Hollywood What If - Chapter 305
Sony-Columbia knew that their most formidable opponents were Warner Brothers and Walt Disney.
If the other studios were willing to bleed to acquire Grey Pictures, then Sony-Columbia was also willing. Sony-Columbia was the weakest of the Big Six and they could turn it around once they acquired Grey Pictures.
If Walt Disney was willing to trade 1.2% shares for 30% of Grey Pictures, then Sony-Colombia was willing to trade 2.3%, and this amount had already been approved by Sony’s chairman, Nobuyuki Idei.
Akio Morita, the last chairman of Sony, died in 1999 and Nobuyuki Idei became chairman.
Sony and Sony-Colombia understood that they needed someone to continue to produce high quality films and Kazir fit the bill.
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The Toronto International Film Festival was one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, founded in 1976 and held every September. Many movies are released every year at this festival and people love to attend this festival.
The film festival was a way for small directors to present their projects to the public.
Movies released at the festival were mostly arthouse films and only a few were lucky enough to get distribution deals from some studios.
The Toronto International Film Festival gave out awards, and many of its winners went on to make box office hits when they were released in theaters.
Some of these films were:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Slumdog Millionaire
The King’s Speech
12 Years A Slave
La La Land
Green Book
These movies won the festival’s People’s Choice Award, and these movies made a name for themselves at the box office.
And guess what? All of these movies received nominations/wins at the Academy Awards (Oscars).
In a way, for a movie to get Oscar nominations, it had to participate in film festivals and award shows like the Golden Globes.
This was the method used by Grey Pictures. Like the others, The Revenant had its first screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. This was the beginning of their knock on the door of the Academy Awards.
Even Tom Cruise attended the screening. Mind you, the Toronto International Film Festival lasted 12 days. From September 5 to September 17. The actor knew the importance of this film festival, so he attended the 12-day festival even though their movie would be released on the last day. You know, a kind of promotion and publicity.
Not going to lie, Tom Cruise did a lot of selfies and autographs for the fans within 12 days.
Tornado International Film Festival hosted 343 movies this year and it was a lot of movies. Why 343 movies? Because many movies from different countries were screened in this film festival. Different languages, different regions and different races. The Toronto International Film Festival was for everyone. One of the reasons why this film festival was famous all over the world.
Also, one of the reasons why the Toronto International Film Festival was famous was because of the superstars who came. This year the biggest actor who showed up was Tom Cruise.
The opening film was Ararat, while the closing film was Brian De Palma’s Femme Fatale.
As for The Revenant, it was the second to the last movie.
Kazir had already finished post-production on The Revenant and made sure it would be at the Toronto International Film Festival. Kazir followed the usual procedure.
He knew film festivals were biased against Hollywood movies, but that didn’t stop him.
Their goal was to win the People’s Choice Award and gain positive recognition from the members of the Academy Awards.
The days passed and the festival went well. Many viewers stayed throughout the festival, appreciating the art they saw.
However, the last day was quite crowded and almost all the seats were taken.
Kazir Grey and Tom Cruise sat in the front row with the cast, waiting for their movie to start.
Both were confident in the film, they had seen it before the festival and were pleased with it.
But confidence was not enough to win the Oscar. After all, the Academy was biased against blockbusters, movies produced for the sole purpose of making money. And Kazir was known as a director who pursued money.
It was unknown whether they would accept The Revenant. One of the reasons they wanted to test the waters at this film festival and see what the audience reaction would be.
The logo of 20th Century Fox and Grey Pictures appeared on the screen saying that the movie had started.
[The Revenant is an epic survival drama set on the American frontier in the 1820s. The story revolves around Hugh Glass (Tom Cruise), a frontiersman and fur trapper who faces a series of harrowing challenges. The story begins with a brutal bear attack that leaves Glass badly injured. Fighting for his life, he is betrayed by his own expedition team, led by John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy).]
[Left for dead, Glass defies the odds and embarks on a treacherous journey through the unforgiving wilderness. Battling harsh weather, hostile Native American tribes, and a quest for revenge against Fitzgerald, Glass’s resilience becomes a testament to the strength of the human spirit.]
[The Revenant] is a gripping tale of one man’s struggle to survive against the brutality of nature and the betrayal of those he trusted, creating a visceral and emotionally charged cinematic experience.
The audience clapped at the end of the film, and Tom and Kazir were happy. Judging by the audience’s reaction, the film was promising.
Well, they were both veterans of the industry and knew how to make great movies.
Since The Revenant was second to last, Femme Fatale was released after their movie ended.
While this was happening, some of the audience had already decided which movie they were going to vote for.
Movies made by Hollywood were usually high quality, and The Revenant fit the bill. They were entertained. So the audience voted for the movie.
Many expected this year’s winner to be obvious. You see, many people know Tom Cruise. This actor was a superstar, famous all over the world. To make it even better, The Revenant was also a great movie.
So the winner of the People’s Choice Award was undoubtedly The Revenant. There was no acceptance speech, but Kazir Grey and Tom Cruise were happy with the results. After this event, The Revenant has a good chance to be nominated for an Oscar.
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[Author’s note: I used Chatgpt for the summary of Revenant with a little editing.]