HOLLYWOOD WHAT IF

[Pujimaki]

[I'm back and I want to say Happy New Year to everyone. Thanks for all the support. I was busy over Christmas and New Year, so I can't update... Definitely not because of my laziness].

[Anyway, shout out to Leonardo N, Toros S, zwarrior0596, Tibokas, Arka B and Phil!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 150


The Truman Show was released last month and its performance was strong. Especially since Jim Carrey was the protagonist.

After all, the 90s were Jim Carrey's era.

"Of course I understand where you're coming from. I saw Brianna Evans' audition and she is a talented actress. Still, we should give others a chance to get the role."

Brad Grey smiled.

The Truman Show was owned by none other than Paramount, and the profits from the film were promising. Though he could not deny that the film was largely carried by Jim Carrey. His box office appeal was amazing.

As of July 31, The Truman Show had grossed more than $122 million at the North American box office.

"Haha, people say you have a good eye for picking movies. Two of the projects you recommended are successful."

"You know, I'm just lucky."

"Maybe, but give us your opinion once in a while. Hell, we can send you the scripts just to get your opinion on whether it's a hit or a flop." Brad teased.

"..."

Kazir kept his calm expression.

:Lately, people are contacting me about so many projects. They want my opinion.'

Jack Black, Pedro Pascal and even Salvatore Barlowe were pestering him these days.

Kazir didn't tell them what to do and let them decide for themselves. He decided to let fate take its course.

'... Or maybe I'm just biased.'

He helped Reese Witherspoon because of their relationship.

He helped Brianna Evans because he was amazed by her talent. He felt it was a waste to let a talented woman rot in the theater acting.

As for Viggo Mortensen, he just gave him a push to accept the role that was meant for him. Kazir Grey liked the Lord of the Rings franchise and he recognized only one person as Aragorn and that was Viggo Mortensen.

As for the other actors, he knew that most of them would have a successful career and there was no point in helping them. They would become superstars sooner or later.

"That explains a lot, because you are also a good director. You can tell if the movie will be good or bad. Ah, now that I remember, can you read this for a few minutes?

Brad Grey pulled a script from under the table and handed it to Kazir.

"This is a movie we are going to release in 1999 or early 2000. It's already been approved by the higher-ups. It's our major project for next year. Gary Marshall is the director of the film. He is the one who introduced us to the project."

Kazir opened the script and narrowed his eyes when he read the title.

"Runaway Bride?"

"That's right."

Brad Grey nodded.

'Damn, they really mean it.'

Of course Kazir recognized the movie. And of course he knew who Gary Marshall was.

'Gary Marshall is the director of Pretty Woman, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.'

To make it more interesting, Runaway Bride also starred Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.

'This is the second time the three veteran performers have worked together, and the result is expected. Runaway Bride is one of the top 10 box office hits of 1999.'

The fact that CEO Brad Grey had Kazir read the script was truly amazing. He could not believe that he had reached the point where he could read heavily invested screenplays like Runaway Bride.

"Hm... it looks promising. If Brianna Evans can't pass the audition for Meet The Parents, how about you give her this role instead?"

Honestly, he wanted Reese Witherspoon to take the role, but she was too young for the part. She would definitely be rejected.

"Haha, Kazir, you are being greedy."

"I know."

There was no need to hide it.

"How about this, I will let Brianna Evans go straight into the final round of auditions."

"That's good."

Now that Kazir had given the script a good review, Brad Grey felt the movie had a good chance at the box office. He even wants Brianna Evans to star in it.

:If I'm not mistaken, the production cost of Runaway Bride was $70 million because of the salaries of Richard Gere and Julia Roberts.'

Both of them were superstars who had many fans all over the world. It was understandable that their salaries were huge.

Anyway, let's look at it from a different perspective. Brianna can keep up with her talent.

The last time he saw the woman, she was bubbly and lovable. Almost different from what he saw during the filming of Taken.

She can change into different roles. Like a chameleon.

"Now... Let's talk about the real purpose of this meeting."

The mood turned serious.

"Paramount doesn't have a schedule for September. John Wick will be released that month."

"I understand." Kazir nodded.

September was not a good schedule compared to summer season, Halloween and Christmas.

Still, Paramount was not stupid enough to put important resources into a movie that was not theirs. Especially when the profit they could get was only 25% of the box office.

"September is already good. I don't have a problem with it."

"That's good to hear. Don't worry, we'll do what's in the contract. We will invest $3 million in the first promotion. We will adjust the promotion budget based on the performance of John Wick."

They both knew that John Wick was different from Taken. Taken was a miracle that rode the trend and made buckets of money. But John Wick was a pure popcorn action movie.

'Hell, the movie was rated R, which was not good for business.' Even Brad Grey thinks that John Wick's performance was average at best. Maybe it would be a miracle if the movie made more than $200 million worldwide.

Unless something unexpected happens.

The two Greys shook hands after the meeting. They both used each other, and there was nothing wrong with that. It was a win-win situation anyway.

+++++

[Author's note: It's the first day of the month and I can say that it's the best time to subscribe to my Patreon if you're interested.]

https://www.patreon.com/Puji_maki

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 151


"Do I have a schedule for today?"

"After this, no sir."

Erica Mendez drove out of Paramount Headquarters. Just as they reached the highway, Erica and Kazir noticed that several cars were following them.

"Really... They didn't care at all."

He shook his head. He had expected this. From the moment he became a successful director, he knew something like this would happen. Being a superstar was not that easy.

'You have to maintain a certain image in front of the public. But celebrities are also people. They shit and fart.'

One wrong move and the paparazzi would take advantage of you. Bombing you with insults.

"Erica, your work is done for today."

"Thank you, sir."

Kazir reached the apartment and said goodbye to Erica. The paparazzi could not get into the building, so there was no reason to be afraid.

"I think I'll watch a movie."

Kazir prepared dinner for himself. Nothing fancy, just pancakes, eggs and buffalo wings.

Calix had a library of videotapes in his apartment. Some of them had been purchased recently, while the others were the fruit of his labors when he was still a small-time director.

He took a few steps until his feet stopped at a certain movie.

"All right, let's see Pulp Fiction."

Directed by none other than Quentin Tarantino.

"Actually... I want to watch Django Unchained but oh well." He might have to wait two decades for that.

Quentin Tarantino's movies usually have a strong depiction of violence. So his movies were not family friendly. Still, no one could deny that his movies were good. At least Kazir likes Quentin's filmography.

.........
......
...

"Kazir, look at this. These scripts look interesting. How about you read them?" The young looking agent gave him screenplays to read.

"Salvatore... Put the scripts away."

Kazir sighed when his agent kept asking him for his opinion.

"Besides, am I even allowed to read them?"

"It's from 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers. They want to hear your opinion, so they approve it."

"..."

Kazir decided to entertain Salvatore.

"Listen, I'm not a god. I don't know if a movie can be successful just by reading the script."

"Sure, I just want to hear your thoughts."

Kazir raised his eyebrows and read the script... He didn't expect to read a very famous movie.

'What the hell? Paramount let me read Runaway Bride, and now Warner Brothers is giving me the chance to read The Matrix!?'

He realized that just like Paramount, Warner Bros main investment for the next year would be this R-rated science fiction movie.

"Let me guess, you want Enzo Park to audition for the male lead?"

"Nah, I heard Keanu Reeves is interested in the movie. I just want Enzo to have a supporting role."

Kazir nodded. Asian aesthetics were not well accepted in Hollywood. Not even for the next 3 decades. Asian actors/actresses have so few roles to take.

"So? What do you think?"

"Hm, it's interesting. If they can pull it off, this movie could be good."

"Okay. Then what about the next one?"

Kazir looked at the second script. He almost jumped when he read the title.

"What the hell is wrong with 20th Century Fox? They are basically giving me a spoiler. I'm a Star Wars fan!"

He didn't even read the script and immediately put it on the table.

"Why don't you read it? Tom Rothman asked me personally for your opinion!"

"Fuck no! This is Star Wars! Of course it's going to be successful. There's no need to hear my opinion."

"But still..."

It seemed that LucasFilm wanted to start a Star Wars trilogy. However, they were not sure if this would be successful. So 20th Century Fox was interested in Kazir's opinion regarding the script.

The last Star Wars movie was released in 1983, even nostalgia had its limit. If the plot of the upcoming movie was not great, then the whole franchise might be affected.

"Salvatore, take these scripts away. If you're interested in this project, why don't you audition your other clients?"

"You mean Scarlett Johansson? That's what I'm thinking."

Their conversation turned to Star Wars. Kazir never read the script because he already has an idea of the plot.

'Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace (1999)'

Enough for Kazir to remember.

'Now I know why Liam Neeson was practicing swordplay when I called him.'

Liam had a big part in this movie.

"Damn, I feel like I'm their advisor."

He muttered after Salvatore left the office. He was clearly influencing Hollywood from now on. No one could deny it.

Post-production on John Wick had finished three days ago and Kazir Grey had so much free time. So he spent most of his time in the office, sometimes writing original scripts.

"It's August 17. We have three weeks to promote John Wick before it opens."

He might have to do another round of interviews and travel all over the country.

Then there was the project he wanted to start before November. He wanted to shoot The Bourne Identity in early 1999.

Another project was Taken 2. He already gave some hints to Fremont Smith. Maybe the young man already has an idea.

"Damn, I just realized this might be my only free time from now on. Haha, how fun!"

He grinned. Instead of feeling burdened. He was happy to see another day.

.........
......
...

Unfortunately... The next day, someone contacted him for the first time in so many years.

Someone he had already forgotten. He could not believe that he would meet her again.

"Mother..."

Kazir greeted the woman, who was in her early 50s. Even though she was over 50, she still looked young and beautiful. As if time had never cursed her.

"Hello, Kazir, my son."

The woman smiled and sat down. Their meeting place was the park. The one who chose this place was his mother, Eliza Cohen. This was her maiden name, for it seemed that Eliza had divorced her second husband a few years ago...

++++++

[Next chapter... I want to show how fragile human beings are. One sentence can easily break a person's heart].

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 152


"Did you miss me? My dear son?"

"..."

Kazir stared at the woman before him. The two of them were walking through the park. He felt something odd when his mother called him son instead of his name.

He felt that the woman hadn't aged at all. She still had that angelic smile. Her skin looked smooth with almost no wrinkles. Maybe her last husband was quite wealthy for her to maintain a beautiful lifestyle.

"Ms. Cohen, do you remember the last time we met?"

"Hm? Let me guess..." She touched her lips and thought.

"Ten years ago, I guess." She giggled.

"It's been sixteen years. The last time I met you was when I was 13."

"Aha, that means you'll be 24 this year!"

The woman smiled.

"I'm 29 years old."

"Fufu, of course I know. I'm just kidding."

She giggled. But Kazir could see that the woman was lying. He knew that Eliza Cohen had no idea about his age.

Kazir clenched his teeth. Honestly, he didn't know why he agreed to this meeting.

He was a director and he could tell if someone was acting or not. Eliza might be a good 'actress', but she couldn't escape Kazir's gaze.

"So, what is the reason you are here?"

"Oh, isn't it obvious? I want to see you. I miss my son!"

She approached him and hugged him, but Kazir didn't react. He was just unmoved.

Eliza noticed the awkwardness and stepped back.

"Son, you have grown up so well. I can't believe my son is handsome, tall and rich. A successful film director, fufu."

Again, she didn't speak his name.

"..."

He just stared at him. Kazir knew that this woman had a reason for wanting to see him.

Judging by her appearance, the least she needed was money. She looked like a rich madam who owned a business.

"Ms. Cohen--"

"Mom, call me Mom." She said with a smile.

"Ms. Cohen--"

"Mom."

"Ms. Cohen--"

"Call me Mom, son."

"... Mom."

As expected, the woman was unreasonable. Still, Kazir had no choice but to comply, for he wanted the conversation to continue.

"That's good. What is it, my son?"

"Why are you here? After so many years, this is the first time you have contacted me."

"Because you never answer my letter. Don't you feel sad? Your mother wrote so many letters for you, but you didn't answer any of them." She pouted.

'You only started sending letters when Taken became successful. You never contacted me before that. Besides, you didn't try to phone call me at all.'

"So what is the reason why you are here?"

"As always, you don't love me."

She touched her cheek.

"Mom, you're the one who doesn't love me."

"What do you mean? Of course I love you. I always love you." She tried to touch Kazir, but the man slapped her hand away.

"I guess you don't believe me."

She looked sad.

"When is my birthday? For God's sake, prove to me that you have an ounce of motherly love in your heart."

"Isn't it October-"

"Don't speak. I don't need to hear it anymore."

"Aha, it's December, right? Hehe, it's already 29 years, so I guess my memory is a bit confused."

Kazir didn't bother to answer.

'My birthday is September 9th, 1968. But I guess that's too much for you to remember.'

"This is the last time I will ask you. Why are you here?"

His eyes stared at her gravely. It was hard not to be angry in this situation.

"I guess I have no choice but to answer you this time."

Eliza turned to her side and looked at the teenage girl standing a few feet away from them.

"This is Mara Cohen Foster. She is your younger sister. She is 15 years old."

The teenage girl looked exactly like Eliza. They could be mistaken for sisters instead of mother and daughter.

"You want me to see your daughter with another man?"

"Of course not. I'm here to ask you to help your sister become an actress. She is not an amateur. She is a model and has been on a local TV show in Vermont."

"..."

This is a complete joke.

"Mara, say hello to your brother."

"H- Hello director, I mean brother Keith. I'm Mara, Mom's told me a lot about you."

"Like what?"

"That you're a smart guy. You won the spelling bee when you were 9 years old."

"That's Aaron, not me."

"Really? Wow, I thought it was you." Eliza was surprised. It seemed she had misremembered...

"Anyway, it's not important. I heard that you are going to make another movie next year. Why don't you let your sister be in it? I want a supporting role with at least five lines."

Kazir laughed. This whole charade was stupid. Very stupid.

'Why am I even here?'

At first he want to leave. But he knew how annoying his mother was. One of the reasons why their father was so broken that he lost himself in alcohol.

'No... I know the answer to why I'm here.'

Kazir hoped that his mother would change. That his mother would show a little bit of affection. To see even a sincere smile.

But what he saw was utter garbage of a woman.

Suddenly he felt his heart breaking. Even breathing was difficult.

His face contorted as he looked at them.

"Son, are you all right?"

Eliza approached him, but Kazir stared at her with a cold look.

"Don't fucking touch me. You despicable bitch."

"W-what?"

Eliza and Mara were both stunned. They had heard that Kazir Grey was a gentleman and a good person. But the man in front of them was the complete opposite of a good person.

Kazir's look could kill a person.

"Mrs. Cohen, no, Mom, tell me. Why did you name me Kazir?"

He searched for the meaning of his name and it means "another name for God/abundance".

This was the last time Kazir wanted to hear Eliza's answer.

Suddenly, the woman turned serious. She recalled the suffering she faced back when she was pregnant. The lonely times. Her love slowly turned into hatred. She remembered why she named his second son Kazir.

"Because I hate God."

Finally, Kazir saw honesty in his mother's eyes. He laughed and turned around.

He was tired. He didn't want to talk to his mother ever again. He walked away with a great disappointment in his heart.

+++++

[I'll be honest, I didn't know the meaning of Kazir/Kasir until last week (now a few months). I just made the name up without much thought. I was actually shocked when I realized its meaning, so I decided to add it to the plot since the meaning is quite heavy.]

[If you read my other novels, you can see that most of the MCs have the letter K in their names. Mikael, Keenan, Keith, Kazir, and Calix(sounds K)]

[I know I'm adding too much drama, but let me cook, guys. I need something to cause a breakup between Reese and Kazir. The way for the MC to have a relationship with other girls].

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to AR3S and Kinggn!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 153


"Woohoo! Let's party!"

"Haha!"

"Yeah!"

The night came and the bars opened for business. The city of Los Angeles had its nightly fun almost every night.

Men and women went into the bars and had fun. Drinking alcohol, taking drugs, and maybe having sex. Having the best day of their lives.

Just like that, Cameron Diaz was having fun with her friends. The bar they usually went to was a high end and the price of a shot of alcohol was outrageous. But for an actress/model who earns millions from her movies and sponsors, such an amount was nothing to Cameron Diaz.

She danced to the party music and let the alcohol flow through her veins.

"Hey, gurl~~ Check out that guy over there~ Isn't he hot? Like, oh my gawd." The valley girl accent was something else.

As they danced, one of Cameron's friends pointed to a lonely man sitting in the corner.

The man was tall, over six feet, with broad shoulders. The muscles under his long sleeves were obvious, even though the lighting in the bar was dim.

He was drinking a bottle of vodka, and it appeared that he was far from sober.

Even Cameron Diaz took an interest. She was in a foul mood these days.

She grinned and approached the man. But as she got closer, she realized that she recognized the man.

"Kazir?"

Cameron was surprised. Kazir Grey was known to never set foot in a bar like this. He was not the party type.

Besides, the man in front of her seemed to be drowning in alcohol. The smell of alcohol on Kazir was quite strong.

Frankly, she never expected to meet Kazir in this place. Cameron thought about seducing Kazir, but the chances of that happening were slim. After all, Kazir Grey spent most of his time in his office.

So it was a miracle to see her target tonight in this very bar. Of course, Cameron was not foolish to pass up the opportunity.

She approached Kazir with sexiness, she was a model and she knew how to swing her waist when she walked.

"Kazir? Kazir, is that you?"

She said in a shocking manner.

"Huh... Huh?"

Kazir was a little slow to react. He looked at Cameron Diaz, but his brain processor was sluggish.

After meeting his mother, Kazir was too mad to think. He saw a bar and decided to go in. He didn't care what kind of bar it was, he just wanted to forget everything and get drunk as hell.

At that moment he felt that alcohol was the only thing that could help him.

"It's me, Cameron Diaz."

"Eh...?"

Kazir tilted his head. His eyes staring at her yet not.

"Cameron Diaz."

"Hm." The man nodded...

Cameron giggled. She found his reaction funny. She realized that a drunk Kazir was a cute Kazir.

"... Oh, you're Cameron Diaz." Took him a few seconds to realize.

"That's right! I'm glad you remembered my name." She smiled and sat down beside him.

"How could I forget? You're a beautiful woman." He muttered, quite drunk.

"Thank you."

"I mean it. I'm not kidding... Cameron Diaz, you are sexy and beautiful. Don't demean yourself. I think you should take care of yourself and keep being healthy, stay away from harm..."

"..."

Cameron Diaz was speechless. The man was quite honest. No, he was adorable.

Her opinion of Kazir was that he was a big director who loved to work. A workaholic who didn't care about the looks of women.

She saw him at some formal parties and she witnessed how many times actresses tried to flirt with him, but Kazir was an immovable object. He didn't respond to any of their advances and maintained a gentlemanly demeanor... Perhaps Cameron was attracted to this type of man.

'I thought he was gay because I never saw him flirt with a woman... Except for that bitch.'

Cameron Diaz held a grudge against Reese Witherspoon for stealing her role. They never had a real meeting in person, but her opinion of Reese Witherspoon would never change.

'Oh well...'

She looked at Kazir. The man drank another swig of vodka like it was nothing.

"Bartender! Give me another one!" He yelled.

"Kazir, how many bottles have you had?" Cameron narrowed her eyes.

"Huh...? Wait... Let me count..." With his fingers, Kazir began to count. "4... 5... 6... I think 7 bottles of vodka."

"7 bottles? How is that possible?"

She was stunned. Was it even possible for one person to consume 7 bottles of vodka in one night? Was the alcohol content not that high?

"Sir, I think my friend is already drunk. Please don't give him any more."

She stopped the bartender and he nodded. He, too, was afraid to give Kazir another bottle. The prices of alcohol in their bar were expensive and he was happy at first because Kazir spent so much money in one night. But the bartender got scared because Kazir wouldn't stop drinking.

"Kazir, you have to stop. Get up, I'll take you to your apartment."

'I want to seduce him, but I think I have to do it next time... I can't take advantage of a drunk man. He can't even talk straight.'

Maybe she wanted to make a real move, not something like this.

"Ugh... Okay."

Kazir stood up and tried to walk, but he wobbled.

"Here, let me help you."

Cameron helped him.

"Thanks."

She led him out of the bar.

"I think... I think I'm going to throw up."

Hearing his words, Cameron led him to the alley. They found a dumpster and Kazir began to vomit.

A few minutes later, Kazir was slightly sober after throwing up most of what he had consumed.

"Thanks, Cameron..."

"Call me Cam. I already called a cab for you."

"Hm..."

Cameron sighed when she saw that Kazir was all right now.

The taxi arrived and Kazir got into the car.

Cameron thought everything was over. She could go back to the bar.

"Um... Take me to Paramount Headquarters."

"Huh?"

That was when Cameron Diaz realized that Kazir was not sober at all! He was still not thinking clearly.

She bit her lip and got into the cab, too.

"Take us to Mulholland Drive."

Luckily, Cameron Diaz knew Kazir's address... She had done some research on him.

The cab driver nodded.

"Ma'am, just to be sure. There's an extra charge if your friend vomits in my car, and it's not a small charge."

"All right, I'll take care of it."

Cameron Diaz was here to have fun, but it seemed she had to take care of a drunk man.

++++

[So let's get a few things straight. So far this novel is not a harem, which I like. Kazir has just met some actresses along the way, but there's no two-timing, three-timing, or whatever].

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 154


The two of them were in the cab, and it was a little awkward. Especially for Cameron Diaz.

She was very aware of Kazir. She could feel his breath and warmth since they were sitting next to each other.

"Thank you."

"I- It's okay."

Their conversation ended just like that. Kazir was too drunk, while Cameron Diaz didn't know what to say.

It was ironic that she wanted to seduce Kazir, but now she had cold feet.

"I thought you hated me. Do you even find me attractive?"

Cameron blurted out and it was too late to catch it. She looked at Kazir and the man just stared ahead. He seemed serious.

'Maybe he didn't hear what I said.'

She didn't know what to expect.

"No. I don't hate you."

"!!!"

She was shocked and looked at Kazir, only to find that Kazir was still looking ahead. As if he was looking far away, remembering something.

"What about me? Do you hate me?" Kazir returned the question.

"Honestly, I don't know. I heard that you're the one who introduced Reese to the role. I hate you for that, but still..."

"That's okay. You are free to hate me."

"Huh? I don't hate you, I mean, I don't hate you that much. It's just that I like this role and I was hoping to get it, but Reese took it from me."

"I see..."

Their conversation ended again. It took another five minutes before Cameron Diaz got up the nerve to ask Kazir.

It seemed that a drunk Kazir was an honest Kazir. Perhaps this was a unique opportunity to ask him about so many things.

"I thought you hated women?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"I've never seen you get close to any woman except Reese... Oh, you're a divorced man, I'm sorry."

Kazir massaged his forehead and leaned against the backseat.

"I don't hate women. In fact, I like attractive women... But I'm afraid of them. I feel like I'll get hurt again if I get close to a woman."

"..."

That explains why. After the scandal, Kazir had a hard time trusting women. Cameron Diaz realized that this man was actually fragile.

She thought Kazir Grey was a perfect guy who could make masterpieces without any problem. A talented director who made over 1 billion dollars with his movies.

"My ex-wife, my mother..."

After that, Cameron Diaz decided to be quiet and gave Kazir peace. She could not speak when the man next to her was crying.

They reached the building. Kazir could not walk straight, so Cameron helped him.

They got into the apartment after so much trouble. It was the first time she had been in his apartment and it was minimalist as hell.

There was almost nothing. The only thing that caught her attention was the TV and VHS in the living room. The place looked lively... Not.

Kazir lay down on the bed, but he was still awake.

"Are you going to leave now?" He asked.

"Yes," Cameron replied. She started to close the door.

"Don't go."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

She turned around to see Kazir undressing.

"Wh-what-!" She thought she had seen everything already, but one look at Kazir's body stunned her.

Kazir got up and approached her. She gasped, Kazir's presence was so strong. She realized something very important. This man is the definition of a hunk. His body was very attractive that her heart started beating faster just by taking a glance.

"Don't go. You asked me earlier if I find you attractive, the answer is yes."

"Y- Yes." She replied with a squeal. She nodded her head, quite tranced.

The door closed, but Cameron Diaz never left. One thing was for sure, she never regretted her decision. Because this was the best night of her life.

.........
......
...

"Haaaa~~ This night is very boring."

Dee Zaster yawned after a day of trying to get a scoop. Dee was a paparazzi currently stalking Kazir Grey. He had been following the director for almost a week and he could say one thing - Kazir Grey is dedicated motherfucker.

"He always stays in his office."

Today he tried to follow him, but he lost Kazir after he took a shit. So his work today was fruitless.

He decided to wait in his apartment building, hoping that Kazir Grey would be sleeping in his apartment. Actually, he was hoping for something big to happen. Because he needed something to sell to the news publisher.

He sipped his coffee in the middle of the cold night.

Suddenly, Dee Zaster saw a taxi pull up in front of the building. He narrowed his eyes and realized that it was actually Cameron Diaz!

"Nice! I can sell this!"

Cameron Diaz was also a famous actress and Dee Zaster could stalk her to get an interesting scoop.

He put down his coffee and grabbed his camera. The distance was pretty far and the pictures might be blurry. But that didn't stop him.

'I hope her face is recognizable... Huh?'

Another thing shocked him. Dee Zaster was stunned when he saw Cameron Diaz and Kazir Grey enter the building. The two looked intimate!

Dee Zaster snapped a bunch of pictures, hoping to get some good shots.

"This is lit!!"

He suddenly realized that he might get a better scoop if he stayed up all night.

"I'm going to stay here and wait for Cameron Diaz to leave! I'm not going to blink!"

Unfortunately for him, Cameron Diaz left around 11:30 the next morning. She looked refreshed and radiant.

With no sleep, Dee Zaster took another bunch of photos! He sacrificed his sleep just for this moment! This is big news!

"Hahaha, I can get at least 10,000 dollars with this!"

He grinned from ear to ear. Although he didn't look good because of the dark circles around his eyes.

"Kazir Grey, you bastard! After stalking you for a week, I finally get my revenge!"

The stalker's audacity was laughable.

++++

[I almost failed to update today because of my sickness called laziness. Do you guys know any cure for this? Been troubling me for quite some time now.]

 

[Pujimaki]

[Announcement: Apparently, someone made a Chinese translation of this story and posted it on Qi(dian), a very popular site in China. The title is "Return to Hollywood". Yes, the title has changed as well.

So I want to clarify a few things. The author of this novel is me, Pujimaki, a Filipino born on January 6, 2000. Yes, today is my birthday and this news is a surprising thing, I won't lie...

Anyway, I only publish my novels on Webnovel, ScribbleHub, RoyalRoad and Questionable Questing, where you can read them for free. So if you're reading this on another site, it means this novel is being pirated.]

Hollywood What If Chapter 155


The car accelerated and Cameron Diaz blushed as she looked at herself in the rearview mirror. It seemed she didn't need to put on any blush because her cheeks were already red.

She grinned and couldn't help but remember what had happened last night. Kazir may have been drunk, but the way he caressed her was satisfying and breathtaking.

Honestly, she slept peacefully after that. It was late when she woke up. The thing was that Kazir had already prepared breakfast for her.

If there was one disappointing thing, it was that Kazir had told her that he was not ready for a serious relationship. Well, there was nothing to be done... But she would definitely visit him from time to time.

She wanted to stay, but she had a movie shoot today. The filming of Charlie's Angels started two weeks ago and she had three scenes today.

Cameron Diaz smiled as she looked at the apartment building for the last time. She hadn't expected this meeting, but she didn't regret it.

.........
......
...

"Charlie's Angels..."

Kazir Grey lifted his cup and sipped at his home-brewed coffee. He remembered what had happened a few years ago.

'I tried to buy the copyrights, but Colombia Pictures wouldn't agree.'

Sony-Columbia was struggling to maintain its status among the Big Six. They need a strong franchise to keep the company going.

Charlie's Angels was a TV show that Sony-Columbia owned and it was a big hit in the '70s. It would be crazy to sell the copyrights. And even if Sony-Columbia wanted to sell the copyrights of Charlie's Angels, Grey Pictures didn't have enough money at the time.

The sure way to profit from movies was to make adaptations. Novels, comics, TV series and so on. The fans on these platforms were already formed, so there was no problem getting the audience. These fans were willing to buy tickets just to see their favorite novels or comics made into movies.

Charlie's Angels had this factor. So Grey Pictures did not get the copyrights.

Well, not everything would go according to his plan. He was only a director. A person.

What happened yesterday was also terrible, he was just a person who was affected by his mother's hurtful words. If there was one thing he liked, it was having fun with Cameron Diaz.

'I didn't mean it, but I guess I'm still a guy.'

In fact, Kazir Grey is just a simple man. He feels pain, happiness, sadness, and joy.

"The world does not revolve around me..."

He sighed. As a man, he knew that he would make so many mistakes, no matter how much he tried to avoid them, such was the life of a man.

All he could do was face the obstacles and overcome them. If that wasn't enough, he had to destroy them so that they wouldn't come back.

'I wonder if I have the strength to do that.'

He got up and went to the shower. His legs were quite shaky after a long session last night.

'Good thing I never skipped leg days.'

He would be lying if he said he was not depressed. He was damn depressed. His mother basically told him that she hated Kazir's existence because of the name she gave him.

He didn't know what happened to his mother, but she was certainly not a good person. He's not going to sympathize with her, not after what she did to their family.

'And yet she has the audacity to talk to me about helping her daughter, wow.'

The water poured over his body, cooling his mind.

That day was like any other, he was attending a meeting about the promotion of John Wick at Paramount headquarters.

The meeting was going well when Kazir Grey and Brad Grey received a text message at the same time.

"Open the TV!"

Brad Grey announced.

On the screen was a reporter talking about the latest happenings in Hollywood.

The two Greys listened as the reporter gossiped about the relationship between Kazir Grey and Cameron Diaz.

The pictures were on the screen. Although the resolution was not good, every person could recognized the people in the pictures.

"Kazir... Are you dating Cameron?"

Brad Grey asked. This situation could be good or bad. He thought that Kazir Grey and Reese Witherspoon were in a relationship.

If this situation turned bad, it might affect the performance of John Wick, which would be released in a week.

"We are not dating. Something happened last night and things went that way."

"Care to explain?"

"Sorry, it's a private thing."

Brad Grey narrowed his eyes.

"Then you expect Paramount to invest in your movie now? What if this scandal becomes big? It will affect John Wick!"

Paramount would never invest in a movie that would make them a negative profit.

"I know... I have an idea."

Kazir didn't like this kind of hype, but it seemed he had no choice.

'Now I'm starting to realize that I'm not that strong. One mistake could cost me my career.'

"I will contact Cameron. Maybe we can use this situation to our advantage.

"All right."

Brad Grey nodded.

"What about Reese Witherspoon? She's not going to give us any trouble, is she?"

"We made our relationship clear from the beginning. We're just friends, I don't think she'll be affected."

Kazir got up and opened his phone. It was a good thing that he had exchanged contact with Cameron Diaz. At least he could call her now.

-- Hello? Kazir, thank God. I heard what happened. Will this affect your movie?

"Cameron, can you do me a favor and meet me at Paramount headquarters? Please bring your agent, I want to talk business."

He hated the idea of using love for promotion, but that didn't mean he wouldn't use it.

'Hehe, I'm a fucking hypocrite.'

Well, he is just a human being. No one is perfect in the first place.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 156


"So it's only 6 months? How about we make it official, no expiration date?"

Cameron Diaz crossed her legs and looked at Kazir Grey and his agent. Giving her best smile.

Even Salvatore Barlowe was wiping his sweat. He had just learned that Kazir was involved in a scandal. His last scandal almost gave him a heart attack. He didn't want to experience that again. Thankfully, this kind of scandal was quite tame but it could still affect the release of John Wick.

"Miss Cameron, I think keeping it within 6 months is the best choice."

Salvatore looked at Kazir Grey who was standing next to him. Kazir nodded and agreed.

"Aww, what a waste."

Inside the Paramount headquarters, the two sides decided to sign a contract. Kazir Grey and Cameron Diaz didn't have a problem with forming a relationship, but they both have their own opinions.

Kazir Grey has to make sure that John Wick does not suffer from this scandal. So instead of denying the relationship and causing trouble, he might as well join the hype.

As for Cameron Diaz, she wanted a longer duration because her two movies were already released this year. Her next project would be released in November next year. The 6 months contract would be useless for Cameron Diaz and she could not use it as a means of promotion. So she was hoping for at least a year or more.

However, Kazir's side was adamant to keep it within 6 months. He could extend the contract but that would be another story.

[Not connected to the story. Anyway, I only post my novels on Webnovel, ScribbleHub, RoyalRoad and Questionable Questing, where you can read them for free. So if you're reading this on another site, it means this novel is being pirated.]

"If I don't make money on this contract, I have no reason to sign it."

Cameron Diaz had a high opinion of Kazir Grey. And frankly, she wanted to have a relationship with him. But it was clear that Kazir didn't want a serious relationship.

"..."

Kazir was silent for a few seconds.

"So you expect me to accept this contract without getting anything in return? Extend the relationship for a year and I will agree."

Cameron Diaz smiled sweetly. In a way, what happened was not her problem. She didn't have a movie at the moment, so the scandal wouldn't jeopardize her. But for Kazir it was different. John Wick was scheduled to be released next week. The ticket sales of the first week were important to determine the strength of John Wick at the box office.

Well, Cameron Diaz liked Kazir, so she was going to sign the contract, but it was going to be a one-year contract.

"What do you think, Kazir? I'm fine with a year, we can live in a single house if you want."

Kazir Grey thought seriously.

'I guess I don't have a choice but to use this method.'

He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"A role. I can give you a role in my movie."

"Hm? And what kind of role? For the record, I won't accept a small role. It should be an important role."

"I have the script here."

Kazir Grey handed her a hardcopy of the script.

"The Bourne Identity? I think I heard that title somewhere. Is it a novel?"

Cameron asked him.

"That's right. I bought the movie adaptation of The Bourne Identity."

"But I thought you preferred to film original screenplays."

"I never said that."

He could not recall an interview where he said that. Perhaps people just thought of it naturally.

"Well, all your movies are based on original screenplays. So I thought you didn't like adaptations."

She began to skim the script. Her agent looked at the script and was skeptical.

'It's based on a novel, so it has a good chance of being a box office hit.'

"What's my role?"

"You will be Marie Kreutz."

"Hm, I see I have many scenes and lines. I'm interested."

Cameron Diaz didn't have any movies coming out before November 1999. She knew that Kazir Grey had a fast shooting schedule. It wouldn't be a problem if she took two to three months to join the shoot of The Bourne Identity.

Charlie's Angels would be released in 2000 and it was not urgent. So far, she was just training for the role.

Anyway, Cameron was sold on the idea of working with a successful director like Kazir Grey.

'Fufu, I can use this opportunity to seduce Kazir. How fun.'

She looked at Kazir. In fact, this man might be the best she ever met.

Cameron Diaz looked at her agent and nodded. Her agent didn't have a problem. Director Grey had the best filmography of the last three years. The agent liked that Cameron Diaz had an interaction with him.

"Okay, I agree. As for the salary, let our agents negotiate that."

"I understand."

The two shook hands and signed a 6-month relationship contract. Of course, they listed their conditions, likes, and dislikes.

This kind of promotion was never old.

This was still a speculation but rumors said that Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson became a couple to promote Twilight. This was also the same with Tom Holland and Zendaya to promote Spider-Man. Even Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield for the same reason. Of course, this was nothing but rumors and no one could prove it.

Sometimes relationship gossip was the best way to get media attention.

Since Kazir and Cameron agreed to work together, Paramount found the best way to promote John Wick.

A Viacom-owned newspaper announced that Cameron Diaz and Kazir Grey were actually dating! The other media followed and reported the news, especially CBS, which was owned by Viacom.

"Director Grey! Director Grey! Can you please tell us about your relationship with Cameron Diaz?"

A Viacom reporter blocked Kazir's path. A camera followed Kazir as he walked out the exit. Note that this was staged.

"If you're talking about my relationship with Cam, that's right, we're dating. But we don't like to show it to the public."

"When did you start dating?"

"That's private information."

Kazir reached the exit.

"Director Grey! Director Grey, one more question, please."

"I'm sorry, I don't have time for this."

A car pulled up in front of Kazir. He opened the door and got in.

"Hi, honey~"

"Hm." Kazir nodded.

The reporter was stunned when he saw Cameron Diaz in the driver's seat!

Kazir and Cameron kissed before they left the scene.

It was all recorded! That night, Kazir Grey and Cameron Diaz were all over the news.

Of course, John Wick was also being promoted. When people heard about Kazir Grey or Cameron Diaz, they always heard about the movie John Wick.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 157


The promotion for John Wick continued until premiere night.

"She's still not answering."

Kazir muttered. He tried calling Reese, but no one answered.

'Reese is out of town shooting Napoleon Dynamite III. She also signed an endorsement for a shampoo product. She is really busy. Still...'

Kazir tried to explain to Reese, but the woman remained silent. Even the reporters could not get any information from her.

Kazir sighed and hung up the phone. He had to meet Cameron Diaz for the premiere tonight. He was already in his tuxedo, ready for the big day.

A few minutes later, they arrived at Cameron's house. The woman came out of the house and got into the limousine.

"Good evening Cam, you look beautiful as always."

Kazir greeted her. After signing the contract, the two became much closer. Although they both understood that this was just business. Maybe they enjoyed their show. For they were truly intimate.

"Aww, I miss you baby~"

Cameron leaned in and kissed him. They shared a passionate kiss that lasted for dozens of seconds.

As for Erica, who was holding the steering wheel, her expression was stoic. She saw nothing as she drove the limousine out of Beverly Hills.

"It's amazing that your assistant can drive a limo."

Cameron was quite impressed. Looking at the assistant who looked rough.

"Erica can even fly a helicopter." Kazir shrugged.

"Really. You're not kidding, are you?"

"Don't worry Miss Cameron, I can even fly a jet."

Erica replied. She was proud of her achievement in the military.

"Wow! Erica, just call me Cam. I insist."

"Yes, Cam."

Cameron Diaz smiled and rested her head on Kazir's shoulder, cuddling.

"So when are we going to live together?"

"Hm, not in the contract."

"Geez, you bad guy."

She pinched his shoulder and Kazir chuckled. Cameron had actually tried to put in the contract that they were going to live together, but Kazir had denied it.

Actors are professional liars. It was amazing that Kazir could keep up with Cameron's acting.

"Anyway, when are you going to buy a house in Beverly Hills? You are richer than me, I think you can afford a nice house."

"Most of the money will be invested in our next projects. I don't know if I'm going to buy a house this year." He replied.

"Pfft-- Do you expect me to believe that? Kazir, your annual salary as a director is at least five times higher than mine. Your bank account is definitely full."

Kazir just smiled and didn't answer. It was private information and he kept his mouth shut.

Kazir Grey wanted to buy a house when the market bottomed out. The right time to buy a house would be around the year 2000. That was the year the dot-com bubble burst and many industries were affected. One of them was real estate.

The house could wait, especially if he lived in his office anyway. It was already a fact that his office was his home. Even the employees of Grey Pictures felt uncomfortable because their boss literally lived in the company 24/7.

The month of September was a dismal time for Hollywood. The Big Six usually released their weak movies during this month. So John Wick didn't have any strong competition, except for one.

'I heard that Rush Hour is coming out next week.'

Starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, a movie distributed by New Line Cinema. Rush Hour was the September 1998 winner.

Even Kazir was not confident that he could compete with Rush Hour. Because to be honest, his movie didn't have any selling point except for the action stunts... But the thing was, Rush Hour had great action stunts, too. Jackie Chan was known to do his own stunts.

Even John Wick's connection to Taken was not heavily emphasized. Maybe the only selling point was Kazir.

So his relationship with Cameron Diaz was the main method of promotion. Paramount didn't care much about the movie, and the resources they gave it weren't great either. They only care about director Kazir Grey, not John Wick.

Viggo Mortensen and the cast showed up one by one. Reporters were obviously taking pictures of them. The cast did their best to act normal and pose in front of the flashing cameras.

The interviews would happen and the important cast would be asked some questions related to the movie.

Usually the interviewer would ask "How is it working with director Grey?", "What do you think about the movie?" and "What is your role in the movie?

Nothing fancy or controversial. After all, this premiere was overrun with Viacom reporters. Unless Viacom was interested in making things spicy.

Just like that, Kazir Grey and Cameron Diaz arrived on the red carpet. They smiled and stood close to each other as if they were deeply in love.

"Director Grey! Please look into the camera!"

"Miss Cameron, please hug Director Grey!"

The reporters demanded a series of poses. Cameron was in a good mood, so she did her best.

"We meet again, Director Grey!"

"Yes, I remember you. You're Abella Boham. You're the one I interviewed last time."

"Indeed." The woman nodded happily. She was the reporter who interviewed Kazir when Taken came out. Of course, she worked for CBS.

"Director Grey, how does it feel to be the best up and coming director of this era?"

"Um, I feel good. Although I don't think I'm the best. I think Quentin Tarantino and my friend David Fincher are the best emerging directors of the 90's." Kazir was not lying at all.

"I see you have Miss Cameron Diaz with you. Would you like to explain your relationship with her?"

This time it was Cameron who answered.

"Hi, I'm Cameron Diaz. I'm his girlfriend." She said, hugging his arm.

"Looks like you two are doing well. You guys are so cute. Anyway, what about your relationship with Reese Witherspoon?"

Kazir looked at the reporter. Keeping his smile amiable.

'I fucking knew it.'

Maybe Paramount was trying to spice up the evening. Or maybe the reporter was asking the question on her own volition.

Either way, Kazir was thrust into the spotlight. Life was like a novel indeed.

'Novel huh... Well, if my life is a novel, I'm sure many readers will drop my story because of what I did to Reese. But that's not the case at all.'

"Reese and I have a good relationship."

He smiled for the last time before entering the theater. He didn't let the reporter ask him another question that could cause trouble.

The answer was not satisfactory, but who cared, Kazir Grey would be busy this month. He didn't have time to think about useless things.

"By the way, Kazir, happy birthday."

"Thanks, but my birthday was yesterday."

"Hm, I want to be the last one to greet you. Make sure I'm your last."

Holding Cameron's hand, Kazir was as composed as ever.

 

[Pujimaki]

[Note: The movie summary was short because not much really changed in the plot of John Wick, it's basically the same. Just watch John Wick if you're interested in the movie].

Hollywood What If Chapter 158


"Wallace! Hurry up! Take your damn popcorn and sit down! Seriously, why are you even buying popcorn in the Cinema, popcorn in this place sells like 3 dollars!"

"Calm down, okay."

Billy and Wallace went to the bathroom because it would be terrible if they left right at the climax of the movie. The two understood that this was an action movie and it would definitely be an adrenaline-pumping experience. They didn't want to miss a thing.

Billy and Wallace saw Napoleon Dynamite four years ago and thought it was funny. Since then, they have become fans of director Kazir Grey. They saw The Hangover, which was funnier than Napoleon Dynamite. Then they saw Taken, which was a movie for guys like them.

They had already graduated from college and were working on their respective careers. Watching movies was the only time they could hang out now that they were busy adults.

Whenever Kazir Grey produced a movie, they would watch it. It became a tradition for both of them. It was a good thing that Kazir Grey had a movie every year.

The opening night for John Wick was not as crowded as they expected. Maybe the September schedule and the R rating were some of the factors why the reception was mediocre. Still, that didn't stop some avid fans from going to see the movie.

The movie started. Wallace and Billy watched the screen as they munched on popcorn that Wallace bought. The logos of Grey Pictures and Paramount Pictures appeared one after the other.

[The first five minutes of the movie was about John Wick (Viggo Mortensen) and how he lost his wife. His friends came to the funeral. John Wick was sad about the death of his wife, but a dog gave him hope to live. The dog was his wife's last gift to him].

The audience didn't have a strong attachment to John Wick's wife, and they believe it was just a plot device.

However, they find the dog adorable.

"The dog is very cute!"

At least one person in every theater would say it while watching the cute dog get close to John Wick.

As for Billy and Wallace, their focus was on something else. They were watching Taken and remembering something important.

"Hey, that Raizo... He showed up in Taken, right?"

"Yeah, I think so."

[Raizo (Enzo Park) appeared at the funeral and spoke to John Wick for a few seconds before disappearing back into the darkness. His conversation with John Wick was brief and a little confusing. To begin with, the audience had no information about the protagonist, John Wick.]

[Marcus also attended the funeral and offered his condolences to John Wick].

[After that, the story slowly progressed, but the audience was still clueless about John Wick's identity].

"Where's the action?" In the first place, the reason why they wanted to watch this movie was because of action sequences.

"Shhh, the movie's just starting. We are not even 10 minutes into the movie."

[The action scenes they were talking about were about to happen. John Wick and his dog went to a gas station. There they met Viggo Tarasov's asshole son, Iosef Tarasov].

[When John Wick refused to sell his car, a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1, and responded in Russian, Iosef decided to break into his house, attack John Wick, and steal his car.]

[Iosef was the son of a Russian Mafia boss, so he thought he owned the world].

[Iosef succeeded and stole the car. He and his friends beat up John Wick and killed his dog. That was the last thing they should have done.]

The audience felt sad when they realized the dog had died.

[After this incident, the audience began to understand that John Wick was not so simple! He was the Baba Yaga! The one sent to kill the Boogeyman].

"So John Wick is actually a professional killer!" Wallace who was stuffing popcorn in his mouth realized that fact. He was still unsure how this movie would unfold.

[Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat. A tattoo on John Wick's back. In Latin, it means "Fortune favors the bold."]

[With his black tuxedo, John Wick entered the world of assassins once again to seek revenge.]

[He returned to the Continental Hotel. Met Winston. Talked to Viggo Tarasov on the phone and began his vendetta of killing people].

Although the movie was still in progress, Billy and Wallace saw another cameo by Kazir Grey.

This time, Kazir Grey was talking to a black man with an afro. The two were at the Continental Hotel. A small cameo but cameo nonetheless.

"Kazir showed up again!"

The sound of their conversation was faint and the audience could not hear them. It looked like they were talking about some serious stuff because their expressions were quite serious. It was as if Kazir was giving Fremont a chance to prove himself.

[At the Continental Hotel, they used gold coins as currency. Just like what Bryan Mills did to get information from Raizo].

[Just like what the audience expected, the movie was full of action, fights, and gun battles].

"Cool! This is so freaking cool!"

[But unlike the over-the-top action movies that use heavy and big guns and simple action stunts, the action sequences in John Wick were realistic and blood boiling, as if the audience was watching a real battle. The technicalities, the professionalism of being assassins.]

"That's what I like! Action movies these days don't even have a magazine reload scene! No gun has endless bullets! Of course you have to reload!"

Wallace roared, stuffing a handful of popcorn into his mouth for the nth time.

[John Wick was taking on a Mafia organization and he was at a disadvantage. He was thrown from the second floor of the bar, shot in the abdomen, and nearly suffocated after being caught.]

[Fortunately, Marcus saved him with his sniper rifle. Marcus was a true friend. He wouldn't betray John Wick for two million dollars in exchange.]

[After receiving help from Marcus, John Wick killed his way until he found Iosef Tarasov and got his revenge. After that, John Wick found another dog and decided to adopt him.]

[The End...]

"Woohoo!"

"Nice!"

Even though the plot of the movie was generic and the audience already had an idea of how the movie would end, they were still entertained.

The audience started standing to leave the theater.

A few seconds after the credits rolled, the screen lit up again for the post-credits scene.

The standing audience stopped at their feet and watched the final scene.

[At the prominent Continental Hotel, Marcus and John decided to have a conversation. This time Marcus met John Wick and talked about the High Table. Apparently, the Fraternity was getting out of hand and Marcus felt like a massive change would happen.]

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[So yes, here I am shamelessly promoting my Patreon for the nth time.]

[But before that, I want to thank all the readers who read this novel on ScribbleHub, RoyalRoad, Webnovel, and Questionable Questing and gave me valid opinions and criticisms. I want to say that I read all your comments and take your opinions very seriously, except when it comes to correcting my typos and grammar mistakes...]

[Unfortunately, there are times when I can't fulfill your wishes because I just can't. A lot of people are against harems, but they also want Kazir to have relationships with other women, one at a time. A lot of people also want Kazir to have a relationship with Reese, but a lot of people didn't like that either. I can't satisfy all of you. Just like I said in the first chapter, this novel started as an experiment until it became my main focus of writing, which was obvious because of the many patrons who subscribed to my Patreon].

[I also want to thank my patrons for their constant financial support. I've repeated over and over how much I want to thank them, because that's how much they help me. Basically, they gave me the motivation to keep writing. Writing is fun, but knowing that you can pursue it as a real career is very hard to do without people really supporting you.]

[If you subscribe to my Patreon, you can read up to 132 advanced chapters of HWI. That's my heartfelt appreciation to anyone who wants to support me financially.]

[I apologize if this promotion has upset you. You know, I just have to work hard and hustle to provide for my family.]

https://www.patreon.com/Puji_maki

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to Alexander, George H, Adam C, Mark S, Ashywar B, SAINT, zwarrior0596, and Oliver HS!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 159


After seeing John Wick, audiences who saw Taken last year realized that the two movies were connected.

The appearance of Raizo.

The gold coins as currency.

And the High Table.

These three appeared in both movies, and the audience felt that director Grey was cooking up something big. Some of them were excited, while others felt that this plan might fail before it happened.

They were talking about movies that costs millions to make. It was not that easy to complete something like Cinematic Universe without failing at least one.

After all, most of the audience believed in stand-alone movies with no connection to other movies. This broad concept was difficult to realize because the movie companies preferred safe movies with an obvious profit. What Kazir Grey and Grey Pictures did was a gamble.

No one knew if this so-called Continental Cinematic Universe would be successful. Even the Big Six were afraid to venture into this uncharted territory.

Some tried, but only the MCU and DCEU came out on top. The next three decades would be all about superhero movies.

One thing was for sure, audiences were eager to see director Grey's next film. Maybe it would be related to Taken and John Wick.

The midnight results were within the expectations of Grey Pictures and Paramount. They did their best and promoted the movie in various ways. Heck, Kazir Grey even used his love relationship to promote the movie. Something he didn't like to do.

Maybe it was lucky that they didn't have any competition this week. Most of the movies this month were not promising either.

September 10, 1998. John Wick grossed $4.60 million. Paramount and Grey Pictures had agreed that the movie looked promising for the month of September. Maybe Kazir was starting to get a reputation.

The next day, some tabloids and newspapers were talking about the connection between Taken and John Wick. Significantly, the two movies are set in the same universe. Also, one of the characters in Taken showed up in John Wick.

Even Kazir and Fremont's cameo was used to promote the movie.

On September 11, 1998, with 3,500 theaters. The total gross of John Wick was $12.84 million. The weekend usually had a good reception for theaters. Many people would see movies on the weekend.

Saturday, September 12, 1998. The movie overall grossed $22.52 million.

Sunday, John Wick's box office was $30.03 million and easily won the box office champion of the week.

Just like the usual forecast, the performance from Monday to Thursday was dismal. John Wick only rose to $41.08 million. Meaning, in that five days, the movie only made around $11 million.

"What do you think, Ovitz? Will John Wick cross the $100 million mark in North America?"

Michael Eisner dropped the newspaper and looked at his right-hand man. The two old Michaels watched every move Grey Pictures made. It would be a lie to say they were not interested. After all, Grey Pictures was doing something new.

"The best it can do is $90 million.

Michael Ovitz shook his head. He watched the movie on his own time and didn't like too much violence. Maybe his age was one of the reasons he didn't like the movie. The schedule, the promotion and the movie itself were too weak to produce a good result.

"It can make over $100 million internationally, but it might be hard for the movie to make the same result here in North America."

"So you think John Wick can make at least $190 million worldwide? That's not bad, considering the movie's budget is only $30 million."

"Indeed. But it all depends on Paramount's decision. Will they distribute it internationally?"

The two old men are not interested in this movie, so they won't contact Grey Pictures. They don't think the other companies will either.

While people speculate, John Wick crossed the $50 million mark on its second Sunday, September 19, 1998. The movie grossed $54.48 million to be exact.

Unfortunately, John Wick didn't win the box office champion of the week because it was beaten by Rush Hour. Rush Hour grossed $33 million and obviously knocked John Wick off its throne.

After that, Paramount decided to cut their advertising budget and let fate decide the outcome. Grey Pictures had no say in the matter unless they used their own money, which would be detrimental to their next projects.

Overall, everyone involved with John Wick was happy. Even Viggo Mortensen was happy that his first movie as a protagonist didn't flop. Plus, he heard from Kazir himself that there would be a sequel in the next two or three years. He even had cameos in a couple of movies.

Viggo Mortensen was still not famous and almost nobody knew his name. He was still a nobody. He hoped that his appearance in Lord of the Rings as Aragorn would bring him fame, but after attending the script reading, Viggo realized that he was not the protagonist at all. The plot of Lord of the Rings didn't revolve around him. In a way, he was a supporting character. He was only protagonist in name but the movie focused on so many people.

With no hope, his role as John Wick was his best option. He started studying Russian just to make sure his next performance would be better. As long as he was part of Kazir's movie, he had a chance to turn the tables and become a household name known all over the world.

Just like that, two months passed and John Wick did its best to cross the $100 million mark. The film grossed $103.36 million. Obviously, John Wick just scraped by to cross $100 million.

Cinema Alliance felt that John Wick had already wasted all of its potential and pulled it out from theaters.

Fortunately, Paramount kept their promise and released the film internationally.

Worldwide, the film grossed $186.72 million. Unlike the North American box office, John Wick did quite well in other countries. Paramount expected the movie to make at least $100 million internationally.

.........
......
...

"I'm back."

Kazir Grey sighed as he stepped onto the ground in Los Angeles. He joined the cast and promoted the movie in major countries like UK, Japan and Australia.

He enjoyed the foreign countries, especially Japan. Japan was a great country. The people there were decent and disciplined. Probably the best country in Asia in his opinion. Japan, Numbah Wan In Asia.

He returned earlier than the cast because he had a lot of things to do in the month of November.

The first was the release of The Hangover Part 2.

The second was auditioning for The Bourne Identity.

Kazir had no rest. Luckily, the new crew that Salvatore hired were all enthusiastic, so he didn't have a problem working them to the max.

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to Thirdy D!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 160


"Haa..."

Kazir yawned after yesterday's tiring work. With the remaining money from the company, Kazir started the Bourne Identity project.

Their initial plan for the movie was $50 million, but they could adjust it depending on the situation.

Kazir wanted authentic scenes, so they had to fly to Italy, where Jason Bourne was first found. This increased the budget.

In his opinion, the movie could reach a budget of $60 million if they try to hire Matt Damon.

Matt was already a famous actor and his salary was between 3 and 7 million dollars. Depending on the negotiation.

Kazir Grey was willing to hire Matt Damon just to make sure that the movie would be successful. After all, Matt Damon was the original Jason Bourne.

"Did you sleep well?"

The woman lying next to Kazir whispered as she rubbed his chest. Cameron Diaz smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"Good morning, Cam."

"Good morning, Kazir."

She giggled and stood up. She invited Kazir to her place for some fun, and she was not disappointed. Last night was very amazing.

"I have to go to training for Charlie's Angels... Thankfully, the training is not that harsh, or else my sore hips might collapse." She said, glaring playfully at Kazir.

"Let's go together." The chuckled.

Both of them were busy. Still, they had to maintain their relationship for the sake of promotion. Even if John Wick was over, they have another project that they might promote together.

Producer Harold Witsend was already contacting Paramount and Cinema Alliance to get the share of the pie.

40% for Cinema Alliance and 25% for Paramount.

In the end, Grey Pictures only received $36.08 million. The production cost of John Wick was $30 million... That means their profit was only $6 million.

The only good news was that the international box office was doing well. Maybe they could make about $20 million.

Then there were the videotapes.

'I remembered that John Wick was doing very well in the DVD and online movie rental market.'

The couple went into the bathroom together and stayed there for about an hour... They were both refreshed when they came out of the bathroom.

.........
.......
...

Grey Pictures planned to release two movies next year. They were The Bourne Identity and Taken 2.

The crew planned to shoot the Bourne Identity around January and then release it on the summer season.

As for Taken 2, they would release it on the September or November schedule.

"Our agenda for today is Liam Neeson."

At the long table the important people of Grey Pictures were talking.

"I've already spoken to Liam's agent, but they haven't responded."

Salvatore Barlowe told his story. Their current problem was Liam Neeson's opinion about these changes. It would be devastating if Liam Neeson cancelled Taken 2. That would affect the Continental Cinematic Universe.

"Um, I may be overstepping my bounds, but can I express my opinion?"

Harold Witsend joined the conversation.

"Harold, you are the producer. You have every right to speak."

"Then... Why don't we move Taken 2 to the year 2000? It will be hard for us to convince Liam Neeson that fast. We need time to convince him and his agent."

When Harold said this, everyone looked at Kazir Grey. He was the one who had pushed the plan to release two movies in one year.

"We can't do that. Otherwise our schedule will be slow."

Anyway, I only publish my novels on Webnovel, ScribbleHub, RoyalRoad and Questionable Questing, where you can read them for free. So if you're reading this on another site, it means this novel is being pirated.

"How about making John Wick: Chapter 2 first?"

"That's impossible, the plot should stay the same. Taken 2 has to be released before John Wick: Chapter 2." Kazir shook his head.

The room was silent for a while. Fremont listened to their conversation. He wanted to say something, but was afraid to open his mouth.

Suddenly Kazir told them something.

"I met Liam Neeson last week. He feels indebted to us after winning the Best Actor award. He said he could agree to our terms, but he had to meet the new director first."

This time everyone in the room looked at Fremont Smith.

"Fremont, you have to convince Liam Neeson. It's part of your job to make this movie a success."

"I understand."

Fremont nodded strongly, although he was nervous. This was his first project and it was a big movie for sure, he couldn't help but be nervous. Still, he wanted to take a chance.

"As for the salary negotiation... I think everyone here understands that Liam Neeson's team will do their best to get more money from us. Keep it within the expected budget."

"Alright, that's my job as a producer."

It seemed that Harold Witsend had already adjusted to his life as a producer.

The second round of auditions for The Bourne Identity had already been completed, and the crew was just filtering for the final audition.

So far, one role had already been filled by Cameron Diaz as Marie Kreutz.

When the meeting was over, Harold and Salvatore stood up to talk to Kazir about the situation with Matt Damon.

"Kazir, Matt Damon has enough training since he just did Saving Private Ryan. I think it will be no problem for him to do action stunts. But he is too skinny. Do you expect a man like him to bulk up in 2 to 3 months?"

Salvatore expressed his thoughts.

"Guys, we both know there's a way to get ripped fast."

Actors in Hollywood might try to hide it, but people were not stupid.

Anabolic steroids... Yes, many action stars use these drugs to enhance their physiques.

Fake Natties. Those hunk actors who had great physiques definitely used "medicine" to maintain their appearance. It was a well-known secret in Hollywood.

"I agree with Salvatore. I think Matt Damon's friend, Ben Affleck, is better suited for the role of Jason Bourne. At least that guy looks tougher."

"It will be fine. We contacted Matt Damon even before John Wick came out, which was four months ago. I think he's trying his best to put on weight within that time. The last time we saw him was four months ago, maybe he will look better when he attends the final audition."

Seeing that Kazir was adamant about his decision, Harold and Salvatore decided to trust him. They hoped that the young, skinny Matt Damon would have more muscles.

"As for his salary, keep it under 7, no, 5 million dollars and make sure he signs sequels and cameos."

"Alright."

+++++

[I found out that Matt Damon's salary for The Bourne Identity was a whopping $10 million and $26 million for the second movie. Of course, the current 1998 Matt Damon is not that super famous yet, and Grey Pictures can probably hire him for a lower salary. But still, now I'm wondering if it's worth it to hire Matt Damon. Should I hire him? And if not, do you know of any actors who fit the criteria of Jason Bourne? In my opinion there is no problem with Matt's acting, and I don't know anybody who can play the role of Jason Bourne except him].

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to Tyrelle and L4kritz!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 161


November was a busy month for Kazir Grey. He had a lot on his plate, the Bourne Identity project was ongoing, and even Taken 2 was in the works.

Fremont Smith was busy convincing Liam Neeson and his team. He created storyboards to entice Liam. He promised that his image would be better for the second movie.

Luckily, Liam Neeson had a good relationship with the crew and he talked to Fremont Smith a few times when the first Taken was in filming. Still, the actor was skeptical about Fremont's ability to handle the project. He would be lying if he said he was not angry with Kazir for leaving Taken 2 to shoot The Bourne Identity instead.

In the end, the two sides came to an agreement. Fremont Smith would shoot some action scenes, if he could make a decent short movie, then Liam and his agent would think about it.

After that there would be the tug of war over salary, Harold Witsend had to take the position and make sure that the contract they signed last time would be honored. They could give Liam Neeson a bonus, but that would depend on the performance of Taken 2.

While Fremont and Harold were losing their hair over Taken 2, Kazir Grey attended the premiere of The Hangover Part 2.

At the TCL Chinese Theatre.

Wearing a tuxedo, he waved to the fans who whistled and shouted his name. Apparently he was pretty famous.

Since he was only a guest, he didn't have to steal the limelight and immediately entered the theater.

There he found the cast of The Hangover Part 2. Even Terry Semel, the CEO of Warner Bros, was talking to people.

Kazir looked around until he saw someone he was looking for.

Reese Witherspoon was wearing a dress and looking stunning as always. Kazir Grey hadn't seen Reese in almost half a year after her role in There's Something About Mary.

Reese Witherspoon was talking to someone when she spotted Kazir a few feet away.

The woman smiled nonchalantly and waved her hand in greeting.

Kazir sighed with relief when he realized that Reese was okay.

He approached the woman and tried to tell her his story.

"Reese..."

"Kazir, it's nice to meet you. I know you want to talk to me, how about we talk after the movie?"

Reese kept her sweet smile.

"That would be great."

Kazir agreed.

The two looked at each other and the awkwardness remained. In the end, they didn't know what to say.

Kazir's seat was a bit away from Reese's, so the two went their separate ways.

As usual, a successful director like him would be greeted by many actors. He was used to it anyway, but that didn't mean he liked it.

The Hangover Part 2 began. Kazir wrote the original version, but he knew that Warner Bros would try to "polish" the script. Either by adding some scenes or changing some scenes.

Fortunately, the overall plot of the movie was close to the original. Judging by the reaction of the audience, the movie was entertaining.

The theater was filled with laughter. Even Kazir could not help but laugh. The fact that Mike Tyson reprised his role as himself in the movie made it even better.

After the screening, the cast associated with the movie stayed to be interviewed by reporters and fans.

Reese Witherspoon invited Kazir to dinner and they went to a high-end restaurant with heavy security. No paparazzi could follow them.

The two sat down. Even though they were talking, you could feel the awkwardness between them.

Suddenly, Reese stopped and looked at Kazir, who was cutting a medium-rare steak.

"Kazir, I don't think we should see each other for a while."

Kazir clearly heard what she said. He carefully put down the utensils and stared at the woman.

"Why?"

Reese smiled and continued.

"I know your relationship with Cameron Diaz is fake and it's just to promote John Wick. Still, it would be bad if the media caught us together while you're having a relationship with Cameron Diaz. Your reputation will be tarnished.

"Is it because of me?"

"No. Of course not..."

Reese Witherspoon decided not to tell him all her feelings. She couldn't accept that Kazir had chosen Cameron Diaz over her. They know each other better than Cameron Diaz does.

If there was one thing she didn't like, it was that Kazir was helping Cameron Diaz and increasing her fame.

She remembered that 20th Century Fox tried to ask Kazir if he would be interested in having a relationship with Reese Witherspoon to promote the movie There's Something About Mary. Well, Kazir didn't agree.

Of course, Reese Witherspoon was on Kazir's side at the time. She didn't want a fake relationship and she didn't like that 20th Century Fox was using Kazir Grey to promote their movie.

Still, she could not help being angry. She was a person with feelings.

"Is this what you want?"

"Yes."

She nodded. Her decision was clear.

Kazir looked at his plate and agreed. He knew that he was the reason for this situation. He had no excuse, it would be disrespectful to Reese.

"Okay, I respect your decision."

The two continued their late dinner... But neither of them said a word.

.........
......
...

The first week of The Hangover Part 2 was terrifying. By Sunday, so many movie companies had contacted Grey Pictures to buy any script that Kazir Grey registered in the Writer's Guild.

And why is that? Simple, The Hangover Part 2 grossed a whopping $117.56 million! The movie was only in theaters for four days and it already broke the $100 million mark!

Even Universal Pictures, who had secret bad blood with Kazir Grey, dropped all pretense and contacted Kazir personally!

+++++

[I recently watched this year's League Of Legend Cinematic, which is "Still Here", I feel like I want to play League again... And now I decided to play Wild Rift, I'm going to be stuck in Hell Elo for a while].

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 162


"You are...?"

"Hello, Director Grey. I'm Camille Green from Universal Pictures."

The woman wearing thick glasses sat down. The office had a good atmosphere, seems clean and tidy, although it was clear that Kazir Grey used the office as his own room. This rumor was basically a fact at this point.

There was another room where he could sleep. A complete set of TV, VHS and sound system in the corner.

'It seems that the rumor is true... Director Grey lives in his own office. I don't how a normal person can do that. Workplace and house are two different things.'

As a career woman, Camille Green took her job seriously, but she never like to sleep in the office. The atmosphere in the company was too stifling for her to fall asleep.

But the man in front of her had the courage to close his eyes in the dreadful place of endless work. Maybe that was the difference between an employee and an employer.

"Universal Pictures is interested in buying a script, no, three scripts from you."

Kazir nodded.

'We are talking about Universal Pictures, one of the Big Six, of course they have ways to get information about my scripts.'

In fact, Universal Pictures was not the first to express an interest in buying his scripts.

But Kazir Grey decided to play the long game. He had the upper hand anyway. And he also didn't like Universal Pictures.

"3 million dollars."

"Excuse me?"

Camille Green tilted her head. She didn't even say which script Universal Pictures wanted to buy.

"$3 million, for each script."

"You've got to be kidding me. Director Grey, that's too much. Is it because of what happened last time?"

"People have changed. I'm more mature now, I don't hate Universal Pictures. But I don't like them either. I hope my feelings towards Universal Pictures will change... You know what I mean, right?"

"I understand. But still..."

Camille probed. 3 million dollars for a script was too much. Unless it was an adaptation of a novel or a comic book, Universal Pictures wasn't going to open their pockets for that amount easily.

An original screenplay is a huge gamble because there is no fan base willing to spend money to see the movie.

Lately, Hollywood has been focusing more on buying the rights to adapt novels and comic books, as this type of genre has a safe profit model.

"Miss Camille. I think you heard that Walt Disney tried to buy Meet The Parents for $3 million."

"That's right, but I heard you sold it to Paramount for half a million."

"I bet you know why I did that."

"..."

'Indeed I do. Because of that transaction, Paramount decided to sign a three-movie distribution deal with Grey Pictures for a 25% share of the box office. In a way, Grey Pictures got more out of that negotiation.'

"I am not petty enough to interfere with Universal Pictures. If they want to buy it, they can buy it. But they can only buy it if the price is right."

"I need to contact my supervisor."

Camille Green was just a producer in production management. Her purchasing limit was $2 million at best, and anything more would require approval from higher-ups.

"I don't have a problem. But you have to be quick, the price goes up by the hour." Kazir smiled.

"Meet The Parents will be released in January. If the movie is a success, the price of my scripts will be more expensive."

"What if it flopped?"

Camille Green asked back.

"Then my price will go down. It depends on Universal Pictures' decision if they want to wait."

Kazir had the advantage. Meet The Parents was a successful movie in his past life, so the chances of it flopping were very small.

'If you want to wait and see the results of Meet The Parents, no problem. But you have to take responsibility for your actions.'

In fact, his opinion of Universal Pictures hasn't changed. He hates the company.

However, Grey Pictures was looking for another distributor because their contract with Paramount was going to expire when The Bourne Identity was released. If Universal Pictures reached out and gave him a good contract, Kazir Grey would be generous and offer them a very low price.

As of now, the Continental Cinematic Universe was more important to him than any other project. If the only way to be in good graces was to sell his non-action scripts cheap, then Kazir Grey would gladly do it.

'First of all, I have no intention of directing these projects. So they are free to buy them.'

"Is there any way to lower the price?" Camille Green crossed her legs.

"Miss, I'm sure you have an idea."

"..."

The two stared at each other before Camille Green stood up.

"I think I really need to talk to my supervisor."

The only way to buy the script cheaply was to sign a distribution deal with Grey Pictures. A deal that would make both parties happy.

"I hope to hear good news."

"Director Grey, first of all. Please reserve Bruce Almighty for Universal Pictures. We are interested in this movie."

"I can't promise anything."

The woman's lips twitched before she left. She was actually wearing a very nice office dress that showed off her cleavage, but Kazir Grey never showed any interest. As expected, he was difficult to talk to.

"Looks like Universal Pictures wants a piece of the cake."

When Camille Green was gone, Kazir Grey leaned back in his chair and sighed. He massaged his forehead, he was getting migraines these days.

"That's why I don't want to be a CEO or anything like that. It's too exhausting. It's not for me, I'm going to die slowly if I keep signing these documents. God, I want to make a movie!"

Maybe he should hire a professional manager. Someone who could take care of Grey Pictures while he was busy making movies.

"Right now, I'm really thinking about selling the company for a billion dollars."

He controlled his urge. At least not until the Continental Cinematic Universe was successful.

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to Julian!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 163


Just as Kazir expected, Universal Pictures went quiet after contacting him. Perhaps they were skeptical about the offer and felt like it was not worth it.

Maybe Universal Pictures was waiting for the results of Meet The Parents in January before making another move.

Or maybe they wanted to sign a distribution deal with Grey Pictures to get the script.

Bruce Almighty was a great movie starring Jim Carrey. If Kazir remembered correctly, the movie had a sequel called Evan Almighty.

'Although I don't remember the box office of the next movie, not that it matters. I'm getting busy and I don't know if I can write the sequel.'

Kazir Grey had a good stretch in the morning and started his day. His office was fully furnished.

Erica Mendez arrived at the office at 8 a.m. on the dot and saw that Kazir was already at work... Her boss was a workaholic freak.

"Erica, have you found a professional manager to take over some of the work?"

"Sir, you just announced it yesterday."

"Haha."

He sipped his bitter coffee, quite disappointed. Grey Pictures was becoming more and more successful, and it was slowly making him exhausted.

.........
......
...

Harold Witsend read the newspaper and nodded. Sometimes Kazir's creativity and imagination amazed him.

He had known Kazir for almost a decade. They met in June 4, in the year of 1989. He never forget that date.

He realized that Kazir was getting better every day. He watched him improve until people started to respect him.

The script of The Hangover Part 2 was not magical. It was very clichéd and simple. But by combining all the best elements, it produced terrific results.

After two weeks, The Hangover Part 2 had grossed $185 million. Everyone already thought that the movie was a success.

So people started congratulating Harold, even though he had nothing to do with the production of The Hangover Part 2. Enrico Pusi was the producer of the movie, not him.

"Kazir is indeed a talented guy."

He knew that Kazir was a hardworking person. Now that his talent was blossoming, Harold expected Kazir's filmography to be amazing in the next five years.

'If there's one thing I'm confused about... I don't know why he's so confident that Matt Damon is going to ask for $7 million. Matt Damon is still a newcomer to the industry. He only has two leading roles. The Rainmaker and Good Will Hunting.'

In a way, Matt Damon was not qualified to ask for $7 million.

Saving Private Ryan and Ocean's 11 have not been released yet, so Matt Damon's salary should be within $4 million at best. Well, it seems that Kazir Grey made a mistake. He is a human being after all.

"Good morning Harold."

"Oh, hello! Wilson!"

Harold realized that the person he had been waiting for had arrived. However, he was confused to see that Agent Wilson Marrera had a companion.

"I'm sorry, but this is...?"

He looked at Wilson and asked.

"I guess you never met him, this is Matt Damon."

"Nice to meet you Harold."

Matt Damon extended his hand for a handshake.

"It's nice to meet you..."

Harold kept his composure, but deep down he was shocked.

'Excuse me? Matt Damon? Nah, dude, you're not Matt Damon. Matt Damon is fucking skinny!'

The man in front of him had gained dozens of pounds. The innocence was gone and he looked mature and strong. Indeed, Matt Damon was serious about playing Jason Bourne!

To be honest, Harold didn't expect Matt Damon to show up. He also didn't expect the big changes.

'This is my second meeting with Wilson and we already have a baseline to discuss.'

"By the way, Harold. Congratulations on The Hangover Part 2! It's a great movie!"

"Thanks."

Harold's lips twitched. This was the fourth time this had happened today.

'Enrico Pusi could strangle me if he found out about this.'

After the introduction, Matt Damon left their table. The presence of the actor would affect the negotiations. Besides, his agent would not settle for less. Agent Wilson will fight for a better salary and better conditions.

After a few conversations here and there, Wilson and Harold began to talk about the most important thing.

"$4 million! I think my client has enough credibility to get that amount."

Agent Wilson dropped the first figure.

But Harold Witsend smiled instead.

'Kazir, you are damn wrong. Who said they were going to ask for $7 million? Four million dollars! They are only asking for a $4 million salary!'

Harold was glad that Kazir was wrong. Still, Harold Witsend won't let things go according to Wilson Merrera's plan.

"Wilson, your client has only had two leading roles in the last few years. He doesn't have strong box office appeal. He is still young, not an experienced actor. Even Good Will Hunting, his best film, didn't win at the Oscars."

"Who's the reason he didn't win?"

'Liam Neeson and Kazir Grey...'

Wilson gritted his teeth and muttered. Matt Damon lost Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay at the last Oscars. Maybe his age was a factor.

"Hehe, let's not talk about that. 2 million dollars! That's the best I can do."

"$3 million!"

"$2.1 million!"

The agent in charge of his client and the producer in charge of the project began to argue.

Both sides had a good impression of each other, but business is business.

Their second meeting ended with $2.8 million as the baseline.

As Harold left the building, he decided to call Kazir.

"Kazir? Yes, that's right. I already talked to him. Anyway, that's not why I wanted to call you. Maybe you need to meet Matt Damon before we decide to cast him. What? No, he just gained weight. Well, if you ask me, I think he looks tougher now."

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 164


Matt Damon had mixed feelings about director Grey. He respected him for his accomplishments despite his young age.

Most of the directors around the industry were in their 30s and 40s. Someone like Kazir, who was 29 years old and had been a successful director for the past few years, was incredible.

'I can't believe he's only a year older than me...'

Matt Damon thought.

As an actor, Matt Damon wanted to work with Kazir. Of course, he could not deny that he was sad and perhaps held a grudge against director Grey.

The best actor award went to Liam Neeson for his role as Bryan Mills in Taken.

Best Original Screenplay was won by Kazir Grey, the director of Taken.

Matt was nominated in both categories but lost. The Oscars were the dream of every actor/actress in the industry. Some people were willing to trade their bodies just to get the golden statue...

Well, that was all in the past and Matt Damon was mature enough to understand that. There was no reason to hold a grudge against a director. Especially when that director expressed his intention to cast him as the protagonist of his action movie.

Action movie!

For a 28-year-old man, of course Matt likes action movies! Besides, this was different from the war movie he had starred in with director Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

'Filming Saving Private Ryan is quite tedious because we have to wear dirty uniforms and get our faces dirty. On top of that, I don't like the weather in Ireland, it's not for me. Another factor is the atmosphere in the film crew.'

He heard that Kazir Grey was easy to work with... A lot of actors who worked with Kazir Grey said that, but maybe it was just flattery and publicity.

Overall, his opinion of Kazir Grey was quite positive, except for the Academy Awards.

For this reason, Matt Damon agreed to meet Kazir Grey personally. This meeting was not serious and Kazir won't influence the negotiations between his agent and the producer.

Kazir just wanted to meet Matt Damon.

A few minutes later, Kazir showed up, getting out of a Honda car. They agreed to meet at a cafe to discuss the project.

Matt Damon stood up and greeted Kazir and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Director Grey. Ah, congratulations, John Wick passed $200 million at the box office."

"Thank you." Kazir grinned.

The worldwide box office has already passed $200 million. To be exact, it was $213 million. The movie was still playing in some countries. Maybe Paramount would pay the money next month.

Grey Pictures has already contacted a videotape manufacturer to produce 10 million copies of John Wick for the first batch.

Luckily they have enough money. The money Taken brought in was pretty good and enough for Grey Pictures to relax for at least two years. The budget for The Bourne Identity and Taken 2 was no problem for Grey Pictures.

In addition, Kazir Grey had his personal bank account to invest in the two films if they ran out of money.

He had more than $30 million in his bank account. Maybe he wanted to invest in the stock market again. Microsoft and the other companies were doing well this year.

His least problem right now was money, he had a lot of it. He didn't like to spend extravagantly, he was very cheap with himself. He didn't like to buy things, his hobbies revolve around movies. He would buy old movies from time to time to fill up his library, but even that didn't exceed $1 million.

"Let's talk about your character. I know you have already read the script. I just have a few questions, have you read the novels?"

"Yes, Jason Bourne was supposed to be an old man..."

In the novel, Jason Bourne was in his 50s.

"I decided to change the age. Don't worry, Robert Ludlum agreed with that decision."

Robert Ludlum was the author of Jason Bourne series and Matt knew about it. Never met the guy though.

"I see..."

Matt Damon recalled that the two movies Taken and John Wick had old protagonists, between 40 and 50 years old.

'But it seems that Kazir is trying to do something different...' For a second, Matt Damon was worried about this decision.

'No, to me it's a good thing. If Jason Bourne is 50 years old, then I don't have a chance of getting the role.'

He learned quickly.

"I heard you did some training for Saving Private Ryan."

"Yes, but it focuses more on military training. As for action stunts, I'm still learning."

"That's okay, we have plenty of time."

Kazir was confident because he has fast filming method. He thought it wouldn't be a problem to train Matt Damon and the other actors for three to four months. Also, most of the action stunts would be filmed using stunt doubles.

These stunt doubles are professionals and they can do the job.

'Harold wasn't lying, Matt Damon really put on weight. He didn't look like a teenager anymore. He looks his age, which is 28 years old.' Kazir slightly nodded.

Many actors decided to keep their youthful looks for the sake of their careers. It was difficult for them to get mature roles so they maintained their youthful appearance. The only appropriate roles for them were teenage roles.

But it seemed that Matt Damon was ready to change, which was the best thing to do.

'He's going to be 30 years old and it's time for him to do old, mature, serious roles.'

Putting on weight for The Bourne Identity was the first step in his transformation. Once successful, Matt Damon's career had more paths to choose from.

The two started talking about the movie. Surprisingly, they have a good conversation. Maybe because of their age...

Still, it didn't change the fact that Matt Damon looked younger than Kazir Grey, even though they were only a year apart in age.

'The beard... My beard is the reason...'

Kazir justified the difference, explaining that he was not old.

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to thunderwalker123, Ok Ko, and garland g. jr!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 165


"Continental Cinematic Universe..."

Matt Damon muttered as he got out of the car. His conversation with Kazir Grey had been interesting and the director had been quite open about his idea.

It would be a lie to say that Matt Damon was not interested. Kazir Grey had a plan to create dozens of movies set in one universe! Moreover, Kazir didn't hide that the protagonists/characters would meet in some of the movies.

Well, Matt Damon signed a non-disclosure agreement with Grey Pictures from the moment he received the script for The Bourne Identity.

But that didn't stop Kazir Grey from telling him a big secret about the cinematic universe. Maybe it was his sincerity.

Suddenly, Matt Damon felt bad for thinking that Kazir Grey was a bad person.

'We are all artists and we want a stage to prove our talent. The Oscars choose the artist who is worthy of the golden statue. Besides, director Grey is more talented than me in terms of writing. All his scripts are box office hits!'

Now Matt was confident about this movie. Moreover, he wanted to be a part of this development that Kazir was planning. He believed that once the Continental Cinematic Universe was a success, it would go down in the history of cinema.

Perhaps the Big Six would follow suit and try this difficult yet novel idea.

"Matt, how's it going?"

Ben Affleck greeted his friend. Standing next to him was Matt Damon's agent, Wilson Merrera.

The two of them knew that Matt Damon was going to meet Kazir Grey to discuss the Bourne Identity project. Being close to Matt, they wanted to see his reaction after talking to Kazir Grey for the first time.

After all, Wilson Merrera and Ben Affleck were affected by the loss they suffered at the Oscars. So they were interested in this director named Kazir Grey.

"He's a nice person. Respectable..."

"Eh?"

Ben Affleck and Agent Wilson didn't expect Matt Damon to change his mind about the director after just one meeting.

"Is that so? Are you interested in working with him?" Agent Wilson saw the underlying intent.

"That's right. Wilson, I want the role. Please do your best."

"Don't worry, I will never put you at a disadvantage. We will get a better deal from them."

"No," Matt Damon shook his head. "What I mean is... I want to be part of the Cinematic Universe that Director Grey is creating. Sign a contract with lots of sequels."

Well, Matt Damon is a great actor, but he is best known as Jason Bourne. In fact, some people call him Jason Bourne instead of his real name...

"What?"

Agent Wilson was stunned. Signing such a contract would be detrimental to Matt Damon! You won't have a chance to negotiate the salary if that happens.

"Of course, leave the salary negotiation for later and don't put it in the contract. It's enough that we can sign a contract with many sequels of them. No, at least a trilogy."

He believed that Kazir Grey wasn't planning to make a trilogy for Jason Bourne, but more than that. At least four movies, Kazir Grey would make at least four Jason Bourne movies.

He felt that Kazir Grey wanted to use this character a lot to create the world-building of the Continental Cinematic Universe.

He didn't know that every Jason Bourne had a good box office, so that was why Kazir Grey wanted to make a lot of movies about the character. Added to that was the profit he could make from the videotape market.

.........
......
...

A week later, in the last month of November, Matt Damon signed a trilogy contract with Grey Pictures. Unfortunately for them, Harold Witsend was quite good at his job. In each sequel, Matt Damon's salary would increase by 65%. He also didn't have the power to negotiate his share of the box office.

After all, Matt Damon was not that famous yet. He was different from Liam Neeson, who was a veteran and had won a Best Actor award. His position in the industry was not strong.

Even his salary for The Bourne Identity was only 1.9 million dollars. That was within their expectations, so they didn't have a problem.

However, if the trilogy ended and Kazir Grey intended to make another sequel of Jason Bourne, of course Matt Damon and his side would fight for a better condition.

As for the cameo appearance, this side was still in negotiations.

For the first time Kazir Grey realized how eloquent Harold Witsend was. The fact that he had reduced the salary from $7 million to $1.9 million was amazing...

He didn't know that the starting salary Agent Wilson had negotiated was only $4 million. Less than he expected.

Well, more good news for Grey Pictures and the Bourne Identity project.

Now two amazing actors were part of the movie. One was Cameron Diaz and the other was Matt Damon.

While the problem with the protagonist was over, Kazir's hectic life intensified.

The success of The Hangover Part 2 affected him very much. The box office of The Hangover Part 2 was $239.89 million after 30 days. On top of that, the movie was to be released internationally. The cast of The Hangover Part 2 flew around the world to promote the movie.

Even Enzo Park was with them since his role in the movie was bigger this time.

However, that was not the problem. A news suddenly broke out and left Grey Pictures unexpectedly in the middle of the road. They were caught off guard by this.

Paramount announced that they would distribute Taken 2 instead of The Bourne Identity. Apparently, Paramount had more faith in Kazir's original film than in the novel adaptation of The Bourne Identity. So yeah, The Bourne Identity currently had no distributor.

Because of this, Kazir Grey had headaches. Migraines were killing him and he could not sleep even though he was exhausted.

++++

[I'll be honest, I never saw The Bourne Identity. I only saw The Bourne Ultimatum.]

[Edit: I've seen it and it's nice. Not that great, but not bad either].

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to Marcelo M!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 166


"Hi, I'm Chris Cooper. I'm here to audition for..."

Kazir was too out of this world to listen to the actor. He massaged his forehead because he was having some problems these days.

In the end, Renner Hector and Harold Witsend took over the audition and gave Kazir some peace to relax.

This was the last round of auditions and most of the cast was already filled. Their main priority was only Matt Damon and his role as Jason Bourne. Other than that, Kazir Grey let the other people choose the cast. That was the privilege they could get from him.

Of course, the actor they chose had to know how to act. Kazir knew that some of the crew used a certain kind of 'transaction' to cast some actors/actresses in small roles. As long as it didn't affect the filming, Kazir turned a blind eye to such things.

This was the norm in Hollywood and this kind of practices was impossible to stop.

"Sir, here's the Monster Energy Drink you asked for."

"Thank you, Erica..."

Maybe it was unhealthy to drink an energy drink in his condition, but Kazir didn't have time to worry for that.

Once the auditions were over and the cast was complete, training would begin. Script readings would be held once a week so that the cast could adapt and act well.

Obviously, Kazir Grey was busy. Unfortunately, he could not help but think about the conversation he had with CEO Brad Grey of Paramount.

Paramount Pictures decided to distribute Taken 2 instead of The Bourne Identity. They believe that the performance of Taken 2 would be better than that of The Bourne Identity.

As for the reason... Well, the sequels of a successful movie had a safer profit. In a way, Paramount decided to distribute a safer movie than a movie with an unknown future. So they chose Taken 2 because the money they could get from it was better.

'Even though the director of Taken 2 is Fremont Smith, they still chose it. Without talking to me.'

Of course, Kazir wasn't expecting this. Paramount promised to distribute his three movies. Unfortunately, they could choose which one they wanted to distribute. Maybe Kazir believed that everything would be fine. That there were no more obstacles.

'Hah, I was too confident. Now Paramount has shot me in the back without knowing it.'

In fact, Grey Pictures had already contacted a number of film companies about distributing Taken 2, and their response was positive.

Based on the box office success of Taken, they believe that Taken 2 will not be a disappointment. They were willing to sign a 25% to 30% box office fee to distribute the movie. The reputation of Taken 2 was very good and the profit was obvious.

But if Paramount decided to distribute Taken 2, then Grey Pictures had to find a movie company to distribute The Bourne Identity.

And unlike Taken 2, The Bourne Identity had no clear profit. The movie companies won't be confident in distributing it because they think it will flop. First of all, The Bourne Identity was based on a novel, not written by Kazir Grey. Another factor they have to be aware of.

'If a movie company agrees to distribute The Bourne Identity, the box office fee might be 35% to 45%, which is not good for us.'

This was the reason why Kazir was having trouble these days. No one had confidence in his current movie, a movie based on a novel.

'Hehe, it's ironic that they prefer an original script more than an adaptation of a novel.'

"There is only one thing to do - calm down and forget about this problem for now. I have to focus all my mind on making sure that the movie will be successful. I have to leave this problem to Harold and Salvatore..."

Was he holding a grudge against Paramount? Yes, a little bit. Last month they already had an agreement that Paramount would distribute The Bourne Identity. Unfortunately, they were still trying to close the deal when Paramount decided to back out. The rats got them and they became cowards.

After a few hours of calming down, Kazir decided to return to the audition room. He drank the Monster energy drink in one sitting without hesitation.

When he returned, he realized that most of the cast had already been chosen and the crew would contact them later or tomorrow to announce that they were hired.

The crew decided that pre-production would last 60 days before shooting began. This would include preparation of props, script readings, and training.

The props were not a big problem as their costumes were simple. Even the locations were already planned.

As for the script reading and training, most of the actors were professionals. In addition, Cameron Diaz and Matt Damon had taken training classes a few months ago. Heck, Matt Damon has gained weight and is currently learning boxing. They have enough experience. Still, proper training was needed, even for a month.

Just like that, December came. Kazir's stock portfolio grew again. Now his investment has become 48 million dollars. Of course, Kazir was happy to see his money growing. So he decided to invest another 15 million dollars. He knew that as long as the year 2000 didn't come, he would be safe from the bursting of the dot.com bubble.

-- Hey, Kazir! When are you coming to visit? I know you're busy, but Christmas is coming! You need to take a vacation! Dad is looking for you.

"Aaron, you have to understand. I have a lot of things to do." Kazir muttered.

-- I don't give a damn! Come and see your niece for the first time!

"Aaron--"

-- Hey, I'm your brother."

"... Okay, fine. I'll try to do what I can.

-- Bruh, you're the boss of your company. You can do whatever you want. In the first place, you never like business management. That's why you ran away from the house. Because you want to pursue making movies!

++++++
++++
++

[I want to thank all the readers who continue to support this novel, I love you guys, no homo though. As long as you read my novel, it counts as supporting me.]

[By the way, I didn't know that Matt Damon didn't do the military training for Saving Private Ryan. Unfortunately, I can't edit the chapters because it would cause a big change. I apologize for that. However, thanks to patron Drake for giving me this information].

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to Herylle Ian G, laxus and Cherif D!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 167


"Abubububu!"

Kazir made funny faces in front his baby niece, who kicked her feet in the air and giggled innocently.

The baby was cute and Kazir obviously liked his niece. He was happy to see an innocent baby, untainted by the world.

He felt as if all the stress of the past few days had disappeared as he played with his niece.

"How is Alissa?"

Aaron appeared and checked on them.

"She's cute."

"Of course, she's a baby. What do you expect? A gremlin?"

Aaron handed him a bottle of beer.

"Something like that."

"You bastard..."

Aaron's wife looked at him as he cursed. It would be bad for the baby girl to hear bad words at such a young age.

"Aaron, help me with the turkey."

"Okay, honey~"

Like a bee serving its queen, Aaron got up and went into the kitchen.

"Goo Goo, ga ga."

Kazir looked at his niece lying on her crib. The baby waved her hands at the door. She was smiling, very cute.

"Oh, you want this teddy bear?" Kazir thought.

Kazir held a teddy bear and gave it to the little baby. Allisa bit the toy's ear before throwing it on the floor. The baby waved her hands at the door again.

Kazir giggled at her cuteness.

Kazir smiled at her. He had a chance to be a father, but fate was cruel to him.

Yet now that he was a successful director, Kazir was still afraid to start a family. He knew that he was a busy person and he was not sure if he could make his family happy.

In the first place, the reason why Cassandra cheated on him was because he was always busy.

After all, he was not sure about that part of his life. Well, he was living happily, and having a baby might bring him another source of stress.

He felt that looking at a cute baby and taking care of a baby were two different things.

Suddenly, baby Alissa burped and white saliva flew onto her baby dress.

"Um, guys, I think your baby spit up on her dress."

"Is that so? Kazir, can you help her burp?"

"I don't know how to do that," Kazir replied honestly.

"Sigh, you insignificant guy who only knows how to make movies! You don't even know how to help a baby burp?"

"Yes." Kazir nodded. To be honest, he was afraid to carry the baby.

"Honey, just do it yourself."

Aaron stopped what he was doing after his wife looked at him. He approached the baby and held her in his arms, against his chest. Then he gently patted the baby's back.

A few seconds later, the baby burped, and both her mother and father celebrated because she burped... Even Kazir was happy. In a way, Alissa was like an animal adored by large adult monkeys.

While in her father's arms, Alissa waved her hands at the door for the third time.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. The three adults paused.

Kazir was the least busy, so he got up and opened the door. He found his father standing in the doorway.

"Dad!"

"Kazir!"

The two hugged each other. Then his father put his things down. Most of the things he brought were toys for the little girl. He obviously loves his granddaughter very much.

This Christmas was simple but healthy.

Kazir spent the whole week in New York. He was interested in buying some real estate there, but decided to wait until the dot-com bubble burst.

He was not a heartless man and the employees of Grey Pictures had a holiday just like him. The company was working at a minimum state to keep it going since most of the employees were on vacation.

On New Year's Eve, Kazir decided to talk about his meeting with his mother.

"I see... So your mother really showed up."

Their father grew quiet and sighed. Perhaps he blamed himself for what had happened to his family.

"Dad, it's not your fault," Aaron tried to make things better, but Kazir's father, Victor Grey, shook his head.

"No, it's my fault too. I was busy at the time... Your mother was very depressed when she was pregnant with Kazir. When she was about to give birth, I was at a business meeting overseas, and when I returned, it was already too late. Maybe that was the beginning of the breakdown of our relationship..."

He could not help smiling bitterly. In truth, he wanted to keep his family, but Eliza Cohen thought it was over.

"I'm just trying to give you a better future..."

"..."

His two sons grew quiet. They were under the influence of alcohol and very emotional.

"I don't blame you for hating your mother. But just remember that she is the one who gave birth to you. You should be grateful, just like I'm grateful to have you as my children."

The fireworks began to explode in the sky, signaling the arrival of the New Year.

The three Greys watched the fireworks in the sky, hoping that this year would be a prosperous year for everyone.

Just like that, 1999 arrived.

Kazir returned to Los Angeles to continue the project. The crew had to fly to France to shoot the first part of the film. In fact, Renner Hector and his team were already there, scouting the locations they were going to use. Some of them collected some background shots and sent them to Kazir for him to choose from.

Before leaving for France, Kazir had one more thing to do - watch the premiere of Meet The Parents. The movie will be released in the 3rd week of January.

Not only Paramount, but also other movie companies were interested in this movie. Disney tried to buy this particular film and everyone knew it. The outcome of this film would determine Kazir's future as a screenwriter.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 168


Kazir entered the theater after walking down the red carpet. He took a deep breath and recalled what happened. He noticed that people started screaming when they saw him. Especially women, they were screaming his name with fever. Like they met their first love.

In addition, the female reporter who was interviewing him was giving him a flirtatious look, a clean signal. The reporter this time was not Abella Boham who had interviewed him last time. Maybe that was the reason.

"I'm kind of glad you shaved your beard."

"Hm?"

Kazir looked to his side and saw Cameron Diaz pouting.

"I just feel like shaving it."

"I know... But it makes other bitches go crazy for you. I didn't like the way that reporter looked at you." She whispered the last sentence. She felt indignant.

"Cam, did you say something?"

"Nothing." She rolled her eyes and gripped his arm.

Since they were in a relationship, they had to show people that they were close.

Of course, Kazir wanted to see the movie because it was based on his script. He was interested in the outcome. Especially when there was a massive change in the cast.

Despite their original plan, Paramount decided to cast Brianna Evans as the female lead of the movie. Salvatore was so pleased that he even invited Kazir out for an expensive bottle of wine.

With Kazir as the screenwriter, Salvatore Barlowe was confident that the movie would be a success. This meant that Brianna's salary would increase after the release of Meet The Parents! Definitely good news for Salvatore.

Kazir was greeted by important people from Paramount.

"I can't believe you look really young!"

Brad Grey laughed and shook Kazir's hand. He was surprised to see that Kazir had shaved his beard. Besides, he looks good! With his looks, he could be a model or an actor.

"Brad, I'm 29 years old. Of course I'm young."

"Haha, I thought you were in your 40s. I'm sorry, you look more mature with a beard."

He nodded and left the couple. He had more people to greet at this premiere. Even the higher ups from Viacom were there and Brad Grey had to suck up to them.

Maybe the reason the Viacom executives were here was because they believed the profitability of this movie would be impressive. Well, no one could tell.

Anyway, Kazir saw Brianna Evans and talked to her for a few minutes. The woman was different from the first time he met her. The woman was alive and vibrant. It was like she was a different person.

Kazir admitted that Brianna was a talented actress, but he felt that the way she did things was dangerous.

'... Should I talk to Salvatore about hiring a psychiatrist?'

He joked. He didn't feel anything bad about the woman anyway.

After the critics and the rest of the audience sat down, the movie started.

Meet The Parents is a comedy in which a man named Gaylord "Greg" Focker (Ben Stiller) plans to propose to his girlfriend Pam Byrnes (Brianna Evans). However, things go hilariously wrong when he meets her overprotective and intimidating father, Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro).

Greg attempts to impress Jack and gain his approval leading to a series of hilarious and embarrassing situations, misunderstandings and mishaps that put their relationship to the test.

Paramount did the right thing by hiring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro. They were the original cast of the movie, which made it authentic in Kazir's eyes.

As for how much they paid to cast them, Kazir Grey has no idea.

'The budget for Meet The Parents is $55 million. So I don't think they went overboard. Still, $55 million is a mid-range movie budget.'

Still, their investment was nothing compared to James Cameron's Titanic, which cost more than $200 million! By comparison, Meet The Parents was very mild.

After laughing and seeing a happy ending, the audience was satisfied with the movie and clapped their hands when the credits rolled.

The cast and director of the movie have to stay to be interviewed later for publicity.

This was standard procedure for movies, and the contract the cast signed included this. Paramount cared about this movie, so they would do their best to promote it.

Kazir didn't bother to stay and left the theater afterwards. He spent the night with Cameron, naked.

.........
......
...

Three days after the premiere of Meet The Parents, the box office of the movie was already $28.62 million.

Based on that, they concluded that Meet The Parents wouldn't do badly. No, it would be a great run.

Unfortunately, the movie didn't win this week's box office champion because of The Sixth Sense.

Even though it was released last week, the movie made more than $38 million this week. Still, the result was within expectations and everyone believed that Meet The Parents would generate a good amount of money for Paramount in the long run.

To make things even better, the second week of Meet The Parents also had a good result. The total box office was $58.82 million. This means that Meet The Parents has already exceeded its budget of $55 million.

If it were not for The Sixth Sense, which earned more than $107 million, the presence of Meet The Parents would be greater.

Perhaps Meet The Parents was overshadowed by The Sixth Sense.

Kazir expected this outcome because The Sixth Sense was the second highest grossing film of 1999, second only to Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace.

But the result of Meet The Parents was enough for the movie studios to believe that Kazir Grey had outstanding creativity and that his scripts could make hundreds of millions!

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 169


Kazir spent all his time in his office early in the morning. He had a hot cup of coffee with him. The training for The Bourne Identity was still going on, so Kazir was not very busy. He had some time to himself.

But early in the morning, his assistant Erica Mendez greeted him with a set of work.

"Sir, Enrico Pusi from Warner Bros wants to see you."

"Okay, make an appointment for him," Kazir replied. This was nothing new. Some people would contact him about his scripts. He was expecting it.

"Sir, about that... Enrico Pusi is waiting for you downstairs in the lobby."

"Okay. Give me five minutes, I'll meet him." Kazir nodded and stood up. He looked in the mirror and confirmed that his appearance was fine. In fact, he looked young and handsome now that he had shaved his beard.

He even saw a few women on the street giving him flirtatious looks.

"Sir, about that... Shirley Lansing from Paramount is also waiting for you in the lobby. She's sitting a few feet away from Enrico Pusi, and I don't think they like each other."

"Okay. I'm going to meet her now."

"Sir, about that..."

"Erica, tell me everything."

"All right. Nancy Utley from 20th Century Fox also wants to meet you, she is also in the lobby. Even Camille Green is in the lobby, she is wearing, um, a very nice dress. It seems that Universal Pictures is interested in working with Grey Pictures. Another thing is that Colin Dacopps from Walt Disney is with them... The lobby almost melts with their presence".

Of course, the last sentence was metaphorical, since it would be impossible for people to melt a concrete wall with their presence. Still, Kazir noticed the possible atmosphere in the lobby.

He suddenly felt that it would be bad if he showed up. Unfortunately, he had to do his job.

He sighed and decided to mediate the war. He imagined each of the producers holding a blade, attacking and parrying each other.

The lobby wasn't that big, only 10 meters wide, and it couldn't hold the producers.

As Kazir went down, he saw the producers glaring at each other. He even saw Enrico Pusi holding a fucking vase!

"Enrico? Why are you holding a vase? What are you doing?"

Kazir Grey frowned. The vase cost 300 dollars and for a cheapskate like him that was already expensive.

"Me? I'm just interested in the vase. It looks good. What do you think of me, a maniac? Of course, I won't use it to attack these bastards, that would be barbaric."

"Phew. That's good to hear..."

"I have my own fists to use. I will smash their faces with my bare hands!"

"..."

Looking at the situation, it seemed that something had happened while Erica was away.

Kazir looked at Erica and his assistant shook her head. She had no idea what was going on.

"Okay, calm down. Let's talk about this. Like civilized people."

"Civilized? Kazir, they are ready to pounce on you just to get your scripts. I think being civilized is not an option. Look at that bitchy producer, she's wearing an office blazer, but she's obviously accentuating her cleavage by unbuttoning her blazer!"

Camille Green just giggled. There was nothing wrong with her dress code, she firmly believed...

Seeing the situation, Kazir sighed. He thought his expectations were exaggerated, but this was much worse than he expected.

"Let's all sit down first. Enrico, drop the vase. It cost 450 dollars with the flowers."

"That's okay, I can pay."

'Of course you can! I heard you got a 7-figure bonus from Warner Bros for The Hangover Part 2! The Hangover Part 2 has already grossed $254 million in North America!'

Kazir replied in his head. That should be at least $1 million. Maybe that was the reason why Enrico Pusi was willing to fight for a contract with Kazir Grey. Because his script is a sure way to make money.

'Unfortunately, Grey Pictures is too small to film these projects. Even two films in one year is difficult. All I can do is sell these scripts and negotiate a better deal with the Big Six.'

The Big Six were the Big Six because of their ability to distribute movies worldwide. One of the best reasons why they were better than any other movie company in Hollywood.

There were hundreds of production companies in this industry, but only six could monopolize the market, it was impossible to be equal next to them.

Not even the old Metro Goldwyn Mayer or the blossoming DreamWorks. Not even Lionsgate of the future.

Once everyone was seated, Kazir decided to speak.

"I'm going to sell three scripts and possible scripts for their sequels."

The Big Six producers listened intently.

"Bruce Almighty, Anchorman and Horrible Bosses. I think you already know what I want, right?"

Kazir looked for his coffee, but remembered that he had left it in the office. By the time he got back to his office, the coffee might be already cold.

He sighed... The outcome of Meet The Parents was already affecting him.

"Director Grey! Paramount has decided to continue working with you! As long as we maintain the contract of a 25% box office distribution fee, I believe we will have no problem!"

"Thank you, Shirley."

Kazir smiled. This contract was already sincere. Very sincere, to be honest.

But Kazir Grey was being shameless right now. Instead of showing approval, he looked at the others.

"I think you have better conditions, right?"

The producers gritted their teeth at Kazir's toothy grin. He was like the devil tempting them to sin!

Anything less than 25% box office fee would affect their production. Basically, bleed them to possible death!

However, the producers and higher-ups gave them the green light to negotiate with Kazir. Believing that Kazir Grey would be their money maker!

Shameless! Impudent! You don't deserve to be a director! You should be an agent instead!

Kazir reminds them of talent agents who would suck the budget out of movies to satisfy their greed.

+++++

[Which company do you think will Kazir work with next? Paramount, Walt Disney, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros or 20th Century Fox? Sony-Columbia is also allowed, I just didn't include them in the chapter because they didn't have much of a relationship with Grey Pictures].

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to Shylar!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 170


The group began their 'bidding'. The 25% fee went down to 22%.

They were very careful in this negotiation. Because everyone knows that 1% is already $1 or $2 million at the box office. They couldn't make a mistake.

Perhaps this negotiation was the most difficult they had ever experienced. Even though they had the approval of their companies to negotiate the box office fee with Kazir Grey, they could not afford to do it arbitrarily.

Gritting their teeth, they settled on a 22% box office distribution fee. In their opinion, this amount was already heartbreaking. It could lead to a loss of millions of dollars for them.

But the lure of the scripts in Kazir's hands was stronger. To be honest, they have the means to read his script and plagiarize it.

However, it would destroy their reputation and their association with Grey Pictures would be forever severed. They would never choose a short-term profit over a long-term one.

Besides, their plan was to buy the script along with the sequels. If they plagiarized the first movie and it was successful, the sequels might not get the same treatment.

It was better to negotiate with Kazir Grey than to be greedy. Besides, they would gain his trust and cooperation. This could lead to further cooperation. After all, Kazir Grey is a great director and his movies are profitable as always. Even John Wick made money in the videotape market.

In fact, Grey Pictures started producing DVD discs of Taken and John Wick. The profit from the DVD's got bigger and bigger as the year went on. Last month alone, the profit from DVD discs was $12 million. No joke, the influence of DVD players and DVD discs was getting stronger.

The DVD player was introduced in the U.S. in 1997, and more and more families were buying them.

Imagine if these movies went to the Big Six, it means more money in the bank!

Well, even the movies he wrote were already profitable. The Big Six were not petty and gave him some leeway, hoping to cooperate next time.

After hearing all their offers, Kazir decided to end the meeting. He said he would decide after three days. He had to think about it seriously, and the producers understood his reasoning.

After making promises, the producers left the building one by one. They do not intend to leave together. Appearing in public with a producer from another company would bring trouble.

Kazir took a deep breath and sighed. He leaned back in his chair and relaxed. It was very early in the morning, but he was already being harassed by 5 movie companies.

'Five producers... Now that I think about it, no one from Sony-Columbia was there. Maybe they are too late to react. Or maybe they are waiting for the right moment to contact Grey Pictures.'

His first negotiations with Sony-Columbia were unsuccessful. At the time, he was hoping that Sony-Columbia would distribute Taken, but the negotiations didn't go anywhere. In the end, Grey Pictures worked with Paramount instead.

Sony-Columbia wanted 35% of the box office as a distribution fee at that time, and that was too much for Grey Pictures.

'Sony-Columbia doesn't have a strong presence in Hollywood and is always being outbid by the other giants. What they need is a big movie that can produce sequels.'

Whenever he heard of Sony-Columbia, all Kazir could think of was Spider-Man. Other than that, Kazir had few movies to associate with Sony-Columbia.

Besides, the company rarely produced its own movies. They would only invest if the movie looked promising.

Most of the time, they make a profit by buying movies and distributing them, or distributing movies from studios that didn't have the ability to distribute their movies.

Having a distribution network was very difficult to achieve. It takes time, a very long time. Even buying a company that had a distribution network was very hard to find, because they would be bought by the Big Six as soon as possible.

Especially for international distribution, it was almost impossible to acquire one, because it was a valuable thing. The ability to distribute your products to many countries to reach the consumer is not that easy.

In a way, the Big Six have the right to demand a 30% share of the box office. Still, Kazir didn't give a damn.

'You want my scripts? Lower the distribution fee.'

He closed his eyes for a second and calmed his mind. There was no need to make a decision today. He had to think about it seriously.

Besides, he has to find Fremont Smith to ask him about the progress of Taken 2.

"Ah, I remember, it should be Director Smith now."

He chuckled. Fremont Smith signed up for membership in the Director's Guild. He needed recommendations from three directors to get approval. Salvatore Barlowe had enough connections to help Fremont Smith with that.

Unlike Kazir, who had experience in making big-budget films, Fremont Smith was afraid that his expenses might reach the limit, so he gladly agreed to sign a contract with the insurance company to make sure that the money provided would be enough for the film.

'In this aspect, maybe only someone like me can do it right.'

Once you become a famous director, it would be hard to stay within the budget. Sometimes they have to spend more just to shoot the scenes that the director wants.

On top of that, if the director is not satisfied with the footage, the shooting may be extended.

Perhaps the most famous director in this category was none other than James Cameron. He was known to be like this. His movie budget kept increasing as the filming went by.

'Well, this is Fremont's first movie, so I think he will not go over budget.'

Frankly, Grey Pictures was in a tight spot at the time.

++++++

[You can visit my Patreon if you want to read more and if you want to support me. I have 136 advanced chapters there for just $10.]

https://www.patreon.com/Puji_maki

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to Spencer Wells, Gabriel C, Jae, and Sundeep J!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 171


The building had a training room. This was the place where Tae-Won Park trained the cast of Taken 2 and The Bourne Identity.

Kazir Grey checked the place and nodded when he found some actors he recognized. However, he did not see Matt Damon and Liam Neeson.

Both actors were famous and busy. Matt Damon was filming a commercial today and would not be back until tomorrow.

As for Liam Neeson, he would come at 1 p.m. and leave at 4 p.m. He only has to go to training 3 times a week.

This was one of the conditions he said before signing a contract for Taken 2. The good thing was that Liam Neeson was serious about training. He always showed up 3 times a week, true to his contract.

During his walk, he found Enzo Park, who was teaching the stunt actors how to fall to the ground with minimal pain.

Enzo Park saw him and greeted him.

Kazir nodded, signaling that they could continue.

As he expected, Kazir found Fremont Smith filming experimental scenes in the training studio. He was filming the stunt performers "fighting" to improve his experience.

He was practicing with the stunt actors.

"Director Grey."

Fremont Smith finished rehearsing when he saw Kazir approaching.

"How are you doing?"

When Kazir came closer, he noticed that Fremont had lost weight and looked haggard. A normal appearance for directors while in the process of creating films.

Even Kazir suffered the same treatment whenever he had a project.

"I'm fine. I just practice so I have more ideas to use. I'm also studying a lot of cuts."

Grey Pictures agreed to let Fremont Smith participate in the post-production of Taken 2, but if his director's cut didn't meet their criteria, Grey Pictures would decide to edit the film themselves.

Usually directors don't have the right to participate in post-production and edit the film, they can only make suggestions. Maybe only a few directors in Hollywood get that privilege.

Grey Pictures has already been generous in giving Fremont that privilege. Hopefully Fremont Smith will appreciate this opportunity and do his best.

The two talked for a long time. As a veteran director with many successful films under his belt, Kazir Grey began to talk about his experience.

Fremont Smith listened intently. He knew most of what Kazir was saying because he had been his assistant director for three years, but there was nothing wrong with listening. In fact, it could remind him of important aspects of filming.

Like preparing the scenes. The director should have a clear vision in his mind of what he wants to portray. If possible, the director should draw it in the storyboard to have a proper understanding.

For example, if the director wants to film a scene with an overhead view, he may need to prepare a crane depending on the distance.

If he wanted to capture an explosion from different angles, he had to prepare dozens of cameras in different locations.

Let's not forget the theme of the movie. The color palette was the best way to portray it.

The blue color palette represents cold, isolation, melancholy and calm in the movie. An example was when Officer K (Ryan Gosling) was staring into the mirror after losing something important to him in Blade Runner 2049. The color palette in this scene was blue.

In the same way, the orange color palette could represent warmth, sociability, friendliness, and happiness.

"Thank you, director. I learned a lot."

"No, unlike me, who didn't graduate from a film/performing arts university, I'm sure you already studied these subjects in college."

"Still, thank you, director. It's completely different to hear it from a professional director."

"You're just praising me. Anyway, we are both directors now. I guess I will have to call you Director Smith." Kazir chuckled.

"You can after the success of Taken 2." Fremont Smith replied.

"It will be a success. Definitely."

"That's right."

It was a mystery where this confidence came from. Perhaps every director should be confident in their films, or there would be no reason to make them.

After talking to Fremont Smith, Erica Mendez contacted Kazir and told him that another person was looking for him.

'As expected...'

Kazir said he would be there.

When he reached the lobby, he found a person sitting in a chair. The man was nervous and was wiping his sweat.

Kazir didn't know who he was. However, he could tell from the man's appearance that he might be of Asian descent.

"Director Grey. I'm Lee Himura from Sony-Columbia. We would like to work with you on The Bourne Identity."

'Exactly what I expected. He's from Sony-Columbia.'

Kazir nodded. The man's last name alone meant that he was from Japan, which was understandable. After all, the parent company of Sony-Columbia was none other than Sony, a huge company based in Japan.

Lee Himura didn't bother to talk nonsense. He got right to the point.

"After some thought, we came to the conclusion that the other companies were offering you a 22% box office distribution fee."

"..."

Kazir was speechless.

'From the looks of it, someone leaked what happened earlier. There's a snitch!'

"That's right." Kazir nodded.

"Then I'm happy to say that Sony-Columbia is willing to work with Grey Pictures for 20% of the box office. The company was willing to buy the three scripts for $1 million each."

'Not bad'. Kazir listened.

"Also, we were hoping you could write a script for us. We want to make a movie based on an old TV show from the 80s."

"What TV show?"

"21 Jump Street." Lee Himura licked his lips before he said it.

When Kazir heard this, he couldn't help but feel that the future was becoming unpredictable. He could not help but smile.

++++++

[Since I already listed my top underrated anime and manga here, I might as well list my top 5 best completed novels / light novels / webnovels.]

1. Lord Of The Mystery: Probably the best webnovel out there. I've read it twice and I like it that much.

2. The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria (Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria): This is the first light novel I finished and it left a strong impression on me.

3. Mushoku Tensei(Jobless Reincarnation): I fell in love with this light novel, watching Rudeus slowly change his life for the better is gratifying to see.

4. Back to the Sixties: Farm, Get Wealthy & Raise the Cubs: Now this novel has a female protagonist and it's a slice of life. Still, there's something about this novel that keeps me reading it for weeks non-stop.

5. Legendary Mechanic: Mecha, action, sci-fi, universe, adventure. I have so much fun reading this webnovel.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 172


Sony-Columbia was the weakest of the Big Six, no one could deny that. What they needed was a bunch of movies that would make them relevant.

For the next few decades, the only movie that made them relevant was Spider-Man, anything related to Spider-Man like Venom, Spider-Verse, and um, Morbius? Maybe? Men In Black is great, but its influence was weaker compared to Spider-Man.

If this negotiation ended in cooperation with Sony-Columbia, one thing was for sure, Sony-Columbia would gain the power to fight the other movie companies.

In the first place, the reason for the company's weakness was the lack of good movies in their library. They were different from Warner Bros that could film Batman every decade. They didn't have the strength in animation that Walt Disney had.

'In short, my decision can change the balance of power in this industry...'

Such a thought made Kazir smile. He could not believe that a director like him could do such a thing. Was it even possible? Or perhaps Kazir was just being arrogant.

The scripts he wanted to sell were all comedies with one or two sequels in them. That meant Sony-Columbia could make a profit for at least a decade if they did it right.

These movies were: Bruce Almighty, Anchorman and Horrible Bosses. These movies did well at the box office, grossing at least $200 million worldwide.

In fact, Kazir was interested in selling the romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Although he decided to wait a few years before making a decision.

'20% box office fee is not bad. No, it's a steal. Almost no company would make that deal unless they are crazy.'

Well, given the situation, Sony-Columbia was crazy to offer that kind of deal.

"How many films does Sony-Columbia want to distribute?"

If Sony-Columbia only wanted to distribute The Bourne Identity, then this negotiation was over. It would be detrimental to sell three of his scripts for one movie distribution. It should be at least 3 movies.

"Four to five movies."

Kazir nodded. He could sense the sincerity. Maybe Sony-Columbia was getting desperate because their competitors were getting better while they were stagnating.

"I'll be honest, of all the producers who contact me, you from Sony-Columbia is the most sincere."

"I'm glad to hear that." Lee Himura smiled. However, he didn't feel good about this negotiation. Obviously, Sony-Columbia was the loser in this transaction.

If it weren't for his boss' nagging, Lee Himura wouldn't be doing this. If there was one good thing, it was that the responsibility for negotiating a 20% box office share with Grey Pictures was not his. It came from higher up.

If that negotiation leads to disaster, he is innocent... Although he could be fired if that happened. So his mood was not good. He only hoped that Kazir Grey would not ask for a lower distribution fee.

"Still, I have to think about it. Just like I said before, I need three days to think about it."

'If another movie company offered me a better deal, of course I would sign with them.'

Kazir smiled. There was nothing wrong with his decision.

'Even if I upset one or two of the Big Six, I still have other companies to work with. Of course, let's pray they don't work together to destroy me like they did with DreamWorks. Splitting the company in two.'

"I understand."

Lee Himura bowed. He had already done his best. Anything less than 20% would be detrimental. This was the lowest they could offer. If Kazir Grey still said no, so be it.

The Sony-Columbia producer shook Kazir's hand before leaving.

.........
......
...

While the negotiations were going on, 20th Century Fox invited him to participate in the pre-production of Napoleon Dynamite III, which was to be released in the summer or later this year.

Kazir was no fool, he knew this was just a way for Tom Rothman to talk to Kazir personally.

He had already done his job and turned most of the work over to the writers. In fact, Kazir didn't touch the Napoleon Dynamite III script that much. He just made some suggestions.

He knew he was no genius. It would be better for the writers to build the plot.

'If I'm not mistaken, this could be the last movie. Completion of the trilogy. The actors' salaries are getting higher and higher and Fox Searchlight Pictures can't afford them anymore. Before the salary got bigger, they decided to finish the trilogy and get as much money as possible.'

As for the outcome of the final installment of Napoleon Dynamite, Kazir Grey had no idea. That movie never happened in the original timeline.

As he expected, when Kazir visited the filming studio, he saw some people he recognized.

The director, Hugo Lameire, looked at Kazir and nodded. There was no handshake or greeting. The director just walked by.

'... I have no idea why he's like that, but who cares.'

He shrugged. Kazir then found Ed Helms, Pedro Pascal and even Reese Witherspoon. The actors greeted him, but none stayed long.

As for Kazir, he was mature enough to understand the situation. He kept his smile and talked to the writers of the film.

But a minute after he talked to them, Tom Rothman appeared out of nowhere like a fucking mushroom.

"Kazir! Haha, nice to meet you! How's your day going? By the way, congratulations on John Wick and The Hangover 2! Damn, I still regret not signing a contract with you!"

"Tom, my day is going well..."

'Until you showed up.'

He swallowed the last part of the sentence. It seemed that even the big shot of 20th Century Fox was interested in his scripts to show such enthusiasm.

'So who am I meeting with tomorrow, Michael Eisner, Michael Ovitz? Or maybe Brad Grey.'

He shook his head. Such was the life of the most sought-after director of the era.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 173


Kazir knew that Tom Rothman was interested in his screenplays. Four of the scripts he sold were blockbusters. That was enough to prove that Kazir had what it took to be the best screenwriter in Hollywood.

Se7en, the first screenplay he sold. More than $300 million at the worldwide box office.

Meet The Parents, the last script he sold. The box office was already over $200 million.

In that era, before the 2000s, $200 million was an amazing feat.

But it seemed that Kazir's movie could do it easily. None of his movies had a box office of less than $200 million.

Perhaps it would be better to call him Kazir Grey, the 'More Than $200 Million Guy'.

That is, when Tom Rothman successfully buys a script from him and turns it into a movie. The chances of the movie making more than $200 million were high.

This result was enough for Tom Rothman to lower the distribution fee.

He believed that the money they could get from The Bourne Identity was minuscule, but it would be too bad too pass on the other scripts.

'At best, we can get 20-30 million dollars, but we have to subtract the publicity and the prints. So the profit we can get is only 10-20 million dollars. Not bad, because Kazir's movie will never go below $200 million.'

Of course, The Bourne Identity could flop and 20th Century Fox may never recoup its investment. But Tom Rothman was willing to gamble just to get the three scripts from Kazir.

'I know Kazir will make a good movie. He knows the formula for making a good movie.'

As long as nothing unexpected happened, The Bourne Identity would definitely be well received. Maybe that was why Matt Damon was interested in the role.

"Nancy already told you that 20th Century Fox is ready to distribute your movie and the distribution fee is 23% of the box office. Well, I decided to make it 22%. How about it, Kazir? Are you interested?"

After talking nonsense for a few minutes, Tom Rothman decided to talk to Kazir about his decision.

"It's a good contract. But, Tom, I need to know how many movies 20th Century Fox plans to distribute."

"Two to three films. That's the best we can do."

Anything more would be too much for 20th Century Fox.

"I understand." Kazir nodded.

He could sense Tom Rothman's sincerity... Unfortunately, his sincerity was not enough to convince him.

"Tom, there are still two days before I can make a decision. I hope you understand. I need to give this some serious thought."

"Okay. I just hope you choose 20th Century Fox. Kazir, we have a good working relationship and the first company to distribute your movie is none other than 20th Century Fox."

"Yes, and I'm grateful for that."

After visiting the studio and talking to Tom Rothman, Kazir Grey returned to Grey Pictures.

Tomorrow they have a script reading to familiarize themselves with their roles.

.........
......
...

"We've met for the second time, Director Grey."

Sony-Columbia CEO Frank Price shook hands with Kazir.

After three days of negotiations, Kazir chose the best option.

Many film companies contacted him, hoping to work with him. Unfortunately, only Sony-Columbia satisfied him.

For 20% of the box office, Sony-Columbia would distribute his four films. In return, Sony-Columbia paid Kazir $3.5 million to buy his three screenplays. Of course, if Kazir was interested in writing the sequels to these films, Sony-Columbia would pay him more than $1 million per sequel.

In addition, Kazir Grey agreed to write a screenplay for 21 Jump Street. But the best he could do would be next year. He was going to be busy this year, he could feel it.

Sony-Columbia didn't have a problem with that because they couldn't release that many movies at once.

In fact, the higher-ups would decide which script to adapt first. They have to read the three scripts and make a decision.

"Kazir, since you are the writer, I wonder which movie you want to make first?"

"Hm, I think Bruce Almighty is not bad. But it depends on Jim Carrey's decision." He shrugged.

"When I wrote the script, I imagined Jim Carrey as the protagonist. Although we have to keep this fact a secret because we don't want Jim Carrey to ask for an extravagant salary."

Frank Price agreed. If Jim Carrey's agent found out that the script was written in Jim Carrey's image, the agent might ask for a whopping amount of dollars.

"I see. So you want Jim Carrey to be the male lead? Honestly, considering the role of Bruce Nolan and his hilarious antics, I think Jim Carrey really fits the part."

As for how Sony-Columbia convinced Jim Carrey to take the role, Kazir Grey has no idea.

'Well, they'll probably use the power of money to convince a superstar like Jim Carrey.'

Finally, Kazir's problem with the distribution of The Bourne Identity was over. His next three films also found a company to distribute them.

As for Paramount's grumbling, Kazir didn't care. Once Taken 2 came out, their relationship would be over.

'Damn it, I'm like an orphan living in different places every night. I have no place to call home.'

He sighed. For two years he didn't have to think about this problem, but this year he had to find another distributor. All he could do was produce movies that could bring him profit and fame so that the distributors would look for him instead.

"Well... How about I go to the Sundance Film Festival?"

He remembered a certain movie that was released this year...

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to David H!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 174


Palenque Simone rubbed his eyes as he watched the movie on the big screen.

Normally, watching movies was entertaining and relaxing, unless the movie was a horror movie. Horror movies were for the purpose of scaring the audience.

In this situation, the movie in front of Palenque Simone was a horror movie. However, he didn't feel scared at all. In fact, he was bored and sleepy.

'It really hurts my eyes to watch such a movie! The camera shakes so much that my head hurts! Besides, I feel like this is not a movie at all. It's like footage! Not a professional movie at all.'

Around this time, the found footage genre did not exist. The Blair Witch Project was the first kind of its genre that became successful. It basically popularized the genre.

Besides Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity and Cloverfield were also found footage movies.

Anyway, Palenque Simone didn't know why his boss told him to watch this movie and try to buy the rights.

Palenque Simone was an intern five years ago. He graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in psychology. But he didn't want to go to a hospital or become a counselor or anything like that.

Instead, he was interested in the minds of movie characters. He loves to study the psychology of movie characters.

He studied Catherine Tramell, a fictional character from Basic Instinct. He especially likes to study Hannibal Lecter... The guy was quite interesting.

Of course, Palenque was not crazy. He just wanted to know how psychopaths think.

Because of this hobby he decided to work in Hollywood. The first project he took part in was a great success. It was none other than Napoleon Dynamite.

Remembering his life in Hollywood, Palenque Simone felt that he had it better. At least he had a steady job and the salary and bonus were amazing. Since all the films that Director Grey made were successful, the bonus he received was also considerable.

In addition, his job was now the director's assistant after his friend, Fremont Smith, started his own movie.

Palenque could not help but sigh. It would be a lie to say he was not jealous.

Palenque and Fremont were on the same starting line, but now his position was higher than his.

Well, Fremont Smith had experience in filmmaking because he had graduated from a film school.

In addition, he signed a contract with Salvatore Barlowe, which made his way easier. One of the reasons why Kazir Grey decided to help him.

'At least my salary increased...'

To be honest, Palenque was interested in making a movie, but his experience was not enough. He needed more time to gain experience and knowledge to be a director. Not that being a director is easy.

Before becoming an assistant director, Palenque was part of the props team, responsible for making and preparing background scenes.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, he realized that the horror movie was over and stood up as the credits rolled. He was still confused as to why he was here and why he had to buy the movie.

'Director Grey watched the movie two days ago while hiding his identity. Then he called me and said that I must buy the movie, but I must not show any intention of being interested in the movie so that the price won't be high.'

In order for this to happen, Director Grey told him to buy the film on the last day of the screening.

The Sundance Film Festival lasted ten days, and today was the last day.

The audience clapped tiredly and left. In fact, only a handful of people watched the movie. The answer was obvious, the movie was not good at all!

Still, Palenque Simone decided to face the director of The Blair Witch Project just to finish the job.

With a business smile, Palenque found the director and opened his mouth.

"Hello, are you the director of this movie?"

"Me? Yes, I'm one of the directors of this movie. I'm Daniel Myrick."

Palenque nodded. Most of the time only one director is credited in a movie. That might have something to do with the Director's Guild rules that only one director be credited on a movie.

Still, others have co-directors in movies, such as the Coen brothers and the Wachowski sisters.

In The Blair Witch Project, two directors could be credited because they were not registered in the Director's Guild of America.

"I'm Palenque Simone, and I'm interested in buying your movie."

Director Grey said that Palenque could not say his affiliation at the beginning, to keep the information hidden.

Hearing Palenque's words, Daniel Myrick was stunned at first. But he smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't, not anymore. Someone already bought the movie yesterday... I apologize."

Daniel Myrick thought this movie was nonsense. So when he heard that someone was interested in buying his movie, he didn't think twice and sold it for $15,000.

He thought the buyer would back out, so he sold it quickly.

Now that someone was interested, he could not help but feel helpless. Life was never fair.

"I see. Then can I know the company that bought it?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to tell you."

Palenque sighed. He just wasted his time here. He was not even sure how to explain this to Director Grey.

With no choice, Palenque Simone left the Sundance Film Festival and found the opportunity to call his superior.

"I'm sorry, director, but the film is already sold."

"It's okay. You can go back now."

"Yes."

Kazir was not very interested in the movie. He was interested in the profit, but cheating the whole country with viral marketing was pretty dirty in his opinion. It was different from his fake relationship with Cameron Diaz. Well, their relationship was not technically fake because they were actually dating, albeit with an expiration date...

"I wonder who bought the movie..."

Kazir thought to himself.

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to BotsBoy 408, bomber-harris, and David J!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 175


On camera, Matt Damon walked down the street. The snow was blowing around, making the scene almost white.

Matt Damon looked around and saw two people in police uniforms...

"Cut! Ten minute break!"

Kazir announced after 30 seconds of footage. The crew started moving around.

The fan/blower responsible for creating the snow effect was turned off.

There were many ways to replicate the snow, such as small paper flakes or even shredded white plastic. These items have a similar appearance to snow once captured by the camera.

This time, the crew decided to use paper flakes.

It was impossible to rely on the weather and hope that it would snow on the exact day they were going to shoot the snow scene. In addition, cold weather would affect their production. Some people would get sick.

The fan/blower shot snow(paper flakes) over a distance to make it realistic.

If there was one bad thing about using these materials, it was that they were slippery. So Matt Damon had to watch his steps so that he won't slip.

To minimize expenses, they decided to shoot this scene in Los Angeles. Originally, the crew wanted to go to Switzerland for authentic scenes, but Kazir decided against it...

Frankly, he never likes to move. Even promoting his films around the globe was the last thing he wanted to do as a director. Of course, being interviewed was the second least. And attending a party was the third least.

'The original Bourne Identity was shot in France, Italy, the Czech Republic and Mykonos... Going to France and Italy is enough.'

As for the other countries, Kazir and his crew would try to make it as authentic as possible.

Traveling to many countries would only make them tired... Um, maybe some of the crew members liked to travel the world, but Kazir Grey was not on that list.

"Director, how's my acting?"

Matt Damon asked the director. Matt Damon was a professional actor and was even nominated for the Best Actor Award.

For this role, Matt Damon even interviewed people who suffered from amnesia. On this basis he built up his character as Jason Bourne. Of course, he still needed the director's approval.

"It's good."

Kazir nodded and decided to let him watch the clip. Most of the time the directors didn't want to show the monitors to the actors.

Some actors would become aware of their appearance and facial expressions if they watched their acting on the monitor, especially if they made a mistake.

In Matt Damon's situation, Kazir decided to show him his acting in order to praise him and show him that he had to maintain the role of a clueless/depressed man suffering from amnesia in the hope of finding his true identity.

"Um, director. Do you mind if we reshoot? I feel like I can relate to Jason Bourne more now."

Seeing Matt Damon's reaction, Kazir shook his head and agreed.

'As expected, some actors will pester their directors just to get a perfect shot. Maybe Matt Damon is the type of actor who uses his understanding to get into a role.'

"Fine, but Matt, you have to understand. This movie is an action movie, there's no need for too much drama. You don't have to be too expressive unless you have to be. Don't push yourself too hard. Hell, as long as you can act cool, I don't have a problem."

Adrien Brody in The Pianist got super depressed and even broke up with his girlfriend.

Shia Labeouf in Fury. Just to experience the real suffering that the soldiers went through, the guy literally didn't shower for a month... What a fucking commitment.

Of course, let's not forget Heath Ledger in his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight.

Kazir didn't want Matt Damon to go through the same thing, because this movie wasn't serious at all. This movie was meant for men's entertainment, nothing else. So Kazir didn't need an Oscar performance.

"I understand." Matt Damon nodded. He took a deep breath.

Just like that, they decided to reshoot the scene. Even though it was only a 30-second scene.

But this time Matt Damon almost slipped. Luckily he didn't fall, otherwise it would have been bad. The scene had to be reshot. They shot it 3 times just to get a better scene. In those 30 seconds, Matt Damon showed his helplessness perfectly as he walked out into the street.

As the scene progressed, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) felt the police officers staring at him.

Realizing that they were following him, Jason Bourne decided to go to the U.S. Embassy to present one of his dozens of passports. Jason Bourne had so many passports with different identities and nationalities. He had no idea why he had a lot of passports.

The police could not enter the embassy without permission, so Jason Bourne had time to rest and think about his situation.

Unfortunately for him, even the people inside the embassy were looking for him. Jason Bourne began to evade his pursuers and exited the building...

"Cut!"

Kazir announced, frowning as he looked at the monitor. He saw a signage written in English.

"That sign... It was supposed to be in Swiss-German."

To be honest, Kazir was not sure what language it was. But he knew they were speaking German.

For authenticity, Kazir made sure that even the signs on the street were written in a foreign language.

"I-I'm sorry, director."

Efren Reyes, the prop master, apologized and immediately signaled his crew. He had become head of the props team after Harold Witsend became producer.

"Do we have someone who speaks Swiss-German?"

"Yes, we hired one."

"Good, ask him for the details."

Kazir sighed... They have to spend more time preparing the props, affecting their schedule.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 176


"Are you okay?"

Cameron Diaz asked Kazir worriedly when she noticed that Kazir had a stuffy nose.

"It's not that bad. I'll sleep early tonight."

He stayed up all night yesterday and was affected by the cold. Fortunately, he only had a stuffy nose and his general health was fine. He had been working hard lately because he had important positions within the company and the production crew.

Salvatore Barlowe and Erica Mendez were still looking for a professional manager who would meet Kazir's requirements.

"Hm."

Cameron Diaz nodded and squeezed his arm.

"I think your friends are looking for you. You can have fun with them. I'll just stay here." Kazir said to her.

He glanced at the group of models attending this particular party. Before she was an actress, Cameron Diaz was a model.

"Well, take care of yourself."

Cameron kissed him on the cheek and approached her friends.

'Our contract ends after this movie, I don't know why she keeps doing this.'

Kazir shook his head and forgot about it. He couldn't afford to be controlled by his emotions.

It was April 3, 1999. Paramount was throwing a party tonight to celebrate the success of The Truman Show.

Kazir was invited to the party because of his recent association with the company. Even though Grey Pictures had signed a distribution deal with Sony-Columbia, Paramount was mature enough to understand that.

Besides, they might work together again, and Kazir Grey was known as a director who didn't make flops.

Next week the crew would go to Italy to shoot the corresponding scenes. Kazir decided to give himself some time to have fun... Although going to a party was not fun in his opinion.

However, because he decided to take some time off, the crew took some time off as well. Today, filming ended early.

The box office of The Truman Show was 264 million dollars. This gives Jim Carrey another achievement in the industry. Of course, the plot of The Truman Show was amazing. Even Kazir praised the movie.

The mood at the party was very good. Especially when another movie that Paramount invested a lot in did well recently.

Meet the Parents grossed $160 million in North America this April. On top of that, the international box office was $75 million. That brings the total to over $235 million. Everyone knows that the movie would still go up, especially the international box office.

"Haa-choo!"

With that, Kazir Grey decided to go to the bathroom and blow his nose. After he threw the tissue into the trash, he felt great that he could breathe again.

It was uncomfortable to have a stuffy nose. He washed his hands and spent a few minutes in the bathroom to get ready.

This was not his first time at a party. He had seen people trying to talk to him, trying to get to know him. Of course, Kazir understood that this process was important. But it was tiring.

On top of that, some girls tried to flirt with him even when he was with someone else.

Just as he expected, as soon as he returned to the party, people started approaching him.

Luckily, the first people to greet him were someone he knew.

Salvatore Barlowe and Brianna Evans were talking to Kazir. Their relationship was more like business partners, Kazir respected them both.

"I can't believe you got the Paramount to agree."

"What can I do? I just showed them all the benefits if they cast Brianna."

Salvatore was now a famous agent and many actors and actresses hoped to become his clients or get a better role in a movie. Hell, even men might not hesitate to go to bed with him just to get a nice role.

Like Kazir, the agent suffered from endless flirtations from the opposite sex.

Unfortunately, Salvatore Barlowe's aesthetic was on the Asian side. He was attracted to Asian women. His standing in the industry improved after he signed Kazir.

As for Brianna Evans, she contacted Kazir to thank him for recommending her. Brianna was a theater actress from Australia. It was very difficult for her to enter Hollywood and she had to work part-time just to survive.

All she had was talent for acting, but she realized that talent was not enough. Most of the time, the most important thing in this industry was the connection and fame. Luckily she met someone like Kazir and Salvatore who helped her in her career.

Now she has three successful movies in her resume, which were Taken, The Truman Show and Meet The Parents. She was no longer a novice in this aspect, especially when the three movies were all blockbusters.

Because of this, Brianna Evans had a chance to compete for the female lead role in Runaway Bride. Brianna's talent was highly regarded by Paramount after working with her.

Also, Paramount was hesitant to hire Julia Roberts because of her huge salary. Even though the director wanted to cast Julia Roberts, he couldn't fight Paramount too much.

So spoiler alert, Brianna Evans became the female lead in Runaway Bride, which was in the process of pre production.

Kazir nodded and congratulated her. He didn't know what the future might hold for Brianna, but he was ready for it.

After all, he was the first variable to change the future.

Just like Brianna, another famous actor appeared and talked to Kazir.

Kazir Grey didn't expect this actor to approach him on his own.

He didn't expect Jim Carrey, the protagonist of this party, to talk to him.

"Hello, Director Grey. Congratulations, you're not only a talented director but also a talented writer."

"Thank you."

+++++

[Author's Note: I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Don't take this novel seriously, just have fun and be peaceful].

[As for the inconsistency in the box office, I suck at math and numbers, so I always forget the exact box office for movies. I wrote that The Hangover grossed over $500 million, but in another chapter I wrote that the box office was $400 million. Consider this a plot hole, and the author deserves a 1-star review for the number inconsistency.]

[I'm good at thinking and setting up plots, but I'm never good at numbers. And yes, I'm an Asian who sucks at math. Fuck math!!!]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 177


Kazir was a little confused by the situation. He was the kind of director who didn't like to socialize much. He would only attend a party if it was related to him or if he was invited by his friends.

He knew how important it was to make connections. As for the actors and actresses, they were the ones who approached him, not the other way around.

Of course, with his status, he understood that Jim Carrey wanted to make a connection with him.

"I heard that you recommended me to Sony-Columbia to be the protagonist of Bruce Almighty."

"Ah."

Immediately after that, Kazir realized why Jim Carrey was talking to him.

'It seems that Sony-Columbia had already contacted Jim Carrey. Although I didn't know why they told Jim Carrey that I recommended him... Maybe the lips of the people in management are hard to shut.'

Anyway, it could be a good thing. Having a relationship with a great actor like Jim Carrey was a good thing.

"You're an actor with a huge range of facial expressions, I think everyone recognized your talent."

Kazir was not lying. Jim Carrey was like a living cartoon character with the way he acted. Very entertaining.

"Thank you, director."

Jim Carrey smiled. He was a real homie.

Jim Carrey was an actor who knew how the industry worked. He realized that Hollywood was slowly dying in a pool of shit as he grew old.

On Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jim Carrey mocked Hollywood by making an Illuminati sign. Showing that many people in that industry were part of the Illuminati. The thing was, everyone acted like nothing happened after that, erasing that incident.

Of course, maybe Jim Carrey was just joking and the Illuminati was not real.

As for the truth, nobody really knows...

Anyway, for Jim Carrey to reveal the "truth" was already a brave act. Most of the actors would hide and cower or join instead.

The media was the world's greatest hypnotist, and it wouldn't be a lie if a secret organization controlled show business.

What you watched on television controlled you, in a mild or angry way.

Anyway, Jim Carrey appreciates the fact that Kazir Grey recommended him.

First of all, Bruce Almighty looks promising. After reading the script, Jim Carrey understood that the movie would be a box office hit. In addition, the script was written by Kazir Grey, a talented screenwriter in the comedy genre. This means that the movie has a higher chance of becoming a blockbuster.

Unless a bad thing happened, such as the production being shut down due or a wrong release date, Bruce Almighty would definitely be a successful movie.

Jim Carrey and Sony-Columbia communicated for days and their intention was clear. Both sides wanted to work together and make Bruce Almighty a movie. They were just negotiating other terms like salary and other demands.

Unfortunately, Jim Carrey was not the only actor Sony-Columbia was looking for.

Robin Williams, Adam Sandler, Steve Martin, Will Ferrell, and even Ben Stiller. When Paramount announced that they had bought three scripts from Kazir Grey, these actors, known in the comedy genre, expressed their intentions.

Although Jim Carrey was the first choice, he might not get the part.

Honestly, Jim Carrey could drop Bruce Almighty and find another movie to participate in, a movie that could pay him more. However, he was not sure if that movie would be better than Bruce Almighty. After all, Bruce Almighty was written by Kazir Grey.

So he decided to talk to Kazir Grey, hoping that he could talk to Paramount and increase his chances of getting the role.

"I heard that you're not going to attend the audition. That's sad because I want to show you my acting." Jim Carrey said.

"I'm going to Italy to make a movie." Kazir replied.

The auditions for Bruce Almighty would begin in May, but Kazir would not be in the U.S. at that time. Those responsible for judging the actors were the director, the producer, and the higher-ups at Sony-Columbia.

Sony-Columbia hoped that Kazir would watch the audition, but his schedule said no.

"Is that so? Then I hope we can meet again. As an actor, I want to work with someone like you."

Jim Carrey didn't push the subject of casting too much. It was good that he talked to Kazir. Besides, this matter would reach the ears of Sony-Columbia, which would give him a higher chance of getting the role.

After the two of them talked about things they could relate to, other people started to show up. Most of them were interested in Kazir Grey because of his position.

.........
......
...

Inside the studio, five people were moving the boat to replicate the wobbling effect of a real boat on the surface of the ocean. The background was dimmed to make it look like night.

The unsteady motion made the actors inside the boat feel like they were inside a real boat floating on the ocean. In addition, the crew used a flashing light to create the effect of lightning to make it seem like the boat was in the middle of the ocean and the storm was still going on.

While this was happening, a camera was recording their facial expressions.

Jason Bourne(Matt Damon) was lying on the table when the doctor pulled a bullet out of Jason's hip.

The doctor examined the bullet and noticed something strange, the bullet had a series of numbers that led to a bank.

The doctor checked the unconscious man but he realized that the man was missing!

"What the hell have you done to me?"

Suddenly, Jason Bourne grabbed the doctor from behind and slammed him against the wall. In shock and fear, the doctor began to speak in Italian.

"What are you doing?"

Jason Bourne asked. No memory of what happened.

"Goddamn it! Where am I?"

"A boat!" The doctor replied quickly as Jason choked him.

"We pulled you out of the ocean! W-we saw you floating in the ocean and saved you!"

"You were shot. See the bullet? There's a bank number in it." The doctor gestured and showed Jason the bullet.

Jason was too weak and his last remaining strength disappeared.

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to Sydney and KumaBEAR!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 178


"Mommy! MOMMY! MOMMY!"

Mara Cohen screamed as she walked to the pool. She was a spoiled child who was very childish. She was holding a newspaper, and she was clutching it in anger.

She was screaming like a little child. Because of too much anger, she bumped into the table and it fell over. Mara Cohen clicked her tongue, but didn't bother to fix it.

"Honey, what are you doing? Are you okay?"

Eliza Cohen was relaxing by the pool with her martini, in the middle of the day. She clearly had a good life.

The mansion she lived in belonged to her third ex-husband. He was rich and gave her half of his estate. Eliza Cohen was now a millionaire, though she hadn't worked hard for it... She made her ex-husbands' little juniors hard though.

"Shenna, go clean up the mess."

"Yes, ma'am."

Eliza ordered one of the maids she had hired from overseas. These overseas workers were very good at their jobs and their wages were very cheap.

She only had to pay $400 monthly for each maid, and she didn't even have a problem with it. For these overseas workers, this amount was already huge.

'Sometimes I remember that America is actually a better country than most.'

For a woman like Eliza Cohen, who took advantage of others, these things did not matter.

"Mommy! Why is this happening? This is unfair! Why? I worked hard too!"

"Oh, honey. You need to calm down, okay?"

Mara was angry and disappointed. She walked in circles, obviously frustrated.

"Mommy! You said I was going to be a star! That I would be the most beautiful actress on this planet!"

"Of course, honey. Just like your mother, you are beautiful. I think everyone knew that. Isn't that right? Shenna?"

"Ma'am...? Ah, yes, you are beautiful and Miss Mara is beautiful too. You are both beautiful."

The maid, Shenna, was not lying. Her employee and her daughter were indeed beautiful. They were like angels, though Shenna knew that angels were not real. The personalities of her employer and her daughter were not angelic either.

"Fufu, I like your answer and I can see that you are not lying."

"Thank you, ma'am."

The maid wanted to leave this mansion and return to her country, but she had to feed her family. Besides, the pay here was better than in her own country.

Shenna started to fix the table that had fallen over.

"Anyway, your accent is not that good, I don't like it. I suggest you practice your English more. Better yet, don't speak at all."

Eliza Cohen muttered.

Shenna nodded and silently cleaned up the mess Mara Cohen had made.

"Honey, why are you mad? Who did this to you?"

"This! Look at this newspaper! That woman! She stole my role! It's all her fault!"

The shy Mara Cohen whom Kazir met last year was nothing more than a false persona. Perhaps Kazir dodged a bullet by cutting ties with his mother. After all, his half-sister was no innocent girl.

"Aww, let me take a look at that newspaper you're holding."

Mara Cohen handed her mother the newspaper. Mara was angry when she read the article earlier.

The top-grossing domestic films of 1998 were:

1.) Titanic -- $488 million.

2.) The Hangover Part 2-- $254 million.

3.) Armageddon-- 198 million dollars.

4.) Saving Private Ryan-- $190 million.

5.) There's Something About Mary-- $174 million.

6.) The Waterboy-- $147 million.

7.) Doctor Dolittle-- $144 million.

8.) Deep Impact - 140 million dollars.

9.) Godzilla-- 136 million dollars.

10.) Rush Hour-- $136 million.

These ten movies were the highest grossing movies of last year.

Titanic was very impressive, the movie already surpassed 1 billion dollars and everyone knew why the movie was number 1 this year.

As for The Hangover Part 2, this movie was distributed by Warner Bros. Eliza Cohen pursed her lips about this movie. After all, the screenwriter of this movie was her son, Kazir Grey.

In fact, everyone believes that the success of The Hangover Part 2 was due to the creativity that Kazir Grey had. Eliza Cohen was proud of this. She believed that her son inherited all his good qualities from her.

"Mom, Deep Impact is one of the top ten highest-grossing films of the year!"

The worldwide gross of Deep Impact was $349 million. It was an obvious success.

But Mara Cohen was not happy about it.

Mara Cohen had actually auditioned for a role in the movie. The part she was trying to get was Sarah Hotchner, she was Leo Biederman's girlfriend.

Leo Biederman was the teenager who discovered that a comet was going to hit the earth.

Even though Sarah Hotchner didn't have many scenes, it was still an impressive role.

Unfortunately, someone stole it from her! It was none other than Scarlett Johansson!

Because of this, Mara Cohen hoped that Deep Impact would flop and everyone in the cast would be heartbroken.

Actually, Mara Cohen auditioned for the role, but she never made it past the 2nd round. She was immediately rejected because she didn't have any sense of acting ability.

Mara Cohen was indeed beautiful, but she was stiff in front of the camera. Her facial expressions were forced and dull! The best she could get were vase roles. A background role, appearing only in the background to make the scene beautiful!

"I hate the casting director! That part should have been mine! Mine! I can't believe it!"

So she had a grudge against Scarlett Johansson because of this...

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to Hunter212 and Ghost 21!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 179


"Thank you for your time, here is a gift. We will call you if you pass the selection."

Erica Mendez from Grey Pictures offered the gift and the middle-aged man accepted it.

Erica and the other executives were interviewing people for the general manager position. Grey Pictures was a recently formed company, and there were only few employees who had experience running a business.

Most of the employees were related to filmmaking, but none of them were experienced enough to take on the position of general manager.

Therefore, Grey Pictures decided to look for people who were qualified to take the position.

Normally, Kazir Grey was supposed to attend this interview to make a decision. However, director Grey was in Italy filming The Bourne Identity. He was unable to return to the U.S. to participate in the interview process.

Three people met most of the criteria and Erica was responsible for interviewing them along with the other people in management.

Kazir decided to let his assistant stay in the country because he knew Erica had twins.

Erica was grateful for that. And for that, too, Erica felt guilty. Her boss was too good.

If it were not for her boyish appearance, she might think of another reason why her boss was good to her. Fortunately, Erica knew that Kazir was good to his crew members and was not a tyrannical boss who belittled people.

Because of her boss's kindness, Erica decided to work hard. She seriously considered which of the three people would be a good choice for the company.

Kazir Grey was suffering from overwork and he clearly didn't like to dab his hands in business. Although Erica had only known him for two years, she knew that Kazir was not enthusiastic about building a company; his ambitions lay in art, in film.

Grey Pictures was just his way of dealing with the Big Six, just like Marvel Studios did back then.

Marvel Comics took one last gamble by creating a Cinematic Universe, and their decision paid off handsomely. Of course, comic book sales were still not that good. In fact, for the next three decades, Japanese manga would be more popular in the West than American comics.

Still, Marvel was making money in other ways, such as toys, merchandise, and movies. In a way, their situation was far better than DC Comics, which lost all its glory after 2010s.

Once the Continental Cinematic Universe was a success, Kazir would work with animation and comic book companies to adapt his movies to other forms of media.

As of now, the "gold" coins that appeared in Taken and John Wick are getting recognition. Some movie enthusiasts bought them and pretended they were part of the Cinematic Universe. Total sales of the Gold Coins have already surpassed $50 million.

Just like Marvel, Grey Pictures was trying to find another way to make money.

One of the reasons Grey Pictures needs a general manager is that Kazir could never manage all that while directing a movie.

"Call the last one."

Erica told the person outside.

A woman entered the office. She wore gold-rimmed glasses, but she didn't look like a geek. Instead, she looked like a classy and intelligent woman. It was not because of her appearance, but because of her manners and demeanor.

Erica raised her eyebrows and realized that she could not take her eyes off the woman for some reasons.

Of the three people who passed the requirements, this person was the only female.

Most of the requirements were simple, but Kazir had a special requirement.

The person should have worked in showbiz... Yes, very understandable.

As long as the person met the criteria, Kazir had no problem. But because of the intense screening, only three people passed. These three people managed important management related to showbiz.

The first guy was the ex-CEO of a cable network.

The second guy was a TV producer. His resume stated that he had created four TV shows.

As for the last person...

"Your name is Stella Willow, is that right?"

"That's right. I'm Stella Willow. I worked at NBC for five years before I quit."

Erica Mendez scanned the woman's resume. She already knew the woman's background, but she decided to read it again.

"It says here that you are the Head Manager of Production Management. Why did you leave your job? NBC is one of the best television networks in the United States."

"It's not that simple. The competition, the gossip and even the discrimination against women disgusted me.

"..." Erica nodded.

Erica Mendez could not help but agree. She was a female soldier and the looks she received from the male soldiers did not sit well with her. It was a good thing that Erica was a strong woman, so the soldiers around her quickly respected her.

She knew there were instances where women were harassed in their jobs.

"I decided to quit when my boss tried to lure me with sex for a promotion. I reached my position through hard work, I don't need to use my body to get it. This boss is a bastard and I knew he would give me a hard life after I refused him, so I decided to quit immediately."

"Is that so?"

Stella Willow didn't mention the exact reason why she quit her job in her resume, and that was the first time Erica had heard it. Even the other people in the room were listening to her story.

"What happened to the boss?"

"He died in a car accident. His body was crushed by a truck and he died horribly. Apparently his break didn't work." Stella grinned.

"..."

The room was silent for a second.

"Fufu, of course I'm kidding. He was fired for sexually harassing one of his employees."

She laughed. Then another person laughed awkwardly until everyone laughed.