196 HWI 196
Hollywood What If Chapter 196
Even Harold Witsend and Renner Hector were contacted to leave the crew. Fortunately, the two guys talked to him and Kazir decided to keep them by increasing their salaries.
Kazir was not stupid. They were friends, but money was also important. He had to give them more money because they were worth it. Harold and Renner were important people in his crew and he didn't want to let them go.
'One thing is obvious. Somebody is trying to cause trouble.'
For this thing to happen all at once was very suspicious. Well, Kazir had an idea what was going on.
'I think the pig is oinking again.'
With Harvey Weinstein's connection, he could solve the puzzle and find the root of the problem. First of all, Kazir had personally seen The Blair Witch Project, and Harvey Weinstein probably knew about it.
Harvey Weinstein knew the person who destroyed his plan. With a little research, he would definitely find out that Kazir Grey was also interested in The Blair Witch Project.
'We never had a good relationship anyway.'
Their first meeting might have been friendly, but that was it.
Harvey is never a good person. The fact that he went to jail speaks a lot about it.
The feminist movement was still in its infancy, and it wouldn't reach its peak until the Internet age. The #MeToo movement would happen with the help of the internet.
After a rare day off from work, Kazir Grey lay down and relaxed his mind. Cameron Diaz let him rest his head on her lap. The nervousness he felt due to the constant pressure of the film's release disappeared when the film did well at the box office.
The film crossed the $100 million mark at the box office within four weeks of its release. More and more people were interested in the cinematic universe that Grey Pictures was creating. The road to success for the Continental Cinematic Universe was becoming clear.
'Once Taken 2 is released, the next movie will be Wanted and it will be the first movie where the three protagonists will appear... Damn, I said I don't want to think about work and I want to relax instead. But I can't help thinking about work...' Kazir sighed.
Maybe thinking about his movie projects was indeed a way to relax.
The month of September didn't have any strong contenders except for American Beauty, produced and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures, Blue Streak, produced by Sony-Columbia, and Double Jeopardy, produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Of the three, American Beauty, produced by DreamWorks, was the top performer in August aside from The Bourne Identity.
General Manager Stella Willow reminded the Big Six that DreamWorks' films were getting better and their local distribution channels were becoming more compact. She did this to distract them from Grey Pictures. Still, Stella was not lying. DreamWorks was showing its influence.
Saving Private Ryan, Prince of Egypt, Antz, and The Haunting, which came out in the last few years, did well at the box office. DreamWorks released two to three movies a year, but they were all good.
The Big Six began to look at DreamWorks with seriousness. The Big Six would never be the Big Seven, it could only be the Big Five. That means one of the Big Six would merge... Rest in peace, 20th Century Fox of the next two decades. Disney would acquire you for $71.3 billion and possibly later screw you over and steal all your profitable franchises.
Anyway, that was in the distant future, and it could change now that Kazir Grey was creating a butterfly effect all around him.
Kazir closed his eyes and laid his head on Cameron's lap. The woman giggled and combed his hair, knowing that Kazir had been on the edge lately.
Every director had a heavy responsibility to make sure the movie would be a success. They didn't get enough sleep, or to be more precise, they couldn't sleep because of the pressure.
It was a miracle that Kazir could handle the pressure well. He wasn't impatient, he didn't shout much, and he didn't resort to verbal violence whenever he entered the set. It was as if Kazir Grey was used to high pressure, as if he had been in this situation all his life.
Still, a man was fragile. Even someone like Kazir could succumb to stress. Now that The Bourne Identity was a success, Kazir could breathe and relax.
Cameron leaned over and kissed his forehead.
"Sleep well, Kazir."
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Just like that, September flew by. More than 3 weeks passed and "The Bourne Identity" grossed $128.36 million. It already surpassed the 2.5 times production cost base.
Unfortunately, the progress of The Bourne Identity would be slower as its theaters went down to 1300 theaters. This was a normal occurrence and it was already good that The Bourne Identity maintained more than a thousand theaters. Maybe next week the number of theaters showing The Bourne Identity would be even lower.
Well, even if The Bourne Identity didn't make money at the box office, Grey Pictures had plenty of ways to make money from it.
While The Bourne Identity was in its 8th week of release in North America, the international release was already two weeks ago.
The overseas box office for The Bourne Identity was around $78 million. The impact of Taken and John Wick overseas affected The Bourne Identity and gave it a better performance than Grey Pictures expected.
It may only be four weeks before The Bourne Identity grosses over $100 million overseas.
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October 15 arrived. Kazir Grey and Cameron Diaz attended a movie premiere. Kazir was actually the one who wanted to see this movie, and Cameron joined him because they wanted to promote The Bourne Identity, which was still in theaters.
"I'm excited to see this movie... By the way, we don't talk about the title of the movie."
"Kazir, babe, I have no idea what you're talking about," Cameron muttered, smiling into the camera.
Kazir Grey and Cameron Diaz were about to see F**** C***, directed by none other than David Fincher.
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[Author's Note: I respect the rules of F**** C***.]
