After 2 days, Catheryn contacted James again.
They sat down once more at the Dubois meeting room.
"So, we aren't yet prepared to give anyone else the right to film an Alien sequel," Catheryn started.
'Well, I guess negotiations have started,' James thought to himself.
"I see, so there is nothing I could do to change your mind?"
"Well, I'm open to suggestions."
"*Sigh* Okay, well, how does part of my box office share sound?"
"Considering we are a majority producer, I don't think we need your share."
"Well, dammit Catheryn, I can't do much more than that."
"I think you can do more."
"Catheryn, I'm not gonna pay you to make you money. I don't NEED to make a sequel. I have other ideas. Maybe not another Predator movie, but I have other ideas. If you don't want to make use of my ideas, I'm not gonna beg you. I JUST want to make good movies, are we going to do it or not?"
"Hmmmm."
"*Sigh*"
"Okay, but you have to promise to make 2 more movies with us."
"I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't know anymore if our schedules will align in the future. I can go out of my way to work with you guys, but I can't sign anything."
"*Sigh* I understand, that's good enough for me."
"Well, as long as we can get our lawyers to make amends and finalize the deal, I will get started right away on part 2."
"I'll tell my father about it right now, you wanna wait for me and get dinner after?"
"Sure."
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"Are we going to do this every time?" James asked.
"Are you complaining?" Catheryn responded, rubbing James' chest.
They were currently sharing James' bed after an intimate moment.
They did go eat dinner, but after ordering drinks they left soon after.
As soon as they sat down, the energy between the two was already too much. Catheryn and James couldn't keep their hands off of each other and left after finishing their first drink.
"Of course not."
"Then?"
He felt close to Catheryn in these moments, but James didn't know if that was just because he was a man swooning over a woman. James felt like his loneliness was getting the better of him when he was with Catheryn. James even thought she was the closest he's ever felt to someone, but he desperately didn't want to fall in love with her.
The potential heartbreak would be too much.
He's had relationships before, a marriage that he started in his past life that didn't work out. It was a marriage that drifted away because of his work.
James didn't want to start any more relationships that ended the same way. Being with Catheryn excited him in ways that he hadn't felt since he was young and that scared him.
If it didn't work out, his first real relationship since transmigrating, maybe this reality would come crashing down. Maybe he would wake up from his dream and he would be stuck again as a 39-year-old, looking for his next editing job.
Then James started to think about would kind of future being with Catheryn would be like. Maybe they could go on to get married, have kids, and grow old together just like the Hollywood movies he would edit.
Maybe if he let go of this barrier he had, they could live a pleasant life. Maybe if he let go of this weird ambition of trying to monopolize the works of his past life, and trying to start an entertainment empire, having a family wouldn't be bad.
But, he just couldn't make that leap.
"I was just wondering," James added.
"Well..."
"We are always so busy. We seem to never have enough time to see each other"
"...Whatever. *sigh* I'm leaving," Catheryn said.
Catheryn got up, slightly pushing James's chest as she slipped out the sheets. James watched her dress up hurriedly while completely ignoring him. She got her clothes on in record time before storming out.
'Did I say something?' James wondered.
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May 23rd, 1980
After about 6 weeks, a new agreement between James and Dubois was made. They would allow for another studio to be in charge of its production with 20th Century Fox again being in charge of its distribution. This was concluded within a short time due to Alien's past success.
James was also allowed to direct again with the success of his directorial debut, Predator.
Predator only had a very similar box office opening. While the movie had better visual effects this time around, Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't as popular as when the movie was filmed in James' first life. At this point in time, Arnold still hadn't done too many movies, but his salary took a huge boost after Predator. Thankfully, James was able to make Arnold stand out regardless and they were also able to take advantage of Carl Weathers being recognizable after his "Rocky" appearances.
Predator had a $12 million opening weekend and an $18 million opening week. The second week would give them a $30 million box office. This cemented James as a box office hit with a huge return on investment, leaving many top studios looking to acquire him. People were even asking Dubois to give them his number, thinking he signed an exclusive contract with them.
James' total profit from his box office share would be 4.5% of the current box office. This added up to $1,350,000. If you included the salary he got for directing and the screenplay, plus the income from the last movie, James' total net worth was $3,500,000.
James hadn't gotten the full amount in his bank account, and the box office for Predator was still increasing, but James couldn't help but get a heart attack every time he called his accountant.
James even started to get more cautious, feeling that one day someone might try to take it all away or come looking for their money back. Of course, nobody came, but still.
This amount of money was something that he couldn't get used to and STILL it wasn't enough. This realization made James about how his perception of money had changed. Then his thought process left him thinking about how much money these studios were actually making.
How could it be possible that they made a profit while paying him and the rest of the crew? How much money is going around in Hollywood? Did he get lucky? Are they paying him a lot? Is the amount of money he is getting paid, actually worth his value?
If James has made two blockbuster movies, that have had great gross profit margins, then what is James' actual worth?
The idea that James could earn multiple times what he has already earned made James feel cheated, but the vast amounts of money and responsibility that entailed made him feel nauseous as if the world was spinning.
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James was someone who had big aspirations, but as he's gotten bigger, he started to become anxious. Is he truly capable of accomplishing his dreams? Can he do it?
Can he ACTUALLY do it?
Is nobody going to try to stop him? What if they don't want him to succeed? What if the universe doesn't want him to start his own empire? What if he fails?
I mean, who is going to help him? Is he really supposed to do it all himself?
"Fuck man, I don't know. I need to talk to someone," James said aloud, hoping the universe would hear his pleas.
*Ring, ring..... Ring, ring*
Just then, James' phone started to ring at that very moment.
He quickly picked it up and looked at the caller ID.
'Catheryn?' James thought, expectantly.
"Oh, it's Dan."