Chapter 234
The next day at Golden Dawn Entertainment, Zane Blackwood handed three scripts to his chief assistant, Alexander.
"Alexander, please get these registered with the Screenwriters Guild and the copyright office," Zane said with a calm smile.
The three scripts were:
Shark Beach
The Great Napoleon
The Butterfly Effect
"All three, sir?" Alexander asked.
"Yes. How fast can you get it done?" Zane asked.
"With our company's reputation," Alexander said confidently, "we can get it done in three days, maybe a week at most."
Zane nodded, pleased. It was nice to be a big boss!
When he was just starting out, it took him 42 days to get the copyright for his first movie, Static. Regular writers had to wait a long time, but big companies got special treatment. The world ran on privilege, and Zane was happy to finally have some.
After Alexander left, Zane looked over his scripts again.
His company, Wald Pictures, was doing great! But... it was still hard to get the best scripts from famous writers. Those writers always sold their work to the "Big Six" giant studios first. Smaller studios like his had to fight for scraps.
So, Zane's solution? Use his secret knowledge of the future!
"Thank goodness I watched so many movies in my old life," he chuckled to himself. "Otherwise, this would be really hard!"
Of course, he couldn't remember every little detail. He wrote down the main story and the big ideas, and then he let his team of professional writers fill in the rest.
Knock, knock.
"Come in!" Zane called.
Christopher Nolan walked in.
"Zane," Nolan said, getting right to business. "You wanted to see me? Is it about a new movie?"
Zane nodded and handed him the script for The Butterfly Effect.
The story was about time travel. It was based on the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon could cause a tornado in Texas two weeks later—meaning small changes can have huge results.
The hero of the story travels back in time to fix his unhappy life. But every time he changes something in the past, he returns to the present to find out he's made things worse! It was a dark, twisty, and tragic story.
"So, Nolan," Zane asked after giving him time to read, "what do you think?"
"The idea is excellent," Nolan said, putting the script down. "It deals with psychology and chaos theory—things I really like. If you want me to direct this, I am absolutely confident I can handle it."
"That's the confidence I wanted to hear!" Zane cheered, clapping his hands.
Nolan was the perfect choice. He was a master at telling complicated, puzzle-like stories (like he did with Memento). The Butterfly Effect would be easy for him.
Zane knew that in his old life, this movie made over $57 million in America and was a huge hit. It cost about $8 million to make (even though the studio said it cost $12 million—Zane knew how Hollywood math worked!).
"Greenlight!" Zane thought.
The other two scripts, Shark Beach and The Great Napoleon, were also smart choices.
Shark Beach was a simple, scary movie about a girl fighting a shark. It would only cost $300,000 to make, but Zane knew it would earn over $21 million!
The Great Napoleon was a funny comedy that cost $5 million but would make over $100 million worldwide!
"I love high-quality, low-cost movies," Zane thought with a satisfied smile. A studio couldn't survive only on giant blockbusters; it needed these smaller, profitable hits to stay healthy.
That evening, Zane didn't go home.
Instead, he went to the Golden Dawn Television Group offices. He sat down with the network president, Donna, and the other bosses to watch TV.
Tonight was a huge night.
It was the premiere of "Prison Break"!
This was the very first TV show that Zane's group had made all by themselves. It was airing at 8 PM on their WB channel.
Prison Break was the most important part of their plan for the whole year. Zane was watching very, very closely.
Chapter 235
"Everyone," Zane Blackwood said with a grin, settling into his chair, "I've gathered you all here today for one simple reason: to watch TV. I have no other agenda."
Just watch TV?!
No one in the room believed that for a second. All the top bosses knew their boss too well. This was his way of saying, "This is a huge deal, so pay attention!"
Making their own TV show was a big step. It proved they were a real, powerful network.
President Donna added, "Since the boss has spoken, let's all focus on the premiere of Prison Break tonight."
Everyone nodded.
The first season of Prison Break cost nearly $15 million to make. That was about $700,000 for each episode! In 1998, that was a giant amount of money for a TV show. Zane was starting a new trend of making TV shows that looked as good as movies.
At 8 PM, Prison Break started. Families all across the country were watching.
In a home in Utah, a 17-year-old boy named Toph shouted, "Wow! Is this the show?"
The opening was exciting right away. The hero, Michael Scofield, walked out of a tattoo parlor and then went into a bank with a gun... just so he could get arrested on purpose.
"That really grabs your attention," Toph's dad said, grabbing some fries. "Prison Break? Is this the show the WB channel has been talking about for months? It looks fantastic."
"The editing is so fast," Toph's mom said. "It doesn't feel like a normal TV show. It feels like a Hollywood movie!"
"I agree," Toph said.
Soon, the whole family was hooked. In 1998, a fast, expensive show like this was brand new and very exciting.
...
In Washington State...
Diana Wisky, a middle school teacher who loved TV, was also watching.
"Incredible," she whispered. "The WB network is usually just for fun variety shows. I can't believe they made something this smart and cool!"
"Diana!" her husband, a big man named George, yelled like an angry bull. "Why are you watching some silly TV show? You know the Wizards are playing the Bulls tonight! Give me that darn remote!"
Diana ignored him.
"Hey! Don't ignore me, woman!" George shouted.
Now Diana was angry. She turned around.
"Watch the game? Go to hell!" she yelled back. "Will you die if you miss one or two games? Why can't I watch my show? You think I'm afraid of you just because I'm usually quiet? You have no idea how good Prison Break is! And you dare to yell at me just because I'm a woman? Are you even a man?!"
Diana, the polite teacher, fired words like a machine gun! George was totally overwhelmed.
George was speechless. The big, loud man shrank into the sofa, defeated. What could he do? He had no choice but to watch Prison Break with his wife.
Some stupid TV show, George grumbled in his head. Can it really be better than a thrilling game?
But... as the first episode went on, George found himself getting sucked in.
"Wow... he's planning to break out of prison!"
"My God, this is a crazy idea! No, it's a genius idea!"
"He tattooed the prison blueprints on his body?! That is SO COOL!"
George was cheering just as loudly as he did for football. Prison Break was just that good. It was a "blockbuster" show.
All over America, from lawyers to truck drivers, everyone loved it. The only complaint? They hated having to wait a whole week for the next episode!
...
Back at the Golden Dawn Office...
President Donna got a report. "Sir, we have the early numbers for the first episode."
Everyone leaned in.
"14 million viewers!"
A gasp swept through the room, followed by cheers!
Rondo, the new president of the WB network, laughed heartily. "Hahaha! It seems our luck is holding! The premiere of Prison Break is definitely in the top three shows tonight!"
The WB bosses were so happy. The bosses from the UPN network congratulated them, but their president, Corbett, was secretly fuming.
What's so great about it? he thought angrily. 'Prison Break' was supposed to be on MY network, UPN! But you guys snatched it away!
It was true. Zane had originally planned to put the show on UPN, but Donna had convinced him to put it on the WB instead.
"Alright, settle down everyone!" Zane said with a big, charming smile. "The results for Prison Break are great. But don't forget... tonight is also the 9th episode of Friends Season 5. The number one spot probably isn't ours."
He paused, his eyes twinkling with confidence.
"But second place? We absolutely will not let that slip away."
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