The movie Memento had started filming.
Joaquin Phoenix was playing the lead role—a man who couldn't make new memories. He could only remember things for about ten minutes.
The beautiful Jennifer Connelly was playing the female lead—a barmaid who sometimes tricks the main character but also sometimes helps him.
Zane looked at the stunning actress. He would never admit that he had any other reasons for casting her in the movie.
Jennifer had given birth to her first child last year. In the future, Zane knew, she would marry the actor Paul Bettany (who was the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S. in the Iron Man movies). Zane also knew she'd had some tough times in her past relationships and felt she deserved a good part.
Being a producer was hard work!
But the movie was going very smoothly. The director, Christopher Nolan, was full of energy and loved to keep shooting. Zane stayed on set, learning as much as he could about making movies.
Memento was moving so fast, they might even finish a few days early.
Was 30 days too short? No way! In Zane's old life, Nolan had finished this same movie in less than 25 days, and that was without a lot of help.
But now, Zane's whole team—the camera crew, the lighting team, the props department—was giving 120% of their effort to help Director Nolan. Of course it was going fast!
...
But on the ninth day of filming, Zane wasn't on the set.
He had been invited by his friend, Jeff Bezos, to go to the Los Angeles Veneli Theatre to watch a stage play.
"Hi, Jeff!"
"Hi, Zane!"
Before the play began, the two friends were chatting.
"Zane," Jeff asked, his voice serious, "ICQ is going on the stock market on the 28th of this month. We're old friends. Tell me the truth—how much of your stock are you planning to sell?"
Zane raised an eyebrow and gave him a playful, charming smile. "Who told you I was going to sell any of my stock?"
"Hmph!" Bezos snorted. "Zane, we've been friends for years. You're a smart guy. Do you really think I can't guess your plans?"
"Maaaaybe not," Zane teased.
Bezos got serious again. "Look, no matter what you're doing, I'm planning to step down from the ICQ board and sell my shares. I don't believe you've seen how strong Microsoft is. Once Microsoft enters the market with its own chat program, do you really think ICQ can win this fight?"
"Who's to say for sure?" Zane said with a shrug.
"Man, are you really not going to tell me?" Bezos's voice got a little louder.
At this point, Zane couldn't keep teasing his friend. The truth was, Bezos was right. Zane was planning to sell his shares.
But it wasn't because he was scared of Microsoft. Because of Zane's help, this new ICQ was much stronger than the one from his old life.
The real reason he was selling was... well... he was just done. He was tired of the founders of ICQ, like Mr. Goldfinger. They had been acting like jerks. They had pushed Zane out of all the big decisions and had even tried to give him a smaller piece of the company.
"Heh, fine then!" Zane had thought to himself. "I'm done playing! If you don't want my help, that's your problem. You'll be the ones who regret it in the future!"
He had even cursed them in his sleep for being so foolish.
So, Zane and Bezos agreed. They would both sell their shares, but they would do it slowly so they wouldn't make the stock price crash.
"So, it's settled?" Bezos asked again.
"It's settled," Zane said with a grin. "Whoever lies is a scoundrel!"
With the serious business out of the way, both Zane and Bezos relaxed. They were in a cheerful mood, waiting for the play to start.
The theater was... pretty empty. It was a big room that could hold 1,500 people, but there were only about 200 people there.
"Please enjoy the stage play, My Big Fat Greek Wedding!" the host announced.
Everyone clapped politely.
"What?"
Suddenly, Zane let out a small sound of surprise.
"What's wrong, buddy?" Bezos asked, frowning.
Zane just shook his head, not answering. He wanted to watch more, to be sure.
...
Just 30 minutes into the show, Zane knew.
The stage play he was watching... it was the exact same story as a future Hollywood hit movie.
He knew that in the future, this little play would be turned into a movie for only $5 million... and it would make a giant$369 million!
It wasn't a trick. It was just a genuinely funny, sweet, and great story that audiences would love.
Zane, who always loved finding hidden treasures, knew he couldn't just let this opportunity slip away.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Discount Code : F014B
Check My New Story : Dimensional Chat Group: Surviving Stranger Things
Huge Content: Read 500+ chapters ahead.+ Access to all my Fanfics Chapters.
Link: https://www.patreon.com/c/kapa69
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter.