The next few weeks passed by in a flash, and production for the movie finally began. And fortunately or not, Mark and the other scriptwriters were brought along with the crew for filming. However, what surprised Mark more, was the fact that George Lucas and Mr. Cowl had successfully negotiated with 20th Century Fox for funding as well. The duo still needed to spend their own 150k as an assurance to 20th Century Fox that they would be completing a good movie since their own money was on the line. In exchange, Fox would invest $10 million of their own money, and would keep all box-office returns and VHS and DVD sales, as well as any merchandise.
Somehow, despite bringing in the large investment, Lucas Films would not only be paid a separate $1 million for producing and directing the movie, as well as keeping any rights to the IP, including sequel rights and other forms of media control.
In essence, George had managed to wring out $11 million from Fox, in exchange for all the money-making stuff from the movie, while keeping the decision-making for the movie with himself. It had to be known, at this point in time, was an incredibly large budget. By today’s standards, it was almost $60 million, a budget that most directors do not even dream of having.
Mark was absolutely stunned at this revelation, but then realised that perhaps something similar must have happened in the original world, but it must have happened behind closed doors to the normal public.
However, none of that mattered much to him as long as the movie was being made, and would be a success. Meanwhile, he was moving around with the crew, from Death Valley national park, to the various studios, and even to other countries for certain scenes.
‘Haha! George actually kept him…’ Mark grinned as he watched an ‘extra’ which was a nameless actor whose face would likely never be remembered by the audience don a white storm-trooper mask that made it even more difficult for others to identify him.
However, to prevent the audience from assuming there were a lot of storm troopers with this ‘malfunction’, George Lucas had decided to make him a little unique, and added a single line of red, the thickness of an eraser, going from his left eye down to the end of his mask. He also named him the ‘Blood Angel,’ giving the character a unique name and changing the role of the ‘extra; from a nameless and dialogue less one, to one with both.
“Mark? My name is Brody. I heard you were the screenwriter who created my role? I just wanna say thank you so much for the opportunity and the role,” the young caucasian man profusely thanked Mark for the role while shaking his hand. All Mark could do was smile and thank the actor for taking up the role he created as well.
Something he had learned from movies was that connections mattered a lot in Hollywood. A bad actor could become a top B-list celebrity with good connections, while one with incredible acting talents could be just forgotten on the unforgiving streets of Los Angeles, never getting a single role due to poor connections.
The old Mark was not a fan of social interactions, and spent most of his free time at home, indulging in his fantasies through writing and reading, or watching movies. The new Mark, whose body he had taken over, was almost completely the opposite aside from his passion for writing novels and screenplays.
Thus it created a rather odd state of confusion in his mind, whether he should just stay at home all day to write out all the novels he knew, or he should interact more with others to build his relationships…
‘Just like that, I have given a no-name actor lines, which could completely change his entire future…’ Mark lamented while walking towards the other screenwriters; Mr. Lucas wanted to change the story slightly, and it was finally time for them to get to work.
…
“What are you doing?” Silvia asked, and Mark looked up at her briefly, before smiling and answering while continuing to scribble his pencil on the small notebook.
“It’s a script I am writing. Still incomplete, but I have a good feeling about it.”
“Oh? What’s it about?” Silvia did not ask Mark to read the script from him, knowing he had likely not signed it up with the Writer’s guild and not made his claim over it. In such a situation, asking to read it could make it incredibly easy for another scriptwriter like herself to copy the script and claim it for herself.
“A prison drama about an African American man on death row.”
“…” Silvia was silent. She did not like such subjects; serious topics like death, torture, physiological warfare, mental breakdowns and drama. Instead, like most of the scriptwriters George Lucas had hired, liked science fiction and fantasy, mainly preferring positive plots over negative ones.
“It’s meant to be really sad and everything. If I do end up selling the script, and it is made into a movie, I will be sure to tell you. Perhaps even bring you along.” Mark winked at her before returning to his work.
Silvia just grinned slightly before wandering off. Casual teasing like this was not uncommon in the American culture, and Silvia did not take it to heart.
…
Mark continued working on the Green Mile in his free time and working with the visual effects artists when the scriptwriters did not need him, while the crew continued filming with a fervent gusto. Except, some of the actors did not take the movie too seriously. Unlike the no-name extras, they had plenty of opportunities, and had quickly realised how ‘childish’ of a movie this was. Thankfully, a little convincing from George Lucas himself, involving the ‘replacement’ of a few actors quickly got the rest in the mood to work hard for the success of the movie.
Unfortunately, the problems for shooting the movie did not stop there, and when filming in Tunisia, a freak rainstorm caused a lot of damage to the electronics and camera’s, and they even had to redo the whole scene from the beginning, losing almost three day’s worth of footage.
Problems continued to occur with the horrible weather of Great Britain, as the dull natural light made it so that artificial lights had to be used for a lot of the scenes and placing them correctly took a lot of time.
Meanwhile, Mark was busy learning from the visual effects experts how they were setting up scenes for after-effects, and how they were using mostly miniatures to reduce the amount of after-effects that needed to be done. It was quite the enthralling experience, and after 3 years of arduous work, the movie was finally released.
…
As a member of the crew, Mark was invited to the premier of the movie, which was slightly surprising since not all of the large crew was invited.
‘But all scriptwriters were invited. Perhaps its to make us feel more important and keep us with the company,’ Mark mused as he walked in through the back entrance of the cinema hall. Of course, as a mere junior screenwriter, he would not be allowed to walk on the red-carpet for the premier of the movie. Only the actors, the director and producer, and perhaps Kraig the senior scriptwriter might be allowed in front of the cameras.
“All the better,” Mark muttered softly as he did not want to become a celebrity. In fact, he definitely did not like attention, that was something common between both Marks. Even the new Mark, despite having an athletic body, never tried out for any sports and only did basic exercises at home to keep fit. Most of his time was spent on studying and writing.
“What was that?” Silvia asked while turning back in her stunning bronze dress with an open back.
“Nothing. Just nervous about the finished product. Only the editing team has seen the Final Cut, so I wonder how it has turned out,” Mark replied while straightening the tuxedo he had worn to the formal gatherings in college. It was a little old, but he had kept it in really good condition since it was the only one he had with him.
“And Mr. Lucas…” Dan added.
“Yeah…” Mark agreed, since he wanted to see if his Blood Angel had truly made it onto the big screen.
“Come on guys, we should go to our seats quickly. Who knows when it’s going to start,” Luke, the last of the junior scriptwriters placed his hands on the shoulders of Sylvia and Mark while grinning. The four smiled and chatted while making their way to their seats, and waited until the lights went off.
…
[A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…]
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
[Star Wars IV: A New Hope]
[The story began with Princess Leia, a leader of the Rebel Alliance, being captured by Darth Vader while on a mission to deliver the Death Star plans. As she was imprisoned aboard Vader''s Star Destroyer, she managed to hide the plans in the droid R2-D2 before it escaped to the desert planet Tatooine alongside C-3PO]
[On Tatooine, R2-D2 and C-3PO were discovered by a young moisture farmer named Luke Skywalker. After some time, Luke learned about the hidden plans from R2-D2, who displayed a holographic message from Leia asking for help from Obi-Wan Kenobi]
[Luke sought out Obi-Wan, who was living in seclusion. Obi-Wan; a former Jedi Knight, revealed to Luke his own connection to the Force and offered to help him rescue Leia]
[They acquired a ship, the Millennium Falcon, from the smuggler Han Solo and his co-pilot Chewbacca. The group traveled to the Death Star, where they infiltrated the massive space station to rescue Leia. They successfully freed her, but during their escape, they encountered various challenges, including a confrontation with Vader]
‘Blood Angel made it, and his battle-cries as he charged to Princess Leia and their group did indeed bring a slight chuckle to the people here. Thankfully, George did not use one of the scenes they had shot of his death, so he is still alive. For now…’ Mark watched in fascination as the world of Star Wars was revealed to everyone present and could feel the rising sense of tension among the people as the threat of the Death Star loomed ever-present.
[After returning to the Rebel base, the plans were analysed, revealing a critical weakness in the Death Star. Luke joined a group of Rebel pilots for a daring assault on the station]
[During the climactic battle, Luke relied on the Force, guided by Obi-Wan''s voice, to make a precise shot that destroyed the Death Star, marking a significant victory for the Rebellion]
[In the end, the Rebels celebrated their triumph, and Luke was honoured as a hero alongside Han, Leia, and the rest of the team]
[This victory reignited hope for the galaxy in the fight against the oppressive Empire]
[The End]
‘We somehow kept the IV in the title. I wonder if this is a good thing or not?’ Mark scratched the stubble on his chin while in thought as the audience stood up in applause.
...
“Mr. Hamill, how do you feel now that you have finally appeared as the leading role in a large-budget movie?”
“Exciting! I appreciate the opportunities given to me by the producers, director, and crew, and the trust they have placed in me for this role. I really look forward to the future.”
“Mr. Lucas, is it true that you expect the movie to gross more than $100 million at the box office alone?”
Mark ignored the pestering flood of reporters who were peppering the cast and director with questions. This was good for the movie, since it was effectively free advertising, but Mark knew almost 3/4th of the reporters here were ‘invited’ to the premiere by 20th Century Fox through various means.
Normally, a large-budget movie would not receive this kind of enthusiasm until it crossed some benchmarks in the box-office collection.
Alex did not go home, since he did not have one in Los Angeles, and instead made his way to Elise’s house.
“Tomorrow, we go for the movie after you are off work. I have the next three days off, so we can spend all the time we want together.” Mark hugged Elise while giving her a kiss on her cheek.
“Oh! That’s good. I don’t have anything tomorrow either,” she lied through her teeth. But it did not matter, it was a non-mandatory practice session, so she would just skip it, “Let’s go first thing in the morning.”
“If you are free, then let’s go in the night. You’ll be too tired in the morning.” Mark grinned as he lifted her up from her waist, using the back of his leg to close the door behind him. It had been a long 3 years, and with Mark spending all his holidays with Elise, and often also visiting Eddie, his relationship with her had progressed considerably, and due to agreement from both of them, they still remained girlfriend and boyfriend without moving any further.
Still, he made sure to be careful with his own suit while undressing, since he did not have any replacements.
…
“Elise, I need to go. The Box office results will be revealed soon, and I need to be at the office.”
“Hmm… you know… you look better with the beard. I think it really suits you.”
“Yeah… you’ve told me that at least 6 times already. It’s why I am growing it out… but tell me, do you really dislike my face that much that I have to cover the lower half of it?”
“Hehe, of course. Who would fall in love with, and stay together with an ugly man like you~?” Alice snickered while Mark just smiled, leaning in to kiss her cheek before freeing his hand from under her pillow, and putting on his clothes.
…
“Good morning, Mrs. Butler!”
“Mornin’ son. You look… refreshed.”
“Haha, how can I not be when I get to see you everyday before work?”
“Oh you~ enough with the flattery. Go on in. The results have not been revealed yet, but they will be faxed directly to us from 20th Century Fox.”
“Sure thing,” Max smiled and went inside without further delay.
‘I cannot say I’m not nervous despite knowing this movie would be incredibly successful. After all, this is a different world, and perhaps Star Wars might end up in the drains like so many before and after it. It all depends on the audience reactions to it.’
Time ticked by as the anxiety in the room gradually rose, making the seconds feel longer. Nobody was in their respective team rooms, and instead everyone was crowded outside Mr. Lucas’ office, awaiting the release of news.
‘Everyone hopes for good news… but I’ve learned… it’s best to keep your expectations as low as possible, and then go a little lower,’ Mark sighed as he cooled his nerves.
*Bang*
The door to Mr. Lucas’ room was swung open again, with Mr, Lucas’ shoe hanging still in the now open air for a moment, before landing down with a heeled click, clearly audible in the pindrop silence of the room as all attention was laser-focused on the man himself.
“Thursday night box office collection is $497,000!”
There was silence in the room as everyone noticed the incredibly serious expression on the curly-haired man’s face.
‘We only screened in like 25 theatres…’ the thought crossed everyone’s minds as the astonishing figure finally wrapped itself around their heads, simultaneously causing an evil grin to plaster itself onto Mr. Lucas.
“20th Century said that since it was in the summer release, if the premiere box office crossed 300,000 despite being only in 24 theatres, they would increase the theatres to 500 for a week, and marketing budget to $2 million! We’ve done it boys! We’ve done it!”
Immediately, the entire room burst into applause as everyone cheered for the success of the movie they had all worked so incredibly hard on for the past 3 years. This was not a small amount of time, as generally movies took around 1 year at most to film and produce, with a few months of delay.
Finally, they were going to get the fruits of their success. Many of the people here would likely use this opportunity to immediately jump ship to more renowned production companies, as long as the movie was a success.
George knew this, but he did not mind. He knew this was how the world worked, a capitalist world where money was almost equal to absolute power, the source of greed for countless, and the ultimate doom for equally as many.
Mark on the other hand just sighed in relief. He had not chosen wrong. Until now, a slowly creeping sense of inferiority has also been forming in Mark as he compared himself internally to Eddie; who had already starred in 3 movies in side-roles, two of which even had speaking lines, and not just appearing on screen for a few seconds.
He had spent countless nights waking up from nightmares involving him realising all this was just a dream and he was still in his old world, moping around for being a useless waste on society and his family.
Only Eddie’s support in his free time, and the assurance of Elise proved that he had indeed existed here. In the past three years, with the growing sense of inferiority looming aver him, Mark had shifted his focus. No longer did he want to just live his life to the fullest.
‘No, I want to leave a mark on this world. Life is as fleeting as a simple ember in the darkness of the night. But I want to make it so that I land on extremely flammable materials, enough to leave a permanent mark in the history of the world of my existence. And now… perhaps I can finally being.’
Mark’s expression flickered from a growing satisfaction, to a depressing sadness, to a reminiscent melancholy, and finally settled on grim determination.
“Why so serious? Come on, Mr. Lucas is ordering, the bill’s on him!” Luke put one arm around Mark while using the knuckled on his other one to rapidly scrip Mark’s head, but making sure to do it softly. However, this sudden interruption to his thoughts caused him to lose focus and balance at the same time, causing the two to stumble over onto the floor.
Since everyone was in high spirits and celebrating in the same crowded room, people began falling like something from a Takeshi’s Castle episode, resulting in almost 80% of the people in the room now laying on the ground in confusion.
“Pfft,” the first voice burst out laughing, igniting a round of hysterical laughter at the comical scene, returning the atmosphere to its joyous state from before without a hitch.
…
‘$3.2 million in the opening weekend. I don’t know the figures from before, but from what little I can remember, it definitely took a week or two to get the ball rolling and start earning millions per day. But based on this speed, when next Friday comes along, it will already be at that height,’ Mark analysed before coming to s scary conclusion, ‘This should be from my interference, or perhaps my very existence. But that begs a question… just how high will it go?’
Mark munched a hole in the thick stack of papers that he had just spent a considerably amount of his savings to sign with the Writer’s guild as an official script by him. He had to hand over two copies of it to the guild, which was more than he had expected, but thankfully he had made a total of 5 copies. Thus, before heading over to Mr. Lucas, he went back to his apartment and organised two of the remaining three scripts and tied them in order.
“It’s time…” he smiled as he left his house, heading straight of the LucasFilms Productions office with two thick, but neatly tied and presented scripts inside his small briefcase.