“There is exactly twenty-five thousand, five hundred and thirty dollars left.”
“Excellent!” Kevin waved his hand and laughed loudly.
“Alright, I hereby announce that tonight, we are throwing a wrap party at the Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles!
Everyone has to be there.
Let’s all relax and have a good time!”
“Woohoo!
We love you, Director Kevin!”
“Director Kevin, you’re the best!”
“…”
Following Kevin’s announcement, the set immediately erupted in cheers.
Generally, small-budget crews like this couldn’t afford to throw lavish wrap parties.
It was a rare treat, and everyone present was instantly overjoyed.
“You guys go on ahead,” Kevin added.
“I’ll head over right after I drop off the film reels.”
With that said, Kevin grabbed the film negatives and headed over to the nearby New Line Cinema headquarters with the producer.
He had long since negotiated in his original proposal and contract that he would retain the right of first cut.
This right meant that he would be allowed to edit the director’s cut first and hold an internal screening.
If the studio executives felt there were pacing or narrative issues, the footage would then be handed over to their professional studio editors.
But if everyone was satisfied with his initial edit, his version would be used for the final release.
As for demanding full final cut privilege, it was the same old story: he simply didn’t have the industry clout yet. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Aside from a handful of top-tier Hollywood elites, most directors didn’t actually hold final editorial rights over their own movies.
Even someone as prominent as Zack Snyder, who directed 300 and Dawn of the Dead, had lost his editorial control during his collaborations with Warner Bros.
If it hadn’t been for his rabid fanbase launching a massive online campaign demanding the release of the Justice League director’s cut—which made Warner Bros.
realize the demand was highly profitable—Zack Snyder would have never been allowed to edit it himself.
This just went to show that in Hollywood, the major film studios were the ultimate, untouchable giants.
Kevin, of course, would never be satisfied with just being a mere director.
But building an empire had to start with becoming a great director.
Once he accumulated enough capital, he would use his memories of the future to securely acquire DC, Marvel, and other massive IPs, eventually building an entertainment empire of his own.
Of course, that was a story for another time.
After dropping off the film negatives at New Line Cinema and agreeing to take a single day off before diving straight into the editing room, Kevin immediately rushed over to the wrap party at the Hollywood Hotel.
Barbecue, a swimming pool, and alcohol—the eternal trio of celebration—allowed Kevin to thoroughly relieve the intense stress he had built up over the past twenty-five days of shooting.
…
The next day, Kevin woke up in a hotel room.
Seeing his film’s beautiful lead actress lying beside him with a look of deep satisfaction, he couldn’t help but massage his throbbing temples.
If the press or the crew caught wind of this, his professional reputation could take a serious hit.
While he certainly wasn’t a virgin in either his past or present life, he had never been the type to casually fool around.
Before this, he had only ever been intimate with his actual girlfriends.
A lazy hum sounded as Salma woke up.
Thinking back on Director Kevin’s energetic performance last night, a sultry smile spread across her face.
After Kevin had gotten completely intoxicated at the party, she had helped the other crew members support him back to his hotel room.
Once they were alone, the heat of the moment had taken over.
Coupled with her intense gratitude toward him for giving her the leading role, she had found herself in a half-reluctant, half-willing state…
and well, it had ended up like this.
Naturally, a large part of it was because she was highly optimistic about Kevin’s future potential in the industry.
Given the age gap between them, there was obviously no long-term future.
But as a mature woman, she understood young men better than anyone.
She knew exactly how lethal her body’s temptation was to a guy his age.
Even if there was no future between them, securing a bit of extra care and attention from a rising director like Kevin was an excellent outcome.
Besides, her own physical needs had been thoroughly satisfied by his young, vigorous body.
With her hair playfully tousled, only adding to her alluring charm, Salma didn’t say a word.
She simply stared at the bare-chested Kevin beside her, smiled, and suggestively licked her lips.
Since today was his official day off, Kevin decided he didn’t have the time or energy to stress over how things had ended up this way.
…
After fooling around in bed for the rest of the day, the company of a beautiful woman and the lingering high of the wrap party allowed him to completely purge all of his accumulated stress.
Salma also made him quite happy, mainly because she wasn’t clingy and didn’t ask for anything unreasonable in return.
To put it bluntly, it was simply a mutual exchange—a man and a woman happily satisfying each other’s needs.