HWI 115

Hollywood What If Chapter 115

The Marvel Studios. It was a production company that Marvel Comics founded to try to revive their company. After they witnessed how Spider-Man took over the world, Marvel Comics found a reason to stay alive. 

Sony-Columbia had the movie copyright of Spider-Man but Marvel had the other copyrights such as the comics, merchandise(costumes, toys, etc), and games. 

Marvel earned profit after the release of Spider-Man. The comics related to Spider-Man spiked in sales and even products related to Spider-Man were sold out. 

It was a win-win situation for Marvel and Sony-Columbia. After that, many film companies tried to buy their superheroes but Marvel was adamant to keep them. 

Marvel already lost some of their big superheroes such as the X-Men and Fantastic Four. Marvel was gritting its teeth after they sold X-Men and Fantastic Four to 20th Century Fox. They regret that.

In fact, they regret almost every superhero they sold. They did their best just to acquire the movie copyright of Hulk and other superheroes. 

When the 2000s arrived, Warner Bros had the idea of bringing the Justice League to the screen by releasing Superman Returns and Batman Begins. The information regarding this was limited and no one could confirm if Warner Bros was really trying to start a Cinematic Universe. But it was clear that Batman Begins had a bit of a superhero-esque vibe unlike The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. 

Unfortunately, Superman Returns was a big disappointment. So Warner Bros decided to make the Dark Knight Trilogy instead.

While DC was busy with The Dark Night Trilogy, Marvel set up a plan and started their Cinematic Universe as well. 

The superhero they bet on was none other than Incredible Hulk... However, working with Edward Norton was not that good. They decided to change the actor, perhaps Edward Norton had an extravagant salary and Marvel Studio could not afford it. 

Marvel Studio wavered at their decision at first. But their next movie said so otherwise. 

Iron Man was distributed by Paramount and it was successful. A second-rate superhero like Iron Man became one of the most famous superheroes in the next decade. Everyone knows him, Tony Stark, Iron Man, and Robert Downey Jr. 

Kazir never expected that his first opening movie for the Continental Cinematic Universe was distributed by Paramount. Perhaps it was a good sign. 

'On top of that, they agreed on signing two more movies for the same contract. It's a very good contract.'

A 25% box office fee contract was hard to come by. Even Kazir was shocked when he heard Paramount's intention. Well, it was a good thing for Grey Pictures. At least they didn't have to worry about their two upcoming projects. They solved their problem for a while. 

With the exchange of the Meet The Parents script, Kazir felt like the negotiation was worth it. Unlike Meet The Parents which had three possible movies, Taken was the first movie of the Continental Cinematic Universe. It was very important, billions lie in this movie alone. Although Kazir was the only one who would think so. 

As of now, nobody thinks that Cinematic Universe was profitable. But once some pioneered it, every film company would salivate. 

"Paramount will release the movie at midnight on July 24, 1997. Two weeks from now."

It was basically July 25 since it was released at midnight, but oh well. 

The thing was that Taken had a strong opponent to face. Air Force One starring Harrison Ford would be released on the same day.

'Sigh... I can't help it. Paramount already set a schedule for their movies. They can't prioritize Taken over their own movies. They can't give us a good release date since the summer schedule is already packed.'

It was already a good thing that Taken had a release schedule. Besides, Paramount already showed their sincerity by giving a good distribution contract. 

'The first promotion budget for Taken is $4 million. If the movie didn't get much results, they will stop the advertisement.'

So for now, all Kazir could do was trust in his movie... He was actually scared because Air Force One was a strong opponent. It was part of the top 10 box office movies of 1997. 

"I hope Sony-Columbia will not do something bad. I can't protect myself since Taken is under Grey Pictures. If Sony-Columbia tried to cause trouble, I can't defend myself against the media."

Paramount would not protect him and neither Warner Bros and 20th Century Fox. This was the cons of not cooperating with the big six, he was all open with no defense. 

'That's why I prefer working with the big six. Because their umbrella is secure. They will never hurt me as long as I'm useful.'

Kazir was lying if he said that he was not interested in making his own film company. However, he knew that it was the most stupid decision he could make. Setting up distribution channels was not that simple. The Big Six already absorbed almost all companies that had distribution channels. 

DreamWorks and Lionsgate might try but their performance was not that good. 

Even in the next two decades, DreamWorks and Lionsgate didn't have international distribution. 

Once he showed his intention of setting up a distribution channel, the big six would destroy him. Just like what they did to their competitors. 

'If you can't defeat them, join them. Besides, I didn't like working with business. It's a hassle. I prefer making movies than leading a company.'

Just like that, Kazir Grey let the time pass. Waiting till the release date of Taken. Not going to lie, Kazir Grey was lonely because Reese Witherspoon was gone. She was busy regarding The Hangover 2. 

[Author's Note: Do you want this novel to be a harem or not? Although I can't assure you that all of your favorite actresses will be part of the harem. In the first place, I didn't want to focus on romance. Anyway, say Yes if you want a harem. Say No. If you don't. Comment down the actresses you like, I might set up scenes for them.]