The My Hollywood System
Chapter 38

Karen Jansen pulled out an envelope with a smile on her face. His gaze was fixed on the director and actor sitting below the stage, and he could only grin.

As an actress, she knew how they felt; anxious, worried, and hopeful.

He looked down at the envelope and saw the name of the award-winning film, and he couldn't help but be surprised.

"I haven't seen this one."

He had gone through many movie screenings but not a single one was written on the envelope. Ignoring his thoughts, he spoke on the microphone.

"So, the name of the film that won the award for 'The most innovative idea' was [The Blair Witch Project]!"

As soon as Karen announced that, a standing ovation rang out from the crowd. All the eyes of the director, actors, and other important individuals were on Will.

"What is [The Blair Witch Project]? Why haven't I heard of it?"

"That camcorder movie? I can't believe it won an award!"

"I saw the playback. It's really scary, but it's not a real movie. The jury is completely insane!"

"Who's the director?"

People spoke in quiet whispers, but their eyes remained fixed on the table, which was occupied by Will, June, Marcus, Zach, and George.

'We won. we really won.'

Will does not believe that the film he directed actually got an award at a leading film festival.

[The Blair Witch Project] did not receive any awards in the previous world. But it was well received by the audience, although the film still could not win any awards.

So, this surprised Will.

But it's really nice. For a moment, Will could not even hide his emotions, and a bright smile involuntarily crept on his face.

"June, did we really win an award?" He asked, turning towards June, who was looking at him.

"Yes, yes, we did! You really did, Will!"

He said excitedly, recalling the moment he decided to accept Will's offer as the lead. Who knew that a movie recorded with a camcorder in 10 days would get an award?

On the other hand, George had an expression that said that he ended up not regretting choosing a movie like Blair Witch to distribute.

Marcus and Zach just looked at each other in disbelief and shock.

Slowly accepting the reality, they walked onto the stage with Will and George leading the way.

As Will walked towards Karen, he whispered.

"Congratulations! Are you really the director?" He asked with a flash of surprise in his eyes.

"Yes, I'm the one."

"I haven't seen your movie, but now I'm interested. Congratulations on the victory!"

Saying this, Karen gave Will an award. He took it in his hand and looked down.

It was the first film award he won in his life.

Will glanced at the award, then at the audience. At that moment, George nudged his shoulders slightly.

"Will, you have to speak on behalf of the team."

He nodded his head and stepped towards the microphone. Staring at the leading figures in Hollywood who were looking at him curiously, he spoke.

"Hello, my name is Will Evans, director of [The Blair Witch Project] - A horror film made in 10 days and shot with an old video camera. Funny, right?"

Many people in the crowd still hadn't seen [The Blair Mage Project], so his words caused quite a bit of excitement. Despite gaining a large audience, the screening time ended before it could spread to more people.

After all, horror movies are ignored by most people until they are truly amazing.

"When I started this project, I even thought that I was acting crazy. But it was my only option to become a filmmaker, especially after I quit EUC - a dream I had since childhood. I want to make something unique in its nature, and I think I am satisfied with the products we managed to make. In the end, I would like to thank the committee overseeing the Annual film festival for giving me the opportunity to screen my film here."

As Will ended his speech there, a standing ovation sounded. Several fellow independent directors in the audience were impressed by his calm demeanor.

His words were short, but he managed to convey a bit of his journey. Even Karen, who was standing next to Will, was slightly impressed.

He felt like the young man standing in front of him would someday become a great director.

Afterwards, they simply shook hands with the judges who had chosen the film for the award and met some other people who introduced themselves.

"Haha, Will, you're brilliant. Movie brilliant!"

George patted Will's shoulder as they moved towards the parking lot after the ceremony was over. He seemed ready to get excited as he had not expected the Blair Witch to win an award.

"Thank you, George. To be honest, even I didn't expect an award."

"Picture it as a sign that your movie is capable of impressing people. We got an excellent response during the screening as well. Now, with the awards behind the film, I think we're ready?"

george said, hinting at something and Will's eyes widened to hear it.

"You mean the right release?"

"Yes, let's release in a month. No major films were released around that time. So, our competition will be less, and I am now more than convinced that [The Blair Witch Project] will do very well in the box.office."

"That's the best thing you said today, George."

Will laughed, and behind him, the three lead actors of the film were topping each other. Everyone congratulates Will.

As such, the official release of the film was finalized.

***

The next month was quite terrifying for everyone who was bound up with the [Blair Witch Project]. It was due to the fact that Wheel Work went all out with the marketing campaign.

On top of that, the marketing team regularly posts small clips and behind-the-scenes footage. In addition, they have also made a 2-minute trailer, and have been watched more than 200 thousand times.

They also posted interviews with the cast and some fictional facts about the Blair witch.

Wheel jobs even got their two older employees working as Heather's parents and giving interviews. Obviously, all of these are fake, but their performance is good enough to make people believe.

He even felt the two employees deserved credit for the performance they gave in the 5-minute clip.

All of this, coupled with the little hype they get due to film festivals, is enough to get some people interested in shooting horror movies on camcorders.

To maintain the hype until release, Wheel Work even hired legions of tough – warrior keyboard warriors whose job it was to visit every film-related forum and social media channel and talk about [Blair Witch Project].

For a while, even Will joined them to help.

All of this makes Wheel work and Will is hopeful about the film's official release. Will knows very well that even if the opening is not big, the film will spread by word of mouth.

More and more people will be attracted to it every day, and in the end, it will make more than 100 million dollars in the North American market alone.

Today was the day [The Blair Witch Project] was released.

The first show actually began on over 800 screens across the United States in just thirty minutes from now.

'I hope at least some people come to watch the movie after reading this article.'

Will thought while reading some articles. He is currently on his way to the theater to watch a movie.

He had been waiting for this day since the past month. This will be the first film directed by him. Although she was almost certain that the film might be a hit, she was still nervous about the outcome.

In fact, he didn't even sleep well last night, and by the time he closed his eyes, it was almost morning.

After sleeping all day, he woke up very late, and as soon as he felt the first consciousness, he opened his eyes and immediately sat on the bed.

The first thing he checked was time. It was about an hour before the film's first show.

Removing the blanket, he stood up, and the first thing he checked was his phone.

There were quite a number of messages, and a few missed calls as well, from Jeffery, his Uncle Ben, and June.

He decided to contact them one by one.

It started with Uncle Ben.

- Hello, Will. Is that you?

"Yes, Uncle, it's me."

oh, I called during the day. Are you busy?

"Ah. I just fell asleep. Today the film I directed will be released. So I couldn't even sleep well last night."

- Haha, that's normal. I'm also calling about your movie and something else. First things first, I'm happy for you, and there's no saying .. ah yes, I hope this movie breaks the internet.

"Thank you uncle."

- Hm, too, do not get discouraged even if this one does not perform well. In fact, I'll watch it today. I missed it during the screening because of my schedule, but I won't miss it today. Actually, I was just about to leave. Where are you at? Why don't you join me? I've also got a surprise for you; I think it would be best if I told you directly.

“Oh, you don't have to bother yourself, Uncle. Just tell me the name of the nearest movie theater, I'll come.

um, I think it's an Arclight Cinema. It's near my office building. Should I send a car? The show starts in an hour.

"I'll be there, Uncle. Half an hour at most."

- Alright. I'll see you there later.

Will nodded and put down the phone as the call ended.

'I'll talk to the others later. I have to hurry.'

In the next five minutes, Will refreshed himself and wore a blue suit paired with a white shirt and black trousers...

Since today was the first day of the movie, she couldn't help but put on a suit to enjoy the movie.

Although she was sure that she would get some looks because it was not every day that people saw a man going to watch a horror movie wearing a fancy dress.

It took him about twenty minutes to reach the cinema by taxi and five minutes to find his Uncle.

"You're here," his uncle called him, "Come, the ticket's coming soon."

Will nodded as he walked towards his Uncle and asked, "How are you, Uncle?"

"Ah, my schedule has been very busy over the past few months. And you're the one to blame."

"I? What the hell am I doing?"

"You gave me an amazing script."

"Oh…"

"Yes. The company loves your [17 Again] script, in fact, they don't even plan to make too many changes; it feels kind of perfect. In fact, someone may contact you immediately regarding this project. And you'd better take it; maybe that phone can change your life."

"Oh?" Will was surprised by this, "Who will call me?"

But before his Uncle could answer, someone approached them and spoke.

"Dad, here's the ticket."

Will's smile froze for a moment, and regained his composure at this moment; he turned around.

Before him appeared a young woman, who also turned towards him. She wore a yellow dress with a large widened skirt and yellow flower embroidery on the corset, revealing a perfect and fragile pair of alabaster shoulders.

She is the daughter of Uncle Ben, Jennifer Charles.