TBF, Mags, you have been doing a lot of the heavylifting for the quest, so this will be in good hands.
To be clear to everyone, this is just me burning out on imagination of the quest, since my muse has been hitting me over the head a lot with so many different ideas that I just can't find myself too interested in this.
I'll still hang out here, though, since this still does have a sepcial place in my heart.
I'd like to thank you all for making this a wonderful experience while it lasted.
I'd also like to thank @Magoose, @Fluffy_serpent, and @Martin Noctis for doing so much to help prepare and write this quest. I couldn't have done it without you all.
I know, it's just that I know a lot of people in thread were being SORE LOSERS😤😋 and were looking for any excuse to replace Christopher Lee with Mifune, this just helps with that.
I just don't remember the IC post when we were voting on Obi Wan, just that we nominated 3 people, but I never saw the result of the vote. I don't remember an audition process or anything. I might have missed it, admittedly.
Pretty good update all around. Real shame about ILM and Alan's DC's being so high, if it was just even 5 lower than we could have had success on both fronts. At the very least we're continuing to maintain a good social life. Robin is continuing to dominate with commanding performances in his rise to the top. John has it a bit rough as an A-lister but is adjusting and has our backs, all while continuing to have lower rolls than Robin. Debbie and George are fine, and Ginger is best kitty.
Once again we have definitive proof that Carrie triumphs over all. Part of me added her in the linetail just for the hope that the +30 bonus could net us something good, but even without that we struck gold with the nat 99 and are getting the perfect dream house to raise our gaggle, perhaps even still live there in 2023. Really hyped and looking forward to the house update!
Well the good thing is that our lowest Obi-wan roll was a 79, and if things don't work out with Lee then we can just move on to Toshiro or Pat and still get a very amazing Obi-wan. Highly doubt the two of them will both be as troublesome in contract negotiations so we are going to have one by the time film starts and won't need to do another cast launch. Gotta say, I love how Carrie's presence unintentionally pushed Christopher to shoot so high, and meanwhile she'd probably be happy with minimum wage just for the chance to work with Bruce. What did her contract boil down to Magoose?
Okay, so I've said I would like Bruce to play Conan, because it's one of his favourite books and because I believe Bruce could save the planned trilogy. So to push that a bit I wrote a pitch for the third movie that was never made after Conan The Destroyer flopped.
Presuming the first movies script is the same just with Conan having more dialogue, it should've been a success.
The deciding factor is the second movie.
Now Conan the Destroyer had problems with executives meddling. For some reason they thought it had to be a family film. So they cut down on the gore and nudity extensively, removed two planned sex scenes, mention of gambling, added magic as Conan's kryptonite, simplified the dialogue and added an attempted comedy relief in place of Subotai. Despite that it almost made its budget back.
Oh and speaking of budget it was given 2 million less than the original, leaving them reliant on some less then stellar effects such as 1980's blue screen and a rather poorly made rubber suit for the climatic fight.
So I fully believe Conan the Destroyer could be a good movie if you remove some of this executive bullshit.
Anyway, having said all that, here is my pitch for a third Conan movie to follow on from a better version of Destroyer:
Part 1: The Crown:
In the Kingdom of Aquilonia the rightful and beloved King, Zenophon, has been overthrown by his brother Numedides, fleeing the Capitol city of Tarantia, he is forced to flee to the mountains of Galamira on the northern border of his kingdom, there he waits, building an army to reclaim his throne.
Conan, as ever accompanied by his friend Subotai (who would've been in the second film here), rides through the mountains to a town in a valley in Aquilonia. The guards there, under the banner of King Numedides abuse the populace, eventually trying to harass Subotai and Conan due to their weapons, accusing them of being mercenaries come to fight for Zenophon, in truth just meaning to steal the gold Subotai won gambling.
Conan and Subotai fight back, and their success leads the village to take up arms, despite intending to leave before more soldiers arrive, and meaning to fight to defend themselves, they are hailed as heroes and liberators by the villagers. This draws the soldiers of Zenophon to them, and after Conan defeats a masked champion in combat, said champion reveals himself to be the king, here to test Conan's skill.
Impressed by the Kings wits, kindness to his people and bravery, Conan agrees to fight for him, despite Subotai's reluctance. Conan and Subotai quickly prove those Aquilonians who look down on them for being foreign wrong with their skill as warriors and tales of war.
Via narration and montages we see Zenophon win several battles with Conan's aid, Conan becoming more and more beloved by the army and the soldiers, even as the nobility grow more and more jealous and xenophobic towards him.
The army of Zenophon reaches the gates of Tarantia, and lay siege. Inside Numedides has grown panicked and angry, the city riots against him, his brother has defeated his armies and his guards have lost their courage, he curses at a hooded figure for breaking 'his promise', the hooded figure promises that he shall fix things, and fulfil his oath to give Numedides a crown, all he needs is a drop of Kings blood…
In the camp surrounding Tarantia Zenophon leads a feast, he honours Conan above all others, letting him sit beside him at the high table, and reproaching nobles who complain, it's clear Conan and Zenophon have become close and respect one another, while Subotai feels left out.
After the feast Zenophon invites Conan to his tent, where he asks what Conan intends to do after the war. Conan replies he is unsure, he has spent his life as a slave, then a thief, now a hired blade, and supposes he will continue to be so afterwards. Zenophon instead offers to make Conan the Kings Champion, to allow him to lead Aquilonia's army and represent the King in duels. Conan is unsure wether he is willing to accept such a thing, and asks for time to consider it.
However the robed figure uses Numedides blood to create a shadow monster with the false kings face, which sneaks into Zenophons tent that night and kills the true king, Conan witnessing it. The Nobles, with Zenophon dead, agree to bend the knee to Numedides, Conan ignores Subotai's plea to leave, deciding to avenge his friend.
Finding the Wizard (Mako) and gaining his aid, they manage to hide as guards and get close to Numedides as he prepares to have himself crowned before the 'Veche' an assembly of the people of the Capitol in the central square who will confirm him as King, a tradition in Aquilonia. They interrupt the crowning, which starts a riot against Numedides. During the confrontation Numedides cries out for 'Gath' to aid him, and the cloaked figure summons the shadow monster again, this only further turns the crowd against the false king, and the trio slay Numedides and his monster.
Conan is crowned King by popular demand, the crowd chanting at him to take up the crown now no member of the royal family is left. As this was done before the Veche, the act is legal to the horror of the nobility.
Part 2: The Kingdom:
We get more narration from the wizard.
Conan proved to be a great king beloved by the people, he instituted merit for the basis of his appointments, appointing Subotai as his Champion, he gives men positions regardless of status of birth or nationality, which has angered the nobility, even as the people grow to love him even more.
At a feast we see Conan surrounded by cheerful people, many of them foreign, as a displeased Subotai looks on, accusing Conan of becoming lax and too trusting. Conan has taken a lover, Rinalda, the daughter of Lord Ascalante, who conspires with a Lord named Dion and the 'Gath' figure who aided Numedides to overthrow Conan, put Dion on the throne and wed Dion to Rinalda.
Subotai overhears this and warns Conan, who is assured by Rinalda that Subotai must be wrong. Conan claims he will summon Ascalante in the morning to talk, instead of arresting him, Subotai quits in disgust. That night, Rinalda poisons Conan and Ascalante and Dion take over the palace with 'Kulan Gath's' help.
Conan is to be taken to Kulan Gath's tower to be imprisoned, while Dion will marry Rinalda after being confirmed as king before the Veche of Tarantia. On his way through Gath's tower, beaten and chained, we see one of Gath's concubines, Zenobia (played by Carrie Fisher) take an interest in Conan after hearing he was a King.
In Tarantia Kulan Gath begins to turn Dion against Ascalante and Rinalda, noting Rinalda is 'used goods' and using jealousy against Conan to turn Dion against marrying Rinalda. Ascalante sends Rinalda to seduce Dion back into compliance, but Gath whispers that Ascalante means to use his daughter to control Dion and rule through him. Dion kills Rinalda and forces Ascalante to swear fealty and kiss his ring, with Rinalda's blood still on his hands. Gath begins to whisper to Ascalante about avenging his daughter and taking the throne from Dion.
Gath begins torturing Conan and reveals his scheme to him. Gath wished to plunge Aquilonia into chaos, and urged Numedides to rebel against Zenophon so he could capture Zenophon, torture and break his spirit and then posses his body and overthrow Numedides as Zenophon, gaining a kingdom and a young and healthy body. But Conan ruined that by helping Zenophon win, and then killing his back up, Numedides. So instead Gath will turn Dion and Ascalante against each other, break Conan and then posses his body and return to take the throne.
Meanwhile Zenobia uses her charms and the aid fellow concubines bodies to get the story of Conan from the guards around him. She sneaks down into the dungeons and presents herself to him. She claims to be a princess from a far off land, and Gath's harem is too large and so she is still a virgin, that she fell in love with him at first sight and if he promises to make her his queen she will free him. Conan agrees. The next day Zenobia helps him escape the Tower.
However as they escape they are pursued by Gath's soldiers, only to be saved by Subotai and The Wizard. Subotai urges Conan to come away with him, but Conan refuses, stating he will not leave the people of Aquilonia to suffer at the hands of Kulan Gath. Subotai declares that he will help Conan regain his crown, but after that, he will leave.
Conan travels from village to village in a montage, the common folk and the guards and soldiers overthrow their lords and join in an army with him, growing strong to defeat Dion and Kulan Gath.
Zenobia and Conan have sex. Conan reveals that he knew she wasn't a virgin when she came to him, and that despite her act she wasn't able to hide her experience when they slept together. Zenobia asks if this means that their deal is off, but Conan laughs. She saved his life, it doesn't matter if she lied to him, just be honest with him now.
Zenobia reveals she is a commoner from the Western Marck of Aquilonia, that Kulan Gath took her a year before he overthrew Conan, that she is no maiden and no noble. She helped free Conan to both escape Gath's tower and become a Queen.
Conan praises her intelligence and skill. As her story was almost believable, she has acted like a noble enough to fool their army and she helped him escape Gath's tower with only her wits. Zenobia notes being Conan's Queen may actually be enjoyable.
Dion leads an army to confront Conan's, Gath promises to give him a spell which will protect him from any weapon forged by the hands of man. On the field of battle Dion sends forth his Kings Champion, who has been given the invulnerability spell. Conan fights his own battles instead of asking Subotai to do so, he quickly discovers the spell's effects when the Champion brags of it, and instead pulls the Champion off his horse and crushes his skull with a rock.
Seeing Dion's army falter, Zenobia rides forth and demands Dion fight Conan, as Conan fought Dion's champion, calling him a cowards and asking his army why they would fight for a man who would not fight for them. Dion is forced to flee as Zenobia's speech convinces his forces to lay down their arms.
Conan's army arrives at the gates of Tarantia, inside Dion demands extra defences to survive a siege, however he is betrayed and killed by Ascalante, much to the horror of those troops still left loyal to Dion's cause. With Gath's help he terrifies the remaining soldiers into compliance. Gath tells him he can give him a new army that can defeat Conan's.
Outside the city Subotai claims he can sneak a group in and open the gates, meanwhile Zenobia approaches the planning council and reveals a local smuggler she has found, who claims that the Catacombs beneath the city where Tarantia buries its dead are accessible and can be used to smuggle people directly into the castle. The Wizard meanwhile stumbles over in horror as he feels something horrific begin to happen.
In the city of Tarantia, Gath and Ascalante have their soldiers begin massacring every man old enough to swing a sword who have not joined their ranks, the soldiers terrified by Gath's magic into compliance. After the massacre Gath calls upon the spirits of the underworld, and reanimates the fresh corpses as zombie soldiers.
At The Wizards behest, Conan orders an immediate attack on the city walls, Subotai manages to open the gates, only for Conan and his men to be repulsed, Conan himself witnesses the zombie hordes, and how those soldiers of his who die also rise up, he is forced to order a retreat. Subotai dies taking an arrow from Gath himself in Conan's arms.
Horrified by what has occurred, Conan asks The Wizard if he can do anything. The Wizard states he can, tomorrow night, in the next full moon, the Wizard shall attempt to summon the spirits of the catacombs to help avenge their descendants who have been massacred and hopefully push out the dark spirits animating the zombies, meanwhile Conan shall use the catacombs to sneak into the castle and kill Gath and Ascalante.
Zenobia and Conan have sex again, and Zenobia reveals she is pregnant. She and Conan share a kiss and Conan promises their child shall be born as a royal. Zenobia states she doesn't care about that, she just wants their child to have a father, and for them to be together.
That night The Wizard summons the spirits of Tarantia's ancestors, while Conan, sneaking through the Catacombs with handpicked men, sees the spirits rise up from their resting places. In the city itself the Zombie warriors drop dead, and the once terrified soldiers of Ascalante rebels, throwing open the gates and letting Conan's army in.
Conan and his men storm the castle, where Gath's men fight the now rebellious soldiers, Ascalante is found on the throne, a broken husk, muttering about his kingdom, and his daughter, acting as though she is still alive and married to Dion. Before Conan's eyes Gath kills Ascalante, and then grows to a monstrous size with fiery blazing eyes. Conan fights Gath and eventually kills him, taking Gath's oversized head and presenting it before his army, the rebellious soldiers and the remaining people of Tarantia in the square in an ad hoc Veche.
The Wizard then talks us through the epilogue, Zenobia became Conan's queen, and Conan ruled for half a century more, his son Conan II, was the only surviving child of Conan and Zenobia due to miscarriages, Zenobia died after only 12 years of marriage, and Conan never took another wife. Conan's dynasty ruled Aquilonia for 5 centuries, but eventually, like all things, it ended.
You should have known something was wrong when Mike demanded a meeting on the dot at 9 am on Monday. Usually the way meetings tended to go was every Monday morning, you along with George and Mike would have a casual coffee and donuts meet, discussing the company's events and developments the week prior along with general Hollywood news and then plot the agenda for the rest of the week. It was casual business and throughout the week Mike would make phone calls or arrange lunch discussions with you and George anyways so there was never a high demand for protocol.
However, such seemed to be on display for the moment as not only were you and George in attendance in the conference room, but Gary and Marcia as well with Gary to your right and Marcia to George's left. Gary sort of made sense as he was the third member of the Star Wars Triumvirate and his responsibilities had increased in recent months as filming was coming close. Marcia however, sent alarm bells as outside of occasionally aiding George in ILM or administrative work, she had the least time spent at Lucasfilms due to her either staying at home or performing freelance editorial work. Marcia's presence meant that Mike wanted all of the Lucasfilms co-owners in agreement, which meant it would be big.
In a ironic move coming from the one man present who wasn't directly involved in filmmaking, Mike dramatically stormed into the room, and slid a newspaper across the table to the center of you four. You leaned over slightly and saw it was a LA Times Article with the headlines, "SOME NIGHTS BREAKS 100 MIL" in bold letters.
Mike let the literal news sink in for a couple seconds before taking his place at the head of the table, "That's just the domestic market. It's already surpassed that in foreign markets, and by Wednesday it will most likely surpass American Graffiti, and we're not even a month into Some Nights' release." Your eyes bulged at the information, as while you were aware via Carrie that Some Nights was performing insanely well, you had no idea it was climbing this high this fast.
Mike exhaled and leaned in on the table, losing some of his usual cool. If anything, he seemed more concerned than the aftermath of his Hong Kong adventure. "I've been doing some math and I talked to some people in Universal distribution. I am absolutely certain that Some Nights is set to become the highest-grossing film of all time and there's more than a 90% chance that it will make more than half a billion dollars."
The silence that sunk in such a statement was powerful. The current record holder was The Godfather at $285 million. In second place was American Graffiti at $218 million. To not only have surpassed The Godfather, but to potentially double The Godfather's gross, it was a feat that would forever cement Some Nights into the annals of cinematic history.
You knew after watching Some Nights that it was one of the greatest films in history, and a daily war was waged within your mind on whether Some Nights was his favorite or Cassablanca. While you meant what you said to Carrie that Some Nights would be a legend taught in film classes, you thought such was going to be over the quality of its art in performance, writing and music. Now it was going to be the greatest commercial success in film history, the benchmark for the future of Hollywood to try and topple.
And it all came from the brilliant mind of your loving girlfriend Carrie.
On the one hand you couldn't be more thrilled, happy that Carrie was making history with her debut film and just from a single movie joined the club of Hollywood icons on the same level as her mother, perhaps even higher. On the other hand, Some Nights was a Universal film, and the company that fucked you and George over repeatedly and nearly killed Carrie's film was going to be swimming in a Scrooge McDuck style money pile and be heralded as geniuses.
It was a sentiment that seemed to be shared by the rest of table. "It surely isn't going to surpass Gone with the Wind in adjusted gross is it?" Gary asked in disbelief.
Mike seemed unsure, "Well, in order to do that it would need to make more than $700 million, and unless China and the Soviet Union open up its theaters or Africa and Latin America overperform, I doubt it's going to reach that high. But it'll probably be close, and I'd bet my house Universal is gunning for a rerelease as soon as they can, and that's if they don't leave it in theaters for an entire year."
"I was talking with Francis the other day." George began, his emotions hard to read due to his usual passive demeanor, "And he's fighting a war with Paramount over Godfather Part II's release date. Francis wants it to come out Christmas Week, but a lot of Paramount's leadership is pushing hard for a January or February release. If they do that it'll hurt the box office, but it grants them security at the 48th Academy Awards instead of the 47th."
You couldn't help yourself as your jaw literally dropped in a cartoonish fashion, "They don't think Godfather can compete with Some Nights?" You ask in complete flabbergast. You knew for sure Carrie and John had great shots at winning an Oscars, but for even The Godfather to concede?
George shook his head, "The worst part is it's starting to get to the point where Francis is thinking he's got long odds to beat Gene Kelly." You could see such an argument. A battle of merits would be tough, but against an obese Universal war chest directed at Academy voters? It was starting to present an image like Poland against Nazi Germany.
"It's not just Godfather, we've got more than a dozen films confirmed to be rescheduling for a '75 release and there's still a lot more waiting to jump ship. Good news for us is that it's going to leave little variety, and a hungry public will be more open to Lucasfilms' imports. Still, I cannot understate enough that Some Nights has completely burned the Hollywood game board and replaced it with their own with a fresh set of rules. Not only are Musicals set to remain in full force for the next ten to twenty years, but we are going to be seeing A LOT of movies in two to three years." Mike said.
"What do you mean?" Marcia asked.
"All of my sources in the establishment are telling tons of different stories but they all follow the same plot. Every major studio is spending millions on scripts left and right and every other day a new preproduction starts. In 1976, the amount of films released by Hollywood is expected to double at the bare minimum. Every hack who can write English and has experience or connections is getting their movie made for dirt cheap. It's like they're placing bets on half the roulette wheel, because even if nine out of ten just get the budget back, if that tenth is a blockbuster, then the investment is going to be worth it. The Studio Cold War we found ourselves in has just gotten hot, and I need us to establish a war plan so Lucasfilms isn't gutted in the opening salvos."
As the news was sinking in, you were just starting to realize that for all of your rabble rousing as The Goose, it was put a vibration in a puddle compared to the tsunami that Carrie had just unleashed onto Hollywood. You couldn't have been more prouder of your girlfriend, already displaying the O'Brian grit and fighting spirit before you even proposed.
Then you remembered the main reason why Some Nights was successful, it was because the garbage editing was replaced, and you had Debbie's back to enforce the change.
'Did I just sabotage Lucasfilms?'
You looked to George, who seemed to be adopting one of his troubled faces, of those moments where he was heavily unsure and frozen in hesitation as the world seemed to be spinning out of control, all thanks to your influence.
Thankfully, Marcia gave her input to keep the atmosphere from spiraling downward, "Personally, I think compared to everyone else, we're in pretty good standing." She said confidently.
"How so?" Mike inquired.
"Well for one, all of our finances are in order and we're not gambling at the box office. ILM is receiving contracts, our imports have been profitable, and we have plenty to spare for the warchest from personal investments. Every studio not named Universal is hemorrhaging badly at the box office, and that's not even taking into consideration current instability such as the mess at Disney. We may have to revamp production strategy after Star Wars, but Lucasfilms is not in any immediate danger. This is especially true for Star Wars when we have a near three year window, and by then the public will want to move on from Some Nights and other musicals, or at least want variety. I'm not saying we shouldn't adapt, but we can play the game at our own pace and have the least to lose. Plus personally, I think Star Wars is better than Some Nights."
The statement raised an eyebrow from you and a look that was a fusion of gratitude and disbelief from George. "Really?" He asked in bewilderment.
Marcia nodded, her hand firmly holding onto George's. "It is. No offense Bruce, Carrie made a wonderful film, but while the story and music is pretty great, at the end of the day Some Nights is merely the perfect musical. We are making a movie that while inspired by Serials, has never been made and has no direct equals or competitors. Some Nights is the best of the old, Star Wars is new and fresh, innovation and boldness on the grandest scale put to film. While everyone is going to be copy and pasting Some Nights, we're going to make something unique in a world hungering for something original. Some Nights and Star Wars share very little similarities, and we're going to ride that to success."
You started to see the narrative that Marcia was crafting, and you were agreeing with her a lot. "I think one key thing that sets us immediately apart is the cast. When you watch Some Nights, it's John and Carrie's story, and the other characters exist to push their narrative forward. Then you take Star Wars, and you got a high quality ensemble full of colorful characters audiences will remember and have favorites. You've got the everyman farmboy turned knight, the heroic and commanding princess, the dashing scoundrel with a heart of gold, the wise old mentor who lights the way, the evil Dark Lord who inspired terror and fear. Every speaking character is going to leave an impact, a dozen great characters will always leave more of an impact than two." You said.
At the mention of the cast, Mike looked to George in hyperfocus, "George, please for the love of God and all that is good within this world, tell me that you have Carrie's contract locked down?"
You stared down George as well, wanting to hear how Carrie's talks had been going. Having not approached contracts after your injury, George had been rather tight lipped over how they were going beyond promising that nothing horrible was taking place. Carrie herself hadn't provided much answers as she merely said that George was pleasant to converse with but the finer details were still in the air.
George, unable to meet Mike's gaze, looked downward as he answered, "Well, I'm still trying to get Vader settled before we finalize anything." George said, with Mike seemingly doing his best to remain professional and not groan or shout as he surprisingly had become the biggest supporter of Carrie since casting, aside from yourself of course. "But so far everything's been going well and her demands are more than satisfactory. We should reach a conclusion in the next couple of days." George informed, eliciting a sigh of relief from yourself and just barely keeping Mike satisfied.
"I want to make my own movie and have it stand on its own merits."
Those words flashed through your mind at the talk of Carrie. George had made his peace with your inclusion in the film thanks to your dedication, sacrifices, and insistence that it was his film that you were simply blessed to be a part of. Now George has casted the hottest actress in Hollywood who wrote and starred in one of the greatest films of all time for her debut. You silently prayed that this wouldn't become a major issue for George and Carrie could prove herself to be just as dedicated to the film as you.
Sensing George's anxiety, Gary interjected with his own opinion, "Don't forget that we're the reigning masters of special effects, we're going to make a movie in another galaxy with starfighter dogfights, lightsabers, Death Stars, hyperspace and aliens. There is literally no one within Hollywood who can match ILM, therefore we are literally giving the audience a one of a kind experience."
"Plus anyone can watch a film in New York City, but the only settings comparable to the galaxy far, far away are only in books." George said, confidence slowly starting to return.
"Alright, we've got several angles to go with Star Wars, but even if we somehow manage to beat Some Nights in gross, there's one fundamental issue that we cannot be lacking on, creating a sustainable line of production. We need to produce and distribute at least two films per year by 1980 to establish Lucasfilms as a diverse and powerful studio instead of just "The Star Wars Company". We can be as wildly successful as we want, but without a strong catalgoue, we're just a niche house without the lasting market, cultural and artistic impact of others. Imagine if Disney just made Princess movies, no one besides little girls would give a damn about them."
George looked ready to respond before Mike raised his hand, "I'm not saying we should start filming secondary projects, Star Wars comes first. But when Star Wars is finished, I at least want three or four good movies that we can immediately push to filming to establish market presence and cultural investment."
You thought George was going to be ready to fight back, but you were pleasantly surprised when he nodded, "Steve has a script he's been dying to develop once he joins the team. It's a science fiction movie about a young man making first contact with extraterrestials. I figure that if we release that around Thanksgiving or Christmas after Star Wars, Summer if we get a winter release, we can boost Steve's film off of the back of Star Wars, become the leaders for Science Fiction."
Mike smiled, happy that George was finally talking business, "Alright, that's a good start, but we need more than science fiction."
"I actually just finished a script for a Kung Fu movie." You offered.
"Did Carrie co-write?" Mike asked eagerly.
"No, she doesn't know Kung Fu, and it was all me." You answered, dropping Mike's face a bit. "It's a movie called Kung Fu Kid, about a teen who moves to Hong Kong with his mom, gets into trouble but finds direction and passion through learning Kung Fu. It's kind of my memorial for Bruce Lee, a story about self improvement and finding peace and strength in Kung Fu."
"Honestly I was kind of hoping you'd make a boxing movie Bruce, but this works too. But if I get a whiff of the Triads being involved we're switching it to Japan and Karate." You grunted at Mike's casual disregard for the setting and fine differences of the arts, but could understand his attitude considering his near kidnapping.
"Does Carrie have any more scripts in the works?" Mike asked. You were starting to strongly suspect that Carrie was going to be a reoccurring topic with him.
"Not that I know of. Some Nights is the only screenplay she's written so far and for the moment she's going to focus on acting. Plus, she really wants to dedicate her all to Star Wars. She's really eager to work with us and thinks Leia is a pretty fun role." You said, hoping to subtly instruct George that Carrie was in this for the art and just like you, an idea that seemed to have some sort of effect with his interest. "I promise that if she's got another screenplay written then I'll push hard to have her sign with Lucasfilms."
For the next two hours the five of you went into further detail on Star Wars, mainly the ambitions of ILD and prepping a schedule for filming. In addition, the latest round of the Hollywood rumor mill was discussed and analyzed and Mike introduced some scripts floating around the studios he thought could make for decent parts of the catalog with yourself promising to pump money to place reservations if any scripts were deemed to be vital for acquisition.
Throughout the talks, things seemed to inevitably come back to Some Nights somehow and with each discussion of the movie, you were starting to feel a great deal of guilt. While the group was not resigned or defeated like the start, there was a decent amount of apprehension at Lucasfilms' sworn enemy getting such a victory and the potential threats and challenges that this meant for the future. It was a great deal of stress and apprehension, a new phase of the Hollywood Wars that you played a role in kicking off.
Not in the mood for a group lunch, you settled for an isolated meal in your office with a thermas of leftover pasta. Before you sat in your chair, you paused as you caught a rectangular present in the seat, then you remembered how Carrie had given it to you before you left for work, specifically requesting for you to only open it in your office, a task you avoided til now thanks to the meeting..
Tearing through the wrapping paper, your heart melted at the sight of your gift. It was a framed photograph Carrie had insisted to be taken the day she met Ginger. It was a photo of the two of you with your pets on the couch. Ginger was on your lap, giving her best kitty eyes for the camera, and Carrie had her right arm wrapped around Natalie who was happily panting while sitting on her fours, all the while the two of you embraced, wide and warm smiles, happy as you both could be.
It was a family that you prayed to God you could officially have within a year. You, your beloved wife Carrie, and your two pets.
A knock on the door interrupted your musings and you were surprised to see Marcia standing at the door frame, sans George. "Bruce, am I interrupting?"
"No Marcia, come in." You offered, placing the photo to your left, joining an already impressive collection of your parents and siblings, you and George, Bruce, and four other pictures of Carrie and you spread across the office. "You need anything?"
Marcia shook her head, "No, I just wanted to talk. You seemed pretty apprehensive at the end of the meeting, just wanted to make sure everything was okay. Has George been stressed lately?" She asked in concern.
You shook your head, "No, George has been pretty great, doesn't even need me to act as his alarm for break time anymore." You joked, producing a smile out of Marcia. Part of you wanted to lie or brush it off, but you had a feeling that Marcia would sink her teeth in without a satisfactory answer and you didn't necessarily want to omit your involvement in Carrie's debut. "It's just that, I kind of feel guilty about Some Nights."
"Bruce, it's not your fault that Carrie made a good movie just because you're her boyfriend."
"No, it legitimately is partly my fault that Some Nights managed to come out that good. Well, most of the outcome is thanks to Debbie, but I helped her and if she didn't take action then the film would be remembered as one of the worst." You then explained in fine detail the test screening of Some Nights and how utterly abysmal it initially was thanks to the worst editing in film history. Simply describing it made Marcia seem nauseous and if anything, outright insulted for how her craft was performed.
"You know, I was this close to organizing some sort of crazy plan to save the movie by recruiting you to lead the editing team." You said with a tired laugh.
"Me?" Marcia asked in shock, to which you nodded.
"Marcia, you saved our careers with Graffiti's editing and half the movie would be unwatchable without you and George. It was a crime against film that you didn't win that Oscar and you're the Best Editor in this town. Honestly without you I was thinking that Some Nights would be above average with a new team, but apparently they got some wonder guys at Universal. You were the only person I trusted and if it was any other studio I would have reached out in a heartbeat."
Marcia sported a rare blush at your words, "That's awfully kind of you Bruce. So because you helped Debbie Reynolds replace the editors and save Some Nights, you feel guilty about it and think you betrayed Lucasfilms?"
You sighed heavily, "A bit yeah."
"Well let me ask you this. Do you regret helping Carrie, being there for her movie?"
"No!" You strongly protested. "This is Carrie's dream film and her debut, I couldn't possibly stab her in the back and sabotage her career. I'd rather shoot myself than become a scumbag to her like that."
"Well there's your answer, doesn't seem like there's much to be guilty about." Marcia said plainly.
Your eyes drifted to the new photo, how Carrie's eyes were focused on you in pure adoration and love, how her body language was so relaxed and inviting, how her smile and happiness could just make you feel like all was right in the world. Then you recalled the night of the premiere, how jubilant Carrie had been in celebration, in pure bliss and contentment for finally achieving her dream, and how even then she whispered to you that it wouldn't be her happiest night, but it would be the night you wed.
It made you understand that no film, nothing in your career could come between you and Carrie. No amount of Box Office profits or Oscars could ever compare to her happiness, and that helped you see what was most important.
"Some Nights may be a hell of a film to compete with, but it's not the end of Lucasfilms or even a major crutch and burden to us. It's just another movie that happens to sell A LOT of tickets, we can do just as good if not better. Besides, George may not seem like it, but after we both saw it, he told me he's going to treat it as a challenge to beat. Nothing makes a film like great motivation." Marcia said.
You nodded in agreement, happy that you no longer had anything to hide, and you could take full pride in both being a co-owner of Lucasfilms, and the boyfriend to the most amazing Carrie Fisher. "Thanks Marcia, I needed to hear that. Do you mind if I ask you something?"
"What?"
You leaned forward in full attention and seriousness, "How did George propose to you?"
I just don't remember the IC post when we were voting on Obi Wan, just that we nominated 3 people, but I never saw the result of the vote. I don't remember an audition process or anything. I might have missed it, admittedly.
No, it was that we nominated 3 people and then the rolls determined who would get the roll. Pat Morita got a lower roll, and Lee beat Mifune by 1 with rolls of 98 and 99 IIRC.
No, it was that we nominated 3 people and then the rolls determined who would get the roll. Pat Morita got a lower roll, and Lee beat Mifune by 1 with rolls of 98 and 99 IIRC.
Mifune comes from Japan, he is far less able to claim such a pay, as he is less aware of how Hollywood works, he is far less familiar with the wages of actors and less familiar with the box office payout of US movies.
Mifune wouldn't get a fraction of what Lee is demanding. And Lee is demanding frankly stupid levels of pay.
Note Bruce has waived his pay-check for being Han and is only taking the money for being a Producer.
So on the talk of paychecks, I looked up the salaries for OTL New Hope actors, and apparently Mark Hamill got top billing with $650,000. Don't know what the hell he did, but I guess George really liked him. So if it's an issue of money alone, 500k should be more than enough, especially since we have 4 million more to the budget and Bruce waived his fee. In terms of percentages, Alec Guinness OTL got the highest with 2.25%.
My ideal payment for Christopher would be $300,000 and a 2.5% gross earnings. I'm willing to go up to 500k and maybe 3.5%. If nothing else, Christopher Lee has the talent to earn that paycheck and Lee already has enough faith that it'll be bigger than Some Nights, so he definitely won't be phoning it in for the paycheck and is going to give his all.
Though in the end I gotta wonder how the hell merchandising is going to be split since that's where the big money is at.
I know, it's just that I know a lot of people in thread were being SORE LOSERS😤😋 and were looking for any excuse to replace Christopher Lee with Mifune, this just helps with that.
I'm not even against the guy but unless he gets talked down I want him gone. 5% of this baby is way too much. On this we should be in control of the percentages. Gives them large massive bonuses but not percentages. Hell tie the bonuses accrued to the initial money made off of the first theatrical release if you want but not direct percentages.
I'd hope we just move to Mifune as he was George's OTL pick, but I guess this can work as well. Besides, I think this is what's going to happen anyways.
That 8 is out of 20… and the higher it is, the worse certain people in Hollywood feels about you.
Right now it is actually incredibly benign. Most just view you as a destructive influence who is extremely talented… and who should be paid properly when you get his services, because by god he's really damn good at the whole acting thing.
So really it's just the same.
At least they don't think your a communist and spread nasty vile rumors about you.
Mostly because the real assholes will do something far worse.
Also in case you want to know: 20 would have been… very bad.
If the hypothetical Young John Wick movie would involve a young Keanu Reeves it'd have to wait until the mid 80's at the earliest. Though another option would be to have a young Wick witness the mysterious criminal underworld via either his father or a beloved uncle. I'd go with Charles Bronson as Wick Senior/"Uncle Charlie".
