HWI 4
Hollywood What If Chapter 4
"Sigh..."
David Fincher let out a depressing sigh and looked at the newspaper.
It had already been three years, but he was still dwelling on his mistake.
His last movie, "Alien 3", earned less than he expected. The movie only made 55 million in North America. It may sound big, but the budget of "Alien 3" was 60 million dollars.
"Fortunately, it earned more than 100 million internationally..."
But that was not enough to revive it. In the end, 20th Century Fox didn't want him to take over the sequel.
In a way, David Fincher was responsible for "Alien 3" flopping. So no one wanted to work with him on another movie.
His future was bleak and David Fincher was depressed about it. He shook his head and put down the newspaper.
Then he heard someone put something in the mailbox and David decided to check it out. He didn't have anything to do anyway.
"I never ordered anything. Is it the bills?"
The mailman was gone when David went outside. He approached his mailbox. He noticed a thick document inside.
"Kazir Grey..."
David was confused, but he opened it anyway. There was a name, but he did not know nor recall this person.
As soon as he closed the door, David opened the documents and started reading.
"This is...!"
Half an hour later, David Fincher was surprised after reading the script. The script caught his interest.
Then he realized that this script had to become a movie. He wanted to see it on the screen. He started flipping the pages with excitement.
David Fincher found Kazir Grey's contact information and quickly got up. He took a bath, shaved his beard, and dressed well.
He had to meet this person, Kazir Grey. Even if he had to beg him, he wanted to lead this project.
He picked up his phone.
"Hello? Is this Kazir Grey? Yes, yes, I'm David Fincher. Wait, what? You sent it to the wrong person? No no! Mr. Kazir, can we talk? Then I'll meet you. Thank you."
Kazir Grey combed through his hair, making sure he looked nice.
"Unfortunately..."
He laughed bitterly as he looked at his stomach. He had a fat belly and a dad bod, even though he didn't have any children.
He loved to eat fatty food and didn't exercise much.
"Let's sign up for a gym as soon as I hit this pitch."
He wanted to change his life. He got a second chance and he wanted to make his life better.
Right now, Kazir was in a restaurant near the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
'One day, my name will be on one of those stars.'
Getting your name on the famous walkway may seem easy if you have money, but it was only possible if you achieved success in the entertainment industry. Someone like Kazir Grey would never get it unless he became a successful director.
'But for now, I have to find a way to get an achievement first. I'm confident in my script. After all, this script has already proven its strength in my past life.'
"Hello, are you Kazir Grey?"
"Yes, Mr. David Fincher."
David Fincher sat down across the table after greeting Kazir.
"I saw your movie, Alien 3 is amazing."
"Thank you."
David smiled. He appreciated Kazir's praise, even if it was a lie. It was enough that someone recognized him.
Besides, he had to convince Kazir Grey to let him direct the movie.
"Kazir, I'll get right to the point. I want to direct your script and make it into a movie."
"I'm glad you like my script, David. To be honest, I contacted a lot of production companies, but they never took me seriously."
"Is that so?"
David was shocked. The script has a selling point and he believed that the production companies would see it too.
"Well," Kazir combed his hair. "I asked them to let me direct it, but they immediately shook their heads when they heard my proposal."
"..."
David Fincher became silent. He knew very well that no one would agree to Kazir's terms. It would be stupid to let an unknown director direct a movie with a budget of 30 million dollars.
"Kazir, please listen to me. Let me direct it."
Kazir nodded.
"David, I know. Nobody will let me direct it. But if it's you, the chances are better. But I have one condition."
"I'll do it, as long as it's not unreasonable." David was serious. He fell in love with the script and wanted to direct it.
"Don't worry David, my condition is simple. I hope to be one of the screenwriters."
"No problem, that's my condition too. I want the original writer to help me polish the script."
"Thank you."
Kazir smiled. His intention why he asked for the position of screenwriter was because he wanted to join the crew and watch David Fincher's filming.
He could learn from watching a great director like David Fincher.
'David Fincher is going to be famous. "Fight Club" is a masterpiece in my opinion.'
He saw David Fincher as a genius from whom he could learn.
Besides, Kazir wants to see his script turned into a movie. A box office movie.
They shook hands and made a deal.
David Fincher and Kazir Grey contacted production companies. One by one, hoping that one of them would invest.
Eventually, someone answered their call, and it was Arnold Kopelson.
He became interested when he heard that David Fincher was going to direct the project. He thought David was better than Kazir. After all, David had experience making big-budget movies.
The two got excited and worked hard to convince Arnold.