[Shout out to Wilder, Tolbin, Aviral, and Danny Y!]
Hollywood What If Chapter 135
"Yes, I understand. I will try to deliver your message. Director Grey is busy right now, no, no, he can't talk to you. Please give me your message. No, he is also busy tomorrow. Me? No, I'm not going to give you my home number."
Erica Mendez ended the call with a depressing sigh. She knew that her boss was becoming famous and that many people wanted to work with him. Either to buy his script or to hire him as a director.
And honestly, their terms were not bad. An assurance that his salary would be over $10 million plus 10% of the box office. They can negotiate and make a good contract.
But Erica Mendez understands the intention of her boss. Looking at the man massaging his forehead after a sleepless night, she knew that Director Grey didn't have time for anything else.
Kazir Grey didn't get much sleep last night because he was reviewing all the shots they had taken... So Erica, Hector and Fremont didn't sleep either.
Erica was responsible for serving them a ton of coffee while the three men talked about the best footage they could use.
Kazir intended to let the two of them handle some scenes on their own.
Hector knew about cameras and lighting, but he was clueless about the director's position. This project might be his first time directing people while watching the scenes unfold.
As for Fremont, the man was young. He was only 23 years old and lacked experience. Kazir could sense his sincerity and enthusiasm, so he gave him a chance to blossom.
Kazir understood how terrifying the role of a director was. The pressure was crushing and Kazir suffered from insomnia most of the time. There was a time when he felt that this would be his last movie.
If a movie was a disaster, everyone would blame the director because he was the creative mind of the project.
Kazir hoped that the two of them would have the strength to withstand that kind of pressure.
"Okay, let's rest. You can eat lunch."
Kazir announced, and the people were relieved. Kazir was a fast, consistent type of director who didn't like to do pointless shots. As if everything was already in his head and there was no point in doing useless things.
"Fremont, take your crew to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and get some background shots."
"Alright."
Fremont nodded seriously.
Unlike the original version, the Waldorf Astoria contacted Grey Pictures and offered their hotel as the Continental Hotel. The accommodations were free as long as they advertised their hotel. They also gave Kazir Grey and the crew VIP cards. Kazir's card could use the VIP room at a 50% discount while the crew could get up to 30%.
Kazir was not picky about the hotel, so there was no reason to say no. However, he stated that the hotel might appear in many sequels and related movies, so he signed an agreement with the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
In the next movie, if the Waldorf Astoria Hotel wanted to promote their hotel again, they would have to pay the crew $1 million. Of course, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel had the right to refuse. Although it could be inconvenient for sequels.
The good thing was that the Waldorf Astoria Hotel was in Los Angeles and Grey Pictures could easily contact the management. Grey Pictures believes that both parties would have a good cooperation.
For the sake of their business, cooperation was not a problem.
"Huh? What is it this time, Erica?"
Kazir saw his assistant coming towards him. He already had an idea, maybe it had to do with his scripts again. People kept pestering him about it.
"It's Warner Brothers"
"Warner Brothers? Are they talking about The Hangover Part 2 again? I thought they had a director already?"
"No sir. It's different this time... It's The Bourne Identity."
"... Tell me more about it."
Hearing something unexpected, Kazir became serious. Even though his eyelids were quite droopy, he knew that the subject was too important to ignore.
"They want to buy the copyright of the Bourne Identity movie that's in our film library."
"..."
Kazir knew that Warner Bros had a claim on Bourne Identity back in the 80s, but someone had already gotten the movie copyright. In the end, they stopped acquisition when the first Bourne Identity television movie(1988) came out. Bourne Identity(1988) flopped, so Warner Bros lost interest.
'So what is the reason they are doing this now? Is it because of the Continental Cinematic Universe?'
Warner Bros and 20th Century Fox had an idea about Kazir's huge project. Maybe Warner Bros felt it would be dangerous if his plan succeeded. So they decided to stop his plan step by step.
Movies based on novels were quite a hype in the 90s. The Shawshank Redemption, Silence of the Lambs, Forrest Gump and many more. They were all based on novels.
Warner Bros concluded that the Bourne Identity copyright in Kazir's hands was too dangerous.
'They are interested in buying the copyright, I guess they have regained their passion. Also, they want to prevent the addition of Jason Bourne to the Continental Cinematic Universe. '
Warner Bros realized that Bourne Identity would definitely be part of the Continental Cinematic Universe, considering Kazir's projects.
"We're not going to sell the copyright."
Kazir said firmly. Even if Warner Bros offered a serious amount of money, he wouldn't budge. He already had an idea where to put Jason Bourne in the CCU (Continental Cinematic Universe).
"I understand."
Erica nodded. She knew her boss would refuse the offer. It was a good thing she ended the call sooner.
'The Jason Bourne franchise has made billions of dollars, I'm not crazy enough to sell something that big.'
Even though his relationship with Warner Bros was good, he had to draw the line. Otherwise, it would be problematic later on.