[Shout out to Roberto Morse D, Jack A, Sean S, and Kevaughn C!]
Hollywood What If Chapter 116
"I apologize, it looks like Kazir Grey never intended to work with us."
Michael Ovitz faced the chairman.
"That's okay. I expected this. From the moment we didn't agree to his terms, I knew Kazir wouldn't choose us. Although it's a waste that Paramount got the Meet The Parents script. I'm very interested in the script. I think it has potential."
"It's written by Kazir Grey, so you're probably right."
The two old men chuckled. Even though their negotiations with Kazir had failed, it did not affect them. This was business, after all. Kazir Grey might be a talented director, but there were many talented directors in this industry.
Walt Disney could find another director to work with. Maybe they could work with Kazir Grey next time.
'Although I heard that Paramount signed a three-movies deal with Grey Pictures. It's a North American distribution, so we can still contact Grey Pictures regarding international distribution of the film.'
They didn't lose. They didn't even fight. They used Touchstone as a proxy to contact Kazir, but in the end it was futile.
"Ovitz, you saw Taken. What do you think of the movie?"
"It's good. I cheered for the father, it's entertaining, and it has a lot of good points, although there are some bad ones. But I think it will not do well, especially if it has the same release date as Air Force One".
Between Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson, Harrison Ford had more fans.
Han Solo of Star Wars.
Rick Deckard from Blade Runner.
Indiana Jones of the Indiana Jones series.
Harrison Ford had more box office appeal than Liam Neeson. Harrison Ford was a superstar, while Liam Neeson was at best a first-rate actor.
With these facts, the two Michaels believe that Taken had already lost the edge. Maybe Paramount just fucked with Taken by pitting it against Air Force One. Who knows?
The two old men laughed about it.
"Kazir's too arrogant this time. He tried to convince us to dump Harvey Weinstein."
Kazir was too weak to ask for such a thing. Of course, Chairman Eisner would disagree.
"Chairman, don't be like that. I think Kazir is right. We really do need to kick the Weinstein brothers out of Miramax and Disney."
"Indeed. But it's not the right time."
They confirmed that Harvey Weinstein was siding with the Disney family, and that was bad for Michael Eisner. He wanted to retain as much authority as possible.
He was the one who brought Walt Disney to its current status. He is the tyrant Michael Eisner. He even stopped the production of hand-drawn animation and fired Jeffrey Katzenberg.
From now on, he focused his attention on luring Pixar. He tried to convince Steve Jobs to sell his Pixar's shares to Walt Disney.
In the middle of their conversation, Michael Ovitz received a message from his secretary.
"Chairman, we have a TV here, right?"
"Hm, here's the remote."
Chairman Eisner was confused as to why Ovitz was interested in watching television.
Michael Ovitz changed the channel to a news channel... As the two Michaels watched the news, they immediately realized they had made a mistake.
[Breaking news: An underage girl missing for eight months has been found in Mexico. She had been kidnapped by human traffickers and sold to the Mafia... They found dozens of young American girls in an underground facilities.]
As they watched the news, the two old men were stunned.
"Ovitz, is this a Paramount movie promotion for Taken?"
"I'm afraid not. This is ABC. Our own television network. Paramount has no control over it. This is real news... I heard that even the President is going to address this problem in his speech."
"Shit."
Chairman Michael Eisner rubbed his forehead. This was a fucking coincidence, a good coincidence for Paramount!
"Ovitz, when is the release date for Taken again?"
"July 24th, midnight. Three days from now."
Michael Eisner sighed.
"I think we made a mistake."
"..."
This time the two agreed. This news alone was covered by every news channel. The missing girl had already become famous a few months ago, because her disappearance had already been reported by news channels.
And now this topic was revived again. The poor girl was caught in a crime of human trafficking!
That day, the whole of North America dealt with the news related about the missing girl and the other kidnapped underaged girls.
While this was happening, the movie companies were sighing in defeat. They had lost a big fish!
Who would have thought that the missing girl was actually kidnapped by human traffickers? Moreover, she was rescued along with many underage girls! The news attracted the people of America!
This is unfair! The will of heaven was on Kazir's side!
Just like CEO Michael Eisner, the other big shots gritted their teeth.
Well, except for the executives at Paramount. They were too busy. This was their chance to cash in!
Three days before the release of Taken, Paramount launched an all-out attack! They used the news of human trafficking while promoting Taken.
Paramount's parent company was Viacom.
Viacom was a big media company and their influence was strong. With their help, the promotion of Taken had a positive response.
Now everyone was interested in seeing the movie!
....
....
...
As for Kazir...
"Huh? Did this happen in my past life?"
He was confused because he could not remember if news about human trafficking came out at this time of the year. He had no idea.
'Is this part of the butterfly effect? Man, I don't know anymore.'
He just wanted to start the Continental Cinematic Universe. He was not even hoping for a huge box office for Taken.
But with this... The movie might exceed his expectations.
[Author's Note: This is the reason why having advanced chapters is the best, you can easily add foreshadows.]