The My Hollywood System
Chapter 65

"Are you kidding me, son?"

Ewan asked as his eyes trembled after hearing what Will was going to say. For the first time today, the focus is not on wine.

He knows that Will is a screenwriter and director. Everyone associated with Foxstar in some way knows that the next screenwriter of Edward Friedman's film is Will.

But from writing horror and romance movies to working with one of the most famous directors? This was not something Ewan could accept without a doubt.

Will grinned to see Ewan react like that. Now that he had finally gained attention, he could start the main topic.

"Why am I joking about that? The original title of the film was [Birdman]. I just met Simon yesterday, and he's been thinking about some actors about the main character."

[Birdman] is Will's Oscar-winning film and is a film he loves a lot. Michael Keaton's performance has earned him many awards, while his film screenplay is one of his best.

He spent a lot of FP to buy this script, but he felt it was worth it.

It's not that Will doesn't want to direct the film himself, but some sacrifices always have to be made, and [Birdman] really fits in with Simon Vercetti's style.

That's why he likes her so much.

To prove that he's not lying, Will pulls out his phone and shows Simon Vercetti's phone number. Every doubt disappeared from Ewan's mind after examining it.

The young man before him did not lie at all, and his words clearly implied something.

"What is this story about?" ewan asked, and Will shook his head.

"Why should I tell you?"

At Will's refusal, Ewan could not say anything. He treats Will as a child simply because there is no reason for him to get along with him.

But now there was a major reason to get on good terms with him.

"What do you want? You wouldn't approach me like this without wanting me to do something, would you?"

asked Ewan directly, choosing not to detour. His drunkenness was gone, and he looked quite serious.

"I have a role for you."

"For [Bird Man]?"

Ewan's eyes wished for a moment, but Will's next words quickly sank him.

"Not yet." Will laugh. "It's for the movie I directed, [Sherlock Holmes], it's one of the lead roles, and I'm pretty sure you'd be great for it."

"I don't want to work with anyone other than Simon."

"I know you want to try to win an Oscar by working with Simon, but you haven't played a movie in almost 2 years. Aren't you a little sluggish for not showing up on screen for so long? Who knows if you're doing well, it might impress Simon."

Ewan did not say anything for a while after hearing that. Will basically told him that he would recommend it to Simon Vercetti if he worked on the film.

As a screenwriter, Will does have a few voices, which can certainly be of great help to Ewan.

But he is not someone who takes on any role. Unlike many other A-listers, he did not want to play the main character at all times. He wanted to play a wide variety of characters, and he didn't mind even if he was a supporting character if it was interesting.

"I can't just promise that I'll work with you."

Ewan slowly said, carefully thinking about his words.

"I'm not asking you to promise. Let's just get a meeting. Tomorrow, 11am at Dream Vision's office" Will said. When he saw that Ewan did not give any reaction, he added, "Trust me, you will not be disappointed with this role."

"Okay, at least I can do it."

Just like that, Will gets the villain for his movie.

For the record, in the future, Jared will hit Perry out of frustration after he sees the public backlash and [Sherlock Holmes] box office numbers.

***

In the next two days, Will had seven meetings with Ewan and his agent. After the second meeting, he knew Ewan would not turn down the role.

After all, the role was well-made, and Lord Blackwood had his own personality and was not a villain defeated by Holmes.

In the end, he signed Ewan Rees for 7 million dollars. Levi Richards has also agreed to play the role of Watson, and they have negotiated a sum of 5 million dollars for his role.

Just like this, Will had most of the main cast. The only problem is about the lead role of Holmes, and to that end, Will will not be the lead actor but Michael Robert Elrod, an unknown man.

After hearing that Will has an unknown person in the lead, Foxstar tries to turn him down, but Will fights back, saying there will be no better leader than Robert.

They quarreled for a while about it, and even James tried to change Will's mind, but it was futile. After negotiations failed, Will proposed to at least let Robert audition for the role, and if he wasn't good enough, they could have turned him down.

Exactly like that, many Foxstar executives, including James Dankworth, reached the theater booked for one day just for Robert's audition. Even Spencer Miller, Foxstar's lead was here, and this was Will's first time meeting him.

Since Spencer had been outside the States for some time for some business meetings, Will had been unable to meet him before.

When Will meets her for the first time, he shakes Spencer's hand with a confident smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Miller."

Spencer Miller is an old man who is close to reaching his 70s, but his body is still fit without any problems. That's because he has been exercising regularly from a young age and his strong drive towards his job every day keeps him working as Foxstar's chairman.

He looked at Will and smiled at him.

"So too. I've heard about you a lot lately, but meeting you made me realize again that you're young."

"Are you the type of person who judges a person by age, Mr Miller?"

"Not really. Age is a good indicator. In your case, it works for you. After all, an old man would never be able to obtain the title of young genius."

Will nodded his head hearing those words, and Spencer smirked before asking.

"Why do you think I came here for this audition?"

Will raised his eyebrows at this question. He thought Spencer had come here just to make sure Will didn't pick someone who didn't have the expertise to play Holmes. But now, he felt that there was another reason for that.

"I don't think it's just for auditions."

"I am a busy man. There are a thousand things I have to do, and I can easily skip an audition like this. The reason I came here is because of you."

"Because of me?"

He asked, wondering what the old man in front of him hinted at. Spencer took a breath and explained.

"One of the main reasons I was able to become the chairman of one of the Big 6 film studios without support was because I invested in people. Movie studios shouldn't invest in movies, but the people who make them, and I follow them. ."

Will finally understands what Spencer is saying and fully agrees to it.

"So, you're here to see if you can invest in me?"

"Yes, there is no shortage of talent in Hollywood. Every year film school has many graduates, but how many of them go on to direct films? But despite dropping out of school, you make 200 million out of almost nothing." Spencer said as if he was impressed. "I haven't seen anyone like that in my 40 years in Hollywood."

He turned to look Will in the eye before continuing.

"That's why, when you agree to work with Foxstar, I'm interested in knowing where you're going. You even decided to direct [Sherlock Holmes], a franchise with a bad past but with the potential to become something big. All of this got me quite interested in you. Even now, I wonder if this actor you chose is good."

"He'll prove it."

Will said confidently to Robert's ability. He has spoken a lot with Robert in the last few weeks and he knows how hard he has worked to get the role right.

"Let's see about that. If I think he's perfect for the role, I can assure you that there won't be any objections because he's unknown."

Will made a surprised expression. He readily accepts some objections, but Spencer's words stop all his worries.

"You're too good to me." He said, hoping to know why.

"I'm always good until I get the desired result. If you think getting an unknown actor to play Holmes would make the film a hit, go for it. I don't really care. Just make sure…." His words halted for a moment as Spencer smiled. "For you not to disappoint me."

Before Will can answer those words, Robert appears with Amanda beside him. He was already wearing one of the costumes prepared for [Sherlock Holmes].

As the eyes of the people were fixed on him, they couldn't help but become more curious about the audition.