"Everyone, listen up! I hereby announce that filming on Hard Candy has officially wrapped!"
As director Zack Snyder's words rang out, the entire crew erupted with unprecedented excitement and joy.
"Awesome!"
"That's right! We've finished another theatrical film!"
"Two weeks to finalize the script, two weeks of pre-production, and now four weeks of filming. We've been at this for a full 56 days."
"Buddy, we're just getting started! We still have post-production ahead of us!"
The people around them were fired up.
Zucker was no exception. Hard Candy wasn't his first film, but it was his first time serving as a producer, and it had taken plenty of sweat and hardship.
"Zack, congratulations on successfully directing this film," Zucker said, offering his thanks to the director.
Zack Snyder nodded solemnly. "Mr. Wald, I'm the one who should be thanking you. You... you know I'm a music-video director. I've dreamed of making a real movie, and you gave me..."
As he spoke, Zack suddenly burst into tears.
He was overcome with sobs!
He was already 31 years old!
Yet ever since he began working as a music-video director in 1990, he had been preparing to break into Hollywood and make a real movie. Reality, however, had dealt him blow after blow.
The heads of countless film companies had told him, "Buddy, aren't you just a director who shoots music videos and commercials? Can you really make a movie? What makes you think we'd invest a million dollars and trust you?"
The repeated setbacks had left him in agony.
It was only when Zucker came along that he finally got his moment!
"All right, buddy. The hard times are behind you now." Zucker patted Zack on the shoulder, his face filled with a saintly smile.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Zack Snyder was weeping uncontrollably, yet he kept thanking Zucker.
The Hulk—no, Mark Ruffalo, who played the male lead—wasn't doing much better. He was crying just as hard.
"I have to thank Mr. Wald too!"
Mark Ruffalo was 30 years old that year.
Hard Candy was his first movie as a leading man—or, more accurately, his first film in a major role. Before that, he'd only ever played bit parts. On top of that, he had no steady job and could only make ends meet by doing landscaping and painting work.
Over the past few years, he had gone to around 800 auditions, but hadn't landed a single one.
He had also spent nearly ten years working as a bartender!
To put it bluntly, Mark Ruffalo was middle-aged and had achieved absolutely nothing!
It was Zucker and Wald Pictures who had opened the door to a new life for him.
"All right, Mark. You're a grown man, and you're still crying. Look, if you keep it up, little Scarlett's going to make fun of you." Zucker laughed without mercy.
"Uh..."
At that, Mark Ruffalo's face turned bright red with embarrassment.
Scarlett Johansson herself was laughing even harder.
"Mark, Zack, you both look so ridiculous when you cry!"
Scarlett Johansson might have been young, just 13 years old, but she had been a commercial model since she was eight and had appeared in several films. Her roles hadn't been big, but years spent on film sets had given her some understanding of how Zack and Mark felt.
"See? I told you little Scarlett would make fun of you." Zucker teased them.
Just then, a crew member leaned in and quietly said a few words to Zucker.
Zucker immediately shouted to everyone, "Everyone, tonight I'm hosting a wrap party for Hard Candy at my villa. We'll also be celebrating Run Lola Run, a Wald Pictures production, breaking $16 million at the box office. You're all invited!"
"Boss!"
The crowd burst into thunderous cheers.
Zucker's luxurious villa was no secret to anyone. They also knew that Zucker himself had never even stayed there. The fact that he was using it to host both a wrap party and a celebration showed just how much he valued the crew and the films.
Valued them?
That was right. Zucker did value the crew, including all of them, but that wasn't the main reason he was throwing the party at his villa.
Damn, it looks like this little trick of winning people over is working pretty well. Zucker mused.
That evening.
Wald Pictures threw an extravagant party at a luxurious villa in Burbank. Well, actually, it hadn't cost that much—only $120,000. For Zucker, who had already acquired a 40% stake in ICQ, that was no great expense.
Zucker was now worth at least $40 million. That included real estate and stocks, of course, but even so, he qualified as a wealthy man.
The Run Lola Run crew attended, including lead actors Charlize Theron and James McAvoy. The Hard Candy crew came too, including director Zack Snyder and actors Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson. Everyone was there.
The directors of Wrong Turn and Juno were also invited.
John Lasseter, head of Pixar's "Fabulous Five"; Old Billy, who ran the chain stores around Utah; and Bald Bezos, the Amazon CEO who had come all the way from Seattle, were all in attendance.
Time passed slowly.
The party was a great success!
Not only had everyone enjoyed a little luxury, but Zucker had also strengthened the ties in his network. It was a win all around.
After the party ended, Zucker asked three people to stay behind.
His own CEO, Victor;
Old Billy, who ran the chain stores around Utah;
and Bald Bezos, the Amazon CEO.
"Zucker, my friend, I'm not exactly young anymore. If you don't tell us why you asked us to stay soon, don't blame this old man for getting angry," Old Billy said, pretending to be annoyed.
Zucker immediately laughed. "Old Billy, I wouldn't dare make you angry. Everyone knows that although you make your living in Utah, you're a genuine Texan. If I crossed you, I'd have to worry you might shoot me one day!"
"Good. You know it." Old Billy looked extremely proud.
Though Zucker and Old Billy were more than 30 years apart in age, they were surprisingly alike in temperament, and had gotten along exceptionally well.
Bald Bezos smiled but said nothing.
"Victor, give Mr. Bezos the documents," Zucker told him.
Bald Bezos was taken aback.
Still, he took the documents and began reading.
"Mr. Bezos, our boss asked you to stay tonight so he could discuss a business partnership with you, mainly online sales of movie-related merchandise," Victor said.
"Oh? Selling movie merchandise?"
"That might be possible."
Amazon's online store mainly sold books at the time, which was why it was also called an "online bookstore." But Bezos was shrewd, and he certainly had no intention of limiting the business to books. For now, he was simply biding his time.
"Slap!"
Zucker slapped his thigh and said, "Look, Bezos, you have an online platform, I have a film company and merchandise shops, and Old Billy has nine stores in Utah. What's more, his son owns one of the leading logistics companies in Utah, Nevada, and California. Together, we could sell products other than books through the Amazon Store and open up a whole new market."
Old Billy: "..."
Bald Bezos: "..."
Both men were stunned.
Neither of them objected outright. Instead, they fell into thought.
After a long while, Bald Bezos suddenly smiled at Zucker. "Mr. Wald, Old Billy's son has a logistics company. It makes perfect sense for me to partner with him. But... forgive me for being frank: your Wald Pictures isn't much to look at. If I had a choice, I'd partner with a bigger company."
At that, Zucker smiled without replying. He showed no reaction, but Old Billy fell silent.
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