HOLLYWOOD WHAT IF

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 320


January was not much and there were few events that people remembered. Such as 50 Cent winning the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video and Best New Artist in 2003 and Billboard Song of the Year in 2003.

Another major event this month was Super Bowl XXXVII, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won against the Raiders.

As expected, there were few big movies released this month. In fact, only two movies crossed the $100 million mark at the worldwide box office. Those two movies were Just Married and The Recruit.

Just Married was a romantic comedy starring Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy. Ashton Kutcher was cast in many romantic comedies in the early 2000s.

The Recruit was a thriller suspense film starring Colin Farrell and Al Pacino. Two great actors in one movie.

Except for these two movies, most of the movies released this January were mediocre. Hollywood was probably cooking up something for the summer season.

Speaking of Hollywood, an important award show will be held this month. It was none other than the 60th Golden Globe Awards.

The show was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California. Just one month after the nominations were announced, the Golden Globes were already preparing the show for the winners and their guests.

The network that covered the show was NBC (National Broadcasting Company).

Kazir and Angelina attended the show together. Angelina wore a white gold sheath, a straight dress that fell from the hips.

As for Kazir, well, he was wearing a gray blazer, white shirt and black pants. He looked formal as always.

"I didn't expect you to wear anything gold... Does that mean something?"

Kazir whispered to Angelina as they posed in front of the cameras taking their pictures. Angelina smiled slightly and leaned closer.

"I think you will get something golden tonight." She giggled.

Kazir smiled. Well, maybe tonight he would get the Golden Globes trophy. The trophy only cost about $800, and it was made of marble and zinc and plated with 24-karat gold. But the value of the trophy was important to someone like Kazir, who was working to gain recognition in the industry.

After the hustle and bustle, the two slowly made their way to the entrance of the Golden Globes. As they found their seats, Angelina whispered to Kazir.

"By the way, I'm actually wearing a golden g-string tonight."

"..." Kazir's lips went stiff like another part of his body. He turned to Angelina, only to see the woman smiling beautifully.

The camera was pointed at the couple and Angelina immediately used her perfect smile. As for Kazir, he realized that Angelina was making fun of him, so his reaction was slow.

When he saw the camera, his smile was still stiff. As if he had heard something interesting.

'... Well, the golden G-string is not so bad. I can sniff it once in a while... Ahem, what am I thinking?'

Tonight he lost to Angelina.

A few minutes later, Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz appeared and sat down at the table with Kazir and Angelina. This table was set up for the crew of The Revenant (the people who were nominated).

It was not easy to get an invitation to the Golden Globes because the space of the venue was limited. However, CAA and both Kazir Grey and Tom Cruise had strong connections in the industry, so they successfully got invitations for Angelina Jolie and Penelope Cruz.

The table next to them was also for the crew members of The Revenant, Harold Witsend was also at that table.

"I think we have a chance tonight," Tom told Kazir.

"Confidence is a must," Kazir replied.

Their movie was now being recognized by the media. God knew how many movie critics and shows they had to bribe to get positive reviews. Well, bribing was not the best term, it should be giving gifts.

The box office performance of The Revenant was also great. After almost three months in theaters, the movie had already grossed $429.83 million worldwide.

A few minutes later, all the guests and nominees found their seats and the ceremony officially began. Presenters like Tim Allen, Simon Baker, Halle Berry and other celebrities took the stage to announce the winners of each category.

The winners were given a few minutes to speak and express their gratitude. One by one, the celebrities accepted the trophies they had worked so hard to earn.

Finally, Jack Nicholson accepted the award for Best Actor in Motion Picture - Drama for his performance as Warren R. Schmidt.

Tom Cruise held his expression when one of the cameras was pointed at him. He knew this could happen, so he was prepared. Showing dissatisfaction on camera could affect his image. Of course, deep down, Tom Cruise was actually sad. He didn't win Best Actor in Motion Picture.

To make matters worse, his ex-wife, Nicole Kidman, actually won Best Actress in Motion Picture - Drama!

He watched as Nicole gave him a slightly smug look as she gave her speech.

He suddenly felt that his PR team had betrayed him. Because Pat Kingsley and her team also worked for Nicole Kidman. Currently, Pat Kingsley is still Nicole Kidman's agent and it seems that the female agent preferred Nicole more than Tom Cruise.

Tom thought about changing an agent for a second before he deleted the idea... At least not now. He understood that the real battle was at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes were nothing but a practice game. Once he got the Oscar statue, nothing else would matter.

Besides, he had already won two Golden Globes, so no big deal.

Still, it was a little painful. After all, he worked hard for the movie and he felt he deserved an award.

+++++

[Hey, I just want to promote my Pat reon and Ko- fi. For $10 you can read 172 chapters of HWI and other content on my Pat reon and Ko- fi].

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

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

 

[MichaelSuave]

Weird place to end the chapter... who got the award for best movie? Not sure I am reading this right, and the perspective is all over the place from director to narrator to tom cruise without any real stage directions to understand what is going on...

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 321


As for Kazir, well, he didn't do well either. He didn't win anything! All the big awards went to the others. Kazir had three nominations, but he didn't win any of them.

Best Picture in Drama went to The Hours.

Best Director was won by director Martin Scorsese - Gangs of New York.

Best adapted screenplay went to Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman - Adaptation.

Three nominations and he got nothing, such a sad life... Well, at least he got something golden tonight to make him feel better.

The show went pretty fast and nothing special happened... Except for the fact that Richard Gere used the Golden Globes as a platform to speak the truth about Tibet.

"Terrible, terrible human rights situation."

Yes, Richard Gere spoke that sentence and millions of people witnessed it. What happened in Tibet a few decades ago...

Actually, Richard Gere was brave for what he did, and many people praised him. But Hollywood was a spineless organization, cowards pretending to be virtuous.

What Hollywood did was to blacklist the actor. Since then, Richard Gere could only accept a few projects and his career slowly deteriorated. But Richard Gere didn't falter, he was still true to his intentions.

Hollywood: "How dare Richard Gere stand up for what is right! Fuck you Richard Gere!"

After that, the awards ceremony ended with neither Tom nor Kazir winning anything. They returned to their respective homes disappointed.

Luckily, Angelina was there for Kazir and made the man happy... The woman kept her promise to give Kazir something gold.

.........

......

...

Stella Willow opened her eyes after a night's rest. She had an apartment near the building where Grey Pictures did business... The company still rented the building for obvious reasons.

The company decided to think about buying the building, or building one instead, once Grey Pictures and one of the Big Six signed the contract.

So far, five of the Big Six were interested in the company. This inflated the net worth of Grey Pictures to $10 billion, although its real value was only around $4 to $5 billion.

The acquisition made Grey Pictures important. It showed that the Big Five were interested in the company.

Well, a single studio that could make revenue of more than $1 billion a year was worth their attention.

Stella Willow was active in this part. She now had a stake in the company, so she considered this deal important.

When she opened the door, she noticed that there were already three newspapers from different publishers lying on her front door. She decided to start with the Los Angeles Times.

After skimming through some of the useless gossip and information she already knew, her eyes stopped on one particular article. It was about the results of the Golden Globes last night, Stella Willow already heard from the phone that The Revenant won nothing despite having 6 nominations. It was very sad news... The fact that they invested millions in PR and yet it was pretty useless.

As expected, Miramax's PR team is the winner this time. They know how to keep the old foggies interested.

Miramax had already solidified its position in the industry in terms of making Oscar-worthy movies.

In fact, if Stella Willow hadn't known about the bad blood between Kazir and Harvey, she might have recommended that Kazir work with Miramax instead. After all, Miramax had distribution channels.

If Kazir and Harvey worked together, winning an Oscar would be a piece of cake, no problem at all.

Well, things happened and Miramax and Grey Pictures would never get a chance to work together, not in a million years.

The article said that Chicago won 5 awards, the biggest winner last night.

About Schmidt, Gangs of New York, Adaptation and The Hours also won 2 awards each.

Chicago, Gangs of New York and The Hours were all distributed and invested in by Miramax.

Obviously, Miramax was the biggest winner at the 60th Golden Globes. All they had to do was put "Award Winning Movie" on the covers of the DVDs and people would be interested in buying the DVDs.

That was the way Miramax made money. Since they could not compete with the Big Six at the box office, they used the DVD market instead.

Miramax had a chance to compete with the Big Six in the late 80's and early 90's. However, they failed to expand their business and Walt Disney slowly acquired shares until Miramax became a dog under Walt Disney.

Stella Willow dropped the newspaper and started to eat breakfast. She had something else to do today.

Kazir and the management of Grey Pictures were planning to start a TV show this year. Stella Willow was a little excited. After all, Stella Willow had been the head of production management at NBC before she joined Grey Pictures. She knew how to make TV shows and how to sell them to the masses.

Grey Pictures had never dabbled in TV shows before, so their plan needed some polishing. Luckily, Stella Willow was there to help.

Kazir gave them two projects to choose from. The director was known as a top screenwriter, so management knew Kazir would come up with something.

Now Stella and the management had to think seriously. They knew they didn't have enough budget to work with two projects, so only one could be produced this year.

The choices were:

A Song of Ice and Fire.

Breaking Bad.

Stella knew about A Song of Ice and Fire. She hadn't read it, but its popularity increased after the release of Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter.

Fantasy novels became the most popular genre, and A Song Of Ice And Fire was the best of the genre when it came to dark fantasy.

As for Breaking Bad, Stella easily understood that this project was an original script created by Kazir Grey.

Both were promising, but both had their pros and cons.

+++++

[The poll on TV shows is closed. However, I would like to hear your opinion on which TV show you prefer. Is it Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones?]

 

[Luizinho]

Breaking bad is much easier to make.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 322


The advantage of A Song Of Ice And Fire was its fan base. If Grey Pictures wanted to turn the novel into a TV show, they already had an audience that would watch the first episode of the TV show, which would give the TV show a better starting point.

However, the downside of A Song Of Ice And Fire was its budget. According to Stella's calculation, each episode could cost more than 1 million. And that was just for the first season.

If the TV show became a success, then the second season would have an increased budget, which might not be good for Grey Pictures.

Still, in Stella's opinion, A Song Of Ice And Fire had a better chance of being successful than Breaking Bad. The fantasy genre alone was enough to get a stable number of viewers to watch the show.

As for Breaking Bad, its advantage was definitely its budget. Based on the script that Stella read, the TV show was based on crime and drama. Unlike A Song Of Ice And Fire, which needed special effects, Breaking Bad would have a lower budget.

However, the downside of Breaking Bad was its lack of mass appeal. It didn't have a fan base. It might not be successful. The first season was not enough to caught the interest of the audience. Furthermore, they were not sure if a TV network would be interested in airing Breaking Bad since it looked like a simple plot based on the script of season 1.

Unless Kazir wanted to add Breaking Bad to the CCU, but Stella felt that Kazir didn't want to do it. As if the director had great respect for this TV show to be added to the CCU.

Maybe Breaking Bad was a masterpiece and Kazir didn't want to sully its name.

Well, the decision would be made today.

Stella Willow entered the company with a warm cup of tea in her hand. The workers greeted her respectfully. Everyone knew that Grey Pictures would have a better status in the industry after the takeover. Stella Willow was promised to become the CEO of Grey Pictures.

From General Manager to CEO. In addition, her shares in the company and her salary would increase.

Stella's former co-workers at NBC were actually jealous of her. NBC might be a bigger company than Grey Pictures, but that didn't change the fact that they were just workers. Unlike Stella, who became the boss, there was only one person above her, and that person was too busy shooting movies to care about Stella's management.

Well, Kazir was never a fan of management. He also trusted Stella Willow.

The future of the company was looking great. The revenue from the three movies they released last year was over $1 billion... Although their profit was only about $200 million after taxes and such.

But the profit they made from the DVD market and the merchandise they sold was astronomical. It was over $100 million. Especially the golden coins of the CCU, it sold so fast that the factories they hired had to work around the clock.

The meeting was set for early in the morning. When Stella reached the meeting room, Kazir and his assistant director Palenque Simone were already there.

Stella already expected that Kazir might be earlier than her... The man was famous for staying in his office almost all the time when he didn't have a project to work on.

But Palenque Simone was a different story. The man was not so strict with his schedule.

'Maybe...'

Stella knew that this was just the initial plan and they hadn't started anything yet. She was still looking for a director for the upcoming project.

Kazir promised to shoot the first three pilot episodes. But after that, he would step back and remain only as one of the members of the writing team.

By the looks of it, Palenque might be the director who would take over the project.

'Now that I think about it, Palenque is a psychology graduate, and both A Song Of Ice And Fire and Breaking Bad are heavily focused on drama.'

"Good morning, Director." Stella greeted her boss. She was already used to calling Kazir Director.

"Hm, good morning." Kazir nodded.

"Good morning, ma'am." Palenque greeted Stella.

"Good morning." She replied.

"Let's wait for the others," Kazir said to them.

Stella was a little curious about Kazir's opinion of the Golden Globes last night. Kazir had attended the ceremony, but he hadn't won anything.

She looked at the man and noticed that he was not affected. In fact, he looked happy. As if he had received something great last night...

A few minutes later, Harold Witsend, Jane Kendall, Renner Hector and other important people in the company showed up.

Harold and Renner were nominated last night, but they didn't win either... Their expressions were not good at all. After all, the Golden Globes was a prestigious award show and they wanted to win.

It seemed that Kazir was the abnormal one because he looked great and happy.

"Let's start the meeting."

The meeting officially began. Their main topic was about the TV show that Grey Pictures wanted to produce.

Kazir was the one who proposed the project. Grey Pictures already had enough power to produce TV shows. One of the reasons why he acquired the TV adaptation of A Song Of Ice And Fire, more precisely Game Of Thrones.

After half an hour of discussion, most of the executives felt that A Song Of Ice And Fire was the best choice.

Now that they had decided which one to produce, the budget had to be calculated. It could take a week to get the budget on their desks.

Also, someone had to contact George R.R. Martin.

"By the way, I just want to make this clear. I want to name the TV show Game of Thrones after the first book in the series."

A Song Of Ice And Fire was the name of the series, but each book had its own title.

The first book, published in 1996, was called Game Of Thrones.

The second book (1998) was called A Clash Of Kings.

The third book(2000) had the title of A Storm Of Swords.

++++++

[Author's note.]

[I am surprised that most of you have a contrary opinion. Most of my patrons voted for Game of Thrones when I posted the poll. There are 36 total votes, 28 voted for Game Of Thrones while only 8 voted for Breaking Bad].

 

[Luizinho]

The average cost of the episodes is 6m.

And i would say it will be more expensive now, with the cgi being more expensive at the time (even if season 1 did not have tons of it).

 

[XxhmsresouluteXx]

yeah and casting is going to be a nightmare

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[JKingSniper]

CHP 160 Really disappointed in how Reese relationship was finished by annoying mother. Especially after what he went through with his ex wife

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 323


Since Kazir knew the future, he obviously wanted to keep the name of the TV show as Game of Thrones. He would have to fight George R.R. Martin if he had to.

"Game Of Thrones, huh... I like that. Compared to A Song Of Ice And Fire, it runs smooth on my tongue."

Stella said her opinion and most of the people in the meeting room agreed with her. Besides, Kazir was the boss and they didn't want to confront him about the name of the TV show.

They trusted Kazir. They knew that Kazir would never make a mistake, he was the most talented director in the show business.

Game of Thrones or A Song of Ice and Fire? The answer was obvious, Game of Thrones was the better title. At least that title was enough for the audience to understand what they might see in the show. A bloody game to control the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and sit on the Iron Throne.

"I volunteer to be the producer for this project."

Stella Willow announced, and the executives were a little surprised. They hadn't expected someone to take on the responsibility. Usually the producer of their movies was Harold Witsend.

"That's fine with me. Stella knows the TV show industry better than I do. Besides, I have a lot to do this year..." Harold sighed. He brushed his hair, which was getting thinner and thinner.

He imagined his future as a bald guy... He was still in his late 30s, but his hair loss was already showing. He had to manage three movies this year. He also had to face certain people every two weeks because of his promise.

"Thanks." Stella nodded. She loved her position as General Manager, but she also missed being on a production set, managing people. Since this project was based on a novel, the chances of success were higher, so Stella was confident.

"Let's end the meeting."

Kazir announced, and the people left the room, except for Palenque Simone.

"So Palenque, I think you understand the reason why you're here."

"I don't want to be arrogant, but sir, do you want me to be the director of this TV show?"

"Yes. Although I can't make a certain decision right now. I'll give you an assignment, I want you to research and read the novel. Make a short movie related to the novel and give it to me. It doesn't have to be expensive, you can use our facilities. You have three months, after that I will decide."

"Thank you, sir!" Palenque blushed with happiness and thanked Kazir sincerely. He knew this was his chance to prove himself.

Excited, he left the room. He left the company immediately after telling HR that he would be taking a week off. Kazir gave him permission to take a week off. He went to a bookstore and bought the three published novels of A Song of Ice and Fire.

He began to read them seriously, immersing himself in them. As the pages turned, Palenque knew he might fall in love with the project. The characters in the novels were deep and complex.

He imagined a woman with pale skin and white hair, the mother of dragons.

.........

......

...

Nothing much happened in January, except that Kazir attended meetings and talked to the representatives of Big Five, who wanted to acquire a part of Grey Pictures.

After many meetings, their projects for the year were Pirates Of The Caribbean, Wanted 2 and The Equalizer.

Pirates of the Caribbean would be directed by Kazir Grey.

Wanted 2 would be directed by Fremont Smith.

As for The Equalizer, Grey Pictures has hired Antoine Fuqua to direct.

Antoine Fuqua was the director of Replacement Killers, Bait, Training Day, Tears of the Sun, King Arthur, Olympus Has Fallen, Southpaw, Bullet Train, and The Equalizer. His filmography was amazing.

But as of 2003, Antoine Fuqua had only made three movies in his career. He was still a new director in the industry and Kazir successfully hired the guy for $5 million. Antoine happily accepted the salary because it was the biggest offer of his career.

The Equalizer was actually an American spy thriller television series that originally aired on CBS from 1985 to 1989.

Grey Pictures acquired the rights to the TV series long before Taken was released. Kazir planned the path of CCU from the beginning. Just as he acquired the rights to Jason Bourne.

CBS was owned by Paramount... When CBS/Paramount heard that the TV series they had sold to Grey Pictures was going to be part of the Continental Cinematic Universe, they might have had a stroke of regret. That would be another story.

Just like that, February arrived and another batch of movies hit theaters.

"Angelina! Please look into the camera and smile! Director Grey, please give Angelina a hug. Yes, that's right, hug her tighter!"

Some of the photographers were a bit demanding, but Kazir decided to go along with them. Tonight was a special day for Angelina and he didn't want to spoil it.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Angelina whispered.

"With being so close to you? Never?"

The woman giggled at Kazir's answer.

Tonight was February 6th, just before midnight. The premiere of How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days would start a few minutes later.

Of course, Angelina and Kazir were on the red carpet.

How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days was invested by Paramount Pictures and they hired some photographers to take pictures of Kazir and Angelina to promote their movies. For some reason, Kazir Grey was a famous person and a lot of people were interested in him.

How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days was a romantic comedy. It was about a woman who wanted to prove that she could make a man fall in love with her and then break up with him after ten days.

Kazir told Angelina that the script of this movie was promising and Angelina trusted him. So the result was this.

 

[Lord_Indoril_Nerevar]

Don't know why Kazir is using the name of pirates of the caribbean since the name belongs to Disney as it is taken from one of their rides.

He leaves himself open to be sued.

 

[Luizinho]

Don't know why Kazir is using the name of pirates of the caribbean since the name belongs to Disney as it is taken from one of their rides.

He leaves himself open to be sued.

Click to shrink...

That is bs, the ride has little to no plot, and the name is generic, as there were pirates of the caribbean in the real world.

 

[Lord_Indoril_Nerevar]

That is bs, the ride has little to no plot, and the name is generic, as there were pirates of the caribbean in the real world.

Click to shrink...

Say that to Nintendo.

In any case, you're talking about the company who in the real world have sued kindergardens for putting images of Mickey mouse on their walls.

And who vetoed a grieving father from placing a spiderman etching on the grave of his 4 year old son.

Never underestimate Disney's lack of shame or ethics. For they have none.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 324


"How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" is a 2003 romantic comedy film starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. The plot revolves around a magazine columnist who bets that she can make a man fall in love with her and then break up with him in 10 days, while the man simultaneously tries to make her fall in love with him to win a bet of his own. It's a hilarious and heartwarming story full of comedic situations and romantic moments. (Chat GPT)

This was the plot of How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days in Kazir's original timeline. The movie did very well at the box office.

So Kazir recommended the script to Angelina instead.

Kate Hudson lost the role to Angelina because Angelina had a stronger box office appeal. Of course, the production studio had to pay Angelina a higher salary than Kate Hudson, who was just starting her career in recent years.

Paramount Pictures paid Angelina $12 million for her role alone. Her team actually wanted a share of the box office, but Paramount gave them a high salary instead.

The production cost of How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days was $50 million, yet Angelina already took more than 20% of the budget.

Besides, Matthew McConaughey was also a famous actor and his salary was not that small.

The reason why production costs kept going up was because of the actors/actresses. Their agents would go to the studio and ask for huge salaries and the studio couldn't help but say no. After all, the actors and actresses were the faces of the movies. Studios couldn't hire unknown actors off the street, even if they wanted to, or else their movies wouldn't sell.

Angelina and Kazir walked into the theater together. Usually, the male and female leads would appear together to promote the movie.

But Angelina was not comfortable with this. She and Matthew were just co-workers and didn't have a relationship. Paramount had no choice but to agree. They didn't want to upset Angelina and Kazir.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle Of Life was still being filmed and it would be detrimental to Paramount if Angelina decided to stop cooperating.

So they decided to let the couple attend the premiere together.

"Nice to meet you, Director Grey."

"Nice to meet you, too."

Matthew McConaughey greeted them. He was more interested in Kazir than Angelina, to be honest. Rumor had it that Kazir wanted to make a pirate movie and Matthew was interested.

All of Kazir's movies since 1995 have been successful. Even though it was a pirate movie, as long as Kazir was directing it, the chances of it being successful were higher.

The Revenant was already running out of gas and had only screening in a few countries. The film grossed more than $512 million at the worldwide box office.

While that was less than his last two films, Wanted and Spider-Man, it didn't change the fact that The Revenant was a success. Making over $500 million at the box office is a success no matter how you look at it.

So obviously Matthew McConaughey was interested in Kazir's next project. It didn't have to be $1 billion. As long as Kazir's next project made more than $500 million, that would be enough for Matthew to take it seriously.

Matthew decided to hide the awkwardness as he greeted the director. Matthew and Angelina had kissing scenes in the movie, so of course it would be awkward to meet the real boyfriend.

Luckily, Kazir was a professional. He knew how to keep work and relationships separate.

"I know it sounds like I'm overstepping my bounds, but can I get a copy of the script for your pirate movie, director?"

The title of the project was still unknown, only a few people knew about it.

"I'm sorry, Matthew. I'll be honest with you, I have a role suitable for you, but someone else got the part."

"I see... Is that so?"

Matthew McConaughey excused himself. It seemed that he had been rejected. He was a little disappointed.

"Did you reject him for that reason?"

Angelina whispered after Matthew was gone.

"What do you think? I turned him down because I'm jealous?"

"I didn't even say anything." Angelina laughed.

"Well... That's one of the reasons."

He admitted. No matter how professional Kazir was, it was still uncomfortable to talk to Matthew because he knew that Matthew and Angelina had kissing scenes... And yes, he was jealous.

As for other reasons, Kazir preferred Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp and Jack Sparrow were meant to be and he didn't want to destroy that if possible.

Kazir knew that Matthew McConaughey was a great actor and he could probably do an amazing version of Jack Sparrow, but Kazir didn't need any of that.

A few minutes later, the premiere of How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days began as the lights dimmed and the screen lit up.

.........

......

...

The next day, the movie's results were tallied. On the first day, the movie grossed $7.96 million. February was not a good month to release movies, so it was amazing to see How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days earn that much.

On the second day (February 8, 2003) the movie earned another $10.05 million.

On Sunday, February 9, the film grossed $5.75 million.

Combining the first weekend box office, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days grossed $23.77 million. A success for Paramount Pictures and Angelina Jolie.

++++

[Yeah, this chapter doesn't have much. I'm just giving a little lee way before the Oscars, because that's the main plot before the shooting of Pirates Of The Caribbean. The next chapter would be the announcement of the Oscars nominations... Will Kazir be nominated for Best Director? Nah, I'm not heartless enough to deny him that, am I?]

 

[Luizinho]

I would love to see nobody with Steve Martin.

 

[Tomer3392]

Hope the show will be more accurate to the books this time around, and I am surprised that you went with GOT considering that season 8 is hot ass, and even in 2024 the final book was yet to be published, breaking bad was a better choice in my opinion.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[OverseerEX]

[Author's note: So yeah, here I am again, shamelessly promoting my P@treon. Maybe you hate me because I'm promoting my P@treon, well, I'm technically the breadwinner in the family so I have to make money.]
[I like writing and as it gives me purpose(I'm depressed), and since I can make money while I'm doing that, why not?]

Click to shrink...

I don't have a problem at all with you promoting your Patreon, author. As the host of 'The Last Meal' show (Mythical Kitchen Channel on Youtube) opens with: "We all have two things in common. We all gotta eat, and we're all gonna die". It's not hurting or inconveniencing anybody, so if someone hates you for it, that's their problem, not yours. I'm glad that you can make money writing, since that means you can continue writing. And despite the criticism of the story so far that pretty much we all have, it's not a bad story and I'm enjoying it. I just caught up to something like 30-40 chapters, and I'll wait for them to grow a bit and catch up again later.

"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.

Click to shrink...

I like Vance. He's been a good and reliable advisor, doing what he was hired to do.

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.

Click to shrink...

Shots fired! Well, at this point, I am struggling to see if George can finish the final 2 books before he can't write anymore, which is just so sad. The man comes up with any excuse not to write, from bad weather, to the rising tides of fascism or whatnot. He should hire a ghostwriter to help him and just finish the fucking books, though knowing George "I don't like other people playing with my characters" Martin, that's not happening.

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.

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That's actually some of the best advice for novice writers. Neil Geiman, uhh... despite the recent allegations, they don't diminish the fact that he is a successful writer, and in his Masterclass, that was actually advice that he also gave.

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.

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Ahaha, I can see the IRS Agent with a gun to your head there, author. Call for help if you can when he goes to piss!

Hope the show will be more accurate to the books this time around, and I am surprised that you went with GOT considering that season 8 is hot ass, and even in 2024 the final book was yet to be published, breaking bad was a better choice in my opinion.

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Honestly, with the amount of writers that have undertaken the task of fixing Season 8 of GOT, with countless 2+ hours videos on youtube on how to do it better, and what could've been, it would be somewhat easy to take one of their interpretations and go with that instead of the hacks that wrote the actual S8.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 325


"Director Grey! Director Grey, how confident are you about getting a nomination?"

A reporter asked Kazir as he entered the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California.

"Well, if things get rough and the whole MPAA didn't support me, I'll probably lose. Also, Roman Polanski probably has a better chance getting nominated than me since the members prefer him so much..."

"But would you win?"

"Nah, I don't know."

Kazir shook his head and answered honestly. First of all, he didn't know how the members would react to him.

Kazir Grey and Tom Cruise did their best to attend a number of parties all over Los Angeles just to meet and greet the old fogies of the Academy. More than 70% of the Academy members were old, and the two appeased them, even going so far as to give them gifts.

This time Kazir attended the nomination day alone. Angelina had to travel around the country to promote her latest movie How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days.

As of February 11, 2003, the film had grossed $26.26 million at the North American box office.

After a brief interview, Kazir entered the Samuel Golden Theater. This was nothing more than a nomination announcement, so the venue was not extravagant.

However, the theater was filled with celebrities and agents waiting for the results. Just like Angelina, some actors and actresses were busy, so their agents attended the announcement instead.

Since Kazir was serious about the Oscars, he decided to attend the announcement in person. He wanted to show the Academy members that he was serious about getting the golden statue.

Unlike last time, Tom Cruise arrived before Kazir.

"Kazir, how's your day going?"

"It's okay."

The two gave each other a brotherly hug as a greeting. Kazir usually did a handshake, but he and Tom were friends, so they always hugged when they saw each other.

"I heard you're going to make a pirate movie, are you sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I know what to do."

"If you need investment, just give me a call."

"I fucking knew it. You just want to invest in my movie."

"Haha, of course. Your movies had a huge return on investment. How do you see $100 million multiplying into $1 billion in just one year? No one, only you can do that."

"Don't joke. We both know that Grey Pictures can only acquire 30% of that amount."

"And that's still huge! Look, The Revenant's budget is $100 million, and now its box office is over $500 million. Even if you can only get 30% of that $500 million, it's still huge. So Kazir, at least give me a chance to invest in your new project. We are friends, right?"

"Fuck off, Tom."

The two snickered at each other. They were used to making fun of each other by now.

Even if they didn't win the Oscars, they weren't going to be bitter about it. After all, The Revenant was considered a blockbuster.

They might be sad about their loss at the Oscars, but they couldn't help it.

The two looked around and recognized some of the actors and directors. Richard Gere, Martin Scorsese, Adrien Brody and many actors who were nominated at the last Golden Globes were present at this small party.

In a way, both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards had the same list of nominees. However, the winners of the two awards were different.

Last year, the winner of the Golden Globes for Best Actor in a Motion Picture was Russell Crowe for his performance in A Beautiful Mind.

But the winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor was Denzel Washington for his performance in Training Day.

Both actors were nominated for the same two awards. Unfortunately, in terms of weight and importance, Denzel Washington had the better of the two because he won the Oscar for Best Actor.

Speaking of Denzel Washington, he asked for $10 million as his starting salary in his role for The Equalizer.

The Equalizer was still in pre-production and the crew was in the process of hiring the cast. Knowing the future, Kazir decided to recommend Denzel Washington. Grey Pictures was not a small company anymore, and they could afford to hire superstars now.

Still, it depended on what the result would be. After all, there were plenty of cheap but talented actors who could take the lead.

"Is that Pat?"

"Yes..."

Kazir looked around and found Pat Kingsley talking to some people in the corner of the theater. Pat Kingsley was Tom Cruise's agent.

"She's here because Nicole can't make it." Tom Cruise kept his smile on, but it was obvious that he didn't feel good about it.

Kazir just went quiet after that. He knew that Pat Kingsley and Tom Cruise would split in the early 2000s. He was just not sure when it would happen though.

Their conversation stopped when Frank Pearson appeared with another person. They began to announce the list of people nominated in their respective categories.

Kazir was not surprised to find that the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes had almost the same list of nominees.

But something was different. There were only two nominations for The Revenant!

The Revenant was nominated for Best Actor and Best Director!

What the hell was that?

At the Golden Globes, The Revenant got 6 nominations! But now they only have 2? The whole system was rigged and cooked... Well, a lot of people already knew that.

The Oscars, the Grammys, the Golden Globes and all kinds of award ceremonies were mostly rigged. They usually want to give their awards to their groomed/supported artists.

Both Kazir and Tom had a bad feeling about this...

Fortunately, they got the two awards they wanted. As if the Oscars knew their intentions.

Tom Cruise was nominated for Best Actor while Kazir Grey was nominated for Best Director.

+++++

[Not related, but I'll list my top 10 anime ending songs here. No particular order. Rate my ending songs.]

1.) Fire Force Ed 1

2.) Kyokai No Kanata Ed 1

3.) Tokyo Ghoul Ed 2

4.) Toradora Ed 2

5.). Anohana Ed 1

6. Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress Ed 1

7.) Psycho Pass Ed 1

8.) Magi Madoka Magica Ed 1

9.) Fullmetal Alchemist Ed 1

10.) Kekkai Sensen(Blood Blockade Battlefront) Ed 1

 

[Tomer3392]

Would be interesting to see Gray trying to direct an animated movie.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 326


The list was:

[BEST ACTOR]

Adrien Brody - The Pianist as Władysław Szpilman

Nicolas Cage - The Adjustment 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 DIRECTOR]

Roman Polanski - The Pianist

Rob Marshall - Chicago

Martin Scorsese - Gangs of New York

Kazir Grey - The Revenant

Pedro Almodóvar - Talk to Her

.........

......

...

Aside from these two, The Revenant was not nominated for any awards.

To make matters worse for Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, who was nowhere to be found, was actually nominated in the Best Actress category.

His ex-wife had already won Best Actress at the Golden Globes, and that didn't sit well with Tom Cruise. In that award show, The Revenant didn't win any awards at the Golden Globes either, despite 6 nominations.

This time the bad feeling was even stronger. They might not win anything at the Academy Awards either.

After that, the party ended quickly. Some people were happy, some were sad. As for Tom and Kazir, they both felt sad, so they decided to drink alcohol. They started cursing the old foggeys of the Academy. They spent a lot of time talking to them, but their movie only got two nominations...

.........

......

...

Two days later, Kazir was still bitter about the results. He did his best, the whole crew did their best to make an artistic film to satisfy the members of the Academy, but it was useless.

It was good that the crew members were busy at that time and none of them attended the party. Because they would also be angry if they found out that their movie only got two nominations.

In fact, some of them were angry at the Academy when they got the news. Renner Hector and Harold Witsend were unhappy, which slightly affected their work.

As for Kazir, he decided to focus on his current project. He continued to polish the storyboard to make sure he knew what to do when shooting began.

Suddenly there was a knock on his door. It was Erica Mendez.

"Sir, Tom Rothman is here to see you."

"... Let him in."

Kazir knew why Tom Rothman was here. And to be honest, he was just waiting for their answer. He knew that Grey Pictures' current net worth was inflated, and it was time to make a decision.

The real net worth of Grey Pictures should only be around 4 to 5 billion dollars. However, because of the competition from the Big Five, the value of Grey Pictures went up to $10 billion. For a recently established production studio, this amount was already huge.

Tom Rothman entered the office and found Kazir on his desk with some sketches. He was not surprised, Kazir was indeed a director.

"I think you know why I'm here." Tom found a seat.

"Indeed."

"Kazir, News Corporation has decided to extend my term if I get you to agree to our terms."

"I see..."

'What does that have to do with me?' Kazir thought to himself.

Tom Rothman had two choices for his career. He could join News Corporation and become a top executive, perhaps even a member of the Board of Directors. But that was still nothing compared to running a company.

Being the CEO of 20th Century Fox was still better than any position at News Corporation. Well, Tom Rothman could find another job at another company, just like Terry Semel did when he jumped to Yahoo. However, it was a tough thing to let go of your past creations.

"I know what you're thinking, my problem is not your problem. But I think it's better for you if the CEO has a good relationship with you and Grey Pictures. Kazir, you and I have known each other since 1994. We trust each other."

"I'm not going to deny that. 20th Century Fox is the reason I am where I am. They chose to trust me and Napoleon Dynamite."

Kazir nodded. Still, it was not enough to tempt him. If he was that simple, this situation would never have happened.

"I also know you're going to say that. So I'm going to make you a proposal that will interest you."

Kazir decided to listen. This was business.

"I'm going to make you the head of the Marvel Studio. You will now have a strong power to make a decision on how Marvel Studio will take its path."

"..."

That was unexpected. Most of the time companies would offer him money and stock instead. But Tom Rothman used a different tactic.

Kazir was not a businessman, he was an artist.

"Not only that, we will pay you $1.1 billion to get 10% of Grey Pictures and another $2.2 billion worth of 20th Century Fox stock in exchange for 20% of Grey Pictures."

That means 30% of Grey Pictures in exchange for $3.3 billion. Kazir suddenly became serious. This approach was different from what he had expected, but he was also interested.

He was a little disappointed that Marvel Comics had been acquired by News Corporation. He wanted to make the MCU happen. He thought his dream was going to disappear.

He thought that 20th Century Fox wanted to do a Cinematic Universe without him.

But it seemed like they used that trump card to get him instead.

"Tom, sometimes I feel like you really know me."

"Kazir, I'm one of the people who first trusted you."

"Indeed... Give me some time to think about it."

"Okay."

Tom Rothman excused himself.

Kazir leaned back in his chair and exhaled.

"I guess this is it."

+++++

[Just as everyone expected, 20th Century Fox won the poll hence this outcome.]

[I have decided to end the competition to acquire Grey Pictures. Maybe some of you are disappointed in me. Maybe you are tired of Kazir being an artist instead of a businessman. The synopsis of this novel was about Kazir becoming the greatest director in Hollywood, not a businessman or a tycoon. Nevertheless, I would like to hear your honest opinion. Criticism is always good, no matter how negative it is].

 

[Garbage_Truck]

I feel like I can support his decision but maybe negotiate a little, just give them 10% or maybe 20% at the most. I don't remember how much he already lost from his company, but that would be the maximum that I feel he should give. And they have to give him some creative freedom and not screw him over with things like the woke movement. If he adds something from the LGBT community, it should be organic and not forced (I think that's what I would ask for).

 

[Luizinho]

I feel like I can support his decision but maybe negotiate a little, just give them 10% or maybe 20% at the most. I don't remember how much he already lost from his company, but that would be the maximum that I feel he should give. And they have to give him some creative freedom and not screw him over with things like the woke movement. If he adds something from the LGBT community, it should be organic and not forced (I think that's what I would ask for).

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Create new lgbt characters, don't just flip the ones that have been straight for decades just to pander people that don't even read comic books.

DC flipping Tim Drake and Alan Scott was unreal.

 

[Tomer3392]

Create new lgbt characters, don't just flip the ones that have been straight for decades just to pander people that don't even read comic books.

DC flipping Tim Drake and Alan Scott was unreal.

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Characters should be more than just their sexuality and race, if LGBT or minorities are part of the story they should act like a real person and have their own goal and wants instead of, "I am gay, love me bigot," like all the stupid Hollywood movies that thinks that all people belong to sub groups and part of a hive mind.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 327


"Thank you, my friend. Haha, of course I will never forget this. You helped me a lot. Tell the others that I thank them as well. What? Your niece wants to be an actress? Hmm, let me see, haha, of course I have a role for her. By the way, how old is she? Is she beautiful?"

Harvey Weinstein laughed out loud and was in a good mood. He was talking to one of the Academy members.

"I promise you. You know me, I know you. We are friends. What, are you gonna blackmail me? Haha. My friend, I know many dirty secrets here in Hollywood. Your blackmail will not work on me. Why do you think I avoided jail last time? Well, just send your niece to the company and I might think about giving her a role." Harvey licked his lips and ended the call.

He looked at the newspaper and could not help but chuckle.

"Kazir, you are still new to this business. I've been in Hollywood for almost two decades now and your status is nothing compared to mine. You lose this time."

Miramax was the king of PR and their movies always won at the Academy Awards. It showed how strong their PR team was.

Harvey Weinstein had a lot of connections and was more famous in social circle than Kazir, who usually stayed in his office.

"All I did was tell the old farts that Kazir was obviously going for Best Director and there was no reason to waste any nominations since Kazir only wanted the Best Director award." He chuckled. Because he knew he was not lying.

Anyone with a brain knew Kazir's intention.

That was why The Revenant only got two nominations. As for their chances of winning, well, Miramax would make sure they never took a trophy home.

Box office and Oscars were two different things. Grey Pictures might win at the box office, but Miramax would dominate the Academy Awards. They did that for so many years.

"Kazir, you still need experience to face me. You're too young."

... For the record, Kazir was over 80 years old mentally. But yes, Harvey was right.

Miramax's business was already mature in terms of public relations.

.........

......

...

A week after the Oscar nominations were announced, Kazir was watching clips of actresses auditioning for the role of Elizabeth Swann, one of the main characters in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Kazir had already seen Keira Knightley's performance in person. He attended the audition to watch the actresses perform.

However, Kazir was in a dilemma because two other actresses were trying to get the role. The first was Julia Roberts, a superstar since the 90s. Even though Julia Roberts' fame was waning, it didn't change the fact that she had a wow factor.

In fact, Kazir was impressed by her performance. Julia Roberts was still 36 years old, so she met the age requirements. But her salary was expensive. If they hired her, the production studio could pay her at least $10 million.

Kazir and Julia were not friends, unlike Tom Cruise, who was willing to lower the salary. The Revenant was meant to compete at the Oscars, so Tom Cruise didn't have a problem with a low salary.

'We already spent a lot of money casting Johnny Depp.' Kazir said to himself.

As the iconic Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp was the one who best fit the role. Kazir was ready to spend as much money as possible just to hire him... As expected, the result was terrifying.

Initially, Johnny Depp wanted a salary of $10 million + 5% of the North American box office.

Based on Kazir's last three films, Pirates of the Caribbean could make $300 million at the North American box office at the least.

If Kazir's pirate movie did well and made $300 million, Johnny Depp would get about $15 million as his share... This was too much for Kazir and Grey Pictures.

This was just the beginning of the trilogy and Grey Pictures could not afford it.

But Johnny Depp wouldn't just sign the trilogy deal if it was bad for him.

Johnny Depp was a famous actor and he could easily find another project to work on. Also, pirate movies were usually cursed, and Johnny Depp wouldn't easily risk his career if the pay wasn't worth it.

In the end, Grey Pictures signed Johnny to a $23 million contract. This was only for the first movie. They would have another negotiation when the second movie went into production.

Was it worth it?

Based on Kazir's opinion...

'Yes, it's worth it. There are no irreplaceables in Hollywood, but Johnny Depp is the only Jack Sparrow I will recognize.'

So, yes, the budget for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was reduced from $140 million to $117 million.

Over 15% of the budget just disappeared to pay Johnny Depp.

Fortunately, signing Orlando Bloom was much easier. The actor's team and the production had an agreement for $8 million. Orlando Bloom also signed a trilogy contract.

Now Kazir was thinking about the female lead.

Keira Knightley could be cast for $3 to $6 million. Depending on how the contract would end.

Julia Roberts was a great actress and her box-office appeal was strong, but her salary was also expensive.

In the end, Kazir decided to cross her name on the list. Pirates of the Caribbean was an expensive project and Kazir never liked to increase the budget.

Now he decided to put the last DVD disc into the DVD player. This was the last and third actress Kazir had in mind to cast.

+++++

[Since I listed my top 10 anime ending songs, I might as well post my top 10 opening songs. Enjoy.]

1.) Tokyo Ghoul Opening 1 (Unravel by TK from Ling Tosite Sigure): Do I even have to explain myself? I've been listening to this song since 2017. This song is so overplayed but come on, you do agree that it's a hit when it was released a decade ago. If you're interested in this masterpiece called Tokyo Ghoul, I recommend you to read the manga instead.

2.) Freiren Opening 1 (The Brave by YOASOBI): I love Freiren. I can say that it's definitely my top 1 anime last year. This anime's storytelling is different from what I expected.

3.) Blood+ Opening 3 (Colors of the Heart by Uverworld): I watched this anime 15 years ago and I can say that it's an underrated anime. Colors of the Heart is also a hit song.

4.) Kekkai Sensen/Blood Blockade Battlefront Opening 1 (Hello World by Bump of the Chicken): Bump of the Chicken is an amazing jrock band, check them out. Again, I'm going to ask for the 3rd Season... Please I need to watch another content from this shenanigan of an anime.

5.) Attack On Titan opening 7 (The Rumbling by SiM): If I lose it all~~ Slip and fall~~ I would never look away~~ Attack On Titan is the best, there, I said it.

6.) Neon Genesis Evangelion Opening 1 (Cruel Angel Thesis by Yoko Takahashi): An iconic opening since the 2000s era. I never touched the movies of Evangelion because the last episode of the anime made me go crazy and I'm afraid of watching this anime again.

7.) Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Opening 1 (Again by Yui): When I first heard this song, I got goosebumps all over my body. This will always be part of my top 10 best anime openings. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is peak, you can't change my mind.

8.) Oshi No Ko Opening 1 (Idol by YOASOBI): We don't talk about the ending of the manga. Fuck you Akasaka.

9.) Code Geass Opening 1 (Colors by Flow): One of the best openings of all time, people can't stop loving this opening and I'm one of them. Code Geass might be old, but no one can deny how great it is.

10.) Soul Eater Opening 3 (Papermoon by Tommyheavenly6): This is nostalgic. I hope Soul Eater gets a reboot that follows the manga 100%.

[I actually created a playlist of these songs in my Spotify, haha.]