….
Then there was the [Title Token] he still hadn't used.
Could he buy more than just the scripts? Maybe full production blueprints? Early worldbuilding frameworks? Something deeper?
He didn't know yet.
But he knew one thing: it was time to use that token soon.
"But not now…" Regal murmured.
Then he looked at the file that was on the desk.
It's the official four-week box office report for [Death Note], straight from Red Studio.
So far, the film had raked in a staggering $475 million - and the trade analysts now projected its final haul to reach $511 million.
Half a billion.
A figure that sent ripples across the industry. A figure that turned heads, silenced skeptics, and ignited boardroom fevers.
It was a success everyone suddenly wanted to claim - investors, executives, even those who had hesitated to back it.
….after all, it had brought in nearly seven times its production cost.
But this time, no one could dilute the credit or pretend it was the result of some vague studio synergy.
This victory belonged to one man alone.
Regal Seraphsail - the sole Writer and Director behind [Death Note].
And now, the question echoing across studios, festival circles, and every high-rise in Hollywood was simple: What's Regal doing next?
Some asked out of admiration, eager to witness his next stroke of brilliance. Others, out of greed, desperate to attach themselves to the next golden ticket.
But for many outsiders, aspiring filmmakers, self-taught writers, dreamers on the fringe - Regal had become something else entirely.
Proof.
Proof that someone with no godfathers, no inner-circle ties, and no Ivy League badges could not only break in - but burn the house down with brilliance.
Naturally, many assumed he would follow it up with a sequel to [Following]. The original was a breakout hit.
And yet, Regal had already said, repeatedly, there would be no part two.
Still, the whispers persisted.
Because from a commercial standpoint, it made perfect sense.
A guaranteed hit.
A low-risk, high-return cash cow.
Even the major studios, ones who once rejected his earliest drafts without reading past the logline, came knocking now, with open checkbooks and carefully worded admiration, eager to be part of the sequel-that-wasn't.
Was Regal offended by their shallow optimism? By their predictable offers?
Not in the slightest.
But he had no intention of feeding a momentary appetite.
He wanted to build something different.
Something that wouldn't just shimmer for a few seasons and vanish into the trivia section of entertainment history.
[The Hangover] was right there, practically begging to be the next project. And honestly, it would be. No doubt about that.
But Regal's focus had already shifted elsewhere.
To something far more ambitious.
[Harry Potter] franchise.
He'd said it before, almost offhandedly, it's time to kickstart that project.
And he hadn't been joking.
All of it would be running in parallel now.
[The Hangover], [Harry Potter], and the slow-burn takeover of [MDC].
For now, his immediate focus would stay split between [The Hangover] and [Harry Potter], both active, both demanding.
While the MDC acquisition? That would be moving in the deeper background, through paperwork, quiet meetings, and well-timed phone calls.
Meanwhile, Book Two, [Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets], was already carving out a strong place in the market.
The momentum was undeniable. But compared to what [Harry Potter] had become in his past life, this was just a spark.
A flicker.
And it made sense.
Back then, the first book had dropped in 1997, giving the series a solid runway to build traction before the first film hit in 2001. That was three full years of word-of-mouth, midnight releases, and kids swapping battered paperbacks in school corridors.
Plus, the late '90s and early 2000s?
Books still held cultural weight. They were one of the last dominant forms of entertainment before the digital wave swept everything else away.
But now, 2011, was a different world.
Physical books were fading. E-readers were rising. And attention spans? Shattered.
So yeah, [Harry Potter] could still build momentum. But it would take time. Time Regal didn't intend to wait around for it.
Because there was something else he believed : Harry Potter never reached its true peak.
Not even in the world he came from.
Yes, the merchandise had done well.
The films were beloved. Iconic.
But games? Theme parks?
They were… passable.
Serviceable.
The kind of results you get when a studio treats a universe like a cash cow, not a canvas. They played it safe. Conservative. Polished on the surface, hollow underneath.
Even now, he couldn't fathom how Warner Bros., and Universal Studios, armed with arguably the most powerful IP of their generation, had stumbled so hard.
They had the keys to a kingdom.
And still, they built something forgettable.
They could have forged an empire that stood shoulder to shoulder with Disneyland.
Maybe not in size, but certainly in soul.
Absolutely.
But they didn't.
And that still itched at him.
Regal knew exactly what could have been done, and more importantly, what would be done this time.
Everything had to begin with the films. The cornerstone. The spine.
Make the [Harry Potter] films not just good… but untouchably great.
From there, the rest of the world would follow.
Games that would redefine interactive storytelling. Not clunky, rushed adaptations like [Goblet of Fire] or the tone-deaf redesigns of [Deathly Hallows], but vivid, immersive sagas, real RPGs, real magic.
Something fans would still be talking about twenty years later.
He would make that happen.
It wasn't just a plan - it was a calling.
And it would all start soon. The first announcement. The first ripple.
At San Diego Comic-Con International.
Six months to go.
But honestly? Even a full year of pre production would vanish in a blink when you are staring down a project of this size.
The biggest obstacle wasn't the vision, nor wasn't the budget.
It's only second.
It wasn't even the fans either.
It was bureaucracy.
Regal's first real battle wouldn't be on a film set - it would be in legal offices, conference calls, and contracts.
To cast child actors for a nine-film commitment spanning nearly a decade, he would have to navigate a labyrinth of international child labor laws of multiple nations - UK, US, EU.
It meant negotiating terms not just with agents, but with families, schools, regulators.
In simpler terms - the production company would have to practically adopt these kids for the next ten years.
The production needed to provide needed educational infrastructure, on-set tutors vetted by Ofsted, aligned with both British and American curricula.
He needed psychological support, licensed child psychologists embedded in the crew, monitoring stress levels, behavioral shifts, mental wellness.
He needed top-tier health and safety - 24/7 medical staff, ergonomic costume design, strict limits on stunt participation, and everything in between.
And only then came the money.
Escrow accounts. Financial safeguards. Ironclad clauses to protect the kids from exploitation, even by their own parents. Locked trust funds until adulthood. Transparent accounting.
It was as if he wasn't making a movie but laying the legal framework for a small, magical city-state.
But Regal wasn't complaining.
He understood the stakes.
Because when you are building something that's meant to last, not just a hit, but a legacy, you start by protecting the foundation.
But even if he was prepared to handle the emotional and logistical complexity of that challenge, one problem lingered.
Money.
"Sigh… This damn paper again." Regal muttered, leaning back in his chair one night.
He had been brushing it off like nothing until now acting like the financials were just another puzzle he had solved eventually.
But behind closed doors, the numbers were eating at him.
He had about $150 million to his name - not bad for someone who came in with zero industry contacts.
But when you are trying to shake up multiple industries at once?
It dries up fast.
…and just a few minutes ago he bragged about his intent to buy shares in MDC, a move that would cost him at least $50 million just to get a foothold in the boardroom and gain a voice that mattered.
And that left him with scraps to cover everything else.
And then came [Harry Potter].
Movies, sure.
If the plan was just to make a film or two, he could probably juggle the financing. Stretch it, stitch it together.
But Regal wasn't just making movies. He was preparing for an empire, films, games, theme parks, merchandise, spin-offs, interactivity. A whole magical ecosystem.
It wasn't a money pit. It was a black hole.
However, he still had time for them - at least five years.
So he took a breath… and made a choice.
"Bitcoin…"
In 2011, it was still a rumor more than a reality. You couldn't buy a coffee with it, and barely anyone even understood how it worked. Tech nerds and online anarchists were trading it like digital baseball cards.
Price? Last time he checked it was around - $0.003 per coin.
Most people saw it as nonsense. Useless code.
A solution to a problem that didn't exist.
And even if someone was curious, buying it wasn't easy.
There wasn't even a reliable way to get your hands on it unless you were okay navigating shady forums or downloading clunky wallet software that could melt your hard drive if you blinked wrong.
The average person couldn't even find a reliable way in.
There were many problems.
But for Regal? Who had seen what the future could look like?
This wasn't confusing.
This was an opening.
There was BitcoinMarket.com, one of the first true exchanges allowing USD-to-Bitcoin trades.
It was basic, clunky, and prone to outages, but it worked.
Mining was another option, but far too time-consuming and physically taxing for someone already buried under film logistics.
Still, Regal knew this was his moment. The window.
If he moved now, quietly, efficiently, he could turn a portion of that $100 million into a financial foundation that could carry his projects through the next decade.
Not just MDC.
Not just Harry Potter.
Everything.
So, while the world still called it foolish, and while investors laughed it off as digital air - Regal began moving.
Because he knew. And soon, the world would catch up.
But by then?
He would already be miles ahead.
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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