Chapter 100: 98. A Vengeful Jester and Surprises Abound.
Disclaimer: The story takes place in an Alternate Earth with a slightly different timeline of events. So people may be born early, some may be born a few years later or maybe not at all.
This gives me more freedom to write characters as I want, also the characters in my story are obviously not an accurate portrayal of their characters.
Please remember that this story is a wish fulfillment story set in Urban Hollywood with some Fantasy elements because of the system's shenanigans so please don't take it too seriously.
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Recap of the previous chapter –
The chapter starts out with Sofia Coppola's pov, she is in New York, helping out Jon and Todd in the location scouting. She is remembering her "friends," from the Directing dept. complaining about her becoming a workaholic. But whenever she compares herself with Mark she feels like she is not doing enough.
She then thinks about her friends from the animation department and unlike her so-called friends they encourage her drive to improve herself and build a career in direction. Genndy even got a job at HB as an intern with his student project, "Dexter's Laboratory" and her recommendation letter.
We then cut back to Mark, he is on his way to Angie's room with Eva, Kim hands him a note that has some of Angie's background info. Upon reaching the room, Mark has a chat with Angie and listens to her story and tells her that he can help her if she accepts.
Then we see Mark and Eva heading back to the studio, while Eva reports to Mark how they took care of tasks that he had left them from the beginning of the Stark Malibu Mansion project, to getting the name of his future hotel chain copyrighted, gathering a new crew, renovating the studio, etc.
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~ Quote of the Chapter ~
In helping others we actually help ourselves because whatever good we do for others always circles back to us in return for that is the circle of life.
— Improvised Quote by TheRamenLord
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~ River phoenix's POV ~
(Mark's friend and Oscar aspirant)
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Date: Monday, 1st October, 1990.
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Time: 05:57 pm.
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He had heard of Mark's involvement in an accident; he had been worried for a second, but after Eva explained the entire thing, he was glad that Mark did what he did. Because of his friend's action, there was a girl out there now who was alive and safe.
He felt proud of Mark, but he hoped he didn't have a savior complex because there were a lot of fires in the world and Mark couldn't put out all of them.
After going through the script dozens of times and practicing the lines of the Joker till it felt like they were printed on the back of his head, He came to the realization that the script that he had been handed by Mark was not the final draft.
At first, he had thought about calling him up and confronting him about it, and he even felt a little betrayed that he hadn't been trusted with the final draft. But then he thought about "why" he would decide to hide the final draft from him.
Maybe he did so for his own good, so he was still going to confront his friend, but this time with a more open mind and willingness to hear his side of the story before saying anything that couldn't be taken back or accusing him of something.
As he was making his way through the halls of the floor of Mark's office, he could hear the hauntingly beautiful melody of the piano playing out in the distance behind closed doors. Even though the music was muffled, he could still recognize it.
It seemed like the song - Experience that he performed on his tours, though it sounded different to him all the same.
It sounded much sadder, as if a person were grieving the death of a dear friend. It was a gut-wrenching and soulful symphony that he found himself lost in as he slowly drew closer to his door.
He saw the new secretary on her desk right outside his door. She just told him to enter and not knock, as the boss had been expecting him.
He nodded in understanding and headed in to meet his friend. After 2 weeks, he was finally more in control of himself after the incident.
Ready to confront him for his deception, and also to ask him to reveal the names of the people behind his suffering. It hadn't been easy, but his single-minded focus on just the script and putting himself in the shoes of the Joker had helped him overcome his urges and desire to give in to the drug's withdrawal.
In a way, this situation had actually helped them to understand the Joker's plight because it drew a parallel between the two of them. Just like he had been wronged by someone and left suffering, Arthur had suffered the same fate, betrayed by his accomplices.
Unable to save the life of his mother, he had been left for dead, but fortunately, unlike Arthur, he had friends. It had been Mark who had come to his rescue and helped him escape from the trap that had been set for him.
A trap that was set by someone who didn't just want to destroy his life, but also his reputation, and this help was something that he would be forever grateful to Mark for.
Upon entering, he saw Mark seated behind the piano, his fingers effortlessly gliding across the keys despite the bandaging of his right fist. He had been told that he had punched a car window to break it open, so he could save a young woman's life.
He noticed that Mark was humming a tune he hadn't heard before, but it perfectly blended with the music. Likewise, he couldn't help but hum along as well, trying to get a "feel," for he felt that it would be something he would be asked to perform as well.
It had been one of the tasks Mark had given him before he left—to learn the basics of playing the piano. As the song came to an end, it seemed to crescendo into a chaotic mess that was just like destruction personified.
After the song had ended, he gave a slow clap that grew in intensity as he sought to make his presence known and also to show his admiration for the beautiful performance.
As he drew closer, he finally spoke, "that was a beautiful song; it reminded me of Experience?"
"Well, it should; it is a variation of the original. I made it specifically to be used in the movie by you." Mark replied as he lowered the fall board and stood up from the seat.
"So that's why you asked me to learn the basics." Mark just nodded in agreement with his reply and gestured for them to move to the sofa to get more comfortably seated.
"Yup, but don't worry, I don't need you to master the piano." He pretended to huff a sigh of relief and comically wiped his brow of the imaginary sweat as Mark chuckled at his antics.
"I just need you to play just this song in particular," he nodded in understanding, but still couldn't help but ask, "won't it just be easier to fake it though?"
"It would be, but I plan on using a 360 mobile jig setup around the piano so we could spin the camera in a circle around, as you play the song." He said, explaining the reason behind it.
"It will give it a more dramatic flair; if we try faking it with the 360° view, then it will be easier for people to catch on. Also, I can't let you do that because this movie isn't a fantasy but a psychological thriller."
"You faking the playing of the piano might break the viewers who are immersed in the realism of the story, well, at least the ones who are musicians."
"I know, it's only a minority of the general audience, but it is a significant portion of the academy members."
"I hope you understand, River. I need this movie to be perfect." He nodded in understanding; how could he not? After all, he knew how badly the deck was stacked against them.
"River, this is going to be my first and last deliberate attempt at trying to win the Oscars." He could tell that Mark was dead serious, when he said it.
"What do you mean? You aren't going to bribe them, are you? Because I don't want to win like that."
"And neither do I; do you remember we are allowed to give gifts to the members?" Mark had this sly smirk on his face, which he had come to know as his "I got a plan" face.
"Yeah." He said, wanting to hear Mark's plan on how he was gonna win over those haughty and prideful academy members.
"Well, my plan is that from the very first day of shooting till the final day of the post-edit, we are going to document our filming process." His eyes widened slightly as the realization set in.
"I will personally cut and edit it and send a copy of it along with the movie to all the judges with a bottle of expensive alcohol or cigar," he chuckled as Mark's blatant "gift," but it was quite smart as well because it was something so inconsequential that nobody could actually come after them for it.
"Along with that will be a replica of a handwritten note to each and every judge requesting them to first watch the movie and then the documentary of how the Killing Joke was created."
"You see, I don't plan on bribing them or even requesting that they vote for me or my movie. I am just going to ask them to see it and see the hard work that has gone into creating this beautiful movie, and then the rest will happen by itself."
"Mark, but how can you be this confident? It hasn't even been shot yet." He asked, taken aback by Mark's confidence. But he had never been one for empty boasting, so he really wanted to know what gave him that confidence.
"You're right, it hasn't, but If I can execute the movie just like I have imagined it in my mind, then winning the 1992 Oscars will be cakewalk. Unless…" Mark trailed off, though the real reason for his confidence was that he knew there weren't many great oscar worthy movies in 1991 so there chances of winning were even higher.
"Unless someone is able to successfully sway most of the judges to not vote for us." So he finished it for him.
"Yeah." He muttered as he stood up and moved towards a painting in the back.
"What did you mean by deliberately trying?" He asked again, this time a little louder as Mark was farther away.
"Well, in simpler words, I will focus more on making my movies rather than marketing them towards the academy members." He replied after taking out a file from the hidden safe.
"Those letters will never be sent again. I don't like having to try so hard just to get them to see my movie. Because if I don't do so, they might just disregard me because of my young age." He explained as he made his way back to the sofa.
"Anyways, how are you holding up? River." He could tell that Mark still felt guilty about what happened to him.
"I am fine, Mark. So who is it?.. Who did this to me?" A bit of his rage seeped into his voice as it cracked, as he stood up.
"Well, you might wanna sit down for this one." Mark said as he gestured for him to sit back down.
"It's Disney; I'm 95% sure that Eisner himself might have been the mastermind behind it." Mark said, as he sat back down.
"95?" He asked.
"Well, all I have is questionably obtained circumstantial evidence. But when we stack all the evidence together, it paints a pretty clear picture." Mark explained as he nodded, understanding that there wasn't any clear-cut evidence that they could use to pin Disney.
"You wanna hear how it happened? Just don't ask me how I got the information.. as I can't really tell you that."
River just nodded his head and gestured for him to go ahead. "I don't care about how you obtained it, Mark."
"I think it all began with me bruising Eisner's ego by not even taking his call to hear his pitch about selling Eidolon to him."
"Wait, he wanted to buy Eidolon?" He was surprised to hear this, as Mark had never talked about it before at their get-togethers.
"Yup, but I had told Eva that I would never sell. So no matter who calls, just turn them down. Eisner was a little adamant about meeting me for the deal, but all he got was Eva shutting him down." He couldn't help but laugh as he pictured it in his mind; that was cathartic.
"I didn't even know about it till much later on, not that I would have disapproved of her actions. But I think this is the major reason why he ran that smear campaign against us." He laughed even harder at that, as it made it even funnier for him. He could already imagine just how bruised Eisner's ego got at that moment.
"Just because you didn't meet up with him?" He asked, finding it weird, and then he recalled something.
"Fragile egos, River; always remember fragile egos." Mark replied while he was self-absorbed in his thoughts.
"Wait, so when I mocked the guy who was running the smear campaign as not right in the head, I was sayi–" He replied, connecting the dots.
"That to Eisner: Yes, now think for a second. Against a guy like me who just refused to meet him and turned him down. In retaliation, he launched a full-on smear campaign against me and mine; then what will he do to you?" Mark asked him to draw his conclusion.
"Something much worse." He knew in his heart that it must have been Disney, for sure.
"Yup. He tasked someone under him to anonymously send those two "friends" of yours, after you at the nightclub."
"While he himself met up with the chief of police in a charity event a few days back from the night of your incident, where they were reported to be conversing amicably, and later that night Eisner even made half a million dollar donation to the police fund."
"So, Disney.. huh?" Upon hearing about Eisner's meeting with the head of police, he knew it could only be Disney. But then came the problem: what could they even do about it?
"Yeah."
"But Mark, how are we going to get back at them? We got no evidence."
"We don't, and even if we did, I wouldn't suggest we use it." He must have looked puzzled at that remark, as Mark didn't wait for him to ask the question.
"River, Eisner is an egotistical megalomaniac. He is the kind of person who attaches themselves deeply to their achievements; you really wanna hurt him?"
He nodded his head seriously and exclaimed at Mark's question, "Of course I do; how is that even a question?!"
"Then you need to destroy his most precious achievement."
He hummed in agreement and asked, "And what's that?" Mark's reply was simple, but he knew it would be hard to pull off, "the revival of Disney under his management."
He listened carefully as Mark explained Eisner's deal. "He took that dying company and made it into one of the Big Six studios in Hollywood; that is his crowning achievement."
"But can we really take down Disney?" He didn't feel that was even possible. Disney is a giant compared to them.
"It's actually not as hard as it looks, though it will take some time and patience. But I've heard revenge is a dish best served cold." Mark had a malicious grin on his face.
"And I am pleased to tell you that I have already started on it. At first, I thought about just clashing my movies with Disney's at the box office, to starve them. But I simply couldn't wait till next year."
"So, I did something that will hurt 'em now, River! Take a guess: What is Disney's claim to fame?" Mark asked like the host of a game show.
"Their cartoons, I guess.. they are said to be the best in the business."
"Good Answer!" Mark cheered, and explained, "Even their most well-earning movie in the last few years has been Little Mermaid, an animated movie."
"And after some digging, I heard that they had been working on another animated movie, so I just hired some of the people who were working on it."
"You poached them?!" he couldn't help exclaiming.
"River, please don't use that word. We are professionals over here. It's called Head-Hunting, and it's not like we are doing something illegal."
"But do you wanna know the best thing about this deal?" He nodded vigorously, the suspense was palpable, and his gut told him Mark had just pulled off something big.
"These two weren't just any random people working at Disney; oh no, they were the creators who worked on Little Mermaid, and only one of them had an active work contract that I had to pay off for." Mark laughed after saying that, and he couldn't help but join in. It looked like Mark was already on Disney's case.
"I hired another talented writer from Disney as well, gave her a rough draft for the movie and a writer's room, and they had been working on finishing the script ever since I left for the tour."
"It had been a bit of an uphill battle, but we succeeded in making them see our way, and now they are working with us to create this animated film. It will be released next summer, right alongside Disney's movie." That last part brought a huge smile to his face.
"River, just watch, as I take away the one thing that Disney takes the most pride in: the title of the best animation studio in Hollywood. In a few years, that title will no longer belong to them that I promise you."
"But this is only the beginning. Slowly and slowly, we will chip them away, and in a decade. I will show you how I reduce Disney back to the dying company that it was before Eisner came in."
"His crowning achievement, his life's greatest accomplishment, I will take it away from him and there will be nothing he can do about it because it will already be too late." He had vicious grin on his face that promised both pain and retribution.
"Any scandalous actors, or creative of theirs that they try to cover will be on the front page; I am going to humiliate him for all of Hollywood to see."
"And I won't stop until he is disgracefully fired from Disney, the company he considers his own Kingdom."
"After all, if you want to really get back at some egocentric maniac who thinks of themselves as king, you don't go after them. No, you go after their kingdom, and you burn it to the ground."
"Thanks, Mark." He couldn't help but say that as his eyes started to tear a little.
"No thanks needed, bro, he is a business competitor that likes to play dirty. This ugly business was going to happen down the line anyways."
"All Eisner did by coming after us was just to accelerate my plan for Disney's slow and painful death." Mark said finishing his piece.
"By the way, when were you going to tell me that the script you gave me was not the final script?" He asked, Mark had a surprised and guilty look on his, but he schooled it in.
"A week later, actually, when I introduced you to your apprentice, but You don't seem angry with me?" Mark asked a little surprised but he was glad that River didn't mind his small lie.
"I was at first, but when I calmed down and thought about it, I realized you must have had your reasons for not telling me," he replied in an easy-going manner.
"Wow, that was very mature of you, and yeah, actually, I did it for a reason." Mark replied with an exaggerated nod, making fun of him.
"Hey! I can be mature." He knew Mark was trying to rile him up.
"Yeah, right, says the guy who pranked his friend by watering down his drinks." Mark brought up the time River watered down Johnny's drinks.
"Okay, but it was for his own good." He said,
"Agreed. Tell me, though, how did you find out?" He was curious to hear his answer.
"The story felt incomplete."
"Huh?"
"It painted the Joker as a sympathetic character, but you said you didn't want to do that. You want the people to empathize with Arthur and understand his plight, but never justify his actions as the Joker."
"Ah, I shouldn't have told you that; it looks like you figured it out." Mark looked pleased with River's insight into the character.
"Now, tell me your reason for not telling me?"
"Well, It's because this isn't just the story of Arthur Fleck, an innocent man, turning into the Joker; it's actually the sto–"
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"Now, I understand why you are confident about winning the oscars."
"Heh.. you haven't even seen the movie yet." Mark said reiterated the words, River had said to him before.
"It doesn't matter; I can already paint a picture in my head. Now what's this about me taking on an apprentice?"
"Well, it's just a request of mine that I would really appreciate it if you decided to accept."
"There's this kid, Macaulay Culkin. I think he has the talent to go far in this industry, but he is quite young, just 10, actually."
"I need you to guide him; the kid's got a sharp mind, so don't treat him like a child."
"Just tell him about the pitfalls in this industry, how the sudden influx of money can change the people around him, what kind of people to look out for, etc."
He could tell what Mark's intentions with this were; he wished someone had been there for him, to tell him about the sharks in Hollywood.
But he was happy to know that he would get to be that safety net for someone else. He hoped someone would be that safety for his own little brother, Joa.
"I don't want you to scare him, but try to take those rose-tinted glasses off his eyes and make him realize some of the truths of this industry, and also give him some tips in acting, how to not look into the camera, how to prepare for roles, how to read a script, etc." He nodded, expressing his understanding of the task.
"Got it. I will do it, Mark, and you don't need to request that I do a good thing. What you've already done for me is something I don't know if I will ever be able to pay off.
"You don't need to pay me anything; we're friends, right?" Mark asked, trying to calm him down.
"Of course, we are. So treat me like one, bro. Just ask, and if I am available, of course I'll do it for you." He replied as he hugged Mark.
As he pulled back, he made a joke to lighten the mood. "But I can't be the only one who has to go through with this."
"Oh, don't worry. Remember the girl I saved?" He nodded. "Well, I believe she could be someone as well."
"But her life has gone off the tracks, and now I am trying to help her get it back on track. Johnny will be the one mentoring her."
"So I get the kid, Johnny gets the young woman, and what is this? Is it like the testing phase of your apprentice program?" He felt interested in leading something like that and doing some good for others.
"Yeah, I am trying to start a master class program where young graduates or people of potential will be able to get guidance and learn from some of the best talents that we have here at Eidolon."
"They will be given on-the-job training and learn from the best in their fields; these "classes" will be held while we are filming. I know it will be chaotic in the beginning, but I hope to soon make it into something even bigger."
"So that we can train the next generation of creatives that will hold up this industry and ensure that we make good films and not just films to earn money off of our audiences hand over fist." Mark always has these grand plans in his mind. It could be exhausting to be around the man, but it never got boring.
"And I am the one responsible for starting it all, to see if it can even be done." He said it with a mock fearful look on his face, though internally he was eager to meet these young talents who were able to catch Mark's eyes.
"Yup." Mark quipped.
"No pressure." He jested.
"No, pressure at all." He could tell Mark was playing around with him.
"By the way, here's the complete script: read it, and I will call you back in a week; that is the day when I will be introducing you to the kid." Mark said, as he finally handed over the actual script to him.
"Take care of him for me, River. But most of all, take care of yourself; we need you." He smiled as he nodded his head in all seriousness, internally promising to do his best, and left.
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~ A Week Later ~
Mark had been relaxing for the past week, doing some light work as he caught up with his friends and got some pleasant surprises and some not-so-pleasant ones.
Jess had submitted the finished draft for the first «Matrix» movie, and he genuinely felt like she made it better. The build towards the big reveal of the machines being in control was subtlety done.
But that wasn't the pleasant surprise he had gotten from her, for he had expected the Matrix script; what he hadn't been expecting was being handed the script for a Conjuring-like movie over two decades before the time of its original conception.
He had asked her about how she thought of the plot and heard a story that he could swear might have been because of the passive skill of his title, "God of Stories." Jess had actually gotten the adaptation rights from the Warren couple.
But she did something that made him proud of her actions; she ran a deep background check on the couple and found a few bones hidden inside the closet. She didn't shy away from asking for help when she realized she was out of her depth.
She told him how, after finding out what the couple had done in the past, they could never afford to work with them. So she just bought off the adaptation rights to their stories.
She told him how his plan for the MCU inspired her to create a universe of her own, a horror-verse, with monsters from actual rumors and incidents, all existing within the same universe.
He told her about some monsters that he had written about in his diaries and handed over "Untold Horrors: Volume 1" to her to draw inspiration from.
After sadly reminding her that their slate of films for the next year was full, he promised he would keep one slot open for her horror movie.
She waved it off, and he remembered her saying, "After working on the script of Knives Out and writing scripts on my own with Matrix, I finally realized why you made me fix Knives Out."
"It wasn't just because it was my area of specialty, but because Knives Out is too close to your heart. So you couldn't objectively evaluate it and cut down the scenes that might be unnecessary to the story."
He had just smiled in turn and replied with, "and one day it might be someone else doing the same for you."
"Maybe," she had muttered and said, "I still feel like I need more experience before I feel comfortable submitting a script that I have worked on alone from start to finish being used in a film."
"Don't worry, you'll get there." He had before she took her leave, as he thought about starting another studio but this on dedicated to filming horror movies. It could serve as a training ground for the novice directors in his employ both current and future.
After what had been a pleasant conversation, he unfortunately had to go through an unpleasant one as he had gotten a call from Harry that their claim for the trademark of Pirates of the Caribbean was being contested by Disney.
Harry explained that Disney's original trademark only extended to park rides, so they might win the case, but he wouldn't bet on it. Mark told him to just occupy their attention and be a nuisance, as that might take their attention off of his deal with Jobs for the ownership of Pixar.
They were already pissed at him for stealing three of their employees; he didn't want them to get wind of him trying to buy Pixar, even though Pixar doesn't have much to its name now.
His instincts told him that Eisner would most probably go into a bidding war for Pixar just so that he couldn't buy it or shoot himself in the foot financially while doing it.
It was already an open secret at Pixar, so he knew he couldn't just hope for the best. So, he had already begun putting aside more funds so he could win any potential bidding war and complete Pixar's buyout.
The deal needed to be completed by the end of the month because they needed to get started on B&B in a month and a half, as by that time Ms. Woolverton would also be done with revising the script.
Things weren't exactly going according to plan, but his backup plans were already in place to take care of the arising problems.
He had also been in talks with Crown, regarding his idea for the GPU. Their successful relationship with TSMC would be leveraged so they could get priority manufacturing on their chips, when the first designs were complete.
Crown had also been faxed a list of names of exceptional electrical engineers, microprocessor designers, graphics engineers, software developers, etc. that he would need to hire to create a R&D team to design this chip.
He told him to ™ Nvidia and get started on hiring, as he needed the R&D to be started by the end of November and to ensure that they send him monthly progress reports.
He made sure that the names of the original creators of Nvidia were amongst the list of names that he had sent to Crown, and in turn, Nicholas had sent him something that he could only call an early Christmas gift.
Because calling it a pleasant surprise would be a gross understatement, Nicholas had sent him a bill of purchase for 19.8 million dollars.
It was an R&D facility situated in Sandwich, England, formerly belonging to Pfizer. They had failed to develop a drug for heart attack, high BP and hypertension.
They had spent five years and hundreds of thousands to millions with nothing to show for it. So, when Nicholas approached them with a $20 million deal for their loss-making R&D division, Pfizer agreed immediately.
The deal was already signed, and now, Crown Ventures had just secured its biggest deal ever by getting ownership of UK-92480. The drug that would go on to become Viagra, but he had made it clear to Nicholas to pour in more money into testing it for safety and health risks.
Viagra had become a super cash cow for Pfizer, earning a lifetime revenue of over 30 billion dollars for the company. Billions of dollars that he and Nicholas would be making now. He had been so surprised over Nic bringing Crown Ventures into this deal that he couldn't help but ask him.
"Why?"
"Why, what?" Nic sounded confused.
"Please don't but why didn't you just invest in it yourself? It was just 20 million; you could've done it yourself, without getting C.V. involved." He explained his question, feeling bad about questioning his partner's integrity.
"And kill the opportunity of working with you? We got a great thing going, Mark; and as an investor I would be severely shortsighted if I destroyed it over a few hundred millions."
"Mark, we have worked together for 6 years, and together we've invested in dozens of companies big and small."
"With the way Costco and the rest are going public soon, Crown Ventures will soon become a multi-billion dollar firm. But that's only just the beginning, isn't it? I know you have big plans for the future."
"This GPU chip design company and TSMC go hand in hand; you bought a stake into TSMC over 3 years ago. I won't ask if you already had the idea of creating a GPU at that time."
"Your vision, Mark, that is your gift, the way you always keep sight of the big picture is rare. In all my life's decisions and wagers, listening to Mr. Anderson that day and joining you was the best one I have ever made in my life."
'Stop your making me blush' Mark said in his head, as he couldn't process the compliment.
"So, please don't ever insult my intuition or intelligence again like that; I don't know about but I really value the partnership I have with you."
"I am sorry, Nic it means a lot, it.. it's just that I know that you are good enough with numbers to understand how big of a cash cow this product can be if used right."
Nic smiled at Mark's compliment, and it was true that he could estimate how much he would earn from the drug sale. "I do, probably a billion dollars in revenue after a few years if we can scale it fast enough with proper marketing and advertising.
So I had two choices -
Option 1. I could have betrayed you and tried running Pfizer on my own; it might have worked and ended up making me billions over the years.
Or I could use C.V. for the deal and continue to build its portfolio of successful investments, slowly turning into a trillion-dollar company."
"I know it sounds far-fetched, but I truly believe that with my business development and management skills and your vision, it is a possibility."
"I think so as well," he replied, trying to hold back his urge to smile. He couldn't tell Nic how right he was at that moment.
"Think about it, Mark: me leading a trillion-dollar company, owning stakes in multiple billion-dollar companies."
"Hmm, I think I understand you better now. Anyways, Nic, I want you to start an asset management company as well."
"Crown or Eidolon?" was all he asked, he knew the reasons couldn't be talked over the phone.
"Go with Crown again, I still don't want to show my hand."
Nic chuckled at how many people were in the dark about how rich he truly was. "I will be hosting a party at the end of the month to celebrate the success of my movie. I'll send you an invitation; meet me there."
"I want Crown Ventures to invest in my movies and also in the new VFX and CGI studio I will be starting.
"How much do you need?"
"For the movies, around $100 million goes into production, and $50 million should take care of marketing."
"That can't be for just one movie."
"It's for three."
"Good, you're branching out."
"Yeah. See you in a few weeks, Nic." He said he didn't tell the actual reason for starting the asset management company, but that wasn't something that could be talked about on the phone.
"See you soon, Mark." Nic replied and hung up, excited to work on straightening the chain of command and pumping in more cash so they could keep the trails running and improve the drug without an unwanted side effect.
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.
He got a call on the landline, and after picking it up, he heard Monica say that Chris was there to meet him, and what a surprise that had been to see Monica Bellucci as his secretary. Even though she hadn't reached her peak yet, she still looked stunning in office apparel though he hadn't tried anything yet.
He told her to let him come in as he continued painting a figure on a big canvas. It looked haphazard, but a humanoid shape could be distinguished as the painting slowly took shape.
"Mark." He heard Chris call out from behind.
"Hey, Chris, how have you been?" He asked as he turned around and gestured to come forward and have a seat.
"Been good; taking a break." Chris replied, looking a little uncomfortable and nervous.
"Yeah, I heard you went to your hometown. Is everything good back there? How's family?" He asked, trying to gauge if his friend was in any trouble.
"It's been pretty good; I bought them a house." He had a big smile as he recounted the whole thing.
"Woah, congratulations, bud. Auntie must be really proud." He replied as he kept painting a bare-chested man.
"Yeah, she is; she couldn't stop bragging about it." he chuckled.
Mark laughed at that, and then laughed even harder as he remembered the grumbling of his own mom, who wanted to brag about him to her friends but couldn't because whatever he achieved was always way too high profile to brag about without giving away his identity.
After having a pleasant conversation where they shared about how they spent their time after the shooting of Knives Out ended, they reached a lull in the conversation.
Mark didn't really mind the silence, so he just leisurely kept painting while Chris sat beside him, feeling like this was a good opportunity as any he decided to talk to him about Wizards, a company idea his friends had pitched to him.
"Mark." He didn't turn around but instead hummed to show that he was listening. "I told you that I met up with my friends, back in my hometown, right?"
Mark just nodded. "Well, they have pitched the idea of starting a game development and publishing studio. Specifically, RPG card games."
That got Mark's attention, as he stopped painting for a moment. "I see. So, how can I help?"
"They are in need of an investor. Peter, a friend of mine who's got actual experience in this, does have some money saved up, but it isn't enough to start and run the company."
"Hmm, how long has Peter been working in the industry? Has he been part of creating any games before?" He asked, thinking about how to approach this.
"Well, he has self-published a war game called Castle and Conquest."
"Hmm, how much money does he need?"
"3.5 million dollars, and he wants to meet you, actually." He said, feeling uncomfortable at asking his friend for this sum of money.
"Hmm, well, I will be meeting a friend of mine who runs a venture capital firm at the party at the end of the month."
"If your friend is available, I could introduce the two and play the mediator." he offered, not wanting to be the one to turn down his friend.
"How about it? I could just lend him the money, but I think what he needs isn't just money but someone who can help him develop his business rather than just give him a bank loan."
"That would be brilliant; Peter and the rest would be really happy to hear that. Thank you, Mark."
"Oh, stop it. It's not a big deal. Have you guys thought of a name for the studio yet?"
"Wizards of the Coast." Chris replied with a happy smile.
"Good name." He said this as he remembered the craze card game enthusiasts had over Magic: The Gathering. It seemed like he should buy up Dungeons and Dragons as well later on.
"Is Janet back yet?" He asked to see if the meeting for the evening was still happening.
"Yep."
"Good. I hope you both have been informed of the meeting in a few more hours."
"I have been, 5:30 pm, right?"
"Yup. Ah, finally done." Mark said as he backed away from the painting of a robust, muscular man with a wild, animalistic vibe to him. Despite the lack of color, it looked beautiful and after one glance at the knuckles, he knew who he was looking at.
After turning around, he saw a few canvases hung around them with more characters from the same universe as the first character.
But the art style of Mark's made them look better than they had ever looked before on the pages of the comics he had been reading since childhood.
The one that Mark had just finished, he could easily identify as Wolverine; then there was also Spider-Man, Hulk, Iron-Man, Thor, Ant-Man, a redheaded tribal woman holding a futuristic bow, fighting mechanical monsters and many more.
It looked like an art museum, filled with artwork of characters either from comics or his other works.
"Mark, why so many paintings?"
"Well, it's so the artists can understand what I want my characters to look like, and I am going to sell these at the Marvel-Con for charity.
"Wait, Marvel-Con is actually real.. I thought it was just a rumor."
"Nope, it's happening next year in January to celebrate the reboot of Marvel with a bang. We will take a break from shooting KJ for a few days. I plan on heading to San Diego to host it myself."
"Mark, you don't need to push yourself so hard; you can just hire someone else to do it."
"I know I can hire someone else or even have them impersonate me, but it won't be genuine for the fans of Marvel."
"I want them to see my sincere efforts in reviving Marvel and reinforce their belief that this company that they have loved since their childhood can be something great again."
"I see." At the moment, he couldn't help but respect his friend even more; his work ethic was admirable.
But there was also this obsessive drive of his to provide quality work to his audience, to never let them down with his work. It was how he had built the brand of Marc Spector - An assurance of quality and good times.
"Well, I will see you later, Chris. Need to go take a nap." Mark said, leaving him to enjoy the painting while he went off to actually meditate and visualize the different story arcs this new Wolverine would have in his Ultimate universe.
"Hmm." Chris hummed in reply as admired at paintings for a while longer before he left as well.
— To be continued…
In the next episode of Tulsa Kin–
*Cough* *Cough*
I meant in the next chapter of Hollywood: Head-Hunting System.
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Word Count: 6579 words (after excluding the disclaimer, opening Author's Note and the closing Author's Note.)
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{Closing Author's Note: Thanks for reading, hope you guys like the small reveals of the stuff that had been going on in the background. Mark has also begun to throw himself into the internet company race. Now because of the rewrite of chapter 2 there has been a small issue in my previous chapters.
The networth of $700+ million of Mark that had been shown in the status page in two of the previous chapters was incomplete because it didn't take into consideration his net worth from Crown Ventures if it did it would have been well over $2 billion that is a mistake on my end that I will later on be fixing that mistake but for now it is what it is.
If you like my work then please comment and leave behind your suggestions that you would like to see in the future chapters. I know the Killing Joke arc is a little slow at the beginning but I promise you it will be a good one, as I will be trying out many new things and taking risks.
Like Mark rescuing Angelina Jolie, that was a risky decision as I didn't know how you guys would react. I will also be implementing some of the suggestions that I have gotten from you guys as well, so look out for it. Bye now, I hope you guys have good dreams or a beautiful day.}
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