My Hollywood System

Chapter 142:

Will had to exercise tremendous amounts of willpower not to perform a spit take when he heard the name of the movie and the man who would be directing it.

He mused that if actors and actresses who were famous in his previous reality were present in this one too, then there was nothing remarkable about a Director also showing up on his radar.

He could see that June had somewhat noticed his reaction and would ask questions. Shaking his head, he wiped the little wine that had spilt out of the corner of his mouth with a napkin and looked at June.

She was looking at him questioningly and asked, “Have you heard of director James Cameron from somewhere before this? Have you seen his movies?”

After a moment of thought, Will replied, “I haven’t seen his work in this industry yet, but I have heard of him. He is a talented director. I would certainly like to see what he does with his film. What is it about? May I see the script sometime later?”

June nodded, putting his reaction out of her mind. She took a sip of her wine and replied, “Well, I quite liked the script. It was well written. As far as I can glean off the script, it’s a sci-fi action flick with a robotic cyborg, called The Terminator, who travels to the past to kill a woman, Sarah Conner. I will be playing her role. Anyway, Sarah’s son leads the fight against an AI Overlord called Skynet. I will show you the script later if you like.”

Will nodded and asked, “What do you think about the director?”

June looked at Will askance before she replied, “Well, he’s an old man, and I would say he is quite passionate, if not more so, about his work, like you. Unfortunately, though, I think he takes it to the extreme. Based on his previous history, I would also say that he is a little reckless. He divorced his wife, sold his home, and there is apparently more stuff like this, just for this single film.”

Will nodded as he thought about the description she provided. From a certain viewpoint, he could see how people would describe James Cameron as reckless. Still, he knew that he was talented and that The Terminator had the potential to be every bit the multi-billion-dollar blockbuster saga if it was done right.

In Will’s previous reality, The Terminator stood as one of its era’s most important efforts. It stood as a monumental achievement for who and what is introduced to modern moviemaking. But that did not discount its inherent entertainment value. In 1984, Hollywood had never really seen anything of The Terminator’s calibre. Replicating it in the era of modern CGI and technology and still retaining its thrilling, realistic factor while simultaneously enrapturing the audience would be a tall task for James Cameron.

The movie was so well received during its time that it developed into its own franchise, with several tie-ins to various other pieces of pop culture, like comics and other shows. Skynet was a name that defined Artificial Intelligence for decades and led to many conspiracy theories that popped up on its behalf. Only the development of more advanced forms of technology and time subsided the fear it had generated of Artificial Intelligences and Robot uprisings.

The T-800 and T-1000 had practically become household names at one point.

Will shook his head of the thoughts and said, “Well, if the script is as good as you say, then a good director may be able to pull it off.”

June nodded but said, “The movie is still in its early pre-production stages. I think Mr Cameron is still looking for more funding. Based on the script, it would require a lot of computer work and CGI, and you know how expensive that is. Are you thinking of investing in it?”

Will looked at June and asked, “What made you think that?”

June inclined her head at her wine and said, “Well, your reaction upon hearing the Director’s name, so I thought you were interested in the movie.”

Will could see how she could have made that error. He furrowed his brows slightly and replied, “I am not sure yet. If I like the script, I would certainly love the opportunity to be a part of the project. What do you think? Should I invest in it?”

June thought about his question and said, “Well, it is certainly an interesting movie. It depends on whether you want to get involved in a project not written by yourself. You wrote all your movies till now. Yet, at the same time, I think it’s an opportunity for you to diversify and potentially be a part of a good project. As you said before, you want to produce more creative movies for Hollywood. This seems like a good opportunity to further that goal, just with a less hands on approach this time.”

Will nodded as he took another sip of his wine and said, “Well, I will think about it after seeing the script. And I would also like to meet with the director, as well. I want to see what he’s like and if he’s amenable to a third-party investor in his film.”

June nodded and returned to her meal after saying, “Alright, I will have John email you my copy. You can also help me rehearse the lines later if you’re up for it.”

Will smiled at her and said, “Of course, I will help you however I can.” Placing his hand over hers and gently squeezed it.

She smiled in response, and the two continued to enjoy their date. They quickly finished their meal and decided to take the scenic route back to the pier to get on their harbor to get back to their yacht and enjoy their night in the ocean’s calm with each other.

****

After a lot of fanfare and pomp, the cast, crew, and the media took their seats inside the theater that was a part of The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, the convention center at which the Cannes Film Festival was organized.

Many of the prominent members of the media and celebrities had arrived for the film, which had been hyped due to the combination of the duo of Will Evans, Hollywood’s brightest new star, and Lucas Amspoker, the leading military action movie director.

The media was also excited to yet again be introduced to new talents in the name of Elijah Thomas and Renly Warren. They were also excited about Michael Robert Elrod’s rumored involvement in the film, though his absence at the event had left many members of the media disappointed.

June sat beside Will in the gallery of the theater. She was also excited about witnessing another one of Will’s works.

The movie’s director, Lucas Amspoker, was seated in the next gallery over with Elijah and Renly. He had been extremely ecstatic about the final product, even after witnessing it prior at the company screening with Will and Amanda back in Los Angeles.

Elijah and Renly were in similar moods. They felt very proud of their work. Their tour throughout Europe with the various modeling agencies had done them a lot of good.

The media was sat in a lower gallery, and there was a general aura of anticipation in the air among everyone that was present. They included many critics who wanted to taste another of Will Evans’ masterpieces, and they were getting impatient, anxiously waiting for the film to start.

They didn’t have to wait long though. As the cinema lights went dim, the screen showed the Giant Logo of Dream Vision Studios, with a camera that pointed into the far distance. It faded slowly, and was replaced by the ICM logo, the film’s distributor, which was again replaced by a singular line stating “A Will Evans and Lucas Amspoker Presentation” which was slowly replaced by the final heading stating April 6, below which In a larger font was written 1917.

That too slowly gave way to a picturesque shot of a green grassy field, which was covered in yellow and white flowers. Then, the shot zoomed out and showed that two soldiers in World War One uniforms were on the field by a tree and were resting with their eyes closed. As the audience quickly identified the two soldiers, their attention was finally enraptured on the screen as the movie started playing out.

…

//DreamNote//

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