Hollywood What If Chapter 545
"Continue to inspire people? Isn't Heath's role about a psychotic serial killer? What the fuck is Warner Brothers cooking? The Joker is not a positive role model!"
Robert "Bob" Iger grumbled as he turned off the television. He was happy that Heath Ledger woke up, this was a good thing for Hollywood itself.
Hollywood and celebrities had been glorified to the point where people saw celebrities as gods above others.
Heath Ledger's incident made this status even better. Now, people would look at celebrities with sympathy and perhaps awe.
As long as people glorified celebrities, movies would continue to make money. Hence, the Big Six loved it whenever something like this happened.
However, Robert was also bitter that Warner Brothers was earning a lot of money because of this incident. Walt Disney had been losing its edge these past few years.
Because of this, the company was desperate to acquire Lucasfilm, since Lucasfilm owned profitable IPs that Walt Disney was salivating to get.
Bob Iger sighed and leaned back in his chair. He looked at the ceiling. He knew that interesting stories could shape public perception. Warner Brothers was capitalizing on Heath Ledger's ordeal perfectly. They were turning a tragedy into a marketing goldmine, and The Dark Knight was reaping the benefits.
"They're milking this for all it's worth. I wouldn't even be surprised if they interview Heath while he's still in the hospital."
He muttered. Frustration was evident in his voice.
He stood up and gazed out of his office window. The tall buildings in Los Angeles were towering across the city.
If Disney wanted to compete, they needed something bigger. Something that would dominate the box office. They already had the answer.
His eyes narrowed. Lucasfilm was the key. He just needed to make it happen.
"We will acquire Lucasfilm. Then we will make the worst Star Wars franchise and shit on the fans… Yeah, I can see it happening. Who gives a fuck anyway? It's all about money."
Robert laughed like a devil. The fans of Star Wars would probably be devastated once they heard the news.
Robert felt like the future would be rough if they failed to acquire Lucasfilm. He heard that Blue Sky Studio was planning to animate Wall-E, which was a story written by Kazir. Blue Sky and DreamWorks were rivals of Pixar.
After spending so many resources, Robert successfully acquired the complete version of the Wall-E script, and he was amazed by how Kazir portrayed the dystopian future in the script.
Acquiring a complete version of a movie script was tough, especially when it was still in production. A person had to sign a non-disclosure agreement. But Robert paid his way to get a copy secretly… He wanted to call Kazir to ask him if he had more interesting scripts, but he knew that the director would probably not work with them, which was infuriating.
"Now that I think about it, Heath is super famous right now! Maybe he is interested in working with Disney!"
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Kazir was having a good time. He was smiling the whole day.
The answer to why Kazir was happy was because his friend woke up from a coma.
Another reason why he was happy was that he changed the future. Heath Ledger died in the original timeline, but now the worst thing he suffered was a coma of 18 days.
Kazir and Scarlett had already visited Heath two days ago and had a conversation with the actor. Heath was thankful to Kazir because he saved his life. Heath learned that Kazir, Christian, and Scarlett saved him. Heath even cried.
It was a heartwarming moment for Kazir. It was a good thing that Heath woke up.
Kazir sat on his couch, his eyes glued to the television. News about Heath's miraculous recovery was everywhere. He watched as reporters enthusiastically covered the story. Some were speculating about Heath's future projects and his return to Hollywood.
"They're already building him up as a legend… He's not even fully recovered yet."
Kazir shook his head, a small smile on his face.
Scarlett entered the room, carrying two cups of tea. She handed one to Kazir and sat beside him. She looked at the television.
The two had been spending their time together a lot lately. Both of them agreed to take a rest for a year and lay low on working.
"They'll keep milking this for a while. But at least Heath is alive. That's all that matters," Scarlett added.
Kazir nodded, his heart feeling lighter.
"Yeah… that's all that matters."
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The last week of August arrived, and Wanted 3 had its premiere.
Wanted 3 would probably be the last installment of the franchise for a while, unless Ben Affleck himself showed interest in making a sequel.
His three-movie contract had ended. His contract lasted for nine years since the filming of Wanted in 1999. It was a long commitment, so it was understandable why Ben Affleck had no intention of renewing the contract.
The story of Wanted 3 was about Wesley Gibson learning about his father's past and the secret his mother had been keeping from him. Of course, there were action sequences every ten minutes to hype the movie.
Wesley Gibson was one of the most wanted criminals in the world. In the last scene, everyone thought that Wesley Gibson died, but he actually survived and changed his name. Also, he was now a rich person living in a tropical country. His life story ended in a positive way.
The premiere of Wanted 3 was a grand event. Fans lined up outside the theater, eager to see how Wesley Gibson's story would conclude. Reporters swarmed the red carpet, flashing cameras capturing every moment.
Kazir watched from the sidelines. He was satisfied with the situation. The film was already generating buzz, and he was confident it would be a box office hit, as always.
As the lights dimmed and the movie started, he glanced at Scarlett, who sat beside him. Scarlett held his hand.
He whispered, "You think this will be the biggest hit of the year?"
She smirked. "I wouldn't be surprised. You wrote it."