Chapter 244: First Flop

After some time, I had already gotten a haircut and taken a shower. I was only going to put on some basic makeup later in the afternoon

(everyone wears it, especially because of the cameras and lights. Without anti-shine powder and such, you can look pretty strange on video).

Pepper finally showed up.

"Hey Peps, you are late. All the women have been at the salon for a while now," I waved at her.

"I will go there after I talk with you," she nodded.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Your hair looks different, even more flawless. You must have been with a hairdresser for some time," I pointed out. 

"Now you come here saying you just need some light makeup to look badass," I revealed the mystery smirking

Seeing her moving to pinch me, I flinched. "Ayo Pepper, I’m your Oscar nominee, don’t hit me."

She sighed deeply, exasperated. "Can you even get anxious or nervous about something?"

"Huh, Peps, two weeks ago I was performing for 250,000 people plus millions of viewers on TV. How would an award show with a handful of snobs compare?" I joked.

"But those snobs are our cash cow for now," she whispered to me.

I gasped, "No wonder I love you so much, Peps. You are even worse than me!"

"That is impossible," she denied and walked toward my new office (I mostly use it as a pleasant reading spot, because of the atmosphere).

"You really lost all shame when it comes to spending," Pepper said while admiring my new office.

Unlike my bedroom, which was designed in a modern futuristic style, this office was entirely planned in a classy style.

And only with the best: Macassar Ebony executive desk, Herman Miller chair, Barcelona chairs, European Oak bookshelf, antique Persian rug, Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos desk clock.

"Just this desk must cost more than $100,000, and if this is a Persian rug, another $100,000," Pepper began pointing out.

"Yep, it was about $500,000 to decorate this office," I agreed.

"An incredible office like this for someone who barely works," she shook her head 

"Heyy, I’m the one who works the most, my mind is always working," I said with an air of righteousness.

"Not even you believe that, and that says something," Pepper just quoted some of my phrases.

We sat down on the chairs.

"First about movies, The Passion of the Christ is being a huge success, with $180 million at the box office here in the US, and another $120 million internationally. That’s in less than a month. 

We may hit $750 million worldwide by the end of its run," Pepper said with a wide smile on her face.

No wonder, this is by far our biggest blockbuster. And with DVD sales exploding (last year some movies on DVD already surpassed VHS, and this year it should become the norm), our revenue tends to be gigantic (forget the usual 40%, some films are making as much as their box office, something unbelievable).

"From gay cowboys to devout Christians, from torture porn (Saw) to silly weddings, we are really winning with a diverse audience," I raised my eyebrows.

"And we tried as much as possible to unlink JD, keeping it closer to the subsidiaries," Pepper confirmed what she had said before. "In this specific case, we could release another movie that attracts the faithful."

"Even my friend Missy watched it, despite the violence," I noted. Mary Cooper ignored the violence because of the importance of the film.

"That is the main criticism," I said thoughtfully, "that the film is excessively graphic."

"If it had minimized that, the religious audience, who are driving the box office, might criticize the minimization or lesser display of Christ’s suffering. 

There is no way to please everyone," Pepper pondered and added, "The ending was very well received, with a deep message in the resurrection part."

I nodded. This was one of the points I raised that differentiates the film from the original (from my past life). It focuses not only on suffering but also on the final part, the resurrection.

"As for the second film, Get Out, it made a worldwide box office of $18 million. Quite profitable for what we spent," Pepper finished the part about the movies released this month.

I shook my head, "It’s a flop. Our first flop. This movie was supposed to be something like Paranormal Activity, but it wasn’t the right time to release it. Maybe it’s worth re-releasing in another year, with some modifications."

If I remember correctly, it had won an Oscar. Well, you can’t win them all.

"Chicago is at $400 million worldwide, Pianist and Saw are still estimated to close at more than $100 million," Pepper continued with this year's films.

"Now for next year, we’ve already started production of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio. They will be two major productions, each costing more than $100 million. 

Mr. & Mrs. Smith will be released in August, one month after Pirates of the Caribbean. The Aviator more toward the end of the year.

Now the lower-budget ones: we have Sideways for March, The Grudge for April, and Crash in May. All with budgets between $10 and $15 million," she finished

I summarized, "just with these 5 films we’ve already released, the expectation is $1.5 billion in revenue, already putting us on the level of the Big6. And with The Last Samurai, next year we will already have 4 high-budget films, totaling half a billion dollars." 

Pepper smirked, "That’s one of the reasons we will be able to secure a biased amount of votes today at the Oscars, winning some awards. We are already at the level of a mini major."