Chapter 298: That One-Dollar Deal

With all things considered, Alexander can't be too nosy.

He had to tone down his meddling with Scholl so as to not aggravate things any further or reveal that he had a lot of foreknowledge on a lot of future matters.

To be honest, he didn't really have much interaction with the man and Alexander was even considering that Scholl's death may be necessary or inevitable.

There's a chance that the man's death may be the reason for Top Gun's success after all. Goose's death mirroring the tragic death of Scholl and whatnot may have elevated that scene into the scene that it is.

That was rather utilitarian and heartless but Alexander felt that he had to keep his hands tied when it came to these kinds of things.

Granted, he is trying to save the man's life as he can... but is that even enough to change the result?

Well, that was a rather hard question to answer and maybe it is best to not be too preoccupied with it.

Anyways, it was clear that Alexander really can't be too nosy. As he thought back on it, nosy-ing around a man's deadly fate seems depressing and just wrong on so many levels.

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Well, his nosy-ness in Nosy November might be limited when it came to Scholl but he did have a lot of meddling power when it came to the film's story.

He was the credited screenwriter and his picture book is what pretty much guides the whole production along.

Based on rumors about the original production, Top Gun was actually a story that was filmed by the seat of the filmmaker's pants.

Maverick's disposition to fly as he wants is actually how the rest of the movie was made.

The producers just had a TOPGUN California Magazine to base on.

They hired two writers to make some semblance of a script and those two writers happen to be many states apart from one another when they did their job.

Then, with all that flimsiness, there was Director Tony Scott to add to the chaotic madness. Being fired and hired again is pretty indicative of that.

Un-Ratty Pettigrew's joking claim about trying so hard to not have the entire production devolve into a music video had some truth to it.

Unlike Bruckheimer and Simpson that had to scrape along and form a cohesive story from all that they filmed... Alexander's picture book has pretty much drafted the entire story from the get-go.

It even had visual aids to help sell the themes and acts that he was really going for.

He simply had to plunder the best result of their messiness and even improve on what he could improve.

From Maverick's introduction till Maverick's development... it had all been laid out.

Goose's little family had been highlighted and presented so that his death was all the more impactful.

The rivalry between Iceman and Maverick had also been highlighted. It was a considerably petty feud when you look back on the original film and Alexander used some tricks to make it more substantial.

He even focused his machinations on making the Charlie and Maverick love story a bit better.

It was straightforward in the original but it was too straightforward. It was too straightforward that the whole elevator scene was way out of place and the whole sex scene was loathed by many.

These scenes were even more out of place when you consider that they were filmed after the true production was wrapped.

Lead actor Tom and lead actress McGillis had long moved on to other projects but they had to be dragged back to make Maverick and Charlie's love story more effective.

It was counter-intuitive though. It just made their love story more disjointed.

In Alexander's version, he didn't want to go through that pitfall and made their back-and-forth more pronounced, their camaraderie a highlight, and their love be gradual.

The bar serenade sparked things, the Maverick comfort room stalking was appropriately reacted to with scorn, and the 'Charlie' instructor will be more awkward and tense.

Then, they'll be on talking terms with Maverick's MIG-15 experience and they'll discourse about Maverick's maverick way of flying.

Of course, the camaraderie part will develop from there as these were pivotal scenes where Maverick explains to Charlie about his disgraced father and how it haunted him.

This makes Charlie's character a more essential character when Goose is gone for good and she would be the support for Maverick to go on.

Alexander found it best to really forgo that sex scene for good. It was the worst scene for a reason. Besides, he really wasn't able to write or draw something like that... since he was still an innocent 9-year-old with a "teacher-crush" in the eyes of his grandpa when he made the Top Gun picture book.

Well, aside from the romance tinkering, the action sequences are really where he wanted to place his efforts on.

As cool and amazing as Top Gun may have been, there's no denying that the dogfighting and flying scenes in the film were completely disjointed.

Grey was the good jets. Black was the bad jets. And then viewers just have to take the pilots' words for what they shot and what they did.

It was typical disjointed cuts of movie magic. B rolls were king. Hopefully, with Alexander's drawn guides, the navy and the camera crew can have a clearer purview of the proper recordings and B-rolls that make the disjointed cut scenes more flowing and understandable.

Of course, there wasn't really much wrong with the classic original but it can't hurt to be a bit better.

It was Alexander's improvised take after being inspired by the failure of Coca-Cola's Classic Coke to New Coke strategy.

Those were just his hopes as the "creator" and the screenwriter though. It was really up to the whole Top Gun crew to translate it into their works and transform it into the film.

Fortunately, Old Sullivan was the producer that would do his all to deliver the vision that his grandson wants.

And even more fortunate is the fact that James Cameron was the director.

The man is the perfect fit for the action scenes, blending realism and bending it, and then he has great skill in translating romance as well.

His Titanic love story mirrors a lot of what Maverick and Charlie's love could be and Goose's death could be put more depth on... just as how Jack's death had been.

As for action sequences, the True Lies' copter scene is said to have been where put his focus on. Imagine taking that daring helicopter dedication to a film where there are a whole lot of jets to play around with.

There's even the USS Enterprise which is smaller than the Titanic... but it will do.

Suffice to say, James Cameron seems truly fitting for the director job. More so than Tony Scott was.

Well, it's good and all but there is still the trade-off of a higher production budget and directorial tyranny to take into account.

Poor Cocky Cox's inexperience was really skewered and polished by Cameron. Milla even had to let go of her “Old Courteney” grudge to console her fellow Charlie out.

As for the production budget, well, Tyrant Cameron was still not that avaricious and his budget master happen to be Old Sullivan- the true terror when it came to cost efficiency.

Alexander can't think of a more perfect producer-director pair that is fitting for their partnership and the job.

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Of course, as the screenwriter, he had to bounce around and be part of that dynamic as well.

Like in Back to the Future, he had ‘consultancy responsibilities’ to do as well. He had discussed a lot of things with the set tyrant and one of those discussions happen to have led to something that interested both of them.

"It's hard to believe that you made this whole aviator story from scratch." Tyrant Cameron would always flip the Top Gun picture book whenever he has something to ask. "Even though Pettigrew and the rest of the military consultants have some qualms about some absurd parts, they still had to commend you with a lot of things you got right."

"Well, I didn't really have a lot to base on but it's great that they have some appreciation for it." Alexander didn't have a great excuse for where he got aviation and navy knowledge but at least they didn't poke much into his creative process and basis of information.

Fortunately, for his other works, he had true excuses. "However, it is clear that my lack of expertise in some details is still apparent, which is why I had some professionals lend their advice for my other works."

"My high-fantasy stories aside, RoboCop did have a retired cop that we could ask about. Cybertronian Chronicles was more dependent on my Engine Head employees from Creed Toys. Then, the most obvious was our need for legal advice for Ace Attorney, however, our legal team could still allot their time for that."

Cameron was intrigued by these details. In fact, this was always something that he always discussed with his new favorite comic creator. "What about Predator?"

"Unfortunately, it was made blind by just following common sense. I made use of war movies for those army men against Predator scenes." Alexander then added. "However, it was different for Prey. I had to consult Native American professionals for the sub-script of dialects and the Comanche tribe's mannerisms."

"Interesting!" Cameron seems to have been sparked by that. "Speaking of Prey and those projects, you've worked on... what do you think about Terminator?"

"What about it?"

"Well, didn't I tell you about how I wanted a Terminator comic book?" Cameron grinned as he explained. "Instead of going with those boring publishers, I was hoping that you would man it. It's actually one of the reasons why I wanted to cooperate with Creed."

"Don't tell me you took up this job just for a Terminator comic book?" Alexander was a bit wow-ed by that.

"I love this Top Gun story as well but can't a man have other motives? Haha!" Cameron admitted without shame. "So, what do you think? Are you up for it?"

Well, at least, Alexander now knew the reason why James Cameron had taken up this Top Gun job.

From what he knew, the man should have been working on the quintessential Aliens film by now. The man also seems to have a habit of directing only those that he screen-‘wrote’ himself. To think that a comic book is all it took to change things.

Still, Alexander had reservations. "What about Hemdale or MGM? Don't they own the Terminator copyright?"

"I sold that thing to them for one dollar. My wife is also in charge of it, so it is easy for me to secure the deal." Cameron appeased. "So… what do you think? If you’re still hesitant, how about I give you comic book authorization for free?"

"No problem. Another one-dollar deal would be fine for me." Alexander smiled at that. This was a deal that he would be stupid to pass on it.

Barring Tyrant Cameron's superior capabilities aside, that was the Terminator franchise and Creed could really do a lot with that. Even though it's just a comic book deal, it would most likely open doors to the true prize.

With that considered, Alexander and Cameron excitedly shook on it. This Top Gun deal was good but the Terminator deal seems more awesome for the both of them.

It may just be a one-dollar deal and but it would be that one-dollar deal which would have crazy implications that only time could tell.