My Hollywood System

Chapter 60:

“Will, think about it again! 90 million isn’t a small amount. Isn’t it all the money you got from Blair witch?” James exclaimed, looking at Will like he was a madman. “This is actually a crazy decision.”

He had thought that the movie’s budget would be around 20-30 million dollars. That was enough to make a great detective movie set in the backdrop of 1890s London.

But 90 million was going over the top.

If the movie failed, then Will would become bankrupt. It was similar to a king sending all of his soldiers to fight a war with no guarantee of the victory. One wrong move, and the king and his kingdom would be captured.

In simple words, it was a risk it all gamble.

“James, I very well know what you are saying, but the vision I have for [Sherlock Holmes] needs a lot of money. And 90 million is just an estimated figure.”

Will explained, but James’ expression was still a bit stiff. The original [Sherlock Holmes] had actually cost around only 60 million dollars to shoot.

One-third of the budget was just for the various actors involved in the project. Heck, just Robert Downey Jr had scooped 15 million dollars for his role.

He still thought he was lucky to have obtained Robert for such a cheap price.

“I know all that, but this is a huge risk. If it fails, you do know it will just repeat the debacle of the 90s Sherlock. No studio wants to be associated with that.”

“I wouldn’t pitch the script to you if I wasn’t aware of the risks, James.” Will said a little stubbornly. “But it won’t fail. I have full confidence in it. I wouldn’t risk every little cent I have on this movie otherwise.”

Taking a deep breath, he continued, “In the first place, rather than the project failing, you should think about the scenario in which it would be a big success. You have already read the script, and my past achievement is something everybody knows. Maybe, this will be your chance to move away from the shadows of Chandler Davies’s approach.”

Listening to Will’s confident voice, James began weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

Will’s confidence was something he really liked, and the passion burning inside of his eyes was the same as he had seen in countless directors before. But unlike those, he was confident in his skills and gutsy enough to risk all his money in a single movie.

This wasn’t something he had seen before. He was indeed a young, genius director.

Though, Will’s nemesis was also his young age. He was inexperienced, and although he had hit it big with his first movie, he had never directed a cinematic movie before.

Just that one single thought was enough to tilt his decision to negative. But Will’s last words were still looming in his mind.

‘This is the chance to move away from the shadows of conservative approach that Foxstar is known for.’

As he thought that, the face of Chandler Davies appeared in his mind. He was an arrogant, paranoid man who had ruined too many movies due to interfering in their production.

James certainly didn’t want to follow in his footsteps.

In the end, he made his decision.

“Okay Will, let’s discuss the share ratio and sign the contract. I hope this cooperation brings back fruitful results.”

Will gave a wide smile hearing those words. With that, he has finally secured a distributor.

***

As Foxstar agreed to distribute [Sherlock Holmes], everyone in Dream Vision studios felt a euphoric feeling running through their veins.

Working with one of the Big 6 film studios was really a dream come true for most Hollywood productions, and they have achieved it so soon.

It made them work even harder. Will was satisfied while watching his employees, but although Foxstar had agreed to the deal, it was just a verbal one, and Amanda was still going over the negotiations.

At one point, it had become a lot heated, but Amanda handled it well.

Her argument was that [Sherlock Holmes] was a big production, and as the sole producers of the movie, most of the risks were high there, so they should get a higher cut. In the end, Dream Vision got 37 percent shares in the North American box office and 15 percent in the overseas one.

Will was more than happy to get such a deal and was really glad that he had chosen Amanda as the CEO of Dream Vision.

Without her, it was hard to get such a lucrative deal.

After he had signed the distribution contract, the only thing in Will’s mind was the casting for [Sherlock Holmes].

Robert had already been given the script, and he had even locked himself in his house to prepare for the audition for [Sherlock Holmes]. From what he knew, he was going over every Sherlock Holmes novel to get a better understanding of the character.

Will was quite satisfied with his efforts, but there were still a lot of roles that needed to be cast.

“Here’s a list of the actors that would be suitable for John Watson. I made a list considering age and availability. Take a look.”

Amanda said and passed him a long list. They were both currently going over the casting choices they have and which actor or actress would be suitable for which role.

“Let me see.”

Will went over the list and saw the names of several good actors that could potentially portray Watson well. But after a while, he clicked his tongue.

Looking up at Amanda, he said.

“This is a good list, but all of these are B grade actors at best. I think we need to go for more popular choices.”

“But I doubt if A list actors would agree, considering the potential lead we have in mind is a relatively unknown actor.”

Amanda said with a hint of dissatisfaction. She was not too happy with Will’s first choice for Sherlock. She felt like it was way better for a popular actor to play the iconic character.

But he was firm in his decision and was sure that Robert would be the perfect choice.

“I do know what they would say. They would probably try to ask for the main role instead of playing foil to an actor they don’t even know the name of.”

“Yeah, and Watson’s role is always portrayed as a bumbling fool in theatre and even in the 90s movie. Only comedic actors would agree for such a role.”

Will shook his head at those words.

“Our Watson is comparatively different from those comedic gag representations. He’s a womaniser, a former soldier, a doctor, and even a gambler. These are the qualities of a great character, and I don’t want to believe that no actor would see that after reading the script.”

Amanda nodded her head, thinking back to the script and Watson’s portrayal in it. Indeed, rather than a fool, a confident character would make a way better foil for the lead.

After going through some more names, she suddenly thought of one actor that would suit Watson a lot and blurted out.

“Will, how about approaching Levi Richards for the role? I think he would suit the character a lot, and his real personality is good too.”

“Levi Richards?”

Will tapped his finger on his desk as he thought back to the movies he had seen of Levi Richards in this world.

Levi was an American actor who has been in the industry for over 15 years, and a few years ago, he had become an A-lister, signing several big-budget movies every year.

But for the last month, he was on a break to spend more time with his wife and young kids.

“Levi Richards would be nice. He has that British look and elegant aura about him. But is he looking for a new movie? He’s on a break for a long time now.”

Will asked, and Amanda smiled.

“Yes, word on the street is that Levi is planning a comeback and actively going through scripts to choose the perfect project. Many studios have contacted him until now about various potential projects, but he hasn’t signed any.”

“Then, try to hold a meeting with him to pitch the idea.”

“Okay.”

With that decided, they moved over to the other castings. Some of the characters were easy to find actors for, but some were too hard.

For example, the character of Inspector Lestrade was of a competent cop who would hire Holmes to look into the murders, and at the same time, he would be fed up with his antics.

Will finalised a TV actor Augusta Sheen for the role. He had played cop roles a lot, and as a British actor, Will felt like he was perfect for this role.

But unlike him, the role of the villain Lord Henry Blackwood, a serial killer delving into the occult was hard to cast. Will wanted to cast only top actors for the main roles, and just because of this, the cast selection became harder.

There were so few actors that Will thought would be suitable for the role that both he and Amanda could only scratch their heads at these problems.

Though in the end, they were able to finalise most of the actors they wanted and sent out a script to the actors’ agency.

Now, it all depended on their reply.

“I think we will get a reply very soon. With Foxstar joining us in the project and it being a 90 million dollar production, many agencies would be interested.”

Amanda said, and Will nodded his head a little stiffly. He knew that actors would surely be interested in a big-budget movie, but he was also sure that their agencies were going to be a pain in the ass.

After all, even if they have Foxstar behind them, both Dream Vision and Will were just rookies in the industry.

“By the way, uh, there’s one more thing I wanted to tell you about?”

Suddenly Amanda said, and Will asked with a puzzled expression.

“What is it?”

“I got an invite from the Academy inviting you to this year’s Oscar.”

…

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