Hollywood What If

Chapter 80

'I know I'm being arrogant and stupid. But I have to. Taken is not just a one-off movie. It's the beginning of a big project. If I decide to agree to the terms of the Big Six, it means I will lose billions of dollars. Especially if the Continental Cinematic Universe is a success.'

'George Lucas did it with Star Wars. Steven Spielberg created DreamWorks. Heh, George Lucas sold Lucasfilm, Steven Spielberg sold DreamWorks. They sold the companies, but they made billions. Clearly, it's a winning move. Fuck people who think they should bow down to the Big Six without trying to fight.'

Just like last time, Kazir Grey gambled. So he had to make the movie with his own investment. So that no one from Big Six would control him later. Hell, Big Six could use his movies to push their disgusting agenda. Just like Disney did with Marvel. 

"I will make my movies and let the film companies distribute them. Of course, I will fight for better terms."

"Am I hearing this right? Kazir, are you going to create your own distribution channels?"

"No... I have seen how the Big Six have destroyed their competitors. The Big Six are looking at DreamWorks right now because they didn't want it to succeed. I don't want to be like DreamWorks (and Lionsgate)."

Kazir understood that no one could beat the Big Six. It had been proven for three decades. Even a person from the future could not control Hollywood by himself. It would never work. 

The Big Six would never be the Big Seven. It would only be Big Five. That is, one company absorbing the other. 

"What's your plan?"

"My plan? Heh. I will make good movies. Once they are ready, the Big Six will kneel and lick the ground just to acquire 1/3 of my company."

Kazir grinned. 

That was the best example of this situation. 

Marvel Entertainment.  

The success of The Avengers led Disney to buy Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. 

'Now, my studio doesn't have any comics. But it will be the first successful Cinematic Universe of this timeline. I will make sure I get billions out of it. Hm, being a shareholder is not bad, I guess.'

For that to happen... Kazir had to prevent the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or make it his own. 

'Next month, Marvel is going to declare bankruptcy. Let's loot all their heroes then.'

He grinned like the devil. 

Since he had already chosen this path, he had to be heartless. Don't give a damn what the other people say. 

'I have to apologize to the fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is what it is. Maybe they'll hate me when they know what I'm going to do.'

But he had to do it. He wanted to acquire his future competitor. After all, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was the most successful cinematic universe of the 21st century. Not even the DCEU could beat it. 

So it was a good choice for Kazir to buy and acquire their superhero characters. 

"Let's go Salvatore, we have a lot to do from now on."

"Sigh. I wonder what you're thinking. I know that setting up a distribution channel costs a lot of money and it's hard to do, but why are you so negative about it? If you look at it from another angle, having a distribution channel is the best way to secure money."

"My answer to that is simple... I never wanted to be the king of Hollywood. It's not fun. I want to keep the Big Six on an equal footing. I want to be a director, not a chairman or a president. My passion is making movies, not controlling a company."

"So you think selling part of your company is the best decision?"

"... Let's just say I want to see the Big Six fight over my company. Go crazy over it.

"That's fucked up... But I want to see it too."

They both laughed. 

The Big Six had a lot of power in Hollywood. But that didn't mean that other production companies couldn't make great movies and profit from them. 

In Kazir's opinion, money was nothing more than status. Now that he was a millionaire, he didn't want it to be his whole personality. He didn't want his life to revolve around money. 

Since his youth, Kazir was fascinated by movies. He wanted to be a director and there was no in-between. 

'If this whole plan doesn't work out, I'll be fine as long as I can make movies.'

He had faced a lot of misfortune, so facing another one would not make him falter. Instead, his blood was boiling to prove himself to the Big Six. 

.....

.....

...

"So, Mr. Grey, you're asking for a loan?"

The bank manager, Maria Ozzawu, looked at Kazir as she read his loan application. Lending money was not that easy. 

"That's right." Kazir nodded. 

"It says here that you want a loan of $50 million and pay it back within 3 years, is that right?"

From a millionaire's point of view, getting a loan was good because it was a method of legal tax avoidance. 

Kazir's credit was good. In addition, he was a director who made movies worth hundreds of millions at the box office. Borrowing $50 million was no problem.

"What will you do with the money?"

"I will invest in my own movie and the rest will be used to buy copyrights."

Maria Ozzawu nodded. The answer was as expected. 

"Phew... I thought they would interview me."

Kazir sighed with relief after his loan was approved. To be honest, the only relevant information he knew was about compound interest. But he didn't know how it normally worked. He was not the type to borrow from the bank. 

Kazir had a good financial sense, so he never got to the point of bankruptcy. Especially when he got a share of the videotape profits every quarter. 

"Salvatore, yes, it's me."

Kazir opened his phone and called Salvatore Barlowe. 

"That's right, I got it. Tell Rafael I want to acquire the copyrights to Marvel's superheroes. Yes, I have a list here. I will give it to him later."

Marvel was facing bankruptcy and it was the best time to squeeze them dry. 

'I heard they already sold Black Window, Blade and Captain America. I can find a way to acquire them, but first let's get what we can get.'

+++++

[Author's note: My decision is still firm, I really do not want Kazir to become a businessman. Once that happens, his attention will be divided even if he hires a professional manager to run his company. So I have to choose between being a director or a businessman, I decided that Kazir must still be a director. However, he will never sell the movie copyrights of Hitman+Spy Cinematic Universe just like that].

[By the way, shout out to Darui, I think I'm going to call the Hitman+Spy Cinematic Universe the Continental Cinematic Universe. It has a nice click to it. ]

[And yes, I do not know how loans and loan interest work.]