Chapter 424: The Promise
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There was a time when the weeks following the Academy Awards were a period of quiet reflection for the film industry.
A time for studios to count their trophies, for actors to take vacations, and for the press to slowly transition into the summer blockbuster season.
Regal Seraphsail had systematically destroyed that tradition.
If one were to turn on any television, open any browser, or scroll through any social media platform in the days following the 89th Academy Awards, they would be hit with a relentless, inescapable barrage of fast-forwarded news coverage.
It sounded exactly like this:
[E! News Broadcast] ["-an absolute sweep for LIE Studios. If anyone thought Regal Seraphsail couldn’t conquer prestige drama after dominating the superhero genre, they are officially eating their words this morning. At the Golden Globes last month, I Want To Eat Your Pancreas took home Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Screenplay, and Best Director. We also saw a massive, emotional win for Zendaya as she secured Best Actress in a Drama! And let’s not forget Ryan Reynolds taking home Best Actor in a Comedy for Deadpool, proving Regal’s empire basically owns both ends of the cinematic spectrum!"]
[Variety - Podcast Audio] [""-but the Oscars... the Oscars were pure, unpredictable chaos. Nine nominations across two incredibly different films, and they walked away with six statues. Leo Martinez took Best Cinematography. Ludwig Göransson snagged Best Original Score. Zendaya gave a phenomenal performance this year, though she unfortunately lost out in an incredibly stacked Best Actress race. But the real shocker? The Best Actor category. Tom Holland was the sentimental favourite for Pancreas, but in a historic, absolute upset, Ryan Reynolds took home Best Actor in a Leading Role for Deadpool, snatching it right out of Tom’s hands! The Academy actually gave a leading acting Oscar to the Merc with a Mouth! Ryan’s acceptance speech alone will likely be censored for the next decade. But of course, the real story is Regal himself taking home Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture..."]
[The Hollywood Reporter - Video Essay] ["...but nobody is talking about the awards. They are talking about the speech. Two years ago, Regal Seraphsail broke the internet when he paused his Best Screenplay speech, walked off stage, and returned fifteen minutes later for Best Director to simply say, ’...I am back’. The man literally wrote the blueprint for Oscar aura. So when he took the stage for Best Picture this year, the entire Dolby Theatre held its breath. They were waiting for the stunt. And Regal... well, he gave them one."]
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The viral clip was everywhere.
On MeTube, DJ’s reaction video to the moment was currently sitting at 8.5 million views, entirely bypassing his usual deep-dive analysis in favor of pure, unfiltered hype.
On DJ’s screen, the broadcast replay showed Regal standing at the podium of the Dolby Theatre. He was holding the Best Picture Oscar for [I Want To Eat Your Pancreas]. He looked composed, devastatingly calm, dressed in a sharp midnight-blue tuxedo.
He had just finished a deeply moving, articulate speech about the vulnerability of life, thanking Tom, Zendaya, and his crew for trusting him with a story about mortality.
The applause had started and the orchestra was just beginning to swell to play him off.
Then, Regal raised a single finger.
The orchestra instantly silenced and the applause died in the span of two seconds.
The sheer command he held over the room was terrifying.
Regal leaned back into the microphone.
He looked out into the crowd, a faint, razor-sharp smirk breaking his stoic expression.
["Thank you for this."] Regal’s voice echoed through the dead-silent theater. ["And for the record... I won’t be taking a fifteen-minute break this time."]
A wave of laughter rippled through the audience, a collective release of tension from the industry veterans who remembered his last stunt.
But Regal wasn’t finished. The smirk faded into something infinitely more dangerous.
["But I will make you a promise."] Regal said, his voice dropping an octave, carrying the absolute certainty of a man who never missed. ["I will be back next year, with my friend Keanu."]
He didn’t wait for the reaction, and simply turned and walked off the stage.
On DJ’s stream, the MeTuber had literally thrown his headset across the room.
["THERE YOU HAVE IT GUYS!!!"] DJ screamed into the microphone, his hands gripping his head. ["MAN, THE DUDE HAVE SOME BALLS OF STEEL?! Using the biggest, most prestigious stage in the entire world, while holding an award for a heartbreaking teenage romance, to drop a nuclear marketing bomb for a hard-R action movie!"]
DJ pulled up a screenshot of the [John Wick poster], the one featuring Keanu Reeves looking lethal with the tagline ’The Boogeyman’s Arrival’.
["The internet has been trying to figure out what [John Wick] is for months. Keanu tweeted that it’s going to ’redefine action movies’. Regal has been keeping it under maximum security. And now? Now Regal just walked onto the Oscar stage and basically told the Academy, ’Keep my seat warm, because me and Keanu are coming for blood.’ The man is a marketing psychopath!"]
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Twitter - Trending Worldwide: #1 - #IWillBeBackNextYear #2 - #RegalAndKeanu #3 - #JohnWick #4 - #TomHollandBestActor #5 - #OscarAura
@CinemaSage_TX: He didn’t say the title of the movie. He didn’t beg people to buy tickets. He just threatened the entire film industry with Keanu Reeves. I AM BUYING OPENING NIGHT TICKETS RIGHT NOW.
@ActionJunkie99: Imagine being the other directors watching the Oscars. You just lost to a romance movie, and before you can even process it, the director essentially tells you that he and [John Wick] are going to violently take your awards next year. I have chills.
@PopCultureNerd: Regal and Keanu’s friendship is legendary. Regal literally tried to punch Keanu when they first met because he thought he was a bully, and now they are holding the industry hostage together. BEST DUO IN HOLLYWOOD.
@IndustryTracker: Look at the pre-sale metrics for [John Wick]. Fandango’s servers crashed twenty minutes after Regal’s speech. Regal didn’t spend a single dollar on a Super Bowl ad. He just used a free microphone at the Oscars to generate $50 million in free marketing.
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March 2, 2017 LIE Studios | Regal’s Office.
"You really couldn’t just say ’Thank you to the Academy’ and walk away, could you?"
Keanu Reeves was sprawled across the leather sofa in Regal’s office, nursing a cup of black coffee and looking at Regal with a mix of profound amusement and mild exasperation.
Regal, who was currently signing off on the final VFX budget for [The Dark Knight], didn’t even look up from his papers. "Where is the fun in that?"
"Fun?" Seren Seraphsail groaned from the armchair by the window, rubbing her temples. "My phone hasn’t stopped ringing for three days. Every fashion magazine wants to know what suit Keanu is going to wear when he ’takes over the Oscars next year.’ You both are really good at putting a target on each other’s back!"
"I put a spotlight on his back." Regal corrected smoothly, finally setting his pen down.
Samantha Cross walked into the office, carrying two tablets and looking remarkably energized for someone who hadn’t slept since the awards ceremony.
"He’s right." Samantha said, handing one of the tablets to Keanu. "Look at the tracking numbers. [John Wick] is currently tracking for an $85 million opening weekend. For an original, R-rated action IP, that is mathematically absurd. You trending on Twitter alongside Regal’s speech just pushed our demographic reach into the stratosphere."
Keanu looked at the numbers, letting out a low whistle. He glanced back at Regal.
"You put a lot of pressure on this film, man." Keanu said, his voice dropping into that quiet, earnest register. "Saying we will be back next year? The Academy hates action movies. They only tolerate them in the sound and stunt categories."
"I am aware of what the Academy hates." Regal said, leaning back in his chair. "But they also hated superhero films until [Superman] forced them to pay attention. They reward spectacle when it is grounded in undeniable, undeniable craft. And that is exactly what we built."
Regal stood up, walking around his desk to lean against the edge.
"You tweeted that we were going to redefine action movies, Keanu." Regal reminded him, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "You wrote the check. I just used the Oscars to make sure the entire world is standing in line at the bank when we cash it."
Simon walked into the office just in time to catch the end of the sentence.
"And they are standing in line." Simon grinned, holding up a printout. "AMC just called. They are adding midnight screenings in seventy locations because the Thursday previews are entirely sold out."
Then he shook his head, looking at Regal with a mixture of awe and exhaustion. "I still don’t understand how your brain works. You spent months building Pancreas as this delicate, devastating piece of art. You get on stage, accept the highest prestige award in cinema, and instantly pivot to promoting a movie where Keanu shoots eighty people in a nightclub. The tonal whiplash is giving the press a collective aneurysm."
"Let them have their aneurysm," Regal said simply. "Our job isn’t to make people comfortable. It’s to make sure they can’t look away."
Keanu chuckled, setting the tablet down on the coffee table.
He looked at Regal, the shared history of six years of impossible gambles passing between them. From a $500,000 script to the absolute pinnacle of Hollywood.
"Well." Keanu said, stretching his arms over his head. "I guess I better go make sure my suits are ironed. If we’re going back to the Oscars next year, Seren’s going to kill me if I get blood on the lapels."
Seren threw a crumpled piece of paper at his head. "You ruin one more bespoke Italian weave, Keanu, and I will let the Russian mob keep you."
The office erupted into laughter, the comfortable, grounded sound of a team that had survived the storm and was readily bracing for the next one.
Regal walked over to the window, looking out over the sprawling lot of LIE Studios. He could see the soundstages where [The Dark Knight] was being built, the post-production bays where [John Wick] had been perfected, and the endless California horizon stretching beyond it all.
He had promised the world he would be back.
And Regal Seraphsail never, ever broke a promise.
....
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[To be continued...]
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