HWI 35

Hollywood What If Chapter 35

October 13, 1995.

Se7en was already in its fourth week and it was still raking in money from the theaters. The word of mouth of Se7en was very strong. People could not help but talk about the plot twists.

Starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman who had strong box office appeal, the movie had $84.75 million at the box office!

Minus the production cost of 35 million plus publicity of around 5 million. There was $44 million.

Of course, theater companies had a 30-40% share in the overall box office. Still, the remaining would return to New Line Cinema.

On top of that, the movie was just getting started. New Line Cinema believes that Se7en could break through $100 million within two weeks.

This information was enough for them to celebrate. Because Kazir was the screenwriter of the movie, he was invited by New Line Cinema to attend the celebration party.

With his bumpy car, Kazir reached the Chateau Marmont. This hotel was one of the hotels in West Hollywood where people could party.

He specifically rented a branded suit just for this party. Even though Kazir received 2.3 million last week, he was not used to luxury.

Just like what was written in the contract, Kazir settled 50% of $2.3 million to his brother Aaron Grey. It was a business and Kazir had to respect the contract.

Aaron was shocked when he learned that he received $1.5 million in his bank account. He had talked with Kazir and he accepted the money in the end. He could not believe that his half-a-million investment would turn into $1.15 million in just a few months.

He thanked Kazir and even invited him to visit New York at Christmas. Aaron would propose to his girlfriend at that time.

'Unfortunately, the tax will probably fucked us up.'

The greatest enemy of American citizens was tax. Especially rich people who earned more than 1 million dollars annually, IRS would knock on their doors.

You can fuck with the President, Pentagon, and the Government. But you can't make fun of IRS, or else they would kill your ass.

Regarding tax, Kazir contacted his lawyer to register a studio company in Delaware. This was one of the best ways to evade tax, besides, it's legal.

From then on, Kazir was a president of a company. He named his company "Grey Pictures".

In his opinion, the name was quite good.

Kazir entered the hotel. As he went to the formal party, he saw some famous people in the Hollywood circle.

As expected, the crew of Se7en attended the movie as well.

"To be honest, I'm not confident that this movie will have a good market response. I was really nervous."

Brad Pitt talked to David Fincher. They were both holding liquors, perhaps they already drunk a few glasses because their faces were red.

They were laughing. Their movie was successful, so they were celebrating.

"Kazir! You're here, at last!"

David Fincher turned around and found Kazir joining the party.

This was a formal party so there were no drugs, naked women dancing, and deafening music.

"David..."

Kazir's mouth trembled. His last drinking with David Fincher was a disaster. If possible, he didn't want to drink alcohol today.

"Congratulations! I heard your movie was released yesterday. I wish you the best."

"David, I think you need to drink water to sober a little."

"Hey, I'm still sober," David replied with a red face.

"Yeah right."

"Kazir, I want to thank you for recommending me. I heard that you're the one who recommended me for the role of Detective Mills."

Brad Pitt joined the conversation and shook hands with Kazir.

"Brad, you're a wonderful actor. I believe you will have a great career."

"I heard that you're a director. If you have a suitable role for me, you can invite me."

"Of course."

Kazir knew that this sentence might be nothing but a respectable response, a courtesy. Perhaps Brad Pitt didn't take his own words seriously.

Most actors would say these kinds of statements, hoping that directors would invite them to act. But for an actor like Brad Pitt, he had the will to accept the invitation. Unless Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, or Ridley Scott invited him, Brad Pitt would never be excited.

"It's nice to work with you."

"Me too."

They have a few conversations and the atmosphere was good. Everyone was happy because their movie was successful. Even Morgan Freeman joined them. More members joined their circle.

Some talked to Kazir and asked for a favor if he had suitable roles for them. Some of these might be nothing but courtesy.

"Kazir, our genius screenwriter!"

"Robert, it's nice to see you."

"I didn't expect that after a few months, you will finish your own movie."

Kazir kept his smile and nodded. He heard some bad rumors about Robert and he didn't want to be on his bad side.

Lord of the Rings earned more than 2 billion. Yet Peter Jackson never received his share. In the end, this case even went to court. Kazir didn't know the exact information. But it was the truth that New Line Cinema had some shady dealings with Lord of the Rings.

"Unfortunately, we didn't have a cooperation." Robert showed a disappointed face.

"Maybe next time."

"Indeed, next time. If you have another interesting script, you can send it to New Line Cinema. I assure you that we will take your script seriously."

"Thank you."

Robert laughed. He was in good considering that Se7en would exceed $100 million. Furthermore, Se7en would be released overseas as well. He believe that Se7en would rake money over the other countries.

So he was not disappointed that Kazir didn't cooperate with him regarding Napoleon Dynamite. He didn't believe that Napoleon Dynamite would be successful. To be exact, he didn't believe in Kazir Grey as a director.