MTLNOVEL Chapter 26: Chapter 25:
Chapter 25:
…..
-Universal Studios, Backlot
-July 12, 1996
The scorching summer sun beat down on Universal Studios, casting a relentless heat over the artificial streets of the backlot. It was the kind of day where Beaver Cleaver's iconic red sweater felt like a damn heat trap.
Adam wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, grimacing. Between the weather and the daily filming routine, he was exhausted.
Two months had passed since he started filming Leave It to Beaver.
Just a few days ago, he had settled back into the filming routine, which had now become second nature to him.
Arriving early on set, going over scripts, shooting multiple takes, listening to the director's instructions, and occasionally doing press interviews… It was all just part of his daily life now.
And yeah, it was a little exhausting…
Not that he was complaining. He loved filming. He'd take this any day over sitting through an interview, repeating the same scripted answers until his brain felt like it was melting.
But today…
Today wasn't just any day.
Today, something was about to change.
…..
It was Estelle who called him over.
He had just wrapped up a scene on one of Universal Studios' backlot streets when he noticed Andrew and Estelle waiting for him on the side of the set. His manager stood with her arms crossed, wearing that composed but satisfied expression she only had when she was bringing good news.
Something was definitely up.
Adam walked over, still dressed in his Beaver Cleaver outfit—jeans slightly dusty, hair tousled by the studio breeze.
"What's going on?" he asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.
Estelle kept her cool, but the sparkle in her eyes gave her away.
"Remember the video audition you did for The Lost World: Jurassic Park?"
Adam frowned.
"No, Estelle. Not at all. I definitely don't remember auditioning for one of the most anticipated sequels in movie history," he responded with sarcasm. Lately, he had been doing that a lot.
Andrew laughed, and Estelle just rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Well, get ready, because… the role is yours."
Adam blinked.
"…What?"
His heart skipped a beat.
"They loved your video audition. So much that they're not even waiting to see you in person. They've already offered you a pre-contract. They want you"
Adam went silent for a second.
That… that didn't make sense.
He hadn't even gone to an in-person audition.
How the hell could the role already be his?
"You're messing with me," he said, looking at her skeptically.
"Completely serious," Estelle replied with a triumphant smile. "Spielberg and his team watched your audition and were so impressed that they don't need anything else. They want you in the cast this September"
A rush of excitement shot through Adam's body.
Jurassic. Freaking. Park.
The failure of Bogus, the negative reviews, the disappointment of watching his first starring film flop… It all vanished in an instant.
Because his next movie…
Would be The Lost World.
"Oh, shit!" Andrew burst out laughing. "That's huge, right?"
"Obviously," Adam said, still processing it.
Estelle nodded, looking satisfied.
"It's a supporting role, yeah, but in a massive film. Just being considered was already a big deal, but being offered the role before even doing an in-person audition? That says a lot about your talent—and the fact that people are starting to notice you"
Adam let out a short laugh, still in disbelief but thrilled.
Somehow, he had pulled it off.
In less than a year, he had gone from being a complete unknown to landing a role in one of the biggest movies of the decade.
Finally, something incredibly good.
Finally, something that made him forget the disaster of Bogus.
...
The euphoria lasted all afternoon.
He was still riding a high, unable to fully grasp that he had already secured his next big project.
But as always… happiness never lasted too long.
That night, when Adam got back to the hotel, he turned on the TV and, out of habit, flipped through channels until he landed on an entertainment news program.
Right at the moment when a critic was talking about Bogus.
"…the film failed to connect with audiences, and while the actors deliver standout performances, the script and direction struggle to maintain the viewer's interest. Sadly, the story just doesn't hold up…"
Adam felt a pang in his stomach.
He knew it.
He knew it perfectly well.
Bogus hadn't really been a good movie.
His performance might have been flawless, he might have gotten praise… but that wasn't enough.
The failure was still there.
Shit
…
He turned off the TV.
Took a deep breath.
And then, he forced himself to smile.
Because, yeah… Bogus had been a misstep.
But now, he had another chance.
And in nothing less than The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
...
...
-July 14, 1996
Two days later, on what seemed like a normal morning, the Los Angeles sun streamed through the large windows of the hotel restaurant, casting long shadows over the neatly arranged tables. The muffled hum of morning conversations, the clinking of cups and silverware, and the low murmur of a television in the corner gave the place a comforting sense of routine.
Adam absentmindedly stirred his cup of hot chocolate, watching the swirls of steam rise before taking a sip. The warmth soothed his throat, but his mind was elsewhere. His focus shifted between his breakfast—toast with peanut butter and a side of scrambled eggs—and the small script he had for that day's filming.
Beside him, his mother, Sylvia, who had taken a few days off work to be with him on set, flipped through the morning newspaper. She always did this while sipping her coffee, calmly scanning the news. Andrew, on the other hand, was too busy devouring his breakfast to pay much attention to anything else.
Yeah… everything seemed like a normal morning.
Until it wasn't.
"Oh…"
His mother's voice—just a quiet murmur—was enough to make Adam look up. Sylvia frowned, her eyes scanning a page of the newspaper with an expression that was hard to read.
Adam set his cup down with a soft clink against the saucer.
"What is it?"
Sylvia hesitated for a moment. Then, without a word, she slid the newspaper across the table until it rested in front of him.
Adam glanced down and read the headline in the entertainment section.
"Box Office Failure: Bogus Disappoints in Its First Week in Theaters"
A knot tightened in his stomach before he could stop it.
He took a deep breath and kept reading.
July 5-7 to July 14, 1996: Bogus opens with only $3,835,193, ranking at No. 8 in the weekly box office. Falling below Striptease, which in its second week still grossed $4,816,615, but managing to surpass Twister, which, even in its ninth week, earned $2,720,227.
Adam felt his jaw clench.
Damn it.
He knew the movie wasn't going to be a hit.
He knew the reviews had been harsh.
But seeing it laid out in brutally low numbers…
That was something else.
It stung. It might have seemed like a lot at first glance, but with a production budget of $25 million, plus another $5 million spent on marketing, the film had been expected to perform much better. But with all the bad reviews, a poor box office performance was inevitable. Twas at times like this that he fucking hated having all the reminders of Draco and his damn compulsory lessons about economics imposed by Lucius 3 times a week since he was only 7 goddamn years old. If it was earlier, he wouldn't have a fucking clue about all this and could live happily in the ignorance. But hell no, since he has practically two pairs of memories in his head he has a much better understanding of everything, especially if it's a subject he learned a lot about.
"Well…"
Andrew, who had been reading over his shoulder, broke the silence in a voice that sounded almost forced.
"It's not that bad, right?"
Adam slowly turned his head toward him, his expression saying, Seriously?
"Andrew, Twister has been in theaters for nine weeks and is still making almost as much as we did on our opening weekend"
Andrew looked at the numbers again.
"Shit… yeah. That's bad"
'No kidding!' thought Adam sacrastically.
Adam let out a deep sigh and leaned back against his chair, dropping the newspaper onto the table. He rubbed his eyes with his hands, as if that might somehow change the numbers staring back at him.
His mother didn't say anything. She just gave his arm a gentle squeeze—a small, silent gesture that didn't fix anything, but at least acknowledged the frustration on his face.
But the worst part…
The worst part was still coming.
…..
One week later, on July 21, Adam went downstairs for breakfast, holding onto a sliver of absurd hope that the second week at the box office had somehow improved.
But no.
Not only had it not improved—it had gotten worse.
Second Week (July 12-14 to 21):Box office earnings: $2,854,987Ranking: #10 (dropping two spots)
Yeah.
The movie was dying at record speed.
Bogus had once again fallen below Striptease, which in its third week made $3,016,200, and only managed to stay ahead of Twister, which, even in its tenth week, still pulled in $1,848,700.
Adam was speechless.
Not even his beloved hot chocolate tasted good that morning.
….Then came the third week.
On July 28, when the latest numbers came in…
It was the final blow.
Third Week (July 19-21 to 28):Box office earnings: $2,004,130Ranking: #13 (dropping another three spots)
Adam dropped the newspaper onto the table without even finishing the article.
Andrew looked at him, but Adam just ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
"Great. Now we're not even in the top 10"
The movie had now fallen behind The Rock, which in its seventh week had earned $2,546,228, and was barely hanging above Striptease, which, in its fourth week, had dropped to $1,012,177.
And the total box office so far?
$8,694,310 in three weeks.
A disaster.
An absolute disaster for a film with a $25 million budget—plus another $5 million in marketing.
It had officially become one of the biggest flops of the year.
...
But what Adam didn't know—what no one in this world knew—was that things could have been much, much worse.
In the original timeline, Bogus had been even more catastrophic.
In the original timeline, on its opening weekend, the movie had made just $1.8 million instead of the $3.8 million it had now.
By its second week, it hadn't even reached $2 million. And by the third, the film had vanished from the top 20.
The original total U.S. box office earnings?
A mere $4.4 million.
But now, with his presence in the cast, with the extra publicity from Leave It to Beaver, and with the media attention he had generated…
Bogus had nearly doubled its earnings by just the third weekend.
And not only that.
Unlike the disaster it had originally been, now the movie was still bringing in some revenue and would end with about $13 million total—nearly triple what it would have made before.
Sure…
It was still a massive flop.
It still meant millions in losses.
But…
Without realizing it, Adam had already changed the film's fate quite a bit.
Only that from his perspective…
None of that mattered.
Because from where he stood, Bogus was still one of the biggest box office failures of the year.
And that…
Wasn't easy to swallow.
Not when it was your first movie.
Not when you were the lead.
If there was one thing Adam had learned from this experience, it was that he hated failure.
No—he despised it.
And this would be a lasting reminder of what failure felt like… A memory he'd hold onto to make sure he never repeated it.
...
Adam closed his eyes and took a slow breath.
His performance had been impeccable.
But talent alone wasn't always enough.
Sometimes, a bad movie was just a bad movie—no matter how brilliant you were in it.
And while the world only saw numbers at the box office…
To him, it felt like something more.
The first major misstep of his career. A failure.
The only thing left now…
Was to make sure his next move was huge.
And, luckily—
He already had one foot in Jurassic Park.
Not to mention, he was still the lead in Leave It to Beaver.