….
June 25, 2014.
While MDCU and [Matrix] are in production under Regal's name, there is another film that is about start filming in UK–
[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]
The fourth film of the [Harry Potter] is a project that could rival or even surpass the buzz of the current MDCU franchise.
The whole team of the project understands it, and are working to make the most of it by giving the best experience.
Chris Columbus sat in his office, surrounded by casting photos, set designs, and a script that had been through more revisions than he cared to count.
The Goblet of Fire script was done months ago from Regal.
…alas only if it had ended there.
After months of work, multiple rewrites, and one particularly frustrating conversation with Regal about whether to split the 734-page book into two films.
Chris had been convinced it needed to be two parts.
The Triwizard Tournament alone required so much screen time.
The Yule Ball.
The graveyard confrontation.
Voldemort's return.
How could they possibly fit it all into one film?
But Regal had insisted: one film, a single complete story.
"The problem isn't length." he had said, calm but unyielding. "It's structured. Goblet of Fire already has a beginning, middle, and end that work as a single movement."
Chris had argued that the audience would want time to breathe.
"And that's exactly why it stays one film." Regal replied. "This is the first time the story doesn't let Harry take even a moment of breath. Once his name comes out of that goblet, the clock starts ticking and it never really stops. Splitting it gives the audience relief the character doesn't get."
"But we will have to lose material."
"Of course we will." Regal said. "Because you are looking at the tournament too literally. Same with the ball and even Voldemort."
Chris stared at him. "Then what should I be looking at?"
Regal didn't hesitate. "It's about inevitability. Harry spends the entire film moving toward something he can't escape, without knowing what it is. The maze, the cup, the graveyard, it all has to land in one continuous descent. You break that in half, and you turn dread into anticipation."
He had leaned forward then, voice lower.
"When we do split a story later, it will be because the narrative demands reflection, not momentum. Because the characters need time to live with the consequences. Goblet of Fire is the trigger. It has to hit in one blow."
A pause.
"After this." Regal had added. "The world changes…. That's when you consider dividing a book, if it's needed, but not here."
Chris hadn't argued after that.
So his team and he took the liberty and rewritten some of the scenes with Regal's permission and constant inclusion.
Again.
Cutting subplots, streamlining narrative threads, focusing on the core emotional journey.
And somehow, it worked, like always…
The script was tight, propulsive and every scene served the larger story.
Chris looked at the production schedule on his wall.
Principal photography would begin in August.
They had two months to finalize casting, lock locations, and prepare for the most ambitious Harry Potter film yet.
His assistant knocked on the door. "Chris? Daniel's here for the stunt coordination meeting."
"Send him in."
Daniel Radcliffe entered, looking both excited and nervous.
At fifteen, he was taller now, his voice deeper. Growing up on screen in real-time.
"So." Daniel said, sitting down. "I heard I am doing my own stunts this time?"
"Most of them." Chris confirmed. "The underwater sequence in the second task, you will be on wires for significant portions. We are building a massive water tank for filming. You will need to train with professional divers."
"That sounds amazing."
"It should be sounding dangerous." Chris corrected. "Which is why we are starting training next month. You will be spending a lot of time underwater, learning to hold your breath, to move naturally in the tank. It's not going to be easy."
Daniel's grin widened. "When has any of this been easy?"
Chris laughed. "Cheeky, I see."
"What about the dragon sequence?"
"Wire work and a lot of it. You will be suspended twenty feet in the air, simulating flying on a broomstick while dodging a CG dragon. Jack Gill is coordinating, the same stunt coordinator from Superman."
"Regal's guy?"
"The best in the business." Chris pulled up storyboards on his laptop. "The dragon chase is going to be the centerpiece of the first task. We are planning a five-minute sequence that's pure adrenaline. Harry steals the golden egg while the Hungarian Horntail tries to kill him."
Daniel studied the storyboards, his expression shifting from excitement to focus. "How much preparation time do I have?"
"Two months of stunt training before we shoot that sequence. But it's going to be intense. Jack doesn't believe in taking it easy."
"You are making me nervous…." Daniel said.
….
Meanwhile, in the script reading session with the other children, things moved in different ways.
Someone, and they still hadn't figured out who, had tricked Rupert Grint into believing he needed to learn ballroom dancing for the Yule Ball scenes.
Rupert had spent two weeks taking professional dance lessons, learning the waltz, practicing footwork, and watching MeTube tutorials.
When he had finally shown up to set to demonstrate his newfound skills, the entire crew had stared at him in confusion.
"Why are you waltzing?" the overseer had asked.
"For the Yule Ball scene?" Rupert had replied, equally confused.
"Rupert... Ron can't dance. That's the entire point of the scene. He is supposed to be awkward and terrible."
The realization had dawned slowly.
Someone had pranked him and elaborately at that.
Chris had laughed for a solid five minutes when he heard.
Then decided to let Rupert keep the dance training anyway. "Might be useful for future films." he said, which was director-speak for "This is too funny to waste."
Lily, meanwhile, was taking a different approach to preparation.
She had requested the script three weeks early and had already memorized not just her lines, but everyone else's lines too.
"It helps me understand the scene dynamics." she had explained when Chris asked why she knew Daniel's dialogue better than Daniel did.
Chris suspected she just liked being prepared to a borderline obsessive degree.
But if it worked, who was he to judge?
….
Sydney.
Meanwhile, in Australia - there is another film under Regal's assistant turned director.
Alexander stood in the empty dojo construct set, watching Keanu and the stunt team run through choreography for the subway fight sequence.
They had been at it for six hours.
The same thirty-second section, over and over, refining timing and precision until every movement flowed like water.
Keanu moved through the choreography with martial artist grace, his body responding to the training with muscle memory that felt instinctive now.
Block, counter, spin, strike.
Each movement connected to the next in a seamless chain.
"Good!" Yuen Woo-ping called. "But faster. In the Matrix, you move at the speed of thought. Your body shouldn't look like it's trying. It should look like it simply is."
Once translated by the assistant, Keanu nodded, catching his breath, then reset his position.
They ran it again.
Faster, this time and definitely smoother.
Alexander watched from behind the camera monitor, seeing it come together in real-time.
This sequence would be one of the film's highlights, fighting Agent Smith in a confined space where the laws of physics were suggestions rather than rules.
Alexander said quietly. "Moving on to wire work."
The stunt team began rigging Keanu into the harness system.
This next section required him to run up a wall, flip backward, and land in a defensive stance, all while making it look effortless.
"You ready?" Alexander asked.
Keanu tested the wire tension, bouncing slightly on his toes. "Ready."
"Action!"
Keanu ran toward the wall, planted his foot, and the wires lifted him in a smooth arc. He rotated backward through the air, body perfectly controlled, and landed exactly on his mark.
"Cut! Perfect!" Alexander was grinning. "That's going to look incredible when we composite in the background effects."
Keanu removed the harness, stretching his shoulders. "How much more do we have today?"
"Two more sequences, then we are done. You are doing great, by the way. The training really shows."
Keanu walked back to his start position. "Let's keep going. I want to nail this too."
….
Unique VFX Animation | California.
Back to America, but in an entirely different studio–
In a completely different corner of the entertainment world, Kung Fu Panda was slowly taking shape.
Regal's first animated film as a writer was still months, possibly over a year, away from completion.
Animation moved at a different pace than live-action.
Every frame had to be created from scratch, every movement carefully crafted by artists who would spend weeks on sequences that lasted seconds.
The storyboard artists had covered an entire wall with sketches: Po the Panda discovering his destiny, Master Shifu training the Dragon Warrior, the Furious Five in action, Tai Lung's prison break.
"This is going to be a really special project in my life…" the lead animator said, studying the boards. "The script has real depth, not just for kids' movies. It's a story about believing in yourself when nobody else does."
"We can't expect anything less from a person like Regal." the producer replied. "He doesn't write down to audiences, regardless of age."
They had the voice cast locked: Jack Black as Po, Dustin Hoffman as Shifu, Angelina Jolie as Tigress, Ian McShane as Tai Lung. Heavy hitters who understood the material.
But the animation itself? That would take time.
Lots of it.
"We are looking at another fourteen months minimum." the animation director said during their weekly production meeting. "The fight sequences alone are going to require months of work. We want this to rival the best martial arts choreography ever filmed, even if it's animated."
"Take the time you need." the producer said. "Regal's not rushing this, and neither are we. It's ready when it's ready."
….
LIE Studio | Late Evening.
Regal sat in his office long after everyone else had gone home, reviewing footage from three different productions:
[Superman] dailies showing Henry's complete transformation into the character.
[The Matrix] test footage of bullet time sequences that looked like nothing cinema had seen before.
[Deadpool]'s behind the scene clips Ryan wants to use for publicity.
Three films. Three visions. Three different approaches to storytelling.
And somehow, impossibly, all of them were working.
His phone buzzed. A text from Reynolds:
[Reynolds: Just wrapped for the day. Haven't heard from you about... you know. Should I be worried?]
Regal smiled and typed back:
[Regal: You should always be a little worried when you are working with me.]
Working. So he wasn't getting fired.
[Reynolds: Holy shit, I thought I was dead. Levy owes me fifty bucks. He bet you would fire us both.]
[Regal: Keep in mind, this was a one-time exception. Unless you are feeling brave enough to make another bet with Levy.]
So Regal wasn't outright telling him never to do it again, just making the line very clear.
[Reynolds: Understood. And... thanks. For not killing us.]
[Regal: Thank me by making Deadpool unforgettable. That's all I care about.]
Regal set the phone down and returned to the footage.
One week after the Superman leak, and they had turned disaster into opportunity.
And Ryan Reynolds had proven he understood something crucial: in a world of controlled marketing and carefully orchestrated releases, sometimes chaos was the best strategy.
Superman would premiere December 19, 2014.
The Matrix would follow March 31, 2015.
Deadpool would close the trilogy February 12, 2016.
Three films that would define what superhero cinema could become.
They just had to finish making them first.
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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