Ethan Silva and his Agent had just arrived at the Dream Visions Studios, Headquarters and were guided to the Company conference room, by the front desk, where they awaited the arrival of Will Evans and Amanda Garcia to commence the meeting.

In under five minutes, Amanda followed by Will entered the room, and Will could see the strong resemblance that Ethan Silva had with Tom Cruise from his previous reality.  He had brown hair, angular jawline, and was of decent height. The major difference that Will could note, was that Ethan had blue eyes.

“Welcome to Dream Vision Studios, Mr. Silva, we were delighted that you responded positively to our offer. Why don’t we start the discussion of your role post-haste?” Amanda started the meeting, after they had finished exchanging pleasantries, and had assumed their seats.

“As you might have identified from the script that we sent to your agent here, we are offering you the role of Tommy Vercetti in our upcoming film [Liberty City], for 1 million USD, considering it is a small role, in the movie.” Amanda continued on, once she realized that she had everyone’s attention.

“The role that you have offered my client is a very well fleshed out role, and while he would be delighted to work in that position, we want to enquire about the lead role, the one of Mario Di Mauro. We believe Mr. Silva would make an excellent candidate for that spot, unless you have another name in mind.” Johnathan interjected smoothly.

Will had a severe case of deja vu from the direction the conversation was heading, and he immediately pointed out “I am sorry, I already have an actor in mind for the lead role, the role of Tommy Vercetti is one that I believe would be perfect for Mr. Silva.”

“May I ask, who it is that you have selected for the role, or have you brought a new talent yet again?” Johnathan prodded further.

Will pursed his lips and took a moment before replying “I have searched for a new talent for the role, so that role is already filled, that cannot be changed. Is your client amenable to the role of Tommy Vercetti, do keep in mind that we have further plans for that particular character, so there are chances that he may return in a future instalment, provided [Liberty City] does well at the box office, and the story comes out as I am intending it to.” Will tried to incentivize the role further.

Johnathan and Ethan looked at each other and then Ethan nodded. “Alright, I am ready to take on the role of Tommy Vercetti, though I need to understand the character a little better. And I was wondering if the overall screen time could be increased.” He finally said.

Will clapped his hands once and then said “Tommy Vercetti is the head of the Vercetti Crime Family, which is initially based in [Vice City], which is another aspect of the giant world we are trying to build. His story is something that we would like to eventually explore if this does well, at the box office. He is wise, respectable and a man that worked really hard to get to where he is in the movie. There is obviously a lot of blood on his hands, and he is the biggest mob boss that you can think of.”

Will had taken inspiration to cinematize Tommy Vercetti using the works from his previous life.

“He is a hot-tempered man who is very quick to resort to violence when provoked. He likes to do his work himself, even though he has an entire gang at his beck and call, he isn’t afraid of getting down dirty to get the job done. Yet, at the same time, he is extremely sensitive and emotional and is quick to trust people. If you have his loyalty, you have it forever. He is a moral gangster.” Will elaborated.

Ethan mulled over the picture Will was painting of Tommy and nodded. “The scenes that you have included for Tommy, do not really put emphasis on his character traits. In his death scene, the one where Mario stabs him in the back of his neck, he is seen insulting and threatening the main lead’s character, which is not really the character trait of a sensitive, emotional, or moral man. Plus, I also have an image to maintain in Hollywood, so I wanted to give him an extra scene where an action sequence purely defines him, I hope that can be done.”

Will thought over the argument Ethan put forth, ignoring the request for an extra scene for now, and replied “While that is true, there is another scene in the script where Mario has a chat with a retired gangster, Wilson Manfredi, where Wilson describes that with the life of a gangster, a person loses his character over time, and is finally left as a broken shell of a man. Tommy, in this movie, is at that final stage, and he loses that touch of humanity that he had, by the end of the film. That is why he is quick to threaten outside of his moral boundaries.”

Ethan nodded and then returned back to his request “I can understand the character development that you are trying to give him. In that case, it would be beneficial for the character if his increasing bouts of violent tendencies were shown using action scenes in the movie that solely focus on him, right?”

Will could see what he was trying to do, and while it did have merit he couldn’t add more than two minutes to his character, he replied, “I have a maximum of two minutes to stretch for your character, I could lengthen the final bar fight at the end to give Tommy a larger edge, if that is what you like.” 

Ethan shook his head “I was thinking something along the lines of a solo action sequence.”

Will thought over the idea, and he figured he could include a good scene for Tommy if Ethan insisted, he did have a good scene for him in mind. He nodded his head In acquiescence and said “That can probably be done. I will make the necessary adjustments to the script and forward it to your agent, Johnathan.”

“In that case, let us finalize the deal. Ethan Silva for the role of Tommy Vercetti, in [Liberty City] for 1 million USD.” Amanda said, rehashing out the document that she had prepared and sent a copy to Will, Ethan and his agent.

***

Freddie had been waiting outside Dream Vision Studios for well over three hours, and it was about to be sundown in half an hour. He had gotten himself a large Cheeseburger from the burger shop, around the block, and he had almost tripped himself when he came back, thinking that Ethan had left the studio during his brief break.

Seeing the actor’s Maybach outside had calmed his nerves significantly. Though he desperately wanted to quit, thinking that it was talking too long, and the actor may yet leave after another few hours. The natural light was quickly receding and he wouldn’t get a clear shot, at the distance that he was from the main entrance of the studio.

If he did manage to get a shot of Ethan Silva exiting Dream Vision Studios, he would get paid good money for the photo from most major tabloids in the city, and if he got the money shot, with Ethan Silva and Will Evans in the same frame, he was sure that he would be able to pay this months rent and have spare to gamble in Vegas if he desired, with the amount that the papers would pay.

Deciding that he should get a little closer to the entrance, Freddie took a bite of his burger, and took a sip of coke, and started the engine of the van. The sun was just above the horizon and would set any minute, and he wanted to be in a more advantageous position should he need the smaller distance due to the poor lighting. And a parking spot had just freed up at a good distance from Ethan Silva’s Maybach, and he could see that he would get a better view of Dream Vision Studios main entrance from there as well.

Quickly driving over, Freddie occupied the empty parking spot, not caring that he cut off the Volkswagen that some old lady was driving that was clearly going to park there.

Ignoring the horn from the Volkswagen, Freddie took out camera, and he was just in time too. By the entrance, he could see Ethan Silva, his agent Johnathan who were being led by Dream Vision’s chairman, Will Evans and its CEO Amanda Garcia. 

He took the pictures, the moment Will and Ethan shook hands, which he could easily sell as a gossip photo for a finalized deal between Dream Vision and the actor Ethan.

‘Oh! Vegas! Here I come baby!’ He thought as he checked the pictures in his camera library. 

Vacating the parking spot to the annoying lady in the Volkswagen, Freddie happily drove towards The Weekend Tribunal Main office, to collect his payday, and plan a trip to Vegas as well.