[Shout out to Spencer Wells, Gabriel C, Jae, and Sundeep J!]
Hollywood What If Chapter 171
The building had a training room. This was the place where Tae-Won Park trained the cast of Taken 2 and The Bourne Identity.
Kazir Grey checked the place and nodded when he found some actors he recognized. However, he did not see Matt Damon and Liam Neeson.
Both actors were famous and busy. Matt Damon was filming a commercial today and would not be back until tomorrow.
As for Liam Neeson, he would come at 1 p.m. and leave at 4 p.m. He only has to go to training 3 times a week.
This was one of the conditions he said before signing a contract for Taken 2. The good thing was that Liam Neeson was serious about training. He always showed up 3 times a week, true to his contract.
During his walk, he found Enzo Park, who was teaching the stunt actors how to fall to the ground with minimal pain.
Enzo Park saw him and greeted him.
Kazir nodded, signaling that they could continue.
As he expected, Kazir found Fremont Smith filming experimental scenes in the training studio. He was filming the stunt performers "fighting" to improve his experience.
He was practicing with the stunt actors.
"Director Grey."
Fremont Smith finished rehearsing when he saw Kazir approaching.
"How are you doing?"
When Kazir came closer, he noticed that Fremont had lost weight and looked haggard. A normal appearance for directors while in the process of creating films.
Even Kazir suffered the same treatment whenever he had a project.
"I'm fine. I just practice so I have more ideas to use. I'm also studying a lot of cuts."
Grey Pictures agreed to let Fremont Smith participate in the post-production of Taken 2, but if his director's cut didn't meet their criteria, Grey Pictures would decide to edit the film themselves.
Usually directors don't have the right to participate in post-production and edit the film, they can only make suggestions. Maybe only a few directors in Hollywood get that privilege.
Grey Pictures has already been generous in giving Fremont that privilege. Hopefully Fremont Smith will appreciate this opportunity and do his best.
The two talked for a long time. As a veteran director with many successful films under his belt, Kazir Grey began to talk about his experience.
Fremont Smith listened intently. He knew most of what Kazir was saying because he had been his assistant director for three years, but there was nothing wrong with listening. In fact, it could remind him of important aspects of filming.
Like preparing the scenes. The director should have a clear vision in his mind of what he wants to portray. If possible, the director should draw it in the storyboard to have a proper understanding.
For example, if the director wants to film a scene with an overhead view, he may need to prepare a crane depending on the distance.
If he wanted to capture an explosion from different angles, he had to prepare dozens of cameras in different locations.
Let's not forget the theme of the movie. The color palette was the best way to portray it.
The blue color palette represents cold, isolation, melancholy and calm in the movie. An example was when Officer K (Ryan Gosling) was staring into the mirror after losing something important to him in Blade Runner 2049. The color palette in this scene was blue.
In the same way, the orange color palette could represent warmth, sociability, friendliness, and happiness.
"Thank you, director. I learned a lot."
"No, unlike me, who didn't graduate from a film/performing arts university, I'm sure you already studied these subjects in college."
"Still, thank you, director. It's completely different to hear it from a professional director."
"You're just praising me. Anyway, we are both directors now. I guess I will have to call you Director Smith." Kazir chuckled.
"You can after the success of Taken 2." Fremont Smith replied.
"It will be a success. Definitely."
"That's right."
It was a mystery where this confidence came from. Perhaps every director should be confident in their films, or there would be no reason to make them.
After talking to Fremont Smith, Erica Mendez contacted Kazir and told him that another person was looking for him.
'As expected...'
Kazir said he would be there.
When he reached the lobby, he found a person sitting in a chair. The man was nervous and was wiping his sweat.
Kazir didn't know who he was. However, he could tell from the man's appearance that he might be of Asian descent.
"Director Grey. I'm Lee Himura from Sony-Columbia. We would like to work with you on The Bourne Identity."
'Exactly what I expected. He's from Sony-Columbia.'
Kazir nodded. The man's last name alone meant that he was from Japan, which was understandable. After all, the parent company of Sony-Columbia was none other than Sony, a huge company based in Japan.
Lee Himura didn't bother to talk nonsense. He got right to the point.
"After some thought, we came to the conclusion that the other companies were offering you a 22% box office distribution fee."
"..."
Kazir was speechless.
'From the looks of it, someone leaked what happened earlier. There's a snitch!'
"That's right." Kazir nodded.
"Then I'm happy to say that Sony-Columbia is willing to work with Grey Pictures for 20% of the box office. The company was willing to buy the three scripts for $1 million each."
'Not bad'. Kazir listened.
"Also, we were hoping you could write a script for us. We want to make a movie based on an old TV show from the 80s."
"What TV show?"
"21 Jump Street." Lee Himura licked his lips before he said it.
When Kazir heard this, he couldn't help but feel that the future was becoming unpredictable. He could not help but smile.
++++++
[Since I already listed my top underrated anime and manga here, I might as well list my top 5 best completed novels / light novels / webnovels.]
1. Lord Of The Mystery: Probably the best webnovel out there. I've read it twice and I like it that much.
2. The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria (Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria): This is the first light novel I finished and it left a strong impression on me.
3. Mushoku Tensei(Jobless Reincarnation): I fell in love with this light novel, watching Rudeus slowly change his life for the better is gratifying to see.
4. Back to the Sixties: Farm, Get Wealthy & Raise the Cubs: Now this novel has a female protagonist and it's a slice of life. Still, there's something about this novel that keeps me reading it for weeks non-stop.
5. Legendary Mechanic: Mecha, action, sci-fi, universe, adventure. I have so much fun reading this webnovel.