….
[ Day]
[July 8th, 2010]
….
Regal sat in his office, this time, a real, fully funal one, not just a glorified workspace crammed into a er or entrance of his house.
Yep.
He had finally moved out. Again.
Also, it had been two days since he got back from the UK.
Today makes it three weeks and two days since [Following] hit theaters.
Just yesterday, they had ed up the crew's success party.
Of course, none of the biggest names had shown up - both Stephen Hawking Sr. and Jr., Deonte Maravich, the president of Red Pictures.
And two more - Christopher and his assistant, Anne.
Not that it was ued. If those heavyweights had shown up, the whole atmosphere would have been different.
The rest of the crew might not have been able to enjoy themselves as much, and holy, even the big hemselves would have had to keep things a little more restrained.
It was like some unspoken uanding.
Even Gwen hadn't made it, though her reasons were pletely uo the others.
Now, three weeks after the release, [Following] was still going strong at the box office, already ted as a massive success.
Current total?
139 Million.
Acc to the tract, Regal's cut sat at a hefty 37 million.
…and by the end of its run, projes put the final total at at least 150 million.
That was what the so-called experts were saying.
But if you asked Regal?
It was going to hit 200 million.
Which meant his share would be around 50–55 million.
The thought alone made him grin. He could already picture the look oe's face when the numbers kept climbing.
"…that petty bastard." Regal muttered, smirking to himself.
He would have loved to bask in his success a little loo let the reality of [Following]'s triumph sink in. But there was no time for that.
His project was already looming on the horizon, and he knew - without a doubt - that the stakes this time would be much, much higher.
Sihe film's release, the offers had poured in.
Most of the medium raudios, even a few major pyers and hat had once dismissed him ht during the pre-distribution phase.
Now, their emails and calls flooded his inbox daily.
Their sudden ge of heart wasn't surprising to anyone.
Everybody in the industry khere are no enemies in Hollywood, and even if there were - success always rewrote those retionships.
Now they approached him with eager pitches, pretending their previous skepticism had never existed. Their words dripped with fttery, their tones warm and inviting, as though they hadn't shut the door on him months ago.
As, Regal had no patience for pretense.
At every meeting, he id out his terms, his voice calm but firm:
"If you want me on board, I need plete creative trol. If that's not something you do, feel free to back out now."
That siateme most of them pag. The majority reacted with exasperation, their thinly veiled irritation seeping through their polished smiles.
"Just o, and he is already this arrogant?"
"What does he think he is? A veteran auteur?"
Regal was again not oblivious to their skepticism. He knew full well that what he was asking for was unheard of for someoh just one film uheir belt.
But he didn't care.
He wasn't about to let anyone dilute his vision, or worse, seize trol of his work entirely.
He had seen it happen too many times. Brilliant films wrecked by overbearing producers and directors forced into creative promises that gutted their inal i.
Regal wasn't closed off to suggestions. He valued structive input. But the final call, the ultimate decision, it had to be his.
So, one by ohe studios walked away.
Even those who stayed tried to iate, partial trol instead of full creative freedom. They daempting deals in front of him, sweetened with rger budgets and access to elite resources, but always with strings attached.
Regal wasn't ied in those strings. He maintained his polite but firm response.
"I will be in touch if I have a project that fits us both."
It was a courtesy, nothing more. He had no iion of calling them back.
He was fully aware that his demands were bold, even reckless, for someoill proving themselves. [Following] success was a step forward, but it wasn't a guarantee of future trol. The industry was fickle, one misstep, and everything he had gained could be taken away.
If he wao make the rules, he had to prove why he deserved to.
That meant his sed film would likely be another indepe project, produced by himself, just like the first.
This time, however, he wouldn't be w on a sh budget. He had earned enough to push the boundaries further. His growiatio better access to resources, a rger scale, and a more ambitious vision.
And he already had something in mind.
Leaning ba his chair, Regal stared at the bnk cork board on the wall, a vas for his ideas.
A small smirk pyed on his lips.
He wasn't just pnning to match the success of [Following] with it.
He is looking to surpass it.
Staring from the cept, each frame, every decision - he would make it undeniably clear why his creative freedom wasn't just a preference, but a y.
Then, the door to his office swung open.
A woman stepped inside. She was dressed in a crisp, tailored secretary outfit.
Regal gnced up, expeg who it was - Samantha Cross.
Yes, he had simply hired her.
She had proven herself during the grueling audition process of his first film, not as an actress, but as someone who could mahe chaos of produ with precision and efficy.
More importantly, she had something Regal valued above all else.
Reliability.
Regal's system panel flickered into view, dispying Samantha's profile in crisp detail.
===
[Name:] Samantha Cross
[Traits:] Diligent, Banced, Ear
[Ma:] S +
===
More than capable. Regal thought, watg as she ehe room with her usual posed efficy.
Siaking over the endless stream of business cards and offers flooding his inbox, Samantha had proven indispensable.
Regal didn't o hover - she handled everything with finesse.
"Let me guess? Another ourned away?" He asked, reing in his chair.
"They couldn't meet your terms." Samantha firmed, setting the pile of files on his desk. "Once I id out the ditions, they deed a."
Regal nodded. "Thank's."
A flicker of uanding crossed her face before she returo her professional poise. "That being said, some are still persistent. A representative from Pixy Studios is particurly ied. I have sorted out the most promising tacts for your review."
Gng at the files, Regal felt a familiar sense of relief. With Samantha managing the front lines, he could focus entirely on what mattered - his film.
"Anything else?" He asked, studying her expression for any signs ency.
"Nothing pressing." She tapped her tablet shut.
"Alright. Thanks, Samantha."
She nodded briskly and turo leave.
As the door closed behind her, Regal exhaled, shifting his gaze back to the floating system panel.
Time to cim his rewards.
Leaning back, he let a smirk tug at his lips. The anticipation never got old.
For nal already has a total EP of 3,631,893 in his pocket.
?-------[NOTIFICATIONS]-------?
? [Solo Leveling] –> [pleted(?)]
….
? [Omnist Reader's Viewpoint:] Web Novel
–> [Collect Accumuted Rewards:] [Y/N]
([┘]- 24 days of Accumuted Rewards)
….
? [Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:] Book
–> [Collect Accumuted Rewards:] [Y/N]
([┘]- 24 days of Accumuted Rewards)
….
? [Following:] Movie
–> [Collect Accumuted Rewards:] [Y/N]
–> [Achievement Avaible] (Collected ?)
–> [Achievement Avaible] (Collect)
([┘]- 25 day of Accumuted Rewards)
?---------------------------?
Ohing immediately caught his eye - after [Solo Leveling] ed up its serialization, the system had stopped trag its EP and accumution days.
It made sehe system couldn't endlessly gee points for the same project.
Regal shifted his focus to the pending rewards from [Omnist Reader's Viewpoint] and [Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone], feeling a flicker of expectation.
Retly, while uploading a chapter, Regal had observed that the former had seen a noticeable spike in views, likely due to [Solo Leveling] fans shifting over.
Meanwhile, [Harry Potter] erf as expected, it had ehe worldwide market and was gaining tra fast.
From what Gwendolyn had told him, the book was doing exceptionally well. Overseas sales had already hit 59,000 copies in the first week, while domestic sales still reached 3,000 within this week.
Without hesitatioapped the Collect button for both.
The numbers on his bance shifted instantly, EP flooding into his at at a rapid pace.
?---?
「Ding! User successfully collected [Omnist Reader's Viewpoint] rewards!」
[Total View t:] 15,251,317 + ↑3,226,735 = 18,478,047
[Total EP Earned:] 322,673
「Your total EP is now: 3,631,893 + ↑322,673 = 3,954,566」
?---?
, Regal clicked on the [Harry Potter] reward.
?---?
「Ding! User successfully collected [Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone] rewards!」
[Total Readers t:] 521,081 + ↑ 65,090 = 586,171
[Total EP Earned:] 97,635
「Your total EP is now: 3,954,566 + ↑97,635 = 4,052,201」
?---?
"That's 4M EP now…" He muttered. "And finally, the movie."
?---?
「Ding! User successfully collected [Following] rewards!」
[Total Watch t:] 18,012,671
[Total EP Earned:] 9,006,335
「Your total EP is now: 4,052,201 + ↑9,006,335 = 13,058,536」
?---?
Regal stared at the total, blinking in disbelief.
"Damn! 9M just from the movie? That puts me close to …13M. T-that's insane… or maybe not?"
He wasn't expeg such a jump. But after colleg rewards so many times, he had started to notice a pattern in the EP distribution-
[x0.1] for web novels, [x1.5] for physical copies, and now [x0.5] for movie watches or ticket sales.
Movies were clearly the most lucrative, if dht.
Regal leaned back, arms crossed, deep in thought.
"So, what now?"
A lot of ideas were running through his mind, but ohing was certain - he o max out his [Director] skill from [Master] to [World-Css].
"That alone is gonna take up almost 50% of this EP…"
And then there was his [Writer] skill - 2M to push it from [Expert] to [Master], and another 5M if he wao max it out pletely.
Then there was [Drawing], still stuck at [Novice].
He couldn't afford to ighat -
…because his project is gonna require a lot of storyb for people to uand what he was imagining.
Regal exhaled, shaking his head with a smirk.
"Yep, I really thought I was overpowered for no reason."
?-----[SKILL SLOTS]-----?
? [Slot-1:] Director (Rank – Master)
? [Slot-2:] Writer (Rank – Expert)
? [Slot-3:] Drawing (Rank – Novice)
? [Unique Skill:] Insight
?----------------------?
"Now for the sed [Achievement] colle for the movie. I wonder what it will be like this time."
Regal navigated to the [Achievements] tab, his eyes sing the avaible rewards. He still remembers the [Title Toke.
?--------?
? [Following:] Movie
–> [Achievement Avaible] (Collected ?)
–> [Achievement Avaible] (Collect)
?--------?
With a tap, the system chimed in.
?--------?
「Ding! User collected the [Achievement Reward] for crossing 100M box office for the first time!」
「Ding! User received [Skill Slot]x1 as the [Achievement Reward]!」
? [Note:] It is directly activated. You ow use ara skill!
?--------?
Regal exhaled, rubbing his temples.
"...feww~ Guess that means more EP is about to disappear with a new skill added frade."
He tried to hide his evident disappoi.
Sure, he is happy that he will get to have four skills activated at every given time, but he was hoping it would be something else.
A [Title Tokely - because uhe first time when he chose the script from the [Bulletin Board], this time he already decided what it will be.
Anyway, rightly enough, his [Skill Slots] updated iime, dispying a fresh empty slot.
?-----[SKILL SLOTS]-----?
? [Slot-1:] Director (Rank – Master)
? [Slot-2:] Writer (Rank – Expert)
? [Slot-3:] Drawing (Rank – Novice)
? [Slot-4:] Empty
? [Unique Skill:] Insight
?---------------------?
"Finally time to buy the script… at least this won't be burning a hole in my wallet."
Regal swiped open the [Bulletin Board], his fingers gliding past the endless listings, scripts, books, novels, and even music albums.
He barely spared them a gnce, his focus locked on a specific movie script.
It has the [Rank -E] on the list - with a (?) symbol hovered beside its title.
No kidding. He is purchasing the lowest rank script for his film.
And of course, the film was a failure. It wasn't just a failure either. It ectacur failure.
Despite the massive mixed buzz, the movie had crumbled beh the weight of its own ambition, leaving behind nothing but disappointed fans and scathing reviews.
Poor creative choices, questionable execution - there had been doubts from the start, and in the end, the skeptics had been proven right.
A, after careful sideration, this was the script Regal had chosen.
He khe risks. The stigma alone would be enough to drive most away.
But that recisely what made it iing. There was something about its potential, buried beh its fws, that made his pulse qui.
?----?
[Movie:]
Death Note - (Rank: E, Price: 305K EP) – (?)
?----?
"Haa… I am not digging my own grave, right? Hope not."
With a tap, the system processed the purchase - Yep, it's the same flix version of [Death Note].
?----?
「Ding! User successfully purchased [Death Note] script.」
?----?
Regal wasted no time, he immediately opehe [Item] bar and ed the script.
A long ten minutes of silence.
Then–
"Dog shit. Absolute dog shit."
His expression twisted in disbelief.
"This is the biggest piece of trash I have ever seen. The script is butchered in every possible way. No wonder nobody liked it."
…and this is exactly why he wahe [Title Token].
But now he had to make do with this blundered script.
Actually, is this script even gonna be any help? He wondered.
.
….
[To be tinued…]
★─────??★??─────★
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