Hollywood What If Chapter 281
James was surprised because he thought he had to sit down the director to convince him of a chance to prove 20th Century Fox.
This was one of their first move, to become the distributor of Grey Pictures.
Yet James didn't expect that Kazir would actually see through their intentions and announce his thoughts.
"Swapping shares is not a problem either. You get authority over your company, I get authority over yours." Kazir chuckled. Money was never a problem for him. Money was just a means to him to keep his status but it was not everything.
As long as Kazir could stay in the industry and keep filming movies, he would be alive. Heck, before his divorce with Cassandra, Kazir was earning quite well. He could afford to buy a house because of the profit shares of the movies he made.
Actually, directors, actors, and producers had residual profit shares of videotapes and such but they were only relevant for the first five years. Sales of videotapes/DVDs weakened after five years.
"..." James felt like he had to do his job seriously.
From the looks of it... Kazir might get at least $1 billion from the upcoming transaction.
"Goodbye James."
Kazir didn't stay any longer and left. Tomorrow he has to talk to Tom Cruise regarding The Revenant.
Then next week, Sony-Columbia would celebrate the success of Spider-Man. If their forecast was right, the movie would surpass $900 million in the same week, which was the second week of January.
There was no time to rest... Actually, Kazir was very excited to start the filming of The Revenant. He was always excited whenever he would do his job as a director. He felt alive doing his job. He loved this job more than ever.
...
...
...
"So how's your reunion with Cameron?" The actor teased his friend.
"Tom, let's not talk about it." Kazir shook his head.
Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz worked together in Vanilla Sky.
"Why not? Cameron knows that we're friends so she asked me a lot about you. Which was a bit interesting because you two were in a relationship for almost two years. Did you even show any of your true self to Cameron?"
"I have trust issues," Kazir muttered while looking through the lists of actors and actresses.
"Did... Did you say that now?"
"Yes. Besides, Cameron and I are done."
"She's a great kisser though."
"She is."
"Damn, I didn't expect that you will react like that. I thought you would be angry at least. So you're really done with her."
Out of curiosity, Tom wanted to tease Kazir about his past relationship but he didn't expect that Kazir was stoic like an old tree. The guy didn't give a fuck.
"Alright, I'm sorry about what I said." He admitted his mistakes.
"It's fine."
Kazir knew the superstars usually have arrogant attitudes and Tom's behavior was within what he expected.
A lot of celebrities were arrogant, Gwyneth Paltrow, Will Smith, Lindsey Lohan, and even James Cameron. These people were quite known for having arrogant attitudes, some of these were because of the superstar syndrome. Where they believe that the world revolves around them.
Thankfully, even though Tom had the attitude, he knew when to apologize.
"Kazir, I have someone to recommend to be Hugh Glass's wife."
As expected, Tom would recommend someone. Kazir stopped reading the list. The female roles in this movie were basically nonexistent except for Hugh Glass's wife but even that was a minor role. In the first place, the woman didn't have a proper name at all.
There were only four main characters in this movie and they were all men.
"Tom, you know that Hugh Glass's wife is a minor role. I don't have any intention of altering the script to cater to someone."
"Of course, I understand that. I have no intention of doing that as well. Just treat this as a cameo. She's a fan of yours so I decided to give her a chance to work with you, even if the role is small."
"What's her name?"
"She's Penelope Cruz. I'm sure you know her."
'Of course it's her.'
Kazir knew Penelope Cruz, although he only knew her because of her relationship with Tom.
If Kazir was not wrong, Tom met Penelope Cruz in Vanilla Sky, the same year Tom and Nicole Kidman divorced.
"If you're fine with it, then I'll cast her. But you have to tell her that it's a minor role. Don't expect a high salary."
"We don't expect any salary at all, you can hire her free if you want."
"We will probably have to negotiate with her agent anyway so let them decide."
"Okay."
The two agreed. This was just a small thing, no reason to take it seriously. They were both flexible and agreed to each other's decisions. The biggest reason why they decided to work together was to win the Academy Awards.
Kazir already proved that he could make someone the Best Actor after casting Liam Neeson. Tom Cruise had some regret about Taken but there was no reason to be depressed about it. He knew that movie was not for him.
Furthermore, Taken was the opening movie to the CCU and Tom would probably not be invested in a long time project like that.
Tom rarely does movies with sequels, except for the Mission Impossible franchise. Even Top Gun took more than three decades to have a sequel.
The Revenant was another chance for him to win the Best Actor Award. He read the script and he was confident in Kazir's ability to adapt the script into a movie.
Tom Cruise actually offered to invest at least 30% of the project but Kazir and Grey Pictures never agreed. Anyway, small matters, as long as their mission was the same, they would work it out.
"So these are the actors who auditioned for the second round and I picked the actors that fit best on their roles. Tom Hardy, Joaquin Phoenix, and Shia Labeouf."
"Hm, seems reasonable. Joaquin is a great actor. I remember this Tom Hardy in Black Hawk Down. But this Shia Labeouf is a new person to me."
Tom responded.
[It's officially January 1 here. And yes, just like the usual, I never watched The Revenant... Looks like two chapters tomorrow as well. Thanks guys for all of your support. I hope all of us will have a bountiful year!]
Hollywood What If Chapter 282
Joaquin Phoenix had great filmography these past few years. Perhaps his recent best role was in Ridley Scott's Gladiator. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor because of his role as Commodus in Gladiator.
A few years later, he would win the Academy Awards' Best Actor for his role as Joker/Arthur Fleck. He won a lot of awards in his career and everyone knew that he was a talented actor.
Looking at the information thanks Kazir was reading, he knew that casting Joaquin Phoenix was not a problem.
The expected budget of The Revenant was at least $85 million and Kazir had no problem casting someone like Joaquin Phoenix.
For the same reason, Tom Hardy and Shia Labeouf were good choices.
Tom Hardy had his film debut in Black Hawk Down but his career was unsteady after that. He could not get any promising roles. If not for Kazir who knew about Tom Hardy's future, the guy might not get a role in The Revenant.
Tom Hardy's usual roles were about buff strong guys. This Means War, Mad Max: Fury Road, and The Dark Knight Rises were just a few of the movies he participated in. The roles in these movies were buff strong guys.
Out of interest, Kazir decided to give this rising actor a chance to work with him.
The same with Shia Labeouf. Shia Labeouf was a famous actor but his career died for some reasons. His career was smooth sailing at first, at a young age he got roles in Constantine, I, Robot, the first trilogy of Transformers, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Eagle Eye, and Fury. Phew, he was part of so many blockbusters. Perhaps one of the reasons why he got steady jobs was because of his face but that was debatable and probably not true.
Well, his presence in Hollywood slowly disappeared after many allegations.
Kazir heard some stories back in his past life but this and that were two different things.
The Shia Labeouf of 2002 was just a fledging actor who was currently trying to find his path in this industry.
His agent recommended him to audition for The Revenant and Constantine. So far, his role in Constantine was already sure but the filming would start in September which was 9 months later.
The main reason why Kazir was interested in Shia Labeouf was to know his current attitude as a young actor. He also knew that Shia could act, his range as an actor was quite vast.
For these reasons, Kazir felt like casting these three actors was not a problem.
One thing was sure, Tom Cruise had no problem with the cast. None of the cast were more famous than him and he was confident in his acting capabilities as well. He had been in this industry since 1981. His experience was enough to face such talented actors.
Besides, Tom knew that Kazir would never betray him. He would definitely give Tom more screen time and let him showcase his acting.
... That was actually written in the contract. For this role, Tom decided to grow a beard for the first time. He even studied bears just to understand them.
He might even go as far as meeting a real bear and possibly having a boxing match with it. Tom Cruise was a professional actor and he was known for doing his stunts. (Note: I'm still skeptical about that fact. If that's true, no insurance company will sign a contract with Tom Cruise. He probably only does stunts that are on the safe side.)
...
...
...
"It's nice to meet you again, sir. I thought you would forget about me." Vance Goodhood greeted Kazir after three years of no contact.
Kazir became busy and he didn't have much time to return to the investment firm. However, when he contacted the company, he realized that the investment firm was immensely affected by the dot com bubble burst and 9/11. Because of that, they announced bankruptcy.
So Vance Goodhood decided to apply for Goldman Sachs and he got accepted. His credentials were good. Because of Kazir's warning, Vance pulled out his investment before the stock market crashed. He earned millions and he was very thankful for Kazir's opinion.
As expected, Kazir Grey was a genius. He was a genius director and even in the financial sector he was raking in money.
Because of this, Vance visited Grey Pictures because Kazir wanted to invest in tech/internet companies again.
This time, Kazir was ready to invest $150 million. This was a huge amount and Vance personally met Kazir because of the seriousness of this situation.
"Are you sure you want to invest in these companies, sir?"
Kazir had three companies in mind. eBay, Apple, and Amazon.
eBay and Amazon were both online selling services and their growth was promising. Only Kazir knew the exact story of how these companies would become billions/trillion dollars worth.
As for Apple, now that Steve Jobs returned to Apple, Kazir knew that this company would start the era of smartphones. By the way, Steve Jobs was also a shareholder of Walt Disney because of Pixar.
Kazir would keep investing in Apple and Amazon while eBay was just short-term.
Actually, he wanted to get some pie of Google but the company was still not showing interest in his money. Google would only become public in 2004.
At the same time, Facebook was still nonexistent and it would only exist in 2004.
'Perhaps Mark Zuckerberg is open for investment.' Kazir thought to himself.
Vance Goodhood was not sure why Kazir was interested in Apple but he decided to keep his mouth shut.
This was $150 million and Vance didn't want to fuck up the deal. He tried to offer alternatives to Kazir but the director was adamant. In the end, Vance Goodhood respected Kazir's decision and took care of the $150 million, investing $50 million in each company.
'As for Netflix... Meh. I'll just invest once their Online Streaming Service happens. So far, Netflix is still a small company that's trying to copy Blockbuster's business strategy. I don't want to alter and possibly change their trajectory so I'll just wait once they become steady.'
Being in this industry, Kazir knew that Netflix would suffer hardship for a long time. Kazir didn't want any of that.
[Let's see if I can write two chapters tomorrow.]
Hollywood What If Chapter 283
The cold breeze was still lingering but not that colder compared to December. The event last year was something that many people would never forget, perhaps affecting people's perception of the weather.
Now that another year arrived, it is time to move on and let go of the past. Suffering was always part of life but it didn't mean that there was nothing to look forward to. New year, new life.
With that in mind, there was no promising movie in January. It was expected since January was never a famous month for Hollywood to release movies.
Still, it was kinda disappointing that only one movie surpassed $100 million in all of the movies that were in January 2002.
It was Snow Dogs released by Walt Disney. And yes, it was about dogs...
The fact that The Count Of Monte Cristo and A Walk To Remember were released in the same month yet didn't surpass $100 million was disheartening. Because these two movies were quite good.
The Count Of Monte Cristo was based on a famous novel with the same name and yet it didn't work at the box office.
A Walk To Remember was also based on a novel of the same name, but it didn't have a good performance as well.
While January was bleak for Hollywood, Kazir was very busy in that month. He went and visited the production set of Mr and Mrs Smith and The Bourne Supremacy. Furthermore, he had his own project to do.
Even though Kazir was still in the US, he didn't have much time for himself. Much more on Angelina.
Kazir knew that love was important but his love and passion for filming was stronger than any kind of love. In the first place, he left his home just to be a filmmaker. That alone was enough to show how much he loved movies.
So most of the time, Kazir spent longer time on his job than spending it with Angelina. It caused a bit of dispute but the couple were mature enough to understand each other.
Two bad, because in March, Kazir would leave the country to go to Canada and start filming The Revenant. Their relationship was a bit tricky and they only had a month to fix it.
How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days was also going to start filming in March and Angelina would become busy as well. Both of them won't have time for each other once March arrives.
So to make things better, Kazir and Angelina attended a party together. This party was none other than the celebration party for Spider-Man.
Angelina and Kazir entered the party hand in hand and they were greeted by many people, mostly people related to Sony-Columbia.
People congratulated Kazir for his outstanding ability in creating blockbuster after blockbuster. Just like what they forecasted, Spider-Man successfully surpassed $900 million in the first week of February.
So far, Spider-Man was the highest-grossing movie of 2001. John Wick Chapter 2 with $621 million was the second.
Third was Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone with currently $620 million at the worldwide box office. The next was The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring with $582 million.
2001 was a bad year and people used movies to escape reality and have fun. Many of the audience preferred these four movies mostly because of their special effects, magic or supernatural aspects, and cool action stunts.
Hehe, it was also funny that the two currently highest-grossing movies of 2001 were strongly related to Kazir Grey.
Kazir was the director of Spider-Man and he was also the scriptwriter/executive producer of John Wick Chapter 2.
However, because John Wick Chapter 2 already ended its screening, there were no chances for the movie to increase its box office. Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone would surpass this CCU movie in some time.
"Congratulations Kazir!" Said by Tobey Maguire who was slightly tipsy...
"Congratulations Director." Producer Jezebel Salome was strict as always and she didn't touch any alcohol tonight.
"Yow, are money maker has arrived!" Willem Dafoe jokingly said and gave Kazir a strong hug.
Angelina was happy to see her man doing well in his career. She was proud of him. While at the party, Angelina decided to look around to find someone.
Angelina was the type who loved making fun of someone. It helped her elevate her self-respect and confidence. You know, she loved it whenever someone was jealous of her.
So yeah, she was going to look for Kirsten Dunst. She knew that Kirsten had a crush on her boyfriend and she loved slapping that fact on Kirsten.
This was the reason why Angelina wanted to see Reese's reaction last time. Too bad, it seemed that Reese already moved on. Well, Angelina had a new target.
"Babe, I'll be right back. You can talk to your friends while I'm gone." Angelina said to Kazir and the man nodded.
"Okay, take care."
Kazir said after kissing the back of her hand. Angelina smiled and left her man to tease Kirsten.
Kazir and the others start talking.
A few minutes into the party, two people approached Kazir. They were Stan Lee and Avi Arad.
Avi Arad was the current CEO/Chairman of Marvel Comics while Stan Lee was the creator of many Marvel characters.
Looking at the serious expressions of the two, Kazir knew that they were going to talk about the superhero copyrights that Grey Pictures held.
After so many years in the industry, Grey Pictures successfully acquired all of the MCU characters. Particularly the original Avengers: Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye. It was time-consuming but Kazir knew their importance so he acquired them.
Kazir excused himself and went to the garden to talk to the two. This was going to be a serious conversation.
[So I'm trying to make a crack between Kazir and Angelina's relationship in case you guys are interested in another woman such as Jennifer Connelly or Naomi Watts... I'm all for Jennifer Connelly.]
[Another thing, what do you think of Marvel movies? Should Kazir direct them? The winner of the poll last time is 20th Century Fox and I think this company can acquire Marvel and Grey Pictures together so that the MCU will happen.]
Hollywood What If Chapter 284
Most of the people knew that Marvel Comics was suffering from a bankruptcy a few years ago. And while Marvel Comics was in their deepest shit hole, Grey Pictures approached them to buy some of their characters.
The bank held the company at that time and it proceeded to the arrangements, selling the characters for a few million dollars.
Well, the characters that Grey Pictures bought were mostly small superheroes that were not famous. Marvel's famous characters were Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and X-Men.
The X-Men that 20th Century Fox filmed two years ago was successful. Marvel was impressed, but not enough to be excited or elated. After all, the worldwide box office of the movie was only $296 million.
However, the influence that Spider-Man created was far stronger. Nope, this was the most successful movie that came from Marvel Comics.
Imagine a single character creating $900 million at the box office. Because of this, Marvel Comics gained a bit of confidence in their characters.
The profits from comics kept getting smaller and Marvel Comics would reach its end if they didn't solve the problem.
The solution they thought? Make a Cinematic Universe. Which was the right choice because Marvel Studios is worth billions in another timeline.
Furthermore, Marvel Comics had a good example to copy.
The Continental Cinematic Universe that Grey Pictures created was a massive success. Now, every character in this Cinematic Universe has become well-known, Bryan Mills, John Wick, Jason Bourne, and Wesley Gibson.
There was nothing special about their appearance but boys and men were going crazy just to get their action figure.
On top of that, Grey Pictures was currently negotiating with some publishers to make novels and comics about CCU. They were also talking about possible animation series.
It was still a rumor but Stella Willow, the General Manager of Grey Pictures, was very busy because of these rumors.
One thing was sure, Grey Pictures was doing well.
Marvel Comics wanted the same treatment but they knew it would be hard. Unless Marvel Comics gained the same status as Grey Pictures.
A few weeks ago, someone from Walt Disney contacted Avi Arad that they were interested in buying some of the characters from Marvel Comics.
Perhaps Walt Disney was trying to copy the recent success of X-Men and Spider-Man... particularly Spider-Man.
However, the characters that Walt Disney was looking for were Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and Hulk which were already acquired by Grey Pictures.
Walt Disney was ready to pay tens of millions just to acquire their copyrights which was shocking but quite expected.
Even Universal and Paramount were interested in their characters after the success of Spider-Man.
So now, Marvel Comics was currently facing some problems. They need money.
'We need to acquire those characters and resell or we can...'
Avi Arad stopped his thoughts. He was not sure of the outcome of this conversation. In the first place, he knew that this was just their initial talk and no promises would happen. Especially when Kazir Grey was famous for being cunning.
While Avi Arad was busy thinking about business, Stan Lee's thoughts were all about the hopes of Marvel characters having their own movies.
Stan worked with Kazir in Spider-Man and he witnessed how the director build the foundation of the movie up to its release.
In his opinion, Kazir was the biggest reason why the movie became successful. His clear vision towards the movie, and his strict but consistent filming. His authority and the respect he received from people. Even with his achievements, Kazir was perfect for his career.
'If we are really serious about making a Cinematic Universe, then Kazir is the best option we have. He already proved himself and his credentials are unmatched in this aspect.'
Kazir could make another Cinematic Universe with a high chance of success. That was for sure.
So yeah, the two higher-ups of Marvel Comics have their own opinions.
Avi Arad wanted the characters back while Stan Lee hoped that Kazir would start working on Marvel characters just like what he promised.
Note that for Grey Pictures to acquire the copyrights for a small amount, they made a contract Grey Pictures has to make a Marvel movie within 10 years, or else the characters would naturally return to Marvel Comics.
Furthermore, Grey Pictures must invest at least $50 million in the Marvel movie or the contract would be void.
Grey Pictures acquired the copyrights in 1997 and the limitation was 2007. If the studio failed to make one Marvel movie, the characters would return to Marvel Comics.
The two executives followed Kazir to the garden with nervousness but they hid their emotions well.
Kazir stopped in his tracks and the others stopped as well.
"I already have an idea about what we're going to talk about. So I want to make it clear, I'm very interested in making a Marvel movie. We can renegotiate the contract if you're interested."
"..."
Stan Lee weakly sighed in relief. He was the co-creator of many Marvel characters and he hoped to see them in theaters.
"Kazir, I think we can talk about this seriously."
Avi Arad frowned. He had no problem with that but he wanted the best for Marvel Comics. They already sold the copyrights but they could fight for the remaining benefits such as box office share, DVD sales, and peripherals profit.
"I understand."
Kazir agreed.
At first he only wanted the copyrights of Marvel characters because he felt like they would endanger the Cinematic Universe he envisioned.
But now that CCU was successful and none could rival it, Kazir felt like creating the MCU was not a problem.
"Kazir, before everything, I want to ask... Who's the first Marvel character you want to film?"
Since Kazir's already said his intentions, Stan Lee decided to ask more.
"Hm, let's see... I'm interested in filming The Hulk and Iron Man. Although I prefer Iron Man first."
"Iron Man, huh..."
Honestly, Stan Lee thought Kazir would choose The Hulk because that was a famous character, equal to Spider-Man and X-Men.
Well, Kazir was a talented director so he probably had a plan about it.
[Honestly, I didn't expect that you guys are against breaking up with Angelina. I thought you guys would prefer more actresses on the way. Welp, the poll will be available for seven days and more than 70 patrons still haven't voted so let's wait for a while.]
[I might write another chapter later, but I'm not quite sure about it. Let's see if the Spirit of Hardwork possessed me.]
Hollywood What If Chapter 285
Was working with Grey Pictures enough?
Avi Arad was still skeptical about this idea. Sure, he knew that Kazir was the best if the greatest director in terms of this new genre but Avi Arad was still not confident in working with the studio.
At least he needed an assurance. Walt Disney was quite serious about acquiring their characters and they were ready to pay a lot.
Although there was also a downside to this since Marvel wouldn't start their own Cinematic Universe if they sold their characters to Walt Disney.
And that was also the problem with Grey Pictures. Even though the studio bought the copyrights of many of the characters, it didn't mean that Grey Pictures intended to start a Cinematic Universe about Marvel.
Perhaps they wanted to film a stand-alone movie just like Spider-Man. That was not enough to revive Marvel Comics.
So since acquiring back the copyrights would be troublesome, Avi Arad decided to go as far as possible.
"I want to renegotiate the contract," Avi stated and both Kazir and Stan looked at him.
Kazir nodded, already expecting this. Avi Arad was the CEO of Marvel Comics and he had to do his job as the CEO, for the sake of the company.
"I want to hear your thoughts."
"Cinematic Universe. I want to make sure that Grey Pictures will promise a Marvel Cinematic Universe. With at least one Marvel movie per year."
Kazir was not surprised.
'Well, since MCU was a massive success in my past life, I have no problem with that. CCU has steady performance and I can focus on MCU for a while. However...'
"... And what can I get?"
Kazir didn't forget that he had the higher ground in this negotiation.
"If you don't, then we will kill every character that you acquired in the comics."
Kazir smirked. It seemed petty but surely Avi had his intentions.
"So you want to kill The Hulk? He's one of your biggest superheroes."
"We can kill him or change his image. We can turn him into a villain, we can turn him into a killer, thief, and even rapist."
Marvel Comics had the rights to all of the characters and they do what they want with them.
Surely Grey Pictures would never film a Hulk movie if he became a rapist in the comics, which was the canon plot. So the copyrights would just become useless.
"Both of us will lose if you do that."
If Marvel was serious about it, then they would just destroy themselves.
Avi Arad knew about it. It was just a threat, but a threat that would never happen unless they were pushed to the corner.
They love each character and they didn't want to paint them badly.
"Avi, I know your intention and I assure you that I'm sincere."
"We will extend the copyrights up to 15 years."
"I guess you want to put some of your people for this project."
"That's right, the writers should be from Marvel Comics."
"No problem with that. That's my plan anyway."
"Marvel will also decrease the 35% profit share down to 33%."
"The numbers should be talked about by our agents and such. But I have my proposal as well."
"... Tell me about it."
Looking at the grin on Kazir's face, Avi knew that it might affect them.
"Marvel will shoulder at least 30% of the box office."
Now this condition might be a double-edged sword. It could be good or bad for them.
"I agree but Marvel should increase its box office share to 20%"
"No, our initial agreement is that Marvel Comics is only allowed to get 13% box office share."
"Then investing might be a problem."
"Then there's no Cinematic Universe."
"..."
Avi Arad and Kazir had a stare-down battle.
As for Stan Lee, he was just standings there. He was a creative person and a great artist but business dealings were never his strength.
Actually, it was impressive that Kazir could do business. He had talent in business management, or else Grey Pictures wouldn't reach its current greatness
Too bad because Kazir disliked doing business very much. If he had a choice, he wanted to let his agent do this kind of negotiation.
However, after the Big Six declined to invest in Taken, Kazir decided to stand on his own feet and founded a production company that would solely invest in its own films. This was a dangerous gamble but in the end, he won.
"Just like what you said, this numbers negotiation should be given to our management and let them fight over it."
"Very well."
So in the end, there was no clear agreement except for the plan of making a Marvel Cinematic Universe.
For obvious reasons, Marvel Comics was actually on the bad side of this negotiation. In the first place, Marvel Comics could start their own studio and make their own movies.
However, they were not sure if their movies would become successful. On top of that, all of their famous characters were already acquired by many studios and they would have a hard time retrieving them.
So in this situation, Marvel Comics could only agree with Kazir's decision.
'If our situation is the same as DC, then perhaps one of the Big Six already bought Marvel Comics.'
Superman and Batman were basically the mascot of Warner Bros and they were very famous all over the world. The main reason was because of the movie adaptations. Both superheroes had successful movies.
Actually, Avi Arad hoped that one of the Big Six would acquire them... At least that would give them an easy life.
Suddenly, Avi Arad's thick mobile phone started ringing in his pocket.
Avi excused himself and answered the call.
Kazir and Stan were left alone.
"S- So Kazir, what's your plan if you will film Iron Man?"
"I have some in my mind but I'm still not sure, I will tell you about it later, perhaps once Spider-Man 2 starts production. I'll give you a clear plan. In the meantime, I'll focus my attention on my current project."
Kazir lied. Of course he had already thought about it. Heck, he even watched it.
"Of course." Stan Lee understood.
In fact, he was already thankful that Kazir was the director of Spider-Man. He was the biggest assurance in this project, not the cast, and not Sony-Columbia.
Stan Lee was the creator of Spider-Man and he was very happy to see his "son" having a successful run in Hollywood.
Now, many people know about Spider-Man all over the world. This was enough for him.
Although Stan hoped that Kazir would also film Spider-Man 3. That might be the biggest good news he would have.
[I guess we gotta go with MCU next time, huh? Guys, I've been thinking about it and I really want Kazir Grey and Jennifer Connelly to become lovers... It's one of the reasons why Jennifer was the first actress that Kazir met. I have been cooking their relationship from the beginning but I'm still not sure how it will work. So I might have to disregard the outcome of the poll.]
[I have a lot of side-plot to tackle in this arc(2002), this year might be around 50 to 70 chapters(not sure), especially when I intend to work with 20th Century Fox permanently(I'm still shocked that Walt Disney acquired Fox and I can't accept it, even if it's the reality. Why? Because I don't like Disney). I'll try to make it faster.]
[So I read an article earlier and it seemed that Universal Pictures defeated Walt Disney last year(2023). Super Mario, Oppenheimer, and Fast X were all in the top 5 highest-grossing movies last year making Universal have the highest revenue. Just like I said, I'm actually chill with Universal. But it's too bad that Kazir and Universal have bad blood. Well, this is just a story anyway, don't mind me.]
Hollywood What If Chapter 286
Kazir and Stan talked for a few minutes before Avi returned. When the two saw Avi's expression, they thought that the guy was quite flushing red.
"Kazir, let's talk about the negotiation next time, officially," Avi announced their leave.
"Okay." Kazir nodded and bid them goodbye. He was curious why Avi started acting like that but he decided to leave it be.
At first he thought Avi and Stan would spend more time at the party but it seemed that they have important matters to do. The two executives left the party.
"Avi, why are you acting like that? Did something happen? Who called you?"
Stan was not stupid. He knew that the reason why Avi was acting strange was because of the phone call.
"It's News Corporation."
"Huh?"
"Someone from News Corporation wants to talk to us. They are interested in buying Marvel Comics."
The current shares of Marvel Comics were in the hands of the bank because of the debts that the company had. If News Corporation was indeed serious about this acquisition, then the bank would be happy that another company would shoulder the debts of Marvel Comics.
"Are you serious?" Stan was surprised. He didn't expect it.
"... It's not a scam, right?"
"I don't think so. They set up a meeting at the 20th Fox Headquarters two days from now. If this is real, then we have to contact the management."
News Corporation was a media giant and it had the ability to acquire Marvel Comics. However, it was still unknown why News Corporation contacted them after so many years. Perhaps the recent success of Spider-Man was the reason. Marvel Comics gained a new way of profit after the success of Spider-Man and their future was promising... Although they were still currently in debt.
The two became serious. Both of them had shares in Marvel Comics and if this acquisition indeed happened, then it would be a good thing to them. At least they could face their old rival with confidence.
'If DC is under Warner Brothers, then Marvel Comics will be with News Corporation, erm, 20th Century Fox, I guess?' Avi Arad thought. Hoping that the future of the company would be prosperous.
...
...
...
Kazir was slightly confused as to why the two left the party so fast. They didn't even drink a glass of wine.
'Perhaps their only business why they attend this party is to meet me.'
Knowing how massive the MCU was in the next decade, Kazir would never say no to Marvel Comics' condition. However, Grey Pictures would fight for better conditions.
'It was a good thing that we acquired the copyrights of MCU characters and can start it any moment. However, I'm still waiting for at least two or three years so the CGI technology will level and ready to take Iron-Man or The Incredible Hulk.'
Technically, the second movie of MCU was The Incredible Hulk but the contract with Edward Norton became rubbish. Thankfully, Iron Man, the first movie of MCU was successful and kept the whole franchise alive.
Of course, Hulk was still in the Avengers but it was very hard to connect him to the Incredible Hulk. Since the original actor(Edward Norton) left and was replaced by Mark Ruffalo. People couldn't help but see the difference between the two.
So in this timeline, if Grey Pictures and Marvel (Studio) were serious about creating another Cinematic Universe, then Kazir would choose Mark Ruffalo at the very start so that there wouldn't be any mishaps. Besides, Mark Ruffalo was also a great actor. He seemed more approachable than Edward Norton, at least.
'Now that I think it, the box office of The Incredible Hulk was not bad. Earning around $260 million at the box office. However, the production cost of the movie is $150 million so I guess they didn't make a profit at all.'
Stuff happens and life was always like that. Even in the 2020s, the influence of the MCU became weaker after the disappearance of the original Avengers.
'I have to be mindful of oversaturation as well. People will grow tired of superhero movies and CCU can suffer the same thing.'
So far, action movies have been doing well but that could change later. After all, the era of the 2010s was dominated by superheroes.
'Keeping two CCU movies per year is the best choice. In that way, people will not get tired of our movies.'
Perhaps another reason why MCU was at its lowest in the 2020s was because of the fact that they produced so many TV shows that were all connected to MCU. People just grew tired of oh-so-many TV shows to watch, especially when every one of them was connected to MCU and it would be detrimental if they didn't watch it.
If you don't watch WandaVision, then you have no idea what was going on in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
After thinking about MCU which Kazir was interested in, he decided to look for Angelina.
He saw some of the cast of Spider-Man and they invited him to have a drink but Kazir humbly passed. Drinking too much would be bad for him, especially when he had a job to do tomorrow.
After a few minutes of looking, Kazir found Angelina talking to someone. He almost called her but he paused when he realized that Angelina was talking to Kirsten Dunst.
He looked at the two and witnessed Kirsten shedding tears. She walked away as she wiped her tears, trying to act completely fine.
The woman was walking towards Kazir, he tried to look for a place to hide but he failed. In the end, Kirsten saw Kazir and she was stunned. She immediately greeted him as she wiped her tears.
"G- Good evening director."
She did her best and smiled. She excused herself and left the place, embarrassed about her action.
"..."
Kazir just nodded and let the woman leave. Then, he turned to Angelina who was smirking.
"Aww, baby did you miss me?" Angelina said and hugged Kazir. Kazir hugged her back but was not that enthusiastic about it.
"Angelina, what happened? Why did I see Kirsten crying?"
Kirsten had an important role in the Spider-Man trilogy. If this matter affected Kirsten, then the woman might leave the project and that would endanger the franchise. Kazir was a director who hated that kind of thing.
So yeah, he was disappointed by what he witnessed. Spider-Man was important to him and Angelina might cause irreparable damage to the project, something that Kazir could not accept. This was his art, something that was very important to him.
[Two chapters today.]
Hollywood What If Chapter 287
He was doing his best to remain calm. He didn't want to judge Angelina without hearing the complete story, but he was sure disappointed.
"About that, I did nothing, okay."
Angelina giggled.
Kazir was still quiet and waited for more explanation.
"Well, I found her and decided to talk to her. I talked about how our relationship is doing great, and how we love each other. She's listening very seriously, actually. I also talked to her about the watch you received on your birthday."
"... What did you tell her?"
"I said that it was missing and you can't find it."
"..."
Kazir sighed. This might be troublesome. He knew that Angelina had a tendency to do something like this. People in this industry, especially famous people, were very arrogant.
Furthermore, Angelina did the same thing with Reese last year ago and a year after that. Of course Kazkr knew about it but he let it pass because he loved her.
"Do you hear yourself right now?"
"Oh come on babe, it's nothing. I didn't expect that she would cry like that. You're not mad, right?"
"No, I'm not, I can't be mad at you. But I'm extremely disappointed. What if Kirsten announced that she would drop her role in Spider-Man? That will cost a huge damage."
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I can make it up to you."
Realizing that Kazir was serious, Angelina apologized and promised that this would never happen again.
Kazir was quiet for a while before nodding. In the end, he sided with Angelina. She was his girlfriend after all. However, their relationship after this incident slightly changed.
Kazir and Angelina returned to Beverly Hills after they left the party. The two were both busy but Kazir admitted that he was more busy than Angelina. He was trying to make it up to her but what happened earlier affected his decision.
They returned to their respective jobs and met at once a week but their excitement towards each other was getting weaker week by week. Kazir and Angelina were still a loving couple, but a crack already happened.
...
...
...
"I didn't expect that you guys would show up in Grey Pictures with this intention."
"Kazir, don't be like that. I know you're smart. You already expected that this thing will happen."
"Indeed."
Enrico Pucci visited Grey Pictures for a formal business meeting. The reason: Warner Brothers was interested in acquiring shares of Grey Pictures which was solely owned by Kazir... Well, Stella Willow held 1.3% after working in the company for 3 years. She started working in Grey Pictures in 1999, around the time of production of The Bourne Identity.
"Our initial proposal is $1 billion for 40% of the company but that will probably not work..."
Enrico sighed. In the first place, this was not his forte. He was a producer, not someone from Morgan Stanley or Golden Sachs who was used to acquisition jobs. Well, Warner Bros was currently contacting J.P. Morgan for this job.
"Hm, you have to keep up with the numbers." Kazir smiled.
After the success of Continental Cinematic Universe, the net worth of Grey Pictures went up to $5 billion. Especially when the rumors that Grey Pictures wanted to start another Cinematic Universe which was about Marvel superheroes.
"... Yeah." That was all Enrico could say.
February 10, 2002, Warner Bros started their acquisition. It was a great move that seemed promising, after all, Grey Pictures was now the most sought-after studio in Hollywood.
However, a week after that, Sony-Colombia also started their acquisition! They announced that they were ready to acquire 35% shares of the company for the cost of $2.1 billion. It seemed that Sony-Colombia was in dire need of high-quality movies that Kazir could provide. Especially after they taste of greatness of Spider-Man that Kazir produced.
Now, Warner Bros and Sony-Colombia had their battle regarding which one would acquire Grey Pictures.
This could last months or even a year. Apparently, Grey Pictures didn't decline the acquisition but they were not adamant either... As if Grey Pictures was waiting for more.
The two studios that dominated Hollywood started their battle, even making business dealings with J.P. Morgan and Golden Sachs for this acquisition.
This news was released in newspapers and some TV channels. The opinions of many people were divided.
People in Hollywood knew that the outcome of this acquisition would influence Hollywood tremendously. Once Grey Pictures worked with one of the Big Six, that said company would have an advantage at the box office.
Actually, people knew that the answer to this question was none other than Kazir Grey. He was the one capable of achieving many feats in this industry.
Some people thought of kidnapping the guy to take advantage of his talent but they were not crazy enough to do that. Hollywood had a lot of crimes but they won't go as far as kidnapping a famous person... But it was different if the person in question was a nobody. After all, rumors were circulating that some establishments in Hollywood do sex trafficking, technically a kidnapping.
While people in Hollywood have complicated thoughts regarding this acquisition, normal people/movie-goers were chill about it. As long as the quality of movies that Grey Pictures was amazing, they didn't care which company acquired it.
Just like that, two months passed and April arrived... This month, Sony-Columbia gladly announced that Spider-Man surpassed $1 billion!
It just barely passed the mark with $1.01 billion but it was still a fact that happened!
Now, people recognize that Spider-Man was the box office champion of 2001(last year).
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone ended its screening with $974 million. Being the second-in-place
Third on the list was The Lord Of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring with $868 million.
Fourth was John Wick Chapter 2 with $621 million.
Fifth was Monster, Inc. with $528 million.
Sixth was the Fast and The Furious with $502 million.
Now, Kazir was recognized as the only director who filmed two $1 billion movies in back-to-back years!
This made the acquisition intensified!
[Two chapters today. What are your thoughts about it? Note that I read all of your comments since Gmail always notified me but I usually read them the day after because I mostly post around 11 pm to 12 midnight and I sleep after that. I want to thank all of you guys for being with me. Tomorrow is my 24th birthday and I'm happy to be alive... I said that so that I'll be greeted with Happy Birthday tomorrow, lol .]
Hollywood What If Chapter 288
None could do what Kazir did. Two years ago, his movie Wanted created another history and became the third movie that surpassed $1 billion at the box office.
Everyone thought that it would be the greatest achievement that Kazir would ever reach. After all, surpassing $1 billion at the box office was already a hard thing to do. So far only three directors have done that.
However, who would have thought that the next year after, Kazir would film another movie that would surpass $1 billion at the box office?
Now, Spider-Man has become the fourth movie to achieve this feat. People's opinions regarding Kazir deepened. No one took him for granted, not anymore. He became the most profitable director in the industry, not even Steven Spielberg or James Cameron could compare to him in terms of box office.
Spielberg and Cameron were indeed amazing and their movies were mostly profitable but no one could provide consistent performance at the box office except Kazir.
All of his movies after 1995 were all amazing. All of his movies were small to mid-budget yet all of them were profitable. To be precise, all of the movies that Grey Pictures produced never exceeded the $100 million production cost. Yet all of them performed well and made money.
Only Spider-Man had over $100 million budget and it was produced by Sony-Colombia.
It was clear that every project that Kazir touched never lost money. They all made money one way or another.
People were now suddenly thinking about the future of this production studio, would they soar higher or fall to the ground and crash? Only time could tell.
One thing was sure, Kazir Grey might be recognized as the most profitable director in this era. It was obvious why a lot of people wanted to work with him. This was also the reason why the Big Six wanted to acquire Kazir.
Sony-Colombia and Warner Bros were not stupid. They know that the real money maker of Grey Pictures was Kazir Grey. If they acquired the company completely, then the company would lose its value. Grey Pictures was only relevant as long as Kazir was there.
Being serious about this acquisition, they only ask for 40% company shares at best. They would never go more than that. Because if Kazir felt like he was getting bullied, the guy might leave the company altogether and work with another studio. That would be troublesome.
You see, Kazir already made two movies that performed very well at the box office with $1 billion each.
Sony-Colombia and Warner Bros knew that this would never be the last time that it would happen. They could feel it, Kazir was still at his peak, or perhaps he was still climbing higher and his chances of failure were low.
How could they not be tempted? Have you seen someone like Kazir who could make $1 billion with one movie? Yes, two other people did which were Spielberg and Cameron. However, Spielberg mostly worked with Paramount and Universal.
As for Cameron, he worked with 20th Century Fox and Paramount but he only makes movies every few years. In fact, James Cameron's next movie would be in 2009, 7 years from now. His art took a long time to create, unlike Kazir who consistently filmed one movie per year. That was the most salivating fact in this acquisition.
Even if they could only acquire 20-30% shares from Grey Pictures, it would still be equivalent to profit. And from the looks of it, Kazir was not interested in money. It was just a way for him to keep his career.
... Because Kazir was not interested in money, the negotiation became a little bit difficult. Kazir wanted shares exchange instead.
Meaning, Kazir would receive shares of Sony-Colombia or Warner in exchange for shares of Grey Pictures.
The current net worth of Warner Bros was $27 billion while Sony-Colombia sat around $21 billion.
As for Grey Pictures, the net worth of the company bloated or should I say increased after the recent success of their many movies. Sitting around $7 billion. After all, Grey Pictures' revenue last year at the box office was over $1 billion, and John Wick's Chapter 2 and Fast and The Furious exceeded $1 billion if combined. Furthermore, the profit from merchandise/DVDs that Grey Pictures was selling last year was over $150 million. The estimated worth of the company was not wrong at all.
To acquire 40% of the company, Sony-Colombia or Warner Bros had to bleed $3.4 billion. That could also affect their business dealings but it was a gamble they were ready to take. After all, both companies were backed by giant companies. Sony and Time Warner were powerful companies in their respective sectors.
So far, Sony-Colombia was interested in 35% shares for $2.1 billion. It was quite huge, however, Kazir was not interested in that amount of money. He was not the type who loved spending money. He could invest in some companies but he would rather focus on Hollywood. Besides, Kazir could wait.
Kazir had a feeling that Sony-Colombia and Warner Bros wouldn't only be the ones that would compete. One or two studios might also ask for shares of Grey Pictures.
...
...
...
Chairman Michael Eisner gritted his teeth as he read the newspaper. Almost all of the publishers praised Kazir Grey for his talent. Well, he was the only one who achieved a back-to-back $1 billion at the box office. Of course people would praise.
'If I knew about it... Sigh.'
Michael sighed and understood that it was too late for regret. All he could do was move on. He had a lot of chances to work with Kazir but he failed to do so.
His position in Walt Disney was quite rocky and even his friend, Michael Ovits resigned because of of that. It seemed that everyone in Walt Disney started turning their backs on him. He lost his influence.
One of the executives was irking him especially, it was Robert Iger.
'That bastard...'
Robert Iger proposed that Michael Eisner should retire since he was getting too old. Of course Michael didn't want to retire because he loves being in power.
Right now, he has two choices to keep his position. The first was to acquire Grey Pictures, a pretty promising studio. Second was the upcoming performance of John Carter. Walt Disney put so much money into this project, hoping that they could follow the performance of CCU.
Hollywood What If Chapter 289
April came by and people in Hollywood started sensing the change in the atmosphere. People started seeing billboards with pictures of movies getting promoted. Advertising was everywhere, taxis had pictures of movies on them. Especially TV channels, the Big invested so much money so that people would know about their movies.
Jane Kendall stepped out of her boyfriend's car and thanked him.
"Thanks, Wallace, I'm going to miss you."
"Babe, you're just going to go to Canada. It's not that far. We can also call each other."
"... So you're saying you're not sad that I'll be gone, hm?" Jane narrowed her gaze, quite glaring at her boyfriend.
"Of course not. You know that I will miss you, so much. This big!" He spread his arms to gesture how much he would miss her.
Jane pouted. After 9/11 the security in airports became serious and traveling on airlines was not simple anymore. Jane wanted to go back to California every Sunday to spend time with Wallace but airlines have different rules now. She might spend more time in the terminal than with Wallace.
Jane Kendall was the leader of the make-up team of Grey Pictures. Her position in the crew was quite good, especially when she was part of the original crew together with Renner Hector and Harold Witsend. The three were already part of Kazir's crew long before the director became famous.
'When was it again? Ah, I think it was June 4, in the year of 1989.'
Jane didn't forget the date the original crew started their first project because that date was very memorable to a lot of people.
Because of that, she was well respected in the crew.
Jane and Wallace met in Wanted two years ago. Wallace was the co-leader of Grey Fans and he was one of the guests who received tickets for the premiere. The two hit it well and they decided to be in a serious relationship.
Now, they were 1 year and 4 months into the relationship.
The two knew that the distance might affect their relationship but they promised each other that they would remain stronger.
The two had a mild kiss before Jane entered the terminal. Grey Pictures never had its own private plane so they would go with business flights instead. The maintenance of a plane was very expensive and Kazir didn't find the novelty of having one... Even though he was earning quite a lump sum of money.
Jane heard that Tom Cruise would go to Canada in a private plane but that was obvious since the actor was a bonafide superstar.
The crew had to go snowy part of Canada to film the movie. Kazir already sent Renner Hector first to check the possible filming sites and Renner already found suitable places. He also talked with the municipalities and received approval for filming.
Most of the scenes would be filmed in Sudbury, Ontario. Renner Hector already confirmed that even though summer was arriving, the place was still cold and snowy white, an important aspect of their choice.
Jane but farewell to her lover, she would miss him. She went to the section in the terminal and found most members of the crew. They greeted each other. Then, Jane approached Kazir who seemed busy as always.
The man was always like this since the first time they met, at that time, Kazir was still a newbie director and had trouble doing his job, making him busier. But now, the newbie director was none to be seen.
Only a mature guy who seemed immersed in his reading.
"Good morning, Kazir."
"Oh, good morning Jane. Wallace took you here to the terminal?"
"That's right."
"Is he still here?"
"No, he has a job. So he left after sending me here."
"Is that so? Too bad, I want him to contact some members of Grey Fans to visit our filming set to promote the movie. I think some of the members of the Grey Fans are amateur movie bloggers."
Movie critics might be the right term but movie bloggers focused more on the internet than critics who mostly published their stuff in tabloids and newspapers.
"If you're talking about work, you can call him instead... Wait, so you're saying that you want Wallace and the others to visit the crew?"
"That's right? Is there something wrong with what I said? Of course we have to set up a schedule for their visitation."
"... I'll call Wallace later."
Jane left the director with excitement.
Seems like Jane regained some of her energy after knowing that her boyfriend could visit the crew. Most of the time, visiting filming locations was off-limits to keep the content of the movies secret. Especially now that technology was improving and people could hide small cameras in their pockets.
To visit the filming set, people usually sign a non-disclosure agreement so that the movie won't leak.
In this regard, Kazir had no problem letting some fans visit the crew. That could give them positive impressions.
Kazir was actually feeling the pressure because of the success of Spider-Man and Wanted. His last two films surpassed $1 billion. He wanted to work hard so that The Revenant could also experience the same treatment but Kazir knew that that would be impossible. He was not God in the first place.
'Well, my name in another language means God but that has probably no connection whatsoever with my current predicament.'
... Or perhaps his name was the reason why he returned to the past? Was this a foreshadowing? Probably not.
Kazir was not striving for much. Having another $1 billion movie at the box office would not be amazing. Instead, people might think that he was a robot or something.
If he remembered it right, The Revenant exceeded $500 million at the worldwide box office, which was amazing, by the way. Only a few selected movies could do that.
For this movie, Grey Pictures was ready to spend $100 million in budget. Of course, Kazir knew how to use the money so there was probably some money left for PR once filming was done.
Hollywood What If Chapter 290
Kazir kept drawing on his storyboard. He was not super great in terms of drawing but his sketches were very recognizable.
If he failed to become a director, perhaps he might start working in comics or other hand-drawn related jobs. Too bad because Walt Disney stopped their hand-drawn animation while the other animation studios were not that good.
Anyway, Kazir was good at drawing... Simply as that. After working in this position for his lifetime, Kazir learned a lot.
He stopped drawing when he realized that most of the crew members arrived. Their flight number would be announced a few minutes later.
Kazir saw a stand selling newspaper and Kazir decided to buy one so that he won't be bored in flight.
He saw something interesting and recalled a certain future.
'... John Carter, huh.'
Kazir bought the newspaper with the front cover of John Carter.
This project was heavily invested by Walt Disney, the budget of this movie was a whopping $250 million. Yes, this news came from someone working in Walt Disney. The budget was really huge, but this kind of thing would become the norm a few years later.
Movies would become super expensive, especially those big movies invested by the Big Six.
Kazir read the article. It seemed that Walt Disney was very serious about this project, promoting the movie in almost everywhere.
Last February, John Carter showed its first trailer for Super Bowl XXXVI. Millions of people saw the trailer and in terms of advertising expenses, it was worth it.
Kazir also watched the trailer and confirmed one thing... It was basically the same as his past life. Even the cast was almost the same. Kazir had premonition regarding this.
The premiere of John Carter would happen on the first Thursday of May which was two weeks from now. At that time, Kazir and the crew of The Revenant were already filming the movie.
...
...
...
In a gloomy deep forest with few greeneries and tall trees, a man walked quietly, conscious of his surroundings.
The forest was almost silent as if there was no life existing.
In his thick fur clothing, Hugh Glass felt that something was amiss. He raised his old long as if the danger was coming towards him.
He had unkempt hair around his face, showing how haggard he was. His thick beard quite greasy.
Breathing slowly yet deeply, Hugh Glass slowly turned around to see his surroundings.
He saw two bear cubs walking... He lowered his gun and turned around, only to find a huge grizzly bear fastly approaching him.
The bear pounced on him and slammed him to the ground. Hugh Glass grunted and fought back.
The beat started attacking him on the ground with no mercy.
"Okay cut!"
Suddenly, the bear stopped moving and Tom also stood up, with a bit of dirt on his face. He wiped his face and looked at the bear.
"I'm sorry about that, Tom." The beat said. Someone was inside the bear(props), a real person. Kazir knew that the beat didn't look realistic but they intend to use Motion Capture Technology for that.
The technology was expensive but Kazir was ready to spend money just for it. The beat should look realistic and frightening. They need that wow factor.
"No, it's fine," Tom replied to the man in the costume. He knew that this scene would be dirty. He didn't like dirt but there was nothing to do about it. Thankfully, the clothes he was wearing were clean and smelled good despite their dirty appearance. The costume design team should be thanked for that.
"Let's take a rest." He said. He didn't have a problem with what happened.
In the first place, he liked his current facing. He could feel that he was deep into acting and felt like he was really Hugh Glass for a few seconds.
Perhaps the atmosphere in the crew affected him, in a good way.
He saw a strong camaraderie among them. They all worked together flawlessly. The trust they have in Kazir Grey might be the reason.
This was trust and confidence that slowly built up over the years. They followed his orders without hesitation because they knew that Kazir could provide them with another masterpiece. Furthermore... The bonus they received once the filming was done and once the movie had a successful release at the box office gave them the motivation to work hard.
It seemed that Grey Pictures was quite good to its crew.
"Kazir, what do you think?"
"Amazing, Tom. Your immersion in your role is getting better and your performance is perfect. I have nothing bad to say."
Kazir was being serious. As expected, Tom Cruise was a great and devoted actor. He just decided to keep going with almost the same roles in his entire career because he was afraid of losing his status.
Most of Tom's filmography was about him being handsome and cool... That was basically it.
But now, the person in front of Kazir looked exhausted but alert, like a real warrior.
"This is just the first take and I feel like I can perform better if we have another take?"
"Take 2?"
"Take 2." Tom nodded.
The shooting restarted after that and the filming of The Revenant kept happening.
...
...
...
Meanwhile, Hollywood which was only over a thousand miles from Canada had started their usual summer releases.
On May 2, 2002, more than five movies were released at the same time. However, only one movie was promising.
Walt Disney already announced that they would release John Carter on the first week of May and the others studios decided to give this schedule to them.
There was no reason to fight Walt Disney when they could look for another week to release their movies.
The result of John Carter on its first weekend was quite... Meh.
The movie was not bad, but it was not that good either. It didn't have much of appeal to the audience despite the strong promotion that Walt Disney did.
[I like to apologize for being gone for two days. Depression just hit like crazy, so here are two chapters. Tomorrow might also be two chapters, it all depends on my mentality.]