Illusiveone
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215: Redoing my Life, 87th Oscar Nominations and Daniel’s Thing
🕑 Added 2025-06-15 12:15:51 +0000 UTC“Twenty-five million? No, no—bring it down to twenty-two,” I said into the phone, leaning back in the chair in my office at Midas.
Adrian, on the other end, sounded hesitant. “WB is pretty fixed on twenty-five.”
I sighed, rubbing my temples. “Adrian, WB is about to gut most of their games division. They’re shutting down the studio we’re trying to buy—despite the fact that they’ve got a nearly completed game sitting there, eighty percent done.”
“I get that,” Adrian replied, “but they know it’s worth something.”
“It is,” I said. “The studio infrastructure. The core engineering and design team. And, most importantly, the tech.”
“Yes, yes—I know. Don’t let them know you’re after the tech,” Adrian cut in, sharply.
I smiled faintly. “Exactly.”
Adrian exhaled. “All right, let me see what I can do,” he said, then ended the call.
I really needed that Nemesis-system patent in my hands, I thought as I stood up and walked over to the long sofa where the others were gathered—Paul Knight, my right-hand at Midas; Maya, who ran all our financials; Serena, our ever-blunt head of casting; and Julian Cross, creative head of the Dark Universe and also the director of my next project at Midas (other than John Wick 2)—The Thing.
They were all glued to the TV. The Oscar-nomination announcements were underway.
I dropped onto the seat beside Julian with a skeptical look. “Why are we even watching this? We already know The Revenant and Superman are getting nominated—and for which category.”
Paul turned his head toward me, feigning offense. “Because, Daniel,” he said, pausing dramatically, “don’t ruin the fun.”
“Yeah, boss,” Serena chimed in. “Don’t be a killjoy.”
Julian gave a soft chuckle at that.
“All right, all right,” I muttered, raising my hands in surrender.
I shifted my focus to the screen just as Alfonso Cuarón and J. J. Abrams appeared at the podium to announce the nominees. The categories rolled in: Documentary Feature, Documentary Short, Film Editing, Original Song, Production Design, Animated and Live-Action Shorts, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, and Animated Feature Film.
J. J. Abrams then announced the nominees for Animated Feature Film, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing—all categories in which The Incredibles was nominated with Superman being nominated for Sound Mixing Editing and Visual Effects.
“You see, Daniel?” Paul said, flashing a grin. “You didn’t even know about that one.”
I leaned back with a smirk. “You know, I actually kinda forgot I wrote the incredibles.”
Everyone burst out laughing.
Julian shook his head. “Okay, now you’re just showing off. We know how good you are, Daniel—no need to pretend you forgot you wrote one of the best movies of last year.”
“I’m serious!” I said, still laughing. “It just slipped my mind.”
Maya gave me an incredulous look. “How do you forget writing one of the most popular movies of last year? It made, like, eight hundred million.”
I shrugged. “A lot happened last year, Maya.”
I noticed that Paul, Maya, and Serena looked especially excited as Alfonso Cuarón and J. J. Abrams left the stage and Chris Pine and Cheryl Boone Isaacs stepped up to announce the major categories: Best Actor, Best Actress, the Supporting categories, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Score, Adapted and Original Screenplay, and, of course, Best Picture.
When they reached Best Actor and Leonardo DiCaprio’s name was called for The Revenant, we all burst into applause.
Cinematography? The Revenant again with Superman.
Costume Design—that made three nominations for Revenant. Directing for Iñárritu made four, Original Score five for both Revenant and Superman, and Best Picture making it six for Revenant. One by one, the nominations kept coming.
And then—
“The nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay are…” Chris Pine began. When my name was announced, it marked my second Oscar nomination after the previous one for 12 angry men.
The next category was Best Original Screenplay. I was about to walk out and get something to drink when I stopped in my tracks as Chris Pine read out the first nomination.
“The Incredibles—Daniel Adler.”
I gasped as it sank in: The Revenant for Adapted Screenplay and The Incredibles for Original. I had just been nominated for two Oscars on the same night.
My head turned to look at everyone. Julian’s eyes were wide with surprise, but the others—yeah, they were smirking.
“You knew,” I said slowly.
Paul grinned. “Yep. We kept you in the dark on purpose.”
Maya and Serena both clapped. “Congrats,” Serena said. “I almost let it slip twice, honestly.”
Julian leaned forward. “Congratulations, Daniel. That puts you in a very exclusive club. Considering your age, that makes you even rarer.”
Right on cue, Chris Pine echoed the same sentiment on TV, and polite applause rose from the audience. I shook my head, speechless for a moment as the applause continued on-screen. Then I murmured, almost to myself, “Well… that’s one hell of a surprise.”
=====
When the broadcast ended, I decided to get right down to business—especially the reason Julian was here.
“Okay,” I said, clapping my hands once, “now that the nominations are done, we need to talk about why we’re actually here. Why Julian is here.”
Paul leaned forward. “Right—let’s do that. But dinner’s on you afterward.”
I grinned. “Fine. I’ll take you all to dinner.”
Julian sat up straighter and took the lead. “As I mentioned, we’ll need about three months to shoot. If everything goes smoothly, we might bring it down to two and a half.”
Maya, firm as always, spoke next. “The budget is locked at forty-five million, and I don’t plan on increasing that figure.”
Julian nodded. “That’s more than enough. The set’s built, practical effects are ready, and the creature work is coming along beautifully.”
Serena chimed in. “Paul still has some concerns about the cast.”
I turned to Paul. “I thought you signed off on it.”
Paul raised a hand. “I did. It’s fine. It’s just—look, the two leads are new. Green. There’s risk in that.”
I nodded, understanding. The final cast was set, and it was definitely a gamble—but the right one, in my opinion.
Wyatt Russell had been cast as MacReady, the reluctant leader. This could be his breakout if things went the way we hoped.
Winston Duke would play Childs—his first big movie role. He had something magnetic in his screen tests: a quiet intensity that held the room.
Then there was John C. Reilly as Blair. That choice had raised more than a few eyebrows. A “comedy actor,” many including Paul worried his image would distract the audience. But I’d watched the audition, and I’d seen the screen tests: the man could act. People forgot he’d once been one of the most respected performers in the business, long before Step Brothers ever happened. Serena had slipped the script into his hands—she knew him personally and thought he’d be perfect. Moments like that reminded me why I hired her: her instincts were razor-sharp, and her contacts ran deep.
Finally, Bob Odenkirk was on board as Garry. I’d worked with Bob on 12 Angry Men, and he signed on the moment I asked. Garry, the station commander, was a role tailor-made for him. I knew he’d nail it.
Logan Marshall-Green was cast as Palmer. From the moment he walked into the audition, he radiated the grimy, twitchy energy we needed—a guy who always seemed to be hiding something.
Ben Foster would play Clark. The minute I saw Ben, the role was his. Clark barely speaks in the film, but Foster’s raw presence made dialogue almost unnecessary.
Windows, the radio operator, would be played by Anton Yelchin. I remembered that, in my old life, Anton would die tragically a year from now. I quietly hoped things would turn out differently this time. He was brilliant: smart, a little awkward, perfect for Windows, the perpetually paranoid radio man.
Michael Stuhlbarg—another 12 Angry Men alum—was Norris: reserved, academic, and integral to one of the film’s big body-horror moments. He was surprisingly excited for that scene.
Fuchs, the team biologist, would be played by Domhnall Gleeson.
Copper, the doctor, was Bryan Cranston. I’d pitched it to him during the filming of The Dark Knight, and he joined immediately after reading the script.
Nauls would be played by Donald Glover, and Bennings by Scoot McNairy.
It was a stacked cast—some established, some rising—all of them ready to go wherever this story took them.
Paul crossed his arms. “I’m still not sure about Reilly.”
Serena rolled her eyes. “Honestly, I think his performance might outdo both of the newcomers. You’ll see.”
Julian leaned forward. “Paul, the cast is great. It’s on me, as the director, to make it all come together—and I’ve got no doubts.”
I nodded. “Well then, we’re agreed. Filming begins next month. That gives us three months of principal photography, then straight into post. We’ll still have nearly six months before the October 2015 release.”
Julian nodded. “That’s plenty of time.”
Paul and the others offered small nods of agreement.
“Good,” I said. “And speaking of directing… I’ll be doing that myself by the end of this year.”
Brows rose around the room.
“Any advice for me, Julian?” I asked, half-serious.
Julian smiled and shook his head. “Just don’t overthink it—you’ll be fine. I’ve seen the script; it’s solid. You just need a great cast to match it.”
I turned to Serena. “You have the list with you, don’t you?”
She reached into her folder and handed it over. “Here’s what we’ve compiled so far.”
I passed the sheet to Julian. “Thoughts?”
He scanned it. “Let’s see… ah, there he is—Verbal Kint: Paul Dano… Benedict Cumberbatch.”
Paul frowned. “Cumberbatch is an odd choice.”
Serena shot back, “That’s why it could work.”
Julian nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, Benedict could do it—great actor. He’d bring something unexpected.”
I leaned back. “I’m leaning toward Dano, but I’m not sure about his availability—he might be tied up with something else around that time”
Julian flipped through the rest of the list. “Let’s see who else we’ve got…”
The meeting should have ended after discussing The Thing, but it stretched on for two more hours as we all got caught up in casting The Usual Suspects.
Comments
Tyler Karp
Thank you for the chapter
Illusiveone
Jenson was removed due to Batman 3. I forgot to mention it in the chapter, but I'll include it in another one
TMHioSaviour
So who is jensen ackles playing?
