My Hollywood System

Chapter 67:

“What did you decide?”

Will asked as he put aside a folder in his hands.

Right now, he was in his office at the Dream Vision Studios. He had come a bit early because he would meet Robert here today.

Yesterday, he gave the contract to Robert and told him to give him a call as soon as he went through the entire contract.

The main reason why Will didn’t waste any more time about this was due to Spencer Miller’s help. The latter was very impressed by Robert’s acting skills and had assured the other executives of the company agree with Will’s choice of casting Robert’ as Holmes.

Robert, on the other hand, was also very excited about this. He was even ready to sign the contract then and there, but Will told him to go through the whole contract first and even consult a lawyer about this. He didn’t wish for the former to feel tricked in future, mainly because he had informed the former about something new in the contract.

And early this morning today, Robert called him, saying that he was ready to sign the contract. Usually, Will would have told him to take it slow, but he, too, was quite excited this time.

Not only because he was signing someone talented like RDJ, but also because this person was going to be the first actor of his agency.

“Here.” Robert put the contract in front of Will while taking a seat.

“Are you satisfied with it?” Will asked.

“Yes.” Robert smiled, “Three movies. I was shocked when I read these two words.”

Will nodded, “Yes. That’s the change in the plan we have. Three movie contracts for two million. 500K for the first movie, 650K for the second movie, and 850K for the third movie.”

(A/n: stop adding.)

He was sure that Foxstar would want to create sequels for [Sherlock Holmes] after seeing its box office numbers and knowing how much Robert’s prices would go up in the future, he was happy to sign him so cheaply.

“Yes. I have signed it.” Robert smiled. He was very satisfied with the contract terms. His current income was barely a couple thousand dollars, and that too wasn’t constant. This contract was a heaven-sent opportunity that he must not mess up.

“Great,” Will smiled, “Before we shake hands and celebrate, Robert, do you remember the thing we talked about?.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Will had already explained everything to him, and Robert had also thought it through.

Will was talking about signing Robert as the first artist of Dream Vision’s agency. Although they have not registered the company or gotten an official name, Will wanted Robert to sign a special contract that would bind him to Dream Vision.

He was just someone who he couldn’t afford to lose.

After [Sherlock Holmes], Will planned to launch his agency officially.

“Your contract with MCA has ended, right?”

He asked, just to ensure they don’t have any complications later on.

“Yeah, no need to worry about it. My contract ended a while ago, and there were no talks of renewing it, and I don’t think MCA wants me.”

Will gave out a wry smile hearing that.

‘They don’t want you currently, but they will want you in the future.’

He had a good relationship with MCA thanks to Uncle Ben, and they were the ones who had helped him sell his script. It was not wrong to say that his career would not have started so smoothly without Uncle Ben and MCA.

Even in [Sherlock Holmes], some of the actors he could get were due to MCA.

He didn’t want to sour their relationship, but it was inevitable because of Robert. After he got famous, the chairman of MCA would surely be upset.

‘Ah, sigh, I will handle it when it comes.’

Thinking about that, Will took out a contract and moved it towards Robert. Robert took out his pen and signed it without wasting his time reading it.

“You didn’t even bother reading it?”

“I don’t have to. I trust you enough.”

Saying that he flashed a smile and shook hands with Will.

“Let’s create a blockbuster.”

He added, and Will nodded his head.

***

11:35 AM.

24th March 2011

Leavesden Studios, Leavesden, Hertfordshire, England, UK.

“Mr Evans, it’s a pleasure to meet you finally.” A middle-aged man in a classy formal suit put his hand forward for a handshake.

Will obliged and shook his hands with the person in front of him, “The pleasure is all mine, Mr Wilson. Thank you for letting us shoot here.”

“Well, I don’t say no to money,” Mr Wilson, full name Nicole Wilson, replied with a chuckle.

They were currently at a sound stage in the Leavesden Studios.

Nicole Wilson was the manager of sorts for the studio and the person with whom the contract discussions were done.

Most of the paperwork regarding the contracts was handled by Amanda and the other staff of the Dream Vision Studio. Right now, they were going to shoot a scene after the prologue of the movie, and it would be shot at the [221B Baker Street]. However, since that location is entirely fictional, they will be using a sound stage at this studio.

Sound stages are basically large, soundproof rooms or buildings with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical filmmaking and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or television studio property.

[IMAGE]

The empty stage was currently fully designed into a 19th-century apartment and was almost true to the descriptions from the book.

After having a small chat with Mr Wilson, Will headed towards the camera section.

“Are you ready?” Will called out a young man.

The young man raised his head and smiled, “Yes.”

He was Anthony McCarthy. Will’s new Assistant Director.

Although Will would direct the whole movie, it would be quite presumptuous to think that he could handle all the work. This movie was going to be on the whole another level, way beyond the [Blair Witch Project], and this was why Will hired an Assistant Director who will be helping him with minor work details that he might miss.

And right now, he had come here to tell Anthony about his first task.

“Do you have the permission papers?” Wil asked.

“Yes,” Anthony pointed at the table nearby, “I made three copies.”

“Good,” Will nodded, “Take the perms of the Old Royal Naval College, and we will be using that place to shoot the streets outside Baker Street.”

“Alright,” Anthony nodded.

Will then pointed in a direction and added, “For now, go and talk to Richard. Is he ready for the shoot? And tell the patient actor to come too. We will be starting with their scene.”

“I will be right back,” Anthony nodded.

“Alright,” Will glanced in another direction, “I will go and check his progress. You go and bring Richard.”

Anthony nodded and headed towards the makeup section, where the actor who will be playing Dr Watson, Levi Richards, was reading his lines while getting his makeup done.

Will moved towards the direction he was staring at earlier. Just as he had taken a few steps, someone called him out.

“Will!”

Will turned around and found Jeffery walking towards him.

“Yeah?”

“Well, I think we should keep the colour palate quite greyish to give it the 19th-century vibe,” Jeffery said with a thoughtful expression.

Will nodded, “Yeah, you’re right. But be careful with the limits. We don’t want to give the stereotypical vibe, and we also don’t want to make it feel too modern, and it needs to give the vibe of a dark, detective story.”

“Got it.” Jeffery nodded, and then following Will’s gaze, he was surprised at the scene in front of him.

“You’re making him work hard.” he smiled while staring at the front.

Will nodded, “The whole movie is lying on his shoulders. He needs to understand the fact, and I think he kinda likes this martial art.”

“Is this karate? Or Kung fu?”

“Nah, it’s called Wing Chun.”

“Wing Chun? Did the Sherlock Holmes in the stories know martial arts?”

“In the stories, Holmes is described as an expert in Baritsu.” Will replied, “It’s an old English martial art which was created by combining elements of boxing, jujitsu, cane fighting, and French kickboxing.”

“Then why Wing Chun?” Jeffery asked.

Will smiled.

They were currently looking at the corner of the studio, where two people were practising martial arts.

One was Michael Robert Elrod, the actor who will be playing Sherlock, and the second person was an old Chinese man in traditional kung fu clothing.

Both of them were currently practising, and Micheal was fully focused on the poses, unaware of the two people discussing him.

“Wing Chun is a type of Kung Fu, but it’s not something commonly seen. Because it’s a self-defence type of Kung Fu, this one requires strong arms and legs. However, it also has a unique softness and relaxation in its moves. It fits perfectly for the movie, especially with the actor who’s playing Sherlock.”

“Yeah,” Jeffery nodded, “I can see him enjoying the practice.”

Will nodded. Just then, both of them sensed someone approaching from the side and turned towards them.

“Richard is ready.” It was Anthony.

Will smiled, “Let’s start rolling the camera.”

…

//DreamNote//

The first big production begins!

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