Growing troubles

"This script is awful"

The grizzled veteran examined it, forming his judgment. He cast a surprised glance at Christian as if questioning her interest in such a dismal story.

"The storyline is truly terrible," Christian calmly nodded, neither hurriedly nor slowly.

In the original timeline, the movie "Blair Witch Project" gained fame largely due to clever internet marketing. However, the audience back then was easily swayed by fabricated rumors on the internet, believing the shoddy fake documentary to be a real event. The level of engagement with genuine events is vastly different from that of a mere movie.

Christian and his team sought to employ a marketing strategy similar to that of "Blair the Witch," using a series of incidents in Vinales Valley to hype "Wrong Turn". 

Of course, internet penetration in North America in 1994 was far less than it is today. Attempting internet viral marketing shortly after the launch of the "Information Superhighway" project was a bit ambitious.

Without this aspect, "Blair the Witch" amounted to nothing more than a poorly produced pseudo-documentary.

When Christian inherited the script from the USC freshman Daniel Merrick, his initial thought was to exchange pleasantries, wait for him to leave, and then dispose of the script in the trash can. After all, a newcomer probably couldn't contribute much before their freshman year, especially without electricity at the time.

However, Christian, a budding magician, surprised the director by saying, "Perhaps I can give it a try."

Since the release of "Wrong Turn," Christian had sensed a peculiar sensation – his progress seemed to be accelerating. It wasn't a figment of his imagination; Alexis was a living example. In the past, it took time and effort for Christian to influence Alexis, but now, he could temporarily shield Alexis from Charlize's consciousness whenever he desired. It was primarily for privacy, but it did confirm that Christian's magical abilities had significantly improved. It couldn't be solely attributed to absorbing Wei Changhui's residual power.

"Did you gain power from the audience's fear while directing 'Wrong Turn'?"

In Christian's mastered spell system, power largely derived from human emotions, which led to this speculation. However, there was a significant flaw in this theory. While it made sense for ghosts to draw strength from people's fear, Christian was human. Humans couldn't harness mana from the fear of others; otherwise, Hitler would have become a true demon king. This contradictory speculation vexed Christian, who, as a spelling enthusiast, couldn't ignore anything that might expedite his learning.

'Maybe we need to create another movie to unravel the mystery,' he thought.

Yet, this wasn't easy. Typically, a new movie would take eight to ten months to complete. Christian wasn't willing to wait that long.

"Maybe we could try this pseudo-documentary style" he finally suggested.

Richard raised a strong objection, "Christian, I don't know why you're interested in this script, but unless necessary, I suggest you don't personally direct this script."

The emphasis on "personally" caught Christian's attention. "Why?" he asked.

"Because you're currently a rising star in the directorial world," the Old Gun's tone wavered. "Your career at this stage can't afford failures or doubts."

He paused, "Do you remember what Roger Ebert said?"

Christian hesitated, "Well..."

"The script is...," Christian hesitated.

Roger Albert, the renowned film critic affectionately nicknamed the "Thumbman" by Charlize, posted his review of "Wrong Turn" four days after its release, later than many other critics. In his commentary, the conservative critic praised the innovative use of visual persistence technology in "Wrong Turn" with an engaging tone. Simultaneously, he acknowledged that even without this gimmick, "Wrong Turn" would still be a good horror movie. However, the critic's tone took a harsher turn when addressing the film's director, Christian Booth.

"Mr. Booth did a commendable job this time, deserving a thumbs up. However, I'd like to remind him to discard that peculiar little trick. His film directing skills were not exceptionally demonstrated in 'Wrong Turn,' and there are issues with the story's pacing."

"If he wishes to be a master of publicity, he's undoubtedly on the path to great success. However, if he aspires to excel further as a director, he should let go of these gimmicks and create a truly grounded film next time."

"I look forward to it"

Christian jokingly asked, "Is this old man worried about me straying off course?" At that time, both of them shared a hearty laugh.

However, when Christian brought up the film review, the Old Gun's expression turned serious.

"What Mr. Albert said might be a customary alarmism among film critics, but it also reflects an Old-School perspective in Hollywood: a successful film doesn't permit its director to rest on their laurels, especially when marketing plays a substantial role in that success."

Christian nodded, beginning to grasp the old gun's point.

"The Old Man probably saw that we used the Vinales Valley case series to build hype for the movie – and I'm sure many in the industry did too. That's why he issued such a stern warning. Old Gun, do you think he's right? Should I concentrate more on the film itself?"

"I don't think you're not focusing on the film," Old Gun replied. He shook his head, ran a hand through his red beard in contemplation, and continued, "I just believe that the 'Blair the Witch' script is too subpar. It isn't suitable for a director with as much room for growth as you. It's better suited, well, as the LEGO bricks for those producers to assemble at will."

"Isn't a director also a producer?" Christian mused to himself. He had come to understand the Old Gun's point.

Many renowned directors often assume the role of producers for their own films. Nevertheless, this doesn't mean the two roles are closely aligned. Producers must consider commercial aspects like costs and profitability, necessitating versatility. Directors, on the other hand, are more introverted and internally focused, primarily concerned with crafting a great film.

"Do you wish to be a successful producer or a great director?" Though it wasn't explicitly stated, the old gun's words conveyed this underlying message, prompting Christian to reflect.

He wasn't entirely sure whether he preferred to be a director or a producer. However, when it came to the movie "Blair the Witch," he did have a leaning. Internet marketing might not be feasible now, but Christian could still generate hype for "Blair the Witch" in other ways. The question was, did he genuinely want to helm this film himself?

If he set aside financial gain or experimentation with spells, his heart was leaning against it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have considered tossing the script into the trash.

Christian had never been fond of the pseudo-documentary film style, either before or after crossing over. To him, these films relentlessly agitated the audience's visual senses with shaky, subpar imagery. He considered them movies but not necessarily art, and sometimes not even proper storytelling. Of course, this could be his personal bias.

He remembered watching "Saving Private Ryan" before his crossover, which included scenes imitating a documentary style with intense shaking. However, it didn't bother him then.

"Let's shelve the 'Blair the Witch' script for now," Christian shrugged, concurring with the Old Gun.

"We should focus on the 'Happy Death Day' script."

"Okay," Richard sighed in relief.

Before they could resume their prior work, a phone call interrupted the studio's quiet once more.

"Westwood?" Christian answered the phone. "What's the matter?"

An anxious voice on the other end, Mr. Producer, urgently reported, "Christian, something has happened to Jodie Foster!"