Chapter 45.

"Coffee, please," Ian said and smiled.

"Alright," Ted nodded and ordered two cups of coffee using his intercom.

"Now, while we wait for the coffee, why don't we get started with the discussions, you're here for the script you sent us, Lucifer, right?." Ted said as he leaned back in his chair.

Ian nodded, getting more comfortable in his seat himself.

"To be honest with you, the script is fabulous, and we would love to air it on our channel, but we have a few issues, we would like for you to clarify. The show's entire premise is a duality between Heaven and Hell, and the titular character, Lucifer Morningstar, is the devil himself. How certain are you that this won't face a massive backlash from the evangelicals and Christian communities here in the US?"

Ian thought over the question, and said "No, it won't, because I am not misrepresenting anything in the show, the theme is more about 'Redemption' than anything else, and I want the public to go 'If the devil himself, can be redeemed, well so could I'."

Ted nodded and said "That is good, the other point that I wanted to discuss was the continuity, and quality of the show. We want to involve some of our crew, as well as scriptwriters in the later seasons of the show, to maintain its continuity, and have the show stay in line with the viewers' wishes."

Ian knew why he wanted this. Ian had made just the one film in Hollywood. His reputation as a one-time wonder was still heavy in people's mindsets, and most people who would deal with him now, would want to secure a stronger stake in his work so that they can wrench control away from him, should his work become less profitable. But, Ian wasn't ready to allow that.

Ian shook his head and said "You don't have to worry about the show's continuity, and neither will it lose its quality, I have almost all the seasons outlined and ready. It won't be necessary."

This allayed most of Ted's fears, but he still looked a little apprehensive, he slowly nodded and said "Alright, if that is the case, that leaves us with investment and the actors. Leo TV would like to invest in the show. We are ready to fund most of the initial budget, with us covering around 60 percent of the show's budget."

Ian again shook his head and said "That is not necessary, I have all the initial capital for the show ready. I would like to retain proprietary ownership, so anything more than 45 percent, is not acceptable."

Ted pursed his lips and sighed resignedly, he said "Alright, in that case. We will fund, 40 percent of the show's initial budget. And we will send you a list of actors from our talent agency for you to choose from."

[...] After quite a while they discussed how LeoTv would just provide Ian with actors, their distribution, and their set. Even if they didn't own Lucifer entirely, according to what Ted was saying, it is clear that they will have shadow control over the project. And, Ian knew it thoroughly. And, Ian was planning something entirely different from how the talk went.

-

On April 7th, La La Land was released and got into the hands of the public. In short, the first day was a complete hit. Since musicals weren't that much of a big hit, they were expecting nothing much more than 6-7 million dollars.

But since the marketing team did an excellent job just like Ian suggested. Due to that, many people were already obsessed with some songs in La La Land without watching the movie. The songs were first released on U-tube.

U-tube is an American online video sharing and social media platform. It was the second most visited website, right after Google itself. U-tube has more than one billion monthly users who collectively watch more than a billion hours of videos a day, and everyday videos were being uploaded at a rate of more than 500 hours of content per minute.

U-tube has had an unprecedented social impact, influencing popular culture, and internet trends, and creating multimillionaire celebrities. Despite all its growth and success, U-tube has been widely criticized. Criticism of U-tube includes the website being used to facilitate the spread of misinformation, copyright issues, routine violations of its users' privacy, enabling censorship, and endangering child safety and wellbeing.

With that being known, Ian was very confident about his decisions and his confidence and plans were proven again as an entire success based solely on his marketing plan. Quickly after the release, the popularity of the actors and Ian got increased like wildfire.

The U-tube trailer itself got 23 million views which was an absolute hit and massive support for the aftermath of the movie. The small success of the trailer can be seen in the comments, and they were flooded with so many positive comments.

Many were applauding and appreciating how good the songs were. In fact, although musicals are movies some people frown upon, the trailer itself spoke a lot about the possible outcomes. And comparatively, The 13th Street itself promoted its movie using its trailer. It wasn't doing that bad either.

But in fact, it wasn't being that competitive with La La Land. It wasn't Ian who mentioned it, but other people who kept comparing the newest movie releases. They were talking about how good and emotional that La La Land trailer itself looked, but 'The 13th Street' wasn't that interesting.

The comments for the trailer which became a significant moment included praises such as;

@Mendoza_Marcio

In a time of loud, unoriginal, and repetitive trailers, this one is a breath-taking beauty. Like a violinist who is playing in the middle of a busy street.

@Armstrong_Auspin

I hope I'm not the only one crying listening to the songs. Holy crap!

@Kint_Verbal

The subtlety of the call-back scene is so powerful. Even though I knew it was a musical, I didn't expect her to act at this point in the movie. It blew me away, and if she wins an Oscar, it will be for this quiet yet amazing scene.

@Rojas_Faint

I can't stop watching this. The cinematography is stunning and I find myself already singing this song around my house. It seriously warms my heart just seeing the trailer. Just beautiful!

@designdesign

The cinematography in this trailer is amazing. The colors are so vivid. Finally, a trailer that didn't manage to spoil the whole movie in 2 mins but still makes me want to see it.

The trailer itself brought many people to adore the movie even without watching or knowing the entire story. After a few days of the trailer, when the hype got to its best level, the movie was released. And ever since the first screening, the critics have been going crazy about the movie and how it is.

It's A Movie (IAM) is already getting so many responses for La La Land and it seems nevertheless the genre, people adore it as much as they did for Home Alone. If not, more.

@RhysWhat

Do I like musicals? Not really... but damn, 'La La Land' is a nostalgic, colorful, joyful marvel!

Ian Renner gained international acclaim and recognition for his masterful movie 'Home Alone', what were the chances that he could pull off similar success two times in a row? Well, if 'La La Land' is anything to go by, then I'd say he did the job. With just two films under his belt, Ian is slowly becoming the next big thing this movie industry has seen. His passion for classic movies and musicals is evident, so seeing the nod to it was something I was pleased about.

The chemistry between Gosling and Eloise is strong, to say the least, their strong bond helped them become one of modern-day cinema's finest couples. The music is bouncy and toe-tapping catchy, the cinematography is utterly stunning with gorgeous colors and impressive long takes, and the locations sum up the American dream and the passion the characters hold for Los Angeles. 'La La Land' is by far one of the finest cinematic experiences I have had in the past five to ten years, and although this isn't a film I would typically enjoy (genre-wise), Ian has instead crafted one of my favorite films of this decade. A film I would recommend everyone see in the cinema to truly witness the CinemaScope magic.

@LongstoryLong

I don't want to ruin the experience for anyone who is reading this, but some things should be talked aloud. La La Land, as it has been advertised, pays homage to classic musicals. Not only does it visually allude to films(old musicals), but it also preserves the upbeat, wondrous tone of those classics. There is something wonderful about seeing this tone and style recreated for a modern film. Cynicism and pretentiousness are completely absent from this film, and nostalgia and joy take their place.

But calling La La Land a terrific recreation of the classic movie musical is selling it short. On the surface, this is a love story about two artists trying to make their way in Los Angeles. However, this framework is deceptively simple.

La La Land forces us to think about the realities of personal relationships and artistic endeavors. It explores the excitement of our dreams and the hardships of pursuing these dreams and forces the audience to question the importance of both. Fortunately, Ian never looks down on the audience with these ideas. They are not presented in a heavy-handed manner, and he never forces you to think a certain way.

On top of its thematic richness, La La Land has one of the best understandings of film as a storytelling medium that I have seen in recent years. On the surface, it is the most technically astounding. The cinematography is stunning, and the soundtrack is beautiful. Even better is that both the visuals and soundtrack are never used in a way that is shallow or uninteresting. La La Land has an understanding of how to tell a story visually. It understands the power of sequencing, the power images can have on the emotional impact of a story, and the way in which these images simultaneously indulge our fantasies and remind us of our humanity.

In other words, for me, it embodies everything that I love about movies.

There are instances that everyone can recall in a cinema where we have felt what I like to call "movie magic." These are evoked by the films that completely absorb us into its world, and movies that have a lasting, personal impact on us far beyond the theater. They are the films that we hold as the pinnacle of what makes watching movies so great.

La La Land is one of those movies.

During its 128-minute running time, the only time I wanted to look away from the screen was to turn to the people around me and check and see if they were experiencing the same kind of magic that I was. I can affirm that everyone I saw in my theater was.

La La Land is a masterpiece. It is not only the best movie of 2018 so far, but also possibly one of the best of the decade. It's spectacular, stunning, moving, and absolutely magical.

-

The two long responses were more than enough for Ian to feel good about his work.

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