HWI 164

Hollywood What If Chapter 164

Matt Damon had complicated feelings for Director Grey. He respects him because of his achievements despite his young age. 

Most directors in their circle were over 30s. Someone like Kazir who was 29 years old and had successful cinematography this past few years was incredible. 

'I can't believe that he is only one year older than me...'

Matt Damon thought. 

As an actor, Matt Damon wanted to work with him. Of course, he could not deny that he was sad and perhaps holding a grudge against Director Grey. 

The Best Actor was taken by Liam Neeson in his role as Bryan Mills in Taken. 

The Best Original Screenplay was won by Kazir Grey, the director of Taken. 

He had nominations in both categories yet he lost against them. The Academy Awards were the dream of all actors/actresses in the industry. Some people were ready to exchange their bodies just to get the golden statue. 

Well, this thing was all in the past and Matt Damon was mature enough to understand. There was no reason to hold a grudge against a director. Especially when that director expressed his intention of casting him as the protagonist of his action movie. 

Action movie! 

For a 28-year-old man, of course he likes action movies! Furthermore, this was different from the war movie he participated in with Director Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. 

'Filming Saving Private Ryan is quite troublesome because we have to wear dirty uniforms and dirty our faces. On top of that, I don't like the weather in Ireland, it's not for me. Another factor is the atmosphere in the filming crew.'

He heard that Kazir Grey was easy to work with... Many actors who worked with Kazir Grey said that, but perhaps it was nothing but flattery and promotion purposes. 

Overall, his opinion of Kazir Grey was quite positive, subtracted from the Academy Awards. 

For that reason, Matt Damon agreed to meet Kazir Grey personally. This meeting was not serious and Kazir won't affect the negotiation between his agent Wilson and producer Harold. 

Kazir just wanted to meet Matt Damon. 

Just a few minutes, Kazir appeared, exiting a Honda car. They were going to meet in a cafe to talk about the project. 

Matt Damon stood and greeted Kazir, shaking his hand as well. 

"It's nice to meet you, Director Grey. Ah, congratulations, John Wick surpassed $200 million at the box office."

"Thanks." Kazir grinned. 

The worldwide box office already exceeded $200 million. To be precise, it was $213 million. The movie was still screening in some countries. Perhaps Paramount would settle the money next month. 

Grey Pictures already contacted a videotape manufacturer to produce 10 million copies of John Wick for the first batch. 

Thankfully, they have enough funds. The money that Taken brought was quite good and enough for Grey Pictures to relax for at least two years. The budget for The Bourne Identity and Taken 2 was not a problem for Grey Pictures. 

Furthermore, Kazir Grey could open his personal bank account to invest in the two movies if they were short on money. 

His bank account had more than $30 million. Perhaps he was going to invest in the stock market again. Microsoft and the other companies were doing well this year. 

His least problem right now was money, he has a lot of it. He didn't like spending extravagantly, he was very cheap towards himself. He didn't like buying stuff, his hobbies revolves around movies. He bought old movies once in a while to fill his library, but even that expenditure didn't exceed $1 million. 

"Let's talk about your role. I know you already read the script. I just have some questions, have you read the novels?"

"Yes, Jason Bourne should be an old man..."

In the novel, Jason Bourne was in his 50s. 

"I decided to adjust the age. Don't worry, Robert Ludlum agreed to that decision."

"I see..."

Matt Damon recalled that the two movies, Taken and John Wick, had old protagonists, ranging from 40 to 50 years old. 

Yet it seemed that Kazir Grey was trying to do something different... For a second, Matt Damon was concerned about that decision. 

'No, it's a good thing to me. If Jason Bourne is 50 years old, then I don't have the chance to get the role.'

He quickly learned. 

"I heard that you underwent training for Saving Private Ryan."

"Yes, but it focuses more on military training. As for action stunts, I'm still learning."

"It's fine, we have enough time."

Kazir was confident because he has fast filming. He believed that it won't be a problem to train Matt Damon and the other actors for three to four months. Besides, most of the action stunts would be filmed by using stunt doubles. 

These stunt doubles were professional and they can get the job done. 

'Harold didn't lie, Matt Damon really put more weight. He didn't look like a teenager anymore. His appearance is according to his age, which is 28 years old.'

Many actors decided to maintain their youthful appearance for the sake of their careers. It was hard for them to get mature roles. The only appropriate ones were teenage roles. 

Yet it seemed that Matt Damon was ready to transform, which was the best thing to do. 

'He is going to be 30 years old and it's time for him to take old and mature serious roles.'

Gaining weight for the Bourne Identity was the first step of his transformation. Once successful, Matt Damon's career had more paths to choose from. 

The two started talking about the movie. Surprisingly, they have a good conversation. Perhaps because of their ages...

Still, it didn't change the fact that Matt Damon looked younger than Kazir Grey even though their age was only one year apart. 

'The beard... My beard is the reason...'