Hollywood What If

Chapter 30

The big day came and Kazir had a hard time sleeping. When morning came, Kazir had dark circles around his eyes. He clearly hadn't slept properly. 

Yet he was too active to feel tired. He took a cold shower to wake up. 

Then he left his apartment and took his bumpy car to the studio. Next to the studio was a newsstand. Kazir bought a newspaper and grinned when he saw the front page of the New York Post. 

[$68 million! As of October 6, 1995. Se7en, directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, has grossed more than $68 million in 2500 theaters. From 47 million in its first seven days to 68 million in its second week. It garner 21 million at the North American box office in its second week. This week it has an average of $8,363 per theater!]

This news will probably make Hollywood companies lose their minds. This was good news for Kazir, who was eager to prove himself.

Today was the small screening of Napoleon Dynamite. New Line Cinema and Fox Searchlight Pictures had already said they would attend the screening of Napoleon Dynamite. 

There were four hours left in the schedule. Kazir arrived early because he had to set up the projector. 

As he entered the studio, he noticed that Rector was already there. 

"Rector, you're earlier than I am."

Kazir chuckled. He had the same reaction. A few minutes later, Renner and the others arrived. Even Ed Helms and Pedro Pascal helped with the preparations. 

This film was their door to Hollywood. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After all, they had important roles in the movie. 

If Napoleon Dynamite was released and did well, they would have a chance to become famous. 

An hour later, Reese Witherspoon showed up. She had been taking acting classes these days to improve her acting. She also has a "good" relationship with Kazir. 

She smiled at Kazir and approached him. 

"You look terrible."

It was the first time she saw him haggard with dark circles around his eyes. She thought this man was always calm, but it seemed she was wrong. 

'As long as it's about his movie, he's always excited.'

She realized that Kazir loved movies very much. Every transition, every cut, every angle, every lens, Kazir studied them seriously. 

They had watched a few movies in the last few days and she had learned more about him. She realized that Kazir was slowly becoming more attractive. In her opinion, a man who loves his career is handsome. 

"Hm. I have to set up the projector. I'll talk to you later, Reese."

"..."

If there was a problem, it was Kazir, who was too absorbed in his job. He didn't care about anything, not even the beautiful woman next to him. 

'Well, that's why he's attractive.'

There was a study that women like men who ignore them. They were attracted to that kind of man because they love the thrill of making them fall... Maybe this study was not real. But there was a saying that "girls like bad boys". 

Then the next group showed up to help Kazir and cheer him on.

"Salvatore."

Kazir greeted his agent. While Kazir was busy editing Napoleon Dynamite, Salvatore was meeting with companies that wanted to contact him. Kazir was grateful to have him.

Even though Salvatore was young and had only rookie actors under him, he didn't show any nervousness in front of the giant studios. 

"Kazir, this is my actor. His name is Park Hae-Won. He is half Korean like me."

"Hello, Director Grey."

"Hm." Kazir nodded at him.

He glanced at the Korean actor for a second before looking away. 

'Asian actors didn't have a strong influence in Hollywood, even in the future. Only a few Asian actors became successful in Hollywood, such as Jackie Chan and Jet Lee.'

To be honest, Kazir was confused as to why Salvatore signed an actor who had little potential under him. Was it because of his Korean heritage?

Besides, the man had a hard-to-pronounce name. He didn't even know which was his surname.

'Is it Park? Or Hae-Won?'

He would probably have to change his screen name. 

Anyway, Kazir was too busy to think about it. The hours passed and the people from the film companies arrived one by one. 

Kazir and Salvatore greeted them eagerly. Some of these executives were invited with the help of CAA. Salvatore Barlowe did his best to make sure that many film companies would watch the movie. 

The reason these people attended this screening was out of respect to CAA and to see if Kazir has potential. 

Se7en and Napoleon Dynamite were completely different genres. But that didn't stop them from seeing the movie. 

If this movie was profitable, they would buy it. It was that simple. 

The movie started with no logo, just the opening credits. Napoleon Dynamite hadn't signed a deal with a distributor. So the opening logo was still missing. Kazir would add it as soon as the deal was done. 

Minutes passed, and people burst out laughing and giggling. It didn't happen once, but several times. 

This showed one thing: Napoleon Dynamite was a funny movie. At least the reactions of the people from the distribution companies were good. 

Kazir had a satisfied smile when the movie ended. He could see that people were interested in working with him. 

"It's a good movie. If we have a chance, we can talk later, Mr. Grey."

A fat man approached him with a smile and shook his hand. 

"Mr. Weinstein, I'm glad to hear that."

Harvey Weinstein nodded. He could see that Kazir was interested as well. 

However, Harvey looked at the people from the other distribution companies. It seemed that he was not the only one who was interested in this movie. 

Se7en had been well received and no one wanted to let go of this Napoleon Dynamite. These two movies were written by Kazir Grey, this man has potential.  /Puji_maki