46 46. Jurassic Park or The Monster Universe?!
Disclaimer: The story that I have written here takes on the names of real people, but this story is based in an alternate earth with some changes in its timeline.
This story does not intend to represent the celebrities/real people or make any commentary on them whatsoever. This story is entirely fictional, and it should be viewed entirely as such.
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Recap of the previous chapter -
Mark prepares for the day of the shoot, he reminisces about the two Sophia's in his life. Ms. Coppola being his apprentice who has already begun imparting theoretical knowledge on the art of filmmaking. Whereas Ms. Vergara finally arrived in LA, her anime training arc has begun.
She is studying at CalArts as well just like Ms. Coppola, her diet, exercise and acting classes had already begun in fervor. Mark, after deep contemplation, decided to use the Character Template to copy the skills and experience of Steven Spielberg. But after he had done it, he realized something.
The Spielberg he copied wasn't of this world who hadn't even directed Jurassic Park yet, but the one from his previous life who already had over 50 years directorial knowledge and experience. With this Ace up his sleeve, he is sure to surpass Rian and Todd in their original works.
Because Mark wasn't just satisfied with copying, no, he wanted to surpass the original and create his own, better version. For Knives Out he planned to close the plot holes whereas for The Joker or now named The Killing Joke. He planned to create a much sadder, tragic and darker story.
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~ Janet's POV ~
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Date: 12th May, 1990.
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Location: At the Knives Out estate.
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Time: 02:09 pm.
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The crew had stopped for the scheduled lunch break, Mark had allotted a full hour for lunch and rest. He was the person that was on her mind, she couldn't hold it in anymore, so she asked the rest of the group if they felt it as well.
"Did you guys feel it as well? Mark was different today," Janet said, taking a sip of her drink.
"I don't know for certain but the way he carried himself, the proficiency with which he handled the crew, delegated the task, solved the problem with the fog machine. He felt like a seasoned professional, he was pretty darn good before as well, but now, now I feel like I am seeing a master at work." She ended her piece seeking their opinions on the matter.
Kevin replied in an exasperated tone.
"Tell me about it, an old studio hand approached me after the second shot was over and asked if Mark really was a rookie. When I told him, Mark had just graduated. He just shook his head and said that the younger generation surpassing their predecessors is true, but this man is just monstrously talented, after saying that he apologized and walked away."
"Either he was holding back before or improved that much in the last few weeks. Which do you think is more probable?" Sarah asked while sipping on her tea, her lunch was already done, she was there to chat with her friends.
'Friends' a word that held no meaning to her, as she had none, after being bullied due to her spaced out look and no filter on her mouth she had been isolated a lot in school and even gotten used to being alone. It was sad but at least no one could hurt her, then one day she met Mark in Uni.
At a single glance she could see he wasn't normal, while the rest were just fumbling through life, Mark already knew his purpose. But the best thing about him was that he treated her with kindness and respect, like she was normal. He even went so far as to punish her bullies for their follies and made them stop.
To say she liked him would be an understatement, but she wasn't really good at feelings and emotions. For now, though, she was content with helping Mark and improving to become the best version of herself. Her introspection was broken by Kevin calling out to her.
"Earth to Sarah, Sarah? Sarah? Are you there?" Kevin asked her multiple times already.
"Yeah, sorry. I kinda spaced." She apologized and focused on the conversation.
"Well, we were talking about why he would be holding back. Janet said that maybe he didn't want to make us feel insecure or unworthy." Kevin told Sarah to catch her up with what she might have missed.
"I, for one, don't know the reason for him hiding his talents, but I know that if I want to stand by his side and share his burden and help take Eidolon to greater heights, the current me is not good enough to take that burden." Chris spoke up despite usually being the quiet one, content to be a silent observer. He let out his inner thoughts.
"That we will, don't worry about it, Chris. We are the Inner Circle, we are always there for each other." Jess said, and the group nodded along, agreeing with her statement. Kevin patted Chris and told him they will talk later.
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Mark continues writing Vinland Saga after calculating the deadline for the shooting and post-production of his film. With that out of the way, he starts writing the scene where Thorfinn challenges Askeladd to a duel, wanting to take revenge on his father's killer and revealing Askeladd as the killer of Thorfinn's father.
By now Mark has really reached a peak in his ability, he just magnificently described Thorfinn's powerful yet precise swings, him dashing into Askeladd to close the distance and get into range of his daggers. He was dual wielding two and was very skilled with them.
Mark described how Askeladd was still able to contend with him easily, how he was just defending and not aiming to kill, despite the duel being for that very. He skillfully showed how the older Viking taunted Thorfinn, using his dead father as a topic of instigation.
Thorfinn immediately loses his cool and rushes him, swinging wild and overextending. It was at one such moment that Askeladd counters him and knocks him out. After the fight, Mark wrote a conversation Askeladd had with his Uncle, shedding some light on his mentality and approach to life.
He kept writing about the aftermath of Thorfinn's duel, showing him talking with the illusion of his father, who was revealed to be dead. It goes on for another hour before his concentration is broken by a call from his secretary.
Normally he wouldn't really mind but his "flow" was broken, he was currently writing about Thorfinn's childhood and was in the process of fleshing out the character of his family members, especially his dad, Thors.
He stretched his back as he picked up the receiver. He asked her what it was about. She replied that Todd Phillips had arrived at his request to meet him.
Mark replied, "ah yes, him. I am expecting him, send him."
"Todd, come on in," Mark said with a smile. "Have a seat. Don't worry, this isn't an evaluation. I just want to freely speak with you about something."
"Of course, Mark. Please be frank and tell whatever it is you have called me here for." Todd replied with a smile, confident that he hadn't really done any wrong.
Mark tells him that he knows how Todd made an example out of a studio hand due to his carelessness with handling props and other equipment. When Todd seemed like he had something to say about it. Mark just raised his hand and stopped him before he began.
He explained how they weren't having this conversation because he wanted to scold him for his way of handling the crew. This conversation was because of him losing his cool in the heat of the moment and punishing the intern today way harsher than they deserved.
He talked about how punishing someone to make an example out of them to establish one's authority can work against them instead if it's done unfairly, making them alienated from the crew and be disliked by them. He told him how every crew member is like his arms and legs that work hard to bring his vision to life.
"If there is a feeling of discord in the crew and a lack of proper coordination, then the whole crew can fall apart. A director's job is to never let such a thing come true. If you really want to be a good director, Todd, you must first learn to be a good leader. Learn from Jon, he did exceptionally well today." Mark explained the problem he had with his behavior today on set and its future consequences.
Mark then went on to educate him about mental health and the detriment that comes with bottling up emotions inside and not having a healthy outlet for his frustration and stress.
He reminds him that he was smart to target a studio hand but he must rein himself in as this is a set with seasoned professionals working who won't take shit from him lying down.
He also tells him how the true leadership quality is bringing out the best in people and inspiring them to do their best out of their own free will.
After his Ted talk with Todd, Mark went back to writing the childhood arc of Thorfinn, showing the hardships his family faced trying to live in the freezing hell that was Iceland. He was almost done with fleshing out the character of Thors when he got a call.
He picked it, his secretary told him that Mr. Spielberg was online. He replied, "forward it, I will take it."
"Hey, Steven, did you finally remember to call me?" He asked with a sassy voice.
"Hi, Mark, Yeah, sorry for not calling you all these days. I was really busy trying to create a proposal for Jurassic Park's budget, and also trying to find a shooting location was tough." Steven replied in an apologetic tone.
"Well, no worries, I already have the script ready here with me. Well actually two versions of it, I will let you read both of them, and you can choose which one you would like to make into a movie." Mark replied nonchalantly, as he had already completed his part of the deal.
But now came the moment of truth, he wanted to test Steven to see if he would choose the better script which would cater to better character/world building and thus create a superior movie if directed well or would he choose the safe generic script which matched word for word with the Jurassic Park of his past life.
The first installment of Jurassic Park of his past life was fantastic as a standalone, but if one looks at it from the perspective of a movie that will lead on to create a Dinosaur/Monster universe, then it failed.
This was where Mark wanted to succeed, to focus more on the human struggle against the impending doom of the dinosaurs escape and create situations where the characters will have a breakthrough and embrace the dangers and fight to survive their crazed new world.
Mark wanted to shift the halo of the protagonist from the dinosaurs without taking away their majesty and awe-inspiring appearance to the humans of the story.
He wanted to create a movie where the audiences could put themselves in the shoes of the characters of Jurassic Park and experience the danger and thrill of surviving the hunt of these prehistoric predators for themselves.
He knew selling Steven on this idea would be hard, but he knew he could use Steven's passion for telling a good story to make him see the potential for greatness with his modified storyline.
It would also open up the franchise for more sequels to come, and also give him the opportunity to integrate the Jurassic universe with the monster universe.
He wasn't really sure about the last part, but that will come after he buys off Universal Studios, then he will decide on it after he collects more market data.
"Two versions?" Steven asked, he sounded surprised by Mark's reply.
"Yeah, I had some free time to myself, so I got to thinking how would I want to make the movie if I did it myself. The second version of the script was born from that idea." He replied with excitement, Jurassic Park was his childhood favorite, and now he would get to work on it.
"Well, it would be much easier to just show you, so when are we meeting?" He asked Steven.
"Well, the immediate prep work for the film is almost completed, so my schedule is completely free. Can you tell me when you are available?" Steven explained his situation and asked him in turn.
"Well I am busy with shooting most days, but tomorrow there's only rehearsal, so I will be free, I can meet you there and even show you the set of Knives Out." He offered Steven to meet up at the estate.
"That would be perfect, I have been wanting to see you in action. I want to see how you direct your movie, especially your first. The 'firsts' are always important." Steven replied with an excited tone.
"Wait, rather than the rehearsals. Can I come on the day of the shoot? I promise, I will be on my best behavior." Steven asked and cracked a joke at the end as if he was in elementary.
"Of course it won't be a problem. I can also ask you to observe and criticize my directing style." He replied with a dubious tone, as he wanted to enjoy the look on Steven's face when he displays the power of the template. He wanted to see if Steven could identify how similar his techniques were to himself.
"Oh, I wouldn't dare, it's your set. I wouldn't want to undermine your authority, in any way." Steven replied, seriously dropping his joker act.
"Just tell me how I did in private, okay?" Mark asked again.
"Fine, fine, on the day of the shoot then? At 10 am?" Steven asked if Mark was okay with the time.
"Yeah, 10 am works for me and that scene will be shot on the 15th. My estate is in Brentwood, Thrombey lane, I will see you on Tuesday then, bye." He replied, telling his address to Steven, and hung up the call and went back to working on Vinland Saga.
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The day of the shooting had arrived again, Mark knew how lucky he was to hire these seasoned professionals. Even the actors were picked from the best of the best according to his needs. This had led to him being able to already finish 3 different scenes of the movies in just a day.
Provided those weren't very demanding scenes and most of the actors were in their late 30s to mid 40s, they had decades of experience playing unimportant characters in movies.
But his movie was different, and they could feel it as well. The way each and every character was given a chance to display their quirkiness on screen was superb. The characters felt life-like, and the scenes were catered to draw attention and hold it to each one of the Thrombey family members.
The scene which had been rehearsed for the last two days had been a two parter. They were rehearsing both the birthday party scenes of Harlan Thrombey and the funeral after party of the Patriarch of the Thrombey family.
Mark had carefully divided each shot and each scene, to ensure it all flows together and the entire scene doesn't need to be done in one take. But instead gives the illusion of such, the scene starts from Marta as she is the protagonist of this scene. She enters the living room filled with guests and gets drawn into a conversation with Fran.
The content of this conversation had been changed by Mark to be about Fran talking about a gruesome murder first and when Marta asks how come she knows so much of the private details related to the case. Fran reveals that a cousin of hers works in the coroner's office.
This reveal is more natural and realistic, unlike the unprompted triage of information Fran just blurted out in the original. After that, the scene continues with Marta being called in by Walt to weigh in on their conversation. The scene was a masterpiece written by Rian which displayed the family's subtle discrimination and obliviousness towards Marta.
Mark though had his complete focus on River and Salma as this would be River's first scene in the movie, albeit short. He would be overheard shouting at Harlan and then storming out of the place in his car.
River had shown no signs of regression in his journey of recovery, and looked far more healthy and energetic than when he came in for auditions. He was happy to make such a difference in his friend's life.
Salma was a little nervous but he could tell that she was more excited to finally do the scene. As she had been rehearsing it for the last few days, and he had seen the way she carried herself in the scene. She had finally gotten comfortable in the skin of Marta.
Ana de Armas may have done a good job as Marta but he knew in the heart touching finale Salma with expressions would surpass her for sure. Mark was glad he could find such an actress to play Marta, the cast of actors he had been able to hire were very talented, it made his task very easy.
Steven had already arrived but was more interested in exploring the set, he had arranged for Janet to give him a tour around the set and explain the rehearsals going on if he asks about it.
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Janet was having the time of her life, she couldn't believe she got to meet Steven Spielberg. She knew Mark had gone to meet the man and even brought back for her a signed E.T. poster. But she never thought she would get to meet him herself so suddenly.
Mark hadn't really given her a heads-up, but now thinking about it with her being a fangirl of Steven. She could see why he didn't tell her about her idol giving them a visit, he probably wanted to surprise her and if she knew about Steven visiting them, it would also distract her a lot.
She had taken Steven on a small tour around the place, explaining the small details, and found him appreciating the knickknacks that the set designer had placed to make the house look realistic and well lived in.
Steven was engrossed into understanding Mark's division of the birthday funeral after party scene. He talked with the actors, the studio hands, the DOP, the two AD's Jon and Todd; and even asked her to explain Mark's process and modus operandi.
She could tell that he was really impressed with how Mark was handling his work as a director, the organized shoot had won him over. He had a pleased look on his face and a relieved smile that only grew as he kept on talking with more and more people.
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He knew that he was right about the feeling Mark gave him, just the orderly way the final rehearsals were going on. He had even overheard him talking with the extras and side characters, the simple way of communicating their tasks and put them at ease. It was all done with the ease and proficiency of a veteran director.
Mark had a unique style though, one that he found, he really liked. His dos and don'ts around the set went against some of the industry's unsaid rules and practices, but his method was showing fruit. The actors were more passionate and eager in their roles, and even the crew was highly motivated and enthusiastic.
This was the type of environment a filmmaker tries to create for their crew throughout their career, sadly, with them just being figureheads. Directors don't really have much say and power in the crew. No, that power lies in the hands of the producer and the production studio.
But Mark wasn't just the director of Knives Out but also its executive producer and the sole owner of the studio, producing said movie. He had all the power to do whatever he liked, had the full creative freedom to make movies however he deemed was best, with no push back from the producer or the studio.
To be honest, he envied Mark, even though Mark was just starting out. Mark had achieved something even he, himself, had only dreamed of for years now. To establish his own studio, to direct his own movies, and finally be free from the restrictions they place on him and his creative ideas.
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Mark could see Steven was looking happy after taking the tour through the house, he even talked with everyone in the crew. He even listened to his talk with the extras and side characters, he really wanted to know his opinion on his work style, which was a hybrid of his own and Steven's template.
Steven finally came over and praised Mark for his ingenious method of shooting such a complex scene with such ease. Mark actually blushed and got embarrassed, as it was actually a method Steven himself would develop later on in the future.
Mark thanked him for the compliment and said it was nothing he couldn't come up with himself. He then handed over the two scripts for Jurassic Park to him, and then explained his thoughts about how the movie could play out both ways.
Steven asked him for such a change in focus, and Mark asked Steven about the substitution effect and how it draws people to watch movies. He told him how the movie Jurassic Park having the dinosaurs as the main protagonist would become a problem later.
Because, while, it would make for a spectacular visual spectacle and create a superb standalone movie. It would also kill its potential to become a whole movie franchise, as the viewers would be unable to substitute themselves with a dinosaur.
The subsequent movies plot and storyline would only go down every movie, leading to the end of the franchise. Steven pondered on Mark's analysis and prediction and realized that while it might sound a bit far-fetched, Mark was right.
He once again couldn't help but admire Mark for his foresight and planning, his instincts told that a man of such a high caliber would definitely create a successful movie franchise. But one thing that still bugged him was, why would Mark want to save the Jurassic Park franchise.
He had already given it mostly away to Universal, when asked about it to him. Mark's answer really made him help the difference in the thinking between an unfeeling money grabbing executive and a true artist.
Mark said, "I may have handed it over, but that doesn't mean it stops being my work. My name is attached to it, and so it's my responsibility. It should hold up to my standards, I don't want my audiences to come see my movie and be let down or disappointed."
That statement from Mark moved him, he understood that even though Mark was a studio head. He was still an artist and director at heart and wouldn't cut corners to create a subpar movie that they would market the hell out of to fool people into watching.
When the scene was finally shot his expectations came true, it was so harmonious, they way nothing clashed. It all happened according to Mark's plan, every actor in their place, with just right expressions, not a single person was out of place even though over 26 different people were coming and going from the scene.
And what a spectacular scene it was, the scene which displayed the incredibly subliminal discrimination of the family towards Marta and their obliviousness of it.
How they each casually mentioned a different country they thought Marta was from, how they all dropped in that they were the one to be voted out of inviting her to the funeral, and they all even call her patronizing nicknames.
But the best thing about it was how naturally this scene happened, not even once did it look forced. This entire politics scene was a master class in almost making a subliminal point, the fact that Walt hands Marta his plate to take care of during this political debate, as if she is a maid or something.
And Mark doesn't even force it in front of the audience, as he could see from the camera angles that none covered Marta's reaction shot to Walt's action. It doesn't even draw attention to it like this is a normal, everyday occurrence to the family.
This was brilliant filmmaking and the definition of trusting one's audiences to understand the hidden layers to a scene that looks so simple at first glance. He knew that Knives Out was going to be a hit. He had already requested Mark to invite him to see the final completed version of the film when he was done editing it in post.
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{Author's Note: Hmm, I tried showing the reactions of Mark's friends to his new and improved directing abilities. Vinland Saga is also being written by Mark. I really enjoyed watching the first season of the anime. It was definitely in my top 5 animes of this year. If you haven't watched it already, I would definitely recommend you to give Vinland Saga a try.
The POV of Janet and Steven could have been more personal with dialogues, but I didn't want to detract from Mark too much, as he is our protagonist. Also, a big surprise is coming along in a few chapters so keep your eyes peeled for it, I don't know if you guys would like it or not but I wanted to give it a try.
Once again, thanks for reading my work. I am entirely motivated by interaction, suggestions and feedback. So please leave a comment or review and I will probably write faster.
If you like my work please throw a power stone my way so my book can climb the rankings. Slurp some nice ramen and I hope you all have a beautiful day.
Update schedule for this book: 1 chapter every 2 days.}
