"What?" Mason's question rang in Ian's office room.
Ian hadn't muttered a single word since the team got in. Their environment had been busy and intense, but Maxin, Niko, and everyone else was fully focused on the laptop in front of them.
"The premiere went so well, Ian," Mason said as he walked towards the director who looked genuinely confused.
"Yeah, I know, uncle. It was good, the entire night was well-spent. To be honest, even I think what Maxin said was true. There's gotta be something else that is pushing the little thing towards the center of attention," Ian muttered.
"Hmm-"
"Found it," Maxin said after a full search-on about the nweets and the companies. "The five studios who had spread articles and were concerned about the matter, all of them are not even directly into Hollywood. But there's a thing that is common to all of them."
The small team inside the office looked confused. Ian couldn't help his curiosity, and the tingles he got from the sound of it.
"And that is?" He pushed the question.
"That is Goofy. All of the companies are partially or fully owned by Goofy. And companies of Large Drip and White Sky are fully owned by Goofy. For the other three, Goofy is basically a shareholder." Maxin said.
"What the fuck?" Niko said, aloud.
A few moments of silence passed through them, while they all kept looking at each other. Ian avoided eye contact with anyone but was in his own battle.
'Why why why why why-'
The wheels of his brain rotated and revolved in different directions as he thought of different sorts of approaches to the matter.
"Yeah, well… I think I understand what they are up to, " Ian said after brief thought. "I need caffeine in my system to take any further action. Y'all can go do your work, don't think about it. This will die down soon, and let's focus on the screenings and their reactions.
I'm pretty sure once people see how different the movie is, from the 'OG' they talk about, and the uniqueness, all the chaos will die down." Ian talked his thoughts aloud for once.
"Yeah, you're right," Raelynn said with a nod.
"I have a thought which yells that Avatar is going to break a record in the Box Office," Harley said with a smirk.
"Let's see. And I'm pretty sure that it was one of their tactics." Ian said while looking at Harley.
"What do you mean?" Harley questioned back.
"Hmm… I'll have to wait and see," Ian said while all of them nodded and walked out of the office.
They knew that Ian had a whole different perspective on the entire situation.
In Ian's mind, he knew why Jeff had done this. But to confirm that idea, he wanted to meet Jeff in person.
His reasoning behind the whole scheme was that maybe Goofy wanted to throw Ian in the bad light, and also with that being popular, the benefit would be shared with Goofy too.
The benefit would be: that it would increase the movie's box office, and gain interest for the movie.
Ian didn't think of it anymore and continued to go on with his day.
-
The Cloud.IV was an app that had hit its own glory just like how Nwitter and Sway had done during five years.
The only reason why Ian hadn't used it before was knowing there were many trolls on the app rather than any business advantage.
"...And people love trolls and gossip. 96.5% of the Americans use this app, and promoting movies would benefit it in our own way." Maxin had explained to him about the app and activated his own account for it, right before two weeks.
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And currently, the trends and the streaks of conversations were all about the premiere and how people were excited about watching the movie.
Among the different thoughts of different Americans, some people had their deepest concerns focused on the 'one negative' review shared about Avatar.
Those groups of people were the ones who were probably affected, bribed, or influenced by the web of Goofy and the other companies.
4.15 am. | Cloud. IV
CIV/ What does everyone think about AVATAR?
IgetHypedEasily: I can't believe the AVATAR is finally out! Since my husband pre-booked the tickets, I'm waiting till I get to watch them.
Mrnicegy90: Yet to watch! From the premiere and the 'Blue Carpet', I think it would be a banger. Even the reviews were nice, and I seriously can't wait to watch it. Goofy Inc. is literally in cooperation, I'm sure all the kids would love it too!
Kyrrio: What's funny to talk about is how the whole AVATAR thingy became a hatred corner after someone's review saying it's an OG movie?! Like, I don't personally think so. Even if it is… SO WHAT? The speech basically said about so many other others.
CPTNonsense: Kyrrio: I don't think you're getting the point. If Ian is someone who copies OG works and goes up in the industry, what's the use?
Salami350: Does Ian make more money off alone if he made AVATAR or does Goofy make more money working with Ian? With that question, I don't think… there should be any concerns.
MonkeysWedding: CPTNonsense: Bro, if you haven't watched Ian's previous movies, you can STFU. This is not your school to point out what you think of a director. Taking inspiration is one thing, and copying is another. Go and do your f*cking maths.
Salami350: MonkeysWedding: I agree ^^^ If Ian did the movie alone, which would have taken a few more years, it would probably have been great and good money.
CPTNonsense: MonkeysWedding: Well, 'BRO', we haven't even watched the movie yet. The articles got out and we are firing at each other. Wtf?!
Dalittle: Kyrrio: This is what happened in 1987! People fought for their rights to express and well… Boom!
Swargain: Dalittle: Get a life.
CPTNonsense: Dalittle: Get a life ^^
Kyrrio: Dalittle: Who asked?
Cloud. IV was flooded with comments, and people who were absorbed in the matter fought for Ian's side or against one after another.
-
John, Ian's childhood friend, was on his way to meet Ian and talk about the movie that had its premiere precisely two days ago.
Although Ian had invited John to the premiere, John was extremely busy with his business which made it impossible to make it there.
But, his hidden movie fan kicked in when he asked Ian for movie tickets on the first show, and John had a whole new idea planned for both Ian and him for the evening.
"Hey, Murphy. Been long, how are you?" John asked, seeing Ian's assistant typing things on his laptop seated in the middle of the square-shaped office.
"I've been great. Should I let Mr. Renner know that you're here?" Murphy asked. It was technically what he should do, but also it was not polite if he immediately rang Ian and said about John's arrival.
"Ah, sure. I hope he doesn't have anything special for the evening?" John asked.
"Uh, let me see…" Murphy said and tapped the tablet which sat lonely on the desk aside. "All clear!" He said with a smile.
"Perfect."
It had been quite a while since John and Ian had hung out. Ian was busy with his movies and John was simply busy with his business.
Walking inside Ian's office, John noticed the tired-looking Ian, yet with a warm smile with which he always welcomed people closer to him.
"It's been a long time, isn't it? You bailed on the premiere anyway!" Ian said while pulling in for a bro-hug.
"Ah! Don't even remind me of that day. Was busy, and couldn't even go home that night. How are things going on here? Are you treating my team well?" John asked as he took a seat in front of Ian.
"They are happier than ever. How is it going with you?" Ian asked.
"Tiring, and you look so fucked up. What is going on? Is everything okay?" John asked back.
"Well, something happened with the movie release of Avatar. Not that I care about it 100%, but it does affect me in my subconscious considering it was my idea, and I feel like I should have done the research.
The funniest part is, how people keep fighting over the articles when they haven't even watched the movie. So I was reading the comments throughout the night, and I was writing a script."
"Haha… I thought you were depressed due to the comments. Not gonna lie, I was ready to slap some sense," John said while both of them laughed. "Take it, easy man, you're writing scripts one after another. Get a break."
"Yeah, I should. But the next project is going to be exciting."
"Exciting?"
"Yep, the sequel of my first movie. I can't help but push myself to start things off quickly."
"Yeah, no buts, you're coming with me today!" John said, making Ian's eyes widen in question.
"Where?"
"To watch Avatar," John said, making Ian nod with a smile.
This would be the second time Ian watched the reactions of a live audience, and he already loved the idea of it.
"Let's go!" Ian said as they both stood up.