“...So, you invested in other politicians as well?” Mason was quite surprised at Ian’s actions from the day prior.

“Yeah, and don’t be surprised uncle, that was nothing compared to what I have in mind. The journey to the top is going to be quite tough and in Hollywood, you’d rather be an actor on top than imagine being a director who is on top unless you want to turn some powerful politicians to your side.”

“Be careful, Ian. Hollywood is also known to be a place with too many two-faced people. They think one thing and promise another. Unless you have something which can hold them down, don’t get involved.”

“Wise advice as always, uncle Mason. And don’t worry, I’ll be completely fine. How is it going with Resident Evil? Are you satisfied with her work?” Ian asked, knowing the worries that ran in Mason’s head.

“At first, I thought that she couldn’t do it. Like, you do know how people change a lot, talent-wise, skillful, wise, and especially when a director takes a break, it could mean many things including whether they developed or backed down in their skills,” Mason said with a sigh.

“But?”

“But she proved me wrong. You have no idea how she handles the set. She is truly a professional.”

“An award-winning director doesn’t mean nothing, uncle. I can easily bet that she had done the movie two times better than me,” Ian said with a wink.

“Why just two times?”

“Haha… I know the movie from the scratch, but from the way she talked about the entire story, I felt freshness. She focused a lot on the subtle points in the book. Even though her script was something very unique, totally did a fair job on the book.

And, she knows well about movie-making techniques since she had been working in the industry for quite some time. A short break made her mind filled with fresh ideas if anything.”

“Yeah, true. You should come around the set whenever you’re free.”

“Ah, I think I might. I have some stuff to do here and there, but that’s that. I could make time. And, uncle… About my new movie…”

“Oh yes. Are you done with the script? I think not, considering how we were all pre-booked by the party.”

“Yeah—”

“But I’m truly excited to know about the movie. What is it about?” Mason asked.

“Hmm… The title is Marriage Story.” Ian said while getting comfortable in his seat. “This is basically about a stage director and his actor wife struggling through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal and creative extremes. It is quite emotional, to be honest. And, I think this can—”

“Uh wait, can you explain about the characters?” Mason’s eyes showed concern. He frowned at his own words, which made Ian worried.

Without thinking about it a lot, Ian explained about the main characters.

Mason sighed loudly. “Ah, then that’s not it. This idea is not one hundred percent unique, but what makes it unique is the characters right? I can easily name some movies that have the same premise as this, but yes. This can be different with proper execution of the characters.”

Ian nodded. “Yeah, I did my research. I’ll send the script once it’s done. Also, uncle, the OTT channel, Bee+ what do you think about it?”

“Huh? BeePlus? Isn’t it dying?”

“It is. That is the whole point-"

“Are you thinking of buying it? I mean, it has its app on the phone and everything. The thing which went in negative was how they had a poor decision-making skilled manager. Who allowed any movie or series that was requested? I remember, he was very pleasant to everyone who came to meet him. All he ever wanted was the name of the OTT spreading…”

“Hmm… I haven’t heard much about the CEO.”

“He is the CEO and content director as well. He chose everything that was distributed through BeePlus. A quiet man, and could easily make him give the platform since it's dying.”

“I don’t think he’d just give it away though,” Ian said while rubbing his thighs from his palms—something he did often when he was thinking about something.

“So you know about it?” Mason asked with a smile forming on his wrinkled face.

“I’m not a dense person, uncle. I search for everything about our company daily. I also know how you have been talking to the CEO recently. What does he say though?” Ian asked.

“Nothing much, he says no, he won’t just give it but we can use the channel to distribute something, and he’d help with the production. A useless conversation, but yeah. I don’t see it going anywhere.”

Ian had the plan of having their own OTT platform for quite a while. To be honest, ever since Lucifer was released.

If that means building something from scratch, it would take a lot of time to spend on it, and also a lot of monetary investment.

But buying something like BeePlus wouldn’t be that hard, because later on he obviously can work on it to get it to the top of the OTT platforms.

“Hmm… I’ll talk to him within this week. And, I think that this guy was the same person who got into a fight at the Oscars the year before last.”

“Ahaha… Dude was drunk….”

-

At Goofy VFX Department, Main Editing Studio.

It was 7 in the evening. The studio was not even a bit silent considering how much work they had to do.

The weeks passed by quickly, and their work just kept increasing. Out of everyone, Lucas was the most restless one.

He did not want to disappoint Ian in any way. But more than that, he wanted to do a fair job for all the experiences he got, and he knew that he could do so much better with the movie.

“People are waiting for the release of the movie since the trailer was out. When was the trailer released for other social platforms?” Lucas asked his assistant.

“Uh, that should be last night. Although many people had already watched the trailer from its original release at the theatre, the responses were very good everywhere. And this much recognition wasn’t even a thing for other VFX-connected movies that Goofy promoted.”

“Ah yes. You’re right. And the thing is, it is all on Ian. He is quite the young man. And I would have been surprised if the exposure was cut down from the theatres to the social media platforms. But yeah, I’ll check up on some of the comments and come back to check on others.” Lucas said.

After his assistant was gone, he stretched a bit. For his age, his back was killing him. Constantly sitting in front of huge computers, with his neck stretched without a break, could easily make anyone have physical health issues.

And that was what Lucas was going through exactly.

‘Ah… My back!’ He said while massaging his back with his fingertips.

Opening U-Tube, he searched ‘AVATAR TRAILER’.

[@Friesovercoconutmilk: I watched this in the theatre, just like everyone else! And I seriously gotta say that this is…. No way real! If a movie like this was released within two months, I’d get a tattoo of my mom’s name!]

[@Avatarisnotmine: Ever since I saw the trailer, I can’t help but think when would this get released?! Hopefully waiting for its release! This is so good though!]

[@Nonamemofo: AVATAR! THE ALIEN MOVIE! The VFX is OP. I’m screaming right now! How in the hell something like this even exists?! No way no way no way!]

“Excuse me, may I come in?” A rough voice was heard through the door. It was none other than the young man who did miracles.

“Ian, such a pleasant surprise. I did not expect you to see it anytime sooner, and to make it better, I was just going through the comments for the trailer.

People are waiting and simpering for the movie. Even before it releases–haha,” Lucas said while laughing at the end.

“Yeah, Lucas, your assistant said while I was on my way to meet Jeff. And even I keep reading all those comments from time to time. Success doesn’t mean we don’t get time to not enjoy what we achieved so far, ain’t I right?” Ian said with a smile.

Lucas nodded. “Why were you meeting Jeff, if you don’t mind me asking?” He asked.

“Ah, just to talk about things related to marketing. The next two weeks before the release is going to be very special. And, I want this movie to hit high considering how good it can be released to the theatres with the hype doing its job perfectly.

Jeff… He is very suspicious.”

Lucas chuckled at Ian’s words. “What do you mean?”

“Just an instinct, for now, let’s see for later. And, I think since the actors did a good job, you did your part even better as well. I have nothing to worry about here, I just came to say my hello knowing you’re working till 9-10 these days.”

“Hmm…” Lucas sighed. “My back is killing me too. Let’s just wait and see, I suppose. If I’m not going to be busy now, when would I even be busy?” Lucas asked, making Ian nod in agreement.

“Get some rest, my friend. I don’t want anything bad happening to you by the end of this project. We have a long future ahead.”