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HWI 424
🕑 Added 2024-08-16 15:59:35 +0000 UTCHollywood What If Chapter 424
Showbiz. The word came from the term Show Business. Also referred to as the Entertainment Industry. It included fields such as films, television, theaters, music, and other performing arts. Showbiz was all about glamour and fame, a world that ordinary people dreamed of and adored but hard to reach.
Since Showbiz was a business, transactions would always be part of it.
In the industry, there were many kinds of transactions. Some transactions were considered normal while some were questionable, degrading, and unethical.
Casting Couch might be the best example. The people in power would use this as a means of transaction. Sexual favors in exchange for promising roles. The gender didn't matter... Because there were a lot of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in Hollywood. They would fuck someone if they checked the criteria.
Handsome men might become tired of beautiful women, especially in Hollywood, where beauty is everywhere. So some curious men would try something different such as having sex with the same gender.
At the same time, this could also happen to women. Actresses might become tired of men since Hollywood has a lot of handsome men. So they decided to try something different.
Of course, this was just an example. There were a lot of factors regarding sexualities.
Anyway, the Casting Couch was real for actors and actresses.
And now, Kazir was looking at the list of actors who auditioned for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Warner Brothers was not his turf. He couldn't control everything in the set, unlike Grey Pictures where he is the boss.
Even the casting directors were from Warner Brothers and Kazir had to collaborate with them on which actors they should invite.
The possibility of some actors/actresses having sex with the casting directors was not low... In fact, he knew that Enrico Pusi did this kind of practice in The Hangover Part 2.
Kazir was not the director of The Hangover Part 2 so he couldn't control how the production did its job. He just heard that one of the female cast had sex with Enrico Pusi to get the role.
Could he stop it? No, at the end of the day, both were consenting adults and they knew what they were doing. It was a transaction, albeit not a good one.
But did he respect it? Absolutely not. He believed in talent. He believed that the role should be taken by the one who deserved it, not because of sexual favors.
Unfortunately, he knew that this kind of practice would never disappear. This was the real world, not some fairytale. As long as there were people who were ready to sell sex, Casting Couch would never disappear.
In fact this kind of stuff was also present in other industries. The fashion industry, corporate world, journalism, sports industry, beauty pageants, and even in schools... Yes, let's not be ignorant here. The world was never a fairytale. That was the sad truth.
"I wonder how many of these people had sex with the crew members just to pass the audition..."
He weakly muttered. The list was long. He understood why there were so many actors who were dying to get the role of Batman.
In the late 1990s, the Big Six realized the potential of superhero genres after the success of Blade, X-Men, and Batman Returns.
However, they didn't know the true potential of the superhero genre until Spider-Man was released. A movie that surpassed $1 billion.
After the 9/11 incident, Americans longed for superheroes and they found one in Spider-Man.
Perhaps this was also the reason why Spider-Man 2 was not affected by the scandal and continued making money.
Fantasy genres also became popular after the 9/11 incident. People who wanted to find a way to escape the real world and watch fantasy movies such as Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter, and Pirates Of The Caribbean satiated their thirst.
In the next decade, the Big Six believed that fantasy and superhero genres would dominate the cinemas. So, it was better to set up the plan and prepare their initial movies as investments.
Kazir couldn't agree more. He also believed that fantasy and superhero genres would become popular. Although he tends more on the superhero genre's side. Especially when he had an MCU to create.
Liam Neeson was invited by Warner Brothers to become the antagonist of the movie as Ra's Al Ghul. The negotiation was already done and the actor was just waiting for the training to start. Kazir had worked with the actor and he knew Liam's dedication.
Just like that, the audition for Ra's Al Ghul ended before it even started.
Most of the actors auditioned for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The list was actually amazing. Actors such as Cillian Murphy, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Henry Cavill showed up.
Kazir thought about Henry Cavill's Superman but decided to be quiet. It was futile anyway. He knew that Warner Brothers already started the production of Superman Returns and they already hired an actor. Kazir also didn't want to help DC Comics because it was the rival of Marvel Comics. Filming a Batman Trilogy was enough.
The actors showed up and performed one after another. Kazir and the others were impressed. All of the actors prepared for the role. Their physiques match Batman and their acting was also great. Even Batman's low growling voice, most of the actors passed this criteria.
However, Kazir was not that excited unlike most of the people in the audition room. He was waiting for the actor that he recommended to be Batman.
Actually, when Kazir recommended this actor, most of the management didn't show a strong agreement. This actor's last movie was The Machinist, the actor lost a lot of weight just for this movie. The management was not confident enough that the actor could pass the requirements to become Batman.
They just agreed because Kazir was the one who recommended him. At the end of the day, the actor had to attend the audition before he could get the role.
