HWI 172

Hollywood What If Chapter 172

Sony-Columbia was the weakest of all Big-Six, no one could deny that. What they needed was a bunch of movies that would make them relevant. 

In the next decades, the only movie that made them well known was Spider-Man, Anything related to it such as Venom, Spider-Verse, and erm Morbius? Perhaps Men In Black might be great but its influence was weaker compared to Spider-Man. 

If this negotiation ended in cooperation with Sony-Columbia, one thing was sure, Sony-Columbia would gain the power to fight the other film companies. 

In the first place, the reason why the company was weak was of lack of good movies in their library. They were different from Warner Bros and could pull Batman every decade. They didn't have the strength in animation that Walt Disney possessed. 

'In short, my decision can alter the balance of power in this industry...'

Such a thought made Kazir smile. He could not believe that a director like him could do that. 

The scripts he was going to sell were all comedy movies that had one or two sequels in them. Meaning, Sony-Columbia could make a profit for at least a decade if they make it right. 

These movies were: Bruce Almighty, Anchorman, and Horrible Bosses. These movies had good performance at the box office, grossing at least $200 million worldwide. 

In fact, Kazir was interested in selling the romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Although he decided to hold for a few years before making a decision. 

'20% is not bad. No, it's already a steal. Almost no company to this contract unless they are crazy.'

Well, based on the situation, Sony-Columbia was crazy for offering this kind of contract. 

"How many movies does Sony-Columbia want to distribute?"

If Sony-Columbia only wanted to distribute The Bourne Identity, then this negotiation was over. It would be detrimental to sell three of his scripts for one movie distribution. It should be 3 movies at least. 

"Four to five movies."

Kazir nodded. He could feel the sincerity. Perhaps Sony-Columbia was getting desperate because their rivals were getting better while they remained stagnant. 

"I'll be honest, out of all the people who contact me, Sony-Columbia is the most sincere."

"I'm glad to hear that." Lee Himura smiled. However, he didn't feel good about this negotiation. Clearly, Sony-Columbia was the loser in this transaction. 

If not for the nagging of his boss, Lee Himura won't do this. If there was a good thing, the responsibility of negotiating a 20% box office share with Grey Pictures was not his. It came from the higher-ups. 

If this negotiation leads to doom, he is innocent... Although he might get fired if that happened. So his mood was not good. He just hoped that Kazir Grey would not ask for a lower distribution fee. 

"Still, I need to think about it. Just like what I said earlier, I need three days to consider it."

'If another film company offered me a better condition, of course I would sign with them.'

Kazir smiled. There was nothing wrong with his decision. 

'Even if I anger one or two companies in the Big Six, I still have other companies to work with. Of course, let's pray that they won't work together to crush me, just like what they did with DreamWorks. Dividing the company into two.'

"... I understand."

Lee Himura bowed. He already did his best. Anything lower than 20% would be detrimental. That was the lowest they could offer. If Kazir Grey still said no, so be it. 

The producer from Sony-Columbia shook hands with Kazir before leaving. 

.........

......

...

While the negotiation was ongoing, 20th Century Fox invited him to participate in the pre-production of Napoleon Dynamite III which was set to be released in the summer or later this year. 

Kazir was not a fool, he knew that this was just a method for Tom Rothman to talk to Kazir personally. 

He already did his job and passed most of the work to the writers. In fact, Kazir didn't touch the script of Napoleon Dynamite III that much. He only gave some suggestions. 

He knew that he was not a genius. It would be better for the writers to build the plot. 

'If I'm not wrong, this might be the last movie. Completing the trilogy. The salary of the cast is getting bigger and Fox Searchlight Pictures can't afford them anymore. Before the salary became bigger, they decided to end the trilogy and get as much money as possible.'

As for the result of the last installment of Napoleon Dynamite, Kazir Grey had no clue. This movie never happened in the original timeline. 

Just as he expected, when Kazir visited the filming studio, he saw some people he recognized. 

The director, Hugo Lameire, looked at Kazir and nodded. There was no handshake or greeting. The director just passed by.

'... I have no idea why he's like that, but who cares.'

He shrugged. Kazir then found Ed Helms, Pedro Pascal, and even Reese Witherspoon. The actors greeted him but no one stayed longer. 

As for Kazir, he was mature enough to understand the situation. He kept his smile and talked to the writers responsible for the movie. 

Yet a minute after he conversed with them, Tom Rothman appeared out of nowhere like a fucking mushroom. 

"Kazir! Haha, it's nice to meet you! How's your day? By the way, congratulations to John Wick and The Hangover 2! Damn, I still regret that I didn't sign a contract with you!"

"Tom, my day is going well..."

'Until you showed up.'

He swallowed the latter part of the sentence. It seemed that even the big shot of 20th Century Fox was interested in his scripts to show enthusiasm like this. 

'So who will I meet tomorrow, Michael Eisner, Michael Ovitz? Or perhaps Brad Grey.'

He shook his head. Such was the life of the most sought director in this era. 

[Author's Note: Are you interested in adding the Blair Witch Project to the story? Although it might make this year's(1999) plot a bit longer.]