HOLLYWOOD WHAT IF

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 390


Kazir understood it very well. Showbiz is not that simple. It is an intense competition aimed at making more money.

He didn't blame Warner Brothers and Walt Disney because he understood their situation. These two companies just wanted to take advantage of the situation to defeat one of their rivals.

Sony-Colombia was getting stronger, and they didn't want that to happen. If Kazir were in their position, he would have done the same.

However, even though he didn't blame them, he was still filled with anger. He was human, after all. He had feelings. And he didn't like that the three giants were trying to destroy his project. He didn't like it at all.

Thankfully, Kazir was mature enough to control his emotions. He was not stupid. He had experienced so many things in life and knew that life was not over just because of one mistake. In his opinion, he had experienced far more painful things than this.

So what if Spider-Man 2 flopped?

Would it affect his position in the industry?

Yes, but Kazir understood that it would never stop him from making movies.

If Hollywood wanted to kick him out, he had other countries to migrate to.

Well, TV shows were also not a bad option.

Kazir was not afraid. As long as he could pursue his art, it didn't matter.

However, he also understood that the situation would badly affect everyone around him.

Tobey Maguire and the cast of Spider-Man 2 would be affected.

The crew members who worked hard to finish the project would be affected.

The workers from Sony-Colombia would be affected.

This was not just about him. Kazir was the director, and it was his responsibility to make sure that the project would be a success.

So he didn't hesitate to contact the current Chairman/CEO of Warner Brothers, Barry Mayer.

'If I have to work with Warner Brothers to protect Spider-Man 2, so be it. This is not about me anymore.'

Kazir stared at Barry, who seemed surprised by what he had just said.

"Kazir, can you repeat what you said? You want to direct Batman?"

"That's right. Or is there someone else you want to handle the project?"

"..."

There was actually a new director they were interested in working with. But compared to Kazir, the value that the new director could bring to the table was insignificant.

Kazir was the most profitable director for a reason. His creations were all aimed at making money.

His artistic passion was about making money. That was the reason why so many studios wanted to work with him because their mission was the same.

"I've been interested in Batman. He is my favorite superhero. Actually... If Warner Brothers had acquired the shares of Grey Pictures, I wanted to work with DC Comics and Warner Brothers to revive Batman."

"..."

Unfortunately, the acquisition failed, and Grey Pictures became part of 20th Century Fox. Even though it was wrong, Barry blamed Terry Semel for that mistake.

The value that Grey Pictures could have brought to Warner Brothers was immense.

The last live-action Batman film was Batman & Robin. The result was so awful that Warner Brothers hid the Batman movie adaptation rights in their film library for almost a decade. They wanted people to forget about Batman with nipples... The costume designer was immediately fired after that.

Who thought that putting nipples on Batman's armor was a good idea?

Barry took a deep breath. He suddenly wanted to call his secretary to bring cold water to calm him down. Instead, he made do with warm tea.

Barry took a sip of the tea.

Of course, they wanted to work with Kazir. In fact, they had wanted to contact Kazir in hopes that he would direct at least one of their DC movies.

"Kazir, you do understand that you're actually helping your enemy by doing this."

Marvel Comics and DC Comics were rivals, yet Kazir wanted to do something outrageous.

"I know it well... But do I even have a chance?"

He smiled, but his gaze didn't seem happy.

"I will only direct Batman... A trilogy at best. But I want Warner Brothers and Time Warner to stop sabotaging Spider-Man 2."

Trilogy? Barry almost jumped. A trilogy was a huge commitment. Still, he controlled himself.

"Kazir, you know that's hard to do. I'm just a CEO of a multi-billion company. I don't have influence."

"No deal then."

"... I will contact some people."

It would be stupid if Barry said no. Of course, he would agree with Kazir.

"Glad to hear it."

The only way to stop Warner Brothers from sabotaging Spider-Man 2 was by giving them an equal or better deal.

Kazir directing Batman was enough. Barry hated to admit it, but Kazir had enough power to negotiate with them.

This was just a verbal agreement, but it meant that the negotiation had started. It meant that Kazir had a high chance of directing Batman. Of course, Salvatore and the producer would discuss the contract in further detail.

The two shook hands.

"It's nice working with you, Barry."

"The pleasure's mine. Good luck with your movie this year."

"Hm."

Even though they had an agreement, it was obvious that the two were not on good terms.

........

.....

...

It was subtle, but Time Warner slowly stopped talking about Tobey Maguire. It seemed that Warner Brothers was serious about working with Kazir. Their reason was simple. If Kazir could make another $1 billion superhero movie, then the deal was absolutely worth it.

Besides, condemning Tobey Maguire wouldn't help them much. Spider-Man already had a solid fan base. The best that this incident could do was lower the box office earnings by a few million. Even then, the chances of Spider-Man 2 earning more than $700 million were still high. Why? Because Kazir Grey was the director of the movie.

His presence alone was enough to offset the scandal.

Thankfully, February 1 arrived, and another big news event buried the issues related to Tobey Maguire.

During the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake performed, but due to a "wardrobe malfunction," Janet's breast was exposed during the live broadcast.

This became a huge sensation, and the controversy surrounding Tobey Maguire died down.

++++++

[Author's Note: I posted three chapters today! Since it's April Fool's Day, some authors like to prank their readers with fake chapters or jokes about dropping their novels, but I'm doing the opposite.

After giving it some thought, I've decided that Hollywood What If will likely conclude somewhere between Chapter 600 and 750. If all goes as planned, it should be finished within this year unless procrastination strikes or something unexpected happens, such as me being dead.

I just want to take a moment to thank you all for your continued support. If you'd like to read ahead, feel free to check out my Patreon or Ko-fi!]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 391


During the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show on February 1, 2004, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake performed together, leading to a controversial incident often referred to as a "wardrobe malfunction." At the end of their performance, Timberlake reached across Jackson's chest and pulled at her costume, unexpectedly tearing away part of her top, exposing her right breast to the television audience for about half a second. This incident, broadcast live to millions of viewers, led to widespread media coverage, public backlash, and significant changes in broadcasting regulations and policies regarding indecency.

The incident had a lasting impact on both artists' careers, the broadcasting industry, and the cultural landscape. Janet Jackson faced significant professional consequences, including being blacklisted by some media outlets and the Grammys, while Timberlake's career continued to flourish.

It was unfortunate that Janet Jackson suffered the most, even though it was not her fault. Her career practically turned to dust after that "wardrobe malfunction." Justin Timberlake was the one who pulled the dress incorrectly, yet his career remained largely unaffected.

This incident was proof that showbiz was harsher on women.

However, for Grey Pictures and Sony-Columbia, it was a heaven-sent opportunity. The suffering of others became their blessing.

In just one day, the entire public shifted its attention to the Super Bowl incident. No one cared about Tobey Maguire anymore. The news about him had already been overanalyzed and recycled.

Sony-Columbia even worked to amplify the Super Bowl controversy so that people would quickly forget about Tobey Maguire. They had to do it, otherwise, they would suffer further repercussions.

In the span of one night, the issues surrounding Tobey Maguire disappeared. Although Universal Pictures and Walt Disney were still keeping the controversy alive, Warner Brothers had stepped away from the battle. After all, Kazir had already promised to work on Batman.

In fact, when Barry Meyer contacted James Lee, the President of DC Comics, James Lee immediately agreed to the idea.

Barry Meyer understood James Lee's excitement. Kazir Grey's name carried immense weight. Whenever his name was included in the credits of a movie, that movie was almost guaranteed to be a box-office success.

Batman was an essential character for both DC Comics and Warner Brothers. Just like Superman, Batman was the face of both companies.

They knew they had the power to revive the Batman franchise because of its profitability.

However, the last live-action Batman movie had been a critical and commercial failure. Audiences didn't like it, and since then, Warner Brothers had vowed that if they were to reboot Batman, they had to ensure it would be a massive success.

Kazir was the best guarantee they could find. His salary was not a problem. As long as Kazir could make Batman popular on the big screen, paying him would be more than worth it.

Since Warner Brothers owned DC Comics, they technically held the rights to all of DC's superhero characters.

Their merchandise sales had been stagnating, but if Kazir directed Batman and the film turned out to be a massive hit, Batman-related merchandise could experience a tenfold increase in sales.

The revenue Warner Brothers could earn just by hiring Kazir as a director was staggering.

So, the best decision was to stop attacking Tobey Maguire. It was no longer worth it.

Warner Brothers wanted to maintain a good relationship with Kazir, now that they were going to work together.

As for the Marvel vs. DC rivalry, that was a battle for another day.

If there was one thing Barry Meyer and James Lee were hoping for, it was that Kazir would help them build the DC Universe. However, Kazir didn't make any promises.

He was only interested in creating a Batman trilogy. The rest was up to DC.

After all, Grey Pictures still owned the rights to some Marvel characters, which they had returned to Marvel in exchange for better profit shares.

Kazir would obviously side with Marvel Comics.

As for the possibility of Kazir sabotaging Batman, Warner Brothers would make sure to include a clause in the contract to prevent that. Just to be safe.

But Kazir wasn't stupid enough to destroy his own reputation.

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

With January over, the filming of Spider-Man 2 was also nearing completion.

The production of the film had already been underway long before Kazir even joined the project. While he was busy with Pirates of the Caribbean, the props, sets, and cast had already been prepared by the production team. They were simply waiting for Kazir to officially come on board and begin filming.

Kazir had a reputation for being an efficient director with a clear vision, which allowed the production to proceed smoothly without much hassle.

Initially, Sony-Columbia had considered halting filming to allow Tobey Maguire to stay out of the media spotlight for a while.

However, Tobey personally spoke to Jezebel, arguing that postponing production would result in financial losses. The cast would also waste time waiting.

Kazir agreed with Tobey.

In the end, filming continued. Tobey stayed at a nearby hotel while shooting was ongoing.

"Kazir, thank you so much."

"Hm?"

Kazir glanced at Tobey, who was holding a can of beer. Tobey was allowed to drink, but only inside his hotel room.

"If not for you, I might be drowning in depression right now."

"...?"

"Because of you, I realized that there are still people who believe in me. And I don't want to disappoint them. I'm going to work hard and prove to everyone that Tobey Maguire is a great actor. Thank you, Kazir, for helping me see that."

"I hope you continue to have that kind of perseverance."

The two chuckled. Now Kazir understood why Tobey had invited him to his room for a talk.

"I believe you can do it. You have the talent to back it up."

"Thanks."

Tobey took another sip of his beer, feeling renewed determination.