contract was already good and there was no reason to hesitate.
"It's nice to work with you again, Director."
"Me too."
The person across the table was James N. Gianopulos. This guy was not that simple at all. He was the President of 20th Century Fox International. There was a rumor that he would become the Chairman/CEO of 20th Century Fox once Tom Rothman's term ended.
The two shook hands.
"I hope this will not be the last time we will work together. 20th Century Fox is serious about Grey Pictures."
"I understand."
'... From the looks of it, 20th Century Fox will start moving this year. Probably because Tom Rothman's term will end and they need another good news to calm the shareholders.'
Well, 20th Century Fox was one of the best studios out there. Creating hundreds of blockbusters in the history of cinema. This company has been in the industry since 1935, it has a long history and strong foundation.
Kazir had no problem selling shares of his company. He was not fit for the role of being a businessman. It would only bring him stress. However, he wanted to sell the shares to someone he could trust.
He knew that unlike Disney who would corrupt the franchise, 20th Century Fox would be a better option... Warner Bros, Paramount, and Sony-Columbia were all good as well. As long as not Walt Disney. Disney would have its peak but once 2020s arrived, people would grow tired of all their shit.
So Kazir's had no reason to disagree, however, the price should be worth it. The biggest weapon of Grey Pictures was the CCU movies and so far all movies were box office hits. Last year, two movies of CCU generated $1 billion worldwide.
Even though the money that Grey Pictures got was only $350 million and minus the expenses, the company was still left with $120 million profit. Furthermore, the DVDs were selling a lot. People already lost interest in VHS and loved using DVD players instead.
Only that, the rentals were profitable as well, they made $62 million from the Blockbusters, Walmart, and movie stores' rentals.
Anyway, Kazir intended to sell at best 40% of shares to one of the Big Six as a way of protection and sure distribution.
So far, 20th Century Fox was the most sincere.
'I'm interested in filming Deadpool so why not?'
If Grey Pictures was indeed acquired by 20th Century Fox and Kazir worked for 20th Century Fox, surely the management would let him film one of the goofiest characters in X-Men.
'... I love the first trilogy of X-Men but the latter are meh. But Deadpool is a different topic, it's a masterpiece. Have you seen a character who kept breaking the fourth wall?'
Perhaps... If the author of this novel wanted to. He could easily destroy the fourth wall, just like now.
Negotiation regarding a company worth billions would take at least a year to end. So far, 20th Century Fox was just doing the initial stage.
"If 20th Century Fox is indeed interested in Grey Pictures, I hope to see sincerity."
Kazir muttered and rose from his seat.
"Yes... Wait what?"
James casually replied until he realized that Kazir actually dropped a bomb.
Kazir Grey never showed any interest in selling shares of Grey Pictures, not until now.
His statement clearly showed that Kazir was not against it. He just needed something that could entice him.
[I have no clear picture regarding profits of rentals but I'm sure they are definitely millions yearly. So I just ballpark the numbers.]
[I still have two chapters to go. Anyway, Happy New Year guys. I'll try to write since I'm going to stay awake late.]