Hollywood What If

Hollywood What If Chapter 281

James was surprised because he thought he would have to sit down with the director to convince him of a chance to prove 20th Century Fox. 

This was one of their first moves. To become the distributor of Grey Pictures and build a solid cooperation to convince Grey Pictures to sell their shares. 

But James didn't expect Kazir to actually see through their intentions and share his thoughts. 

"Share swap is no problem either. You get authority over my company, I get authority over yours." Kazir chuckled. Money had never been a problem for him. Money was just a means for him to maintain his status, but it was not everything. 

As long as Kazir could stay in the business and keep making movies, he would be alive. In fact, before his divorce from Cassandra, Kazir was earning quite well. He could afford to buy a house because of his share of the profits from the movies he made. 

Actually, directors, actors, and producers had residuals from videotapes and such, but they were only relevant for the first five years. The sales of videotapes/DVDs slowed down after five years. 

"... I understand."

James felt he had to take his job seriously. 

By the looks of it... Kazir could get at least $1 billion from the upcoming transaction. 

"Goodbye James."

Kazir didn't stay long and left. Tomorrow he has to talk to Tom Cruise about The Revenant. 

Then, next week, Sony-Columbia would celebrate the success of Spider-Man. If their projections were correct, the film would cross the $900 million mark in the same week, the second week of January. 

There was no time to rest... Actually, Kazir was very excited to start shooting The Revenant. He was always excited to do his job as a director. He felt alive doing his job. He loved the job more than ever. 

.........

......

...

"So how's your reunion with Cameron?" The actor teased his friend. 

"Tom, let's not talk about that." Kazir shook his head. 

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz worked together in Vanilla Sky. They knew each other and even shared a kissing scene in the movie. 

"Why not? Cameron knows we're friends, so she asked me a lot about you. Which was a little interesting because you two were in a relationship for almost two years. Have you shown Cameron anything of your true self?"

"I have trust issues," Kazir muttered as he looked through the lists of actors and actresses. 

"Did... Did you just say that?" 

"Yes. Besides, Cameron and I are over."

"She's a great kisser, though."

"She is."

"Damn, I didn't expect you to react like that. I thought you would at least be angry. So you're really done with her."

Out of curiosity, Tom wanted to tease Kazir about his past relationship, but he didn't expect Kazir to be as stoic as an old tree. The guy didn't give a damn. 

"All right, I'm sorry for what I said." He admitted his mistakes. 

"It's okay."

Kazir knew that superstars usually had arrogant attitudes, and Tom's behavior was in line with what Kazir expected. 

Many celebrities were arrogant, Gwyneth Paltrow, Will Smith, Lindsay Lohan, and even James Cameron. These people were quite known for having arrogant attitudes, some of this was because of the superstar syndrome. Where they think the world revolves around them. 

Fortunately, even though Tom had that attitude, he knew when to apologize. 

"Kazir, I have someone to recommend for Hugh Glass' wife."

As expected, Tom was going to recommend someone. 

Kazir stopped reading the list. The female roles in this movie were basically non-existent, except for Hugh Glass's wife, but even that was a supporting role. In fact, the woman didn't even have a real name. 

There were only four major characters in this movie, and they were all men. 

"Tom, you know that Hugh Glass' wife is a supporting character. I have no intention of changing the script to accommodate anyone."

"Of course I understand that. I have no intention of doing that either. Just think of it as a cameo. She's a fan of yours, so I decided to give her a chance to work with you, even if the role is small."

"What's her name?"

"She's Penelope Cruz. I'm sure you know her."

'Of course she is.' Kazir thought. 

Kazir knew Penelope Cruz, though he knew her only through her relationship with Tom. 

Unless Kazir was mistaken, Tom met Penelope Cruz in Vanilla Sky, the same year Tom and Nicole Kidman divorced. 

"If you're okay with it, I'll cast her. But you have to tell her it's a small part. Don't expect a big salary."

"We don't expect a salary at all, you can hire her for free if you want."

"We'll probably have to negotiate with her agent anyway, so let them decide."

"Okay."

The two agreed. This was just a small thing, no reason to take it seriously. They were both flexible and agreed with each other's decisions. The main reason they decided to work together was to win the Oscars. 

Kazir already proved that he could make someone Best Actor after casting Liam Neeson. Tom Cruise had some regrets about Taken, but there was no reason to be depressed. He knew the movie was not for him. 

Besides, Taken was the opening film of the CCU and Tom would probably not be invested in such a long term project. 

Tom rarely does movies with sequels, except for the Mission Impossible franchise. Even Top Gun took more than three decades to get a sequel. 

The Revenant was another chance for him to win the Best Actor Award. He read the script and was confident in Kazir's ability to bring it to the screen. 

Tom Cruise even offered to invest at least 30% of the project, but Kazir and Grey Pictures never agreed. Anyway, small things, as long as their mission was the same, they would work it out. 

"So these are the actors who auditioned for the second round, and I chose the actors who best fit their roles. Tom Hardy, Joaquin Phoenix and Shia Labeouf."

"Hm, seems reasonable. Joaquin is a great actor. I remember Tom Hardy in Black Hawk Down. But this Shia Labeouf is a new person for me."

Tom replied. 

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[Author's Note: Don't mind the note below. This chapter was written ten months ago. I didn't delete it because I didn't want to... Don't be triggered, I want everyone to have fun and enjoy the novel.] 

[It's officially January 1st here. And yes, as usual, I never saw The Revenant so I have no idea what I'm doing. Thanks guys for all your support. I hope we all have a blessed year!]