HOLLYWOOD WHAT IF

[FallenMetal]

Thank you, and that is quite the lucky break. I am curious to see if Kazir will be able to talk to Heath Ledger and assist him. Great job as always, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 499


Universal Pictures didn't expect this outcome. Even the other big studios didn't expect this outcome... They had an inkling about the marketing strategy that Grey Pictures and Universal Pictures implemented, but they didn't know it would become this big.

Videos, documents, and posts started spreading on social media about the cruelty of mental asylums. Because of this, other countries also followed the trend, and curious people began searching for the dark secrets of mental asylums in their respective countries, which led to TV networks and newspapers covering the topic.

Subjects such as mental health, mental hospitals, and cruel experiments on patients became the most searched topics on the internet, and people also discussed them in real life.

The mental hospital that Shadows Beneath's production crew used as a set for the majority of their filming became a hotspot and tourist attraction. Grey Pictures also confirmed that some diabolical experimentations had occurred in the abandoned hospital.

The curious visitors who came to the abandoned hospital believed the souls of the patients were still trapped there. These visitors offered food and other items to appease the spirits. There was no clear explanation, people simply believed that the souls lingered within the mental hospital.

The public was also heavily influenced by the movie, so they were emotionally affected by the supernatural themes. It didn't help that Grey Pictures spread pictures of real patients, and the cast members bore a resemblance to them.

Obviously, Shadows Beneath was having a blast. The Big Six were flabbergasted, and even second-tier studios were amazed by what had transpired... The fact that they once had a chance to acquire Shadows Beneath made it a bitter pill to swallow.

Why? Because after six weeks of screening, Shadows Beneath had grossed $583 million worldwide.

North America contributed $386 million to the box office, while the international box office reached $197 million. The response from other countries had been quiet, yet Shadows Beneath managed to pull in $197 million in just two weeks.

The numbers didn't lie. This year, the topic of mental hospitals as horror hotspots had become the trend. Young people began visiting abandoned mental hospitals just for the thrill. They were influenced by the film Shadows Beneath and its extremely effective marketing strategy.

Universal Pictures was elated, even Ronald Meyer received congratulations from General Electric's headquarters. Comcast was even considering retaining Ronald as the CEO of Universal Pictures.

Overall, the situation at Universal Pictures was going very well... Of course, they had to pay a 5% box office share to Kazir Grey, but who cared? Based on current statistics, Shadows Beneath would likely gross between $750 and $800 million.

After all, horror movies typically couldn't surpass $1 billion... Unless Kazir made the impossible possible. And if there was one director who could, it was Kazir Grey.

Well, Shadows Beneath was going well, so it didn't really matter.

.........

......

...

"Fuck, I forgot about this fact. The Mishimas are ruthless once they put you on the wall."

Pause. That statement could have had another meaning.

"You're talking about their endless combos, right?"

"Huh? Do I look like I'm talking about something else? Of course I'm talking about their combos," Christian Bale replied, unaware of what Kazir was implying.

Kazir and Christian were playing Tekken. Christian specifically requested that his trailer be equipped with a PlayStation.

Christian Bale was the lead actor in the project, and people obviously respected him.

Christian invited Kazir over to discuss the project, but they ended up playing Tekken instead. They forgot all about work once they picked up the controllers.

After half an hour of spamming a single button, Kazir ended up winning most of the matches.

Christian was actually irritated but held it in since he couldn't lash out at the director. He suddenly regretted inviting Kazir in the first place.

When they were done, Christian finally brought up the main reason he called Kazir.

"Kazir, don't you think we need to change something in the filming?"

When Kazir heard that, he smiled knowingly, already anticipating where the conversation was headed.

This wasn't the first time someone brought this up. Even the producer, Enrico Pusi, had asked the same question.

The highlights of the movie were mostly centered around the Joker. Kazir and nearly every Dark Knight Trilogy fan agreed on that.

The Joker was the biggest reason The Dark Knight was a success... Erm, Heath Ledger's death was also a significant contributing factor.

Kazir wanted to maintain the same energy, so the script naturally emphasized the Joker's scenes.

Since Christian was the star and protagonist of the movie, it was understandable that he felt uncomfortable with another actor seemingly taking the spotlight.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure this movie will be a success."

Kazir patted Christian on the shoulder before leaving his trailer... He didn't want to discuss the script any further, he was tired of hearing the same concerns over and over. Kazir was the highest authority on set, and not even Warner Brothers could stop him from doing what he wanted.

Christian was left speechless as he watched the director walk away.

"There's probably a misunderstanding... I wanted to talk about my costume. It's so suffocating wearing it all the time. It's so uncomfortable and hot, my sweat can't even dry while I'm wearing it."

Christian sighed. He would probably have to bring it up to Kazir again later.

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[Please support my new novel Behind The Spotlight by giving it power stones. HWI is already near its end and it doesn't need power stones anymore.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 500


"If there's a miracle, then what I'm seeing right now is a miracle."

Barry Mayer frowned as he looked at the miraculous statistics on his table. He had been in the industry for more than a decade, and these kinds of numbers were impossible to achieve. Even his Warner Brothers, the current number one studio in Hollywood, could only replicate two $900 million movies.

That was the best achievement they had accomplished so far.

But the statistics he was looking at proved that two $900 million movies were just child's play.

Have you ever seen a production studio with three $1 billion movies in just one year? Probably not.

However, Grey Pictures was close to doing exactly that.

After five months of screening, Kingsman: The Secret Service had grossed $926 million worldwide.

A great movie could last six to eight months in theaters as long as people remained interested in watching it. In the case of Kingsman: The Secret Service, the movie was making at least a million dollars per day. That explained why it had already earned $900 million.

Barry could see that Grey Pictures would have three $1 billion movies. Kingsman: The Secret Service would be the third to reach that mark.

He realized that 2006 was the year of Grey Pictures. The other studios had lost this particular year, and they didn't like that.

Warner Brothers was recognized as the current number one studio in Hollywood because most of its movies in recent years had been box office hits. Even low-budget movies from Warner Brothers were earning more than $100 million.

Walt Disney couldn't compete at all.

Disney was going strong with its 3D animated movies, but their live-action films weren't selling enough.

As for the other big studios, they couldn't consistently release box office hits like Warner Brothers. Only Grey Pictures could match that level of performance.

Honestly, if Grey Pictures decided to compete against the Big Six and acquired distribution lines, it would probably have the power to face them head-on.

But that kind of threat would easily get plucked out, just like what had happened to their other competitors. So far, only Lionsgate had shown steady performance year after year, but even Lionsgate couldn't match the Big Six.

Barry turned the page, and his expression worsened as he realized that Shadows Beneath had grossed $635 million after nearly three months of screening... It didn't sit well with him that the horror movie he had dismissed was performing so well.

Warner Brothers had been content that Kazir had a trilogy with them. They also didn't think that Shadows Beneath would make that much. They had been too full of themselves.

'If I had known this would happen, I would have increased the bid. At least I'm confident that we could have acquired the copyrights if we had offered more than Universal Pictures did.'

$100 million plus 5% of worldwide shares was a contract that Warner Brothers could easily handle. The fact that Shadows Beneath's copyright had been acquired for that amount was almost laughable. A movie performing that well could bring far more profit.

'It's because of those disgusting experiments on the internet...'

People were so intrigued and curious that they began searching for gruesome content. There was even this thing called the Dark Web that many became curious about...

Barry admitted that Grey Pictures had pulled off an amazing marketing strategy. Even though their own marketing department was studying the secret behind it, Barry had reprimanded them and forced them to study it more seriously.

Regarding The Dark Knight, there were some questionable elements that Barry didn't agree with, but he decided to trust Kazir.

The script was a bit too dark for a superhero movie... Barry had to use his influence to convince the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to rate The Dark Knight PG-13.

Warner Brothers had a seat in the MPAA, and that helped them protect the ratings of their movies.

If The Dark Knight had received an R-rating, it would automatically mean a loss for them. Warner Brothers was already preparing to make sure that never happened.

By the way, the six members of the MPAA were the Big Six. Their seats in the MPAA were also one of the reasons why other studios couldn't surpass them. Being part of the board that decided movie ratings, they had the power to sabotage competing studios.

"If not for his credibility, I would never have agreed to Kazir's plot. This kind of script is too much for the fans to handle. I'm not sure they'll want to see their superhero lose..."

Management had been strongly against it even now. But the recent performance of Grey Pictures' movies was so outstanding that they eventually agreed to Kazir's idea.

.........

......

...

"Hey, so I want to ask, is it all right that you're letting Heath do his own makeup?"

Jane, the head of the makeup team, asked Kazir about his opinion regarding Heath Ledger's decision to do his own makeup.

Kazir glanced at her before turning his attention to the trailer where Heath was currently staying. He paused for a second before nodding.

"Let him do what he wants."

Jane narrowed her eyes and whispered something.

"Hey, are you sure that actor is doing fine? I talked to him earlier and he gave me creepy vibes."

Kazir just chuckled. That only showed that Heath Ledger was doing well... as an actor. It showed he was fully immersed in the role.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it."

Some people had been against hiring Heath Ledger because of his past role. Two years ago, Heath starred in a movie called Brokeback Mountain, his role in that film was a gay cowboy. To be precise, the movie was about two gay cowboys who periodically went to Brokeback Mountain to rekindle their love.

Some people were against hiring Heath because they feared it would negatively affect The Dark Knight's performance, but Kazir had been firm in his decision. In his opinion, Heath Ledger was one of the main reasons why The Dark Knight became successful.

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[First, I'm sorry if my uploads haven't been consistent lately. I have no excuse.]

[Second, I want to celebrate the fact that this novel has reached 500 chapters. Thanks to all of your support, guys. I appreciate it a lot.]

[Third, I'm quite confident that this novel will end around chapter 100 to 200. Let's be honest, almost everything in Kazir's bucket list has been completed, except for Ninja Assassin. As for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Dark Knight Trilogy, I'll probably not go into too much detail about them.]

[Fourth, the reason I want to end this novel within 200 more chapters is that I feel Kazir's story is nearing its conclusion. I don't want to lose the essence of this novel just because I want to milk it for money. No, this novel needs a proper ending, instead of me spamming plots just for the sake of it.]

[Fifth, as for the days I missed, I'm not going to promise anything anymore, because it feels like a heavy burden that's hard for me to carry. I feel stressed whenever I owe chapters. All I can say is I'll try my best to write this story until we reach the end.]

[Sixth, this is my second novel that will be completed. It's the second novel of mine where I can clearly see the ending. I hope you'll continue supporting me until the very end.]

[If you have any questions, feel free to comment. I'll do my best to answer them.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 501


Hollywood had a lot of gays and lesbians, so they were not that much against the idea of same-sex relationships between two men. However, Hollywood also had a lot of straight people.

When Kazir first invited Heath Ledger to become the Joker, some people in the management of Warner Brothers were against the idea. They were afraid that the controversies surrounding Brokeback Mountain would affect the performance of The Dark Knight.

Despite being an award-winning film, some people still criticized the movie because they couldn't let go of their ideologies while watching it.

Some LGBTQ+ activists didn't like that the two gay roles were performed by two straight men. They wanted gay actors to take gay roles. But acting is a profession where a person acts as someone else or portrays a character. For a straight actor to play a gay man was not wrong, because that was his job.

Another criticism that Brokeback Mountain faced was the backlash from conservative and religious organizations.

In a way, Brokeback Mountain was fucked from both sides… Ahem.

Yet despite the criticism, the movie won Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score at the 78th Academy Awards (Oscars).

The management tried to talk to Kazir, trying to convince him that Heath Ledger's current reputation was a bit tricky for the role of the Joker.

Kazir stood by his opinion. He said it didn't matter since Heath Ledger would always be in clown makeup, and no one would recognize him as the cowboy from Brokeback Mountain. The two roles were vastly different anyway.

He also knew that even the audience would be surprised when they realized that Heath Ledger was the Joker. The usual roles Heath Ledger took were nothing like the Joker.

The Joker was a psychotic and dangerous character.

Just like that, Kazir proved he was right.

The interrogation room was dimly lit, the crew had built an interrogation room in the studio just for this scene… It cost a few dozen thousand dollars.

The camera operators were ready. They had already checked every angle.

Kazir was sitting a couple of meters away, staring at the monitor that showed every angle of the interrogation room.

Heath Ledger was in full makeup as he sat at the metal table. The crew members felt a dark vibe around the actor, and they kept their mouths shut.

The dim room suddenly lit up.

Christian Bale, in his Batman suit, appeared and slammed Heath Ledger's head onto the table… His head didn't actually touch the table, but the camera angle made it look like the Joker's face slammed against it.

"Never start with the head, the victim gets fuzzy…"

"You wanted me, here I am."

Batman and Joker started the conversation.

The confrontation between the hero and the villain.

Kazir liked where this was going. He could see that the two were performing excellently.

"I don't wanna kill you. What would I do without you? Go back to ripping off mob dealers? No, no, no. You complete me."

The Joker started giggling.

Batman grabbed the Joker's collar and asked,

"Where's Dent?"

"Okay, cut—!"

Kazir had to cut the scene even though he wanted to continue it. The next scene was about Batman slamming the Joker against the wall, and they needed a stunt double for that. They couldn't afford to hurt any of their cast, so they obviously needed a stunt double for physically demanding scenes.

When the scene was done, some of the crew members stared at Heath Ledger in amazement. They got goosebumps just watching him. They felt like they were looking at the real Joker.

Kazir looked around and saw the management from Warner Brothers and DC Comics. They were also impressed by Heath Ledger's performance. Some of them were the very people who were against casting the actor.

When the management saw Kazir, they avoided his gaze and walked away.

Kazir smirked. In his mind, he gave them a double invisible "fuck you." These people had been on his nerves for a while. They were trying to interfere with his project.

'If I'm right, they didn't want to cast Heath because they had another actor in mind to play the Joker… Probably one of their buttlickers or something,' Kazir thought.

Another reason why the management was irritating was that they were bitter. They didn't like that Kazir's last two movies were performing amazingly while Batman Begins had an average $500 million box office. By the way, $500 million was not average. Only a few movies in the history of cinema had reached that amount in ticket sales.

But compared to Kazir's filmography, Batman Begins was indeed on the average side. Especially when Shadows Beneath was getting close to $800 million.

Some people from the management were holding a grudge against him. Nothing new.

.........

......

...

While Kazir was busy with The Dark Knight, Grey Pictures announced their movies for 2007, which were John Wick: Chapter 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

After the success of La La Land, Fremont Smith decided to film the third movie of the John Wick franchise. In fact, he had been filming it since last year.

Grey Pictures only had two projects this year, as the third season of Game of Thrones had a buffer of two years because the production cost of that TV show was almost comparable to a movie. As for how to solve the financial trouble, Grey Pictures either had to use their own money or take out a loan from the bank. Well, Stella was a great leader, so she probably had an idea of what to do.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 502


From January to March, Kazir did nothing but work on The Dark Knight. His schedule was so packed that his sleep routine was only five hours at best.

If there was something great, it was the fact that Scarlett was in the same workplace to support him. Kazir was known as a professional director, and he made sure to stay professional even though he was working with his girlfriend… Although there were some instances when they cuddled in the trailer.

While Kazir was busy with the project, Hollywood kept spamming movie releases every week, particularly on weekends.

Movies such as Stomp the Yard, Epic Movie, and Shadows Beneath were released in January.

Hannibal Rising, Norbit, Music and Lyrics, Bridge to Terabithia, Ghost Rider, Hot Fuzz, and The Number 23 were released in February.

Bridge to Terabithia was a great movie, but this movie was not for depressed people.

As for Ghost Rider, this Marvel character was currently in the hands of Sony-Columbia, long before Marvel Comics was acquired by News Corporation.

Obviously, Marvel couldn't include Ghost Rider in their upcoming Cinematic Universe because of copyright issues. As long as Sony-Columbia was interested in Ghost Rider, the character would stay with them.

Sony-Columbia realized the power of a superhero movie, so they decided to make another franchise, hoping that they would have another Spider-Man-like success. They spent $110 million on the budget just to make sure Ghost Rider would have a better outcome.

Well, the box office of Ghost Rider was $334 million worldwide. Sony-Columbia cast Nicolas Cage just to make sure the movie would have strong box office appeal… Sony-Columbia was dissatisfied, but they could understand why the movie only grossed $334 million. After all, the director of Ghost Rider was not Kazir Grey.

Perhaps this dissatisfaction was one of the reasons why the sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance took five years to happen.

The movie was enjoyable though, and $334 million was not a bad performance.

In March, Wild Hogs, Zodiac, 300, Premonition, Shooter, TMNT, Blades of Glory, and Meet the Robinsons were released.

Zodiac was a movie directed by David Fincher. The movie was based on a true story, about the Zodiac Killer. Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo starred in this movie.

Another important thing was 300. The movie adaptation rights of this comic were first acquired by Grey Pictures before Kazir sold them to 20th Century Fox.

Kazir's intention in buying the rights to 300 was to hire Zack Snyder and indirectly stop him from working with Warner Brothers to produce the DCEU.

His plan had some rough surfaces, but things happened, and now Zack Snyder worked with 20th Century Fox to direct the movie.

The movie would perform great at the worldwide box office, grossing $456 million. A few months from now, 20th Century Fox would probably thank Kazir again and act friendly with him.

As for the premiere, Kazir didn't attend it since he was busy. He was also not comfortable meeting Zack Snyder because their last meeting was kinda awkward. Kazir invited Zack to work with Grey Pictures, but Zack Snyder chose Universal Pictures. To be fair, Zack was the one who was embarrassed to meet Kazir after that meeting.

When April arrived, news broke out and Kazir received many congratulations from people.

In April, Kingsman: The Secret Service successfully grossed over $1 billion.

This news broke on almost every TV station as news shows covered it. Kingsman: The Secret Service was the third movie that grossed $1 billion among those released last year.

The Bourne Ultimatum grossed $1.03 billion.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest grossed $1.06 billion.

Kingsman: The Secret Service grossed $1.01 billion.

These three movies easily occupied the top three highest-grossing movies last year.

Furthermore, these three movies were all from the same studio. It meant that Grey Pictures released high-quality movies with high success at the box office.

"Flabbergasted" was not enough to describe how shocked Hollywood was. The Big Six also regretted their decisions for the nth time.

There were some posts on the internet about kidnapping Kazir to force him to write movie scripts and direct movies. Of course, these posts were just humorous jokes… Right?

The only one from the Big Six who won was 20th Century Fox because 30% of that $3 billion went to their pockets. They were just the distributor and couldn't maximize the profit since they didn't own any copyrights of the three movies. Still, 30% of $3 billion amounted to $900 million. Only insane people would be dissatisfied with that amount of money.

With that, Grey Pictures became the center of attention again. Even Sony-Columbia offered another acquisition plan just to convince Kazir to sell another portion of his company. Of course, Kazir didn't entertain it, so the acquisition didn't happen.

Another fact was that Shadows Beneath was slowly crawling up to $900 million. The Big Six shuddered as they realized that Grey Pictures could make another $1 billion movie this time.

But if that happened, the biggest winner would probably be Universal Pictures since Grey Pictures could only get 5% of that amount… But does it even matter?

Shadows Beneath only spent $17 million, yet it already profited $80 million from the get-go plus a 5% worldwide box office share. A win is a win, no matter how small it is…

After that jaw-dropping news, Hollywood slowly adapted to Grey Pictures' monstrosity and focused on the summer schedule instead.

When May arrived, almost all moviegoers were excited to watch three particular movies.

Spider-Man 3 would be released on May 4.

Shrek the Third would be released on May 17.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was going to be released on May 24.

It was clear that May was packed with strong movies that could easily surpass $900 million at the box office.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 503


Spider-Man 1 and Spider-Man 2 were directed by Kazir after the director signed a two-movie deal with Sony-Columbia. It was the best decision they had made, as this business deal elevated their studio. It helped them discover how they could survive in the industry.

Kazir changed how Hollywood looked at superhero movies. Now, many studios were interested in trying the genre because of what Kazir did.

The success of Spider-Man allowed Sony-Columbia to keep up with the other giant studios and maintain its relevance. Kazir was a major factor in that.

Unfortunately, Kazir expressed that he wouldn't direct the third Spider-Man movie because he had other plans. Sony-Columbia did its best to convince the director, but he wasn't budging. They offered him a better contract, but Kazir was already a billionaire at that point.

A lot of people were disappointed to hear that Kazir wouldn't direct the third movie, including the fans. Sony-Columbia was disappointed, especially the executives. Even the management of Marvel Comics was disappointed. They had a good relationship with Kazir, but feelings were hard to control.

In the end, Sony-Columbia had to hire another director for Spider-Man 3. It was sad news for Spider-Man fans all over the world... Perhaps Sony-Columbia could find a way to include Kazir in the project.

They did try.

Sony-Columbia hoped that Kazir would participate in the project. They even wanted to hire him as the head of the editing team for Spider-Man 3. They resorted to competing to buy Shadows Beneath just to convince Kazir, but their plan didn't work. Universal Pictures got the last laugh.

By the way, Sony-Columbia was actually not confident that Shadows Beneath would be successful at the box office considering its genre. Horror movies were also considered Kazir's weakness in his filmography.

Sony-Columbia didn't expect that the horror movie would become the highest-grossing horror movie of all time. They regretted not doing their best to acquire the rights to this movie.

Everyone believed that The Sixth Sense, the best horror movie of all time, would lose its position as the highest-grossing horror movie after Shadows Beneath was released.

After all, The Sixth Sense had an amazing plot twist that shocked people even today… But Shadows Beneath also had a plot twist. This just proved that Kazir was THE GUY.

The director was breaking records after records like it was a Sunday morning. At this point, fans may hype the director, but he would still be recognized as underrated. The stats were not lying.

As of now, Shadows Beneath had grossed $891 million at the box office after five months of screening. It made the movie the highest-grossing horror movie of all time... unless another movie could defeat it.

The second highest-grossing horror movie was now The Sixth Sense, which grossed $672 million at the worldwide box office.

If something was terrifying about these facts, it was the fact that Shadows Beneath would probably continue making more money as the movie was still screening all over the world.

Anyway, Sony-Columbia released Spider-Man 3 on May 4, and it was a success.

In just three days, the movie casually grossed $151 million. No one would deny that the movie was a success.

Spider-Man 3 was almost the perfect copy of the original Spider-Man 3 from Kazir's timeline.

Kazir worked with Marvel Studios to write the script, and Kazir had strong authority in making decisions. Also, he was the best scriptwriter in Hollywood, so it was easy to convince Sony-Columbia to make the original version of Spider-Man 3.

As for why Kazir didn't change the plot of Spider-Man 3? He had a simple reason.

He had no idea what to write. He also had no idea what to change. Kazir was just a person, after all. He couldn't come up with great stories like Artificial Intelligence, sad to say.

In his opinion, Spider-Man 3 was perfect the way it was. Sure, it had a lot of downs, but it was still a great movie, and Kazir enjoyed it.

Because of that, some fans had mixed reviews regarding the third movie. Still, Spider-Man 3 was making huge money.

In just ten days of screening, Spider-Man 3 grossed $240 million. It was close to recouping their production cost, which was $258 million. It cost a lot to make Spider-Man 3.

Sony-Columbia kept promoting the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man on many platforms. When May 17 arrived, the movie grossed $258 million… Now they were starting to make a profit.

Too bad because a strong rival was released on May 17. It was none other than the most handsome ogre of all time, Shrek! To be precise, Shrek the Third!

Shrek the Third was a computer-animated movie produced by DreamWorks Animation, led by Jeffrey Katzenberg. Shrek was the first computer-animated movie that DreamWorks released, and it was a massive success. Since then, Shrek became one of the franchises that made DreamWorks Animation relevant. If not for this bad-mouthed green ogre, DreamWorks Animation would be long gone.

Shrek the Third grossed $122 million after four days of screening. It was weaker compared to the performance of Spider-Man 3, but it was still an amazing feat.

Also, because of Shrek the Third, Spider-Man 3 only grossed $29 million between May 17 and May 20. Having two powerful movies released in the same month was tough to look at because one would lose while the other would win.

This month of May was tougher to look at because three big movies would compete to dominate the month.

When May 24 arrived, Shrek the Third had grossed $150 million, while Spider-Man 3 had grossed $289 million.

And on the same day, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was released in cinemas.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 504


Under the warm summer evening, fans lined up at the theater while wearing pirate hats to pay homage to the franchise. Most of them were Grey fans, while others were avid fans of Pirates of the Caribbean.

It was an amazing night for many of them. It was memorable, the atmosphere made them excited as they knew that a few hours from now, they would witness the third installment of Pirates of the Caribbean.

The red carpet was dazzling as the flashes of cameras were everywhere, almost blinding the evening.

Next, a ten-foot pirate ship became one of the centers of attraction on the red carpet. The pirate ship was a prop created just for this event to make the red carpet match the theme of the movie.

The cast of the movie arrived in grand fashion, as usual, exiting from expensive cars or limousines, depending on the kind of entrance they wanted to make.

Even Geoffrey Rush, aka Captain Barbossa, stepped onto the red carpet with a small monkey on his shoulder. The small monkey was also cast in Pirates of the Caribbean as Jack the Monkey...

The main attraction on the red carpet was undoubtedly the famous cast, such as Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, and Kazir Grey.

However, most fans were most excited to see Johnny Depp. They started screaming like crazy when they saw the actor stepping out of the limousine. Johnny was wearing a tailored suit just for the occasion.

Johnny Depp had been in the industry since the '80s, a few years before Kazir also started his career in showbiz.

Johnny had many significant roles that boosted his career, such as Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka, and Donnie Brasco. However, he could say that his role as Jack Sparrow was probably the best thing that had happened to him.

People started going crazy over him when Pirates of the Caribbean was released. Everyone acknowledged his talent after he performed as the unique pirate captain.

And for that, he thanked Kazir for giving him a chance to be part of the massive success of Pirates of the Caribbean...

It was true that Johnny had never watched his own movies, but he decided to watch the third installment of Pirates of the Caribbean since he knew it would be a box-office hit. The movie was directed by Kazir Grey, after all.

The media were having a blast as they took pictures upon pictures of the cast.

The cast also interacted with their fans. Some signed autographs, while others took pictures with the fans. Overall, the red carpet was a memorable experience for everyone.

.........

......

...

Ten days had just passed since the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

The movie grossed $217 million as of June 3, which was the tenth day of the movie's screening. Nobody was surprised by this fact, as they knew that the movie would perform amazingly at the box office.

The second movie, Dead Man's Chest, grossed over a billion dollars, and it determined what kind of success the third movie would achieve.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End would probably gross over a billion dollars, not just because of its past success but because of the movie itself.

At World's End was a masterpiece that perfectly tied the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy together.

The fantasy element, the stunning visuals, the exciting action stunts, everything was perfect. No one could deny how great it was.

Fans would 100 percent recommend the movie to anyone, no matter the age. This factor was also one of the reasons why Pirates of the Caribbean was well-received, the movie was for all ages.

At the moment, Kazir was on his way to the filming set of The Dark Knight. He was looking at documents regarding Pirates of the Caribbean while his bodyguard, Anderson, was driving the car.

"With this kind of success, people will watch another sequel of Pirates of the Caribbean..."

Kazir only intended to direct the trilogy of Pirates of the Caribbean. As for the next movie, he wanted to hand it off to another director.

In fact, he was thinking of selling the copyrights of Pirates of the Caribbean to another studio. He knew that the huge sales of the franchise came from the first three movies. As for the fourth and fifth movies, they were just sequels made for the sake of making money...

Well, Walt Disney still made a lot of money from the fourth and fifth movies. The problem with the latter movies was that they were mediocre compared to the first three, and even the fans could agree to that.

For now, Kazir wouldn't make a hasty decision. The copyrights of Pirates of the Caribbean would remain in their film library.

"Sir, did you say something?" Anderson looked in the rearview mirror.

"No, I'm just talking to myself." Kazir chuckled.

The two were peacefully going about their day until a speeding car came up behind them.

"Sir, hold tight—!"

Anderson saw what was coming and prepared Kazir for a collision.

Kazir instinctively grabbed the handle next to his seat. A second later, a strong impact sent their car spinning through the air and crashing a few meters away from the road. The crash was so loud that Kazir was left with a lasting tinnitus.

Everything happened so fast that Kazir lost his senses, and his vision went dark.

Kazir groaned as he closed his eyes. The impact had been so strong that he stopped breathing for a while, the air was forcefully expelled from his lungs.

His senses were slowly returning. The creaking of their broken car could be heard along with faint screams from the surroundings.

When he opened his eyes, he realized that his blurry vision was upside down, no, the car was upside down.

As his vision cleared, Kazir saw a man approaching their car. It was their attacker. Kazir felt like he recognized the person. However, that information didn't process well in his mind because the attacker was holding an AK-47 in his hands...

+++++

[Honestly, I already had a thought of adding a bit of an accident/incident to the novel, and I recalled some information that could make this attack believable. Do you think Kazir will survive?]

 

[Z3r0Sama]

Weinstein finally snapped I see

 

[Seyum]

Weinstein finally snapped I see

Click to shrink...

If that comes true it would be awesome if he could take down Weinstein and people like Epstein and Didi.
I just hope its not other time travlers.

 

[Luizinho]

If you are going to sell IPs, sell it to Fox. The more money they make, more money for Grey.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 505

Kazir was scared, his breathing erratic. It didn't help that his body was aching. He probably had some broken ribs. Blood was flowing from his forehead, obscuring his left eye, making his vision half-red.

He coughed.

The sound of footsteps jolted him awake.

After a long time, he felt like death was knocking on his door again. He had experienced death before, and it was something so painful. Getting hit by a truck was excruciating. The blessing was that after enduring the pain for a few seconds, Kazir had returned to 1994 to redo his life...

This time, Kazir was not sure if that would happen. Having another second chance was too much to believe.

Once in a while, Kazir felt like everything was just a dream. Perhaps this whole regression was merely a fantasy his brain created before he died... Maybe he was already dead, and there was no regression at all?

However, the fact that he felt a sense of dread at this moment gave him the understanding that he wanted to live. This also made him understand that he was alive... He was not dead, he was alive, and everything he had experienced was real.

And today, he didn't want to die.

His will to live ignited, and Kazir forgot about the physical pain he was suffering. He pulled off his seat belt, and his head fell first onto the ceiling of the car. Some of the glass shards cut his head, but he didn't care at the moment.

He then proceeded to kick the cracked window to escape. He wanted to live. He was desperate. He kicked the window twice with more strength. The cracked window shattered.

The attacker saw that Kazir was still alive. He roared and aimed his gun at him.

"Kazir—!! You motherfucker—!!"

These words were so frightening to hear in this situation. The attacker had a grudge against Kazir for some reason. If words could kill, the attacker would have already won.

Kazir shuddered and heard the gun clattering. He instinctively closed his eyes. He squeezed a breath. He hoped that his death would be quick this time.

Then, a gunshot reverberated, and he flinched. Kazir was breathing hard. His body was shaking. His heart was beating so fast that he felt like he was having palpitations.

The silence lasted for two seconds before Kazir realized he was still alive. He opened his eyes and looked at his body. Except for the injuries he suffered from the car crash, he was fine. He didn't find any bullet holes.

He looked at the attacker and found him lying on the ground... Blood was slowly spreading beneath the body. The attacker was dead, unmoving.

"Director, are you okay?"

Kazir looked around quickly. He saw Anderson walking with difficulty, limping toward him. The bodyguard had a hard time moving his left foot, almost dragging it. Anderson was holding a pistol, the firearm he had used to kill the attacker.

"Anderson! Thank you! Thank you!" Kazir's voice cracked as he sobbed.

Kazir didn't know why, but tears just rolled down his cheeks as he frantically came out of the car. He thought he was going to die.

This was probably one of his most traumatic experiences. The first was his mom, the second was his first death, and then third was this incident.

Anderson nodded when he confirmed that his boss was fine. When the car hit them, Anderson had flown out of the windshield and rolled down the road. His left leg was broken.

Still, he immediately stood up to find Kazir despite his injury. When Anderson saw the attacker carrying a firearm, he pulled out his pistol and didn't hesitate to shoot him.

People started approaching them. Some of these bystanders had witnessed the whole scene, and it was like an action movie, but a terrifying one. Some of them started calling the police and the ambulance. Others were murmuring and curious about the incident.

Kazir weakly sat down, followed by Anderson, who had also lost his adrenaline. They were both in pain right now.

He stared at the attacker... Now he remembered. He recognized this person. This man had left a strong bad impression on Kazir.

He was one of the extras in Pirates of the Caribbean. The reason Kazir recognized him was that this person had been speaking badly about him and Scarlett. Kazir had kicked him off the filming set because of that.

In fact, Kazir also remembered his name.

"Aquino…"

Kazir weakly muttered.

.........

......

...

A few days before the incident, Aquino slammed his fists against the table out of anger.

"Why!? Why didn't they include my scenes in the second and third movies!?"

Aquino was one of the extras that Grey Pictures had hired to work on Pirates of the Caribbean. However, his job on set quickly ended when Director Grey fired him... He kinda understood where the director was coming from.

But because of that incident, Aquino lost the remaining favor of his Sugar Daddy, the person who helped him find jobs in Showbiz. Since then, Aquino had held a grudge against Director Grey. Aquino was also a cocaine user, and that didn't help. He had been a heavy user since he stepped into the industry.

Hollywood was famous for drugs, after all.

At first, Aquino was so delusional that he believed Kazir would include him in the movies. He had a couple of scenes where his face was shown. He hoped that this opportunity would give him a comeback... He was super high on cocaine when he thought of these scenarios.

When the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie was released, Aquino was angry that he was not included... Thankfully, his rationality was still active, and he kept his composure. He believed that Director Grey was saving the best for the last. Aquino believed his scenes would be in the third movie.

But when the third movie was released, Aquino decided to personally fix things. He would settle the grudge.

John Lennon.

Christina Grimmie.

Rebecca Schaeffer.

Tupac.

Gianni Versace.

Sharon Tate.

The Notorious B.I.G.

There were so many celebrities who were killed by their fans or haters. Aquino wanted to be part of that list.

+++++

[Author's Note.]

[Yeah, what are Hollywood celebrities if there are no crazy fans/haters?]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 506


The incident blew up. The media became so excited with this news that every news station talked about it. This was a big scoop, something that would catch the interest of America. Especially when there was footage of the incident, although most of the footage was in the hands of the police.

Assassination was not a new thing in showbiz. Heck, four U.S. presidents had been assassinated in the history of America. So it was not a surprise that celebrities could experience the same thing. And actually, many celebrities had been killed for varied reasons.

In Kazir's case, it was revenge. The suspect attacked Kazir because he was fired from his job.

These were the headlines that were circulating in Hollywood... They made it look like Kazir was a bad person.

The CCTV cameras near the incident caught almost everything, from the car crash up to the moment when Aquino, the suspect, stepped out of his dented car holding an AK-47. By the way, owning an AK-47 was not legal in Los Angeles, so Aquino probably got it from someone.

Kazir was in the hospital while the media were having a blast with the news. Some of the reporters and paparazzi tried to infiltrate the hospital, but Grey Pictures hired guards to make sure that no one could disturb Kazir and Anderson, the bodyguard, who was currently in the ICU having surgery for his left foot.

Some people who lived in constant defeat saw this situation as a way to cancel Kazir. This was one of the rarest moments where they could pull Kazir into deep waters.

Obviously, the news painted Kazir with a bad reputation. They said that Aquino was justified because he lost his job. It was also disappointing that Aquino died... "He didn't deserve it," the media quoted.

In the mid-2000s, when the internet was still just starting, the media was the strongest entity that influenced people. Most people heard information from television.

Right now, the media giants were making sure that they would control this situation in their favor. They didn't care if Kazir was a good person. If they wanted Kazir to be the most vile person in Hollywood, then they would make him one.

Hollywood blacklisted Brendan Fraser for speaking about sexual harassment, Richard Gere because he spoke about Tibet. They also canceled Johnny Depp, Janet Jackson, and many celebrities who obviously didn't deserve it.

Now, Kazir was being labeled as one of the worst bosses in America because he fired an extra. As for the reason why he did that, who gives a fuck!? Right?

Only Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox helped Kazir and protected his name.

Not even Universal Pictures helped Kazir. Funny, because Shadows Beneath had just grossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office. Universal Pictures acted like they weren't even doing business with Kazir. Perhaps Universal Pictures believed that Kazir wouldn't survive this ordeal.

Anyway, Universal Pictures could afford to pay Grey Pictures that 5% box office share, then consider it done.

Unfortunately, the media giants had a hard time convincing people. From the footage they saw, it was clear that Aquino was the bad guy. He was clearly insane. Furthermore, it was heartbreaking to see an injured man fighting for his life under the threat of an AK-47.

They saw how Kazir crawled out of the car just to survive. Now that was amazing. It was hard to paint him as a villain when he was doing his best to crawl in order to survive. The footage spoke for itself, Kazir was the victim.

Kazir's will to live and his determination despite the terrifying weapon before him, everything resonated with the people. Even those who were doubtful about whether Kazir was a good person admitted that the director displayed courage, something they were amazed by.

As for the grudges between the two... Who gives a fuck? At this point, Kazir was too famous to get canceled.

.........

......

...

Scarlett was in tears as she stared at Kazir sleeping. The guy had bruises on his face and some stitches on his head and arms. Based on his appearance, he had suffered a terrible accident.

Kazir slowly opened his eyes and found Scarlett crying.

"You're awake," Scarlett's voice was trembling as she sighed in relief.

Kazir weakly smiled and wiped her tears.

"Don't move, I don't want your wounds to open up," Scarlett muttered and wiped her own tears instead. She was happy that Kazir woke up.

"I'm fine. They're just small cuts." Kazir chuckled, a faint smile on his face... But deep inside, he was scared. He recalled what had happened a few hours ago and his face subconsciously paled.

"What about the filming today?"

To forget about the terrible memory, Kazir decided to change the topic.

"You're hurt, you don't have to think about other things. Enrico canceled the shooting." Scarlett was part of the cast, so she heard about it firsthand.

"Good thing that we are just a week away from finishing the shoot, we can afford a few days of day-offs," Kazir muttered, but he shut his mouth when he saw that Scarlett was concerned about him.

"Don't think too much," she said.

She had already been on set when she heard that Kazir was in a car crash. When she heard that, she immediately asked if Kazir was okay. She went to the hospital the moment she found out he was staying there.

"It's fortunate that you weren't with me at that time. I don't know what I'd do if something bad happened to you." He smiled and looked at the ceiling.

Then, Scarlett sobbed again and kissed Kazir's hand.

"Don't talk like that."

"Sorry."

The two stared at each other before they shared a kiss.

A moment later, Kazir's relatives and friends also showed up. The room had been quiet for a reason, and the couple were acting awkward when the people showed up to check if Kazir was doing fine.

++++

[Honestly, I have no idea what to do about the aftermath, but I decided to just think of it in a way
that Hollywood will use this chance to erase their strongest rival which is Kazir.]

 

[Z3r0Sama]

Time for our boii to sink his investment money into distribution and bury the 'big 6'

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 507


The room was a bit lively as more people visited. Kazir was not in a grave situation, so he was allowed to have more guests. Besides, he was in one of the most expensive private rooms in the hospital, where he could host up to 50 people if he wanted to.

Honestly, Kazir preferred this lively situation compared to being alone. If he were alone, there was a strong chance he would recall the traumatizing incident.

Most of the people who visited him were from business dealings, such as the people from Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox. These two studios didn't show any hostility despite having a chance to demean Kazir.

Well, Warner Brothers needed Kazir to continue directing the Batman Trilogy. They could also afford a week or two of vacation for Kazir. Kazir was thankful for that.

As for 20th Century Fox, they were considered partners since Grey Pictures and 20th Century Fox exchanged shares. Even though 20th Century Fox was just the distributor of Grey Pictures' movies, Fox was still making a lot of profit. Furthermore, they needed Kazir to continue writing scripts for Final Destination and the upcoming Paranormal Activity.

Kazir's family also showed up. Victor and Arron were so happy to see that Kazir was not badly injured.

A day after the incident, so many people showed up to check on Kazir that the hospital had to implement a strict policy.

Scarlett realized that there were people who cared about Kazir, and she was happy about it. She wiped her tears, but this time, they were tears of joy.

When Kazir started feeling tired, the people bid farewell. Only Scarlett and the Grey family members were left in the room.

Kazir had been through so much, and this incident was probably one of the toughest obstacles in his life.

Kazir weakly smiled as he returned to sleep. He decided to place importance on his life... Once he was done with The Dark Knight, Kazir would go somewhere nice and peaceful.

The next day, Kazir heard that Anderson's operation was successful. His left foot was saved, but he needed three months of recovery, which Kazir gladly gave his bodyguard. Kazir also promised that he would cover all of the expenses... He even thought of buying Anderson a house and a car, he could afford to buy them anyway. No amount of money was comparable to his life.

But since Anderson needed time to recover, Kazir needed to hire another bodyguard. In fact, Kazir believed he needed at least two bodyguards. Salvatore and Erica were looking for the best people, they had to make sure their moneymaker was safe and sound...

Yeah, it was true that Kazir was the reason why Salvatore and Erica earned so much money every year. Kazir was their friend, so they also didn't want him to get hurt.

.........

......

...

The horrifying attempted murder of Kazir was so huge that police had to intervene and take it seriously.

When the incident happened, the giant studios just thought it was simple revenge. They heard from one of the ex-employees (he got fired and paid fines because he broke the NDA) from Kazir's production team that Aquino exacted revenge on Kazir because he was kicked out of the project. That was clear, and everyone thought it was mostly the truth. As for the reason why Aquino was hired, no one cared about it... The media didn't explain it at all for obvious reasons.

Because of that, the Big Four took this chance to try and destroy Kazir's career. So many people believed them, but many also sympathized with Kazir. Just because he fired someone, it didn't mean he deserved to die.

Kazir had experienced so many scandals in his career, yet he survived all of them. People believed he was innocent since he was still not blacklisted in Hollywood.

But everything came to a halt when the police found something interesting on Aquino's computer and phone.

At first, the police were curious how Aquino got an AK-47, since that kind of firearm was illegal in Los Angeles as of 2007.

They confirmed that the AK-47 came from Aquino's "friend," an executive from Universal Pictures. The AK-47 was meant to be used as a prop and should have been destroyed after being used in a movie, but the executive left dozens of AK-47s as "collectibles"... They were not registered, by the way.

Sometimes, production teams needed to use real guns as props, although they used blank bullets. Furthermore, it was cheaper to use real guns that making fake ones.

This executive gave one to Aquino as a gift.

Everyone thought the incident would end there.

But no, there was more to it. The police found an interesting conversation between Aquino and the executive.

— He humiliated you.

— Kazir thinks he is above everyone, that's why he didn't include your scene. You deserve better.

— Don't ask me why your asshole is itchy, we're done since last year.

— No one would blame you if you were going to teach Kazir a lesson. That arrogant director needs a proper lesson.

— I know we're not friends anymore, but if you need money to do it, you can ask.

It was mild and hidden, but the executive was indirectly pushing Aquino to kill Kazir by blaming Kazir for Aquino's failure. The executive said that Kazir intentionally didn't add Aquino's scene because he offended the director.

Aquino was a cocaine addict and didn't realize he was being manipulated. The executive told him their conversation should be deleted, but Aquino was too high to do that.

Another thing, the executive gave Aquino a car and even told him Kazir's usual locations.

Yes, this was an assassination! The public thought this was just a simple tragedy, not a planned assassination! Even the Big Four didn't expect this outcome.

To make it worse, the executive was a close friend of Harvey Weinstein!

++++++

[Note: I don't hate Universal Pictures. They are amazing studio and I like their movies, they are far better than Walt Disney at any angle. Unfortunately, the plot went this way so I might as well stick to it.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 508

The revelation shocked Hollywood. The police were hesitant at first, since this information could put their careers in jeopardy. You know, this was not a simple assault but an assassination that involved an executive from Universal Pictures.

The Hollywood and Showbiz industry was so deep that some information was not allowed to spread.

Thankfully, the LAPD gave the go signal. They were doing the right thing, and they had nothing to fear.

Hence, the situation became chaotic. Who would have thought that this incident was instigated by one of the higher-ups at Universal Pictures?

An executive planning to kill a director, a shocking situation. News stations and publishers loved this moment and went all out. The news spread so fast that when Kazir woke up the next day, he sensed that something was going on.

His father and brother were acting strange. Even Salvatore and Erica were in the hospital room, whispering. Scarlett made tea for them.

If something was surprising, it was the fact that Stella Willow was also in the room, waiting for Kazir to wake up. For the record, Stella and Kazir were friends, but Stella was so busy that she probably didn't have time to visit the hospital early in the morning.

"...What's going on?"
Kazir asked them.

The group of people looked at each other. Scarlett sighed and gave a cup of tea to Kazir, she then passed a newly published newspaper to him.

Kazir actually preferred coffee or cappuccino, but it seemed Scarlett was going for a healthy beverage. The tea was a gift from Stella.

Anyway, Kazir read the newspaper and bitterly smiled, well, the bitter tea was one of the reasons why.

"People will go as far as to kill someone just for profit," he said.

Scarlett held his hand.

"This is not simple. The culture of this industry is so toxic that they feel like they can get away with anything. Don't worry, I'll do my best to make sure this will not happen again."

Stella was the first to reply. She was disgusted by the fact that Hollywood let something like this happen.

"Thanks, Stella."

Kazir smiled.

.........

......

...

Just a day after the news spread, Universal Pictures acted fast and fired the executive. They even stated it publicly in front of the media. They announced that they had no connection with the assassination and that they promoted healthy competition.

Many people were mad about it, and even the movie critics felt disgusted. Universal Pictures had to solve this problem and protect its image.

The executive was caught by the police and admitted the crimes. Except that, he didn't say anything else and kept his mouth shut. He accepted every backlash from the public as if he was threatened to take full responsibility.

Truthfully, Universal Pictures had no intention of killing Kazir. They never resorted to killing people, this was America, and they never liked violence. Unfortunately, stuff just happens.

The scandal also made the Big Four face some backlash. People were not stupid. The Big Four tried to destroy Kazir's career after the director suffered a near-death situation. People realized that the Big Four would do anything just to bury their rivals.

As for Kazir's side, the director was advised by his PR Team to stay quiet and away from the spotlight.

He just released a statement that was crafted by his PR Team. The one who delivered the words was Erica, who faced the reporters in front of the hospital.

"Director Grey said that he is grateful to be alive. He thanks the people for supporting him."

A very short statement. Kazir's PR Team advised him not to speak about the Big Four, as Kazir might have a chance to work with them again... This was from a business viewpoint, and Kazir understood.

In Hollywood, there was no eternal enemy. People in the industry would always do things for their benefit, and Kazir understood that.

However, he would probably not work with Universal Pictures anymore after this. He thought their relationship would improve after Shadows Beneath, but it seemed that he was wrong.

Brad Grey personally talked to him on the phone and said that Universal Pictures never thought of killing him. Based on Brad's voice, he was probably not lying. Still, Kazir was determined to keep his promise this time. This was a painful betrayal that he didn't want to experience again.

As for the other studios, it depended on the circumstances. He had to accept the fact that Hollywood would never change. This industry was so messed up from the roots that it was impossible to change it.

No one could change Hollywood, not even Kazir, nor the Big Six. Hollywood was always the city of sin.

.........

......

...

Kazir asked for a two-week break from Warner Brothers, and the studio gladly supported him. They were already happy that their studio was not part of the scandal. Furthermore, they used this chance of public sympathy to promote The Dark Knight.

Whenever they talked about news related to Kazir, Time Warner always included that Kazir was the director of The Dark Knight. Yeah, a free promotion. Nothing to be surprised about.

Within those two weeks, Kazir spent his time away from the paparazzi. He was in the house most of the time, together with Scarlett. His family and friends visited him once in a while... Kazir was actually bored the whole time.

He realized that he preferred working on his film instead of staying at home and doing nothing. Well, taking a rest was not that bad once in a while. On top of that, he and Scarlett cuddled a lot, so definitely not that bad.

+++++

[Author's Note.]

[For the record, I don't hate Universal Pictures. Universal Pictures is actually a great studio. It's just that the plot went on against them, so I can't help but make them bad. If there's a studio I hate, it's only Walt Disney. Also, I just want to remind everyone that this novel is fiction and fake. Not related to real celebrities. Don't take it seriously.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 509


"Dear God, why are you doing this to me!? I've never been a bad person!"

Harvey Weinstein stared at the ceiling, talking to a higher existence, asking why he was receiving suffering after suffering despite being a good person.

Harvey was a narcissistic bastard who couldn't see the wrongs in himself. In his opinion, he was one of the good guys in Hollywood.

Yet the fact that he was being judged didn't sit well with him. After his friend went to jail because of a failed assassination, people started looking at him like he was a criminal.

For the record, Harvey Weinstein wasn't part of the crime. It was true that he wanted Kazir dead, but he wasn't crazy enough to hire a hitman. This was an unwritten rule in Hollywood, no killings.

He was indeed friends with the executive and had attended some nice parties that included illegal dealings. They were also friends with Jeffrey Epstein and Diddy, but that didn't mean Harvey Weinstein was a bad person, right?

Just like he believed, he was on the good side of Hollywood... Harvey believed there were far worse people in Hollywood, and what he did was incomparable to their monstrosities.

Anyway, now that his friends had been caught, people were blaming him for some reason. He became part of the scandal, and reporters and paparazzi kept pestering him like he was some kind of rapist who deserved to go to jail.

Because of this incident, Harvey Weinstein had no choice but to lay low again. He decided to hide from the media and rarely left his house.

Harvey felt like the social connections he had worked hard to build were crumbling as his reputation kept sinking lower and lower. He had an inkling that if he got into another scandal, the people around him wouldn't help him anymore. He would probably go to jail the next time.

.........

......

...

After two weeks of rest, Kazir was so excited that he woke up early just to greet the day when the production of The Dark Knight would restart. He looked out the window, the sun was just rising, and the sky was still dark blue.

He kissed Scarlett's forehead. The woman was still sleeping. All of Scarlett's scenes had already been filmed, so there was no reason for her to attend the shoot.

"Take care. I'll visit you after I wake up," Scarlett grumbled and returned to sleep.

Kazir chuckled and left the house... In front of his home, three tall men seemed ready for action. These were the three bodyguards that Salvatore and Erica had found to protect Kazir.

Anderson was still in the hospital.

Kazir nodded at them, a bit awkward that these three strangers would be following him to every event from now on.

The three bodyguards were Dane, Ronan, and Vince. Their presence was a bit intimidating. Kazir knew that they could beat a person in a gunfight or a street fight. Either way, it seemed that Kazir would be safe with them.

"Sir, I'm your driver/bodyguard, Dane Fan. The car is ready," Dane introduced himself.

"Oh, thanks," Kazir said as he entered the new car. This car was a bulletproof vehicle that he had recently purchased. He had to admit he was traumatized by the incident and didn't want to experience it again.

As for the other bodyguards, they would follow in another car.

Both vehicles were bulletproof. Kazir spent $2.4 million to buy these two cars for his safety, it was a great investment. After all, he only had one life… Erm, he had experienced two lives, but it didn't matter, the meaning was still there. Life is important.

When he reached the studio, the crew members were already busy. They were checking equipment, adjusting the lights, setting the cameras, and even preparing snacks and drinks in each cast member's trailer.

When Kazir showed up, they greeted him with good mornings and expressed their concern about what had happened. Kazir smiled and said he was fine. He had suffered a few injuries from the car crash, but he was doing well. Even the stitches on his head were mostly healed. His hair covered the wounds, so they weren't obvious.

Kazir started the day with three bodyguards around him, scanning the surroundings and looking at Kazir, making sure there were no hidden threats.

The crew members felt awkward, but they had to adapt. This was their new normal now that Kazir had almost died in an assassination attempt.

Kazir could also see that the crew members were afraid to approach him because of the stern gazes from his bodyguards. However, he couldn't stop the bodyguards from doing their job.

They just had to adapt until everything became normal.

It was normal for the cast to show up later than the filming crew. Most of the cast of The Dark Knight were famous celebrities, so they had the privilege to do what they wanted.

Filming was scheduled to start around 9 a.m. But most of the cast who were part of the scene were still not present… Kazir was used to this. Most celebrities showed up late for some reason, as if they wanted to be the star of the set by arriving last.

It was 11 a.m. when filming finally started. The cast first greeted Kazir and asked about his well-being, Kazir answered truthfully.

Because Kazir had asked for a two-week break, the schedule was adjusted. It was fortunate that there were only a few remaining scenes to film before the production moved into post-production.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 510


A week later, with Kazir's fast and consistent filming, the production of The Dark Knight was on its last day.

The sky was dark that night, and the cold breeze was all around. The crew members felt the chill, but they remained quiet.

The set came to a halt, and everyone kept their mouths shut. Kazir was sitting behind the scene, staring at the monitor that displayed the scene from six angles.

They were filming in an old building in Los Angeles that had been rented by the crew. The building was scheduled for demolition in a few months, and its desolate atmosphere was the perfect vibe to depict Batman's decision to throw away his mantle as Gotham's vigilante.

"Batman, Batman—!"

James Gordon's son shouted at Batman, the hero who had saved their lives. However, Batman didn't respond and continued running away.

"Why is he running, Dad?" the young boy asked.

"Because we have to chase him."

"He didn't do anything wrong." The child was confused, remembering how Batman had jumped in to save him.

"Because he's the hero that Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he's our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. The Dark Knight."

The whole place was quiet.

Everyone looked at Kazir. He was the boss. They had already filmed this scene four times and were just waiting for Kazir's approval to know if the scene met his criteria.

One of his bodyguards stood next to Kazir, tall and strong like a pillar. The other two bodyguards were dozens of meters away, checking the perimeter as if they were in a war zone, expecting possible attacks...

Honestly, the tension on set was still present, even three weeks after Kazir had almost died. The crew members were still not used to people monitoring their every movement like they were some kind of criminals.

In fact, one of the bodyguards also had to taste-test the food and beverages given to Kazir whenever the director was hungry or thirsty.

Fortunately, this would be the last time working with Kazir this year, since the director only filmed one movie per year... One movie per year was amazing, by the way. It was even more impressive that Kazir had filmed two movies the previous year, and both had grossed $1 billion. Kazir was the abnormal one here.

Kazir frowned while rewinding the tape...

The people around him waited for the verdict. Even the cast, such as Christian Bale and Gary Oldman, were waiting. Christian Bale was still in his Batman suit and sweating quite a lot.

A few seconds later, Kazir clapped his hands.

"Okay, that's it. The filming of The Dark Knight is done."

The crew members screamed in joy and cheered.

"We prepared a small party back at the studio tonight. I hope everyone will attend. Let's all have fun."

Enrico Pusi, the producer of The Dark Knight, stepped in and announced the party, prompting another loud cheer. They would eat and drink till they couldn't anymore.

Kazir also smiled… He had promised that once filming was done, he would apply for a month's vacation before starting the post-production of The Dark Knight, which was the editing stage.

He had already spoken with Warner Brothers, and the studio understood why he asked for the break. He really needed it after the incident. Two weeks hadn't been enough to calm his nerves. He still experienced mild PTSD whenever he stepped into a car.

Scarlett said she was interested in visiting Europe, especially Italy and France.

.........

......

...

May had been a rough month for Kazir. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was released and became a massive success, but that wasn't the reason May was rough for him. A week after the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean, Kazir was almost killed by an extra.

The motive behind the crime was that Aquino was angry about not being included in the final cut. Also, Aquino had been subtly brainwashed to kill Kazir.

After that, June served as a rest month for Kazir, since he only worked for a week during that time. He spent most of his time recovering at home from the injuries he had sustained.

However, while Kazir was recuperating, blockbuster films such as Knocked Up, Ocean's Thirteen, Surf's Up, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, 1408, Evan Almighty, Live Free or Die Hard, and Ratatouille were released in June.

Fantastic Four was a property 20th Century Fox had acquired a decade before Marvel Comics became part of the Disney family. Hence, 20th Century Fox had already approved the project and filmed it a year before the MCU was created. It would have been a waste of money not to release the movie, instead of trying to include it in the MCU.

Surprisingly, Fantastic Four was a success, so 20th Century Fox and Marvel Studios decided to make a sequel, which was Rise of the Silver Surfer. The movie grossed $353 million at the box office.

As for Evan Almighty, it was the sequel to Bruce Almighty, a film Kazir had written. When Jim Carrey announced he wouldn't reprise his role as Bruce Almighty, Kazir knew the franchise's future was bleak. Therefore, he barely participated in the scriptwriting. Because of this, he wasn't included as the screenwriter for the movie, which was fine with him. Regardless, Evan Almighty grossed $214 million at the box office, not bad.

"... Something is strange. I feel like I forgot something."

Kazir said to himself while reading a newspaper in a pastry shop in Italy.

"Perhaps you're talking about tipping. I'm not sure if Italy has a tipping culture or if that's just a U.S. thing," Scarlett replied while enjoying her croissant and latte.

"I'm not sure. I feel like another big movie should be released this month..."

 

[Luizinho]

Forgot about Heath Ledger's up coming death ?

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[FallenMetal]

Thank you, and I won't lie, I hoped that Harvey had a mental breakdown and tried for the hit. It looks like Kazir recovered and is still going alone, especially with the end of Dark Knight. I'm eager to see everyone's reaction to those numbers. Great job as always, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 511

Kazir looked at the newspaper for the second time, frowning as he felt like he had forgotten something big.

'It's probably a big movie in my past life... Strange. I'm confident in my memory whenever it's about movies.'

Scarlett saw that Kazir was thinking seriously. However, they were on vacation right now, and both of them had promised that they wouldn't think about their jobs. They had been busy for a year, and Kazir had also experienced a terrible accident, so they needed to detox from Hollywood. The two were currently wearing shades to hide their identities, as both of them were quite famous.

Scarlett passed a cheesecake to Kazir and said, "You've been stressed since we got on the plane; maybe you're just jetlagged?"

"Yeah, I think you're right," Kazir sighed and grabbed a spoon to munch on the cheesecake. The reason why he had been uncomfortable the whole flight was because of his trauma. It had only been three weeks since the incident, and Kazir was still trying to heal from his mental trauma.

He glanced at the next table and saw four people drinking coffee but constantly on the lookout. These four were Erica, Dane, Ronan, and Vince. They were following Kazir and Scarlett on their vacation... just for safety purposes.

Erica was no longer a bodyguard, now serving as an assistant, but she had decided to follow Kazir on his vacation because she felt guilty for not being present when her boss was attacked by a lunatic. To make up for it, she chose to protect him on this trip.

Unsurprisingly, the three male bodyguards didn't belittle Erica. They showed her respect. Well, Erica had a scar on her face, and her 6-foot height was enough to intimidate people.

Kazir returned to his cheesecake after looking at the four tough-looking bodyguards.

He wasn't used to this kind of situation, but he didn't have a choice other than to compromise. One assassination attempt was enough, he had no intention of disregarding his life just because he didn't want bodyguards following him.

'...I should probably try learning how to use a gun.'

Kazir didn't have a license, so he would have to apply for a permit. Now he understood why having a gun for self-protection was a valid opinion. He didn't want to experience another moment of helplessness, unable to defend himself during an assassination attempt. At that time, he had deeply regretted not having a gun to protect himself.

After eating, the couple decided to walk around and go window shopping. The four bodyguards followed them a few meters behind.

"Does this dress look good on me?" Scarlett asked while holding a white dress that ended above her knees.

"Babe, everything looks good on you."

"...Did I tell you how much I love you?" Scarlett blushed and decided to buy it... The shop didn't accept credit cards, so Scarlett had to count the cash before paying.

Of course, the people who carried their shopping bags were the male bodyguards.

"I think hiring some bodyguards isn't so bad," Kazir said while looking at the shopping bags the bodyguards were carrying. All of them had been bought by Scarlett, who loved shopping... Kazir knew that his two arms wouldn't be enough to carry everything she bought. Now, he was thankful that he had brought the bodyguards.

"Babe, I promised I'd buy your niece a toy."

"Alissa likes Barbie dolls," Kazir reminded her.

They found a toy shop. Scarlett looked around for toys to buy for Alissa while Kazir glanced at the front door.

Then, Kazir suddenly recalled the big movie that should have been released this month after seeing a toy model of Optimus Prime at the entrance.

"Transformers!!" he shouted.

"Babe, are you okay!?"

Scarlett rushed back when she heard Kazir yell.

"N-No, I'm fine. I just remembered something important." Kazir was embarrassed when he realized his mistake. Even other people were staring at him because of the commotion.

"Is it about movies again?" Scarlett gave him a stern look.

"Yeah... I'm sorry, I can't help but think about my job. I know I promised that we wouldn't think about anything job-related while on vacation."

"Aww, it's all right. Don't be sad." Scarlett approached him and cupped his face.

"You're right, I should be relaxing right now. But you know how my brain works."

"That's why I like you," Scarlett giggled. "Your love and strict passion for filmmaking impress me. You're so attractive whenever you're focused on your goals."

"Thanks."

"But this time, we should enjoy and relax."

"I will," Kazir nodded.

"So, what were you thinking earlier, and why did you shout?" Scarlett curiously asked.

'I thought we weren't going to bring our jobs on this vacation?'

Kazir glanced at her and chuckled. Scarlett was so adorable that it didn't matter. He just kissed her forehead before answering.

"It's about Transformers. I remembered that Paramount wanted to make a movie adaptation of this famous toy line. I thought they were going to release the movie this month."

"Isn't that the project Michael Bay is trying to get?"

Michael Bay's last movie, The Island, had been a failure at the box office, so the director's career was on the edge.

Kazir stared at Scarlett. He knew that Scarlett had starred in The Island and had worked with Michael Bay.

"Hey! It's not my fault that the movie was a disaster. I'm just an actress. You should blame the editor and director for making a boring plot like that!" she defended herself.

"But you earned 2 million dollars starring in that movie."

"That's right. But it's still not my fault." She pouted.

The Island had a cost of $126 million but only grossed $162 million at the box office. DreamWorks had been so disappointed that they had no intention of working with Michael Bay again.

+++++

[Yeah, this chapter is quite chill since the next chapter is about the release of John Wick: Chapter 3.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 512

"You're so cute when you're angry."

"Hmph! I'm not gonna fall for your trick this time," Scarlett grumbled and started looking for Barbie toys. Kazir followed closely.

"Of course, I'm not blaming you. Most of the time, the reason why a movie fails is because of the wrong decisions the directors make. You're just an actress, all you can do is follow the script. You can't control how the movie will be created," Kazir tried to appease the woman.

"Besides, it's amazing that you got $2 million."

She gave him a playful glare. "I do know that I was blamed in that movie for being an emotionless actress who can't perform well."

"I'm sorry, I made a mistake."

Scarlett sighed and passed a box of Barbie dolls to Kazir. Her frustration was gone as she realized that she was actually being childish.

"I forgive you. I always will... Now make sure you make up for it," she added.

"Okay, cool. I'm gonna eat that thang later, okay, okay, I'm just joking." Kazir chuckled as he saw Scarlett glaring at him for making a dirty joke.

Kazir followed Scarlett while holding a few boxes of toys for little girls.

"Anyway, Paramount invited me to direct Transformers, but I'm kinda busy. However, they decided to adjust their schedule, hoping that I could direct Transformers," Kazir explained their meeting.

"If you didn't agree, Paramount Pictures would hire Michael Bay instead?" Scarlett giggled while looking at Kazir, who was doing his best carrying the toys.

"That's right. I have no problem with it. I already have a lot of projects to do."

"So what's your decision? Are you not interested in directing Transformers?" Scarlett asked. Based on Kazir's tone, it was obvious that he was interested in directing the movie.

Kazir paused after paying for the toys. He used cash again. He slightly smiled at Scarlett.

"At first, I was interested. I can see the potential in Transformers. It has the potential to make billions at the box office. Furthermore, Hasbro will pay top dollar just to hire a director like me... But I decided that it's not for me."

"But why?"

"Because I don't like Paramount Pictures. For now, I won't work with that studio."

Scarlett nodded and understood Kazir's reasoning.

When Kazir was in the hospital, getting treated for his injuries, Paramount Pictures was one of the studios that berated the director and tried to cause a scandal.

Paramount Pictures expressed that Kazir was an arrogant director who kicked out a poor extra, and he deserved what happened to him. Even Scarlett had been livid while listening to that news report.

Their team already filed lawsuits to those people but it would probably take a while for a result to happen. Everything comes down to who has more money.

Thankfully, Kazir had still been asleep when that news aired.

But based on Kazir's decision, it was obvious that he held a grudge against what Paramount Pictures did.

"I guess Paramount Pictures regrets what they did. Now they closed the negotiation before it even happened," Scarlett said, making fun of Paramount Pictures.

"I guess so."

They were not far from being right. As of now, Paramount Pictures felt like they had shot themselves in the foot after the revelation about the assassination attempt on Kazir. Even the public was making a mockery of Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney, Sony-Columbia, and Universal Pictures.

Kazir suddenly laughed.

"I just remembered something. It's so ironic that a few years ago, Sony-Columbia and 20th Century Fox protected me when the scandal involving Tobey Maguire and me spread. At that time, Warner Brothers was one of the studios that tried to destroy my career. But now it's the complete opposite, Warner Brothers is protecting me while Sony-Columbia is lashing out at me."

It was all about benefits. For now, Walt Disney could see the benefit of helping Kazir, so the studio did its best to protect him.

There were no eternal enemies or allies in this industry, everyone was doing it for their own benefit. The industry itself was a hypocritical system filled with lies, yet people couldn't help but adore Show Business. Many wouldn't hesitate to sell their souls just to become celebrities. Honestly, some famous people indeed had sold their souls, ahem, such as the people related to Diddy.

"If Paramount Pictures tries to invite me again after this incident, I'll give them a massive middle finger."

Kazir was not some weakling that the Big Six could bully, not anymore. He could determine his own future without bowing his head.

As for Transformers, unfortunately, Kazir decided to drop that project from his hands. If Paramount Pictures decided to hire Michael Bay, so be it.

But since the release of Transformers was delayed, Kazir was not sure if the movie would experience the same success as in the original timeline.

..........

.......

...

Scarlett and Kazir returned to the United States in the last week of July. Kazir had a premiere to attend around this time, so their vacation only lasted one month. Furthermore, Kazir had to start the post-production of The Dark Knight. Once Kazir stepped on American soil, his mind immediately shifted back to work-related matters. Despite the incident, it was fortunate that some things never changed.

While Kazir was gone, movies such as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Hairspray, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and The Simpsons Movie were released in theaters.

20th Century Fox was the distributor of Grey Pictures' movies, but Fox also couldn't disregard their own projects. Because of that, Grey Pictures' movies were usually released in late July, August, or September, depending on the schedule.

This time, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum would be released on July 31, Tuesday. A rare date to release a movie. The promotion was in full force: tabloids, billboards, and movie trailers were almost everywhere.

+++++

[Author's Note.]

[Since most readers prefer Ninja Assassin, I decided to say no to Transformers. Besides, Kazir and Paramount Pictures are not on good terms, so yeah, I decided to write it down.]

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 513

On July 31, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End grossed over $361 million at the North American box office after 70 days of screening. The movie also grossed $423 million internationally.

The franchise achieved massive success internationally following the outstanding performance of the second movie last year. Since then, the franchise has gained millions of fans all over the world.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl grossed $650 million when it was released in 2003. At that time, it was considered a miracle since pirate movies were typically regarded as box office failures.

Last year, in 2006, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest grossed over $1.06 billion. It was a worldwide success that launched an amazing franchise beloved by people everywhere.

And now, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End has grossed $784 million... No one would deny that the third installment of the franchise would gross over $1 billion. Because from the looks of it, the movie would indeed surpass the $1 billion mark.

So far, Kazir has made four movies that grossed $1 billion at the box office. They were Wanted, Spider-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, and Shadows Beneath... No one could replicate what he did. Perhaps only people like Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, and Michael Bay could follow in his footsteps, as these four directors had strong selling factors in their filmographies.

Anyway, despite this good news, Kazir had complicated thoughts regarding the success of Pirates of the Caribbean... He was unsure if he should sell the franchise or perhaps milk it until it was dry and dirty.

At first, Kazir wanted to keep the copyrights since it was a successful franchise. But the tragedy he experienced left him traumatized.

The police concluded that Aquino held a grudge against Kazir because he didn't include his performance in the final cut, which was sort of useless, by the way. After all, Aquino only had a 2-second scene where he was walking and carrying a box. That was it. Fucking not relevant at all.

Because of what he suffered, Kazir felt like Pirates of the Caribbean would always remind him of that terrible experience, and for the sake of his mental health, he considered selling it. By doing that, they would lose most rights regarding merchandise sales and other peripherals.

"I gotta talk to Stella and the management regarding this... But they will probably be against selling such a gold mine."

The best compromise they could reach was that Kazir wouldn't direct the sequels, and Pirates of the Caribbean would be shelved for a few years. They wouldn't film another installment until perhaps 2011.

"What are you thinking?" Scarlett sensed that Kazir was deep in thought and worried it was about the incident a month ago.

Kazir chuckled and shook his head.

"It's nothing. I'm thinking of Pirates of the Caribbean. I wonder what the next step should be."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're the best director in Hollywood, after all."

Hearing his girlfriend's praise, Kazir couldn't help but laugh. Indeed, everyone recognized him as the best director. Not even the newcomer Christopher Nolan, the once-a-decade James Cameron, nor the explosion addict Michael Bay could be compared to him. Kazir was at the top of the filmmaking industry.

Even if Kazir suffered a career-ending scandal and lost everything, studios would still hire him because of his profitability. His name alone was enough to attract audiences to buy tickets.

"Thanks."

Kazir held Scarlett's hand.

The two were in a limousine, on their way to the red carpet for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

Tonight was a busy night for them as the premiere would be filled with avid fans ready to watch another action-packed movie.

Then, the two reached their destination. They already saw people lining up and reporters snapping pictures at the limousine, waiting for the next celebrities to show up.

Kazir was the first to open his door and extended his hand to Scarlett, who followed after grabbing his hand.

Another deafening cheer echoed as the two walked the red carpet, quite literally.

The scene was spectacular. Fans lined the streets, screaming and waving posters and pictures of the cast, particularly Viggo Mortensen with his iconic long hair and beard.

Kazir and Scarlett, fresh from their vacation in Italy, stood at the center of this applause. They were calm and composed as they followed standard procedure. They had attended movie premieres so many times that they were accustomed to what to do. Still, they had to admit that every CCU red carpet was always hype and energetic.

After posing for pictures, the couple reached the next stage, interviews.

"Director, does the assassination attempt make you think of how to respect your employees better?"

A very bold question, but not surprising. Of course, interviewers loved asking scandalous questions that could trigger celebrities. At this point, this was the career path of most reporters and paparazzi. They loved making celebrities mad so they could make money off it.

Kazir smiled at the reporter who asked the question. He nodded.

"Yes."

One word, but it could imply many things.

"What do you mean, yes?"

Kazir didn't bother answering because Scarlett pulled him away from the scene. She glared at the reporter before walking off.

Kazir was still suffering mentally from the incident, and that low-class reporter decided to remind him of that terrible experience. Of course, anyone close to Kazir would be angry.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 514

Scarlett was fuming as she held Kazir's hand. The two went to the theater, and Scarlett was clearly in a bad mood.

Kazir smiled slightly. He realized that the woman cared about him.

"Those hyenas, they ask anything just to get a reaction."

Hyenas, vultures, parasites, names that could describe paparazzi and low-class reporters. Sometimes, they would ask about topics not even related to the celebrity, such as politics, gender studies, race, and religion. Why did they even have to ask an actor about gender studies and race? It had no connection to the movie at all.

Scarlett stomped her feet, and Kazir couldn't help but laugh. He was not offended by what the reporter asked. It wasn't that deep.

"It's fine. Let's just focus on watching John Wick. The fans are excited to see the movie."

This time, it was Kazir who took Scarlett's hand and led her to their seats.

.........

......

...

The plot of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum was almost the same as the original, although some CCU scenes were added.

If there was something that caught people off guard, it was Winston's "betrayal" in the last part of the movie. Winston shot John Wick, which caused John to fall from the building… Honestly, it was a miracle that John Carter survived. As expected of the Baba Yaga.

One thing was certain, the fans loved the movie. They kept chanting John Wick's name as they came out of the theaters.

When the first 24 hours ended, John Wick: Chapter 3 grossed $36 million. It wasn't a surprise. This was the average performance of CCU movies. If anything was surprising, it was the fact that the figure was lower than expected. The last three movies that Grey Pictures released each grossed over $1 billion. So it was a bit surprising that John Wick: Chapter 3 only grossed $36 million on its first day.

Perhaps it was because the excitement had ended with Kingsman: The Secret Service. The protagonists defeated a strong organization, and thus, the fans were less excited to watch the latest movie.

Also, Bryan Mills died in Kingsman: The Secret Service, so many fans were still mourning.

Anyway, $36 million was a huge amount of money no matter what angle you looked at it.

Five more days passed, and it was now August 5, Sunday. John Wick: Chapter 3 had grossed $133 million after five days of screening.

It was a success for everyone who worked on the project. The budget for the movie was only $75 million, plus a $25 million budget for advertising. Overall, Grey Pictures spent around $100 million on John Wick: Chapter 3. In just five days, the movie had already surpassed its production cost, and anything beyond $100 million would be profit.

Everyone knew this was just the beginning of John Wick: Chapter 3's performance. The movie would surely make more money.

Within the same week (August 1–5), Underdog was released. It was a superhero movie about a dog. The movie was produced by Walt Disney… The studio was desperate to make relevant live-action movies. Unfortunately, Underdog was easily beaten by John Wick: Chapter 3.

Underdog only grossed $11 million in the same week that John Wick: Chapter 3 was released. This $25 million movie lost to John Wick: Chapter 3. It couldn't compete against the CCU movie, which had a steady fanbase that watched it daily.

If there were movies that could threaten John Wick: Chapter 3's domination of August, they were probably Rush Hour 3 and Mr. Bean's Holiday. These two were the big movies scheduled for release in August.

However, analysts believed that John Wick: Chapter 3 had a higher chance of earning more than Rush Hour 3 and Mr. Bean's Holiday, since CCU movies averaged $500 million at the box office.

Just like that, days passed, and it was now August 12. Within the same week, Rush Hour 3 was released and it grossed $49 million… The movie had only been in theaters for three days. Compared to John Wick: Chapter 3, Rush Hour 3 had a better opening weekend.

As for John Wick: Chapter 3, the movie made another $79 million, bringing its total to $212 million at the North American box office. Despite having a weaker first-three-day performance compared to Rush Hour 3, John Wick: Chapter 3 was still making steady money.

Another week passed, and it was August 19.

Underdog grossed $31 million.

Rush Hour 3 grossed $87 million.

John Wick: Chapter 3 grossed $256 million. Also, the movie was released internationally in many major countries, earning another $92 million.

Another week passed, and it was now August 26.

Mr. Bean's Holiday was released and grossed $9 million… This comedy couldn't compete against John Wick: Chapter 3.

As of August 26, John Wick: Chapter 3 had grossed $281 million. Additionally, the international box office reached $172 million. That made John Wick: Chapter 3's total gross over $453 million after 27 days of screening… That was a great performance.

Based on statistics and common sense, John Wick: Chapter 3 dominated the month of August and was the movie that earned the most money.

Grey Pictures celebrated this success, and Kazir had to take some time out of the editing room, as he had spent almost a month in post-production for The Dark Knight… He had to talk to Heath Ledger for the nth time this month.

When the dubbing of lines started, Kazir decided to talk to Heath Ledger more often to keep the man lively… Unfortunately, Kazir was not the outgoing type, so he wasn't sure if his methods were effective. One thing was certain, Heath Ledger was still affected by the heavy role of the Joker.

 

[Pujimaki]

Hollywood What If Chapter 515

The success of John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum brought happiness to Grey Pictures, of course. They worked hard to produce a high-quality movie and hoped that it would bring them profit. Even though John Wick: Chapter 3 had a lower performance compared to the last three movies they produced, it was still undoubtedly a huge amount of money.

So far, the movie had already grossed $600 million worldwide at the box office after 50 days of screening. At the same time, the summer season had ended more than two weeks ago, and the major studios hadn't released any huge movies except Resident Evil: Extinction and The Game Plan.

While the September days rolled on, and some people were asking to be woken up once September ended, Kazir focused his time on the post-production of The Dark Knight.

Kazir attended the dubbing sessions of the cast and listened to how they delivered their lines. Sometimes, due to poor audio recording, the cast had to re-record their lines in a cleaner version.

Hence, Kazir spent time with the cast. He also had the chance to talk to Heath Ledger. They even had a drink together at a bar that Kazir loved to visit.

Knowing the future, Kazir was worried about the impending doom that could happen to Heath Ledger.

Kazir understood that he was not a superhero, and he wasn't exactly a good person either. He followed his own set of morals. If doing good things endangered him, he wouldn't do them. Examples: preventing 9/11 and saving Princess Diana.

Once in a while, Kazir wondered whether things might have changed for the better if he had saved Princess Diana or prevented 9/11... But he was just a human. And he was afraid of the consequences.

He didn't try to meet Princess Diana a few years ago nor save her... because he had an idea about the "people" who were behind her death. Everyone had an idea of what happened. So Kazir didn't want to be part of that complicated mess, because he could die if he tried.

As for preventing 9/11, Kazir could have contacted the CIA and told them that a group of people was planning to attack the country, but that could have cost him his career. These professional CIA agents could trace the message back to him. Also, he was afraid of being interrogated by the CIA.

There were also rumors that the CIA already had intel that a terrorist attack was coming, but they failed to prevent it. See, even the CIA knew about the impending doom but failed to stop it.

Also, if the information Kazir provided prevented Al Qaeda's terrorist act, there was a possibility that he would be assassinated the next day.

A single person like Kazir couldn't prevent some things from happening. He was not a god, after all.

Perhaps it was the wrong decision, but putting yourself first before others was not a bad thing. In this case, Kazir just placed more importance on his own life than the strangers who had no obvious connection to him.

So I'm going to ask you the same question: if you traveled back in time and became successful in your career, became a millionaire, and had a great loving family, would you endanger your life, your family, and your career just to prevent a tragedy?

Rich people can't get assassinated? Sorry but a CEO of an insurance company was assassinated so that statement was false.

Kazir had made his decision... But Heath Ledger was a different story. Heath Ledger didn't die from assassination or a terrorist attack. If Kazir saved Heath Ledger, no one would be mad at him or try to kill him.

So this time, Kazir decided to save someone's life. Besides, he was working in the entertainment industry, and this place was already far from his original timeline, so no worries about changing things.

While looking at the dozens of monitors, with editors cutting scenes, Kazir was thinking about Heath Ledger and his role in The Dark Knight as The Joker.

'Was Heath Ledger's role as The Joker one of the factors in his untimely death?' Kazir asked himself.

He also had an answer to his question.

The answer was yes.

The Joker was a role that placed a heavy burden on Heath Ledger's mental state. The role was mentally taxing. A crazy clown mass murderer who lacked empathy. For Heath to embody this role, he sometimes had to assimilate his mind with how The Joker thinks... It was a frightening experience, hence, Heath suffered and began experiencing sleep deprivation. This was a factor in why Heath relied heavily on sleeping medication.

Heath Ledger died from an overdose of prescribed painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs, and sleeping pills.

'However, Heath's role as The Joker is not the major reason he died. It's because he was too reliant on medications that he succumbed to death.'

Kazir concluded. Although The Joker was a factor, based on his recent interactions with Heath, he knew that Heath's mental state was strong and that he could overcome the role.

In fact, Heath Ledger was actually working on another project currently, which was The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

"Kazir, should we add this scene?"

The editor asked about the scene where The Joker pushed his head out of the car window to feel the wind. It showed his carefree attitude despite the abominations he had committed.

Kazir looked at the scene… He was still amazed at how Heath portrayed The Joker. Heath Ledger deserved the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor that he won… Unfortunately, he wasn't there to receive it. This time, Kazir decided to change the future so that he would witness the moment when Heath stood on the podium to accept the award.

 

[FallenMetal]

Thank you, and it looks like John Wick did a great job as always, which is always good. I will say this: I do think making a slight difference is always good. Trying to help in small ways will help make the world a bit better. Anyways, great job, but I sort of wish he had done Transformers, though. Anyway, great job as always, and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter