HWI 248

Hollywood What If Chapter 248

Kazir met the producer for the first time, it was a meeting with some of Marvel staff. They were currently choosing the costume design for Spider-Man and Green Goblin. 

At first the meeting was peaceful, the staff from Marvel Comics were having a nice conversation with Kazir... They were probing about Kazir's intention with the superhero characters that Grey Pictures bought from them.

Marvel Comics was at their lowest and they were trying to find a way to turn things around. They felt that movie adaptations were the right idea. After all, this generation preferred motion pictures than comics. 

The movie adaptation of Blade had a great response and Marvel Comics found that their superheroes had what it takes to be on the theater screen. They gained profit from that movie as well. Too bad, the movie was bought by New Line Cinema and Marvel Comics couldn't maximize their profit. 

Note that Marvel Studio, the production company responsible for the MCU was still not founded. 

Anyway, profit was still profit. 

So yeah, these staff wanted to know if Kazir was going to sabotage them or not. 

At first they wanted to buy back the copyrights of their superheroes but Marvel had to buy in a significant amount, and as if Grey Pictures would sell that easily. 

But the success of Continental Cinematic Universe made them realize that Kazir Grey definitely had a plan for their superheroes. As for what it was, they hoped it was something positive. 

Actually, Marvel Comics pushed the idea of working with Kazir Grey and Sony-Columbia abided their desire since Kazir was a great director. 

He had an experience with movie adaptation since The Bourne Identity was based on a novel and Kazir did a good job with the project.

Anyway, the situation in the meeting room turned sour when a female costume designer showed up to present her artwork. The woman wanted to be a fashion designer but entering the fashion industry was not that simple. She currently works as part of the costume design team. 

When the crew saw her designs, they nodded and knew that her art sheets were the best so far. They were detailed as well. 

Most of the crew members of this project didn't come from Grey Pictures and were hired by Sony-Columbia, so Kazir didn't know the woman. 

"I think this is the best one we have so far."

He admitted and everyone around him agreed. Except for the producer. 

"Um..." Jezebel Salome, the producer of this project, nudged her eyeglasses and said her opinion.

"I think the Green Goblin looks goofy. The audience will make fun of our villain if we make the Green Goblin look like this. We should choose the one earlier, his designs are great."

Jezebel smiled at the female designer but her eyes were not that empathizing.

"..."

Kazir kept his mouth shut for a second. 

'This is actually the costume that Willem Dafoe wore in the movie. Except for some color schemes, they are basically the same.'

Now, the question was... Should Kazir agree with the producer?

'As expected, working with people you didn't know will have some complications.'

"Jezebel, the designs are very close to the comic counterpart. Although I agree with you."

"I'm glad that we have the same idea--"

"We should drop the purple color and make the suit completely green, shiny green."

"..."

Jezebel stopped talking. She looked down at the art sheets and nodded weakly. 

"Okay... Okay, we can do that."

The atmosphere in the room turned better after that. Now, they have costume design references. They should now look for the characters who would use these costumes. 

Kazir knew that keeping the original cast was the right thing to do. The original movie was successful and he admitted that the cast was part of the reasons. 

So Kazir personally invited Willem Dafoe to audition. Willem Dafoe was the deceased Marcus in Continental Cinematic Universe and he had a status in Hollywood now. 

Many fans expressed their sadness when Marcus died and Willem Dafoe's image was good because of that. 

So when he received a call from Kazir that the director wanted him to be the villain in a superhero movie, the actor was hesitant. Actors should maintain a personality. If he accepted this role, perhaps his public image would be affected. 

People hate villains, after all. 

However after reading the script, Willem Dafoe admitted that he was interested in the role. Norman Osborn/Green Goblin was not a 2-dimensional character. He had a good reason why he turned evil. That caught Willem's attention. 

In the end, Willem Dafoe attended the audition. The agent was against it but not that much. The director of this project was Kazir Grey, the one responsible for Willem's recent stardom in Hollywood. Perhaps Willem was trying to return the favor. Besides, who didn't like to work with Kazir? 

Heck, more and more actresses were trying to flirt with him just because they wanted to work with the director. 

Reese Witherspoon, Cameron Diaz, and Angelina Jolie worked with Kazir... There was a rumor that for you to have a chance with the guy, you have to work with him first. 

So yeah, it affected the audition for the female roles. 

"Willem, there's no reason to test your acting. Everyone here knows that you're s great actor. I can testify to that."

"Thanks, Kazir."

"I guess both of us have an agreement then?"

1/3 of the people in the audition room were from Sony-Columbia and Marvel Comics and they didn't have a problem with Kazir's decision. They all watched Willem Dafoe's audition and it was amazing. Furthermore, his appearance sits well with the Norman Osborn they imagined. 

"I'll call my agent."

"I hope we can finalize this as fast as possible."

"I hope so too."