Hollywood What If Chapter 130
The production crew has already cast the major characters in John Wick.
For Winston (the owner of the Continental Hotel), Kazir decided to go with the original actor. Ian Mcshane signed on for sequels and cameos. He was trying to break through because his work in the 90's was all TV shows.
Iosef Tarasov was the asshole who caused all the John Wick movies. He was the son of Viggo Tarasov. He was responsible for killing John Wick's dog. Because of that, John Wick returned to the underworld and ended his retirement. Kazir could not find the original actor, so he decided to choose someone from the auditions.
Of course, Viggo Tarasov was played by Michael Nyqvist. He was the original actor and he willingly signed a contract. He had just started in Hollywood that year. He was a policeman in a TV show. Compared to his role in the TV show, being a mafia boss was better.
Kazir also didn't forget about Willem Dafoe. Willem Dafoe was a theater stage actor at this time. Even though Marcus (Willem Dafoe) died in the first movie, his role was quite important. In fact, Kazir was not sure if he would kill Marcus this time. The man was a real homie for saving John Wick. In addition, Kazir wanted to make Marcus a member of the Fraternity. The Fraternity was a group of assassins who had high concentration and could bend trajectory of bullets.
Then another important character. Kirill. This certain bodyguard was, in Kazir's opinion, the toughest opponent John Wick ever faced in the entire John Wick universe. Well, Kirill defeated John Wick once, throwing him off the second floor of the bar. Also, their last fight was a dogfight. It was dog eat dog.
For Kirill, the crew could not find the original actor, so they went with another actor. They chose Bryan Cranston.
To be honest, their first choice was Sean Bean, but Kazir pushed Bryan Cranston. He was interested in seeing Mister White and John Wick fight.
That's right, Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones) and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) auditioned for the role of John Wick. Kazir saw their names and invited them to audition for Kirill's role instead.
As for the rest of the characters, they easily filled them.
The most important, of course, was John Wick himself.
Kazir was actually thinking between Gary Oldman and Viggo Mortensen. He invited Gary Oldman and even gave him a script. The actor had the privilege of auditioning in the final round of casting.
Gary Oldman is fully prepared for the role. He got long hair, a beard and a black suit. He looked like the incarnation of John Wick. The production crew almost nodded their heads and gave him the part.
But Gary Oldman didn't want to sign on for a trilogy for a starting salary of $1.4 million... He wanted more. Well, that is how business works.
Kazir Grey didn't want a long negotiation because the actors needed training as soon as possible. So Kazir looked at the other actors who had passed the last round of auditions.
Then Viggo Mortensen caught his eye. The man also passed the appearance of John Wick. To make it better, Viggo Mortensen promised to learn Russian. And his salary was only 1 million dollars.
In the end, Kazir Grey decided to let go of Gary Oldman. He chose Viggo Mortensen and signed five films and cameos. The increase in salary per film was 40%.
Just before the last week of 1997, the cast of John Wick was complete. Grey Pictures got a holiday break as Christmas and New Year's were coming up.
All work would resume the first week of January.
As for Gary Oldman... Unfortunately, he might regret his decision later.
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"Phew... Phew..."
Now that the cast was complete, the actors began their training in early January.
The training studio was filled with equipment for them. Grey Pictures hired professional trainers.
The actors were drenched in sweat and panting. Especially Viggo Mortensen and Bryan Cranston. The two continued to practice their stunts. Even though they were practicing safely, they could not help but get a few scratches.
Unlike the usual protagonists who didn't get any wounds or bruises, John Wick was the type to get hurt by everyone.
Throughout the entirety of Chapter 2 to Chapter 4, John Wick walked with a limp due to the damage he received from the battles. Note that the entire John Wick plot only happened in weeks.
Maybe that was why the movie was successful, because John Wick was a vulnerable person who could feel pain. He could get hurt, not like Rambo and T800.
The cast has to finish the 100 days of training. Everybody signed a contract and it should be respected. If someone tried to disregard the contract, they can hire another one. It was good that most of the actors were not famous and humble. They were afraid of being replaced.
Filming would begin around April. The whole shooting would take two to three months. Thankfully, Kazir's work was much faster and more efficient than other directors.
Most directors take two years to complete a project, but Kazir could complete one film a year. And his films were all successful. With this ability, the Big Six were salivating to have him.
In fact, one of the Big Six was thinking of acquiring Grey Pictures just to have Kazir Grey. His future was promising and they would do anything for the profit. If Kazir and Grey Pictures were worth it, they were willing to pay.
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[Author's Note: I would like to thank everyone who supports this novel, even though I update it imperfectly. You can visit my Patreon if you're interested in reading more than 100 chapters].
[Anyway, do you want Marcus (Willem Dafoe) to die in the first movie or should I keep him alive?]
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