Hollywood What If Chapter 543
"Then, since you're not going to film a movie for a year, how about doing your job to the truth this time?" Tom touched his chin and nodded as he agreed with the idea he had just thought of.
"Huh, what do you mean?"
"I'm talking about your job as an Executive Producer. You will help Blue Sky Studio in making Wall-E."
"... I still haven't agreed to that. I haven't even signed a contract."
"You're the scriptwriter of Wall-E. You're also a talented director. The scenes are probably already done in your head, and we need that to help us animate Wall-E... I honestly want you to direct the movie, but that's asking for too much."
"... You're just bitter that The Dark Knight is making a lot of money compared to Marvel movies."
"You are damn right. Don't worry, we will pay you at least $5 million for your position as the Executive Producer."
"... Let me talk to my agent first."
"That's good to hear."
This showed that Kazir was not against working on Wall-E animation. However, Salvatore would probably increase the salary to $7 million before things became official.
Tom Rothman knew that some of the executives were angry at Kazir because of his so-called "betrayal" and understood why. However, he knew that Kazir didn't betray them. The fact that Kazir was still working with them showed that his intention toward 20th Century Fox and Marvel Studios was good.
He knew that the biggest reason why The Dark Knight was making huge money right now was because of Heath Ledger's situation.
The Big Six competed against each other, but none of them wanted to hurt or kill one another because that was not morally right at all.
Making up false rumors to destroy someone's reputation was acceptable.
Blackmailing celebrities to get what they wanted was acceptable.
Doing some sex trafficking? Yeah, fine. Hollywood loves that.
Secret sex parties? The orgy was all right... But adding kids to those sex parties was downright wrong. Apparently, Hollywood was fine with that and deemed it normal.
Anyway, killing a person was bad. That's where they drew the line.
Showbiz was business, not a war where you had to kill your opponent. Tom Rothman didn't wish for anyone to suffer, not even his worst enemies.
This was the reason why everyone in Hollywood hated the executive who tried to assassinate Kazir because that incident blemished Hollywood badly... Yes, Hollywood was not pure, and it had a lot of dirty secrets, but there were limits to the sins they could accept.
What happened to Heath Ledger was not something Tom Rothman wanted to happen to other celebrities.
"... But I'm not going to lie, Warner Brothers found a diamond with their promotion. They took advantage of the bad news to promote The Dark Knight."
Warner Brothers was monetizing grief because they were a corporation.
It's a sad thing that Heath Ledger was comatose, but have you seen his latest work, The Dark Knight? Dude, watch it. You will understand why Heath Ledger became depressed and dependent on prescription pills... This was the common conversation. By the way, some of the information was just rumors with no clear evidence to back it up.
"I heard that some people are blaming Kazir because he's the one who pushed Heath to take the role of the Joker. I guess I can understand why he needs a rest."
Their meeting ended after that.
......
...
...
The hospital room was quiet, except for the faint, rhythmic beeping of machines.
Heath Ledger lay still, pale and unmoving. He had been in that state for 18 long days.
Outside the hospital, fans gathered. They were holding signs and pictures of Heath as the Joker. Some carried flowers, others held candles.
The situation was getting overdramatic, as if Heath had already died. Well, a certain corporation wanted to keep it dramatic. They even paid some people to cry in front of the hospital.
"I just want him to wake up. I want him to see how much we love him and his films."
"I've watched The Dark Knight three times now. He… he is incredible. It's heartbreaking that he can't see what he's accomplished."
Some fans had their heads bowed, whispering prayers. Others held each other, united by grief and hope.
Across the world, people were talking about Heath Ledger. News anchors delivered updates on his condition with solemn faces.
Why was Heath's situation still trending even after two weeks? Well, Time Warner was keeping the issue alive. Time Warner was one of the major media conglomerates in the world.
Five media conglomerates dominated globally, Time Warner, Comcast, Walt Disney, Paramount Global, and News Corporation.
It wouldn't be hard for Time Warner to keep Heath's story alive for a month if needed.
The Dark Knight continued to dominate the box office, but fans were still worried about Heath Ledger's health.
"The world watches and waits, praying for his recovery."
Talk show hosts discussed his performance with praise.
"He transformed into the Joker. It's... scary."
"I've never seen anything like that. He's not just acting. It's as if the Joker was real."
But behind every compliment, there was sorrow. Heath wasn't awake to hear any of it.
Later that evening, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Gary Oldman visited the hospital. They had just finished a press conference but couldn't go home without seeing Heath.
They stood at the doorway, hesitant to enter.
"... He's not going to die, right?"
If he was going to die, then the build-up of this story arc would be useless.
"Hush, his family is inside."
"Let's go in."