52. Marketing Knives Out & Mark's Illustrious Illustrator.

Disclaimer: The story that I have written here takes on the names of real people, but this story is based in an alternate earth with some changes in its timeline.

This story does not intend to represent the celebrities/real people or make any commentary on them whatsoever. This story is entirely fictional, and it should be viewed entirely as such.

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Recap of the Previous Chapter -

Mark meets up with Hans at the recording studio and they test out the various soundtracks Hans came up with. Mark is very satisfied with Hans' progress and instructs him about what else he wants done. After which he leaves for the editing room, to continue the post prodⁿ work of Knives Out.

He has a conversation with his editor Bob Ducsay about how perfection isn't the most important thing to focus on and that the scenes should match one another. It ends up with Bob learning an important lesson and promising himself to apologize to his previous mentor - Michael Kahn.

This leads to Mark reminiscing about the recent promise he gave out to Keanu. Keanu wanted to work with him on a movie, so he laid down some basic requirements that Keanu would have to fulfill. He also made sure Keanu realized that it would be the commitment of a lifetime. The last request Mark had for him was to go see a therapist that he recommended and promised to keep the entire event a secret.

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~ Mark's POV ~

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Date: 31st July, 1990.

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Location: In his office, at Eidolon HQ.

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Time: 05:44 pm.

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Mark was getting prepared for a meeting with Nina, Sarah and Joseph. Together they were the head of his Marketing department or at least of what he had been able to set up in the last few months.

To ensure that they didn't recruit seasonal staff too early when they were just starting out Eidolon. Mark had decided to outsource a lot of non essential tasks like surveying, data compilation, accounting, auditing, legal aid, catering, etc to trusted third party companies.

They were recommended by his uncle Steve from his network of trustworthy and competent individuals and companies whom he could hire and work with. It had been a smooth operation till now and he was a happy customer.

It was 5:44 pm and the aforementioned individuals for whom he had been waiting for had arrived. He really appreciated that they could respect and follow his policy of punctuality and weren't tardy in the workplace.

He gestured for everyone to take a seat and then said, "Thanks for meeting me here, I appreciate you all being on time. So without further ado let's get started."

"Sarah, do you have estimated box office numbers for the top 10 movies of July?"

"Of course, Mark, here is the top 10 list along with relevant information." She said passing Mark the requested list.

Mark looked at the list and saw how well organised it was, Sarah had neatly arranged them in a descending order along with information like - Release date, Distributor, percentage of box-office rise/drop per week (%± LW), no. of theatres alloted, Avg. Revenue per theatre and total box office.

It looked like this -

List of the top 10 movies of July, 1990 from the perspective of Box Office -

1. Die Hard 2: Released - July 6, Distributor - Twentieth Century Fox.

Week 1. (July 6-12th) Weekly Gross - $46 million, %± LW - (N/A), Theaters - 2,507, Avg. Revenue per theater - $18,421.

Week 2. (July 13-19th) Weekly Gross - $21 million, %± LW - (-54.5%), Theaters - 2,433, Avg. Revenue per theater - $8,630.

Week 3. (July 20-26th) Weekly Gross - $14.6 million, %± LW - (-30.4%), Theaters - 2,325, Avg. Revenue per theater- $6,288.

Week 4. (July 27-31st) Weekly Gross - $7.1 million, %± LW - (-38.4%), Theaters - 2116, Avg. Revenue per theater - $4,257.

Mark stopped after reading the statistics his team had collected on Die Hard 2.

"Sarah, what do you think about Die Hard 2's performance at the box office?" Mark asked for Sarah's analysis.

"They had a strong start, mostly due to it being part the sequel of a popular movie and heavy publicity. But it's easy to see that the quality of the sequel has deteriorated compared to its predecessor. The survey from cinema score shows us that the audience's 'popcorn' score for Die Hard was A- whereas, Die Hard 2 got a score of B-." Sarah explained how Die Hard 2 despite being a huge success at box office was also a bit of let down for its audience that loved the first movie.

"So it seems like Die hard 2 doesn't have the potential to affect the box office for September." Mark nodded appreciatively at Sarah.

"Do you guys think there are any movies on the list that have the potential to challenge Knives Out for the first place of Box Office Ranking?" Mark asked, looking at Sarah and Joseph.

Sarah went first after Joseph encouraged her. "If I were to pick one it would have to be ghost because the audience rating for the movie was an A and the critics had also praised it. Its word of mouth is also very good so it will have a better chance at staying profitable in the theaters and might even give a competition to Knives Out at the box office."

"Hmm." Mark hummed in thought and then looked to Joseph if he had another pick.

Joseph replied, "Mark, I recently went to see Presumed Innocent. Even though it didn't make the top 10, I heard a lot of good things about the movie, so I want to check it out. The movie is really good and the audience reception is even better. I think it will stay in the theaters for at least two more months and might even reach the top 5 of the rankings.

Mark nodded in agreement and asked them both, "what about the movies that are slated to be released in August and September? Do we have potential competitors there?"

This time it was Joseph that answered first. "Well, Flatliners had a decent audience reception to its test screening but I don't think it has the potential to challenge Knives Out. Especially when its publicity is pretty lackluster."

He then asked Mark how the publicity of Knives Out was coming along and if they had planned a publicity tour or such event.

It was Nina that answered him. "The publicity is coming along nicely. We had to push a little, but Universal held up their end of the bargain. Johnny, River, Mark and Salma have been confirmed to appear on the Tonight show with Johnny Carson."

"Hoardings, billboards, Newspaper and TV ads, the story of Mark being Marc Spector and now his transition to becoming a director is well known to all. But what drew us a lot of attention both positive and negative was the news of Eidolon, of Mark buying out Marvel Comics."

"It also kept our streak of being one of the centers of attention for the media alive. Right now at least 1 out of every 2 people in America know about our film, the PR stunt that Mark did couldn't have been handled any better."

"It was truly a masterful plan by Mark, instead of stopping the paparazzi and media from calling him out for his so-called "impulsive"," she did air quotes with finger as she said this to mock the media, "purchase, he fueled it further by anonymously hiring paparazzis to break news about Marvel's buyout every few days. So as to draw even more attention to himself and the movie."

"And according to our surveys it worked brilliantly. Now all we need is for the movie to actually be good and the test screening to impress both the audiences and critics. Because with that positive remark, we could earn more audience reception in theaters." Nina finished her explanation of how the publicity stunt of Knives Out went.

"So Mark, who will you be inviting for the test screening and premier? I hope it's some big celebrities who can give a further boost to our popularity and reputation." Nina asked at the end, looking at Mark.

Mark gave her a smile and said nonchalantly, "Nah, I don't really have any connections with big name superstars and celebrities. It's just going to be a few director friends of mine like - Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Mr. Coppola." with each name that Mark said, Nina's eye's grew wider as she knew that mark was friends with Steven Spielberg but she didn't know about him knowing George Lucas or even the legendary director, Mr. Coppola.

She now had a grin on her face that matched Mark's and she said, "now we are talking, Mark, how sure are you that your movie will impress them? That they will speak in favor of it, if asked by the media."

Mark said with complete seriousness. "I know it might sound cocky and overconfident but I have absolute faith in my work. Why do you ask though, Nina?"

"Well because I had a brilliant idea, what if when you invite them, you request them to give a small interview to the media about their impression of your film. Their words can be the most powerful driving factor of audiences to watch our film." Nina replied explaining her brilliant plan.

"That is brilliant Nina. After all they are directors with a well established name and huge fan base and if you could target them as well. There is almost no way we don't win the Box Office Rankings." Joseph said, praising Nina's idea.

"I can do that, Nina. But as you said I will have to be honest and forthcoming with them in the very beginning. I will also tell them to give their honest opinions and not to patronize my movie; if they actually don't like it." Mark replied agreeing with Nina's ideas.

"So do you guys have any more ideas about how we could get more people to watch our film?" Mark asked, looking for more clever ideas from them.

"Mark, what about the special event which is coming up this month? You have been preparing for it for the last few weeks." Sarah asked Mark about the "thing".

"What about it?" Mark asked not seeing her point.

"What if you draw the Media attention there and hold an impromptu QnA, where they ask you about the reasons behind the Marvel buyout and also about Knives out. This will give you an opportunity to show yourself to the public and also allow you to boost both Knives Out's box office and Marvel's development." She explained how Mark could fulfill most of his needs with this one move.

"This is an excellent idea, Sarah good thinking." Mark replied and gave her a thumbs up.

Nina explained the benefits of doing it from another angle, "It will also prepare the fans for the future when you announce Marvels movie releases in this event. Turning it into a super event that fans would wait for to arrive every year with bated breaths, to see you on stage. To hear you bring their favorite fiction characters to life on the big screen, this move would earn you so much good will and respect."

Mark nodded with a smile, agreeing with Nina's conjecture.

He told them that this would be enough and reminded them to come to the special first screening of the movie that was only open for the employees. Mark had decided to hold this special screening to raise the mood of his employees' that had been somewhat affected due to the negative media attention.

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After they left Mark was waiting for his second and final important meeting of the day. It was his "illustrious illustrator" that was finally coming in to meet him at his request.

He had met her a few times now, but she was a very shy person, who didn't like to socialize much. As such Mark had remained a little distant from her but now with the buying of Marvel and him deciding to bring out Naruto and My Hero Academy.

He needed her help to create these comics. He had planned to make her his head comic artist and have her in charge of leading a team of illustrators who would work on his comics and ensure that they are put out every week.

Hinata was her real name, but her American name was Heather Brown. Her grandparents had moved to America in the 1950s with her mother in hopes of creating a better life for themselves in America.

He had come to know about her from school, she was a senior who was a social outcast yet never really bullied due to having rich and well connected parents. He had seen drawings in the passing and asked her if she could draw the cover of his book.

The distance friendship that started from this innocent meeting with Mark's request had earned him the favor of one of the most talented illustrators he could find in his life. The only reason he did so was to satisfy his curiosity and meet the senior whom some girls were teasing.

They called her "hinatatas", making fun of her breasts out of jealousy. It struck a chord in him as he remembered that was the name of Naruto's love interest from his past life. If Mark didn't step in then maybe she would have gone unknown, her talent never discovered by anybody, creating artworks just for herself to enjoy.

But now with Mark's arrival in this world she would reach her true potential and be known around the world. This was just one of the many different changes that were happening due to the butterfly wings that flapped with each of Mark's actions.

His train of thoughts halted with the arrival of his much awaited illustrator. She didn't really have any idea why he had called her but he hoped to make her accept his offer and have her join as his lead comic artist. He thought it might be an uphill battle because the job requirement would ask of her to lead a team of comic artists and socialize with them on a daily basis.

He gestured for her to take a seat and said in perfect Japanese, "thank you for coming to meet me hinata."

She was a little taken aback as Mark had never spoken to her in Japanese before but she soon replied back in Japanese as well, "It wasn't really an issue, your employees are really polite and never once invaded my personal space."

Hinata, while being shy, was also a very straightforward person at least with people whom she knew closely. She asked Mark, "why did you want to meet with me in person when I was already fulfilling all my tasks perfectly while we communicated through letters."

"I have a different job proposition for you hinata and I wanted to meet you in person and ask you about it." Mark replied in a sincere tone.

"Well what is it," she asked bluntly.

"Well I want you to be my lead comic artist. I am preparing to form a team of comic artists who will exclusively be working on comics that will feature my stories."

"Some of them I already created and some that I want to be directly featured as comics. Two of them you have already read -

Naruto and My Hero Academia so would you like to lead this team and bring my vision to life." Mark made his request in a sincere yet hesitant tone.

Hinata's face instantly crumbled when Mark mentioned about leading a team of comic artists but then she got to thinking and was silent for a few minutes. It appeared like she had a moment of Eureka as she got a smile on her face and told Mark the idea she had gotten.

"Mark, what if I wear a mask like you when I interact with them, it would definitely help me not get scared of them."

"But still the thought of leading them fills me with dread. Wait, what if I hire someone as my assistant who would serve as my go between me and the rest of the team?" she replied and then asked him about the solution she thought of to avoid having to talk to random strangers.

Mark sighed as his plan to get her out of her shell had failed. While she just smirked at having figured out his plan and thought of a clever work around for it.

"You can hire an assistant for yourself but you're going to be responsible for their salary and actions." He replied countering her.

"Hey, that's not fair. Why does it have to come out of my pocket?" Hinata asked, pouting at him.

"It's because hiring an assistant for you was never in the plan and quite unnecessary actually so her salary will have to be paid out of yours." He replied and then explained further

"But don't worry I have allotted you a salary that's 30% higher than the industry average. So your starting salary will be around $30k and you will also be earning 5% commission on the sale of every comic book that you work on for perpetuity." Mark replied with a smile.

Hinata was stunned, she knew $30k salary was big, especially as a starting salary but it was a 5% commission that moved her. Her father was a businessman and inventor so she knew the value of commission that was for perpetuity.

"Are you sure about the commission," she asked him.

"Absolutely." Mark replied and then asked her, "That was all for our meeting. The joining letter would arrive later in the mail. Hmm, would like to join me for dinner.

She told him that she didn't enjoy eating in front of strangers as she feels they just keep staring at her. It was an irrational fear but one she couldn't really do much about.

Mark said that he knew somewhere very private with a booth all to themselves. He told her that it was a special night with her joining his company so they should celebrate. He offered her a mask to cover her face in the meantime.

She accepted the mask and his offer to dine out and Mark led her to The Red Lotus, his private booth was left unoccupied as usual; it was for his exclusive use only after all.

They had a great time with Mark getting her to talk more than had ever talked in her life before at once. When she told him about that, he took it as a personal win in his book. He wanted to help her become more confident and capable of talking with strangers, but helping her overcome her social anxiety would be a long journey.

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{Author's Note: This was a build up chapter with many hidden plot points and I also revealed how Mark used Marvel's buyout as a way to help promote Knives Out and Eidolon. But it was the introduction of Hinata that was my favorite part. I wanted to take a waifu for it, but I was torn between Raven from DC and Hinata from Naruto.

I tossed a coin and went with Hinata, I hope you guys understand that she is only a normal human with beautiful sky blue eyes, shy demeanor and social anxiety. She resembles Hinata from Naruto anime but isn't a ninja but a normal human.

Anywhos, moving on, thanks for reading my work. I am entirely motivated by interaction, suggestions and feedback. So please leave a comment or review and I will probably write faster.

If you like my work please throw a power stone my way so my book can climb the rankings. Slurp some nice ramen and I hope you all have a beautiful day (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧

Update schedule for this book: 1 chapter every 2 days.}