My Hollywood System

Chapter 127:

Will, Robert, Jeffery, and Renly were also joined by Elijah, as he had a few scenes pending which were to be shot after Robert’s cameo was taken.

“Finally, the General himself shows up; what are you doing, soldiers?! Don’t you know that you’re supposed to salute a superior officer when he enters the room?” Robert snarked off to Renly and Elijah as he mock-saluted Will before giving him a big hug.

Will was accosted with handshakes and hugs from the other actors in the room as well, while the supporting actors, who were all dressed as military officials, just watched on Star Struck.

“Our boy, Lance Corporal Elijah here, broke his ankle last week, so Brigadier General Jeffery had General Amspoker send him back to the camp for a week while I had to pick up his slack, and now it seems the big five-star general himself has come to look after the work, Lance Corporal, you seem like an important fella, for him to have shown up.” Robert continued his joke at Elijah as everyone chuckled in amusement. Will wasn’t surprised that Elijah had been hurt. It was common in action movies, especially ones like [1917].

“Well, Colonel, I have another posting for you, for after this assignment is complete, why don’t we discuss this over lunch? After your mission here is complete?” Will said, carrying on with Robert’s Joke.

Robert straightened and mock-saluted again, “Sir! Yes, Sir!”

“Are you two going to stay in character all day?” Jeffery interjected, “I can feel a headache coming along.”

“What are you on about, Brigadier General?” Will mock scolded him.

Jeffery groaned as Elijah and Renly chuckled in amusement. Will finally deflated and “Well, I will be around here till this scene is complete, and I will help out however I can. It’s not too difficult or anything, is it?”

“Elijah and I almost had a few scares with some scenes. I thought we would die when that plane almost crashed on top of us, but it gave a good scene.” Renly answered, with Elijah nodding by his side.

“Well, It seems you guys had a few adventures. Anyway, it seems Director Lucas is ready for the next shot. I will be with him.” Will commented, seeing that the Director had arrived by the camera crew again.

The others nodded as Jeffery left, closely followed by Will, as the Director prepared to start Robert’s cameo scene in the movie.

Will stayed around, mostly as an observer. He didn’t want to interfere with the Director’s work in any way, as being a director himself, he knew that they don’t take well to others interfering in their work, no matter who it be. So, he just watched the proceedings, by his chair, underneath the tent they’d erected to shield them from the sun.

*****

Will followed Jeffery and Robert on his Harley Davidson as they drove in their Mercedes to The Company Shed in the Suffolk countryside. They had selected the restaurant as it was nearest to the filming location and provided quality meals for them at the same time.

Dismounting his bike, Will followed Jeffery and Robert into the restaurant, where they were quickly guided by the attendant to a private spot inside, and they took their seats around the round table. They ordered their meals quickly and decided to finish their conversations before the meal arrived.

“So, Robert. Now that your cameo scene is complete, I have another script ready and waiting for you. This one is a project that I will be directing and producing. It’s called [Liberty City], it’s a gangster action drama based in the hippie 80s. And the role I am offering you is that of the antagonist here. A rich multimillionaire is the head of the crime family known as the Vercetti’s. I have the written script with me; I will hand it to you to read and discuss with your agent after we’re done with the food here.” Will informed Robert.

“I don’t think discussing the script with my agent will be necessary. If you’re leading the direction and the scriptwriting, I want to be a part of it. I trust you.” Robert replied as Will smiled at him. “Though I thought I would do a [Sherlock Holmes] sequel next, what gives?”

“Sherlock Holmes is on hold for some time. I believe somewhere around August or September will be a good time. For now, I want to give you a new direction and experiment with the stories shown in mainstream Hollywood. Have you ever seen a movie that gets your blood pumping, or your adrenaline coursing, and makes you sit on the edge of your seats throughout the movie?” Will asked them, and at their denial, he continued, “Hollywood and cinema, in general, have the potential to become anything and everything you can imagine. I want cars exploding, planes crashing, monsters and aliens, spaceships, and everything you can imagine. That’s what Hollywood lacks right now. There is a severe lack of imagination right now. Horror movies are cliché, and my [The Blair Witch Project] was the only change in the genre in decades. Similarly, the unimaginative nature of Hollywood today has almost destroyed [Sherlock Holmes], by making it comedic instead of thrilling. I want to change that and take Hollywood into an era where magic itself is in the heart of filmmaking.” He finished his impassioned speech.

He could see that Robert was interested in the direction that Will was describing, while Jeffery was sceptical, yet even he could see that it was not about the stories and the creativity that he wanted to show but something else. Will motion Jeffery to speak his opinion. Jeffery replied, “That is all well and good, Will, but all this needs more talent. You directed [Sherlock Holmes], and that was a magnificent work. We would need directors that can build on that and improve. Actors that can encapsulate and imagine the story, and VFX, CGI, Animation, etc. There are many different things you will need before you can aim to try what you are proposing.”

Will nodded and pointed out, “I am rich, Jeffery. I will find that talent. I will find the resources and bring them into the fold. And it all starts with this project. [Liberty City] will change films as we see them. I will introduce action in movies as we’ve never seen before. I just need your support. I already have a lead actor for this. He’s just like Robert here. The same hidden potential, the same talent. He and Robert will make it a success, I can see it.”

He could see that his words had the desired effects on both of them as he spoke about Leo. It was then that their food arrived. And they continued their discussion over the delicious meat pie and treacle pudding that they’d ordered.

“Think about a scene where the main character is in a bar fight, and he’s up against ten people. Do you think he will survive?”

Will asked, and Jeffrey shook his head.

“There’s no way that’s possible. The main character isn’t a superhero. He would get beaten up badly.”

“Yeah, but my main character will not only defeat all those thugs, but he will also even do it with style. The stuff that makes people think it’s impossible, but it’s so cool.”

Robert made a snarky remark hearing that.

“The critics are going to say you missed the class on physics.”

“A movie doesn’t need to go by that. A movie can make a walk in the park cool if it wants to. So, why not fight scenes? Think of the main character as a game character. The audience doesn’t have to think whether his actions are plausible or not; they just need to enjoy them.”

Robert liked what Will was saying. Anything was possible, and it was theirs to decide how to show it. It was an interesting proposition.

“Who will be able to make an action scene stylish? I don’t think Antonio can do it. He never worked like that.”

Jeffery said, pointing out something obvious. Antonio was the action director, but he didn’t have experience or skills good enough to choreograph a set of stylish action scenes.

“We can hire a foreign action director. We have money, so anything is possible.”

…

//DreamNote//

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