[Shout out to Marcelo M!]
Hollywood What If Chapter 166
"Hi, I'm Chris Cooper. I'm here to audition for..."
Kazir was too out of this world to listen to the actor. He massaged his forehead because he was having some problems these days.
In the end, Renner Hector and Harold Witsend took over the audition and gave Kazir some peace to relax.
This was the last round of auditions and most of the cast was already filled. Their main priority was only Matt Damon and his role as Jason Bourne. Other than that, Kazir Grey let the other people choose the cast. That was the privilege they could get from him.
Of course, the actor they chose had to know how to act. Kazir knew that some of the crew used a certain kind of 'transaction' to cast some actors/actresses in small roles. As long as it didn't affect the filming, Kazir turned a blind eye to such things.
This was the norm in Hollywood and this kind of practices was impossible to stop.
"Sir, here's the Monster Energy Drink you asked for."
"Thank you, Erica..."
Maybe it was unhealthy to drink an energy drink in his condition, but Kazir didn't have time to worry for that.
Once the auditions were over and the cast was complete, training would begin. Script readings would be held once a week so that the cast could adapt and act well.
Obviously, Kazir Grey was busy. Unfortunately, he could not help but think about the conversation he had with CEO Brad Grey of Paramount.
Paramount Pictures decided to distribute Taken 2 instead of The Bourne Identity. They believe that the performance of Taken 2 would be better than that of The Bourne Identity.
As for the reason... Well, the sequels of a successful movie had a safer profit. In a way, Paramount decided to distribute a safer movie than a movie with an unknown future. So they chose Taken 2 because the money they could get from it was better.
'Even though the director of Taken 2 is Fremont Smith, they still chose it. Without talking to me.'
Of course, Kazir wasn't expecting this. Paramount promised to distribute his three movies. Unfortunately, they could choose which one they wanted to distribute. Maybe Kazir believed that everything would be fine. That there were no more obstacles.
'Hah, I was too confident. Now Paramount has shot me in the back without knowing it.'
In fact, Grey Pictures had already contacted a number of film companies about distributing Taken 2, and their response was positive.
Based on the box office success of Taken, they believe that Taken 2 will not be a disappointment. They were willing to sign a 25% to 30% box office fee to distribute the movie. The reputation of Taken 2 was very good and the profit was obvious.
But if Paramount decided to distribute Taken 2, then Grey Pictures had to find a movie company to distribute The Bourne Identity.
And unlike Taken 2, The Bourne Identity had no clear profit. The movie companies won't be confident in distributing it because they think it will flop. First of all, The Bourne Identity was based on a novel, not written by Kazir Grey. Another factor they have to be aware of.
'If a movie company agrees to distribute The Bourne Identity, the box office fee might be 35% to 45%, which is not good for us.'
This was the reason why Kazir was having trouble these days. No one had confidence in his current movie, a movie based on a novel.
'Hehe, it's ironic that they prefer an original script more than an adaptation of a novel.'
"There is only one thing to do - calm down and forget about this problem for now. I have to focus all my mind on making sure that the movie will be successful. I have to leave this problem to Harold and Salvatore..."
Was he holding a grudge against Paramount? Yes, a little bit. Last month they already had an agreement that Paramount would distribute The Bourne Identity. Unfortunately, they were still trying to close the deal when Paramount decided to back out. The rats got them and they became cowards.
After a few hours of calming down, Kazir decided to return to the audition room. He drank the Monster energy drink in one sitting without hesitation.
When he returned, he realized that most of the cast had already been chosen and the crew would contact them later or tomorrow to announce that they were hired.
The crew decided that pre-production would last 60 days before shooting began. This would include preparation of props, script readings, and training.
The props were not a big problem as their costumes were simple. Even the locations were already planned.
As for the script reading and training, most of the actors were professionals. In addition, Cameron Diaz and Matt Damon had taken training classes a few months ago. Heck, Matt Damon has gained weight and is currently learning boxing. They have enough experience. Still, proper training was needed, even for a month.
Just like that, December came. Kazir's stock portfolio grew again. Now his investment has become 48 million dollars. Of course, Kazir was happy to see his money growing. So he decided to invest another 15 million dollars. He knew that as long as the year 2000 didn't come, he would be safe from the bursting of the dot.com bubble.
-- Hey, Kazir! When are you coming to visit? I know you're busy, but Christmas is coming! You need to take a vacation! Dad is looking for you.
"Aaron, you have to understand. I have a lot of things to do." Kazir muttered.
-- I don't give a damn! Come and see your niece for the first time!
"Aaron--"
-- Hey, I'm your brother."
"... Okay, fine. I'll try to do what I can.
-- Bruh, you're the boss of your company. You can do whatever you want. In the first place, you never like business management. That's why you ran away from the house. Because you want to pursue making movies!
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[I want to thank all the readers who continue to support this novel, I love you guys, no homo though. As long as you read my novel, it counts as supporting me.]
[By the way, I didn't know that Matt Damon didn't do the military training for Saving Private Ryan. Unfortunately, I can't edit the chapters because it would cause a big change. I apologize for that. However, thanks to patron Drake for giving me this information].