HOLLYWOOD WHAT IF

[Pujimaki]

Synopsis: Kazir Grey returned to 1994 and decided to pursue his dreams of making movies. With his knowledge, he would take the path of becoming the best director of Hollywood.

 

[Pujimaki]

[Note: This is still experimental and I don't know if it's possible to update it every day. Just comment below if you want this novel to be updated].

Hollywood What If Chapter 1

"Mr. Gray? Can you hear me? Do you understand what I'm saying?" A lawyer asked him worriedly.

"Huh?"

Kazir Gray jumped out of his seat. He gasped as he looked around. His lawyer next to him was also surprised.

'What is this? Where am I? What is happening?'

Three W's questions hit him as his heart continued to beat fast. His face was red as if he was having a seizure.

"Don't look at me like that! I know you're just acting to make me feel bad! Kazir, that will not work on me!"
A woman in her early 20s grumbled and glared at him hatefully.

"Cassandra? Why are you here? I thought we were over?"

"Yes, we are definitely over!"

The woman, Cassandra, glared at him for some reason.

Suddenly, an unbelievable idea hit his aching head.

'... Have I returned to the past? '

Kazir Gray died in an accident when he was 59 years old. He was hit by a truck and thought his life was over.

He regretted many things, but he knew he could never bring back the past, but...

'I am back.'

He thought to himself. Kazir was a small director and he made a few movies. Unfortunately, only a handful was released in theaters and his works never became famous.

"Wow!"

Despite a painful headache, Kazir chuckled.

"What's wrong with you? This is why I want to leave you."

Cassandra looked at him with a hateful glare, but Kazir didn't care.

'I have already moved on. Sure, I regret our separation, but I don't want to be with you, not anymore.'

Kazir remembered that today was supposed to be the day he became single again.

'This is the room where I will sign my divorce papers.'

He looked at Cassandra's lawyer.

"I understand, Mr. Grey, but you have to realize that your wife doesn't love you anymore."

The lawyer sighed. He thought Kazir had completely lost his mind because of his suspicious behavior. Fortunately, Kazir seemed only shocked.

"I know a lot of people who get depressed after divorce, but you have to be strong."

"You don't have to lecture me. You're my wife's lawyer, so fuck off."

"Excuse me?"

He was stunned because Kazir's attitude had turned 180 degrees.

The man regained his composure and looked at his wife.

"Cassandra, I just want to say that you are a big fucking whore. While I'm working hard to give you everything you need and want, you cheated on me with a rich guy and lost my trust. And now you want half of my money? What a fucking bitch you are."

"Kazir Gray! Don't talk to me like that!"

"You are a fucking bitch. And you know what, I don't care about you. Not anymore. If you want everything I have, go ahead. You can have it."

"Huh!"

She scoffed. She had to take his property after the divorce and she didn't care about Kazir. The divorce settlement stated that Cassandra would not ask for alimony, but she would get the house and half of his savings.

'He's poor, so he doesn't have anything to give. I might as well take the house.'

Their marriage was warm and loving at first, but Cassandra wanted more and Kazir could not give it to her. So she found a sugar daddy and cheated.

"You want the house? Okay, fine."

Kazir signed the papers. He didn't bother to read them because he knew most of them. His lawyer was next to him, and he was surprised that his client didn't resist at all. He easily accepted the terms.

His only possession, the house, he didn't need anymore. He was disgusted by Cassandra's deception.

'They used my house while I was working. They can eat it all they want.'

"Now that it's over, I want to leave this place."

Kazir didn't want to stay in this place. His ex-wife's face was so ugly that he wanted to break her nose.

"..."

Cassandra was really confused. She thought that Kazir would defend himself and protect his property. She hadn't expected him to agree so easily after the first confrontation.

"Not that it matters, I have his house and 17 thousand dollars in the bank."

She didn't spend any money on the house, it was all out of Kazir's pocket, but she got the house easily after the divorce. What a great way to live!

Kazir and his lawyer parted ways after the meeting.

"Thank God I'm still alive."

Kazir knew the future, and the divorce case lasted a year and took all his energy. He was depressed for a long time.

"But this time I will never do that. I have already moved on. Since I'm going to lose the house anyway, I might as well give it up earlier."

He sighed and sat down on the bench. His head no longer hurt.

Instead of feeling sad, he felt wonderful that he was still alive. He also returned to the past.

'I don't know what happened, but I will cherish this chance.'

With his memories of the past, Kazir would do his best to live the best life.

"Now, let's start by finding a place to sleep..."

The remaining balance in his account was 17 thousand after Cassandra 'stole' half of it.

"That's enough to live on for a few months."

He smiled. In his opinion, money was not a problem. He could invest in companies like Apple and Google.

"I don't think Google exists yet. It's October 1994."

After taking a few minutes to rest and calm his mind, Kazir decided to take his first step.

'In my whole life, the biggest regret I had was that I failed to make a successful movie.'

His decision was firm. He knew he could not be the "king of the world" like James Cameron, but he was confident that he could make great movies.

"After all, I know the movies that will win the theaters."​

 

[Pujimaki]

[Note: I did my research on Hollywood but I'm not a perfect person. There are probably some things that I don't know. So if I missed something important, or if my information is wrong, I just want to apologize.]

Hollywood What If Chapter 2

"Looks like it's time to get up."

Kazir yawned and looked at his watch. To be honest, he hadn't slept well last night. His mind was too active.

He was excited for some reason.

Kazir checked into a motel for a night's sleep. He was a freelance director who was doing his best to get a big project.

He was 26 years old and already had three films on his resume.

'Although I've made more than that since I'm from the future. '

He was confident in his experience.

"Let's check the Writer's Guild of America first."

As a director and movie fanatic, Kazir already had a movie that he wanted to make.

He knew a lot of movies that would win at the box office. Some movies were available for him, they were original screenplays of course.

'In this era, there are thousands of movies and some of them have a budget of over 100 million dollars. But that's not my goal.'

He knew damn well that no one would invest and let him direct a movie with that budget. But Kazir was undeterred.

'I have faced obstacles all my life. I can say that my current predicament is not so bad.'

His goal was to make a film with a budget of 30-40 million dollars.

"To be precise, my goal is..."

If his plan failed, he had other methods.
He took a shower, went out of the motel, and called for a taxi. He reached the Writer's Guild and entered without a problem. After all, he was a member of the Writer's Guild.

A few minutes later...

"Thank you."

Kazir smiled at the guard after leaving the Writers' Guild. He asked the people inside and confirmed one thing.

The script has not been registered yet. That means it hasn't been created or is in the process of being created.

The Writer's Guild was the home of many scripts. Writers would register their scripts in the Writer's Guild to get their scripts protected. There were cases of Hollywood companies making the same movies with almost the same plot. Such as "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon", "White House Down" and "Olympus Has Fallen".

The Writer's Guild protected the rights of screenwriters in Hollywood.

"Great, now I know where to start!"

He laughed like a madman, and people looked at him in confusion.

Kazir rented a typewriter and began his work. He had to write the script, the proposal, and the budget for the movie. Hollywood companies would laugh at him if he face them without these.

His fingers tapped away at the hard keyboard. The typewriter was a bit clunky, and the sounds it made were repetitive but soothing, at least to Kazir.

"This."

He rubbed his eyes and looked down at his writing. Three hours had passed and he had only written 2500 words. He made typos on the way.

"It will take me at least three to four days to finish everything."

But it didn't matter, Kazir was motivated. He easily forgot that he had just been divorced and that his house was no longer in his name.

Well, for him, these things happened 2 decades ago and he had already moved on. Having lived his life, he became much more mature and calm.

In the office of New Line Cinema, they had a meeting about their plan for the next year.

They have to make a proper plan for the movies they have to release. They take this very seriously because one wrong move could put them out of business.

"As of September 16, "The Mask" has grossed $106 million domestically and it's expected to go up. The movie's performance is strong and everyone likes Jim Carrey's acting."

They were happy to hear that their movie made a lot of money at the box office. They clapped, a simple celebration at the moment.

"Everybody, good job."

As CEO of New Line Cinema, Robert Shaye was happy to see his company win.

Despite the fact that New Line Cinema had been acquired by Turner Broadcasting System, Robert Shaye was still in control of the company.

"Now, gentlemen, let's talk about today's agenda."

He looked at the board of directors and the people in high positions.

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

"It didn't end well, again."

Kazir drank from a bottle of water. He felt hydrated after wasting his saliva trying to convince the producer from 20th Century Fox.

He just left the building and the conversation was not good. He talked to one of the producers for a few minutes, but the man didn't listen to him at all.

The producer just told him to give his script to the management and they would call him if they were interested.

He understood their process very well. The producer sugarcoated it, but it meant no. They were not interested in his script.

'I know they will never call me. They have thousands of scripts in their vault and most of them never became a movie.' He laughed.

"Well, let's go to another company. I have three more targets."

Kazir had already contacted the 6 giant Hollywood companies and they were not interested in his script. What they said was exactly the same - 'Give the script to management and they'll call him if they were interested.'

"I hope this company will agree. After all, this movie was produced by them."

From the moment Kazir regressed, he understood that the future would change. But he wanted to keep the timeline as original as possible.

"If this doesn't work, I'll go with plan B."

Calix called a taxi. His car was broken and it was still in the repair shop.

'Cassandra didn't fight to get my bumpy car because it's already old and she has her own car.'

That bumpy car was his only remaining possession.
Half an hour later, he was standing in front of the New Line Cinema. The distributor of his movie in the future.

 

[Pujimaki]

[Note: This is just fiction. Don't take it seriously.]

Hollywood What If Chapter 3


Just before Kazir entered the building, he saw someone he knew.

"Arnold Kopelson and Robert Shaye..."

He muttered. He only knew that Arnold Kopelson was a producer, but Robert Shaye was something else. Robert Shaye was the founder of New Line Cinema and created many box office hits. Especially "The Lord of The Rings Trilogy".

The main brain of the production company was this man.

Kazir's attitude turned serious and he approached the two with a smile.

"Good morning Mr. Kopelson, and Mr. Shaye. I'm Kazir Grey."

"I'm sorry, but who are you? Have we met before?"

Since someone had called him, Robert was not arrogant enough to brush him off. He stared at Kazir, perhaps he had met the man at a party or something.

Kazir's demeanor was full of confidence and his appearance was quite handsome.

Even Arnold Kopelson thought Kazir was exceptional.

"No, sir. We haven't met."

"Is that so?"

"I'm a director and I want to show you my script."

"I see..."

When Robert Shaye heard that Kazir was one of those unknown directors trying to sell his script, he immediately lost interest. He met a lot of people like Kazir.

"About that, you can give it to Kopelson and the company will look at it. We'll call you if we're interested."

He muttered quickly and walked past Kazir. There were thousands of directors in Hollywood and most of them made low-budget movies. Robert didn't have time to entertain a nobody.

"Thank you, Kazir."

Kopelson said indifferently after receiving the script and followed Robert Shaye.

"Then..."

Kazir tried to talk and convince them, but he realized they were too busy. They got into the car and left.

"..."

He was left alone, standing in front of the building. He gritted his teeth and thought about his next plan.


"If this doesn't work, I have to go to plan B."

Kazir had printed out dozens of copies of the script to send to production companies. In addition to the Big Six, he sent his script to other companies like Miramax and MGM.

'MGM was actually one of the Big Five at the time, but lost its status after being acquired by Casino Tycoon.'

Anyway, that was all in the past and only the Big Six had the most power in Hollywood. They could end someone's career if they got together. A terrifying existence.

Kazir spent his entire week contacting production companies, even the second-tier studios. He hoped someone would be interested in his script. Unfortunately, no one listened to him seriously.

'I spent $2,000 this week.'

Nevertheless, he was too old to be depressed. In his opinion, his situation was nothing more than a game that he had to overcome. After all, he wouldn't achieve his dreams if he didn't work hard.

'I want to be a famous director, a superstar director.'

Only a few people could be called superstar directors. They were Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Michael Bay, and James Cameron.

'Ah, I just remembered, James Cameron is not a superstar yet. Not until he destroyed a luxurious ship at sea. Same with Michael Bay.'

With a few copies of scripts in his suitcase, Kazir found the post office. He wrote down the address of a certain director.

'It said that this script was discovered by this certain director after it was sent to him by mistake... I know the truth, it was nothing but a way to promote the movies. That probably never happened. Maybe the original writer contacted the director and begged him. However, I will make it happen. This script will be sent to his address by mistake... Let's hope he contacts me.'

Kazir may be 26 years old, but the experience he had gained in his past life was enough to change his mentality. He was excited to know that he was doing what he loved.

"Are you seriously reading his script?"

Robert Shaye discovered that Arnold Kopelson was reading the script.

"I have nothing to do, so I decided to read it."

"What do you think?" Robert Shaye raised his eyebrows, quite interested.

There were many talented writers in Hollywood, but few of them made money. Being talented didn't mean success.

"It's not bad. It's pretty dark and bloody, to be honest. However, the ending is interesting."

"Will it be profitable if it is made into a movie?"

That was the most important question. Even if the script looked promising, they had to look at its profitability. They were businessmen.

"There is a possibility, but it needs thorough studies... As for the writer, I think I have seen this name before."

Kazir Grey. Arnold was a producer and he watched movies every weekend to broaden his horizons.

"That's right, he's a director. I saw his movie a few months ago. It was terrible, no wonder it didn't get released."

"So what do you think?" Robert Shaye asked.

Arnold thought about it.

"I advise you not to touch this movie, especially if that Kazir Grey wants to direct it. You will only lose money. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless we hire another director, then this movie might be profitable."

It was obvious that they didn't think Kazir would make a great movie.

He might have experience in small productions. But the script clearly stated that the budget would be 30 million or more. No sane person would let Kazir direct a big-budget movie.

'Forget it, this script looks promising, but its chances of becoming a movie are slim.'

Arnold shook his head and decided to forget about it.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 4


"Sigh..."

David Fincher let out a depressing sigh and looked at the newspaper.

It had already been three years, but he was still dwelling on his mistake.

His last movie, "Alien 3", earned less than he expected. The movie only made 55 million in North America. It may sound big, but the budget of "Alien 3" was 60 million dollars.

"Fortunately, it earned more than 100 million internationally..."

But that was not enough to revive it. In the end, 20th Century Fox didn't want him to take over the sequel.

In a way, David Fincher was responsible for "Alien 3" flopping. So no one wanted to work with him on another movie.

His future was bleak and David Fincher was depressed about it. He shook his head and put down the newspaper.

Then he heard someone put something in the mailbox and David decided to check it out. He didn't have anything to do anyway.

"I never ordered anything. Is it the bills?"

The mailman was gone when David went outside. He approached his mailbox. He noticed a thick document inside.

"Kazir Grey..."

David was confused, but he opened it anyway. There was a name, but he did not know nor recall this person.

As soon as he closed the door, David opened the documents and started reading.

"This is...!"

Half an hour later, David Fincher was surprised after reading the script. The script caught his interest.

Then he realized that this script had to become a movie. He wanted to see it on the screen. He started flipping the pages with excitement.

David Fincher found Kazir Grey's contact information and quickly got up. He took a bath, shaved his beard, and dressed well.

He had to meet this person, Kazir Grey. Even if he had to beg him, he wanted to lead this project.

He picked up his phone.

"Hello? Is this Kazir Grey? Yes, yes, I'm David Fincher. Wait, what? You sent it to the wrong person? No no! Mr. Kazir, can we talk? Then I'll meet you. Thank you."

Kazir Grey combed through his hair, making sure he looked nice.

"Unfortunately..."

He laughed bitterly as he looked at his stomach. He had a fat belly and a dad bod, even though he didn't have any children.

He loved to eat fatty food and didn't exercise much.

"Let's sign up for a gym as soon as I hit this pitch."

He wanted to change his life. He got a second chance and he wanted to make his life better.

Right now, Kazir was in a restaurant near the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

'One day, my name will be on one of those stars.'

Getting your name on the famous walkway may seem easy if you have money, but it was only possible if you achieved success in the entertainment industry. Someone like Kazir Grey would never get it unless he became a successful director.

'But for now, I have to find a way to get an achievement first. I'm confident in my script. After all, this script has already proven its strength in my past life.'

"Hello, are you Kazir Grey?"

"Yes, Mr. David Fincher."

David Fincher sat down across the table after greeting Kazir.

"I saw your movie, Alien 3 is amazing."

"Thank you."

David smiled. He appreciated Kazir's praise, even if it was a lie. It was enough that someone recognized him.

Besides, he had to convince Kazir Grey to let him direct the movie.

"Kazir, I'll get right to the point. I want to direct your script and make it into a movie."

"I'm glad you like my script, David. To be honest, I contacted a lot of production companies, but they never took me seriously."

"Is that so?"

David was shocked. The script has a selling point and he believed that the production companies would see it too.

"Well," Kazir combed his hair. "I asked them to let me direct it, but they immediately shook their heads when they heard my proposal."

"..."

David Fincher became silent. He knew very well that no one would agree to Kazir's terms. It would be stupid to let an unknown director direct a movie with a budget of 30 million dollars.

"Kazir, please listen to me. Let me direct it."

Kazir nodded.

"David, I know. Nobody will let me direct it. But if it's you, the chances are better. But I have one condition."

"I'll do it, as long as it's not unreasonable." David was serious. He fell in love with the script and wanted to direct it.

"Don't worry David, my condition is simple. I hope to be one of the screenwriters."

"No problem, that's my condition too. I want the original writer to help me polish the script."

"Thank you."

Kazir smiled. His intention why he asked for the position of screenwriter was because he wanted to join the crew and watch David Fincher's filming.

He could learn from watching a great director like David Fincher.

'David Fincher is going to be famous. "Fight Club" is a masterpiece in my opinion.'

He saw David Fincher as a genius from whom he could learn.

Besides, Kazir wants to see his script turned into a movie. A box office movie.

They shook hands and made a deal.

David Fincher and Kazir Grey contacted production companies. One by one, hoping that one of them would invest.

Eventually, someone answered their call, and it was Arnold Kopelson.

He became interested when he heard that David Fincher was going to direct the project. He thought David was better than Kazir. After all, David had experience making big-budget movies.

The two got excited and worked hard to convince Arnold.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 5


Kazir Grey. A man who died at the age of 59. Fortunately, for unknown reasons, he returned to his younger years. Back when he was still an amateur director, where he directed three movies, and all of them flopped.

Now Kazir thought about the difference between him and David Fincher.

Kazir had four decades of experience as a director. But he never had his moment of success, his moment of fame. He did his best to finance and create artistic and horror films, but he never got success.

However, he loved his job and Kazir never planned to change his career. If he had to die, he wanted to die directing a movie.

That was the reason why Kazir wanted to understand how David Fincher became successful, unlike him, who remained in his position as a mediocre director.

'I'm not stupid. I have lived long enough to understand the difference between the two of us. It's about luck and opportunity. I never had any of that in my life.'

Kazir's love life was ugly and lonely. His marriage failed and he never married again. He remained single. He had a few relationships, but none lasted long.

'Cassandra lost internet in me because I keep working hard... Is it wrong for a man to work hard? I have to provide. Unfortunately, she wanted more and I can't give it to her.'

To end his mistake early, Kazir didn't hesitate to give his house to Cassandra. He didn't need it anyway. He could sell it. However, he never wanted the money from the house that sheltered a cheater, might as well give it all to Cassandra.

'What I want is to find the 'opportunity and luck' that great directors have.'

There were many talented directors in Hollywood, but only a few proved their worth.

Kazir's experience was not enough, he needed more.

"Looks like you two hit it off," Arnold Kopelson looked at the two directors.

"We spoke on the phone. David will be directing, while Kazir will join the screenwriters. I just want to repeat it so that everything is clear."

"No problem, Arnold. I will not fight for the position. I think David will make a great movie." Kazir assured him.

"That's good to hear." Arnold nodded and looked at David.

"I believe this movie will bring us success."

"..." Arnold kept his smile and read their proposal.

"To be honest, the script looks promising, but I need more to convince the company to make this movie. Kazir, how much will you sell us the script for, including the copyright?"

Production companies understood the importance of copyright. Most of their income came from it, such as the sale of videotapes and related merchandise.

"How much do you think it's worth, Arnold?"

"We'll buy it for $85,000."

"Make it $95,000. I don't have a problem with that. We can settle up later."

"Nice doing business with you, Kazir."

"I will call my lawyer to read the contract, then I will sign it."

They shook hands and confirmed the transaction. Kazir didn't have an agent because he was dropped by his last one. There was a conflict and now Kazir was on his own.

Kazir was already happy with the money he would get. A writer could get 2-3 percent of the total film budget, if not, more. In his case, he had already earned a lot by turning his script into a movie.

'I'm still not famous in the industry and it's impossible to negotiate a higher price. Besides, I don't want to prolong the process. The sooner the negotiations end, the sooner we can prepare the movie.'

His real intention was not the money. His purpose was to study David Fincher, the money came second.

"Arnold, about the movie..." David joined the conversation after Kazir and Arnold finished their negotiations.

"Don't worry David. I will talk to the company, you can join the proposal if you want. But I can't assure you that your salary will be high. After all, "Alien 3"..." Arnold Kopelson was hesitant to continue the sentence.

"You can talk to my agent, I know we can have a peaceful negotiation."

Considering David's last movie, he knew that he would never get a high salary.

"No problem. Let's talk tomorrow to make this movie successful."

Arnold shook their hands and walked away. The first negotiation was fruitful and everyone was positive that they wanted to work together.

"Well, who do you think are the best actors to play the two protagonists?"

As they walked, David asked Kazir something important. As the writer, David would respect Kazir's opinion.

"Well... If you're asking me, I think Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman fit the characters well."

"I have no problem with Morgan Freeman, his acting in Shawshank Redemption is amazing, but Brad Pitt? The one who was in "Interview with the Vampire"?"

"Yes, that Brad Pitt."

"Let me see... He really fits the protagonist. Let's invite him to audition as soon as the filming is approved."

It seemed that David Fincher had no problem with Brad Pitt.

"What about Denzel Washington and Al Pacino? I think the roles fit them too."

"I'm fine with them too." Kazir chuckled.

'David, I'm sure you'll like Brad Pitt's acting. After all, you did ''Fight Club'' and Brad was one of the protagonists. Then you filmed "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and Brad Pitt was also the protagonist.'

These two movies touched the hearts of many people.

A day later they received a call that New Line Cinema wanted to talk to them about the movie - Se7en. A gritting crime thriller.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 6

[Note: As I said last time, I apologize if I made a mistake regarding the Hollywood industry. I will surely make another mistake no matter how many times I research it].



For a movie with a budget of at least 30 million dollars, the higher-ups of New Line Cinema attended the meeting with utmost concentration.

"Before we start, I just want to ask something," Robert Shaye said, and everyone stopped what they were doing.

Robert was the CEO and founder of New Line Cinema. He had built the company from the bottom up into a top-tier production company, just below the Big Six. Naturally, everyone in the company respected him.

"Kazir Grey, I read your script."

Because Arnold Kopelson was interested in the script, Robert Shaye read it as well. He realized something.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" He asked jokingly, quite seriously to be honest.

"About that..." Kazir Grey scratched his head.

"I was kind of depressed when I wrote the script. I recently divorced my wife, she cheated on me..."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Robert Shaye quickly understood.

There have been writers who hit the charts after writing a story when they were depressed and broke. Even J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter when she was broke.

"No problem."

Truth be told, Kazir Grey didn't care about the divorce. He gave up his house just to get the settlement over with.

'It's a good thing I have an excuse.'

"Then... I read the last part, I can see you hate your wife very much." Robert Shaye laughed. The last scene was horrible. He got goosebumps reading it.

For a script to give him goosebumps, Robert Shaye knew that the script was at least promising.

"Hehe, no, not at all." Kazir Grey never denies or confirms. After all, the movie was from the near future and he just copied most of it.

"Okay, let's start the meeting."

Kazir Grey was invited only because he was the scriptwriter. However, he understood that his position and opinion were irrelevant at this point. The purpose of this meeting was to make sure that the movie would be approved. New Line Cinema would finance half of the budget, while the other half would come from investors interested in the film.

They decided that the actual budget of Se7en would be 33 million dollars.

Kazir sighed with relief when he heard that the board of directors had approved the making of Se7en.

David Fincher, who was sitting next to Kazir, was also excited and happy. David's agent negotiated with New Line Cinema and his salary was $1.5 million. Since he had experience in making a big-budget movie, the company entrusted Se7en to him.

Now the preparation of the movie officially began.

After Kazir received his payment from New Line Cinema, he decided to enroll in a well-known gym in California.

"Whew, whew, whew..."

He was panting after using the treadmill. He was sweating a lot and felt like he was going to faint. He sat down on the bench and rested.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."

Someone approached him because he looked like he was going to faint.

Kazir looked up and his eyes trembled slightly as he recognized the person in front of him.

The woman was definitely beautiful. She was in her 20s, but she looked young and blooming.

"Excuse me, but are you Jennifer Connelly?"

"I'm surprised anyone would recognize me." She smiled beautifully.

"No, no. You are a famous actress. Of course I know you. By the way, I like Career Opportunities and The Rocketeer. You are really beautiful in person."

Especially "Career Opportunities", Jennifer Connelly was a goddess in that movie. God damn gorgeous!

The young Jennifer Connelly is the bomb! Of course, even in the 2010s, Jennifer Connelly was still a goddess.

"Thank you." She smiled. She was happy that someone appreciated her.

"Well, be safe and take care of yourself. You look like you're killing yourself." She left, knowing that Kazir was okay.

'... Did I just see it right? Jennifer Connelly asked me if I was okay.'

That made Kazir happy. After all, he knew that famous actresses like Jennifer Connelly usually have an arrogant attitude.

It was surprising that Jennifer Connelly was actually a nice person. Maybe Jennifer Connelly was just worried because Kazir was panting like crazy.

He chuckled and decided to run another mile on the treadmill. Tired, he left the gym.

"Hollywood, a place that surprises me every day."

He would never get tired of this city.

Kazir returned to his small apartment and showered. He rented this apartment for half a year. The location was quite dangerous because it was near a crime-ridden area. However, Kazir chose this apartment because the rent was affordable.

It didn't take him long to clean himself. He left his apartment and called a taxi to take him to the New Line Cinema.

"Good morning, Kazir."

"Good morning, David."

David was the director of the movie and his presence was important in polishing the script. Now that their movie was in the making, it didn't take long to hire people.

There were three writers besides Kazir, of course Kazir's position was much higher than the other writers because he owned the script.

'It is fortunate that I have a salary as a screenwriter.'

A thousand dollars a week was definitely not bad.

"Then let's get to work, everyone."

After greeting everyone and confirming that all the writers were present, David Fincher announced the start of their work.
[JENNIFER CONNELLY]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 7



Se7en was about two detectives trying to solve the seven murders that "embodied" the seven deadly sins. It may sound simple when you think about it that way, but each death was gruesome and full of motives.

Now, the job of the screenwriter and the writing partners was to make the motives believable. The plot had to be logical, as did the scenes. To make every character complex and alive.

New Line Cinema wanted to change the ending because it was too disturbing but both Kazir Grey and David Fincher fought against it. In their opinion, the ending was the best part of the movie.

William Somerset was an old detective who wanted to retire. The Seven Murders, representing the seven deadly sins, was his last case before retirement. He was old but calm, mature, and experienced.

David Mills was a young detective, he was William's partner in the murder case. He was hot-headed, but his intentions were good. He was dedicated to his job.

These two characters needed to be fleshed out. The writers would do their best to make it happen. But it would all depend on the actors who would play the part.

"Thank you John, we will call you if you get the part."

John Paul Cusack nodded. He thought his acting was good and the role suited him. His last movie, "The Road to Wellville" with Anthony Hopkins was released on October 28th.

The movie was based on a novel and everyone thought it would do well at the box office. Unfortunately, it only earned 2.5 million in its opening week. Cinemascore believed that the movie would not make more than 7 million in North America.

This meant only one thing, the movie flopped at the box office.

2.5 million may look big, but the total budget of "The Road to Wellville" was $25 million! It only made a tenth of its budget.

This time the production of Se7en invited him to audition for the role of David Mills.

To be honest, John Cusack was not sure if the movie would be successful. He read 2/3 of the script and it was bloody. Because he never read the whole script, he didn't know the motives of the killer.

John Cusack walked out of the audition room smiling, and David Fincher asked the people around him.

"What do you think of John?" He looked at the producer, Arnold Kopelson and Kazir Grey.

"If you ask me... John is a too-good boy for the part. His face looks like a good guy. David Mills should look fierce and hotheaded, I can't see that in John Cusack. Unless he grows a beard, but I don't think he would fit the part."

Arnold Kopelson and David Fincher nodded at Kazir's opinion. They have the same opinion.

"His acting is great, but this role is not for him."

"Then let's call the next one. Kazir, you recommended this actor for this role."

"That's right."

They invited actors who would fit the roles of David Mills and William Somerset. So far they had met Al Pacino and Morgan Freeman.

The studio had already decided on Morgan Freeman as William Somerset. He had the vibe and no one would question Morgan's acting.

'I don't know why, but I feel like Morgan Freeman always plays the role of the calm old veteran in the movies he's in. Well, it really suits him. '

To be honest, we have never seen Morgan Freeman as a young man in his entire filmography. He is always an old and mature man.

While he was thinking, the next actor appeared and everyone noticed his appearance.

"Hello, Brad."

"Hello, Director David."

Brad Pitt's demeanor was that of a young, impulsive, and headstrong man. Perhaps Brad Pitt was seriously preparing for the audition and his demeanor showed it.

Se7en was actually a gamble for Brad Pitt's career. This kind of bloody movie might flop at the box office. However, Brad received an invitation and he liked the script after reading it.

David and Kazir nodded as they watched his movements. No question, Brad Pitt fits the role. If nothing bad happened, he would get the role.

Brad Pitt's last two movies grossed over 100 million worldwide and his salary would definitely not be less than three million.

After showing his acting, they decided to ask Brad some questions.

"Brad, what do you think about David Mills?"

"If you ask me, I think David Mills' intentions are pure and good-hearted. Even though his actions were reckless, he wanted to make the world a better place. That's why he became a detective."

"Good. Thank you, Brad. We will call you as soon as we decide."

"Thank you."

After Brad Pitt left, David looked at Kazir and nodded.

Kazir was right, Brad Pitt could make David Mills a real person.

"Let's continue the audition."

But of course everyone understood that a diamond in the rough might show up. After all, Brad Pitt's salary could be a problem.

In the end, they auditioned all the promising actors who might fit the role of David Mills. But they decided to go with Brad Pitt.

Brad Pitt has a strong box office appeal and his name was already known. He had fans all over the world and they needed those fans to watch the movie.

After all, they were making a commercial movie, not an artistic one.

Brad Pitt's agent negotiated and Brad's salary was 4 million dollars. It was an amount they could bear considering Brad Pitt's box office appeal.

As for Morgan Freeman, the contract was 2 million.

Almost 1/6 of the movie budget went to the two actors alone.

The cast also included Gwyneth Paltrow and Ronald Lee Ermey.

Se7en was a gamble because of the premise of the movie. It was dark and gritty and people might not like it. Nevertheless, the two actors accepted the roles.

[Note: What I'm about to write may not be so accurate and correct. To be honest, I only watched famous Hollywood movies. I didn't know most of the actors and actresses of the 1990s. I only searched them using Google. So please bear with me. As for salary and such, I will trust Google. Unfortunately, I can't find the exact salary of Morgan Freeman during the filming of Se7en].

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 8



Kazir was well aware of his own abilities. He was not a gifted person who could perform miracles. The only thing he had after a second chance of life was his knowledge.

Kazir knew the movies that would make money. It would be stupid not to use his knowledge and create his original script instead.

So far, with Se7en, Kazir wanted to keep the future in the original timeline that he knew. To minimize the risk of the movie failing, he decided to cast the original actors in the roles. This was his first project and he wanted it to succeed.

He knew in his heart that he was cheating with his knowledge. But hey, even Bill Gates "got" the "idea" from Apple and Xerox and built Microsoft. Now, Microsoft was worth 2 trillion after "getting" that certain "idea".

However, if things went wrong, Kazir would not hesitate to gamble. As soon as the filming of Se7en was finished, he would find his answer.

"Isn't this amazing?"

The production designer proudly showed off her creations. Her team had worked hard for weeks to create these props.

"Yes, it is..."

Kazir marveled at the props. They looked real. He almost thought he was looking at a real corpse.

'If a normal person saw this 'dummy', he or she might scream in fear. '

'As you would expect from professionals, they know what they're doing.'

As a director who had experience working on grade-B horror movies. He had seen a lot of fake gore and was used to seeing 'corpses'. In fact, the 'corpse' in front of him was not that scary.

'At least in my opinion.'

It was January 24, 1995. Just a week before February.

They spent months preparing for the shooting.

They had already finished the pre-production. From editing the script, building the sets, finding locations, and casting, they were already prepared.

Before the shooting started, the crew should have prepared all the important aspects of the shooting. Otherwise, if they didn't prepare, they wasted time and money.

Unconventional situations may arise, but preparation could prevent these situations from happening.

For example, during filming, a Director might ask for more fake blood in the scene. Considering that this movie was a thriller detective movie, blood was definitely needed.

Everything had to be taken seriously.

'To be honest, I have already finished my part here. The script is finished. As a screenwriter, my presence on the set is not necessary.'

Because Kazir wanted to see the making of Se7en with his own eyes, he decided to join the production, even though his salary was minimum wage.

At least I made 8 thousand last two months.

Kazir looked around. He saw David Fincher talking to the cinematographer about possible lighting.

They were in the studio where they were going to shoot the interior of the police station. That's right, they turned the studio into a police station. It cost a lot to build that background. Unfortunately, they would destroy this 'police station' when the shooting was over.

Kazir stood in the corner and watched the shooting.

Morgan Freeman came out of his trailer after being done with makeup.

"Okay, is everything ready?"

David looked around. He asked the cameramen, adjusted the lighting, and looked at the monitors. He nodded only when everything was good.

"Okay, start."

"Scene 82, lights, camera, action."

---------

"Found this on the wall behind the fridge." Detective Somerset handed a picture to the captain, played by Ronald Lee Ermey.

"Hell leads to light?"

"It's from Milton's Paradise Lost," Somerset said, looking at Detective Mills.

"All right, I'm confused."

"It means this is the beginning."

Detective William Somerset pulled out two more pictures and showed the pictures to them. They were pictures of words written in blood.

"There are seven deadly sins, Captain. Gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, pride, lust, and envy."

--Ring ring.

Suddenly the phone next to the captain rang.

The whole studio fell silent, and even David Fincher's face twitched.

'Why is the phone ringing? I thought it was one of the props.' Kazir was also confused.

But the scene was still in progress and no one stopped. Despite the ringing sound, the actors were adjusting professionally.

"Hold on." The captain said, answering the call with irritation. "This isn't even my desk!"

"Cut! Good job Ronald, let's add that to the scene."

Satisfied, David decided to add the unexpected phone call to the movie.

'Ronald Lee Ermey got it right.' Kazir thought.

--------

The beginning of the filming went well and they shot three scenes, which were not bad.

Kazir saw an intern from the props department apologizing to David Fincher. It seemed he was responsible for putting a real phone on the set.

"It's okay... Just don't do it again."

David Fincher decided to talk to his assistant director and cinematographer to check the locations for tomorrow.

"Goodbye Kazir."

"Yes, have a safe trip."

As for Kazir, he could leave early after finishing his work. He was only a helper anyway.

He got into his old bumpy car that had been repaired recently. This Audi 200 sedan looked old, but Kazir didn't intend to change the car for now. After all, he was still poor.

While driving, Kazir saw a bar. Since he had just received his salary, he decided to stop there and have a drink.

"No, not the disco bar where parties are banging around. I don't like loud places. I prefer a place with a relaxed atmosphere, a bar that plays jazz music."

So he decided to enter the place.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 9

[SHOUT OUT TO ENES AND DUKE YORK]

The filming went smoothly. David Fincher worked hard after the failure of "Alien 3". He understood that this was his second chance to prove himself.

As he fought for his dreams, Kazir Grey watched him.

Kazir's job after he was done as a screenwriter was simple - miscellaneous work. He helped take down scenes, move photographic equipment, and order take-outs.

He just did his best to help the crew. After all, this movie was born from his script and he wanted to see it succeed.

'If Se7en is successful in the cinemas, I will have achieved great success and it can help me in my career.'

"Cut! That's it."

David's voice echoed and everyone started to move the set. Their next scene was the one where Detective Mills would confront the serial killer in the alley.

In the script, it was raining and Detective Mills had a hard time facing the serial killer. He almost lost his life. Fortunately, the serial killer let him go.

"The sprinklers should work fine," Kazir said. He was one of the people who set the sprinklers to make artificial rain.

To keep the cameras from getting wet, it was covered with clear plastic.

"Se7en, back alley scene, act three..."

The assistant said, closed the clapperboard, and the shoot began.

In the scene, Detective Mills leaned against the dumpster. He was cold and scared. He was panting. His face was bleeding.

A gun was pointed at his head, almost touching his scalp. He knew that one pull of the trigger and the bullet would splatter his brain.

But the serial killer didn't kill him. He left him out in the cold rain.

"Cut! Let's take a ten-minute break and do it again."

David announced.

Brad Pitt's personal assistant approached the actor and wrapped him in a hot towel. Nobody wants the actors to get cold during a shoot, it costs money and time.

Brad Pitt looked at David Fincher and wondered if he had made a mistake.

"Brad, I'm sorry, I'll talk to you later. I'm going to talk to someone first."

"Okay, director."

Even though he is a director who flopped "Alien 3" in theatres, actors and actresses still respect David Fincher.

In filming, the director is always the king.

Besides, making a good impression was the best way to get more roles. Brad Pitt believed that David Fincher had what it takes to be successful.

"Kazir."

Suddenly, David called Kazir. Probably asking about things related to the plot.

"What do you think Mills should do in the face of death?"

The answer was obvious, but it seemed that David Fincher was asking for something. He looked confused as if he had forgotten something.

He watched the scenes and felt that something was wrong. As the writer and director of three films, David respected Kazir's opinion.

"David, this is just my hunch. But I think Mills is not afraid of death, he is afraid of something else."

"What do you mean?" David frowned.

"Let's see... I think Mills is afraid of leaving his wife alone when he's dead. But that's just my opinion."

Kazir understood that this wasn't his movie and he had no control over it.

"I see. Let's try to film it that way. Thanks, Kazir."

"No problem."

Making a movie was not a one-man show. It was a team effort, and everyone respected each other's roles. Kazir studied the crew and everyone had a tacit understanding.

'I heard they were David's crew. I guess that's why their bond is so strong.'

Kazir didn't have a permanent crew, but he knew a few people he could hire whenever he had a movie to shoot. Just like him, they were freelancers who didn't have a permanent crew.

'I wonder what they do. I talked to Renner two weeks ago and he is still working in a camera rental business.'

"Kazir."

While Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey were having their on-camera confrontation, Morgan Freeman approached Kazir.

This is Hollywood and networking is a very powerful weapon. Morgan Freeman heard that Kazir Grey was a director.

Morgan read the script and was intrigued. He found out that Kazir wanted to direct it, but management didn't agree, so Kazir gave the job to David Fincher.

Morgan understood that many directors would never lower their position to a mere screenwriter. Hell, even screenwriters wanted to direct their own movies.

One day, Kazir would start his own project. When Kazir became famous, it would never hurt to have an association with him before he became famous.

The man in front of him might be younger, but he took him seriously. After all, the 26-year-old man in front of him wrote a script Se7en.

This movie would become a cult classic. Maybe it would wipe out the thriller detective genre because no one could top it.

"Morgan."

"Kazir, I read the script and it's a mystery to me how you wrote it. Can you honestly tell me what's in the box? I want to know if it's really 'that thing' in the box?"

"Ah, about that... You can figure it out for yourself." He chuckled.

He didn't know how to explain it.

Morgan Freeman didn't force him and laughed with him. They were far from the set so they could talk casually.

David Fincher understood that the shooting would end in two months and that the last scene would be the "what's in the box" scene. Maybe David wanted everyone to see it last because it was disturbing.

Anyway, Kazir didn't know the exact reason.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 10

[Note: This chapter is short. I'm writing three novels including this one. So there are times when I can only write small chapters.]

The sun rose and greeted the people. Kazir frowned as he heard the screams coming from outside.

He heard a group of people shouting and it seemed they were having a conflict.

Kazir had chosen this apartment complex because the rent was cheap. Of course, he knew that there were consequences of choosing an apartment near high crime rate area.

A few seconds later, the commotion slowly died down.

"Thank God I didn't hear a shot. Last week they were shooting a few blocks away."

He chuckled. This place was indeed dangerous. Unfortunately, he had to stay here for now.

He spent most of his time away from here anyway. Now that Se7en was reaching its climax, Kazir had to stay in the studio all day to help the crew.

After brushing his teeth, Kazir left the apartment and returned to the studio.

"Good morning, Kazir."

"Good morning."

Because of his kindness, people around him treated him better. Well, he wasn't the director, so he didn't have to show his serious side.

Then Kazir saw David reading his schedule. David's expression was terrible, it seemed that he hadn't slept properly.

'Considering that this movie will decide his future, I can understand him.'

If this movie flopped, not only David, but also Kazir would lose his confidence in himself.

Se7en was a cult classic and critics held the movie in high regard. This movie influenced the crime genre.

"David, I think you need a vacation after finishing the shooting."

Kazir approached him with concern.

"Thanks, but I have to finish the post-production before I can think about resting."

David looked tired, but his eyes were bright.

"When is the release date?"

Kazir wanted to know when the movie would be released.

"September 22nd. The movie doesn't have a strong opponent and New Line Cinema is confident of releasing it on September 22nd."

"I see." Kazir nodded.

He was thrilled to know that Se7en would follow the original release date. This would give the movie a better chance at the box office.

It was March 2 and filming was nearing its end.

Gwyneth Paltrow left the crew after shooting all her scenes. So did Ronald Lee Ermey.

The only actors who joined the crew were the three main characters of Se7en. Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and David Spacey.

"Unless something bad happens, today will be the last day of shooting."

That's why David was so serious. So serious that he didn't sleep.

"David, take care of yourself."

"Kazir, I'm not that old." David Fincher laughed.

"Thank you for giving me the chance to make Se7en."

"No, the honor should be mine. I'm happy to be working with the great David Fincher."

They laughed.

Just like that, the end of the shooting came.

"Now what?"

Kazir asked himself after the shoot was over.

David Fincher dispersed the crew and began editing the movie. Since Kazir's job was done, he had no reason to stay. He had already been paid.

But Kazir Grey had a crisis.

He took a blank piece of paper and began to write down what he had learned.

Kazir Grey watched David Fincher for four months. He could see that David was a great director and that he controlled his crew well.

But Kazir Grey had enough experience of being a director. He was a director for almost 4 decades if you add his last life.

If there are things I lack, they are...

Opportunity, luck, connections, and thick skin.

After studying David Fincher for months, Kazir learned a few things.

David took the opportunity to direct Se7en after his failure with "Alien 3".

He was also a stubborn man. He didn't care what people said to him. He kept working on his movie even though people lost faith in him.

As for the last thing, luck... Maybe only God could manipulate that power. But Kazir could say that David was lucky. His filming was smooth and easy, he didn't have to face any difficult situations.

Kazir nodded. He lacked those three things. As for connections...

He closed his eyes for a second and decided to think about his next step.

If everything went well, his venture would also be a smooth process.

"Oh that's right, I almost forgot something important... Gamble. David is gambling with his dreams and everything depends on Se7en if his gamble will be successful."

Kazir decided to gamble as well.

"If I can't make a big-budget movie, I'll start with small-budget movies."

Kazir began to list the movies he knew had small budgets.


[I want to thank my supporters!]

Aviral Jaat
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Black
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Marlon Allen
Greatface
Eduardo
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Retired Old Man
Ryuu
Raini M. Terante
Robert Campbell
VoidStar
Duke York
Ausner Gentil

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 11


Kazir finished writing every small-budget movie that has huge box offices.

He realized something obvious.

"Most of them are horror movies." He muttered and looked at the list.

He saw:

The Last Exorcism

The Devil Inside

The Blair Witch Project

Paranormal Activity

Etc.

These movies were famous and made a lot of money.

On the other hand, there were small-budget movies in the comedy genre like 'Napoleon Dynamite' and 'The Full Monty'.

Kazir thought seriously while tapping his fingers. These movies might be famous, but he had to think about the pros and cons.

'First of all, let's take 'The Blair Witch Project' off the list. The biggest reason that movie made a lot of money in theaters was because of publicity, viral marketing, and the growing popularity of the Internet.'

The Blair Witch Project cost $50,000 to make. However, the publicity for the movie was over 10 million dollars. Together with the viral marketing that fooled the citizens of North America, 'The Blair Witch Project' became a success.

Kazir understood that it was impossible to replicate that success now.

The Internet was just getting started and no one was taking it seriously.

It was still 1995.

Furthermore, he didn't want to be hated. 'The Blair Witch Project' was notorious in his past life. It didn't have a good reputation and most people hated the movie to the very core of their lives.

'Then the other movies...'

To be honest, Kazir was confident in making horror and comedy films. He was a small-time director and he had experience in making those kinds of movies. In his experience, he has a bad luck shooting horror movies. None of them were good.

"... If I had to choose, it would be 'Paranormal Activity' or 'Napoleon Dynamite'".

Napoleon Dynamite was a huge success in North America, but it was coldly received internationally. The main reason was simple: it was released in only two countries and very late. It was almost five months before the movie was released internationally after its first premiere in North America.

Also, people outside of America couldn't understand the jokes in the movie.

'But Paranormal Activity was different... Not only did it revive the shaky found-footage format, but it also made a lot of money. '

"No," Kazir finally shook his head.

"Paranormal Activity sounds good, but it has the same publicity like 'The Blair Witch Project'. They use rumors and social media to promote the movie."

Then Calix turned his attention to the other movies instead.

"What about Saw?"

The movie was known for literally torturing its characters.

"I can do it. The filming is not difficult, but the budget..."

The production budget for Saw was over $1 million. Kazir had to find an investor if he wanted to make 'Saw'.

Just like 'Saw', 'The Devil Inside' had the same budget.

"Even 'The Last Exorcism' has a bigger budget, which was 1.8 million dollars."

He sighed. He understood that choosing a movie to make had to be taken seriously, otherwise his gamble would fail.

If he was going to gamble, he would make sure that his chances of winning were high.

"What about 'The Gallows'? But that movie has terrible reviews from the critics."

'The Gallow' had the smallest budget in the list except for 'Paranormal Activity'.

Paranormal Activity' cost 300 thousand dollars, while 'The Gallow' cost only 100 thousand dollars.

Between the two, 'The Gallow' had an acceptable price considering Kazir's money.

Suddenly, Kazir dropped the pen and slammed the table as he stood up.

"Who am I kidding? The answer is obvious... Let's go with Napoleon Dynamite."

Unlike the other movies, he liked Napoleon Dynamite better.

He also wanted to film the last scene where Napoleon starts to dance... That was probably the main reason why Kazir chose it.

He preferred comedy to horror, even though he made many horror movies in his life.

Unlike horror films, which made him anxious and depressed because it mostly failed, comedy films made him laugh and happy.

So yes, 'Napoleon Dynamite' it is.

"The found footage format may sound great, but they all have something in common. They are all shaky. People might get a headache watching them."

To be honest, Kazir saw 'The Blair Witch Project' and it was terrible. He wanted to find the director and asked why he couldn't shoot it steady. The movie was shaking and he felt like he was getting dizzy.

Considering that the director was a novice, it was a miracle that 'The Blair Witch Project' was successful in theaters.

Kazir regained his focus and began writing the script. He had to take things seriously and register the script with the Writers Guild.

The plot, the main characters and the secondary characters. The goofy ahh protagonist and his goofy ahh friend.

"Perfect."

Kazir wanted to leave his past behind. So shooting a horror movie was impossible.

"If I'm going to be honest, I want to shoot an action movie. It's my biggest dream in my whole life. Unfortunately, shooting an action movie will millions of dollars and it's impossible for someone like me."

Anyway, Napoleon Dynamite, here we go.

[Author's note: The real reason I chose Napoleon Dynamite is simple... I don't want to watch horror movies for research. The last time I watched 'Final Destination' I became overly cautious of my surroundings].

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to Kieta Aki, Sczx, and Mitia RAKOTOFIRINGA!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 12

Kazir wrote the scenes. Fortunately, Napoleon Dynamite has an important part in his heart. He remembered most of the content.

Besides, Kazir Grey was confident in his ability to remember movies. As a director, he loves movies so much that he would watch a movie at least once a day.

'It's unfortunate that I don't have a VHS in my apartment. I have a VHS in the house, but...'

He shook his head as he remembered that he had already given his house to Cassandra. He didn't regret it. That would be the last time Cassandra would get a thing from him.

Kazir spent the whole week writing the script and the proposal. He made sure he didn't forget any important detail.

The sound of the typewriter soothed his mind as he wrote. It was music to his ears. Although it was frustrating when he made a typo.

Once he made a mistake, he had to rewrite it. He wasted dozens of papers just to finish his script and proposal. But it was worth it, he was doing what he loved. He didn't feel tired at all.

"Huu--!"

Kazir threw up his arms and groaned.

'I don't know why, but it feels good to stretch your body after long hours of sitting.'

Indeed.

Kazir got up and looked out of the window. He noticed that it was already evening.

He smiled bitterly, time was really passing and he didn't even feel it.

It was already March 28 and the post-production of Se7en was still going on. Kazir decided not to contact David Fincher and concentrated on his new script.

He trusted David Fincher and believed that he would make a successful movie. Besides, Kazir's contract clearly stated that he didn't have the right to participate in editing and post-production.

Even if he had suggestions and opinions, he knew that the producer and director had the final say.

"I have to get up early tomorrow and contact Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Napoleon Dynamite was distributed in North America by Fox Searchlight Pictures, while Paramount Pictures handled international distribution.

"Before the movie goes overseas, it has to prove itself domestically. Fox Searchlight Pictures is the one that took over the movie, and I want to keep it that way as much as possible."

According to his recollection, Fox Searchlight Pictures was only founded in 1994, which was last year. After Disney acquired Miramax, 20th Century Fox decided to follow suit and create a film studio that would focus on independent films.

Fox Searchlight Pictures had the copyrights to 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'Black Swan' and of course 'Napoleon Dynamite'.

'That's from the future, there's a chance it could change.'

Kazir rested on his bed and closed his eyes. He wanted to get some serious rest so he would not look haggard in front of Fox Searchlight Pictures.

.........

......

...

"So, you're Kazir Grey. I hear you're the writer of Se7en, which is coming out in September, is that right?"

"Yes, Mr. Rothman."

"I see..."

The man opposite Kazir was Tom Rothman. The man had short hair and wore glasses, he looked calm and mature. This man was the founder of Fox Searchlight Pictures. The CEO of 20th Century Fox.

Kazir was actually surprised that he would meet a big shot like him.

The new CEO, Tom Rothman, proposed a new studio that focuses on independeny films. Of course, he had to make sure the first project of this studio would be successful.

Tom Rothman read the script seriously. He learned that Kazir Grey had actually sent Se7en's script and proposal in hopes that Fox Searchlight Pictures would invest in the movie.

However, Kazir Grey didn't have enough credits at the time.

In fact, the only reason Tom Rothman met with him was because of Se7en, which would be released in September.

If Se7en was successful, it would mean that Kazir had talent.

"I see you want to make this movie yourself, is that right, Mr. Grey?"

"Yes."

Tom Rothman frowned slightly when he heard the answer. To be honest, he was not confident that Kazir Grey would successfully finish the movie.

'He even wrote his last three movies. All of them were small-budget movies that went straight to videotape market. At least he has enough experience, but still...'

"It says here that the movie needs 500 thousand dollars, do you think this amount is too much?"

"No, sir. I think half a million dollars is enough to make it."

"I see..."

Tom Rothman thought seriously. He weighed the pros and cons of the script.

As the founder of the studio, Tom Rothman wanted to make sure that Fox Searchlight Pictures would be successful. Otherwise, his position might be unsteady.

'The genre is comedy, and it's accepted worldwide. The answer is whether this movie can entertain audiences.'

"Mr. Grey, we will get back to you later."

"Thank you, Mr. Rothman."

Kazir smiled and shook his head. At least Tom Rothman didn't show any obvious dislike. Their first meeting had been amiable.



[IMPORTANT NOTES: So I've been thinking about this for days. I'm having trouble deciding which cinematic universe Kazir will film once he's famous.]

Should he go for:

1) DC Universe [The Dark Night Trilogy with Christian Bale + The Man of Steel and other DC movies].

2) Marvel Cinematic Universe [Iron Man and the other Marvel movies, but the Incredible Hulk will be part of the universe.]

3) Spies, Assassins, Hitmen, Criminals, and Agents Universe. [This is an original universe I'm planning. I will combine the John Wick, Fast and the Furious, Taken, Wanted, and Bourne series into one Cinematic Universe].

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 13



"500 thousand dollars..."

Tom Rothman touched his chin as he read the proposal. To be honest, the script had some good points, but it also had some drawbacks. The protagonist was an awkward high school kid. Even the ending was questionable.

"He danced?"

Tom Rothman shook his head.

Fox Searchlight Pictures followed Miramax's business style. Which was to buy small-budget films and release them in minimal numbers of theaters.

Of course, Miramax also makes its own movies. But it usually had purposes like participating in the Oscars.

At that time, Quentin Tarantino had only made two movies, 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Pulp Fiction'. He was not that famous yet.

Quentin Tarantino was discovered by Harvey Weinstein, who was the CEO of Miramax. In a way, Quentin's movies were one of the main sources of income for Miramax.

Anyway, Miramax prefers to buy plausible movies that could bring profits.

'Fox Searchlight Pictures is still in its infancy. I can't risk it by investing in a movie that doesn't have a good return.'

Tom Rothman was not confident that the script would make him money. He was a businessman, not an artistic person. Besides, the script was not even for an art film, it was a comedy.

'If I'm going to invest. I prefer to invest in movies with high production costs. They usually have greater profitability.'

The cases of small-budget films that made millions were a minority.

Avatar, Avengers, and Titanic, each of those movies cost over a hundred million dollars to make. Their profit was over a billion dollars as well. That's the usual situation.

"Let's put this on hold. I'll wait for Se7en's appearance before I contact Kazir Grey."

He nodded and called his secretary to send the script to the script library. Perhaps this movie would be profitable once Kazir proved himself in theaters.

Another week passed and Kazir began to understand that his efforts were fruitless. No movie companies contacted him.

"Just to be sure, I visited every movie company I know. Unfortunately, no one seemed to take me seriously."

Kazir shrugged. He had already accepted that this would happen. He was not an amateur who would sulk about such things.

"If they don't want to invest, I'll find another way. Like I did with Se7en. I sent the script to David Fincher just to get it made.

Kazir was not discouraged. Instead, he came out of his apartment and walked a few yards. There was a phone booth near his apartment.

He entered the booth and frowned when he noticed that someone pissed inside.

"What the hell is wrong with these people?"

As expected from the area where gang fights usually took place, even the phone booth was disgusting. It seemed that the phone booth was not maintained at all.

In the end, Kazir decided to look for another place. He could not stand the smell.

"Hello, yes. Brother, this is me, Kazir."

Kazir cut all ties with his family after he left 6 years ago. His father didn't agree with his dream of becoming a director.

His father said that Hollywood was full of vanity, drugs, sex, and crimes that corrupted the mind. In a way, his father was right.

But Hollywood was also the king of entertainment. It was a city of dreams and hope. Every year thousands of people came to Hollywood to become famous. No one could deny that fact.

"It's a miracle you called me. I thought you had forgotten you had a brother."

Aaron Grey rubbed his forehead. When he heard that Kazir wanted to talk to him in person, he decided to get out of bed and book a ticket to Los Angeles just to meet him..

"I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble."

"No..."

Aaron smiled bitterly. To be honest, he was just shocked that his younger brother contacted him after six years.

"How is your work? I have seen your movies. How can I put it? They are pretty horrible. Hey, how about making a comedy instead?"

Kazir Grey's shooting style usually revolved around noir films. He liked to use bloody scenes and dark themes.

However, after no success in his past life, Kazir decided to leave his usual shooting style. This time, he wanted to make action movies.

"Well, about that..."

Kazir combed his hair and placed a script on the table.

"This is?"

"It's my script. Brother, I need your help."

Aaron took the script and read the provisional title.

"Dynamite? Kazir, don't tell me you called me about this script?"

Aaron flew from New York to Los Angeles because he wanted to see his younger brother. But he realized the real reason Kazir had contacted him.

From the East Coast to the West Coast. Just to see his brother, whom he hadn't seen in years.

"That's one of the reasons."

"What are the other reasons?"

"I miss you, brother."

"Don't give me that shit! It gives me the creeps!" Aaron rubbed his shoulders in disgust.

Of course Aaron missed his brother, but to hear him like that was a little scary.

"I can't believe I flew all the way to Los Angeles just for this."

He sighed.

Well, Aaron missed his younger brother too, and he wanted to see him again. They had a close relationship when they were young.

But Kazir didn't contact him after he left home to pursue his dreams.

Since then, the only way Aaron could support his brother was by watching his movies... Which was a little disgusting and scary.

'This is a comedy movie.'

When Aaron read the script, he realized that his younger brother wanted to change his style.

"Okay, let's talk about the script later. I want you to tell me about your life here in Los Angeles. I haven't seen you for years, so of course I'm interested in all the shit you've been up to."

He dropped the script on the table. He already had an idea why Kazir had contacted him.

To be honest, he was not angry. He was glad to see him instead.

"Where should I start? Ah, I'm already married."

"What?"

He was shocked.

"But we got divorced, so I'm single again."

"What?"

He was shocked a second time.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 14


"What did you say?"

Aaron was so shocked for a few seconds that his brain stopped thinking.

"I just got divorced."

"God damn it! Talk like a human being. Do you know human language? Do you know English?"

He became impatient and raised his voice. Then he noticed that the other people in the cafe were looking at him. Aaron was embarrassed and looked at Kazir instead.

"Kazir, I want to hear everything."

He was angry and disappointed that his younger brother didn't talk to him about marriage. Hell, he didn't even talk to him for six years. Of course, he was too shocked to hear that Kazir was already married, er, divorced.

"Where should I start? I met her when I was working on a film crew, we were colleagues. She is beautiful..."

Kazir started telling his love story and his brother listened seriously.

Just as Kazir said, their love story ended in divorce. There was no "happily ever after" in the end.

"I can't believe you gave her the house you worked so hard to buy. Kazir, are you crazy? Why didn't you fight for your property?"

Aaron was already seething with anger. He wanted to find the bitch and her lover and teach them a lesson.

"You should have kept the house and sold it or something."

"Brother, do you remember what happened between Mom and Dad?"

"..."

Hearing what Kazir said, Aaron quickly shut his mouth.

Both brothers remembered what happened about 9 years ago. Their mother had cheated on their father and was fighting for a divorce. She stole half of their father's fortune and won the case.

Their father was depressed for years before he recovered and started a new business.

Instead of siding with their mother, the two brothers decided to live with their father. Their father clearly loves them, he always spends his free time bonding with the two brothers.

Besides, they didn't want to live with their mother and her lover.

"I'd rather give her the house than have her bother me with problems."

"Indeed. You can buy another house, but peace is hard to find".

They both experienced the tragedy of a broken family. In their opinion, it was better to end the relationship than to die slowly in madness. The last thing they wanted was to see their father in despair.

"Are you still not going to talk to Dad after all this year?"

"... I don't know."

Kazir shook his head with a bitter smile. He had quarreled with his father because he wanted to continue being a director.

In fact, he promised never to come back until he was successful.

In the end, he never became a successful director. One day he heard that his father had died of a heart attack.

Kazir lived in dark days after that incident. He felt that he had let his father down. He didn't even see him for the last time. Even now, he regretted it.

'After that, Aaron punched me when I attended the funeral. He never contacted me again. I guess he held a grudge.'

But Kazir was given a second chance, and he wanted to change his fate. He decided to talk to his brother before it was too late.

"When will you see him?"

"When I prove myself to Hollywood and the world."

"Then how much do you need?"

Aaron already knew the purpose of this meeting. Instead of being angry and disappointed, he was happy to know that his younger brother needed him. At least now Kazir was asking for his help.

"Brother, half a million. We will sign a contract and you will invest in my movie. I will not ask for anything else."

"Deal. I thought you were going to ask for five million or something. Even a businessman like me doesn't have that much cash."

Their family runs a marketing and promotional services business. They were based in New York, and their business was thriving enough to make their family rich.

"I don't have to sign anything, I trust you with everything. In fact," Aaron leaned in closer. "Dad decided to set up a trust fund, and we are both the beneficiaries. You don't have to give the money back, it's all yours."

"No brother. We're doing real business. I will definitely return your investment three times over."

"Heh. What's your account number?" He waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Are you sure you don't want to sign a contract?"

"It's okay. But I have one condition."

"As expected, you have a different intention." Kazir sighed. He knew that this meeting had a different meaning.

"Just listen to me. I'm thinking of getting married, and I want you to be at the wedding. I'm going to propose to my girlfriend this year, around Christmas."

"Of course, I will be there."

Realizing that his elder brother wanted to start a family, Kazir promised to support him. He hoped that, unlike him and their father, Aaron would have a wonderful marriage.

"That's good to hear." Aaron nodded, glad to hear his answer.

"Then give me your account number and I will send the money."

Aaron nonchalantly opened his phone and called his secretary. Afterward, he nodded to Kazir.

"Thank you Aaron, I promise this investment will never be in vain."

The two started talking, catching up on each other's lives. Kazir talked about his life in Hollywood, while Aaron told his story of helping their father expand the business.

One thing was clear, they were happy to see each other again. This meeting was worth it, they reconciled.

"I love you, brother, but no homo."

"Say that again and you will lose your front teeth."

They laughed.

After confirming that there was half a million in his bank account, Kazir began his plan. He contacted the crew he had worked with last time.

[Hi, I just want to promote my other novels:]

1) MC is not part of the story
- This novel is already finished with 526 chapters. This is my first novel and there's a lot of grammar mistakes.

2) The Only Fuel Is Using The D.
-This is my most read novel for some obvious reasons, ahem.

3) Reincarnated As A Deadbeat Dad
-This is a new novel. A slow progressive slice of life about a deadbeat dad.

4) Hollywood What If
- This is actually experimental. I'm not quite sure if I'm going to keep writing this. It depends on how many readers I can get.

[I post my novels mostly on Scribblehub, Webnovel, RoyalRoad, and Questionable Questing.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 15


Kazir Grey had worked with three filming crews when he made three movies. Most of his crew consisted of people who were semi-professional in the industry.

They knew how to shoot. However, they were not qualified to join a real film crew because of their weak resumes. After all, Hollywood followed strong human relationships.

It was difficult to join a crew with simple requests unless they were willing to pay less or nothing at all.

In a way, Kazir Grey was like them. He also started as a helper. In fact, Kazir was part of the camera crew before he started his own movie.

"Hey Kazir, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Renner. We both know this is our chance. We can't let ourselves rot doing nothing. That's right, I want to make a comedy instead of a horror movie."

Renner Hector. He was a cameraman who knew a lot about cameras and filming. He hoped to become a real cinematographer in a real production crew.

As a person who loves to shoot movies, he understands that his best occupation is to become a director of photography/cinematographer.

"But seriously, you lost some weight. You look like a jack now with those muscles of yours!"

Kazir just chuckled.

Renner and Kazir met on a film crew seven years ago. Renner had just graduated from college, while Kazir had just left home. They both pursued their dreams but found that it was not so easy.

They encountered many obstacles. The three movies they created were quickly sent to the videotape market instead of being released theatrically.

In fact, they both dreamed of seeing their film in theaters.

"Trust me, Renner. This time will be different."

"Well, our last three movies are B-grade horror films and none of them are successful."

They sold the copyrights of the three movies for a few million. To be honest, it was a great achievement to sell them at that price.

"I have a question first."

"Go ahead."

"Where did you get the investment? We are talking about half a million. You know the last movie we made only cost 100 thousand." Renner narrowed his eyes and glared at Kazir.

"Well... I asked my older brother to invest in my movie." Kazir rubbed his nose.

"Really? But I thought you had a falling out?"

"No, my brother and I are on good terms. You mean my father. My father doesn't want me to go to Hollywood."

"Is that so? Then what's your plan? I'm in. I'm bored in the shop. All I see are endless film rolls."

Renner Hector's uncle owned a camera rental business. Maybe that was one of the reasons Renner fell in love with shooting movies.

But Renner understood himself. He didn't want to direct a movie, he just wanted to capture scenes on camera. So he didn't have a problem with Kazir being the director. They have known each other for seven years and trust each other.

"What about the others, Jane and Harold?" Kazir asked. The two people he said were important members of his crew.

"They agreed. They both work in a restaurant as waiters just to get through the day. They are just waiting for you to start."

"That's good then." He grinned.

He had 15 members in his last crew and he wanted to hire them all as much as possible. The answer was very simple, he had experience working with them and the crew respected him.

Authority was important to a director. If the crew didn't respect the director and didn't follow his orders, then the director's creative ideas would never be used in the movie. His position would be nothing but a clown or a puppet.

Of course, respect and authority had to be earned. Kazir wanted to prove himself to the world.

"Contact them first, I have something to do. I will go to Idaho."

"That's far, will we shoot there?"

"Yes, I have a place in mind." He nodded.

The filming of Napoleon Dynamite was done at Preston High School and various areas in Franklin County, Idaho. It has been said that some of the plots of Napoleon Dynamite were "loosely" based on director Jared Hess when he was in high school. But the time was different, it was still 1997, not 2004. Jared Hess was still a 15 years old guy.

As for "stealing" the idea, Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea for Facebook from his classmates. After a lengthy legal battle that lasted years, Facebook ended up paying Zuckerberg's ex-classmates $65 million between the three students involved.

Facebook was now worth $500 billion. As expected from our robot lizard Mark.

Do you think stealing is bad? It is. But these billionaires probably didn't care about the feelings of the majority. Everything is nothing before money.

Perhaps they are fucking beautiful underage women right now just like Jeffrey Epstein. Living the life leisurely.

Kazir Grey was confident that nothing bad would happen. He registered the script in the Writer's Guild last year, along with some original scripts he wanted to film.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, it's okay. I'm just doing some research. I will come back in a few days and officially start the project."

Kazir wanted to contact Preston High School and ask them to allow the filming in their school.

'I am sure there will be no problem. I'm not going to film horror or anything that would tarnish their reputation. Napoleon Dynamite is a comedy. Besides, it will be free publicity for them.'

Kazir contacted the school about making a movie on their campus. At first the school thought it was a prank call, but Kazir explained his intentions well.

As he expected, the principal wanted to meet with him.

While Renner and the others began preparations, Kazir flew to Idaho to find the principal of Preston High School. It was not much, Kazir proved his identity to them. He even gave them 2/3 of the script to show them the movie he wanted to make.

The school agreed to let him shoot the movie on their campus on the premise that they would not cause a problem for the students.

"Don't worry principal, we will shoot the movie in July. It's summer vacation."

"Then that will be fine."

They shook hands. The school didn't ask for a payment, but they asked Kazir to promote their school instead.

"This place is nice."

He used his fingers to make a camera gesture. He pictured the scenes in his mind as he looked at the school's entrance hall.

[Visit my Pat reon if you want to read more:]

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[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to (no name), Cherif Doghri, Abdishakur Hasan, Danny York]

Hollywood What If Chapter 16

After three days of reviewing the scenes they could shoot, Kazir decided to return to Los Angeles.

As he walked out of the airport, Renner and Harold were waiting for him. These two were his closest associates. They had worked on three of Kazir's movies and were close friends.

They were all living in Hollywood, hoping to be successful. Harold had a passion for art, especially prop making. As for Renner, he loved shooting movies.

They were both talented and loved what they did. Unfortunately, talent was not enough.

In Hollywood, where there were thousands of talented people, they were expendable. There was no such thing as irreplaceable in Hollywood, even someone like Spielberg. There were many successful directors in circle after all. Like George Lucas, James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino, and Michael Bay.

"Kazir, we have already prepared the props. To be honest, it's not that hard to prepare them because our movie doesn't have any complicated scenes," Harold said as they got into the car.

"I also bought 400 rolls of 35mm Kodak color film. My uncle gave us a discount and charged us only 32 thousand dollars."

"Thank you."

Before the 2000s, Kodak film was the most popular way to shoot movies. But as digital cameras developed, Hollywood began to adopt digital cameras. Film lost its edge. Of course, there were still some directors who used film. Like Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, and Christopher Nolan.

"What about rental cameras?" Kazir asked.

"As I promised, I will rent four cameras for the shoot."

They didn't need four cameras yet, they would rent them when they needed them.

"Harold, put out a casting call in the Actors Guild. Especially the role of Napoleon Dynamite and Pedro, take the importance of these two. As for the other roles, we will see."

It was impossible to hire the actors from the original movie because they were still young. So Kazir decided to use different actors. He would never believe that there was no one who could fit the role of Napoleon Dynamite and Pedro Sanchez.

'Like I said, there is no such thing as irreplaceable in Hollywood.'

"I will," Harold promised.

They met at Renner's apartment. Of all of them, Renner had it better. His family ran a business. If not for his love of film, Renner might have taken over his family's business. Instead, he chose to work in his uncle's rental business.

"I just want to be clear, our budget is only 500 thousand and I don't want to spend more than that. If possible, we will try to limit our expenses."

"I agree."

Both Renner and Harold had experience working on a film crew. Every crew understood the importance of their expenses. They were in business, the less money they used the better.

"I've already contacted the others and they agree to join us."

"That's good. Although I only need 15 people at most."

"I understand."

Kazir and his friends started making plans for the shooting. Fortunately, Kazir had already confirmed that Preston High School was okay with the filming. They even signed a contract.

As for the other locations, Kazir could rent a house for filming.

"Hayst..."

Ed Helms sighed. He had just auditioned for a small part in The Nutty Professor. But he learned that his looks were not what they needed. In the end, he never got the role.

He was just 21 and he hoped to become an actor, he knew that his age was young and people would not take him seriously. But hey, there was nothing wrong with trying. Maybe he would get a role.

Disappointed, Ed Helms entered the Actors Guild's building. He looked at the projects posted on the bulletin board.

However, Ed Helms understood that the usual projects posted on the bulletin board were small-budget movies. He knew he would never get a chance to make money with these.

'I don't need money. What I need now is opportunity.'

He would even agree to accept a role without a salary as long as he could see his face on the screen. He was still young and he knew that what he needed was exposure... Of course, he also needed money.

Ed Helms understood his situation very well.

"This..."

While looking for projects, he found an ad saying that a production team needed a young actor. The project was a comedy. Except for a few pieces of information, there was nothing. The address and time were written at the bottom.

Ed Helms narrowed his eyes as he read the project. He pulled out a small notebook and copied the address. There was nothing to lose if he tried the audition.

Ed Helms decided to accept the project. Small actors like him had to work hard to make their dreams come true.

"Thank you, Miss Adams. You can go now." Kazir said calmly.

"But director, can I have another chance? I swear I will do it right."

"No, it's okay. We will call you as soon as we decide."

"..."

The beautiful girl reluctantly left the audition room.

"What do you think of her?"

Knowing that they were the only people in the audition room, Renner asked Kazir for his opinion about the young woman.

"Amy Adams fit the role, but let's wait for more. We're not running a marathon here." Kazir shook his head.

What he was looking for was a blonde who looked sweet and innocent. He wanted to see the all of the actresses who auditioned before he can decide.

'I can't believe I'm going to see Amy Adams auditioning for my movie. It feels surreal...'

Harold called to the next woman. Kazir nodded slightly as he saw another famous actress.

"Hi, I'm Reese Witherspoon."

Reese smiled sweetly. Both Renner and Kazir maintained their expressions.

"Reese, what you're going to do is simple, just say 'Uh, hello, would you like to look like this?' in a surprisingly shy way."

"Eh? Excuse me? O- oh, yes, Director. I will do it!"

Reese received a paper with small lines written on it and carefully memorized the lines... Although, in her opinion, it was a bit underwhelming. She didn't have any idea of what role she was auditioning.

[Reese Witherspoon]

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[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to Jose Bautista, Sleepymoonfox, Cisco a Millie!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 17

"Napoleon Dynamite" was a comedy, and it didn't need much acting. In fact, comedies like "Napoleon Dynamite" need comedic acting, awkward, yet comedic.

Reese Witherspoon was confused. She didn't know why the director had asked her to say that particular line for some unknown reason.

However, she understood that she had to obey the director.

This line is an important part of the movie... Well, it made the audience laugh. This movie is a comedy, so of course we have to make them laugh.

Kazir watched Reese close her eyes for a few seconds. Of course, actors had to internalize before they acted. Only a few people could control their emotions and slip into a role in the blink of an eye. Even Kazir had never met anyone like that.

'Maybe Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks can do it, but I don't know, I've never seen them act. Ah, I just remembered, Leonardo is not a superstar actor yet. James Cameron had just started to build the giant cruise.'

Titanic took more than two years to be finished, all because James Cameron wanted a real cruise ship! 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures were slowly losing their minds as James kept asking for hundreds of million just to finish the movie!

Kazir eyes never leave Reese.

Then...

"Uh, hello, would you like to look like this?"

A simple line, not much, but Reese delivered it well. At least better than the actresses before.

Kazir didn't react much. But if the next actresses didn't have explosive acting. Then he would choose Reese Witherspoon.

Kazir didn't need a talented actress for this role. As long as she looked cute and sweet and could deliver the lines well, Kazir would hire her.

"Thank you, Reese. You will be notified of the results of the audition within three days. Thank you for coming to this audition."

"Yes? Ah! Thank you, director."

Reese didn't know why the director asked her for such a simple line. She didn't even know what emotion to show. She just said it with a shy face.

In the end, she left the role confused.

"We have three other actresses, let's see their auditions."

There were thousands of actresses in Hollywood, perhaps hundreds of thousands. These actresses, of course, hoped to become famous and rich.

For small actresses, they would fight for the role if they had to. They were willing to do anything just to see their faces in the movies, as long as they were morally accepted.

"Director Grey... Um, can I meet you after you finish your work?"

A woman with large breasts said to Kazir coquettishly before leaving the audition room.

Kazir just shrugged and didn't take it seriously. As a person who had spent his entire life on the lower levels of Hollywood, he knew how the industry worked.

The casting couch was real. It was a fact. Although not literally.

To be precise, they call it 'transaction.'

The actress and Director/Producer would have sex. Because of 'favor', she would be hire.

There were many rumours of this kind of situation. Julia Roberts, just to get the role in Pretty Woman, she did some 'stuff.'

Of course, it's just rumours...

Women would trade sex for a chance at a role. Hollywood was not, and had never been, the city of kindness. This industry was real, talent was not enough.

Unfortunately for the big-breasted woman, Kazir took his job seriously. Between the big-breasted woman and Reese Witherspoon, Kazir decided to hire Reese.

'I know. I'm a man. It's impossible for me to avoid the temptation and seduction of women, but at least not now. I have to make sure this project is a success.'

So he would never accept the seduction of the woman with big breasts.

Besides, her expression is dull. She obviously can't act.

"This is a small project and I can't give Reese a big salary."

"Don't worry Kazir, I'm sure she'll accept the role even if you don't give her any money. From what I can see, she seems like a woman looking for an opportunity."

Renner would make sure the actors got the minimum.

"That's good."

Musicians and artists hate "exposure," but it was different for small actors. They need that exposure.

"Of course we'll keep paying them, we're not cheating."

"Then this is over. Call the actors now."

"Okay."

There are two important roles to fill.

The first was obviously the role of Napoleon Dynamite. The second was his friend, Pedro Sanchez. The third was Kip and they already found someone for that role.

For Napoleon, Kazir needed a tall actor. Not that tall, but at least 5'11". If someone met the criteria and could act well, Kazir had no problem hiring him.

As for Pedro Sanchez, this role was clearly a Latino role. The name alone speaks for itself.

'This role, it might take a while to find someone who fits the description.'

Right after Kazir said it in his mind, the first actor entered the room.

"Hi, I'm Pedro Pascal. The project says they need a young Latino actor and I'm here to audition."

"Hm?"

Kazir looked at the man.

"Pedro Pascal?"

He had heard that name in his later years. Kazir was quite surprised to see a well-known actor auditioning for the role.

Kazir narrowed his eyes and realized something.

It is completely different from what I expected. He doesn't look like the 'Pedro Pascal' at all.

Because the man before him was young, Pedro Pascal didn't have his iconic mustache. He had no facial hair, none at all.

'He looks... young.'

That's right, he didn't look like the Pedro Pascal of the 2010s.

Kazir raised his hand before Pedro Pascal could finish.

"Call Jane, have her adjust Pedro's hair. "

"Okay."

A few seconds later, Jane, the makeup artist, appeared. She fixed Pedro's hair according to Kazir's description.

A few minutes later Kazir nodded.

'In my opinion, except for his height, he fits the role.'

Kazir would not confirm Pedro's casting at the moment, he had to see the other actors before he could decide. For now, Pedro Pascal would be listed as a possible actor.

"Let's call the next actor."

One by one the actors appeared and Kazir found a few possible ones.

"Hi, my name is Ed Helms. I'm here for the lead role."

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[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to Cameron and Roof Humper!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 18

Ed Helms. The man in front of him was a famous comedian actor, his face was recognizable.

But right now, Ed Helms was still a young actor and didn't have much experience. He looked nervous and moved awkwardly... Which complemented the role of Napoleon.

Kazir grinned slightly. But first, Kazir called her makeup artist, Jane.

"Jane, can you make his hair curly blonde and bobbed?"

"Give me a few minutes, I'll adjust his look."

Ed Helms was confused. But he agreed to let the woman touch his hair. Since the director was interested to see his appearance in curly hair. Ed Helms understood that he had passed the first stage of the audition.

When Kazir saw Ed Helms' appearance, it looked exactly like what he had written down.

But something was missing.

"Wear those glasses."

Ed Helms with glasses, curly bob hair... Immaculate. This is Napoleon Dynamite.

As for the acting, Kazir didn't need great acting. All the time he watched Napoleon Dynamite in his past life, he could tell that most of the actors were amateurs. They could not act at all. That was exactly what Kazir needed.

"I just need one thing, Ed, just say 'idiot' like you're eating your words."

"Just give me a few seconds, Director."

"Hm." Kazir nodded.

"Idiot!"

"Then say it with anger this time, but you still have to eat your words."

"Idiot!"

"Say freaking idiot."

"Freaking idiot!"

He looked like an idiot right now.

Ed Helms was sweating. He felt like the director was making fun of him. There was no real script, he just kept saying idiot. Why?

'Napoleon said 'idiot' more than five times in the whole movie.'

Kazir was pleased with Ed's audition. As for his acting ability, Kazir needed an amateur actor.

"Ed, before we finish this audition. I want to tell you something. You understand that this movie has a small budget and we can't give you a big salary."

"Yes, I understand very well."

Ed Helms became nervous. Seeing the way the director talked, he could understand that his chances of getting the role of the protagonist were high. At least the director was interested in casting him.

"I will accept any amount as long as I get the male lead." He was serious. Deadly serious.

It was already a blessing for a small actor like him to get the male lead, of course Ed Helms had to take it.

"That's good to hear. Do you have an agent?"

"Yes, director. I signed with William Morris Agency."

Hearing that particular talent agency made Kazir remember something, but he didn't care.

"Can you dance?"

"A little..." Ed Helms tilted his head.

"Contact your agent, but tell him I will never accept a big salary."

"Yes! I will, director!"

Ed Helms delightedly left the audition room and immediately contacted his agent.

"Are you sure you want to hire him? We haven't seen the other actors yet?" Renner asked Kazir after Ed Helms had left.

"Don't worry. He fits the part."

As a person from the future, Kazir knew that Ed Helms had taken on many roles in comedy films. That fact alone showed that Ed Helms had talent in that area.

'I would rather cast an amateur comedian than an unknown actor. At least I know that Ed Helms has a bright future.'

They continued to accept actors and actresses to fill the roles. In the end, it took three days to finalize the roles.

Ed Helms and his agent negotiated and Ed Helms signed a salary of 15 thousand dollars. As for the other actors, they also receive a smaller amount. Of course, the crew would take care of all their needs, such as food and hotel reservations.

"Find a cheap hotel in Idaho. You know we can't spend too much, it's the investor's money".

Actually, his brother's.

"Don't worry, I will contact the hotels," Renner assured him.

Kazir and his crew flew to Idaho with the cast to begin shooting. His crew consisted of only 20 people, five of whom were interns making their way to Hollywood. He was actually happy to have free labor.

Since the budget came from his brother, Kazir spent it seriously.

The location of Idaho...

Kazir and the others didn't have time to appreciate the local scenery. After checking into the hotel, Kazir immediately prepared the cameras and film.

"This is our opening credits? We are going to write their names on food?"

Renner and Harold asked him just to be sure.

"That's right, we can call it a day when we're done. While the actors are adjusting, we will film."

Unfortunately, since Ed Helms was the protagonist, he didn't have time to rest. He was the one who put the food on the table, his hands to be exact.

Harold was in charge of props, so he started preparing the dishes and writing names on them.

Sandwich, Napoleon put it on the table, check.

Quesadilla with words written by Mustard, check.

Steak, and so on.

Those opening credits were memorable. Because, of course, they were food, not subtle subtitles, as in most movies.

Fortunately for Ed Helms, he didn't have to act the first day. All he did was put food on the table while the camera shot from a high angle, looking down at the subject.

"Cut! Next dish!"

Except for preparing the dishes and writing the words on them, the process of filming was fast. At least on the first day, they had already shot three minutes of footage. Those three minutes made up the first part of the movie, the opening credits.

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Hollywood What If Chapter 19

Napoleon Dynamite had the vibe of the 80s. Even the gadgets people used in the movie were mostly old and outdated. Walkman, big-ass computer, videotapes and so on.

The movie was released in 2004. In Kazir's opinion, it should have been released before the digital age.

The movie was great, funny, embarrassing, and had an old-ish vibe. That's why Kazir decided to make it before the 21st century. He was confident that he could change the fate of the film.

'Don't get me wrong, the movie is already great, it's a masterpiece, but I want to make it better. 40 million at the box office is not enough to show the greatness of this movie.'

Napoleon Dynamite saved his life. He was at the bottom of his life when he casually walked into the theater and watched the movie. By the time the movie ended, Kazir realized he was already crying.

As a person who lost almost everything, he found Napoleon's silly dances. His dances made him laugh and cry at the same time.

For the same reason, he bought the DVD of Napoleon Dynamite. Whenever he felt down, he would follow Napoleon's dance.

Kazir was confident that he already knew every dance move Napoleon did in the movie.

"Is this really you? I thought you couldn't dance?"

Renner and Harold stared at Kazir in confusion and shock.

They rented a VCR and watched the dance tutorial Kazir had made... He was killing the dance floor.

"These are the dance moves you gave Ed?"

"Yes, before we arrived here in Idaho, I already gave this videotape to Ed. He promised to memorize every step."

"Wow... You can actually dance."

Renner and Harold stared at Kazir as if he were a stranger.

Kazir just shrugged. They didn't know that these dance moves were his go-to stress relievers. He always let loose when he started dancing.

'Luckily, most of the songs were available and I can use most of the original songs. '

"Okay, let's start shooting today."

Kazir had already made a schedule for today and they would try their best to stick to it. So far they had been in Idaho for four days.

He was holding a stack of storyboard to make sure that he would never lose the rhythm of the film.

They had shot dozens of scenes, but this was a 90+ minute movie. Obviously, three days were not enough. According to his calculations, they would have to stay here for at least a month to shoot all the scenes. If that was not enough, they would have to stay for a couple of more weeks.

"I feel like you're on drugs, Kazir." Harold tapped him on the shoulder.

"Huh? What do you mean? Dude, I'm clean, I stopped hitting the bong after I married Cassandra."

"That's not what I mean," Harold chuckled.

"Renner and I have noticed that you shoot faster than last time. Remember how long it used to take to shoot a single scene in a day? But now three or four scenes are no problem."

"That's right. It's almost like you know the scenes you want to shoot. You didn't experiment at all. You just decided what angle to shoot, what cuts to make, and what transitions to use. I feel like the movie is already created in your head and you're just following the shooting process."

Renner touched his chin and said something incredible.

"..."

Kazir was shaken when he heard what he said. Renner was not wrong, he was right. That's exactly what Kazir did.

'I just changed a few scenes to make it funnier. But overall, I strictly followed the plot and the exact shooting of Napoleon Dynamite.'

"Hehe, of course I know that's impossible. What are you? A man from the future."

Both Renner and Harold started to laugh.

"This is no time to joke. Let's start shooting, I think most of the actors are already done."

"Okay."

The scene they were about to shoot was the first scene in which Napoleon first appeared.

"Camera?"

"Ready!"

They didn't have any lights because they were shooting outside. It was hot right now because the sun was shining so well.

Kazir nodded to the man holding the clapperboard.

"Scene 2, take 4. Lights, camera, action!"

A few seconds pause. The bus appeared and Napoleon entered the bus. Simple as that.

"Cut! Get ready for the next scene!"

Kazir rented this school bus just for today. So he wanted to finish each bus scene as quickly as possible.

In the next scene, Napoleon sat in the back seat next to a boy.

Ed Helms sat with awkward expression, staring weakly ahead. He looked sleepy.

"What do you want to do today, Napoleon?" The boy said.

"Whatever I feel like doing, gosh!" Napoleon said and turned to his side. He looked out the window and then at the driver.

When he noticed that the driver was not looking, he opened the window and wrapped the string around a toy. He then proceeded to throw the toy outside while holding the string, and the toy was dragged along.

"Cut! Ten-minute break, then on to the next location."

When they heard the director's approval, Ed Helms sighed and wiped his forehead. It was so hot he was sweating.

"Here," one of the crew members handed him some cold mineral water.

"Thank you."

Ed Helms drank the water thirstily.

"You're lucky this time."

"Huh?"

"You're lucky the director shoots fast."

"Isn't he like that before?" Ed Helms asked.

"No, director Kazir usually adjusts the camera to see the best angle. He will also use different shooting styles to see the best result. However, he didn't use it this time. It seems that Director Kazir was seriously thinking about the shooting plan."

"I see." Ed Helms nodded. To be honest, he was grateful that Kazir had given him a chance.

The first day he found out that Kazir had hired him, Ed Helms could not sleep because his mind was too active.

Kazir approached Ed and examined his mentality.

"What about your dance moves? Have you memorized them?"

"Yes. I even practiced last night," he nodded.

"That's good to hear, but you need a good night's sleep. We don't want you to get sick."

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[Pujimaki]

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Hollywood What If Chapter 20

The shooting went smoothly. There were no rough spots. The actors were good in condition... they might need acting lessons after this movie. But hey, Napoleon Dynamite didn't need great acting anyway. It was a comedy.

'My first impression of Napoleon was sleepy. He always looks sleepy. Also, the way he acts is kind of weird.'

The actors were good, Pedro Pascal and Ed Helms just got into the right mood and got into their roles. The other actors were also good.

Because of this, Kazir's already fast shooting became even faster.

However, there was no such thing as perfect. There were still rough edges that needed polishing.

"Cut! Let's shoot this scene again. Ten-minute break!"

Calix stated after four NGs (not good). He looked at the certain actress who could not keep her acting.

The dance hall lit up and the music stopped. They were shooting the prom scene, the scene where Deb and Napoleon were dancing to be exact.

Reese was sweating and her complexion was pale. She knew she was the reason they had to reshoot.

She approached Kazir with a guilty look on her face.

"I'm sorry director, I accidentally looked at the camera."

"Reese. In the first take, you made a mistake by forgetting your line. The second, you stepped on Ed's foot. The third, you made a mistake and said the wrong line."

"I'm sorry."

She bowed her head. Her eyes became teary.

Kazir chuckled, comforting her instead.

"You don't have to apologize. Everyone makes mistakes. Even great actors like Nicholas Cage and Tom Hanks are not perfect. You don't have to beat yourself up."

He said, tapping her shoulder.

"Okay, follow me. Inhale... Exhale. Again, inhale... Exhale."

Reese took a deep breath and calmed her mind. She thought the director would be angry because she had already made four mistakes. She smiled when she realized that Kazir was not angry.

"It's good to see you smiling. Now go retouch your makeup and relax. Remember, you don't have to burden yourself. No one is perfect."

"Thank you, director!"

She happily left Kazir with her prom gown.

'... The cost of a 35mm Kodak film is about $80. A 35mm Kodak film can record up to 4 minutes and 30 seconds. So far, we have wasted three rolls of film with Reese's mistakes. To be honest, I'm angry. But I know the consequences of getting angry. Reese will lose confidence in herself and the shoot will be affected. As much as I can, I want to stay calm. '

Reese was still a young actress. She didn't have the mentality to handle criticism. If Kazir showed his true feelings, the woman might break down and cry, which would be uncomfortable for the crew.

'So for God's sake, Reese Witherspoon, get your acting right! Don't fuck it up!'

Kazir kept his sanity by gritting his teeth.

The ten-minute break ended and the shooting began again.

Fortunately, Reese Witherspoon's acting was better this time. At least she didn't make any mistakes.

"Cut! Reese, you did a good job. But I want to see more. Let's take it again."

The clapperboard made another sound and the shooting started again.

The background music was faint, enough for them to hear Napoleon and Deb's conversation.

Kazir watched the scene unfold on the monitors. He nodded after getting a nice scene.

"Cut! This is good. Let's move on to the next scene!"

For three minutes of worth of scenes, Kazir and his crew decorated the hall like a real prom. After shooting all the scenes, they cleaned the place. They wasted almost 5 thousand on the prom scene alone.

Making movies has never been cheap. Even if the total budget of Napoleon Dynamite was only $500,000 and they wanted to make it cheap, they couldn't cut costs.

They would immediately move on to the next location once the preparation was done.

"Tomorrow, if we're lucky, we might finish the whole shooting."

Renner stood next to Kazir, talking as he checked the camera.

"That's right. We've been here almost a month."

"Yeah, I miss Los Angeles."

"We both miss Los Angeles."

The two laughed.

Their next scene was in the hallway, the scene where Napoleon would meet Pedro for the first time.

'Pedro Pascal acts well. To make sure that this movie will have a better audience, I made sure that the way they deliver the lines is perfect. Especially the jokes.'

"Okay, adjust the camera. Renner, turn up the lighting. Yeah, that's right."

Kazir motioned to the man holding the clapperboard. The man blocked the camera with the clapperboard. Then he said, "Lights, camera, action," and clicked the clapperboard.

Everything went well. The crew sensed how much Kazir had evolved his shooting. In just one year, during which they missed each other, Kazir matured a lot. His mentality was great.

"Today is the day! Finally!"

The last day arrived. The crew had only one scene left to shoot. They planned to shoot this scene last because it was more complicated to prepare.

First, the crew hired extras and signed them up for the shooting. They didn't have any important roles. They would be the audience watching Napoleon dance.

"Okay, everything is ready!"

Kazir started shooting.

The music started and Ed Helms, who had practiced the dance steps, went to work.

He started to dance, his curly bob hair shaking around, his hips moving to the beat.

'Looks like he's taking it seriously.'

Kazir could see that Ed Helms was dancing better than he expected.

After the first dance...

"Cut! Ten-minute break."

Kazir Grey approached Ed Helms, who was sweating.

"Ed, I want you to dance again. I will save all the best parts of your dance and combine them."

"No problem, director."

Ed Helms smiled. At least Kazir appreciated his hard work.

[Hi, I just want to promote my other novels:]

1) MC's not part of the story

- This novel is already finished with 526 chapters.

2) The Only Fuel Is Using The D.

-This is my most read novel for some obvious reasons, ahem.

3) Reincarnated As A Deadbeat Dad

-This is a new novel. A slow progressive slice of life about a deadbeat dad.

4) Hollywood What If

- Mc returned to Hollywood in 1994.

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[Pujimaki]

[I apologize if my grammar is bad. I'm from the Philippines. Most people here can speak and understand English, but our grammar is terrible. I can attest to that. 100% fr fr]

Hollywood What If Chapter 21


"Everybody! I would like to announce that the filming of Napoleon Dynamite ends here!"

"Woo!!"

"Nice!"

Seeing that their job was over, everyone celebrated. The whole shooting was fast, but that didn't change the fact that everyone was tired. Especially Harold Witsend. He was the prop master.

To keep up with Kazir's fast shooting, Harold and his crew did their best to keep up their best performance. They were constantly taking down props and setting them up for the shooting. They were the most tired of all.

"I want to thank you all for your hard work. As I promised, I will treat you when we return to Los Angeles.

They spent nearly 400 thousand dollars. The remaining 100 thousand dollars would be used to pay the rest of the crew and for the post-production of the film.

There was enough for them to spend celebrating the completion of the shooting. After that, Kazir would focus all his attention on editing the movie.

"Director Kazir, thank you for casting me as Napoleon Dynamite."

Ed Helms approached him. He was grateful that Kazir trusted him.

Also, during the filming, Ed Helms realized that Kazir was a talented director with his calm and fast shooting. Unlike other directors who had bad temper, Kazir was kind and easy to talk to.

"I believe you will achieve your dreams, Ed."

They shook hands.

Then Pedro Pascal and Reese Witherspoon came up to him and thanked him. Both Pedro and Reese were young and hadn't had a chance to show off their acting.

Napoleon Dynamite was their first project with important roles. Especially for Pedro Pascal, as a Chilean-American, his race made it difficult for him to find a suitable role.

"Reese, I recommend that you apply to an acting school. You need it very much."

"T- Thank you, Director."

Reese nodded her head. It might sound like an insult, but she understood Kazir's opinion. As an actress, she had to take acting seriously. Attending an acting school would help her career.

"I believe you will have a successful career."

He was not lying. These actors would be recognized by the masses.

The two thought that Kazir was just praising them. But they were still happy to hear his appreciation.

"Um... Director..."

"What is it, Reese?"

"N- Nothing, don't mind me."

Reese left with a dejected face.

All this time, she was beginning to see how seriously Kazir took his job. Almost every day, he stayed up late to review all the footage.

It would be a lie if Reese didn't admire someone like him. Kazir was handsome at his job. A person who does what he loves shines.

Anyway, Reese wanted to invite Kazir to dinner. However, seeing that Kazir was serious about his work, Reese decided to ask him later.

As for her purpose, only Reese Witherspoon knew the answer.

The team packed up and returned to Los Angeles. Everyone scattered, they were tired and needed to rest.

Kazir took a day off to rest. They would have a small celebration in three days. The crew and cast would officially finish filming that day.

As for Kazir, he rented a small studio and hired an editor to edit the movie. Of course, Kazir hired someone he knew.

Kazir had worked with Rector before and knew that Rector was good at his job. Unfortunately, Hollywood had a lot of talented editors and it was hard for them to get into big production companies. Networking was an important part of getting hired by these companies.

"Rector, use J-cut here to show that someone is having a conversation a few feet away from Napoleon."

"Okay."

Movies were first invented around the 1880s, and a century had already passed. Almost all kinds of cuts and transitions had been invented.

The most common cuts were the straight cut and the jump cut. Directors used these cuts all the time.

After seeing the effect, Kazir decided to use J-cut in that particular scene.

"By the way Kazir, I heard that your birthday is next week. Belated happy birthday then."

"Thank you. But we'll see each other on my birthday anyway, so you don't have to greet me early." He chuckled.

"You're not planning on taking a day off?"

"I'm going to call my brother, that's all."

"Wow."

Kazir's birthday was September 9th. He would be 27 then.

"Let's check the next scene."

"Okay."

Kazir had almost 800 minutes of footage. Kazir first had to combine the shots and make a movie. Then he would cut the length of the movie until it was less than 100 minutes.

'No one would watch a long film in a movie theater anyway. A long movie would be harmful and people would get bored.'

120 minutes is already long. Napoleon Dynamite should be kept under 100 minutes as much as possible.

While editing, Kazir heard his cell phone ring. He realized it was his friend David Fincher calling.

The phone was new, and it was the first time anyone had called him on it.

His brother begged him to buy one so he could call him anytime.

Kazir left the editing room and answered the call.

"Hello, David? How's your work?"

"I'm doing fine. That's why I asked you. Kazir, Se7en is already finished. We are having a small screening tomorrow at the New Line Cinema. I want to invite you to watch it with us."

Judging by his hoarse voice, it seemed that David hadn't slept much lately.

"Of course I will be there. Tell me the time and I'll be there."

Kazir realized the importance of Se7en, his future depended on it.

The call ended after a few words.

"It seems I have something to do tomorrow."

He was pretty excited to see the whole movie. Se7en was a cult classic, it almost ended the whole detective genre.

Of course, let's not forget Primal Fear and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

There were other movies in detective genre, but it was hard to topple Se7en.


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Hollywood What If Chapter 22


Kazir checked his appearance. He looked pretty good, especially now that he had burned off his belly fat. Signing up for a gym membership helped a lot.

Now Kazir was much healthier than he had been the last time. He was fit, although the bags under his eyes were still there. After all, he hadn't slept for days.

If Rector had not begged him to rest, Kazir would never have left the editing room.

Kazir wore a suit when he entered the New Line Cinema building. He asked the receptionist, and the woman directed him to the screening room.

There he found David Fincher talking to Arnold Kopelson.

"Kazir! I haven't seen you in months! I hear you're filming."

David approached with a smile. They were both having the "best" day of their lives, considering they both had bags under their eyes.

"Yeah, I just finished shooting. I rented a studio to edit my movie."

"That's good to hear. If you need any help, you can ask me."

"I won't be polite then."

"Kazir."

Arnold Kopelson came over and shook his hand. They were not strangers and they had a good relationship.

"How is your day Arnold?"

"Everything is going well. David is working hard."

A few minutes later the people from New Line Cinema showed up. Robert Shaye looked at Kazir and nodded.

Se7en began to play on the screen and they watched it intently. All Kazir could say was that David Fincher's filmography would flourish from now on.

His films would be classics.

Se7en, a great murder mystery detective genre.

Fight Club, amazing, the twist was 'wtf'.

Zodiac, another murder mystery.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, um, another murder mystery.

Gone Girl, a pretty ironic movie, but this movie made more than 300 million dollars at the worldwide box office.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, deep, a masterpiece in my opinion.

Kazir thought that apart from Christopher Nolan. David Fincher was the best noir filmmaker of the current era.

'Noir films...'

In the past, Kazir dreamed of becoming the best director of this genre. However, he failed miserably.

So from now on, Kazir would change his style. As much as he could, he would never touch dark R-rated movies, especially horror movies. Instead, he would settle for PG-13 and action movies.

'Action movies, I will make action movies for the sake of action movies. For the sake of the audience, not for the sake of the critics.'

Art films can go to hell. Kazir would make commercial films instead.

But for now, the best he could do was use Napoleon Dynamite as a springboard.

His budget was only half a million, so he decided to make the best movie he could. Once he had enough status and money, Kazir would definitely choose action movies.

"Congratulations David, the movie is great." Kazir hugged David. He was happy to see the script he had written become a movie.

"Don't congratulate me yet, we haven't shown it to the market yet."

"Don't worry, I'm confident this movie will have a strong reception."

Suddenly another person approached them.

"David, the movie is great."

"Me too, Mr. Shaye. I hope we can work together again."

"Hm," then Robert Shaye turned to Kazir. The founder of New Line Cinema looked haggard.

"I heard you're shooting a movie."

"Yes, I have already finished shooting. I'm editing it now."

"If you're interested, you can contact New Line Cinema."

Robert Shaye would be happy to buy a movie that has a strong return on investment. If Kazir's movie was worth it, of course he would buy it.

"It's an honor."

Kazir's first choice was actually Fox Searchlight Pictures, but he didn't have to be picky.

Robert Shaye left the two. New Line Cinema had to come up with a marketing plan for Se7en.

"Hey, did you hear? There's a rumor that Time Warner is going to buy Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Maybe that's why Robert Shaye looked tired."

New Line Cinema was owned by Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. If Time Warner bought Turner Broadcasting System Inc., then New Line Cinema would naturally fall into the hands of Warner Bros.

Kazir just kept smiling.

'It is not a rumor, New Line Cinema will be under Warner Bros. in the near future.'

He just hoped that Se7en would not be affected.

David invited Kazir to dinner and they talked. Now that David's work was almost done, he wanted to take a bottle of beer and drink it all down.

"So you made a comedy? Strange, I thought you preferred horror movies?"

Kazir's first three films were B-grade horror movies. So David thought his current project was also a horror movie.

"No David, I want to change."

In a way, making a comedy was like shedding a new skin for Kazir.

"Changing for the better is a good thing. Send me a ticket when it comes out."

"You don't have to worry."

"Where will you show it first? Will you submit it to the Berlin International Film Festival?"

"If I have no choice. But the Berlin International Film Festival is in February. My movie will surely be finished by then, so entering a film festival is my last choice".

"Once Se7en becomes popular, I'm sure many companies will approach you."

"That's right."

The two started drinking beer like there was no tomorrow. They wanted to let go of their work and have fun.

When Kazir woke up the next day, his head hurt, almost as if his skull was being drilled.

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[Pujimaki]

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Hollywood What If Chapter 23


After a whole night of drinking beer, Kazir sat up weakly and groaned as a headache hit him.

"... Coffee."

Kazir didn't know the best way to relieve the hangover. He loved to drink alcohol, but he drank in moderation.

But since David Fincher had invited him to drink last night, he had no choice but to stay. In the end, Kazir called David's wife because David was dead drunk.

Even Kazir's car was still in the bar's parking lot because he took a cab. The last thing he remembered was that he was staggering when he reached his apartment.

"Euugh..."

He frowned when he noticed that there was acidic vomit on the floor, probably from him.

"Damn it, David. I will never drink with you again."

With a sore head, Kazir mopped the floor.

He realized it was 8:30 in the morning, only half an hour before the studio opened.

Kazir took a cold bath to awaken his senses. He ordered a coffee on the way to the bar's parking lot to take his old, bumpy car.

By the time he reached the studio, it was after 8:50.

Fortunately, Rector had just arrived. As usual, they began editing the film early in the morning.

As a man with four decades of experience as a director, Kazir knew the best angles to use. The transitions, the cuts, everything was in his head.

He even made sure the line delivery was good. In comedy, line delivery was important. Especially when the character was delivering the jokes.

"Pfft--"

Rector laughed out loud after watching the scene where Pedro Sanchez shaved his hair and went bald. He didn't expect the young man to do something like that just to cool off.

"Are you sure you wrote this?" Rector looked at Kazir and laughed.

He hadn't expected someone as serious as Kazir to make a comedy. He also wrote the script.

"Yes. It's enlightening. Although I don't know if I can write another one like Napoleon Dynamite.

"In fact, in my opinion, this will be your last comedy. Don't get me wrong, we've worked together three times now, and most of your movies are B-grade horror movies. I think you have more chances with horror movies."

Considering that the script called Se7en was bought by New Line Cinema, Rector believed that Kazir had a talent for bloody movies.

Kazir just smiled bitterly. His opinion differed from Rector's. Horror movies did not pay him anything. That's why Kazir wanted to break through in a different way.

He dreamed of making an action movie. Unfortunately, action movies require large investments. It was impossible for a small director like him.

Days passed and the celebration of Napoleon Dynamite came. Of course, it was only a small party. The big party would happen when the movie was released and was a big hit.

Renner and Harold were the ones who prepared the party. Most of the actors were there.

Just like the last time, Ed Helms and the other newbie actors thanked Kazir.

Kazir began to lose his patience when he heard their repeated thanks. Once was enough.

"Um, director?"

"Reese, the shoot is over. You don't need to call me director, Kazir is fine."

"So, Kazir... Would you like to go on a date with me?" Reese was nervous after what she had said. Her face blushed.

Luckily, they were talking far away from the party. No one could hear what she said.

"Date? Sorry Reese, I'm busy." Kazir shook his head. He would rather spend his time editing the movie.

"I see..." She bit her lip. It was embarrassing. She braved her heart to invite him, but Kazir turned her down. It was a bit painful for a woman to hear rejection.

Kazir was no child. He knew what was happening.

He had just gotten divorced last October, and he didn't want to get into another relationship. At least not now.

Besides, Reese was young. She was only 19 years old. He didn't know if the woman was serious or if she had other motives.

"See you around, then, Kazir."

She smiled, but it was obvious that she was looking at Kazir with teary eyes.

Kazir sighed.

"Are you free on September 22nd?"

Finally, Kazir felt bad.

"September 22? That would be two weeks from now." Reese Witherspoon was confused as to why the man in front of her was asking if she was free in two weeks.

She was just a small actress, she probably wouldn't have any work then.

"It is like this, a movie is coming out that day and I have two tickets. If you want, we can watch it together."

"A movie?" She tilted her head.

Reese didn't know what movies were coming out this month.

"Yeah, I was the screenwriter for that movie, so they gave me two premiere tickets."

"Okay then, I'll call you when I'm free." She smiled mischievously and left... She was really adorable.

"Why do I feel like I'm playing myself?"

Anyway, he didn't care. A beautiful young woman like Reese would never take him seriously.

Kazir had had bad relationships all his life, he didn't believe in true love.

"Well, anyone who lives deep in Hollywood doesn't believe in true love."

Hollywood was the city of vanity.

Love? Only looks, sex, money, and benefits worked here. If you can't give any of those things, you might as well leave.

After that day, Kazir began to devote all his time to editing. He wanted to finish post-production before or after the release of Se7en. Se7en would be the key to increasing his chips to sell his movie.

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Hollywood What If Chapter 24

"Hey, Carl! I heard a story."

"Hm?"

Carl Morin turned as he heard someone call his name. Carl Morin was an agent working under WMA (William Morris Agency). He had few clients, but each one had a good prospect, especially the director he had signed last year.

"Have you heard about the movie Se7en?"

The agent approached him.

"Yes. I heard about it. That movie is coming out this month, right?" Carl Morin was confused as to why his colleague was asking him about this particular movie.

"Do you know the screenwriter of this movie?"

"Sorry John, I'm too busy and haven't had time to read the newspaper or anything." He shook his head.

"It's your ex-client! Kazir Grey! I only heard about it from my client because he is working with Kazir."

"What!?"

Carl Morin was shocked to hear this. He thought his colleague was joking.

"Judging by your reaction, you didn't really hear it. Anyway, I have a magazine here, there's an article about Se7en."

The agent handed the magazine to Carl Morin.

"..."

Carl didn't know what to say. He walked into a room shared by four agents. A small agent like him had to share an office with other agents, it was a normal thing.

As Carl sat down in front of his desk, he opened the magazine and started to read the article about Se7en.

"That's impossible. I know Kazir, he has no talent for writing a script!"

Carl had been Kazir's agent for three years. When the contract ended, he didn't renew it. Because he felt that Kazir didn't have a good future as a director.

In addition, Kazir Grey angered the top management after accidentally spilling water on one of the WMA's vice presidents.

"..."

Carl touched his chin. According to the article, Se7en had a budget of 35 million dollars. There was a chance that it would do well in the theaters.

"No, that kind of movie has a disadvantage. Se7en is probably an R-rated movie and families with children will never see this kind of movie"

He thought.

Carl Morin hoped that Se7en would flop at the box office. Otherwise, there was a good chance that he would regret his decision of letting Kazir go.

"..."

He was in a bad mood all the time when he realized that the egg he had dropped might have been a golden egg.

"Wow! I didn't expect the movie premiere to be like this! Hey, look, it's Jennifer Aniston."

"Yeah, Reese, I can see her. You don't have to tell me right next to my ear."

It seemed that Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt had a good relationship even before they got married.

"I can't help it! I can't believe I can see them so close." She whispered.

Reese Witherspoon and Kazir Grey attended the premiere of Se7en. They saw Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow walk down the red carpet one by one. They waved their hands to the crowd.

They were dressed in formal attire. Each actor showed his or her appearance to the public. Especially the actress, they posed well.

Unfortunately, a screenwriter like Kazir didn't have a chance to walk on the red carpet. Unless he became famous.

Well, I don't like being the center of attention. I like making movies, but being in front of the public is the last thing I want in this job.

After the actors entered the theater, the reception slowly quieted down.

Kazir and Reese entered the theater through the back door and found their seats.

"Hey, I heard that this movie didn't get a positive reaction at the test screening. The audience didn't like the movie at all, I'm afraid Brad Pitt will have a problem starring in this kind of movie."

Reese and Kazir overheard the conversation next to them. Reese wanted to talk to the man, but Kazir stopped her by grabbing her hand.

They might as well shut up and watch the movie instead.

The movie started and everyone focused on the movie. The classic New Line Cinema opening credits appeared.

[Note: If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read the ones in parentheses. I watched Se7en few years ago. So I just rewatched the movie summary in YouTube when I was writing this. A bit with chatgpt as well, but AI clearly makes mistakes.]

[The story begins with the introduction of Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman). An experienced detective on the verge of retirement. Detective Somerset is a calm and reflective character who has seen it all. He has become disillusioned with the world.]

"So this is Morgan's role in this movie, as expected. He always plays that kind of gentleman."

Reese frowned as she continued to hear the murmur next to them.

[Detective Somerset's replacement is Detective Mills (Brad Pitt). A young and ambitious officer eager to make a name for himself in the city. ]

"Waahh! Brad! How handsome!"

Reese and Kazir heard a squeal behind them.

[Note: If you don't want to be spoiled, I recommend you skip this part]

[The two detectives are assigned to work together on a case involving a gruesome murder. Which they soon discover is only the first in a series of murders].

[The killer is targeting people who represent each of the seven deadly sins. Each murder scene is elaborately and twistedly staged.]

"Gueh--!" A faint vomit comes from an audience member as they see the first victim.

[The detectives begin to unravel the clues left by the killer. As they do, they become increasingly horrified by the brutality and depravity of the crimes.]

[The murders are particularly disturbing. Each one underscores the horrific nature of the sin being depicted.]

[The first murder is that of an obese man who was force-fed until his stomach burst. This is followed by the murder of a greedy lawyer who is forced to cut off a pound of his own flesh.]

[ While the killing spree was going on, Detective Somerset met Detective Mills' wife. Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow) told Detective Somerset that she was pregnant. She didn't know how to tell her husband.]

[The third victim is a lazy man who is tied to a bed for a year. The fourth victim is a man who was forced to kill a prostitute, representing the sin of lust. The fifth victim is a proud model who is disfigured with a knife and killed herself by overdosed.]

[The detectives soon realize that the killer, who calls himself John Doe (Kevin Spacey), is making a statement about the sins of mankind].

[Doe is an intelligent and calculating individual who is playing a game with the detectives. He wants to show them the true nature of humanity and force them to face their own sins.]

[Detective Mills and John Doe had a confrontation in the alley. Detective Mills nearly lost his life. But the killer let him live.]

The audience sighed with relief because they thought Brad Pitt was going to die just like that. In this kind of movie, usually one of the main characters has to die.

[When Detective Mills survived the ordeal. He realized that the killer was actually the reporter who was harassing them!]

The audience gasped as they realized the truth.

The climax was near. The audience grew quiet as the movie drew to a close.

[The detectives finally identified John Doe. But Doe surrenders to the detectives instead. There was blood on his clothes, indicating that he had killed another person].

"Is this the end of the movie?" Reese whispered next to Kazir and he shook his head.

Now that John Doe had surrendered, everyone thought the movie was over.

However, the final scene was still to come. The "What's in the box?" scene...

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Hollywood What If Chapter 25


[John Doe turned himself into the police. However, he promised not to testify to his crime until the two detectives granted his final request.]

[Left with no choice, the two detectives took John Doe out into the desert.]

[A few minutes later, a van showed up and gave Detective Somerset a box].

"What's in the box?"

The audience began to ask, curious. However, they gasped when they saw Detective Somerset's expression after he opened the box. The detective was clearly frightened by what he saw.

[John Doe then reveals that he has one last act to perform. And that is to force Detective Mills to become the embodiment of the seventh deadly sin, wrath.]

"Oh my God!"

[John Doe killed Mill's pregnant wife! Not only that! He put Tracy's head in the box and delivered it to their location!]

"Monster!"

The audience gasped in shock! No one expected this to be the end.

["What's in the box? I ask you, what's in the box?! William!"]

[Detective Mills asked Detective Somerset with obvious desperation].

["David, let's talk about this. Give me the gun first."]

The audience became very quiet as they watched the final sequence of the movie. In their minds, they already know Detective Mills' decision.

[When Detective Mills heard that his wife was pregnant, he lost his hesitation. He began shooting bullets into John Doe's body, killing him.]

[The contents of the box were Tracy's head...]

[In the end, Detective Somerset witnessed Detective Mills descend into madness and become a criminal].

----------

When the movie ended, the audience was shocked. It took a few seconds for someone to clap their hands. Then more people followed until the entire audience was clapping.

Kazir smiled calmly as he watched their reactions. He knew in his heart that Se7en was already a success. The only question was how successful it would be.

"Kazir, are you really the one who wrote this?" Reese whispered next to him.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"It's just... I don't know how to put this. Are you sure you're okay?"

Kazir chuckled when he saw her reaction. Reese looked at him with shock and concern.

"Maybe I'm crazy."

"I'm not even kidding right now."

"Well, what do you see in me? Do I look like a madman?"

"No, all I see is a calm man. Although I can see in your eyes that you are broken."

"..."

Kazir kept his smile.

Let people judge him, but Kazir would continue to do what he loved.

The actors and actresses went on the stage and bowed their heads.

Brad Pitt really destroyed his image with this movie.

Se7en was the kind of movie that had 50-50 odds. It would be hard to erase the image of Detective Mills if this movie failed.

"Let's go."

Knowing that he didn't have a place in this theater, Kazir decided to say goodbye. Reporters and audiences usually focused their attention on the actors, sometimes the directors. Screenwriters usually worked behind the scenes, they were the brains of the movies.

Kazir took Reese back to her apartment.

"Kazir, would you like to stay? I can make you a coffee."

"I'm sorry, Reese. Maybe next time." Kazir shook his head.

"O- Okay then."

Reese smiled bitterly and entered the apartment. She was a bit disappointed.

As for Kazir, he knew he would not get the news until tomorrow, so he returned to his place. He didn't bother to stay up all night.

He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes... But his mind betrayed him.

"Damn it. I guess I'm still not mature enough to fall asleep when something important is happening."

If he had known this would happen, he might have accepted Reese's invitation.

He got up, got dressed, and walked out of his apartment. Since he could not sleep, he might as well go to the New Line Cinema. He would wait for the results.

David Fincher, Robert Shaye, Arnold Kopelson and other people from the management were all waiting for the results.

They were not sleeping, they could not sleep anyway. They were too active and worried to relax.

When Kazir asked the receptionist, he realized that it was already midnight. Only a few minutes until the results would come.

"Kazir."

The people nodded at Kazir as they saw him enter the room. At this moment, no one cared if Kazir was present or absent. They were all waiting for the results of the premiere.

Suddenly the phone rang and people opened their ears. The Cinema alliance gave them the results.

"Yes, yes. Okay, I will receive it."

The fax machine began to print the information. The secretary handed the documents to Robert Shaye. A few seconds later, Robert Shaye sighed with relief as he saw the midnight box office for the movie.

"Looks like we need to work hard on the promotion."

Robert stood up and the management followed. Looking at the midnight box office results, Robert Shaye and New Line Cinema believe that Se7en had a strong appeal. It did much better than they expected.

"Congratulations David."

Robert Shaye congratulated David Fincher.

"Sir Robert! Thank you."

The last to receive the relevant information were David Fincher and Kazir Grey.

"3 million! 3.60 million dollars!"

David Fincher was so excited that he lost his strength and sat down. The tension disappeared when he saw the results of the midnight premier.

"Kazir, we did it!"

"Yes, congratulations David."

Of course, they were happy that their movie was a success. At least with this midnight result, the first three days would have a bright lead.

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[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 26

"Good morning, Mr. Semel."

"Good morning."

The receptionist greeted the CEO of Warner Bros. and bowed her head.

CEO Terry Semel was in a good mood, so he returned the greeting with a smile. He was in a good mood because Time Warner had acquired TBS (Turner Broadcasting System).

This acquisition would make Time Warner even stronger. In addition, another piece of good news greeted him today.

Now that Time Warner had acquired Turner Broadcasting System Inc., the company naturally took over New Line Cinema.

Of course, Time Warner would not interfere with New Line Cinema's way of doing business. After all, the company was making money.

Besides, the latest movie released by New Line Cinema was well received. Even though Terry Semel didn't have control over New Line Cinema, he was happy to see the company thriving. At least New Line Cinema would not be a problem for Warner Bros.

Terry Semel walked into his office and asked his secretary to bring him a newspaper. Specifically, the news about the movies being released this month.

[ ... "Se7en" is unique in one detail of its construction. It brings the killer onto the screen half an hour before the end and gives him a speaking role. Instead of simply being the prey in a car chase. He is revealed as a twisted but articulate antagonist who has devised a terrible plan for the conclusion of his sermon. (The actor who plays the killer is not identified by name in the ads or opening credits. So I'll leave his identity as another of his surprises.) "Se7en" is well done in its details. Uncompromising in the way it presents the disturbing details of the crimes. It is certainly not for the young or the sensitive. As good as it is, it misses greatness by not quite finding the right way to end. All the pieces are in place, all the characters are in place, and then - I think the way the story ends is too easy. Satisfying, maybe. But not worthy of what has gone before.] --Roger Ebert. Chicago Sun-Times.

Even a famous movie critic like Roger Ebert had said his opinion about the movie. Roger Ebert gave it two thumbs up.

Of course, Terry Semel knew that this kind of movie review had to do with New Line Cinema's promotion.

'I wonder how much money they gave Roger Ebert this time.'

Terry Semel chuckled and read another article.

[It's not the identity of the killer that gives Se7en its kick - it's the way Fincher raises the mystery to the level of moral provocation. If Pulp Fiction gave us a taste for such a challenge, we have Tarantino to thank, not to blame]. --Peter Travers. Rolling Stone.

When Terry Semel read the critics' review, he nodded in agreement. He had seen the film at its premiere and was impressed. It was said that the early screenings of Se7en had received a mediocre response. But the first-week box office said otherwise.

The midnight premiere box office was $3.6 million.

On Friday, it went up to $4.2 million.

On Saturday, it was $3.1 million.

On Sunday it was $3 million.

The opening week of Se7en grossed $13.9 million. In his opinion, this result already exceeded his expectations for the movie.

Se7en was dark, gritty, and bloody. Obviously, families would never choose it to watch with their children.

Still, it did well in its first week.

"Kazir Grey? Have I ever heard of this person?"

While reading the articles about Se7en, Terry Semel realized that the screenwriter's name was Kazir Grey.

Terry Semel decided to call his secretary instead.

"Emily, do you know anyone named Kazir Grey?"

"No, sir."

"Is that so? How about checking with the other departments? Maybe they know this person."

Everybody knows everybody in Hollywood. This circle is small. So there was a good chance that some people in the other departments would know Kazir Grey.

"Yes, I will ask them, sir."

The secretary named Emily was confused as to why the CEO was asking about this Kazir Grey. She didn't know this person too.

Anyway, it was an order from the CEO, and it was her job to ask the other departments. This kind of thing was not that difficult.

Using the phone on her desk, she started to contact each department.

"Me? CEO Terry Semel's is calling me?"

Enrico Pusi was confused as to why the CEO of Warner Bros. was calling him. Enrico was one of the producers in the production department. His job was... well, to produce movies.

Usually, he would attend the meeting to select scripts with high profitability. Once the script was studied, they would send it to other departments to study the other aspects of the script. Then the higher-ups would attend the meeting to approve the start of the project.

Sometimes he would take over and be the producer of the movie.

Right now, Enrico Pusi was busy promoting their upcoming movie, which was Batman Forever.

"Sir, Enrico is here."

"Let him in."

Enrico entered the office and found Terry Semel reading the paper.

"So Enrico, I heard you met this Kazir Grey?"

"..."

When Enrico Pusi heard what Terry Semel said, he instinctively swallowed. He realized the reason why he had been called.

"Don't worry, I don't blame you. I asked my secretary to give me the Se7en script that was in our script library. My answer is the same as yours, the script does not have strong profitability."

"Yes sir..." Enrico sighed in relief.

"However, I heard that Kazir Grey has a new project. If you have time, maybe you can get in touch with him. If the movie is interesting, you know what to do."

"I'll do my best, sir." Enrico nodded his head. At least he didn't get any nagging.

"That's good. You may leave now."

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Hollywood What If Chapter 27

"So... your name is Salvatore Barlowe?"

Kazir Grey studied the person in front of him. Kazir was busy with post-production when the studio informed him that someone was looking for him.

Kazir thought it was a person from one of the film companies. But he didn't expect to see a young man.

"Yes, Mr. Grey. I'm here to..."

"How old are you?"

"Me? I'm 28 this year."

"28? You look like 21 or something."

Kazir frowned. He could not believe that the person across the table was a year older than him. Yet he looked much younger.

'Am I really so depressed that my face looks old? Should I shave my beard?'

Kazir had a short dark beard, which made him look like a mature man. He had been going to the gym for the past few months and was confident in his appearance.

'At least I look stronger than him.'

Kazir has firm biceps and nice abs. He has a perfect body after working out constantly. Unlike Salvatore Barlowe, who looked skinny and weak. That fact comforted him.

'That's right. I'm not that old, I just want to keep my beard.'

The first day he returned to 1994, he had a thick beard and looked much older. He also had a big belly.

"It's probably because my mother is Korean."

"You're half Korean? Looking at your face, you do have Korean features.

Unlike Westerners who grew old easily, Koreans and Japanese looked young with their smooth skin.

Kazir nodded as he learned the truth behind Salvatore's young features.

"So you're looking for me because...?"

"Mr. Grey, I'm from the Creative Artists Agency (CAA). I'm an agent and I'm hoping you can sign a contract with me."

'As expected, he is an agent.'

Few known people would look for Kazir in the current situation. His script earned 14 million in its opening week.

'It's already Tuesday and the box office is 23 million.'

Five days after its premiere, Se7en had grossed 23 million. That was already a big achievement in September schedule.

Most moviegoers are usually stale during this time of year. This month is part of the school year and there are no major holidays.

Unlike November, which has Halloween, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving.

'23 million in five days in September is good. '

So Kazir knew that Hollywood companies would start contacting him. But he didn't expect his first meeting to be with an agent.

"How long have you been an agent?"

"Four years. I have three actors under me and they have bright futures."

Hearing his answer, Kazir laughed uncontrollably.

"Mr. Grey?"

"I'm sorry, haha. I just realized the truth after what you said."

"..."

Salvatore Barlowe bit his lip and started to sweat. In fact, his intention was quite obvious.

"After the success of Se7en, you believe that I have a great future, at least enough to attract your attention. You heard that I finished shooting a movie, right?"

"That's right." Salvatore nodded. There was no need to lie.

"Mr. Grey-"

"Call me Kazir. If you're really serious about me having a good potential, then you'll have to show me what you've got."

"Kazir. If you agree, I will definitely make a contract that I will only accept a 3 percent commission."

"Hoh."

Kazir raised his eyebrows. To be honest, he was quite shocked to hear his proposal.

The usual commission for an agent was 10 percent. Although agents who had superstars had a lower commission.

'But this kind of contract is good for an agent who has famous clients. Steven Spielberg earned more than 100 million after making Jurrasic Park two years ago. His agent made more than 3 million in commissions on that project alone.'

A director who could bring in millions of dollars a year. Any agent would fight to sign someone like that.

Right now, Salvatore Barlowe was indirectly saying that Kazir was a good prospect. He had the makings of a superstar director.

'That's what I see...'

To be honest, he was quite happy that someone trusted him even though he hadn't proven himself yet. At least Salvatore Barlowe showed his sincerity.

"I accept your proposal."

"T-then!" Salvatore almost jumped out of his seat, but it seemed that Kazir had more to say.

"But I have one condition."

"As long as it's within my reach, I'll do it."

"First, I will not accept CAA's film packaging. I have my own crew and I want to keep them as much as possible."

"That's... Okay, I will put that in the contract."

Film packaging was CAA's main source of income. But a strong, authoritative director would never accept that kind of arrangement.

In the end, Salvatore decided to accept Kazir's condition.

"But I hope your first choice of actors is within CAA."

An agent like Salvatore wanted his actors to have a project at least once a year.

"Of course, as long as they fit the roles, I will hire them."

Kazir had no problem with that. Besides, CAA is the most powerful agency in Hollywood. Michael Ovitz founded the agency after being fired from WMA. Since then, CAA has grown to become the strongest agency.

An agency like CAA would be good for Kazir.

"This is good to hear. CAA is a trustworthy agency and I believe they will help me achieve my dreams. Aside from the movie packaging, I'm all good. Of course, you have to keep your promise that your commission is only 3 percent."

"Yes, I promise."

Salvatore was delighted.

Everyone knows that directors have a higher position than actors. After all, directors choose the actors who will appear in their movies.

If Salvatore has a director under him, his influence would be stronger.

"Then I hope we will have a great collaboration." Kazir held out his hand.

"Thank you for trusting me, Kazir."

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Hollywood What If Chapter 28


Kazir and Salvatore Barlowe had a brief verbal agreement.

The real reason was simple.

Kazir really needs an agent. As soon as Se7en made more money at the box office, film companies would contact him.

The one who usually talked to those companies was the agent. The two sides would start making offers and negotiating. The client would only show up once the deal was finalized .

Besides, Kazir didn't want to be bothered because he was still editing Napoleon Dynamite.

The other reason was Salvatore's honesty. Cutting the commission to 3 percent was actually a tough move for an agent. It basically reduced his income.

Although if Kazir became a successful director, Salvatore's decision would be the right one.

To Kazir, Salvatore showed a tendency to gamble.

'Well, I'm also gambling with my future. So I can empathize.'

All Kazir could do was prove himself. To make sure this young-looking agent would never regret his decision.

"Kazir, about the movie..."

"Don't worry, I'm half done. Two-thirds, to be exact. But I want to take it slow. At least wait for the box office of Se7en this week."

Se7en was released in theaters for five days and made 23 million. He wanted to see if the movie's performance would increase this week.

"Okay. I will wait then," Salvatore nodded.

He was just a new agent and Kazir hadn't signed a contract with him yet. It was just a verbal agreement.

He knew that making a movie would take time.

"You can give the contract to my lawyer first and I will sign it later."

"That's good to hear."

The two men shook hands firmly.

Several years later, many agents would regret their decision of not signing a contract with Kazir Grey.

'I didn't know Salvatore Barlowe in my previous life. He is probably not famous and his clients are small-time actors. But I'm just like him. I'm not famous in my past life.'

There were famous agents in Hollywood like Pat Kingsley, Kevin Huvane, and Bryan Lourd.

Kazir knew damn well that these agents would never look at a small-time director like him.

They went their separate ways after the meeting. In a way, their first meeting was eventful.

"Let's call my lawyer first so that he will not be surprised."

Kazir contacted his lawyer when he returned to the studio.

"Hello, Terrence? Yeah, it's me. Oh come on, are you still mad at me for giving the house to Cassandra? What? You're disappointed in yourself for not defending your client against a cheating bitch? Dude, let's just forget about it. I have a job for you. Yes, it's job-related. Yes, you will get a contract later. Okay, thanks."

He sighed. The first hurdle was successfully overcome.

The first five days of Se7en were a great start and Kazir could finally relax his nerves.

"Hello, Director Grey!"

"Hm?"

Suddenly, before he could enter the editing room, a woman greeted him.

Kazir turned to see Reese Witherspoon approaching him.

"Reese? Why are you here?" He was confused.

"I'm here for the dubbing."

"Ah, I'm sorry, I forgot."

Maybe because of too much pressure, Kazir didn't remember that part.

Reese and the other actors have to dub their speeches in the movie. So far, Ed Helms had the most lines, and he finished dubbing all of his lines in just two weeks.

Reese was attending acting school, so she was very busy during those days. She also had a part-time job. She listened to Kazir's suggestion.

When shooting a scene, there was usually a problem with recording the sound. That's why dubbing was needed.

'I hired a sound director last week.'

The sounds you heard in the movies were usually created by the sound director. I'm not talking about music, I'm talking about sound.

The sound of punching might be created by sound directors by literally punching a piece of meat. Sound directors are an important part of post-production.

"This will be my last day dubbing, so Director Kazir, can you please do me a favor?"

Reese smiled sweetly and leaned closer to Kazir.

Kazir caught her scent. If he was being honest, Reese smells so good. Of course, he was a man who appreciated the scent of a woman.

He smiled bitterly. As a man who had just been divorced last October, he wanted to stay away from relationship as much as possible. However, a raging man like him couldn't maintain his rationality for long.

He needed a release. On the other hand, he wanted to keep his sanity.

"After my dubbing is over, can I take you out to dinner?"

The one who initiate the first move was Reese!

"..."

Kazir kept his smile. To be honest, he wanted to say no.

"Reese, I'm sorry, but..."

"Are you going to say no again? Mr. Grey, you're quite annoying."

She smiled, but not a smile. To be honest, she didn't know why she was doing this either.

Maybe she was just interested in Kazir after watching his shooting. Unlike most directors who would yell and scream, Kazir was always patient and encouraging. Besides, he was quite good and handsome while doing what he loved.

The other reason was her pride. She had already been rejected three times, so she wanted to win a victory by seducing him... What do you know? A woman wants to prove her worth by seducing a stoic man... maybe?

In that respect, Reese saw this as nothing more than a fun but frustrating game.

"What do you think, Mr. Grey?"

She said and moved closer to him, almost touching his broad chest.

[There is actually a smut chapter next but it's only exclusive to my Patrons.]

[Hi, I just want to promote my other novels:]

1) MC is not part of the story

- This novel is already finished with 526 chapters.

2) The only fuel is to use the D.

-This is my most read novel for some obvious reasons, ahem.

3) Reincarnated As A Deadbeat Dad

-This is a new novel. A slow progressive slice of life about a deadbeat dad.

4) Hollywood What If

- Mc returned to Hollywood in 1994.

[I post my novels mostly on Scribblehub, Webnovel, RoyalRoad and Questionable Questing].

 

[Pujimaki]

[Shout out to Adam LV, Albert A, and Scott D!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 29


"47 million dollars..."

Tom Rothman put down the newspaper with a bitter smile.

It was September 29th, Friday, seven days after the release of Se7en.

He remembered that Kazir had also sent the Se7en script to 20th Century Fox. But the production management didn't take it seriously.

"Well, it's a little complicated. Production management would never agree to invest $35 million in a movie with no good return on investment. Besides, at that time Kazir Grey was hoping to direct the film. No sane person in the production management would accept such a proposal."

On top of that, the director who took over the project was David Fincher!

20th Century Fox owns the copyright to the Alien franchise!

David Fincher was the director of "Alien 3" and it had a horrible result at the box office. 20th Century Fox made it clear that they would never invite David Fincher back to their company.

But who would have thought that Se7en, directed by David Fincher, would be successful?

Tom Rothman felt that he had allowed two talented people to escape the grasp of 20th Century Fox.

He let Se7en go to New Line Cinema. Well, now, this particular movie had 47 million in its seven days.

September was a mild schedule. It was very different from the summer and Christmas schedules where the studios were fighting for every week.

The month of September wasn't very profitable. So Se7en making 47 million was already a good result. At least everyone in Hollywood accepted that fact.

"The investment is only 35 million. Even if we add the publicity, New Line Cinema already recoups the cost of the film."

From now on, the next profit would be pure profit. Obviously, New Line Cinema was on to something.

"Now that New Line Cinema has been acquired by Warner Bros, this studio will be under their protection.

Tom Rothman was new to his position as CEO of 20th Century Fox. As much as possible, he wanted to see the company thrive under his care.

After a few minutes of thought, Tom Rothman picked up his phone.

"Get Nancy Utley in my office." He told his secretary.

Since he let the first fish get away, he might as well take the second one. Maybe the second fish was a lot bigger than the first.

"Comedy..."

Unlike Se7en, which had a thriller genre, Napoleon Dynamite was a pure popcorn comedy. That piqued his interest more.

Tom Rothman read the script.

This kind of movie has a good chance of making a lot of sequels.

Napoleon Dynamite didn't have a history of sequels.

But because of Kazir's return, the timeline was already changed. In a way, this timeline was a completely different universe.

The universe where Napoleon Dynamite would have sequels...

"Sir, you called me?"

Nancy Utley arrived a few minutes later. She was one of the Vice presidents of Fox Searchlight Pictures. She was in charge of production management, which had no projects at current the time. Well, Fox Searchlight Pictures was just getting started.

"Nancy, have you heard of Kazir Grey?"

"Sir? Ah, no sir. I have never heard of this man." Nancy was puzzled and answered honestly.

Tom Rothman nodded. Kazir Grey was not so well-known after all.

"What about Se7en then?"

"Sir, Se7en is a thriller that was released last week. As of now, the movie has about 40 million." Nancy Utley scrutinized.

"47 million, Se7en has made 47 million dollars in North America."

"That's..."

For a movie coming out in September, that was pretty big.

"Nancy, Kazir Grey is the writer of Se7en. I heard he just finished shooting his own movie and he is currently editing it. I want you to contact him and see if he's interested in working with Fox Searchlight Pictures."

Since the newly formed company didn't have any projects, Tom Rothman decided to give them the project.

A $500,000 investment didn't faze him. 20th Century Fox would never look at this kind of movie.

But there was always a "what if".

Like what happened with Se7en. The critics said it would be a flop. But the exact opposite happened.

Where are the movie critics who panned Se7en negatively? They just changed their minds and praised the movie as of now.

Tom Rothman was worried about the "what ifs".

"Yes sir, I will do my best to get this project." Nancy Utley noticed that this comedy film was of interest to CEO Tom Rothman.

"That's good. Rector, I think it's better to use a jump cut on this scene."

"Okay, Kazir."

After the sexy incident with Reese Witherspoon, Kazir Grey became much more active. He felt invigorated and alive.

He spent the entire week in the editing room. He focused on Napoleon Dynamite, making sure the movie would be better than the one he remembered.

Napoleon Dynamite was a masterpiece, but it could be a "masterpiece".

As for his relationship with Reese, the woman just asked him out last night... Of course, Kazir happily accepted.

The two had talked seriously about their relationship. In the end, they decided to keep it "no strings attached".

They were both ambitious and wanted to pursue their dreams.

Kazir was recently divorced and didn't want to get into a serious relationship. As for Reese, she wanted to breakthrough into Hollywood and didn't have time for love.

What they were doing was just a way to relieve stress together. Well, their relationship was pretty good.

"About five days and we can finish editing Napoleon Dynamite."

Rector muttered beside him. The movie was nearing completion. Napoleon Dynamite already had its music score. Kazir didn't hesitate to spend money on the movie.

"Congratulations Kazir."

"Don't congratulate me yet, we haven't released the movie yet."

"I know, but with the result of Se7en, I bet film companies are looking for you right now. Besides, your movie is funny and wholesome. Unlike the usual vulgar comedies that use swear words and dirty jokes as punch lines, I think this movie is much better."

Kazir just nodded.

[I apologize about the wrong Halloween info. In the Philippines, we usually celebrate Halloween on November 1 along with All Souls Day. So I subconsciously thought that Halloween was in November].

[As for my grammar... I'm just a guy from a 3rd world country who didn't finish college. I only learned grammar seriously at the age of 18 when I started reading manga and light novels. Other than that, I'm an idiot.]

[I'm not a computer that can consistently write sentences without grammatical errors. I spent hours proofreading this shit, but mistakes will still show up. I'm not an AI, so I apologize if reading my novel makes your eyes hurt. Hell, AI will probably mock me for thinking Halloween was November 1st].