It was Natalie Portman... Kazir was actually surprised when she heard that the young actress was on the list. She didn't expect that Natalie was interested in the movie.
Furthermore, Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge Of The Sith was still in production so Kazir thought Natalie would be too busy to even work on another project.
Unexpectedly, the woman actually did well in the audition. This caused Kazir and the others to think about it seriously. The three actresses fit the role, with Julia Roberts taking the top spot because of her box office appeal.
In the end, the decision lies to Kazir since he was the director of this movie. Even Harold of Renner couldn't fight him in that situation.
Kazir decided to take the tapes of auditioning back to his house to rewatch it.
"Babe, have you made a decision?" Angelina showed up and passed Kazir a bowl of cut apples.
"No, I'm still not sure."
Julia Roberts was out of the choices but Kazir was still having trouble between Keira Knightley and Natalie Portman.
"Let's see... Haven't you seen that this Natalie was stealing glances at you?" Angelina slightly frowned at the television.
"No, I don't think so." Kazir shook his head.
"Sheesh, you are too dense. Anyway, Keira Knightley is the best option. I don't like this Natalie Portman."
"You think so."
"Yeah. Now that I think about it, why didn't you invite me for this role, Elizabeth Swann? With my age and beauty, I can easily pass the audition." She curiously asked Kazir.
"Well... This project has kissing scenes--"
"Pfft--!"
Suddenly, Angelina almost choked on her food as she heard Kazir's response. She didn't expect that Kazir would worry about that!
"Kazir, ahem, ahem. You're famous for being a heartless boyfriend who didn't care about your boyfriend. The news about you watching as your ex-girlfriend Cameron Diaz kissed Matt Damon on the set of The Bourne Identity is known throughout Hollywood. People said that you didn't mind that Cameron was kissing Matt! Oh, I also remember, you let me walk naked in the set of Wanted! You even took a footage of my naked ass and show it to the audience! And now, you're suddenly conscious of my kissing scenes?"
Angelina did a long tirade and Kazir only had one response.
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"I just realized that I'm uncomfortable with you doing that... I'm sorry."
"Aww, you don't have to, babe." She hugged Kazir and started kissing his cheek.
"Anyway, I don't like this Natalie so you should hire Keira Knightley instead."
"... Alright."
Kazir nodded in the end. Keira Knightley's salary was affordable and it was not a problem with Kazir.
...
...
...
Goldman Sachs, representing Vance Goodhood, and someone from Morgan Stanley end their negotiations.
Morgan Stanley was the investment firm that 20th Century Fox hired for the acquisition of Grey Pictures.
Both Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were famous investment firms on Wall Street and they had their commission once this business was done.
After thinking about and talking to the executives of Grey Pictures, Kazir decided to work with 20th Century Fox instead.
After many tug of war, Grey Pictures would sell 30% of its shares for $3.5 billion worth of shares and money. $1 billion cash and $2.5 billion worth of shares.
Equivalent to 3.5% shares of the 20th Century Fox. Now, Kazir was the second largest single-person shareholder of 20th Century Fox, second to Rupert Murdoch who owned the majority of the shares.
Most of the shares of the company were spread in companies and investment firms. Only two individuals have their own piece of the percentage.
The negotiation already ended and both sides signed the contract. Now, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley started perfecting the transactions.
Kazir and many of his acquaintances kept quiet about this acquisition. None of the Big Five knew about it.
A few hours later that day, a piece of news suddenly spread and struck Hollywood, no, struck the whole country.
20th Century Fox and Grey Pictures decided to work together to promise a better future in filmmaking and creating wonderful movies.
The numbers were not specified but it was confirmed that 20th Century Fox acquired a portion of Grey Pictures.
This news made a lot of noise.
Suddenly, the stock price of 20th Century Fox which was $21.72 went up to $25.19 in just a day. The stock market closed after that. The stock price increased more than 15% in just a day. And it was because of the news about Grey Pictures and 20th Century Fox.
People in Hollywood realized that Grey Pictures' worth was enough for people to invest in 20th Century Fox. They knew that the movies that Grey Pictures produced were profitable!
"What is happening!?"
Chairman Michael Eisner slammed the newspaper and almost flipped the table out of anger. His face was red in anger as he read the news about 20th Century Fox acquiring shares of Grey Pictures.
He realized that his last chance of survival disappeared into thin air. He clenched his fists.
Last year, Walt Disney basically didn't earn a damn cent at the box office because their biggest movie was a horrible flop. Even though they released dozens of movies, the loss they suffered from John Carter was irreparable.
If not for the DVDs, toys, and merchandise that Walt Disney sold, the company might have to take a loan from the bank. They stayed afloat but their situation was not good. John Carter was a bad investment and the board of directors intended to put the blame on Michael Eisner.
He tried to regain their trust by trying to acquire Grey Pictures, no matter how much they spent, but the outcome didn't work on him.
Now, Michael Eisner knew that his time as the Chairman of one of the biggest media companies in the world had ended.
Not only Walt Disney, Paramount, Sony-Colombia, and Warner Bros didn't expect this outcome. They were also trying to make plans on how to increase their chips to get Kazir's interest yet they were slapped by the news.
As for the news, Grey Pictures' upcoming projects such as The Equalizer, Wanted 2, and Pirates Of The Caribbean would be distributed by 20th Century Fox.
The TV Show Game Of Thrones would also be released exclusively on Fox. This project made many people excited because they knew that Grey Pictures never makes boring projects.
One of the reasons why a lot of pe