Capítulo 122: Chapter 115. Part 1.
Disclaimer: The story takes place on an Alternate Earth with a slightly different timeline of events. Therefore, people may be born earlier, later, or not at all. This gives me more freedom to write about the characters as I want.
Additionally, the characters in my story are not accurate portrayals of their real-life counterparts. Please remember that this story is just a wish fulfillment tale set in Urban Hollywood with some fantasy elements due to the system's shenanigans, so please don't take it too seriously.
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Opening Author's Note: First I would like to say how many I am say that another patron has joined my pat reon page. Thank you Mr. Abbott for the support. It really means a lot.
If you guys would like to support my work then head over to the patr eon page the link will be in the author's thoughts section at the bottom of the chapter or just google my name theramenlord and patr eon together (no spaces).
You will get 3 advanced chapters of this story, 9 chapters of my Naruto Road To Kage fanfic thats due to be released on webnovel soon and 5 chapters of Star Wars Phantom Menace Revised Script.
Anyways I had taken the time to go through a few guidelines of webnovel authors and found that the preferred chapter length should be around 2k to 2.5k words and should never exceed 3k words.
Suffice to say I had found the reason of so many of my writing problems on the webnovel app. But not to worry the schedule won't change I was supposed to deliver chapter 115 today and it will be done just in parts though.
I hope you don't mind, anyways on to the chapter and I hope you enjoy.
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~ Quote of the chapter ~
"Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer."
— The Godfather
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Date: 20th, March, 1991.
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Time: 05:08 pm.
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"Why are we here James?" A handsome middle aged man asked, though due to a lifetime spent in the gym, he looked like someone in their 30s.
"Hmm?" James, his friend and colleague, questioningly hummed as he was brought out of his thoughts.
"We should be out there looking for buyers, not wasting time waiting to watch an art film." He said indignantly, saying the last two words of his statement snidely, as he looked down on art films.
And why wouldn't he, the man was an action star, his life was mostly focused only on two things: Making the best action movies and Earning the highest box office.
"Arnie.." James finally said, letting out a sigh, "Take a look around, and tell me what you see." He gestured with his head for him to take a look around.
The handsome middle aged man now identified as Arnie let you breathe and peered into the crowd to see if there really was anyone worth paying attention to, he spoke to his friend about whoever he saw and thought about them.
"I see fans excited to see the new movie made by their idol. I see a bunch of stuffy critics eager to rip this film to shreds. Just so that they can prove superior taste in art, despite not even having an iota of creative talent to make something themselves."
"I see those devilish reporters that can't stop putting words in my mouth, trying to trip me up in interviews all just so they can get a headline. I see many industry insiders; directors like you, actors like me and even people who work behind the scenes."
James gave him a questioning look at that last statement, so he explained himself, "I remember that woman, she was my make artist in Terminator. I causally flirted with her for fun and gave an autograph for a family member of hers."
"But I think these aren't the people you were asking me to take a look at, you wanted me to take a look at those stuck up studio heads."
"The ones who usually never show their faces anywhere except for the celebration parties of their own movies. Parties that are nothing but a dick measuring contest between them."
"Pretty much.. yeah. But why do you think they are here?" James admitted that his answer was correct.
But he felt a little uncomfortable at the crass language his friend used against such powerful people out in the open. Thankfully he was mindful enough to lower his voice that only he could hear him.
"I don't know.. to assess their competition maybe?" Arnie shrugged as he replied nonchalantly.
"You would be right. Marc Spector and Eidolon Entertainment," he said with an envious sigh, "it hasn't even been a year since he has arrived in the industry and he has already caused a huge shift in power."
"850 million dollars.. yeah I know." Arnie replied, still acting unimpressed, though on the inside he was burning with the desire to top that number with a movie of his.
James finally began explaining the reason for their presence in the crowd. "It's not that his movie earned $850 million at the box office, Arnie. It's the fact that out of those $850 million over 300 were made internationally."
James then began to explain just why that feat was impressive. "Before he came along.. The highest international box office gross was held by the re-release of E.T. a few years back and even that was just $67 million."
"That young man you see on stage broke that record by over 4 times. By. Four. Times." He pointed towards Marc, who was introducing his film's theme and agenda to the crowd and warning them that it isn't for the faint of heart.
"Marc Spector currently is a bigger superstar, a bigger brand than any other in Hollywood. Bigger than even you Mr. Schwarzenegger." James looked him in the eye as he said that, and he couldn't really refute as the numbers weren't in his favor.
"These bigwigs want to see just what it is that makes him so special, they want to see if they can win him over or not and if not.." He spoke ominously and then stopped in the middle leaving the threat hanging in the air unsaid.
Though it seemed Arnold didn't mind speaking his thoughts out loud. "They will use any means necessary to destroy him."
"Yup.. and that would've definitely been the case if he had been foolish enough to stand alone." He spoke with a smirk on his face as he felt like he was one of the few who had seen through Marc's Masterplan.
"But that young man you saw a few minutes ago welcoming every single person himself, that came to watch this art film of his.. is a very clever man." He said putting extra stress on the word to show just how highly he regarded Marc.
"He has already closely allied himself with [Universal Studio's], so one of the "Big Five," is already in his pockets."
"Oh yeah, I heard about that." Arnold nodded remembering that he had heard the same.
James nodded, and said, "Then you must have also heard that he has gotten himself an executive producer position for Steven's upcoming film [Jurassic Park] and is splitting the profits of that movie 50/50 with universal."
"What?! A 50/50?! With Universal? James please tell me you're pulling my leg?" He still whispered but in an alarmed tone that conveyed just how shocked he was upon hearing that from his friend.
"Nope, the guy is a mastermind."
"Firstly, he used his IP to get the marketing and distribution services of Universal while protecting his IPs." James replied proudly.
He had been trying to understand Marc's action for the past few months, he used up a lot of favors to dig information at Universal. But he finally struck gold and now he felt like he understood at least a part of the Spector's plan.
"And now that he has proven his ability to dominate the box office, Universal was forced to re-negotiate with him."
"Though from what I heard, he quite generously gave them the marketing cut of his films that they had purposefully rejected before."
"Wait a minute, isn't that worth like millions of dollars? Why would he do that?" Arnold was shocked that someone would be willing to give up that much money.
"More like hundreds of millions, Arnie." Arnold was so flabbergasted by the statement that he just stayed mum.
"As for why? It was because he asked something in return that even money can't buy." James replied cryptically, teasing his friend, it wasn't like he was trying to hide it from him.
After all, despite his muscles and dumb looking face, inside that head is a sharp mind. He knew what he could and couldn't say and to whom he could or couldn't tell it to.
"And what's that?" Arnold asked, his curiosity had been raised.
"The Right of First Refusal and an express guarantee to back his films in case the "dog's start barking" at them." He said, trying to imitate Marc's voice.
"He said that..?" Arnold asked, feeling numb at this point from the constant shocks he had gotten.
"Word for word." James replied seriously.
"God Damn, the kids got balls of diamond." James nodded in agreement.
"Wait.. right of refusal for what?" Arnold asked, his mind going back to the first condition.
"For Universal." James leaned in slightly and replied in a soft voice.
"What do you mean?.." Arnold asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.
"Marc Spector or maybe I should say [Eidolon Entertainment] has reserved the rights to buy [Universal Studios], before they can sell it to anyone else." James explained what right he was talking about.
"Holy s***!" Arnold whispered, as his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Wait, was that even in the meeting?" He remembered hearing about it, but the numbers behind the deal were hidden from him. Thankfully an executive producer at Universal was a friend of James so he got to know about such critical information.
"I don't think it was, according to the rumors, they met up with Marc again and gave him better terms to win him over. So that he would sign an exclusivity contract with them." James revealed the last bit of information he had on the young man.
"Wait, weren't they already in that kind of contract to begin with?" Arnold was surprised to hear about this, as normally an exclusivity contract was the first thing one big five shoved in a director's face when it came to movie making.
"Nope, it was always open ended on Marc's side. He fully produced his movie with his own money, so that's why they had no leverage to use against him."
"Wait so he could leave and choose any other studio he wanted at any moment if he got a better deal?" Arnold was surprised to hear how badly Universal had dropped the ball on this.
"Yep and after the huge success of Knives Out they were just desperate to sign that deal." He said with a grin happy to see one of the Big Five swallow a hard rock.
"Damn, Marc must've squeezed the hell out of them, for taking such a deal." Arnold said with a satisfied grin, happy that the big studios were taken down a peg.
"Obviously," James nodded in agreement but then shrugged as he muttered, "though I don't know the specifics of that."
"Wait, but does Marc even have that kind of money? I know the guys a multi-millionaire.. but Universals gotta be worth at least 4 to 5 billion dollars." Arnold was curious to know but even more curious to see if James had the answer to that as well.
"I told you, he ain't alone in this. He is backed by the [Crown Consortium's] managing head, Nicholas Crown. I've even heard rumors that they're close friends."
"Woah.. You've really done your research." Arnold said, genuinely impressed.
"Obviously, these people," he points at the studio heads, "they are desperate for a good movie and we," he points at himself and Arnold, "can give it to them."
"I am confident if I can pitch Terminator 2's script to them, they'll see it as well; and that's why we are here."
"But haven't we already tried that? We've already made the offer to all the big names in Hollywood and they all turned us down and rightly so." Arnold said with a shrug, deciding to speak his mind.
"If I had been in their place even I wouldn't have the balls to bet over a hundred million dollars on this film." He shrugged hopelessly.
"Marc has gone through the trouble of bringing the top dogs of Hollywood under roof. There isn't a better place than this to find a buyer."
"Okay, but why would they buy from us when they already refused to do it before." Arnold asked, wanting to hear what James' real plan was.
"Mark has been gathering IPs and franchises from the very moment he entered into the industry and now he is under everyone's watch."
"If I can just talk to him for a few minutes, make it seem like he is interested in our script and wants to strike a deal with us. Then it doesn't matter even if Marc refuses us just like the others."
"Because I am sure after seeing me and Marc talking happily about collaborating, someone else definitely will be interested in our script. It doesn't matter if it's Disney or Universal or Fox."
"So you're using Marc as bait to attract investors?" Arnold asked back, finally understanding James' plan, he was really impressed by his friend's savviness.
"Yup." James nodded.
"But what if Marc is interested?" Arnold asked again.
"Hmm, you're right. He could be, and you know? He actually would be the ideal person to strike this deal with."
Arnold nodded his head but then stopped and couldn't help but ask, "him?"
"Yup, him. The kid's crazy, Arnie. He has the drive and the obsession that is needed to make it in this industry, I am telling you he'll be big." James replied fully confident in his assessment.
"He's crazy, I will give you this." Arnold nodded in agreement, "But why is he your top choice?"
"Who else do you think has the balls to make an R rated art film that costs over $50 million? He clearly wants to tell the story of the killing joke, no matter how much it costs him." He said earnestly, explaining what he believed was Marc's approach to filmmaking.
"That conviction is what I need in the kind of man I want backing me. I don't want a pussy who'll fold because we went over budget and ask me to cut corners when I know I absolutely can't." James said derisively, remembering the bastards who wanted to cut back on Terminator's budget.
"You and I both know that Terminator 2 will cost a lot of money to make. Do you think the other studio's will just give me that money?" James asked with a deadpan face.
"They will, right?.. If they see you talking.."
"Yeah, maybe.. but it's not that easy, they will take their sweet time getting to us, time that we don't really have. And also that kind of a deal will come with a lot of strings attached." James explained the downsides of dealing with the big five as an independent filmmaker.
"So you think Marc will accept your offer to buy Terminator 2 from Gale, your ex-wife?" Arnold asked with a frustrated smile, even though he was a good friend, James really got on his nerves sometimes.
"I know I have already told this to you so many times that I might sound like a broken record but you really shouldn't mix business and pleasure."
"You and I both know that the only reason Gale's refusing to sell to any buyer you bring in and upping the price for the rights of Terminator is because you went behind her back and did it on set."
"We were—" James tried to speak in his defense but Arnold just refused to hear his excuses.
"Please, I don't want to hear it. Now we need to think how much will your vindictive ex-wife gonna ask for in return for her half of the right to Terminator?" Arnold asked with dread because he knew a woman that had been scorned was like a dog that had bit his favorite bone, it was going to be a Herculean task to get her to let go.
"I don't know, Arnie, I just hope we get a buyer who can throw enough money at her that she lets go." James replied though he failed to instill any confidence in Arnold, because the two knew it wasn't about money anymore but rather a personal feud.
"Anyways, the movie's starting." James said helplessly, opting to focus his mind on the movie and forgetting his ex for at least an hour or two.
"You speak as if this movie will have anything that's worth watching." Arnold said, not thinking that the movie would be any good. It was a noir crime drama, he felt like it was gonna bore him to death.
"Then let's make a bet, any scene that shocks you or impresses you. You'll hand me 5 dollars." James spoke up, deciding to have a little fun.
"What if I lie?" He said, indignantly.
"It's a gentleman's bet." James replied with a shrug.
"Fine, I agree." He agreed grumpily, still confident that the movie won't amount to much.
"Good, let's shake on it." James said as they shook hands and then looked forward as the Studio introduction animation ended.
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"An art film, you said?" James Cameron mockingly asked Arnold as they both witnessed one of the best introductions a villain has ever been given in a film.
"It's just the beginning, let's see if he can top this." Arnold replied with a grumble handing him 10 dollars, honoring the bet.
"Thanks for the free money." James replied with a happy smirk.
— To be continued…
In the next episode of Naruto: Road To Kage
*Cough* *Cough*
I meant in the next chapter of Hollywood: Head-Hunting System.
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Word Count: 2784 words (after excluding the disclaimer, opening Author's Note and the closing Author's Note.)
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{Closing Author's Note: Sorry for not being able to upload this chapter all at once, as I mentioned in the opening note webnovel is a beach.
Anyways enjoy I will be posting the next part in the 15 to 20 mins just need to copy paste its already been edited. But if you spot any mistakes let know in the comments.
Also this chapter doesn't have a name so please suggest one. Thank you so much reading, this is my passion project and you reading it means the world to me. Love you guys bye and I hope you have a beautiful day 😁 👍
P.S. the link to my patre on is right below in the Author's Thoughts}
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