"*Sigh* Okay, we'll do it your way, 2 drinks, and that's it."
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May 24, 1980
They didn't only have two drinks.
Dan and James ended up getting hammered.
James called separate taxis for the two of them.
Unfortunately, James wasn't used to drinking as much and got a bad hangover.
"I'm never drinking again -ugh," James said.
Unfortunately, James still had to make a few calls and come in contact with different types of studios. Thankfully he had gone through this process more than once now, and he had a general idea of who he was going to work with. This was going to be much easier with James' experience now and he also had many more options with even the top studios, because of how great his track record was now. Everyone wanted to work with James in some capacity.
James decided to work with a studio close to 20th Century Fox as they would be in charge of the distribution. Although they didn't own any sort of rights, James decided not to mix things up by working with another distributor and spoil their relationship.
James was going to be allowed to direct. They initially wanted someone else to direct, but James decided that it was important for his career. He wanted to establish himself as a good director to increase his overall value.
Directors were valuable and well respected. James wanted that credibility, hoping that it would increase his opportunities to work with bigger names and bigger movies.
James' net worth was also increasing from his recent box office hit.
But, in other news, Marvel wasn't doing great. But they were also starting to have trouble with management. The profits weren't exactly great for the company and the change of ownership was eminent.
James still needed to work out exactly what the plan was with Marvel. Right now, in 1980, there wasn't exactly much in terms of special effects. While, yes, there were currently many improvements and he had been using special effects, it's nowhere near the level where Marvel movies could be made.
If any Marvel movie was made now, they would be outdated in just a few years and they wouldn't have the same uniqueness as James' past life. They would just be lackluster.
Right now, James' earning potential was huge. Although, he has to take more risks now and overworking was becoming an issue, purchasing Marvel wasn't as far-distant of a dream now. The main problem was figuring out how he could earn money AFTER the acquisition.
Of course, this is the problem that the current management of Marvel was facing. They were solving this problem with the introduction of toys, but that business model could only last so long. The comics also weren't a completely steady or reliable source of income. This was added to the fact that the comics of today looked bot clumsy and poorly made.
James was thinking about many sorts of solutions, but that would be in the long distant future.
As for now, he has to worry about the production staff and materials needed. James had to double-check to ensure what was going to fit with his movie. Things like the set, props, and costumes.
He also had to meet up with the budget team, the production manager, and the art coordinator. This led James to appreciate how good Edward and John were at their jobs.
The reason James was given so much responsibility for this project is that it was quite literally HIS project. 20th Century Fox decided to let him have full creative authority because he was both the creator, screenplay writer, and director. They figured he would be able to handle it as he was the closest to the project.
Usually, they would give this job to someone else, but because Dubois relinquished this responsibility and James was now in charge of hiring the next studio, Fox pushed for it. The extra responsibility James was made to do made it easier to coordinate with everyone involved.
There no longer had to be a middleman to relay decisions or ideas. Things could get done quicker, with James as the final say.
Of course, James had a lot of help from the studio under 20th Century Fox, but it put stress on James as he was the one held responsible for a lot of the decisions. James half-thought, if not pretty sure, Fox executives put this responsibility on him in case something failed. That way they wouldn't needlessly get blamed if the sequel failed.
James felt as if one misstep could lead to a downward spiral of constant screwups, but he decided to push through with the mindset that if he messed up, it wouldn't be the end of the world.
As long as he was able to pull off the movie, his mistakes wouldn't matter.
This allowed James to not be as hesitant when making decisions. He just trusted his memory of the original 'Aliens.' If it didn't work out, then he would just toss his hands up and say there was nothing he could've done.
The stress was constant, but as filming got closer and things were being put together, his breathing became easier. He was also able to find some moments of relaxation talking to both Dan and Sigourney.
July 24th, 1980
"Right, so this is going to be our schedule, make sure your manager knows to be here on these dates at this time..."
James didn't get too many chances to talk with Sigourney Weaver leading up to filming, but every time he did, he felt relaxed. She was a pleasure to work with the first time around, there were no issues in both her personality and acting prowess. Plus she was a joy to be around, always smiling, being relaxed, and overall had a mood that made you want to trust her. This may have come with age, as Sigourney was already 30 so she was very sure of herself.
This made James realize how easy it must be for directors to get involved with some of their actors. Actors could either drive you crazy or give you confidence, depending on how stressed you were, with their ability and personality.
"Well, we could talk about it at your house? I'm actually having trouble understanding the script you sent me... maybe we could work on it together and discuss everything else?" Sigourney said, over the phone.
James felt he was going to have a hard time controlling himself, being such a young director in Hollywood.