Happy Deepavali!
[Hyde POV]
Bruce's Ferrari was parked in front of my office building. I walked in there lazily and went up the stairs.
"Hyde. Help." Forman held the suitcase filled with the film prints, struggling to bring it up the stairs.
I looked at him with disbelief and grabbed the suitcase myself. It was pretty light since there were only films inside.
"You paper boy." I snorted at him, which made him embarrassed.
As soon as I walked into my office, I saw Max's worried face.
"Steven." He walked toward me immediately. "They've been waiting for almost an hour."
"How angry is he?" I asked calmly.
Max grimaced slightly. "Very."
Inside the office, Bruce was sitting comfortably on the couch with a cigar in his hand while Patty flipped through some papers. Jonathan sipped on some coffee.
He had taken to the French-press coffee in my office and was really enjoying it. Max made great coffee, so I understand his reaction.
Next to them sat an older man with tired eyes, messy hair, and a deeply annoyed expression. The director– Bert I. Gordon.
He looked exactly like someone who hadn't slept properly in three days. He had a clean-shaven face, short hair, and he was quite obese.
The moment he saw me, he stood up abruptly.
"You." He pointed at me accusingly. "You recut my damn movie?"
I stared at him for a few seconds.
Then I slowly looked at Patty and asked, "Hey. How was your trip here?"
"It's alright. This place needs an airport. I hate the drive over here."
"That's impossible. Unless the one next to you pays for it." I said, jutting my chin at Bruce.
Bruce was taken aback and said, "Here I am, not even lighting my cigar since you don't want anyone to smoke here, but you want to pull hundreds of millions of dollars from me to build an airport?"
"I mean, it's a business opportunity. So think about it."
Patty pinched the bridge of her nose tiredly. "Steven." She sighed. "Gordon is going to punch you."
The director looked even more offended now.
"You think this is funny?" He snapped. "Kid, you don't take another man's picture and butcher it behind his back."
"First of all, I didn't touch your original. That's still intact."
"Oh." He exclaimed flatly, his anger dissipated greatly.
I placed the suitcase on the table with a heavy THUD.
"Second of all, I didn't change the tone, the storyline, or the music. I focused on the sound and the footage. So instead of being mad now, why don't we go to the theater to watch it first? If you hate it, then we can just do your original movie."
The director seemed quite hesitant.
I smiled at him and said, "Look. I know your work. I enjoy The Amazing Colossal Man. So I'm not here to disrespect you."
"Let's see if you truly mean that."
"Let's all go to the theater then." Bruce led the way.
I whispered to Max before I left, "Call Ophelia, Julia, and Donnie. If they are around, ask them to come to the theater."
"Got it, boss." Max replied with relief.
We all went to the theater together. I emptied out one of the halls there; luckily there were only 20 people with tickets, so I gave them a refund and a free ticket for their next screening, and they were fine with it.
Patty brought the actor with her. It was a young Pierce Brosnan, who came straight from England.'
I didn't talk to him yet except for just greeting him. I didn't want to seem desperate, or I'd need to pay him more later on.
Patty even signed him to a movie at Warner Brothers first before I could sign him for my next movie.
But her movie was scheduled to shoot next year, so I have plenty of time to use the man in my project.
A few minutes later, the projector lit up. The room darkened slightly. The movie started.
At first, the director crossed his arms defensively.
"I'll show your movie first, without the new footage. Only the sound and the pacing edit here."
Gordon nodded and the movie played. It was a cheap exploitation project, so the movie wasn't really that great.
But Gordon had to admit that the sound and pacing of the movie worked better.
While I was watching the movie with Eric, who was complaining the whole time, Ophelia approached me and sat next to me.
"Hey. What's going on?" She asked.
"I have the film ready. After this is done, I'll show it for the first time here." I told her.
Ophelia nodded and ate popcorn while she watched the ant movie.
"Wait. It's ready? Why didn't you call Donna?" Eric asked me abruptly.
"She already watched it."
"She'd want to see it again. I'll go call her."
There was a payphone in front of the theater I placed there to get more revenue, so Eric could just call Donna on the phone.
While we were watching, more and more seats in the theater were getting filled. Donnie and his girlfriend Serena, Julie Samberg, Tiffany– Ophelia's friend, and the production crew came to the screening.
After the first movie was done, I stood up and walked to the director. "So, how is it?"
"It's better." He admitted it with annoyance.
"Good. Now, the new version, with more Ant monster." I smirked slightly.
"Fine." He sighed.
If he were a true Californian, I might be ruder toward him. But this guy was born in Wisconsin. He grew up in Kenosha. So the Midwest politeness never truly left him.
Kelso laughed dumbly as he watched the movie. "Pfft. Ants. Why don't they just stomp on them?"
The opening of the movie was already different. Thousands of ants devouring insects, lizards, and even scorpions curated the eeriness at the start of the film.
The rest of the movie was similar. But when the boat scene came, the crowd flinched when they saw the footage of the ants marching on the dock, recorded in great detail from the underside angle of the ants.
"This… is a little creepy." Fez muttered.
Fighting the ants on the boat still looked dumb. But the whole scene was better now.
Then, the best part of the movie came. When they were trapped inside an abandoned building.
A slow-moving, highly detailed ant came out from the shadow. The clicking sound full of menace caused the crowd to whimper slightly.
Ants were terrifying when they were filmed in close-up mode. This ant had a person's arm in its mouth.
The suspenseful music and the slow march of the ant made some people gasp slightly.
I looked around full of surprise and saw that people were afraid of the scene.
"Really? This is just… normal for me?"
I was truly confused by it.
Then I remembered, the quality of content in the 70s was different from what I had experienced in the 2000s.
In other words, I was already numb from the thousands of content slammed in my face. These people were still new to this.
Even Patty was astonished by it. Still, the quality of the film was too low, so that whole scene– the AI scene, was the highlight of it.
The ending of the movie wasn't changed. It was still similar, which was a letdown for the people who watched the first movie.
I walked to the director again, and he stood up to approach me this time.
"How did you do it? How much money did you spend on the clips?" He asked, fully concerned.
"Around 50 thousand." I replied casually.
"Why?" He asked, flabbergasted.
"It's actually simple. I'm one of the partners in the distribution company. If the movie makes money, so will our company."
"Ah." He accepted the explanation instantly. Suddenly, he turned to the crowd and asked out loud, "Which one of you thinks the first movie is the better version?"
Only Fez raised his hand.
"Fez?" I turned to him in confusion.
"The second one is too scary!" He whined childishly.
The director asked again, "Is the second movie the better version?"
Everyone raised their hands.
The director was satisfied. "Okay. We'll write up a contract. I will get you a credit in the ending–"
"Oh no. I don't need all of that." I was taken aback.
"No. You need it." He said seriously. "Editing bi-credit. And also a name on the VFX list."
I wanted to reject it, but he insisted.
Patty walked towards me and asked, "Is the screening over now?"
"Not quite. I finished my movie last night. So I'm going to screen it for the people who worked on it today. You actually came at a perfect time to intrude."
She scoffed and said, "You'd better make something good. I've been talking you up in Hollywood. I can't let you make some trashy film now."
I smirked and said, "I actually don't have a clue whether it's good or not. So tell me later on. Gordon, why don't you join us too?"
"Really? Okay. I want to see your work too." He said with a smile, all of his anger already gone.
My movie, 'Fading Colors', started to play on the big screen.
When I returned to my seat, I saw that Eric had moved out of the way, and Jackie was in his seat. Jackie patted my seat and beckoned me to sit there.
"Damn it." I cursed slightly, gave up, and sat next to her. She hugged my arm tightly and offered me her popcorn.
"At least I get some food out of this."
The lights dimmed. The projector flickered alive for the third time. Then the opening scene appeared.
Warm summer sunlight. A quiet small-town street. We pulled into the school, where a boy and girl were standing underneath a tree.
Inside the school hallway, numerous students were watching them, even Julie's character there, looking at them with jealousy.
Through exposition, the audience knew that Noah– the boy, had asked out Allie at least once a month since the start of freshman year, and now they were graduating.
I studied the audience reaction instead of watching the film. The nightmare of editing it made me very well versed in what was going to happen anyway.
Jackie was absorbed in the movie. The girls mostly were glued to the screen. Maybe it was because Noah was hot, or because the movie was shot beautifully.
I learned a few techniques by watching Emmanuel Lubezki cinematography, especially the moving shot and using natural lighting in a scene.
The soundtrack fit the movie well. It gave me the vibe of Indila's song, "Dernière Danse".
The Notebook rip-off continued. Lying down on the street, talking about being free and maturing, summer fun with biking, playing in the lake, eating ice cream.
The audience was truly enjoying Noah and Allie's relationship.
But then, something happened. Allie's family didn't want her to hang out with Noah. They wanted her to study accounting or become a secretary when she wanted to pursue art.
The family even told Noah to stay away from her. What did they do instead? They had sex inside Allie's old family home.
Allie painted while Noah made furniture. They began living together after she ran away from home.
It was 1970, so there was a disco scene too.
{ 'I got into Beaux-Arts.' Allie looked at Noah nervously.
He smiled and said teasingly, 'Is that one of the snob schools? Where is it? New York?'
'It's in Paris.' She replied, which stunned him.
'So. Are you going away?' he asked after pausing for a while. 'You should go. It's your dream to go to college there–'
Allie grabbed Noah's hand and asked seriously, 'Why don't we go there together?'}
The audience realized that the couple was planning to uproot their entire life together and move to a different country.
Allie packed all of her bags and waited for Noah at the bus stop.
She waited from the morning till late at night.
However, Noah never came.
"What the hell?" Fez exclaimed, dissatisfied.
Jackie also grumbled and said, "Steven! Why are you breaking up the perfect couple?"
"It's not me. It's Donna. She wrote it." I threw the blame away.
Jackie let go of my hand and leaned in to Donna to give her a piece of her mind.
In Paris, Allie slowly moved out of her depression and began enjoying the city. She studied art and met new people.
But Noah was still at the back of her mind. Seven years passed, and it was 1977. Allie suddenly got a letter from Wisconsin.
Her friend told her that Noah had bought her old house from her family. And he was going to move into it once he married Julie.
The audience audibly gasped at the revelation.
Once she got back to Wisconsin, Allie went searching for Noah. She found him at a café, but her determination wavered.
"Aw~" Jackie exclaimed. "She definitely still loves him!"
Allie recollected her thoughts and slapped her cheek slightly. She walked up to him, but Noah saw her, and just walked away.
The audience was fuming at the reunion-gone-awry scene.
Allie followed Noah outside. And he avoided her the second time. Then, she got too angry and grabbed his arm.
{'LOOK AT ME!' Allie shouted.
Noah's dead eyes turned confused. 'Allie?' He called slowly.
'You bastard!' Allie began beating on him, which made the audience chuckle.}
"This has commercial value after all." Patty rubbed her chin slightly. "I should buy this."
Bruce sneered at her and said, "You're too late. I already hold the distribution rights."
"Damn it." Patty cursed slightly.
The movie continued. Allie intruded in Noah's life, and the muted color on the screen became vibrant once more.
But people were still hating on Noah, since he didn't explain himself to her.
Finally, the scene where Noah fell down the hole he dug for the septic arrived. Allie stood on the edge of the hole, reaching out for him. The wind breeze made her hair and skirt flutter slightly.
Ophelia nodded in amazement and gave me a thumbs up. How could she not? She looked incredibly gorgeous there.
While Noah was still in the hole, his story started.
From the moment he wanted to go with Allie to Paris. He had already gone to the bus stop and seen her waiting there. He wanted to go to her, but his legs froze.
He took out a letter and the audience could see it.
"Oh my god! He was drafted!" Fez exclaimed loudly. The entire audience gasped in realization.
The war scene, where Noah and his best friend went together. But in the next frame, his friend lies bleeding in his arms.
Jackie sniffled slightly as she saw it.
Noah returned home with his dead eyes, and he couldn't see the colors around him anymore.
He returned in 1975, which meant he had spent five full years in the war.
The audience was sympathizing with Noah greatly. The Vietnam wound was still raw. Worse, when they saw Noah imagining Allie and his best friend.
The doctor checked up on him, asking him if he still hallucinated those people. But Noah kept quiet even though he could still see Allie next to the doctor.
He lay down on the bed, depressed, until Julie came and helped him get better. She pulled him out of his room. She put the hammer in his hand so that he could sweat the bad memories away.
Noah owed Julie greatly, as she was the only person who was with him when he was at his lowest.
Then, the meeting scene came.
People realized now why Noah ignored Allie in their first meeting. He thought he was hallucinating her again.
The scenes continued till the grave allegory scene. As Allie helped Noah get out of the hole, the world seemed vibrant again.
But then, Noah sees Julie, standing behind Allie, with tears in her eyes.
{He slapped Allie's hand away, and told her quietly, 'Don't come here again.'}
The theater became silent. Not shocked silence. Heartbroken silence.
Allie stared at him with trembling eyes while Noah walked toward Julie slowly.
Julie looked relieved. But not happy. Almost guilty.
Allie stood there alone while Noah disappeared into the house. Tears slowly pooled in her eyes.
Around me, the female audience began sniffling softly.
Tiffany wiped her face angrily. "No! Pick Allie!" She protested emotionally.
"Angie helped him get better!" Another girl argued immediately. "He should pick her!"
"Yeah but he LOVES Allie!"
"She stayed with him!"
"Noah's confused!"
The entire audience started quietly debating amongst themselves emotionally.
Even Jackie looked torn now.
"I hate this." She muttered while hugging my arm tighter. "This is awful."
"Good awful or bad awful?" I whispered.
She glared at me sulkily. Then, she pinched me.
"Ouch."
The movie continued. Julie's side of the story finally appeared.
The audience saw young Julie watching Noah and Allie together in school. She sat quietly nearby while pretending not to care. Helping Noah after football practice, watching him stare at Allie constantly.
The soundtrack became softer now. Melancholy.
The theater understood immediately. Julie loved him first too.
She just lost the game.
Then came the post-war scenes again. Julie dragging Noah out of bed. Julie forced him to eat. Julie sat beside him quietly while he stared blankly at the wall.
Julie placed a hammer in his hand while tears filled her eyes.
{'Come on.' She whispered softly. 'Please…'}
Jackie started crying openly now. Even Kelso stopped pretending not to care and bawled his heart out.
The audience completely understood Julie now. That made everything worse emotionally.
The audience was emotionally devastated here.
Then came the confrontation scene. Julie stopped Allie near the bus station while rain poured heavily around them.
Allie looked exhausted emotionally. Julie looked destroyed.
For a few seconds, neither woman spoke. Then Julie finally broke.
{"I was there for him!" She cried desperately.}
Her voice cracked violently.
{"I picked him up when nobody else would! I stayed with him when he stopped talking! I stayed when he couldn't sleep! I stayed when he forgot how to LIVE!"}
The theater became dead silent.
Julie tried wiping her tears away furiously with her sleeves.
{"But he only wants you!"}
Tiffany burst into tears immediately.
Julie kept crying harder now.
{"He still waits for you! Even after everything, he still waits for you!"}
Allie's expression collapsed completely.
She finally understood everything.
Julie stepped backward slowly while crying.
{"And I know…" Her voice broke again. "You were waiting for him too…"}
Rain poured harder now.
Julie pointed down the road desperately.
{"So GO!"}
The soundtrack swelled emotionally.
{"BE WITH HIM!"}
At that exact moment, half the theater broke emotionally. People cried openly now.
Jackie covered her face with both hands. Fez sniffled loudly. Donna, the one who wrote it, also cried.
Even Bruce quietly rubbed his eyes while pretending nothing happened.
The movie immediately cut to Allie running through the rain. She abandoned her suitcase completely.
The audience physically leaned forward in their seats. The music grew louder.
Desperate. Hopeful.
Allie finally reached Noah's unfinished house.
She stepped inside slowly.
Then stopped completely. The painting.
Her old painting from seven years ago.
The audience froze. Allie looked around the house in disbelief.
The windows. The staircase. The walls. The colors. The shape.
Everything. Noah built the entire house from her painting.
Her lips trembled violently. The theater exploded emotionally.
Women cried everywhere now. Someone behind us literally sobbed.
Jackie grabbed my arm so hard it hurt. "Oh my god…" She whispered tearfully.
Allie finally realized Noah never forgot her.
Not once. Not during the war. Not during the hallucinations. Not during Julie. Not during the seven years apart.
The house itself was proof. And that realization destroyed the audience emotionally.
The movie cut again.
Allie running desperately through town.
The same tree appeared. The one from the beginning of the movie.
Noah stood underneath it silently while rain soaked through his clothes.
The audience became completely still.
Allie slowed down.
Noah slowly looked toward her.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
The soundtrack almost disappeared entirely.
Only rain remained.
Allie finally whispered shakily, 'I waited for you.' She punched his chest slightly.
Noah's eyes filled slightly with tears.
'Tell me. Tell me what you really want.' She cried as she begged him.
'I want to be with you.' He replied.
That line shattered the theater completely.
Then Allie kissed him. People were applauding at the reunion of the two lovers.
And after almost two hours of longing, trauma, separation, guilt, and emotional pain, the entire theater finally released everything at once.
I planned for this cathartic moment, but I didn't expect the reaction to be so huge.
The movie ended with a wedding scene where Noah's dead friend was clapping at him as he kissed the bride.
The crowd applauded as the movie ended.
I nodded in satisfaction and thought secretly, 'Maybe this can get around 5 million at the box office. Hopefully.
(Read up to chapter 176 on my patreon.
Patreon.com/relifewithkarmicgacha )