HWI 129

Hollywood What If Chapter 129

"Sometimes I'm asking myself if you're even a human. How can you stay in your office for a week without leaving?"

Renner Hector and Harold Witsend were both in Kazir's office. The office looked clean but the sketches on the table almost covered the whole table. Kazir didn't have the space to put his belongings. 

"I'm fine. I don't need rest."

"The reason why we want a vacation is because we need rest. However, the vacation can help you too. Yet I can't believe that you decided to coop in this room and spent your month working! Kazir, have mercy on yourself!"

Harold massaged his throbbing forehead. He knew that Kazir Grey was a workaholic bastard. In fact, that was one of the reasons why he was divorced by Cassandra. 

"You can't start a family if you're going to stay like this."

"I just recently divorced. I don't have any intention of marrying. Let's see about it once I got there."

"But still, you need rest for peace."

"Harold, I understand that you are worried about me. But I'm fine. Doing what I love brings me peace."

Some of the members of the crew were married and they need time for their families. Going to a foreign land to film a movie was already a hard thing to do. 

Thankfully, the three men in the office were single. Although Harold was interested in a woman and they were going to have a dinner this weekend. 

"Kazir, I know that you're not the type who will recklessly spend just to get the perfect shot. I hope that you will film John Wick here in the country."

"I understand, I already thought of that. That's why I need the crew to find the locations here in California. Especially the building that will be the Continental Hotel."

Unlike Taken which was set in France, the setting of John Wick was in the United States. 

For genuine purposes, the production crew flew to France to film Taken. 

And for the same reason, they would film John Wick in the United States. 

Paramount already gave them a studio to film some indoor shots. They already found some houses too. The only thing they were having trouble with was the Continental Hotel. 

This hotel was iconic in the John Wick universe. This was a place where assassins could drop their weapons and talk like human beings. 

There's no killing inside the Continental Hotel. John Wick suffers because of this reason throughout Chapter 2 and the next sequels.

"This is my job so I'll take care of it."

The one usually responsible for this kind of job was the Director and the Cinematographer. These two positions were usually obsessed with the beauty of an image/scenery. So they would never choose a mediocre place as a location unless they didn't have the budget. 

If there were important locations they have to focus on, these should be John Wick's house, Continental Hotel, and the road they use for the car chasing scene. 

The crew already contacted the municipality of Los Angeles. Los Angeles was the place of Hollywood and this city had many movie projects every year. 

"Let's not talk about my vacation. Instead, let's tackle our problem regarding the investment."

"Our investment is still ranging from $30 to $40 million. It all depends on the cast we will hire."

The main reason why production costs went up these years was because of the salary of the actors. Agents realized the importance of 1st tier actors and used them to make money. Well, Agencies were the companies that protected and prioritized the concerns of actors/actresses. 

Back then, in the early years of Hollywood, studio companies used actors like they were disposals. 

Acting under the rain. 

Forcing underage actors/actresses to kiss. No working limits for underage actors. 

Using dangerous chemicals for props. 

The laws regarding actors were incomplete back then. Studio companies never respect them. 

Even if agencies were like leeches, it was true that they would protect their clients... the opposite might happen as well. 

For franchises and trilogy movies, it was important to hire the same actors. Because of it, the said actors would ask for more salary. 

Grey Pictures decided that they must sign the cast with a trilogy or more contracts so that they won't have trouble later. 

Because of that, Grey Pictures was not confident that they cast a famous actor. It was already a miracle that Liam Neeson agreed to their conditions. 

"We are talking about this topic because of the information we received. Apparently, Harrison Ford is interested in the movie. Obviously, he is asking for a whopping $10 million and a 10% worldwide box office share. Another obvious thing, he is not going to sign a trilogy contract."

The three men both shook their heads. They have the same answer, no. 

Harrison Ford is a great actor but it's impossible to hire him. He has more than a salary than the director. Kazir only has a $5 million salary for this movie. 

If they sign Harrison Ford for a single movie, their plan of creating the Continental Cinematic Universe would vanish. 

Kazir didn't want a situation like Edward Norton and The Incredible Hulk. 

"I can agree to his conditions if he signed a trilogy and cameos. But Harrison Ford definitely did not like that kind of thing."

Even though they invited him, Kazir never had the intention of casting the man. He was basing his decision on a business standpoint. 

"So let's decide once we hired all of the cast. For now, our minimum investment is $30 million."