29th February, 2008
{1st Person POV}
I was standing outside the SkyMount studios building wearing a very generic and bland business suit, waiting for a certain someone.
That certain someone was none other than Michael Young.
I somehow managed to strike a deal with him, which was basically a free promotion for 'The Departed', in exchange for him getting an early and free viewing of the film.
Oh, and he also wanted to work with me.
God knows why.
I've barely done two films, and I struck gold. Good for me and my career, bad for my heart and soul.
Speaking of my heart and soul, I think I need to slow down on my work.
Can't take a break because Michael is currently free. Who knows when he'll be free later if I stop working now.
Also speaking of work, I'm having a hard time choosing my next script.
I can't demand to work with a film that would be more expensive than $70 million, because I'm still new and the studio heads don't believe in my skill to produce consistently profitable and critically acclaimed films.
And I wouldn't blame them. After all, think about it from their perspective: A new guy who made a successful horror film with a budget of $1 million made a pretty solid mob flick on a reasonable budget of $50 million, but now he's suddenly asking for a higher budget.
That really wouldn't work, especially because both of my films have R-rated to boot.
Unless I make myself a prestigious director who churns out modern masterpieces, I won't be given free reign.
There is a reason why Paul Thomas Anderson still gets to make films with no restrictions: because he's proved himself to be a great director who'll bring the studio prestige and awards.
Also why Martin Scorsese got to make $90 million dollars budgeted films throughout the 2000s even though half of them flopped: because they were critically acclaimed and also because it's goddamn MARTIN SCORSESE!
He's one of the greatest filmmakers EVER! He has produced a masterpiece every decade! Who the hell wouldn't want to work with him?
But, yeah, you get my point, right? It'll be incredibly hard for me to get a blockbuster film like Blade Runner or Inception greenlit as I am now.
However, with the help of Michael, that becomes far less of an obstacle and more of a bump on the road.
But considering that Michael himself said that he doesn't want to work on blockbusters for the time being, I have to carefully choose what movie I'll be doing next.
At first, I wanted to do a War film, and I had three options: Saving Private Ryan, Dunkirk and 1917.
All three are fantastic films in their own right, no doubt. But which one would've given more critical acclaim? That was the question, and a tough one at that.
My answer? 'Dunkirk'.
It's a pretty short film all things considered, and it's a technical masterpiece.
While many might have chosen 'Saving Private Ryan', which I wouldn't fault them for; all three would basically yield the same result but to varying degrees, I chose 'Dunkirk' because 1) It's PG-13, meaning a far easier time to get it greenlit, 2) It's the cheapest of three, adjusted for inflation, and 3) it has no main protagonist; instead it shows three different perspectives: from the land, from the sea, and from the air.
That was an interesting concept, and something which made 'Dunkirk' Nolan's best work for many people.
'Saving Private Ryan' is far more gory and realistic in its portrayal of war, while '1917' is a more personal and human story. 'Dunkirk'? It's a mixture of the two, and a bit more.
This is not to say that 'Dunkirk' is better than the other two; I'm not. What I AM saying, however, is that 'Dunkirk' is more unique, if you get what I'm saying.
Having no central protagonist is a double edged sword: For some, it's what made 'Dunkirk' a better film, and for others, it's what made the film feel lacking.
But one thing's for sure, if I had advertised that as one of the major things about the film, it would've generated a ton of interest.
But now, because of Michael, I'm planning to do 'Dunkirk' later. Preferably after 'John Wick', so about a year from now.
As I was thinking this, a mechanical noise, one from a car engine, entered my ears. I looked at the gate, and from it came a… Range Rover? Is that what the car is supposed to be?
The Range Rover stopped right ahead of my feet. The passenger door opened, revealing Michael in a black waistcoat and a white shirt with black pants.
'Ah, speak of the devil.' I thought.
"Hello there, Oliver." Michael said with a charismatic smile, and waved at me. Closing the door, he walked forward. "Hope I didn't make you wait too much. Got stuck in a traffic jam, you see."
'Oh, that's why he was 20 minutes late'. I glanced at my legs, and thought. 'My legs hurt now.' I placed my left hand on my leg, caressing it a bit.
"Don't worry, It wasn't too long. But let's get moving, shall we?" I replied, moving the conversation forward.
"Lead the way, please."
"Of course." I replied.
Pushing the glass door open, we entered the building. It was just as bland as ever: White walls, long, white corridors with barely anyone traversing them.
I glanced at the clock on the wall; it was currently 12:17 P.M.
I quickened my pace a bit, and Michael did the same.
Soon, we arrived at the projector room.
I opened the wooden door, and entered the room.
This room wasn't as bland as the rest, with cream coloured walls, an oval-shaped glass meeting table with six black chairs surrounding it. The projector itself was quite large, clocking in at about 120 inches. It was barely able to fit in the room, which I found quite hilarious.
I quickly turned on the fans, and welcomed Michael in.
"Wait for a few minutes, I'll get this thing going." I said and turned the power on for the projector.
After a few seconds, I entered the password and all that boring stuff, and went to the videos. I searched around till I found 'The Departed'. I quickly clicked on it, and the film was on.
I took a seat next to Michael, who was sitting in the opposite direction to the projector.
Soon, the actual movie began after the intro was done, and Michael looked completely engrossed.
For the rest of the film, both of us sat in silence.
***
2 hours later
{1st Person POV}
*thump*
"This was amazing!" Yelled Michael as he slammed his hands on the table.
The impact was huge. The table shook a lot, and I felt my soul leaving my body.
I put my hands up, just in case he wanted to slam that expensive glass table more. If anything happened to it, it'd be bad for me.
"Calm down, Michael!" I said. "You'll break the table, and then both of us will be held accountable. You don't want that, right?" I said and tried to calm him down.
Realising what he had done, Michael felt embarrassed and quickly sat down.
"Ah, I'm really sorry about that. It's just… I felt the movie was so damn good that I couldn't help myself." Michael explained sheepishly.
"That's fine. I think all of us have had a moment like that." I said with a calm smile.
"You're right." And took a deep breath. "Anyways, as I said, 'The Departed' is a really great film. The fact that you killed one of the two main characters is a bold move, and something which I found was really upsetting. But then Colin getting killed by Dignam at the end was really satisfying, and a pretty good note to end the film at." Michael explained, and then took another breath.
"However, the rat at the end eating the groceries Colin bought was a bit 'eh', but other than that, I genuinely think this film is close to being one of the best ever."
I was feeling really great right now.
Yes, I knew that 'The Departed' was considered one of the best films ever, but hearing that from the people of this world was also important. After all, praise is praise.
And yeah, I altered the ending a bit. Instead of the rat showing up on the balcony, I used the deleted scene clip where the rat eats the groceries Colin bought before his death.
Now, there was only one thing that I needed to know.
"So, you'll promote this film?" I asked.
"Of course! Why wouldn't I?! It's amazing, one of the best I've ever seen!" Michael exclaimed, and then drank some water.
"I wonder, though; what's your next film?" He asked me.
I expected him to ask this, but I was still a bit surprised.
"You think I already have my next film in mind?" I asked.
"Well, you'll release two films in the span of six months, so it's not that big of a reach, is it?"
I smirked.
As I explained before, I wasn't going to make 'Dunkirk' for now, instead, I was going to direct a more smaller scale, and equally as acclaimed film-
"Well, you'd be right. I do indeed have my next film planned. It's called 'The Prestige'." As soon as these words left my mouth, Michael cockked his head.
"What's with the naming sense? First, 'The Departed', and now 'The Prestige'? What's next, 'The Evil' or something?" He joked.
A chuckle escaped my lips, and I waved my hands in defence. "You joke, but what if I really named my next film that?"
This time, Michael laughed, and said. "Well, if you're gonna do that, give me some credit for coming up with that name, alright?"
"I will." I played along, and then waited for silence to take hold of the room.
Originally, or back in my world, 'The Prestige' was an adaptation of a book of the same name directed by Christopher Nolan and released in 2006, the same year as 'The Departed'.
At the time, it was his lowest rated film by critics on Rotten Tomatoes at 77%. However, many in the audience consider it to be his best film, up there with 'Memento'. And, well, I certainly can't say I disagree.
"Jokes aside, the film is set in 1890s London. Two magicians, who are friends, become enemies and then try to outwit each other and try to become the best magicians." I explained, trying to reveal as little information as possible.
"Why'd they become enemies?" Asked Michael.
"Because Alfred Borden, one of the two magicians, accidentally kills the other magician's wife while they were showing magic tricks. The other magician is Robert Angier. Due to this, Robert wants to get revenge on Alfred, and so, the two of them try to become the greatest magician while also trying to kill each other. Oh, and Nikola Tesla is also a big part of the story."
"Oh, that sounds intere- Wait, did you just say Nikola Tesla is in a film about two Victorian London magicians fighting? How does he even fit?!" Michael asked, flabbergasted.
"I'll explain it later. What I want is for you to play the role of Alfred Borden." I said.
"That's fine by me. However, who'll be playing Robert?" Michael asked.
"Me." I replied.
"I see- Wait, what?! You can act?" He asked, again flabbergasted.
"Yeah, how else do you think the acting in 'The Departed' was so great? I guided them, of course." I explained.
At my explanation, Michael heaved a pretty big sigh and ruffled his hair, which I found quite amusing.
"Well, I'll give you the rest of the details later. For now, I'll take a rest or something."
With that, both of us left the projector room, and subsequently, the SkyMount studio building.
~~~
A/N: Here it is, chapter 24!
Had a lot of fun writing this, mostly because it was more personal than the rest, which made it far more easier.
And yes, I couldn't resist making a joke about the titles, sue me.
But before that, you should think you would've stopped from doing that.
P.S: This chapter reached 2k words. Somehow. Which means I'm now averaging at 2.07K words for the last 6 chapters.
Anyways, See ya later, Alligator!