14. New Plans for the Future.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works. If you recognize it from somewhere else, surprise, it isn't mine.
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Recap of the previous chapter –
The group finally arrives at the estate. While getting the house tour, Mark's friends realize that they are in the Thrombey family house. We then see a glimpse of the different traits of Mark's friends from the eyes of Kevin, an aspiring producer and good friend of Mark.
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~ Melissa's POV ~
April 13th, 1990, same day, 02:23 pm, in her shared room.
'Hmm, so finally he starts writing in the fantasy genre, I can't wait to read it.' Mel thinks to herself, excited at the prospect of Mark dipping his hands into the fantasy genre.
"Hey Mel, why are you just smiling to yourself? Go get dressed, your hair is already dry enough." Jess said, trying to get the hair dryer as she just came out of the shower.
"We need to go down for lunch soon. You know how Mark is a stickler for always, being on time." Jess told to Mel, trying to urge her to get dressed quickly.
"I know, I just can't control my happiness. Mark is finally writing a fantasy novel." Mel confessed, unable to calm down.
"Yeah, I know, especially considering its length. The lore of the thing is going to be EPIC. Think about world building, the culture, the different cities and nations, the customs and traditions, the different races of intellectual creatures and the legends that will be born out of them." Jess said in a dreamy voice.
Mel replied, joking as she chuckled, "Girl, I am getting wet just thinking about it."
"Woah, down girl." Jess said, playing along.
Mel replied, done with her light makeup, "Hmm, I am ready, let's get going. I don't wanna be late for lunch."
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~ Mark's POV ~
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The lunch was prepared by a pair of private chefs from a catering company recommended by Evelyn. If they do a good job, he wouldn't mind hiring their company for the duration of the movie.
All the favorite dishes that his friends loved to indulge themselves in were prepared. He knew it was an uncomfortable journey, especially for Sarah and Mel, so he wanted this lunch to be special for them.
Sarah loved spicy Indian dishes, Mel liked crêpes and sweet things, Chris was a sucker for a slice of New York style pizza or any kind of pasta. Whereas Jan, Jess and Kevin loved Chinese and Asian cuisine. He didn't really have much of a preference, but if you ask him, he will have to go for Indian due to the wide variety of flavors and textures. Evelyn despite looking like a petite beautiful doll loved her steaks cooked perfectly to a medium rare doneness.
The table was set with dishes arranged according to their preference of seating positions in mind. He always observes these little ques and tells, to make others feel more invited and comfortable.
They arrived just a few minutes before the appointed time, smiles on their faces, about to start a new stage in their lives.
With Mark at the head of the table, Jan to his right and Evelyn to his left. Chris is sitting on Jan's right, with Jess to his other side. Melissa is on the other side of Evelyn and next to her is Sarah. Kevin is sitting directly opposite to Mark on the other side of the table.
Mark started, "Let's eat first then we'll talk, you guys must be famished, I had them prepare your favorites."
"Another thing: give a score out of 10 to the dishes you eat. Dig in guys, I hope you enjoy it." He finished and said his thanks for the food.
After the meal was done, everyone had satiated their appetite. They were drinking some red wine together, enjoying each other's company.
After a moment of silence, Mark thought it was time to get down to business. The table had been cleared, and the notepads were taken out, he was ready to lay down the plan.
"So, before I begin, do you guys have any questions?" Mark asked, thinking that he should clear any remaining doubts.
Janet asked immediately, "Why did you scrap the plan, Mark? How did you find these people that you are trying to recruit?" This question has been on her mind since yesterday when she talked with Mark on the phone.
"Hmm, you really went straight for the neck, eh, Jan." Mark chuckled briefly, joking.
He said, "Well, to answer the question. I have hired a group of PI's individually to search for information in Hollywood.
Mark continued elaborating, "Like gossip, any scandals, new movies/TV shows being made, any prospective actors joining the guilds, talented crew members being fired or laid off due to closing of their film company. Or just not being given the chance to show their talent to the world yet."
"It is through this network of PI's that I am always kept updated about the recent happenings in Hollywood." He concluded.
Mark is trying to give a believable excuse for his information source that he gets from Vani, his System AI.
"I see, so you already got your eyes and ears spread around in Hollywood." said Jess, impressed with Mark's foresight to always be prepared.
"Mark, but now we face a bigger problem of marketing and distribution of the film." Sarah said, continuing further, she explained. "It doesn't matter if we create Knives Out perfectly, just the way you envisioned it. If we can't get it to the theaters and to make it known to the potential audiences..."
"There is no room for marketing publicity and distribution in your plans, Mark." She said after a pause.
"Can't we just go with the old plan of selling the completed movie to a distributor? And still own part of the IP." Mel asked, trying to come up with a solution using the old plan.
Kevin replied, "Not if you know Mark, that horror movie was going to be just a 1 shot movie with no plan for a sequel, it's not even his creation."
"Whereas this is Knives Out we are talking about Mel, it has over 80 millions plus copies sold combined. The studios won't let it go that easy, they will want the bigger piece of the pie." Kevin continued making the comparison between the two.
"Trying to get a marketing-distributor in these conditions is gonna be a nightmare." Kevin finished explaining the gravity of the situation to the rest of the group.
Except for Mark, Evelyn and Sarah, they all had a slightly worried and tense look on their faces. Evelyn because she knew about Mark's hidden ace, and Sarah because she always has a blank, spaced out look.
"Guys, it's going to be fine. I have already figured out which studio to approach for the marketing-distribution deal." Mark said with confidence.
"And how did you figure that out so quickly?" Jan asked, curious to know how Mark would pull it off.
"Well, I will just give something better than a movie made by a first time director, and it's something they have been asking for a while." Mark answered cryptically.
"Please Mark, not your riddles again. Evelyn, you seem to know what he is talking about. Please tell us what it is." Jan requested.
Evelyn looked at Mark, who just nodded at her with the 'go ahead sign'.
"Well, Mark has been reached out to before a few times in the past few months by Universal for the movie adaptation rights of his Jurassic Park novel, that's being planned to be directed by Steven Spielberg himself."
"Holy shit" Kevin said with disbelief. After all, that's Universal Pictures, part of the Big Five Studios. It's like an untouchable giant, and now Mark is going to sign a deal with them.
"Well, that escalated quickly," Jess said, trying to break the tense air.
Evelyn continued, explaining, "he has recently gotten a call from Steven Spielberg himself for a meeting to discuss his books and to request about adapting Jurassic Park into a movie."
The moment they heard the name Steven Spielberg, they all collectively drew in a sharp breath. They knew about the famed director and creator of films like - Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones and Close Encounters of the third kind.
"So yeah I am going to give them a proposal to help in marketing and distribution for my next 3 films with a standard marketing and distribution cut, around 35 to 40%."
"Hopefully I can get it to a lower percentage. Obviously, with stipulations for accurate bookkeeping and audits for the profits from the box office revenue." Mark explained like it was no big deal.
It took a few moments for them to digest that. Then Jess asked, Mark. "Can I have the script for Knives Out? I want to check how much work there needs to be done."
"Yeah, sure here." Mark said, passing her the script.
"So how was the food? Any complaints?" He asked, wanting to know their opinions.
"It was very good, the ingredients felt fresh and high quality. Did you hire a private chef, Mark?" Janet asked, as she had experienced such delicious meals before. She was from a wealthy family.
"Yup, the lunch was prepared by two private chefs from a catering company recommended by Evelyn. If you all liked their food, I am thinking about hiring their catering company for the duration of the movie. So what do you guys think, how would you score the food?" Mark asked, looking for their votes.
"Hmm, it's good, I would rate it 8.7 out of 10." Jan said
"9 for me." Chris said reserved.
"I think it's some of the best food I've had so 10, I guess." Jess replied bashfully.
"9.5 for me." Kevin added.
Sarah replied calmly, "9 for me, the pho lacked a bit of acidity. Besides that, it was a perfect meal."
Melissa added, "I would definitely give it a 10. The Croque Madame was perfect, and the coffee was prepared just the way I like it."
"Well, then I will definitely give your compliments to the chefs." Mark replied with a smile, happy that his friends enjoyed the meal.
"Ok back to business," Mark said continuing, "I have already contacted Uncle Steve for his help to set up the studios the paperwork should be done by tomorrow."
"We are setting up an entertainment group called Eidolon Entertainment. Yes, we are already initiating the 3rd stage of the plan now. I don't want us to wait a decade to start building our brand, I hope you guys are willing to support me in this decision.
" This is a bit brash, Mark. But if we are going to produce a multi-million dollar investment movie as our first movie, we might as well go all out." Jan said in an exasperated tone, but she had a smile on her face, as if she craved a challenge of this kind.
"So, how much is the investment for Knives Out?" Sarah asked because she was mostly interested in the numbers.
"Around $30 million, and that's including the nearly $10 million dollar estate I have already built." Mark answered frankly.
"Mark, be honest, why did you create this estate? You could have just created a series of sets in the studio for a fraction of the price." Kevin asked because his gut told him it was not just about the money now.
Mark paused and looked like he was thinking a lot, then he started talking. "Well first I thought I would sell it you know. People sell movie memorabilia to collectors for hundreds of thousands of dollars. But what if I sell the house where my first movie was shot, the knives out estate. People would definitely be willing to pay millions for it."
"But now I have changed my mind, I got too attached to it. I have realized that it is the physical manifestation of the world that I envisioned in my books, and now I want to keep it with me forever." Mark explained emotionally in a somber voice.
"Ah it got heavy at the end there, anyways moving on. Evelyn has said that the crew I hired will be here for recruitment in 3 days." Mark said, trying to move the conversation ahead.
"So we don't have a lot of time, I will be leaving tomorrow morning to meet Mr. Spielberg."
While I am away Jan is in-charge, Sarah this is a film budget plan that I have estimated for Knives Out," Mark said, passing her a file. "Please go through it and check if there are any errors or anything I failed to take into account." Mark requested.
Mark continued handing out the next task, "Mel, this is the draft for the next three legends for the legends of Runeterra with their accompanying lore, background and culture."
"I want you to add in the details, the dialogues and bring them to life. I have also included short notes about what I want the legends to be like with illustrations for you to grasp what you are trying to create."
"Here is a copy of the first legend's story that I wrote, please don't criticize too harshly as it is still unedited." He said while passing her another smaller file.
"Kevin, I want a detailed list about your opinion and thoughts on the people who we are recruiting. Try to get to know them, I have already vetted them, through the investigators, but it's never wrong to get a second look, eh." Mark asked, wanting to cover all his bases.
"Chris, I want a detailed action plan regarding the film shoot. I have here a sequence, in which I want the scenes to be shot." Mark said, passing him a thick file filled with storyboards and scenes to be filmed. "I want the logistics relating to at least the first 6 scenes we will be shooting to be sorted out by the day after tomorrow."
Mark finished giving out instructions to all six of his friends and thought to himself.
'With these 7 people and a crew of hidden experts that I am hiring. My knowledge regarding the future, even shoddy as it may be in the altered timeline and with the system's help. He knew that his dream was in reach -
The establishment of a mega studio, the pursuit of becoming the greatest director of all time, and the allure of romantic connections with Hollywood's coveted female celebrities.
But all these were just stepping stones; his dream was actually his mother's - to see the Marvel Cinematic Universe be completed.'
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{Author's Note: I know the pacing of the story has been going slow for a while but don't worry we will be getting a time skip in a few chapters and then the shooting for Knives Out will be completed.
In this chapter, Mark has delegated the task to his friends and shown a glimpse of his leadership quality.
Anyways, Thanks for reading my work. I am entirely motivated by interaction, suggestions and feedback. Please leave a comment or review about what you liked or disliked about my book.
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Update schedule for this book: 1 chapter every 2 days.}