HWI 51

Hollywood What If Chapter 51

"Sigh..."

Producer Enrico Pusi entered the room in a bad mood. He sat next to Kazir who was currently redrawing his storyboard. 

As a director, Kazir has substantial talent in drawing. So far he already finished the storyboard. He was just polishing his storyboard so that once the shooting started, he would never waste time on experimental shooting angles. 

Especially when the project signed an insurance contract with Merrill Lynch. He knew how troublesome the insurance company was. As much as possible, they would try their best to keep the production cost within the quota. 

Sometimes, directors hate insurance companies because they blocked their creativity. 

Perhaps one of the hated directors by the insurance company was James Cameron. That man would never hesitate to overspend just to achieve the best shots. 

"Sigh..."

"Why are you sighing?"

Because of their positions, the two have to have clear communication. So they mostly talk every day to make sure the project would have a smooth process. 

The job of a producer in the general term was overseeing the production process in film, television, or other commercial productions. This includes organizing, managing, and overseeing every single phase and aspect, including talent, creative team, deadlines, executives, and finances. 

To be honest, their job was much more troublesome than the director's. So a talented producer who could control the overall project was an important part. 

"We are having trouble with Ed Helms' salary." 

Enrico Pusi talked to Ed Helms' agent for the second time and it didn't have a good result. 

"Are they still asking for an extravagant amount?"

"5 million dollars. Heck, even Brad Pitt didn't earn that much when he starred in Se7en!"

Kazir just shrugged as he listened to his producer's grumbling. 

The more time he spent with Enrico, the more he realized that he was serious about his job. He had worst eye bags than Kazir right now. 

'Perhaps, he wants to use The Hangover to springboard his career.'

It was not a bad intention. Everyone has their own motives.

'At least he believes that The Hangover will be successful.'

"I don't understand why they are doing this. Everyone knows that Ed Helms doesn't have a strong reputation. Why are they asking for something impossible?"

As of now, only Napoleon Dynamite was Ed Helms's biggest role. In fact, most of the success came from Kazir who directed the movie. He had a good vision of what he wanted to film. 

Kazir just listen. He didn't bother explaining why this situation was happening. 

'It's probably because I rejected the WMA's "sincerity". It didn't sit well with them so they are trying to kick me in a different way.'

However, both sides understood that this was not the right thing to do. 

Kazir could find another actor for the role of Stu. He didn't have to stick so much with Ed Helms.

WMA understood it too. If they tried to act tough, then Ed Helms would lose this project. If things went worst, Ed Helms might jump into another agency because WMA kept fucking with his decision. 

"Enrico, I suggest you talk to them that Ed Helms is not our first choice. We have many actors to choose from."

"But I thought you want to hire Ed Helms?"

"Let's not joke around. Yes, I want him to cooperate with me again. But I prioritize the project over him. I believe that WMA and Ed Helms understand that too."

Kazir said while drawing the scene where Mike Tyson punched Alan. 

Speaking of Mike Tyson, the legendary boxer came out of jail last year. 

'Mike Tyson is a different beast after his time in jail.'

If there is a person who can kill a person in one punch, that's probably Mike Tyson. 

'Thankfully, Enrico Pusi convinced Mike Tyson to cameo in the movie.'

Enrico told them that they could use the movie to promote Mike Tyson's fight against Bruce Seldon. 

Just like movies, boxing matches need promotion too. 

"I will talk to Ed Helms tomorrow. I will tell him that 1.5 million is the best I can offer. If they didn't agree, then we will find another actor. By the way, do you have anyone to recommend?"

"Hm...? I think there's an actor who audition for the role of Stu who reached the 3rd round. If I'm not wrong, his name is Steve Carell. We can contact him if the negotiation with Ed Helms didn't work."

"Okay... Are you really sure you want to keep the movie Rated R? Look, I know that the pervasive language and sexual content are a must, but why don't you tone it down?"

"Enrico, we already talked about this together with Terry Semel. We both agree that the movie will lose its strength if we keep it PG-13."

Kazir stopped what he was doing and stared into Enrico's eyes. 

Just like most directors, Kazir didn't like it when someone tried to disturb his creativity. 

He wanted to film the movie with a resemblance to the original. So making it PG-13 would be disastrous. 

"O- Okay. I will never speak about it again."

Enrico Pusi realized that he stepped over his boundaries. He knew so many directors that would fight the producers just to keep their control over the shooting. 

So far, his relationship with Kazir was good and he wanted to maintain it. He believed that this would not be his last time cooperating with Kazir. 

He sighed and left the room after telling him his problem regarding Ed Helms' salary. 

"Oh, before I leave, Nokia agreed with sponsoring the movie. They would pay us 1 million dollars first. Once the movie exceeded 100 million dollars at the North American box office, they will pay us another 1 million."

"How about the global box office? Do they have conditions?"

"We are still negotiating about. However, we already have an agreement that they will sponsor the movie."

"That's good to hear."

Just like that, the $35 million budget of The Hangover recouped 1 million dollars.