Hollywood What If

Hollywood What If Chapter 290

Kazir continued to draw on his storyboard. He was not a fan of drawing, but his sketches were very recognisable. 

If he did not become a director, perhaps he would work in comics or other hand-drawn related jobs such as animation. Too bad, because Walt Disney stopped their hand-drawn animation, while the other animation studios were not so good. 

Anyway, Kazir was good at drawing... Just like that. After working in this position all his life, Kazir learned a lot. 

"All of the crew are here."

He stopped drawing when he realised that most of the crew had arrived. Their flight numbers would be announced a few minutes later. 

Kazir saw a stall selling newspapers and decided to buy one so he wouldn't be bored during the flight. 

He saw something interesting and it reminded him of a certain future. 

'... John Carter, huh?'

Kazir bought the newspaper with John Carter on the cover. 

[John Carter! The next blockbuster! The future of cinema!] 

The article was very confident in the movie. 

Walt Disney had invested heavily in this project, and the film's budget was a whopping $250 million. Yes, that news came from someone who worked at Walt Disney. The budget was really huge, but this kind of thing would become the norm a few years later. 

Films would become super expensive, especially the big ones that the Big Six were investing in. 

Kazir read the article. It seemed that Walt Disney was very serious about this project and was promoting the film almost everywhere. 

Last February, John Carter's first trailer was shown at Super Bowl XXXVI. Millions of people watched the trailer and it was well worth the money spent on advertising. 

Kazir also watched the trailer and confirmed one thing... It was basically the same as his previous life. Even the cast was almost the same. Kazir had a premonition about this. 

The premiere of John Carter was scheduled for the first Thursday in May, two weeks away. By that time, Kazir and the crew were already shooting The Revenant. 

.........

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...

In a dark, deep forest with little greenery and tall trees, a man walked quietly, aware of his surroundings. 

The forest was almost silent, as if there were no life in it. 

In his thick fur clothing, Hugh Glass sensed that something was wrong. He raised his old long rilfe as if danger were closing in. 

He had unkempt hair around his face, showing how haggard he was. His thick beard was quite greasy. 

Breathing slowly but deeply, Hugh Glass turned slowly to look around. 

He saw two bear cubs walking. The bear cubs were just passing by, looking adorable. 

He lowered his rifle and turned around, only to see a huge grizzly bear coming at him. 

The bear pounced on him and knocked him to the ground. His gun flew out of his grasp.  Hugh Glass grunted and struggled back. 

The bear began to attack him on the ground without mercy. 

"OK, cut!"

Suddenly the bear stopped moving and Tom stood up with a bit of dirt on his face. He wiped his face and looked at the bear. 

"Sorry about that, Tom." The bear said. There was someone inside the bear, a real person. Kazir knew that the bear didn't look realistic, but they were going to use motion capture technology and edit it. 

The technology was expensive, but Kazir was willing to spend money on it. The grizzly bear had to look realistic and scary. They need that wow factor. 

"No, it's fine," Tom replied to the man in the costume. He knew this scene was going to be dirty. He didn't like dirt, but there was nothing he could do about it. He was an actor and he had to do his job. 

Fortunately, the clothes he was wearing were clean and smelled good despite their dirty appearance. The costume design team should be thanked for that. 

"Let's take a break." Tom said. He didn't have a problem with what was happening. 

First of all, he liked his current appearance. He could feel that he was deep in the act, and for a few seconds he felt like he really was Hugh Glass. 

Perhaps the atmosphere in the crew affected him in a good way. 

He saw a strong camaraderie between them. They all worked together perfectly. The trust they had in Kazir Grey might be the reason. 

It was a trust that had slowly built up over the years. They followed Kazir's orders without hesitation, knowing that Kazir could provide them with another masterpiece. Moreover... The bonus they received after the filming was completed and the film was successfully released at the box office motivated them to work hard. 

It seemed that Grey Pictures was quite good to its crew. 

"Kazir, what do you think?"

"Amazing, Tom. Your immersion in the role is getting better and better and your performance is perfect. I have nothing bad to say."

Kazir was serious. As expected, Tom Cruise was a great and dedicated actor. It was just that he had chosen to continue with almost the same roles throughout his career because he was afraid of losing his status. 

Most of Tom's filmography was about him being handsome and cool... That was basically it.

But now the person in front of Kazir looked exhausted but alert, like a real warrior. 

"This is just the first take and I feel like I can do better if we have another take." Tom replied. 

"Take 2?"

"Take 2." Tom nodded. 

After that, filming resumed and The Revenant continued. 

.........

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...

Meanwhile, Hollywood, just over a thousand miles away from Canada, had begun its usual summer release schedule. 

On May 2, 2002, more than five films were released simultaneously. But only one film was promising. 

Walt Disney had already announced that they would release John Carter in the first week of May, and the other studios decided to give them that date. 

There was no reason to fight Walt Disney if they could find another week to release their films. 

The result of John Carter's first weekend was quite... Meh. 

The film was not bad, but it was not that good. It didn't have much of an audience appeal, despite the heavy promotion that Walt Disney did.