Chapter 27
Hey everyone, here is the next chapter. Sorry for the long wait. Busy, and lack of sleep for whatever reason. Anyways I am just going to jump into the reviews and move things along.
Poposwitch, I have been thinking about how to bring them down, but the honest truth is, they are both so well-connected that I can't think of anything he could do other than stay away and warn them away from those he cares about. Other than that, I can't think of anything. Any ideas are welcome.
Ser_Lanciscazzo, you're welcome, and I hope to have him writing those shows, but no plans for him to develop his own TV shows till after streaming becomes a thing. That is when he will toss his hat into the ring.
roronoa2 I will write that down. Especially a Horror theme park sounds fun.
At the bottom of the page are a few questions I would love all your thoughts on.
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"I have mixed feelings about working in pop music, especially when it comes to collaborating with boy bands. I can manage working with girl bands like TLC, the Spice Girls, and Destiny's Child; I've had the opportunity to work with nearly all of them at some point, and they were generally pleasant to deal with. However, boy bands are a different story. From the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC to the Jonas Brothers, whom my daughters like, I've worked with them all. More often than not, I'm left feeling one of two things: either completely sick to my stomach or wishing I had brought my gun with me and ending it all. Either by killing them or myself. Either way, I would have peace at the end of the day." – Caesar Espinar
-1999-
"You look like you have a headache. Are you okay, Caesar?" I hear Britney Jean Spears ask from the side.
I glance over at the young artist whose album I had reluctantly agreed to work on. Well, I say "reluctantly," but really, Sony's offer was too much to pass up. Their offer of $100,000 and 1% in royalties was an incredible amount for someone who only had a few musical credits to his name. However, my name carries more weight nowadays after Em's album dropped, and industry executives know they can't get me cheaply anymore. They already knew I had signed a deal with Jennefer to work on her next two albums. For how much, they had no clue, but I had convinced Jennefer, as a personal favor, to suggest it could be in the half-million-dollar range. Which was a lie, of course. I was only charging Jennefer 2% in royalties, and that's only if her album reaches the top 10. If not, I wouldn't get paid, but they didn't need to know that.
I wave her off and say, "It's nothing. Just working on a song for NSYNC."
"Oh, I didn't know you were working with them as well," Britney replies.
"You sound surprised?" I give her a look that makes her back off slightly.
Holding up her hand, she says, "No, no, I'm not surprised. I just remember Dad telling me that you were giving everyone the runaround before you agreed to work with me."
I chuckle at that and reply, "If it makes you feel any better, it's just one song, and I'm charging them more for this single song than for nearly your entire album."
"That actually does make me feel better," Britney says as she takes a seat across from me, taking in the sight of the man known as Ceaser.
A man who, according to everyone she had spoken to, was considered a once-in-a-lifetime genius who didn't understand what failure meant. From the moment he arrived in Hollywood, he had yet to experience any setbacks. At least according to the media, that is. If you asked him, he would call it complete bullshit. In his own words, from the moment he set foot in the industry, he had only known failure. Every deal he made, every set or script he worked on, left him holding the short end of the stick while everyone else profited.
It was hard for Britney to believe, seeing as it was so hard to get him to work for her in the first place. The pop princess may not have managed the day-to-day operations of her music career, but she wasn't naive. Larry Rudolph, her manager, had informed her that Ceaser was currently in high demand. With a string of back-to-back music successes and hit movies to his credit, the writer-director was tough to reach. According to Ceaser's personal assistant, his schedule was completely booked. As he was working on multiple projects, including another album with Jennifer Lopez, NSYNC, Eminem, Madonna, and a band called Linkin Park. Additionally, he had filming obligations for his highly anticipated X-Men movie.
The fact that he was able to fit her in at all was largely due to luck rather than her status as one of the top pop stars of the day. It was hard to accept and somewhat insulting, but the truth is that, in Ceaser's eyes, the pop princess was little more than a small timer. Although her overall net worth might have been greater, he moved in a completely different circle. He was on a first-name basis with the bigwigs in the entertainment industry. His words, bolstered by his connections, carried significantly more weight than hers did. That's why they were fortunate that Larry knew Jennifer's personal stylist, whom he asked to inform Jennifer that they were interested in working with Ceaser.
In a way, it was a long shot and involved a lot of hoops to jump through for someone who was essentially just a scriptwriter with a side interest in songwriting. It shouldn't be that hard to get him, but that is where the mystique of his never having experienced failure came in. To anyone looking in from the outside, it appeared that everything he touched turned to gold, and they needed another hit to show the world she wasn't just a one-and-done. So, Larry and the team over at Java didn't want to take any chances, and after a lengthy meeting, they agreed to pay him $100,000 along with 1% royalties. It was a huge sum for the songwriter, but he agreed to waive the royalties if the album didn't reach the top of the charts, so it was somewhat fair.
It was only after Ceaser arrived at the studio that Britney finally understood why people referred to him as a once-in-a-lifetime genius. They could only secure him for three weeks before he flew out to Germany to oversee the final stages of his movie. He was in town briefly to wrap up casting, and once that was completed, he would be busy with his film commitments until early next year. Nevertheless, in that short time, he had already written four songs for her, one of which she was actually helping to create. Well, she told herself she was contributing, but it felt more like Ceaser was teaching her how to write and think for herself.
The condescending jerk lectured her that if she truly wanted to be seen as a woman and not a little girl, she needed to start now—by helping him write a song for her album. The fact that he was right didn't matter; he could have been nicer when he scolded her in front of everyone. She considered firing him on the spot but held back, knowing that doing so would mean paying a penalty fee for wasting his time, which was closer to a million dollars than anyone felt comfortable paying.
"Okay, let's start it from the top," I said to her.
"Ah, you know I hate singing a cappella," Britney replied, visibly annoyed.
"And yet you're going to do it anyway," I countered, sitting back to watch her begin singing the opening lyrics to 'Oops!… I Did It Again.'
She barely made it past the "yeah, yeah" part before I stopped her. "Hold on. I told you to sound sexy, not annoying."
"My singing is not annoying," Britney replied, becoming even more irritated with Ceaser.
"Tell that to my ears. I feel like they're bleeding," I said, not caring at all if I upset her, which clearly frustrated her even more. But what can I say? I preferred Christina Aguilera over her, and that was only because Christina's voice didn't get on my nerves as much as Britney's did.
Huffing, Britney took a deep breath and started over. This time, she sounded clearer and more seductive than fake. To me, she always sounded like a child pretending to be an adult. Some people may have liked her voice, but it wasn't that impressive. For those who did, just turn on a blender, and you'd get the same effect.
As she finished the last part, I smiled and said, "You were right. Adding that part about the Titanic was a good idea."
Sticking her tongue out at me, Britney responded, "And you called it stupid."
"It is stupid, but still better," I told her, watching as she made a face, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"So, when do you fly out to Germany?" Britney asks, feeling a bit better after making Ceaser admit that her idea of adding dialogue about the movie Titanic was a good one.
"Tomorrow," I reply.
"That's too bad. I was hoping you would stay for the recording," Britney says, and she genuinely means it.
Although they had only known each other for three weeks, she couldn't help but like Ceaser. He was the only genuine person she had met so far in LA. He honestly didn't care whether people liked him or not. If you weren't part of Hollywood's elite, he wasn't going to pretend to be kind to you. In fact, she had seen him speak to several VPs as if they were equals. Even less if you didn't reach a certain level.
"Bump my royalties up to 10 percent, and I might consider it," I joked with her.
"Oh, don't think you're worth 11," Britney teased.
"Hm, you're right; better make that 12," I replied, making her laugh.
She already knew that Ceaser wouldn't stay for any amount of money, especially since he was taking a big risk with the movie he was producing.
"I saw the box office numbers for *The Strangers.* $152 million isn't bad. So that makes it what, six or seven hit movies you have written?" Britney asked.
"Seven," I replied.
What I didn't tell her was that when I combined all the movies I had helped create, they had earned nearly a billion dollars in total. The studios would try to downplay this achievement as much as they could, because of course, they would. But the facts remained: I was in high demand across the board. I was downplaying my accomplishments because I was still technically just a screenwriter. A screenwriter who consistently produced hit after hit, but a screenwriter nonetheless. That would all change once *The Sixth Sense* and *X-Men* were released.
"How much did you make off of it?" Britney asked casually. She really didn't care, since her net worth was easily several times his, but she was still curious.
The reason he was difficult to collaborate with stemmed from a simple fact: he generated significantly more revenue for others than she did. This was how the business operated; the more money you made for others, the more they appreciated you, and the harder it became for anyone to undermine you.
Take her first album, for instance. It sold 25 million copies worldwide, earning her over $31 million in royalties. Additionally, her live performances brought in substantial revenue, making her a valuable asset to many in the industry. In contrast, Caesar had worked on both Jennifer's and Eminem's albums, which collectively earned only $13 million. Although this was less than her earnings, when you considered his film projects, it became clear that Caesar was generating far more money for a larger number of people than she was. It's no wonder then that getting him to work with her proved to be such a challenge.
Waving her off, I replied, "Not much."
Surprisingly, "Strangers" performed far better than I anticipated. I ended up clearing just over $1.5 million from it.
"Oh, come on, tell me!" Britney begged playfully.
Rolling my eyes, I responded, "Somewhere north of 1 million dollars."
Britney thought about this for a moment. One million dollars from writing a script was an incredible amount of money. She understood it was likely harder than it sounded; after all, she had read an article stating that Ceaser was paid a little over $55,000 for his breakout script, "Seven." Still, she couldn't help but feel like she was in the wrong business, as here he was making a million dollars without having to get on stage, dance, or sing.
"Maybe I should try writing a movie script," she said offhandedly.
I chuckled and replied, "You do that, and if it's any good, I'll take it to the studios."
Holding out her hand, Britney said, "Deal!"
I took her hand and smiled as we shook on it, not knowing that she would surprise me later on down the road.
-Later that day-
As Laura Prepon sat outside the audition room in front of her, she felt more nervous than she had when she auditioned for *That '70s Show*. This time, it was because she hadn't expected to be invited to audition for a film by Caesar Espinar, a screenwriter and now director whose every project was generating buzz in the industry. Although he wasn't the director of the X-Men film he had written, there was no doubt that this film was his, and the pressure was mounting for Laura.
The show had been performing well, and she was gaining some fame for her role as Donna Pinciotti, one of the main characters. However, this situation felt different—bigger than the show itself. She was about to audition for what could be one of the most significant and iconic characters in comic book history. To make matters even more surprising, she had received a personal invitation from Ceaser to come down and audition. While the show was on a positive trajectory, she never imagined she had caught the attention of one of Hollywood's top screenwriters, who had connections to numerous influential figures in the industry, leaving Laura feeling overwhelmed.
That was part of the reason she was here. It was no secret that TV studios frowned upon their actors taking other jobs while signed to a particular show. Some even went so far as to include clauses in their contracts prohibiting it. Fox was no exception when it came to dealing with their talent. So, to say the showrunners were unhappy when the call came would be an understatement; they most likely would have even told Ceaser to go to hell if it had been him who made the call.
But he wasn't. No, the person who called her while she was on set filming an episode was none other than Doug Herzog, the president of Fox Broadcasting, who had received a call from Peter Chernin with a message for her. The message being that she had the opportunity to star in the upcoming X-Men movie produced by Ceaser's own company, "Hollywood Cartel." This was the same movie that she, along with others, had heard the top executives disparaging. Interestingly, all the criticism they were voicing was merely for show. The reality was that every major studio was eager to negotiate the distribution rights for it in the U.S.
The explanation she received indicated that an incident had occurred at Warner Bros. during a private screening of Caesar's first film as a director. This incident set off a panic among the WB executives, who were anxious to kickstart what everyone believed would be a flop up till that point. Until then, they had given little media coverage to "The Sixth Sense," but now they were in scramble mode.
This frenzy at WB is what motivated the people at Fox to take action. If the WB team was worried, it suggested the movie had potential and that a successful film would mean significant profits. Therefore, it followed that if "The Sixth Sense" became a hit, Caesar's next production—regardless of whether he was directing—would likely attract attention. This is where she came in: Doug wanted her to secure a role. If she landed the part, it would not only benefit the show and her career but could also give Fox a competitive advantage in acquiring distribution rights.
Though it was expected that WB would have the first option, if that through or if Caesar changed his mind, she could mention to him that Fox was interested. If that occurred, ot was hinted to her that they would be very open to renegotiating her contract.
"Miss Prepon," a man said from the doorway.
"Ah, yes," Laura replied, a bit surprised, as she had been lost in her thoughts for a moment.
"You're up," the man said, holding the door open for her.
"Well, here goes nothing," she said, standing up and heading inside with all the confidence she didn't feel.
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Okay, first off, I am not a fan of Britney Spears. I hope I made that clear. That said, the reason I used her was that she was the only one with an album that was coming out around that time I could use. That said, she is now a small part of the story, but unless several people want it to be more, she won't be a thing. Only friends.
Now, on to the important question: how do you all feel about Laura Prepon as Jean Grey? I am not fully set yet and open to change. That is why the part of the chapter is so short and to the point.