Hollywood What If

Chapter 329

The public signing of the contract took place in front of the media. Both Kazir Grey and the representative of 20th Century Fox, Tom Rothman, signed the thin piece of paper.

For the record, this public signing was just a publicity stunt and the two companies already signed a proper contract three days ago when Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley witnessed the process.

Kazir and Tom shook hands and many reporters took pictures of the signing. Now the public learned that 20th Century Fox owned 30% of Grey Pictures, while Kazir Grey owned 3.50% of 20th Century Fox.

This deal was good news for 20th Century Fox as their stock price rose to 21% in the last three days. The price of their stock was holding steady at $27.42.

20th Century Fox promised Kazir that they would win the Best Director award this year for him. Just like Miramax, 20th Century Fox had a lot of influence with the Academy.

In fact, that was one of the reasons Kazir signed the contract with 20th Century Fox. Even though he knew it was nothing more than a promise.

After all, only the old farts at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences could decide if they wanted to support Kazir.

Well, the help of 20th Century Fox was not so bad. At least he had an insurance policy to put his mind at ease.

...

...

"Kazir, what does this mean?"

Frank Price, the CEO of Sony-Colombia, called Kazir about recent events in Hollywood. Specifically, the news that Grey Pictures and 20th Century Fox had decided to work together.

"Frank, I'm sure you know what's going on."

"..."

Frank could not help but sigh. Sony and Sony-Colombia were interested in Grey Pictures, and they were not stingy with money. But in the end, Sony-Colombia lost the battle.

Sony-Colombia understood that they lacked high quality films and needed Grey Pictures' filmography.

"You don't have to worry, I will honor the contract. I will be the director of Spider-Man 2".

"That's good to hear."

That was the main reason why Frank called Kazir. If Kazir wanted to stop working with the other studios, it would be bad for Sony-Colombia.

They had already experienced the taste of a $1 billion movie, and they wanted more. Only someone like Kazir could give them that amount.

"The project will continue, I just have to prepare the production and negotiate with the cast. I'll make sure that Spider-Man 2 is released in 2004."

Kazir assured the CEO of Sony-Colombia. He knew it was the right thing to do to keep his promise. He didn't want to tarnish his reputation.

After all, Kazir still had a chance to jump to another house if the 20th Century Fox deal didn't work out.

"Okay, I will contact Jezebel about the negotiations. By the way, why don't we keep your contract the same? ... You know, $27 million + 27% worldwide box office + 7% peripheral profit share is a lot, right?"

"Frank, you should talk to Salvatore about that. Not me."

"Okay, fine..."

Judging by Frank's voice, the guy was suffering from overwork.

Kazir was not stupid enough to promise anything about his salary. Only Salvatore and Kazir's other agents could do that. These people would probably do their best to get a better amount of money for a higher commission. Kazir decided to trust them and let them do their job.

The call ended and Kazir slipped the phone into his pocket. Tonight, Grey Pictures decided to celebrate the success of The Revenant.

Since the movie had already ended its worldwide run, Grey Pictures decided to throw a party and invited a lot of people. The Revenant has grossed $532.95 million at the worldwide box office.

As the 5th highest grossing movie of 2002, The Revenant gained a good reputation.

By the way, here are the top 10 grossing movies last year:

The 1st highest grossing film last year was The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. It grossed $936.68 million.

2nd was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Earning $878.97 million at the worldwide box office.

3rd was The Bourne Supremacy with $710.68 million.

4th was Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. Grossing $645.25 million.

5th was The Revenant with $532.95 million.

6th was Mr. And Mrs. Smith with $487.28 million.

7th was Men in Black II with $441.81 million.

8th was Die Another Day with $431.97 million.

9th was Signs with $408.24 million.

10th was Ice Age with $383.25 million.

These were the top ten highest-grossing films of 2002.

Despite being a second-tier production studio, it didn't change the fact that Grey Pictures had three movies in the top 10.

This was proof of Grey Pictures' ability. Enough to raise 20th Century Fox's stock price.

"Congratulations, Kazir. You're now a certified billionaire!"

"Thanks, Tom."

Tom Cruise and Kazir Grey hugged and laughed. Even though their movie didn't get many Oscar nominations, they weren't bitter because the movie was amazing.

Many people knew that Kazir was probably paid at least $1 billion by 20th Century Fox. That makes him a real billionaire with liquid assets... He might have to invest that amount of money in something, because the IRS is sure to be knocking on his door.

Anyway, the party went quite well and a lot of celebrities attended the party for some reason... A lot of actresses tried to flirt with Kazir because Angelina was busy filming Lara Croft: Tom Raider and couldn't attend tonight.

"Excuse me, are you director Kazir?"

"Hm?"

Kazir turned to see a young woman calling him. The woman was poised despite her young age. She seemed to be at least 18 years old.

The woman extended her hand and asked for a handshake.

"Hi, I'm Elizabeth Holmes. I'm 19 years old. I'm here to ask for at least five minutes of your time. I just want to introduce you to my company, Theranos."

"Excuse me, what?" Kazir was shocked.

Kazir had many reasons to be shocked. He knew who Elizabeth Holmes was. This woman could be the biggest fraud of the century!

+++++

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