HWI 71

[Shout out to Ryan B, Marga T, Cesar M, Bikash G, Andiyah B, and Jonathan D!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 71

Since Kazir Grey and Reese Witherspoon had nothing to do at the party. They already greeted most of the people. Some actresses tried to flirt with Kazir in front of Reese, but that was a common thing. 

After all, women prefer a successful man. This statement was basically true. Some might say it was wrong, but it was hard to deny. Women like strong, good looking and successful men. 

Anyway, Kazir didn't bother to entertain these women. He knew how hellish it was once caught in the pit of a woman's madness. So much so that he was accused of being a wife beater. 

'Maybe some of these women think I'm really a wife-beater. But they still try to flirt with me.'

The couple walked to the exit. However, right at the exit, they met someone who was holding a bottle of wine and looking drunk. 

"... Mel?"

Kazir recognized the person. It was Mel Gibson. 

Lethal Weapon was produced by Warner Bros. Of course they would invite Mel Gibson to the party. Especially when Jon De Bont was the cinematographer on Lethal Weapon 3. 

Kazir saw Mel Gibson talking to Jon De Bont earlier. He was sober then. But now...

"Oh, look who we have here! Kazir Grey! Congratulations, Burp, your movie is the box office champion! Burp!"

Mel Gibson leaned against the wall. He was clearly drunk.

"..."

Kazir narrowed his eyes, even Reese next to him was nervous. 

"Since you're here, I'm going to warn you. I saw you talking to Jeffrey Epstein earlier... I'm telling you. DO NOT FUCKING GO."

Kazir didn't expect that Mel Gibson would be the one to warn him about the danger of Epstein Island.

"Kazir. You're still new in Hollywood and you're not tainted by the filth, burp. I'll tell you the truth, there are so many pedophiles in Hollywood. You have to be strong and resist the temptations. Guaarggh!"

He said that and threw up on the floor. 

Reese could not help but frown in disgust. 

"Mel, I think you need to get some rest. I will call someone to take care of you."

Instead of being disgusted, Kazir felt grateful. Most of the people at the party saw him talking to Jeffrey Epstein. But only one person had the courage to warn him.

'Now that I think about it, Mel Gibson didn't have any scandals other than being an alcoholic, yelling anti-Semitic rants, and beating his ex-girlfriend.... Right?'

Perhaps he was wrong. But this man was known for telling the truth. There was an article about Mel Gibson warning people about the filth of Hollywood. 

"Thank you, Mel... I will keep that in mind."

The organizer called a driver for Mel Gibson to take him to his mansion and everything went back to normal. 

As for Kazir and Reese... Well, that little incident didn't stop them from "rehearsing" how to "scream" at Reese's audition.

......

...

...

The cast and director were required to promote their movie. Warner Bros had a number of publicity stunts to promote the movie. Like the actors appearing in public and doing stunts that caught the attention of people. Helping kids in orphanage, public feeding, and even throwing parties for the elderlies. 

Ed Helms and Pedro Pascal were invited to a TV show. That was all to promote the movie. Even Reese went to Canada and showed her face in one of the theaters. 

As for Kazir, he obviously wanted to go to New York. Since they were going to promote the movie in New York, Kazir took the opportunity to meet his family. 

He met his father and Aaron. However, because they were all busy, they only had one dinner the whole time Kazir was in New York. Their relationship was good, so it was not a problem. Men should work hard for their future. His father was proud of him. 

As for Cassandra Hoecrap... She was getting so much backlash these days. Kazir had already forgotten about her. 

As the promotion continued, Monday came and The Hangover grossed $7.65 million. Warner Bros was already expecting the big drop. Most people go to the movies on the weekend. So Monday through Thursday usually had a weak audience response. 

In fact, The Hangover did much better than expected on Monday. Warner Bros thought the movie would only make about $5 million.

The next day, Tuesday, July 2, 1996. The movie grossed $6.58 million. 

Wednesday. It was $6.65 million. 

Thursday. It made $6.09 million. 

Friday. July 5, 1996. The movie grossed $10.31 million. 

Saturday. It grossed $12.60 million. 

Sunday. It was $9.88 million. 

Like I said, more people go to the movies on a weekend. So The Hangover's box office went up. 

So within ten days, The Hangover made $104.76 million at the box office! Its first ten days grossed more than $100 million. 

Unfortunately, despite earning about $60 million this week, The Hangover didn't get the box office champion this week. 

The one that won the box office champion for the week was none other than 20th Century Fox's Independence Day! 

Its first week was $96.10 million!

The plot of America vs. Aliens caught the attention of many people. 

So The Hangover only got the second place. 

But no one thought that the movie was a failure. Instead, more and more film companies tried to contact Kazir about his next project! 

Even 20th Century Fox was eager to make Napoleon Dynamite II. They tried to convince Kazir to make the movie. 

But instead of agreeing... Kazir sent them a new script instead. 

"What the hell is this? An action movie?"

Tom Rothman frowned when he first received the script. He had never expected Kazir Grey to be interested in an action movie.

"That bastard... Why does he want to make an action movie instead of a comedy?"

His two successful movies were all comedies, yet Kazir wanted to start a project about a retired agent who wants to save his daughter from human traffickers! 

It was outrageous.

"He should stick to his forte..."

Tom Rothman lost his temper. 

Independence Day was a success and he was happy. But after the success of the movie, 20th Century Fox had to find another movie to invest in. In his opinion, Kazir was the safest bet. But the bastard wanted to make an action movie!