Los Angeles, 1973.
Reynols Mansion.
That night, after Steven left, I found my mom sitting on the back porch of our house, her eyes lingering on the horizon.
I stepped outside, sliding the door quietly behind me. "Mom?"
She turned to me,"Liam, come sit beside me."
I sat beside her, the silence hanging between us for a moment. We had been through so much today, The Light & Magic Club, Steven's interest in Jaws.
"You've really thought this through, haven't you?" she finally asked, her voice carrying a concern.
I nodded. "Yeah, Mom. I have."
She glanced back at the house, the sprawling mansion we called home.
"We're not in a rush Liam. You know that, right?"
"I know, but it's not about that, Mom there are many talented people and wealthy people, but very few are blessed by opportunity, with our wealth and my talent, I may get that opportuninty later on but I can't say that for my friends."
"This chance, if it didn't happen, I would not have cared, but we got this chance handed to us. my friends, I don't know if they will get this chance again in their lives and I can't say that with my own talent and strenght, I can give them this chance later in future."
Marie smiled and embraced liam in her arms and kissed him on his head."Son, never lose sight of yourself, I will always be with you."
"I know mom, Love you."
"Love you too, sweetheart."
As the evening peter out with a good Mother and son talk, They didn't stop there and discussed everything about their next step in hollywood.
The Light & Magic team was buzzing with activity, as we pieced together the most ambitious pitch.
Liam and Marie went to his friends house to explain to their parents on the situation and coming out with a solution. Everything was difficult at the start but eventually it sorted itself and everyone was on board.
No matter how genius in the end all five of them were 13 year old kids. Parents intervention was crucial.
The next few days were a blur of preparations. These preparation even baffled the team but the result stunned everyone and with one successful attempt next few proposal were agreed upon faster.
Preparation on our part took one month making steven anxious and baffled with request of preparing certain equipment in the conference room.
All the hustle and bustle eventually came to end as the day of meeting with universal executives drew near.
On the morning of the Universal meeting, I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the lapels of my blazer. It was custom-tailored a gift from my mom after one of her many trips to Europe. I looked at myself, a 13-year-old kid preparing to sell a shark movie to one of Hollywood's biggest studio.
Universal Studios – Conference Room
Steven and Liam and marie stood outside the conference room at Universal Studios. The studio buzzed with life people in sharp suits, scripts in hand, rushing past us. But I couldn't focus on any of that. My hands felt cold.
"You okay, kid?" Steven asked, his voice casual.
"I'm fine," I lied.
"Dear, it's your time to shine." Marie said with a smile.
As we head inside the conferences room, I thought there would be many people but there were only three people sitting wearing suits and talking to each other. There was nice decent table with three more chairs and as requested by me a T.V set and Sony U-Matic VCR.
Steven took the lead, introducing us. "Sidney, let me introduce you to our boy prodigy. This is Liam Reynolds, and his mother, Marie Reynolds."
The man in the middle, wearing a sharp black suit, stood and offered a polite smile. "Welcome to Universal Studios, Miss Reynolds, and you too, Liam. I'm Sidney Sheinberg, CEO of Universal."
The other two men followed suit. To his right was Robert Rhyme, Vice President of Universal Productions, and to his left, Charles Fries, Vice President of Universal Television.
Sidney sheinberg crossed his arms and asked,"Little liam, I read the report from Steven, I am eager to see your presentation, are you ready to start."
Liam took a deep breath and took out he a three copies of files from his suit case and distributed to Sheinberg, Robert and charles
"Gentlemen before saying anything, I hope you would take a look at this document proposal."
The document was not long only one page but it contained all the requests of Light & Magic Club regarding the production of Jaws.
Sheinberg looked at liam as said," These are very audacious demands Liam, Co-production with Light & Magic club with financing of the production split in 70/30, Copyright will be owned by Light & Magic Club, Light & Magic club will be responsible for production of visual effects and music of the movie, While Universal will be responsible for Primary production, financing and distribution."
Sheinberg then looked at steven and asked. "Steven this was not in the report, were you aware of these demands ?."
Steven smiled and said, "Sidney, I was aware of the demands as to why it was not in the report, Liam will give you the answer to that question."
Sheinberg stunned looked at liam and said,"Liam your request are very difficult to fullfil for any studio, Leaving aside visual effects and Music those are not much of a concern but copyright and Co-production."
"70% of the budget for production comes from universal without us owning the copyright."
"Liam as a senior let me tell you how it works in hollywood, Big studios have never co-produce as it creates a copyright conflict, Big studios working with small productions is usually they produce we distribute or we finance and own the copyright."
"There has never been a precedent of co-production similar to this case."
"On what basis shall we agree for this movie proposal."
Liam with firm eyes looked at shinberg and said,"Mr.Shienberg, I understand that what I'm asking for is unconventional."
"I know studios typically take full control of production and rights, but that's where Light & Magic Club comes in. We're not just kids playing in a garage, we've created something real. We've built practical effects from scratch, designed groundbreaking visual techniques, and even composed the score. This isn't just about a movie; it's about showing what the future of filmmaking could look like."
Sheinberg still skeptical. "And what exactly makes you think a group of teenagers can handle something like this? You're asking us to trust millions of dollars in production on a bunch of unproven ideas."
"That's why we brought this." He gestured toward the TV and VCR. "We've prepared a demo. It's a proof of concept showing you exactly what we're capable of."
Steven stepped forward, holding the tape. "You'll want to see this."
Steven inserted the tape into the VCR, and the room dimmed as the screen flickered to life. The opening scene showed a dark ocean, waves crashing against a small boat. The mechanical shark emerged from the water, its mouth moving in precise synchronization with the orchestral score composed by Liam. It wasn't perfect, but it was undeniably impressive, especially considering their age.
As the demo continued, the expressions shifted from skepticism to surprise. The footage showcased not only the shark, but also snippets of motion-controlled camera work, innovative lighting techniques, and the mock-up of a suspenseful chase scene. It ended with a climactic shot of the shark lunging toward the camera, jaws wide open.
When the lights came back on, the room was silent. Sheinberg looked from the screen back to Liam, his face unreadable.
"That... was not what I expected,"
"But even with a solid demo, Liam, you're still asking for a lot. What makes you think Universal should take this kind of risk?."
Liam confident took out another file and passed it out to three people present. All of them skeptical but as they read the document they were stunned.
The executives exchanged glances, clearly weighing the options. Robert Rhyme, the VP of Productions, was the first to speak. "You've got vision, kid. I'll give you that."
Sheinberg leaning back on his chair said,"The studio needs to protect its interests but there are sometimes it needs to take risk, If what you described in the document is achieved it will rewrite how movies are made kid, but we still need something tangibile to believe you can achieve it."
Liam nodded. "I get that. That's why I'm proposing something else. I want to pitch an additional project, a music video for a band. It's smaller scale, but it will showcase the idea weather it can be achieved."
Liam then inserted the tape into the VCR. The screen flickered, and the music video for High Hopes began to play.
The video showcased our band performing on a rooftop at sunset, dynamic camera angles, fast-paced editing, and dramatic lighting.
As the music video played, I watched the reactions of the Universal executives closely. Sidney Sheinberg kept his expression neutral, but I could see Robert Rhyme, the Vice President of Universal Productions, lean forward in his chair, intrigued by the visuals. Charles Fries, the Vice President of Universal Television, started to tap his fingers on the table, nodding along to the music.
Liam paused the tape and continued his speech.
"This music video paired with the marketing strategy for a album. we could use this as an experiment, I am willing to bear all the cost for this experiment."
"We could create a something special period in hollywood like a summer blockbuster, Movie time that people wait for in anticipation."
"Mr.Sheinberg you asked me, why is it 70%?, Steven is the biggest part of the reason, He has three film contract with universal, He wishes jaws to be one the movies, Mr.Sheinberg our family is rich enough to produce the movie worth 9 million, Reason for co-production is to create a win-win situation for both."
"We at Light & Magic Club can make money with copyright, Universal can make money with box office, The whole reason for this meeting is to ensure Universal does not lose money and this marketing strategy is for that sole purpose."
"Mr.Sheinberg, This movie although looks easy on the script will be a nightmare to produce, Most of this movie is shot on Ocean, Bad weather, Working mechanical shark model with hydraulics system, A diverse cast of kids, ladies and old men and women and men willing to be half naked in cold water without life jackets being asked to do stunts. Cameras that work in tandem with shark underwater."
"Strictly speaking you need us to produce this movie to save both money and time."
Sidney sat back, considering my words. The tension in the room felt thick. Finally, he glanced at Steven. "What do you think, Steven."
Steven grinned. "I think Liam's onto something, Sidney. He's talking about a whole new approach to the business."
Sidney looked from Steven to me, then back at the TV, where the paused image of the music video still glowed. After a long pause, he finally spoke.
"Alright, We'll give it a shot. You get the green light to use the music video strategy as a proof of concept. If it delivers the kind of impact you're promising, we'll consider co-production for Jaws under revised terms, of course."
Liam smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Sheinberg. We won't let you down."
Sidney stood up, extending his hand to me. "I hope not, Liam. You've got a lot riding on this."
As we walked out of the conference room and into the bright Los Angeles sunshine, my heart pounded with excitement.