The My Hollywood System
Chapter 60

"Will, think again! 90 Million is not a small number. Isn't that all the money you got from the Blair witch?" james exclaimed, looking at Will like a madman. "It's actually a crazy decision."

He thought the film budget was around 20-30 million dollars. That was enough to make a great detective film set in 1890s London.

But 90 million is already over the limit.

If the movie fails, Will goes bankrupt. It was akin to a king sending all his soldiers to battle without guarantee of victory. One wrong move, and the king and his kingdom will be arrested.

In simple words, it is a risk at stake.

"James, I know very well what you're saying, but the vision I have for [Sherlock Holmes] requires a lot of money. And 90 million is just an approximate number."

Will explained, but James' expression was still a bit stiff. [The original Sherlock Holmes] actually only cost about 60 million dollars to shoot.

One-third of the budget is only for the various actors involved in the project. Heck, only Robert Downey**had grossed 15 million dollars for his role.

He still felt lucky to be able to get Robert at such a cheap price.

"I know all that, but this is a big risk. If it fails, you know it will just repeat the Sherlock 90s disaster. No studio wants to be associated with that."

"I wouldn't give you the script if I wasn't aware of the risks, James." Will said a little stubbornly. "But it will not fail. I have complete faith in it. I wouldn't have risked every little penny I had for this movie otherwise."

Taking a deep breath, he continued, "First, rather than a failed project, you have to think of a scenario where it will be a great success. You've read the script, and my past achievements are something everyone knows. Perhaps, this will be your chance to move away from the shadow of Chandler Davies' approach."

Listening to Will's confident voice, James began to weigh the pros and cons in his mind.

Will's confidence was something he was passionate about, and the burning passion in his eyes was the same as he had seen in many directors before. But unlike that, he is confident in his skills and brave enough to risk all his money in one movie.

This was not something he had seen before. He is a young genius director.

In fact, Will's nemesis was also young. He was inexperienced, and although he had great success with his first film, he had never directed a cinematic film before.

Just one thought alone was enough to tilt his decision into a negative one. But Will's last words still loomed in his mind.

'This is an opportunity to move away from the shadow of the conservative approach Foxstar is known for.'

As he thought that, Chandler Davies face appeared in his mind. He is an arrogant and paranoid man who has ruined too many movies for meddling in his production.

James certainly did not want to follow in his footsteps.

In the end, he made his decision.

"Okay Will, let's discuss the stock ratio and sign the contract. I hope this cooperation brings beneficial results."

Will smiled broadly at those words. With that, he finally got a distributor.

***

When Foxstar agreed to distribute [Sherlock Holmes], everyone in Dream Vision's studio felt a sense of joy flowing in their veins.

Working with one of the Big 6 movie studios is really a dream come true for most Hollywood productions, and they have achieved it so quickly.

It makes them work harder. Will is satisfied while overseeing his employees, but even though Foxstar has agreed to the deal, it's just a verbal deal, and Amanda is still negotiating.

At one point, it got really hot, but Amanda handled it well.

The argument was that [Sherlock Holmes] was a big production, and as the only producer of the film, most of the risk was high there, so they had to get a higher cut. In the end, Dream Vision got a 37 percent stake in the North American box office and 15 percent overseas.

Will is thrilled to get such a deal and is thrilled that he has chosen Amanda as the CEO of Dream Vision.

Without him, it's hard to get such a lucrative deal.

After he signed the distribution contract, the only thing on Will's mind was casting for [Sherlock Holmes].

Robert had already been given the script, and he had even locked himself in his house to prepare for the [Sherlock Holmes] audition. From what he knew, he read every Sherlock Holmes novel to gain a better understanding of the character.

Will is quite satisfied with his efforts, but there are still many roles to play.

"This is a list of actors who are suitable for John Watson. I made the list taking into account age and availability. Let's see."

Amanda said and gave him a long list. They are both currently considering which casting options they have and which actor or actress is a good fit for what role.

"Let me see."

Looked at Amanda, she said.

"This is a good list, but all of these are the best B-class actors. I think we need to choose the more popular option."

"But I doubt whether A-list actors would agree, given that the would-be lead we're thinking of is a relatively unknown actor."

Amanda said with a little dissatisfaction. He's not too happy with Will's first choice for Sherlock. He felt much better for popular actors to play iconic characters.

But he was firm in his decision and convinced that Robert would be the perfect choice.

"I know what they're gonna say. They might try asking for the lead role instead of playing an actor they don't even know his name."

"Yes, and the role of Watson has always been portrayed as a clumsy fool in the theater and even in '90s movies. Only comedic actors would agree to such a role."

Will shook his head at those words.

"Our Watson is relatively different from that comedic joke representation. She's a woman, a former soldier, a doctor, and even a gambler. It's a great character quality, and I don't want to believe that no actor will see it. that's after reading the script."

Amanda nodded her head, rethinking the script and Watson's depiction in it. Indeed, rather than being stupid, a confident character will make for a better way to lead.

After reading a few more names, he suddenly thought of one actor who would fit Watson perfectly and said.

"Will, how about approaching Levi Richards for the role? I think he'll fit that character very well, and his original personality is good too."

"Levi Richards?"

Will taps his finger at the table as he recalls the Levi Richards films he has seen in the world.

Levi is an American actor who has been in the industry for over 15 years, and a few years ago, he has been an A-lister, signing several big budget movies every year.

But over the past month, he has been taking breaks to spend more time with his wife and young children.

"Levi Richards would be nice. He has an English appearance and an elegant aura about him. But is he looking for a new movie? He's been resting for a long time now."

Will asked, and Amanda smiled.

"Yes, the news is that Levi is planning a comeback and is actively reading the script to choose the perfect project. Many studios have contacted him until now about various potential projects, but he hasn't signed them yet."

"Then, try to have a meeting with him to come up with the idea."

"okay."

With that decision, they moved to another casting. Some characters are easy to find actors, but some are too difficult.

For example, the character of Inspector Lestrade is a competent cop who will hire Holmes to investigate the murder, and at the same time, he will be fed up with his antics.

Will completed TV actor Augusta Sheen for the role. He has played many police roles, and as a British actor, Will feels like he is perfect for this role.

But unlike him, the role of villain Lord Henry Blackwood, a serial killer investigating the occult is hard to play. Will wanted to select only top actors for the lead roles, and just because of this, casting selection became more difficult.

There were so few actors that Will thought were suitable for the role that he and Amanda could only scratch their heads over the issue.

Although in the end, they were able to complete most of the actors they wanted and submit the script to the actor agency.

Now, it all depends on their answer.

"I think we'll get an answer soon. With Foxstar joining us on this project and it's a 90 million dollar production, many agencies will be interested."

said Amanda, and Will nodded his head a little stiffly. He knew that the actors would definitely be interested in big-budget movies, but he was also confident that their agency would be troublesome.

After all, even if they had Foxstar behind them, both Dream Vision and Will were just rookies in the industry.

"By the way, uh, there's one more thing I want to tell you?"

Amanda suddenly said, and Will asked with a puzzled expression.

"What's that?"

"I got an invitation from the Academy who invited you to the Oscars this year."