It is a world of possibilities. Supporting roles had always been considered by Billy the weak part of the party, but now he saw them in a positive light: fast jobs, shorter waiting tis, and perhaps connections with different production studios that he could later buy—and once he bought them, he could make the difficult beco legitimate.
Billy then realized that he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and in whatever way he wanted. That was why he decided to expand his already extensive slate of roles, in which he now seed almost silent, holding different parts in his hands that would begin filming the following year.
All of this ca with the arrival of Jim Wait, who was sowhat aware that in the coming months he would be more deeply involved in all the work etings in San José. He was already starting to notice the flexible ti Billy handled, since the crises were about to pass on schedule.
-—It’s a good idea, kid,— Jim comnted.
Normally, a project had a working tiline of two to three years in production—accepting the script, polishing it, adapting it. That work was done simultaneously with fifteen or thirty other scripts that production companies held in their hands, all tied to the company’s future. Decisions were made based on funds, investnt, and people’s preferences from one thing to another. For Billy, everything worked completely differently for two reasons: it was a more centralized and faster process. The company arrived with the scripts already finished, down to every detail, and only then did the discussion begin about whether it was possible or impossible. If it wasn’t, it was sent to Lux Animation for a future among animated projects. But almost no project was ever truly discarded by Billy.
Normally, projects were always driven by one or two people who firmly believed they would be a success, or simply liked them enough to do them and move on to the next thing, while the bigger work reached their hands. Different ways of doing or seeing things, but that was how it was.
-—Three projects for the last six months of the year,— Jim whispered.
-—I still have to finish so Star Wars shots. I’m still practicing my lightsaber choreography,— Billy replied. He had been at it for a long ti now—two years and counting, twenty to twenty-four hours a month, practicing with the sword to find his skill beneath the surface.
-—So what do you think about the world of television?— Jim asked.
-—For now, only as an investor,— Billy comnted. He already had his tentacles in thousands of series: at least four series every six months were broadcast with Billy involved, three television programs, and at least ten docuntaries that beca the new face of Discovery.
For example, his recent investnt in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which he co-financed with Universal in modest proportions, with the desire to obtain partial copyright and exploitation rights on internet platforms and his television channel within five years.
It was the joke of the industry. Many laughed because he invested two hundred thousand dollars per episode and didn’t enjoy the present. But that mattered little—Billy thought in terms of the future, when series would simply beco a comfortable cushion where people would take the ti to watch them from their couch at ho.
-—Then let’s focus on films. Next year, cinema will co full circle,— Jim Wait replied.
Only two scripts were truly worthwhile in one sense: The Lord of the Rings, which was already beginning filming in early 1999—a ti full of cinema that deserved more films. There was also Gladiator. He saw Red Planet, and an idea awakened in his mind: a science-fiction film based on Kim Stanley Robinson’s trilogy, which, in minor ways, was a gift of science fiction waiting to be explored.
-—I want Red Planet, but I want the script modified. And I also want so changes to the screenplay—of course, if you want to participate,— Billy comnted.
He was already thinking about the people who could be involved in the entire film. With hard science fiction like this, it was worth going all in—financing everything, making a third trilogy, turning it into a political odyssey of betrayals alongside Kim Stanley’s books. That was all he could ask for.
-—I’ll write it down,— Jim said calmly.
Billy’s ideas were quite intrusive, and Jim always cast a wide stone to hit as much ground as possible, while trying to co out intact from the problems Billy caused in his own way.
-—Tell them we can do the new Matrix, shoot it all in one go, and wait afterward,— Billy comnted, thinking about Todd Field, Kubrick’s right-hand man, a technical genius. Hiring research teams and creating realistic studies, planting the soil of Mars—he marveled at how the story could then give rise to a cult, carefully guarded.
Perhaps it could be fild in the red deserts of Jordan, Australia, or maybe the Valley of the Moon in Chile. Everything felt like pure pleasure.
-—I like the idea,— Billy whispered.
-—You’re the boss,— Jim comnted, taking a glass of tea.
Jim Wait, once frantic, was now completely buried in the past. He only thought about returning to his wife and son, to the luxurious house he had bought, where they spent afternoons reading books, walking to the park, shopping, or going to restaurants. Unfortunately, he still had to set aside fifteen to twenty days to work and earn money. Children, university, and the entire life he lived all required money.
-—We received an open recomndation for Gladiator,— Jim Wait comnted.
Billy’s eyes widened.
-—I also want this one. Arican Psycho,— Billy sighed. It was a role that would push his acting limits where he least expected.
-—A role that can be very challenging, no matter how you look at it. Maybe you want to take a breath,— Jim laughed.
Billy’s roles were becoming sharper by the day, and he wanted more. It was an appetite Jim knew well and used to guide him—but even for Jim, it sotis slipped completely out of control. When everything ca together, that was when the masterpieces they were accustod to seeing finally erged.
-—Of course. I’ll call Gianopulos. I want to do the project of a lifeti,— Billy comnted.
There were still months before filming. Everything would change with Billy’s involvent.
-—I’ll make the calls, but first read this script,— Jim said, placing in front of him what he considered a jewel.
Luckily, the director wanted Billy above anyone else, because Caron Crowe was coming in with a new, almost autobiographical script—a scene that was simply unforgettable for anyone.
-—A rock musician?— Billy asked, with instinctive curiosity.
-—He is. He really is,— Jim replied. —They want you as a rock star—a disagreeable man who travels by bus. They’re also asking for so investnt.—
-—I think I’ll consider it,— the young man said as he read the script.
It sounded familiar, and he believed that, at the very least, it would beco another great film—his own way.
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