My Hollywood System

by Cui Shi yi

1 - 242

8. 225 - 242

My Hollywood System #Chapter 225: - Read My Hollywood System Chapter 225: Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 225:

The articles had begun to gain traction with every passing second.

Yet, the media was still going on about Will's falling out with Benjamin Scott. The articles were not just getting popular, but the content was also turning spicy with every passing day, glorifying Will as a 'dictator' whose success had gotten into his head and fired Scott because the latter questioned the script.

The articles were suspiciously against Will, one way or another. Although not all of them were vocal about it, none of them were in his favor.

Amanda held a tablet in her hand, and was sitting in front of Will in his office. The environment of the office was not chilly as normal, rather it was tense—or maybe it was just Amanda's moon.

"…They are basically hellbent on making you the villain. And the articles just keep getting worse." Amanda said while shaking her head.

"It's an old tactic, Amanda. Our main goal is not any of the things that's going around or among them, it should be to find a new, better replacement." Will said.

Amanda nodded understanding his point, but her mind was distracted.

On the other hand, Will was more concerned about the current situation regarding [Friends] and even thought of doing a manhunt to find Matt LeBlanc in this world. Matt LeBlanc, who Will actually knew from his previous life, was the actor who actually played the role of Joey Tribbiani.

'Only if I could find the man.' He kept thinking. But then, he reconsidered the thoughts with how uncertain the time it would take them to find Matt, and another thing was if it was even worth it since there was a chance Matt LeBlanc of this world may not truly be fit to be an actor. Although something like this hasn't happened with the other actors he had found, he couldn't bet on this always being the case.

"This article is saying you had a fight with Scott, leading the latter to revoke his contract and get into ICM, and angered by this, you didn't renew Scott's contract and now he's out of [Friends]'s next season. Everyone has a new story here."

Amanda's chain of words brought Will out of his thoughts.

"… It's most likely ICM who was doing all this from behind the scenes and trying to make you the villain of this entire scenario," Amanda remarked. She then added, "I think this is just a tactic to force you. And if by any case, if you actually renew the contract with Benjamin, then the media will come out that all this was fake and there was never a fight. I guess this is the benefit of having stakes and connections in the media."

Amanda's words did have a true definition behind them. Will thought for a split second before saying, "Hm… I get your point. And what if we went on and explained our side of the story? ICM would surely add some flair to the controversy but if we don't bother, nothing will happen since it's just a dog barking. And, not that I am being conceited, but my reputation isn't something that can be hurt by something like this." He added looking at Amanda

"Yeah, that, I can agree upon. But these articles aren't helping at all," She shook her head.

Amanda was someone who did not make anything personal. So even this situation was something she could handle with the right amount of calmness to face it.

"Yeah, but as I said, we have to do our part in this situation."

Over the course of the last few years, the media had dubbed Will as a star maker and a genius director who never actually got into any sort of weird rumors.

In Hollywood, weird rumors were something very common—emphasis on 'very'.

But for Will, it was an entirely different story. The stories of his success spread but any sort of negative story which could ruin his image hadn't happened until now.

In fact, Will wasn't even a playboy who people would degrade with him by that and therefore, he had gained a lot of credibility among the fans.

"What would we do with Joey? RBO already called me. They were concerned about the next season, but I handled it. They straightaway asked if they could kill Joey from the show…"

"No." Will interrupted.

Will thought of how in his previous life, [Two and Half men, a famous sitcom was ruined because one of the leads was fired which led to the eventual deterioration of the entire show.

Thinking of it, he knew that he couldn't let such a thing happen with [Friends]. It would not only lead to making things worse, but also might harm his image since the word of him being the reason for Benjamin's exit was basically everywhere.

He had to think of something and make things right.

As per what RBO was thinking, since Joey was one of the vital characters in the entire series, he knew that they couldn't just kill off the character.

And this meant there was only one solution: finding another actor to play the role.

"I don't want to make changes in the character. Or even with the show. It'll go as planned," Will told Amanda who was already staring at him with a massive questioning face plastered in her face.

"How are you doing?" Amanda asked back.

Will leaned back in his chair and thought about the only person who could pull off Joey's character the best: Matthew LeBlanc. And yet the other question was still in its play—How to find him?

"Did I really get the role?" A man said. Surprise was evident in this words. In front of him was none other than June.

She nodded at his question, "Yeah, out of all the actors who auditioned, you had the highest score during the audition. And just like that, you'd be the lead of my next paranormal movie."

The man who sat in front of June was undoubtedly talented.

"So, Mr Depp, your compensation will be 50 Grand for this role." June was direct, and turned to look at John, her agent. "John over here will send you the contract. You can go through them with the help of a lawyer. Also, the shooting will go on for ten days. However, you don't have to worry about anything, I will soon pass on all the details regarding the shoot schedule."

Johnny looked extremely excited by her words. He nodded in agreement and replied, "I'd do anything for the role. Don't worry about it."

"I'm not worrying, Mr Depp. I trust you on this." She said with a professional smile.

'50 grand for ten day work? That's basically far more than what I'd earned being a paparazzi.' Johnny's thoughts were taken by how much the deal cost.

With her words, he was ready to take any challenge that was to be thrown in his way with the role.

As a person who hadn't given up on auditioning, and for someone who kept hoping to get his big break someday, he felt as if the entire situation was due to some sort of luck and a blessing.

"Have you gone through the script?" June asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Johnny nodded, "Yeah, I understand it very well. The role I've to play is very easy."

"I admire the confidence," She said with a smile which he returned politely.

The movie that June had planned was about a couple who had just moved into an apartment and didn't believe anything related to the paranormal.

No proof; no belief.

But to everyone's surprise and horror, not long after moving in, the male lead would get controlled by the ghost who haunted their house. The premise for the movie was set in an order which could even give thrills even to an old man if executed well.

After the male lead gets haunted, scared, controlled and the story starts to get into the paranormal scenarios, the lead wanted to find the exact reason as to 'why' weird things were happening around him.

Due to that, he would set a camcorder to record things around the house which would lead him to discover the ongoing paranormal activities.

The ending was something that could completely take any viewer by surprise, and would definitely grip the audience's hearts when the movie hits the theaters.

June, with John helping her out and two leads would be the only members of the crew. The movie was going to be shot in the same style as [The Blair Witch Project].

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 226:

In the make-up room of a set, a young woman was controlling the make-up brush and drawing patterns on the young man's face— who had his back leaned backwards to the make-up chair he wasf seated in.

It had been almost an hour since the make-up session began in preparation for what was about to come, yet ever since the beginning, the actor in the chair sat straight and unbelievably still.

This young man was none other than Marcus Brown, the actor who had played one of the protagonists in [The Blair Witch Project, but went into a drug addiction spiral which almost ruined his career, however out of pure stroke of luck, he got another chance with Will Evans and was able to land a huge role in an upcoming movie. And now was on his path of redemption and recovery.

"How are you feeling?" She asked while keeping an eye on the features of this young man.

Marcus had his eyes closed the entire time. Upon hearing the question that was asked, he raised his head.

"Never felt better." Marcus said while shifting his gaze to take a look at his reflection. "Oh, you have done a great job with the face. The cheekbones were very well highlighted. Is that to suit the camera?" He asked while turning his head left and right.

The young woman chuckled at his response. "Thank you and yes, it fits the camera and lighting perfectly. Uhm- well, I really wanted to you to look your best for this interview."

"Oh?" Marcus was pleasantly surprised, "Well, thank you. Is there a reason for that other than it being your job?"

"Well, indeed it's my job. But how should I put this? Uhm, actually, you're my inspiration, and now that I got a chance to help you on this interview, I had to take it." She was talking while still adding some final touches.

The white bulbs around the mirror made Marcus's eyes squint the next time he opened them. He was confused at her words.

"How can I be an aspiration for someone? If anything, I've only created trouble for the people around me. Heck, I almost threw away a career which many would kill for," Marcus said while shaking his head.

He saw the make-up girl nod in agreement. "I once got myself entrapped into addiction. And the journey to get back on my feet has been arduous to say the least." She took a short pause as if he was traveling back in his own memories.

With a sigh, she added, "Actually, I have myself been clean for more than a year. And when I read news about your gradual downfall to the road of recovery, I couldn't help but find myself relating to your story. And that is why I wanted to make you look your best when you stand in front of the world again. Because in my view, recovery is not for people who need it. It's for the people who want it."

She said while her hands paused without any action. Marcus said nothing but nodded.

The emotions that the girl was trying to hide were on full-on display while she was talking. Marcus felt vulnerable at her story, but was distracted by the sudden noise.

With a low screech, the gate was pushed open and a crew member with a clipboard in his hand walked inside with an exciting smile.

"We're about to start. Are you ready?" He asked and the make-up girl replied with a nod.

Soon after the crew member left the room, Marcus stood up and put forward his hands for a shake, "Thank you."

"Good luck, Mr Marcus…" The young woman smiled.

Marcus walked out of the dressing room. His mood has increased in the positives, and with every step he took, he felt more confident.

Following the director who just came in, he walked towards the curtain where the staff hurriedly joined him to put on a mic and start the filming.

'I didn't get her name…'

Since the news broke out, the drama of Will Evans and Benjamin Scott was still going on. And there was rarely any media that was working in his favor at all.

The media had successfully created a mountain out of molehill.

The thing which made it worse was how even the people on social media platforms like Sparrow had also begun to question Will's appearance.

They raised questions if Will Evans thinks that he is too perfect. More than that many were questioning Will's decisions, completely making him off as the bad guy.

To top all of it, there was also a subtle trend ongoing with the hashtags like #boycottFriends which started to take a flight.

Hence, Dream Vision finally decided to respond to the controversy, though they didn't show that they were worried about the ongoing backlash.

And the official post which they made in their official page muted many controversial trends on the topic.

Dream Vision. (v)

[Posted a few seconds ago]

[Update. ICM and Benjamin Scott have filed for contract nullification and have paid the compensation, in a bid to form a new contract, however, we have decided to let go of Benjamin Scott.

From the whole cast and team of [Friends, we wish him best for his future endeavors.]

As soon as the post goes, the reactions were mixed from person to person. Some still were blaming Will, and some others had totally opposite views on it.

In the office building of Dream Three, Will was seated in his chair while Amanda kept reading the comments and talking about them.

"Don't respond to any of it. The more we focus on the reponses, the more they are going to talk about it," Will said after hearing Amanda's views on a harsh comment posted by one of the users.

Amanda nodded, agreeing with him.

Will was still thinking about what to do to overcome this challenge. The first and the best thing he knew was to find a better actor.

At this rate, he had his gut feeling that he wouldn't be able to find Matt LeBlanc, but then again if nothing worked out, he promised to himself to launch the plan of manhunting the guy himself.

"Amanda, I think it's the time to begin the auditions to find our next Joey," Will muttered, still kind of busy in his own thought process.

"Yeah, I'll work on it."

Will thought of something else and said, "Don't spend too much time on finding one. I need another favor. Check if there's any actor named after Matthew Steven LeBlanc. Uh- I need all the profiles of actors names which have, Matthew, Matt or LeBlanc." he muttered while a frown appeared on Amanda's forehead.

Although she wanted to ask 'why', she knew better than that. So she went on and replied with, "Sure."

'Weird tactic, but not like there's so many options left.' Will thought as he knew he couldn't drag this drama for longer considering how many bigger projects he had in mind to worry about.

"It would really be better if this task could be done the first thing tomorrow morning, I don't want to spend a lot of time on it as I'm not one hundred percent sure if this would work," Will said.

And then, Amanda couldn't hold it in any longer. "What are you on about?" She asked.

"Hm… Trust me on it. It's not something you would understand even if I explained."

Amanda suddenly had the thought of immediate regret of not holding back her curiosity. The answer wasn't new, and her mouth zipped shut knowing it wouldn't get anymore older than it was.

Trusting Will one more time, she didn't say anything but walked out of the office after listening to Will a bit more to begin the auditions and settle the things in them.

After making sure that Amanda's focus would be on the work to confirm things with Joey's role, which would obviously take some more time, Will started to plan his next batch of movies.

He spent a few good minutes thinking about his decisions thoroughly.

First, he started off to think about what sorts of movies would suit the timeline more.

Also, apart from the movies, he had the Netflix project in mind. And at times like these, forgetting even a single project would cost him losses which he wasn't ready for, neither would face.

Focusing on the project Netflix; it was a given that Netflix had completely outdone themselves with the app. But the thing was, it still needed a lot of movies and shows to make the app an actual streaming platform.

For that, Will knew that it would take some more time to complete the entire process.

As it was a time taking procedure, he planned to formally announce [Spider Man 2] and [Iron Man] by the end of the year. With that, Will believed to get Marvel to become a separate entity right under Dream International.

'Hmm… Better,' His thoughts were clear and occupied while he kept doodling his plans in his private tablet.

The next thing he focused on was the batch of movies that he had in mind.

Normally, Will himself was known to be a director who would focus on two to three movies at a time, but with how things were flowing, he was ready to challenge himself by increasing the count to five, maybe six.

Among the movies he had in mind, [Harry Potter] franchise was on top of his priority to establish, considering how three books were already released. With that, the next decade and half years he was confident that the franchise would be stabilized in the industry.

The entire brainstorming future plans dragged into an hour and half after Amanda's exit.

That was the moment he realized how much he missed his tea. Through the intercom, he requested what exactly he wanted and opened the laptop to start what he had in mind.

At around 10.45 pm.

The job he had taken to himself during the office was still ongoing, and Will was on his bed, with his laptop placed in his lap.

He was currently preparing the draft script, and his mind was fully engrossed in it.

With each word he typed, his focus seemed to get more clarity and his breath became even.

June, who walked in at this moment, stopped in her tracks in front of the bedroom door and placed the box in the corner of the bed.

"The book arrived," She said in just above a whisper distracting him a little bit from his constant writing.

Inside the box, it was [The Hobbit].

Will said nothing but nodded. His eyes roamed in between the letters he was typing.

June was excited to bring the box of his new book, yet Will was fully involved in whatever-he-was-writing which gained her nosiness.

Walking around the bed, she peeked in to see what he was writing. She muttered the words that she read was on top of what he was writing,

"The Devil Wears Prada?" She almost questioned.

"A new script." Will said while keeping the laptop in front of him, and focusing on June who looked interested in what she read.

With no more explanation, Will knew that she wanted to know more. "Well, it was an idea I got recently—" June hummed while sitting beside Will. "It's about Andy, who would be the main character…."

Will went on explaining the movie plot briefly, which didn't even cover the entire story. By the end of it, June had her eyebrows raised in amusement.

"It's very interesting," she said, for which Will agreed.

"Yes, I know. You can audition for one of the lead roles of the intern." Will suggested.

"I will if I find it interesting. For now, I really found the boss character more interesting."

"Haha…" Will chuckled hearing her thoughts and matching her energy. "I'm pretty sure you'd like it after reading the whole script." He said.

Apart from the smile she was showing Will, she was not too conscious about acting in any of Will's movies considering how in the last few months she had improved, matured and perfectly sculptured inside her brains to suit her name and occupation.

One of the main reasons to trigger it was, how she had talked about her problems with a professor in the film school. During then, an old lady had told her that she was thinking too much into it.

To make it fair for her, June was not getting the role due to being Will's girlfriend, but she would be able to audition which potentially helped her prove herself with her performance.

And according to her, which June wholeheartedly agreed, if her acting is good, the audience would like it, and she would be chosen.

"Yeah, sure." June replied to Will and kissed his forehead while letting him work.

It was nearly 2 in the morning, and Will stood up to take a break from the continuous script writing.

Noticing the book that lay in the corner of his bed, he stood up—which cracked more than half of his body — and walked towards it.

He uncovered it and saw, [The Hobbit] written on the front page.

'Tomorrow is the day,' Will thought to himself as he remembered the book would be released in less than ten hours.

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 227:

[The Hobbit] was finally released.

The book became an instant success since the author, W Evans, had already gathered quite a big reader base and many of his fans were interested in what he claimed to be a whole new world, with a different approach in terms of writing.

For all one searched, many book reviewing sites, like BetterReads, gave rave reviews to [The Hobbit].

LeslieReads: Some books are almost impossible to review. If a book is bad, how easily can we dwell on its flaws! But if the book is good, how do you give any recommendation that is equal to the book? Unless you are an author of equal worth to the one whose work you review, what powers of prose and observation are you likely to have to fitly adorn the work? 10/10

FridayBookday: 'The Hobbit' is at one level simply a charming adventure story, perhaps one of the most charming and most adventurous ever told. I couldn't help more but rate this fiction 10/10.

MichealTheBibliophile: It was an enjoyable tale of adventure, friendship, and courage which was set in a beautiful, massive, and lore-filled world named MIDDLE-EARTH. This book was originally meant for the pleasure of children and was created with that idea in mind. Even so, it can be enjoyed by all ages. Regardless of your age, or affinity for the fantasy genre, there is an experience of an adventure that everyone can take away from reading this. 9.8/10

TerminatorReader: Great storytelling, fun characters, humour, action – it has it all. 9/10

BookSamurai: I've been thinking a lot of how many stars are given to the book, since there were parts that I loved a lot, but there were others that I found tedious and even anti-climatic, but in respect to this great writer. I believe the book deserves at least 4-stars rating with which I feel easy since I am not giving it a full rating but also I am not punishing it for things that maybe a future re-reading will solve. 4/5

Just as the reviews kept coming in, within a week of its publication, people were already delighted to read this new addition for their world of fiction.

In a certain bookstore, around 9.45 in the morning.

"Airing….Action!"

"Good morning New Yorkers! We are at the Red Read bookstore, one of the largest and oldest bookstores to be established in the middle of the city. For all the listerned wondering what this hype is about…

Let me share! The line behind me, with almost a hundred people outside the store, is basically to buy Will Evan's newest work of tale, [The Hobbit]! And the bookstore was supposed to open at 10 this morning, and due to all the chaos, the owner, Freddie, even arrived early. You'd have guessed what sort of an environment I'm in."

It was not just one reporter, but there were around five to seven reporters covering 'just' that bookstore.

"…Ever since the first release was out, it had been reported how good the reviews for the book came out, even from well-known authors.

hey there–"

"Jason," One of the readers who were in the queue answered when the microphone was shared to him.

"Jason, how long have you been here?" The female reporter asked with a wide smile.

"Almost thirty minutes. No big deal, can't wait to read the new book by Will!"

"Why do you like Will Evans so much?" The microphone was shoved in front of the other person's face.

"To be frankly honest with you, his achievements as an author are not something to be taken for granted.

"I have become a fan of his books since the last book of his first series, [Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban]. The book has expanded the whole Harry Potter universe to take it beyond just Hogwarts, not to mention the ever growing fanbase. So many bibliophiles are coming out of their caves, and as one of them, how can I skip this hype train?" he chuckled at the camera.

"Haha… Thank you. Just like you witnessed, each of these readers who are now in the line awaiting their turn to buy the newest work of fiction by Will Evans at Red Read Bookstore, are excited and thrilled for Will Evans' new series!

"Bringing you news, live from New York, RTV, I'm Savannah."

While the book release was ongoing, Will Evans was having an important discussion in the main conference room with many important personnel of Dream Vision.

Amanda was heading the meeting skillfully, while everyone else including people who handled Dream Vision at different levels were present on board.

"First, if we focus on the collections of [Catch Me If You Can] and [Spiderman, the numbers are enough to show our success." Amanda said, while pointing at the presentation projected on a while board.

"These are the statistics for the movies ever since its release and we have divided them into the span of weeks and months separately. The next slide-" She said and moved on to the next. "-shows the progress of [Ultimate Spiderman].]

More than half of the people present at the meeting nodded their heads, while some had noticeable smiles plastered on their faces seeing the success they had achieved during the last few months.

"…Likewise, it is clearly visible how positive the statistics are for now. The merchandise and comics are also generating its potential income, and here it is… With that being said, I believe we covered the necessary income and collection statistics for the day. With our next projects, we'll be going one level above.

Of course, all of them will be written by Will Evans," Amanda concluded her little presentation.

Hearing the words come out of her, everyone was excited.

While the others whispered and discussed the possible next projects, Will stood up and walked up to the podium, while Amanda gave him a nod and returned to her seat.

"Hello everyone." Will stood straight. "As Amanda showed, the reports are going great. But we can't celebrate for long. And what I'm here to do is to talk about the future projects that I've in mind. To start it off with, we will have a new movie project… [The Devil Wears Prada]…" He went on explaining the plot and talked a little about the budget he had in mind.

"…With Alan heading the production, [Harry Potter] movie series will begin its pre-production."

Alan was Will's ex assistant and also the director of [Catch Me If You Can].

"That's a great idea. Do we have a time table planned for these?" A member who sat in the corner of the conference table asked.

"I'll get there shortly. And I also have two new projects in mind. They are originals. This is the first movie I have in mind." Will said and changed the slides of the presentation, which revealed the movie name.

"[Men In Black]?" A lady who sat with her arms crossed questioned looking at the name.

"Yes. It will be a science fiction action comedy franchise. The script is not yet fully ready…however, this movie will be comparatively strange and unique than anything else that the audience have seen. The major idea of the movie will be about loss, xenophobia, and finding one's place in an ever-expanding universe. And yes, Xenophobia is the dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries." Will said and some people took notes of his plans with Dream Vision.

"The next project would be…" Will turned to the next slide. "[Pirates Of Caribbean]. This will be our third next franchise after [Harry Potter] and [Man In Black]. And since it is going to be big, also because I want to, I'll be directing this movie myself. If you're trying to get a small grasp about what this movie holds, let me tell you that this is going to be a fantasy swashbuckler film series."

"Swashbuckler…. Interesting."

"I like it more."

"Did he say he would direct that?"

Different unknown whispers spread through the room as Will went silent after these words. He looked at people and noticed how excited they were about the upcoming Dream Vision projects.

Even Amanda and Jeffrey were discussing something about the movie in the presentation.

Nevertheless, after a few seconds, Will spoke again.

"And, last but not least, [Sherlock Holmes 2] will straightaway get into pre-production. Now, are there any more questions? Oh wait, about the time periods, I don't think we should rush any of our releases but take time as much as possible to execute the idea to the epitome. But, if by any chance something unfortunate comes up, we'll have to act accordingly."

Will had also bought the [Matrix] series from the System, but he was putting that for later. Even the next Spider Man series and Marvel plans were not discussed in this meeting, because he wanted to hold a separate meeting for that.

Now that he had finished talking about the upcoming movies, he glanced at the CEO of Pixar Studios while addressing everyone once again.

"[The Lion King] would be the first animated movie." Will said, "For this, we will hold auditions for the voice actors.]

After a brief pause, he added, "And now, we need to discuss [Ultimate Spiderman] and [Friends]' the second season."

At the mention of [Friends] almost many of them looked confused.

"Will, I think [Ultimate Spiderman 2] is already in discussion and in good hands. But what are we going to do about [Friends]? We have to take immediate action with what happened, also we need to begin the production pretty soon as well."

It was Susan who had asked this. She was the producer for the [Friends] series and was in the meeting from the beginning, albeit sitting quietly while waiting for the current subject to come up.

Will nodded at her, "You're right, but don't worry about it, the auditions will begin soon and even I will take part in auditioning prospective actors for the role."

His words surprised Susan but she nodded and decided to discuss her doubts once the auditions began.

After nodding at her, Will turned his head towards the screen and as the slides changed, he added, "Now, we will have the final agenda of our meeting."

On the screen, two lines appeared:

[Netflix]

[A Dream Vision Initiative]

Chapter 228:

It had been quite some time since the [Spiderman] movie's and by now, the box office numbers had become something to gawk at.

One Billion dollars were just for Will, and it still possessed enough potential to grow more.

From the way things were going, Will had expected for the theatres to run the movie for more than fifty weeks. And that is almost a year.

With the overwhelming success of [Spiderman, Dream Vision successfully made themselves known as the studio to hit blockbusters in the Box Office one after another.

And this accomplishment was rare. Although two-three box office hits get released once a month, a studio being capable enough to release supernovas in a row were far and few in between and apparently exclusive to Dream Vision.

Two men were walking down the corridor of Dream Vision building, and while discussing something to each other.

Since these two men were none other than Will and Robert, many eyes were silently prying at them while their steps became closer to the elevator.

"…Since how long have you been planning them?" Robert asked, looking at Will in his eyes.

Robert had gotten to know about the things that were ongoing with Dream Vision. The future projects, the controversy with the ICM and everything else, he was clearly aware.

"I don't do things on a whim. Also, you were asking about the director on the fourth floor, why was it about?" Will asked out of curiosity.

Currently, Robert was going downstairs for a meeting with a director.

"Ah! The thing is, I have been interested in doing a project with the director after [Sherlock Holmes 2]. He is a very talented director, isn't he?" Robert asked as they both got into the elevator.

"Yeah, talented indeed." Will said with a smile.

He was going to the office of Pixar considering how he had a meeting scheduled to talk with Jerry Leopard about [Lion King].

Jerry Leopard was a stockholder of the company, and also known to be a genius due to how he basically was the backbone behind the [Ultimate Spiderman].

And since the latter had taken the initiative in [Ultimate Spiderman] which succeeded with no remorse, Will wanted him to take over this project too.

"By the way, are we going to work on [Iron man] right after [Sherlock Holmes 2]?" Robert asked after a few seconds of silence.

Will had talked about it with Robert while they were working on the post credit scene. And the question had rang in Robert's mind ever since then.

"I was thinking of getting [Pirates of the Caribbean]'s first movie out. Why do you ask?" Will asked back.

"Oh, I have been thinking about this new franchise you announced. I think I want to try out the role for it,"

Will shook his head immediately.

"Is that a 'no' then?" Robert asked, a slight smile dancing in his lips in humour.

"It is. I can arrange a small role but not the lead. I don't have anyone in mind if that's what you're thinking about, it's just… Let me put it in this way. You're already doing [Sherlock Holmes] and we have [Iron Man] in line. So I don't think the schedule will be in your favour." Will explained.

Will also knew that getting him to become the lead of three big franchises wouldn't do any good other than for his personal career.

The dates being jam packed was one of the main reasons too.

"Oh alright." Robert took a short pause before continuing, "I might probably take a month off after [Sherlock Holmes 2, with Susan at that. I'm pretty sure she's going to be busy with [Friends]' shooting, but a break might do both of us a lot of good.

"Will, you should go on one too. Imagine having hundreds of million dollars but not using them" Robert said with a shrug.

"Haha… As if. The part about the money, let me tell you something. But before that, I don't really think it's time to go for a vacation considering I just took a break while recovering." Will joked.

"Hm, so you are just gonna work, work and work?"

"Well, not really. I have plans to buy a mansion soon." Will said with a smile curling up in his lips.

In his mind, the mansion would be neatly and beautifully carved. The structure he had imagined was the one that Iron Man had in the third movie.

The same mansion which Tony Stark had, which was located on the sea-side cliff along the coast of Malibu.

Even thinking about his dream mansion, made Will's mind wander to Stark's interior design. It was a modern minimalistic and high-tech design, and Will knew he had more than enough money to build himself the same sort of emperor.

The only thing was, the building was not possible in his previous world and he had yet to check if something like it was allowed in this world.

"Well, you already have one from what I remember. But seeing that smile on your face, I wonder if this is a long term dream?" Robert asked as they both got off from the elevator.

"Yeah, it is."

"That's interesting. But you should do something more fun. Will Evans, the director who makes movies and stays in bed," Robert chuckled at his own words which Will followed.

"Does hanging out with my girlfriend and going on a date sound fun to you?"

"Only if it contains fun activities-"

"Fun activities like her newest project, yeah." Will muttered and walked away while Robert waved from the behind.

Even at the thought of having some time to himself and June, a smile appeared on his face. Shaking his head at the thought, he made his way towards the office.

Will was somewhat excited to know more about June's project and wanted to see how their shoot was going on.

"… And as I was saying, I'll explain what the entire movie is going to be about. Once we are done and settled with the script and everything, it will all be crystal clear. Till then, this explanation is to just get an idea about it as a whole. So, the Lion King, the entire thing, is about a young lion named Simba, who is the crown prince of an African Savanna.

When his father dies in an accident staged by his uncle, Simba is made to feel responsible for his father's death and is shown how he overcomes his fear of taking responsibility as the rightful heir to the throne. And throughout the story, his bravery, how he takes responsibilities and everything else which comes with power is shown.

The core message of the movie basically is about the blinding effects of power and also about those who will do anything to be in control. Since this is mainly focused on kids, the adults would have an interest to see what this is about. With that, they'd see this movie is also about how life is not always fair and does always go as planned, but some things are just beyond the control of one individual." Will explained while the team including Jerry in front listened to the entire theme of the movie.

"And again what I wanted to say is that, this is going to be a cinematic release."

Animation studio movies were basically in the 90s in this world. Although there 'were' studios that did animations and gave the experience slightly for what they had established, not even a single hit released from such a studio.

Will who knew about this thought how much of a shame and an opportunity for him.

Not having any sort of animated movie hit, and how even animes were not released a lot in the US, making them to never become pop culture events—It was obvious that Will's takeover in these sides of the industries could make revolutionary changes.

"It won't be hard." Jerry, who kept listening to Will's words replied. "It won't be hard to do. But it's basically a musical, so you'd need to invest a lot in it and you'd have to give me the time to create a few character arts with my team." he said.

Will nodded.

The rest of the meeting went with them discussing it a bit more, and Will answering the questions of their teammates which included how Will imagined the characters to their character traits.

At the end of the meeting, everyone except Jerry walked out of the room.

Will raised his eyebrow seeing Jerry approach him.

"Uh, Will. Can I ask you something?" Jerry questioned.

"Sure, and please have a seat," Will said while motioning at the seat in front of him. Jerry nodded and while taking the seat he looked Will in the eyes.

"Does this mean that you'd let me work on my project now?" He asked.

Will nodded at the question. "Yes, of course. As I promised, you can. And I'm quite content with your work so far. Also, I read the script long ago, and I think I can make it way better. No offences, yours is good, but there are some things that if changed could have done so much better," he said trying not to make Jerry feel discouraged.

Instead, his eyes lit up in question and curiosity. "How so?" he asked.

Jerry's script was called [Titan Man] and was basically a story of toys fighting with each other. The name [Titan Man] derived from how the Titan Man was being a super soldier toy.

While reading and consuming the details in the script, Will noticed how similar it was to Toy Story.

And if modified it into Toy Story, he knew that it'd have been so much better.

"My idea is that, rather than a one man event, which is the main theme of your whole story, I think it would be better to make it an ensemble cast with a lot of characters. Since I already have some plans, I'd develop the script and send it to you later on." Will said with a smile.

"I think it's quite interesting, and yeah, sure. Thanks, Will." Jerry reciprocated the smile knowing the creativity geniusness of Will. And because of that, he had no problem or question with Will's suggestion.

At Foxstar main building, the office of CEO, Colt Miller.

"Yes sir, these are the reports." Colt Miller's assistant was currently showing the reports of [Hitch] which was supposed to be released next week.

"Are the estimations clear?" Colt questioned.

"Totally sir."

The reports were of the box office next week. The numbers of estimations were quite high considering how good the story was and how Will's name was a part of it.

Colt nodded and turned the pages in the file.

"How about [Sherlock Holmes 2]?" He asked after a few seconds of silence.

The assistant kept looking at how the CEO was gazing through the numbers in the file, yet not even focusing on a single digit.

The question made the assistant remember something suddenly.

"Will Evan's assistant called and said that he'd come to meet you with a script before the premiere of [Hitch]."

…

/DreamNote/

Although no bonus chapters for this week, there will surely be one if we hit the top1 power stone rank for this week.

From next month, I am planning to bring in more bonus chapter incentives!

Don't forget to vote this novel with your power stones

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 229:

"Have you received any updates from Will?" A young woman asked while taking a sip from her cup of coffee.

In front of her was another young woman, equally beautiful as her. Both of them were seated in a quiet suburban coffee shop and had made a prior arrangement to meet and discuss the coming plans regarding [Friends].

"I am yet to," The other young woman replied, "How many days we have in our hands, Susan?"

Susan, who was sitting in front of her, had a light frown on her face while replying.

"We have around two weeks." She added, "We're low in time, and with Will's busy schedule, I have a feeling we might face some difficulties in the beginning."

After a pause, Susan asked, "Jennifer, I remember Amanda contacting me about Will's request to find all actors with Matt or Leblanc in their names. Do you know what that was about?"

Jennifer shook her head, "I don't know the reason behind this, but I did look into the actors with similar profiles and forwarded the file to his office. There were about four actors with either Matt or Leblanc in their names, but I gave that file a few days back and haven't heard from them since. I don't know what he's planning."

Both, Susan and Jennifer were part of the Dream Vision. While Jennifer was heading the DTA, Susan was one of the main personnel responsible for the success of [Friends] and was pseudo-handling the whole production because of Will's busy schedule. Although, the latter himself had given her the full authority and only asked her to report the progress and any hiccups they faced.

Now with the dates for the pre-production work of [Friends] Season 2 coming closer, Susan was feeling under pressure and wanted to solve the problem regarding Joey's character.

Since the Season 1 had reached somewhat of a worldwide fame, Benjamin Scott's firing brought a lot of attention to this matter, and there were many who had predicted the downfall of this show. And since the show was literally her sweat and blood, she wouldn't let it die out.

"Will also told me he would be taking part in the auditioning of the prospective actors," Susan said, "I am worried about the time and schedule constraints this will bring."

Jennifer nodded and after taking a sip of her coffee, she replied, "I think you're worrying too much here. Although your worry is not groundless, but if you continue to stress yourself like this, you will harm your own health.

"Have you begun the auditions for Joey?"

Susan nodded, "I have, and I have received quite a number of big names for auditioning roles. But none of them were independent. They have their own agencies, and after what happened with Scott, I don't want to take a risk. We can't keep on changing the actors, and I am sure the other parties are also aware of this."

"Yes," Jennifer sighed, "It would be better if we find an independent actor who is willing to sign up with DTA. And even if we take an actor from other agencies, we will have to make a strict contract, and I don't think they will be willing to sign the contract too easily."

Susan agreed. "Yes. And since we're on this topic, I have taken the auditions, and there were three actors who I think are worth consideration. The only problem is them already being a part of an agency."

Jennifer pursed her lips, "Email me their files, and I will talk to Will about this. We can't delay this matter any further."

…

While the two were discussing the future of [Friends, Will was stepping out of his car in front of a multi-storey building. Raising his head, he buttoned the first button of his navy blue blazer while looking at the building from top to bottom.

There were many people walking in and out of the glass entrance to the building, and soon a valet approached Will.

As he gave the car keys to the former, someone else also walked towards him.

He was a middle-aged man, and someone Will had worked with in the past. James Dankworth, the Head of Distributions at Foxstar Studios.

Will knew the latter since the days of [The Blair Witch Project] and he was one of the reasons behind the camcorder blockbuster's success.

"You're here," James smiled upon reaching him and put forth his hand for a handshake.

Will nodded, and as they shook their hands, he replied, "You said it's something important. Is it about the script I sent? Or did something happen?"

James frowned, "No, it's a bit more serious. I don't know what Colt is planning, but I think he's trying to target [Sherlock Holmes 2]."

Will nodded, and after a moment of silence, he asked, "Isn't he your boss? Why are you telling me this?"

James shrugged, "I didn't say anything, I don't understand what you are trying to imply."

Will squinted his eyes for a moment but then nodded. "Alright, you said nothing. Let's go, it's time to see what shit he is trying to pull."

James gestured to him to follow, and the two headed for one of the top floors.

As they stepped into the VIP elevator, James broke the silence.

"Colt is acting weird these days whenever your topic comes up. At first I thought it was envy, but I overestimated him."

"He's jealous?" Will frowned, "Of what?"

James glanced at the latter, "No need to act ignorant, I am sure you know very well what he's thinking and what he wants."

Will pursed his lips.

Noticing that they were halfway up, he replied, "I am still not strong enough. Hollywood can't be ruled by a single man army, so I won't consider myself the reason to be someone's envy. At least not yet.

"As for what he has in mind, I do have a hunch. And I am curious to know if he will really ask more of what he can chew."

James nodded, "I hope this meeting doesn't escalate."

The corners of Will's lips curled upwards, "I am up for good business."

Ding!

A prompt rang, notifying the two that they have reached their destination.

James then led Will through a hallways and into a sizeable meeting room.

There was a meeting going on among various people, and when Will entered, the first face he saw was of Colt's. As soon as he saw the latter, Will knew this was most probably a board meeting, and it was quite likely that his hunch was about to come true.

On the other hand, everyone's eyes had turned at him as soon as he stepped in. Having gotten used stares, this was nothing new for him, however he was more interested in the hidden scowl and smug looks on some of the board members.

"Mr Evans, welcome!" One of the board members stood up, and greeted him.

It didn't take long for others to follow suit and in no time, the room was filled with greetings. Although it was hard to tell how many of them were genuine.

"Have a seat, Will." Colt finally broke his silence.

Will stared down at him from up to down and then sat in front of them. The atmosphere suddenly took a weird time. This was the first time Colt and Will had not shaken hands in a meeting like this, and the few were quick to catch up on this.

"You surprised me," Colt said, "Weren't we having our meeting a few days from now?"

He shook his head, "No anymore. We will discuss the matter here."

"Here?" Colt frowned and then noticing the middle-aged man behind Will. "James? You…"

Will interrupted his train of thoughts, "I am not here to waste anyone's time, so let's get straight to business."

Colt turned his head towards him, "Alright, let's talk."

When he took the seat, Will sat in front of him, on the other side of the chair.

"Well, I am most importantly here for two things, first is the second installment of [Sherlock Holmes]. I have been in talks with Carson Duckstien, and he's ready to become get onboard and become the movie's director."

As soon as he said this, the others glanced at Colt, and sensing the weird atmosphere, Will squinted his eyes and asked, "You have something to say?"

Colt stared at him for some time, and then taking a deep breath, he leaned forward and said, "Will, we first need to talk about the contract breach. You and your studio have breached the contract."

…

/DreamNote/

Don't forget to vote this book with your power stones !

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 230:

In a home in San Diego, California, a couple was soundly sleeping in their bedroom. For some reason, they had a camera in their bedroom, and it was recording everything going on in the room.

The camera screen also displayed the time: [1:27:26 AM]

Sleeping on the right was what possibly seemed like a young man, although covered in sheets, thus making it hard to confirm. And beside him was a young woman. It was quite evident they were a couple.

Just then, when the clock hits the 30th second of the 27th minute past 1 am, someone suddenly sits up on the bed, and it's the young woman. She's wearing a white top, and most of her face is covered with her hair, making it impossible to discern her expression.

She continues to sit for the next few seconds and then slowly removes the sheet over her legs. Moving her legs, she then gets up from the bed and stares at the wall with her head slightly lowered. Her upper body is slowly moving back and forth, and her every action seems as if someone else is moving her body.

After a few more seconds, she turns around and stares at the other person on the bed, whose back is turned against her.

[1:27:57 AM]

The white sheet over the other person slowly slithers away on its own, revealing that it is indeed a young man asleep.

The young woman continues to stare at him for some time and then slowly turns her body sideways and walks around the bed to get to his side. Her face is still half-covered with her hair, making it hard to see her eyes and expression.

Once she reaches over to the young man's side, she stands near him and continues to stare for the next two hours.

Around [3:14:37 AM]

The woman suddenly turns, walks back around the bed, and heads out through the open bedroom door. The door is close to her side of the bed.

After she leaves into the dark, seconds slowly pass.

[3:14:32 AM]

[3:14:51 AM]

.

.

[3:15:07 AM]

[3:15:08 AM]

"Ahh!!!!!!!!!!!"

A sudden blood-curdling scream resounds throughout the house, instantly waking up the man from his sleep. He looks to the side for the young woman, and not finding her on the bed, he jumps from the bed and runs out of the room into the dark.

Time once again continues to trickle away.

[3:15:12 AM]

[3:15:13 AM]

.

.

.

[3:16:04 AM]

[3:16:05 AM]

After a long silence, there's a noise of the struggle, and the young man cries in pain. It's unknown what has happened. But after a few moments of silence, something is thrown into the bedroom.

It's the young man. His body slams into the camera, which then falls back, showing the ceiling and fan for a split second, and when it gets back to its side, the young woman is seen standing at the door.

Although the camera screen is tilted to the side, everything is still clearly visible, and the most noticeable part is her now blood-stained white top and the knife in her hand.

She stands still near the door for some time and then begins to slowly step toward the unmoving body of the young man on the floor. Getting on her knees, she straddles the body as if trying to see if the young man is still alive.

After a few seconds, she slowly raises her head and begins to crawl toward the camera. Slowly, a menacing grin forms on her face, and she suddenly lunges at the camera.

….

"Cut!"

A sudden shout echoed in the room, and the lights were turned on.

"Wow, that was insane!" A young woman walked into the room, as the man on the floor and the young woman who had lunged at the camera got up.

They had been doing a shoot, and the young woman walking behind them was none other than June Roberts.

"Great job, guys," She smiled at the two young actors in front of her, "We're finally done with the shoot!"

The young actor who played the role of the young man was none other than Johnny Depp. He sighed in relief, "I hope this movie doesn't come back to haunt me."

"Haha, I was thinking the same," The young actress beside him smiled. She was the main lead of the movie they were shooting, and June had invited her from the previous agency; the former was also a struggling actress.

"Yeah, it sure was scary. But I say it was fun as well," June smiled, "Though, you guys must have felt like how I was feeling during the shoot of [The Blair Witch Project]. Not that I wanted to put that on your guys, but your genuine reactions were a must."

Depp nodded, "Indeed. I don't really have any qualms against it. I have watched the Blair Witch movie, and I know how scary found footage can be."

The young actress also nodded. Her name was Jannett Crown. She added, "Found footage was one of the reasons why I was eager to work on this. Let's hope this movie works well and changes our lives, haha!"

June nodded, "Yes. We have around seventy hours of footage. We need to edit out almost the whole of it. It will take at least a week, maybe even more. I am thinking of contacting an old friend, she worked on editing [The Blair Witch Project]. I did discuss this with her. Let's see if she's up for this project."

Depp agreed, "Ah, she's one heck of an editor. If she works on our movie, the results will surely be great."

June smiled, "The only problem will be her schedule. The film festival is approaching soon, and I want to get this movie ready by then."

"Will you be looking for distributors?" Depp asked. He had industry knowledge since he had worked as a paparazzi for a long time now and knew how things worked in the industry.

"We will have to," June nodded, "But first, I want us to have a screening of this movie with Will."

"Will Evans?" Depp and Jannett raised their eyebrows.

Will Evans was now a big name in Hollywood after giving back-to-back hits ever since his debut, and his studio, Dream Vision, was growing exponentially every passing season.

If Will liked movies, their career might take a one-eighty-degree turn since he was now dubbed as the Star-Maker of Hollywood. But then, they also wouldn't betray June since she was the one who even brought them this opportunity and would continue to be a part of her company.

"I will talk to Will," June's words halted their train of thoughts, "For now, let's go out and have fun. The dinner is on me."

"Yay!" Jannett smiled.

June pulled out her phone and dialled her agent's number.

"John, arrange a meeting with Emilia. The earlier, the better. And join us for dinner, we're going to have some steak."

…

Will was sitting in his office, reading through a big stack of papers. This was the script of [The Devil Meets Prada].

"Hm, looks good." He whispered to himself. This was going to be one of his next projects, although it wasn't the most pressing issue.

Just then, he heard a knock on his door, and someone stepped in. It was Jeffery.

Will raised his head and saw a faint expression of worry on his face.

"What happened?" Will asked.

"…What happened?" Jeffery stared at him, and after taking a seat, he said, "Shouldn't I be the one asking you what happened? What actually happened in the meeting at Foxstar? I just got to know Colt has fired James, and they have also informed me that they won't distribute any more of our movies."

Will frowned, "Did he really say that?"

"Yeah," Jeffery nodded, "What actually happened in the meeting?"

"Well, he's lying."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not he who's rejecting us, it's we who won't have any more deals with Foxstar."

"Why?" Jeffery frowned, "What did he actually say? Should I give a call to his dad? He needs to teach his son a lesson."

Will shook his head, "No, I just realised it's time we have our own distribution channel."

Jeffery stared at Will, and a smile slowly formed on his face as the worry began to wash away.

"It's about time."

…

/DreamNote/

There will be no chapter tomorrow. I will be writing my other book whole day due to privilege.

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 231:

"What is your course plan on this?" Jeffery asked, "How do you think we should begin?"

Will thought for a moment and replied, "Well, none of us is a genius on this subject, but we have money. We will hire the right people, and begin the work. Though, I plan to take an active part in this task."

Jeffery nodded, "That's expected. But I do worry about one thing. It won't be easy to set up distribution channels within a few days. It will at least take a few weeks to even months. Are we not going to release any movies until then?"

Will shook his head, "No, we will release. Foxstar is not the only distributor out there, you know. We can make deals with other studios for now. And not like they won't consider our movies. We have come a long way since the struggling days of [The Blair Witch Project]. I have a feeling there will be many studios lined up for an opportunity to work with us."

Jeffery thought for a moment and replied, "Let's not be too optimistic. Colt might try to pull strings to delay the release of [Hitch]."

Will smiled, "If there's no good deal, we will just release this movie on our own channel."

Jeffery let out a long breath after hearing this and leaned back on the chair, "I guess I was worrying for nothing. And now that this is out of the way, I want to talk about the plans you talked about regarding Netflix in the general meeting. Are we really going on with it?"

Will affirmed, "Yes, but we won't jump right in. Netflix will take time, and from what I see, it will play a big role in the future because with the advancement in technologies, the number of internet users will increase exponentially over the coming years and another important thing will be the availability of faster internet. That will be the perfect time to make Netflix mainstream. But even for that, we need to prepare and slowly push the platform out."

Jeffery replied, "It's still under progress, we can begin with the plan meanwhile."

Will thought for a moment and said, "Yeah, you're right. We should start contacting the other studios. Wait, let me call Amanda. We can discuss this once she's here."

…

In Hollywood, there are thousands upon thousands of struggling actors vying to make a name for themselves, but only a few etch their mark. Yet, at the same time, many give up their dreams of stardom and go on a different path, changing their life trajectory.

Sitting in the waiting hall of the Los Angeles Airport, was one such young man.

In his hand was his plane ticket to his hometown and he stared at it with a complicated expression.

For the first time, he didn't wish to head home. Head back to his family.

'What am I thinking?' He sighed.

He had struggled in the industry for the last half a decade, and had made grave mistakes like missing out on college scholarship, to pursue what now looked like a pipe dream.

He had even failed to gain roles to play as an extra, and he truly believed it was not his acting, rather luck.

This was somewhat true, because whenever opportunity knocked on his door, he wouldn't be at home, or would ignore it.

And even now, as he sat on the bench among the hundreds of the passengers who were waiting for their flight, he was having a weird intuition.

He felt like the moment he took the flight, he would end up losing a big opportunity.

'But what big opportunity? Most of the roles I auditioned for have already rejected me. I need to get back home and get a job. They won't keep on sending me money.'

He was in a dilemma.

'The ticket alone cost me a thousand bucks, I won't be able to afford another one. Is it worth giving another shot?'

He sighed again.

And out of reflex, he opened the sparrow page where he followed many pages who will post audition alerts, and sometimes even insider news.

As soon as he visited the page, the first thing he saw was a pinned post:

[Dream Vision: [Friends] Open Audition for Main Cast! Apply now!]

He ignored the post. There were more than twenty thousands comments on the post, and there would most likely be triple the applicants.

Everything for just one role.

There was no point in applying.

He frowned and scrolled down a bit more. After a while, he went to a different page.

This time too, he saw the same post stuck at the top so anyone who visited would see the post before anyone else.

He sighed and visited a different page.

Same thing happened.

He continued to visit different pages, only to see the Dream Vision Auditions post at the top.

'Just how many people do they want to try?'

After letting out another sigh, he closed the app.

'These big companies have too much money. With so many people applying, they won't even bother taking auditions properly.'

He thought for a moment, and then glancing back and forth between his phone and the flight ticket, he let out a sigh.

'Fuck it.'

He opened his sparrow account once again, and clicked on the link.

Ding!

[Luke Newman, your application for 'Dream Vision [Friends] Open Audition' is now under verification. You will be allotted a schedule for the audition. Response may take time due to a huge influx of applicants.']

He closed the phone screen, and taking his bag, he stood up and headed for the exit.

'I better get out of here before I regret this decision, which I most likely will.'

…

Amanda was in the elevator when she received a call from Will's office and was asked to visit the latter.

And coincidentally, she herself was heading to his office anyway, so the call didn't affect any of her scheduled meetings.

With her was a new assistant who was carrying a bunch of files and as the elevator's door opened and she walked out, the assistant also followed her.

"You're fast," Will smiled as soon as he saw her. Jeffery also gave her a nod.

"I was heading here anyway," She replied, and turning towards her assistant, she said, "You can put them here. Thank you."

The assistant nodded and after putting the files on Will's desk, he excused himself.

"What are these?" Will asked.

"These are for you," Amanda replied, "We have selected a number of actors to play as Joey, and since you wanted to audition them yourself, I have brought the final list."

"I thought the application process was still going on?" Will asked.

"It is," Amanda answered, "But the number of applicants is too many, it will take a few weeks to fully complete the auditions. And months before we filter them to the last few."

Will frowned and then opening the file, he began to go through the profiles of the actors one by one.

"Have you brought their audition clips? I will watch them later tonight."

Amanda replied, "I will send the clips to you. And now that this is out of the way, what did you want to talk about?"

Will said, "It's about Netflix."

"Yeah, what about it?" She asked.

"I want you to begin contacting studios as per what we discussed in the meeting."

"Oh, I am in the sort of listing process. Once I am done with that, we will begin contacting studios."

"That's great," Will smiled, "There are a few more reasons why I have called you here." Then from under the table, he brought out two stacks of binded pages.

"A script?" Both of them blurted at once.

"Yes," Will nodded, "This is script for [The Devil Meets Prada]"

Jeffery asked, "When do you plan to begin working on this?"

Will replied, "I want to straighten a few plans. There's a lot to do right now. Like the Harry Potter Series, and [Sherlock Holmes 2]"

After a moment of silence, Will glanced at Amanda and asked, "I consider you're familiar with my meeting with Colt at Foxstar Studios?"

Amanda affirmed, "Yep. Though I am more curious if they will really go all out and try to file a lawsuit?"

"If they are dumb, then maybe," Will smiled, "I expected something like this, and the contract between us and them was designed to handle such a situation."

"But, I am more concerned about another thing. You see, I am planning to get a distribution channel for our studio. What do you reckon?"

Amanda pursed her lips before replying, "This will take a few months. But even then, we will need someone who can helm that channel. We will have to go through another round of interviews."

Will shook his head, "I don't think so. We already have a great candidate."

"Oh? Who?"

"James Dankworth."

…

/DreamNote/

Don't forget to vote this novel with your power stones

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 232:

It was early morning, and the Dream Studios was bustling with activity.

Will was in his office, staring at the monitor screen in front of him.

After listening to the contents of the video, he let out a sigh, and closed the media player.

'This is going nowhere.' He frowned.

The video he was watching was of probable actors to get cast as Joey Tribbiani for the upcoming seasons of [Friends, and of all the shortlisted actors, none came close to what Will was looking for.

'Should I postpone season 2 for now?' Will wondered, but then shook his head.

He couldn't do that, or it will just create more trouble in the long run and might even make him look desperate.

Honestly, he wasn't quite worried. He knew he could solve this problem with time, but then, time was what he lacked the most.

'Matt LeBlanc…'

He really wanted to find an actor. But was it even possible?

Out of the original [Friends] cast of his previous world, only the actors who played Chandler and Rachel were part of the show in this one.

Was it really necessary to make the required strict? Was he too focused on finding Matt LeBlac that he was ignoring the potential of other actors?

He couldn't help but wonder as these questions popped up in his mind.

Then glancing at the file on the desk, he moved his hand and brought it infront of him.

This was the same file Amanda had given to him which contained the names and profiles of the shortlisted actors for the role of Joey Tribbiani.

These shortlisted actors were a talented bunch and Will had to say that it was only his expectations and wish to have Matt LeBlanc play the role of Joey that his heart wasn't willing to take them in.

'Why am I wasting their time?'

Will sighed. Then closing the file, he got up.

'I need a break.'

He took a deep breath and walked out of his office.

As soon as he walked out, Alexia, whose cabin was just outside his office, raised her head.

"Where are the auditions taking place?" Will asked.

"Auditions?"

"For Friends."

"Ah, I will forward you the details."

Will nodded, and headed for the elevator.

While he waited for the elevator to arrive, he heard a message prompt notification on his phone. Amelia had sent the details he asked for, and suddenly, he heard quick footsteps approaching behind him.

Without turning back, he knew who it was.

"I have contacted the valet, the car will be ready." It was Alexia. She would be accompanying Will for the trip.

Will thought for a moment, and turning his head, he said, "I think it's best if you stay here."

"Hm?" Alexia asked, "Sure, but is everything alright?"

Will nodded, "Yes."

-Ding!

The elevator door opened and without waiting for her response, he walked in.

…

Luke Newman was sitting in front of a makeup mirror. He was staring at his own reflection with disbelief in his eyes.

Just twenty four hours ago, he was sitting in the waiting room of the Airport, ready to leave everything behind and return to his home.

Yet, here he was now.

As soon as he had registered for the [Dream Vision Auditions, he had received the prompt telling him to wait for the reply.

At that moment, he had assumed it would take at least a few days, if not a week before his Round 1 even began.

However, to his surprise, he received an update on his Sparrow account early this morning, and was called in for the auditions.

Fortunately he had at least watched a bit of season 1 of [Friends] when it used to air, although not all the episodes since he felt even more miserable and couldn't even enjoy his life due to the depression.

But as luck would have it, the script in his hand was of an episode he hadn't seen. Or even if he did see it, he didn't remember how Benjamin Scott acted out the scene as Joey in this one.

Taking a deep breath, he went through the script again and tried to play out the part in his mind, while raising his head and glancing at a digital counter near the door.

The counter read 112. It meant the 112th applicant for today was having his audition.

Luke's turn was 341st.

There were more than two hundred actors whose turn was yet to come, and one might think there was a lot of time.

However, Luke or anyone else in the room didn't think so.

Because the counter had already changed to 113 and someone in the room stood up and walked out.

The auditions were happening at a very rapid speed.

'They are eliminating them at the slightest dislike.'

This only made him more nervous.

-buzzzz!

Just then, his phone vibrated and taking it out, he saw a message from his friend, Kevin.

[I knew you wouldn't go! Where are you? I am outside your room.]

Luke smiled. Kevin was a fellow struggling actor, and had become a close friend of his over the last few years.

He unlocked the phone and typed a few words.

[Audition. Will call you later.]

Then putting back the phone, he once again immersed himself in the audition script.

…

Just outside the theatre where the audition was taking place, a Hyundai Equus halted.

And a man walked out. The others around gave him a strange look because this young man was wearing a black face mask, which was quite uncommon, especially on a hot day like this one.

The young man was indeed Will.

Having gotten used to stared over the last few years, Will was unfazed as he stepped into the auditorium.

The auditions were open to the public, that meant, not only could they take part in it, they could also sit at the back in the theatre on the audience seats and watch the applicants test their luck.

Will walked in and sat down in one of the front rows.

Most of the theatre was filled, but people mostly chose to sit at the back if they weren't too keen to observe the auditions.

Sitting at the front meant one had to maintain utter silence, and this was an unbreakable rule.

If any of the judges found them irritating, the person would be forced to leave.

For Will, who hadn't come here with any friends or to cheer anyone, it wasn't hard to find a good seat.

He could hear the actors try their luck and act as Joey Tribbiani.

After a few turns, he noticed all the actors had received the same script. And while observing them, he also noticed that most of them were giving an off vibe.

'They are trying to copy Scott's acting?'

It wasn't surprising, considering it was Scott who had acted this role.

However, this also meant that they were ignoring an important fact — Scott was fired and wasn't going to play Joey Tribbiani anymore.

'They need to outperform him, not copy him.'

As time passed, he noticed that not all of them were bad. Some had gone for what Will was looking for, however they still fell short when it came to the 'confidently incorrect' nature of Joey.

'This won't do.'

He shook his head. And glanced at the judges panel.

He was unfamiliar with the judges. Or, the judge.

There was only one judge, and the other two on each side were checking the profile of the actors.

This was quite a natural process and Will wasn't surprised by this. In fact, he even appreciated the fact that there were two others to help the judge because that would save time for the latter and he would just have to focus on how the actors played the role they were auditioning for.

"Next, Number 341st, Luke Newman."

Will turned his gaze at the stage as soon as he heard the name.

The name wasn't too unique, but it did have some flavour to it. However, a good name isn't enough to win over hollywood.

As Will waited for the participant, one of the staff members seated beside the judge gave a short profile of Luke to the latter.

Unfortunately, Will was a bit too far so he couldn't hear them. However, he didn't care.

He was only interested in how the actors would play out the script.

Of more than two hundred actors he had seen play out the role in the last one hour, he was only impressed by one, or at most two. He had taken note of their numbers, and would send them to the next round, even if the judge decided to reject them.

Now, he was curious about the next participant, and as soon as Luke Newman stepped on the stage, Will's eyes widened a bit and he looked at the scene in front of him with even more interest.

The person in front of him was an unexpectedly familiar face.

'Brad Pitt.'

…

/DreamNote/

Don't forget to vote this novel with your power stones:)

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 233:

The person stepping on the stage surprised Will. He wasn't expecting to meet one of Hollywood's biggest celebrities of his world in this audition.

'Is he also a struggling actor?'

This was the first question that popped up in Will's mind. But now, he wasn't curious about the latter's situation. To him, Brad Pitt was a potential goldmine.

'Now, let's see if he has anything other than the same face.'

Having found a potential goldmine, Will leaned forward to observe the whole audition.

"Hello, I am Luke Newman." The man introduced himself.

"Hello, Luke," The judge replied in a nonchalant tone, and while staring at the script in his hand, he said, "You already have the script. My friend here will speak other dialogues for the other characters."

Luke nodded and turned towards the staff member who had a script in his hand.

"Joey, what would you do if you were omnipotent?"

Luke looked taken aback and showed displeasure, "Probably kill myself."

"Eh-Excuse me?"

Luke shrugged and, walking to the nearby chair on the stage, he replied with an expression of 'you know what I mean.'

"Hey, if little Joey is dead, then I got no reason to live."

"Joey, ahuh, 'OMNI'potent."

Luke stared at the script reader for a few minutes and then gave a low exclaim, "You are?!"

…

"Alright." The judge was observing his expressions, and after a while, he nodded, "Mr Luke, that was good. We will contact you if you're shortlisted."

Luke nodded with a slight smile, and as he was walking out, he suddenly felt an intense stare from the audition and couldn't help but turn around.

In one of the front seats was a masked guy.

'Who is he?'

Luke wondered while stepping out off the stage.

…

"How was he?"

"Pretty good," The judge replied, "We will give him another try. I think the scene where Joey finds out about his dad's affair would be a good test."

The staff member to his right nodded while saying, "That will surely showcase his character. Anyway, I will call in the next guy."

"Number 332…"

Behind the judges' panel, Will shook his head.

'He feels out of place.'

This was Will's first thought.

'Joey is portrayed as a dim-witted but good-natured guy. Brad Pitt, on the other hand, doesn't give the 'dim-witted' vibe. Not to mention, Joey is supposed to be Italian. I can't replace a black-haired Italian-looking actor with a full-blown blonde-haired actor.

'That will be too much. But that doesn't mean he's of no use to me.'

He took out his phone and noted down Brad Pitt's audition number and his name in this world, Luke Newman.

Just as he typed the name, a message prompt suddenly appeared in front of him.

[Congratulations on the success of [Spiderman]. The host has unlocked a chain quest!]

'What? No rewards?'

Will frowned. He had been waiting for the System's message prompt for a long time because [Spiderman] was a pretty big hit, and he was hoping for a good number of points to buy a few shows and begin his plan for Netflix.

'What happened to the reward?'

[Rewards for [Spiderman] are available.]

[However, if you choose to select rewards, you will lose the Chain Quest]

'Hm?' Will frowned, 'Will there be extra rewards or more rewards?'

[Host will gain multiplied rewards upon clearing each part of the Quest. However, he will lose rewards for [Spiderman] success.]

Will thought for a moment and asked, 'Can I see the next quest without having to reject the reward?'

[Not applicable.]

'What…' Will sighed. This was an unexpected turn of events.

'I need to reassess my plans.'

If he accepted the chain quest, he might have to wait for at least 7-8 more months to begin the Netflix project.

'Seven to eight months.'

His schedule was going to be extremely busy in the coming months, busier than he ever was.

Thinking about this, he couldn't but let out another sigh.

'Didn't I promise myself not to be a workaholic after that incident?'

Shaking his head, he turned towards the next audience member and began to observe the new applicants.

After a few minutes, however, he stood up and walked toward the applicants' waiting room.

Since this was an open audition, the staff roaming around assumed he was also a participant, and it wasn't hard for him to enter the waiting area. Although he couldn't go in too far, since then, the security would definitely interfere, and he would have to reveal his identity, which would only bring unnecessary attention.

Ten minutes later, Will walked out of the building.

He had taken a look at each of the applicants, and none of them was familiar people. He had somewhat expected this, and now that he had confirmed it, he took his leave.

The reason he had come here was out of intuition, and one way or another, it had worked out for him because he came across Brad Pitt.

As for the other actors within the waiting room, Will wasn't going to sit for them because if they were truly talented, they would pass through the rounds and would have an audition in front of him.

Walking up to his car, he sat in and just then, he heard a message.

-Ding!

June – Hi honey, call me when you're free. I have something important to talk about.

Will stared at it for a moment and unlocked the phone to call June.

"Hey, what's up?"

A familiar voice came from the other side.

— Hi Hon, where are you?

"Nearby studio, you wanted to talk about something. What happened?

— Ah, about that, well, we finished the movie shoot!

Just replied in excitement.

"You…finished? Didn't you just start it like a week ago?" Will was a bit taken aback. 'Isn't this too fast? Did they only have perfect shots?'

— Yeah, but did I tell ya' it would only take like ten days?

"Oh, I can't quite recall.

— Hmm, maybe it slipped out of my mind, and I forgot to mention it. Anyway, I called you because I have borrowed Emilia for a few weeks, haha

"No problem, you don't have to tell me this. You can do whatever you like."

— That's so sweet of you. But this is not the only thing I called you for.

"Oh, what else then?"

— I want to have a screening of the movie for you.

"A screening?"

Will paused for a few moments, and after a thought, he agreed.

"Alright, but inform me beforehand so I can have Alexia clear my schedule."

— Sure!

"Great, I will see you later tonight, then?"

— Um, actually, I will be at Emilia's place. She will be editing the movie, and I want to oversee the process. The Film Festival is also approaching soon, so I can't afford to distract myself.

"…Alright."

The call disconnected a few minutes later, and Will stared at the screen before shaking his head and driving the car back to the Dream Vision studios.

….

While Will was heading back to Dream Vision, the Foxstar Studios were about to go through a huge upheaval.

By now, it wasn't an unknown fact that there had been a big argument between the CEO of Dream Vision, Will Evans and their Managing Director, Colt Miller.

What exactly happened in the meeting was unknown, but there were rumours of Will Evans cutting ties with Foxstar. But questions like why and for what reason the situation escalated so quickly were unanswered.

And today, an old man stepped into the main building.

"Id," The security guard at the entrance of the building asked as his formality.

The old man smiled and pointed at the wall behind the young security guard, "That should be enough."

Taken aback, the security guard turned around.

On the wall behind him was a huge framed picture of the founder and previous CEO of Foxstar Studios — Spencer Miller.

"Ah, sir," The Security almost choked on his own saliva, "Welcome."

The old man nodded and walked in.

He had come unannounced, but he had come with determination.

"You're here, Dad." As soon as he reached the elevator, a young woman's voice came from behind.

Spencer turned around and smiled, "You have come. Let's go."

The young woman nodded and gestured at her father to enter the elevator.

Soon, the two of them were heading to the top floor.

"Dad, you didn't tell me why you called me here." The young woman asked.

She was in a meeting with the marketing when he received a call from her father, who then asked her to meet him near the elevator.

Having known him well, she knew it was better not to question him at that time. But now that they were heading towards the executive floors, she had a hunch in her mind about what this was all about, but she didn't want to overthink.

Hence she decided to ask the question plaguing her for the last half hour.

Spencer stared at his cane for a few moments, and then letting out a sigh, he asked, "I am sure you have heard about the last meeting between Colt and Will."

As the young woman nodded her head, Spencer added, "I am here to find out exactly how Colt fuck up the meeting."

…

/DreamNote/

Don't forget to vote this novel with your power stones

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 234:

"I am here to find out exactly how Colt fuck up the meeting."

As soon as Spencer finished those words, the elevator came to a halt, and the twin doors opened, revealing the lavish top floor of the Fox Studios building.

However, the mood within the room was quite heavy.

As Spencer stepped into the room, he noticed a few people were already present within the room.

He recognised all of them. There were five of the main board directors at the meeting table on the far end of the office.

All of them were seated on one side of the table. At the head table was his son, Colt, sitting with a frown on his face. It was hard to tell if the latter hadn't noticed Spencer's arrival or may have directly ignored him,

Opposite the board executives was a man in a black suit, seated with his back facing the entrance.

As soon as Spencer walked into the room, the board executives were the first to notice him. They stood up out of respect, and this also alerted Colt, who raised his head to see what was going on, and upon seeing his father walk in, he stood up as well.

"Dad, you're here?"

Spencer frowned, "Why are you surprised? Did you think I won't come after you fucked up so bad?"

Colt shook his head, "No, not that. I just didn't want to trouble you with trivial matters. You should have asked me to come over instead of coming here."

Spencer stared at him, "We will discuss that later. First, tell me what actually happened."

"Hm?" Colt frowned.

A few minutes ago, the man currently seated with his back turned against Spencer had arrived in the office. This man was the family lawyer for the Millers. And as soon as Colt saw the former, he knew his father was also coming to sell him.

Truthfully, he had gotten used to it now. But something felt off this time.

It was then that Colt noticed the young woman behind his father, and instantly, alarm bells began to go off in his head.

"Dad, why is she here?" He asked reflexively.

"Because she's my daughter." Spencer replied, "Now, don't waste my time. Move."

Colt stepped away, and Spencer sat down on the main chair.

On the other hand, the young woman frowned at Colt, and after slightly shaking her head in disappointment, she took a seat beside the lawyer in the suit.

"You haven't said anything yet. I don't have the whole day for this."

Colt gulped, and after taking the seat beside the last executive, he began to explain.

"Dad, I don't know what you have heard, but I honestly don't think I did anything wrong here. I did everything to—"

"Stop." Spencer frowned, "That's not the answer I want to hear."

Then shaking his head, Spencer added.

"I would like to see the whole clip of that day. I will judge everything later on."

As soon as he said that, the lawyer in the suit suddenly stood up and walked towards the front wall to turn on what looked like the main switch of the projector.

A few minutes later, the lights within the office were dimmed, and everyone was staring at the screen.

…

"Will, we first need to talk about the contract breach. You and your studio have breached the contract."

Colt's stern voice resounded through the room.

Will looked up and stared at the latter in confusion, "Breach? What kind of Breach?"

Colt leaned forward, "The fact that you and your company have failed to uphold the contract with us."

"What are you talking about?" Will frowned, "What did we fail in?"

Colt shrugged, "You failed to deliver [Sherlock Holmes]."

"What?" Will was taken aback, "Am I not here to talk about it?"

"You're more than a year later, Will." Colt had his response ready, "As per the contract, you were supposed to deliver the second movie last year, but the only thing we have here is a script. And you have the guts to come here?"

Will stared at him, "Are you really going to make a mountain out of a molehill? You know very well how busy I have been, and now that there's a chance to make the sequel, you're bringing up something like this?"

"Are you saying I should ignore the fact that you're taking our company for granted?"

"I didn't say that," Will replied, "But I am curious if you know the words that you're saying right now. Why do you think I gave [Hitch] to Foxstar?"

Colt shook his head, "As far as I know, Foxstar is the biggest distributor for Dream Vision. We have worked together for the last few years and have helped your studio grow into the giant that it is today. And in return, you have failed to uphold a single contract."

Will frowned.

After exhaling a long breath, he leaned forward and said in a low voice.

"That's enough."

As the stockholders looked at each other in confusion about what Will was about to say, Will continued, "Colt, you're disappointing, you overestimate your worth, and worst of all., you're greedy.

"I just said that I gave [Hitch] to your studio as a way of consoling, but no, you are not willing to agree on this, are you now? And you even want to take credit for MY studio's success?

"I don't know what delusions you're having, but in case you have forgotten, you were not the one to give me my big break. Rather you were one of the many who rejected me.

"As for the contract breach, you're mistaken in that as well. The contract did not specify the time. Rather it only stated that I have to make the two sequels within the next five years. And it's just been like, what, two years since the contract signing? Maybe not even two years."

Colt shook his head, "It's clearly written there. You think I wouldn't have my lawyers check the—"

"And you think I won't have my lawyers make the contract?" Will interrupted the former, "The contract is very ambiguous. It's stated that Foxstar would appreciate it if the movie could be finished by a certain date, but it doesn't state if Dream Vision must make the movie in this time slot."

Will had this clause written in such a way that he won't be bound to Foxstar to focus his time on the making of [Sherlock Holmes 23]. Instead he could focus more on establishing his career and making leaps and bounds through the industry.

"Well, the contract does not matter now." Will added at the end, "As I said, you overestimate yourself, and your greed has blinded you. If you really think Dream Vision only has you as the distributor, then you're wrong. And you're wrong even more if you're under the false assumption that I cannot afford to breach contracts I made when I was a nobody.

"You know, just some time ago, a friend of mine, Robert, I am sure you know him. He was the main lead of [Sherlock] after all. He asked me what will I do with the money I had earned if I couldn't even spend it. Well, now he will have his answer."

"I can breach the fuck out of any contract I have."

Will stood up, "All contracts and future deals with Foxstar Studios will be cancelled. Dream Vision is willing to pay the fine."

"What?!"

"This.."

"No, wait…!"

As soon as Will announced his decision, a commotion broke out amongst the stockholders and other executives within the meeting room. Even Colt was shocked upon hearing the sudden declaration.

'No, no, no, this is now how it's supposed to happen.'

Colt tried to show Will that the latter was being reckless.

"Will, you will have to pay up to 20 Million Dollars just for the annulment of the contract. Are you sure you want to lose that much money over this?"

Will smiled, "Did you not hear what I said earlier? Do you really believe I will cry over 20 Million? And do you even know how much my last movie grossed at the box office?"

As soon as Will said those words, everyone in the room glanced at each other.

Will's last movie was [Spiderman]. It was a super blockbuster hit and crossed the 1 Billion Dollar mark at the box office, bringing worldwide fame and credibility to Will Evans' name as a Director and also generating huge revenue for Dream Vision and stabilising their name as one of the swiftly growing studios.

This information was known to all, and it was clear that Foxstar was the one riding Will Evans' coattails, not the other way around.

Thinking of this made Colt a bit nervous.

However, he also knew it was too late for him to back up now, so he decided to go all out.

"Will, you're being naive," He said, "Do you think 20 Million Dollars is the only loss you will suffer? Did you forget that Foxstar is still considered one of the Big Six in this industry, and do you believe you can get away after messing with a studio like ours? It will be unwise to lose a friend, especially when your studio needs allies the most."

Will shrugged, "I understand that I may have to bear some brunt, but you also need to understand one thing. We were never friends. This was a business deal, and seeing that you still are not willing to accept your fault, I will stand by my decision."

"Will you—"

Before Colt could finish his words, Will raised his hand and interrupted him.

"There's nothing else to talk about. My lawyers will contact you soon."

…

As the screen went off, the mood in the office turned pensive.

Spencer was staring at the screen, and after a long sigh, he glanced at the lawyer in a suit.

"How should we deal with this?"

The man let out a sigh, "I have contacted Dream Vision. They are not willing to negotiate on anything."

"What's there to negotiate?" Colt suddenly said, then glancing at his father, he added, "Dad, he's insulted your hard work. Why are you not seeing this? And I only did this because I wanted our studio to step up. If things continue like this, Dream Vision will surely replace us."

Spencer shook his head, "It's never about being a part of the Big Six. And how can you not see what you did wrong? You killed the Golden Goose.

"That movie, [Hitch, do you think it won't do well at the box office?"

Colt thought for a moment and shrugged, "We never know when his luck runs out."

Hearing his words, everyone in the room stared at him.

"…What?"

"Luck? You really think it's just luck?"

The person who said this was the young woman, Colt's sister and Spencer's daughter.

"Sofia, Even if it's not luck, he will surely falter. We can't bet on him forever."

"Then, who can you bet on?" The young man, Sofia Miller, replied.

"It's always a gamble," Colt replied, "ALways has been. You won't understand."

"Why not?"

"You never got any responsibility."

"Alright, stop bickering," Spencer interjected. Then glancing at the lawyer, he said, "Hold the negotiation for now, I will talk to Will. I have a feeling he might reconsider his decision based on our old friends."

"Dad—"

"Shut up," Spencer frowned, "Colt, I don't know what's gotten into your head. I don't want to clean anymore of your mess. I am too old for this."

Then once again turning to the lawyer, he added, "Change the ropes."

Saying this, he stood up.

"Dad?" Colt frowned. The others were also confused. They didn't understand what Spencer had just said, "What do you mean change the ropes?"

Spencer glanced at his son, "Foxstar Studios will have a new Managing Director."

"What?" Colt shouted in shock, "But why? Dad, no, you can't do this!"

"I already did."

"What? Who?"

"Your sister, of course."

….

/DreamNote/

First chapter. I ended up finishing this pretty late because of the other novel's chapters I had to write. I know the chapters which are due, and you will get them. Most likely in the next twenty-four hours. It's too late here. Will will get into work from the next chapter, I just wanted to end the subplot in this chapter.

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 235:

"Look up this guy," Will forwarded a message to Alexia as soon as he reached his office's entrance.

Alexia, whose office was right out his, looked up and replied, "Right away."

Opening the message, she read the name, "Luke Newman?"

Will nodded, "Yes, get in touch with him. If he's good, we will give him a try for one of my future projects."

Alexia was quite surprised but didn't say anything and began to look up the information.

Just when Will touched the door handle, Alexia asked, "Is this for [Friends]?"

Will's hand paused and after a moment of thought, he shook his head.

"No, we're yet to find any replacement for [Friends]."

Saying this, Will walked into the office.

As he took his seat and switched on the computer, he noticed there was a new file on his desktop.

"What's this?"

Leaning forward, he brought the file closer and opened it.

'Actor profiles.'

This was another file with actors, and a sticky note inside the file gave him the rest of the details.

"Shortlisted actors for the role of Joey Tribbiani – File 2."

"—Amanda"

"There are more of them?" Will frowned.

He shook his head and put the file back down.

He wasn't in the mood to put more time into this matter, there were other things he needed to handle.

First of all, he wanted to think about the System prompt he had received in the audition hall.

[Would you like to receive rewards for Spiderman or continue the Quest Chain?]

A system prompt appeared in front of him again.

'I wonder what the rewards are?'

Will couldn't help but be curious about the rewards. But then, if he chose rewards over Chain quest, he might lose a chance for something much better.

'It's a gamble.'

Taking a deep breath, he relaxed himself.

"I would like to continue the Chain Quest!"

He had decided to take the gamble.

The reason? There was already too much in his hands.

There was no need to bite more than he could chew, continuing the Side Quest will be like an investment. And hopefully, by the time he completes the next quest, he would have less work load on himself.

[Host has chosen to continue Chain Quest]

[Quest Updated]

[Would you like to view the updated quest?]

'Yes.'

[Quest: Make a movie series of any book published by you.]

[Reward: ???]

[Condition: The box office collection must reach $1.2 Billion.]

[You will lose the accumulated reward if the condition is not met.]

'$1.2 Billion?'

Will stared at the quest while the system prompt in front of him silently.

The condition wasn't easy. Even though Harry Potter books had received quite a lot of buzz, they were still far from the craze brought by the original author of the series from his previous world, JK Rowling.

'I need to release one more book before starting with the movie series.'

'Also, should I buy out the publication house?'

He couldn't help but wonder.

Now, he had money. Things were much different than back in the day. And another thing was, if he bought the publication, the major rights would get back to him.

Not to mention there's Hobbit and Lord Of Rings too.

Maybe in the future there will be more books he will write and take them to the big screen?

Another thing that relieved him was the fact that the Chain Quest didn't add anything to his work load.

He was planning to do the Harry Potter movies anyway since it was a huge cash cow for him. And with the chances of getting a great reward iwthout any extra work, he was looking forward to the day he begins his focus on Harry Potter.

-Knock! Knock!

Someone knocked on his office door and pushed it inside. As the door opened, Alexia walked inside with a file in her hands.

"What happened?"

"I have looked in Luke Newman's profile. I have good and bad news."

"Let's start with the bad one."

"Well, Luke Newman's affiliation is pretty grey. Even though he appears to be an independent actor, he's actually part of the Allen Pictures on the papers."

"Hm? How is that possible?" Will asked.

Allen Pictures, led by Ashton, were going to be Dream Vision's biggest rivals and they were also one of the biggest studios in Hollywood, if not the biggest.

How can such a huge studio not be bothered if their actor hides his true affiliation and works as an independent actor?

"Do you know why this is?" He asked again.

Alexia shook her head, "Not yet. I will look into this."

"Alright, then what's the good news?"

Alexia smiled, "Luke Newman might be easy to acquire since he's in one of the bottom rungs."

Will considered her words and after a few moments, he shook his head.

"No, this is not good news at all," He added, "We can't let Allen Pictures know that we're interested in Luke Newman. See what the relationship between these two parties is, and also, don't let them find out we're looking into him."

Alexia nodded, "Will do. THere is another thing I have to convey."

"Yes?"

"I received a message from Susan's office. She was asking if you have seen the 2nd file for the roles?"

"Susan?" Will glanced at the file, "But the note came from Amanda."

Alexia shrugged, "Maybe Amanda forwarded the file here."

"Hmm, let me see." Will moved his hand and brought the file in front of him.

But as soon as he opened and stared at the first actor on the screen, he couldn't help but squint his eyes.

And after a few moments of silence…

"Fucking finally!"

Will smiled.

In front of him was the person he was looking for for the last two weeks now.

Matt LeBlanc.

Or as he's known in this world,

Oliver Queen.

The name reminded him of a comic book superhero from his previous life, and he quite liked it.

Pointing at the profile page, he said to Alexia, "Get this guy to audition in front of him today."

"Hm?" Alexia was surprised but she nodded anyway, "When would you like to have the audition?'

Will thought for a moment and then said, "Um, never mind, not today. Schedule it for tomorrow.."

Alexia smiled, "Will do."

"Also," Will added, "Call Robert. I have something to discuss with him."

Alexia nodded, "Anything else?"

Will shook his head, "That's it for now."

As she left, Will returned his gaze back at Oliver Queen's profile.

'I didn't expect him to find him like this.'

Shaking his head, with a smile plastered over his face, he turned the page to see the other actors just out of curiosity.

Most of the actors on this page were independent actors, and he was mainly looking at the face, and ignoring the stats for now. He decided to return back to the file if the actual Joey Tribbiani fails the audition irl too.

While thinking about this, he turned another page.

But his hands suddenly froze.

And after a few moments of silence…

"What the fuck!"

The smile on his face had receded, and he couldn't help but rub his eyes in wonder to check if he was looking at exactly the person he was thinking about.

Just to confirm, he glanced to the side at the name.

Keanu Reed.

….

Andrew stepped inside a lift. He was heading to one of the top floors of the Dream Vision studio office.

Ever since the release of Spiderman, he had received widespread fame, and had managed to garner his own fan following.

If he were to describe his life, he would say he was living his dream.

And today, when he received a call from Amanda, he couldn't help but be even more ecstatic.

Last month, Amanda's secretary had informed him to wait for Amanda's call in the coming weeks.

He wasn't told any more information than this, but this was quite enough to make him anticipate what the Dream Vision has for him in the coming future.

A new movie?

Spiderman sequel?

Or maybe more voice over?

-Ding!

Just then the lift came to a halt and its double door opened.

'This is not my floor…'

Just then, someone entered the floor.

It was a young lady.

The duo remained silent. And soon, the lift halted once again. And this time, a young man stepped in.

The silence resumed within the lift as it continued moving upwards.

Finally, Andrew noticed the numbers in the lift switch one last time as he reached the destination floor.

However, he was surprised once more when he noticed the other two with him also getting on the same floor.

A bit more when he saw the two walk towards Amanda's office.

Once Andrew stepped in, he noticed Amanda sitting on the other side of the table, giving instructions about something to her assistant.

Noticing their arrival, she nodded and gestured to them to take a seat and resumed her chat with the assistant.

A few minutes later, Amanda turned her attention towards them and let out a smile.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice."

As the three nodded, Amanda took out a file from her drawer and put it in front of them.

Then, without beating the bush, she said, "This is why you're here."

The three of them glanced at the file.

[Dream Vision] (Classified)

[Project: MCU]

…

/DreamNote/

I will resume uploads with 1ch/d.

If we cross 1500 Power stones this week, there will be a bonus chapter on Sunday night

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 236:

"It's nice to meet you, Emilia. How have you been?" June smiled at the middle-aged lady sitting on the couch in front of her.

"It's been a while since we last met. I have been fine. What about you?"

"Same old," June smiled, "How was the ride? Thank you so much for taking some time out for me."

Emilia shook her head, "The ride was fine. And no need to say thanks, I have been bored for the last few weeks. And when I saw your message to schedule a lunch to discuss something important, I was genuinely surprised. What is it, June? What have you been up to recently?"

June smiled, "Well, I have been busy with the shooting."

"Oh, what kind of movie are you working on this time?"

"It's horror."

"Horror?" Emilia nodded upon hearing this, "I gotta say, horror is your lucky charm. Which studio is producing this movie?"

June gave an awkward chuckle, "Well, it's just to say it's a new production house, and the budget is also quite low."

"Oh," Emilia frowned, "What made you agree then? The script must have had something for sure."

"Yeah, I liked the idea, hopefully, the audience likes it too."

The frown on Emilia's face loosened, "Fingers crossed. But a low-budget horror movie? Are you planning to replicate Will's success?"

June didn't have an answer for it. And seeing her silent, Emilia leaned forward a bit, "Well, if it's not you, then maybe it's the director. Who's directing this movie?"

June remained silent.

"June?"

"Uh, Ahem," Clearing her throat, she replied, "Well, I am the director."

"Oh? wait, what?"

"Yes." June gave a weak smile, "I am directing the movie."

Emilia stared at her, "Really?"

"Yes."

"Are you acting in this movie?"

"No."

"No? June, aren't you an actress?"

"…Yes."

"But you want to direct movies?"

"Yes?" June shrugged, "I can't direct movies?"

"No, dear, of course you can," Emilia shook her head, "But aren't you the person who once told me you want to act for your whole life? Then why did you give up on your dream? Did you forget the years of struggle you had to go through just to get a few small roles and your lucky break into the [The Blair Witch Project]?"

"I do."

"Then, what compelled you to start a production house and become a director?"

June sighed, "Is this even important? Are you not interested in hearing why we're meeting here?"

Emilia nodded, "I am. But I am more curious about what's going on in your mind."

"Nothing's going on." June shook her head.

Emilia smiled, "No, a person who's about to accomplish her dream doesn't give up at the last moment. Something must have happened, and I am concerned about you, June."

June shook her head, "Nothing happened."

"Is it Will?" Emilia didn't beat the bush anymore.

Actually, she already knew what June was up to these days, and there was already some speculation about this among the fans. One of the reasons Emilia had decided to accept June's invitation was because of this reason itself. She wanted to make sure everything was alright.

And when Emilia mentioned Will's name, June shook her head.

"No, it has nothing to do with Will. He never interrupted my career, in fact, he's the reason why I am where I am."

Emilia smiled, "I think it has everything to do with Will."

"What do you mean?" June frowned, "I just told you—"

"June," Emilia interrupted, "We have known each other for almost three years now. Even though we only were part of one project, we have become good friends and trust me when I say this, I think I somewhat understand you. And let's be honest, I was aware of what you were doing, I just wanted to know the reason from you."

"There is no reason." June replied, "I just want to do it."

"Really? Is it not because you are chasing Will?"

"…what do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said." Emilia replied, "From what I see, you don't see yourself as someone worth Will's attention. And that's why you have given up on your dream and want to focus on getting the 'right' to stand on equal grounds as him."

"…" June remained silent.

She wanted to deny Emilia's words, but somewhere in her heart, she knew what her friend was saying was true.

And seeing June's reaction, Emilia knew she had hit the mark.

But she wasn't here to fan the flames. Rather, she was genuinely worried about the former. June might be half her age, but Emilia felt they both had a similar mindset, and that was also why they hit it off so well together.

And now, seeing her dear friend like this, she had to talk to her about this.

"June," Emilia put her palm over June's, "You're being too judgemental on yourself. You're as good as you have to be. I am not here to make you change your mind about getting back to acting. Instead, I want you to not make it a trial or a test for yourself to see if you're worthy."

"But I… I don't know."

"June, understand what I am trying to say. If he didn't think you weren't good for him, would he have kept you by his side for all these years?"

June lowered her head, "But have you seen how much hate I get? I never bring up this topic. Not do I act like it's bothering me, but it does. I am a human, after all. I did nothing wrong, yet there are many haters. And it's not even because of my professional work. Rather it's because of my personal life.

"Will and I have been together for quite a long time now. And not that I am insecure about my relationship, but because of me, he bears also has to bear the criticism. They say Will can do anything right, but he lacks in making personal choices."

"You really think Will ever thought about what others think about him and you?" Emilia stared at the former, "Are you letting the words of internet strangers affect you?"

"I try my best not to let them."

"June…" Emilia smiled at her, "You're a strong woman, and strong people have a strong sense of self-worth and self-awareness; they don't need the approval of others."

June nodded as Emilia continued.

"And once you recognise your self-worth, nothing can diminish your confidence."

June smiled, "Thank you."

Emilia shrugged, "I just had to talk to you about this. Again, I am sorry if I put you in a spot. What you're doing is not wrong, but it's the mindset with which you're going at it. Think of it as an adventure, not a trial."

June nodded.

Emilia then leaned back on her chair and said, "Alright, now that this is out of the way, let's deal with the elephant in the room. Why did you wish to meet me so urgently?"

June cleared her throat, "Well, I want you to become part of the movie which I have shot."

"I can't act to save my life," Emilia chuckled.

June shook her head, "I want you to edit the footage."

"Footage…?"

"Yes. The movie I have shot is of the horror genre."

"Oh," Emilia frowned, "what kind of footage."

"Found footage."

"…found footage?" Emilia raised her eyebrow, "Blair Witch?"

"Yeah, something like that." June replied, "But it's more about a couple moving into a new house and then deciding to put cameras throughout the house after finding some strange things happening throughout the block."

Emilia asked, "That's intriguing. What's the movie called?"

"Paranormal Activity." June replied, "The budget is low, but I am very confident in this one."

Emilia took a breath and replied, "Alright. I will have a look. How many hours of footage do you have?"

"More than 60 hours," June replied, "Two months later is the film festival, I was hoping we can make a submission by the end of this month."

Emilia nodded, "Alright, let's have a look at it after lunch. Who are the actors, by the way?"

"I am going with new actors," June replied, "I have learned a lot from the Blair Witch shooting, so I am trying to implement those ideas in this movie too."

Emilia nodded, "As long as there's no blatant copying to the plot, we're good to go."

….

Dream Vision Studio.

Ding!

The lift opened on the fifth floor, and a young man walked out.

He was in his late twenties and was wearing a formal dress, although his hair was a bit unkempt.

As soon as he stepped in, many pairs of eyes turned toward him.

There was a reception table at the end, and beside it were five men of his age.

They stared at him emotionlessly. With a gulp, he trodded forward and walked to the reception.

"Excuse me."

"Yes?"

"I am here for an audition."

"Ah, welcome. Please fill this form here." The receptionist took out a form, "And take a seat."

"Yes."

"May I know your name and the part you're here to audition for?"

"I am Oliver Leblanc Queen." The young man replied, "I am here to audition for the part of Joey Tribbiani for the [Friends] sitcom."

….

/DreamNote/

I have not forgotten the bonus chapter which is due from last week. I just need time to get my life straight, because something always comes up whenever I try to get back to old writing schedule. And because of the win-win, and wsa, I can't even prioritise MHS before my other two books or else they will lose the chance to get features.

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 237:

Leblanc smiled at the reception lady and walked towards the seats amongst the other actors.

That was when he noticed something strange.

'Huh…'

'…Oh no…'

He couldn't help but get worried when seeing the people in the group. He actually knew most of them, though the others didn't.

All of them were named actors, and one of them already had a sitcom under his belt.

The previous day he had received his audition script for the audition, and it also had a small character description which described Joey Tribbiani as an Italian American struggling actor.

And judging by their outfit, it was clear that they understood the role pretty well.

'How will I compete with these?'

This made him sigh.

But after a thought, he refrained from worrying too much. The audition was just minutes away. What was the point of thinking about others' auditions?

Shaking his head, he leaned back in his seat and opened the script.

This was his 8th audition for the role of Joey Tribbiani. He began auditioning in front of just one judge, and with each round, the number of judges increased, and this one was going to be the final round, a network test, to see if the actors fit the role. However, reaching this stage also meant that at least one of them was going to be selected. This thing was certain.

'I already have a hangover from last night.'

He rubbed his nose and thought about what had happened earlier that morning. There was a big bump on his nose, and it only made him frustrated.

'I hope they don't notice it.'

This was unlikely, but he still hoped they wouldn't care about it.

Shaking his head, he focused on the script.

Just then, someone walked toward him and put a clipboard in front of him.

"This is the pre-negotiated contract." The person was another staff member, "This was discussed a few days ago with you. Please give it a read, but you will have to sign it before walking in for the audition."

Leblanc nodded. He was familiar with the process of auditioning and casting.

Usually, it would be the agent handling the extra stuff, including the negotiation with the studio, finding roles and searching for scripts.

However, since he was still very new to the acting scene, he couldn't yet afford to have an agent and didn't wish to go for an agent who asked for a cut from future roles.

Taking a pen from the staff, he looked and began to go through the contract.

The most important point in the contract was a $15000 per episode deal.

It wasn't much compared to others who were already part of the show, but Leblanc knew he had yet to prove himself to the studio and to the audience.

He also knew the task was not going to be easy since he would be filling the shoes of a somewhat well-known actor, and being a new face, he was going to face a lot of criticism.

'I will worry about this when I get that role.'

Shaking his head, he continued to go through the contract. It wasn't long and only stated the most important terms. He was told there would be another contract he would need to sign if he gets the part, but there won't be any more negotiation on the per-episode salary.

He didn't mind this either and knew well why the networks would do this.

There were basically two reasons, one was to not give the actor a chance to renegotiate if he gets selected for the role, and in a way, lowball him by deciding the salary beforehand. The second reason was that it would put some sort of pressure on him, and that would either bring up the best or the worst of him.

'Let's hope I don't fuck this up too.'

As time passed, the actors went in one by one and came back with an expressionless faces. It was hard to tell how the auditions were going.

Leblanc, however, knew one thing, there was a chance there would be one or two cast members of the show in the room too.

He knew it just based on the fact that the script had other characters' dialogues as well. However, he didn't quite recognize the scene, it was most likely a demo or part of one of the next seasons because he didn't find anything like this in season 1, even though he rewatched the whole thing at least two times.

Just as he was musing in his thoughts, another actor walked out of the room, and the staff who had given him the contract earlier called out the next name.

"Next, No. 8, Oliver Leblanc Queen."

Leblanc took a deep breath and stood up.

'This is it.'

Handing over the signed contract to the staff, he walked into the room for his audition.

As soon as he walked in, he found himself in an office setup.

In front of him was an office table, and a young man was sitting on the other side.

It only took one glance at him for Leblanc to know who this person was. Matthew, the actor who's playing the role of Chandler Bing.

Leblanc nodded at him and looked around.

He saw a long table on the other side, just outside the office setup. At the table were six people.

He recognized most of them too. All of them were higher-ups from Dream Vision studios and the people behind the [Friends] 's success.

There was Susan, who was the producer and director. There was also Jennifer Charles, the Head of the Talent Agency, and two producers from the RBO channel as well.

However, what surprised him most was the person sitting at the centre.

Will Evans.

'I wasn't expecting him…'

Joey smiled at them.

It was at that moment that Susan took a paper from the table.

"Oliver Leblanc Queen?"

"Yes."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr Queen."

"Likewise."

"Alright, so you're here for the audition of Joey Tribbiani. You have received two scene scripts, is that right?"

"Yes."

"Good. But before we start, I want to ask if you're alright?"

"Um, yeah," Leblanc was a bit taken by the question, "What happened?"

"That's what I am wondering," Susan asked, "What happened to your nose?"

"Well, uh," Leblanc looked around and slowly muttered, "Ahem, it's kinda a long story, it started with drinking, and I would rather not talk about it.'

His nervous expression made Will smile as he asked, "Well, we are now curious about it. Don't be nervous. You can share with us."

He had noticed Leblanc being very nervous and wanted to relax him a bit. It was natural for any actor to be nervous, especially if the part they were auditioning for could be the 'big break' they had been waiting for.

"Um, what happened was I was too anxious about the role," Leblanc scratched the back of his head and began to recount last night's events.

"So last night, I was talking to a friend of mine, and you know, I was kinda amped up and had a lot of anxiety, and he said, 'You know what we should do? The show you're going to is called Friends. It's about six friends, right?' And I was like, 'Yeah, yeah. Yeah', and then he goes, 'So we should go out and get shit-faced because we're friends.' And I was like, 'That's a great idea.'

The judges on the audition panel glanced at each other as Leblanc continued.

"So we went out, and we got drunk, and I kinda wo- I slept at his place on the couch, I got up this morning and went into the bathroom. And I had stood up too fast, and kinda blacked out and did a faceplant into the toilet, and here I am.'

The audition panel couldn't help but chuckle at his story, even Will and Mathew, who was sitting at the office desk, smiled.

"Alright, let's begin the audition."

Leblanc nodded.

"You are already aware of the scene. Joey goes to Chandler's office, and Chandler tries to find a job for him at his place."

"Yes."

"Alright, start whenever you're ready."

Joey took a deep breath and sat on the chair in front of Chandler.

When Leblanc gave the signal, Susan said, "Action!"

"Hey, look Joey, I'm just saying if you need something to hold you over, I can get you a job right here as an entry-level processor." Chandler said to Joey as a matter of fact.

Joey looked confused, "But don't you need experience for a job like that?"

Chandler nodded and replied, "It's not that hard to learn. And as for people realizing you have no idea what you're doing, hey, you're an actor. Act like a processor. People will think you're a processor."

Just then, someone entered the room. It was the same staff who was standing outside.

"Hey Chandler, here's this morning's projections."

"Hey, thanks." Then he introduced the two to each other, "Scott Alexander, Joey Tribbianni. Joey is a uh, fellow processor."

"No kidding." Scott acted surprised and crossed his arms.

Joey glanced back at Chandler in shock, the latter then signalled him to continue on the act, "Oh yeah yeah. I process." Then pointing at Scott, he added, "People want the processing," Then, pointing at himself, he continued, "I'm the one they call."

Scott asked, "Where do you work?"

Joey scratched the back of his head, "Uhh, well, right now, I'm in between things. You know how it is. One day you're processing, the next day you're not so much… processing anymore."

Suddenly Chandler stood up, "I was just telling Joey about the opening in Fleischman's group."

Scott nodded, "Fleischman's group. Whatever you do, don't touch his sandwiches."

Looking at the two, he gave a loud laugh and walked out of the room without turning back, "Uh-Ha-ha-ha…"

Joey also pointed at him and laughed along with him, "Ha-ha-…"

As soon Scott left, Joey turned around and spread his arms in exasperation, he said to Chandler, "Are all you processors dorks?"

…

"That was a good one," Susan nodded, "We will have another scene. You will have to act like an 'actor' here, and I want to see the 'oblivious' character trait of Joey in this one."

Leblanc took a deep breath and walked out of the room.

Matthew sat straight and focused on the paper on the desk.

The next moment, Joey entered the office. "Hey"

"Hey, how's the first day goin'?" Chandler asked, raising his head in surprise.

Joey shrugged and said while gesturing his hands, "Pretty good. It's like you said. It's mostly just putting numbers from one column into another column."

"Well, there you go."

After a moment, Joey said, "Hey, and everybody is so nice. I just had a good talk with that lady with the red hair, Jeannie."

Chandler raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Jeannie, the head of east coast operations Jeannie?

Joey nodded, "Yeah, turns out our kids go to the same school." Smiling while shaking his head, he added, "Small world, huh?

Chandler stared at him, "Weird world. Your kids?

Joey nodded, "I figure my character has kids".

Chandler sighed and said, "Ya know there isn't a part of that sentence I don't need explained."

Joey took a breath and began to explain, "Well, see, when you're acting, you need to think about stuff like that. My character, Joseph the processor guy, has two little girls, Ashley and Brittany." After a moment of pause, Joey put his hands on his heart and made an adoring expression while saying, "Ashley copies everything Brittany does."

Chandler smiled while looking at the file on the desk," Ohh, well, invisible kids can be that way sometimes."

Joey nodded, "Yeah. Joseph and his wife, Karen, are thinking of having a third kid…" After a pause, he said, "Ya know what?" Then snapping his finger, he added, "Just did."

Chandler leaned back on his chair and replied sarcastically, "Really? Wow. That's some pretty powerful imaginary sperm you must have there."

Joey shrugged as if it was a matter of fact.

"Cut!"

Susan had a smile on her face. "That was really good, Mr Queen."

Leblanc smiled, "Thank you."

Will also leaned forward and commented, "Yes, it was good. We will contact you if you're finalised. Thank you for coming here."

Leblanc nodded, and then, turning toward Matthew, he added, "It was nice meeting ya,"

After Leblanc walked out, Matthew turned towards the audition panel, "I like this guy."

…

/DreamNote/

The story behind the broken nose is actually a true story. Matt Leblanc, who played Joey Tribbiani, got drunk with his friends the night before and broke his nose at the toilet on the audition morning. When he told this to the judges, it lightened the mood in the room and put things in his court.

Previous week's 1500 power stone bonus chapter is coming in an hour. I have to write 500-600 more words, but before that I need to run an errand.

Just to make it clear, this book is NOT dropped, it's just going through an inconsistent phase which will soon be rectified.

Please continue supporting this book with your power stones

This week's power stones goal: 2000 for bonus chapter.

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 238: [Bonus Chapter]

"How was it?" Susan turned towards Will once Leblanc left the room, "This was the last one. We need to choose one of them."

Will nodded, "This guy was good, but I would like to have everyone's opinion on this first. Send me a report when everything's done. I will finalize."

Susan and the others at the desk nodded, "Sure thing, boss."

Pulling his coat over his shoulders, Will walked out from a different exit.

Jennifer was walking beside him while Susan had stayed back to discuss the auditions with the other judges.

"Will," Jennifer called out, "I received a few emails from your office. You're interested in two new actors?"

Will nodded, "Luke Newman and Keanu Reed."

"Yes," Jennifer nodded, "I have contacted them, though I am curious about the movie you have in mind for them."

Will shrugged, "That's a matter of the future. For now, I just want them to get signed before they get poached by someone else."

Jennifer frowned, "I can get Keanu Reed signed, but Luke Newman will be a bit complicated."

"What do you mean?" Will asked.

"He has some history with the Allen Pictures," She replied, "I am still looking for the details, but there's definitely something here. Do you have anything that I can put on the table? I don't really have much other than Dream Vision's reputation since i don't know what movie or goal you have in your mind for them."

Will thought for a moment and replied, "Well, in terms of priority, Keanu Reed is higher than Luke Newman. For Keanu, I have a series in mind but don't tell him this yet. We will test him with a romcom first and then go for an action series. And if that goes well, there will be another one, which will be even more action-packed."

Jennifer couldn't help but stare at Will when she heard this response.

"How do you get so many ideas, Will? It's really amazing."

Will simply smiled at these words.

"It's like this," He replied after a few moments, "If I can make one movie, I can make two more."

Jennifer was left even more confused at these words.

She didn't know the existence of the System, nor was Will ever planning to reveal it to anyone. However, what Will said was technically not wrong.

If he could make one movie successful, the system would give him rewards, through which he could make more.

It was an ever-expanding cycle, and Will wondered how far he would reach in the next two decades and what movies he would bring to this world if he could still remain in this world.

…

It was a hot afternoon by the time Will redhead his office. As soon as he stepped into his office, the air conditioner's cold breeze made him let out a long breath of relief.

Putting his coat on the hanger at the side, he took his seat.

In front of him were a few files, already placed there by Alexia, his secretary.

Leaning forward, he brought one of them in front of them, and when he read the title on the file, he couldn't help but smile.

[Dream Vision] (Classified)

[Project: MCU]

'MCU, finally.'

In this file was the gist of the plan he had in his mind to bring MCU to this world.

And that would begin with his next marvel movie.

But there was only one problem. There were a few movies in between his path. The first one would be [The Devil Wears The Prada, and the second was related to his books, which he needed to complete to finish the second quest in the Chain Quests.

[Quest: Make a movie series of any book published by you.]

[Reward: ???]

[Condition: The box office collection must reach $1.2 Billion.]

[You will lose the accumulated reward if the condition is not met.]

Currently, his published books are the Harry Potter series and the Hobbit. With the current fan base and hype, it was a no-brainer what he needed to make.

[Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone]

'But where will I shoot this movie? Or should I hire directors for this? I can't stick my head to every project. It's more important to also make use of other talents within this world.'

-Trrring! Trrrring!

The telephone on his desk suddenly rang, attracting his attention.

Looking at the familiar number on it, he picked it up and said, "Alexia? What happened?"

[Mr Spencer Miller, the former CEO of the Foxstar Studio, has been trying to reach you. He's on the line. Would you like me to transfer the call to you?]

Will was surprised to hear this name.

In fact, he had even forgotten about the matter regarding Foxstar in the last few days due to some other work, including the Joey Auditions and another project he was planning with Amanda.

'Why did he call instead of Colt?'

Spencer Miller's son, Colt, was the one calling shots in the Foxstar studios, and Will wanted to give the latter a reality check. This was why he had pulled out of the deal with Foxstar.

'But does he think his calling will change my mind?'

Although he was friends with Spencer, Will wasn't planning to go back on his words unless the compensation was really worth it.

"Transfer the call."

Will was curious about what Spencer had to say about Colt.

[Will]

An old man's voice came through the speaker. It was a familiar voice, and Will instantly recognized it.

"Mr Miller, how have you been?" Will asked.

[I have been fine until recently, Will. What about you?]

"I have been well as well, thank you for asking. What happened recently, though?" Will asked, acting obliviously.

[Oh, don't pull that on me, Will]

Spencer let out a sigh.

[I am too old for this.]

Will chuckled, "Alright, let's not beat the bush. I know why you have called me, and I will make it clear beforehand that it won't be easy for you to make me go back on my words."

Spencer remained silent for a few minutes before replying.

[Well, I did want to call you regarding this earlier to make you calm down and not ruin the long partnership between our studios over an idiot's greed, but now I have something else to say.]

Will frowned, "The person you're calling an idiot, and greedy was the Managing Director and Active CEO of your Studio. I can't just ignore someone like that, can I? But never mind that I am more curious about what made you change your mind?"

[Will, we both may have been friends, but we're businessmen first. My son's greed cost the company dearly, and I want to lower the losses. The deal I have is simple, I am willing to compensate you with a partnership in one of the future projects being carried out by my studio, I am sure you will be interested in them.]

"Oh?" Will was intrigued, and at the same time, he was wary.

There was no way a cunning businessman like Spencer Miller would share profits with someone else, but then, there was also a chance that he was being genuine here.

After a moment of thought, Will replied, "You have my curiosity. Now you have my attention."

[The Foxstars' ventures are pretty normal. One of them is that we're making an animation studio.]

"Animation Studio?" Will shook his head, "Are you not up to date with the news? Things are different now. I don't need an animation studio."

[I know you don't, but what if the studio is in Japan?]

"Hm? You mean…" Will's eyes widened.

[Yes, the anime world.]

As soon as Spencer said those words, Will heard a system notification prompt.

-Ding!

[New Quest Has Arrived]

[Goal: Establish anime studio in Japan]

[Reward: Location of Masashi Kishimoto]

"Masashi Kishimoto?" Will frowned, "Mangaka of Naruto?!"

…

/DreamNote/

Chapter turned a bit short after I removed some fillers and decided to move some things to the next chapters.

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 239:

Each manga is a collection of simple stories about simple people and some magical creations with superpowers, but in most cases, these superpowers and simple people are reflections of the everyday problems people face and have to cope with. Naruto was a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto in Will's previous world.

It had garnered worldwide fame and was one of the key players in taking anime to the mainstream.

Accepting the quest was very tempting, but at the same time, it also seemed like he was biting more than he could chew.

The anime industry was totally a foreign industry for him right now, and there were already too many projects lying in his hands.

'I can't take this right now.'

Thinking through, Will shook his head, "No, thank you. Although this deal is very tempting, I already have too much on my plate. I don't want anything to do with this time. Also, I am not really looking forward to working with your son any time soon."

Spencer remained silent for a few seconds upon hearing these words.

Sometime later, Will heard a sigh from the other side as the former replied.

[That's unfortunate. I really wanted our studios to work with each other once again. If you change your mind, you can always call me. But anyway, since you're not interested in Japan, I have something else for you.]

"Oh, I am all ears," Will asked.

[Well, I think it would be better if you hear it from Foxstar's Acting CEO and Managing Director]

"Colt?" Will frowned.

[Much better] A feminine voice spoke from the other side this time, surprising Will.

[I am Sofia Miller, and I will now be heading Foxstar Studios from this week. It's nice to talk to you, Mr Evans]

Will slowly nodded, "Likewise."

[Mr Evans, I won't waste any of your time and will get straight to business]

After a pause, she added.

[After your previous visit to our place, the relationship between our two studios has taken a turn for the worse, and I wish to get things back in the positive direction. It's not a hidden fact that Dream Vision is growing rapidly and will soon stand toe to toe with our studio if it isn't already. However, I believe we can still work together, and it would be a waste to miss such an opportunity just because of one guy's greed.]

"Did you think I will work together because your dad fired his son and put his daughter in his place?" Will asked.

[No. I don't even expect you to consider working together with us again, but it's a fact that you're letting your anger get in the way of business and profit.]

Will remained silent for a few seconds before replying. "You're talking about profits, but you haven't told me the second thing your father was talking about."

[Other than the animation, the second thing we have is something we can only discuss by meeting in person.]

Sofia then added after a pause.

[I will visit your office tomorrow]

"Alright." Saying this, Will disconnected the phone.

…

"Do you think he will agree?" Spencer asked when he heard the call disconnection notification.

Sofia shrugged upon hearing her father's question, "We don't know yet, but I will try my best. And honestly, if he still rejects the proposal, we will just have to bear with it and part ways with Dream Vision."

Spencer nodded, "Yes, no matter what has happened and how things were handled, we still have our self-respect. But I am curious why did he reject the anime proposal, I really wanted him on it even if this drama didn't happened."

Sofia shook his head, "He just postponed it. What Dream Vision has in store will keep him busy for the next two years. And if there's something that I haven't caught on to, I will figure it out after meeting him in person."

Spencer asked, "You can lower our profit from the [Hitch] and keep the Sherlock share distribution constant. It might create a leeway and also bring good money on our table as well."

"I will, Dad."

Just when Sofia replied, her phone rang.

She took it out from her pocket, and seeing her assistant's name on it, she picked up the call.

"Yes?"

After a brief pause, her calm expression froze, and instantly anger and shock appeared on her face.

"Colt! How dare he?!"

Hearing his daughter's outburst, Spencer was shocked as well.

"What? What did he do?!"

"He…." Sofia revealed something shocking, making Spencer boil in rage and frustration.

…

In Dream Vision, Will put the phone down and leaned back on his chair.

He wasn't quite eager to meet Sofia because he himself was undecided.

On the one hand, he didn't wish to delay [Hitch] for too long, but at the same time, his own distribution channel wasn't set up yet.

'Should I look for a different distributor?'

It was a viable option, but he didn't wish to open too many of his cards yet. And another reason was the fact that he would lose a bigger share of [Hitch] compared to Foxstars' deal if he were to go with the others.

"Let's just see what happens."

Letting out a long breath, he moved his attention back to the table.

On the table, along with the MCU file, there was another one.

[Devil Meets The Prada]

[Prospective Casts]

'I also need to begin this one.'

[Devil Meets The Prada] may not have been a cult classic, but it surely was an interesting story and was also a female-lead-centric story which gave it a unique flavour.

When he was writing the script, he had thought of a few possible actors to play the lead roles and even thought about finding the actresses who actually played the roles.

But he then changed his mind.

He was bringing too many new faces into the industry, and that would only saturate the star power these actors would have in future.

And another thing was he didn't wish to just be known as someone who debuts new actors and forgets about them.

Hence, he wanted to try an existing actress for this money, and his first choice was someone from his previous world who was famous here as well.

'Let's see what they have here.'

He opened the file and, one by one began to go through the profiles.

However, to his surprise, the profiles were not of actors and actresses alone. Rather, there were some director profiles as well.

'This is interesting.'

He had mentioned that he wouldn't be directing this movie, so it was quite considerate of Amanda to look into this matter as well.

And thinking about direction, he couldn't help but put down the file.

Right now, it was clear to him that he had too much on his plate.

Marvel. Sherlock. Pirates of The Caribbean. Harry Potter. Men In Black. The Lion King. Netflix…

These were just the names of a few.

Not to mention he had also found two superbly talented actors:

Brad Pitt, who was Luke Newmann in this world.

And Keanu Reeves, who was Keanu Reeds in this world.

These two actors can bring out a whole series of their own.

For Keanu Reeds alone, there's The Matrix and John Wick.

For Luke Newmann, there's Fight Club, Inglorious Bastards, and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

Then among animations other than Lion King, there were Toy Story, Cars, How Two Train Your Dragon and the Kung Fu Panda series.

And there were also existing stars like Tom Hanks, and it would be blasphemy if he didn't bring Forrest Gump for the world to watch.

There was so much he wanted to do but little he could do.

After all, he was not immortal.

Even after working for long hours and pushing himself to the limit, he had barely touched the surface of what he actually wanted in the last three years.

'At this pace, even if I work non-stop for the next 20-25 years, I won't finish all of them.'

'I wish I could just transfer some of my world's knowledge to someone else.'

It was a ridiculous thought, and Will instantly rejected the idea.

'What's the guarantee that they won't betray me in future?'

He let out a sigh upon thinking about this.

'But it's worth asking, right? If I can somehow find famous directors, choreographers, and other crew and then gain their loyalty, maybe I won't have to directly involve myself in everything?'

'System, is it possible to transfer the knowledge?'

[Hollywood System level is too low for this function to unlock.]

'So it is possible,' Will scratched his chin, 'What level is needed?'

[Level 3 System]

'So, the next level?'

Will frowned, 'What's the condition to level up?'

[You have not reached the objective to unlock the requirements for level up]

'I have to do something just to see what I need to level up the system? What do I need?'

[Hidden Quest Opened]

[Quest: Create an OTT Platform and establish a 5% viewership share worldwide.]

[Reward: Revelation of objectives to level up the Hollywood System]

[Failure Penalty: OTT Platform shuts down.]

'Netflix?'

As soon as he saw the name, a huge question mark appeared in his mind.

'I need to launch Netflix?'

Netflix was in his plans, but he wanted to wait a bit, at least a year and a half, before settling some urgent matters.

'I need to think carefully about this. If I prioritize Netflix, Harry Potter and Marvel will get affected. That's not what I want.'

Shaking his head, he focused once again on the list in his hand.

And after seeing a few familiar names in the Director Profiles, he reached the prospective cast profiles.

And the first profile he saw surprised him.

'June?'

Amused, he turned the page, and the next one surprised him even more.

'Scarlett McJohn'

This was the one he wanted to cast. But then, thinking about June's profile, he couldn't help but wonder what Amanda was thinking while putting up the list.

Who to choose?

…

/DreamNote/

Weekly Bonus Chapter @2000 Power Stones !!

Don't forget to vote for this novel

This is the end of Part One, and download AllNovelFull app to continue:

DOWNLOAD NOW

Chapter 240:

Author note: Most of the readers have misunderstood the knowledge-sharing function, and it's natural because I have worded it that way. The main character does not yet understand the true worth of his knowledge, but I also won't make it so he shares his knowledge and his friends will betray him.

So don't worry about anything crazy happening.

…

Scarlett McJohn was an A-Lister. And after being part of the industry and giving back-to-back hits, she had proven herself to be a force to reckon with.

She began her career on a semi-famous sitcom and got a chance to enter an indie movie with a supporting actress role, however, that movie became the first turning point of her career, and after the movie's release, she received rave reviews on her acting skills, and began to amass a huge fanbase.

However, that was just the beginning.

One after another, she continued to give out hits for the audience and slowly gained a diverse worldwide fanbase. Her fame reached a new peak in a solo three-movie series as the main lead in which she played a retired assassin who is forced to come out of her retirement because of an unknown enemy killing her daughter and husband.

This tri-series gave her the nickname 'Miss Badass', and the one she liked, 'Knightess'.

…

Will turned his head and glanced at the page in his other hand. This one belonged to June.

June Roberts and Scarlett McJohn belonged to two different worlds.

While the former was still considered a new actress and only had a few well-known hits, the latter was already an established actress and had proven herself at the box office.

'Well, I know who to choose.'

Will kept his personal life and work life separate.

And he knew Scarlett McJohn was worth a try here. Not to mention Will was planning to rope her in with the MCU project as Black Widow in the future.

'It's best to make a connection and test her before that.'

[The Devil Wears Prada] would be a great way of making her comfortable with Dream Studios and its working. And if the movie is a success, he would sign her for the role of Black Widow and make her part of the MCU.

Will leaned forward, pressing the intercom near the monitor, and he said, "Alexia, give me a report on Scarlett McJohn. I want a thorough profile on her by evening."

"I will get it done," Alexia responded.

Will lightly nodded and continued to go through the pages. Near the end, there were also prospective Director profiles.

'I think it's better to have a female director with a good resume of female lead movies under her belt.'

Just as he was thinking about this, a profile appeared on the next page.

'Greta Coppola'

'This is a familiar name…'

Will squinted his eyes at this name.

One look at the picture of the young woman in the profile was enough for him to know that this person was not someone from his previous world, rather a director from this world itself.

In fact, even the face was not of someone Will could recall having met. Instead, it was just the name of the person that he found quite familiar.

To find the reason behind it, he began skimming through the profile, however, just the first line was enough for him to know who this person was.

[Greta Coppola, the first female director to be nominated in ten years for the Academy Awards.]

As soon as he read the lines, he suddenly remembered the exact same words being repeated a few times on oscar night a few months back.

'Ah, they made a big deal out of her.'

The Academy wanted to show that they supported female empowerment, and thus this director's name was all over the news. However, Will didn't bother much about this because he was not related to this woman, professionally.

'I wonder if it was all just hype, or does she really have something in her?'

It was a legit question because Will felt that there would be changes in Hollywood in the upcoming years and it was slowly turning 'woke'.

That was why he wanted to ensure she was talented enough to handle a Dream Vision movie.

Clicking the intercom once again, he said, "Hey, Alexia. I need you for one more thing. I need a report on Greta Coppola as well. She's a director."

[Noted]

Will nodded, and just as he was about to close the intercom, Alexia's voice came from the other side.

[Sir, you should see this]

"What happened?" Will asked.

Just then, there was a prompt on his monitor, and he had received a few emails.

As he opened them, Alexia walked into his office.

"These are news and gossip blog links," She said, "And I think they have something which you should look at."

Will nodded and began clicking the pages to check what she was talking about.

And as soon as he read the first headline, his eyebrows inadvertently furrowed.

[(Exclusive) Dream Vision and Foxstar Studios fall out with each other!]

'How dare they…'

Will continued to furrow as he checked the other links, and seeing them only worsened his mood.

[Dream Vision pulls out of contract with Foxstar Studio, pays fine of $20 Million]

[Will Evans shows bad faith, breaks contract with Foxstar because of his own mistake]

[Dream Vision and Foxstar Studios have fallen out — Read the full story here!]

"Connect me to Spencer's office." Will took a deep breath and leaned back on his chair.

Alexia nodded and walked out.

Will was still frowning and was even a bit annoyed. Not because of the drama that was about to come but because of the timing of the news.

In fact, it was quite natural for something like this to blow up in the media, but it still didn't for so long, and just when he had a conversation with Spencer and the new acting CEO of Foxstar to mend their relationship, something like this came out.

The signs were clear. Someone wasn't liking the fact that the two studios were getting together on the track.

'Is it Colt?' Will frowned.

Of all things, Colt suffered the most and would be the usual suspect based on his nature and reaction to things.

'But he doesn't have the guts to do something like this. Is it someone else?'

Just as Will was wondering who the person behind this could be, the phone on his desk rang.

"It's me, Will."

[Hello, Will. This is me, Sofia] A familiar voice came from the other end.

Will frowned, "The new CEO? I thought I told my secretary to connect to your father's office."

[I am in his office, and he's not well at this moment. Age is catching up to him, and he has told me to take care of the company until he gets well.]

"Oh, then may I assume you know what's happening right now and why I have made a call right now?"

[I am well aware of those articles, Mr Evans, and I would like to assure you that our company or anyone from our company had nothing to do with them.]

"If you guys didn't, the news people wouldn't get any hints of it. So I will ask again, Miss Miller, and this time I will be a bit more specific. Was it your brother?"

Sofia remained silent at this. But her reply after that was straightforward and without hesitation.

[No, we had nothing to do with this.]

Will frowned, "Alright, I will believe you on this. But I will investigate, and if it turns out that someone from your company has a loose tongue, not only will there be no negotiations, but you should also prepare yourself for not-so-few lawsuits. Good day."

…

[…also prepare yourself for not-so-few lawsuits. Good day]

-du du du

Sofia put down the phone as it got disconnected.

Taking a deep breath, she turned her head and glanced at the man sitting in front of her.

"Are you happy now, Colt?" She asked.

Colt, who was silent all this time, rubbed his face and let out a sigh, "I have told you ten times already. I did this for the best of the company."

Sofia frowned, "No, you did not. If you had, then things wouldn't have been this bad, and I wouldn't have to lie and risk trouble."

Colt frowned, "Why did you lie then?"

Sofia scowled, "And throw my brother under the bus? Colt, we might not see each other eye to eye, but we're siblings and have each other's back. Now tell me what actually happened, and why did you leak something like this to the media? Don't tell me you didn't know the consequences?"

Colt pursed his lips, "Alright, I will tell you exactly what happened, and I am sure you will also support me after you know the truth."

Colt took a deep breath and recounted what had happened in the last few days.

…

While this was happening back in Foxstar Studios, Will had once again called in Alexia.

"I want you to look into this. You can postpone the two reports. Later on, we need to handle this matter first. I don't want us in any bad light for now. Also, I want to know who leaked the matter."

Alexia nodded.

Will let out a sigh once she left.

'Is this new CEO lying?'

He couldn't help but wonder. However, his intuition told him she was lying, but at the same time, it was telling him to wait and observe before reacting.

Just then –

-trrrring! Trrrrgin!

His phone rang, and a very familiar name appeared on the screen when he picked it up.

[June Roberts]

"Hey, June," Will smiled upon picking up the phone, "What happened?"

[WILL!!!! It's done! The movie is finally edited!]

Will was surprised upon hearing this, "Already? That's sooner than I expected."

[Yes! And I want to show it to you so bad, when are you free?]

Will thought for a moment and replied, "Let's do it in the evening, I will make up the time."

[Awesome!] June replied in a cheerful voice while also adding another sentence.

[I will be bringing the actors too. The male lead is an independent actor, Johnny Depp, and the female lead-]

"Wait," Will interrupted, leaning forward, "What did you say the actor's name was?"

[Johnny Depp?]

"…What?"

…

/DreamNote/

Support this fanfic with your power stones

Bonus Chapter if the book ranks 1st in this week's power stones rankings!

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 241:

Will was taken aback as soon as he heard the name, but he didn't let it get to his head. After taking a deep breath, he replied.

"Alright, let's have the screening tonight. Don't forget to bring your actors with you."

[I sure will, but I am curious why you were surprised by the name. Do you know who Johnny Depp is?]

Will shook his head, "No, I confused it with someone else."

[Oh, alright.]

"Yeah," Will added, "I will see you in the evening then. Around 5 PM should be a good time."

[Cool with me.]

Will nodded, "I will see you then. Take care."

[You too.]

– du du du

Putting down the phone, Will opened his intercom and instructed Alexia, "Are there any scheduled meetings for later tonight?"

[Amanda wants to talk about the MCU project. She also told me she would like to introduce a few people to you.]

Will frowned. After a moment of thought, he added, "Postpone it for tomorrow. Also, prepare the screening room for the evening."

[Noted.]

"Also, have you find out something about the articles? And the two people I mentioned earlier?"

[I am onto them.]

Will nodded and disconnected the intercom.

Then after opening his drawer, he took out an A4 size sheet of paper and started scribbling on it—the first of its heading being [MCU Timeline]

…

While Will had finished his call, the CEO's office at the Foxstar Studio had a tense atmosphere.

The two Miller siblings were sitting silently at the main desk with pensive looks on their faces.

After finishing the call with Will, Sofia—who had lied to the former to buy some time and understand the situation—started asking questions to her brother Colt about his actions.

Although it was pretty clear from the start that he had risked ruining the relationship with Dream Vision over greed, as he explained the situation to his sister, things became clear for the latter as she now had the whole picture of what was going on.

However, that did not mean she agreed with the actions of her brother.

"I think it was you who complicated the situation for yourself," She began to word her observation, "You see, you had a choice. To either stand with Dream Vision or go against them; you chose the second option. Also, I am sure you DID have some greed, no matter how much you try to deny it."

"Alright, Alright. I know I did get a bit ahead of myself. But how is my choice wrong if Dream Vision still isn't as big as them," Colt frowned.

Sofia nodded, "They are not. But from what I see, it's just a matter of time. Will Evans has proven himself on a big stage, and with him at the helm, they will surely become big in the coming years."

Colt stared at her, "I understood that fact very well. But that's one big IF. We don't know the future. Also, Dream Vision only has Will Evans. Without him, there's no Dream Vision."

Sofia nodded, "I know, and that's exactly why what you did only makes the situation worse."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's pretty simple. Will Evans needs people, people who can push him. And out of all the studios in Hollywood, our studio had the biggest chance to become his great ally."

Colt frowned, "You want us to be the sidekick?"

"No," Sofia shook her head, "I want us to grow beyond our current stage. Dad has already been in talks with Japanese studios to form a collaboration and bring the anime industry to the mainstream. I talked with Dad to offer Will a partnership in that idea. Unfortunately, the latter rejected."

"What?!" Colt was taken aback, "Why would you give him a share of our pie?"

Sofia sighed, "It's not a pie, Colt. Not yet. We need Will's talents. And if in order to get him on board, we have to let go of some of the profit, so be it."

"Then why did he reject it? Also, he's a Hollywood movie director. I don't think he will know anything about the anime industry or its workings."

Sofia nodded, "I agree. But he has a certain knack for stories and getting good scripts. Japan is filled with hundreds of artists; Will would have made things easier for us."

"It's not easy for us to get into Japan, and even now, we have barely taken half a step in. It's like shooting an arrow at the target without even knowing where it is. Also, I am sure he rejected mainly due to wanting to focus on Hollywood for now because he has too much on the plate."

Colt pursed his lips, "So what else did you talk about?"

Sofia shrugged, "Since the Japanese proposal didn't interest him, I had something more interesting for him. It was about Foxstar Logic."

Colt shook his head, "I don't think he would be interested in that. He already has studios like Pixar.."

Sofia smiled, "Foxstar Logic will be much bigger. You have seen their work, they are many times better than what's in the market."

Colt frowned, "Did you show the work to Will?"

Sofia shook her head, "No. I decided to meet him in person first. Although it was a risky move in terms of negotiating, I have to meet him because only then he would understand the seriousness of the situation. Also, the fact remains that he will gain more by getting back with us instead of cutting off all relations."

Colt remained silent before replying, "Alright, so you're going to meet him?

"I was," Sofia stared at him, "But someone had to leak all the mess to the media and screw my whole plan."

Colt sighed, "I already apologized for that."

"Not enough times," Saying this, Sofia stood up and walked towards the exit.

"I am heading to the hospital. Dad's health got worse after hearing what you did. Don't do anything stupid before I return."

Hearing these words, Colt inwardly nodded and leaned back in his seat.

Sofia's words had affected him and he wanted to think about her thoughts.

But just then, his phone buzzed. Someone was calling him.

And as soon as he saw the name on the phone, his hand froze.

–Incoming Call–

[Ashton Banasiewicz (Allen Pictures)]

…

June's car rolled into the Dream Vision studios about thirty minutes past four in the evening.

She was half an hour early, and the main reason for that was the people she had brought along with her.

In her car, there were three others.

Sitting by her side was Emilia—Jeffrey's wife and the one who had handled all the editing.

And sitting at the back were the two leads of the movie, Johnny Depp and Carly Howell.

Carly Howell was a friend of June from her drama student days, while Johnny Depp was actually an independent actor—worked as a part-time paparazzi before auditioning and getting the role to play as one of the main leads for June's directorial debut movie.

As they parked the car and headed for the elevator, June took out her phone and dialed Will's number.

[Hello]

"We are here," She added, "Should we come to your office or to the screening room?"

[Ah, you're early! Come, I am in my office.]

"I will be there in a minute."

June smiled while putting down her phone and then glancing at the others walking beside her, she said, "I really hope he likes the movie. I really took a lot from the Blair Witch Project."

Emilia nodded, "I noticed that too. And as I have said many times before, this will either make it a big hit or come back to bite you in the butt."

June shrugged, "I will consider it a lesson learned."

…

In Will's office, after June's call, Will clicked on the intercom and called Alexia.

"Is the screening room prepared?"

[Yes]

"What about the reports I wanted? Also, what's the progress about Luke Newmann and Keanu Reeds?"

[The reports are ready, would you like to see them right now? I have also gotten some news regarding Luke Newman and Keanu Reeds.]

"I will take care of that later, and what about the Foxstar case, did you find out who is the one behind all this?"

[We're looking into this. The reporter is not willing to sell his source.]

Will shrugged, "Pay him more."

[We can do that, but is it really worth it? This thing won't harm us. Not to mention, this thing would have come out after some time anyway.]

"I know," Will replied and while thinking of the new FoxStar CEO's claim earlier that day, he added, "I am curious about the truth."

[Noted.]

"That will be all."

Disconnecting the call, Will leaned back on his seat after closing a folder on his desk.

For the last few hours, he had been focused on arranging a timeline of most of the tasks he needed to handle concerning MCU.

And this led him to some questions and things he was unfamiliar with.

Thus, he first wanted to meet Amanda and talk about the issues he was facing and finalize the MCU for the coming decade or so.

But one thing was certain, it would most likely take more time for him to get MCU than it actually took for Marvel in his previous world. After all, he was not going to focus only on these movies.

There were many others he wished to work on, and the one he was looking forward to was [The Pirates Of Carribean] franchise; the main reason being the person he was going to meet today.

'Hopefully, the person is exactly who I think he is.'

Just as he thought of this, there was a knock on the door before the door was pushed open.

And through the door, June stepped in.

Behind her, three more people followed.

However, Will's attention was on the person who walked in at last after the ladies.

Johnny Depp.

…

/DreamNote/

Uneven schedule. Will take time for daily releases as I get back into my groove after few months of unexpected hiatus from this fanfic. Thank you for waiting

Ps. do not subscribe on -. it's on pause for this month as well.

Report chapter Comments

Chapter 242:

Johnny Depp was having a great day. These days, he always seemed to be on the moon, feeling like everything was possible in the world.

One of his neighbours had even told him that with that attitude, he would soon try to jump up a building, thinking he could fly. Even if the comment itself was sarcastic, that was what Johnny felt.

All this was because he had just completed his first movie, and even in it, he was the lead guy. The one who would be the centre of attention. He knew this could be his big break and just that thought of this had him gushing in excitement.

Just a few months ago, he was struggling to make ends meet, and now here he was, about to meet one of the most famous directors within the industry from recent years.

June, through whom he was going to meet this man, was the one who had offered him to act in the movie and was also the director.

Although the movie itself was of the horror genre and had the found-footage technique throughout, Johnny always felt he could give his best and in the end, he was satisfied with his performance.

However, he knew that shooting the movie was just the beginning of an uphill battle.

The next stage would be the screening, and it would be in front of the director he was about to meet, Will Evans.

Johnny had followed Will Evans' rise through the industry in the last few years religiously, and the latter became his inspiration to strive for his dream of becoming an actor in Hollywood.

Early morning he received a message from John, June's assistant, regarding the screening confirmation at the Dream Studios. So, after wearing his favourite suit, Johnny walked out of his apartment and met with the others waiting outside in an SUV.

To his surprise, John, who would usually be the one driving June around and taking care of her matters, wasn't around this time, and June herself would be the one driving them to the studio.

At the front seat was a middle-aged woman, Emilia, whom Jhonny had long become familiar with. She was in charge of the post-production editing, and it would be she who would become the biggest reason behind today's outcome, be it a failure or a success.

Although Jhonny was confident that Will Evans would surely like their movie, he had a feeling something would definitely crop up and this uneasy feeling was why he was quiet almost throughout the ride.

Beside him was his co-star, but they barely talked outside of work matters, so he didn't really start a conversation here.

Although both knew how important this day was, Will Evans was now an established director, and the Dream Studio was slowly becoming a household name.

If Will Evans liked the end result, both these artists were confident they would get a huge headstart in their respective careers.

Both of them knew this would be a life-changing opportunity and thus were anticipating Will Evan's reaction to the movie.

…

A few hours later…

"The ending ruins it."

The words resonated through the small theatre-like screening room, and a few heads turned towards the source of the voice.

In front of them was a screen, and what appeared to be end credits were rolling up, although there were not many.

"You didn't like the ending?" June asked as the lights were turned on by one of the assistants.

Will, who had spoken earlier, clarified, "It's not that I don't like it, but I feel like the whole ending makes this movie weak."

"What do you mean?" The others looked at Will with interest.

Even Jeffery, attending this screening, was a bit surprised by Will's words but chose not to interrupt and listen to what Will had to say first.

Will gestured at the movie screen and said, "First of all, even though the movie was only around an hour long, it will perhaps be one of the most realistic haunted house movies the world would ever see. One can genuinely feel they are watching an actual couple in a real relationship going through a real haunting. It is truly harrowing to watch and does it without fighting for any brownie points. But.

"There is one thing that affects the whole flow of the movie. But before we talk about that, I have something to ask you first, June."

"Yeah?"

"Well, I want to know what your actual plans for this movie is. Do you want to make this a franchise, or are you planning to make this movie a standalone?"

"Standalone." June replied without hesitation and continued to add, "Although the franchise sounds interesting, and if the movie is a success, it will become a huge cash cow, I don't want this film to lose its uniqueness. Also, I don't believe the future additions of this movie would be able to create the same impact as this one because it will lose the 'reality' effect."

Will nodded, "Yes, but are you taking your future plans into thought too? What will be your plan after this movie release?"

June shook her head, "There's no fixed plan yet, mainly because we don't know how far this movie will take us. But, anyway, you haven't told us what you don't like."

Will turned towards the screen, and after a moment of thought, he replied, "The ending. Especially that jumpscare, it wasn't done well. For the whole movie you picked an unconventional route, but near the end, you have thrown all that out of the window and given a jumpscare."

"Hm?" June frowned, "But doesn't that end the movie on a high note? Also, we foreshadowed his death many times, so how is it unexpected?"

"Foreshadow?"

"Yes," June nodded, "Like, there's a scene where the demonic entity smashes only Micah's half of the couple's framed picture. This suggests that the demon was plotting to kill Micah from the very beginning. Moreover, the fact that Katie was always a victim of its hauntings and even her burnt picture was found in the cellar suggests that the demon was only looking for the right opportunity to find her in her most vulnerable state and then possess her.

"Things got so bad towards the end of the film because Micah kept gaslighting Katie into believing that he is the man of the house and nothing can get past him. There are moments in the film where it almost looks like he's willing to get into a fistfight with the evil spirit, which obviously is not even possible. Moreover, by using the Ouija Board, he gives the entity a doorway to enter their world.

"And thus, she eventually became the victim of the possession. As for Micah's death in the ending scene, Katie killed him, and he was clearly asking for it all along."

Will thought for a moment and then replied, "I think you misunderstood me. I am not talking about the death of the male lead," Glancing at Johnny, he added, "No offence intended, Jhonny."

"None taken."

Will turned his head toward June and continued, "The jumpscare. It gives the cliche end to the movie and breaks the whole rhythm. Also, do you intend to keep the female lead, Katie, alive?"

June shook her head, "She's already dead. The demon possessed her."

Will nodded, "Not to the audience."

June thought for a moment and asked, "Do you have an alternate ending in your mind?"

Will smiled, "Yes."

June squinted her eyes, "I knew it. Alright, what's it about?"

Will shrugged, "It won't be free."

"Hm?" June crossed her hands, "Oh? What will be the price?"

Will rubbed his hands together while replying, "Two things. First, Dream Studios will handle the distribution of the movie."

"Oh?" June smiled, "I thought you would never ask. Alright, what's the second?"

Will turned his head towards the man standing behind June, "I want him."

"Hm? Johnny?"

"Yes."

/DreamNote/

As mentioned previously, the releases will be uneven for this fanfic, but this won't be dropped. Hope you guys understand

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

Report chapter Comments