54. The Guests: A Medley Of Present And Future Stars.

Disclaimer: The story that I have written here takes on the names of real people, but this story is based in an alternate earth with some changes in its timeline.

This story does not intend to represent the celebrities/real people or make any commentary on them whatsoever. This story is entirely fictional, and it should be viewed entirely as such.

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Recap of the Previous Chapter -

After dropping off Hinata near her apartment, Mark goes back to work while waiting for his final guest for the night. It was Salma Hayek, who wanted to try out a new roleplay with him and spend the night together. After a wonderful time together, Mark could be seen relaxing in the bathtub with Salma giving him a real massage. Mark admits to it being Mark's favorite part of the day with her, so does the same and then they both say "Te Amo" to each other.

Later Mark prepares a quick supper for the two of them of gyozas and soup after being questioned by her. He reveals that they were test products and the company was still being trademarked and registered. She asks him about how he got Mr. Coppola to agree to come for their test screenings. Mark gives her brief summary which we see through the flashback, Mark gets invited to dinner, makes acquaintance with the man and even Nicolas Cage.

After which we come back to the present day where we see Bob Ducsay waiting with the staff at Eidolon for an internal screening of Knives Out. Bob recalls learning a lot under Mark's supervision, he even meets with previous mentor Michael Kahn and apologizes for his rude behavior. We see the staff of Eidolon become enamored by Knives Out through his POV.

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~ Third Person POV ~

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Date: 2nd August, 1990.

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Location: At Eidolon HQ.

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Time: 05:14 pm.

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The day had arrived, the day his movie would be seen by others for the first time. The shortlisted audience group for his test screening involved a small group of critics, reporters, and media personalities.

The rest were just the fans that had been selected randomly from a pool of applicants, obviously he didn't forget to invite the people who won the golden ticket to this event

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He had already talked with Steven and George yesterday about saying a few words about his movie to reporters after watching his film screening.

But he expressly told them that they only speak in favor of it, if they like it after watching it. The duo had agreed and even asked if they could bring friends and acquaintances.

Thankfully he had kept a dozen spots open for such a last minute scenario, so he could easily accommodate them. The guest list was already looking so stellar that it gave off the vibe of a premier.

Even his friends told him about this and now that he thought about it, it really did seem as such. He knew he would be hard pressed to top this, when the day of the actual premier arrives.

So after some discussion with his team, he had decided that on the day of the premier there will be only a few friends and his family.

He planned on filling the rest of the audiences with his fans and casual movie go-ers who are just there to watch his first movie. He even thought about giving away a few free tickets to the family members of his staff and crew.

He knew that this was radically different from what a traditional Hollywood studio does but he was here to set some new standards and raise the bar.

After all the people who he made this movie for are not the celebrities or stars, or even the media or the critics; but it's for the fans and the movie go-ers who love and support movies and cinema.

These are the people who are actually keeping this industry alive and are also the ones who he wants to win over the most.

Mark already met up with Steven and George and was showing them around the studio. He told them about the spacious area that was still undeveloped.

How he planned to divide the various studios under Eidolon so that later on there won't be any confusion between the catalog of movies that he would be putting out through the different studios.

Steven couldn't help but ask him out of curiosity, "but why create this division, Mark? What purpose does it serve?"

"Well the division has more to do with a business philosophy of mine. The division serves to form a special brand image of Eidolon Entertainment in the minds of people." Mark replied and told them about his idea of creating a brand.

"And what image are you trying to create, Mark?" Steven asked, wanting to find out more as he was going to be creating a studio of his own, very soon.

"The image of Eidolon Entertainment being a place that has something for everyone. Whether it be movies with a deep message and meaningful plot or a simple blockbuster action flick or maybe a low budget but excellent quality horror movie, we will have it all, just under different studios.

Steven couldn't help but ask him again, unable to understand the need for the division. "But still why the divide? Why can't all of these movies be made by one Studio?"

This time it was George Lucas that answered him instead of Mark. "Maybe it's because he doesn't want people to form the wrong perception about his studio after watching two very different kinds of movies and then be dissatisfied or disappointed, thinking that the studio's production quality has fallen due to them comparing the two movies."

"Exactly." Mark nodded appreciatively.

Mark explained further leaving Steven and George amazed by the critical thinking and foresight that he possessed. He said, "it's easy for people to form a perception about your studio and so I want them to form the correct one. I have created a division between my studios according to the kind of movie that they will be in-charge of creating."

"Like take my current studio - Nirvana Pictures for example, It will only be involved in the creation of movies that have the potential to be both commercially successful as well as a favorite of the critics."

"With Nirvana the goal is to find the right balance between art and business. I want to create films that both the critics would love and the audience would go crazy about."

I know it sounds absurd but I already got an idea how to go about it. It won't be easy but nothing worthwhile achieving in life is." Mark ended his explanation.

Steven then kindly told him how that would be very difficult and not to have his hopes too high. The only reason such kinds of movies even existed were because of a fluke. He told him how nobody can intentionally make a movie which is both commercially successful and critically acclaimed.

He told them that's why he said potentially, he knew his movies could fail in one or both the categories but it doesn't mean that he would stop trying. He was young and he didn't want to stop dreaming.

George then asked him if he was going to start looking into financing from outside sources for his next movie.

Mark replied that such a scenario is in the far future but he would most likely never be looking for outside financing because he believes in his work and their potential to be commercially successful.

Steven understood what he was trying to say but he asked another doubt that came into his mind, "but won't they still form this misperception because it's still under the banner of Eidolon?"

"Well not if I can properly communicate the idea behind Eidolon Entertainment to my audiences. It won't be easy but as I said before nothing worth achieving comes easy in life." Mark replied with a determined look on his face.

"Mark, you really shouldn't tease an old man like this, just hearing you say that fires up my desire to create a studio of my own." Steven admonished Mark jokingly.

"After the park?" Mark asked him knowingly.

"Yup." Steven admitted happily.

"Well if you have any questions about studio management and stuff call me. I will recommend some great businesses to outsource your non essential tasks. I have been doing the same and it works like a charm." Mark replied with some advice and encouraged him.

He left them near the main theater after their short tour came to an end and went to meet up with Sofia and her entourage. She had been giving Mr. Coppola, Nicolas and her friends from CalArts a tour of their studio as well at Mark's behest.

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Sofia didn't think she could be any happier than she currently felt at the moment. Just a few months back she had her disastrous performance at the set of Godfather and was filled with shame, self hatred and doubt.

Now she was one of the best students at CalArts, had a close inner circle of friends, had a mentor who had her best interests at heart, had the backing of a multi-million dollar media group and a promise to be funded to establish her own studio when she finishes her apprenticeship.

Life was going great for her, it wasn't easy per say as she had to pull over 12 hours of studying everyday and even help out at the set of Knives Out. But she had never felt more at peace and fulfilled than she did now and it was all because she met Mark and his group of wonderful friends.

She had even made a lot of friends from CalArts at the behest of Mark and even had some people who already graduated from there in her group. Mark had recommended her a few names of people who were potential future recruits and asked her to befriend them.

She hadn't really thought much about it and even brought them along for the screening when Mark told to invite them all. Her tour of the place was almost over as she saw Mark coming towards them from a distance.

His black mask being a dead give away that it was him as he was the only person who wore a mask at work. She called out to him when he drew close. "Mark, the tour is almost done. Should I take them to the main theater?"

"Yeah, that would work but why don't you first introduce your friends to me. Also where is Nick and Mr. Coppola?" Mark asked, unable to spot the two in their group.

Sofia drew closer and whispered in Mark's ear. "Well dad could see that his presence made my friends a little too excited, so he and Nick left for the main theater early. Don't worry I sent them with an employee to escort them properly." she said, assuring him that all is taken care of.

She went back a step and introduced Mark to the group, "Guys, this is Mark Spencer, the owner of Eidolon Entertainment and my mentor. He is also the director of Knives Out, the film that we are here to watch."

Mark simply smiled with his eyes like Kakashi and waved at them.

"Mark these are my friends from CalArts, I hope you don't mind me adding on a few extra." She asked sheepishly.

"Not at all, the more the merrier, now why don't you guys introduce yourself." Mark said as he shrugged off Sofia's concern.

"How about we start from you." He gestured at a guy who was standing in front of the group. "Hmm, I feel like I have seen you somewhere before."

"It was at Pixar, sir, I was one of the people who was waiting outside for an interview." the person replied with a nervous smile, he was a fan of Mark's as well.

"Ah, yeah, now I remember you were in a brown t-shirt and jeans. You looked really nervous, so how did the interview go?" Mark asked

"It went well and I was hired there immediately. I am Andrew Stanton, sir. I-It's an honor to meet you. I am a huge fan." Andrew replied and introduced himself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Andrew. I am glad you got the job." Mark replied and shook hands with him.

He then turned to the others and they introduced themselves as well.

"Genndy Tartakovsky."

"Craig McCracken."

"Jhonen Vasquez."

"Pete Docters."

"Lauren Faust."

He shook hands with everyone and thanked them for coming to their screening and told them to tell their friends about the film when it comes out in a month. Everyone nodded and said that they would support the movie and recommend it to all their friends and family to watch.

He apologized for running but he had more people to greet, the group was very understanding and wished Mark the best for his upcoming movie and books. Before leaving he told them he had a small surprise for them, one that they might enjoy, with that he left.

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Mark had left to meet up with the other sofia in his life, namely Ms. Sofia Vergara. The plan that Mark had drawn up for her had done wonders in the last 2 months. With a proper diet and exercise plan she had begun to fill out her frame better and her confidence was doing much better as well.

Her accent while still noticeable now sounded very sexy and subtle, her english was much better as well. The tutors and lessons with the accent coach had paid off,

Sofia had been made fun of for her accent the moment she landed in America but now she had conquered another one of her flaws and she couldn't be more thankful of Mark.

She truly believed that he would want to sleep with her at the first chance he got but he only treated her like a friend and helped her with any problems that arose. Her sisters were being bullied at school, she didn't know how but Mark had even taken care of that.

She had only mentioned that incident offhandedly while she met up with him on their weekly get togethers where she usually recounts how her week had gone and how she was adjusting to her new life and problems.

Mark had just sent a small donation and a quiet reminder to the principal of Sofia's sister's school and the matter was settled. After all this was what having power was all about to him, enjoying life and helping his friends and family when they were in trouble.

When she went to thank Mark for taking care of that incident. He just shrugged it off saying that it was his job as it was a problem that would have bugged her for a while and she didn't have been able to focus on her studies or her classes so he just took care of it and it was no big deal.

Sophia's sisters and brother genuinely thought that Mark was Sophia's "sugar daddy", because he took care of all her problems, paid for her tuition and classes and even give a stipend to spend money on her personal stuff. But she just saved that money for a rainy day.

"Mark." Sofia called out spotting Mark from afar. Her siblings looked on with interest as they would finally get to meet with Sofia's mysterious boyfriend/sugar daddy.

They were surprised to see he was so young, despite being covered by the mask. They could guess that he was in his early twenties, unable to hold her curiosity. One of the sisters asked Mark, "What's your age?"

"I am sorry, what?" Mark replied, stopping his conversation with Sofia.

"umm it's just that you look so young." she replied nervously as Mark stared at her.

"Well what did you think about me?" Mark asked, raising an eyebrow.

This time, it was the younger brother who answered. He didn't really have a filter on his mouth so he just said the truth, "well we thought you would be a middle-aged guy, who was Sofia's sugar daddy."

Mark was taken aback, Sofia was appalled and was about to scold her brother when Mark burst out laughing. "Ahahahah," he couldn't stop himself as it was true except for the part that he didn't sleep with her.

Finally when he stopped laughing, he replied, "I am twenty years old and ain't her sugar daddy. You could say I am her sponsor and patron, I just support her financially and give her advice on how to make it big in hollywood."

They nodded and apologized for the rude comment. Mark just waved it off and told them to enjoy the laugh they gave him; and told them to enjoy the movie. Maybe one day they would be seeing their elder sister on screen.

They thanked him again for his generosity as he escorted them to the main theater and their seats. Once they were seated he made his way to the front stage, the slightly elevated stage served as the stage for his impromptu speech.

All the guests and audiences had arrived when he looked around to spot his friends. He saw two people who he desperately wanted to invite to this event but failed to due to their busy schedules. It was his mom and dad, they had obviously lied to him.

They had done so because they wanted to surprise him. He could spot Eva's mischievous smirk through the distance. He promised to punish her nicely for this surprise gift that she had given him. Punish her just the way she had come to love in their little games.

He took a mic from a stage hand and tapped it, the echoing sound drawing attention to himself. He began a short speech thanking everyone present there for making the time to come watch his first movie.

He jokingly told them how there will be an open buffet after the movie is over which they could enjoy so they would have something to enjoy even if they didn't like the movie. He winked laughing at his joke along with the audience, as he ended his speech and left the stage.

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{Author's Note: I wanted to show the test screening in this chapter but then i got to writing the people who were going to be shown. I didn't mention any media personalities or critics as that would be too basic and overdone.

So I decided to reveal an easter egg I had hidden when Sofia Coppola had been chosen to be sent to CalArts to study. You really thought I wouldn't make Mark use her to expand his reach and connections with future directors and animators? Nope it's all part of the PLAN after all.

I have more hidden away obviously like the event that Mark has been preparing for that is about to happen in October. You thought it was the test screening? or you didn't think much about it? Well it will be a big event. I hope you are ready, cause I am super excited to reveal it in the future chapters.

Anywhos, moving on, thanks for reading my work. I am entirely motivated by interaction, suggestions and feedback. So please leave a comment or review and I will probably write faster.

If you like my work please throw a power stone my way so my book can climb the rankings. Slurp some nice ramen and I hope you all have a beautiful day (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧

Update schedule for this book: 1 chapter every 2 days.}