HOLLYWOOD WHAT IF

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 361


Kazir thought about it seriously and he had an idea which of the three movies Blue Sky Studio would accept.

Blue Sky Studio was a business, not a charity. Its priority was to make money. Obviously, Blue Sky Studio would prefer Kung Fu Panda and Cars for their second movie.

Wall-E seemed promising, but its profitability was too low compared to those two.

Kazir stepped into the elevator knowing how the conversation would go. He had been in the business for more than seven decades, adding his past life. At the end of the day, production studios only made movies because they needed money.

Art and passion were just the freebies, but money was the main reason there were thousands of movies being released every year. The reason why many people wanted to become actors and become famous.

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Carl Ludwig wiped his forehead for the nth time, quite nervous and excited. Carl Ludwig was one of the founders of Blue Sky Studio, he currently held the position of President/Producer after 20th Century Fox became interested in 3D animated movies and invested in Blue Sky Studio.

After the success of Ice Age last year, the parent company (20th Century Fox) gained confidence in Blue Sky Studio. They were willing to invest more money just to make sure that Blue Sky Studio would compete with Walt Disney and Pixar, the leading companies in the animation industry.

Last year, shocking news was released. 30% of Grey Pictures was acquired by 20th Century Fox and the two companies made sure that this venture would be profitable for both of them.

Carl Ludwig was a big fan of Kazir Grey. He loved action movies and fell in love with Kazir's filmography.

In his opinion, The Matrix, Fight Cl*b, Kill Bill and Charlie's Angels became successful because of the genre that CCU paved for them.

The greatness of realistic action stunts was realized and many studios started to follow the trend. Today, most action movies take advantage of CCU.

Speaking of CCU, it was the first of its genre to make billions at the box office. According to the estimate of Forbes magazine, the net worth of CCU was more than 20 billion dollars as of this year. This net worth would continue to grow as long as CCU continued to do its job well.

There were some rumors that some of the Big Six were planning to create their own Cinematic Universe, but there were no official announcements to support this. Though Carl knew the Big Six were salivating at the idea.

Carl Ludwig was surprised that he would be meeting Kazir today. He even has posters of his movies in his office... He hoped that Kazir would sign them.

Carl had already read the three scripts, but they were incomplete. No one wanted a data leak, much worse if Kazir's scripts were stolen.

Carl liked Wall-E and was amazed at how Kazir wrote it. He was curious how Kazir could write such an amazing plot.

But he knew that this time, Wall-E might have to be put on a pedestal. 20th Century Fox wanted to see what Blue Sky Studio could do, and the best way to show it was to make money.

Heck, they even sent Kazir here just to make sure the future of Blue Sky Studio would be positive.

His phone rang, informing him that Kazir had arrived.

Carl wiped his forehead again and put on his best friendly smile to greet the most sought-after director of the era.

"Good morning, director."

"Good morning."

As always, business meetings began with a handshake.

Kazir and Carl sat down and the director couldn't help but look around. His attention was drawn to some of the posters.

Wanted, Taken, John Wick.

Most of the posters were movies he had directed.

'Is this a way to make a good impression?' he thought to himself.

"Director, I'm actually a fan of yours. I like your movies."

"That's great to hear. Maybe I can sign your posters to show off to your guests."

"That would be nice."

The two began to talk about their plans, and their conversation turned to the scripts.

"I think Wall-E deserves to be animated, but we should wait for the right time. For now, let's focus on stable genres that kids will love. After all, they are the main audience."

Wall-E had a certain seriousness to it, and kids might be confused or not like the movie. Well, Kazir knew that as long as they followed the original version, Wall-E would do well at the box office.

"I think we should make Cars instead. I can imagine how boys would like that movie." Carl added.

"Indeed, although I think Kung Fu Panda has a chance as well." Kazir nodded.

"Director, if you don't mind, we're hoping you'll take the position of executive producer on this project. We need your talent."

"Executive producer, huh..."

Kazir was the Executive Producer of so many projects this year and next year, but he only visited the sets a few times to check on the projects.

If he became the Executive Producer for Blue Sky Studio, he might have to spend one day a week in this place.

"Of course, we will make sure that this will not affect your projects. We just want to hear your thoughts and suggestions."

"We need the approval of 20th Century Fox."

"Oh, they will accept it for sure. We are talking about you."

"You are indeed a fan, you praised me quite highly. Then I have no problem."

"That's great to hear. Then I guess we have to choose Kung Fu Panda. You're a director who specializes in the action genre, I think the chances of Kung Fu Panda being successful will be much higher now that you're going to be involved."

"I don't have a problem."

Cars was good, too, but Kazir was more confident about Kung Fu Panda because action was his forte.

"By the way, we are going to hire Dan Schneider to direct this project."

Carl was thrilled that Kazir would be involved in this project.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Dan Schneider, from Nickelodeon. He produced a lot of shows at Nickelodeon like All That, Kenan & Kel, and The Amanda Show. I'm sure he knows how to get kids' attention."

Kazir was speechless at this shocking news!

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 362


Dan Schneider. Quite a famous person in the industry. Although two decades later, his fame would turn to infamy.

You see, Dan Schneider was facing some allegations. Alleged sexual misconduct and gender discrimination, many of them underage.

Dan Schneider was a bully on set, but because of his high status at Nickelodeon, he was protected for quite some time. Until the #MeToo movement started, which was the beginning of his allegations coming out.

This sick fuck of a guy was forcing young kids to show their feet for his fetish reasons. He had a foot fetish and everyone knows it, but really, why do that to kids? Bruh.

God knows how many foot scenes there were on iCarly alone.

"Has he signed a contract yet?" Kazir inquired. He didn't feel good about Dan Schneider being the director of Kung Fu Panda, the movie might be filled with foot scenes or something.

"No, but he has expressed interest."

"I think Dan has little knowledge of how animation works. His projects at Nickelodeon are mostly live action sitcoms."

"Yeah, you have a point."

"What about Chris Wedge? I know he's responsible for Ice Age 2, but the sequel is probably 4 years away. Maybe he can spend his time on Kung Fu Panda instead."

"Let's see, we will contact Chris about that. He is also interested in meeting with you.

Chris Wedge was the director of Ice Age, and Ice Age was actually his debut as a director. He was also a voice actor, he voiced Scrat in the Ice Age series.

Scrat was the squirrel that almost destroyed the Earth several times in the Ice Age.

"Also, Dan Schneider works for Nickelodeon and Nickelodeon is owned by Paramount. We don't want a data leak."

"I understand."

The two had an agreement. Kung Fu Panda would be the project that Blue Sky Studio would focus on this time. Of course, the project had to be approved by 20th Century Fox, as they were the investors.

But considering that Kung Fu Panda was written by star screenwriter Kazir Grey, 20th Century Fox would surely approve.

Kazir subsequently left Blue Sky Studio.

Sony-Colombia was now pushing him to start production on Spider-Man 2. Most of the cast had already signed on, Kazir was just the missing link.

Spider-Man had been a huge success and Sony-Columbia wanted that again. So yeah, they might have to agree to Kazir's big salary again.

Starting this month, Salvatore raised the base salary to $30 million + 28% worldwide box office + 7% merchandise profits.

Kazir had no intention of wasting any time. He just wanted Salvatore to play a little tug of war, since Salvatore had 3% of that amount. Kazir already had a lot of money to think about. His money was in the stock market, which was just getting bigger.

Wanted 2 will be released in the last week of October, while Game of Thrones will air in November.

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"Heh, don't you believe it? That bitch keeps lying that she's Kazir's sister when she's not. What a fucking liar! Pweh!"

A female spat on the ground, close to Mara's feet.

The group of women laughed, leaving Mara in a deep, seething rage. She wanted to punch the woman and rip her hair from her scalp.

She glared at her ex-friends.

Mara continued to spread the news that her brother was Kazir Grey, and she was not lying. Unfortunately, she couldn't control the news, so then everyone misunderstood she was close to the director. She didn't have the courage to deny it, so she went with the flow instead. It made her popular, so she didn't deny it.

But the result was too bad for her.

Rumors began to circulate that Mara was Kazir's half-sister, but their relationship was non-existent. Her friends started pestering her about it, and Mara had no choice but to admit the truth.

She looked at the ugly Asian woman sitting in the distance. Mara saw the woman smiling at her and Mara felt angry. She couldn't believe that she had come to the point where the ugly flat nose could grin at her... Now everyone made fun of her.

Mara left school to tell her dear mother. She knew her mother would do anything for her. Hell, her mother would bend over backwards for Mara.

"Mom! Mom! They are making fun of me!" Mara screamed loudly, frightening the maid who was polishing Elizabeth's nails.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Elizabeth asked elegantly. She was relaxing on the sofa while the maid did her nails.

"Mom, can you believe it? My friends started to hate me. They said I'm a liar! God, I hate them so much! Mom, do something about it! Please!"

"Okay, honey. I want you to calm down and explain it to me."

Mara started to yap and tell her story.

"Mom, can you please talk to my brother to stop this bullying?"

"Honey, that might be hard. But don't worry, I have another plan. I'll make sure everything works out. I'll also find a suitable role for you."

"Really? Thank you, Mommy. You're the best!"

Mara jumped for joy.

Elizabeth smiled and decided to contact someone at Universal. An important person in Universal Pictures wanted to meet her, the guy promised him a lot. Even bigger than the careers Harold and Salvatore had given them.

"I guess it's time to find another boat, a bigger boat to sail in comfort."

She smiled. She loved(?) Kazir, but she loved her daughter the most. Mara reminded her of your young past, an innocent woman who didn't know the cruelty of the world. As her mother, she wanted to protect that innocence.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 363


"Happy Birthday, Kazir!"

Angelina hugged and kissed her boyfriend. She was happy about the small party she had prepared for him.

Kazir shrugged and sat down. A cake with his age on it, and a candle with the number 35 on it.

He knew damn well that he was getting old. But he was happy for the life he had. He had already experienced being old, and this was basically his 2nd season of turning 35.

In his past life, his 35th birthday was depressing because he spent it alone. He had no one to trust deeply, he had friends but they were more like colleagues to be precise.

His status in the industry was stagnant and there was no hope. He tried his best to contact investors to invest in his movie, knowing that his horror movies never did well at the box office.

The good thing was that he was not in debt.

He was also 35 when his father died.

'If I remember correctly, then next year was the year that Napoleon Dynamite was originally released.'

Napoleon Dynamite was released in 2004, which was the year Kazir heard the news that his father had died. He went to the funeral, but got punched by his brother instead.

This time, Kazir promised himself that tragedy wouldn't happen again. He would live a happy life.

He looked around and saw his friends with whom he had formed a bond. Now he was not alone.

Angelina knew that Kazir never liked lavish parties, so she decided to keep this one small.

However, the people who attended the party were not ordinary.

Tom Cruise was talking to Tom Rothman about a possible collaboration. 20th Century Fox was getting better and Tom's career had gotten a boost after winning the Oscars last year.

Agent Salvatore and cinematographer Rector were also invited. Unfortunately, Producer Harold couldn't make it because he was busy. However, he sent a gift, an expensive bottle of wine.

Palenque Simone and Fremont Smith also attended the party, although they were busy so they didn't stay long. The two directors were now working on their projects.

Palenque with Game of Thrones, while Fremont was looking for scripts to film. If Fremont couldn't find a script, he would write one himself. Although he was not sure he had the talent, he understood that someone like Kazir was hard to find.

It was a small group, but they were friends and acquaintances that Kazir made along the way.

His family was also in the house. Aaron and his father were there.

Kazir couldn't help but be happy to see them. Especially his father. Surely his father would stay healthy this time. Kazir begged his old man to go to the gym and work out at least twice a week.

The chances of his father having a heart attack were slim... Unless a terrible accident happened. Unexpected events like that were impossible to avoid. Perhaps one day someone would run over your car and pulled out an AK-47.

Kazir knew he was doing great. His life now compared to his past life was very different. Like black and white.

The people around him were waiting for him to blow out the candle.

He closed his eyes.

'I hope our life will continue to get better. '

He wished silently and blew out the candle. Everyone clapped and the party continued.

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September passed and the cinemas cooled down as it was not a busy month.

There were no major films released this month, which was understandable.

However, the big summer releases continued to make money despite the weak schedule.

By the end of September, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl had already grossed $296 million at the North American box office. It was on the verge of passing the $300 million mark.

Internationally, the pirate-themed films have already grossed $283 million. Combining the two box offices, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl grossed $576 million.

Everyone was surprised, but not by much. There were a lot of factors why the pirate movie was successful, such as the stunt choreography and the storytelling. Of course, having a star-studded director was also one of the factors.

Now Kazir officially broke the curse that pirate-themed movies would never make money.

"Skill Issue. Get Gud."

Those should be the best answers to Carolco Pictures and Universal Pictures, the two production studios that failed to deliver great pirate-themed movies, Water World and Cutthroat Island.

Even college professors have studied Kazir's formula for breaking the curse.

Well, if anyone was going to bring change to Hollywood, it was probably Kazir. Because he has brought so many changes.

Kazir popularized realistic action stunts.

He also started the first successful cinematic universe.

He was the first director to make two $1 billion movies in a row.

He was out of this world. Truly a director who deserved the respect of many people.

As for The Equalizer, after 60 days in theaters, it has grossed $177 million in North America and $161 million overseas. That puts The Equalizer at $338 million.

Grey Pictures was in a pretty tight spot a few months ago, but now they can breathe a little easier. 20th Century Fox has already sent them $100 million for Pirates Of The Caribbean and $70 million for The Equalizer.

The deal for both movies was that 20th Century Fox would be responsible for distribution in exchange for 25% of the box office.

25% for 20th Century Fox.

40% for Cinema Alliance.

Leaving Grey Pictures with 35% as their share. The good news, as always, was that Grey Pictures owned the copyrights to these movies and they could control how they sold their TV broadcast rights.

The DVD copies were no problem either, Grey Pictures would have the bigger profit. In the long run, DVDs were more profitable than the box office. Because Grey Pictures could sell DVDs for years to come and the profits would increase.

+++++

[See you tomorrow.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 364


"Are you excited for Wanted 2?"

"Hell yeah."

Alexa Nguyen weakly replied as she watched the movie trailer on the television.

The trailer for Wanted 2 seemed extravagant and impressive. It said that Kazir taught Fremont Smith how to make a compelling trailer by showing him his formula.

There was something about Director Grey's trailers that compelled audiences to see the movie. Since then, art professors and other directors have studied his trailers. They wanted to know how to get people excited.

As one of the members of Grey Fans and the lucky one to meet the director in person, Alexa was excited to see the movie.

She was an film art student who wanted to be an actress, so she was quite knowledgeable about movies and TV shows.

In her opinion, Wanted was the movie that paved the way for the success of the Continental Cinematic Universe.

Sure, both Taken and John Wick were released before Wanted, but Wanted was the most significant of the three franchises.

It showed the relevance of each film and made people more interested in the characters. A lot of people would buy or rent DVDs just to keep up with the plot. Especially teenagers who wanted to keep up with the trends.

Alexa dreamed of working with the famous director. She was so happy when she realized that she was one of the lucky fans to meet Kazir in person at the premiere of The Equalizer.

She stayed up all night in the theater waiting for the premiere of The Equalizer to end.

When she met the director, she realized that the guy was down-to-earth and humble... He was also damn handsome, and Alexa admitted that she had a crush on him.

Suddenly, she remembered that Kazir and Mara were supposed to be siblings. Out of curiosity, Alexa told Kazir that she was Mara's classmate.

"Director, I'm your sister's classmate. I also studied at the California Institute of the Arts."

"Sister?"

Kazir frowned slightly at first. Then he seemed to remember something. Instead of smiling, his mood turned sour.

He looked at Alexa and said.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have a sister."

"Huh?"

Alexa was stunned and realized that Kazir was not comfortable talking about it.

Fortunately, the director didn't mind and continued the meet and greet. He even treated them to a fancy dinner.

The fans were happy with the event, they received personal memorabilia, autographs and rare merchandise from Grey Pictures.

In fact, Alexa was lucky enough to get a copy of Kazir's dance.

Yes, Kazir had a clip of him dancing Napoleon Dynamite's dance steps and he nailed it. It was rare footage!

Alexa couldn't help but watch the video every week. It became her way to relax.

She was excited now, she wanted the days to go fast so that the last week of October would come. She was so eager to watch Wanted 2. She even prepared a tuxedo just for the premiere.

Black tuxedo became the uniform of Grey fans, derived from the outfit worn by John Wick.

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There were no big movies released in September, and October had a little competition.

Many studios adopted the style of releasing movies they were not sure about in October. Movies that they weren't sure could make money, but they had already invested a huge amount of money, so they couldn't let them sit on the shelves and rot.

In the first week of October, Paramount released School Of Rock. It made $19 million in its first weekend.

The second week saw the release of Mystic River, produced by Warner Brothers. It made $13 million in its first weekend.

The same week, Kill Bill: Volume 1 was released. Miramax has never been confident in competing with the Big Six in the summer, so they usually release their heavy hitters from October to December. Depending on how the company's schedule works.

Kill Bill was a famous movie, directed by a famous director in his niche, Quentin Tarantino. Obviously, the movie would show at least one foot scene...

Quentin Tarantino's filmography slowly gained popularity because his movies had something unique about them.

However, it could never be denied that his movies would have a hard time facing the mainstream genres and mainstream audiences. A lot of people appreciated his works, but his movies hardly made money at the box office. In fact, the highest grossing movie in his career was Django Unchained, which earned $426 million. To date, this movie has not been made.

Quentin currently had one successful movie at the box office and that was Pulp Fiction (1994). The audience was not sure if this so-called Kill Bill would make any money at all.

But surprisingly Kill Bill: Volume 1 actually made money. 22 million dollars on the first weekend.

Miramax saw the potential and promoted the movie, of course with the help of Walt Disney. The relationship between the two companies was getting better thanks to Harvey Weinstein and Robert Iger.

In the third week, Texas Chainsaw Massacre from New Line Cinema. This franchise had so many movies and New Line Cinema did a good job of cultivating the franchise. The budget for each movie was small, but the profit was sometimes ten times the budget.

Also, the profit from the DVD market was huge because horror movies have always been part of the movie culture. God knows how many people love to watch horror movies in their houses.

The fourth week and a lot of people were excited, to be precise, the people who were fans of CCU were excited to see Wanted 2. The movie was to be released on October 24th. But it was not that easy, Wanted had two opponents that could prevent its domination.

Scary Movie 3 was a famous parody franchise created by Miramax.

Bear Brother had a serious theme, although it was a cartoon meant for children. And yes, it was made by Walt Disney.

It was ironic that Wanted 2 was going up against Miramax and Walt Disney, two companies Grey Pictures never liked.

Everyone in Hollywood was eager to see the outcome of this competition.

++++

[I lost to procrastination yesterday after doing laundry and decided to lie on my bed all night, so yeah, you'll get three chapters tomorrow to make up for it.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 365


Miramax and Walt Disney were not stupid. The two companies knew that the fourth week of October was not a good time to release their movies, but it was something they had to do.

In the first place, the movies they were releasing were not heavy hitters. Sure, they were putting money into the movies. They were also confident that the movies would make any money at all despite the odds.

So the best thing to do was to put them in a not-so-famous schedule, or else they would just let the movies rot and waste more money.

They have to release the movies in theaters first before selling them to the DVD market, this method gave them good profits. Since people had the mentality that if a movie was released in theaters first, it meant that the movie (DVD) was worth buying.

Miramax and Walt Disney couldn't release the movies in November and December because The Matrix Revolution, The Last Samurai, and Lord of the Rings: The Return Of The King would dominate the theaters during those two months.

Unfortunately, they also understood that Wanted 2 would do the same.

Wanted was one of four films to cross the $1 billion mark at the box office.

These Brother Bear and Scary Movie 3 would be buried by Wanted 2. Walt Disney and Miramax had no choice but to accept the fact.

It was the last three months of the year and Hollywood was investing in their respective big movies like Lord Of The Rings and The Matrix to make sure they would make more money before the end of the year.

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After Wesley Gibson destroyed the Fraternity along with John Wick and the others, his name slowly gained popularity in the underground society. However, this popularity was never a good thing.

Wesley was now a criminal, he left normal society and decided to live in the world of assassins and killers.

But it was not that easy... Because he didn't know where to start and what to do.

At first it was easy because Sloan and the Fraternity were there to show him the way. He took the path of being a hitman and killing people to find and kill the "man" who killed his "father".

Everything came to nothing when he realized the truth. He avenged his real father, but now he was lost.

He didn't know what to do after everything that had happened.

John Wick suggested that he quit before he succumbed to the abyss of the underground society.

But it was too late, because Wesley Gibson was officially a wanted man. In the first, he killed a lot of people while working for the Fraternity.

Now Wesley was on the run.

But things didn't get any better.

The other members of the Fraternity who survived the destruction of the organization were now hunting Wesley for revenge.

In addition, Luke Hobbs (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), a Diplomatic Security Service agent/bounty hunter, was also after him.

Luke Hobbs was a character from Fast and The Furious, played by Dwayne Johnson.

Wesley's plight was true to the title of the movie. He became a wanted man and was hunted by the authorities and criminals.

He survived the ordeal and killed his enemies. He fought Hobbs and escaped the battle with some injuries, but manageable. He successfully escaped the United States by crossing the Mexican border.

In the final chapter of the movie, Wesley's final opponent was a ninja. The ninja was looking for Raizo and knew that Wesley had information about Raizo, so he wanted to torture him to find the answer.

Despite being overpowered, Wesley won the battle. The film ended with Wesley holding his bleeding stomach as he walked forward. Unaware of his destination.

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The movie ended with that, but of course the audience never left their seats. They still waited for the post-credit scenes.

This became a standard procedure, as the post-credit scenes were usually about the sequels and the next movies that CCU would be making.

This time, Hobbs was with his team when he received important information about the missing military weapons. A small group of criminals were stealing and selling these military weapons and the authorities had no idea where to find them. These criminals disappeared, but new information surfaced. Dom Torero was found in the Middle East stealing oil tanks.

The scene ended with Hobbs smirking and the credits rolled.

Ben Affleck was the first to stand and received a standing ovation from the audience. His fame had waned after the failure of Daredevil, but Wanted 2 gave him a chance to prove himself.

Now he realized how important a stable franchise is to keep his fame. He understood how Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford and Arnold Schwarzenegger kept their popularity despite the passing of time.

These actors had franchises to star in whenever they felt they were washed up.

Ben Affleck waved his hands and walked on stage with the cast of the movie.

The audience kept clapping. They knew this movie would not disappoint them. They were looking for an action-packed movie and Wanted 2 delivered it as expected.

There have been cases where a movie has crossed $100 million in three days, but those movies were usually sequels to famous franchises... Like Wanted.

The first weekend (October 24-26) of Wanted 2 was a whopping $187.42 million.

The Big Six were not even surprised. They were expecting this amount since the last box office was over $1 billion.

Now the biggest question was does Wanted 2 have the power to surpass $1 billion?

In history, no franchise has ever made $1 billion with every movie... Unless CCU begged to differ.

As for Grey Pictures and Kazir Grey. They were not looking for anything big, as long as the movie was commercially successful, everything was fine. They were happy if the movie made over $700 million worldwide.

After all, Wanted 2 didn't have big characters like John Wick and Bryan Mills to drive ticket sales.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 366


Wanted was the Avengers of CCU, but Wanted 2 was not Avengers: Age Of Ultron.

So even if Wanted 2 was commercially successful, it would be hard for the movie to top $1 billion.

The movie didn't have any heavy characters and most of the cast was new.

Despite this fact, the second week of Wanted 2 did well at the box office. Ten days of screening made $292.62 million. An expected amount since Wanted 2's predecessor was a $1 billion movie.

As for Wanted 2's two competitors, their box office did well despite the competition. The difference in genre made up for Scary Movie 3 and Brother Bear to make money.

Walt Disney's Brother Bear earned $49.52 million.

Miramax's Scary Movie 3 grossed $77.54 million.

The winner was clear and the difference between the three movies was huge in terms of box office.

This gap would continue to grow as the days went by.

Scary Movie 3 and Brother Bear only had around 3000 theaters showing the movie while Wanted 2 surely had over 4000 theaters.

This was also one of the factors why Wanted 2 did better.

The Cinema Alliance was not stupid. The CCU movies were proven, so of course they would put more resources into Wanted 2. It is safe to say that 65% of theaters in the United States and Canada were currently showing these three movies, since the United States and Canada had the most theaters in North America.

Walt Disney and Miramax were already happy with the results and hoped that the box office would continue to grow...

However, their hopes would be dashed after ten days of steady profit.

Cinema Alliance and the Big Six had a contract that allowed Cinema Alliance to reduce the number of theaters if the movie was not doing well... They used this clause to reduce the theaters for Brother Bear and Scary Movie 3 to 2800 theaters.

Walt Disney and Miramax didn't like this one bit, but Cinema Alliance's decision was firm.

As for Wanted 2, it certainly didn't get the cut.

Instead, Cinema Alliance added the subtracted theaters to the newest movie on the market, which was The Matrix Revolutions. The final installment of the Matrix trilogy.

The movie opened in 3800 theaters in its first week.

Warner Brothers realized that they had messed up the Matrix trilogy by putting too much trust in the directors and letting them put too many philosophical views into the trilogy.

These confusing philosophical views were the clear reasons why the movie didn't live up to Warner Brothers expectations.

So in order to correct the mistakes, or at least to mitigate them, the studio decided to release the last installment in November of the same year, so that they wouldn't lose money.

On November 5th, despite its terrible reviews on IMDb, The Matrix Revolutions grossed $24.31 million on its first day.

This showed that audiences were willing to consume any content as long as it filled their time and imagination.

However, the audience who watched the movie also had the same confused faces as when they finished watching The Matrix Reloaded.

Neo running into an endless loop in a train station.

Neo goes blind.

Trinity dies.

Flying robot squids attack the last stronghold of humanity.

Neo meets some kind of machine with a big face.

Neo defeated Agent Smith.

Neo was kidnapped by the Big Face robot.

And then the world was at peace again... That was it.

The aftertaste of The Matrix Revolutions was bitter. People liked the first movie because the plot was better and there was no confusing stuff. Honestly, what the audience wanted was action and meaningless fights that brought the plot to its well-deserved conclusion. Not Neo going blind and then disappearing... Maybe Warner Brothers wanted a possible sequel? Oh surprise surprise, after almost two decades, the fourth part of The Matrix actually happened.

Anyway, the first week (November 9th) of The Matrix Revolutions grossed $83.79 million.

On the same day, Brother Bear grossed $44.02 million.

Scary Movie 3 grossed $93.05 million.

Wanted 2 also grossed $342.78 million.

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Wanted 2 was released in October and all the movies that Grey Pictures produced this year were released. All of them made a lot of money.

The Equalizer grossed over $450 million. Cinema Alliance has already stopped showing this movie while some overseas countries are still showing it.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl defied many people's expectations and grossed more than $600 million. The pirate-themed movie was praised by everyone and even Johnny Depp's amazing acting was recognized.

And now, Wanted 2 is also doing well at the box office.

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Palenque Simone happily raised his beer and started the party.

Game of Thrones was to be released in the last week of November, and the promotion was already underway. Fox TV kept promoting the show by saying that it was directed by Kazir Grey.

When people heard that the director was Kazir Grey, they were immediately interested. Of course they wanted to see the show.

There were only three episodes left for the crew to film. If a problem arose, they might have to reshoot some of the scenes they had already filmed.

Sometimes, if the audience didn't like the storyline, the writers and crew would have to reshoot the next episode to appease the audience.

So even though there were three episodes to shoot, the crew understood that the project was not finished until the entire season aired.

Unlike movies, which had no chance of being edited after the theatrical release, TV shows could change the plot of the next episodes depending on how the audience would react... Of course, the studio had to spend more money.

Kazir was invited to the party because his location was near the Game of Thrones set.

He missed the taste of beer, so he decided to relax a bit. The cast greeted him with the usual respect.

"This year seems kind of smooth."

He said to himself as he surveyed the party.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 367


The negotiation between Sony-Colombia and Kazir was done before November came and now he was officially the director of the Spider-Man franchise again.

Of course, he had to work with Marvel executives such as Stan Lee and Avi Arad.

Kazir already knew the two. In fact, they already formed the Marvel Studio. Intending to start a Cinematic Universe. Kazir and the others were serious about this project. Marvel Comics wanted to rise from the grave.

They were given a chance to prove themselves. Even News Corporation bled a little and bought the company, believing that Marvel Comics had a great future... Everything depends on this Cinematic Universe. They trusted that Kazir Grey would prove himself again.

Making one Cinematic Universe was already tough, but Kazir did. Making another one was also possible.

After the tug of war between Sony-Colombia and Salvatore Barlowe, Kazir's salary became $31 million + 28% worldwide box office + 7% peripheral profit.

Sony-Colombia understood that it would be hard to copy the achievements that Spider-Man created if they didn't hire Kazir Grey.

In their opinion, the biggest reason why the movie became successful was because of Kazir. His filmography was always profitable.

Kazir's movie means profitability. A director who focused more on making money than following the passion for art. That was the image that Kazir built in the industry after so many years.

"This year is smooth sailing."

Kazir couldn't help but say it. Even the negotiation regarding Spider-Man 2 ended fast. Probably because both sides wanted to start the project as soon as possible.

The audition would happen next week, the third week of November.

Most cast were already filled since the movie was a sequel, but the crew still had to look for other actors and actresses for the new role such as the villain Dr. Octopus.

While taking a mouthful of beer, Kazir's cell phone started vibrating. Indicating that someone was calling him.

It was from an unknown caller.

"Yes? That's right, this is Kazir Grey. Hm, what did you say your name again, Zack? I'm free tomorrow, you can meet me at the Grey Pictures building. I will set up a meeting for you."

The call ended and Kazir put his phone back in his pocket.

"... I guess I have to secure this contract."

Kazir knew that this director had a different filming style compared to him, this director preferred noir film... Well, Kazir also used a noir filming style when he was just starting his career but it didn't benefit him at all.

Noir films can be defined in many ways such as their serious theme, darkish lighting effects, and pessimism.

In this regard, the noir film that Kazir was talking about was the use of darkish lighting effects that made the movie depressing.

'But to be fair, some movies in the CCU can be considered noir films. Taken can be considered one, although its depressing theme was overshadowed by action, John Wick also. The upcoming projects such as Ninja Assassin surely fit the description...'

That bloody movie was really bloody. That movie would surely be R-rated.

Kazir was just waiting for the right time to start phase 2 of CCU and perhaps this upcoming director would have a chance to work with him.

So Kazir decided to contact him.

.........

......

...

Zack Snyder was sitting at the table, his shoulders were a bit tensed. He was a music director, just like Michael Bay... It was not that simple at all.

Michael Bay and Zack Snyder were actually classmates at Art Center College Of Design. It was a subject related to filmmaking.

Yet despite their same status a few years ago, Zack Snyder was left behind and decided to film music videos instead.

He was satisfied with his job but he knew that being a movie director was his biggest dream. After all, directing a movie was the highest status a director could have.

Being a music video director was the lowest.

Being a TV Show director was the middle.

While being a movie director was the most respected.

Of course Zack Snyder wanted to become one. However, he knew that it would be hard for him to do so.

Filming a movie cost a lot of money.

Even someone like Kazir Grey had to spend half a million to create Napoleon Dynamite.

Three days ago, he was contacted by someone, introducing himself as a manager at the Grey Pictures.

Zack thought that it was a scam, the manager even gave him Kazir's contact number, telling him that Kazir was interested in him.

He thought it was a scam. But he decided to call the number anyway, he was shocked when he realized that the manager was not lying.

The person on the call was indeed Kazir Grey!

That was the moment he knew that he had to take this opportunity or else he might regret it.

"Hello."

"H- Hello."

Zack stood up and shook Kazir's hand. The famous director was in front of him, in person. Something that he didn't expect to happen to him.

"You look nervous."

"Yes, yes I am."

The two started talking, there was no clear intention at first.

"What I love to do in my past time is watch horror movies or read comics."

This may look like an interview.

As for Kazir, he was not surprised that Zack loved horror movies and comics.

'I don't care what the other says, the best Zack Snyder movie is the Watchmen. Not Man Of Steel, not Justice League, and also not 300. His best movie is Watchmen.'

Kazir didn't waste any time and decided to give Zack a job. His first movie.

"It seems that I didn't make a mistake finding you. Here, take a look at this."

Kazir gave him a comic book, with the title of 300.

"300? I read this book."

Zack suddenly had an idea where this conversation could go.

"I know a company that uses blue screen. You probably heard of green and blue screen technology so I won't explain it to you. What I want is to see if you're capable of making use of this technology to your advantage."

"..."

Zack Snyder gulped hard. The fact that he was too nervous to order a drink didn't help.

"You have a month to decide. You can contact Grey Pictures if you have more to ask--"

Before Kazir could finish his sentence, Zack Snyder's phone started ringing.

Zack was surprised and apologized to Kazir.

"E-excuse me, let me take this call for a minute."

"It's fine, our meeting is done anyway. You can contact Grey Pictures if you are interested."

Kazir stood up. What he didn't know was that the person who called Zack was from Universal Pictures.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 368


Universal Pictures was looking for a director for their zombie movie titled Dawn Of The Dead.

Zombie movies were known as a staple in the movie industry. The list could reach more than one hundred once counted.

Dawn Of The Dead, was actually a remake of 1978's version with the same name.

See, since the 70s, zombie movies have been thriving. This genre might not be highly regarded in the industry but a lot of people would happily consume this content for their worth.

In the 2004's version, Universal Pictures decided to hire a new talent Zack Snyder to be the director of this movie.

This was Zack's debut movie and it was a box-office hit. The budget was only $26 million but the box office was $102 million.

The movie grossed around 4 times the production cost. That was obviously a profit. This was Zack Snyder's first success in the industry and his filmography became better after that.

Dawn Of The Dead

300

The Watchmen

Man Of Steel

Batman Vs Superman

Justice League

Of course, Zack Snyder also had flopped movies such as Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole and Sucker Punch. Overall, Zack Snyder was a talented director.

But because of Kazir's interference and his interest in Zack's filming style, the trajectory of Zack's life might have changed, for better or worse.

Zack was unresponsive when he realized that Universal Pictures and Grey Pictures were interested in him.

He was confused as to why these two famous studios were interested in him. He was just a nobody... He suddenly thought to himself if he did something that caught their attention. He was asking himself what it was exactly.

Did he do something that made them attracted to him? He didn't know.

.........

......

...

Nepo baby/babies.

To be precise, Nepotism babies. A term that was used to describe celebrities whose parents have succeeded in the same careers.

In this industry, connection was undeniably one of the biggest factors to be successful.

What was the easiest way to acquire that connection? How about being born into the family of celebrities?

There were a lot of celebrities who made it big in Hollywood because of their parents and no matter what justification they might say, people would still call them Nepo babies. Because that was the truth.

So who are these Nepo Babies anyway?

Emma Roberts. She was Julia Roberts' niece.

Nicolas Cage. His real name was actually Nicolas Coppola. His uncle was Francis Ford Coppola, the director of The Godfather.

George Clooney. His father was a famous anchorman while his aunt was also an old Hollywood star, Rosemary Clooney.

Jennifer Aniston. Her father was a famous actor.

And surprisingly, Angelina Jolie was also a Nepo baby.

Angelina's father was Jon Voight. A very famous actor in the 80s and 90s.

Mission Impossible, The Rainmaker, Enemy of the State, Zoolander, and funny enough, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. These were just some of the movies that Jon Voight participated in.

His usual roles were about an old and mature guy.

It is impossible to deny that Angelina Jolie's career was paved by her father. Angelina easily got roles in the industry because her father was a famous actor.

Kazir stepped out of the car. Yesterday's meeting with Zack Snyder had no clear ending because Zack still hasn't given him a clear answer.

Kazir and Jon Voight were not that close. Sure they met at some parties and greeted each other but their relationship remained just like that.

Angelina took Kazir to meet her parents and their opinion on the director was stale at best. Well, Kazir was better than Angelina's past relationships so that was good.

However, Kazir and Jon were not that close. Jon Voight never auditioned for his movies while Kazir never invited him to his projects.

But today, Kazir decided to take things seriously. His relationship with Angelina was getting better and he knew that having a good relationship with Angelina's father was the right decision to make.

So Kazir invited Jon Voight to play golf with him.

Kazir went in and found Jon already swinging his golf club.

"Jon, how's your day?"

"I'm doing better. How about you?"

"Well, haha, busy as always."

The two decided to not make things harder and just greeted each other with positive vibes.

Jon was doing this for his daughter while Kazir was also doing this for Angelina.

Kazir and Jon started having fun, swinging their golf clubs and walking around the golf course. They used the golf cart when traveling.

"You know Nicolas Cage, right?"

"Of course I know him, who doesn't know Nicolas Cage."

"I worked with the guy this year and he told me once that he's a fan of yours. He is interested in working with you."

"Nicolas is a nice guy."

"Oh, come on. Just tell me your opinion."

Kazir shrugged. Nicolas Cage was indeed a famous actor but his career took a nose dive in the next decades. He never had a profitable movie since Ghost Rider.

Being a director, Kazir didn't want to hire an actor that could possibly affect his win streak...

Besides, he knew that Nicolas was scammed by his financial advisor and lost a lot of money.

'... Now I suddenly felt terrible. Perhaps if I have a chance, I can work with Nicolas. He is a great guy after all.'

Now that Kazir confirmed that Nicolas and Jon had a movie together, he realized that the movie they were working on was National Treasure.

A movie invested by Walt Disney.

The two spent the day playing golf like it was the best sport in the world.

When time hit 4 pm, it was time to say their goodbye.

"Kazir, take care of Angelina. I know she's a bit childish sometimes but she's a good girl."

"I will, sir. I'll take care of her."

Kazir smiled and promised.

One of the reasons why he wanted to form a bond with Jon Voight was that he wanted to propose to Angelina.

It was still a plan and nothing tangible, he still hadn't even bought an engagement ring to propose.

This was all for the assurance that Jon Voight would agree and give him the blessing to marry Angelina.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 369


Late October to December was the second most busy time for Hollywood. If the summer season was the best schedule to release big movies, then November and December were usually the second choice.

However, it didn't mean that the movies released these months were mediocre. No matter what people say, it is true that Hollywood produces the best movies all around the year.

In November, seven movies surpassed $100 million, showing that this month was a profitable schedule to release movies.

The number one spot this month was naturally taken by The Matrix Revolutions, which at the end of the month, grossed more than $133 million. Many expect that this movie will surpass $400 million, at least.

With the right decision that Warner Brothers did to recoup possible losses, the Matrix trilogy made money.

Other movies were also released this month such as Elf, starring Will Ferrell. Love Actually, starring Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, and Keira Knightley.

Overall, the results of movies released in November were within the expectations. The cost of movie tickets went up to 7 dollars, compared to 5 dollars a few years ago. This amount was still acceptable and the number of people who watched movies in theaters just kept increasing. Added the fact that theaters were also increasing.

This year, a 3D theater first screened James Cameron's documentary of Titanic. A tour of the ship's wreckage. James also used this technology to improve his upcoming project which was Avatar.

There was also news that IMAX's technology would open its door to Hollywood.

The history of Cinema was getting better since the technology was evolving.

Knowing the future it brought, Kazir contacted 3D and IMAX regarding a possible collaboration. 20th Century Fox was also interested in participating in this endeavor, but their stance was normal.

Hollywood still doesn't understand the power of 3D and IMAX technology.

Even though movies were the main theme of Hollywood, TV Shows and other programs meant for Television were also striving. Hollywood and Showbiz were two words that would always be together.

Showbiz, or to be precise, Show business perfectly describes the entertainment industry. At the end of the day, the entertainment industry was blossoming because it produced huge profits.

If movies rely more on tickets, DVDs, and broadcast rights to make money. Then TV Shows were mostly dependent on advertisement and broadcast rights, especially if it was on a free channel.

30-second Ads could cost $100 thousand on a television network. This was just the minimum, if the commercial was aired in prime time schedule(8 pm to 10 pm), this amount could be doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled.

Let's not forget that a Superbowl Ad cost more than $2 million as of 2003. ABC got the broadcasting rights this year and they were making money out of it.

These were just the free network channels.

As for subscription basis/services such as Netflix, HBO, and Cables, the TV Shows would get money from subscription fees and commercials, of course.

This month, Fox TV announced a new TV Show and the network clearly put importance on this project because the network was promoting it almost every hour.

This show was produced by Grey Pictures, a studio that getting recognized more by each day. Also, Fox TV promoted that the first five episodes of this TV Show were directed by the famous director Kazir Grey.

Billboards of Game Of Thrones were almost everywhere. Despite having a clause that Game Of Thrones would have two pilot episodes, it seemed that Fox TV was confident that the show wouldn't be axed... For at least a season.

Gail Berman, the current president of FOX/Fox Broadcasting Company, already watched the first five episodes and the guy was intrigued. The president was confident that the show would do well in their network.

Even Tom Rothman watched the show and he didn't have anything bad to say. He also read the script for season one so he decided to trust Grey Pictures regarding their first step in making TV shows.

After many meetings and suggestions, FOX agreed to give the best time slot for Game Of Thrones, which was 9 PM Friday.

Fox TV was still a new network compared to ABC and CBS so the management was more direct. Both Tom Rothman and Gail Berman agreed to give this time slot to Game Of Thrones to test the water.

.........

......

...

November 28, 2003. Friday.

Jane and Wallace cuddled up on the sofa, with a blanket on them. They were holding a can of beer, cozying up against each other's skin.

Jane looked at the clock and knew that their show was starting at any moment.

"After this commercial, Game Of Thrones will officially start." She smiled with a hint of excitement.

Being the head of the makeup team, Jane spent time on the cast's appearance to make sure that they were genuine characters/people in a medieval period.

She took pride in her job and watching her creation on the screen was something she would be always proud about.

Wallace was next to her, patiently waiting. The couple promised to watch the show together... He actually asked Jane about the plot but his girlfriend just gave her a mischievous smile, telling him to read the novels instead if he was curious.

Well, this TV Show was also a method to advertise the books that George R. R. Martin wrote, A Song Of Ice And Fire.

"Oh, it's starting!"

[A group of people slowly entered the cave on their horses. They reached the snowy forest. One of the horse riders found something gory, it was corpses set in the ground that formed a unique symbol.]

The opening scene of Game Of Thrones caught Wallace's attention and glanced at his girlfriend. Jane just smirked... She also didn't know what the symbol meant.

Actually, nobody knows what it meant. Not even in the books because the story was still incomplete even after two decades.

Nobody knows what the White Walkers and this unique symbol implied... Sad. George R.R. Martin is also suffering from procrastination, just like the author of Hollywood What If.

+++++

[Three chapters today.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 370


Viewership rating was a way to determine how the TV Shows performed. Nielsen Media Research was the company responsible for rating TV Shows. It was called Nielsen ratings for a reason.

Nielsen Media Research used Statistical Sampling to rate shows. Around 20 thousand households were part of the sample for the national rating estimates. Although this number was small compared to the overall 120 million homes with TVs in the US, it was enough to determine what TV Shows families wanted to watch.

Fox TV contacted Nielsen Media Research to keep an eye on the statistics regarding Game Of Thrones.

A room filled with executives and important people in the company was all waiting for the results. Palenque Simone was also staying and waiting for the results. He was the representative of the Game Of Thrones in the room.

If the rating was promising, Palenque understood that his career would officially start as a director. TV Directors might be a level lower than film directors but a respectable job nonetheless. Besides, being a TV Director also had a great salary. Sometimes even better than film directors who were tight on production budgets.

Kazir Grey and Tom Rothman didn't attend the waiting game because they were busy. Of course, with one call they could easily know the performance of Game Of Thrones.

The first episode was still ongoing and Palenque Simone was squeezing his hands hard, praying to every deity he knew.

In his opinion, Game Of Thrones would do well, but his opinion didn't matter. Numbers does.

If numbers didn't work in their favor, then Game Of Thrones would be affected badly. Perhaps Fox TV might not give them the chance to broadcast the third episode which would be scheduled next week, Friday.

A few minutes after some talking with Nielsen Media Research, the rating for the first 20 minutes of the first episode was sent.

Palenque gulped and waited for the results. Now he realized why Fremont was losing hair... This job was not that easy at all, Palenque felt like he wanted to pull his hair because the intense pressure was killing him.

The peak rating was 19.16 viewership, which meant that around 23 million houses were watching the first episode at the same time!

Then it steadied at 16.62. It showed that around 20 million televisions were on Fox TV!

Hearing the results, Palenque sighed in relief. He felt like the heavy boulder on his shoulder shattered to pieces.

People started congratulating him for obvious reasons. Even though this was just the start of the show and this rating might go for a nosedive it was still better than what they expected.

This showed that Game Of Thrones had what it takes to be one of the best shows this year. As long as the show could maintain this rating, money would come their way to their pockets.

.........

......

...

"That's great to hear. Yes, I'm also watching it right now. I have popcorn on my side. Thanks, keep up the good work. We'll see each other tomorrow."

Kazir talked to Palenque who kept thanking him. He shared the good news with Kazir and the famous director kinda expected the results. After all, he knew that Game Of Thrones was one of the best TV Shows of all time... Except for the last season.

Anyway, Kazir was sitting alone on his sofa. Watching the show on a 50-inch flat screen. Angelina had a commercial shooting tonight so she couldn't watch the show live. Although she promised that she would watch it later.

TV Shows might not be profitable compared to movies but it was still good money. There were a lot of ways to make money with TV Shows. Commercials, selling Broadcasting Rights to foreign countries, and even selling DVDs were making heaps of profits. And this was a steady income that the company could enjoy. TV Shows had a longer run so the money would keep coming.

NCIS had more than 20 seasons and makes money up to date. And this TV Franchise even had other versions such as NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, and a lot more. Obviously, these shows won't keep producing episodes if they are not making profits.

Another example was Friends, a famous TV Show. The show has generated an estimated $1.4 billion in earnings for its cast and creators since its 1994 debut and $4.8 billion for its production company, Warner Brothers. I repeat, these were earnings.

Nobody hates steady income, not Kazir, and surely not Grey Pictures. As long as everyone was making money and the amount was huge, then everyone was happy.

Then, unexpectedly, Kazir received another call. It was from Emilia Clarke...

Kazir raised his brow and answered the call. He already had an idea why the actress wanted to call him.

"Um, director, I want to say thank you for hiring me. I'm just a young actress with no credentials but you still cast me in this show. Thank you. I'm indebted to you."

"Well, don't ask for a huge salary increase next season. That's the best way to settle your debt to me."

"..."

"Haha, of course I'm just joking. We will never agree to unreasonable requests anyway."

"..."

The two talked for a few minutes before they ended their conversation.

Kazir returned his focus to the show. The first episode ended, and the second episode premiered a few minutes later.

Tomorrow, he would receive a copy of the data regarding Game Of Thrones. The viewership rating never went down to 19 million, it was a huge success that even Fox TV gave the show the go-signal to make a full season.

The network promised that the show would be broadcast on a prime-time schedule and the network would promote the show at full capacity.

The cast and the crew of the show were obviously happy by this fact and worked hard for a better future. Especially the newbie actors and actresses that were cast in this show. They understood that this was the chance they have to acquire.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 371


"The show last night was amazing. I already watched it twice but it still gives me chills. I feel like I'm watching a movie!"

"Of course, we are talking about Director Grey. He is the best director of all time!"

Film students had conversations in the cafeteria while having their lunch. Game Of Thrones had a replay last night and the rating was positive, ranging to 15.27 viewership.

"I heard that the viewership rating was high."

"What's the rating?"

"I think 15.27 or something."

"... So what does that mean?"

"It means that more than 15% of the houses that have televisions are watching Game Of Thrones."

"Only 15%? Isn't that too small?"

"There are local channels, national networks, and even cable channels that air shows within the same hour. It's already amazing that Game Of Thrones dominated more than 15% of that population. You can't expect all of the houses to watch one show, unless it's the moon landing or Superbowl."

After that, one of the girls sighed.

"I hope the next episode will come... When will Friday arrive!?"

Amber, the young beautiful student begrudgingly muttered. She was a student at California Institute Of Arts, her dream was to be a famous actress. She participated in some projects but so far no luck in getting recognition.

Being film students, they were more into movie-related subjects.

"Hey, I also watched Kazir Grey's movie this year. I feel like Pirates Of The Caribbean has the chance to be a successful franchise. At least better than The Matrix, in my opinion."

"That's right! I also watched that movie. And I tell you, I fell in love with Johnny Depp's acting. Jack Sparrow is entertaining to watch. Gosh, if I ever had a chance to marry someone like Johnny Depp, I promise that I will love him dearly. Never hurt or cheat on him, and I'll never take a dump in his bed."

Amber said like a young girl who was dreaming about her crush.

"Hey guys! What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, Mara showed up with a forced smile and greeted them.

She sat down at the table and the atmosphere immediately became awkward.

"Um, excuse me but who said you can sit next to us?"

"Come on guys, we are friends. Right?"

"Said by the liar. We all know that you're not Kazir's sister... You're his half-sister, the bastard daughter of your mom." Amber giggled mockingly and the others laughed at Mara.

"Don't talk bad about my Mom!"

"And what are you going to do? Lie to us again? I guess I know why you kept evading our request to meet Kazir. You are a fake friend! Now get out of our table before we throw our drinks on you."

"Amber Heard, you dare!"

Mara pounced on the woman and grabbed her hair, pulling her strands. Amber screamed and also fought back. The two started tearing each other's scalp like crazy.

Alexa Nguyen who was watching in the corner was dumbfounded. The cafeteria turned messy and many students circled around the two women, watching the spectacle.

Alexa knew that she was the one who spread the news that Mara was not Kazir's sister. Yet she didn't expect that the outcome would be like this...

She didn't feel anything at all.

She just hoped that these bitches would never bother her again.

The commotion ended when the Professors showed up to stop the quarrel. Both Mara Cohen and Amber Heard looked like ravaged bird's-nest, their hair was messy.

The two were sent to the Dean's office to solve the problem but the two clearly had deep animosity after this incident.

Both parents were called and Elizabeth showed up... She confronted Amber Heard and her mother, slapping their faces to red. It made the matter worse.

"Mom! I can't accept this! That bitch deserves to be publicly humiliated!"

Mara screamed at the top of her lungs as they returned to the house. She was seething in anger. Disrespecting her was bad, but disrespecting her mother was too much.

Mara loved her mother, that was true. Elizabeth showered Mara with love and the daughter naturally loved her mother. So when Amber Heard started saying bad things about Elizabeth, Mara decided to teach her a lesson.

Mara looked in the mirror and sighed in relief when she confirmed that her face looked fine. There were red marks but no clear scratches.

"Mom... When will we meet brother again? I want to talk to him. I'm tired of modeling. I want to become an actress!"

"..."

Elizabeth just smiled and brushed Mara's messy hair.

"Honey, you said that you want to be a star, right? Don't worry, Mom found a role for you. It's from a huge project, invested by Universal Pictures."

"Really, that Universal Pictures? One of the Big Six?"

Mara was surprised.

"That's right, honey. It's a horror movie, but don't frown, this movie had a huge budget and your role has lines! So instead of thinking about your brother, how about we study your role and how you will act?"

"That's amazing! Mom, you are really the best Mom in the world. I love you! Can I read the script?"

"Of course honey."

Elizabeth smiled, hiding the fact that this business could affect her youngest son. Universal Pictures wanted her to destroy Kazir. As for how Elizabeth would do that? Universal had no idea.

They just knew that Elizabeth and Kazir were blood-related and Elizabeth could find Kazir's weakness.

Elizabeth was now starting to come up with plans.

'Universal just wants me to make a problem with my son, and frankly, I have always caused a problem with him. So it's never that hard.'

She thought.

She had no intention of destroying her son. Kazir was her biological son after all.

She just wanted to play games...

+++++

[If you're interested in reading more, you can check out my Patreon or Ko-fi.]

P@treon link: https://www.patreon.com/Puji_maki

Ko-fi link: https://ko-fi.com/pujimaki

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 372


"Is it possible for our website to be on top of the search list? I want people to quickly see our website as soon as they type related words?"

"Yes, sir. That's possible."

Victor Grey replied and the client seemed very happy with his response.

After the tragedy three years ago, Victor and Aaron decided to expand their business and explore the booming internet industry.

Kazir gave them some ideas such as promoting products on the internet. Victor decided to hire more people who had relevant knowledge regarding how the Internet works. He was actually surprised by the potential of this new industry.

The clients started hiring them and business was getting better.

In fact, Grey Pictures also hired their company to help them promote their movies on the internet... The company also helped Grey Pictures to make sure that their movies would have a high rating on IMDb. IMDb was a famous movie review site but the ratings of movies could be manipulated.

"That's great to hear. More companies are adapting to the changes and I'm afraid we might lose customers if I don't follow the trend... Hm."

The client looked at his watch and decided to end the meeting today.

"Let's talk again tomorrow. My son is nagging me to buy the deluxe DVD edition of Pirates Of The Caribbean."

"Pirates Of The Caribbean? My son actually worked on that movie!" Victor laughed.

"Really? That's unexpected. Is he one of the actors?"

"No, he is the director."

"I see, the director huh... Wait what?"

The client was surprised at first before remembering that Victor's surname was Grey.

The director of Pirates Of The Caribbean was Kazir Grey!

They have the same surname!

"Yeah, haha, my son is Kazir Grey."

"... Let's extend the contract."

The client uttered.

"Huh? But I thought we were just in the preliminary meeting?"

"No, I'll sign the contract... Just give me an autograph of your son. Even better if I can have a chance to take a picture with him."

"..."

.........

......

...

The third and fourth episodes of Game Of Thrones were released on December 5 and December 12 respectively.

Because of the hype and success Game Of Thrones achieved, the third and fourth episodes jumped up in ratings. Even going high with a 22.16 rating!

The show that had the highest ratings this year was CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, with 25.48 viewership rates. This show was from CBS and the network was known for producing good TV Shows such as Friends, E.R., and Law And Order.

As Fox TV... This network was more known for its Fox News. It only had a few successful TV Shows such as The X-Files. Prison Break was still not existing so Fox TV was not doing well compared to other national channels.

However, Game Of Thrones could be their chance to change the status quo. Game Of Thrones broke through the charts.

The more people watch the Show, the better it would be for the network. Some of these people could become their potential loyal audience.

Knowing the power that they acquired, the management of Fox TV decided to promote the show more. They wanted more people to watch it.

Another thing was that they were hoping for Kazir to make another show...

Kazir Grey just proved that he was not just for cinemas, he was also for TVs. His talent was immense.

Now, they further realized that buying shares of Grey Pictures was the best decision they ever made in this decade.

Because of that, the management of Fox TV couldn't help but be greedy. They really couldn't help it, they admitted that they were being greedy.

If Kazir decided to make another Show, then it would be a huge help to Fox TV. It gives them a better status in the industry.

So yeah... 20th Century Fox, Blue Sky Studio, Sony-Colombia, and Fox TV were currently hunting Kazir right now. His name further solidified as the most talented director of the current era.

His works might not be super artistic and filled with emotions, but the money he could bring to the table was endless.

For the companies, he was the best person they could ever have. The Big Six sometimes hated him, but they could never deny that they were amazed by his talent. If possible, they wanted to work with him.

.........

......

...

While Game Of Thrones was getting famous every episode, Kazir Grey on the other hand already started the Spider-Man 2 project.

He knew that the president of Fox TV wanted to meet him but Kazir decided to take his time and never promised to meet him personally.

Kazir and Gail Berman, the president of Fox TV, were not equal. At this point, Kazir had a higher status than Fox TV's president. Kazir had a share of 20th Century Fox, basically a co-owner of a billion-worth company. While Fox TV was just a subsidiary.

Kazir understood that he was going to be busy from now on since Spider-Man 2 officially started. He didn't have the time to facilitate or direct another TV Show.

He might be known for having a fast style of filming but he knew his limits.

Besides, if he indeed wanted to start another TV Show, that would be after season 1 of Game Of Thrones ended. Grey Pictures would have free resources to make another show once Game Of Thrones season 1 was done.

'But that show would probably be smaller compared to Game Of Thrones, because we can't afford another huge expense...'

Kazir muttered to himself while looking for a cup of noodles to eat. He was at a 7-Eleven store, near the shooting location of Spider-Man 2.

He was so busy that he didn't know that the cashier was giving him a strange look.

After a few seconds of internal monologue, Kazir decided to buy a Doritos and Pepsi instead.

He went to the counter and paid for his food.

"... So you're going to act like you don't know me, is that it?"

"Hm?"

Kazir was confused at first. He then looked at the cashier who was glaring at him.

"Excuse me?"

Kazir tilted his head.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 373


Kazir looked at the woman who was staring at him. The woman seemed pretty but her job was clearly tiring because of dark eye bags under her eyes.

She was a bit chubby. Grumpy from the moment she set her eyes on Kazir.

The cup noodles, Doritos, and Pepsi were still not getting scanned by the glaring cashier.

"Um... Excuse me miss, but do I even know you? Can you please scan my order because I have something to do?"

Kazir said to the woman. Truthfully, he had no idea why this cashier was acting like this.

"Humph! Don't act like you don't know me. I know that the reason why you're here is that you want to meet me. Tell me, you're still not over me, right? Well... If you court me, maybe I can give you a chance this time."

"..."

'Delusional. This woman is a big delulu.'

Kazir thought to himself.

He just wanted to buy a cup of noodles for God's sake!

'If I knew this would happen, I would have asked someone to buy me food instead. I want to walk to relax my mind since I've been in the studio for the whole day...'

"I don't know you, I repeat, I don't know you. Just please scan my order so I can leave." He was serious.

"Tch, acting like a clueless guy. Okay fine, I'll play with you. My name is Wendy Mandeville. I'm sure you know me now."

The cashier grumbled and scanned the noodles, Doritos, and Pepsi. It was 7 dollars and 26 cents.

"Wendy... Wendy Mandeville..."

He narrowed his gaze, staring at the woman. He was trying to remember the name.

"Are you Wendy? From my middle school?"

"That's right, although I know that you recognized me in the first place. Anyway, what you said when we were young, I think I'll give it a chance. How about it, do you want to date me?"

She smiled, a bit playful.

However, Kazir was thinking of the past so he didn't hear Wendy's statement.

Back in middle school, Kazir's family suffered financially after the divorce of his parents. His father was depressed and the business was affected because of that.

So Kazir studied in a public school and his school life was as normal as it could be. He had some friends. He also had a hobby, which was watching movies.

As for Wendy Mandeville, she was Kazir's first crush. She was the prom queen of their campus, basically the hottest girl in the school.

'That's a bit odd way of describing someone considering that were just 13 at that time...'

Kazir was still young and quite innocent at that time. He decided to confess his feelings and got turned down instead.

Wendy Mandeville didn't like a nobody like Kazir. So Kazir's first love ended after that. He was depressed for a month before returning to his usual lifestyle.

'I'm technically in my 70s now, so my memories of my middle school and high school are blurry.'

He then looked at Wendy who was waiting for his response.

"Nope. Besides, now that I'm looking at you, you're not even that hot." Kazir smirked. He paid the cashier 8 dollars in cash.

"What did you say?" Wendy was stunned and didn't expect his answer. She thought Kazir was still in love with her... She was truly delusional if she thought she was right. They were just kids back then and feelings could change.

Kazir was happy with his life now.

"Keep the change."

He waved his hand and walked away, holding his cup of noodles, Doritos, and Pepsi... He forgot to get hot water for his noodles. He only remembered it when he returned to the studio.

.........

......

...

2003 was going to end and Hollywood already compiled the top 10 biggest movies this year.

But of course, this ranking was still not concluded since some movies were still going to be released in the last two weeks of December. For example, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The Kings.

This movie was one of the most anticipated movies this year. This was the last movie of the trilogy and everyone was excited to watch it!

While that was happening, Forbes already published the list of the top 10 highest-grossing movies this year.

1.) Finding Nemo. A movie produced by Pixar. A subsidiary of Walt Disney. This movie grossed more than $871 million worldwide. Because of the continuous success of 3D animation in Hollywood, other studios also adapted their own 3D animation studios to get some slices of this golden cake called the animation industry.

2.) Wanted 2. A sequel to a $1 billion movie. Wanted 2 was produced by Grey Pictures and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Fans admitted that Wanted 2 was lackluster compared to its prequel but it was still entertaining in the end. The movie already grossed more than $745 million worldwide after four months of screening, and this amount was still increasing. Some speculate that Wanted 2 could surpass Nemo. But the idea of exceeding $1 billion might be difficult for Wanted 2.

3.) The Matrix Reloaded. The second installment of The Matrix franchise... It was disappointing overall. The box office was saved by the hype. Unfortunately, its third movie which was the last movie of the trilogy had a lower box office and the reason was obvious.

4.) Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl. Directed by none other than Kazir Grey. A new franchise that had a possibility to be profitable, especially in the hands of Kazir Grey and Johnny Depp. This movie grossed $654 million at the worldwide box office. Proving that Kazir's had the Midas's touch.

5.) The Equalizer. Another movie from Grey Pictures, and a new franchise from Continental Cinematic Universe. Starring Denzel Washington, this movie caught the interest of CCU fans. Giving it $481 million at the box office.

The top 5 this year, 3 of the spots were acquired by Grey Pictures. This showed how powerful this studio was getting by.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 374


The fact that three movies of Grey Pictures' were in the top 5 made a lot of people shrugged their shoulders. As if they had already expected this result.

But even though they knew this could happen, deep down they were still jealous and angry.

A decade ago, most movies were dominated by Warner Brothers, Walt Disney and Universal Pictures. These three were recognized as the top 3 of the Big Six. Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox and Paramount battled it out for fourth place, and sometimes their rankings changed.

As for Sony-Columbia, this studio already accepted the bottom of the rankings. Although the times were changing and it seemed that Sony-Columbia acquired a powerful franchise to keep them relevant, which was Spider-Man.

However, when the 2000s came, things started to change and more films from Grey Pictures dominated the box office. That meant less money for the Big Six.

Had it not been for Kazir's intention to work with others, he might already be suffering from a pronounced attack by the big studios.

It was indeed painful to accept that a new studio was dominating the industry. It didn't change the fact that DreamWorks and the newly formed Lionsgate were showing their fangs at the Big Six.

This industry could produce billions every year, but it made the Big Six more serious about maintaining their market share.

After The Equalizer, Tom Cruise's new movie made it into the top 6.

6.) The Last Samurai. Starring Tom Cruise, this movie based on an actual event in history made a huge amount of money at the box office. Originally, this movie was a contender for the Oscars, and Tom was actually interested in the script. It was his plan B if The Revenant didn't win him the Best Actor award last year. But since The Revenant helped him do so, Tom Cruise decided to treat The Last Samurai as a normal movie project... In fact, he didn't expect the movie to do well, at least not to the tune of $454 million. The Last Samurai even had the chance to compete at the Academy Awards.

7.) Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Spoiler alert, this 3rd installment of the franchise was the part where the nuclear catastrophe happened, basically the beginning of Skynet's reign. The movie was still starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, of course. He was the face of the franchise. The movie grossed $433 million worldwide.

8.) The Matrix Revolutions. What can I say about this trilogy? The first movie was amazing, the second was confusing, and the third was a huge disappointment. Which gives us the result of $427 million. Not a bad amount, but The Matrix had more potential than that. Because even after two decades, the concept of The Matrix was still relevant.

9.) X-Men 2. More people realized that Marvel Comics had huge potential. The fact that three of their comics were successful at the box office proved it. Spider-Man, Blade and X-Men were recognized as the beginning of the Marvel empire. X-Men 2 grossed over $407 million.

10.) Bad Boys II. This film was directed by Michael Bay. A director known for filming explosions and bigger explosions. But unlike the others, this movie only made $273 million.

This list was not concluded and Forbes expected that the last movie of the Lord of the Rings trilogy would obviously be part of the list.

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

December 17th had arrived and probably millions of people were super excited... Maybe 10 million? Or maybe 15 million people?

Anyway, countless people lined up just to see the last movie of the trilogy. This was the conclusion and the end of the Lord of the Rings story. It was obvious why a lot of people were excited to see it.

Every theater in the United States and Canada was packed with people. These people were basically saying the same thing.

"One ticket for The Lord of the Rings, please!"

"Five tickets for The Return of the King, please!"

"I want to buy twenty tickets for The Lord Of The Rings! I'm a fucking scalper and I will sell the tickets twice the price!"

They all bought tickets! They wanted to see The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

That night was very busy for the theaters, comparable to the hype of Wanted 2 that was released a few months ago.

Not surprisingly, the first day (December 17) of the movie grossed $34.45 million. Cinema Alliance agreed to give Lord Of The Rings 3700 theaters in its first week.

Obviously, this amount just kept growing. This franchise was already a culture at this point, just as Star Wars and Harry Potter had become.

Day two, December 18, Thursday. The movie just went up to $51 million.

The box office didn't stop as more and more people bought tickets to see the movie. By Sunday, Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King had already grossed $124.10 million! This was only five days after its release.

The information reach the news stations and most of the programs were talking about Lord Of The Rings and related aspects of it like elves, dwarves and others.

In fact, Lord Of The Rings was the reason why dwarves and elves became popular in the mainstream media.

Before the 2000s, when people heard about elves, they thought of Santa's little helpers.

But now elves represent handsome and beautiful creatures with long life spans.

Hollywood understood the impact this franchise had on people's consciousness. The media was indeed a powerful weapon because it could change a person's perspective and opinion.

In fact, the Academy Awards received backlash for snubbing Lord of the Rings from major awards.

In the opinion of ordinary people, Lord Of The Rings deserves to win at least one major award.

Lord Of The Rings may not be a realistic movie, but it was an adaptation of old literature. This was a valid reason for the Academy members to accept the truth that Lord Of The Rings was a masterpiece.

Unfortunately, the Academy had a strong bias against non-realistic movies. They clearly hated the genre and always stuck to the "artistic reasoning".

+++++


[If you're interested in reading more, you can check out my Patreon or Ko-fi.]

P@treon link: https://www.patreon.com/Puji_maki

Ko-fi link: https://ko-fi.com/pujimaki

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 375


Being a guy who had some close ties with the higher-ups of Warner Brothers, Kazir heard that the company was also interested in The Hobbit.

The Hobbit was the prequel to The Lord Of The Rings and was also recognized as a masterpiece on its own.

Warner Brothers wanted to buy the adaptation right from Tolkien Enterprises. So far, the contract is still in creation.

Warner Brothers was great at managing trilogies. In fact, they had the best list of trilogies in the industry. One of the reasons why they dominated the industry, being the rank 1 or 2 of the Big Six.

The Dark Knight Trilogy.

The Ocean's 11 Trilogy.

The Hangover.

The Matrix.

Harry Potter... Is not a trilogy but you get the gist.

Overall, in terms of handling movies with planned sequels, Warner Brothers was known for being good at it.

'Lord Of The Rings is a famous piece of literature that gathered fans all over the world. The fact that the Academy Awards disregard this film irked a lot of people.'

Since Kazir knew the future, he also knew that many were disappointed when the Academy Awards didn't give a fuck about The Lord Of The Rings. They received strong criticism because of it. The Lord Of The Rings was not a simple fantasy movie, it was a piece of literature that popularized the genre.

For the Academy Awards to act clueless showed that they have a strong bias and prejudice against the movie.

'So to solve this problem, the Academy decided to fix their mistake before it became worse. They decided to give Peter Jackson the Best Director Award as an appreciation for his contribution to the industry. For adapting an old literature into a successful trilogy, Peter Jackson won the Best Director Award.'

Kazir remembered it well because their decision seemed forced. He couldn't help but chuckle.

'Well, this event will happen next year and I'm the presenter... If this part of the future never changed, then I'll give the golden statue to Peter Jackson.'

The success of The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King was already expected. The question was how much money it would generate.

.........

......

...

December 23, Tuesday.

The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King already grossed more than $150 million and this amount kept getting bigger as hours went on.

This whole week was a holiday for the students so many families decided to watch the movie as a way of family bonding.

The Lord Of The Rings was PG-13 and kids could watch it with their parents.

"What do you like about the movie?"

"Legolas! He's so handsome! Kyah--!"

A young girl squealed while getting interviewed. She begged her parents to watch the movie and her wish was fulfilled!

"If possible, I want to meet him in person! That's my wish!"

This kind of interview could be used as a way of advertising. By interviewing avid fans and showing the interview to the television, clueless people who had no idea about the movie would become interested.

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

"Wish, huh..."

A young boy weakly muttered while looking at the television, watching a young girl scream in happiness while getting interviewed about her favorite movie.

The boy bitterly smiled and looked at his surroundings. If possible, he also wanted to go to a cinema and watch a movie.

However, dozens of tubes stuck in his arms and nose were like chains that bound him. The room was painted in white and medical equipment next to his hospital bed showed his current situation.

His name was Emer. He was only a ten year old but his life was struck by tragedy at such a young age. He was diagnosed with Leukemia and currently undergoing treatment.

The last movie he watched in the cinema was Spider-Man and that was two years ago. Since then, his health slowly declined until he was admitted to the hospital.

Emer was jealous...

The only way for him to cope with sadness was by reading Spider-Man comics. After watching Spider-Man, he became a fan and read almost every Spider-Man comic that was released.

He wanted to become Spider-Man, free from the world. A man who swings around the city, crawls tall buildings, and saves people.

Emer couldn't help but wipe his tears... He didn't even know if he would have a chance to watch Spider-Man 2 next year.

"Emer, honey, how's your day? Are you feeling sick?"

Emer quickly wiped his tears when he heard his Mom's voice.

He turned around and saw his parents entering the room. His Mom was controlling her emotions while his Dad was holding a stash of books, comic books for him to read.

"Mom! Dad!"

Being stuck in this room for months, his only comfort was his parents who showered him with love and affection.

The family started talking until the topic of comic books arrived.

"Son, I know that you like Spider-Man so I have a gift for you?"

"Really? What is it?" Emer became excited.

A few seconds later, a guy wearing a Spider-Man suit entered the room accompanied by a cameraman.

"Hi Emer, I heard you're a strong kid!"

Emer was surprised.

"Spider-Man!"

"That's right. It's me, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"

The surprise didn't end after that.

Spider-Man pulled out his mask, revealing Tobey Maguire's face!

It was actually Tobey Maguire!

The real Peter Parker in the movie!

The real Spider-Man!

Emer was so shocked that he started crying.

"Spider-Man! Spider-Man!"

For some reason, he felt that his wish had come true. He was not jealous of the young girl from the interview anymore. Unlike her, Emer personally met Spider-Man.

"Listen champ, I believe in you. I believe that there's a Spider-Man in your heart, and Spider-Man never surrenders. So make sure you never surrender as well!"

+++++

[Author's Note.]

[I have a conflicted opinion regarding charities overall, but I think Make-A-Wish Foundation is probably one of the truest charities I have ever known. Unlike other charities who only want money instead of helping people.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 376


Tobey Maguire was an actor. That was his profession and he liked it. Not only did it give him fame, but the salary was also abundant.

He had been friends with Leonardo DiCaprio since their teenage years. In fact, Leonardo helped him get the role of Peter Parker.

Of course Tobey was happy to be part of this huge project, especially when the director was Kazir Grey. It basically confirmed that the movie would be successful.

And indeed it was. After the release of Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire became a super famous actor in just one night.

He realized how amazing being a famous actor could be... He felt like a God, where people gave him gazes filled with worship.

This time, Director Grey personally asked him to film a surprise gift for a kid. Tobey had an idea that this was another method of advertising and he had to do it. He was bound by the contract.

His intention was simple and he had no deep or serious feeling about it. This was just a job for him.

But when he entered the hospital room and saw a young boy, pale and thin, Tobey couldn't help but be affected.

He suddenly realized that his role as Peter Parker/ Spider-Man was important to the heart of this young boy and other children.

The young boy started crying and hugged Tobey Maguire despite being weak.

Tobey smiled and rubbed the boy's back. The boy's parents couldn't help but shed tears as they witnessed the wholesome moment.

Tobey glanced at the cameraman-- Kazir Grey.

The director was the one who was holding the camera, capturing this very moment.

Tobey understood that this was nothing but a way to promote their upcoming movie. But he realized that it was not that simple at all.

To these kids, he was their hero. Someone they look up to.

'With great power comes great responsibility.'

He suddenly remembered that certain line from the movie.

The parents couldn't help but cry as they watched their son.

Tobey didn't treat this as a job, he wanted to be sincere.

The two started talking and Tobey made sure that the kid was entertained.

After that, the crew gave the family a $100 thousand cheque for the treatment of the kid. This came from the movie's promotion budget.

Kazir and Tobey came out of the hospital.

"Kazir... I think my role as Spider-Man is not that simple at all."

"It's a difficult role." Kazir agreed.

The two were waiting for their car to arrive.

"Spider-Man is a superhero. Being a superhero, he is supposed to give hope to people."

"..."

Quite an obvious statement but it was something that an actor like Tobey would never thought of.

"I guess I have to read the script later." Tobey bitterly smiled.

"Hm? But I thought you were going to attend a party tonight?"

Kazir knew that everyone in the crew had their own life. He couldn't prevent them from doing what they wanted. He just wished that the cast and the crew members wouldn't affect their project in a bad way.

So obviously, Tobey Maguire signed a contract that he was not allowed to drink and do drugs... publicly. Because it might affect the image of the movie.

"No, I change my mind."

Tobey shook his head. As long as he held the mantle of Spider-Man, he had to keep his positive appearance. He didn't want to break the hearts of many children, especially someone like Emer who was fighting his own battle.

Even though it was a stupid idea, he wanted to give them hope.

"Kazir, are we going to do another charity?"

"Do you mean something like what we did today? I'm not sure, I don't have a say regarding the advertising. You should ask Jezebel."

Tobey nodded his head.

The car arrived and the two left the hospital. The hospital kept it confidential so nothing bad happened such as paparazzi showing up. Of course, both Tobey and Kazir signed their autographs to the doctors and nurses to make the situation better.

The car reached Tobey's house first.

"Oh yeah, before I forget. Advance Merry Christmas and Happy New Year."

The crew had a vacation for two weeks so there was no filming. The project would resume next year.

"Merry Christmas, Kazir."

Tobey said respectfully.

.........

......

...

Unlike last year, Kazir and Angelina decided to spend Christmas Eve with Angelina's family.

Jon Voight personally called Kazir. The old man wanted them to spend Christmas in his place.

Kazir and Angelina agreed.

So now, Kazir was helping Jon in the barbeque stand. The two started talking about their experiences in the industry... Despite the difference in ages, the two had a great conversation.

As for Angelina, she was happy seeing the two men bond... Although she couldn't help but think about the message she received last night.

It had been bugging her since morning and she couldn't forget it. She glanced at Kazir, with a complicated gaze.

She did her best and hid her emotions while spending the night in her father's place.

Yet despite that, it seemed that her acting could not escape a director's eyes.

"Did something happen in your job? You look like you're thinking about something."

Kazir asked Angelina while on the highway. He was looking ahead but his voice was filled with concern.

Angelina was a bit surprised but she controlled her expression.

"I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired."

"Hm, just contact me if you need help."

"I will."

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Making the director laugh.

"Easy easy. You know that I'm driving."

"Well... How about we stop at a hotel? I'm also fine doing it inside the car."

She giggled.

"..."

Kazir chuckled and didn't know what to say.

+++++

[Author's Note: I'm bored so here's my top 5 Anime that deserves a remake. Tell me your opinion about it.]

1.) Tokyo Ghoul- Probably the most popular anime in the 2013 and 2014 era. Season 1 is amazing and the opening is one of the best anime openings out there. Unfortunately, Season 2 is a terrible adaptation. The changes are massive and quite painful to watch. It didn't help that season 3 and season 4 cut a lot of scenes. In my opinion, Tokyo Ghoul deserves a remake that follow the source material. I'm a fan so it's quite painful to see this series getting sabotaged very badly.

2.) Soul Eater- The anime is amazing, but it didn't follow the source material especially in the latter part. Anyway, Soul Eater will probably have a remake since Fire Force is the prequel to Soul Eater.

3.) Pandora's Heart- The manga is a Masterpiece. But the anime failed to capture it's moment, especially the last episode. Man, Pandora's Heart is an underrated manga. I recommend it. People who read the manga understand why this manga is underrated and a masterpiece. Unfortunately, Pandora's Heart will never have a remake since it's not popular.

4.) Berserk- Well, people said that you should read the manga instead of watching it and I understand why. But if Berserk gets a remake that follows the source material, the bandwagon will go crazy, count me in.

5.) The Promised Neverland- Season 2 is amazing, but Season 2 is a dogshit. They should have stayed loyal to the source material. I'm still mad about it.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 377


Two days before New Year, an extravagant party was happening at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills.

This hotel became famous after being part of the famous CCU. Many guests visit the hotel just to experience life inside the Continental Hotel.

20th Century Fox decided to rent the hotel to celebrate a party for this year's success.

20th Century Fox became stronger after acquiring Grey Pictures and Marvel Comics. These two companies had great futures ahead of them. The fact that Fox's stock price was going up meant that the public had the same opinion.

Being one of the biggest individual shareholders of 20th Century Fox, Kazir was naturally invited. He hated parties but he also understood that he had to attend. Especially when Rupert Murdoch himself personally called him to attend the Year End Party.

'It seemed that Rupert Murdoch wanted to meet me tonight. Well, that's a good thing because I also want to talk to him.'

Kazir wanted to prevent the 'Phone Call Tapping' from happening. This was the start of the downfall of News Corporation's empire. This directly affected 20th Century Fox, causing the studio to be acquired by Walt Disney.

This incident shouldn't happen. And if it already happened, then News Corporation should stop it before it bled them.

If possible, Kazir didn't want any of that to happen.

'... Although if things really happened, then I'm lucky because the shares I have are from 20th Century Fox, not from the News Corporation.'

These two companies would split a decade later with 20th Century Fox having the upper hand. News Corporation suffered badly while 20th Century Fox had steady projects throughout the years. Of course, 20th Century Fox still failed in the end.

Anyway, Kazir's shares were safe... For now.

After being greeted by some actors and actresses in the industry, Kazir realized that both Gail Berman and Carl Ludwig approached him.

Gail Berman was the president of Fox TV while Carl Ludwig was the head manager of Blue Sky Studio. Both had high status in the company although Gail Berman was obviously higher.

The two looked at each other before Carl Ludwig nodded his head and excused himself. It seemed that he had to find another chance to talk to Kazir about Kung Fu Panda.

The President of Fox TV was eager to talk to Kazir since November and this was the only time they could talk personally. Kazir always prefers to talk on the phone.

"Director, it's nice to meet you."

"President Berman. Congratulations on your network's positive rating."

Gail smirked.

"Yeah, about that. Kazir, are you interested in making another TV Show? You don't have to worry about the budget, Fox TV will cover it."

'As expected, it's about TV Show again. And this time, Gail wants a bigger profit.'

Kazir thought to himself. If another person or company invested in their TV Show or movie, then this entity was legally allowed to fight for a bigger share of profit. So Kazir didn't want investors because the profit would be lesser if they agreed to their terms.

And from the looks of it, Fox TV and Gail Berman wanted a TV Show that would be rightfully theirs.

The rights for Game Of Thrones were owned by Grey Pictures and they could change the TV network to broadcast their show, depending on how the contract was written.

Although most of the time, only famous TV Shows could jump into another ship.

Game Of Thrones was promising but it currently didn't have the strength to find a new home.

'In fact, hundreds of TV Shows are produced every year but only a few of them were lucky to be aired on television.'

So yeah, Fox TV was still a good network to latch on. Kazir had no intention of changing the TV network for Game Of Thrones.

However, he also had no intention of looking for an investor. If they had to get a loan, then so be it. It was a safer method. And loans were good for the company.

"I heard that you have to sign a loan just to fund Game Of Thrones. With Fox TV as your backer, then you don't have to worry. All we want is the domestic and international broadcasting rights of your show. Oh, and also a share of profit."

Gail Berman added.

Kazir was not even surprised. If he was in Gail's position, he would also strive for better deals.

The director smiled. He then said.

"President Berman. You know that Grey Pictures is still new in the TV industry. We can't act hastily or else the company will suffer. However, I can assure you that if Grey Pictures has a plan to start another TV Show, then it will naturally be broadcast by Fox TV. As for the budget, we will talk about that once it happens."

"Kazir, that's also what you said last time on the phone, minus the budget."

"What can I say?"

Kazir excused himself. No reason to talk. He didn't want to endanger the stability of the company by making another TV Show.

This year, they produced three movies and one TV Show. These four projects were enough to erase their funds.

Thankfully, all of their projects were profitable so they didn't suffer a loss.

"Sir, just listen to me! I just want to talk to CEO Rothman. Please, just let me through. I have my business card here. It's not fake at all!"

"I'm sorry but your name is not on the guest list. I wonder how you even got into the party."

Kazir heard a commotion that caught his interest.

"My name is Marc Randolph! Marc Randolph. You can check the list again."

"I already did, and your name is not on the list."

"Tch!"

"Did you just click your tongue?"

"Of course not. Please, just let me talk to the CEO. I have a business proposal that will interest him."

Watching the commotion, Kazir shook his head and turned around. This kind of incident happens sometimes. Some people would infiltrate a celebrity party to form a connection with rich people.

In fact, it also happened at one of Grey Pictures' celebration parties.

"I'm Marc Randolph, please look at it again!"

"Hm?"

When Kazir recalled the guy's name, he felt like he recognized it.

"Marc Randolph, where did I hear that name again?"

Kazir stopped walking.

"Marc Randolph... Isn't that the founder of Netflix?"

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 378


Netflix, a famous online streaming service where you have to pay monthly to watch movies. In fact, Netflix was the first to popularize this business.

With the advancement of technology, Netflix followed the trend perfectly and started the monthly payment streaming service. Where you could watch movies in your home without buying DVDs and visiting Blockbuster.

Besides, who likes to visit Blockbuster anyway? The workers in your local Blockbuster store were arrogant bunch of pricks.

Watching movies online was faster and easier, with no hassle at all. The biggest factor why Netflix became successful. After the success of Netflix other streaming services followed suit such as Disney+ and Hulu.

For around $7 per month(individually), a person could happily watch movies on Netflix.

You know the drill, Netflix and Chill, somebody's daughter getting drilled... Ahem, anyway.

The founders of Netflix were Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings. The two started the company with the idea of selling or renting DVDs by mail.

They made a profit, but not that huge either. Things started to change when the company used a new business method called online DVD rental.

Kazir stopped for a second and decided to turn around. He looked at the man who was arguing with the security... He had no idea about Marc Randolph's appearance but he indeed recognized the name.

"What's happening here?"

He decided to strike up a conversation. He was not sure why, but he decided to do it anyway.

The security realized that Kazir Grey showed up and respectfully explained the situation.

"I see. You can let him in, I can vouch for his name."

"Yes, sir."

The security left the two.

Marc Randolph was confused at first but then he recalled the director's name.

"Um, are you Director Grey? Kazir Grey?"

"That's right. That's me."

"Thanks for helping me."

"I heard that you have something to talk to Tom Rothman, maybe I can hear about it first?"

"R- Really? Give me ten minutes and I'll tell you about our company."

The two found a quiet place and Marc gave Kazir a business card with Netflix clearly printed on it.

"I'm Marc Randolph, CEO of Netflix."

Marc seemed nervous but he explained well how their company ran.

"A DVD rental through mailing, huh? That's an interesting idea. But I'm sure you have more reasons why you snuck to this party, right?"

"Sir... We're hoping that Netflix will be the sole distributor of 20th Century Fox's DVDs."

"..."

Kazir just shut his mouth. That kind of business proposal was too arrogant. Not even 20th Century Fox, or other studios won't easily agree with that.

So far, Blockbuster, Walmart, HollywoodVideo, and Movie Gallery are the major movie stores in North America, with Blockbuster being the most popular.

As for Netflix, it was nobody.

Even Marc Randolph was not confident, he was sweating a bit.

If Kazir didn't know the future, he would surely walk away after that statement.

"How many movies does Netflix have in their film library?"

"3... 300."

"300?"

Kazir was speechless... It was too small. For the record, Blockbuster had more than 10 thousand movies in its film library. With 70% of them being B-movies.

Don't underestimate B-rated movies. Even though they were lower quality compared to Hollywood movies, many people would still consume them.

A horror movie enthusiast might watch all kinds of zombie movies and slasher movies, just for the sake of it. And God knows how many horror B-movies were out there.

Even though these movies were not famous, there were still some people who would watch them.

In fact, Kazir's horror movies were getting popular lately, giving Kazir a few thousand dollars per month. These three horror movies film rights were bought by Blockbuster, meaning they were the sole distributor of these movies. Being a director, Kazir had a measly 3% of the sales and that contract would last for another decade.

Because Netflix only has 300 movies in its catalog, Kazir was disappointed. It means that Netflix had few products to sell, and these products were not even high quality.

'I guess that's why they are desperate to form a contract with 20th Century Fox.'

20th Century Fox has been in business since 1935. Their film library was massive.

Unfortunately, Kazir was not looking for that. What he wanted was the concept of online streaming. He was waiting for Marc Randolph to hook him with the idea.

Yet it seemed that Marc Randolph didn't have that on his sleeve.

'Perhaps it's still too early. Well, uploading a 5-minute video on the internet is already a hassle, the internet speed is limited. Furthermore, watching videos on the internet is also not optimized. I guess I'm asking for too much.'

It would be a lie if Kazir said that he was not interested in investing in Netflix, but he knew that Netflix's early history was full of losses. Kazir didn't want his investment to be wasted.

If he had to invest, then it should be around the time when Netflix started the online streaming service. He had no intention of joining the hardship of Netflix. What Kazir wanted was the easy and safe ways of making a profit. At the moment, Netflix was not worthy.

'I'm not interested in acquiring Netflix, I already have a lot of things to think about. I'm good with being a shareholder.'

Besides, he had no idea how online streaming works.

'I guess I'll wait a few years, huh.'

"It's nice meeting you, Marc."

Kazir stood up, showing that he lost interest in Marc.

"D- Director, can you please introduce me to Tom Rothman."

Marc also stood up, ready to grab Kazir's thigh.

"You should look for his secretary. Well then, see you next time Marc. Perhaps in a few years."

He excused himself, leaving Marc alone. It might look cruel but that's how business works. Even Tom Rothman won't listen to Marc's proposal.

+++++

[Author's Note: This is my response to the possible plot of investing on Netflix. Netflix had the monopoly for a few years, but lately a lot of streaming services are fighting Netflix. And in my opinion, YouTube is still the best... Because it's free. There are not many movies though, but hey, I'm not a movie fan anyway.]

[Also, don't take this novel seriously. Like, bruh, this novel is just a fanfiction.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 379


Spider-Man landed on the roof of a train... Well, it was not a safe landing, more like he was rolling on the roof. Especially when he was currently brawling with Dr. Octopus. The roof of the train caved in and the passengers were terrified as they realized what was happening.

The train was still running fast, with no intention of stopping.

Once Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus found their balance, the two started fighting again. Dr. Octopus's metallic tentacles moved fluidly, attacking Spider-Man.

"Cut--!"

Kazir announced and the camera stopped rolling. The train was nothing but props and it was not moving at all, the crew just gave it the illusion of moving. As for the background, well, it was a huge green screen.

Kazir was not insane enough to film an action stunt on top of a moving train that was running at 120kmp.

Once the director said cut, Alfred Molina sighed and laughed lightly. The metallic tentacles on his back were of course not real, they were also props.

These tentacles were not remote-controlled. Instead, 17 puppeteers were responsible for moving them.

Each finger, each arm, was controlled by puppeteers. The puppeteers used thin invisible cords for the fingers while they used a black pole to move the trunks. These black poles would be edited out later, together with the green screen.

Using remote controllers to move around these things would be difficult and inefficient. In fact, even though they used puppeteers to do the job, the filming still took a long time to finish. Sometimes mistakes happen such as one of the tentacles moved wrongly, causing the scene to be reshoot.

By the way, these metallic tentacles were not all made of metal. Most of its parts were made of foam, painted with metallic paint. Or else Alfred Molina would have a hard time moving around with a piece of heavy equipment on his back... Well, even though the tentacles were not made of metal, it was still heavy.

Imagine four tentacles on your back... Ahem, sounds like something from a hentai, to be honest.

While on break, Alfred Molina decided to sing a song from a play. Alfred Molina was actually part of a play this month and he had a habit of practicing his song in the set in every break. He was a stage actor.

When he auditioned for the role, Alfred Molina was already part of a theater play. He couldn't let go of the theater play despite winning the role of Dr. Octopus. Thankfully, Director Grey was generous. As long as his play didn't clash with the filming of Spider-Man 2, the director didn't have a problem. It was his private time after all, it all depends on Alfred's schedule.

So yeah, now you see Dr. Octopus singing while his four metallic tentacles join the beat.

One of the cameramen filmed this short performance. Perhaps they could add it to bloopers once they sell the DVDs.

Speaking of DVDs, the market for DVDs already defeated the thicker and heavier videotape. A new year arrived and the statistics clearly proved that.

Now only a few households use VHS, most families use DVD players. DVD players mostly cost around $80 and this price was getting lower as time went on. It's very affordable.

As for DVD discs, a DVD movie could cost around $5 to $20, depending on the contents. However, if the DVD contains a complete Trilogy or a complete season of a TV Show, it could cost at least $50.

In fact, after counting their profit last year, Grey Pictures confirmed that they earned more than $100 million just by selling DVDs.

Last year(2003), the DVD market had grossed more than $4.2 billion in revenue. DVD market doesn't only sell movies after all, TV Shows, Children's shows, anime, and even adult films were also included in the DVD market.

A lot of niches that people could enjoy. DVD rentals were also included in the statistics.(Note: I just made this up and I have no clear data to prove. But in Germany, the DVD market exceeded 1 billion euros in 2003, so that's where I get the idea plus the potential buying power of Americans.)

Because of this, Grey Pictures returned to its wealthy status. Kazir naturally gave the workers the bonus they deserved.

However, Kazir and Grey Pictures also understood that the money that they made would return to invest in more projects.

This year, Grey Pictures will release Fast And The Furious 2 and Mr. And Mrs. Smith 2.

This time Mr. And Mrs. Smith would have a cameo in Fast And The Furious 2 to help Brian O'Connor in finding wanted people.

In exchange, Brian O'Connor would also show in Mr. And Mrs. Smith 2. This was just a short story of the two movies.

Grey Pictures understood that producing two movies per year was their limit, added that they have Game Of Thrones to handle.

Last year they almost suffered some setbacks because of four projects, with Pirates Of The Caribbean having the biggest investment.

Regarding Pirates Of The Caribbean, Grey Pictures confirmed the profitability of this movie and they were good with making another sequel. However, the sequel was planned to be released in 2006.

Meaning, Kazir currently had no projects for 2005...

The director had an idea of what to do about it but it was another story. After all, Kazir was not sure if he had the chance to direct a certain movie.

For now, the director decided to focus more on finishing Spider-Man 2 and getting his salary... If he remembered it right, Spider-Man 2 had the lowest box office out of the three movies, it made $789 million. Well, it was still a lot of money though. It was still a box office hit.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 380


Kazir announced that the filming for today was over. The cast was very happy and so were the crew members. They packed their belongings, planning to return to their places or the hotels that they rented near the studio.

Tobey Maguire politely bid his goodbye... Kazir felt like this actor changed somehow. Tobey still looked the same but his outlook in life changed after the small charity that they did last month. In fact, Tobey personally joined the Make-A-Wish Foundation to help children in need.

Kazir and Sony-Colombia obviously supported his intention because it could help them promote the movie.

[Tobey, a hero even in real life!]

This kind of headline could be seen in many newspapers. Of course, Sony-Colombia was partly responsible for that.

After that, Kirsten Dunst also bid farewell to Kazir. This actress also changed after what happened last time at the celebration party for Spider-Man. Kirsten seemed humble, but it was clear that she didn't like the set. She was only here for the money and the trilogy contract that she signed. Kirsten was not comfortable in the set because of a certain person.

'It seemed that Jezebel didn't change at all. She still has a prejudice against women.'

Kazir thought to himself. However, Kazir was a director known for his efficiency. As long as the project was going smoothly, he had no problem keeping the status quo.

The director also left the studio but he didn't go straight to his house in Beverly Hills. Angelina was not in the house anyway.

'Now that I think about it, Angelina is getting busier lately. We don't have any time to talk at all... I feel like she's avoiding me.'

Kazir was in deep thought.

Anderson, Kazir's bodyguard, sensed that Kazir was thinking about something so he decided to lower the volume of the radio in the car. Next to Anderson was Erica who was currently texting her little twins to not stay up all night.

After Kazir hired Anderson, Erica Mendez became a full-time assistant. Her job slightly alleviated but she was still busy... She couldn't help it. Her boss was busy so she also had to work hard.

The three were quiet inside the car, waiting to reach their destination.

A few minutes later, the car stopped in front of a building. It was the headquarters of CAA. Unlike WMA that have two headquarters, one in Los Angeles and one in New York, CAA's foundation was set in Hollywood.

WMA was a talent agency, but its services were wide. Their clients ranged from athletes, models, directors, and actors. They have deeper roots because WMA was founded before CAA. After all, Michael Ovits was once an agent from WMA.

Of course, CAA also has clients from different industries such as sports and modeling. But its major business lies in Hollywood. Because CAA was a talent agency created to accommodate actors, directors, and many professions related to Showbiz. It has a clear vision.

The reason why Kazir went to CAA this time was because of Salvatore. Kazir didn't know the specifics but it seemed the internal conflict in CAA was intensifying.

Anderson parked the car while Erica and Kazir entered the building. The receptionists greeted them warmly, despite the late-hour visit... It was already 10 pm.

The two entered the elevator and reached the floor where Salvatore's office resides.

Unexpectedly, Kazir saw Scarlett Johansson talking to someone.

"Yeah, I also can't believe an untalented woman like her will be cast into a mid-budget movie. That Mara bitc-- Hm? What are you doing here?" Scarlett stopped talking midway when she realized that Kazir had come out of the elevator.

"I should be the one asking you that. I thought you were promoting your movie internationally?"

"That was one month ago." Scarlett answered and tilted her head.

Scarlett Johansson got a huge role in Lost In Translation. The movie only had a $4 million budget but it grossed more than $100 million. Because of this, Scarlett's acting career was recognized by the industry.

"By the way, congratulations on your movie." Kazir praised her.

"... Thanks," Scarlett slightly smiled. She suddenly recalled something. She introduced the woman next to her.

"Oh, this is actually Sofia Coppola. She's the director of Lost In Translation."

"Of course, nice to meet you Miss Sofia." Kazir extended his hand for a handshake.

"Nice to meet you too."

Sofia Coppola was a well-known personality in Hollywood. Well, if your father was none other than Francis Ford Coppola, the director of The Godfather, it would be hard not to recognize her.

"I'm a fan of your Dad."

"... That's nice to hear." Sofia didn't know how to respond to that.

Kazir then glanced at Scarlett and narrowed his gaze.

"Now that I think of it, you..."

"What?" Scarlett was curious.

"You look taller now."

Kazir continued.

"Of course I'm taller. I'm 20 years old now." Scarlett replied and looked at the director.

"Okay." Kazir nodded.

"This guy... Anyway, I heard that your devil of a half-sister got a role."

Remembering the news, Scarlett's mood turned downhill. Scarlett and Mara had been enemies from the moment they met.

Mara actively competes against Scarlett for movie roles, but Scarlett always wins in the end. Making Mara livid as fuck. However, Mara's modeling life seemed promising.

"What are you talking about?"

When Kazir heard what Scarlett said, he was confused as this was the first time he heard about it.

Looked like his half-sister successfully found a role this time.

"I guess you don't know it. I thought you were the one who helped her get the role. I heard it's a movie about zombies, I don't know the specifics though."

"A zombie movie?"

Kazir had a few movies in his mind such as Resident Evil, Zombieland, I Am Legend, and Dawn Of The Dead.

'Perhaps it's a small-budget horror movie... Wait a minute, isn't Dawn Of The Dead directed by Zack Snyder?'

Kazir recalled the complicated emotions that Zack Snyder had when they met last time. It seemed that Universal Pictures wanted to hire Zack Snyder to direct this zombie movie.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 381


Dawn Of The Dead was Zack Snyder's first movie. It was also his first step into stardom. Zack Snyder had a unique filming style that followed Noir genre.

As for Kazir, perhaps his uniqueness was his fast filming... This kind of talent only worked for someone like him, since he already had an idea what to film. The vision was already completed in his mind and there was no reason to experiment.

Usually, when creating a movie, more than 30% of the scenes might not be included in the official film.

The best example was Ridley Scott's Kingdom Of Heaven. This movie was based on a historical event. However, a lot of scenes didn't make it to the theater version so the plot became confusing. Causing the film to flop.

When Ridley Scott had the chance to prove himself in the DVD version, he gave the movie justice. At least the plot had more sense compared to the theater version.

For Kazir, wasting scenes rarely happened because the complete version of the movie was already in his mind. His vision was firm and rarely changed.

Anyway, that was Kazir's unique talent. His strong memory regarding movies that he watched.

As for Zack Snyder, he was known for using darkish lighting effects in his movies. It became his originality. It also helped his career.

This was one of the reasons why Kazir wanted Zack Snyder to work for him... The second reason was the possible creation of DCEU. Zack, in the future, would be the one responsible for the creation of DCEU.

Now that Kazir officially joined Marvel's side, of course he didn't want to see the success of the DCEU. If possible, he wanted the DCEU to fail. So hiring Zack Snyder was part of his plan.

Once Zack Snyder became part of the 20th Century Fox family, then it would be hard for Warner Brothers to hire him... It depends on the contract and salary though.

'Now that I think about it, Zack didn't visit Grey Pictures after our meeting. It seems that he decided to work with Universal Pictures, huh...'

From the looks of it, Universal Pictures offered Zack a contract he could never say no... Which was a mystery because Zack Snyder was just a newbie, basically a nobody.

Universal Pictures owned the rights to Dawn Of The Dead. He was relieved a little bit since it was not Warner Brothers... Kazir didn't know that Universal Pictures was cooking something.

'Perhaps we can have another chance to work next time. I still have the adaptation rights of 300 after all. I believe Zack is interested in this comic. As for Mara, I have no idea about her at all. Let's just forget about her.'

While Kazir was in deep thought, his eyes kept staring at Scarlett. By the way this was normal for many men. Once in a while, they would stare at nowhere, their minds devoid of anything.

"Hm? What are you looking at? Am I that pretty that you can't stop staring at me?"

Scarlett stared back but Kazir was just staring... Seconds passed and Scarlett started getting flustered because the guy never averted his gaze at all.

"A- Anyway, me and Sofia have something to do, so bye!"

"Huh? Oh, Scarlett, you are still here? I thought you already left?"

Kazir stopped daydreaming and realized that Scarlett was blushing for some unknown reason.

"You never changed at all."

"I guess so." He scratched his hair.

"Take care. See you next time. You look tired, you should probably need a sleep."

Scarlett waved at him before entering the elevator.

'... I need sleep? Am I really that sleep deprived? Since when did Scarlett worry about me?'

Kazir shook his head before looking at Erica who witnessed the whole bantering.

"Is there something you want to say, Erica?"

"Sir, you have a strong sex appeal. I can understand why some women in the company pester me about your contact information... Ahem, anyway. You're usually mature but sometimes you act stupid and childish, although you only show your childish side to few people."

"Thanks, I guess."

Kazir had no idea why Erica said that.

"Let's go to Salvatore's office."

Salvatore was one of the biggest agents in CAA. His position was just lower than the co-chairman since many of his clients were famous celebrities. Even Scarlett Johansson was getting a steady foothold in the industry. Even Enzo Park was doing well.

Salvatore's status was equal to Pat Kingsley who was Tom Cruise's agent.

In fact, Salvatore also had his own secretary and his office was huge.

The secretary saw Kazir and Erica and she immediately called her boss.

"Director, Sir Barlowe is waiting for you in his office."

Kazir didn't think twice and opened the door. Erica stayed outside, knowing that Kazir's meeting with Salvatore was something private.

Kazir then found Salvatore at his working table. The agent looked tired. If Kazir was haggard, then Salvatore was dead tired. His eye bags had their own eye bags! How is that even possible!?

The red bull cans on the table also attracted Kazir's attention.

"How's my co-chairman!?"

"Kazir, don't jinx it."

Salvatore sighed and greeted Kazir with a bro hug.

The two found their seats.

"Do you need coffee or Red Bull?"

"I'm fine with water."

"Kazir, I guess you know the reason why I called you here."

"Scarlett was here in the building, did you also talk to her?"

"No, but she greeted me earlier. You're the first client I will talk to about my situation."

"You don't have to worry, Salvatore. We are not partners, I already considered you as my brother."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Salvatore nodded slightly.

"Kazir... If we lose next week, are you fine with leaving CAA?"

"..."

Kazir already heard that Kevin Huvane wanted to become the CEO by kicking Bryan Lourd out of the company.

Kevin Huvane and Salvatore were on the same side. If Salvatore helped Kevin win the voting next week, then Salvatore would get the position of Co-chairman of CAA.

However, if they lost, there might be a chance that Salvatore would be expelled from CAA.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 382


CAA had three co-chairmen, this was used so that no one could dominate the company. CAA was founded because agents were tired of WMA bossing them.

Because of this, every agent could become a co-owner of CAA as long as the money he or she brought to the company was significant. (I can't confirm this part, I just know that every agent is a legitimate partner of the company. CAA is also a private company.)

However, despite having three co-chairmen, the company only had one CEO. This position was currently held by Bryan Lourd. In a way, this position technically held the authority over the company. This was the position that Kevin Huvane was striving to acquire.

Lately, Kevin Huvane's side was getting stronger and they decided to start voting for election against Bryan Lourd. With more shareholders on his side, the election for a new CEO was authorized and it would happen next week.

The situation seemed good to Kevin Huvane but there were always unpredictable things that could happen. Such as Bryan Lourd and Richard Lovett working together...

Richard Lovett was also one of the three co-chairmen.

If that happened, Kevin Huvane might lose his position instead and it could also affect Salvatore's position in the company.

So it was understandable why Salvatore seemed stressed.

"Salvatore's, I trust you. Grey Pictures is already steady and we have 20th Century Fox as our backer. The company is stronger now compared to five years ago."

Hearing Kazir's response, Salvatore slightly smiled. His tired face alleviated a little.

"The reason why I stayed at CAA is because of you. I trust you. And you're also the first person who trusted me... Let's exclude my brother since we're relatives, but anyway, you sure understand right?"

"Haha, of course." The agent laughed.

"If you want to start an agency, I will leave CAA and become your client again."

"Thanks Kazir, your answer helped me a lot."

Salvatore suddenly felt brave. He didn't fear the outcome of the election anymore. But that bravery only lasted a few seconds.

The agent remembered that Kazir was not the only client he had. Sure Kazir was the most significant client but it didn't mean that the others were not important.

Every one of his clients was important. They all found their footing in the industry. Everyone had steady projects and made millions yearly... It would be painful to let them go.

So if possible, Salvatore would fight for the election to make sure that he would get the best outcome.

"It's nice to talk to you, Kazir."

"I'm glad I can help."

The two stood up and hugged again.

"Oh by the way, before I forget, do you mind speaking with Brianna? I'm a little bit worried about her."

"Brianna? Are you talking about her interest in Monster?"

"That's right... I actually want her to talk to a psychiatrist but I don't know how to convince her." Salvatore sighed and shook his head.

"..."

Kazir felt like the situation might not be that simple.

Monster was a movie that Brianna was super interested in doing. However, she failed to get the leading role. Instead, Charlize Theron got the role.

Brianna almost shaved her brows just to show her seriousness. Kazir recalled that Brianna was a bit unstable while training for the role of a serial killer prostitute...

'Is this the reason why Brianna didn't have any role lately?'

"Don't worry, she's doing fine. She's just been depressed lately." Salvatore added.

Kazir nodded.

'I hope so, because Brianna is deep into Method Acting. If she failed to get out of her role, she might lose herself.'

Method actors were known to do extreme stuff just to master their art. Method acting could create trauma, especially if the character they portray is mentally unhealthy.

"I will talk to her tomorrow."

Knowing that Brianna might need help, Kazir decided to talk to her tomorrow.

Kazir knew the danger of depression. In fact, in his past life, he also underwent therapy. He had four therapists in his lifetime. If not for them, he might have killed himself earlier. Although attending therapies also remind him of his trauma so he couldn't be confident about its effects.

'Therapy is not a popular thing in the early 2000s. Although mental health would be recognized later on so therapists became a stable job.'

As of now... Kazir believed that he didn't need a therapist. His life was going well in the right direction. Sure, he was afraid of women but that was a defense mechanism that he didn't hate. This trauma protected him, sort of...

"I will contact Brianna to tell her to visit your studio tomorrow." Salvatore said.

"Thanks. Good luck with the election."

"Yeah, I might have to talk to Enzo and Fremont tomorrow."

"I'm sure they will understand."

The two bid farewell and Kazir left the company.

.........

......

...

The next morning arrived. Kazir texted Angelina good morning but the woman didn't respond, perhaps she was still sleeping.

After that, his car was already waiting outside of the house. As usual, his bodyguard Anderson was the driver.

"Good morning, Anderson."

"Good morning, sir."

Half an hour later, the car reached the studio that Sony-Colombia used to film indoor scenes.

"Sir, this is your schedule for today. Miss Willow wants to talk to you after the filming to talk about CCU."

Right when Kazir entered the studio, Erica was already there to greet him with work.

"Thanks, Erica." Kazir chuckled, he was used to this kind of situation. In fact, he was lucky today because he only had one meeting.

As for filming for 8 hours, that was Kazir's fun time so he didn't think of it as work. At least not that much.

"Oh, Miss Evans is already waiting for you... I advise you to be prepared because she's not looking great."

Erica whispered.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 383


Kazir went into the studio. He saw the crew members working and he was greeted with good morning, Kazir returned the greeting.

"Sir, Brianna is in the trailer." Erica reminded him.

"Thanks."

Even though the studio was indoor, the crew still prepared trailers for the cast to use. These actors and actresses needed privacy after all... It didn't help that celebrities were arrogant and loved to have their own space. Well, they were the faces of Hollywood so they have the reason to act arrogant.

Sometimes, trailers were used to do drugs, have sex, and do makeup/change clothes... These three things were the normal stuff happening in trailers.

God knows how many celebrities used their private trailers to have sex.

Kazir headed to one of the trailers designated for female extras. Typically, female extras and background actors share a single trailer, taking turns using the space whenever they need to change clothes.

"Brianna? Are you there?"

Kazir knocked on the door, asking for permission to enter.

"The door's open. You can go in."

Hearing the approval, Kazir opened the door and found Brianna sitting in front of a mirror.

"Hi Brianna, we haven't met for quite a while."

"Good morning, Kazir."

Kazir studied the woman. Overall, Brianna seemed fine. However, he felt something odd about her gaze... Kazir felt like the woman was lifeless because her eyes didn't have emotions. Like a serial killer who didn't show sympathy for her victims.

Kazir gulped.

Kazir realized that if Brianna successfully got the role in Monster, she might drown in the character and completely lose herself.

Thankfully, Brianna didn't get the role.

"Brianna, Salvatore is worried about you so he wants me to talk to you."

"Don't worry director, I'm fine." She smiled.

'Yeah, you look fine...'

This was not the Brianna who participated in Wanted. This was also not the Brianna who starred in Runaway Bride. The person in front of Kazir was a different Brianna Evans.

'She is really talented. A chameleon who can easily change the color of her skin.'

Kazir admitted that the woman was a great actress. Her acting could attract every director in the industry.

"Brianna, do you want to do a cameo in my movie? Don't worry it's just a short scene and you don't have to say a line at all."

"I want to. Salvatore stopped me from participating in any film lately."

When she heard that she would have a chance to act in front of a camera, Brianna became excited.

"That's great to hear. But I have to tell you that your role is only a vase, a background character."

"That's fine with me. You don't even have to pay me at all."

The woman easily agreed. Usually, she had an agent who would negotiate for her salary, sometimes it was Salvatore, and sometimes a different agent.

"Okay. Now, let's get to the job. Here's the background information of your character."

Kazir gave Brianna a thin document, listing all the information about her role. This made Brianna a bit surprised. She didn't expect that she would have to read a background profile for this cameo.

For the record, Brianna was now in her late 30s and she had worked in the acting industry since college. She was a theater stage actress from Australia, and she also had her fair share of experience working in movies... Although her roles were usually vases.

So she didn't expect that this background character would actually have her own story.

"I know that you're an actress who loves diving into your character's story so I prepared something for you. Well then, see you later. The crew will call you once the set is ready."

Brianna nodded and started reading.

"Shella Vancob. A woman in her 30s who wants to be a famous actress. She was from the UK but went to America to pursue her dream of becoming a famous actress..."

Brianna felt like the character resembled her life.

She was clueless about the reason why Salvatore wanted her to talk to Kazir. So she didn't understand the purpose of this cameo.

While she was reading more, her mood slowly changed. She was internally absorbing the essence of the character, to become her. She closed her eyes, merging with Shella Vancob.

Then, the door opened. This trailer was for extras to use and they didn't expect to see a famous actress inside.

Shella, I mean, Brianna opened her eyes and greeted the person.

"Good morning."

"Good morning-- Wait a minute, are you Miss Brianna Evans?"

"That's right. That's me."

Brianna's eyes were lively, unlike earlier. She smiled and waved her hand at the actress.

"W- wha--!! C- Can I get an autograph!? I'm a fan!"

"Of course."

"Wha--!"

The female actress almost squealed.

Because the trailer was for female extras, Brianna decided to leave the trailer and check the studio.

As of now, the crew members are adjusting the seats. The studio looked like a restaurant.

This was the scene where Dr. Octopus attacked Peter Parker in the restaurant to ask him about Spider-Man's whereabouts.

Brianna looked around and saw some actors she recognized such as Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. They became famous after the success of the first movie.

"Oh, looks like you came out of the trailer."

Kazir saw Brianna.

"So here's your role. You're the waiter who will bring coffee to Peter Parker and Mary Jane. You will smile at them and leave."

"Alright."

Brianna knew that this was the usual role for a vase. A vase is a term used when a beautiful woman is used as a background character, just to make the scene pleasing to the eye.

However, even a small screentime was very important to extras, because that could become their opportunity to be recognized by other directors.

Even an extra who had one line had a higher salary compared to other extras who were just in the background.

Kazir was satisfied when he saw that Brianna looked fine now. At least her eyes didn't look dead.

"That's great to hear. Oh, after this scene, don't immediately leave. I have a script here that might take your interest. I know you want to participate in the Academy Awards, so maybe this script can help you."

Brianna then looked at Kazir with surprise.

+++++

[Author's Note: If you're interested in reading more, you can check out my Patreon. Currently, HWI has 177 advance chapters on Patreon. You can also vote on polls that can determine the trajectory of this novel.]

P@treon link: https://www.patreon.com/Puji_maki

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 384


"Do you love me or not?" Mary Jane asked an important question, staring at Peter Parker.

"I..." Peter Parker paused, he didn't know how to respond.

Mary Jane was waiting for his answer, hoping to hear "yes".

"I... don't."

Peter looked down, with his eyeglasses, becoming a bit blurry.

Mary Jane looked disappointed.

"You don't," she said back to him.

"Um, excuse me. But here's your order. A cup of latte and cappuccino. Have a great day!"

Their conversation stopped when a woman in her 30s put their orders on the table. She smiled at them before leaving.

Mary Jane bit her lip and closed her eyes for a second. Then, she stared at Peter.

"Kiss me," she said.

"Kiss you?"

"I need to know something. Just one kiss." She touched Peter's hand.

The two closed their eyes and their lips slowly came closer.

Unfortunately, right before their lips touched, Peter's spider-sense started acting up!

A fucking car dived into the restaurant!

The glass wall cracked as the car crashed into the restaurant, destroying the property.

Peter grabbed Mary Jane and protected her from the danger. The debris flew everywhere.

The waitress screamed and started running away as she witnessed the destruction.

"Cut-!"

Kazir uttered and the performance stopped. Based on his reaction, he had no intention of reshooting the scene. Probably because the performance was on point.

The crew members clapped their hands, congratulating the cast and extras who participated in the scene.

Even Brianna was congratulated.

"Ma'am, I'm a fan. I want to say that you're an amazing actress." Kirsten said to Brianna.

"Thanks. You too, you're an amazing actress." She replied.

If this happened seven years ago, Brianna might be over the top in celebration. Becoming a background character in a big-budget movie was a huge accomplishment for a nobody like her. Especially when the movie was directed by Kazir Grey.

This was enough to boost her credentials as an actress.

But now, Brianna already reached the top and she was recognized as one of the most talented actresses in the industry.

Brianna saw Kazir talking to Alfred Molina, probably about the next scene. Because Dr. Octopus was the one responsible for throwing the car into the restaurant.

"Okay, let's take a break."

A few minutes later, Kazir announced the lunch break. People needed to eat to gain energy. Kazir understood the importance of eating at the right time so he would make sure that the crew and the cast would have the time to eat and rest.

Furthermore, Kazir was also hungry.

"Brianna, let's eat together. I'm sure you're interested in the script I talked about earlier."

"Yes, director." Despite being both clients of Salvatore, Brianna still showed respect to Kazir.

After all, directors like Kazir had a higher status than Brianna. Also, Kazir was the person who introduced Brianna to Salvatore. She would never forget that goodwill.

"By the way, your acting is on point. I thought you're really a waitress."

"I worked in a restaurant as a waitress before auditioning for Taken. I have experience."

The two found a restaurant near the studio... This restaurant also had some crew members eating. This was one of the nearest restaurants in the studio so it was obvious why some of the crew members were eating here.

The crew greeted Kazir, Brianna, Erica, and Anderson.

"I want two bacon sandwiches and cold water," Kazir said to the waiter.

"That's also my order." Brianna followed.

While waiting for their orders, Kazir decided to give the script to Brianna.

"Actually, I have two scripts here for you. It depends on what you like to choose."

Kazir gave her two documents. One with the title of La La Land, and the second had the title of Nomadland.

Brianna looked at the two documents and then stared at Kazir.

The guy chuckled and explained.

"Fremont Smith is interested in filming an art film, to compete at the Academy Awards. However, he can't find a good script that will help him. You know, the Academy Awards is very picky. So I decided to help him and wrote these scripts."

Kazir was now a master in lying.

"La La Land is a musical. While Nomadland is about a woman who travels around the country with her van."

Brianna felt like the characters of these two scripts had no mental illness... Which was a big factor in winning an Oscar statue.

You see, the members of the AMPAS(Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) had a thing with psychotic characters, especially when the said characters were based on real life.

Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute serial killer.

Heath Ledger as the Joker. A fictional character but had a strong impact on the comic industry. Joker is the definition of insanity.

Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers in the movie Black Swan. A ballerina who slowly loses her sense of reality and falls into madness.

The list just keeps going on...

Anyway, Brianna didn't know that Kazir had no intention of giving her a dangerous role. However, he also knew that Brianna was interested in winning the Oscar.

This was the best thing he could do to help her.

"You can only choose one. Since you have experience working with Fremont once, I'm sure that you know his ability. You can convince him to join you in this endeavor."

"..."

Brianna was silent. Her heart was actually beating fast. These two scripts were created by Kazir Grey! One of the best screenwriters in the industry!

"Each of these two had their pros and cons so choose wisely... Ah, you also have to sign an NDA if you want to take the scripts. You know, for security."

If people knew that Kazir wrote two new scripts, the Big Six might kick the door of the Writer's Guild just to get a copy. This kind of method was frowned upon, but the Big Six were powerful enough to disregard the consequences.

+++++

[I created a poll for this where patrons can vote between La La Land and Nomadland. Based on what you can see, most patrons voted for La La Land.]

[Hey, I just want to promote my Pat reon and Ko-fi. For $10 you can read 177 chapters of HWI and other content about my Pat reon and Ko- fi].

P@treon link: https://www.patreon.com/Puji_maki

Ko-fi link: https://ko-fi.com/pujimaki

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 385


La La Land was a musical romantic comedy-drama film. The film originally stars Ryan Gosling as a jazz musician and Emma Stone as an aspiring actress who meets and falls in love while pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles. Of course, now that Kazir moved the timeline, this piece of art would become part of his portfolio as a screenwriter.

The film was notable for its homage to classic Hollywood musicals, its vibrant cinematography, and its original music.

La La Land received critical acclaim and won numerous awards, including six Academy Awards, with Emma Stone winning Best Actress. This was also the reason why Kazir recommended this film to Brianna. Brianna Evans worked in the theater stage and she knew how to sing. She was good at singing, to be honest.

The film's themes of love, ambition, and the tension between personal aspirations and romantic relationships resonated with many viewers. This was a box office success and also an art film that was recognized by the Academy Awards.

To make it better, the female lead was not mentally crazy. A great thing for Brianna who was deep into method acting.

"Director, La La Land seems promising, but it's a musical. Two years ago, Chicago was released and won many awards from the Academy Awards. Perhaps the Academy members might be tired of musicals."

"That's also right. But you have to remember, the purpose of La La Land is for you and Fremont to win the Best Actress and Best Director respectively."

Actually, the original director of La La Land won the Best Director. This was also the reason why Kazir chose this script. La La Land could give Brianna and Fremont the golden statues they were eager to get.

"Director, this is a musical... Do you even know how to write a song? I mean, there are song lyrics on the script, but I have no idea about their tones and rhythm."

Composing a piece of music was not that easy. It could even take months or years to perfect a song.

"About that, I have a copy of the album here. You just have to listen to it... For the record, I'm not that good with singing so you guys can decide how much you tune it."

"I didn't know that you also have this kind of talent. Sometimes I feel like you're not a human at all. Tell me, are you an alien or time traveler or something?"

"Actually, I'm a time traveler. The movies I directed are all from the future. I stole all of them." Kazir replied very seriously.

Brianna just nodded, treating what he said as a joke.

"As for the choreography, Fremont can hire a professional choreographer. He can also hire a musician."

Kazir estimated that Fremont could finish this project in at least two years. This was not Fremont's expertise so it might take a while for him to get the knack for musical.

"If you're not confident, then how about Nomadland?"

"La La Land and Nomadland almost have the same name. Both had the word Land in the end."

"That's right. But unlike La La Land, Nomadland is a realistic film. There's no musical in between."

"Nomadland" is an American drama film about a woman in her sixties who, after the economic collapse of her hometown in rural Nevada, decides to become a modern-day nomad, living in her van and traveling across the American West.

The film explores themes of economic hardship, community, and resilience, capturing the lives of those who choose to live on the road outside of conventional society.

Nomadland is actually based on a non-fiction book, so it was based on real life.

The film received widespread acclaim for its direction, screenplay, cinematography, and the lead's performance. It won several prestigious awards, including the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress.

The film is praised for its storytelling and its authentic depiction of the nomadic lifestyle.

'In my opinion, Nomadland is better than La La Land in terms of recognition. This movie won three Academy Awards. However, the box office of this movie is not that great. It only made $39 million, unlike La La Land which grossed more than $472 million.'

The difference between the two was huge.

Of course, Nomadland would only take a year to film and this kind of genre would not be a problem to Fremont. As for La La Land, Fremont had no experience in musical so the creation of this movie might take a while.

Both movies had their pros and cons.

"You can convince Fremont. That guy is not an amateur anymore. He knows how to determine the value of a script."

"Thanks, director, I will treat you to a nice restaurant once I win the Best Actress Award."

"... That's at least a year from now on. Do you know how long is that?" Kazir joked and Brianna laughed.

Kazir was relieved to see Brianna smiling. It was actually concerning how easy it was for Brianna to change her whole personality.

'Perhaps she really needs a professional therapist... I should probably talk to Salvatore about this.'

A person's mind is a powerful tool, but also a dangerous one.

Their orders arrived and the two started eating.

.........

......

...

The filming of Spider-Man 2 was smooth sailing overall. There were some problems but Kazir had enough experience to fix them.

While the filming of Spider-Man 2 was happening, the 3rd week of January just passed.

This week, The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King just surpassed $350 million in North America. As for the international box office, it already grossed more than $270 million.

Warner Brothers forecasted that the last movie of the trilogy could possibly surpass $1 billion based on how fast the box office climbed.

Meaning, the number one movie of 2003 might become Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King. With that, Finding Nemo would lose its number-one spot on the ranking! Good for Warner Brothers, but bad for Walt Disney.

Well, profit-wise, none of them lost. They still made huge money after all.

++++

[Author's Note: I'm not going to lie, I chatgpt'ed the summaries of the movies because I also have no idea what these movies actually are. Anyway, I want to say thank you guys for all of your support! I appreciate it.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 386


A new year had arrived, and production studios were once again busy preparing for their upcoming releases. Many were already promoting their films in hopes of earning more at the box office.

January, being the first month of the year, was relatively quiet in terms of blockbuster releases, except for one. Universal Pictures had released a romantic comedy titled Along Came Polly, which was expected to surpass $150 million at the worldwide box office.

Other than Along Came Polly, January remained uneventful for new films. However, this lull only applied to recent releases.

Meanwhile, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was continuing to dominate the box office. The number of people watching the film every day was astounding.

Some moviegoers even attended screenings dressed as characters from the film, wearing elaborate costumes of Dwarves and Elves. The Lord of the Rings had become more than just a film franchise. It was now an integral part of Western pop culture. Many fans engaged in live-action role-playing (LARPing) and played Dungeons & Dragons using LOTR as a core influence.

Merchandise sales for The Lord of the Rings had already surpassed a billion dollars. Every time a new movie in the franchise was released, merchandise sales skyrocketed.

It was undeniable that The Lord of the Rings had a stronger consumer base than the Continental Cinematic Universe (CCU). LOTR offered a vast range of products, including wigs, toy swords, toy bows, and detailed costumes, while CCU primarily relied on action figures.

Taking into account the officially licensed video games, merchandise, and box office earnings, Forbes estimated that The Lord of the Rings franchise had generated between $3 billion and $7 billion in total revenue.

It was obvious why Warner Brothers was determined to hold onto the franchise. They had no intention of letting it go, especially with the possibility of The Hobbit adaptation.

While The Lord of the Rings was making history, Wanted 2 had officially ended its theatrical run, concluding with a worldwide box office total of $821 million.

Although this was $200 million lower than its predecessor, Wanted 2 was still recognized as a box office success, especially considering its production cost of just $100 million (plus marketing expenses). Unfortunately, Wanted 2 failed to surpass Finding Nemo, which had grossed $871 million worldwide.

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

"Hey, did you hear the rumors?"

"Hm? Are you talking about that?"

"Yes, that! That's right!"

At the reception desk of Grey Pictures, two receptionists whispered to each other while idly waiting for visitors. With little to do at the moment, they passed the time by gossiping.

People loved to gossip, especially when the topic was juicy.

Recently, rumors had been circulating about Kazir Grey and Brianna Evans. The two had been spotted leaving a restaurant together, looking rather close, as if they were more than just friends.

Naturally, the two receptionists were eager to discuss their boss's supposed romantic entanglement.

Kazir Grey was known throughout the company as a serious, hardworking man. Everyone was also well aware that he was deeply in love with his girlfriend, Angelina Jolie.

However, some tabloids had begun publishing stories suggesting that Kazir and Brianna were having an affair.

Of course, tabloids were notorious for fabricating stories. In some ways, they were even worse than fanfiction. At least fanfiction openly admitted to being fictional, whereas tabloids often pushed misleading narratives, making people believe they were true.

This time, their target was Kazir and Brianna.

"What do you think? Are the rumors true? I thought Mr. Grey was devoted to his girlfriend."

"In my opinion, he should leave Angelina. That woman has already been through a divorce and a failed relationship. Her past romantic history isn't great either."

"I actually agree with you. Kazir Grey is the best thing that's happened to Angelina… I'd be really sad if they broke up."

"For me, Brianna Evans is the better choice. She has a stronger career, and she's never been involved in any scandals, except for this one. I also heard she's been single since 1997, which shows how serious she is about her career."

"Your opinion sucks. Just shut up and do your job. Don't spread baseless gossip unless you want to get sued."

A new voice interrupted their conversation.

"Who said that?!"

One of the receptionists turned around, only for her face to go pale.

Standing there with a cold stare was Erica Mendez.

"M- Ma'am, it's nice to meet you," one of the receptionists stammered, her confidence crumbling.

"I don't feel the same."

Without another glance at them, Erica walked past the reception desk, clearly unimpressed. It was unprofessional and outright disrespectful for company employees to gossip about their boss's private life.

She made a mental note to contact Human Resources. These two didn't deserve to work at Grey Pictures with such an unprofessional attitude.

'If they wanted to gossip, they should've done it somewhere I couldn't hear them.'

Erica sighed.

The truth was, Kazir had already spoken to Angelina about the situation to clear things up. Their conversation had gone well, but afterward, Angelina had started acting a little strange.

Erica could sense it.

She had worked with Kazir long enough to want the best for him, both professionally and personally.

Kazir and Angelina were still in a relationship and remained affectionate toward each other. But for some reason, Erica had a gut feeling that their relationship wouldn't last much longer.

It certainly didn't help that tabloids kept flooding the media with claims that Kazir was cheating on Angelina.

Frustrated, Erica had already contacted their legal team to file lawsuits against these tabloids. Most of them were small publishers, so the legal battle wouldn't take long.

However, the damage had already been done. The smear campaign against Kazir's reputation was clearly deliberate.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 387


"Let me check... It's done, huh. It looks amazing. The UI is simple and easy to use. The comment section is also not that bad, people who created an account can react to comments."

Kazir explored the new website of Grey Pictures. The internet industry was booming despite the dot-com bubble crash that had happened a few years ago.

This website was designed by him based on how websites looked in his past life, clean, simple, and easy to use. Of course, he had only provided an example, while the actual programming and coding were handled by professionals.

This website had taken quite a while to build. To be honest, it took two years to complete because the internet was still a new industry with no clear rules to follow.

On the website, news about their upcoming projects was displayed on the front page. People could also check their past movies by searching for their titles in the search box.

Each movie had a comment section where people could share their honest opinions. Of course, there were still no comments since the website had just launched today.

Kazir decided to comment on one of the movies, as he already had an account.

-- 10/10. I love the movie! I love it so much that I bought both the regular and deluxe DVD versions. I watched both versions just to see the differences. Guys! I highly recommend buying both versions because they are amazing!

Deluxe DVD versions of movies were rarely available for rental because they tended to sell out quickly. This was especially true for CCU movies, which were always in high demand.

Kazir was personally promoting his movies on the website.

"Speaking of websites... I wonder when Facebook will be created. I heard the website will be launched this year, but I have no idea when."

Facebook was actually founded in February 2004, just one week from now.

Knowing the potential of this website, Kazir was excited to invest in it.

He had already acquired shares from Google, holding a 7% stake.

After receiving $1 billion from 20th Century Fox, Kazir diversified his investments. For every company he recognized, he invested a portion of the money. It was better than letting it sit in the bank and depreciate. It was also a good way to protect his money from taxes since they couldn't tax funds that were invested in the stock market.

Kazir was also interested in Netflix, but he wasn't in a rush to invest. He was waiting for the moment Netflix launched its online streaming service. That would be the right time to buy in.

Financially, Kazir's life was in great shape. He had no fear of losing money. In fact, he had no idea where to spend it. He wasn't a materialistic guy, though his film library at home was now filled with old movies, ranging from silent films to black-and-white classics and early color films. His collection was worth more than $7 million because the films he had were authentic originals.

Sometimes, there was a novelty in watching old movies on videotape. In the next few years, people would lose interest in VHS technology, but Kazir would keep his collection.

He checked every movie section of the website until he reached the TV Show section. There was only one TV show that Grey Pictures had produced so far: Game of Thrones.

This TV show had received amazing ratings, averaging 19.28 per episode. The show had already aired its ninth episode three days ago, and it had been a great success.

Next week would be the last episode of the season. Unlike most TV shows that had 20+ episodes per season, Game of Thrones only had 10 episodes.

The reason was the budget. Every episode cost millions to produce. Since the audience loved the show, the second season was already in production.

Kazir checked the comment section and was surprised to see that someone had already shared their thoughts on the show.

-- It's an amazing show! I'm excited to watch it next week!

The comment was short, but Kazir could sense the sincerity. He smirked.

Since Season 1 was a success and Season 2 was on the way, Grey Pictures understood that they had to increase the budget.

They had only broken even with revenue this season, but their profits in the next season seemed promising, so Grey Pictures was not hesitant to invest more.

Naturally, the actors also received a salary increase for the next season.

Emilia Clarke's salary per episode was around $12,000, but in Season 2, her pay per episode might double, depending on negotiations between her agent and the producers.

If Kazir remembered correctly, by the time Game of Thrones reached Season 7, many of the actors were making $500,000 per episode, including Emilia Clarke, who played Daenerys Targaryen, and Kit Harington, who played Jon Snow.

Obviously, the production studio wouldn't offer that kind of salary unless the TV show was highly profitable.

'By the time we're done, the valuation of this TV show will be around $1.5 billion... The problem is, when should we end it?'

Season 8 had been a disaster, and even the cast admitted it. They had failed to deliver a satisfying ending. Kazir didn't want that to happen again.

While surfing the website, his phone rang, and Kazir glanced at it.

"..."

It was Angelina.

The current scandal circulating in the industry was affecting Kazir's reputation.

He had already explained everything to Angelina, so he thought things were fine.

"Hey, babe, how's your day?"

He answered the call, and Angelina responded.

"Kazir, I think you should turn on your television..."

"Hm?"

Kazir raised an eyebrow but did as she suggested. Angelina remained on the phone as Kazir turned on the television in his office.

He switched to a news network.

-- Breaking news: Tobey Maguire beat a reporter to death.

"..."

Kazir was speechless.

++++

[Author's Note: Yeah, I guess this is a filler chapter, huh? I just want you to be ready because I'm cooking up this year's (2004) plot against Kazir. This will be one of Kazir's worst years, perhaps the worst one.]

[As for why I'm doing this to our MC, well, life is never easy. Sometimes, you have to go through hardships.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 388


"Ugh... That motherfucker..."

Tobey Maguire cursed under his breath while applying a cold compress to his head.

His neck had a small cut, and his head had a bump from the scuffle earlier.

He slowly touched the bandage on his neck, the sensation of his throat almost being sliced still lingering. Thankfully, Tobey trained three times a week for his role as Spider-Man, so his reaction time was quite fast.

"Tobey, our situation isn't great."

A woman in her forties entered the hospital room. She sighed as she looked at Tobey's appearance.

"It's a good thing your face doesn't have any scratches. You'll still be shooting tomorrow."

"I don't even know if the shoot will happen tomorrow," he replied.

The woman shook her head. This incident had happened so quickly that she didn't have time to respond.

The woman was Tobey's agent. Her name was Diana Taylor.

"Tobey, be honest with me. What you did was self-defense, right?"

The female agent asked.

"What the fuck, Diana? I'm not lying to you! That fucker attacked me first!" Tobey roared.

"I know, I know."

The agent tried to calm the actor down. Diana asked the question because she knew Tobey had some anger issues, especially when he was drunk. Though lately, Diana could see that Tobey was changing for the better. He rarely went to clubs anymore. If he had to get drunk, he'd just invite some of his friends and party at his own property.

But still, the situation was against them.

"Okay, Tobey, tell me the story—"

"I also want to hear it."

"Kazir!"

Kazir appeared with Jezebel. The two were the ones responsible for Spider-Man 2.

Jezebel briefly glanced at Diana before looking at Tobey. Diana knew that the female producer had issues with other women, so she decided to stay silent.

Agents had thick skin. As long as they made more money, they would do almost anything.

'Besides, keeping quiet is easier than twerking on the table...' Diana thought to herself.

As for why she made that comparison, it was probably based on her experience...

So the agent sat in the corner, waiting for Tobey's full story.

"Director, I swear, I'm not the bad guy. I'm the victim here! I was just trying to protect myself!"

Tobey's face flushed red, perhaps from shame or hatred toward the reporter.

"Tobey, I trust you."

Kazir nodded, reassuring the actor. Kazir had witnessed Tobey's gradual change. There was probably more to the story about why Tobey attacked the reporter.

"Wait, really!?"

Tobey was stunned. He couldn't believe Kazir would easily believe him.

"I know you're doing great and changing to be a better person. I'm proud of you."

"..."

Hearing Kazir's response, Tobey suddenly wanted to cry. Damn, that was the greatest thing he'd heard all day. Everyone who heard the story believed Tobey was the bad guy, but Kazir was different.

"Kazir... Thank you so much."

"Tobey, don't cry on me... I'm not comfortable with men crying on me." Kazir could see the tears building up in Tobey's eyes.

"Y- Yeah, hehe, sorry sorry." Tobey snorted and then laughed, forcing himself not to cry.

He wiped his eyes and began telling the story.

"First of all, that guy isn't a reporter! He's a paparazzi! A stalker! He'd been following me from the studio yesterday. His car followed me everywhere I went. I got irritated, so I decided to confront him. Instead of asking me questions, he started taking pictures, and the flashes of his camera almost blinded me. It was already 6 p.m. at that time, so it was dark."

"Because I was mad, I decided to give him the middle finger! That bastard smirked instead and kept taking pictures. At first, I wanted to beat him, but I controlled myself. I returned to my car and decided to go home and relax, hoping to forget about it."

"You did the right thing," Kazir nodded.

The story should have ended there. Unfortunately, the paparazzi kept following him.

When Tobey reached Beverly Hills, he thought the paparazzi would stop stalking him. Beverly Hills was a safe neighborhood where many celebrities lived. This neighborhood had strong security to protect the privacy of its residents.

The stalker should have been stopped by the guards right at the gate of the subdivision where Tobey lived.

However, things didn't go as planned. For some reason, the stalker got into the neighborhood where Tobey lived!

And you know what happened next? The stalker even entered the house where Tobey was living. He found Tobey opening a bottle of whiskey, and that's where the scuffle occurred.

Tobey easily overpowered the stalker... smashing his face badly. Tobey was already mad at the stalker, and he used this chance to teach him a lesson.

He called the police and reported that someone had trespassed on his property and tried to harm him.

"This isn't the first time this has happened. Some paparazzi have been pestering me lately, and I don't know why. They're asking me stupid questions, and I'm slowly losing my mind. The last person received all of my wrath."

The stalker was sent to the hospital.

Tobey thought everything would be over after that.

However, just minutes after the incident, breaking news was released by NBC, a TV network affiliated with Universal Pictures.

The headline was that Tobey Maguire beat up a poor reporter to death after the reporter allegedly asked him some questions.

Now, that was the stupidest thing. Yet almost everyone believed the news without even hearing his side of the story or the police report!

How many people lost their jobs due to false allegations? Probably a lot.

++++

[Author's Note: Since today is April 1, I decided to post two more chapters later. And no, this is not an April Fool's joke. I missed a few days, so this is my way of making it fair. Also, I'll announce something later.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 389


The events that transpired were against Spider-Man 2. Even though NBC was the major TV network that spread the news, other smaller TV stations also covered it.

Even news publishers printed articles related to the incident. In just one night, the news of Tobey Maguire beating a reporter spread so fast that even kindergarteners heard about it.

This news would obviously affect Spider-Man 2 very, very badly. The profit that Sony-Columbia could earn from this project would decrease, perhaps even drop into the negatives.

Sony-Columbia couldn't accept that. They had invested too much money in this project. More than $100 million had already been poured into the movie and advertising. If they backed down now, they would bleed too much.

So, immediately, Sony-Columbia retaliated to protect Tobey.

Besides, Tobey was the victim here. They had the upper hand in terms of the law. They contacted GET TV to assist them.

GET (Great Entertainment Television) was a national television channel owned by Sony-Columbia. Unfortunately, this channel was nothing compared to NBC. It didn't help much.

Sony-Columbia also reached out to numerous newspapers to repair Tobey's image.

It was fortunate that Tobey had security cameras on his property, and they had recorded everything that happened.

The police also had a copy of the footage and were trying to determine how the paparazzi had infiltrated the neighborhood.

The news of Tobey Maguire beating a reporter became a sensation, and many had complex opinions. Some believed Tobey was the victim, while others sympathized with the reporter.

Universal Pictures showed sympathy for the reporter, who was still in the hospital, allegedly "comatose" after the brutal beating he had endured from Tobey.

Sony-Columbia did its best to protect Tobey, spreading the truth about what had actually happened.

Smart people understood that Tobey was innocent. He had only been trying to protect himself. The evidence was clear.

However, the media was a powerful tool capable of manipulating public perception.

Suddenly, two major studios joined the battle!

Walt Disney started attacking Tobey Maguire. While they acknowledged that Tobey had been protecting himself, they still condemned his actions. In their opinion, he shouldn't have hurt the reporter but should have talked to him peacefully instead. They claimed Tobey lacked control over his anger. They also pointed out that Tobey had undergone anger management.

Disney's involvement worsened the situation for Sony-Columbia... but their troubles weren't over yet.

Warner Brothers also joined in! Backed by Time Warner, one of the biggest media conglomerates in the world, they began spamming hateful news against Tobey Maguire!

There were only a few media conglomerates in the entire world, and these corporations controlled the media. News, TV shows, movies, newspapers, and even the internet.

Time Warner, the parent company of Warner Brothers.

The Walt Disney Company.

Viacom, which had acquired Paramount in the '90s.

Sony, the parent company of Sony-Columbia.

Vivendi, which owned Universal Pictures.

News Corporation, the owner of 20th Century Fox.

Perhaps the reason the Big Six became the Big Six was because of their powerful backers.

And this time, those powerful backers were at war with each other... To be precise, three of them were trying to destroy Tobey's reputation, while Sony-Columbia was doing its best to protect him.

The outcome was obvious. Even though Tobey was innocent, it was impossible to maintain his image as an amazing actor.

They began spreading stories that Tobey had anger issues. That he used drugs. That he wasn't a good person.

His image as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man was crumbling. If this continued, Tobey might lose his place in the industry. He might be forced to leave Hollywood and go into hiding.

Thankfully, the police announced that Tobey was innocent. With that, Sony-Columbia began issuing lawsuits against multiple companies just to silence them.

But it was more difficult to deal with the Big Three. They didn't care about justice. They only wanted to destroy Tobey's reputation.

Even though Tobey was the victim, as long as they ruined his public image, their mission would be complete. Although they toned down their attacks, they still focused on his alleged drug use and anger management issues.

Spider-Man had grossed over $1 billion, and the Big Three understood that its sequel would be their toughest competition of the year. Since they had an opportunity to undermine it, they took full advantage.

Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox and Paramount remained silent, choosing not to join the battle. They had cooperated with Kazir in the past, so they stayed out of it. That was the best they could do.

Even though 20th Century Fox and Grey Pictures had a partnership, Spider-Man was a separate entity. The movie wouldn't bring them any profit.

As for Marvel Comics, they were also in a difficult position. Spider-Man was their character, so they had to protect its brand. Unfortunately, they lacked the strength to do so. News Corporation provided some assistance, but not much.

.........

.......

...

Barry Mayer paused what he was doing when his secretary delivered surprising news.

"I can't believe I'll be meeting you today, Kazir."

"Yeah, I apologize for not making an appointment. I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to speak with you."

"Of course."

Barry Mayer nodded. He had taken the reins at Warner Brothers after Terry Semel left the company.

As the leader of one of the biggest studios in the world, Barry couldn't ignore the most profitable director of all time.

The two men locked eyes. Barry already had an idea why Kazir was visiting. It was most likely about the Spider-Man 2 controversy. Warner Brothers had been one of the studios condemning Tobey Maguire's actions.

Even though Tobey had been proven innocent, public opinion remained against him. Warner Brothers was partly responsible for that.

"Kazir, I know you understand that this is just business. We're all competing for our own interests. I hope you understand that."

Obviously, Barry wanted to work with Kazir, so he kept his tone respectful. There was always a chance they could collaborate, especially now that Warner Brothers was looking to build its own...

"I understand that very well."

"That's good to hear."

Barry sighed in relief.

"That's why I will fight for my own interests," Kazir replied, his gaze firm and unwavering.

"Hm?"

"Batman."

"!!!" Barry's eyes trembled slightly.

"I want to direct Batman. I heard your studio is searching for a director. Why not me, the most profitable director of the era?"

"..."

Barry fell silent, but he couldn't stop his heart from racing. This... this might be the biggest shock he had received this year. And yet, 2004 was only just beginning.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 390


Kazir understood it very well. Showbiz is not that simple. It is an intense competition aimed at making more money.

He didn't blame Warner Brothers and Walt Disney because he understood their situation. These two companies just wanted to take advantage of the situation to defeat one of their rivals.

Sony-Colombia was getting stronger, and they didn't want that to happen. If Kazir were in their position, he would have done the same.

However, even though he didn't blame them, he was still filled with anger. He was human, after all. He had feelings. And he didn't like that the three giants were trying to destroy his project. He didn't like it at all.

Thankfully, Kazir was mature enough to control his emotions. He was not stupid. He had experienced so many things in life and knew that life was not over just because of one mistake. In his opinion, he had experienced far more painful things than this.

So what if Spider-Man 2 flopped?

Would it affect his position in the industry?

Yes, but Kazir understood that it would never stop him from making movies.

If Hollywood wanted to kick him out, he had other countries to migrate to.

Well, TV shows were also not a bad option.

Kazir was not afraid. As long as he could pursue his art, it didn't matter.

However, he also understood that the situation would badly affect everyone around him.

Tobey Maguire and the cast of Spider-Man 2 would be affected.

The crew members who worked hard to finish the project would be affected.

The workers from Sony-Colombia would be affected.

This was not just about him. Kazir was the director, and it was his responsibility to make sure that the project would be a success.

So he didn't hesitate to contact the current Chairman/CEO of Warner Brothers, Barry Mayer.

'If I have to work with Warner Brothers to protect Spider-Man 2, so be it. This is not about me anymore.'

Kazir stared at Barry, who seemed surprised by what he had just said.

"Kazir, can you repeat what you said? You want to direct Batman?"

"That's right. Or is there someone else you want to handle the project?"

"..."

There was actually a new director they were interested in working with. But compared to Kazir, the value that the new director could bring to the table was insignificant.

Kazir was the most profitable director for a reason. His creations were all aimed at making money.

His artistic passion was about making money. That was the reason why so many studios wanted to work with him because their mission was the same.

"I've been interested in Batman. He is my favorite superhero. Actually... If Warner Brothers had acquired the shares of Grey Pictures, I wanted to work with DC Comics and Warner Brothers to revive Batman."

"..."

Unfortunately, the acquisition failed, and Grey Pictures became part of 20th Century Fox. Even though it was wrong, Barry blamed Terry Semel for that mistake.

The value that Grey Pictures could have brought to Warner Brothers was immense.

The last live-action Batman film was Batman & Robin. The result was so awful that Warner Brothers hid the Batman movie adaptation rights in their film library for almost a decade. They wanted people to forget about Batman with nipples... The costume designer was immediately fired after that.

Who thought that putting nipples on Batman's armor was a good idea?

Barry took a deep breath. He suddenly wanted to call his secretary to bring cold water to calm him down. Instead, he made do with warm tea.

Barry took a sip of the tea.

Of course, they wanted to work with Kazir. In fact, they had wanted to contact Kazir in hopes that he would direct at least one of their DC movies.

"Kazir, you do understand that you're actually helping your enemy by doing this."

Marvel Comics and DC Comics were rivals, yet Kazir wanted to do something outrageous.

"I know it well... But do I even have a chance?"

He smiled, but his gaze didn't seem happy.

"I will only direct Batman... A trilogy at best. But I want Warner Brothers and Time Warner to stop sabotaging Spider-Man 2."

Trilogy? Barry almost jumped. A trilogy was a huge commitment. Still, he controlled himself.

"Kazir, you know that's hard to do. I'm just a CEO of a multi-billion company. I don't have influence."

"No deal then."

"... I will contact some people."

It would be stupid if Barry said no. Of course, he would agree with Kazir.

"Glad to hear it."

The only way to stop Warner Brothers from sabotaging Spider-Man 2 was by giving them an equal or better deal.

Kazir directing Batman was enough. Barry hated to admit it, but Kazir had enough power to negotiate with them.

This was just a verbal agreement, but it meant that the negotiation had started. It meant that Kazir had a high chance of directing Batman. Of course, Salvatore and the producer would discuss the contract in further detail.

The two shook hands.

"It's nice working with you, Barry."

"The pleasure's mine. Good luck with your movie this year."

"Hm."

Even though they had an agreement, it was obvious that the two were not on good terms.

........

.....

...

It was subtle, but Time Warner slowly stopped talking about Tobey Maguire. It seemed that Warner Brothers was serious about working with Kazir. Their reason was simple. If Kazir could make another $1 billion superhero movie, then the deal was absolutely worth it.

Besides, condemning Tobey Maguire wouldn't help them much. Spider-Man already had a solid fan base. The best that this incident could do was lower the box office earnings by a few million. Even then, the chances of Spider-Man 2 earning more than $700 million were still high. Why? Because Kazir Grey was the director of the movie.

His presence alone was enough to offset the scandal.

Thankfully, February 1 arrived, and another big news event buried the issues related to Tobey Maguire.

During the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake performed, but due to a "wardrobe malfunction," Janet's breast was exposed during the live broadcast.

This became a huge sensation, and the controversy surrounding Tobey Maguire died down.

++++++

[Author's Note: I posted three chapters today! Since it's April Fool's Day, some authors like to prank their readers with fake chapters or jokes about dropping their novels, but I'm doing the opposite.

After giving it some thought, I've decided that Hollywood What If will likely conclude somewhere between Chapter 600 and 750. If all goes as planned, it should be finished within this year unless procrastination strikes or something unexpected happens, such as me being dead.

I just want to take a moment to thank you all for your continued support. If you'd like to read ahead, feel free to check out my Patreon or Ko-fi!]