[Shout out to Andrew F!]
Hollywood What If Chapter 35
October 13th, 1995.
Se7en was already in its fourth week and was still raking in money at the theaters. The word of mouth about Se7en was very strong. People could not help but talk about the plot twists.
Starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, who have strong box office appeal, the movie grossed $84.75 million!
Minus production costs of $35 million and advertising of about $5 million. That left $44 million.
Of course, the theater companies had a 30-40% share of the total box office. Still, the rest would go back to New Line Cinema.
Plus, the movie was just getting started. New Line Cinema believed that Se7en could cross the $100 million mark within two weeks.
This information was enough for them to celebrate. Since Kazir was the screenwriter of the movie, New Line Cinema invited him to the celebration party.
Driving his bumpy car, Kazir arrived at the Chateau Marmont. This was one of the hotels in West Hollywood where you could party without being bombarded by paparazzi.
He rented a branded suit specifically for this party. Even though Kazir was paid $2.3 million last week, he was still stranger to luxury.
As per the contract, Kazir paid 50% of the $2.3 million to his brother Aaron Grey. It was business, and Kazir had to honor the contract.
Aaron was shocked to find $1.15 million in his bank account. He had talked to Kazir and he had finally accepted the money.
He could not believe that his half-a-million-dollar investment would turn into $1.15 million in just a few months!
He thanked Kazir and even invited him to visit New York for Christmas. That was when Aaron was going to propose to his girlfriend.
''Unfortunately, the taxes are probably going to screw us up.''
The biggest enemy of American citizens was taxes. Especially rich people who earned more than 1 million dollars a year. The IRS would personally knock on their doors.
''You can make fun of the president, the Pentagon, and the government. But you can''t make fun of the IRS, or they''ll kill your ass.''
As for taxes, Kazir contacted his lawyer, Terrence Downey, to register a studio company in Delaware. This was one of the best ways to evade taxes, it is completely legal.
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From then on, Kazir was president of a small studio company. He called his company "Grey Pictures".
He thought it was a good name.
Kazir entered the hotel. When he went to the formal party, he saw many famous people in the Hollywood circle.
As expected, the crew of Se7en was also present.
"To be honest, I''m not confident that this movie will have a good market response. I was really nervous."
Brad Pitt was talking to David Fincher. They were both holding wine glasses. Maybe they had a couple of 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 to find Kazir joining the party.
This was a formal party. So there were no drugs, no naked women dancing, and no deafening music.
"David..."
Kazir''s mouth trembled. His last drinking session with David Fincher had been a disaster. If possible, he didn''t want to drink alcohol today.
"Congratulations! I heard your movie came out yesterday. I wish you the best."
"David, I think you need to drink some water to sober up a bit."
"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 Kazir''s hand.
"Brad, you are a wonderful actor. I think you will have a great career."
"I heard you''re also a director. If you have a suitable role for me, you can invite me."
"Of course."
Kazir knew that this sentence could be nothing more than a respectful answer, a courtesy. Maybe Brad Pitt didn''t take his own words seriously.
Most actors would make such statements. Hoping that directors would invite them to act.
But for a superstar 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 accept the role easily easily.
"It''s nice to work with you."
"Me too."
They had 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 him for a favor if he had any suitable roles for them. Some of these may have been nothing more than courtesy.
"Kazir, our genius screenwriter!"
"Robert, good to see you."
"I didn''t expect you to finish your own movie after a few months."
Kazir maintained his smile and nodded. He had heard some bad rumors about Robert and he didn''t want to be on his bad side.
''Lord of the Rings grossed more than 2 billion. But director Peter Jackson never got his share. In the end, the case even went to court.''
Kazir didn''t know the details. But it was true that New Line Cinema had some shady dealings with Lord of the Rings.
"Unfortunately, there was no 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 we will take your script seriously."
"Thank you."
Robert laughed. He was in a good mood, considering that Se7en would gross over $100 million. Also, Se7en would be released overseas. He believed that Se7en would make money in other countries.
So he wasn''t disappointed that Kazir didn''t work with New Line Cinema on Napoleon Dynamite.
He didn''t think Napoleon Dynamite would be successful. More specifically, he didn''t believe in Kazir Grey as a director.
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