HOLLYWOOD WHAT IF

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 460


The fans of Star Wars kind of love and hate the franchise. The old fans who watched the first trilogy, which was released in the 70s to 80s, had mixed opinions on the second trilogy.

They were the first generation of Star Wars fans, and they felt like the second trilogy didn't give Anakin's development enough justice.

The second-generation fans were also having the same mixed reviews regarding the franchise. They were those who were young when the second trilogy was released.

As for the third generation, which were the ones who watched the third trilogy with Rey Skywalker as the protagonist... Well, they were the youngest ones, and their humor was different from the other generations.

But overall, everyone could agree that Star Wars fans had toxicity in it, and so does every fandom. It was just that the toxicity in the Star Wars fandom was a bit higher.

Such as now that Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released, oh boy, many fans were a bit disappointed in the movie.

Anakin's corruption by the Dark Side was not explored enough. It was too rushed.

The dialogue was lower than mediocre. People acknowledged that the dialogues in Star Wars' second trilogy were not that great.

The pacing of the movie was underwhelming.

But hey, at least the fans found the reason why Anakin Skywalker became the iconic Darth Vader.

Despite the criticism, Star Wars Episode III grossed more than $158 million on its first weekend. Everyone could agree that people loved Star Wars.

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...

Since there were many loyal fans of Star Wars, some of them started thinking of the "What If's."

What if Anakin's development was further explored… (The Star Wars animation would answer that question.)

What if Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi had a proper fight in the original trilogy? Wouldn't that be sick to watch?

What if… What if Director Kazir Grey directed the trilogy, what would happen?

Many questions that sometimes didn't have answers.

Kazir and Scarlett were having a date in a fancy restaurant. They were having fun until they came out of the restaurant and were blocked by two people. One was holding a camera, while the other was holding a small microphone.

"Director Grey, what do you think of Star Wars Episode III?"

Kazir didn't listen and decided to hold Scarlett's waist, shielding her from the paparazzi. The actress was surprised by his gesture, but didn't stop him. Instead, she was blushing hard.

"Director, we heard that George Lucas tried to hire you to be the director of the Star Wars trilogy?"

"Uh, yes. But I turned down the offer because I had other projects to film."

Kazir heard the second question and decided to answer.

"Then, isn't it your fault that the trilogy is in shambles right now?"

"Nope, not at all. You're crazy if you're going to blame me for that."

As always, there was a reason why celebrities didn't like paparazzi. The worst career in Showbiz.

It was understandable why Tobey Maguire hated these people. Thankfully, his bodyguard, Anderson, showed up and blocked the paparazzi. They tried to ask more questions, but they couldn't pass the bodyguard.

Kazir and Scarlett entered the car, and then Anderson sat in the driver's seat.

"Thanks, Anderson."

"It's my duty, sir."

This was not the first time this situation happened. Every week, Kazir would experience unexpected interviews with the paparazzi. Anderson was there 90% of the time to protect Kazir.

The remaining 10% was when Kazir was trying to live his life peacefully, but paparazzi would show up to pester him.

This was the life of a famous person.

"Gosh, I can't believe they blame you because they didn't like Star Wars." Scarlett was mad.

"It's fine. Haters will always find a reason to hate me."

"Maybe it's a good thing that I didn't pass the audition for Padmé. I don't want to be pestered by paparazzi."

Scarlett Johansson auditioned for the role, but Natalie Portman got the role. Being Padmé Amidala helped Natalie Portman, and it boosted her career.

"It just shows that you're not famous." Kazir teased her.

"What did you say to me?" She asked.

"I said you're so gorgeous that I feel lucky to have you as my girlfriend."

"You better be," She pouted, but then hugged Kazir's shoulder.

"You don't have to worry, I will make you a star." He pinched her nose, and Scarlett clicked her tongue before playfully biting his finger.

"I know." She replied.

..........

......

...

Since May was the start of the summer season, Star Wars was not the only movie released in that month.

The Longest Yard and Madagascar were also released in May and performed well at the box office.

When June arrived, the atmosphere changed, and more of the moviegoers became focused on the upcoming superhero movie, which was Batman Begins.

The billboards for Batman Begins looked menacing and dark. People even saw a Batmobile circling Los Angeles. Warner Brothers was spending money on marketing just to make sure that the movie would be a success. They didn't want to experience another Catwoman failure.

Even Kazir had to attend programs to promote Batman Begins. He showed up on The Tonight Show and even participated in game shows such as Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

The money he won in the game shows was given to the charities he supported, such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Pirates of the Caribbean was in the preparation stage, so Kazir had the time to play his part in the promotion of Batman Begins.

[Second chapter of the day.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 461


Throughout the history of cinema, there were 7 Batmans that had been released to theaters. This superhero character was famous for a reason. Warner Brothers kept rebooting the franchise because it was profitable. It brought them constant profit throughout the decades.

1. Batman (1966) – Adam West


2. Batman and Batman Returns (1989–1992) – Michael Keaton


3. Batman Forever (1995) – Val Kilmer


4. Batman & Robin (1997) – George Clooney


5. The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012) – Christian Bale


6. DCEU Batman (2016–2023) – Ben Affleck


7. The Batman (2022) – Robert Pattinson


The simple fact that the Batman franchise was getting rebooted showed how much Warner Brothers loved to milk it. From toys to comics to other merchandise, Batman was a money-making machine.

And now, after the last failure of Batman, which was Batman & Robin starring Batman's suit with nipples, Warner Brothers decided to reboot the franchise and hired an outstanding director.

From that moment alone, people already acknowledged that the upcoming Batman Begins would be a box office hit. No one believed that the movie would fail.

The confidence in the movie showed Kazir's worth. As long as his name was plastered on the movie, it was a sure way to make money.

This kind of situation was not a rare stance. In other industries, such as sports, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Tom Brady, and other athletes could bring the same assurance.

In the gaming industry, FromSoftware and Rockstar Games were considered the peak game development companies.

In a way, Kazir was the recognized MVP of making movies. Once he was part of a movie project, the movie was already considered a winner.

"From what I remember, Batman Begins only surpassed $300 million at the worldwide box office. I wonder what will happen in this timeline."

Kazir asked himself. He didn't change much regarding Batman Begins, only adding Scarlett Johansson to the cast.

However, for some reason, he felt like the performance of Batman Begins would be different from the original.

The only difference was that he was the one who directed the movie. Batman Begins was now a different movie just because he was the one who directed it, even though he didn't change anything at all.

When Christopher Nolan directed Batman Begins, he was considered a nobody. Together with Christian Bale, who was also an unknown actor at that time, Batman Begins received average attention.

"At the end of the day, it's all about box office appeal."

Just like how Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts could create movie hits by starring in films, Kazir was also a star who could bring his fans to watch a movie.

If Kazir decided to film a wacky, senseless movie, people would still watch it because of his last success. However, his fans would lose interest in him once he scammed them like that.

Kazir checked his watch and knew that the limousine was getting close to Scarlett's house.

Tonight was the premiere of Batman Begins, and Kazir and Scarlett decided to step on the red carpet together. They still hadn't announced their relationship publicly. Tonight was their first official appearance together as couple.

Scarlett was the one who offered the idea because she didn't want to hide their relationship. She wanted to announce to the public (and to the bitches around) that Kazir was not single.

She knew that many actresses were still interested in Kazir, so she was trying to make it a formal relationship before others could even think of seduction.

.........

......

...

Billy and Wallace were just two meters away from the red carpet. They were with the Grey Fans who were supporting their favorite director.

Billy and Wallace were the founders of Grey Fans, and they had a high position in the organization. They had been in contact with Grey Pictures whenever the company needed a favor from their fans.

Fan clubs could actually make money through many methods, by the way. So Billy and Wallace were actually making money by being the founders of Grey Fans. However, they still had their own respective careers since the money they made was not huge at all.

Wallace was actually in a relationship with someone from the crew of Batman Begins. To be precise, Wallace was Jane Kendall's boyfriend. Jane was the head of the makeup artists team in Kazir's production crew. The woman was already in the theater, waiting for the premiere to start.

Unlike most of the time when the Grey Fans were wearing suits, the fans this time were wearing Batman costumes. Billy and Wallace were also wearing Batman costumes.

Whenever one of the cast members would show up, Grey Fans would cheer for them with enthusiasm.

It was tiring, but they didn't hate it. They were having fun, and they loved what they were doing. Most of the people in the fan club were adults who had their own lives. This was one of the rare moments when they could forget their lives as adults and have fun attending a red carpet event.

A few moments later, something surprising yet kind of expected happened.

A Batmobile showed up in front of the red carpet. The car opened and Batman came out! Christian Bale was wearing his Batman suit, and he looked cool as fuck... Although it was obvious that his attire was hot and uncomfortable.

Still, being a professional actor, Christian Bale didn't show any awkwardness and walked to the red carpet with swag... This would be the last time he would wear this Batman costume on a red carpet.

This was a marketing technique that Warner Brothers "suggested" for him to do. He would receive a bonus if he showed up on the red carpet while wearing his Batman attire. He decided to go for it.

++++

[Yeah, I'm having a mental block while writing this chapter.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 462


"Congratulations, Director. It seems like you will have another successful movie on your list. As expected of someone as talented as you. You never miss. I still haven't watched the movie, but I'm confident that it will be a blast!" The reporter was glazing at this point.

"Haha."

Kazir just laughed... He didn't feel good at all. He couldn't just say yes and admit it.

At first, out of desperation to become famous, Kazir was ready to steal as many movie hits as possible.

He wanted to experience the life of a successful director. The dream he wanted to achieve. The dream he didn't achieve before he died in a traffic accident. The biggest regret of his life.

So when he returned to the past, Kazir promised that he would do everything. He didn't care if Se7en was created by someone else, he wanted to become famous, so he stole it.

He didn't care if Napoleon Dynamite was meant to be created in the next decade. He wanted to achieve his dream, so he also stole it.

Just like The Hangover, Taken, John Wick, and many more. Kazir didn't feel guilty about what he did. Life was tough, and he had to do it to survive, and so did everyone. One way or another, people would step on each other just to get to a higher level of living.

He was satisfied with what he achieved. He never regretted one of them. He reached his status because of what he did.

Of course, he put love into all of his creations. He didn't disregard them and made sure that every movie would achieve success.

He was happy... at first.

But now, after a decade of repeating the same thing, Kazir felt empty.

Happiness didn't last forever. Sure, he was happy whenever his movies made money, but he couldn't get the satisfaction he was looking for. He felt empty.

Kazir knew that Batman Begins grossed more than $300 million at the box office in the original timeline. And now, he was more confident that the movie would perform better because of his box office appeal.

Despite that fact, Kazir couldn't feel the joy. Happiness was there, but joy was missing. He couldn't explain it well, but he knew that something was missing.

He was numbed to constant success.

'I'm a fucking hypocrite. If someone is in the same shoes as me, they will probably be more than happy to say that they filmed Batman Begins.'

To be fair, Kazir did a good job by filming and copying the successful movies. Not only did he make them, but some of the movies were also performed better than the original version, such as Napoleon Dynamite, Wanted, and Spider-Man.

No one could probably do what he did.

Furthermore, Kazir created a Cinematic Universe that didn't happen in the original timeline. Who would have thought that a bunch of action movies could be put into one universe to create a Continental Cinematic Universe?

Kazir was talented. No doubt about that. He remembered all of the movies he watched and even copied them to perfection!

However, no matter how successful and talented a person is, they will always have insecurity. Perhaps it was human nature.

'... I'm being greedy despite the achievements I acquired.'

Kazir knew the problem, and he also knew the solution. He had to film his own movie, a script that he wrote and turned into a movie.

A movie that he could confidently say was his own.

"Thanks for the interview."

The reporter smiled, and Kazir excused himself. The interview was simple, the reporter just asked some questions, and they were comfortable.

The reporter asked Kazir and Scarlett questions related to Batman Begins. The reporter even respected his boundary and never asked why Kazir and Scarlett were walking on the red carpet together.

"Are you okay?" Scarlett worriedly asked.

Even though the reporter was respectable, Scarlett felt like Kazir was uncomfortable with the reporter's praises. As if Kazir believed that he didn't deserve it.

"I'm fine."

Kazir shrugged, acting like everything was all right.

Scarlett bit her lip and hugged his arm tighter as they entered the theater.

"Thank you, Scarlett. You're a good person." Kazir felt her concerns.

"... I'm only a good person to you, not to everybody." She grumbled.

"Pftt—haha. Okay, okay. That made me laugh. So I guess I'm special, huh?"

"Of course! Wait, W-what are you doing?"

Scarlett stuttered and blushed as Kazir leaned closer and kissed her lips. She was stunned.

Then, the cameras behind them started flashing like crazy.

They were still close to the entrance, and the reporters witnessed what happened. They didn't hesitate at all and took pictures.

"I thought you wanted people to know that we are dating?"

"Yeah..." She meekly replied, very shy. She lost all her energy with just one peck on the lips.

"Want me to kiss you again?"

"Hm." She nodded.

"Let's do it later."

"Geez! You playboy! You're making fun of me!" She playfully slapped Kazir's shoulder.

The two found their seats. Next to Kazir was none other than Barry Mayer.

Honestly, it was a bit overwhelming that the Chairman of Warner Brothers was sitting next to Kazir.

Most of the time, the director and the cast of the movie were in one or two rows, while the executives had their own rows.

But Barry Mayer personally talked to the organizer that he wanted to sit next to Kazir.

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

"Good evening, Kazir."

Kazir and Scarlett sat down. A few seconds later, Barry started the conversation.

"Kazir, what do you think of starting the production of Ted?"

As expected, it was about business.

++++

[I'm not going to lie, I watched The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, but I never watched Batman Begins. I only watched some clips. So yeah, there is no summary about this one either. After writing this novel for more than a year, I realized that most readers didn't like movie summaries unless it's related to CCU.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 463


Ted. It was a comedy script that Kazir sold to Warner Brothers a few years ago. The script had been in their library, but they hadn't touched it for years... They almost forgot about it, not going to lie.

Terry Semel was the CEO at the time when Ted was bought by Warner Brothers, and so Barry Mayer didn't know anything.

He was just informed that Warner Brothers bought a script from Kazir when he talked to the production team of the company.

At that time, Barry was talking about how they needed to buy a script from Kazir. It didn't matter if it was a comedy, horror film, or musical. Final Destination was a huge hit, and so was La La Land.

It was obvious why Barry wanted to buy a script. Then, when he talked about their plans, someone said to him that Warner Brothers had a script that they bought from Kazir and hadn't produced as of yet.

Back in the late '90s, using special effects was expensive, and Warner Brothers felt like filming Ted would be a tough one. Especially when Kazir said that he didn't want to film Ted.

Warner Brothers decided to make the movie once the technology for CGI was cheaper and better... which was now.

Warner Brothers could afford to produce Ted on a less expensive budget.

Barry Mayer read the script for Ted... and he was laughing out loud when he read it. The script was a complete package. It didn't need revision because the script was already perfect.

When Barry Mayer read it, he knew that he needed to make it into a movie.

So tonight, he talked to Kazir about Ted. He had his reasons why he wanted to talk to Kazir.

He informed Kazir that Warner Brothers was going to make the movie.

The second reason was that he wanted Kazir to direct it. Money was not the problem. Knowing how Kazir did his job, Warner Brothers was elegant enough to invest more than $100 million.

If Kazir asked for a 30+30 deal, Warner Brothers would also agree. Barry Mayer could see the potential of Ted. It could become a movie franchise with many sequels.

"That's great to hear, Barry." Kazir nodded. He also expected that Warner Brothers would start filming Ted.

"Huh?"

Barry was confused.

"Are you not going to say anything about it?"

"Nah, I'm cool."

Kazir had long received the payment from Ted, and he didn't have much connection with it. If Warner Brothers wanted to hire him as executive producer, then he might agree. That was the best he could do.

"... All right."

Barry realized that Kazir was not interested. He could understand why. Kazir was so busy that his schedule was three years full.

In the end, Barry didn't force his interest. He was already satisfied that the director signed a trilogy contract with them. He was actually proud that Warner Brothers was the first studio that Kazir signed a trilogy with. Sony-Columbia could only force the director to sign two movies, which were Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2.

Barry slightly smiled as more people filled the theater. He looked around and found the actor, Christian Bale, in his tuxedo. It seemed that wearing a huge armor-like costume with a cape was uncomfortable. Christian Bale returned to wearing a suit once he was done on the red carpet.

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...

[A masterclass in rebooting a beloved franchise, Batman Begins offers a fresh take on the iconic superhero while staying true to its roots. Kazir Grey's direction is superb, grounding the story in a gritty, realistic Gotham that feels more tangible than ever. Christian Bale's portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman is nuanced and compelling, capturing the inner struggle of a man trying to overcome his fears and avenge the death of his parents.]

[The film excels in its exploration of Batman's origin story, giving weight to his journey from traumatized orphan to Dark Knight. The supporting cast, particularly Michael Caine as Alfred and Liam Neeson as the formidable Ra's al Ghul, add to the emotional depth of the story. Hans Zimmer's score is powerful and perfectly complements the film's darker tone and thrilling action sequences.]

[The action is intense and well-choreographed, particularly the car chases and fight scenes, which showcase Batman's ingenuity and physical prowess. Batman Begins manages to be both an engaging character study and a high-stakes superhero film. It's a fresh start for Batman and sets the stage for one of the best superhero trilogies of all time. Highly recommended for fans of the comics and newcomers to the franchise.]

"... This article was written by an AI or something? Is this written by GhatGPT? Man, writers these days are getting tired of thinking and just asking an AI to create a movie review about Batman Begins. The author should be honest whenever he uses AI." Kazir thought as he read the movie review.

Ahem, anyway, the movie review seemed positive. Batman Begins received a great result on its first day. Kazir was there and witnessed how the fans loved the movie.

As he expected, the performance of Batman Begins was better than the original version, which only grossed $300 million. If his calculation was right, his version of Batman Begins would gross around $500 to $600 million, depending on how fans all over the world react to the movie.

The first day just earned $20.58 million. Warner Brothers was satisfied with this result, knowing that the last Batman movie was a disaster. They also couldn't help but compare it to Catwoman, which grossed only $6 million on its first fay. They couldn't help but be satisfied.

Warner Brothers was great at starting franchises, but they were bad at making sequels.

Matrix had a wonderful start, but the second and third movies had a bad reputation.

Joker was a masterpiece, but Joker: Folie à Deux was like a man getting rap*d by another man and musical... Ahem, that was how horrible it was.

The Fantastic Beasts suffered the same fate, with negative reviews.

The DCEU had so many movies overall, and most of them were hated by the fans.

So yeah, Warner Brothers was not that good at making sequels. To be fair, many studios were not good at making sequels. Every studio in the industry was not perfect. People would always find faults in them, it was just a matter of how bad the problems were.

+++++

[Author's Note: Yes, the movie review is from ChatGPT because I don't know how to write a movie review and I've never watched Batman Begins. Anyway, I want to say thank you guys for all of your support. I appreciate it so much.]

 

[OverseerEX]

[Author's Note: Yes, the movie review is from ChatGPT because I don't know how to write a movie review and I've never watched Batman Begins.

Click to shrink...

You could uhhh... borrow a review from the media when they did it back then.

 

[FallenMetal]

Thank you, and things are going well, but it looks like Kazir wants to try his hand at something original. That would be quite an interesting thing. Great job as always, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapters

 

[Pujimaki]

You could uhhh... borrow a review from the media when they did it back then.

Click to shrink...

Good point. My bad.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 464


Despite having wack sequels, Warner Brothers was also famous for having amazing franchises.

Harry Potter.

The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit.

Mad Max.

The Hangover.

Lethal Weapon.

Ocean's.

And, of course, The Dark Knight Trilogy.

These were just some of the franchises that Warner Brothers produced. It was not a surprise that Warner Brothers was a well-known studio.

On the second day of Batman Begins, which was June 16 (Thursday), the movie grossed another $17 million.

Friday, June 17, the movie earned another $15 million.

Saturday, June 18, $16 million.

Sunday, June 19, $13 million.

The first five days of the screening of Batman Begins grossed $83 million. Batman Begins had a premiere on Wednesday.

More movie reviews were popping up, most critics were giving positive opinions. Some bloggers also posted their reviews of the movie... Warner Brothers made sure to pay most of them to convince people that Batman Begins was amazing.

Warner Brothers was confident in the movie, but they had to make sure. They didn't want to experience another Catwoman failure. Furthermore, they were expecting that Batman Begins would be the start of their Cinematic Universe.

Everyone was so eager to have their own Cinematic Universe. But they knew the danger of making one. Nobody wanted another flop like John Carter.

John Carter was the first movie that Walt Disney intended for their Barsoom series.

Batman Begins was also the first movie that Warner Brothers intended for their DC Cinematic Universe. So it was understandable why Warner Brothers was working hard to make sure that the movie would be successful.

It didn't matter if they had to convince the movie-goers by paying the critics.

At the end of the day, as long as the movie was considered a box office hit, the DVD sales would also follow suit.

Not only the DVD sales, but most movie cinemas were also selling merchandise related to the movie they were currently screening.

Since Batman Begins was a hot topic in the cinemas, it was not surprising that stores close to the cinemas were selling merchandise related to Batman.

Toys, comics, t-shirts, you name it. These peripherals were sold out in just a matter of days. The stores were excitedly contacting Warner Brothers to send them more products.

Warner Brothers would then contact the manufacturers to make more products. Either way, they were making big profits.

Batman toys were already selling well before Batman Begins even happened. After all, Batman was an old yet famous superhero and had gathered so many fans all over the world.

But now that Batman Begins happened, any products related to Batman were getting sold out.

Lamborghini, the car company responsible for creating the Batmobile for the production, created 15 copies of the product and sold them for $7 million each... Kazir had one, and Lamborghini gave it to him for free.

Of course, the Batmobile that Lamborghini sold was different from the one in the movie. It was not high-tech, it just copied the appearance, nothing else.

Still, the 15 Batmobiles were sold out... Kazir felt like Lamborghini would also make another version of the Batmobile once The Dark Knight was released.

Money, money, money. It was the reason why Warner Brothers was doing this, all because of money.

As for Kazir, he would also make money. Kazir's contract was $25 million + 17% worldwide box office share + 3% peripherals revenue share.

He already got the $25 million. As for the 17% worldwide box office and 3% peripherals revenue share, these two aspects have to take time to accumulate.

But oh boy, once the calculation was done, Kazir's overall salary might reach $100 million!

However, the director in question had already forgotten about the specified contract. The one who was responsible for taking care of that was his lawyer and accountant.

The moment Kazir got $1 billion from 20th Century Fox was the moment he didn't think much of money. Instead, he focused more on his artwork than his financial vision.

Lately, Kazir felt like buying another house and perhaps a jet for traveling purposes. He was already wealthy enough to not think of his salary... That was a cold statement.

.........

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...

"Life is tough, huh?"

Zack Snyder sadly muttered while reading the articles related to Batman Begins.

His life was not okay. After Dawn of the Dead, Zack felt like his career was on a downward spiral.

The box office of Dawn of the Dead was outstanding, considering that it was a horror movie. Earning more than $100 million was a feat.

However, for some reason, he couldn't get a job after Dawn of the Dead. He tried to pitch some projects to the Big Six, hoping that he would get an investment. But so far, none of them had called him.

The salary he received from Dawn of the Dead was not that great either, considering that he was just a rookie director.

"Maybe... Sigh."

For a moment, he thought of contacting Kazir... He didn't know why he agreed to Universal Pictures' contract. Perhaps he was enticed when the studio promised that they would have three projects for him. It was bullshit. They didn't even sign a contract.

At that time, he was having a hard time choosing between Universal Pictures and Grey Pictures. He felt like his career would be better if he worked with Universal Pictures.

And now, he was in the lowest part of his career. He tried contacting his last job, but they didn't rehire him.

"I should have chosen 300. I liked the comics, and I've read it."

He sighed. He didn't know his future after this.

Suddenly, his phone started ringing. He didn't recognize the number but decided to answer it anyway.

"Hello? Yes, 20th Century Fox!? Ah, yes, yes! I'll be there! Director Grey recommended me. I will, I promise I will!"

He was so excited that he kept nodding his head while having blushing cheeks.

"... I should probably apologize and thank Kazir."

Once the phone call ended, Zack felt guilty.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 465


Even though Zack declined Kazir's offer to direct 300, and the new director chose Dawn of the Dead instead, Kazir still recommended the director to 20th Century Fox to direct 300.

Because of what happened a year ago, when Kazir suffered from a scandal and chose to work with Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox felt jealous and asked for "attention."

In the end, to solve the problem, Kazir sold three of his scripts to 20th Century Fox. These were Final Destination, Paranormal Activity, and 300.

20th Century Fox already released Final Destination, and the movie was a success. So far, after two months of screening, Final Destination had grossed $158 million at the North American box office. Unfortunately, the competition in the summer season was tough, so Final Destination would probably end its screening two to three weeks from now. Even the theaters that were screening the horror movie were down to 400.

Aside from Final Destination, 20th Century Fox also had Paranormal Activity and 300.

After some discussion, 20th Century Fox decided to invest in 300 and Paranormal Activity. The company was confident in both movies, so they might as well do it.

Because they had high confidence in Kazir's recommendations, 20th Century Fox decided to contact Zack Snyder. This was not a final decision, and 20th Century Fox could change their minds if Zack Snyder didn't pass their criteria. In a way, Zack had to attend a job interview.

Well, Zack's last movie did great at the box office for a zombie movie standard. It was a profit. However, they still had to know the director before giving him the project.

While the two sides were negotiating, Kazir's opinion on the matter was a bit different.

"Zack Snyder is crucial for the DCEU to happen. If he's not working with Warner Brothers, then his chances of being part of the DCEU will be slimmer."

300 was a profitable movie, but it was not the main reason why Kazir bought the movie adaptation. What he wanted was to make Zack Snyder stay away from Warner Brothers.

Kazir was making chess moves.

He recognized that the DCEU was a rival that could affect the CCU and MCU. He didn't want that to happen. So he might as well entice Zack Snyder to work with him or 20th Century Fox so that the director wouldn't have the time to work with Warner Brothers.

As for Zack's movie projects, Kazir knew a lot of movies that he could direct.

"If he wants, I can give him the script for Rebel Moon."

If there was one thing that Kazir deeply regretted, it was the fact that Zack Snyder might not direct Watchmen in this timeline.

In his opinion, Watchmen was Zack Snyder's masterpiece. Man of Steel, Batman vs. Superman, Justice League, and not even Justice League Snyder's Cut could be compared to Watchmen. That was what Kazir believed.

"Everything depends on Zack's decision. He will have to make a choice. In my opinion, the DCEU is a rival I don't want to face. But if DCEU and Zack Snyder worked together, then I don't have any choice but to face them."

.........

......

...

"It's nice to meet you again, director."

"Yeah, I didn't expect that we would meet twice in a year," Kazir replied nonchalantly. He had an idea, but didn't think much of it.

The person across the table was Mason Aiden, a producer working at Lionsgate. It seemed that this person had some relevance in the story since he appeared twice.

Anyway, their conversation today was quite different from the last time. A few months ago, Mason and Kazir talked about the completion of Now You See Me. Mason was the producer while Kazir was the executive producer (in-name), so it was not a surprise that they had a meeting.

But this time was a bit different. Mason was facing Kazir as the representative of Lionsgate in buying another script from Kazir.

They hoped that Kazir would work for them as a director, but that dream was too much, so they settled on buying a script instead.

Buying a script from Kazir was complicated. Because he didn't sell scripts even if the price was high. It all depended on his feelings, whether he would sell the script or not. Kazir's position as a scriptwriter was that high to have that kind of selling power.

Not everyone in Hollywood could buy his script. Two of the Big Six, which were Walt Disney and Universal Pictures, never tasted Kazir's grace. It showed that Kazir's status was not simple.

"I promised that if Fremont and Brianna won their awards at the Oscars, I would sell one script to Lionsgate."

"That's right," Mason nodded.

An opportunity like this was very rare.

"I won't break my promise. I even let you choose which one you want to buy."

Kazir gave Mason a document listing the movies he intended to sell and their summaries.

Lionsgate specifically asked for horror movies because horror movies had a small budget yet big profits. They were not looking for big investments that could fracture their company.

So Kazir had four horror movies for them.

A Quiet Place.

The Conjuring.

Annabelle.

Get Out.

Kazir wrote short summaries for each script. There might be chances that Lionsgate would copy his horror movies, so he couldn't give the scripts or the detailed summaries.

It might look like Kazir was disrespecting Lionsgate. But at this point, it didn't matter. Kazir was not that weak anymore.

Lionsgate should be happy that Kazir gave them a chance to buy a script from him. Only selected companies had the chance to do so.

"... Can I bring this document back to the company?"

Mason's voice trembled. He didn't feel disrespected at all. He was excited instead. Four scripts!

The last horror movie that Kazir sold was Final Destination, and it was making money even now.

"You can, but you have to sign a non-disclosure agreement."

"I'll contact the management right now, please excuse me." Mason stood up and dialed on his phone.

"You can take your time."

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 466


After a few minutes of waiting, Mason returned and sat down. The first thing he said was:

"Is it possible to buy all four of the scripts?"

When Lionsgate heard that Kazir listed four scripts, they went crazy and hoped that Mason could convince him to sell all four scripts instead. This was a very rare opportunity!

These four scripts could determine their future for a decade! There were countless fans of horror movies all over the world! God knows how much money they could make if they acquired the four horror scripts.

They believed that Kazir's strength in scriptwriting could do that. He had proven himself so many times that Lionsgate trusted him with their hearts.

"...You can buy two, but the prices will increase to $7 million each."

Kazir felt nothing selling more scripts. He knew the importance of these scripts, but he didn't mind it anymore. He was way past that stage.

These scripts could determine a studio's future and Kazir was cool with it.

Kazir usually set his prices around $5 to $6 million whenever selling a script. There were times when he had to increase the price, but that was rare.

And now, instead of lowering the price for a double deal, Kazir decided to increase the price. There was no discount, only an increase in prices!

That was so disrespectful.

Kazir was probably the only one who could do it. Even if he increased the price up to $10 million, a studio would still buy it.

When Mason heard that Kazir had no problem selling two, he couldn't help but smile.

While on the phone, the CEO promised him that he would get a commission if he convinced Kazir to sell at least one more script to Lionsgate.

He fucking did.

As for the expensive price, Lionsgate wouldn't feel that it was a waste.

If one of the Big Six were in their situation right now, they would agree to buy Kazir's scripts at top dollar.

Mason even heard that Universal Pictures and Walt Disney were getting close and desperate just to buy one of Kazir's scripts. The scandal they spread last year didn't work, and Kazir was still standing.

It might not be a surprise if Universal Pictures and Walt Disney did the unthinkable, which was to plagiarize Kazir's scripts.

Most of Kazir's scripts were registered with the Writers Guild with short summaries. Someone from Universal Pictures and Walt Disney could cook something if they wanted to... No, they might do it if they hit the corner.

"It's nice meeting you, director. I promise you that you will hear our answer within this week. We will contact your secretary if you're busy."

"That's good to hear."

Kazir nodded.

Kazir had an office secretary because he felt that Erica's job was getting heavier than normal. Especially now that Kazir and the production crew of Pirates of the Caribbean would leave the country to film the second and third sequels of the franchise.

.........

......

...

The month of June ended just like that. Batman Begins grossed $152 million when the month ended. The movie had been in theaters for 16 days.

Around the last week of June, Batman Begins' box office started slowing down. Especially when another box office hit was released around that time, which was War of the Worlds, starring Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg.

Kazir and Tom were making fun of each other when they realized that their movies were set to be released in the same month.

Both were confident in their movies, which was understandable. War of the Worlds had Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg, while Batman Begins had Kazir Grey. The two movies would do well.

Kazir even knew that War of the Worlds would surpass $600 million worldwide.

The two made a bet that whoever made the highest box office worldwide would buy the winner a yacht... For rich people like them, the yacht was just a betting chip.

Kazir didn't know the exact box office that Batman Begins would gross, but he decided to trust his creation.

When July arrived, another batch of movies was released.

20th Century Fox released Fantastic Four, a superhero movie.

Fantastic Four and X-Men were the copyrights that 20th Century Fox bought from Marvel Comics back in the 90s.

The production for this movie was already planned before News Corporation bought Marvel Comics.

The script was already prepared. The budget had been made. Even the cast was filled. After some communication, Marvel and 20th Century Fox decided to release the movie. They decided not to include the movie in their upcoming Cinematic Universe and gave it its own franchise instead, just like X-Men.

Other than Fantastic Four, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was also released in July.

This film was based on the 1964 novel of the same name. The movie was directed by Tim Burton, which explained the gothic style of the movie. Of course, it was also not a surprise that Johnny Depp was cast as Willy Wonka. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp were recognized as a tag team in the industry.

Aside from Fantastic Four and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a comedy film titled Wedding Crashers was released in July. Starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, it was about two friends who decided to sneak into weddings to meet women. It led them to a humorous adventure. This movie received a positive response from the audience, based on its high box office results.

While this was ongoing, a stranger visited Grey Pictures to meet Kazir.

The meeting was scheduled for a week, making sure that Kazir would be informed about the meeting earlier.

Kazir was a bit surprised, but he also expected it. Few people could pull off this kind of project.

He was staring at a document, a script, to be precise. The script had a title: Transformers.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 467


"It's nice to meet you, I'm Jacob Sterling. I'm excited to meet you, Kazir, the best director of the century. I've seen all of your movies, and they are masterpieces. They have a strong selling power that is indescribable. As if you, the director, can see the future of Hollywood and know how to catch the attention of people."

Jacob stated his opinion, showing no shyness in his expression.

Many people respected Kazir because of his achievements and looked up to him.

'But this Jacob is different. I can see that he doesn't respect me, he sees me as a director who can make box-office hits. Other than that, he just sees me as a person.'

Kazir thought to himself. Honestly, he preferred these kinds of impressions instead of being fangirled too much. Sometimes, he felt like people around him saw him as a god who could perform miracles. That was not true at all.

He knew that he could fail. He had experienced it so many times.

Kazir stared at the script after Jacob introduced himself. Based on the title, Kazir already knew Paramount's intention.

"Just to be clear, I represent Hasbro more than Paramount. I'm their contact whenever Hasbro cooperates with a production studio."

"I heard that Hasbro and Paramount Pictures are trying to make a G.I. Joe movie. Is that true?"

"It's confidential information. I can't answer you," Jacob replied.

"I understand."

Kazir had an idea about the truth.

Hasbro owned a lot of toys, board games, and tabletop games. They were trying to penetrate Hollywood to popularize their products internationally. Their toys were famous in the West, but it was different in other countries.

They had cooperated with 20th Century Fox, New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers, and other B-list studios to create movies for their products.

Movies based on toys and tabletops were released, such as Clue, Power Rangers, and Dungeons & Dragons... They didn't perform well at the box office.

Everything changed when Hasbro worked with Paramount Pictures to create Transformers. It was an ambitious goal that had a strong chance to fail.

God knows how much CGI and special effects would be needed just to create realistic scenes of cars turning into giant robots.

For the project, Paramount Pictures hired a well-known director, Michael Bay.

Michael Bay was the director of Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and Bad Boys II. He had a strong box office appeal... His movies also had high production costs because Michael Bay preferred using special effects. Oh, he also loved explosions. In his opinion, the bigger the explosion, the better.

Both Hasbro and Paramount Pictures understood Michael Bay's strengths and decided to put their trust in him. And yeah, Michael Bay created one of the most famous movie franchises in the world, Transformers. The success of Transformers increased the popularity of Transformer toys, and Hasbro was making lots of money.

After that huge success, Hasbro decided to entrust another franchise to Paramount, which was G.I. Joe. The first movie was amazing, while the sequels were shit.

Anyway, that was the original story that Kazir knew.

But it was different now. Because Kazir showed up.

Michael Bay was still a respected director. But Kazir was the best director when it came to making blockbusters.

Of course, Paramount Pictures and Hasbro wanted Kazir to direct Transformers rather than Michael Bay.

'If I'm not wrong, I'm their first choice, while Michael Bay is the second choice.'

Kazir slightly smiled. He was a fan of Michael Bay's movies because Kazir loved watching action movies. And now, he was above Michael Bay.

He scratched his nose. He felt nice.

"You are our first choice," Jacob said.

'As expected,' Kazir nodded.

"We know how hard it will be to produce Transformers, the money, the technology to create special effects, and the right director... We believe that if there's a director who can bring life to our Transformers, it should be you, Director Grey."

At the end of the day, everyone knew that for a movie to be successful, it needed a talented director. Most of the time, the status of the director equated to the success of a movie. There was a reason why studios hired veteran directors.

Directors who had box office hits had the experience, they also knew how to work under pressure, and their vision to create a movie was compact. Being a director was not simple. It was a tough career.

It was understandable why Paramount Pictures and Hasbro wanted to hire Kazir. His ability was proven and tested.

Money was not a problem. They could offer a 25+25 contract to Kazir with no problem.

In the first place, Hasbro wanted to make a successful Transformers movie to sell more of their toys.

"Your flattery sounds nice to hear. But I have to apologize. You probably heard that I'm currently filming Pirates of the Caribbean. I have no time for Transformers. I recommend you contact Michael Bay instead."

"We are also interested in Michael Bay, but we wanted to talk to you first. Transformers is still in its initial stage, and the movie is planned to be released around 2007 or 2008. We still have two years. We know that you finish your projects fast, so it's probably not a problem for you to start Transformers at the end of 2005 or early in 2006. Director, all we want is for you to take your time to think about our offer. We promise that we will provide you with the best contract."

"... I'll think about it."

That was the best that Kazir could promise.

The meeting ended, and Jacob Sterling left.

"Transformers, huh..."

Kazir had a lot of things to do. His schedule was packed, and he didn't know if he would have time to dabble his hands in other projects.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was set to be released next year, 2006.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was set to be released in 2007.

The Dark Knight was set to be released in 2008.

For the next three years, Kazir's schedule was packed. Furthermore, he was interested in filming Ninja Assassin and an original horror movie once 2008 passed.

++++

[I remember when I was in elementary school, when Transformers was released, many vendors in our area started selling cheap copies of Transformers, around PHP 5 for each. I loved assembling those toys when I was young. Now, it's hard to find those kinds of toys even online. Man, I miss those cheap lead-filled reassembled toys, lol.]

[I was interested in Transformers, but looking through Kazir's schedule, I found it inhumane if I added Transformers to his filmography. I decided to let go of this franchise.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 468


After ending the meeting with Jacob Sterling, Kazir had another thing to do.

Kung Fu Panda was going to be released in the first week of August. Kazir was the executive producer of this animated movie, he was also the scriptwriter.

It was not a surprise that Kazir received a ticket to watch the movie. He was also invited to the red carpet.

However, Kazir was having some thoughts about attending the premiere. He was now a high-status person in Hollywood, and even 20th Century Fox couldn't stop him if he said that he didn't want to attend the premiere of Kung Fu Panda.

In the first place, he didn't participate much in the creation of this movie. It was not important whether he would attend or not. The box office always relied on the movie itself.

If the movie was entertaining, people would spend money and watch it.

If the movie was boring, people had no reason to watch it.

The reason why he didn't want to attend was that he didn't want to make Scarlett uncomfortable.

Angelina was part of the cast of Kung Fu Panda, she voiced Tigress in the movie. There might be a strong chance that the actress would attend the premiere.

If Kazir attended the premiere alone, Scarlett would be uncomfortable knowing that Kazir could meet Angelina at the event.

If Scarlett and Kazir attended the premiere together, she still might become uncomfortable with the thought that Kazir's ex was in the same theater as them.

So, to avoid that situation, Kazir wanted to talk to the management of 20th Century Fox and inform them that he couldn't attend the premiere of Kung Fu Panda.

However, before he could even contact the company, Kazir received a text from Scarlett.

-- Babe, I want to see Kung Fu Panda with you. I love you, muah~

"..."

Reading the message, Kazir sighed and decided to reply with:

-- Okay.

Scarlett texted a second later.

-- Are you not going to say more?

Kazir read it and had no idea what she implied.

'I mean, I texted "okay" because that's all I have to say.'

He typed back.

-- I'll take you to a nice fashion boutique to find a dress for the premiere.

-- Thanks, babe, but that's not what I'm asking for.

Kazir had no idea what to say, so he decided to reread their conversation. He then texted:

-- I love you.

There was no response for a few seconds until Kazir's phone started ringing. Scarlett was calling him.

"I love you too, muah~"

She giggled before ending the call.

'I almost fucked it up by typing, "I miss you, and I miss your tits."'

Kazir chuckled. He felt great for some reason.

He finished his job that day, and even Stella and Erica were surprised that Kazir came out of his office. Most of the time, when Kazir didn't have anything to do, he would stay in his office and finish his work.

.........

......

...

Robert "Bob" Iger confidently strolled into the building of Walt Disney.

People greeted him with respect as he passed them by. He became the face of the company four years ago when Michael Eisner "left" the company.

When Robert successfully acquired the position of Chairman once Michael Eisner was gone, Walt Disney started going on the right track.

The failure of John Carter in 2002 was the biggest disaster that Walt Disney suffered. They spent more than $400 million on John Carter, including worldwide promotion, but the outcome was a painful slap to their faces.

When John Carter didn't make any money in the United States, Walt Disney decided to push the release internationally and invested heavily in promoting the movie... The outcome was the same.

John Carter meagerly earned $284 million. If not for the high investment, this movie could have been recognized as a box office hit.

Anyway, Walt Disney promised never to touch the franchise again. They even blacklisted the actor who took the role of John Carter because they didn't want to be reminded of their own failures.

Whenever Robert remembered John Carter, he couldn't help but frown. He admitted that he also supported the production of John Carter, but he didn't expect that they would suffer a negative profit once the movie was released. It was nightmare-inducing.

'But everything will be fine from now on.'

Now that Walt Disney had learned from the past, it had become stronger.

'I'm the Chairman of this company, and I will make sure that we will succeed.'

Robert was getting close to convincing Steve Jobs to sell the shares of Pixar to Walt Disney. He was confident that the guy would agree and sell Pixar to Walt Disney.

After all, Walt Disney was the best choice for Pixar to prosper.

Walt Disney was family-friendly. The company also had distribution lines worldwide, not only for movies but also for selling toys.

Walt Disney was not just a production studio, it was a pop culture. This company created so many childhood memories for people all over the world. The cartoon movies it released created unforgettable experiences for many people. Even adults who were born in the 1950s admitted that they liked Walt Disney.

Furthermore, Walt Disney had a strong connection with toy factories. Walt Disney also had Disneyland, a place where children loved to visit.

It would take a long time for Pixar to acquire these kinds of advantages.

So, for Pixar and Walt Disney, it was a win-win situation if they worked together.

Pixar didn't have a choice anyway, no one in the Big Six could satisfy Pixar. Only Walt Disney, the biggest animation studio in the world, could answer every need of Pixar.

Robert smiled. Once the negotiation ended, he would acquire another achievement, and the management would respect him again. This would solidify his position as the Chairman of the company.

+++++

[This novel currently has 132 chapters in my Patreon. If you can't wait longer, you can subscribe and support me. You can also read 26 advanced chapters of Behind The Spotlight, I'm cooking this new novel right now.]

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