Chapter 200: 200
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June 14, 2013 – 11 Am Friday - Malibu
"*whistle* *whistle*"
Bruce, a bald man in his 50s, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, happily trots barefoot by the beach in a bright and hot California morning. Unlike other rich folks of his age, Bruce is spry and in good health.
"Hey there." He suddenly sits on the sand, beside three young bikini-clad women lying on their own beach mats, peacefully bathing in the sun.
"Hey." The brown- haired lady lying nearest Bruce, politely responds as she scans him through her sunglasses.
"Nice day, huh?" The man starts small talk.
"…" The ladies quickly catch on the man's intentions.
"Yeah. Are you from around here?" the brunette in the group ask.
"Yeah. I've got a new place over there." Bruce points over his shoulder.
"…" The ladies look at the direction of a group of fancy beach houses, all in modern design, all having at least two floors.
"Oh? Which one?" The blonde asks.
"That one with the solid white walls." The man coolly says referring to the biggest and what seems to be the most newly built house.
"wow…" The ladies say skeptically.
"May I offer you ladies a drink?" Bruce asks.
"Nah. Our boyfriends are buying some for us right now." The blonde lies.
"…" Bruce looks at the ladies' stuff and he does not see anything that belongs to a man.
"Well then, too bad. I'll see you around ladies. If you guys wanna hang out somewhere, you know where to find me." Bruce can only gracefully receive the rejection as he stands up and brushes the sand off his butt.
As Bruce walks back to his house, he is almost annoyed by a question from a stranger he passed by.
"hEh heh.. Bad day, dude?" A suntanned blonde young man sitting on his surfboard, asks.
"The day isn't over yet, DUDE." Bruce says, not bothering to squabble with who he deems a loser.
A few minutes later, *slide* *thud* Bruce enters his house.
"*sniff* *ahhhh*" Bruce takes a deep breath to calm down his agitation of the two slights he received a few minutes ago.
Bruce then goes to the fridge, pours himself a cup of something cold, and drinks it. After finally calming down, he goes to his living room and plops himself on the couch. Looking around the interior of the house, Bruce cannot help but thank the easy sell he did two weeks ago.
"Thank f*ck, some idiot bought my overpriced shares." Bruce takes in the beauty of the modern interior design of his house and it calms him down entirely.
*ring* *ring*
Bruce immediately answers an unexpected phone call.
While he likes Malibu and his new house, he is not home and his friends are not around, so any call from any friend is welcome.
/Hey Bruce. How's it goin?/
"I'm doing great, Allen. I'm just bored." Bruce replies.
/You're in LA! Blow, Booze, Blunt, and gold diggin' B*tches! What's to be bored about?/ Allen says.
"You know me, they get old quick." Bruce scoffs.
/ Well, what about REAL women? I heard you recently bought a house in Malibu. That's heaven right there! There's no way you can't charm even one of them./
"Not my day today." Bruce says.
/Not your day. Tell you what? Today is not MY day!/ Allen says.
"What happened?" Bruce asks in slight worry.
/Nah. I just regret selling my Pixie shares to you./ Allen says.
"What?" Bruce is confused.
/You know! The new f*ckin film! 'Snow White' was it? I'm pretty sure it's gonna f.u.c.kin sell./ Allen reports.
"Oh… That..." Allen's mind starts running a mile a minute.
/They released a trailer. I'll send a link to your Facebook./ Allen says.
A minute later, Bruce is by his home computer.
[[[*wham*
-From the makers of 'The Toy Prince' -
*chimes*
- a 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' story -
*chimes*
- An Isaac Yawat Film -
*fade to black*
*Piano chord in minor*
'Mirror Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?' A shot of a caped woman in front of a mirror fades in.
'You my queen, are fair. But Snow-white is a thousand times fairer than you.' The mirror replies
*PIANO CHORD IN MINOR!*
'Bring me her!'
*wham*
'I will, my queen.' The huntsman says.
*piano in major*
'My Name is snow white'
*orchestral music intensifies*
*snow white dancing with a prince*
*snow white playing in the forest with dwarves*
*Music stops*
'Be careful, Snow-white. Be careful of the queen.']]]
"…" Although he finished watching the 50-second trailer, Bruce's eyes are still on the computer monitor.
/Right? I can't believe it's gonna be a children's film! Bruce, you lucky bastard!/ Allen's voice from his phone pulls Bruce out of his daze.
"Y-yeah… I'll call you back, Allen." Bruce drops the call.
Bruce then sinks down on his leather chair, a huge feeling of regret washes over him.
"…" Looking at the nice interior again of his house, he no longer feels an ego boost from it but instead a consolation of defeat.
*ring* *ring* Bruce's phone rings again.
"Hello…" Bruce answers absentmindedly.
/Bruce, you haven't sold your shares, have you?/ A former Pixie shareholder calls Bruce this time.
"I did." Bruce can only admit.
/HAH! I'm not the only one! PUHAHAHA! Hey! Call the others too! / The caller laughs in glee.
~~~~~
~~~~~
1PM – Pixie Studios, Pasadena California
"Nice doing business with you." Konner and Oscar, the two founders of Pixie Studios, shake hands with the two executives of Tisney Media.
"No. Thank you for choosing us. Anything that Isaac touches turn to gold." One of the Tisney executives says.
"I hope that next time, we can partner up with the marketing too." The other executive says.
"Yes. When we have a chance." Konner says.
The executives can only bitterly smile at Konner's meaning and at not getting more. With that, they nod and leave the office with their lawyer. Pixie's lawyers also leave the room from the non-verbal urging of the two founders.
Konner and Oscar just sealed a distribution deal with Tisney Media with Tisney getting a fixed 17.5% of the gross sales and they are feeling great.
"Heh. The hell? It's not like we don't know how it is. Don't they know we chose them just because we were former colleagues." Oscar scoffs.
"Damn right. Thank goodness, Tayaw allowed us to use 'Isaac'. Oh. And the marketing too.." Konner shakes his head.
"Phew… at least we're back in theaters after 5 years." Oscar sighs, his shoulders feeling lighter for the first time in years.
"Yeah…" Konner agrees.
Oscar and Konner, both in their 40s, are childhood friends. The two spent their 20's and 30's working for Tisney's animated films. Oscar was a 2d animator and Konner a former producer.
In the late 90s, when 3 dimensional games are starting to become a thing, the two immediately realized that if games can be 3 dimensional, so can be animated films. With that, the two left Tisney, took a loan, established Pixie, hired software developers, and they started developing various software for 3d animation.
Over the years, Pixie has adapted various classic cartoons and fairy tales into 3d animated films. While their films often do not appear on theaters, being their target audience children, they have made a lot of money from DVD sales, stuffed toys, and other merchandise.
"We took a gamble buying the animated rights for Grimm's Fairy Tales. I have to say, I was wrong, Oscar." Konner says.
"I was uncertain too until Tayaw came." Oscar shakes his head.
In 2010, when they barely profited from their last film, Pixie reached not only an impetus but an incoming bankruptcy. The two founders however decided to ignore the threat and decided to reset the company's priorities from making cash cows into original ones. Just in time for their change in priorities, Grimm's Fairy Tales came along. The two became desperate and they pooled their resources and sold some shares just to buy the animation rights of Grimm's Fairy Tales Volume 1. Even though they secured the rights, they were still unsure whether the fanbase of the novel will see their film adaptation.
They even became more desperate. Instead of recycling their existing materials, the two made their employees animate a new environment for 'Snow White'. Instead of their usual way of animating two or three films at a time, the two also decided that all employees focus on working on 'Snow White' alone. They have gone all out with no way turning back.
They have even prepared to go in debt in case 'Snow White' fails. However, they found hope once Tayaw came in the picture. With Tayaw's input with the music, the cinematography, and other more details, Oscar and Konner saw that 'Snow White' will not just become a short-term cash cow but a candidate to become a modern animation classic.
"If this goes well, I'm thinking of selling him another 2%." Oscar says.
"…" Konner is dumbfounded.
"Do you really want him to be the majority owner?" Konner asks.
"Haha, I'm kidding." Oscar chuckles.
"Heh.. Well, we're all satisfied with the current arrangement. But you know, it's not a bad idea either. We can just let him manage the company while we sit our asses around waiting to cash in." Konner says, half-jokingly.
"Tayaw just worked with our people for a few days and their loyalty are already switching, whether they know it or not. Someday, we might as well give up control. I'd rather have Pixie grow in his hands instead of it dying in our arms." Oscar shrugs.
~~~~~
Hollywood Blvd – 6 pm
"Hey."
"Hey babe." Bas kisses Lauren as soon as she gets in his car.
"How was work?" Bas asks as he drives the car away from the parking lot of Lauren's work place.
"ugh. I hate it. You know Rissa? That b*tch is really getting on my nerves. You know what she said this morning? She …" Bas can only let Rissa tell him about her day.
He learned a long time ago that Lauren is just venting and the best he can do is to offer her an ear.
"…and you know what I said?" Lauren says.
"What?" Bas asks.
"I said 'B*tch. Mind your own business.' Hmph! She's talking like she…" Lauren continues.
Bas' focus however is waning. While he can offer Lauren an ear, he cannot do so for long periods of time.
"*********?" Lauren's tone rises.
'Oh shit. That's a question.' Bas panics a bit, not catching Lauren's words.
"Well. What are you gonna do about it?" Bas says, taking a shot in the dark.
"I don't know. I can't tell him to f*ck off either. He was probably just having a bad day." Lauren says.
"Uhuh.. Yeah. Give him a chance. If he's like that all the time, then he's got a problem. And if he's got a problem with you, just call me." Bas says, taking a guess, and running with it.
"Thanks babe." Lauren says, now on a lighter mood. Bas sighs in relief.
"Which film are we gonna see babe?" Bas asks.
"Miss Sellers! I've read the book, and I can't wait to see the characters!" Lauren says.
"…" Bas almost grunts in disappointment.
A minute later, they arrive at their favorite theater.
"… That's weird…" Bas says as him and Lauren walk to the ticket booth.
"What is?" Lauren asks.
"Look. Miss Sellers have more ladies lining up. 'Gold, Blood, and The Deer' have more guys lining up." Bas says.
"Huh…" Lauren nods at the observation, not bothering to get deeper to it.
Bas also notices that the few men in the queue for Miss Sellers are with their respective partners. "…" He cannot help but also notice that the men are eyeing the queue for Gold, Blood, and the Deer.
'I guess I'm not the only one.' Bas chuckles.
"Two tickets for Miss Sellers, please." Lauren purchases the tickets.
Bas can only try and keep up an amicable expression as they join the queue for Miss Sellers.
A few minutes later, outgoing moviegoers start filtering out of the theater that screened Gold, Blood, and the Deer. Bas cannot help but eavesdrop on the conversations.
"Dude. How was it?"
"Man. It's awesome. I feel like I paid too little for the tickets."
"That good, huh? Alright thanks man."
"Yeah. Enjoy dude."
Bas looks at the other guys in the Miss Sellers queue and he notices that they too are eavesdropping at the outgoing moviegoers.
'Alright. Screw it…' Bas takes a deep breath and faces Lauren.
"Babe… You know I love you, right?" Bas starts.
"I love you too babe." Lauren says.
"Yeah. But I really wanna see Isaac's film." Bas says.
Lauren's pretty face freezes.
"You know I don't like him." Lauren says.
"Well. Let's separate the man from his creation, yeah? My friends already saw it and I'm the only one who has not." Bas says.
"Y-ou don't like watching movies with me, do you? Do you even like going to movies with me?" Lauren says, expressing offense.
'This… is this that move Isaac was talking about in the forum? … It's … I hope not' Bas thinks to himself.
"No. No babe. I like going to movies with you. My friends invited me to see it yesterday, but I didn't. I'd rather see it with you ." Bas continues.
"But… I like Miss Sellers…" Lauren says, pouting and acting cutely pitiful.
'Okay… This is what Isaac was talking about. Offense, acting cute to get what she wants… Okay. I'll take the bait.' Bas quickly processes.
"Okay. Never mind then. I'm sorry. I'll just go see Gold Blood and the Deer some other time, ALONE." Bas says.
'Isaac's right. Damn it.' Bas curses inside.
"Babe.. Wait. Do you really want to see it that badly?" Lauren asks, realizing that this is the first time in forever that Bas expressed what he wants.
"Yeah. But if you really want to see Miss Sellers together, then I'm fine with it too." Bas says not wanting to start an argument.
Lauren however, notices the disappointment in Bas's eyes.
"O-okay then…" With that, the queue moves and Lauren enters the cinema with guilt in her heart.
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June 14, 2013 – 11 Am Friday - Malibu
"*whistle* *whistle*"
Bruce, a bald man in his 50s, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, happily trots barefoot by the beach in a bright and hot California morning. Unlike other rich folks of his age, Bruce is spry and in good health.
"Hey there." He suddenly sits on the sand, beside three young bikini-clad women lying on their own beach mats, peacefully bathing in the sun.
"Hey." The brown- haired lady lying nearest Bruce, politely responds as she scans him through her sunglasses.
"Nice day, huh?" The man starts small talk.
"…" The ladies quickly catch on the man's intentions.
"Yeah. Are you from around here?" the brunette in the group ask.
"Yeah. I've got a new place over there." Bruce points over his shoulder.
"…" The ladies look at the direction of a group of fancy beach houses, all in modern design, all having at least two floors.
"Oh? Which one?" The blonde asks.
"That one with the solid white walls." The man coolly says referring to the biggest and what seems to be the most newly built house.
"wow…" The ladies say skeptically.
"May I offer you ladies a drink?" Bruce asks.
"Nah. Our boyfriends are buying some for us right now." The blonde lies.
"…" Bruce looks at the ladies' stuff and he does not see anything that belongs to a man.
"Well then, too bad. I'll see you around ladies. If you guys wanna hang out somewhere, you know where to find me." Bruce can only gracefully receive the rejection as he stands up and brushes the sand off his butt.
As Bruce walks back to his house, he is almost annoyed by a question from a stranger he passed by.
"hEh heh.. Bad day, dude?" A suntanned blonde young man sitting on his surfboard, asks.
"The day isn't over yet, DUDE." Bruce says, not bothering to squabble with who he deems a loser.
A few minutes later, *slide* *thud* Bruce enters his house.
"*sniff* *ahhhh*" Bruce takes a deep breath to calm down his agitation of the two slights he received a few minutes ago.
Bruce then goes to the fridge, pours himself a cup of something cold, and drinks it. After finally calming down, he goes to his living room and plops himself on the couch. Looking around the interior of the house, Bruce cannot help but thank the easy sell he did two weeks ago.
"Thank f*ck, some idiot bought my overpriced shares." Bruce takes in the beauty of the modern interior design of his house and it calms him down entirely.
*ring* *ring*
Bruce immediately answers an unexpected phone call.
While he likes Malibu and his new house, he is not home and his friends are not around, so any call from any friend is welcome.
/Hey Bruce. How's it goin?/
"I'm doing great, Allen. I'm just bored." Bruce replies.
/You're in LA! Blow, Booze, Blunt, and gold diggin' B*tches! What's to be bored about?/ Allen says.
"You know me, they get old quick." Bruce scoffs.
/ Well, what about REAL women? I heard you recently bought a house in Malibu. That's heaven right there! There's no way you can't charm even one of them./
"Not my day today." Bruce says.
/Not your day. Tell you what? Today is not MY day!/ Allen says.
"What happened?" Bruce asks in slight worry.
/Nah. I just regret selling my Pixie shares to you./ Allen says.
"What?" Bruce is confused.
/You know! The new f*ckin film! 'Snow White' was it? I'm pretty sure it's gonna f.u.c.kin sell./ Allen reports.
"Oh… That..." Allen's mind starts running a mile a minute.
/They released a trailer. I'll send a link to your Facebook./ Allen says.
A minute later, Bruce is by his home computer.
[[[*wham*
-From the makers of 'The Toy Prince' -
*chimes*
- a 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' story -
*chimes*
- An Isaac Yawat Film -
*fade to black*
*Piano chord in minor*
'Mirror Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?' A shot of a caped woman in front of a mirror fades in.
'You my queen, are fair. But Snow-white is a thousand times fairer than you.' The mirror replies
*PIANO CHORD IN MINOR!*
'Bring me her!'
*wham*
'I will, my queen.' The huntsman says.
*piano in major*
'My Name is snow white'
*orchestral music intensifies*
*snow white dancing with a prince*
*snow white playing in the forest with dwarves*
*Music stops*
'Be careful, Snow-white. Be careful of the queen.']]]
"…" Although he finished watching the 50-second trailer, Bruce's eyes are still on the computer monitor.
/Right? I can't believe it's gonna be a children's film! Bruce, you lucky bastard!/ Allen's voice from his phone pulls Bruce out of his daze.
"Y-yeah… I'll call you back, Allen." Bruce drops the call.
Bruce then sinks down on his leather chair, a huge feeling of regret washes over him.
"…" Looking at the nice interior again of his house, he no longer feels an ego boost from it but instead a consolation of defeat.
*ring* *ring* Bruce's phone rings again.
"Hello…" Bruce answers absentmindedly.
/Bruce, you haven't sold your shares, have you?/ A former Pixie shareholder calls Bruce this time.
"I did." Bruce can only admit.
/HAH! I'm not the only one! PUHAHAHA! Hey! Call the others too! / The caller laughs in glee.
~~~~~
~~~~~
1PM – Pixie Studios, Pasadena California
"Nice doing business with you." Konner and Oscar, the two founders of Pixie Studios, shake hands with the two executives of Tisney Media.
"No. Thank you for choosing us. Anything that Isaac touches turn to gold." One of the Tisney executives says.
"I hope that next time, we can partner up with the marketing too." The other executive says.
"Yes. When we have a chance." Konner says.
The executives can only bitterly smile at Konner's meaning and at not getting more. With that, they nod and leave the office with their lawyer. Pixie's lawyers also leave the room from the non-verbal urging of the two founders.
Konner and Oscar just sealed a distribution deal with Tisney Media with Tisney getting a fixed 17.5% of the gross sales and they are feeling great.
"Heh. The hell? It's not like we don't know how it is. Don't they know we chose them just because we were former colleagues." Oscar scoffs.
"Damn right. Thank goodness, Tayaw allowed us to use 'Isaac'. Oh. And the marketing too.." Konner shakes his head.
"Phew… at least we're back in theaters after 5 years." Oscar sighs, his shoulders feeling lighter for the first time in years.
"Yeah…" Konner agrees.
Oscar and Konner, both in their 40s, are childhood friends. The two spent their 20's and 30's working for Tisney's animated films. Oscar was a 2d animator and Konner a former producer.
In the late 90s, when 3 dimensional games are starting to become a thing, the two immediately realized that if games can be 3 dimensional, so can be animated films. With that, the two left Tisney, took a loan, established Pixie, hired software developers, and they started developing various software for 3d animation.
Over the years, Pixie has adapted various classic cartoons and fairy tales into 3d animated films. While their films often do not appear on theaters, being their target audience children, they have made a lot of money from DVD sales, stuffed toys, and other merchandise.
"We took a gamble buying the animated rights for Grimm's Fairy Tales. I have to say, I was wrong, Oscar." Konner says.
"I was uncertain too until Tayaw came." Oscar shakes his head.
In 2010, when they barely profited from their last film, Pixie reached not only an impetus but an incoming bankruptcy. The two founders however decided to ignore the threat and decided to reset the company's priorities from making cash cows into original ones. Just in time for their change in priorities, Grimm's Fairy Tales came along. The two became desperate and they pooled their resources and sold some shares just to buy the animation rights of Grimm's Fairy Tales Volume 1. Even though they secured the rights, they were still unsure whether the fanbase of the novel will see their film adaptation.
They even became more desperate. Instead of recycling their existing materials, the two made their employees animate a new environment for 'Snow White'. Instead of their usual way of animating two or three films at a time, the two also decided that all employees focus on working on 'Snow White' alone. They have gone all out with no way turning back.
They have even prepared to go in debt in case 'Snow White' fails. However, they found hope once Tayaw came in the picture. With Tayaw's input with the music, the cinematography, and other more details, Oscar and Konner saw that 'Snow White' will not just become a short-term cash cow but a candidate to become a modern animation classic.
"If this goes well, I'm thinking of selling him another 2%." Oscar says.
"…" Konner is dumbfounded.
"Do you really want him to be the majority owner?" Konner asks.
"Haha, I'm kidding." Oscar chuckles.
"Heh.. Well, we're all satisfied with the current arrangement. But you know, it's not a bad idea either. We can just let him manage the company while we sit our asses around waiting to cash in." Konner says, half-jokingly.
"Tayaw just worked with our people for a few days and their loyalty are already switching, whether they know it or not. Someday, we might as well give up control. I'd rather have Pixie grow in his hands instead of it dying in our arms." Oscar shrugs.
~~~~~
Hollywood Blvd – 6 pm
"Hey."
"Hey babe." Bas kisses Lauren as soon as she gets in his car.
"How was work?" Bas asks as he drives the car away from the parking lot of Lauren's work place.
"ugh. I hate it. You know Rissa? That b*tch is really getting on my nerves. You know what she said this morning? She …" Bas can only let Rissa tell him about her day.
He learned a long time ago that Lauren is just venting and the best he can do is to offer her an ear.
"…and you know what I said?" Lauren says.
"What?" Bas asks.
"I said 'B*tch. Mind your own business.' Hmph! She's talking like she…" Lauren continues.
Bas' focus however is waning. While he can offer Lauren an ear, he cannot do so for long periods of time.
"*********?" Lauren's tone rises.
'Oh shit. That's a question.' Bas panics a bit, not catching Lauren's words.
"Well. What are you gonna do about it?" Bas says, taking a shot in the dark.
"I don't know. I can't tell him to f*ck off either. He was probably just having a bad day." Lauren says.
"Uhuh.. Yeah. Give him a chance. If he's like that all the time, then he's got a problem. And if he's got a problem with you, just call me." Bas says, taking a guess, and running with it.
"Thanks babe." Lauren says, now on a lighter mood. Bas sighs in relief.
"Which film are we gonna see babe?" Bas asks.
"Miss Sellers! I've read the book, and I can't wait to see the characters!" Lauren says.
"…" Bas almost grunts in disappointment.
A minute later, they arrive at their favorite theater.
"… That's weird…" Bas says as him and Lauren walk to the ticket booth.
"What is?" Lauren asks.
"Look. Miss Sellers have more ladies lining up. 'Gold, Blood, and The Deer' have more guys lining up." Bas says.
"Huh…" Lauren nods at the observation, not bothering to get deeper to it.
Bas also notices that the few men in the queue for Miss Sellers are with their respective partners. "…" He cannot help but also notice that the men are eyeing the queue for Gold, Blood, and the Deer.
'I guess I'm not the only one.' Bas chuckles.
"Two tickets for Miss Sellers, please." Lauren purchases the tickets.
Bas can only try and keep up an amicable expression as they join the queue for Miss Sellers.
A few minutes later, outgoing moviegoers start filtering out of the theater that screened Gold, Blood, and the Deer. Bas cannot help but eavesdrop on the conversations.
"Dude. How was it?"
"Man. It's awesome. I feel like I paid too little for the tickets."
"That good, huh? Alright thanks man."
"Yeah. Enjoy dude."
Bas looks at the other guys in the Miss Sellers queue and he notices that they too are eavesdropping at the outgoing moviegoers.
'Alright. Screw it…' Bas takes a deep breath and faces Lauren.
"Babe… You know I love you, right?" Bas starts.
"I love you too babe." Lauren says.
"Yeah. But I really wanna see Isaac's film." Bas says.
Lauren's pretty face freezes.
"You know I don't like him." Lauren says.
"Well. Let's separate the man from his creation, yeah? My friends already saw it and I'm the only one who has not." Bas says.
"Y-ou don't like watching movies with me, do you? Do you even like going to movies with me?" Lauren says, expressing offense.
'This… is this that move Isaac was talking about in the forum? … It's … I hope not' Bas thinks to himself.
"No. No babe. I like going to movies with you. My friends invited me to see it yesterday, but I didn't. I'd rather see it with you ." Bas continues.
"But… I like Miss Sellers…" Lauren says, pouting and acting cutely pitiful.
'Okay… This is what Isaac was talking about. Offense, acting cute to get what she wants… Okay. I'll take the bait.' Bas quickly processes.
"Okay. Never mind then. I'm sorry. I'll just go see Gold Blood and the Deer some other time, ALONE." Bas says.
'Isaac's right. Damn it.' Bas curses inside.
"Babe.. Wait. Do you really want to see it that badly?" Lauren asks, realizing that this is the first time in forever that Bas expressed what he wants.
"Yeah. But if you really want to see Miss Sellers together, then I'm fine with it too." Bas says not wanting to start an argument.
Lauren however, notices the disappointment in Bas's eyes.
"O-okay then…" With that, the queue moves and Lauren enters the cinema with guilt in her heart.
June 14, 2013 11 Am Friday - Malibu "*whistle* *whistle*" Bruce, a bald man in his 50s, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, happily trots barefoot by the beach in a bright and hot California morning. Unlike other rich folks of his age, Bruce is spry and in good health. "Hey there." He suddenly sits on the sand, beside three young bikini-clad women lying on their own beach mats, peacefully bathing in the sun. "Hey." The brown- haired lady lying nearest Bruce, politely responds as she scans him through her sunglasses. "Nice day, huh?" The man starts small talk. "" The ladies quickly catch on the man's intentions. "Yeah. Are you from around here?" the brunette in the group ask. "Yeah. I've got a new place over there." Bruce points over his shoulder. "" The ladies look at the direction of a group of fancy beach houses, all in modern design, all having at least two floors. "Oh? Which one?" The blonde asks. "That one with the solid white walls." The man coolly says referring to the biggest and what seems to be the most newly built house. "wow" The ladies say skeptically. "May I offer you ladies a drink?" Bruce asks. "Nah. Our boyfriends are buying some for us right now." The blonde lies. "" Bruce looks at the ladies' stuff and he does not see anything that belongs to a man. "Well then, too bad. I'll see you around ladies. If you guys wanna hang out somewhere, you know where to find me." Bruce can only gracefully receive the rejection as he stands up and brushes the sand off his butt. As Bruce walks back to his house, he is almost annoyed by a question from a stranger he passed by. "hEh heh.. Bad day, dude?" A suntanned blonde young man sitting on his surfboard, asks. "The day isn't over yet, DUDE." Bruce says, not bothering to squabble with who he deems a loser. A few minutes later, *slide* *thud* Bruce enters his house. "*sniff* *ahhhh*" Bruce takes a deep breath to calm down his agitation of the two slights he received a few minutes ago. Bruce then goes to the fridge, pours himself a cup of something cold, and drinks it. After finally calming down, he goes to his living room and plops himself on the couch. Looking around the interior of the house, Bruce cannot help but thank the easy sell he did two weeks ago. "Thank f*ck, some idiot bought my overpriced shares." Bruce takes in the beauty of the modern interior design of his house and it calms him down entirely. *ring* *ring* Bruce immediately answers an unexpected phone call. While he likes Malibu and his new house, he is not home and his friends are not around, so any call from any friend is welcome. /Hey Bruce. How's it goin?/ "I'm doing great, Allen. I'm just bored." Bruce replies. /You're in LA! Blow, Booze, Blunt, and gold diggin' B*tches! What's to be bored about?/ Allen says. "You know me, they get old quick." Bruce scoffs. / Well, what about REAL women? I heard you recently bought a house in Malibu. That's heaven right there! There's no way you can't charm even one of them./ "Not my day today." Bruce says. /Not your day. Tell you what? Today is not MY day!/ Allen says. "What happened?" Bruce asks in slight worry. /Nah. I just regret selling my Pixie shares to you./ Allen says. "What?" Bruce is confused. /You know! The new f*ckin film! 'Snow White' was it? I'm pretty sure it's gonna f.u.c.kin sell./ Allen reports. "Oh That..." Allen's mind starts running a mile a minute. /They released a trailer. I'll send a link to your Facebook./ Allen says. A minute later, Bruce is by his home computer. *wham* -From the makers of 'The Toy Prince' - *chimes* - a 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' story - *chimes* - An Isaac Yawat Film - *fade to black* *Piano chord in minor* 'Mirror Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?' A shot of a caped woman in front of a mirror fades in. 'You my queen, are fair. But Snow-white is a thousand times fairer than you.' The mirror replies *PIANO CHORD IN MINOR!* 'Bring me her!' *wham* 'I will, my queen.' The huntsman says. *piano in major* 'My Name is snow white' *orchestral music intensifies* *snow white dancing with a prince* *snow white playing in the forest with dwarves* *Music stops* 'Be careful, Snow-white. Be careful of the queen.' "" Although he finished watching the 50-second trailer, Bruce's eyes are still on the computer monitor. /Right? I can't believe it's gonna be a children's film! Bruce, you lucky bastard!/ Allen's voice from his phone pulls Bruce out of his daze. "Y-yeah I'll call you back, Allen." Bruce drops the call. Bruce then sinks down on his leather chair, a huge feeling of regret washes over him. "" Looking at the nice interior again of his house, he no longer feels an ego boost from it but instead a consolation of defeat. *ring* *ring* Bruce's phone rings again. "Hello" Bruce answers absentmindedly. /Bruce, you haven't sold your shares, have you?/ A former Pixie shareholder calls Bruce this time. "I did." Bruce can only admit. /HAH! I'm not the only one! PUHAHAHA! Hey! Call the others too! / The caller laughs in glee. ~~~~~ ~~~~~ 1PM Pixie Studios, Pasadena California "Nice doing business with you." Konner and Oscar, the two founders of Pixie Studios, shake hands with the two executives of Tisney Media. "No. Thank you for choosing us. Anything that Isaac touches turn to gold." One of the Tisney executives says. "I hope that next time, we can partner up with the marketing too." The other executive says. "Yes. When we have a chance." Konner says. The executives can only bitterly smile at Konner's meaning and at not getting more. With that, they nod and leave the office with their lawyer. Pixie's lawyers also leave the room from the non-verbal urging of the two founders. Konner and Oscar just sealed a distribution deal with Tisney Media with Tisney getting a fixed 17.5% of the gross sales and they are feeling great. "Heh. The hell? It's not like we don't know how it is. Don't they know we chose them just because we were former colleagues." Oscar scoffs. "Damn right. Thank goodness, Tayaw allowed us to use 'Isaac'. Oh. And the marketing too.." Konner shakes his head. "Phew at least we're back in theaters after 5 years." Oscar sighs, his shoulders feeling lighter for the first time in years. "Yeah" Konner agrees. Oscar and Konner, both in their 40s, are childhood friends. The two spent their 20's and 30's working for Tisney's animated films. Oscar was a 2d animator and Konner a former producer. In the late 90s, when 3 dimensional games are starting to become a thing, the two immediately realized that if games can be 3 dimensional, so can be animated films. With that, the two left Tisney, took a loan, established Pixie, hired software developers, and they started developing various software for 3d animation. Over the years, Pixie has adapted various classic cartoons and fairy tales into 3d animated films. While their films often do not appear on theaters, being their target audience children, they have made a lot of money from DVD sales, stuffed toys, and other merchandise. "We took a gamble buying the animated rights for Grimm's Fairy Tales. I have to say, I was wrong, Oscar." Konner says. "I was uncertain too until Tayaw came." Oscar shakes his head. In 2010, when they barely profited from their last film, Pixie reached not only an impetus but an incoming bankruptcy. The two founders however decided to ignore the threat and decided to reset the company's priorities from making cash cows into original ones. Just in time for their change in priorities, Grimm's Fairy Tales came along. The two became desperate and they pooled their resources and sold some shares just to buy the animation rights of Grimm's Fairy Tales Volume 1. Even though they secured the rights, they were still unsure whether the fanbase of the novel will see their film adaptation. They even became more desperate. Instead of recycling their existing materials, the two made their employees animate a new environment for 'Snow White'. Instead of their usual way of animating two or three films at a time, the two also decided that all employees focus on working on 'Snow White' alone. They have gone all out with no way turning back. They have even prepared to go in debt in case 'Snow White' fails. However, they found hope once Tayaw came in the picture. With Tayaw's input with the music, the cinematography, and other more details, Oscar and Konner saw that 'Snow White' will not just become a short-term cash cow but a candidate to become a modern animation classic. "If this goes well, I'm thinking of selling him another 2%." Oscar says. "" Konner is dumbfounded. "Do you really want him to be the majority owner?" Konner asks. "Haha, I'm kidding." Oscar chuckles. "Heh.. Well, we're all satisfied with the current arrangement. But you know, it's not a bad idea either. We can just let him manage the company while we sit our asses around waiting to cash in." Konner says, half-jokingly. "Tayaw just worked with our people for a few days and their loyalty are already switching, whether they know it or not. Someday, we might as well give up control. I'd rather have Pixie grow in his hands instead of it dying in our arms." Oscar shrugs. ~~~~~ Hollywood Blvd 6 pm "Hey." "Hey babe." Bas kisses Lauren as soon as she gets in his car. "How was work?" Bas asks as he drives the car away from the parking lot of Lauren's work place. "ugh. I hate it. You know Rissa? That b*tch is really getting on my nerves. You know what she said this morning? She " Bas can only let Rissa tell him about her day. He learned a long time ago that Lauren is just venting and the best he can do is to offer her an ear. "and you know what I said?" Lauren says. "What?" Bas asks. "I said 'B*tch. Mind your own business.' Hmph! She's talking like she" Lauren continues. Bas' focus however is waning. While he can offer Lauren an ear, he cannot do so for long periods of time. "*********?" Lauren's tone rises. 'Oh shit. That's a question.' Bas panics a bit, not catching Lauren's words. "Well. What are you gonna do about it?" Bas says, taking a shot in the dark. "I don't know. I can't tell him to f*ck off either. He was probably just having a bad day." Lauren says. "Uhuh.. Yeah. Give him a chance. If he's like that all the time, then he's got a problem. And if he's got a problem with you, just call me." Bas says, taking a guess, and running with it. "Thanks babe." Lauren says, now on a lighter mood. Bas sighs in relief. "Which film are we gonna see babe?" Bas asks. "Miss Sellers! I've read the book, and I can't wait to see the characters!" Lauren says. "" Bas almost grunts in disappointment. A minute later, they arrive at their favorite theater. " That's weird" Bas says as him and Lauren walk to the ticket booth. "What is?" Lauren asks. "Look. Miss Sellers have more ladies lining up. 'Gold, Blood, and The Deer' have more guys lining up." Bas says. "Huh" Lauren nods at the observation, not bothering to get deeper to it. Bas also notices that the few men in the queue for Miss Sellers are with their respective partners. "" He cannot help but also notice that the men are eyeing the queue for Gold, Blood, and the Deer. 'I guess I'm not the only one.' Bas chuckles. "Two tickets for Miss Sellers, please." Lauren purchases the tickets. Bas can only try and keep up an amicable expression as they join the queue for Miss Sellers. A few minutes later, outgoing moviegoers start filtering out of the theater that screened Gold, Blood, and the Deer. Bas cannot help but eavesdrop on the conversations. "Dude. How was it?" "Man. It's awesome. I feel like I paid too little for the tickets." "That good, huh? Alright thanks man." "Yeah. Enjoy dude." Bas looks at the other guys in the Miss Sellers queue and he notices that they too are eavesdropping at the outgoing moviegoers. 'Alright. Screw it' Bas takes a deep breath and faces Lauren. "Babe You know I love you, right?" Bas starts. "I love you too babe." Lauren says. "Yeah. But I really wanna see Isaac's film." Bas says. Lauren's pretty face freezes. "You know I don't like him." Lauren says. "Well. Let's separate the man from his creation, yeah? My friends already saw it and I'm the only one who has not." Bas says. "Y-ou don't like watching movies with me, do you? Do you even like going to movies with me?" Lauren says, expressing offense. 'This is this that move Isaac was talking about in the forum? It's I hope not' Bas thinks to himself. "No. No babe. I like going to movies with you. My friends invited me to see it yesterday, but I didn't. I'd rather see it with you ." Bas continues. "But I like Miss Sellers" Lauren says, pouting and acting cutely pitiful. 'Okay This is what Isaac was talking about. Offense, acting cute to get what she wants Okay. I'll take the bait.' Bas quickly processes. "Okay. Never mind then. I'm sorry. I'll just go see Gold Blood and the Deer some other time, ALONE." Bas says. 'Isaac's right. Damn it.' Bas curses inside. "Babe.. Wait. Do you really want to see it that badly?" Lauren asks, realizing that this is the first time in forever that Bas expressed what he wants. "Yeah. But if you really want to see Miss Sellers together, then I'm fine with it too." Bas says not wanting to start an argument. Lauren however, notices the disappointment in Bas's eyes. "O-okay then" With that, the queue moves and Lauren enters the cinema with guilt in her heart.
