HOLLYWOOD WHAT IF

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 309


The reason why he went to this party was because some members of the Academy would be there. This was the time to make a better impression so that they would vote for him. So far, he had already met 8 members of the Academy. This was a tiring night for him as he was not an outgoing type.

Also, Angelina was busy tonight because a magazine hired her to model.

Tom Cruise was also absent, the actor was at another party tonight. Even though CAA supported the two, it was better that they did their parts.

If there was one thing that made Kazir uncomfortable, it was the fact that an old man almost touched his butt. Kazir dodged the act and stepped back before the old man could squeeze his ass...

There were a lot of gays and lesbians in this industry, but Kazir didn't expect this kind of sexual harassment to almost happen to him.

'Brendan Fraser, your life has never been easy. I understand why you suffered from long-term depression. These people have no respect for you.' He sighed.

For the record, Brendan Fraser was a victim of sexual assault. In fact, there were a lot of unreasonable and obnoxious people in this industry. They thought they were the king of the world just because they had a high position in the industry, they thought they could bully people.

If something like that happened to Kazir, he knew what to do, he would break the old man's jaw without hesitation.

'Although it might hurt my chances of getting a nomination. But I'll never be bullied like that, then fuck the Oscars.'

The old man realized his mistake and left. Kazir decided to let it go since nothing was going to happen anyway.

"Um, good evening, director."

Kazir turned to find a young woman staring at him. The woman was blushing, perhaps because she was holding a wineglass of alcohol.

From the looks of it, the woman was already 21, which was the legal drinking age in California.

The woman in question was none other than Natalie Portman, the Padme Amidala of Star Wars.

"Hi. We met last time, right?"

Kazir recalled meeting her when he visited Industrial Light & Magic.

"I'm Natalie Portman, nice to meet you." The actress gave the sweetest smile she could and seemed very sweet and cute. The young actress extended her hand for a handshake, which was quite trembling.

"Nice to meet you too."

Kazir shook her hand.

"I'm a fan and I've seen all your movies, even your horror movies like The Haunted Potatoes and Zombie Pajama Dance Party--"

"Okay, okay, you don't have to list them all."

He stopped the woman immediately because he was never proud of his horror movies... They were something he didn't want to remember.

Hearing their titles, Kazir wanted to drown himself in embarrassment. In fact, he also wanted to forget a certain horror movie that Sony-Colombia was still trying to acquire from him. Kazir wrote the script back in 1994 when he was thinking about his first movie after his regression. He listed a lot of horror movies, but decided on Napoleon Dynamite instead.

Kazir was talking about Final Destination. In this timeline, Final Destination was never made. Kazir used his knowledge and wrote a lot of scripts to horde, so Final Destination never saw the light of day.

Recently, Sony-Colombia and New Line Cinema tried to contact him about the script... Kazir just didn't want to do it because his feelings about horror movies were complicated.

It was the genre he had pursued but not succeeded in. He could sell scripts, but horror movies were a different story.

Funny, because he didn't know why he had that feeling.

"Can this be called trauma?" he asked himself.

New Line Cinema bought Se7en from him and they were interested in Final Destination because it was a movie that had a good chance of becoming a franchise with at least a trilogy.

In fact, New Line Cinema regrets that they ended Se7en with only one movie. Maybe if they consulted with Kazir, the director would come up with something interesting.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I understand director." Natalie Portman was confused as to why Kazir was ashamed of his filmography, but she decided to let it go.

"Um... Umm..." Natalie didn't really have anything in mind to talk to Kazir about.

She was a little drunk and her body just decided to greet Kazir after seeing him. The best greeting she could have planned was to start the conversation by saying that she was a fan and listing all his movies to show that she was a real fan.

But her plan failed and now her brain was trying to process the best move after that.

"I'm a fan..." That was all she could say and her face turned red.

"Thank you, Natalie. I also like your acting in Star Wars and Leon: The Professional."

Leon: The Professional was Natalie Portman's debut film, and she has been getting steady work in the industry ever since.

Natalie was of Jewish descent, which is probably one of the reasons why she has had a steady career.

"I-I, this is my card. Please call me, I mean, please call me if you have a suitable role for me. Director, I want to work with you." She stuttered, she knew she was not doing well in this conversation.

"Okay, Natalie." Kazir accepted her card. He didn't mind Natalie's comments because he thought it was because of the alcohol.

"I think you should stop drinking and contact your agent or parents instead."

From the looks of it, Natalie was still not used to drinking alcohol.

"Yes... Yes!" Natalie left embarrassed, scampering like a cute little hamster.

Kazir put the card in his pocket, he was not sure if he would contact Natalie since he had no role for a young actress like her at the moment. His next project was Pirates of the Caribbean, and Grey Pictures had already contacted the actors who had major roles in that franchise.

Yes, Kazir was confident that this movie would become a franchise.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Womgi]

This story fills a niche in my heart that I'm reminded exists every time I read a new chapter. It's slow steady and satisfying

 

[Pujimaki]

This story fills a niche in my heart that I'm reminded exists every time I read a new chapter. It's slow steady and satisfying

Click to shrink...

Thank you, I appreciate it a lot.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 310


Since the release of The Revenant, the cast has obviously had to promote the movie. Kazir Grey and Tom Cruise understood that they would be busy for the next few months. They have to promote the movie while meeting with Academy members, basically begging for their votes.

It may sound bad, but it was true that the outcome of the Oscars would be determined by the members of the Academy.

So while the cast of The Revenant was traveling back and forth between Canada and the United States, their respective PR teams began their work.

The PR teams were paid by Kazir and Tom, they invested a lot of money just for the nominations. They knew it would be impossible to compete at the Oscars without spending money.

.........

......

...

Martin Ariel sighed as he stretched his sore back. He was too old to move, but he couldn't sit still all day without doing something. So he decided to check his mail.

He was surprised to see that someone had actually sent him a thick letter.

"Ah, is it that time already? It's still November."

Martin Ariel was an old veteran director who retired a decade ago. He had been nominated for the Best Director Award in the 60s. Since then he has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). He was still part of the committee that voted on the nominations. He had the power to list the movies he wanted to nominate.

Every once in a while he would get some packages from Hollywood. He knew that this kind of thing was not allowed because it was an obvious bribe.

However, the PR teams usually identified these as nothing more than "gifts". Of course you had to accept the gifts, why are you so bitter?

Gifts were a common thing, and everyone had an agreement to keep quiet about it. At least they received gifts every year.

Martin returned to his house and decided to open the "gifts". It was four tickets for The Revenant, which would expire in two weeks.

"As expected..." Martin shook his head. Giving money was not allowed, but sending gifts was allowed, especially gifts related to the nominated movie.

"Well, my grandchildren might like it. These tickets are for The Revenant? Hmm, Director Grey? Who is this person? Never heard of him. Maybe I will ask my grandchildren about this movie."

Spoiler alert, Martin's grandchildren were all fans of Kazir Grey, and they were happy that Martin had given them four tickets.

Martin was old, and he was happy to see his grandchildren happy. So he decided to vote for The Revenant to get it nominated. Of course, it also depends on how the other committee members would vote for The Revenant.

.........

......

...

"This is interesting..." Kazir muttered after sipping a hot coffee in the morning.

He was in an expensive hotel room because he had a local TV interview last night.

While reading the newspaper, Kazir noticed some interesting news.

Apparently, News Corporation had decided to buy Marvel Comics. As for the details, Kazir had no idea how the negotiations went.

Such a thing had never happened in his previous life, and he understood that he was one of the factors in the outcome.

Instead of being acquired by Walt Disney, this time Marvel Comics was acquired by News Corporation.

"Is this one of the reasons why 20th Century Fox is keeping quiet?"

So far, four major studios have tried to acquire Grey Pictures. Only Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox remained silent.

Universal Pictures had an obvious reason, Grey Pictures never really liked the company.

But 20th Century Fox was different. Grey Pictures and 20th Century Fox were very close. In fact, the current distributor of their films was 20th Century Fox.

'I think Tom Rothman is going to leave Fox this year or early next year. Someone will take over as CEO of 20th Century.'

With this acquisition, Kazir realized that 20th Century Fox could start its own Cinematic Universe with Marvel Comics... Though there were some problems.

Most of the known Marvel characters were in the hands of Grey Pictures. Marvel Comics would have to buy back the copyrights if they wanted to start a successful Cinematic Universe.

Or Marvel Comics could create another batch of superheroes and use them as movie characters, but this method had a low chance of success.

The reason Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and the X-Men were successful in the first place was because they were famous.

Kazir stood up and looked out the window. The city was very foggy, even though it was early in the morning.

"Was Washington this foggy, or perhaps this very city was a foggy one?" He wondered.

Suddenly his cell phone on the table started ringing.

At first he thought it was Angelina Jolie, because his girlfriend liked to call him in the morning when they were apart. He laughed and grabbed the phone.

His smile faded when he realized it was not Angelina.

"Hello, Salvatore? Is there a problem? Huh, me? Yes, I'm in Washington right now... Okay, I'll be back in Los Angeles today."

His expression became serious. It seemed he was wrong this time. 20th Century Fox was still interested in Grey Pictures, they were just going after the weakest link first.

Kazir heard from Salvatore Barlowe that Tom Rothman wanted to talk to him personally. They wanted to negotiate with him about Grey Pictures. From the looks of it, News Corporation was the one that wanted to make this venture happen.

Grey Pictures and 20th Century Fox could do a stock swap and both sides would make a deal to distribute the films.

Kazir contacted Tom Cruise and the rest of the cast and told him he had to return to Los Angeles. Tom Cruise didn't have a problem, but Kazir had to promise to attend at least one party a week. You have to communicate with people, especially Academy members, to get nominated.

+++++

[Author's Note]

[I can't remember if Martin Ariel is a real person or an original character. Anyway, I'm here again to promote my novel because my brother's exam is coming up and we have a bill to pay... I apologize if I have to beg people on the internet to help me pay our bills. I'm a shameless person and I have to do it because I have to. You may think I'm using my brother as an excuse to siphon off money, but I'm not. I'm not doing it for me, I'm doing it for the betterment of my family.]

[I won't lie, I'm actually proud of myself because I helped fix our roof and our house. Also, our house now has tiles and a shower... If you're a Filipino (poor Filipino to be precise), you'll understand how happy we are whenever we have a chance to use a shower. And now our house has shower too! I can shower every day now! I'm really happy about this little success.]

[Haha, galawang squatter. Tuwang tuwa kapag may shower!]

[All this happened because you supported me. There's even pictures of our roof in my Patreon if you want to see it, I posted it a year ago.]

[If you subscribed to my Patreon or Ko-fi, you can read up to chapter 478. If you use math-thingy, it means you can read 168 advanced chapters. Thanks guys, your support means a lot to me.]

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

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

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 311


Dealing with something as big as the acquisition of a billion-dollar company was something to be taken seriously.

Kazir knew how important this venture was. He was tired of trying to find a distributor every few years. He wanted a stable partner to distribute his films worldwide.

Honestly, sometimes Kazir thought about buying distribution channels instead so that his problem would be gone. But he also knew that this was just a dream. First of all, acquiring and maintaining distribution channels costs a lot of money.

Not even Grey Pictures or Kazir Grey had the financial means to do that. Unless they got a loan from the bank, but that would be detrimental to their upcoming plans. Remember, Grey Pictures wanted to make two successful Cinematic Universes. The first was the CCU and the second was the MCU.

The MCU was actually only a second thought. But it seemed that Kazir was now interested in making it happen.

The competition for Grey Pictures intensified now that 20th Century Fox had entered the fray.

That fact alone increased the net worth of Grey Pictures to $8 billion. And why? Because 20th Century Fox made them a higher offer than the others could match.

Previously, Sony-Columbia had been willing to trade 2.3% of its stock for 30% of Grey Pictures.

But 20th Century Fox was different, they would pay $300 million to buy 3.75% of Grey Pictures. Not only that, but 20th Century Fox would exchange 3.38% stock for another 30% of Grey Pictures.

The net worth of 20th Century Fox was $71 billion. That means that 3.38% of the stock was worth $2.40 billion.

If the deal went through, 20th Century Fox would own 33.75% of Grey Pictures.

If this was a normal acquisition, 20th Century Fox wanted to buy the company outright, but they knew that would be detrimental to their plan because the real value of Grey Pictures was Kazir Grey. So they stopped at that amount.

"So I get $300 million and 3.38% stock?" Kazir asked curiously. That was not bad. Especially when 20th Century Fox promised that Kazir would get $300 million in cash in one payment...

He really didn't know what to do with that amount of money. Maybe he would invest it in stocks... Or maybe buy a mansion or an island in the Pacific.

"That's right." Vance Goodhood nodded. He had been Kazir's financial advisor long before the dot-com bubble burst. Vance worked for Goldman Sachs now, and Kazir was still his client.

For this job, Vance and his small team of elites would receive a 4% commission when he closed the deal.

Kazir would be a major shareholder in 20th Century Fox, if this acquisition went through. He had the power to be part of the board of directors and make a decision for himself and 20th Century Fox.

The largest shareholder was still Rupert Murdoch, and the guy had just bought Marvel Comics last week.

"Vance, I think we know where this is going," Kazir grinned.

"I understand." Vance understood immediately.

20th Century Fox was lighting the dynamite, and that dynamite would affect the other major studios. Even if one of them was interested and increased the offer, it would be great for Grey Pictures.

"Secretly spread the word that 20th Century Fox is willing to buy 30% of Grey Pictures for $300 million and 3.38% stock. I know Goldman Sachs had their ways of making it look like this information didn't come from us."

It was actually 33%, but that little difference didn't matter, did it?

"I understand."

The two shook hands. This was an important deal that Vance didn't want to miss.

Just three days after 20th Century Fox extended its willingness to partner with Grey Pictures, rumors began to circulate in Hollywood that 20th Century Fox was willing to buy 30% of Grey Pictures for $350 million and 3.50% of the stock.

Apparently, Goldman Sachs upped the ante for their own agenda... Bigger numbers mean bigger commissions.

Kazir just chuckled when he heard the news and decided to go back to bed. Angelina, who was in bed, giggled when she saw how active Kazir was lately. The guy was satisfying her in and out of the bedroom.

As everyone expected, one of the Big Six also made an offer. It was none other than the desperate Walt Disney. This company had lost a huge amount of money this year, but it seemed they were willing to bleed even more just to acquire Grey Pictures.

Chairman Eisner called Kazir personally. The old man offered him a seat on the board, he would also receive $375 million and 2.4% of Walt Disney stock. Keep in mind that Walt Disney's net worth was $105 billion.

Those 2.4% shares were worth $2.52 billion.

If Kazir's calculation was correct, then Walt Disney's offer was higher.

20th Century Fox offered only $300 million plus 3.38% stock ($2.40 billion).

As for What Disney, it was ready to give Kazir $375 million plus 2.4% shares ($2.52 billion.).

Now, 20th Century Fox could withdraw from the competition because something happened and their offer was leaked. But it seemed that 20th Century Fox was also serious about Grey Pictures.

Instead of stopping, they continued to contact Grey Pictures and Goldman Sachs about the matter.

.........

......

...

While this was happening, November was slowly passing by. 8 Mile starring Eminem was released on November 8th and did well.

8 Mile grossed $51.24 million in its first weekend. By that time, The Revenant had already grossed $95.70 million. The Revenant was close to $100 million.

However, a lot of people knew that The Revenant's third week gross would be affected. Why was that? Because Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets would be released on November 15th.

That movie was one of the most anticipated movies of the year. Surely the sequel would make a lot of money at the box office.

+++++

[Author's Note: I know that my pricing for the net worth of the Big Six are far from reality. Sad to say, I can't edit it anymore because the whole math-thingy in the next 50 chapters will be affected.]

 

[a guy1013]

Problems of having over 100 plus chapters behind a pay wall you don't get to properly edit chapters from opinions aside from your paying customers who may not be experts ,but still it is getting fun

 

[Pujimaki]

Problems of having over 100 plus chapters behind a pay wall you don't get to properly edit chapters from opinions aside from your paying customers who may not be experts ,but still it is getting fun

Click to shrink...

Nah, it's more like it's a huge hassle for me to edit those numbers since I'm not a fan of complicated math.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 312


Since Harry Potter had a loyal fan base all over North America, it was obvious that many people wanted to see the sequel. Especially since the first movie was a huge success, grossing $974 million at the box office.

Realizing the potential of this franchise, Warner Brothers decided to help J.K. Rowling expand the influence of Harry Potter. The novels were published in many countries and promoted in front of many bookstores.

This was one of the methods to ensure that the Harry Potter franchise would be successful at the box office. Warner Brothers was not cheap when it came to investing in the second film.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets cost $100 million.

The release date arrived and many theaters were filled with moviegoers. Most of them were young people who had seen the first movie or read the novels.

At that time (2002), J.K. Rowling had already written 4 novels and this was the foundation of the success of the franchise, a complete source material to use... Unlike some authors who could not finish their novels.

George R.R. Martin failed to finish A Song of Ice and Fire before Game of Thrones season 8 ended... Probably one of the reasons why the last season was disappointing was that there was no source material to use.

So for the writers who were struggling to finish their novels, they had to stop procrastinating and keep writing, no matter how shitty the writing was. Because that was the only way to finish their novel, to keep writing.

On November 15, 2002, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets grossed $29.63 million in just 24 hours.

Audiences didn't leave the theaters disappointed, the second film did well. There were a lot of cuts since the movie could not include all the content of the book, but it was still entertaining.

Word of mouth was influential as many people recommended the movie to their friends and family.

The first weekend of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ended with $88.35 million. An amazing performance. As expected from Harry Potter, one of the biggest movie franchises in the history of cinema.

Even the first weekend of The Revenant could not compare to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The Revenant's first weekend grossed only $41 million.

Some articles made fun of Kazir Grey because of this result. His movie this year was nothing compared to Harry Potter.

Kazir's last two movies grossed over $1 billion at the box office and the expectations for his next movie were higher.

However, Kazir Grey decided to deliver a biopic movie. The movie had its highlights, but it was mediocre compared to Wanted and Spider-Man.

For some people, art was important. For others, the box office was more important.

In this situation, Kazir decided to focus more on the art because his goal for The Revenant was to win at the Oscars. As long as The Revenant was not a box office flop, it was fine.

As of this writing, The Revenant has already grossed $115.57 million. The total budget for The Revenant was $135 million, plus the promotional budget.

Even though the box office hasn't surpassed the budget yet, The Revenant has already done well, and only fools would believe that The Revenant is a flop.

If some newspapers bashed Kazir, most film critics praised the director instead.

The Revenant was different from the usual movies Kazir made. It was inspiring to see someone as talented as Kazir step away from mainstream genres.

Biopics are based on real people and real events, sometimes not historically accurate, but it still sends the message.

One week after the release of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 007: Die Another Day was released by MGM. The movie grossed $47.07 in its first weekend.

Unfortunately, the box office champion of the week was still Harry Potter, as the movie grossed $148.35 million after ten days in theaters.

No promising movies were released after 007: Die Another Day and the days passed by until December arrived.

Grey Pictures was already preparing most of the props for Kazir's next project. Kazir Grey, Tom Cruise and the cast of The Revenant were out of the country promoting the film internationally. Harold Witsend was in charge of prepping Pirates of the Caribbean while Kazir was gone.

They spent almost three weeks flying around promoting the movie.

Of course, Kazir and Tom would return to Los Angeles on December 19, as the Golden Globes would announce the nominations for the 60th Golden Globes Awards.

The Academy Awards and the Golden Globes were highly respected in the industry.

On December 18, the day before the Golden Globes nominations were announced, the last most anticipated film of the year was released. It was none other than The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Just like Harry Potter, this franchise has gathered so many fans after the success of the first movie.

Both Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings were adaptations of novels. In this case, it shows that novels should be taken seriously. Because they can be an important source of profit.

The first 24-hour box office for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers grossed $26.15 million. New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers were the clear winners this year.

While the opening day results of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was released, the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California was packed with people, and these people were mostly celebrities and people who worked in Hollywood.

Kazir and Tom were sitting at a table, laughing and talking. They looked professional in their tuxedos.

Everyone was waiting for the announcement.

+++++

[I know it's not related, but I've already finished a novel with over 500 chapters. I say I'm not one of those writers who can't finish a story because I've already finished one... I will also make sure to finish this novel as long as I'm alive. So yeah, thanks for all the support. ]

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 313


The party was not that extravagant. In the first place, they would only stay in this place for at least an hour. They were just waiting for the nominations to be announced. There were few fruits to munch on and drinks to get tipsy.

Most of the personalities attending the meeting were part of the movies that have strong contenders to be nominated. The Golden Globes may be a level lower than the Academy Awards, but it was still a prestigious institution.

Tom Cruise has won Golden Globes in the past. Most of the time, the Golden Globes were like the People's Choice Award.

The Golden Globes, like the Oscars, favors art films, but the winners and nominations could be influenced.

The voters who decide the winners are all entertainment journalists for recognized media organizations... So yes, they could be bribed.

Kazir and Tom didn't forget about this ceremony, they also spent some time and money to convince people to nominate them.

CAA, Grey Pictures, Tom's PR team and even 20th Century Fox got involved. 20th Century Fox was the current distributor of The Revenant, and they would be happy to see the movie win awards, which could increase box office and DVD sales. Another reason was that 20th Century Fox wanted to score points with Kazir.

If Kazir won the Best Director award, he might come to an agreement with 20th Century Fox.

So far, the highest bidder was Sony-Colombia, which offered $2.70 billion for 30% of Grey Pictures. Kazir was waiting until next year to make a decision.

Since Kazir and Tom were at the meeting, their partners were also there.

Angelina Jolie sat next to Kazir, while Penelope Cruz sat next to Tom Cruise... Now that you think about it, Tom and Penelope have almost the same last names.

The two women seemed to have a good relationship, there was no reason to be angry with each other. They even talked about going shopping this weekend.

Tom Cruise thought they would get nominations tonight, so he invited Kazir to go fishing in the ocean later. Tom Cruise had a yacht they could use.

"It all depends on whether we get nominated."

"Come on Kazir, don't be so negative. We both know we will be nominated. You were even nominated six years ago in the Best Director category for Taken."

"I didn't attend the nominations or the award ceremony because I knew I wouldn't win," Kazir muttered... Actually, he forgot. He didn't even remember who won that year. He was too busy to even think about winning an award.

Maybe Kazir never took the Golden Globes seriously.

"But this time I think we have a chance," Tom told him and Kazir nodded. Their movie and their performance was better this time... The fact that Taken won Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay was very puzzling. Well, it was true that the movie influenced a positive movement in society, so it deserved to win the awards.

And this time Kazir and Tom were prepared. They didn't mind spending money as long as they got their long-awaited awards. The two were rich anyway.

"Babe," Angelina whispered in Kazir's ear. "If you don't get a nomination, I'll do my best to make you happy tonight." She giggled weakly and kissed him on the cheek.

Kazir smiled and nodded his head. He knew that the Golden Globes were not their goal, so even if he didn't get a nomination, it would be okay. But it would be a different matter if he didn't get nominated for the Academy Awards. That would mean that all his hard work was for nothing.

"Tch, she's coming," Penelope muttered and everyone understood what she meant.

The four saw a tall and beautiful woman approach their table... It was none other than Nicole Kidman.

Tom Cruise kept his jovial smile on, but it was clear that he didn't like the fact that Nicole was getting closer.

"Our divorce just ended and now you're dating someone." Nicole smiled. She was also there to hear the nominations.

"Nicole, we are already divorced. I'm allowed to date whoever I want."

"I'm not even sure you were faithful to me before we divorced. I'm sure you met this woman before our divorce."

Nicole Kidman was here for her role as Virginia Woolf in The Hours. The movie had a chance to be nominated and possibly win some awards. By the way, The Hours was produced by Miramax Films.

"Nicole, you don't want to make a scene here."

As expected, Harvey Weinstein showed up. He turned to Tom's table and glanced at Kazir before eyeing Nicole, who returned to her seat.

Nicole Kidman was composed and smiled as she excused herself. For some reason, however, she seemed indignant.

Harvey Weinstein then left. He didn't bother to say hello to Tom or Kazir. Miramax never made a big investment, so it was impossible to hire someone like Tom Cruise.

Miramax was good at making art films and their films won many awards every year. Miramax basically cracked the code in winning Awards, or maybe Harvey Weinstein's influence in the Oscars was strong.

Maybe Kazir Grey and Harvey Weinstein would have a face-off at the Oscars. Because both of their movies had a chance to compete at the Oscars.

Some celebrities watched the scene but kept their silence. They hoped that something interesting would happen, but they were disappointed when Nicole Kidman left after a few minutes. Nicole and Tom's separation was never peaceful and many rumors were circulating.

Kazir didn't care, because he knew that Tom Cruise would remain popular in the 2020s. The actor was still healthy when the old Kazir died in a road accident.

As for Nicole Kidman... Let's just say that her popularity was nothing compared to Tom Cruise's.

This little scene ended and the people responsible for the announcement appeared.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 314


The list was this:

--------------------------

[BEST PICTURE]

Chicago – Martin Richards, producers

Gangs of New York – Alberto Grimaldi and Harvey Weinstein, producers

The Hours – Scott Rudin and Robert Fox, producers

The Revenant – Kazir Grey, Harold Witsend, producers

The Pianist – Roman Polanski, Robert Bunmussa, and Alain Sarde, producers

----------------------------

[BEST DIRECTOR]

Roman Polanski – The Pianist

Rob Marshall – Chicago

Martin Scorsese – Gangs of New York

Stephen Daldry – The Hours

Kazir Grey – The Revenant

-----------------------

[BEST ACTOR]

Adrien Brody – The Pianist as Władysław Szpilman

Nicolas Cage – Adaptation as Charlie Kaufman / Donald Kaufman

Tom Cruise – The Revenant as Hugh Glass

Daniel Day-Lewis – Gangs of New York as Bill "The Butcher" Cutting

Jack Nicholson – About Schmidt as Warren R. Schmidt

--------------------------

[BEST ACTRESS]

Nicole Kidman – The Hours as Virginia Woolf

Salma Hayek – Frida as Frida Kahlo

Diane Lane – Unfaithful as Constance "Connie" Sumner

Julianne Moore – Far from Heaven as Cathy Whitaker

Renée Zellweger – Chicago as Roxie Hart

----------------------------

[BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY]

The Pianist – Ronald Harwood (based on the book by Władysław Szpilman)

About a Boy – Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz, and Paul Weitz (based on the book by Nick Hornby)

Adaptation – Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman (based on the book The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean)

Chicago – Bill Condon (based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins)

The Revenant – Kazir Grey (based on the book The Revenant by Michael Punke)

------------------------

Aside from that, there were still a lot of awards that the Golden Globes offered, such as Best Supporting Actor/Actress, Best Makeup, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Animated Short, etc.

From the looks of it, The Revenant was nominated for four major awards. The film was also nominated for Best Film Editing and Best Costume Design. In total, the movie was nominated for six awards. Something to celebrate.

Getting nominations was an accomplishment in itself. Note that only a few select films could get nominations, and The Revenant was nominated in six categories.

The crew of The Revenant had a reason to celebrate this week... Yeah, another party to mingle with, something Kazir was uncomfortable with. Well, a party was a way for him to communicate with the other Academy members. CAA and Grey Pictures must have a lot of people to invite.

And yes, Nicole Kidman also received a nomination. The actress was happy, of course. Like I said, getting a nomination was already an accomplishment. To get one was already a hard thing to do.

Out of all the movies, Chicago got the most nominations with 13 nominations in different categories. By the way, this movie was produced by Miramax...

Gangs Of The New York came in second with 10 nominations. And yes, this movie was also produced by Miramax.

The Hours came in third with 9 nominations... surprise, surprise, this movie was also produced by Miramax.

Wow.

The Pianist received seven nominations. It was not produced by Miramax because the director of this movie was Roman Polanski and the guy was not allowed to set foot on the soil of the United States... Frankly, it was a mystery how he got nominated in the first place.

Frida was another movie produced by Miramax and it got 6 nominations. Obviously Miramax was doing some kind of quantitative shit to make sure they had a chance to win awards in different categories. Despicable.

Road to Perdition also got 6 nominations and was produced by DreamWorks Pictures.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers also received 6 nominations and was produced by New Line Cinema.

The Revenant, produced by Grey Pictures and distributed by 20th Century Fox, also received 6 nominations.

Other films received 4 and 2 nominations.

Tonight was pretty satisfying for a lot of people. Although Harvey Weinstein was a little disappointed that The Hours wasn't nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Well, at least a lot of their movies have more nominations than The Revenant. Harvey Weinstein felt good knowing that.

As for Kazir, he was happy too. Having 6 nominations was an accomplishment. He didn't even care about the other movies that were nominated. He was just happy tonight.

After this brief celebration, Tom and Kazir parted ways. Kazir sensed that Penelope Cruz was uncomfortable because Nicole Kidman was nominated for Best Actress. They were both actresses, but Nicole Kidman had already been nominated in prestigious institutions like the Golden Globes.

..........

.......

...

December 19 just passed, and more people were interested in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers than the nominations for the Golden Globes. They were only nominations anyway. That day (Thursday), The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers earned another $13.87 million.

On Friday(December 20), which usually has a strong box office, the movie made another $19.22 million.

On Saturday (December 21), another $22.75 million was added to the box office.

On Sunday (December 22), the film made $20.03 million.

Combined with the first day's $26.15 million, The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers has grossed $102.04 million. The movie had a midnight premiere on Tuesday, so the box office was huge.

A movie could have a premiere any day of the week. Most people just premiered their movies on Thursday at midnight to maximize their box office performance. Because Friday through Sunday had the highest number of moviegoers.

From the looks of it, the champion this year was Warner Brothers, since they technically own New Line Cinema... Second place might be taken by Grey Pictures/20th Century Fox.

Even though Grey Pictures only released three movies this year, they have already crossed the $1 billion mark.

+++++

[Hey, I just want to promote my Pat reon and Ko-fi. For $10 you can read 171 chapters of HWI and other content about my Pat reon and Ko-fi].

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

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

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 315


December was the last month of the year... Many people already knew that. This month was merry because you know, Christmas. And next month would be happy because, you know, New Year's... Ahem.

While many families were preparing for Christmas, Grey Pictures had a Christmas party to celebrate their success this year. They had a party on December 21, and a lot of workers attended the party, because the company spent a lot of money on this party... Too bad, because Kazir was never a fan of party drugs. The party was too formal.

Some of the crew members used drugs, and Kazir couldn't stop people from doing what they wanted. As long as he didn't see them doing it, he never reprimanded them.

Of course, he didn't tolerate that kind of behavior in his crew either.

Grey Pictures released three films this year, but their revenues exceeded $1 billion. The company was an A-list production studio at that point.

The Revenant was nominated for many awards at the Golden Globes. The movie was released on October 31, 2002. Currently, the film has grossed more than $169.57 million after 52 days at the North American box office.

Also, the international box office for The Revenant was approximately $173.52 million. The total worldwide gross was $343.09 million.

International distribution was much faster now because of technological advances. Back then, production studios had to move tons of film reels and distribute them across the country.

Then, when the local run was over, the Big Six (the six studios that can distribute movies internationally) would pick up all the film reels and send them to other countries. Sometimes they have to make thousands of copies and send more internationally.

However, the invention of memory cards/SD cards and DVD discs changed the way studios distributed their movies. Film reels were thick and heavy, but memory cards and DVD discs were small, thinner and lighter. This made distribution much easier and the cost much lower.

Once the Internet became the norm, distributing movies worldwide would be a click away. But that was another story.

So far, there was a rumor that 20th Century Fox intended to release X-Men 2 in 25 countries on the same day. This would change the game even more. Releasing movies worldwide on the same day would no longer be a dream.

The second movie released by Grey Pictures was Mr. And Mrs. Smith. It premiered on August 7, 2002.

The movie completed its worldwide release after five months. Mr. And Mrs. Smith grossed $487.28 million. Too bad, because the movie didn't cross the $500 million mark before it was put down by theaters. But honestly, that amount was already amazing.

Just like Mr. And Mrs. Smith, The Bourne Supremacy finished its worldwide run and the movie grossed $710.68 million. An amazing performance. The performance was affected positively because of the death of its creator, Robert Ludlum.

Sequels to a successful movie usually do better at the box office because there was already a fan base for the movie.

In the case of The Bourne Supremacy, the series was part of the Continental Cinematic Universe and the whole franchise was very hot at the moment.

This had a positive effect on the performance of The Bourne Supremacy. Some fans were even hoping that John Wick or Bryan Mills would face off in the next film. That would be exciting to watch.

The Revenant has now grossed over $343.09 million!

Mr. And Mrs. Smith finished its run with $487.28 million at the worldwide box office!

The Bourne Supremacy has also grossed $710.68 million worldwide!

Together, the three movies grossed a whopping $1.54 billion. A huge amount of money...

Unfortunately, Grey Pictures only got about 40% of that amount. While Cinema Alliance and 20th Century Fox got 60% of that amount.

If the calculation is correct, Grey Pictures could possibly get $616.40 million. Still a lot of money.

Unfortunately, the IRS would definitely want at least 30% of that $616 million, because the IRS is a daylight robber, I mean, a daylight blessing.

Furthermore, if you subtract Grey Pictures' investment in the three movies, the company's profit would probably be around $250 million at best.

So far, 20th Century Fox has only paid for Mr. And Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Supremacy.

Even though 20th Century Fox was only the distributor of their movies, it was obvious that 20th Century Fox made money as well. Their pure profit just from distributing three movies was probably around $100 million.

20th Century Fox wanted to show that they would be a great partner for Grey Pictures because they were quick to pay the money.

Grey Pictures had a lot of money at the time. One of the reasons why the Christmas party was a bit extravagant.

Another reason why Grey Pictures made the party high class was because CAA used their connection to invite some Academy members. After all, the Academy still hasn't announced the list of nominees for the 75th Academy Awards. Grey Pictures had to work hard to make sure their film would be nominated.

Kazir and Angelina greeted the old men of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy Awards was founded in 1929 and has gathered 10 thousand members after 8 decades of continuation.

Many of the members were old people, over 60 years old. Another fact was that many of them were Jewish. Millions of Jewish people immigrated to the United States when World War II happened, and some of them lived in Los Angeles, more precisely in Hollywood. These Jewish people slowly created their brand in Hollywood and reached a dominant position.

Since Kazir was also Jewish, CAA devised a plan to ensure that he would be nominated for an Academy Award by mingling with the old members. All Kazir had to do was show that he was proud to be Jewish.

CAA was founded by a Jewish man, so after so many years in the business, he had a lot of ties to Jewish members of the Academy.

This may sound offensive, but Kazir was simply taking advantage of his race. He knew what he was doing and was not ashamed of it. Humans are selfish creatures.

Kazir had never been close to his Jewish side, but tonight he was proud to be one. He had to be. Otherwise he wouldn't win the Best Director Award.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 316


"This is the screenplay for 21 Jump Street."

Kazir gave the script to Lee Himura, one of the producers at Sony-Columbia. Lee Himura was the producer who made a deal with Kazir in exchange for four movie distribution deals.

"Thank you, director." Lee Himura read the script seriously.

Sony-Colombia acquired Bruce Almighty, Anchorman and Horrible Bosses from Kazir. The studio paid Kazir $3.5 million and four film distribution deals just to close the deal. Kazir was also required to write a script for Sony-Columbia for $1 million.

Sony-Colombia, or more specifically Colombia Pictures, at the time had a successful TV series called 21 Jump Street. The show had 5 seasons and its ratings were quite high, starring Johnny Depp as Tom Hanson Jr. The main reason why the show ended after 5 seasons was that Johnny Depp became a superstar after the success of Edward Scissorhands.

Now Sony-Colombia wanted to revive this series as a movie franchise and they asked Kazir to be the screenwriter. Kazir Grey was a famous comedy screenwriter and all the movies he wrote were successful. He has never had a flop. So Sony-Colombia was confident about this project.

Sony-Colombia gave him two years to finish the script. Quite a long time, but this script was an adapted screenplay from a TV show, so Sony-Colombia gave Kazir the time to watch the TV show to get an idea of what to write.

"Pfft-haha! I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh." Lee Himura apologized for his behavior. He read the script seriously, but he didn't expect to laugh instead.

He realized that Kazir was indeed a talented screenwriter. The story was just on paper, but it already made Lee Himura laugh. The scenes where the two male leads fall into drugs and have hallucinations were very funny.

"Actually, I don't know why you decided to make this movie a comedy. If I remember correctly, 21 Jump Street is a police, crime, drama TV show. May I know who thought of making it a comedy?"

Kazir was quite interested.

"About that, it was actually the head producer, Jezebel Salome."

"Her? I didn't expect Jezebel was the one who came up with that idea."

Jezebel Salome was the producer of Spider-Man. She was a workaholic woman and you could tell by her demeanor. For some reason, this producer was very strict with women. Kazir didn't expect someone like her to come up with the idea.

"CEO Frank Price heard her idea and decided to try it. However, we can't find anyone to write the script, so we decided to ask you instead."

"I see..."

Fortunately, Kazir saw the two movies, 21 and 22 Jump Street. Both movies were funny. Too bad the trilogy never happened. Kazir didn't know the exact reason, but he heard that the cast didn't agree. But he was not sure.

When Lee Himura realized that he was disturbing Kazir, he excused himself. He wanted to read the script in a comfortable place. He could just ask Kazir later if there was anything Sony-Colombia wanted to change about the script. However, Lee Himura felt that the script was already perfect the way it was.

.........

......

...

Christmas Eve was an important date for many families in the United States. They celebrate this holiday. Many parents prepared gifts for their children to surprise them. Most of the time, the parents would tell the children that Santa Claus visited their homes to give them presents.

Like many young children, Alissa believed that Santa Claus was real.

"Sister Angel, will Santa bwing me a pwesent tomorrow?"

The little girl asked Angelina Jolie about Santa Claus. Her speech was very adorable.

Alissa was Aaron's daughter. Kazir and Angelina decided to spend their Christmas Eve in New York with Kazir's little family.

Kazir had already met Angelina's family on Thanksgiving, so this time the couple spent time with Kazir's family.

"Are you a good kid or a bad kid this year?" Angelina asked her while holding a Barbie doll.

"I think I am, I'm gwood to my mommy and daddy. I also learned how to use the potty." The little girl said excitedly.

"Wow, you're such a nice girl!" Angelina gently pinched her cheek and Alissa giggled.

"Thank you, Sister Angel."

"I'm just curious, why do you call Angelina Sister Angel? Is it because of her name?" Kazir joined the game and asked Alissa.

"Because she lwooks like an angel."

"Aww, you're so sweet, Alissa. Let me hug you!" Angelina cuddled the little girl.

"Is she?" Kazir was confused. Angelina had never been an angel, especially in bed. She was more like an active kitten who loved attention.

"What do you mean? So I don't look like an angel?" Angelina stared at Kazir, so the man immediately took back his opinion.

"Of course not. You're better than an angel, you're a goddess."

"Huh!" She scoffed and continued to play with Alissa. Kazir smiled, he knew he had messed up tonight and he would have to make it up to her in bed so the woman wouldn't be angry.

A few minutes later, Alissa's parents announced that dinner was ready.

Aaron, Victor and Kazir started talking about their lives and business. Victor and Aaron felt that the Internet had a great future. Kazir gave them the idea of creating an advertising team to promote products on the Internet. In fact, Grey Pictures wanted to hire their company to promote Pirates of the Caribbean on the Internet.

This year was fruitful for all of them. Especially when you compare it to the tragedy they experienced last year. New York was hit by 9/11, luckily Victor's company was still going strong, maybe even stronger.

The next day Alissa received many toys. The little girl was very happy and promised to be a good kid next year.

Just like that, 2002 was over and 2003 arrived. Kazir and Angelina decided to spend the New Year together on a tropical island. They have the whole vacation to themselves.

+++++

[Author's note: For some reason I can't change the cover of this novel in Webnovel.]

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 317


Malvides was a famous tourist place. The place had beautiful islands and tropical weather, a nice place to take a vacation.

Kazir was actually interested in building a villa on one of the islands in this country. However, after learning a lot about the costs, he decided to think about it seriously. Money doesn't grow on trees, they are green but not leaves...

Despite being a small country, it was an expensive destination. It's a remote location with limited space, high-end accommodations, limited local resources, and luxury taxes. A vacation in this country was expensive. But that didn't change the fact that it was a beautiful country.

Kazir and Angelina immediately fell in love with the landscape. The couple rented a nipa hut and sipped coconut juice while gazing at the pearly white sand and endless blue ocean.

They both wore sunglasses to protect their eyes from the sun. Angelina wore a summer hat, she was in a blue bikini and her perfect figure was on another level. She was sexy and beautiful.

"What do you think? Should we build a resort here?" Angelina asked.

It was still the early 2000s and Kazir had the opportunity to own a resort in the small country. But he decided not to.

"Let's go to Bali or Boracay next time. Maybe we can build a resort there." Kazir replied.

"Okay."

They both loved the peaceful atmosphere of the island. They lived in the noisy city of Los Angeles, and the atmosphere between the two places was very different. Every once in a while, they appreciated something as quiet as this.

While they were resting in the nipa hut, three Caucasian women approached them curiously.

"Excuse me, but are you Director Kazir Grey?" One of the women asked Kazir.

"Yes, I'm Kazir Grey." Kazir was surprised because he hadn't expected anyone to recognize him in this place.

Kazir was famous because he always had a cameo in every CCU movie, but his fame was still nothing compared to superstars. At least in terms of celebrity, Kazir was nothing compared to Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts.

Suddenly, the woman who recognized Kazir screamed happily.

"Kyaaahhh---! Oh my God, I didn't expect to see you here. Director Grey, I'm a fan. I've seen all your movies, I can name them all without a problem."

She immediately hugged Kazir and jumped on his chest, rubbing her face against his chest. Kazir flinched instinctively. He was shocked and uncomfortable.

Note that three women were wearing nothing but bikinis, so the woman's skin brushed against him and he didn't feel comfortable at all. This sudden skin interaction makes him shiver, but in a negative way.

"I'm sorry, but I think you should..."

"I love all your movies, from Haunted Potatoes to Zombie Pajama Dance Party to The Mummy Makeover..."

"All right, all right, that's enough."

Angelina separated the two by "gently" pulling the woman off Kazir's chest. Angelina kept her smile on, but Kazir knew his girlfriend was angry. Luckily, Angelina was wearing sunglasses, so her death-staring eyes were covered. Otherwise the three women might run away in fear.

"And who are you anyway?" The woman glared at Angelina.

"Me? I'm Angelina Jolie, Kazir's girlfriend."

"Oh, so you're really Angelina Jolie? Looking at you in person, you're actually not that beautiful."

"Bitch what?" Angelina was enraged and ready to pull the woman's hair.

The other two Caucasian women felt that their friend was acting crazy, so they tried to mediate.

But the woman was too hot-headed to listen. Kazir stood between them to stop her.

"I'm sorry, but Angelina and I are on vacation, I hope you will respect our privacy."

"Of course, of course I respect you, Director Grey." The woman nodded.

"But before I go, could I have your autograph, please? My friend here has a permanent marker."

"... Okay?" Kazir tilted his head, a little confused. He looked at Angelina and the woman clicked her tongue, but decided to agree, as long as the bitch left them alone.

"Can you sign your name on my chest, oh, sign on my left tit instead! Please!"

"I think I'll sign on a newspaper instead." Kazir had a newspaper and decided to write on it instead. Besides, he knew that Angelina would be angry if he signed on someone's breast or tit.

"Okay, that's fine too."

The three women left a few minutes later.

"... Do you guys always experience this?" Kazir asked Angelina.

He knew that celebrities experienced being harassed in public. Sometimes celebrities suffered from stalkers who followed them like rabid dogs.

"That's right." Angelina sighed. Angelina didn't like the woman at all, the woman had no respect for Kazir and Angelina.

"Sometimes they send a dead mouse to your mailbox."

"I think that's not a fan, but a hater." Kazir thought.

"This is the first day of the year and something bad has already happened. Tch, it's because of that bitch. I hope it will not happen again." Angelina grumbled. Her mood changed and Kazir had to spoil her again to make her happy...

Having unreasonable fans was probably one of the curses of being a celebrity.

Celebrities had experienced it many times, but Kazir hadn't expected to receive the same treatment.

'Does this mean I'm already famous?'

The two decided to return to the resort and spend the rest of the day in the room. They didn't want to be disturbed by another crazy woman.

'Now that I think about it, I never experience this kind of harassment when Erica is with me. She's so tall and looks threatening because of her scar, so that's probably one of the reasons why some people are afraid to come near me. I guess Erica is worth hiring after all.'

Erica Mendez looked like a soldier, even though she was an assistant... Well, she was one.

Surprisingly, Erica was a mother of twins. Whenever Erica had a day off, she always spent it with her family.

+++++++

[Many readers told me that Kazir really needed a vacation, so I decided to give him one. Although it seems that this vacation was not a good experience for both Kazir and Angelina].

 

[Lord_Indoril_Nerevar]

Haven't yet finished getting up to date with the story.

But if Kazir is going to include fast and Furious in his CCU. He should also include Jason bateman's the transporter, the undisputed movies and the expendables as part of it.

Scott Adkin's Yuri Boyka will fit nicely in this franchise.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 318


Unlike the Maldives with its fresh and warm breeze, Los Angeles has a slightly cold breeze right now. Not because of winter, but because of heavy rain.

Angelina and Kazir returned to Los Angeles and found that the sky was dark and rainy. This weather could last for a week.

"Did you bring an umbrella?" Kazir asked his assistant, Erica Mendez, who waited for her boss at the airport.

"It's been raining since yesterday, so I prepared two umbrellas for you." Erica nodded.

There was a space between the airport entrance and the road that had no canopy to block the rain.

"That's good to hear."

Kazir passed the umbrella to Angelina, but the actress shook her head and grinned mischievously instead.

"I want to share an umbrella with you." She grabbed his arm.

The little incident in the Maldives faded from their minds as they spent most of their time having fun on the island. No reason to be angry with strangers.

"What about the other umbrella?"

"Give it back to Erica."

Well, Erica already had her own umbrella, but she got another one. The umbrella tax...

Kazir and Angelina shared a small space under the umbrella. They were like a young high school couple. Well, as long as they were happy.

Erica followed suit and took the driver's seat. Being an assistant, she also became Kazir's driver.

Looking at the rain and the wet road, Kazir suddenly thought of something.

"Erica, do you know a bodyguard?"

"Bodyguard, sir? A professional bodyguard or someone who just knows how to fight?"

"It's better if he's a professional and has experience in protecting people."

"I'll start looking for one, sir." It seemed that Erica had someone in mind.

"It will be even better if he knows how to drive," Kazir smiled... He realized that he was being too cheap right now.

He was already a millionaire and his life was important. It wouldn't be bad to hire some bodyguards to protect him.

"Sir?"

"Congratulations, Erica. You will no longer be my driver once I find a bodyguard."

"Will I have a salary deduction?"

Erica's salary last year was over $450,000 and it was the biggest amount she ever had. She loved her job because it allowed her to provide for her twins.

If she stopped driving for Kazir, she might lose part of her salary. She would rather continue driving if she had to keep her salary.

"You don't have to worry, Erica. You're my trusted assistant and I'll make sure I never do anything bad to you. Your salary will not be affected."

In fact, Kazir was thinking of raising her salary. Erica knew many of the company's secrets, and Kazir wanted to make sure the woman would remain loyal to him and Grey Pictures. A non-disclosure agreement was an important aspect, but loyalty could make it better.

As Angelina began to nod off against Kazir's shoulder, Kazir decided to ask Erica about his schedule.

"So what's my schedule this week?"

"Sir, Sony Colombia wants to meet with you." Erica started to list important meetings that Kazir had to attend.

Kazir nodded.

"It's probably about 21 Jump Street and the acquisition."

Sony-Colombia's recent performance has been improving. They acquired a profitable franchise called Spider-Man. This franchise alone made Sony-Colombia relevant for decades to come.

'Spider-Man can be compared to Metro Goldwyn Mayer's 007. I say James Bond and Peter Parker carried their respective studios.' Kazir thought.

"Another meeting is about the pre-production of Wanted 2 and..."

"Go on," Kazir muttered. Angelina was already asleep and Kazir gently laid the woman's head on his lap. The flight had been long and the woman was jet-lagged.

"Pirates of the Caribbean..."

"Do you have anything to say, Erica?"

"Sir, a lot of people in the company are afraid that this project could be disastrous."

Kazir just shrugged. He had expected this outcome and was not surprised that some people would react badly.

What they didn't realize is that Pirates of the Caribbean is going to be a huge franchise worth billions of dollars.

In his opinion, it would be too wasteful to let Walt Disney produce this franchise. Besides, Walt Disney didn't care about the cast of Pirates of the Caribbean anyway.

The fact that Walt Disney just fired Johnny Depp without hearing his side of the story was very Disney-like.

"Erica, do you trust me?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you think Pirates of the Caribbean will flop?"

"Sir, you are not God. Not everything will go your way."

"That's right."

Kazir admitted it. Even now he was afraid that he wouldn't be nominated for the Academy Awards. The Golden Globes were one thing, but the Oscars were on another level.

Maybe he really needed this vacation because he was free of stress for a week... Although he missed the feeling of stress, nervousness and thrill.

He wanted to make another movie and prove himself to the industry.

"What about the other CCU movie?"

Grey Pictures released two CCU movies a year. Last year, The Bourne Supremacy and Mr. And Mrs. Smith were released. The performance of both movies was above average. Both were probably in the top 10 highest-grossing films of 2002.

"Ah, about that. You know..."

Erica didn't know how to explain. This particular project was still in the process of casting.

Compared to Wanted 2 and Pirates Of The Caribbean, the last project was quite late.

Wanted 2 would be directed by Fremont Smith, while Pirates Of The Caribbean would be directed by Kazir Grey.

One of the reasons why the last project was late was that it took Grey Pictures a long time to find a director to direct the movie. Many aspiring directors inquired, but only a few could meet the criteria.

It was not easy to be a director. Many of them suffered from too much stress and began to lose their hair.

++++++

[Author's note: I actually have no idea which movie I should choose as the new part of the CCU. So I'm going to ask you for your choices instead. As long as the movies are reasonable and can be added to the CCU, then I have no problem with it. I will list them and make a poll tomorrow].

The Equalizer

The Expendables

Raid

Nobody

[Edit: The poll has already closed and the next franchise has been chosen.]

 

[Luizinho]

RED.

And he could make a TV show for fox.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Lord_Indoril_Nerevar]

Already finished reading all chapters.

Took me 2 days.

First of all...

Stop writing Colombia instead of Columbia, goddammit, it ain't that hard.

Continúe to do so. And I will start posting images of Pablo Escobar everytime you make such an asinine mistake.

Seriously, it's annoying...

Second.

Kazir should take some stand alone movies from the future and fold them into one of his franchises as part of their installments.

Examples...

Take baby driver and make it an installment of either Wanted or Fast and Furious.

Have Bullet Train become part of Mr and Ms Smith. Just change Brad Pitt character appropiatedly. Or use the movie as one of those crossovers events.

Take nobody, and turn it into Taken 4 or 5.

Things like this...

 

[Pujimaki]

Already finished reading all chapters.

Took me 2 days.

First of all...

Stop writing Colombia instead of Columbia, goddammit, it ain't that hard.

Continúe to do so. And I will start posting images of Pablo Escobar everytime you make such an asinine mistake.

Seriously, it's annoying...

Second.

Kazir should take some stand alone movies from the future and fold them into one of his franchises as part of their installments.

Examples...

Take baby driver and make it an installment of either Wanted or Fast and Furious.

Have Bullet Train become part of Mr and Ms Smith. Just change Brad Pitt character appropiatelly. Or use the movie as one of those crossovers events.

Take nobody, and turn it into Taken 4 or 5.

Things like this...

Click to shrink...

... So you're telling me that it's not Sony-Colombia? What? My whole life is a lie... I'm still going to make the mistake though, I apologize. Just let it slide.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 319


"What do you think? It looks cool, right?"

Harold Witsend was a bit enthusiastic as he showed Kazir the pirate ship. The two of them were in a huge warehouse that Grey Pictures rented for large props like a 100-foot-long ship.

Before he was a producer, Harold was the head of the props crew. He has a strong artistic sense, so he fell in love with the pirate ship the first time he saw it.

Harold found a company that made wooden boats and wooden ships. Some of their products were for art galleries.

Harold hired them to build a real and working pirate ship and they didn't disappoint Harold. Seeing the beautiful ship, Harold realized that returning to the props team might not be bad...

Although he was mature enough to understand that his current position and salary were far more important to his current life. After all, he had a family to support. He sighed, then got surprised, then sad, then became happy after looking at the ship.

"What do you think, it's great, isn't it? We haven't used it at sea yet, but the company assures us that it works well."

Kazir touched his chin and inspected the ship. It was large, but not super large compared to modern ships. Kazir admitted that it looked amazing, but he wanted something old.

"... Make it old, I want it to look like it's been floating in the sea for hundreds of years. I want a pirate ship, no, a ghost ship might be a better term."

"What? How much more should we spend?"

Having been a producer for so many years, Harold had become sensitive about spending.

"As long as it looks good, I have no problem spending money. Oh, I told you, I need about 10 of these ships. I want them before April."

"... Fine."

The company had already built some of the ships, and their production speed could catch up before filming. Harold just felt that it was painful to turn these brand new ships into old, greasy pirate ships. But a few months later when he saw the finished products, he realized that ghost ships were not so bad. Old ships had something unique about them.

"How are the negotiations going with Johnny Depp?"

The topic changed to the cast.

"Their side is asking for quite a bit more. Although I can see that Johnny Depp is interested in the role of Jack Sparrow."

"What about Orlando Bloom? Did WMA do anything?"

"As far as I know, no."

Kazir Grey was once a client of WMA, but things happened and he was kicked out. Since then, the relationship between the two has never been good.

WMA regretted that Kazir had changed agency and they couldn't work with him anymore. Kazir was no longer just a director, he was a superstar.

CAA became the strongest agency in the industry and Kazir influenced this outcome. Now more actors/actresses want to end their contracts just to join CAA. At least CAA had someone like Kazir who could make blockbusters year after year. Perhaps that was Kazir's greatest talent. He made movies every year and they all did well at the box office.

"Orlando Bloom seems excited. We haven't reached an agreement yet, but the negotiations are already down to $4 million... Orlando Bloom? Wasn't that the actor who auditioned for Wesley Gibson? Damn, I just remembered that." Harold realized it just now.

Kazir chuckled. In fact, when Kazir saw Orlando Bloom's name when he was auditioning for Wanted, he suddenly remembered Pirates of the Caribbean. Orlando Bloom was the catalyst for Kazir's obsession with the pirate movie. He remembered that Pirates Of The Caribbean was worth billions of dollars.

"As for Keira Knightley, her team had no problem with our offer. First of all, they are happy to get an invitation from Grey Pictures."

Keira Knightley was not new to the industry. She had been acting since 1993 and was slowly gaining a foothold. The woman had steady jobs over the years, but Pirates of the Caribbean was no easy film.

Kazir intends to invest at least $100 million in the film. That alone was enough to get a lot of actors/actresses interested.

In fact, Kazir wanted Angelina to star in this movie since Pirates Of The Caribbean was not part of the CCU. However, Angelina had Lara Croft: Tomb Raider — The Cradle of Life and Beyond Borders to film. She didn't have enough time to join Kazir's project. Besides, Angelina also had to promote How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days this year.

"That's good to hear. Lower their salaries as much as possible, we both know that if this movie is a success-"

"I know, I know. You're going to turn it into a franchise with multiple sequels. So it will be better if they have lower salaries as a starting point."

"I'm glad you understand."

"Of course..."

Ring Ring--!

Suddenly Harold Witsend received a phone call. He opened the phone and his expression turned cold when he saw the caller's name.

"Harold, are you all right?"

"Ah, yes, let me take this call for a few minutes."

Harold excused himself and Kazir was left alone. He studied the pirate ship. He admitted that the design was cool, but they looked brand new. It was still a prototype and the company had plenty of time to make adjustments.

"Too bad, because some of these ships will have to be destroyed. One was eaten by an octopus, the others were destroyed in battle with the Flying Dutchman...".

Kazir admitted that they might have to waste a lot of props for this project.

A few minutes later, Harold showed up, but his expression was no better. Kazir tried to ask the man about it, but Harold said it was a private matter.

The two continued to inspect the props for the project. Although Kazir sensed that something was wrong with Harold.