During the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show on February 1, 2004, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake performed together, culminating in a controversial incident often referred to as a "wardrobe malfunction." At the end of their performance, Timberlake reached across Jackson's chest and pulled at her costume, which unexpectedly tore away part of her top, exposing her right breast to the television audience for about half a second. This incident, broadcast live to millions of viewers, led to widespread media coverage, public backlash, and significant changes in broadcasting regulations and policies regarding indecency.(Chatgpt)
The incident had a lasting impact on both artists' careers, the broadcasting industry, and the cultural landscape. Janet Jackson faced significant professional consequences, including being blacklisted by some media outlets and the Grammys, while Timberlake's career continued to flourish.(Chatgpt)
It was unfortunate that Janet Jackson suffered the most even though it was not her fault. Her career turned into dust after that "wardrobe malfunction". Justin Timberlake was the one who pulled the dress wrongly, yet his career was not affected that much.
This incident could prove that Showbiz was harsher on women.
However, for Grey Pictures and Sony-Columbia was a heaven-sent. The suffering of others became their blessing.
In just one day, most of the citizens focused on the Superbowl incident. They didn't care about Tobey Maguire anymore, the news related to him was washed and cycled anyway.
Even Sony-Columbia did its best to intensify the Superbowl incident so that people would quickly forget about Tobey Maguire. They had to do it, or else they would suffer more.
The issues regarding Tobey Maguire disappeared in just one night. Although Universal Pictures and Walt Disney were still keeping the issue alive. As for Warner Brothers, the company didn't join the battle anymore. Not when Kazir already promised that he would work on Batman!
In fact, when Barry Mayer contacted James Lee, the President of DC Comics, James Lee immediately agreed to the idea.
Barry Mayer could relate to why James Lee was excited. Kazir Grey's name was so big, that whenever his name was included in the credits of the movie, the box office said movie would be surely huge.
Batman was an important character both for DC Comics and Warner Brothers. Just like Superman, Batman was the face of both companies.
They had the power to revive the Batman franchise because they knew its profitability.
However, the last live-action Batman movie received terrible results. Many audiences didn't like it. Since then, Warner Brothers promised that if they had to start Batman, they had to make sure that the movie would be a success.
Kazir was the best assurance they could ever find. Salary was not a problem, as long as Kazir made Batman popular on the big screen then paying Kazir was worth it.
Warner Brothers owned DC Comics, so they technically owned every superhero character in DC Comics.
The merchandise they could get from their comic characters was getting stale. However, if Kazir directed Batman and it was a massive success, then Batman merchandise would have high sales, perhaps 10x the current sales they have.
The money they could earn just by hiring Kazir as a director was tremendous.
So obviously, the best decision was to stop attacking Tobey Maguire. It was not worth it anymore.
Warner Brothers didn't want any bad blood between them and Kazir, now that they were going to work together.
As for Marvel vs. DC, that would be another story.
If there was something that Barry Mayer and James Lee hoped for, it was the idea that Kazir would help them build the DC Universe. However, Kazir didn't make any promises.
He just wanted to make a Batman Trilogy. As for the others, let DC think of it.
After all, Grey Pictures owned some Marvel characters which they returned back to Marvel in exchange for better profit shares.
Kazir would obviously side with Marvel Comics.
As for the thought of Kazir sabotaging Batman, they had to write a contract about that. Just to be sure.
But surely Kazir won't destroy his reputation. He was not that stupid.
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Now that January ended, the filming of Spider 2 was also near its end.
The creation of this project was already happening long before Kazir even joined. While Kazir was busy with Pirates Of The Caribbean, the props, settings, and cast were already prepared by the production crew. They were just waiting for Kazir to officially join the crew and start filming.
Knowing Kazir's reputation, which was his fast filming and clear vision, the production phase of the movie moved fast without match hassle.
Initially, Sony-Columbia intended to pause the filming because they wanted Tobey to stay away from the media for the time being.
However, Tobey personally talked to Jezebel. He said that the project would lose money if they did that. The cast would also waste time if they postponed the filming.
Kazir agreed with Tobey.
In the end, the filming continued. Tobey stayed in the nearest hotel while the filming was ongoing.
"Director, thank you so much."
"Hm?"
Kazir glanced at Tobey who was holding a can of beer. Tobey was allowed to drink, but he should be inside his hotel room.
"If not for you, I might be so much depressed now."
"..."
"Because of you, I realized that there are people who still believe in me. And I don't want to disappoint them. I will work hard and prove to everyone that Tobey Maguire is a great actor. Thank you, director, for helping me see that."
"I hope you can continue that kind of perseverance."
The two chuckled. Now he realized why Tobey invited him to his room to talk.
"I believe you can do it. You have the talent to do so."
"Thanks."
Tobey drank his beer. Having the resolve to face everything.