Chapter 03.
Mason's thoughts were all over the place after hearing Ian's words. He wanted to work for the company? That was something that he just refused to believe.
After all, Ian was irresponsible and a playboy. People like him would hardly change but on the other hand, Mason didn't have much choice.
Even if he did think like that, Ian held 85 percent shares in the studio that were transferred to him after his father's death.
All the previous shareholders sold their shares to Henrey Renner due to the losses they were facing, but Mason couldn't do it because of the effort and faith he had, along with the little hope which remained in him about the studio's prospering future.
In the end, he couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"Okay, I'll try my best to help you in whatever you have in your mind Ian," He agreed after a long pause of silence.
"Can I see the recent records of the studio?" Ian asked.
"Here," Mason took out a file from the locker of his desk and placed it in front of him. "These are the income records of the past two years."
"Room is heaven?" Ian clicked his tongue in disappointment. 'The Sexy Door', 'Hot Summer', 'The Diaries of Red Shoes', and a few more names of some soft porn movies made Ian's eyes rise up from the file while his face tightened with displeasure. After all the records he read, he understood it was nothing but the royalties which were the only thing that kept this company still running.
"What are your plans for the company?" Ian asked.
With a sigh, Mason said, "I've been trying to save funds to produce a romantic comedy movie." He paused while straightening his back, "But due to our current reputation, no good actor is willing to work with us."
"Understandable," Ian replied with a slight nod. His brain was doing calculations at once about how the production studio would go on if they continued like this.
"This will soon go bankrupt. All those movies I saw in this file," he signalled at the file in his hand which made Mason focus, "This won't work for long. We need to change our ways." He stated firmly.
The words which Ian mouthed out, were nothing new to Mason's brain. He knew the reality pretty well but wondered what else they could possibly do.
"What do you suggest? I mean," He leaned forward to the table, "I've been trying for years. Years." The pain in his voice was clear.
"I might have a plan." Mason's frown deepened. Ian continued, "First of all, we need more funds. Like, I know we have a small distribution channel which has an edge over other companies."
"I'm afraid I'm not following," Mason interrupted.
"I've been writing scripts for a while now. And-"
"You what?" Mason interrupted again.
"Yes, uncle. I'm serious about this. I've been writing scripts. I'll even go join the writers guild today." Ian briefly stopped.
"Since when?" Mason inquired. If anything he was highly surprised by what he was hearing.
"Doesn't matter. What I've in mind, does matter. This movie that I've been writing can be done within a very low budget yet I'm sure it can earn big." He continued. Ian was slightly frustrated with Mason's questions which made it harder for him to explain more until he solved Mason's doubts.
"Go on, Ian. You do know that I'm surprised to see you here and now let's hear it." Mason said.
"The movie's title is 'Home Alone'." Ian started while completely ignoring the comment from Mason. "It's basically about a kid who is around 8-years-old, who got stuck at home during Christmas and is trying to protect his house from burglars." Ian paused.
"Stuck? I'm not getting it."
"Let me explain, but it'll be much clearer once I bring the script in. The house contains around eleven kids, mom forgets the troublesome kid at home due to all the Christmas hype, sounds normal right?" Ian asked while Mason gave a weird look.
"Ian-"
"Genre is comedy. This can be basically done with a small cast since it's mainly focused on the kid and two burglars for most parts of the movie. The kid who is too smart for his age does various tricks and traps to keep the burglars away." Ian stopped while his gaze locked onto Mason's.
Ian, who knew almost everything about Home Alone which was famous in his universe, was thinking about how much more he could put into words to make Mason agree to his idea. Only if he knew how much of a hit the movie was.
Mason's facial expressions remained unchanged. Unsatisfied with Ian's idea. He has legitimate doubts. As an experienced man, he was thinking thoroughly about everything at once. The silence that seemed to grow gave me no choice but to show Mason the script Ian has been working on.
"For you, this all might sound childish. I'm inexperienced and I don't expect you to trust the idea yet. You can give your thoughts after seeing the script." He said with a straight face.
"I'll look forward to it." Mason replied shortly.
-
The Writers Guild is the joint effort of two different labor unions, representing TV and film writers. The Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members; conducts programs, seminars and events on issues of interest to writers; and presents writers' views to various bodies of government. Ian knew the Writers Guild could do wonders to his career once he joined it.
The Writers Guild was important to Ian because of the copyright problems. What he knew was, through the Guild he could easily get his script copyrighted in a day after spending some money. He already had his thoughts sorted out regarding what he was going to do after meeting Uncle Mason.
In Hollywood, guilds such as writers guild, directors guild, and actors guild were an important thing to know before stepping inside the Industry. The Writers Guild was quite important to every scriptwriter as it was needed to protect the writer's rights.
Ian took steps inside the huge walls of the institute of The Writers Guild with new hopes. The white floor tiles made a tapping sound with each step he took. He saw the young receptionist who ought to be in her late twenties greet him with a warm smile. The huge silver-plated name "The Writers Guild" behind where the receptionist was, made Ian walk forward and ask what he was here for.
"How much does it take to register?" Ian voiced out, completely ignoring her "Oh... and, Good morning". he tried to be nice.
"Uh- yes sir," she was startled by his abrupt behavior.
"Sir, it would take 500 dollars to register. And, if you have a script to be copyrighted, it will take an additional 100 dollars for each script." She said while nervously biting her lips yet trying to maintain her posture. This was her first day at the job and she didn't want to mess it up.
He nodded while he sensed her nervousness. "I'll register," he said. She took out a form which was on her desk and placed it in front of him while she briskly rummaged trying to find something which he thought maybe was for a pen. Without a second thought, Ian pulled out a pen from one of his pockets and began filling the form.
Taking out 500 dollars, Ian handed it to her along with the form, finally, he became a part of The Writers Guild.
-
It was almost evening after signing up with The Writers Guild. He realized what he needed to do now was to complete writing his script. Coming home he headed straight to the library, opened his computer, and logged in using the pin from the stored memories.
[Home Alone]
He took a deep breath and typed the name of his very first project as a screenwriter. 'This is going to be a big hit,' the thought gave him high motivation and without wasting any second, he started off by typing the script.
Starting with the mesmeric hype of Christmas, he wrote all the way to the story of this kid, Kevin. It was about how all of his family left him alone by mistake, to how he taught a lesson to the burglars who tried to his house. The little stunts he pulled on them gave a smile to Ian remembering how the original movie made them remarkable.
Finishing writing the script with how Kevin was disappointed to find that his family is still gone. However, he then hears Kate, his mother enter the house and call for him; they reconcile and are soon joined by Peter, Buzz, Jeff, Megan, and Linnie, who waited for them in Paris until they could obtain a direct flight to Chicago.
Ian's fingers kept typing further about how Kevin kept silent about his encounter with Harry and Marv, the burglars, although Peter, Kevin's brother, finds Harry's knocked-out gold tooth. Finally, Kevin then observes Marley, his scary-looking yet kind neighbor's reunion with his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. Marley notices Kevin and the pair wave to each other. It has a satisfying happy ending.
'This should be it,' Ian thought back to himself while resting in his chair and letting out the final sigh of the day.
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